Search results for "recommended"
"recommended" entries in albums descriptions
| Artist |
Album |
Format |
Description |
Year |
Price (incl. 19% VAT) |
|
| 2:13PM |
Anus Dei |
CD |
newcomer from France doing dark gloomy / doomy ritualistic impro-ambience with esoteric connotations, using analog electronics & animal sounds (?) and many other vocal sources, low-fi & original.. think of AETHENOR, SYLVESTER ANFANG, HALO MANASH, etc... recommended, to discover!! lim .150 copies, silkscreen cover
|
2012 |
€10.00 |
 |
| 300 BASSES |
Sei Ritornelli |
CD |
highly recommended project formed by A.C.MONTEIRO, JONAS KOCHER and LUCA VENITUCCI (ex ZEITKRATZER), all performing on accordion & objects, using special playing techniques to catch the vibrations, etc.. => breathing & gloomy bass-drones, scraping metallic noises & feedbacks, six very varied tracks between noise & near-silence, between instrumental & electronic sounds...
|
2012 |
€15.00 |
|
| ABANDONED ASYLUM |
Derelicts of distant Hope |
CD |
debut-album of Polish dark ambient project, highly atmospheric catacomb-drones based on analogue synths & skillful designed sounds & effects; recommended to fans of CYCLIC LAW & LOKI acts, lim. 500
|
2013 |
€12.00 |
|
| ABBILDUNG & PLATEAU OMEGA |
Anthropocosmos |
CD |
another strong release by the Transylvanian mystic ritual & ethno ambient project, who shares this CD with the so far unknown PLATEAU OMEGA (feat. WOLFSKIN) => ritualistic and oriental influences combined with sacral dark ambient, think of classic RAPOON or even DEAD CAN DANCE, but also newer NAM-KHAR, FIRST HUMAN FERRO, or SEETYCA.... recommended!!
|
2015 |
€13.00 |
|
| ACTION & TENSION & SPACE |
Explosive Meditations |
LP |
third album by this recommended 'space impro' outfit from Norway... "Free improvised and travelling up-right bass, chill-out combo organ, smooth drums, crispy guitars and a surfing lap-steel. If you combine the ambience from the NECKS and the doomsday revelations of PINK FLOYD's - a saucerful of secrets - you can get to where Action & Tension & Space are on this album..." - ed. of 400 copies on black vinyl
|
2019 |
€18.00 |
|
| AD LUX TENEBRAE |
Ghanood |
CD |
recommended (totally acoustic) authentic ritual music from the Ural woods, this time in collaboration with 121 of CLOSING THE ETERNITY... strings, bells, bowls, chimes & rainsticks form a 30+ min. contemplation with lots of shimmering gong/bells/metal sounds.. lim. 200 only !!
|
2014 |
€13.00 |
|
| ADORAN |
Children of Mars |
CD |
a mixture of dark drone / doom ambient and post-rock, and it really works... drifty percussion tunes are hidden behind a big wall of doomy bass guitar drones, "super hypnotic and super heavy" [Aquarius Rec.]!! ADORAN is the project of DORIAN WILLIAMSON (NORTHUMBRIA) and AIDAN BAKER (NADJA, etc.) who plays percussion (!) and this is their second album... highly recommended if you like it dark, guitarish and droney...
|
2015 |
€12.00 |
|
| AKBARI, ARASH |
Perpetual |
mCD-R |
it seems in IRAN an interesting experimental / electronic / sound art scene is evolving, ARASH AKBARI is one of those new discoveries from Tehran, with 'Perpetual' he presents a very absorbing long drone piece that creates lots of suction and width, revealing slowly micro-sounds and guitar / synth-like harmonics.. ... excellent piece, highly recommended ! - RE EDITION WITHOUT CASE
|
2018 |
€5.00 |
|
| ALDEA, ERIC & IVAN CHIOSSONE |
Kabul |
CD |
remarkable album by the ex BÄSTARD, based on field & traditional music recordings made Sept. 2003 in Kabul, Afghanistan; recommended for any lover of ethnic / oriental / field recording works! still to discover !
|
2005 |
€13.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| ALTIERI / BALESTRAZZI / BECUZZI |
In Memoriam J.G.BALLARD |
CD |
a tribute to the great British "intelligent science fiction" writer J.G. BALLARD, which also functions as a soundtrack to some of his best known novels, like "THE ATROCITY EXHIBITION", "CRYSTAL WORLD", or "CONCRETE ISLANDS" (tracks are named after novels) => very dense, dark, visionary industrial sounds, full of tension! A project by three Italian experimentalists, "eroticism, technology, consumerism and cruelty mingle together to create a new perception of reality", highly recommended!
|
2012 |
€13.00 |
|
| AMINI, SIAVASH |
TAR |
LP |
discovery from Iran on the Swiss label with 4 excellent experimental / ethereal drone-tracks, sharing a great spatial quality and quite massive electronic / granular sounds, with classical string instruments as sound sources, powerful and sublime at the same time... highly recommended! "This is Music to get lost in" [THE WIRE]
|
2017 |
€21.50 |
|
| ARTHUUR EN ENNO |
Music for headphoneheads |
mCD-R |
Drone Records-artist MOHR (DR-02) aka Andreaz Vogel is back with this new project. Comes in slimline-DVD-box with colour-cover. Great sounds, absolutely recommended!! Tiny edition of 20 copies
|
2007 |
€8.00 |
|
| ASHTORETH |
Rites I & II |
CD |
the first wider available full length release by this Belgian 'shamanistic' doom/drone project, the sounds can be raw and heavy but extremely meditative and otherwordly far away at the same time, a guitarish melancholy is often present, eternally fluctuating winds and aural substances are really transporting you to another (mind) place.. exceptional drone muzak, highly recommended !! lim. 500 copies
|
2019 |
€13.00 |
|
| |
Rites I & II |
LP |
the first wider available full length release by this Belgian 'shamanistic' doom/drone project, the sounds can be raw and heavy but extremely meditative and otherwordly far away at the same time, a guitarish melancholy is often present, eternally fluctuating winds and aural substances are really transporting you to another (mind) place.. exceptional drone muzak, highly recommended !! vinyl version lim. to 300 copies
|
2019 |
€20.00 |
|
| AUBE |
Reworks Stefano Gentile II |
CD |
highly recommended AUBE collaboration (with STEFANO GENTILE / UNDER THE SNOW), 4 long movements of beautiful waving drone-streams & shimmmers, very meditative & hypnotic... BACK IN STOCK! |
2008 |
€13.00 |
|
| BAD SECTOR & ASTRO |
Idioblast |
CD |
re-issue of this hard to find album from 2005 which is rather a full BAD SECTOR album than a real collaboration (=BAD SECTOR re-working some minutes of ASTRO source material) ; a dense & droney electro buzz one-tracker, 45 min. long, with many tiny micro-details, highly recommended if you missed the first edition
|
2012 |
€13.00 |
|
| BAKER, AIDAN |
There / Not There |
LP |
highly recommended new album which appears to be more like a new (experimental shoegaze / post-rock) band project => DANA SCHECHTER on bass (she played with SWANS and AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB), FIONA McKENZIE from HALMA on drums, and AIDAN BAKER on guitar and foggy vocals, with three extremely sensitive pieces, ranging from most gentle instrumentation to walls of noise... - lim. vinyl version
|
2020 |
€16.50 |
|
| |
There / Not There |
CD |
highly recommended new album which appears to be more like a new (experimental shoegaze / post-rock) band project => DANA SCHECHTER on bass (she played with SWANS and AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB), FIONA McKENZIE from HALMA on drums, and AIDAN BAKER on guitar and foggy vocals, with three extremely sensitive pieces, ranging from most gentle instrumentation to walls of noise... - - mastered by SIMON SCOTT (SLOWDIVE)!
CD version w. 4 panel cardboard sleeve
|
2020 |
€13.00 |
|
| BALESTRAZZI, SIMON |
Asymmetric Warfare |
CD |
four long tracks on the new 'glorious' world of modern warfare by the Italian (post) industrial pioneer (and member of favored DREAM WEAPON RITUAL) => extremely threatening ambient industrial, using audio recordings from middle east conflicts, electric metal plates, metal, wood and plastic objects and motors along with various effects and electronic gear to create a scary, distorted, feedbacking form of critical and challenging soundscape... very much recommended !
|
2015 |
€12.00 |
|
| |
Atti Innaturali |
CD |
on this album, S. BALESTRAZZI is the master of subtle microsounds, which seem to come from small metallic objects, bowls, gongs and chimes, often used backwards or strangely processed combined with casually interferences of concrete sounds...- in fact, he used a Ukrainian Tsymbaly mainly, a percussion-stringed instrument similar to the hammered dulcimer.. "...a deep and subtle tangle of flickering forms that guide us through a meditative and almost trance-inducing process." - lim. 200, highly recommended!
|
2022 |
€13.00 |
|
| BECUZZI, GIANLUCA |
Eternally now |
CD |
exciting new release by this Italian composer (known for his project KINETIX) using many structured metal / gong / bell-sounding elements and powerful drones, along with field recordings, polylayered voice material, etc... very interesting & versatile release, very much recommended !!
|
2011 |
€12.00 |
|
| |
Nothing is what it seems |
CD |
another new great album by BECUZZI with a wide range of sounds & atmospheres, heavenly drone-movements, absurd field recording-mixtures, more concrete mechanical metal vibes & complex noise-parts = electronics, environmental or concrete material from objects is arranged in an ever surprising & stunning way, every track is different. Recommended again !!
|
2011 |
€12.00 |
|
| BEGG, MICHAEL |
Titan : A Crane is a Bridge |
CD |
award winning work by the Scottish composer =>: an impressive audio installation made on / with the gigantic Clydebank Titan crane in Scotland (for the Sonica Festival 2017), which served as performance space and instrument, for the composition; he used field recordings from the area and self build aeolian harps capturing the winds, vibrations and resonances on/of the crane, thus 8 immersive drone-pieces with lots of layers and variations were constructed... highly recommended !!
|
2017 |
€13.00 |
|
| BEX |
Rosegger |
LP |
third album by this French composer + guests => very ethereal, melancholic atmospheres with passionate vocals (which often rather sound like chants), subtle, sad and desolate, full of tragic emotion...."deep and mournfoul post industrial chants"; very much recommended if you like music of the YEARNING and abyssal moods...lim./numb.ed. 200
|
2011 |
€10.00 |
|
| BIONULOR |
Sacred Mushroom Chant |
CD |
very interesting Polish project, using recycled sounds of the human voice only, heavily processed and transformed; for example shamanic chants during the ceremony of taking magic mushrooms, Neil Amstrong and Marcel Duchamp quotes, or Hassan ibn Sabbah quotes from the author himself; the result is stunning, unusual & haunting & collageous at times... Recommended!
|
2011 |
€12.50 |
|
| BLEEDING HEART NARRATIVE |
All that was missing we never had in the World |
CD |
re-issue of deleted debut CD from 2008, with bonus track; amazing mixture of noise & drones with folk & chamber music like stuff, recommended!
|
2009 |
€13.00 |
|
| BLOOD RHYTHMS |
Heuristics |
CD-R |
great eruptive noise from Chicago, "Heuristics" is a collection of archive material (10 tracks) ranging from the year 2000 to 2015, showing the variety of these bruitiste experiments, working with electronics, collage material, voices, all kinds of sound soucres and approaches.. recommended for complex noise lovers!
|
2016 |
€10.00 |
|
| BRANT, JACOB |
Rainmaking |
mCD-R |
highly recommended newcomer creating multi-layered, shimmering dronescapes with powerful washes of winds & harmonics - somehow guitarish, 'post rock' elements are involved, , truly elevating! For fans of TIM HECKER; TROUM; etc... filed under: energetic beauty drones & overtunes; 22 min. in mCD box
|
2013 |
€6.00 |
|
| BREAKLAB |
Reet |
12inch |
drone newcomer from Bremen with roots in the open minded / experimental techno- and art scene, this is the debut vinyl EP with 5 tracks (about 20 min. playtime) presenting very wide and sonorous sounding layered mystery drones with swinging overtones and almost orchestral tension, when metalloid object or instrumental sounds strike in, or fragmented crackles and noises appear and build chaos-structures.... highly recommended 12"!
|
2016 |
€10.00 |
|
| BU.D.D.A. |
All Der Guten Dinge Drei |
CD |
the new project of B*TONG and EMERGE, named "Bund des Dritten Auges" ("League of the Third Eye") with first release, here also joined by DIETER MAUSON (of NOSTALGIE ETERNELLE and nowadays OCCUPIED HEAD) => three tracks of very dense and punctuated drone-ambience, highly recommended! "For those who need names, it may sound like Troum meets Earth together with Eno." - fabric pressed CD, lim. 100 copies only !
