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Search results for "germ"

Artist Album Format Label & Cat. Number Year Price (incl. 19% VAT)  
BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE Patchouli Blue CD PIAS Germany PIASD5045CD 2020 €16.50
GERMAN ARMY Wakhan Corridor CD Old Captain OCCD40 2018 €13.00
Endless Suburb LP Natural Sciences - NATURA L054 2022 €22.00
Pyura Chilensis MC Luce Sia 028 2017 €9.50
  Passage Through Selk'nam Hain Ceremony do-LP L.I.E.S. Records LIES 167 2021 €32.00
V.A. (VARIOUS ARTISTS) (COMPILATIONS) Strain, Crack & Break Vol. 2 : Germany do-LP Finders Keepers Records FKR108LP 2021 €27.50

"germ" entries in albums descriptions

Artist Album Format Description Year Price (incl. 19% VAT)  
AALFANG MIT PFERDEKOPF Kindspechleber LP + CD six years after the 7" on Drone Rec. here's the first LP for this german experimental / electro-acoustic drone project (by MIRKO UHLIG), wo loves to work with obscure / surprising / dadaistic found sounds & delicate drones, creating disturbing & dark'n'beautiful atmospheres at almost the same time; quite unique stuff, a droney mind- & earplay.... comes with bonus CD & appropriate artwork from ROBERT SCHALINSKI (COLUMN ONE) 2012 €20.00
AIN SOPH / SIGILLUM S Simulacra CD first CD re-issue of the remarkable split tape by the Italian esoteric ritual industrial bands (originally released by German cult label CTHULHU in 1989), especially AIN SOPH established a unique style...- "an inarticulate summation comrprised ov thee descriptives dark ritual electronics, haunting choral workx, and neo-classical symphonics may be within a range ov aproximation; though thee reader/listener shall hopefully draw reactions ov their own" [vitaignescorpuslignum.blogspot.com] 2016 €13.00
ALBRECHT/D. - // KOMMISSAR HJULER Kein Leporello LP ALBRECHT/D. (1944-2013) was a legendary German (fluxus, dada, industrial) artist who co-released earliest THROBBING GRISTLE live tapes in 1976 and performed with JOSEPH BEUYS and many others.. DETLEV HJULER managed to get a ultra rare piece ("Anrufbeantworter-Konzert") from him consisting of bewildering voice-fragments (with heavy swabian dialect), musical debris, radio-madness, noise.. (25 min.), Side B fits perfectly : "JoBeuysseph" collage by K. HJULER; black vinyl edition of only 25 copies! (numbered) 2020 €45.00
ALLBEE, LIZ & BURKHARD BEINS Mensch Mensch Mensch LP stunning collaboration between LIZ ALLBEE, US American trumpet player and sound artist and German percussionist BURKHARD BEINS, both living in Berlin and active with numerous projects => suspenseful drone-tunes on Side A that develop nicely, much more concrete & eruptive noises on Side B (performed with: quadraphonic trumpet, synths, noise boxes, electric motors, turning forks, samples, oscillator...), really intense & recommended! 2014 €17.50
ALU Autismenschen CD first un-released album of 1980 of this German band (from SAND fame!), liner-notes by DAVID TIBET; last copy, RARE NOW ! 2005 €20.00
ANEMONE TUBE Dream Landscape CD strong return (after 9 years pause) of this German experimental ambient project with a "morbid vision of a landscape", based on field recordings made in China; standard edition in luxurious cover lim. 500 2010 €13.00
ANIMA SOUND Underground Altena LP unreleased recordings from 1973 / Burg Altena, the project of LIMPE FUCHS and PAUL FUCHS.. - *Largely rendered on a striking array of instruments, invented and played by the couple, its otherworldly, visionary sounds upend nearly every perception held about underground music transpiring in Germany during this period. Wild, wonderful, truly free, and inspiring as records come.* ed. of 300 2022 €21.50
APOPTOSE Ana Liil CD with 'Ana Liil' (about a mysterious girl existing in otherworlds) this German project goes into a completely new direction by incorporating slow dark wave electro *pop* elements and rhythms, female vocals, choirs, and cosmic/harmonic synths into their dreamlike and melancholic visions... "extremely enthralling ambientmusic" [NonPop] 2014 €14.50
  Ana Liil LP + CD with 'Ana Liil' (about a mysterious girl existing in otherworlds) this German project goes into a completely new direction by incorporating slow dark wave electro *pop* elements and rhythms, female vocals, choirs, and cosmic/harmonic synths into their dreamlike and melancholic visions... "extremely enthralling ambientmusic" [NonPop]; the vinyl version comes with printed inner sleeve and CD copy of the same album 2014 €24.50
ARGYRE PLANITIA The Atomic Age CD interesting debut CD for a German post ambient industrial project, thematically based on a dystopian view on the future connected to Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Cyber Humans; analogue sounding synth drones merge with atmospheric noises and static winds, slow pulses conquer the space, swirling metallic sounds seems to ooze away into the naught... "conceived in the beginning of a new industrial age of the new machines".. lim. 300, digipak 2018 €12.00
BAD ALCHEMY No. 61 (January 2009) mag Freakparade Festival 2008, ART OF ORYX, SATOKO FUJI, KTL, SUM OF R, NU & APA NEAGRA, PORTISHEAD, DAVID JOHNSON, ALBERT AYLER, THE NU BAND, & tons of reviews, also Drone Rec & Substantia Innominata ! 88 pages, almost all in German 2009 €3.00
BAKER, AIDAN / JÖRG SCHNEIDER Schneider Baker LP inspiring and creative collaboration between German drummer JÖRG SCHNEIDER and AIDAN BAKER on guitar, on 7 tracks they form drone / jazz / impro audio figurations with unusual sounds and arrangements, at times introspective, at times brooding and more hypnotic.. very pure and basic, with a sensible ear for all appearing noises and tunes... 2022 €20.00
BALDRUIN Portal LP debut LP by this German project (from Wiesbaden) => well constructed cosmic ambient-scapes with a dark psychedelic / cinematic / surrealistic touch, when strange voices, subtle percussion and whistling noises enter the scenery.... lim./numbered 260 copies on heavy CLEAR vinyl, with insert, download card... definitely to discover for cosmic spaceheads !! 2015 €15.00
  Relikte aus der Zukunft LP this German artist, raised in a small Bavarian village near a church and serving as altar boy, developed an ongoing interest in transcendental and mysterious atmospheres; this surprising LP on the Peruvian label BUH is another journey into a bizarre fairy-tale world based on electronic miniatures and acoustic hallucinations.. * The gloomiest soundscapes can jump into a ship fueled by retro sci-fi arpeggios, the solemn can turn to rejoice, and a star can shrink into a fireplace.* - lim. 300 2023 €27.50
BARTHEL, MICHAEL HARN 7inch "Süsslich herbwilder HARN Schweiß hält uns zusammen" - the debut record of this radical German sound poet and installation artist from Leipzig => this contains 14 (!) short pieces of voice / poetry / word-art , with the theme 'de/localisation' in different fields => extreme intonation and dadaistic invention of words, all poems are printed on the cover, really extraordinary & filled with a strange beauty!! lim. 150 copies 2015 €8.00
BASHO-JUNGHANS, STEFFEN IS LP German lapsteel-drone-guitarist on a British label; numbered ed. 500, very nice edition, 200gr vinyl 2009 €21.00
BASTARD NOISE / BIZARRE X Self Righteous Suicide / ...Ethik?... LP strong split LP with extremely vocalized scum and dark noise ("powerviolence") by BASTARD NOISE (4 tracks), and 11 tracks of swampy old school Grindcore by BIZARRE X from Germany, both with hyper agressive lyrics about personal and political entities.. "FIGHT ANIMAL ABUSE AND SPEAK OUT AGAINST HUMAN IGNORANCE WHICH IS THE ONLY 'CANCER' ON THIS POOR PLANET"; comes with inlay, ed. of 600 copies 2019 €15.00
BEARS I was a good Hunter until that Day MC First relesae on this new German tape-label: a bewildering & almost earplay-like experimental journey using distorted field recordings, animal noises and other found sounds.. placed in a largely oversized photo-cover bag, lim. 40, numbered, comes with small bag of dog (or bear?) hair and lip(stick)s imprint ! C-60 2012 €8.00
BEEQUEEN Sturmwind and Gilbert 7inch BEEQUEEN is no longer!! After 30 years of existence (incl. their fabulous drone-noise statement 'Summer Rain' 7" on Drone Rec. in 1993) this is their farewell-release, with two rather incredible pretty pop songs (drumbox, guitar, sequencer & synths, female vocals paraphrasing dadaist KURT SCHWITTERS in German)...it also documents a rarely before seen evolution of a band starting with rough ambient noise and ending with a kind of 'Schlager' pop.... wow! Lim.300 2016 €9.50
BEGG, MICHAEL / ROEDELIUS Two gather in the Waiting Room CD surprising collab work by Scottish favourite ambient artist MICHAEL BEGG (HUMAN GREED / FOVEA HEX) with German early electronic music pioneer HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS (CLUSTER, HARMONIA), who met for a performance during BEGG's residency at Edinburgh's Queens Hall in August 2020; feat. members of the BLACK GLASS ENSEMBLE (trumpet, violin)... 2020 €15.00
BEHRENS, MARC 20 Zonen CD soundart-work for the Hessian Broadcast Company (HR2), using field recordings from the Kranichstein district in Darmstadt, Germany - such as the Brass band of a local hunters' association, a railway museum, the centre of heavy iron research, many parks & ponds, etc.. lim. 300 2011 €12.00
BIANCHI, MAURIZIO (M.B.) Verfall CD-R album based entirely on floating piano-tunes; sounds at times more like a wild ROBERT HAIGH than typical M.B. - 8 different tracks, all with german titles; rare CD-R on this label from Hongkong 2010 €10.00
BISCLAVERET & FEINE TRINKERS BEI PINKELS DAHEIM Both Sides of the Looking Glass 7inch intense dark ambient & post industrial from Poland & Germany on this spilt 7", comes in luxurious gatefold design, numb./lim. 200 2012 €8.50
BJÄRGÖ, PETER A Wave of Bitterness CD the ARCANA mastermind released his first solo-album in 2009 on the German label Kalinkaland, here's finally a re-issue of this mesmerizing work, a must for any DEAD CAN DANCE fan (transporting the same mood and grandeur, without being a copy of DCD); digipak ed. of 500 copies - comes with 8 page booklet 2019 €13.00
BLACK MAGAZINE Nr. 50 (Herbst 2009) mag PETER CHRISTOPHERSON-Interview, INADE, GOLGATHA, IN GOWAN RING, NOVY SVET, etc.. german language 2009 €4.00
BLACK TO COMM same do-LP eight new pieces by this German 'experimental ambience/drone' project who delevoped his own remarkable style over the years... "a sprawling double album pieced together with crumbling samples, vocal snippets and an arsenal of noise generators and filters"; lim. 300 on BLACK vinyl 2014 €23.50
BLANKET SWIMMING Of Form And Formlessness MC + object collector's item on a new cassette-only label from Germany, the artwork is handmade and unique and as important as the music => BLANKET SWIMMING is a one man ambient project from the States, with two slowly brewing long form drone pieces (C-60), undulating in endless waves... - the package consists of a white closeable "product" bag with all kinds of handmade elements and inlays, the white tape itself has red paint bubbles on it.. lim. 33 copies, numbered ! A must for drone- and cassette-heads 2023 €18.00
BUNKER CITY VS. CARSTEN VOLLMER Antarctica / Antarktika pic-LP "ANTARKTIKA: Wilde weiße Schönheit - Für alle Ewigkeit - Hast du dich zugedeckt - Mit einem Schleier aus Kristall"- nicely designed split picture-LP with 6 songs from BUNKER CITY (Oldenburg, Germany) on one side, and one long track by Germanys most incorrigible harsh noiser CARSTEN VOLLMER, inspired by the 'Antarktika' theme: feedbackin' white noise in different high frequency shapes, and melodic power punk-pop on the flipside - what a combination! Lim.100, with inlay 2019 €18.00
BÜTTNER, GREGORY Voll.Halb.Langsam.Halt CD contact mic audio capturings from an old ice-breaker / steamboat (built completely from metal), recorded during a trip from Rostock to Rügen (Germany) over the Baltic Sea ==> the clattering of rusty metallic parts of the ship through the vibrations of the engines, almost tender mechanical noises and scrapings, warm drones spreading in the whole body of the ship, all in different shapes and textures and put together in a sensitive way.. a mesmerising composition!! 2018 €13.00
B°TONG (B*TONG / B-TONG/ BTONG) Ov ELF and HAARP CD-R & object most abstract drone-morphologism, fields of concrete otherworldy sounds... excellent album by the Swiss project again, soon also on the very first LP on Drone Records !! lim. / numb. 50 copies coming in handpainted CD/cloth-case with diverse inlays, and sticker, on a new label from Augsburg, Germany, run by EMERGE and GERALD FIEBIG 2011 €11.00
  Un_b°tong mCDR-box 6 short pieces (rather studies) of extreme manipulation from unmusical sounds, mainly human voices -> like a daring from of audio poetry mixed with electroacoustic detailness, this presents new surrealistic paths for the great Swiss artist! Comes in mini DVD box on the excellent ATTENUATION CIRCUIT label from Augsburg, Germany 2011 €6.50
CASPAR BRÖTZMANN MASSAKER The Tribe LP re-issue of the debut LP (1988) by CASPAR BRÖTZMANNs band project, still a milestone of ultra heavy & mind crushing industrial noise rock... "This plethora of sounds were arranged into tracks to sound like breaking concrete, grinding metal, or bursting glass, at once monumental and threatening, impenetrable and hermetic, yet also archaically tender and loving........Channeling Hendrixian vibrations mixed with hard German industrial atmosphere" 2019 €18.00
CASTRUP, HANS / STEFFAN DE TURCK / BOBAN RISTEVSKI / GRODOCK Thing CD-R 3rd release in a new series named "THING", based on the concept of physicality and the "meeting-place" for artists like in good old Germanic times ;) => THING will always feature 4 artists: HANS CASTRUP (ex POISON DWARFS) has created a nice & complex atmospheric collage, STEFFAN DE TURCK explores the physicality of sounds and field rec's, BOBAN RISTEVSKI philosophizes with vintage sounding strange electronics (great piece!), and GRODOCK deepdrones the earth... - lim. 100 2022 €8.00
CHOCHOS Y MOSCAS The Shake of Fruit to come MC 14th tape on this German tape-label that gained 'cult'-status very quickly => radical grindcore & noise from Spain with plenty of very short tracks that all transport messages around fruits & Vitamin C, super bizarre stuff again as we love it from this label! lim. 50, luxurious / oversized art-cover 21x21cm, orange cassette & PE Bag with object (plastic micro fruit slices) 2014 €8.00
CHRISTOU, JANI Enantiodromia CD Seven works from this genius greek composer from the sixties, absolutely intense stuff ! Comes with booklet in german/english liner notes, with many interesting background infos about this conception and philosophy. VERY MUCH RECOMMENDED !! 2001 €18.00
CLUB OF ROME Grosse Statik CD CLUB OF ROME is ASMUS TIETCHENS under a pseudonym, there's only one cassette existing that appeeared on the Italian label ADN in 1985; here's finally a re-issue on CD => this album marks the transition from the more "catchy" SKY releases to his more dark and bleak atonal period... starting with a strange / ironic quite from a german folk artist this developos into eerie / atonal synthscapes with a surrealistic nature, threatening, cinematic.... 2023 €15.00
COLUMN ONE AntiphoNA 10inch "ANTIPHONA AD INTROITUM" - finally on SUBSTANTIA: the genius German masters of experimental dadaism & de-construction, whose releases are always a thoughtful play with hidden meanings, conceptions & contradictions => the two pieces on this mysterious 10" sound completely different (* a bewildering collage-work / * a meditative bowl-drone recording) but can be regarded as anthiponies that form a single whole => draw your own conclusions; Side A ends in a endless groove, artwork by SEAN HILLEN, lim. 500 2013 €12.00
  W.Transmission I-V 5 x CD SET for the first time on CD, the complete "World Transmission" series by the German experimental collective group, documenting "temporary intermissions" from 1991-2010, released before on rare cassettes and LP; various approaches and in depths concepts, performed live or in the studio, show the uniqueness and permanent (genre) transgression of C.O. // 5 CDs in digipaks in black folder, lm. 100 (standard ed.) 2022 €50.00
CONRAD, TONY & FAUST Outside the Dream Syndicate LP the meeting of minimal violin drones and Krautrock, rec. October 1972 at Wümme-studios; first vinyl re-issue of the famous LP from 1973, when TONY CONRAD (the film-maker, sound-artist and member of the THEATRE OF ETERNAL MUSIC with LA MONTE YOUNG who died April 2016) visited Germany... includes double sided insert with liner notes 2016 €24.00
CONTROLLED BLEEDING Body Samples do-LP the second C.B. LP appeared in May 1985 on German label DOSSIER and showed already a development from the harsh noise beginnings, incorporating dreamy 'cosmic' and ambience parts, percussion and psych/kraut elements and even electro beats, all framed by their heavy industrial noise and screams and rude experiments... a great album full of diversity and surprises; 11 (!) rare / unreleased bonus tracks, lim. 500 2016 €28.50
  Body Samples do-CD the second C.B. LP appeared in May 1985 on German label DOSSIER and showed already a development from the harsh noise beginnings, incorporating dreamy 'cosmic' and ambience parts, percussion and psych/kraut elements and even electro beats, all framed by their heavy industrial noise and screams and rude experiments... a great album full of diversity and surprises; the re-issue has 11 (!) rare or unreleased bonus tracks apart from the 14 original tracks 2016 €19.00
CRANIOCLAST (THE) L.K.A. SONAR KIT (SOLD OUT) pic-7 the first pic-7" on Drone Records, 2nd ed. 11/2000, by the legendary post-industrial / ambient band from Germany 2000  
Cract on Sail LP incredible return by this pioneering "mytho-poetic" ambient industrial band, for a while they seemed to be the German counterpart of ZOVIET FRANCE; their Drone Rec. pic-7" from 2000 was one of the most successful in the series; this is their first album since 1993, and of course these "game-changers" are surprising with another incarnation of CRANIOCLAST; using guitars and electronic pulses, it's music like circling aural mantras, hypnotic and surreal... 2018 €19.50
  Arctic Salon do-LP the "Arctic Salon" was announced already in the 90's, at that time the next album by the German conceptual experimental / electronic mind & industrial mythology travellers, but it never appeared... - now finalized, this music symbolizes a trip to the Pole, through ice and snow and endless shades of white... - lim. 300 clear vinyl in clear PVC sleeves, looks great 2023 €27.50
D-EFFECTS No. 1 mag mag from Berlin, german language: THROBBING GRISTLE, CHROME, SPK, CHARLES MANSON, CIORAN, BRAUTIGAM, CROWLEY, BATAILLE, etc 2004 €3.00
  No. 3 mag music, philosophy, literature, texts, cinema, art, german language. KONRADIN LEINER, TRANSGRESSIVE CINEMA, ASIA ARGENTO, JÜRGEN PLOOG, ZOMBIES, DICTIONNAIRE CRITIQUE, the history of COUM transmissions, TROUM-Interview, SARDH, RITUALMUSIK UND AKUSTISCHE INNENRAUMFAHRTEN, WOLFGANG MÜLLER-Interview, etc.. 2005 €3.50
DATASHOCK & BLACK TO COMM same CD-R rare collaboration-release by the german impro & psych-drone projects; incl. 9 min. quicktime video, full colour cover, lim. 150 copies 2008 €7.00
DE/MUTE Visual Noise CD-R & booklet the german drone/ambient project asked via internet to send art-photographs to create music to it; "VISUAL NOISE" shows the result, 7 tracks for 7 photos, somewhere between BAD SECTOR & dark TANGERINE DREAM maybe, comes in DVD-digipack & 16p. full-colour booklet with texts to the pics; nice idea / project, recommended if you like electronic ambience; lim. 100 2012 €18.00
DEASY, JONATHAN Le Fletrissement MC + object collector's item on a new cassette-only label from Germany, the artwork is handmade and unique and as important as the music => JONATHAN DEASY is an Irish guitarist and improviser, he presents two contemplative "self-nourishing" drones with rich overtunes.. - "The degradation of a tape loop and the saturation of a driven tube created an idea of sustain, meditation and patience." - incredible package: translucent blue bag with a piece of a mirror on it, numbered ed. 30 copies 2023 €18.50
DEEP If you drive a Traktor CD-R the long active DEEP (working with 2 bass-guitars mainly) from Augsburg, Germany, are finally back with a nice album ranging from ambient atmospheres through harmonic structures to earthy drone-metal spheres... much more refined and experimental as years before, recommended ! Lim. 100, special cover 2011 €11.00
DERGARABEDIAN, CHRISTIAN (C.D.) y MILAN SANDBLEISTIFT Lamentamos informar al Universo CD-R very nice collaboration of these two Drone Records artists from Germany & Spain (aka LICHT-UNG and EARZUMBA), recorded 2006 & 2007 they spread on 9 tracks a kind of obscure 'ether noise ambient' using electronic sounds as well as strange field recordings, found sounds and drone rumblings in polymorph ways, arrays of highly effected stuff...quite rough but beautiful, recommended! lim. 2nd ed. of 28 copies, we have the last three copies in stock !! 2007 €9.00
DIE TÖDLICHE DORIS Stopp (der Information) 12inch + box 'Du bist schon da, wo Ich jetzt bin - Deine Zeit in Meiner in Dir drin' - very obscure unfinished DTD piece from 1984 (a weird RAP with german lyrics), finalized by NAMOSH ARSLAN in 2011 (Side B) - lim. 333 copies in black silkscreened (cardboard) box/wrapper, with a terrific 20 p. full-colour booklet (12") with many photos & collages & texts.. numbered & signed by WOLFGANG MÜLLER 2013 €37.50
DISSECTING TABLE / MATTHIAS GRASSOW & TOMAS WEISS split LP PSYCH.KG makes it possible: Japan noise & German esoteric ambience combined on one split-LP, with covers handpainted by handicapped children! Lim. 100, only very few in stock, second part in the "A-Childs-Color-Play" series (first was by RAPOON / RELAPXYCH.0 - still available last copies!) 2011 €20.00
DOC WÖR MIRRAN FEAT. RE-DRUM & S. STADLMEIER 24.3.16 LP a meeting of 5 experimental musicians on electronics, sound objects, guitar, bass, synth, theremin and percussion [three of them as DOC WÖR MIRRAN], recorded at one day at Two Garage Studios in Fürth (Germany), connecting industrial, improvised ambient noise and krautrock.... lim. / numb. 300 copies transp. vinyl; "Statt nur ein ambientes Mantra ist das psychotrop, manchmal unheimlich, mit repetierten Riffs und Delay auch insistent" [Bad Alchemy] 2017 €17.00
EAU-DC same LP newcomer (?) from Switzerland/Germany with well done purely electronic "experimental ambience", slow synthetic movements are contrasted by more vivid glitch & microsounds... for fans of atmospheric AUTECHRE or more ambient MILLE PLATEAUX stuff.. nice edition comes with big poster, lim. 100 ! 2010 €17.00
  NR2 LP 2nd album by this German glitch / electronica-duo, lim. 200 (the first 100 copies incl. large poster); to discover for fans of the genre 2013 €17.50
EHRHORN, TILMAN Task CD experimental glitch-electronica with harmonic & rhythmic elements; first album from this German artist 2003 €10.00
EINHEIT, ESCH & MUR Terre Haute LP collaborative project of legendary German underground figures F.M.EINHEIT (EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN), EN ESCH (KMFDM) and MONA MUR, resurging the typical West-Berlin 80's industrial / new wave / minimal sound with heavy sequencer synths, samples, noises and strong female/male vocals; they call it "German Angst Ridden Art Core"; feat. one cover of a BRECHT / WEILL song ! lim. 299 copies on red vinyl 2015 €22.00
EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN Elektrokohle (von wegen) DVD documentation film about the very first NEUBAUTEN-show in East Berlin after the fall of the wall, 21. December 1989; dolby digital, 2.0, german language, english subtitles 2009 €20.00
ELLICIST Point Defects LP recommended debut album by this German-Greek duo with immersive experimental electronica, to discover! "...oscillating between abstraction and elements of pop music. Melodies are being hinted at, and sounds are being piled up, at times tirelessly. Fragments of etheric choirs or field recordings are unfolding their associative power." - " It’s a dreamlike world, slightly discombobulated, but reflective of fleeting out jazz and post-electro-pop." [Tonehsift] 2019 €18.00
ELODIE (TIMO VAN LUIJK & ANDREW CHALK) Odyssee CD 'Odyssee' is a live recording made at the GERÄUSCHWELTEN festival in Münster, Germany, in Febr. 2015, when ANDREW CHALK and TIMO VAN LUIJK performed as a duet using flute and string synthesizer, a soundtrack to a film that was shown on the same evening..."a gorgeous, shimmering beautiful listen. Resting on a soft bed of keyboards and various flutes, Elodie takes you on an odyssee that is calming and soothing, without ever becoming a cliché."[Freek Kinkelaar] mini-gatefold ART cover! 2016 €15.00
ELOY, JEAN-CLAUDE Le Minuit de la Foi (The Midnight of the Faith) do-CD new work from 2014 for electronic and concrete sounds, using quotes from EDITH STEIN (recorded by German actress GISELA CLAUDIUS), 120 min. playtime, 28 pp booklet;... 'a long piece under the power of expanded sounds and sacred words...'... mesmerizing, beautifully poetic electro-acoustic drones.. 2015 €21.00
EMAK Elektronische Musik aus : Köln 1- 3 3 x LP BOX re-issue of the three minimal electro LPs originally released 1982-1985, by this collective around synth specialist MATTHIAS BECKER - "influenced by German experimental music - from Stockhausen to Can - and by minimal music, musique concrète and ambient music. Some of the tracks presented in this first complete edition of EMAK's recordings became very popular in Germany's eighties club scene because of their pulsating rhythms" lim. 300 in red BOX 2018 €89.00
EMDE, GABRIELE Die Natur der Klänge - Neue Musik für Harfe CD this masterful harp player from Darmstadt, Germany, performs pieces from JOHN CAGE ("In a Landscape for Harp" - 1948), HANS OTTE ("Wassermann-Musik für Harfe" - 1984 - 40+ min. long!) and LOU HARRISSON ("Music for Harp" - 1978); this shows the high beauty of an instrument rarely used for New Music compositions.. very nice digipak editon with extensive booklet 2015 €16.00
EMERGE Reeligible Redye mCD-R finally a new release by this Drone Records-artist (DR-64) from Augsburg, Germany; dark & deep 'electroacoustic drone-ambience', fantastic sounds & atmosphere on this one-tracker (20+ min.); comes in hand-assembled clear blue 5" cases 2009 €6.00
Retentive Disrupt mCD-R mysterious amorphous sounds from an unknown Otherworld, establishing a different kind of harmony; great new release by the south german Drone Records-artist; comes in a yellow flourescent 5" case; please note the first 3 EMERGE mCDRs from 2004 are still available from our shop!! 2009 €6.00
Oneirism 10inch third vinyl appearance of this south-german project presenting two very hypnotic dream-drone tracks; whereas one side dissolves into ghostly fog-sounds (reminding of certain JOHN DUNCAN or M.B. works), the flipside points into sub-bass areas, extremely deep & with hallucinogenic effect... lim./numbered 300 copies & with bonus CDR of the same tracks 2013 €13.00
Frown CD after almost hundreds of CD-R releases this is the very first "fabric pressed" CD of this very open-minded German label, with new recordings by EMERGE => "Frown" is a rumbling dark drone journey in three parts that seems to go deeply into the abyss, into a underground mining or sewerage system, using gurgling water sounds, metallic winds, breaking rocks, mechnical machine loops... where no traces of humans are to be found; great ultra dark musique concrete (no synthetic sounds used) !! 2014 €10.00
  Materia CD 'paradigm shift' for EMERGE on this new release, the German project converges to rhythmic / sampled minimal IDM structures in a new way..."EMERGE improvised with prepared samples and amplified objects made of various materials- hence the title-, namely wood, stone, and plastic.. the rhythms, perhaps, is the direct, almost in-your-face way in which distorted voice like samples are used as a counterpoint to the live-generated sounds.." - lim. 100 copies 2019 €10.00
EMERGE + GERALD FIEBIG Flöten / Kinder CD-R curious pieces created from children's flute playing and other sounds they made (laughing, speech, chuckles...) recorded during a workshop at an elementary school in Augsburg, Germany: a 'pure' collage by FIEBIG, a voice/noise piece by EMERGE considering also the oral material, plus a collaborative drone piece by both artists, who are also behind this great label !!! Lim. 33 copies, special cardboard cover 2015 €8.00
EMERGE / THORSTEN SOLTAU / RLW Acker und Seche CD a very special collaboration by three German underground experiMENTALists: highly ambitious material between earplay, collage, and soundscaping, every second, every little noise, counts = the whole atmosphere is secretful and mysterious, often silent and intimate... - six shorter tracks come from T. SOLTAU and EMERGE (field recordings, instrumental sounds), the one central epic piece "Vor dem Hitzschlag" was end-remixed by RLW - 200 copies 2021 €13.00
EMERGE FEAT. DON VOMP Retention CD-R first collaboration between experimental violinist DON VOMP and the German 'advanced drone' researcher, recorded 2009 at the LAB.30 festival in Augsburg; all EMERGE sounds are processed live and based on the violin sounds of DON VOMB, forming a 45 min. set between clearly recognizable violin drones & samples and alien acoustics... 2014 €6.00
EOM Nada Mindnetsurfing Part 1 CD nice but very unknown release by this project from Southern Germany, combining Indian field recordings (voices, flutes, tablas), live playing and electronic technoid & ambient-drone sounds, for a very spiritual, percussive and esoteric spacescape with an experiMENTAL edge... for friends of I:WOUND, RAPOON, or SILENTES-releases.. BACK IN STOCK ! 1999 €10.00
ERICHPHONE MANNSTEIN Schmetterling MC & object Nr. 5 in this unique object/tape series, using this time a 20 seconds "endless tape" that plays a loop infinitely in a row => behind a strange pseudonyme we find a member of german Drone Rec. artist MULTER and A.B.G.S., who created a crazy/lovely 'found sound' cut up collage that plays endlessly with your mind, only after few minutes you realize all the details; great! Comes in an ultra-heavy iron box (2 kg!) with handmade engraving, hand-numbered edition of 47 copies 2014 €39.00
EVAPORI Rehearsals for Objects CD new work by one of Germany most challenging sound-collageurs (now based in Berlin), lim. 300, special foldout cardboard cover 2009 €13.00
FEINE TRINKERS BEI PINKELS DAHEIM (F.T.B.P.D.) Ahuenna CD-R excellent new release by this "alien drone" outfit from Bremen, Germany (and formerly one half of NID); dark & weird spheric experimental dronescapes using only analog sources, record players & incredible handmade objects, one intense one-tracker 44+ min full of variations and strange sounds; professional cover & duplication lim.100, highly recommended 2010 €9.50
  A Bug's Life CD surprising new album from Germany's finest secret: much more "collage" and plunderphonic as before, "A Bug's Life" combines weird found sounds, backwards folk songs, vocal quotes, with processed drones & noises coming from field / Insect recordings... quite weird again, but the also impressive regarding the variety of sounds, a mixture of eerie dark droning areas & obscure collages... BIG CITY ORCHESTRA meets LUSTMORD meets RAPOON and ARTIFICIAL MEMORY TRACE? great album!! 2016 €12.00
FERRARI, LUC & BRUNHILD FERRARI Contes Sentimentaux 4 x CD-BOX this 4 CD box contains 11 pieces made by the couple for Südwestfunk (German Radio) from 1989-1994, a wonderful sensitive melange of experiences from their lives, field recordings and music; BRUNHILD MEYER-FERRARI is translating everything into German, LUC FERARRI talks about his compositions and curious details... this has a very meditative charackter, we could listen for this for hours non-stop!! Comes with 44 p. booklet with many photos, etc.. 2013 €45.00
FIRST LAW A Future so bright CD amazing new/refined direction for this German "dark synth / cosmic ambient" project, now using more instrumental sounding elements like guitar, piano, percussion, at times going into psychedelic / Kraut / 70's directions... always moody & hypnotic, somewhere between TANGERINE DREAM, BOHREN and slow electronic ambient / ritual industrial... excellent and very much worth to check out !! 2012 €13.00
FLUTWACHT Chain CD third (?) proper CD album from 2006 by this German dark electro Industrial project, delivering raw & unpolished rhythmic loops & noises... comparable to early ESPLENDOR GEOMETRICO maybe; special price now 2006 €8.00
FOR KINGS AND QUEENS Merz CD-R Recommended dark experimental & drone debut-CDR by a German project on a new label from Berlin. To discover. lim. 200 2008 €8.00
FREIWILLIGE SELBSTKONTROLLE (F.S.K.) Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle / Teilnehmende Beobachtung LP re-issue of the rare 7"es (Zickzack, 1980/1981) released before the debut LP 'Stürmer': "Teilnehmende Beobachtung" was produced by Wirtschaftswunder's Tom Dokoupil and established F.S.K.'s status as one of the most singular (and back in those days controversial) phenomena in the (west-)german postpunk/pop/underground history.." - comes with 8 page booklet + printed inner sleeves 2021 €20.00
FRICKE, SIEGMAR Subdural Space CD-R the return of this long active electronic artist from Wilhelmshaven (Germany); professionally printed (gatefold cover) cover 2008 €10.00
FUCHS, LIMPE & VIZ MICHAEL KREMIETZ Kugel Haus Musik CD rare live CD with a recording from 2012 (Waldorfschule Wangen, Germany), by LIMPE FUCHS (from legendary ANIMA) and VIZ M. KREMIETZ, fully improvised noises and sounds on all kinds of self-built or other exotic instruments and objects.. "Audionautic Newspaper between Experimental Zenflute, Pendelbronze, Neue Musik, Dadanoise, Crying Silence & the Film in your Ears!" - digipak release 2019 €10.00
GALERIE SCHALLSCHUTZ Kubark 10inch the German industrial project still working on / revealing themes like secret brainwash-methods & psycho manipulation techniques; KUBARK is a special interrogation manual published 1963 to "break" prisoners; this the 'Enlightenment' side of industrial, accompanied with threatening analog / ambient industrial tunes to symbolize the process... eerie stuff, very well arranged ! lim. / numb. 250 on blue (or black) vinyl ! (500 existing in total) 2012 €15.00
  ZOON-LOGON-ECHON LP / CD / MC - BOX "LET US BLAST OUT OUR OLD FORMS, OUR IGNORANCE, OUR WEAKNESS AND OUR MORTALITY" - the always ambitious North German 'ambient industrial" project with a tryptich of three dark immersive albums on three different formats, released for the 20th year of existence, dealing "with the definition and meaning of being human".. ; lim. 350 copies in box with inlay, logo patch, DL code 2020 €79.00
GAMLASKATTEN Voltage CD debut album (after the "Brutalism" EP) for this German rhythmic industrial project, very dry and focused, complex machine-beats, powerful and energetic...yes, absolutely danceable! - "Heavy beats, moving sequences and a pace that you cannot escape. As it's predecessor the tracks are heavy influenced by oldschool EBM, dark techno and industrial elements." - "It sounds brutal and pretty sexy at the same time." [Side-Line] 2022 €12.00
GEHIRN.IMPLOSION VS. CARSTEN VOLLMER Stille Räuber / Arbeit Nr.18 LP powerful split LP by these two German industrial noise acts: GEHIRN.IMPLOSION presents high hissing white noise with melancholic microsounds appearing inside the tornado eye - feat. HALS MAUL (EA 80) on one track (guitar, vocals) - CARSTEN VOLLMER spreads his latest work in the ARBEIT series on 7 tracks creating piercing feedback-noise with many cut-ups & changes & voice elements; his best work so far maybe !! Comes with 12"x12" inlay, lim. 300 2011 €12.00
GENOCIDE ORGAN / PRURIENT Carte Blanche LP * The apocalypse has already happened * there aren’t any sunken caskets of gold * and besides * you can’t even swim. How does anyone know what’s inside another * how does anyone know what’s inside another country * there are no countries * only marketplaces* - first ever collab by the power electronics & "true" industrial legends from Germany + USA - BLACK vinyl ed. lim. 300, luxus die-cut cover, high price unavoidable 2023 €45.50
GERECHTIGKEITSLIGA / GEHIRN.IMPLOSION Centaurea Cyanus 7" NEW material from the legendary German industrial group, another part in the split 7" series with GEHIRN.IMPLOSION; lim. 199 copies, white marbled vinyl, full colour cover ! 2010 €8.00
GOVERNMENT ALPHA / HIKARI NO OKA Schwingend / Obelisk CD back in stock, this split release by the German Drone Rec-artist (aka LICHT-UNG) and the noise-project from Tokyo; very limited edition in glass-frame cover ! 2005 €13.00
GRASSOW, MATHIAS The Darklight Quest CD MATHIAS GRASSOW is one of Germany's deep ambient pioneers, his first releases date back to 1986; this favoured 4 track album was privately issued in 1998 as CDR and is finally released in proper form... extremely minimal and only slowly changing synth-drones with hypnotizing overtune and bass waves....- when music turns into an "agent of transformation" 2016 €13.00
GRASSOW, MATHIAS & THOMAS WEISS Conscience CD 'transpersonal ambience' inspired by the human conscience, first collab by these two German spiritual ambient composers on the now defunct label from Prague, special offer! => "four long tracks leave space to freely morphing soundwaves, reflecting both positive spiritual power as well as somewhat murky moods" [Igor Novácek] 2006 €10.00
GRODOCK Verwerfungen CD 'Every person is just a gear in a system" - ambient Industrial newcomer from southern Germany (Freiburg) with a nice blend of loops, drones & samples, dark atmospheric noises with a political message, to discover! Replicated full colour CD (not CDR), lim. 100 only! 2013 €12.00
GRÖHN, COSTA 2+1 mCD-R processed field recordings from this German artist & pastor (!) in Hamburg; lim. 100 photo cover 2010 €6.00
HAFLER TRIO / DITTERICH VON-EULER DONNERSPERG / KONTAKT DER JÜNGLINGE PLAYS THE HAFLER TRIO untitled do-7inch lim. 200 clear vinyl, usually only available on the H30-tour May 2003 through Germany, clear vinyl, numbered edition, exquisite artwork! Has rare THOMAS KÖNER & ASMUS TIETCHENS tracks on Side C / D, using HAFLER TRIO souce materials. LAST NEW COPIES FOUND !! 2003 €25.00
HALMA The Ground LP newest album by this 4 piece (two female - two male) German instrumental (post / psychedelic / kraut) rock band from Hamburg, active already since 2000.... born from flowing improvisations, they create relaxed but very focused and clear tracks, subtle melodic, echo-guitars, hypnotic percussion.... lim. 200 copies on BLACK vinyl 2019 €15.00
HARTH, ALFRED 23 & WOLFGANG SEIDEL Five Eyes CD great collaboration by these two legendary German underground musicians and improvisers, known for their work with CASSIBER, KLUSTER, ERUPTION, etc. etc.. => performed on reeds, trombone, synths, drums, percussion, etc. with additional vocals by guest musicians eight atmospheric tracks between Jazz, Noise and (Ambient) Industrial collage were created...we love it!! Comes with long liner notes by WOLFGANG SEIDEL about secret services... 2014 €15.00
HENRY, PIERRE Malefices LP complete film-score/soundtrack to a film from 1962 (director HENRI DECOIN) (german: 'Das Haus der Sünde'), "a masterpiece of mystifaction art", oscillating between classic, subtle film music, experimental electronic sounds & at times weird musique concrete... 2013 €22.00
HESPOS, HANS-JOACHIM / KOMMISSAR HJULER & MAMA BÄR t a n E K LP amazing collab-work with the internationally acclaimed german composer HANS-JOACHIM HESPOS; feat. one solo piece by HESPOS and collaborations with both HJULER & MAMA BÄR, plus a new HJULER & FRAU piece on Side B; 10th part in the HJULER/MAMA BÄR split LP series, lim. 177 copies, their most 'serious' effort maybe so far, great collage-pieces & more.. 2013 €23.00
HEYN, VOLKER Sirenes CD pieces from 1981-2005 by this remarkable / unclassifiable German composer 2011 €17.00
HIS DIVINE GRACE Le Grand Secret CD HIS DIVINE GRACE was the main project of the french-german label operators and this their last amazing album, telling a mysterious conspiracy story of "millions of words" who break out of a book and lead to the death of the reader, whose book is read by another one who also dies.. - this "These" and "Antithese" leads to a beautiful "Synthese Et Syncretisme" track, the whole album is filled with gloomy synths, melancholic sounds and spoken word material, a very special album, impossible to categorize.... 2006 €6.00
HOLOTROP Dead Bird Calling CD promising debut album for this German dark electronic / ritual industrial project with an apocalyptic approach, combining sharp pulses and repetitive samples with field recordings and instrumental sources.. "In his compositions, drones mixed with ritual sounds result in tremendously powerful tracks which evoke the feeling of desolation which throws us back onto the essence of mere human existence" 2018 €13.00
  Manifestation de l'Antinatalisme LP second LP (after the rare "Rites of Natema", 2016) for this German "dystopian ambience" project, extremely dark, subtle, pulsative, think of GALERIE SCHALLSCHUTZ, INADE or newer CYCLIC LAW acts.. "this lp is a sinister swan song to consumerism, eternal growth and progress, a eulogy for humanity as such..." - lim. ed of only 118 copies, excellent artwork, DL code 2020 €20.00
HOLZKOPF & EMERGE Craft CD the third "real" CD on Attenuation Circuit is a collaboration by Canadian artist HOLZKOPF (german for 'woodhead') and EMERGE, using sound sources from Y-TON-G => two long pieces that "combine seemingly concrete, referential sounds with abstract, brooding frequencies", an open stream of improvised, morphing drones... 2014 €10.00
HOURGLASS DROPS Vapours do-CDR experimental ambience from this Russian/Dutch project now located in Bremen, Germany; between beautiful drones and raw analoge / electronic experiments; comes in handmade / oversized cardboard folder with colour photo sticked on 2009 €8.00
HUMAN LARVAE Pure Sex CD one of the best German dark industrial / power electronics projects with an album about obsessive lust => deep roaring drones and repetitive dark noise structures are filled with whispered vocals, screams, object sounds and samples of all kinds, always with a very hypnotic touch... come back to mothers womb! 2022 €13.00
HYIOS Consuetudines CD debut-album from a dark ambient act from Leipzig, Germany, ritual drone music 2009 €12.00
HÖFER, SASCHA ROSEMARIE Music for Video Art & Sound Installations MC excellent experimental ambient/drone cassette-only release by this north German conceptual sound artist (aka "SRH", check: www.sascha-r-hoefer.de), who presents 7 short tracks + 3 videos (for download) of his installation work, ghostly & dreamy, absolutely to discover for drone (and mind) heads... C-20, lim. 50 copies 2020 €9.00
I:WOUND Traumpfad (a Travelogue in three Acts) LP coincinding with the re-activation of this German experimental project here's a new "handmade" edition of this almost 25 year old LP about a journey to India and Tibet: original field recordings and noises merge with electronic/concrete sounds, confusing lyrical impressions of the beauty and the ugly, the myths and the mystery, as a whole a surrealistic sound-experiment and document... spec. ed. lim. 50 with new cover, the original booklet and incense stick 1993 €17.00
  Ram Nam Satya Hai CD back in stock the first CD by the German ethno ambient Industrial project, using original recordings from an overland journey in India: voices, chantings, music, tablas, flutes, bicycle-bells, gongs, birds, train noises, recordings from holy places, etc. were re-constructed, processed and mixed sometimes with percussion sounds and rhythms... This is real ethno-experimentalism! 1998 €12.00
IF, BWANA / SUSTAINED DEVELOPMENT / ELEKTROJUDAS / EMERGE Crossgrained do-CDR unique live recordings made in Augsburg, Germany, July 2012 => three IF, BWANA solo pieces (purely electronic & experimental) & two bonus tracks with the three other projects joining on stage (more improvised, droney, instrumental based), resulting in two completely different sounding discs... 2013 €12.00
INFANT CYCLE / DRONAEMENT split CD-R rare split release (lim. 100) of these two Drone Records (DR-41 and -95) artists from Germany & Canada - over 30 min. of material from INFANT CYCLE creating strong atmospheric industrial drone-tunes with a mechanical / rhytmic edge, whereas DRONAMENT mesmerizes with the mixture of subtle field recordings and sublime melodies, slowly oozing into your unconscious... not to be missed ! Comes in a handmade (coloured) wallpaper sleeve 2008 €9.00
INSIDE ARTZINE # 11 mag "maximum artscum"; german A4 underground magazine for extreme & dark art, feat. international artists doing surrealistic, esoteric, horrifying & misantrophic paintings, collages, sculptures & drawings, along with short stories & poetry; FULL COLOUR, around 40 pages, written mainly in english, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 2006 €5.50
# 12 mag maximum artscum"; german A4 underground magazine for extreme & dark art, feat. international artists doing surrealistic, esoteric, horrifying & misantrophic paintings, collages, sculptures & drawings, along with short stories & poetry; FULL COLOUR, around 40 pages, written mainly in english, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 2008 €7.00
  # 13 mag maximum artscum"; german A4 underground magazine for extreme & dark art, feat. international artists doing surrealistic, esoteric, horrifying & misantrophic paintings, collages, sculptures & drawings, along with short stories & poetry; FULL COLOUR, around 40 pages, written mainly in english, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 2009 €7.00
INSTANT DRONE FACTORY Critical Mass CD german-italian impro-psych-drone outfit with FRANK GINGELEIT 2006 €10.00
INTRETOSH Unkraut vergeht CD project of INOX KAPELL, DR.TREZNOK and TOSHIYUKI HIRAOKA with first album: bizarre & retro-futuristic 80's influenced LSD-electronics with weird & political german lyrics, at times rhythmic / structured and sequenced, at times free floating & experimental, always as coming from another dimension or viewing or our planet from a very far away perspective... 2010 €12.00
IONOSPHERE Angular Momentum CD Cosmic darkness. Alien voices. Quantum-physics processes.. - first album by this German dark ambient project... 2004 €13.00
  Nightscape CD "Watch the World - Pass - into the endless Night" - dark 'nightscape' ambience with a very calm & melancholic touch=> super slow pulses, analogue synthscapes and whirring electronic sounds, refined & focused... a long time after the debut full length "Angular Momentum" (2004) this is only the third longplayer by this German project, who took all time to create an album full of sensitiviness and deep atmospheric moods.. 2015 €13.00
IRMLER & KREMIETZ Endorphonic CD Shakuhachi player and performance artist 'VIZ' MICHAEL KREMIETZ (from the Lake Constance area in Germany) teams up with legendary FAUST keyboarder HANS JOACHIM IRMLER for a synapse-stimulating (drone-psych-trance-joy)-ride, 8 studio tracks on which they use also Bunsenbrenner (bunsen burner), stones, radio, cooking, waterphon, didge, gongs... "EIN 54 MINÜTIGES SCHLACHTFELD ZWEIER KLANGSAMURAIS." ["A 54 min. battlefield of two Sound-Samurais"] 2018 €13.00
JEANIE FINLAY SOUND IT OUT! DVD lovely cult-film / docu about a vinyl record shop in Stockton, UK, "the last record shop on earth" - very funny, intimate, bizarre at times - a must for any vinyl collector! english language, german subtitles, 75 min. 2012 €18.50
JULIUS, ROLF Für einen kleinen See CD back in stock this nice drone/microsound/sound-sculpture album by the German installation-artist who died Jan. 2011, created for a small lake and other natural objects 2003 €14.50
Music for the Ears CD two of the earliest sound art pieces (recorded 1979) by the inventor of "Small Sounds" from Wilhelmshaven, Germany; bamboo flute sounds and electronic tones that sound organic and seem to dance like stalks in the wind... - in an installation in Japan these sounds were played on speakers hanging in a huge bamboo forest... "As the Music suspends itself in the air, the tones sway in the wind floating ever so gently, caressing the Ears, the trees, the light, and clouds." 2010 €14.00
  Music for a Distance CD kind of farewell-release from this German sound-art & installation artist well known for his microcospic minimal ambience compositions, who died January 2011 2011 €13.00
KAFFEE UND KUCHEN Sahnestücke CD KAFFEE UND KUCHEN is a Polish electro noise performance project, on this CD you can find some live extracts from different German cities, but also many remixes from the likes of THOROFON, GEHIRN.IMPLOSION, EMERGE, PHILIPP MÜNCH (SYNAPSCAPE), HYPNOSKULL, KILLER (the EA80 singer sings "Bitte mit Sahne"!), CARSTEN VOLLMER (great remix!), and underground poets like LÜTFIYE GÜZEL... a very versatile compilation, the right thing for you Sunday afternoon tea time.. DVD 6 panel digipak, 21 tracks 68+ min. 2019 €12.00
KALLABRIS Music for very simple Objects 10inch one of the most mysterious & thought-provoking German experimental projects with a bizarre formation of sequential sounds derived from field recordings; "substantia innominata et principium innominatum" (Kallabris). Edition of 500 copies, great full colour artwork by Mal Hoeschen (Multer, Genesungswerk), transparent flour green vinyl ! 2009 €10.00
  Schön geht anders CD 29 new pieces or 'sketches' are to be found on "Schön geht anders" by the unique German 'philosophic soundscaper', who continues to confuse, surprise, and stimulate... like IRR.APP (ext.) or BIG CITY ORCHESTRA the music falls between all categories and is often almost undescripable, somehow funny and bewildering... "The sublation of music reveals the revolutionary nature of movement in which its end becomes the condition of its beginning.." understood? No? just listen! 2015 €13.00
KARL BÖSMANN Euphoria Mitte CD amazing second proper full-length CD by this radical German project by sculptor MARKUS THORN, very surprising & unsettling & experimental & impossible to categorize, TO DISCOVER ! 2010 €12.50
  Mindfucker LP + CD German soundartist and sculptor KARL BÖSMANN (see 'Drone-Mind Vol.2' LP) is known for provocating/thoughtful art and abstract experimental soundscapes, using both analogue synths and instrumental/found sound sources and collages that are often pretty weird and bizarre... MINDFUCKER (one-sided LP) & FUCKMINDER (CD-R, 44+ min.) gather 10 very experimental tracks; comes with handmade photo-cover and inlay, collector's edition only 40 copies!! 2016 €35.00
KILLER VS VOLLMER Noise Generation LP + pic-LP curious collector's item which uses a "never seen before" format (ca. 300 gr. vinyl!): a picture 12" sticked on an old (German Schlager or whatever) LP, the old LP cover is combined with a cut-out cover, the pic-LP is fully playable on one side & has a loop from the recycled LP on Side B!! Understandable? No? doesn't matter!! => The fierce & furious noise attacks come from the solo project of "Junge" (the EA80 singer) and endless noise worker CARSTEN VOLLMER; lim. 100 2017 €20.00
KLUSTER Klopfzeichen LP re-mastered re-issue of one of the milestones of German experimental / impro electronic, the first KLUSTER LP (with CONRAD SCHNITZLER); very free, mysterious and ahead of their time (recorded 1970, released 1971); new liner notes by ASMUS TIETCHENS; 180gr vinyl. CD version on request 2012 €18.50
Klopfzeichen CD re-mastered re-issue of one of the milestones of German experimental / impro electronic, the first KLUSTER LP (with CONRAD SCHNITZLER); two long tracks, very free, mysterious and ahead of their time (recorded 1970, released 1971); new liner notes by ASMUS TIETCHENS: "The pure music of fear - Angstmusik = Reine Angstmusik...Chaotische, apokalyptisch klingende (Geräusch-)Improvisationen (später nannte man diesen Sound Industrial), teilweise angereichert durch rezitierte Texte." 2012 €13.00
Eruption CD re-issue of their third album from 1971 (released by CONRAD SCHNITZLER as "Schwarz" first), maybe the most radical / experimental release KLUSTER (SCHNITZLER - MOEBIUS - ROEDELIUS) did.... no vocal material, just sounds & noises, recorded live in Göttingen, Germany, May 1971.. essential pre-industrial! - 56+ minutes, booklet + new liner notes from ASMUS TIETCHENS: "Pure Symphony of Sound" 2012 €12.00
  Zwei Osterei CD re-mastered re-issue of one of the milestones of German experimental / impro electronic, the second KLUSTER LP (with CONRAD SCHNITZLER); combining texts / readings by various authors and experimental sounds.. (recorded 1970 on one day, released 1971); new liner notes by ASMUS TIETCHENS... "schrankenlose musikalische Freiheit, gepaart mit der Lust am Geräusch." 2012 €13.00
KOMMISSAR HJULER & GUI RONG Erzählung der roten Gaslampe MC KOMMISSAR HJULER in collaboration with a Chinese opera singer (of course) - the true ART BRUT sound, a symphony of metal-bangs and bells & weird quasi-chinese singings & instrumental madness..C-50...11th tape on the great German tape label, always using coloured MC bodies & oversized art-covers (21x21cm) with additional object inside (this time a painted electro-nut! ), lim. to 70 copies 2014 €8.00
KONKETE ANTI WULST Unsichtbare Zwillinge CD-R surrealistic low fi / noise music by this North German duo on their first outing, camouflaging the original sounds in washes of distortion, feedback and noise until they are unrecognizable and alienated in a strange way... "an intriguing sound puzzle"... only 20 copies made ! 2014 €7.00
  Die Gespenstische Misthaufen-Konserve CD-R North Germanys best hiddden secret and the last existing "Freak" in the commune of Beverstedt with his second album for Attenuation Circuit: on one long tracker (48+ min) using tapes, synths and bells he creates granular harsh noise with a very direct, low fi approach.... for fans of CARSTEN VOLLMER, MERZBOW, GEHIRN.IMPLOSION; lim. 50 copies 2016 €6.00
KONRAD KRAFT Temporary Audiosculptures and Artefacts CD first release since 15 years by this German artist from Düsseldorf who once ran the SDV-Tonträger label there; excellent electronic and concrete sound based "audio sculptures" that reminded us on earlier works of ASMUS TIETCHENS, but he's also compared with ILLUSION OF SAFETY or CISFINITUM; lim. 300 in special carton folder box 2011 €13.00
KONTAKT DER JÜNGLINGE 1 (live Bremen 17.12.1999) CD Live-Aufnahme aus Bremen, vom 17.12.1999 !! Great spherical drones played in collaboration by these two german masters of mysterious sounds! 2001 €14.00
KRAUTROCK 1 - Film by Adele Schmidt and Jose Zegarra Holder DVD US American documentary (129 min.., english, german, subtitles) about the exploding Krautrock scene end of 60's / early 70's in Cologne, Düsseldorf and Hamburg, feat. interviews with members of CAN (Irmin Schmidt, Malcolm Mooney, Jaki Liebezeit, Damo Suzuki), NEU!, KRAFTWERK, HARMONIA, FAUST, FLOH DE COLOGONE, + historical film material and lots of music of course...over half an hour is only about CAN and a must have seen! This first part concentrates on the Rhineland scene... comes with mini-poster 2020 €16.00
KREYSING / PENSCHUCK / STADLMEIER Re-Encypher CD this trio with S. STADLMEIER aka EMERGE did a ghostly improvisation on a dark November night in Münster, Germany, at Nocube: amorphous accordeon drones and tones, unfathomable reverberations of object and instrumental sounds (wood, guitar, a heater), occasional electronics, all loosely hung and cross-linked together with lots of space in this weave... PAULINE OLIVEROS meets the Otherworlds... very nice! 2018 €8.00
KRIWET, FERDINAND Hörtexte 2 2x-pic-LP second release with truly experimental 'radiotext' collages by this sound artist from Düsseldorf, Germany: contains his first work for Radio from 1961/62, "Offen", "Hörtext 1" (1963) and a newer work from 2012 "Rotoradio", comes on two beautifully designed picture discs on Berlins finest label for contemporary music, Edition RZ 2014 €36.00
KUBISCH, CHRISTINA Magnetic Flights CD two new pieces using electromagnetic field recordings made of international airports & inside airplanes, using her selfbuild wireless headphones...a unique soundworld-creation by the legendary German sound-artist 2011 €15.00
KUBISCH, CHRISTINA & ECKEHARD GÜTHER Unter Grund CD composition presented as a 26-channel sound installation "Under Ground" at Zeche Zollverein in Essen (Germany), based on the over- and underground streams of water of the Ruhr region, especially the ascending groundwater floating into the old coal mines that has to be pumped permanently... => machine rooms, pumping stations, waterworks, ponds, shaft sumps, cages, etc.. the underground as a metaphor for the uncanny, uncontrollable primordial.. lim. 500, 16p. booklet 2016 €13.00
KUBISCH, CHRISTINA / FABRIZIO PLESSI Two and Two LP the very first release for German sound artist CHRISTINA KUBISCH was this collaboration with visual artist FABRIZIO PLESSI, using sounds of unusual sound sources like water, a special whistle, a ventilator, waterjet on steeldrum, etc.. the four pieces, named after the four elements, were combined in performance with two camera operators and several video screens... re-issue w. cover-replica from 1976 2017 €28.00
LE SYNDICAT 1984 Mars MC re-issue of tape from 1987 with recordings from 1984 - an endless stream of eruptive noises that NEVER stand still, a cascade of electronic arrows drilling through your brain; lim. 150 copies - professional design and duplication on a new established German label that once operated as CTHULHU RECORDS 2016 €9.00
LEICHTMANN, HANNO The African Twintower Suite LP the lost soundtrack for a never realized film (shot October 2005 in Namibia) by CHRISTOPH SCHLINGENSIEF, the famous German director & provocateur who died in 2010.. feat. SCHLINGENSIEF on 2 tracks! 2011 €14.00
LEVREA INV:ERNESS II: The Destruction of Commercial Music CD-R this new German (dark) ambient project produces subtle, sparse, and slow surroundings with 'cosmic' / ethno influences, using mellotron, flute, synths, field recordings...- think of very dark ELODIE mixed with ABBILDUNG, SEETYCA or PHELIOS, and portions of meditative ZOVIET FRANCE.. 6 versatile, deeply immersive tracks, self-made cover and burned CD-r, to discover ! 2022 €7.00
LICHT-UNG anfangsrusiwuthsnull / zweiwenigerdreizehnb 5" very first LICHT-UNG release, the most "anti" & weird you can go: a 5" vinyl & mCDR fixed together in a cardboard-folder with no real info, a weird german inlay "Verehrter Tanzfreund" copied from the 50's maybe, all placed in a used german "Schlager" 7"-cover together with the original record (all different). The music: cut up & feedbacks! Great unwieldy release, more an object for itself, edition of 489 copies 2002 €7.00
MAEROR TRI Meditamentum CD re-release of the 2nd. M.T. CD from 1994, collecting favoured cassette material recorded 1989-1992... "a seamless, darkly grand proclamation of the wordless beauty and sorrow that was Maeror Tri" - comes in brown cardboard-envelope with embroidered cloth-banderole & re-print of original artwork & liner-notes by Lutz Schridde, a German philosoph now living in China; last copies back in stock from the now in-active label MANIFOLD Records 2005 €10.00
MALLUMO The Matrix is Real MC self-produced cassette only release by a promising new post industrial project from Germany: a C-25 between dark ambient and sharp industrial tunes, with society critic approach .. "if we really live in a Matrix that is different from the one in the movies. A Matrix called capitalism that enslaves us all." Lim. ed. 20 copies only 2018 €4.00
MAMA BÄR / MAMA BAER Mitten im Wald MC C-20 with two short & extreme sound-collages using speed-up found sounds from horror-movies combined with scary voice overs, crazy sung pop chants & more hard to stand outflows....11th tape on the great German tape label, always using coloured MC bodies & oversized art-covers (21x21cm) with additional object inside (this time something from the forest), lim. to only 41 copies !! 2013 €8.00
MARGITT HOLZT & THORSTEN SOLTAU Atvasinajumu un diferencetu EP pic-12inch stunning split release by these two North-German projects, MARGITT HOLZT from Hamburg fills the most part with strange & surrealistic tape collages made of field & concrete recordings, but also encharming with very subtle moments of musique concrete using whispers & short, mainly unidentifiable & weird sounds. Six unusual, great pieces, recommended!! Artwork collages by MARGITT HOLZT. 45rpm long play maxi 12", lim. 100 w. download code 2011 €15.00
MEESE X HELL Hab keine Angst, hab keine Angst, ich bin Deine Angst do-LP one of German's best known and most controversial artists (= "dictatorship of art"), JONATHAN MEESE as singer of catchy slogans in collaboration with Munich's DJ HELL, created during three experimental studio-sessions and based on minimal technoid beats, feat. BRIGITTE MEESE, the mother of JONATHAN (at the age of 91) on two tracks... "erfasst ganz hervorragend die derzeitige Stimmungslage von gefühlter Sinnlosigkeit bei grundsätzlicher Lebensbejahung." [Die Zeit] 2021 €25.00
MELANCHOHOLICS A single Act of Carelessness CD second album by the great German band, atmospheric guitar-based darkness of a very own kind.. 2006 €13.00
Masking My Monkeys 7" the german trio working on dark guitarish & very filmic sound-drones, "thick atmospheric darkness" at its best. dark blue vinyl, different coloured silk-screen covers, lim. 300 2009 €7.00
Solar Cafe LP the third and last, so far unpublished album by this German "cinematic post-rock drone" and Drone Rec. artist (DR-98, 2009) trio who had to disband sadly after the passing of one member => desolated 'desert' guitar-chords, deep bass drones, voice samples, flickering electronic effects, field recordings... rough & melancholic at the same time - a great legacy of this impressive band, with many beautiful emotional moments; comes on coloured vinyl (180 gr.) + download code, lim. 400 2015 €16.00
  Solar Cafe CD the third and last, so far unpublished album by this German "cinematic post-rock drone" and Drone Rec. artist (DR-98, 2009) trio who had to disband sadly after the passing of one member => desolated 'desert' guitar-chords, deep bass drones, voice samples, flickering electronic effects, field recordings... rough & melancholic at the same time - a great legacy of this impressive band, with many beautiful emotional moments 2015 €13.00
MERZOUGA 52°46’ North 13°29’ East – Music for Wax-Cylinders CD this german duo uses original sounds from old wax cylinders with field recordings from around the world (the incredible archive of ERICH MORITZ VON HORNBOSTEL, a Berlin-based musicologist who collected from 1900 on more than 16.000 recordings!) and enriches it with instrumental & electronic sounds, until something rarely obscure emerges from the ethnic chants and crackles & hisses, for a distinct listening experience.. comes with extensive booklet 2013 €13.00
MICROTYPE Structures Pt. 1 CD-R loopy, piercing digital noise structures that build powerful pulsing and almost rhythmic formations, first (?) release for this German project with roots in the experimental techno scene of the 90's, a highly interesting EP by a new label from Würzburg, Germany; lim. 50 copies - hand assembled CD case cover 2017 €5.00
MOEBIUS & TIETCHENS same LP NEW recordings by these two legendary figures of German electronic/experimental music (MOEBIUS known from KLUSTER/CLUSTER/HARMONIA), who have worked together again after a 35 years break ! Lim. 180gr. vinyl version with download code. CD-version on request. 2012 €18.50
  same CD NEW recordings by these two legendary figures of German electronic/experimental music (MOEBIUS known from KLUSTER/CLUSTER/HARMONIA), who have worked together again after a 35 years break ! 2012 €13.00
MOHNE, ACHIM Accelerated Standstill LP two side long compositions made entirely of carefully assembled 'locked grooves' (caused by dirt, etc.) found on various mainstream vinyl records - a curious LP full of rhythmic structures and musique concrete drones that are constantly shifting by this German multimedia artist, playable at any speed - a must for fans of PHILIP JECK and Plunderphonics; lim. 300 / Nr. 7 in Touchs white label series; excellent record ! 2014 €14.00
MORGEN WURDE Für Immer do-CD "SCHWELT EWIG" - filed under: "spheric ambient Jazz" - the open project of German composer WOLFGANG RÖTTGER combines wide synth expanses and electronic processing with trumpet, sax, vibrapone, violin and piano to create yearnful and melancholic, but also dark & dramatic nightshade drone Jazz and neo-classic ambience., quite special stuff! - on the bonus CD the album got remixes by ALTONE, ROMAN RIDDER, LIUOS, CIE, and others.. some great beauty to discover here ! 2020 €15.00
MORRICONE, ENNIO Cosa Avete Fatto A Solange? LP original soundtrack for the film of MASSIMO DALLAMANO from 1972 about a serial killer and sex party secrets of a boarding school, feat. JOACHIM FUCHSBERGER (!) (="Das Geheimnis der grünen Stecknadel" in German), based on a novel from EDGAR WALLACE - a quite dark soundtrack with unusual rhythms and arrangements that only MORRICONE could write; lim. ed. red vinyl 2015 €20.50
MORTIFICATION TO THE FLESH Le Tresor Maudit CD re-issue of much requested LP from 1988 (Bog-Art 101) by this German Industrial project who only released this one album, strong martial electro Industrial with female voice & more free-floating experiments, weird & powerful... feat. AL MARGOLIS & GIANCARLO TONIUTTI (!), lim. 600 2011 €12.00
MOSER, MICHAEL Resonant Cuts do-CD & BOOK concert (performed by ENSEMBLE POLWECHSEL) and sound-installation, both recorded summer 2008 at the "Kleiner Wasserspeicher" in Berlin; comes with big book (63 pages), German & English texts & photos; lim. 500, excellent edition ! 2010 €30.00
  Antiphon do-LP recordings of a site-specific sound-installation that happened at the choir of a church in Krems/Stein (Austria) in 2011, where MICHAEL MOSER used large glass sheets and metal plates that were set into vibration, creating shimmering, enormously reverberating drones... ; based on the ideas about "Atmosphere" of German philosoph GERNOT BÖHME, the sounds and the special architecture merge into a resonating organism; gatefold cover with lots of background info, a masterpiece!! 2016 €30.00
MR HILTER Alles wird heil ! CD 5th album by the German electro Industrial project - lim. 300 copies, card sleeve 2014 €7.00
MULTER Däghallmy LP Back in stock, the debut-LP of this German ambient / experimental band. Refined minimalism. 1998 €12.00
Berge im Bunker CD finally a new CD by this German project (feat. "N" known for his isolationistic solo-guitar works) who had once a 7" on Drone Records (DR-51, 2001); this release is based on a sound-installation they made to an exhibition of BARBARA MEISNER 2008 & 2009 in a bunker in Dortmund; lim. / numbered ed. 200, handmade cardboard-cover; two long beautiful "experimental overtune-ambience" tracks using metal object sounds & guitars.. highly recommended !! 2010 €13.00
  Basisrealität/Armutsgewöhnungszuschlag/Wolkenkuckucksheim 3 x LP MULTER from Dortmund (see Drone Records DR-50) are back and what an epic and special release it is! => their first studio material in 10 years, spread on 3 albums with their own titles: minimal electronic structures, very personal spoken words, smooth / meditative feedbacking guitar drones, field recordings, object noises, deep philosophical / existential insights into the own strange reality, dreams, perceptions, addiction, depression... - lim. 100 copies only, incl. inlay with lyrics in german/english 2021 €46.50
MUUR Bod CD mysterious German project with first album, a long ritualistic one-tracker (51+ min.) of guitarish "doom" drone, with the aim of building a new tradition of ritual and occult arts, a new language... "...humming sound waves with heavy blasts towards a heavy industrial bombast created by guitar and reminding to The Swans towards ritual throat singing à la Phurpa towards a new industrial passage à la Swans..." [Side-Line] 2019 €13.00
MYNODA Night Bathing MC 4th tape on this new German tape-label that gained 'cult'-status very fast => MYONDA is a 5-headed project with members from Belarus, Russia & Moldavia, doing obscure collages & cut-up noise, at times almost experimental earplay-like, at times more drone-noised based... very good! lim. 70, oversized art-cover 21x21cm, the tape itself is covered with glitter, incl. bag with red stars, all professionally duplicated & printed ! 2013 €8.00
MYSTIFIED & MARTYN SCHMIDT An Effort of Memory CD-R collab of German poet and sound artist MARTYN SCHMIDT with MYSTIFIED, => sound poetry drone muzak, dense & dark atmospheres.. 2013 €8.00
N [XX] (HELLMUT NEIDHARDT) Rote Fuhr [N41] LP recorded live in Dortmund, Germany, in May 2014, 'Rote Fuhr' raises quite massive multi-layered Ur-Drones, moving from pure resonances & overtunes to endless noise-drone fields... "a symphony of brutal beauty".. lim. 100 2015 €27.50
  Tremonia LP TREMONIA is a place under the row of 17 railway bridges in Dortmund, Germany, the hometown of HELLMUT NEIDHARDT aka *N* : => using field recordings from this site ("those bridges are played by the trains..") and transmitting them through an amp, he simultaneously adds his typcical mind-expanding guitar drones.. great concept, three tracks, lim. 100 copies only !! 2023 €33.50
N(35)[HELLMUT NEIDHARDT] Saarn LP already a new LP by the "transcendental droner" from Dortmund, Germany, who dives deeply into subterraneous realms on three new tracks, using more distortion as usually which leads to a thick & 'earthy' sound, producing unusual feedback resonances & overtones after a while... lim. 100 2015 €26.50
NADJA / AIDAN BAKER Nalepa LP + CD the 100th release on MIDIRA, the fine minimal / guitar / experimental drone label from Essen, Germany, is something very special: a "live in the studio" LP by NADJA recorded at the legendary Funkhaus Berlin, feat. HYPNODRONE ENSEMBLE drummer.. plus a full AIDAN BAKER solo CD recorded at the same studios a bit later; only 250 copies exist, all NADJA fans should hurry up !!! 2022 €32.00
NAM-KHAR Sur Chöd CD second album on Winter-Light the German esoteric/ethno industrial project, now consisting of 5 members... "Using traditional ethno-acoustic instrumentation paired with isolationist, coldish electronic textures, Tibetan-ish flavors along occasional industrial sound design this German collective weaves a myriad of unsettling, psychedelic, gloomy yet haunting spheres where the presence of something malevolent and foreboding can be sensed constantly." [Sonic Immersion] - lim. 300 copies 2020 €13.00
NATURA EST Real Seasons CD this British/German duo (also active as AUTOCLAV 1.1. and XOTOX) with their third album, broaching the issue of climate change and man made's descruction of planet earth... Dark Ambient for Future? ... "Six tracks of brooding ritualistic Ambient that taps into the "old ways"; a time in which nature and the cycles of the Earth was to be worshipped and revered" - 300 copies 2021 €13.00
NEBELUNG Mistelteinn LP re arrangement of the first EP from 2005 - all songs have been re-recorded and newly treated => this is very emotional German 'nature-mysticism'-folk with a guitarish & almost 'wavey' character; using lyrics by BAUDELAIRE & NIETZSCHE... "The delicacy of the picked guitars, the mournful melancholy of the cello, and the warm sonority of the matured voice": our favourite German neo-folk band! lim. 300 copies, white vinyl 2016 €20.00
NERTHUS Urban CD recommended dark / electro / mystery ambient project (at times with slow monotonous rhythms) from Germany (also still active as POLYPHREN), the tracks are entitled "Urban 1" to "Urban 8" and move between lighter electronic soundscapes and more drone-noise filled expanses... still worth to (re)-discover, special priced 2007 €7.00
NICCHIARELLI, SUSANNA NICO, 1988 (Movie) DVD intense Biopic and Roadmovie about NICOs last year(s) before her death (July 1988) when she was, fully Heroine addicted, touring in Italy and East Europe (!), between complete despair and aggressive ecstasy... NICO is played by Danish acteur TRINE DYRHOLM, who sings all pieces on her own.. English with German subtitles, 93 min. 2018 €10.00
NIEDOWIERZANIE same LP lim./numb. 200 white vinyl / french-german project being compared with COIL, MIRROR, ARVO PÄRT.. 2008 €16.00
NINE DAYS WONDER same LP the first NINE DAYS WONDER from 1971, at that time one of the most bizarre productions made in Western Germany, inspired by ZAPPA, KING CRIMSON, VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR, SOFT MACHINE and Free Jazz, between structured and completely improvised sections...the fruit of a freaked out community in Mannheim! 180gr. re-issue on green vinyl 2018 €22.50
NLC / EISENLAGER / OCCUPIED HEAD / WILFRIED HANRATH Thing CD-R 2nd release in the new series named "THING", based on the concept of physicality and the "meeting-place" for artists: long active French NOUVELLES LECTURES COSMOPOLITES (N.L.C.) for the first time on A.C, plus three German acts working in the experimental / spacious ambient field with different approaches, all pieces around 15 minutes, factory-produced CDr in cardboard sleeve, ltd.ed. 100 copies 2022 €8.00
NONO, LUIGI Intolleranza 1960 CD German version of NONO's first legendary & radical politic opera from 1960 using texts by JEAN-PAUL SARTRE, BRECHT, MAJAKOVSKY, etc.. ; rec. 1993 by the Chor der Staatsoper Stuttgart & Staatsorchester Stuttgart; incl. English-French-German booklet 2010 €13.00
  Como una ola de fuerza y luz (etc.) CD re-issue of three pieces that came out originally on LPs released by Deutsche Grammophon in 1974, 1979 & 1970: "Como una ola de fuerza y luz" (1971-72); "... sofferte onde serne..." (1976), and "Contrappunto dialettico alla mente" (1968) for magnetic tape (great experimental tape-piece originally on a split LP with ROLAND KAYN); extensive booklet in English, German, French & Italian 1988 €13.00
NOSTALGIE ETERNELLE Notre Debut CD collection of twenty tracks by this remarkable German post-industrial / minimal / electro-wave duo active from 1986-1991 who established their very own style, with vocals & piercing synths, but also through very dark & melancholic songs..; coming from the same small town (Leer) as MAEROR TRI they shared the stage few times. Very first widely available CD!! 2011 €12.00
  Magie Fragile LP second album with new studio recordings by the re-activated German "minimal / industrial / wave" duo, who proceed with their typical 80's sounds in a great way... lim. 300, lyric sheet 2015 €16.00
NURSE WITH WOUND Trippin' Musik do-CD CD version of last year's triple vinyl boxset that sold out very quickly - contains 35 min. of previously unreleased material - " Music For Tai-Chi. Best NWW album of the century. Contemplatif, psychédélique, Addictif, Dadaïste, Taoïste... " [Germainescalp] - comes in 6 panel double-digipak 2020 €28.00
N[27] / TZESNE theBelt LP second collaboration by the Spanish Drone Rec. artist TZESNE with German epic droner HELLMUT NEIDHARDT (from MULTER) aka N => four absolute stunning pieces of rough & super contemplative transcension drones, combining location recordings and guitar surge waves in a great way; we love this album!! - "Expect something more dark, more heavy but also very alluring... Making you enter the old dark plant, even if you should know better... "- BACK IN STOCK last copies, lim. 100 copies !! 2014 €28.00
OBJEKT / URIAN 04.08.2007 - KRAMLADEN / Kaiserlautern CD-R lim. / numb. 50 copies - 2nd edition / another good live-recording by this German industrial-project, available again 2008 €8.50
  Agitation CD second full length album for this German Post-Industrial project, for fans of rhythmic old school industrial & powerelectronics with vocals, analogue sounds & voice samples; very powerful, dark & grim, they are able to transform the classic elements nto a contemporary version of "conscious" industrial without the typical clichees 2010 €13.00
ODRADEK Nr. 5 mag DIY-magazine issued by TBC from Hamburg, with lots of reviews from the experimental underworld plus interviews & articles about WÄLDCHENGARTEN, FLYING LUTTENBACHERS, ECUADOR SZENE BERICHT, JEROME NOETINGER, "RAUSCHEN IST DER SOUND DER DIFFERENZ", ETAT BRUT, CHRISTIAN RENOU / BRUME. german language 2007 €5.00
ORDNUNGSAMT ET LA POLITESSE same do-CD "krachbeat und chansons der insekten" - another project of the wild flower INOX KAPELL is this one, together with RENE PHON DÖLL, improvised beat-box & synth electronica with german lyrics, in a way only INOX can perform it.. 2011 €15.00
OVAL LANGUAGE / RLW / DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE Sprechzimmern (Hommage an Carlfriedrich Claus) CD three highly experimental sound art approaches are combined here as a homage to CARLFRIEDRICH CLAUS, a truly avantgardish sound poet and philosophic graphic artist from the former East-Germany (1930-1998) who got only attention after the breakdown of the country... these are very radical abstract / noise / cut up pieces made entirely of all kinds of vocal material, sometimes with objects that mutate it, from strange singings to animal-like guttural sounds, demanding stuff!! edition of 300 copies 2015 €12.00
OWWL Tree speaks to Stone; Stone speaks to Water CD-R rough & rusty overtune-drones based on harmonium / reed organ and subtle guitar-feedbacks - first release with four long atmospheric tracks by a promising new duo from Bonn, Germany feat. STEFAN OTTO (NEBELUNG); lim./numb. 70 copies handmade cardboard cover w. inlay 2011 €10.00
P16.D4 Kühe In 1/2 Trauer LP first LP from early 1984 (Selektion SLP03) by the most radical German collective around RALF WEHOWSKY, using all kinds of sound sources and all kinds of analog techniques to create 'a form of sound art that was much more profound, varied, subversive, and potentially dangerous' (The Sound Projector) - *Arrhythmic and amorphous and capable at moments of becoming quite noisy and abrasive, while at others far more somber and quiet, Kuhe in 1/2 Trauer is quite a fascinating release.* [AMG] 2022 €20.00
Distruct LP This was the second LP from 1984 by the radical German expermental collective, a mail-art / tape exchange project that began already in 1982, using material from NURSE WITH WOUND, DIE TÖDLICHE DORIS, NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS, BLADDER FLASK, THE HATERS, MERZBOW and anonymous sources, mixing and recycling it with their own technques & noises in a completely analog way... - finally a re-issue of this legendary LP ! 2022 €20.00
Kühe in 1/2 Trauer CD first LP from early 1984 (Selektion SLP03) by the most radical German collective around RALF WEHOWSKY, using all kinds of sound sources and all kinds of analog techniques to create 'a form of sound art that was much more profound, varied, subversive, and potentially dangerous' (The Sound Projector) - *Arrhythmic and amorphous and capable at moments of becoming quite noisy and abrasive, while at others far more somber and quiet, Kuhe in 1/2 Trauer is quite a fascinating release.* [AMG] 2022 €13.00
  DISTRUCT CD This was the second LP from 1984 by the radical German expermental collective, a mail-art / tape exchange project that began already in 1982, using material from NURSE WITH WOUND, DIE TÖDLICHE DORIS, NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS, BLADDER FLASK, THE HATERS, MERZBOW and anonymous material, mixing and recycling it with their own noises in a completely analog way... - finally a CD re-issue of this legendary LP ! 2022 €13.00
PAOLO CAMPANA VINYLMANIA (FILM) 2 x DVD lovely documentation about the VINYL phenomenon in the 21st century => the technical side (pressing process, why analog sounds better), the philosophical side (collecting music & artefacts), the cultural side: showing crazy & idealistic collectors, DJs, record shops, cover designers, etc.. around the globe; comes with bonus DVD (more interviews, music clips), language: English/Italian/German, 79 min., various subtitles available (even Chinese); better priced now!! 2012 €12.00
PENJAGA INSAF Sarna Sadja CD deep ethno ambience based on field recordings from Indonesia; debut album by this German project feat. one half of HERBST9 2010 €13.00
PERISTALITH same CD the label from Essen, Germany, became a great place to discover new names of the international drone scene, who often use guitars as their priority instrument.. - PERISTALITH from San Franccisco performs on various (self build) objects and instruments with bows, creating at times massive, at times very harmonic and beautifully resonating "full drones", think of MUHAMMAD, TROUM, FENNESZ or DANIEL MENCHE's best drone works.. - lim. 250, highly recommended !! 2022 €13.00
PHALLUS DEI Black Dawn CD the 7th album for this German industrial band (existing since 1988) showing a wide spectrum of different approaches from rumbling earthquake noise over distorted guitar ur-drones to massive electronic industrial soundscapes with hypnotic classic or jazzy touch, feat. guest musicians NIELS VAN HOORN (LPD), PETER BRÖTZMANN (!) and MERZBOW (!), as well as JACQUELINE HAMELINK on Cello... CD version with one long exclusive track "Stigmata" 2017 €13.00
  Black Dawn do-LP the 7th album for this German industrial band (existing since 1988) showing a wide spectrum of different approaches from rumbling earthquake noise over distorted guitar ur-drones to massive electronic industrial soundscapes with hypnotic classic or jazzy touch, feat. guest musicians NIELS VAN HOORN (LPD), PETER BRÖTZMANN (!) and MERZBOW (!), as well as JACQUELINE HAMELINK on Cello... vinyl version lim. 250 with 16 min. bonus track not on the CD 2017 €22.50
PHELIOS Human Stasis Habitat CD after two well received album on Malignant Rec. this German dark ambient project is back with a CD on LOKI, further refining his visionary drone ambience, sounding less synthetic but more like cello, wind and thunderstorms from another planet, with most subtle pattern shifts and pulsations,this is "Spheric Drone" in the truest sense... "this is one of the best space ambient albums I've heard" [Terra Relicta] 2016 €13.00
PILIA, STEFANO Spiralis Aurea do-LP luxurious vinyl issue of PILIA's masterpiece, 12 truly evocative, sad harmonic "drone" pieces that are mainly based on acoustic sources (Cello, Violin, Organ, Horns), feat. various guest musicians, the compositions were inspired by a visit to the Italian "Futa Pass Cemetary", a large war cemetary for German soldiers killed in WWII, holding the remains of about 31.000 soldiers.. - "a place crossed by thoughts about the landscape, history, symbols, rituals.. " - lim. black vinyl 6 panel gatefold, letterpressed 2022 €45.00
PLOOG, JÜRGEN Tapes von Unterwegs 1971-1976 LP tape recordings made on flights by "Germanys last Beatnik-Poet" (who worked as pilot during that time and was strongly influenced by W.S. BURROUGHS and BRION GYSINs cut-up technique in his writings), now mounted together to a surrealistic collage by ROBERT SCHALINSKI (COLUMN ONE), merging PLOOGs spoken text with field recordings from various places around the world, the completely shift of meanings leads to a different perception of reality... 2015 €18.00
PLURALS Atlantikwall do-CD condensed extracts from a 4 hour (!) performance by the UK impro/drone/psych band, which happened near Ostend in Belgium at the Raversyde/Atlantikwall provincial open air museum in August 2015 (a former German military fortification): guitar, synths, keyboards, vocals, tape machine, radio, reed & string instruments are combined in endless droning improvisation sessions, a document of a very intense evening! 300 copies pressed 2017 €16.00
PUHBAH BABA same MC debut tape for a promising experimental drone / sound / noise project from Southern Germany (Allgäu), electronic low end bass drones and pulses appearing in very slow movements and fragments, gradually some kind of structures and harmonic levels are build, found vocal sounds, slow motion beats and other processed (ethnic?) noises join into the low fi muzak, always subtle and mysterious... a very nice tape, to discover! 2017 €5.00
PUNCH INC. Fightclub CD new technoid industrial from Bielefeld, Germany, with a quite experimental edge 2008 €14.00
RAGAMATIC Umbilicus CD-R one of the best 'places' to find unusual newcomers of the experimental scene is ATTENUATION CIRCUIT => this is the first release by a new (German?) project combining virtousic Indian SITAR-playing with electronic sounds and smooth synthetic beats, it sounds really weird and unheard... for explorers of the unexpected! Lim. 25 copies only, in fold out cardboard sleeve 2015 €8.50
RAJKOWSKI / ZGRAJA / REGINATTO / RÖMISCH WasserturMusic CD meditative improvisation recordings made in a historic water tower in Braunschweig (Germany), by: - MIROSLAW RAJKOWSKI - overtune singing, tibetan bells; GRZEGORZ ZGRAJA - trumlet, flugelhorn, pipe organ, Bulgarian flute; MARCEL REGINATTO - alto sax; HENRYK RÖMISCH - double bass, e-bass.. very wide, spacey, flowing sounds with endless reverb... nice oversized gatefold cover, lim. 350 2013 €13.00
RENOU, CHRISTIAN & ANEMONE TUBE Transference CD collaboration by the german ambient experimental project ANEMONE TUBE with CHRISTIAN RENOU (aka BRUME); A.T.s source sounds are de-constructed and re-composed, with exciting long melancholic drone pieces as a result... BACK IN STOCK 2003 €13.00
RESIDENTS Wormwood - Live in Bonn DVD "Curious Stories from the Bible" - last copies of this multichannel DVD (105 min. length) showing the RESIDENTS live in Bonn, Germany, July 1999, "From a Web Cast for Museumsmeile"; Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sounds, comes with folded insert 2005 €15.00
REUDENBACH, MICHAEL Szenen, Standbilder, Werke 1991-2009 do-CD first collection of 12 works (1991-2009) by this German composer from Aachen, known for his sparsely instrumented pieces often on the border to audibility, when silence expands to infinity... 125 min. playtime, nice double digipack with 22p. booklet 2013 €21.50
RHEIN_STROM (SIEFERT & RIEK) Von der Rheinquelle bis Hafen Karlsruhe CD "the soundscape and the 'sound entity' of the Rhine" - 21 tracks with recordings of the Rhine River from the very spring in Switzerland to the port in Karlsruhe (Germany), made at various loacations and barrages, not only recording the water ambience but also animals and human activity; captured by LASSE-MARC RIEK (one of the Gruenrekorder runners) and THOMAS M. SIEFERT (photographs in the nice extensive booklet that comes with the CD); 73+ min playtime 2016 €13.00
RIEDELSHEIMER, THOMAS TOUCH THE SOUND DVD great music-film with FRED FRITH and EVELYN GLENNIE. English (german & french subtitles) 2004 €19.50
RIEDL, JOSEF ANTON Klangregionen 1951-2007 do-CD mainly material from the 60's & 70's of this German Electronic & Contempary Music composer (*1929); 138 minutes of material, extensive booklet 2009 €23.00
RIEK, LASSE-MARC Helgoland CD 16 pure high quality field recordings from Germany's only ocean island, densely populated by marine birds => capturing the water, wind, and animals (especially marine birds) of this rough place at different locations (also from cliffs and caves normally not accessible); feat. a full colour booklet with extensive liner notes & photos...very much in the vein of CHRIS WATSONs or FRANCISCO LOPEZ unprocessed wildlife recordings, this is filled with a very personal approach, recorded over a period of 3 years 2013 €14.00
  Harbour CD unprocessed field recordings from harbours made in Germany & Finland: gangways, tunnels, bridges, ships, boats, ferries, floating docks, coastal birds, with wind, water and machines. 8 tracks of quite fascinating concrete sound-environments recorded 1999-2007, on this label from Malaysia 2010 €14.00
RLW Herzblutanteil CD back in stock this collector's item with VERY special packaging, released by Russian's legedary WAYSTYX label... it's more a remix + multiple recycling compilation of a basic IHR KINDERLEIN KOMMET (German traditional folk song from 1794), performed by RLW's little daughter Sonja); feat. 9 tracks from BRUME, A. COURTIS (REYNOLS), HOWARD STELZER, and more, it all still sounds incredible,a timeless and absurd journey; lim. 432 copies in die-cut sleeve with 11 small inserts 2010 €15.00
  Tunnel CD one of Germany's most hidden geniuses with a new work, working on female voice material as only sound source, Fasten your seat belts and enjoy! ' "Tunnel presents five pieces built using fragments of Annette Krebs’s voice. Far from being anecdotal, the work reveals a true alchemy. Vocal prints are converted into roaring metallic textures lost in an endless sonic vortex, both sculptural and masterful. " 2021 €10.50
RLW & DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE Die Eisenbüglerin do-CD first time collaboration by these two long standing experimental projects from Germany - the purest form of unclassifiable Anti-Muzak, not noisy at all but full of concrete sounding mysterions, both CDs (one finalized by RLW, the other by DSM) are just excellent:; lim. 300 in 12 x 12" cover 2012 €17.50
RLW + SRMEIXNER Just like a Flower when Winter begins CD weird & very experimental but at times also beautiful droney collaboration recordings (2010-2013) by RALF WEHOWKSY (P16.D4) and STEPHEN MEIXNER (CONTRASTATE), going new paths using German poetry and masses of deranged german SCHLAGER & lots of other spoken word material mixed with all kinds of bizarre found sounds.. great collage/plunderphonic music where anything can happen in the next few seconds.... funny, surrealistic, mind-explosive ! 2013 €13.00
RLW / RICHARD FRANCIS R CD many years ago RICHARD FRANCIS (ew Zealand) released as ESO STEEL a fine EP in our 7" series (DR-49, 2001) with amorphous, mysterious dronings, only 22 years later this collaboration with RLW sees the daylight, based on sessions they did in 2013 when R. FRANCIS had a scholarship in WORPSWEDE, northern Germany.. => analog and digital sounds merge, guding you through minimal landscapes of micro-noises; from two masters of 'sidetone awareness' compositions.. 2023 €13.00
RNGMNN Arctic Interference CD imaginative soundtrack for a stay in arctic landscapes by this German dark ambient project.. "Field recordings, percussive elements, sampled sounds, dark electronic pads, scrapes and stabs all combine creating a sense of drifting isolation, disorientation and knee-deep, jagged movements across vast snow blown and storm battered mind-scapes. Rest assured there are plenty of variations on this album, to peak the interests of even the most wind swept and experienced Arctic travellers.." - lim. 200 digipak 2019 €13.00
ROIGK, STEFAN PARKANLAGE BOOK & CD BACK IN STOCK this art catalogue (21 x 19 cm, 60 pages) with many colour pictures of installation works, plus texts in German & English, released on the occasion of the PARKPLATZ exhibition (Wolfsburg, Juli-September 2006) from this German soundart artist who was once active as KENOTAPH, K:EIM & SKALP! - On the CD 63 minutes of material with highly abstract and nice droning musique concrete. Still to discover !! 2008 €18.00
RUTTMANN, WALTHER Berlin, die Sinfonie der Großstadt & Melodie der Welt do-DVD Double DVD with 20p booklet presenting all works produced 1920-1931 by this German art-film pioneer: BERLIN, DIE SINFONIE DER GROßSTADT (1927, his most famous silent film), MELODIE DER WELT (1929, the first longer German sound feature), plus many experimental short films, all newly restored; additionally, an extensive ROM section with photos, posters, text documents, paintings, etc.. 2010 €28.00
SAND North Atlantic Raven (lim. mix coloured vinyl) LP the unreleased 4th album by the German Kraut/Experimental legends, recorded 1973-1976! Comes with oversized luxus cover art by BABS SANTINI, lim. 500 coloured vinyl (orange & white), BACK IN STOCK last copies!! 2014 €23.00
North Atlantic Raven CD the unreleased 4th album by the German Kraut/Experimental legends, recorded 1973-1976! CD version - 6 panel digipack 2015 €14.00
Vibrating Cloud do-LP finally in stock, the latest "new" album by the German Kraut / Psych / Kosmische / Experimental legends, celebrating their 50th anniversary with 10 NEW tracks, plus 6 tracks that are remakes of older classics; - * Over 5 decades Sand is a timeless narrative machine full of pictures and scenarios, each title a unique piece that stands alone. * - black vinyl ed., numbered, "android" cover art by ENKI BILAL, 200 gr. vinyl 2020 €32.50
  Vibrating Cloud do-CD finally in stock, the latest album by the German Kraut / Psych / Kosmische / Experimental legends, celebrating their 50th anniversary with 10 NEW tracks, plus 6 tracks that are remakes of older classics; - * Over 5 decades Sand is a timeless narrative machine full of pictures and scenarios, each title a unique piece that stands alone. * - DVD sized digipak, numbered ed. 500 copies 2020 €18.50
SCHIMKAT, ANNA Brot und Ro-sen LP interview recordings and choral vocalisations from various women raised in West and East Germany build the basis for this highly idiosyncratic album, a text - sound collage with strong political / feminist / subcultural background (i.e. members from HANS A PLAST and ERWEITERTE ORGASMUS GRUPPE..), incl a 12 page 12" x 12" booklet about the project and essay "Schall Körper Raum" by MARCEL RAABE, who is also involved in the B-side piece... lim. 300 2023 €20.00
SCHITTKO, CLEMENS / LOUIS JUCKER / THE SPYON / JEROEN DIEPENMAAT / KOMMISSAR HJULER & MAMA BÄR Home Made Universe LP six pieces on this collection by five acts: spoken words ("ich habe versagt") by german writer and poet CLEMENS SCHITTKO, two obscure / lovely low-fi instrumental pieces by Swiss musician LOUIS JUCKER, THE SPYON is an experimental duo with ANDREAS REIHSE (KREIDLER, etc.), JEROEN DIEPENMAAT is a dutch visual / sound artist with a subtle / strange track (our highlight), and "Copenhagen Magazines" is another dynamic variation of spoken danish words, screams & instrumental sounds by HJULER/MAMA BÄR; lim. 100 2018 €22.00
SECONDS IN FORMALDEHYDE Construct m-CDR lim. 50 photo-cover & little inlay / first release on new label from Germany 2007 €7.00
  A Shiver in Red do-LP very good first vinyl / LP release for this German experimental guitar-ambience project (also using piano, electronics, shortwave radiosounds..), unfortunately completely overlooked... - lim. 100 with one-sided bonus 12" !! 2009 €21.50
SEETYCA Bleakscapes CD finally a proper CD-album by this German dark / deep / cosmic ambient artist known from the Drone Records 7"; extreme vast spaces, emotional drones, interesting sounds, perfectly arranged! Recommended for any dark ambient lover ! Lim. 300 copies! 2011 €12.50
Lieder zum Summen CD a collection of 16 purely electronic 'songs'/ miniatures by the German ambient project dedicated to autumn atmospheres... => soft poetic aural pictures, with track titles like "sonnentropffen", "erde riechen", or "regen gucken"... very subtle and calm, this music mirrors certain 'magic moments' while experiencing nature phenomena... comes with full-colour 16p. booklet 2014 €13.50
Eis CD-R a monochrome sound-entity that can be located in the loneliness of the mind, in the mountains of the own brain = in cold delusion (as the german info puts it) => extremely bleak drone- & fogscapes with twinkling shimmers, wide & borderless, we love it ! Six long tracks incl. the epic (37 min) "Plattentektonik"; comes w. handmade cover & on lightscribed CDR 2015 €12.00
  Mbira 2: Facades CD-R Installation Music for a concert at Stadtbibliothek Gera, Germany, Sept. 2015 => various sound sources from previous mbira releases shape a long, 80 min. dense, anti-monotonous dream-ambient piece, going through various stages and atmospheres, a phantastic journey! this handmade edition comes with laminated colour cover and manually labeled CD bodies 2017 €12.00
SEIDL, HANNES Befreit die Maschinen CD experimental earplay for German Radio (HR2) named "Liberate the Machines", a reflection on the promise that machines would liberate us from work (which never happened) and the function of music generating programmes => using noise and glitch sounds from computers, and strangely morphed quotes from a lecture of German philosopher MICHAEL HIRSCH, this is a quite special and dedicated recording... 2023 €13.00
SERENE FALL // CARSTEN VOLLMER / GEHIRN.IMPLOSION Stern 7inch one side for the EA 80 sideproject (2 tracks), the other more noisy side for two german experimental projects; their tracks weren't cuttable cuttable digitally at any pressing plant; lim. 500 - professional cover & printed inlay 2009 €6.50
SILVESTROV, VALENTIN Dedication / Post Scriptum CD contains: "Dedication - Symphony for Violin and Orchestra"; "Post Scriptum - Sonata for Violin and Orchestra". Booklet with liner notes in english, french, german 2007 €13.00
SPHERICAL DISRUPTED 25 CD new album for the 25th anniversary of this German rhythmic ambient & IDM industrial project, with guests DARKRAD and TC75 plus diverse remixes... standard ed. - ""the best description that I can come up with is a mixture of T.A.G.C. and old Mentallo and the Fixer. There is a beat through much of it, but there is a lot of great atmosphere as well" [Chain D.L.K.] 2021 €12.00
SPHERICAL DISRUPTED / CARSTEN VOLLMER Recluse / CSCP LP one sided 4 track LP with solo and remix tracks by SPHERICAL DISRUPTED from Jena, Germany (presenting slow moving atmospheric electro pulses and sequences), and the unbeatable noise-offender CARSTEN VOLLMER with concrete noise filled loops; the remixes bring these contradictions somehow together, so each track sounds completely different! Fold out cover, inlay + download code, lim. 100 copies 2017 €20.00
SRVTR I INTERNAL FUSION I DARDIS I A.MAIAH Thing CD-R fourth volumne in the new THING compilation series by the always active label from Augsburg, Germany: three of the four acts are newcomers to us, coming from Northern Ireland, Spain and France; this comp. is more rhythm , drone and loop based and features different approaches, INTERNAL FUSION excite again with great new material.. lim. 100 factory pressed CDR, absolutely to discover again! 2022 €8.00
STIEBLER, ERNSTALBRECHT Kanon / Torsi LP two pieces by this German composer of reductionist contemporary music: "Kanon" (1980) for organ, electric organ and wind instruments, previously unreleased; "Torsi" (2002), for organ, first time on vinyl (recorded in a church in Konstanz, Germany) => extremely quiet, sublime, droning and minimal... this music really breathes! lim. 300 gatefold cover with extensive interview 2017 €20.00
STIEBLER, ERNSTALBRECHT / VARIOUS ARTISTS Reworks LP tribute remixes for the 85th birthday of the pioneering German minimalist composer, following his three principal compositional concerns "SONORITY, RHYTHM, and DURATION" - " five artists from different musical backgrounds present their approach to and understanding of Stiebler's minimalist aesthetic" : FRANK BRETSCNEIDER, BERANGERE MAXIMIN, JASMINE GUFFOND. PHONOSPHERE, KAMMERFLIMMER KOLLEKTIEF; 300 copies on 180 gr. vinyl + download code 2019 €18.00
STOA Silmand CD 4th album (in 15 years) of this german neo-classic / pop cult-band; feat. ex-members of LOVE IS COLDER THAN DEATH & CLAN OF XYMOX for this album 2008 €15.00
STRAFE F.R. (STRAFE FÜR REBELLION) The Bird was stolen CD the Düsseldorf-based conceptual project (with roots back to the very early 'Ratinger Hof' New Wave and Punk scene explosion in Germany in 1979) were never easy to classify, their third album "Santa Maria" was already released on TOUCH (1986): their surprising return to TOUCH underlines their avantgardish approach, using "all instruments of the world we can find" for their multi-layered, abstract compositions made entirely of strange and almost undecipherable sounds, effects and mysterious noises.. great !! 2018 €15.00
  Octagon Sphere LP stunning album by the German electronic avantgarde veterans ("Burn the Electronic Music Machines"), who released their first album back in 1983 on Düsseldorfs PURE FREUDE (at that time also a record shop), a comeback of the female voices of the early albums!: "The work features heavily treated female vocals and includes rhythmic patterns and electronic sounds contributed by Detlef Klepsch...The overall atmosphere is tense and moody, both dark and uplifting at the same time..." - lim. 300 2023 €18.50
SUSTAINED DEVELOPMENT same CD-R & object microtonal layers of drones based on organ, harmonium & voice sounds intertwine with various at times obscure field recordings & found sounds, inspired by PHILL NIBLOCK and using sounds from JOHN CAGES organ piece performed in Halberstadt (the world slowest & longest piece, being performed since 2001); first in a series of limited object releases on this label from Augsburg, Germany; numb. ed 50 copies coming in handpainted CD/cloth-case with diverse inlays 2011 €11.00
TAEHA TYPES Mechanical Keyboard Sounds: Recordings of Bespoke and Customized Mechanical Keyboards LP rather incredible: this LP collects all kinds of keyboard (german: "Tastatur") mechanical typing sounds from the past until now, 12 tracks from the early Apple M0110A (1986-1990) over IBM until newer TGR and Zambumom keyboards, they all sound so different and somehow appealing; crazy idea - great result ! "This is classic ASMR/whisper porn; the gentle click and rattle of carefully lubed springy keyboards make the hairs on the back of the neck rise." 2019 €28.00
TANGERINE DREAM Revolution of Sound - Tangerine Dream DVD new documentation by MARGARETE KREUTZER about "Germany's first electronic band", that was founded 1967 in West-Berlin, rare & so far unpublished film recordings from EDGAR FROESE himself, behind the sceneries at their tours, at photo shootings with JIM RAKETE, + lots of interview footage with him and band-members, friends, and as bonus live recordings... in all, about 150 min of material!! Languages: German, English, French; subtitles: German & English 2018 €18.00
TARDIVE DYSKINESIA The Letter CD East German electro / experimental project with a kind of alternative soundtrack to the Sowjet cult film \\\"Dead Man\\\'s Letters\\\" (dt. BRIEFE EINES TOTEN), using quotes from the original film in a slightly rhythmic new electronic environment... - *While creating an oppressive and dark world, this cineastic masterpiece manages to create a glimpse of hope nonetheless. With those impressions in mind, \\\"The Letter\\\" approaches to transform everyday scenes and experiences into a musical score...* - special offer! 2012 €7.00
TARKATAK Eschgl Hel mCD-R Nr. 27 in the great Taalem-series of new experimental drone-music brings us a fine piece of north-german TARKATAK, this sounds more strange, soft hummings with mysterious voices and sounds in the background, and melodic somehow instrumental tones. A truly mesmerizing and surrealistic journey !! - back in stock, now with non jewel-case cover 2005 €5.00
  Mormor CD back in stock one of the best releases of this North German droner, four long tracks of beautifully crafted subtle ambience pieces, varying immensely (one with female singing); plus one video clip; "Great CD, and hopefully bringing him some more recognition" [Vital Weekly] - cComes in handpainted cardboard-box with inlays, very nice. lim /numb. 300 ! special priced now ! 2007 €10.00
TAUMEL In Pieces - Volume One 10inch a most unusual release in our 10" series by this newly formed German duo (one member is a main actor in the cryptic Netflix series 'DARK', the other a prof. percussionist playing in diverse orchestras), moving beyond / between / inside various genres (improvisation & composition, collage and jazz noir ambience), well-shaped from various sessions with Berlin's ENSEMBLE ADAPTER => a kind of "acoustic theatre" or "surrealistc soundpoem" that will leave you simply astonished... lim. 300 / black vinly / OUT NOW !!! 2021 €16.00
TELEPHERIQUE Nerv.Sys do-CD epic work about "distress in modern civilizations" by the south-German ambient industrial & cassette-networking pioneers 2004 €15.00
TEMPLEGARDEN'S Live at Maschinenfest 2001 MC TEMPLEGARDEN'S was the following project of former ARS MORIENDI members, this is a highly interesting live document from 2001, recorded in Aachen, Germany => performed with 5 people on stage, a very ritualistic, amorph, dark fairy-tale mood is created, complex electronics zip into your Unconscious, enriched with field recordings and acoustic sounds... lim. 50 copies only! 2021 €12.00
TEST DEPARTMENT / TEST DEPT. Disturbance LP the industrial legends from UK are back - more than 20 years after their last album - with a very political, powerful and percussive strike... "In an ideal world, Disturbance, the new album from industrial pioneers Test Dept, would not exist.... taking germs of ideas from old songs and turning them into new, sledgehammer-heavy sonic experiments full of powerful protest poetry." gatefold sleeve, 8-page booklet containing lyrics and credits, download card 2019 €20.00
  Disturbance CD the industrial legends from UK are back - more than 20 years after their last album - with a very political, powerful and percussive strike... "In an ideal world, Disturbance, the new album from industrial pioneers Test Dept, would not exist.... taking germs of ideas from old songs and turning them into new, sledgehammer-heavy sonic experiments full of powerful protest poetry." 3-panel Digipak, includes booklet with credits and lyrics 2019 €13.00
TESTCARD # 17 : SEX BOOK POP-SEXISMUS, DIE LINKE UND DER SEX, TRANSGENDER-BEZIEHUNGEN, QUEER POP, STRAIGHT EDGE & SEXUALITÄT, INDEPENDENT PORNO, RUSS MEYER, SHORTBUS, "Die nackten Wilden des Kapitals", "Im Bett mit MARCUSE",etc etc., reviews, books, films,.. 290 pages, german language 2008 €14.50
  # 12 : LINKE MYTHEN BOOK the best reason to learn german: a most interesting new Testcard issue about political myths & music: TON STEINE SCHERBEN, BLACK POWER, R.A.F.-MYTHS, INDUSTRIAL, HANNS EISLER, etc etc.. german language. 2003 €14.50
THE BRAIN All Human is Error LP 2nd album for this (German born) newcomer from Portland, USA, with a darker, more violent and aggressive version of 70's German "Kosmische" and progressive /space rock, as a collaboration with Japanese drummer BODY HAMMER this was recorded completely with analogue means: "a battery of analog synthesizers, audio generators, and tape machines, as well as slashing, angular guitar and thunderous drums.. erupting into a volcanic hailstorm seething with calculated menace and mayhem" - lim. 200 2022 €23.00
  Experiments for Guitar + Machines LP debut album for a newcomer from Portland (OR), with a dark version of 60's / 70's German / French Kraut & Progressive Music, created purely on analogue gear (synths, guitar, drums, effects, reminding on HELDON, early KLAUS SCHULZE, CONRAD SCHITZLER... "Mesmerizing analog synthesizer drones collide with abrasive guitar textures to create dense sound collages that blur the distinction between industrial mayhem and ambient calm.." - lim. 100 copies only, US-import !! 2022 €23.00
THE HUMBLE MAN Live Boxset 5 x CDR + object / woodbox first recommended release for this South German post industrial and dark impro drone duo, five long one-tracker evocations using all kinds of instruments and electronics plus transmorphed vocals..comparable to early dark industrial pioneers,or very bleak NOISE-MAKER'S FIFES, AMM, etc.. - totally handmade edition of 20 copies, a laser engraved wood box holding 5 CDrs wth acryl painted covers 2023 €35.00
THISQUIETARMY Aftermath CD fourth album by this Canadian "experimental guitar drone" project with a very own style, inspired by the aesthetics of German painter ANSELM KIEFER. lim. 500 2010 €13.00
THISQUIETARMY / DIRK SERRIES / TOM MALMENDIER Hell CD two guitarists, one drummer - one long improvised drone-mandala => it was a very special set when these three musicians met on stage in Bochum, Germany, inside a big church in October 2017 => you can feel the deep concentration at the beginning, evolving slowly from dream-scape fields through some more silent moments to a heavy climax with wild free jazz drumming at the end, building and holding the flow throughout the piece... electrifying! Lim. 200 copies 2019 €13.00
THO-SO-AA Identify CD after a long time a new album by the prolific German dark ambient project; very beautiful and dense 2010 €14.00
THOROFON Gladio LP the German power electronics / industrial band is back- lim. 200 clear vinyl! - "Thorofon is loaded with angst-pop, haunting synth lines from mighty analogue devices and rhythmic core. the ingredients of vintage industrial music, metallic percussion and the remarkable psychotic voice are united in a most perfect way - a trademark thorofon. this is dystopian music for empty dancefloors... " 2022 €25.00
THORSTEN SOLTAU & COMRADES Roman Feast & a Grape from Thor Heyerdahl's Table do-MC BOX a collection of various works by German composer THORSTEN SOLTAU, using diverse sources from other artists such as MAX KUIPER, DEAD MAURIACS or MARINA STEWART, with nice organ-like multi-layered drones.."whipping noise layers and piercing feedback drones combined with amplified objects, to field recordings, repeating piano rhythms and hidden voice fragments to spoken word storytelling!" Spread on two MCs in big double case box with many inlays/cards, lim. 76 copies 2014 €14.00
TIETCHENS, ASMUS Monographie edited by Kai U. Jürgens BOOK & CD second, revised and expanded edition of this book! 300pp paperback book, plus 70 min audio CD "VERSTREUTES 2" only available here, most texts written in German, ed.of 600 2006 €39.9
TIETCHENS, ASMUS & ROLF ZANDER Tarpenbek CD & 12inch BOX collectors item! LP-box with 12 high quality prints of etchings (+ some more inlays) by visual artist ROLF ZANDER ~ for each of the 12 tracks on the CD ~ inspired many years ago by the structures of the small north-german river TARPENBEK, the visuals were used by TIETCHENS as grounding for his hyper minimal & subtle compositions ~ very nice project comining "real nature" topography, visual & acoustic art; lim. 300 2012 €45.00
TIETCHENS, ASMUS & TERRY BURROWS Burning the Watching Bride LP back in stock some NEW copies of this 12 year old vinyl-only album, the first release from the now defunct north-german label ! Soon to be rare 1998 €15.00
TIETCHENS, ASMUS + CV LIQUIDSKY Monoposto CD the 17th issue in the 18part re-issue series of Die Stadt & Auf Abwegen presents the 1991 collab LP with German artist CV LIQUIDSKY, a work with a more improvised, repetitive/rhythmic and almost playful approach, with wonderful track titles such as "Schlotzen" or "Junge Hoden", and a cover version of a NEIL YOUNG song (!); comes with 3 bonus tracks and new liner notes by ASMUS TIETCHENS 2020 €15.00
TIETCHENS, ASMUS / FRIEDER BUTZMANN NNOI#02 LP second release in a new series connected to our yearly favourite NNOI-festival in Zernikow, Germany => ASMUS TIETCHENS spreads on 9 short pieces his 'Stenogramme, Folge eins' series ("abstract structures that force a space that transforms its floating hardness and beauty into the clear outlines of a sculpture"), FRIEDER BUTZMANN presents the "SinusToneSuite", composed with sinus-tones found between generators, vocal chords and wooden tubes; excellent gatefold cover design, lim. 300 2020 €19.50
TIETCHENS, ASMUS / THOMAS KÖNER / ILLUSION OF SAFETY / DITTERICH VON EULER-DONNERSPERG Untitled do-7inch back in stock this nice double 7" with exclusive material, released on the occasion of a live event of all four artists that happened in Bremen, Germany, in April 2001; lim. 500 2001 €15.00
TOTSTELLEN Mein Licht beleuchtet nur Abgruende CD-R new recordings by this radical experimental German project; political & philosophic soundscapes based on fieldrecordings made in the Baltic States & Finland; comes in silkscreened & handmade tarpaper cover and with extensive booklet; lim. 50 2010 €12.00
TREPANERINGSRITUALEN Oberhausen Ritual LP re-issue of the rare cassette, recorded live at Maschinenfest, Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen / Germany, 16. October 2016... "an especially vile brew of upfront electronic noise, feedback and agitating night-rhythms, fuelled by eclectic references to all kinds of magick..." - 220 copies only, special glossy cover print, comes with inlay, DL code + sticker 2020 €25.00
TUMORCHESTER Autohimmelfahrt LP the one and only LP for this remarkable 'free style/industrial/avantgarde/impro/punk/no wave" band from Hamburg feat. SEEMANN (now in CZEPOKS), using bass-saxophon-percussion-stylofon-violin-voice-guitar-electronics, they had german vocals and the angryness and directness of early 80's German New Wave & Punk; A must have for everyone interested in the Hamburg experimental & noise underground! 2002 €12.00
TUTSCHKU, HANS Moment CD strong collection of electro-acoustic pieces by this highly interesting composer from Weimar (Germany) - all produced 1991-1998 - integrating vocal & instrumental recordings from Southeast Asia and the 'colour' and tonal elements of poems from GEORG TRAKL,KARL LUBOMIRSKI, and ANTONIO BUENO TUBIA... often very eerie & intense..comes with 28p booklet in English, Francais, German... 1999 €14.00
UNII & EMERGE Stalker CD-R the second release / collaboration by EMERGE and Japanese singer UNII documents a live recording from June 2016 (Kunstverein GRAZ, Regensburg, Germany), the surrealistic ambient noises from EMERGE appear to be quite unobtrusive and structured, processed field recordings of children and metal bangs and the ethereal singing of UNII fuse nicely for a cinematic effect... another tribute to A. TARKOVSKY's film, lim. 50 copies 2016 €6.00
USENBENZ, ANDREAS Bells Breath LP highly recommended LP for this sound art / drone minimalist who recorded for this installation project the 10 different bells of the famous minster of Ulm (Germany), creating a hypnotic 'metallurgic' ambience; all different tones of the bells have been stretched and layered and form clouds of pure resonances and overtones with gradual shifts in the shapes and pitches, adding more subtle electro-acoustic processing on Side B; very nice edition with diverse inlays, on clear vinyl 2017 €16.50
  Bells Breath CD highly recommended album by this German sound art / drone minimalist who recorded for this installation project the 10 different bells of the famous minster of Ulm (Germany), creating a hypnotic 'metallurgic' ambience; all different tones of the bells have been stretched and layered and form clouds of pure resonances and overtones with gradual shifts in the shapes and pitches, adding more subtle electro-acoustic processing on the second track ...CD version with 8 page booklet 2017 €10.00
V.A. (VARIOUS ARTISTS) (COMPILATIONS) Oscotarach do-LP 1 band per side: SKALPELL, SPHERICAL DISRUPTED, CARSTEN VOLLMER, HIDDEN TECHNOLOGY. lim. 500, heavy vinyl, special sewed tissue-cover. back in stock this collection of german / swiss industrial tunes.. 2005 €16.50
DruckEmpfinden-Festival CD remaining copies of the festival-sampler that was released to the "Druckempfinden-Festival" in Darmstadt, Germany, 7. November 2009; BAD SECTOR (2 tracks!), PROPERGOL (3 tracks) and GENEVIEVE PASQUIER (3 tracks), lim. /numb. 250 copies, nicely designed, all material previously unreleased, incl. festival-postcard 2009 €13.00
Trans_Canada. ZKM Karlsruhe DVD-Audio DVD-Audio Surround 5.1 Dolby & Stereo (48KHZ 24bit); 8 works produced by Canadian composers at the ZKM-studio in Karlsruhe, Germany & premiered at the "Trans_Canada"-festival in 2005: NICOLAS BERNIER, DARREN COPELAND, FRANCIS DHOMONT, LOUIS DUFORT, GILLES GOBEIL, ROBERT NORMANDEAU, BARRY TRUAX, HILDEGARD WESTERKAMP 2009 €12.50
Radioactive Astral Bell Noises do-CDR nice experimental / industrial compilation from 2011 with long "live in the studio" recordings by HATI, TBC, ASTRO, RENOISE, KAKAWAKA; sessions performed at FSK studios in Hamburg, Germany, in 2008, for the Radio Gagarin live series / back in stock: handmade re-edition in DVD-case now available 2011 €10.00
Gravity's Drop Out. Tracks for non-existing Movies CD compilation curated by THORSTEN SOLTAU, feat. PAS, MARGITT HOLZT, HERR PENSCHUCK, EBINGER; NIKA SON, PENSCHUCK & SOLTAU - experimental music that should work as little movies for the head; a nice collection of the new (mainly German)underground; lim. 300 2012 €12.00
DRONE-MIND // MIND-DRONE Vol. 2 (SOLD OUT) LP second volume in the NEW Drone Records series, feat: YANN NOVAK (USA), STROM NOIR (Slovakia), EMME YA (Colombia), KARL BÖSMANN (Germany); lim. 500 - four different vinyl-colours! Official RELEASE DATE: 31.12.2012, OUT NOW!! 2012 €15.00  
ZugZwang-Festival III CD exclusive material from CLUB MORAL, SUTCLIFFE JUGEND, LA NOMENKLATUR - released at ZugZwang III - Festival Nov. 2012 in Darmstadt, Germany; lim. / numb. 300 copies with metal-plate cover! 2012 €10.00
Wandlungen Unplump CD german compilation with new "contemporary" composers of electro acoustic and radical new music by the DEUTSCHER MUSIKRAT, which could also be called "Autonomous Music"; MICHAEL HOELDKE, STEFAN SCHULZKI, DENISE RITTER, ROBERT HENKE (also known as MONOLAKE), RALF HOYER, BRIAN SMITH, JULIA MIHALY; lots of new names / concepts / approaches / SOUNDS to EXPLORE !! 2014 €13.00
15 Poems by Franz Kafka BOOK & do-CD amazing lyrical complilation project using 15 poems by FRANZ KAFKA combined with musical interpretations on two CDs, along with a little book presenting these in Russian and German for the first time, + illustrations.... very varified material by: BARDOSENETICCUBE, NICK SUDNICK (ZGA), UHUSHUHU, KRYPTOGEN RUNDFUNK, MONOCUBE, SAL SOLARIS, etc.. a truly unique release not to be missed for any KAFKA fan! lim. 300 2014 €16.00
AUSGEWÄHLTE GERÄUSCHE do-CD & BOOK jubilee release for this German label and magazine which links the personal history from AUF ABWEGEN from the last almost 25 years with the evolution of the German noise / experimental / drone scene: 29 rare or unreleased tracks (many Drone Rec artists!) AALFANG MIT PFERDEKOPF, MOHR, MAEROR TRI, KALLABRIS, HITHLAHABUTH, CRANIOCLAST, WERKBUND, LICHT-UNG, COLUMN ONE, , N, THOMAS KÖNER, etc... comes with 82 page book with infos & essays, a must have!!! 2016 €22.00
25YLOKI do-CD jubilee release for the 25th anniversary of the German dark ambient label and home of INADE, released for the LOKI festival in Paris in September 2016: the 1st CD has unreleased material by all performing artists: S.E.T.I, INADE, FJERNLYS, CIRCULAR, PHELIOS and BAD SECTOR; the 2nd CD has a DJ mix by PHILIPP STROBEL going through 25 years of their label history 2016 €13.00
A Taste of MOLOKO PLUS / 1996-2016 do-CD 20 year jubilee compilation for this interesting German label, which offers a wide range of styles from post industrial/ experimental/ambient to avant-Pop and poetic Rock, Impro and IDM, nowadays also publishing books with poetry: COLUMN ONE, MIMETIC, DE FABRIEK, JÜRGEN PLOOG, DE FABRIEK, DELPHIUM, ALFRED23HARTH & WOLFGANG SEIDEL, HERBST IN PEKING, R. STEVIE MOORE, etc. etc.. 21 tracks 2016 €15.00
Avantgarde is happening because.. CD special compilation with exclusive material only, released for the re-established "Avantgarde" festival 2017 in Schiphorst, Germany: NURSE WITH WOUND, FAUST, ASMUS TIETCHENS, QLUSTER, V!V!V!, and many more new and unknown names of projects that were performing there with lots of KRAUT and PSYCHEDELIC experimentalism...lim. 500 and almost sold out at the label as many were picked up at the festival.. 2017 €14.00
DRONE-MIND // MIND-DRONE Vol. 6 : NAM-KHAR, FOR KINGS AND QUEENS, MARKIAN VOLKOV, KEVIN DURR LP the newest edition in our DRONE EXPLORERS series, for MIND EXPLORERS, with: NAM-KHAR (Germany), FOR KINGS AND QUEENS (Germany), MARKIAN VOLKOV (Italy) and KEVIN DURR (U.S.A.), ranging from nature+ vocal-drone to electronic ethno rituals to surrealistic soundscapes.. lim. 400 on beautiful blue-violet-transparent vinyl, with amazing cover-art (a true 3D effect with the use of extra golden pantone colour) by TILMANN BENNINGHAUS, using paintings by British painter PETE GREENING 2017 €15.00
Ich glaube ich höre Genesungswerk CD nice ambient / electronica / experimental compilation from this now in-active label based in Dortmund, Germany, run by one MULTER member, with exclusive material by: KALLABRIS, SEGMENT, MULTER, N , PALE ASLE PETTERSEN, KRILL MINIMA, KARTEN FRANKREICH, KONRAD BAYER, P. MILES BRYSON, and others....special price now ! 2002 €8.00
Replace CD compilation inspired by questions of Utopia / Dystopia, 14 tracks (78 min. playtime) with German artists from the electro-acoustic realms, comes with 10 page booklet & essays to each piece: NICOLAS WIESE, SCISS, DENISE RITTER (SCHACHTANLAGE GEGENORT), MATTHIAS OCKERT, BERND LEUKERT, FRANK NIEHUSMANN, KIRSTEN REESE, etc.. - lots of material, approaches, artists, to discover ! 2011 €13.00
Escape CD we recommend the fine ED.DEGEM compilation series, always centered around one topic and with many (mainly German) new & fresh names, sounds and concepts from the Sound Art and Electro-Acoustic scene , incl. booklet. Theme: ESCAPE : FLUCHT(en): 15 tracks, SIMON VINCENT, JULIA MIHALY, KAI NIGGEMANN, KIRSTEN REESE, CLAUDIA ROBLES-ANGEL, FELIX LEUSCHNER, HIROMI ISHII, STROM, NIKOLAUS HEYDUCK, etc... for explorers ! 2016 €13.00
Drop the Beat CD we recommend the fine ED.DEGEM compilation series, always centered around one topic and with many (mainly German) new & fresh names, sounds and concepts from the Sound Art and Electro-Acoustic scene, incl. booklet. Theme: RHYTHMS. 11 tracks: MARC BEHRENS, KAI NIGGEMANN, LINA POSECNAITE, KIRSTEN REESE, MICHAEL HARENBERG, JÖRG LINDENMAIER, etc.. 2018 €13.00
20_20 CD we recommend the fine ED.DEGEM compilation series, always centered around one topic and with many (mainly German) new & fresh names, sounds and concepts from the Sound Art and Electro-Acoustic scene, incl. booklet. theme: this existential year 2020: GERALD FIEBIG (known from Attenuation Circuit), CLARENCE BARLOW, WOLFGANG MOTZ, LUDGER KISTERS, JOHANNES S. SISTERMANNS, MARC BEHRENS, RALF HOYER, 15 tracks in total, so much to discover for adventurous hearts ! 2020 €13.00
Well known Strangers - UNROCK's ARCHIVAL SINGLE BOX SET 14 x 7 collector's item! For the 25th anniversary of this "genre-free / exotic experimental / jazz / folk" German label: 14 x 7"es in printed cardboard box, rare / unreleased material by: SIR RICHARD BISHOP, ALVARIUS B., CLANDESTINE TRIO (ALAN BISHOP, CHRIS CORSANO..), KARKHANA (from Beirut, with SAM SHALAHBI), AAMM (EDDIE PREVOST, etc.), EYVIND KANG, AVA MENDOZA, SUNN TRIO, TASHI DORJI, BILL ORCUTT, CHRIS CORSANO, DAVID OLIPHANT (LIFE GARDEN),... - only 128 numbered copies exist! 2021 €95.00
  DRONE-MIND // MIND-DRONE Vol. 8: AUME, K. ISHIGAMI, HIROSHIMABEND, BALDRUIN LP finally the new DRONE-MIND compilation with an exquisite selection of experimental / "advanced" drone highlights: AUME (U.S.A.), KAZUYA ISHIGAMI (Japan), HIROSHIMABEND (Austria), and BALDRUIN (Germany); cover-art & mastering by puppy38, using two paintings by British artist PETE GREENING; edition of 400 copies on VELVET PURPLE (solid purple and solid red mixed) coloured VINYL 2021 €16.00
VALANX Tidelands CD the final album of this German/Scottish dark ambient project, a soundtrack for a flooded post-apocalyptic landscape, consisting of wind and watersounds and spatial acoustic arcades with whispers from other dimensions.... edition of 200 copies 2018 €12.00
VIZ MICHAEL KREMIETZ SUIZEN CD pure & beautiful meditation recordings on the SHAKUHACHI, the Japanese Zen-flute, by the South-German artist and performer VIZ MICHAEL KREMIETZ, recorded during his stay in the monastery of Koyasan and Ekoin temple in the mountains of Japan => main part of the CD consists of his interpretation of the "Honkyoku", a traditional piece of Zen-Buddhism, but there are also own compositions and a long (23:23 min) collage with voice & violin, as a hommage to COIL; comes with full colour booklet 2012 €13.00
VOLLMER, CARSTEN Arbeit Nr. 23 - Ich arbeite mit Frequenzen Teil 1 - 3 (ansteigend / abfallend / 2600 Hertz / Phreaking) 3 x CDR set the "Opus Magnum" trilogy from this German noise artist: :=> every track begins with a certain frequency and develops into a feedback orgy, astonishing resonances and some surprises appear...= the most authentic harsh noise you can find, ARBEIT (work) from the core of the old coal mine center Essen... all CDRs are also available as single copies - we offer this as a special 3 CDR-set, all with DVD sized CD boxes, lim. 100 copies 2021 €20.00
VOLLMER, CARSTEN & PHILIP NUSSBAUM Versuch 5 7inch & BOOK the anti-DITTERICH VON EULER-DONNERSPERG?= processed sound poetry & spoken word on this 7" by CARSTEN VOLLMER & G. NUSSBAUM, coming with a fake police A4 cardboard folder / "book" with a trashy 34 page story about violent sex, criminal policemen and aliens...(all in German); lim. 100 white vinyl 7" plus 8 original photos and real blood (?) on the folder... you have been warned!! 2015 €12.50
VOLLMER, CARSTEN / IRIKARAH Arbeit Nummer 11: Uncensored / Lovely Geisha 7" another release in the ARBEIT-series by the "Ruhrpott-King of Noize", on the splitside german industrial project IRIKARAH; release year is only estimated 1998 €5.00
VON EULER-DONNERSPERG, DITTERICH Blauholz BOOK DITTERICH aka ULI REHBERG has written his first more "serious", novel-like book, and it's a very cryptic and poetic text with powerfully linguistic, deep interlaced sentences & meanings... all nature phenomena are animated in a strange way...very aeshetic, full of symbols... something you can read / understand only a little, day by day... 242 pages, paperback, Germany language; graphic design: ROBERT SCHALINSKI (COLUMN ONE) 2015 €16.00
  Verdunkeln. Der Feind sieht Dein Licht BOOK first book publication by the "advocate" of WERKBUND and genius writer from Hamburg, industrial words for industrial people: "Knüllungen, Klumpungen, Wulstungen. Zwischen einem Schriftsteller und seinen Lesern sollte immer Krieg herrschen"; 14 lovely provocating lyric monsters like "Die Pein vom Haupte trennen", or "Wie man einen kahlen Frosch entfedert"; German language,150 pages, designed by ROBERT SCHALINSKI (COLUMN ONE). LEARN GERMAN!! 2014 €16.00
VON EULER-DONNERSPERG, DITTERICH / FELIX KUBIN NNOI#01 LP first release in a new series connected to our yearly favourite "NNOI" festival in Zernikow, Germany => various experimental electronic collages from DITTERICH:::; the soundtrack to RENE CLAIR's silent film "Entr'acte" by FELIX KUBIN, two loops with wildlife recordings from the festival surroundings, and a live-extract collage from both concerts / lectures.. comes w. stunning gatefold cover, ed. of 300 copies 2020 €20.00
VOSTELL, WOLF De-coll/age Musik LP re-issue of collector's item LP from 1982 by the German painter, sculptor and happening artist, who co-organized the "Festum Fluxorum" festival 1962 in Wiesbaden, seen as the birth of FLUXUX => we find here recordings from 1959-1981: radio collages, happenings, soundart ambients, environment actions, and an extract from a Fluxus-Opera! lim. 400 black vinyl 2017 €25.00
WARDROBE MEMORIES The Mean MC "a cyber soundtrack, written in the year 3046" - the revived German project created a very filmic, strangely futuristic piece with narrative elements, almost like an experimental ear-play, gloomy & melancholic; 9th tape on the great German tape label, always using coloured MC bodies & oversized art-covers (21x21cm) with additional object inside! Lim. 48 copies only 2013 €8.00
Early Years 2 x MC do-MC re-issue of the first two CDR albums by WARDROBE MEMORIES from 1999, which appeared on the DIY label SCHNEETREIBEN in very limited editions => dreamy drone ambient with a strong 'cosmic" touch & experimental edge, travelling far away from earth...this is the 13th tape on the great German tape label, always using coloured MC bodies & oversized art-covers (21x21cm), comes with button & postcard 2014 €12.00
  Life after Suicide LP first ever LP for this ambitious (always conceptually working) German ambient project, who created with "Life after Suicide" a mournful cinematic soundtrack => subtle piano & synth figures with voice samples expressing despair and hopelessness, very intimate and emotional... "a virtual post-life-construction in ghosty environments"; lim. 200 with half of the edition pressed on coloured vinyl 2015 €18.00
WATERCOLOURED WELL Arsonist's Rebirthday Audition CD 8 people experimental / post-industrial / impro ensemble from Germany with debut-album, feat. MR. EBU and RONNIE OLIVERAS (DATASHOCK), recorded in Mainz in January 2011 (Walpodenakademie) 2012 €12.00
WESTERKAMP, HILDEGARD Transformations CD five fascinating works (1977-1992) by the Canadian-German acoustic design artist, who uses for her floating, poetic compositions all kinds of field and environmental sounds from urban spaces, fog horns, fabric sirens, crickets, ravens, etc... which are later re-processed and reworked in the studio; incl. 40 page booklet; "One can transform through listening as she has." [PAULINE OLIVEROS] 1996 €15.00
WETTERLÄUTEN (WETTERLAEUTEN) same LP excellent debut LP for this South German trio, creating evocative and visionary dronescapes with great suction and width, using electro-Cinese Guqin zither, guitars, electronics, synths, organs, gongs... "from dreamy sunset drones to heavy pre-storm electricity to apocalyptic orchestral deluge"; lim. 272 copies, comes with lovely full colour fold out sleeve and 6 full colour postcards showing landscapes, geological forms, plants and animals in a surrealistic way 2014 €7.50
WHITE NOISE An Electric Storm LP the master-piece of "pre industrial" experimental electronic tape music, recorded 1969, with elements of pop, musique concrete & psychedelic surrealism... "An Electric Storm might be one of the most painstakingly crafted electronic recordings of all time" [Matthew Murphy]; german re-press of 500 copies 2008 €20.00
WHITEHOUSE Dedicated to Peter Kurten CD the extremely provocating industrial milestone from 1981, inspired by Germanys most well known serial killer from the Weimar Republic... - "its transgressive themes and wild electronic harshness became a critical defining influence on, indeed often template for, the noise and power electronics genres of the mid/late 80s and long beyond." - 40th anniversary edition with 12 page booklet packed with photos, information, plus the original LP inserts and artwork 2021 €15.00
WICKED MESSENGER The River disappeared sidewards CD very promising new monumental/ritual drone project from Germany; first real CD after some CDRs... 2007 €13.00
  Officium Nocturnum do-CD FOURTH album by the German project with dark monolithic otherworldy dronescapes, visionary & dense 2010 €18.00
WIESE, NICOLAS Unrelated LP second solo-LP for this German artist under his real name (once known as [-HYPH-] ) who works in the field of gallery sound-art, taking samples from various sound sources to treat them "live" with his technique of 'modulated feedbacks' => challenging collages in various shapes, from fast changing, overloaded craziness to abstract drone-scaping, these are highly sophisticated compositions full of microscopic details... comes on clear vinyl, lim. 200 copies 2018 €22.50
XABEC Closing the Circle CD the last ever album of this german ambient & eletronica project (& Drone Rec. artist) from Leipzig who developed a very own sound, containing high quality recordings of a live-set (from "Forms of Hands" 2013) plus various rare tracks & collaborations; lim. 300 in handmade box with embossed print & badge 2013 €15.00
XEREX Xerex meets Dracula CD-R anonymous German project with first release, 14 tracks of miniimal, often organlike, fluffy drones... *They\'re conjoined twins who also happened to have been grown in a petri dish as elderly mathematicians in 1972. \"XEREX Meets Dracula\" is their first \"invisible story\" in the spirit of \"choose your own adventure\"-style novels..* - professionally duplicated and printed CD + cover, sealed jewel-case 2022 €10.50
XQM / EMERGE / LDX#40 Session #43, recomposed CD three way split CD with three EMERGing noise/drone/experimental artists from Germany => XQM, a duo from Koblenz, start with a stunning 20 min. amorph drone-noise piece, nicely evolving with lots of buzzing swirls, EMERGE created a more surrealistic electro-acoustic drone piece with odd voice sounds and more, LDX#40 produced a dark analogue ambient noise track with suspense, also using field recordings from XQM.. 2019 €12.00
Y-TON-G / ASMUS TIETCHENS / KOUHEI MATSUNAGA YAK CD 8 tracks of mainly rather concrete silent & mysterious microsound-works from these three sound-researchers from Germany & Japan in collaboration, all have delivered basic materials and worked on stuff from the others, so it's quite a variable and out-balanced release... 2007 €13.00
YULCHIEVA, MUNADJAT & ENSEMBLE SHAVKAT MIRZAEV same CD traditional Sufi-songs from this great female singer from Uzbekistan, comes with booklet incl. extensive liner-notes in german, french and english 1997 €15.00
1000SCHOEN Moune CD "MOUNE is a very old word for MOON, comes out of a old language that was spoken in Germany. But it’s not german, it’s friesisch. Anyway, the moon theme is one of favourite topics in mystic circles around dark ambient genre. For Helge Siehl, who is the driving force of 1000schoen since the time he split his way with the other two former Maeror Tri members, it’s definitely one of the most important subject - in his paintings, photos and music. This album, presenting the program of his first ever russian tour in December 2010 (with Troum and Feine Trinkers Bei Pinkels Daheim), shows more ambient side of 1000schoen, leaving rhythmic path aside in favor of menacing sounds of highly personal moon rising visions. Moreover, it’s actually debut CD of this prominent german artist, who previously released his music mostly on limited/private edition CDRs. Featuring 3 tracks, with total running time of 45 minutes. 1000schoen is a trained artist, certified art therapist and surround sound acoustician. A native of Fries country, he is currently living in Bremen, where he participated in various art projects. As soundartist, he worked since 1994 in Turin (I), Amsterdam (NL), Zurich (CH), Ghent (B), Never (F), Nuremberg, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne, to name a few. Since 1995, he also created many pictorial and graphic works. For instance, he invented the famous Maeror Tri "wheel" logo, and designed some of their album covers, as well as others (Oophoi "Potala" etc)." [label info] "The symbol of 1000schoen reflects the celestial bodies of Sun and Moon in inseparable symbiosis, which we can see (at least) in all that we can imagine. The world of 1000schoen art and experience moves in this continuum as well." - Helge Siehl www.nitkie.ru "Troum came from Maeror Tri. A trio reduced to a duo, so what happened to the third person? Helge Siehl started his own project, 1000schoen, and has had a few releases as such. This might very well be his first real CD release. Its not easy to review this and not to think of Maeror Tri or Troum, simply because there is a similarity between all three. Now if Siehl would have picked up the acoustic guitar and sang songs, it would have been easy: it would be very different. But in the three pieces, two long one short, Siehl continues to explore his own version of his own legacy. He does that in a slightly different way than Troum. Whereas Troum offers a very dense sound of atmospheric sound, layering many sounds together, to put the icing on the cake, it seems to me that Siehl likes a less crowded palette of sounds, stripping and reducing until he is left with a handful of sounds to work. In the final short track it seems that he is using voice only and for me it broke with the natural flow of the two longer pieces. In those he chooses to work with guitars and synthesizers, along with a bit of sound effects, but throughout in a more minimal field. The opening piece 'Moune Rising' moves along those bass lines, field recordings and finds itself eventually taken over by some more synthetic sounds, whereas 'Moune' is more a piece of gentle processed guitar sounds and rusty field recordings of large, empty factories. Not entirely surprising in the world of drone music, but then perhaps so isn't Troum either, but its quite exciting to hear this album and if Maeror Tri and Troum are close to your heart, then you'd should be lending 1000schoen an ear too. Equally good, I'd say." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2010 €13.00
AALFANG MIT PFERDEKOPF Fragment 36 (SOLD OUT) 7inch Hinter dem Projekt mit dem seltsamen Namen steckt MIRKO UHLIG aus Bonn, der sich auf seiner Drone-7“ auf HERAKLITs „alles fliesst“ bezieht und entsprechende Dronescapes mit hoher Dynamik erschaffen hat.....zerfliessende-handbemalte Covers & multi-colour Vinyl ! “You never cross the same river twice! PANTA RHEI!” Behind this project with the strange name (german for “eel-catch with horse-head”) is one Mirko Uhlig from Germany, who had few CDR-releases so far, most of them standing out through their weird surrealistic coloration. In the meantime he also build his own label EX OVO. “Fragment 36” relates to a quote from Heraclites showing that ‘everything deliquesces” at any moment and can never be the same as one moment before. According to that, AALFANG MIT PFERDEKOPFs first and last ever 7” creates two drone-minimal pieces with very high dynamics, using water-sounds and Glockenspiel, drenched into overtune-feedback-resonances & dark deep drones... Filed under: fleetingmelting drones LIGHT GREEN / YELLOW SPRINKLED VINYL. HANDPAINTED COVERS USING WATER-COLOURS IN GREEN, RED, VIOLET.” [press release] RELEASE DATE: 30. April 2006 ! 2006 €6.50  
AALFANG MIT PFERDEKOPF & DRONAEMENT Hermit Haven CD-R "Even a bit long, almost eighty minutes, is the release which I understand is some sort of collaboration between Mirko Uhlig's Aalfang Mit Pferdekopf and Marcus Obst's Droneament, both representatives of Germany's more 'softer' drone scene and often incorporating field recordings. Each mixed three tracks and are placed on the equal and unequal numbers here. In Uhlig's opening piece already a lot is happening. In these twenty-four minutes more than on the entire Tainted Corrosive Mist release. Field recordings, accordion, cello playing and electronics. These are also used in the rest of the pieces, which form an excellent example of 'extended drone music', for the lack of a better word, and both artists are setting out excellent examples of that kind of music. This is simply one of the best pieces of drone music I encountered in some time. Acoustic, electronic, musique concrete, improvisation: its all mixed here together, crafting some excellent music together." [FdW / Vital Weekly] www.tosom.de 2010 €10.00
AALFANG MIT PFERDEKOPF / EMERGE Die kosmische Zygote mCD-R Ein fantastischer, sehr subtiler Geräusch-Ambience One-tracker...metallische konkrete Schläge, instrumentelle Quellen (Melodika, Kalimba, Perkussion), verarbeitet in hallende Hyper-Echo-Räume... “Aalfang Mit Pferdekopf and Emerge are two musicians from Germany, with some previous works on various lables (Drone Records or Verato Project for Emerge, our belgian cousin of Mystery Sea for A.M.P.). This quite surrealistic & surprising piece was created in three steps: first, Aalfang Mit Pferdekopf has created what he calls himself "a sound sculture" with various instruments like melodica, kalimba or spring drum. Then Emerge reworked it, adding his dark-ambient sounds and low rumblings he's known for. The final mix was done by Aalfang Mit Pferdekopf. Expect a mix of dark-ambient and pure experimental musics !” [label info] 2006 €5.00
ADLER, GUNTER Douches Dames mCD-R "Jürgen Hall? Bei so einem musikalischen Namen hätte man sich doch nicht so nibelungendeutsch umtaufen müssen. Der mit dem Grönland Orchester (mit G. Reznicek) und Augsburger Tafelkonfekt (mit S. Reier) und Soloreleases auf Staubgold und Mik unter seinem Nom de plume bekannt gewordene Aachener, der nach seinem Studium in Hamburg hängen geblieben ist, steuert zur 1000füssler-Reihe drei überdurchschnittlich attraktive Tracks bei. Das 13-min. Titelstück entstand für eine Installation im Brüsseler Bains::Connective, das in den Räumlichkeiten eines einstigen Jugendstil-Damenbads untergebracht ist. Das hat Adler offenbar zu entsprechend spritzigen Sounds und zu Unterwasserklang angeregt, durchsetzt mit knackend rumorendem Klingklang, zunehmendem Stimmengewirr und Plantschgeräuschen und einer ganz feinen harmonischen Zierlinie, zu der punktuell heptatonische Skalen getupft werden. Das kurze ‚Scheppertones‘ danach meint eigentlich einen Tauchgang auf der Shepard-Tonleiter, jenem scheinbar unendlich absinkenden Glissando aus Sinuswellenfrequenzen, das auch schon Komponisten wie Tenney oder Risset reizte und das Adler mit furzelndem Geprassel durchsetzt. ‚Mousse-Touch‘ schließlich lautmalt einen nuanciert bebenden Fond, mal flirrend aufgehellt, mal wummernd abgesenkt und von Pfeiftönen durchschwirrt aus Zeiten, als Weltraumfahrer noch Nick oder Laika hießen." [Bad Alchemy] "Douches Dames was part of an ancient indoor swimming pool in Forest/Brussels. Today this elegant Art Nouveau building hosts the eclectic art laboratory Bains::Connective. The music, originally intended as a sound installation, is an amalgam made of field recordings from inside the building, antique heptatonic scales and synthetically produced sounds spread out painstakingly in the first movement, infinitely transposed downwards in the second (Shepard Tones) and finally hidden inside a shady atmosphere in the third, where another stimulating motif is aperiodically interrupted by sudden violent curves. In addition Gunter Adler has compiled a jumbled array of electroacoustic samples forming a zigzagged rather than streamlined path through his archives. During the roaring times, after the melting of the polar caps had begun, visual artist Isabelle Rouquette showed works on this theme from a diversity of sources and engraved them into the trapezoidal patterned floor of the pool. On the day of the opening the interior was illuminated by flowing zebra skin light projections while the music was presented in a sort of live performance, a soundtrack accompanied by a sweeping improvisation on a synthesizer and twiddling with delay effects. It has an opulent and festive character and is at home in both ancient and modern contexts. Douches Dames 12‘55 Scheppertones 3‘31 Mousse-Touch 5‘00 About the Artist: Born and raised in Aachen, Germany. At the age of 17 he starts experimentating with synthetically produced sounds (Commodore 64, all data lost). Moves to Hamburg, Germany in order to study physics, philosophy, music theory. From 1992 to 96 works under the nome de plume ANUBIS (see Stora Compilation from 1993). Works out his first sound installations and in 1998 co-founds the GROENLAND ORCHESTER with G.Reznicek. Invents his alter ego GUNTER ADLER and releases his solo debut on Staubgold. Additionally works on animation film and film scores. Toured continuosly with Groenland Orchester and Gunter Adler and teams up in the duo-improv group AUGSBURGER TAFELCONFECT with Sebastian Reier since 2002. The same year he releases a split album with Klangkrieg, again on Staubgold. Following up to this his next record Minutemusic is released by the polish Mik.Musik label [run by Wojt3k from Retro*Sex*Galaxy] in 2003. Since October 2003 he is running a net label for exquisite electronic music plakatif.net. www.gunter-adler.de " [label info] "After reading the press text that comes with this release, I must admit I still have not much idea what it is about. It was originally intended for a sound installation and uses field recordings from ancient indoor swimming pool in Brussels. The text also mentions something about the opening, a live performance and a soundtrack, but Gunter Adler lost me there. Adler is perhaps best known as a member of Groenland Orchester (together with G. Reznicek), and later with Augsburger Tafelconfect and solo as Adler (which is not his real name). The three pieces on this release are made of highly processed field recordings, of which we no longer recognize the origins. Gliding tones, sine wave like, objects that fall to the ground and sound effects working overtime. This is quite a nice, sweet, short and highly enjoyable release, for those who love their microsound to be much more free and not tied to the strict conventions of that scene. Nice indeed." [FdW / Vital Weekly] www.1000fussler.com 2008 €6.00
AKIYAMA, MITCHELL If night is a weed and day grows legs CD Sehr poetische und tagträumerische piano & violin-ambience, mit digitalen Effekten durchsetzt, minimal und fliessend, manchmal versinkt alles in grobkörnigem Rauschen....aber auch fragmentarischerer, spärlicher klingende tracks......sphärische FENNESZ oder TIM HECKER sind hier oft wirklich nicht weit..... “Recorded in Montréal, Canada, If Night Is A Weed And Day Grows Less, the 4th solo cd by Mitchell Akiyama, marks a more concerted return to Akiyama's classical roots. ll eight pieces grew out of four piano compositions that were torn apart and reassembled - fragments of one piece contaminating another - reordered melodies, hidden references, obscured refrains. It is weeds fighting the hegemony of the lawn, it is the possibility of anarchy resulting in fleeting orders of beauty, it is the progeny of Steve Reich, Michel Foucault and Marcel Duchamp. The clear melodic beauty of Christian Fennesz but with a piano… The slow growing form of Akiyama Mitchell Akiyama's career in the arts has followed a reasonably circuitous path. A student of creative writing and literature before switching to interdisciplinary studies, Akiyama's work as a composer of electronic music and video artist has come to incorporate disparate disciplines, aesthetics and theoretical traditions. He has beenbased in Montreal since 1998 and has thoroughly absorbed the currents of electroacoustics, visual art and modern dance for which the city has always been famous. Akiyama's musical output began with his debut album, intr_verse which he released himself on his nascient intr_version imprint in 1999. A warm, complex work of beat-driven electronica, the record received several glowing reviews and managed to find its way into a few year end lists despite its small run and limited availability. A 2001 follow-up was released on Canadian label Alien8's sublabel, Substractif. It was met with near unanimous acclaim from critics and propelled Akiyama to prominence in the Canadian experimental electronic music scene. He recently released a collaborative work with Cincinnati musician Joshua Treble. The project, Désormais marks a more organic, compositional direction for Akiyama. Brimming with deconstructed guitars, pianos and field recordings, it is a lush and sometimes jarring work. His third solo full length, Temporary Music, was recently released by renowned German label Raster-Noton. Akiyama has performed extensively in Canada, Japan, The USA and Europe at festivals (such as Montreal's Mutek and Barcelona's Sonar), art galleries and clubs. Video once seemed like an unlikely milieu for Akiyama. Upon taking a class in video production and history he had no background in film, video or photography. He was inspired by the interface of the still reasonably new phenomenon of digital non-linear editing which he found similar to his digital music working environment. Three videos emerged - re:sound, the argument and the static industry - all of which played extensively at film and video festivals in Canada. He has since been involved mainly in creating "video paintings" which accompany him whenever he performs musically. Recently these two disciplines, music and video, along with graphic design (which is one of the many way through which Akiyama earns a living) have been collapsing in on each other. Videomusic performances, multimedia cd-roms and an altered way of seeing and hearing have come out of this fusion. With the locus of Akiyama's work being the computer and the inter-relatedness and similarity of sound, video and design software, these fusions are sure to yield strange new fruit.” [press release] 2004 €14.00
ALE HOP The Life of Insects LP Ale Hop is an artist, researcher, and experimental instrumentalist. She composes electronic and electroacoustic music, by blending strains of noise, pop, avant-garde, ambient and a complex repertoire of extended techniques for electric guitar and real-time sampling devices which she uses as her sound vocabulary to craft a performance of astonishing physical intensity, saturated of layers of distortion and stunning atmospheres. Her body of work includes immersive multichannel installations, live performances, sound sculptures, video, 3D, composition and sound design for theater, dance and film, releases, academic publications, and workshops. The Life of Insects is her fourth studio album. The composer began to craft the album The Life of Insects after spending one month living with different types of insects in her home studio, which she bought from a local insect dealer in Berlin and built little terrariums to record them for the sound design of a film she was working on. Nonetheless, the album is not comprised of compositions based specifically on sound recordings of the insects, but it unfolds as an imagined world recomposed through speculated narrative and abstract elements that seek to portray their lives, assembling sounding stories that could be re-constructed in the mind of the active listener. For this purpose, the artist came up with a musical language that could hold this fictional universe, comprised principally of several layers and textures of guitars that mimic environmental and atmospheric sounds. The Life of Insects will be released October 23 on Buh Records Watch the psychedelic video for the album opener 'La procesión' below. Listen & Watch: Ale Hop - La procesión (Official Music Video) www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v4Tqm8wk8E&feature=youtu.be Side A 1 La procesión 2 The Life of Insects 3 Pollinators Side B 4 The Way to the Ocean 5 Someday We'll Dance Again 6 The Pearl Diver 7 Jungle Depredation Supported by Initiative Musik gGmbH with project funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media All music composed, recorded and produced by Ale Hop Mastered by Manmade Mastering, Berlin, Germany. Mastering Engineer: Tim Xavier Artwork by Ale Hop https://buhrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-life-of-insects 2020 €21.50
ALIO DIE & AGLAIA Vayu Rouah CD "Cosmic like Three Organic Experiences, esoteric like Password for Entheogenic Experience, Vayu Rouah perform a kind of synthesis of the researches by Alio Die and Aglaia. Vayu Rouah is the primordial wind that join cabala and sonorous alchemies, an inexorable flux with extended electro-acoustic solutions, by a wide range of frequencies. A very long and slow gestation of about eight years have absorbed different musical moods and have stratified itself throw the time.. sound after sound.. towards his extreme possibilities. The listeners that loved the first chapters, that inspired this work, will find themself in perfect armony into Vayu Rouah's spirals. Vayu is described in a line of Vedic tradition, in the specific of "Rg veda": Respiro degli Dei e germe vitale dell’universo, liberamente egli vaga, portiamo il nostro omaggio a colui del quale la voce si può udire ma la cui forma non si vede. RV X,168." [label info] www.aliodie.com 2011 €15.00
ALIO DIE & LORENZO MONTANA The Threshold of Beauty CD "On their second collaboration, these cult Italian musicians create an hour of meditative dream-infused soundscapes and beatless mystical textures. Following their 2015 Projekt album Holographic Codex, Alio Die (with 65 releases) and Lorenzo Montanà (with 17 releases) come together for six tracks of deep ambient soundscaping, intersecting a potent alchemical brew of pure organic sounds. The threshold of beauty is a transcendental vision of beauty as an integral part of the cosmos. The connections of the music with nature and human spirituality are mixed in an ineffable picture that create a contemplative frame of mind. The recordings started with Alio Die performing on a psaltery (an ancient medieval instrument like a dulcimer but played by plucking the strings) augmented with real time electronic improvisations & processing by Lorenzo. The tracks were then edited by Alio Die adding layers, additional effects and loops to complete the expansive ritualistic tapestry. Undeniably calming and moving, the breathing slows, the mind quiets and opens. As the introspective ambience washes over the listener, a naturalistic dronescape unfolds with alluring aural scenarios of evolving, intimate sounds. * Alio Die has over 65 releases, 7 on America’s Projekt Records and others on his own Hic Sunt Leones label. Montanà recorded 5 collaborations with Pete Namlook on Pete’s German FAX label, plus released 12 solo albums with various European imprints. Limited edition of 500, May 31 2019" https://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-threshold-of-beauty 2019 €15.00
ALIZADEH, SABA I may never see you again LP Iranian composer and Kamancheh virtuoso, Saba Alizadeh releases his new album "I May Never See You Again"on the newly founded Hamburg label 30M Records. Born in Tehran in 1983 to world-renowned tar and setar virtuoso and composer Hossein Alizadeh, Saba Alizadeh studied the Iranian Kamancheh – an ancient Persian violin – becoming one of the foremost players of the instrument of this day. Alizadeh later studied experimental sound art with Mark Trayle at the California Institute of the Arts and inspired by the conceptual approaches taught there, started composing music that deconstructs and abstracts Iranian traditions and scales into a new musical language and style. Influenced by Iranian harmonics, musique concrète and sophisticated, forward-looking beat science, Saba Alizadeh's "I May Never See You Again" represent an incredibly exciting act of mutual inspiration - when Iranian scales and Western electroacoustic understanding powerfully unite. The nine predominantly instrumental tracks on the album fuse tradition and innovation inspiring meditations on the subject of memory. On the one hand, the credibility and resilience of one's own memory is musically dissected, whilst on the other hand, Saba Alizadeh proceeds conceptually, deploying erstwhile dictators’ speeches in his music as a means to question the course of history. I May Never See You Again also features handpicked collaborations with musician Andreas Spechtl and electroacoustic sound artist Rojin Sharafi. Spechtl, singer of the band Ja, Panik, found fame in the German-speaking world primarily thanks to his song lyrics, in which he deconstructs words in a similarly abstract way as Saba Alizadeh does the music. Spechtl joins Alizadeh on two tracks for the album, while Vienna-based Iranian Sharafi joins on one. https://30m-records.bandcamp.com/album/i-may-never-see-you-again 2021 €24.50
ALVA NOTO This Stolen Country of Mine CD "Alva Noto's award-winning score for the 2022 German documentary film This Stolen Country of Mine directed by German filmmaker Marc Wiese features nineteen compositions to be released on Noton. The documentary film explores the question of a state's sovereignty in the face of foreign powers. The film portrays Ecuadorian resistance fighters and journalists who oppose the sell-off of an extensive part of the country's resources to Chinese investors. Alva Noto's music subtly accompanies the struggle of a mountain village, immersing you into the film's narrative and pathos. Across nineteen compositions, the music exposes and holds back when the images and statements of the protagonists speak for themselves, reflecting the dark shadows and the glares of hope of communal resistance. The documentary was the recipient of the German Documentary Film Music Award 2022." 2023 €17.50
ALVA NOTO FEAT. MARTIN L. GORE & W. BASINSKI Subterraneans 12inch (45rpm) NOTON is pleased to announce the release of Subterraneans, a collaborative EP featuring Alva Noto, Depeche Mode’s Martin L. Gore and William Basinski’s cover of David Bowie’s homonymous song. Recorded in 1975, Subterraneans is the closing song of David Bowie’s 1977 album Low. The composition was initially intended for the soundtrack to the 1976 science fiction drama film The Man Who Fell to Earth. This song has a personal meaning to me. It was partly recorded in West Berlin at the Hansa Studio. According to Bowie, “Subterraneans” refers to the people who remained in East Berlin and lived in East Germany after the wall was built. In 1977 I was twelve years old and among the “Subterraneans” the song evoked. It still resonates within me, forty-five years after its original release.” – Carsten Nicolai A tribute of the three artists to Bowie’s work, the EP features an instrumental version and an edit by Alva Noto on electronics with Depeche Mode’s Martin L. Gore on the vocal and William Basinski on the saxophone.