|
2019 |
€10.00 |
|
| BUT I'M NOT (PAWEL GRABOWSKI) |
DAEMON TRANCES I-VI |
CD |
Polish Drone Records artist PAWEL GRABOWSKI (DR-72) is back with a new project name and an intense work about trauma and the 'Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)', expressing the emotional loop that he calls 'Daemon Trance' => ghostly singings, low piano tunes and strokes, noises of scraping and ultra slow, captivating drones create a super deep, unescapable intense atmosphere... - 6 tracks, mastered by COLIN POTTER, highly recommended!
|
2021 |
€12.00 |
|
| CHANTE ISTA |
Alaya |
CD-R |
first album by this ambient/drone newcomer from North Karelia (Russia), very beautiful & harmonic orchestral drone & ice/wind-scapes; last copies without the bag. Highly recommended !
|
2012 |
€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 |
|
| CISFINITUM |
Tactio |
CD |
recording of the great concert that happened on 24.Nov. 2005 in Bremen at the huge St.Petri-Cathedral (part of the R.E.M. - "Reihe Elektronische Musik" curated by CHRISTOPH OGIERMANN and LILIAN VON HAUSSEN), co-organized by Drone Records, using bell-sounds from Moscow-cathedrals. Highly recommended, and kind of a sister-release to the SUB-04 10" "Devotio"! Edition of 500 copies, digipack.
|
2008 |
€10.00 |
|
| CISFINITUM & THE [LAW-RAH] COLLECTIVE |
[ANS]werk |
CD |
another release in this excellent series of half-split / half-collaboration releases on the French FARIO-label, who also publishes the great mag FEAR DROP; [ANS]werk is dedicated to the legendary synthesizer ANS using many amazing sounds from it; these are very dense & pulsating drone-pieces that don't sound like from a synthesizer at all !!! Comes with special (oversized) cover-artwork, lim. 500, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !!
|
2011 |
€13.00 |
|
| CLADE, |
Holonic Sadism |
CD-R |
second album for this promising drone-newcomer from Scotland, infinite drone-rays & landscapes with a philosophic inspiration, dark & shimmering at the same time.... lim. 100 handmade silkscreen-printed covers that are closed by crepe-paper & sealed with way... highly recommended again !
|
2013 |
€10.00 |
|
| CLOUWBECK |
Wolfrahm |
CD |
behind CLOUWBECK we find RICHARD SKELTON (also active as A BROKEN CONSORT), who spreads here beautifully poly-layered violin-drones, always shifting & waving and building organic landscapes of metallic shining acoustics.. . absolutely stunning & highly recommended if you like multi-layered drone-harmonics as TROUM, VOICE OF EYE, CISFINITUM, ULTRA MILKMAIDS, etc..
|
2009 |
€13.00 |
|
| CONCERN |
Truth and Distance |
CD |
first fabric pressed album by this US artist, creating wonderful drones based on acoustic sources; recommended!
|
2009 |
€10.00 |
|
| CONIGLIO, ENRICO / UNDER THE SNOW |
Dialogue One |
CD |
the new (?) project of STEFANO GENTILE (the man behind SILENTES) and GIANLUCA FAVARON, who create their very own kind of widely approached flowing experimental ambience using many different sound-sources from electronics to pure field recordings, always with on brain-half in dreamlands... very much recommended !!
|
2011 |
€12.00 |
|
| COPH'ANTAE TRYR |
Research Chronicles 2007-2009 |
do-CD |
another newcomer (for us) on the Czech label know for exceptional packaging & artworks - Russian project COPH'ANTAE TRYR mesmerize with very melancholic waves of flickering ambiences & harmonic floating structures... Highly recommended if you like emotional drones! Lim. 500, 8 panel double digipack
|
2011 |
€16.50 |
|
| COTI |
Solesulsuolo |
CD |
for fans of Cello and dark / bassy string sounds and drones this is strongly recommended: enchanting 'breathing" and resonating flow- and pulse- patterns, at times very harmonic, then more abstract, full of raw 'materiality'.. all performed on the self-built "Oniscus harmonicus" by this Italian-Greek composer and sound artist (full name: Costantino Luca Rolando Kiriakos), once a member of MOHAMMAD
|
2013 |
€13.00 |
|
| CROUCH, ROBERT |
An Occupied Space |
CD-R |
debut-album by this artist & curator from Los Angeles, using field recordings of public places in L.A. where "music is integral to the experience of these social constructs"; he transformed this to great organic drone-ambient sound-landscapes; ed. of 200, professional design, another convincing release by DRAGON'S EYE, highly recommended !
|
2011 |
€10.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| DEAS (CAMERON) |
Time Exercises |
LP |
after the strong "String Studies" a completely different approach on this LP, his first album composed solely for synthetic sounds.. "CAM DEAS is a guitar virtuoso who has switched to modular synth and computer productions resulting in these staggering studies in polymetric, mercurial and dissonant tunings - hugely recommended if you’re into the work of Autechre, Rashad Becker, Roland Kayn, Fis, Coil, Xenakis..." - lim. 500 copies
|
2018 |
€18.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| DEISON |
Night Sessions |
CD |
excellent full album by this long active Italian project, somehow twisted old school ambient electronics meet with guitars, found sounds, glitchy arrangements.. 13 tracks full of variations but with a very own style, recommended if you like challenging 80's/90's ambient industrial electronics, created with today's approach...
|
2011 |
€12.00 |
|
| DEISON & MINGLE |
Innersurface |
CD |
highly recommended new DEISON collaboration, with its whizzing electronic sounds and slow rhythmic expanses it reminds on BAD SECTOR, etc.. "drones, field recordings and processed loops superimposed with disturbed rhythms, distorted beats and electronic processing. As always, the electronics are dirty and extremely evocative, sounds that we have become accustomed to."
|
2017 |
€13.00 |
|
| DEISON / K.K.NULL |
Into |
CD |
last copies of their first collab.,the label called it "Penetrating Hi-Tech Music", absolutely recommended to re-discover !! - *Splinters of sonic fragments, buzzings, electronic hisses, pulsations, hypnotic loops, ambient textures, sudden rays of light* - "Always abstract, always electronic, but almost never the same thing twice. From soft passages to loud ones, from clicking, rhythmic sounds to dense fields of waving electronics." [Fdw/Vital Weekly]
|
2009 |
€13.00 |
|
| DEMOULIN, JULIEN & IA |
The Bay |
CD |
very soft & minimal drone-muzak, based on guitars, vocals, flute.. deep, slow & endless "handplayed" drone-scapes by this US-French collaboration, somewhere between AIDAN BAKER & MAEROR TRI maybe; recommended! lim. 300
|
2012 |
€12.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| DISCORDLESS |
Fear on Every Side |
MC |
recommended dark / apocalyptic drone noise from Bucharest, Romania, no harsh noise but very unsettling otherwordly soundscapes unfold, very bleak... on Bulgarian's premier experimental label AMEK, C-60, lim. 100 prof. design
|
2021 |
€8.00 |
|
| DUBIT |
Vitriol |
CD |
excellent 'alchemical' experimental drone with post industrial touch from this Italian artist on his second full length album, based on analogue sources, self made instruments and gadgets from metallic elements plus digital synthesis, at times with a more electronic / technoid substrate...dark & vivid stuff, "drawing distopic landscapes in the sky"; 10 tracks, almost 74 min. playtime, strongly recommended to be checked out ! ed. of 500 copies
|
2017 |
€10.00 |
|
| DZIEWANSKI, ADRIAN |
The Trail loops back |
CD |
hypnotic / mysterious dream-drone with trance-inducing effect by this Canadian artist, based on backwards-loops, field recording/nature hiss and guitar ambience, highly recommended for contemplation seekers... "A ceaselessly iridescent work by Mr. Dziewanski, full of deep obeisance for the natural world, bird-life, distant melodic disintegrations and the all-encompassing cosmic drone..." - 2 tracks 49 min., ed. of 200 copies, very nice handmade packaging
|
2018 |
€13.00 |
|
| EASTLEY, MAX |
Installation Recordings (1973-2008) |
do-CD |
amazing installation-recordings from many different sound-sculptures using aero- & hydrophones, aeolian flutes & arcs, friction tubes, wires, motors, metals, strings, wood; -> creating beautiful & surprising atmospheric sounds; great collection by this British soundartist, highly recommended! Comes with 20p. full-colour booklet
|
2010 |
€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 |
|
| ELUDER |
Through Horizon |
CD |
recommended discovery if you like guitar-based drone music with an extreme meditative & harmonic character.. .very sublime, spacious, contemplative... lim. 400 mini gatefold cover, their second album on INFRACTION
|
2013 |
€13.00 |
|
| ESSEIVA, KIKO C. |
Sous les Etoiles |
CD |
very recommended 2nd album from this composer from Lausanne, Switzerland
|
2008 |
€13.00 |
|
| EXIT IN GREY |
Moments ( Моменты ) |
CD |
pure overtone-muzak for overcoming the time - a one tracker of 52+ min length / - "It will open your vision and let you trespass a mysterious world of transcendentalism and inner equilibrium....another magic listening experience, which confuses my emotional state of mind and pleases my search for aural satisfaction. Recommended, highly recommended" [Concrete Web] - numbered ed. 300 copies in lovely full colour package
|
2018 |
€13.00 |
|
| FAVARON, GIANLUCA / ANACLETO VITOLO |
Zolfo |
CD |
highly recommended collaboration work - based on various sound sources fragmented micro sounds are used in high speed collocations, full of cracks and crispy details.. "I call it particle accelerator music (PAM), as it sounds like agitated atoms. 'Oblivion' highlights a scuttling sound, like that of the crablike creature racing across the floor in the medical lab of Aliens.." [ A Closer Listen] - 240 copies available in oversized cover
|
2016 |
€10.00 |
|
| FEAR DROP |
No. 15: SAIWALA - enquete sur l'esthetique musicale du vent |
mag & CD |
great issue (60 pages) with long essay "La belle ambiante" about romantic metaphors of drone, nature & wind music; incl. compilation CD with PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED tracks by T. KÖNER, C. PEYRONNET / TOY BIZARRE, T. FURUDATE, MICHAEL NORTHAM (with "Suhina" 10" bonus-track), BJ NILSEN, CHRIS WATSON, THE [LAW-RAH]-COLLECTIVE, JANA WINDEREN, BLACK TO COMM, FRANCISCO LOPEZ, etc.. absolutely must have, highly recommended!!! French language- BACK IN STOCK !
|
2010 |
€12.00 |
|
|
No. 16: LA ZONE GRISE |
mag & CD |
finally a new FEAR DROP (best french mag for ambient & experimental music) issue, on the theme "GREY AREA"; feat. two long essays by publisher DENIS BOYER, plus articles about COILs ANS-work, HUMAN GREED; STEVE RODEN, BERNHARD GÜNTER, and the very first interview / article about our 10" series SUBSTANTIA INNOMINATA! + compilation CD with mentioned artists and CISFINITUM, TROUM, YANNICK FRANCK, L. MARCHETTI, M. DELPLANQUE, etc.. a definite MUST HAVE, highly recommended!!! Exclusive material only !
|
2012 |
€12.00 |
|
| |
No. 17: Arctic Antiphon - L'imaginaire musical des glaces |
mag & CD |
new volume of the best French magazine for ambient & experimental music, this time on the theme "Imaginary Ice Soundscapes"; feat. interviews with THOMAS KÖNER, JANA WINDEREN and A. TEDESCHI (GLACIAL MOVEMENTS), diverse articles & reviews (TROUM & AIDAN BAKER / BIOSPHERE / S. MATHIEU, etc..) and a CD with exclusive tracks recorded for this issue by KÖNER, WINDEREN, COH, MARC NAMBLARD, FINAL, NETHERWORLD, etc.. highly recommended, French language
|
2014 |
€12.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| |
Die Legende vom Heiligen Trinker |
CD |
FTBPD is permanently reframing & expanding his own musical bounds - unusual electronic rhythms, female voice-material, creepy & dark atmospheric stuff ! But also more powerful ambient Industrial with surprising moments... excellent stuff again, highly recommended!
|
2011 |
€10.00 |
|
| FERRARI, BRUNHILD & CHRISTOPH HEEMANN |
Stürmische Ruhe |
LP |
their first collaboration, a half hour piece recorded in the studio of LUC FERRARI in Paris, 2011-2014 => field recordings of very concrete (slamming doors) and atmospheric elements (wind, water) collide and fuse with electronic drones and near silence, every second becomes meaningful and changes time and space..highly recommended !! - "an organic flow of cross-fades, double-exposures and abrupt cuts, a free-associative dream in which wind and water take on mythical characteristics."
|
2022 |
€28.00 |
|
| FERREYRA, BEATRIZ |
Senderos de luz y sombras |
LP |
NEW 16-channel piece which was constructed 2016-2020, inspired by astrophysics and universal questions of the pre-Big Bang and the Unconscious - there's a permanent movement of amorph and spiraling sounds in this music, of flashing by objects, of trans-morping patterns... "What connects these themes are the dark energies operating outside our knowledge, far beyond the conceptual scope of our limited thinking.." - great work, highly recommended! Embossed cover, full colour inner sleeves, DL card
|
2023 |
€20.00 |
|
| FERREYRA, BEATRIZ / CHRISTINE GROULT |
Nahash |
CD |
rare, demanding collab. CD by the recently re-discovered BEATRIZ FERREYRA, with recommended French composer CHRISTINE GROULT - "Restlessly oscillating between recognisable natural sounds (water, kids’ voices, horses’ hooves, car engines) and synthetic ones, Nahash is best described as a somewhat literal embodiment of para-normal or super-natural where normality and nature are examined in a new light and found to be far beyond our understanding.." [The Quietus]
|
2015 |
€14.50 |
|
| FINAL CUT |
Ballade de Bruits |
mCDR |
newcomer from France / Belgium with massive polymorph dronescapes, quite noisy & raw but highly hypnotic at the same time; recommended !
|
2011 |
€5.00 |
|
| FIVE ELEMENTS MUSIC |
New Communications : Two |
CD-R |
full colour / photo - cardboard-cover; two long tracks of mysteriously droning post-industrial ambience, revealing a microsounding inner level... very nice & recommended ! |
2006 |
€10.00 |
|
| |
Herbal Cemetary |
CD-R |
organic drone-muzak made of field recordings from rustling leaves, herbs, branches, blowing wind, etc.. ; as everything from this Russian project, this is highly recommended for any "archaic / pure sound / transcendental drone" listener !
|
2009 |
€9.00 |
|
| FIVE ELEMENTS MUSIC / JIM HAYNES / ANDREA MARUTTI |
Tri-Ton |
CD |
three very long deep-drone tracks (all over 20 minutes) on this Russian / US-American / Italian triple drone album, on a abel from Rostov-on-Don; lim. 400, recommended !
|
2011 |
€13.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
|
One Day I discovered a Dreamachine |
CD-R |
the Berlin-based project with a nice work (second album) about "time, relativity, fragility, changing, awareness and human consciousness" - roaring amorph dark drones & weird instrumental elements (guitar, mouth organ?), enriched with field and object recordings, backwards-voices, etc.. surrealistic, weird & otherworldly at the same time... comes in printed A5 envelope with 4p colour inlay with bizarre drawings; recommended !
|
2009 |
€8.00 |
|
| |
Marchantiophyta (2nd edition) |
CD-R |
third album by the recommended Berlin-based project, a psychedelic / surrealistic journey to a secret land called "Marchantiophyta", this sounds very ghost ambient like, with strange loops and effected objects.. "rain forest, a coffeemaker, a glas of water, little tubes, contactmics, guitar, various synthesizers.." very much recommended to be checked out !!
|
2010 |
€9.00 |
|
| FRANCK, YANNICK & PIETRO RIPARBELLI |
Whinny Muir |
CD |
fantastic one-tracker collab. that celebrates the beauty of shimmering & overtunic drones !! Melancholic majestic sounds that are sometimes near to the border to noise, sometimes move into very subtle fields, with organ-like sounds at the end. Really great, highly recommended for any Drone-lover-boy or girl !!!
|
2011 |
€12.00 |
|
| GARET, RICHARD |
Areal |
CD |
aether-ambient noises based on "electromagnetically disturbed" radio-sounds, using special techniques (like motors) to influence the radio-signals; filed under: mysterious radiation drones, highly recommended !
|
2012 |
€13.00 |
|
| GENTILE, STEFANO / MONICA TESTA / ENRICO CONIGLIO / STEFANO GUZZETTI |
Nell'Attesa del tuo prossimo respiro |
do-CD & 2 x BOOK |
surely one of the most sophisticated SILENTES projects, merging music and photography: 2 photo books (25 x 25 cm, 40 pages each) and two CDs, with photos by GENTILE & TESTA from abandoned objects, houses, old cinemas, parks, hospitals, etc.. the "temples of ruins"; the CDs are full length ambient works by recommended ENRICO CONIGLIO and the rising Sardinian composer STEFANO GUZZETTI; lim. 300 and highly recommended !
|
2018 |
€48.00 |
|
| GHOUL DETAIL |
Empathy for Nature |
CD-R |
very late listing of another recommended album by the British experimental drone project (& member of SYRINX): recordings from 2007 using processed animal / nature field recordings, dark overtunic distortion mandalas, building floating drone streams that share a very energetic, waving atmosphere...
|
2008 |
€7.50 |
|
| GOBEIL, GILLES |
Les Iointains |
CD |
great collection of six works (2008-2012) by this Canadian electro-acoustic composer=> perfect 'Cinema for the Ear' between high tension atmospheres/drones and concrete noises, often inspired by literature (here FOLKMAR HEIN, HERMANN HESSE, VIRGIL, GUSTAV MEYRINK), on one track (the phantastic "Bol-Hydre") using an instrument by JEAN-FRANCOIS LAPORTE which produces incredible metallic sounds, another being the soundtrack for an extreme dance-theatre piece by CAMILLE MUTEL.. highly recommended!!
|
2015 |
€13.50 |
|
| GYDJA |
Ar Var Alda (In Ancient Times) |
CD |
finally a new full length album by the recommended 'esoteric/ female dark ambient' artist from New Zealand with Icelandic roots => deep reverberation drones that reveal many details (sounds of wood + water), often with a metallic edginess, throwing up overtones and resonances like autumn leaves.. 62+ min. full of breathing, organic dark drone muzak, like a mix of LUSTMORD with ALIO DIE... lim. 200 - glossy 6 panel artwork, mastering: ROBIN STOREY (RAPOON)
|
2021 |
€13.00 |
|
| HATTIFNATTER |
Barometrizm |
CD |
first proper full-length CD album of this project with members of LUNAR ABYSS and KRYPTOGEN RUNDFUNK, a really psychedelic drone-ambient trip, the music is filled with strange tones and entities, deranged voices, pulses and vibrations, organic noises.. a microcosmos of 1000 acoustic events forming a new reality.... highly recommended for Psychonauts!
|
2015 |
€12.00 |
|
| HAYNES, JIM |
The Wires cracked |
LP |
another manifestation of JIM HAYNES mysterious object-drones & reverberations, which always transport a special atmosphere of transitoriness & decay... filed under: surrealistic hiss & rust-drones; highly recommended!
|
2013 |
€16.50 |
|
| HEIRS |
Fowl |
CD |
second album by this very good Australian post-rock / industrial-metal band; recommended for fans of SWANS , CONTROLLED BLEEDING, GODFLESH, NADJA...
|
2010 |
€14.50 |
|
| HELLSTRÖM, STEN-OLOF / PAULINA SUNDIN / PETER LUNDEN |
1:2:3 |
CD |
breathtaking & raw electro-acoustic from HELLSTRÖM (3 pieces), a slow & gracious atmospheric synthesis of field recordings and electronic sounds by PAULINA SUNDIN (2 pieces), pure acousmatic synthesis with incredible strange sounding by PETER LUNDEN (2 pieces); great material all around, recommended !!
|
2000 |
€12.50 |
|
| HILTON, CRAIG / TOMAS PHILLIPS |
Le gout de neant |
CD |
stunning collaboration by these two US composers (also members of praised GAUCHISTE) using the chinese zither Guzheng and electronics to create wonderful dronescapes, minimal haunting atmospheres, but also more fragmented sound-art eruptions,.... nicely printed full colour silk screen fold out 7" cover, numbered ed. 500. Highly recommended !!
|
2011 |
€16.50 |
|
| HIROSHIMABEND |
J10C |
do-CD |
ambitious project from Vienna using original source sounds created by PETER CHRISTOPERSON and ADAM CZARNECKI that were made for ELECTRIC SEWER AGE years ago - HIROSHIMABEND started an "alchemical rendition of the possibilities" these sounds represented and produced 12 tracks=> intense & otherworldly ghost drones, pulsating electronic layers, echo voices, strangely atmospheric vibes... absolutely recommended, no COIL copy at all !!
|
2019 |
€16.00 |
|
| |
Sequenxium |
CD-R (object) |
collector's item release by this deeply recommended US-American/Austrian "esoteric / transcendental post industrial" project (soon to be featured on the next DRONE-MIND LP !) => 10 tracks, only 25 copies existing, comes in super handmade wood/timber plate jewel-case object covers, hand coloured and painted
|
2020 |
€20.00 |
|
| HOARFROST & INNER VISION LABORATORY |
Decline |
CD |
collaboration by two promising Polish newcomers to the dark ambient scene; extreme deep & spacious journey into the real of madness, based on two existential poems; very cinematic & depressive; recommended !
|
2010 |
€12.00 |
|
| HOLLOWAY, IAN |
Silent Spring |
CD-R |
another rather "new name" on this British label & and as usual recommended for any ambient / drone-explorer; subtle mysterious dronescapes based on analog electronics & acoustic loops, in the way of MONOS or ANDREW CHALK..
|
2011 |
€6.00 |
|
| HUTCHINSON, HAL |
Cold Industrial Experience |
CD |
British noise-actor with his most actual album => dirty / low fi analog noise loops, sluggish atmosphere, abrasive moments, crude sounds, like being on a huge industrial construction area.. recommended for the analog old schoon electronic noise fan !
|
2021 |
€12.00 |
|
| HYPSIPHRONE |
And the Void shall pierce their Eyes |
CD |
new industrial noise project from Greece with debut-album, using elements of doom & black metal - very apocalyptic, authentic stuff, nightmarish & cinematic, absolute mind-crushing.... highly recommended if you like it really dark, noisy & oppressive. On the sublabel of MALIGNANT Records
|
2011 |
€12.00 |
|
| I.CORAX |
The Cadaver Pulse II: Mothelix Liquescent |
CD |
re-issue of the second CADAVER PULSE-part from 2003 with lots of spiraling sounds, which excited us on its release so much: "analogue sounding dark ambience, very waving & gloomy harmonic, with very interesting higher sounds & effects which give it a very trancy & secret atmosphere.. RECOMMENDED for noisy dark ambient lovers"; lim. 500, comes with silk-screened cardboard cover, printed inlays & booklet
|
2014 |
€13.00 |
|
| IA (ALEX COPELAND) |
Peak of Anchorite |
mCDR |
IA is ALEX COPELAND, a newcomer to the drone-scene who sets here very high-pitched & whirring & hissing drones against a harmonic fundament => very sharp contrasts & special sound! Recommended advanced drones !
|
2012 |
€5.00 |
|
| IF, BWANA |
Fun with Fish |
CD-R |
re-issue of this very early MC (Audiofile, 1986) - a low-fi droning & industrialized pulsing WERK we like a lot! Comes with booklet feat. liner notes by FRANS DE WAARD (KAPOTTE MUZIEK, etc.), HUBERT HAVERKAMP (bogArt), TILL KNIOLA (AUF ABWEGEN) and AL MARGOLIS himself; numbered ed. 200 copies. Highly recommended if you like early / original "handplayed" industrial !!
|
2010 |
€9.00 |
|
| IN DIE FERNE |
Ad Un Passo Dal Grigio |
CD-R |
recommended soundtrack to an imaginary film, this debut album by the Italian dark ambient artist: completely absorbing drone clouds and rumbles with slightly shimmering rainbow-tunes inside the mix, but there are also more very wide harmonic acoustic fields with a more melancholic vibrancy... lim. to 50 (prof. jewel-case edition) copies only!
|
2018 |
€8.00 |
|
| INFANT CYCLE |
Drop-Out Center |
CD |
the 20th anniversary release (!) by the Canadian 'true underground' project & Drone Rec. artist (DR-95), who established a very own style over the years => carefully constructed drone-mantras often build around circling loops or repetitive elements (vinyl grooves, etc.) with lots of details & microsounds that make every of the 9 tracks a different experience... maybe his most worked out album so far! Lim. 300, highly recommended !
|
2012 |
€12.00 |
|
| INNER VISION LABORATORY |
Future Chaos |
CD |
dark & cold electronic industrial soundscapes, like a soundtrack for desolated futuristic urban environments.... another recommended recording from this Polish project! 4 panel ecopack + postcard, lim. 444
|
2011 |
€12.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| IRR.APP. (ext.) |
Ozeanische Gefühle |
CD |
the 'complex surrealistic drone' masterpiece by IRR.APP(ext.), back in stock, highly recommended!