 Composed by David Bowie Cover art designed by Carsten Nicolai Mastering by Bo @ Calyx Credit: Alva Noto (Electronics) Martin L. Gore (Vocals) William Basinski (Saxophone) 2022 €18.00
AMINI, SIAVASH & EUGENE THACKER Songs for Sad Poets do-LP Composer and sound artist Siavash Amini collaborates with author Eugene Thacker on »Songs for Sad Poets.« The collection of eight pieces draws its inspiration from the legacy of the so-called cursed poets (»poètes maudits«) as well as the German-language tradition of song cycles and expands the structure of the classic art song through a process of lyric abstraction. Amini is no stranger to interdisciplinary collaboration, as seen in »A Mimesis of Nothingness,« his 2020 collaboration with photographer Nooshin Shafiee, also released through the Swiss Hallow Ground label. But whereas in Amini’s previous collaborations music and other media are set in dialogue, with »Songs for Sad Poets«, Thacker’s poems and Amini’s soundscapes are deeply enmeshed with each other. In fact, none of the words printed in the record’s booklet are being said out loud on this double LP, but rather made tangible through the use of sound. Poetry and music do not so much correspond with each other as they conspire together—as songs without words, words without song. »Songs for Sad Poets« was born out of a mutual admiration of each other’s work and it is easy to see how the musician and the writer could relate to one another artistically. The Tehran-based Amini has released over 20 albums in the past decade—among them »TAR« and »FORAS« on Hallow Ground—that probe the physical world but also search for something beyond it. His compositions draw on field recordings as well as acoustic and electronic sounds, blurring the lines between what is conventionally perceived as real or authentic and the abstract or otherworldly. The New York-based Thacker on the other hand is known as a writer whose philosophical works like »Infinite Resignation« read like poetry while his poetry and other literary writing is inherently philosophically charged. What unites them on this project is an interest in the idea of the fragility of the human being set against the vast horizon of climate, planet, and the cosmos that produces a »sadness without cause.« The pieces on »Songs for Sad Poets« translate this nearly inexpressible ambient melancholy into dense and sometimes claustrophobic pieces that are marked by internal tensions and slowly unfolding dynamics. The eight poems are neither only the starting points nor just the byproduct of the compositions, or vice versa. Instead, the entire record is one single result of a coherent creative process. Thacker’s writing—dedicated to the poètes maudits Gérard de Nerval, Chūya Nakahara, Sadeq Hedayat, Alejandra Pizarnik, Giacomo Leopardi, Mário de Sá-Carneiro, Zhu Shuzhen and Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo—is marked by a stunning formal rigour, but also a wide-reaching evocativeness. All it needs to conjure up an all encompassing sense of cosmic sorrow is a few lines with even fewer words in them. The rhythmic character of the poems is reflected in Amini’s music which puts an emphasis on tone and mood, but also on movement and density. All of this makes »Songs for Sad Poets« a work of art that directly addresses its listeners’ affects, expressing an underlying melancholy while evoking an air of dread by transcending the borders between music and literature. https://hallowground.bandcamp.com/album/siavash-amini-eugene-thacker-songs-for-sad-poets 2022 €32.50
ANEMONE TUBE Death over China CD "One year after the highly acclaimed "Dream Landscape" CD ANEMONE TUBE returns with the new concept album "Death over China". No country in history has emerged as a major industrial power without creating a legacy of environmental damage that can take, if at all possible, decades to undo. China`s rise as an economic power has no clear parallel in history; thus, its pollution problem has shattered all precedent developments. "Death over China" is a retaliation of nature against humankind. In the same moment it is a dedication to our untamed curiosity for the essence of death and our (inherent in our collective action) secret death wish. In China`s uncompromising economical and social development we see demonstrated, how we - even with the immolation of our health, environment and tradition - are the servants to material progress. Though we are aware of the approaching ecological disaster, we hazard the consequences. Sustainability is sacrificed on the altar of egoist quest for happiness. We consume, we destroy, we thrive, we conjure: "Deathly kingdom of desire, you sustain the life in me, Black death rise!" Using field recordings, collected in Nanjing and Shanghai in 2007, ANEMONE TUBE creates an unsettling yet intriguing, apocalyptic soundtrack with a sinister atmosphere and a depressive undertone - a unique blend of dark ambient, post industrial and power electronics in the tradition of European industrial music. "Death over China" is the second part of "The Suicide Series", for which field recordings provide a conceptional basis. In a poetic way ANEMONE TUBE combines analytical realism of the phenomenal world with buddhist psychology and nihilist rhetoric influenced by the works of Michael Haneke, Hayao Miyazaki, H.P. Lovecraft and Yukio Mishima.All music recorded between July 2007 and December 2009. Mastered by JAMES PLOTKIN 2010. Definitely ANEMONE TUBE`s best and most mature album yet." [label info] www.silkentofu.org "Anomene Tube is a noise-project formed in the Southern part of Germany in 1996. Strong influences to the compositional approach of the project is the nihilistic rhetoric works of Michael Haneke, Hayoao Miayazaki and H.P. Lovecraft combined with buddhist psychology and concrete sounds from the real world. All tracks of this album titled "Death over China", are exclusively developed from the use of field recordings. The piece "I shall forever invoke" is the only piece where there are integrations of synthesizer. For this particular piece the synthesizers adds a nice atmospheric soundscape on the background of field recordings. The piece "Prayer walk" is an abrasive beast where the noise drones makes a pure impact on the listener. Screeching noise drills into the ears with additions of distant voices adding a great apocalyptic atmosphere to the piece. Also the piece titled "Brooding haze" drills a deep impression into the listener thanks to the monotonous high frequency noise-sounds operating on top of crushing power electronics and concrete metal sounds. "Death over China" is a part of the so-called "Suicide Series" - a series that aims to express the self-destructive tendency by the modern population due to the social and highly industrialized global development. The album comes in a beautiful art-work in dvd-sized format with early photographs and paintings from early 20th century. Excellent work of noise art." [NM/Vital Weekly] 2011 €13.00
:existence CD " A U F A B W E G E N RELEASE INFO cd-audio releaae date: 25.05.2001 artist: ANEMONE TUBE title: :EXISTENCE: order no.: aatp09 time: 50:12 min jewel case / 500 handnumbered copies / fold out colour insert :existence: as a great mix between rumbling noise and floating ambience. four hasrh tracks and three more dense and collage like works make this a varied and thrilling listen! tracklisting: Flesh & Bombs (10:13) Secondary Master (4:43) Choke Down (5:41) Existence (11:10) Red Waves (5:56) Continuity (4:08) The Encounter III (8:19) Anemone Tube was founded in Summer of 1996 by Stefan Hanser who felt the urge to express deeper personal feelings and dreams. The audioworks from Anemone Tube vary a lot along with the different means Stefan Hanser uses as sound source and for manipulation and could easiest be described as industrial-, ambient- and noisescapes of organic and synthetic sounds. The use of constantly shifting and altering sounds and moods is possibly one of the most intruiging things about the audio creations of Anemone Tube with the purpose of trying to put the listener into a delirious mental state, to irritate, torment and caress him no matter if in a positive or negative way: to cause emotional reaction! Over the years plenty of releases, several participations on compilations, split and collaborational releases on tape, vinyl, cd and video have been realised by different labels worldwide such as Transfixional Entertainment/Ravensburg, AufAbwegen/Köln, Solipsism/USA, Loud!/Italy, Napalmed/Czech, Inner Space Records/USA and many more. www.transformed.de/anemone.html" [original press release by AUF ABWEGEN] "German ambient-industrial project Anemone Tube was formed in 1996, and has explored a variety of heavy noisescapes and rhythmic blocks of sound; the Tube's modus operandi has always seemed to focus on putting the listener into a state of delirium caused by constantly shifting sounds and tones sourced from assorted organic and synthetic sounds, and this approach has resulted in a stylistically diverse body of work over the years. On the debut full length Existence, a nearly hour-long disc released in a hand-numbered limited edition of 500 copies, Anemone Tube is at it's heaviest, constructing seven bulky tracks that move from gorgeous ambient dronescapes to crushing, loop-heavy walls of distortion and menacing melodic tracers undulating over grinding rhythmic throb, sort of like what I'd expect a collaboration between Wolf Eyes and Maurizio Bianchi to sound like, although you can also draw lines to Throbbing Gristle, SPK, and violent early UK power electronics when tracks like 'Choke Down' and 'The Encounter III" get into full swing and start obliterating speakers with ferocious torrents of factory distortion. I really dig the way that Existence manages to balance the haunting, atmospheric drones and buried deconstructed rhythms with the louder, brutal passages of rumbling machine filth, making this much easier to digest than many of Anemone Tube's peers. Packaged in an elegant jewel case with a large 10-panel booklet glowing in fiery, fractaled reds and oranges, imprinted with mysterious pictograms." [Crucial Blast] 2001 €12.50
In the Vortex of Dionysian Reality CD Related to Nietzsche`s notion of the Wagnerian music drama as a revelation of the abysmal truth about man, “In the Vortex of Dionysian Reality” allures us into the Dionysian dreamland, where tragedy reigns, in pursuit of the ultimate oneness. With its washes of noise and layers of piercing feedback on a subbase of wavering synths, it is a maelstrom of sound generating a hallucinatory reality. The atmosphere oscillates between destructiveness and aggravating frenzy, between the archaic and the sacral, between frenzied passion and abyssal melancholy, serving the mythical experience of music in a world where language has failed as a method of communication and music figures as the primordial form of expression. As he considers humanities to have reached their limit, young Nietzsche hopes to find ultimate spiritualization and idealization in the reborn myth. Music alone (“our German masters”), as the primeval form of poetry and revelation of true Dionysian wisdom, may achieve triumph over the Apollonian shallow world of apparition. With his timely musical rendition of mythical experience as “In the Vortex of Dionysian Reality”, Anemone Tube conveys an emotionally and mentally charged album which reveals his soft spot for progressive post rock metal acts like Amusement Parks On Fire, Blut Aus Nord or O.L.D. Their special approach of dreamy melodies vs. atonal, discordant sounds is skillfully recreated through polyphonic synths lines, which are then modulated into feedback and added for good measure. Carrying the same title as the 2015 cassette EP release on The Epicurean, this CD with its 40+ minutes total length and five all new, yet unreleased tracks is less a mere re-release, but rather a full stand-alone album, featuring Ukrainian dark ambient artist Monocube on one track, as well as including sounds by Russian avantgardists Post Scriptvm and sound processing by French sound artist Pacific 231. epicureanescapism.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-vortex-of-dionysian-reality-2 2017 €13.00
  In the Vortex of Dionysian Reality LP Related to Nietzsche`s notion of the Wagnerian music drama as a revelation of the abysmal truth about man, “In the Vortex of Dionysian Reality” allures us into the Dionysian dreamland, where tragedy reigns, in pursuit of the ultimate oneness. With its washes of noise and layers of piercing feedback on a subbase of wavering synths, it is a maelstrom of sound generating a hallucinatory reality. The atmosphere oscillates between destructiveness and aggravating frenzy, between the archaic and the sacral, between frenzied passion and abyssal melancholy, serving the mythical experience of music in a world where language has failed as a method of communication and music figures as the primordial form of expression. As he considers humanities to have reached their limit, young Nietzsche hopes to find ultimate spiritualization and idealization in the reborn myth. Music alone (“our German masters”), as the primeval form of poetry and revelation of true Dionysian wisdom, may achieve triumph over the Apollonian shallow world of apparition. With his timely musical rendition of mythical experience as “In the Vortex of Dionysian Reality”, Anemone Tube conveys an emotionally and mentally charged album which reveals his soft spot for progressive post rock metal acts like Amusement Parks On Fire, Blut Aus Nord or O.L.D. Their special approach of dreamy melodies vs. atonal, discordant sounds is skillfully recreated through polyphonic synths lines, which are then modulated into feedback and added for good measure. Carrying the same title as the 2015 cassette EP release on The Epicurean, this CD with its 40+ minutes total length and five all new, yet unreleased tracks is less a mere re-release, but rather a full stand-alone album, featuring Ukrainian dark ambient artist Monocube on one track, as well as including sounds by Russian avantgardists Post Scriptvm and sound processing by French sound artist Pacific 231. LP comes with different design than CD version and exclusive track “Tower of Evil (Sovereign Over All)”. https://epicureanescapism.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-vortex-of-dionysian-reality-lp https://epicureanescapism.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-vortex-of-dionysian-reality-2 2017 €17.00
APOPTOSE Blutopfer LP "Blutopfer is back - for the first time on vinyl! In 2017 we celebrate the long overdue return of Apoptose's second album which originally surfaced in 2002. In the 15 years since its release, Blutopfer has become a classic album of the industrial/ritual-music genre. It combines raw ambient electronics with drumming footage of the Easter processions in the village of Calanda in Aragón, Spain. This album is still unique in its attitude and effect. A "must have" that has been unavailable for quite a while. Now, the Blutopfer LP edition brings back all the emotions and even more. The sound was remastered with great care to wake the spirits hidden in the tremendous drums. The LP comes in new artwork with liner notes by both industrial music legend Jordi Valls of Vagina Dentata Organ and Apoptose. So even fans who know the album by heart will be able to discover new aural and visual facets. While the original CD was made of purple plastic to mimic a colour vinyl LP, here is the real thing: the LP is pressed on drummer robe violet vinyl in an edition of 300 copies. Included is a free download code for a special 8-track digital version. It features a bonus track, recorded in 2016 with original source material that hadn't been used before." www.tesco-germany.com 2017 €21.50
ARBEIT / BEAUCHAMP / PALUMBO Torino 012010 do-CD "Torino 012010 is the second release of a series documenting the collaboration between Jochen Arbeit (guitar player of Die Haut and Einstuerzende Neubauten) Paul Beauchamp and Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo (the duo known as Blind Cave Salamander). This collaboration started as part of Arbeit's “Soundscapes” improvisation live project. The focus being on the moment of the spontaneous meeting of different systems of soundscaping, the task and challenge of exchanging the results of individual sound research in a public space. The Torino 012010 double cd release on Tourette Records follows the vinyl only live album Halle 27022010 (released by the German label Behind s.r.b.) and presents two different sessions recorded by the trio in January 2010 in Torino Italy: a studio session at O.F.F. studios reecorded, mixed and edited by producer and sound engineer Marco Milanesio and a recording of a live performance in the historical chapel of the San Pietro In Vincoli ex-cemetery as recorded by Larsen's Paolo Dellapiana and edited by Jochen Arbeit. Even though this collaboration is an integral part of Blind Cave Salamander's activity and discography the musicians have decided to release these albums under their individual names to emphasize the project's collaborative nature based on improvisation and composing as a real time emotional and musical reaction to each other's inputs/outputs. Credits Jochen Arbeit : guitar, electronics Paul Beauchamp : electronics, musical saw Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo : guitar, electric viola" [label info] www.touretterecords.com 2011 €16.00
AROVANE & PORYA HATAMI C.H.R.O.N.O.S. LP https://karlrecords.bandcamp.com/album/organism-evolution On “C.H.R.O.N.O.S”, their 3rd album on KARL, AROVANE and PORYA HATAMI deliver five delicate ambient pieces, rich in textures and zen-like atmospheres. Available as 180gr LP and DL. After “Organism” (2017) and the musique concrete influenced “Organism_evolution” (2018) UWE ZAHN alias AROVANE and PORYA HATAMI continue their sonic explorations with “C.H.R.O.N.O.S.”, the fifth collaborational album by the German electronic producer and the Iranian sound artist. While the duo’s last album was a collection of 23 mostly short tracks, each an acribic examination of sounds that treated by techniques like modular synthesis, granular synthesis, spectral processing, granular synthesis, resynthesis and resonator / modal synthesis, ““C.H.R.O.N.O.S.” consists of five longer compositions that focus on creating a contemplative, zen-like atmosphere of subtle beauty. Rich in details, carefully sound-designed, AROVANE and PORYA HATAMI prove once more their top notch skills when it’s about creating state of the art contemporary ambient. Quotes on previous albums: # Organism (2017) “an album of fleet, subtle beauty.” The Wire “some of the subtlest, elusive material in either’s catalogue.” Boomkat “a dark, mysterious, but extremely detailed sound – as alive and moving as nature’s finest organisms.” Ambientblog.net ################# "My good friend and partner in crime [you will find out soon enough what I mean by that], Uwe Zahn, has been prolific these years with collaborations [hint, hint], explorations, and trials. His most successful among these, in my humble opinion, is the partnership with the Iranian ambient sound artist, Porya Hatami. Together, they have already released numerous albums: Resonance (Éter Editions, 2015), Kaziwa (Time Released Sound, 2016), and Organism (Karlrecords, 2017). This year, the pair returns to Thomas Herbst's "outlet for experimental music" with C.H.R.O.N.O.S. - a five-piece statement "rich in textures and zen-like atmospheres." This music is a culmination of the interchangeable sonic language, which is reduced in grammar or words but is simply understood. Fans of intricate designs and loosely-structured aural fabrics will find themselves drowning in the expansive architecture of sound, synthesized via granular, modular, and spectral machines, each with a thick layer of resonating fabric. Like a never-ending zoom-in on a delicate textile, up until the point where the fibre becomes the forest and a universe of its own, C.H.R.O.N.O.S. takes the listener into a complex compound of delicate blankets, which they will peel apart long after the last tones have gone. Highly recommended with a sophisticated pair of headphones or precision-tuned bookshelf speakers, playing from a 180g vinyl, or a lossless digital source. Fans of Ian Hawgood, Celer, Tomasz Bednarczyk, Christopher Bissonnette, and Taylor Deupree will agree." [Headphone Commute] 2019 €18.00
ARTIFICIAL MEMORY TRACE (AMT) Paradox of Paradox / Interception I do-CDR "Over the course of more than two decades, Slavek Kwi aka Artificial Memory Trace has developed a body of work that encompasses live performance, sound installations, music and sound workshops with autistic children, and of course a large number of recordings published by small labels around the globe. This double CD in Attenuation Circuit’s Reissues series makes available again two albums originally published in 2004 that are characteristic for Artificial Memory Trace’s style of electroacoustic music that is characterised by a very elegant use of field recordings. As the project name says, Artificial Memory Trace is always conscious of the fact that field recordings from nature are never natural in themselves, but become artificial in the very process of recording. Thus, even the toads that can be heard on “Paradox of Paradox” are not simply left to speak for themselves or “nature” per se, as in many pieces of “acoustic ecology” recordings. Instead, the recordings are subtly arranged to make an abstract compositional statement. Other sound sources include Christmas carols, a dysfunctional piano, and, on “Interception”, a dialogue of whistles between Kwi and an autistic child. One theme of both albums then seems to be an investigation into the ways that communities of different species, from amphibians to humans, make sense of their condition through sound. Philosophical considerations apart, the musical attractiveness of these works is based on the treatment of the field recordings which always retain just enough crispness to be recognisable as ambient noises, keeping the listener’s ears pricked up trying to find out their possible origins, while at the same time constantly being on the verge of vanishing into singing oceans of frequencies at times reminiscent of the later phases of Alvin Lucier’s “I am sitting in a room”." [label info] www.wix.com/attenuationcircuit/attenuation-circuit "Planktone Unlimited Editions was the label by Slawek Kwi, better known as Artificial Memory Trace. I must admit I didn't know this, so I have no idea why he is no longer working as such. Two of the works released on that label find now their way on a double CDR by Germany's Attenuation Circuit. Like much of his work, if not all, here too we have field recordings at the very foundation of the compositions. Compositions, because its Kwi's idea to use field recordings, alter them a little bit, and put them together, and not present them as pure phenomena of sound. Its music that one doesn't take too easily. There are lots of moments when sound drops to a low volume and for some time stays there, with just the sound of chirping insects. But then it cuts with a loud sound/event into something new and then a whole new world opens up. Its not easy to say what kind of techniques are used, but my best guess would be that its simply the result of layering various sound events together and then find the right compositional balance with these sounds, through editing, cutting and fading. Throughout, the music of Artificial Memory Trace isn't very loud so one has to keep full attention to this. Which makes these two discs, one that lasts seventy-six minutes and one that lasts fifty-eight, not something one would digest in one go easily, unless you either fully concentrate or 'use' it as ambient music: let it come as it comes. Either way of perceiving this music I think is pretty valid. It contains lots of beauty, poetic beauty actually, like the some what cryptic notes on the cover. Long in duration, massive in beauty." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2012 €12.50
ASIA NOVA [=ASIANOVA] Burns Alive! CD listen: https://asianova-avalancheorganization.bandcamp.com/album/burns-alive "...Burns Alive!" is the live document of this famous act and one of the most important ambient bands from early 90’s (US). Pure bliss and experience. Recorded live during the Pratsayana Tour in 2007. First release appeared in 2008 as CDr on Discorporeality Recordings. When I first met Jim Wilson and Bonnie Mc Nairn (Aka VOICE OF EYE) we almost immediately formed an experimental noise project called CRUOR after doing an improvised performance live in studio on Scott Sommers "Avante-Garde Show" on KPFT Radio way back in Houston,in 1988. Although CRUOR was short lived, it began a musical association with JIm and Bonnie and my stunning ex-wife, Pamela Passmore from 1990 to 1993 that resulted in some of the best music I have ever recorded with anyone, especially in the improvised,"stream of consciousness", method of 'anti-composition' we always utilized. I don't think we EVER sat down prior to our recording sessions and discussed any kind of planned approach because we wanted things to develop organically and unexpectedly in the music.. However, this potentially made touring quite the interesting proposition when we unexpectedly found ourselves doing a series of 6 ASIANOVA shows across Europe in September of 2007 which of course required that we recreate these wholly improvised works. If I had been working with any other musicians, this might have become a logistical nightmare. But working with these interstellar compatriots of mine once again even though our last recordings together were so long ago (we did this tour 15 years after the original music was recorded).was like slipping on a really cosmically ancient but familiar pair of boots and wondering why it took you so damn long to wear them again! Especially when they make you feel like you're flying whenever you have them on... This collection of live tracks from our 2007 tour was originally released in rough form as a very limited edition CD-R back in 2008. This re-release by my wonderful friend Dziugas of Avalanche records is such a miraculous thing to me. If you had told me in 1993 that ASIANOVA would be asked to re-release all our material 30 years after it was created I would never have believed you. But in fact, this is just the first ASIANOVA work of many to be carefully edited and remastered and are all slated for special re release as a special limited CD edition of 100 copies. There's even some unreleased Asianova which has never been heard by anyone yet set for upcoming release!... Given the crazy times we are currently living through in 2023, never has the original concept behind the name 'ASIANOVA" been more relevant. Let's hope it's not truly prophetic, though. Let's see no new 'novas' please in Asia or anywhere else on Earth if you don't mind. I'd like the world to stick around awhile yet so we all get to enjoy a deeper capacity for our enjoyment and Love of Life through the Magic of our Creativity. -Ure Thrall for ASIANOVA February 26th 2023 https://asianova-avalancheorganization.bandcamp.com/album/burns-alive "The group Asianova has been around for many years, since the early 90s, and yet, it seems, only have been reviewed once on these pages, in Vital Weekly 528. In 2007 the group toured in Germany, France and Italy, and a year a limited CDR was released from this tour. Asianova is a four-piece in which finds legendary home taper Ure Thrall (mellotron, percussions, loops, voice, electronics), and the duo that makes up Voice Of Eye, Bonnie McNairn (voice, flutes, electronics) and Jim Wilson (guitar, electronics). In the early days, Asianova only recorded at home and never did any concerts, and effectively was on a hiatus after the mid-90s. They play what they call a stream-of-consciousness sound, anti-composition, and if you know Voice Of Eye's music, then you know where to place Asianova as well. Don't let that Peter Frampton-type title think this is some heavy-duty music, far from it. This is as psychedelic as they come. There might be no composition, and all improvised, but through the long lines of delay pedals, reverb, chorus and what have you, the music here is a long spacious drift. Head or tail, beginning or end, are irrelevant notions for this group. Loopers deliver a guarantee of a continuous sound, and the wordless chanting may have a slightly (or, to some) heavily hippie taste (you can almost smell the incense), but that is part and parcel of the music. I am unsure how the whole improvisation works for them, as only two of the eight pieces are called 'live improvisation', which implies the other six are, perhaps, planned. However, these pieces flow into each other, making up for seventy spacious minutes of music. There was a time when I thought this type of 'free flow ambient' music was a bit too hippy-dippy for me, but these days I am pretty in favour of such things. Especially when they hit a few cans and get the percussive bits out, things move and roll, and that's excellent. Think zoviet*france or Rapoon, but then sparser and spacier." [FdW / Vital Weekly] 2023 €14.00
ATOMINE ELEKTRINE The Antikythera Mechanism CD "A container of all the knowledge about the universe. The motion of the gears deeply intertwine a link between micro- and macrocosm. A mechanism that simulates cosmology and senses characteristics of an eclipse, with color, size and associated winds. Define a question, and there will be a calculated answer, even capable of astral divination. Is it an all-seeing eye, or perhaps something beyond even that; a magic entity capable of creating the cosmic events that it is supposed to measure and foretell. If so, is it by nature auspicious or ominous. Or is it merely a representation and extension of ourselves and our senses, trying to reach both the celestial and the intrinsically unobtainable. Winter-Light warmly welcomes Peter Andersson to our label, with his 'Atomine Elektrine' project and a stunning new studio album 'The Antikythera Mechanism'. Here we are invited or compelled even, to delve deep into the intricacies and finely tuned mechanics of this mysterious, all-encompassing machine. Infinitely extending it's influence across multi-dimensions of time and space, constantly calculating, cogs ever turning, gears whirring, mapping, learning, storing and moving ever onwards. Leaving in it's wake, a vast ocean of unimaginable cosmic events, left to ripple through time until they too fade away to become yet another click in the eternal cycle of 'The Antikythera Mechanism'. Difference between the CD/Digital and vinyl version 'The Antikythera Mechanism' has a small degree of randomness built-in to the sounds which means that the output of each rendering becomes slightly different. The tracks on the vinyl are of a different rendering than the tracks for the CD/Digital version. This is a natural glitch in 'The Antikythera Mechanism' and it is more or less noticeable. The sounds are the same but the positions in the sounds are time offset in an arbitrary mode. Any further inequalities are due to the fact that a different mastering technique has been utilised for the vinyl version, than for the CD/Digital version. As well as there being a different final rendering for the vinyl version, the DLP also comes with an additional and exclusive track, which clocks in at 19:52." https://winter-light.bandcamp.com/album/the-antikythera-mechanism "This mechanism Peter Andersson is referring to in the title of the new Atomine Elektrine offering is considered as the first analogue computer. The device was constructed by the ancient Greeks to predict future astronomical occurrences and phenomenas. Even this day it’s an object of scientific researches and studies as its technological sophistication is still unexplained for XXI century scientists and scholars. One of the greatest enigmas in the history of mankind and… what an inspiring theme for a dark ambient artist to explore through music. It’s not a secret that Peter is a truly versatile musician within the electronic underground, always efficient, no matter if he seeks more noisy approach or more atmospheric one. Atomine Elektrine was born of his fascination of science and instead of wandering through lost cathedrals and desolate wastelands we explore the secrets of space and quantum physics. Clearly, it’s not just the words in the titles and press releases, but the music is unlike his other projects as well. For 25 years the foundation of Atomine Elektrine sound was the use of analogue synthetisers, the old-school instruments cherished by the German masters from the 70s. His music was constantly developing over the years, in all projects, apart from Atomine Elektrine also Raison d’etre, Necrophorus, Bocksholm and several others. Often the inspirations were morphing one through another (for example Necrophorus’ “Imprints” has a one hundred percent Atomine Elektrine vibe), but in general high quality is practically always guaranteed. I have to admit that while my favourite Peter’s “non-raison” release is “Drifting In Motion” by Necrophorus, it is Atomine Elektrine I value the most as a whole. Maybe not exactly the very first albums, like “Elemental Severance” where it was Jean Michel Jarre a godfather rather than Klaus Schulze, but “Nebulous” or “Laniakea” are very frequent guests in my CD player, up to this day. Can’t declare today that “The Antikythera Mechanism” will also regain its place in my personal pantheon of all Peter’s releases as it is quite crowdy over there, but yes, it is good, it is goddamn good! The opening dark space of “Arcturus Alpha Boo” made me think of the cosmic vacuums generated by some of the Loki Foundation maestros as the deep rumblings and the feeling of an infinite expanse made me feel small and irrelevant. It calms down after a few minutes and brings a mystery of a titular mechanism to the forefront. From the universe entirety to this tiny device that can capture its secret. I’m in love with “Metonic Spiral”. You know why? Because it’s like taken straight from “Drifting In Motion”, those delicate synth passages combined with weird bubbling and swirling sounds recall the atmosphere of that masterpiece. Yet while that one had this overwhelming aura of sadness and solitude, in “Metonic Spiral” I hear… a hope that the wonder of what hides behind the ionosphere can be comprehended by the human mind. That feeling is intensified by the second half of the track where these slow melodies and analogue sequences take it one step closer to the old-school German electronica. In the following track, “The Exeligmos Pointer” all these rhythmic pulsations may recall a working mechanism, while the majestic background textures compliment the structure as a subject of that work. They’re huge and beautiful, they can be compared to the sun/moon eclipse, watched by you, predicted by the device. Subtly disturbing “Time Dislocated By The Mechanism” is. It may sound bizarre, but this piece have something in common with what Penjaga Insaf did on their “Sama Sadja”. While conceptually both projects couldn’t be more distant one from another. The organic aura of “Epicylic Gearing” is represented by these cyclic sequences, coming and going, pulsating like a bloodflow, later that bass rumblings appears, like a heartbeat. And that simple repeated melody, combined with the mentioned elements develop a tremendous track, which brings another name to my mind. Predominance. Remember that one? Yes, as you can see, that Loki reference few paragraphs ago wasn’t accidental. Such albums like “The Antikythera Mechanism” deserve an epic ending, yet one must have in mind that Peter Andersson doesn’t really like to finish his albums with a bang. “Fragment F” is not a praise of a human mind, the awe of its endless powers and capabilities. No, it’s a cosmic space, quiet, soulless, without beginning nor end.It’s like the blackest shade of black, it’s probably Peter’s most oppressive finale since “The Eternal Return And The Infinity Horizon”. And probably one of his best works, at least within the last couple of years. This reference may sound funny, but he’s like Stephen King of dark ambient and I know that a lot of folks grumble that “it’s not the same, his older novels were classic and now he’s just reaping the benefits of his older efforts.” Not true, “The Outsider” or “Sleeping Beauties” are as good as the novels from his so-called “golden era”. Same goes with Peter Andersson, I heard more than once that what he does now is not the same as 20-25 years ago. Wrong. Don’t let nostalgia speak for you. He’s still in a very good shape and the astounding sound of “The Antikythera Mechanism” is its brightest, or rather darkest example." [Santa Sangre] 2019 €13.00
BACH, J.S. / H. SCHERCHEN Musikalisches Opfer (recorded 30. Jan. 1949 in Berlin) CD This is a historical recording of BACHs „Musikalisches Opfer“ in the version of swiss composer ROGER VUATAZ, conducted by HERMANN SCHERCHEN on January 30, 1949, in Berlin, by the Rundfunk-Symphonieorchester Berlin. With extensive liner-notes in german in english. “..Scherchen maintained that the constructivism of Bachs music created a spiritual and emotional force field in both perfomers and listeners which could affect other areas of their lives.” 1993 €15.50
BAKER, AIDAN WITH CLAIRE BRENTNALL Delirious Things LP An album of cold wave, synth pop inspired tracks, released on limited LP from Pleasence Records and limited CD from Gizeh Records. With guest vocals by Claire Brentnall (of Shield Patterns). Mastered by Brandon Hocura. www.pleasence.com www.gizehrecords.com https://aidanbaker.bandcamp.com/album/delirious-things "Aidan Baker is a classically trained flutist and a self-taught multi-instrumentalist. He is a Canadian musician who currently resides in Germany. Baker is prolific and his music wide-ranging, but central to all his releases is a practice in deconstruction as he explores experimental sounds and tones based primarily, but not exclusively, in guitar. Brentnall, who joins Baker here on some tracks, provides vocals and is a member of the experimental duo Shield Patterns. On Delirious Things, Baker explores his ambient side, primarily with interludes, but his pieces with Brentnall evoke 80’s style dark-wave, post-punk, cold-wave, and shoegaze. The pair work as a wonderful duo, with Baker’s acumen at creating emotive soundscapes playing alongside Brentall’s angelic and otherworldly vocals. The album opens with fuzzy tones and tapping drums. “Delirious Things” is slow and sparse, with an almost drone-like quality. Brentnall instantly mesmerizes with her vocals as she sings hypnotic lines over Baker’s guitar playing in your right ear. Another guitar enters the mix in the left as the bass plays in stereo. The mix gives it a brilliant depth and a sense of conversation between the instruments. Percussion has a thick layer of reverb as the fuzz still is the floor of the track. Backward tracking plays among the fuzz as the layers begin to peel away to leave a rather inorganic tone. “Interlude I (Shivers)” begins with a high-toned synth sound and various bright layers that dance around it in variations. It is brief but beautiful piece. “Dead Languages” begins with more reversed tones and a humming line floating above them. Electronic drums kick and dark, fuzzy tones come into the speakers creating a dark-wave mood. Brentnall’s ethereal vocals are given a different feel in this darker space. They are angelic but are almost dissonant against the march of a moodier background. The darkness of it all is unrelenting and Brentnall’s vocals a constant force of light throughout. “Interlude II (Tongues)” has an almost eerie voice floating around in it with backward tones over a bright drone. The voice moves from speaker to speaker and comes into the mix at different volumes. There are shimmering tones, almost like a drop falling into water and then creating a ripple effect. Slight fuzz rumbles underneath but never quite makes it above the surface. “Interlude II (Tongues)” flows into “Wingless” without pause. Swirling synth rises to create a very subtle wall of sound and then the percussion and guitar kicks in. This track feels most like post-punk 80’s music, with a Siouxsie Sioux meets Cocteau Twins vibe. Brentnall’s vocals create an almost desperate feel or at least one of earnest longing. The bass work provides a consistent backbone which also has an almost Hooky/Gallup feel. Eventually, the keys soar and begin to bury Brentnall under a swell and then the synths play out as a drone, winding down into an osculating tone. “Interlude III (Wax)” brings fuzz back into prominence, but the guitar work is bright and the fuzz no long ominous in any way. If Baker proves anything, it’s that he can take tones, place them in other contexts, and then completely redefine how they feel. Warm, deep rumbles flutter in and out of the speakers, creating and immersive experience. “Always Leaving” has a slightly reverbed bass playing at first, repeating a singular note. Electronic drums bring in that 80’s feel and the bass line then becomes more expressive and complex. There is a Roxy Music vibe floating around in this piece that is just exquisite. About 3 minutes in, Brentnall’s vocals come leaping forth and they are the most prominent they are on the whole album. Baker clearly knows how to mix vocals because they move in and out of speakers as Brentnall sings various pieces simultaneously as if in conversation, echoing one another here and there. It creates a pleasing array of angelic, ethereal vocals that blend together to create a choral feel. As the title suggests, there is a longing here and perhaps a sense of loss in both the vocals and the feel of the composition. “Shivering” is the finale to Delirious Things and it begins with a bright, aggressive fuzz that has several layers to it. A comforting hum floats among the prickly sounds and sparse percussion punctuates the soundscape. The track begins to take form and then moves back into buzzing drone territory as it pauses before resuming and Brentnall begins to sing. The pace of the piece is medium tempo but there is an urgency to it as the vocals swell and move up and down in volume. “Shivering” reaches its outro as synths hum, buzz, and crackle until there is silence. The duo of Baker and Brentnall is one made in heaven. After spending many hours with Delirious Things, my hope is that there will be much more of this collaboration to follow. Baker’s compositions move from ambient brilliance to dark-wave decadence, changing the backdrop to Brentnall’s angelic, ethereal, and otherworldly vocals throughout. Context, if anything, proves to shape the feel of her vocals here and Baker is a master composer, giving Brentnall a myriad of spaces in which to interpret her vocal prowess. Delirious Things is a gorgeous album demonstrating Baker’s compositional expertise and Brentnall’s ability to evoke deep, emotional moments with her captivating voice." [Jason / Somewherecold] 2017 €16.00
BALDRUIN Vergessene Träume LP "It’s said that German philosopher Immanuel Kant hardly ever left his home town. Yet he managed to pull off some of the most influential thinking to date. How did he manage to do that? Well, a daily routine based on reasoning interrupted by long walks did the trick and – voilà! – another “Critique” was done! Johannes Schebler’s body of work released under his Baldruin moniker may not exactly be as groundbreaking as the old geezer’s from Königsberg, but it’s fair to point out that his discipline is comparably versed and experienced when it comes to making his music. During the years past he hardly ever left town, avoided exhausting and time consuming nonsense such as touring and instead stayed inside preparing and releasing over a dozen albums since his first recordings back in 2009. He snuck out for a walk once in a while – especially to have a cheap lunch or dinner downtown – but other than that he kept himself busy watching Midnite Movies and messing around with a myriad of musical instruments. (And yes, an occasional painting was finished here and there, too!) In short: Johannes is quite a regular guy following a well-arranged, unhurried 24/7 routine. Given this almost boring day in, day out one might wonder how he manages to piece together his colorful, imaginative and meticulously manufactured sonic miniatures? Well, it’s obviously that kind of untroubled artistic existence that leads to a mindset to create a slightly unsettling music quite far from the artist’s own experience. It’s not real, it’s phantasy. It’s art, it’s entertainment – and it’s meant to be fun. Keep in mind: Listening to „Vergessene Träume“ („Forgotten Dreams“) is like visiting a fairground’s Tunnel of Horror or a field trip to an other-worldly theme park: Tracks like „Begegnung im Labyrinth” („Encounter in the Maze“) or „Das Mysterium der Kreidefelsen“ („The Enigma of the Chalk Cliffs“) hint at the playful and surreal character of the music. Music that is deeply informed by the colorful works of composers like Franco Battiato and the iconic and imaginative horror-movie soundtracks of Goblin („Suspiria“) and the likes. So, don’t mistake Baldruin’s fanciful, vaudevillian approach with the omnipresent depressive and dystopian post-postmodern aesthetics. Baldruin’s far from being a bleak bloke and such is his music: It’s the brainchild of a rich, child-like imagination, a celebration of the comical ‘n creepy yet life-affirming forces in life. Enjoy the ride!" ikuisuus.bandcamp.com/album/vergessene-tr-ume 2018 €15.00
  Die halluzinierte Welt MC "Anbruch eines neuen Tages. Die Natur wird in ein magisches Licht getaucht. Es verändert die Warnehmung der Dinge und erzeugt eine entrückte Atmosphäre. Etwas nicht greifbares schwebt über den Köpfen. Ein Übergang von intensiv erlebten Gefühlszuständen in eine halluzinierte imaginäre Realität. Eine erweiterte Wirklichkeitsauffassung kommt zum Vorschein. Ängste, Hoffnungen und Sehnsüchte einer nicht (mehr) greifbaren Welt, die sich als surreale Visionen materialisieren. Individuell real Erlebtes verformt sich und wird transformiert zu fantasierten Erinnerungen, zu denen immer wieder zurückgekehrt werden kann. Impressionistische musikalische Skizzen als Ausdruck innerer Sehnsuchtsbilder. --------- Dawn of a new day, nature is immersed in a magical light. The aura is raptured by this illumination and the atmosphere is ecstatic. A transition occurs from an intense emotional state to a hallucinated reality, revealed by expanded perceptions. Emerging from surreal visions, fears, hopes and desires materialize. Authentic experiences morph, before transforming back into fleeting memories that return with time again. Sonic sketches of impressions and internal imagery. released June 6, 2020 All tracks recorded 2019 and 2020 in Wiesbaden, Germany by Johannes Schebler https://lullabiesforinsomniacslabel.bandcamp.com/album/die-halluzinierte-welt "Since 2009 Johannes Scheblers has began mapping out his surreal sonic topography. Shortly after releasing his first experimental compositions on the homegrown DIY SicSic-Label together with Daniel Voigt, his albums began circulating on labels all over Europe as well as in the USA and Japan. He grew up in a small Bavarian village, where his family had moved to for his fathers work as a pastoral officer. Here they lived in the rectory attached to the church where the loud resonance of the bells, lush organ sounds and chorales of singing churchgoers where constantly present in Johannes childhood. The alluring atmospheres enticed him and he spent several years serving as a altar boy. These early spiritual experiences are a foundation for Baldruin’s sound. In his teenage years, he was exposed to transcendental and dreamlike visions in surreal and avant-garde films which he obsessed over. The unique artistic styles of Švankmajer, Buñuel, Jodorowsky, Cronenberg and Lynch have heavily informed his sonic palette. Schebler’s compositions offer reinterpretations of dark and mystic mythologies, a chance meeting with strange beings from unknown depths conjured in his imagination where he gives free rein to the fantastic and surreal. Besides his Baldruin project he collaborates with Jani Hirvonen (Uton) on the project Grykë Pyje and is joined by Brannten Schnüre together as Diamantener Oberhof." 2020 €11.00
BARTC Insubstantial as Ghosts CD BArTc is London based experimental electronic audio visual artist Jason Barton, with his nom de plume comprising the symbols for three chemical elements - Boron (B), Argon (Ar) and Technetium (Tc) - while also giving nods to both Hungarian composer Béla Bartók and his own surname. 'Insubstantial As Ghosts' is Barton’s debut album and contains fourteen highly atmospheric soundscapes. Taking the title from a William Gibson novel that was also used in a citation about Sleeping Sickness (‘they neither conveyed nor felt the feeling of life; they were as insubstantial as ghosts, and as passive as zombies’), he comments that “I have always loved the phrase as for me it perfectly describes minimalist, other worldly dark ambience.” Initially inspired by instrumental electronic records in his father’s record collection by titans such as Tangerine Dream, Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre, Barton soon gravitated towards underground ‘industrial’ icons such as Coil, Einstürzende Neubauten, Chris & Cosey and Skinny Puppy, as well as digging deeper into the work of early German electronicists such as Cluster, Musique concrète pioneers Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry, plus the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Citing sound recordist (and Cabaret Voltaire co-founder) Chris Watson as another influence, adding that “I have always loved environmental sounds and often carry a field recorder on my travels which I use to create texture in my pieces.” Further explaining his modus operandi, Barton explains: “I build layers to create something abstract yet strangely beautiful, mixing source material, organic and experimental sounds plus field recordings that are heavily distorted with various effects. For me, creating music is a form of meditation, and to lose oneself in an improvisation is a wonderful experience. I just need to remember to hit record!” Having collected synthesisers and made music (both alone and with friends) for several years, Barton subsequently started the project Less Than One to create accompanying videos that he began posting on Instagram. Initially solely for his own work, he soon earned plaudits from a worldwide community of electronic artists that in turn has led to commissions from the likes of Daniel Avery and Alessandro Cortini. Much of ‘Insubstantial As Ghosts’ was recorded in January 2021 while the UK was in lockdown. “I participated in an annual Instagram music making challenge, where artists post a short piece of music every day using the hashtag #jamuary2021. Recording my contributions at the same time every evening (22:23), I amassed many minutes of music and ideas. Some of these were expanded to become tracks for the album or inspired further recordings through the dark winter nights.” ICR's Colin Potter heard some of Barton’s work and agreed on a releasel. He has handpicked several of the pieces included on ‘Insubstantial As Ghosts’ and also mastered the album. https://icrdistribution.bandcamp.com/album/insubstantial-as-ghosts 2021 €13.00
BASINSKI, WILLIAM & RICHARD CHARTIER Aurora Liminalis CD "Line is pleased to announce the upcoming release of the second highly anticipated collaboration from renowned composer William Basinski and sound artist Richard Chartier. Aurora Liminalis is a rich and nebulous soundtrack, the aural equivalent of undulating trails of light. Disintegrating spatial shifts incorporating the two artists' distinct sonic palettes mesh to create a slow, deep ebb and flow like some melting spectral transmission. The work has a distinct complex presence, difficult to resist its pull. Befitting cover image by visual artist James Elaine. William Basinski (b.1958)is a classically trained musician and composer who has been working in experimental media for over 30 years in NYC and most recently, California. Employing obsolete technology and analogue tape loops, his haunting and melancholy soundscapes explore the temporal nature of life and resound with the reverberations of memory and the mystery of time. His epic, entropic masterpiece, The Disintegration Loops has received international critical acclaim and was chosen as one of the top 50 albums of 2004 by Pitchfork Media, as well as the top re-issue for 2012's Temporary Residence vinyl box set. Art Forum selected The River, his transcendental 2-disc shortwave music experiment on Raster-Noton, Germany as one of the top ten albums of 2003. Installations and films made in collaboration with artist-filmmaker, James Elaine have been presented in festivals and museums internationally, and his concerts are presented to sold out crowds around the world. Recent collaborations include music for Robert Wilson's latest opera, The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic, Aurora Liminalis with Richard Chartier and a remix of Antony's Cut The World as well as a new solo album for release in early 2013, Nocturnes. Basinski's works are released on 2062 and distributed internationally. Richard Chartier (b.1971), sound and installation artist, is considered one of the key figures in the current of reductionist electronic sound art which has been termed both 'microsound' and Neo-Modernist. Chartier's minimalist digital work explores the inter-relationships between the spatial nature of sound, silence, focus, perception and the act of listening itself. Chartier's sound works-installations have been presented in galleries and museums internationally including the 2002 s Whitney Biennial and he has performed his work live across Europe, Japan, Australia, and North America at digital art/electronic music festivals and exhibits. In 2000 he formed the recording label Line and has since curated its continuing documentation of compositional and installation work by international sound artists/composers exploring the aesthetics of contemporary and digital minimalism. In 2010, Chartier was awarded a Smithsonian Institution Artist Research Fellowship to explore the National Museum of American History's collection of 19th-Century acoustic apparatus for scientific demonstration." [label info] 2013 €14.50
BAUMANN, FRANZISKA Eternal Ice melts CD Faszinierendes Gletscher-Dröhnen & erhabene Voice-Poetry von FRANZISKA BAUMANN, dazu 5 Remixe ihres Stückes von MICK HARRIS, SEETYCA (soon on Drone Rec!), SUBMERGED.... "...Highly recommended compilation to anyone interested in contemporary electronics from subtle field recordings to expressive breakbeat-science." [NMP / Vital Weekly] "In the fall of 2003 Franziska Baumann performed at the Matrix Festival of contemporary music, in Leipzig, Germany. Her manipulated recordings of melting glacier ice wowed the audience, but just as memorable were the 125 copies of a remix CD distributed at the event. Noted artists Lull, Seetyca and Clemmens Presser were drafted to compose pieces based on her works. For Mick Harris (Lull) fans, finding a copy of this CD has been their holy grail. On October 16 Soleilmoon puts an end to their frustration, and does it in typical over-the-top Soleilmoon fashion, with a hand numbered limited edition presented in a silkscreened vellum slip cover. Fortunately, the quantity is more reasonable this time: 500 copies will be made. And finally, just for this new edition, Kurt Gluck (Submerged) has contributed a heart pounding new drum’n’bass track. Lull is the name of the dark ambient side project of Mick Harris, former drummer for Napalm Death and current leader of challenging industrial music band Scorn. German artist Seetyca is a prolific artist who records his bleak, isolationist soundscapes music for many labels, including darkwinter.com. Clemens Presser, another German artist, has contributed to several compilations and is now working on his first solo album. Kurt Gluck runs the Ohm Resistance label and is a famous drum’n’bass DJ. He has collaborated with Bill Laswell and John Zorn, and regularly moves back and forth between the dance and experimental music scenes. Franziska Baumann is fascinated by the glacier as a listening space. She has been examining the forms of sound in and upon the glacier, inspired by the enormous tide of ice and its multilayered temporal and spatial dimensions, and she sets her own voice in a dialogue with its icy spaces Using stereo, zoom and contact microphones, Franziska Baumann senses the aliveness and dynamics of ice and the poetry of the sounds that live in glacial crevasses and grottos. The sounds of the glacier (creaks, drips, rumbles, shuffles etc.) were recorded at different times on and within. Her voice touches the icy crevasse walls in their various states, from karstic to icy smoothness. Warmth and cold produce different sound pictures. In collaboration with glaciologists from the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and the Swiss Computing Center in Zurich, she has transformed seismographic recordings of glacial movements into sound paintings. A portrait of this work was broadcasted on Swiss television in December 2001." [press release] 2006 €13.50
BEHRENS, MARC Architectural Commentaries CD Architektonischer Noise? Aurale Geometrie? MARC BEHRENS versieht sein Cover mit Fotos von dreidimensionalen Gebilden & Gebäuden und scheint auch soundmäßig neuartige Räume ausloten zu wollen. Hermetischer Minimal-Ambient zwischen Geräusch, Drone und dem Nichts, veröffentlicht auf dem inzwischen von 20CITY in CMR unbenannten ESO STEEL – Label aus Neuseeland. Etwas für spitze Ohren. “ German composer and sound artist Marc Behrens has put forth a beautiful installment of sound work for CMR's second CD release, entitled Architectural Commentaries. Marc has been working with sound (in one form or another) since 1986 and is probably most recognised for his digitally re-worked field material and composition. With a long history of installation work and live performance, he has exhibited alone and in group exhibitions; and performed live internationally in locations such as Japan, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, and the UK. He has completed tours with fellow sound artists Francisco Lopez, Bernhard Gunter and John Duncan and has had notable CD releases on Gunter's label Trente Oiseaux (Germany), Digital Narcis (Japan), Raster Music (Germany) and Intransitive Recordings (USA). Architectural Commentaries is comprised of five tracks. The first three pieces, entitled 'Architectural Commentaries 1-3', are some of Marc's most recent compositions arranged in 2001 using basic material recorded from 1990-2000 in various global locations. Taking title, sleeve images and sound together we are left with new audible environments for architectural structures; jets of forced air and amplified nothing, distant machinery and tiny bites of frequency, faded and cut together to create beautifully atmospheric soundscapes. Track 4 was previously released on RLW's 'Tulpas' 5 CD set (Selektion 024) and was constructed using source material from Ralf Wehowsky. Track 5 was composed in 1992 as a soundtrack to accompany the video Der Raum by Torsten Grosch - stills of which feature on the CD sleeve. The album permits a smooth flow between Marc's earlier and more recent work and shows the artists' continuing exploration into the depth and dimensions of sound recording.” [press release] 2002 €12.00
BEINS, BURKHARD / DIRK MARWEDEL / MICHAEL VORFELD Misiiki CD Michael Vorfeld Plays percussion and self designed stringed instruments and works as musician and visual artist based in Berlin, Germany. He works in the field of improvised, experimental music and sound art and is often involved in site-specific art projects. Besides his solo activities he is a member of various ensembles and collaborates with artists from different art forms. His visual work concentrates mainly on the use of light, and he realizes light installations and sound and light performances. His list of activities includes numerous concerts, performances and exhibitions in Europe, the USA and South East Asia. Dirk Marwedel Since 1985 improvised music, related musical concepts and interdisciplinary projects with dance, theatre, sculpture, painting, film, performance, soundinstallation; in several groups as well as a soloist developing technics of soundshaping and preparations which are extending the sonic spectrum of the saxophone far beyond the traditional sound of the instrument. Concerts in Europe and Canada. Lives in Wiesbaden, where he is a founding member and organiser of the HumaNoise congress. He is a group member of WIE?!, Salpinx, Ensemble 2INCQ, Xtrax, DOMINO Orchestra and a duo with Charlotte Hug. Burkhard Beins Plays percussion. Since the late 1980's international festivals, concerts and tours with experimental music throughout Europe und North America. He is a member of several ensembles like Perlonex, Activity Center, Polwechsel, The Sealed Knot, Phosphor and also works with Keith Rowe, Sven-Åke Johansson, John Bisset, Orm Finnendahl, Phil Minton, John Tilbury and many others. More than 25 CDs and LPs, released on labels like 2:13 Music, Zarek, Erstwhile, Hat Hut, Potlatch, Confront and Rossbin www.burkhardbeins.de/groups/misiiki.html 2003 €6.00
BIOMECHANICA BM-01 CD "The 'BioMechanica' project marks the first collaboration between FRANCISCO LOPEZ and ARTURO LANZ (founder and member of the current ESPLENDOR GEOMÉTRICO tandem) after thirty years of an ongoing relationship. Their debut album, "BM-01", is the outcome of years of intense work in multiple cities across the world, from Beijing to Reykjavik all the way to Johannesburg. Raw power and original rhythms, together with an overwhelming sound complexity, a multi-channel spatial virtuality and a spectacular production come together in BioMechanica, synthesizing the insight and experience of two internationally acclaimed industrial/experimental music makers." [label info] www.geometrikrecords.com "Recently I had a discussion about musicians who produce a lot of work, and in that conversation also the name Francisco Lopez came up. A friend of mine admitted he gave up on Lopez some time ago, as he said there were too many similar works by him. You could, he argued, pick a few of the essential ones ('La Selva' and 'Buildings [New York]' being two that are always mentioned), but it was perhaps not necessary to collect all of his releases. I don't know: I am not really much of a collector but I can see his point. But I didn't hear BioMechanica when we talked about this. Lopez is, besides a producer of many CDs, also someone who collaborates with others, as he does here. Just as with remixes, it's always good to see something moving in a totally different area, and that's something that happens here. Lopez teams up with Arturo Lanz, the only original member of Esplendor Geometrico and maybe an unlikely partner for Lopez. Lanz plays 'germ rhythmic patterns' while Lopez is responsible for 'rhythmic pattern evolution, environmental recording mutations, composition, editing, mixing and mastering'. So Lanz recorded some of his trade mark rhythms, which we love for more than thirty years now, while in return Lopez adds his likewise trademark sound material. However this is not a question putting one and one together in the hope it's going to be two, which usually doesn't work. But that's not what Lopez does here. He cuts his sounds short(er) too, and creates a mechanical rhythm out of that too. His field recordings here sound like they found their origins inside a factory - hissing and bleeping of motors, sustaining sounds from mechanical devices and such like. That gives the music perhaps a sense of old fashioned industrial music but that is maybe the whole idea behind this. It works wonderfully well, especially when Lanz creates those banging industrial rhythms, such as in '01' and '05', which sound almost like Einsturzende Neubauten. A great release, almost like pop music, which is a rare thing for Lopez. So, yes, I can imagine people asking themselves why they should buy every new Lopez (related) release, but this one is actually very good - an essential one even (the future must proof this). And seeing they took a 'band' name, I wouldn't be surprised if there is more to come." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2012 €14.50
BLACK TO COMM Rückwärts Backwards CD “Black To Comm is an alias for Dekorder label owner Marc Richter's audio excursions. "Rückwärts Backwards" is his debut full-length album recorded between 2003 and 2005 in his adopted hometown Hamburg and his childhood home in the Black Forest located in the south of Germany. With a background in many musical styles (from Psychedelia to pure Computer Music) BTC's music is never easy to pin down. This album is essentially created from scratchy shellac and vinyl loops merged with ambience field recordings (with some voice manipulations and kitchen gamelan thrown in for good measure). The warm hiss of analogue recording techniques combined with the apparently antique sounds of vintage organs, acoustic & electric guitars, pianos, glockenspiel and mbira used on these tracks generate a kind of hyperreal, fake nostalgia playing with one's perception of a pseudo-recollection. The layering and hypnotic repetition of short loops extracted from old Psychedelia, Free Jazz, Vaudeville and Traditional records reveal a haunting melodic quality sometimes not distinguishable within the original source material, evoking a hovering feeling of bittersweet melancholy with an omnipresent, slightly disturbing atmosphere hidden beneath the surface.The 8 songs constantly sway back and forth between simple, almost naive arrangements and dense surreal drones with rare, yet intense distorted climaxes making this album one constantly absorbing listening experience.” [label info] “First of all this CD is beautifully packaged with a tri-fold disc holder. Each picture bears its own character (blurry forest with handscrawled text, a sleeping cat, and what appears to be an old wallpaper pattern) But on to the music. Black to Comm (aka Marc Richter who also runs Dekorder) knows how to keep it short and sweet with 8 songs clocking in at under 37 minutes. Ruckwarts Backwards opens with the aptly titled 'Bees' some gentle buzzing of said insect is later accompanied by some child-like hums, this gives way to the second song 'Levitation' which is a gentle soundscape of rising and falling organ tones backed by a field recording. 'Lucifer Lacca' ushers in an operatic vocal loop that reaches crescendo and ends with another bit of children's singing. The feel is still subdued and continues throughout the record, I'm reminded at times of Tape, not so much in sound but in how I feel while listening to them. The title track is a series of interlocking vibraphone melodies that are augmented by computer processing. The computer treatments are more of an enhancement rather than something that would radically alter the source sounds. Track 5 is my personal favorite with a minimalist and slightly buzzing drone that cross-fades with a quieter drone. The remainder of the album hits just the right drone spot! Minimal loops with a somber feel, that guides you right to the end. The credits list microphones, voice, and kitchen gamelan, and Marc is good at assembling seemingly unrelated segments into gently blurred landscapes that roll by with an ease and comfort. In a few words..... simple, and elegant. Ruckwarts Backwards follows a self titled 10" also on Dekorder. Very curious to hear to more from this project” [CJ / Vital Weekly] 2005 €13.00
Fractal Hair Geometry CD "Black To Comm is the solo venture of Dekorder label boss Marc Richter. Having released two and a half albums on his own label he is slowly establishing himself as one of the more prolific drone artists out there with a forthcoming album on the American Digitalis label, a collaborative CD with Datashock on Ikuisuus, a 7" on the Irish Trensmat label and a collaboration with Xela in the works. "Fractal Hair Geometry" is Richter's most refined and original work to date, picking up where the electrifying drone works of his monumental Double-LP left off. Like the last records this album is centered around recordings of a variety of vintage organs. While "Wir können leider..." often featured pure harmonium sounds and spacious recordings of chuch organ and mellotron, the new album opts for a more electronic, effects-laden sound, sending an old Farfisa Compact Deluxe and Casio SK-5 through an armada of analogue & digital effects pedals. The results are massive one-chord drones layered into dense & ecstatic, flickering & pulsating clusters of psychedelic electronic sound. Additional wordless vocal effects, hyperventilating & sizzling drum machines and hypnotic violin and guitar noises make for a hyperactive sound that never stands still even though most of the music is pure drones (sometimes consisting of more than 50 recording layers). Decidedly simple but gorgeous melodies shine through the mist from time to time, making a Black To Comm record always much more accessible than your average drone album. There's even a heavy 4/4 bass drum smuggled into a track dedicated to the late Leigh Bowery, one of the most enigmatic creative figures of the mid-80's UK club scene (and singer of Minty). Guests include Jonna Karanka (aka Kuupuu) on piano, Guido Möbius on trumpet and current Black To Comm (live) band members Renate Nikolaus on violin and Ulf Schütte (of Datashock, Aosuke, etc.) adding electronic sounds. Along the lines of the music, seminal German artist Oliver Ross has created a massive multi-layered neon-coloured collage artwork which is printed on special ultra-heavy cardboard stock." [label info] "..Chanted vocals, whirring organs, mysterious shimmers, squiggly melodies, buzzing Theremins, electronic glitches, analog synths, wheezing harmoniums, and those are just guesses, cuz just like that museum exhibit, it's difficult to tell what the source sounds are. We also didn't try that hard. It's like trying to peek under the table to see how a magician does a trick. We don't want to know. It's more fun to get lost in these mysterious sounds. One track even introduces a muted techno throb, and for a brief second it sounds like the weirdest record Kompakt never released. It's really hard to describe this stuff, which is probably why we like it so much, check out the sound samples, and hear for yourself!" [Aquarius Records review] www.dekorder.com 2008 €13.00
Seven Horses for Seven Kings do-LP 2xLP packaged in a gatefold jacket with black inner sleeves. A limited quantity is pressed on one of a kind green mashup vinyl. Check out the unboxing here! CD version in 4-panel mini-LP style gatefold jacket. Black To Comm is the solo project of German sound artist Marc Richter. Through his output both as an artist and through his eclectic Dekorder label, Richter has established himself as a singular voice of new music. Operating at the fringes of drone and ambient genres, his music is darkly magical and deeply atmospheric, underpinned by a signature surrealism. A relentless sonic explorer, Richter approaches the studio as his instrument, using sampling, analogue production and digital manipulation to offer an almost infinite choice of tones and textures. Audio fragments are liberated from their original context and sculpted into surprising new shapes, creating work that transcends time or genre. Seven Horses For Seven Kings sees Richter reaching out again into the limitless field of sound, summoning forth his darkest and most visceral work to date. Seven Horses For Seven Kings was completed during a particularly prolific period for Richter. Working on a broad range of commissions since his last album - from writing for film and theatre works to composing for art installations, apps and sleep music - generated a flurry of new ideas and influences. Site-specific residencies in particular let Richter shift his focus from melody and song architecture to more abstract sound art. Extensive touring would equally come to inform a key shift in Richter’s music, simulating the raw, unpredictable energy of live performances on record. Rather than ironing out mistakes in samples or his own playing, he exploits or even forces such imperfections. While rhythm has been largely absent from previous Black To Comm releases, here the music seems totally bound to it, from the fractured techno breaks of ”Fly on You”, to the pounding war drums of “Rameses II” and pulsing Mellotron sounds of “Angel Investor”. The album’s breath-taking pace drives Richter’s music to new levels of intensity. Richter’s creative practice is informed as much by careful, attentive listening as it is studio experimentation. Pieces often begin life as a single sound that catches his ear, be it a record from his extensive collection, or something in the natural environment. Samples and instrumentation are sometimes presented authentically, a deliberate reference to an era, place or player, and at other times are twisted beyond recognition. Samples from contemporary artists like Nils Frahm are bent and compounded with fragments of early recorded music and medieval song. Richter blurs the lines between organic instrumentation and digital production to the extent that the two become inseparable. Being able to separate sound from context gives Richter complete command of the emotional impact of his music, imbuing pieces with meaning or stripping it back as he sees fit. While Richter questions whether instrumental music needs to have deeper meaning beyond its sonic qualities, he accepts that the wider world inevitably bleeds into his art. Reflecting the violence and unreality of modern life, Seven Horses For Seven Kings is unashamedly dark, undeniably angry. But rather than be consumed by such emotions, Richter employs them as ecstatic release. Through his mastery of sound, he achieves transcendence through noise, beauty through intensity. www.thrilljockey.com/products/seven-horses-for-seven-kings 2019 €23.50
  Oocyte Oil & Stolen Androgens LP "The music of Black To Comm is as powerfully intoxicating as it is subtly unnerving. The solo project of shapeshifting German producer and sound artist Marc Richter, his mastery of sonic manipulation is matched only by his astounding clarity of vision. Oocyte Oil and Stolen Androgens applies Richter's wild imagination to an exploration of the human voice, standing as some of his most immediate and affecting music to date. Each of his phantasmagoric works is meticulously constructed from an omnivorous array of smudged samples and other sonic detritus, painstakingly collected by Richter from across the history of recorded music or his immediate environment and altered into beguiling new shapes. Sound sources seem tantalizingly familiar and yet often just out of reach, flickering at the edges of the subconscious. Oocyte Oil & Stolen Androgens compiles new evolutions of pieces written for site-specific installations alongside original works. Taken as a suite, it offers a transfixing survey of the full sonic potential of the voice while honing in on its emotional and human qualities. Remarkably, considering their origin as art installations, the five tracks compiled on Oocyte Oil & Stolen Androgens stand as some of Richter's most concise and immediate work. In reimagining the pieces for release, Ritcher explains that he "wanted to break away from the notion that pieces for art have to be atonal, or abstract, or difficult". It stands as a testament to the evocative power of his work that even removed from their original context, Richter's synaesthetic compositions alone give a vivid sense of three-dimensional space and narrative. Like psychoactive chemicals blossoming in the stomach, pieces burst and bloom from the recordings into physical space, grounded in the familiar but drifting through alternate realities and higher states of consciousness. In resampling and re-working his own material, Richter actively embraces the inherently liminal and temporal nature of music, each piece existing in a state of constant flux that shifts and bends to suit the myriad contexts in which it is experienced." https://blacktocomm.bandcamp.com/album/oocyte-oil-stolen-androgens 2020 €26.00
BLACK TO COMM / AOSUKE same LP "....THE TWO BRAND NEW TRACKS BY BLACK TO COMM ARE CONTINUING THE MASSIVE ORGAN/VOICE DRONE ALCHEMY OF THE LAST DOUBLE-LP WHILE REFINING AND PERSONALIZING HIS SOUND, REACHING NEW HEIGHTS OF BLAZING SONIC MYSTICISM. AOSUKE HAVE DECIDED TO HOME-RECORD THEIR NEW MATERIAL, CONTINUING THEIR LOOP-ORIENTED, MONOTONE YET HIGHLY MELODIC AMBIENT JOURNEYS. WORKING WITH REPETITION AND SMALL ABSTRACTIONS, ALL INSTRUMENTAL "LOOPS" ARE PLAYED BY HAND AND RECORDED LIVE WITHOUT OVERDUBS (ONE OF THE MAIN PRINCIPLES OF THE GUITAR/ELECTRONICS DUO), CREATING SURPRISINGLY CONCRETE DORMANT AND SOMNAMBULISTIC SOUNDSCAPES WHILE FORTUNATELY COMPLETELY LACKING THE WASHY AND DROWSY EFFECTS OF MOST AMBIENT MUSIC. BLACK TO COMM IS THE ONE-MAN PROJECT OF MARC RICHTER WHO IS THE BRAIN BEHIND THE DEKORDER LABEL AS WELL. SO FAR HE HAS RELEASED TWO ALBUMS ON HIS OWN LABEL ("RÜCKWÄRTS BACKWARDS" AND "WIR KÖNNEN LEIDER NICHT ETWAS MEHR ZU TUN..."). AOSUKE IS THE DUO OF TOBERT KNOPP AND ULF SCHÜTTE, THE LATTER BEING A LABEL HEAD AS WELL (TAPE TEKTONIKS). LAST YEAR THEY HAVE RELEASED THEIR DEBUT "MONOTONE SPIRITS" ALBUM CO-RELEASED BY HAMBURG'S AUDIOLITH LABEL AND SOUTH GERMANY'S MEUDIADEMORTE LABEL." [label info] "...A nearly sidelong track that begins with a wavering Goblin-y synth, that buzzes warmly and endlessly, an epic stretch of near static drone, drenched in overtones and subtly flickering variations in texture, and surrounded on all sides by distant barely audible scifi melodies and field recordings. Eventually this synthdrone is joined by another tone, this one more grinding and distorted, that slowly builds and builds along side the first, the intensity growing and growing as well as the volume, and the various surrounding sonic events seem much more frenzied, until everything levels off in some sort of Niblock style drone, the various layers beating against one another, notes and tones shifting subtly, the sound seemingly alive, flecked with shards of melody and bits of buzz and swirling effects. It's a glorious sound that enraptures and entrances, eventually, fading out and releasing the listener from their glorious trance. The side finishes off with a brief coda of humid late night soundscaping, the sound of the moors, or the plains, some mysterious dark emptiness, droning and ominous, with creepy reverbed vocals and all sorts of night sounds tangled up in the track's undulating shimmer. The flip side features a group called Aosuke, who we weren't all that familiar with, but whose sounds are as dark and gorgeous and Black To Comm's. But where BtC focus on sound and drone, Aosuke focus on melody as much as texture, with guitar being the focal point, a blissy soft focus guitar ambience, crystalline notes drifting through clouds of space-y effects and strange processed and blurred vocals, it sounds almost like how you might imagine a Durutti Column record on Morr Music might sound. Organic melodies, natural sounds, all tangled up in strange electronic soundscapes, very meditative, a little krautrocky at times, and so so pretty." [Aquarius] www.dekorder.com 2007 €12.50
BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE Dolores do-LP "Dolores. Das ist die Frau, die den Schmerz schon im Namen trägt. Frau + Schmerz = Süßer Schmerz, also. Dolores. Wenn das kein passender Titel für eine Bohren & Der Club Of Gore-Platte ist, weiß ich auch nicht. Nachdem die letzte Bohrenscheibe "Geisterfaust" noch einmal so deutlich ruhiger, langsamer und entweltlichter geriet, als deren Vorgängerin "Black Earth", werden sie doch nicht etwa nochmals ... noch langsamer? Quasi im Stillstand? Gegen die Zeit? Ein Ton über 14 Minuten? Und dann die Erlösung: Nein, sie werden nicht. Kein billiges unreflektiertes Fortschreiten in dieselbe Richtung. Wie früher eine Weile bei Speedmetalbands und anderweitigen Grind-oder-sonst-wie-Core-Kapellen üblich: immer schneller, alles andere ist egal. Nein. Immer noch sehr getragen, verbindet "Dolores" Elemente aus "Geisterfaust'" und "Black Earth" und fügt ein paar neue, sehr feine Ingredienzien hinzu. Nach wie vor bleiben die schwebenden düsteren Flächen, die wie radioaktiver, dunkelgrün leuchtender Nebel aus den Boxen kriechen und dein Schlafzimmer in einen mystischen Ort verwandeln, allgegenwärtig. Akzentuiert durch sparsam eingesetzte Drums führen sie den Hörer sanft durch die erste, drei Stücke währende Passage mitten in "Dolores"' Kern. Dort wartet dann erstmals das Saxophon. Auch diesmal bedient sich der Club des schon bei "Geisterfaust" angewandten Tricks, dieses Instrument erst nach einer gefühlten Ewigkeit, bei "Unkerich", ins Spiel zu bringen. Wenn es dann einsetzt, so warm und scheu und sehnsuchtsvoll, gefriert dem Hörer geradezu das Blut in den Adern. Heiß und kalt, hoffnungsvoll und hoffnungslos, das dunkle und helle Flimmern liegen für einen Moment so nahe beieinander, dass sie fast dasselbe sind. Oder zu sein scheinen. Doch die Erlösung währt nur kurz. Schon bei "Welk" nimmt uns der Club das sanfte Gebläs wieder weg und führt uns in die unendlichen Tiefen des Bohrenuniversums hinab. Dort erscheint dann ab und an ein E-Piano aus den Kriechnebeln, das mit verhalten angedeuteten Melodien den Pfad weist. Bei "Faul" kehrt die Schöne zurück - "Dolores" erscheint im Schimmer der nächsten Saxophonlinie und leuchtet von innen heraus. Bohren At Its Best, kann man da nur sagen. Die Titel der Stücke wurden dementsprechend mit spitzen Fingern gewählt: "Staub", "Welk", "Still Am Tresen" und "Unkerich" deuten nochmal deutlich an, was hier gespielt wird. Ein Gesamtkunstwerk sozusagen. Das alles bietet dem Durchschnittsbürger nicht unbedingt Gudelaune- oder Feierei-Musike. Eher handelt es sich um eine filigrane und doch ausdrucksstarke Art, die Höhen und Tiefen des Lebens auf individuelle Weise musikalisch zu abstrahieren. Dennoch keine reine Kunstmusik, sondern mit großem Genuss hörbar. Vielleicht eher bei Rotwein, als bei Bier. Aber ich bin ohnehin Weintrinker, zumindest im Winter." [laut.de] "Imagine a blackened, funereal dooooooom band like Skepticism or Nortt morphed into the jazz idiom (after having kissed a frog, or some fairytale scenario like that), playing their slow, sad music in a smoky Berlin jazz club. The sound is jazz (electric piano, organ, vibes, sax, double bass, trap kit...) but the feeling is doom. That's our usual shorthand for describing the unique music made by longtime AQ fave, Germany's Bohren & Der Club Of Gore. Here at last is their eagerly anticipated 5th album, Dolores (not named after the San Francisco street near us, presumably). If you're fans like we are, you know what to expect, it's just as ponderously "heavy" as a "jazz" band can be. No, not loud, not harsh, not noisy. The opposite of all that. Rather, whisper-quiet, glacially slow, and spacious, with sparse snare hits keeping time like a wound-down clock ticking off the eternity between 2 minutes to midnight and the witching hour itself. Doomsday so slowly arrives on a velvety bed of somnolent deep bass notes, and the cool slinky tones of vintage Fender Rhodes. Cymbals shiver in a dark haze of ambient drones near to silence. Several of the songs are infused with the warmth of tenor or baritone sax breathes gorgeous expiring breaths. It's all so sad and woeful and achingly beautiful, Bohren nodding off, their fragile melodies trickling like tears, and by the end you may find you have shed a few too. This newest Bohren differs mainly from their previous Ipecac outing Geisterfaust by being composed of somewhat shorter, sweeter tracks, ten in all, in about an hour. But it is, again, an-ever-more- perfected example of why Bohren is one of our all time favorite bands, especially at twilight and late at night..." [Aquarius Records review] www.pias.com 2014 €23.00
  Patchouli Blue CD Nach ihrem letzten Studioalbum "Piano Nights", mittlerweile schon über fünf Jahren alt, veröffentlichen Bohren & Der Club Of Gore am 10.01.2020 ihr neues Album "Patchouli Blue" auf [PIAS] Recordings Germany. 1988 in Mülheim a.d. Ruhr gegründet, und seit 2016 - nach dem Ausstieg von Schlagzeuger Thorsten Benning - auf eine Trio-Besetzung optimiert, haben Bohren & Der Club Of Gore mittlerweile 7 Studioalben, 1 Compilation und eine 1 EP veröffentlicht. Dazu zahlreiche Konzerte auf der ganzen Welt gespielt und sich mit präziser Entschleunigung, kombiniert mit minimalen Lumeneinheiten, eine große und treue Fangemeinde erspielt. Dabei blieben sie ihrem Sound stets treu. Mit Bass, Saxophon, Piano, Fender Rhodes, Vibrafon und Besenschlagzeug als Basis erschaffen sie seit 20 Jahren ein einzigartiges Werk - immer instrumental, immer langsam, immer ereignisarm. Gesang gibt es nicht. Nun also "Patchouli Blue". Instrumental, langsam, ereignisarm. Gemischt wurde das Album wieder von Andi Reisner. [label info] "The fog is turning to rain as I push through the doors into the old Club of Gore. The place has been closed up for a few years but nothing much has changed, it’s still comfortably frayed around the edges. Organ drone swells up from the background, cuts out. They kept the worn fittings and the gloom, smells like death rock. After a couple of minutes the saxophone sighs softly, like a friendly hand on your shoulder. Patchouli Blue just fell into my lap, new information at short notice. The hardcore had the jump on me all along. By the time this review makes it out they’ll be soaked in it, hip to details I haven’t had time for yet. Bohren & der Club of Gore play a superbly unhurried type of slow core doom jazz. The sort of stuff to make long shot film noir images spool across the mind’s eye and your internal monologue turn all hard-boiled detective without warning. New faces at their notional dive bar turn on their heel pretty sharp or settle right on in because it feels like home. Companionship in solitude, nobody pulling on yer sleeve and making noisy chit chat, it’s all existential brooding on life’s mystery in here. If you’re coming to it cold then what Patchouli Blue most sounds like is Angelo Badalamenti’s dark jazz mood music for Twin Peaks. Only slowed down and left to wander the woods. It’s what’s playing on the jukebox in Audrey Horne’s coma." [Echoes & Dust] 2020 €16.50
BOLANOS, CESAR Peruvian Electroacoustic and Experimental Music (1964-1970) do-CD "César Bolaños is one of the leading artists of the Latin American avant-garde of the mid 20th century. Born in Lima, Peru in 1931, he was part of an astonishing generation of Peruvian composers: Edgar Valcárcel, Olga Pozzi-Escot, Alejandro Núñez Allauca, Leopoldo La Rosa, Enrique Pinilla and Celso Garrido-Lecca, among others. After studying piano at the National Conservatory in Lima, and following classes with the Belgian composer Andrés Sas (who after leaving Europe settles in Peru), he would join the group 'Renovación' (together with Valcárcel, Pozzi-Escot, Pulgar Vidal and Sas); with them Bolaños began a series of presentations and edited a music magazine. He had already composed brief pieces for piano and music for a chamber orchestra. At that time Bolaños is interested in the work of Stravinsky, Bartók and Schoenberg. But he's still far from the sound radicalism that he would reach in the future. In 1957 he traveled to New York City to study composition at the Manhattan School of Music and electronics at RCA. He met the Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera, who offered him a scholarship to study at the Latin-American Center of High Musical Studies (CLAEM) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. On his arrival in 1963, Bolaños became involved in the design and development of the electronic music laboratory of the CLAEM. There he composed his first electronic piece and the first work generated in the above laboratory: 'Intensity and Height' (1964), inspired by a poem of César Vallejo. Bolaños also composed 'Interpolations' (1966) for electric guitar and magnetic tape, 'Spaces I' (1966), 'II' (1967), 'III' (1968) for magnetic tape, the experimental audio-visual cantata 'Alpha-Omega' (1967), instrumental and mixed pieces like 'Flexum' (1969), 'I-10-AIFG/Rbt-1' (1968), and, with a commission from Radio Bremen (Germany), 'Nacahuasu' (1970), inspired by the Che Guevara diaries. Bolaños also experimented with computers, and composed two pieces with the mathematician Mauricio Milchberg. 'Sialoecibi' (1970): ESEPCO I (computer sound-expressive structure)* for piano and a recitator-mime-actor (a work that satirizes the organization language initials from the 1950's) and 'Song without words', ESEPCO II (1970) 'Homage to the unpronounced words' for piano (2 performers) and tape. For the composition of these pieces Bolaños and Milchberg introduce into the computer parameters to have the machine generate a composition from the information obtained by the composer's production. These recordings bring together for the first time a definitive edition of his work on CD." [label info] www.pogus.com "Electronic music from Peru? Pogus boss Al Margolis goes with his search for some of the exotic, unknown composers from the most obscure parts of the world. Carlos Bolanos was born in Lima, Peru in 1931, who also composed for piano and chamber orchestra. In 1963, while in Buenos Aires he was introduced to electronic music, which he continued to compose until 1970. After 1973 he was back in Peru, but without any further means to continue this line of work and devoted the rest of his time investigating pre-Hispanic instruments. Now for the first time his electronics appear on compact disc. Only the first piece, 'Intensidad Y Altura' is pure electronical piece; all the others combine electronics with other, 'real' instruments. About one hundred minutes here of what is best called 'difficult' music - the germanic ernste music. I must have written this before, but I am not the most right person to do this music any justice. This is a highly serious mixture of avant-garde classical music in combination with electronic sounds. My favorite is 'Cancion Sin Palabras, ESEPCO II' for two piano's and tape, which is intense at times, soft at times and has a great touch to it, including some scarping and bending sounds. The other pieces were not bad either, but not all the time worked for these classically untrained ears. Definitely an interesting release, but perhaps I wished for some more electronics." [FdW, Vital Weekly] 2010 €18.00
BOSETTI, ALESSANDRO Il Fiore della Bocca CD "Produced in 2003 for the sound art department of a german radio station, "Il Fiore della Bocca" is one of the most controversial text sound compositions by Alessandro Bosetti. Composed exclusively with the voices of physically and mentally handicapped people, the piece displays an impressive richness, depth and variety of sound, covering the full range of musical possibilities of the spoken voice; from heavily processed to completely unprocessed, naked and direct. The piece has an ambiguous nature that lies somewhere between an experimental radio play and an extended, powerfully voice driven, noise composition. Bosetti has taken an impressive journey into what is commonly perceived as "disturbing". He has thus engaged in a process of transformation and metamorphosis with both the sound materials and their perceptions in order to develop musical beauty out of these "abnormal" voices. A long series of conversations, where spastic, aphasic and larynx-less persons are confronted with examples of "deconstructed voice" (in the tradition of experimental music and sound poetry), has been the core of a two year long intimate relationship with those speakers and the starting point of the compositional process. All commentaries, reflections and reactions had been recorded in order to create a new composition with those collected materials. Similar to his other text sound pieces like "African Feedback", "Everyday Objects", "The Listeners", "The Mouth" or "Zwölfzungen", conversations, human interaction, comprehension and misunderstanding are essential to this piece. Since it's premiere on Deutschland Radio Kultur in 2004, it has been performed many times; in presence of the original speakers and in several live multichannel performances which provocated a wide and passionate range of reactions and discussions. "Il Fiore della Bocca", is intended as a piece in the form of a flower, either one of the red roses Claudia is singing about in the middle section of the composition, or a mouth-flower, as the title suggests. Also, a flower close in inspiration to the weathered, ephemeral and dying flowers that Zeami used to describe the quality of Nô theater actors. It's a piece based on love, human interaction and the contemplation of differences which reaches the point where the extremely different becomes the same. Recorded and composed between September 2002 and August 2003 in Milan and Berlin. First broadcasted by Deutschland radio Kultur, October 24th, 2003." [label info] www.rossbin.com/rs025.htm 2006 €6.00
BRADLEY, PAUL Sirens CD-R SIRENS fasst die vergriffenen mCDRs "Cede" (Waterscape Rec.) und "Searching for the way" (Locus of Assemblage) zusammen, sowie das bisher nur als digitalen Download erhältliche Stücke "Horizon". Das sind warme, melancholische Dronescapes wie sie für BRADLEY typisch sind, hochsensibel & verzaubernd.. ‘sirens’collects together the out of print releases ‘cede’ and ‘searching for the way’ along with the download release ‘horizon’. ‘cede’ was originally released as a 3 inch cdr on the German label Waterscape Records in an edition of 50. ‘searching for the way’ was issued through the UK label ‘The Locus Of’ in an edition of 100 3 inch cdr’s. ‘horizon’ is also available as a download from Twenty Hertz Digital. ‘sirens’ comes in a plastic sleeve with full colour 4 panel insert and the first 50 copies also include two photograph inserts (the ‘sirens’ and ‘searching for the way’ covers) and a numbered and signed obi. Tracks one and three were lightly re-touched in February 2008 at IC Studio." [label info] www.twentyhertz.co.uk 2008 €10.00
BRIGHTER DEATH NOW Everything is Gonna' be Allright 10inch Brighter Death Now – Everything is gonna‘ be alright, 10″ LE500 clear vinyl +DDC 23,- limited edition 500 copies clear vinyl The Rule is: No Rule 4track 10″ vinyl Recorded 2018-2021 by Karmanik Tracklist I tell the truth 6:33 Prepared for life 4:40 There is a rule 6:18 Love hard 4:52 https://tescogermany.bandcamp.com/album/everything-is-gonna-be-alright 2022 €25.00
BRUME Prehistoric Tapes CD "This is the 13th CD in the 13 CD Brume anthology. "These recordings were the very first electronic experiments I made, just after I gace up Uria, and just before I create Brume. The main stuff was inspired by music like Heldon, Suicide... but also progressive music and German kraut-rock." Recorded from 1979 to 1983 at Primitive Studio and Brume Rec. Remastered from "dusty tapes", reprocessed at Brume Rec., winter 2006." [label info] www.waystyx.com 2008 €13.00
BRUME + VOMIR Unstable LP "The involvement in the improbable challenge of a collaboration with another musical entity takes on its full meaning when the two characters have radically different personalities ! In 2001, the merger of Brume with the American project Bastard Noise could have seem surreal ! One works in the field of Musique concrete, and the others in what we can call Power electronics, making their own sound generators (DIY). The first album of this association materialised with a very successful CD! 2012… pops up this “alien”, unique in the French music scene : Vomir, the project of Romain Perrot. Some monolithic hard-liner “walls of noise” stretching endlessly… The paradox of the music of Vomir is that this sonorous fire ship manages to blow you away, this magma being so hypnotic, similar to the german long electronic tracks of the 70s. Amazing ! Armed with his experience with Bastard Noise, Brume contacted Vomir for a new musical experience, a new challenge… The result was arranged and post-produced by Christian Renou in his own home-studio. Any description would be shallow to describe the result. Sharpen your ears and let yourself drift away with these thermonuclear explosions." [C. Renou, Jan. 2014] www.rotorelief.com 2014 €22.00
BRUME / OUBLIER ET MOURIR A Year to live LP " ‘A Year To Live’ is the 2nd collaboration between the German dark ambient/noise sound artist ANEMONE TUBE (OUBLIER ET MOURIR) and the French sound experimentalist CHRISTIAN RENOU (BRUME). ‘A Year To Live’ ties in with the highly acclaimed ‘Transference’ collaboration CD (released by Auf Abwegen, 2003), which radiated a subtle (dis)quieting melancholy, but goes beyond it. ‘A Year To Live’ refers to the same-titled book by Stephen Levine, which deals about preparing for or ‘practicing’ death to remind oneself of the beauty of life. On his deathbed, Socrates exhorted his followers to practice dying as the highest form of wisdom. Levine teaches us to live each moment mindfully and created the so-called ‘year to live’, a program of intensely practical strategies and powerful guided meditations, which helps us to live our lives with more awareness before we die. Both artists approach this theme with notably different points of view, but complement one another’s vision, in such a precise and dedicated manner, that one can truly not exist without the other. BRUME is the experimental music project by CHRISTIAN RENOU, a particularly prolific sound artist, active since 1985. With recordings on Elsie And Jack, Drone, Old Europa Café, Relapse, Staalplaat and his own Brume Rec., Christian Renou has built quite a name for himself over the years and can be considered a legend in the field. On ‘A Year To Live’ BRUME creates environments ranging from the completely abstract to the vaguely specific, using elements such as voice, loops, wide-ranging drones, ghostly ambiences, noise, various electronics and even percussions. The loops and voice samples roam throughout the track list like persistent ghosts wandering in a transcendental, shapeless purgatory, reciting their obsessions like a mantra. www.elsieandjack.com/brume ANEMONE TUBE has aroused much attention with his two consecutive releases ‘Dream Landscape’ (2010) and ‘Death over China’ (2011), which embody hell’s darkest nightmares to give a good, hard glimpse of Death’s reign over matter and human existence. Now a new form of expression is born and in a sense it is the cathartic aftermath of the unbearable pain caused by the previous realisations. Such an expression required a different vehicle, which is OUBLIER ET MOURIR (‘to forget and to die’). A name perfectly suited to the peaceful, meditative, but also deeply emotional and atmospheric character of the music, which is a unique mix of melancholic ambient soundscapes & melodramatic pop sometimes reminding of TOR LUNDVALL and (early) SYLVAIN CHAUVEAU. www.anemonetube.de " [label info] www.silkentofu.bigcartel.com 2012 €17.50
BU.D.D.A. All Der Guten Dinge Drei CD by BU.D.D.A. Bu.d.d.A. - „Bund des dritten Auges“ is a fairly new project involving experimental musicians Sascha Stadlmeier (EMERGE, attenuation circuit Records) and Chris Sigdell (Leaden Fumes (ex-Phased), b°tong) and which plays meditative ambient drones. Sometimes they play with a guest musician, and sometimes not. For those who need names, it may sound like Troum meets Earth together with Eno… but in reality Bu.d.d.A. builds on the legacy of German industrial band NID (1995-2005), who Chris was a member of, and which released a post-humous CD on Auf Abwegen (Asmus Tietchens, etc.). --- Chris Sigdell aka B°tong (electronics, samples, guitar) and Sascha Stadlmeier aka EMERGE (electronics, samples, voice), two of the most prolific exponents of the European post-industrial underground scene, have teamed up to form a new project which is destined to include varying guests. The punning project name, which pokes fun at the more esoteric tendencies in the scene (“Bund des dritten Auges” translates as “League of the third eye”), already hints at the fact that there is a third party involved. On this first release, which came out of a 2018 recording session at Màgia Roja in Barcelona, the third member is Dieter Mauson (electronics). Both Sigdell and Stadlmeier have long been known as exponents of “dark” ambient, and in this collaborative project, they are both at the height of their game as far as deep, brooding textures and reverberating metallic clangs are concerned. The immersive soundscapes, abstract yet cinematic in their ominously sustained (dis-) harmonies, are punctuated, however, by subliminally throbbing microrhythms. Analogue and digital sounds interweave, and while the oceanic drones clearly pay tribute to the “industrial” legacy of acts such as Lustmord and Zoviet France, the occasional digital glitch connects the sound to the present era, where even “industrial” production is no longer only about “metal on metal,” but has become increasingly digital in itself. However, Bu.d.d.A. are clearly less interested in social commentary or the rhetoric of transgression that underpins so much “industrial music,” but rather in the fascination of the sound-in-itself. This is made pretty clear not only by the jokey project name, but also by the mock-provocative, absurdist track titles strongly reminiscent of their peers Feine Trinker bei Pinkels daheim (with members of which Sigdell used to play in Ni?): “Trommelfellatio” (phonetic pun, something like “Ear-drum-sticky blow job”), “Magischer Rochentanz” (Magic [Manta] Ray Dance), and “Menopausenmassaker” (Menopausal massacre). www.attenuationcircuit.de/releases/36/bu.d.d.a.-all-der-guten-dinge-drei 2019 €10.00
Diese Anmut von Trophäen MC Bu.d.d.A. (Bund des dritten Auges) was born accidentally – in a dark room in Barcelona. It evolved quietly until Sascha Stadlmeier (EMERGE) and Chris Sigdell (B°TONG) took Bu.d.d.A. on the road and started to take the project seriously. This resulted not only in various EPs, split releases and compilation tracks, but also in a bona fide album which you can hold in your hand and put in your player. What's inside? Mesmerising ambient music! Bu.d.d.A. is Sascha Stadlmeier and Chris Sigdell doing the unexpected... playing real instruments! "Diese Anmut von Trophäen" ("This grace of trophies" in German) features not only trademark Bu.d.d.A. tracks, but also guest appearances by such illustrious figures as Bees from COMMON EIDER KING EIDER, DREKKA and BEBAWINIGI. Think of Earth meets Troum together with Brian Eno on LSD... "Diese Anmut von Trophäen" is released by the joint efforts of Zhelezobeton Distribution Division (Russia) and Attenuation Circuit (Germany). Available on cassette, CD and in digital formats. zhb.radionoise.ru/eng/zhbd-23.html * * * * * * * ZHBD-23 © 2022 Bund des dritten Auges — a sight revered EMERGE: violin, electronics, field recordings, voice B°TONG: electric guitar, bowed guitar, synthesizer, vocals, samples featuring: Bees (Common Eider, King Eider): voice (2) Drekka: piano, rain (3) Bebawinigi: voice (4) written, arranged & produced by Bu.d.d.A. recorded at ac hq & The Loft 2020–2021 mixed by Sascha Stadlmeier & Chris Sigdell final edit & mastering by Chris Sigdell at The Loft logo & design by Chris Sigdell Bu.d.d.A. would like to thank Buddha, Rob Fisk, Michael Anderson, Virginia Quaranta, and Zhelezobeton https://zhbd.bandcamp.com/album/diese-anmut-von-troph-en 2022 €10.00
  Diese Anmut von Trophäen CD Bu.d.d.A. (Bund des dritten Auges) was born accidentally – in a dark room in Barcelona. It evolved quietly until Sascha Stadlmeier (EMERGE) and Chris Sigdell (B°TONG) took Bu.d.d.A. on the road and started to take the project seriously. This resulted not only in various EPs, split releases and compilation tracks, but also in a bona fide album which you can hold in your hand and put in your player. What's inside? Mesmerising ambient music! Bu.d.d.A. is Sascha Stadlmeier and Chris Sigdell doing the unexpected... playing real instruments! "Diese Anmut von Trophäen" ("This grace of trophies" in German) features not only trademark Bu.d.d.A. tracks, but also guest appearances by such illustrious figures as Bees from COMMON EIDER KING EIDER, DREKKA and BEBAWINIGI. Think of Earth meets Troum together with Brian Eno on LSD... "Diese Anmut von Trophäen" is released by the joint efforts of Zhelezobeton Distribution Division (Russia) and Attenuation Circuit (Germany). Available on cassette, CD and in digital formats. zhb.radionoise.ru/eng/zhbd-23.html * * * * * * * Дуэт Bu.d.d.A. (Bund des dritten Auges) родился случайно – в тёмной комнате в Барселоне. Его развитие поначалу шло незаметно, а потом Саша Штадльмайер (EMERGE) и Крис Зигделл (B°TONG) решили отнестись к проекту более серьёзно и даже отправились в тур. В результате появились первые записи: несколько миньонов, сплит-релизы и треки на сборниках, а теперь и полноценный альбом, который можно подержать в руках и поставить в проигрыватель. Что мы найдём внутри? Эмбиент, да не простой! В рамках Bu.d.d.A. Штадльмайер и Зигделл творят нечто странное... они играют на нормальных инструментах! На "Diese Anmut von Trophäen" (нем. "Это обаяние трофеев") можно услышать не только традиционные для Bu.d.d.A. треки, но и участие таких интересных фигур, как Bees из COMMON EIDER KING EIDER, DREKKA и BEBAWINIGI. На ум приходит некая условная смесь Earth и Troum вместе с Брайаном Ино под кислотой... "Diese Anmut von Trophäen" выпущен совместными усилиями лейблов Zhelezobeton Distribution Division (Россия) и Attenuation Circuit (Германия). Альбом доступен на кассете, компакт-диске и в цифровых форматах. zhb.radionoise.ru/rus/zhbd-23.html ZHBD-23 © 2022 Bund des dritten Auges — a sight revered EMERGE: violin, electronics, field recordings, voice B°TONG: electric guitar, bowed guitar, synthesizer, vocals, samples featuring: Bees (Common Eider, King Eider): voice (2) Drekka: piano, rain (3) Bebawinigi: voice (4) written, arranged & produced by Bu.d.d.A. recorded at ac hq & The Loft 2020–2021 mixed by Sascha Stadlmeier & Chris Sigdell final edit & mastering by Chris Sigdell at The Loft logo & design by Chris Sigdell Bu.d.d.A. would like to thank Buddha, Rob Fisk, Michael Anderson, Virginia Quaranta, and Zhelezobeton Co-released with attenuation circuit: attenuationcircuit.de | emerge.bandcamp.com https://zhbd.bandcamp.com/album/diese-anmut-von-troph-en 2022 €13.00
BURROUGHS, WILLIAM S. Let me hang you LP Twenty years ago, William S. Burroughs was asked to record an audio version of his favorite parts of Naked Lunch. Longtime associates and producers Hal Willner and James Grauerholz produced several sessions, and they recruited a team of world class musicians to help. Famed for their Naked City involvement, Bill Frisell and Wayne Horvitz contributed their genius, as well as Eyvind Kang, just to name a few. The recordings were then abandoned and collecting dust on a musty shelf, as forgotten as a piece of rancid ectoplasm on a peepshow floor. In 2015, Hal Willner decided to reopen this unfinished masterpiece and asked help from King Khan (a musician that he and Lou Reed admired and became fast friends with). Hal sent Khan all of the recordings and asked him to add his gris gris to this extremely perverted gumbo... and history was made and the scum began to rise! King Khan recruited M Lamar, the creator of the "Negrogothic" movement and the identical twin brother of transgender actress Laverne Cox (Orange is the New Black), and The Frowning Clouds, a band of young Australian boys who have mastered the sixties garage punk sound -- and that perhaps WSB would have also enjoyed for other purposes a long time ago. Let Me Hang You is a collection of depraved genius straight from the godfather of punk's very own mouth. If chills and thrills are what you seek, then look no further -- here is the bible of freakdom, recited by the pope of the underground... Now, pull the chair from underneath you and see what happens! Produced by James Grauerholz, A. A. Khan & Hal Willner Words by William S. Burroughs Published by Nova Lark Music (ASCAP) administered by Songs of Virtual (North America) and Touch Tones Music (Rest of World). Recorded and Mixed by Vera Beren, James Grauerholz, Wayne Horvitz, Eric Liljestrand, Robert Rebeck & A. A. Khan at Hairball IV Studio and Mercy Studio in Lawrence, KS, Wayne Horovitz's home studio in Seattle, WA, Eric Liljestrand's home studio in Venice, CA & King Khan's Moon Studios in Berlin, Germany. Edited and Sequenced by Hal Willner Reading from Burroughs’ novel, Naked Lunch, using an Abridgement edited by Nelson Lyon Artwork by Michael Eaton & A. A. Khan Mastered by Nene Barratto at PorcAudio, Berlin, Germany. In loving memory of Nelson Lyon. Music by Bill Frisell (Published by Friz-tone Music), Wayne Horovitz (published by Other Room Music), Eyvind Kang (published by Deformed Music, A. A. Khan (published by House of Hassle), Hal Willner, El Congo Allen, Nick Van Bakel & Reginald M. Lamar. credits released July 15, 2016 William S. Burroughs - voice King Khan – guitar, bass, violin, VCS 3 Synthesizer, piano, organ & drums Bill Frisell - guitar Wayne Horvitz - keyboards Eyvind Kang - violin, erhu & shani El Congo Allen - Trumpet Tony Sher -bass Kenny Wollesen - drums Jenny Scheinman - violin Hank Roberts - cello M Lamar - vocals Hal Willner - samples & turntables The Frowning Clouds: Jake Robertson – Bass Nick Van Bakel – Guitar Zak Olson – Guitar Daff Gravolin - Guitar Jamie Harmer - Drums https://khannibalism.bandcamp.com/album/let-me-hang-you 2016 €23.00
BUTZMANN / KAPIELSKI WAR PUR WAR LP "Komponist, Hörspielautor und Performancekünstler Frieder Butzmann begann bereits Ende der 1960er Jahre im Bereich experimenteller Musik zu forschen. Butzmann wird zu den Pionieren des deutschen Industrial und als Teil der Genialen Dilettanten Bewegung gezählt. Neben zahlreichen Soloveröffentlichungen kollaborierte Butzmann auch immer wieder mit anderen Künstlern wie Genesis P-Orridge, Blixa Bargeld oder Santrra Oxyd. Mit Autor und Künstler Thomas Kapielski arbeitete Frieder Butzmann seit den frühen 1980er Jahren zusammen. Die gemeinsamen Kompositionen sind zumeist minimalistische Stücke, durchsetzt von Alltagsgeräuschen und Sprachversatzstücken. So zu hören auf ihrem Album "WAR PUR WAR", das 1987 auf Zensor erstveröffentlicht wurde und mit seiner einwilligen Mischung aus verschrobenem Electro-Pop und skurrilen Klangcollagen ein gänzlich einzigartiges Werk ist und über die Jahre zu einer gesuchten Rarität wurde. Ergänzt um zwei Bonustracks, liebevoll remastert, mit aufgearbeitetem Artwork und versehen mit unveröffentlichten Fotos und Linernotes von Frieder Butzmann, erscheint "WAR PUR WAR" nun als Neuauflage auf LP und CD bei Bureau B. Composer, radio dramatist and performance artist Frieder Butzmann began exploring experimental music in the late 1960s. One of the pioneers of German industrial music and a member of the Geniale Dilettanten movement, Butzmann has collaborated with artists such as Genesis P-Orridge, Blixa Bargeld, and Santrra Oxyd, as well as releasing numerous solo works. Frieder Butzmann joined forces with author and artist Thomas Kapielski in the early 1980s. Most of their compositions are minimalist tracks interspersed with everyday noises and fragments of speech, as can be heard on their WAR PUR WAR album, first released on Zensor in 1987. This utterly unique work is an idiosyncratic mix of eccentric electro-pop and bizarre sonic collages and has gone on to become a sought-after collector’s item. Now lovingly remastered, with refreshed artwork and two bonus tracks, WAR PUR WAR is being reissued on LP and CD on Bureau B, complete with previously unpublished photos and liner notes by Frieder Butzmann." https://butzmannkapielski.bandcamp.com/album/war-pur-war 2020 €20.50
B°TONG (B*TONG / B-TONG/ BTONG) Microsleep CD-R "b°tong is a project by Chris Sigdell, former member of the Swiss/German experimental trio Níò and guitarist/singer in Phased. b°tong's first 3" MCD was released by Verato Project in 2005. Since then he's released some more on various labels (Auf Abwegen, 1000+1 TiLt, Mayo Rec, P.B.B.) and played all over the EC - a.o. the Sinus Series in Basel, 2006 and the Ausklang Festival in Hamburg 2006 and two tours with One Man Drone project. b°tong, Tamagawa, Shit & Oldine - four bands, four men and one sound: droning, ambient noise. "Microsleep" is the new album on Verato Project. The music has been created on laptop using sounds and samples collected from natural sources and/or records, films, radio, etc. It was inspired by a trip to Australia and the road signs warning of the dangers of microsleep and advising to stop over at rest areas. The individual tracks' themes are those of fatigue versus sleeplessness, loneliness and long distances, dreams and nightmares of being on a road to nowhere." [label info] www.verato-project.de 2007 €9.50
  Hostile Environments CD "B°TONG is Chris Sigdell, former member of the German experimental industrial group NID (1995 – 2005). With B°TONG he reaches for the nether regions of experimental electronic sound and has established himself as an acknowledged and known professional soundscape artist. His music is a choice of dark, brooding layers of sound, high-pitched tones and weird electronic sounds that give birth to images of darkness and tranquillity, the solitude of an icy polar night or the equivalent of an underwater journey into a bottomless pit. To create these soundscapes, he uses found samples and self-made recordings and processes these on the computer together with recordings of his own voice and other vocal samples. There are no traditional instruments involved. In a live-situation Chris Sigdell relies on playing metal-sheets, electric toys and various kitchen utensils. The sounds thus generated are put through various effect-pedals giving him that trademark sound. . B°TONG has played over 200 concerts all around Europe and in Russia, Canada and the U.S.A. He has shared stages with Aun, Batur Sönmez, Column One, Dave Phillips, Frontline Assembly, Michael Northam, Origami Galaktika, Sudden Infant, The (Law) Rah Collective, To Live And Shave In LA, Troum, Zbigniew Karkowski. . Sometimes B°TONG collaborates with other artists, as he has done with: Alain Courtis, Batur Sönmez, Diskrepant, Origami Galaktika, PS Stamps Back, TBC, and Tamagawa. Two new project are Tongdisklaktika, a together with Benny Braaten (Origami Galaktika) and Per Åhlund (Diskrepant) and Thee Secret Society with Jürgen Eberhard (F.T.PB.P.D.), Helge Moune (1000schoen) and Melvin Neumann (Vibrae). B°TONG has also been part of installations (“Polarkreis” & “95°“ by Brigitte Gierlich & Camilla Schuler) and video-projects (“Images” by Ulrich Fischer). He video-clips have been shown at the 2007 Miami Art Fair as part of the Urban Nomad film-festival, and in Beijing. His videos are made in collaboration with video artist Silvia Bergmann." [label info] www.greytone.eu "We first discovered Chris Sigdell, aka B-Tong (which, by the way, is usually written with a little circle, you know, the degrees sign, not a dash, but our website doesn't like it, so hence the hyphen), via a four way split called One Man Drone, which as you may have surmised, was a collection of one man drone-groups, and our favorite of the bunch happened to be B-Tong, whose sound was weirdly cinematic, and fantastically and psychedelically noisy and chaotic. We compared the sound to Philip Jeck mixing Goblin and Wolf Eyes! We later discovered that Sigdell played in NID, another group who utilized drones, but wove those drones into something much more cacophonous, and expansive and lushly layered. But still, ultimately, it was all about the drone. We had always hankered for more B-Tong, and while apparently there have been a bunch of full lengths, this is the first we've managed to get our hands on, and it's just as good as we remember; and yeah, if there was ever any doubt, Sigdell firmly establishes himself as an aQ-pantheon-worthy dronelord. The opener, is ominous and cavernous, laced with weird crackles and gritty crunch, kindred spirits with our own Jim Haynes for sure. The sounds oozing a sort of sonic decay, and some deft and subtle sample placement, makes the opener even more chilling. It's almost like some industrial doom, stripped down to its skeletal core. A moody, muted melody, playing out like foghorns in the distance, echo drenched chimes, and tinkling percussion, buried under grey washes of softly undulating thrum, lots of constantly shifting textures, and some seriously harrowing sound design reminiscent of Ben Frost. And the sound continues to drift southward as the record progresses, a virtual journey through dark caverns, toward whatever lurks below, fields of deep resonant rumbles, dripping water, distant billows of thunder, stretched out into weird glossolallic shimmers, thick chordal blurs that ooze and bleed ominously, splashing water doused in FX and transformed into a sort of garbled alien language. Plenty of barely there lowercase ambience, but also super active sprawls of electro static gristle, ultra creepy moans and gasps, sonar pings that disappear into the abyss, short wave broadcasts from beyond, lumbering behemoth beats, dulled into barely perceptible pulsations, smears of almost dub like throb, and keening high end tones dulled into bleary shimmery sonic ripples, all locked in a sort of hazy stasis, while all around, billowing clouds of black hum drift malevolently, and beneath this black soundworld, hushed melodies, and dreamlike sonic coloration, shift constantly creating an ethereally prismatic sonic backdrop. Fantastic. Essential dronemusic for sure!!" [Aquarius Records] 2013 €13.00
B°TONG / EMERGE / IF BWANA / GERALD FIEBIG Thing CD-R In 2022, attenuation circuit starts a new series of four-way split albums called THING. The aim is to provide a medium for exchange and presentation of a great variety of artists. As each artist spreads the copies to their network, listeners also get to know the other artists featured on the same disc. The title references the fact that the CDs are physical objects – things! – but also refers to the 'thing' or 'ding' in old Norse and other Germanic languages, which designates the place of a popular assembly or the assembly itself and thus alludes to the 'meeting-place' character of the albums on (or around) which the four artists and their audiences meet, if only virtually. With the first instalment of the THING series, attenuation circuit also celebrates the 10th anniversary of its very first vinyl release. In 2012, b°tong and EMERGE released their self-titled split LP on the label. In contrast to other split LPs, their pieces were composed specifically for this LP, with both artists sharing the same pool of sound materials to create their respective pieces. The 100 copies shared a common design created by visual artist Tine Klink, but as all sleeves were hand-painted, each copy had a recognisable, yet still unique cover. This concept earned the label a mention in recognised art director Stuart Tolley's book “Collector's Edition: Innovative Packaging and Graphics” (London: Thames & Hudson 2014). In 2013, this album was followed up with another split LP by If,Bwana and Gerald Fiebig which followed the same musical and visual approach. Together, these two split albums formed attenuation circuit's original Vinyl Series, which was soon replaced by individually conceived vinyl albums. To celebrate the anniversary of attenuation circuit's first venture into vinyl territory, this THING collects all four sides of the two original LPs. To retain the “LP side” feel, the two pieces by If,Bwana have been transferred to the CD as only one track. File under: drone, dark ambient, ambient https://emerge.bandcamp.com/album/thing 2022 €8.00
BØLTORN (BOLTORN) Dødsverk (Dodsverk) LP skandinavian old-school industrial and power electronics. No warning shots will be fired When you change the law No warning shots will be fired When you steal our freedom No warning shots will be fired As your fortress crumbles around you No warning shots will be fired When you set foot on our property No warning shots will be fired When we let the dogs run https://tescogermany.bandcamp.com/album/d-dsverk "Bøltorn’s Dødsverk is maybe noise on paper, but a thorough and fluent sonic experience when listened to. The trio, also featuring one Nordsvargr, put out a few full-lengths and an EP throughout the year, with Dødsverk being the most impactful of the bunch (even though each of them have their own unique characteristics and strong suits), and I found myself listening to it on repeat for days on end, and still do if I ’mistakenly’ put it on. There’s just something invoking and holistic in their approach to noise, power electronics, and whatever else, constituting of droning walls of varying racket, discernible samples, and intelligible vocals. All in all Dødsverk is probably what I’d pick as my favourite album of the year, with some day-to-day caveats left out of the equation." [Everything Is Noise] 2023 €26.50
CAPRICORNI PNEUMATICI same LP "Capricorni Pneumatici began in 1986 as a research project about the esoteric/ritual implications of music and sounds, a full acoustic/concrete music set with voice and other means of producing and manipulating sounds: PVC tubes, air compressors, hammers, buckets, water, steel and aluminum tanks and plates, various metal and plastic objects. CP I was recorded live the 15th of June 1986 at The Cave, a subterranean private location. No electronics of any kind was used during the sessions, no additional mastering or remastering was performed after the recordings. Unpublished parts of the same session have been released on the second CP work, Al-Azif (1987). CP I was first published in 1987 by the tape label 666 prod in a limited edition of 100 unnumbered copies, the first 10 in a special box edition. CP I is inspired by the ancient primordial Chaos Cults and dedicated to Azathoth, the blind, mindless, idiot god which blasphemes and bubbles at the center of all infinity. Tracklist: Snortz Cavita Monte meru PVC I Besz PVC III" www.tesco-germany.com 2016 €23.00
CASPAR BRÖTZMANN MASSAKER Black Axis do-LP "Das herausragende zweite Album des CASPAR BRÖTZMANN MASSAKERs aus dem Jahr 1989 - remastert. Die rohe Gewalt des Power-Trios wird von BRÖTZMANN in einer explosiven und exquisiten Beschwörung dirigiert, die HENDRIX'sche Schwingungen aufgreift und sie in eine harte deutsche Industrial-Atmosphäre versetzt. / "The power trio’s blunt force execution is directed by Brötzmann’s explosive and exquisite six string conjuration. Channeling Hendrixian vibrations, mixed with hard German industrial atmosphere." https://casparbrotzmannmassakersl.bandcamp.com/album/black-axis 2019 €24.00
  Der Abend der schwarzen Folklore LP "Originally released in 1992, “Der Abend Der Schwarzen Folklore” is the third Massaker album, released by Rough Trade Germany. According to Caspar Brötzmann, the title track and “Bass Totem“ are the band’s most accomplished songs. It’s certainly the most sonicly refined of their albums, recorded during a residency over several weeks at the pastoral site of Conny Plank’s studio near Cologne, and produced by Ingo Krauss and Bruno Gebhard, who had worked with the famed Krautrock producer until his death in 1987. Not least, …Schwarze Folklore also features their new drummer Danny Lommen, whom Caspar and bassist Eduardo Delgado had headhunted at a concert with Lommen’s Dutch prog-core band Gore. Lommen shared their tastes in sheer volume and presence, and “has a completely unique sound to his drumming“, as Caspar marvels, “he plays ultrahard and clear, with authority and no compromise, nothing, not even the most turbulent and speedy beats, sound fuzzy – a statement.“ This, he adds with a smile, would sometimes lead to intense moods during rehearsals, when he overpowered – no small feat – competing with the sounds of Caspar’s guitar." https://casparbrotzmannmassakersl.bandcamp.com/album/der-abend-der-schwarzen-folklore 2019 €18.00
CASPAR, C.O. Epitaph CD Neues Werk des Berliner Künstlers & Musikers auf dem feinen russischen Label WAYSTYX, welches inzwischen von Mikhail Tumanov betrieben wird. CASPAR geht hier (mal wieder) neue Wege, setzt fliessendes Wasser, Kirchenglocken und andere Feldaufnahmen ein, lässt einen „female robot“ BAUDELAIRE zitieren, um dann allmählich in industriellere Gefilde zu versinken, mit verhallten und wummernden Maschinen-Geräuschen, metallischem Quietschen & Zerren, und wieder the robot... experimenteller Industrial zwischen Maschinen- & Natur-„Noise“ und schwarzer Lyrik ! Spezial-Cover ! “Penetrating sound confession from respected german master Co.Caspar, Berlin-based activist of an experimental sound, built with propulsions, sound vibrations from corporal movements, consisting of four tracks, each for 20 minutes. First of which “Benediction” and Replica are composed for a paintress from Quebeck/Canada, based on two field recordings (river & wood) in the canadian nature, used as the soundtrack during the vernissage of her paintings. 'Benediction' origines from the anthology Les Fleurs du Mal by Ch. Baudelaire spoken by the artist. purest drop of human prejudaces, fears, drawbacks essence heavy, humid and clouding impicated by the fistfull of various cuts of everyday life hypnotic song of far away syrene vibrant, graceful, controversive, whispering and shivering......” [label info] 2005 €13.00
CAUDAL Forever in another World LP Caudal is a new trio featuring Aidan Baker (CA – Nadja, Whisper Room, ARC) on guitar, Gareth Sweeney (IE – Gout) on bass, and Felipe Salazar (CO – Muerte En Pereira) on drums. Baker’s multi-layered, heavily affected guitar overlays Sweeney and Salazar’s driving, propulsive rhythm section creating music equally influenced by krautrock, post-punk, and spacerock. The Animal: European Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus citellus) Caudal have decided to dedicate their release to the European ground squirrel (German: Ziesel). All profits will be donated to support the protection efforts of the Austrian Union for Nature Preservation (homepage only available in German – sorry for that!). The European ground squirrel has very specific habitat requirements. It needs short turf in order to dig its tunnel system. It finds this on the steppes and in pasture, in dry banks, on sports fields, parks and lawns. These conditions are lost when changes in agricultural practice convert grassland into arable land and forest, or grazing ceases and the grass grows coarse and scrub-land develops. Over the last ten years, the population has therefore diminished by more than 30%." [label info] www.oakenpalace.com 2013 €18.50
  Let's all take the yellow Pills LP "Caudal is a trio of Canadian guitarist Aidan Baker, Irish bassist Gareth Sweeney, and Columbian drummer Felipe Salazar, formed in 2012 in Berlin, Germany. The trio plays 'trance punk,' combining Baker's multi-layered, heavily affected guitar with Sweeney and Salazar's motorik, propulsive rhythms, creating music which draws from krautrock, mathrock, post-punk, and spacerock influences. Baker also performs with the dreamsludge duo Nadja and the collective Hypnodrone Ensemble; Salazar also plays in the no-wave trio Muerte En Pereira and Hypnodrone Ensemble; Sweeney also plays with the post-post-punk trio Faulty Rabbit.Caudal released their debut album, Forever In Another World, on the environmental charity label, Oaken Palace Records, in 2013. Their second album, Ascension, was released in September 2014by Consouling Sounds, a their third full-length, Fight Cry Fight, came out in April 2018 on Drone Rock Records/Katuktu Collective.The EP Let's All Take The Yellow Pills, released in 2016 as a limited edition CD and only available directly from the band, was recorded during the same sessions as the material from Fight Cry Fight. But whereas Fight Cry Fight is quite structured and composed, the tracks on ...Yellow Pillsare much more free-form and improvisational, eschewing structure for texture, form for atmosphere...The vinyl rerelease on Kapitän Platte is limited to 300 copies and comes with a silk-screen printed banderole including donwload-code and senseless insert." 2018 €16.50
CHAMBERS, IAIN The Eccentric Press LP Two musique concrète symphonies of industrial sound, in which musical relationships emerge from sounds more often regarded as noise. All the sounds were recorded by Sounds of Changes, a pan-EU project capturing obsolete and endangered industrial and domestic sounds. It’s hard to know when a sound is endangered – we never know what technological changes are around the corner. My work as a composer is concerned with environmental sounds and the sound of industry and machines. I use these sounds as the compositional building blocks of my music, and manipulate and compose with them. The source material is recognisable throughout, even when manipulated, juxtaposed or overlaid. Sounds are disappearing without us even noticing. From the gradual evolution of everyday tech sounds to the sounds of old Routemaster buses, whistling kettles being replaced by hot water filters, we can’t notice the changes while we’re in the midst of them. Sounds of Changes is an epic project documenting these endangered sounds before it’s too late. The Eccentric Press / Die Exzenterpresse focuses on recordings in Germany, made with the LWL-Industriemuseum in Dortmund. The sinister opening atmosphere of Wuppertaler Schwebebahn Station in western Germany gives way to the rattling tones of a button sewing machine. We’re in an industrial space soundtracked by machines. The chugging rhythm of a steelwork furnace is interrupted by the punch of a time clock. Pitched material is overlaid to create unexpected harmonies, whilst technology from different eras is coerced into a propulsive rhythm. This piece was commissioned and broadcast by Westdeutcher Rundfunk, Cologne on 9th April, 2016, and was a finalist in that year’s Prix Palma Ars Acustica. Maudslay Engine was commissioned by ABC Radio National, Australia in 2016, and draws on recordings from Sweden, Belgium, Poland and the UK. Interlocking movements form a 20 minute composition, beginning with a Saab fighter jet, and ending with the eponymous 1838 steam engine built for Kew Bridge. In between, the background pitch of a metal cutter is shaped into a high frequency melody interrupted by a mortise machine. A stray pitched metallic sound from a linotype machine is transformed into a melodic interlude, superseded by the drone of a grain dryer – a huge machine that creates animal feed. The last melodic movement derives from the start-up sound from a vintage 1991 IBM desktop computer, before a fire truck siren closes the piece. 2019 €23.50
CHROME Ghost Machine CD Chrome was founded in San Francisco in 1975. Their sound wasn't easy to label - being ahead of their time, Helios Creed and Damon Edge created music that featured heavy elements of feedback and distortion.They experimented in mixing synthesized noise with rock instrumentation, therefore they are now seen as part of the post punk movement (even when punk was still in full flow at that time). Their breakthrough came in 1977 with their second album Alien Soundtracks. The band largely abandoned conventional rock compositions, instead employing cut-up and collage techniques and heavily processed sound to create a kind of sci-fi punk style. The album was given 4 out of 5 stars in the UK music paper Sounds, and Chrome began gradually to gain a cult reputation in the UK and in Europe. In the 1980s Damon Edge released several rather electronic records under the Chrome name, but Helios Creed had by that time left the band. He pursued a solo career but picked up the name Chrome again after Damon Edge died in Paris. The album Ghost Machine came out in 2002 on the German Dossier label. It is an often overlooked gem in the band's discography and has been out of print for over a decade. Creed reinstalled all the Chrome trademark sounds mixing electronics with his distinct guitar sound, and unusal production and mixing methods. This new edition comes in a digipack and with remastered sound. www.klanggalerie.com 2017 €14.50
CHRYSAKIS, THANOS Manifold Vista CD listen: https://aufabwegen.bandcamp.com/album/manifold-vista About Manifold Vista Manifold Vista is the new album by composer/producer Thanos Chrysakis. Rarely can something so meticulously assembled together sound so fluid. A distinct, disciplined sense for composition emerges from each of these works, displaying formal integrity while at the same time, they are also effervescent, forceful, fiercely idiosyncratic and beautifully shaped and transformed. The album discloses an expanded and detailed vista of sound’s interiority forming a strangely pleasurable, not to mention engaging, experience. Thanos Chrysakis is a Greek composer, musician, producer and sound-artist. He is best known for his work in electronic and contemporary music, free improvisation, and electro-acoustic music. With several albums to his name his work has appeared in festivals and events in numerous countries, including CYNETart Festival, Festspielhaus Hellerau - Dresden, Artus Contemporary Arts Studio – Budapest, CRUCE Gallery – Madrid, Fylkingen – Stockholm, Relative (Cross) Hearings festival – Budapest, Festival Futura – Crest - Drôme, FACT Centre – Liverpool, Association Ryoanji – Ahun - Creuse, The Center for Advanced Musical Studies at Chosen Vale — Hanover - New Hampshire, Areté Gallery — Brooklyn - New York, UC San Diego – California - San Diego, Berner Münster – Bern, Fabbrica del Vapore – Milan, Grünewaldsalen – Svensk Musikvår — Stockholm, Splendor – Amsterdam, Logos Foundation – Ghent, Palacio de Bellas Artes – Mexico City, Műcsarnok Kunsthalle – Budapest, Spektrum – Berlin, Susikirtimai X – Vilnius, Festival del Bosque GERMINAL – Mexico City, ДОМ – Moscow, Oosterkerk – Amsterdam, KLANG ! – Montpellier, Nádor Terem – Budapest, Utzon Centre – Aalborg, Center for New Music – San Francisco, Västerås Konstmuseum – Västerås, Störung festival – Barcelona, BMIC Cutting Edge concert series at The Warehouse – London. His music was among the selected works at the International Competition de Musique et d'Art Sonore Electroacoustiques de Bourges 2005, in the category oeuvre d'art sonore électroacoustique, while received an honorary mention in 2006 at the 7th International Electroacoustic Competition Musica Viva in Lisbon (the jury was constituted by Morton Subotnick (USA), François Bayle (France), and Miguel Azguime (Portugal). He operates the Aural Terrains record label since 2007 where he has released part of his work until now, alongside releases by Kim Cascone, Franscisco López, Tomas Phillips, Dan Warburton, Szilárd Mezei, Michael Edwards, Wade Matthews, Dganit Elyakim, Edith Alonso, Luis Tabuenca, Jeff Gburek, Philippe Petit, Steve Noble, Milo Fine and David Ryan among others. He has written music for musicians of the Hyperion Ensemble, the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet, the Hermes Ensemble, Nemø Ensemble, the Konus Saxophone Quartett, and the Shadanga Duo among others. Close collaborations with Tim Hodgkinson, Vincent Royer, Chris Cundy, Yoni Silver, Lori Freedman, Jason Alder, Julie Kjaer, Henriette Jensen, William Lang, Wilfrido Terrazas, Philippe Brunet, Wade Matthews, Ernesto Rodrigues, Abdul Moimême, Ove Volquartz to name but a few. https://aufabwegen.bandcamp.com/album/manifold-vista 2023 €13.00
CLEMENTI, ALDO Collage LP Alga Marghen presents the previously unreleased Collage 2 and Collage 3 (Dies irae) for magnetic tape, both realized at the Studio di Fonologia Muisicale RAI in Milan with the technical collaboration of Marino Zuccheri. These pieces are precious testimonials to Aldo Clementi's intense and ongoing interest in electronic music in the 1960s. The electronic composition Collage 2 dates from 1960. It was the first experiment with electronic music for Clementi whose original and consistent adherence to structuralism is reflected in several of his instrumental works written around that time. The first idea of Collage 3 dates back to 1966, in the form of a short electronic collage on the Beatles' song "Michelle." The composer wanted to replace old concepts and clichés which had become popular and common, through the use of "natural wells of timbre, live and organic, springing from a world of symmetry and fixed blocks." This original idea underwent a drastic transformation when the RAI (the Italian radio) commissioned Clementi to write a longer work. To his initial desire to start from scratch was added the problem of a longer duration. It was only when Clementi had almost completed the piece that he gave it its final title of "Dies irae," owing to the extreme tension that accompanied its composition. ############### Having already issued some incredible LP by Gavin Bryars, Phill Niblock, Damião Experiença, and Hans KRUSI in 2023, Alga Marghen returns with an absolute stunner, “Collage”, dedicated to seminal Italian composer Aldo Clementi. Comprising two previously unreleased works for magnetic tape - “Collage 2” (1960) and “Collage 3 (Dies Irae)” (1967) - both of huge historical importance, alongside a brand new rendering from 2022 of the composer’s brilliant “Fantasia su roBErto FABbriCiAni” - a work composed for flute and magnetic tape in between 1980 and 1981 - the importance of this beautiful LP can’t be overstated; bringing to light a previously inaccessible period of the great Italian composer’s career, and illuminating a crucial body of work at the heights of 20th Century musical Neo-Avantgarde. Aldo Clementi “Collage” (LP) Over the course of nearly three decades of activity, the Italian imprint, Alga Marghen, has continuously cast light into the shadows of historical sound practice, offering particular focus to underappreciated artefacts at the juncture of visual art, sound-art, experimental music, and sound-poetry. With each subsequent release, the label has helped to reform our understanding of 20th Century, and the voices that made it what it was. Over the years, they’ve brought forth an unprecedented range of early and archival material by seminal composers like Charlemagne Palestine, Walter Marchetti, Philip Corner, Henri Chopin, Robert Ashley, David Behrman, Max Neuhaus, Éliane Radigue, and numerous others. Further this mission, their latest, Aldo Clementi's “Collage”, presents some of the most extreme musics ever issued by the label, at the same level as Robert Ashley's “Wolfman”, Max Neuhaus' “Fontana-Mix Feed” or Philip Corner's “Oracle”. Representing an entirely singular sound and approach to tape music that was unique to Clementi alone, once again Alga Marghen has cracked it wide open and rewritten our understanding of the history of sound. Born in 1925 in Catania, Sicily, Aldo Clementi began his piano studies at the age of thirteen, for which he immediately showed great promise. Three short years later, in 1941, he embarked upon the study of composition under Alfredo Sangiorgi (a student of Arnold Schoenberg) who introduced him to the twelve-tone technique, leading to his attendance of the Rome Conservatory and Darmstadt. In 1956, Clementi met the Italian-born, German conductor, composer, and teacher, Bruno Maderna, attending the Studio of Phonology in Milan - the electronic music studio (RAI) founded by Maderna and Luciano Berio in 1955 - which instigated a decisive turning point in his career and work. It was there that he composed two key works in electronic music - “Collage 2” (1960) and “Collage 3 (Dies Irae)” (1967), issued here by Alga Marghen for the first time. While Clementi would become primarily known for pieces, composed for acoustic instruments, that were characterized by a calm, consistent sound, with their materiality rooted in a unity of concept and procedure - lacking highs, lows, and any sense of forward movement - that became almost self-generative, closely connected to the approaches of Pittura Informale, his early endeavors in electronics and tape music remain among his most important works. Despite having only rarely been encountered since, in 1961 “Collage 2” was presented at the Accademia Filarmonica Romana in Rome, and subsequently won the International Society for Contemporary Music’s prestigious competition that year. Realized at the Studio di Fonologia Musicale RAI in Milan in 1960, employing the technical collaboration of Marino Zuccheri, Aldo Clementi’s “Collage 2” was the composer’s first experiment with electronic music, about which he explained: “The title and the technique, both of the same name, are the result of my having conceived the work in terms of compositional planes created independently and later superimposed; this gives rise to absorption or emergence, intersection or isolation, all absolutely and deliberately unpredictable. The difficulties implicit in the acoustics, and consequently in the effect, of this kind of treatment, are taken for granted and accepted from the start”. The result is striking; a bumbling expanse of textures and muted tones that foreshadow (and possibly lay the groundwork for) his subsequent development of techniques that would render the sound, lacking highs, lows, and any sense of forward movement, for which he would become famed, illuminating a far more pointed and arguably aggressive sense of pop possibility for the conceptual framework. Conceived in 1966 as an electronic collage of the Beatles’ song “Michelle”, and realized the following year, also at Studio di Fonologia Musicale RAI in Milan, with the technical collaboration of Marino Zuccheri, in from a markedly different root, “Collage 3” encounters Clementi endeavoring to replace old concepts and clichés through the use of “natural wells of timbre, live and organic, springing from a world of symmetry and fixed blocks”. The outcome, while clearly a work of sound collage, renders the composer’s source material virtually unrecognizable in a swirling, shattered expanse, the extreme tension of which compelled Clementi to add the words “Dies irae” ("the Day of Wrath”) to the title, in a strange and fascinating reference to the idiom of Requiem Mass. The final piece on Alga Marghen’s “Collage” LP is “Fantasia su roBErto FABbriCiAni”, composed by Clementi in 1982, and thus offering a fascinating counterpoint to its predecessors, establishing a point of contact between his early electronic pieces and more well know acoustic works, and illuminating the enduring engagement with electronic process that stretched across his career. Composed for flute and magnetic tape, the piece is based on the notes corresponding to the letters in Fabbriciani’s name according to the German musical nomenclature (B flat, E, F, A, B flat, C, A). Describing the ideas at the root of the work, Clementi stated: “My stylistic purpose was to create a delirious labyrinth around the solo instrument like an enormous growth of vegetation that chokes out a little plant…”. The result, rendered here in a brand new realization, recorded live in 2022 by Alvise Vidolin, is a remarkable meeting of conceptual rigor - where the idea is the generative drive - and complex structural notions of composing. Against haunting sheets of dissonant tonality, a flute traces through the notes established by pieces conception, floating above in flirtations with melody that never fully form. Truly amazing on creative and conceptual terms, and engrossing in its sonorities, Alga Marghen has done an hugely important work with their issue of Aldo Clementi’s “Collage”, illuminating a little-known aspect of his output, and delivering this seminal voice of Italian Modernism to an entirely new generation of listeners. Ten out of ten and impossible to recommend enough. SOUNDOHM 2023 €22.50
COLUMN ONE Feldaufnahmen I CD "Limited edition of 500 copies, CD in digipak, 16 pp. booklet. Feldaufnahmen I is the first release in a series of pure filed recordings by german multi-disciplinary experimental group COLUMN One. The 12 recordings where collected in east Germany in the Polenztal within the mountain range called Elbsandsteingebirge in 2000-2001 with the simplest equipment. The recordings where edited and rearranged by Robert Schalinski in Berlin in 2006. Feldaufnahmen I is a new üphase for Column One whio have continued to change and evolve in their musical career. The group was renowned for post-industrial atmospheres, media collages and cut-up dadaist humor now they enter the terrain of sound ecology with their own twist. The 12 pieces on the disc radiate with beauty - they demonstrate the full spectrum of sounds that can be found in any relatively quiet natural resort: dogs barking, humming of insects, crackling of twigs, footsteps, wind and more. The CD Feldaufnahmen I is is presented in a full colour digipak with a 16 pages booklet with full colour reproductions of photographs taken by Column One in the area where the sounds were recorded. Column One was founded in Berlin, 1991 as the IDEOLOGICAL BASIS for an (aesthetic) approach to structures, philosophical ideas & media of the (now) western world. At that time Rene Lamp & Robert Schalinski already had been working together on short-film projects. The philosophical ideas of RADICAL CONSTRUCTIVISM (Paul Watzlawik etc.), the paths of the CUT-UP demonstrators such as W.S. Burroughs, Bryon Gysin & Jürgen Ploog, the experiments of POP-TERRORISTS like Genesis P-Orridge with Psychic TV & the films of directors like Andrew Tarkowski, Derek Jarman, Ingmar Bergmann, Lars von Trier, Alexandro Jodorowski have had greater influence on the foundation and the work of Column One. However, the crucial point & the main motivation for the work of Column One is the TOTALISATION OF COMMUNICATION. Meaning: to bring back into consciousness communication in its unavoidable consequence & presence.... thus, it's about decoding information, the utilisation, cutting up & decoding of which is presented to us as REALITY & of what we constantly present to ourselves. In order to succeed in this decoding process Column One utilises existing forms of communication & its media & generally considers everything as raw material, basic element or finished product. Column One operates as collective. Besides the founding members a changing amount of various members changes from project to project: Andrew Loadman, Jerome Soudan (aka Mimetic), Wojcek Czern (aka Zia Siodma Gora), Jürgen Eckloff (also: Kein Zweiter), Leo Solter (also: Kein Zweiter, Tornow), R.U. Brain-Bridge..." [label description] "Over the years Column One has been a group that loved electricity - to connect their synthesizers, samplers, computer or whatever. Their music was strongly rhythmic and there was always a media edge to the music. Nothing so on 'Feldaufnahmen 1', the first in what is going to be a series of pure field recordings (as that is what the title means actually). Column One member robert Schalinski went out in East Germany to the Polenztal and recorded twelve different sound events. For whatever obscure reason they are titled in French, but the title leaves nothing to guess: 'The Insects', 'The Forest/The Dog', 'Water/Insects'. We hear dogs, children, rocks, all in a pure form. Very easy? Yes, very easy, but as someone who likes sounds, I must admit I pretty fascinated by these recordings. Simple and pure, phonography in it's purest form. I am not sure what the hardcore fans of Column One will think about this, but I thought this absolute break with the past is a great move and the result is likewise." [FdW / Vital Weekly] www.aufabwegen.com 2007 €13.00
COMBATIVE ALIGNMENT Image Acoustique 7 Two pieces of dreamy dark ambient with a very depressive touch from this german (?) project, we have no info about it. Second release after the nice 10” on AVATAR. 2003 €7.50
The ritez of higher communication LP Erstes vollständiges Album des AVATAR-Projekts, die hier ein wahrhaft illuminiertes Debut-Werk vorlegen – eine erhabene Atmosphäre aus Klang und Ritus tut sich hier auf. Trancig-rituelle Klänge, die an tibetanische Gebirgslandschaften denken lassen, undurchdringliche soundscapes voller Geheimnis: Perkussive Strukturen, flutes, choirs, deep voices, drones. First album of this german AVATAR-project and a real masterpiece of ritual-trance Illumination-sounds ! "The ritez of higher communication" celebrates the first step of COMBATIVE ALIGNMENT into a new area of recordings for first time on a long play vinyl album. Dreamlike soundscapes rising out of the rain and creating a deep symphonic atmosphere where flutes and Tibetic mantras are mixed with drums in order to build ritual music in the finest form. Circles of visionary dark voices are introducing brooding anthems on the climax with multiple layered drones, illuminating a weeping red sky. TROFHC is an invocation of consciousness corresponding to individual fears banned in sound. The journey of Combative Alignment through several media formats on different labels finds it´s manifestation in an outstanding release. Limited edition of 523 copies” [press release] 2003 €12.50
... and outside glows the red dawn CD & CD-R Nach einigen Veröffentlichungen auf deutschen Labels jetzt die erste volle CD, und das auf dem profilierten MALIGNANT – Label aus den Staaten! AND OUTSIDE GLOWS THE RED DAWN ist eine einzige Manifestation von archaisch-mythisch anmutenden Klängen, die von unentzifferbaren Hieroglyphen zu berichten scheinen. Eine undurchdringliche, dickflüssige, dunkle aurale Glut wird hier in Szene gesetzt, die von auftauchender Perkussion & harmonischen Sprengseln begleitet werden.... ein grandioses archaic-ambience Album ! “After several releases, including full length vinyl releases on LOKI and their own label Avatar, and a 7" on Eternal Soul, it is with great honor and pride that we present 'And Outside Glows the Red Dawn', the first full length CD from this powerful and visionary German project. And Outside Glows the Red Dawn can perhaps be seen as Combative Alignments benchmark, offering 6 tracks that work as a virtual musical thoroughfare to a more dreamlike, illusory state. Deeply brooding atmospheres, where omniscient layers of drones and reverberating sound currents meet measured, ritual percussion as performed under the glowing, gloomy haze of a primordial sunrise. And Outside Glows the Red Dawn shines a dim light on a world of obscure origin, full of dark permanic mysticism and unearthly sonic terrain. On a whole, this is a more focused, deeper, and fluid recording than you've heard before, yet triumphantly carrying on the tradition laid down by previous releases.” [label description] 2005 €18.00
  ....and outside glows the red dawn CD Nach einigen Veröffentlichungen auf deutschen Labels jetzt die erste volle CD, und das auf dem profilierten MALIGNANT – Label aus den Staaten! AND OUTSIDE GLOWS THE RED DAWN ist eine einzige Manifestation von archaisch-mythisch anmutenden Klängen, die von unentzifferbaren Hieroglyphen zu berichten scheinen. Eine undurchdringliche, dickflüssige, dunkle aurale Glut wird hier in Szene gesetzt, die von auftauchender Perkussion & harmonischen Sprengseln begleitet werden.... ein grandioses archaic-ambience Album ! “After several releases, including full length vinyl releases on LOKI and their own label Avatar, and a 7" on Eternal Soul, it is with great honor and pride that we present 'And Outside Glows the Red Dawn', the first full length CD from this powerful and visionary German project. And Outside Glows the Red Dawn can perhaps be seen as Combative Alignments benchmark, offering 6 tracks that work as a virtual musical thoroughfare to a more dreamlike, illusory state. Deeply brooding atmospheres, where omniscient layers of drones and reverberating sound currents meet measured, ritual percussion as performed under the glowing, gloomy haze of a primordial sunrise. And Outside Glows the Red Dawn shines a dim light on a world of obscure origin, full of dark permanic mysticism and unearthly sonic terrain. On a whole, this is a more focused, deeper, and fluid recording than you've heard before, yet triumphantly carrying on the tradition laid down by previous releases.” [label description] 2005 €13.00
COMPEST Danach CD-R Compest is German composer and producer Martin Steinebach, offering up a seamless 40-minute suite of lavishly orchestrated pieces that combines strings with ominous metallic percussion. Unlike other composers versed in noisy musics who decide to turn “neo-classical” and all too often produce kitschy ersatz 19th-century symphonies, Compest manages to fuse all his influences into a consistent whole with a high degree of immersiveness. “Soon everything is post,” says the sleeve note, and true to this creed, this album is confidently postmodern in combining minimalist drones with ritualistic post-industrial accents and lush, indulgent tonal chords that would make every self-respecting New Music composer squirm with self-loathing. And that is a good thing, because this total disregard for narrow-minded pigeonholes both in and outside the underground scene is what gives this album its particular quality. File under: Ambient www.attenuationcircuit.de 2014 €6.00
CONSCIENTIA PECCATI VS. STILLSTAND Rites ov lamashtu mCD-R "martin steinebach, the german artist hidden behind those two aliases, shouldn't be unknown to those who follow closely our releases. we released a 3"cd-r of his ambient/tribal/noise project (compest) two years ago. with this latest release, steinebach takes another route and shows another side of his skills: "rites ov lamashtu" is a smooth & melodic piece full of effects and ethnic percussion. enjoy the beauty!" [label info] label: www.taalem.com 2007 €5.00
CONTAGIOUS ORGASM Live at Maschinenfest 2018 MC raubbau picks up the thread and continues with its quest to make available memorable maschinenfest performances. contagious orgasm was a mf regular, and this perfectly shows the progression from the 2008 performance made available last year: gone are the idm leanings, the co sound of the 2010s (which is presented here) is even more a language of its own, abrasive and accessible, palpable and psychedelic at the same time. get ready for some active listening - “afterglow” and “operation blue” are like a walk over thin ice, with acoustic strings and percussions, intimate melodies, whispered vocals and eerie washes of background feedback. the two parts of “exploration end seeking” are examples of co’s experimental leanings and an appreciation of the musique concrete. “mineral” and “firewalker” sport almost-rhythms and through a psyched-out, spooky back-alley take the performance to its noisy finale. It goes without saying that the sound quality is flawless, representing all the fine details of the truly unique co sound. www.raubbau.org www.facebook.com/raubbau.label credits released November 20, 2019 recorded live at maschinenfest, turbinenhalle, oberhausen, germany, 21. october 2018. performed by h h, s s, marvel. artwork by stefan alt https://raubbau.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-maschinenfest-2018 2019 €10.00
CONTRASTATE A live Coal under the Ashes CD "1992 saw the release of "A live coal under the ashes" which was inspired by the events leading up to the changes across Eastern and Central Europe during 1989. This release marked the change conceptually in which the group's ideas became more specific and more focused on contemporary political issues. "A live coal…" was critically acclaimed not just for the music, but also for the artwork and packaging: - a CD placed in the middle of a 12 inch clear vinyl record. After many years of unavailabity Tesco can finally present a rerelease with remastered tracks and a new yet unreleased track called: "Death follows the one eyed cow." An album full of ambient atmospheres, drones, percussion, suitable dark narrations and some steady muted rhythms. These are intense, highly charged recordings with a powerful mystic and ritual feeling. A masterpiece of sound poetry. Comes in nice Digipak. Total Playing time 50:30. Contrastate were formed in 1987 and disbanded in 2000. Ever since the demise of Contrastate there has been a void in the experimental music scene that no other act has managed to fill. Their diverse creative output, manifested as sweeping electronics and sound manipulation together with theatrical spoken word, was nothing less than mind blowing in its complexity and originality." [press release] www.tesco-germany.com "A peculiar start with tribal smatterings of drums, deep resonating black drones broken up with light orchestral patches, attention halting splatters and further sparse drones, pulling on rather obscure nightmarish elements. Contrastate surprisingly draw on a hell of a lot of quietness that just rarely breaks up into beats that dissolve no sooner than they start. After an interesting if not completely inspiring start its time for this trio to get down to business and actually show us what they are made of. Pleasant film like ambience sets this off with low-end straight vocal lines gathering the backdrop together and you begin to believe this album may actually be going somewhere, especially when the ambience is allowed to build dramatically onward. Its a little hard to pigeon hole this lot and that’s where their appeal lies for me. There is a deep sense of ritualism within their folds, but it’s not as obvious as you might expect; another plus point being that they simply do not remind me of anyone else, no matter how hard I try to fathom it out. There is an odd sense of mania whilst listening to ‘A Live Coal…’ strange whistling, off key guitar strings and trance like paranoia. I can’t help but applaud them for pulling something off that simply shouldn’t work on paper. The use of vocals, although male in origin are used much in the same way, as say Diamanda Gallas probably would with full on croaking used as a backdrop. Even if this isn’t your cup of tea it doesn’t take much to grasp just how much thought has gone into this. Completely out there…somewhere, but relevant; refreshingly original, scoring highly on sheer thought process and effort alone." [Blackaudio] 2008 €13.00
  English embers (SOLD OUT) 7inch released in March 1994 in an edition of 200 copies on dark red and pink vinyl. Covers (red copied papers, sticked by hand) were made by Stone, a german friend of the band. No second edition, as the group decided to re-release it on CD. press-information: "The fascinating english group CONTRASTATE present their second 7" (after the surprising "I am a clown collecting moments" for Dying Earth Records) on Drone Records with the two pieces "English Embers" and "In Absentia". The dark and meaningful "English Embers" has a strong atmosphere and a philosophical approach, whereas "In Absentia" is a piece of non-verbal but nevertheless "speaking" experimental music, using samples and flutes to create a strange music. Comes with lyric-sheet of "English Embers"... These contrastating sounds should make their way to your consciousness!" 1994  
CONTROLLED DEATH Requiem for the Boundless Flesh 5 x 7inch BOX (wood) "Controlled Death is the dark-side project by the Japanese noise legend Masonna that started with Symphony For The Black Murder as first official work released in April 2018 in a vinyl edition of 199 copies. The activities of Controlled Death are like archaic revival to the music experience before Masonna. You can also find the pathology image of the early industrial period and the shadows of Vienna activism such as Hermann Nitsch. The existence and art that pierces through conspicuous consciousness and dives to areas of unconsciousness due to death and pleasure. Controlled Death's incredible new work is released on a fivefold seven inch. Ten new tracks, to be precise ten requiem (Rè-quiem carnem I – X), between five and six minutes each for a total duration of almost an hour. The selection of the format is perfect for this composition: the analog support highlights the lo-fi recording and the choice of seven inches allows you to listen to the same song several times, or more songs without a preset order. Thus was born Requiem for the boundless flesh, a pulsating panorama of screams, Korg MS20 MK1 and EMS VCS3 The Putney synthesizers with the addition of the grand piano, electric guitar, tape and effects. Each piece is a short sound vignette, which fills the air with its otherworldly beauty and goes away with the same speed with which it arrived, where the presence of the Viennese master always hovers. Like a cosmic journey, without a precise destination, we enter a new evolution of Controlled Death's work. The sound is darker, the darkness envelops you with its ancestral echoes, the use of synths is accompanied by inhuman screams, sounds on the edge of psychosis are lost in the infinite expanse of the gorges ''at the mountains of madness''. A sound tunnel is created that leads to the depths of the earth. The myth of Cthulhu mingles with the mangled flesh of human beings. The legend moves towards the harsh reality. Rotten, worm-eaten flesh lies beneath thousands of tombstones: boundless masses of flesh! The rumble of the synths becomes thunderous. The use of the guitar and the grand piano are thus distorted, slowed down and overwhelmed once again by the slanted and dilated screams and the intertwining of the pedal’s effects. The tape editing work is wonderful, with a mastery of machines that can be compared to the German cosmic duo Moebius & Roedelius. But the result is not as sugary as Cluster or Harmonia tunes. Honey has become blood and flesh in Maso's hands and harmony gives way to obscure and desolate side. But if it had been recorded in West Berlin during 1970, Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser would have certainly wanted it for his Ohr label!" https://urashima.bandcamp.com 2021 €59.00
COURTIS / WEHOWSKY Return of the Stone Spirits CD Sechs weitere Dokumente von Anrufungen der "strangest sounds"! Auch die dritte Nummer der "Black Series" dringt in Bereiche vor, die herrlich weitab des Mainstreams liegen... RALF WEHOWSKY aka RLW setzt hier seine Improvisationserkundungen fort mit ANLA COURTIS (ex REYNOLS), sie benutzen Gitarre und verschiedene Violinen, sowie "stuff in plastic bag" (was immer das sein mag), irgendwelche Ringe oder MetallSpiralen, etc.. teils ist das ein furioser Noise-Blast, teils wirkt es wie geräuschflächige Unebenheiten, die wie verschmutzte Partikel durch den Äther wirbeln... es gibt aber auch ganz ruhige Kratz- & Summsounds, die wie atmosphärische Störungen scheinen, oder hörbar gemachte Luftdruckveränderungen .... "For Ralf Wehowsky the collaboration is the prime method to work. More and more, so it seems, he works with people in his home studio in Germany's Eggenstein, such a November day in 2005 when Anla Courtis of Reynols fame came, armed with coils, guitar, argentinian violin, 'stuff in a plastic bag' and sampler to do some 'quasi-live' recordings with Wehowsky (coils, guitar, cambodian violin, kalimba, cappuccino shaker and CD scratch). In the time after that some sound transformation was done. As with other collaborations of this nature by Wehowsky, this too is more a work of improvisation than of careful post production, a bit like his work with Bruce Russell. The pieces are improvised and perhaps cut short, or edited, but throughout the pieces the element of improvisation prevails. Both gentleman know how to make a fire, as their work is not really careful or detailed. Sound effects, used in real time, are applied to quite some extent, such as distortion. This makes this work into a more harsher one than what we commonly think when we hear music by Wehowsky (although the third track shows a bit of detailed sound and takes matters a bit more into control), but it's certainly a solid and strong work by the both of them. Maybe a bit of an odd ball for Wehwosky, but fans of Courtis should be pleased." [FdW / Vital Weekly] www.blrrecords.com 2007 €7.00
CRANIOCLAST (THE) L.K.A. SONAR KIT (SOLD OUT) pic-7 "CRANIOCLAST–maybe the most mysterious & legendary "post-industrial"- group from West-Germany of the 80's-the German counterpart to ZOVIET FRANCE? As CRANIOCLAST have nearly disappeared over the last few years, we are very proud to release a wonderful designed picture-disc containing two new tracks ("DE ZEESTER" and "THE ANEMONE") taking you closer to a bizarre & breathing aural world – listen to distant floating melodies, droney electronic tunes, exotic instruments (Sitar), voices from nowhere, animal sounds, piano, ether-sinus-sounds...as they all merge & form a perfectly relaxed & timelessly emotional soundtrack. Let the world turn into something different and witness how something alien can grow into sheer beauty. BLACK & WHITE PICTURE DISC, COVERED BY DIFFERENT COLOURED TRANSPARENT PAPER, CLOSED WITH INDIVIDUAL NUMBERED STICKER." [press release] 2000  
CRAWLING CHAOS Spookhouse CD "Remember Crawling Chaos? Debuting post-punk art rock ensemble on Factory UK with the single 'Sex Machine'/'Berlin' (1980). They soon got dumped to Factory Benelux (who released their first LP 'The Gas Chair' in early 1982) for being too unclassifiable. Too weird? What else left but to put up their own Foetus Products for the musical output of Crawling Chaos and their many other disguises.... They reached a modest cult status, especially with the LP albums 'The Big C' (1984) and 'Waqqaz' (1985). 'Spookhouse' is a collection of their last ever recordings from 1987, unpublished so far, except for 2 tracks that were previously released before on cassette compilations by EE Tapes in 1987 and 1990. Hey, this is CD EE25, these tracks are 25 years old and this label is exactly 25 years old too this year! Coincidence does exist, let's throw a party! Jeff, this one's for you! Filed under: art rock, psychedelic rock, avantgarde, experimental" [label info] www.eetapes.be "EE Tapes is a very interesting Belgian label that picks hidden gems from the experimental underground scene and present them for audience of today. Present album was originally released 25 years ago - in fact released by a label that also can celebrate its 25th anniversary. The album titled “Spookhouse” comes from the British band Crawling Chaos. The band is stylishly a hard one to pigeonhole. Many styles are emerged to create this cocktail of experimental rock. Throughout the runtime the listener are confronted with everything from sax-driven ska-music across punk rock to something that could have been born in the age of German Krautrock. Especially krautrock-band Amon Düül II crosses my mind as I listen to the “Spookhouse”-album. The sound production of the album is quite raw and unpolished giving a nice feel of authenticity and improvisation. Yet another pearl from the 80’s experimental scene picked by one of Belgium's premium underground labels. Highly recommended." [NM/Vital Weekly] 2012 €13.00
CRYPTIC SCENERY The Radar Society - a sonic dystopia - CD-R "German project from Berlin and the main music outlet of Christian H. Sötemann. Cryptic Scenery is active since many years with several releases with various styles. "The Radar Society - a sonic dystopia" contains the most sinister and darker music under the name of Cryptic Scenery. Very intensive sounds with minimal moments and drone parts. Dark music, but neither dark nor sombre... There is something like a melancholic feeling in this sounds. Not a negative sense, it's sounds like the word and feeling "saudade" in Portugal. The artist says: "the perfect soundtrack for a romantic date... in 2080"." [label info] "Christian H. Sötemann is someone we also know for some time with his project Cryptic Scenery. I would have probably called Cryptic Scenery 'ambient' and 'drone' too, but listening to 'The Radar Society - A Sonic Dystopia' I wouldn't be that sure. It seems that this opens up a more darker side in the work of Sötemann, with strange metallic samples, more abstract drones than pleasant ones and throughout a somewhat unsettling mood. Only in a piece like ;Glittering Figment' we recognize the music of Sötemann: sustained guitars with much sound effects. I must say that this new album is quite nice. It breaks with the 'old' work, even when not fully, and expands the musical horizon with a varied album of textures, moods, experiments and ambience. Unsettling but therefore quite nice." [FdW / Vital Weekly] www.tosom.de 2009 €10.50
CZERNOWIN, CHAYA Afatsin CD "Born in Israel, composer Chaya Czernowin has lived in Germany, Japan and the U.S. Her teachers included Dieter Schnebel, Joan Tower, Brian Ferneyhough and Roger Reynolds. Czernowin's sound occupies a unique world. Often many instruments are used to become one 'composite' instrument. Time is slowed down, so that the slow flow of sound enables one to perceive the smallest details of a texture or a sound. The resulting music can feel fluid, dense or agitated, at times echoing that of Xenakis and Ferneyhough. She has been awarded numerous international prizes including: Gaudeamus Composer's Workshop, DAAD Scholarship (Berlin), Stipendium Preis and Kranichsteiner Musikpreis (Darmstadt), Asahi Shimbum Fellowship (Tokyo), NEA Composition Commission Grant, ISCM and IRCAM commissions. Czernowin is on the composition faculty of the University of California at San Diego. This is the debut recording of her works. A special opportunity to hear an exciting voice in New Music." [label info] performed by The Arditti Quartet, Mayumi Miyata (sho), John Fonville (flutes), SONOR, Harvey Sollberger (conductor). www.mode.com 1999 €14.00
D'ANGIOLINI, GIULIANO Simmetrie di Ritorno CD " 1. Composer: Giuliano d’Angiolini 2. Title: Simmetrie di ritorno 3. Studios: Auditorium du Conservatoire de Gennevilliers Auditorium Antonin Artaud in Ivry-sur-Seine 4. Performers: Ensemble 2e2m, Franck Ollu, Pierre Roullier, Monique Bouvet, Barbara Morihien, Quatuor Parisii: Arnaud Vallin, Jean-Michel Berrette, Dominique Lobet, Jean-Philippe Martignoni 5. Format: Audio CD, Digisleeve, Booklet German/English 6. Total time: ca. 64:11 7. Catalogue #: ed. RZ 10020 8. EAN Code: 4029455100208 9. Release date: 18. November 2010 10. Tracklist: Simmetrie di ritorno für 10 Instrumente • 2000 Ita vita zita rita für verstärktes Klavier • 1997 Orizzonte fisso, bordoni mobili für 8 Instrumente • 2007 Und’ho d’andà für 9 Blechbläser • 1995 Ho visto un incidente für Solostimme • 1991¬92 Notturno in progressione für Streichquartett • 2004 " [label info / credits] "Giuliano d’Angiolini ist ein absoluter Sonderfall in der musikalischen Landschaft. Sein gründliches, wohl überlegtes, hartnäckiges Vorgehen hat ihn dahin gebracht, eine Musik zu erschaffen, die er selbst »unpersönlich« nennt. Eine Musik, aus der jede Vorstellung von Entwicklung oder Form getilgt ist. D’Angiolini erklärt, er wollte aufgrund einer Reihe erhellender Erkenntnisse »dem Ton seinen Raum lassen, damit der Musik weniger Willen aufgeprägt wird«. Ein Ansatz, der ihn dazu geführt hat, sich der Oberfläche zuzuwenden, ¬ ein alles andere als oberflächliches Verfahren ¬ die unmittelbare Seite eines jeden Klangentwurfs und die Gegenwart als die Oberfläche der Zeit. In seinen Werken bilden Prozess und musikalisches Material eine Einheit, sie werden unverhüllt vorgestellt. Was wir zu hören bekommen, ist nicht diskursiv, auf formale Artikulation wird bewusst verzichtet. Es ist sogar gestattet, sich vom Gehörten zu lösen, um sich ihm später nach Gutdünken wieder zuzuwenden. Giuliano d’Angiolini is a positively unique figure in contemporary music. His profound, well-conceived and stubborn take on music has led him to what he calls »impersonal« music — music that has fully abandoned the idea of development or form.Through successive states of presentation, which aim to elucidate, d’Angiolini wanted to »leave place in sound so that music could become less voluntary«. This led him to favour the surface and present, an approach that was by no means superficial: the surface as the immediacy in the propositional content of sound and the present as the very surface of the criterion of time. In his work, musical process and material are but one and are completely laid bare. What we are to hear is non-discursive, deliberately lacking formal organization. We are even free to turn away and come back of our own will — as if the composer wanted to make positive use of the negative metamorphosis of today’s urban listeners, listeners who are constantly assailed with stimuli." [Gérard Pesson] 2010 €15.50
DARKRAD Heart Murmur CD Jana Komaritsa presents the new album of her project Darkrad – Heart Murmur, released on German label audiophob. With this album she continues the theme of inner blackness and disturbances of mind, weaving the canvas of ominous world. Heart Murmur is a medical condition, when the sound of blood flowing can be heard in between regular heartbeat cycle. Darkrad creates swishing rumbling sounds of the tortured heart, sounds from the reality not seen, from the world not known, sounds from the dread, both inner and outer. Merging melancholic dark ambient passages, bitter melodies, disturbed vocals and raw noisy sounds, rhythms and basslines, she opens the door to the infinite dark and offers the listener to dive into the world beyond. Pure unrestrained emotion interweaves with once suppressed memories and fears, merging into one flow of hypnotic soundscape. Listen to her grim heart murmur, pulsating and vibrating in between the regular healthy heartbeat, frightful signals sent from the other side, penetrating the normal reality and spreading into our world. The album also includes bonus tracks: compilation contributions and former tape releases, partially in new versions, as well as remixes from Flint Glass and Mortaja. (auphcd026) https://audiophob.bandcamp.com/album/heart-murmur 2018 €12.00
DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE Gleis3eck / Görlitzer Tunnel do-CDR "The long-running (22 years and counting) German-spawned outfit Das Synthetische Mischgewebe (The Synthetic Mixture of Fabrics in English) has a long history of site-specific performances and recordings, two of which are documented on the two CDs comprising this release. Recorded around the time the group departed from Germany for Barcelona and then France, it’s fitting that both of the sites here represented no longer exist. In 1986 and 1987, Berlin was still a victim of the Wall, and deserted spaces were seemingly easy to come by. One such was the Gleisdreieck, a railway junction where DSM set up their electronic and acoustic instruments for an extended recording, of which some 85 minutes are hereby presented. The second location, of which 46 minutes is included, was the Gorlitzer Tunnel, a pedestrian underpass several hundred meters long under Kreuzberg. It would be of no avail to try to determine exactly what instruments, items and gadgets were used to make the sounds heard in these recordings – and that mystery suits these CDs well. It’s useful to recall that this was around the same time as Einstürzende Neubauten, also in Berlin, were releasing Halber Mensch and Funf Auf Der Nach Obenen Richterskala, their strongest statements. Berlin at that time (beautifully documented in the Berlin Super 80 DVD/book package) had more than its share of experimental artists, and DSM’s sounds were emitted from the least-accessible cracks in the city’s pavement. From quiet rumblings, these performances grow via distorted hissings, squawks, clanks and grindings into a soundscape akin to a futuristic factory stamping out robots. Metal is scraped, mechanical contraptions buzz and squeak, feedback squeals and vibrations summon deep groans. The second track on disc 2, the Gorlitzer tunnel set, is on the whole a quieter, more eerie evocation of the location’s deep reverberations, with what may be a generator rumbling quietly in the background. The occasional vocal interjections, echoing in the tunnel, are unexpected and deeply strange in the context of the overall darkly mysterious sounds. Limited to 200 copies, the two CDs come packaged DVD-style with a beautifully-printed insert of text and photos on translucent paper. The liner notes by member Guido Huebner nicely describe the place and time. These recordings are marvelously evocative: of lost places, of a time and location that was certainly unique, of a group’s early works from 20 years ago, and of surreal, often intimidating imaginary places summoned by the mysterious equipment. One would hope that many more than 200 people would want to investigate these places." [Mason Jones / Dusted Magazine] "These days it's probably no longer known, but Das Synthetische Mischgewebe was a band, and not the project of G.do Hübner, which it is since some time. Before people like Yref, Chazev, T.O.W. Richter, Isabelle Chemin and Jean Rene Lasalle were member at one point or another. The recordings on this double pack are in more than one way historical. They are old, twenty years to be precise, but they were also made in the then divided Berlin, in a place you can't find anymore. Das Synthetische Mischgewebe used an old tunnel and a subway station going from East to West Berlin to rehearse for concerts that were later held. Abandoned industrial areas, in which they could easily find material to play their music on. Everything you hear on this double pack is recorded on the spot, using what ever is available there. Industrial tools, scraping metals, obscure objects which we can't visualize and such like. But they are played like musical objects and rather than trying out what the sound possibilities are, the actors in Das Synthetische Mischgewebe want to play a piece of music with those objects, so they carefully move about and create pieces of improvised music with these objects. Battery run amplifiers and a walkman to record the whole thing onto give this a slightly rough edge, although I must say that the sound quality is more than excellent. Cut into sessions of thirty minutes, this can't be engaging to hear from beginning to end without leaping into a moment of boredom, but throughout I thought this was a very fine release. Not loud or heavy industrial as some of the early work was (or perhaps that's just a wrong memory? Apparently Vinyl On Demand is releasing some LPs with older work), but rather pre-dates a lot of the onkyo type improvisation of the last few years and a very fine work of electro-acoustic music. Topped off with a nice presentation and a most enjoyable set of personal liner notes. Great archival release." [FdW / Vital Weekly] 2006 €18.00
Neunundvierzig Entgleisungen do-10 "....What you hear on this pack is four delirious sides of hermetically-sealed confusion, playing havoc with your acoustical preconceptions and expectations until you won’t know which way is up. Noise, glitches, murmurs and clicks are abstracted by careful processing, and apparently edited together into microscopic mosaic patterns to stimulate your perceptual receptors in ways you’d never have thought possible. Jean René Lasalle contributes profuse printed texts inside the cover, which are likewise streams of cut-up absurdist poetry containing such deathless observations as “glances irrigates elytrons in a trembling headlight”. Françoise Vigot did the cover paintings, featuring the domestic (and amorous) adventures of the red and blue cipher-like figures whose antics I have seen, I think, on a Hypnagogia release by DSM. Verily, Huebner’s universe is an elaborate many-layered puzzle which is slowly coming together for this listener." [The Sound Projector] "aufabwegen is very proud to offer a new release by what we consider to be one of germany's most important sound projects: DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE. DSM is now the sole project of guido huebner, who has been working in the medium of sound and found objects since the early 1980ies. DSM have their very own take on the patialization of sound and the moving around of sonic objects in the stero field. the overall impression is of rawness and fragility at the same time. the music on these two 10" records is super-dynamic and fragmentated and sounds very fresh and alive. DAS have collaborated over the years with artists such as Michael Northam, Frans de Waard, New Blockaders, MSBR and many more and have released material on various labels around the globe. DSM have played many concerts all over and have combined their sound with different art froms, such as projections, film, dance and even conducting workshops fro kids. "neunundvierzig entgleisungen" comes in a full cover fold sleeve and is slipped in a stable plastic seethrough. it plays on 45rpm, even if the label prints instructs you to run it at 33. the record was recorded by guido huebner and features texts by jean rene lasalle and artwork (paintings reproduced) by francoise vigot. it was layouted by stefan hanser (anemone tube), mastered by josef suchy and cut by lupo at dubplates & mastering." [label info] www.aufabwegen.com 2008 €18.50
  Casual Praise of Domestic Calamities CD "Another attempt to dissolve any kind of structures from DSM, something like micro-concrete Noise, very small bits and pieces are put together in fast sequences, sometimes it climaxes in harsh outbursts, radiowaves are appearing as well..... comes in nice box on our favourite British anti-music label." [Drone Rec. info 2005] "Edition of 500. All compositions by Guido Huebner, created between 1999 and 2004 in Caen, France and Berlin, Germany. Sections of track 6 recorded in the studio for electro acoustic music at the arts academy of Berlin. Field recordings for track 8 and 9 were carried out at the harbour of Hamburg, Germany, as well as at the shores of Lower Normandy and in the countryside around Caen, especially the bridges trespassing the canal between Caen and the sea." [label info] „Guido Hübner, Ex-Berliner und seit über zwei Jahrzehnten ununterbrochener Noisebastler, kommt tatsächlich mit einem neuen Album auf richtig fertiger CD und obendrein auf dem Label, das uns bisher lediglich bzw. fett selbstbewußt ein Album der New Blockaders auftischen konnte. Neulich kamen schon mir leider unbekannte DSM-Kompositionen auf Vinyl-On-Demand, die CD aber, soviel läßt sich sagen, knüpft definitiv an DSMs frühere Versuche an, Form völlig aufzulösen, bevor sie sich als greifbar und folglich interpretierbar entblößt. All die tausend kleinen, dreckigen noises passen ganz sicher auf eine CD, das steht fest. Aber Hübners einzigartige Anordnung dieser Unjuwelen an sound (eine Anordung übrigens, die offenbar ohne Wiederholung auskommen will) übertrifft ganz sicher alle banalen Versuche, die Harmonie zwischen diesen unvereinbaren Geräuschen auszumachen. Form ist immer Harmonie und somit Mittelmaß. Vielleicht ist es genau dieser Gedanke, den DSM in uns wachrütteln wollen; und natürlich gelingt es ihnen perfekt.“ [Ed Benndorf , de:bug] 2005 €13.00
DATASHOCK Kräuter der Provinz do-LP Crossed the desert? Check. Seen the pyramids? Check. What's next? "Kräuter der Provinz"... Herbs of the Province. Smoking dope with Edgar Reitz (the man who made Heimat)? A homage to regional cuisine or a celebration of backwoods origins? Absolutely not. But two for the price of one can't be bad and a pun a day keeps the critics away. Still, how to get a handle on what's going on here? Can it even be explained? Datashock 2018: Eighty fingers playing, but what are they all up to? Are Datashock in command of their instruments or is it the other way around? What we do know – this is freely improvised music, complete with rattles, rumbles and whistles. Music as a social happening, both in terms of process and outcome, where individual and collective development can thrive – an ecstatic experience! Sheesh! No, really! This much you already knew? Well, no harm in saying it again, is there?! Imagine gathering eight people under one roof and ushering them into a recording studio – everybody's busy nowadays (sometimes in precarious situations, but always doing one thing or another, incessantly), this being the age of late capitalism and all that. Anyway, diaries checked and off we go. Next stop: Oetinger Villa, Darmstadt. Kolter has already swept the place clean, DJ Ulf Eyes has brought beer from the waterfront, MC Cobra is dressed in the latest threads from Berlin, McWerner and Cha Cha have everything they didn't forget to bring from Cologne and up the Rhine and – natch – El Haze and Biber Bergi line up alongside LL Cool P from Saarbrücken. Pizza delivery number dialled, bottles opened, lights, camera, action. Machines bleep, a violin cries out, a clarinet howls, guitar and bass weave their way around the drums. The spell lasts for several days, then the magic goes back in the box, the recording is done. Everyone heads back to where capitalist realism awaits in fifty shades of gloom. Alas, it was over so quickly! Luckily, a tour is in the offing, a chance to see one another again! Groups like Datashock are few and far between, more's the pity – raise your glasses to friendship! – groups who, in spite of everything, meet up regularly to record free improvisations and then hit the road to share their experiences with an audience. It's a trust thing. So: bring on the herbs! Not provincial in the slightest – but they get everywhere, into every last nook and cranny. They may not have any songs to speak of, but they do have their instruments. Salvador am Ei German: Die Pyramiden besichtigt, die Wüste durchquert, und jetzt? „Kräuter der Provinz“. Kiffen mit Edgar Reitz? Eine Hommage an die regionale Küche oder die Feier hinterwäldlerischer Herkunft gar? Natürlich nicht. Wie immer gilt: doppelter Boden hält besser, und ein Kalauer am Tag die Kritik auf Abstand. Wie aber sich nähern oder erklären gar, was vor sich geht? Datashock 2018: Achtzig Finger im Spiel aber was wird gespielt? Spielen Datashock ihre Instumente oder spielen die Instrumente Datashock? Es rappelt, rumst und pfeift - soviel steht fest. Hier spielt eine frei improvisierte Musik. Musik, die im Prozess und dem Ergebnis ein soziales Ereignis ist das sowohl die individuelle Entfaltung als auch eine gemeinsame – mithin sogar exstatische! – Erfahrung ermöglicht. Sheesh! Aber hallo! Kennt man schon? Na und, das kann ruhig noch mal gesagt werden! Warum auch nicht!? Aber wie muss man sich das vorstellen? Acht Leute unter einen Hut bzw. in einen Aufnahmeraum zu bringen – weil alle doch so (teilweise prekär aber natürlich dauernd mit irgendwas anderem) beschäftigt sind, ist doch immerhin Super-Spätkapitalismus und so! Aber dann, Terminkalender gecheckt, los geht’s, nächster Halt: Oetinger Villa, Darmstadt. Kolter hat schon durchgefegt, DJ Ulf Eyes bringt Bier von der Waterkant mit, MC Cobra hat die neusten Modetrends aus Berlin dabei, McWerner und Cha Cha kommen mit allem, was sie nicht vergessen haben, aus Köln den Rhein hoch und – klar – El Haze und Biber Bergi rücken nebst LL Cool P aus Saarbrücken an. Pizza bestellt, Flaschen geöffnet und dann geht’s los. Maschinen piepsen, die Geige ruft dazwischen, die Klarinette jault, die Gitarren und Bass schleichen ums Schlagzeug herum. Wenige Tage später ist der Spuk vorbei. Aufnahmen im Kasten und alle müssen erstmal wieder dahin, wo der kapitalistische Realismus in all seinen trüben Facetten auf sie wartet. Schade, war wieder viel zu kurz! Aber bald ist ja auch wieder Konzertreise angesagt, dann sieht man sich wieder! Es gibt längst nicht genug Gruppen wie Datashock, die – ein Hoch auf die Freundschaft! – regelmäßig und trotz allem zusammenkommen, um frei improvisierend aufzunehmen und durch die Gegend ziehen, und so ihre Erfahrungen mit dem Publikum teilen. Das muss man sich natürlich auch erstmal trauen. Insofern: Kräuter, gerne! Provinz, mitnichten – aber sie kommen überall hin, noch in den letzten Winkel. Songs haben sie dann zwar keine dabei, dafür aber ihre Instrumente. Salvador am Ei LP version in a 3 color Gatefold cover. The 2-Vinyl Version (indcluding CD) comes with a bonus track! design by Manuel Wesely https://datashock.bandcamp.com/album/kr-uter-der-provinz-2 2018 €26.00
DBMG/RAF (DIE BAADER-MEINHOF GRUPPE / RED ARMY FACTION) same CD Radikaler Elektro / Noise / Rhythmic Industrial aus Kanada mit starker politischer, antikapitalistischer Ausrichtung (das RAF-Logo auf dem Cover), dabei musikalisch abwechslungsreich & überzeugend arrangiert, teils fast rockig-tanzbar, teils extrem krachig! "Die Baader-Meinhof Gruppe / Red Army Faction is Joshua David Richardson with a revolving door of collaborators, which include: Scott E. Farmer (Russian Futurists), Sam Devos (For Greater Good), and Edwin Vanvinckenroye (Tribe) amongst others. According to Richardson, DBMG/RAF is a chance for musicians and multi-media artists to explore the use of violence within their chosen medium for the expressed purpose of destroying the economic, social, and artistic structures imposed on them by Late 20th and 21st Century Capitalism. It is inspired by the actions of West-Germany’s Red Army Faction (also known as the Baader-Meinhof Group), which sought the violent overthrow of West-Germany’s post-war governments from the 1970’s until its official disbandment in 1998. Politics aside, this is one freshing new release that actually lives up to being true INDUSTRIAL music. It is noisy, chaotic, harsh, violent, full of anguish and torment while still carrying a strong beat. This is the kind of industrial that will immediate clear the dancefloor at your local goff-idustrial club, will sort out the real rivetheads from the poseurs, and have noise music enthusiasts begging for more. There’s a good amount of variety on this CD too- a post-punk “Peter Gunn” inspired rhythm track with whacked out old school analogue electronics, middle-eastern Indian ambience with the sound of war in the background (perfect for planning your next Jihad), Deutsch Nepal and Memorandum inspired beats with radio transmissions in the background, slabs of whale-toned cries from the deep, broken and distorted sonics over a militant backbeat with appropriately painful processed vocals, wacky distorted rhythmic melodies, and much more. It is experimental without being unlistenable. Alienating while still being engaging. Even when Richardson is using those overly-familiar sounds and elements, they never seem dated or clichéd. When it comes to this kind of music, this guy obviously seems to know what he’s doing and doesn’t wear his influences on his sleeve like so many others who’ve attempted it. If I had one thing to nit-pick about, it might be the use of overuse of spoken word samples, which is a pet peeve of mine in any music genre. Purists can argue as to its appropriateness, but I feel that a constant barrage of it is a bit clichéd. Thankfully, Richard tempers it with other interesting elements. This release has an awful lot going for it and has so much variety that it has a very high replayability factor, something that I haven’t heard in a good number of harsh music projects that I’ve reviewed positively. It is also not a constant torrent of torturous sounds; there are quite a few quieter moody moments. Nothing is overly-long or intolerable. If this was released on CMI, it might be the album of the year in Europe. Red Army Faction is like having the best moments of bands like Mental Destruction, In Slaughter Natives, Esplendor Geometric and Brighter Death Now rolled into one steaming package. Perhaps it’s due to the duality of the name Die Baader-Meinhof Gruppe / Red Army Faction and its association that makes this music project totally oblique in a Google search. If you want this music, you REALLY have to know where to look. You can find it on iTunes (Die Baader-Meinhof) or CD Baby (http://cdbaby.com/cd/baadermeinhof) but I’d recommend just going directly to the website since there videos, more info and purchase options there. Definitely recommended!" [Steve Mecca / CHAIN D.L.K.] www.dbmg-raf.com 2009 €13.50
DEAF MACHINE Found Noises CD Das Berliner RAUBBAU-Label (früher auch als FORMOSAN aktiv) hat das längst vergriffene, verstreute Material dieses Solo-Projektes eines MEGAPTERA-Mitglieds zusammengestellt. Low-fi droning & death industrial stuff mit obskuren Samples & found sounds... "The groups in the Nyköping/Oxelösund region of Sweden (Megaptera, The Protagonist, Morthound) have been pretty thoroughly documented in the past. But one crucial missing link of this micro-scene has been overlooked, and not given the deserved recognition. Until now, that is. Mikael Svensson, founding member of Megaptera, also did his own project Deaf Machine for a while, though it vanished without leaving many traces behind. Besides a couple of wildly obscure self-released tapes, the only other marks were contributions to seminal compilations such as "In the Butcher's Backyard" (CMI) and "Death Odors" (Slaughter Prod.). Not content to rest on the laurels after the successful inaugural release by Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio, the fresh German label Raubbau has decided to treat Deaf Machine with an ambitious rerelease program covering two separate CD albums. This first one, "Found Noises", contains one of the tapes, two tracks culled from compilations, and one previously unreleased track. The similarity with Megaptera lies in the frequent use of voice samples from movies and news broadcasts. But whereas Megaptera relies on a method with upfront pounding machine rhythms, Deaf Machine opted for a subtler approach more based on textures and moods. The mix of muffled voice fragments, disjointed rhythm loops, and crude, bass-heavy synth-noises sound unlike anything else that came out of Sweden at the time. A unique sound by a neglected artist that thankfully no longer will remain a secret within small circles of cognoscenti." [label info] 2008 €13.00
  Transistor CD "The German label Raubbau have decided that the time is ripe to end the nearly two decades of severe under-exposure for Deaf Machine, the Megaptera offshoot conceived by Mikael Svensson. Previously in 2008 the 'Found Noises' CD was put out, a release that was met with great enthusiasm. A majority of listeners to industrial music were up until this year not even aware of the name Deaf Machine. Only a minuscule fraction had ever heard the music. Merely ten people can claim to actually own the original tape release. But certainly the extremely limited nature of an album does not automatically imply that its content merits another issue. In the case of 'Transistor' any such fear of groundless hyperbole can be scrapped. While operating within the confines of death industrial, the sound of Deaf Machine clearly lacks antecedence in its more oppressive, minimal approach; a rhythm-less universe inhabited by the creaking noises of analogue devices and metallic artefacts, and fleeting voices leaking through from media broadcasts. Svensson may have been a minor player in the scene, but his precious few moments of brilliance are now finally captured for posterity. What more semi-forgotten corpses from the heyday of Swedish death industrial are waiting to be unburied?" [label info] www.raubbau.org 2008 €13.00
DEISON Substrata 10inch "Italy's Cristiano DEISON enriches the experimental sound and noise art community with his releases and various collaborations (lately with JOHN DUNCAN, GIANLUCA BECUZZI and K.K.NULL) for more than 20 years, but seems to be still undiscovered by too many listeners. "Substrata" collects three extremely crystalline and immersive drone pieces based on prepared tapes, metals, strings, wires and electronics... imagine a forest glade in moon-light with cold white sonic radiations, half-frozen calyx are clanging at each other, liquid metallic forms appear and disappear, hypnotic slow motion pulses suck you into.. "something"... these are incredible strong, deep and complex drone compositions, drones with the spirit of the "Noise Culture" - using "fragmentation, collage, arrangement and layers", as Germano-Chinese philosoph Lutz Schridde puts it. Sounds of elementary transformations, metamorphosis, and overcoming the usual sense of time: "..where sounds are conceived as they are “excavated” from the earth beneath our feet “Terra Firma” (erosion) and then taking to the light (awakening); it describes its interior solid surface (“Prima Materia”), the primitive formless base of all matter similar to chaos, the quintessence or aether." [Cristiano Deison] ed. of 300 copies pressed on transparent green vinyl, artwork Cristiano Deison, 32. min playtime https://soundcloud.com/drone-records/deison-substrata-side-a 2020 €15.00
DEISON + GIANLUCA FAVARON Nearly Invisible CD "Cristiano Deison and Gianluca Favaron met in 2011 when the latter was a guest on Deison's "Night Sessions" album on Silentes. Both involved in many projects and music collaborations - Favaron with Lasik Surgery, Maribor, Zbeen and Under The Snow, and Deison with Mingle, Matteo Uggeri and Maurizio Bianchi - during the summer of 2015, at last free from previous engagements, they finally decide to mix their sound attitudes and give life to "Nearly Invisible", an album where they process concrete sounds, field-recordings, digital impulses and analog tapes. A sort of "rational improvisation" where the two artists have a conversation talking through the sounds of their surrounding realities. A slow overlapping of contaminated drones, embedded with manipulated noises describes "nearly invisible" environments visually captured by the companion pictures taken by Stefano Gentile. Rough images, textured, dirty; details that open windows onto landscapes where you can recognize panoramas, shadows and structures. All of this is presented in a high quality package, also available as a limited "art edition". DEISON Deison is involved in the experimental electronic area since more than 20 years (he played in Meathead during '90s) and he approached the world of sounds doing his own tape collages with tape recorders, turntables and objects mainly in the field of experimental noise; he runs a small label (Loud!) and collaborates with artist like Lasse Marhaug, KK Null, Teho Teardo, Thurston Moore, Scanner, etc... Influenced by the experimental music, ambient minimal electronic as well as a great interest into digital music and sound design, he operates with loops, field-recordings and drones to develop swirling electronic sounds of enormous range and complex musicality. Waves of looping deep ambient scapes, penetrated with sample fragments and light additional noise-ambient textures form Deison’s silent, minimal frame-set. His records have been released on various labels in Japan, Usa, UK, Italy and Germany. Latest collaborations include works with Maurizio Bianchi, Uggeri and Mingle. Gianluca FAVARON An electroacoustic musician, his work focuses on the processing of concrete sounds using software made on purpose. Field-recordings, drones: an approach that uses different music languages, to elaborate, merge or transform the sounds made by everyday objects into something different, both taking them out of context and/or processing and modifying them with various effects. He currently collaborates with Corrado Altieri in the "Altieri | Favaron" project and with Stefano Gentile (Silentes) as "Under the Snow". In 2015 he has released the CD albums "Entretien" on 13/Silentes and "Forget About Any Non-Gray" on MFU /Concrete; the Ab'SHE / Uncodified (Corrado Altieri) split album "Applied Misinformation for People Control" was also released by Naked Lunch Records. "Nearly Invisible" is released in two different editions: - a standard edition of 230 copies (CD + Book); - a limited "art" edition of 13 copies housed in a 12" gatefold handpainted cover that also include one original photo (size 26x26 cm) + CD + Book" [label info] 13.silentes.it 2015 €12.00
DELPLANQUE, MATHIAS Drachen LP "News from Ici D'Ailleurs Mind Travels Series: Mathias Delplanque is an artist from Nantes who was born in Burkina Faso and has close links with the ambient, electronic, electro-acoustic and concrete musical spheres as well as dub and field recordings. His approach is therefore intimately intertwined with the creation of sound. Sound in the physical sense of the term, sound which goes through your body modifying your perception without ever giving into the academism which can sometimes be found in music in the field of pure musical sound research. There is no question of theorization here - rather questioning all the possibilities which enable an artistic vision to be pushed to reach its pinnacle. Mathias has been perfecting this approach to music for 15 years name under his own name or different pseudonyms (Bidlo, Lena). However, the premising underpinning the album we are discussing today is slightly different from that of his other productions. Normally Mathias takes his time to finely and obsessively sculpt his work down to the smallest detail but here Drachen (Dragons in German) reveals itself to be a much more direct and incisive album. Taking the idea that impurities can also give life to music as a starting point, he set himself a constant working rhythm and the aim of adding interference rather than the sublime going so far as to create actual interference with his mobile phone to disturb the rhythm and harmony of his compositions. By his own admission, he works urgently to induce mistakes or accidents to liberate himself from his own automatic reflexes. Drachen is therefore a dangerous album both for its author and for listeners. However the result remains impressive because, even though questioning accepted ideas is an essential facet of the record, there is an intact sensibi lity which provokes emotion. All sorts of instruments (guitar, bass, melodica, kora, synths etc.) are run through live electronic processing and he manages to bring a beautiful melancholy - even a certain tenderness - out of this sonic mass despite the roughness of the overall sound. The record is made up of 7 highly distinct pieces which nevertheless fit together as a coherent whole. Although instrumental, Drachen is a largely narrative album which recounts its own story. It is a necessary reminder that just sound and consequently silence are fantastic vectors for communication. At the end of the record, an eighth track makes an appearance to prolong the story and provide a conclusion for the album. The track is introduced by 2008 field recordings from the village of Gandefabou in northern Burkina Faso and offers a calm environment full of humanity. It is heavy with meaning given the current situation of this region of the world struggling with jihadism. "Vielleicht sind alle Drachen unseres Lebens Prinzessinnen, die nur darauf warten uns einmal schön und mutig zu sehen". "Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage." RAINER MARIA RILKE, Letters to a Young Poet " [label info] www.icidailleurs.com 2015 €16.00
DIAMETRICS Options CD " „Diametrics“ or, say, 'exactly opposite', someone told us some time ago, „gosh, that sounds so edgy, mathematical, New Wave-ish…“. Well, whereas we couldn’t give a damn about the former ideas, we definitely like the latter one. BUT don’t you even dare to think we’re a retro outfit – no fucking way! Just go on reading and let us explain. First of all, there was this trio from Bremen called ILSE LAU, the "post and noise rock monolith from the river Weser." (Szene Hamburg). During the ten years they played together, they released several albums on labels such as Fidel Bastro and Klangbad, before they split up in the Summer of 2007. Guitar player Ansgar went missing for good. So - time for a fresh start. Drummer/singer Henning, who had been intent on giving up hitting cymbals and skinks anyway, took over the vacant six-string position, while Fokke remained true to his bass. In Bremen, there's a saying that there are no drummers in the city. Proven wrong entirely after after just one try. Curtains for Jörn: hello to a fabulously good stickman and technician. First songs and a self-produced CD-r are finished after a few months only. So are initial live shows. The audience states: 'Indie rock' > naah, Diametrics know a few more strange chords. Or the audience says 'Math rock' > Sorry, we don't have calculators with us when we play. Says audience: 'Noise rock' > wrong. The band's too hooked on good melodies. Some even say 'Post rock' > sorry, we're a wee bit too loud for such assumptions. What we want to bring across? We just love finding ourselves in between chairs. We rather get our stuff from everywhere than using the most boring phrase in the music world, i.e. 'We can't be categorized'. You're still keen on adjectives? There you go: aesthetically dirty, consonantally discordant, metrically (in)constant music - partly with English or German lyrics. To be filed somewhere between the likes of SST, Amphetamine Reptile, Too Pure, and the Neue Bremer Schule. The press calls Diametrics "boisterous and feverish New Wave alongside precise stop-and-go Noise rock." (Szene Hamburg). In Summer2009, our first album 'There Is' (produced by Gregor Henning, who had been working with Ilse Lau all along) was released on Fidel Bastro. And more to follow this year. The mixing of the band's second album 'Options' has just been finished, and it's going to see the light of day in late Summer 2011, with supporting live shows to follow. .." [bandinfo] 2011 €12.00
DIE ANARCHISTISCHE ABENDUNTERHALTUNG #1 LP LP version. Marbled vinyl. In 1995 the self-titled full-length debut of Die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung (DAAU) was released. The band consisted of four young, "classically derailed" musicians who played their own compositions exclusively with their with acoustic instruments such as violin, cello, clarinet and accordion. Their work contained influences from Roma music, Eastern European folk, klezmer and jazz, and was performed with energy and true punk spirit. DAAU was part of the fertile Antwerp scene, which also produced dEUS, Zita Swoon, and Kiss My Jazz, and soon signed an international record deal with Sony Classical. The group's influential first record, which has been out of print for a while, is now finally being released again and is available on vinyl for the very first time. https://subrosalabel.bandcamp.com/album/1 In those early days, DAAU consisted of four young, classically trained musicians who tackled their instrumental compositions with a true punk spirit. 'If we'd had guitars, bass or drums at that time, we would probably have been just another rock band', says accordionist Roel Van Camp, who, together with his schoolmates Buni Lenski on violin, the latter's brother Simon on cello and Han Stubbe on clarinet made up the Antwerp quartet. 'With our acoustic instruments we tried to create our own version of the music we loved listening to, from sixties rock and prog to new wave.' The quartet, which initially played in streets and cafes, appealed to a diverse audience and sometimes joked that they were a classically trained unit that had 'gone off the rails'. 'As befits teenagers, we wanted to shake things up', Stubbe remembers, 'even though we always kept cherishing our classical backgrounds.' Van Camp: 'Our education was never supposed to feel like a straitjacket. We were free-spirited enough to ignore the laws and regulations of the music academy and to create our own sound. Our compositions were open to influences from Roma music, Eastern European folk, klezmer and jazz'. 'That eclecticism was a direct result of the zeitgeist', Han Stubbe adds. 'We loved different styles and happily mixed them together'. The monniker Die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung was derived from Steppenwolf, a novel by German writer Hermann Hesse about a character who was outside society. 'In the book, the narrator talks of a theatre', Van Camp explains. 'And at the entrance there is a warning sign sign that says: if you go in here, you are guaranteed to lose your mind. That was an apt description of the way our music worked'. Almost all tracks on DAAU's first album were 'Drieslagstelsels' (or 'three-course rotations'). The term referred to an agricultural method of the early Middle Ages, but also to the fact that each song of the group consisted of three major movements. Van Camp: 'The titles of those pieces referred to our method of writing. We piled up a huge bunch of ideas, because we wanted to tell more than just one story. With each composition, we took the listener for a ride'. 2023 €17.00
DIE FORM Die Puppe LP "Die Form is a French post-industrial and electronic band formed in 1977. The name ‘Die Form’ means ‘(the) form/shape’ in German, like the Bauhaus diary and is a play on the English homonym ‘deformed’ and on the French homonym ‘difforme’ (deformed). Die Form is the primary project of electronic musician and multimedia artist Philippe Fichot. He began by recording a number of experimental cassette releases in the late 1970s and formed the Bain Total label to release these early cassettes and various side projects including Krylon Hertz, Mental Code, Camera Obscura, Eva-Johanna Reichstag, Hurt and Fine Automatic. In 1982 Die Form released their debut vinyl album, “Die Puppe” in a limited edition of 1,000 copies. These are the first esoteric electronic experiments, often improvised, from what would become the sound of the project. Underlying themes of eroticism, death and other ‘taboo’ subjects are apparent in both the music and the album artwork, which Philippe also produces. The album was recorded with entirely analog equipment (Roland MC4 Micro-Composer, TR-808 Rhythm Composer, ARP 2600, Kawai 60F, Revox B77). Songs range from hypnotic, minimalistic proto-IDM to pure, daring experimental sound manipulation. Unable to fit into any genre, “Die Puppe” is in a class of music all its own. All songs have been remastered from the original master tapes for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The jacket is an exact replica of the original 1982 edition designed by Philippe Fichot, with a photograph of a porcelain doll holding a syringe. Each album includes two post cards with never before seen photos of Philippe with lyrics and liner notes by the band. Prepare to indulge your lustiest hedonistic fetishes." [label info] www.darkentriesrecords.com 2015 €18.50
DIETER MÜH & LON MILO DUQUETTE The Call LP "The first side of this LP is a 23 minute piece entitled “The Call” featuring Lon Milo DuQuette, legendary occultist and leading, & longest serving, member of the OTO in California. Lon intones the 19 calls of the Aythers in the Enochian language in a truly enlightening piece of ritual magick! The second side entitled “Sutreworde” is a live performance by Dieter Muh, from 2003 in Leipzig, Germany, featuring pieces from The Call woven into the 23 minute set. This LP is released on our own HaemOccult imprint (HAEM001)." [label info] "Following Atomyriades, an exemplary reworking of source material from Mnem, Dieter Müh the much-underrated UK underground electronic outfit return with their own material on The Call. The Call is perhaps the most significant work from Dieter Muh, as it features eminent occult author and Grand Master of the O.T.O. Lon Milo DuQuette reciting Enochian texts, a series of calls in the language of the angels. 'The Call' is based on the work of Dr John Dee, astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, and the texts recorded by his scyrer Edward Kelley, who he said were dictated to him in the angel's own language. 'The Call' enters to an atmospheric build up of chiming metal bowls and quietly understated howls of ambient electronics shifting to passages of ringing metal bowls. Its slow pace providing an unmistakeable ritual setting for the poised tones of Lon Milo DuQuette, as he effortlessly wrestles with the intricacies of the Enochian tongue over the shimmer of singing bowls. As DuQuette relates in the sleevenotes, "The Call is a shuttle that waves high magick and high art - an incantation of transcendent sound and angelic language chanted to the guardians of the Aythers so they might awaken and one by one peel away the thirty membranes of consciousness that, like cerements of the tomb, separate us from the pure consciousness of the divine." Heavy stuff, you're unlikely to encounter elsewhere. The flipside, 'Sutreworde' is a live recording of Dieter Müh from Augsburg, Germany in 2003. It captures an improvisary performance of Dieter Muh's murky industrial and occult electronics. Skittery electronics are woven with pulses, rattling tones with an assortment of taped voices fed through the mix. With a mass of electronic devices and sampled sources Dave Uden and Steve Cammack, once again, keep firm control of their textured output, even including elements of 'The Call' before bowing out with some ambient droning to taped strains from their 'We're Not Happy…' single. This recording of 'The Call' has been long promised ever since Dieter Müh and Lon Milo DuQuette performed this live at The Salon music event as part of the Information Wants To Be Free festival at the October Gallery, London, in 2003, a performance I was fortunate to witness. This recorded version does not disappoint and I really can't see this being available for much longer. It's perhaps the closest you'll ever come to communing with the angels. The Call is released on heavyweight white vinyl in an edition of 230 copies on Dieter Müh's own HaemOccult Recordings imprint. For more information go to www.dietermuh.org." [Compulsion Online] 2008 €16.00
DRAPE An Idea and its Map LP "Drape is an ambient duo comprised of Ryan Gracey and Spencer Williams. They have been crafting soundscapes since 2004. Their debut, 'dream words' (Gears of Sand) saw a limited CDR release in 2009. It was well received and garnered comparisons to Stars of the Lid, early 70's Tangerine Dream as well as late 80's space ambient. Their follow-up was an interesting pairing on cassette - a split w/ experimental artist Odd Nosdam. 'An Idea And Its Map' marks a refined leap forward in Drape's sound. While less space music, there is certainly more expansion. It is a smudged and blended orchestra of drones on the opener 'Solo in High Dreary' and those drones are split apart in slow-motion - eventually revealing a single guitar tone. Moments of sublime resonance as on 'The Visible The Untrue' anchored by piano, and notes that float, seemingly carried in on a breeze. All is not as it seems with an undercurrent of ground swelling, oscillating air - somewhere in the distance there is a storm assembling. Ebb and flow between light and dark - silver lined black clouds converge on the B side opener 'fanfare for lake flies'. The strings, guitar, siren calls are assembled and plastered to one another. A thick blanket of overwhelming beautiful cacophony results. The album's close is as much filtered white noise as it is heavenly chords. The dual slow-motion treated guitar present thoroughout 'An Idea...' diverges between pools of dissonant feedback, howls of wind, and melodic drones. 'An Idea...' is a study in contrasts - and Drape find effective employment of the disparity as well as the combination of the reticent and the reserved turbulence. There is an atmosphere of tension, in a sense with resplendent tones enveloping a barely concealed fury just under the surface. Edition of 400 copies. Black vinyl, 180 Gram pressing. Gatefold sleeve + OBI strip. Purchase of LP will include a download code of the album (FLAC, MP3, etc. - your choice). After a tumultuous pathway to being pressed on vinyl, be it natural phenomena, pressing issues, manufacturer issues, broken plates, and so on - Infraction is relieved to present finally the first vinyl full-length LP by Drape." [label info] www.infractionrecords.com "Graduating from extended synthesizer jams of their earlier output to symphonic, string-based ambience, the duo of Drape provide a soundtrack for frigid early mornings and star-laden late nights. The seven tracks that comprise "An Idea and Its Map" glisten and glide over slow arcs of swelling strings and luxurious textures that bring to mind the oft-referenced figureheads of the genre, Stars of the Lid. Drape, in both structure and execution, clearly aim for this comparison. Yet they do it better than most and while they can't approximate Stars of the Lid's natural emotion and grasp of melody, Drape smartly overlay their drones with guitar distortion and amplifier feedback to give the surroundings a patina of worn textures. The end result illuminates "An Idea and Its Map" with both a vulnerable and hard-edged feel and is all the better for it." [Ryan Potts, Experimedia] "Its been a while since I last from Drape, the duo of Ryan Gracey and Spencer Williams - see Vital Weekly 722 - but I believe they didn't release much beyond that point, other than a split cassette with Odd Nosdam. With this release we return to the more introspective ambience which we also encountered with Eluder. Yet there are differences also. Whereas Eluder is certainly grey towards black, Drape is more grey towards white. It would seem to me that all of this music is created with guitars, and it's not difficult to see a strong influence from Stars Of The Lid. The long form, sustaining guitars, cascading slowly, like majestic waves, rolling ashore, has a strong orchestral to it. Ringing string music, on an endless, perpetual slow motion roller coaster. If that is at all possible. Its been a while since we last heard something from Stars Of The Lid, and for all I know they might no longer exist, but Drape, on this particular record, would win easily the chance of successor to their throne. A fine example, textbook drone music. Forty years of mood music pass by, from the German cosmos, Eno's living room and a bit of neo-classical music - Arvo for my part. Highly refined journey on the wings of musical history." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2012 €25.00
DREYBLATT, ARNOLD Turntable History CD "ARNOLD DREYBLATT (b.1953) is an American composer who has studied with La Monte Young, Pauline Oliveros and Alvin Lucier. He is a member of the German Academy Of Art. He has released work on labels such as Table Of The Elements, Canteloupe, Tzadik, Hat Art and Dexter's Cigar. Turntable History is a recording of a 40 minute multi-channel sound composition which was concieved as part of an audio-visual installation installed in the circular vaulted brick space of a historical water container in Berlin in 2009. The original sound content is derived from recordings made by Arnold Dreyblatt of a Magnetic Resonance Imagining Scanner ("Siemens Magnetom Symphony Maestro Class") in a radiological practice in Berlin. Dreyblatt was fortunate to gain rare permission to record this device in operation without patients being involved. A technician from Siemens manned the machine especially for these recordings, searching for software settings related to their resulting sonic output rather for scanning particular body areas. Dreyblatt treated the device as a giant "Tesla coil," in which the alignment and resonances of a powerful magnetic field is gradually altered by rotating radio frequencies. Dreyblatt analysed and deconstructed the original recordings and grouped the audio segments by pitch, rhythm and density. The resulting five-channel composition of harmonically resonating, pulsating signals, sounded within this voluminous reflective space (with long delay times) is wonderfully captured in this recording." [label info] www.importantrecords.com 2011 €14.00
DRONAEMENT Ezoterick Muzick CD-R Finally a new full album by DRONAEMENT with NEW material, very “positive” drone-vibrations & field-recording-reworkings with excursions to trancy tribal-rhythm-pieces, full of mystic feelings and close to the mystery of existence, the title is more than appropriate... “Dronæment is active since 1997 and is the main musical project of Marcus Obst who lives in the South area of what once was East Germany. After a few amazing tape albums he joined the Drone Records serie with the "Wassermond" 7", which was based on a collaboration with Jim De Jong, followed soon by a split LP with The Infant Cycle (Jim De Jong again....). Since then he released some marvellous albums on Dachstuhl, Nauze [Muzick], Mystery Sea, Le Cri De La Harpe and Field Muzik. Everyone with an even small interest in Drone / Experimental music should immediately put their hands on them. After the wonderful "Yr" (released with the help of our friends at Blade Records) and "Allein... Unter Menschen" (a remastered CD-R version of one of his early tapes), this is the third Dronæment album released by Afe. Needless to say that we're very proud about this. "Ezoterick Muzick" was inspired by repeated listenings of indian traditional music and is a successful attempt at creating meditative / relaxing ambient music...” [label info] 2006 €13.00
Wassermond 7inch "DRONAEMENT is a newcomer from a small village in East Germany, who is also active in DAS RHYTHMISCHE ORNAMENT and D:RHYTHM:O and his small cassette-label NAUZE MUZICK. After a few amazing tapes, this is the very first vinyl issue for DRONAEMENT, containing two flowing tracks based on water sounds, entitled "wassermond" and "wassertank". Sounds go up and down like waves, pulsate soft and tender, surround you like cotton wool, being added up by sensitively created electronics. This is a kind of hommage to water, symbol for life, moving and development. Listen to the endless streaming and flowing of life." [original press release January 2000] 2007 €6.00
  Wassermond (SOLD OUT) 7 "DRONAEMENT is a newcomer from a small village in East Germany, who is also active in DAS RHYTHMISCHE ORNAMENT and D:RHYTHM:O and his small cassette-label NAUZE MUZICK. After a few amazing tapes, this is the very first vinyl issue for DRONAEMENT, containing two flowing tracks based on water sounds, entitled "wassermond" and "wassertank". Sounds go up and down like waves, pulsate soft and tender, surround you like cotton wool, being added up by sensitively created electronics. This is a kind of hommage to water, symbol for life, moving and development. Listen to the endless streaming and flowing of life. GREEN VINYL, SILK-SCREENED COVERS IN DIFFERENT COLOURS." [press release] 2000  