...surrealistische dronescapes, die pulsieren, mäandern, rotieren und einfach LEBEN. In der Tat scheint hier alles in Grenzenlosigkeit zu zerfliessen.... |
2004 |
€14.00 |
|
| ISHIGAMI, KAZUYA |
Canceller X |
CD |
excellent ISHIGAMI release on a new Japanese label: electro-magnetic charged drones are overwhelmed by metallic shimmering reflections and other unidentifiable, more concrete phaser-noises, breaks can be sharp but the development of tracks occurs in dreamlike slow-motion, eerie and unreal... thematically based around different kinds of "memories", and their cancellation, 14 tracks 69+ minutes, comes with fold-out text inlay (on Japanese) and 4 photo-inlays; highly recommended !!
|
2017 |
€13.00 |
|
| JENSEN, CLARICE |
For this from that will be filled (silver) |
LP |
recommended debut album for this Cello-player and composer, creating minimal drones with lots of resonances and 'inner' harmonic movements - "JENSEN expands and confuses the familiar sound of the cello through the use of effects pedals, multi-tracking, and tape loops recorded at variable speeds, presented in works she has written for herself as well as a piece she conceived together with Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson." - re-press of 2018 album on silver vinyl, lim. 300, metallic colour art
|
2022 |
€23.50 |
|
| JGRZINICH (JOHN GRZINICH) |
Surface Scripts |
CD |
magic concrete drones inspired by the "time-worn processes" of nature creating specific acoustics in specific materials...hard to describe aural atmospherics, but its very beautiful and secret; highly recommended ! CD in DVD-box, lim. 500
|
2010 |
€13.00 |
|
| JOSEFSON, MATHIAS |
Night is the best time here |
10 |
fascinating solo-work by the man behind MOLJEBKVA PVLSE, based on a sound-installation using a certain scene in TARKOVSKYs "SOLARIS" film; first shown at JOSEFSONs graduation exhibition at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm, 2010; lim. 275 copies in hand printed letter covers, highly recommended !
|
2010 |
€12.00 |
|
| KA-SPEL, EDWARD & THE SILVERMAN |
The Whispering Wail |
CD-R |
back in stock these so far unreleased recordings from 2004 feat. KA-SPEL and SILVERMAN improvising for the WHISPERING WALL album; handmade cardboard cover - "It's wild and loud and at times utterly uplifting. Again, this one comes recommended. All pieces unreleased and unheard outside Chez Dots." lim. 399 copies
|
2013 |
€15.00 |
|
| KE/HIL |
Zone 0 |
LP |
staggering, sluggish, slow waving industrial noise, the second recommended LP by KE/HIL ("The Saints of the Scum"), white vinyl lim. 250, last copies.. "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"
|
2015 |
€18.00 |
|
| KELLER, ALEX & SEAN O'NEILL |
Kruos |
LP |
recommended debut release of these U.S. sound artists, who use field recordings and vintage electronic devices for their performances and installations... "It is difficult and challenging at times, and there is not much to grab on to as far as conventional rhythm or melody, but it excels in abstraction. In many cases the result is far removed from the source material, but the environment the two create on here is just as fascinating as any natural one that could be captured." [Creaig Dunton/Brainwashed]
|
2017 |
€20.00 |
|
| KELLER, BEAT & DARIUS CIUTA |
A2 |
CD-R |
recommended collab. by Swiss (jazz) guitarist BEAT KELLER with Lithuanian DARIUS CIUTA , they create high pitched resonances and feebacks plus object and shortwave sounds, very focused and slow and ZEN-like, with unusual sounds all around... "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." [Vital Weekly]
|
2016 |
€6.00 |
|
| KENNEY, JESSIKA & EYVIND KANG |
Aestuarium |
LP |
"minimalist spectral music" with beautiful vocals sung on Latin by JESSIKA KENNEY & viola-sounds by EYVIND KANG, inspired by Gaelic and Tibetan folk traditions. Re-issue of CD-R from 2005. Really breathtaking stuff, highly recommended !
|
2011 |
€20.00 |
|
| KLOOB |
Remarkable Events |
CD |
the first CD for Winter-Light by this recommended Spanish spheric/electronic ambience project...."Kloob has brought a darker, much more intense, rich feel to his music, quite different from some of his previous works. The tracks switch between dark and light and you can feel the influence of his recent Eastern travels, crackling in the air, in the field recordings, in the synth sweeps and patterns and in the sonic landscapes that the album creates and carries you along" - 9 tracks, 61+ min.
|
2018 |
€12.00 |
|
| KOSK, PATRICK |
Mondweiß |
CD |
*This is an assemblage of works by Finnish electroacoustic composer Patrick Kosk. Recordings from the Elektronic Studio at the TU Berlin, the Studio of the Institut International de Musique Electroacoustique de Bourges, and the artist's studio.* - amazing organic and breathing sounding stuff, tiniest micro details, field recordings in a new context.. highly recommended overlooked release, 6 compositions, over 70 min playtime, gatefold digipak + 12 page booklet
|
2009 |
€15.00 |
|
| KOUW, MATTHIJS |
Obscurum Per Obscurius |
CD |
awesome release by the dutch experimental drone artist with philosophical approach: on 9 tracks shimmering glass-like harmonics resonate, granular micro sounds crackle gently, soft repetitive pulses appear, dense metalloid aural expanses proliferate in mysterious and multiple ways... lim. 200 and highly recommended for any lover of transcendental drones!!
|
2018 |
€14.00 |
|
| LA CASA, ERIC & CEDRIC PEYRONNET |
La Creuse |
CD |
a super fascinating 'pure sound' journey based on mysterious field recordings, 'concrete' & droney at the same time; both artists mixing each others material; highly recommended !!
|
2008 |
€13.50 |
|
| LAPORTE, JEAN-FRANCOIS |
Soundmatters |
CD |
five very strong pieces by this Canadian composer with great tension & dynamics, highly recommended! |
2007 |
€13.00 |
|
| LE GALL, PASCAL |
Landscapes |
10inch |
this sound-artist from Tours, France, creates quiet acoustic landscapes by playing records on 6 rpm, using BACH and SCHUBERT compositions but also unknown sources, evoking a very special, unreal atmosphere between somber harmonic phrases and droning winds... a very nice 10" EP with wonderful cover artwork & mastering by MATHIAS DELPLANQUE, a true "secret tip" and very much recommended!
|
2017 |
€17.00 |
|
| LEVANDER, ERIK |
Jökel |
CD |
transcendental glacier drones made from field recordings (a visit if Iceland's Mýrdalsjökull, a glacier that still hold an active volcano), analog and digital sounds, very sensual and earthy... - " sounds like experiencing an earthquake while on the bottom of a mine, lights go out, everything is thrembling, structures in the deep creak and twist.." [Hærleif] - highly recommended album by this Swedish artist
|
2021 |
€15.00 |
|
| LIGHTBORNE, MICHAEL |
Ring Road Ring |
LP |
mysterious sounds and drones, derived from the "Coventry Ring Road", a 'brutalist megastructure' of roads surrounding the city of Coventry, captured through contact microphones attached to the pylons of it... these different kind of raw field recordings sound like the Unconscious of machines and pure concrete and reveal hissing structures, breaths, tones... "I was immediately surprised by how melancholy the ring-road sounds" [M. Lightborne] - lim. 300 with printed inner sleeve + inlay; highly recommended!
|
2020 |
€18.00 |
|
| LILJEDAHL, JONATAN & DANIEL KARLSSON |
Even while the Earth sleeps we travel beneath frozen Rivers |
CD |
single & collaboration tracks by these two Swedish composers with "advanced experimental / electronic drones", massive milling-sounds, very abstract & sharp noise attacks, quite radical & powerful & recommended !
|
2008 |
€12.50 |
|
| LINGUA FUNGI & SHRINE |
Strange Growths / Wander |
CD |
highly recommended split release by Finnish LINGUA FUNGI and Bulgarian Drone Rec. artist SHRINE => four tracks of acoustically shining and gracefully shimmering percussive / guitarish ambience form LINGUA FUNGI's "Strange Growths", with slight folk influences a wonderful melancholy is created.... SHRINE has two long complex ambient pieces ("There", and "Back") that are like a dark mirror, a dualistic entity representing nature's mystical harmony and human industrial destruction
|
2008 |
€13.00 |
|
| LOPEZ, SUSANA (AKA SUSAN DRONE) |
Cronica de un Secuestro |
CD |
recommended first proper album for this Spanish sound artist (aka SUSAN DRONE) => spiraling ambience drones in the way of ZOVIET FRANCE, etc..- to discover!! "López's interest lies in the building of immersive experiences. The sounds found within "Crónica de un secuestro" then aim to act as a catalyst for the focusing of consciousness (and the altering of perception). The end result belongs to a kind of magical realism, potentially allowing the listener to escape into a new dimension..." - lim. 150 copies
|
2020 |
€13.00 |
|
| LULL & BETA CLOUD & ANDREW LILES |
Circadian Rhythm Disturbance Reconfigured |
CD |
re-issue of the great / rare mCDR from 2008 (LULL & BETA-CLOUD) with a stunning subterranean drone composition (20 min one-tracker); comes now with a new remix by ANDREW LILES who adds microsound / cut up details and powerful industrial effects; very much recommended if you like mysterious drones with an industrial edge... BACK IN STOCK, better price !
|
2012 |
€10.00 |
|
| MACHINEFABRIEK |
Vloed |
CD |
4 long extracts of live-recordings played 2006-2008: melancholic waves of airy soundclouds, soft immersive dronescapes, excellent stuff & recording quality, recommended !
|
2010 |
€13.00 |
|
| |
Daas |
CD |
collection of material coming mainly from rare / deleted releases, feat. RICHARD SKELTONs material on the previously unreleased title-track & GREG HAINES as violin-player performing. Very slow & beautiful melancholich dronescapes, recommended !
|
2010 |
€12.00 |
|
| MACHINIST |
Of what once was |
CD |
first "proper" CD by this dutch "experimental drone" project - dense & elegant drone-ambience mainly based on guitars & wonderful overtunes with slow developments, the first great piece is inspired by painter YVES KLEIN; lim. 300, recommended for drone-aficionados !
|
2011 |
€12.00 |
|
| MANIFESTO |
Rust |
CD |
dark catacomb-drones from Sweden with a metallic-rusty sound, slow bass pulses, overtunes, transformed field recordings... excellent, highly recommended for any dark drone / ambient industrial fan !!
|
2012 |
€13.00 |
|
| |
Hive |
CD |
this must the fourth full length CD (+ some CDRs and cassettes) by the recommended Swedish dark ambient industrial project (of the educated sound designer MAGNUS ZETTERBERG), this is dark ambient with a special emphasis on the very amorph and nebulous forms, subtle and dreamlike melancholic with occasional percussive / ritual elements... only 200 copies pressed
|
2018 |
€13.00 |
|
| MANINKARI |
Continuum Sonore |
CD |
fantastic new album by the French duo enlarging their typical ethno-percussive style by creating immersive majestic & emotional instrument based drone-pieces, full of tension & dark grace, using mesmerizing sounds from cymbalon, alto, bodhran, & field recordings... very beautiful & highly recommended !
|
2012 |
€12.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| MATHES, JEREMIE |
Oiarzun |
mCD-R |
the fourth published work by this promising French 'new experimental drone' artist, who uses mysterious field recordings taken from "vibrant matters of acoustic origins" and musical instruments for his long stretched transcension-drones that spread out like wind flurries in many directions, with slowly elevating overtunes like living creatures.. beautiful stuff, highly recommended !!
|
2013 |
€5.00 |
|
| MENTER, WILL |
Always Sound |
BOOK / 3 x CD |
200 page book of photographs, texts and documents, all full colour, along with 3 CDs presenting the great "land art" of British (sound) artist PHIL MENTER, who uses natural elements like wood, slate, stone, water, etc.. for his huge (often outdoor) installations, sound sculptures and (dance) performances...very beautiful, highly recommended !
|
2013 |
€30.00 |
|
| MOLJEBKA PVLSE |
Zojo |
CD |
surrealistic dreamdrone-scapes of a higher beauty; you can not recognize how these sounds were made anymore, really captivating stuff that sinks slowly into your deeper mind; feat. Japanese artist MICHIKO KASHIBA, MOLJEBKA PVLSE has created this album without any musical instruments; very much recommended !!
|
2010 |
€13.00 |
|
|
A Transformation |
CD-R |
our favourite Swedish psychonautic drone project with three new tracks - revealing how droning foundations are superimposed by 'concrete' sound material, which is never becoming too distinct, but stays in a foggy acoustic background like in a dream, with elevating transcendental effect at the end... lim. 100 professional digipack ed., highly recommended again !!
|
2015 |
€10.00 |
|
|
Borrowed Scenery: Appearance |
maxi-CD |
awesome designed & sounding limited CD EP (20+ min.) release with special packaging (oversized 6" thick fold out cover incl. 2 postcards), the first part of the "Borrowed Scenery" sessions => this fully immersive one tracker spreads and waves in a melancholic way, entangled by circling resonances and acoustic spirals... highly recommended day dream ambience... - lim. 200 copies
|
2021 |
€12.00 |
|
| |
Borrowed Scenery |
LP |
the complete "Borrowed Scenery" sessions, now on vinyl - these droning sculptures spread and wave in a melancholic way, entangled by circling resonances and acoustic spirals... highly recommended day dream ambience! - lim. 150 with the "Borrowed Scenery: Appearance" CD-EP as bonus !!
|
2022 |
€20.00 |
|
| MOORE, ANTHONY / THERAPEUTISCHE HÖRGRUPPE KÖLN |
Ore Talks |
do-LP |
phantastic / cryptic album by ANTHONY MOORE (of HENRY COW fame) with the THK about the idea of artefacts and minerals deep in the earth sending strange signals up to the earth, captured by various / historical devices... listen to deep philosophic ("eccentric") texts about sound, send through these devices = noises in cryptic materialisations...+ 20 page (12" x 12") booklet, gatefold cover; few last copies available, highly recommended!
|
2017 |
€25.00 |
|
| MOORE, ANTHONY / TOBIAS GREWENIG / DIRK SPECHT |
The April Sessions |
LP |
after the great "Ore Talks" another hallucinogenic dream-drug collaboration of A. MOORE with members of THERAPEUTISCHE HÖRGRUPPE KÖLN... - "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..." - highly recommended, most sublime & suggestive subconscious sounds again..
|
2021 |
€16.00 |
|
| MOTT, NICK |
The Visitors |
LP |
after the great 7" on Lumberton this is the very first solo LP/album for the ex VOLCANO THE BEAR - an incredible record full of weird, melancholic & unsettling arrangements (using often vocal & instrumental sources but also simple electronics, loops & tapes), at times it sounds like a more orchestral/humming version of GHEDALIA TAZARTES, then more 80's styled similar to RESIDENTS or RENALDO & THE LOAF, all lovely surreal; lim. 250 copies, very much recommended for explorers of the unexpectable..
|
2012 |
€16.50 |
|
| MUELLER, JON |
The Whole |
CD |
the most hypnotic release by JON MUELLER so far, repetitive percussion & voice mantras, truly trance-inducing & ritual-like, without sounding "retro" ! Highly recommended !
|
2010 |
€15.50 |
|
| MUELLER, JON & JAMES PLOTKIN |
Terminal Velocity |
do-LP |
absolutey awesome collaboration recordings by these two masters of experimental sound-transformation (drums, guitar, electronics), subtle & mysterious spatial drones, slowly developing... ; recorded summer 2011, comes with luxus-cover (gatefold), numbered ed. 500 copies. Highly recommended!!
|
2012 |
€31.00 |
|
| MULO MUTO |
Decomposing Cacophonies |
CD |
recommended album of this Swiss drone-noise duo => inspired by the cycle of life and how matter decomposes, they come extremely slow from smooth, dreamy & quiet droning parts into violent monumental noise-droning ecstasy and destruction, similar to some older MAEROR TRI works... - *We live to die in order to let other beings live. We die to live in order to let other beings die.... an intense and powerful ode to putrefaction.* - CD digipack 66+ playtime, lim. 150 copies
|
2018 |
€12.00 |
|
| MULTER |
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 |
|
| MUNDY, GARY & ERALDO BERNOCCHI |
Broken Masses |
CD |
the masterminds and long time friends of RAMLEH / KLEISTWAHR and SIGILLUM S for the first time in a recommended collaboration, recorded 'live in the studio' in London...- "Combining two guitars, subtle electronics and what sounds like a voice from another dimension, rhythmic loops or serene pools of liquid sound are generated that add up to an album of immense beauty and scope.. Haunting, moving and immersive, with an almost soundtrack quality to it."
|
2022 |
€14.00 |
|
| MURRAY, BRENDAN |
Wonders never cease |
CD |
powerful minimal harmonica-drones, waving & vibrating & with lots of "dirt" underneath... five recommended tracks of "advanced drones" by this US-composer on this album!
|
2006 |
€13.00 |
|
| MURRAY, BRENDAN / PERISPIRIT |
split |
LP |
Long play split album of two U.S.-sound artists / projects: BRENDAN MURRAY works with the processed voice of NOELL DORSEY and creates spooky drones combined with dehumanized voice-sounds; PERISPIRIT move between noise collages & distorted guitar drones with excellence; a totally amazing, challenging, mysterious record, very much recommended ! Lim. 250 white vinyl, great cover artwork, too !
|
2010 |
€21.50 |
|
| MYTRIP |
Keeper |
LP |
the rising Bulgarian "technoid drone ambient" artist is back with a rousing new LP, rhytmic, loop based, emotionally complex... "More varied, freeform and self-assured than Filament, Keeper is equally immediate as it complex in sonic construction, meaning it draws attention on first listen and maintains it on repeated rotations. Recommended". - lim. 220 copies
|
2020 |
€16.00 |
|
| NADJA |
Autopergamene |
CD |
recommended Brasilian release back in stock! "from blissful, paced and almost orchestral hymns to lush acoustic guitars and super distorted, fuzzed out rumbling sludge riffages. Breathtaking." lim. 800 w. extremely nice "Rorschach-test" cover (6 panel digisleeve) & 6 inlay cards
|
2010 |
€14.00 |
|
| |
Sky Burial |
CD |
two long tracks rec. Sept. 2009 - lim. / numb. ed. 1000 copies, showing NADJA from their droney & ecstatic experimental side !! Highly recommended !
|
2010 |
€13.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| NIMH |
The Unkept Secrets |
CD |
back in stock, we wrote some years ago: NIMH takes you on a floating ethno dark ambient journey with some folky roots and ritual chants, quite intense, maybe his best work yet ! .- "A totally absorbing electronic mantra, a real pleasure for the ears. Clearly among my all time favourite experimental electronic records with a things from Maurizio Bianchi, Maeror Tri and Aeolian String Ensemble. So recommended. " [Prog Archives]
|
2007 |
€12.00 |
|
| NOVAK, YANN |
Relocation. Reconstruction |
CD |
melancholic immersion drones, recordings of 'pure, moving atmosphere'; very recommended work (one long piece), back in stock ! "Novak explored the multitude of emotional states experienced during and after the relocation of one's life... Textures, tones and faint melodies drift in and out of audible perception, never standing still, always in a state of becoming and disintegration.." - ed. of 500 copies, last copies
|
2010 |
€13.00 |
|
| NULL, K.K. |
Gamma Ray Burster |
CD |
X-RAY noise! - a very adequate title for this journey in piercing, ponding, throbbing & crackling electro & sine wave sounds, that confuse the listener with their multi-layered attacks! Nice KK NULL release from 2007 which has also enough room for more droning & silent passages.. back in stock for better price, lim. 500, recommended !!
|
2007 |
€8.00 |
|
| |
Extropy Ground Zero |
CD |
an extreme energetic staccato noise blast will overflood you on "Extropy Ground Zero", these manic sounds won't let your brain a single moment to relax, it is under permanent bombardment with ever changing, flickering, exploding particles, rhythmic fragments and carved up found sounds, highly recommended and really excessive!!! "KK Null is really pushing some boundaries here, like serious goose bump-inducing chaos and sonic bloody anarchy." [Noise Beneath..]
|
2017 |
€13.00 |
|
| NULL, K.K. / Z'EV |
Artificial Life |
CD |
strong mixture of surging metallic gong / percussion-drones with electronic analogue-noises.. some material is quite mellow, some has outbursting movements... no boring moments... definitely recommended for friends of both projects, but also for newcomers to discover these legends of noise and experimenation... ! BACK IN STOCK
|
2006 |
€13.00 |
|
| |
Brombron 17: Extra Space, Extra Time |
CD |
Nr. 17 in this nice series of "studio-meetings in Nijmegen of artists that would otherwise not record together in realtime" with special cover; very percussive / holy chaotic / powerful pieces with also more mysterious & calm passages, unusual drum sounds merge with KK NULLs electronics in a very fruitful & unique way! Six movements. Recommended !!
|
2010 |
€12.00 |
|
| ONODERA, YUI |
Entropy |
CD |
re-edition of his first CDR from 2005, comes in nice oversized cardboard folder - "A new project from Tokyo with minimal concrete & drone-compositions....extremely nice & dense......hyper-subtle stuff.... ..derived from field recordings, guitar-sounds, electronics. Definitely Recommended!"
|
2009 |
€13.00 |
|
| ORPHAX |
De Tragedie van een Liedjesschrijver zonder Woorden |
CD |
first proper ("fabric pressed") CD by this underrated dutch ambient/drone/experimental project, six tracks of rough oceanic drones with cracking particles above, very minimal & hypnotic, drowning in overtune walls.. highly recommended! Edition of 300 copies
|
2013 |
€11.50 |
|
| ORSI, FABIO |
Anemos |
mCD-R |
three pieces of finest "warm clouds" ambience, synth bubbles and something like violin tones and field / object recordings create a shining, sligthly melancholic atmosphere, dedicated or inspired by the WIND... very nice & recommended for lovers of the sublime "light" ambience, such as CELER, ALIO DIE, OÖPHOI, BASINSKI...
|
2020 |
€5.50 |
|
| PANIS, RAPHAEL |
Meta |
CD |
'Pieces pour Polivisions & Metamorphoses - Elements 1-4' and 'META - Strates 1-6' are the titles of two highly interesting compositions by the French electronic composer, consisting of 20 shorter pieces, originally created for an exhibition in Cachan (France); => highly abstract pure electronic sounds, drones, white noises, suspenseful arranged for carefully listening... recommended if you like pure experimental electronics with much variation and details!!
|
2012 |
€10.00 |
|
| PARTCH, HARRY |
World of Harry Partch |
LP |
a classic HARRY PARTCH LP, orginally released in 1969 - this 2018 re-press is an exact reproduction of the original, feat. the side long "Daphne of the Dunes" (1967); "Not only are the rhythms complex, but they are performed at a frantic pace unequaled by any music I've heard... The World of Harry Partch is an excellent introduction to his works that comes highly recommended."
|
2018 |
€20.00 |
|
| PATTERSON, JACK |
Milk Thistle |
CD |
phantastic field recordings ambience / synthesis by this new US composer that seems to breath and touch you organically intimately, the two pieces by the US composer were influenced by the reading of Daoist and Greek philosophy... "Inside and outside interpenetrate and relate in tension - openness, suffering, trouvailles and surprises of sound and feeling." - highly recommended for fans of Unfathomless, Taalem, etc.. - very limited edition
|
2020 |
€12.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| PETERS, STEVE |
Airforms (Chamber Music 10) |
CD |
for "Airforms", 2 hours of "silent tones" from the empty house of STEVE RODEN have been used as source material, following the concept creating 'Chamber Music' made entirely from a single recording of the empty space in which they are presented => dancing bell- and chime like tones, in a marriage with lower frequency drones, permanently fluctuating and resonating like living entitites.. a one-tracker of 61 minutes from the still too unknown US composer STEVE PETERS, highly recommended !!
|
2017 |
€15.00 |
|
| PHANTOM SHIP |
Spheres |
CD-R |
Italian emotional ambience and melancholic / orchestral / industrial drone, everything is drowned in heavy effects and stirring noises & slowly waving resonances and feedbacks, but keeps a harmonic basis in the massive ghost-scapes (often based on guitar sounds it seems)....reminded us on MAEROR TRI / early TROUM, VOICE OF EYE or RAISON D'ETRE, highly recommended !