DUAL Keimar Sty CD Die zweite CD der Engländer ist das erhoffte MEISTERWERK geworden! Wieder wieder Gitarren-, Bass- und Perkussions-Klänge benutzt und bearbeitet, um visionäre & subtile Soundscapes zu kreieren, die in tiefsten Tiefen des Unterbewußsteins für Unruhe zu sorgen scheinen. Atemberaubend atmosphärisch und betäubend schön!! The second CD for the english project is a real masterpiece! Again they used guitar, bass and percussion-origins and processed them to create visionary and subtile soundscapes that seem to move into deepest regions of the unconscious. Breathtaking atmospheric and beautiful ! Deeply recommended ! “ As always all the sounds on this release are from the guitar and this second full CD release features Dual exploring rhythms and percussion coaxed from the guitar while applying various treatments and manipulation. Although some traditional methods of playing the guitar have been employed on the recordings of this album the finished mixes show no real sign of a plucked guitar string. Drones and textures are interwoven with clicks, pops and buzz from the electronics with subtle bass rhythm to create a soundbed of drifting melancholic ambience. This album features new collaborators George Richardson (Coombe Records / Cassette41) and Alice Kemp (Germ Seed).” [press release] 2001 €13.00
DUNCAN, JOHN The Nazca Transmissions LP "On Christmas Eve, 2004, John Duncan received a mysterious email from an archaeologist working at the site of the Nazca Lines in Peru. He claimed to have discovered, and over time recorded, a variety of sounds actually generated by the enigmatic lines themselves. Familiar with Duncan's 'Infrasound-Tidal', composed from source recordings taken from tides, seismic activity and barometric data from the Australian coastline, he suggested to Duncan the composition of a piece with these sources. All of the sources were modified in the studio of John Duncan, some radically, to bring out an unsettling, haunting quality. In mid-June 2005, the glorious 5-track piece was finally ready. John Duncan sent several messages to the archaeologist, none of them ever answered or returned. A hard disk crash effectively destroyed all of the email correspondence between them. What remains are the notes he sent that ostensibly describe the details of sites and times for the source recordings. Those notes have been reproduced on the insert included in this edition, also presenting John Duncan liner notes. First pressing limited to 380 copies, with embossed total-black cover, insert and full-color inner sleeve with wonderful space images of the Nazca Lines." [label info / credits] "The sound constructs of John Duncan almost exist as a residue of his own personal research into esoteric realms of knowledge, existential bouts of continuous questioning, and transgressive acts against himself and society at large. Here was a man who claimed to have sex with a corpse as a performance piece entitled Blind Date, whereby he planted his last seed in a dead body before undergoing a vasectomy. That event presumably took place nearly 30 years ago, when Duncan was emerging as an artist in Los Angeles alongside Paul McCarthy, Jim Shaw, and Mike Kelley. Blind Date has become a piece of infamy that blossomed beyond his already highly transgressive context, but he's always been an artist who is very deft at framing particular works through the process and through the context of said piece. The Nazca Transmissions is one such piece. A few years back, Duncan received an email from a German archaeologist working at the site of the Nazca Lines in Peru. These are the massive drawings carved into an arid plateau some 2000 years ago by the ancient Nazca people. Some of these figures are representation, some are not, and some get as large of 200 yards in size, all posing the question: who was supposed to be seeing these figures, and to what end? Now, this archaeologist claimed to have been able to record sounds from those line drawings; and he presented the raw material to Duncan, having been familiar with his transmutational pieces of digital data and shortwave. Duncan was suitably perplexed and intrigued by the sounds that were presented to him, proceeding to work on a series of compositions through that material. Unfortunately, this archaeologist ceased all communications, leading Duncan to wonder if it was all a big hoax. Eerie ringings pocked with scrabbled textures almost like clipped VLF recordings open the album set against a gaping chasm of quietness. While Duncan's penchant for abrasive noise and jarring juxtaposition is well documented, you won't find that here. By the end of the side, the textures take on an unsettled rhythm that almost resembles human speech garbled through the process. Very compelling, very unsettled. The second side begins with an interlocking series of modulated and muffled Shepherd Tones, these are the audio equivalent of a barber's pole with the tones giving the appearance of being in constant ascension or descension. It's a common artifact found throughout the shortwave bands, harkening back to one of his preferred sound sources; and Duncan puts them to excellent use amidst a sea of low end rumblings. Soon after, pierced tones push to the foreground as those low end rumblings mutate into grotesquely deformed growlings only to fade against a hushed coda of grey noise. This is limited to less than 300 copies, and it remains to be seen if we'll be able to get more than the handful we have now. Recommended no matter how you look at it." [Aquarius Records] 2009 €20.00
DUNCAN, JOHN & GIULIANA STEFANI Palace of Mind CD "... a really mind-blowing journey into pure sounds - same concert as he played during his small tour in Germany December 2000. Needs to be played loud. Our favourite DUNCAN-album so far. Mysterious, powerful, organic. A real experience." [Drone Rec. 2001] label: www.allquestions.net "Palace Of Mind is the 2000 recording collaboration between John Duncan and Giuliana Stefani. Mr. Duncan has long been one of AQ's favorite experimentalists, having started things out back in the '70s LA performance art community only to quit the US to pursue his own intense psychological research into sound, projection, installation, photography, and the like. Stefani is a mathematician by training and became acquainted with Duncan through a collaborative project they began in Amsterdam in 1996. For this album, the two sifted through digital treatments of shortwave transmissions, wire-tapped data streams, and voice. In turn, they work the album into labyrinthine composition that can hold any number of potent metaphors: the neural synapses of the human brain, the schematics of a computer, or simply an architectural set of overlapping resonant spaces. Rareified tones set with motoric vibrations transition through the fluttering of (or rather the lack there of, as this sounds like the empty spaces between the bands marked by a mechanoid oily hiss) and onto slashing digital drone. Here, one can think to Duncan's exceptional field recordings made at the Stanford Linear Accelerator in the early '90s. Within the movement from an irritable data-stream purity to the gossamer haze of shortwave distortion to gaping drones of treated vocal vibrato, Duncan and Stefani have set a trajectory deep into the heart of their sonic architecture, with each 'room' saturated with an anxiousness for what may be on the other side of the door. You won't find Duncan firing a gun at your head (seriously, he did that as performance piece called Scare back in the late '70s, using blanks mind you), but Palace Of Mind revels in an interlocking network of chambers that resonate and breathe with a profound beauty. Highly recommended!" [Aquarius Records] 2000 €15.50
DÖRING, ROGER & KONRAD KORABIEWSKI Komplex LP The project was created over two years in Seyðisfjörður, Iceland and in Berlin, Germany, and is an evolving conversation between Döring’s improvisation on acoustic instruments such as clarinet and saxophones, and Korabiewski’s electronic live treatment and composition with Döring’s sounds. A third compositional element is contributed by the particular ambiences of the spaces in which the recordings took place, as Korabiewski and Döring came together to record at sites with personal and acoustic resonance, from Döring’s apartment in Berlin to an abandoned herring factory by the sea in east Iceland. Musically Komplex moves seamlessly between ethereal ambient re- frains, to a somber, churning low end, to a hypnotic looping rev- erie that slowly disintegrates as if under the burr and scratch of a gramophone needle. Melodic elements occasionally distort and peak into noise, lending the simplicity of solo instrumental im- provisation an atmospheric density, and revealing the material and spiritual limits of the fragile musical moments around which the album circles. The track titles, made of German expressions and short sentences, refer to the restless transience of creative life, much like that of a journeyman craftsperson centuries ago. The result is a highly expressive, dark, and deeply felt, honest album, reflective of shifting emotional states and uneasy sagas from the north. Side A 06:02 kremmenerstraße [baritonsaxofon ] 03:07 seelischer konflikt [baritonsaxofon ] 06:24 flucht [baritonsaxofon ] 04:03 hof [tenorsaxofon ] Side B 04:44 wenn es gehen will laß es gehen [klarinette ] 02:09 aber langsam gehe ich meinen weg – langsam [klarinette,diktaphon ] 05:34 wohin des weges, wandersmann? [klarinette ] 04:24 zeit heilt alle wunden [tenorsaxofon ] 8 Tracks (36′29″) Vinyl (300 copies) www.gruenrekorder.de 2015 €16.00
EBTEKAR, ATA & THE IRANIAN ORCHESTRA FOR NEW MUSIC performing works of Alireza Mashayekhi: Ornamentalism CD "An Organic Electrocution: perfect follow-up to the highly acclaimed Persian Electronic Music (SR277), this new Persian Music album involves a cast of seasoned musicians performing works written by legendary Iranian composer Alireza Mashayekhi; in which Ata Ebtekar (aka Sote) was granted complete creative freedom by Mashayekhi himself to transform these compositions into fully realized pieces using his techniques of synthesis and electronic manipulation. it's an organic electrocution without sacrificing the beauty of the performance. these sound sources and compositions were metamorphosed via electronic processing, rearranged and decomposed using sound generators, effect boxes, modular synthesizers and samplers. finally, Ebtekar programs synthetic sounds and adds new electronic harmonies, melodies and soundscapes to the sonic palette of Western classical music and Persian instrumentation for a unique musical experience. Sote unites the grace and symmetry of noise and silence inside the magic circle of electronic music composition. ________________________________________ The Tehran Contemporary Music Group: cofounded in 1993 by Farimah Ghavensadri and Alireza Mashayekhi. in 1995 Mashayekhi established the Iranian Orchestra for New Music as a performing entity. the Tehran Contemporary Music Group's main goal is the presentation of new music in order to promote young composers and performers. the Group has also helped to establish the Biannual For Composing and Performing of Contemporary Music in Iran. ________________________________________ Alireza Mashayekhi: a short biography. Alireza Mashayekhi was born in 1940 in Tehran, Iran. He is one of the pioneers of modern music in Iran. Mashayekhi's works have been performed in Iran and abroad for more than 35 years. Mashayekhi believes that contemporary composers should create music in wide range of styles. His own compositions have tended towards three major direction: pieces that are directly inspired by Iranian music (e.g. Symphony No. 5, Persian Suite and Shahrzad) and compositions that are not directly related to Iranian music (e.g. Symphony No. 6, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra,Sonata for Piano) and multicultural compositions (e.g. Symphony No. 8 and the electronic composition East-West). 'At the time of Stalin in the USSR, many pieces were composed with predetermined identities in honor of Marxism and Leninism by the request of the governmental authorities or by the artist's own whishes. Among these pieces those with artistic rightfulness remained and they were honored in both East and West, but the political weight of the other ones did not succeed to help them survive.' [Alireza Mashayekhi] 'Alireza Mashayekhi is regarded as a pioneer Iranian avant-garde composer whose ideas and works, which have been performed in Iran and abroad for more than 35 years, have greatly influenced the contemporary music in Iran..' [Hooman Asadi of the University of Tehran, Iran] ________________________________________ Ata Ebtekar aka Sote: a short biography. aka Sote is an Iranian-American electronic composer and sound artist. he was born in Germany to Iranian parents, spent the first eleven years of his life in Iran and the next six years in Germany. at the age of seventeen he moved to the United States and lived in the Bay Area for fifteen years. he has spent the last few years living in Tehran and working on several projects. one of these projects was released in 2007 as a double disc set called 'Persian Electronic Music - Yesterday and Today' (sub rosa SR277) for which he compiled early electronic music from Alireza Mashayekhi who had created these compositions forty years ago. disc two features Ebtekar's own electronic compositions to present a timeline in modern Iranian music history. Sote's compositions are sonic tales synchronously decoding and regenerating customary patterns of thought in nature; aural designs of crisis and harmony where contempo meets folklore, orchestrating an artificial saga with a variety of illuminations and analysis. he believes that music is a cultural habit of sound and anti-sound (silence). therefore, he generates music without a specific culture, which he believes to be 'The Other Sound'. He has released several cds and vinyls on Dielectric/RLR, Spundae and especially on Warp." [full label info] www.subrosa.net 2009 €13.00
  Ornamental do-LP Subtitled: Ata Ebtekar and the Iranian Orchestra for New Music Performing Works of Alireza Mashayekhi. "An ambitious, extremely complex, and sonically rich project that gives us an immense pleasure to release. An incredible collaboration between Ebtekar and Alireza Mashayekhi's Iranian Orchestra for New Music in Tehran, Iran involving dozens of trained musicians. Ebtekar has recently returned to the Bay Area from his three year stay in Iran where he closely worked with legendary composer Alireza Mashayekhi. The album spans 50 minutes, crystallizing acoustic instruments and electronic music composition with ten tracks fully realized by Ebtekar and Mashayekhi's orchestra. Ata Ebtekar (b. 1972, Hamburg Germany) aka Sote is an Iranian-American electronic composer and sound artist. His compositions are sonic tales synchronously decoding and regenerating customary patterns of thought in nature; aural designs of crisis and harmony where contempo meets folklore, orchestrating an artificial saga with a variety of illuminations and analysis. Presented here is a full-length album involving dozens of trained musicians performing works written by legendary Iranian classical and electronic music composer Alireza Mashayekhi in which Ebtekar was granted freedom by Mashayekhi himself to arrange and transform these compositions into fully realized pieces using his techniques of synthesis and electronic manipulation. Ornamental continues to explore even further than that which was presented in Sub Rosa's 2007 anthology, Persian Electronic Music (Yesterday and Today 1966-2006). The album also continues the radical experimental departure from his early electronic music work as Sote in the 12"'s published by Dielectric and Warp Records. Ebtekar's work continues to be painfully singular and shines bright in its ability to eliminate barriers the world over between noise, silence and modern electronic music composition. All music recorded in Tehran, Iran. Limited to 500 copies on black vinyl on full color spot-varnish matte jackets. Mastered by Thomas Dimuzio at Gench Studios in San Francisco, CA. Artwork and design by Brandon Nickell." [label info] "....The sounds are varied and wondrous, from fantastical flurries of wild freaked out electronic flecked free form soft noise, to delicate tinklings and hushed moonlit drift, spacey metallic shimmers to haunting alien music box like lullabyes, Eastern sounding folk fragments drifting in soft swirls of rumble and hiss, long stretches of barely there melody and wispy streaks of distant rumble. Really quite mysterious and beautiful, whether you're into modern classical, electronic music, abstract dronemusic, or all of the above. ESPECIALLY all of the above. Beautiful screened sleeves, with a printed insert, detailing the project, as well as the various performers and composers." [Aquarius Records review] www.isounderscore.com 2008 €22.50
EIMERT, HERBERT Epitaph Für Aikichi Kuboyama / Sechs Studien LP Herbert Eimert was a German music renaissance man, with his expertise ranging from theory to composition, editing, radio production, and criticism. He wrote numerous books on music theory, worked for years at the British occupational forces run Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk. It was there in 1951 that he established a studio for electronic music that he ran until 1961, which hosted recordings from Stockhausen, Xenakis, and Cardew, among others. This brilliant work begins on side A with 'Epitaph Für Aikichi Kuboyama', a brilliant piece of voice and electronics dedicated to a Japanese fishing boat radioman, who lost his life from complications related to radiation poisoning in 1954, after the ship he worked on was contaminated from fallout after the USA's nuclear testing at Bikini atoll. In addition to being a brilliant piece of electronic musique concrete, it is a damning indictment of nuclear warfare, as prescient now as it was during The Cold War. Side B is made up of six studies in electronic music, showcasing Eimert's talents which are as impressive as his more famous contemporaries. Essential early electronic music. 2018 €18.50
EINHEIT, FM / ANDREAS AMMER Hammerschlag CD "Hammerschlag" - created by FM Einheit (member of Einstürzende Neubauten early 1980's to mid-1990's), with Andreas Ammer - features many percussive industrial elements and 'machine music' (chains, scraping, coiled springs, objects), noise, experimental electronics and provocative musical compositions familiar to the ears of Neubauten fans. An oratorio with prelude and two noise interludes, based on Russian futurist Aleksej Kapitonovič Gastev, the "bard of the machine age". FM Einheit (Mufti) is an industrial and electronic musician and actor, primarily known for his percussion work with Einstürzende Neubauten. He has also collaborated with musicians such as: Diamanda Galás, Eraldo Bernocchi, Mona Mur, KMFDM, Goethes Erben and many more. He was also involved in the projects Stein and Gry. Andreas Ammer has been creating works with FM Einheit since the early 1990's. "Just a moment longer, and through the confused chaos of these days, the legendary realisation of the future roar of events is triumphant" (A.K. Gastev, "A Bundle of Orders"). "Hammerschlag was premiered in 2019 at the Diaghilev Festival in Perm as a live concert with Teodor Currentzis , the chief conductor of the SWR Symphony Orchestra, as Aleksej Kapitonovič Gastev. The concert served as the basis for a German-Russian radio play version. In his last lyrical work "A Bundle of Orders", published in 1921, Russian futurist Aleksej Kapitonovič Gastev wanted nothing more than to finally destroy literature. In a historical document there is a description of a concert based on the text: "The choir master stood on a balustrade, who conducted the sound with the help of a complicated signaling device. After this noise overture had raged for long enough time to completely numb the auditorium the real passion game began". Aleksej Kapitonovič Gastev (1882 - 1939) was a Soviet revolutionary, poet, high-ranking union activist and scientist. When he became head of the Russian revolutionary Central Institute for Work with the psychotechnical optimisation of workflows (How do I really hit with the hammer?), he swore off poetry with "A Bundle of Orders" and at the same time created his most important lyrical work . He was executed under the orders of Stalin for counterrevolutionary activities. CD in digipak. FM Einheit (objects, electronics) Andreas Ammer (sirens) Rica Blunck (voice) Saskia von Klitzing (drums) Volker Kamp (basses, tuba, trombone) with Teodor Currentzis as Aleksej Gastev and the musicAeterna Choir under Anton Bagrov FM Einheit likes to thank Softube for their generous support. Mastered by Martin Bowes, The Cage Studios. Layout by Abby Helasdottir. https://coldspring.bandcamp.com/album/hammerschlag-csr281cd 2020 €12.00
EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN 1/2 Mensch LP "Halber Mensch ('half man' in German) originally came out in 1985, at the height of the apex of punk self-immolation, pure German expressionism, and industrial theatricality. The infernal vocal chorale of the title track is about as intense as a vocal piece could ever be, without resorting to pure guttural howling. Here is it a searing repetition of an atonal plainsong, buttressed by the always unique snarl of frontman Blixa Bargeld. The repurposed metals from junkyards and constructions site which have become synonymous with Neubauten immediately appear afterwards on their anthemic single "Yu- Gung (Fuetter Mein Ego)," whose insistent rhythm works almost Gamelan- like as the principal melody to this amazing tune. It should also be pointed out that Pussy Galore, who were already heavily indebted to EN, covered this on their Sugar Shit Sharp ep! later. As a grand climax to the album, Neubauten again returns to hellish imagery through the symphony of bowed metals on "Der Tod Ist Ein Dandy," where these cacophonic scrapes amass into a dramatic arc of acoustic noise that easily parallels those same constructions that David Jackman built in Organum. This is one of those seminal records that should always be in print, and one of those records that you should already have. But if not, you shouldn't pass this up!" [Aquarius Records] www.neubauten.org 2002 €22.00
EIRIKURA Reflections of a Higher Realm CD "The varied enchanting soundscapes of Eirikura are created using familiar instruments s.a. guitars, strings (violin, viola, cello), grand piano, flute, oboe, trumpet, drums and more unconventional ones, such as bandura, zither, bowed psaltery, musical saw and various percussions. The eclectic sound ranges in genre from neo-folk and neo-classical to ethereal and ambient." [label info] "Reflection of a Higher Realm is the debut album by neoclassical/ ambient music project Ēirikura, released by Wrotycz Records, consisting of artists from several different German bands, plus Irish poetess Johanna Doyle. With thirteen tracks – Reflection of a Higher Realm, Wassara, Flowers, Eirikura, Annabelle Blue, Oh, roses for the flush of youth, Fornocht do chonac thu, Today's Eulogy, Dance into Images, Like an out-dated Pre-Raphaelite, Gerds, Ramawas Warta and Reflection of a Higher Realm (reprise) – this is a beautiful, formidable and astonishing record, probably the best neoclassical album that I have heard. Fulfilled by references of art and literature – with original and adapted poems as well – Reflection of a Higher Realm is a fantastic, bright and marvelous journey throughout a serene, ordained, sensible and sincere universe, where a colorful ocean of hope can be seen involving worlds of incommensurable delight, in a warm and complete embrace of patience, immutability and beauty. With great tenderness and delicacy, the music of Ēirikura is a marvelous journey throughout an intelligent and thoroughly elaborated universe of supreme art, created with the sentimental, but pragmatic axiom of a truth that comprehends all the virtual and literal necessities of the human soul. Reflection of a Higher Realm couldn’t have been a better title for the album, because all tracks in this outstanding and vigorous work – without exceptions – seems to transmit exactly this sensation: reflections of a higher realm. You almost feel you are looking, touching or making contact with the omnipresent consciousness of a higher dimensional existence, parallel to our mundane and ordinary world. These songs appear to descend from a transcendental reign of underlying and subjective, but overwhelming beauty, that came to rescue us from our suffering, fatalist misery and insignificance. With folk and regional elements beautifully inserted in the songs as well, the pure and consecrated density of this work goes beyond the infinity of its majestic tenures of beauty, aggrandizing artistry and emotional virtuosity. With a succession of beautiful songs that cohesively forms in the universe of its sensible context a marvelous cosmos of original creative strength and sagacity, Reflection of a Higher Realm is an unbelievable, sensational and monumental record. Its imperial, but graceful and gentle expansive movements liberates the engines of a fragile and hidden existence, made primarily of tenderness, humanity, art and a genuine capacity to sonorously create, evoke and reproduce higher dimensions of dense and meaningful sensibility. With wonderful songs like Fornocht do chonac thu, Today's Eulogy and Like an out-dated Pre-Raphaelite – the seventh, eight and tenth track, respectively –, which are my favorites, Ēirikura offers you the possibility to travel to the extremes of your own soul, making you discover and decipher, in the process, the most profound and consistent devotional diagrams hidden in the depths of your own consciousness. But even if they were devoid of this ability – although they aren’t –, the music itself will be a reason strong enough to make anyone anxious to embark on this fantastic symbolic journey of expressive moments, filled by delightful redemptive skies of infinite grace." [Wagner/Merchants of Air] 2017 €12.00
ELOY, JEAN-CLAUDE Shanti do-CD " “Shânti” (1972-73) for electronic and concrete sounds. Electronic music studio, WDR, Cologne, Germany, 1972-73. Digitalized and revised version from 2001. “The term “meditation music” triggered many conflicting comments including positive ones (“... let us say that Shânti belongs to those very rare works that change you after listening to them. You are not exactly the same before and after.” - Gérard Mannoni, Le Quotidien de Paris, 1974). Others, wondering at the strong sound presence of the piece, consider such aspect as hardly helpful to their own meditation... Let us be clear: “what meditates” here (”that” who meditates) is the composer. He is the one who takes you on his journey and guides you through his work like in a classic or romantic symphony. As a listener you are invited to follow “his” meditation... The composition is the meditation.” " [label info] "Was I recently 'complaining' about 3CD sets with music of people I never heard of, I wasn't perhaps thinking of Jean-Claude Eloy. First time around the mailman decided to keep the CDs, but the second time delivered them duly. I hope he likes them as much as I do. I may have heard the name Eloy before, but not his music, or where to place him, these two sets, six discs in total will set the record straight (pun intended). Eloy was born in 1938 and studied with Darius Milhaud. I believe he composes all sorts of work, but his main line of business is electronic music. I review them in order of composition. 'Shanti', which means 'peace', was composed after 'Kamakala' for three orchestra ensembles, five choir ensembles with three conductors, so it was perhaps 'necessary' to compose an electro-acoustic work at the WDR studios in Cologne, Germany. A work of meditation, or so Eloy tells us. Now this is not a work of pure and solitary drone music, as one would perhaps expect from 'meditative music'. They are here, that's for sure, but there is also an interview with Aurobindo and Mao, as well as a small piece called 'Soldats', with soldiers speaking and 'Vagues Lentes, Boucles De Feux', which takes their singing into an electronic landscape. This is of course an album about 'Peace', but rather then just produce a drone or two, Eloy brings in a political element, the soldiers. However the majority are those various drones, played on those ancient machines (great pictures in the booklet here), the mystical oscillators, wave generators and such like - which defy any laptop, I'd say. Excellent music, although not always exactly as meditative as promised, but that, I thought, was hardly a problem. Unsettling meditation, which is better than just go with the flow." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2009 €25.00
  Etats-Limites ou les cris de Petra CD " 'Borderlines or Petra's shouts. Songs for the other half of the sky N°VII' (2013). After some reissues or first edition of old compositions, here's a brand new composition from Jean-Claude Eloy. Made mostly with voice, bells and synthetic sounds this piece works like an electroacoustic lightning. 'A kind of salutary madness." [label info] "In the early nineties French composer Jean-Claude Eloy worked on a commission for the German radio, and recorded a bunch of female voices, reciting texts by his favourite female German writers and decided he also needed some 'vocal material', like sighing, shouting, rustles, whispers and for that he recorded one afternoon the voice of Petra Meinel-Winkelbach. That recording he kept and was found last year again and used for this piece, 'Borderlines' (which is incidentally also the name of his label, as he's fascinated with borderline individuals), which makes this a very recent piece, as opposed to some of the older pieces he has been releasing in recent times. It lasts almost eighty minutes and at its foundation is the voice material as well as his set of cowbells, all of them from his own collection. Miss Meinel-Winkelbach died a few years ago and this work is in her memory. It's a great work; starting out loud with pitched bell sounds, stretched voice material and then in the middle it's all very quiet and spooky. Buzzing, sparkling, glissandi, sustaining and broken up: all those ingredients of a fine musique concrete piece are in here. It seems to be always on the move however, never staying any long in a particular place, but something new comes in and changes the form of the piece over and over again. This is one to those pieces, at least, that's how it worked for me best, and to sit back and simply let it roll out, all over you. Don't spend too much time thinking about it; just close your eyes and enjoy." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2014 €16.00
EMERGE Cycle mCD-R Endlich was neues vom süddeutschen Experimental-Drone Projekt, bekannt geworden (hoffentlich) durch die DR-64 DRONE EP. Cycle ist ein one-tracker, bei dem Quellensounds von AALFANG MIT PFERDEKOPF bearbeitet werden. Höchst seltsame Klänge (Tiere? Geschepper? Metall?) erscheinen in aufbrausender Bewegung an der wallenden Oberfläche, um gleich darauf wieder in einer Drone-Brandung zu versanden. Während sich die Ratio keinen Reim darauf machen kann, sinken die Klänge an der Analyse vorbei ins schwarze Loch des Bewusstseins.... Ein klasse one-tracker (fast 23 min ) mit vielen Details, der zeigt wie vielfältig heutige Drone-Muzak ist. Unsere wärmste Empfehlung ! “Verato Project, the CDR sub-division of Suggestion Records always know how to come up with new names, that at least sound new to me. Not that I understand much of this new 3"CDR: the band is apparently called Emerge, from Augsburg Germany but the cover also says 'original sounds by Aalfang Mit Pferdekopf', whoever they might be. So maybe it's safe to say we are dealing here with some sort of remix project? The music is rather ambient, but in a refreshing way. Sounds swirl in and out of the mix; sounds that remind the listener of processed wind recordings (that form the ambient backbone of this release) and animal calls (birds going past the microphone). A piece of floating music, that may last a bit too long, but when played in right ambience and with the right mood, probably goes straight into your subconscious. A great piece indeed and made me curious to hear some of Emerge.” [FdW / Vital Weekly] http://www.verato-project.de 2005 €8.50
Divisible CD-R Curiously packed in a scratched neon-case filled with organic material and closed with thick paint, this early year 2004 sees three self-released CD-Rs of this german “mysterious noise”-project, known to some with his releases as DEPENDENZ and through the EMERGE 7” on Drone Records (DR-64). Listen to raw metallic loops and strange low-fi noises, evoking an atmosphere of total alienation & mechanical organismic life.. 2004 €6.00
Fission-processed mCDR Curiously packed in a scratched neon-case filled with organic material and closed with thick paint, this early year 2004 sees three self-released CD-Rs of this german “mysterious noise”-project, known to some with his releases as DEPENDENZ and through the EMERGE 7” on Drone Records (DR-64). Listen to raw metallic loops and strange low-fi noises, evoking an atmosphere of total alienation & mechanical organismic life.. 2004 €6.00
Relativity (SOLD OUT) 7 Ein neues Experimentalprojekt wird mit der DR-64 gewürdigt, EMERGE aus Augsburg schafft mit tiefen, schweren Sounds eine Atmosphäre wie unter Tage oder in einer Katakombe...alle Klänge basieren dabei auf field recordings.. “ EMERGE is a new project from Augsburg in South-Germany. After two self-released tapes & CDrs, DRONE Records is very pleased to officially present this great audio-work to a wider audience. The two tracks here (‘Relativity’ and ‘Profundity’) carries the listeners into very deep & low sound-regions throughout mysterious low rumblings & mechanized loops added by various distorted voices arising from beyond. This atmospheric feeling is like being under the earth or even underwater. It’s something that sounds like deep breathings coming from an invisible abyss that would create a psychic room inside it where the darkness is without any boundaries; no time or logic whatsoever: it’s the primal state of being. Filed under: amorph catacomb-drones YELLOW - BLACK SPRINKLED VINYL. HANDMADE COVERS WITH EXTREME PROCEDURES: PARTLY PAINTED & BURNED !!! “ [press release] 2003 €6.00  
  Hiding Place CD “Hiding Place” is a lost Emerge album partly collaborated with German fairy singer Eljara (Prinzip Nemesis) and Russian Experimental Ambient artist Re-DrUm. Great and almost easy-listening soundscapes full of bright mysterious atmospheres, distant choirs, meditative rhythms and calm melodies. Just inexpressibly beautiful music… www.frzl.ru 2016 €10.00
EMERGE + RE-DRUM Persecutory Delusion CD-R "Although recorded at a concert series titled “NoiseAngriff” (noise attack) in Berlin, this live collaboration is actually a lot less harsh than one might expect. The paranoia suggested by the title might be felt in the dark ambient dronescapes, though. In this slowly evolving set, the two performers connect to their roots in drone ambient, combining harmonic, yet vaguely ominous electronic textures with small concrete sounds. Over the course of some 45 minutes, Russian artist Re-Drum and his German colleague EMERGE create a vast expanse of sound through which they navigate with tentative movements, like ships in dark uncharted waters in the night." "Zusammenarbeit von Emerge mit Re-drum: und zunächst ist da ein geradezu ambientes Abtasten; Noise und Nicht-Ton als feingliedrige Bestandteile eines sehr luftigen Gewebes, das die beiden wie fast nicht spürbar im Laufe dieses One-Trackers verdichten, immer enger werden lassen. Durch dynamische Interventionen genau so wie durch ein zunehmendes Herausdrängen der Stille als zunächst noch gleich bedeutendes Element der Musik. Re-drum + Emerge verzichten aber (mit Blick auf den im positiven Sinne fragilen Gesamteindruck von „Persecutory Delusion“ dankenswerterweise) darauf, das Stück in irgendwelche vordergründigen Rechteckwellen-Verdichtungen zu schieben. Statt dessen tauchen zwischendurch überaschenderweise auch tonale Fragmente auf, wie verwehte Flächen, ein Anriss tatsächlicher Harmonie. Und ganz am Ende so etwas wie ein Fall in einen Sog… Wie ein aus der Inspiration des Moments entwickeltes Gesamtes; gemacht aus Zutaten, die, einzeln betrachtet, eigentlich nicht zusammenpassen können. Zusammen aber wird aus Zufall Werk. Wie bisher in dem endlosen Strom aus dem Hause Emerge auf Fake-Vinyl-CDr, jetzt neu in bedruckter Stecktasche." [N/Black Magazin] www.attenuationcircuit.de 2016 €7.00
ESPLENDOR GEOMETRICO Cinetica LP "The new album by Esplendor Geométrico after "Fluida Mekaniko" (2016)! Pioneers and international cult band of rhythmic industrial music. Recorded in Shanghai and Roma 2018-2019. Recommended both for "old school" industrial music fans and the followers of the new industrial techno. Esplendor Geométrico, the influential "industrial" pioneers of the pulsating, hypnotic and mechanical rhythms, returns with a new album "CINETICA", after their previous "Fluida Mekaniko" (2016). Based now in Shanghai and Rome, they have not stopped their live performances all over the world in the last two years (Germany, Spain, Russia, UK, France, Italy, and recently Chile) with great success. The LP include eight tracks, 10 in the CD version, recorded between 2018- 2019. Limited edition to 600 LPs and 500 CDs. "Cinética" gives a twist to the line that the group has followed in their last albums, highlighted by a more elaborate sound. A less raw sound, but without losing the essence of E.G: hypnotic rhythms and innovative industrial music, danceable and tribal sometimes. Certain songs like "Acoplamiento internacional" and "Modulaciones", with eastern and African voices, remember the classic LP "Mekano Turbo" (1988) that is considered as one of the best albums of E.G. In "Cinética" there are filtered and natural voices, broken, mechanical and industrial rhythms, synthesizers layers, percussion, noise, distortion, Mongolian chants. Esplendor Geométrico celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2020 and prepares special editions for that year. They have developed a unique style since 1980 that influenced many "industrial" musicians around the world, including the new trends of industrial techno." https://soundcloud.com/geometrikrecords/sets/esplendor-geometrico-cinetica 2020 €19.50
FALX CEREBRI (FâLX çèRêBRI) Trials Textures Errors CD "Almost 7 years in making, finally this milestone of pioneering & legendary german noise outfit is released - more than 25 years after the last recorded FâLX çèrêbRi track, compiles several contributions to compilations, as well as outtakes, erratic experiments, live cuts and unreleased tracks. Release date is 28th July 2014. Limited edition of 500 copies in jewelcase." [label info] "If it wasn't for a German guy named Graf Haufen I would probably not have started a record label, even when it was a cassette label at that time. This was thirty years ago, the summer of 1984. I had a made a booklet, a sort of 'discogs-on-paper', listing all Dutch cassette releases and Graf Haufen wrote about it in his German fanzine, Die Katastrophe. He then informed if I'd be interested in compiling a cassette with the 'loudest' Dutch electronic music acts, which became 'Katacome Vol. 3', which was then co-released by his Schrei Records and my own Korm Plastics label. The second release was 'Rite 64', a tape by Falx Cerebri, the musical project of Graf Haufen. I was envious of what he did: selling music, doing art, doing fanzines, mail-art, music, studying and I was surprised to learn he was even four months younger than I was. For a while I assumed he was much older. While I am hardly an archivist of any kind, I still have a mailer right here, containing all of the correspondence I received from him, including all his fine print catalogues and we see a friendship grow and crumble together. Graf Haufen went into Neoism, was a bit too critical about my releases and mail-art - quite rightly probably - and quickly we lost contact. He went into art and video circles and I stayed with music. In the late 90s I re-issued all of the Korm Plastics cassettes on CDR and tracked Graf Haufen down, then owning a video store in Berlin, who gave me some nice bonus material for the Falx Cerebri CDR re-issue. In the very early days of the Vinyl On Demand label there was talk of some highly limited Falx Cerebri LPs, but they never emerged, so this CD is the first true document available (the CDR also disappeared a long time ago, sadly). But, so you may ask, was the music all about? Was it really something special? Browsing his old catalogues, Graf Haufen was interested in what he called 'anti-musick', by which he understood not just industrial music, but also cruder forms of musique concrete. On 'Rite 64' it's all a bit more 'classic' industrial, with synthesizers, radio snippets, tape-loops and delay, and thus perhaps a bit more musical, but on this CD the emphasis lies more in the electro-acoustic aspect of his work. I played both this one and 'Rite 64' again, and while I still like the latter, this new compilation of pieces is stronger. Here we have quite a bit of contact microphone abuse, 'Scanning No. 2' for instance, vocal pieces, field recordings and synthesizer pieces, such as the 'The Eighth Enochian Key'. Rudimentary tape loops are used, but also cut-up/collage/montage techniques, scratchy records and all of that and it make up a more than excellent release. The only thing, but really that's just me, I would have liked to know more about these pieces, where they were released, live, unreleased etc. A documentation of some kind if you will." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2014 €12.00
FAUST Punkt LP After the overwhelming success of the 1971-1974 box set release (BB 374CD/LP), containing the first four studio albums and for the first time ever this lost "last" album recording, Punkt gets a deserved and necessary standalone release. "The band called it 5½, fans referred to it as the 'Munich album' and for almost fifty years it's been the missing chapter in Faustian mythology. Now for the first time, the German iconoclasts' previously unreleased fifth album sees the light of day as Punkt . . . Punkt is Faust at their most unhindered, untethered and unstoppable. Returning to Germany after a loss-making U.K. tour and after their manager Uwe Nettelbeck had split with them, the group dusted themselves down and planned their next project, what would have been their second for Richard Branson's Virgin. Joined as always by their engineering genius Kurt Graupner, the band took residence in the Arabella High Rise Building, the luxury hotel which housed Giorgio Moroder's Musicland Studio in its basement . . . Faust spent their nights below ground, creating the sublime cacophony which courses through these seven tracks. Driven by Diermaier's primitive repetition and Péron's rabid low-end growl, 'Morning Land' stomps its way through almost ten minutes of heavy psychedelia . . . A Luciferian spirit courses through the beatless 'Crapolino', a tumult of scorched guitar chords, strident FXs and disembodied vocals which bares all the hallmarks of a black mass. And just like that, the group summon some demonic hunting party for 'Knochentanz' (bone dance), arguably their most immersive creation . . . The storm clears for a second to allow a celestial chord progression to emerge from the darkness before the heavens open and Sosna's snarling, sawing guitar rains down from above, carrying 'Knochentanz' through its final iteration, a collision of muscular fretwork, percussion freakout and bleeping organ which completes the most psychedelic recording you've never heard. The frazzled optimism of 'Fernlicht' buzzes away like an acid Beethoven bathed in neons, before the breathless 'Juggernaut' stretches the definition of blues rock to its limit as squirming sine waves, clattering cymbals and corrosive guitars pan, reverse and overlap, each following its own unhinged rhythm. Then for a time the sound and the fury abate, making space for the frankly sublime 'Schön Rund', a piano-led diversion into the soul-swelling realms of ECM jazz and fin de siècle impressionism, which rivals anything else in their catalogue for pure beauty. And in case you thought they'd gone soft, Faust sign off with the guttural groans and course drones of 'Prends Ton Temps'..." --Patrick Ryder https://faust.bandcamp.com/album/punkt 2022 €22.50
  Punkt CD After the overwhelming success of the 1971-1974 box set release (BB 374CD/LP), containing the first four studio albums and for the first time ever this lost "last" album recording, Punkt gets a deserved and necessary standalone release. "The band called it 5½, fans referred to it as the 'Munich album' and for almost fifty years it's been the missing chapter in Faustian mythology. Now for the first time, the German iconoclasts' previously unreleased fifth album sees the light of day as Punkt . . . Punkt is Faust at their most unhindered, untethered and unstoppable. Returning to Germany after a loss-making U.K. tour and after their manager Uwe Nettelbeck had split with them, the group dusted themselves down and planned their next project, what would have been their second for Richard Branson's Virgin. Joined as always by their engineering genius Kurt Graupner, the band took residence in the Arabella High Rise Building, the luxury hotel which housed Giorgio Moroder's Musicland Studio in its basement . . . Faust spent their nights below ground, creating the sublime cacophony which courses through these seven tracks. Driven by Diermaier's primitive repetition and Péron's rabid low-end growl, 'Morning Land' stomps its way through almost ten minutes of heavy psychedelia . . . A Luciferian spirit courses through the beatless 'Crapolino', a tumult of scorched guitar chords, strident FXs and disembodied vocals which bares all the hallmarks of a black mass. And just like that, the group summon some demonic hunting party for 'Knochentanz' (bone dance), arguably their most immersive creation . . . The storm clears for a second to allow a celestial chord progression to emerge from the darkness before the heavens open and Sosna's snarling, sawing guitar rains down from above, carrying 'Knochentanz' through its final iteration, a collision of muscular fretwork, percussion freakout and bleeping organ which completes the most psychedelic recording you've never heard. The frazzled optimism of 'Fernlicht' buzzes away like an acid Beethoven bathed in neons, before the breathless 'Juggernaut' stretches the definition of blues rock to its limit as squirming sine waves, clattering cymbals and corrosive guitars pan, reverse and overlap, each following its own unhinged rhythm. Then for a time the sound and the fury abate, making space for the frankly sublime 'Schön Rund', a piano-led diversion into the soul-swelling realms of ECM jazz and fin de siècle impressionism, which rivals anything else in their catalogue for pure beauty. And in case you thought they'd gone soft, Faust sign off with the guttural groans and course drones of 'Prends Ton Temps'..." --Patrick Ryder www.bureau-b.com/faust71-74.php https://faust.bandcamp.com/album/punkt 2022 €16.00
FEINE TRINKERS BEI PINKELS DAHEIM (F.T.B.P.D.) Froschdosis (SOLD OUT) 7inch this group with the strange humour from Alle-mania brings you powerful energetic sounds with a deeply atmospheric touch and strange effects "LIMITED+NUMBERED FIRST EDITION OF 250 COPIES UNUSUAL BLACK VINYL; PACKED IN A HEAVY EMERY-PAPER COVER, ADHERED WITH A FRENCH STONE AND STRANGE TEXTILES. RISING FROM THE VERY SOUTH-WEST OF GERM-MONEY, THIS OBSCURE DUO WAS CREATED IN 1990 :::: DRIVEN TO FIND NEW POSSIBILITIES OF EXPRESSION AND CREATION OF SOUNDS. THEIR STRANGE NAME MAY LEAD TO UNEASY MISUNDERSTANDINGS -> FOR THE 'FEINE TRINKERS' IT IS SYMBOLIC FOR EXPLORING NEW PATHS IN MUSICAL CREATION, RATHER THAN REMAINING ON THE OLD. THEIR FIRST VINYL (3 TRACKS) AFTER HAVING RELEASED SOME FULL-LENGTH-TAPES, CONSISTS OF ATMOSPHERIC SOUNDSCAPES MIXED UP WITH STRANGE EFFECTS AND SAMPLES, SOMETIMES NOISY, SOMETIMES SUBTLE, BUT ALWAYS CHANGING AND CHALLENGING. THE MUSIC IS FULL OF ENERGY BUT NEVER LOOSES THE SENSIBILITY FOR CONCENTRATED LISTENING. (BY THE WAY, IT'S NOT REALLY POSSIBLE TO TRANSLATE THE GROUP-NAME INTO ENGLISH, BUT THEY ARE ALWAYS DELIGHTED WHEN SOMEBODY TRIES IT!) " FEINE TRINKERS BEI PINKELS DAHEIM - ONE NAME, THOUSAND PROGRAMS " DRONE RECORDS DR-19/ SEPTEMBER 1996 1996  
FELIX KUBIN II: Music for Film and Theatre LP YouTube Trailers: youtu.be/i5AEq3FMOwM youtu.be/n7dTsVsQpbA Here's the long awaited 2nd volume of soundtrack works by German Pop and Avantgarde Futurist Felix Kubin on the Dekorder label, following 2008's "Music for Theatre and Radio Play". Some of Kubin's most adventurous and far-reaching music stems from his commissioned works for films, theatre and radio plays. Freed from conventional song formats and genre stereotypes he effortlessly combines Musique Concrète noises, splashes of haunted virtual orchestras, Gameboy music minuets and voice collage interspersed with tons of suspense and gloomy industrial atmospheres. "Music for Film and Theatre" compiles 11 tracks from Polish director Robert Florczak's "Makbet Remix" (based on William Shakespeare's "Macbeth"), a waltz from Schorsch Kamerun's "Des Kaisers neue Kleider" (by Hans Christian Andersen) and the complete soundtrack (including the actual sound design) for Anke Feuchtenberger's animation short "Somnambule". Felix Kubin is a renowned composer and producer of radio plays based in Hamburg. In recent years he has released futuristic Pop Music on the legendary Zick Zack label, weirdo Big Band Jazz with Mitch & Mitch as well as the more experimental ode to the compact cassette "Chromdioxidgedächtnis". Over the past 10 years he has composed several major works for modern classical ensembles: "Echohaus" with ensemble Intégrales (released on Dekorder) "Falling Still" for Ensemble Resonanz and a boys' choir, premiered this year at Hamburg's Laiszhalle Symphony Hall and "Lunatyk" for Miłosz Pękala. His radio play "Orphée Mécanique" was awarded "Radio Play of the Year" in 2012 and "Best Audio Book 2014". Kubin's first recordings date back to his teenage years in the early 1980's (reissued in 2012 on the Minimal Wave label), followed by his electroacoustic noise duo Klangkrieg and the dada-communist Liedertafel Margot Honecker. https://dekorder.bandcamp.com/album/ii-music-for-film-and-theatre 2016 €16.00
FELIX KUBIN & ENSEMBLE INTEGRALES Echohaus CD "this latest project by the musician, composer and futurist felix kubin is a collaboration with the contemporary music chamber group, ensemble intégrales, and the reknowned german underground pop producer and sound engineer, tobias levin. echohaus was recorded in and around levin's electric avenue studio in the basement of westwerk in hamburg. a special recording technique was developed for the project whereby the musicians played simultaneously in separate rooms, connected to one and other only by headphones. this was done in order to achieve a lively,"cinematic" sound that made use of the particular dynamics of the rooms and amplified mechanical details. the rooms, each of which had a different acoustic character, were used as natural echo chambers. kubin and the composer burkhard friedrich provided the musicians with simple graphic scores or basic descriptions of the compositions; all subsequent material was developed on the fly. kubin was in the mixing room giving instructions and suggestions, while the musicians played and improvised, adding their own ideas to the project. no artificial reverb or effects were added to the recordings. the different types of rooms and microphones, noises inside and outside of the studio, as well as the unusual interrelationship between the physically isolated players became part of the process. after a five-day recording session kubin and levin created various mixes which kubin then edited over a period of several months. the final results mark yet another radical departure from kubin's trademark sci-fi pop sound, blending the aesthetics of academic contemporary music, film soundtracks and improvised music with a strong focus on room-specific natural acoustics." [label info] www.dekorder.com 2010 €14.00
  Echohaus do-LP "This latest project by the Hamburg-based musician, composer, and futurist, Felix Kubin, (his second release on Dekorder) is a collaboration with the contemporary music chamber group, ensemble Intégrales, and the reknowned German underground pop producer and sound engineer, Tobias Levin. Echohaus was recorded in and around Levin's Electric Avenue studio in the basement of WESTWERK, a former squat and cultural centre for non-commercial art and music in Hamburg. A special recording technique was developed for the project whereby the musicians played simultaneously in separate rooms, connected to one and other only by headphones. This was done in order to achieve a lively,“cinematic" sound that made use of the particular dynamics of the rooms and amplified mechanical details. The rooms, each of which had a different acoustic character, were used as natural echo chambers. Kubin and the composer Burkhard Friedrich, former member of ensemble Intégrales, provided the musicians with simple graphic scores or basic descriptions of the compositions; all subsequent material was developed on the fly. Kubin was in the mixing room giving instructions and suggestions, while the musicians played and improvised, adding their own ideas to the project. No artificial reverb or effects were added to the recordings. The different types of rooms and microphones, noises inside and outside of the studio, as well as the unusual interrelationship between the physically isolated players became part of the process. All the tracks were recorded in one take without any additional layers or track-by-track recordings. After a five-day recording session Kubin and Levin created various mixes which Kubin then edited over a period of several months. The final results mark yet another radical departure from Kubin's trademark Sci-Fi Pop sound, blending the aesthetics of academic contemporary music, film soundtracks and improvised music with a strong focus on room-specific natural acoustics." [label info] www.dekorder.com "Branching out into conceptual composition with Ensemble Intégrales, Felix Kubin acted as a sort of central engineer/conductor for this piece, with each instrument recorded live with no overdubs in separate rooms at the Westwerk cultural centre in Hamburg under Kubin’s supervision, and the results edited by him down into the resulting album. As a result, each room sound is almost as important as the tones recorded for the instruments concerned, and the results certainly resonate with the nuances of each space in the final mix, especially when listened to on headphones – which is probably the best way to appreciate the textures of the recording. It’s also perhaps inevitable that the terms electro-acoustic and musique concrète will crop as reference points when describing both the techniques and sounds of Echohaus – and justifiably too. There’s plenty of scraping, creaking, twisting and plinking, honking, squittering electronics and keening breaths, mournful drones and pizzicato strings among the synthesized interventions, in between the electro-mechanical susurrus and thumping among gentler ripples on piano and violin, with vaporous electronic reflections trickling subtly or otherwise across the dissociated (but not disembodied) studio space. The improv is strong here, quite happy to let rip into spine-tingling moments very close indeed to the fingernail/blackboard interface. So drumkits give their best falling down the stairs impressions (though it frequently does seem like that baskets full of household good are being given a good thrashing ), and there are moments where stereo-panned strings rise in counterpointed waves which could quite possibly drag the listener into a state of panicked delirium. What is particularly enjoyable are those moments where the music moves through space as Kubin manipulates the mix, with deep bass throbs and high-pitched whines circling the clatter of percussive motion across the soundscape he creates with the Ensemble’s sounds. Is that the sound of one room bleeding and/or receding into another, or is it just the natural echo? Who can tell, and does it matter too much? To keep calling this sort of music avantgarde is perhaps to hang onto a term which sometimes seems to be almost backward-looking, given the decades in which this modernist form has developed (or otherwise) – but even so, the recording technique is, if not at the advance guard, at least experimental in some form or other. But so much for labels – this is largely a fine piece of work where dissonance and discordance, horripilation and disconcerted listening teeter into sometimes quavering moments of reflexive beauty. Echohaus engages the senses fully, and the way in which it was recorded and produced being ultimately secondary to the results, which, while often difficult – or flat-out challenging – listening, are certainly none the worse for that." [Freq.org] 2010 €18.50
FENN O'BERG (FENNESZ / O'ROURKE / REHBERG) Magic & Return do-CD "Zwei junge Klassiker der Liveelektronik von 1999 und 2002 wiederveröffentlicht. Als Bonustracks mit aufgenommen wurden der Beitrag zur Sonar‘99-Compilation und ‚Adidas Sun Tanned Avant Man‘, der nur auf der japanischen Edition von Return Of enthalten war. Christian Fennesz, Jim O‘Rourke & Peter Rehberg hatten bei ihren Konzerten 1998/99 und 2001 - alles Material entstand damals als Livemitschnitt - als Indieallstartrio den Versuch unternommen, Avant-Electronica, d. h. komplexe, beatarme, polymorph-pervers improvisierte und untanzbare ‚Konzertmusik‘, als Attraktion auf der Höhe des Zeitgeistes etwas breiter zu streuen als üblich. Mit falschen Erwartungen von einseitigen O‘Rourke-Fans, die von ihm akustische Gitarre (wie mit Mazzacane Connors) oder gar Sonic Youth-ähnliches erhofften, musste man zurecht kommen. Gegen Borniertheit und Schmalspurigkeit kann man letztlich nicht mehr tun, als auf die verführerische ‚Magie‘ der eigenen Qualitäten zu setzen. Die Soundcollagen bis hin zum orchestral-opulenten ‚Fenn O‘Berg Theme‘ mit der Lizenz zu Betören sind geschichtet und verzopft eben nicht aus allem, was die Laptopspeicher hergeben. So beliebig und als bloße Summe ist Klangzauber nicht machbar. Ständiges Morphing und wuchernde Vielspurigkeit, Loops, Verzerrungen und Kompressionen, molekulare Diffusität, Einbrüche von Noise ebenso wie ungeniert melodiöse Einschübe von orchestralen Samples kitzeln die Empfänglichkeit und spotten - mit Schreibmaschinengetippe - dem Versuch, etwas derartig Logofugales in Worte zu fassen." [Bad Alchemy] "All tracks by Christian Fennesz, Jim O'Rourke & Peter Rehberg. Artwork by Tina Frank. Remastered at Piethopraxis, Köln, January 2009. The legendary Fenn O'Berg are resurfacing eight years since their last performance. Starting with this double CD reissue of their two albums; 'The Magic Sound Of...' and 'The Return Of...', originally released in 1999 and 2002. Fenn O'Berg (Christian Fennesz, Jim O'Rourke and Peter Rehberg) first hit the scene after a surprise appearance at the Nickelsdorf Festival in 1997. Throughout 1998 and 1999 the trio toured extensively throughout Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland and Spain, as well as shows in North America and Japan. The highlights of these trips were presented on 'The Magic Sound'. Although they were not first group to utilise mainly mobile computing devices, they were the first to bring such a set up to venues that would not normally book or even be interested in such things. This resulted in some very polarised reactions from both audience and promoters alike. In many instances the group needed to 'escape' the city they played. In Rome Jim O'Rourke was even given an acoustic guitar and more or less forced to play a short acoustic set before anyone could leave the building. Despite all of this, there was a generally positive response, with some shows going down as local legend. However its worth considering that the technology at the tine didn't offer the convenience of 'plug in and play' of current operating systems and applications. This of course led to set of recordings like no other. Not only was the rule book ripped up but the tour book as well. Each show became an improvised twisted journey through the various strands of electronic music where popular music sources (some more obvious than others) clashed with more academic tricks, but never sounding like being part of either. By 2002, the groups live output was drastically reduced due to all three members schedules moving in different directions. Only two performances were committed that year, and although the sound was more polished and one could even suggest that 'they knew what they were doing', their polarising effect was still there. One show was a sold out over enthusiastic Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the other a miserable 'count them on one hand' turnout at a jazz club in Vienna. Edited highlights of these shows made up 'The Return Of'. Since then the trio has been on a constant pause. In October 2009 they will get together in Tokyo to record a new studio album planned for early 2010 release. This reissue is repackaged with new artwork by Tina Frank, and contains two bonus tracks from the same period." [label info] www.editionsmego.com 2009 €18.00
FENNESZ 17.02.12 BOX "LTD box set 500 copies (gatefold 2LP, CD of the album, DVD, 12 p. photo book) Christian Fennesz is an Austrian electronic musician, active since the late nineties, and influenced by artists like the Fripp & Eno of the 1970s and guitar-synth pioneer Chuck Hammer. Fennesz uses guitar and laptops "to make multilayered compositions that blend melody and conventional musical instruments with harsh, irregular glitch-influenced sounds and washes of white noise." Over the years, Fennesz has played and collaborated with a number of artists including Mike Patton, Jim O'Rourke, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Keith Rowe, Peter Rehberg, Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse) and David Sylvain. In 2012 Fennesz also wrote the OST to the independent Austrian film, Aun, directed by Edgar Honetschläger, and based on the writings of Claude Levi-Strauss. On this double LP Fennesz can be heard performing to a live audience at a concert held at the Museo Marini in Florence, Italy in February 2012. The deluxe box set version includes, in addition to the 2LP, a CD of the performance, a 12 page photographic book, and a DVD featuring a 1927 silent film by German filmmaker Walter Ruttmann Berlin called Die Sinfonie der Großstadt (Symphony of a Great City)." [label info] 2013 €111.00
  17.02.12 do-LP "Christian Fennesz is an Austrian electronic musician, active since the late nineties, and influenced by artists like the Fripp & Eno of the 1970s and guitar-synth pioneer Chuck Hammer. Fennesz uses guitar and laptops "to make multilayered compositions that blend melody and conventional musical instruments with harsh, irregular glitch-influenced sounds and washes of white noise." Over the years, Fennesz has played and collaborated with a number of artists including Mike Patton, Jim O'Rourke, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Keith Rowe, Peter Rehberg, Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse) and David Sylvain. On this double LP Fennesz can be heard performing to a live audience at a concert held at the Museo Marini in Florence, Italy in February 2012, backed by the images of the 1927 silent film by German filmmaker Walter Ruttmann Berlin called Die Sinfonie der Großstadt (Symphony of a Great City)." [label info] 2013 €29.00
FERRARI, LUC Photophonie (Bandes magnétiques inédites (1973 - 1992) LP In 2019, to mark the 90th anniversary of his birth, Transversales Disques is very glad to announce the release of « Photophonie » unpublished archives, spanning 1973-1992, revelatory collection of commercial, commission and secret music by electroacoustic music pioneer Luc Ferrari. - « Photophonie » (1989) / Music for the photographic exhibition of Alain Willaume. - « Il était une fois » (1973) / Commissioned by the G.M.E.B. - « Trans-Voices » (1992) / Curated by the American Center, Paris. - « Tu m'écoutes » - (1975). « Affiliated with French Radio’s Groupe de Musique Concrète, co-founder of the GRM with Pierre Schaeffer in 1958 Luc Ferrari (1929-2005) major figure of musique concrète and electroacoustic music broke away to pave his own path of individualistic expressions of minimalist music, musical theatre, field recordings, orchestral music and soundtracks…» https://transversales.bandcamp.com/album/photophonie "Four staggering, previously unreleased Luc Ferrari works c.1973-1992 are cued up for the first time, marking what would have been the late, great electro-acoustic pioneer’s 90th birthday. As co-founder of the GRM in 1958 with Pierre Schaeffer, and behind dozens of singular LPs during the 2nd half of the 20th century, Luc Ferrari (1929-2005) is by any measure one of the legends of musique electro-acoustique. As his treasured archive continues to turn out gems on the Recollection GRM series, Ferrari’s precious, poetic work now joins that of peers such as Bernard Parmegiani and François Bayle on Transversales Disques, the label run by GRM’s audio restoration engineer, Jonathan Fitoussi, with four pieces spanning psychedelic surrealism thru to a sort of late ‘80s sci-fi romance. Known as the poet of the GRM and concrète disciplines, Ferrari’s exceptional recordings leant away from academic exercises to inventively express a synthesis of styles that simultaneously intersected minimalism, musical theatre, field recordings, orchestral music and soundtracks. The four pieces of ‘Photophonie’ beautifully and thrillingly speak to Ferrari’s grasp of the sonosphere and its omnipresent plurality with a deftness of arrangement and overarching vision that that sounds both of its era and also within its own parallel dream dimension. Written for a photographic exhibition by Alain Willhaume, the opening, 25’ long first piece ‘Photophonie’ (1989) emerges like an MTV ident, and continues like some hypermodern deco-dance work, all fractured shrapnel and acres of negative space, but soon flows out into a remarkable tract of vast ambient space conveying the sensation of exploring an abandoned space station, only to find some whispering French and German characters surviving in its bowels. If weren’t told otherwise, this work could have easily been the modern day soundtrack to something like ‘Beyond the Black Rainbow.’ The other side scrolls back to 1973 with ‘Il état une fois’, a 17’ piece spanning field recordings thru to queasy drones and cartoonish honks which perhaps sounds more of its time, but then again recalls Rashad Becker’s music for notional species gone to an alien fairground, while an all too brief snippet of ‘Trans Voices’ (1992) gives way to a lather of sampled voices, choral drones and pulsating rhythm in ’Tu m’écoutes’ (1975) that holds among the darkest and proto-acidic/technoid works we’ve heard from Ferrari, at the least. Whether you’re an expert or novice to Ferrari’s oeuvre, trust this one’s definitely worth your time." [Boomkat] 2019 €24.00
FIEBIG, GERALD Pferseer Klangtrilogie CD-R "ACRS 1003: CD-R in transparent jewel case Given that this album is part of the Rollator Series, dedicated to noise art, it starts with a surprisingly un-noisy performance of sound artist Gerald Fiebig reciting a poem. In the following tracks, though, meaning is reduced to noise as the recording of the poem is cut into tiny fragments. These are used in two 15-minute improvisations along with a miked-up violin bow and synthesizer drones which Fiebig uses to “play” the sculptures and paintings he found in the artists’s studios where these performances were recorded. The performance triptych documented here was conceived for a project in which artists opened their studios in Pfersee, a city district in the artist’s neighbourhood in Augsburg (Germany), to the public. Performing in three different studios, Fiebig moved from “Word” (the poetry reading) to “Noise” (voice samples plus amplified violin bow and sculptures by Günther Posch) to “Tone” (voice samples plus violin bow samples plus synthesizer and paintings by Gerti Papesch. Using a technique pioneered on the album “Hörbar in Farbe” (http://attenuationcircuit.wix.com/attenuation-circuit#!__hoerbar-in-farbe), the colours and shapes of the abstract paintings were used as a “score” for creating drones with a synthesizer and KAOSS pad. Thus, the album is a gradual development away from language and meaning (signal) through fragmentation (noise) to a new kind of structure, somewhere on the edge between noise and (musical) signal. To give the listener an impression of Gerti Papesch’s paintings that were used for creating the final part, one of them is reproduced on the cover of the album." [label info] www.attenuationcircuit.de 2013 €8.00
  Gasworks CD „Gasworks“ by sonic artist Gerald Fiebig collects his sound installations, radiophonic compositions, and live performances relating to the former gasworks in Augsburg-Oberhausen. They were created between 2010 and 2016, some in collaboration with colleagues EMERGE and Christian Z. Müller. Among the compositional materials of the album are processed recordings of the sounds of gas and industrial machinery, stories told by a former gasworks employee, and live improvisations in the echo chamber of the large gas tank. Liner notes by Gerald Fiebig: Cities phosphorescent on the riverbank, industry’s glowing piles waiting beneath the smoke trails W.G. Sebald, After Nature The former gasworks in Augsburg-Oberhausen (not to be confused with the better-known Gasometer in the city of Oberhausen in the Ruhr area) have been a subject of my artistic practice for more than a decade. This album collects all the works related to the gasworks except a site-specific installation version of Echoes of Industry that did not lend itself to documentation as a recording. Opened in 1915, the gasworks are a testimony to the spirit of what one could call the ‚heroic‘ age of industrialisation. The architecture of the ovens and machine halls features stylistic quotes from the façade of Augsburg’s renaissance city hall as well as from cathedrals. Technological progress is presented as both raison d’état and religion. This stands in stark contrast to the extremely hard, dangerous and – for a very long time – poorly paid working conditions described by long-time gasworks employee Johann Artner in Nach der Industrie / After Industry. From our contemporary viewpoint, informed by climate change and the impending end of fossil resources, the optimism expressed in the beautiful architecture of the gasworks also appears less than justified for ecological reasons: until 1968, the gasworks actually produced gas by burning coal in large ovens. They then continued to operate as a distributing station for fossil gas from transcontinental pipelines into the local network. Operations ceased in 2001. After almost two decades of merely intermittent use for festivals and other events, 2019 saw the re-opening of the gasworks area as an arts centre featuring a theatre as well as artists‘ studios, rehearsal rooms, and office spaces for creative businesses. This seems to imply that it has now entered the ‚post-industrial‘ age where clean, almost immaterial computer screens have replaced the factory floors once so dirty and dangerous. In fact, there is no such thing as a ‚post-industrial‘ age, just globalised capitalism increasingly outsourcing the dirty and dangerous work (manufacturing the microprocessors for the ‚post-industrial‘ devices, for example) to poorer countries. And of course industrial manufacturing still does form an important part of economies of the global North, even if the leading role in ideological narratives of growth and prosperity has been taken over by the ‚post-industrial‘ businesses. Both post-industrial, which is partly based on processed sounds of a metal tool factory quite close to the gasworks, and Echoes of Industry can be heard as reminders of these ambivalences. Echoes of Industry brings the space of the gasworks into contact with the sounds of textile machines. This is a reference to the fact that the decline of the gasworks as an industrial site paralleled that of Augsburg’s once-thriving textile industry. It also alludes to the role of the textile industry as one of the most prominent examples for the exploitative use of cheap offshore labour. But my interest in the gasworks is not only due to its historical ‚echoes,‘ documented so well by the committed friends of the gasworks, or Gaswerksfreunde Augsburg. As an artist working with sound, I am constantly fascinated by the literal echoes inside the large metal gas tank, 84 metres high and 45 metres in diameter. This unique sound effect is at the heart of Echoes of Industry, as well as the two live performances I did inside this space in 2016 under the title Ohrentauchen mit Echolot / Ear-diving with Echo Sounding. Doing this live improvisation in which acoustic sound-generators, from hammers to whistles, interacted with the physical features of the room as well as with its resonant properties, I felt it brought to completion the work I had begun in 2007 with a tour of the gasworks, guided by members of Gaswerksfreunde Augsburg, and the interview with the late Johann Artner. This album is dedicated to his memory. Excerpts: 1. post-industrial Excerpt of a sound installation in the so-called Apparatehaus during Grenzenlos festival, 2014 Sounds of hissing gas from a kitchen stove, processed by Gerald Fiebig, are combined with field recordings from a nearby factory in a building even older than the gasworks, processed by EMERGE. Composed & realised by Gerald Fiebig & EMERGE Commissioned by Christa Spaniol (Künstlergruppe 38/40) 2. Ohrentauchen mit Echolot Excerpts from performances in the large Gaskessel during Asche zu Farbgut festival, 2016 Various unamplified tools, toys, and instruments, as well as Gerald Fiebig’s voice and body, were used to create sounds inside the 84-metre high metal chamber. This included hitting the metal surfaces themselves. The performance took place in the centre of the chamber, with the audience walking around the performer. Live sound mix: www.yetiplanet.de Commissioned by Christa Spaniol (Künstlergruppe 38/40) 3. Nach der Industrie Sound installation at Lange Kunstnacht festival, 2010 (reworked version) The late Johann Artner worked at the gasworks from 1947 to 1989. He was interviewed by Gerald Fiebig in 2007. Excerpts from more than two hours of recorded material were arranged and combined with processed sounds of gas from a kitchen stove. A transcript and English translation of Johann Artner’s narration can be found at www.geraldfiebig.net/gasworks.pdf. Narration: Johann Artner Commissioned by Elke Seidel (Stadt Augsburg – Kulturamt) 4. Echoes of Industry Radio piece for Radioatelier on Radio Vltava, Czech Republic, first broadcast on 29 May, 2015 Two of Augsburg’s major industrial monuments meet in this piece: sampled recordings of textile machines (heard in part 1 of the piece) from the State Textile and Industry Museum Augsburg are played back inside the large Gaskessel. As they are transformed by the echoes of the room, a saxophone takes up an improvisational interaction with both the samples and the echoes. Part 2 of the piece is composed from live recordings of these improvisations in the gas tank. As the ‚remembered‘ machine sounds of industry become increasingly blurred, the theremin in part 3 gestures at the ambivalent perspective of a disembodied, ‚virtual‘ future of digital production. Christian Z. Müller: saxophones, theremin Gerald Fiebig: sampler, field recordings, processing Composed and realised by Gerald Fiebig & Christian Z. Müller Commissioned by Michal Rataj (Radio Vltava) 5 Tracks (68′18″) CD (500 copies) Credits: Composed and realised by Gerald Fiebig except where noted Audio mastering: Tomislav Bucalic and Tobias Schmitt Design: Martina Vodermayer – www.martavictor.design Photography: Sigrun Lenk, Martina Vodermayer, Gaswerksfreunde Augsburg Thanks to: Tobias Brenner, Oliver Frühschütz (Gaswerksfreunde Augsburg); Julia Quandt (Museen und Kunstsammlungen Augsburg); Wolfgang Riß, Annette Trass (Stadtwerke Augsburg); and to Jutta Weber, Manuel Schedl, Bonnie Lee Turner, and Tine Klink. Archival photographs are used by kind permission of Gaswerksfreunde Augsburg. www.gaswerk-augsburg.de The completion of this album was made possible by a residency at ELEVEN artspace, Starzach-Börstingen, Germany, in August 2018. The production was generously supported by Arno Buchegger Stiftung, Augsburg, and Kurt und Felicitas Viermetz Stiftung, Augsburg. www.gruenrekorder.de 2019 €13.00
FIRST, DAVID Privacy Issues (droneworks 1996-2009) 3 x CD "Featuring Chris McIntyre and Peter Zummo, trombones; “Blue” Gene Tyranny, keyboards; and The Black Jackets Ensemble. “This was something unexpected and truly different: pulsing electronic textures that derived their rhythm from the beating patterns of closely-tune pitches - as if Alvin Lucier and Philip Glass had gone on a blind date to CBGBs... David put the beat in beating patterns.” - From the liner notes by composer Nic Collins (on his initial exposure to First's music in 1987). Long overdue overview of composer David First's drone works. This special and specially priced set (3 CDs for the price of 2) is comprised of nine works composed between 1996 and 2009. “1996 was the beginning of a new period for me”, says First. “I had spent the prior five or six years creating a lot of music for other players and larger ensembles - culminating in 1995 with a couple of mountings of my opera, The Manhattan Book of the Dead. I was a little burned out on this and decided to return to a more personal, intimate format - one that ended up including an even more extensive exploration of tunings, alternative compositional softwares and how my playing techniques interacted with these things. I think I just wanted to go deeper and have more control over the results. During the ensuing years I've had a few pendulum swings - forays into beat-oriented pop music with lyrics & vocals and, of course, the re-animation of my rock band from the late 70s - the Notekillers. But I've continued, through all of the changes, to maintain my grounding in my love of the drone & associated acoustical phenomena - a love affair that began in my teenage psychedelic years and will, no doubt, be a most significant aspect of my music path for as long as I am at it. The tracks here represent almost every major work created from 1996 to the present and I'm grateful that they will be heard by a wider swath of people than those who lived in NYC or happened to be at one of my touring performances during these years.” David First's musical life is filled with opposites and extremes. At the age of twenty he played guitar with renowned avant-jazz pianist Cecil Taylor in a legendary Carnegie Hall concert. Two years after that he was creating electronic music as an "after-hours" artist-in-residence at Princeton University and leading a Mummer's String Band in Philadelphia parades. He has played in raucous drunken bar bands and in pin-drop quiet concert halls with classical ensembles. As a composer First has created everything from finely crafted pop songs to long, severely minimalist drone-works. His performances often find him sitting trance-like without seeming to move a muscle, unless he is playing with his recently re-formed psychedelic punk band, Notekillers, at which time he is a whirling blur of hyperactive energy. First has been called "a fascinating artist with a singular technique" in The New York Times, and "a bizarre cross between Hendrix and La Monte Young" in The Village Voice. A 45 single released in 1980, The Zipper, by Notekillers, was cited by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore as one of the songs he played for the rest of the band when they were starting out. Moore called it a “mind-blowing instrumental single” in the British rock magazine Mojo and “a big influence” in the Philadelphia Inquirer. First's music has been performed in the USA at The Kitchen, Bang On A Can, Central Park Summerstage, the CMJ Music Marathon, Joe's Pub, SXSW, The Stone, The Knitting Factory, Tonic, Issue Project Room, Monkey Town, Merkin Hall, CBGB's, and The Spoleto Festival. He has also been presented extensively in Europe - appearing, at Podewil, the USArts Festival, Institut Unzeit (Berlin) as well as at De Ijsbreker (Amsterdam), the Heidelberger Festival for Experimental Music and Literature (Heidelberg), ZwischenTone Festival (Köln), The Impakt Festival (Utrecht), Het Apollohuis (Eindhoven), and the Brugge Concertgebeouw (Brugge). First has also presented sound installations at Kunstforeningen (Copenhagen), the Uppsala Konstmuseum (Uppsala), Exit Art (New York), Voorkamer (Lier) and Studio Five Beekman (NYC). An installation - Dave's Waves, a Sonic Restaurant - ran during the summer of 2006 in the Sonambiente Festival of Sound Art in Berlin. He has also been featured in numerous publications. There have been articles about him in both Guitar Player and Keyboard Magazine as well as in MusikTexte (Germany), Arude, Atlantica (Spain) and Tape Op. There are chapters about his music in the books American Music in the Twentieth Century (Gann/Schirmer) and La Musica Minimalista (Antognozzi/Edizioni Textus), Music Downtown (Gann/UofC Press) and Rifugio intermedio - Il pianoforte contemporaneo fra Italia e Stati Uniti (Arciuli/Teatro di Monfalcone). First received Honorable Mention from Leonardo/ISAST for his article "The Music of the Sphere: An Investigation into Asymptotic Harmonics, Brainwave Entrainment, and the Earth as a Giant Bell". He has received grants from the Foundation of Contemporary Performance Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust and the Meet the Composer Commissioning USA program." [label info] www.xirecords.org "Although I didn't keep up with the entire out-put of Phill Niblock's Experimental Intermedia label, the releases I did hear usually a very good, and also usually bring me composers I never heard off. Like David First. I never heard of him as a composer of drone works, nor of his band the Notekillers. In 1995 he finished an opera 'The Manhattan Book Of The Dead' and decided to play something that was more personal and intimate and thus a phase of composing drone music started. Although First is primarily a guitarist he explored various instruments in this drone phase. This three CD starts out with a thirty-five minute piece for Theremin, the longest piece here for a solo instrument. Other pieces are for slide whistle, computer, e-bowed guitar and even an odd one for transistor radios (the shortest actually, at just one minute). Two pieces, under which the CD long 'Pipeline Witness Apologies To Dennis', are pieces for a small ensemble. In the 'Pipeline' for four trombones, tuned keyboards, e-bow guitar and computer, whereas violin, clarinet, guitar, bass and e-bow appear in 'My Veil Evades Detection'. All of this shows, I think, a wide interest in how to approach drone music, and First does an excellent job. In 'Pipeline' we could recognize some influence of Phill Niblock, whereas in the other pieces First keeps a great balance between material that is partly very loud and present, piercing almost, like in 'Zen Guilt/Zen Blame' or 'Belt', to hectic nervous pieces such as 'Aw!' or very much computer based as in'The Softening Door'. Altogether a great release, quite long of course, spanning more than three hours of music, but with this diversity I must say this is all great. An excellent introduction." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2010 €23.00
FLUTWACHT Blut Lounge Vol. 2 CD-R Pounding rhythms, metal-sounds, vocals bathed in delays, power-drones & loops... raw & powerful & fresh Industrial-release on this new label from Romania, reminds on GENOCIDE ORGAN for example, but FLUTWACHT speaks clearly with an own voice... ”76 minutes of power electronics/harsh noise with distorted vocals and dark ambiental touches from the wellknown german projekt. Brilliant sound, one of the best Flutwacht release. CD-r in DVD case with pro-cover, limited to 100 copies.” [label info] 2006 €8.00
FLYING SAUCER ATTACK same CD "1993 debut from Dave Pearce, with the assistance of Rachel Brook and Matt Elliot (aka Third Eye Foundation), which in retrospect is still the touchstone for the whole Bristol "scene" that emerged shortly thereafter. Roughly a blend of half "songs" and half far-out instrumental doodles, the record builds an atmosphere of dour beauty that sustains itself over the course of the entire program, no small thing. "My Dreaming Hill," "Wish," and "The Season Is Ours" are couched in fuzz and whispery reverb, but are beautiful and accessible tunes, able to stand on their own in any context. "Popol Vuh 1" and "Popol Vuh 2" are straight up tributes to the now much better known German masters, steeping in the hushed atmosphere of the best PV records (if not exactly the sound). The jarring cover of "The Drowners" is a strange interlude in the middle of the otherwise very cosmic second half, but most people seem to like it, so what do I know? 10 tracks, 50 minutes." [label info] www.vhfrecords.com 1993 €13.50
FOSCA, ANA Poised at the Edge of Structure CD ana fosca has emerged as presence to be reckoned with. here stands a woman raging, wrestling, communing, and plainly preoccupied with the humanity's propensity for tragedy, violence, and blight. and it is with a particular strain of noise - one that is dour, miserable, frightening - through which she harnesses these conditions. while her catalogue of recordings is brief, ana fosca (born linn hvid) honed her craft by performing on a constant basis throughout denmark, sweden, and germany, especially through the dynamic community of mayhem in her native copenhagen. the feral expressionism she developed in performance is matched by a numerous, existential and conceptual antecedents that inform fosca's work. kirkegaard. plath. tarkovsky. hannah arendt. vienna aktionism. eliane radigue's approach to listening. the films of kurt kren. the thoughts and writing of simone de beauvoir. poised at the edge of structure marks fosca's debut for the helen scarsdale agency, following a very limited cassette on the russian imprint nazlo and a collaboration with vanity productions on no rent. on this recording, she evinces her gesamtkunstwerk as ana fosca in all of its harrowing portent. she composes along cyclonic patterns of oppositional forces, searing noise, and ominous drone. when employing her voice, fosca bellows repetitive chants deep in the mix, a cathartic incantation where meaning can found within all of this agony and despair. the "mathematics of grief" is a phrase that fosca uses in describing this album that amplifies her personal experiences with loss to expound upon the human condition at large. this album never settles into the tropes of power electronics, dark ambient, death industrial, or studied electro-acoustic practices, but absorbs the most impactful facets to all these aesthetics. coming out of the danish underground scene, her work finds common ground with the early, savage sounds of posh isolation, adjacent to puce mary in terms of similarly fraught psychological proclamations, but leaning into the violent miasma of maeror tri / troum at their most industrial. https://helenscarsdale.bandcamp.com/album/poised-at-the-edge-of-structure 2022 €15.00
FRICKE, STEFAN & ALPER MARAL Am Grabe. Ein Audio-Ritual / At the Grave. An audio ritual do-LP Am Grabe (At the Grave) is an ongoing audio ritual executed by Stefan Fricke and Alper Maral. Since 2015, they have been visiting the graves and burial grounds of composers from various eras in order to record the sounds and noises present. Each sequence is a pure field recording, serving as a memento of a bit more than 4 minutes in length. After having been compiled for a series of radio programmes, selections from Am Grabe here appear on audio media for the first time. This edition commemorates 36 composers – from Bach to Beethoven, from Mahler to Eisler, from Stockhausen to Ben Patterson –, the recordings connected serially, sometimes overlapping, and compiled across 4 LP sides. "Am Grabe is a work in progress, a collection of homages which shall and can never end, as long as emphatic music will exist and will constantly be invented in the world." (from the liner notes) Stefan Fricke, b. 1966 in Unna, is a German musicologist. He founded the Pfau Verlag, specializing in books about contemporary music, in 1989, and since 2008 is editor for contemporary music and sound art at Hessischer Rundfunk (Hessian Broadcasting Corporation). He teaches as honorary professor at the University of Mainz. Alper Maral, b. 1969 in Istanbul, is a Turkish composer whose oeuvre encompasses theatre and film music, symphonic and chamber works, electro-acoustic music, a.o. He plays in a number of ensembles such as – for early music – İstanbul Barok, A-415 and Bornova Trio, as well as – for contemporary music – Karınca Kabilesi, Control Voltage Project and Alper Maral Multiphonics Ensemble. He is professor at the Ankara Music and Fine Arts University. https://www.edition-telemark.de/903.04.html 2019 €28.50
FUNCK, STEFAN Tau mCD-R Zweite VÖ für das neue Hamburger Label, STEFAN FUNCK hat hier wunderbare field – Mikrosounds aufgenommen... dabei entstanden geheimnisvolle, kalte Natur-Fliess-Sounds.... TIP ! „winter 2003 – stefan funck wandert mit dat und mikrofon (okm) über die felder norddeutschlands. sein akustisches interesse gilt dem schmatzenden taueis und dem klirren der vereisten äste im wind. digital bearbeitet entstand so ein 21 minütiger track der sehr leise beginnt und sich in ständiger mutation windet.– kopfhörer empfohlen –winter 2003 – equipped with dat and microphone stefan funck is walking across the plains of northern germany. he is acoustically interested in the cracking sounds of the melting ice and the clattering of icy branches in the breeze. The digitally arranged result is a track of 21 min, beginning very quietly and winding itself in perpetual mutation.– headphones suggested –“ [label description] 2004 €6.00
FÜR DIESEN ABEND same CD-R Collaborative effort of GREGORY BÜTTNER (who also runs this new label from Hamburg: TAUSENDFÜSSLER) and STEFAN FUNCK: nice drone-layers & abstract floating soundscapes, always moving to some invisible point that disappears like a hallucination.. recommended !! „für diesen abend" ist ein musikalisches zusammentreffen von stefan funck & gregory büttner (beide aus hamburg). jeder einzeln zuhause am rechner tätig, treffen sie sich regelmäßig, um ihre ergebnisse zusammenzubringen. störgeräuschen, feldaufnahmen, samples und computer generiertes werden zusammen und gegeneinander gestellt. – kino für das ohr – "für diesen abend" is an acoustic meeting between stefan funck & gregory büttner (both from hamburg, germany). each works at home on their computers, collecting and processing sounds from glitches, fieldrecordings, samples and electronics. – cinema for your ears –“ [label description] 2004 €8.00
GALERIE SCHALLSCHUTZ Montauk Project CD ...ambitionierter Release des “anti-mind-control”-Projekts GALERIE SCHALLSCHUTZ, gewidmet dem MONTAUK PROJECT, das in den 70er & 80ern ein geheimes Forschungsprogramm der USA zur elektronischen Bewusstseinskontrolle gewesen sein soll (und bis heute existiert, wie man kürzlich auf NTV sehen konnte): Elektromagnetische Felder, Radarwellen, Quantenmechanik, Wetterbeeinflussung, etc... all das scheint sich hier in bedrohlichen elektronischen Klängen wiederzuspiegeln, man hat das Gefühl durchleutet & gescannt zu werden. Zu jedem Stück gibt es weitere Informationen zu Details des MONTAUK PROJECTs. Das ist zeitgemässer, gesellschaftskritischer Industrial wie wir ihn sehen wollen, jenseits der üblichen Klischees! Kommt im Spezialcover mit Vexierbild. “Finally 3 years after the ‘Haarp’ CD, Galerie Schallschutz comes with another superior release and again with strong thematic content...We all know something is out there, but we're not sure exactly what. Galerie Schallschutz at long last, begins to provide some solid clues. “Montauk Project”, also called the Phoenix Project during some of its phases, was a covert government's ultra-top-secret electromagnetic mind control and time experiment project that took place during the 1970's and early '80s at an abandoned Air Force radar base at the southeast tip of Long Island, New York. Much evidence has surfaced indicating that the base and the subterranean facilities were and still are used for a tremendous amount of top secret, ultra-classified research and experimentation into interdimensional technology, quantum and particle physics, black hole simulation, super-powerful electrical and electromagnetic fields, weather control, psychotronics (interfacing mind and machine), particle beam technology (HAARP transmissions…), and electronic and drug- based mind control...! Galerie Schallschutz provide you with the perfect soundtrack to go further into this secret world. ENTER NOW ! ATTENTION: this recordings will change your mind.” [label info] www.tesco-germany.org 2005 €16.00
GASSMANN, REMI Electronics 10inch 11 early electroacoustic pieces for the Studiotrautonium keyboard alongside tape manipulation to accompany the New York City Ballet production Electronics by George Balanchine Originally staged March 22, 1961, as part of a double bill choreographed by George Balanchine, the experimental New York City Ballet production Electronics included the renowned dancers Violette Verdy and Jacques d’Amboise (pictured on the front of this album) and a revolutionary score by multi-disciplined composer Remy Gassmann using a truly unique instrument. Working alongside German born keyboard composer and close acquaintance Oskar Sala (with whom he had studied in Berlin under Paul Hindemith), Gassmann was given access and assistance to the latest developments of the Trautonium, an early electronic keyboard that was first exhibited in 1930 by inventor Adolf Trautwein and three pianists (including Sala). Being one of the original exponents of the machine, Sala (with Trautwein’s blessing) took the basic model of a neon tube oscillator and wire frequency controller (which provided an untempered continuous tonal range) and spent over twenty years developing what would become the Konzerttrautonium (as used by Roichard Strauss to emulate synthetic gongs), followed by the micro- tonal Mixturtrautonium and eventually the static Studiotrautonium which formed the centrepiece of his own studio in Berlin-Charlottenburg where Electronics was composed and realised. For the 1961 ballet, dressed in metal- lic bodysuits with geometric diodic motifs, Verdy and d’Amboise (alongside a small troupe of other dancers) performed the concise eleven-part ballet to polarised but predominantly positive audiences, generating a new outlook on experimental dance and supporting the similar sensibilities of other choreog- raphers such as Alwin Nikolais, Yvonne Georgi (with Henk Badings) and Maurice Béjart (with Pierre Henry). As one of the first American performances drawing primarily on European developments, the modest critical success of the project would open new avenues for the electronic musical duo who were commissioned later in the year by Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions to provide enhanced and versatile sound effects emulating cacophonic bird sounds alongside Bernard Hermann for the 1963 blockbuster The Birds. https://finderskeepersrecords.bandcamp.com/album/electronics 2013 €19.50
GEINS'T NAIT & L. PETITGAND Je vous dis CD "Geins't Naït is a project initiated in 1986 with a first album released by Thierry Merigout (drummer with Kas Product on their 1981 tour) and Vincent Hachet, who quickly stepped back from this project to work on his film-maker career. The L'or'n Cät album's release in 1987 marked the arrival of Laurent Petitgand, a singer-songwriter recognized for his composing work for (the late French singer) Bashung and original soundtracks for film directors such as Wim Wenders (including Tokyo-Ga, 1985, Wings of Desire, 1986, and the future The Salt of the Earth, scheduled in 2014), Paul Auster (The Inner Life of Martin Frost), as well as ballet music for Angelin Preljocaj (Liqueurs de Chair, Amer America). Bases are thus set down. While Geins't Naït offers rough pieces of music as an extension of its punk attitude which deeply moved the Berlin scene years ago, Laurent Petitgand is busy refining them and creating some musicality within the post-industrial collages, adding guitars, piano or any classical instrument. In 1993, following the release of C/O Lisa on the Permis de Construire label, noise gave way to a silence that lasted 20 years. Coming from nowhere, Si j'avais su, j'aurais rien dit, a particularly tormented album which, against all odds, revived the project in 2011. An album which showed an increasing alchemy between the two musicians whose different routes, this common project aside, seem to fit perfectly well now. Now, and more than ever, the duo's approach is based on an in-depth field. To sharpen the sounds, give them some kind of balance, a density and a mark. More than anything else, to make sure that music is a langage, an experience in the deeper meaning of the term. In its form, the collaboration between Geins't Naït and Laurent Petitgand echoes the adventurous musics from the eighties and is the French counterpoint to experimental british scenes (Coil, Current 93, Test Dept) and german scenes (Einstürzende Neubauten, Sprung Aus Den Wolken), so much so that this new work is difficult to label in its totality, entering ambient or industrial fields, as well as minimalist or repetitive music. Je vous dis is obvious in its ability for listeners to give life to the smallest element which is part of it, would it be a sample, a piano melody, or even the amazing work on voices, which, as well as instrumentation, assume a central part in the tracks balance. Melancholic, with a retained violence, sometimes even with a fearsome violence, Je vous dis surprises and captivates in its way to subtly catch the listener, thanks to a disturbing nocturnal mood, but also to an unsettling humanity. But this record is far from being an hermetical work : it's quite the opposite. Difficulty is not to get in this world, however particular or deviant it is, but to get out. More than just music, Je vous dis is a visceral obsession about detail, a sound sculpture with changing forms and various aspects, an unsleeping creature with inscrutable soul. As soon as one believes to have understood it, the next listening brings the listener back into doubt and questions. As in a situationist movie for which that album would be a perfect soundtrack, each complete immersion offers its lot of news interpretations and details, with were unkown until now but are definitively obvious in the end. A real masterpiece for the mind : complex, poetic and sophisticated, even in its darkest moments." [label info] www.icidailleurs.com "Years and years ago I worked in a space, which also functioned as a record store, and before, that I was a volunteer at another record-store/mail-order. In both 'stores' I saw the name Geins't Naït, but for whatever reason I no longer recall, I never played any of their records or CDs that we sold. Maybe it was because there was so much other great stuff to play? Let's keep it at that. So up until this CD I never heard their music properly, but in my defense, they didn't have any new release since 1993. The name Laurent Petitgand (not to be confused with Dominique Petitgand) I never heard before, despite the fact that he did soundtracks for Wim Wenders and Paul Auster as well as being a singer-songwriter. In 2011 he and Geins't Naït worked together for the first time and now there is a new album. But for me this is maybe a first introduction all around. And I am quite surprised. The label makes references to Coil, Current 93, Neubauten, none of which are really particular favorites with me, but in these hands it works out differently and actually quite well. There is quite some drama in this music, through the use of samples, melancholic piano bits and the dark voice of Petitgand. Geins't Naït provide a rather minimal set of music - not as in 'empty', but as in 'repetitions', which makes rather odd pop music. Petitgand's voice is most of the time heavily transformed (vocoder perhaps?), which makes that a rather darker atmosphere hangs over these pieces. It bumps and collides but that I think is the beauty of this music, it's rather unusual atmosphere. Tacky and clichéd it seems at times but it works out quite fine. Maybe because there are some cliché's in here, but also some more unusual aspects, that it all makes up for something strange and estranged. A most enjoyable album, I thought. A fine introduction indeed." [FdW/Vital Weekly] "Das Duo mit dem exotisch klingenden Namen Geins’t Naït entstand irgendwann im Dunstkreis der legendären Coldwaver von Kas Product und existiert nun bereits seit fast dreißig Jahren, bei denen allerdings eine lange Pause mitgerechnet wird. Hierzulande überwiegend frankophilen Kennern ein Begriff, ist die Band auf der anderen Rheinseite kein Geheimtipp mit ihrem eigenwilligen Stil an der Schnittstelle von Punk- und Industrial-Einflüssen, Songs und Soundscapes sowie technoiden und klassischen Arrangements. Der Sänger und Komponist Laurent Petitgand arbeitet auf “Je vous dis” zum zweitenmal mit GN zusammen und bringt klassische, v.a. akustische Elemente ein. Das Label zieht Vergleiche zu den Neubauten, Coil und Test Dept., was natürlich eine respektable Messlatte darstellt. Wollte man in dem ausgesprochen welchselseitigen Album so etwas wie einen roten Faden benennen, so ließe der sich eher noch in einer immer leicht aufgekratzten Wehmut finden, als im Sound, der leicht retrolasigen Akustikklängen ebenso Raum gibt wie hallunterlegter, leicht housiger Elektronik, bei der ich tatsächlich an Coil-Werke wie “Love’s Secret Domain” denken musste. Viele Songs wecken filmische Assoziationen und versprühen einen nostalgischen und oft auch ein wenig naiven Charme. In den Passagen vor dem Einsetzen zum Teil vertrackter Rhythmen lockern reichliche zitathaft integrierte Klangbrocken den Wohlklang auf und versetzen die Szenerie an einen nur schwer zu ortenden Schauplatz, den Petitgand mit seinen mantraartigen Stimmbeiträgen, die teilweise wie versoffenes Bellen klingen, dominiert. Oft entfalten sich mehrere musikalische Erzählstränge simultan, und selbst da, wo es schlicht auf die Schönheit der Unordnung hinausläuft, entsteht nie der Eindruck, dass es um bloßes Muckertum geht." [U.S./African Paper] africanpaper.com/2015/03/28/geinst-nait-laurent-petitgand-je-vous-dis/ 2014 €13.00
Je vous dis LP "Geins't Naït is a project initiated in 1986 with a first album released by Thierry Merigout (drummer with Kas Product on their 1981 tour) and Vincent Hachet, who quickly stepped back from this project to work on his film-maker career. The L'or'n Cät album's release in 1987 marked the arrival of Laurent Petitgand, a singer-songwriter recognized for his composing work for (the late French singer) Bashung and original soundtracks for film directors such as Wim Wenders (including Tokyo-Ga, 1985, Wings of Desire, 1986, and the future The Salt of the Earth, scheduled in 2014), Paul Auster (The Inner Life of Martin Frost), as well as ballet music for Angelin Preljocaj (Liqueurs de Chair, Amer America). Bases are thus set down. While Geins't Naït offers rough pieces of music as an extension of its punk attitude which deeply moved the Berlin scene years ago, Laurent Petitgand is busy refining them and creating some musicality within the post-industrial collages, adding guitars, piano or any classical instrument. In 1993, following the release of C/O Lisa on the Permis de Construire label, noise gave way to a silence that lasted 20 years. Coming from nowhere, Si j'avais su, j'aurais rien dit, a particularly tormented album which, against all odds, revived the project in 2011. An album which showed an increasing alchemy between the two musicians whose different routes, this common project aside, seem to fit perfectly well now. Now, and more than ever, the duo's approach is based on an in-depth field. To sharpen the sounds, give them some kind of balance, a density and a mark. More than anything else, to make sure that music is a language, an experience in the deeper meaning of the term. In its form, the collaboration between Geins't Naït and Laurent Petitgand echoes the adventurous musics from the eighties and is the French counterpoint to experimental british scenes (Coil, Current 93, Test Dept) and german scenes (Einstürzende Neubauten, Sprung Aus Den Wolken), so much so that this new work is difficult to label in its totality, entering ambient or industrial fields, as well as minimalist or repetitive music. 'Je vous dis' is obvious in its ability for listeners to give life to the smallest element which is part of it, would it be a sample, a piano melody, or even the amazing work on voices, which, as well as instrumentation, assume a central part in the tracks balance. Melancholic, with a retained violence, sometimes even with a fearsome violence, Je vous dis surprises and captivates in its way to subtly catch the listener, thanks to a disturbing nocturnal mood, but also to an unsettling humanity. But this record is far from being an hermetical work: it's quite the opposite. Difficulty is not to get in this world, however particular or deviant it is, but to get out. More than just music, Je vous dis is a visceral obsession about detail, a sound sculpture with changing forms and various aspects, an unsleeping creature with inscrutable soul. As soon as one believes to have understood it, the next listening brings the listener back into doubt and questions. As in a situationist movie for which that album would be a perfect soundtrack, each complete immersion offers its lot of news interpretations and details, with were unkown until now but are definitively obvious in the end. A real masterpiece for the mind : complex, poetic and sophisticated, even in its darkest moments." [label info] www.icidailleurs.com "Years and years ago I worked in a space, which also functioned as a record store, and before, that I was a volunteer at another record-store/mail-order. In both 'stores' I saw the name Geins't Naït, but for whatever reason I no longer recall, I never played any of their records or CDs that we sold. Maybe it was because there was so much other great stuff to play? Let's keep it at that. So up until this CD I never heard their music properly, but in my defense, they didn't have any new release since 1993. The name Laurent Petitgand (not to be confused with Dominique Petitgand) I never heard before, despite the fact that he did soundtracks for Wim Wenders and Paul Auster as well as being a singer-songwriter. In 2011 he and Geins't Naït worked together for the first time and now there is a new album. But for me this is maybe a first introduction all around. And I am quite surprised. The label makes references to Coil, Current 93, Neubauten, none of which are really particular favorites with me, but in these hands it works out differently and actually quite well. There is quite some drama in this music, through the use of samples, melancholic piano bits and the dark voice of Petitgand. Geins't Naït provide a rather minimal set of music - not as in 'empty', but as in 'repetitions', which makes rather odd pop music. Petitgand's voice is most of the time heavily transformed (vocoder perhaps?), which makes that a rather darker atmosphere hangs over these pieces. It bumps and collides but that I think is the beauty of this music, it's rather unusual atmosphere. Tacky and clichéd it seems at times but it works out quite fine. Maybe because there are some cliché's in here, but also some more unusual aspects, that it all makes up for something strange and estranged. A most enjoyable album, I thought. A fine introduction indeed." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2014 €16.00
  Like This Maybe or This LP Five years after the release of "Je vous dis" in 2018, Geins't Naït and L.Petitgand's second album from the "Mind Travel" and "Make Dogs Sing" collection on the German label "Offen", the duo are now writing a new chapter in their story with this fascinating poetic tale. The same mysterious and heady atmosphere which characterises the two musicians is present in this new work but clearly they have never ceased refining and polishing their sounds to give their compositions even more power and depth. Geins't Naït and L.Petitgand here offer twelve new tracks with names as enigmatic as the title "Like this maybe or This" itself and the record's whole universe. In reality, these mysterious names lead us to let ourselves be taken to the deep meaning of their creation. The subject matter is certainly difficult to grasp and invites us on an inner journey while leading us to doubt and question ourselves incessantly. There is a perfect alchemy between these two artists though this was far from self-evident as they come from two very different schools. Thierry Merigout, who is now the only representative left from the late 80's experimental project Geins't Naït in Nancy, comes from the post-industrial scene. As for Laurent Petitgand, he is a pure melodist who is best known for his work as a composer of music for films and live shows and has collaborated with Wim Wenders and Paul Auster in particular. https://mindtravels.bandcamp.com/album/like-this-maybe-or-this 2021 €18.00
GENOCIDE ORGAN Live in Japan 2003/2007 DVD/CD "... Wer einige Youtube-Clips der Auftritte kennt, wird auf das Schlimmste gefasst sein, doch das Ergebnis kann absolut überzeugen: Montiert aus drei verschiedenen Kameraperspektiven, unterlegt mit Ausschnitten desrBackgroundvideos, bewahrt die DVD viel von der Liveatmosphäre in den japanischen Clubs 20000V und Die Pratze. Bemerkenswert ist dabei, dass den unterschiedlichen Locations enstprechend auch völlig verschiedene Programm geboten wurden: Zunächst das gewohnt harte Power Electronics Set, das sich auf Stücke von "In-Konflikt" konzentriert und einige ältere 'Hits' bietet - und schließlich ein eher atmosphräisches Set, das durchaus als Death Industrial bezeichnet werden kann und das schockierte japanische Publikum mit Aufnahmen aus Hiroshima und Nagasaki konfrontiert. Das ist Industrial-Culture in ihrer ursprünglichen Bedeutung und Funktion: den Finger in die Wunde der Gesellschaft zu legen, sie mit ihren eigenen Tabus gnadenlos zu konfrontieren. Dieses Set enthält zudem anderweitig unveröffentlichte Tracks und alternative Versionen. Die DVD selbst ist dem Genre gewohnt roh präsentiert, im Menü pragmatisch gestaltet und insgesamt von erfreulich guter Qualität. Die beiliegende CD dokumentiert Ausschnitte der beiden Konzert von 2007, die beide im 20000V stattfanden. Statt auf ein Best-Of zu bauen, wählte man erneut eher ungewöhnliche - und nichtsdestotrotz kraftvolle - Stücke aus, die erneut atmosphärische und aggressive Momente mischen. Am bekanntestens dürfte hier das kämpferische "Hail America" sein. Wer die letzte 7" nicht erstanden hat, wird sich vor allem über Track 9 freuen: "I kept my faith: Revelation of John". Das in Zusammenarbeit zwischen Tesco und Teito (J) ästhetisch ansprechend produzierte Set ist gleichermaßen für Fans der Band wie auch für Genreneulinge interessant, die sich einen Eindruck vom Status quo der deutschen Industrial Culture verschaffen wollen. Gelungen!" [Ikonen Magazin] "Finally, this long awaited document is finally available! Japan has been a wasteland for German "industrial" and/or "power electronics" bands for many years, but in 2003, Genocide Organ entered the motherland of noise. Invited by Teito and MSBR, Genocide Organ played two remarkable shows in Tokyo. The first in a typical noise/hardcore club called 20000V, and the second at a small theatre called Die Pratze. Because of the two different locations and atmospheres, G.O. prepared two completely different sets. While the material at 20000V featured tracks from what was, at the time, the forthcoming album "In-Konflikt," plus a selection of powerful, well-known tracks, the setlist at Die Pratze featured more "calm" and unreleased tracks integrated into a theatrical-type performance. Both gigs represent the repertoire of Genocide Organ, which makes this band more than just a phenomenon of one genre. The two shows are presented here on DVD in their entirety, edited from three different camera angles by Frank Merten of Seismic Wave Factory, known for the visuals of Herbst9 and Land:Fire. The DVD is professionally mastered and features a fully animated menu. In 2007, Genocide Organ returned to Tokyo for two more shows, both hosted at 20000V, and again, each show had a different setlist. The audio CD in this collection features a selection of the best tracks from both evenings. Many had never been released or played live before, while some "old favorites" appear here in completely different versions. The quality of the recording is amazing, and you will feel the full power of these two gigs. This DVD/CD set is part of the GO RECON UNIT program - all those who order with their RECON CARD number will get special extras with their set. Those who have no ID card are able to get the card now in order to receive extras with future releases." [label info] www.tesco-germany.com 2009 €20.00
Live in Japan 2007 LP Vinyl Edition im Klappcover mit bedruckten Innenhüllen und A2-Poster! "....Ausschnitte der beiden Konzerte von 2007, die beide im 20000V stattfanden. Statt auf ein Best-Of zu bauen, wählte man erneut eher ungewöhnliche - und nichtsdestotrotz kraftvolle - Stücke aus, die erneut atmosphärische und aggressive Momente mischen. Am bekanntestens dürfte hier das kämpferische "Hail America" sein. Wer die letzte 7" nicht erstanden hat, wird sich vor allem über Track 9 freuen: "I kept my faith: Revelation of John". Das in Zusammenarbeit zwischen Tesco und Teito (J) ästhetisch ansprechend produzierte Set ist gleichermaßen für Fans der Band wie auch für Genreneulinge interessant, die sich einen Eindruck vom Status quo der deutschen Industrial Culture verschaffen wollen. Gelungen!" [Ikonen] "This numbered & limited 888 copies LP features the best tracks from two G.O. Tokyo performances in 2007. The record comes housed in a gatefold cover with printed inner sleeve and contains an A2 poster. FAST PRE-ORDER HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!" [label info] www.tesco-germany.com 2009 €20.00
Mind Control CD "Mind Control was the 3rd official fullenght release of Genocide Organ released in 1995. At that time released in a vinyl edition of only 490 copies as Tesco 025, Mind Control features a lot well known GO classics in its studio versions. This release stands out in the bands history in its minimal appoach but also being the 1st "studio" recorded album. The track "Murder" was left out the original master due to its lenght and is featured here for the 1st time." www.tesco-germany.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=6164 2018 €14.00
  The Truth will make you free LP "Debossed Cover, comes with numbered insert. 20 years after „The Truth will make you free“ saw light for the 1st time, this last Brick in the wall of Genocide Organ´s back catalogue gets re-issued. First released in 1999 as vinyl only release. Here Tesco offers this album in the typical art-style that all Genocide Organ records come in. „The Truth will make you free“ is an album yet to discover featuring many dark rhythmic industrial pieces filled with the agony of a dying world. All the confessions made there were true and the presence proved them right. The Truth will be twisted and turned around as often as someone wilst it and then it becomes a lie and suddenly the lie becomes truth just to turn lie again." https://tescogermany.bandcamp.com 2019 €25.00
GERSH, GEOFF These Predicaments CD " 'These Predicaments' is the new CD by guitarist/composer Geoff Gersh and is his second solo release on the Deep Listening Institute label. Created for painter David Stoupakis’s solo exhibition at the Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles, CA, ‘These Predicaments’ draws on drones, ambient textures and slowly developing melodies to bring another dimension to David’s otherworldly paintings and draw the viewer deeper into them. Geoff uses manipulated field recordings, reel-to-reel tape recordings, zither and electric guitar, sometimes bowed with metal files, to create sonic landscapes that evoke the emotions of David's paintings and take the listener on a melancholic sonic journey. New York based composer/guitarist Geoff Gersh explores the sonic boundaries of the electric guitar with and without the aide of electronic devices and found objects to produce sounds one would normally not associate with the guitar. He uses this approach when composing ambient/textural soundscapes for choreographers, filmmakers and other collaborators. Geoff has worked with choreographers Lawrence Goldhuber, Cynthia Oliver, Karen Graham, Anabella Lenzu, Robert La Fosse, Benoit-Swan Pouffer and has an ongoing collaboration with painter David Stoupakis. In November 2009, Geoff was awarded a Swing Space grant from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council in NYC. During this residency he presented his composition ‘Memory In Night’, for 6 electric guitars bowed with metal files, in an old Wall St. bank vault 2 stories below street level. Also in November of 2009, Geoff performed with the German electro acoustic improvisation ensemble HKM+ at the Lodz Philharmonic in Lodz, Poland. In 2006, Geoff performed in Glenn Branca’s "SYMPHONY NO. 13 (HALLUCINATION CITY)" for 100 guitars that took place at Montclair State College in NJ. In 2009, he performed in Rhys Chatham’s “A Crimson Grail for 200 Electric Guitars” at Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park. In 2005, he worked with composer Jonathan Bepler as a multi-instrumental performer for video artist Eve Sussman’s video-opera, The Rape of the Sabine Women, which premiered in NYC in February 2007. Geoff worked with Bepler again on artist Matthew Barney’s latest piece, Guardian of the Veil, which he performed in at Barney’s workspace in LIC, NY in 2007 and again in 2009 in Basel, Switzerland as part of Art Basel’s ‘Il Tempo del Postino’ Geoff has been playing the electric zither in the Off-Broadway show BLUE MAN GROUP since 1998. He has received grants from the American Music Center, Meet the Composer, SOS from NYFA, was awarded a New York Dance & Performance Award (Bessie) and received a Swing Space grant from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council in 2009." [label info] www.deeplistening.org "The music on this release was composed for a solo exhibition of painter David Stoupakis in Los Angeles by one Geoff Gersh. I never heard of him, although this is his second solo CD of Deep Listening Institute. Gersh is a composer and guitarist, but also uses field recordings, reel-to-reel tape recordings, zither and bowed metal files. Not that I could tell really from listening to the five pieces on this CD. It doesn't sound like that at all. The music is best described as isolationist music - although I think hardly anyone uses that these days anymore. Dark ambient drone, then? Well, why not. The sounds on this release are highly textured, transformed by using electronics perhaps, and the result is a beautiful, dense release that also a light tone it, like floating a few centimeters above the ground. An excellent release of fine, dark drone music. Music to fill your environment with in a very peaceful manner, like great ambient music should do. The real thing, a textbook release. Some people (see elsewhere) should take note of such things." [FdW, Vital Weekly] 2009 €13.00
GOBEIL, GILLES Les Iointains CD " 'Les lointains noirs et rouges' (2008-09), 'Castalie' (2008), 'Bol-Hydre' (2011), 'Sibylle' (2010), 'Golem' (2013), 'Des temps oubliés' (2012). Gilles Gobeil has completed a master's degree in composition at Université de Montréal, after studying writing techniques. He has been focusing his work on acousmatic and mixed music since 1985. His works fall close to what is called Ôcinema for the ear.' Many of his pieces have been inspired by literary works and attempt to let us Ôsee' through sound. Gilles Gobeil has won over 20 national and international awards including the Ars Electronica (Austria, 1995, 2005), Black & White (Portugal, 2009), Bourges (France, 1988, '89, '99, 2009), British Design & Art Direction (UK, 2002), Brock University (Canada, 1985), Canadian Music Council (1985), Ciber@rt (Spain, 1999), CICEM (Monaco, 2014), CIMESP (Brazil, 1997, '99, 2001), Destellos (Argentina, 2011, '12), Luigi Russolo (Italy, 1987, '88, '89), Métamorphoses (Belgium, 2000, '02), Newcomp (USA, 1987), SDE Canada (1984), SOCAN (Canada, 1993), and Stockholm Electronic Arts Award (Sweden, 1994, '97) competitions. His DVD-Audio Trilogie d'ondes has won the Conseil québécois de la musique (CQM)'s Prix Opus for Best Album in 2004-05; his CD Le contrat was nominated in the same category in 2003-04. Gobeil has received commissions from Codes d'accès (Montréal), DAAD (Berlin, Germany), empreintes DIGITALes (Montréal), Groupe de musique expérimentale de Bourges (GMEB, France), Groupe de recherches musicales (GRM, France), Musiques & Recherches (Belgium), Réseaux des arts médiatiques (Montréal), Société Radio-Canada, Totem contemporain (Montréal), Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie (ZKM, Germany), from Folkmar Hein, Uli Aumüller, Camille Mutel, and Oscar Wiggli, and from performers Suzanne Binet-Audet, René Lussier, Arturo Parra, and Rick Sacks. He has been composer-in-residence in Banff (Canada, 1993, '95), Bourges (France, 1991), EMS (Sweden, 2013), GRM (France, 1993, 2012), Franz Liszt Academy (Weimar, Germany, 2010), Miso Music Portugal (2012), Musiques & Recherches (Belgium, 2012), PANaroma (Brazil, 2014), and ZKM (Germany, 2005, '06, '07, '09, '10, '12, '13), and guest composer at DAAD (Germany, 2008). Gilles Gobeil is a member of the Canadian Electroacoustic Community (CEC), and co-founder of Réseaux, an organization devoted to producing media arts events." [label info] www.empreintesdigitales.com 2015 €13.50
GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPOROR! [GYBE] Allelujah! Don't bend! Ascend! LP + 7inch "We are proud to announce the first new recordings by Godspeed You! Black Emperor in a decade. Featuring two twenty-minute slabs of epic instrumental rock music and two six-and-a-half minute drones, ‘ALLELUJAH! DON’T BEND! ASCEND! provides soaring, shining proof of the band’s powerful return to form.
 Having emerged from hiatus at the end of 2010, GYBE picked up right where they left off, immediately re-capturing the sound and material that had fallen dormant in 2003 and driving it forward with every show of their extensive touring over the last 18 months. The new album presents the fruits of that labour: evolved and definitive versions of two huge compositions previously known to fans as “Albanian” and “Gamelan”, now properly titled as “MLADIC” and “WE DRIFT LIKE WORRIED FIRE” respectively. Accompanied by the new drones (stitched into the album sequence on CD; cut separately on their own 7″ for the LP version), GYBE have offered up a fifth album that we feel is as absolutely vital, virulent, honest and heavy as anything in their discography.
 
We don’t have much time for mythology, but we’d be lying if we said the return of Godspeed You! Black Emperor in 2010 didn’t signify a whole lot to us as a marker from which to look back on the past decade, to reflect on what’s been gained or lost within the confines of independent music culture and what’s been gained or lost in the socio-political landscape writ large. Godspeed’s music will do that to you. It is music that bears witness to, channels and transforms this predominantly terrible, infuriating, venal and nihilistically sad story we’re all living, sharing, resisting, protesting, deconstructing and trying to change for the better. We think GYBE has once again provided a uniquely moving and compelling soundtrack for these acts of analysis, defiance and ascension. * * * Hard to believe a full decade has passed since the release of Yanqui U.X.O., the last album by GYBE. Never a band to care for conventional industry wisdom, Yanqui was released shortly before xmas 2003 with little publicity and no press availability, no marketing plans or cross-promotions or brand synergies, with back cover artwork tracing the inextricable links between major music labels and the military-industrial complex. Driven by word-of-mouth from a passionate and committed fanbase galvanized by the group's sonic vision and its dedication to unmediated, unsullied musical communication, the album found it's rightful audience. To suggest that such simple principles and goals have become harder to maintain and enact a decade later is an understatement. For all the contents and discontents – for all the "content" – of our present cultural moment, the idea of circumventing the glare of exposure, the massaging of media cycles and the calculus of identity management appears quaint, if not futile. But Godspeed is looking to try all the same. The band wants people to care about this new album, without telling people they should or talking about themselves. They want to hold on to some part of that energy that comes with the thrill of anonymous discovery and unmediated transmission, knowing full well that these days, anti-strategy risks being tagged as a strategy, non-marketing framed as its opposite, and deeply held principles they consider fundamental to health as likely to be interpreted as just another form of stealth. Truly, thanks for being open to hearing it. Release date: 15 October 2012 (Europe), 16 October 2012 (rest of world) Running time: 53:09 LP is pressed on 180 gram virgin vinyl at Optimal (Germany) and comes in a tipped-on heavyweight gatefold jacket printed in full-colour process plus a spot metallic ink and spot matte varnish. LP dust sleeve is also 4-colour print. Package includes a 7 inch in printed dust sleeve (same audio appears in a different sequence on the CD) and a 12"x48" pull-out poster (printed full colour on both sides) featuring a collage of film stills specially-photographed and captured from the GYBE live 16mm projections." [label info] www.cstrecords.com "Viel ist passiert in den letzten 10 Jahren und für Mythologien bleibt weder Zeit noch Kapazität, aber eines ist doch offenbar: wir würden lügen, wenn wir nicht zugeben würden, dass die Rückkehr von GY!BE im Jahre 2010 eine Zäsur, ein Punkt der Rückschau gewesen ist. Wie kaum eine andere Band haben die Kanadier uns in den letzten Jahren begleitet, und das ohne musikalisch wirklich sichtbar zu sein. Ihre Geschichte ist eng mit dem Label Constellation verknüpft und die gesamte Attitüde, der Kontext, in dem sich Constellation und damit auch GY!BE bewegen, haben einen nicht zu unterschätzenden Einfluss auf die Independent Musikkultur weltweit ausgeübt. Und so regt dieses neue Album von GY!BE eine Rückschau an, eine Auseinandersetzung, was Independentkultur und Selbstverständnis heute noch bedeuten und wohin sich die soziokulturellen Komponenten unserer Gesellschaft entwickelt haben und noch weiter entwickeln werden. Auf diese Weise wird ,'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!" mit einer Bedeutung aufgeladen, wie sie schwerer kaum wiegen kann - und auf die weder Band noch Album direkt einen Einfluss haben - eine künstlerische Äußerung, die Bedeutung durch ihre bloße Existenz erlangt - da haben wir ihn doch, den Mythos, ohne dass wir es wollten. Und wir können es nur akzeptieren - dass dieses wunderbare Stück Musik (und das ist sie wahrlich, diese Platte - musikalisch ein Meisterwerk) schon jetzt ein Begleiter unseres Selbstverständnisses geworden ist, ein Moment des Innehaltens, des Reflektierens und damit Zeuge unserer eigenen Transformation, in der wir versuchen, das Kapitel unserer eigenen Biographie in diesem Buch aus überwiegend furchtbaren, korrupten, komplizierten und nihilistischen Geschichten neu zu schreiben und irgendwie in Hoffnung zu verwandeln. GY!BE haben es wieder einmal geschafft, einen Soundtrack für dieses Wechselspiel aus Analyse, Trotz und Befreiung zu liefern. Die Vinylversion von ,'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!" besteht aus einer LP und einer 7". Die 7" enthält zwei Drones, die auf der CD in den Album-Kontext eingebunden sind, auf Vinyl aber separat vorliegen, um eine gute Qualität der Pressung zu erreichen. Die beiden Songs ,Mladic" und ,We Drift Like Worried Fire" sind final ausformulierte Versionen der beiden von den den Konzerten der Band bereits bekannten Tracks ,Albanian" und ,Gamelan". Die beiden Tracks wurden von Howard Bilerman im legendären Hotel2Tango Studio aufgenommen, während die Drones von der Band selbst aufgenommen und gemixt wurden. Alle wurden gemastert von Harris Newman/ Greymarket. Musikalisch knüpft ,'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!" an das ziemlich exakt vor 10 Jahren im Herbst 2002 veröffentlichte, letzte Album ,Yanqui U.X.O." an und greift seine klangliche Ästhetik ebenso auf wie seinen Kontext. Die Vinylversion von ,'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!" besteht aus einer LP und einer 7". Die 7" enthält zwei Drones, die auf der CD in den Album-Kontext eingebunden sind, auf Vinyl aber separat vorliegen, um eine gute Qualität der Pressung zu erreichen. 180gLP IN TIPPED-ON GATEFOLD JACKET. INCLUDES 7" VINYL + 12"x 48" PULL-OUT POSTER!" [label info- Cargo translation] 2012 €25.00
  Allelujah! Don't bend! Ascend! CD "We are proud to announce the first new recordings by Godspeed You! Black Emperor in a decade. Featuring two twenty-minute slabs of epic instrumental rock music and two six-and-a-half minute drones, ‘ALLELUJAH! DON’T BEND! ASCEND! provides soaring, shining proof of the band’s powerful return to form.
 Having emerged from hiatus at the end of 2010, GYBE picked up right where they left off, immediately re-capturing the sound and material that had fallen dormant in 2003 and driving it forward with every show of their extensive touring over the last 18 months. The new album presents the fruits of that labour: evolved and definitive versions of two huge compositions previously known to fans as “Albanian” and “Gamelan”, now properly titled as “MLADIC” and “WE DRIFT LIKE WORRIED FIRE” respectively. Accompanied by the new drones (stitched into the album sequence on CD; cut separately on their own 7″ for the LP version), GYBE have offered up a fifth album that we feel is as absolutely vital, virulent, honest and heavy as anything in their discography.
 
We don’t have much time for mythology, but we’d be lying if we said the return of Godspeed You! Black Emperor in 2010 didn’t signify a whole lot to us as a marker from which to look back on the past decade, to reflect on what’s been gained or lost within the confines of independent music culture and what’s been gained or lost in the socio-political landscape writ large. Godspeed’s music will do that to you. It is music that bears witness to, channels and transforms this predominantly terrible, infuriating, venal and nihilistically sad story we’re all living, sharing, resisting, protesting, deconstructing and trying to change for the better. We think GYBE has once again provided a uniquely moving and compelling soundtrack for these acts of analysis, defiance and ascension. * * * Hard to believe a full decade has passed since the release of Yanqui U.X.O., the last album by GYBE. Never a band to care for conventional industry wisdom, Yanqui was released shortly before xmas 2003 with little publicity and no press availability, no marketing plans or cross-promotions or brand synergies, with back cover artwork tracing the inextricable links between major music labels and the military-industrial complex. Driven by word-of-mouth from a passionate and committed fanbase galvanized by the group's sonic vision and its dedication to unmediated, unsullied musical communication, the album found it's rightful audience. To suggest that such simple principles and goals have become harder to maintain and enact a decade later is an understatement. For all the contents and discontents – for all the "content" – of our present cultural moment, the idea of circumventing the glare of exposure, the massaging of media cycles and the calculus of identity management appears quaint, if not futile. But Godspeed is looking to try all the same. The band wants people to care about this new album, without telling people they should or talking about themselves. They want to hold on to some part of that energy that comes with the thrill of anonymous discovery and unmediated transmission, knowing full well that these days, anti-strategy risks being tagged as a strategy, non-marketing framed as its opposite, and deeply held principles they consider fundamental to health as likely to be interpreted as just another form of stealth. Truly, thanks for being open to hearing it. Release date: 15 October 2012 (Europe), 16 October 2012 (rest of world) Running time: 53:09 LP is pressed on 180 gram virgin vinyl at Optimal (Germany) and comes in a tipped-on heavyweight gatefold jacket printed in full-colour process plus a spot metallic ink and spot matte varnish. LP dust sleeve is also 4-colour print. Package includes a 7 inch in printed dust sleeve (same audio appears in a different sequence on the CD) and a 12"x48" pull-out poster (printed full colour on both sides) featuring a collage of film stills specially-photographed and captured from the GYBE live 16mm projections." [label info] www.cstrecords.com 2012 €14.50
GOLOWIN, SERGIUS Lord Krishna von Goloka LP "In 1973, Rolf Ulrich Kaiser's visionary powers acted as a catalyst for an authentic combination of acid, music and spirituality: the mystical LSD-fueled musical project Lord Krishna Von Goloka. For this adventure into Indian and Oriental mythologies and legends, Kaiser asked esoteric Swiss artist (he was a friend of Giger's), poet, specialist on Alpine folklore, and friend of Timothy Leary, Sergius Golowin, to join a group of musicians including Klaus Schulze and members of Wallenstein and Witthüser + Westrupp. It was perhaps mere coincidence that Golowin's classic treatise on witches, herbs, and magic mushrooms was published that same year (Magie Der Verbotenen Märchen); the book was fast becoming a cult item -- iit was secretly xeroxed in what was then-Communist East Germany, and later distributed in the hippie-underground there. Sergius Golowin's intellectual and spiritual world of occultism, popular legends, and shamanism were the foundation for the project. He was responsible for the lyrics, which consisted of incantatory recitations in German over the multi-textural compositions." [label info] www.zyx.de 2013 €16.00
GRIM Factory Ritual (white vinyl) LP "LE250 white vinyl and 250 black vinyl Comes with 12p A4 Booklet. The post-industrial music pioneer from Japan, surprises once again with simplistic purity in noise and sound. field recordings, junk noise and rhythms, organs and distinctive vocals – a mixture towards another great GRIM experience. Comes with A4 booklet. Attention: The distorted infernal ending of the proclaimed „Factory Ritual“ can only be accomplished at ones own peril. No liability for brain-, nerve- and machine-damage ! CAUTION: THIS GETS LOUD AND EAR PIERCING! A Factory completely out of control!" https://tescogermany.bandcamp.com 2019 €23.00
GUIONNET, JEAN-LUC / ERIC LA CASA / PHILIP SAMARTZIS Stray Shafts of Sunlight CD "With regard to its precursor Soleil D'Artifice on this same label, the second disc by this French/Australian troika deals more often with feeble illumination and unhealthy urgency — spelled "sense of oppression" — in spite of its title. The mixing of live sets from 2007 in Germany, Italy and France was performed five years later by La Casa, who perhaps should be credited as the effective "composer" in this case. The spaces may be large and barren, but they're almost never completely empty. The fixed rates of the electronic frequencies integrate the reflections of Guionnet's saxophone innards for brief segments in the first movement, then remain alone in between unkind hums and whirs. The reedist's "human" component is nevertheless cold-blooded, to a point of near-equivalence with the sounds released by the machines. In the middle track, an extensive voyage where industrialized starkness and distant memories commingle inside massive mutations, we found ourselves swept over by the psychological powerfulness of selected layers. Intelligently, faraway reverberations of "regular" musicality — a radio, a jazz guitar played by someone, a woman intoning "La Vie En Rose", quick-paced heels in a nocturnal urban landscape — are thrown in sparsely to assure that we're still in the corporeal variant. Yet the forward-looking arrangement appears as masterfully glacial, no remorse shown for the ear-perking listener. The closing slice begins with pressurized sonorities hardly grazed by a series of unsteady reed pitches, and stays in the same territories: indiscernible under-rhythms, aerial views of utter desolation, sudden quacks, percussive surges, cryptic discharges, something running within the rusty tubes of a decaying bathroom; it might be residual waters, or cockroaches, or the outset of our mind's disintegration process. Thought-provoking material, to say the least. These gentlemen possess a unique capability of turning a mixture of normal incidents and adroit manipulations into recordings that make one ponder deeply about the less than secondary role we've been given as (hypothetically) sentient creatures, the weakest links in the chain of recurrent misconception. Fortunately, the possibility exists to acquire what's truly essential from the only trustworthy educator: sound." [Massimo Ricci, February 2014] 2013 €12.00
HARTH, ALFRED 23 & WOLFGANG SEIDEL Malcha CD Harth/Seidel/Spera/Van Den Plas: Malcha Format: CD Country: Korea, Italy & Germany Released: 01.10.2016 Tracklist 01 Gate 2 Not 02 Ceremony Behind Buddha’s Garden 03 Begum Of Oudh 04 Resilient Cup Of Crushed Diamonds 05 Send A Revolver The Night Before The 00 Interview 06 Delhi Green Mousse Musicians Alfred 23 Harth – ts, ss, dojirak, voice Wolfgang Seidel – buchla music easel, prepared guitar, perc, vibes Fabrizio Spera – dr, perc Nicole van den Plas – voice, piano, zither, balalaika, kalimba, whistling Credits Compositions by Alfred Harth, Wolfgang Seidel-Meissner, Fabrizio Spera Recorded by Wolfgang Seidel at Exrotaprint Studio, Berlin, 2015.11.13 Production, arrangement, mix & premastering by A23H at LaubhuetteStudio Moonsun, Korea Mastering by Wolfgang Seidel at Exrotaprint Studio, Berlin, 2016 MALCHA Berlin, November 2015. In einem Café in Mitte, in der Auguststrasse, sitzen Alfred Harth (seit 15 Jahren auch in Seoul), Fabrizio Spera (Rom), Elliott Sharp (New York) und ich – Wolfgang Seidel (Berlin). Am Abend vorher hatten Alfred, Fabrizio und Elliott ganz in der Nähe gespielt, zusammen mit Kazuhisa Uchihashi (Tokio) und Clayton Thomas (Sydney), die nun schon unterwegs waren zu ihren nächsten Konzerten. Mit beiden wäre die Runde noch globaler gewesen, was in der Improvisierten Musik allerdings nichts besonderes ist. Das grosse „I“ bei Improvisierter Musik ist Absicht. Improvisierte Musik als eigenes musikalisches Genre – so wie die Neue Musik. Improvisierte Musik als Genre, dass sich von lokalen Traditionen emanzipiert hat und in der Musiker aus aller Welt miteinander spielen. Wäre der Vorsatz „post“ nicht so inflationär an alles mögliche geklebt, würde ich diese Musik postnational nennen. Im alten West-Berlin hatte ich einen Bogen gemacht um die Jazz-Szene. Die war mir zu bürgerlich und von einem altbackenden Handwerker-Ethos mit strikten Regeln, was man denn geübt haben müsse, ehe man es sich erlauben dürfe zu improvisieren. Da passte ich mit meiner Psychedelic Rock-Sozialisation nicht hinein. Anfang der 80er, im Windschatten von Punk, wurden Genregrenzen für einige Zeit durchlässig. In diese Zeit fällt dann auch das bisher einzige gemeinsame Konzert mit Alfred und meiner damaligen Band Populäre Mechanik. Dann war erst mal wieder Pause, die erst zu Ende ging, als sich ab der Jahrtausendwende die Szene Improvisierter Musik entwickelte, die in Berlin unter dem Label Echtzeitmusik agiert. Als einzigem "Eingeborenen" fiel mir der Part zu, zu erzählen, wie sich die Gegend in den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten verändert hat. Eingeborener stimmt auch nur halb - als Westberliner habe ich diesen im Zentrum der „Hauptstadt der DDR“ gelegenen Teil der Stadt erst 1989 kennengelernt. Da war das Scheunenviertel genannte Areal hinter dem Hackeschen Markt grau und düster von verwahrlosten Häusern mit abbröckelndem Putz und leeren Wohnungen. Mich erinnerten die Straßen an das Westberlin meiner Kindheit, als die Spuren des Krieges noch überall sichtbar und die vorherrschende Farbe grau war. Das urbane Vakuum im Scheunenviertel füllte sich nach 1989 ganz schnell mit neuem Leben. In den leeren Läden entstanden Clubs und Galerien, bis die Gentrifizierung dem fröhlichen Experimentieren ein Ende setzte. Die Fassaden sind renoviert, die Läden elegant und teuer und die Galerien bieten Dekoratives für die obere Einkommensklasse. Ein paar tausend Kilometer weiter östlich in Korea, ist die Welt noch geteilt. Im Schatten der euphemistisch DMZ – Demilitarized Zone – benannten Grenze zwischen Nord- und Südkorea, befindet sich Alfreds LaubhuetteStudio. Es klingt idyllisch, wenn er schreibt, dass Rehe dort herumstreunen und auf Fotos von seinen Exkursionen sieht er aus wie ein Botaniker auf der Jagd nach seltenen Schmetterlingen. Irgendwie erinnert mich das auch an die trägen Sommertage im ehemaligen Westberlin, wo man im Schatten der Mauer sein Bier trank. Solche dem Verwertungsdruck entzogenen Areale scheinen auf geheimnisvolle Weise der Kreativität besonders zuträglich sein. Nach dem Frühstücksmeeting gingen wir drei – Alfred, Fabrizio und ich – dahin, wo die Stadt nur arm und kein bisschen sexy ist – in den Stadtteil Wedding. Dessen Wandlung vom Arbeiterbezirk zum deindustrialisierten Arbeitslosenbezirk hat viel leerstehenden Gewerberaum hinterlassen. In einer dieser ehemaligen Fabriken war ich mit meinem Studio eingezogen. Zwei Stunden später konnte ich zufrieden auf den Aus-Knopf der Aufnahmeapparatur drücken. Wohin diese musikalischen „Gespräche“ ohne jede Vorgabe oder Planung letztlich führen, ist immer wieder eine Überraschung. Begonnen hatte es vor fast fünfzig Jahren mit „herrschaftsfreier Musik“ – so das Konzept von Alfreds Gruppe Just Music. Ich spielte zur selben Zeit mit dem Beuys-Schüler Conrad Schnitzler "Total freie Musik". So stand es auf einem Poster. Über Conrad Schnitzler, der leider 2012 verstarb, hatten Alfred und ich uns näher kennengelernt. Auf dem „Total freie Musik“-Plakat stand außerdem: jeder kann mitmachen. Bei anderer Gelegenheit war das Publikum aufgefordert, Transistorradios mitzubringen und während der Performance eifrig am Sendersuchlauf zu drehen. Die Verwendung von aussermusikalischen Geräuschen und die Technik der Collage sind für Alfred und mich früh zur Arbeitsweise geworden. Unsere CD Five Eyes ist so entstanden, als Collage aus Tracks, die wir uns um den halben Erdball schickten. Und nach Beendigung unserer Trio-Session im Wedding, war das noch nicht das fertige Werk. Zurück in Korea, ergänzte Alfred noch Passagen mit seinem Sopransaxophon aus dem 70er Archiv. Hinzu kamen gefakte Field-Recordings aus Indien. Nicole van den Plas schickte Gesangs- und Instrumentalaufnahmen (Voice & Bells, 40° Celsius und If Any, drei ihrer jüngsten CDRs) die sich wunderbar in das Gewebe von Klängen, das Alfred in seiner Laubhütte schuf, einfügten. Dieses Gewebe ist so dicht, dass ich erst nach mehrmaligem Anhören entdeckte, dass auch ein Track Eingang gefunden hatte, den ich ihm schon vor längerer Zeit geschickt hatte, in dem, als Erinnerung an unsere erste Westberliner Begegnung, die Sendekennung des RIAS (Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor) zu hören ist. Genau das ist es, was den Spass an diesen Aufnahmen ausmacht. Man macht immer wieder noch Entdeckungen im Dickicht der Klänge. Am Schluss wartet eine Aufgabe, um die ich mich gerne drücke. Eine Veröffentlichung muss einen Namen haben, die Tracks darauf auch. Bei Songs ist das ja einfach. Aber wir haben keine weitere Geschichte, die wir zur Musik erzählen. Bei uns ist die Musik die Geschichte. Wir machen abstrakte Musik und keine Programm- oder Illustrationsmusik. Wir denken beim Spielen an nichts ausser an die Klänge, die wir produzieren und wie diese sich mit den Sounds der Mitspieler verflechten. Conrad Schnitzler löste für sich das Problem, indem er irgendwann seine Kompositionen nur noch nummerierte. Er kam damit bis 830. Alfred löste das Problem, in dem er zunächst an unsere Café-Frühstücksrunde anknüpfte. Latte Macchiato? Nein „Malcha“. Er berichtete, dass das koreanische Getränk, mit dem man sich munter macht, Malcha heißt – ein grüner Tee, zu Pulver zerstampft und mit Bambusbesen wie Cappuchino aufgeschäumt. Da koreanische Restaurants gerade die neue Gründerwelle in Berlin sind, ist es nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis Malcha zum neuen Hipster-Getränk wird. Damit war ein Titel für die CD gefunden. Es fehlten noch die Titel für die einzelnen Stücke. Ueber Indien war Alfred auf eine andere Bedeutung von Malcha gestossen: Malcha Mahal – ein 600 Jahre alter, verfallender Palast in Delhi. In ihm leben zwei Geschwister, ein Prinz und eine Prinzessin, isoliert von der Umwelt. Prinz Ali Raza und Prinzessin Sakina sind die letzten Nachfahren einer aus Persien stammenden Dynastie, die bis Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts über das Königreich Oudh herrschte. Nach vergeblichem Aufstand gegen die britische Kolonialmacht wurde Oudh besetzt und die Herrscherfamilie befand sich auf der Flucht, da sie sich weder den Briten noch dem unabhängig gewordenen Indien unterwerfen wollte. Die letzte Begum von Oudh fand mit ihren Kindern schliesslich Zuflucht im Malcha Mahal, wo sie 1983 auf wahrhaft fürstliche Art Selbstmord beging. Sie trank ein Pulver aus den Splittern ihres Diamantringes. Ihre Kinder leben seitdem von der Aussenwelt isoliert im Dickicht des Malcha Mahal Parks. Das klingt nach exotischem Liebesromanstoff, in dem sich die britische Begeisterung für Spukgeschichten mit der mindestens ebenso grossen indischen Begeisterung für Geistergeschichten mischen, auf der Folie einer Reminizenz an Extremaussenseiter, die aus aristokratischem Stolz ein Leben lang in einer Gegenwelt verharren. Spätestens jetzt war unser anfänglicher Berlinausflug definitiv über andere Assoziationsebenen auf Reisen geraten. Wolfgang Seidel, 2016.5.31 www.molokoplusrecords.de 2016 €15.00
HATI Die Mechanik, Die! CD Auf DIE MECHANIK, DIE! erweitern HATI ihr Spektrum und reichern ihre archaischen Gong- & Ethno-Drones mit elektronischen Gerätschaften an (v.a. dark ambiente Synths), sehr trancig & rhythmisch, ein Mitschnitt eines live-Konzerts in sehr guter Qualität. "Trance dark electroacoustic sounds with excellent electronic machines! The album of the group from Torun - this time under the banner of Beast of Prey. A characteristic trance-gong-drone-music in the release "Die Mechanik, Die!" has been saturated with electronic sounds. Such HATI will suprise many of you! More than 45 minutes long album perfectly recorded during the performance in "the Mechanik" club in Gdansk. This time HATI famous for its acoustic sounds - made propably the darkest CD in its discography, the CD enriched with dark ambient tones. Tarry and heavy backgrounds perfectly harmonized with trance and mechanical instrumental variations of musicians move the imagination and bring nearer the world of the dying mechanics. From one side - harmonic and perfectly interrelated pieces of music, from the other side - increasing and intensifying athmosphere of the darkness which - like a rust - conquers more and more parts of urban areas. The title of this release speaks for itself." [label info] www.beastofprey.com HATI has got already few albums released in Poland and Europe, also from the concert aspect is one of the most recognizable projects in our country and HATI's live performances take many people breath away. The group has been performing in many cities in Poland and also abroad: in Germany, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands. HATI is a music group founded on sounds of acoustic instuments - traditional ones with the industrial instrumentarium. 2008 €8.00
HAUSCHKA WITH ROB PETIT & ROBERT MACFARLANE Upstream LP "German pianist and composer Hauschka returns to Sonic Pieces with music for the experimental film Upstream. Together with filmmaker Rob Petit and acclaimed writer Robert Macfarlane he has created a slow-moving dream-flight into wildness and winter through an eerie, hypnotic soundtrack of the Scottish highlands. The film, which is shot entirely from the air, follows the course of the River Dee in Scotland all the way to its source in the Cairngorm mountains, the highest of any river in Britain. The soundtrack to the film, seen here, is without doubt Hauschka´s most brooding, deep work and we find him in a much darker mood in contrast to his Oscar-nominated works for Hollywood films. The variation of cello, prepared piano, poems, sound effects and occasional synth create a ghostly sound as if a shadow was slowly moving through the Scottish winter. One can hear a faint echo of David Darling´s Dark Wood era in the empty, dark beauty of the bow - performed by Insa Schirmer. Hauschka sheds his more rhythmic, entertaining side to reveal something new. Together with Petit & Macfarlane he embraces the comfort and force of nature to truly mesmerising effect. The last and shortest piece of the album Uisge dhè as well as the digital bonus track Here the Heart Fills include prose poems written by Robert Macfarlane voiced in Gaelic and English by Niall Gordàn & Julie Fowlis. The naked words spoken over haunting sound recordings of the River Dee and its source, create a mystical atmosphere heightened only by sparse cello passages. A strange, beautiful and captivating album that stands alone as a truly transportive piece of work: close your eyes and travel... Upstream." 2021 €28.00
HEINZE, STEFAN Pzzt 1982 1983 MC "Stefan Heinze PZZT 1982/1983 c-40 d.a.s. 014 2013 50 copies artwork eliab Inox Kapell did under his born-name Stefan Heinze some different tapes in the early 80th, industrialpopique and wired stuff with sprechgesang and singing and instrumental waves, electronic-fluxus, glitsches, and early angst-pop. The tape is a selection of some songs that came out of this period of tonband, tape-recorder, organ and synths, panasonic-loop-tapes. All recorded in Collinghorst / Eastfrisia /north-Germany. listen: http://dasandereselbst.org/listen/heinze_pzzt/heinze_pzzt.htm" [label info] http://dasandereselbst.org 2013 €8.00
HELDEN, JOHANNES Sketchbook CD Höchst introspektive und verhaltene erste Veröffentlichung (?) eines Schweden: angenehm warme Soundbrisen und -wellen mit manchmal konkreteren Feldaufnahmen, ein wahrer KlangHAUCH entsteht hier. “..Based on field recordings Johannes made while traveling from Sweden to Russia via Norway, Sketchbook is a quiet, moody work of great atmosphere and devoid of all pretention. In an essay I wrote for the Digital Narcis label’s new website you will find the following statement: ‘’In my earlier days as an artist, I believed that there had to be something called ‘Kunstwille’ in German (i.e., the will to create art) and a specific gesture (I called ‘the art gesture’ in my own terminology) to turn a given material into a work of art. This can indeed bring about excellent results, but there is also an inherent danger in this when the will to create and the ‘art gesture’ become the masters, and artistic sensibility is lost. Nowadays I have come to distrust the ‘artness’ in art, and feel that I should do without the ‘will to create’ and the ‘art gesture’ to create art just the same way one eats, sleeps and breathes. I’m thinking of the descriptions of Kendo practice Mishima Yukio has put in some of his works: the real master has to forget the sword, the enemy, the will to kill the enemy, and the wish to be a master.’’ [press release] 2002 €14.00
HENNIX, CATHERINE CHRISTER Unbegrenzt LP Unbegrenzt is the third in an ongoing series of archival records of the unheard music of Swedish composer Catherine Christer Hennix, co-released by Blank Forms Editions and Empty Editions. It follows Selected Early Keyboard Works and Selections from 100 Models of Hegikan Roku (named the #1 archival release of 2019 by The Wire), in addition to a two-volume collection of Hennix’s writing titled Poësy Matters and Other Matters. Recorded in February of 1974 and featuring Catherine Christer Hennix (recitation, percussion, and electronics) and Hans Isgren (bowed gong), Hennix’s realization of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s “Unbegrenzt” (German for “unlimited”) from Aus den Sieben Tagen is an elaboration both rigorous and radically different from the canonical 1969 recording issued by Shandar. The collection of 15 text pieces written in Paris during May of 1968, Aus den Sieben Tagen, denies its performers notated direction and instead provides poetic cues that hinge upon Stockhausen’s conception of “intuitive music,” a Eurocentric perspective on improvisation antithetical to the vernacular forms Hennix had engaged with as a young drummer performing in Stockholm jazz clubs with musicians like Bill Barron, Cam Brown, Hans Isgren, Lalle Svenson, Allan Vajda, Bo Wärmell, and many others. While both Hennix and Isgren saw the formal prospect of Aus den Sieben Tagen as a productive development of and beyond La Monte Young’s event scores, she here steadfastly counters his rationalization of intuition with the Principle of Sufficient Reason. (Cf. Brouwer’s Lattice.) Eschewing the busy, conservatory-addled lapses into idiomatic citation of Stockhausen’s 1969 recording, Hennix’s alternative realization of the “Unbegrenzt” score’s instructions to “play a sound with the certainty that you have an infinite amount of time and space” is based on her concept of Infinitary Compositions, the trademark of her ensemble The Deontic Miracle which, at one time, considered adding Stockhausen, La Monte Young and Terry Jennings scores to its repertoire. Taking a mature, minimal iteration of Stockhausen’s compositional method of “moment-forming” to heart, her version’s dark, controlled feedback and amplified bowed gong subtly shift through an immanent sequence of formative moments, step by step. Its bubbling computer noise, percussion, and repeated ominous transient sounds of temple blocks over the bowed gong terminate with the integrated recitation of exotic text fragments from Hevajra Tantra which faithfully take Stockhausen’s score into deeper vistas of the unconscious and a more devastating opening to the unlimited time and space of a dreaming mind. Audio restoration and mastering by Stephan Mathieu, with an essay by Bill Dietz. Catherine Christer Hennix (b. 1948) started her creative life playing drums with her older brother Peter, growing up in Sweden where she heard jazz luminaries, such as John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Dexter Gordon, Archie Shepp, and Cecil Taylor perform from 1960 to 1967. Directly after high school, Hennix went to work at Stockholm’s pioneering Elektronmusikstudion (EMS), where she developed early tape music, incorporating computer generated speech done at the Royal Technological University (KTH), where she was an undergraduate student. After traveling to New York In 1968, she met artists Dick Higgins and Alison Knowles who invited her to stay at the Something Else Press Town House where she had the opportunity to meet, among others, composers John Cage, James Tenney, and Phil Corner. During the following years she developed fruitful collaborative relationships with many composers in the burgeoning American avant-garde, including, most significantly, Henry Flynt and La Monte Young. Young introduced Hennix to Hindustani raga master Pandit Pran Nath and she would later study intensively under him as his first European disciple. While Hennix continued to make music performing alongside Arthur Russell, Marc Johnson, Henry Flynt, and Arthur Rhames, she also served as a professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at SUNY New Paltz and as a visiting Professor of Logic (at Marvin Minsky’s invitation) at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. In recent years Hennix has led the just-intonation ensemble the Chora(s)san Time-Court Mirage, which has featured musicians Amelia Cuni, Amirtha Kidambi, Chiyoku Szlavnics, Hilary Jeffrey, Amir El-Saffar, Benjamin Duboc and Rozemarie Heggen. She currently resides in Istanbul, Turkey pursuing studies in classical Arabic and Turkish makam. https://blankformseditions.bandcamp.com/album/unbegrenzt 2020 €27.50
HENNIX, CATHERINE CRISTER (THE DEONTIC MIRACLE) Central Palace Music (from 100 Model Subjects for Hegikan Roku) CD "Central Palace Music, performed by Catherine Christer Hennix's just-intonation ensemble The Deontic Miracle, is the first in a series of archival Hennix releases to be issued via IMPREC. This previously unheard piece was taken from an eight day festival organized in the Spring of 1976 at the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm. The group features Catherine Christer Hennix on Renaissance oboe and custom sinewave generators, Peter Hennix on Renaissance oboe and Hans Isgren on sheng. Central Palace Music is packaged in a deluxe letterpressed package and is being released at the same time as a recent recording of Hennix's new ensemble live at Issue Project Room. "...Hennix has created a sound that reliably taps into our subconscious and frees us from linear time..." The Quietus Catherine Christer Hennix (1948, Stockholm) is an artist, poet, composer and philosopher with a strong interest in logic and formal music theory. She was among the pioneers in Sweden experimenting with main-frame computer generated composite sound wave forms in the late 1960's and in the 1970's she was a key protagonist in the Downtown School along with La Monte Young and Henry Flynt, with whom she has collaborated with on numerous occasions. She pursued studies with raga master Pandit Pran Nath and led the just intonation live-electronic ensembles Hilbert Hotel and The Deontic Miracle, the recordings of the latter are presently being released by Important Records. She was a professor of mathematics and computer science and assistant to and coauthor with A.S. Esenin-Volpin for which she was given the Centenary Prize Fellow Award by the Clay Mathematics Insitute in 2000. Hennix's interest in drone music and the meditative, trance-like state it induces is apparent in her exploration of similar music in many other cultures and traditions, drawing inspiration from the Japanese Gagaku music and the early, vocal, thirteenth-century music of Perotinus and Leoninus, for example. In 2003 she returned to computer generated composite sound wave forms now called Soliton(e)s of which Soliton(e) Star was the first result. Subsequently she formed the just intonation ensemble The Choras(s)an Time-Court Mirage which performs Blues Dhikir al- Salam (Live at the Grimmuseum, vol. 1, Berlin, 2011, Important Records 2012). In 2012 Henry Flynt asked Hennix for a new, expanded realization of ISE for an installation at ZKM in Karlsruhe, Germany, to be featured in his retrospective/ prospective show Henry Flynt Activities 1959 – at ZKM. In response Hennix realized a 4-channel composition, Rag Infinity/Rag Cosmosis, her first 4-channel computer assisted composition since 1969." [label info] www.importantrecords.com 2016 €19.50
HERBST9 :Enenylyn: (SOLD OUT) 7 “Probably the most well-known band of the new Drone Records 7”-releases. This is the first non-LOKI release by the German dark/transcendental ambient-duo from Leipzig, who already gained cult-status. The two pieces on this EP are filled with roaring feedbacks & amorphic sounds. Deep reverberations evoke impressions of endless vaults, halls & tunnels way down deep below this Earth. In addition to this music whereabouts, there’s an intense emotional imprinting, like being in the middle of a sacrificial or shamanic ritual. This music has the psychedelic drug power to evoke ancient gods. ~ Filed under: sacrificial / shamanic drones ~ WHITE VINYL. BLACK COVERS WITH HAND-PRINTED BANDEROLE.” [press-release] 2004 €6.50  
HET ZWEET Het Zweet CD "Reissue of a classic tribal Industrial album by Dutch project Het Zweet, originally released in 1987, comparable to the music of Z'ev. Het Zweet (Sweat) was the band project by Marien van Oers, native of Breda in the Netherlands active from 1983 to about 1988. The music consisted of long 10-minute percussion pieces played on self-built instruments (shopping trolleys amplified with pickups, blown cardboard tubes etc.) with repetitive shouted vocals by Marien. The music was often placed in the industrial camp and linked with the likes of Test Dept. but in fact Het Zweet were more concerned with 'tribal' music, physicality and trance effects like Z'ev. During concerts he often performed together with other players. Marien Van Oers sadly passed away in 2013. This self-titled album originally came out on the great Dossier label in Germany in 1987. The bonus material included on this reissue consists entirely of previously unreleased material. There's three untitled tracks and two live excerpts presented as long experiences that belie their disparate origins with a unity of sound and purpose. Van Oers' percussive nous and distantly yelled chants certainly sound capable of working up a sweat in both the performer and any movement-minded listeners, but maybe the most striking thing about Het Zweet is how vital it still sounds, despite its age and relative obscurity." 2022 €15.00
HIJOKAIDAN Zouroku No Kibyou (40th Anniversary Edition) LP ’Zouroku no Kibyo is the first album by Hijokaidan, released in April 1982. It is a compilation of live recordings from 1981, when the extreme performances of Hijokaidan first attracted attention, and is a record of the chaotic inner energy of young people in their early 20s, influenced by rock, jazz, contemporary music, and avant-garde art, erupting outside. It was first released on the independent Osaka label Unbalance Records and came to be regarded as a historical masterpiece of independent recordings in Japan. It was later released on CD several times by "Alchemy Records," and was also released by the major Japanese label Teichiku Entertainment. An analog reissue of the album was released in 2006 by the German label Vinyl-On-Demand in the form of a double LP set. This will be the first time that the album will be reissued in its original form as a single analog disc, this time on Urashima in 2022. ‘’ JOJO Hiroshige Hijokaidan is a Japanese noise band with a turning lineup that has ranged from two members to as many as fourteen in its early days. The group is the project of guitarist Yoshiyuki ‘’JOJO’’ Hiroshige, its one constant member, who is owner of the legendary Osaka-based Alchemy Records. The ensemble began at the very end of the 70’s as a performance art-based unit whose anarchic shows would often involve destruction of venues and audio equipment, food and garbage being thrown around, and on-stage urination. As the group's lineup changed over time, their focus became less performance-based and more musically based, fine-tuning their sound into a dense wall of white noise created by each member both for live performances and for studio recordings. Zouroku no Kibyo resting at a fascinating juncture between space-harsh progressive, impro and noise, it was years ahead of its time when it first appeared becoming one of the great holy grails of Japan noise. Creatively thrilling - filled with emotive highs and lows - it’s a crucial piece in the puzzle of Japan’s wild and wonderful history of noise music. A truly stunning, visionary expanse of texture and tonality - pushing noise practice and the very notions of language into uncharted realms, improvising with a ferocity different from that of hard rock or punk, and a chaos unlike that of free jazz. https://urashima.bandcamp.com/album/zouroku-no-kibyou 2022 €24.00
HINSIDAN Nightshift 10 4-track EP from this promising project, two pieces of very subtle / droney material, one remix on Side B by L'OMBRE, and one live-version of "Nightshift", this sounds like dark wave drone ambient with beats & vocals, hard to define but highly atmospheric and stunning! "After their monumentual debut - the praised double album 'God Is In The Details / Music For Ghosts' [phisteria 2005], and hot on the heels of two limited album releases in Germany [Shapeshifter Blues on Verato Project] and US [Bleach Dye Yr Heart on Gears of Sand], our very own animal rights avantgarde-drone-poltergeist-rockers return to phisteria, with this diverse 4-tracker that really pays hommage to the band's heritage. This limited 10'' EP of 250 copies is most likely to be a hot collectible for all eternity, we dare you to miss it!!" [label info] "... Opening very slowly, the first piece titled "The first time we met the blues" (no worries, not any sign of Blues on this track!) builds steadily from inaudible drones to smoothing vibrant drones building a great atmosphere from early start, not too far away from British legends Zoviet France. As the first piece fades out, another swarm of drones build with the opening of following piece "Labyrinths of obsession", this time with a more abrasive approach. Soon after subtle acoustic drum-patterns penetrates to create a rhythm structure in the abstract composition. Side B of the vinyl opens with a remix of "The first time we me the blues" executed by Ant-Zen legend L'Ombre. The result is a completely different work based on repetitive downbeat rhythm textures assisted by discreet ambient melody in the background. Final piece on the album is a live recording from legendary Danish underground club "Ungdomshuset" (R.I.P.). Despite the fact that it has been recorded live the sound of the work is still nice and clean. The title-track "Nightshift" consists of vibrant drones and distant male vocals adding to the strange nocturnal atmospheres of the track. As was the case with the earlier efforts of Hinsidan the guitar plays an important role in the spheres of work, and the result again is utterly beautiful." [NM, Vital Weekly] www.phisteria.com 2008 €12.00
HISS TRACTS Shortwave Nights CD "180g Vinyl mit Kunstdruck und Downloadcode. 'Shortwave Nights' ist das Debüt von HISS TRACTS, einem neuen Duo aus David Bryant (GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR, SET FIRE TO FLAMES) und Kevin Doria (GROWING, TOTAL LIFE). Die beiden trafen sich 2004 und begründeten eine musikalische Freundschaft, die in drei GROWING Alben mündete, die im The Pines Studio von Bryant in Montreal aufgenommen wurden und in mehreren Kollaborationen mit z.B. dem experimentellen Filmkünstler Karl Lemieux. Probebänder für ein Underground Film Festival in Lausanne 2008 wurden zur Basis für HISS TRACTS; David und Kevin arbeiteten zwischen 2009 und 2013 daran, doch vieles von der Magie der ersten Versionen ist noch immer greifbar. Kevin und David sind instrumentale Musiker von ungewöhnlicher Tiefe und Intensität. HISS TRACTS eröffnet neue kollaborative und erzählerische Pfade, um die beiden Musiker die Soundlandschaft von Komposition und Produktion erforschen zu lassen. Beide sind Gitarristen und die E-Gitarre erscheint als Quelle von 'Shortwave Nights', doch die Fülle an zusätzlichen analogen Quellen und Signalen stellt sicher, dass dieser Sound hier nicht mit gitarrenbasiertem Drone, Noise oder Postrock verwechselt wird. 'Shortwave Night' setzt sich über solch engmaschigen Genrebegriffe hinweg und lässt sich ebenso wenig in die vorherrschenden Subgenres einordnen. Wenn Drone jedoch der Orientierungspunkt ist, dann liegt das sicherlich an dem Mix, der die einzelnen Elemente zu einer Wall of Sound in Stereo vereint. Dies ist keine Elektro-Platte und 'Shortwave Nights' begibt sich auch nicht in die Welt von Ambient oder Wave, vielmehr lässt sich der Sound hier im breiten Abstammungsfeld von Post-Industrial und Musique Concrète verorten. // Shortwave Nights is the debut album by Hiss Tracts, a new duo featuring David Bryant (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Set Fire To Flames) and Kevin Doria (Growing, Total Life). The two met in 2004 and struck up a musical friendship that led to three Growing records being made at The Pines (Bryant's recording studio in Montreal) and a separate collaboration between the two, initially in conjunction with experimental filmmaker Karl Lemieux (also GY!BE's current 16mm auteur/projectionist). Rehearsal tapes from a set of sessions for a Lausanne Underground Film Festival performance in 2008 became the foundation and starting point for Hiss Tracts; David and Kevin continued working throughout 2009-2013, but much of the material from their earliest session is still present, in one state or another, within the tracks on this debut album. The sonic preoccupations of Bryant and Doria are well-known and well-documented across many highly acclaimed recordings over the past fifteen years, from the organic, group-based, semi-improvised collage albums of Set Fire To Flames to the glimmering, immersive minimalism of Growing and the more maximalist full-spectrum noise works of Total Life. David and Kevin are instrumental music practitioners of uncommon depth and intensity; Hiss Tracts opens new collaborative, procedural and narrative pathways for these fine musicians to continue exploring soundscape-based composition and production. Both are guitar players, and the electric guitar figures as both recognizable and unrecognizable source instrument on Shortwave Nights, but the deployment of a wide range of additional analog sources and signals ensures that there is no confusing this for a guitar-based drone, noise or post-rock record. Shortwave Nights defies categorization by terms like "drone" or "ambient" and it does not easily slip into any of the predominant subgenres that have proliferated around studio-based soundscape work in recent years. Insofar as drone is a touchstone, this has mostly to do with the approach to mixing, which tends towards a transcendent/trance-inducing integration of elements into a unified, saturated, wall-of-sound stereo field. The album contains no beats or programming and very little that is identifiably loop-based or overtly sampled and sampler-driven. Occasional deployments of digital signal processing remain firmly in the service of Hiss Tract's overriding framework and commitment to analog sources and human instrumentation. This is not an electronic record, nor does it sit comfortably at either the pastoral or spooky/sinister poles of any ambient or 'whatever'-wave spectrum; it can perhaps best be placed within the broad lineages of post-industrial and musique concrète. Meditative and visceral, humming with the electromagnetic atmosphere through which all manner of frequencies, transmissions and surveillances pass and collide, Shortwave Nights strikes an evocative balance between sonics captured-channeled-harnessed vs. composed-sculpted-performed, with an almost documentary rigour and restraint that nonetheless remains profoundly charged and engaged. Constellation is thrilled to introduce this new project with a brilliant debut album that has heavily infiltrated our brains and bloodstreams since Bryant and Doria first played us the nearly-finished recordings in the fall of 2013. Thanks for listening. Release date: 13 May 2014 Running time: 44:28 Packaging notes CD comes in a custom gatefold jacket printed on thick 24pt. paperboard with a printed CD dust sleeve. LP is pressed on 180 gram virgin vinyl at Optimal (Germany) and comes in a heavyweight jacket with black poly-lined audiophile dust sleeve, credit insert, pull-out art poster and download code for 320 kbps MP3 copy of the album." [label info] www.cstrecords.com 2014 €14.50
HITHLAHABUTH (drone) (SOLD OUT) 7inch a very own dimension of mind-enlarging sounds from this very unknown secretful german formation, first vinyl! "LIMITED+NUMBERED FIRST EDITION OF 250 COPIES on CLEAR VINYL; LINOTYPE-, DRAWN & COLOUR-PRINTED COVERS. HITHLAHABUTH ARE AN UNKNOWN AND VERY MYSTERIOUS GROUP FROM GERMANY WHO HAVE BEEN ACTIVE FOR MORE THEN 10 YEARS. AS YET, THEY RELEASED ONLY A FEW OF THEIR WORKS ON THEIR OWN 'HITHLAHABUTH RECORDS' LABEL WHICH ALSO SERVED TO RELEASE THEIR SOLO (OFTEN UNDER DIFFERENT NAMES) & COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS. HITHLAHABUTH IS THE NAME FOR "BURNING" OR "GLOWING" IN THE SENSE OF ECSTASY OF THE RELIGIOUS NOTION OF "CHASSIDISM". DRONE RECORDS ARE VERY PROUD TO BE THE LABEL TO BRING OUT THE VERY FIRST VINYL-RELEASE BY THIS GROUP WHICH IS ALSO THIS IS THE FIRST RELEASE FROM THEM THAT HAS APPEARED ON ANY OTHER LABEL EXCEPT THEIR OWN HITHLAHABUTH RECORDS. THE TWO TRACKS "DIDGE-DRONE" AND "DROWN-DRONE" WORK WITH VOICES, SYNTHS, DIDGERIDOO AND UNKNOWN SOURCES TO CREATE A VERY MYSTERIOUS MUSIC THAT IS FAR AWAY FROM THE CLICHE-LIKE 'DARK-INDUSTRIAL'. THEIR MUSIC HAS A VERY NATURAL TOUCH...MUSIC THAT SEEMS TO GLOW IN A PROFOUND WAY DOWN INTO YOUR EMOTIONAL PATH...THIS HAS A POSITIVE & SACRAL, NEARLY RELIGIOUS TOUCH INSIDE, WHICH COULD HAVE A POSITIVE EFFECT ON YOUR BODY & SOUL. "HITHLAHABUTH CREATE MUSIC ABOUT THE FESTIVAL OF LIFE" DRONE RECORDS DR-17/ MAY 1996 1996  
HOEDH Universum CD "Last studio-album and musical testament of T.H. Thiel ( ORDO CATHARSIS TEMPLI ), who died in April 2003, only few days after putting the final touches to this impressive album. Like only few ambient artists, HOEDH succeed to awake a feeling of longing and melancholy within every listener and at the same time HOEDH create a feeling of inner silence: a spiritual drowning into your soul. ( HOEDH hymnus 1996) UNIVERSUM was released as official - In Memoriam Album - in collaboration with Ordo Catharsis Templi, who s founder T.H.Thiel was." [label info] "HOEDh was thee projekt ov thee German artist Thorn Hoedh who passed away on thee night ov May 15th-16th 2003.. he was involved in thee projekts: Delysid , DLS, Helix 12, Moksha, and Ordo Catharis Templi!! thee two albums shared here are some ov thee most beauteous dark ambient releases which one could hope to encounter!! Hymnvs was released in 1993 on thee Atmosphere sublabel ov Dark Vinyl which was dedicated to generally more rhythmic ambient music.. and Universum was released post-humously on thee Dark Vinyl Records label on thee first ov April 2004.. again here are presented more releases from thee astounding 23 Temple!!" [vitaignescorpuslignum.blogspot.com] 2004 €8.00
HOLTKAMP, KOEN Make Haste / Free Birds LP-Box "Third volume to be released in this amazing new series. Koen Holtkamp is from Brooklyn, NY and runs the Apestaartje label and records as one half off the group Mountains. "Room Forever. Concept and art direction by Joshua Zucker. Photography by Kurt Mangum. A Room Forever is an art project realized as a curated series of limited edition 12" record LPs. Packaged in a custom-made box with high quality digital C-print covers and letterpressed inserts, each record features an original musical composition on one side and a field recording on the other. Pressed in one-time editions of 300, A Room Forever takes a unique and personal approach to the vinyl record LP. Conceived as a physical manifestation of the Roadside Picnic Radio podcast, the project draws upon the rich history and mythologies of audio recording to produce a final object of art that will resonate uniquely within each listener. More than anything, A Room Forever is inherently about the act of listening." Please note that these records are cut at the Dubplates & Mastering lab in Germany and are designed to be played at 45 r.p.m. [label info] www.aroomforever.com 2008 €28.00
HOLZKOPF Sharp like a broken Bone CD-R "ACL 1005: Limited edition of 50 in hand-painted unique packaging AC 1005: Unlimited edition in plastic sleeve This breakcore album by versatile Canadian electronic musician Holzkopf delivers everything the previous Attenuation Circuit releases deliberately left out in terms of repetitive beats. More minimalist than many minimal techno tracks, the album is exclusively based on percussive sounds – no layers here, no sine waves either. Still, a high degree of variety is ensured by tempo shifts of a sometimes brutal, sometimes subtle nature, as well as by a gradual shift from highly syncopated breakbeats well beyond the 180 bpm mark to almost danceable ‘4 to the floor’ beats. Using filters, equalisers, reverb, and time-stretch effects, Holzkopf gets an astounding variety of timbral nuances out of his electronic percussion sounds. Sometimes reminiscent of the ecstatic rumble of Balkan brass bands, the next second they sound like heavy industrial machinery in a disaster scenario. What links this refreshingly compact 28-minute album and its complete absence of monotony to the rest of the label catalogue is not the industrial connotations, however. It is the spirit of experimentation evident in the way Holzkopf models sounds to create intensive atmospheres, proving that atmospheric density and powerful rhythms need not be opposites. The limited first edition is not only hand-painted, but individually (and organically) designed with paint and wood shavings as an affectionate tribute to the literal German meaning of the name Holzkopf (‘wood head’)." [label info] www.wix.com/attenuationcircuit/attenuation-circuit 2011 €5.00
HUMAN LARVAE Behind blinding Light LP "Born from the ashes of Broken Diode, Germany's Human Larvae first made an appearance with the “Home is Where the Hurt Is” (Existence Establishment, 2008). Human Larvae's ability to incorporate and balance more aggressive passages of junk metal clangor, swarming distortion, and ferocious vocals with hopelessly bleak and gloomy atmospheres immediately sets them apart from anything else in the scene today, though reference points can be made to Gnawed, IRM, Grunt, and Theologian. Behind Blinding Light is a recording of great depth and compositional expertise, and can be regarded as a benchmark recording of pure and true industrial music. Ltd x 200 copies with offset printed covers and four 15x15cm cards with artwork and lyrics." 2017 €20.00
HURTADO, MARC & ALAN VEGA Sniper CD "Alan Vega is literally a legend. Suicide, formed by the duo Rev and Vega is the spearhead of a punk trend which immersed all of a sudden in a fusion of waves and electronic loops. Since that period Vega became an icon for rock music and electronic generations... Vega’s flow, and the scansion of this white hot crooner sound fractured and charismatic. Everything is Rock, his leather jackets, his art and soul highly charged. So aesthetic, a rockabilly singing in a breathless style, wearing dusty pink and yelling metal make up. He is nowadays a Myth all around the world. Marc Hurtado gained his experience in the 80’s with his brother Eric, they were called “Étant Donnés”. Their albums, films and performances are highly appreciated in Beauboug,the Fondation Cartier, the Rennes Transmusicales,the Barcelona Sonar Festival, the Kitchen in New York and The French Cinematèque. In the years 2000, Marc Hurtado produced some original soundtracks (for Philippe Gandrieux and Jessica Hausner), but he is also known for his collaborations with Lydia Lunch, Genesis P-Orridge (Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV), Michael Gira (Swans), Gabi Delgado (DAF), The Hacker, Sky Saxon (The Seeds), Les Maîtres Musiciens de Jajouka, his project Sol Ixent with the German singer Saba Komossa (Delkom)... and of course Alan Vega. Hurtado recorded four tracks in the album Re-Up in 1999 and were together on stage in France and Europe (Centre Pompidou, Lieu Unique de Nantes with Christophe) and he also produced in 2009 the film “The Infinite Mercy Film”) dedicated to the art work of Alan Vega. Sniper was born from this artistic collaboration and complicity, it was recorded in 2010 at the 6/8 Studios cherished by Suicide. This is a blazing star, an album made of fever and chaos but it also remind us the synthetic ballad you can find in Vega’s early solo albums.Whithout mentioning Lydia Lunch’s participation in “Prison Sacrifice” already a cult song, there is the sublime one “Saturn Drive Duplex” in its first original version which could lead to inspiration in the future. With at least 13 tracks of rage and shiver where words and electricity are intertwine to show this threatening apocalyptic and violent world but also the desire to flee towards new possibilities and to explore the universe. This album follows the release of infinite Mercy, a monograph dedicated to the art work “Ghost Rider Man”, which came out in September 2010 at Presses du Réel and where you can find some texts from Marc Hurtado, Alan Vega, Henry Rollins, Ric Ocasek and Martin rev. Neon lights sculptures are on the outer cover and inside it, it’s a prestigious flamboyant release." [label info] www.maquismusic.com 2010 €15.50
HYBRYDS Dreambient CD & DVD "HYBRYDS is a Belgian ritual-esoteric project, which in the early 90-s released it's most significant album "Music for Rituals" on the cult label Artware run by Donna Klemm (R.I.P.). They have reached the peak of creativity in 90-s with their classical discs "The Ritual Should Be Kept Alive" parts 1 & 2, "Soundtrack For The Aquarium", recorded for the Antwerp water park, "Dreamscapes From A Dark Side", "Tectonic Overload". In 2000 the female member of HYBRYDS, Yasnaia, leaves the band, and Magthea is busy with his project NA-DHA for some time. The new album of HYBRYDS, "Dreambient" is based on exploration of the female characters from the Pagan past: archetypes of the seducer, the demon, the girl, the whore, the slave, the mistress, the priest, the mother... The music of the project has become more accessible for uninitiated listeners: traditional ambient-ritual basis is enriched with rhythmic electronics, melodic synthesizer tunes and even guitar parts. Vocals are now done by Madeline Arndt from the German darkwave/gothic band Schattenkinder. Audio-CD is supplemented by a DVD containing a visualization of the subconscious flow of religious and erotic archetypes. The release is packed in a double-digipak with a booklet." [label description] http://aquarellist.ru 2008 €15.00
Mythical Music from the 21st Century CD "This is the second volume in the ongoing series of Hybryds reissues on Zoharum and it coincides with the 30th anniversary of artistic work of Sandy Nys and company. "Mythical Music from the 21st Century", the first full Hybryds release, collects tracks recorded between 1983 and 1986 scattered on various compilations. Yet they form the first representation of their venture into the world of sonic rituals and magic. Their perspective on sound still has not been imitated or copied and even after 30 years they still sound fresh. In the words of Sandy Nys: The first recordings were made in 1983. During the next years more recordings and musical rituals were created with different people in different places. In this first release about 20 people were involved. The recordings were a field trip, a diary of my life. The recordings became a story. The mythical story of NaHeMa. Most of the songs were sent for compilations on independent labels, yet the complete story was released in 1986 for the first time as a cassette on 3RIORECORDINGS (there was also a very limited edition in a box of 30 copies with the Dream Machine building prints.) In 1990 it was re-released by Nuit et Brouillard (France) as a cassette in a small box. In 1998 a limited picture disc in an edition of 666 copies was released by Triton (Germany). This version is shorter than the cassette one. This new CD release contains extras: the unreleased live version of "Sacred Voices," performed live on Radio Centraal and an unreleased mix of "Octahedron" by the Alpha Project. The album has been digitally remastered from the original stereo cassette master by none else but Sandy Nys, who also provided the cover based on the previous editions. This is the ritual music at its best. Now you can enjoy it in the best digital quality." [label info] www.zoharum.com 2013 €13.00
  Music for Rituals do-CD "Sandy Nys says about the album: "'Music For Rituals' was first released in a hand-made pouch, on the German label ARTWARE. The music was like the first tape release, made in different places with different people on a 4-track Tascam cassette recorder. I also started making mail art music with musicians from far away in the world (no internet back then) sending basic music on cassette which I used in the compositions. In this music, Yasnaia and her cello and voice became prominent as we started working together." CD 2 contains rarities and unreleased tracks: 1: Hybryds & Alpha project (previously unreleased) 2: From 3RIOTAPES cassette compilation 3 & 4: sax by Barry Edgar Pilcher, from 3RIOTAPES cassette release: Saxapulation 1984 5: Koto build by Michel. Played by Michel and Magthea. Soundsamples from 'Dabide No Hoshi: Bishôjo-Gari' ('Star Of David: Beautiful Girl Hunter' a strange S/M movie from Japan 1979) (previously unreleased). This 2CD album is packaged in a digipak and limited to 500 copies." [label info] www.zoharum.com "Belgian electronic-ritualists The Hybryds began producing their exotic, sensual mesmerism and ethnographic forgeries in the mid '80s, after ringleader Sandy Nys (aka Magthea) transitioned from the minimalist EBM of The Klinik into the far more supple forms of tape loops and ritualized performance. Their iconography was one that was very much a precursor to the modern primitive bacchanal of Burning Man and paralleled the philosophical fascination with Crowley that came out of the whole Psychic TV and Current 93 circle. As such, Hybryds were a project with one foot very clearly in the ancient and the other firmly adhering to the technological advances. The slow, gyrating rhythms interlace the patter from hand-drummed percussion on wood, skin, bone, and metal with the electronic structures from MIDI-driven samples draped with reverberantly sustained synth drones. Nys along with co-conspirator Leen Smets (aka Yasnaia) also wove this tapestry with wordless vocals, processed violin, phasing tape loops, and the sublimely eerie buzzing of Egyptian reeds. Music For Rituals was the band's first album beyond a couple of limited cassette releases, featuring input from fellow Belgian transcendentalist Vidna Obmana who like Nys had shifted from a hard-bodied industrialist into a liquid melange of ritualized ambience and gnostic mysticism. This album originally came out on the seminal German label Artware in 1992, has been remastered from the 4-track tapes, and is now fleshed out with an extra cd's worth of bonus material. Zoviet France, O Yuki Conjugate, Zero Kama, and even the more introspective albums from Coil would all be worthy comrades in arms with Hybryds." [Aquarius Records] 2014 €15.00
I:WOUND Triptych 2: skarz mCD-R Second release in the new cheap priced mCD series of Taalem is by the ambitioned & political german project I:WOUND! “i: wound is a fascinating german project. you might know thnaks to his excellent "ram nai satya hai" cd he released some years ago. sascha uses a lot of field samples (indian crowd, makets, that kind of stuff) sometimes mixed with hard rhythms or ambient sounds. might recall muslimgauze on track 4.” [press-release] http://taalem.free.fr/ 2001 €5.00
IF, BWANA / GERALD FIEBIG split LP "ACV 1002: Marbled white vinyl 12” LP in unique hand-painted sleeve, limited edition of 100 File under: Drone, Ambient, Experimental The second release in attenuation circuit’s Vinyl Series of split LPs in unique hand-painted covers brings together US experimental music icon and long-term label activist Al Margolis aka If, Bwana and German audio artist Gerald Fiebig. Their shared method of arranging recorded acoustic sounds into digital compositions led them to also share some of the sound material used on the respective sides of this album, which offers a richness of textures from quirky improv-style passages to calm drones and processed field recordings. If, Bwana interweaves two tracks based on the sounds of very different wind instruments: Recorders, played by himself, and sounds of a church organ played by Fiebig at Mecklenburgisches Orgelmuseum, a former church turned organ museum in the North German town of Malchow. “Recorders in Augsburg” is a complex layering of several short melodic phrases played on the recorders, exploiting their higher registers in a way that makes them sound almost like lo-fi electronics although the sounds are not heavily processed. A very rhythmic, mercurial piece which eludes any attempt on the listener’s part to settle onto one continuous ‘beat,’ “Recorders” fades into “Fie’s Big Organ.” This piece layers pitch-shifted excerpts from the original organ session to create a rather tranquil, drone-ambient feel in the spirit of If, Bwana’s recent releases on his own Pogus label as well as Mutable Music and the live album “crossgrained” on attenuation circuit. http://attenuationcircuit.wix.com/attenuation-circuit#!__crossgrained Gerald Fiebig’s piece “Sustained Development” combines other excerpts from the acoustic organ and recorder material and combines it with both acoustic and electric guitar samples, provided by Mathias Huber and Jesus Jackson, Fiebig’s colleagues from his pop trio Jesus Jackson und die grenzlandreiter and processed by labelmate EMERGE. Other ingredients are electric organ sounds and field recordings made with an “electric recorder.” Fiebig’s subtle, quiet drone/ambient piece is mainly based on slow loops fading in and out, like breath or groundswell. Even more than the If, Bwana tracks, the sound processing on this side of the LP constantly plays tricks on the listener who wants to pinpoint whether any particular sound is ‘acoustic’ or ‘electric’ in origin." [label info] "Although best known for their CDR and online releases, Attenuation started to release vinyl too, and this is their second release. Like the previous release this is split release, here with If, Bwana and Gerald Fiebig. Both of them have had a number of releases on this label. They use each other sound sources, but which leads to different results. On the If, Bwana side we find the sound of recorders as taped by Al Margolis, mister Bwana himself, and organ recordings by Fiebig. Apparently, according to the info, we have two pieces here, one of each instrument. In the 'usual' methods applied by If, Bwana all of these sounds are layered together, not unlike Phill Niblock would (with whom If, Bwana tours every now and then). Chopped into small loops, on a constant repeat mission, but never starting at the same time, forms a rather dense mass of sound. Many layers should be understand many, maybe even 1,000 or so. The recorder piece is slightly dissonant it seems and has an edginess which I don't think I heard before in If, Bwana's music. It just as easily moves over into the organ piece, which applies a similar technique, but which is slightly more 'melodic' and less dissonant and maybe more what you would expect of such drone like sounds. It's something I rather enjoy, very much. This is maybe the lo-fi version of Niblock, but it's one that works quite well. Now Fiebig, on the other side, may use the same recorder and organ sounds, he also adds the acoustic guitar of Jesus Jackson (processed by Emerge), the electric guitar of Mathias Huber and an electric recorder which he played himself. Here more is indeed less. You could expect a lot more sounds, and even more density than If, Bwana does, but it's not something like that at all. Fiebig distributes the sounds quite sparsely over the course of his side. It moves very slowly, back and forth between the different sources and just sometimes you recognize the acoustic guitar, or the recorder. Sometimes playing together, but it seems that a lot of the times they are on their own, like stars at night - moving solely in the firmament. That seems to be the case here, with very occasional interaction. If that happens, in what seems to be the middle of the record, small melodies are formed around carefully placed crackles, slowly moving a gentle drone in to fade out in the end. Nice, gentle music . Perhaps the most gentle music I encountered on this label. Pressed on white vinyl, which is perhaps not the most optimum for this delicate music." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2013 €23.00
IGOR BARDO My Sweet Nightmare CD "Igor Bardo is a Russian musician and sound artist, best known from Bardoseneticcube, one of the leading experimental/post-industrial groups from Russia. My Sweet Nightmare is Igor Bardo’s debut solo album, containing about one hour of first class psychedelic electronic listening music. The surrealist soundscapes will be instantly embraced by fans of Bardoseneticcube, yet the artist manages to conquer heaps of new ground at the same time, and takes us on an adventurous journey deep down into the rabbit hole. Themes such as religion, psychedelia, sleep paralysis etc. are explored with eerie atmospheres, bliss-inducing frequencies and cutting edge studio experiments." [label info] www.someplaceelse.net "Some Place Else is a label based in Finland. My Sweet Nightmare is the debutalbum of the Russian soundartist and musician Igor Bardo. He is member of Bardoseneticube, an experimental/post-industrial group from Russia and is formed in 1998. This band released a lot of albums all over the world and they are wellknown as a powerful audiovisual live-performance act. The band ended in 2010. Bardo describes his album "My Sweet Nightmare" as a surrealistic album. The album is well composed and most compositions have a mix of recognizable sounds of musical structures like jazzy drums, religions chants or militaristic marches. He combines lots of different elements of music and sounds. Some tracks have an ambient noise style. The mixing between highly electronic sounds and fresh field-recordings and natural sound is well chosen. Old recordings of folk songs are mixed with ongoing electronic soundwaves and he creates a new old world. ?The end of the end? is a track with the shouting voice of Adolf Hitler. He samples his terrifying voice who evokes to destroy all Jews in the great German Reich with bombastic beats and chords. The song becomes more and more abstract and personal. But for me this song has nothing to do with a sweet nightmare. The track grabs my by the throat and my stomach starts turning. Real physical music, no more, no less. Highly recommended and real surprise for experimental ears and people with a strong stomach." [JKH/Vital Weekly] 2011 €13.00
IKONEN Zeitschrift für Kunst, Kultur und Lebensart Nr. 12 (Winter 2008/2009) mag "New issue of the stylish black & white magazine on extreme (sub)culture and art, this issue focussing on: Kenneth Anger (new interview!), Park Chan-wook (interview), Dawn & Dusk Entwined (interview), Tarkowskij, Malaparte, John Waters, modern primitive photo artist Lukas Zpira, featuring exclusive photoessay by Helmut Wolech and Josef Dvorak.Reviews of Gitane Demone, Syberberg, Contrastate, Con-Dom, Wertham, Herbst9, Vortex, Raison d'être etc. 68 pages, German language" [publishers house announcement] www.ikonenmagazin.de 2008 €7.00
ILLUSION OF SAFETY Probe CD "This is the first re-issue OF ILLUSION OF SAFETY's PROBE since its only appearance in 1992. In a limited edition of 500 copies, Perdition Plastics is proud to reintroduce this notable work of contemporary composition. Veteran provocateurs, ILLUSION OF SAFETY, examine an audio landscape found between youth and innocence, manufactured entertainment, and suburban complacency. Using a pastiche of field recordings and suggestively composed elements, Dan Burke and Jim O'Rourke strikingly capture ambivalence and their own personal interactions within this environment. PROBE was one of several early, pinnacle works to foreshadow the unique and prolific audio fingerprint of renowned producer/player, Jim O'Rourke, when still a compositional student in Chicago. This release fits neatly into O'Rourke's recent issuing OF forgotten and initial recordings. As the constant center OF ILLUSION OF SAFETY since 1983, Dan Burke has consistently edited and evolved more than 20 CDs from ambience to electronica, from sound collage to post-industrial noise. The complexity and restraint found within PROBE marked a compelling new direction for Burke and a great many others influenced by his music. ILLUSION OF SAFETY has been released by such labels as Die Stadt, Experimedia, Silent, Soleilmoon, Staalplaat, Tesco, and Waystyx among others. Collaborations include Cheer-Accident, Thomas Demuzio, Kevin Drumm, Ben Vida, and others. PROBE will be of interest to those who enjoy Hafler Trio, Throbbing Gristle, Luc Ferrari, etc." [label info] www.perditionplastics.com "This is not a review but merely a historical, personal ramble. In 1992 I started working for Staalplaat, buying and selling stuff, and helping out getting those strange packages done. One of the bands that already had a great package, before my time, was Illusion Of Safety, whose 'Historical' was packed in a leather pouch with a real bullet. Both Staalplaat and Korm Plastics, my own small venture, were in contact with Illusion Of Safety's main man Dan Burke and Jim O'Rourke, who was then a main collaborator with Burke. This resulted in 'Disengage', still one of the top 10 releases by Staalplaat, along with 'Probe' by Illusion Of Safety. The first 500 were packed in a wooden box with a real Italian coin and toy money from former Eastern Germany (an additional 500 were sold in the same wooden box, but without the monies). Illusion Of Safety were on a peak with that CD, or perhaps a watershed mark (otherwise you may think they never reached another peak again) is a better word. Before that Illusion Of Safety was, perhaps, 'another' fine band of harsh and less harsh industrial music as a bigger outfit with a varying line up. Towards the end of the era of releasing cassettes, which culminated in the fine but highly obscure 'RVE' tape, Jim O'Rourke became a member, bringing a love of composed music to the table, not just musique concrete but also the like of Scelsi. The music of Illusion Of Safety changed and on 'Probe', as said being here just Dan Burke & Jim O'Rourke, this culminated in that first highlight. All of the influences from before and new ones, melted together in this great disc of musique concrete. Many field recordings are used, along with piercing electronics at times, bowed guitars at others. Sometimes stretching out seemingly ad infinitum, but then sometimes abruptly changing color, speed, intensity, mood, texture and/or atmospherics. An absolute great work of sound collage, bridging musique concrete, electro-acoustics, improvisation, industrial music and ambient. Still a highlight of a career, and great to see back in print - even when the cover is not on par with the original. [FdW / Vital Weekly] "Arguably the finest Illusion Of Safety record ever made, Probe was the 1992 recording composed by Dan Burke and Jim O'Rourke. The former began Illusion Of Safety a decade earlier with a revolving door personnel policy involving a handful of Chicago malcontents. O'Rourke began working with Burke's project around 1989 or so, when he was still a teenager and studying composition in college. Where many of the Illusion Of Safety albums are full-frontal assaults on the psyche of the listener (especially the groundbreaking album Historical with its raw use of narration from torture documentaries), Probe is a far more subtle and thus effective album marked by the extended use of disturbed silences, predating such sound design techniques that David Lynch mastered in Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway. This use of space is definitely coming from the O'Rourke side of the equation (which according to Burke was 50/50 on Probe), as O'Rourke's early solo album Scend was released at about the same time as Probe with profound similarities. Throughout the subsonic frequencies and unsettled spooky drones, there are numerous punctures of analogue sourced micro- bleeping, errata from shortwave, scrabbling of tactile objects, field recordings of traffic jams, children at play, carnival rides, etc. and jittery digitally sculpted loops. As all of these elements slowly unfurl over several lengthy chapters, Probe truly synthesizes the aesthetics of both Burke and O'Rourke into a cohesive body of work, with Burke's research into the dark and transgressive balanced with O'Rourke's studies into the musique concrete of Luc Ferrari and Michel Chion. Staalplaat first released Probe in a wooden slipcase in an edition of 500 copies. Those quickly went out of print; but fortunately, Perdition Plastics has just reissued this brilliant album, albeit in more conventional packaging..."[Aquarius Records] 2009 €13.00
ILSE LAU De tinnen mannen CD Das vierte Album der Bremer „keine Schublade gefällig“-Band: noch besser produziert, vertrackter und gewagter in den Harmonien, mit Einsatz von Bläsern, Piano, und Sprechgesang.... if you like RECOMMENDED RECORDS No Wave-Stuff,,,,,if you like THIS HEAT....... if you like Jazzcore-stuff..... if you like CPT. BEEFHEART....... check out the fourth album of this un-categorizable band from the sweetest town in Germany !! „Jetzt machen wir'ne Tanzplatte..." - so sagten sich die drei von Ilse Lau beim Gang ins Studio. Tanzen jetzt aber nicht so, wie man denken würde. Keine Disco, kein Rock'n'Roll, kein Rave. Sondern statt Rockdekonstruktion und grandioser Neuzusammensetzung, bislang auf drei exzellenten Alben mit eigener Handschrift vorexerziert, nunmehr das: gerade Takte, vergleichsweise knappe, entschlackte Kompositionen. Erstmals zusätzlich akzentuiert durch gelegentliche Gesangseinlagen. Die Band hat sich gründlich neu erfunden. Ilse nimmt ihre HörerInnen auf Album Nummer 4 ganz freundlich bei der Hand, trägt auch in dieser Saison jenen zarten Dub-Hauch-von-einem-Schleier, der ihr schon im letzten Sommer so gut stand. Dabei ist Ilse Lau immer noch von ganzem Herzen den entlegeneren Regionen fortschrittlicher Rockmusik zugetan - Captain Beefheart, Pere Ubu oder U.S. Maple zum Beispiel -, hat aber das Wissen darum derart durchdrungen, dass sie leichter Hand daraus etwas ganz Eigenes machen kann, das ihre bisherigen Alben zusammenfasst und in eine verbindliche Form überführt. Kompakter, zupackender als zuvor klingt das Trio auf "de tinnen mannen", spielt funky, lässt Gäste strahlende Bläsersätze setzen, und manchmal klingt gar eine Art Drum'n'Bass-Beat an. Ihre reifste Platte bis zum heutigen Tag. "[Andreas Schnell] „Still one of our favourite German avant-rock bands, this guitar/bass/drums trio from Bremen. Never thought themselves capable of vocals, but now for the first time they’re giving it a go in a couple of tracks.” [Worm] 2004 €13.00
IN CAMERA untitled LP After many years of silence a new release on this small but fine south-german label ! IN CAMERA is the new project of CHRISTOPH HEEMANN (of MIRROR and HNAS–fame) and TIMO VAN LUIJK (ex NOISE MAKER’S FIFES, now ASRA & AF URSIN). They present here an improvised, minimal & very uneffected “concrete” instrumental drone-ambience, very slow & calm but also full of tiny details & “small sounds”. Quite different from what both did before, VOLCANIC TONGUE calls this “hand-carved drones”, which is an appropriate description definitely.... 2005 €17.50
INADE The Axxiarm Plains (SOLD OUT) 7inch dark and mystical 'archaic music' concerning on the development of today's consciousness - this E.P. deals with russian painter & poet MAJAKOWSKI Released April 1995 "Surely, one of the most intense projects from the new States of capitalistic Germany, INADE have released only two tapes so far which showed their ability to create a deep droning dimension of their own. This project rises vom Saxony and is one of the groups involved with THE LOKI FOUNDATION (which also includes the works of DAGDA MOR, MK ULTRA & IRON WILL). This first vinyl-release of INADE is based on the ideas of Russian poet & painter MAJAKOWSKI. INADE describe the psychological and sociological process of breaking the bounds of modern society as MAJAKOWSKI wanted to do it - with the result of creating something new, becoming constructive in a positive and very conscious manner. This process is perfectly expressed by INADE's awesome monumental gloomy surroundings. Experience their unique 'movement and construction'!" [label info] 1995  
  The Crackling of the Anonymous (re-press) CD The second album of Inade after two tapes (Schwerttau, Burning Flesh) and Aldebaran CD (1996). Orginally reelased in 2001 as digipack CD and double LP. With The Crackling Of The Anonymous, Inade move beyond all preconceived notions of sonic creativity. The plethora of puzzle pieces that interconnect in the expanding universe that Inade unwaveringly explores have grown amorphous, no longer defined by distinct outlines, melding as one whole, obscure entity. The expansion comes in many levels, incorporating the vast parameters of time, dimension and reality as viable participants in Inade's aural objective: to shine a light on the enigmatic unknown and give it a vague silhouette. The dark and hallucinatory masterwork that is The Crackling Of The Anonymous, is constructed via the never heard utterances of the void, while tapping into the psyche of the impossible. A stunning release that defies all logic because it creates its own. https://loki-found.bandcamp.com/album/the-crackling-of-the-anonymous "INADEs zweites Studio-Album befasst sich kryptisch mit dem Aufspüren der tiefliegenden Kräfte des Unfaßbaren & Unergründlichen, den Wurzeln des Bewußtseins, die letztlich ins Unendliche führen. Der Sound hat sich gewandelt seit „Aldebaran“, ist noch symphonischer, dichter & melancholischer geworden, geisterhafte Stimmeneinspielungen & Effekte, repetitive Vibrationen und Pulsare tauchen auf... eindrucksvoll werden archaische Erlebnis- und Gewühlsweisen heraufbeschworen...für psychognostische Erfahrungen bestens geeignet & musikalisch von atemberaubender Weite und Schönheit! The fantastic second studio-album for the east-german dark ambient industrial band, dealing with the power of infinite existence. This is the limited vinyl-version !!" [old Drone Rec. info] 2024 €13.00
IRR.APP. (ext.) Kreiselwelle CD "Das ist nun - nach Ozeanische Gefühle und Cosmic Superimposition - der abschließende Teil von M. S. Waldrons Trilogie über den Freudo-Marxisten, Faschismusund Orgontheoretiker und Parawissenschaftler Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957). Reich war der Auffassung, dass der von ihm postulierte ‚Orgonenergie-Ozean‘ 'Lebensenergie‘ in Form von ‚Kreiselwellen‘ ausstrahlt, die sich visuell, thermisch, elektroskopisch und mit Hilfe des Geiger-Müller-Zählers nachweisen lassen. Waldron spielt entsprechend mit ‚Spiral-Klängen‘, Spiralfedern, dem Geräusch anbrandender, ‚lappender‘ Wellen, Luftwirbeln, aufziehbarem Spielzeug etc. Rasselnde, pulsierende, blubbrig unkende, wie Whirlies sirrende und automatisch klappernde Geräusche mischen sich mit elementaren zu einem unruhigen Gedröhn. Die an- und abflauenden Erregungszustände sind Teil eines Kontinuums von gut einer Dreiviertelstunde. Schritte zu Beginn und zwischendurch vage Stimmfetzen im Hintergrund deuten an, dass der Mensch in diesem Energiefluss, diesem Kontinuum von Wirbeln mitschwingt." [Bad Alchemy] " irr. app. (ext.) is the sound-engineering project of Californian M.S. Waldron, whose liminal slippages and detourned croons have been spotted recently on stage in Nurse With Wound. Yet for all of the antics that are required for the NWW spectacle, Mr. Waldron still dedicates himself in the parallel pursuits of irr. app. (ext.) with a discography that reads more like a wunderkammer of uncanny investigations into futility declared as its reverse. Kreiselwelle is the third and final installment to a body of works that irr. app. (ext.) has composed under the influence of Wilhelm Reich, the unorthodox 20th Century psychologist who proposed amongst many hypotheses, an interconnectivity between energy, organisms, and the entire cosmos. The title to this album translates as ‘spiral wave,’ a structuralist form which Reich had observed throughout nature within numerous systems, whether that be the grand arcs of galaxies down to the radial symmetries of micro-organisms. For Kreiselwelle, Mr. Waldron returns to the same collection of field recordings which began this trilogy that includes Ozeanische Gefühle and Cosmic Superimposition; however, he restricted himself to those sounds with spiralling origins: resonating springs, the sounds of the ocean cyclically churning over pebbles on the beach, the wafting of air around various objects, or simply a lamp-shade spinning in place. The resulting recording develops as an organic sublimation of one sound transforming from one state into another and then another. Motorized sounds of mechanical toys set askew settle into a tremolo phase pattern of electrical vibrations. These in turn morph into a cauldron of slow locomotive rumbling, which beget one of many glassine drones that float throughout Kreiselwelle. Many of the sounds seem to have origins in objects that are broken, obsolete, or just plain wrong; but through Waldron’s deft alchemy, these sounds are allowed to flourish in this richly dark and oddly serene amalgamation." [label info] "...[as] for the ultra-fantastic soundwork of Irr. App. (Ext.), this Californian composer has been baffling and perplexing the ears of international listeners for not a few years now, and his new Kreiselwelle, a single 45-minute work of strange process music, is a slow voyage into the unknown. Within minutes, we're taken far beyond the relatively familiar world of "dark ambient" and enter a murky field of immersive and twisted shapes, where possible danger lurks at every corner. Conceptually rooted in an interpretation of the works of Wilhelm Reich, Kreiselwelle is the third part of a trilogy and connect with the "spiral waves" of the title, derived all of its sounds from things shaped like spirals (such as metal springs, or the circular movement of the ocean). In like manner, M. S. Waldron's composition will probably suck you into a whirlpool of doubt and ambiguity." [Ed Pinsent / The Sound Projector] www.helenscarsdale.com "Kreiselwelle is the conclusion to a superb trilogy from irr. app. (ext.) who used the words, philosophies, and eccentricities of Wilhelm Reich as the springboard into a realm of post-Surrealist, post-industrialist, post-drone arena of sound design. While a prominent European psychoanalyst, whose ideas could be seen as an occasional counterpoint to those of Freud, Reich may be best known for his parascientific research into Orgone energy, which he claimed was central and unifying force of life throughout the universe. Much of this latter research has been discredited and unfortunately shed a cloud of incredulity upon his psychoanalytic work. While Reich's claims of cloud-busting and orgone therapy offer particularly strong metaphors, M.S. Waldron - the principle architect to irr. app. (ext.) - has looked more to the psychological aspects of Reich's work. Kreiselwelle translates from the German as spiral wave or gyroscopic wave, and points to the similarities which Reich had noted in the structures of microscopic organisms, turbulent wave patterns, and spiral-arm galaxies. Through this trilogy (which also includes Ozeanische Gefuhle and Cosmic Superimposition), Waldron mirrors Reich's early cosmology through a compositional fluidity that alludes to contemporary drone fascination, constructed through overlapping collages, occluded field recordings, sustained tones from atypical instruments, and crosshatched synthetic noises. All three of these albums were sourced from the same set of field recordings, but each detours into its own particular wandering. Kreiselwelle begins with a very slow hypnotic strum across a detuned guitar with liquid tactility and a warped distance buzz filling in the gaps. Grand sweeps of slashing drones that could originate from an echoing chainsaw deep in the woods forms an unlikely crescendo with sympathetic tones, only to collapse into the softened white noise of cars passing by. Soon after, a rhythmic tapping of agitated electronics forms a motorik rhythm against the tapestry of audio fluidity, with all of the electro-shock bursts of a tesla coil. This in turn morphs into a cauldron of slow locomotive rumbling, which beget one of many glassine drones that float throughout Kreiselwelle. For fans of any of work of Nurse With Wound (after all Mr. Waldron is in the NWW touring ensemble!), H.N.A.S., and the more esoteric recordings of Organum; and certainly of note for those of you taken by Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words, Xela, Svarte Greiner, Expo '70, Emeralds, or any of the darker, weirder, more fucked-up drone ensembles of recent days. Very highly recommended!" [Aquarius Rec.] 2009 €13.00
  Ozeanische Gefühle CD Damn, this is SO GOOD! IRR.APP (ext.) zeigt hier, dass er nicht nur strangeste eher elektro-akustische Soundscapes zusammenschustern kann, sondern auch sehr fliessende, aber leicht “gefährliche” und surrealistische dronescapes, die pulsieren, mäandern, rotieren und einfach LEBEN. In der Tat scheint hier alles in Grenzenlosigkeit zu zerfliessen...... High TIP for Drone-Heads ! “irr. app. (ext) is the work of California-based sound artist Matt Waldron, whose collected body of work is far too important to continue to be forgotten. During the past decade, only two full albums -- Dust Pincher Appliances (2003 on Crouton) and An Uncertain Animal, Ruptured; Tissue Expanding in Conversation (1997 on Fire, Inc.) -- have seen the light of day despite the fact that perhaps a dozen albums have been completed. The public silence for irr. app. (ext) was never by Waldron's design, as numerous recording deals collapsed, one after the other. The story becomes all the more of conundrum as these misadventures of neglect and ignorance occurred despite Waldron's high-profile collaborations with Nurse With Wound and Stilluppsteypa. If a humble organization like the Helen Scarsdale Agency can have its say, then we speak to remove whatever curses that have haunted irr. app. (ext.) in the past and provide the world with the opportunity to revel in the spectacle and the beauty that is Matt Waldron's art. Had things gone differently, Ozeanische Gefühle would have been one of the lost irr. app. (ext.) recordings. That would have been a shame for Ozeanische Gefühle stands as an impeccable composition of post-surrealist dronescaping rivaling such masterpieces as The Hafler Trio's Kill The King, Jonathan Coleclough & Andrew Chalk's Sumac, and Nurse With Wound's Soliloquy For Lilith. The title has origins with Freud and earlier thinkers; yet Waldron came across Ozeanische Gefühle (which translates from the German as "oceanic feelings") in his studies of Wilhelm Reich who referenced the term to describe the natural state of every healthy organism as connected to and engaged with the world around it, with its energies flowing from the center outwards. For Waldron, Reich's ideas became the starting point for a metonymic exercise seeking to discover that which is near a signifier and spiral beyond each successive discovery along a complicated aesthetic thread by way of intuition and accident. The album tumbles through a series of sympathetic dronings, field recordings, and performative gestures, continuously traversing the emotional polarities of psychological tension and externalized jouissance. The album begins with a heavily processed flutter of sustained woodwinds accompanied by thunderous rumbles in the distance before dispersing amidst Bernhard Hermann-esque slashings of discordant strings. Later on, the grotesque pathos of a Wurlitzer organ dissolves into a blackened emptiness that envelopes the complex resonant frequencies from Waldron's slow, deliberate performance upon bowls and bells. Despite the incredible depth of his source materials, Waldron displays an uncanny intellect that reflects all of his wandering passages through the lens of a melancholic ambience. Simply put, Ozeanische Gefühle is a wonder to behold.”[ Helen Scarsdale, June 2004] www.helenscarsdale.com "If anyone has the ability to carry the post-Surrealist torch of Nurse With Wound, it would have to be Matt Waldron through his irr. app. (ext.) project. Like Nurse With Wound's eccentric genius Stapleton, Waldron would never qualify himself as a Surrealist, but it's a good jumping off point to describe their respective works. With Ozeanische Gefuhle, Waldron establishes irr. app. (ext.) establishes himself as one of the most gifted sound-sculptors whose work have passed through the doors of Aquarius. If you've ever picked up any drone / minimalist / ambient records or even just anything that Andee has poetically described as 'completely fucked', then you owe it yourself to pick up Ozeanische Gefuhle. This review could ramble on and on, but let's cut to the chase and state the obvious, this album is brilliant. Strangely enough, Ozeanische Gefuhle -- as great as it is -- almost disappeared into the ether, as it was slated for release a few years back on another label who just sat on it for years, much to the chagrin of Mr. Waldron. Fortunately, the good people at the Helen Scarsdale Agency rectified the situation and made sure this album got its due recognition. The title itself is an allusion to Wilhelm Reich, who used the term to describe the natural state of every healthy organism as connected to and engaged with the world around it. Such ideas in lesser hands would result in limp idylltronica with New Age sentimentality; but this is not the case for irr. app. (ext.), who solidly grounds this record upon a fundamental drone, which slinks its way through numerous field recordings and performative gestures. Waldron's masterpiece emerges as a tidal current of electronic sound, rumbling through blackened spaces and soaring with divine expressivity. As good if not better than anything by Nurse With Wound, Organum, :zoviet france:, Phill Niblock, and the Hafler Trio. Yeah, it's that good!" [Aquarius Rec.] 2004 €14.00
ISOMER Face toward the Sun CD Drittes Album für das australische "old school" Projekt, wellende und pulsierende Analog-Synths sind hier omnipräsent und werden mit agigatorischem Stimm-Material angereichert. Aggressiver und eher "true Industrial" als zuvor.. "Isomer's third cd with Tesco takes a sharp turn toward more aggressive territory, with the raw industrial hinted at in previous outings getting a proper airing. The dark ambient textures for which he is known still feature, but Face Toward the Sun forges new stylistic ground for the project. From the throbbing electronics of the opening track, through power electronics, walls of noise, violent vocal deliveries and carefully structured dark ambience, this is a characteristically varied album. Never one to shy from a dirty old blending of styles, a nice little martial ditty even makes an appearance for the militant in all of us. Face Toward the Sun was assembled from improvisations, previously unused material and nights of MS-20 hard-ons, making a lusty, varied album of industrial music. Some of the tracks here has been already presented on the well received DVD Cold Meat Live in Australia, where Isomer delivered one of the most surprising gigs of the festival. The studio versions of the tracks here will appeal to listeners of martial industrial as well as to an industrial dark ambient audience. Presented in a double gatefold digipack with potent imagery, total running time: 58 min. This cd comes highly recommended." [label info] www.tesco-germany.com 2009 €14.00
JACASZEK & KWARTLUDIUM Catalogue des Arbres CD "CD - 8 tracks - 46:06 Track listing and notes: 1. Sigh (Les peupliers) 2. Green hour 3. A book of lake (Roselière) 4. Garden (Les sureaux) 5. From a seashell 6. Circling (Le pré) 7. Anthem (La forêt) 8. Kingdom (Les chênes, les bouleaux) For the past decade or so, Polish musician Michal Jacaszek has been exploring a new, resolutely modern chapter in Eastern Europe’s long, storied love affair with classical music. His creations are painstakingly crafted collages of electronic textures and baroque instrumentation, harpsichords being swarmed by woolly static one minute and pulled apart by billowing wind the next. A push-and-pull tension runs deep and constant throughout. Ambient music is rarely so sonically challenging. Jacaszek has recorded for Ghostly International, Miasmah, Gusstaff Records and Experimedia and other labels. This is his first release for Touch. Michał Jacaszek writes: "When poets and writers declare their enchantment for the forms of nature, they often use musical terms as methaphors. Visual artists' creations often resemble graphic partitas, when recapturing the rhythms of landscapes.Confirming, in a way, these musical intuitions, composers write great music deeply inspired by birdsongs, wind rustlings, waves repetitions etc. Making "Cataloguge des Arbres”, my ambition was to join this broad artistic movement devoted to natural phenomena and find my own way to describe trees: their forms, atmosphere and mystery. I have started with "open air" recordings, capturing mainly leaves'' rustlings - from different distances, in different locations and weather conditions. This collection of nature recordings was transformed into a kind of "organic drone" and becomes a main background for instrumental and voice improvisations. My initial inspiration here was Olivier Messiaen's' bird songs transcriptions for piano – the composer's work title "Catalogue d'Oiseaux" I have paraphrased on my album . A piano, clarinets, violin and percussion parts, performed by the Kwartludium ensemble, were electronically processed, and afterwards all this electro-acoustic material was turned into a collection of 8 soundscapes - forgotten songs performed secretly by my beloved trees." composed, recorded and produced by Michał Jacaszek | additional composing and all instrumental parts performed by Kwartludium | Voice parts (tracks 1, 8) performed by 441 Hz chamber choir | Additional clarinet parts (tracks 2, 3) performed by Andrzej Wojciechowski Grand piano recorded by Cezary Joczyn at Gdańsk Academy of Music Kwartludium are Dagna Sadkowska: violin | Michał Górczyński: clarinet, bass clarinet | Paweł Nowicki: percussion | Piotr Nowicki: grand piano Biography: Michał Jacaszek lives in Gdansk, Poland. Author and producer of electroacoustic music, composer of soundtracks and theatre music, and sound artist. He is a curator of C3 Festival /Club Contemporary Classical/. Member of Polish Society for Electro-acoustic Music. Michał Jacaszek lives in Gdansk, Poland. Jacaszek gained Grand Prix at "Dwa Teatry" Festival for music composed for the play "Golgota Wrocławska" directed by Jan Komasa. "Walking underwater" a documentary by E. Kubarska with music by Jacaszek has recently been awarded The Special Jury Prize at Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto. He has performed in USA (Unsound New York, Communikey, Hopscotch), in Canada (Mutek ), in Great Britain (Fertilizer Festival, Apha Ville Festival), in Nederlands (Urbanexplorer Festival), in Belgium (Fereejen Festival), Portugal, Sweden (Volt Festival), Slovakia, Germany, Ukraine and Russia (Electro-Mechanica Festival); as well as in Poland at the most important festivals: Heineken Opener Festival, Off Festival, Unsound Festival, Astigmatic. www.jacaszek.com www.kwartludium.com www.touchmusic.org.uk "From the outside it may seem that Touch always works with the same artists and to some extent that's probably true. What's wrong with that? They act as a proper record label, not working on a project-to-project basis, but push a limited of artists. But sometimes an entirely new name pops up, such as Michal Jacaszek from Poland, who is a composer of soundtracks and theatre music, as well as a curator for various festivals. His previous work was released by Ghostly International Miasmah, Gustaff Records and Experimedia, although I must say I didn't hear any of that. Here he works with a quartet called Kwartludium: Dagna Sadkowska on violin, Michal Gorczynski on clarinet and bass clarinet, Pawel Nowicki on percussion and Piotr Nowicki on grand piano. Much like composers have tried to describe animals through instruments (Messiaen, Saint-Saens), Jacaszek wanted to describe trees, 'their forms, atmosphere and mystery'. He started with the recording of leaves rustling and wrote the notes out for the quartet and then, in the final stage, treated everything in a way that is owed to the world of electro-acoustic music. The 441 Hz Chmaber Choir performed some voice parts. Great story, fine music, which carefully balances on the modern classical on one side and electro-acoustic music on the other side. Jacaszek really makes his sounds - whatever source - to have a rustling character, such as in 'Garden (Les Sureaux)' - which rustles all around - the field recordings, the percussion instruments, but also the other instruments making similar gestures. Most of the time this is played introspectively, but not dark, doomy. It's airy music, open, like a mild summer breeze (and with today's sunny weather I can exactly know how that feels), meandering through space, without getting weightless or new age inspired. Jacaszek knows how to create music that is partly gritty, a bit dirty, just off the beaten track. I'm never too fond of anything that is even remotely modern classical, but I must say: this is great!" [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2014 €14.50
JETZMANN Unter die Deutschen mCD-R "On his first solo release in some years, Hamburg based Jetzmann presents an exceptional, unclassifiable piece on AIC. In this combination of spoken word and abstract minimal electroacoustics, the considerable german poet Friedrich Hölderlin (1770-1843) enters the stage with a ( prose ) text taken from his Hyperion. Hölderlin is often mistaken for Romanticism and has been ideologically misused for most miserable occasions. Totally opposed to that, Unter die Deutschen supports the continuously valid notion that the Germans are not necessarily to be trusted..... Jetzmann has published numerous records as member of various band projects, most notably with the duo Jetzmann & Liquidsky on Soleilmoon, The Bog and Cashbeat / ZickZack." [label info] www.0000-anti.info 2007 €7.00
JOHANSSON, SVEN-AKE Konzert für 12 Traktoren pic-LP "The unusual, famous ,Konzert für 12 Traktoren" was only performed a few times by twelve tractors built in the 50s and 60s. A symphony produced by old engines - according to this beautiful project Trost releases a special picture disc vinyl. Sven-Åke Johansson (Mariestad, Sweden, 1943) works as a composer, drummer, accordionist, poet, and visual artist. Longtime collaborator of the free improv scene in the German sixties with Kowald, Brötzmann, Schlippenbach, Reichel. He contributed to numerous exhibitions, publications and recordings. ,The tractors sing about a time passed by. but no future without memories. So the ,Konzert für 12 Traktoren" is as well a piece to praise labour". (Ebbe Gilbe) performed by 12 tractors, 2009 in Orust (SE) composed by Sven-Ake Johansson" [label info] www.trost.at 2015 €29.00
JUPITTER-LARSEN, GX Expanded Slam 10inch " "Expanded Slam" and "Extended Slam", two new compositions by one of America's most consistently explorative and radical artists. Presented in a blazing gatefold package designed by Jupitter-Larsen, including an essay on the permawave, the polywave and the hoopla. Utterly delightful. GX Jupitter-Larsen is an media artist, based in Hollywood, California, who has been active in a number of underground art scenes since the late 1970s. He has been involved in punk rock, mail art, cassette culture, the noise music scene, and zine culture. During the 1990s he was the sound designer for the performances of Mark Pauline's Survival Research Laboratories. His best known work is as the founder of the noise act The Haters, who have performed all over the world, and appear on over 300 CD & record releases. Mastered and cut at D+M, Berlin Edition of 500, vinyl only " [label info] www.hronir.de www.jupitter-larsen.com "Hronir is a small German label, who released two things in the late nineties and five new items only this year. This 10″ is the latest release and is a noise record from G.X. Jupitter-Larsen. I have no idea why its released under his own name, and not by The Haters. Maybe it has to do with profiling as a composer? Maybe a wholly different reason. Two side long pieces here, ‘Expanded Slam’ and ‘Extended Slam’, which may or may not be extensions of eachother. Two sides of loud noise. The scraping of an object onto a surface perhaps, but then within a full distortion package. Loud, vicious noise music. Probably, if you have been paying attention, you would imagine that this is the kind of noise I don’t like, and you are probably right. But over the last twenty-five years I learned to appreciate The Haters quite a lot, and I think the sheer minimal noise of The Haters is great. It is loud and distorted, but also totally captivating. It also fits perfectly into whatever else Jupitter-Larsen does, in his performances and internet work, so unlike youngs boys fiddling with two distortion boxes in their bedroom, this is all encapsulating. Not just a record, but a statement." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2010 €16.00
K-SPACE Going Up CD "These recordings, with their disparate acoustic properties, are overlaid and overlapped to form dense sonic thickets alive with action and event, palpably embedded in the multi-dimensional flux of the world and lived social structures. Human voices conversing, footfalls on frozen ground, a blackbird singing, the sound of the wind or water, the crackling of wood in a fire, audience applause -- sounds from specific sites with their own peculiar resonance and significance leak through the K-Space mesh into the listening present. This layering and the filtering through of discrete geographic and temporal occasions compounds that superimposition already at work in the trio, the piling up and overlap of intense personal experience. Chamzyryn, a bona fide shaman and folk artist; Hodgkinson, academically trained in social anthropology, an exploratory rock musician, composer and radical improviser; Hyder, jazz drummer, free player, inveterate field worker in remote musical worlds." Performed By: Gendos Chamzyryn (Tuva), Tim Hodgkinson (England), Ken Hyder (Scotland)." [press release] "Mit Going Up (Ad Hoc 12) von K-SPACE, einem Trio aus dem Tuva-Throatsänger & Schamanen Gendos Chamzyryn, Tim Hodgkinson mit ‚hawaiian guitar horns, piano corpse & location recordings‘ und dem schottischen Perkussionisten Ken Hyder, teleportiert einen Ad Hoc jenseits von Novosibirsk. Der Name K-Space spielt an auf den russischen Astrophysiker Nicolai Kozyrev (1908-83), Referenzpunkt für ‚Zeropoint energy‘- und Zeitvariabilitätstheorien (-> z.B. http://ascension2000.com/DivineCosmos/ 01.htm). An Kozyrevs ‚torsion energy‘ Phi knüpfen sich Spekulationen über einen Zusammenhang zwischen Phi, Sound und der DNA, der womöglich schamanistischen Praktiken real zugrunde liegen könnte (-> z.B. Sol Luckman: Sound, Intention & Genetic Healing). K-Space praktiziert vor dieser einigermaßen esoterischen Folie neo-schamanistische Soundrituale aus Drumming, Noise und gutturalem Obertonröhren. Art Brut oder scratch-orchestrales Improvising in prosaischen Ohren, ‚healing sounds‘ nach der Formel ‚sound + intention = healing‘ oder Flug- & Zeitmaschine aus Wordsounds + Beats für solche, die zu der Überzeugung neigen, dass in der Kosmischen Schlange ein Gottescode schlängelt. Hodgkinson & Hyder, seit 1979 als Shams zusammen auf dem Schamanenpfad, sind keine Touristen oder blauäugigen New-Ager. Vielfache Reisen zum Bajkal-See und zum Altaj, nach Kyzyl, Barnaul und Akademgorodok, haben ihnen bei ihren ‚Radical Transcultural Initiatives‘ im Zusammenspiel mit lokalen Musikern wie wenigen anderen ‚Westlern‘ ethno- und musikologische Einblicke in die Kultur und Spiritualität Tuvas ermöglicht. Uns Laien vermitteln sie immerhin das Faszinosum absolut uriger Soundkreation. Kozyrevs ‚Zeitmaschine‘ steht auf dem Papier. Going Up krümmt die Raumzeit ganz sinnlich und real so, dass neolithische Archaik und die postmoderne Neugierde auf das Alte, aus dem wir herkommen, zusammenrauschen." [Babyblaue Seiten] www.adhocrecords.com 2005 €14.00
K2 Kinky Tape Collection 1981-1983 do-LP K2 alias Kimihide Kusafuka is one of the most important early 80's japanese noise protagonists in line with Masami Akita (Merzbow) or Hijokaidan and Toshiji Mikawa of Incapacitants with several hundreds of releases and contributions in the past three decades In 1981 he started his musical activity devoting himself solely to recording several different styles of noise-works/music to be released primarily on his own tape-label called Kinky Tape Collection (later changing name to Kinky Musik Institiute) and released around 20 tapes during the coming 4 years with noise-music while the term and genre "noise-music" itself interestingly just established years later. Some of his works he also licensed to other international Tape-Labels such as Schwabenstolz and Stock und Hut Records in Germany or D.D. Records in Japan or contributed to Cassette-Compilations on ZSF, Illusion Productions, De Fabriek, Calypso Now, The era during 1981-1986 was the time of music experiments for Kimihide with 1983 being the most intense year of recordings produced At that time, he had been related to mail art & music and performed metal percussion solo-concerts. Although Kimihide loves the dark and neurotic atmosphere of “ZombieAnatomy” series, he also loves the rhythmic noise work such as “Dance Macabre” and “N.G. Music” and he even recorded electronic pop, avant-garde rock which you can listen to in his project Techno Menses in 1983/84 (released on VOD-Records a few months ago) or Denjubaku in 1982/83 or under his real name Kimihide Kusafuka This 2Lp-Compilation contains the very early period of K2; his previously unreleased first tape work “Student Apathy” which is a kind of music concrete or tape music in modern music as well as three serial works of “ZombieAnatomy” and the more beat noise work “N.G. Musik” and “Dance Macabre”. (Some of these works have been released in the late 80's as a 5 cassettes box by RRRecords, Pathosonico Anatomico”/ K2) www.vinyl-on-demand.com 2014 €26.50
KABUKABU / KLEZMER CHIDESCH performs The KREV Underwater National Anthem # 3 / 4 7 Die "Nationalhymne" des Königreichs Elgaland-Vargaland (KREV) in der afrikanischen und Klezmer Version! Der von LEIF ELGGREN und CM VON HAUSSWOLFF 1992 in Stockholm gegründete Staat besteht aus allen Grenzgebieten / Niemandslanden zwischen anderen Staaten, sowie besonderen Bewusstseinszuständen wie dem hypnagogen Zustand, dem Traum, dem "Territorium der Eskapisten" oder dem virtuellen digitalen Raum. Natürlich braucht so ein Staat auch eine Hymne, Teil 2 der vierteiligen Serie entstand im Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin im Oktober 2006 und enthält zwei wilde live-Versionen von KLEZMER CHIDESCH und KABUKABU.. "These recordings were regally made on 21 October 2006, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin at the opening of the Elgaland-Vargaland Embassy for Germany in the presence of the Kings, Michael I and Leif I, Consul Hans Ulrich Obrist (who made the inauguration speech) and the KREV Ambassador Bernd M. Scherer. This 7” is the second in a series of vinyl acoustic versions of the National Anthems of Elgaland-Vargaland. See also the Mariachi version on Ash 7.2 ~ Ash International, 2007. Genuflections to: Dorothea von Hantelmann and Vera Dorsch. BERLIN AFROBEAT DYNAMITE... Kabukabu Vocals and percussion: Akinola Famson Drums and vocals: Ekow Alabi-Savage Bass and vocals: Patrick Frankowski Trumpet: Daniel Allen Keyboards: Matti Klein Tenor/baritone saxophone: Michael Holder Percussion and vocals: John Famodimu 2005, after the dissolvement of the then only afrobeat band in Berlin “Rhythmtaxi”, the city witnessed the birth of a new offspring of Afrobeat family christened “KABUKABU”(a slogan used in Lagos / Nigeria for Buses used in transporting the masses. The bus not only transports people from one point to another, but also serves as a medium of desseminating news and messages to the people). A band formed by Akinola Famson, Ekow Brown and Patrick Frankowski (pillars of Afro and Reggae scene in Berlin) alongside with other international outstanding musicians, who have dedicated their artistic life to improving on the legacy laid by Fela Kuti “God father of Afrobeat” , an explosive combination of Westafrica rhythms with Funk and Jazz Americas. Irresistable groove travelling round the globe. KABUKABU stands out as the only unbeatable “Afrobeatdynamite”. Through its new style of playing and the introduction of diverse musical acts as well as other indigenous percussive instruments, the band had added a new dimension into the way Afrobeat is being played, taking afrobeat to another level which conforms with the present musical demands of all music lovers without neglecting the original intention of “ANIKULAPO” the initiator . The band had created a musical delicacy termed “Explosive-Afrobeat” through its mix of HipHop, Reggae, Dancehall, Soul, Funk with african traditional elements. This new dimension enables the band to cooperate and work with other solo artist as well as Dj’s and Mc’s e.g. the collaboration work with exotical musicians like JIMI TENOR, TM STEVENS, MFA KERA…etc. With just one year of refining the left overs of Rhythmtaxi, KABUKABU’s just finished EP with “3 delicious tracks” will be release soon. So stay tuned and watch out when next the rhythm bus is passing through your area. Klezmer Chidesch Accordion: Jossif Gofenberg Clarinet: Igor Sverdlov Drums: Mark Szmelkin Double bass: Alexander Franz BERLIN KLEZMER: (the miracle called Klezmer) brings the most cheerful and heart-moving mood in the music halls with its rapid tempo. The four musical souls bring nostalgia, melancholy, love and amusement together in a feeling of life: The Klezmer. Their Klezmer music is particularly facet-rich, since all four musicians have professional music training and an experience of many years. The lovely Band from Berlin, that consists of trained musicians, who originally come from Ukraine and White Russia, plays the original Jewish instruments and the folks music of eastern Europe with a lot of soul and energy. "We play very gladly at your weddings, birthdays and also all other occasions and guarantee for the fact that, our Jewish folks music that comes from the heart will inspire you will draw you along." www.klezmerchidesch.de [full label info] www.ashinternational.com 2007 €7.50
KALLABRIS Shanghai Dortmund 12inch Wieder ungewöhnlich! Kallabristischer Pop ! „Mir träumte von Matrosen..“ ist ein textlicher Bestandteil dieses düster-marinen slow-mo obskur-Hits mit schleppendem Basslauf und einer surrealen Atmosphäre. “This is popmusic at its best! Rough and with edges to every side. A shanty-ballad, a waltz and droning chillouts, perfectly arranged, showing the overwhelming musical skills and poetic genius of Kallabris. This 12” submarine will take the club-scene by storm, definitely. // Popmusik, wie sie sein muß! Rauh und kantig. Eine Shanty- Ballade, ein Walzer und dröhnende Chillouts - perfekt arrangiert - demonstrieren Kallabris überwältigende musikalische Fähigkeiten sowie sein poetisches Genie. Dieses 12“ U-Boot wird unzweifelhaft die Club-Szene im Sturm erorbern.“ [Ellen Persons] “ Kallabris have musical craftsmanship, artistic vision and a sense of finding the balance between humor, entertainment and melancholy that makes them rather unique. As the first release I heard by them I think they're definitively one of the most outstanding acts of current German music and not to miss.” [Brainwashed] 2002 €10.00
81° n.Br., 178° ö.L. (SOLD OUT) 7 "Since many years, this is the first release of an anonymous project from Germany which is linked with the CoC/Cranioclast –family. This record describes a very cold place, with high frequenced & feedbacked effects, accordeon, long & deep gong-drones, and strange voices coming from underneath. We think this is as brilliant as their legendary "Hafalgar" 10" from 1990. Welcome to this magical mystery tour! Beautiful golden vinyl, handprinted covers on raw paper, contains extra-inlay with a strange explorer-story..." Drone Records info August 1998 "Three mysterious new E.P.s for holographic minds" 1998  
Kettenwindel Bingo CD-R "Another odd but somehow beautiful release for this wondrous german project. KETTENWINDEL (= chain–diaper) consists of 13 minimal tracks with a short playtime which combine strange rhythms & pulses, kind of oriental melodies, bizarre sounds & voice-samples, accordeon-tunes & popmusic-found sounds, but all merged to something like dark coloured “songs”, designed for careful listening. Really unique." [orig. Drone Records info for KETTENWINDEL] klappstuhl.bandcamp.com/album/kettenwindel-bingo 2018 €10.00
  Red Circle LP On “Red Circle”: Though severely cut, Red Circle doesn't exactly sweep along. It has a deliberate pace as Kallabris sets up the score of thirteen chance acquaintances who plan and carry out the sacking of our acoustic consciousness... Understatement is the method of these compositions for a small modular synthesizer. If there ever was something like heist music, this here surely is. (Vincent Canby, with a few minor changes and adaptions) https://aufabwegen.bandcamp.com/album/red-circle "A few other projects came in the slipstream of Germany's Cranioclast, such as ABGS, Core, and Kallabris. That was in the late 80s and early 90s. I always assumed they were just different names for the same people making music together. At one point, much later, I realized this was an independent project and only connected through the CoC label. Behind Kallabris is Michael Anacker, and since the mid-80s, there has been a string of releases and even the odd concert, so there is hardly much mystery. As I play 'Red Circle', I think Kallabris embraced the modular synthesizer community. The eleven pieces have that modern electronic feel of carefully constructed tones and fragmented cracks. Much to my surprise, I read in the information that "technical and compositional innovation is not at the core the group's work but the active engagement with the limitations and the objects of everyday life". Plus, Kallabris "has persistently neglected any usage of advanced recording technology", which doesn't exclude the use of modular synthesis, but I found it at least remarkable. The press information calls his set a "small modular synthesizer", which, last time I looked, seemed out of my financial league. I found these pieces to be most enjoyable, even when it is all a bit abstract and distant. There are a few sounds here and there, but it never completely shuts off. On a first encounter, the music had an aleatoric feeling, but after some repeated playing, it turns out that there is order in this madness; or, maybe, I recognized order in what remained chaos? Hard to tell, but every time I heard it, it grew further on me. Interesting album!" [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2023 €18.50
KAMPEN SKOLES MUSIKKORPS performs The KREV Underwater National Anthem 7 Die "Nationalhymne" des Königreichs Elgaland-Vargaland (KREV) in der norwegischen Version! Der von LEIF ELGGREN und CM VON HAUSSWOLFF 1992 in Stockholm gegründete Staat besteht aus allen Grenzgebieten / Niemandslanden zwischen anderen Staaten, sowie besonderen Bewusstseinszuständen wie dem hypnagogen Zustand, dem Traum, dem "Territorium der Eskapisten" oder dem virtuellen digitalen Raum. Natürlich braucht so ein Staat auch eine Hymne, auf dieser 7" hören wir den 24köpfigen Marschmusik-Verein "KAMPEN SKOLES MUSIKKORPS", einen der ältesten Norwegens. Unglaublich, aber WAHR. Aufgenommen im März 2008 von JANA WINDEREN. "Numbered edition of 500. This 7' is the third in a series of vinyl acoustic versions of the National Anthems of Elgaland-Vargaland. See also the Mariachi version [Ash 7.2] and the Klezmer and Afrobeat versions [Ash 7.4], both issued in 2007 via Ash International. Kampen Skoles Musikkorps consists of around 24 musicians aged from 9 to 16. It was founded in 1906 and is the third oldest school marching band in Norway. Recorded on 12 March 2008 at Kampen Skole in Oslo. The KREV Underwater National Anthem was recorded under MS Reichenau on the occasion of the Annexation of the Bodensee (Lake Constance) including Überlinger See, Zeller See, Gnadensee, Untersee and the Insel Mainau (Island of Mainau), formerly a part of Switzerland, Austria, Germany, by the Kingdoms of Elgaland-Vargaland on Wednesday, 28 May 2008. In attendance were Kings Michael I & Leif I, The KREV Ambassadors for Basel, UK and Zürich; The Minister of Galleries and many others. Recorded using Dolphin Ear hydrophones and a Nagra Ares PÐ11 flash recorder whilst The Emmishofer Brass Band and The Diessenhofen Yodelling Choir performed With thanks to Adrian Notz at Cabaret Voltaire, Richard Tisserand at Kunstraum Kreuzlingen and Stefan M. Seydel at (((rebell.tv)))." [label info] www.ashinternational.com 2008 €7.50
KAPITAL No New Age CD "Rafal Iwański - tone generator, analog synthesizer, sampling unit, electronic effects Kuba Ziołek - electric guitar, electronic effects, loop system Kapital is an encounter of two artists that usually penetrate different musical genres and ideas. It is an encounter of two musical worlds: psychoactive electro-acoustic music generated with electronic instruments and found objects and extreme psychedelia based on the sounds of processed guitar. Zio?ek and Iwan'ski worked together for the first time during recording sessions of improvisational group Innercity Ensemble formed in 2011. In August of 2013 they recorded in Bory Tucholskie their debut album titled "No New Age" that will be released by Bocian Records in the March of 2014." [label info] kapital0.bandcamp.com www.bocianrecords.com "Hati member Rafal Iwanski meets up with Kuba Ziolek (also known as Stana Rzeka) and they call themselves Kapital. It's one of his incarnations I didn't hear of before. They played in their homeland Poland, but also in New York, earlier this year. I understand that the material on this CD was recorded after playing three concerts, but they still play parts of this in their concerts. Iwanski plays tone generator, analog synthesizer, sampling unit and electronic effects, while Ziolek plays electric guitar, electronic effects and loop system. It's perhaps not really the kind of music you would expect on Bocian Records (known for radical improvisation, radical electronics), and I think that is mainly due to the guitar of Ziolek. While Iwanski plays his electronics in a deep, bouncing atmospheric bath of sound, Ziolek waves on top guitar lines that owe to the world of psychedelic music and perhaps less to whatever is radical in both improvisation and electronics. Having said that, this doesn't mean this is a bad album; it's just one that is a bit different from what we heard on Bocian so far. His guitar doodling reminds me of lots of seventies German guitarists, but it's whatever it is that Iwanski is doing that prevents it from becoming cosmic in any way. It's here where the album has its experimental roots and where I enjoy this more than I would do if it had leaning more towards krautrock. It seems as if Ziolek is the grandson of Manuel Gottsching, who has been surrounding himself with the crudest of current technology as opposed to the smoothest. That's what I like about this album. Old meeting new, vibrant pieces, spacious but gritty, atmospheric and disturbing. Quite likely one of the last releases on Bocian Records, as rumour has this label will cease to exist shortly." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2014 €10.00
KASTEL, SILVIA Air Lows LP Air Lows is the debut solo album by Silvia Kastel. The Italian artist has been a fixture of the underground since her precocious teens, clocking up many miles in Control Unit with Ninni Morgia (“It’s like Catherine Deneuve dumped two cases of post-Repulsion psychiatric notes over Pere Ubu’s Dub Housing, lit the fuse and, ahem, stood well back” – Julian Cope), including collaborations with the likes of Smegma, Factrix, Gary Smith, Aki Onda and Gate (Michael Morley of The Dead C). Through her own label, Ultramarine, she has released music by the likes of Raymond Dijkstra, Blood Stereo and Bene Gesserit. Both solo and in her work with others, Kastel has explored the outer limits and inner workings of no wave, industrial, dub, extreme electronics, free rock and improvisation. Air Lows – which follows the cassette releases Love Tape (2011), Voice Studies 20 (2015) and The Gap (2016) – is both her fullest and most refined offering to date, a work of vivid, isolationist electronics which draws deeply on her past experience but assuredly breaks new ground. Prompted by a late-flowering interest in techno and club music, Kastel sought to create something which combines a steady rhythmic pulse with the otherworldly sonorities of musique concrete, and avant-garde synth sounds inspired by Japanese minimalism and techno-pop (Haruomi Hosono’s Philharmony being a particular favourite). The formal artifice of muzak / elevator music, the intros and outros of generic popular songs, the extreme light-heavy contrasts of jungle, the creative sampling of hardcore, and the very “human” synths in the jazz of Herbie Hancock’s Sextant and Sun Ra: all these things were touchstones for Air Lows’ conception and composition. All strains of music addressing – and complicating – the relationship between the human and the technological. By extension, visual inspirations also proved important: anime, and the avant-garde fashion of Rei Kawakubo. What does that shirt or dress sound like? Though used sparingly, Kastel’s voice remains her key instrument, whether subject to dissociative digital manipulations as on ‘Bruell’, delivering matter-of-fact spoken monologues, or providing splashes of pure tonal colour. Recorded between her expansive Italian studio and a more compact, ersatz set-up in Berlin, Air Lows gradually takes on some of the character of the German capital: you can hear the wide streets and empty spaces, the seepage of never-ending nightlife, the loneliness. Air Lows is The Wizard of Oz in reverse: the glorious technicolour J-pop deconstructons of its first half leading inexorably to the icy noir of ‘Spiderwebs’ and ‘Concrete Void’. These later tracks are reminiscent of 2015’s magnificent 39 12”, Kastel in the role of numbed, nihilistic chanteuse stalking dank, murky tunnels of reverb and sub-bass. But there is contradiction and emotional ambiguity to Air Lows from the outset, and throughout: a sense of both infinite space and acute claustrophobia; energy and inertia; fluency and restraint. 2017 €16.50
KE/HIL Hellstation CD "After one year of recording and production, one improvised gig at the Genocide Organ concert in Leipzig 2010 and finally the 1st offical live dis/play at Mannheim 16.10.2010. Tesco can offer the 1st fullenght release of this new group with known individuals. B.Moloch and W.Herich, both active in Genocide Organ and Anenzephalia, joined new forces and started working on a more personal concept. The result is a dark oppressive sound. A display of a worldview that only seems to see hope in escapism, cynism or extrem scary solutions. Musically old school industrial music in its full range from power electronics to dark ambient tracks." [label info] www.tesco-germany.com 2011 €15.00
  Zone 0 LP "Limited white vinyl edition of 250 copies! After the quick sell out of the 1st edion – heres the special white collar edtion! If you jumped the train on Hellstation you are now going to proceed to final destination: Zone 0. KeHil, the saints of the scum, are back with another bundle of reports from precarious minds and worlds, written in analogue noise reflecting degenerated inner city life and death. Observing non-zones, non-objects and especially non-subjects. Nightmarish sounds and rhythms beat the pulse of cities and areas in agony. It could be your city! it could be you…." https://tescogermany.bandcamp.com/album/zone-0 2015 €18.00
KELLER, BEAT & DARIUS CIUTA A2 CD-R "A2 (ACK 1029, CD-R) bringt mit BEAT KELLER (an feedbacker electric guitar) jemanden zu Gehör, der in Winterthur als Leader von Keller's 10 auf Unit Records mit einer Bandbreite von Syd Barrett bis Thelonious Monk und Jürg Frey bis Louis Andriessen verblüfft. Den litauischen Leisetreter DARIUS CIUTA, bekannt als Partner von Ilia Belorukov, Bruno Duplant oder Stefen Thut, auch an seiner Seite zu finden, braucht nicht verwundern, Keller ist ja als Interpret von Frey und auch von Christian Wolff wandelweiserisch und mikrominimalistisch bestens bewandert. Kellers schweifendes oder in sich kreisendes Sirren, Surren und Dröhnen, von Ciuta sporadisch mit Schwarzweiß-, Quatsch, Shortwave Radio in der Manier von Keith Rowe bewispert, mit feinem Ticken punktiert oder winzigen perkussiven Effekten umflattert, dreht sich auf dem Ouija panisch weg von R wie Rumpelstilzchen und hin zu D wie Dornröschen. Die AC-Macher zeigen damit eine Spannweite wie ein Quetzalcoatlus." [Bad Alchemy] https://emerge.bandcamp.com/album/a2 "You could easily think the name Beat Keller is a wordplay on 'beats in basement', or think of The Beatles playing the Cavern, but Beat is actually not an uncommon name in Switzerland and Keller, well, that means basement in German, but also is a fairly regular last name. He plays 'feedbacker electric guitar', but is also trained as a jazz guitarist and he plays with various groups, as well as composing for other groups. I guess this new work is perhaps a bit of an oddball for him, as it sees him playing with Darius Ciuta, who plays shortwave radio and objects. This is quite far from the world of jazz, but perhaps not so far from the world of improvised music. It is, in all its subtleness, quite a radical work. The feedback produced by Keller is not always ear-piercingly loud, but it's at times pretty high pitched and generally follows slow curves when changing his pitches. Ciuta's contribution is probably no less extreme I think. At times he produces some very dry sounds, merely clicks and ticks, a bit of hiss and noise, but here too it is all very much under control. It never explodes or becomes a wall of noise. Hard to recognize a guitar in here, but also any other sound is not easy, I guess. I enjoyed this best at a somewhat lower volume; in all its abstract approach towards sound, this also has some kind of Zen-like approach, I think. Sounds move in, out and around in what could be a fairly random fashion and appear in all sorts of strange overlapping configurations. This was a great release of some excellent, different approaches." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2016 €6.00
KG AUGENSTERN Circles and Cycles BOOK + CD Kg Augenstern (Christiane Prehn and Wolfgang Meyer) have been exploring the world for many years with their “Tentacles,” extendable fiberglass canes that allow them to touch and extract the sounds of the places they are travelling through. These tentacles have become a kind of prostheses to generate subtle experiences that require attentive listening. The various aspects of the project are constantly transformed and presented as audiokinetic installations, live-streams, radio broadcasts or sound installations in contemporary art spaces. In autumn 2019, the artists explored places in Sicily that have been abandoned within the last few decades. With their tentacles, they scratched circles on the surface of these contemporary ruins to reveal the specific sounds of the various surfaces and their surroundings. A camera installed in the center of the circles recorded the images. The research was accompanied by experiments with raw sheep’s wool and clay as materials corresponding to the ephemeral appearance and transitory atmosphere of the places. The outcome of the research was presented as an exhibition in an old prayer hall in Palermo. The CD invites listeners to explore 10 abandoned places, including the location of the final exhibition. 11 Tracks (37′44″) Book & CD (500 copies) KG Augenstern’s “tentacle” performs surgeries on abandoned places. The duo from Berlin seeks out locations that lie between the states of life and death, populated and depopulated, places constantly changing, and thus in an enduring state of malleable equilibrium. They are the apocalyptic souvenirs of humans’ attempts to form landscapes. That which exists tends towards new shapes, which slowly bury mankind’s contingencies and intentions. The forgotten place and its surfaces are scratched in circles. The media to be studied are the subtle sounds caused by the scratching. At times the tentacle glides lightly along the surface, barely touching; on another pass it might bite in, leaving a mark. It stretches itself out, or blends with the material beneath it, all the while releasing its tensions in the form of deep, diffused sound vibrations. Or it springs in powerful leaps across the ground beneath it. An intense sound is called forth, rhythmic and repetitive, embedded in the temporal cycles of the described circles. Time is rendered instable, volatile, surreal, and reveals its magic. The process is repeated in the same or another location. The combinations of time and material transform themselves into a cyclical continuum. KG Augenstern creates an additional cycle out of sheep’s wool, clay, and fire. From materials found in the ruins, burned objects are created which are fragile and subordinate to their own disintegration. The observer slips outside the field of consciousness, and attention is directed towards the revelation of baselessness, not from within the realm of understanding, but in the form of realization in a material sense. Life is transformed into a question, and this uncertainty reveals the instability of existence. Ennio Pellicanò Curator Step by step, staying in this lonely place by the sea, with that empty beach, working in all these ruins without ever seeing any living person, only birds– mostly pigeons–, insects, and lizards, a kind of hypnotic, apocalyptic dimension develops. In almost every place there is an abandoned camp somebody homeless used to use a long time ago for a temporary shelter, with worn out clothes and an old mattress. Shy dogs: one, a German shepherd with two puppies vacillates between being curious and afraid, same as me. Circle by circle, rubbish, wet walls, cracked ceilings, holes to take care of and another uncertain stairway. Contemporary archeology in contemporary ruins. Disgust, fear, tension, expectations. Layers of birdshit on children‘s toys, suddenly left behind, hard material under soft organic patina…. a baby carriage, furniture, pictures on the walls and beds still made …what will wait in the next room, the next building, the next structure? SCRATCHING A LIDO Lido Las Vegas was built in the ’60s and was closed by the authorities in 2017. Before its closure, it had been run illicitly within a nature reserve, and without any authorization, state concession, or certificate of use. It is a wooden structure with small rooms for summer guests, a restaurant and a playground for children. A solid, newer but also abandoned structure with more rooms was built just beside. The scratching circles were recorded on the terraces, between the rooms and next to the playground. The surface is tiles, sand, rubbish, wood and stones. Everything is sandy. The waves of the sea can be heard in the background. SCRATCHING A MOUNTAIN VILLAGE Cunziria is a village the dates of whose founding as an urban nucleus are unknown, but it is known that in the 1920s a slow decline began, until the 1960s, when the artisan practice of tanning stopped. Some houses have been restored but left behind unfinished and are now used as stables. In one house we found raw sheep’s wool covering the ground. At a nearby sheep farm, the farmer offered us plenty of raw wool for free. The scratched circles are partly inside and partly outside of the houses. Sometimes it was hard to move the tentacle through the plants covering the buildings. One of the circles is performed inside of a cellar, with basins formerly used for tanning. The surface varies from dense, thorny bush, stones, mud and clay to tiled floor in the restored rooms. In the background it is possible to hear sheep and sheep bells, birds, and from time to time a car on the close-by small road. SCRATCHING A COMMERCIAL AREA Beside Route S115 south of Catania is an abandoned commercial area with five big buildings. They were built in the 1990s, and given up after a short period of usage. The reason was that the new Catania-Syracusa highway was built only a short distance away, and the formerly busy road along the coast was almost forgotten. Patinaed signs on the wall still show that there once was a supermarket, a car-dealership, a furnisher….. Now a semi-organic layer covers the almost-new concrete floors, and birds fly about the huge halls, while wild plants crack the surfaces. SCRATCHING A CASTLE Castello del Duca di Misterbianco is an old castle-like villa, built in 1930, not far from a river and the beach. It has many rooms, and horse stables. It was abandoned in the Second World War after it was heavily bombed and partly destroyed by english soldiers, attacking the Germans who had occupied the castle. It is covered with plants. The surface is rocky. Two of the scratched circles were done on two different flat roofs on a windy day, the other ones inside of the structure, where it was even difficult to move the tentacle because of all the stone shards and plants scattered around. SCRATCHING A FURNITURE STORE Sicilmobile is a big furniture store built in the late ’70s in Brutalist concrete style. It was abandoned around the year 2000 for economic reasons. The building with its two levels is amazing and spacious. A restaurant was connected to the commercial area. The area has been used by skateboarders for some time. The surface is tiles, concrete, small stones and pieces of glass. In the main halls, broken bricks, fallen from the ceiling, cover the floor. One of the scratched circles was done outside of the building and the rest in different parts inside. There are two roads with a constant flow of traffic close to the building. The airport is also close. SCRATCHING A BRICK FACTORY Noted art critic Vittorio Sgarbi described Fornace Penna as “a secular basilica by the sea.” Indeed, this abandoned industrial structure echoes some of the crumbling medieval cathedrals scattered around Europe. Built entirely from solid stones in the early 1900s, Fornace Penna specialized in manufacturing bricks sold them across the Mediterranean region. However, business lasted only a little over ten years. On the night of January 24th, 1924, arson turned the factory into the fascinating and deserted stone skeleton we see today. The wind blows through the arcs of the ruins, which are heavily covered with all kinds of plants. There is an almost round, accessible vaulted kiln under the center of the building. With so many plants and rocks all over the place, it was difficult to find any locations for the scratchings. The waves of the sea can be heard in the background. At one place, a lizard tried to attack the tentacle during scratching. SCRATCHING A PAPER MILL S.p.a Cartiere Larena is a paper mill that was closed more than 30 years ago. It appears that the first paper made in Europe was produced in Sicily toward the end of the tenth century, and there are still several specialized paper producers, but this mill didn‘t survive the economical crisis of the ’80s. It is a beautiful building, still containing two big huge stone bowls, with motor-driven millstones inside. The surface is variable, from stone to clay and gravel. A road is close to the building and in the background a football match can be heard. SCRATCHING A BORGO Borgo Rizzo is one of the borgos in Sicily that were built between 1939 and 1940 under the then fascist government, with the goal of transforming agricultiral production systems and colonizing fertile, unused areas by attracting farmers to new villages that provided all main services, such as schools, churches, post offices, etc. Some of the houses have been partially renovated with EU funding, but remain unfinished and unused, tending to turn into the new generation of ruins. The area is very quiet with only very few cars driving on the nearby road. A wild dog with two puppies lives on the terrace of one of the houses. All in all it has the atmosphere of a ghost town. SCRATCHING A FORWARDING COMPANY Transporti Avimec was a big Catanian freight-forwarding company which was seized and closed in 1989 on suspicion of having been owned by the mafia and used for illegal transactions. Several attempts by mafia members to buy the company back were not successful. It was possible to enter the closed property by a hole in the wall. In the private house on the property, everything seemed to have been left behind from one minute to the next. Children’s toys, furniture and beds appear recently abandoned. The halls and the courtyard are empty. The area’s surface is partly covered with rubbish or birds‘ faeces. In the distance, traffic and the neighbours‘ trucks can be heard. SCRATCHING A CHAPEL The final exhibition was presented as a site-specific audiovisual installation at the former Oratory of Santa Maria del Sabato in one of the oldest parts of Palermo. The chapel is in a state of abandonment, waiting to converted into a synagogue. In the past it was a mosque, then a synagogue, and an oratory. The first scratch was taken in the empty hall, with just one tentacle scratching a circle. The second one is, as it was during the installation, recorded at the center of the middle circle of three motor-driven circle-scratching tentacles, with raw sheep’s wool covering parts of the floor, being moved from time to time by the tentacles. The third recording is the sound of the three tentacle circles, recorded from beside them. https://www.gruenrekorder.de/?page_id=18680 2020 €18.00
KLANK same CD "Two years in the making, aufabwegen presents the first ever studio album of Bremen-based MusikAktionsEnsemble KLANK. Co-produced by Radio Bremen’s contemporary music department and featuring singer Friederike Menz on various tracks, KLANK left its accustomed territory of energetic yet intimate performative stage action to enter the fine historic recording arena of Sendesaal Bremen. For this release the four members of KLANK focused on acoustic spaces and auditive situations recording hours and hours of material. While the opener RÅE N presents an almost architectural approach to the dense microtonal logics of noise and drone the three piece set of CONTAMINECHNO is a neat and surprising exploration of radioplayeske atmospheres and contemporary electronic music alike. The mono-ridden Der PRODUKTIVE KONSUMENT links the bobostertaglike assembling of ensembles at the computer with thoughts about various fields of consumerist homerecording while DIE MECHANISCHE CD for a moment neglects the data sound carriers and storage systems usually are used for, perceiving CDs, MDs and the like as sonic objects with their own musical quality. Closed by a brief passage through possible constellations within an improvising quartet, ÄÇEX, the release is, after all, linked to KLANK’s musical – live – practice. Additional information: www.klank.cc/cd/ On KLANK (the Artist): KLANK is a music/performance ensemble based in Bremen, Germany. Founded by improvisers Reinhart Hammerschmidt and Hainer Wörmann, sound-performer Tim Schomacker and composer / instrumentalist Christoph Ogiermann in 2008, KLANK’s sonic universe combines various musical experiences, influences and approaches.
 KLANK soon found common ground in both, the complex and dense logic of the interaction in playing improvised music and in researching the musical potential of various materials from everyday life. Be it kitchen utensils, office equipment, children’s toys or tools from whatever workplace – KLANK is able and willing to declare almost everything a musical instrument to expand the range of its sonic creations.
KLANK immediately realized that its music doesn’t just sound – but that it “looks like”, also. So the quartet started to focus on performative and site-specific concepts, establishing a unique brand of Klang-Aktionen (music- or sound-based performances) involving the use of body, voice, video and various theatrical elements. Improvisations and conceptual pieces for quartet remaining the core of KLANK-Arbeit, the ensemble conceived and produced a series of music/theater-pieces and performances for larger ensembles. Collaborating with visual artists like painter/video artist Dina Koper or filmmaker Jan van Hasselt KLANK presented performance pieces like ANUNDFUERSICH (2011) and films like UND BEFREIEN SIE VON WAS (2012). December 2013 will see a tour d’allemagne with french saxophonist Bertrand Denzler as the third installment of the bilateral THE FRENCH KONNEKTION program, an ongoing collaboration with Institut français de Brême." [label info] www.aufabwegen.de 2013 €13.00
KLOFT RETARDER Stolperfallen im zerebralen Subraum CD-R This ex-KRACHGAU project from Darmstadt, Germany, produces noise-energy in the good old handmade way, using tribal drumming, spacey noise-guitars, analogue base- and highfrequency-drones and distorted feedbacks. Reminds on SKULLFLOWER and early Industrial-tunes. More “primitive” , raw and emotional.. Comes in a cloth cover. 2002 €8.00
KODIAK VS. NADJA split CD "This split-LP from the canadian shoegazers NADJA and the still new and fresh german band KODIAK comes up with two sidelong, complex tracks. Complex in the sense of combining atmospheric instrumental fields with very dark symphonies. Intense! NADJA: ''In doom and drone, genres where much of the stuff can sound remarkably similar, here is a band that stands apart as a beacon. Nadja have the deep drones and all the darkness of doom, but also have intricate melodies that permeate their long dirges...What's commendable about Nadja is the alchemical experimentation with the genres resulting in a unique concoction of doom metal, drone, shoegazer layering, and avant-rock explorations.'' KODIAK: is not a band that you just play for enjoyment; It needs time and attention, but when it locks you in its slowly developing, pachyderm-paced punishing groove, Kodiak has a lot to offer, proving that monotony and monolithic heaviness are enough to make great songs, if you know how. Kodiak definitely know it." [label info] www.denovali.com 2009 €14.00
KOENIG, GOTTFRIED MICHAEL Zwei Klavierstücke, etc. do-CD Highly interesting piano- & violin- & very early pure electronic works from this german pioneer of electronic music, who worked from 1954-1964 in the legendary WDR-Studio for new electronic music... "Doppel-CD mit electronischen und Software-generierten Kompositionen des Pioniers der elektronischen Musik, G.M. Koenig. CD 1: Zwei Klavierstücke 1957 (WDR 1995) 14:13 [ Jan Marc Reichow, Klavier ] Suite "Materialien zu einem Ballett" 1961 (WDR 1961) 20:48 Streichquartett 1959 (WDR 1961) 10:04 [ LaSalle Quartet: Walter Levin, 1. Violine; Henry Meyer, 2. Violine; Peter Kamnitzer, Viola; Jack Kirstein, Violoncello] Terminus X 1967 (Institut für Sonologie in Utrecht 1967) 11:46 Funktion Grün 1967 (Institut für Sonologie in Utrecht 1967) 8:25 Funktion Gelb 1968 (Institut für Sonologie in Utrecht 1968) 12:43 CD 2: 60 Blätter für Streichtrio 1992 (WDR 1996) [ Trio Recherche:Melise Mellinger, Violine; Barbara Maurer, Viola; Lucas Fels, Violoncello ] " [label info] www.edition-rz.de 2006 €22.50
KOM Berry White CD "KOM are back with their first real full length. The new record BERRY WHITE doesn't change their opinion about music and how they want to reach people – but with these new 12 songs they maybe will get the attention of a wider audience they deserve. You still can't talk about 12 single songs because this record again just makes sense if you look at it as a whole piece of art. It's the homogeneity of artwork (handprinted cardboard sleeves for the cd version), lyrics, interludes and the real songs which makes the record unique and outstanding. They still write and play those little pieces of art far away from established genre clichés. You can call it a mixture of indie-rock, singer songwriter or postrock – but all of these bromides don't fit at all. They're very influenced by old 60's film music – but don't sound like that. They like to listen to ROBERT WYATT, HARMONIA or RADIOHEAD – but they don't copy them. They're just KOM – four guys from three cities in Germany who visit a small cottage in the woods every 2nd year to write a new refreshing record." [label info] www.denovali.com 2010 €13.50
KONRAD KRAFT Oval LP 'Oval' marks Konrad Kraft's third release on the German label 'aufaabwegen/Cologne', and is his second release in his current series. Clear textures, wobbling rhythm structures and unexpected melodic particles develop into unusual soundscapes. Blurred and foggy layers give way to clear musical accents.During the recording of the album, KK used mangled and destroyed field recordings, only two software synths and a modular synthesizer. Making use of his favorite modules, he merged the two worlds of sound design, digital and analogue. The result makes interesting listening. https://aufabwegen.bandcamp.com/album/oval-2 2019 €18.00
  Nifbin Circle (coloured) LP Nifbin Circle is the fourth release by Detlef Funder, aka Konrad Kraft, on the Cologne label Aufabwegen. Sounds generated with two apps on the iPad, provided the basic structures and the sound space. The strangely enraptured textures created in this way, with a subtle percussive touch, were partly combined with supporting beats in the course of further processing. Thus, after more than 30 years, tracks with rudimentary melodies and rhythms were created again. Biography - Konrad Kraft (aka Detlef Funder) 1980, First tape productions in the field of Experimental/Industrial under the moniker Konrad Kraft. 1983, Assemblage of own first studio to realize tape recordings 1985 – 1994, Founding and managing Düsseldorf record store and label SDV-Tonträger. Expanding the studio to 16 track facility; recording, production and release of various internationally renowned projects like Konrad Kraft & Dino Oon, Mynox Layh, TUU, Paul Schütze etc. 1992 – 1999, Various Voice-over productionen for german TV (arte, ZDF, ARD etc.) 1992 – 2006, Numerous productions iin the area of Techno/Trance for different labels, internationally booked DJ and live act 1999 – 2007, Founding and managing of 4CN-Studios Bochum for audio productionsa and mastering 2011, Konrad Kraft CD Temorary Audiosculptures And Artifacts released on Cologne based label aufabwegen 2016, Founding of „Paraschall“ label and studio for mastering and sound design. Quadrat 12“ Vinyl released on aufabwegen 2016, Collaboration with Kai Angermann and formation of the duo Angermann/Kraft (prior Elektrofrühstück) and publication of CD Algorithm on Paraschall/Düsseldorf 2018, Reissue of Konrad Kraft Arctica tape on CD and LP via TAL, Düsseldorf 2019, OVAL 12“ Vinyl released on aufabwegen 2021, OBTAAL 2X12“ Vinyl Para002, Paraschall Records. Lim ed. of 250 copies with handmade cover. 2023, Nifbin Circle 12“ Vinyl, aatp09 is published by aufabwegen 2023, Stumm, Detlef Funder und Bernd Sevens, TAL Music (forthcoming) 2011- ongoing, selected live appearance at international festivals and venues, such as A/B Brüssels - Bel., Meakusma Festival - Bel., Image Movement – Berlin, Stadtgarten Cologne, Salon Des Amateurs – Düsseldorf, Weltkunstzimmer – Düsseldorf, BlackBox - Münster and more. https://aufabwegen.bandcamp.com/album/nifbin-circle "Nach „Oval“ erscheint auf Auf Abwegen mit „Nifbin Circle“ das neue Album von Konrad Kraft und das insgesamt vierte auf dem kleinen Kölner Label. Kraft, bürgerlich Detlef Funder, dessen Pseudonym auf Conrad Schnitzler und Kraftwerk verweist, beschreibt die Stücke als „tracks with rudimentary melodies and rhythms“, resultierend aus der Arbeit mit „two apps on the iPad, [which] provided the basic structures and the sound space“. Tatsächlich ist schon direkt der Opener „Flabdragon Level 3“ ein verspielt klingendes Stück, das fast schon an ein Depeche Mode -Instrumental aus den frühen 80ern, so in etwa zur Zeit von „A Broken Frame“, klingt, das man vielleicht in einer alternativen Realität als B-Seite einer Single verwendet hätte. B-Seite nicht verstanden als etwas (nur) Sekundäres, sondern im Sinne von weniger kommerziell, aber eventuell spannender als die A-Seite. Es gibt ein tolles Zusammenspiel von perkussiven Momenten und leicht melancholischen Melodien. Das darauf folgende Titelstück mit bassartigen Sounds scheint aus vielen Schichten und Ebenen zu bestehen. „Fanznel Re“ ist mit Knistern und melodischen Flächen etwas reduzierter und erzeugt eine leicht dunkel-melancholische Atmosphäre. „Imrobial Connected“ besticht durch pulsierende flächige Sounds und pochende Rhythmik „Ilsimits II“ lässt kurzzeitig an Coils „Paranoid Inlay“ denken. Auf acht Stücken kreiert Kraft eine ganz eigene wie eigenwillige Form von abstraktem Elektropop, dessen oben zitierte „rudimentären Melodien“, an denen er sich laut Selbstauskunft erstmalig seit 30 Jahren versuchte, überzeugen." (MG) "There is a great interplay of percussive moments and slightly melancholic melodies... crackling and melodic pads create a slightly dark-melancholic atmosphere... Kraft creates a very unique and idiosyncratic form of abstract electro-pop, whose "rudimentary melodies" are convincing." (African Paper). 2023 €23.00
KONTAKT DER JÜNGLINGE 0 (live Rostock, MS Stubnitz, 10.02.2001) CD "The second installment of the ongoing Asmus Tietchens and Thomas Koner project. It's a bit puzzling why there is a '0' on the cover as the recording dates after the first CD that was released (and which had '1' on the cover). The series of which this is part are all live recordings and this one was made at the MS Stubnitz, the well-known boat that usually harbors in Rostock, Germany. If one is familiar with this boat, one knows the steel inside where the artists play their music. Somehow I feel that the interior of this boat is reflected by the music. Starting out for the first 15 or so minutes with what sounds like an engine roar and followed by water as metallic sounds, or metallic sounds that sound like water. Submarine sounds, kinda like the 'Skagarak' LP by Werkbund, ages ago (when we believed that Asmus was a member). More austere then the previous recording by Kontakt Der Junglinge, more dark too. It sounds more like a try out concert, in which the refinement is not entirely present. However it's still a fine disc of sound processing for a relatively simple set of sounds. You can't go wrong with these German meisters..." [FdW / Vital Weekly] 2001 €14.00
  Makrophonie 1 CD "The first album by Kontakt der Jünglinge since the release of their CD n (DS63) on Die Stadt back in 2003, »Makrophonie 1« is also their very first studio album. It's the result of various scores which were developed before and during miscellaneous live performances. These worked out structures were then taken to the studio, where they were concentrated and received their final finish. »Makrophonie 1« can be described as KDJ music in highly-concentrated form. The album was recorded at Audiplex Studios, Hamburg in 2013 and produced by Okko Bekker. Limited edition of 500 copies in Digipack cover." [label info] www.diestadtmusik.de "It has been quiet for some years for Kontakt der Jünglinge, the duo of Thomas Köner and Asmus Tietchens. But after a bit of music on a compilation CD in 2007 it was all silent, and their main bulk of releases was already from 2001-2003. I don't assume there has been a band fight, but as these things go: people meet up, do something and do something with much interest for a while, but then get torn apart for whatever reason, usually other work somewhere else. I am sure that's what happened here, as nor herr Tietchens, nor herr Köner are persons to put up a band fight. Two of gentlest, kindest Germans I know. And two of the best in their respective fields. Closely linked perhaps, but also a bit different. Tietchens is the man who brings out musique concrete into the field of the unacademic composers, self-trained, and explorer of the terra incognita of the studio. It can take many forms. Köner does the same but much of his work is more spaced out, more drone like; the arch father of Isolationist music - to some. Their duo is named after a pun on two works of Karlheinz Stockhausen, and so is the title of their latest work, 'Makrophonie 1'. That may all seem rather playful, but the music isn't that playful, and actually more serious. These thirty-seven minutes are filled by the darkest of drones, but not 'long fade in, and stay there for a long time, short fade out' (the cigar shape, as some one once noted), but we are transported through various moods and textures, ranging from the very soft, and not so outspoken ones, to the more louder passages of unearthy low drone sounds (Köner) and high clicks and beeps (Tietchens). At one point, around twenty-five minutes, I had the impression that this was live recording, as the feedback beeps that sound here are of a varying length and interval. Maybe it's intentional, I am not sure - the press text says this is a studio recording. They don't seem to be men who who make 'mistakes'. The balance moves like a ticking clock between these two opposites, the dark drone rumble of Köner and the more precise tinkling sounds of Tietchens, best exampled at the very end of this release. A work of powerful beauty of a very dark nature. Soundtrack music which is no need of a movie. I think it's a great work, but I am the first to admit I'm very biased. Recently I was going through lots and lots of CDs I have, and I decided to keep all of Tietchens works, including the previous releases by Kontakt der Jünglinge, and that means something to me. Not a single release I didn't like, and I can proudly add 'Makrophone 1' to my collection. As dark as the cover it comes in, but what a beauty." [FdW / Vital Weekly] 2014 €14.00
KOPP, HERMANN / FUSILLER Les Naufrages LP "Best known for his scores to Jörg Buttgereit's cult films "Nekromantik", "Nekromantik 2", and "Der Todesking", this split vinyl (featuring with one with track with dark ambient artist Abattoir) sees German artist Hermann Kopp paired with Parisian electronic artist Fusiller (aka Jo Tanz). "Les Naufragés" ("The Shipwrecked") features geometric loops, dead melodies, synths, noise and vocals. Hermann Kopp started recording songs on tape in the 70's, combining his violin with a Moog imitation in a very personal and minimal approach to music, with lyrics that bordered on surrealism. In the mid-80's he became the fifth member of the experimental synthesizer band Keine Ahnung. Ltd x 200 copies with artwork by Piet du Congo." https://ultimaratio1.bandcamp.com/album/les-naufrag-s 2020 €16.50
KOUHEI MATSUNAGA For Gemini and back to Heian mCD-box Nice box on new label from Frankfurt am Main / Germany. Two pieces with nearly 21 minutes playtime of loops & samples arranged in an effectful way with much tension and strange sounds & ingredients... 2005 €9.00
KRAUSE, ANDRES Move Ground LP "The development and reproduction of new sound spaces, Move Ground is based on the soundtrack of an audio-visual installation of the same title that was premiered at the third Horkunst Festival in Erlangen, Germany in 2005. Field recordings from locations with inspiring acoustic qualities in Cologne were edited and mixed with select electronic sounds to create a sonic journey exploring varying external and internal spaces, providing an experience of the atmosphere and the spatial dimensions of the different locations. Move Ground was recorded and mixed by Andrés Krause in 2004-2006." "From the top you can make out the wonderful and awesome sight of the plains that lie below, worn out at the foot of the city. On the horizon tall brick chimneys, round and square, vomit billows of soot into the clouds, while little further down, barely passing over the flat roofs of workshops covered in bituminized felt and sheet metal, whistling jets of white steam escape from thin aluminum flue pipes. A great silence descends over the plain as the rumble of the city dies out little by little and the noise from distant factories reaches you but falteringly. Sometimes, however, like a horrible complaint, you can hear the dull, raucous whistle of trains from the station as they pass, hidden by an embankment planted with acacias and ash trees. Finally, in the distance, in the far distance, a large white road climbs a hill and loses itself in the sky, its summit crowned by a billow of dust, like a cloud stirred up by an invisible horse drawn cart, hidden by the curve of the earth." [label info] "Der Kölner Künstler Andrés Krause wirkt im Verborgenen. Große zeitliche Abstände liegen zwischen seinen Releases und auch die Musik selbst ist von einer gewissen Flüchtigkeit und strahlt etwas von dunklen Geheimnissen aus. Move Ground erstreckt sich in vier Parts über zwei LP-Suiten und ist wieder eine kraftvolle und intensive Arbeit geworden. Aber auch hier wird der Hörer nicht durch augenscheinliche Dynamik ins Geschehen hineingezogen, sondern muss sich den Zugang gewissermaßen erlauschen. Ein Aufkleber auf der Hülle verweist als Sourcings auf Klänge des Kölner Außenraums – kaum zu glauben, lassen die bassig-schabenden, irgendwie noch vorne drückenden Klänge doch eher an Unterwasserlandschaft oder schattige Höhlen denken. Lediglich im Part 4 von Move Ground treten konkrete Klänge aus den tiefen Frequenzschichten hervor: ein pochender Rhythmus wie von Fußstapfen mischt sich in die Textur, auch meint man, Stimmen zu hören. Ein Release, dem man Zeit geben muß, um auf as Gemüt zu wirken." [Zipo / Auf Abwegen] 2010 €18.00
KREJCI, MARTIN / SEBASTIAN GIUSSANI / KEIKO UENISHI Counting Sheep won't cause you to encounter a Dream of a stray Dog (or will it?) CD-R "Don’t be fooled by the Zen-Dadaist title: what these three laptop artists from Munich, Augsburg, and Vienna/New York serve up is neither nihilist noise nor tongue-in-cheek collage, but a dense, yet transparent trip from monochrome lowercase static through lusciously harmonic territory into near-cosmic seas of drone. Both sound and visual artists, Krejci and Giussani, both based in the South of Germany, have been collaborating on many occasions over the last decade or so. This has included full-on digital noise mayhem as well as conceptual performance art pieces, but this 30-minute trio with Keiko Uenishi, a sound artist from New York currently based in Vienna, is something else again. Recorded live in June 2011, the set has a thoroughly composed feel, both in the sense of “structured” and “calm and reassured”, yet full of excitement. Extraordinarily beautiful digital music – experimental laptop drones with soul. File under: Drone, ambient" [label info] www.attenuationcircuit.de 2014 €8.00
KUBISCH, CHRISTINA & ANNEA LOCKWOOD The Secret Life of the Inaudible do-CD About our collaboration. Annea and I first met in New York in 1975. I was writing an article about the experimental music scene in New York for an Italian magazine. We soon found out that we had a lot of common interests and ideas. In 1979 she came to Italy and together we performed her piece „World Rhythms“ at a festival in Como. I was deeply impressed by how Annea combined technical skills with intuitive performance. Sound for her always has been more than just material to bring into a compositional form. It was more than raw material, it had a complex structure of its own and was transporting energy. Annea translated and communicated this energy to the listener and she does this with unusual intensity until today. Over the years we followed each other’s works but unfortunately did not meet as often as we would have liked. During her stay in Berlin earlier this year we had another chance to discuss our works, materials, researches, concepts, doubts and future projects. The idea of a collaboration was a natural consequence of this exchange. We both investigate soundworlds which normally are not audible. Annea questions how the forces of nature influence us, I question how manmade electromagnetic fields have an impact on our lives. And we both love field recording, especially exploring underwater sounds with hydrophones. We decided to exchange sound materials and left it open to the other what to choose and how to mix it into a new composition. The two new pieces which were created by this exchange are different but at the same time seem to belong together somehow. Annea sent me extracts from recordings of VLF chorus waves, solar oscillations, earthquakes, gas vents etc. while I transmitted to her a collection of recordings of electromagnetic waves which I had made audible and recorded with special custom designed induction headphones. Annea’s sound material was coming from sonic ultra and infra ranges and was speeded up or shifted down in order to become audible, my recordings are analog and were made directly on site in different cities. The sounds we use are all strange and powerful and they go together as if they were especially made for this collaboration. Until now what kind of influence the sources of these normally hidden waves have on us is not much explored. It is up to the listener to find out more about it. Thanks to Gruenrekorder who supported our project from the beginning. — Christina Kubisch, November 2017 CD 1 – Annea Lockwood WILD ENERGY | 2016 (with Bob Bielecki) Wild Energy gives access to the inaudible, vibrations in the ultra sound and infra sound ranges emanating from sources which affect us fundamentally, but which are beyond our normal audio perception, many of which are creating our planet’s environment: the sun, the troposphere and ionosphere, the earth’s crust and core, the oxygen-generating trees – everything deeply integrated, forming an inaudible web in which we move, through which we live and on which we depend. It is our sense that through these sounds one can feel the energies generated, not as concepts but as energy-fields moving through one’s body. Here they have been shifted up (infrasound) or down (ultrasound) to bring them into the human audio range. Wild Energy begins with solar oscillations (acoustical pressure waves) recorded by the SOHO spacecraft – 40 days of solar oscillations sped up 42,000 times, and ends with ultrasound recorded from the interior of a Scots pine tree. Recordings made available to Annea Lockwood by scientists at the universities of Hawaii, Stanford, Iowa, Columbia (USA) and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research. Sound sources: The sun, acoustical pressure waves – recording courtesy of Alexander Kosovichev, Solar Oscillations Investigation team, Stanford University Gas vents and tremors, Mt Kilauea – recordings courtesy of Milton Garces, the Infrasound Laboratory, University of Hawaii VLF Chorus waves and Whistlers; Auroral Kilometric Radiation radio waves –recordings courtesy of Craig Kletzing, Radio and Plasma Wave Group, University of Iowa Sei whale – recording courtesy of Arthur Newhall, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Earthquakes – recordings courtesy of the U.S.G.S; Ben Holtzman, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University and Jason Moran Trees, cavitation events and ultrasound emissions – recordings courtesy of Melvin Tyree; Roman Zweifel , Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL and Marcus Maeder, Zurich University of the Arts, Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology Hydrothermal vents – recording courtesy of Timothy Crone, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University Bats: pipistrelle, California myotis, silver-haired bats, Shockwave-Sound.com; big brown bat and Grote’s tiger moth recording courtesy of Aaron Corcoran, Wake Forest University CD 1 – Annea Lockwood STREAMING, SWIRLING, CONVERGING | 2017 Composing with combined sound files and sources, six from each of us, has been a unique experience for me, and a deep pleasure. I have long found Christina’s explorations of the electromagnetic fields within which we live now revelatory and essential – beautiful in their sonic detail and powerful in their effects on my body. And there is satisfying sense of complementarity here: Human-created sounds from Christina’s electromagnetic world, a world which she has been hugely instrumental in revealing to us, and non-human sounds and vibrations from the geophysical, atmospheric and mammalian spheres which are my sources. Her sounds were a delight to work with, often with a clear pitch element and, while fluctuating in their details and flow, essentially stable. This contrasts well with the event-driven, more turbulent rhythms and noise content of my materials. It was fascinating to play with these differences and discover how easily our sounds blend as if drawn together magnetically into layered textures. I am most grateful to Christina for suggesting this collaboration. Sound sources: Annea Lockwood: Tremors and a bench collapse on Mt Kilauea, Hawaii, VLF whistlers, earthquakes in Sumatra and Honshu, Japan, ultrasonic sounds from a Scots pine tree, the Mid-Ocean Ridge Black Smoker hydrothermal vent, solar oscillations. Christina Kubisch: electromagnetic waves recorded in a subway station, a server room, an underground tunnel, a power station, shopping centers and in the countryside during a thunderstorm after electricity had broken down. CD 2 – Christina Kubisch NINE MAGNETIC PLACES | 2017 Nine magnetic places is a journey without knowing where to go, what to find, how long to stay or what will come next. It is a discovery of a hidden world, a dreamlike trip by which the traveller encounters unexpected juxtapositions and sequences of electromagnetic waves. The piece was inspired by the first book using the technique of automatic writing, „Les champs magnétiques“ by André Breton and Philippe Soupault, published in Paris (1920). The electromagnetic recordings were made in or traveling to: Las Vegas, Gdansk, Ystad, Kosice, Montreal, Bordeaux, Manchester, Dortmund, San Francisco, Paris, Ekaterinburg, Lagos, Venice, Bratislava, Bangkok and other places. CD 2 – Christina Kubisch BELOW BEHIND ABOVE | 2017 When I was about to finish this piece two powerful storms, called Xavier and Herwart, swept through northern Germany and Central Europe following each other within three weeks. The storms produced hurricane winds and left a path of destruction knocking down trees, power lines and buildings and caused widespread travel chaos. I was working in my studio during both storms, looking at the shaking trees in front of my house while I was listening to sounds from vulcanos, solar oscillations, earthquakes and the intense vibrations of electromagnetic fields. The experience of the two storms had a strong impact on my work. The piece became a kind of encounter of different energies and vibrations which meet in unforeseen ways. Sound sources: Annea Lockwood: Volcanic gas vents, VLF chorus waves and whistlers, earthquakes, solar oscillations and ultrasonic tree sounds. Christina Kubisch: electromagnetic recordings from light systems, seismic research centers,transmitter systems and others. Hydrophone recordings from the river Rhein. www.gruenrekorder.de "A cause of extreme disgruntlement for this writer is the passive awareness that the bulk of a lifetime was splurged on issues and people not belonging to a sphere of intuitions and considerations even marginally correlatable with his own. If one inaugurates the process of growth by being predominantly attracted by non-vocal emissions, it is foreseeable that – quite soon – attention will not be given anymore to individuals imparting sagacity via mere words, typically instilling some kind of dismay in the potential victim. In that sense, imagine the (adult) quotidian disheartenment for not having a chance to remain within essential acoustic domains when the calls comes; silence is mandatory to do that, and silence is by now a rare commodity. Finally, try to explain all of the above to someone blathering non-stop because convinced – possibly via previous trauma – or out-and-out pretending of living outside his/her body, then get back to me for a good laugh together. But we do get privileged whenever communicating – remotely but, by the grace of heavens, through sounds – with truly developed beings such as Christina Kubisch and Annea Lockwood, themselves linked by a long-time friendship and artistic consanguinity that never had resulted in a tangible collaboration. Until today. Narrating yet again what these women have been doing throughout their histories of sonic researchers would be pathetic (but if you still think there is a need to, a peep to the presentation notes of this release will help explicating the kernel of the matter). This double CD encloses four handsome compositions derived from the manipulation of swapped materials; the common denominator is the attempt of turning invisible energies and inaudible frequencies into physically perceivable substances destined to increase one’s congenital acumen. Kubisch and Lockwood operate at levels of intuitive interiority unconceivable by the average gatherer of location recordings and electronics. We can literally “feel inside” the gradual effect of sources reconfigured in various types of aural concretization. They emerge as penetrating hums of radiophonic descent, or may resemble marine currents inhabited by a somewhat alien fauna attempting new forms of signal transmission. The ordinary becomes unconventional; the voice of nature and its private tumults get disfigured by deforming lenses that, rather amazingly, emphasize the gravity of each single event. That these pieces ultimately can stand proudly amidst the finest electroacoustic musics of the last few decades is obviously a plus. However, what really counts is the implicit message: communication does happen at every stage of physical existence, including the supposedly inanimate. In times when most humans are bamboozled by things that do not exist particularized by brains that do not work, what we have to do is raising the aerials way up. Consequences – if there is sufficient emotional fuel in your personal tank – will inevitably materialize." [Touching Extremes] 2018 €16.00
KÖNER, THOMAS Nuuk CD Thomas Köner is one of the most influential modernist minimal composers. Alongside Wolfgang Voigt’s “Gas” project, Köner has been centrally responsible for electronic music’s fascination with depth and reduction. His signature sound is vast, seemingly endless, which at first seems homogenous and infinite, but once exposed to it, when our senses calibrate to the fine nuances of changes, we discover and immerse into abundance of textures, richness of modulations and almost infinite range of sonic titilations. Köner’s work was inspired by his frequent travels in the Arctic, and listeners feel his music as a journey to mysterious worlds of the Arctic region. The experience of being exposed to the extreme cold, the hightening of our senses and ability to notice even the slightest changes in color, sound, light or density that creates this dangerously reductive environment, is like an immersion in the sonic world of this German artist, where masterfully crafted layers of sound open into colossal spaces, teeming with aural life, waiting to be discovered by those who venture into it. The titles of Köner’s highly regarded albums from the 90’s ever so often play with this affinity – Nunatak, Permafrost, Teimo - all reference to the world of the Artic region, just as his album Nuuk that points us to the capital of Greenland. Subdued and minimal at first glance, this album is brimming with low-end frequences, shadowy resonances and boreal ambience, but at the same time, constant fluctuation and vulnerability of sonic events, makes it very organic, human and almost comforting, like the tiny harbour existing in the sea of ice, it is named after. Originally published as one of four CD’s on the 1997 compilation Driftworks, which also included albums by Nijiumu, Pauline Oliveros& Randi Raine-Reusch and Paul Schütze, the album was re-relased in 2004 by MillePlateauxMedia. It also served as the source of music material and inspiration for Thomas Köner’s video art by the same. https://forceincmilleplateaux.bandcamp.com/album/nuuk 2021 €15.00
LA CASA, ERIC Zone Sensible 2 / Dundee 2 CD Wer jemals selbst versucht hat, brauchbare 'field recordings' zu hervorzubringen, dürfte wissen wie schwer es ist, Störgeräusche auszuschalten, die gewünschte Klangquelle laut genug hörbar zu machen und überhaupt den "richtigen Moment" zu treffen... denn der Zufall spielt hierbei eine gewichtige Rolle, die Unkontrollierbarkeit der Klänge macht demütig... Einer der absoluten Meister des Fieldrecording und deren Verarbeitung ist ERIC LA CASA, von dem hier 2 Stücke präsentiert werden, die sowohl gekonnteste Feldaufnahmen zeigen als auch die brilliante Transformation in eine Art naturale musique concrete: ZONE SENSIBLE 2 benutzt Aufnahmen von Bienen, deren summender Chor oft gewaltig anschwellt und sich mit sirrenden, elektronisch wirkenden mechano-Drones vermischt, ein Stück voller Dynamik und Brüchen, welches am Ende wie ein einziger atmender Klangorganismus wirkt, epische 26:30 min lang. Auf DUNDEE 2 dagegen entwirft er aus 30 verschiedenen Orts-Aufnahmen eine Art unterbewussten Klangspiegel der schottischen Stadt Dundee, wobei v.a. die stets vorhandenen, aber kaum jemals bewusst wahrgenommenen Sounds von Maschinen (Ventilatoren, Aufzüge, Sirenen, Kühlschränke) eine grosse Rolle spielen.. das soghafte Rauschen einer Stadt verläuft hier in langen auf- und abschwellenden Bahnen. Fazit: Zwei geniale Kompositionen für das Kino im Kopf ! "For the best part of a decade, Éric La Casa's attention to sonic phenomena has resulted in some of the finest contemporary Musique Concréte to come out of France. A listener of the highest order, La Casa's methodology for sound recording allows for a versatile examination of both urban and natural environments and it is these interests which are captured on this new edition for Room40. With an ability to find unique perspectives on his sound subjects La Casa's site specific works 'Zone Sensible' and 'Dundee' seek to draw a detailed focus and expose unfamiliar, incidental and previously unheard sound worlds. Zone Sensible, exclusively composed from recordings of bees in the Olivier Darné's hives, located in the Saint Denis suburb of Paris, reveals a chaotic, frenetic microcosm that speaks to the density of the real, whilst hinting at our ears to experience a dance of oscillations - wings beating with boundless energy. As a contrast to this microcosm, Dundee, composed with recordings of Dundee city (during a 10 days residency at DCA museum), sees La Casa turn his microphones outward. Rendering a captivating sound map of sorts, Dundee' was developed in collaboration with USA Film experimentalist Ken Jacobs' 'nervous magic lantern', on a 6 channels device. From these recordings La Casa composed variations and movements in interaction with Ken Jacobs' processing - a contemplation from the real to abstracted life." [label info] www.room40.org "Two new works by Eric LaCasa, the active composer of musique concrete. By now he has a long list of releases under his belt, and on this CD he presents two new works. 'Dundee 2' is in three parts, while 'Zone Sensible 2' is one work. That one was commissioned by Les Instants Chavires (France) for a festival and uses solely the sounds of bees, recorded in a beehive. It starts out with the sound of bees, but soon starts to move about in some electronic after life. Or so it seems. Until now I always thought, but perhaps wrongly, that LaCasa only works with pure sound, always recorded in the fields (agricultural and urban), and never used that much sound processing, but perhaps I was wrong. Here its a much more electronic work that depicts the chaos of the beehive very well. Buzzing with life, sounds crawl about and its hard to figure out what is going on - except of course if you are a bee yourself. A work full of life. 'Dundee' was commissioned by Arika for 'Kill Your Timid Notion in 2007 and uses sounds of that Scottish city, which was played back on a six channel system, devised along with Ken Jacobs, an American film maker. Here we have the 'empty' spaces that resonates, sometimes interrupted by voices ('what are you doing in the parking, recording spaces'?, or station announcements) or by events we can longer trace back to its origin. Here it seems to me LaCasa uses no electronic processing, but the pure sound phenomena as captured on tape. A powerful work, even if you don't know the city of Dundee (at least I don't). What sets LaCasa aside from his colleagues in the same field, is that he composes with the material, rather than presenting them (for instance works like this on the German Gruenrekorder label), and that makes them all the more engaging to hear. I am not sure why 'Dundee 2' has been cut into three separate pieces, but like 'Zone Sensible 2', these are excellent pieces. LaCasa is one of the true masters of working with field recordings." [FdW / Vital Weekly] 2010 €13.00
LA CASA, ERIC / JEAN-LUC GUIONNET / PHILIP SAMARTZIS Soleil d'Artifice CD Kaum zu beschreibende / zu erfassende Studio-Aufnahmen der drei Klangforscher, die - basierend auf einigen gemeinsamen Konzerten - Orts-spezifische Klänge von Räumen, Field Recordings, elektronische Sounds und Instrumentalklänge benutzen für ihre spannenden und jegliche Genredefinitionen sprengenden Geräusch-Felder zwischen Stille, Drone, Mikrosound & Field Recording... "The trio of Eric La Casa, Jean-Luc Guionnet and Philip Samartzis first performed in Australia in July 2005 during Liquid Architecture 6 where they presented a series of surround-sound concerts in Melbourne and Brisbane. Their aim was to formulate a set of responses that addressed the specific spatial and acoustic dynamics comprising each site of presentation through improvised exchanges, microphones and electronics, and multi-channel diffusion. The trio resumed their investigations between April and June 2007 through a series of concerts in France, Germany and the Czech Republic, which were used to interrogate form, space and time using a revised set of strategies around location sound, amplification, diffusion, and real-time processing within improvised exchanges. Their intention was to explore the interplay between sonic articulation and spatial intervention to afford alternating states of awareness between musical and non-musical sound to demonstrate the complex set of acoustic and spatial interactions occurring between the constructed and the natural. Soleil d'artifice is a culmination of these investigations. Recorded june 22th 2007 at studio-KOUZ (Paris). Mixed and mastered by Philip Samartzis, November 2007. Jean-Luc Guionnet : extended saxophone. Eric La Casa : microphones, prepared recordings, laptop. Philip Samartzis : electronics, field recordings, laptop." [label info] 2009 €13.00
LA COMUNIDAD Bastion 23 CD "second release of LC / german power electronics meets ambient noise parts in a mixture of noise / strength by political provokation" [label info] "Control, Slogun, Sickness, MZ412 they all have something in common with La Comunidad . the pure fucking brutality and angry that these units can project. There is nothing happy or hopeful about this release. This German force are not a happy lot. This is about the disgust of ones world and surrounding and how a single source submits it to anyone that will listen. Not all of La Comunidad is full on noise sometimes there is a very suffocating Death Ambient assault going on here. You need to listen to the speeches and spoken word movements as much as the backdrop of the music to get the full picture. La Comunidad likes the thought of War, Pain and Dispair. That much is very simple. Its not this vision alone that makes La Comunidad any more interesting then the bands listed above. What makes them a bit more out there is the distance and isolationist feel you get when listening to this. La Comunidad aren't to make this recording for your. Your here so someone can hear the deconstruction of a human soul on the bring of either greatness or insanity. Your never really sure and I hope to never find out. Just let the extremity of it all take you and change for ever. L White has presented La Comunidad in a wonderful A5 full color 4 panel card package. The only thing is limiting it to 300 copies after all this hard work. L white is the Harsh Industrial/ Noise/ Power Electronic fans best friend as they give an outlet to very amazing projects such as there were others would never even look at them. Thank you for this L White and keep up the pain inducing release as I know I will keep on listening." [Clint Listing] label-website: www.l.white-records.de 2007 €13.00
LAIBACH Bremenmarsch: Live At Schlachthof, 12.10.1987 LP + CD "Laibach is art, but more than just art. Founded on 1st June 1980 in the then heavy industrial Yugoslavian town of Trbovlje (today a city in central Slovenia), the band took their name after the German designation of the Slovenian capital Ljubljana which was undesirable in Yugoslavia during the Tito's and post-Tito era. In 1987 Laibach signed a long-term contract with Daniel Miller's renowned London Mute Label and had finally found their musical home. The artists roster of Mute included such well-known artists as Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, Erasure, Yazoo, Moby and also Kraftwerk. From now on the commercial success story of Laibach could also be written. Mute released Opus Dei. The album includes, inter alia, a specific 'Laibach' - interpretation of 'Live Is Life', the big single hit of the Austrian group Opus (one as a German version under the name 'Leben heißt Leben' as well as an English version under the title 'Opus Dei') and also the interpretation of the Queen track 'One Vision' (in German under 'Geburt einer Nation'). The sound of Laibach had become more commercial, the avant-garde and industrial parts gave way in favour to Laibach's 'militant classicism', the band had found its style. Laibach went on tour, now playing in larger halls and clubs in Germany. On 12th October 1987 Laibach made a stop at the Bremen Schlachthof. Here the live album Bremermarsch was recorded, which is now released 33 years later. In spring 2020 Laibach edited the 'old' original recordings and digitally mastered them in their studio. The recordings sound fresh and unspent, the sound is great, the mood in the audience as well. And that Laibach is performing the 'hits' such as 'Die Liebe', 'Life is Life' and 'Geburt einer Nation' ('Birth of a Nation') can almost be taken for granted." www.mig-music.de/en/laibach-bremenmarsch-live-at-schlachthof-12th-october-1987-news/ 2020 €21.50
LAND USE / MAURIZIO BIANCHI / PHARMAKUSTIK Spülfeld CD "First ever three way collaboration between Land Use (David van Ravesteijn ),Maurizio Bianchi and Pharmakusik (Siegmar Fricke). Falsehood and misconception of mankind will be revealed.The time has come. This is the sound of Apocalypse. Limited edition of 223 copies in slim DVD box with numbered insert." [label info] www.menstrualrecordings.org "If I understand well, who knows I does, Maurizio Bianchi gave up doing music and whatever is released now is just 'late'. Or not? Here we have a work - seventy minutes, one track - that has Bianchi on 'calutronic radio-sources', Land Use on 'neurotronics, manipulations' and Pharmakustik on 'atomic recombinations, photosynthesis' and the cover has, again, one of those difficult texts: "Sources of organic matter cause severe arsenic pollution. The palaeohydrological controls on contamination form the essential geochemical response within the acoustic document of Spulfeld. The geochemistry of streams received in the name of electroacoustic and concrete exploration strategy locates the source of contamination and the spread of fluid pollutants. In the case of defining environmental problems Spulfeld reveals the formational anomalies and geostatistical investigation of inorganic and organic particles". I am not sure to which Spulfeld it refers: 18546 Sassnitz or 25557 Oldenbüttel, both in Northern Germany, or just the area of 'dredged material disposal site', anywhere. Now this is the true world of ambient and industrial. Ambient since its all stretched out, as one piece of continuous electronics and industrial since its aim is not to please the listener, but to play music that perhaps depicting that wasteland, that post nuclear landscape, that bleak affair of dumping waste. The perfect soundtrack to a film depicting precisely that: dumping waste, endless lines of trucks with canisters with nuclear waste, of course in black and white. Lots of reverb, lots of synthesized sounds, but also with what seems to me a curious form electro-acoustic music. Not pleasant music but surely all elementary stuff. Not for the weak of heart and or to be played with candlelight." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2011 €13.00
LAND:FIRE Gone LP Eines der Highlights der Neuzugänge dieses Katalogs, dieses neue anonyme Projekt auf LOKI mit brodelnd-massivem dark ambient, archaic music at its best, eine dichte und alles verschlingende Atmosphäre wird heraufbeschworen, mit sakralen und melancholischen Untertönen. Highly recommended massive & dense dark ambient archaic noise.. sacral and melancholic.. there are rumours this could be a HERBST9-sideproject. [old Drone Rec info 2002] „With it´s first release this new project from Germany has sculptured a sombre, frightening and illusionary soundtrack that creates an imagination about devastated landscapes and scorched areas where traces of human existence are to be found only on remaining fragments from noted radio transmissions. Massive drones and sinister melodies rise out from the inside of a dark and bleak ground while crushing rhythms and unreal vocal shreds echoing through a wide spectrum of sounds and effects. Limited edition of 555 copies!” [press-release] 2002 €12.00
LASWELL, BILL & PETE NAMLOOK Outland 6 x CD BOX The 'Outland' album series was a collaborative endeavour by the visionary US bassist-producer Bill Laswell and the late German musician Peter Namlook that pushed the boundaries of dark ambient and electronic music. Spanning five albums released over a thirteen year period from 1994, this new boxset serves as a testament to the creative synergy between the two masterminds. At the time the duo joined forces, the New York-based Laswell was already a famous producer with a massive client list that included cutting-edge rock, pop, funk, jazz and electronic artists, but he had also founded the Axiom label in 1989 and been responsible for groundbreaking work in genres that included ambient, dub and world music. Namlook was recognised as a pioneering figure in the ambient techno scene, having founded the label FAX +49-69/450464 in his native Frankfurt in 1992. 'Outland' became a fusion of their individual musical sensibilities that resulted in a unique set of releases. At the heart of the series is an exploration of sound as a vehicle for emotion and contemplation, with Laswell's signature basslines and experimental soundscapes interweaving seamlessly with Namlook's ethereal textures and intricate sonic layering. Each album is characterised by a sense of expansiveness, taking listeners on a voyage through rarely charted sonic dimensions. All have the ability to evoke a wide range of emotions and have their own distinctive sonic palette, ranging from ambient tranquility to cosmic intensity. 'Outland' has endured as an influential touchstone, its impact felt not only in its captivating soundscapes but also in its invitation to engage in deep introspection and cosmic contemplation. With each album, the duo beckoned listeners to transcend the mundane and embark on a sonic voyage into the extraordinary, where sound becomes a conduit for spiritual and artistic expression. The lavish matte-finish boxset opens to the 5 "Outland" albums in separate matte sleeves, with all-new designs, and all audio completely remastered. This box also contains a new addition to the OUTLAND series - an album of dense, bass space drone by Bill Laswell, entitled "Blackland". The boxset also contains an exclusive card with an essay about the project written by BIll Laswell, July 2023. ........................................ Their collaboration actually began after Namlook discovered that several samples from early Fax releases had been utilised for Laswell's own projects, prompting an initial forthright exchange that quickly turned into a deep mutual admiration. "We started to send music back and forth, Frankfurt to Brooklyn and back again," explains Laswell. "There were so many recordings and different collaborations that several of them turned into a series. In addition to 'Outland', there was 'Psychonavigation', 'The Dark Side Of The Moog' and more." For 'Outland', he recalls that "I had done an Asian tour with my friend Akira Sakata where I managed to record a lot of traditional music in Mongolia, which is heavy drone singing and the ultimate ambient. When I was in Europe, I brought these recordings to Pete and we worked on them in Frankfurt. That was the start of 'Outland', which then continued for another four releases." He also reveals that Namlook told him about the very start of his career. "He was playing guitar and working in a bank. Every day, on his way home with his guitar, he would pass a river and stop and play with the river flowing. I think that's where his ambient obsession began. I recorded a piece with Bernie Worrell entitled 'By A River (for Peter)', which is the first track of the box set compilation 'Die Welt ist Klang: A Tribute to Pete Namlook', which was released in 2013, a year after his death." CD1: Produced by Peter Kuhlmann. Written by Bill Laswell and Pete Namlook. Mongolian voices and instruments by Nicky Skopelitis & Oz Fritz. CD2: Produced by Peter Kuhlmann. Written by Bill Laswell and Pete Namlook. Ethnic sounds recorded in West Africa by Oz Fritz. Recorded at Klanglabor, Frankfurt. CD3: Produced by Peter Kuhlmann. Written by Bill Laswell and Pete Namlook. Recorded at Klanglabor, Frankfurt & Traben-Trarbach. CD4: Produced by Peter Kuhlmann. Written by Bill Laswell and Pete Namlook. Recorded at Klanglabor, Frankfurt & Traben-Trarbach. CD5: Produced by Peter Kuhlmann. Written by Bill Laswell and Pete Namlook. Recorded at Orange Music, West Orange,NJ, and Klanglabor Hödeshof. CD6: Bill Laswell: Bass, effects. Engineering: James Dellatacoma. Recorded at Orange Music, West Orange,NJ (Bassmatter, BMI). https://coldspring.bandcamp.com/album/outland "Quite a catch and a very pleasantly surprising one. I would not have imagined that Cold Spring Records, known for all their darkness, would dip into ambient electronic pioneer Pete Namlook's (1960-2012) work, particularly his piece with Bill Laswell. The latter is a bass player and producer with a massive body of work, mainly outside Vital Weekly (Herbie Hancock's 'Rockit' is a VW HQ favourite, sometimes), both on bass and production duties. Pete Namlook played electronic ambient music, usually without too many rhythms, but he wasn't too shy to put a full set on. Namlook's catalogue is massive, as at one point, he released a CD every month on his FAX +49-69/450464 label. He had a line of collaborators with whom he worked a lot (Klaus Schulze, Tetsu Inoue, and Richie Hawtin, for instance). With Bill Laswell he recorded five parts of 'Outland', which are now re-issued with a bonus disc of a new work, 'Blackland', by Laswell. There was more work by the two, 'Psychonavigation', which also spanned various CDs (and maybe something to come in the future?), which is one I really enjoyed. I could call myself a Namlook fan, yet I also know I heard maybe 50% of his work. Back in the day, I couldn't afford to buy everything I wanted, and Namlook's output was, as said, massive. From the original 'Outland' albums, I only heard two. It is interesting to play these six works as they provide an excellent picture of the diversity of ambient house music, at least in the approach of Namlook and Laswell. There isn't one kind of ambient house. The word 'house', as in 'house music', is a loose term anyway in this respect, indicating dance music. Ambient House never relies too much on strict dance beats but uses more complex rhythms, such as on 'Outland Two - African Virus', which is more exotic, wilder and sometimes indeed more African. 'Outland Three' (no subtitle) has rhythms that are a bit more straightforward and minimal, but it's not something for the dance floor. On 'Outland Four', the beats are more dub-like in some of the pieces (as with all of these pieces, it moves through various ideas and textures per album), another interest of many ambient house musicians. On the other side of the musical spectrum, we find music devoid of rhythm, spacious synthesizers, minimalist drones, and perhaps something ambient in the truest sense. As with many Namlook releases, there is a certain directness about the music, indicating that the music is one long session, a live-in-studio approach, with mixing and editing afterwards. There is not much extra information in this release explaining methods. The whole live-in-studio approach might be something that is only in my mind. Each album is a trip, and so is the whole five-plus hours of this. I played this for the first time in one row on a lazy Sunday, sipping tea after a long night. Ambient music is the preferred waking-up music for me. Maybe with the idea that my living room is a sort of chill-out place today, as some of this music is clearly the intended soundtrack for such a place." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2023 €47.50
LEGENDARY PINK DOTS (LPD) The Museum of Human Happiness (col.) do-LP “A cubicle for you, a cubicle for me….but not together…” The Year 2020 was not a year for a band to 'get things together in the country', or gather in a room to write songs. This statement certainly applied to the Legendary Pink Dots with two members in The Netherlands and one in the UK. The pandemic reared its ugly head as the Dots’ criss-crossed Europe on the second stage of their 40th Anniversary Tour. Just a few days before much of Italy locked down the band was in Milan. A few days later, the destination was Cologne where they opted for a hotel in the countryside…it turned out that the resting place was one village away from the most lethal outbreak of the virus in Germany. The tour eventually finished in a sold-out club with a worryingly low ceiling in London. There were hugs, a real feeling of togetherness with a truly lovely audience. Then the World stopped. It was the last time The Dots were in the same room. Song writing and recording were necessarily deemed to happen in cyberspace for the rest of 2020 and 2021. As a result, the lyrics are utterly poignant, desperate, yet sometimes bearing a flash of gallows humour. The soundtrack is a purging fire. It’s a fire that still burns, and as I type this I can say I have never been so excited about the impending release of a new Dots’ album. Never mind the distance, there is a single-mindedness about “The Museum Of Human Happiness.” It’s 2022. We’ll meet again…. [EK] https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/the-museum-of-human-happiness www.metropolis-records.com/product/11839/the-museum-of-human-happiness 2022 €36.00
  The Museum of Human Happiness CD “A cubicle for you, a cubicle for me….but not together…” The Year 2020 was not a year for a band to 'get things together in the country', or gather in a room to write songs. This statement certainly applied to the Legendary Pink Dots with two members in The Netherlands and one in the UK. The pandemic reared its ugly head as the Dots’ criss-crossed Europe on the second stage of their 40th Anniversary Tour. Just a few days before much of Italy locked down the band was in Milan. A few days later, the destination was Cologne where they opted for a hotel in the countryside…it turned out that the resting place was one village away from the most lethal outbreak of the virus in Germany. The tour eventually finished in a sold-out club with a worryingly low ceiling in London. There were hugs, a real feeling of togetherness with a truly lovely audience. Then the World stopped. It was the last time The Dots were in the same room. Song writing and recording were necessarily deemed to happen in cyberspace for the rest of 2020 and 2021. As a result, the lyrics are utterly poignant, desperate, yet sometimes bearing a flash of gallows humour. The soundtrack is a purging fire. It’s a fire that still burns, and as I type this I can say I have never been so excited about the impending release of a new Dots’ album. Never mind the distance, there is a single-mindedness about “The Museum Of Human Happiness.” It’s 2022. We’ll meet again…. [EK] https://legendarypinkdots1.bandcamp.com/album/the-museum-of-human-happiness www.metropolis-records.com/product/11839/the-museum-of-human-happiness 2022 €16.00
LICHT-UNG Kristall 7 LICHT-UNG ist ein Label, Lyrik- und Soundprojekt für experimentelle Kunst aus Leverkusen mit etwas exzentrischem Anspruch. Auf 'Kristall' findet sich eine spannungsgeladene A-Seite basierend auf Feedback-Sounds, sowie ein wirklich kristallklarer microsound-drone auf der Rückseite. "LICHT-UNG (German for "glade") is the name of a label, art- (publishing lyrics, pictures, etc.) and sound project from the western part of Gemany with a very peculiar and rather dadaistic approach. The two pieces on "kristall" seem to be based mainly on feedback- and metal or glass sounds that are carefully put together for a queer-sounding trip. Side A ("Listen to the music playing in your head") consists of humming, growling drones, low siren-like sounds and high-frequency feedbacks, powerful and absorbing and very abstract, while never turning into sheer noise. Side B (with the odd title "Heute war ich bei den weißen Elefantens") delivers a crystal-clear noise chant and metallic overtones processed with obscure effects. File under: high-tension & crystal Drones BLUE VINYL WITH BLACK STRIAE. COVERS WITH SILKSCREEN-PRINTED TEXT & VISUAL, SILVER-PRINTED BLACK INLAY" [press release] "Ein beigelegter Pin, eine liebevoll bedruckte Rückseite und ein gespraytes Cover schaffen auf Anhieb Sympathie, die Musik nicht weniger. Licht-ung ist Fakt- und infobezogen recht schweigsam, zwar sehr betriebsam und eher in der unorthodox-verzettelten Ecke der experimentellen Musik tätig, hier allerdings geradezu lieblich und freigeistig, wofür die Namen der beiden Stücke geradezu bürgen. »Listen To The Music Playing In Your Head« ist analoge Feedbackverdrahtung a la David Lee Myers mit ordentlich Rauschen drauf, ein wenig Mikroakribie im Stile von V/VM und last but not least so differenziert fern, dass man meint, einem zeitlich langgezogenen Bremsvorgang der Untergrundbahn in Hamburg zu lauschen. Charmant und reicht allemal für einen kurzen Sprung ins Unterbewusstsein, hingegen die B-Seite trägt dem Namen des Releases eher Rechnung: »Heute War Ich Bei Den Weißen Elefanten« ist ein in der Tat kristallklarer elektroakustischer Drone auf der Grundlage eines transponierten Glockenspiels. Die Tonspur ist dabei genauso aberwitzig halluzinogen wie der Titel des Stückes, aber augenzwinkernd hintergründig. Es schlingert und scheppert auf den Frequenzen und letztlich fällt doch alles in die große Stille. Eines der etwas obskureren Werke auf Drone Records, aber sehr fein aufbereitet und mysteriös wie der Musiker dahinter." [Thorsten Soltau / AEMAG] 2007 €7.00
Gieb Fahrt! mCD-R 3" CDR, 1 TRACK, 1 VIDEOFILE, 12 MINUTES. LIMITED AND NUMBERED EDITION OF 150 COPIES. MINI DVD BOX WITH 2 INLAYS. licht-ung, a art (lyrics, pictures, etc.) and sound project from Germany. The name stands always for his very own art. Strange, peculiar, dadaistic. licht-ung have several releases on his own label, some are splits with artists like Government Alpha, Stilluppsteypa, Aube. There is also a 7" on Drone Records, that shows the lower side. This TOSOM release contains a 12 minute piece, in the best japanese Noise tradition. Very harsh, very intensive, very loud. The second track is a short video file for your PC. lichtlaterne. wenn der regen nebens cafe faellt. und jemand spaziert. einen brief schreibt, und geburtstag hat. endlich, finalmente, sind wir drin. wir koennen tanzen, klettern, sehen den fluß. seine schiffe. auch fuer sie scheint eine ampel. die post spart hilfe die ganze nacht lang auf. waere sie nicht gewesen, haette viel dort bleiben muessen, denn wir koennen nicht alles behalten. wir konnten nie alles loslassen. nur alles haben wir verloren. die maserung bleibt wie eine spur in der tuer. in einem anderen land. Du lebst." [label info] "... So Johannes is to contemporary noise what Da Vinci was to the renaissance? The 3inch has a strange short video of 6 seconds and a 12 or so minute harsh noise work which mixes harsh rumble with high pitched feedback. The noise piece is competent to the point of a total refinement of what harsh noise should be, and that's praise not criticism, it winds and weaves through a sonic landscape at times quixotically so much so that the piece IMO could have been longer - but it pays to leave your audience wanting more - which I do (though not sprouts!)." [Jliat / Vital Weekly] label: www.tosom.de 2007 €7.50
  Nora 7 We think this is the very first 7" vinyl for this German experimental art / poetry & harsh noise project! Two pieces of extreme feedbacks and an abused home-organ performed in total distortion. Really cathartic stuff! A dance of low & high feedbacks, with destroyed kitschy harmonics underneath! Comes in a white 7"-cover with sticked-on colour photo, in an edition of just 220 copies. A lovely obscure 7" for vinyl collectors ! www.licht-ung.de 2003 €5.00
LICHT-UNG / IRIS GARRELFS split 10inch Split 10" in a tiny edition of this excentric german art-project with the british soundartist IRIS GARRELS. Two pieces with ominous dronescapes, strange clouds of rather dull moaning sounds, pulses, crackles, resonance-bubbles, quite exciting in their indeterminableness. Great record, very much recommended. Comes with colour-photo sticked on, and inlay. Numbered ed. Background to IRIS GARRELFS recordings: "(Talking) Space to Space is an ongoing radio project. Using captured natural radio emissions from celestial objects, Iris reshapes these sounds into an audio composition and flings them back to the stars in a radio broadcast. A poetic gesture, a sensual fiction which takes the past, re-shapes it in real-time and travels with it into the future. The piece was originally performed on Resonance FM in June 04 and as part of Radio Art Riot during the Frieze Art Fair, October 04. An extract was also featured as part of Radio Day of European Cultures in October 05. An extended version was listed for the PRS New Musci Award in 05. An extract wil be released on 10" vinyl by German art label lich-tung in spring 06." [website info] 2006 €13.50
LILES, ANDREW & JEAN-HERVE PERON Fini! CD "Introducing the debut collaborative release from sometime Nurse With Wound/Current 93 member, Andrew Liles and Jean Hervé Peron of Faust. Neither of these artists needs any introduction and all expectations are overtaken with this incredible album. Here is something that sounds like both a Krautrock album and also like nothing else you can imagine. Its twists and turns keep surprising and thrilling you several listens on from the first. The words "classic" and "masterpiece" would not be out of place here. Both Faust and NWW are touring all over the world in 2008, and the profile for both of these legendary acts has never been higher. This release is packaged in a gloss-laminated digipack, with beautiful artwork by Liles." [label info] "When mayhem artists like Nurse With Wound 's Andrew Liles and Faust 's Jean-Hervé Peron conspire, the result might be described as acousmaniac. Fini! is an arsenal of fun that comes on like a vibra-gun blast to the pineal gland. The glorious studio tomfuckery of "The Drummer is on Valium," Fini!'s opening cut, let's us know in no uncertain terms that Krautrock hasn't stopped mutating after all these decades, nor has it been successfully recycled by the archons of mainstream airwaves. That's one thing that makes Fini! delightful. It comes on like an artifact from an alien culture excavated by reanimated Dadaists from five feet of moon-dust. Touch not the obelisk lest centuries of Germanic gnosis light up your central nervous system like Meister Eckhart's pinball machine. This wanton little orgone-grinder is enhanced with blasts of blago-bung plus multi-lingual spoken word. "Congo Bongo La La La," coming in shy of two minutes, stands out with brilliant eccentricity, teasing us with a slow build up of La La La before the Congo Bongo briefly shakes the bachelor tree house until it disgorges all the monkeys. While most cuts are incredibly brief, leaving the listener a little hungry for more, much more, and seeming to be the disc's connective tissue, "Shake Your Hooves" rises up like a delirious five-minute ethno-pagan evocation of Pan. A sweet release like this demands its own context, maybe a dainty tea-party of genteel aristocrats at which you, stripped naked with cabalistic signs emblazoned on your shaved body, spin Fini! at maximum ear-bleeding intensity before setting fire to the curtains and riding off on a white ass. You can claim that you did this at the behest of "It's Too Loud," which sounds like it was recorded on a Messerschmitt. If this impromptu circus doesn't result in the New Aeon of Amon Düül IV, all is lost. Out of this world!" [Steve Aydt / Weirdomusic.com] 2008 €14.50
LILES, ANDREW & WANDER Astronomical Entomologist pic-7inch Ein gar seltsames Sammerstück hat BETA LACTAM da aufgelegt (wir haben nichts anderes erwartet): Krautige Sequenzer-Kosmos-Analog-Elektronik von WANDER auf der einen, die Dekonstruktion desselben mit Drumbox & Gitarren auf der anderen. LILES ist einfach ein Schelm! Nummerierte, irgendwie auch gesignte Auflage mit “original art insert” von nur 150 Stück! “Wander does not another introduction here of course. But this 7" may need scrutiny: not the usual drone music, but a synthesizer sequence to which other synths have been added. Strangely reminiscent of seventies german synth gods like Tangerine Dream and others really. And quite funny. The other side seems to be a collaboration with Andrew Liles, I am guessing he is playing along with the Wander recording. And this is even more fun: the synth sequence is overruled by a drum computer beat to which guitars are added in several, mostly rhythmical ways. Reminiscent of early eighties punk/rock like nothing I have heard before. Very refreshing this little disc!” [MR / Vital Weekly] www.blrrecords.com 2005 €16.00
LINDSTRÖM, MATS Mig LP "Mats Lindström works as a composer and a musician, often with strains of live-electronics. He often works with intermedia, scenic elements and visual arts as a complement to the music, and has worked both with music for concerts, theatre and dance as well as radio-art and sound installations. Formerly an engineer in the electronics industry Lindström has designed and constructed a number of unique electronic musical instruments and apparatuses. "Mig" produced by PRO ARTE Foundation for JSC Klimov Aviation Engines Museum, St Petersburg, Russia September 2011. 'IBM' tracks recorded at EMS Elektronmusikstudion, Stockholm April 2012. 'ONE' tracks was premiered at San Servolo, Venezia, Italy, December 2008 together with Anna Koch Scratch Memory. 'Give Us the Tools' was premiered at Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Germany July 2006. Dedicated to Hugh Davies. 'Children of Paradise' is a tape part remaining from the piece Sörmlndsk tragedi for childrens string orchestra premiered at Kulturhuset Stockholm and Sveriges Radio P2 February 2003." [label info] www.editionsmego.com 2012 €16.00
LISA CARBON Trio de Janeiro LP Twisted programmings, a unique humour and futuristic improvisations are some of the characteristics of Lisa Carbon's sound, which has been copied by many throughout the years. Partly recorded in San José (Costa Rica), Lisa's hometown, 'Trio de Janeiro' was then mainly completed under the guidance of her long time companion Atom TM in his Frankfurt studio. When the first Lisa Carbon recording was released back in 1992 (the Lisa carbon trio: opto freestyle swing, 12", pod communication), the german magazine "frontpage" gave it one star (out of 6) and declared it "not music." magazines come and go, but Lisa is still here. the music was controversial, and while for some it was the most unhip thing to listen to, for others it was an enlightenment. much has happened since then and Lisa Carbon ignored styles and trends, and instead created them. in 1995, musical fashion caught up with her. Her music, once declared unmusical, had become the hype to follow when UK's "Rephlex" released her second album "Polyester" after a two year delay. Lisa's sound was still fresh, so fresh in fact that it was even emulated by those who used to be trendy in 1992. but Lisa grew tired of the unprofessionalism in the music business, and so joined producer Atom Heart's label "rather interesting" in 1997, and the album you have in front of you was born. "Trio De Janeiro," musically in the vein of its predecessor, became one of rather interesting's most successful releases and soon afterwards saw its release on Haruomi Hosono's "Daisy World" label in Japan (1997). Now that we have crossed into the millennium, you can see and hear that "Trio De Janeiro" still sounds amazingly current. this re-release contains the two bonus titles "Tempo Feliz" and "Song For Frank Brown," which up until now had only been available on the 1997 japanese release. also the entire album has been extensively remastered to match today's audio standards and to give you, the listener, the full enjoyment of this timeless masterpiece. https://subrosalabel.bandcamp.com/album/trio-de-janeiro 2001 €18.00
LIVING TEMPLES Spirit of the Sands CD SPIRITS OF THE SAND is the LIVING TEMPLES' collaboration with the five locations on the Curonian Spit, south-west of Nida, Lithuania: * The shore of the Curonian Lagoon along the Parnidis dune. This ever-changing coastline is a creation of elemental magic. Trees that have been washed away by water, thrown back ashore and then buried by the sand re-appear regularly here. They emerge transformed into wonderful surreal shapes that stimulate wild mythical imagination. * The Valley of Death. This mysterious valley separates the Parnidis and Gliders' Dunes. This is the supposed location of the infamous French prisoner camp from the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian war. The climate of the Curonian Spit used to be so harsh back then that the Prussian government saw it fit for a retaliatory prisoner camp created in response to German P.O.W. imprisonment in the Sahara Desert of Algeria. The prisoners worked on greening the dunes around Nida. * The Neolithic village of Nida. The neolithic settlement explored by the great archaeologist Ramutė Rimantienė in 1974 turned out to be at least 4000 years old. Fishers and farmers inhabited this place for many centuries. Decoration on their ceramics proves that they were of the Indo-European Corded Ware culture. These people were our oldest ancestors - the forerunners of the Curonian tribe. * The location of the Pre-WW2 gliding school of Nida. "Ready! Strain! Go!!" Back in 1933-1939 these commands were repeated many times at the top of the Great Dune (today - the Gliders' Dune). Students at the gliding school of the Lithuanian Aero Club used to hunt for the favourable headwind above the dunes. This headwind rises off the massive eastern sand wall of the dune and can hold a light glider up in the air for many hours. * The sundial of the Parnidis dune. The summit of the Parnidis Dune is a unique place in Lithuania. The full astronomical horizon opens to the viewer standing here which makes this spot an ideal location for the sundial. Or perhaps this is a portal above time and space through which one can see not only what is, but also what once was and what is yet to come. These locations have gained special meaning, symbolising four cardinal elements of our inner universe - Water (Emotions), Earth (Body), Air (Intellect) and Fire-Sun (Spirit). With the alchemy of contemporary technology, we join these elements into the magical unity of an artistic piece and invite you on a spiritual journey from the dark depths of the lagoon through the windy shifting sands into the endless sun-blazed skies. On our way we meet the spirits emerging from the past of the Curonian Spit - the shipwreck of the mythic fisher Kastytis, settlements buried by sand, the oldest of which is nearly 4000 years old, French prisoners of war greening the sands, and Pre-WW2 gliders hunting for favourable winds. Eventually we arrive near the sundial of the Parnidis dune which counts cosmic time and connects it all somewhere up in a higher dimension. The CD comes in a sustainable cardboard envelope along with a 6-page leaflet that includes detailed description, credits and other liner notes. In the envelope you will also find a photographic card set „Spirits of the Sand“. The reverse of the cards has a short evocative story - an itroduction to the musical content. Lastly there is a QR code inside which leads you to the listening recommendations. All items are bi-lingual (Lithuanian and English). https://living-temples.bandcamp.com/album/spirits-of-the-sand-sm-lyn-dvasios-2023 2023 €13.00
LOCRIAN Return to Annihilation CD "Ein Kapitel wird geschlossen – ein neues Kapitel aufgeschlagen. Nur wenig scheint so reichhaltig wie die Chroniken LOCRIANs. Nach “The Clearing“ und den Split-Alben mit MAMIFFER und Christoph Heemann folgt nun also “Return To Annihilation“. Eine Herausforderung dieses Albums bestand für die Band darin, dass Terence Hannum mittlerweile viele Kilometer von André Foisy und Steven Hess entfernt wohnt. So tauschte die Band zunächst Ideen via Email aus, bevor sie sich für drei Tage ins Studio einschloss, um das Album aufzunehmen. Entlang des ersten Durchlaufs fällt auf, dass die Musiker auf “Return To Annihilation“ noch fokussierter gearbeitet haben. Die große räumliche Distanz, mit der die Bandmitglieder umzugehen lernen mussten, scheint doch eher eine nahe Ferne gewesen zu sein. Das Zusammenspiel ist noch konzentrierter, die Improvisationen sind noch besser abgestimmt. Zudem hat man das Gefühl, dass LOCRIAN durch ihre verschiedenen Kollaborationen und Tätigkeiten in den diversen Nebenprojekten Facetten freigelegt und entdeckt haben, die gleichzeitig als eine Art Türöffner für ihre neuen Ideen fungieren. Ihre schöpferischen Ressourcen zeigen sich ideenprall und die Frische sowie die Freude beim Kreieren von Musik sind dem Album deutlich anzuhören. Das erste Stück “Eternal Return“ eröffnet hymnisch. Verschachtelte Synthesizerspuren, krachendes Schlagwerk, vorpreschende Gitarrensounds und ein bis in die tiefste Innerwelt berührender, fauchender Schreigesang lassen den Kurs des Albums erahnen. Doch jene Richtung führt nicht über vorgebahnte Wege. Es werden Schneisen ins Unterholz geschlagen, die Pfade ins Unbegangene oder hier konkret ins Ungehörte eröffnen. Im Fortlauf folgt “A Visitation From The Wrath Of Heaven“. Mächtige Electronics verrätseln diesen nächsten Gang, dazu rummst Steven Hess mit seiner Herzschlagtrommel, bevor der Gesang das Stück zu einem choralartigen Wunderwerk aufbaut, um kurze Zeit später abrupt abzubrechen. Und bereits hier lässt sich vermuten, dass sich LOCRIAN bei den Aufnahmen gegenseitig noch stärker angetrieben zu haben scheinen als auf den Vorgängerveröffentlichungen. Bei “Two Moons“ werden von Sekunde zu Sekunde andere Aspekte in den Vordergrund gerückt, dadurch entsteht ein dröhnendes Gebilde, welches sich von allen Stücken wohl am stärksten Einhegungsversuchen entzieht. Die Besonderheit dieses Albums liegt neben der Unvorhersehbarkeit auch darin, dass die Amerikaner ihrer Impulsfülle nachgeben, jedoch dabei niemals ihren Wiedererkennungswert verlieren. Der Wechsel von stürmischen und ruhigen Passagen wirkt nicht konstruiert, sondern entwickelt sich natürlich. Das Titelstück “Return To Annihilation“ führt den choralartigen Gesang fort, dazu hämmert ein Bolz-Drum, die Gitarren krachen Gewitter ähnlich. Ein orchestrales, dröhnendes Brausen zeigt dessen Entladung. Das Ambient lastige, rauschhaltige “Exiting The Hall Of Vapor And Light“ zieht hinter diesen Gewitterwolken auf und beruhigt das vorher Aufgewühlte. Dem schließt sich kontrastierend die Krachsinfonie “Panorama Of Mirrors“ an. Den Abschluss bildet das 15minütige “Obsolete Elegies“, welches alle Weggabelungen und Wetterlagen des Albums vereint und final den tiefsten, sich selbst beschleunigenden Wirbel in die eingeschlagene Schneise bricht. “Return To Annihilation“ ist durchwirkt vom Überraschenden aus dem Dunklen. Es umgürtet die Arbeit der Amerikaner. Hervorgerufen wurde es durch wahre Passion, die sich in der dem Album inhärenten Wucht offenbart. Viele Bands verlieren im Laufe der Jahre die Dunkelheit der Anfangstage und verwalten ihre kreative Ausbleichung. Nicht so LOCRIAN – das Dunkle wird hier nicht abgeschabt, sondern in seinen Stufungen neu ausgeleuchtet. André Foisy sprach davon, dass “Return To Annihilation“ das bisher wichtigste Album in der Bandgeschichte sei. Das schürt Erwartungen. Von einem Höhepunkt, vom Gelungenen kann immer dann gesprochen werden, wenn Erwartungen ihre Einlösung finden. Wenn das Ergebnis übergroße Schatten auf hohe Erwartungen wirft, kann vom Bleibenden gesprochen werden. Dieses Ergebnis wird sich auf die Erwartungen im Vorfeld der nächsten Veröffentlichung aufprägen. Eine Klimax gen Unendlichkeit – oder die nimmer endenden Chroniken LOCRIANs." (D.L./ Blackmagazin] "For a band so devoted to endings, the noise metallurgists of Locrian are surprisingly keen with beginnings, too. More than a year ago, Relapse Records announced they'd signed the Chicago-and-Baltimore trio. The move seemed surprising at the time, but not because Locrian’s electronics-and-effects-driven approach was at odds with the more orthodox heavy metal roster at Relapse; in fact, the label’s two decades are dotted by momentous dalliances with experimental music. Instead, before signing to Relapse, Locrian released a lot of music, a strategy that worked for a band putting out very limited editions on rather small labels but maybe not one meant for a fringe act now signed to an imprint as large as Relapse. Just how many Locrian eight-tracks or singles could and would Relapse actually handle? Since the deal, though, Locrian have only issued three titles-- a re-release of one such short-run record bundled with new material, a glacial collaboration with kindred lurkers Mammifer, and a beautiful piece with German sound art veteran Christopher Heemann. After many consecutive years of several albums, splits, and singles each, Locrian went almost silent-- just not behind the scenes. All along, they were sketching, building, and refining Return to Annihilation, their proper Relapse debut and step into a much bigger spotlight. It's an auspicious new phase of their existence: Return to Annihilation is the most provocative and engaging Locrian album to date, a brilliant mystery that evades simplistic definitions by turning their historical din and destruction in on itself and, sometimes, back again. In initial interviews for Return to Annihilation, Locrian-- multi-instrumentalist André Foisy, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Terrence Hannum and drummer Steven Hess-- spoke about the influence of Genesis on their new work. It felt to some like trolling, as there was no way the intricate (and sometimes awkward) prog rock of Genesis might have a substantive pull on music so ostensibly moonless and monolithic. But Return to Annihilation is intrinsically elusive, with twists so compelling and layers so deep that each listen reveals a half-dozen new facets. The title track, for instance, is a three-part suite. Locrian begins with the primal, repetitive wallop of Swans, repurposed with industrial accessories. Despite the aggressive delivery, it feels tunefully poppy, beckoning the listener forward just before the song shifts into a cataclysmic drone. Smothering electronics battle with piercing guitars, shaping a stalemate of willpowers. Hess’ drums goad the band forward again, hitting a climax that’s dense but buoyant, like the phosphorescent coda of a melodramatic post-millenial black metal epic. Though this is a triptych of distinct sections, the parts are strangely cohesive, blending into one another as a balance of extremes. For 50 minutes, Return to Annihilation runs like a whirlwind journey that you must mentally revisit when it’s done playing. Indeed, during the last three months, I’ve listened to this record a few dozen times, and each trip through only seems to solicit more questions about the material itself-- about its balance between corroded metal and coruscated drone, about its strange sense of enveloping atmosphere and unstoppable propulsion, about the completed puzzle and its complex constituent pieces. Sometimes its 15-minute closer, “Obsolete Elegies”, feels like an exhalation of relief, with muted piano and long-tone violin suggesting Pelt plundering the workshop of La Monte Young; other times, the quaking electronics and plodding guitar of the same piece intimate a hangman’s anthem, a steady gaze directed over and over again toward another imminent death. What’s most rewarding about Return to Annihilation is this sense of narrative and emotional limbo, or the feeling that supposedly staunch binaries-- birth and death, beauty and brutality, triumph and defeat-- function exclusively in interrelated arcs. Sure, there are entire tracks here that feel more nihilistic or uplifting than others. The neon guitars and escalating drum patterns of “Eternal Return” are exultant enough to soundtrack an action movie’s climax, while “Exiting the Hall of Vapor and Light” fashions a great, gray canvas from static and distortion, a diorama of nothingness. But in every instance, defeat and relief seem only to be dissolving through one another, not pushing one another from the frame. The guitars in “Vapor and Light” slink into patterns that don’t resolve, but for an instant, they bubble into the sort of ebullient loop that you might hear on a Dustin Wong record; it’s like glimpsing light at the end of a tunnel that’s so big you didn’t even know you were surrounded. And “Eternal Return” takes shape around bitterly shouted imprecations and swells of background noise so strong they sometimes threaten to push the ascension off track. Return to Annihilation forever demands that you decide for yourself-- or, of course, don’t. In the past, Locrian albums have seemed to me almost uniformly doomed, with their lyrics about industrial decay and blizzards of irascible tones creating an atmosphere of general oppression. But Return to Annihilation implicitly urged me to revisit those earlier records and to listen for, if not foreshadowing, signs that there’d been more ambiguity and complexity at work than I’d first supposed. And there is: The great Drenched Lands seems more forgiving than I’d perceievd, as if its excoriation of society is more of a way out than a mere self-excommunication. Moments of The Clearing, particularly the electrostatically foreboding “Coprolite”, sound in retrospect as if they are trying to climb out of the dark, even if they don’t succeed. Return to Annihilation, then, feels like a perfect nexus of Locrian’s past and future. This is the rare album that reveals new depth within a catalog that already seemed so deep and ruminative while proclaiming rather unlimited possibilities for a band nearing the end of its first decade. It’s a beginning refashioned from expired endings-- as it turns out, an essential Locrian idea." [Pitchfork] www.relapse.com www.relapse.com 2013 €13.00
LOPEZ, FRANCISCO Untitled # 74 CD Das vergriffene Album von 1997 (Table of the Elements) wieder erhältlich ! Definitiv eines der besten vom umtriebigen Spanier ! The sold out album from 1997 available again, definitely one of his best ! „Certainly ranking as one of the most challenging recordings of all time, this is a re-issue of the 1997 recording originally available on the table of the elements label. The most intense and elementary ambient work I've ever heard" (Scientifica Intercosmo, Germany) "Neither ambient nor isolationism, this music goes far beyond that" (Self, Spain) 2003 €13.50
  Wilderness Studio 2005-2019 do-CD francisco lópez - WILDERNESS STUDIO 2005-2019 / On-site Composition in the Wild Over the past fifteen years, with the assistance and companionship of some friends, small groups of artists and members of the local communities, I have been directing two consecutive incarnations of an annual residency/workshop at Mamori Lake in the Brazilian Amazon (‘Mamori Sound Project’, 2005-2011) and Mmabolela Reserve in the South African savanna (‘Sonic Mmabolela’, 2013-2019), for composers, audio artists, sound designers and other creative individuals from all over the world. Its focus has been on creative approaches to the work with environmental sound matter, through both recordings and profound listening, by means of an extensive –and I would say iconoclastic– exploration of natural sound environments in those contrasting locations of rainforest and savanna. In a number of different ways –theoretical, practical and experiential– I have been trying to bring in a vigorous questioning of canonical conceptions of so-called ‘field recordings’, a realm of audio creation that has manifested a significant expansion over the past few years but that, in my opinion, has failed to overcome representational clichés and obsolete creative rules. As I see , the main aim of this experience is neither technical nor conceptual, but rather transformative, from both artistic and personal perspectives. At a personal level, these ‘sonic years’ in the Amazon rainforest and the African savanna (two types of environments I had experienced as a biologist many years earlier in Brazil and Senegal) have had a very profound effect on my experience and conception of sound as both a prodigious phenomenological conduit and an ontological entity in its own right, along with –not subservient to– the other creatures of the rainforest and the savanna. This transcendental transformation has had fundamental outcomes for me, such as what I call ‘field listening’ (a post-media non-representational practice of profound listening in the field) and ‘sonogenic composition’ (a creative approach in which sound itself suggests and leads the compositional decisions, structure and nature). Among many other strategies, in this residency/workshop I proposed the participants to create audio pieces while still in the natural environment, and I did myself a few of those as well over the years. The classic super-analytical procedure of listening through all the many hours of recordings before creating anything might not necessarily be the best one, particularly now that the possible amount of recorded time is so vast. There is also an element of immediacy and immersion in the actual environment that I am convinced has a significant and very positive effect in what we can create under those conditions. This ‘on-site composition in the wild’ naturally brings forth challenging, heuristic and fruitful frameworks of audio creation in the form of spontaneity, incomplete knowledge, non-exhaustive observation, emotional probing of materials, un-systematic decisions, persistent presence of the sonic environment, immediate juxtaposition of listened and recorded ‘reality’, and so forth. This double album compilation presents the on-site composition pieces I created with my portable minimal ‘wilderness studio’ during all the past years of this residency/workshop in the Brazilian Amazon and the South African savanna. ------------------------------------------------------------ ‘Mamori Sound Project’ at Mamori Lake and ‘Sonic Mmabolela’ at Mmabolela Reserve have materialized as independent projects with virtually no funding, which have been made possible –more often than not against significant odds and through some quite remarkable adventures– by the collective effort of a small group of incredibly dedicated friends, as well as all the international participants: [120; from Algeria, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, UK, USA] Wilderness Studio 2005-2011: BRAZILIAN AMAZON My sincere gratitude goes to Asier Gogortza, Jorge Llorella, Nacho Martí, and Martín Azúa (of Mamori ArtLab); Slavek Kwi, Jerson and Katia Vieira da Silva, and the entire Mamori Lake community. Participants in ‘Mamori Sound Project’, 2005-2011: Aernoudt Jacobs, Alex Massana, Anders K. Landstrand, Andrea Williams, Annie Mahtani, Artur Matamoros, Barbara Ellison, Bernat Cuní, Brice Jeannin, Camilla Hannan, Cécile Martin, Cédric Maridet, Christopher Fleeger, Ciara Moore, Constantine Katsiris, Damien Perollaz, Daniel Blinkhorn, David Drury, David M. Michael, Dionisio Alfaro, Dominik t’Jolle, Els Viaene, Eric Miller, Farahnaz Hatam, Hilary Mullaney, Jaime Rojas, James Webb, Karl Lemieux, Kim Foscato, Laurent Wermenlinger, Lawrence English, Leah Barclay, Lindenberg Munroe, Linn Halvorsrød, Luca Forcucci, Ludger Kisters, Marc Behrens, Marcelo Nakata, Marta López-Briones, Mathias Janssens, Matt Shoemaker, Michael Trommer, Mikel Nieto, Nicholas McConaghy, Nimalan Yoganathan, Olof Dreijer, Perri Lynch, Rebecca English, Ruben García, Sam Hamilton, Sam Ripault, Samuel E. Dunscombe, Scott Konzelmann,Simon Whetham, Slavek Kwi, Stefano Tedesco, Suzanne Wehmer, Thanassis Kaproulias,Thelmo Cristovam, Todd Shalom,Tom Lane, Tulipa Ruiz, Vanessa Michelis, Victoria Soanes. Wilderness Studio 2013-2019: SOUTH AFRICAN SAVANNA My sincere gratitude goes to Mark and Lesley Berry (owners of Mmabolela Estates), James Webb, Barbara Ellison, Neil Lowe, Paulo Ghiglione, Mabig Frans Meela, Bolpetse William Mosima, Madikana Johannes Malobela, Maria Mokgadi Mosima ‘Khani’, Tamaries Lettah Tebodi, Malebogo Queen Molele, and the entire staff community at Mmabolela Estates. Participants in ‘Sonic Mmabolela’, 2013-2019: Aernoudt Jacobs, Alex Davies, Alexandra Spence, Andy Martin, Angélica Castelló, Barbara Ellison, Bethan Parkes, Brigitte Hart, Brydon Bolton, Cara Stacey, Cédric Maridet, Christina Kubish, Christopher Fleeger, Clinton Watkins, Craig Wells, Daan Hendriks, Daniel Lea, Dave Phillips, David M. Michael, Dimitrios Bakas, Dmitry Gelfand, Eric Mattson, Ernesto Coba, Evelina Domnitch, George Vlad Cancea, Gregory Kramer, Hanan Benammar, Hannah Gilmour, Harm Roché van Tiddens, Herbert Baioco Vasconcelos, Iddo Aharony, Jean-Baptiste Masson, Jeremy Hegge, Jesús de la Peña, Josten Myburgh, Jun Mizumachi, Kate Carr, Kim Foscato, Ksersti G. Andvig, Luca Forcucci, Lucille Calmel, Luke Pearson, Matthew Aidekman, Michael Clemow, Michał Jacaszek, Mike Vernusky, Niketa Sheth, Peter Terner, Robert Kellough, Robert Schwartz, Robyn Farah, Ruben García, Sara Retallick, Scott Konzelmann, Slavek Kwi, Steve Ashby, Steve Norton, Stijn Demeulenaere, Thomas Voyce, Thóranna Björnsdóttir, Tim Bruniges, Tristan Horton, Ulf A. S. Holbrook, Vicki Hallett, Yvonne Freckmann. ------------------------------------------------------------ First released on 2xCD ('nowhere') in September 2020 - Edition 300 copies. (c) francisco lópez 2005-2020 – www.franciscolopez.net https://franciscolopez.bandcamp.com/album/wilderness-studio-2005-2019-brazilian-amazon-south-african-savanna-on-site-composition-in-the-wild 2020 €19.50
LOPEZ, FRANCISCO & RICHARD FRANCIS In de blaauwe hand CD Nice collaboration of these two artists who also once had EPs on Drone Rec. (R. FRANCIS as ESO STEEL) - this studio work made at EXTRAPOOL studios is a one-tracker with a very subtle & droney fluidum, layers of sound develop very very slowly, changes & cut-ups are set and lead to interesting developments but never in a harsh way... a full meditation / transcension drone that goes from silence / void to abundance and back again. "Francisco López (Spain) and Richard Francis (New Zealand) have created "in de blaauwe hand" upon invitation from Extrapool for a brief working residency in Nijmegen, to develop a collaboration piece for the Brombron CD series. Working with very small seed source sound samples that were exchanged between them, two intermingling compositional paths unfolded in two parallel small studios. In a short ¬but very intense- period of time a whole world of very delicate and subtle materials arose. The whole piece (a single one-hour track) merges without mix a dreamy geography of subtleties and complex organicities that is more the result of aesthetic affinities than pre-structured plan. In that sense, this is a composition born from the sound themselves, following the paths indicated by them. And a surprising one. Over the last twenty years Francisco López has been developing a powerful and consistent world of minimal electroacoustic soundscapes, 'trying to reach an ideal of absolute concrète music'. To date, his catalog comprises more than 140 sound works, which have been released by one hundred record labels from Spain, France, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland, Austria, UK, Norway, Greece, Russia, Canada, USA, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Japan, China, Australia. He has toured extensively throughout Western and Eastern Europe, North, Central and South America, Japan and Australia doing acousmatic performances, and he has received commissions from a number of reknown institutions and organizations, such as the Dutch and Spanish National Radios, the Goethe Institut, V2 Organization (Rotterdam), Yale University Theater (New Haven), the Ralph Lemon Company (New York), the Zeitkratzer Ensemble (Berlin), Creative Time (New York), Quartier Ephemere (Montreal) and Sound Traffic Control (San Francisco). Richard Francis has been releasing works on CD/vinyl, performing solo and in collaboration as a touring artist since 1996. He uses field recordings of acoustic and electronic sounds and a tone generator to compose textural and tonal sound works. He has released solo and collaborative works on a number of labels worldwide and runs his own label CMR through which he releases limited edition lathe cut records by New Zealand artists. In performance he uses a computer and electronics and has toured Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada, USA and Europe. Since 2003, Francis has composed works for sound installation, participating in group and solo shows at galleries throughout New Zealand. He has collaborated for recording and/or performance with many artists including Bruce Russell, Francisco Lopez, Jason Kahn, Mattin, Birchville Cat Motel, Gate, MSBR, Tetuzi Akiyama, Lawrence English, Rosy Parlane, Howard Stelzer, Jason Lescalleet, Jay Sullivan, Empirical, Pumice, Kuwayama Kiyoharu, Phil Dadson, Anthony Guerra, Sean Meehan, Ishigami Kazuya, Antony Milton, James Kirk, MHFS, Tim Coster, Paul Winstanley, Takefumi Naoshima, Toshihiro Koike. Design by Richard Francis" [label info] www.kormplastics.nl 2009 €13.00
LUNDE, ERIC / KOMMISSAR HJULER split LP "When Vital Weekly was called Vital, and printed on paper (1986-1995) the name Eric Lunde appeared with some regular intervals, simply because he was quite active releasing records and tapes. His performance like approach to noise music, his elaborate packaging which always raised more questions than it would give answers made a big impact. And then he seemed gone and now he has returned. I have no idea what he did in the years in between. His music doesn't seem to have changed very much (I am still thinking wether that's good or bad) and its still his trademark sound we find here: eroded sound. Lunde uses cassettes, memo recorders and cheap microhones to tape sounds and mix these. Played back into a space - re-record, played back, re-record until quite a crude sound appears. That's what he does here in his three tracks, including a 'live site recording of two air 'separtion' tanks'. Crude, very crude ambient music. Lunde takes the ideas of Alvin Lucier's 'I'm Sitting In A Room' to the extreme, with very low grade equipment and builds from the dirty sounds beautiful music. Time to dig out the old stuff and play that again. On the other side we find Kommissar Hjuler, without Mama Baer this time. I tried to translate the liner notes from German in Dutch, but I failed. It has something to do with scooter? We hear some sort of (toy?) car sound, lots of rumble and a voice. Much alike last week's tape of Hjuler, this seems to be another example of highly personal audio poetry. Twenty minutes of this. It certainly has a great charm indeed, but its significance somehow eludes me here. Truely outsider music, that's for sure." [FdW / Vital Weekly] www.psych-kg.de www.mndr.de 2010 €23.00
LUSSIER, RENE Completement Marteau CD For René Lussier, this album is an unexpected assembly: “I gathered four compositions from commissions to which I responded with a maximum of freedom. They all testify to a long process of gossiping and pecking. As a proud patentee of out-of-the-box music, I have grouped them together under the title Complètement marteau, as in crazy stiff, unbridled and surprising, but also as in handcrafted, patiently and laboriously, with my self-taught tools.” The Burletta series (2009) and the BanQ piece (2015) were recorded for a clown theater show and an architectural projection, respectively. Pour modifier vos options personnelles appuyez sur l’étoile * (quartet for guitars and electric toothbrushes, 2019) and Le clou (double bass quartet, 1999), were performed by the ensembles that commissioned them, but never recorded. Despite the years between them, these pieces fit together easily, thanks to similar compositional processes. A pointillist approach runs through the album, with motifs divided among several voices, the sum of which draws the rhythmic and melodic phrases. All multi-movement pieces, they are interspersed here between the paintings of the Burletta suite, as if in a playful setting. BanQ and Burletta benefit from a large orchestration, with a whole lot of homemade percussions made of rubbing, mouth noises, cake spatulas, barbecue spits and styrofoam on a wet window. There is also the recurring and inimitable presence of the daxophone, an idiophone invented by the German musician Hans Reichel. Born in Montreal in 1957, guitarist René Lussier is one of the leading figures in innovative Quebec music. He divides his practice between composition, improvisation, soundtrack, songwriting, directing and producing. He has produced some sixty film scores, the extraordinary soundtrack for Robert Lepage’s Moulin à Images (2008-2012) and some thirty recordings, including Le Trésor de la langue, Grand prix Paul Gilson in 1989, a fresco on speech and history described as a masterpiece by critics. He has initiated or been a member of numerous ensembles that have allowed him to tour throughout the world, including with British musician Fred Frith (Nous autres, Keep the Dog, Fred Frith Guitar Quartet). René Lussier has received the Freddy Stone Award “…for his artistic integrity, innovative spirit and contribution to Canadian new music” and the Canada Council’s Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award “for outstanding achievement and excellence”. In recent years, he has composed for the stage, sounded installations by filmmaker Pierre Hébert, written for the ensembles Hard Rubber (Vancouver) and Bang on a Can (New York), as well as for his own René Lussier Quintet (festivals and Japanese tour in 2018), with whom he is about to record a second disc. Since 2003, he has been living and working in the countryside, where he has built a working laboratory. His activity is as effervescent as ever, in the tireless pursuit of an eclectic approach guided by experimentation. https://renelussier.bandcamp.com/album/compl-tement-marteau "Neues Album des kanadischen Multiinstrumentalisten und Komponisten RENÉ LUSSIER. „Completment Marteau“ erscheint als CD auf RECOMMENDED. 1957 in Montreal geboren, entdeckte LUSSIER schnell sein Interesse für Musik, lernte diverse Instrumente und schloss sich 1973 der Progressive-Rock-Band ARPÈGE als Gitarrist an. Durch seine Zusammenarbeit mit der ihn bis heute prägenden Free-Jazz / Avantgarde-Band CONVENTUM 1976 widmete sich der Künstler in den folgenden Jahren vor allem der Neuen Improvisationsmusik und spielte bis 1985 bei Gruppen wie QUATOUR DE L‘EMMIEUX AND LES REINS, NÉBU oder G.U.M. Zwischen 1982 und 1984 begleitete Lussier als Gitarrist auch die Sängerin PAULINE JULIEN und gründete mit seinem erfolgreich im Improvisationsduo auftretenden und international tourenden Partner JEAN DEROME das renommierte Label AMBIANCES MAGNÉTIQUES, wodurch vor allem FRED FRITH auf ihn aufmerksam wurde, welchen er von 1989 bis 1991 mit dessen Band KEEP THE DOG als Gitarrist begleitete. In den folgenden Jahren entstanden diverse Alben und Kollaboration mit u.a. MARTIN TÉTREAULT, CHRIS CUTLER, ROBERT M. LEPAGE und PIERRE HÉBERT. Desweiteren schrieb er Soundtracks für mehr als 35 Filme und wurde für sein Album „Le trésor de la langue“, das sich mit der Zweisprachigkeit in Québec beschäftigt, mit dem Grand Prix Paul-Gilson ausgezeichnet. „Completment Marteau“ ist das neue Werk eines renommierten und erfahrenden Künstlers, welcher nach wie vor voller Kreativität und Experimentierfreude ist." 2021 €13.00
LUSTMORD & NICOLAS HORVATH The Fall do-LP "The Fall is a deconstruction of November by Dennis Johnson. Written for solo piano in 1959, November is the first example of minimalist music composition and was the inspiration for La Monte Young's The Well-Tuned Piano (1964). The 66 minute piece is a collaboration between legendary artist Lustmord and renowned classical pianist Nicolas Horvath, in which they reduces Johnson's original November to its core element and place it in a landscape of complimentary sound. The Fall echo's November but with further resonance. Recorded in May-June 2019 in Los Angeles, and Misy-sur-Yonne, France. Lustmord Active since 1980, born of the original 'industrial' scene of the period. With its own distinctive approach, blurring the line between music and sound design Lustmord's work has featured in 45 motion pictures including The Crow and Underworld and also in video games, television and commercials. Recently Lustmord scored the music for Paul Schrader's movie First Reformed. While Lustmord is often credited for creating the 'dark ambient' genre there is much more nuance to its work than what that label implies. The music is not dark, but is a light that shines into and upon the darkness. Notable collaborations amongst many include Tool, Melvins, Jarboe, John Balance of Coil, Clock DVA, Chris & Cosey, Paul Haslinger, Karin Park and Robert Rich. Nicolas Horvath An unusual artist with an unconventional résumé, pianist and electroacoustic composer Nicolas Horvath is known for his boundariesless musical explorations. Horvath is both an enthusiastic promoter of contemporary music - he has commissioned numerous works (including no fewer than 120 as part of his Homages to Philip Glass project in 2014) and collaborated with leading contemporary composers from around the world, including Alvin Lucier, Mamoru Fujieda, Jaan Rääts, Alvin Curran and Valentyn Silvestrov - and a rediscoverer of forgotten or neglected composers such as Moondog, Nobuo Uematsu, Germaine Tailleferre, François-Adrien Boieldieu, Hélène de Montgeroult, Jean Catoire, Karl August Hermann." 2020 €22.50
LUTZ SCHRIDDE Troum Dreams consiliis animum fatigas? Troum dreams quid aeternis minorem consiliis animum fatigas? Cur non sub alta vel platano, vel hac pinu iacentes .... (Horatius, carm. 2,11,13) Why lying on dying, never we'll be with eternity, Hear no evil, no bad under this tree, Lay, see and be, here, no worry with me. About Horatius we read in Nietzsche's "Götzen-Dämmerung" that in his poetry we find 'sound', 'position', 'term', what is with the words (Klang, Ort, Begriff) . This German romantic appreciated the artistry and effectivity, and he considered his own wording equal. Today, I feel free to take 'sound, position, term' to put compositions of Troum into the context of romanisation of German language what informed the romantic metaphor of music as a language. The challenge of translating Horatius into other languages, as Nietzsche had accentuated, is not to fail such artistry and effectivity. What I want to say is that compositions of Troum are more than romantic translations, beyond music as a language. Troum is sound, yes, and then listening is navigating, and listening then is without translation. The German romantics claimed art to be not of purpose, no, art were autonomous and a value in itself, so were a genius. Does that mean the compositions of Troum – when not dubbing it romantic – have a purpose? Troum's navigations are taking the listener beyond such question. It is not about purpose or autonomy, Troum is two composers together, Stefan Knappe and Martin Gitschel. Their collaborative compositions is band-work, there is no solo. Like technical stereo-navigation of pilots in early airplanes, their navigations are even not communicating questions or answers. Following and listening here is about sharing their state of navigation, their state of mind. Stefan contacted me in 1997 and told me about the end of Maeror Tri and a new project he had no name for at the time. I had collected most of Maeror Tri and contributed liner notes once. Moreover, Stefan was irritated how I could identify his hidden solo compositions on my own. Actually, after my time as a connoisseur of music I entered the sphere of musique concrete and drones for sort of cultivating my mind. I had already learned about the righthandedness of European music, had even read Wolfgang Scherer's dissertation "Babellogik" on the matter. Maeror Tri always seemed a soundtrack to my search for a new vantage point. Stefan liked my approach to revaluate the implicit morale of music, himself a lefthanded. When he told me Maeror Tri was disbanding and the new project needed a name, that occured right in time to jump to the new vantage point. Musique concrete and post-punk creativity had affected me, and Maeror Tri all that time reminded me of the restrictions of surreal or psychogeograhic composition some people like to dub the French and British accomplishments. Maeror Tri - cassette by cassette since 1988 - shed some sound on that fashion, sometimes ambient, sometimes industrial, sometimes drone. To me, the fascination came through a sense of game and improvisation, often leaving any boundaries of the genres behind. Some of their early cassettes seemed informed even by the very wish to stay beyond boundaries, an approach to go for a change of any game before. Reading the reviews in Vital Weekly, I find a similar appreciation with the editor. Such exploration of composition may have resulted in new awareness and reflection then in 1997, disbanding Maeror Tri and a new project may explain itself. And as I see it today, the new project went on to explore and navigate beyond any boundaries of genres. Changing games is a skill of the lefthanded. And again, Stefan was surprised watching me identifying his hidden solo compositions. I am righthanded, touched by surreal music and post-punk creativity, I am not a composer. And I will not out his solo compositions here, no. Nietzsche was a lefthanded, his skills surfaced in writing, and he was seemingly not selfaware of this natural skill and tending to curious vanity. His opinion about Horatius shows that in particular. Nietzsche never learned about the giveness of his skill when running his revaluation of all values. He was with the German romantic tradition all the time. And he had a certain selectivity who he liked to value, all were lefthanded (Goethe, Ceasar, Bismarck, Napoleon), all game changers, very skilled. In romantic music, Beethoven and Mozart were skilled brilliantly as such. In visual art, we may call Paul Klee an example. When Stefan needed a name for the new project, I was ready to try. I said "Traum". In English, dream. By 1997, my search for a new way of composition beyond the genres of 'improvised', 'free jazz', 'world music', 'industrial', 'ambient', 'noise', 'drone', 'musique concrete' and else had already ended in sort of disappointment. I was sure, that the romantic tradition and its relative surrealism encompassed my search well, but at the time I had little in hand. My short essay "Noise Culture" in Vital Weekly Supplement in 1996 was a result of my search. Then talking with Stefan, and by intuition I avoided consideration of material or procedure what is behind the genre division. During that talk I threw myself out of that and looked for the location in musical anthropology. I looked for the essence of the genres and opened gain. So it became "Traum". Stefan liked that immediately. He made it "Troum", just as if he knew the game change behind. To be clear, Troum is no music for Nietzscheans. And I am not a Nietzschean, although I have mastered in philosophy and know about him. His approach is restricted to values and valuation, in his case furthermore to the 'game' the values are framed by. That spoke to his nature and his romantic vanity. It happened, that I decided to leave Germany and I am teaching in China for eight years now. Here, musical anthropology is still a vantage point, and I am listening to Troum in Xian at the eastern end of the Silk Road. Troum had done great things, I like the long-trackers "Sen" and "Mare Idiophonica". The Tjukurrpa-trilogy is also with me here, and allow me to highlight the collaboration with Martyn Bates and raison d'être. My current favorite of Troum is "Acouasme". And if you know Horatius, yes, then you may be the right one to try Troum. It is sound, navigation and prior to translation. Here is abroad. Lutz Schridde, Xian, China, April 1st 2018 Horatius in German: Wozu, da er doch nicht gewachsen ist Ewigkeitsgedanken, willst du deinen Geist damit plagen? Warum wollen wir nicht unter der hohen Platane oder unter dieser Pinie liegen sorgenlos, .... This German translation is taken from Bernhard Kytzler, Horaz. Eine Einführung, Stuttgart 1996, page 176, on Nietzsche and Horatius see same page. The English version above is mine. 2018
M.B. / COALMINER + ALLIES Antimateria LP Allies: GNAW THEIR TONGUES (Netherlands); RICHARD RAMIREZ (USA, founder of Black Leather Jesus); TORTURING NURSE (China) ZENABI (Philippines); GRODOCK (Germany); TOSHIJI MIKAWA (Japan, founder of Incapacitants); MANY BLESSINGS (USA; with Ethan Lee of Primitive Man); UNSIGNIFIED DEATH (Thailand) MAURIZIO BIANCHI is one of the founders of early industrial and noise music and should be familiar to the most. For ANTIMATERIA he contributed two brand new, merging pieces in which he approaches the theme through sounds of iluminescent and rushing keyboard clusters. COALMINER establishes several harshnoise tracks, for which they collaborated with the most diverse artists of the genre, from different countries. in the next few days, the various supporters will be presented here. Art by: Paul van Trigt, M.B. and Bruno Erber https://grubenwehrfreiburg.bandcamp.com/album/antimateria "Schon vor etlichen Jahren haben Kernphysiker verschiedene Untersuchungen zu den Klängen von Antimaterieteilchen durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse sind mittlerweile vermutlich Legion und mir weitgehend unbekannt. Wenn im Zuge dessen allerdings so etwas wie der Sound auf der vor einigen Monaten erschienenen Compilation “Antimateria” möglich ist, dann wäre ich prinzipiell dafür. Auf der LP “Antimateria”, die wenn man genau sein will ein zwischen Kollaboration, Compilation und Split-Release angesideltes Objekt darstellt, arbeitet auf der ersten Seite das hierzulande hoffentlich bald wesentlich bekanntere philippinische Harsh Noise-Duo Coalminer mit einer Reihe an Acts zusammen, die trivial formuliert fast wie ein Who is Who internationaler Lärmkünste anmuten. Die Resultate offenbaren einen starken verbindenden Rahmen, unterscheiden sich aber im Detail sowohl in der klanglichen Beschaffenheit (Rauheit versus relativ glatte Politur, oder besser leicht abgemilderte Rauheit) als auch in der Struktur (Fluss versus Stakkato und alle Zwischenstufen). Den Auftakt bildet ein Track, den die beiden (wie vermutlich in fast allen Stücken) in Mail Art-Manier zusammen mit der ursprünglich mal als Band gegründeten und heute von Junkie im Alleingang betriebenen Shanghaier Institution Torturing Nurse und dem deutschen Noise- und Experimental-Act Grodock aufgenommen haben. Nach wenigen brummenden Sekunden bricht eine Lawine aus Schutt und Geschrei auf die Ohren nieder, und was anfangs noch eher wie im Fluss wirkt, in welchem man die Schreie von Kindern und Schmerzgeplagten hört, wird irgendwann von einem ohrenbetäubenden Donnern und Rattern und Rumpeln zerstampft. Anschließend geht es in Zusammenarbeit mit Richard Ramirez und dem Landsmann Zenabi zunächst etwas zurückgenommener zur Sache, man hört verhaltenes Brodeln und Kratzen, bei dem sich zum einen die vielzitierte Noise-Wall mit rauer Tapete abzeichnet, aber auch das, was ungeübte Ohren gerne einen “Kaputte Boxen-Effekt” nennen. Das ist aber nur die Kulisse, auf der sich viele andere zum Teil entgrenzte Dinge wie schwindelerregender Drehungen oder höllisches Gekeife aus einem riesigen Mund ereignen. Die qualvollen Schreie zeigen sich am eindrücklichsten in dem Track, den Coalminer zusammen mit dem aus dem experimentellen Black Metal stammenden niederländischen Projekt Gnaw Their Tongues und dem Amerikaner Ethan Lee McCarthy alias Many Blessings aufgenommen hat. Hier mischen sich die Todesschreie in ein furioses ambientes Rauschen, das mit der Zeit immer mehr zu einem kleinteiligen, schnellen Flickerbild mutiert. Zusammen mit Toshiji Mikawa (seines Zeichens Mitgründer der Incapacitants) und dem von Bangkok aus operierenden Polwach Beokhaimook alias Unsignified Death schließt die erste Seite mit einem Track, in welchem eine anfangs fast noch angenehm klingende Wall durch hochtönendes Feedback, beängstigendes Lachen und herausgekotzte Vocals zum Einsturz gebracht wird. So wird Antimaterie zu einem Fest für die Ohren. Zu einem kompletten Tapetenwechsel (ohne Raufaser, pun intended) kommt es beim Auflegen der zweiten Seite, denn die beiden jeweils rund zehnminütigen Stücke, die Maurizio Bianchi hier unter seinem Kürzel M.B. abliefert, könnten zum bisher gehörten kaum eindrucksvoller kontrastieren. Was vom Label als “sounds of iluminescent and rushing keyboard clusters” beschrieben wird, erweist sich als Labsal von flirrender ambienter Struktur, deren helle, obertonreiche Gestalt immer in Bewegung bleibt. Im Verlauf der beiden Stücke entfalten sich – beim zweiten “Yangnay” mehr noch als beim eröffnenden “Gnayang” – leisere und lautere Abschnitte, in denen kleine Unregelmäßigkeiten, die manchmal wie Tonstörungen anmuten, für eine im besten Sinne unspektakuläre Dynamik sorgen. Und durchgehend sorgt eine sonnengeblendete Flimmerästhetik für ein fast nostalgisches Deja-Vu zu klassischen Synthesizer-Kompositionen besserer Zeiten. Weit davon entfernt den Veröffentlichungsturnus v.a. im Harsh Noise zu überblicken schätze ich, dass “Antimateria” zu den herausragenden Releases in diesem Bereich zählt. Das betrifft natürlich primär die Coalminer und seinen Kollegen gewidmete Seite, aber auch in dem hier adressierte Dunstkreis tut ein Blick über den Tellerrand, hinter dem Bianchi seine sanften Keyboardsounds spielt, sicher ganz gut. Tolle Platte, die hoffentlich nochmal neu aufgelegt werden wird." [U.S./African Paper] "First off, this album has six different vinyl versions, ranging from 10 copies in pristine white to 90 copies in red/brown flamed. Some are with additional CDs, some without, but Grubenwehr really put some effort into this release. I give compliments to you guys; your effort and energy paid off. The two sides of this album are unrelated to each other. With this, I mean, it's not artists remixing each other or collaborative work using each other's sounds or so. It's 20 minutes per artist, and I think I have never had a better opportunity to present two fully different definitions of noise music in the same review to you, the reader. First of all, Side A: Coalminer. A duo from Manilla. Philippines, on their four tracks, work together with friends from all over the world. How about (and it's just half of them) Torturing Nurse, Richard Ramirez, Gnaw Their Tongues and Unsignified Death? And the music is so intense!!! I couldn't tell you the content of the lyrics, but the titles kinda imply it. "Dissection", "Gaping Crevice", "Decomposition" and "Electrocution". I mean ... It's probably all lullabies for the sick and twisted (pun intended). The reverse side contains two 10-minute pieces by M.B., a.k .a. Maurizio Bianchi. M.B. started working on his art in 1979 using pre-recorded sounds and, in 1980, worked more with the generation of his own sounds. He is absolutely one of the pioneers of early industrial and noise, and on the two pieces presented here - "Gnayang" and "Yangnay" - he approaches the theme of "Antimateria" through sounds of luminescent and rushing keyboard clusters. How does that translate to sound? Two lengthy pieces in which not much happens but where a lot happens. It sounded like a combination of organs and vocoders and was never-ending, always moving. I had a few moments where I was drawn into the atmosphere of Wendy Carlos works, but then more of a static/non-static drone. IF M.B.'s interpretation of the subject was that while nothing happens, a lot happens, and at the same time, because a lot happens, nothing happens, then he succeeded cum laude. Beautiful works, but in all honesty, It's an acquired taste." [BW/Vital Weekly] 2023 €20.00
MACHINEFABRIEK Veldwerk CD "Sublime drone music and field recordings by Rutger Zuydervelt. 'Slovensko I & II' are best seen as a travel diary, recorded in Slovakia. RZ made 'sound snapshots' with a small digital recorder. A major influence both while recording and assembling the tracks was Chinese sound artist Yan Jun. 'Rusland' is a sound collage comprising field recordings and sections of live performances made in Russia. An incredible adventure and culture shock with long train journeys, bizarre venues and amazing people. 'The Breaking Water' can be heard as a sonic portrait of Rotterdam's famous Erasmus bridge. It includes recordings taken from both on and beneath the bridge, along with further sounds from the river that it crosses, the Nieuwe Maas. 'Floor & Radio' is a contrast to the outdoor pieces recorded for the the installation 'Licthung' in Radolfzell, Germany. Contrasted against the outdoor silence was the squeaking floor in the guest house and the distorted signal and static from the radio. Sometimes there's music in everything. Makino Takashi asked RZ to perform a score for his film 'In Your Star'. After a screening in Tokyo, a studio version was recorded. The result is 'Apollo', a sonic journey to space and beyond. Digipak." [label info] www.coldspring.co.uk " 'Field work' is the translation of this 'new' CD by Machinefabriek. It has pieces of music that deal, one way or another, with field recordings from various travels Machinefabriek made and I put the word new between '' because all but one of this pieces were released before, mostly by Rutger Zuydervelt himself as 3"CDRs but 'Slovensko' as a 7" by Champion Version. I am not sure, but I seem to have reviewed them all, so in the same spirit of this CD, I'll re-run my reviews. (Vital Weekly 651): Recently Machinefabriek played in Russia four concerts as part of the Dutch Punch festival. Everything was duly recorded, but not released as such. The 3"CDR 'Rusland' is an extensive re-edit of all the concerts plus some additional home recording. The guitar plays the all important role here, like in more of Machinefabriek's recent work Soft tinkling, with slowly enveloping pedal work. On top there is a bit of cracks and pops and with sparsely orchestrated field recordings. A thoroughly relaxing piece of music, but one in which there is more sound than in 'Drawn'. Nice release and on the website there is another twenty-five minute piece waiting for you. (Vital Weekly 714): For 'The Breathing Bridge' he uses sounds taped at the Erasmus Bridge and the river Nieuwe Maas, both in Rotterdam and creates two pieces of music with that, although it wasn't easy to see the distinction between both. As with many of his recent outings, Zuydervelt is all about atmospheric music, but arrives there from different ends. Sometimes with musical instruments and sometimes with field recordings, such as in this case. For the most part the music humms at a low, bass end level, until it bursts out somewhere halfway through the second piece, after which things die out again. (Vital Weekly 709): Despite a plethora of releases, Rutger Zuydervelt never ceases to surprise. Not always I must admit, as there is a distinct style of his own, but sometimes he does something out of the ordinary. 'Slovensko' is such a thing. In September 2010 he went on holiday to Slovakia, armed with his camera (he is a designer after all) and these days also with a digital recorder. He collected a bunch of field recordings which he, back home, edited into the two parts of 'Slovensko'. No guitars this time here, but pure field recordings, edited, cut, mixed together into two lovely collages of sound. Motor sounds, dogs, voices, fences and metal gates and some more obscured sounds are put together in quite a cinematic manner. Not just a continuing ambient sound but a wonderful play of various sounds. This may very well be the first time that Zuydervelt worked so solely with field recordings. And with some fine result. (Vital Weekly 756): This work contains excerpts of an audio-visual installation which you can actually still visit, up to December 5th at the Galerie Vayhinger, Radolfzeil, Germany. The work is a collaborative effort of Rutger Zuydervelt and Steve Roden, both responsible for the music an Sabina Burger, who did the visual component for this work. The later shows reflection of trees in water, or rain drops falling in water. The music is a duet between Roden and Zuydervelt and seems to be combining the best of both ends: the acoustic sounds of Roden (chimes, bells, cups) and Zuydervelt's careful electronic manipulation thereof. The music and film go together really well, I'd say. Poetic, silent and light. An excellent three way combination. (FdW) (Vital Weekly 768): When I opened this up in Itunes it gave the correct title and as 'genre' it read 'soundtrack', which is quite funny. Apollo and soundtrack: how can be not avoid thinking of Brian Eno? Rutger Zuydervelt is not Brian Eno, simply because the theory side of things lack in his work (so far!), but music wise he is probably quite close to the work of the master of ambient. In this case he presents an 'alternate' edit of the soundtrack for Makino Takashi's film 'In Your Star', which I haven't seen, but its based on the Nasa flight control samples at the beginning and some highly atmospheric music, but with a slight edge to it. There are at times some piercing sounds, a glitch like rhythm here and there and it is strong atmospheric music of great stellar quality. Spacious, to stick with the theme of space travel, like the processed sound of a rocket flying over low. A particular strong work with a slight change of sound, which proofs that Zuydervelt is on the move again. Great package too. For all of you who missed out on these limited releases or who think CDRs suck (or vinyl for that matter) now in glorious 'ever-lasting' CD format. An excellent choice of pieces that really fit together very well." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2011 €12.00
MAEROR TRI Multiple Personality Disorder CD "... this debut CD by the German trio Maeror Tri is a devastating experience in sonic art. In the realm of Soviet France, Cranioclast or The Hafler Trio, its's hard to call such constructed wedges of noise music, this is something else. In fact I think it just scared four people who entered the Ultima Thule shop, leaving with bewildered and perplexed looks on their faces! Be they atmospheric or intensive, Maeror Tri offer a challenging sound that defies description." [Alan Freeman, AUDIO, 1993] "Maeror Tri als der J.G. BALLARD der Musik." [Vi-Va-Vogel, Auf Abwegen] "Some music is related to a period, because of the sound of the amplifiers, recording possibilities, effects and synthesizers. The technic colors the sound during that period and gives is that time limit. I cannot say that about the re-release of the timeless sounds at the CD "Multiple Personality Disorder" (MPD) of the not anymore existing German group Maeror Tri. The groups existed from 1998 - 1996 and has the following members Stefan "Baraka [H]" Knappe, Martin "GLIT[s]CH" Gitschel and Helge Siehl. Stefan Knappe and Martin Gitschel continues to make music with the group Troum and releases music with the vinyllabel Drone Records. From 1998 - 1993 Maeror Tri released a lot of tapes. The music for the first CD Multiply Personality Disorder was recorded in 1991 and released in 1993 by Korm Plastics as a limited edition of 600 in the serial Introductionaire to promote the music of new musical artists. For now the re-release has been done by the Purplesoil from the Czech Republic. During the musical project the group examined the different states of mind and characters by means of music and they want to confront the listener with the totally different states of mind and feeling of people with MPD. The CD exist of five compositions, with different moods, from ambient and atmospheric to aggressive and anxious. And really I was confronted with the different moods some with MPD. The meaning of the album has been successful. During that same period I was working in a psychiatric hospital with people with so-called personality diseases. I worked also with people with MPD and they presented themselves with totally different characters, behaviour, clothing, sexual preference and sound of the voice. I was really very difficult to work with these people because I had to deal with one person, but sometimes during daytime with three or four different persons. Most of these people had very bad childhood experiences and they try to deal with the some treating or stressful reality with different personalities. For now MPD has become more on the background but this release is really a good flashback of that period and a successful experiment of Maeror Tri." [JKH / Vital Weekly] 2009 €13.00
Emotional Engramm CD "The reissue of a long-forgotten classic MAEROR TRI album with stunning new artwork and newly remastered sound. Back in 1997, it turned out to be the last album by this experimental trio of German droners composed of Stefan ‘Barakah’ Knappe, Martin ‘GLIT[s]CH’ Gitschel and Helge Siehl. The former two later formed TROUM (Zoharum releases: “Autopoiesis / Nahtscato” and “Seeing-Ear Gods” (A Continuous Journey in Six Parts) and the latter 1000SCHOEN. During their nine-year existence, they recorded a handful of albums and cassettes with their unique mixture of minimalism, industrial, ambient and drone, exploring the brains of potential listeners. „Emotional Engramm” is MAEROR TRI's most refined effort to date. After years of experimenting, the group came to a characteristic sound composed of layers of electrically/electronically-treated acoustic instruments. Their organic sound achieved the most accessible form on „Emotional Engramm”;. Clocking in at just under 80 minutes, the seven tracks presented here show Maeror Tri at its best. The reissue is presented in a lavish 6-panel digipak designed by Marcin Lojek (Ibsen Design, New Nihilism label, Mantichora and Schmerz bands) with a foreword by Martyn Bates (EYELESS IN GAZA). The album has been faithfully remastered by Lukasz Miernik (Dead Cat Mastering)." [label info] www.zoharum.com "Originally released in 1997 on the now defunct Iris Light imprint out of England, Emotion Engramm was the final album from Maeror Tri - the haunting, post-industrial drone trio that was the precursor to the equally haunting, post-industrial drone DUO Troum. This record - more so than any of the other Maeror Tri albums - engaged the complex structures that Troum would later push through their interlocking, shadowy melodies and slow-motion, effects-heavy drone. At the same time, the concepts that went into Emotional Engramm are more closely related to the clinical psychological themes of the Maeror Tri albums Multiple Personality Disorder or Language Of Flames & Sound, as referenced by the titular engram (purposefully misspelled in the title), a Scientology term for a mental image embedded into the brain by any type of trauma - physical, emotional, psychic, or otherwise. Far from prescribing the teachings of Scientology, Maeror Tri uses that concept as a jumping off point in conjuring "resonance of control, impact, fortuity, the randomly instigated yet inedibly etched emotional memory: Kodak ghosts." It's easy to read particular passages within the frozen din of washed-out guitar noise, spectral melodies, tectonic bass rumblings, and metallic slashes of grim electronics as the seizures within the psyche that might get caught in an infinite loop for the inner-mind. Some of those images provide an emotional resonance that's deeply sad and full of despair, while others are enraged with a blackened hostility. As we mentioned, many of the ideas and strategies that went into this album continued to develop through Troum; but even so, this stands as one of the best albums that either Maeror Tri or Troum had produced." [Aquarius Records] "Recorded between 1993 and 1996, this is the final release of MAEROR TRI - packaged to suggest that this music is a kind of empty canvas for engrams, for letters, words, scribblings (both significant and insignificant) to emerge upon. "Engrams" somehow brings to mind Scientology; resonances of Control, Impact, Fortuity, the randomly instigated yet indelibly etched emotional memory: Kodak Ghosts... The pure idea of Scientology is that of a beautiful catharsis; a steering thru the engrams, the 'de-control' of the mind and the re-acquisition of it's disparate componants...an insight...tools for your own endevour....for self-development......access towards some kind of re-affirmation of scattered aspects of being. MAEROR TRI here paint an expanse of (admittedly low-fi) sheets of sound; abstraction that is only truly completed by the sensitized listener, adrift, in darkness, volume filling/consuming the room (it doesn't function as ambience, I found...), waver of rain in radioactivity, ether tears of trains of thought, the long forever letters of minutia that you hand-write to dear friends half a world away all flooding back now, into your mind's ear; books - someone else's thoughts.....worlds that consume, yet are mere cyphers, scribbles that are understood somewhere in an unthinking space within the mechanism of each individual's fleeting moment upon the 'wheel of the quivering meat conception'. This MAEROR TRI CD; non-representational, perhaps easily dismissed by anyone who has no time to 'stand and stare'..... ... .... well, for God's sake, stop ... and stand and stare ... put your ear to the world, and listen to the song of the nightingale ..... .. no; listen to all the birdsong .. ... know that words, and sounds, are but tokens." [MARTYN BATES for SOFT WATCH for the 1st ed.] 2012 €12.00
  Mort Aux Vaches: Hypnos/Transe CD "tracklist: 1 (mind) - initiation, 2 (mind) - alternation, 3 (mind) - expansion upc 821272307822. photographs by salt. release date: 31october2k12 15 years after its original release, 17 years after its recording, raubbau is delighted to present the highly anticipated reissue of this classic maeror tri album. history lesson part 1 - the band: maeror tri were a three-headed band from bremen who stemmed from the german diy tape scene of the 1980s. with their unique brand of music, which they performed on 'real' instruments but made it sound purely electronic, they stirred the attention of a wider audience and accomplished considerable crossover success. praised by the critics, their disbandment in 1996 was much bemoaned. nevertheless, ever since a number of archive and re-releases have compensated the fans for their loss, as well as the output of the maeror tri successors troum (still a major attraction in the drone/experimental ambient genre) and the audio & visual & paintings project 1000schoen. history lesson part 2 - mort aux vaches: a long-running series of specially-packaged albums released by cult label staalplaat, all of them recorded as live sessions for a dutch radio station. mort aux vaches has so far featured around 70 artists, among them many big name acts such as merzbow, zoviet france, roger rotor and many others. history lesson part 3 - the album: the aptly subtitled hypnos/transe (spelling deliberately chosen) was considered a magnificent legacy when it was posthumously released, combining all the elements that had made maeror tri special: their tracks sound strangely different anytime you listen to them, the elements never clearly reveal themselves but retain a fascinating secrecy, beautiful and demanding at the same time. the track titles of hypnos/transe reveal the concept of music affecting and altering the mental state of the listener. the 'initiation' accordingly uses a long build-up structure, starting with soothing ambient sounds, but continually integrating more and more layers of drones and culminating in an entrancing shamanic rhythm. 'alternation' is in a darker mood, with low-end rumbling and sonorous mock chants appealing to the deeper realms of the psyche. 'expansion' is easily the noisiest track of the three, with eerie scraping thumps and squealing sounds (wind? whales? bombs?). the psychogenic trip comes to its conclusion after 55 minutes, and one thing is for sure: after this listening session, you won’t be the same person as you had been before. this fine reissue comes well right for a new generation of listeners to discover a musical gem which has long been a sought-after, high-priced collectors item - and also one may with good cause say that the new artwork is much easier on the eyes than the original’s bright pink." [label info] www.raubbau.org 2012 €13.00
MAGICICADA Everyone is Everyone CD Klasse Debut eines neuen US-Projekts: MAGICICIDA steht für eigenwillige und variantenreiche „intelligente“ Experimentalmusik jenseits jeder Schublade, da gibt es höchst sphärische und hallumtoste Stücke die aus einem ganzen Arsenal an verschiedensten Soundquellen basieren, seltsame folkartige Ethno-Gesänge und Handgespieltes, Loops & andere Endlos-Effekte, manchmal steigert sich das in harsh noise – Bereiche rein, alles sehr druckvoll & abenteuerlich. TIP für Explorer ! “Magicicada is the musical life of Atlanta musician/sound designer/photographer, Christopher White. “Everyone is Everyone” is an organic, experimental work that blends traditional, as well as folk and eastern, instruments with found objects, samplers and field recordings to create a work that varies from delicate, cinematic soundscapes to harsh electronic environments. The instrumentation includes (but is not limited to): pump organ, voice, contact mics on faulty electrical lines, melodica, toys, iron balls rolling on wooden floors, accordion, cellophane, air cans, tape decks for the blind, guitar, shruti box, MARTA (Atlanta’s public transit), synths, oven door (percussion,) cellos, zurna, paper, frogs in the backyard, and the remains of Hurricane Denis shaking the roof. The Arigato-Pak style covers are beautifully printed by Stumptown Printers on (peacepunk approved!) 100% recycled , Environment 120# cover.” [label info] "As many people as possible should experience his single-mindedly self-willed experimental-ambient sounds." - laut.de (Germany) "Everyone is Everyone" is variegated, brisk and well crafted, a teapot of deviated psychedelia, rancid electronica and sounds coming from forgotten offshoots of Ed Wood's "Plan 9 from outer space", all of the above floating in a broth of Biota and Zoviet France with exhausted batteries. White lets us share some of his fun - and the drones of "Cause" are blood-icing in their beauty." - Touching Extremes (Italy) "With an organic approach to creation, these eastern and folk influenced experimental works rival some of the strangest electronic ambient out there - from drifting soundscapes to meditative trances."-Just Add Noise “....Every track on the CD is noted with long lists of recording notes, and if you read them, they give the impression of someone who is also frantically moving about. Not caring about how or why, this is best described as 'outsider' music. It moves along lines of improvised music, eastern and western folk music, lo-fi singer songwriter stuff and minimalist patterns on the cello, but never going to be anything close to being accessible: there is a strong element of experimental music to it, but at the same time things remain highly listenable. Again, great stuff.” [FdW / Vital Weekly] www.publicguilt.com 2005 €13.00
MAIDA, CLARA In Corpore Vili CD 1. Composer: Clara Maida 2. Title: in corpore vili 3. Performers (Studios): Ensemble Resonanz, Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin, Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain, Arditti String Quartet, Heather O’Donnel (Elektronisches Studio der Technischen Universität Berlin; Studio für Elektroakustische Musik der Akademie der Künste, Berlin) 4. Format: Audio CD, Digisleeve, Booklet German/English 5. Total time: 67:28 6. Catalogue #: ed. RZ 10017 7. EAN Code: 4029455100178 8. Release date: 30. January 2010 9. Tracklist: (1) 1. Mutatis mutandis (2008) 2. Psyché-Cité/Transversales (2005/06) (2) 1- Fluctuatio (in)animi (2006) (3) 2- Ipso facto (2006) (4) 3- Via rupta (2005) (5) 3. ...who holds the strings... (2003) (6) 4. Doppelklänger (2008) Eine ko-produktion zwischen Berliner Künstler Programm des DAAD, edition-rz und Deutschlandradio Kultur "In den ersten Jahren zielten meine kompositorischen Forschungen darauf, die unbewussten, psychischen Energieflüsse, die zum Werk führen, samt ihrer Strukturen nachzuzeichnen. Parallel zu einem analytischen Ansatz, der den Zugang zu diesen unbewussten Aktivitäten begünstigt, studierte ich psychoanalytische Literatur, um mir ein musikalisches Denken zu erarbeiten, das einer psychischen Komplexität gerecht würde, die sich nur in gewissen Handlungen und unwillentlichen Äußerungen oder in Phantasien und Träumen äußert. Aus diesen Studien entstand ein strukturelles und formales Potential für eine Musik, die noch zu schreiben war, da allein die Plastizität der Klangwelt in der Lage schien, die Beweglichkeit und Instabilität heraufzubeschwören, welche die Gestaltung der Elemente des Unbewussten unablässig verändern. During the first years of my compositional research, my goal was to mark out, in my music, the flux of the psychic energy at work in the unconscious and its underlying structure. At the time, I was going through an analytical process favouring access to this unconscious activity, and my readings in the field of psychoanalysis were helping me in the effort to elaborate a musical thinking likely to account for this psychic complexity, which only appears through unintentional acts and words, or in fantasies and dreams. A whole structural and formal model for a potential music was emerging then, since only the plasticity of the world of sound seemed to be able to suggest this mobility and instability, which endlessly alter the configurations of the components of the unconscious." [credits / label info] www.edition-rz.de www.edition-rz.de 2010 €15.50
MALONE, KALI Does Spring Hide its Joy 3 x CD »Does Spring Hide Its Joy« is an immersive piece by composer Kali Malone featuring Stephen O’Malley on electric guitar, Lucy Railton on cello, and Malone herself on tuned sine wave oscillators. The music is a study in harmonics and non-linear composition with a heightened focus on just intonation and beating interference patterns. Malone’s experience with pipe organ tuning, harmonic theory, and long durational composition provide prominent points of departure for this work. Her nuanced minimalism unfolds an astonishing depth of focus and opens up contemplative spaces in the listener’s attention. »Does Spring Hide Its Joy« follows Malone’s critically acclaimed records. Her collaborative approach expands from her previous work to closely include the musicians Stephen O’Malley & Lucy Railton in the creation and development of the piece. While the music is distinctly Malone’s sonic palette, she composed specifically for the unique styles and techniques of O’Malley & Railton, presenting a framework for subjective interpretation and non-hierarchical movement throughout the music. »Does Spring Hide Its Joy« is a durational experience of variable length that follows slowly evolving harmony and timbre between cello, sine waves, and electric guitar. As a listener, the transition between these junctures can be difficult to pinpoint. There’s obscurity and unity in the instrumentation and identities of the players; the electric guitar's saturation timbre blends with the cello's rich periodicity, while shifting overtone feedback develops interference patterns against the precise sine waves. The gradual yet ever-occurring changes in harmony challenge the listener’s perception of stasis and movement. The moment you grasp the music, a slight shift in perspective guides your attention forward into a new and unfolding harmonic experience. »Does Spring Hide Its Joy« was created between March and May of 2020. During this unsettling period of the pandemic, Malone found herself in Berlin with a great deal of time and conceptual space to consider new compositional methods. With a few interns left on-site, Malone was invited to the Berlin Funkhaus & MONOM to develop and record new music within the empty concert halls. She took this opportunity to form a small ensemble with her close friends and collaborators Lucy Railton & Stephen O’Malley to explore these new structural ideas within those various acoustic spaces. Hence, the foundation was laid for »Does Spring Hide Its Joy«. In Kali’s own words: “Like most of the world, my perception of time went through a significant transformation during the pandemic confinements of spring 2020. Unmarked by the familiar milestones of life, the days and months dripped by, instinctively blending with no end in sight. Time stood still until subtle shifts in the environment suggested there had been a passing. Memories blurred non-sequentially, the fabric of reality deteriorated, unforeseen kinships formed and disappeared, and all the while, the seasons changed and moved on without the ones we lost. Playing this music for hours on end was a profound way to digest the countless life transitions and hold time together.” »Does Spring Hide Its Joy« has since been performed live on many European stages, in durations of sixty and ninety minutes. Including at the Schauspielhaus in Zürich, the Bozar in Brussels, Haus Der Kunst in Munich, and the Munch Museum in Oslo. Concerts are forthcoming at Unsound Festival in Krakow, Mira Festival in Barcelona, the Venice Biennale, and the Purcell Room at the Southbank Center in London. In addition to live concerts, the Funkhaus recordings of »Does Spring Hide Its Joy« have evolved in parallel as a site-specific sound installation. Malone has also invited the video artist Nika Milano to create a custom analog video work that interprets and accompanies the musical score as a fourth player, creating a visual atmosphere inspired by the sonic principles of the composition. Eight sequential video stills from Milano’s work are featured in the album artwork. »Does Spring Hide Its Joy« is packaged in a heavyweight laminated jacket with full-color printed inner sleeves with artwork by Nika Milano. Mastered by Stephan Mathieu and cut at Schnittstelle Mastering, the record is pressed in perfect sound quality by Optimal in Germany. https://kalimalone.bandcamp.com/album/does-spring-hide-its-joy Does Spring Hide Its Joy ist ein immersives Stück der Komponistin Kali Malone mit Stephen O'Malley an der E-Gitarre, Lucy Railton am Cello und Malone selbst an gestimmten Sinusoszillatoren. Die Musik ist eine Studie über Obertöne und nichtlineare Komposition mit besonderem Augenmerk auf gerechter Intonation und schlagenden Interferenzmustern. Malones Erfahrungen mit der Stimmung von Pfeifenorgeln, der Harmonielehre und langer Kompositionen sind wichtige Ausgangspunkte für dieses Werk. Ihr nuancierter Minimalismus entfaltet eine erstaunliche Tiefenschärfe und eröffnet kontemplative Räume in der Aufmerksamkeit des Zuhörers. Does Spring Hide Its Joy ist eine Dauererfahrung von variabler Länge, die einer sich langsam entwickelnden Harmonie und Klangfarbe zwischen Cello, Sinuswellen und E-Gitarre folgt. Für den Hörer ist der Übergang zwischen den einzelnen Abschnitten oft schwer auszumachen. Das gesättigte Timbre der E-Gitarre vermischt sich mit der reichen Periodizität des Cellos, während die sich verschiebenden Oberton-Rückkopplungen Interferenzmuster mit den präzisen Sinuswellen entwickeln. 2023 €23.50
MALONE, KALI (FEATURING STEPHEN O'MALLEY & LUCY RAILTON) Does Spring Hide its Joy 3 x LP »Does Spring Hide Its Joy« is an immersive piece by composer Kali Malone featuring Stephen O’Malley on electric guitar, Lucy Railton on cello, and Malone herself on tuned sine wave oscillators. The music is a study in harmonics and non-linear composition with a heightened focus on just intonation and beating interference patterns. Malone’s experience with pipe organ tuning, harmonic theory, and long durational composition provide prominent points of departure for this work. Her nuanced minimalism unfolds an astonishing depth of focus and opens up contemplative spaces in the listener’s attention. »Does Spring Hide Its Joy« follows Malone’s critically acclaimed records. Her collaborative approach expands from her previous work to closely include the musicians Stephen O’Malley & Lucy Railton in the creation and development of the piece. While the music is distinctly Malone’s sonic palette, she composed specifically for the unique styles and techniques of O’Malley & Railton, presenting a framework for subjective interpretation and non-hierarchical movement throughout the music. »Does Spring Hide Its Joy« is a durational experience of variable length that follows slowly evolving harmony and timbre between cello, sine waves, and electric guitar. As a listener, the transition between these junctures can be difficult to pinpoint. There’s obscurity and unity in the instrumentation and identities of the players; the electric guitar's saturation timbre blends with the cello's rich periodicity, while shifting overtone feedback develops interference patterns against the precise sine waves. The gradual yet ever-occurring changes in harmony challenge the listener’s perception of stasis and movement. The moment you grasp the music, a slight shift in perspective guides your attention forward into a new and unfolding harmonic experience. »Does Spring Hide Its Joy« was created between March and May of 2020. During this unsettling period of the pandemic, Malone found herself in Berlin with a great deal of time and conceptual space to consider new compositional methods. With a few interns left on-site, Malone was invited to the Berlin Funkhaus & MONOM to develop and record new music within the empty concert halls. She took this opportunity to form a small ensemble with her close friends and collaborators Lucy Railton & Stephen O’Malley to explore these new structural ideas within those various acoustic spaces. Hence, the foundation was laid for »Does Spring Hide Its Joy«. In Kali’s own words: “Like most of the world, my perception of time went through a significant transformation during the pandemic confinements of spring 2020. Unmarked by the familiar milestones of life, the days and months dripped by, instinctively blending with no end in sight. Time stood still until subtle shifts in the environment suggested there had been a passing. Memories blurred non-sequentially, the fabric of reality deteriorated, unforeseen kinships formed and disappeared, and all the while, the seasons changed and moved on without the ones we lost. Playing this music for hours on end was a profound way to digest the countless life transitions and hold time together.” »Does Spring Hide Its Joy« has since been performed live on many European stages, in durations of sixty and ninety minutes. Including at the Schauspielhaus in Zürich, the Bozar in Brussels, Haus Der Kunst in Munich, and the Munch Museum in Oslo. Concerts are forthcoming at Unsound Festival in Krakow, Mira Festival in Barcelona, the Venice Biennale, and the Purcell Room at the Southbank Center in London. In addition to live concerts, the Funkhaus recordings of »Does Spring Hide Its Joy« have evolved in parallel as a site-specific sound installation. Malone has also invited the video artist Nika Milano to create a custom analog video work that interprets and accompanies the musical score as a fourth player, creating a visual atmosphere inspired by the sonic principles of the composition. Eight sequential video stills from Milano’s work are featured in the album artwork. »Does Spring Hide Its Joy« is packaged in a heavyweight laminated jacket with full-color printed inner sleeves with artwork by Nika Milano. Mastered by Stephan Mathieu and cut at Schnittstelle Mastering, the record is pressed in perfect sound quality by Optimal in Germany. https://kalimalone.bandcamp.com/album/does-spring-hide-its-joy Does Spring Hide Its Joy ist ein immersives Stück der Komponistin Kali Malone mit Stephen O'Malley an der E-Gitarre, Lucy Railton am Cello und Malone selbst an gestimmten Sinusoszillatoren. Die Musik ist eine Studie über Obertöne und nichtlineare Komposition mit besonderem Augenmerk auf gerechter Intonation und schlagenden Interferenzmustern. Malones Erfahrungen mit der Stimmung von Pfeifenorgeln, der Harmonielehre und langer Kompositionen sind wichtige Ausgangspunkte für dieses Werk. Ihr nuancierter Minimalismus entfaltet eine erstaunliche Tiefenschärfe und eröffnet kontemplative Räume in der Aufmerksamkeit des Zuhörers. Does Spring Hide Its Joy ist eine Dauererfahrung von variabler Länge, die einer sich langsam entwickelnden Harmonie und Klangfarbe zwischen Cello, Sinuswellen und E-Gitarre folgt. Für den Hörer ist der Übergang zwischen den einzelnen Abschnitten oft schwer auszumachen. Das gesättigte Timbre der E-Gitarre vermischt sich mit der reichen Periodizität des Cellos, während die sich verschiebenden Oberton-Rückkopplungen Interferenzmuster mit den präzisen Sinuswellen entwickeln. https://kalimalone.bandcamp.com/album/does-spring-hide-its-joy 2023 €49.50
MAX GLÜCK Traumsand CD-R Another work of this german electronic and drone-project, one very cosmic single piece of 60 min length, with sort of strange effects within.. 2002 €7.50
MAZK: MASAMI AKITA & ZBIGNIEW KARKOWSKI In Real Time CD Alles andere als harsh noisig beginnt dieser one-tracker von 67 Minuten Länge, der aus live-Mitschnitten von Venedig & Frankfurt-performances zusammengebraut wurde. Ganz allmählich wird aus tief-frequenten Brummen und Summen eine das ganze Frequenzband auslotende Geräuschkomposition, bei der v.a. die starken Stereo-Kontraste und collagierten, abgehackten Sounds auffallen, zwischendurch gibt es sehr ruhige Parts und die stetigen Wechsel machen dies zu einer kurzweiligen Klangerfahrung. IN REAL TIME ist ein überraschend ausgewogenes und feingliedriges Stück, bei dem es nicht nur auf die Fresse gibt ! Dies müsste schon das dritte Album als MAZK sein, wenn wir noch bis drei zählen können nach diesem hirnvernebelnden Synapsen-Killer ! „Recorded in Venice, Italy, and Frankfurt Am Main, Germany Reedited and mastered at Compound Studios, San Francisco Artwork by Felix Rosier Released in May 2005.” [credits] 2005 €13.00
MCGUIRE, JOHN Works for Instruments do-CD Fünf Stücke des US-Komponisten (der Schüler von PENDERECKI und STOCKHAUSEN war) aus verschiedenen Perioden (das älteste, DECAY entstand 1967-1970) in neuen Einspielungen. Klassisch instrumentierte Minimal-Music, die interessante strukturelle Merkmale aufweist (Überlagerungen, Verdichtungen und Wellenbewegungen von Tönen, Akkorden & musikalischen Themen) und entsprechende psychoakustische Wirkungen (mehrdeutiges Hören, unendliche Kreis- und Zirkelbewegungen...). CADENCE MUSIC, EXCHANGES, DECAY, FRIEZE, und MUSIC FOR HORNS, PIANOS & CYMBALS. " 1. Composer: John McGuire 2. Title: Works for Instruments 3. Performers: Ensemble Modern • Julia Rempe Sopran • Pellegrini-Quartett: Antonio Pellegrini, Thomas Hofer Violine • Fabio Marano Viola • Helmut Menzler Violoncello musikFabrik: Hermann Kretzschmar, Paulo Alvarez, Irmela Roelcke, Eun-Ju Kim, Ulrich Löffler, Jürgen Kruse Klaviere • Christine Chapman, Jodie Lawson, Charles Putnam, Rohan Richards Hörner • Dirk Rothbrust, Carlos Tarcha Schlagzeug 4. Format: Audio CD, Digisleeve, Booklet German/English 5. Total time: CD1 44:33 • CD2 58:46 • T: 103:20 6. Catalogue #: ed. RZ 20003¬4 7. EAN Code: 4029455200038 8. Release date: December 4, 2008 9. Information / Press Release: Jede der Kompositionen des amerikanischen Komponisten John McGuire beschreibt auf ihre Weise einen mehrdimensionalen Klangraum, in dem der Hörer verschiedene Blickwinkel einnehmen, mithin ein und denselben Klang in verschiedenen Gestalten wahrnehmen kann. Each of the compositions of American composer John McGuire describes, in its own way, a multi-dimensional sonic space which the listener can take in from various vantage points and, in so doing, experience the very same sound in different guises." [label info] www.edition-rz.de 2008 €21.50
MEELKOP, ROEL 4 Propositions CD "Roel Meelkop's musical activities date back to the early 1980s when he started influential group THU20, with Jac van Bussel, Peter Duimelinks, Jos Smolders and Guido Doesborg. The working method of THU20 included many discussions about how to compose and why. This period was crucial in forming Meelkop's ideas and concepts about sound and how to organise it, but it was not until the mid-'90s that he was able to fully realise these ideas. The purchase of a sampler and later a computer radically changed his possibilities of working with sound, offering infinitely more control and freedom. Since then he released works on such labels as Trente Oiseaux (Germany), Staalplaat (Netherlands) and Intransitive (US). His other activities include working as a member of both Kapotte Muziek and GOEM with Peter Duimelinks and Frans De Waard and organising sound events in Rotterdam. Aside from releases, Meelkop also creates site-specific sound installations, often in collaboration with other artists and has performed live around the world Microsuoni.it). This is the first release for the fledgling Tariff Records of Los Angeles, California." [label info] 2002 €14.00
MEESE / MAMA BAER / HJULER Alaska Kid jagt Dr. No CD Catalog-Nr.: Plus 107 Format: CD, Album, Digipack Country: Germany Release date: November 2019 Genre: Fluxus Tracklist 01 Jobeuysseph (9) 02 Osten 03 Melancholie 04 Süden 05 The Island 06 Westen 07 Alcoholisme-brut Nr. 1 08 Norden 09 In fremdem Herbst (1) 10 Meese_Trumpy 11 Khmerzen (4) Notes Jonathan Robin Meese (* 23. Januar 1970 in Tokio) ist ein deutscher Künstler. Seine Werke umfassen Malerei, Skulpturen, Installationen, Performances, Collagen, Videokunst und Theaterarbeiten. Dabei thematisiert er überwiegend Persönlichkeiten der Weltgeschichte, Ur-Mythen und Heldensagen. Jonathan Meese lebt und arbeitet in Ahrensburg und Berlin. Mama Baer (* 29. Oktober 1981 in Niebüll als Andrea Katharina Ingeborg Göthling, verheiratete Hjuler) und Kommissar Hjuler (* 30. Juni 1967 in Flensburg als Detlev Hjuler) sind ein deutsches Künstlerduo. Sie arbeiten seit 1999 gemeinsam in den Bereichen Musik, Malerei, Assemblage, Collage, Installation, Performance, Experimentalfilm und Konzeptkunst. Sie sind Vertreter der jüngsten Fluxus-Bewegung und seit 2009 feste Mitglieder der NO!art-Movementjobeuysseph. www.molokoplusrecords.de/finder.php?folder=Label&content=79 2019 €13.00
MELT FAMAS Serial Weather 10inch "MUSIKZIMMER LABEL: The label Musikzimmer is based in Aarau (Switzerland) and Berlin. It was born with the idea of giving birth to music not only in a ethereal way. We want to materialise what we like. We want to produce, to touch and to spread it. It all started 21 years ago with one of the first „independent“ exhibition spaces in Switzerland, the Kunstraum Aarau. Since approximately 7 years we focus on soundart and sound related site specific interventions. And because not every manifestation finds its form in a frame work of an exhibition, we started to organise concerts and offer now a stage without stairs to concertant situations. To can those situations as long as possible we decided to cut them into vinyl. MELT FAMAS – serial weather is the first conserved situation. It will be followed by a 10“ of chained melodies by RM74. The concept is simple. 10 inch, 1 cover version and the cover sleeve is designed by an artist who does not play on but maybe with the record. MELT FAMAS: When the movement of a terrestrial object around a static point is repetitive, we talk about oscillation...When two people oscillate around several electric devices according to a nearly repetitive movement, we talk about rock‘n‘roll. At Melt Famas, during the supper, we talk about oscillations, aquatic rock‘n‘roll. Dessert comes when the table has already been cleared. In the living room, guitar screams exhort to indiscipline, and voices invite to the reconstruction of a new order. At Melt Famas‘, codes are made for others. According to the stars position, the degree of gravity and the level of caffein of the last tea, sounds meet under the fingers until dizzyness spreads, and invite us to an immobile trance. Fred Billet and Nicolas Magot, or l‘invitation au voyage with a one way ticket. FRED BIGOT: (aka Electronicat) The root of Fred Bigot‘s music is in guitar. The way he makes music is all related to the way he plays guitar, including imperfections, lo-fi sound, noise, melody and the practice of improvisation. The distorted but melodic guitar, the unquantised rhythms, the delay-heavy vocals and the buzzing rumbling 808 bass drum all became characteristic features of the Electronicat sound. His songs encompassed an array of influences in all respects - particularly glam rock, psychedelia, 60s garage rockabilly and experimental electronic music - and took it further making electronic music sound more rock n roll and vice versa. To date he has released numerous albums and singles on international labels (Holy Mountain, Onitor, Disko b, Optical Sound, Ldrr). He has produced tracks for pour Beans, Miss le Bomb, Marina Ribatski (ex- Bondo de Role), remixes for Depeche Mode, Numbers, Bretzel Göring. Fred played all around the world alongside with artists such as Felix Kubin, Stereolab, Adult. He has collaborated with numerous artists and musicians, building up an impressive resume that includes projects with musicians J.G Thirwell, Gerhard Potuznik, Khan and contemporary artists Nicolas Moulin, Anu Pennanen and Pauline Curnier-Jardin. NICOLAS MALLET: After having visited experimental and post-punk music, Nicolas Mallet turned into Nicolas Metall. Melodies in minor chords, Bach is never far. Keyboards, guitars and rhythms. He plays with Fred Bigot (Electronicat) in Melt Famas, with Marie Germinal in a rock-post punk style, he has organised events and works with artists and dancers (Nicolas Moulin, Marie Reinert, Olivier Dohin, Grégoire & Elise Charbey, Clémentine Roy). His most recent Release „ Growing Ideas Of Falling Generations“ is a Double Vinyl on Nicolas Moulin Label „Grautag Records“. „Growing Ideas Of Falling Generations, as the first double LP of Nicolas Metall, has to be heard as the psychoanalysis of the Space Odyssey computer HAL 9000. Electronic-wave music to dance on a russianÕs suburb discotheque dancefloor or to listen to by staring at the sunset , The 2nd release of the berlin-based label Grautag records“ (Grautag Records)" [label info] www.musikzimmeraarau.ch 2011 €12.00
MENUCK, EFRIM MANUEL Pissing Stars LP "Constellation Records beginnt das Jahr 2018 mit dem zweiten Soloalbum des GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR und THEE SILVER MT. ZION Gründers EFRIM MANUEL MENUCK. „Pissing Stars“ ist der großartig intensive Nachfolger von „Plays High Gospel“ und das erste neue Material mit EFRIM als zentralem Songwriter und Sänger seit „Fuck Off Get Free We Pout Light On Everything“ seiner Chamber-Punk Band THEE SILVER MT. ZION von 2014. MENUCK genießt unter den Fans politischen Punks, Post-Rock und Avant-Noise-Anhängern Kultstatus und feiert mit „Pissing Stars“ ein Vierteljahrhundert musikalischen Ausdrucks ohne Kompromisse. Auf „Pissing Stars“ verschleudert MENUCK Giftpfeile, leidenschaftliche Salven und zerbrechliche Blüten und formt das Ganze zu noiselastigen Songs, die sich um maximalistische Electronics und Drones ranken, die von Synthie oder Gitarre umgesetzt und von klagendem, oft verfremdeten Gesang durchzogen werden. Das passende Narrativ kann nur jemand wie MENUCK liefern: „‘Pissing Stars‘ gründet sich auf die kurze Affäre der amerikanischen TV-Moderatorin Mary Hart mit Mohammed Khashoggy, dem Sohn eines saudischen Waffenhändlers. Ich weiß nicht, wie lange sie zusammen waren, ich erinnere mich daran, wie ich als verzweifelter Teenager darüber las. Ich wohnte zusammen mit zwei anderen verwahrlosten Kids und einem Haufen wilder Kätzchen in einem überfluteten Keller und hatte nichts zu essen. Diese seltsame Union – die blonde Frau aus dem Fernsehen und der reiche Saudi-Sohn mit seinem mörderischen Vater – blieb bei mir und beschäftigte mich drei Jahrzehnte lang. Diese Sprösslinge aus Tod und Selbstentfremdung – und Liebe. Dieses Album beschäftigt sich mit dem Ende ihrer Beziehung und der Art und Weise, wie bestimmte eigensinnige Lichter einfach weiterleuchten. Das Album wurde in den dunklen Ecken zwischen 2016 und 2017 aufgenommen, in verschiedenen Stadien der Ungemütlichkeit, mit einem porösen Herzen und einer klaren Mission. So, als würde man mit zwei Messern in den Händen auf einen Abgrund zulaufen und manisch lachen. Besiegt und voller Freude zugleich. Hier geht es um das Ende der Liebe und den Anfang der Liebe. Um das Ende des Staates und wie wir alle darunter gefangen sind." This is an audiophile 180gram pressing in midnight ultra-black vinyl from Optimal (Germany) that comes in a 350gsm jacket with printed inner dust sleeve and 12"x19" art poster, all printed on uncoated matte papers and boards, all artwork by Menuc efrimmanuelmenuck.bandcamp.com/album/pissing-stars PISSING STARS is inspired by the brief romance of american television presenter MARY HART and MOHAMMED KHASHOGGI, the son of a saudi arms dealer. i don’t know how long their union endured, but i remember reading about them when i was a desperate teenager – there was something about their pairing that got caught in my head. i was living in a flooded basement with two other lost kids and a litter of feral kittens. we were all unfed. this strange intersection – the televisual blonde and the rich saudi kid with the murderous father; it got stuck in me like a mystery, like an illumination- this vulgar pairing that was also love. these privileged scions of death and self-alienation, but also love. i’ve carried it in me for 3 decades now, this obscure memory, and i return to it often, tracing its edges like a worn talisman. this record is about the dissolution of their relationship, and the way that certain stubborn lights endure. this record was made in dark corners between 2016 and 2017. a very rough pair of years, shot thru with fatigue, depression, despair, and too many cigarettes and too much booze. but also = the giddiness of enervation, and the strange liberation of being emptied – borne aloft and carried by the drift. the world continues its eternal collapsing, fires everywhere and everything drained of meaning. this record was made in various states of unease, with a brittle heart and a clear intent. like running towards a cliff with 2 swinging knives, roaring with an idiot grin. overcome and overjoyed. this record is about the end of love and the beginning of love. this record is about the dissolution of the state, and all of us trapped beneath, and the way that certain stubborn lights endure. – ExMxMx 2018 €23.00
MENUCK, EFRIM MANUEL & KEVIN DORIA Are Sing Sinck, Sing LP Efrim Manuel Menuck – founding member of Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Thee Silver Mt. Zion – and Kevin Doria from Growing and Total Life, are now officially a duo. Menuck recruited Doria to help him translate his acclaimed 2018 album Pissing Stars from the studio to the stage, and the pair have been touring under the Efrim Manuel Menuck moniker for the past year (often with Doria’s latest solo project KGD opening the proceedings). They’ve also been co-writing piles of new material, diving deeper into whirling maximalist electronics, still shot through with Menuck’s incantatory singing awash in plaintive distortion and hope. Efrim Manuel Menuck & Kevin Doria are “SING SINCK, SING” presents the first volume of songs forged from this febrile and fertile merger: an antifascist poetics of sound that unspools across five crushing, keening tracks driven by thick sweeping drones and ostinatos, battered by inscrutably searching, ricocheting vocals. Anguish, yearning, and desperate conviction combine in these saturated survivalist electro-hymns, for as long as the power stays on to overload the amplifiers. WE STARTED PLAYING TOGETHER IN THE DARK WINTER OF 2017. 6 OSCILLATORS AND 3 LARGE AMPLIFIERS. DROVE THRU HELLA BLIZZARDS AND/OR HEATWAVES JUST TO LAND IN SMALL ROOMS, VIBRATING. A SERIES OF SHORT TOURS, A PROCESS OF FIGURING OUT WHILE EXHAUSTED WHILE HURTLING WHILE WORRIED. EVERYTHING ILLUMINATED EVERYTHING DESTROYED. WE LANDED IN MEXICO CITY LAST FALL, WROTE THIS RECORD QUICKLY WHILE THE POLICE DROVE ROUND AND ROUND. FIRST SONG IS SELF-EXPLANATORY. 2ND SONG A STATEMENT OF INTENT. THIRD SONG IS AN EMPTY SPACE BETWEEN TWO HIGHWAYS. FOURTH SONG IS ABOUT A MURDERED FOREST. FIFTH SONG INSISTS THAT WE WILL WIN. HOLD ON. THO THESE TIMES ARE DARK TIMES. HOLD ON. – E.M.M./K.G.D (SING, SINCK SING) As the title suggests this is also an interstitial album of sorts, an identity-bridge that leads away from Menuck as ‘solo’ artist and towards SING, SINCK SING which will be the new band name for future work by the duo. Thanks for listening. Recorded in Mexico City and in Montréal, autumn 2018. Mastered by Harris Newman at Greymarket, Montréal. Intro vocals on “Do The Police Embrace?” sung by Johanna and Ezra. Additional vocals on “Do The Police Embrace?” and “Joy Is On Her Mount And Death Is At Her Side” by Robin Wattie. “Fight The Good Fight” lyrics by Michele Fiedler-Fuentes & E.M.M. Dedicated to Dirk Hugsam, last of the sad german outlaws https://singsincksing.bandcamp.com/album/are-sing-sinck-sing ############################ 180 g Vinyl inklusiver kunstvoller Innenhülle + 4" Farbaufkleber + MP3-Download. Efrim Manuel Menuck (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion) und Kevin Doria (Growing, Total Life) sind nun offiziell ein Duo und präsentieren dieses neue Set von wirbelnder, maximalistischer Antifa-Elektronik-Noise, durchdrungen von Menucks markantem Beschwörungsgesang, der in klagende Verzerrung und Hoffnung taucht. WIR BEGANNEN IM DUNKLEN WINTER 2017 ZUSAMMEN ZU SPIELEN. 6 OSZILLATOREN UND 3 GROßE VERSTÄRKER. FUHREN DURCH HÖLLISCHE BLIZZARDS UND/ODER HITZEWELLEN, NUR UM IN KLEINEN VIBRIERENDEN RÄUMEN ZU LANDEN. EINE REIHE VON KURZEN TOURNEEN, EIN FINDUNGSPROZESS, WÄHREND MAN ERSCHÖPFT IST, WÄHREND MAN SICH BEEILT, WÄHREND MAN SICH SORGEN MACHT. ALLES ERHELLTE ALLES ZERSTÖRTE. WIR SIND IM LETZTEN HERBST IN MEXIKO CITY GELANDET, HABEN DIESE PLATTE SCHNELL GESCHRIEBEN, WÄHREND DIE POLIZEI IMMER WIEDER RUNDHERUMFUHR. DER ERSTE SONG IST SELBSTERKLÄREND. DER ZWEITE SONG EINE ABSICHTSERKLÄRUNG. DER DRITTE SONG IST EIN LEERER RAUM ZWISCHEN ZWEI AUTOBAHNEN. DER VIERTE SONG HANDELT VON EINEM ERMORDETEN WALD. DER FÜNFTE SONG BESTEHT DARAUF, DASS WIR GEWINNEN WERDEN. HALTET DURCH. DENN DIESE ZEITEN SIND DUNKLE ZEITEN. HALTET DURCH. - E.M.M./K.G.D. (SING, SINCK, SING) 2019 €21.00
MERZBOW Eucalypse CD / object MERZBOWs Hommage an den vom Aussterben bedrohten australischen Eukalyptus-Baum! Kommt in einem noch nicht dagewesenen, aufschiebbaren runden Holzcover, massiv & bedruckt, mit 4 runden farbigen Inlay-Karten. Wohl eines der spektakulärsten CD-Covers ever ! Das Material (5 Stücke, fast 60 Minuten) ist höchst psychedelisch, pulsierend, in jeder Sekunde expandierend, mitreissend und zermürbend zugleich.... "A complete winner here from electronics wizard Masami Akita and Solielmoon Recordings. The music is some of the most psychedelic that I have heard from Mr. Akita, a panoramic kaleidoscope of metal machine noise and psycho New Age synthoblasters. This is the 360 degree apocalypse of the mind. The Merz is letting loose. This is a man who has recorded a lot of music in his lifetime. I would be very surprised if Merzbow himself is able to keep track of the vast volume of material that he has put out over the years. Sometimes, you don't really remember it after listening a few times. This one is really dramatic and sticks in my mind very clearly. I can very distinctly remember the first time that I listened to it while driving. The music is meant to echo the reality of the destruction of Eucalyptus trees, which is apparently a very terrible problem on the Earth that is disrupting the ecosystem. I can accept that, and it doesn't hurt that this story was told to me via this amazing release. The first track is an amazing psychedelic journey that by itself would make this release worthwhile. Track two opens with violent crashing blending into radio signal white noise static, and industrial sounds that echo the hectic feeling that Merzbow is trying to evoke. This is completely harsh and distinctive, some of the most compelling material from this artist since the noise heyday of the mid-90s and popular releases such as “Pulse Demon.” Each track (all sharing the title “Eucalypse”) has a separate and distinct theme that works very well one after another. The over-arching theme of ecological destruction comes across in a very sincere and horrifying manner through the amazing synthesizer and noise work on this release. It sounds like Jimi Hendrix going through TG's pedals in the ninth circle of hell as everything comes crashing down. It is awesome. The packaging is made out of Eucalyptus wood, ironic considering that the release is trying to decry the practice. Ol' Merz didn't cut the damn thing down himself though, so it all works out in the end. Accompanying this beautiful, awkward, and coaster-shaped wooden box are several round cardboard photographs of Eucalyptus trees with information about the release on the back. The entire thing is completely breathtaking. I assume that this is in some sort of absurdly limited edition, so if you come across this one snatch it up, it's great." [Heathen Harvest] "The Tasmanian Blue Gum tree, Eucalyptus globulus, is native to Tasmania and southern Australia. Eucalyptus trees are uniquely suited to the varied ecologies of Australia, and there is no other continent more closely associated with one genus of tree. Its leaves are the food of choice of the koala, and its flowers attract bees and hummingbirds. Out of approximately 300 identified species, Blue Gums are now the eucalyptus most frequently found in other parts of the world. Throughout the tropics they are known for their ability to dry out swampy areas, making them a valuable weapon in the fight against malaria, a disease caused by parasites carried in female Anopheles mosquitos, which breed in standing water. Eucalyptus globulus was first brought to India in the late 18th century. Large plantations were establish in Kerala in 1863, but other than small amounts of oil distilling, little use has been made of the fast growing trees. Instead, they have thrived in the moist, foggy hills, spreading far across the landscape and transforming the ecosystem in the process. With their deep roots they lower water tables, depriving native species of the moisture necessary to survive the annual dry season, while the anti-bacterial properties of the “blue gum” secretions they drop on the soil further suppress the germination and growth of other plants. An ancient and intricate web of life has been disrupted, and native plants, insects and animals are being driven to extinction. Humans, who have long been a part of the local ecosystem, are adaptable and will survive, but the biodiversity of an entire region is under threat from a single exotic species. It is truly a eucalyptus apocalypse. It is a eucalypse. At Soleilmoon, packaging and presentation are never overlooked. This release is presented in a hand-crafted round wooden box with screenprinted swiveling lid. The box contains one CD and four round, full-color cards. Only 1000 copies of this handsome CD have been made." [label info] www.soleilmoon.com 2008 €23.00
Hybrid Noisebloom do-LP Merzbow stands as the most important artist in noise music. The moniker of Japanese artist Masami Akita was born in Tokyo in 1979. Inspired by dadaism and surrealism, Akita took the name for his project from German artist Kurt Schwitters's pre-war architectural assemblage The Cathedral of Erotic Misery or Merzbau. Working in his home, he quickly gained notoriety as a purveyor of a musical genre composed solely of pure, unadulterated noise. Embracing technology and the machine, first in an absolutely analog way and then welcoming digital innovation, Merzbow broke boundaries and pushed toward new territories of the extreme, arriving at a sonic space of uncontaminated, straight noise that, from its base in Tokyo, has continued, now for over 40 years, to set the pace for the entire genre of noise. When it comes to Japanese noise, few projects have pushed boundaries or risen to a more iconic status than Merzbow.