lim. 150, professional duplication & digipack cover
|
2015 |
€12.00 |
|
| PHARMAKON |
Abandon |
LP |
project of noise-artist MARGARET CHARDIET from New York City, doing very out-composed dark post-industrial & doom noise, using de-humanized & alienated vocals about 'Loss. Losing everything. Relinquishing control. Complete psychic abandon.'; recommended for friends of emotional & brooding industrial & harsh noise like NAVICON TORTURE TECHNOLOGIES, WOLF EYES, etc.. - lim. re-press for the 15th label anniversary, a mix of BLACK,. WHITE and ORANGE, with poster and DL code
|
2022 |
€24.00 |
|
| PHARMAKUSTIK |
Neurochemie |
LP |
new project by SIEGMAR FRICKE (ex D.S.I.P., etc.)=> a mysterious trip into strangely electrified futuristic drones, with lots of completely morphed & alienated sounds... recommended !! lim. 333 copies
|
2010 |
€18.50 |
|
| PHILLIPS, DAVE |
Post Homo Sapiens |
CD |
slow suspension pulses, eerie field recordings. layered drone-walls, strange animal sounds, deranged instrumental melodies... a slowed down hell abyss opens up, but also quieter, almost beautiful passages, 6 tracks with 65 intense minutes, highly recommended! - "he urges us to shift our attention from the narrow focus of our human-made culture to the larger natural world of which we are only a part.." - ed. of 500 copies, special low priced
|
2020 |
€8.00 |
|
| PLAYING WITH NUNS |
Frolicking through the Meadow |
CD-R |
repetitive mechanized "breathing" noise-ambient structures with great effect & more quiet bassy dronescapes; another recommended disc on DARK MEADOW by this very active Argentinian artist
from Buenos Aires |
2011 |
€6.00 |
|
| POOK, JOCELYN |
Flood |
CD |
re-issue of "Deluge" (1997), an album based on the myths, legends & fears of the two millenia years 1000 & 2000, linking religious chants & hymns, classical music & field recordings in a breathtaking emotional way; some pieces of "Deluge" were re-mixed and re-worked for STANLEY KUBRICKs masterpiece "EYES WIDE SHUT"! Highly recommended if you like challenging film music!!
|
1999 |
€10.00 |
|
| PRIME, MICHAEL |
Requiem |
LP |
highly recommended album by MICHAEL PRIME, creating ghostly, otherworldy drown-drones with rich details and an unbelievable width and absorbing atmosphere; feat. GEERT FEYTONS (NOISE-MAKER's FIFES) and LEN LYE; back in stock the only LP of MICHAEL PRIME, lim. 700 gatefold-cover with insert
|
2002 |
€15.00 |
|
| PROXENUS / GLOWING PIXIE |
Elapidae |
maxi-CDR |
GLOWING PIXIE (member of SYRINX) remixes PROXENUS material for an almost 30min one-tracker of mysterious dark dronescapes, subtle & mesmerizing; as everything from this label, very much recommended for drone-lovers!! Lim. 80 copies full colour cover
|
2010 |
€6.00 |
|
| RED PANDA |
Ferrimagnetic |
CD-R |
Guitar/Drone Ambient Noise, very spheric & monumental, low-fi and meditative. Think of ULTRASOUND, DUAL, STARS OF THE LID, etc... Definitely recommended !
|
2005 |
€7.00 |
|
| REFORMED FACTION |
Until |
CD |
new album by the 2/3rds of ZOVIET FRANCE (ROBIN STOREY aka RAPOON and MARK SPYBEY), very droney & atmospheric, highly recommended !!
|
2010 |
€13.00 |
|
| REJECTIONS |
Clone EP |
MC |
recommended newcomer from UK (?) doing electro pulse-drones in the way of AUTECHRE or MIKA VAINIO; lim. 100 in nice oversized (double) MC box
|
2012 |
€10.00 |
|
| RELAPXYCH.0 |
City Nightlights |
CD |
album built on field recordings from areas around Stockholm central station - forming a very nice drone-trance soundtrack with deep pulses; recommended !
|
2010 |
€10.00 |
|
| RODEN, STEVE / IN BE TWEEN NOISE |
The Radio |
maxiCD |
STEVE RODEN schafft es, aus kurzen Samples aus dem Radio sowie durch Verwendung konkreter Geräusche eines Radioapparates ein wunderbar melancholisch-getragenes 18min-Stück zu kreieren, welches durch seinen hohen, WIM MERTENS-artigen Gesang begleitet wird.
Wir meinen: die perfekte Symbiose aus Geräusch & Emotion, highly recommended!! LAST COPY!
|
1999 |
€10.00 |
|
| ROIGK, STEFAN |
Sprachmusik |
CD |
highly impressive recordings (14 tracks) of vocal based tracks, a kind of lyrical prosa about the perception of noises, merging sound poetry, electro-acoustic and experimental drone... fascinating ! NOT the classical standard sound poetry, this operates rather at the intersection of sound art, ear-play and droning noises... very much recommended to discover ! - BACK IN STOCK
|
2017 |
€13.00 |
|
| |
The Rising of Matteo |
CD |
"Bus Stop At The Dream Passage" - like an acoustic theater piece, STEFAN ROIGK connects field recordings with sounds from his installation works to a very intimate, droney collage...- "The hypnotic swarms of organic chants; cascades of rustles, rattles, and drones; short cracklings and scratches; and moments of exhausting compression or restful silence generate a rousing maelstrom of fragmented narrations with expressive gestures." = enchanting goose bumbs music, highly recommended!!
|
2015 |
€13.00 |
|
| SCOTT, SIMON (SIMON SCOTT) |
Insomni |
CD |
fourth album by British sound artist SIMON SCOTT (once the drummer in SLOWDIVE, but he works also for films, exhibitions and dance productions) creating beautiful organic atmospherics, between the very abstract and more harmonic (acoustic guitar) passages, involving environmental & field recordings.. "Highly recommended for fans of Rafael Anton Irisarri, William Basinski, Lawrence English and Christian Fennesz." [Headphone Commute]
|
2015 |
€15.00 |
|
| SCOTT-BUCCLEUCH, RUSS / SIGTRYGGUR BERG SIGMARSSON / ANDREW SHARPLEY |
Mask of Cheerful |
CD |
highly experimental nine collage works (55 min) = all kinds of field recordings, object sounds, instrumental / voice sounds (+ reaktor synths) were collected and at the end mixed by ANDREW SHARPLEY, the long active British experimentalist once in STOCK HAUSEN & WALKMAN; it's fascinating how very concrete snippets collide with electronic sounds and micro-drones, always in search for the truly anomalous arrangement; very much recommended for discoverers of the non-ordinary!!
digipack with weird collage pictures, probably pretty limited
|
2021 |
€14.00 |
|
| SEASONS (PRE-DIN) |
Stars and Lights : Together We Fall |
CD-R |
excellent drone-ambience from UK, spheric, powerful, mysterious, full of hidden harmonies; special handmade cover, recommended for drone-lovers !!
|
2010 |
€8.00 |
|
| SEEMANN |
Schleuse |
CD-R |
after the great "Fluss" CD here comes the successor, a 36min one tracker, where SEEMANN (using piano. bells, singing bowls, percussion, singing bow and bowed bass, voice) created a slowly evolving drone-soundtrack to the magic motions and atmosphere of a WATERGATE.. highly atmospheric and immersive and again recommended for lovers of "handplayed" organic drone-ambient.. comes in oversized photo-cover .
|
2021 |
€7.50 |
|
| 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 |
|
|
Seetyca 2 |
CD-R (MP3!) |
the second ever SEETYCA release from 2002 contains 4 hours (!) of material on MP3, among the 4 tracks are the ultra long "Dionysospassage" (107 min.), and "Borobudor Processoin" (117 min.); this was the time when seetyca began to construct very long, underworldly, transcending pieces with repetitive and percussive character for big halls or exhibitions, reminding on old HYBRYDS for example... highly recommended! comes w. handmade / laminated cover
|
2002 |
€18.00 |
|
| |
Dühringa Aorta 2 |
CD-R |
following album to the great "Dühringa Aorta" from 2005, now the voice of seetyca is the only sound source for seven new tracks, which is hardly believable => repetitive forms of beatless phaser tube sounds, subtle harmonic tone elevations, kind of bell-ringing acoustics, and cryptic titles such as "Guyrolaisthan" or "Sæquoina"; this album shows impressively seetyca's ability to create a very own kind of oneiric ambience drift.. one of our favourites, highly recommended!
|
2007 |
€12.00 |
|
| SIDHARTA, OTTO |
Kajang |
LP |
highly recommended LP with four newer works (2015-2020) by the Indonesian composer, a great organic and contemplative mixture of processed field and object recordings, multi-layered drones, traditional instrument recordings (gongs, etc.)...- *deeply inspired by Indonesia's multifarious styles of traditional music, that he tries to preserve, as in some remote places, they keep their own tradition very strongly.* Lim. ed. WHITE vinyl
|
2022 |
€17.00 |
|
| SISTER LOOLOMIE / KRYPTOGEN RUNDFUNK |
[W]interloop[S] |
CD-R |
overlooked Russian collab release by SISTER LOOLOMIE (side-project of [S] from EXIT IN GREY & FIVE ELEMENTS MUSIC) and KRYPTOGEN RUNDFUNK (Artyom O. from Zhelezobeton), 29+ one-tracker of suspenseful, mysterious drone-ambience... very well arranged, recommended! full colour cover
|
2008 |
€8.00 |
|
| SKALPELL |
Nothing important to tell so far |
CD |
the last overlooked album from this underrated Swiss duo, known for albums on DEAFBORN and ART KONKRET, blending electronic ambient drones and (found) sounds and samples, dark harmonic and boiling underneath, with more noisy & rhythmic / tribal influences... pretty eerie and opressive, well produced and designed, very recommended + now for special price !
|
2010 |
€7.00 |
|
| SKY BURIAL |
Threnody for Collapsing Suns |
CD |
strong new release for this US ambient project, combining melancholic dark ambient atmospheres with more "cosmic" synth-elements in a powerful way..recommended for fans of LOKI or CYCLIC LAW releases...
|
2011 |
€12.00 |
|
| SMITH, STEVEN R. |
Old Skete |
LP |
solo-album by this long time active guitarist and member of THUJA (also known as ULAAN KHOL and HALA STRANA) - wonderful pure & meditative e-guitar miniatures, atmospheric and lonely, completely unprocessed and with no overdubs... very recommended if you like stuff as LOREN CONNERS or PETER WRIGHT...lim./numb. 500
|
2011 |
€14.50 |
|
| SOLO ANDATA |
Ritual |
LP |
third album (first on vinyl) by the Australian duo; otherwordly organic ambiences at its best, performed entirely on acoustic instruments, wildlife or environmental recordings; recommended for explorers of dense mysterious dronescapes...
|
2010 |
€19.50 |
|
| SOUND_00 + LEFTERNA |
Elementals: Collabs 2 |
CD |
this album collects collaborative tracks from tiny CDR releases by these two ambient projects and gives them a new cohesion, frame and sound (all tracks were fully re-mastered) => 7 lengthy tracks of isolationistic ambience with a strong accent of using field recordings from nature, thus creating unusual moods and acoustics, not the standard dark ambient electronics... recommended !
|
2017 |
€13.00 |
|
| SPECIMENS |
In the Dust of Idols |
LP |
difficult to find second LP by the London based "Drone-Mind" compilation artist, these are wonderful hazy, dusty atmospheric miniatures (based on guitars, voice, field rec., organ, synths, sax, cello..) full of beauty and melancholy, inspired by existentialist questions... recommended to fans of R.A. IRISARRI, TROUM, LAWRENCE ENGLISH (who did the mastering again); ed. of 300 copies on white-blue splatter vinyl, with inlay
|
2018 |
€20.00 |
|
| SPHERULEUS |
Voyage |
CD |
moody ambient-soundtrack to a "doomed sea-voyage" by this recommended newcomer from UK, feat. ALEX TIUNIAEV; lim. 200 copies only
|
2011 |
€12.00 |
|
| STADLMEIER, SASCHA / EMERGE / ANJA KREYSING |
same |
MC |
two live recordings (Münster + Offenbach, 2018) of SASCHA STADLMEIER aka EMERGE with accordeonist ANJA KREYSING, a kind of sister-release to the recommended "Re-Encypher" CD (Attenuation Circuit) => subtle accordeon harmonics and micro-sounds from it, dark mysterious loops, noises and drones.. a very nice tape! Lim. 70, C-65, printed cover
|
2019 |
€8.00 |
|
| SYLVAIN VAN INIITU / DAVID LEUTKART |
The Moon |
MC |
recommended split tape (C-40) by the man behind the GRUBENWEHR label and SYLVAIN VAN INIITU who runs the "Ini.Itu" label in Brussels, and has also released material as BLINDHEAD... => a very nice "oneiric amorph drone" one-tracker with many mysterious voices and hiss sounds (probably field recordings from an air voyage) by LEUTKART, three more abstract pieces with "concrete poetry", harmonies, noises and drones by SYLVAIN... - printed cover, standard case
|
2020 |
€7.00 |
|
| TEICHER, ELSE |
Whored |
CD |
first album by this US-artist (known to some as one half of ROMULUS & REMUS) with obscure & uncategorizable puresounds & drones, "between ZOVIET FRANCE & SEVERED HEADS" says the label.. recommended for explorers! Lim. 300
|
2011 |
€13.00 |
|
| TEMPLE MUSIC |
Volume II |
CD |
folk- & psychedelia influenced mystic drone-ambience by this band feat. ALAN TRENCH (known from 12000 DAYS with MARTYN BATES), lim. 300 lovely cover, recommended!!