Hybrid Noisebloom, originally issued by Vinyl Communications on CD in 1997, is the latest in this trilling bread crumb trail. It is also the first time that this seminal document from Merzbow’s '90s period has ever appeared on vinyl. Composed and performed on EMS and Moog Synthesizers, Theremin, Metal Devices, Noise Electronics, and Voice, all recorded at extreme volumes, Hybrid Noisebloom’s five tracks present a fascinating sonic assault, heavily driven by the presence of electronic sounds, played against the sparse interjections of Akita’s heavily processed vocals, that push toward new territories of the extreme, while subtly nodding toward historical gestures from the early years of the avant-garde. A side opens with Plasma Birds comprising a series of banner that investigate timbral relationships, the fragmentation of melody, and abrasive, provocative noise - shifting from the sparse, airy, and restrained, to dance clusters of interplay and back again. Follows enclosed in just over ten minutes, Minotaurus, finding a strange middle ground between the intuitive logics of their instruments; synth and electronics taking on decidedly percussive approaches, while metal device’s fractured polyrhythms and beats often veer toward the presence of a notable tonality. B side is filled with a single long track, Mouse Of Superconcetion, formed by screeches and from swinging and chugging to stepped back and sparse combinations of rhythm and tone - moving from the lingering sensibilities of straight-ahead synth to radically out hard blow fire. Launching from a total wall of sound, C side track Neuro Electric Butterfly takes the listening on an endlessly surprising journey through its devices’ inner world, shifting between airy open passages that feature endless combinations of one or more effects, to furious moments of sonorous lashings where the sound falls in together in brilliant dialogical periods of conversant texture and psychedelic intervention. Closes The Imaginary Coversation Of Blue embedding bristling fragments, percolating tones, and poignant dissonances within a sweeping field of echoes rumbles and drones, taking sonic abstraction to startling heights. All composed & performed by Masami Akita using EMS & Moog Synthesizer, Theremin, Metal Devices, Noise Electronics, Voice Recorded & mixed at ZSF Produkt Studio, January - February 1997 Remastered by MA at Munemihouse Tokyo, 21 February 2021 Artworks by Masami Akita https://urashima.bandcamp.com/album/hybrid-noisebloom 2022 €32.50
  Cloud Cock OO Grand do-LP "Merzbow came roaring onto the Tokyo scene in 1979. To this day, the project remains one of the most prolific and aggressively forward-thinking acts in experimental music. Initially a duo of Masami Akita and Kiyoshi Mizutani, before settling as the moniker of Akita alone, the project took its name from German artist Kurt Schwitters' pre-war architectural assemblage, The Cathedral of Erotic Misery or Merzbau, and quickly set out to challenge entrenched notions of what music could be. Embracing technology and the machine, even in its earliest iterations, Merzbow broke boundaries and pushed toward new territories of the extreme, arriving at an unadulterated manifestation of sonic expression that has continued across the last 40 years, setting the pace for the entire genre of noise along the way. Few projects have pushed boundaries, risen to a more iconic status, or been as influential over the same period of time. Recorded in Holland during the autumn of 1989 and originally issued as an highly limited edition CD by ZSF Produkt in 1990, “Cloud Cock OO Grand” was the first of a series of albums to indicate a change in creative direction that Merzbow would following over the coming decade. During the European tour during which these recordings were laid to tape, Akita was only able to transport simple, portable gear. Rising to the challenge, these limitations led to the development of a signature form of harsh noise, heavily influenced by death metal and grindcore, that would come to define much of his early '90s sound. “Cloud Cock OO Grand” was the first of this shift to be sent into a wider realm. Comprising five individual compositions - three being side-long - “Cloud Cock OO Grand” was composed and performed by Akita on synthesizers, metal devices, noise electronics, and string instruments, all recorded at the extreme volumes for which Merzbow has always gained a unique sense of distinction. Despite being enthralling sonic assault, driven by the frenetic presence of electronic sounds, across the length of the album’s four sides it is hard not to be captivated by a greater sense of dynamics and space within the artist’s work, resulting from sparse acoustic interjections played against Akita’s heavily processed strings. The result, while no less intense of demanding than anything before or since, reveals a surprising sense of intimacy and consideration that’s often not easily observed within the field of noise. Easily among the most captivating gestures within Merbow’s sprawling catalog, pushing endlessly forward while subtly nodding toward historical gestures from the early years of the avant-garde, Urashima beautiful double LP edition of “Cloud Cock OO Grand” marks this seminal and long unavailable album’s first time over on vinyl. Issued in a very limited pressing of 299 copies, with cover that faithfully reproduces the original CD artwork and an A2 poster with an original 1990 draw by Masami Akita, it’s hard to recommend enough." https://urashima.bandcamp.com/album/cloud-cock-oo-grand 2023 €34.00
MERZOUGA De Rerum Natura / Dance of the Elements CD Sound composition by Merzouga – inspired by Lucretius’ philosophical poem. On the Nature of Things In his poem De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things) the Roman poet/philosopher Lucretius (c. 99 – c. 55 BCE) explores Epicurean physics and philosophy through richly poetic language and metaphors, as he presents an entire cosmology: based on the principles of atomism, Lucretius tries to explain the nature of the mind and soul, and the development of the world. While some of his ideas have been proven scientifically wrong, some of his thoughts seem strikingly reasonable even for the contemporary reader. Lucretius believes that, while everything in the universe is finite, the smallest elements (“The First Beginnings of Things”) themselves are eternal – moving through the void they collide, create forms and dissolve, just to collide again in order to create new forms. For Lucretius life is a beautiful chance-driven Dance of the Elements. His ideas, popular and highly controversial in Roman intellectual circles, were soon to be banned and eventually forgotten during the rise of Christianity. The poem was by chance rediscovered in the 15th century by the famous humanist Poggio Bracciolini (1380-1459), most likely in the scriptorium of a monastery in Fulda, Germany. During the renaissance it eventually became a foundation stone of modern western philosophy and natural sciences. Translating the Book into Sound When Soila Valkama, the ars acustica-editor of Finnish broadcaster YLEISRADIO commissioned us to produce a sound-composition, we suggested to her a playful attempt of a sonic translation of Lucretius’ ideas. The listener embarks on a journey in which a universe of sound unfolds. Smallest sonic elements float through space, dark and chaotic, merge to create concrete forms, transform into different consistencies, from water to wind, from stone to dust, steadily in motion in a constant process of becoming and dissolving. Late in the piece the sounds of mammals and humans arrive, blurring again into a palimpsest-like structure when the circle is closing. We used field-recordings of nature, as an analogue for the “concrete forms” that are created by the colliding elements, but also concrete musical structures: fragments of melodies, tonalities, and rhythmic patterns in contrast to the more abstract material. Intertwined with the sound-composition we encounter fragments of Lucretius’ text in English and in Latin, carefully adapted and translated by Janko, and spoken by his brother, the actor Stefko Hanushevsky. The radio-piece consists of six chapters, transposing the structure of Lucretius’ six books into the compositional structure. There is no delay, no rest to interrupt the flow, we can constantly feel it, and we can see things, smell them, and perceive their sound. – Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, Book VI: 932+933 1 Track (38′22″) CD (500 copies) Credits Merzouga is: Janko Hanushevsky (prepared electric bass) and Eva Poepplein (electronics) Speaker: Stefko Hanushevsky Translations: Janko Hanushevsky Editor: Soila Valkama Commissioned and produced by YLEISRADIO/Finland. Artwork: U9 – visuelle Allianz The artwork was created by setting up paper in the garden and applying pens and brushes to the branches of a tree. All the traces of ink on the paper were created by the wind moving the tree, thus providing all the scource-material for the album’s entire artwork. Merzouga would like to thank Soila Valkama & YLE, Stefko Hanushevsky, Lasse-Marc Riek & Roland Etzin, Leopold Lenzgeiger, Sabine Kuechler, Markus Jarchow, Bohdan & Ewa Hanushevsky, and Felix & Waltraud Poepplein for their continuous support. This release was made possible by the generous support of SKE-Fonds. www.gruenrekorder.de/?page_id=16867 2019 €13.00
MILITIA Ambiorix CD After releasing the MILITIA debut album into cassette (a split with CON-DOM entitled "Scorching Earth Policy") in 1995, Old Europa Cafe, 23 years later, proudly comes with the new and MILITIA album "AMBIORIX" devoted to the great Gaul King. All sounds with the usual unmistakable MILITIA trademark, a big variety of rythms with loads of self made percussions and wind instrumets. Songs are sung in different languages including Latin and Gaul. The definitive MILITIA album, the album of their maturity. Special Eco-Leather covers. Covers available in some different brown tonalities and with 4 different logos printed on Eco-Leather Sleeves. Also included is a 3-folded insert with cover notes. Ambiorix, a musical story by MILITIA, based on Ceasar’s writings of “De Bello Gallico” What happened before When around 57 bC Julius Ceaser conquered Gaul, his troops marched into Belgica. (Belgica is more or less the state of Belgium plus a part of the Netherlands reaching to the river Rhine). Belgica was inhabited by several tribes which were at war with each other frequently. The tribe of the Eburons was lead by 2 kings, Ambiorix and Catuvolcus, both sharing power. In 54 bC Ceasar had to provide his troops with fresh food and wood supplies and he ordered the tribes to cede a part of their crops to the Roman armies. Because the harvest wasn’t a good one that year and because the Eburons needed the wood from their forests for themselves for the coming winter, the Eburons refused. Ceasar ordered his generals to built camps around the villages of the Euburon tribes, take over power and confiscate the food supplies by force. Ambiorix and his Eburons were not to let this happen. Music on the album and the story of Ambiorix >> Track 1: Resistance During the intro of the 1st track “Resistance”, you can hear “forest sounds”, like sounds of birds and insectsb and the wind blowing in the trees. The intro represents the situation of Romans entering the Eburon forest and starting to chop several trees. The Eburons attack, the small group of Roman soldiers is taken by surprise and only a few can escape. Track 2: Negotiation Ambiorix and his Eburon warriors haunt the escaping Romans, but when Ambiorix reaches the Roman camp, he decides not to attack but instead he starts negotiations with the enemy. The Eburon king explains to the Romans that he doesn’t mind their presence in the region and that he’s in fact Lucky with having them staying on his land, because their presence keeps other hostile tribes from entering Eburon territory. Ambiorix warns both generals Sabinus and Cotta for the fact that a hughe Germanic army is crossing the Rhine and planning to attack the Roman camps. Ambiorix advices the generals to move their troops to another Roman camp and join the troops there. That way they would be stronger and capable of beating the Germanic warriors. Ambiorix promisses the Romans a free passing through the Eburon lands. Track 3: Arguing The generals Sabinus and Cotta discuss all night long whether they should leave their camp or not. Sabinus trusts Ambiorix and thinks it’s better to leave while Cotta prefers to stay in the camp and wait for the attack. They cannot agree and only after Sabinus gets furious, hitting hard the table with his fist, Cotta agrees to leave the camp. Track 4: Ambush The decision to leave the camp has been taken and the Roman soldiers start marching. There are two possible routes to the next Roman camp, one path was behind hilly landscape, the other through a valley. The generals decide to go pass the valley and when descending, Ambiorix and his warriors attack, charging downhill out of the woods and straight into the indefensible flancs of the Roman army. The Romans were slaughtered and a few were captured. Noone could escape. Track 5: Burning the Wicker Man In his book “De Bello Gallico”, Ceasar described how the Gauls used to sacrifice their prisoners: the men or even women were locked up in a hughe puppet made of wood and straw, like a giant, and then this giant, called the Wicker Man, was set on fire, burning alive the prisoners inside it. It was their way of sacrificing the captured Roman soldiers to the Gaul god of thunder, Taranis. Track 6: Women of Gaul Despite of Ceasar’s claims that Gaul women had nothing to say and were treated as inferior to men, we know from historical sources that some women occupied an important function in their community. We don’t know if they were active in battle as well, but we know the story of the Celtic female warrior called Boudicca, who got beaten and witnessed her daughters being raped by the Romans. She took revenge, lead her troops to war and burned down a few Roman cities located in Britannia. Track 7: March on Gaul Rome received the news about the beaten army and the resisting Eburons. Ceasar swore to exterminate every tribe of Belgica. It was important for him to show the greatness and the power of the Roman empire, so this enormous defeat could not be left unpunished: a complete Roman legion and 5 cohorts (in all around 7200 men) was completely whiped out by just one tribe! Ceasar sent a massive force to Belgica, a force never witnessed before. Track 8: Calling all Gauls At the same time Ambiorix united all other Belgian tribes to form a defending force against the Roman army that was marching to Belgica. Thousands of warriors stood behind Ambiorix. They trained and prepared themselves for the great clash. Track 9: War This is the musical interpretation of the great battle between the Roman soldiers and the Gaul warriors. You’ll hear commands in Latin and Gaul language. Blood and mud, sufferings and death, victory and defeat. Track 10: The Rape of Gaul The Gauls lost the battle, whatever remained of the Belgican population was slaughtered and the Gaul villages were burned down: extermination, genocide, rape, plunder, massacres, murdering women and children, hostiges and prisoners became slaves. It was the end of the Gaul civilisation. Track 11: The Lost King Ambiorix could escape and with a few warriors he succeeded in crossing the Rhine and hiding in Germania. There’s no trace left of him and although sometimes Roman soldiers reported to have seen him, they can never catch him. Ambiorix diappears in the dark mists of history. We remember the great king who stood up against the Roman occupiers. For evermore he’ll be a true Belgian hero in the hearts of all, in the hearts of Militia. 2018 €16.00
  The Black Flag hoisted do-CD In 2016, Belgian tribal-power industrial sextet Militia entered the studio to re-record their landmark 2000 album "The Black Flag Hoisted", the final chapter of the ‘Statement’ triptych. The album was re-recorded almost completely, several tracks were completed, the recording of which was interrupted in 2000, and additional drum sections were added that were not recorded last time. In a few months, the album was re-recorded and for 5 years it was waiting for the release, which was postponed for various reasons. The work presents the Militia's view of anarchist theories - Die Theorielosigkeit des Anarchismus, nihilism, and liberal quests of the late 19th century, expressed in such historical figures as the Russian anarchist theoreticians Bakunin and Kropotkin, the French anarchist Proudhon. The first edition of the album is long out of print, as well as the other two parts of the trilogy, and represent some of the most wanted industrial recordings of the 2000s. Militia's music is always a unique and unique phenomenon. Conceptual industrial symphonies of hundreds of machine voices that travel through time and tell a story. Numerous references to events, ideas, people, and movements are woven into texts, while music, on the contrary, is distinguished by such originality that it is impossible to talk about similarities or homages. The Militia albums, including "The Black Flag Hoisted", are not designed to be "an everyday album." This is a rare and, perhaps, too complex work, thought out before every rustle and beat of the drum, deeply revealing the historical and ideological questions posed by the musicians. You will want to return to this recording more than once in order to hear something new and understand what has already been heard. Collaborators and guest musicians: AZURE MORTAL (Belgium) BASTARD NOISE (U.S.A.) IDPA (Germany) MARK KERKHOFS (The Netherlands) MIKE R. DANDO / CON-DOM (U.K.) ROBERT FIC (Czech Republic) RUDI PINSAERT (Belgium) COR GOUT / TRESPASSERS W (The Netherlands) WASTEMATRIX (U.S.A.) https://infinitefog.bandcamp.com/album/the-black-flag-hoisted 2022 €20.00
MINARD, ROBIN Silent Music CD Electro-acoustic composer from Montreal, Canada, with two compositions between sound art and acoustic design, presented as room-installations at two exhibitions in Germany in 1996 / 1999. Silent, spacey tunes made with vibraphone and delay..... 1999 €14.00
MIRT Most mCD-R In eine geheimnisvolle und melancholische Soundwelt entführt uns MIRT (Seitenprojekt von ONE INCH OF SHADOW) mit wunderbar konkreten und transparent-organischen Klängen, die auf Feldaufnahmen einer grenznahen Eisenbahnbrücke basieren, die später durch einsame Akkordeon und Klarinett-Sounds ergänzt werden... magisch emotional! “ One Inch of Shadow leader's solo project. Fields recordings from big inactive railway bridge. The bridge is on Polish - German border. Fauna & flora of The Odra River, "industrial" echos of the bridge & sounds of accordion and clarinet recorded at studio. 24 minutes deepest experiences. Magic of place & sadness of existence.“ [label info] 2003 €6.50
  Most 12" "12" 45 RPM 24 MIN. FULL COLOUR COVER INSERT NEFRYT N017 / CAT SUN 001 RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER, 25 LIMITED TO 250 ONLY 225 copies with standard cover - full color cover + black and white inner sleeve 25 copies of superlimited art edition with additional hand painted gatefold cover covered with fabric and additional bonus CDR (this version is sold out now!). Released in 2003 on limited 3"CDR - "Most" (Nefryt/Malachit) is one of the well acclaimed works of T. Mirt (Brasil and The Gallowbrothers Band, One Inch of Shadow). This is a concept album about big inactive railway bridge ("Most" in Polish), fauna and flora of the Odra river. The bridge is situated on Polish - German border. Both tracks are composed mainly of prepared field recordings made on the bridge and its neighbourhood. This is a story about metal form sunken in the muds of the Odra river and absorbed by nature but also about freaks from nearby vilage. Lost like this old bridge. This edition has a new cover art. All the illustrations from previous release are included." [label info] www.nefryt.serpent.pl 2009 €12.50
MIXED BAND PHILANTROPIST The impossible Humane LP "Limitiertes Vinyl-Reissue des einzigen Albums der Industrial-Kultband. Aufgenommen in den Jahren 1984 bis 1986 ist "The Impossible Humane" das einzige Album von Mixed Band Philanthropist, einem Nebenprojekt der The New Blockaders. Ursprünglich war die Platte 1987 auf dem deutschen Label Selektion erschienen und ist natürlich längst ein begehrtes Sammlerstück. Das Label Staubgold macht dieses Juwel aus Industrial und Musique concrete in einer Kleinauflage wieder erhältlich. Das Reissue enthält zwei Bonustracks, die der 7-Zoll-Single "The Man Who Mistook A Real Woman For His Muse And Acted Accordingly" entnommen wurden. Am Album war das Who’s who der damaligen Industrial-Szene beteiligt, u. a. Nurse With Wound, Organum, Andrew Chalk, The New Blockaders, Etant Donnes, H.N.A.S., P16.D4, Asmus Tietchens, Controlled Bleeding, Smegma und Merzbow. "A totally great listening experience", meinte das Magazin "The Wire". Die Vinyl-only-Produktion ist auf 400 Platten limitiert." [label info] www.staubgold.com "Recorded from 1984 to 1986, "The Impossible Humane" is the sole album by The New Blockaders side project Mixed Band Philanthropist. Originally released on the German Selektion label in 1987 and impossible to find nowadays, Staubgold makes this rare gem of Industrial goes Musique Concrete available again in a strictly limited edition of 400 copies. Furthermore the reissue contains two bonus tracks taken from the 7" single "The Man Who Mistook A Real Woman For His Muse And Acted Accordingly". The album is assembled of exclusive source material by the who's who of the Industrial music scene of the time, including contributions by Nurse With Wound, Organum, Andrew Chalk, The New Blockaders, Etant Donnes, H.N.A.S., P16.D4, Asmus Tietchens, Controlled Bleeding, Smegma, Merzbow and many more. "A classic chunk of destroyed musique concrete. Assembled from a variety of musical and spoken sources, this is a nonstop barrage of genius. Filled with headsnapping changes, sexual innuendo and general confusion, it's a totally great listening experience," said The Wire magazine. Idwal Fisher wrote: "This car crash tape collage still stands today as one of the best examples of the genre. Its perpetual barrage of split-second samples are a dizzying mess of '60's Pop songs, scrapes, industrial whirr, uncategorizeable racket, ghostly voices, electronic beebles and burrs, sped-up records, tape whizz, machine rumble, snatches of Reggae, bucket damage, kazoo farts, Disco spots and about three-thousand or more (I'm guessing) other samples that really shouldn't work but, by some slight of hand or genius, actually do. On paper snatches of steel bands shouldn't be found on the same side of tape as Geordie MCs, Michael Jackson, pneumatic drills, early Merzbow and '50's Doo Wop but here they are and it works. Totally. Then comes the added bonus of being able to listen to this to the point of ad nauseam, mainly due to the fact that there are so few reference points that every listen brings something new." [label info] 2014 €16.00
MODELBAU Neither Nor CD-R "Modelbau is not the latest in a series of names used to create music, but it is indeed the latest one for a solo vehicle. Each of the names, and that includes my own name, stands for something particular, an idea, and something not found in the other monikers I am using. Modelbau is, like Freiband, not a proper German word (it should be Modellbau, but I thought that looked ugly) and as such is probably already a lo-fi name, and as such also very personal. As a musician I have noy a particular instrument, nor do I favour any technqiue, and I think one should use what is needed for a particular project or a piece of music. When I started Modelbau, I wanted to use various lo-fi sound sources, such as Dictaphones, walkman, shortwave radio, small synthesizers and such like. This would not be a project for improvisation, but more or less planned pieces of music. All of which to be released in the digital domain only. That was in 2012. Now, in 2017, almost nothing is left of this outline, and yet the msuic is very much what I envisaged as Modelbau. These days Modelbau uses pre-recorded cassettes, iPad apps, sound effects, laptop, shortwave radio, small synthesizers, ancient 2bit sampling device; everything is recorded on the spot, as is, and without multi-tracking and very minimal editing (save for fades and mastering) released as downloads, but also on cassette, CDs and CDrs. Vinyl is only a matter of time. Whenever Modelbau plays a concert (all of which are recorded) preparations are made, and these are also recorded; sometimes they have these preparations can have the length of a concert, but they can also be single pieces of a few minutes. All of these recordings are archived and whenever a release is prepared, the latest sessions are listened to again. 'Does it stand the test of time', is it still interesting. The pieces on 'Neither Nor' were all recorded on a single, particular fruitful afternoon in October 2016, while waiting for guests who arrived too late to be part of any recording. Free form spacious and lo-fi, complex and minimal, steady and yet always with movement." https://emerge.bandcamp.com/album/neither-nor 2017 €6.00
MONOCUBE & TROUM // TROUM & MONOCUBE Contemplator Caeli LP "CONTEMPLATOR CAELI denotes the antique notion and skill of immersing into the (night-) sky, in order to feel connected to the immeasureable dimensions of the universe and the unearthly powers. The celestial spheres and objects are interpretated as living entities, building a shelter for the earth and the humans, reflecting an eternal cosmic order and it's principles. The sky is being watched with deep humbleness, amazement and praise. Inspired by this old notion TROUM & MONOCUBE wanted to capture it's emotional bearing, understanding the sky also as our 'psychic firmament', the universe that is linked with every single cell in our bodies. Ukraine's transcension guitar drone project MONOCUBE and German dream atmospherics TROUM collaborated on four long tracks, working with each other's basic material, using acoustic guitars, melodica, accordeon, voice and electronic effects. The result is this very first vinyl release on TRANSGREDIENT, the initial edition is limited and numbered to 200 copies and comes on multi-"sky"-coloured vinyl and with inlay, feat. a phantastic artwork done by sukkeret.og.pepper studio (Berlin). Side 1: A1 CIRCULARIS ET PERPETUA A2 PRECESSIO ÆQUINOCTIORUM Side 2: B1 STELLAE ERRANTIS B2 DIGRESSIO digital version: https://troum.bandcamp.com/album/contemplator-caeli-collab-with-monocube ########################################### "Although being familiar with both projects, the first thing that drew me to this album was the stunning gothic and celestial-tinged artwork. Upon investigation the visuals specifically tie in with the album’s theme which ‘denotes the antique notion and skill of immersing into the (night-) sky, in order to feel connected to the immeasurable dimensions of the universe and the unearthly powers. The celestial spheres and objects are interpreted as living entities, building a shelter for the earth and the humans, reflecting an eternal cosmic order and its principles. The sky is being watched with deep humbleness, amazement and praise’. Circularis Et Perpetua opens the album, blending mournful drones and what appear to be treated choirs sitting in the middle to the back of the mix. Hitting its stride early, the tone swells in a cyclic rising and falling manner and hints at grandiose night-time vistas; this maintains consistency over the eight-minute span. In contrast to the ethereal mood that the choirs provide on the first track, a more earthbound perspective is articulated on Precessio Aequinoctiorum via the use of a lone male singing (courtesy of Monocube?), blended with widescreen enveloping drones. Stellae Errantis opens Side B, and is slightly less flowing than the preceding material as the caustic and tensile atmosphere sounds to be constructed around treated field recordings and layered foghorn drones. But the absolute highlight track is the final one, Digressio: an amazing piece of melancholy minimalism, based around reverb-drenched and catatonically plucked strings (acoustic guitar?), blended with widescreen melodious bass drones that rise and recede over an extended length. If you enjoy the output of either or both projects, you will clearly find much to like with this release. While the first three tracks are enjoyably good, it is the fourth that is the absolute standout. Pressed in 200 copies in clear coloured vinyl, a full colour cover and insert rounds out the exquisite presentation." [Noise Receptor] 2020 €20.00
MONTGOMERY, GEN KEN Drilling Holes in the Wall CD "Archive materials from one of the most mysterious musicians in electronic underground, dating from 1988 to 1991. Each piece composed by Gen Ken Montgomery is the result of domestic alchemy, transforming some ugliest environmental sounds into artistic images of impressive beauty. His instruments are just prepared toy synth, but also from time to time laminator, icebreaker, radiator, film projector and so on. These recordings were made in Conrad Schnizler studio in West Berlin, and also live on stage there, in time of Germany reunion. Gen Ken Montgomery has been active in the experimental, electronic and noise scenes since the early 80s. Montgomery was the founder of Generations Unlimited and an original co-founder of Pogus Productions, respected experimental music labels. In 1989, he founded Generator, the first sound art gallery in New York City, where he created a home for sound artists and noise makers who were part of the thriving international cassette culture of the 80s. Since 1996 he has published recordings by sound artists in collaboration with Scott Konzelmann (Chop Shop) releasing them through Generator Sound Art." [label info] "Gen Ken Montgomery’s ‘Drilling Holes in the Wall’ is less an ambient record than it is an opus among the work of an experimental sound artist – being two divergent concepts – the latter more among artists of the ilk of Daniel Menche, who choose to create using a circus of instrumentation to perform certain plays before moving on to not just new locale, but new tools for performance sculpting. This retrospective of work is a troupe of electronic pulses, glitches, groans, explosions, susurrations, and endless other sonic perturbations. Suppurating at first, “Drilling Holes in the Wall” bloats with unhealthy ichors pressing the sores with throbbing ululations that are lanced with synaptic lacerations of noise, using sound to sonically cut and carve away tumorous flesh. Every digital strike is never the same with each collop dissected bringing new electronic whimpers unexpected; the infinitesimal filigree of surgical strikes of sound is like the marginalia of some robotic surgeon. Sound fuses, splatters, roars, and blazes contorted shapes in a linear-spatial sculpture. There is no empathy here, nothing to relate to human experience. Gen Ken Montgomery’s first track is more Opus No. 1, a matrix of half an hour of disassembly, reassembly and alien interdiction upon frequencies we recognise. It comes as great surprise to find the liner notes disclose a recording date of 1990 as it could easily sit in this milieu. Two years prior to that and the next two tracks – the latter of which and its two succeeding ones being unreleased - divulge more montage of digitally modelled scintilla, though here in more unified form, if only by sinewy electrical strands of frazzled computer nightmares of the surreal kind. Unidentifiable and humanly unpronounceable vespers are strobed and shuffled to the pulpit for recitation but there is no quantifiable bourn to address, only to witness and wonder. The last two tracks are the shortest but of the familiar distortive and displacing concurrence sound forms previously expressed. They scurry and quiver across the mottled surface of Gen Ken Montgomery’s odd musical conglomerate. The incision of human vocals in the last track is a bizarre feeding of radio station into tesla coils that seems a poor accompaniment to the unearthly welding going about it, and before it. Nonetheless, if you enjoy chewed electronics unlike anything you have previously heard, Gen Ken Montgomery is for you." [Heathen Harvest] www.monochromevision.ru 2007 €13.00
MOORE, ANTHONY / TOBIAS GREWENIG / DIRK SPECHT The April Sessions LP This journey, this slowly drifting sonic meditation, is an 'inner soundscape', a dialogue between the senses, the conscience and the world, inside / outside, interconnected. Like waking up from a long dream, and being stuck into its echo. The April Sessions immerges the listener into a drone-ish universe, full of random acousmatic events, inner monologues and a vast and unwritten subjective map to be drawn. The April Sessions has been living in a seedy hotel in Brussels for a few months. She listens to the sparse traffic outside her window, locked in and locked down. 'Everything is constructed', she says to herself, 'even the sound of a solitary aircraft at 25,000 feet traverses the sky no further out than the inside of my skull'. Other weird sonic phenomena criss-cross the inner cosmos of her brain and streak across her private sky like comets. And then there is the unshakeable presence of that inner monologue, known to her variously as the Tacit Dictator, the Subvocaliser and, nightmarishly enough, the voice of the Merlucid Hake. (Anthony Moore, St Leonards, 10th of March 2021). Anthony Moore, Dirk Specht and Tobias Grewenig have known each other and worked together since the early 2000s. They have collectively participated in a number of projects including live performances and recordings. In 2016, as part of The Missing Present Band, they released the live LP 'The Present Is Missing' on A-Musik. The following year they released 'Ore Talks', a double LP, realised in collaboration with Therapeutische Hörgruppe Köln. Anthony Moore born in 1948, founded the band Slapp Happy (circa 1972) with Peter Blegvad and Dagmar Krause, then worked alongside a.o. Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson in the unclassifiable band Henry Cow. He released several solo albums, composed soundtracks for experimental movies. His path also crossed Kevin Ayers's, Pink Floyd's, Richard Wright's… He was appointed professor for research into sound and music in the context of new media at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne, Germany. He still continues to write and perform. Dirk Specht sound artist, musician and curator. He studied architecture and media art and is active in the fields of sound works for choreography, radio drama, sound art, film and video art soundtracks… He published releases with several bands and projects. He has been an assistant for research into sound from 2011 to 2016 at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne, and is a founding member of Therapeutische Hörgruppe Köln. Tobias Grewenig studied at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne. He primarily deals with non-linearity in his audiovisual installative works and performances, including projects with the artist group 'Therapeutische Hörgruppe Köln', the ensemble 'The Knob, The Finger & The It' and the improvisation collective "Frequenzwechsel". The conception and development of electronic instruments and code is a key component of his artistic work. He lives and works in Cologne. https://subrosalabel.bandcamp.com/album/the-april-sessions 2021 €16.00
MORSANEK / VINKEPEEZER same LP Quasi aus dem "Nichts" erreichte uns diese sehr gute LP von zwei niederländischen "Klangtätern", die beide auf ihre ganz eigene Art ein speziellen Klangkosmos erschaffen... VINKEPEEZER mag einigen noch als WRIKKEN bekannt sein, hatte mal eine 7" auf MIXER ! "Morsanek is an Amsterdam-based guitarist, DJ, and sound editor. In his DJ and editing projects Morsanek attempts to build audio narratives by connecting and disconnecting small timbral and organisational complements. His work as an improvising guitarist uses prepared guitar as a sort of sampler. His first vinyl release is a split LP on the Kazemat label in januari 2009. www.subdist.com/morsanek/ Vinkepeezer: Soundvillain, cut and paste composer, sonic painter. Vinkepeezers' music is built from many tiny sampled fragments that reappear as a swarming flock of birds, falling apart and building up again in ever changing forms. His music is organic, cinematic, warm and thickly layered, full of contrast. The music is performed live with an unique instrument consisting of game controllers such as the Wii remote, and by acoustic instruments played by musicians that reinterpret his compositions. Vinkepeezer is Dutch composer, sound artist and performer Ivo Bol, who works internationally with filmmakers, theatremakers and choreographers. www.ivobol.nl/" [label info] "After the second world war brought a lot of English words into the Dutch language, and it may hardly be no surprise that German words didn't make it. There is one exception, which is the now fully accepted German word bunker. Before World War Two they were called 'Kazemat', which is a beautiful word, I think. Praise to Rob Vugs and Ivo Bol who just started a label with the same name, and more praise to him for this daring move: a bit of heavy vinyl, gatefold, full color sleeve, in an edition of 500 copies. Let's hope this may last longer than just one release. Ivo Bol was once a member of Wrikken, who released a 7" on Mixer (see Vital Weekly 334), but since time works solo as Vinkepeezer, creating music by using game controllers and acoustic instruments. Much of his work is created for film, theatre and dance. In the first two pieces it seems that Bol loves his Oval, through a jumpy myriad of bouncing sounds. Closely out of phase they make a densely shaped total. Its however not a glitch based as Oval, or many of their followers. Bol creates his own strong world, plus he knows how to cut back in sound and make a quieter moment. Nothing earth shaking new, but executed with great care. Morsanek is an Amsterdam based guitarist, DJ and sound editor, who for his own piece, which spans one side of this record, he uses his guitar, effects and sound editing. Its a bit hard to say how much of this was guitar or 'live', as I hear many different layers, which seems to be hard for one person to deal with and there are some sounds which seem like 'real' percussion. Whereas Vinkepeezer stays on the safe side of things, Morsanek goes for the adventure of sound, offering a wider range of sounds and moods, and makes a more surprising piece of music. But both sides are quite nice, so this is a most promising start for this new label." [FdW / Vital Weekly] www.kazemat.com 2009 €15.50
MOTHRA Doom Engine LP "First time on vinyl for this cult album from Japanese Noise / Death Industrial / junk noise group MOTHRA: Jun-ichi Takahashi (Screloma), Masahiko Okubo (Linekraft / Oozepus), Fumihiro Kojima, and Masahito Nozu. Harsh noise, rhythmic death industrial and full of Industrial junk percussion, "Doom Engine" was created using gas tanks, iron plates, junk metal, heavy bass, distorted / screamed vocals, and psychedelic sound imagery. For fans of: early Einsturzende Neubauten / early Test Dept, Kollaps, classic German Death Industrial, but with a distinct Japanese edge. New artwork by RSJS. Ltd x 400 copies on 180gm vinyl in a 350gsm sleeve. Jun-Ichi Takahashi: Metal Junks Masahito Nozu: Drums, Metal Junks Fumihiro Kojima: Electronics Masahiko Okubo: Voice, Bass Mastered by Martin Bowes Graphic Design: Abby Helasdottir Cover Photography: RSJS (Insta: @Rsforkingjs) https://coldspring.bandcamp.com/album/doom-engine-csr284lp 2020 €20.00
MULTER Köln 4/11/2006 CD-R "One of the best known unknown artists of the german experimental hard-to-classify scene publishes here this document of a one track concert, recorded at the Kulturbunker, Cologne during a concert series organized by Till Kniola / Auf Abwegen in Late 2006. The trio of Neidhardt (guitar/Amps), Geiter (keyboards, live mix) and Hoeschen (field recordings, live mix) performed in their unique style what can be loosely described as memorable post-rock drone. A piece which just keeps growing and developing for close to an hour. The last full length release by [multer] was the sound installation soundtrack ‘Berge Im Bunker’ (consouling sounds, 2011) which was prefaced by the marvelous but vinyl only ‘Kopenhagener deutung’ album (genesungswerk, 2003). Next year shall bring a release of a studio version of this track as well as other projects concluding with the publication of entirely new material and accompanying live performances. For those interested what happened between [multer] activities there is the meanwhile impressive back-catalogue of Hellmut Neidhart aka ‘N’ solo and also releases on Thomas Geiter’s own label inselkind-schalltraeger worth more than a listen. Issued as a limited & numbered cdr with special artwork directed and produced by [multer] and as an unlimited digital dl." [label info] https://klappstuhl.bandcamp.com/album/k-ln-04-11-2006 "Klappstuhl Records zeigt sich, nach ersten Anzeichen 2012 und 2013, seit 2015 zweifelsfrei wiederbelebt, ohne merkliche Gesinnungsänderung zur kassettentäterischen Vorgeschichte in den 80ern (& 90ern). Köln 4 | 11 | 2006 (SP 012, CD-R) wirft nun sogar ein halbes Pfund in die Waagschale. Durch ein silbernes Cover aus Eisen. Zu hören sind, live im Kulturbunker, Thomas Geiter: keyboard, mixing, Mal Hoeschen: fieldrecording, mixing & Hellmut Neidhardt: guitars, amps, Letzterer einschlägig bekannt als N, die drei gemeinsam als [multer]. Sie tasten sich mit blasender, wischender, dröhnender Vorsicht voran. Dröhnend? Es ist das fast ein Singen wie von einer Harmonika, ein sublim changierender Silberstreif am tief gelegten Kulturhorizont. Ein knatternder Helikopter unternimmt einen Aufklärungsflug. Kleine Alltagsgeräusche, Schritte, Vogelschreie, Entengeschnatter, Glockenspiel und Turmuhrschlag oder erst glucksendes, dann anbrandendes und lappendes Wasser akzentuieren als Einsprengsel der Welt da draußen das langwellig sonore, surrend noch unterstrichene Fürsichsein in einem Tagtraumzustand. Ein fernes Akkordeon spielt 'Caravan', die N-Gitarre schnurrt. Zwei Stimmen referieren über den Ausnahmezustand und die Schamlosigkeit, die künstlerisches Schaffen ermöglichen, und über das 'Nein' des ästhetischen Menschen. Nietzsche trapst als Nachtigall: Es giebt zwei Zustände, in denen die Kunst selbst wie eine Naturgewalt im Menschen auftritt, über ihn verfügend, ob er will oder nicht: einmal als Zwang zur Vision, andrerseits als Zwang zum Orgiasmus. Beide Zustände sind auch im normalen Leben vorgespielt, nur schwächer: im Traum und im Rausch. Vinyl knurscht, der Harmonikadrone kurvt und sirrt. Und träumt von der suggestiven Kraft der Musik, ihrer "suggestion mentale"..." [Bad Alchemy] 2016 €11.00
MURMER We share a Shadow CD MURMER gehört zu jener neuen Generation von Field Recording-Spezialisten, die mit Hilfe von Computerprogrammen eine ungeahnte Detailfülle & Klangdichte in ihren Kompositionen erreichen. Auf "We share a Shadow" (2 Stücke, 46 Minuten) erklingen z.B. wunderbar vielschichtige Metall-Drones, Vibrationen von langgezogene Sirenen-artigen Tönen, rückwärtige akustisch glitzernde Resonanzen, krispelndes Rauschen (Regen?)... etc. - ein einziger Genuss, diese neuartige Drone-Musik in Perfektion, das Selbst scheint sich aufzulösen in diesen Sounds! Die Auflage beträgt leider nur 300 Exemplare, kommt im handgetönen Wasserfarben-Cover. "Murmer is the pseudonym for Patrick McGinley, a man with several passports which have taken him to many a foreign land in search of found sounds of the unsettled, the forgotten, the mysterious, and the beautiful. His field recordings of activated environments (e.g. resonant industrial spaces, windswept telephone lines, bowed branches, gasping ventilator systems, etc.) originate from all of the locations where he has traveled; yet, the documentation of these sounds is the not the terminus of McGinley's work. He is far more interested in extracting a particular emotional, transcendent, or metaphysical kernel from those sounds, and then recontextualizing that germinated sound into sympathetic compositions of magnificent dronemusik. We Share A Shadow continues where Murmer left off with the exceptional Husk album (in collaboration with Jonathan Coleclough), in spiraling his manipulated field recordings as a slow revelation of the environmental sonorities that undeservedly go unnoticed each and every day. Singing frequencies of a bowed piece of metal undulate against a grey tapestry of rain and rasping insects. Golden overtones from shimmering drones quell what agitated textures reside in McGinley's active field recordings, rendering the aggregate sound a nocturnal opiate with considerable potency. As Murmer, Patrick McGinley has produced a handful of releases on ICR, Ground Fault, Drone Records, and Absurd; and he has performed in venues both large and small across North America and Europe. He is also the host the Framework radio show on Resonance FM, dedicated to the consecration of field recordings and their use in composition. We Share A Shadow is strictly limited to 300 copies, featuring hand water-coloured artwork and letterpress printing." [label description] www.helenscarsdale.com "BACK IN PRINT! We thought this gem from the Helen Scarsdale Agency was going to stay out of print forever, but due to a fortuitous pressing plant glitch (when are those ever fortuitous?), a small second pressing has now been made available! Here's what we've said about this album when it first came out in 2007: Proprietor of the Framework radio show on Resonance FM for many years now, Patrick McGinley has implored his listeners to "open your ears and listen" to the world at large, presenting an impeccable series dedicated to field recordings and its use in composition. So, it goes with out saying that the field recording and the found object are commonplace within McGinley's own sound art constructions which he records under the moniker Murmer (and not Murmur, mind you!). Given his predilection for wandering throughout the European countryside for all that it has to offer (not just limited to environmental sound), his recorded output has been somewhat limited. We Share A Shadow is his first proper solo album in almost three years, although his collaboration with Jonathan Coleclough did stand out as one of the dronemusik highlights of 2006. Consisting of two very long pieces, We Share A Shadow is a notably restrained album whose dark beauty reveals itself with a slow and deliberate pace. The first untitled piece opens with sheets of cold rain scuffing the smooth arcs of bowed metals, whose Feldman-like swell and collapse recalls the late period work of Bernhard Gunter. As the rain gently fades, a composite drone emerges out of those rasps and vibrations from the bowed metals and intensifies through dissonant timbres subtly agitating the shimmer and filigree of the gilted drone. Throughout, windswept debris ricochets across the stereo field casting an ominous cloud onto the sustained tones. The second piece is an even darker affair with a motor grinding against a piece of metal in the distance while a somber, almost doomscape piano plods in the foreground. With plenty of low frequency rumbles and spectral activity lingering in the background, this piece is almost like KTL remixing Xenakis at 16 RPM. Needless to say, this is an incredible album. Gorgeously packaged in hand water-colored / letterpressed sleeves, SECOND PRESSING ONLY 175 COPIES!!" [Aquarius Rec.] 2008 €14.00
  Songs for Forgetting LP "I work very slowly, hence songs for forgetting has been in development for a very long time. The first element, a large sand timer, was recorded in Cologne, Germany in August, 2007. Further field recordings were made of rain dripping through Soviet-era gutter spouts in the small Estonian village of Tõravere (which happens to be home to northern Europe’s largest optical telescope) later that same month; daytime fireworks (mascleta, set off for sound rather than light) in Valencia, Spain (March, 2008); a pebble beach in Étretat, France (June, 2008); underwater life in a branch of the Andelle River in Perruel, France (May, 2009); and, more recently, the rain gutters at my current home in Põlgaste, Estonia (September, 2013) and the stridulation and footfalls of an inadvertently disturbed ant colony on Kemiö Island, Finland (July, 2014). But the force that brought all these recordings together was an inadvertent tendency towards instrumental recordings, which feature in each of these ’songs‘. These instruments were all unfamiliar, and in some cases they were not ‚instruments‘ at all, in the literal sense of the word, but objects or spaces that nonetheless lent themselves to being played. I encountered them around the same time as the recordings mentioned above were being made, and recorded my explorations and improvisations, sometimes alone, sometimes with other players. The first of these instruments was small and zither-like. It was, I learned only recently, a miniature Ukrainian bandura, and it was in an apartment in Berlin where I stayed during a visit in August, 2007. The apartment was the home of another sound artist whose name, Jeff Gburek, I’d known for years, but whom I had never (and still have not) met in person. He was out of town at the time; he didn’t know for years that I played and recorded his instrument (although, thanks to this release, he does now). The next instrument was an old radio antenna, on the roof of the aforementioned observatory telescope in Tõravere, which sang a predetermined melody when you bowed it, which I did together with a native of that village, Piibe Kolka, in August, 2007 (Piibe’s bowing can be heard in ‘the third song for forgetting’). And in December of that year, in Vienna, Austria, I recorded an improvisation with the debris and trash under a small pedestrian bridge with Lasse-Marc Riek, who coincidentally co-curates the Gruenrekorder label, and visual artist Elffriede (this action can be heard in ‘a fourth song for forgetting’). In February of the next year, while staying with Maksims Šentelevs in Riga, Latvia, I experimented with one of the many instruments in his collection, a small kora. And a year later in February, 2009 I recorded another tabletop zither, given to me by an old housemate from my time in London, the singer-songwriter Sam Semple, playing it with a small motor also given to me by Max from Riga. With all the elements collected, the songs began to come together, very slowly, beginning in that summer of 2007, and finishing only now as this release is being prepared. They were built often in response to specific emotional situations, situations that demanded some forgetting themselves, so the title can be read two ways: what you forget is up to you. A brief word about some elements of the design of the physical version of this release, which is the work of Vahram Muradyan, using elements from my own collection of found objects and detritus, which are printed and embossed on sleeves made for us by the Räpina Paper Factory, here in southeast Estonia, using 100% additive-free recycled fibre: the front image is a reproduction of a leaf skeleton that I have had for some years – I can’t remember exactly where or when I found it, but I believe it is an aspen leaf from an Estonian forest. I have fond memories of recording aspen leaves in these forests, as they tremble in the wind. The maple and grape leaves that denote sides A and B of the vinyl were collected for their colors while traveling in France one autumn. The writing on the inner sleeve comes from one of several old school notebooks found in a mill ruin near my home, water-damaged and sun-faded, and mostly illegible. These notebooks make me think of memory and its loss, the fading away of the past. Included with the physical version is an original fragment of one of these notebooks. Without the following people (along with those mentioned above) this release would not have been possible: Tuuli Tubin McGinley, Oliivia Tubin McGinley, Lasse-Marc Riek, Roland Etzin, Joshua Kunisch, Vahram Muradyan, Felicity Ford, Helmut Erler (who mastered the album at Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin), and Mihkel Peedimaa (from the Räpina Paper Factory, who made and donated the sleeves). Furthermore, this release has been produced with the help of a number of supporters, to whom I express my sincerest gratitude: Ariel Vitello, Bob Maier, Carole Kojo, Daniel McGinley, Eckhard Kuchenbecker, Greg Burrell, Hao-Tsun Kuo, Hitoshi Kojo, Irvic D’Olivier, James Bailey, Jonathan Coleclough, Julia Kümmel, Lauri Laanisto, Maren Möhring, Mark Stanley, Martin Clarke, Mike DePolo, Paul Fay, Udo Noll, and my colleagues at Resonance FM." [Patrick Tubin McGinley, April/October 2016] "The American ex-pat Patrick McGinley (aka Murmer) has now taken up residence in a rural village in Estonia after many years of wanderings and explorations. To this day, he continues to roam any and all environments, collecting field recordings and his own interventions with a particular place. It has been almost five years since his last solo work, but McGinley remains a steadfast champion the field recording within composition through his weekly Framework radio series, broadcast on Resonance FM and beyond through numerous radio and online outlets. Songs For Forgetting highlights McGinley's talents in molding and shaping tone and subtle melody from deep within the fundamental sounds of a particular environmental sound. At the same time, he'll interject actual instrumentation. The playful clatter of McGinley tinkering with a zither ringing in the vein of Harry Partch set in motion against a humid chorus of cicadas and spellbinding dronescaping. Witness the psalter-like halo blossoms on the second half of the record, where we find McGinley bowing a Soviet era antenna mounted at the top of an near-space observational telescope. The resulting harmonics and pastorally minimalist drones are drop-dead gorgeous, as richly sonorous as anything Pauline Oliveros and Charlemagne Palestine would compose through more conventional means. Songs For Forgetting manifests into a beautiful record, packaged in an suitably rough-hewn, embossed sleeve that was fabricated at the Rapina Paper Factory in southeast Estonia. McGinley has included considerable notes and ephemera, turning this into an wondrous objet d'art." [Stranded Rec.] 2016 €20.00
MURMURISTS I cannot tell you where I am until I love you CD "Two years in the making, I Cannot Tell You Where I am Until I Love You is the first release on Alrealon by Anthony Donovan. Combining spoken word with scenes culled from an involved admix of musique concrete, electro-acoustic and industrial, the album takes the listener through a complex series of dissociated communications, where attempts at congress and connection are stymied by language itself, with all signs failing to signify. An alienated love story of sorts is voiced by protagonists Bryan Lewis Saunders, Michael Holloway, Pixyblink, Jaan Patterson and Jo Pearson; each being asked, during the initial creative process, to perform their characterisations in isolation, with no inkling of the final project. In similar fashion, Donovan invited improvisers like Stephen Flinn, Antonio de Braga, Zafer Aracagok and Adrian Beentjes to react to certain concepts, instructions and suggestions. The results of these experiments were added to Donovan's own material, and worked into a single album-length, thematic composition. Donovan is an artist, musician, composer, improviser and writer based in England. He works solo, either as Murmurists or under his own name, and is associated with projects such as Destroyevsky, Ou_pi Golgotha.undead, Ampersand, the.clinamen and Spidey Agutter. An ardent collaborator, he has worked with the likes of John Zorn, Jochen Arbeit, Geoff Leigh, PAS, Steve Beresford and Damo Suzuki. Donovan co-curates the respected labels Classwar Karaoke and suRRism-Phonoethics with Jaan Patterson. His interests are all either obscure or opaque, but morally authentic. credits released September 2, 2013 Composition, libretto and artwork by Anthony Donovan Individual performances improvised by individual performers Voices: Bryan Lewis Saunders as Nibiru Haemosex, willing to relocate; Pixyblink as Soprano Gory (mid 30s, factual size); Michael Holloway as Ornette, East Mids (44) seeks similar; Jo Pearson as slavejaynie; Jaan Patterson as Breathing Steven; Zafer Aracagok as Yo-Yo o.n.o. and Ed Coyle as Ovum Anon (convincing) previously here as Fibonacci ALH84001 / Musicians: Adrian Beentjes, Antonio de Braga, Anthony Donovan, Stephen Evans, Stephen Flinn, Jack Martin, Neil Packer and Noel Taylor Recorded in England, America, Germany, Turkey and Canada during 2007 – 2011 Mastered by Zafer Aracagok Dedicated, with love and thanks, to Annie Dee" [label info] www.alrealonmusique.com 2013 €13.00
MØHR & MAEROR TRI Hafenstadt CD " On “Hafenstadt”: This music was originally planned to form a part of the third tape box in the MØHR interpretation series of ZNS TAPES. In this series different artists got an individual 30-minutes-piece of basic material by MØHR to be interpreted it in any way: Using it as a backing tape and adding some more tracks, getting inspired and doing something unique in the spirit of the basic material, deconstruct and arrange it anew. The invited artists had any opportunity to re-work the source material. For the actual release the basic material was placed on side A and the interpretation on side B, enabling the listener to compare the basic and the final sound. Three tapes were compiled as one tape box linked by a loose theme. The first box, Bürokratie, contained works by DAS KONZENTRAT, BESTATTUNGSINSTITUT and SUICIDE COMMANDO (released in 1990), the second, Kulturschock, contained works by ANDREW CHALK/DARREN TATE, ECTOPLASMIC EMBRYO EXPERIENCE and FLAGRANTs D’ELI (released in 1991). The third one, which was to contain Hafenstadt by MAEROR TRI (as well as material of PBK and THE HATERS), has never been released due to the sudden end of ZNS TAPES. We’re convinced that this combination of basic stuff plus musical reworking is still an interesting and exciting experience for the audience, maybe especially after more than 20 years in the archives. (Andreaz Vogel) MØHR biography MØHR existed between 1986 and 1994 as the solo project of Andreaz Vogel. Previously he had been active as a bass player and drummer in various post punk and noise rock groups.Since its inception the main aim with MØHR was to create a dense and energetic sound without the use of conventional instruemnts. With this wall of sound the listeners were almost under attack and forced into a dark and brooding listening environment, both on the recordings and in the live situation. Andreaz also ran the important tape label ZNS TAPES. MAEROR TRI biography MAEROR TRI existed from April 1988 to the end of 1996, coming from the very north-western part of Germany. The three members were influenced by (post) industrial, noise rock and experimental ambient and found a way to establish their very own drone based style, using often guitars but also other instruments plus all kinds of (self build) objects and masses of sound effects. Their symbol, the triangle “Wheel” stood for ‘consciousness’, moving & shining in different colours and speed. The sound was meant as a tool for the listener to open the mind for transcension & sensitization: ‘We want to transmit a total openness, the bursting and overcoming of all mental barriers, the breaking out of the enforced subject “Tunnel-Reality” of modern society. ‘ Out of MAEROR TRI evolved the projects TROUM and 1000SCHOEN that are still very active." [label info] www.aufabwegen.com www.aufabwegen.com "Mohr was the work of German avant tape-machinist Andreaz Vogel who ran the ZNS Tapes label in the late '80s and early '90s; and our introduction to this work dates way back to the very second Drone Records single, released in 1993. This was about the time when Vogel pretty much called it quits on sound construction; but given how many great artists had been introduced through the Drone Records series of singles, Mohr's work had always been intriguing even as it had been quite elusive in the global cassette underground at that time. By the end of Mohr's tenure, Vogel had embarked on three mail-art pieces in which various audio sculptors and sound destroyers would rework / deconstruct a 30 minute track from Mohr. The second in this trilogy was notable to those Andrew Chalk enthusiasts as an unknowable Ora cassette from 1992. The third - and never released - cassette was to include Maeror Tri, The Haters, and PBK. With Hafenstadt, we now have a glimpse back into the gristled, contorted, and mangled tape construction that Mohr had been producing in conjunction with a pretty stellar set of black hole implosion of x-ray drone courtesy of Maeror Tri. Vogel took something of a Fluxus approach to his industrially bent constructions, purposely avoiding musical instruments in favor of the found sound that got flung into orbit in a spiraling descent of his tape loop dub and squeaky wheel rhythmic errata. These are deliberately raw and malformed cyclical patterns for a DIY musique concrete. Maeror Tri's brain-crush of sustained reverb and backwards masked flares of dark energy bury much of the insistent hypnosis from Mohr well beneath their grim wall of leaden noise and nuclear winter drone. It's always a wonder to behold the early works from Maeror Tri, and here it's nicely paired with Mohr's mangled hypnogogia." (Aquarius Rec) 2015 €13.00
N [49] [HELLMUT NEIDHARDT] & SIMULACRA Birka LP Thick rough cardboard covers, black polylined inner sleeves, 180g black vinyl, strictly limited to 100 copies. N is the moniker of Dortmund-based German experimental guitarist Hellmut Neidhardt. In line with the release of his collaboration record with SANKT OTTEN - Männerfreundschaften und Metaphysik - September 2015 sees the release of two further N-related records. The first one is his latest solo record - N(43) - „Anklam“ -, featuring the three tracks „Daemmerung“, „Restlicht“ and „Requiem“. It is a album Neidhardt somehow knew to be located in the dark fields of blinding error and its consequences, thus anything there might be a bit ambiguous in its meanings. From deeply melancholic, coarse-grained waves of sound, buried under tons of beside-noises to the last rearing of the sound of the sun before falling into the sea. And then you are still there, time has stopped, all has stopped. Exept the endless hovering of the requiem. „Anklam“ is once again a direct-two-track recording without any cut and paste, with Neidhardt just using his guitar / FX / amp setup - regardless how it may sound. The second new record is N(49) „Birka“, a collaboration with SIMULACRA from Belgium. This is probably the one of N's collaborations that took the longest time to make so far and Neidhardt is happy to take part of the blame for that: Simulacra is known for his very deep, void-like sound aesthetic, with deeply breathing synth sounds without any artifacts around. For this reason it was very difficult for the two collaborators to figure out a corporate sound; they only knew they found this after it had happend at last... Well and from this moment, it was quite easy. Expect a very dark album, with a lot of bass, with N's guitar sometimes emerging from the depth of Simulacra's soundwalls, sometimes working as something like a driving force from underneath; slowly shifting frequencies through endless caverns, reverberating from the black walls. "This record is soo dark, we love it... (and thus are really happy we made it in the end...)." states Neidhardt. www.denovali.com 2016 €27.50
N [58] & TZESNE Sismo LP N is one of the most profiled German drone / ambient artists - being active since the early 1990s he has released more than 50 records. "Sismo" is the third collaborative record with the Basque artist Tzesne, this time focusing on one long track twisting guitar lines with field recordings Tzesne made at Baix Vinalopó. At this place, there seems to be a deep ongoing melancholia; life seems to have stopped or is only able to go on in a slow motion that is barely noticeable ... heavy handprinted rough cardboard covers, black polylined inner sleeves, 180g clear yellow vinyl, strictly limited to 100 copies https://n1511.bandcamp.com/album/sismo 2023 €33.50
N [XX] (HELLMUT NEIDHARDT) Anklam [N43] LP Thick rough cardboard covers, black polylined inner sleeves, 180g black vinyl, strictly limited to 100 copies. N is the moniker of Dortmund-based German experimental guitarist Hellmut Neidhardt. In line with the release of his collaboration record with SANKT OTTEN - Männerfreundschaften und Metaphysik - September 2015 sees the release of two further N-related records. The first one is his latest solo record - N(43) - „Anklam“ -, featuring the three tracks „Daemmerung“, „Restlicht“ and „Requiem“. It is a album Neidhardt somehow knew to be located in the dark fields of blinding error and its consequences, thus anything there might be a bit ambiguous in its meanings. From deeply melancholic, coarse-grained waves of sound, buried under tons of beside-noises to the last rearing of the sound of the sun before falling into the sea. And then you are still there, time has stopped, all has stopped. Exept the endless hovering of the requiem. „Anklam“ is once again a direct-two-track recording without any cut and paste, with Neidhardt just using his guitar / FX / amp setup - regardless how it may sound. The second new record is N(49) „Birka“, a collaboration with SIMULACRA from Belgium. This is probably the one of N's collaborations that took the longest time to make so far and Neidhardt is happy to take part of the blame for that: Simulacra is known for his very deep, void-like sound aesthetic, with deeply breathing synth sounds without any artifacts around. For this reason it was very difficult for the two collaborators to figure out a corporate sound; they only knew they found this after it had happend at last... Well and from this moment, it was quite easy. Expect a very dark album, with a lot of bass, with N's guitar sometimes emerging from the depth of Simulacra's soundwalls, sometimes working as something like a driving force from underneath; slowly shifting frequencies through endless caverns, reverberating from the black walls. "This record is soo dark, we love it... (and thus are really happy we made it in the end...)." states Neidhardt. www.denovali.com 2016 €27.50
N(36)[HELLMUT NEIDHARDT] Heven LP N is the moniker of Dortmund-based German experimental guitarist Hellmut Neidhardt. December 2014 marks the release of two new solo records, N(35) „Saarn“ and N(36) „Heven“, both of them slightly entering aspects of drone he did not work on that much before. With both „Saarn“ and „Heven“, N is focusing on the use of vibrant distortion, but in distinctive different ways within the concept. The whole 3-track album „Saarn“ is determined by oscillations between heavy and minimal with a mood of (at least the danger of a coming) aggression even in its most silent parts. The opening piece, „Toevermanns Gruben“, is telling the story of an imaginary place buried under huge amounts of gritty fuzz, while „Seltene Erden“ keeps irritating with its movement in static. The closing piece, „Schwarze Heide“, then walks further the dark path that was first discovered with „Wehle“ (from N(22) „Goor“) some time before. „Heven“ in fact achieves very different results, even while using the same tools: way more ethereal, otherwordly in its atmosphere, proving that even the utmost minimalism can gain an intense feel of beauty, a fortiori when „Heven I“ changes from stuttering static to a broken melody before getting lost in its own memory, somehow. „Heven II“ finally just uses grainy white noise to built up a cathedral of feedbacks, infinitely reflected. 2015 €26.50
NADJA Labyrinthine CD Four extended tracks of atmospheric doom sludge, each with a different guest vocalist: Alan Dubin (Gnaw, Khanate), Rachel Davies (Esben & The Witch), Lane Shi Otayonii (Elizabeth Colour Wheel), & Dylan Walker (Full of Hell). Nadja's latest full-length offering Labyrinthine, recorded during the pandemic and concurrently with their Southern Lord album Luminous Rot, finally sees a CD release on the band's own label, Broken Spine. Labyrinthine explores themes of identity and loss, monstrosity and regret, extreme asceticism, the differences between labyrinths and mazes, taking inspiration from Haruki Murakami's Killing Commendatore, Ursula K. LeGuin's The Tombs Of Atuan, and Victor Pelevin's reinterpretation of the story of the minotaur and Ariadne, The Helmet Of Horror. While this might be Nadja's heaviest, doomiest album to date, it is unique in the band's extensive catalog as each track features a guest vocalist: Alan Dubin, legendary American vocalist from O.L.D., Khanate currently Gnaw; Rachel Davies, vocalist and bassist from the British band, Esben & The Witch; Lane Shi Otayanii, a Chinese multi-media artist and vocalist in Elizabeth Colour Wheel; and Dylan Walker, American vocalist from grindcore/noise band Full Of Hell. Nadja has released numerous albums on many different underground labels -- Alien8 Recordings, Daymare Records, Robotic Empire, Hydrahead Records, Gizeh Records, and Important Records, to name a few. The duo has toured extensively around the world, including performances at such festivals as SXSW, FIMAV, Roadburn, Donaufest, Le Guess Who, Incubate, and Unsound, and has shared the stage with such artists as Earth, OM, Khanate, Tim Hecker, Ben Frost, and Godflesh. Mastered by James Plotkin, artwork by HLG. Released on CD by Broken Spine & limited cassettes by: Katuktu Collective (US), Cruel Nature Records (UK), Bad Moon Rising (Taiwan), Adagio830 (Germany), Muzan Editions (Japan), UR Audio Visual (Canada), Pale Ghoul (Australia), & WV Sorcerer (France/China). brokenspineprods.bandcamp.com katuktucollective.bandcamp.com/album/labyrinthine (US) cruelnaturerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/labyrinthine (UK) badmoonrising.bandcamp.com/album/labyrinthine (TW) adagio830-records.bandcamp.com/album/labyrinthine (DE) muzaneditions.bandcamp.com/album/labyrinthine (JP) uraudiovisual.bandcamp.com/album/ur-046-labyrinthine (CA) paleghoulrecordings.bandcamp.com (AUS) wvsorcerer.bandcamp.com/album/labyrinthine (FR) Aidan Baker - guitars, drum machine Leah Buckaeff - bass Alan Dubin - vocals Rachel Davies - vocals Lane Shi Otayonii - vocals Dylan Walker - vocals https://nadja.bandcamp.com/album/labyrinthine 2022 €13.00
NADJA & TROUM Dominium Visurgis CD "TRANSGREDIENT RECORDS TR-07 RELEASE DATE : 15. May 2010 8-PANEL DIGIPACK w. METALLIC COPPER PRINT FORMAT: FULL-LENGTH CD PLAYTIME: 49:30 min FILED UNDER: DRONE NADJA & TROUM "Dominium Visurgis" This is something you could call a "dreamlike liaison". When the Canadian "avant metal / drone doom"-duo NADJA (who name TROUM as one of their early influences) and the German post-industrial / experimental drone pioneers TROUM (years ago active as MAEROR TRI who are still discovered by many drone-fans these days) combine their exceptional styles, they form something even vaster as usually known from them. These three long collaboration tracks were recorded as a result of a spontaneous improvisation in April 2008 "live in the studio" near the Weser-river in Bremen, Germany, and suck you in with their powerful & emotional drone melancholy that works in many micro-& macrocosmic ways, using electric & acoustic guitars, bass, accordeon, drum-machine & voice." [label info / press release] "In dieser ersten Zusammenarbeit von Troum (Baraka[H] + Glit[s]ch) aus Deutschland und Nadja (Leah Buckareff + Aidan Baker) aus Kanada schaffen beide Bands etwas, dass vielen derartigen Kollaborationen eben nicht gelingt: den eigenen Stil beizubehalten und gleichzeitig offen zu sein, zentrale Elemente des musikalischen Partners gleichberechtigt einzubinden und eine echte Mischung entstehen zu lassen. Sei es aus dem Wissen darum, dass dies nur in einer direkten Konfrontation geht, sei es aus anderen Gründen und allein der glückliche Zufall hat es bewirkt, Troum und Nadja haben mit „Dominium Visurgis“ keine e-mail Zusammenarbeit auf CD gebannt, sondern sich tatsächlich im Studio getroffen und die vorliegenden drei Stücke in enger Zusammenarbeit komponiert und aufgenommen. Denn nur die dann entstehende derartig intensive Interaktion (und eigentlich: die daraus resultierende gegenseitige Inspiration) lässt eine Atmosphäre entstehen, die noch über die eigentliche Musik hinauszustrahlen scheint, den Wirkungskreis der Musik erweitert. Bei aller Qualität, die die VÖs beider Bands sonst haben, „Dominium Visurgis“ ist etwas besonderes. [Hellmut Neidhardt aka "N", Unruhr] "...Ein dröhnender, träumender Urozean, ein Fluss ohne Ufer, brandet, brodelnd und pfeifend, an Urgestade, die erst noch im Werden sind. Das Pfeifen lässt einen für einen Moment das Schreien von Phantommöven über der summenden, wogenden, atmenden Panthalassa halluzinieren. Der ‚atmende‘ Blasebalg erklingt nun auch als webendes Akkordeon neben klingelnden Gitarren. Die beiden Duos sind komplett zu einem Quartett verschmolzen. Man starrt gebannt auf, ach was, durch seine Schuhe hindurch beinahe bis zum Nabel der Welt." [R. Dittmann, Bad Alchemy] "To some these two names represent the absolute top of the drone music, and who am I to disagree? Troum, the follow-up to Maeror Tri and Nadja, the duo of Leah Buckareff and Aidan Baker, have both presented themselves through a line of releases, displaying the finer sense of drone music, through the use of guitars, accordeon, voice, rhythm machine effects and such like. In April 2008 they did a spontaneous improvisation in the Troum studio, which now is released on CD. This is indeed the top of their scene: guitars are set to play drones, through the use of e-bows, through lots of sound effects, loop stations and all such like. They do the usual slow built up towards a mighty crescendo, fly through air, and then land safely through a long decrescendo. Headspace music. Perhaps not the kind of music for a sunny day like it is today, but more for grey, rainy days. They are mood musicians and one has to be open to these particular dark moods, but if you open up then they are more than willing to transport you through these dark woods. An excellent work, hardly to believe one of some afternoon improvisation." [FdW/Vital Weekly] "... On albums like this, one again realizes just how many shades Troum’s self-repeating, subtly changing structures contain. When joined to parts provided by other talented artists, they shine with incredible power and enchantment, which one has to admire, totally captivated. This is precisely what happens on Dominium Visurgis." [Jiituomas, kuolleenmusiikinyhdistys.net] 2010 €12.00
NADJA / PICASTRO Fool, Redeemer LP "Fool, Redeemer is semi-collaborative split release between Canadian acts Picastroand Nadja. Having toured together and shared a stage many times over the course of the last half-decade, the two bands thought it was time to finally release something together. Nominally a split album, with side A featuring tracks by Picastro and side B a sidelong track by Nadja, members of both groups contributed to each other's songs. And a certain mutual influence seeped into the compositions, Picastro's dark-folk appearing at the beginning of Nadja's track "Venom" and Nadja's trademark drone/dirge tendencies lending a heavier, noisier edge to Picastro's songs. Nadja is a Canadian duo made up of Aidan Baker (guitars, vocals, woodwinds, drum machines) and Leah Buckareff (bass, accordion, vocals), alternately based in Toronto, Canada and Berlin, Germany. The project, originally formed in 2003, creates music which has variously been described as 'Ambient doom,' 'Dreamsludge,' and 'Metal-gaze,' combining the atmospheric textures and elements of shoegaze and experimental/ambient music with the heaviness and volume of metal and noise. Nadja has toured extensively around the world and released numerous recordings on such labels as Alien8 Recordings, Hydrahead Records, Beta-Lactam Ring Records, Blocks Recording Club, and their own fledgling label, Broken Spine Productions. Toronto-based Liz Hysen's (guitars, vocals, piano, violin) Picastro has existed in various forms with various players (including members of Final Fantasy and Rockets Red Glare), since 1997. Currently active as a trio, Hysen is joined by Brandon Miguel Valdivia (drums, percussion), and Nick Storring (cello, guitars, woodwinds, electronics). Picastro creates stark, brooding, discordant song which draw on folk and psych traditions, noise, and post-rock. The band has released four full-length albums on such labels as Pehr Records, Polyvinyl and Blocks Recording Club." [label info] http://brokenspineprods.wordpress.com "A split release by Nadja, well-known in the pages (and outside I guess) and Picastro, a Canadian group around Liz Hysen's (guitars, vocals, piano, violin), with a fleeting membership, but here a trio of Hysen with Brandon Miguel Valdivia (drums, percussion) and Nick Storring (cello, guitars, woodwinds, electronics). Nadja of course is a duo Aidan Baker (guitars, vocals, woodwinds, drum machines) and Leah Buckareff (bass, accordion, vocals). There is however an overspill between both bands as they play on each other tracks - semi-split.There is something to say to put both of them on a disc together. Picastro plays music that is also 'heavy', but also with an interest for folk like music, psychedelics and post-rock. The violin and cello wail about, and the band plays on. This CD is cleverly constructed: via two psych rock pieces we arrive at 'Darnia', a more meditative piece of percussion and strings and a mellow song for acoustic guitar and strings in 'A New Souls Benediction'. The tinkling takes over for 'Venom' - the twenty-three minute excursion carried out by Nadja, which starts out with equal low strumming and whispering vocals, before slowly erupting into a wall of sound which is the trademark of Nadja, complete with drum overload towards the end of the piece. It marks a full and complete album." [FdW /Vital Weekly] 2011 €15.00
NAHR Vargtimmen CD-R First release for a new Leipzig-based label – a german town with a quite vivid scene for experimental & post-industrial music. NAHR is the project of the label-owner Patrick Franke, and the whole release (which comes in a nice silkscreen printed sleeve) is inspired by the film from Ingmar Berman. He presents here very much recommended & sophisticated ghost ambient, far away drones & metallic effects, a fantastic debut ! Contains one track of around 40 min. 2004 €10.00
NECKS, THE Travel CD Travel, the 19th studio album by Australian improvisational trio The Necks, documents their recent practice of starting each day in the studio with a 20-minute trio improvisation. The recordings offer some of their most ecstatic and captivating music cut to tape. As bassist Lloyd Swanton puts it: “It’s a really nice communal activity to bring us together in focus each day, and some lovely music has resulted from it.” Although a straight “live” improvisation has never been recorded in the studio by the band, these tracks (save for some light overdubs and post-production) feel closest to their 30 years of celebrated live performances. In 2017 Stephen O’Malley’s Ideologic Organ label released the band’s lauded Unfold, which first offered up this uncharacteristic studio work: four sub-20-minute pieces - instead of the typical 60+ minute arc for which the band is known - along with an obfuscated track list which leaves play order to the listener’s hand. The album quickly sold out, and persists as a treasure in collections or as a high-priced ‘Want’ on Discogs. Produced by The Necks Recorded by Tim Whitten, Studios 301, Alexandria, Australia Mixed by Tim Whitten, Forbes Street Studios, Woolloomooloo, Australia Mastered by Douglas Henderson, micro-moose-berlin, Germany Photographs and design by Traianos Pakioufakis Thanks to Jordan Verzar, Regina Greene, Lee Paterson https://thenecksau.bandcamp.com/album/travel "For the last 25 years, the Australian trio have created a radical new open form for musical improvisation with hour-long performances that touch upon motorik rock, minimalist composition, drone and more.... " THE WIRE 2023 €16.50
NEHIL, SETH & OLIVIA BLOCK Sunder, unite CD Collageous / cut-up – surroundings made from many different sound-sources and real instruments. Very obscure and unique ! “Sunder, Unite began with the destruction of musical sources through the insertion of silence and/or faulty connection. It continued with the playing of small objects, fire and grass on our tour of Japan in 2000, being multiplied on many small speakers in each space and recorded in these situations. Sources continued to be recorded in our locations, train stations, a market in Kyoto... Sounds were traded and holes punched in, surfaces distorted. Transparencies of sound were overlaid and cut, residues remain. We followed an ever-shifting ground and rate-of-change. A skip and fade, an intuitive mix and then traded again. The crumbling recording of metal. A walking recording of creaking wood. Speakers in a room.” Composed 1999-2001. Instruments and treatments by Seth Nehil and Olivia Block except: Kyle Bruckmann, oboe, Chinese oboe; Michael Northam, objects; Michael Shannon, reeds. Photograph by Carmen Resendez. Drawing by Bethany Wright and S.N. With thanks to Koji Tano for assistance in Japan. Contact: s_nehil@yahoo.com, oliviablo@aol.com Olivia Block is a contemporary composer and sound artist who combines field recordings, scored segments for acoustic instruments, and electronically generated sound. Her recorded work seeks to introduce, set at play, and ultimately reconcile nature with artifice in the realms of music and sound. In the process, "organic" sound becomes subtly processed, digitized and abstracted; "inorganic" sound becomes self-replicating and animate; and "musical" elements such as chamber instruments are defamiliarized from their traditional associations, freeing them to participate in the larger aesthetic possibilities of sound. Seth Nehil (b. 1973) began working with sound around 1990 using found objects and instruments, old records, reel-to-reel machines, discarded magnetic tape and other detreitus. Alial Straa was formed in 1994 in collaboration with John Grzinich as a studio projectinvolving Grzinich's handmade piano-wire instruments and Nehil's analog tape-treatments and objects. Joined by Olivia Block, the group went on to perform as an electro-acoustic improvisational trio. Seth Nehil worked with experimental arts magazine N D as writer and artistic contributor from 1996-2000, and received a BA in studio art from the University of Texas at Austin in 1998. Beginning with 1998's Tracing the Skins of Clouds, Seth Nehil has pursued an interest in the sensual surface of found objects and materials, and the inner dynamics of their acoustical properties. Without altering those properties, the possibilities of the studio are explored as a means of transforming sounds into dense interactions - meditations on physicality, germination and disorientation. Recent work has included continued collaborations with John Grzinich and Olivia Block in studio works as well as soundtracks for experimental theatre group Hand2Mouth." [press release] 2003 €14.00
NEUFELD, SARAH Hero Brother CD "Sarah Neufeld is a violinist and composer based in Montréal, Canada. Best known as a member of Arcade Fire, she is also a founding member of the acclaimed contemporary instrumental ensemble Bell Orchestre and has performed and recorded with many other groups, including The Luyas, Esmerine and Little Scream. Neufeld began developing pieces for solo violin in a more formal and focused sense in 2011, though she has made improvisation and solo composition part of her process and practice since first picking up the instrument at a young age. Neufeld counts Bela Bartok, Steve Reich, Iva Bittova and Arthur Russell among the formative influences for her solo work, in tandem with an ear for the textures and sensibilities of contemporary electro-acoustic, avant-folk and indie rock music. Neufeld's debut solo album Hero Brother indeed channels all of the above, flowing through shifting atmospheres and oscillating between restrained, stately ambience, emotive études, and raw kinetic energy. Small touches of wordless vocalisation, harmonium and piano supplant the violin in a few places. The album was recorded in Berlin by pianist and producer Nils Frahm, with Neufeld's performances captured in a number of locations with site-specific acoustics, including an abandoned geodesic dome, an underground parking garage, and the legendary Studio P4 orchestral recording hall at the broadcast complex of the former GDR. Hero Brother will be released on Constellation Records in August 2013. Sarah has recently premiered her solo music at BAM (Brooklyn), the WSO New Music Festival (Winnipeg) and Wavelength Festival (Toronto), of which Exclaim magazine wrote "the highlight of the night was most certainly Sarah Neufeld, whose compositions range from Reichian to folksy without skipping a beat; she uses violin squeals, growls, scrapes and slides to express varying emotions and stomps the stage beneath her for percussion. Packaging notes CD comes in a custom gatefold jacket printed on thick 24pt. paperboard with a printed CD dust sleeve. LP is pressed on 180 gram virgin vinyl at Optimal (Germany) and comes in a heavyweight jacket with black poly-lined audiophile dust sleeve, credit insert, pull-out art poster and download code for 320 kbps MP3 copy of the album. Artwork by Tracy Maurice." [label info] 2013 €14.00
NIBLOCK, PHILL Nurturing Exhibitions BOOK + 2 x CD Six musical compositions by Phill Niblock, soil and cutting tree of Amanatsu orange from Masanobu Fukuoka Natural Farm, wooden pedestals, speakers, wooden benches, wooden planter, acrylic case, water, sunlight. An exhibition by Mathieu Copeland. Nurturing Exhibitions was one of two concomitant exhibitions that formed Exhibition Cuttings at Le Forum / Fondation Hermès in Tokyo, Japan between April 23rd (Fri.) and July 18th (Sun.) 2021, a time of closed borders when lives were mainly mediated through screens amidst various lockdowns. A rich and fleeting ecosystem of new hybrid organisms nurtured by an environment in constant evolutionary motion, adapting in time, Nurturing Exhibitions consisted of an Amanatsu tree temporarily transplanted to the gallery space. Combined with the music of Phill Niblock that was played continuously, at times to a closed empty gallery, the photographs that compose this book portray the exhibition’s entire lifespan, from a composition being recorded to a ripe fruit being picked. Herbal Cooled2 (23:07, 2019) Deborah Walker, cello. The tones were recorded at Marcus Schmickler’s P I E T H O P R A X I S studio in Köln Germany, with Marcus Schmickler engineering and with a Brauner microphone; the construction of the piece was done at Experimental Intermedia in NYC by Phill Niblock, using ProTools software. Born in 1981 in Italy. Deborah Walker is a cellist, a new music performer and improviser based in Paris. Noizzze (23:05, 2020) Ensemble I R E – Kasper Toeplitz, electric bass; Franck Vigroux, electric guitar; Helene Breschard, harp. All Instruments were played acoustically, not amplified. The tones were recorded at the La Muse Studio, near Paris France; the construction of the piece was done at Experimental Intermedia in NYC by Phill Niblock, using ProTools software. The Paris based Ensemble IRE is founded by composers Kasper T. Toeplitz and Franck Vigroux, featuring Helene Breschand, Philippe Foch and Christophe Ruetsch. Poom3 (28:02, 2020) Stephen O’Malley, electric guitar. The tones were recorded at the Trace. Elements Studio in NYC, with Robert Poss engineering; the construction of the piece was done at Experimental Intermedia in NYC by Phill Niblock, using ProTools software. Born in 1974 in USA. Stephen O’Malley is an American guitarist, producer, composer, and visual artist. He has conceptualized and participated in numerous drone doom, death/doom, and experimental music groups, most notably Sunn O))). ExplMaranhaLisbon (23:05, 2020) David Maranha, 4 bowed bass, 4 bells, 6 violins, 6 glass harmonicas, 4 double cane flutes, 4 shruti boxes. The piece was realized by playing from a score by Phill Niblock, realized with assistance by Guy De Bievre; and recorded and mixed in David Maranha’s own studio in Lisbon. Born in 1969 in Portugal. David Maranha is a Portuguese avant garde musician and artist, known for his work with Osso Exotico and his collaborations with Z’ev, Stephan Mathieu, Phill Niblock, David Grubbs, and Akio Suzuki. ExplVoxHumana (23:13, 2021) The Vox Humana Vocal Choir, Soprano: Maiko Inamura, Mikiko Kamiya; Alto: Kiyo Irisawa; Tenor: Seiji Kanazawa, Hatsugai Takashi; Bass: Eitaro Matsui; Founder and Director: Ryuta Nishikawa The piece was realized by singing from a score by Phill Niblock, realized with assistance by Guy De Bievre; recorded in Tokyo, Japan under the supervision of Nao Nishihara, with Miho Miura as recording engineer and mixer. An ensemble organized by Ryuta Nishikawa and other vocalists from Tokyo University of the Arts. Started in 1996, Vox humana has been pursuing the possiblity of new creation by human voice. Their repertoire includes the polyphony music before Renaissance and the contemporary music of the 20th century, which we can enjoy at their periodic concert. Vlada BC (20:01, 2013) Elisabeth Smalt, viola d’amore. The tones were recorded at Marcus Schmickler’s P I E T H O P R A X I S studio in Köln Germany, with Marcus Schmickler engineering and with a Brauner microphone; the construction of the piece was done at Experimental Intermedia in NYC by Phill Niblock, using ProTools software. Born in 1964 in the Netherlands. Elisabeth Smalt is a viola player who works exclusively as a chamber musician, in styles varying from period instrument performance to extremely new music. https://www.matiere-memoire.com/page-d-articles/phill-niblock-stephen-o-malley-deborah-walker-2cd-in-48-pages-book 2023 €48.00
NID Plate Tectonics CD Aufnahmen eines Konzertes aus Arnheim, Niederlande, vom Dezember 2002, in Studio-Qualität. Allertiefste dumpfe Dronescapes & verlangsamte Stimmen, Klassik-found sounds, glockige Klänge, obskure Vinyl-loops, immer dunkel & ominös & in einem dynamischen Feld voller unerwarteter Sounds. Eine recht einmalige Verbindung von Vinylloop-Plunderphonics, tiefbassigen Dronescapes und Geräuschen von selbstgebauten, oft ober-obskursten Gerätschaften und Objekten. "Crawling back into the wound: NID 1995 – 2007. NID is an experimental group whose aim it is to challenge conventional concepts and structures of electronic music by experimenting with the source of sounds. The music is created on the spot, making each performance a genuine and unrepeatable event. It has been described as moving sound-objects, improvised electronic noise, or broodng ambient music. It has been compared to an underwater-journey, a pathway to the inner self. Given enough volume, it certainly affects the body as well as the mind. In which way remains open to the listener’s psyche. NID was formed in 1995. Over the years the core-members have performed in art-galleries, rock-clubs, bars, water-reservoirs, cinemas, as well as at industrial and electronic festivals and in record shops. In 1998 they were invited to play onboard the MS Stubnitz when it was anchored in the harbour of Stockholm as part of the “European Culture Capital” activities. They were also involved in the 2001 Six And More & R:IP jubilees, improvising with 30 other electronic free-jazz musicians. As for the group name… A “nid” is a curse or insult with homosexual connotation that was frequently in use in the Viking age. It brought a depth to the concept of honour and shame. It could be used as a challenge or simply to ridicule another (which was a challenge per se). It could reveal anyone else to be no better than he was, and it undermined social structures. NID disbanded in 2006. Chris Sidgell continues in various projects, most notably his solo project B-Tong. Jürgen Eberhard releases music under the name Feine Trinkers Bei Pinkels Daheim. This is NID’s one and only proper CD release. The sound on this work may appeal to fans of Lustmord, New Blockaders or collage post-industrial in general/experimental ambient. The music on this CD was recorded live in Arnheim by Mars Wellink (Vance Orchestra). The cover was done by Katja Wahl..." [band info & press release] "While not new, we only just discovered NID, and our discovery came about in a very random manner, considering various related works were right under our nose. We listed a killer 4 way split 12" a while back called One Man Drone, and our favorite track from the spit was a piece by a group called B(degree)Tong. We later discovered that the man behind B(degree)Tong was previously a member of German experimental sound-collective NID. But what we did not know was that NID was sometimes also known as Feine Trinkers Bei Pinkels Daheim, a group who had various releases on the Drone Records label, one of which is included on the recent tUMULt collection of out of print Drone singles. So now it's sort of come full circle and we have this, the only proper full length recording (as far as we know) from the group NID, aka Feine Trinkers Bei Pinkels Daheim and it's pretty amazing. Pretty bizarre too, but then with a (sometime) name like Feine Trinkers Bei Pinkels Daheim, what else would you expect? Three looooooooong tracks. Each an epic, incredibly varied soundworld, blending found sounds and field recordings with drones and intense blasts of layered sound. The opener begins with a muted cacophony of birds and crickets, before disappearing into a roiling black cloud of rumbling low end and distant droning guitar buzz. It almost sounds like sticking your head out of a speeding car, the wind whipping by and causing all sorts of distortions, but blurred into an impressively massive wall of sound. Within all this whipping sonic wind and rumbling whirs, are strange bits of percussion, the clang and bang of metal on metal, shakers and simple rhythms, they drift briefly in the eye of the storm, before the drone drops again, even more furious than before, until it fades out amidst the dreamy shimmer of female vocals and haunting minor key melodic buzz. Really intense and strangely beautiful. The second track is another deep cavernous roar. A bit smoother than the previous number, but not for long, bit of metallic buzz surface amidst the undulating rumbles, with some serious dynamic spikes, some of which sound like brief bursts of SUNNO 0))), and others are even lower and more aggressive bits of low end exploration. There are bits of static and random buzz here and there, but mostly it's black and dark, a massive growling beast, slowly uncoiling into a monster that blocks out the sun. Near the end of the track, the darkness abates and in its place is a strange skipping stuttering snippet of music, wrapped in hazy distortion and looped into a mesmerizing rhythm, repeated over and over and over, gradually crumbling and becoming more and more distorted before erupting into a final burst of chest rattling low end, finally slowing down and sputtering to a halt. The final track is over twenty minutes and is the most melodic of the bunch. Beginning with a looped cycle of xylophone melody, over a throbbing low end pulse and streaks of keening distant guitar and bits of operatic female vocals. Very ominous and mysterious sounding. When suddenly everything stops, and there's a guy with a British accent ranting over someone ransacking a kitchen, breaking glass, clanging cutlery, and suddenly it's gone, and we're back in some new dronescape, a mumbled voice looped into a haunting mantra, beneath distant thunder like rumbles, and little blurs of high end melody, indistinct, but gradually building in intensity. The drones drift away leaving birds and voices, and some strange bits of hiss and skree, before transforming into a plodding doomdrone beast. A simple stretched out rhythm over cavernous thrums and the sound of subway cars, everything pulsing and throbbing, a bizarre bit of dark collage, that manages to be strangely musical and completely hypnotic. An amazingly weird record, and absolutely essential listening for the drone obsessed, which we would assume should be most of you..." [Aquarius Records] "Posthumous release by this Swiss-German trio dedicated to mostly drone-bound sounds, noise manipulation, foggy samples and dialogue snatches. Here, three lengthy pieces encircle some fantastic voyages through muted hum, looped voices, gentle vibrations and the stench of noxious ooze. The last one, ‘35000 Feet Below the Ocean Surface’, clocks in at almost 22 minutes and hints at a leather-clad NWW surveying a desert of black ash. Which works a treat for me." [RJ, Adverse Effect] 2007 €13.00
NILSEN, BJ [BJ NILSEN] Invisible City CD "BJ Nilsen gehört schon seit langem zum Artist Roster des englischen Labels Touch und hat sich auf dem Gebiet der field recordings einen Namen gemacht. Mit seinen Vorgängeralben ,Fade to White" und ,A Short Night" wusste der Schwede Kritiker zu überzeugen und hat daneben auch mit dem führenden UK-Soundtüftler Chris Wattson und der isländischen Cellistin Hildur Gudnadottir zusammengearbeitet. Sein neues Werk ,The Invisible City" vereint wieder field recordings mit elektrischen Klängen, wobei er sich auf die Übergänge zwischen Natur und Menschen konzentriert - und diesmal auch Technologien einbezieht. Zusätzlich kommen akustische Instrumente wie Cello, Gitarre oder Orgel zum Einsatz. Entstanden ist ein dunkles, hypnotisierendes Werk mit spannenden Soundstrukturen. Die Außenaufnahmen entstanden in Schweden, Island, Norwegen, UK, Japan, Portugal und Schweden. www.myspace.com/bjnilsen" [label info / Cargo] "Recorded and Mixed during 2008-2009 in Berlin. All tracks composed by BJNilsen using Tape Recorders, Computer, Organ, Acoustic Guitar, Electronics, Viola, Subharchord. Field recordings from; Sweden, Iceland, Norway, UK, Japan, Portugal and Germany. The Subharchord was recorded in the EAM Studio @ Adk, Berlin. Viola played by Hildur I. Gudnadottir." [label info] www.touchmusic.org.uk "By now BJ Nilsen (or rather BJNilsen) is a mainstay on the Touch label. He is not a man of many words, or big concepts. I am not sure what the title 'The Invisible City' refers to, but it does have a detailed list of all of his sound sources per piece. Its an interesting read of 'amplified chair dragged across floor, window shutters, steel whistle coffeepot, dead trees leaning against each other, train, footsteps in snow, crows, rain' but also acoustic guitar feedback, tapeloops of found sounds, pitch regulated viola, B&K Sine Random Generator Type 1204, virtual Hammond Organ and such like. The titles of his pieces do not give away much either: 'Gravity Station', 'Phase And Amplitude', 'Scientia', 'Virtual Resistance', 'Meter Reading', 'Into Its Coloured Rays', 'Gradient' and the title piece. If necessary at all, one could consider Nilsen to be part of the crowded scene of people who create atmospheric, drone based music through all sorts of means, but at the end of the chain there is always the computer: all pieces list 'various DSP' at the end. That renders some of the sounds, if not all, beyond recognition. As said this music is highly atmospheric and finds its origin in drone music. This is a fine disc, don't get me wrong. There is some excellent music on here, that is at times more daring then the usual 'field recordings and drone music', with some nasty frequencies here and there, and some sudden changes. That is what sets BJNilsen apart from many of his peers. But somehow I also had the impression that 'heard it already' is also part of this. It seems to me that BJNilsen created some fine work which is already in his line of work, rather than making the next move. That perhaps is the only downside to this release. If you are not familiar with his work, then this is good release to get to know his work, and perhaps if you can never get enough, then this will proof no disappointment either. An absolute great disc." [FdW / Vital Weekly] Address: http://www.touchmusic.org.uk 2010 €13.00
NILSEN, BJ & STILLUPPSTEYPA Big Shadow Montana LP "After producing their frozen trilogy of intoxicated dronemuzik for the Agency, these Scandinavian gentlemen have ventured into more absurdist territories through fictionalized soundtracks for imagined Mondo films and science fiction serials. It is in this context that BJ Nilsen & Stilluppsteypa present the apparitional Big Shadow Montana, an album of slow-motion delirium manifested in occluded smears, nocturnal gasps, and arcane tones from a variety of analogue synthesizers. Amidst the near constant wash of bleary-eyed etherealism, Big Shadow Montana cycles through several sonic themes and leitmotifs, displayed in varying states of clarity. In these transitions between half-remembered phrases and bleary-eyed thrumming, the album emerges as if it were the aftermath from a protracted bout of metaphysical channel surfing. Flickered impressions flash in conjunction with Breton's manifesto of Surrealism in the form of the memories from happily drunk escapades in the heart of winter, the sidereal spells cast by the innerspace travelers Klaus Schulze and Coil, and the nagging questions of existential portent: 'Was that bassline from Goblin, or was it German Oak? Maybe something from Faust IV?' The trio of Nilsen, Sigmarsson, and Thorsson elegantly twist and bend these fleeting images into a spiraling symphony of bubbling electronics and spectral drones that mutate on both sides of the record into lugubrious yet carnivalesque waltzes. When this first appears, it is the echoing undercarriage of a simple melody, bobbing amidst rattling chains and cascading cymbal crashes only to dissolve into sequences of cold-war era tone beacons and empathic swaths of maudlin sound design. At the second occurrence, the melody washes ashore on the Iceland beach, where nude Viking men and women try in vain to get a tan when the sun is just barely going to rise above the horizon in the winter months. It is a pyrrhic jubilation of calliope harmonies set down by organs and synths turning a pale-blue hue in the wake of all that white skin shivering underneath the arctic sky." [label info] www.helenscarsdale.com "Recently this trio was undercover present as Evil Madness (see Vital Weekly 773), an exercise in disco, and perhaps some of that experience rubs off in this new collaborative work - I believe the fourth or fifth time they work together. Up until now their work together was deep atmospheric excursions into the space we call drone music, but something has changed. Maybe its the re-arrival cosmic music that put them back at their analogue synthesizers and organs? The press text supplied hints certainly towards that. Certainly an album with more open spaces than what they produced so far. A far cry from monolithic blocks of highly computerized drones, this buzzes in an analogue way, carrying small melodies around, rattling percussion in the background, or the air sucked into a harmonium. Somewhere on the b-side (no track titles, so 'Big Shadow Montana' should be seen as one piece) it leaps into one of those pre-set rhythms found on organs with meandering, somewhat cliched melody, which actually sounds very sweet. It adds, once more, that lovely cosmic ring to the music. This album sees them leaping out of the old fashioned drones in return to something that is perhaps even more old fashioned, but which sounds like a fresh start again. It holds a great promise for the future." [FdW/Vital Weekly] "Collaborations in the experimental scene come and go, so it's so great to see one that has some longevity. This is album number seven from BJ Nilsen and Stilluppsteypa, and the fourth released by the discerning Helen Scarsdale Agency label. Since this trio (Benny plus Sigtryggur and Helgi of Stilluppsteypa) unleashed their drunken drone trilogy through the aforementioned Agency, they've been venturing into all sorts of delirious bouts of murky psychedelic collages and imagined soundtracks. There were the weird ruminations upon a found cassette, turned into a mondo filmscore on Man From Deep River; and then the sci-fi opus of synth meanderings found on Space Finale. Now what may be the best to emerge since that earlier alcohol-inspired trilogy is this, the mercurial and hauntological album Big Shadow Montana. Two long-form pieces make up the album, with the A side standing as a hallucinatory foreshadowing of what is to come on the flip. Here, ghostly drones broadcast directly out of the haunted ballroom from The Shining, flickering with half-received transmissions, bumps in the night, and any number of other worldly sounds. Bits of structure emerge in this slow-motion churning of drone, shadow, and filigree coming across somewhere between the fucked up collages that seem to bring all of the Teenage Filmstars records to a close and the subterranean drone-rock sensibility of German Oak. When the record flips, a cosmic stream of vintage synths slump toward oblivion paralleling what has been done by Emeralds and Oneohtrix Point Never (both of whom have released work alongside this trio on Editions Mego), but before this can venture any further down the rabbit hole of Schnitzler and Schulze references, Nilsen & Stilluppsteypa slip into a faux-exotica guise with cheap Casiotone melodies swaying to and fro through old Les Baxter and Martin Denny records. It's a signature move for Stilluppsteypa, if anyone remembers how they mustered a similar strategy on The Best Possible Yet back in 1997. But the maudlin organ harmonies and percolating tone-bloop oscillations are much more confident here, emerging perfectly out of the drone fog like those organ-led numbers on that Deathprod boxset, only to slip into a twin engine thrum of inner-space expansion. In listening back to the second side of the album, it's clear that the first is a lengthy dub of the second, recast and recontextualized as a percussive ghost. Totally captivating through and through, and with a damn trippy cover sporting a vibrantly hypnotic, candy-colored mandala. Yup, it does have a download card. Yup, it is limited. Yup, it is highly recommended." [Aquarius Records] 2011 €14.00
NON TOXIQUE LOST (NTL) OGRE-SSE LP Sehr authentischer, gesellschaftskritischer deutscher 80er Jahre-Industrial dieser vergessenen Band (vor kurzem gab es jedoch schon eine LP auf Wachsender Prozess), zwingende elektronische Rhythmen und Pulsationen, Schreigesang mit zynisch-verzweifelten Texten, Noises & Effekte am richtigen Fleck, eingespielt als richtige „Band“... die Stücke sind meist unveröffentlichte Tracks aus den Jahren 1983 bis 1985 und zeigen die Vielfalt der Band, unser Lieblings-Release bisher auf V.O.D. ! If you like classic 80“s Industrial this is a true must-have !!! „13 Songs aus dem Zeitstrom herausgerissen (1983-1985). Sie waren bisher nicht auf Schallplatte und wurden auch noch nie im Radio gespielt (einige davon waren jedoch schon auf internationalen "cassetten-samplern" in den 80er Jahren veröffentlicht worden !) Diese "style ist irrelevant" Kompositionen sind jetzt zu einem deutschen (damals noch: "die BRD") Film zusammengeschweisst. Man wird mit wilden Schreien konfrontiert und es gibt heftige Sound-Angriffe, die in den Zustand von "...keine Lösung" einmünden. Man nannte das damals "ursprünglichen industrial Punk". Und das ist NON TOXIQUE LOST. Und es ist auch Musik um einen Traumzustand zu erreichen..“ [label info] “13 songs pulled out of the stream of time (1983-1985). they have never been on record or on air (nevertheless, some have been released on international. cassette-compilations in the '80s !). these "style is irrelevant" compositions are now molded together into a german (at that time "the frg") movie. you will be confronted with strong shouts and there will be violent (sound) charges, which run into the state of "...no solution". back then they called it "primal industrial-punk". and that's non toxique lost. it's music that will put you into a dream state as well....” [press release] “....The most unknown one is possibly the band Non Toxique Lost, even when Achim Wollscheid was a band member. Non Toxique Lost existed in the earlier parts of the 80s and in recent days (having released a 7" on Klangalerie as-well as some CDs on Dossier Records). Back in the old days, they released a now sought after LP, aswell as tracks on compilations, but never gained the fame of Die Tödliche Doris or P16.D4. The line up is pretty 'normal', with Sea Wanton (vocals, electronics, effects), S. Schütze (violin, bass), A. Wollscheid (electronics, guitar, effects), H. Wöhler (live effects) and Jammin' Unit ( live effects). Rhythm-machines play an important role, over which the band-members semi-improvise their sounds. Semi, because I think some of this stuff was pre-planned, and that in some way or the other they rehearsed their songs. Especially when the lyrics can be heard through all the noise and effects, Non Toxique Lost sound like the lost brother of Throbbing Gristle. Quite nice, these orgasmic explosions of rhythm and noise. Definitely one of the nicer bands that got lost, and certainly in demand for more re-issueing.” [Fdw / Vital weekly] 2005 €15.00
Terre et Argent LP Nachdem die letztjährige Erstauflage sofort weg war, sind jetzt nochmal 300 Stück nachgepresst worden, wieder im Siebdruck-Cover ! Material from the early 80’s, the first band of ACHIM WOLLSCHEID! “Old school industrial from legendary 80ies tapes of this german group. Impressing mix of aggressive vocals, kicking guitar and rhythmical synthesizer work. Limited edition with spraypaint cover by tbc of 100 copies. After that comes the normal edition with fullcolor artwork. Extensive linernotes.”[label info] 2005 €13.00
  Chrrroooooom ! CD "NTL are one oft the most important bands of the German Industrial scene of the 1980's. Most of their albums were released as cassettes only - six of those can be found on this CD. All material here has never seen a release outside these tapes: "Made on Cuba", "NTL", Rekonstruktionen", "Tavo Ctas Esna", "Ware11" and "Wladiwostok 111984". Compiled by Sea Wanton, this CD is filling an essential gap in the band's discography. Very harsh Industrial sounds from the Golden Age of German 1980s, traces of Einstürzende Neubauten and Sprung aus den Wolken. A perfect companion to the SBOTHI CD released in October this year - both featuring Achim Wollscheid. Limited to 300 copies only." [label info] www.klanggalerie.com 2010 €15.00
NORTHAM, MICHAEL Memory of A mCD-R Ungefähr zur gleichen Zeit wie die SUHINA 10" in unserer SUBSTANTIA INNOMINATA-Reihe erschien diese mini-CDR bei TAALEM. Enthalten ist ein ca. 21minütiger one-tracker mit röhrenden, fast mechanischen Drones, die er auf einem "tubular zylophone" einspielt; die Statik des Beginns ist aber nur eine scheinbare, wenn sehr schön schwingende metallische Obertöne dazukommen, wallende organ-drones und sich fast auflösende rauschender Regenklänge... ein sehr feines Stück!! "Micheal Northam travels a lot and presents here a work that was recorded in India in december 2007, with his microtuned tubular zylophone along with winter rain. Its unclear what (or if at all) he has done with the recordings, but its a pretty neat work. Maybe a bit more rougher than usual, but the various shifting tones of the metallic object he is playing, along with the processed field recordings make this a slow yet always evolving piece of work. A classic Northam piece of drone like acoustic sounds and field recordings. " [FdW / Vital Weekly] "artwork: delphine ancelle-b. based on cassette recordings on a microtuned tubular zylophone while under an unusual winter rain at the adishakti center, vazhakulam, pondicherry, india (december 2007). mixed at the hobbit hole, kreuzberg, berlin (july/aug 2008. michael northam could be considered as much as a sound artist as a world traveller... his work is the continuation of more than fifteen years of visiting, working with and learning from over ninety artists (jgrzinich, yannick dauby, loren chasse, martin franklin, francisco lopez or hitoshi kojo/spiracle to name a few) over fifty locations in twenty-five countries! a perfect example is this piece recorded in india then mixed in germany, probably rawer and rougher than some of his other works..." [label info] www.taalem.com 2009 €5.00
NU & APA NEAGRA Omag CD Rumänische Underground-Psychedelia auf dem Berliner Label LOLLIPOPPE SHOPPE (die auch schon VOLGA und KARPATY MAGICZNE herausgebracht haben)! Ethno- & Folk-Einflüsse, field recordings, dichte & dunkle Atmosphäre; das Spektrum reicht von ruhigen, sehr anmutigen Passagen bis hin zum ekstatischen free-impro Chaos und elektronischen Bearbeitungen, immer weird & eigen, was ist das nur für Musik? Aber lassen wir jetzt noch den staunenden Rigobert Dittmann sprechen: "Ähnlich wie The Magic Carpathians Projekt lässt mich der Sazspieler und multiinstrumentale Alleskönner Sasa-Liviu Stoianovici im rumänischen Timisoara bedauern, dass ich so wenig Musik aus den östlichen Nachbarländern kenne. Omag (The Lollipoppe Shoppe, LSCD 08) ist nämlich wieder ein stellenweise beklemmend schöner und durchwegs spannender Beitrag zur ‚Imaginären Folklore‘, mit dem selbstverständlichen Einsatz von Loopsampler, Mikrokorg und Fieldrecordings neben der Saz und der Kurzhalslaute Cobza, von Vlad Sturdzas E-Gitarre neben Maultrommel und Szilander Farks Sitar, von Calin Torsancs Reeds & Klarinette neben Alexandru Hegyesis bundloser akustischer Bassgitarre. In den Lauten und dem näselnden Gebläse scheinen Wurzelfäden bis hinab zu prototürkischen, ja sogar thrakischdionysischen und panischen Zeiten zu flattern. Aber in der elektroakustischen Verschwurbelung wird diese Aura von altem Balkan und mythischer Zeit ganz eingemischt in ein psychedelisches und surreal-kosmisches Tripping. Dass Alan Holmes, der walisische Produzent von Gorky's Zygotic Mynci und Gitarrist der Faust verehrenden Ankstmusik-Band Ectogram, einen Mix von ‚Peste munte‘ anfertigte, deutet auf ein Raumzeitnetz hin, in dem sich Nu & Apa Neagra, was übrigens Nein & Schwarzes Wasser heißt, ideell bewegen. Beim Titelstück ertönt arabesker Gesang zu Sazgeschrammel und dem Zwitschern und Gurren von Vögeln inmitten polymorphender, von einer Furzelwelle angekurbelter Mixadelic. Mit ihrem Balkantouch setzen Nu & Apa Neaga aber einen eigenen Akzent, den ich mit ‚schwerst halluzinatorisch‘ nur andeuten kann. Die Wirkung entspricht einer ziemlich kräftigen Dosis Mutterkorn, die Uhr läuft rückwärts, der Duft von Ziegenbock ist stellenweise schwindelerregend, es wachsen einem Flügel, die einen auf Wolken aus Fuzz und Klingklang schweben lassen, während ‚over the mountain‘ eine Flöte schallt, die nichts davon weiß, dass der Große Pan tot ist. Eine Gitarre auf Speed (‚Galop in 2/4‘), eine Orgel im Opiumrausch (‚Plinsul lui V.‘), dann ein reedgetrillertes Loopdelirium, in dem ein Wortfetzen mitkreist (‚Cobzar pneumatic‘). Der Geist von Muslimgauze hetzt vorbei - ‘Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!’ (‚Seara‘), Stimmen kaskadieren auf einem Orgeldrone (‚Umbra si copacul de fier‘). Man durchquert eine Bahnhofshalle, in der die elektrisierte und maultrommelbetwangte Luft Turbulenzen bildet (‚Tambal ruginit‘), und taucht dann ganz tief ein in plunderphonischen, von Stimmen durchraunten und dunkel beflöteten Tapesalat mit Sitardressing (‚Cinci suprapuneripareri‘). Zuletzt jamt Greatful Dead, grillenbezirpt, ungeachtet ständiger Lautsprecher-durchsagen, gefangen zwischen Gestern und Übermorgen (‚13, pentru caracter‘). Vielleicht ist ja das der große Reiz unserer neuen alten Miteuropäer, dass sie noch nicht so durchrenoviert sind, noch nicht so up-todate, dass ihre Kunst des Erbens statt völliger Amnesie doch noch Träume und Räusche mit einschließt, die unserem Speed-Way of Life spotten." [Bad Alchemy] "NU & APA NEAGRA wurde von Sasha-Liviu Stoianovici (Saz-Autodidakt, Maler und visueller Künstler) und dem Bassisten Alexandru Hegyesi in Timisoara, Rumänien gegründet. Die Gruppe arbeitet mit traditionellen Motiven, improvisiertem Gesang und elektronischen Klängen und ging aus dem NU-Projekt, einem 'free form folk' Projekt hervor, das seit 2001 aktiv ist. 2006 spielte die Gruppe erstmals in Deutschland in Clubs und auf Festivals und präsentierte ihre selbst veröffentlichte CD "At Gardina". Seit dem hat das Album positive Reaktionen und airplay erhalten, unter anderem im Freien Radio Kassel, Radio Blau Leipzig und beim amerikanischen WFMU Sender. Nach Umbesetzungen formierte sich die Gruppe 2007 neu als NU & APA NEAGRA (apa neagra = schwarzes Wasser) und arbeitete an dem Album "OMAG", das in Berlin und Timisoara aufgenommen wurde. Der dunkle Charakter der Aufnahmen wurde beeinflusst durch Exkursionen in die Wälder und Berge Rumäniens. Fieldrecordings, alte Instrumente und Aufnahme-Experimente erschaffen eine raue Ethno-Psychedelia, die charakteristisch ist für den Sound der Band. Der Album-Titel "OMAG" ist inspiriert durch eine Pflanze der traditionellen rumänischen Pharmakologie (Aconitum napellus, dt.: Blauer Eisenhut). Neben 13 Aufnahmen beinhaltet das Album einen Mix von Alan Holmes (The Ectogram, Parking Non Stop). Sasha Liviu Stoianovici – saz, voice, instruments, tape loops Alexandru Hegyesi – accoustic bass Vlad Sturdza - guitar Calin Torsan - woodwinds www.nu-apa-neagra.ro - www.myspace.com/projectnu Formed in Timisoara, Romania, by Sasha-Liviu Stoianovici (self taught saz-player and visual artist) & Alexandru Hegyesi, the NU & APA NEAGRA sound project deals with a mix between traditional tunes, improvised vocals and spacey electronics. It started in 2001, as NU, being at the time more of a folk/free form music project. Representing Romanian underground psychedelia, the group toured Germany twice in 2006, presenting their cdr 'At Gardina', which, in the meantime, received some great reviews. The group played club gigs and also festivals. NU's music has had airplay at radio stations like WFMU or Freies Radio Kassel, among others... After some changes and studio work in 2007, NU 'reincarnated' as NU & APA NEAGRA and released the OMAG album at the German indie label Lollipoppe Shoppe in June 2008. The tracks have been recorded both in Berlin, Germany and Timisoara, Romania. The sound has became darker, being influenced by various trips in the mountains and forests of Romania. Field recordings, ancient instruments, strange overdubbing techniques, they all create a rough ethno-psychedelic sound, definitely a trademark of NU & APA NEAGRA. The title of the album is inspired by the very poisonous plant Omag, found in the traditional pharmaceutical universe of Romanians (Aconitum napellus). There are 13 original tracks, the 14th one being a deep and strange mix done by Welsh Alan Holmes (Ectogram, Parking Non-Stop). Live shows in central Europe are planed for autumn 2008." [press release] www.lollipopshop.de 2008 €13.00
NURSE WITH WOUND Chromanatron pic-LP "Chromanatron is the new album from Nurse with wound, collages of no less than 5 albums by the mythical German band from the late 60s SAND. These five psyche-experimental-krautrock albums include their first oddity Golem, that NWW discovered a long time ago and represented straight away a great source of inspiration for him. A great dedication to Sand, and hat-in-hand, chapeau bas ! to Nurse with wound for this once again unique masterpiece. Chromanatron is part of the series INXODEM released by Rotorelief. It is a series of new albums from Sand as well as a reissue of their obscure and rare album Golem. This series of albums is called INXODEM, the series title having one letter for each album. Current 93 is also part of the project with When the may rain comes, cover versions of the original track from Sand. All paintings and collages of the INXODEM series are created by Babs Santini aka Steven Stapleton." [label info] www.rotorelief.com 2013 €24.50
  Chromanatron CD "Chromanatron is the new album from Nurse with wound, collages of no less than 5 albums by the mythical German band from the late 60s SAND. These five psyche-experimental-krautrock albums include their first oddity Golem, that NWW discovered a long time ago and represented straight away a great source of inspiration for him. A great dedication to Sand, and hat-in-hand, chapeau bas ! to Nurse with wound for this once again unique masterpiece. Chromanatron is part of the series INXODEM released by Rotorelief. It is a series of new albums from Sand as well as a reissue of their obscure and rare album Golem. This series of albums is called INXODEM, the series title having one letter for each album. Current 93 is also part of the project with When the may rain comes, cover versions of the original track from Sand. All paintings and collages of the INXODEM series are created by Babs Santini aka Steven Stapleton." [label info] www.rotorelief.com 2013 €15.00
O YUKI CONJUGATE Sleepwalker do-LP "Beside guest vox by Keeley Forsyth, post punk/ambient vets Andrew Hulme and Roger Horberry turn sandmen on the gloaming ‘Sleepwalker’ session, which doubles as the soundtrack for Hulme’s film of the same name. Conceived as an audio-visual project alongside Alex Egan and Stuart Hardie - the latter of whom who also did the art for their recent ‘Tension of Opposites’ tape - ‘Sleepwalker’ is exemplary of OYC’s current direction, with plangent keyboards and processed guitars describing nocturnal headspaces in an allusive style that’s warranted cult interest to their music since the early 80s. Initially issued on underground German label Auf Abwegen, and now on vinyl for the first time with three bonus recordings, ’Sleepwalker’ is exactly the sort of material that benefits from an analogue host, committing their plasmic tones and hallucinatory ethers to black crack with properly immersive results. While created as a soundtrack, for which we’re sure it beautifully serves its purpose, the album’s suggestively evocative space leaves lots to the imagination and lends itself to colouring your own dreams and life-as-a-film adventures." [Boomkat] 2021 €36.50
OLIVEROS, PAULINE Reverberations: Tape & Electronic Music 1961-1970 11 x CD BOX https://imprec.bandcamp.com/album/pauline-oliveros-reverberations-tape-electronic-music-1960-1970-12cd This dense 11 disc retrospective of Pauline Oliveros’ early and unreleased electronic work includes her very first piece made for tape in 1959. Organized chronologically, this set not only documents Pauline's earliest electronic music but it also functions as an early history of electronic music itself. Follow as she participates in the establishment of the legendary San Francisco Tape Music Center and then moves to University Of Toronto Electronic Music Studio, Mills Tape Music Center and University of California San Diego Electronic Music Center. This 10th anniversary edition is packaged in a clamshell-style box containing all the tracks from the 2012 edition spread out over 11 CDs each housed in single pocket sleeves. A 36 page booklet includes extensive liner notes and essays from Pauline Oliveros, Alex Chechile, Ramon Sender, David Bernstein, Corey Arcangel. Pauline Oliveros was a composer, performer, humanitarian and an important pioneer in American Music. Acclaimed internationally, she forged new ground for herself and others. Through improvisation, electronic music, sonic philosophy, teaching and meditation she created a body of work with such breadth of vision that it profoundly affects those who experience it and eludes many who try to write about it. "On some level, music, sound consciousness and religion are all one, and she would seem to be very close to that level." John Rockwell Pauline Oliveros built a loyal following through her concerts, recordings, publications and musical compositions written for soloists and ensembles in music, dance, theater and inter-arts companies. She provided leadership within the music community from her early years as the first Director of the Center for Contemporary Music (formerly the Tape Music Center at Mills), director of the Center for Music Experiment during her 14 year tenure as professor of music at the University of California at San Diego to acting in an advisory capacity for organizations such as The National Endowment for the Arts, The New York State Council for the Arts, and many private foundations. She served as Distinguished Research Professor of Music at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Darius Milhaud Composer in Residence at Mills College. Oliveros was vocal about representing the needs of individual artists, about the need for diversity and experimentation in the arts, and promoting cooperation and good will among people. She was honored with awards, grants and concerts internationally. Whether performing at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., in an underground cavern, or in the studios of West German Radio, Oliveros' commitment to interaction with the moment went unchanged. Oliveros passed away peacefully on November 24, 2016 but her sonic legacy and philosophy continues to grow and inspire. 2022 edition track listing (11 CD set adapted from 12 CD edition. All tracks included): Disc 1: 1961 Pauline Oliveros Home Studio Time Perspectives 1964-1966 San Francisco Tape Music Center Mnemonics I Mnemonics II Mnemonics III Disc 2: 1964-1966 San Francisco Tape Music Center Mnemonics IV Mnemonics V Disc 3: 1966 University Of Toronto Electronic Music Studio II Of IV III Of IV IV Of IV V OF IV III Disc 4: 1966 University Of Toronto Electronic Music Studio Team And Desecrations Improvisation The Day I Disconnected The Erase Head And Forgot To Reconnect It Jar Piece Disc 5: 1966 University Of Toronto Electronic Music Studio Another Big Mother Fed Back 1 Fed Back 2 Disc 6: 1966 University Of Toronto Electronic Music Studio 5000 Miles Angel Fix Disc 7: 1966 University Of Toronto Electronic Music Studio Bottoms Up 1 Nite Ringing The Mods 1 Heads Ringing The Mods 2 Tails Three Pieces I Three Pieces II Three Pieces III Disc 8: 1966-1967 Mills Tape Music Center Big Slow Bog Boone Bog Disc 9: 1966-1967 Mills Tape Music Center Bog Bog Mind Bog Disc 10: 1966-1967 Mills Tape Music Center Mewsack 1967-1970 University Of California San Diego Electronic Music Studio 50/50 Heads(Buchla Piece head out) 50/50 Tails (Buchla Piece tails out) Disc 11: 1967-1970 University Of California San Diego Electronic Music Studio A Little Noise In The System Red Horse Headache 2022 €80.00
ORIGAMI GALAKTIKA & I:WOUND We are Column One CD-R Whirring ORIGAMI-Drones and I:WOUNDstyled ethnic field recordings melt into a highly inspiring soundscape. Live Recording made at the legendary club DIE SIBIRISCHE ZELLE in Berlin, which was run by COLUMN ONE. A very strong norwegian–german collaboration which happened on that evening in east-Berlin.... 2005 €10.00
ORSI, FABIO Wannsee LP "RICERCA SONORA proudly presents, as its third release (RS3), a new FABIO ORSI work titled “Wannsee”. Wannsee is a locality in the southwestern Berlin borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Germany. It is the westernmost locality of Berlin. In the quarter there are two lakes, the larger Großer Wannsee (Greater Wannsee) and the Kleiner Wannsee (Little Wannsee), are located on the river Havel and are separated only by the Wannsee bridge. The larger of the two lakes covers an area of 2.7 km2 (1.0 sq mi) and has a maximum depth of 9 m (30 ft). (quote from Wikipedia) Recorded at Wannsee locality in October 2011 and edited, produced and mastered by Fabio Orsi, "Wannsee" is a composition - divided in three parts - of field recordings in its purest form. A nostalgic work done exclusively with environmental sounds captured on location. One-time pressing of 200 copies only, one-sided black vinyl, in white sleeve with UV varnished printing and one insert." [label info] www.ricerasonora.com 2012 €15.00
  Memory of a safe Place / La Forest a non fa pura LP + mag "issue #1 phonographic record FABIO ORSI MEMORY OF A SAFE PLACE photographic work FABIO ORSI LA FORESTA NON FA PAURA Born in the province of Taranto, in southern Italy, after many years spent in Naples and now based in Berlin, Fabio Orsi sits among the most interesting names of the European electronic and experimental scene. Following his early output on A Silent Place and Smallvoices, his music works have been published by many other labels worldwide, including Last visible Dog, Porter Records, Boring Machines and Silentes. His talent has become an estabilished reality thanks to his abilities in finding a nice balance between experimentation and melody, sounding intimate and abstract at the same time, using drones of a concrète and electronic nature, acoustic instruments, field recordings, synthesizers and computer treatments for his compositions. In addition to his solo work, we would also like to mention his many collaborations with Italian saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Valerio Cosi and Gianluca Becuzzi a.k.a. Kinetix, and ex-Limbo, that projected their visions into a different perspective. “Memory of a Safe Place” consists of two long drone-based pieces that explore the pictures collected in “La foresta non fa paura” (The Forest Is Not Scary). Both tracks slowly build from a distant low frequence humming: “Part 1” has a dream-like quality and is one of those numbers suspended in eternity that could easily last forever, a truly healing experience; with its rhythmic elements fading in along the road, “Part 2” is more down-to-earth, so to speak, althought if it reminds pretty well the listener of the German Cosmic Couriers of the Seventies. An awesome work for all the Ambient Music fans, Post-Kraut lovers, Hypnagogic dreamers and the Eternal Drone explorers out there. The standard edition of this issue consists of 250 copies; a limited and hand-numbered edition of 44 copies is also available, it includes a 18x24cm original photograph printed on 310 gr. high quality professional photo-paper." [label info] www.silentes.net "Following a small tidal wave of releases, things became quiet for Silent at the end of 2012, it seems. Maybe there is only room for as many CDs? Or maybe there is a need to break away from easy to copy/download CDs and create something that is perhaps more unique, more desirable? Hence, the birth of '13', which takes here the shape of 12" record with 16 A4 page booklet of photography, in an edition of 250 copies. It could have been 50 copies, with different shaped photos or even smaller editions with unique prints. Either way, the photographic aspect is of an equal importance as the music. The series kicks off with Fabio Orsi, doing both music and photography here. Orsi's career started on A Silent Place and Smallvoices, and further developed with releases on labels such as Last Visible Dog, Porter Records, Boring Machines but above all Silentes. Orsi is an ambient composer and uses synthetic and natural sounds to create his music, that fits the black and white photography quite well. Lots of pictures of nature, and with a sound that seems to stem straight from nature this is music that is probably best enjoyed outside - be it that taking a record player into nature is a bit difficult. That's the only downside of such a release I guess, which is otherwise filled with some great music. In 'Part 1', I believe to hear a mass of voice material, cascading freely but seemingly becoming more of a tidal wave, whereas in 'Part 2' it seems to be revolving around a looped guitar of some kind, locked into an eternal hum. Both sides are of course highly minimal with some very slow developments, placed in all the right places, preventing both parts from being just a single minded drone piece, but more a free floating experience in sound. Very sober in execution, both sound and image, but very nice altogether." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2013 €18.00
OTTE, HANS Minimum:Maximum / Orient:Occident CD Aufnahmen von 1973 und 1977 vom poetischen Klang-Puristen und Minimalisten HANS OTTE. Stimme, Glockenspiel, Radiowaves, instrumentelle Geräusche, werden zu reduzierten aber wirkungsvollen Klangbildern verwoben, eine direkte Umsetzung von verwobener Klang- und Lebensphilosophie spiegelt sich hier wieder. “minimum:maximum (1973): texts / sounds / pictures. An environment (simultaneous concert in Stockholm and Bremen) for two organists: Karl-Erik Welin and Gerd Zacher, keyboard instruments. orient:occident (1977): for two woodwind-players and tape: Ingo Goritzki, oboe; Hans-Wilhelm Goetzke, clarinet. "Perhaps best known for his piano work 'Book of Sounds' these two works by German composer Hans Otte were composed in the 1970s. In that decade his aesthetic creed became increasingly clear: 'the search for the character and individuality of sound as such, which must be rediscovered and re-experienced independent of superimposed structures. The composer understands the dialogue with sounds as the discovery of their nature.' (Ute Schalz-Laurenze). While Hans Otte was an enthusiastic, one might say visionary promoter of fellow composers, such as John Cage and David Tudor, whose impacts had registered to the general public long after their force reached the surface, he nevertheless remained deeply committed to his own music. Otte's writings, simple lines that say: 'words are just something added on'; 'all great things laugh'; 'when something is reminiscent of nothing'; and, 'it's really something -- that voice that was once in the mouth,' all direct us to his music, because: 'everything always happens: Now.' It is Otte's music that betrays his particularity of thought to what (is everything), how (it happens), and when (is now). Words are just something added on. Collectively, these aphorisms reflect an aesthetic that dispenses with words which may address themselves to an understanding of the world. Here, however, the world to be understood is indescribable. What is everything? When is now? How does it happen? The message is that words tell, music is. Listen. The titles of these works: orient:occident and mnimum:maximum, suggest a relationship between seemingly disparate things to remind us of Otte's adage: 'It is the gardener who owns the garden.'" [label info] wwww.pogus.com 2005 €14.00
OVAL LANGUAGE, THE Waldkonzerte do-LP Second LP release by The Oval Language on Edition Telemark after "Hibernation" in 2017, this time showcaseing Klaus-Peter John's Waldkonzerte (woodland concerts), recorded in 2016. The Oval Language is an autonomous art project founded in 1987 in Leipzig, East Germany, by Klaus-Peter John and Frank Berendt. Since Berendt left in 1995, it has been continued by John, sometimes with collaborators, but recently mostly for solo activities. Its fields of activity have included sound-noise performances, conceptual works in open spaces, installations, land art projects, photography, and more. From the beginning, the space or location itself has been a central aspect within many of their site-specific sound-noise performances. When working at a certain location, the performers tried to not bring in anything from outside, but exclusively use material already available at the space. This way, it becomes possible to thoroughly feel out and explore the site, allowing a distinct site-specific sound to emerge that is integrated into the performance. Throughout the 1990s, the sites used often were abandoned buildings in Leipzig, available in nearly unlimited quantity, from vacant factories to unused former public bathing facilities. During the recent years, Klaus-Peter John has focused on a minimisation of means and developed a unique vocal technique without amplification that he has used in a number of performances. In 2016, he attempted to integrate his voice into pure nature, in his own words the biggest challenge to date. His goal was not to perform any kind of singing or the like, but to use voice as a means similar to the site-specific tools used in previous performances by The Oval Language. He performed five concerts without audiences in a forest ravine in Döben, near Grimma, between June and November. The concerts parallel the course of the seasons and their related acoustic changes and conditions. This double LP is presented in a die-cut single sleeve with two printed inner sleeves. The inner sleeves contain one photo made during a Waldkonzert on each side. By switching the order of the inner sleeves, four different front sleeves can be generated. Edition of 200. www.edition-telemark.de/903.01.html 2021 €29.50
  Hibernation LP The Oval Language is an autonomous art project founded in 1987 in Leipzig, East Germany, by Klaus-Peter John and Frank Berendt, and continued to this day by John. Its fields of activity are multifaceted and have included sound-noise performances, conceptual works in open spaces, installations, land art projects, photography, etc. The Oval Language has collaborated extensively with various artists, among others Nicolai Angelov, Koyo Axel Guhlmann, and Guido Hübner of Das Synthetische Mischgewebe. Around 1991, the then members of the group – John, Berendt, and Peter Schüler – were exploring the irrational impact of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations (Völkerschlachtdenkmal) near Leipzig and presented the tri-media project "Hibernation", based around their attempts at approaching the undercurrents that are conserved within the imagery associated with the monument. Hibernation comprised live performances at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig (Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst, HGB) and at the Museum of Ethnography, an event sculpture in front of the monument which involved the burning of large amounts of straw, and an installation at the briquette factory Zechau near Altenburg. "Hibernation is about the Monument to the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig. We don't look at it through the historical prism of the 1813 Battle of the Nations, though. We are concerned with the monument as a Gesamtkunstwerk, as a manifestation of irrational German thinking in previous times and its impact on today's generation." (The Oval Language) This LP reproduces the sound layer of Hibernation and includes a recording of a live performance at the HGB, made in 1991. Printed inner sleeve with photos of each stage of the project and texts. Edition of 300. www.edition-telemark.de/785.01.html 2017 €20.00
PACIFIC 231 1983-86 Compendium do-CD "Pacific 231 is active since 1981, starting with a limited edition Psychic Euthanasia tape recorded in total stereo, Pacific 231 was involved into VP 231 for a few years alongside Vox Populi!. His first LP "Unusual Perversions" was released in 1984. After some references, VP 231 was terminated following the double LP L'Enfer est Intime international compilation. Today, Pacific 231 is the co-producer on all his productions. From 1987 "Power Assume" second LP on Bunker Records in Canada to his most recent release ! This DCD Compendium* is a selective collection of early 80's Pacific 231 works. More than 48 hours of recordings coming from reel-to-reel tapes has been unveiled and carefully converted to recover two hours worth of material. The production has been split in two parts as the 1st CD is Studio and the 2nd is Live. As a matter of interest, for the "Unusual Perversions" fans out there, a good percentage of the archives are circa 1984 and unreleased. * A compendium is a concise, yet comprehensive compilation of a body of knowledge. A compendium may summarize a larger work." [label info] www.tesco-germany.com 2011 €16.00
PARA-NOISE-TERMINAL Fraktale (SOLD OUT) 7 this duo from Hamburg brings nature's sensibility into your mind, pure organic atmospherics instead of today's usual sensual overkill... "LIMITED + NUMBERED FIRST EDITION OF 250 COPIES. HAND-MADE SLEEVES; BRIGHT BLUE VINYL. THIS DUO FROM HAMBURG, EXISTING SINCE 1992, WORKS WITH LOTS OF HANDMADE INSTRUMENTS AND ANALOGUE SYNTHS. THEIR MUSIC IS BASED ON THE NATURAL ROUGH SOUNDS OF LARGE METALLIC 'OBJECTS', SUCH AS STONES, WOOD, AND OTHER OBSCURE SELF-BUILT SOUND SOURCES. PARA-NOISE-TERMINAL IS ABLE TO ENCHANT THE LISTENER WITH A VERY SENSIBLE ATMOSPHERE OF PURE SURROUNDINGS. PARA-NOISE-TERMINAL OFTEN PERFORM LIVE IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT GERMANY. IN 1993 THEY PERFORMED IN WALES AND IN 1994 THEY PERFOMED AT THE SOUNDWORK EXCHANGE FESTIVAL IN LONDON. ON THIS, THEIR FIRST VINYL-RELEASE, PARA-NOISE-TERMINAL OPERATE WITH RECORDED VOICES AND DRONING SOUNDS (TRACK 1: "FRAKTALE DER MASSE") AND PRESENT THE MOST SUBLIMINAL AND ENCHANTING TECHNO-PIECE THAT MAYBE WAS EVER RECORDED (TRACK 2: "URMASSE") ! "ENCHANT YOUR MIND WITH PURITY PARA-NOISES" DRONE RECORDS DR-13/ JULY 1995 [label info] 1995  
PBK & TELEPHERIQUE Noise-Ambient Connection CD "Noise music exists for many years, but there are still some individuals who are assiduously following their own approach, avoiding any external influence, creating something new and inspiring to get rid of any standards, giving us the idea of unique sounding. Phillip B. Klingler (PBK) is the one such musician. In his 20 years of activity, he walked against the number of noisescapes, painting them over with some secret traces of beauty and beyond. He released some solo works but also collaborations with Dirk Serries (vidnaObmana), Slavek Kwi (Artificial Memory Trace), Asmus Tietchens, Jeph Jerman (Hands To) and even Artemy Artemiev (the son of famous Russian ANS-synth explorer). PBK proposes premium quality music with manifold edges: some hypnotic ambient pieces, some crazy noise collages, but mostly just unclassifiable abstract sound-sculptures. His early works were released on tapes by his own PBK Recordings label and sold out for many years, in the early 90s N D Records published his first couple of CDs: endless labyrinths of dissonances, amorphous soundscapes unfolding from the complex schemes of machine improvisation and stochastic processes. Telepherique is the seminal German project existing since the late 80s and exploring the grey area of the electronic underground. The main person behind it is Klaus Jochim who also was responsible for now defunct tape label Drahtfunk Productions. Besides his own production under various monikers like Technostria and Das Konzentrat, he released some great collaboration tape albums with artists like Brume, Kapotte Muziek, S.Core, Tesendalo, De Fabriek etc. Telepherique uses a lot of synthetic sound sources and sequences, creating unsettling atmosphere from the structured electronic patterns ranging from intense rhythmic work to creepy ambient out-of-body soundscapes. They got initial support from labels like Ant-Zen and Noise Museum, later released some albums through Old Europa Cafe, S.S.S.M., Afe Records and Waystyx. The name Telepherique means "funicular railway" in French, but indirectly also the intention gaining a view from a higher level. This particular album is the first ever collaboration between PBK and Telepherique, it represents yet another breakthrough in the search for a music that is comprehensively exploring 21st century ambient music." [label notes] www.monochromevision.ru/ 2008 €13.00
PERLETTA, FABIO & ASMUS TIETCHENS Deflections CD "There is an élite of the anxious: the rest is the mankind” — E. M. Cioran, 'Notizen 1957—1972' Fabio Perletta and Asmus Tietchens’ hermetic micro-cosmos of Deflections unfolds by exploring instability and physical decay of sound. Built upon liminal forms and atonal passages, the six near-silent pieces of the work traverse empty space by means of elementary sonic emissions and drifting nano-structures. Among sound collisions and evanescent masses, the almost immaterial yet corporeal nature of Deflections, embodies sound in its most subliminal and contradictory form. “When atoms move straight down through the void by their own weight, they deflect a bit in space at a quite uncertain time and in uncertain places, just enough that you could say that their motion has changed. But if they were not in the habit of swerving, they would all fall straight down through the depths of the void, like drops of rain, and no collision would occur, nor would any blow be produced among the atoms. In that case, nature would never have produced anything” [Lucretius, 'De Rerum Natura'] Composed, recorded and processed by Fabio Perletta at Tokonoma Studio in Roseto degli Abruzzi, Italy and Asmus Tietchens at Audiplex Studio E in Hamburg, Germany." https://fabioperletta.bandcamp.com/album/deflections 2017 €13.00
PHOSGEN / DJK Weird, wicked world ! pic-LP Klassischer, zynischer Industrial zweier deutscher Projekte... “We are children of a dying culture – witnesses to the decline of western civilisation – standing at the wall screaming” (quote from the back-cover). A very sick and cynical true industrial release about murder and violence, with an explicit cover, by these two german projects. PHOSGEN – “Operation Death”, and DJK – “Here comes salvation” brings you classical harsh pulsating noise with voices, samples & screams. For fans of GENOCIDE ORGAN, CON-DOM, GREY WOLVES, SPK 2001 €8.00
PINTO, JOAO CASTRO Suntria - Imaginal Sonotopes CD "Suntria is a soundscape composition orchestrated, fundamentally, through the use of audio fragments captured from distinct locations of Sintra’s forest, near Lisbon, Portugal. Since remote ages, Sintra’s mountains (in Portuguese, Serra de Sintra) are known as locations of worship and devotion. It is reputed that the Celts, Visigoths, Moorish and Romans were among the people who inhabited and praised these oneiric landscapes before the Lusitanos (the later Portuguese). Throughout the years, Sintra had different toponyms, it is said that the Celts referred to it as Cynthia (meaning the devotion of the moon). It is also given that some Greek and Latin scholars state that Sintra was also denominated as Mons Sacer (Sacred Mount). Ptolemy and the Romans called it Mons Lunae (Mount of the Moon) and, during the Moorish rule of the land, Sintra was denominated as Zintira, Chinra, Xintra, Sentra, until, finally, it was, before its actual designation, named Xentra. From the etymological study of the term there is a curious, but controversial, medieval designation from each Sintra is thought of being derived – Suntria. This possibility presents itself as problematic. The medieval origin of Suntria is supposed to have been derived from the Indo-European (meaning Sun or Luminous Astro). This denomination is controversial because the etymology of the word “Sun”, considering the existing Indo-European branches, puts aside any connection between the term “Suntria” and the significance of the word Sun (except when considering the Gothic [extinct Germanic language] term “Sunno”). Suntria is the title of this composition because, and foremost, the conceptual purpose of the album is not to mimic the sonic landscapes of Sintra’s physical actual locations but to creatively interpret these spaces. Suntria is a hypothetical toponym of a determined physical location, as this composition is an interpretation and recreation of field recordings captured in Sintra’s soundscape. The mystical ambience patent in Sintra’s forest is a national symbol depicted in literature, cinema and architecture by Portuguese and foreigner artists as, for example, Lord Byron, which lived there for a brief period. Sintra’s fauna and flora is as rich as its environment, which configurates a micro-climate totally distinct from the one which predominates in Lisbon, from where it distances not too much. The basilar audio samples that integrate this composition were recorded in the ponds, cascades, forests and beaches of the Sintra-Cascais natural park. Additional sounds were recorded in other (natural / urban) locations of the country (check the cd sleeve for more info). Suntria’s subtitle is imaginal sonotopes, and it is so because what is at stake in the piece is recreating combinations from elements of the soundscape, i.e., of diverse geophonies, biophonies and anthropophonies. According to soundscape ecology, a sonotope is, precisely, the spatial overlapping units or patterns advenient from these contingent conglomerations, which in their turn result on the blending of sonic elements. Suntria is a piece that presents plausible soundscapes through the creative electroacoustic exploration and concrescence of samples that even though, in many cases, belong to the same ontic family (for example: geophony – water in streams, ponds and beaches) were originated and recorded, in terms of spatio-temporal coherence, in distinct locations. One of the main purposes of the album is, therefore, to question the sense of identity and place, concerning to the academic established postulates of soundscape composition. Sounding natural, i.e., as we phenomenologically relate to a sonotope, is one of the main goals of this composition: to make plausible the implausible. One can expect to listen a diverse spectrum of sonic approaches, in between found sounds and abstracted composition, making use of techniques that range from transparent edit, equalization and juxtaposition (phonography) to concrete / acousmatic music procedures (manipulations in the morphological spectrum). In terms of dynamics, the composition reveals subtle quasi-silent moments as saturated and loud events. The same logic prevails in terms of spectral diversity, for Suntria outputs careful sculpting of low, mid and high frequencies, towards a whimsical sound voyage. Finally, all the audio samples were registered through the implementation of various recording techniques: stereo (XY, ORTF [w. matched pair] and MS) and monaural (shotgun, hydrophone and contact mics). Concerning the audio recording devices, various gear was used, from the enhanced mono (low quality) mic of the iPhone and the prosumer mid-level entry recorders (as the Tascam DR-100 MKII / DR-70D), to the professional standard industry level recorders (as Sound Devices 702). Suntria reaches for an aural acuity that invites the listener to perscrutate meaning, purpose/intentionality and ultimately to question the sense of hearing and being in the world." (João Castro Pinto, 10 May 2017) 2017 €14.00
PIPELINE ALPHA VS. MESSIAH COMPLEX Darking lights of Babylon CD-R Split-album. The German project PIPELINE ALPHA (from Wupptertal), being fascinated with old myths, offers two droney landscape tracks combining analogue / dark cosmic synth-work, vocal / choral invocations, acoustic & electric guitar/bass, shortwave/radio-sounds, ending in obsessed noise.. MESSIAH COMPLEX creates a very long noise-orgy with interesting developments & dynamics.. "EPIC AURAL DRONE NOISE / SPLIT RELEASE 3 TRACK CD. Limited to 119 copies worldwide / Screened Cardboard DVD Box / Printed Inlaycard on Special Paper / Numbered Edition! Pipeline Alpha starts with a smooth eerie analog drone like mirror or organum called "flabbergasted" 11:21 minutes followed by "Ishtar" an wisphering voicesound with a organic bassline and ending with orgastic screaming from sinister god: "Ishtar" 20:51 than followed by a devastating brutal but differentiated noise storm from MESSIAH COMPLEX called "beta-minus" 31:37 wich ends so sophisticated with quiet boiling basses like all begun." [label info] www.amid-the-waves.com 2009 €10.00
POST SCRIPTVM Benommenheit CD "Post Scriptvm is a New York-based Russian band that operates on the fringes of the original industrial, experimental, ambient and power electronics genres. The project's sound is repeatedly referenced as some of the darkest and most cinematic music in these fields. This 5th full-length album by PS is a heavy entanglement of morbid, rough-edged analog industrial structures, warped samples, and eerie, hypnotizing ambient, submerged in otherworldly, mystical atmospheres. "Benommenheit" contemplates earthly existence as a ghostly, tenebrous moment between eternities. From the opening track, "Horrorbirth," to the final piece, "Mal de Débarquement," the album unfolds a solitary journey, plagued by torturous angst, clouded by aetherial torpors, shadowed by tragic incongruities and concluded with nothing but the inevitable pain-filled departure back into the void." [label info] www.tesco-germany.com 2014 €14.50
Gauze LP "LP reissue of the first full-length album by Post Scriptvm, recorded in late 2001 and originally released as CD-r. Unlike the project's later works that are characterized by subtlety and meticulous production, Gauze is an unvarnished, gritty 4-track recording of lo-fi death ambient from the wasteland of southern Brooklyn, NYC, enshrouded in the lingering haze of razed buildings and burnt human remains. The boundary between what is considered normal everyday life and sheer insanity, carnage, personal and social collapse-true horrible face of humanity-is but an ephemeral layer of gauze that can be torn in a heartbeat, throwing reality out of balance, violently and irrevocably. "This game is prompted by a rip in the fabric of life." [Gauze] has the same hypnotic and overwhelming power as a strong fever dream. It hauls you into a contorted world of loose association, an industrial landscape in which humans lose their form and randomly merge with animals and bizarre machinery, where perception is warped and hours flicker by in an instant. -Nulll Oppressive drones and bleak atmospheres, interjected with twisted samples and cavernous, haunted basement noises. [Gauze] has a very cool old school feel to it that's been sadly missing within the 'death industrial' genre. -Jason Mantis/Malignant Records "Gauze" is a hazy swirl of dark ambient, subtle ritual elements, esoteric samples and mild death industrial textures. The deep tones and the cryptic vocals samples and chants combine to make some truly eerie atmospheres. -Scott Candey/Worm Gear "Gauze" sounds quite a bit like a live recording, like being immersed in a real-time psychosis simulation. -Industrial.org Post Scriptum construct their pieces from a varied mixture of drones, analogue sounds, post-industrial samples, strongly maintaining a claustrophobic atmosphere at the same time...thick with an uneasy sense of a catastrophe about to happen. -Corridor of Cells Ragged dark ambience full of trepidation and strangeness, as scratched into the flesh of weird, dimly lit corners of aural resonance. -SEVEN Tracklist: Cunctator Trepan On the brink Pore The Binding Vox Calamantis Gentle Diversions." www.tesco-germany.com "Gerade hat Kollege ENDSAL die aktuelle Live-Werkschau "Séance" (Besprechung) des russischen Industrial-Duos POST SCRIPTVM gewürdigt. Nun möchte ich noch ein paar Infos zu "Gauze" nachschieben, um die Diskografie komplett zu machen. Es handelt sich um die allerersten Aufnahmen von POST SCRIPTVM, die ursprünglich im Jahr 2001 auf CDR erschienen sind. TESCO ARCHAIC DOCUMENTS, eine Serie des Mannheimer Industrial-Labels TESCO, presst hier ältere – teils auch unveröffentliche oder live entstandene – Werke auf Vinyl, und so ist auch "Gauze" als nicht mehr erhältlicher Baustein des Gesamtwerkes nun als LP wieder zugänglich. Womit wir auch wirklich alle Veröffentlichungen der in den USA lebenden Russen auf NONPOP geehrt hätten. "Cunctator" (01) startet mit einem höhligen, gefährlichen und vibrierenden Drone. Dumpf klingende Sprachsamples und ein kratziges Geräusch ergänzen den Track, ab der Mitte tauchen sporadisch sakrale Mönchsgesänge auf; eher Atmosphäre als Musik, sehr stimmungsvoller Dark Ambient. Das Frickeln und Bratzeln in "Trepan" (02) formt sich nach und nach zu Frequenzdonner. Auch hier tönt eine Sprech- und später schamanische Singstimme aus der Gruft. Mit metallenem Scheppern ergibt sich auch ein erster Ansatz von Rhythmus, der in "On The Brink" (03) weiter verfolgt wird. Gelooptes Kratzen hält Drones zusammen, später übernimmt diese Funktion ein Herzschlag – das Stück ein geisterhaftes Schweben. "Pore" (04) besteht aus weitem, maschinellem Rumpeln und Dröhnen, dezent von noisigen Sounds unterstützt, die in "The Binding" (05) zunehmen: Zwischen Weltuntergangs-Blitzen ruft eine russische Frauenstimme ganz sicher den Notfall aus. Wasserplätschern, Wind und schwimmende Drones lassen "Vox Calamantis" (06) ruhiger wirken, in wiederholende Loops fügt sich eine nachdenkliche, mahnende russische Stimme ein. Und zum Schluss besteht "Gentle Diversions" (07), ganz klassisch, überwiegend aus rotierendem Dröhnen zwischen Noise und Industrial. Für mich sind POST SCRIPTVM einer der besten und intelligentesten Industrial-Acts auf dem Markt. "Gauze" hat bereits alle Grundbausteine für die spätere Entwicklung. Klanglich noch recht roh und rau, man könnte auch sagen 'old school', wirkt das Album fast wie eine Liveaufnahme. So unmittelbar und direkt. Ich habe permanent das Gefühl, mich in einem dunklen Schiffsbauch zu befinden, schwankend, zwischen stampfenden Maschinen. Diese LP gehört natürlich, wie alle anderen Veröffentlichungen von POST SCRIPTVM auch, in den Plattenschrank. Nicht nur als abzuhakendes Frühwerk, sondern als spannender Ausgangspunkt für folgende Meilensteine." [Michael We. für nonpop.de] 2016 €23.00
  Variola Vera LP LE300 comes with printed innersleeve Post Scriptvm enters its third decade of marginal existence with a new full-length album of surrealist industrial—eight inexplicably obscure analog sound sculptures, created using antiquated electronics and obsolescent techniques, juxtaposing dark ambient, power electronics and electroacoustic music. Titled after the outbreak of smallpox in the 1970s socialist Yugoslavia, unintentionally brought in by the pilgrims returning from a quest for divine illumination, Variola Vera is the soundtrack to the somatic and the metaphysical epidemics steering the human enterprise towards its termination. Adrift in the sea of narcotic synth textures, discordant recitations, contaminated laboratory noises, misshapen fragments of charlatan sermons, cannibal ceremonies, voices of dying children and speeches of the moribund Eastern Blok dictators, Variola Vera navigates its wayward course amidst the bitter nostalgia, ritualistic fervency, lethargic dejection, and frantic anguish. https://tescogermany.bandcamp.com 2019 €20.00
PROPERGOL Paradise Land CD "new propergol...spec.pack. - incl. 3 postacrds ...A deaf & sepulchral sound // The door suddenly opens A voice announces : it's ongoing // Preparations in silence There will be no good bye // Defective electrical installations direction : airport // Anxiety-provoking situation Flight-plan : Direction> PN - (48° 52' 36'' S 123° 23' 36'' W) Feverous take-off then cruising phase // Engine shutdown... Silence... Fly over & scope of the disaster // In top view, mankind tears away A rupture, a break with civilization // Separation / isolation - arrival Final approach phase - Stabilization - Ejection... .. . What happens now? ----------------------------------------------------------------- end of transmission." [label info] www.tesco-germany.com "Allein, dass PROPERGOL ein neues Album veröffentlicht, geht fast schon als Überraschung durch. Liegt das letzte offiziell gelistete doch schon sechs Jahre zurück. Zwischendurch hat sich JÉRÔME NOUGAILLON mal um die Klänge von Kollegen (wie zum Beispiel POST SCRIPTVM aus Russland) gekümmert, aber ansonsten musikalisch recht zurückgezogen gelebt, 2012 immerhin ein Stück zu einem Sampler beigesteuert und den 25sten Geburtstag von TESCO – siehe Video unten – mit einem Liveauftritt gewürdigt. Nun ist eben "Paradise Land" erschienen, das aktuelle Werk des Ein-Mann-Projektes, schön verpackt im Din A5-Format, quer, edel und mit drei ästhetischen Postkarten. Die eigentliche Sensation ist aber der radikale Stilwechsel. Weder Power Electronics noch aggressive Noiseorgien, sondern überwiegend angenehmer und warmer Ambient! Stimmsamples, die nach Quietschen und animalischem Knurren einsetzen, spielen eine wichtige Rolle auf "Paradise Land" und tauchen deshalb gleich zum Beginn im Opener "Running Scored" (01) auf. Wehende Geräusch-Drones sorgen – hier wie auf dem gesamten Album – für eine sehr räumliche Atmosphäre, die Collagen – vor allem aus vielen Stimmen – und andere, meist natürliche Elemente wie zum Beispiel Uhrticken sorgen für Bezug zur Realität. "911 Dispatche" (02) verstärkt den Eindruck von Ambient; die wabernden, angenehmen, synthetischen Drones haben etwas Strahlendes, Kosmisches. Dazu stoßen weitere Stimmsamples, die für mich stets wie Bahnhofs- oder Flughafendurchsagen tönen, sowohl vom Klang als auch vom Stimmduktus her. In "Ymene" (03) steht längere Zeit eine Art Unterhaltung mit hallenden Stimmen im Raum, durchbrochen nur von wenigen Sounds, und geht über in eine lange Ambientfläche. Etwas bedrohlicher nun liegen wie Insekten vibrierende Drones über einem Grundbrummen. Regen und gewitterähnliche Klänge ("Torquenada", 04) bilden den Übergang zu sehr maschinellen, kurzatmigeren Gebilden aus Tönen. Es folgen mal mehr geräuschorientierte, mal mehr flächige Ambientstrukturen, zwischendurch auch (wenige) noisige Elemente wie Pfeifen und Fiepen mit entsprechenden Verzerrungen. Rhythmische Strukturen hat sich PROPERGOL für "Bushman" (08) und "Impossible Landing" (09) aufgehoben, dann aber richtig losgelegt. Diese beiden Tracks sind als 'Songs' zu bezeichnen, haben etwas Technoides, bilden das Vorspiel zu einem nie einsetzenden Rhythmusgewitter mit tuckerndem Beat – groovender Minimal-Techno! Das längste Stück am Ende ("Bleu Nuit", 10) mischt noch einmal Vieles: eine verfremdete Stimme (die an Sprachausgaben alter Computer erinnert), Geräusche wie schweres Atmen (der Monolog eines Sterbenden?), weitere Solostimmen und Bahnhofsatmosphäre, um dann in angenehme und erneut rhythmische, federnde Ambientmusik überzugehen. Es fehlen zwar inhaltliche Infos zum Album, woher zum Beispiel die Stimmen kommen und was genau die Thematik ist. Macht aber nichts. Die Klangmalerei funktioniert so gut, dass jeder Track ein Gemälde ist und eine Reihe von Assoziationen zulässt. Ich stelle mir ein Kontrollzentrum vor, und zwar in allen Facetten, mit Kommunikation, dem Raum selbst und den Informationen, die durch Leitungen übertragen werden. Einige dezente Hinweise (durch Titel und die knappe Labelinfo) könnten auch so verstanden werden, dass sich der Hörer an Bord eines 9/11-Fluges befindet. Dafür ist "Paradise Land" aber musikalisch fast zu gut verdaulich. Streckenweise könnten auch die Belgier von KRAKEN mit ihren Unterwasserthematiken Pate gestanden haben. Sehr elegante, kluge und erzählende Ambientmusik mit vielen Stimmen und Field Recordings. Sticht in diesem Genre deutlich aus der Masse der Veröffentlichungen heraus. Fans älterer Alben sollten nur wissen, dass dieses ganz anders, viel weniger brutal klingt." [Michael We., NON-POP] 2012 €14.50
PRURIENT Casablanca Flamethrower do-LP Casablanca - A hiding place and escape route. Flamethrower - A weapon designed to drive people out of hiding places. Casablanca Flamethrower is Prurient's first proper full length for Tesco Organization. Thirteen tracks of doom electronics crowded by voices of industrial cynicism focused on four theatres (corridors of violence): Ural tracers, Guadalcanal Necrophilia, Normandy Reaper, Casablanca Flamethrower… Casablanca Flamethrower deals with alternative histories. About hidden allied war crimes. The wild and ferocious airborne divisions once they passed the beachhead and their fateful encounters with civilians. About forgotten victims and known memorials. We deal here with the memorials we see that were created after the fact. By ’hiding what is known’ we see another history, another past... a past without a future! Additional atmospheres: Paratroopers mutilations as psychological warfare Unspoken necrophilic activities in the Pacific Human ‘trophies’ sent home to loved ones before atom day Memories of the black raven under Uncle Joe Human smuggling, fatalistic hedonism and triple-crossing in Morocco’s propaganda establishments These are the songs from torture chambers across hateful american shores. TRACK LIST: A Black Iceberg Peace and Bread Humilation D-Day Rape Normandy Reaper - Snow on the Atlantic B Fucked by Tracers Beneath the Wheels of the black Raven Most Cannibals were Women C Dead you are already Corn Cop Pipe Butcher Guadalcanal Necrophilia D The Thrust of the Spear Sphere from Christ´s side Directionless World Tesco 140 credits released March 31, 2020 https://tescogermany.bandcamp.com/album/casablanca-flamethrower "As Dominick Fernow’s main project, Prurient is somewhat of a sonic chameleon which has explored a myriad of underground noise and industrial styles over a huge number of releases and span of years. While Prurient have also had a close association with Tesco Organisation for some time, Casablanca Flamethrower is the formal debut album for Tesco given other releases to date have been reissues on Tesco’s sub-labels. To quickly mention those reissues*, each were within an industrial/power electronic/heavy electronics frame of reference, therefore closely aligned with the Tesco’s prevailing style and sound. In a similar context Casablanca Flamethrower follows suit and is very much a Prurient album, and with its broader thematic focus on the hidden stories and forgotten victims of war, it definitely feels at home on Tesco. In terms of the arc of Prurient’s main/core albums, Casablanca Flamethrower follows the massive seven LP Rainbow Mirror (self-described as ‘doom electronics’). Casablanca Flamethrower is notable by the fact that although not too far removed from the sprawling and mellow tone of Rainbow Mirror set, that sound has also been repurposed with a focused attention on a European heavy electronics/industrial sound. This may then be partially explained by the involvement of Kris Lapke of Alberich (who is credited as providing loops, percussion and synths), whose own project takes clear influence from a European heavy electronics sound, which has perhaps further cemented the sound and direction of Casablanca Flamethrower. Black Iceberg open the album with a squelching bass throb, distant scrap metal tones and angst-ridden rasped vocals, while Peace and Bread Humiliation is a short track of hollow radio scanning static, whistling noise and semi-buried radio broadcast announcements. The following D-Day Rape is then an early album highlight, featuring bulldozing bass, mid-toned insectile noise squalls, while the spoken vocals are featured upfront but rendered undecipherable due to the treatment with an off-kilter warbling effected. Marvelous stuff. Fucked By Traces maintains momentum with static squalls, thick bass drones, vague rhythmic backing and charred echo chamber vocal barrage. Beneath The Wheels of the Black Raven is also an excellent track of stalking menace, where the tone is one of militaristic death industrial involving droning bass, slow shuddering rhythm, and vocals delivered as agonized chants and treated spoken fragments. Late album track The Thrust of the Spear is another highlight. Opening as a low droning and treated vocal piece it soon evolves into a minimalist yet highly hypnotic track of militaristic tinged rhythmic loops and swirling rotor blades. The track title then obviously then cross references the collage image of the Spear of Longinus shown on the back cover (contributed by The Grey Wolves). Yet when the spear collage is considered in context of the adjacent phrase: ‘the risen Christ holds the spear of destiny in his side’, it shrouds the intended meaning, which is at least consistent with Dominick’s established approach to abstracted thematic presentation. Sphere From Christ’s Side also uses similar militaristic rhythmic loops for brooding result, while the close to ten minute Directionless World rounds out the album in subdued fashion with minimalist tonal rumbles and radio scanning static (but perhaps could have been half as long without foregoing ideas or loosing impact). From my own perspective Casablanca Flamethrower is an an intense yet brooding take on a heavy electronics/industrial sound, and is inherently more listenable, engaging and digestible than the sprawling Rainbow Mirror set. Yet even so, not all tracks reach the same peak level as the album’s standouts, meaning if it were paired down to a single rather than double LP, it would have increased immediacy and impact, and duly elevated the album from being good to great. Regardless, that is really quite a minor observation and is hardly a reason to not seek out this album, which is stunningly presented in a full colour gate-fold sleeve." [Noise Receptor] 2020 €33.00
PSICOPOMPO / LORENZO ABATTOIR / HERMANN KOPP Synchronicity (Theory of Carl Jung) CD "Psicopompo is the death guide that accompanies the dying to the afterworld. Synchronicity is the occurrence of two or more events that appear to be meaningfully related but not causally related. From the conceptualization of these two themes combined, German composer/musician Hermann Kopp (of Jorg Buttgereit’s Nekromantik and Der Todesking soundtracks) and Italian Noise Experimentalist Lorenzo Abattoir (Nascitari) merge their unique compositional techniques and source equipment (Hermann Kopp: Violin, Tambourine, Electronics / Lorenzo Abattoir: Shruti Box, Timbal & electronics), leaving the results entirely to chance. The final result is the unity of an audio event joining together 2 separate executions of melody and rhythm without any post production or added effects, bringing out the forlorn emotions of being on the journey to the new world upon death." [label info] https://4ibrecords.com 2015 €13.00
PSYCHIC TV Batschkapp CD "Recorded at Batschkapp, Frankfurt, West Germany, 10th December 1984. Originally issued as a bonus CD for the first 1000 copies of 'Were You Ever Bullied At School - Do You Want Revenge?' (CSR27CD, 1999). That first edition sold out immediately and has not been available in any form for 12 years. Personnel: Genesis P-Orridge, Alex Fergusson, Paul 'Grimsby' Reeson and John 'Zos Kia' Gosling // Aufgenommen im Batschkapp Frankfurt am 10. Dezember 1984. Ursprünglich war das gute Stück die Bonus-CD für die ersten 1000 Stück vom ,Were You Ever Bullied At School - Do YOu Want Revenge?" Album. Die erste Pressung verkaufte sich sofort komplett aus, so dass die Musik in dieser Form volle zwölf Jahre nicht zu haben war. Bis jetzt. Mit dabei: Genesis P-Orridge, Alex Fergusson, Philipp Erb, Matthew Best und Dave Martin." [label info] www.coldspring.co.uk 2012 €10.00
PURE Home is where my harddisk is Vol. 1 CD Eine Label-Neugründung gibt es von Peter Votava, dem Mann hinter PURE, zu vermelden. Die dritte VÖ auf dOc RECORDINGS stammt von PURE selbst, mit zwei Live-Aufnahmen vom Winter 2001/2002 aus Hamburg (HÖRBAR!) und Porto. “Consisting of two recordings of PURE´s live appearances in winter 2001/2002. The first track is the entire recording of a gig at the HÖRBAR, a monthly club in Hamburg, Germany that takes place in a small old cinema. Playing in the movie room created a very intense atmosphere as compared to other venues. The 38 min improvised piece interweaves low frequencies with orchestral sounds into dense, unsettling structures, only to dissolve them in its peaceful finish. The second track is an excerpt of a concert given at ANIKI BÓBÓ, Porto, Portugal. Its minimal algorithmic patterns slowly evolve into a swaying string figure that is finished by processed vocal parts.” [label info] 2002 €13.00
QUELLET, ISRAEL Soni Sclavus CD Already the second album from this young Swiss composer, and like "Oppressum" its quite a beast on 11 tracks, using sounds going direct into your face, piercing pulsing organ-tunes, rumbling distorted rhythmic excesses, loopy metallic bangs, all kinds of impetuous weird sounds in between, animal sounds, backwards voices & whisphers and something like sound poetry. Very difficult to classify, "experimental" in the truest sense, after this session you maybe simply don't know if you like it or not, but it was NON-ORDINARY music like hell! "Israël Quellet: a short biography. Born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 1972. He worked in the psychiatric field for several years. at 16, he discovers on his own some different soundworlds, such as Miles Davis's electric era, Sun Ra, Dub, German cosmic music, Magma, Zappa and many more. In 1997, he stepped into the action and, following the advice of a sound engineer friend, bought microphones, a digital mixing board, and studio monitors. Basically, he turned part of his basement into a soundsmithing studio. That is when he started to create, out of his immediate surroundings, sound works that have little to do with what is "normally" being done. Appreciated by composer Jorge E. Campos, Quellet is supported by the Centre Pierre Schaeffer in Paris. In 2003, he contacted Sub Rosa. Three years later, he was releasing his first public recording. This present one is the second (probably of a trilogy). It explores the very common object and have a great deal with the problem of saturation and noise." [label info] "Israel Quellet's 2nd album for Sub Rosa is not the unexpected surprise from an unknown artist that this Swiss sound-maker's debut disc was (for both us, and the label, read our review of it to see what we mean, we started off by saying "who the heck is Israel Quellet?"). But, that's because THIS time 'round, when we saw Quellet's had a new recording coming out, we were already eager to hear it. Much like its excellent predecessor, it's about compositions (improvisations? explorations?) limited to specific sound sources, each track featuring the use/abuse of a certain instrument or two, or perhaps a non-instrument, and to Quellet, his methods are his music, this is the focus, to the extent that the tracks are identified thusly... For example, track 1 is "for organ and percussion". Track 3 is "for fitness rower". Track 7 is "for footsteps and knocks on stairs, and vented carbon dioxide". He makes use of organ on here quite a bit, as well as percussion and less frequently voice, electronically treated (and in French). Actually much of this seems electronically treated, or in some way distorted, with "saturation" factoring into several of his pieces, occasionally achieving Merzbowian levels of noise (on track 6, "for percussions and saturation" especially!). All in all, this disc can be heard as one man's playful but moody, quasi-industrial homebrewed take on 20th (now 21st) century classical music. With so much somber organ and repetitive thunderous percussion, many of these tracks seem quite ominous, you can start imagining DIY Nitsch-style "aktions" happening in Quellet's backyard. As with Quellet's prior album, this is varied and fascinating throughout, and surprisingly listenable. Truly experimental (and successfully so) music for curious ears made by someone with curious ears too. Recommended!! Oh, and by the way, on our list this week there IS a cool Sub Rosa disc from a hitherto unknown (to us) artist, look for Pierre Berthet's Extended Loudspeakers, it's also AQ recommended." [Aquarius Records] www.subrosa.net 2009 €13.00
  Sounds from there CD "Quellet's 4th opus on Sub Rosa: a new complex and mysterious work for symphonic bass drum, symphonic tympanies, organ, tibetan horn, homemade horn, triangle, tubular bells, shocks inside the church,anvil metal tank and church bells. A challenging listen, but so rewarding. Israel Quellet: a short biography Born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 1972. He worked in the psychiatric field for several years. At 16, he discovers on his own some different soundworlds, such as Miles Davis's electric era,Sun Ra, Dub, German cosmic music, Magma, Zappa and many more. In 1997, he stepped into the action and, following the advice of a sound engineer friend, bought microphones, a digital mixing board, and studio monitors. Basically, he turned part of his basement into a soundsmithing studio. That is when he started to create, out of his immediate surroundings, sound works that have little to do with what is 'normally' being done. Appreciated by composer Jorge E. Campos, Quellet is supported by the Centre Pierre Schaeffer in Paris. In 2003, he contacted Sub Rosa. Three years later, he was releasing his first public recording." [label info] www.subrosa.net 2015 €13.00
RADIGUE, ELIANE Feedback Works 1969-1970 LP Feedback Works 1969-1970 However mesmerizing they may be, the works of Éliane Radigue which could be found on record were quite rare when I met her in 1998: “Trilogie de la Mort”, “Biogenesis”, impressive pieces composed on the ARP 2500 synthesizer between 1970 and 1990. There was also the very rare double 7" “Σ=a=b=a+b”, edited by the author and then brought out by the Yvon Lambert Gallery in 1969, which seemed to unveil a turbulent side of the composer’s youth. This work was intended to be presented as a sonic environment and had been composed with nothing but feedback effects on magnetic tape… a relatively crude piece compared with those for synthesizer, difficult for me to relate to. I hastily concluded that Éliane had dabbled with feedback for its hot-tempered quality, a bit like her colleagues Robert Ashley or Alvin Lucier, before passing on to something calmer (in her case, the rounded and peaceable harmonics of the synthesizer)… my mistake. “Σ=a=b=a+b” was but a small part of the group of works based on feedback, just one of the more rough nuances from that so-rich period. When I visited her in her Paris apartment for the first time, what made an impression on me were the immense shelves taking up the entire entryway, filled from floor to ceiling with tapes. All those sounds… the whole life story of an electronic composer. Immediately I became overcome with curiosity as to the beauties hidden within those boxes, no way not to find treasures within. I did not know anything as yet. Éliane lives in an eternal present, one could almost say. I had never met someone who at her age was not busy digging around in their past. She, on the other hand, simply considered that she always had “her whole life in front of her”. Éliane, always inhabited by music, usually lives with a new project in mind. Even if not at all stingy in responding to questions about her rich past, one would not say that she tried to evoque times gone by. I quickly proposed to convert her magnetic tapes to digital. Not only to create an archive but also and especially to search out all the details, the secrets of this unique body of work. For years all I got were polite but firm refusals. She wanted to convince me that there was nothing but never-ending dust, and babbling, risky if not primitive… Things only changed suddenly after a return from Chicago in 2002 for the release of “L'Île re-sonante”. Delighted with the experience, she described the evening of the concert. She had been overwhelmed by the presence of very young people who came up for a signature on the boxset of “Adnos” trilogy (realised between 1974 and 1982 and published in 2002 by Table of the Elements. This time when I said that these works of the past were in effect full of passion and so it might be the time to put in order the archive, she said laconically, but with enthusiasm: “Oh, alright! But you do it, you know where everything is”. The big job could begin; I was enchanted and am still. I expected to find other works on the rough side, like “Σ=a=b=a+b”, but with surprise quite another thing came forth. The digital versions were all done in Lyon, at Lionel Marchetti’s. His interest in and knowledge of Éliane’s music, along with his detailed work, made for a most enjoyable activity. I recall the silence in the studio when we uncovered works surely never listened to after their first public performance, not to say ever presented... Sounds older than I was, for sure. Certain of these works had something of the traumatic about them: my goodness, she made these magnificent sounds with only three pieces of string! Thus were the works of the feedback period of Éliane Radigue revealed, as we gradually got them digitized, extending over five years approximately: “Omnht” with its broad tectonic vibrations, the celestial voices of “Usral”, the dense silences of “Jouet électronique”, “Stress Osaka” massive chant, the horizon moving in “Vice-versa, etc.”, the magnetic bewitchments of “Opus 17”… each one brought its load of surprises and burst a well filled time bubble. So did we rewind the thread of her biography, discovering obvious connections even in the texture of the sounds themselves, which joined that period to the synthesizer one. There is nothing anecdotal in the feedback period of Éliane Radigue. A good dozen pieces were composed between 1967 and 1970 in which most of the characteristic originality of her works had their beginnings. It is moreover continually amazing that she could build such formidably organic sonic edifices with the primitive machines which were hers: three tape recorders, a mixing board, an amplifier, two loudspeakers and a microphone. A home studio certainly primitive, but there were not any home studios to speak of in the sixties, the cost of materials being too high. To compose electronic music, or “concrete” or “experimental” (what distinctions!) you had to have access to an institutional studio (At the time usually located in the large radio studios, or certain universities). Indeed, a large part of Éliane’s possessions came from Pierre Henry. She met him at the “Studio d'Essai” of the R.T.F. in the middle of the 50s, after having met Pierre Schaeffer almost by chance (if such a chance does exist) who invited her to learn the techniques of musique concrète. In fact, from 1955 to 1957 she learned all about these techniques there, “in the shadow of the masters” she says. Éliane emphasizes that she could be there as a “quiet little mouse”, because she cast no shadow on the masters of the place. She learned, as she says, that she was only there as a student. During the 50s no avant-garde musician could imagine a woman seriously competing with them… Jokes erupted: “At least when Éliane comes to the studio it smells good!” etc. Nevertheless Pierre Henry liked one of Éliane’s montages and wanted to use it in a piece he was working on, “L'Occident est Bleu” (1957). From 1957 to 1967 she no longer had access to a studio. During these ten years she will be travelling, taking care of her family, and composing a few graphic scores which will never be published, or even played: “Asymptote Versatile” in 1960, or yet “Chess Game” (based on a chess match between Marcel Duchamp and her then husband, Arman). She was biding her time. She was to once again assist Pierre Henry from 1967 to 1969, and there she made her first tape compositions. During the last stage of mixing “L'Apocalypse de Jean”, in 1968, Pierre Henry brought to her some of the materials which would become her studio, so that she could continue working on some parts of the “Apocalypse” he asked her to work on, while he continued working at Studio Apsome. These things remained in Éliane’s house and she bought what was lacking to work autonomously: one more tape recorder, a microphone, and then, in 1971, the ARP 2500 synthesizer. Even if these first compositions date from the end of the 60s it seems evident the entire creative process in Éliane Radigue’s work had begun in the Studio d’Essai in 1955. What I always find striking when I listen to the first piece “Jouet électronique” (realized in 1967 at the Apsome Studio and published in 2010 by Alga Marghen) is the maturity and expressive force in this short composition. There is already a tension and poetry proper to her own. Similarly, “Jouet électronique” seems to contain the germ of all which is to come. Or at least it opens all the paths which she will follow indefatigably. It is as if her musical work in some way contained a martial arts discipline on which she meditated for 10 years before striking the first blow, with an impressive precision… Right away her music separates from the explorations of musique concrète, from any academism, or whatever style then in vogue. Her adventure is intuitively going towards flux, towards contemplative stasis. A music of continuous sounds, of apparently simple structures, which permits the revelations and expansion of rich acoustic phenomena. One could say that in one sense it is the very texture of the sounds which leads the form in her compositions. At the same time this approach favors an intense sensuality in the listening. The fluidity of form in Éliane Radigue’s music has more to do with certain world music traditions, composed of drones, resonances, pulsations (although I cannot be sure that this was really the inspiration). A music in which time is suspended, but not stopped, rather unfolding with an intoxicating slowness, engendering fascination rather than boredom. Between 1969 and 1970 Éliane Radigue gave up measured durations and composed works which flirted with eternity: “Usral” (1969), “Labyrinthe Sonore” (1970). and “Omnht” (1970). They are generally made of several tape loops of clearly different duration read simultaneously. In this arrangement, simple and ingenious (close to the usage of Steve Reich in his youthful pieces), the fixed sounds go slowly out of synch, in a play of perpetual mutation. From this appears a sonic landscape whose temporality, as well as its materiality, could be described by these verses by Paul Verlaine: “…who, each time, is never quite the same, nor completely another…” The terms “Sound Art” and “Sound Installation” are in vogue at this moment. There was nothing like it at the time. A way of describing this new approach had to be developed. So she presented her works under the description “Propos Sonores” (Sonic propositions) or sometimes “Music without End”. These works were unveiled to the public both in the places consecrated to music as well as museums and galleries (Yvon Lambert, Lara Vincy, etc.). Nothing surprising in the fact that these “Music without End” at times, like a halo of the infinite, accompanied works of such visual artists as Marc Halpern or Tania Mouraud. For all that, without minimizing the interest of these collaborations, it seems important to add that the sounds she used have in themselves a completely “plastic” quality. This is the context in which Éliane composed “Omnht” in 1970 for one of the architectonic spaces of the visual artist Tania Mouraud, “One More Night”, presented at the Gallery of the Rive Gauche in Paris. With Jean Heuzé, one of Pierre Henry’s co-workers who helped out on this project, Éliane had the idea of screwing the speakers into the partitions so that they would be invisible with respect to the immaculate exhibition space. Due to this the sounds could vibrate within walls which become resonant surfaces. This description caused me to “leap up to the ceiling” because it is a technique that I used myself in my sound installation work… only twenty years later. I quickly felt it necessary to present this piece anew. In 2006, thanks to an active competition by the Consortium Art Center and the association “Cumulus” in Dijon (organizers of the contemporary music festival “Why Note”), it was possible to do a version among the old industrial buildings of “L'Usine”. Large plaster partitions were already in place and formed an ideal group of surfaces for the installation of loudspeakers. Resounding in these grand rooms, “Omnht” seemed to shake the entire building, thus creating a sonic architecture of time and space… A vast edifice of vibrations, built like a mirror of frequencies in which were reflected our inner worlds. It was admirable to see how much this work had resisted time; the fascinated reception by the public left no doubt as to its poetic force. After this public presentation I set up a stereophonic synthesis of that installation in my studio, by combining the original sounds with those taken at “L'Usine”. I felt a lively need to hear those magnificent sounds again. I realized moreover that the sonorities of “Omnht” survived the reduction quite well, and I found once more with happiness the unique intensity of this spatial composition. Some time later, Éliane offered me one of the 10 copies of “Vice-versa, etc.”: a small handmade box, signed and numbered, realized as a multiple on the occasion of a show at Lara Vincy’s gallery in 1970, which contained a reel of magnetic tape and the instructions for use. It indicates that all playback speeds are possible, forwards or backwards, as well as any combination of two channels, on several recorders, “ad libitum”… A present which touched me profoundly. I took up the game and rapidly made mixings following the indications to the letter, respecting the composition methods of Éliane Radigue. Need I say that to work with such lovely sounds was a real pleasure? Then I decided to do the same with all her sound installation works: slices of time from those sonic environments dedicated to space and infinity. There are so few spaces devoted to Sound Art, so the occasions for presenting such work to the public are rare. It seems evident to me that if we waited for that to happen very few people would have access to that part of Éliane’s work. Fundamentally, these stereophonic syntheses should have been made and published a long time ago because this compilation offers a simple way into the home of this passionate time. Therefore, I proposed that we listen to them together, because of course the idea should seem legitimate to her. Knowing her to be extremely critical towards her past work, and ready to renounce certain aspects of it, I confess to being a bit anxious as to her reaction. Neither did I know how she would react to my taking the initiative in making such syntheses. Contrary to my apprehensions we passed a marvelous day. Éliane had forgotten practically everything of the sonic textures she made then, and discovered evident links with the sounds she realized later on with the synthesizer. In her compositional work Éliane Radigue developed her own characteristic “footprint”: an art of imperceptible transition from one kind of movement to another. It is very difficult to know at what moment things change, because they are continually changing without one’s really being aware of it… a little like a natural phenomenon in perpetual mutation. This is doubtless one of the magical constituents of her music and it engenders the loss of any temporal reference point. If you look over the whole from her first compositions to the most recent ones for acoustic instruments, passing through the imposing electronic period, it seems evident that this way of gentle transition is a characteristic of her entire work. Not only within the compositions but also from one composition to another. We do not confront a collection of isolated experiences but rather embark on a patient and minute exploration of a vast poetic territory. At the end of the day it was clear to her, just as it had been for me, that these syntheses had to be complied and published. This certainly does not replace the necessity of in-situ presentations; all of the music of Éliane Radigue is destined to vibrate spatiously and this is all-the-more so for the installations. And in any case, this collection gives a good overview of the intense beauty of these “Propos Sonores” composed so long ago with such reduced means. By her original approach, Éliane Radigue held herself, as she still does, outside the dogmas of her epoch and therefore had to sometimes face some lack of understanding. Intuition is however her force, and she has known how to continue until today composing in full independence of spirit; her aesthetic gives forth a body of work unique in its genre, honorably recognized and appreciated today. We are among the many who see her as a pioneer capable of revealing a precious territory of sounds, one that she seems alone to occupy. To us to enjoy this publication of the first remarkable steps of a figure who holds the music of our time in her spell. Emmanuel Holterbach https://elianeradigue.bandcamp.com/album/feedback-works-1969-1970 2022 €24.50
RAIONBASHI In Teufel's Küche? 10inch "... The music is great, yet hard to define. Is it musique concrete? Perhaps one could say it is. There is the use of piano sounds, various objects picked up with contact microphones and perhaps some voice material. But what Raionbashi does with this material is not drown it in electronic processing, but built in various layers of unprocessed nature. Lots of layers it seems, but with various moments of silence built in. I perhaps wrongly expected some noise, but this is far from it. This is some great obscured music (as opposed to obscure music), with some intense moments. Not easy listening, but one that grows every time you play it ." [FdW / Vital Weekly] " 10" Vinyl published by Absurd (Greece) and Ignivomous (USA). Follow-up release of 2006 'Kollekte' LP on Hanson Records (USA). All Voices, Noises, Instruments, Body-Functions & Apostrophes by DL. Performed, recorded and mixed 2005-2008 at No-Go-Area, Berlin. Mastered at Clunk, and cut at D+M, Berlin, by Rashad Becker. Edtion of 500 copies. 33rpm." [label info] " "In The Devil's Kitchen." So translates the German title, the first that we've stocked from Daniel Lowenbruck, who both records as Raionbashi and runs the Tochnit-Aleph mail order service out of Berlin. He's also a long standing member of the Schimpfluch Gruppe whose provocative recordings and performances directly channel the Vienna Actionists such as Hermann Nitsch, Gunter Brus, and Rudolf Schwartzkogler. Where the Austrians were pushing their transgessive acts through art world channels, Schimpfluch has their origins in punk, industrial culture, and (at least for the case of Schimpfluch's Dave Phillips) metal taken to a Dada extreme laced with theatrical ultra-violence. So begin these deconstructed tapes and mangled silences. Lowenbruck cites that the sources to his Devil's Kitchen include 'noises, instruments, body functions, and apostrophes.' The discernible sounds are a piano being struck by a hammer fist on the lower octave of the keys, a police whistle blowing out the condenser mic on a Walkman, and some downpitched vocal howls that come across as way more demonic than those wolf growlings on Ben Frost's album By The Throat. Between these recognizable elements, Lowenbruck cuts and pastes with monochromatic noises that puncture grey curtains of leaden hiss. Compositionally, certainly hits the mark with the guttural musique concrete from the Schimpfluch Gruppe, somewhere between the machined ruptures of Dave Phillips and the unsettled ambience crafted by the impeccable G*Park; or less self-referentially stated, somewhere between the sound poetry of Henri Chopin and the corroded tape work of Joe Colley. Limited to 500 copies and highly recommended!" [Aquarius Records] www.tochnit-aleph.com 2009 €10.00
RAISON D'ETRE Anima Caelum do-CD Alive and apocalyptic; unique live moments spanning from 2014 to 2017 compiled into a heavenly exposure with gloomy trails and path towards darkness. Anima Caelum contains both complete live sets and selection of tracks from live recordings by raison d'être, from performances stretching from the world tours of 2014 - 2015 to the very unique moment at the once-in-a-lifetime event Cold Meat Industry 30 years Anniversary Live in 2017 performing one track from each of his Cold Meat Industry studio albums. This is apocalyptic music that can bring life to heaven! Originally released on Old Europa Cafe as a double MC in 2018, now revised and remastered for digital format (CD / download) with optimum sound quality. The download version of the album also includes the remaining tracks from the Anima Caelum 2MC release as bonus. credits released April 30, 2019 Track 1 - 10 recorded live at Cold Meat Industry 30 years Anniversary Live, at Klubben, Stockholm, Sweden, 2017-11-04, with edits and overdubs to correct problems. Track 11 recorded live at Bolkow Castle Party, Bolkow, Poland, 2015-07-18. Track 12 - 13 recorded live at Cleveland Radio show, Levelland, US, 2014-10-23. Track 14 - 20 recorded live at Jerusalem, Israel, 2015-05-09. Track 21 recorded live at Montreal, Canada, 2014-10-15. Track 22 recorded live at Poznan, Poland, 2014-03-29. Track 23 recorded live at Miami, US, 2014-10-30. Bonus tracks: Track 24 recorded live at Belveders Ultra-Drive, Pittsburgh, US, 2014-10-21. Track 25 recorded live at Schlagstrom Festival, Berlin, Germany, 2014-08-03. Track 26 - 27 recorded live at Bolkow Castle Party, Bolkow, Poland, 2015-07-18. Track 28 recorded live at Cold Meat Industry 30 years Anniversary Live, at Klubben, Stockholm, Sweden, 2017-11-04. All music by Peter Andersson 1991-2017. Recorded live 2014-2017. K-14 level mastering. 2CD release by Old Europa Cafe, OECD300. Digital release by Yantra Atmospheres, YA-2019-94. https://raisondetre.bandcamp.com/album/anima-caelum-2 "By way of background context, Anima Caelum was first issued in a limited edition of 99 copies on double cassette in 2018 (also on Old Europa Café). Now it has been reissued with slightly revised content on double CD in a less limited edition. With the tagline on the cover stating ‘alive 2014-2017’ it is a not too subtle clue enough that it is a collection of live tracks and not new recordings. So for me, the pinnacle aspect is the full recording of the special set which was performed at the Cold Meat Industry 30th anniversary show in Stockholm November, 2017, which I was lucky enough to attend and witness in person. My review of that festival noted the following with regard to the raison d’être set featured on this set: ‘Having seen raison d’être three times before, I expected it to be decent show, but was completely blown away by the impact of this set, based on the sheer intensity of volume. Also with sole member Peter Andersson playing a special set consisting of one track from all of his CMI albums, it was a veritable hit parade of the tracks from each album with the greatest emotional impacts. Again, with the focus being on the projected visual backdrop, it functioned to further amplify the mood of the sacral and the damned, based around various moving images of religious decay and sorrowful mourning. For me personally raison d’être’s set was the most moving of the entire festival, where the pairing of tracks Inner Depths Of Sadness (from the Within The Depths Of Silence And Phormations album), and Reflecting In Shadows (from the In Sadness, Silence And Solitude album) hit home hard to show just how important the music of raison d’être has been to me over the years (as an example of this, I was so taken by In Sadness, Silence And Solitude when first hearing it in 1997 that it spurred me on to immediately write my first music review, which in turn led to me creating Spectrum Magazine shortly after). In being far beyond a ‘mere’ dark ambient set, the volume absolutely elevated the impact and presence of the set to the next level and was one of my personal standouts of the entire festival’. The above impression pretty much sums up my thoughts on the entirety of the content featured across the two CD’s. Perhaps this is a release more the avid and obsessive fan than the casual listener, but even so, it is an excellent collection of the full and complete Stockholm set coupled with live tracks from various performances. Likewise the live version deviate enough from the original to provide both detailed and nuanced interest. Another very enjoyable album from this unfaltering dark ambient behemoth, and exquisitely presented in a deluxe 6 panel digipack." [Noise Receptor] 2019 €18.00
RAMIREZ, RICHARD VS NEUROPATHIC FORCE FEEDBACK untitled CD "A very interesting noise collaboration between the master of american harsh-noise and a new german noise project." [label info] www.lwhite-records.de 2008 €12.00
RE-DRUM / EMERGE/ SVART I / LEFTERNA split MC Re-Drum I EMERGE / Svart1 I Lefterna - Split recycled C90 cassette in clear jewel case, limited edition 50 copies emerge.bandcamp.com/album/split-20 Grubenwehr Freiburg / attenuation circuit ° GFAC 1001 ° 2022 grubenwehrfreiburg.bandcamp.com ° attenuationcircuit.de A EMERGE - empty seat Re-Drum I EMERGE - Einfarbiger Dom (live @ DOM, Moskva, 14.09.18) Re-Drum - Zum Verlust der Muttersprache dedicated to Dmitry Vasilyev track 1 & 3 previously released on Monochrome Visions by Korm Digitaal in 2018 re-dr-um.bandcamp.com immerge.bandcamp.com B Svart1 I Lefterna 1 - 4 Svart1 (Raimondo Gaviano) Lefterna (Boban Ristevski) svart1.bandcamp.com bobanristevski.bandcamp.com credits released May 29, 2022 https://grubenwehrfreiburg.bandcamp.com/album/split With this album, the labels attenuation circuit, run by EMERGE, and Grubenwehr Freiburg, run by Grodock, launch a second series of co-releases. The split tapes in the GFAC series, all using recycled tapes, are aimed at pairing new or lesser known artists with already more widely connected practitioners in the experimental underground scene. The first tape in the new series emphasises the collaborative spirit on another level as well, because each side features collaborations by two different artists, so four artists in total are heard on one tape. On side A, it's label head EMERGE and Re-Drum. Touring the Crimea and Russia in 2018, EMERGE was present when concert organiser and head of the Monochrome Vision label Dmitry 'Dima' Vasilyev died. The shock and grief over this loss is present in the titles and music of the solo tracks by EMERGE and Re-Drum ('Zum Verlust der Muttersprache' is a German catchphrase referring to getting heavily drunk, 'up to the point of losing one's mother tongue'), which were already released on the Dima tribute compilation 'Monochrome Visions' in 2018, and their collaborative live performance at Moscow's DOM which concluded the tour became a memorial concert for Dima. (The German title 'Einfarbiger Dom' translates as 'Monochrome Dome'.) The fact that such a tour would now be impossible due to the war only adds to the sense of grief and loss conveyed by the Re-Drum/EMERGE side of the tape. Yet the collaborative release itself by a Russian and a 'Western' artist, at this time, is a gesture of hope that personal and cultural relations will prevail. As for side B, Svart1 is Raimondo Gaviano, who works in the fields of ambient, dark ambient, industrial, techno, live-performances and visuals. In the duo with Lefterna, the project name adopted by the extremely prolific collaborator Boban Ristevski, Svart1 enters into a long-form dialogue. By composing one four-part piece for the whole duration of the tape side, they offer an interesting contrast to side A which is made up of shorter pieces which, in themselves, are more fragmented, interspersed with alienating samples and found sounds. File under: musique concrète, dark ambient 2022 €8.00
REED, STAN / GREGOR JABS / FRANK ROWENTA Apoplexia 1973 CD Schon fast sowas wie ein geräuschmusikalisches Hörspiel über Schizophrenie, ein einziger verstörender Psychotrip! Interview-Stücke mit Psychiatrie-Patienten (von 1973) werden verwebt mit Bombardements von akustischen "Alltagswelt"-Informationen, TV, Film & Radiofetzen & Musikphrasen, vokales Material, und elektronischen Sounds, alles heftigst effektiert und übereinandergelegt zu einer überwältigenden Schizophonie, die das Wesen dieser Krankheit spürbar & erfahrbar macht! "Based on the reel to reel tapes from Klinischen Anstalten Aachen from 1973, this collaboration explores the intimate nature of several patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and their journey through the surreal mental landscape that a diseased mind finds itself lost in so many times. Interviews with patients are woven into dreamscapes of sound, some nightmarish, others almost childlike. Ironic samples scattered throughout the work create a beautifully disturbing listen. What movies will play in your own mind? What voices will speak to you from the inside? Stan Reed is the owner of PsychForm Records & PsychoChrist Productions. His own recording projects include PLETHORA, The Broken Penis Orchestra, The Broken Human Machine, and Blue Sabbath Black Cheer. Gregor Jabs is a new and upcoming German sound artists who records with the psychedelic outfit known as Grillhaus. His first solo CD, Stamen, is also now available on Jeans Records. Frank Rowenta has been involved with surreal sound projects since the early 90's. He is one half of the super group Rowenta/Khan, formed Grillhaus with Mr. Jabs, has recorded several solo CDs and has now started the Jeans Records label out of Aachen Germany, which promises to yield many more audio oddities in the future" [press release] 2006 €12.00
REFORMED FACTION I am the Source of Light, I am not a Mirror 3 x CD-box Das dritte Werk der ehemaligen 2/3 von ZOVIET FRANCE, die sich nicht mehr "REFORMED FACTION OF Z.F." nennen dürfen und nun kurzerhand als "REFORMED FACTION" weitermachen. SOLEILMOON hat sich wieder eine besondere Artwork / Verpackung ausgedacht: Eine schmucke Alu-dose mit Prägung, darin drei CDs, ein Button mit dem ans RAF-Logo angelehnten R.F.-Zeichen, ein Klamottensticker, Farbbooklet, und eine golden bedruckte Inlaykarte. Auf den 3 CDs sind ganze 52 (!) Stücke verteilt, das wirkt manchmal wie ein hochkreatives, experimentelles Potpourri, eine Wundertüte aus Ideen, Fragmenten & Skizzen und ist wohl (wie auch früher bei ZOVIET FRANCE) in langen Sessions entstanden. Neben gesampelten Material jedweden Ursprungs & Synths kommen vielerlei Instrumente, auch Drums, Bass & Gitarre zum Einsatz, oft wird es rhythmisch oder loopig (manchmal tribal, dann wieder eher Electronica-lastig), orientale Anwandlungen (Sitar) sind vorhanden, die Fülle von Stilen & Genren, die hier berührt werden ist schlicht überwältigend, irgendwo im multidimensionalen Musikraum zwischen RAPOON, ZOVIET FRANCE und den chaotisch-rhythmischen Sachen von DOWNLOAD oder BEEHATCH. Wow. "Reformed Faction are Robin Storey and Mark Spybey. Their new release “I Am The Source of Light, I Am Not a Mirror” follows their 2007 Soleilmoon release “The War Against”, and is their third album. Their debut release “Vota” was released in 2005 by Austrian label Klanggalerie. The band has played live in both North America and Europe. Reformed Faction did not set out to record a triple album, but that is exactly what they have done. Reformed Faction do not talk about making music. They make music. They assemble and record and use improvised material to stimulate the development of composed pieces. The music was assembled in the same way that the CD package was: through active collaboration. “What folks probably don’t realize is that we have always embraced technology. We use technology, we aren’t governed by it. We have to learn how to use equipment in our own way, which means that instruction manuals are never referred to. We make music. We try not to theorise, and we avoid interpretation or analysis of our music like the plague.” This is an homage of sorts, to the last 40 years of music making. Robin began as a guitarist, Mark as a drummer. Throughout their careers they have neither deliberately nor consciously eschewed the use of conventional instruments or traditional compositional techniques. They do not regard themselves as an “experimental” band, preferring to leave the laboratory safe in the hands of physicists and technicians. A long time ago :zoviet-france: declared that they could, if they wished, create the perfect pop record or the archetypal country record. Both Mark and Robin were profoundly influenced by the music of rock bands in the seventies while boldly assimilating ideas from world music in the belief that all musical sources exist to be appropriated. In the same way, over the years, they have embraced technology. This is “anti-restictivist” music. “We realized a long time ago that as soon as we left :zoviet-france: our cover was blown. We could no longer hide under the false mantle of anonymity.” For Reformed Faction, each album is an attempt to develop ideas. The three CDs that comprise “I Am the Source of Light, I am Not a Mirror” are collages, each intended to be listened to in their entirety. The contributions of various friends have been assimilated into the recordings. The East German band Scatology and the American band Not Breathing both contributed to the process. Tommy Grenas of the Los Angeles band Anubian Lights, who Mark met through Damo Suzuki, came to stay with the band and also joined in the recording sessions. The recordings took on a life of their own. Picture the backdrop: the rainy landscape of northern England, the collection of classic seventies albums from the likes of Faust and Can, and the band’s preoccupation with the cultural and political legacy left by the dissolution of the eastern block countries. Reformed Faction spent time in the city of Dresden, where they met the artist Ira Tannheuser, who supplied the images used in the booklet accompanying the CD. The finishing touches were generated by Shaya, an enterprising Afghan trader and fan of Reformed Faction who trekked through the fabled Thar desert in the Sind province of southern Pakistan, and there discovered a long-forgotten depository of hand made metal boxes that had been manufactured 30 years ago in the town of Mithi. They were initially made for storing detonators but had never been used. Shaya had them embossed with the Reformed Faction logo by a local metal worker and then shipped them half-way around the world to Soleilmoon and told us to do something with them. The boxes are still partially encrusted with the sand of the Thar desert. “I Am The Source of Light, I Am Not a Mirror” is released in two configurations. Both come with three CDs in screen printed slipcases, a 12 page full-color booklet featuring the work of East German artist Ira Tannheuser, a screen printed insert describing the edition, a metal badge and a sew-on cloth patch.The first edition is limited to 100 copies and is available exclusively via Soleilmoon’s mailorder service. Besides the aforementioned goodies it includes a 3 inch CDR with an unreleased track presented in a hand numbered screen printed slipcase. The box is made entirely of sand-cast aluminum, and features the Reformed Faction logo on the lid. The second edition, which comes with everything included in the first edition except for the 3 inch CDR, is limited to 300 copies and is presented in a box made from sand-cast aluminum sides attached to a sheet metal top and base. The lid is embossed with the Reformed Faction logo. We are Reformed Fraktion. We are from the North of England. We travel. With open eyes." [label info] www.soleilmoon.com 2009 €44.00
REUTOFF No One's Lullabies CD "No One's Lullabies" is the 9th album by Reutoff, one of the best-known Russian projects on the international post-industrial scene. Over the course of one hour they will be performing their "lullabies" which won't let you sleep though... The whole panopticon of borderline mental states will unfold before the eyes of our attention. Every track is a masterfully performed decadent dance of emotions and feelings. Steady industrial rhythms, an unhasting but assertive semi-drunk waltz, circus-like grotesque with wicked medieval shades, comatose jazz swinging in dark tones and epic electronic doom that could also fit well in the repertoire of their brother-project Otzepenevshiye - all imbued with remarkable spirit and slightly inflamed imagination. The material entitled "No One's Lullabies" was initially produced as a cassette mini-album by the German label Sea State in 2014 in a small edition of 80 copies in unconventional handmade packaging. The extended version with four additional compositions was put out by Reutoff on their bandcamp page as a web-release. Now we're glad to present the CD version of the album for the happy owners of CD-players and optical drives! The CD-edition contains an exclusive bonus track with a live version of one of Reutoff's rare compositions. The disc is packed in a matte 4-panel cardboard digisleeve, artwork features paintings by Fabrice Billard, the chef of Divine Comedy Records. http://zhb.radionoise.ru/ "If someone were to ask me, which post-industrial artist gives you the biggest pleasure when you listen to their music, I would never mention Reutoff. If somebody else were to ask me which project is in my opinion the most daring in its experiments or simply the most innovative in the scene, Reutoff wouldn’t be my pick either. But if you were to ask me about the musician who combines experimental with so-called “catchiness” the most effectively, well, I’d have to think about mentioning this Russian duo. They’ve been active for about 18 years, releasing a variety of materials, also in collaboration with other artists in their famous Kreuzung series: a collection of names such as Deutsch Nepal, Troum or Der Blutharsch. “No One’s Lullabies” was originally released on tape, thanks to the Sea State label from Leipzig. Zhelezobeton gives us an extended edition on CD, with five additional tracks and a cover image painted by Fabrice Billard, the owner of the Divine Comedy label. For many years Reutoff’s line of work and constructing additional sound structures has more or less been the same. They take a nicely crafted industrial background, a mid-tempo rhythm theme, often looped and encrusted with other trinkets and little diamonds, so that most of the tracks possess a slowly yet nicely building tension that leads to a culmination, abundant in sounds and atmospheres. Not all of the tracks though: Reutoff is not a project that always chooses the easy and proven ways – check this splendid dark ambient of a non-obvious feeling in “Nameless Tune With No Fate”. This is also one of Reutoff’s huge advantages. That you can’t describe their atmosphere in one or two words. You need to build the whole story in your mind, different for each track. It may be dystopian sci-fi straight from Orwell or Bradbury novels; a dark yet epic, sometimes even strangely romantic story, similar to, say, “Blade Runner”. After all, titles like “New World Disorder” or “Requiem for Android” cannot be a coincidence. On the other hand in some track you may notice a somehow optimistic… no, not a good word – a note that breathes with hope. Saying that not everything is lost, that there are still new and mysterious worlds to explore even though our planet is lost. I feel this modern sci-fi element is pretty solid in Reutoff’s works, which is even more interesting considering the fact that when it comes to technical matters a strong analogue vibe emanates over the whole of “No One’s Lullabies”. This is specific for many post-industrial artists coming from Russia, that while they’re faithful to classic samplers and synths, they’re able to achieve such a fresh effect. Reutoff, Cyclotimia, Sal Solaris, some Cisfinitum efforts. This offering is no different, and once again provides us with a certificate of the uniqueness of the Russian post-industrial scene." [Stark/Santa Sangre mag] 2015 €13.00
REYNOLS Fire Music Reloaded CD Fire Music Reloaded, by REYNOLS Fire Music was composed by Reynols in 2002 with fire recordings made at Tigre (Río Capitán) and different locations in Buenos Aires city and around. With some of this material, a CD EP appeared in Japan in 2002 through the Digital Narcis label, however the complete version of this piece remained unreleased for decades. In a recent research the masters of the whole work were found and rescued from the group's archives. So twenty years later, finally the full version of this piece is now ready to see the light on a brand new CD album carefully released by German label Aufabwegen. Fire Music Reloaded stands on the most conceptual side of Reynols' catalogue, along with works such as: 10.000 Chickens Symphony, Whistling Kettle Quartet, Computer Music, Gordura Vegetal Hidrogenada or Blank Tapes. In its four parts journey, the group explores a wide range of frequencies coming from fire as the only sound source. A release which pays tribute to the igneous aurality. Let your ears get on fire! REYNOLS Reynols is one of the most notable experimental music groups to ever emerge from Argentina. The band started in 1993 in Buenos Aires and was formed by Miguel Tomasín, Roberto Conlazo, Pacu Conlazo and Alan Courtis. The project counts over 150 releases by labels from Japan, Europe, USA, Oceania and Latin America. Reynols has been tagged as a “cult group” by British magazine The Wire, while the French festival Sonic Protest proclaimed it as groupe phare (lighthouse group) of inclusive music. Throughout 2003, Reynols occupied the 1st place on the “Top 10 Downloads” section of former website Space-Rock (UK). A year later, their song “Manisero Mufuso” was #1 on Larry “Fuzz-O” Dolman’s Blastitude Top10 (USA). Japanese magazine Studio Voice included Reynols’ album Barbatrulos in their “Best 100 Western Alternative Music Records” ranking, and Reynols/No Reynols among the “300 Legendary Discs” of all times, while The Wire ranked their boxset Minecxcio Emanations 1993-2018 in their 2019 Top50.Reynols has appeared in countless exhibitions, radio shows, TV shows, magazines, newspapers, books and documentary films from around the world. Reynols has collaborated live and in studio with acclaimed artists such as Pauline Oliveros, Lee Ranaldo, The Nihilist Spasm Band, Damo Suzuki, Paul Dutton, John Oswald, Michael Snow, Alan Licht, Birchville Cat Motel and Acid Mothers Temple, amongst others https://aufabwegen.bandcamp.com/album/fire-music-reloaded "Die aus Argentinien stammende und seit der ersten Hälfte der 90er aktive Band Reynols hat ein umfangreiches Werk veröffentlicht, das zwischen Stilen und Genres hin- und herspringt: Von skurillem Noise-/Anti-Rock bis zu Drone. Das jetzt auf Auf Abwegen erschienene Album „Fire Music Reloaded“ ist eine vollständige Version der 2002 auf dem japanischen Label Digital Narcis Corporation,. Ltd. erschienenen 20-minütigen EP „Fire Music“. Vielleicht spielt die sehr niedrige Auf Abwegen-Katalognummer auf das Alter der Aufnahmen an. Reynols bearbeitete -wie der Titel vermuten lässt – den Klang von Feuer; insofern knüpft diese Veröffentlichung mit der Konzentration auf ein Ausgangsmatrial an die „10.000 Chickens’ Symphony“-7” auf Drone oder etwa „Whistling Kettle Quartet“ an. Der erste kurze Teil mit seinem helllen und transparenten Klang lässt einen denken, ein knisterndes Feuer brenne im Raum und hier wirkt das Ausgangsmaterial (scheinbar) wenig bis gar nicht bearbeitet. Teil 2 dagegen ist eine dichte wie verdichtete Klangwand, in der man zwischendurch immer wieder das Knistern von Flammen hört. „Fire Music Part III“ ist wieder fragiler, hier lässt das Knistern der Flammen an einen Gang durchs Unterholz denken oder an das Zirpen von Zikaden. Darauf folgt Teil 4 als dunkles Dröhnen und Brummen: das ist ein zähflüssiger Klangsud, so als lausche man dem Ächzen eines Gletschers und man fühlt sich durchaus an den frühen Thomas Köner erinnert. Die neun Minuten von „Fire Music V“ sind hektisch, während Teil 6 das Album fast schon mit einer Art Noisestück beendet: Der Track ist eine Kakophonie, bei der man sich vorkommt, als stünde man in einer Turbine. Diese nun vollständige “Fire Music” ist sowohl in ihrer konzeptionellen Konsistenz als auch in ihrer (zumindest partiellen) Heterogenität beeindruckend." [MG / African Paper] 2022 €13.00
RICHTER, MAX The Blue Notebooks CD "Following releases by Set Fire To Flames and Sylvain Chauveau, Max Richter’s ‘The Blue Notebooks’ was the fourth release on FatCat’s 130701 imprint, established as an outlet for more more orchestrated, instrumental material. Richter is a British-based, German-born pianist and composer. Following 2002’s highly-acclaimed ‘Memoryhouse’ - performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and released on the BBC’s classical label, Late Junction - ‘The Blue Notebooks’ is his second solo album, a distinctive and adventurous work that is beautifully recorded and cinematic in scope. Opening with a text from Franz Kafka over a sparse piano melody, the album moves through gorgeous, heart-wrenching string swells of ‘On The Nature Of Daylight’ (which quotes a tune from ‘Memoryhouse’); through to sparse but lyrical piano pieces; hazy, swirling atmospherics, avalanche pulse-beats and partially occluded melodies that recall Aphex twin’s ‘Ambient Works’ albums; and to reverberant organ / choir recordings. Utilising piano, cello, violin and viola, alongside electronic beats (made using a variety of antique electronics and Reaktor), spoken word passages and the occasional field recording, other sounds were generated via old guitar pedals and vocoders. The organ music was made for a chapel near Tourtres in South-West France, whilst the environmental sounds are mainly recorded around London. The tone of the album is generally domnbeat – a series of bittersweet articulations that seem suspended somewhere between a certain dreamy sense of wonder / awe and a heavy melancholia. Peppered across Richter’s music like diary entries (and backed with attendant typewriter clatter) are a number of literary texts or ‘shadow journals’ (lifted from Kafka’s ‘the Blue Octavo notebooks’, and from Polish author Czseslaw Milosz’s ‘Hymn Of The Pearl’ and ‘Unattainable Earth’). Apparently chosen by Richter on instinct, they were recorded by acclaimed British actress, Tilda Swinton, who has starred in films including ‘Adaption’, ‘Orlando’, ‘The Garden’, and ‘The Beach’. These brief passages muse over time, memory, and the impermanent nature of things. With Richter playing piano, the other featured players here are his regular collaborators, Louisa Fuller (violin), Natalia Bonner (violin), John Metcalfe (viola), Philip Sheppard (cello), and Chris Worsey (cello). Born in 1966, Max Richter trained in composition and piano at Edinburgh University, at the Royal Academy of Music, and with with Luciano Berio in Florence. The Richter family moved to the UK from Germany when Max was a young child, leaving the wider part of his family distributed around Germany. This sense of a lack of roots had an effect on his musical formation - “I have always had a sense of belonging, in some way, to the middle of Europe but not specifically to any one place…” he explains. On completing his studies, Richter co-founded the immensely successful contemporary classical ensemble Piano Circus, where he stayed for ten years, commissioning and performing works by Arvo Pärt, Brian Eno, Philip Glass, Julia Wolfe and Steve Reich. Richter was also pro-active in developing the group’s use of live sampling. “I have always listened to a broad range of music. In my early teens I was listening to a lot of classical standard repertoire as well as 20th century work. During this time I also built and customised a number of analogue electronic instruments and was immersed in the early electronic music scene.” In 1996 he worked closely with The Future Sound of London on their release ‘Dead Cities’. Initially involved as a pianist, he ended up co-writing a track (which they subsequently titled ‘Max’). Following this, Richter collaborated with FSOL over a two-year period on the album ‘The Isness’, with his input ranging from programming or piano playing to arranging, mixing, co-producing and co-writing various tracks. Max’s orchestrations have also graced ‘In The Møde’ by drum’n’bass pioneer Roni Size." [label info] www.fat-cat.co.uk 2004 €15.00
RLW An Archivist's Nightmare CD Die Beta-Lactam "Black Series" prüft (überschreitet?) weiter die Grenzen des Alltäglichen, mit dieser CD von RLW (oder sollte man eher sagen: mit diesem im CD-Player installiertem Happening?). RLW liest (mit extra-starkem "german accent" wie es scheint) die Titel der letzten Tonträger die er bekam vor, (s)ein Kind versucht dies (manchmal) zu imitieren, das ganze lief 2003 als Radio-Feature für Radio Resonance London... 60 Minuten lang....ja, genau, das wars! Den Effekt des ganzen kann mich nicht beschreiben, den muss man erleben!! Nummer 2 in der neuen BLACK SERIES (schwarze edle Klappcover) von Beta-Lactam! "Black Series 2 - Ed. of 300 numbered and signed copies by RLW (P16.D4). RLW moves in to the world of sound art with his piece "The Archivist's Nightmare". "RLW: An archivist´s nightmare The nightmare has been produced as a sound feature for radio resonance, London, in mid 2003 and was “aired” on internet October 3rd 2003. It is dedicated to Benjamin Green and would not have been possible without the help of Dorothea, Soeren, and Sonja. Index points are set for your pleasure. The feature itself embraces the whole CD. Total Time: 60:00 Some notes: "...i will read the titles of the last records i got (i guess about 1000 should fit into one hour). selected, insofar as i'll leave out those i found not worth listening to anyway. no criteria of order otherwise (therefore the title). ... imagine a future archivist interested in experimental/avantgarde/underground - however you will call it - sounds of the past 21st and 20th century, trying to find a path..." rlw, april 2003 “in an earlier mail i told you i would like to add some pieces of mine to the feature. Meanwhile i think this only would distract the listener´s attention from the reading. Instead i will additionally read parts of my letters to you and include these recordings in the feature. this additional level of self-reflection will also be of use as an structural element. “ rlw, may 2003 “sounds fucking great.. and i can sense an opening of possibilities… working with children is something I would be interested in doing, with some kind of structured improvisation/game pieces… strange… i keep getting a very high pitch sound in one ear when I type loudly, which reminds me of yr piece.” ben green, may 2003 “thanks for the radio feature. it´s really great. the funniest thing i´ve heard in a long while. it´ s a weird thing, initially i thought these were the records that would get played later, and then i started thinking like ´got that one, heard that name before, did the cover for that one, dunno this`.” jos moers, june 2003" [label website info] www.blrrecords.com 2007 €16.00
Contours Imaginaires 10inch RLWs Beitrag für unsere Reihe über das 'Unsagbare' benutzt als Klangquelle nur ein kurzes Piano-Extrakt mit Stimme, aus welchem dann drei Stücke sozusagen re-fragmentiert werden, die intensive und hochspannende Trips in RLWs "Imaginäre Konturen" ermöglichen... Titel & Klangmaterial stehen dabei in komplexen Inter-Relationen, sehr emotional & tief gehende Sounds und ein ausgefeiltes Konzept stehen hier wieder in einer perfekten Balance. Das ganze auf gelb-orangenem Vinyl mit ungewöhnlicher Textur, das Cover kommt vom Oldenburger Artworker OLIVER JAKOBI. "After a break SUBSTANTIA INNOMINATA is back with a terrific 3-track 10" by the prolific german composer RLW (who started his activities back in the early 80's and was the main member of the legendary german experimental outfit P16.D4). The full title is: CONTOURS IMAGINAIRES. The whole composition is based on only few seconds of piano-sounds and vocals (the rest is "imagination") and the track-titles & pieces offer strong inter-relations in a complex way. The used sounds develop through imagination & decay ("denaturing transformations") and appear in the pieces with different emphases. The "classical" piano-sounds and its highly processed permutations are set in contrast with the highly emotional voice-material, like entering a convoluted labyrinth of voice-frazzles, drones & fragmented strange sounds...... Being on a microlevel ("phantasized cell"), judging the decay of shadows. Are these the memories of single cells? The shadow of abrasion-processes? The slow decay of imaginations? A fantastic work where conceptual thoughts and emotionally driven acoustics merge in a perfect way. 500 copies, colour-vinyl, full colour artwork by Oliver Jakobi" [label description] "Drone Records, best known for a long line of drone 7"s, started already a while ago with a new series: Substantia Innominata, in which artists deal with the unknown, in whatever way they feel ('unnameable, unspeakable etc). For someone who likes his imagination go wild, Drone Records made a fine decision in choosing RLW to be part of the series. On the cover it says 'built from a few seconds of piano and vocals. Everything else: imagination'. Quite right. Good music is like a good movie: you create images that might not be what they seem to be. And musique concrete, since this is what is primarily the concern of RLW, is always a good way of imaging. You hear music, which could be voice, which could be piano, but then it could also be something else. Deceiving music. That is what RLW does best. In none of the three pieces it's easy to determine what the original sound is, or how it was treated. No doubt inside the bits and bytes these days (unlike the good old days of four track and reel to reel, where RLW learned the trick of the trade) things are transformed to such an extent that your imagination is free to run wild. It makes a movie in your head. For me an abstract movie, of squares and circles, using only a few colors and they spiral around, bounce off screen and back in. And no doubt it might be something entirely different for someone else. A great record. One that leaves more space to guess than some of the work RLW has recorded in the past, usually with others. His solo work goes out to no man's land more, which is great." [FdW / Vital Weekly] "Die A-Seite dieser 10″ wird beherrscht von kontemplativen Stromwerken, besinnnlich hin- und herlappend, bis am Ende Wut auszubrechen scheint und seltsame semantiklose Verzerrungen dem Schrei irgendeine Weisheit versagen. ‘Ombre d’érosion’ heißt der Track passend. Die B-Seite beredet sich während ‘Cellule Imaginaire’ weitaus angestrengter, wenn auch unbehaglicher. Stetiges Zellteilung mag nicht immer erwünscht sein und kann offensichtlich höllisch wehtun. Das abschließende ‘Erosion d’imagnaire’ zerbröselt Vorstellungskraft in Hilfeseufzer, schwärmende Painosaiten, Radiofehler bei minimalen Rauschzuständen. Fantastisches Vinyl ! Übrigens: RLW ist Ralf Wehowsky aus Mainz, ohne Frage einer der wichtigsten zeitgenössischen Elektroniker." [Ed / De:Bug] 2007 €12.00
The Pleasure of burning down Churches CD Der nette Titel des neuen, insgesamt sehr düsteren, fast schon mistantrophen RLW-Werks basiert zum Teil auf Feldaufnahmen einer Vietnam-Reise die er in den 90er unternahm, wo ein US-Vietnam-Veteran stolz auf dort zerbombte Heiligtümer verwies.... Das Gesamt-Klangbild variiert zwischen field recordings und recht ruhigen, aber angespannten z.T. collagierten Soundscapes und kulminiert in einer höchst aggressiven Nachrichtenabfolge auf einem Anruf-Beantworter, die einen kaum kalt lässt. 4 tracks, 44 Minuten. "Solo music by RLW (Ralf Wehowsky) is a pretty rare thing. For RLW the act of music making lies in creating something with others, wether or not by meeting up or exchanging sounds by (e-)mail. 'Views', reviewed in Vital Weekly 413, was a rare instance of a solo work and now, quite some time and many collaborations later, 'The Pleasure Of Burning Down Churches' is a new solo work. The churches of the title hark back to meeting a US veteran in Vietnam who told RLW that he liked bombing churches because they were easy targets. Field recordings from Vietnam also form the input of 'More Churches'. It's hard to see this otherwise than as a political piece. Just as the guy who rants against an answer machine on 'Helplessly Friendly' - it's hard to decipher his German, but it's sure not very friendly. I don't think I had expected RLW to overtly political and he perhaps he isn't. But it seems to me as if RLW isn't using sounds just for it's sheer beauty. On these two pieces he wants to bring a message across. On the opening piece 'Towards A Decontamination Breakthrough' this is less obvious. Quite a drone like piece of music, quite unusual for RLW. Collage techniques are to be found in 'More Churches' and 'Helplessly Friendly', the first with quite a nice intro of car horns and the second has a scary feel to it, both through the voices and the spiraling sounds of 'paper string actions'. In 'Burning Pianos' things move into the abstract again, not political view, just the exploration of a piano. RLW's work moves on the edge of musique concrete, but never looses it's touch with industrial music on hand and with microsound on the other. But it defies these categories and can perhaps only be classified as RLW music. Great work, but perhaps you shouldn't believe me; I find much of his work great!" [FdW / Vital Weekly] 2007 €13.00
Fall Seliger Geister CD "We are proud to present the stunning new album by Ralf Wehowsky. He is currently one of the most respected electronic composers of our day. Ghostly creaking sounds mix with highly complex electro-acoustic and electronic sounds. This description may sound familiar, but no sound is what it seems and rlw always manages to stay far ahead of his contemporaries. His music is impossible to pigeonhole into one simple bracket. It is neither industrial or musique concrete, nor computer music nor improvisation. In fact it could be all of these. A rewarding release that will still sound fresh and relevant in years to come. Ralf Wehowsky was one of the founder members of the seminal German group P16.D4 and the label Selektion whose ground breaking releases influenced many working in today's experimental music scene. Previous releases have seen him collaborate with such well known and diverse artists such as Merzbow, Bernard Gunter, Jim O'Rourke, Achim Wollscheid and Lionel Marchetti. Ltd to 500 copies, the CD comes packaged in a Japanese mini LP style sleeve with textured reverse board printing and black inner sleeve." [label info] www.dirter.co.uk "Oddly enough, the latest RLW CD is on Dirter but co-released by Black Rose Recordings, which happens to be the Contrastate label, but they aren't co-releasing their own release. For a moment I thought that things might have slowed down for RLW, but a quick look on discogs proved me wrong: Ralf Wehowsky is as active as always. Following that great P16.D4 set I hoped I could find time to play some of the RLW stuff again, which I collected, but sadly this has to wait. But of course then there is this new one. I am not sure if I would regard myself an expert on the work of RLW (or in fact of someone else for that matter), even when I heard a lot of his music. For starters, it's not easy to define his music. It's a lot of a lot of things. RLW gathers his sounds somewhere inside and outside the house, playing instruments like cello or trombone (at least that's what I think), children playing outside and taping sounds in the kitchen. All of that is brought into the computer and treated in some way, and then it reaches it's final composed state. So RLW's music could be called electro-acoustic, musique concrete, improvised and/or field recordings, yet it's never exclusively one of these, but rather a curious mixture of all of these. The improvised element, in case you wonder, is made up using extensive blocks of sound from instrumental passages, like said celli, trombone or thumb piano. Here it seems as if RLW recorded a whole bunch of those and then in the process of mixing decided which parts he really needed. By adding all the other sounds and the close mixing of the total amount of music, he creates some excellent dense soundscapes. Dense and moody, in fact, as the overall tone seems a bit darker than before. Excellent release indeed. Damn, I wish I had more time to go back to his older work." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2013 €13.00
Flurry of Delusion CD "Haptik und Automatik wirken quasi 'Hand in Hand' und erzeugen eine ins Anästhetische tendierende Schrumpfform von Melodie und Rhythmus. Oder einmal anders gesehen, sie schaffen eine Vor- und Urform dessen, das einmal Musik gewesen sein wird." [Bad Alchemy #92] "The starting point for these new recordings was an improvised recording session with Giuseppe Ielasi, but as with all RLW works nothing is quite what it seems to be. Cutting out the moments of "glory" and recombining them Wehowsky reassembles them into new more detailed compositions. Further improvised sounds were treated and added to the mix. The result may seem like an authentic representation of a real time improvisation, but in reality the pieces are nothing like that...in fact nothing is quite what it seems to be. His music is impossible to pigeonhole into one simple bracket. It is neither industrial or musique concrete, nor computer music nor improvisation. In fact it could be all of these. Ralf Wehowsky is one of the most respected electronic composers of our day and was also a founder member of the seminal German group P16.D4 and the label Selektion whose ground breaking releases influenced many working in today's experimental music scene. Previous releases have seen him collaborate with such well known and diverse artists such as Merzbow, Bernhard Guenter, Jim O'Rourke, Achim Wollscheid and Lionel Marchetti. The CD is limited to 500 and is packaged in a beautiful full colour digipack on reverse board." [label info] 2016 €13.00
Agnostic Diaries CD "The common factor linking these recordings are projects that were never fully realized. The basic recordings started in 2005, however the period of reworking and transformation (2016 to 2017) is more important. All vocal parts and general revisions were done during this period. Agnosticism was the basic idea for the vocal/musical re-working of the pieces with the vocals implanted into the basic pieces, not just as simple overdubs, but inserted in a dialectical confrontation with the basic sounds and structures. "Le Ballet" relies on George Antheil's Ballet Mecanique; "For Gerald" on a co-operation with Anla Courtis using some sounds by Ovary Lodge planned for the Gerald Jupitter-Larssen series which stopped far too early. "Without M.B." includes RLW's parts for a collaboration with Marc Baron whilst "Monotype #6" includes vocals by Dylan Nyoukis, also used for a collaborative CD-r with him. Ralf Wehowsky is one of the most respected electronic composers of our day and was also a founder member of the seminal German group P16.D4 and label Selektion whose ground-breaking releases influenced many working in today's experimental music scene. Previous releases have seen him collaborate with such well known and diverse artists such as Merzbow, Bernhard Guenter, Jim O'Rourke, Achim Wollscheid, and Lionel Marchetti. His music is impossible to pigeonhole into one simple bracket. It is neither industrial or musique concrete, nor computer music nor improvisation. In fact, it could be all of these." [label info] "There was a time when Ralf Wehowsky was very active when it came to releases under the alias of RLW. In the last decade that seems to have slowed down. The last new one I heard was his LP with Paak (Vital Weekly 1047). Wehowsky was, in the 1980s, one of the main people behind P16.D4, a highly influential group coming from the world of 'industrial music' but crossing over to musique concrète. Since the early 90s, he works solo as RLW, using the computer to work and rework sounds and collaborating with many others, such as SRMeinxner (his label boss here), Paak, Das Synthetische Mischgewebe and others. The music on 'Agnostic Diaries' was recorded in 2016 and 2017 but started back in 2005; it is an album to complete things that were not yet completed. Among those who delivered sounds for this, we find Anla Courtis, Ovary Lodge, GX Jupitter-Larsen, Marc Baron and Dylan Nyoukis. Throughout these six pieces, voices seem to play one role or another. The music of RLW is best explained as organized sound. You load everything you have, basic material, processed versions (analogue, digital) thereof, onto the computer and through a lengthy process of editing and erasing, filtering and cutting, adding effects and so on, until there is a narrative, a composition. It is not easy to say why something works, and something else, perhaps, doesn't work. I guess that is part of being great at what you do and RLW is among the best in this field. With the excellent variation between pure electronic sounds, acoustic sounds and voices (which are, of course, also acoustic) a fine, delicate interplay emerges that makes up these six pieces. In the opening piece, 'Le Ballet' (which relies on George Antheil's 'Ballet Mecanique'), there are some very high and piercing tones, which made me reach for my remote control, but in his other pieces that don’t happen. The dynamics between 'loud' and 'quiet' is something that RLW plays with, along with hard cuts in the music. Yet, it seems as if all the sounds come naturally out of the previous, a logical extension if you will and that makes up for some great music. Upon repeated listening, there is every time something new to be found in this." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2021 €13.00
  Satanic Inventions CD !!! Limited to 200 copies only !!! 51+ min. playtime October 2022 PRESS RELEASE Artist: rlw (Ralf Wehowsky) Title: Satanic Inventions Track Titles: 1. Early Symptoms 2. Normality, Lost # 1 3. Overworn With Watching # 1 4. Fever Glazed Thine Ears # 1 5. Fever Glazed Thine Ears # 2 6. Normality, Lost # 2 7. Fever Glazed Thine Ears # 3 8. Overworn With Watching # 2 9. Normality, Lost # 3 10. Overworn With Watching # 3 11. Overworn With Watching # 4 12. Normality, Lost # 4 13. Fever Glazed Thine Ears # 4 14. Overworn With Watching # 5 15. Out Of Joint Format: CD Cat no: BRCD 22-1021 Release Date: October 2022 Black Rose Recordings are proud to present the stunning new solo release by Ralf Wehowsky. He is currently one of the most respected electronic composers of our day. With this release his starting point is the comparison of the black plague and covid-19 as there are some astonishing similarities of how people dealt with the diseases. Denial of reality, conspiracy theories, searching for scapegoats, etc: Surely satanic inventions are the source of all calamities? Extracts from documentary recordings and a few fragments of ars nova/subtilior compositions have been transformed, extended, fragmented and re-contextualised, from which the 15 pieces of this release are built. Ralf Wehowsky was one of the founder members of the seminal German group P16.D4 and the label Selektion whose ground-breaking releases influenced many working in today’s experimental music scene. Previous releases have seen him collaborate with such well known and diverse artists such as Merzbow, Bernhard Guenter, Jim O’Rourke, Achim Wollscheid and Lionel Marchetti. His music is impossible to pigeonhole into one simple bracket. It is neither industrial or musique concrete, nor computer music nor improvisation. “RLW's work moves on the edge of musique concrete, but never looses it's touch with industrial music on the one hand and with microsound on the other. But it defies these categories and can perhaps only be classified as RLWmusic. Great work!” – [Vital 584, The Netherlands] “…truly outstanding” – [www.chaindlk.com] "There have been many documentations on differences and similarities of the pandemics, which plagued mankind over the last centuries and millennia. Comparing the black plague and covid-19 there are - besides the obvious differences (more victims in absolute numbers because of increasing overpopulation, decreasing number of victims in relative numbers because of the evolution of scientific knowledge) - astonishing similarities how people dealt with the diseases. Denial of reality, conspiracy theories, searching for scapegoats: Surely satanic inventions, spread by elites, papists, jews, communists, etc, are the source of all calamities? Human stupidity never should be underestimated. For tunately, history teaches that the misery ends someday, even if the pandemic meets with war, famine etc. Amidst similarities new powers do grow. In the late 14th century ars subtilior must be pointed out. Liberation from religious themes, breaking open rhythm, introducing bizarre chromatic passages, odd dissonances, etc. Therefore, it seemed natural to combine documentations of actual madness with songs from that past. Some short extracts from documentary recordings and a few fragments of ars nova/subtilior compositions have been transfor med, extended, fragmented and recontextualised, from which the 15 pieces of this release are built. Recorded from April 2021 to March 2022, Eggenstein, Germany" [liner notes] "Seeing such a political statement on an RLW CD is something I don't recall seeing before. It is about the pandemic and the conspiracy theories that spawned, which I (too) believe is the true disease of our times. "I can read", usually means, "I like to cherry-pick popular notions", and "science is an opinion" is usually said by someone who has no clue as to what science is. Or, as I challenged someone: "How do you prove that all swans are white" to which I got the answer ", by killing all black ones", which seemed proof that not all swans are white. RLW says that all misery end one day, and something will grow. In the 14th century, Ars subtiloir (subtler art) became a musical style. It was rhythmic and notional, more complex. The end of the plague (well..) ended in something new. RLW uses music recordings from that time and short extracts from documentary recordings. Not that you easily recognize any of this in the fifteen pieces of music. Sure, some of this finds origins in voice material, and a word here or there is recognized, but who or what remains a mystery. The abstraction level is very high, as with much of RLW's music. He applies a collage-like approach to his music. A surprising element is the use of turntable/vinyl, which I haven't heard from him in some time. RLW's music is of a different complexity than the original Ars subtiloir, so I assume (not being an expert here), that he applies his musique concrète techniques to the music. Editing, stretching, granular synthesis and whatever else there is are as strong as any other RLW record. One thought I had with hearing these voices bending and twisting; maybe they sound like shapeshifting alien reptiles? Having read most of David Icke's books (to be found in a folder on my hard drive labelled 'humour'), there must be a place here for the sounds of reptiles. Throughout, there is some excellent, imaginative music here. I would say that even without the backstory, this is still a great release; it can be enjoyed equally."[FdW/Vital Weekly] 2022 €13.00
ROBERT, JOCELYN Monsonics LP "Monsonics was done in two steps, both for the Citysonics Festival in Mons, Belgium, in June 2009. Two of the pieces - "L'air circulaire" and "L'abbatoir des Droits de l'Homme" - were first composed as soundwalks. I first went to Mons to choose interesting paths, then made the works to fit to them. For the festival, one could borrow maps and mp3 players from the organization, or one could download the soundtracks and a map from the website of the festival and live the experience on site. The pieces that appear on the LP are sligthly reworked versions. The two "La Chapelle des FUCAM" pieces are performance works made for the Festival. They are numbered 1 & 3: there were other versions, but these two seemed to fit better with the other pieces on the LP. There are no overdubs: they were made live using software developed at Avatar, Quebec city. The software can be downloaded for free at www.avatarquebec.org/ohm/index.php?page=logiciel&id=1 - Jocelyn Robert Jocelyn Robert lives in Québec, Canada. He works in audio art, performance art, installation, video and writing. He did many performances, solo or with Diane Landry, Laetitia Sonami and Bruit TTV. He published about fifteen CDs, and participed in over twenty others. He was awarded First Prize, Image category, at the Berlin Transmediale in 2002, and the Prix du Rayonnement International from the Conseil de la Culture de Québec in 2006. He had numerous solo shows, and also teamed up with Emile Morin and Daniel Jolliffe for many installations. His work has been shown in Canada, United States, Mexico, Chile, Australia, and in Europe. His texts have been published by Le Quartanier (Montréal), Ohm Éditions (Québec), Errant Bodies Press (Los Angeles/Berlin), Semiotext(e) (New York), and in many catalogues, notably from Ars Electronica (Austria) and Sonambiante (Germany). In 1993, he founded the art centre Avatar, in Québec City. He currently teaches at l'École des arts visuels de l'Université Laval, Québec." [label info] www.hronir.de 2010 €18.00
  The Maze CD "The Maze is a map of different territories I covered in my recent travels. But the mapped territories are not contiguous: I am the tunnel that links these places and times, I am the border that keeps them together. Now, a geographer who makes a map doesn't make a survey: these are two different things. The survey - the gathering - comes first, but the mapping process includes several subsequent steps: scaling, removing, enhancing, and adding. Scale allows to grasp a large territory at a glance. The degree of scaling will make some aspects of the territory emerge and other disappear. The second step is the removal. A geographer who draws a map removes a lot of elements in order for others to appear. Then, some elements will be enhanced: on a tourist map, significant buildings will be bigger than scale and coloured, on a navigation map algae in waterways will be larger than life... Finally, things will be added: words, signs, numbers... Data from the surveys is never enough. Words and numbers are never seen in the fields, but they are on maps and play a very important role. They are ideas about the territories, references, links to culture. A map is a story, and the geographer is a storyteller. So I turned into a geographer and made The Maze as a mapping process. In The Maze there are lots of field recordings, many of which have seen their time scale change, some have had elements removed, other enhanced, and there are also musical elements added here and there, which tell more about the feelings of the places and travels. The Maze is both a journey and a story. (Jocelyn Robert, September 2015)" [label info] www.fragmentfactory.com "Canadian sound artist Jocelyn Robert has been at work since the mid-80s, recording initially for ReR. His new, limited edition CD is made up of material dating back over a decade and seeks to conjure up images of places he has visited by way of blending field recordings into lengthy musique concrète pieces. Without prior knowledge of the artist’s intentions, the contents would (for most) surely be incomprehensible, with the exception of some short, tuneful colour inserts. While not entirely without humour, there is an academic austerity here which one can best penetrate by giving up to the concept and enjoying the sometimes unsettling, unpredictable narratives of Robert’s adventures as if they are one’s own late booking to a foreign city. Stride into frozen fog on early morning riversides, mopeds coming close to running you down and treasured videos of special moments being reduced to a glitchy mess by the time you get them home. One group the disc brings to mind is Switzerland’s Schimpfluch, Robert being similarly cryptic and unafraid of both sudden silences and changes of pace. Not surprising then that the Swiss collective have also recorded several releases for this German label, which seems to be working outwards from basement noise into more self-consciously conceptual art." [Phil Smith / Record Collector mag] 2015 €13.00
RODEN, STEVE Berlin Fields CD-R "Berlin Fields is a sonic journey not limited by national boundaries, city limits, or material limitation. Roden perambulates, recording as he goes with the immediacy and quirks that come from using both portable recorder (a Sony PCM-D50) and phone. Exploring intuitively, Roden brings together 19 sonic vignettes via 'finds': things discovered; and 'activation': objects performed on site. Using intuition as a guide, Roden's interactions and sonic interventions - 'play' in every sense of the word - are both learning tool and platform for his creativity. Unearthing a vocabulary spoken by quotidian things, Roden coaxes tables, radiators, sardine tins and all manner of chanced upon paraphernalia into speaking their curious and complex language. Mindful of Rolf Julius' artistic philosophy, Roden introduces performances that sit congruently within, and do not disrupt, the sites he happens upon on during his travels through the capital cities of France, Germany and Finland. The land- and cityscapes, formal architecture and informal spaces Roden explores act as host for his interventions. Instead of simply absorbing his bodily movements and thought process, such places create a consonant dialogue with his soundings, saturating their own particular sounds - indeed atmospheres - within Roden's wanderings. Roden is both player and listener in a world sounding with music, and musical with sound. His actions are delicate insertions that proliferate: actions, soundings, reactions that spread into, echo, and synergise with the world. His performances activate the specific place, space and object with microscopic precision - the knowledge of a shaman. Ripples of tone singe the edges of a bird-filled landscape bestowing it a glowing aura; rhythmic motions on cavernous metal are 'touched by hands', jam jars are caressed across tables to intone chanting, a poetry of sorts. Such soundings act as a bridge, directly connecting body (and being) to location; a marker for experience. What is evident in Berlin Fields, is that Roden respects the sonic world around him. He is playful, mischievous perhaps, but most of all he listens with the ears of the ancient, the sacred. His motivation, simply, is to work with situations and sounds that move him - that teach him something new or different - that in turn drive him on to explore new environments, situations, objects and the places they inhabit. Ultimately, Roden brings one closer to an intimate world of reverie - an aural terrain that heaves, resonates, clips, scrapes, chimes and drips a mystical, ancient language." [label info] www.3leaves-label.com 2012 €15.00
ROIGK, STEFAN De-Composed BOOK + 2 x CD „de—COMPOSED“ — New artist's book by Berlin-based sound artist Stefan Roigk. The catalog documents acousmatic compositions, sound installations, musical graphics and text-sound compositions of the years 2005 to 2023 on 144 pages and 2 Audio-CDs. A complex assemblage, composed of documentation photos, texts and drawings, becomes an interlocking whole in its dynamic flows and fields and animates the paper as a vibrantly structured visual composition. A piece of music for the eyes, in which the boundaries between documentation, draft and work become blurred in a surreal mesh of the concrete and fictional. Here, the reader generates their own individual temporal axis based on their speed of observation and focus on the optical elements, thus becoming a mixing board for a composition realized as a catalogue. Three text pieces give a deeper insight into Roigk's understanding of sound as material and the translation of sound events into other media. As an equivalent to the visual approach of the catalog and in order to adequately convey the sonic dimension of the artistic work, (sound) fragments of all the works covered in the catalog were transferred into a dynamic collage-like arrangement with Roigk's typical aesthetics and are included with the catalog as an independent listening experience in the form of two audio CDs. „Stefan Roigk, de—COMPOSED (Audio Extracts)“ is published in conjunction with the catalogue "Stefan Roigk, de—COMPOSED" / published 2023 by Errant Bodies Press, Berlin / ISBN 978-3-9823166-8-0 / for further information please visit : www.stefan-roigk.com / www.errantbodies.org / © 2023 Stefan Roigk + Errant Bodies Press / This Publication was supported by Stiftung Kunstfonds https://stefanroigk.bandcamp.com/album/de-composed-audio-extracts "In a plastic bag, we find the following: a softcover book, 21x26 centimetre, 144 pages, 2 A5 postcards and a double CD. All of this is by Stefan Roigk, a Berlin-based composer born in 1974. I mention that year because, much to my pleasant surprise, the first time his name popped up in Vital Weekly was in issue 109, which must have been around 1997, which started, also very funny, with "Can you believe that in today's digitalized world there are still existing people who start a cassette-label?" Over the years, I reviewed his various releases, and his language, German, is essential to him. However, unlike some of his previous works, these two CDs aren't all spoken word, which is excellent. More to enjoy if the language is a barrier. What I didn't know, or perhaps I wasn't as aware, is that Roigk is also a visual artist and that many of his music pieces come with installations, or vice versa. The book is a catalogue of these installation pieces, the oldest from around 2007. Even when these pages are stills and not the real thing (or, in the case of a DVD, a registration of the real thing), it gives an excellent overview of his work. Like his music, many installation pieces are also collages of everyday objects in a new context. Some pieces on these CDs have been released before, so one could say this is a greatest-hits package. The downside is that the order on the CD is different than in the book, so one goes back and forth, learning about the material used in these pieces. Roigk uses musique concrète techniques of superimposing elements, intricate cuts, montage and altering his sounds. Of course, over two hours of music is quite a stretch, but sitting back with the catalogue certainly works very well. I took away from it that Roigk creates a very coherent body of work in which music, visuals and text play a homogenous role." [FdW / Vital Weekly] 2023 €28.00
ROIGK, STEFAN / FROMBERG, DANIELA / CLAUDIA HINSCH / PIT NOACK Habitat CD + leporello Documentation of an exhibition by Daniela Fromberg, Claudia Hinsch, Pit Noack and Stefan Roigk at Kubus gallery, Hannover, Germany, November 2018. Fullcolour 8-page leporello (A5) with photos and text. Sound by Stefan Roigk. Copies from Rumpsti Pumsti (Musik) are signed by Stefan Roigk. "HABITAT - eine Ausstellung von Daniela Fromberg, Claudia Hinsch, Pit Noack und Stefan Roigk. KUBUS Freispiel #05 — städtische Galerie Kubus Hannover vom 10. bis 25. November 2018. Nischenbildung, Wucherung und Durchdringung sind die Leitthemen der Gruppenausstellung HABITAT. Der KUBUS wird zu einem Lebensraum, der von vier Positionen aus dem BereichInstallation und Klanginstallation bewohnt wird. Daniela Fromberg (Berlin), Claudia Hinsch (Hamburg),Pit Noack (Hannover),Stefan Roigk (Berlin) variieren repetitive skulpturale Elemente, welche den Raum überwuchern, sich berühren und punktuell gegenseitig durchdringen, aufeinander reagieren und so visuell wie akustisch Strukturfelder zwischen Ordnung und Chaos bilden.Wie in einem biologischen Lebensraum wird so eine komplexe Verwobenheit produziert, ohne Zentrum und ohne bevorzugte Lesart. Die Ausstellungsdokumentation besteht aus einem 8-seitigem Leporello im Format A5 sowie einer Audio CD. 2019 €13.00
ROZMANN, AKOS Mass / Massa 7 x CD BOX Ákos Rózmann (1939-2005) - Mass Ákos Rózmann’s Mass consists of twelve electroacoustic compositions created between 1989 and 2004 in the composer’s studio and at EMS in Stockholm. Like most of Rózmann’s compositions, Mass is a long-form work with a duration of around seven hours. We can describe Rózmann’s Mass as an enormous fresco of personal observations on the two first parts of the Catholic Mass, Kyrie and Gloria. The intensely subjective perspective on the texts of the Mass is underlined by Rózmann’s freezing images – in his own words – “tropes”, i.e. meditations in Swedish, Hungarian and Latin over particular words in the mass text or connection to it. A few passages have nothing to do with the mass text: Organ piece VI in Gloria I (also performed with the subtitle Nocturne in silver and dance) is a sort of lament based on the phrase “Natten gråter” (the night is crying). We find the composer’s peculiar sense of humour in the intermezzo following Gloria I – a composed version of the intermission common in Swedish concert houses, complete with clashing coffee cups and empty chatter from the bureaucratic music establishment. The overarching formal structure of Mass is an intricate one, with the various parts functioning simultaneously as independent pieces and as parts of sub-groups within the whole structure of the piece. As independent pieces, some of them go under the name Organ piece. For example, the three pieces included in the first Gloria part of mass form another independent composition named Triptykon, first performed as a separate work in 1996. In the earlier parts of Mass, a battle fought between Positive forces is represented by the words in the Mass text and Negative forces represented by various challenging sounds, such as scornful laughter, grunts, burps, nauseous choking and vomiting sounds. First, the Negative powers drag down the Positive forces into a “black hole” or in pockets. Then the Positive forces return to dominate the remaining parts of Gloria. This formal narrative is nuanced by the composer, who, in interviews, offer a less dualistic, more complex viewpoint on the conflict central to the Mass: “It’s presumable that everything in the general sense is about the notion of positive or negative because everything in the world is structured like that. But it’s not that simple in the Triptych [the first three pieces of the Gloria-cycle]. Different forces stand against each other, but their interrelation is more complex than that of good and evil.” The most prominent sound sources in the work are the organ, a Hungarian zither and human voices. Throughout the whole piece, there is a vocal group from a village church in Corsica, singing the Latin mass texts solo and chorally. Other participants are Schola Gregoriana Holmiae under the direction of Viveca Servatius, a group of German Benedictine monks and – in the role of a sort of master of ceremonies, Thomas Hammar. Ákos Rózmann was born in 1939 in Budapest, Hungary, where he studied composition at the Bartók Conservatory and the Liszt Academy. In 1971 he received a scholarship to come to Stockholm and completed his compositional studies with Ingvar Lidholm at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and then settled down in Sweden. He was the organist at the Catholic Cathedral in Stockholm for a long time. His early encounter with electroacoustic music gave a new direction to his composing. Except for a few early pieces, Rózmann composed solely electroacoustic music – often preferring a monumental form, usually with the organ and the human voice as the most crucial sound sources in a complex, penetrating musical language loaded with symbols. As a composer, he worked involuntary seclusion, uncompromisingly and with great originality. Rózmann’s music is about the fundamental questions of existence, often on an ethical or religious (Catholic or Buddhist) basis, for example, in the enormous suites Images of the Dream and Death and Twelve Stations, both previously released on Ideologic Organ. 7 CD’s packaged in a hardcover slipcase with a pull ribbon, 12 and 20 pages booklets. Boxset contains an extensive essay on the composition by Gergely Loch and additional texts by Göran Bergendal and Mats Lindström, and visual documentation. https://ideologicorgan.bandcamp.com/album/mass-m-ssa 2022 €50.50
RRILL BELL False Flag Rapture MC Following up on 2020's critically acclaimed "Ballad of the External Life" LP, Rrill Bell's latest outing on Elevator Bath is a complex amalgamation of acoustic source materials (metallophones, winds, strings, and brass), (cassette) tape treatments, and digital assemblages, which coalesced over a period of six years, starting from the artist's desire to build a highly personal album around a turn-of-the-century recording of his late grandmother singing an impromptu hymn in Slovak dialect at a family gathering, resurrected from memory after lying dormant for 50+ years. Working through a family legacy of religious hallucinations/visions, the album (in spite of its tongue-in-cheek title) unironically explores themes of potentially staged transcendence, ecstasy of suspicious origins, vulnerability, inspired/anxious states of mind, fractured identity, doubt, rupture, redemption by proxy, and the dilemma of being forced to adopt a perspective in a contingent universe. The music on "False Flag Rapture" is restless yet focused, shifting, evolving – like "Ballad...", never staying in one place too long – and features a wide range of aural perspectives, as well as a strong sense at times of "listening with", rather than merely "listening to". Hyper-detailed, darkly tinged ecstatic/manic passages alternate with dreamlike chamber pieces and muted celestial drifts cloaked in an uneasy haze, with the occasional disarming reveal. A labor of love begun in earnest in 2015 and completed in 2021, "False Flag Rapture" is a testament to abstract electro-acoustic music's oft under-appreciated potential to treat deeply personal themes while connecting alienated human beings. Born and raised in the US-American Rust Belt, and a resident of Germany for over two decades, Rrill Bell draws on the formative inspirations of radical scratch culture, Cagean thought, harmolodics, musique concréte, and various other strains of experimental music practice. Originally rooted in the world of improvisational performance, over the past decade his work has expanded to include various hybrid approaches to location recording, augmented reality, composition, and audio narrative. In addition to 2020's "Ballad of the External Life" LP on Elevator Bath, Rrill Bell's music has previously been released by the Klappkart, Gertrude Tapes, Weird Forest and Denovali labels, among others. Rrill Bell: chimes, vibraphone, crotales, glockenspiel, drum machines, tapes, dictaphones, tape decks, and electronics featuring contributions from Felix Fritsche: clarinets/flutes Koenraad Ecker: cello Alex Morsey: contrabass/tuba Mastered by James Plotkin Artwork/collage by Rrill Bell Photography by Katrin Koenning Layout by Colin Andrew Sheffield 42-minute lime green cassette with full-color six-panel j-card in clear Norelco case, plus full-color outer o-card featuring collage art by Rrill Bell. https://rrill-bell.bandcamp.com/album/false-flag-rapture 2021 €11.00
SALTLAND I thought it was us but it was all of us LP "Saltland is the new project led by Montreal-based cellist Rebecca Foon, best known as a founding member of contemporary chamber group Esmerine and a former member of Thee Silver Mt. Zion and Set Fire To Flames. Foon began composing solo work in 2010, featuring multi-layered cello and hushed vocals at the intersection of drone, no-wave, improv, dream-pop and minimalism. Joined by Jamie Thompson (Unicorns, Esmerine) on miniature percussion, programming and signal processing, Foon's live performances in Montreal and abroad over the past two years have seen her sound progress towards gently rhythmic and electronic territory as well. She has transfixed audiences with this new music while sharing the stage with Mary Margaret O'Hara, Julia Kent, Nat Baldwin and Sam Amidon, among others. As her largely home-recorded debut album began taking shape throughout 2011, with numerous guests contributing to various pieces, Foon adopted the Saltland moniker for this work. I Thought It Was Us But It Was All Of Us is a beautifully restrained debut album that telescopes the directness and economy of Foon's compositional and vocal styles into lush, twilight atmospheres aglow with luminescent tendrils and flickering particles. Foon sings of childhood innocence lost, of tender utopic reveries and downcast dystopic horizons, and the search for soft, stoic strength in a darkening, devolving world. Foon’s voice is discreet but defined, drifting on buoyant currents of sound sourced from her plucked and bowed cello lines, in most cases propelled by Thompson's bespoke percussion and understated programming/processing, with touches of guitar, bass, horns, woodwinds, strings and backing vocals added by a cast of supporting players. The record unfurls like a gauzy flag in a restless breeze at dusk: a delicate, resolute sentinel set against the fading light. The album's ambience also owes much to the work of Mark Lawson, the award-winning engineer (Arcade Fire) who collaborated closely with Foon to record and mix these songs at Six Saint V, her apartment studio in Montreal. Lawson, along with friend and percussionist Thompson, helped to forge a balance between lo-fi intimacy and shimmering breadth with these recordings, remaining faithful to the all-anologue instrumentation of the source material while judiciously deploying signal processing strategies to subtly refract, saturate and expand the sonic landscape. With contributions from Laurel Sprengelmeyer and Jess Robertson (Little Scream), Mishka Stein (Patrick Watson), Colin Stetson (Bon Iver), Sarah Neufeld and Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire) among others, Saltland offers up an unassumingly immersive debut album of searching songs that blend several core influences into a distinctively naturalistic sound. Saltland stakes out an unaffected, meditative, clear-eyed and earnest space where minimalism, dream-pop, drone, shoegaze, confessional folk, chamber music, and ambient/electronic coexist and coalesce. Release date: 14 May 2013 Running time: 38:32 Packaging notes CD comes in a custom gatefold jacket printed on 100% recycled paperboard in 4-colour process. LP is pressed on 180 gram virgin vinyl at Optimal (Germany) and comes in a heavyweight gatefold jacket printed in full-colour process." [label info] www.cstrecords.com 2013 €23.00
SAND His first Steps LP "The present album is a forerunner of GOLEM, the legendary album from the cosmic and psychedelic genius that is Sand. After the split of POT the early SAND submerged as a threesome in the basement of Claudiusstrasse and built up an alchemical assembling shop, where they resurrected the archetypical GOLEM. SAND considered themselves as an exile community in a fascinating area - full of distinctly bizarre energy. There is something magical and inexplicable in creation, and Sand manifest absolutely these mysterious phenomena. Story-tellers, musicians, shamans, geniuses, Sand were known, at the end of the 60s, as P.O.T. (Part of Time). The music they created at that time has remained unreleased until now. Two different approaches are evident within this band. The first—which is shown in the compositions of the trio Ludwig Papenberg, his brother Ullrich Papenberg and Johannes Vester—is avant-gardist, experimental and proto-industrial. The second, when this same trio is augmented with a few extra members, reveals a more emphatically “rock” side, somewhat in the vein of Pink Floyd’s The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, perhaps making it somewhat less personal than the visionary and experimental positions characteristic of Sand, a truly unique entity in the history of music. At that time Klaus Schulze was developing, with engineer Manfred Schunke, a specialised recording process called “Artificial Head Stereo Sound”, which, like “Surround Sound”, created the illusion of the music coming from 360º around the listener. Schulze chose Sand to record in his studio one of a series of records to demonstrate this new technique. Sand’s album Golem was recorded and released on the Delta-Acustic label in 1974. Sand acknowledge that Manfred Schunke and Klaus Schulze were Sand’s most important mentors. Although classed as “Krautrock”, Sand are not really in the Krautrock style, despite being part of this movement of German cosmic/psychedelic bands. Instead they take us on a cerebral/cosmic/strange/dark trip all of their own, with a highly original subtlety, elegance and strength. Trapped in the trip, swallowed up by the quicksands, seduced by the unique and innovative combination of acoustic guitars, synthesisers, sound generators, short-wave radios, factory noises, hammers from the shipyards, agricultural machines, whirls of sand and eerie atmospheres, the listener discovers and lives the story of Sand and his Golem. Julian Cope wrote of Golem in his HeadHeritage’s website’s “Album of the Month” column, “Dig this fucking weird Saxony sound and fill your heart”. Rotorelief releases, in 2010, a series of unreleased albums by Sand as well as a reissue of Sand’s only album, the obscure and rare Golem, first released by Delta Acustic in 1974, along with related releases by Nurse with Wound and Current 93. This series of albums from Sand is called “INXOM”, the series title having one letter for each album, explained by Johannes Vester as follows: “Incoming, Inspiration, (...) In X is OM (Odem) which could mean ‘There is Om/Odem/Atman in the Unknown (X)’ ; this also corresponds to "shem" which is in XOM,—the meaning in the Golem Myth. Last, but not least, for me it sounds like the electronic attitude in symbiosis with Sand's spirit....” And also called '' INXODEM '' with 5x Sand album (INXOM) from 70's + 1 album of Nurse With Wound (2013) and 1 45RMP twelve inch of Current 93 (1992) : "His First Steps" (I) / is a previous, unreleased and variety album (1972 & 1973) of "Golem" "Golem" (N) / legendary album composed in 1972 and 1973 (released in 1974) "Desert Navigation" (X) / unreleased album, titles composed in 1973, 1975 and one track from 1982 "Sylph Ballet" (O) / unreleased album, titles composed in 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976 "North Atlantic Raven" (M) / unreleased album, titles composed in 1973, 1975 & 1976 (+ bonus 1982) "Chromanatron" (E), by Nurse With Wound composed in 2013 with sounds and extracts from Sand "When the May Rain Comes" (D), 2 varieties of the reprise title "May Rain" of Sand by Current 93 in 1992 Today, 40 years later, here the cool sound jugglers, founders and new members, go again (Ludwig and Ulrich Papenberg, Johannes Vester, Christian von der Schulenburg and Richard Pappik) then Sand is active in a creative frenzy timeless... www.rotorelief.com 2016 €25.00
His first Steps CD "The present album is a forerunner of GOLEM, the legendary album from the cosmic and psychedelic genius that is Sand. After the split of POT the early SAND submerged as a threesome in the basement of Claudiusstrasse and built up an alchemical assembling shop, where they resurrected the archetypical GOLEM. SAND considered themselves as an exile community in a fascinating area - full of distinctly bizarre energy. There is something magical and inexplicable in creation, and Sand manifest absolutely these mysterious phenomena. Story-tellers, musicians, shamans, geniuses, Sand were known, at the end of the 60s, as P.O.T. (Part of Time). The music they created at that time has remained unreleased until now. Two different approaches are evident within this band. The first—which is shown in the compositions of the trio Ludwig Papenberg, his brother Ullrich Papenberg and Johannes Vester—is avant-gardist, experimental and proto-industrial. The second, when this same trio is augmented with a few extra members, reveals a more emphatically “rock” side, somewhat in the vein of Pink Floyd’s The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, perhaps making it somewhat less personal than the visionary and experimental positions characteristic of Sand, a truly unique entity in the history of music. At that time Klaus Schulze was developing, with engineer Manfred Schunke, a specialised recording process called “Artificial Head Stereo Sound”, which, like “Surround Sound”, created the illusion of the music coming from 360º around the listener. Schulze chose Sand to record in his studio one of a series of records to demonstrate this new technique. Sand’s album Golem was recorded and released on the Delta-Acustic label in 1974. Sand acknowledge that Manfred Schunke and Klaus Schulze were Sand’s most important mentors. Although classed as “Krautrock”, Sand are not really in the Krautrock style, despite being part of this movement of German cosmic/psychedelic bands. Instead they take us on a cerebral/cosmic/strange/dark trip all of their own, with a highly original subtlety, elegance and strength. Trapped in the trip, swallowed up by the quicksands, seduced by the unique and innovative combination of acoustic guitars, synthesisers, sound generators, short-wave radios, factory noises, hammers from the shipyards, agricultural machines, whirls of sand and eerie atmospheres, the listener discovers and lives the story of Sand and his Golem. Julian Cope wrote of Golem in his HeadHeritage’s website’s “Album of the Month” column, “Dig this fucking weird Saxony sound and fill your heart”. Rotorelief releases, in 2010, a series of unreleased albums by Sand as well as a reissue of Sand’s only album, the obscure and rare Golem, first released by Delta Acustic in 1974, along with related releases by Nurse with Wound and Current 93. This series of albums from Sand is called “INXOM”, the series title having one letter for each album, explained by Johannes Vester as follows: “Incoming, Inspiration, (...) In X is OM (Odem) which could mean ‘There is Om/Odem/Atman in the Unknown (X)’ ; this also corresponds to "shem" which is in XOM,—the meaning in the Golem Myth. Last, but not least, for me it sounds like the electronic attitude in symbiosis with Sand's spirit....” And also called '' INXODEM '' with 5x Sand album (INXOM) from 70's + 1 album of Nurse With Wound (2013) and 1 45RMP twelve inch of Current 93 (1992) : "His First Steps" (I) / is a previous, unreleased and variety album (1972 & 1973) of "Golem" "Golem" (N) / legendary album composed in 1972 and 1973 (released in 1974) "Desert Navigation" (X) / unreleased album, titles composed in 1973, 1975 and one track from 1982 "Sylph Ballet" (O) / unreleased album, titles composed in 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976 "North Atlantic Raven" (M) / unreleased album, titles composed in 1973, 1975 & 1976 (+ bonus 1982) "Chromanatron" (E), by Nurse With Wound composed in 2013 with sounds and extracts from Sand "When the May Rain Comes" (D), 2 varieties of the reprise title "May Rain" of Sand by Current 93 in 1992 Today, 40 years later, here the cool sound jugglers, founders and new members, go again (Ludwig and Ulrich Papenberg, Johannes Vester, Christian von der Schulenburg and Richard Pappik) then Sand is active in a creative frenzy timeless... www.rotorelief.com www.rotorelief.com 2016 €14.00
Desert Navigation (clear) LP "Texture and feeling of 1975 with boosted audiophile sound quality. Previously unreleased album by German trio Sand, recorded 1973-1982. Live events in the quarry and an archaic sound formed the background music of the young atomic age. In the meantime, after endless trance garage sessions, Sand drifted from the mythical landscapes to Berlin and mingled with various oriental influences. Vultures were scudding along the urban canyons while burning houses illuminated the skyline. Sand navigated in obscure spheres and discovered Tendrara. There is something magical and inexplicable in creation, and Sand absolutely manifest these mysterious phenomena. Storytellers, musicians, shamans, geniuses -- Sand were known, at the end of the '60s, as P.O.T. (Part of Time). Then Sand -- Ludwig Papenberg, his brother Ulrich Papenberg, and Johannes Vester -- developed a more avant-gardist, proto-industrial, visionary, experimental approach, becoming a truly unique entity in the history of music. Not dependent on a classic krautrock style, Sand is nevertheless part of this movement of German cosmic/psychedelic bands, in addition to being the originators of proto-industrial musics. Live events in the quarry and an archaic sound formed the background music of the young atomic age. In the meantime the desert storm accumulated in endless trance garage sessions. Then Sand drifted from the mythical landscapes to Berlin and mingled with various oriental influences. Vultures were scudding along the urban canyons whilst burning houses illuminated the skyline. Sand navigated in obscure spheres and discovered Tendrara. " 2017 €25.00
  Golem (clear) LP "Sand’s 1974 debut album Golem is an excellent oddity in the Krautrock canon. The album eschews the normal reliance on chugging rhythms to provide the backbone of their sound. Instead they use space and more importantly headspace to create their psychedelic platform. The album was recorded by Klaus Schulze in a format described as “Artificial Head Stereo Sound” (which sounds like a psych band in its own right). Immediately plunging into opener “Helicopter,” the band creates a cavern of sound that was made for headphones. It was an attempt at surround sound before there was a market, improving on Quadrophonic and dunking the listener head first into the band’s creeping psychedlics. Golem is as uncharacteristic of Krautrock as it is of the rest of Sand’s catalog, which would largely become more proto-industrial, roping in factory field recordings and ambient noise to their sound. Here they incorporate picked acoustics that roll into menacing cradles of tone, enveloping the listener in anxious waves, curling and uncurling their grip on the throat. Then they completely break out for a wistful romp on “On The Corner.” Its atypical of its peers but it stands as an important rung on the ladder connecting the audio tissue between Ash Ra Temple, Pink Floyd, Träd, Gräs och Stenar, and naturally their mentor Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream. There have been several reissues but Rotorelief’s 2013 version (still available) is probably the most deluxe and well presented. If you have a soft spot for 70’s excess and German Progressive rock, then this one is a must have." [Raven Sings the Blues] 2017 €25.00
SANKT OTTEN Morgen wieder lustig CD "Sankt Otten’s fourth album sees the duo’s sound evolving once again, while retaining the undeniable hallmarks of atmosphere, melodic dexterity and depth. Morgen Wieder Lustig employs stacks of luscious synthesizers, with knowing nods to fellow Germans Kraftwerk and Klaus Schulze, alongside Oliver Klemm’s hallmark soaring guitar drones and Stephan Otten’s unmistakable rhythms. The album presents a musical vision that is both epic and personal – a kind of internal cinema. Single ‘Lustig, lustig demain encore lustig’ is a prime example of Sankt Otten’s glorious new direction. The track acts like a magnet, irresistibly drawing the listener along with its hypnotic drums. Elsewhere the album is soaked in majestic refrains, demonstrating Sankt Otten’s control of rhythm and texture. While their early sonic experiments explored the brooding and frayed edges of ambient, post-rock and jazz, these new songs push this relationship to a new level. Morgen Wieder Lustig shifts from the head-rush ambience of ‘Das bezahlte Lob’ to the dark and twisted post-jazz of ‘Fromme Lügen’. Just when you think you have the album pegged, ‘X für U’ drags you on a melancholic, Klaus Schulze-inspired sc-fi odyssey." [label info] www.denovali.com 2009 €10.00
SARNO, LOUIS Song from the Forest: The Soundtrack CD "This is the soundtrack album to the film “Song from the Forest”, which tells the story of Louis Sarno, an American who has lived for thirty years among the Bayaka pygmies in the Central African Republic. No outsider has had such access to this beautiful and musical culture, and this selection of the best of his recordings presents the sounds of this amazing people and their environment with a depth and richness never heard before. SONG FROM THE FOREST: THE FILM /// Premieres in Germany: Showtimes As a young man, the American Louis Sarno heard a song on the radio that gripped his imagination. He followed the mysterious sounds all the way to the Central African rainforest and found their source with the Bayaka Pygmies, a tribe of hunters and gatherers. He never left. Today, twenty-five years later, Louis Sarno has recorded over 1,500 hours of unique Bayaka music. He is a fully accepted member of Bayaka society and has a son, Samedi. Once, when Samedi was a baby, he became seriously ill and Louis feared for his life. He held his son in his arms through a frightful night and made him a promise: “If you get through this, one day I’ll show you the world I come from.” Now the time has come to fulfill his promise, and Louis travels with Samedi, age 13, from the African rainforest to another jungle, one of concrete, glass, and asphalt: New York City. Together they meet Louis’ family and old friends, including his closest friend from college, Jim Jarmusch. Carried by the contrasts between rainforest and urban America, with a fascinating soundtrack and peaceful, loving imagery, their stories are interwoven to form a touching portrait of an extraordinary man and his son. A modern epic set between rainforest and skyscrapers. FROM THE DIRECTOR In the fall of 2009, I was traveling in the Congo River Basin when by chance I heard tales of a white man who was said to have lived for decades in the rainforest with a tribe of huntergatherers called the Bayaka Pygmies, for decades. I went to look for him. A few days later, I was standing in a clearing when Bayaka came running at me from all directions, brandishing spears and screaming. Suddenly, the noise ceased, and a tall figure detached itself from the undergrowth: a white man, two heads taller than everybody else, a Bayaka baby in each of his arms. Before me stood a legend: a lost, forgotten man, reborn in the Central African jungle. A man who once ate tadpoles for a month, who married a Bayaka woman, who survived malaria, hepatitis, typhoid, leprosy, and has recorded more than 1500 hours of unique Bayaka music. Before me stood the musical Herodotus of the Central African forests, the white Bayaka—Louis Sarno. When we shook hands in this clearing, I instantly felt that something really big had happened in my life. How could I know that this was the beginning of a journey which would turn me—a writer and journalist—into a film-maker and which would take me across the globe for years to come? To me—a person without a real home, driven from place to place, a passionate hunter-gatherer of stories who has spent the past twenty years traveling to the most remote corners of the Earth—Louis Sarno is the most fascinating person I have ever met. He took a radical leap, accomplishing what I often imagine myself doing when I am on the road: leaving it all behind, starting over, becoming someone else. More than everything else I am impressed by his life’s work: the fantastic recordings of Bayaka music that we are proud to present in this soundtrack from Song From the Forest. (Michael Obert) FROM THE CURATOR Beautifully mapping the entire range of music-making of a single community of hunter-gatherers across more than a generation, the Louis Sarno collection of Bayaka music and soundscapes is extraordinary, unprecedented, and unrepeatable. No field recordist has ever matched the depth and sensitivity of Sarno’s commitment to presenting a record of what it sounds like to live with an indigenous community. Sarno has developed a uniquely sensitive recording approach, refined through an acute listening that is only possible through permanent immersion in a culture. Nearly all of the recordings on this soundtrack have been drawn from the Louis Sarno collection of Bayaka music at the Pitt-Rivers Museum in Oxford. Louis continues to donate his exceptional recordings to the Museum with the long-term intention that they will benefit the community whose musical life they so beautifully present. (Noel Lobley, Ethnomusicologist, Pitt-Rivers Museum, Oxford University) FROM THE MUSIC SUPERVISOR Through Louis Sarno’s recordings, Bayaka music has become famous around the world. I first spoke to Louis about his endeavours in the mid-nineties when I was putting together “The Book of Music and Nature”, which included some of his work. When I heard he was still down there, twenty years later, and that a film wasnbeing made about his life, I knew I wanted to help. Central to Bayaka music is a sonic integration with the rhythms and melodies of the forest itself. We have tried to include selections from the vast archive that highlight the ways the human sounds fit into the natural sounds, as an inspiration for how human life as a whole might better be part of our surrounding environment, our true home. (David Rothenberg) TRACK NOTES BY LOUIS SARNO 1. Yeyi-greeting / 4:30 Yeyi just means ‘yodel,’ and this is one of my favorite forms of Bayaka music. They used to go on all night, slowly moving through the village, and at dawn they’d be going on one last time, throwing leaves on the roof of each house. The new generation doesn’t do it the way it used to be done. This is the most recognizable sound in Bayaka music, pure vocal music, very beautiful songs. When they sing you can hear the forest all around them. 2. Women Sing in the Forest / 4:55 This is recorded in a bimba forest, where there is not much undergrowth, so you hear the singing echoing as if you were inside a natural cathedral. The Bayaka have this way of wandering into the forest, taking music from different forms, and improvising together as they collect water or gather mushrooms. I love the sound of women’s voices in the distance in the forest. The forest without that sound is incomplete. These are the most lovely voices on Earth. 3. Tree Drumming / 3:08 There is a certain kind of tree, the gooma that has big buttress roots. You hit it and it really resonates. Whenever the Bayaka come across a tree like this on the trail they hit it and play a little music. It’s kind of irresistible. Then they move on. 4. Bobé Spirits Calling / 5:53 I remember that camp, it was a beautiful one. The first evening, as the sun was setting, I saw this fire in the distance between the bimba trees. But it turned out to be the sun, at ground level in the forest, and you could barely see it through the trees at the horizon. The Bobé were really wild, spinning around and dancing wildly. That was the time when they buried Samedi’s grandmother. I had just came back from America, and I walked fifty kilometers in one day, and I heard she had died. The next day I set up to find this camp. We didn’t know where to go exactly, and it took us three days to find it. I was so moved by the place. The ceremony went on for two or three nights. This is a typical esimé, when the women move on from the usual melodic singing into something polyrhythmic. The Bobé are not human, they are animal spirits, and they use sounds that are beyond language. The Boyobi ceremony is not just music, it’s theater, dance, and myth, all blended together. Sometimes the Bobé spirits are naked in the moonlight, smeared with bioluminescent fungus. No crew has yet been able to film this! 5. Bayaka Night Insects / 4:52 Insects, yes, but also a few birds. That’s a type of cuckoo. I call it the “ngon go go” bird. There are two cuckoos and the rest is insects, with maybe a few tree frogs. Sometimes you get these moments in the forest where everything seems to come together like that. That’s why I spent so much time in the forest, because most of the time nothing much seems to be happening. But once in a while you get these beautiful moments, which you can only get by spending a lot of time out there. Years. 6. Louis Sarno Speaks / 2:32 Ewunji was an incredible guy, Samedi’s great-grandfather. He was known to go very deep into the forest, way into what’s now the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in Congo, and we just wandered around with spears, no hunting nets. You couldn’t survive like that now. The small animals have been decimated by poachers. Taking care of this should be the responsibility of the World Wildlife Fund, but they prefer to concentrate on big charismatic animals like elephants and gorillas, instead of the animals that the Bayaka depend on, small forest antelopes and monkeys. The Bayaka are no longer allowed to go into the park, but the poachers still go in there with shotguns. 7. The Flutes We Hear No More / 5:12 That was the only time I ever heard two flute players playing at the same time. Momboli and Gongé playing mbyo duets on Dec. 22 nd 1992. You are supposed to hear this music in your dreams, that’s why they usually play it alone at night, so it can get into your dreams. They play more or less in unison even though the Bayaka love vocal polyphony. This is a music you no longer hear anymore, since the last flute player died a few years ago. He gave me his flute and I had it in my house and could get a bit of a sound out of it. But when the Séléka raided my house last year during the insurgency, they destroyed everything, and they smashed the flute. This is a sound we will never hear again. 8. Net Hunt / 3:00 Well, that’s not actually a net hunt. That’s actually gida-gida, it’s a gorilla hunting game, they imitate chimpanzee noises. That’s from 1987, the very first time I went out into the forest. Just the men and boys are singing here. They make these fake spears and pretend to kill. 9. Earth Bow / 2:09 To make an earth bow the Bayaka take a sapling and bend it over, then attach a piece of twine to one end of the sapling, tie the other end to a piece of bark and hold it over a hole that they dig in the ground. This was Boungingi, and those are the same guys who were playing the tree drum. Just takes them a minute or so to make this instrument. Usually one person plays it, but there is always some extra percussion in the background. 10. Geedal / 2:28 That’s Balonyona, one of the greatest masters of the bow harp, the geedal. I recorded many hours of his playing, he really was the best player of this instrument. In 1991 he even went to Paris to play. It has six strings, you find it all over Africa. But the Bayaka way of playing is a bit different. They use fewer notes, and more rhythms. They play along with the pulses of the forest. It fits right in. 11. Flute in Forest / 5:16 That is a beautiful melody, the flute sounds so beautiful in the forest in the distance. That sound brings back so many memories of so many good times. Momboli played that melody a lot, and I recorded it often in the distance. You hear the night ambience swelling with insects, frogs, cuckoos, and the distant flute. So many good times… This music is really part of the whole forest world. 12. Water Drumming / 2:55 When the women bathe, they are always playing water drum. And sometimes they get these percussive melodies, this is a music for girls, and they are much better at it than the boys. Women will do it, too, and sometimes I’ve been far away when you can only hear the deepest sounds, and I think it’s the drum, and when I get closer, I realize it is women playing in the water. It is one of the few instruments Bayaka women are allowed to play. 13. Lingboku Celebration / 5:36 Ah, the Lingboku – women’s music. That is the one spirit they still have. They claim all the others have been stolen from them by the men. A lot of the lyrics make fun of male sexuality, it’s really an expression of female power. The men don’t like women to do it. But they don’t stop them. The men are not supposed to be present when they sing it. “The penis has no endurance and dies right away, but the pussy is always ready to keep going.” You ought to mark this song “explicit” on the CD. The dancing is quite explicit, too, the women look like they’re humping each other and if they catch men looking at this they’ll chase them away. 14. Moukouté’s Lament / 1:52 Ah, that’s little Moukouté. He appears in the film. At the time you recorded him for the film, he really wasn’t all that good at the geedal. But since then, he’s gotten a lot better. 15. Yeyi-Farewell / 5:32 What can you say? It’s beautiful. Yeyi. It’s the most pure Bayaka music. I never get tired of hearing these songs. They bring back so much musical wealth of these people. I don’t make recordings anymore. In some ways it’s easier to make recordings with today’s new technology, but I don’t love it the way I love those old cassette recorders. How do you write numbers on those tiny SD cards! They’re always getting lost. Many of the people I used to record are no longer alive. The new generation is just not the same." [label info] www.gruenrekorder.de "One of the various releases this week that is supposed to be a soundtrack. Here no film either, but just the recordings made by Louis Sarno, made in Central Africa with Bayaka Pygmies, a tribe of hunters and collectors. Sarno is not a visitor, but he lives there as a member and married, has a son and recorded 1500 hours of music and sounds. That's what the documentary by Michael Obst is about, about this rather unique field recordist. Sarno, who guides us through music from Bayaka and the place they live in, documents each of the fifteen pieces here in word. Flutes, tree drumming, singing, games, celebrations and such like are what we hear on this disc. Sometimes recorded from a distance, with the rainforest adding a whole additional layer of sound, which works very well. The 'Tree Drumming' reminded me of earlier Etant Donnes. I very much enjoy a release like this. Not because I know a lot about the subject of tribes or Non-Western music, and I am the first to admit I can't say anything worthwhile about this, other than: I think this is a fascinating trip. Maybe it's because I was on holiday just now, and perhaps I would like to evoke the memory of holiday a bit longer? (I doubt whether Central Africa will ever be a point of holiday for me however). Just for now I can really enjoy all of this a lot. Strangely fascinating music. A sound documentary as well as something that you can enjoy from a purely musical point of view. Very nice variation in the world of field recording." [FdW/Vital Weekly #946] 2014 €14.00
SCATTERWOUND T.L. (Trilogy Live) 3 x CD set P.H / Platzhirsch 2017 / played by Dirk Serries + N at St. Joseph Church (Duisburg/Germany) recorded by the Platzhirsch Festival Team R.B / Roadburn 2018 / played by Dirk Serries + N at 013 (Tilburg/Netherlands) recorded by Marcel van de Vondervoort and his Team at Roadburn Festival M.N / Moving Noises 2019 / played by Dirk Serries + N + Martina Verhoeven at Christuskirche Bochum (Bochum/Germany) recorded by Christoph Scheidel SCATTERWOUND : Dirk Serries : electric guitar, effects, amps Hellmut Neidhardt : electric guitar, effects, amps mixed and mastered by Fear Falls Burning artwork by N Triple CD / Limited to 150 copies reverse board printed sleeve / 6 panel digisleeve on Midira Records, 2023. https://dirkserries.bandcamp.com/album/tl-trilogy-live 2023 €26.00
SCHAEFER, JANEK Location Stories do-7inch Die schöne 7“-Reihe auf MIXER wird fortgesetzt mit einer Doppel-Single von JANEK SCHAEFER: Anrufbeantworternachrichten aus Minneapolis, Ziegenglocken aus Südspanien, und eine Regenwaldsymphonie & Wordassoziationen vom Amazonas, vielfältiger gehts kaum, kleine & durchaus witzige & hintersinnige Bewusstseins- und Phantasiereisen, für jeden field-recording Fan ein Muss ! “Janek Schaefer has gained a reputation when it comes to fieldrecording-based soundworks. Using his sonic surroundings, manipulated or not, Schaefer comes up with unique and intimate results. ‘Location Stories’ is another collection of found-sound stories, that Stichting Mixer is proud of to release. Side A Minneapolis Office Max Messages > 1.45min A collage of the messages I found left on the display model of a mini digital dictaphone bought at a Branch of Office Max in Minneapolis. In a condensed period of time we get to hear many different cultures and stereotypes interacting with the technology uninterrupted by the presence of sales staff. The track concludes with a voice from my car radio, as I tested it in the car park outside, talking about innovation and technology. Side B Field Recording > 6.00min This is the unedited recording of a huge field of silent goats in the village of Villanueva de la Concepcion, south Spain. They were all wearing goat bells and didn't bleat once. The result is a random cacophony of bells. A very pure ‘field recording’ composition. Side C: Amazon Word Game [beginning] side 1 > 7.41min Side D: Amazon Word Game [ending] side 2 > 7.40min A recording made in the heart of The Amazon Rain Forest, where a Brazilian guide, two English tourists and a German tourist, are lying in hammocks at dusk, in a camp made from palm leaves, playing a ‘word association’ game. The language differences make an entertaining and intimate play of language in the middle of the ambient sounds of the virgin rainforest.” [credits] “....This new double 7" (and if understood well, the final new Stichting Mixer release in some time to come) deals with field recordings, but of three different natures. On side A we hear messages left on a mini digital dictaphone that Schaeffer bought. It was the display model so it went through many hands, and many people tried the machine, leaving their messages on. Quite a hilarious piece of found sound. The b-side is a pure field recording of goats wearing bells. The funny thing is that these goats are all silent, so the only thing we hear is the sound of the bells, which sound like a thick mass of chinese bell chimes plus some more obscured sounds, part of the recording. On the other 7" we have two recordings made in the Amazon Rain Forest, where a Brazilian guide, two English tourists and a German tourist are playing a 'word association' game. Of course the Rain Forest makes a lot of noise, bird and insect calls. Of course with three different native languages on board it's not easy to do this, so there is some amount of confusion among the players. It's a very nice idea and with the Rain Forest sounds its also a beautiful ambient recordings, but perhaps the fifteen minutes spread over 2 sides of a 7" is a bit too much. However, Schaeffer tells three great, three different stories.” [FdW, Vital Weekly] 2006 €12.00
SCHICKERT, GÜNTER & PETER UNSICKER Mauerharfe LP + CD Günter Schickert, krautrock maestro of echo-driven psychedelia, returns on Marmo one year and half after the release of the Labyrinth LP. Mauerharfe consists of old and special material, which has officially never seen the light before. It is due for release on the eve of the 30th anniversary of Berlin Wall fall, in 12” LP with CD, CD and digital formats. The physical versions contain exclusive pictures, linear notes, a prose poem by Peter Unsicker and some draft writings by the artists with reflections on the project. Berlin, August 1990, first post-wall Summer. Two friends, the locals Günter Schickert and gallerist Peter Unsicker perform a spectacular yet symbolically intimate interpretation of those epochal changing days by building a sound installation with a damaged piece of the Berlin Wall. They persuade the patrol “Feliks Dzierzynski” of the Western German army to transport and relocate a the piece outside Peter`s Wall Street Gallery on the Zimmer Strasse, in the borough of Mitte, where only a few months back the intact structure actually passed through. 