|
2007 |
€13.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| THIS GREY HATES THE SUN |
thisGrey hates the sun |
CD |
recommended debut for this Italian dark ambient & experimental project, moving between tension filled crunch and grate sounds and harsher ambient suction noises with collage elements, really captivating..." This first album by Giordano Rivolta proves that it is possible to describe darkness, alternating powerful 'sound pictures' with fragmented soundscapes captured in slow motion, where the idea of silence and absence becomes part of the music itself.."
|
2016 |
€10.00 |
|
| THOUGHT BROADCAST |
Swarm Structure |
LP |
fifth LP by this New York City low fi industrial project, operating more in rough / threatening ambient fields than in pure noise, slow and swampy, granular pulses... definitely recommended!.- "Swarm Structure is an intense step for the project's vision of urban nocturne and apocalyptic concrète; it is a raw demonstration of covert and lysergic minimal electronics and pure industrial rhythm, all rendered in TB's signature hazy, grey-area dubplate texture.." - comes with A4 inlay
|
2022 |
€20.00 |
|
| THU20 |
Vroeg Werk |
do-CD |
great collection of mainly early material by this dutch group (with core members JAC VAN BUSSEL, PETER DUIMELINKS, ROEL MEELKOP & JOS SMOLDERS ), full of loops & noises that crackle & wheeze....quite rough & improvised & very 'industrial' at times... somewhere between P16.D4 and DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE maybe... studio & live material, unreleased or taken from rare compilations.. lim. 500 and highly recommended !
|
2012 |
€16.50 |
|
| TIBETAN RED / THE OVAL LANGUAGE / DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE |
The Breath of the Hydra |
CD |
highly recommended 3 way (the Hydra has 3 heads) collab, this album took several years of audio file and idea exchange, the result is one long piece (59+ min.) with fascinating multi-layered concrete noises, a sound collage with many different facets and tiniest details, from somehow organic animated passages to eerie infernal complex noise... not to be missed!! Lim. 300
|
2021 |
€12.00 |
|
| TOPOGRAFIA |
Genius Loci |
CD |
debut-album by this Polish "experimental ambient" project (based on field recordings & acoustic instruments) linked with ATUM and inspired by the philosophy of SCHOPENHAUER; lim. 500 and as all GREYTONE-releases, recommended! A Promotional video can be found on the website
|
2010 |
€13.00 |
|
| TUNDRA |
Tajnie i Glebie |
CD |
debut album of a Polish experimental/electronic duo who worked with the legendary KARPATY MAGICZNE before; inspired by "Space" in physical & spritual way, they use samples, field recordings and instrumental sounds (like flutes, bells, rattles, harmonica, cymbals, guitar) for their remarkable rough & fragile music, ranging from claustrophobic pulsing drone ambience to dense melancholic tunes => creates a very special atmosphere, not from this world, highly recommended!
|
2014 |
€12.00 |
|
| TUNNELS OF ĀH (TUNNELS OF AH) |
The Smeared Cloth |
do-CD |
highly recommended collection of unreleased recordings 2012-2018 from the Cold Spring act (ex HEAD OF DAVID) - very cold, metallic and slow pulsing / looping "industrial drone", sharp as flying knives, at times almost monstruous..- "großartiger Einblick in einen Kosmos, den ich allen empfehlen kann, die frühe Coil, alte Broken Flag-Releases und ausgewählte Death Industrial-Platten nebeneinander im Regal stehen haben." [African Paper] - 300 copies pressed
|
2023 |
€17.00 |
|
| UHUSHUHU (Ухушуху) |
Bones & Drones |
CD |
first release for the recommended Russian transcension ambience project on Zoharum, one long track: "On his album UHUSHUHU successfully creates seemingly lazy, quite somnambulant atmosphere which acts as a signature for the project .... One can say that the composition is MOON MUSIC with hints of ethnic sound.." - 6 panel ecopak, lim. 250 copies
|
2019 |
€12.00 |
|
| UNIT 21 |
November |
CD |
Russian project with experimental Electronica, using micro-loops from old Soviet vinyl records; at times very droney & hissy, at times more pulsating & trancy; recommended if you like stuff as BIOSPHERE or GAS..
|
2007 |
€12.00 |
|
| 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) |
MUZYKA VOLN |
CD |
back in stock, this fabulous "Russian drone" compilation with only Russian acts, could be the sister release to the 'EVOLVED AS ONE' CD a great collection of transcension drones.. with EXIT IN GREY, CLOSING THE ETERNITY, HUM, CISFINITUM, LUNAR ABYSS DEUS ORGANUM, BARDOSENETICCUBE, POLARIS, KSHATRIY, NECROPOLIS, ANTHESTERIA feat.KAJ?, INSTANT MOVIE COMBINATIONS, REMOTEBAND. Numbered edition of 500, digipack, highly recommended!
|
2008 |
€13.00 |
|
|
The Sound Ecology: Range |
CD |
Back in stock one of our favourite comps from the past years ! - "sound ecology" / environmental / field recording pieces by the current "creme da la creme" of sound artists, comes with extensive 24p. full-colour booklet: MATHIEU RUHLMANN, YANNICK DAUBY, MICHAEL NORTHAM, ERIC LA CASA & CEDRIC PEYRONNET, JOHN GRZINICH, FRANCISCO LOPEZ, JEPH JERMAN, RALF WEHOWSKY, CHRISTOPHER McFALL, MURMER; ed. of 500 copies - highly recommended for any fan of field recording art !!!
|
2011 |
€13.00 |
|
|
Gyalpo |
CD |
very nice deep ambient / ethno compilation with four projects as a tribute to the "Four Heavenly Kings of Caturmaharajika" (Lokapalas - the guardians of the four horizons in Buddhist mythology) - ANDERS PETERSON (OBJECT4, RELAPXYCH.0), EARTH VIBRATION, MATHIAS GRASSOW and a very long stunning track by INDO (34+ min.); highly recommended for any 'meditative drone / ambient' lover !
|
2012 |
€13.00 |
|
|
Terässinfonia Vol. 4 |
CD |
new Finnish Noise for old bleeding ears! - Volume 4 in the "Steel Symphony" series feat. the very active and versatile Finnish experimental & noise & drone scene, for example: best junk- and object harshnoise from THE NEW BOYFRIENDS, darkest post industrial from UL.TH.NEKROLATRIA, original object- & analogue mixture from BIZARRE UPROAR, ritual noise veterans TEMPLE OF TIERMES, BOREDOM KNIFE, KARTIO with most obscure sound, etc.... great comp., highly recommended!
|
2021 |
€8.00 |
|
| |
Visions of Darkness II ( (In Iranian Contemporary Music ) |
do-CD |
second part in the successful compilation series of Iranian underground / electronic music => at the point where the traditional cultural expressions and new electronic music genres (especially drone and exp. ambient) meet, something fascinating arises... - some artist of Vol. I are present again (like the excellent XERXES IN THE DARK), but also many new names appear... highly recommended, so much to discover!!
|
2022 |
€17.50 |
|
| VAN HASSELT, JAN |
Skills.Faces |
DVD |
two documentaries by this film-maker from Bremen about the Noise-scene; feat. interviews & live-show extracts from RUDOLF EB.ER & KARKOWSKI, LUCAS ABELA (aka JUSTICE YELDHAM), DAVE PHILLIPS, MSBR, TIM HECKER, KOUHEI MATSUNAGA and others; liner-notes by MICHAEL HOHENDORF (Twisted Knister); very nice professionally made films, recommended!
Lim. 300
|
2010 |
€12.00 |
|
| VERTONEN |
Blood Shift |
MC |
MC-only release in the new limited Banned Prod tape series (standard jewel-cases & printed full colour covers); filed under: powerful hypnotic / multi-layered sound-drones & loops building complex stuctures, and more dense fluids on Side B; highly recommended release from this long going Chicago-based project ! C-20
|
2011 |
€7.00 |
|
| VIOLET |
Violet Ray Gas & The Playback Singers |
CD |
new recommended album of the "experimental drone" project by JEFF SURAK, a long time networking activist from the US (with "1348", "New Carrollton" and Watergate Tapes)
|
2009 |
€12.00 |
|
| VIPCANCRO |
Tropico |
CD |
second album (after the XAX LP) by this Italian drone-noise / ambient collective; very low fi & flowing feedbackin' stuff that morphs & shifts, based on guitar-sounds, synths, voices, etc... raw drones with a touch of mystery, drifting more and more into otherworlds... recommended !
|
2010 |
€12.00 |
|
| VISIONS & PHURPA |
Monad |
LP |
the 100th release for the now maybe most important dark ambient label around: a studio collab between PHURPA and the project of label-owner VISIONS, the typical PHURPA vocal and ritualistic instrumental sounds are drowning in a deep morass of huge reverberations, but there are also moments of complete, rather silent alienation, whispers and winds from unknown spheres, timeless and lonely harmonic rays of elevation.... a very beautiful album, highly recommended! vinyl lim. 200
|
2018 |
€20.00 |
|
| |
Monad |
CD |
the 100th release for the now maybe most important dark ambient label around: a studio collab between PHURPA and the project of label-owner VISIONS, the typical PHURPA vocal and ritualistic instrumental sounds are drowning in a deep morass of huge reverbarations, but there are also moments of complete, rather silent alienation, whispers and winds from unknown spheres, timeless and lonely harmonic rays of elevation.... a very beautiful album, highly recommended! CD version 500 copies
|
2018 |
€13.00 |
|
| WHETHAM, SIMON |
Hydrostatic |
CD |
archaic & monumental sounding roaring water-dronescapes full of strange soughs and metallic scrunchings - HYDROSTATIC is a multi-channel performance using sounds from an old Pumping Station - this the true industrial sound massive, mysterious, ghostly..; lim. 300, much recommended !
|
2013 |
€13.00 |
|
| WHISPER ROOM |
Lunokhod |
CD |
high-class NEO Krautrock with drone and psych influences you could call this, the third CD (after two cassettes in 2017) by this guitar-bass-drum (& laptop) trio from Canada created one long floating piece (almost one hour long) in seven parts, which ebbs and flows through the ether like an ocean but never looses the percussive grounding...- highly recommended for Space Rock lovers and other cosmic babies; - lim. 220 copies
|
2021 |
€13.00 |
|
| WOOD, CYE & LISA GERRARD |
The Trail of Genghis Khan |
CD |
CYE WOOD (Australian violinist and multi-instrumentalist) and LISA GERRARD (voice and cimbalon) created this album from material recorded for the Australian documentary series "The Trail of Genghis Khan", showing a journey on horseback from Mongolia to Hungary; 10 tracks feat. 'Traditional Music' students from Kazakhstan on Dombra, this all sounds very acoustic and pure and is drenched in melancholy and yearning... highly recommended!
|
2017 |
€14.00 |
|
| WOOLEY, NATE |
The Almond |
CD |
one long minimal drone-piece (72 min) based on unprocessed trumpet sounds & voice only; great & completely suspended acoustic spheres with slow inner movements, reminds on PHILL NIBLOCK, etc.. highly recommended if you like handplayed /non-electronic drones!
|
2011 |
€13.50 |
|
| X-NAVI:ET |
Dead City Voice |
LP |
recommended second (vinyl) album by the solo project of RAFAL IWANSKI (HATI), a 6-track work about the psychic influences & transformations through the CITY, a dark filmic & emotional soundtrack to confront with the 'living dead' of one's town.... comes in nice gatefold-cover, lim. 250, with stunning artwork by EWA BINCYK
|
2013 |
€16.00 |
|
| ZINC ROOM |
In Wooden Room |
CD |
very recommended newest album by these Siberian dark archaic droners, perfect stuff if you like the "old school" handmade atmospheric noises => always pulsating, sounding somehow 'metallic' & overtuned, monumental & massive... reminds on the more noisy side of MAEROR TRI, NOISE-MAKER'S-FIFES, etc...
|
2012 |
€12.00 |
|
| [AD]VANCE[D] |
Unseen Intelligence |
mCD-R |
'Unseen Intelligence' is the following release after the great [AD]VANCE[D] 10" for Substantia Innominata - again a suspenseful and very atmospheric collage-construction using lots of object and found sounds, backwards-effects, fragmented voice-material, strange scraping sounds, etc.. very best dark and droney musique concrete, reminding on BRUME, ILLUSION OF SAFETY, or even LIONEL MARCHETTI.. highly recommended ! - new non jewel-case ed. now
|
2012 |
€5.00 |
|
| 15 DEGREES BELOW ZERO |
Open Doors |
CD |
15 Degrees Below Zero is Mark Wilson, Daniel Blomquist, &Michael Addison Mersereau. The first release by this project was in 2000, so 21 years later we get to see how the project has progressed. Despite this album being started over 10 years ago it fully expresses a great maturity and beautiful diversity of styles. This is a truly epic album and I'm proud to present it to the world along with the members of the project.