Once the wall was positioned, they bend down the bars of the iron structure that crop out the concrete, bind piano chords to them, stretch the strings down to the bottom base of the construct and connect guitar amplifiers to the set up. The Berlin Wall is ready to be played as a harp. Günter Schickert`s Mauerharfe are executed between August and October 1990, resulting into three long field recordings. Side A features a 19` long piece. The tape-induced background noise lays down a carpet of haunting atmospheres and introduces the experiment. Günter starts to test the chords by pulling out, with his fingers, dry and acid timbers. The warm up evolves by investigating wider sinusoidal waves and dilated metallic riffs. The track takes the form of a more conventional music narration, as the artist bangs the harp with a sort of rudimental violin bow creating marching percussive patterns. Layers of psychedelic ambience take over the scene before mixing up with roaring industrial spasms. Lunar sceneries seem to emerge, paving the way to sudden strings feedbacks, crackling distorted clicks and menacing reverbs. Flipping side, a similarly long take opens up with ferocious urge, like being catapulted into a warfare between iron and cement, sounding like a real military operation. As the strings get hit and pulled, the metal seems to crash into thousands of pieces, dissolving into merciless distortions. Yet it is intriguing to notice how these dynamics of madness occasionally generate wavy and gentle sub-harmonics. This piece adds up intensity in comparison to the previous one, containing enhanced abrasive and distorted frequencies. The final part is marked by monstrous echoing rhythms, before drifting back to a chaotic rumble of fire, metal and concrete. The third piece, Mauerharfe 3, is a 30 minutes long performance dated August the 13th 1990. As Schickert recalls, 29 years before exactly on that same date, the construction of the Berlin wall was accomplished. This take appears exclusively on CD, with copies included inside the vinyl package and as a separate CD format release. The recording is cleaner than the previous two, giving more width and definition to the sounds. As opposed to Mauerharfe 1 and 2, where the wall of sound is overwhelming, in this 3rd take human presences can be heard : fragments of women voices, a baby crying, the siren of a police car. The compositional approach is more sober, the tones of the harp warmer, closer to an actual one, its notes more gentle, discrete and meditative, sometimes resulting into deep, gong-like percussive timbers. As Günter Schickert claims, the idea behind the project was the one of representing, in a personal musical way, the feelings and sensations that he – as well as many others experiencing the division and eventually the removal of the Wall - felt through the decades around the presence of this monstrous separator. The wall becomes an instrument, seen both as an object and executor of the experiment, while the human and artistic presence almost vanishes. The atonal and harsh sounds embody the ugliness of an inhuman separation, the terrible echoes of prisons and the lament of its prisoners. The pulling of the strings suggests the repression of a regime, while releasing these it indicates a dash of freedom. You can get lost into the intensity of the Mauerharfe, find always new sensations and a countless amount of details. If you approach the listening with adventurous spirit and a good dose of curiosity, it can really throw you back into the past, a past of segregation, austerity and suppression, yet of an urging desire of liberation. https://marmomusic.bandcamp.com/album/g-nter-schickert-peter-unsicker-mauerharfe 2019 €22.50
SCHLIENZ, GÜNTER Autumn CD Günter Schlienz is a musician deriving from the German experimental underground. He has been an active musician for over 25 years. For 20 years, he has been a part of an ambient / post-rock project Navel. He releases music in analogue formats as Cosmic Winnetou. But above all he constructs synthesizers which he also plays. An example of his synthesizer music is another album in his discography entitled "Autumn" and inspired by the three autumn months. So is also the number of compositions that slowly whisk ahead, like brown leaves falling from the trees. Their organic nature is underlined by guest parts of French horn and cymbals. The sequential nature of sounds from modular synthesizer corresponds perfectly with the autumn musings and the slow pace of life. The album "Autumn" is released in a 3-panel ecopak in a strictly limited edition of 250 copies. The cover was designed Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek). It is mastered by Łukasz Miernik. zoharum.bandcamp.com/album/autumn 2016 €12.00
SCHLOSS TEGAL Oranur III. The Third and Final Report CD "Based on the work of Wilhelm Reich and his encounters with UFOs, this influential album has been remastered and reworked from the original recordings, with new bonus tracks and new remixed versions. Originally released in 1997 on CD by Tegal Records (Ltd x 1000) and LP by Artware Productions, Germany (Ltd x 1000), all of the original subject matter has been taken to a new level with this digital recording from the analogue sources. This is the third and final warning to the sleeping beings of the earth. This album influenced many other electronic artists and has been hailed as one of the first recordings to be labelled "dark ambient"." [label info] www.coldspring.co.uk https://schlosstegal.bandcamp.com/album/oranur-iii-the-third-and-final-report 2012 €12.00
SCHNITZLER, CONRAD & PHARMAKUSTIK Kontraktion LP "The album 'Kontraktion' is the result of two long sessions that have been recorded on tapes by Conrad Schnitzler and Siegmar Fricke in Con's former studio Leberstrasse in Berlin. The five soundscapes (produced in November 1986 and July 1987 with EMS-Synthi A, KORG MS 10+20, delays) contain all the machinistic energy and infernal industrial sound-eruptions similar to Conrad's first three albums 'Schwarz', 'Rot' and 'Blau' and to the rumbling train-wheel-rhythms of 'Zug' (from the CON-album 1978). In addition 'Kontraktion' carries the spirit of the first album by Cluster (released on Philips in 1971) due to the imposing bruitiste elements of uneasy sci-fi atmospheres. In 2014 the long sessions on tape have been edited, restructured and recombined by Siegmar Fricke at Pharmakustik-studio Germany and have now become a powerful milestone... 30 years after they have been recorded." 2016 €22.00
SCHNITZLER, CONRAD & WOLFGANG SEIDEL Music is not Language. Neither is it Painting. Just Music LP "A posthumous duo LP featuring text and music by Conrad Schnitzler, music by Wolfgang Seidel, and artwork by Matt Howarth! Conrad Schnitzler and Wolfgang Seidel have been musical collaborators since the early 1970s when Seidel performed in Schnitzler's free-form group Eruption that had been founded as a successor to Kluster and featured a revolving cast of members. In the 1980s, they produced the duo albums Consequenz, Consequenz II and Con 3 where Seidel performed under his alias Wolf Sequenza. Shortly before Schnitzler's death in 2011, he handed Seidel a hard disk of his archive including a huge collection of music originally recorded to CD-R, subdivided into "solos" and "mixes", where solos are building blocks to be blended with other solos in a performance, and mixes are recordings of such performances. One of those solos turned out to be a spoken-word CD-R, aptly titled "CONtext", where Schnitzler gives an account of his musical philosophy – in a performative lecture with a lot of humour. It is not known what he intended this recording for, but its unique character made it a natural choice for a building block of a new piece. Instead of making a collage with other solos from Schnitzler's archive, Seidel decided to record his own music to accompany the text, inspired by the early-1970s Eruption recordings. The resulting 8-channel piece was mixed down to stereo for side A of this LP and features Schnitzler's voice and English text-to-speech subtitles for his non-German-speaking fans. Side B contains an instrumental posthumous duo for which Seidel used excerpts from Schnitzler's EMS synthesizer performance at the Gallery House in London in 1972. The cover artwork was created by US comic artist Matt Howarth and features Con, a character from his Savage Henry comic book series who is a "German synthethist" and member of the premiere insect-rock group, the Bulldaggers. "Any combination of sounds is just as valid as any other. Any means for the production of a group of sounds is just as valid as any other means. [...] Music is not what reaches our ear as a sound wave. It's not the sounds that are music, but what we've made out of them and what has been heard from them." (Conrad Schnitzler) Edition of 300 with printed inner sleeve and insert containing a transcript of side A and liner notes." www.edition-telemark.de/923.06.html 2021 €20.00
SCISS Crosshatch mCD-R Another new label rising from Berlin with its first output, a damn fine release by german project SCISS, combining digitally processed drones and found sounds.. kind of ambience with musique concrete influences... comes in special white printed cardboard box ! “ apostrov starts its release programme with «crosshatch» by the berlin based composer and musician sciss. the 18-minute mini-cd appears to be a crystallization of the artist's live performances. during the recent years through many concerts, sciss has created a kind of alter ego. it has an individual independence and freedom distinct from his studio works like «stamina» or «residual». it is the well-prepared but equally improvising live situation of asynchronous tape tracks being mixed, filtered, alienated and sampled, where the meditative and the spontaneous elements meet. «crosshatch» is a rearranged and intensified version of the dienstbar concert in october 2003 in the church of the holy cross – the concert as a space inside a space, earthly headquarter inside the celestial. no coincidences: alike the initial mover, the piece begins with a soft stroke which unfolds a unidirectional 'dynamic' energy throughout the first part. the dancing figure arises from a ducked position, heads straight forward but turns out to be a vulnerable object. maximally reduced but nevertheless exploring the properties of tortuousity, the listener is thrown into a panopticum comprised of shattered items. a visual presentation of synchronous, different viewpoints, phrases which revolve, counterparts that are not contradictory. a concealed pompe des nuages is operating and produces castings and spew outs as a new landscape. what is a poetic affection? distant sound traces cautiously underline the barren foreground like sheet lightning. and right in the middle of it a short melodic fragment, like an obelisk standing on a grey deserted square, its skin made of oil. a distressingly premature return of the oreille from its embryonic separation to the real, yet echoing world.” [label description] 2004 €7.00
SCOTT, SIMON (SIMON SCOTT) Insomni CD "Couldn't sleep arose to forage for sound. The hum of the fridge encouraged further investigation of hidden, domestic sounds; the fish tank, dvd player, a broken laptop Dawn and morning light allowed more sound and the guitar, in its case, beckoned From darkness to light Guitars: Guild 12 string D-125 & Vintage Guild 6 string GF-25. Mics: Induction coil pick up & Hydrophones. Buddha Machine pre-recorded and mixed, then re-recorded at Holme Fen Posts using mobile speakers. Recording device: Edirol r-09. Radio: static between stations. Software: Max MSP (self-programmed), Supercollider & Logic Pro. Simon Scott (b. 1971) is a British multi-instrumentalist who is currently based in Cambridge, UK. Insomni is his fourth album and his debut for Ash International and is published by Touch. His music is a fusion of digital signal manipulation combined with an aesthetic of compositional collaboration with environmental sounds and organic acoustic textures. He is inspired by his interests in sound ecology, music technology, the natural world, illustration, photography, composition and sonic art. Below Sea Level, originally presented live in quadraphonic sound, was released on Touchline in March 2015, after 12k originally released the album in 2012 as an 80-page journal and seven track CD. It explores the aesthetics of active listening, sound ecology and the subjective distinction of compositional materials and sound timbres. Critically applauded for creating juxtapositions of analogue and digital timbres, the man-made and natural world sounds, captured in his local sunken landscape of The Fens in East Anglia, create a fusion of digital signal manipulation combined with organic acoustic textures. Since the late 1990's Scott's solo work has been featured in a variety of international films, sonic art exhibitions, dance productions, television productions and digital multi-media projects. He has toured worldwide since 1988 and he is the drummer for UK band Slowdive, who worked with Brian Eno on 1993 'Souvlaki' album. His track 'Für Betty' was included on the German label Kompakt's 'Pop Ambient' (2014) compilation series and his solo music has also been previously released on recording labels 12k, Morr Music, Miasmah, Sonic Pieces and Ghostly International. Scott is also a freelance composer and sound recordist for film and television and recently appeared on the BBC program 'Springwatch Unsprung' recording aquatic wildlife and discussing his work with presenter Chris Packham. He has taught Music Technology and sound recording in Cambridgeshire and lectured at Cambridge University. In 2008 he established the KESH recording label, releasing global artists audio and visual projects and he has also collaborated on various projects with Taylor Deupree, Nils Frahm, Machinefabriek, The Sight Below, Isan and James Blackshaw." [label info] "There are people who know Simon Scott as member of the renown shoegazer band, Slowdive. I have, unfortunately, never got into their music during their reign (even now I can see Rafael Anton Irisarri glaring down at me for this comment). I have, however, come upon Simon Scott's music back in 2009, where, for the first time since his playing drums for Slowdive, he has ventured out to release a solo album. Since then, Scott's music appeared on many of my favorite labels, such as Miasmah, Low Point, Slaapwel, and even 12k. Scott also runs and releases on his very own imprint, Kesh Recordings. His latest full length, Insomni, lands courtesy of Ash International, a long running outlet for Mike Harding, who is already busy with curating releases for Touch. Insomni opens up with a slowly rising guitar strum slash drone slash noise, perfect as a soundtrack for my early morning walk, as I step out towards a lethargic and barely visible sun. The volume ascents with the climbing star, and soon envelopes every cell of my body. Gentle ambient soundscapes are intermixed with growling distortion, and it is this cocktail of dynamically opposing sonic vibrations that awakens my neurons, and a smile creeps in. The thunder eventually dissolves into a field recording of chirping birds, and Scott's guitar chords tell their story. Those awakened in the midst of night will recognize this texture of insomnia, mixed with fleeting thoughts within an empty chalice of a mind, and distant sounds of the universe unfolding on its own... all on its own... Couldn't sleep... arose to forage for sound. The hum of the fridge encouraged further investigation of hidden, domestic sounds; the fish tank, dvd player, a broken laptop... Dawn and morning light allowed more sound and the guitar, in its case, beckoned... From darkness to light… -Scott Insomni pursues its tale through a set of repetitious passages, shimmering light and lo-fi fabric. These are accented with environmental sounds (including the pickup of a cellular electromagnetic interference), wrapping this reverse lullaby into an organic aural pillow of music to wake up to. My favorite moment on the album enters with Scott playing his acoustic guitar (the press release credits a Guild 12-string D-125 and Vintage Guild six-string GF-25) - this is where Scott's talent as a multi-instrumentalist truly shines - it feels like Simon Scott is all this music, all these sounds, all this one. This is a beautiful record to add to your collection, and if you buy directly from the label you will receive two bonus tracks not available anywhere else. Highly recommended for fans of Rafael Anton Irisarri, William Basinski, Lawrence English and Christian Fennesz." [headphone commute] 2015 €15.00
SEETYCA The Lake (SOLD OUT) 7inch Erstes Vinyl für dieses ostdeutsche Projekt, welches fast lyrisch zu nennende akustische Stimmungslandschaften erschafft, organisch und geheimnisvoll, von dunkler expressiver Kraft.... "Another German project dealing with language, poetry and sound is SEETYCA. They use their own orthography and publish lyrics and prose on their projects website. Seetyca’s musical interest lies more in creating "acoustic landscapes" or moods than in telling stories. They’re especially interested in unconscious archaic states of the mind. The two pieces on "The Lake" relate to a sacral approach of experiencing nature. When beautiful (classic?) samples are set into a sphere of extremely wide spaces and reverbation, when these clouds of sounds spread out in infinite refulgence, moving like slow surging billows, a point of utmost inner calmness can be reached..... File under: mysterious organic drones BLACK MARBLED DARK GREEN VINYL, HANDSPRAYED COVERS WITH COLOUR PHOTO, INLAY" [press release] 2007 €7.00  
Nemeton CD " 'Nemeton' is the new studio album from seetyca on the Winter-Light label and we are very pleased to have this fine artist on our roster. In the ancient Celtic tradition, a Nemeton was a sacred space, primarily situated in natural areas, often sacred groves of trees. The album 'Nemeton' will take you to your own sacred place, as it hints at what lies hidden, ever deeper in the thick forests and darkened woods of Germany. A lo-fi master piece in dark ambient, the six tracks on this CD invoke feelings of apprehension, wonder and longing for a place never visited in the flesh but often travelled to in the minds eye. A place that lies tantalising just out of reach in the distance but that at any moment can become all consuming and enveloping. Encompassing you in thick dark layers of ambience and transporting you to a space from which there is no return. CD is strictly limited to 300 copies in a 6-panel digipack. 6 tracks, total running time 79:30. 1. katarakt - 2. nemeton - 3. die wogen der unbil - 4. wenn alles aus ist - 5. als loch geh ich vor dich hin - 6. die Feuer von samhain" [label info] www.winter-light.nl 2015 €13.00
  Trances CD 'Trances' is the new album from Germany's master of the drone Seetyca, which is a sequel to the album 'Zwischenwelten', previously released on our Winter-Light label in September, 2016. On 'Zwischenwelten' the listener was pulled between worlds, switching from one to the other through dense ambient drone pieces. On 'Trances', one is drawn into different states of mind, slight shifts in sanity and mental disturbances. This is not only evident in the music and some of the track titles but in the musical transitions also. There are subtle changes and shifts used in the cross overs between the tracks. What the artist refers to as experimenting with different "disturbed transitions'. As the album title suggests, the music is very hypnotic and in keeping with Seetyca's signature drone style. But there are other elements at work here, layered between the drones, or inter-woven between each track which also makes 'Trances' a stand alone album in it's own right. Here, Seetyca gives the listener the space to maneuver between sounds, not filling the whole space up, to the point that you feel suffocated. Patient and careful attention to detail. Enjoy. credits released March 28, 2019 All music written and recorded by Seetyca. Seetyca uses e-maschinen & samplers, flutes, duduk, rich. lipp & sohn piano, self-built percussion and voice. Mixed by Artin Mucht. Mastered by Seetyca. https://winter-light.bandcamp.com/album/trances Here’s one for those who dig long, continuous strings of soundscapes as expansive, inspired and deep drone worlds are on the menu on Seetyca’s “Trances”, a kind of follow-up of “Zwischenwelten”. The 60-minute organic-spiced aural space is long and continuous flow of sound a blend of electronics, wind instruments and acoustic elements immersing into an alienating, profound mysterious and dark netherworld with an occasional abstract/experimental edge. Lovely echoes of Schulze’s “Mirage” surface beautifully but briefly on “Huge Globes of Glass passing by” while the sonic fingerprint of Robert Rich comes to mind as well as haunting/gothic-ish ambiences at other passages as it travels into the beyond. The two-part “Stratospheres” found at the end of the release is a special treat due to the very nicely rendered elevating impact. Despite the sometimes obscure sound treatments, few strange aural corridors and twists, “Trances” is an appropriate companion to descend into a deeper, hypnotizing state- without things becoming gloomy or feeling lost. Website: http://www.seetyca.bandcamp.com [Sonic Immersion] 2019 €12.00
SENSSURROUND ORCHESTRA Mort aux Vaches: Meltdown Of Control CD Commissioned By – VPRO Radio 5 Concept By – Zbigniew Karkowski Edited By [Re-edited And Structured] – Edwin Van Der Heide, Zbigniew Karkowski Mastered By – Edwin Van Der Heide Performer [Member Of The Senssurround Orchestra, Berlin] – Bastian Maaris*, Pneuma Performer [Member Of The Senssurround Orchestra, London] – Peter Rehberg, Russell Haswell Performer [Member Of The Senssurround Orchestra, Tokyo, Berlin, London] – Akifumi Nakajima, Atau Tanaka, Edwin Van Der Heide, Hiroshi Hasegawa, Kasper T Toeplitz, Masami Akita, Mayuko Hino, Reiko A*, Tetsuo Furudate, Zbigniew Karkowski Performer [Member Of The Senssurround Orchestra, Tokyo, Berlin] – Sumihisa Arima Performer [Member Of The Senssurround Orchestra, Tokyo] – Ami Yoshida, BELL:MARK Stringquartet, Dror Feiler, K.K.Null*, Masahiro Miwa Sleeve – Rob Meerman Sound Designer, Engineer [Berlin] – Rolf Biemelt Sound Designer, Engineer [London] – Edwin Van Der Heide Sound Designer, Engineer [Tokyo] – Michinao Onishi The material used in this Mort Aux Vaches release was recorded during 3 live performances: 5.12.97 at Japan Foundation Hall in Tokyo, Japan 1.07.98 at Podewil in Berlin, Germany 2.07.98 at ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL - Queen Elisabeth Hall, London, UK (this performance was a part of John Peel's 'meltdown 98' festival). This cd contains live recorded material re-edited and structured in Tokyo and Utrecht in 1999. Limited edition of 1000 hand-numbered copies. Packaged in a six-panel multi-fold cover, with a metal fastener. 2000 €13.00
SIGMARSSON, SIGTRYGGUR (BERG) So Long CD "Soundartist die Zweite. Nach Mathieus genialer Traumvertonung nun mit So long das zweite Album des Genres in den Top 20. Anders als bei Mathieu gehts hier nicht surreal, träumerisch zu Werke, hier gibts brummelige, elektroakustische Drones bis zum Anschlag. Wer sich bei diesen langen, ständig sich ändernden, schlichten Drones an The Hafler Trio erinnert fühlt, der liegt sicher richtig. In seiner Zeit in Island hatten Haflers Andrew McKenzie und Berg Sigmarssons Band Stilluppsteypa engen Kontakt. Berg Simarsson hat an diesem Meisterwerk jahrelang herumgeschraubt und so kommt am Ende das wahrscheinlich beste Album des Genres seit Hafler Trios grandiosem „No Man Put Asunder: 7 Fruitful And Seamless Unions“ von 2003 heraus." [Sibylle Bölling] "A journey through time, perhaps, for a daydreamer floating in a small boat amidst the radiant hues of a midnight sun. That daydreamer in this instance is the Icelandic artist Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson, best known for his electro-surrealism in Stilluppsteypa. He has long been an artist of extremes and absurdities -- mania fueled performances, wildly scribbled drawings, and Haflerian audio shock-therapy, on one side; and on the other, a profound meditation on austere shape, form, and mood cast through similar media. Sigmarsson will intermingle these sentiments in slippery juxtaposition and assemblage, with beguiling, haunting, and / or charming results. So Long aligns itself firmly within that latter aesthetic of crypto-minimalism which began to germinate some 20 years ago. At that time, Stilluppsteypa was a trio who had recently eschewed their art-punk trappings, drunkenly scheming to corner the market at Documenta with deconstructivist drone and 21th century circuitry. Sigmarsson would find himself in his own studio, crafting sympathetic works to Stilluppsteypa; but these were directed inward as wounded, naked, and vulnerable concoctions reflective of Sigmarsson getting lost in his own little world. So Long quietly simmered in his head over the years; and with the completion of this album, we now have a sublime gesture of polar impressionism flecked with hallucinatory ambience, Vaseline-smeared crackle, and hauntological displacement. This album had originally been planned for release through the impeccably curated Intransitive Recordings, but that publishing house shuddered its doors before this could see the light of day. Sigmarsson self-released a condensed version of the album on the artbook / cassette If You Have Any Questions, Let Me Ask. The Helen Scarsdale Agency is delighted, honored, and humbled to publish this dronescaping threnody in its full radiance and blur." [label info] www.helenscarsdale.com "What a strange and wonderful trip it has been for Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson! Despite a journey that currently extends into its third decade, Sigmarsson's course as an artist has never lost its youthful charm, emotional resonance, and Scandinavian grandeur. Since 1994, he has been the crux for the Iceland outfit Stilluppsteypa. Once, a damaged art-punk trio of drunken Dada noise, Stilluppsteypa effortlessly reinvented itself into one of the more adventurous of glitched, fizzed, and digitally abraded outfits right before the paranoiac lapse of Y2K, only the shed those clothes for taciturn sound design of radiophonic drone and polar spelunking which earned them more than their fair share of exemplary dronological recordings often joined by the esteemed BJ Nilsen. Dotted throughout Stilluppsteypa's catalogue of recordings, you will find a few recordings from Sigmarsson on his own, occasionally reflecting a similar aesthetic course to Stilluppsteypa; but often veering even further towards austere minimalism and colder than cold electronics. The ice that is in Sigmarsson's veins belies some of the summery poetry that he has affixed to his solo work. His early masterpiece Ship ripples with sepulchral organ tones and rumbling frequencies that were in many ways the personal soundtrack for Sigmarsson's excursions of floating in the sea around Rejkyavik, while staring at the sun daydreaming about clouds, girls, booze, etc. What could be better? So Long is an album that began around the same time as Ship, in the form of extracts of luminously dark organ drones whose pools of sound never made their way on to any other recording. Slowly over the years, Sigmarsson began shaping those lumps of aural clay into a somber wanderings of soft noise, gorgeous hypno-mesmerism, radiant black drone, and elegantly subtle melodies buried under six feet of snow. Until, the next Thomas Koner record, we can delight in the heavy drones from Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson!" [Aquarius Records] "Following a bunch of releases in the late summer of 2014, mostly on cassette, Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson (one half of Stilluppsteypa) returns with a full length release for The Helen Scarsdale Agency, following the fact that the original label to release this, Intransitive Recordings, stopped shop a while ago. These three pieces were made over a long period of time, 1998-2013, of course not being worked on a daily basis, but evolving slowly. Sigmarsson himself published a shorter version of this on cassette - see Vital Weekly 935 - about which I wrote: "these two pieces (fifty minutes in total) are more collage like yet also maintain the trademark drone character of the music of Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson. Various pieces are cut together in one long piece (Sigmarsson also mailed me the WAV files for these pieces to be included in the podcast). Beautiful dark drone music, using computer techniques no doubt and on the other side we find field recordings of natural sounds, church organs and who knows what else. It's the music I very much like, and perhaps also can't be critical about. Yes, I heard this before, as good as this etc., but I just like this a lot. Highly inspired ambient drone music with a strong bite. Not lulling the listener to a deep sleep but transporting him to different worlds. Excellent!" As a bonus we get here another fourteen minutes of processed organ sounds and likewise processed field recordings adding more mood to the previous fifty plus minutes. It makes it all quite a fine release of one of the best drone meisters." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2015 €13.00
SKULL DEFEKTS The Drone Drug LP Endlich sprichts mal jemand aus: DRONES haben Drogenwirkung! Die schwedische Band SKULL DEFEKTS ist eigentlich nicht unbedingt für lupenreine Drone-Musik bekannt, aber hier sind sie ganz auf der "Analog Synth Drone"-Schiene, sehr trocken, sehr vibrierend und kratzend und knarzend, mit inhärenten wellen- und vibratohaften Bewegungen, keine endlosen hallenden Räume sondern spürbare Reibung und Vibration sind das Thema... "In their own words, Sweden's Skull Defekts are "all about rhythm, repetition, and all energies in sound." The concept manifests itself in two distinctly different forms. On 2007's Blood Spirits and Drums Are Singing, the band showcased their more "rock"-based sound described by Julian Cope as an amalgamation of Chairs Missing-period Wire, Audionom, and '70s German proto-metallers Tiger B. Smith. However, the DFX, as they're sometimes known, also have an alter-ego under which their sound becomes a harsh wall of droning noise and psychedelic industrial bowel churn. It is that persona that is embodied on The Drone Drug. Drone is often associated with music that is essentially ambient in nature. While The Skull Defekts do create an ambient aura, The Drone Drug has more in common with the terrifying atmospheres created by noisier cohorts like Prurient then the minimalism of Tomas Koner. The sound is grim, black, and abrasive; mechanical, filthy, and unnerving. This limited-edition LP is the first of two by the DFX to be released by Actual Noise, with the second, Skull, coming in the near future. A recent appearance at No Fun Fest, an Eastern US tour in October, an upcoming split with Prurient, and a new release on Important Records, all make 2008 a very productive and successful year for The Skull Defekts." [label info] " NOW ON VINYL!! Limited to 500 silkscreened copies. With a coupon for free digital download of the album, with an extra track, one we're pretty sure was included on the prior cd version of this on Release The Bats, which we reviewed thusly: Holy drone!! This is not at all what we expected from these guys, but then, most Skull Defekts records tend to confuse or confound. Which is pretty much why we love them so. And who are we to turn up our noses art a sonic surprise, especially when that surprise is DRONES. Big thick buzzy snarling crumbling blown out low end buzzing writhing brain melting, ear drum crushing, rib cage rattling, speaker destroying drones. Skull Defekts are no stranger to the drone, and the fact that they called this record Drone Drug, should have been a clue, but the band, who in the past have been heavily rhythmic, have discarded pretty much everything except for the drone. No beats, no riffs, no recognizable instruments, nothing but deep dark drones. This is a seriously heavy record. Dense and brutal, four extended tracks, each an exercise in tension, long form extended tones, but within these, stretched out sounds, much like dronelord Phill Niblock, the various layers are surprisingly active, throbbing and pulsing, and twisting and slithering and buzzing and whirring and shimmering, the sounds rough and raw, bits crumbling and emitting grit, slipping into fuzzy drift and then slipping back into a solid endless throb. The power of the drone is divine, and when harnessed, like this, with volume, and texture, and timbre, the music is a physical presence. Headphones come to life and encase your head in an organic black cocoon of sound, speakers unfurl thick flows of sonic tar, laying supine, eyes closed, you're soon buried alive, beneath layers and layers of resonant rumbling sound. And it is divine.This is powerful, earth shifting, massive minimal music. Not sure if these sounds come from synths or guitars, electronics or sine wave generators, malfunctioning effects pedals or a microphone lowered into the center of the Earth (we're leaning toward the latter), the result is something so primal and organic, so primeval and timeless, the act of listening seems to alter the listener's molecular structure, transporting the listener to an alternate universe, made entirely of sound, where our bodies are transformed into sound waves, our souls escape their mortal shackles and reveal themselves to be pure, deep drones. So awesome." [Aquarius Records review] www.actualnoise.net 2008 €15.00
SKULLFLOWER / MASTERY split LP "SKULLFLOWER presents a trinity of sombre meditations evoking Europe after the rain, drowned ruins, sunken dreams: spiders run across harpsichords in deserted schlosses and chateaus, doors slam and phantom demon choirs are summoned at seances by Blatavskian crones, whose impenetrable china blue dolls eyes open onto Tibetan vistas, terrible, ancient and remote… MASTERY is improvised one man cosm(ag)ick from Ephemeral Domignostika. Total berzerker black metal, rooted in the tradition of true grim blackness, but filtered through Mastery’s cracked perception, transforming this into something beyond true; a droned out and damaged, outsider blackness, that sounds pretty much unlike almost any other black metal. Ltd x 500 copies. Standard edition: 400 copies on purple vinyl. Special edition: 100 hand-numbered copies on green vinyl through Cold Spring mailorder only!" [label info] " 'We offer an invocation to, and an evocation of the hidden, averse, heathen power that seethe within our native soil. Come leave your timid gelded civilised masks, bow down and rise up, reborn, within our whirlwind', schreibt SKULLFLOWER-Mastermind MATTHEW BOWER unter der Überschrift „Skullflower: What we are ...“ in seinem Blog und vermittelt so eine Ahnung des – ich nenn' es mal – ganzheitlichen Aufforderungscharakters, den er mit der Musik seiner, 1987 gegründeten und 1988 mit der 12'' Skullflower-Birthdeath/release/142281">"Birthdeath" auf BROKEN FLAG debütierenden Band verbindet. Kurzum, der Mann hat Sendungsbewusstsein, und das nicht ohne Grund. Bis zum, durch interne Streitigkeiten zwischen den Mitgliedern verursachten Bruch im Jahre 1996 handelte es sich bei SKULLFLOWER, ungeachtet ihrer Einbindung in die klassische englische Industrial-Szene der frühen 80er Jahre, um eine Band im engeren und bei ihrer Musik um Noise Rock, im – nun ja – sehr weiten Sinne. Dies änderte sich, als Gründungsmitglied MATTHEW BOWER SKULLFLOWER 2003 als Quasi-Soloprojekt ins Leben zurück rief. Zwar umfasst das derzeitige Line-Up immer noch die Mitstreiter SAMANTHA DAVIES und LEE STROKE, man tut den beiden aber sicherlich kein Unrecht, wenn man in ihnen eher Begleitmusiker für die Realisierung von Visionen sieht, die in allererster Linie BOWER'scher Provenienz sind. Der Sound verschob sich von Album zu Album nachdrücklicher in den Bereich des Noisig-Atonalen, bisweilen auch Dronigen – wobei man sich das, was hier behelfsmäßig als "Drone" bezeichnen wird, im Falle von SKULLFLOWER selbstverständlich dezidiert unbehaglich vorzustellen hat. Den bisherigen Gipfelpunkt dieser Entwicklung bezeichnet zweifellos das, 2011 bei COLD SPRING erschienene Album "Fucked On A Pile Of Corpses", mit dem BOWER ein infernalisches Noise-Monster abgeliefert hat, das sich in der Brutalität und Kompromisslosigkeit seiner musikalischen Umsetzung dem überaus charmanten Albumtitel als absolut ebenbürtig erweist. Umso überraschter – und das durchaus positiv – ist man nun, auf der vorliegenden, ebenfalls auf COLD SPRING veröffentlichten Split-LP wieder eine Rückwendung in vergleichsweise strukturiertere musikalische Territorien zu verzeichnen. Der Begriff skullflowertruth.blogspot.de/2012/07/black-psychedelia-one-of-these-days-im.html">"black psychedelia", den BOWER in seinem Blog auf das Side-Project VOLTIGEURS anwendet, scheint mir für die Beiträge auf der vorliegenden Split-LP wahrlich nicht minder passend: Was für ein Getöse! Was für eine Wucht! Wer den jüngeren Output bis hin zum besagten, Nerven und Gehör gleichermaßen zerschreddernden Meisterwerk von 2011 ebenso zu schätzen weiß wie ältere, tendenziell „rockigere“ (Anführungszeichen sind hier durchaus angebracht) Veröffentlichungen wie Skullflower-Obsidian-Shaking-Codex/master/54292">"Obsidian Shaking Codex" von 1993, der wird von diesen drei Stücken begeistert sein. Zur Darbietung gelangt eine Melange aus den beiden zentralen stilistischen Betätigungsfeldern der umtriebigen Band aus London – das Beste aus beiden Welten sozusagen. Wie auf den meisten späteren SKULLFLOWER-Veröffentlichungen kommt man komplett ohne den Einsatz von Drums bzw. ganz generell ohne irgend einen Beat aus: Der Sound baut sich alleine aus schneidend-knirschenden, durch Verzerrer und Effektgeräte gemarterte, im aktuellen Fall – passend zum compagnon de guerre auf der B-Seite – ziemlich Black-Metal-lastig tönenden Gitarrenriffs auf, die in der Gesamtschau etwas generieren, das man wohl am treffendsten als apokalyptisches Noisedronehochamt umschreiben könnte. Letztlich mündet der Versuch einer konkreteren Charakterisierung der Musik von SKULLFLOWER fast zwangsläufig in ein Ringen um wohlfeile Worte, denn seit die Band nach ihrer Interimsauflösung im Jahre 1996 und der Wiederauferstehung im Jahre 2003 wieder auf Kurs ist, oszilliert der "typische" SKULLFLOWER-Sound irgendwo im Niemandsland zwischen Gitarrenwänden, Feedbackexperimenten und brutalem Noise – und ist überdies immer im Fluss, will heißen, der Schwerpunkt, um den herum sich die Musik jeweils kristallisiert, ändert sich von Veröffentlichung zu Veröffentlichung. Die Atmosphäre der drei Stücke der Split-LP ist getragen, man könnte sie schon fast ein wenig pathetisch – nicht im abwertenden Sinne – nennen, doch mag das der Thematik geschuldet sein, die sie laut Promotext umkreisen, es handelt sich nämlich um "a trinity of sombre meditations evoking Europe after the rain, drowned ruins, sunken dreams". Im Übrigen darf es, wer für einen derartigen Alleszermalmer wie das mehrfach angesprochene Vorgängeralbum verantwortlich zeichnet, guten Gewissens mal ein wenig ruhiger und getragener angehen – gar kein Problem. Das sei MATTHEW BOWER und uns, dem enthusiasmierten Publikum, von ganzem Herzen gegönnt. Zumal "ruhig" in diesem Fall ohnehin nur sehr, sehr bedingt etwas mit dem landläufig üblichen Verständnis von ruhig zu tun hat. Langer Rede kurzer Sinn: Großartiger Beitrag – Musik, die im Raum steht wie ein schwarzer Monolith. Und damit kommen wir zur B-Seite und ... äh ... MASTERY. – Vorweg sei das Eingeständnis ausgesprochen, dass ich mich in der schillernden Welt des Black Metal keiner allzu fundierten Sachkenntnis erfreue, obgleich ich dem Genre im Laufe der letzten Jahre zunehmend mehr Sympathie entgegenbringe. Der geneigte Leser möge meine folgenden Worte also als subjektive Meinung eines Interessierten und keinesfalls als kanonisches Urteil eines Eingeweihten – oder eines solchen, der sich dafür hält – interpretieren. Denn in der Tat: So lange ich mich bei der A-Seite aufgehalten habe, so kurz kann ich mich bei der B-Seite fassen: Laut discogs handelt es sich bei MASTERY um ein, seit 2005 aktives Ein-Mann-Black-Metal-Projekt aus der Gegend um San Francisco; die Musik beschreibt der Promotext als "[t]otal berzerker black metal, rooted in the tradition of true grim blackness, but filtered through Mastery's cracked perception […]; a droned out and damaged, outsider blackness, that sounds pretty much unlike almost any other black metal." Nun ja. Meiner unmaßgeblichen Meinung nach wäre hier ein wenig mehr Bescheidenheit unbedingt am Platze gewesen: "Blood Electric" ist summa summarum eine ebenso brutale wie uninteressante Uptempoprügelnummer, dominiert von einer Stimme, die irgendwo zwischen genretypischem BM-Krächzgeschrei und Death-Metal-Gegrowle changiert. Und aufregend, geschweige denn "droned out and damaged outsider blackness", geht nun wirklich anders. Nicht nur, dass man dergleichen schon x-mal anderswo und obendrein besser gehört hat – wenn auch nicht unbedingt auf knapp 18 ununterbrochene und mit Fortschreiten der Laufzeit zunehmend nervigere Minuten ausgedehnt. Man fragt sich zudem, worin eigentlich das verbindende Glied zwischen SKULLFLOWERs grandiosem Opus auf der A-Seite und diesem mediokren Gekloppe bestehen soll – und zwar ebenso in qualitativer wie in stilistisch-formaler Hinsicht. Ich jedenfalls bin einigermaßen davon überzeugt, dass so ziemlich jeder, der – mit absoluter Berechtigung! – von der SKULLFLOWER-Seite begeistert ist, die MASTERY-Seite mit einem Gähnen quittieren wird – et vice versa. Doch sei's drum: Allein für den beispiellosen musikalischen Furor, den SKULLFLOWER auf der A-Seite entfalten, lohnt sich die Anschaffung allemal." [Endsal für nonpop.de] 2013 €23.00
SONIC YOUTH The Eternal CD "Sonic Youth’s 16th album, ‘The Eternal’, will be released on double vinyl, compact disc, and digital album by Matador Records on June 9. Produced by John Agnello and the band, ‘The Eternal’ not only marks Sonic Youth’s return to the independent label sphere (titles on their own SYR label excepted) after a long association with Geffen, but more importantly, ranks as one of their more inspired efforts in a 28 year career. Recorded through November and December of last year at the band’s Echo Canyon West studio in Hoboken, NJ, ‘The Eternal’ features many firsts for a Sonic Youth album, including a number of shared vocals between Kim, Thurston, and Lee, and the studio debut of former Pavement/Dustdevils bassist Mark Ibold, a member of Sonic Youth’s touring band for the past few years. The band’s current extracurricular activities are as always, quite varied. The Kunsthalle in Dusseldorf, Germany is now hosting the touring museum exhibition SONIC YOUTH ETC.: SENSATIONAL FIX, which focuses on the band’s multidisciplinary work since the band’s formation in 1981, including their collaborations with visual artists, filmmakers, designers and musicians. Kim Gordon launches a clothing line, Mirror/Dash, at Urban Outfitters on February 16, and is showing at The Armory Show in NYC March 5-8. Lee Ranaldo, with co-conspirator Leah Singer, just opened installations at the Konsthall in Stockholm and the CNEAI in Paris, and he has a piece in the travelling exhibition “Bad Moon Rising 3″, currently at Boots Contemporary Art Space in St. Louis. A Beck/Sonic Youth split 7″ is being released by Matador on April 18 for Record Store Day. And the band recently collaborated with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company (along with former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones and mixed-media sound composer Takehisa Kosugi) on a work celebrating, and being performed for, Cunningham’s 90th birthday on April 16 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Upcoming SY shows include April gigs in Austria and Germany (including the closing of SENSATIONAL FIX in Dusseldorf) and May 16 at the No Fun Festival in Brooklyn. They will be touring throughout the summer in support of ‘The Eternal’. Of ‘The Eternal’, Matador’s Gerard Cosloy says, “We’ve not had a record in our recent history that’s been the subject of nearly as much speculation and anticipation. Suffice to say we’re pretty amazed at the way the band delivered something this neoteric while still sounding like, well, themselves. Less of a reinvention and perhaps more to do with a particularly awesome dozen songs.” Matador will shortly announce a Buy Early Get Now scheme for the album with some very interesting bonus material. Sonic Youth are: Steve Shelley Lee Ranaldo Kim Gordon Thurston Moore Mark Ibold Track listing: 1. Sacred Trickster 2. Anti-Orgasm 3. Leaky Lifeboat (for Gregory Corso) 4. Antenna 5. What We Know 6. Calming The Snake 7. Poison Arrow 8. Malibu Gas Station 9. Thunderclap For Bobby Pyn 10. No Way 11. Walkin Blue 12. Massage The History [label / website notes] www.matadorrecords.com 2009 €16.00
SORIAH (FEAT. ROEDELIUS & NORMAN WESTBERG) Lumina 10inch Available exclusively on 10" clear with white smoke vinyl, this ambient and avante garde collaborative album from world renown throat singer Soriah features prepared guitarist, Norman Westberg (SWANS) and the venerable and seminal German artist, Hans Joachim Roedelius (CLUSTER). The SIDE A track "Alba Via" featuring the later, incorporates the pipe organ housed in the Berlin philharmonic and harkens back to Soriah's first release "Chao Organica in A Minor" with a prepared sense of harmonics and majestic pipe organ whirls. "Mirrored in Amber" featuring the former gives a floating peace and dark vastness expressed in Westbergs heaviy effected guitar and Soriah's spacial expansiveness. This work intends on bringing peace to lost souls of those who have recently passed, a common overarching theme of Soriah's work. https://soriah.bandcamp.com/album/lumina "A long time ago, in Vital Weekly 603, FK reviewed a CD by Soriah, then from Portland, featuring his throat singing and other instruments. Today, I heard his music for the first time, and now it is in collaboration with two others, one per side. The A-side contain 'Alba Via', which is the Latin translation of the Tuvan saying meaning "white road") and is collaborating with Hans Joachim Roedelius, now in his 88th year and still a musical force, always open to working with new musicians. He recorded the pipe organ at the Berlin Philharmonic, which he sent to Soriah (preferred spelling is SoRIAH). I don't know if any processing was done to the Roedelius recordings. I couldn't tell. If entirely unprocessed, the pipe organ is played only at the very low end of the register and very few tones. It takes some time before Soriah's voice comes in, and I think there is also a flute-like sound. Even though I am not an expert on overtone singing, I believe the actual overtone singing happens later in this piece. The overall mood is tranquil, and while there is development throughout, it slowly grows with more sounds and, as with so many parts of ambient music, an all-too-quick ending. I had not heard of Norman Westberg before; my bad, I know, but I was never a fan of the Swans. That's where his main claim to fame is. Unlike Roedelius, whose work I listened to a lot and found a natural match for Soriah, I never heard any of his solo work. But Westberg delivers the goods. Apparently, all on guitar and, at least that's what I think, a lot of effects. Westberg creates a massive drone, slowly developing and changing, and Soriah's throat singing rolls majestically in and out of the mix. For some strange reason, there is a mid-track, fade out, and fade in, like there is a first and a second part, but there isn't much difference. Here, the development is also slow but stays within the number of sounds used. Unlike the other side, which seems to add sounds as the piece goes. Both pieces are about twelve minutes each, and that's not enough for me. Both could have been twenty and make up for a great LP, or both could have been thirty, and it would be an excellent CD; I prefer the latter because flipping a record also takes the listener out of the flow. It's fantastic music, albeit way too short." [FdW / Vital Weekly] 2023 €29.50
SPAHLINGER, MATHIAS Morendo (etc) LP Six works of this very philosophic German New Music composer, whose works are based around the idea of “negation of order” / or to suspend common order with an own structurization, through own active listening... his music is very sound-based & free, metal / gong-sounds and scrapings / scratchings of all kinds, pure electronic crackles & radiowaves & feedbacks, chaotic singing & laughing & voices, string-pieces, etc etc....suspensefully constructed with quiet parts & noisy outbreaks... comes with extensive liner-notes booklet. Even if you never listen to academical NEW MUSIC, this is very worth to explore !! „...Das Werk ist klingende Philosophie. Es geht um die "Aufhebung, Zersetzung von Ordnung durch eigene Gesetzmäßigkeiten" (Spahlinger). In einem erregenden Klangkontinuum lösen sich die Flächen und Strukturen unmerklich auf, und der Hörer findet sich in einer völlig neuen Struktur wieder, deren Anfang er gar nicht bemerkt hat.“ [U. Schalz-Laurenze, taz] Mathias Spahlinger (*1944) Morendo, apo do (von hier), Vier Stücke, Entlöschend, Störung, Sotto Voce Morendo for orchestra (RSO Frankfurt, dir.: F. Travis) apo do (von hier) for string quartet (Leonardo String Quartet) Vier Stücke (Ens. für Neue Musik, Stuttgart, dir.: E. Karkoschka) Entlöschend for tamtam (M. Spahlinger) Störung (electronic music) Sotto Voce (Schola Cantorum, Stuttgart, dir.: C. Gottwald) 1990 €15.00
SPK (S.P.K.) Despair (digitally extracted) DVD "After being hidden in time for more than 20 years this industrial milestone of the infamous 1st generation got renovated extended and digitally overworked. A true statement and monument for the outstanding band S.P.K. who gathered together under so many names like: SoliPsiK, Selektiv Pornography Kontrol, Sozialistisches Patienten Kollektiv, System Planning Korporation just to name a few. Twin Vision, Cat TV and Tesco Germany proudly bring you a band about nothing could be said, the only group in industrial musics history that stands on the same level as Throbbing Gristle, for some even above. Influence to so many followers. The project ideal is to express the content of various psycho - pathalogical conditions, especially schizophrenia, manic - depressive psychosis, mental retardation and paranoia. Information Overload supersedes normal, rational thought structures, forcing deviation into less restrictive mental procedures of so-called 'mental illness'. SPK is trying to be a voice for those individuals condemned to the slow decay of mental hospitals and chemical / electro / surgical therapy, without fetishising them into blatant entertainment product. 'SONIC FOR MANICS' aims to be a vehicle for sharing mental experiences through sound. This DVD compiles material that marked the genesis of the group . The members at that time were known as Operator, Ne(H)il and Tone Generator. Like rare live moments of the bands, energetic performances covering music from “Leichenschrei” to “Information Overload”, Live rehearsal footage from “ Auto Dafe”, slide shows, documentary and a filmed interview with Tone Generator aka Domink Guerin founding member and man behind Twin Vision." [label info] 2007 €18.00
STABAT MORS Ich bin so wild nach deinem Erdbeermund (SOLD OUT) 7 “STABAT MORS is the name of an amazing noise-project from Germany, which always works grounded on certain thematical concepts or philosophical ideas. The name of the group is derived from “Stabat Mater” – Passion Music. This EP uses an autobiographic text from Klaus Kinski, the legendary “daemonic” actor, as inspiration, “to transform his greed for life musically”. We find here two pieces (named “Die Frau des Direktors” and “Krepiert”) with minimal elements. Piercing, low feedback functions as main drone-source, other elements are: repeated metal-feedback-sounds, low analogue noise-drones below, a female voice in the background citing Kinski, and a totally distorted accordeon.... The whole creates a fragmented atmosphere, not really loud, but attacking the nerves, sounding like a wild animal shortly before he explodes.... Filed under: grinding love-drones. RED VINYL. HANDPAINTED COVERS WITH GLARING RED/WHITE DESIGN” [press release] 2004 €6.50  
STOCKHAUSEN, KARLHEINZ Mantra CD "With its exotic, gamelan like timbres (the result of electronic processing) and its deft balance of meditative stasis and kinetic repetition, Mantra is one 60's piece that has survived its era." [The New York Times] "From its headwaters in the small, southern German town of Donaueschingen, the river Donau runs through Bavaria, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria and Rumania, into the Black Sea. There is one thing that probably no one who was present at the world premiere of "Mantra" in Donaueschingen on Sunday evening, October 18, 1970, was aware of: "Mantra" is a key work in the development of Karlheinz Stockhausen's music. More than twenty years after its premiere, "Mantra" occurs as Stockhausen's first "Formelkomposition," and therefore as a keywork to almost all of his following pieces, such as "Inori," "Tierkreis," and "Sirius," as well as his music-theater cyle, "Licht." The basis of the piece is twelve-tone motive, where every note has a specific duration, rhythmic value and intensity. In connection with this, Stockhausen mentions that he has quite free images or sounds, just as in "Aus den Sieben Tagen," a meditation piece based on verbal notation which was created in California in 1968, and also in the piece "Fur kommende Zeiten" that was written at the same time as "Mantra." Although in interviews Stockhausen talks about how he uses rigid and free forms in mixed ways, all the works following "Mantra" are nevertheless "Formula" compositions, or even -- as in "Licht" -- "Superformula" compositions." [label notes] www.newalbion.com 1990 €15.00
STRINGERE GULAM 4YDF MC "On their first release this German project attends you on a surreal psychonautic rollercoaster trip through the debris fields of human civilization. Dark alienated sound collages blended with fragments of mainstream culture build an ambience of dadaistic oppression." https://soundcloud.com/stringere-gulam 2015 €9.00
SUDARIA The Syncretic Labyrinth MC "Sudaria opens up the gates of (un)reality to unveil the true shapes behind the mirror of the illusory self; 9 mantras to break the illusion, 9 keys to open the holographic seals of Maya. «Following in somnambulism the invertebrate steps of a primary Art. Drowned into the ascetic syncretism of silence and noise. The pulse of necro-mechanical cannibalism. Rising beyond Catharsis in ransfiguration; devouring the corpse of the illusory self. 9 Keys to the Gate; 9 mantras to break the holographic seals of Maya. Dressed with the shrouds of Malediction. The Immortal Binary Clock.» Samples on «Ghastly Eaves» from Arvo Pärt’s Missa Syllabica —All Musick and artwork by Miguel Souto, MMXVI. miguelsouto.bandcamp.com sudaria.bandcamp.com" www.attenuationcircuit.de "In a binary existence, the idea of quantum suicide can be engaged in order to convince us of our own immortality – we exist only in a world in which we haven’t died. All other universes, however, contain a rotting corpse that looks uncannily similar to ourselves. Unfortunately, not all life and death scenarios are quite so black and white and it is this nagging knowledge that could have led Miguel Souto to protect himself with these nine sonic mantras. The Syncretic Labyrinth is a dark, contemplative and often hellish joint release from the German Attenuation Circuit and Spanish Sphingidae labels. Ghostly winds and strained, shrieking guitars set the tone on opening track Veils of the Syncretic Maya before a low drone edges in, paving the way for a frightening chugging as if feral pistons were rampaging through rain-drizzled streets. Kapala then pours its gloopy way into the skull of its audience. A thick, blackened bass rumble squeezes into your cranial space as unrelenting, reverb-chained, metallic thuds pound out in the approaching distance. Voices gasp in reverse like a solemn message escaping from the Black Lodge before being replaced by a pained guitar painting the aural landscape. This shifts from solitary notes to driving chords, whipping up a growing sense of tireless toiling – the slog of existence peppered with a glimmering light through wretched gloom. The labyrinthine cacophony (of which Borges would be proud) that Sudaria has formed sidles easily from tormented industrial clangs, through leaden techno for sleepwalkers, and into a stained dark ambience via the tectonic-plate-bothering plod of some inconceivable colossus. A gentle sea of consciousness is sporadically cleft apart by softly comforting snippets of travelling trams, trains, and trucks, grounding this in the gritty present. A bluster slips by. Lofty ideas can be born in these waters but heads must stay out of clouds. A melancholy piano desperately collapses and Arvo Pärt’s choral chants lie under a canopy of drones. These paranoid yet hypnotic soundscapes give the final moments of this record an ethereal and phantasmagorical quality." mithratemplezine.com/sudaria-the-syncretic-labyrinth-album-2017/ 2017 €8.00
SUN RA (AND HIS INTERGALACTIC MYTH SCIENCE SOLAR ARKESTRA) Sleeping Beauty CD "Originally released by Saturn in 1979, this is a studio recording by a large ensemble (including, unusually, electric guitar and bass). These are the first recordings of the titles included (though they were played live a few months earlier on German radio). Springtime Again is a floating, sonically open composition, with a distant sung ostinato, interestingly mixed. The door of the Cosmos, which features June Tyson, is a relaxed groove-driven piece in which electric piano, guitar and bass function as ground, over which events drift in and out, while Sleeping Beauty is a chaotic, swirly masterpiece with lots of effects added to the instruments, interestingly mixed. As an ex-LP, it's LP length." [label info] 2008 €14.00
SUNN O))) Kannon CD "Kannon is an album which was composed in the aftershadow of SUNN O)))’s most recent successes in immersive collaboration (the group worked with Scott Walker on Soused, Ulver on Terrestrials in 2013 and 2014) and also from the broad and influential wake of their epitimous Monolith’s & Dimensions . Kannon emerged both independently as a conceptual entity and with roots in the legacies of those projects, yet was fully realised years later, in 2015. The album is 36 minutes in length and consists of three pieces of a triadic whole : Kannon 1, 2 and 3. The album celebrates many SUNN O))) traditions ; Kannon was recorded and mixed with SUNN O)))’s close colleague and coproducer Randall Dunn in Seattle, in Studio Litho, Aleph and Avast!; and the LP includes performances by long term allies and collaborators Attila Csihar, Oren Ambarchi, Rex Ritter, Steve Moore and others. And at the core the composition centers around the dynamic and intense guitar and bass interplay of SUNN O)))’s founders : Stephen O’Malley & Greg Anderson. It’s possibly the most figurative album SUNN O))) has created, which is unusual as they usually dwell in layers of abstraction and subjectivity. On the other hand the album is the most outright “metal” in years, drawing personal associations and memories of cherished albums like Panzerfaust and Twilight of the Gods again to the forefront of consciousness. At the third time it is very close to the cyclical character of mantra which the band has evolved into as a living creature, the enormity of intense sensate detail and manifestation of the live in concert face of SUNN O))), the organism that has flourished, metamorphosed and transcended tremendously over the past ten years. The literal representation of Kannon is as an aspect of Buddha: specifically “goddess of mercy” or “Perceiving the Sounds (or Cries) of the World”. She is also sometimes commonly known as the Guanyin Bodhisattva (Chinese: 觀音菩薩) amongst a plurality of other forms. There is a rich lineage behind this idea tracing back through many asian belief systems, with as many names and cultural personifications of the idea. SUNN O))) commissioned critical theorist Aliza Shvartz to write a text / liner notes around these ideas and topics. She also explores the relations and perceptions to their approach to these ideas via the metonym of music and SUNN O)))’s place/approach within the framework of music and metal overall. SUNN O))) also commissioned Swiss designer/artist Angela LaFont Bollinger to create the cover artwork, an abstracted sculpture of vision of Kannon, and the French photographer Estelle Hanania to capture portraits of the core trio (Csihar, Anderson, O’Malley) in the impressive and obscurant Emanuel Vingeland mausoleum in Oslo. The LP is packaged in immaculate tip on gatefold sleeve by our long time comrades Stoughton Printing, and pressed at Cascade in Portland, Oregon. CD, download and coloured vinyl versions are also available. – Stephen O’Malley & Greg Anderson / SUNN O))), 11 September 2015" [label info] credits: Released December 4th 2015 Attila Csihar - Vocals Stephen O’Malley - Guitar Greg Anderson - Guitar, Bass Guitar Oren Ambarchi - Guitar, Oscillator (K1,K2) Randall Dunn - Korg MS 20 (K1, K2) Rex Ritter - Moog (K2) Brad Mowen - Concert Bass Drum (K2) Steve Moore - Juno 106 (K2) Conch trio : Dempster, Priester, Moore Recorded at studio Litho, Avast! and Aleph, Seattle by Randall Dunn Mixed at Avast! by Randall Dunn Assistant recording engineer (Litho) : Mell Dettmer Mastered by Jason Ward at CMS Kannon 1, 2, 3 written & arranged by SUNN O))) Lyrics by Attila Csihar Produced by SUNN O))) with Randall Dunn SUNN O))) art direction : Stephen O’Malley Cover and typographic design by Allison Lafont Bollinger Text by Aliza Shvarts Band portraits by Estelle Hanania / Detail from mural Vita at the Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum, Oslo © Emanuel Vigeland Museum / ARS 2015 www.southernlord.com "Those grimrobed ambient metal overlords O'Malley & Anderson (here with guests including Oren Ambarchi and vokillist Attila Csihar) add a new opus to their extensive discography of doom/drone masterwerks! The three part Kannon, which may have germinated from the track "Cannon" found on their live Domkirke double lp from 2008, is art to play loud. All deep drones, deep voices, doubtless deep thoughts (check out the liner notes by critical theorist Aliza Shvartz). And here are OUR notes: Abyssic atmospheres of vast grinding drones. Layered, liturgic cavernous ritual. Gorgeously sculpted feedback flowmotion. Along with moments that remind us of the wide open Western spaces twang of more recent Earth (or Barn Owl) as well." [Aquarius Rec.] 2015 €13.00
SUSTAINED DEVELOPMENT same CD-R "ACL 1001: Limited edition of 50 in hand-painted unique packaging AC 1001: Unlimited edition in plastic sleeve This drone project combines microtonal layering (inspired by Phill Niblock) of organ, harmonium, and voice sounds with field recordings and creates aural textures combining brooding atmospheres and minimalist audio conceptualism. The five tracks are dominated by layers of long tones and extensive sheets of sound which at first appear as static as sound sculptures before one becomes aware of the microtonal goings-on beneath the surface. Hence the project name which not only refers to the “sustained” character of the tones, but also to the implied process of listening. Inspired by the so-called John Cage Organ in the German town of Halberstadt, on which the world’s longest (and slowest) piece of music started being performed in 2001 (samples of the performance can be heard on the album), as well as by the compositional methods of Phill Niblock (see the liner notes of the limited edition for more information on the conceptual background), “Sustained Development” is an attempt to approach the concept of the drone thorugh a variety of means including layering of instrumental sounds, digital stretching of recordings, and collage. Free jazz musician and audio artist Hartmut Geerken describes it as “a special kind of experience” to “dive into the thrilling and exciting drones in which more goes than one might think at first. While listening, I had a brief visit from La Monte and my old friends, the Dagar Brothers; at full volume, I was worried my almost 40-year-old speakers might break, and the whole thing was concluded by cut-ups I quite liked.” " [label info] www.wix.com/attenuationcircuit/attenuation-circuit 2010 €5.00
SWANS The Glowing Man (special ed.) do-CD & DVD The final album by the Swans. Finally, Peace. www.mute.org "Swans neuestes Studioalbum, The Glowing Man, erscheint Mitte Juni via Mute auf 2CD+DVD, 2CD und 3LP+MP3. Der Veröffentlichung des neuen Albums, die Sänger und Swans-Kopf Michael Gira als letztes Album der Swans in ihrer "gegenwärtigen Inkarnation" verstanden wissen will, wird eine extensive Welt-Tournee folgen, die die Band auch in unsere Breiten führt. Die Band formierte sich 1982, löste sich 1997 auf und fand ab 2010 erneut zusammen. In ihrer letzten Phase veröffentlichten sie die Alben "My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky" (2010), "The Seer" (2012) und "To Be Kind" (2014). Das neue Album wurde zum Großteil in El Paso, Texas aufgenommen, weitere Aufnahmen entstanden in Seattle und Berlin, abgemischt & gemastert wurde es in New York. - 2CD inklusive Bonus DVD (Swans Live 2015) im Digipak! - Standard 2CD im Digipak! - 3LP im Doppel-Gatefold inklusive Poster & Downloadcode!" [german press info] 2016 €20.00
Leaving Meaning do-CD SWANS Leaving Meaning is the band’s fifteenth studio album, the follow up to 2016’s The Glowing Man and due for release by Mute / Young God Records (N America) on 25 October 2019. Leaving Meaning will be released on double vinyl in a brown chipboard sleeve, double CD in a brown chipboard digipack and digitally. Listen to the first track from the album, ‘It’s Coming It’s Real’: https://youtu.be/3ZVZo30M8Lc Written and produced by Michael Gira, the album features contributions from recent and former Swans, members of Angels of Light as well as Guest Artists Anna and Maria von Hausswolff, Ben Frost, The Necks, Baby Dee, and a Hawk and a Hacksaw – full personnel list below. Michael Gira explains, “Leaving Meaning is the first Swans album to be released since I dissolved the lineup of musicians that constituted Swans from 2010 – 2017. Swans is now comprised of a revolving cast of musicians, selected for both their musical and personal character, chosen according to what I intuit best suits the atmosphere in which I’d like to see the songs I’ve written presented. In collaboration with me, the musicians, through their personality, skill and taste, contribute greatly to the arrangement of the material. They’re all people whose work I admire and whose company I personally enjoy.” “Here below are the primary contributors to Leaving Meaning: Michael Gira – Vocals, words, acoustic/electric guitar, production. I started Swans in NYC in 1982 and have been the primary songwriter, singer and producer throughout the years. In the early years I played bass, but later switched to guitar. During the years of Swans hiatus (1999 – 2010), I released several albums by and toured with a group called Angels of Light. Kristof Hahn – Lap steel, various guitars throughout, backing vocals, generous and insightful advice on mixes and arrangements. Kristof first became involved with Swans in 1989, was a principal contributor to Angels of Light, and a core Swans member 2010 – 2017. Kristof’s other musical ventures have included the Rock ‘n’ Roll Noir band Les Hommes Sauvages and Kool Kings (with Alex Chilton). He’s currently working on an instrumental record for Lawrence English’s label, Room 40. He holds a master’s degree in Political Science, and when Swans doesn’t pay the bills, he translates books for a living. Kristof’s presence, on and off tape, is pivotal to this record. Kristof lives in Berlin, Germany. Larry Mullins – Drums, vibes, orchestral percussion, Mellotron, various keyboards, backing vocals. Larry (AKA Toby Dammit) is a trained symphonic percussionist and all-around consummate musician. He played through the 90s with Iggy Pop and later with The Stooges. He played with Swans in the late 90s and was a main contributor to Angels of Light. He is rumored to have been involved with The Residents. His varied and numerous credits also include a stint with Silver Apples as well as recently, Shakespears Sister. His current main job is playing keyboards with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. I decided immediately to ask Larry to contribute to Leaving Meaning after watching the German TV series Babylon Berlin, and suddenly, unbeknownst to me, there was Larry as the main focus of various cabaret scenes, drumming behind a huge kick drum in his inimitable style. After laughing in shock for perhaps half an hour, I decided to contact him. We hadn’t been in close touch for a long time and I’m elated I reached out. Larry lives in Berlin, Germany. Yoyo Röhm – Electric bass, double bass, various keyboards, piano, backing vocals. Yoyo came to my attention through his work with Kristof and Larry in Berlin. In addition to his excellent bass playing, Yoyo’s ears were invaluable in helping to sort out many of the arrangements. Yoyo plays with numerous left field musicians around Berlin and also works with Mick Harvey on his Serge Gainsbourg recordings and tours. Yoyo, Larry, Kristof and I rehearsed in Berlin for 3 weeks prior to recording. Yoyo is a true Berliner – gruff and determined on the outside, a marshmallow inside. He was a great musical resource for this record. The Necks – (Chris Abrahams – piano, organ; Tony Buck – drums, percussion; Lloyd Swanton – double bass). I have been an avid Necks fan since I first saw them perform at a Big Ears Festival in 2010. They subsequently played with Swans at a few shows in Australia. Their live performances and recordings are just about any superlative you can think of – mesmerizing, transcendent, sublime. Their music is entirely improvisational – it’s my understanding that they have no idea what they’re going to play before they start. And yet, mostly using rudimentary jazz trio instrumentation, they manage to fashion burgeoning and ever-evolving, immersive clouds of sound that utterly envelop the listener as the music unfolds. I’m beyond honored and humbled that they agreed to perform the basic tracks for 2 of my songs (The Nub and Leaving Meaning). Their performances were then delicately, and (I hope!) tastefully further orchestrated upon in Berlin. Tony lives in Berlin, and also played drums on the song Some New Things. Anna and Maria von Hausswolff – Choral backing vocals. Anna is blessed with a soaring voice, lyrical acuity and increasing facility with the church organ. I was impressed recently to learn that she often travels around Europe and visits churches unannounced, where she talks her way into being allowed to use the resident organ – some of them rather massive, I imagine – and plays and explores for hours. Her searing records and live shows reflect the courage of her imagination and have garnered her increasing, much deserved recognition. Maria is an accomplished Swedish cinematographer and director of photography. In 2017 I heard Anna and Maria singing together at a sound check for a special song they were doing in Anna’s set, was instantly enthralled, and resolved at that moment to ask them to participate together on a Swans recording. I’m delighted they agreed to come to Berlin and record for me. They were a joy to work with! They live in Scandinavia. Ben Frost – Guitar, synthesizers, sound manipulations. Ben’s adventurous sound-craftings, sometimes harrowing and sometimes delicate and quite musical, and his powerful live shows, have afforded him much recognition of late. I’ve also been highly impressed with his soundtrack work for the HBO series, Dark. He’s an extremely talented arranger and composer. His mission for this record was intentionally ill defined. I basically wanted his ears and sensibility, with no particular part or instrument in mind. I arrived at his studio in Reykjavik, Iceland, put up the songs, and he played what he thought a song needed. I was pleasantly surprised to discover his unique approach to the electric guitar as well as his synth work. Ben also was quite helpful with arrangement and mixing ideas. Ben lives in Iceland. Baby Dee – Lead vocal on The Nub, supported by her friends Fay Christen and Ida Albertje Michels, and Jennifer Gira. Dee has released numerous records (one produced by Bonnie Prince Billie, I think), and if you don’t know them, you should! The first time I saw her she was riding a unicycle in circles outside the now-defunct Avant club, Tonic, in NYC, playing a ukulele (or accordion?) and singing with great mirth. I saw her set that night and was won over. She’s since toured with Swans several times. Her music could loosely be called neo cabaret, but more accurately she’s totally unique and a great performer and songwriter, graced with a powerful voice and high-end ability on the piano, accordion and more. I wrote The Nub specifically for her to sing. I was stymied for words to the main guitar figure to the song, and suddenly she popped into my mind, floating through the universe in diapers, sucking milk from the stars. The song wrote itself. Dee lives in The Netherlands. Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost – Jeremy: Santur, hi-hat, fiddlesticks, accordion, engineering; Heather: Stroh violin, violin, viola, fiddlesticks, engineering. Together, Jeremy and Heather comprise the band A Hawk and a Hacksaw. (Jeremy played at one time with the bands Neutral Milk Hotel and Beirut). Again, if you don’t know their music, you should! They’ve released several records. It’s Balkan/Gypsy influenced, somewhat psychedelicized, with great singing, playing and melodies. They’re each multi-instrumentalists and they intrepidly travel the world, both touring and simply exploring the Balkans, in search of adventure and master musicians of the region, some of whom they simply befriend, others whom they record. They toured with Swans a while ago, and I’ve had it in the back of my mind to ask them to record on a record since. I travelled to their home studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico, presented the songs, and did the same thing I did with Ben – I said, “Now what?” You can hear them on several songs on the record, sometimes subtly, at other times more pronounced. In any event, it’s great to have such a pair of wonderful humans on the record. ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS: Dana Schechter – Dana played bass on the song ‘Some New Things’. Dana was a core member of Angels of Light. Her current band is Insect Ark. It’s rather heavy and great. Will be working with Dana more soon in the future and very pleased we reconnected recently. Jennifer Gira – Backing vocals throughout and cameo vocal on Sunfucker. Jennifer has sung backing vocals on the past few Swans albums as well as lead vocal on the song When Will I Return? on the last Swans album, The Glowing Man. She’s also of invaluable help on mixing and arrangement decisions. Cassis Staudt – Accordion and harmonium. Cassis was a core member of Angels of Light. She moved to Berlin some time ago and we lost touch. Cassis is a composer of music for films in Berlin. I’m very happy to be working with her again. Norman Westberg – Electric guitar. Norman played on a few key moments on this record. Norman has been in and out of Swans since the beginning (mostly in) and was a core Swans member in 2010 – 2017. We’ll continue to work together into the future, absolutely. Norman releases solo instrumental records through Lawrence English’s Room 40 label. We’re touring (each solo) together in Eastern Europe soon. Christopher Pravdica – Bass guitar, sounds. Chris played at pivotal moments on this record. He was a core Swans member in 2010 – 2017. We’ll continue to work together in the future, absolutely. Chris has recently been enlisted by Jamie Stewart for his band Xiu Xiu. Phil Puleo – Phil played hammer dulcimer on the song Amnesia. This might be considered a severe underutilization of his considerable talents as a drummer, but there’s more to come quite soon. Phil was a core member in Swans 2010 – 2017 and played as a member of Swans in the late 90s and contributed to Angels of Light. Thor Harris – percussion, trumpet, clarinet, sounds, bells, gizmos, additional vibes. Thor drove up from Austin to record for me at Heather and Jeremy’s place in Albuquerque. Always a highpoint to be in the presence of this committed musician and friend. Thor was a core member of Swans in 2010 – 2016 as well as Angels of Light. Certainly, more to come! Thor has his own happening combo, Thor and friends, and they make seductive and beautiful records and tour often. He also has recently been recruited by Jamie for Xiu Xiu. Paul Wallfisch – Paul played piano to great effect here and there on the record. Paul was a touring member of Swans in 2017. He works with the glorious human chanteuse Little Annie. He’s also a musical director for theater productions in Germany, and recently landed a very fancy-pants job as musical director/composer for a theater production at a historical theater in Vienna. Thanks to All!!!! MG” 2019 €18.50
  The Beggar do-LP listen: https://swans.bandcamp.com/album/the-beggar https://younggodrecords.com/products/the-beggar SWANS have announced details of their sixteenth studio album, The Beggar, due for release on Mute / Young God Records (N America) on 23 June 2023. In addition, Swans have announced further dates for a tour across the UK, Europe and North America – full details below. The Beggar is released as double vinyl in a brown chipboard sleeve with a download card for accessing an additional 44 minutes of music (a 44 minute piece of music called The Beggar Lover (Three) that is included on the CD), and as a double CD in a brown chipboard digi-pack. The Beggar was recorded and mixed at Candy Bomber Studio, Berlin, engineered by Ingo Krauss and mastered by Doug Henderson at Micro-Moose, Berlin. The album was written and produced by Michael Gira and features contributions from recent and former Swans, members of Angels of Light, as well as Guest Swan Ben Frost. “After numerous pandemic-induced cancellations of tours for the previous Swans album leaving meaning, and an apparent bottomless pit of waiting, waiting, waiting, and the strange disorientation that came with this sudden but interminable forced isolation I decided it was time to write songs for a new Swans album and forget about everything else. They came relatively easily, always informed by the suspicion that these could be my last. When I finally was able to travel, songs in hand, to Berlin to work with my friends recording this record, the feeling was akin to the moment in The Wizard of Oz when the film changes from Black and White to Color. Now I’m feeling quite optimistic. My favourite color is pink. I hope you enjoy the album.” – Michael Gira Primary contributors to The Beggar: Michael Gira – Vocals, words, acoustic guitar, production. Gira started Swans in NYC in 1982 and has been the primary songwriter, singer and producer throughout the years. During the Swans hiatus (1999 – 2010), he released several albums by and toured with a group called Angels of Light. Gira recently published a book of his short stories, journals, and words for music, called The Knot. He lives in New Mexico. Kristof Hahn – Lap steel, various guitars, vocals. Kristof first joined Swans in 1989 and was a principal contributor to Angels of Light, and a core Swans member 2010 – 2017. Kristof’s other musical ventures have included the Rock ‘n’ Roll Noir band Les Hommes Sauvages and Kool Kings (with Alex Chilton). When not making music Kristof translates books. He lives in Berlin, Germany. Larry Mullins - Drums, vibes, orchestral percussion, Mellotron, various keyboards, backing vocals. Larry is a trained symphonic percussionist. He played through the ‘90s with Iggy Pop and later with The Stooges. He played with Swans in the late ‘90s and was a main contributor to Angels of Light. His current main job is playing drums with The Bad Seeds. Larry lives in Berlin, Germany. Dana Schechter – Bass guitar, lap steel, keyboards, vocals, piano. Dana played bass in and was a core member of Angels of Light. She subsequently released music and toured as Bee and Flower. Her current band is the power-duo, Insect Ark. Dana is also an animator and designer in the film industry and currently lives in Berlin, Germany. Christopher Pravdica - Bass guitar, sounds, keyboards, vocals. Chris played bass as a core Swans member in 2010 – 2017. Chris has played with the bands, The Gunga Din, Flux Information Sciences, Xiu Xiu, Yonatan Gat and Medicine Singers and has a project of his own called We Owe. Chris is a sound designer and lives in Brooklyn, NY. Phil Puleo – Drums, percussion, vocals, piano, exotic wind instruments. Phil played drums with Swans in the late ‘90s and was a core member in Swans 2010 – 2017 and contributed to Angels of Light. Phil’s early NYC musical venture was Cop Shoot Cop and has since played with Human Impact, among others. Phil is an extremely talented illustrator and lives in Chicago, IL. Ben Frost - Guitar, synthesizers, sound manipulations. In his own work, Ben’s adventurous sound-craftings are sometimes harrowing and sometimes delicate and quite musical. His numerous albums and his powerful live shows have afforded him much recognition. He is also an accomplished composer and arranger of music for film and television. Ben lives in Reykjavik, Iceland. Backing vocals are provided by Jennifer Gira, Lucy Kruger and Laura Carbone. Organ illustrations by Nicole Boitos The Beggar 2CD tracklisting CD1: The Parasite (8:27) Paradise is Mine (9:23) Los Angeles: City of Death (3:29) Michael is Done (6:08) Unforming (5:55) The Beggar (10:15) No More of This (6:55) Ebbing (11:04) Why Can\\\'t I Have What I Want Any Time That I Want? (7:38) CD2: The Beggar Lover (Three) (43:51) The Memorious (8:38) The Beggar 2LP tracklisting + The Beggar Lover (Three) included on download card Side A Paradise is Mine (9:23) The Beggar (10:15) Side B Los Angeles: City of Death (3:29) The Parasite (8:27) The Memorious (7:53) Side C Michael is Done (6:08) Why Can\\\'t I Have What I Want Any Time That I Want? (7:41) Unforming (6:10) Side D Ebbing (11:25) No More of This (6:55) 2023 €45.00
TAKAHASHI, YUJI Meikai No Heso CD Yuji Takahashi “Meikai no Heso” CD Edition OMEGA POINT Archive Series OPA-026 A collection of small pieces of tape music by renowned composers, that haven’t been talked about very much. All of them are premiere release on disc. tr.1 Yuji Takahashi (1938 -), Meikai no Heso (The Umbilicus of Limbo, 1963) (sound file) It is also known as Window to Antonin Artaud, or The Umbilicus of Limbo. it was performed in a version of tape and instruments - poetry reading of the French poet Antonin Artaud, which was modified on the tape, and bass instruments as well as percussion instruments. This is a live recording of Musicians Group: New Direction at Sogetsu Art Center, conducted by Toshi Ichiyanagi. At the beginning of the concert, Kuniharu Akiyama gave his commentary about the piece. tr.2 Kuniharu Akiyama (1929 - 1996), Jo-un Keiji sho (1987) (sound file) It is a segment of a body of work Sound Gift, that was commissioned by WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk) for a show to celebrate John Cage’s 75th birthday. A short text, “Kumo Kumo-wo Joshi Keiji-suru (Kumo=Clouds, Keiji=Cage)”, which was a poetry reading by Akiyama, was looped in the tape, which then overlapped with Haiku about clouds (including English and German), words related to Zen ( in which Cage immersed himself), and sounds. By the way, an English version of Haiku was read by Ayuo Takahashi. tr.3 Yoriaki Matsudaira (1931 -), Constellation (1984) (sound file) This is a work by using UPIC device developed by Iannis Xenakis (which can translate graphical images into sound). Here is Matsudaira’s commentary. “I decided to draw the constellation which we can see in Japan, and chose to fade in colours depending on the brightness of each star. Each of us was supposed to indicate the tone by images, and I remember that I decided to divide the sky into four sections to change the tone little by little. tr.4 Yoshio Hachimura (1938 - 1985), Catch in the air (1973) (sound file) It was produced in 1973 at NHK Studio of Electronic Music. Some Japanese traditional instruments, piccolo, tuba, violin, piano as well as electronic sounds were edited on the tape. Its sharp materialistic sound is characteristic of this composer. tr.5 Toshi Ichiyanagi (1933 -), Music for Film Shikisokuzekuu (1974) (sound file) The visual of Shikisokuzekuu is described as follows; A letter of Heart Sūtra is projected one by one on the screen rapidly. From the middle of the film, religious paintings appeared with subliminal effect, and flickering vivid colours were added. That gave the audience a dizzy sensation.” The music is mixed barbaric rhythm, electronic sound and Japanese traditional instrument. omega-point.shop-pro.jp/?pid=159022056 2021 €21.50
TARKATAK Skärva / Oroa 7 a north german drone-project that has since this EP developed to one of the main german atmospheric deep droners... beautiful & dark transcendental noise.. “First full-lenght E.P. of a quite unknown german project, which only appeared on 3 cassettes so far and on a split-7" with DEEP. TARKATAK uses synths and other electronic devices, the music is slow & dull, non-impulsive and dream-like. Very low rumblings, dark harmonies, some subliminal & dense backwards-effects, this is sensible "archaic music" which could be easily compared to old Zoviet France and the likes. Another Mind-Drone. If you're able to go INTO the sound, the sound will pulsate in YOU and have effects for a long time...” [original Drone Records press release] 300 COPIES ON BLUE– WHITE– RED MULTICOLOUR VINYL and BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED FULLCOLOUR COVERS by MARIO F. (originally released in December 1998) 2003 €6.00
  Skärva / Oroa (SOLD OUT) 7inch "First full-lenght E.P. of a quite unknown German project, which only appeared on 3 ½ cassettes so far and on a split-7" with DEEP. TARKATAK uses synths and other electronic devices, the music is slow & dull, non-impulsive and dream-like. Very low rumblings, dark harmonies, some subliminal & dense backwards-effects, this is sensible "archaic music" which could be easily compared to old Zoviet France and the likes. Another Mind-Drone. If you're able to go INTO the sound, the sound will pulsate in YOU and have effects for a long time... BLACK VINYL, [was impossible to press this music on coloured vinyl!!], BROWN HAND-COLOURED AND STAMPED COVERS, EACH ONE WITH TWO "STRINGS" "Two spacious new E.P.s for entheogenic minds - out on Drone in December 1998" 1998  
TARKATAK VS. C. REIDER The druiser pricid CD-R Beautiful US/German-drone collaboration, very submarine sounding stuff, guitar- & mysterious backwards sounds, but also disturbing moments.. a droney trip through various moods & emotions with many details. comes in a handmade papercover. „ Lange hat es gedauert, bis das Resultat veröffentlicht wurde. 2000 haben sich Tarkatak und C. Reider gegenseitig einen Tonträger voller Geräusche, Loops und Samples geschickt um daraus einige Stücke zu basteln. Es gab keine bestimmten Abmachungen, alles war offen. So wurde nicht nur mit den einzelnen Sounds des Jeweiligen gearbeitet, sondern auch Neues/Eigenes hinzugefügt. Entstanden ist ein sehr stimmiges Wechselspiel die in 2 Hälften aufgeteilt wurden. C. Reider aus den USA, betreiber des Lables VUZH, hat bisher div. Tapes und CDrs veröffentlicht. Siehe: http://www.livejournal.com/users/vuzh.“ [label info] 2003 €10.00
TAZARTES, GHEDALIA Jeanne CD "Jeanne (Vand‘Oeuvre 0732) ist nur ein Kleinod von 30 Minuten, die Musik für ein Theaterstück nach dem Roman Jeanne la Pudeur von Nicolas Genka, das die Compagnie Pardès Rimonim 2006 aufführte. Aber wenn Tazartès Zeilen von Genka in seiner unnachahmlichen Manier intoniert, singen wäre dafür viel zu wenig gesagt, dann stellt sich unwillkürlich das Tazartès-Feeling ein, ein Schauer, ausgelöst von einem Timbre, das wie aus uralter Zeit und wie von weither klingt, mystisch, mythisch fast. Urtümliche Weltmusik ist das, aber völlig eigen gemischt aus rauen Streicherklängen,repetitiven Minimalmotiven, seltsamer Keyboardharmonik in Moll und ziemlicher Schräglage. Klassisch wenn man so will, Kammermusik, wie man sie sich als Soundtrack von Michael Nyman vorstellen könnte, der eine Stimmung von Wehmut unterstreicht. Von Tazartès stammt übrigens die Musik zu Yolande Zaubermans preisgekröntem Film Moi Ivan, toi Abraham (1993) und zu Catherine Corsinis TV-Version von Ödon von Horvaths Jeunesse sans Dieu (1996). Seine Form von Proto-Freakfolk, er taufte es Mitte der 70er ‚Impromuz‘, erhält einen wesentlichen Teil seiner Bizarrerie durch einen Zug ins Urbane, speziell durch seine Adaption von Musique concrète in der Freundschaft mit Michel Chion. Wobei das zittrige, pathetische arabisch-jüdische Ziegenhirtentimbre die Verbindung zu einem Zustand oder einer Bewusstheit von Fremde herstellt, einen Kontakt zum Jude-, Frau-, Tier- und Quasimodo-Pol. Zu ‚Les femelles‘ blubbert nur eine Tuba. Dann klackert ein Schlagzeug zu den dunkel webenden Streichern und Tazartès stimmt einen Chazzán-Blues an, während im Hintergrund Fußballfans vorbei ziehen. ‚TA‘ rockt einigermaßen autistisch gegen die Wand und da singsangt er dazu nur ein entsprechend debiles „tatatatita“. ‚Mother‘ ist dann purer Freakrock, der auf der Zeile „(What do you mean with) I want to fuck your Mother tonight“ herum kaut und mehrstimmig „Mamme- Mama“ stammelt, bis Tazartès mit ‚Lamento/Jeanne‘ noch einmal einen archaischen und herzzerrissenen Klagegesang anstimmt und ein Rezitativ, als ob der Geist von Artaud in ihn gefahren wäre. Umgekehrt ist sein Geist längst übergesprungen auf DDAA und STPOs Pascal Godjikian. Aber hier hört man das Original in seiner irritierenden, fast erschreckenden, ergreifenden Einzigartigkeit." [Bad Alchemy] "Recreating the idioms of some ethnic musics, Ghédalia Tazartès invents himself an imaginary world which seems to be inspired by differents forgotten traditions. Musician, genious handyman, singer to the improbable accents, Ghédalia Tazartès pours a flood of sounds and atmospheres, voices and strange melodies, weaving the screen of an hallucinatory soundtrack which accounts for the universe of the show 'Jeanne' (Co Pardès rimonim) for which it carried out the majority of those compositions. Artist out of time, Ghédalia Tazartès shared incredible collaborations in particular with Alain Gigout, Michel Chion, Philippe Adrien or François Verret." [credit notes] www.centremalraux.com/disques 2007 €15.00
TBC Insecta: The Birth of Gods CD "This is the debut full-length CD by Thomas Beck solo project - raw and noisy soundscape inspired by the kind of the modern mythology, showing his perfect skills in uncommon treatment of synthetic sounds, samples and field recordings, after numerous small run works, different collaborations with other artists and other activity. Release date is 10th June 2012. Limited edition of 500 copies in jewelcase." www.monochromevision.ru "The Russian label Monochrome Vision brings since 2004 music from classics of experimental electronic music world, such as Le Syndicat, Francisco Lopez, Asmus Tit Chen, Freiband and Arcane Device. TBC and Coloured Water Well take care of the last two releases. TBC is a project of the German Thomas Beck. Since the 80s he has been active and started in the tape and international mail art network. He made radio, runs a DIY label, created a meeting for musicians and mail-music projects with Brume, and Das Synthetic Mischgewebe. And for now he releases his first full-length solo album. In four songs he takes us in his electronic world where minimal noise slowly changed into a white noise. In that the sound does not change, but due to the slow development. By the subtlety of the noise, which originates by sounds of nature and by samplers and synthesizers, the noise is not overwhelming. The Birth of God: Insecta is a wonderful album and an ode to the noise that nature knows it." [JKH/Vital WEekly] 2012 €12.00
TBC_CZEPOKS_SIGD Radio Gagarin Allsound Orchestra CD "In Hamburg, Germany, there is a radio station called FSK and one of the program is Radio Gagarin. Here TBC, also known as Thomas Beck holds court and plays records and sometimes has friends over an in-house radio session. On a date not given their guest was Chris Sigdell, whom we otherwise know as B*Tong (but also Leaden Fumes and Bu.d.d.A) on electronics and the other side of the table we find TBC_Czepoks, being Seemann (bass, theremin, violin dulcimer), Rana Miss Ton (keyboards, sound objects) and TBC (tapes, electronics, live mix). Sigdell oversaw the edit and mix we now hear on the CD. As these things go in this particular end of the world, the result is an all-dark, heavily reliant on drone affair, with occasional leanings to the world of noise. In the opening piece, 'Phainon', we enter a world full of rusty machines, stashed in a big hall. Squeaking and vibrating, objects falling to the floor, this turns out to be the release at its heaviest. In other pieces, the four-piece settle for a more subdued drone sound. Slowly opening and closing all sorts of filters on a variety of electronics and amplified objects, they create an unsettling moody atmosphere; probably as black meets brown on the cover. In 'Pyroeis' a voice appears, reminding me of the earliest Current 93 records (which Is a big plus in my books). The two parts of 'Phosphoros' that end the proceedings are my favourite part of this release. This is quiet yet unsettling; this moody and sparse but with lots of tension underneath. Massive and spacious, like the unveiling of a black hole (is that possible?), with stuff already disappearing from the scenery. This is about one-third of the entire release, and it proofs that given enough time and acting out patience, brings out the best in improvisation." [FdW/Vital Weekly] https://tbc-czepoks.bandcamp.com/ 2020 €10.00
TECH RIDERS In the Sky CD When early 2016 Sindre Bjerga (Norway) and Frans de Waard (The Netherlands) decided to join forces on a tour through Germany and The Netherlands, they decided that a duo act would be in order as well; as both have a wide experience in improvised electronics it was decided not to add another duo of improvised music to the scene, but rather be a group with structured songs that needed planning and rehearsing. Eight song structures were prepared by Frans de Waard, entirely based upon drone material delivered by Sindre Bjerga, plus a bit of synthesizer and rhythm. On tour Frans mixed all of these materials live, while Bjerga added his synth noise, radio/Walkman cut-ups and microphone abuse. All of this resulting in a wild ride of rhythm ' n noise and drones. From the highly subdued to the overtly loud, one could think of early Cabaret Voltaire, Merzbow, computer glitch, cosmic synthesizers, minimal techno and massive drone and you may have something that is close to the Tech Riders sound. The eight pieces on 'In The Sky' are a selection of recordings made on the road in 2016 and have very little to do (anymore) with the CDR that was sold as tour merchandise, also called 'In The Sky'. Confusing? Yes, it sure is, that's Tech Riders for you. Their April 2017 tour will take them to Finland and the Baltic States. emerge.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-sky 2016 €8.00
TEHOM Phobos CD Phobos” is an audio documentation of a live performance held at the extraordinary location of Sophienkirche in Wuppertal/Germany during Phobos Festival in 2019. It was recorded directly at the mixing desk and over a microphone capturing the church's acoustics, which can be heard on the recording itself. The music is atmospheric and ritual. Grim and narrative electronics enriched by TeHÔM’s chanting and processed acoustics of percussive nature are at the same time pleasant for the ear and unsettling for the mind. Phobos is a dark, dark place to be... https://tehom.bandcamp.com/album/phobos 2021 €12.00
TELEPHERIQUE Musique Montage CD-R New very experimental works from this long existing german post-Industrial / cassette-network group. Experimental Electronica, quite rhythmic sub-bass grooves, confusing patterns, weird electronic sounds, repetitive samples with an oriental /arabic touch... unusual & unique stuff.... 67 minutes playtime, comes with professionally printed cardboard-cover. Lim. / numb. ed. 200. 2006 €10.00
  Slowmotion CD "Telepherique, one of Germany's most recognizable names, has returned with another masterpiece. After almost one-hundred releases over the last eightteen year on many respected labels like Ant-Zen, MSBR and Old Euroupa Cafe, Force of Nature is honored to present 'Slowmotion'. Telepherique's new album 'Slowmotion' is not the first album in which a critical view on society is presented to the listener. For example with the project Telerotor they released 'Modern Times' and 'Mobility', two highly conceptual albums with a vision on the hasty life and connectivity in modern times. But in contradiction with their earlier social conscious albums, 'Slowmotion' has a ritualistic ambient flow which enforces the listener to take it a step down; To see and live things in 'Slowmotion'. It is well said on the inlay: "This CD is dedicated to all the people who try to simplify their life in modern times, marked with materialism, business, stress and sickness". The eight tracks have notitles but they are divided into three 'steps', being "Out of balance", "Down shifting" and "Fountain of flow". The whole results in a ritualistic, flowing album with moments of rhythm, ambience and complex soundscapes." [label info] "...but it is safe to say that 'Slowmotion' is well chosen title: the music is mostly ambient in approach, with long washes of synths, but it's never the big A ambient. Telepherique also uses rhythm, a lot of it, but it's a slow pulse, whenever it is used. Not exactly dance music, but a sort of driving pulse, a heart beat if you want, or the steady bump of a train ride. You watch outside and the landscape slowly changes, with altering colors and sceneries. The rhythms have a sense of tribalism, which is not far away from some of the mechanical beats of Muslimgauze. Excellent production of music that is best heard when traveling. Leave what you are doing behind and start a journey with this as its soundtrack." [FdW / Vital Weekly] label website: www.forceofnature.cc 2007 €14.00
TELETOPA Tokyo 1972 3 x LP "Geoffroy Collins, flute, percussion, electronics. Peter Evans, percussion and electronics. David Ahern, violin, percussion and electronics. Roger Frampton, percussion, electronics and saxophone. Splitrec is honoured to release a legendary recording from 1972. In 1968 the young Sydney composer David Ahern studied in Germany with Stockhausen where he met Cornelius Cardew. The next year he travelled onto London attending Cardew's classes in Experimental Music' at Morley College and - in a mammoth seven-hour concert at the Roundhouse on 4 May - participated (with Cardew) in performances of La Monte Young's String Trio and also took part in the realisation of Paragraph 2 of Cardew's The Great Learning which proved to be the catalyst for the formation of the Scratch Orchestra. These were revolutionary and defining moments in C20th music. Returning to Sydney in 1970, one of his aims was to set up an electro-acoustic improvisation group - Teletopa was founded in Sydney in late 1970 by Ahern, Peter Evans and Roger Frampton. Tokyo 1972 - 3LP or 2CD release - features two 50min improvisations from a radio session at NHK studios Tokyo. The group was Ahern, Frampton, Evans and Geoffrey Collins and they were completing a 1972 world tour. The group broke up on their return to Sydney. Only a small example of their work has ever been released before. The Liner notes will be a manifesto by David Ahern from a 1971 pamphlet, and there is an insert, a newly penned Potted History of Teletopa by Geoffrey Barnard, who had been a member of the group from September 1971 until July 1972. The tapes have sat in boxes for 42 years. With this release we can hear that Sydney in the early 1970's had a group at the forefront of musical experimentation with a unique take on free improvisation. This document is not just important for Australian music - it should establish them posthumously as one of the most interesting developments in experimental music anywhere in the world at this time." [label info] www.splitrec.com "There is, I'm sure, tons of stuff buried in archives, garages, attics waiting to be heard when someone at least finds it. Stuff from people I never heard of, like Teletopa. David Ahern, Peter Evans and Roger Frampton in Sydney founded this group in late 1970. By 1972 Geoffrey Collins was also a member. Ahern studied in Germany in 1968 with Stockhausen, and he met Cornelius Cardew, with whom he performed in London later on, such as in 'The Great Learning'. We can see Teletopa along the lines of such legendary improvisation bands AMM (especially them) and MEV, but less electronic than they were. Here we have improvisation and no rules, even when the band also performed pieces by Cardew, Stockhausen and themselves, following visual scores. The instruments are flute, percussion, electronics (Collins), percussion and electronics (Evans), violin, percussion and electronics (Ahern) and percussion, electronics and saxophone (Frampton), but they also incorporated non-musical instruments. As Teletopa they never released much work, but in 1972 in Tokyo they recorded two fifty-minute pieces of improvised music. Tapes of these recordings have been unearthed recently and now released on this double CD with some excellent liner notes about this group. The music is very strong. It's not very silent, but very loud and perhaps also not very musical, in the traditional sense of the word. Sometimes all of this seems closely to feedback, with lots of scrapings on the violin and the saxophone sounding like a balloon being rubbed on end. The second disc is perhaps a bit more introspective than the first disc, at least for the first thirty or so minutes, allowing space between the notes, before the overall sound gets a bit more thicker and richer. Here Teletopa seems to be in almost Zen like mode. This is some strong 100 minutes of improvised music. Music that comes like an endless stream sound, subconsciously improvised on a wide variety of instruments and objects. If AMM and MEV were already on your list, then this double CD by Teletopa should not be missed. An essential historical release." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2014 €38.50
TEMPLEGARDEN'S Velvet Steel mCD Collector’s item! Three pieces from the german ritual ambient – group around SYNAPSCAPE- and ex ARS MORIENDI-members. Long eerie tunes & atmospheres... Fabric-pressed mCD in an edition of only 100, special artwork, three inlay cards, numbered edition. High price unavoidable, sorry ! 2006 €22.50
TESTCARD #23: TRANSZENDENZ - Ausweg, Fluchtweg, Holzweg? BOOK In der avancierten Popkritik genießt Transzendenz keinen guten Ruf. Im frühen Punk wurde ein explizites Transzendenzverbot ausgerufen; das bewegungslinke Lager denunzierte das »Ausklinken« als konter­revolutionär oder verklärte es im Reggae zum »anti­imperialistischen Befreiungskampf«. Als der moderne Pop in den 1950ern entstand, war er das Immanenteste überhaupt geschaffen für das reine Diesseits. Das Jenseits, die Transzendenz, tauchte lediglich ironisch gebrochen, als Diskurs zweiter Ordnung auf. Erst ab den 1960ern lassen sich explizite Transzendenz-Momente im Popkosmos finden. Und gleichzeitig wurde Kritik laut: Was ins Jenseits ausgreift, ist entweder kein Pop oder schlechter Pop. Doch Pop störte sich nicht daran, brachte das Transzendente als Leerstelle zum Schwingen und füllte diese mit Schlagworten aus dem Fundus von Esoterik, Raumfahrt und Psychedelic. Kurz darauf wurde das Transzendente offensichtlich gemacht. Christlicher Rock und der islamisierte Cat Stevens wollten den Pop missionieren, Heavy Metal verklärte ein negatives Christentum. Und im Krautrock, im Jazz und in der experimentellen Musik diente ein Spiritualitätsgestus stets der Abgrenzung zu den Niederungen der Popkultur. In den 1990ern wurde die Transzendenz dann rehabilitiert, zumindest solange sie nicht mit säkular-moralischen Normen in Konflikt geriet. Dem Jenseits brachte man dieselbe diffuse Toleranz entgegen, wie den meisten anderen Pop-Phänomenen auch. Heute bedienen Neo-Drone und Neo-Psych ein bestimmtes Marktsegment unter vielen gleichwertigen. Und damit macht sich Sprachlosigkeit breit. Wie reden wir über spiritistischen Neo-Folk oder Hauntology, wenn die politisch inspirierten Kategorien der Vergangenheit ebenso wenig greifen wollen wie diejenigen der Weltflucht? Und was genau ist das Transzendente an der gegenwärtigen Entgrenzung der Stile? Inhaltsverzeichnis Johannes Ullmaier: Worüber man nicht reden kann, darüber. Transzendenz und ihre Rolle in Musik und Popkultur Roger Behrens: Der Geist der Utopie Thomas Hübener: Notizen zur Transzendenz im Säkularpop Martin Niederauer: »If you find earth boring …«. Spiritualität und Religiosität im Jazz und die Interpretationen des Unbestimmten Holger Adam: Spirituelle Neuorientierung jenseits von Krautrock und Neuer Musik. Peter Michael Hamels Musik der 1970er-Jahre Volker Zander: Moondogs Oberton-Kontinuum Wolfgang Brauneis: »Ich lebe in meinem eigenen Königreich«. Zu Michael Buthes Kunst der 1970er-Jahre Tim Stüttgen: Sun Ra: Kosmischer Noise. Eine quare Lesart von Sun Ras musika-lischer und performativer Praxis im Schatten der Sklaverei-Geschichte ?Move On Up. Die große Transzendenz-Diskografie Frank Apunkt Schneider / Didi Neidhart: Discotranszendenz & Distant Thunder … Transpirationen am Tag danach Franziska Meifert: Turn on, tune in, drop out! LSD, Musik, Transzendenz Alexander Nym: Vom Pilzkult zur Popkultur. Entheogene im Dienst des kulturellen Wandels Michael Horowitz: Tickets zur Transzendenz Sascha Hommer / Martina Lenzin: Parolen aus der Stadt. Abenteuer eines Wolfes. Episode zwei Christian Werthschulte: »Wir leben in einer Nicht-Zeit«. Ein Gespräch mit Mark Fisher über die Geister der Zukunft David Schwertgen: Was soll denn eigentlich verschwunden sein? Vaporwave und die Leere hinter der Oberfläche Raphael Smarzoch: Schwellenakustik. Liminale Klanglandschaften in und jenseits von Pascal Laugiers Martyrs Flora Könemann: Text, Ton, Stimme, Frequenz. Transzendenz? Das (un-)stimmige der (eigenen) Stimme Hendrik Otremba: Tobias Gruben und die Wahrheit. Zur Erinnerung an einen fast Vergessenen Wolfgang Buechs / Jonas Engelmann / Jens Meisenheimer: Jurpolp From an Unknown Planet. Sun Ra antwortet Marius Henderson: Soft Berry Metal. Eine »häretische« Annäherung an Black Metal Theory Gerald Fiebig: (Verheißungs-?)Volle Dröhnung. Dronemusik und spätmoderne Zeiterfahrung Peter Scheiffele: Vodou. Eine politisch-religiöse Praxis zwischen Revolution und Überlebenskampf Sandro Holzheimer: Yeah Science!? Die Transzendenz des neuen Atheismus Jasper Nicolaisen: Wir sind hier nicht in Wittenberg, Martin … 95 Thesen zur Möglichkeit einer emanzipatorischen Religion Rezensionen Tonträger A. K. KLOSOWSKI & PYROLATOR: Home-Taping Is Killing Music AARON DILLOWAY: Siena AARON MOORE & THIERRY MUELLER: Today Is Yesterday’s Tomorrow ALAHUTA: First Connexion ANDREAS DORAU: Ärger mit der Unsterblichkeit / Demokratie ANDY STOTT: Luxury Probelms ANIKA: EP ANNE-JAMES CHATON / ANDY MOOR: Transfer ASHLEY PAUL: Line The Clouds ASH ­WEDNESDAY: Love And Other Numbers BEAK>: Beak>> / Beak>> Bonustracks / 0898/Welcome To The Machine BORIS HEGENBART & 19 ARTISTS: Instrumentarium BRENDA RAY: D’Ya Hear Me: Naffi Years 1979–83 BROADCAST: Berberian Sound Studio BRR: s/t Buch BUDHADITYA CHATTOPADHYAY: Eye Contact With The City BUKE AND GASE: General Dome CANDELILLA: Heart Mutter CHAD VANGAALEN & XIU XIU: The Green Corridor II CHARLATAN: Isolatarium CHARLATAN MEETS THE NORTH SEA: Emerald Eyes CHICALOYOH: Thébaïde Des Pierres Bleues / In My Garden Shed/Vol. 2 / Les Fantômes Sortent Des Racines CHRISTINE SUN KIM / WOLFGANG MÜLLER: Panning Fanning CHUZPE: 1000 Takte Tanz CLASSLESS KULLA & ISTARI LASTERFAHRER: Auf & Zustände COLIN STETSON: New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light CONRAD SCHNITZLER: rot / blau / Consequenz / CON 3 CROCODILES: Endless Flowers DAGOBERT: Dagobert DAVID FENECH: Grand Huit DAVID ROTHENBERG: Bug Music DEMDIKE STARE: Testpressing #1 und #2 DER PLAN:: Die letzte Rache DER PLAN: Geri Reig / Normalette Surprise / Die Letzte Rache / JaPlan DIE NERVEN: Fluidum DIE TÖDLICHE ­DORIS: Losspielen DIVERSE: Noise of Cologne 2 DOLDRUMS: Lesser Evil DRACULA LEWIS: Permafrost EP DROPOUT PATROL: s/t EKKEHARD EHLERS: Adikia EMIL RICHARDS: Stones – Journey to Bliss ENSEMBLE PEARL: S/T FIELD ROTATION: Fatalist: The Repetition Of History FREIBURG: Aufbruch GEOFF BARROW/BEN SALISBURY: Drokk: Music Inspired By Mega-City One GHOST TIME: Ghost Time GIANNI GUIBLENA ROSACROCE: La Piramide Di Sangue / La Mia Africa GRAFZAHL: Der Rückzug ins Private GRAVETEMPLE: Ambient/Ruin GROUPER: Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill / The Man Who Died In His Boat HAFTBEFEHL: Blockplatin HANS W. KOCH / THOMAS LEHN / BEN PATTERSON / JOSEF CSERES: Requiem For A Baby Grand. Final Piano Music For 8 Hands And Tools HECKER: Chimerization (english) / Chimerization (farsi) / Chimerization (deutsch) HOTEL MORPHILA ORCHESTER: Schwarze Energie IANNIS XENAKIS: GRM Works 1957–1962 IGOR WAKHÉVITCH: Logos / Hathor / Docteur Faust / Nagual / Les Fous d’Or / Let’s Start ILLUSION OF SAFETY: Sweet Dreams JACK DICE: Block Motel JENNIFER VEILLEROBE: Luftlöcher JESSIKA KENNEY & EYVIND KANG: The Face Of The Earth JE SUIS LE PETIT CHEVALIER: An Age Of Wonder JOHN FAHEY: Voice Of The Turtle / Transcendental Waterfall: Guitar Excursions 1962–1967 JOHN ZORN / MOONCHILD TRIO: Templars – In Sarcred Blood JUKEBOX MAMBO: Rumba And Afro-Latin Accendet Rhythm & Blues 1949–1960 JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE: The 20/20 Experience KETTCAR: Zwischen den Runden KIASMOS: Throwna EP KIKO C. ESSEIVA: Drôles d’oiseaux KLUSTER: Klusterstraße 69–72 KOFELGSCHROA: Kofelgschroa KOMMANDO SONNE-NMILCH: You Pay I Fuck KUUPUU: Sous Juju / Sisar LAURIE SPIEGEL: The Expanding Universe LORD HURON: Lonesome Dreams LORD TANG: Lord Tang LUBOMYR MELNYK: Corollaries LUNAR ABYSS DEUS ORGANUM: Atanimonni Aitnatsbus MARCUS WIEBUSCH: Hinfort ! Feindliche Macht MARK LORENZ KYSELA: Eins+ MATS GUSTAFSSON / PAAL NILSSEN: Love / I Love It When You Snore MATT CARLSON: All Moments MICHAEL PRICE: A Stillness MILES: Faint Harted MODERN PETS: Excessive/Organic Kidneys MOON DUO: Circles MUTTER: 25 MV&EE: Fuzzweed / Zebulon Residency NATHAN BOWLES: A Bottle, A Buckeye NEIL ARDLEY: A Symphony of Amaranths NILS FRAHM: Screws NILS WOGRAM / SIMON NABATOV: Moodes And Modes NORBERT MÖSLANG: Indoor_Outdoor / The Sound of Insects ONEIROGEN: Kiasma ORBIT THE EARTH: Aphelion OTIS G. JOHNSON: Everything – God Is Love 78 P16.D4: Passagen (6CD+) PALAIS SCHAUMBURG: Palais Schaumburg PELT: Effigy PETER BRODERICK: These Walls Of Mine PETRELS: Onkalo PRSZR: Equilibrium PTTRNS: Body Pressure PYROLATOR: Inland / Ausland / Pyrolator’s Wunderland / Pyrolator’s Traumland / Neuland RACHUT/LANDSCHIER: Blinder Mond RAINER VEIL: Struck RED MATH: Obsolete Systems ROBBIE BASHO: Seal Of The Blue Lotus RUTH FEAT. MUSHY: Far From Paradise SAFFRONKEIRA: Tourette SCHORSCH KAMERUN: Der Mensch lässt nach SELVHENTER: Fricka B. Fricka / s/t SLEAFORD MODS: Austerity Dogs SPRINGINTGUT: Where We Need No Map STEPHEN MALKMUS AND FRIENDS: Can’s Ege Bamyasi SUN PAPA & THE FAN CLUB ORCHESTRA: An Insane Portrait SUUM CUIQUE: Ascetic Ideals SUZANNE CIANI: Seven Waves / Lixiviation Ciani/Musica Inc. 1969–1985 / Voices of Packaged Souls SWEET VALLEY: Stay Calm / Eternal Champ / Jenova THE BLACK TWIG PICKERS: Rough Carpenters THE COSMIC JOKERS: The Cosmic Jokers THE EX & BRASS UNBOUND: Enormous Door THE NORTH SEA: Grandeur & Weakness THE PETER BRÖTZMANN CHICAGO TENTET: Concert For Fukushima, Wels 2011 THE SCHWARZENBACH: Farnschiffe THE SOUND OF GERI REIG. Düsseldorf – San José 1979. The Original Tapes UN-KOMMUNITI: Black Dwarf Wreckordings 83–85 URBAN HOMES: Centres V. A.: Personal Space – Electronic Soul 1974–1984 VARIOUS: Drone-Mind // Mind-Drone Vol. 2 VARIOUS ARTISTS: Your Victorian Breasts VATICAN SHADOW: Ornamented Walls VIRGIL MOOREFIELD: No Business As Usual / Five Ideas About the Relation of Sight and Sound VLADISLAV DELAY: Kuopio / Espoo WEISSER WESTEN: Weisser Westen WILLIAM SHELLER: Lux Aeterna WOLD: Freemasonry WOLF EYES: No Answer: Lower Floors XUL ZOLAR: Eternal Love/Goa Bay / Hex YOSHI WADA: Earth Horns With Electronic Drone / Singing In Unison / Off The Wall / The Appointed Cloud / Lament For The Rise And Fall Of The Elephantine Crocodile ZS: Score / Grain Rezensionen Papier DIDI NEIDHARDT / HANS PLATZGUMER: Musik ist Müll HEINRICH DEISL: Im Puls der Nacht. Sub- und Populärkultur in Wien 1955–1976 KARL MEYERBEER / PASCAL SPÄTH: Topf & Söhne – Besetzung auf einem Täterort CHRISTOPH WAGNER: Der Klang der Revolte TIMME ROSENKRANTZ / FRADLEY HAMILTON GARNER: Harlem Jazz Adventures. A European Baron’s Memoir, 1934–1969 DEREK ANSELL: Sugar Free Saxophone. The Life and Music of Jackie McLean MARKUS HEIDINGSFELDER: System Pop PAULA-IRENE VILLA / JULIA JÄCKEL / ZARA S. PFEIFFER U. A. (HG.): Banale Kämpfe? Perspektiven auf Populärkultur und Geschlecht JAMES KENNAWAY: Bad Vibrations. The History of the Idea of Music as a Cause of Disease JENNIFER SHRYANE: Blixa Bargeld and Einstürzende Neubauten: German Experimental Music ›Evading do-re-mi‹ NIKOLAOS KOTSOPOULOS (Hg.): Krautrock. Cosmic Rock and its Legacy HUNTER HUNT-HENDRIX / NICK RICHARDSON / BRANDON STOSUY: Black Metal. Beyond the Darkness THERESA BEYER / THOMAS BURKHALTER (HG.): Out of the Absurdity of Life. Globale Musik CORNELIUS VON JACKHELLN (Hg.): GewaltKunstWerk STAN HAWKINS (Hg.): Pop Music And Easy Listening ANTONIO GRAMSCI: Literatur und Kultur DIETMAR DATH / BARBARA KIRCHNER: Der Implex. Sozialer Fortschritt: Geschichte und Idee SONJA EISMANN (Hg.): Absolute Fashion DIRK BRAUNSTEIN / SEBASTIAN DITTMANN / ISABELLE KLASEN (HG.): Alles Falsch. Auf verlorenem Posten gegen die Kulturindustrie URSULA MARKUS / TANJA POLLI: Das Geschlecht der Seele. Transmenschen erzählen ALEXANDER KARSCHNIA/MICHAEL WEHREN (Hg.): Kommando Johann Fatzer (Ringlokschuppen. Mülheimer Fatzerbücher 1) CORNELIA VISMANN: Das Schöne am Recht NIKLAS LUHMANN: Macht im System WERNER FULD: Das Buch der verbotenen Bücher DAVE MONROE (Hg.): Philosophie für Verdorbene – Essays über Pornografie SVEN LEWANDOWSKI: Die Pornographie der Gesellschaft CHRISTIAN KESSLER: Die läufige Leinwand – Der amerika­nische Hardcorefilm 1970–1985 STEFAN SCHELER: Cumshots – Höhepunkte der deutschen Pornofilme 1 + 2 STEFANIE VOIGT / MARKUS KÖHLERSCHMIDT: Die philosophische Wollust – ­Sinn­liches von Sokrates bis Sloterdijk MYRON HURNA: Späte Gegenwart. Zur Historisierung des Holocaust ALEXANDER KLUGE: »Wer ein Wort des Trostes spricht, ist ein Verräter«. 48 Geschichten für Fritz Bauer ANNIKA SCHEFFEL: Bevor alles verschwindet SARAH DIEHL: Eskimo Limon 9 VLADIMIR JABOTINSKY: Die Fünf SARA STRIDSBERG: Darling River: Doloresvariationen JOSEF WINKLER: Wortschatz der Nacht / Mutter und der Bleistift BRIAN WOOD / MARK BROOKS / ROLAND BOSCHI: 100% Marvel 64: Wolverine und die X-Men. Alpha & Omega WENZEL STORCH: Arno & Alice ANKE FEUCHTENBERGER: Die Spaziergängerin SOPHIA MARTINECK: Hühner, Porno, Schlägerei MARC-ANTOINE MATHIEU: 3 Sekunden TONTO (Hg.): Noise SASCHA HOMMER (Hg.): Orang # 10: Heavy Metal HENNING WAGENBRETH / R. L. STEVENSON: Der Pirat und der Apotheker ATAK / MARK TWAIN: Der geheimnisvolle Fremde CHRIS WARE: Jimmy Corrigan. Der klügste Junge der Welt THOMAS VON STEINAECKER / H. J. BALMES u. a. (Hg.): Neue Rundschau: Comic – Form und Inhalt KERI SMITH: Mach Mist! MEL GOODING / JULIAN ROTHENSTEIN (Hg.): Psychospiele – Persönlichkeitstests, Spiele und Fragebögen JÖRG VÖLLNAGEL: Alchemie – Die königliche Kunst HARTMUT KRAFT (Hg.): Ecce BLALLA! Abstürze und Höhenflüge PAULE HAMMER: Welt-Enzyklopädie DIETMAR DATH / HEIKE AUMÜLLER: Verbotene Verbesserungen CHRISTIANE ZU SALM (Hg.): Manifesto Collage GISELA VETTER-LIEBENOW (Hg.): Karikatur & Zeichenkunst TOBIAS G. NATTER / ELISABETH LEOPOLD / LEOPOLD MUSEUM (Hg.): Nackte Männer – Eine Entdeckungsreise LENTOS KUNSTMUSEUM LINZ / LUDWIG MUSEUM (Hg.): Der nackte Mann DOX PRAGUE (Hg.): Amor Psyche Aktion – Wien. Das Feminine im Wiener Aktionismus MUSEUM MODERNER KUNST STIFTUNG LUDWIG WIEN (Hg.): Wiener Aktionismus – Kunst und Aufbruch im Wien der 1960er-Jahre HANS-PETER WIPPLINGER (Hg.): Padhi Frieberger – Glanz und Elend der Moderne HANNAH PILARCZYK (Hg.): Ich hatte die Zeit meines Lebens. Über den Film Dirty Dancing und seine Bedeutung KONRAD KLEJSA/SCHAMMA SCHAHADAT/MARGARETE WACH (HG.): Der polnische Film. Von seinen Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart CHRISTIAN SCHIFFER (Hg.): WASD – Texte über Games. Vol. 2 »Select System – Games und Politik« GEORG SEESSLEN: Träumen Androiden von elektronischen Orgasmen? / Garten der Lüste / Future Sex in Queertopia (Sex-Fantasien in der Hightech-Welt I–III) WOLFGANG MÜLLER / AN PANHUYSEN (Hg.): Gebärde, Zeichen, Kunst WOLFGANG MÜLLER: Subkultur Westberlin 1979–1989. Freizeit [Verlagsinfo] www.ventil-verlag.de/katalog/testcard 2013 €15.00
THE PICKLE FACTORY Our Anthems LP "the pickle factory is karla borecky and scott foust from the idea fire company plus long-time collab-orator mike popovich. they were actice in the mid- to late-1990s and released the album »our pledge« on swill radio at the time. »our anthems« was recorded in 1996 but remained unreleased until now. the sound is somewhat similar to ifco, although within at least some sort of a song structure. the 12 pieces on the lp present themes and sketches of atmospheric musical beauty created by synths, haunting voices and guitars with percussive elements, minimal rhythms and, of course some radio static!" [label info] "Now this was reviewed not so long ago, even when the music is much older. In Vital Weekly 699 we discussed a CDR version of this released by Scott Foust's Lessons About History. The Pickle Factory no longer exist! I wrote in Vital back then: "There have been an album and a CD, and 'Our Anthem', recorded in 1996 was supposed to be the second LP. The Pickle Factory we find Karla Borecky (keyboard, voice, tapes, synth), Scott Foust (guitar, synth, tapes, voice, radio, bass) and Mike Popvich (bass, voice, drums, percussion, radio, guitar, keyboard). Idea Fire Company plus a guest? Hardly. In all the various bands Foust is (or was) involved in, there is always a distinct sound of its own. The Pickle Factory might be called 'popmusic': rhythm machines, a nice bass line and additional sounds to go along in order to form a short song, rounded off like a song, as opposed to a 'piece'. True, also The Pickle Factory can play a bit of droney mood music, but not with the long curves as is usually with Idea Fire Company. A damn fine varied record of experimental music. Which brings up the question: why wasn't this excellent record never properly released on a LP?" That answer can not be given, as there is so much great music out there which is never properly released in any format, but the good news is that 'Our Anthems' is now released by Germany's Twisted Knister (best known from their business card CDR releases in cigarette boxes) and quite rightly so. Even after fifteen years this remains great music. It sounds as fresh as it was back then, and so we can still wonder: why wasn't this properly released on a LP before, say in 1997? Thank god for fine small labels like Twisted Knister and their persistence to release such fine music." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2011 €14.00
THE RITA Journey of the K-Verband 7inch JOURNEY OF THE K-VERBAND was recorded in the summer of 2011 and is the second chapter of THE VOYAGE OF THE DECIMA MAS. The K-Verband was the WWII German frogman equivalent to the Italian Decima MAS; taking example from the Italian frogmen and their missions. THE RITA has used the WWII frogmen theme as representative of the recordings, this time via sound sources from the miking of ocean fishing lures while jigging for Lingcod in the same areas snorkelled for the VOTDM source recordings. The Traumatone underwater contact mics attached directly to the lures meant that every sound after the various Lingcod took the lure and mic inside their throats was captured for eventual further analogue manipulation. With almost no trial and error, this technically ‘risky’ technique for picking up natural and violent source sounds turned out even better than expected between the initial taking of the mic and lure, the mic’d lure moving in the throat, and the eventual water surface splashing and the on deck removal of the mic’d lure from the fish’s mouth. A natural extension between the idea of the VOTDM snorkelling source sounds, the sounds now come directly from Lingcod that occupy the waters just kilometres from the original snorkel site in Pender Harbour, BC, Canada. Included with the release is an original illustration by BC First Nations artist Larissa Healey commissioned by THE RITA. https://4ibrecords.com 2017 €13.00
THO-SO-AA LPZG/BLGM Live LP "L.ed. 300. LPZG/BLGM is the first Live-Document of Tho-so-AA and also the first full length release on Vinyl. Side 1 was recorded in 2008 in Leipzig at Sonic Lodge Festival and contains special versions of well known, rare and unreleased tracks from the Identify-Era. This was the only recorded Gig with the flutes played by EvaNaRa. Side 2 was recorded in 2004 in Belgium and contains special versions of tracks from Minus and the ultra rare Spoiler EP." [label info] www.tesco-germany.com 2014 €18.00
THU20 Vroeg Werk do-CD "First anthology of legendary dutch electroacoustic group of musicians whose names can be definitely placed in range of true underground stars and passionary pushers of contemporary experimental music scene. First CD in this double album is compiled from studio works, unreleased or taken from rare compilations, second CD gathers the best concert recordings. Release date is 29th December 2012. Limited edition of 500 copies in jewelcase." [label info] www.monochromevision.ru "Sometime in the early '80s, a bunch of young Dutchmen formed a couple of post-punk bands that nobody remembers anymore; but on one Thursday that happened to be the 20th of some month, one of those bands abandoned their rhythms entirely and splattered out a drone-tape and synth-noise set that had the audience freaking out. The punk structures were scrapped entirely and THU20 was stuck onto this project as the new name. Get it? The Dutchmen of THU20 included Jac Van Bussel, Peter Duimelinks, Roel Meelkop, Jos Smolders, and Guido Doesborg (later replaced by the ubiquitous Frans De Waard). The mid to late '80s proved to be a highly prolific time for THU20, although the project continues on to this day at a much more restrained pace. The ideas that went into THU20 transitioned from Joy Division into Cabaret Voltaire & Throbbing Gristle quickly arriving at a DIY punk form of musique concrete and electro-acoustic experimentation. Such was a similar trajectory for the German ensemble P16.D4, albeit towards even more unconventional goals. In the studio, THU20's work could be austere and brutalist in the obfuscated collages and disjointed slabs of noise; but the live version of THU20 proved to be far more shambolic, dynamically expressive, and rewardingly chaotic. Vroeg Werk is a diverse collection that spans both of these modes of operation, with the second of these two discs being entirely live recordings and the first culling from the dustbin of the cassette culture. The studio material found on disc one has some semblances of the more abstracted tape work found on Einsturzende Neubauten's Drawings Of O.T sans Blixa, with the opening track "5720" being particularly choice. But, the live material is really where THU20 shine, grafting gritty electro-acoustic noise sourced from voice, tape, synth, feedback, pedals, shortwave, power tools, scrap metal, and who knows what else onto thin rhythmic spines of morse code blips, overblown tape loops, and primitive drum machinations. Effectively, THU20 would land somewhere between the panzer bleakness of MB and the viral shredding of Nocturnal Emissions. Not a bad place to be..." [Aquarius Rec.] "And then there is 'Vroeg Werk' by THU20. Now I am the last person to review that, you may claim, right so, but I really don't have that much to do with it. By accident I was present at two concerts, and added vocals (?) to one and a synth to the other, which makes a total of five out of thirty-one pieces. This double CD reflects the early works of THU20, an original five piece with Jos Smolders, Peter Duimelinks, Jac van Bussel, Roel Meelkop and, in these early years, Guido Doesborg. Started out by Doesburg and Van Bussel as a sideline project to Club Rialto, they experimented in their early years with feedback, sample delay pedal boxes, a synth, a rhythm machine and then slowly something such as 'composition' came in, along with the other three members. THU20 were part of the big cassette scene (see also the P16.D4 of two weeks ago), sending out their pieces to compilations. The first discs collects these in chronological order (which is commendable, but it means it's doesn't start out with the best tracks), ending with their twenty minute concert in Bordeaux from 1989 (originally released as a split LP with Merzbow). The whole of the second CD has concert recordings of the years before that, 1986-1989, plus one from 1992. Here we find THU20 improvising freely with electronics, turntables, tapes, synthesizer and sometimes, but not always, guided by a backing tape and a loose notion of a graphic score. Many of these pieces are well-known to me, following the band from their very early days, but boy, they sound great here. The muffled sound of the cassettes is complete washed away and all of these piece shine like diamonds. You could argue if 150 minutes is a bit much, wether the chronological order is a great idea, but this is some truly exciting music. It combines the industrial music of say 1986 (feedback, noise) with the more rough edged notion of musique concrete, electro-acoustic, and it follows this band to find their own way in this. Many of their previous releases are hard to find these days ('Eerste Schijf', 'Tweede Schijf', 'Derde Schijf' or 'Elfde Uni'), and surely here's a band who deserved their own big box set. That is not likely to happen, but this 'small' (what is small?) box set is worth every penny. And still kicking around, THU20 works on a very irregular basis in 2013, in a slightly different line up. Who would have guessed?" [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2012 €16.50
TIBETAN RED / THE OVAL LANGUAGE / DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE The Breath of the Hydra CD A three way collaboration between the Germany based THE OVAL LANGUAGE, the Catalan TIBETAN RED and DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE living in Rennes, France. In an on and off exchange since end of 2016, a continuous exchange of audio material, ideas and suggestions. Salvador Francesch and Guido Hübner meet again after long years at the occasion of a concert of the latter one at the LEM festival in Barcelona. Since then working together became evident as was the choice of including Klaus-Peter John with whom several collaborations had already seen the light of day through the years, most notably the homage to the late Carlfriedrich Claus ‘sprechzimmern’ with RLW as well as a 2x CD collection of collaborations on the notorious Monochrome Vison label in Moscow. The association of their different sound worlds and even more specifically their extremely particular fashions of creating them was meant to merge and melt in a whole able to blur clear distinctions with only an occasional sneaking out of a head and a hissing tongue amongst many that takes the scent and direction respectively in the brooding heat that forges shape and carves direction. TIBETAN RED Salvador Francesch is a catalan-canadian painter, sculptor and sound explorer who lives in La Garrotxa, Girona. He has released 5 CDs in his Tibetan Red project. His work pursues experimentation with sounds that seek to convey some aspects of his interest in Eastern rituals and ceremonial art. THE OVAL LANGUAGE Klaus-Peter John is from Leipzig, the project started as a trio in the early 80’s working to turn into his solo project with sound, noise works in open spaces, photography, installations and land-art informed projects in which mainly the voice is put center stage. DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE started in the early 80’s in Berlin with cassette production and performative concerts, exhibitions and installations to which a D.I.Y. approach of a lot of customized equipment became inherent accompanying an interest in several areas of science and technology. Moved to Barcelona then France, producing many recordings and performance works. https://emerge.bandcamp.com/album/the-breath-of-the-hydra "The Breath of the Hydra (ACU 1029), da weißt man ja, es sind drei Köpfe. So auch hier: TIBETAN RED + THE OVAL LANGUAGE + DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE. Ersterer, Salvador Francesch in La Garrotxa in den katalonischen Pyrenäen, hat dem mit Todo entretenimiento es una anticipación del infierno auch das Motto vorangestellt. Der Dichter José Bergamin soll das gesagt haben, als Vorstand der Alianza de Intelectuales Antifascistas der kulturelle Kopf der Spanischen Republik, der Picasso den Auftrag zu "Guernica" gegeben hat. Francesch teilt mit Bergamins Rechtfertigung des 'Roten Terrors' allemal die Vorliebe für Rot und offenbar auch die Vorfreude auf die Hölle. Blödsinn, natürlich die Abneigung gegen Amusement. Er ist mit seinem Debut 1985 auf Freedom in a Vacuum nicht ganz so lange dabei wie Guido Hübner, der ab 1981 sich der Cassette- & Soundculture einschrieb. Bei "Sprechzimmern" (2015), einer Hommage an den konkreten Lautpoeten Carlfriedrich Claus, und zehn Jahre zuvor bei 'Papillon Schizophone' war er dabei auch schon mit Peter John zusammengekommen. Der Leipziger, der in den 80ern als Sänger bei Neu Rot (!) anfing, hat sich nach "Hibernation" & "Waldkonzerte" auf Edition Telemark zuletzt mit "Hexen Hexer" gegen Denunziation und Hexenjagden positioniert, auch wenn heute dabei, anders als im Spanischen Bürgerkrieg und beim Hydraschlachten, seltener Blut fließt. Ich kann mir eine 'Melancholie des Widerstands', wie sie Hübner von László Krasznahorkai aufgegriffen hat, als das Verbindende zwischen den dreien vorstellen bei ihrem alchemistischen Procedere mit brodeligem Köcheln und Sieden, das einher geht mit kratzigen und schleifenden Impulsen und hohleren, quasi perkussiven Anmutungen, die das überwölben. Dazu vexieren zirpige, halbwegs natürliche Klänge mit einem leisen, hauchzarten 'Schreiben' mit metallischem Griffel, über das motorische, zischende, sirrend oszillierende Attacken hinweggehen und einen industrialen Dominator installieren, der impulsiv oder gedämpft rumort und infernalische Stimmen nur ahnen lässt. Der Griffel schreibt weiter in einer opaken Nichtstille und hat dabei etwas von einem Keuchen oder Röcheln an sich. Martialische Wellen mischen das auf, und zischende Ventile machen das zu einem Tauchgang in die Schinderwerkstätten der Schlotbarone. Trappeliges Toben, abgerissene Kürzel und tatsächlich der Kehle entrissene Laute verunklaren dabei die Differenz von Mensch-Maschine, Organisch-Anorganisch, Außen-Innen, Hart-Weich, Makro-Mikro. Immer wieder leise als bruitistische Audiographie aus winzigen, halb wie gehauchten Krakeln vor einer nun dröhnend bebenden Klangwand. Wenn nur das Schreien nicht wäre, das infernalische, kaum zu hören, aber doch nicht zu leugnen. Ganz in der Nähe - Folterkeller, Höllen. Die satanischen Mühlen mahlen als zerrende Tonbandspuren, weiß der Teufel, was sich hinter verschlossenen Türen alles abspielt. Scharrt da wer an Metall? Was sind das für unheimliche Heimlichkeiten?" [Bad Alchemy] "German Attenuation Circuit label run by Sascha aka EMERGE, has released a new album in which three sound artists of electronic experimental music collaborate: German artist The Oval Language, Catalan Tibetan Red and Das Synthetische Mischgewebe who lives in Rennes, France. "The Breath of the Hydra" is the result of exchanging audio files since the end of 2016. Salvador Francesch is a Catalan-Canadian painter, sculptor and sound explorer who lives in La Garrotxa, Girona. He has published five CD's with his Tibetan Red project. Klaus-Peter John aka The Oval Language is from Leipzig and works in noise, open space, photography, installations and informed land-art projects where the voice takes center stage. Guido Hübner aka Das Synthetische Mischgewebe started in the early 80's in Berlin with the production of cassettes and performance concerts, exhibitions and installations. This album consists of a single track of almost 52 minutes long which unfurls two faces. One, the sound is almost imperceptible and silence plays a relevant role. In the other, drones and noises are the background of a proposal with a strong organic character and consequently, gasping and buried voices are barely heard and spit out an indecipherable language. The clicks near the middle of the track look like whips that are followed by screams which are in the distance. All this takes place in a dark ambience that well represents the history of the Hydra." [Guillermo Escudero/LOOP] https://emerge.bandcamp.com/album/the-breath-of-the-hydra, http://www.attenuationcircuit.de/ 2021 €12.00
TIETCHENS, ASMUS Geboren um zu dienen CD “8th part in the ongoing re-release series of all early Tietchens albums between 1980—1991. Described by Tietchens himself as his «Industrial» album, «Geboren, um zu Dienen» was originally released on the spanish ESPLENDOR GEOMETRICO label in 1986. The CD version incl. three unreleased bonus tracks from the same period and comes with a full colour fold-out booklet incl. liner notes by Tietchens himself.” [label info] „If I'd ever recorded an «Industrial» solo album, it must be «GEBOREN, UM ZU DIENEN». Although I obviously wasn't one of the inventors of «Industrial Music», I clearly felt an affinity to it. So I tried to learn my lessons well adding my own musical aspects to the general apocalyptic noises of this genre. My main concern was to dive deep into the canonical topics of fear, hysteria, claustrophobia, machine and threat. The end was imminent as hundreds of Pershings and SS20 all pointed in the direction of the march up area called West Germany, the seals of the read buttons were already broken. Even the conventional alternative — a tank war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact — sounded like utter apocalypse. Would we really have welcomed our brothers from the east with open arms? This particular background has to be seen as the main influence on GEBOREN, UM ZU DIENEN. I believe that many of my colleagues also recording «Industrial» albums felt the same at that time. IF there would have been a «Bang» it — without doubt — would have been global. Fear, emptiness and the futility of the aesthetical, were not alien to me, but until then I moved inside a carefully tested zone which was defined by a spectrum of experimental forms. GEBOREN, UM ZU DIENEN was an experiment in itself which first fruits I set free immediately. As if I'd to work under a deadline I recorded the tracks hastily, not wasting much thoughts about dynamics, duration, precision and construction. In the same way I resolutely did rough mixes of the seperate tracks of the pieces: what sounded dirty stayed dirty. Essentially the raw and the unsculptured were a part of the dogma of «Industrial». The original nine tracks plus five more (three which appear as Bonustracks on this CD) all developed in a very short period of time. The album was released on the spanish «Esplendor Geometrico» label, run by Andres Noarbe, in the same year. Originally a tape only label EG released a series of radical albums during the mid 80's, also albums by the «Industrial» group of the same name, many which are much sought after items today. Of course only 500 copies of the album were pressed, which still meant a considerable financial risk given the small circle of potentionally interested listeners. But the enthusiasm and dedication of everyone involved lead to a self-evident «Nevertheless». Looking back at these years it has to be noted that I established a daring attitude then, which luckily developed positively and stayed with me until today. The fact that a german attorneys general confiscated a small number of the LP in 1990 deeming the cover as being immoral («A Call for abortion»), was registered with satisfaction. A case like this corresponds with the mark of quality granted by the «Stiftung Warentest». Go on Germany! “ [Asmus Tietchens, 2006] Editorial notes: The original masters of all the pieces incl. the bonus tracks are in perfect condition and were used 1:1 for the transfer onto CD. Only the fade-out at the end of «Mein erstes Erlebnis» was slightly corrected. 2006 €15.00
Fast ohne Titel, Korrosion CD "Black Rose Recordings are proud to present the exceptional new album by Asmus Tietchens. Corrosion is a degradation mechanism. It is an insidious process often difficult to recognise until deterioration is well advanced. Are these new pieces a comment on the current state of noise music, serious music or both? As a pioneer of electronic composition his work spans over three decades and doesn’t fit easily into any one category. Early recordings ranged from experiments with tape machines and electronic sound through to experimental pop. Later works were a more sculptural blend of abstract microelectronics, industrial sounds and musique concrete. Never straightforward or obvious, always unpredictable and innovative his ground breaking music influences many working in today’s experimental music scene. He has worked almost exclusively as a solo artist but recent releases have seen him collaborate with well known and diverse artists such as Dieter Moebius (Cluster & Harmonia), Thomas Koener and Richard Chartier." [label info] www.tietchens.de "In my spare time I listen to pop music, usually, but then, in 2013, I asked myself: why do I still have so many CDs? Isn't it about time to listen to those again, and see what you have, which are keepers and which are goers. In a random fashion I pick a bunch of CDs of the shelf and play them until the end, because, when not played to the end, what's the reason for keeping them? From some artists I stayed away for a while. I can safely say I have almost all of the works by Asmus Tietchens, but I was afraid of going there. I feared I would not find enough concentration to examine each and everyone properly and make the wrong decision and see them go. But once I started to play them I was totally immersed. I am nearly done with all of them, and then much to my surprise, here's a new work by Tietchens. The titles poke fun with the notion of 'ernste musik', the German term to create a distinction between serious music and entertainment music. Maybe its a comment, Black Rose asks, on 'the current state of noise music, serious music or both'? An interesting question, perhaps, but much to my surprise I notice something else. In the past ten years Tietchens explored the quiet areas of electronic music, with some highly refined music, not unlike the work of say Richard Chartier. Here he seems to return to some of his earlier electronic music, from the late 80s, early 90s, but perhaps generated with the means he uses these days. This results in a piece like 'Kaum Noch Ernste Musik', with a pulsating click beat (think Pan Sonic or Goem), and the well-know Tietchens tricks on oscillators. It's something entirely different than what you would expect. Maybe it's a bit long this piece which clocks in at over ten minutes. Throughout the pieces on this album, eight in total, do not have strong rhythm sounds, but they surely sound louder than we are used from him in recent times. It takes the 'serious' electronic music from the sixties, with it's sustaining sounds fading in loud and about. It's heavy music, but it's great music. Only in a few pieces, aptly called for instance 'Sehr Ernste Musik', Tietchens shows some of his more quiet side, but in the other pieces he sounds like his tape manipulation work 'Daseinsverfehlung', bursting about, such as in 'Eingeschränkt Ernste Musik'. And then there is also the humorous Tietchens with a vinyl loop in 'Keine Ernste Musik' or 'Im Ernst? (Für H.K.)', which sees him playing something that sounds like Trautonium. This, ladies and gentleman, is an excellent CD. If you are keen to hear new musical movements by this man, but not every move, then this is one of those releases you should surely hear." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2013 €13.00
Aus Freude am Elend CD Wohl eine der ungewöhnlichsten & schönsten Tietchens-Alben, die augenzwinkernde Verwendung von vokalem Material war hier der Fokus, found sounds & field-recordings werden eigentümlichst verfremdelt, aus Schlager- oder Volksliedern die abartigsten Töne rausgekitzelt, absolut unkategorisierbare Klänge entstehen... ein wunderbares-wundersames Re-Kontextualisierungs-Projekt! JA WIR LIEBEN ES! 2 Bonus Tracks! "11th part in the ongoing re-release series of all early Tietchens albums between 1980-1991. AUS FREUDE AM ELEND is based on the human voice as a primary sound source and was originally released in edition of 500 copies on Dom America in 1988. The CD includes two previously unreleased tracks and comes in a jewel case with full color artwork and poster booklet also feat. the original front and back cover. First edition of 600 copies. Asmus Tietchens AUS FREUDE AM ELEND (Dom America Dom US LP 02) 1988 "Following my research of piano and water sounds (DS102, DS88) it didn't come as a surprise that my next project was about the human voice as a sound source. The great masters of Plunderphonics already showed the way in the early 80's, when they plundered the gigantic junk-shops packed full of already recorded material, which was stolen by them to use it for their own aesthetic targets. This album only consists of such stolen goods. Each track (with the exception of 'In memoriam P.F.') was based on voices of people who I naturally didn't ask their permission to use these recordings in the first place. So you can hear the voices of ecstatic religious people as well as other people making love. You'll also hear someone singing to Annette and Peggy out of the trash bin of a publishing company. Even the screams of furious teachers came in handy while I made loops from them. Especially loops: Rarely before this album and only once after it (on Stupor Mundi) did I made use of the structural means of loops to such an extent. I was fascinated by the rhythmical and harmonic permanence, in the same way as many of my musical colleagues at the time. The aspect of the 'Ritual' was a self-evident common formulation in difficult music during the 80s, so loops and tape voices, monotonous rhythms and LoFi became obvious means to shape the music. AUS FREUDE AM ELEND too was strongly spiced with these ingredients and therefore can be seen as a prototype album of this specific view of music during the time. This tendency was supported - even partly inspired - by a new generation of sound machines, which also made it possible for new aesthetic goals to appear at the horizon. The 90s were near at hand and sound art music would develop drastically in many ways in the years to follow. Samplers, digital editing, hard-disc recording and the first PC's opened new doorways. Half of the material on AUS FREUDE AM ELEND was already created with these digital tools. I never quite understood how the labels Dom America (run by Jon Carlson) and Dom here in Germany were connected. Did Carlson used to be a fan of Dom which was founded by Christoph Heemann and Achim Flaam. Did he simply liked the release politics of this label. And what became of Dom America ? Actually I don't know. I guess it was one of the small enthusiastic independent labels which released a handful of titles and which disappeared after being active for a couple of years during the 80s. However AUS FREUDE AM ELEND had vanished shortly after its release. I only used 'stolen' voices twice again ('Stupor Mundi', 1990 and 'Das Fest ist zu Ende. Aus', 1993) after this album by the way." [label info / credits] "... Much like some his previous records, most notably 'Formen Letzer Hausmusik' and 'Seuchengebiete', its foremost a work of electro acoustic or musique concrete. There is an element of repetition that one wouldn't easily spot with the original 'masters' of the genre, but Tietchens uses them in his own, highly personal, way, adding his own fine blend of electronics and in order to make a creepy sound, a sinister play of vocals. The people whose voices are used sound like they are singing in a far away cage, in isolation, a cry to get out. After all these years this record hasn't aged at all, and is a highlight in Tietchens career." [FdW / Vital Weekly] 2008 €13.00
Eine Menge Papier mCD "Asmus Pre-Mengenserien und somit alles vor der sonischen Auseinandersetzung mit Sinus und Rauschen birgt noch wesentlich feinere Schätze als man denken mag- beachtet man Tietchens Output an Material in den letzten zwanzig Jahren und lässt man sich davon nicht abschrecken, entgehen einem Dinge wie »Papier ist geduldig« oder »6.9.98 7 Uhr/8 Uhr« nicht. Ersterem gewährt aufabwegen in sehr hochwertiger und edler Manier einen Publikumsneuzugang (der angesichts der damals sehr niedrig gehaltenen Limitierung auch geraten erscheint) und erweitert das recht kurzweilige Material der original Syntactic 7“ um eine weitere, nie veröffentlichte Single sowie Material aus den Sitzungen, die es nicht auf das Vinylformat geschafft hatten. Der Klang ist erstaunlich für die 1996 umgesetzte 7“, hier zieht vor allem Tietchens’ großartiger Umgang mit dem Quellmaterial sämtliche Register avantgardistischen Könnens. Wie unschwer zu erkennen bzw. auch zu hören, beruht das Material dabei auf Papiergeräuschen, eine Serie die Asmus aufgrund des limitierten Frequenzganges des Materials und seiner beschränkten Weiterverarbeitung jedoch frühzeitig wieder beendete. Teilweise sehr krachig mit deutlichen Anleihen an Asmus Tietchens Achtziger-Konkretindustrial: »P.I.G. 5« mit seinen betont sinusoiden Einzelklängen gerät zur fast schon skizzenhaften Abstraktion von Papierklang, hingegen betont »P.I.G 4« auf recht kurze Weise die Schönheit von Tietchens Bearbeitungsmanie, kennzeichnet sich das Stück doch durch recht scharfgeschnittene und –gefilterte Einzelereignisse ehemaliger Schriftstückverformungen. Letztes Stück bietet dem Hörer eine wunderbar noisige Vertonung all dessem, was Tietchens an Papier in seinem Studio wahrscheinlich aufbieten und –gespannt lauschend und schelmisch lächelnd- auch zerknüllen konnte. " [Thorsten Soltau, AEMAG] “Eine Menge Papier” assembles 20 minutes of sounds derived from using paper as the sound souce. Two tracks originally came out as a limited 7” record on the austrian Syntactic label in the 1990ies and appear here for the first time on CD. The other two tracks were planned for a follow up 7” on the same label that never materialized. The fifth track is a study of sonic material in the same series. There are two further tracks from the P.I.G. series that are considered by the artists as failed attemps. These remain in the closet. The five sonic movements on “Eine Menge Papier” go back to the Tietchens sound right before he started the Mengen series, using primarily sine waves and white noise. “Eine Menge Papier” is an interesting documentation of the transition in Tietchens’ sound from the concretish, post-industrial rumblings and textures to the more refined, abstract and cold atmospheres. Asmus Tietchens has been producing electronic music since the 1960ies and is one of the most renowned sound artists today in Germany. In the last five years he was awarded twice the SWR state radio prize “Karl Sczuka Preis” for radio art. He has released more than 80 records and CDs on labels all around the world." [label notes] www.aufabwegen.com www.tietchens.de 2009 €9.50
Soiree CD "LINE is proud to present a new full length solo recording by German electronic music pioneer Asmus Tietchens. Soirée is the result of extended recycling. Beginning from the investigation of: what will happen if I recycle (not remix) some of my older compositions and then recycle the recyclings and then recycle the recycled recyclings… ad infinitum? Quite quickly the initial pieces vanished totally. New structures and sounds emerged depending on the methods and tools I used. Each of the pieces on Soirée is based on a distinct composition of my musical past. In each case the listener is presented with the 10th “generation” of this recycling process. Confronted with the variety of the results I ask myself: Is it really necessary to create further new electronic music if only one piece as a nucleus is sufficient to derive hundreds and hundreds of different distinct individual variants?" [label info] www.lineimprint.com 2011 €12.00
Biotop LP "Scheppernd, künstlich und plärrend bunt: Reissue des 81er-Albums des Hamburger Elektronikers. Asmus Tietchens ist einer der bekanntesten deutschen Künstler im Bereich der abstrakten Musik. Fünf seiner Frühwerke, die grob im Bereich Avantgarde-Synthiepop zu verorten sind, werden nun beim Label Bureau B wieder veröffentlicht. "Biotop" war 1981 Tietchens’ erste LP bei Sky Records (u. a. Cluster, Rother, Roedelius, Moebius, Plank, Riechmann). Es mag rückblickend wie eine bewusste Irreführung erscheinen, dass die ersten musikalischen Hervorbringungen von Asmus Tietchens als schräg tönender Pseudopop daherkommen. Vier Alben aus den Jahren 1981-83 sowie diverse Einzelstücke bilden die "Zeitzeichen"-Phase, die sich mit den Worten ihres Urhebers durch den Einsatz von "rhythmisch-harmonischen Versatzstücken und quietschbunten Schallplattenhüllen" auszeichnet. Die Stücke auf "Biotop" sind mit ihren insektoiden Fiepstönen, der bollerigen Perkussion und der verschleppten Kinderliedhaftigkeit so scheppernd, künstlich und plärrend bunt, wie es den Vorstellungen eines Künstlers entsprach, der reguläre Unterhaltungsmusik weder herstellen konnte noch wollte. // Asmus Tietchens is one of the best known German artists in the field of abstract music. His early works though are finest avant-garde synthesizer pop. "Biotop" was Tietchens' first release on the German label Sky Records (Cluster, Michael Rother etc.). It is inhabited by insectoid squeaks, banging percussion and echoes of displaced nursery rhymes. These blaring, crashing tracks glare with artifice, mirroring the ideas of an artist lacking the inclination and capacity to compose straightforward easy listening music. "Spät-Europa" also conveys a banefully distorted pseudo pop soundscape of disjointed rhythms and oblique melodies, defined by nervous pulses, cool alacrity and croaking toots; tongue in cheek it most certainly is, but the musical arrangement again affirms its own identity. Here, shadowy, rumbling industrial elements cut into the neon coloured pieces indicative of the artist's parallel lines of development. Both reissues are available on CD (Digipak), vinyl (180g) and for download." [label info] www.bureau-b.com 2013 €18.50
Spät-Europa LP "Wieder veröffentlichtes Album aus der Frühphase des Avantgardemusikers. Asmus Tietchens ist wohl einer der bekanntesten Künstler im Bereich abstrakter Musik. Fünf seiner Frühwerke, die grob unter Avantgarde-Synthiepop zu verorten sind, werden jetzt vom Label Bureau B wieder veröffentlicht. Während Tietchens mit "Biotop" (1981) plante, "in die Zukunft" aufzubrechen, zeigt er sich auf "Spät-Europa" in dieser angekommen. Als zweites Album der "Zeitzeichen"-Phase im Jahr 1982 auf Sky Records veröffentlicht, führt es den Stil des Vorgängers nicht nur weiter, sondern bringt ihn um eine Nuance treffender auf den Punkt. Auch "Spät-Europa" transportiert jene gallig übersteuerte Pseudo-Pop-Klangwelt voller verstolperter Rhythmen und schräger Melodien. Dabei ragen mitunter düster grollende Industrial-Elemente in die neonbunten Stücke hinein, wohingegen die Form der Stücke knapp und pointiert gehalten wird: Wie schon auf "Biotop" strebte Tietchens auch auf "Spät-Europa" 20 Zwei-Minuten-Miniaturen an. Und auch hier bildet mit "Epitaph" ein betont sperriges Stück den Abschluss. Asmus Tietchens is one of the best known German artists in the field of abstract music. His early works though are finest avant-garde synthesizer pop. "Biotop" was Tietchens' first release on the German label Sky Records (Cluster, Michael Rother etc.). It is inhabited by insectoid squeaks, banging percussion and echoes of displaced nursery rhymes. These blaring, crashing tracks glare with artifice, mirroring the ideas of an artist lacking the inclination and capacity to compose straightforward easy listening music. "Spät-Europa" also conveys a banefully distorted pseudo pop soundscape of disjointed rhythms and oblique melodies, defined by nervous pulses, cool alacrity and croaking toots; tongue in cheek it most certainly is, but the musical arrangement again affirms its own identity. Here, shadowy, rumbling industrial elements cut into the neon coloured pieces indicative of the artist's parallel lines of development. Both reissues are available on CD (Digipak), vinyl (180g) and for download." [label info] www.bureau-b.com 2013 €18.50
Nachtstücke LP "Nachtstücke owed its publication to former Tangerine-Dream member Peter Baumann,who was asked by the French label Barclay/EGG to produce three albums focussing specifically on German electronic music. He was working with Hans-Joachim Roedelius at the time, who had been given a few Tietchens tracks on cassette. When Baumann heard Roedelius play them in the studio during a break in proceedings, they sparked his interest and he met up with Tietchens some time later; they agreed that he would go over the material again and edit or abridge it in places. A release date was pencilled in for the latter part of 1978. The commissioning label, however, doubting the commercial potential of the project (Tietchens: “How right they would turn out to be”), postponed the release and had to be reminded of contractual commitments on more than one occasions. When the Nachtstücke LP finally appeared, almost two years later, it bore the unauthorized subheading Expressions et Perspectives Sonores Intemporelles and featured a completely different cover. Originally, the album was to depict a leathery embryo with a laser beam shooting through its eye (Tietchens: “I liked the idea of sta rting with something so gruesome”), but now three blurred figures danced on the sleeve: “I was pretty disgusted when I opened the package containing my copies”, Tietchens reports, taking the rerelease as his cue to create completely new artwork. Nachtstücke has surprisingly little in common with the pseudo-pop of the ensuing Sky Phase, but shines a light further ahead to the gloomy, spectral aspects of Tietchens’ later works. Created between 1975 and 1978, the Nachtstücke pieces reveal a deliberate approach, avoiding dissonance and discord wherever possible. Still, the release saw the album “fall right out of time” as Tietchens frankly admits: “Gentle rhythm and harmonic beatitude did not suit the concert of advanced pop music as it was then being played.” Nevertheless, the Nachtstücke tracks remain important to the artist, as they document his early encounters with the Moog Sonic Six and Minimoog. With this in mind, the material is presented here in its original, unadulterated form." [label info] www.bureau-b.com 2014 €19.50
Dämmerattacke CD Asmus Tietchens is a sound artist and composer from Hamburg, Germany. He got interested in Musique Concrete by listening to a German radio programme when he was 10 years old. In 1965, at the age of 18, Asmus started experimenting with tape loops and turned them into musical collages. Soon, the use of synthesizers was added. In 1980 his debut album Nachtstücke was released, produced by Peter Baumann of Tangerine Dream. This was soon followed by a series of albums of electronic pop music for the Sky label, home of many Krautrock bands. Tietchens often uses special source materials for his compositions such as water (Seuchengebiete), human voices (Von Mund zu Mund), paper (Papier ist geduldig). He is associated with the Industrial music scene through his collaborations and releases on labels such as United Dairies, Esplendor Geometrico or Dom Records. Tietchens never studied composition, he has no academic background, everything he does is self taught or learnign by doing. Nevertheless, he was professor for sound design in Hamburg in recent years. The album Dämmerattacke was originally released on Dutch Korm Plastics label in 1997 as a limited edition vinyl LP only. It was later reissued as a double CD with Eisgang. For this latest edition, we have added another bonus track making the CD 20 minutes longer than the LP. Full track list: 1. Zweite Dämmerattacke 2. Erster Nachtschatten 3. Zweiter Nachtschatten 4. Dritter Nachtschatten 5, Schlagschatten 6. Franz-Joseph-Land. www.klanggalerie.com/gg251 2017 €15.00
Linea + CD "Asmus Tietchens is a sound artist and composer from Hamburg, Germany. He got interested in Musique Concrete by listening to a German radio programme when he was 10 years old. In 1965, at the age of 18, Asmus started experimenting with tape loops and turned them into musical collages. Soon, the use of synthesizers was added. In 1980 his debut album Nachtstücke was released, produced by Peter Baumann of Tangerine Dream. This was soon followed by a series of albums of electronic pop music for the Sky label, home of many Krautrock bands. Tietchens often uses special source materials for his compositions such as water (Seuchengebiete), human voices (Von Mund zu Mund), paper (Papier ist geduldig). He is associated with the Industrial music scene through his collaborations and releases on labels such as United Dairies, Esplendor Geometrico or Dom Records. Tietchens never studied composition, he has no academic background, everything he does is self taught or learnign by doing. Nevertheless, he was professor for sound design in Hamburg in recent years. Linea was originally released on cassette on Dutch Korm Plastics label, later re-issued as a CDR in 1999. It is one of Tietchens's most minimal compositions, and has a special place in our music hearts here at Klanggalerie. For our new edition, Asmus Tietchens has dug deep into his archive and unearthed two further Linea pieces that have so far never seen the light of day. Full running time now 75 minutes. Remastered and repackaged. Full tracklist: 1 Linea 1 2. Linea 3 3. Linea 12 4. Linea 13." [label info] "Linea+ represents some of the composers most minimal works. The opener, Linea 1, offers a taut repetitive beat/rhythm that slightly blurs and bounces over time. It is a circular, hypnotic rhythm that is drawn into a bit of an oblong shape as it crosses from the left to the right channel ever so slightly. Musique Concrete at its finest, Tietchens takes sweet time to add minor electronic effects which throw the steady beat off some, making the listener pay closer attention to the conversation between the up and down layers. (...) The original release was a diamond in the rough, and this reissue has expanded its karat size two-fold and given this excavated classic the full restoration it deserves. Now Linea+ can be re-presented to new audiences looking for a futuristic sound that was way before its time, here reserving its timeless place." (Toneshift, September 2018) "This is not a review at all; this is a personal observation. About thirty years ago I started to meet Dolf Mulder, who was slightly older than me and about every once in 2 weeks we would meet up and he would play me weird records. Or I'd play some weird cassettes, as this I was I already much into. These days Dolf still writes for Vital Weekly about weird music, just as I do. I'm sure at one of those occasions he played me a record by Asmus Tietchens, I'd like to think one of the Sky Records or 'Formen Letzter Hausmusik' and Dolf told me he was in contact with Tietchens and that there was unpublished work, refused by Ladd-Frith on the basis it was too monotonous. For the small cassette label I had this seemed to me like sure-fire hit, selling more than the usual thirty copies. I wrote to Tietchens, got the master tape, liked it, and had a very professional cover printed, unlike all the Xerox business so far. A decade later, when CDRs became household, I re-issued all of the cassettes I did on Korm Plastics on that format and gave 'Linea' a second life. Not bad for a boring piece of music, indeed. Now it gets a third life, including two lengthy bonus pieces, both from the same series, but with 'Linea 12' and 'Linea 13' a bit further down the line. If Tietchens doesn't release a particular composition it is probably not good enough. On the original we have 'Linea 1' and 'Linea 3'. The fist is a very straightforward rhythm machine and sequence along with a repeating loop. It is very much at the tail end of Tietchens' Sky Records phase; very electronic, nothing concrete and yet also very minimal indeed. 'Linea 3' is also minimal yet with a stranger attack on the keyboard and rhythm machine pushed a little to the background. In both pieces there is very little development but it slowly shifts around. 'Im Atelier Zu Hören' is the tip Tietchens gives us, 'listen in your workspace' and that's where this works well indeed. In the two bonus pieces, Tietchens gives something away from the working methods behind 'Linea', which I didn't hear to the same extent as before. In these pieces the rhythm machine has disappeared and it's only arpeggio synthesizers, playing repeating lines and feeding through various delay lines, so sometimes we only hear the residue of the delay of the original line, chasing each other on end. Again this is all very minimal and again it works very well. 'Linea 12' has a darker touch and 'Linea 13' is the lighter side of things. Excellent re-issue." (FdW/Vital Weekly) 2018 €14.00
Raum 318 CD "Asmus Tietchens is a sound artist and composer from Hamburg, Germany. He got interested in Musique Concrete by listening to a German radio program when he was 10 years old. In 1965, at the age of 18, Asmus started experimenting with tape loops and turned them into musical collages. Soon, the use of synthesizers was added. In 1980 his debut album Nachtstücke was released, produced by Peter Baumann of Tangerine Dream. This was soon followed by a series of albums of electronic pop music for the Sky label, home of many Krautrock bands. Tietchens often uses special source materials for his compositions such as water (Seuchengebiete), human voices (Von Mund zu Mund), paper (Papier ist geduldig). He is associated with the Industrial music scene through his collaborations and releases on labels such as United Dairies, Esplendor Geometrico or Dom Records. Tietchens never studied composition, he has no academic background, everything he does is self-taught or learning by doing. Nevertheless, he was professor for sound design in Hamburg in recent years. Raum 318 was originally released on cassette only in 1991 on the E'ostrate label in France, in an edition of only 138 hand-numbered copies. It is a part of Tietchens' more Industrial sounding body of work and was remastered for this edition. In addition, a long previously unreelased bonus track has been added." 2020 €15.00
Ptomaine 1 CD \"Asmus Tietchens is a sound artist and composer from Hamburg, Germany. He got interested in Musique Concrete by listening to a German radio programme when he was 10 years old. In 1965, at the age of 18, Asmus started experimenting with tape loops and turned them into musical collages. Soon, the use of synthesizers was added. In 1980 his debut album Nachtstücke was released, produced by Peter Baumann of Tangerine Dream. This was soon followed by a series of albums of electronic pop music for the Sky label, home of many Krautrock bands. Tietchens often uses special source materials for his compositions such as water (Seuchengebiete), human voices (Von Mund zu Mund), paper (Papier ist geduldig). He is associated with the Industrial music scene through his collaborations and releases on labels such as United Dairies, Esplendor Geometrico or Dom Records. Tietchens never studied composition, he has no academic background, everything he does is self taught or learnign by doing. Nevertheless, he was professor for sound design in Hamburg in recent years. Ptomaine was originally released on RRRecords in 1996 as a 3 LP set. This is the first volume of the first ever CD re-issue\" https://www.klanggalerie.com/gg388 2021 €15.00
  Ptomaine 2 CD \\\"Asmus Tietchens is a sound artist and composer from Hamburg, Germany. He got interested in Musique Concrete by listening to a German radio program when he was ten years old. In 1965, at the age of 18, Asmus started experimenting with tape loops and turned them into musical collages. Soon, the use of synthesizers was added. In 1980 his debut album Nachtstücke was released, produced by Peter Baumann of Tangerine Dream. This was soon followed by a series of albums of electronic pop music for the Sky label, home of many Krautrock bands. Tietchens often uses special source materials for his compositions such as water (\\\'Seuchengebiete\\\'), human voices (\\\'Von Mund zu Mund\\\'), paper (\\\'Papier ist geduldig\\\'). He is associated with the industrial music scene through his collaborations and releases on labels such as United Dairies, Esplendor Geometrico or Dom Records. Tietchens never studied composition, he has no academic background, everything he does is self-taught or learning by doing. Nevertheless, he was professor for sound design in Hamburg in recent years. Ptomaine was originally released on RRRecords in 1996 as a 3 LP set. This is the second volume of the first ever CD re-issue.\\\" https://www.klanggalerie.com/gg415 2023 €15.00
TIETCHENS, ASMUS & JON MUELLER 8 Stücke CD "Second collaborative effort between german sound manipulation pioneer Asmus Tietchens and american improv-drummer Jon Mueller. The CD features 8 tracks that run up to 53 minutes. Jon Mueller on the second collaboration: “The previous collaboration between Asmus and I involved me using only sounds derived from drum heads. For Acht Stuecke, I've used only Chinese gongs and cymbals, so a completely different range of sound occurs. The performance of the percussion material was from various non-mechanical techniques (striking, swinging gongs, extended techniques, etc.) to create a palette of mostly textural sound with a large frequency range that Asmus could work with.” And indeed, work he did! The completeness that is Acht Stuecke is of breathtaking beauty and simplicity and complexity at the same time. The album is definately more homogenous and ‘together’ than the first meeting of the two musicians. It emanates a warm and deep sound evolving ou t of total soundless blankness as it seems. Jon Mueller has been active for several years in the us improv scene playing in various ensembles and doing solo work. he runs the excellent web mag/label/mailorder croutonmusic.com. Asmus Tietchens has been producing electronic music since the 1960ies and is one of the most renowned sound artists today in Germany. In the last five years he was awarded twice the SWR state radio prize “Karl Sczuka Preis” for radio art. He has released more than 80 records and CDs on labels all around the world." [label info] "...There are occasions in which one doesn’t need to speak too much to establish a truth, and the truth here lies inside the repeated bends and turns of a gorgeous album, among the best of both artists’ career. The original materials furnished by the Milwaukee percussionist - sounds of Chinese gongs and cymbals - were studio-treated by the German manipulator through his usual masterful methods, this time maintaining the qualities of the harmonic resonance of the metal rather evident amidst the choked gulps, the modified waves and the fractured hiccups that we’re used to receive from the Hamburg-based sonic transformer. There’s this splendid three-way cross between the real essence of Mueller’s stricken parts and swinging gongs, the instant mutated jargon developed by Tietchens over that, the final elemental amalgam bringing the whole to sound like a hidden microcosm where a hypnotically undulating presence is blemished by sparse singular voices of unknown entities. It’s really difficult to describe the overall feel in sheer words, but those who are gifted with the ability of picking disguised frequencies from the core of the more superficial ones are in for several special moments, aware of phenomena that not everybody can actually penetrate." [Massimo Ricci / Touching Extremes] www.aufabwegen.com 2007 €13.00
TIETCHENS, ASMUS & RICHARD CHARTIER Fabrication 2 do-CD "500 copies. Designed by Richard Chartier. 'Fabrication 2 ist the sequel to 'Fabrication', the first collaboration between Richard Chartier and Asmus Tietchens released in 2007. Whereas for the first collab the idea developed from the project around reinterpretations of Chartier's 'Postfabricated' this time the efforts where directly focussed on the reinterpretation of specific basic sound material. This basic sound material can be found on the first disc in the set prefabrication 2' which was constructed by Richard Chartier alone in Montreal and Washington, DC. 'Fabrication 2' is the reworking of this sonic basis by Asmus Tietchens. Whereas the first CD has traces of subtle dematerialized rhythmic structures the second disc is a study in minimalism and concentrated sound manipulation. Richard Chartier (b.1971), sound and installation artist, is considered one of the key figures in the current of reductionist electronic sound art which has been termed both microsound and Neo-Modernist. Chartier's minimalist digital work explores the inter-relationships between the spatial nature of sound, silence, focus, perception and the act of listening itself. Chartier's critically acclaimed sound works have been published over the past 12 years as 38 compact discs on labels such as 12k/LINE (US), Raster-Noton (Germany), Spekk (Japan), Non Visual Objects (Austria), Room40 (Australia), Die Stadt (Germany), DSP (Italy), ERS (Netherlands), and Trente Oiseaux (Germany). He has collaborated with noted sound artists Taylor Deupree, William Basinski, CoH, and German pioneer Asmus Tietchens, as well as installation artists Evelina Domnitch, Dmitry Gelfand, and visual artist Linn Meyers. Asmus Tietchens has been producing electronic music since the 1960ies and is one of the most renowned sound artists today in Germany. In the last five years he was awarded twice the SWR state radio prize 'Karl Sczuka Preis' " [label info] www.aufabwegen.com "The first collaborative result between Richard Chartier and Asmus Tietchens was called 'Fabrication' and released together with the rough sound material on a bonus CD. Apparently that was a way of working which both artists like, so its now continued on 'Fabrication 2'. The first 'Fabrication' was an exchange, back and forth, of sound material between the two, on this new one things are a bit different. One disc is the rough sound material composed by Chartier and on the second we find the reworks as carried out by Tietchens based on the Chartier piece. That piece, lasting thirty-nine minutes, is an odd one by Chartier. It is called 'an unusual improvisation' by him, and perhaps its so indeed. It has that, perhaps by now, 'classic' Chartier approach in sound: low, minimalist, drone like, with a minimum of clicks but its all indeed a bit more roughly put together, like more by accident than design. That adds a rather nice perspective to the piece and with those odd changes also perhaps the right source material for Tietchens. He knows his ways with material like this, and created eight different treatments of the material in a classic Tietchens manner. Classic by now, as it continues the sort of interest Tietchens developed in the 21st century, his 'Menge' series. Very sparse electronics, with an emphasis on drone like sounds and treatments in some click like sound. Simply great music, but perhaps I'm not the most objective person about Asmus Tietchens. I don't think I ever heard a bad thing from him. 'Fabrication 2' is a damn fine work among other damn fine works, and nothing that leaps out of that catalogue, but ranks with the best." [FdW / Vital Weekly] 2010 €18.00
TIETCHENS, ASMUS + FRANS DE WAARD Oordeel CD On „Oordeel“ This collaboration was bound to happen someday! Out of mutual respect and admiration for each other’s work Asmus Tietchens and Frans de Waard decided to work on some music together. The result is “Oordeel" (dutch for "judgement") – eleven tracks of diverse character and subtle beauty. From distorted groans and gritty pulses to delicate and abstract sound layers Tietchens and de Waard have created a fascinating sound world of bizarre beauty. Frans de Waard Frans de Waard (1965) has been producing music since 1984 (Kapotte Muziek, Beequeen, Goem, Zebra, Freiband, Shifts, Modelbau, etc.). In 1984 he started his own record label Korm Plastics, releasing music from Arcane Device, Asmus Tietchens, Jim O'Rourke among others. He has worked for the pioneering Dutch tape label Staalplaat (1992-2003) and since 1986 as a reviewer for his own publication Vital (now Vital Weekly), a magazine which has been an online source for underground music since 1995, and which celebrated its 1000th issue in 2015. In 2016 Timeless published in France his first book, an autobiography of life in Staalplaat titled This Is Supposed To Be A Record Label. His interests in music creation ranges from ambient to noise to what he describes as 'silly disco music'. He has played concerts in Europe, USA, Canada, Russia and Japan, and collaborated with Steven Wilson, Jaap Blonk, Andrew Liles, Radboud Mens, Keiji Haino, Pan Sonic and others. Asmus Tietchens Tietchens was born in Hamburg in 1947. Since 1975 he has been working as an independent musician; in 1980 he released his first solo record Nachtstücke. After producing a series of rhythmic and harmonic albums for the Sky label in the early 1980s he released his first industrial record Formen letzter Hausmusik in 1984 on United Dairies. Here Tietchens articulated his musical interests clearly: everyday noises were treated and at times deformed beyond recognition and placed into new contexts. Until now Asmus Tietchens has released more than 80 albums on international labels where he continues to explore the posibilities presented to him by specific sound sources (ranging from water sounds to pure sine wave tones). He has a more rhythm-oriented fake band project called Hematic Sunsets. Tietchens’ work is rooted in a deeply sceptic gesture, marked by frequent quotes from the works of philosopher E.M. Cioran on his album covers. Asmus Tietchens has been awarded with the prestigious Karl Sczuka Prize of the Südwestrundfunk (SWR) twice: in 2003 for his work Heidelberger Studien 1-6 and in 2006 for Trois Dryades. He lives and works in Hamburg. https://aufabwegen.bandcamp.com/album/oordeel "As everyone knows by now, I am the world’s foremost authority on Frans de Waard Record Reviews. Do you think you’ve written more Frans de Waard record reviews than I have? You are incorrect. Go ahead, count all the Frans de Waard record reviews that you’ve ever written and tell me how many there are. Oh, is that all? I’ve written more. You cannot win. Looking at my recent contributions to the subgenre of music journalism of which I am the indisputable champion, I notice that my critical expertise is most frequently turned towards de Waard’s solo albums as Modelbau and Quest/QST. However, as the Reigning King of Frans de Waard Reviews that we all agree I am, I happen to know that the (unofficial) Mayor of Nijmegen thrives on collaborations. This latest pair of albums show off his versatility with two very different, yet equally excellent, pieces of electronic music made with the cooperation of two very different composers. It’s amazing to think that “Oordeel” is the first album-length album that de Waard and veteran German composer Asmus Tietchens have done as a duo. Both are prolific and enthusiastic collaborators, so it seems natural that they’d come together at some point. Both gents share a disinclination to explain themselves, preferring to follow their musical instincts wherever they lead and to let an image or a title stand as the only signpost to guide listeners. The way that the title “Oordeel” is pronounced in English, the word describes something difficult to endure; a protracted unpleasant or traumatic experience. The Dutch word, however, means “judgement”. I suspect that neither interpretation is intended to frame this music literally, and that the title was more likely selected for it’s aesthetic appeal. I could be wrong, but then again I’m the greatest reviewer of Frans de Waard records on the planet, so… let’s just assume I’m right, okay? Indeed, this music is not in any way an ordeal to sit through, nor does it seem to be judging anything. The album’s sequence of short, discrete pieces offers no clues as to a concept or even compositional strategy, and yet it sounds very specific. Every piece seems to be created from similar materials united by a background ambience of incorporeal breath, which makes it hang together as a single idea. There’s a cool hermetic quality to all eleven vignettes, each one offering sharp clicks and carefully sculpted hums that skip lightly over a surface haze. I’m reminded of smooth 1970s plastic, mercilessly austere and yet vaguely sinister in its indifference. Only one piece breaks up the set: “VII” temporarily shatters the reverie with a buzzing whine of dial-up modems and hostile radio static. Once “Oordeel” gets that out of its system, though, it returns to the holodeck and stares out at the cosmos for awhile." [HS/Vital Weekly] 2019 €13.00
TIETCHENS, ASMUS / OKKO BEKKER E CD "The term "E-Musik" is not used to denote "electronic music", as one could be led to believe. Rather the E stands for "earnest" music or a music that is to be taken seriously, even more so as composers of this genre tend to be focused on their salary. Whether the distinction between E- and U-Musik, that mainly exists in the german speaking territories, is to be rendered a useful one, Bekker/Tietchens try to explore on their 1988 release E. They do this by appraoching some stylistic variation of so-called E-Musik in their own terms. What we hear ranges from soviet realism via dodecaophincs through to minimal music and free atonality. The meeting of Bekker and Tietchens and the results of their encounter on this album are all the more remarkable because Tietchens is an exponent of non-academic electronic music and Bekker works in the field of F-Musik, whose social acceptance is way below that of U-Musik. F-Musik stands for "functional music" and describes a type of music no one really wants to listen to. Usually upon playback the irritated listener tries to lower the volume approaching zero. Thus the title "Musik Im Deutschen Imbiss (short: MIDI)" - while being totally neglected both by music sociology and musical aesthetics - might well prove to be an example a valid analysis for compositional challenges that mights be solved on a future album entitled "P". Strictly speaking Bekker and Tietchens know New Music only by hearsay and through occasional visits of concerts in broadcasting houses or other remote locations. That they tried to formulate a somewhat partial typology of New Music regardless, is due to their enthusiasm and juvenile furor. It is not a product of their actual knowledge of the subject." (Tro Khan) comes in jewel case with full colour poster booklet, reproducing the original artwork plus new photograph and liner notes by Tro Khan, plus both tracks from the bonus 7" U, plus 2 unreleased bonus tracks from the period. edition of 600 copies www.diestadtmusik.de "The reissue campaign of the early works by Asmus Tietchens continues, here with a 1988 recording with long-standing collaborator Okko Bekker, originally released on Dom, now sporting four bonus tracks not on the original. Intentional or otherwise, E parallels much of the library music that was being quietly generated in institutional electronic studios across the globe, jumping thematically from pre-serialist melodicism played on period-specific digital sampling keyboards to Eno-esque avant-pop electronic numbers with a few forays into thoroughly abstracted / splintered sound collages and way out saxophone improvisations. E was always an eclectic record and one that seemed out of place next to Nurse With Wound or HNAS; but in a context of Ghost Box relocating the KPM catalogue for themselves and those digging into the not-quite-new-age electronics of sci-fi exuberance and baroque horror synthesis (e.g. K. Leimer, Craig Leon, Laurie Speigel, etc.), this album will definitely bring delights in its fancifully cheeky electronic simulacrum." [Aquarius Rec.] 2015 €14.00
TOOP, DAVID Entities Inertias Faint Beings LP From David Toop: The music existed already, spores maybe or dormant clusters of digital files. Out of three periods of solitude the germination began. The first was in Queensland, on Tamborine Mountain (an aboriginal name), so silent at night that I listened to recorded music – Japanese gagaku, Buddhist ritual from Bhutan, Korean Confucian music – as if drifting into cavernous black space. Stepping into sleep I saw a hypnagogic image - a transparent swimming pool suspended over the mouth of a volcano. I read Stephen Mansfield’s book on Japanese stone gardens – “Successful stone arrangements seem almost alive, the elements conversing among themselves with an occult vitality, the call and response that has been noted between well-placed rocks resembling the chanting of Buddhist sutras” ; Daylight listening in chill air, hearing whip birds, butcher birds, noisy mynahs, kookaburra chatter, rainbow lorikeets; catapult elastic, I wrote, radio waves in a kettle, electric buzzers. On Queensland’s Gold Coast I gazed at a distant humpback whale breaching out to sea, watched Yasujiro Ozu’s 1934 silent version of A Story of Floating Weeds, listened to cicadas burst into life as a helicopter flew overhead. Back into society and driving with Lawrence English I asked him, why would anybody release music in the 21st century? He laid out his philosophy; I was convinced. Then in St Ives, Cornwall, solitary again, drawing, reading Timothy Morton’s Hyperobjects and Clarice Lispector’s Agua Viva (her beautiful sentence: “dry keys echo in the dark and humid early hours”), gazing at ocean flux, music trembling into life from secreted audio files, music becoming living entities. Phantoms rose up out of sea mist, images of black light and blistered skin from photographers (Takuma Nakahira and Tomatsu Shomei), the fermenting of sounds. From a distance I heard voices – the extraordinary painter Mariko Sugano reciting ancient Japanese garden texts on the taboos associated with stone setting; Emi Watanabe’s flute as if a ghost from the Noh; the sounds of underwater creatures in my pond; Sylvia Hallett’s sarangi crying (in cavernous black space); the fervent drumming of Rie Nakajima’s small mechanical beings (like cooking with paper, wire and batteries); John Butcher’s reeds, music as a scientific exploration of the body, the instrument. Rie talked about the properties of objects, soft or hard. In the Noh play Aoi no Ue, the spirit is compelled with drum and plucked string (the catalpa bow). In solitude I contemplated death, decay, the gush of life. Back in the car, Lawrence told me, when you die you’ll leave many projects unfinished. I laughed. Unspeakable truths, notes for a language to come, maybe not this world. 
 room40.bandcamp.com/album/entities-inertias-faint-beings "Composer/performer/improviser David Toop’s latest release traces the seam between sound and music, paying attention to the hidden sounds that surround us and turning silence inside out. In a lot of ways I’ve come to dislike music,” David Toop told The Wire in 2003. “I love sound, I love silence, but music as a whole I don’t like anymore.” You might assume that would have troubled him, given that Toop, then 54, had been deeply involved with music for most of his life, in virtually every role imaginable: performer, improviser, composer, critic, theorist, archivist, curator, and label owner. But if it represented any sort of crisis for him—six years before, burnout and “indifference to contemporary music” had led Toop to hang up his hat as a music journalist—it didn’t hold back his output. Since making the statement, Toop has continued to perform and lecture, released a half-dozen albums, and written two books, including the recently published Into the Maelstrom: Music, Improvisation, and the Dream of Freedom. But Toop’s turn away from music, that complicated category of organized sound, has been crucial in one very important aspect: It has allowed him to ask probing questions about the nature of listening. Those questions come to a head on Entities Inertias Faint Beings, his first studio album since 2007’s Sound Body. Offering a vibrant array of rustle and hum, the new album traces the seam between sound and music, between the intentional and the incidental, between expression and mute abstraction. A partial index of its sounds would include the whine of rubbed wineglass rims; shortwave radios on the fritz; the electric buzz of the forest canopy at night; the languid click of fingernails across guitar strings; the whirr and flap of a 16mm film projector’s take-up reel. It is an album about paying attention to the hidden sounds that surround us, about turning silence inside out. And it is an album about using sound to find one's own bearings. Entities Inertias Faint Beings got its start as an autobiography—or, more precisely, it is the result of what turned out to be an abortive case of writer’s block. Its genesis lies in three periods of solitude: first a stay on Tamborine Mountain in subtropical Queensland, Australia (“so silent at night that I listened to recorded music—Japanese gagaku, Buddhist ritual from Bhutan, Korean Confucian music—as if drifting into cavernous black space,” Toop writes in his introduction to the album), and then on Queensland’s Gold Coast, where cicadas harmonized with helicopters. Back in Cornwall, trying and failing to write his life’s story, he began sifting through several years' worth of personal recordings he had stored on his computer: small, percussive thunks; filament-like drones; the crinkling of paper. Shuffling, layering, and arranging—not so much composing as feeling his way through the material, as if improvising—he added new sounds to the mix, like a quiet passage of acoustic guitar from one of his daily practice sessions, and a hydrophone recording from his garden pond. And in London, he fleshed out the pieces with the help of musician friends. The improvising saxophonist John Butcher lends trilling, bird-like sounds to two tracks; Rie Nakajima's battery-powered motorized objects rattle and whirr, suggesting insect colonies in upheaval. The overall result—thematically, anyway—is something like one of W.G. Sebald’s literary peregrinations: a palimpsest of place, memory, and accident, although its precise route is unknown to all but its creator. There is little to tell us what any of these clicks and pings might actually be. Several of the album’s track titles suggest cryptic headings scrawled on notecards in dusty filing cabinets: “dry keys echo in the dark and humid early hours”; “pieces of wood and iron, phials of odours”; “sea slug.” They function as indices of possible experiences, and if they explain little—do the bassy gurgles of “sea slug” really come from a gastropod mollusk?—they offer unusual and inviting travelogues consisting of little more than white noise and feral throb. But Toop can’t quite resist sneaking music—that most elegantly ordered aspect of organized noise—back into the equation. Again and again, understated wisps of melody, harmony, and rhythm surface briefly and disappear just as quickly, sending out ripples that supercharge every corner of this lovely, engrossing album. In the album’s centerpiece, “ancestral beings, sightless by their own dust,” Sylvia Hallett’s sarangi, a bowed string instrument from Hindustani classical music, weaves an eerie, mournful air over slow, methodical pulses. Then, at the track’s end, a jungle’s worth of growling, chirping, buzzing sounds swells and is swallowed in turn by the steady gush of a tropical rainstorm. Toop has compared his compositional processes to traditional Japanese stone gardens—one track, “setting stones,” quotes a thousand-year-old passage on the subject—and at its most engrossing, Entities captures the uncanny qualities of inanimate objects in conversation with one another. It is a way of suggesting that the music exists independently even of its creator; it is a product of the act of listening itself. By the act of focusing our ears, we bring it to life—and vice versa." [Pitchfork] 2016 €23.50
TORBA Musique Inconcrete LP After the quickly sold out »Ggràn« cassette, released on Fragment Factory in 2016, we are very happy to welcome back the Italian sound artist Mauro Diciocia aka Torba for his 2nd contribution to the FF label catalogue. »Musique Inconcrète« is the follow-up to »Musica Conventionale«, released earlier this year on his own Edizioni Aaltra imprint, and marks the second installment in a trilogy of related recordings, informally named »Le Musiche«. While being active in the field of contemporary sound art and noise music for more than a decade, Diciocia has produced a whole lot of mostly small run cassette releases. This LP is Torba's first and long overdue full-length album for the vinyl format. While Diciocia's latest work is far from being composed in classical terms, the concept behind the album revolves around the idea of sketch or annotation. Or better still: The inconcrète. A semi-false (or semi-correct) french word, used to undermine the consistency of the french Musique Concrète tradition in a rather light-hearted manner. During the conception of this album, MD was strongly influenced by the work »Incompiuto - The Birth of a Style« by the Italian contemporary art collective Alterazioni Video. They loudly claim that Incompiuto – the unfinished – is the only Italian art style of some significance in the past 50 years: "The term ‘incompiuto’ refers to the architectural and infrastructural works whose construction has been halted, and which can be witnessed throughout the entire Italian peninsula. They are all publicly funded, and for a variety of reasons (design errors, political decisions, inaccurate cost estimates, contractors' bankruptcies, evident disregard of building regulations, the disappearance of funds, etc.) their construction has been interrupted, leaving behind a series of ruins in reverse.” (Alterazioni Video) Far from any reference to post-architecture or mafia-political controversy, the final output of »Musique Inconcrète« is a macro cut-up of sound-screens reorganized as quasi-organic narration: Fragments of unfinished compositions, roughly assembled according to a mere aesthetic criteria. Beyond the sporadic use of oscillators and a few inserts of other people's music manipulated on ¼-inch tape, the whole LP is made out of field recordings collected in the region of Salento in southern Italy, where Diciocia is currently living. All environmental sounds were captured with common consumer electronics (walkman and mobile phones) in order to give back the domestic feeling of an abandoned opera. Speaking of geography, the first track Lapjèdr Fòr is the only exception. Intended as an introduction to the whole narration, it testifies MD's emotional and non-linear journey back from Germany, where he spent about eight years, to Southern Italy: It contains a clashing mix of recordings made in Berlin and around the seaside of Torre Lapillo. The pictures for the artwork of the album were taken by the photographer Gabriele Albergo, whose perpetual-in-progress project »Salento Death Valley - A Black Diary of the Most Beloved Italian Peninsula« aims to deconstruct the touristically idealized image of the region through the serial production of what he calls anti-postcards. Edition of 300 copies on black vinyl. https://fragmentfactory.bandcamp.com/album/musique-inconcr-te "Many of the sounds on Musique Inconcrète are thin, threadlike, fibrous, like amplified insect legs or the metallic rustle of uncut guitar strings. Usually such a description would apply to an album with much more sound processing and alteration involved in its construction, not a work that relies as heavily on mostly unmanipulated field recordings as this does, but the singular vision that audio collage maestro Mauro Diciocia (a.k.a. Torba) has adopted for Musique Inconcrète is unconcerned with “usually.” The six tracks on the LP are true sonic sketches, a structure he borrows from the Alterazioni Video collective’s tradition of Incompiuto—the incomplete. Diciocia warmly embraces a state of unfinishedness, fully content to explore acoustic settings and movements with qualities that might often be cited as weaknesses: insubstantiality, choppiness, frailty. He uses the aforementioned field recordings—most of which were captured in southern Italy—as fragile canvases for his sketches, their beautifully mundane soundscapes both contributing their own unique textures to the music as well as serving as a base for quiet interjections of buzzing static; occasional and very choice musical samples; and other oddities. The recordings themselves are often shaky and unstable, an effect that’s achieved via either subtle processing or the recording medium itself; Diciocia chose to use basic electronics like small tape recorders and mobile phones to evoke “the domestic feeling of an abandoned opera.” Such careful efforts to fully adopt an intentional lack of polish or seamlessness make Musique Inconcrète not only a fascinating and thought-provoking release but also more lush and well-realized than one could ever think possible." [Noisenotmusic] "Wenn das neue Torba-Album ein Pendant in der Welt der haptisch erfahrbaren Artefakte hat, dann ist es die Ruine – ein Phänomen, welches das Künstlerkollektiv Alterazione Video jüngst am Beispiel unvollendeter Architektur und Infrastruktur untersuchte, an verschiedenen Konstruktionen, die aus Geldmangel, wegen technischer Probleme, politischer Planänderungen und ähnlicher Gründe Fragment bleiben mussten. In der dazu entstandenen Studie wurden sie als die bedeutendsten Kunstwerke des heutigen Italiens bezeichnet. “Musique Inconcrète”, erneut eine Reihe an feinsinnigen Cut-Up-Kollagen, wurde stark von diesen Überlegungen getriggert und setzt sich aus eher spontan zusammengesetzten Komponenten zusammen, denen man ihre Fragmentiertheit anmerkt. Benannt hat Torba das Resultat allerdings nicht nach dem Unvollendeten, sondern nach dem “Inkonkreten”, was eine ganze Reihe weiterer Bedeutungsnuancen eröffnet. Im Vergleich zur One Track-CD “Musica Convenzionale”, dem ersten Teil der losen Reihe “Le Musiche”, erst recht aber zu früheren Veröffentlichungen, sind die sieben Tracks des neuen Longplayers noch ein ganzes Stück dezenter, andeutungshafter und ungreifbarer: Mikrosequenzen, deren Soundmaterial diffus an Zikaden, Straßenlärm, Sinustöne, Wind und Wasser und zwitschernde Vögel, aber auch an jazziges Basspiel erinnert, eine Viel-, wenn nicht Unzahl an per Telefon aufgezeichnetem Material, dazu Songzitate und immer wieder dezente Manipulation – all das liegt übereinander, greift ineinander und verschmilzt doch nur soweit miteinander, dass das Konstrukt einer Einheit verwehrt bleibt. Alles verbindet sich gerade so stark, dass die Konturen einzelner Klänge undeutlich und eben unkonkret werden. Man kann darin freilich eine Kritik an den Ideen der Musique Concrète, oder zumindest das Aufzeigen einer Kehrseite und eines blinden Flecks sehen, betonten die Pioniere dieser Musik doch besonders das Material in seiner wie selbstverständlich angenommenen Abgegrenztheit. Die einzig deutliche Grenze, die Torba hier zieht, ist die des immer wieder überraschenden Schlusspunktes einer Sequenz oder einer Tonspur, womit er an einige seine früheren Tape-Veröffentlichungen anknüpft. Torba ist nach wie vor ein Gelände mit vielen abrupt endenden Sackgassen. Mehr noch als in den opulenteren Stücken wird dies in den zwei minimalistischen “Intermezzi” deutlich, in denen der (teils verfremdete und im Tempo hochgeschraubte) Auftakt einer berühmten Klaviersonate durch ein Szenario verhuschter Sounds getrieben wird. Daran, dass das Motiv immer wieder nach drei Tönen de nova da capo geht, mag man sich gar nicht gewöhnen, und soll es vielleicht auch nicht. In dieser Spannung, in der die einzige klare Kontur die Evidenz des Unfertigen ist, liegt die Signifikanz und natürlich die größte Herausforderung von “Musique Inconcrète”. Hat man sich daran gewöhnt, erkennt man viel Schönheit in dem Gebräu aus Verkehrslärm, Stimmengewirr und verschwommener Jahrmarktsmusik." (U.S./African Paper) 2019 €18.00
TRICOLI, VALERIO Say Goodbye to the Wind Shelter Press 139cd The Palermo born, Munich based composer, Valerio Tricoli, has forged a singular path within experimental sound practice, continuously rethinking the relationship between electroacoustic composition and narrative possibility. Say Goodbye to the Wind is his first album with Shelter Press. Across three intricate, deeply personal works of concrète music, the composer blurs the boundaries between the tangible and abstract, weaving complex allegories for the self. Most commonly created on a RevoxB77 reel-to-reel -- manipulating, live sampling, and real-time editing/mixing of field and studio recordings -- in Tricoli's hands, estranged moments of sonorous ephemera transmogrify and intertwine as metaphorical and allegorical sums, far greater than their parts. The title of Tricoli's sixth full-length is taken from a story by J.G. Ballard, set in the desolation of a holiday resort that rests among a landscape of endless rolling dunes that are populated by "sound sculptures" and monsters. Historically, one of the primary pursuits of musique concrete is the transformation of everyday sonority into abstractions of profound meaning and weight. While this process unquestionable played a heavy hand in the composition of Say Goodbye to the Wind, Tricoli's approach to the idiom sets the stage for something entirely unique. Not only are the practices of tape music applied to field recordings, but to the sounds of piano, synthesizers, objects, and the composer's voice, in addition to interventions by Ecka Mordecai (cello), Lucio Capece (soprano saxophone), and Ida Toninato (vocals). "Lo Spopolatore", draws its title from Samuel Beckett's short story Le Dépeupleur (The Lost Ones). Tricoli's work weaves together a multitude of sonorous fragments: field recordings, voice, and diverse instrumentation. "Mimosa Hostilis" -- the name of a Brazilian plant which contains DMT -- begins with same recording as its predecessor, made of his son's breathing, a few months after his birth, in the Sicilian sea wind. Here, Tricoli treats his sources with pointillistic precision, intermingling vocal and minimal instrumental gestures into a polyrhythmic patter that transforms commonplace sonority into aural echoes of wind, rain, the shadowy species within. The title of "De Vacuum Magdeburgicus" is taken from the name of the first paper published by Otto von Guericke, a 17th century, German scientist, inventor, and politician. While no less oriented around the abstract possibilities activated by field recordings, "De Vacuum Magdeburgicus" is the album's most explicitly musical work. Warbling instrumental sounds and vocal interventions, bent by the hand tape manipulation, push toward heightened states of drama and tension, pushing and pulling against a vast pallet of textures drawn from the natural word and beyond. Artwork by Mårten Lange. Mastered by Rashad Becker. https://shelterpress.bandcamp.com/album/say-goodbye-to-the-wind 2022 €18.50
TROUM Ryna CD Wiederveröffentlichung des Debut-Albums von 1998, mit neuer Artwork von TILMANN BENNINGHAUS (Berlin). Re-release of Troum's long sold out first album from 1998 with new artwork by Tilmann Benninghaus. Digipack. "...Die acht Stuecke greifen sehr gekonnt ineinander, steigern sich von Minute zu Minute. Praesentieren sich die ersten Tracks sehr einheitlich, ambient, setzen dann leichte Rhythmusstrukturen ein, um im Finale Riurja" ihren Hoehepunkt zu finden. Alle, die sich mit auditiven Aphrodisiaka berauschen, sollten diesen Edelstein besitzen: Ein begeisterndes Noise-Ambient-Werk!" [Der Schrei] "Vielmehr versetzen sie Gitarrensaiten in harmonische Schwingungen, um damit sinnlich erfahrbar zu machen, dass Begriffe und Ideen Herrn & Damen ohne Unterleib bleiben müssen, wenn sie sich nicht entpuppen zu Flügelwesen, Tänzern und Sängern. TROUMS Dröhnwellen singen von der Einheit von Pneuma, Psyche & Soma. Eine Einheit, die ständiger Modulation ausgesetzt ist. Beispielhaft für einen Modulator steht bei TROUM der ‚Thalamus‘, der wörtlich ‚Schlafzimmer‘ genannte Teil des Zwischenhirns, der die ein- und ausgehenden informativen Erregungen des Großhirns moduliert. Muss man das wissen? Es kann zumindest nicht schaden, sich dessen bewusst zu sein, dass TROUM im Klang & Fleisch gewordenen Wort ‚Traum‘ die psycho-physischen und environmentalen Fundamente vibrieren lässt." [Rigobert Dittmann, Bad Alchemy] "...The general feel of the sounds here is reminiscent of the earth moving, tectonic plates in constant shuffle, the tracks building and then either shifting or worn away via attrition. Its as if Maeror Tri learned to fly through ingenuity, smoke and mirrors, while Troum has taken the ingenuity, smoke and mirrors and, somehow, grown wings. Amazing stuff!" [JC Smith] "I believe it was 1997 when a small posting came my way stating that Maeror Tri had dissolved. At the time, this German trio had become one of my (Jim's) favorite ensembles alongside the likes of Organum, Skullflower, and :zoviet*france:. Maeror Tri's dedication to grimly focused atmospheric music harbored all of the things that succeeded in the campaigns of industrial and ambient music; and the Maeror Tri anonymity (or at least a mysteriousness about the group that lead to such a reading of their collective persona) certainly enhanced their charm. Albums such as Emotional Engramm and Multiple Personality Disorder had achieved heavy rotation status on my stereo (and still get pulled from the shelves quite often in this day and age); so the news that Maeror Tri was no more was met with sadness. Fortunately, two thirds of the Maeror Tri ensemble had decided to continue on but under the moniker Troum. While the name of this duo was an archaic German word for dream, Troum's pursuit of unconscious symbolism through their heavily processed guitar drones still maintained the ashen darkness that Maeror Tri perpetuated, as was evident on their first CD release Ryna, which originally came out in 1998 on the Belgian label Myotis. It should be noted that Ryna is not the first Troum recording; that honor is held by a cassette called Dreaming Muzak that came housed in a tiny pillow. Ryna quickly went out of print, along with much of the Maeror Tri back catalogue; but thankfully, Troum have repressed this early gem through their own Transgredient imprint. An album of constantly billowing black clouds, Ryna achieves the same dark ambient / dronescape signature that had marked so many great Maeror Tri / Troum releases. On occasion, cracked / decayed loops of rhythmic surging emerged from beyond the horizon of Troum's guitar suites, alluding to a Norse mythological bellow of impending doom and apocalyptic battle. While I've not done the side-by-side taste test of the two albums, the 2007 redux of Ryna appears to much louder and cleaner. Regardless, it's a pleasure to hear this record once again!" [Aquarius Records] 2006 €12.00
Symballein CD Sechs Stücke aus der Frühphase von TROUM, erschienen auf obskuren & raren Compilations im Zeitraum 1997 - 1999; dunkel, dronig-morastig, tieffrequent, von massiver Konsistenz, post-industriell, jenseitig ...am ehesten zu vergleichen mit der ebenfalls damals erschienenen Debut-CD RYNA. "...alle sechs sind gute beispiele für die "kl_F/B-S/comp-Theorie", bilden trotzdem ein fast perfektes gesamtwerk und zeigen troum durchweg von ihrer düsteren seite; kavernenartig, rhythmen durch meterdicke wände gefiltert, stimmen aus der zwischenwelt. ein stärkerer kontrast zur aktuellen, dagegen fast leichten A.I.W.S. erscheint kaum möglich...... ps: die "kl_F/B-S/comp-Theorie", deren erste erwähnung hier nicht mehr eruiert werden kann, stellt die (unbewiesene) vermutung in den raum, dass bands kleinere Formate/B-Seiten/compilation-Beiträge gerne dafür nutzen, ein wenig abseitigere tracks zu platzieren. neben dem wunsch, auch mal über die eigenen stränge schlagen zu können, der experimentierlust zu frönen, wird vermutet, dass zum teil auch stücke dergestalt eine heimat finden, die aufgrund von laufzeitbeschränkungen der veröffentlichungsmedien in vorhergehenden releases gekippt werden mussten. psps: und des wird zeit, endlich einmal small voices aus italien zu loben; allgemein + besonders und jetzt besonders wegen der coverartworks: hier strukturpappe-aufklapper mit schlitz zur cd-aufnahme: eine weitere perfekte annäherung an das lp-cover als die sowieso perfekte verpackung." [n, Unruhr.de] "Symballein" is the second TROUM releases on SmallVoices label after the well ... "Autopoiesis" LP picture disc (SVV001) actually SOLD OUT. This album is a collection of very rare material, from the very beginning of Troum (period: 1997 - 1999). As Troum meaning the music is dreamy... The concept of the ‘Dream’ is the common thread running through Troum; the name, the music and the philosophy. For not only is TROUM the old German word for "DREAM" but, according to their website, ‘the dream, seen as a central manifestation of the unconscious, symbolizes the aim of TROUM to lead the listener into a hypnotizing dream-state of mind, a pre-verbal and primal consciousness sphere. TROUM uses music as the direct path to the Unconscious, pointing to the archaic "essence" of the human’s inner psyche. TROUM tries to create music that works like a direct transformation of unconscious matter’. In Symballein dreams are obscure and indecipherable..., in one word nightmares; the music is archaic and droney, with multi-layered guitar drones..., oneiric ambient industrial nearly to Maeror Tri best releases. The disc in packaged in a elegant and luxurious embossed cardboard digi-sleeve. Symballein: "perceivable & non-perceivable things fall into one" [label press release] 2007 €10.00
SIGQAN CD "...„Sigqan" von 2003, remastered und in neuem cover auf neuem label, diesmal dem eigenen. und gerade bei so verbesserungen ist das ergebnis ja oft zwiespältig; das re-master hier dagegen subtil lebendiger, körper- und räumlicher, die (für troum verhältnisse) fast minimalistische, auf gebündelte sounds setzende klangästhetik unterstützend bzw. eben einfach besser ans ohr bringend: dunkel, fast glazial, gegeneinander verschiebende ebenen rund um den hauptstrom der einzelnen teile der sigqan-trilogie, im „part 3" mit ergänzender, eher subtiler rhythmustextur; bis zum ende nur noch ein feedback zwischen cello- und trompetenästetik den beginn widerspiegelt. unter den troum alben vielleicht eines der focussiertesten, vielleicht immer ein wenig versteckt zwischen der grossen tjukurrpa-trilogie; in jedem fall: schwer empfohlen. das neue cover, wieder ein digipack, diesmal in farbe, textur und besonders typografie irgendwie nicht einem bestimmten grafischen (zeit)geschmack verpflichtet wie damals die erste auflage." [N, Unruhr.de] "Deep beneath the ocean is a world of mystery, wonder, darkness, and danger. Even if it weren't for the cover art of this German duo's brilliant new album, there is unmistakably no other place in the universe that has influenced the sounds and movement of what is represented within. These drones are not passive in the least. The depth and volume are all encompassing, and moving slowly but steadily like an ancient and lonely large whale through the graveyards of shipwrecks, at the very beginning of the food chain in which all living creatures depend. Recorded live in the studio without overdubs, the first two parts are based on live performances the band was touring around with in 2001, the first being a dark blue rumble, heavy on the low end and marked by patient melodic movement, the second with swirling guitar strums and leads like the sun coming through in bended bands of beams: flickering, reflected, and refracted. The intangible overwhelming feeling of weight and pressure is unavoidable and inescapable, like being frozen in a dream, unable to move, but calm and comforting all the same. Around the half-way mark, it dips back into the darker regions as pitch and pace slow down deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper yet into the cold, black unknown. The third part was recorded as an afterthought, and is described as a new ending. Its brightness and chugging backwards-sounding guitars brilliantly accent the feel that it is a journey which is reaching its end. At this point, it feels that the central figure in the journey seems to be a vessyl of some sort, and the 16-minute Part 3 is thematic of a glorious resurfacing, reintroduction to the bright light of day, and returning to solid ground. But, as the brightness comes, so does an ominous sense that all might not be right. The world looks different than before, the places are familiar but everything's seemed to have changed. The credits may roll but this is certainly not the end." [Jon Whitney / Brainwashed] “Finally, the first Troum record to be widely available in the United States, released through Relapse subsidiary Desolation House, and we're pleased to say it's maybe their best yet. Troum are the ambient-drone ensemble that emerged from the dissolution of proto-industrial dronesters Maeror Tri. Unlike the primarily guitar based whir and rumble of Maeror Tri, Troum obfuscate their sound sources, laptops, found sounds, accordians, guitars too maybe, and the results are timeless, mysterious, haunting, ethereal and utterly breathtaking dronescapes. Sigqan is a lengthy three part epic, beginning with rich sonorous foghorn like swells, that ebb and flow, separated by near silence, and slowly building in intensity from warm crescendos to huge doomy pulses. Eventually, these roaring rumbles joined by complementary shimmers of high end, that sound out, and then dissipate like sonic ripples, fading into blackness. The swells slowly grow closer and closer until the edges begin to blur and a subtly more continuous melodic framework begins to emerge and so begins the second movement, a creepy and slightly ominous, slowly fluctuating slow-motion-melody, whose lazily shifting notes keep the sonic landscape dense and rich, and keeps the sounds from flatlining into monochromatic drones. As the piece winds down, the dynamics and melody start to smear together into a warm, diffused fuzzy hum, with the subtle traces of melody sinking deeper and deeper into the dark warmth. The third and final movement was a sonic afterthought, added/recorded later than the first two, but is a pleasantly dreamy coda, with a slightly sunnier tone, a keening upper register melody, stretched out into subtly slithering iridescence with a shuffling, staticky rhythm just below the surface. So nice.“ [Aquarius Records, 2003] "Beauty and profundity are the evident merits of the album - like the unity of oceanic and atmospheric elements, and namely the ocean is most frequently mentioned association used by critics and musicians. When you are at a depth of thousands metres, even the storm on the surface is impossible to hear." [Dmitry Vasilyev, IEM] 2009 €13.00
Autopoiesis / Nahtscato CD "Two elder vinyls first time on CD. These vinyls materials aren't available + bonus tracks. Packaged in exclusive 3-panel digipack. 'Autopoiesis' was originally released as picture LP on Small Voices in October 2004 in limited edition of 567 copies 'Nahtscato' was originally released as a 12"EP on Paranoise Records in July 2005 in an edition of 300 copies. The bonus tracks were recorded in 2003." [label info] www.zoharum.com TROUM – Autopoiesis pic-LP : Small Voices : In 2003, the German post-industrial duo Troum completed their celebrated Tjukurrpa-trilogy. Each of the three records concentrated on the aesthetic fundamentals of their work: harmonies, drones, and rhythms. At the same time, the trilogy was inscribed with the metaphorical themes relating to Aboriginal dreamtime. If this mighty body of work had one flaw, it was the way the formalist agenda of this series trumped Troum’s ongoing investigations into hypnogogic states and the psychological impact of sound. Troum have been at their best when the sonic elements of their work play off each other and run in parallel with their conceptual ideas. The vinyl-only picture disc Autopoiesis finds Troum at the top of their game, as their guitars and bass, heavily fortified with effects, drift through miasmic washes. When suspending their drones as lugubrious slabs of sound, Troum emerge as a brooding doppleganger of the shoegazer ethos. And throughout Autopoiesis, they vulcanise their drone into chugging riff and darkly majestic melodies. [Jim Haynes, THE WIRE] 2010 €12.00
Mare morphosis CD "'Mare morphosis' forms the third & final part of TROUMs so called 'Power Romantic' trilogy that started with 'Mare Idiophonika' in 2010. The basic materials & arrangements for this one long epic piece were created from 2009-2013 (partly based on the recordings for the 'Bach Eingeschaltet, Dritter Band' 7" dealing with experimental reworkings of J.S.BACH pieces) & to some extent used live in different live-programmes: A piece like an 'Ocean of Transformations', morphing through various stages of intensity. 'Mare morphosis' stands out in the history of TROUM studio-albums as their most symphonic, refined and orchestral effort so far. Cover photography by Paul Takahashi, graphic design by Tilmann Benninghaus (8 panel fold out digipack). First edition: 1000 copies. 'Mare morphosis definitely gives Troum’s music a new dimension, reflecting ancient waves, amplifying the power of Sehnsucht, drumming the drowning heart." [Denis Boyer / Fear Drop] "Mare morphosis" ist eines der stimmungsvollsten und abwechslungsreichsten Werke von TROUM, die ich kenne. Die einzelnen Abschnitte wirken tatsächlich wie Sätze einer Sinfonie, ohne dass die Gesamtanmutung vernachlässigt wird: Es geht hörbar um die mächtigste aller Naturgewalten, das Wasser, in seinen unterschiedlichen Ausprägungen. Von ästhetisch über melancholisch bis düster und bedrohlich; vermutlich sind die 'Veränderungen' im Titel so zu deuten. Wunderschön und mit vielen Details zum Mehrfach-Hören gespickt.' [Michael We / nonpop.de]" [label info] "What comes with the Power Romantic trilogy (which pt. 1 and 2 are: Mare Idiophonika, Grote Mandrenke) is brooding from the core of Troum’s universe. Relating Troum with strong Romantic tropisms is like sewing an endless canvas. In every musical piece they work, the two musicians BarakaH and Glit[s]ch navigate a vast sea of sound, recalling the Romantic feeling in front of deep landscapes that reflect the very soul, threatening in a voluptuous appeal the observer to dissolve in the totality. Troum’s attraction to the notion of Dissolution is felt every time that the sound waves inflate to shape a luminous drone, every time that the pulsation melts into a magmatic rumbling. And what about the beauty of sadness, celebrated since the days of Maeror Tri… That sea of sound, of profound melancholic drones and waves gets its monument with the Power Romantic trilogy in which Troum show their skill in harmony, but not only. Drones and harmony still reign but a clear way is designed for melody and rhythms (as it already was in Tjukurrpa pt. 3). The oceanic feeling is fueled by new movements, like a storm upon and under the fluid. Mare morphosis, pt. 3 of the Power Romantic trilogy, opens as the very building of a Sunken Cathedral, with heavy rhythms like stone columns gently embraced by subtle sharpened melodic phrases. The whole soundscape navigates then by the tide and lets the strong motion of sound rumbling and driving to surface the heavy layers of undercurrents, bringing up to light their deep melancholic germ of melody. Mare morphosis definitely gives Troum’s music a new dimension, reflecting ancient waves, amplifying the power of Sehnsucht, drumming the drowning heart." [Denis Boyer / Fear Drop] listen: http://troum.bandcamp.com/album/mare-morphosis-cd-2013 www.troum.com 2013 €12.00
  Autopoiesis / Nahtscato (re-press w. different artwork) CD https://alchembria.pl/en/strona-glowna/4949-troum-autopoiesisnahtscato-new-edit-cd.html TROUM – Autopoiesis pic-LP : Small Voices : In 2003, the German post-industrial duo Troum completed their celebrated Tjukurrpa-trilogy. Each of the three records concentrated on the aesthetic fundamentals of their work: harmonies, drones, and rhythms. At the same time, the trilogy was inscribed with the metaphorical themes relating to Aboriginal dreamtime. If this mighty body of work had one flaw, it was the way the formalist agenda of this series trumped Troum’s ongoing investigations into hypnogogic states and the psychological impact of sound. Troum have been at their best when the sonic elements of their work play off each other and run in parallel with their conceptual ideas. The vinyl-only picture disc Autopoiesis finds Troum at the top of their game, as their guitars and bass, heavily fortified with effects, drift through miasmic washes. When suspending their drones as lugubrious slabs of sound, Troum emerge as a brooding doppleganger of the shoegazer ethos. And throughout Autopoiesis, they vulcanise their drone into chugging riff and darkly majestic melodies. [Jim Haynes, THE WIRE] 2021 €12.00
TROUM & AIDAN BAKER Nihtes Niht CD "The newest collaboration between masters of evocative noise/drone ambient is divided into four long tracks, four directions of nothing. The tracks are entitled in middle age/indo-german language, for north, east, south, west. And the album title means "nothing from nothing" - very weird notion, as it doesn't exist anymore in actual german language. Recorded in March 2011 at GHUTTO-M studios in Bremen, Germany. Limited edition of 500 copies in special packaging - custom made of glossy paper with multicolor metallic print, assembled by hand. Comes with the set of 11 postcards mixing the computer generated images and photos of ink/light paintings created in conjunction with music to expand your impression." [label info] www.alone-at-last.com 2013 €15.00
TROUM & MARTYN BATES To a Child, Dancing in the Wind CD Nach über 2 Jahren konnte die lange geplante Zusammenarbeit von TROUM mit MARTYN BATES endlich fertiggestellt werden. Gedichte des irischen Dichters W.B.YEATS dienten als textliche Grundlage für sechs Stücke voller Sehnsucht & Emotion, Drone-Harmonics treffen auf expressiv gesungene Poesie.... “ - Profound songs inspired by YEATS-poems: The acoustic transformation of the deepest yearning - For this release, the german ‘transcendental-drone’-duo TROUM teams up with the legendary british singer / songwriter and EYELESS IN GAZA-member MARTYN BATES. More than 2 years in the making, MARTYN BATES has sung & played (mouth organ & melodica) over basic material TROUM provided – consisting of harmonic minimal loops & basic song structures derived from accordeon, e-bass & guitar, percussion), who were then also responsible for the final subsequent additions mastering (adding more guitar-work, voices & balalaika). MARTYN BATES has chosen to sing four poems of the famous Irish poet W.B.YEATS, and he did this with a most impressive sensitivity for TROUMS very sublime & rather hidden harmonic structures. There are also two instrumentals in a more experimental style on this disc, one being a dark drone reprise of the main piece “MAD AS THE MIST AND SNOW #2”. MARTYN’s voice is surely not something for everyone – it’s of an extreme emotional & yearnful quality that might be not easy to stand – a yearning which is like a deep “cry out to the horizon”, to something that is unreachable per se, feeling a passion that tears you apart inside. This is pure emotional poetry transformed into yearnful audible spherics! Artwork: Daniel Crokaert, founder of the dream-ambience CDR-label MYSTERY SEAS in Brussels and a long-time fan of both MARTYN BATES & TROUM, has created a stunning 6-panel digipack using pictures provided by Martyn. The Artists: MARTYN BATES is the legendary british songwriter, being active since the early 80’s, one half of EYELESS IN GAZA & also working solo with other musicians and with Alan Trench as 12.000 DAYS. He has established a unique own style combining elements of folk & various other influences with this remarkable singing, being expressively poetic & highly emotional at any time. TROUM is a german duo consisting of 2/3 of the remains of the ambient-industrialists MAEROR TRI (last year saw a rennaisance of M.T. with many re-releases of their works). TROUM describe their music themselves as “transcendental drone-muzak”, a very atmospheric & emotional but often also monumental and noisy, hypnotically & at times trance-inducing rhythmic melange. General Disc-Info: 6-panel 4-colour digipack, 6 tracks, 38:30 playtime” [press release] ”....Now its so much more than 'just' a drone record: the voice forms a counterpart of the music, perhaps because it fits so well. This is certainly on of the best drone records I heard this year, because it's so familiar as well as such a surprise.” [FdW / Vital Weekly] 2006 €8.00
TROUM & REUTOFF Kreuzung Zwei: Creatura Per Creaturam Continetur CD "Jedes Wesen ist mit jedem anderen verbunden." Nach ANTLERS MULM der zweite Teil der REUTOFF Collaboration-Serie: TROUM bearbeiteten hierfür Basismaterial der Moskauer und gossen das ganze, inspiriert von der Kosmologie HILDEGARD VON BINGENs, in sechs dronig-sphärische Stücke. "The second in Kreuzung collaborations series. The basic sound sources and samples made by Reutoff especially for this release have been treated, arranged and mixed with an addition of their own instrumental parts by Troum. Dark profound harsh ambient with some occasional rhythmic patterns intertwined with transcendental prepared guitar loops and perfect drone noises - a perfect blend between two project distinctive features and creative manners. The concept of this work is based on cosmology of Hildegard von Bingen. The release comes in a special “Kreuzung” series package made of brown kraft carton with a full colour stickered artwork/info cover and Reutoff logo embossed on the back, the CD is housed in the same carton die-cut inner envelope." [label info] "The forty-five minutes are divided into six tracks, slowly building towards an intense mixture of miniature noisescapes, neoclassical tapestries, ethnic rhythmic structures and eerie vocal samples. All titles are in Latin, and since that isn't my strong point, I'll leave translations to the readers' enquiring minds. The first track, "Aether Purus", is typical for Troum, although the familiar bassy layering of Troum seems to have gone up in frequency; it's all a bit higher. "Terrenus" has some partial neoclassical-like sounds, but it is set in a 1970s surrounding, "A Space Odyssey"-like environment. There are moments there that appear like insects stuck in your aural canal. Or is it really little aliens? This setting is forcefully continued in the third (title) track where the Troum sounds find their way back into the composition. Later in the track rhythms are added to the composition. It is by far the longest track on the album. "Ignis Niger" is the fourth track and its creepy, erratic voices and samples really get you into a mood fit for watching a horror movie. Yes, two film references are my way of saying this whole release is very filmic. "Ignis Lucidus" has rhythms again, in combination with deep droning layers. It's a bit close to atmospheres like O Yuki Conjugate. The disc closes with "Aer Aquosus (Reprise)" which is a short but powerful track in an adapted Troum style. My knowledge of Reutoff is minimal, so maybe there are a few too many references towards Troum here, but on the other hand I love Troum, and this album is, despite the references, so different from their other work that I think I'm secretly going to like Reutoff a lot also." [Bauke van der Wal / Connexion Bizarre] "The Germanic and dark drone outfit Troum embark on a collaboration with the equally dark, Russian ensemble Reutoff, although the conceptual framework of their album isn't one wholly wrapped in mystery, occlusion, and shadow. Creatura Per Creaturam Continetur is based upon the cosmology of Hildegard von Bingen, the 12th century German abbess, whose richly detailed visions through her unshakeable Christian faith offered feminine descriptions of the cosmic order sprinkled with sexually charged metaphor. In addition to her writings, Hildegard had developed an impressive musical canon of monophonic chorales and plainsong melodies, whose recursive elements certainly look forward to all sorts of drone-based musics of the 20th and 21st centuries. While the drone connection is easy to make, how Troum and Reutoff view Hildegard von Bingen's faith and art is unclear. Regardless, the majestic swells that immediately surge at the introduction of this album are some of the most beatific and heavensent that either project has produced to date. Troum have always been known for their glacial pacing of drone crescendos for spiralling guitars heavily processed in effects; and on this album, they leave no doubt that they excel at their craft. For those seeking the dark, almost blackened ambience that both Troum and Reutoff have mustered in the past, there's plenty of industrial bellows, clanking rhythms, creepily whispered vocals, and subaquatic reverberations to cast a somber pall across these recordings..." [Aquarius Records] 2008 €13.00
TSCHELJABINSK65 Titan woods / Ancient forest maxi-CD-R Ganz anders als auf ihrer industriellen VÖ “Industrielle Zertrümmerung“ geht es hier wesentlich verträumter & melancholischer zu (folky guitars, synths), mit ethno- und dark ambient-Elementen.. well done. “ 4 TRACKS WITH 26 MINUTES RUNNING TIME. LIMITED AND NUMBERED EDITION OF 200 COPIES, IN CARDBOARD FOLDER SLEEVE. 'tscheljabinsk65', a german project, in the area of Dark Ambient. The 4 tracks on "titan woods/ancient forest" shows the new way and the new ideas of 'tscheljabinsk65". The project combines on this release very well, Soundscapes with elements from Neo Folk and fill the compositions with different atmospheres, like spiritual/ethno influences, with very melancholic and melodic moments. This release is supposed to be understood as the musical expression of human's natural roots still to be found in modern individual's unconsciousness.” [press-release] 2002 €5.00
TSITSIGIAS, ALEX Contractions mCD-R A new micro-label from Hamburg for experimental / atmospheric soundworks, the first release comes from the label-owner (who is also the member of a quite well known german indie-rockband) himself with a 23+ minutes one-tracker, combining raw hissy wind-drones and noisy-harmonic distortion-expanses with cut-up effects & field recordings , quite powerful at the beginning and more beautiful at the end.... great harsh ambience... Designed similar as the great TAALEM-mCD-series, numbered ed. of just 60 copies. 2006 €5.00
UHLIG, MIRKO VIVMMI LP "As mummy thought us: you have to put your money where your mouth is. So when we claimed praise for a small CDR release by a relatively new German composer Mirko Uhlig we dabbled with the idea of releasing it on LP. Now we did. We doubled the edition of 65 to 130 and it has great carton sleeve (like last year's Pick-up LP). Since 2006 he has retreated to his nom de passport (formerly known as Aalfang mit Pferdekopf), Uhlig has exchanged the naive bewilderment of experimental bricolage with the pursuit of pure beauty and there is suddenly confusion as to his motives: Are these silent outbursts of refined romanticism intended as some sort of clever commentary on the Drone genre, as a neo-conservative return to proven values or part of something different altogether? 'VIVMMI' has been remastered for vinyl." [label info] www.kormplastics.nl 2009 €15.00
US STEEL CELLO ENSEMBLE Noise in the Library LP Bob Rutman's life could be compared to the life of Odysseus, although we're not here to write his biography. Putojefe is happy to present his phenomenal Noise In The Library, recorded with the U.S. Steel Cello Ensemble, an all-steel string quartet established by himself in Boston in 1976. The Ensemble consists of one Steel Cello and three Bow Chimes, played by Rutman and a rotating cast of guest musicians: in this instance, Daniel Orlansky –one of Rutman’s closest collaborators and longest-lasting member of the band–, Stephanie Wolff and Alex Dorsch. The instruments, built and developed by Rutman, are impressive sound sculptures in themselves, made of large flexible sheets of metal and defined by the artist as "American Industrial folk instruments". The „Bürgermeister von Mitte” needs no introduction. He has literally traveled history, from Nazi Germany to the New York of the Seventies, landing again in Berlin in recent years. A tireless performer aged 87, he has toured the US and Europe extensively, playing both small galleries and underground venues as well as established cultural institutions as the MoMA, London’s ICE and the Berlin Atonal Festival. Rutman is internationally recognised as the multifaceted avant-garde artist par excellence, as attested by his diverse collaboration with key figures of post-war culture: Dorothy Carter, Merce Cunningham, Laurie Anderson, Philip Lamantia, Wim Wenders, Asmus Tietchens and many others. Captivating from the beginning to the end, primitive and futuristic in its form, Noise In The Library remains as the U.S. Steel Cello Ensemble’s sole recording featuring the exceptional overtone singer Stephanie Wolff, whose vocals are intertwined with Bob Rutman’s chant in Tibetan Buddhist style. Prior to this, Wolff had only appeared as a guest singer with the groundbreaking krautrock outfit Brainticket. Her deep and delicate tones go beyond spirituality and take listeners on a space travel to open skies. Recorded live at Passionskirche in Berlin on May 31st, 1989, in the prime of the Ensemble’s career, this is one of the last few examples of great, powerful music made by humans without the indiscriminate use of electronics or binary codes. A sometimes frightening and breathtakingly intense performance, as thoroughly mysterious as early American soil, as it first appeared to the eyes of visionary European minds. https://ussteelcelloensemble.bandcamp.com/releases 2018 €18.00
USENBENZ, ANDREAS & PETER SCHUBERT Plaque CD Sound art. In an essay for the Goethe Institute dated 2009, Carsten Seiffarth (of Singuhr gallery, Berlin), called sound art a “new art form”. An art form that is now established but still only plays a marginal role in the art world and in exhibitions. Everybody who visits galleries and art fairs regularly will concur. Why is that? For one, many sound artworks are intricately connected with the locations they are presented in, which is usually not where art fairs and exhibitions take place, but locations whose atmosphere and history are to be amplified or to be communicated. Or the locations have been specifically constructed, like the Philips pavilion at the world expo in Brussels in 1958, for which Edgard Varese created his Poème électronique. So, works of sound art are often tied to a specific event as well, like “Plaqué”, which has spacial as well as historic roots. When the event is over, the relevance of many sound artworks may fade away to a certain degree. In addition, the presentation of sound art often proves difficult in traditional galleries or art fairs. These are usually not designed to adequately present live performances or sound art in general, because of sound art’s predominant element, sound, is usually not part of the art presented there. In fact, there are only very few galleries that specifically deal with sound art. While sound installations and more classically laid out compositions may come with a certain potential for longevity (or repeated resurrection), a lot of artists are producing works that are very ephemeral, except for archival recordings, of course. Performed works are often placed on the side stages of music festivals, or they may emerge within a tightly set frame of time and context, outside of which only a documentary shadow remains. Collectors are struggling with sound art as well. Like with video art, it is not easy to get used to the idea that you may be purchasing a work which can be copied in unlimited numbers at no costs. That’s precisely what a recorded piece of sound art is. This parameter, as well as the performance aspect of sound art, seems to put it on a level with music. But is that appropriate? A question that could be asked in the case of “Plaqué”. Is it “just” an archival recording of a long gone performance? Like Varese’s Poème électronique, “Plaqué” was created for a specific event, the 200th birthday of Daniel Straub, whose endeavors in Geislingen shaped the small German town for decades to come. He was involved in the construction of the railroad line and founded a company called WMF, which produces kitchenware and cutlery to this date. Usenbenz and Schubert traced Straub’s history in the Geislingen of our present. The collected field recordings were presented as a live performance, which served as a preliminary work and a basis for the work now published. “Plaqué” is not just a recorded performance, it is an advanced work, a new composition containing additionally recorded material. It gently loosens its spacial and temporal roots without losing its contextual base. The result is strangely fascinating and universally relevant. It is an independent piece of sound art, which deserves the same form of attention and appreciation as a painting or a sculpture. Even if it’s not a unique piece, entering one art collection, but an edition that will be enjoyed by 200 collectors. peter schubert • field recordings • electronics • microgranny analog fx • ableton live • fieldscaper • no-input mixer andreas usenbenz • field recordings • borderlands • samplr • ableton live dubplates • cassettes • microkorg • patchblocks recording • editing • mastering • klangmanufaktur ulm photography • artwork • andreas usenbenz www.klanggold.net 2017 €10.00
V.A. (VARIOUS ARTISTS) (COMPILATIONS) Epitaph for John CD Über 3 Jahre nach seinem Tod erscheint diese Memorial-Compilation für den ursprünglich aus Berlin stammenden Komponisten JOHN WATERMANN, der nur 48 Jahre alt wurde. Neben dem über 13 minütigen Originalmaterial von WATERMANNs „Toowong Cemetary“ , welches zu seinen letzten Aufnahmen zählen dürfte, gibt es hier Bearbeitungen desselben Materials zu hören von FRANS DE WAARD aka FREIBAND und anderen, die engen Kontakt mit WATERMANN hatten: ASMUS TIETCHENS, RLW, und MERZBOW. Dies ist eine würdige Gedenk-Compilation mit grossartigem Material, hier zeigen diese Koryphäen der unabhängigen Geräuschmusik-Szene ihre ganze Klasse! Kommt mit kompletter Discographie und vielen weiteren Infos!! “CD only (compilation with Asmus Tietchens, RLW, Merzbow, Freiband and John Watermann). In late 2000, I received an e-mail from John Watermann. It was rather out of the blue, since we hadn't been in contact for maybe ten years. I don't have that e-mail anymore, but I remember that it started like this: "I hope you remember me? I have been diagnozed with cancer which is incurable", and then he went on to propose that I buy the remainder of his self-released CD-Rom, "A Rose Is A Rose". John also proposed that we do a musical collaboration together. I mailed him a CDR of field recordings that I had made in the summer of 2000 in Sweden, and he mailed me a CDR called 'Toowong Cemetary'. During the next year and in early 2002, John and I e-mailed about how we should approach this collaborative work. I did a fair share of processing on his sound material, but it seemed hard for me to finish. In my various e-mail communications with John, I didn't dare ask what would happen if he would die and the work was not completed. In the afternoon of April 3th 2002, I got an e-mail from Shannon O'Neill, telling me that John had passed away. Afterwards, I got in contact with Barbara Heath and Malcolm Cones, who were both dealing with John's estate. They send me a couple of CDRs containing all the recent soundwork John had been working on, but they contained nothing of our collaboration. I left my music unfinished, until mid-2003 when I thought of inviting Asmus Tietchens to do some work on John's original sounds. I knew that they were in close contact. After Asmus had finished, and I still wasn't ready with my piece, so I invited two more people, Ralf Wehowsky and Masami Akita. In the previous years Masami worked on an extensive collaboration with John and Ralf Wehowsky mentions Watermann as one of the few artists he was keen follower of. Once I had their contributions, I decided to start from scratch and take their finished works as new raw sound material, which is why my piece is now at the end of the CD.” [Frans de Waard – liner notes] “Over the course of his life John Watermann worked with almost every conceivable artistic medium. In many ways, he was the epitome of the "total artist"; almost every element of his life being in some way his own artistic project. As a young man in his native Germany he worked as a photographer and documentary filmmaker, also etching, painting and writing. His experience as a youth in Germany in the Second World War influencing his work from then right through until his death. Following his move to Australia Watermann worked as jeweller, opening a number of shops in Sydney with his longtime Australian partner Barbara Heath (an accomplished jeweller in her own right) and meanwhile continued to write, paint and even sculpt. Eventually, after traveling the east coast of Australia in a self-built sailing boat, Watermann settled in Brisbane and began to produce his music. He first released his music in 1989 in the form of the album "Warmth is the Fifth Room". Like most of his releases, the cassette appeared in a run of very few copies on his own label "Nightshift", and was consequently almost impossible to find. Over the next 10 years he released numerous albums and contributed to a number of compilations, both under his own name as a solo artist, in collaboration with others (such as Merzbow) and under a number of pseudonyms (including Radio Mull, Spinal Machine and Total Disease). Also, apart from his music, in the 1990s he created an interactive cd-rom work "Rose is a Rose" and published the webzine "Lean Yellow Supporting". Sadly, on April 2nd 2002 John Watermann died suddenly of an infection resulting from his ongoing treatment for cancer. Having in the final year of his life returned to painting and writing (alongside a burgeoning interest in cooking), he still had vast plans for future projects. Among these unfulfilled projects were plans to collaborate with Frans de Waard on a new release. Although only preliminary discussions on the collaboration took place and Watermann never completed any work towards the project, Watermann's source material that was to be the basis of the work now serves as a basis for this tribute release. Despite his vast artistic output, Watermann has been known almost exclusively for his music and even then his work remains largely undiscovered, perhaps for no other reason than its sheer unavailability. In many ways Watermann could be considered a classic example of the artists' artist, his work influencing many far more prominent sonic alchemists. And perhaps then this release serves as a record of Watermann and his influence, documenting the respect he reserved from his peers and, hopefully, introducing his work to a new audience.” [Ben Byrne] . tracklisting: 1. Asmus Tietchens - JWAT 1 (03:05) 2. Asmus Tietchens - JWAT 2 (02:37) 3. Asmus Tietchens - JWAT 3 (05:39) 4. Asmus Tietchens - JWAT 4 (03:55) 5. RLW: Seeking Perfection - Somewhere Else (12:52) 6. Merzbow - Untitled For John (05:28) 7. Freiband - Threnody (10:26) 8. John Watermann - Toowong Cemetary (13:32) [press-release] 2005 €13.00
INFERNAL PROTEUS BOOK / 4 x CD Auf dieser PFLANZEN-Compilation werden 40 verschiedene Pflanzen (davon 1 fiktionale) musikalisch charakterisiert, wobei das Spektrum sehr weitreichend, aber größtenteils im dark ambient / post-industrial und apocalyptic folk – Bereich anzusiedeln ist. Die Aufmachung ist äußerst edel, ein 96seitiges Hardcover-Buch mit Abbildungen / Artwork zu jeder Pflanze. Die Auswahl der Pflanzen erfolgte durch die beteiligten Projekte und zeigt auch schon, wo ein Hauptinteresse lag: bei den bewussteinsverändernden Pflanzen...; ein wahrhaft monumentaler Trip in die Pflanzenwelt, eine Compilation die eigentlich Unverbindliches zu verbinden sucht. Einmalig in der Konzeption und Gestaltung, a definite MUST have! “A professionally and luxury manufactured 96-page hardback book with full colorartwork, containing 4 Compact Discs with 40 first-class artists and a playtime averaging 67 minutes per disc ¬ from Folk to Rhythmic, Pop to Ambient and Electronic to beyond... Every contributing artist was given the freedom to chose one plant or herb of his delight to present within “Infernal Proteus” under the aspect of music and visual art. The result is a new form of book, ground breaking in its expression ¬ a manifestation of true artistic virtue!” [press release] Featured are a.o.: AH CAMA-SOTZ (Belgium): Morning Glory, ALIO DIE (Italy): Borage, AMBER ASYLUM (USA): Kelp, APOPTOSE (Germany): Oak, AUBE (Japan): Chrysanthemum, BARADELAN (Germany): Bonsai, CHAOS AS SHELTER (Israel): Bellflower, COLECLOUGH & HILL (UK): Beech, YANNICK DAUBY (France): Sundew, ENDVRA (UK): Hops, HEKATE (Germany): Cornflower IGOR18 (Israel): Venus Flytrap, INADE (Germany): Ginkgo DAVE KNOTT (USA): Redwood, LOTUS EATERS (USA): Marijuana, MNORTHAM (USA): Salvia Divinorum, SETH NEHIL (USA): Birch, STEVE RODEN (USA): Pine TROUM (Germany): Khan Arachnid, ULTRA (USA): Yohimbe WOLFSKIN (Portugal): Thornapple........and many others ! label-website: www.theajnaoffensive.com 2002 €45.00
VARIOUS (Chartier, Brume, Tsunoda, M.Prime, Pimmon, Meelkop, J. Hudak, etc etc) do-CD Über zwei Stunden neuer experimenteller & akademischer Underground von dem Label, das uns auch schon “Krieg” von BRUME bescherte.. hier dabei sind v.a. die etwas „seriöseren“, konzeptueller ausgeprägten Composer, . : Taylor Deupree (US), John Watermann (Austr.), Justin Bennett (Neth.), Michael Prime (UK), Kevin Drumm (US), Toshiya Tsunoda (Japan), Howard Stelzer and Brendan Murray (US), Roel Meelkop (Neth.), Jerome Noetinger (France), Pimmon (Austr.), *0 (Japan), Jos Smolders (Neth.), Klas Augustsson (Sweden), Martin Tetreault (Canada), John Hudak (US), the Brutum Fulmen (US), Marc Behrens (Germany), Richard Chartier (US), Voice Crack (Switz.), Brume (France), Jason Lescalleet . (US). Text by: Achim Wollscheid. 2001 €16.00
Verfassung LP Erste „offizielle“ Compilation des HÖRBAR e.V. aus Hamburg! Enthält 14 Stücke der Mitglieder, die das grosse Spektrum der derzeitigen experimentellen Musik fast abdecken, von dröhn-minimalistischen Sphären über cut-up & Collagen, musique concrete und Impro bis zu post-industriellem Noise, mit Y-TON-G (ex PARA NOISE TERMINAL) und TBC sind auch zwei Drone Records-Vertreter dabei, aber auch sonst durchweg hochklassiges Material von u.a. EVAPORI, [HYPH]; AUDIBLE PAIN, INCITE, GREGORY BÜTTNER, SONATA REC und natürlich darf ASMUS TIETCHENS nicht fehlen. “On the newly released vinyl LP "Verfassung" (German for "state" or "constitution") 14 electronic tracks by 14 musicians and projects can be heard. The music includes all styles of experimental electronic music: minimal to noise, musique concrète, improv, cut-ups and collages. The record not only shows the current state of the experimental music scene in Hamburg, despite the different individual approaches and styles it creates a musical flow, offering a diverse and exciting listening experience. All musicians on the record are members of the "Hoerbar" (German for "audible" and "listening bar"). For over 10 years it has been an important meeting point for producers and consumers of experimental music in Hamburg, Germany. Once a week a lively exchange between composers, musicians, labels and collectors takes place. Once a month local and international musicians are invited to the "Unüberhörbar" concert (German for "unignorable"), among the guests have been Jim O’Rourke, Hafler Trio, Keith Rowe, People Like Us and many others.” [label info] "the audible VERFASSUNG of our loosely organized group of producers [called HOERBAR] is being reflected by this audio document, which is representative but cannot be complete.some children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those courageous explorers of electroacoustic music continued walking on analogue and digital paths, avoiding the academic castles of compulsion and the sweat-moistened dancepalaces, being driven by furious excitement to add something personal to the pool of established aesthetic strategies. knowing that the wheel cannot be reinvented is not a cause for resignation or for becoming Epigones, but made us develope our ambitions to learn from historic achievements so that we can walk upon new roads and even stray with our heads up. so, the electroacoustic VERFASSUNG [constitution / condition / circumstance / state of mind] compiled by hoerbar hamburg manifests the whole spectrum between the righteous ponderer‘s efforts and the unconcerned homo ludens‘ arabesques. we will go on." [Asmus Tietchens] “Ah the classic format of compilation LP, with booklet. It looks retro, very 80s like, but it's 2006. The Hörbar in Hamburg is an organisation that puts on concerts, mainly in the B-Movie cinema. Hörbar is mainly run by musicians, who work as volunteers, doing the sound, the bar and the door. Every week they meet up and do something. Now Hörbar also acts as a label, and this compilation is the first release. Of course it features music from the people that make up the Hörbar organization. The good thing is that it holds many musicians I never heard of, such as Pizza Ni Ni, Renoise, Margitt Holzt, Guy Saldanha and Ebinger, sitting next to somewhat more known locals such as Evapori, Gregory Buettner, Sonata Rec, [Hyph-], TBC, Incite and Y-Ton-G. Of course the biggest star from Hamburg, Asmus Tietchens, is also present, with the most silent and reduced piece of the lot. What can be noticed that there is a fair amount of noise material on this record, such as TBC, Guy Saldanha and Audible Pain. Margitt Holzt and Incite represent the rhythm side of this bunch, whereas Tietchens has his own followers such as Gregory Buettner and some seem to follow their own track, such as the curious piece by Ebinger (who he?). Evapori and Sonata Rec play pieces that are a cross over between the world of Tietchens and the underworld of noise. The most curious piece is by Pizza Ni Ni, entitled 'E', it seems just the one time strumming of an E chord on the guitar. A booklet describes the pieces and has a bunch of nice quotes. Limited to 300 copies - that is the final trick from the 80s, make a few and create a rarity!” [FdW / Vital Weekly] www.hoerbar-ev.de 2005 €15.00
Water & Architecture CD Nachpressung dieser schönen Compilation zwischen Post-Rock und Avantgarde / Ambient-Electronica auf Sub Rosa, zum Thema Wasser & Architektur.... “Nature, cities, water, concrete... Water eating rocks, shores. Cities eating landscapes, life. Those two elements are interconnected, though fighting. In between there are humans, needing both elements to survive. A shelter to protect the close to 70% of water a body is made of. What is the connection, the dialogue, the potential of construction/destruction? What is the impact of architecture on water, what is its influence on modern cities? Featuring unreleased material from: Directions: Post-rock with electronica flavours,featuring Bundy K. Brown (Tortoise,Bastro,Gastr del Sol...) and Doug Sharin (June of 44, Him, Rex...) Recorded in Tortoise Studio, Chicago. Seefeel :Too Pure, Warp... Seefeel was some unique act in the pop-electronica scene. Somewhere in between folk-dub-intelligent electro. These two tracks are mixing natural rhythms, minimal electronica... Atom Heart: It was the first track released by Atom TM in his new studio located in Santiago. It starts as some German techno groove to end into some electro-'limbo'. Amazing. Bisk: The Osaka post Drum'n' Bass wizard "desturcturer", Naohiro Fujikawa, in a three piece suite of sounds, strange, odd, Bisk... AER (ALPHA ECHO ROMEO): aka Jon Wozencroft, british designer, co-founder of the Touch label composer these tracks with sounds collected worldwide. Architectural experimentation.” [press release] www.subrosa.net 1998 €14.00
Table For Six: All Quiet? CD Hochkarätige "Experimental Drone"-Compilation mit schönen langen Tracks, alle mindestens 10 Minuten. Kommt im silberfarben bedruckten 7"-Cover, auf Belgiens wohl am längsten bestehenden Experimental-Label EE Tapes, sowieso ein Spezialist für Compilations. "6 artists from 6 different countries gather around the table and showcase their individual audio art, each one with an exclusive long track of progressive ambience. Program: Tarkatak (Germany), Cisfinitum (Russia), Civyiu KKliu (United States), Kendo Nagasaki (United Kingdom), The [Law-Rah] Collective (The Netherlands) & 33 MHZ (Belgium). Full metallised CD with cardboard cover in plastic 7" sleeve. Only 200 copies available directly from our office."[label info] "....Very nice compilation, which should appeal to all who love a non-quiet microsound." [FdW/Vital Weekly] Address: http://www.eetapes.be/ 2006 €13.00
Listen to something different CD ARS MACABRE is a record-shop and mail-order in ROSTOCK (the very north-east of Germany) existing since 1995, who also co-organized many experimental concerts on the ship MS STUBNITZ in the harbour of Rostock. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of this shop (who works under quite difficult conditions) a compilation-project was started, which could finally be released now in May 2007. Some of label-owners Frank Krögers all-time faves were put together on this high-quality collection of experimental & electronic music: Old heroes that already ceased to exist or were silent for a long time (MUSLIMGAUZE, CONTROLLED BLEEDING, ETANT DONNES), famous long-existing projects (ASMUS TIETCHENS, HAFLER TRIO, AUBE), ambient & dark drone-stuff (BEEQUEEN, TROUM, INADE, WINDFAHNENAMT), plus the anti-genre acts COLUMN ONE and DITTERICH VON EULER-DONNERSPERG. "With all exclusive and previously unreleased songs, except Étant Donnés (appears on “La Vie Nouvelle” 2003) and Windfahnenamt (appears on “Windfahnenamt” 2001), LISTEN TO SOMETHING DIFFERENT offers not only a starting point for new listeners and musical explorers, but also a substantial addition to any experimental music lover’s collection. One carefully assembled compilation that ambitiously unites 13 internationally acclaimed experimental artists and is released as a fine 6-panel digipak CD. Ars Macabre is a record store and mail order service operating in Rostock, Germany and is specializing in the distribution of experimental music since 1995." [label info] 2007 €13.00
Three aural interpretations of a drawing by Eric Lanzillotta 7inch RALF WEHOWSKY (aka RLW), LEIF ELGGREN und JEPH JERMAN "transformieren" auf dieser Konzept-Single Zeichnungen von ERIC LANZILOTTA (der ex-ANOMALOUS RECORDS-Betreiber) in Klang, drei sehr verschiedene Arten von körniger und collagierter Geräuschmusik. Klares Vinyl, Mini-Poster. "Limited edition of 250 copies pressed on clear vinyl and packaged in double-sided 14.5" by 10.5" poster sleeve. This 33 RPM EP include three sound artists playing a drawing by Eric Lanzillotta. Each artist has a unique, though abstract take on the drawing, which is included in the inside of the poster sleeve. The sounds include the calm physical motions of Jeph Jerman, the static activity of Leif Elggren and noise music of Ralf Wehowsky (sounding a bit like P16.D4 here). Jeph Jerman gained attention under the name Hands To, but has created his most refined work under his own name. He performs mostly with natural objects (stones, plant parts, feathers, etc) and has collaborated regularly with Wally Shoup, Greg Davis, Sean Meehan, Tim Barnes, Mike Shannon, Dave Knott, Eric Lunde, and many others. He has had several previous releases on Anomalous Records, and a new CD of his work will be released by Little Enjoyer this year. Leif Elggren is a pioneering sound, performance, book and installation artist from Sweden, as well one of the two kings of Elgaland-Vargaland. In the last 30 years, he has released a great deal of material on labels such as Radium 226.05, Anckarström, Flykingen, Ash International, Korm Plastics, Some, Absurd, Meeuw Muzak, Kning Disk, iDEAL Recordings, Touch and his own Firework Edition, which has also published many of his book works, such as the legendary "Experiment with Dreams" done in collaboration with Thomas Liljenberg. Ralf Wehowsky started making music in the Neue Deutsch Welle period of Germany history with his band P.D., which later became the group P16.D4. Since the dissolution of these groups, he has been recorded largely as a solo artist, though in truth always incorporating collaborations with various friends. Over the years he has worked with Andrew Chalk, bernhard günter, Kevin Drumm, Lionel Marchetti, Bruce Russell, David Grubbs, Jim O'Rourke, and many others." [label press release] 2007 €8.00
ESCAPING FROM COLOR: RAPOON RECOMPOSED & REMIXED CD Eine der schönsten Compilations des abgelaufenen Jahres kommt vom ukrainischen QUASI POP-Label: eine Remix-Zusammenstellung von RAPOONschen Basis-Sounds. Das "Source"-Material von RAPOON war so variabel und vielseitig dass es zu einer grossen Bandbreite gekommen ist, es fängt mit einem atemberaubend guten Stück von FRANCISCO LOPEZ an und wird zum Ende hin immer experimenteller und noisiger; weitere Highlights sind die Stücke von JORGE CASTRO und TV POW, aber es gibt eine Menge guter bis sehr guter Tracks hier! "The conception, the idea, realisation and sound sources of this CD are all based on original sound material (loops and sounds) from Rapoon's “Tribal Sci Fi” CD-ROM (courtesy of Sony/Sonic Foundry). Not the entire original Rapoon's tracks have been re-mixed or re-composed, but the general “sound” (or the sound aesthetic of Rapoon's music) instead. All the artists have provided their own original compositions, that less or more based on the audio-sources from Rapoon. Thank you very much for all contributors! File under: drone/dark ambient/electroacoustic/industrial/noise." 1. Francisco Lopez “Untitled #193” 2. TV Pow “Ladder Friends Remix” 3. Machinefabriek “Drijfzand” 4. Troum “Farawer” 5. Steve Roden “Colorscape Forming” 6. Jorge Castro “Depths” 7. Paulo Raposo “Tidal Winds” 8. Aidan Baker “Percussive Drone” 9. Anla Courtis “Rapooned Rapunga” 10. Gert-Jan Prins “Raponsje” 11. Heimir Bjorgulfsson “Obmam Ognom” 12. Mike Shiflet “Version Belize” 13. Family Underground “Tube” 14. Ronnie Sundin “Distant Demons” 15. Cisfinitum & Rapoon “Live in Ikra, Moscow 2006” [label notes] "Again Quasi Pop Label hits the target, with one of the most interesting compilation Cds coming lately to my hands. so, this is at my eyes a kind of tribute to British ethnic ambient industrial solo project known as RAPOON, which has been developing all its talent through the years. Through “escaping from color: Rapoon recomposed & remixed” album. We swim in an experimental sea of creativity, originality and dynamism. This time Quasi Pop Label in the shape of Edward.S has gathered a selection of one of the most representative projects inside experimental/ambient scene to escape from reality and to enter in a no colors world, when Rapoon is the only tangible reality. A reality based in 15 compositions, all of them bringing the necessary essence to represent in a concrete way the nature of an act such as Rapoon. FRANCISCO LOPEZ, with more a high quantity of releases, and having traveled the world developing electro acoustic performances, is opening this album with a minimalistic ambient composition, floating slowly from start to finish. TV POW, surprises this time with an excellent track, full of dense percussive sounds and effects surrounding the whole track. Really one of the best tracks here. The german duo of Baraka (H) and Glit(S)ch known as TROUM,one of the most representative acts nowadays comes with a tribal ethnic composition with impressive percussive elements which moulds perfectly with the structure of the track in general. The sound & Media explorer from Portugal, PABLO RAPOSO, makes its presence in this album with an interesting track, in the hands of drone sounds mutating into dense ambient atmospheres, creating architectural spaces through such musical vortex, as only Mr. Raposo could create. AIDAN BAKER, devour us with a magnificent convergence of drone elements, mixed with dense eerie percussive sounds floating between each atmosphere, to create an hypnotic voyage to the most hidden realms of Rapoon. FAMILY UNDERGROUND is a Danish trio, adapting its track into psychedelic drone/noise invasion full of madness. Another artist to mention is Swedish RONNIE SUDIN, creating hypnologic states, covering a wide range of styles as experimental and electronics. This time he develops a provocative ambient piece with vibrating elements, abrasive atmospheres and subliminal vociferations at the core of this track. CISFINITUM, the Russian ambient act, develops a perfect emotive live track which was recorded 29.10.2006 at “Lkra” Club in Moscow, together with RAPOON, in which the percussive elements and atmospheres are the predominant patterns marked here. Limited to 500 copies, and coming in a kind of digipack with abstract drawings and general art, which reflects in part the material included on this excellent release." [Edgar Kerval / HEATHEN HARVEST] 2008 €13.00
SACRAL SYMPHONY CD "Steht der Name EVGENY VORONOVSKI auf einem Produkt, kann sich dahinter eigentlich nur Qualität verbergen; das hat der Russe in den vergangenen Jahren oft genug bewiesen. Zum einen ist er Bestandteil von NEUTRAL, der momentan zum Duo geschrumpften, akustischen Neofolk-Vorzeigeband aus Russland. Dort geht er seinem gelernten Handwerk nach und spielt – als studierter Geiger – die Violine. Zum anderen ist er der Kopf hinter CISFINITUM, einem Projekt, das außerordentlich atmosphärischen Dark Ambient produziert. Gerade mit der elektronischen Musik war VORONOVSKI auf zahllosen Samplern vertreten: "Iznutri" (Besprechung), "Energia" (Besprechung) oder der "Heilige Feuer"-Serie. Nun hat er den Spieß umgedreht und Material von anderen Bands eingesammelt, ist mit CISFINITUM allerdings auch selbst vertreten. Die insgesamt fünf Projekte aus Russland, Deutschland, Großbritannien und der Ukraine steuern jeweils rund 15 Minuten lange, exklusive Stücke bei, die auf meditativen Drones basieren. Zusammen gehalten werden sie von der losen, titelgebenden Vorgabe 'sakral'. Ein Versuch also, etwas Heiliges, Religiöses einzufangen, eine 'höhere Sphäre', was allen Beteiligten auf ihre Art und Weise gelingt. Die Herangehensweise von 1000SCHOEN, einem Ein-Mann-Ambientprojekt aus Bremen, ist die – und das ist nicht negativ gemeint – naivste von allen. Nichts klingt 'dark', die puren Ambientflächen warten mit Windspiel und Sitar auf. Wuchtige Geigendrones im Mittelteil und später auch eine E-Gitarre verleihen die nötige Intensität. "Dageraad" ist warme, freundliche Entspannungsmusik, deren urige, natürliche Stimmung manchmal an den Balkanfolk von SVARROGH erinnert, an einen Guru auf dem Hügel, der einsam sein Instrument bearbeitet. TROUM, ebenfalls aus Bremen, sind sehr viel düsterer. Das Projekt um STEFAN KNAPPE von DRONE RECORDS arbeitet mit dicht aneinander gedrängten Drones, die klingen, als ob Wind durch unterschiedliche Metallröhren weht. Wie durch eine Nebelwand tauchen dazu an- und abschwellende, geloopte Chor-Versatzstücke auf. Ab der Mitte des Songs erwecken die verfremdeten Vocals den Anschein einer rituellen Beschwörung. Die Synthesizerflächen von TROUM decken die ganze Bandbreite nach der Einnahme von halluzinogenen Drogen ab: Mal ist es ein Gleiten durch Licht, mal stiert ein Alp durch dunkle Wolken. Streckenweise klingt "Palas Tyn" wie ein frühes, sehr abgedrehtes Instrumental von PINK FLOYD. EVGENY VORONOVSKI beweist vor allem dadurch Klasse, dass er mit CISFINITUM nur wenig Material braucht, um große Welten zu erschaffen. In "Autumn Ritual" mäandern ausladende, träge und warme Synthesizer-Drones durch das All, eine – wie es so schön heißt – 'Reise durch Raum und Zeit'. Sollte die Menschheit einmal schockgefrostet werden müssen, um im Tiefschlaf auf einen anderen Planeten zu fliegen, ist diese elektronische Kammermusik in Superzeitlupe perfekt für den Kopfhörer im Kryogentank. ROBIN STOREY alias RAPOON steuert mit "One Last Breath" den experimentellsten Track der Zusammenstellung bei. Der Mitbegründer von ZOVIET FRANCE arbeitet hauptsächlich mit Stimmeffekten. Dazu hat er sich sowohl beim KIEV CHAMBER CHOIR bedient und dessen Gesänge bearbeitet als auch die eigene Stimme aufgenommen und verfremdet. Alles zusammen ergibt Himmelschor-Drones, die allerdings verzischt und verzerrt sind. Die Tür in eine andere Welt steht zwar offen, ist aber unerreichbar. Im letzten Drittel des längsten Songs dieses Samplers (19:43) gehen die Gesangsloops in ebenfalls scheppernde Posaunenklänge über, die nach und nach immer klarer werden, so dass ganz zum Schluss ein winziges Stückchen Engel erhascht werden kann. Den Schlusspunkt setzt der Ukrainer OLEGH KOLYADA, der unter vielen Namen aktiv ist. (Ein NONPOP-Interview mit ihm gibt es hier.) Als FIRST HUMAN FERRO zeigt er in der Regel ein etwas härteres, post-industrielles Gesicht, das sich nun aber der sakralen Gesamtstimmung anpasst: Wir dürfen bei der Entstehung eines Universums zuhören. Leuchtende, helle Wolken aus Synthie-Tönen ploppen wie zukünftige Planeten in eine noch nicht vorhandene Atmosphäre. Später untermalt ein Sample mit wunderbarer, irdischer Klaviermusik das Szenario. Dieses Vermischen zweier unterschiedlicher (Atmo)Sphären hat viel vom 'geistigen' Sound des Zwillingsprojekts ODA RELICTA. Es gilt, was schon eingangs erwähnt wurde: Der Macher bürgt für Qualität. Das ist in diesem Fall nicht anders und umfasst selbstverständlich alle beteiligten Projekte, nicht nur CISFINITUM. Allerdings muss sich der Hörer über die meditative Anlage des Samplers im Klaren sein, damit es keine Überraschungen gibt. Bis auf einige TROUM-Passagen ist die Musik wesentlich mehr Ambient als 'Dark', die Drones sind beruhigend und viele von ihnen nicht von dieser Welt, das heißt typisch 'spacig'. Spaß macht ganz nebenbei auch die Interpretationsfreiheit, die "Sacral Symphony" bietet. Hinter den sphärischen Tracks können sich Weltraumabenteuer, religiöse Erfahrungen oder einfach – wie EVGENY VORONOVSKI das vorschlägt – 'russischer Spirit' verbergen. Guter Sound für die restfeierliche Stimmung der Nach-Weihnachtszeit." [Michael We. für nonpop.de] "You don't have to be a religious fanatic to hear the quality in this latest effort from Belgium label EE Tapes. The album titled "Sacral symphony" presents five grandiose pieces of drone-based electronics from five well-known and acclaimed composers of drifting ambience. The compilation is compiled by Russian composer Eugeny Voronovski who also contributes under his artist alias Cisfinitum. German composer 1000Schøen opens the symphonic extravaganza with a hypnotic piece titled "Dageraad" that includes acoustic sounds of guitars and flutes to create lush piece of ambience. Next artist is also German. Troum contributes with the piece titled "Palas tyn" consisting of church bell-sounding drone accompanied by warm drones moving in deeper sound levels. Eugeny Voronovski alias Cisfinitum contributes with the beautiful piece "Autumn ritual" based on ochestral ambience reminding me of works from Angelo Badalamenti. Things get even more grandiose with the otherworldly piece from Rapoon, "One last breath", a dark and beautiful piece of processed choir samples. Final piece comes from the artist titled First Human Ferro, a remarkable piece of spacey ambient based on church organ samples with echoed acoustic sound like in a church. An excellent piece to end this otherworldy ambient compilation from EE Tapes." [NM / Vital Weekly] label website: www.eetapes.be 2008 €13.00
Table for Six: All Quiet? # 3 CD Das wohl am längsten bestehende belgische Label für elektronisch-experimentelle, post-industrielle und dronig-ambiente Klänge geht mit seiner TABLE FOR SIX-Reihe in die dritte Runde (sechs lange Beiträge)! Wieder präsentiert sich eine gelungene Mischung aus Altbekannten oder älteren Acts (FRANS DE WAARD, ANEMONE TUBE (nach langer Pause wieder aktiv wie's scheint) und (AD)VANCE(D) (ex VANCE ORCHESTRA), und den Newcomern NEUESTRASSE (mächtig atmosphärische dark ambient Drone aus Italien), STORMHAT (post-industrieller drone-industrial mit ungewöhnlicher Komplexität im Microsound-Bereich, sehr genial! Dänemark), und BRUNE DE ANGELIS (elektro-akustisch beeinflusste dunkel-symphonische Musik, nicht so weit entfernt von alten TIETCHENS-Sachen). Insgesamt sehr dunkel-atmosphärisch geprägt, Spezial 7"-Siebdruck-Cover, keine Ausfälle, was will man mehr ! "EE Tapes was originally a tape-exclusive label established in Belgium back 1987, but during the years the media forms released from the label has changed, to the present state of being a CD-only label. Present release is another shot from the "Table For Six"-series, that celebrates different forms of ambient with contributions from interesting composers of the scene. On this third chapter contributions comes from newcomers as well as from more established artists. Despite the focus on ambient the approaches to the style is quite different with everything from concrete sounds to abstracts noise. Opening piece titled "Bulo omega" is twelve minute work of buzzing drones from Italian artist Neuestrasse. Washes of noise waves creates a quite organic edge to the expressions of noise. Organic is also the word to describe the following contribution from Danish artists Stormhat that specializes in ambient-scapes exclusively based on field recordings. His piece "Substanser" nicely mixes abstract concrete sounds with recognizable found sounds. German project Anemone Tube continues with a minimalist piece of beautiful ambient based on processed choir-samples and grandiose soundscapes. With its warm atmosphere, the work titled "Projected cataclysm" from Anemone Tube stand in extreme contrast to the following icy drone work from Dutch sound artist Frans De Waard. His piece titled "Wortel (root)" is another minimalist work based on buzzing drones operating in subconscious levels with a very interesting result. Once in a while the drones fades away giving space for swarms of high frequency noises and crackling electronics wiping out any sign of buzzing tranquility. Dutch artist (Ad)vance(d) closes the compilation with another great piece of ambience based on field recordings with subtle melodies moving in deeper layers. Excellent compilation that also presents some quite bizarre and beautiful jazz-like ambient-noise-spheres based on acoustic instruments such as horns and string instruments from Italian artist Bruno De Angelis. Thus a great span in the contributing expressions. Good work." [NM, Vital Weekly] " 1 | Neuestrasse (Italy): atmospheric ambient noise aka Matteo Roncari | newcomer in the dark ambient scene, although he had a first CD out already on polish War Office Propaganda label in 2006 neuestrasse@tiscali.it 2 | Stormhat (Denmark): obsessive experimental sonics aka Peter Bach Nicholaisen | climbing up fast on today's ladder of field recording-fame with CDreleases out on US-labels Cohort Records & Diophantine Discs www.stormhat.dk 3 | Anemone Tube (Germany/Netherlands): contemplative digital synths - aka Stefan Hanser, (harsh) noise artist returning after a long silence & now residing in the Netherlands, showcasing a very unusual piece for his doing in the best 80s prog synth tradition, but with modern tools www.myspace.com/anemonetube 4 | Bruno De Angelis (Italy/UK): modern classical improvisation - former member of Influenza Prods (80s) and still active with Mana Erg (90s - now), always doing a kind of cinematographic stuff so far, here presenting a most special solo outing bruno.deangelis@yahoo.co. uk 5 | Frans de Waard (Netherlands): noise collage of tape-hiss only, back to the root(s) - it all started with the cassette.... pioneer with Korm Plastics, (ex-)Staalplaat, Kapotte Muziek, Beequeen, Freiband, Shifts, etc etc.... www.fransdewaard.blogspot.com 6 | (ad)vance(d) (Netherlands) : floating space sounds built up with field recordings & a lot of imagination - aka Mars F. Wellink (ex-Vance Orchestra) who teams up with Jan Dekker for this exclusive contribution: a well-balanced composition between dream, sleep & reality maybe..... mars.f.wellink@xmsnet.nl" [label info] 2008 €13.00
Ten Grand Tonearm LP Darling, darfs auch etwas ausgefallener sein? Eine australische Compilation auf dem Label von RATS WITH WINGS, irres handgemachtes Recycle-Cover, haufenweise Acts aus dem Abstract Noise / Impro Experimental Bereich, abstrakter, geräuschhafter und Synapsen-sprengender geht es wohl kaum....really advanced & wild ! "The elaborate packages continue on this one also as they use old vinyl jackets on which they apply their posters. Sun of the seventh contribute in this compilation the last track of the first side (as a full force 25 member big band) along with (in order of appearance) rlw (the Johannes Frisch and Ralf Wehowsky duo, on this track they improvise on abstract structures using a sitar as a point of reference), castings (who have released in labels as chocolate monk american tapes), rahdunes (they add elements of early 80s german industrial), cygnus (in a lo-fi ambient track based on guitar accompanied with synths in the background), xNoBBQx (volumes of feedback combined to delay, wah sounds and low pitched frequencies) loachfillet (with the enigmatic sample in the beginning of a female voice that repeats in greek “it is usually raining” while it is followed by a freakout improvisation of noise produced by electronics, guitar and drums that bring to mind the USA scene), Marco Fusinato (who takes the lead from loachfillet in almost the same manner, he has collaborated around 2000 with Thurston Moore on live performances in the centre of contemporary art in Australia). The second side of the vinyl starts with the British the vitamin b12 (vocals processed thru o sequencer or something), Mark Harwood (a member of the australian honch synaesthesia who presents a quietly evolving track based on processed field recordings), werewolf Jerusalem (electronic noise), misty lavender doughnuts of shame (a spectacular name), arse lunch (xNoBBQx’s side project, drone based on feedback and high pitched guitars recorded live around 2007), pigs in the ground funally William de Kooning (locked grooves). This release by heard worse is a high quality one. They manage to leave the labels mark while at the same time they succeed to bring to forth what connects them with the contributed artists without being boring due to the difficult music and sound aesthetics. This is an art object for sure." [Fervent, Random E-Zine] 2008 €15.00
XXXII° Concorso Internazionale die Musica Elettroacustica e Rumore do-CD "In March 2010, Le Bruit De La Neige Festival have organized the annual Luigi Russolo - Rossana Maggia Competition at the Faverges Soierie. The aim was to promote the electroacoustic music of young composers (under 35 years old). The Bruitism is a movement of sound art appeared 9th of March 1913 when the painter and composer Luigi Russolo published the manifesto 'L'Arte dei Rumori' (The Art of Noises), inviting the people to appreciate the complex sounds from the nature and industrial environment. This was an important paradigm shift in contemporary music as later with the musique concrete of Pierre Schaeffer or 4'33' silent work by John Cage. 60 composers from 28 countries have participated in this contest. Members of the jury 2010: Jean Louis Belmonte, Philippe Blanchard, Guillaume Caillot, Paul Clouvel, Pierre Coppier, Bernard Donzel-Gargand, Juraj Duris, Pierre Jolivet, Pierre Launay, Victor Nubla, Dmitry Vasilyev. The jury awarded: First Prize Luigi Russolo: Yota Kobayashi (Japan). Second Prize : Elia Marios Joannou (Cyprus). Third Prize : Valérie Delaney (Canada). Mention Rossana Maggia: Sergy Khismatov (Russia). Mention Franco G. Maffina: Sebastian Peter (Germany). Special Mention of the jury: Joan Bages Rubi (Spain). Other works having maximum votes by Erdem Helvacioglu (Turkey), Ka-Ho Cheung (Hong Kong), Andrea Santini (Italy), Jean-François Primeau (Canada), Damien Depannemaeck (France), Dohi Moon (South Korea) and Stefan Fraunberger (Austria)." [label info] www.monochromevision.ru 2010 €17.00
Benefiets for Japan do-CD "Wir haben beschlossen, eine Benefiets CD fuer Japan herauszugeben, und dazu viele Freunde und Kuenstler eingeladen. Von jeder CD gehen fuenf Euro an das Rote Kreuz und sowie an "heart on coin - kizuna" - ein Projekt fuer Grundschulen in der vom Tsunami besonders betroffenen Praefektur Miyagi. Ueber deren Hoehe werden wir hier informieren. Wir suchen noch Distribuierungsmoeglichkeiten und freuen uns ueber fleissige Werber. Vielen Dank. http://www.aicat.org/heartoncoin/ . Beitraege von: (((10)))/japan/south korea action beat/UK alice hui-sheng chang/taiwan/australia and so i watch you from afar/ireland anla courtis/argentina astronoise/south korea christian dergarabedian/argentina/spain dave phillips/switzerland emil beaulieau/US eyes like mirrors/south africa frans de waard + freiband/netherlands guts pie earshot/germany her name is calla/UK ishida naoki/japan killer/germany kim ki o/turkey limited express/japan luzparís/argentina manku kapak/germany michael barthel/germany noia/peru prurient/US rudolf eb.er/switzerland/japan sudden infant/switzerland/germany takuji naka/japan the haters/US tomokawa kazuki/japan upcdownc/UK up-tight/japan us kids know/south africa victor gama/angola/portugal we set sail/south africa (auf der CD falsch verzeichnet!) yan jun/china yui ondera/japan zoul/germany" [label info] www.licht-ung.de "Apart from what seems to be a typo on the cover, I have nothing to complain about this double CD compilation. Its over two and half hours of music of an alternative kind. Alternative rock, noise, laptop's, punk, improvised music all cut with a great variety together that makes you like listen to a fine alternative radio station. And the best thing is that five euro goes to the Red Cross, for their work at Fukushima nuclear power plant, as recommended by Japanese friends of the label. Nuf said. Get this and hear music by (((10))), action beat, alice hui-sheng chang, and so i watch you from afar, anla courtis, astronoise, christian dergarabedian, dave phillips, emil beaulieau, eyes like mirrors, frans de waard, freiband, guts pie earshot, her name is calla, ishida naoki, killer, kim ki o, limited express, luzpara­s, manku kapak, michael barthel, noia, prurient, rudolf eb.er, sudden infant, takuji naka, the haters, tomokawa kazuki, upcdownc, up-tight, us kids know, victor gama, we set sail, yan jun, yui ondera and zoul. Yes, I copied that from the website, while listening to this compilation. Lots of bands you should know, lots of news names, from such unlikely (well) corners as Peru, Angola, South Africa, China and Ireland. So, if you are 'fan' enough to collect all compilations with say The Haters, or, if you a curious to hear a bunch of strange musics, or if you want to support a good cause in return for a small gift, then don't look further and spend your money here." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2012 €17.00
VERNACULAR do-CD "The word 'Vernacular' means "native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is a second language or foreign language to the population, such as a national language, standard language, or lingua franca", and here it's the thematic approach for a neatly designed double CD compilation in which curator Yui Onodera reconsiders 'Vernacular, which has been cut by the "universal design that transcends locality and ethnicity" of modernism'. He claims that 'the meaning of a sound and the way it is used is different in each country and I think it should naturally be apparent in the sound of their work, if artists work on it consciously'. That is a rather bold claim. I slide in CD 1, sit somewhere else, away from computer which shows me the tracklist and away from the actual package. When disc one is done, could have I told I heard artists from Australia, America (twice), Japan, UK (twice) and Italy? Or Greece, Estonia, The Netherlands, Argentina, America (twice) and Germany, following disc two? I must admit: not really. What can be noted is an overall uniform approach to sound and the way its played, processed and composed. Carefully and delicate music, is what all of these fifteen people connect. One a bit more on the field recordings side of things, the other process that lot via the computer into something altogether more abstract and here there we find the presence of an instrument, usually in the form of a guitar, such as with Federico Durand and Troum (whose presence may seem like an odd-ball here, but it fits in quite nicely) and the piano of Kenneth Kirschner. Steve Roden provides his usual musical loops and may also seem be a bit odd. Otherwise, music seems to be an universal language for these boys (no girls as far as I can see), and nowhere I had the idea I was listening to something that was very specific from a specific country. In that respect this compilation may seem like failure, but the quality is overall great here. Find here pieces from Hior Chronik, Yui Onodera, Janek Schaefer, Simon Scott, Tu M', Dale Lloyd, Jos Smolders, Yves De Mey, Kim Cascone, John Grzinich and Lawrence English." [FdW/Vital Weekly] http://whereabouts-records.com 2013 €14.00
Epicurean Escapism II CD & DVD + book "On the occasion of the second Epicurean Escapism Festival 15th of June 2013 in Berlin a CD/DVD compilation was released, including a CD with exclusive tracks by the performing artists KE/HIL, POST SCRIPTVM, ANEMONE TUBE, DIETER MÜH and TREPANERINGSRITUALEN, a DVD by CON-DOM with super 8 short films and experimental movies created by Mike Dando in the 1980s to early 1990s and finally digitally restored in 2013 and a 20-page catalogue with essay and artworks by ALEX TENNIGKEIT, ANDREW LILES, CARMEN BURGUESS, DENNIS RUDOLPH, PHILIP BEST & RUDOLF EB.ER. 'Epicurean Escapism II' CD, playtime: 53 minutes: 1 Ke/Hil - Dark Germany 3:55 2 Anemone Tube - Apocalyptic Fantasy 3:20 3 Anemone Tube - Accumulations 8:44 4 Post Scriptvm - Leprous Driver 7:42 5 Trepaneringsritualen - Vanärat Är Ditt Namn 3:29 6 Trepaneringsritualen - End Of Flesh 5:10 7 Dieter Müh - Bethlehem 20:34. Con-Dom - 'We Who Were Living Are Now Dying' DVD, playtime: 55 minutes: 1 Impressions of a System 6:12 2 The Coming of Christ 13:35 3 Our Pleasure In The Pain/Vilification 8:42 4 All In Good Faith 1 14:18 5 All In Good Faith 2 (Get Right With God) 6:52 6 Hunger For Death 5:57." [label info] www.silkentofu.org 2013 €22.00
BALI 1928, Vol. II : Tembanf Kuna - Songs From An Earlier Time CD "Vol. II in a five-disc series of 1928 Balinese recordings features Balinese vocal music, the first release of these recordings since they were first pressed to 78 rpm discs in 1929, the only commercially released recordings of music made in Bali before World War II. Originally recorded by a team from the German labels Odeon and Beka on a 1928-29 expedition to Bali and intended for a Balinese public that lacked any discs of its own music, many of these records have been reduced to single remaining copies by the ravages of time -- when the labels' (European) merchant in Bali destroyed the original discs in a fit of rage due to a complete lack of sales. Now, after a decade of global sleuthing, World Arbiter has located a surviving copy of every known vocal disc that escaped destruction, even one slumbering under a pile at an east Balinese raja's palace. The unaccompanied singing has been restored to the point that the listener is practically sitting inside the masters' throats to experience their microtonal miracles. The lyrics, fully translated, some from the archaic Old Javanese language and included in the liner notes, reveal intensely urgent erotic, mystical and romantic meanings. These extensive notes are supplemented with a 110-page PDF including an in-depth essay by Edward Herbst, contained on the disc and available online. Arbiter will continue to release its complete recovery of 111 three-minute sides, with five discs planned for the series, and a complete anthology to follow. Fully funded by a grant from The Andrew Mellon Foundation. Includes performances by Ida Bagus Oka Kerebuak, Ida Boda, Ni Dayu Madé Rai, Ida Bagus Ngurah, Ni Lemon, and the duo of Idu Bagus Wayan Buruan & Ida Madé Tianyar." [label info] 2014 €14.00
Epicurean Escapism III CD & DVD + book "Epicurean Escapism III Compilation CD + Dave Phillips “Proceed With Inquiry“ DVD + 24-page catalogue A manifesto of escapist longing, of taking things to a more extreme level, a quest for a complex contextual message: The third and final edition of the Epicurean Escapism compilation series again unites music, film and visual arts contributed by the most interesting acts in the field of experimental industrial music; exploring the viewpoint of escapism, sharing the vision of uncompromising utopian transgression, diving into this subjective counter-world. Enjoy and endure! The CD starts with British veteran providers of the extreme, SUTCLIFFE JÜGEND, who present a straight forward power noise track with a pulsating electronic hook. Swedish units ALFARMANIA and SKIN AREA dig deep into the depraved consciousness, each of them with of their unique version of morbid industrial resonating with decay, while BUDRUS seduce the listener with beautifully melancholic Lithuanian poetry; German act GERECHTIGKEITS LIGA clank and rattle with their brand of organic industrial. NIKOLAS SCHRECK, the prominent voice of Radio Werewolf appears as a vaudevillian, with a perverse neo-psychedelic composition conveying allusions to the deity Lord Sutekh, merging European neoclassical with ethnic Indian music and poetry with an unmistakable Radio Werewolf accent. A very special treat also comes from LAST DOMINION LOST – one of the last recordings of John Murphy on drums can be heard on their ritual piece “To The Master, A Long Goodnight” dedicated to the master himself. The contained DVD comprises video works, live performances and collaborations by radical Swiss sound artist DAVE PHILLIPS, sonically active since 1987, part of the notorious SCHIMPFLUCH GRUPPE (with Rudolf Eb.er, Joke Lanz) since 1991, having left his signature in numerous bands, projects and collaborations. DAVE PHILLIPS uses sound as a means to activate primordial emotions otherwise hidden underneath the debris of civilization. His concept is called “Humanimalism” accordingly, meaning a state of mind that overcomes religious, material und supremacist charges of evolution, acknowledges itself as part of a whole and has grown into an empathic, conscious and connected creature allowing emotion and instinct their equal part in decision-making. This collection presents his multifaceted work in composition, performance, psycho-acoustics, sonic rituals, voice, video, field recordings, objects and electronics, etc. in a yet unknown complexity and coherence of motion pictures. His performance work is revealed in all its undiluted brutality, the urgency and topicality of his work and his message is clearly evident, captivating and intensely documented. Along with DAVE PHILLIPS’ video works created between 2014 and 2016, the DVD is a document of unique solo live actions and the notorious Paris 1996 performance of SCHIMPFLUCH-GRUPPE, as well as recent collaborations with G.X. JUPITTER LARSEN, and video artists PAKISE AKIN, JAN VAN HASSELT and REMOTE-CONTROL RECTUM, who in turn created their visual interpretations of PHILLIPS' audio works. It all amounts to a mind-expanding experience, playing with altered perception and throwing back the viewer onto his own vision. The compilation package is topped off with a 24-page catalogue with a text about the work of DAVE PHILLIPS, as well as a double page each with collages, pictures, drawings and lyrics representing the audio work of every artist featured on the CD." www.silkentofu.org 2016 €22.00
Musique Concrete LP This record represents an important milestone in the development and progression of musique concrète – marking a crossroad for not only the genre itself but also in the paths of its originator Pierre Schaeffer and another of the genre’s most important and respected protagonists Pierre Henry. Undoubtedly one of the most influential experimental and electroacoustic musicians, Pierre Schaeffer is also credited as being the father of the theory of musique concrete as well as later name coining the term itself. Having found a job in 1936 at Radiodiffusion Française (later Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française or RTF) as an engineer, Scaeffer developed a newly found interest in music and with the blessing of his superiors made the most of his access to the Radiodiffusion Française studios, utilising his abilities as an engineer to experiment with sound whilst collaborating with musicians and composers that passed through the station’s hallowed doors. In 1942 Schaeffer and influential theatre director, producer and actor Jacques Copeau founded the Studio d’Essai (renamed Club d’Essai in 1946) as part of RTF in order to experiment with radiophonic techniques. Drawing on the works of French filmmaker, critic and novelist Jean Epstein, Schaeffer would occupy his time and his mind with the manner in which sound recordings “revealed what was hidden in the act of basic acoustic listening” and in 1948 formally set about his research in ernest – the results of which were presented as a series of studies known as Cinq études de bruits (Five Studies of Noises) during a concert in Paris. With word of his theories and experiments spreading, Schaeffer was able to press the RTF management to further finance and in doing so expand his research. However, for an undertaking of this size he would need help. Having previously collaborated as part of his early research with a young classically trained composer by the name of Pierre Henry, Schaeffer had no problem convincing the RTF executives he was the right man of the job. By adding a third prong to this sonic fork in the shape of sound engineer Jacques Poullin, Schaeffer was able to complete a powerhouse, which he renamed the Groupe de Musique Concrete, that would push his experiments further than he could have imagined. In1951, RTF handed the trio the keys to one of the earliest purpose-build electroacoustic studios (the other being the WDR Studio in Germany), furnishing it with state of the art bespoke equipment such as a Morphophone (designed by Poullin himself and capable of tape loop-delay) and a Phonogène (a multi-headed tape instrument also designed by Poullin). The studio went from strength to strength, attracting composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen and Edgard Varèse to collaborate, and in that same year Schaeffer and Henry produced and premiered what is considered to be the first opera concrète, Orphèe 51. As Schaeffer’s notoriety grew as did demand for his time and he found himself increasingly called away from the studio during which time he would hand the keys to over to his colleagues. Pierre Henry wasted no time in pursuing projects closer to his own heart, working with experimental filmmakers and choreographers like Maurice Béjart (the two would later collaborate with Michel Colombier on the cult classic Les Jerks Électroniques De La Messe Pour Le Temps Présent Et Musiques Concrètes Pour Maurice Béjart). In 1957, following a particularly prolonged absence on RTF duties, Schaeffer returned unhappy with the direction the group had taken and tabled an idea to revitalise both their approach as well as personnel. As a result, Henry and several other key members left the group the following year leaving Schaeffer to lay the foundations in 1958 for a new collective called Groupe de Recherches Musicales – one of a number of theoretical and experimental groups overseen by Saeffer’s Service de la Reserche at RTF – and set about recruiting new members including Iannis Xenakis, Henri Sauguet, Luc Ferrari and Michel Philippot as well as usher in a new steady stream of eager musicians eager to study within what had rapidly become (and still is) a national institution – including a young Jean Michel Jarre! Featuring the full versions of these seminal early works (abridged versions of which had previously appeared across two 7” singles on Disques BAM) the recordings presented here are the first fruits of this new alliance and served to lay the bedrock for the future of the Groupe de Recherches Musicales research which would later count the likes of Ivo Malec, Philippe Carson, Romuald Vandelle, Edgardo Canton and François Bayle (who went on to coin the term Acousmatic Music) amongst its members and cement its place in the annals of experimental, electroacoustic and early electronic music history. www.finderskeepersrecords.com 2016 €21.00
Projekt Neue Ordnung II 4 x LP BOX Projekt Neue Ordnung was the 1st and only Compilation done by Tesco Organisation. It was released in 1990, and in 2017 is the year of Tesco´s mail-order 30 years anniversary. Like at that time this compilation features contemporary and new projects. Some projects that you might have never heard of before, or you will never hear of after. It combines artists that are currently producing high class material off which we never had the chance for a full-length release before and bands that are awaiting the listeners attention and highly deserve it. The project is an international one and has started with its compiling in late 2015 - now is the time! All bands are presenting their view on Projekt Neue Ordnung and have supplied some magnificent artwork assembled in DIN A4 fullcolor booklet. The music presented here ranges from abstract concrete sounds, dark drone ambience, post industrial, power electronics to noise music. As multi-shaped as it is, it is! Compilations have been the main entrance to new project, to extend the musical knowledge and give room to new concepts. We wish this time to come back again and have no presented our idea of how it can be... featuring: AM NOT [UK], ALFARMANIA[SE], AUSSTRÖMEN[UK], BODY CARGO [LT], CADLAG [SI], DEATHPANEL [DE], DUST BELT [US], GEOGRAPHY OF HELL [US/FR], GRAUSTICH [AT], GRIEFER [CA], GRUNT [FI], ILL [DE], JAAKKO VANHALA [FI], KE/HIL [DE], K.I.A. [PT], LEBENSFADEN [JP], :M: [US], PAIN NAIL [FI], PUCE MARY [DK], PTERYGIUM [UK], ROPE SOCIETY [AU], RUSALKA [CA], RUSHA [DE], SALFORD ELECTRONICS [UK], SCRELOMA [JP], SHIFT [UK], S.T.A.B. ELECTRONICS [UK], SVARTVIT [NL], THE TRAINABLES [UK], TOTRAUM [HU], WERTHAM [IT] The box presentation follows the graphical art of the 1st PROJEKT NEUE ORDNUNG - the printed box houses the 4 LPs including a lavish printed full color A4 booklet and is numbered to only 500 copies. Nearly 160 minutes of music that awaits your exploration. www.tesco-germany.com 2017 €78.00
TROUM TRANSFORMATION TAPES: The 20th Anniversary Celebration (1997-2017) do-CD with: ALLSEITS, CONTRASTATE, V.O.S.(YEN POX), VANCE ORCHESTRA, TARKATAK, RAISON D'ETRE, NADJA, MARTYN BATES w. TROUM, MULTER, QST (Frans de Waard/KAPOTTE MUZIEK), URE THRALL, MYRRMAN (SAL SOLARIS), INADE, DUAL, BAD SECTOR, CISFINITUM, REUTOFF, MOLJEBKA PVLSE, and MARKOW C. ORIGINAL INVITATION: "Dear Friends and Dreamers, Troum did the very first performance under this name (after the demise of Maeror Tri) in March 1997, so this year we reach our 20th anniversary. We have never done any anniversary "celebration" or "remix" projects of Troum material before, so we thought maybe it's the time now! You can choose any existing Troum material (also taken from multiple tracks) to cover, re-interpretate, re-work/process/arrange or collage it. You can also add your own sounds, create a new track-title, watever comes to your mind! (We are certainly NOT looking for a standard "remix", so we don't send out any specific material to everyone!). This invitation goes out to various musicians that have worked with us over the 20 years, which became friends or important for our evolution as a band." TROUM, March 2017 2. TRACKLIST: CD 1 1. ALLSEITS - Times 2. CONTRASTATE - The Silent Fish 3. INADE - The innermost Sun 4. VANCE ORCHESTRA - Giascei 5. TARKATAK - vs. Brinnan 6. RAISON D'ETRE - Ananke 7. NADJA - Mirrored in You 8. MARTYN BATES w. TROUM - An Untitled Protest 9. [MULTER] - Sela Saiwala MNX CD 2 1. QST - Kapotte Muziek by Troum (QST remix 2017) 2. URE THRALL - Krypte 3. 016 vs. MYRRMAN - Sen №350 (Psychic Automaton Rework) 4. V.O.S. (Steve Hall/YEN POX) - Breath Again 5. DUAL - TTN (Ursprung) 6. BAD SECTOR - Signedumiroir 7. MARKOW C. - Chaneism 8. CISFINITUM - Skaun[ei]s 9. REUTOFF - Hypoxia (Troum Spirare Cover) 10. MOLJEBKA PVLSE - Ennoia Liner Notes from JIM HAYNES: It was 1996 when the German industrial project Maeror Tri disbanded, and I recall being deeply saddened by the news. A few years earlier, I had discovered the project while working at a now-defunct distribution company in San Francisco. Fittingly released through Korm Plastics 'Introductions' series, Maeror Tri's Multiple Personality Disorder reflected an interested in psychological pathology as channeled through raw sound. Industrial culture has long used the metaphors of disease as a mirror to shine a light on any number of ills in contemporary society. This particular album addresses four aspects of the titular disorder, itself the most extreme form of schizophrenia which fractures the discrete personalities, which Maeror Tri identified in the general dissociative characteristics: The Administrator, The Anaesthetizer, The Revenger, The Protector. With each of these tracks, Maeror Tri orchestrated dense layers of heavily effected, sustained noise, back-masked growlings, and shimmering drones as emotionally resonant portraits to those four personality traits. With Industrial culture's penchant for sensationalized horror of autopsy and abbatoir footage, Maeror Tri's constructs were uniquely sympathetic to those who suffered from this debilitating disease. With the posthumous release of Emotional Engramm in 1997, Maeror Tri's compositional complexity began to blossom, relying less on the hypnogogic dislocation of time-lag effects and more on the poetics and the portent of the underlying melodies that rippled through their ghostly accretions for drone and noise. Right as they called it quits, the ideas of Maeror Tri had expressed a maturity that had much more to say through the collapse of sound into an crushed, all-encompassing, cathartic tsunami. What was to emerge in the wake of Maeror Tri's dissolution did not immediately seem clear. Founding member Stefan Knappe had already established his impeccably curated Drone Records, which initially focused on the improbable medium of the 7" single to release long-form works of dark ambient, heavy drone, and industrial din. Many of these artists that landed on Drone were unknown or under-appreciated projects, but without fail, these proved to be impressive documents and demanded that they be acquired upon sight with or without any idea of who exactly was behind the project. In this series, Knappe did commisson work from a number of highly acclaimed musicians including Inade, Francisco Lopez, Cranioclast, Aidan Baker, The Lotus Eaters, etc. but there were the lesser known acts such as the Hungarian experimental project Hideg Roncs, Holland's esoteric ambient outfit Indra Karmuka, and the hermetic tape machinist Abner Malaty. Drone released exactly 100 singles between 1993 and 2010, at which time the format switched to a four-way split LP format under the Drone-Mind // Mind-Drone banner, in addition to the 10" Substantia Innominata series, both of which maintain high calibre curation to this day. In 1998, Knappe reconvened with fellow Maeror Tri member Martin Gitschel to form Troum. The name for this new project was taken from an archaic German word for dream and provides clear insight into their investigations manifesting universal archetypes and symbols from a collective unconsciousness into an overwhelming flood of sound. The first recordings for Troum were published on a small cassette housed in a small pillow, ascribed with the title Dreaming Muzak. As with Maeror Tri, Troum sculpt their dronescapes mostly through heavily processed guitars along with an assortment of other instruments. If the intent of Troum was to put the listener to sleep, the lulling vibrating patterns certainly have the capacity; but the overall darkness of these sounds will never inspire the most pleasant of dreams. These are shadowy, bleak, and cold sounds which permeate the album, and lend themselves to images of desolate factories spewing a constant stream of black soot in some wintery post-Soviet country. At the turn of the millennium, Troum embarked on their ambitious Tjukurrpa trilogy, the title of which has its origin in the physical, spiritual, and psychological state of dreamtime for the Australian Aboriginals, symbolizing Troum's intention to divine transcendence through their hypnogogic compositions. They applied these ideas to the three compositional foundations to their music, in Harmonies, Drones, and Rhythms & Pulsations each of which are highlighted on the trilogies component albums. Harmonies for Troum relate to the cold ambient swirls of resonant timbres from Troum's interlocked guitars that cycle through minor-key chords bathed in a resplendent wash of effects and melancholy atmospheres. Troum's signature drones are heavy, lumbering propositions of earth-shaking rumbles and subterranean minimalism. The use of rhythm appears in Troum's work as percussive mantras with a ritualist approach to metal-bashed patterns and looped sequences. These fundamental tools - harmonies, drones, and rhythms - represent a set of pre-linguistic symbols that Troum employs to articulate to the primal emotional responses of various psychological states. More often than not, Troum turn towards ashen, sublime, nocturnal, and grim metaphors through their work, even though rapturously golden crescendos flourish on the rare occasion in their body of work. Sigqan (2003) is a harrowing album that plunges deep into an overwhelming gloom through sustained tones and drones. Like the project's name, the title harkens to a pre-medieval dialect of the Goths that roughly translates as the setting or sinking of the sun. Here, Troum addresses the Dark Ages fear that the sun might not rise again, leaving the world in permanent darkness. The Power Romantic trilogy (which include the albums Mare Idiophonika, Grote Mandrenke, Mare Morphosis released from 2010 - 2013) finds the duo embracing the oceanic metaphors that undulate upon the cycles of the tides through billowing shadows of mournful melody and subharmonic rumble. These too are drawn towards hostile metaphors, with Grote Mandrenke referring directly to a massive storm surge that devastated Northern Europe and the Britsh Isles in 1362, sweeping some 25,000 people out to sea and to their deaths. Through the Drone Records productions and ancillary distribution company, Troum have maintained a very healthy network of connections all across the globe. In doing so, they have also engaged in a select number of ongoing collaborations. Their first was with the occult American project Yen Pox whose collective low-frequency thumming stand at the pinnacle of the dark ambient genre. An enduring presence from the once mighty Cold Meat Industries, Raison D'etre has worked with Troum in transforming raw material through the existential lens of a vacant cathedral. Architectural reverberation and ghostly chorales flutter with a solemn, ethereal impressionism. The baroque post-punk singer-songwriter Martyn Bates of Eyeless In Gaza had long been an inspiration for Knappe and Gitschel in both Troum and Maeror Tri. In fact a dedication to Bates was ascribed to a track from the Tjukurrpa series. In 2006, Bates joined Troum for their collaborative album To a Child Dancing in the Wind, which girds Bates' beatific, lyrical vocalizations to a luminous, shimmering facet to Troum's aesthetic. This compilation with its remixes, deconstructions, and reconstitutions of Troum's back catalogue and raw material is a celebration not only to Troum's impressive body of work but also to their ongoing and active participation in the broader communities of the avant-garde, minimalism, drone-rock, and industrial culture with unflagging dedication. These propositions respectfully build upon the fluid dynamics of Troum's sound as well as the wordless symbolism of pre-lingusitic conditions that are fundamental to Troum's work. It should be noted that both Dual and Vance Orchestra reunited specifically for this project. Sibilant. Subaquatic. Serpentine. Ominous. Thunderous. Billowing. Haunted. Hypnogogic. Blossomed with sadness. Best Drones. JIM HAYNES 2018 €12.00
Wire Recorded Pieces LP This compilation is for those who are not familiar with the fascinating world of Primal Electronica, Noise, Sound Design, Industrial, Avant-Garde, Tape-Music, etc. _ you name it!. This set hopes to be the gateway to a completely new Revolutionary sound experience, proving what John Cage predicted in the 1930s : "'I believe the use of noise to make music will continue and increase until we reach a music produced through the aid of electrical instruments which will make available for musical purposes any and all sounds that can be heard." Including a track recorded in 1921, almost a hundred years ago_ and ending in the early 1960s, this selection includes artists of very different nationalities such as Egypt, USA, Hungary, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden, France_ even the USSR! It represents everything New and Revolutionary that we have come to expect since the beginning of the Postmodern era. These are relics with much to say to the contemporary listener as they sound impossibly way ahead of their and our time(s). Revolutionary since much of the included material did and still does push the very definition of what music is. Here are demonstrations of techniques and Sound Systems that shaped Modern Music as we know it today. These are the first examples ever to loop a track, play it in reverse or use a host of other effects which are all so common tools for musicians of today. Songs are sequenced to give a coherent and surprisingly easy way to enjoy and appreciate this music field that can be baffling - in order to give the listener some of the most multilayered (in every sense of the word) experience. Thanks to 21st Century advance techniques, every track here has a low noise floor, which has been achieved without the loss of palpability or dynamic range. These recordings sound fantastic: fresh, jarring, groundbreaking and adventurous._ Enjoy the ride. "WIRE RECORDED PIECES" Precocious Noise and Early Electronica Pt. 2 https://soundmiraclerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/wire-recorded-pieces 2019 €20.00
BRÜSK - A Compilation of Harsh Noises MC BRÜSK - A Compilation of Harsh Noises "brüsk" is a equivalent to the german word "harsch" which means something like "scurrilous or filthy. between the tracks you can find voice samples with verbal insults chosen by "Grubenwehr Freiburg" Comes with a black,unique, linolium stamped Cover https://grubenwehrfreiburg.bandcamp.com/album/br-sk-a-compilation-of-harsh-noises 2020 €8.00
BRÜSK II - A Compilation of Harsh Noises MC "BRÜSK" is an equivalent to the german word "harsch" which means something like "scurrilous or filthy. between the tracks you can find voice samples with verbal insults chosen by "Grubenwehr Freiburg" German Review by "African Paper": Die Grubenwehr Freiburg, Qualitätsgaranten origineller Geräuschmusik, bringen ein neues sechzigminütiges Tape mit sehr unterschiedlichen Beiträgen aus der Welt des Harsh Noise heraus, bekannte Acts wie The Haters, Carsten Vollmer, Torturing Noise und Bruital Orgasme stehen neben (uns) unbekannteren wie XSchlund, Mai12, SupError, Suport Unit, Dosis Letalis, K.M.A. vs. C.O.C. oder Der verlorene Faden. Unsere Anspieltipps: Outros Outro “Abgestellt”, Flutwacht mit “Grobschloßer” und Der Smogwürger mit seinem Lush Noise-Track “Barfuß durch Hiroshima”. Damit wären alle genannt. Das Artwork stammt von dem Künstler und Illustrator Matthias Kauz, das Layout übrnahm Labelbetreiber David "Grodock", Fotos von Cut-up-Arbeiten Vollmers liegen den Kassetten bei. Vom Label heißt es: “BRÜSK” is an equivalent to the german word “harsch” which means something like “scurrilous or filthy. between the tracks you can find voice samples with verbal insults chosen by “Grubenwehr Freiburg”. Das Tape erscheint in einer Auflage von 50 Exemplaren. C60 Tape by Grubenwehr Freiburg. Comes with three cards with Fotos of Cut up works by Carsten Vollmer. Cover Art by Matthias Kautz. Layout by Grodock https://grubenwehrfreiburg.bandcamp.com/album/br-sk-ii-a-compilation-of-harsh-noises 2020 €8.00
R L E (2020) CD "Every summer since 2017, attenuation circuit has been organising the “re:flexions sound-art festival” for experimental music at its homebase in Augsburg, Germany. For the 2020 edition of the festival, the label has produced a CD album. It is included in the festival ticket, but also available as a release in its own right. The artists featured on the CD are those who were originally invited to the festival. Due to the current medical precautions and international travel limitations, the line-up of the festival on 4th July had to be changed, but the CD gives a very good idea of the festival's original concept. Individual artists applied for the festival and were “matched” in trio or quartet configurations by label head and festival organiser Sascha Stadlmeier aka EMERGE to create new collaborations. In anticipation of performing live at the festival together, the newly created line-ups produced the tracks for this album by way of remote collaborations. Bu.d.d.A., Stadlmeier's own latest duo project with Chris Sigdell aka b°tong, joined forces with trumpet player Fabio Fabbri and Tangerine Dream violinist Hoshiko Yamane to create a haunting yet mind-opening space (or laboratory?) scenario with their track “human interbreeding”. Agente Costura plays her sewing machine and lays the beat for “sudden descent”, a track that might be described as post-industrial noise-electro (in the 1980s Detroit meaning of electro) in a trio with Occupied Head and Boban Ristevski on various electronics. Gintas K, Calineczka, and Wilfried Hanrath weave a delicate tapestry of lowercase drone sounds that is interspersed with fragile metallic sounds of mysterious origin that even coalesce into strange melodies at times. This calm yet by no means monotonous piece is called “closer musings”. With Lee Enfield, Waterflower, and KOMPRIPIOTR, we dive deep into drone ambient territory, yet with a noisy edge buried underneath the lush layers of harmony. The track's title “scare up” might refer to the noisy beast that is lurking down there, waiting to come to the surface. And sure enough the piece turns into a rather suspenseful ride on the soundwaves. The final track “ferch” closes the album with meditative post-rock drone ambient. N(91), a veteran of guitar-based drone music who is always “N”, but numbers his projects/releases, meets like-minded duo deep, who use two electric bass guitars and some electronics to create their music." https://emerge.bandcamp.com/album/r-i 2020 €5.00
TIME ENDS - A Tribute to J.G. Ballard's Tetralogy of Transformation (special ed.) do-LP / CD Desiderii Marginis, Troum, Martin Bladh & Karolina Urbaniak and Anemone Tube have gathered to pay homage to the first four novels of British writer J.G. Ballard: The Wind From Nowhere, The Drowned World, The Drought and The Crystal World, which are often seen as disaster novels. Each of the four projects presents a very unique take on the chosen work, using the respective text as a starting point to offer sonic representations of and (further) perspectives on these books, using drones, field recordings, words and much more to create evocative and richly layered soundscapes. Adorned by a painting of German artist Alex Tennigkeit depicting a sphinx-like hybrid creature, a phoenix rising from the ashes of our civilization, the double album also includes an in-depth essay by Michael Göttert (African Paper) on Ballard's works in which he argues that the novels can best be understood as texts of transformation, as well as texts by the sound artists. The double album starts with Desiderii Marginis' track “The Wind From Nowhere”, on which field recordings and intense drones suck the listener into a stormy vortex. Troum interpret The Drowned World, and their two dynamic tracks illustrate both the changes happening to the (outer) landscape and the (inner) world of the protagonists. Martin Bladh & Karolina Urbaniak make use of sound and words on “The Poisoned Well”, their interpretation of The Drought, referring to Shakespeare, the Bible and scorched earth policy amongst other points of reference. The album closes with Anemone Tube's take on The Crystal World, using field recordings made in Japan’s Mount Fuji forest. “Sea Of Trees” aims to show a devolutionary process, in which man gains access to his actual spiritual home – a primordial wisdom, which lets him discover an internal non-dual space, allowing to ultimately becoming one with the earth as body-being consciousness – the ‘perfect dream’ landscape. Format CD | Double LP & download | Playtime: 79:27 min CD Edition CD in oversize 148x148mm sleeve including postcards & foldout poster, limited to 140 copies. Regular Edition Regular edition double LP in sci-fi neon yellow vinyl limited to 250 copies. Special Edition Special edition double LP & CD set limited to 150 copies including A2 poster signed and hand-numbered by artist Alex Tennigkeit. 2022 €36.00
TIME ENDS - A Tribute to J.G. Ballard's Tetralogy of Transformation do-LP Desiderii Marginis, Troum, Martin Bladh & Karolina Urbaniak and Anemone Tube have gathered to pay homage to the first four novels of British writer J.G. Ballard: The Wind From Nowhere, The Drowned World, The Drought and The Crystal World, which are often seen as disaster novels. Each of the four projects presents a very unique take on the chosen work, using the respective text as a starting point to offer sonic representations of and (further) perspectives on these books, using drones, field recordings, words and much more to create evocative and richly layered soundscapes. Adorned by a painting of German artist Alex Tennigkeit depicting a sphinx-like hybrid creature, a phoenix rising from the ashes of our civilization, the double album also includes an in-depth essay by Michael Göttert (African Paper) on Ballard's works in which he argues that the novels can best be understood as texts of transformation, as well as texts by the sound artists. The double album starts with Desiderii Marginis' track “The Wind From Nowhere”, on which field recordings and intense drones suck the listener into a stormy vortex. Troum interpret The Drowned World, and their two dynamic tracks illustrate both the changes happening to the (outer) landscape and the (inner) world of the protagonists. Martin Bladh & Karolina Urbaniak make use of sound and words on “The Poisoned Well”, their interpretation of The Drought, referring to Shakespeare, the Bible and scorched earth policy amongst other points of reference. The album closes with Anemone Tube's take on The Crystal World, using field recordings made in Japan’s Mount Fuji forest. “Sea Of Trees” aims to show a devolutionary process, in which man gains access to his actual spiritual home – a primordial wisdom, which lets him discover an internal non-dual space, allowing to ultimately becoming one with the earth as body-being consciousness – the ‘perfect dream’ landscape. Regular Edition Regular edition double LP in sci-fi neon yellow vinyl limited to 250 copies. 2022 €27.50
FLUXUS & NEOFLUXUS: STOLEN SYMPHONY do-CD https://subrosalabel.bandcamp.com/album/fluxus-neofluxus-stolen-symphony-vol-1 This album features pieces by (in alphabetical order): Eric Andersen, John Cage, Henning Christiansen, Bengt af Klintberg, Milan Knízák, Opening Performance Orchestra, Terry Riley, Mieko Shiomi, Yoshi Wada and La Monte Young. The musicians and performers Anna Clementi, Agnese Toniutti, Deborah Walker, Werner Durand, Luciano Chessa, Miroslav Beinhauer, Petr Bakla, Nicolas Horvath, Petr Ferenc and Premysl Ondra have played, performed and declaimed the Fluxus pieces, Arditti Quartet and S.E.M. Ensemble provided one piece from their archives. Milan Knízák, Petr Rezek, Petr Kotík, Olaf Hanel, Eric Andersen, Per Brunskog, Peter van der Meijden, Pavlína Morganová, Natasha Lushetich, Joseph Nechvatal, Natilee Harren, Martin Patrick, Diedrich Diederichsen, Christopher M. Reeves and Hubertus von Amelunxen have written Fluxus-themed texts. Archivio Conz in Berlin provided access to their extensive Fluxus archives and Edizioni Conz provided co-production. Ursula and René Block made possible the realisation of John Cage's historical composition 'Rozart Mix' from the Edition Block archive. The photographic material comes from Marie Knízáková and Milan Knízák's private archive, the German photographer Wolfgang Träger, Archivio Conz's Fluxus archive and Opening Performance Orchestra's digital archive. The cover themes are paintings by Milan Knízák, while the graphic design is the work of Jaroslav Buzek. The whole release is produced by re-set production. The LP edition contains 18 pieces, new and old, live and studio, finished pieces and scores to be performed, acoustic and classical, solos and pieces for ensemble, using classical and special instruments. SIDE 1: 0. John Cage - 0'00'' (1962) (solo to be performed in any way by anyone) 0:00 1. La Monte Young - Compositions 1960 #15 to Richard Huelsenbeck (1960) 4:39 (Agnese Toniutti, piano) 2. Milan Knízák - DKH Quartet (edit) (1973) 4:40 (Arditti Quartet) 3. Henning Christiansen - Wolfsflöte (1986) 4:00 (Werner Durand, wind) 4. Giuseppe Chiari - Metodo Teorico E Pratico Per Suonare Il Violoncello (1962) 7:43 (Deborah Walker, cello) 5. Milan Knízák - White Process (from the cycle 'Processes Mainly For The Space Of Mind) (1978) 0:46 (Petr Ferenc, voice) SIDE 2: 1. Dick Higgins - Emmett William's Ear (1977) 9:40 (Agnese Toniutti, piano) 2. Henning Christiansen - Sturmsax (1986) 3:34 (Werner Durand, wind) 3. Milan Knízák - A Chromatic Scale In Countermovement (1971) 2:04 (Miroslav Beinhauer, broken piano) 4. Giuseppe Chiari - Gesti Sul Piano (1962) 4:40 (Luciano Chessa, piano) 5. Yoshi Wada - Lip Vibrator (1973) 2:24 (Ostravská Banda & Audience) 6. La Monte Young - Composition 1960 #7 (1960) 1:19 (Nicolas Horvath, piano) SIDE 3: 1. Eric Andersen - It Isn't Bad (2021) 1:05 (Eric Andersen) 2. Eric Andersen - Opus 1961 (1961) 5:29 (Miroslav Beinhauer & Petr Bakla, piano) 3. Bengt af Klintberg - Triad No.1 (2021) 5:10 (Werner Durand, bottles) 4. Mieko Shiomi - Imaginary Garden No.3 (2009) 7:38 (Miroslav Beinhauer, piano) 5. Terry Riley - Shoganigidi #1 (2021) 3:18 (Miroslav Beinhauer, broken piano) 6. Milan Knízák - Material Events (from the cycle 'Processes Mainly For The Space Of Mind') (1978) 1:28 (Premek Ondra, voice) SIDE 4: 1. Opening Performance Orchestra - Stolen Symphony (2021) 21:25 (Opening Performance Orchestra, electronics) 2023 €20.00
LA MATERIA VERBAL - Antologia De La Poesia Sonora Peruana LP La Materia Verbal - Antología de la Poesía Sonora Peruana The Verbal Matter: An Anthology of Peruvian Sound Poetry This compilation brings together 22 sound poems, including both pioneering and current pieces, and constitutes itself as the first great overview of sound poetry from Peru. It continues a cycle that began in 2009 with the appearance of a CD called Inventar la voz: Nuevas tradiciones orales [To Invent the Voice: New Oral Traditions] and was followed up in 2011 with another one called Irse de lengua [To Let It Slip], both of which contributed to articulate diverse manifestations of poetry that used technological means, also in the context of intense activity in the local scenes of experimental music and sound art that opened spaces for interdisciplinary dialogues. What we know as sound poetry is the product of a technological revolution associated with the appearance of various means of recording, transmission and amplification of the voice. A long process that took shape in the 20th century, until it became a discipline, articulated as an international movement which, based on phonetic research, expanded into a universe of oral/vocal artistic practices as part of a new technological context. The recordings gathered here comprise a time frame that goes from 1972 to 2021. We find poems that work with montage techniques, either because they explore simultaneity or juxtaposition, such as those by Mario Montalbetti, Frido Martín, Florentino Díaz, Carlos Estela, Luisa Fernanda Lindo, Macri Cáceres, Rodrigo Vera Cubas, Tilsa Otta, Giancarlo Huapaya/Omar Córdova, Virginia Benavides, Lisa Carrasco and Luis Alvarado. Others emphasize vocal/oral performance: we find the phonetic poems of Carlos Germán Belli and Eduardo Chirinos, as well as the concrete conceptual poems of Michael Prado, Sandra Suazo, Peru Saizprez, and the oral/guttural poem of Omar Aramayo. Finally, we find another group of pieces where the poem starts with the creation of a computational parameter or algorithm, as is the case with the pieces by Jorge Eduardo Eielson and Enrique Verástegui, eventually reaching the use of Artificial Intelligence as in the poems by Francisco Mariotti and Paola Torres Núñez del Prado. The Verbal Matter: An Anthology of Peruvian Sound Poetry is part of a series produced by Buh Records for Centro del Sonido, a website set up as a digital archive of Peruvian experimental music and sound art. The compilation has been made by Luis Alvarado and is published in a limited edition of 300 copies in vinyl format. It includes extensive notes and visual documentation. Mastered by Alberto Cendra. Art by René Sánchez. This project was awarded with funding from the Economic Stimuli program of the Peruvian Ministry of Culture. ------------------- THE VERBAL MATTER AN ANTHOLOGY OF PERUVIAN SOUND POETRY It is difficult to imagine today\'s world without thinking about the influence that inventions such as the phonograph, the gramophone, the radio, the telephone or the microphone have exerted on the fields of culture, communications and human relations since their appearance in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of the activities that are part of our daily life originated in that auditory revolution and in those that came after: from the appearance of tape recorders and personal players, to the infinity of resources that the socialization of the digital revolution brought about. Today these technologies are available to anyone. We all carry a cell phone, a device that can record, reproduce, store and transmit sounds. What we know as sound poetry is the product of that technological revolution. A long process that took shape in the 20th century, until it became a discipline, articulated as an international movement, which, based on phonetic research, expanded into a universe of oral/vocal artistic practices as part of a new technological context. As a live and performative act, sound poetry has admitted multiple resources: accompaniment with video or dance, the use of live electronic techniques, multichannel systems, improvisation techniques, repetitions, mantras, solo or group actions, of simultaneous voices using samplers, loops, as well as texts, instructions or scores, among others. We are going to refer here, however, only to what constitutes sound poetry as a recorded piece. And in that sense, what distinguishes many works of sound poetry is that they make use of editing. Sound poetry, like cinema or radio art, is an art of montage, juxtaposition, concatenation, sound planes, that uses many resources from concrete music as well as from various digital processing techniques. But sound poetry is also an art of recording: it is therefore a performance of the voice, alone or electronically processed, before a microphone and a before a recording device. Like the songs we hear on the radio or any streaming platform, sound poetry is stored as a phonogram. Sound poetry also encompasses sound organization systems, from the design and control of parameters to complex computational processes with algorithms and Artificial Intelligence, working therefore in an area related to various methods of composition of contemporary or electronic music. The Verbal Matter: An Anthology of Peruvian Sound Poetry is an album that continues a cycle that began in 2009 with the appearance of a CD called Inventar la voz: Nuevas tradiciones orales [To Invent the Voice: New Oral Traditions] and was followed up in 2011 with another one called Irse de lengua [To Let It Slip], both of which contributed to articulate diverse manifestations of poetry that used technological means, also in the context of intense activity in the local scenes of experimental music and sound art that opened spaces for interdisciplinary dialogues. The present compilation brings together 22 sound poems, including both pioneering and current pieces, and constitutes itself as the first great overview of sound poetry from Peru. We find poems that work with montage techniques, either because they explore simultaneity or juxtaposition, such as those by Mario Montalbetti, Frido Martín, Florentino Díaz, Carlos Estela, Luisa Fernanda Lindo, Macri Cáceres, Rodrigo Vera Cubas, Tilsa Otta, Giancarlo Huapaya/Omar Córdova, Virginia Benavides, Lisa Carrasco and Luis Alvarado. Others emphasize vocal/oral performance: we find the phonetic poems of Carlos Germán Belli and Eduardo Chirinos, as well as the concrete conceptual poems of Michael Prado, Sandra Suazo, Peru Saizprez, and the oral/guttural poem of Omar Aramayo. Finally, we find another group of pieces, where the poem starts with the creation of a computational parameter or algorithm, as is the case with the pieces by Jorge Eduardo Eielson or Enrique Verástegui, eventually reaching the use of Artificial Intelligence as in the poems by Francisco Mariotti and Paola Torres Núñez del Prado. It is important to mention that Peru is a country with a great oral tradition, especially in the Andean and Amazon regions. It is also a country with a great linguistic diversity, 47 languages, many of them spoken in indigenous communities with little population, and running the risk of disappearing. This makes the implementation and systematization of recording technologies essential, urgent for the creation of oral history or spoken word archives. There are several projects underway, but there also remains much to be done. We can also find there a key to understand the process of sound poetry in our country, insofar as its origins, practice and development are related to how well established is an archive culture of our spoken word. Going back in time, in 1892 the Peruvian poet Carlos Germán Amézaga published a poem called “The phonograph”, which was recorded with the first phonograph that arrived in Lima. There we could read these verses: “The heart does not preserve harmonies / As the cylinder does... / Its sorrows and joys are erased / Everything in the heart, everything goes away!” [“No guarda el corazón las armonías / Como el cilindro aquel los guardará…/ Bórranse sus pesares y alegrías / Todo en el corazón, todo se va!”]. The cylinder mentioned by Amézaga is the recording medium of the phonograph. The poet describes the power of the machine to record sound, which he opposes to to oblivion as a human condition. The phonograph was undoubtedly an important tool for the development of ethnographic research and the preservation of oral tradition. In this sense, the great Peruvian writer, José María Arguedas, saw in the recording device and in radio broadcasting, important means for the preservation of folklore and endangered oral traditions. Arguedas has often been described as a man glued to a tape recorder, given his work as a compiler. Among the many recordings he made, in addition to Andean songs, there is a long and intense hymn poem of his authorship titled “Tupac Amaru kamaq taytanchisman” (“I sing to our father Tupac Amaru”) (1962), in Quechua and Spanish, published as a written poem, but also recorded in an oral version intended to be broadcast on radio, a medium that could potentially reach various remote villages on the mountains. In the poem Arguedas made a vindication of Andean culture, and established a communication between the chief god, son of the serpent, and the Andean people, in communion with their land, their animals, their landscape. \"Listen to the vibration of my body\" [Escucha la vibración de mi cuerpo], the poet is heard saying, perhaps seeking to reveal that spectrum of emotion which defines the orality of the poem. Due to its length, Arguedas took advantage of the recording machine to pause and then resume his declamation. If we listen carefully, we will be able to perceive the stop and start of the tape, and hear the renewed voice of Arguedas reappearing from time to time. The art of recording offers those possibilities. Towards the mid-70s Jorge Eduardo Eielson defined as “audio-paintings” [audiopinturas] or “verbal structures” [estructuras verbales] a form of vocal poetry that consisted of pieces presented as schemes, permutations and rhythms, whose intonation qualities opened an interstice between poetry and music. They were unique vocal performances that were recorded on tape and that constitute the earliest antecedent of a form of sound poetry produced by a Peruvian poet. The Verbal Matter is a sample of various moments in which Peruvian poetry has led to forms of oral/vocal art, based on an awareness of the poem as a way to start other chains of meaning in language. Sound poetry has been a way to bring the sounds of speech, the poet\'s own voice, to a stripped, dislocated area, where the poem emerges from that tension between sound and meaning. These are culminating moments or extreme moments, and therefore also insular moments, an inquiry into the border with that purely auditory dimension, mediated by new technological devices, where the poem takes shape in the air, is amplified and electrified. https://buhrecords.bandcamp.com/album/la-materia-verbal-antolog-a-de-la-poes-a-sonora-peruana 2022 €25.00
Fluxus & NeoFluxus: Stolen Symphony (Part I) do-LP https://subrosalabel.bandcamp.com/album/fluxus-neofluxus-stolen-symphony-vol-1 Double LP version. Gatefold sleeve; includes 24-page large booklet. All in all, there are more than 50 pieces, new and old, live and studio, finished pieces and scores to be performed, acoustic and classical, solos and pieces for ensemble, using classical and special instruments. This Fluxus edition features (in alphabetical order): Eric Andersen, Ay-O, George Brecht, John Cage, Giancarlo Cardini, Giuseppe Chiari, Henning Christiansen, Philip Corner, Öyvind Fahlström, Ken Friedman, Sten Hanson, Geoffrey Hendricks, Toshi Ichiyanagi, Joe Jones, Bengt af Klintberg, Milan Knízák, Alison Knowles, Larry Miller, George Maciunas, Sara Miyamoto, Nam June Paik, Yoko Ono, Opening Performance Orchestra, Benjamin Patterson, Josef Anton Riedl, Terry Riley, Takako Saito, Tomas Schmit, Dieter Schnebel, Mieko Shiomi, Yasunao Tone, Ben Vautier, Yoshi Wada, and La Monte Young. The musicians and performers Anna Clementi, Agnese Toniutti, Deborah Walker, Werner Durand, Luciano Chessa, Miroslav Beinhauer, Petr Bakla, Nicolas Horvath, Petr Ferenc, and Premysl Ondra have played, performed and declaimed the Fluxus pieces, Arditti Quartet and S.E.M. Ensemble provided one piece from their archives. Milan Knízák, Petr Rezek, Petr Kotík, Olaf Hanel, Eric Andersen, Per Brunskog, Peter van der Meijden, Pavlína Morganová, Natasha Lushetich, Joseph Nechvatal, Natilee Harren, Martin Patrick, Diedrich Diederichsen, Christopher M. Reeves, and Hubertus von Amelunxen have written Fluxus-themed texts. Archivio Conz in Berlin provided access to their extensive Fluxus archives and Edizioni Conz provided coproduction. Ursula and René Block made possible the realization of John Cage's historical composition "Rozart Mix" from the Edition Block archive. The photographic material comes from Marie Knízáková and Milan Knízák's private archive, the German photographer Wolfgang Träger, Archivio Conz's Fluxus archive and Opening Performance Orchestra's digital archive. The cover themes are paintings by Milan Knízák, while the graphic design is the work of Jaroslav Buzek. 1. La Monte Young Composition 1960 #15 to Richard Huelsenbeck (1960) by Agnese Toniutti (Piano) 04:27 2. Milan Knízák DKH Quartet (edit) (1973) by Arditti Quartet 04:39 3. Henning Christiansen Wolfsflöte (1986) by Werner Durand (Winds) 04:02 4. Giuseppe Chiari Metodo teorico e pratico per suonare il violoncello (1962) by Deborah Walker (Cello) 07:45 5. Milan Knízák White Process (from the cycle Processes Mainly for the Space of Mind) (1978) by Petr Ferenc (Voice) 00:47 6. Dick Higgins Emmett William's Ear (1977) by Agnese Toniutti (Piano) 09:42 7. Milan Knízák A Chromatic Scale in Countermovement (1971) by Miroslav Beinhauer (Broken Piano) 02:07 8. Henning Christiansen Sturmsax (1986) by Werner Durand (Winds) 03:39 9. Yoshi Wada Lip Vibrator (1973) by Ostravská Banda & Audience (Paper Tubes) 02:26 10. Terry Riley Shoganigidi #1 (2021) by Miroslav Beinhauer (Broken Piano) 03:19 11. Yasunao Tone Clapping Piece (1963) by Residents of the Institute Ostrava Days directed by Eric Andersen 02:37 12. Mieko Shiomi Direction music for a pianist (1990) by Agnese Toniutti (Piano) 26:01 13. Dieter Schnebel An-sätze (1985) by Anna Clementi (Voice) 05:39 14. La Monte Young Composition 1960 #7 (1960) by Nicolas Horvath (Piano) 01:20 15. Eric Andersen It isn't bad (2021) by Eric Andersen (Voice) 01:06 16. Eric Andersen Opus 1961 (1961) by Miroslav Beinhauer & Petr Bakla (Piano) 05:31 17. Bengt af Klintberg Triad No.1 (2021) by Werner Durand (Bottles) 05:15 18. Mieko Shiomi Imaginary Garden No. 3 (2009) by Miroslav Beinhauer (Piano) 07:36 19. Milan Knízák Material Events (from the cycle Processes Mainly for the Space of Mind) (1978) by Premek Ondra (Voice) 01:31 20. Giuseppe Chiari Gesti sul piano (1962) by Luciano Chessa (Piano) 04:37 21. Öyvind Fahlström Morgon (1952-55) by Anna Clementi (Voice) 05:33 22. Philip Corner A really Lovely Piece Made For & by Agnese (2019) by Agnese Toniutti (Piano) 03:15 23. Terry Riley Ear Piece (1962) by Luciano Chessa (Oscillator) 05:02 24. Philip Corner Small Pieces of a Fluxus Reality (2018) by Agnese Toniutti (Piano) 02:28 25. Benjamin Patterson Paper Piece (1960) by Luciano Chessa (Paper) 06:01 26. Philip Corner Toy Piano (2012) by Agnese Toniutti (Piano) 02:21 27. Sten Hanson A Living Man (Poem) (1971) by Anna Clementi (Voice) 03:53 28. La Monte Young 556 for Henry Flynt (1961) by the Residents of the Institute Ostrava Days, direction: Eric Andersen) 09:22 29. Yoko Ono Conversation Piece (1962) by Anna Clementi (Voice) 08:07 30. Opening Performance Orchestra Stolen Symphony (2021) (Electronics) 21:27 31. Milan Knízák & Phaerentz & Opening Performance Orchestra BROKEN REBROKEN edit (2020) by Milan Knízák, Phaerentz & Opening Performance Orchestra 03:00 2023 €25.00
  Struppig Schweben (LES MARQUISES / TROUM / KILLER+LICHT-UNG / ANDREW LILES) CD https://licht-ung.bandcamp.com/album/struppig-schweben "About once or twice a year you can head out to Leverkusen in Germany, where the Licht-ung labels puts on a small festival, which always results into a CD release. Each festival has the word ‘struppig’, meaning ‘shaggy’, followed by another word, such as ‘Mahlen’ (painting, Vital Weekly 1405) and ‘Droehnen’ (droning, Vital Weekly 1323). November 26, 2022 it was time for ‘schweben’, floating. It’s unclear to what extent the musicians keep the title in mind. Every night has four or five artists/groups, meaning they have quite some space to fill on the CD. Only in the vase of Killer + Licht-ung (also a musical concern, next to the label), we deal with a live recording; or, perhaps, we don’t hear it with the other pieces. The CD starts with the for me unknown quantatity of Les Marquises, of which Discogs says “Les Marquises is a French experimental pop band founded by Jean-Sébastien Nouveau in 2010”, yet Nouveau is the only member. He has a lovely piece of slow drones, presumably recorded with guitars, loopers and effects and the whole thing is a beautiful gorgoeus, slow-evolving piece of drone music, with, surprisingly, also percussion. Very atmospheric, and also very musical, a great piece and certainly a band to hear more work from. Troum is next up and one could say the big stars of the evening, along with Andrew Liles. Their piece might also be more of a microphone recording, judging by the quality, and shows them doing what they do best, playing moody and spacious music, which could maybe use a bit more definition, but is a damn fine piece. Killer + Licht-ung’s piece is called ‘Jeans Beast (irgendwo & unvermittelt), which may have something to do with the musician Jeans Beast, also known as Julian Flemming, but I have no idea what. Their piece is also based around drones, but contains a most curious form of percussion, sounding like moving around objects (chairs?) in the performance space. The drones are generated by guitars and feedback and grow in intensity. Andrew Liles is the only that doesn’t play the pure drone card but has four quite different sections. Opening with piano music, hard strums rather than gently playing, and some obscured samples, slowly morphing into a drone/organ piece with more schwung. More synthesisers in the third part, ending with a pulse beat and voice from TV/film. It’s the sort of thing we’d expect from Liles; soundtrack-like, collage, a bit of a cut-up and an altogether different kind of atmospheres, delivering the goods as expected." [FdW / Vital Weekly] 2023 €12.00
VAN HASSELT, JAN & CHRISTOPH OGIERMANN Der Bau 2 x MC + BOOK https://aufabwegen.bandcamp.com/album/der-bau "Ich will mich nicht aufspielen aber, sie verzeihen, meine Position ist die des, wie würden sie es nennen, religiös rituellen Spezialisten, was bedeuten würde, dass man mir alles glaubt. Das ist natürlich Unsinn. Aber da ist gar kein Bild. Also, wenn sie den Bau betreten würden, wäre alles nur schwarz." Von verrauschten Audio-Kassetten erklingen seltsame Stimmen, Texte, wie herausgerissene Seiten aus einem Science Fiction Roman. Sie handeln von dem ›Bau‹, einem gigantischen Stahltank, unweit einer überfüllten Stadt. Fließt etwas hinein in den Bau oder heraus? Kann man ihn betreten? Und wenn ja, ist darin überhaupt etwas zu finden? Getragen, zersetzt und paraphrasiert von elektrischen Schwingungen, singenden Rückkopplungen und den akustischen Schatten der Zukunftsindustrie lässt Jan van Hasselts Lecture Performance ›Der Bau‹ ein dystopisches Kopfkino entstehen. DER BAU wurde als Theaterperformance entwickelt und 2021 in der Schwankhalle Bremen aufgeführt. Die Performance erscheint nun als Buch plus zwei Audiocassetten im Schuber beim Verlag aufabwegen in Köln. Die Musik auf den Tapes des Komponisten Christoph Ogiermann entstand aus der Theatermusik und wurde um weiteres Material ergänzt. Jan van Hasselt Jan van Hasselt arbeitet als Theater-, Film- und Radioautor in Bremen. Seine Performances und Filme bewegen sich gerne an den Grenzbereichen zwischen Film, Kunst und Literatur. Sie wurden in Deutschland, der Schweiz und Österreich in Galerien, Theatern und auf Filmfestivals aufgeführt. Es entstanden Kollaborationen mit Marc Richter (Black to Comm), ANKK L and Christoph Ogiermann. Jan van Hasselt is a writer, filmmaker and soundartist based in Bremen, Germany. In the last years he mainly worked for theatre, where he produced lecture performances combined with film and live music as well as hybrid performance formats. He collaborated with Marc Richter (Black to Comm), ANKK L and Christoph Ogiermann. www.jvhasselt.de Christoph Ogiermann Geboren 1967. Beginnt 1990 auf Anregung von Erwin Koch-Raphael zu komponieren, schreibt seither Musik. Tätigkeit als Rezitator, Sänger, Geiger und Tastenspieler in den Bereichen Freie Improvisation / Konzeptimprovisation und europäische Kunstmusiken. Komponist. Kurator. Abschluß des Kompositionsstudiums an der Hochschule für Künste Bremen bei Younghi Pagh- Paan. Weitere wichtige musikalische und philosophische Studien bei Georges Nicolas Wolff und Nicolas Schalz. Born in 1967, Christoph Ogiermann began composing in 1990 at the suggestion of Erwin Koch-Raphael and has been writing music ever since. He received his diploma in composition in 2000 from the Bremen University for the Arts (Hochschule für Künste), studying with Younghi Pagh-Paan. He also undertook important musical and philosophical studies with Georges Nicolas Wolff and Nicolas Schalz. He works as reciter, singer, violinist and keyboarder in the fields of improvisation and european arts-music. soundcloud.com/ogiermann https://aufabwegen.bandcamp.com/album/der-bau 2023 €30.00
VENROOY, ESTHER Shift Coordinate Points LP Schon mit “To shape volumes, repeat“ (CD, Robo Records] war diese belgische Komponistin aufgefallen, jetzt erscheint diese sehr konzeptuelle Soundart-Platte als erste LP-Veröffentlichung auf dem britischen ENTR’ACTE, die ominöse Spionage-Radiodurchsagen als Soundquellen benutzt. “Composed and produced by Esther Venrooy in 2005. Commissioned by Happy New Ears with the kind support of the Flemish community. In 1997, British maverick label Irdial-Discs collected a selection of so-called ‘numbers stations’ or ‘spy stations’ recordings under the title The Conet Project. This plays like a ‘best of’ of more than 30 years’ worth of secret radio and contains fragments of American, German, Swedish and Russian transmissions. Belgian composer Esther Venrooy was given permission to work with the material and for the occasion of the celebration of 75 years of Belgian radio created a highly personal interpretation of the medium’s secret history. Using manipulated sound and collage techniques she manages to distill an abstract poetry of sounds and thereby succeeds in extracting some meaning out of these hermetic transmissions.K9 moved back into the combat area ‹ Standing now in the Chineseyouth sent the resistance message jolting clicking tilting through the pinball machine ‹ Enemy plans exploded in a burst of rapidcalculations ‹ Clicking in punch cards of redirected orders ‹ Crackling shortwave static ‹ Word falling ‹ Photo falling ‹ Break through in Grey Room ¬ Pinball led streets ¬ Free doorways ¬“ [label description] “About nine years ago, Irdial Records released a four CD 'The Conet Project', collecting sounds from number stations, or spy stations: transmissions found on radio waves of various secret services. A great and no doubt worrying work, if you understand the consequences of it, but also a wealth of great sound. I believe it is not allowed to use these sounds at will (I forget what the fuzz was all about, but somebody got sued for sampling some of it), but Esther Venrooy asked and got permission to use the material to create a sound piece for Belgium radio, which existed seventy-five years. If one is familiar with the original 'Conet Project' recordings, then it's easy to spot all the original voices ('five - three - two - zero - five'), but Venrooy knows her classics in music, especially that of musique concrete: the sudden shifts in sounds, the gentle gliding electronic tones, but also incorporating a little melody at the beginning of the second side. There is nothing really frightening about these voices anymore, they are isolated from the original context, and placed in this new, abstract picture, where they become voices of the unknown. They no longer have their original meaning, but rather a new one. This is a more than excellent record, and by far the best work by Venrooy to date.” [FdW / Vital Weekly] 2006 €15.50
VOICE OF EYE Substantia Innominata 10inch "geistermusik aus der wüste... oder der wind in den felsen... voice of eye's beitrag zur substantia innominata serie auf drone. voice of eye haben schon ganz am anfang dieser anderen serie auf drone-records, der 7” reihe (genauer: im november 1994; dr-09), einen beitrag bringen können, der das ganz eigene drone-verständnis von diesem us-duo noch immer perfekt mitteilen kann. einer der gründe dafür mag sein, dass voice of eye (immer noch) zum teil selbstgebaute geräte nutzen, oft in form von streichinstrumenten, deren klang, zusammen mit flöten, stimmen und fieldrecordings quasi aus dem stand eine eigenartige stimmung evozieren kann. vor allem aber vermeiden sie dabei jede art von bombast oder auch nur das endlose übereinanderschichten von einzelnen spuren. die beiden haben, mit anderen worten, einfach ein sehr gutes gespühr für aufbau und spannung und eine sehr eigene vorstellung von klangästethik: einzelne töne sind in ihrem sound in einer form texturiert, die unmittelbar anspricht und voice of eye erreichen das, meiner meinung nach, neben der nutzung dieser wirklich ausgefallenen, exotischen instrumente, gerade nicht durch geheime effektgeräte, sondern vielmehr durch eine eher fast karge bearbeitung, durch ein rohlassen des klangs. daran hat sich seitdem (zum glück) nichts geändert, die “substantia innominata” 10” baut in allen drei stücken (“vira”, “dhyana”, “purusa”) auf dieses klangverständnis und webt (und das ist hier mal fast wörtlich zu nehmen) ein sehr zartes und transparentes gespinst mit einer, technisch gesehen, für eine 10” geradezu unglaublich langen spielzeit. musikalisch / atmosphärisch dann mit diesem zeit-ausschalt-faktor, den nur wirklich packender ambient schafft. daher: volle empfehlung (auch wenn die superlange spielzeit ihren vinyltribut fordert)." [N, Unruhr.de] "This release marks the comeback of the legendary duo from New Mexico, USA, consisting of BONNIE McNAIRN and JIM WILSON! Over a decade ago (1992-1995) VOICE OF EYE released three albums with their unique style combining ethnic, ritualistic & folklore influences in an experimental and highly organic way to create a kind of "transcendental drone ambience", using only "real" instruments & self-built devices and an array of electronic effects. In November 1994 they released an EP entitled "Sprocket" on Drone Records (DR-09), which is still one of the absolute highlights in the Drone series. After this first phase of musical creation VOICE OF EYE focused on building an incredible "Earthship" house in the deserts of New Mexico. In 2007 they returned doing shows in the States, Germany, France & Italy and releasing two limited CDRs. This 10" has 3 tracks with NEW material (entitled "VIRYA", "DHYANA" and "PURUSA") inspired by the wisdom of Buddhist / Advaitic meditation & philosophy, where the contemplation within music & sounds appears as a tool to reach a higher consciousness & awareness of reality. This highly sublime & emotional "other-dimensional" ambience is based on lots of ethereal vocal material, flute-sounds and their typical self-built string-instruments, full of yearning and beauty - almost 39 minutes of material coming on clear vinyl with golden striae, with superb artwork by THOMAS DOHMEN. This is the celebration of the "Unknown", seen as a state of mind where the Ego dissolves into a timeless universal consciousness." [label description] 2008 €12.00
VOLCANO THE BEAR / LA STPO The Shy Volcanic Society at the Beat and Bird Parade CD "A split CD containing five tracks from Volcano the Bear and four by STPO. The French group STPO is a long existing and very underestimated group with limited releases over the years. Their history of dadaist and experimental music started in 1984. Beta-lactam Ring released and re-released some of their older material. For this release they choose four tracks that were recorded in 2003 and were not included on earlier releases. These tracks again illustrate their very odd musical universe. I admire them for staying close to their unique musical vision and language. For Volcano the Bear things are opposite in at least one aspect. Namely, they released already a bulk of records in the past. Less bizarre then STPO Volcano the Bear refer in their experimental music to folkmusic. Their compositions stay somewhere in the middle between song-structure and soundcollage. Also they are one dimensional compared to the compositions of STPO that are structured along the inimitable logic of their musical fantasies. The same for their carefully worked out arrangements. The over the top and very expressive vocal work by Pascal Godjikian is the heart of most of the tracks on this CD. Can't get enough from them." [DM, Vital Weekly] "CD issued early May 2009 as an edition of 500 copies in a full color gatefold sleeve. A split album with Volcano the Bear and La STPO. VTB tracks 1-5 and STPO tracks 6-9. Bears and Birds, oh my! One side keeps the hot hot. And the other keeps the weird weird. VTB’s typically atypical entomological set scratches like a hive that has evolved just to the point of thumping out tribal fealties to its giant insect God-Thing. Environmentally ritualized sub-rhythms mix musique-concrete with actual concrete, forming freakishly minimal foundations for the hive of whatevers to swarm within. Noise, once again, for heroes. All this, of course, juxtaposed against France’s hidden reverse: La STPO, who absolutely let it blurt. Their pounding system of post-post-punk-neo-Zeuhl cracks the mantle, with bass lines thicker than Sequoias. And louder than screaming Sequoias. La STPO vacillates between two extreme extremes: something approximating a kind of industrial strength nouveaux bâtiments s'effondrants (German buildings are not the only ones susceptible to collapse), and crushing riffs ala SunnO))). Pascal Godjikian’s fierce grunts and barks keep the hive on the other side believing he is their God-thing. He is someone’s God-thing, that’s for sure." [label info] www.blrrecords.com "Diese Split-CD vereint Stücke zweier experimenteller Bands, Volcano the Bear aus England und La Société des Timides à la Parade des Oiseaux aus Frankreich. Beide bieten, so viel vorweg, alles andere als leichte Kost. Volcano the Bear zeigen sich bereits reichlich unkonventionell. Die bis auf einige textlose Lautäußerungen instrumentale Musik wälzt sich wie ein zeitlupenartiger Klangstrom aus den Boxen, ohne dabei eine rechte Form anzunehmen. Streich- und Blasinstrumente mäandern entlang, allerlei Schlagwerk rumpelt vor sich hin, dazu knurrt oder brummt ab und zu jemand, was letztlich wie ein weiteres Instrument klingt. Einige undefinierbare Geräusche vervollkommnen das Ganze. Da hört man gelegentlich schrilles Kreischen wie von einer Kreissäge, oder wurde da ein Instrument malträtiert? Wer weiß. Ein andermal spielt eine einsame Flöte (oder ähnliches) eine seltsam schiefe Melodie, nur von sporadischen Beckenschlägen begleitet, oder Blechbläser stimmen eine Art ländliche Weise an. Äußerst kurios. So strukturlos diese Klänge sich über weite Strecken zunächst präsentieren, herrscht doch nicht völlige Planlosigkeit, es scheint doch irgendein System dahinterzustecken. Auf jeden Fall entwickelt diese Musik nach anfänglicher Skepsis eine starke Faszination. LaSTPO agieren hier noch ein ganzes Stück avantgardistischer als auf ihren mir bisher bekannten Alben. Vor allem die Stimme von Sänger Pascal Godjikian schlägt hier noch wildere Kapriolen, es ist kaum möglich, dieses permanente Knurren, Bellen, Heulen, Brüllen, Würgen mit Worten adäquat zu beschreiben. Da glaubt man, der selige Demetrios Stratos von Area sei wieder auferstanden! Dazu liefern seine Mitstreiter Klänge, die mit dem üblichen Verständnis von Rockmusik, auch von progressiver, kaum noch etwas gemein haben. Das ist zu großen Teilen schon radikale Anti-Musik! Da knarzen Streicher in Zeitlupe, als würde ein alter Holzschrank quälend langsam über einen Dielenboden gezerrt, Bläser schnarren, Schlagwerk rasselt, bis unvermittelt eine gigantische Lärmeruption einsetzt, in der die einzelnen Instrumente nur noch durcheinander purzeln. Les Oreilles Internationales treibt es in dieser Hinsicht auf die Spitze, es wirkt wie ein einziges Konglomerat unterschiedlichster Arten von Lärm. Und immer wieder die brutalen Lautäußerungen, als deren Urheber man kein menschliches Wesen annehmen möchte. Diese Lärmorgien sind wirklich so ziemlich das krasseste, das ich je gehört habe. In Worten lässt sich kaum beschreiben, was hier auf den Hörer einprasselt. Grandios! Mehr davon! Warum gibt es nur so wenige CDs von LaSTPO? Tipp für alle abenteuerlustige Hörer! Und wer die Gelegenheit hat, die Band live zu sehen: Hingehen! Es lohnt sich!" [Jochen Rindfrey / Babyblaue Seiten] 2009 €14.00
VON EULER-DONNERSPERG, DITTERICH Weisheit aus des Kindes Mund tut uns stets die Wahrheit kund LP Ditterich von Euler-Donnersperg, also known as Uli Rehberg and most certainty other names, is a mythologized figure in Germany's industrial underground. The man behind Walter Ulbricht Schallfolien, a label responsible for early releases by Throbbing Gristle and SPK and for being the home of the enigmatic Werkbund, it is long believed that Ditterich is part of, or completely behind, Werkbund himself. A Colourful Storm presents another piece of his puzzle. Wisdom from the child’s mouth always tells us the truth. It’s hard to overstate the influence of Ditterich von Euler-Donnersperg on A Colourful Storm; indeed, it’s almost impossible to imagine the label’s existence without it. A figure whose movements within Germany’s industrial avant-garde span almost forty years, it would be in 2010 that he unknowingly entered our orbit through two important releases. At the time, SPK’s Auto-Da-Fé and Throbbing Gristle’s Journey Through A Body left some impression on us, their discovery propelling an interest in the possibilities opened up by industrial music that we still explore today. Responsible for publishing these releases was Walter Ulbricht Schallfolien - who, or what, were they? Founded in 1980 by Hamburg-based Uli Rehberg, Walter Ulbricht Schallfolien was a base for Laibach, Asmus Tietchens and Werkbund as well as Rehberg’s own artistic endeavours: the most devilishly humorous his adopting of the name Dr. Kurt Euler, spokesperson of a satirical political party comprised of musicians Felix Kubin and Gregor Hartz. The project would foreshadow the life of Ditterich von Euler-Donnersperg, an alias unveiled in 1998 with the first in a series of spoken word 7” picture discs that have since become highly collectable. Attracting an enviable list of collaborators throughout his career (John Duncan, Thomas Köner and Column One have all lent their expertise), it is perhaps the enigmatic Werkbund project that remains most coveted within the world of von Euler-Donnersperg. Cloistered and clandestine since their inception in 1987, their brooding, synthetik atmospheres have long been speculated to be the work of von Euler-Donnersperg himself. Listen to Werkbund’s Skagerrak or Stahlhof and tell us we’re wrong... The culmination of decades of sound research and electroacoustic investigation, Weisheit aus des Kindes Mund tut uns stets die Wahrheit kund is significantly also a tribute to von Euler-Donnersperg’s children, their voices and spoken word hocus-pocus conjuring clairvoyant visions amongst soaring metallic sheen and spectralist digital debris. Cybernetic ooze spilling into servers and causing subdued bleep signals and static. A slasher film soundtrack starring the German avant-garde dressed in laboratory coats. The latest piece of von Euler-Donnersperg’s peerless, endlessly imaginative puzzle. https://acolourfulstorm.com/album/weisheit-aus-des-kindes-mund-tut-uns-stets-die-wahrheit-kund 2021 €20.00
VON HAUSSWOLFF, ANNA All Thoughts Fly (Pink) LP Sacro Bosco (“Sacred Grove”) is the starting point for Anna von Hausswolff’s new album All Thoughts Fly, incoming on Southern Lord on 25th September. Here in solo instrumental mode, the entire record consists of just one instrument, the pipe organ, and represents absolute liberation of the imagination. All Thoughts Fly radiates a melancholic beauty, and is distinguished by fluid transitions of contrasting elements; calmness and drama, harmony and dissonance, much like the place that inspires the music. Sacro Bosco is a garden, based in the centre of Italy, containing grotesque mythological sculptures and buildings overgrown with vegetation, situated in a wooded valley beneath the castle of Orsini. Created during the 16th Century, Sacro Bosco was commissioned by Pier Francesco Orsini, some say to try and cope with his grief following the death of his wife Guilia Farnese, others speculate the purpose was to create art. About the album Anna explains “there’s a sadness and wilderness that inspired me to write this album, also a timelessness. I believe that this park has survived not only due to its beauty but also because of the iconography, it has been liberated from predictable ideas and ideals. The people who built this park truly set their minds and imagination free. All thoughts fly is a homage to this creation, and an effort to articulate the atmosphere and the feelings that this place evokes inside of me. It’s a very personal interpretation of a place that I lack the words to describe. I’d like to believe Orsini built this monumental park out of grief for his dead wife, and in my Sacro Bosco I used this story as a core for my own inspiration: love as a foundation for creation.” The accompanying video for the first single “Sacro Bosco” is, just like the music, an interpretation of the park with an imaginary twist. Directed by Gustaf and Ludvig Holtenäs. Anna summarises, “Sacro Bosco in Bomarzo is a creation carved out from one man’s head. A frozen thought lasting throughout time and touching people across generations. All thoughts fly, Ogni Pensiero Vola, is about this: the importance of sharing for surviving, creating space and evolving. Once you’ve shared your words they are not only yours anymore.” All Thoughts Fly ultimately embodies the exploration of any and all possibilities, and the audience is invited to listen, liberate the mind and let it wander. Notes on the recording process: The organ on All Thoughts Fly is situated in Gothenburg and is a Swedish replica of the Arp Schnitger organ in Germany. It is the largest organ tuned in Quarter-comma meantone temperament in the world. With it’s four manuals, one pedal and 54 stops, it was built as part of a ten-year research project reconstructing 17th Century North German organ building craft. The tuning temperament is an important detail to note here, as it deeply affects the sound and tuning, and thus radically changed the process of creating this album. Anna speaks of a pleasant surprise during recording, the organ’s ability to create beautiful “pitching” notes through its stops and air supply system. She remarks “We took advantage of this so most of the pitching sounds and notes that you hear on the album comes from the mechanics of this organ, effects made entirely acoustically.” The organ was recorded with two room mics for atmosphere and two pairs of close mics placed inside the organ to capture nuances and detail for further organ sound processing by Filip Leyman in his studio. All songs written & played by Anna von Hausswolff Organ sound design by Filip Leyman and Anna von Hausswolff Produced and mixed by Anna von Hausswolff & Filip Leyman Mastered by Hans Olsson at Svenska Grammofonstudion Recorded in Örgryte New Church, in Gothenburg January 2020. Organ recorded with mobile equipment from Svenska Grammofonstudion Cover photo & inner sleeve photo by Gianluca Grasselli Layout & design by Tina Damgaard https://annavonhausswolffsl.bandcamp.com/album/all-thoughts-fly 2022 €25.00
VON HAUSSWOLFF, C.M. (CARL MICHAEL) Squared CD "digipak designed by Richard Francis. Ltd. to 300 copies On “Squared”: Squared consists of two longer pieces. a) is a recording of a live performance executed at ZKM in Karlsruhe. It is an abstract piece of music that has evolved during the time the composer has performed live - since 1980. For the composer, generally, a live performance is always the "same thing", but listening to the early recordings it occurs that the music has changed drastically - only the format is still there. This is analogue to life in general - Earth looks the same like always, but, of course, it isn't. This piece won the Karl Sczuka Price Price in 2014. The piece is a co-production with ZKM | Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie Karlsruhe and Südwestrundfunk (SWR). b) is a piece using the sound generated from the soil in the German cemetery in Montevideo, Uruguay. With a technique called emission spectroscopy the composer has experimented with the frequencies that emits from the actual material in the ground and by pulling out samples from these recordings, organising them and looping some this piece became the soundtrack for the film "North Cemetery, Montevideo, Uruguay" directed by Jan Håfström, CM von Hausswolff and Juan-Pedro Fabra Guemberena. Biography: Carl Michael von Hausswolff lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden Since the end of the 70s, von Hausswolff has worked as a composer using recording technology as his main instrument and as a visual artist using video and still photography as well as other media. He currently curates the sound-installation FREQ_OUT (including artists like Jana Winderen, JG Thirlwell, Finnbogi Petursson, Anna Ceeh and others) and collaborates with artist Leif Elggren, film-maker Thomas Nordanstad, EVP re-searcher Michael Esposito and author Leslie Winer. He has exhibited in documenta, Kassel, the biennials in Venice, Moscow, Liverpool, Istanbul, Sarajevo etc and in Rijeka, Stockholm, Nicosia, Tokyo, London, New York etc. His music has been played in festivals such as Sonar (Barcelona), Red Bull Adademy, CTM (Berlin), L’audible (Paris), el niche Aural (Mexico City) etc. and released on record by labels alike RasterNoton (Berlin), Touch (London), Laton (Wien), auf abwegen (Cologne), iDeal (Göteborg) and MonoType (Warszaw). www.cmvonhausswolff.net" [label info] www.aufabwegen.com 2015 €13.00
VORTEX Phanopoeia CD "... Phanopoeia erschafft so einen dunklen, atmosphärischen Spannungsbogen, der einen immer wieder in die Finsternis führen kann, ohne dass man dort verharren müsste. Alles in allem keine Musik die sich anbiedert, und ganz gewiss kein Album, das es einem sehr leicht macht, es zu erschliessen, aber eines, dessen Erschliessung sich lohnt." [KMF, BLACK Magazin] "The German ritual drone project Vortex is dedicated to the British art movement of Vorticism of the early Twentieth Century (1913-1920). Founded as an own vision of Futurism by Wyndham Lewis and expressed in the legendary magazine Blast (1914) Vorticism defined the artist as someone gaining creative power and inspiration out of the chaotic vortex of creative energy. The name was introduced by the Vorticist protagonist Ezra Pound who also coined the phrase 'phanopoeia': the idea of creating poetry for all senses. The music of Vortex pays audiovisual homage to the great Vorticist art. Psychedelic drones, ritual drums, processed sounds, glimpses of acoustic harmony, and original sound documents are blended to grant a holistic sensory experience. Vortex, the solo-project of a :Golgatha: -member, transcends the limits of dark ambient soundtracks on a quest for the unknown. Vortex is pure psychoactive energy. (TESCO) Tesco 074 http://www.myspace.com/vortexphanopoeia" [label info] 2009 €15.00
VROMB Jeux de Terre CD Das erste VROMB – Album erschien 1993 auf Tesco und wird inzwischen zurecht als Klassiker betrachtet – irgendwo in der Grauzone zwischen dunklem ambient Industrial und rhythmisch-futuristischer Elektronik siedelte VROMB seinen ureigenen Stil an.. "until 1993, hugo girard's only appearance on record had been on a canadian compilation cd (adolphe présente), but these new ambient industrial sounds caused enthusiastic reactions in europe and canada. the first full length release was a canadian / german label collaboration: 'jeux de terre' . this cd was beautifully packaged in a 7"x10" cover and the disc was in a hand numbered paper sleeve. also included was a postcard and several large prints of nicely drawn insects - the text was in both french and english. the original 'jeux de terre' has been deleted for years. now there is the opportunity for vromb addicts to get it again. this re-release is in celebration of the ten year anniversary of vromb. the concept behind 'jeux de terre' (earth plays) was of a journey through an imaginary world of insects. insects that had not been identified yet - as you can now read in english for the first time. 'insects, go for food or discovery, warzone, life purpose at the insect dimension' as girard explains it. the sound on this disc is less beat oriented than later vromb releases, but nevertheless it is partly rhythmic. drones and basses create a hypnotic and sometimes threatening atmosphere. you might seem to hear natural, even sampled, insect sounds but there were no samplers used. just 'strictly analog and digital synthesis'. you can hear what makes vromb's music unique even on his debut. a soundtrack to a film yet completed. the ant-zen re-release contains one unreleased extra track which was intended for the original version and an 8 page booklet which includes a modified version of the original artwork." [label info] 2003 €13.50
  Polygonie LP vromb creates unique soundscapes consisting of analog synthesizers, pure electronic music, fascinating subtle music layers and sci-fi sounds. he explores the possibilities offered by geometric shapes and repetitions translated into sonic patterns and plays with the eruption of both known and unidentified sounds. on 'polygonie', hugo girard aka vromb explains: “invaders do exist, they are everywhere surrounding us. and certainly in my head, they are sonic'. at first, created by vibrations in the air, they evolve into physical forms: triangles, squares, spheres. free and constantly transmuting, they become airborne, moving around and above us. some of us might perceive them, and i could swear at certain moments i see them. their abstract movements dance and get enmeshed in a synchronized choreography within a constant progression, reshaping and reforming. 'polygonie' is like recalling of memories from childhood, where i witness the intriguing beauty of electronic music. the contour of a tridimensional object that could provide us multiple shapes to see, to hear, to feel.” in the independent underground electronic music scene, veteran producer vromb has such a solid and well respected reputation for his releases as well as for his intense sonic live presentations. since 1993, the canadian hugo girard has released about two dozen records and cds on reputed labels from germany, austria, canada, the united states and france such as ant-zen, hymen records tesco organisation, klanggalerie, angle rec and hushush. as the audio live mixer at the legendary maschinenfest told us: we love the music of vromb - with his analogue gear and his production techniques we always can reach the maximum of dynamics on our sound system. it is rare, that an artist is able to produce such are pureness of power and sound https://ant-zen.bandcamp.com/album/polygonie vromb creates unique soundscapes consisting of analog synthesizers, pure electronic music, fascinating subtle music layers and sci-fi sounds. he explores the possibilities offered by geometric shapes and repetitions translated into sonic patterns and plays with the eruption of both known and unidentified sounds. on 'polygonie', hugo girard aka vromb explains: “invaders do exist, they are everywhere surrounding us. and certainly in my head, they are sonic'. at first, created by vibrations in the air, they evolve into physical forms: triangles, squares, spheres. free and constantly transmuting, they become airborne, moving around and above us. some of us might perceive them, and i could swear at certain moments i see them. their abstract movements dance and get enmeshed in a synchronized choreography within a constant progression, reshaping and reforming. 'polygonie' is like recalling of memories from childhood, where i witness the intriguing beauty of electronic music. the contour of a tridimensional object that could provide us multiple shapes to see, to hear, to feel.” in the independent underground electronic music scene, veteran producer vromb has such a solid and well respected reputation for his releases as well as for his intense sonic live presentations. since 1993, the canadian hugo girard has released about two dozen records and cds on reputed labels from germany, austria, canada, the united states and france such as ant-zen, hymen records tesco organisation, klanggalerie, angle rec and hushush. as the audio live mixer at the legendary maschinenfest told us: we love the music of vromb - with his analogue gear and his production techniques we always can reach the maximum of dynamics on our sound system. it is rare, that an artist is able to produce such are pureness of power and sound 2022 €26.00
WE STOOD LIKE KINGS USA 1982. A new Soundtrack for the Movie Koyaanisqatsi do-LP "The Brussels-based post-rock band We Stood Like Kings announces the release of a new film music project entitled USA 1982, intended as an alternative soundtrack for the American cult movie Koyaanisqatsi directed by Godfrey Reggio. After BERLIN 1927 and USSR 1926, this third opus USA 1982 – the band’s most ambitious project to this day, a musical reinterpretation of a movie famous for its original score by Philip Glass – embodies the musical maturity of the band which since 2012 has devoted itself to the accompaniment of masterworks of silent cinema. In 2017, despite celebrating its 35th birthday, Koyaanisqatsi remains profoundly modern. The relationship between humanity, nature and technology illustrated by Godfrey Reggio, Ron Fricke and co. in the movie finds itself at the heart of the challenges of today’s society. USA 1982 will be released on Friday, September 22, 2017 on CD, LP and digital through the German label Kapitän Platte. At the crossroads between Chopin, Pink Floyd and Explosions In The Sky, We Stood Like plays instrumental progressive rock tinted with neoclassical influences thanks to the central presence of the piano." https://kapitaenplatte.bandcamp.com/album/we-stood-like-kings-usa-1982 2017 €22.50
WERDER, FELIX The Tempest - Electronic Music CD "Please note: "Banker," "Oscussion" and "The Tempest" were all released on LP in the early 1970s. The master tapes of these pieces were all lost in the ensuing years. And the pressing of "Banker", unfortunately, was substandard. With considerable work the pieces were able to be recovered from their LP recordings. In the case of "Banker", a degree of surface noise, and pressing distortion remain. This is also true, but to a much, lesser extent, with "Oscussion" and "The Tempest". Felix Werder was born in Berlin in 1922. Possessed of an omnivorous musical curiosity, over the course of his career, he has explored many of the issues of concern in contemporary music, from serialism and aleatoric techniques, through opera, improvisation, graphic notation and electronics, always through the lens of his intense expressionist aesthetic. His father was Boaz Bischofswerder, one of the leading cantors and Jewish liturgical composers in Berlin, and a member of Schoenberg¹s circle. At 8 years old, he started copying his father¹s scores, and considerable musical experience ensued. All this came to an end in 1934, when the family emigrated to England to escape the Nazis. For 6 years, they lived in England, and Felix began to study music, fine arts and architecture in a series of English institutions. At the outbreak of World War II, the family, along with almost all the other German-Jewish refugees in England, were declared enemy aliens, and offered a chance to emigrate to Canada, where they would work for the war effort. For some reason, the ship, the Dunera, headed for Australia instead, where Felix and his father, and 2000 other German-Jewish refugees were placed in internment camps, and held prisoner for the rest of the war. It was under these circumstances that he wrote his first Symphony, in 1943. On his release from the prison camp, he worked for a while as a jazz bassist in Sydney, before moving to Melbourne and beginning his musical career. In the 1950s, along with fellow composers Margaret Sutherland, Dorian Le Gallienne, and later, Keith Humble, they formed the core of Melbourne¹s small, but active new music scene. From 1955, Felix taught music and art history at the Melbourne Council of Adult Education, as well as privately teaching many generations of Australian composers, and he was music critic for The Age newspaper from 1960 until 1977. He became involved with radio in the mid 1970s, producing new music programs for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in the 1970s, and community radio in the 1980s and early 1990s. For 20 years, his performance group, Australia Felix, gave concerts of new Australian music both in Australia and in Europe. Werder was introduced to the use of electronics in the late 1960s by his friend Bruce Clarke, whose Jingle Workshop was the first commercial electronic music studio in Australia. He shortly thereafter acquired an EMS VCS3 analog synthesizer, and incorporated electronics into his performances. His group gave some of the earliest live electronic performances in Australia, two of which, "Banker" and "Oscussion", are recorded on this CD. In 1974, he worked with the EMS Synthi 100, a large digitally controlled analog synthesizer in the studio at the University of Melbourne, where he produced his electronic masterpiece, "The Tempest - After Giorgione¹s "Tempesta". By the late 1970s, however, he had largely stopped working with electronics, as he devoted himself more and more to composing chamber works for his ensemble (and others) to perform. In the early 90s, with my urging and assistance, he made one foray into the world of computer music, with the contrapuntal fantasy "V/Line." He has not returned to the medium since then. His electronic work, then, forms a small but unique part of his output." [From the liner notes by Warren Burt] www.pogus.com 2007 €13.00
WHARTON, DONATO A white Rainbow spanning the Dark 10inch "Donato Wharton is a composer based in London, UK. He has previously released three records for the Manchester and Berlin record label, City Centre Offices. The most recent of these was the 2006 release, 'Body Isolations'. 'A White Rainbow Spanning The Dark' therefore marks his first publicly released work in five years and his first for Serein. Born in Cardiff and raised in Germany, Donato continues to travel extensively with his work as sound designer for stage and theatre productions. The influence of these journeys can be read in his chosen track titles; together, they evoke a sense of great distance and expanse. These are not wistful tales of missing home, however, neither of new faces nor unfamiliar cities. The inspiration stems directly from the act of travelling, of being in transit thousands of feet above land. 'A White Rainbow Spanning The Dark' mirrors the changing landscapes of our planet, 'A Vast White Solitude', 'Ink Mountains', 'A Thousand Miles Of Grass'. By pushing the limits of his tools of creation, primarily guitar and field recordings, Donato introduces swathes of noise into his compositions, shaping it as a sculptor chisels stone to form topographies of often rugged terrains, blustery, cold and unforgiving. The startling opening to 'In A Mute Scape' has you standing in the middle of a vast plain, your voice long lost to the wind, ringing in your ears. There is something inherent to these pieces, though, which stops them from becoming too unforgiving or desolate. At times it is as if we observe these elemental environments from some safe haven or shelter, perhaps looking down from a window seat far above the land. This record marks a sure-footed step forward for Donato on his quest for refinement, reduction and concentration. Artistically, one of his greatest triumphs is having crafted a style which is uniquely his own - 'A White Rainbow Spanning The Dark' couldn't have been written by anyone else, and that is surely a compliment of the highest order." [label info] www.serein.co.uk 2011 €10.00
WHETHAM, SIMON Hydrostatic CD " ‘Hydrostatic’ was commissioned by the McNeill Street Pumping Station New Music Festival, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA in November 2011, and presented as a multi-channel performance. Simon Whetham spent more than a week exploring the site, capturing the sounds of the space, the vibrations of the buildings, the spirit of the community and perhaps the echoes of past activity… Mastered by Miguel Carvalhais.. Simon Whetham – Biography 2013 Over the past eight years Simon Whetham has developed a practice of working with sound recordings as a raw material for composition. These are often environmental sounds he has captured employing a variety of methods and techniques, in order to obtain discreet or obscured sonic phenomena. In removing sound from it’s source, sometimes amplifying it significantly, it becomes abstract – familiar yet otherworldly. More recently, when presenting work in a performance or installation, for him the space and the objects within become instruments to be played. Simon has a large number of works published through many specialist organisations, including Touch Music, Cronica, Dragon’s Eye, Monochrome Vision and Entr’acte; has performed extensively internationally; collaborated with artists from musicians to performance artists, painters to video artists, dancers to poets; has run listening and field recording workshops in UK, Colombia, Chile and Australia; and received a large number of commissions and awards for projects and installations – notably ‘Active Crossover’. Supported by the Arts Council England and PRS for Music Foundation, the project comprises sound installation, performance, collaboration and workshops. ‘Active Crossover’ has toured six cities in the UK, and also been hosted in Estonia, Argentina, Australia, Chile and Colombia, with future residencies in Germany and Norway in 2013." [label info] www.aufabwegen.com "SIMON WHETHAM, dem wir zuletzt als Eyjafjallajökull-Gestrandeten im April 2010 in Lissabon begegnet sind, treffen wir wieder im November 2011 in Shreveport, Louisiana. Das dort stattfindende McNeill Street Pumping Station New Music Festival hatte ihn mit einem Beitrag beauftragt. Er verbrachte eine ganze Woche in dem einstigen Pumpwerk, um den hydrophonen und postin­dustrialen Genius loci oder Hausgeist zu begegnen. Das Rauschen von Was­ser, der Geschmack von Eisen, Rost und Patina wurden zu Ingredienzen sei­nes Dröhnscapes Hydrostatic (aatp39), den nicht zuletzt der Fluss der Zeit durchströmt. Pfeifende Laute und geisterhaft summende evozieren dabei et­was Älteres als das Industriezeitalter. Hölzernes und metallisches Gestöber suggeriert eine verlassene Geisterstätte, eine Ruine, die nach noch Brauch­barem durchsucht wird. Organum hat schon auf Vacant Lights solche Klänge eingefangen, Ephraim Wegner hat kürzlich ähnliche in verlassenen Hotelrui­nen gefunden. Immer ist damit ein ‘Danach’ verbunden, ein ‘Vorbei’. Latten scharren über den Boden, der Wind faucht, als wollte er noch den letzten Eindringling verjagen. 1887 in Betrieb gegangen, wurde bis 1980 dampfbe­trieben, heute ist das McNeill-Pumpwerk ein National Historic Civil Enginee­ring Landmark. Whetham erschafft mit droneüberwölbtem Getröpfel und Ge­plätscher die Illusion einer Quelle, des verborgenen Anfangs einer Lebens­ader, die hier mit nahezu kultischer Aura widerhallt und wieder als pumpende Mechanik zu ‘atmen’ beginnt. Das Elementare, das das vermeintlich so ratio­nale und funktionale Maschinenzeitalter ignoriert und verdrängt hat, kommt wieder im Denkmal zum Vorschein, nachdem die Funktionalität modernisiert und inzwischen noch unbewusster geworden ist. Ich glaube, es war Ernst Jünger, der zuletzt Zweifel an einer Freiheit hatte, die davon abhängt, dass Wasser, Strom und Gas in unsichtbarer guter Hand sind." [Rigobert Dittmann, Bad Alchemy] "The ever so busy bee Simon Whetham and his multiple travels around the world. Here we find him guest of the McNeill Street Pumping Station New Music Festival in Shreveport, Louisiana in November 2011 where Whetham spend a week going about this pumping installation to create a multi-channel performance of his music. It's not only the pumps, but the complete site, the buildings and the people around it that have been captured by him and collages into five pieces of music, totaling around 53 minutes. With Whetham, I must admit, I am never sure what it is that he does. Obviously he picks up sounds from the environment, that's hardly a secret, but then what does he do? Is he playing them one at a time (which I doubt), is he layering them together, or is there any sort of electronic treatment going on? I assume the latter is the case, but I might be wrong altogether. Whetham does apply 'musical' techniques to create his music, like using loops in the fifth part of a jackhammer, the melodic drone touch in the third part and such like. He creates all these little touches which stretches it far beyond the mere documentation of a certain area. Spooky and mysterious at times, this is another fine addition to what mounts to a vast amount of releases by now. It's almost on par with his recent 'Never So Alone' (see Vital Weekly 870), which I thought was his best so far. This one is almost as refined I am to say. It's only in the smaller, somewhat untouchable details that I think this is just a bit less. Just a bit, I may add. If the name Whetham is new to you, then 'Hydrostatic' is an equal fine starting point." [FdW/Vital Weekly] "The globe-trotting British sound artist Simon Whetham found himself in Shreveport, Louisiana in 2011 where he was commissioned to develop a body of work based on the defunct MacNeill Street Pumping Station. This artifact of the 19th Century was the last known steampowered water plant in the United States and has been a historical site for several decades now. He was one of many acclaimed artists asked to contribute to the seemingly inactive MacNeill Street Pumping Station New Music Festival, alongside Tim Hecker, Lawrence English, Mark Fell, Eli Kezler, and about a dozen other denizens of avant-garde soundcraft. It was a great idea to have all of these artists develop compositions, installations, and performances within such an interesting space; and we can hope that the festival is merely on temporary hiatus. Needless to say, here we have the stereo mix of Whetham's multichannel installation that he presented at the festival. His source material consists of drones from the huge metal pools and the network of pipes from that space, focusing mostly on the resonant frequencies of the ghostly drones and watery tones. Overlapping, sinewy electric vibrations tumble into a pool of isolationist dank at the beginning of the album before a reverberant flute utters a solitary bellow amidst the metallic klang reverb articulating two of the techniques of Whetham's sound-hunting - that of the contact microphone on sonorous objects and the open-air recordings of those reflective surfaces. Deep, low-end rattlings gird the bulk of Hydrotasic with wind-swept thrumming, agitated found objects, and plenty of nocturnal clutter being moved around by the ghosts that lurk in the sticky humidity of a Louisiana swamp, or at least that's what it sounds like. Brilliantly akin to the processed field recording work of Jonathan Coleclough, Thomas Koner, and BJ Nilsen." [Aquarius Records] 2013 €13.00
WHITMAN, KEITH FULLERTON / ALIEN RADIO split LP "We are stoked and honoured to release this Deutsch-Amerikanische meeting of two Meisters of the Modular Electronic Music System (originally invented by Don Buchla in 1963 for the likes of Morton Subotnick, Ramon Sender, Terry Riley et al at the San Francisco Tape Music Center). Both are presenting very distinct approaches displaying the vast possibilities of the machine yet maintaining similar Klang aesthetics (and maximum quality). KFW is a renowned master of the Modular, especially in live situations. 101105 is Whitman captured at his most symphonic. Recorded last year at one of the semi-monthly The Bunker parties in Brooklyn opening for members of Ectomorph he sent the audience (all high on LSD) straight into sawtooth arpeggio heaven. 101105 is a condensed edit of these recordings, cut on 45rpm for maximum fidelity. KFW has released records on a myriad of labels, most notably on Kranky and Planet µ (under his Hrvatski pseudonym). Last year's (vinyl-only) album Disingenuity b/w Disingenuousness on Pan made it into many year-end Top 10 lists, including The Wire and Boomkat. This year Whitman has been commissioned a residency at GRM studios to work on a piece for François Bayle's original 80-channel acousmonium! Alien Radio is one of many aliases of Northern Germany's Ulf Schütte, a (part-time) member of Datashock, Black To Comm, Aosuke, Phantom Horse, etc. and founder of the Tape Tektoniks cassette label. His recent Modular System explorations showcase a more basic, sketchy and song-based approach, reminding of Jan Jelinek's Ursula Bogner recordings and having been compared to the likes of Conny Planck, Delia Derbyshire and Dick Raaijmakers. His debut release was a split 7 on the Belgian Kraak label with Köhn, Ducktails and Peaking Lights." [label info] www.dekorder.de 2011 €13.00
WICKED MESSENGER Dreamer / Redeemer CD "Wicked Messenger was created in autumn 2006 in Germany by Martin Kränzel, as a means of bringing truly dark and grand ambient music to the world. The music of Wicked Messenger juxtaposes the religiousity of music with modernism, creating an anarchic hybrid of monumental sounds and expressions. A soundscape like no other. A rite of passage. Dreamer|Redeemer is a continuation and a further development of what has been achieved with 'Officium Nocturnum', an exploration of the realms where the within and the without coincide. It consists of two movements and an interlude. It is monumental." [label info] www.plaguerecordings.com 2012 €11.00
WIRTSCHAFTSWUNDER, THE Preziosen & Profanes (Singles & Raritäten 1980-1981) LP Compilation with all singles, sampler contributions & rarities of the Limburg post-punk/neue welle/electro/left- field pioneers The Wirtschaftswunder. Including the songs from the first EP ‘Allein’ released in 1980 on War- ning/Ata Tak and the songs from the uber-single "Television/Kommissar" (ZickZack, 1980). Essential compila- tion of one of the most important German bands of the 80s. 2021 €21.50
WYRM Divination Bones (2nd extended ed.) 7 Excellent abstract drone-experimentalism by this mysterious project by the long active ALLAN ZANE, feat. LIZ LANG (AURACENE); this is second, revised & complete version of both tracks previously released as a picture-7", due to a pressing mistake an uncompleted version has been pressed before - which means everyone who bought already the pic-7" can get this second edition FOR FREE (excl. postage)! "Während auf der Picture-7“ die Demoversionen zu finden sind, schob Drone Records nach Betriebsschluss seiner 7-Zoll-Serie eine zweite Edition mit dem Original nach- und bildet damit den Kreislauf zweier Kompositionen nach. Tradiert feldrekorderhaft und mit der Betonung auf Troum’sche Harmonielehren setzen sich in zwei spitzenintendierten Stücken geradezu vexierte Spiralen an Klang und schleichender Verdichtung in Gang, die in ihrer schleifigen Ruppigkeit dem Trägermaterial Vinyl eine Menge abgewinnen- während die Demo deutlich spurenarmer ausfällt, nimmt sich die Komposition im ausformulierten Zustand mehr Zeit während die sonore Klangmechanik weitaus differenter ausgearbeitet ist. Der Gestus beider Stücke fällt in den Zuständigkeitsbereich von irr. app. (ext.) und bietet neben dissonanten Saitenexperimenten Versatzstücke der Hauntologie in quälender Zeitlupe. Als letztes Signal von Drone Records eine wahrlich lohnende Investition: Käufer der Picture-Disc bekommen die Platte beim Bestellvorgang sogar umsonst dazu. 5/5" [Thorsten Soltau / AEMAG] 2011 €6.00
X-NAVI:ET Dead City Voice LP "Dead City Voice" is the second vinyl album by Rafał Iwański aka X-Navi:Et(of HATI, Voices of the Cosmos, KAPITAL, Innercity Ensemble fame). It's the follow-up to acclaimed "Soundtracks for the Dying Moments" LP released on Instant Classic last year. It contains 6 new electroacoustic compositions recorded from 2010 to 2013. The theme of the city has appeared in the modern art territory quite a few times before. Wim Wenders, a cult German director, once said that "thecity shapes people, leaves its stigma on them and deforms them to its own likeness." Murray Schafer, a Canadian composer, while working on the concept of "soundscape", claimed that many of the surrounding sonic incidents infiltrates the music of our times. Following the footsteps of Charles Baudelaire among others, urban artists, Rafał Iwański and Ewa Bińczyk, replayed the city, penetrated its spirit and echoed it in their activities. Telling the city by means of sound and vision is becoming an inward journey as well. Inside the cover one can also find the literary text by Dariusz Brzostek (Ph.D. at the University of Toruń, Poland) - a literari, anthropologist and music journalist who has collaborated with many magazines, such as Glissando, Trans/Wizje, Antena Krzyku, Teksty Drugie, Magazyn Fragile. Visually the album is of the highest value. The gatefold cover is adorned with works by Ewa Bińczyk. Additionally, a special edition of 33 copies will include genuine intaglio prints signed by the author making it a true collector's item. The album was released by Zoharum in collaboration with Eter Records, a label set up by Rafał Iwański to release music by his projects X-Navi:Et, HATI, Voices of the Cosmos in digital and analogue formats. The album is released in a gatefold cover in a strictly limited edition of 250 copies." [label info] www.zoharum.com "On vinyl, in a fine fold out cover, we find Hati's Rafal Iwanski's solo project X-Navi:et. Both this and his Hati project are quite active when it comes to releasing music, so you could wonder: do they ever sleep? The main concept behind the six pieces on his new LP is the 'city', but not in a very strict sense I would think. This is not twice 20 minutes of city sounds, or something like that set to music, but pieces that depict the sounds of city through musical means. He uses analog filter machine, analog synthesizer, sampling pad, loop system, hulusi, bells, rattles, metal objects, field and found recordings and effects. Me think that a lot of the acoustic sources here have been sampled and treated extensively before finding their place inside a composition. Take for instance 'Tinnitus Auris': the tinkling of bells are the sounds that a lorry makes when trying to park. Next to that we hear a conveyer belt like sound - the other cars on the same street. Below that is a fiery drone-ventilation shafts on the side walk. That's what I heard. In the other pieces there is a similar liveliness, which we find a big cities - not in the street where I live, and not many cars or people pass on an ordinary working day. But of course all of this is easily said, when you look at the title(s), the picture, the text and such like and make these connections with a big city. I wonder what someone would imagine playing this music as it is, without knowing these references; it might not be the city. But who cares about that? We know what it is about and it's the gesamtkunstwerk that counts. This is a beautiful record of some fine, dark ambient music, with a nice industrial touch to it, very occasionally. Great release!" [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2013 €16.00
XABEC Feuerstern (SOLD OUT) 7inch + box "Feuerstern (DR-92, 7“ EP in Kartonschachtel, dunkelrotes Vinyl) bringt zuerst das erhaben dröhnende Zentralmotiv des Auftritts von XABEC beim Audioframes Sonic Art Festival in Herne 2006 zu Gehör. Der Musiktherapeut Manuel G. Richter, der sich mit dem The Electric Mandala-Quartett (Hands, 2003-05) als Zengärtner profiliert hat, lässt meine blühende Phantasie wie Münchhausen auf einer dröhnenden Klangkugel zu den Sternen sausen, und macht dazu klackende Gaumenlaute. Für die B-Seite rahmt das von MNortham in Herne eingefangene Feuerwerk zur Performance und weiterer O-Ton Xabecs Dröhnen und Klacken ein und verortet es im Hier und Jetzt." [Bad Alchemy] "DRONE RECORDS is very proud to finally issue this long planned Drone by this prolific German artist! FEUERSTERN (which translates as "Firestar") captures two tracks of luminous tones & magnetic resonances which create a warm and floating aural flux. With mellow concrete material setting the counterpoint, very subtle hisses, smacking & clicking sounds can be distinguished. These are enriched further on Side B with field recordings by MICHAEL NORTHAM made in September 2006 at the Audioframes Sonic Art Festival in Herne. This was where FEUERSTERN was also performed in a choreographed way using fireworks! Very delicate tone colours and a perfectly balanced sound pattern allow for contemplative listening sessions... The 7" comes in a golden lettered & embossed grey cardboard box with golden printed grey inlay. Filed under: GLOWING DRONE-AMBIENCE more info: www.xabec.com DARK RED VINYL. COMES IN CARDBOARD-BOX WITH GOLDEN EMBOSSING." [label info] 2008 €10.00  
XEDH & CARLOS SUAREZ Cuculacanto CD "About: This album shows a series of improvisations that I realized with the Galician composer Carlos Suárez. His work, heir of a certain electroacustic tradition but subverted to a more visceral and private plane, is interesting for the reality that it reflects: his music is a result of an intense personal vision about the world, a music that it's real in essence. For our live collaboration I didn't try to adjust me to the particularities of his sound, it has gradually growing in unconscious forms of working that I abandoned long ago, but without falling in the imitation or the falsifications, using techniques and perspectives that I currently use. Our meeting, I want to believe, was so real as Carlos´s music. This CD serves as a small tribute to its work into the filed of electoacoustic, ethnomusicology and fieldrecording that he captured and developed away from the moder civilisation for many years. (M.A.G. / Xedh) German translation: Dieses Album zeigt eine Reihe von Improvisationen, dass ich mit der galizischen Komponist Carlos Suárez erstellt hatte. Seine Arbeit, die Erben eines bestimmten Elektroakustik Tradition, sondern unterwandert zu einer viszeralen und privater Ebene, ist interessant für die Realität, dass es reflektiert: Seine Musik ist ein Ergebnis einer intensiven persönlichen Vision von der Welt, eine Musik, dass es 'wirklich' im Kern ist. Für unsere Live-Zusammenarbeit habe ich nicht versuchen, mich auf die Besonderheiten seines Sounds einzustellen, wurde es allmählich in unbewussten Formen des Arbeitens, die ich vor langer Zeit aufgegeben, aber ohne zu fallen oder in der Nachahmung der Fälschungen, mit Hilfe von Techniken und Perspektiven, die ich derzeit verwenden. Unser Treffen, Ich möchte glauben, war so real, als Carlos Musik. Diese CD dient als kleine Hommage an seine Arbeit in den von Electoacoustic, Ethnomusicology und Fieldrecording, dass er genommen und entwickelt hat seit vielen Jahren aber entfernt vom 'Moderne Zivilisation.' "(M.A.G. / Xedh) "This is a sonorous eclectic offering. Collaboration album, abstract dark ambient, highly inspiring sound art work from two dedicated electro-acoustic and ethnomusicologists. Tracks: 01. Regresión afín 02. Varios errores 03. Sacrá nemesis 04. Juntos hacia la gran reverberación de los tiempos 05. Una última bienvenida Total run: ~ 42 min. Recorded live at Larraskito, Bilbao-Basque country. Edition by Miguel A. García." [label info] www.essentiamundi.com "Miguel A. Garcia sometimes works under his own name and sometimes as Xedh, and I am never sure when one comes into play and when the other. Maybe there is no separation? Here he works with one Carlos Suarez, of whom I think I never heard. He is from Galicia in Spain and works inside the field of electro-acoustic music. If I am well informed the pieces here were recorded through live improvisation in the studio which was then edited by Garcia. Garcia is at his best, at least for me, when he too works with electro-acoustic music, and stays away from overtly noise based excursions which he sometimes also does. Here he does stay away and together with Suarez he created five excellent pieces of electro-acoustic music which suggest lots of space between the cracks, sometimes artificially enhanced by the use of reverb. There is computer processing, analogue knob turning, field recordings of water and metallic rumble, looped and toyed around with. The overall mood of the pieces is more ambient and atmospheric than is perhaps usually the case with this kind of electro-acoustic sounds. More ambient than microsound I would say. Garcia has reconstructed the live recordings accordingly and without losing the aspect of a live recording, these five pieces are very good, well done and reshaped into the form of compositions, with heads and tails and fine structure. This is the Garcia I like and this CD is a fine addition to his rapidly expanding discography." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2012 €12.00
XENAKIS, IANNIS Phlegra (etc.) do-CD 1-1 Phlegra Conductor – Michel TabachnikEnsemble – Ensemble InterContemporain 13:15 1-2 Jalons Conductor – Pierre BoulezOrchestra – Ensemble InterContemporain 14:30 1-3 Keren Trombone – Benny Sluchin 6:33 1-4 Nomos Alpha Cello – Pierre Strauch 12:31 1-5 Thalleïn Conductor – Michel TabachnikOrchestra – Ensemble InterContemporain 17:22 2-1 Naama Harpsichord [Clavecin/Harpsichord] – Elisabeth Chojnacka 15:21 2-2 A L'lle De Gorée Conductor – Huub KerstensEnsemble – Ensemble Xenakis*Harpsichord [Clavecin/Harpsichord] – Elisabeth Chojnacka 15:28 2-3 Khoaï Harpsichord [Clavecin/Harpsichord] – Elisabeth Chojnacka 16:47 2-4 Komboï Harpsichord [Clavecin/Harpsichord] – Elisabeth ChojnackaPercussion [Percussions] – Sylvio Gualda 18:04 Total timing: 131'01. Includes a 16 page booklet in English, French and German. All pieces were recording in the presence of the composer. Recording locations: Städtischer Saalbau, Witten, April 1984 (2-4); Studio 107, Radio France, June 1987 (2-1, 2-3); Studio 103, Radio France, October 1987 (2-2); IRCAM, Paris, July 1990 (1-1, 1-2);Église Notre Dame du Liban, Paris, April 1990 (1-5), December 1990 (1-4), January 1991 (1-3). CD 2: 4 is a Westdeutscher Rundfunk recording. www.warnerclassics.com 2007 €14.00
YASNAIA Oniro do-CD Zoharum is proud to present “Oniro” an extended 2CD reissue of 1996 classic previously released by World Serpent - home to projects like Current 93, Death In June, Coil and alike. Leen Smets aka Yasnaia - vocalist of Hybryds project (until her departure in 2000) takes us on a great journey through many states of consciousness and dimensions. Her haunting and hypnotising voice guides us through 10 tracks of the album. Chants and incantations keep us captivated from very beginning to the very end. Dark rites and ethereal psychedelia. A sexual energy channeled in rhythm driven magical tribalism. Exclusive to this release is a second CD containing live performance recorded at "Wolfsmond", München, Germany on 16th of August 1997 giving you a pretty good impression of how the whole ritual conducted by Yasnaia might sound and look like. The CD ends with 3 tracks, two of which were previously released on 7” vinyls courtesy of Ant-Zen and Spectre (Nexus) and third has been unreleased - until now. A great testimonial of '90s Art of industrial music. Unparalleled and essential. 2CD edition of 500 copies comes in 6 panel digipack. Tracks 1-10 taken from the original album released by World Serpent in 1996. Tracks 11-17 Live recordings Track 18 taken from 7" Picture Disc (AntZen 1997) Track 19 taken from 7" split with Hybryds / P.A.L.(Spectre 1997) Track 20 unreleased https://zoharum.bandcamp.com/album/oniro-extended-edition 2021 €17.00
YEN POX Between the Horizon and the Abyss CD "Arriving on the scene in 1993 with their self-titled demo, Yen Pox immediately made their presence known with an ability to create monumental, light devouring soundscapes that transcended all that had come before it. Proceeding releases, including their debut CD, Blood Music, 2000’s New Dark Age, and the collaborative CD with Troum only solidified their standing and reputation. With Between the Horizon and the Abyss just being their first full length recording in over 15 years, Yen Pox will never be accused of being prolific. After all, with the two members spread out between Indiana and Washington State, creating new material doesn't exactly lend itself to convenience. But on the rare occasion that recordings do arise, it’s nothing short of masterful, reminding listeners why they’ve achieved such notoriety with such a limited discography, and why their recordings are consistently recognized as benchmarks within the dark ambient genre. Time between releases has been well spent, with the new material taking the early template and expounding upon it greatly, adding layers of industrial churn and structure to the infernal kosmische sprawl they’re so adept at creating. And yet throughout its entirety, Between the Horizon and the Abyss is remarkably polished and fluid. Within its realm, no seconds feel wasted, and every sound feels purposefully placed, even as it moves and flows in perpetual motion; strains of a distant angelic choirs fall beneath a complex array of arcing tones, liquidous, molten textures, & harrowing orchestral shimmer, with fervent masses of malevolent atmospherics billowing forth in glorious detail. While this technically falls under the banner of dark ambient, what Yen Pox has managed to create goes far beyond genre specifications and boundaries, crafting a new benchmark and adding a high water mark to an already stellar discography." [label info] www.malignantrecords.com "The year is 1995 and an extremely young label from Maryland has just begun to open its eyes to the world. Prior to this moment, its entire three-year existence had been dedicated to a ‘zine/compilation combination known as Audio Drudge, with a more official birth coming with a compilation of a different kind in 1994 that featured noise/industrial artists that ran the gamut from celebrated veterans in Illusion of Safety, Maeror Tri, and Contrastate, to what was at the time excruciatingly obscure in Söldnergeist, Vromb, and Kirchenkampf. It was an artist from the latter side of this list that was destined to give rise to one of the most important labels that post-industrial music has seen to this day—a label that, in the absence of Cold Meat Industry, has rightly taken its place at the helm as the leading name releasing the new generation of old-school industrial and dark ambient music today. That label is of course Malignant Records. And the artist? Yen Pox, the duo of Steven Hall and Michael J.V. Hensley, who tomorrow (May 5th) will be making their return after a full decade and a half of silence, save for a notable collaboration with another seminal dark ambient duo in Troum, Mnemonic Induction, and a little-known two-track 10″ on Drone Records, Universal Emptiness. This also requires one to overlook their respective solo projects in Veil of Secrecy and Blood Box, both of which have also been agonizingly slow to realize new music over the years. Yes, this is the project that began the maelstrom of high-quality releases that would make Malignant the monolith of the genre that it has become today, and that in itself should leave expectations at an absurdly high level for any curious ear. For the uninitiated, the project’s name should be enough of a hint to bring about hallucinatory visions of slow-rolling drones and desperate metallic chatter. “Yen Pox” was famously written by William S. Burroughs in Naked Lunch as being “the ash of smoked opium,” which should immediately lead one towards assumptions of the surreal brilliance held therein. Indeed, “The Awakening” arrives with a bass-end rumble that moves with enough sluggish grandeur, complex drones, and vastly cinematic space that it warrants comparisons to some of the finest names in the genre including deep audio extraordinaire Bad Sector and the aforementioned Troum. It is with this impressive track that Between the Horizon and the Abyss opens with the full force of a black hole, slowing down time and stretching it infinitely over an unimaginably monstrous mass, ripping metallic atoms apart with the pulsing black heart of the cosmos. Even “Tomorrow in Ruins” somehow leaves a similar astral impression as that of Ben Frost‘s incredible recent work with A U R O R A. There is a ritual edge present on some tracks as well, from the percussive clamoring and distant feedback howling of “Cold Summer Sun,” to the distant whispers and unnerving climaxing noise of “Grief Ritual.” However, this is only a minimal part of Yen Pox’s identity, as everything about Between the Horizon and the Abyss feels about as purely nihilistic as anything I’ve heard in recent years. The apocalyptic atmosphere present on the album is almost overwhelming at times, imparting an unforgiving amount of dread upon the listener as they float not through dreamy ethereal dimensions, but rather through the smokey black veils of what lies at the end of our journey. The intense album artwork and concise yet visionary track titles certainly don’t help one get an opposite impression though the radiant golds are an interesting and effective choice for such an atmosphere, but the music stands on its own as one of the most defining albums for dark ambient music of the past decade. Truly, at least to some degree, it sets a bar that leaves other modern releases from the genre sounding dry at best. Between the Horizon and the Abyss is one of the few releases of the past few years that has simply come as advertised. It is a triumph of the genre and is destined to be a celebrated gem. One can only imagine that it is the lack of quantity that has provided such astounding quality on Between the Horizon and the Abyss, but with this reminder that there are still new levels to achieve, we can only hope that it isn’t another 15 years of near-dormancy before another full-length surfaces." [S.L.Weatherford / Heathen Harvest] "A colossal record like this doesn't get made in a day, or even a year for that matter. It's actually been 15 years since Yen Pox has produced a new album. There was an excellent collaborative project the American industrial-ambient technicians did with the German pioneers Troum; and M.V. Hensley from Yen Pox has released a handful of albums under his moniker Blood Box. But, the last proper Yen Pox album, New Dark Age, arrived in the cold months of 2000. Not quite as slow in production as Giancarlo Toniutti, who took well over 20 years to issue a new solo album. But like Toniutti's immaculately conceived electro-acoustic wastelands, the records of Yen Pox are the stuff of epochal change, slowly revealing themselves through the dark veil between this world and another, or as the title implies between the horizon and the abyss. The scope of this work is suitably grandiose, following the template for the entire dark ambient genre that Yen Pox helped sculpt so many years ago alongside the likeminded projects Lustmord and Inade. The horror-laden drones that Yen Pox conceives are hardly static, as they spiral as if thrown from stable orbit by the all-consuming gravity of a black hole. The deep female vocal utterances are courtesy of the gothic siren Ruby Smith (aka Dark Muse) whose bellows and moans sporadically break through the dense clouds of Yen Pox' subterranean echo and reverb as the only ghosts of humanity to be found within this album. Bleak and heavy, to say the least." [Aquarius Records] 2015 €13.00
YEN POX & TROUM Mnemonic Induction CD " 'All minds dream, and all dreams are flavored with madness...' Completely re-mastered re-issue of this much requested dark dream-opus from 2002, now bringing out more sound details inside the endless amorphous morass; 4 movements, 63+ min. long. Comes with NEW artwork by GYDJA incl. the 'dream essay' by R.B. HENSLEY that should be read accompanying during this subconscious/subsonic experience.. "How could this be anything but perfect? Two of the most capable ambient projects of the current generation doing what they do best: dark ambient. I'm tempted to say nothing except that this is exactly what you hope it will be. Dark, escalating, imperious walls and oceans of titanic sound. Swelling currents of icy miasma swirling endlessly on through a descending subterranean river five miles wide. It rumbles and groans and shudders for ages. How does one get so much depth out of sound? .... The listener can penetrate so far into this landscape. The tones are so elaborately pieced together that the forefront is gauzy, wispy, ghostlike. On the horizon are huge stone structures, mountains, tornados of power but far away and almost invisible to the ear. Affecting you only by subsonic booms that rattle the soles of your feet. You can almost step into this and turn around on your heels, face your room and watch your body recede as you slip slowly away on a living ocean of sound." [Malignant Records] "German drone artist Troum and the American dark ambient project Yen Pox collaborate on one of the best albums released so far this year. Some might say that ‘Mnemonic Induction’ would make a great soundtrack for a film, and while that may be true, it would totally ruin the album. Other people’s images associated with this cd would never do it justice. Like they say, nothing can be worse (better than?) your own imagination, and such is the case here. The four long, untitled tracks have one thing in common, a deep brooding low end drone that gave my subwoofers a much needed work out. Layered over top are eerie wails and moans stretched out to inhuman lengths while bleak rumblings phase in and out. The best thing about this album is the way in which it is able to capture and hold your attention. Rather than becoming just good background music, it stays active, alternating between soaring expansiveness and claustrophobia. The slick digipack contains a paragraph about dreams and the separation of mind and body, but to use this cd as a dream aid, something to fall asleep to, would be a mistake. What the album does best is not to conjure strange dreams, but to evoke one’s waking memories, and associate the album with one’s own experiences. But try not to dwell on your bad stuff, this album deserves better." [Brainwashed 2002] listen & digital downloads: https://yenpox.bandcamp.com/album/mnemonic-induction 2015 €13.00
YUI, MIKI Lupe Luep Peul Epul CD 19 sehr klare, pure, hell schimmernde, aber auch dronig-sanfte Miniaturen mit “small sounds” von dieser japanischen Klangkünstlerin, die von Psychogeographie beeinflusst scheint... die Sounds tönen eher entspannt & ruhig, aber sehr eigentümlich & fremdartig, und sollen v.a. unbewusst wirken.... “...try to listen to the whole, to the resonance, to the interference between different sounds in the space. Like listening in a dreaming state..... small sounds are made for unconscious / subconscious perception. It triggers listener's personal acoustic memories to help re-discover musicality in our acoustic environment. “[Miki Yui]” "The latest release from sound/installation artist Miki Yui. Miki was born in Tokyo, Japan and currently resides in Cologne, Germany, presenting her work in galleries, on CD, and as soundtracks to theatre/dance performance and film productions. Lupe Luep Peul Epul is an extension of her well received 1999 release small sounds (BMB Lab, Cologne) taking sounds recorded in various spaces, often sampler processed natural/acoustically based, and woven them into intricate multi-layered compositions. These acoustic fragments are meant to fill in the sonic environmental gaps and create a new space that implies a layer of memories. Miki's sounds mirror memory loops -- bits and pieces of past sights, visions, feelings, echoed in warm sine tones, clicks, grit, and vibrating timbres -- recalled and then merged into the environment to return as new memories that let the listener sink into the moment of listening, creating a loop. This work is a loop for listening to our environment. It is designed to be played back in loop/random mode and at a quiet, transparent level." [press release] 2000 €14.00
Z'EV Outwaard CD Einen ganz anderen Charakter als "Inwaard" nimmt der zweite Teil der Zusammenarbeit von Z'EV & FRANS DE WAARD an. OUTWAARD wird dominiert von schwer ächzenden & tiefbassigen organischen Klängen, Tiergeräusche sind vernehmbar aber so sehr verfemdet dass man sich wie in einem fremden Dschungel mit 10facher Gravitationskraft vorkommt.. (in der Tat beruhen alle Sounds auf field recordings von Frans die er in einem Kleintier-Zoo machte). Z'EV hat sich stilistisch mehrfach gewandelt, und OUTWAARD ist wieder ein beeindruckendes Zeugnis von seiner Transformationsfähigkeit. Beängstigend gut !! "For close to forty years z'ev has been at the absolute fore front of new musics. Playing his unique brand of percussive music he gained a lot of attention, but in more recent years he returned to working with electro-acoustic manipulations. Since 2003 he has also begun a wide ranging series of collaborations, working with Francisco Lopez, Stephen O'Malley, David Jackman/Organum and Oren Ambarchi among others. One such ongoing collaboration is with Frans de Waard, with whom he released 'Forwaard' in April 2007 and 'Outwaard' is the next installment. Whereas the sound sources used on 'Forwaard' where of a varying nature, on 'Outwaard' they were all made at a petting zoo in Kleve, Germany. These recordings which are 'recoded' by z'ev into a forty minute, densely layered pattern of musique concrete. Many of the animal call like sounds disappear in the 'recoded' version and makes a particular strong work, but occasionally one returns and leaves a no less than haunting listening experience. The cover contains field photography Frans de Waard and was designed by Meeuw Muzak. It comes in the 15x15 cm cover that Korm Plastics has used before." [label info] www.kormplastics.nl 2007 €13.00
ZEITKRATZER [old School] Alvin Lucier CD "1| Alvin Lucier Fideliotrio [1987] 12:10 for viola, cello and piano 2| Alvin Lucier Music For Piano With Magnetic Strings [1995] 13:21 for grand piano and as many as five e-bows 3| Alvin Lucier Silver Streetcar For The Orchestra [1988] 10:03 for amplified triangle 4| Alvin Lucier Violynn [2001] 09:38 for violin and tape 5| Alvin Lucier Opera With Objects [1997] 10:59 for performers with resonant objects zeitkratzer directed by Reinhold Friedl || Burkhard Schlothauer < violin, viola, objects || Anton Lukoszevieze < violoncello, objects || Uli Phillipp < objects || Reinhold Friedl < piano, objects || Maurice de Martin < triangle, objects || Frank Gratkowski < objects || Hayden Chisholm < objects|| Matt Davis < objects || Hilary Jeffery < objects || Ralf Meinz < sound || [1-5] recorded live at Philharmonie Luxembourg, Luxembourg, October 3, 2009 [4] recorded at GreenHouseStudios Schwielowsee, Germany, June 4, 2010 recorded and mixed by Ralf Meinz and Reinhold Friedl, produced by Reinhold Friedl Beautyfull Lucier compositions, recorded at the Philharmonie Luxembourg. Including: Silver Streetcar, Fideliotrio, Music for Piano with Metal Strings, Violynn, Opera with Objects. And the thirs release in the series [old school] now ! “zeitkratzer are creating a New Music, worthy of the name!” [Rob Young, The Wire Magazine] The internationally acclaimed “hilarious releases” [vital weekly] of zeitkratzer records go on. This is the third release in the new series [old school]. The first two CDs, dedicated to the music of John Cage [zkr0009] and James Tenney [zkr0010] have been highly acclaimed. London’s Wire Magazine wrote: “The rigour and discipline they collectively bring to this compositions make both discs utterly enthralling, from start to finish.” The new release is dedicated to the music of Alvin Lucier. In 2011, the [old school] series will continue with two more releases, dedicated to the music of Morton Feldman [zkr0012] and Karlheinz Stockhausen [zkr0014] respectively. Alvin Lucier is one of the most outstanding American minimalists. He could be called a sound physician and his compositions regarded as acoustic research settings. Often his pieces turn inside-out the inner properties of the room they are played in and the instrument that they are played on. zeitkratzer had the chance to work with the composer in Dijon, France in 2008, and continued to work on and to program his music in different places. The Philharmonie in Luxembourg turned out to be the ideal space for recording. On this CD you can hear how Lucier enables zeitkratzer to create sounds, most people have never heard before. Ringing overtones, a singing piano, a thrilling concert triangle, pencils on little objects, and how irritating a violoncello, a viola and a piano can sound together creating sonic interferences. This music is not only a physical phenomenology, but becomes inherently a sensual listening experience." [full press release info] www.zeitkratzer.de "In der Reihe [old school] arbeitete ZEITKRATZER dieses mal mit dem amerikanischen Minimalkomponisten Alvin Lucier im Auftrag der luxenburgischen Philharmonie zusammen. Herausgekommen sind 5 Stücke die sich alle mit Obertönen und dem akustischen Phänomenen der gegenseitigen Klang-/Tonaufhebung, bzw. Beeinflußung befassen. Das Prinzip kennt jeder: Ein durchgehender Ton trifft auf einen schwingenden Ton und man meint, dass auf einmal beide Töne schwingen würden, was aber nachweislich nicht der Fall ist und eben ein solches akustisches Phänomen ist. Treibt man die Sache nun bewußt voran und lotet diese Grenzen klangtechnisch und kompositorisch aus, kann man wirklich sehr interressante Effekte im Raum und für eine Aufnahme erzeugen.Klänge verschmelzen und erzeugen dabei neue Musik! Großartig und spannend zugleich und gar nicht kopflastig, sondern wirklich sehr seltsam, wunderbar und auch noch schön anzuhören!" [Carsten Vollmer / Ox-Fanzine] "Old School is a series of works performed by Zeitkratzer Records dealing with one composer, although they are not always 'old' (as in 'still alive'). Following James Tenney and John Cage (see Vital Weekly 724), the ten piece ensemble performs here works by Alvin Lucier, another particular hero of mine. Lucier doesn't just compose pieces of music, he explores sound, and the way they move around in space. Zeitkratzer keeps to the scores, most of the times, such as in 'Silver Streetcar For The Orchestra', in which the triangle plays an important role or in 'Opera With Objects', where the orchestra plays with small objects indeed. These are the compositions by Lucier which are 'free' in a way: a set of instructions to be performed and Zeitkratzer is, as we know, good at that. The more fixed pieces here, 'Violynn' and 'Fideliotrio' (which I must admit have never heard performed anywhere else) seem to be following the score more careful, i.e. playing the right notes at the right time. Zeitkratzer does an absolute great job at that. Lucier's originals are expanded here into small ensemble pieces and each instrument gets his own place in the composition. Five excellent executions thereof. Old master pieces." [FdW/Vital Weekly] 2010 €15.00
  Zeitkratzer performs Songs from the Albums 'Kraftwerk 2' And 'Kraftwerk' LP 2nd volume of „modern composition supergroup“ (The Wire) ZEITKRATZER's re-interpretations of early compositions by electronic pioneers KRAFTWERK. In more than two decades ZEITKRATZER has created an astonishing broad catalogue from the obligatory (20th century avant-garde composers like CAGE or STOCKHAUSEN) to the unexpected (electronic artists such as CARSTEN NICOLAI, TERRE THAEMLITZ or underground experimentalists like THROBBING GRISTLE and KEIJI HAINO) – but hardly anyone was prepared for the ensemble’s choice of early KRAFTWERK pieces! When volume 1 was released in 2017, ZEITKRATZER founder and director REINHOLD FRIEDL announced that there'll be a volume 2 of course – and here it is:: from the opening drony horns of „Harmonika“ to the subtle guitar of the album closer „Wellenlänge“, the 4 tracks own all the interpretatory and aesthetic acerbity the ensemble is known and praised for. The first album made it immediately into “The Wire office ambience” playlist and to the “Best of Bandcamp Contemporary Classical Releases”: “ZEITKRATZER’s interpretations are bouncy, horn-driven motorik grooves, static explorations of pointillistic overtones, breathy Zen-like meditations, and rollicking rhythms.” The Spanish Rockdelux concluded: “Keep close and be happy to get more!” Sonic Seducer attested ZEITKRATZER to “uncover unexpected potential. It’s a blessing that the next KRAFTWERK is already announced!” And here it is! Now you can listen to all the music of the first two KRAFTWERK albums “as gloriously played as one could ever desire” (Vital Weekly). Recorded live at HELLERAU - European Centre for the Arts, Dresden in january 2019, „zeitkratzer performs songs from the albums „Kraftwerk 2“ and „Kraftwerk“ “ delivers the compositions that were still missing to complete zeitkratzer's stunning take on the early, hybrid kraut-esque electronic avantgarde albums “Kraftwerk” and “Kraftwerk 2”. Mission accomplished! A must-have. As German radio SWR agreed: “ZEITKRATZER is serious music turned from stiff to joy!” https://karlrecords.bandcamp.com/album/zeitkratzer-performs-songs-from-kraftwerk-2-and-kraftwerk 2019 €18.00
ZWEITRÄUME Flux CD-R A new name in the german experimental-ambience scene is ZWEITRÄUME (which you can read as / translates as “another rooms” but also “two dreams”); this album spreads on six tracks minimal sinus-tunes & micro-sounds, waves of enlightening drones, silences in between, classic music / found sounds – loops & samples, more concrete snaps & crack-sounds, and more harmonic drone-expanses...quite captivating and carefully put together for a intelligent listening experience... handmade cover in DVD-Box. 2005 €10.00
[-HYPH-] Breathing Gadgets CD-R “THIS IS A CONSTRUCT. IT DOES NOT CLAIM TO BE DEFINED AS A MUSICAL AMUSEMENT COMMODITY. DO NOT MEASURE IT BY >OBJECTIVE< PRODUCTION STANDARDS.”[from the liner notes]. One of the finest german experimental newcomers from the vivid Hamburg-scene is [-HYPH]. Non-easy listening noises in the vein of early BRUME or ARTIFICIAL MEMORY TRACE, very loopy and with dynamic changes all the time....comes in a very handmade cover, with true underground-spirit ! 2004 €10.50