Mastered by Thomas Dimuzio for full effect as well.
https://oxidation.bandcamp.com/album/open-doors
"For those unfamiliar with this project, 15 Degrees Below Zero is the work of Daniel Blomquist, Michael Addison Mersereau, and Mark Wilson (who also performs under the name Conure). This project began after the demise of Imperial Floral Assault Unit, and the structured improvisations that they have become known for would continue for the next 20 years. This album has been 10 years in the making. To give you a sense of how long it has been, a live version of "Horizon, Skyline" originally appeared on the Conure/15DBZ split cassette that was released on Danvers State Recordings in 2012. Still, this album still holds up as if it were recorded yesterday.
I have often enjoyed 15 Degrees Below Zero’s music because of its cinematic qualities. In previous reviews I've compared it to In The Nursery’s Optical Music series. One of the things that is consistent in 15 Degrees Below Zero is, ironically, their inconsistency. One album kind of reminded me of The Durutti Column with a little bit more of an edge to it. Others have a cinematic quality that sounds like it’s straight out of a soundtrack (they have often referred to their music as “cinematic isolationism”). This one is a slight departure in that the soundtrack would be for a very unhappy post-apocalyptic film where there is no happy ending. If you want a microcosm of this album, you can look no further than the first track Horizon, Skyline. This track begins with lush drone combined with a beautiful harmony. However, just beneath the surface is a wall of static that continually threatens to overrun the track. Toward the end we’ve achieved a kind of uneasy equilibrium with equal parts rumbling static and drone.
15 Degrees Below Zero enjoys messing with the listener and giving us what we don't expect. Just when you think they are moving back into beautiful soundscape territory, we find ourselves being slowly dragged back into a sea of squalling feedback and static. Sometimes the static comes completely to the forefront, as in “The Dead Sea.” In this track, we have high pitched squeal and harsh noise that would be right at home on any noise album. This is unsurprising, as I saw both Mark Wilson’s solo project Conure and Daniel Bloomquist’s solo project at this year’s Northern California Noise Festival.
This album is the best of all possible worlds in experimental music. In some ways, there is something for everyone. If you have a friend that wishes that bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor would let loose and be more experimental and chaotic, hand them this disk. This is what that would sound like. Do you know someone who is not really into harsh noise because they think it all sounds the same, or they simply want something more to it? Hand them this disk. There is all of the noise, but also all of the beauty. That is precisely what makes 15 Degrees Below Zero such an engaging act. You never quite know what you are going to get but you know it's always going to be worth getting. Highly recommended." [Eskaton, Chain D.L.K.]
"Eine offene Tür ist ein ausgesprochen vielgestaltiges Symbol, und das erstrecht, wenn es sich gleich um mehrere handelt. Sie zeigen unmissverständlich, dass der vor ihnen stehende weder ein- noch ausgesperrt ist und dass jede Wand, jede Grenze durch sie passierbar ist. Dem Auge jedoch offenbart sich in einer offenen Tür nur ein rahmenhafter Ausschnitt, der meist mehr versteckt als offenbart. Und mit dem, was man durch die Tür zu sehen vermag, steht und fällt jede Hoffnung, die ihre Offenheit suggeriert. Das Ausschnitthafte, Unbestimmte, mitunter Mysteriöse offener Türen ist beinahe ein perfektes Motto für die musikalische Erkundungsreise, die das Drone- und Noise-Trio 15 Degrees Below Zero auf ihrem vor einigen Monaten erschienenen Album „Open Doors“ unternehmen.
15 Degrees Below Zero ist das Projekt der drei Kalifornier Mark Wilson (besser bekannt als Conure), Daniel Blomquist und Michael Addison Mersereau, die in den 90ern bereits unter dem Namen Imperial Floral Assault Unit zusammenarbeiteten, und machte vor allem in den Nullerjahren von sich reden. Nach Wilsons Umzug nach Berlin und der Konzentration der Musiker auf andere Projekte wurden die Aktivitäten irgendwann seltener, und so brauchte es beinahe ein Jahrzehnt, bis „Open Doors“ fertig gestellt wurde.
Wenn es einen roten Faden auf „Open Doors“ gibt, dann dass die in den einzelnen Stücken entworfenen, meist düsteren Settings nie klar definiert bleiben, sondern immer wieder ihre Gestalt durch subtile Überblendungen und Verästelungen modifizieren. „Horizon, Skyline“ – der Opener und gleich längste Track des Albums – startet mit verunsichernden Rumpel- und Kratzgeräuschen, eingehüllt in eine mysteriöse Wolke aus dichtem Rauschen. Doch von titelgebenden Horizont dringt bald ein tief erdendes Ambientdröhnen ins Zentrum des Geschehens, intensiviert sich und verdrängt alle Kantigkeit, um am Ende Platz für weitere, perkussive Details zu schaffen, und so entpuppt sich jeder Moment, in dem man verweilen möchte, als vergänglicher Übergang zu weiteren, unbestimmten Orten.
Die abgeklärte Desolatheit, die sich bereits hier erahnen lässt, scheint in den folgenden Tracks deutlicher hervor: Im „The 5:15“ betitelten Stück breiten sich rauschende Wellen wie schwerer Atem über monotones Saitenspiel aus und mutieren zu etwas, das an gequälte Stimmen erinnert – alles scheint sich hier auf eine Eskalation zuzubewegen, während das Gitarrenmotiv stoisch unverändert bleibt, bis perkussives Klopfen für etwas Erleichterung sorgt. In manchen Stücken scheint es in emotionaler, atmosphärischer Hinsicht am Ende doch so etwas wie ein kleines Fazit zu geben.
Noch weitaus unbestimmter und wechselhafter offenbart sich der Titeltrack, der sich zunächst als knarriger Ambietdowner in die Gehörgänge bohrt. Hat man sich erst einmal eingelebt in seiner resignativen Statik, so sorgen allerhand kleine feine Bewegungen für Erleichterung: Helle Sounds bimmeln wie abstrahierte Glöckchen durch den Raum, doch das wiederum ist nur die Ankündigung für einen durch donnernde Detonationen eingeleiteten Sturm, der viel ungehörtes aufwirbelt. Interessant ist dass all diese gegensätzlich wirkenden Bestandteile der Kompositionen sich nie gegenseitig in Frage stellen, sondern in all ihrer Ambiguität zu koexistieren verstehen – vielleicht ist dies am deutlichsten spürbar in “White Sands”, dessen treibende Dynamik aus dem Hintergrund wirkt und die anrührende Melodie im Vordergrund nie antastet. es ist eines der kraftvollsten Stücke des Albums.
So haben letztlich alle Stücke ihre eigene kleine innere Dramatik, ihre eigenen Brüche und Richtungswechsel, und natürlich auch ihre Schwerpunkte. Lässt der nach dem Roten Meer benannte Track eine wuchtige Ambientwelle eine fast meditative Unbewegtheit in dem mit Klappern erfüllten Raum entstehen, so offenbart sein am Ende des Albums verortetes Pendant “The Dead Sea ” die größte Ambiguität zwischen Ruhe und Unruhe, zwischen getriebener Bewegung, schönen Synthie-Soundscapes und einem rabiaten Noise, der von etwas, das an Schreie erinnert, durchzuckt ist.
“Open Doors” ist ein ungemein reichhaltiges Album und jedes enthaltene Stück würde den Stoff für einen kongenialen Filmscore abgeben. Wenn die so untermalten Stoffe – mehrere Kollegen schrieben zurecht über postapokalyptische Dystopien – durch zahlreiche Ereignisse und zugleich durch eine nie zu eindeutige Stimmung auffallen würden, wären sie der Musik am ehesten angemessen." [U.S./African Paper] |
2021 |
€13.00 |
|
| 5UU'S |
Hunger's Teeth |
CD |
Die 5UU’s gehören zum Aushängeschild neuer “Avant-Prog-Rock” oder “Art-Rock”-Bands und wurden oft mit den genialen ART BEARS verglichen....oder als zeitgemässe Nachfolger von YES. Diese Musik ist schwer zu beschreiben: perfekt eingespielte Genre-sprengende Rockmusik, manchmal sehr strukturiert und mit Refrains die man mitsingen kann, i.d.R. mit disharmonischem oder neu-harmonischem Gesang & alles auf den Punkt gespielt; unerwartete Wechsel, fast-Krach-Parts, sehr ruhige experimentelle geräuschafte akustische Szenen, inkl. einem umwerfenden Solo-Stück von THOMAS DIMUZIO; und SUSANNE LEWIS (CORPSES AS BEDMATES) singt auf zwei Stücken.
„....Ein Charakteristikum der UU´s-Musik besteht darin, daß häufig Melodien gegen Begleitungen gesetzt werden, die nicht als Unterstützung sondern als Widerpart wirken. Es macht Spaß, beim Hören zu erleben, wie diese Melodik trotzdem als "schön" wahrnehmbar bleibt (obwohl ich mir darüber im klaren bin, daß viele Hörer einwenden würden, die Melodien seien hier als Melodien kaum noch erkennbar).... “ [Ralf J. Günter / Babyblaue Seiten]
“The re-formed 5UU's first CD, featuring, one-of-a-kind drummer Dave Kerman with new line-up- Sanjay Kumar (keyboards) and Bob Drake (Bass, Guitar, Vocals) and guests Susanne Lewis, Tom Dimuzio, and James Grigsby. Power, complexity and intelligence - an express train that can pirouette on a dime.” [label info]
“....Hunger's Teeth is the most exciting rock album I've heard this year. No, not Anderson exactly, but Robert Drake's vocals do bear a striking resemblance to the Yes man's "angelic" tenor. Is this "progressive rock" for the '90's? A celebration of intricately layered arrangements and polyrhythmic playing, effortlessly combining '70's grandeur with avant-rock, contemporary collage and computing - and only one track in 11 over six minutes! The musicianship (also David Kerman and Sanjay Kumar, plus guests) is superb, not showy, always at the service of the experimental approach to song structure - lots of convoluted instrumental passages that return almost miraculously to "refrains". Brilliant.” [Chris Blackford / Rubberneck]
„...."Mangate" is a minimalist, tape-manipulation piece created by Thomas DiMuzio. It has such a hypnotic effect, that I once missed my exit on the highway because that track had lulled me into a semi-trance. Very neat. Those first three tracks are my favorite part of the album, but it continues to maintain its high quality throughout. The ground it covers ranges from a barbershop quartet singing about barbers to philosophy about a bachelor fumbling his way through mending his own clothes. Plus there's a running theme throughout the album that has to do with horses - the one pictured on the cover, the track title "Roan" (which starts with galloping hoof beats), the rocker "Glue" ("in time, sugar and horses will both become glue") that starts with the trumpet call that begins horse races, etc. Even the album title is apparently meant to be the name of a famous race horse. The more I listen to this disc, the more layers and tie-ins to various themes I find.
This is definitely a highly recommended album, if you're a fan at all of prog's more experimental edges. For those looking to get their first 5uu's album, this would be a good place to start (if you can find it).” [Ground and Sky]
|
1994 |
€14.00 |
|
| AERE AETERNUS |
Humanity needs no Funeral |
CD |
From the new wave of 'apocalyptic' or 'doom/death industrial' bands surely one of most interesting and impressive projects, AERE AETERNUS build a de-humanized soundtrack full of dark drones, over-expressive tortured voices, and devastating sounds. There is no light in this hellish Miasma, imagine SLEEP CHAMBER meeting LUSTMORD meeting dark HYBRYDS... The CD Version has video-track as bonus !
"Humanity Needs No Funeral", the first full-length album from AERE AETERNUS, was released on the French label Kaosthetik. With a multi-national and eclectic lineup, the band comprises Alex (MACABRE OMEN, THE ONE, RAZOR OF OCCAM), Claudio Alcara (FROSTMOON ECLIPSE, STROSZEK), Cyr (DARK SANCTUARY, ELKTRONIK SCIETY) and Radu. Drawing on the wide range and considerable musical experience of its members, AERE AETERNUS creates a dark, disturbing atmosphere that probably best fits within the ambient and minimalist genres, and which the band themselves describe as "half misanthropic ritual and half sex ritual." The dominant atmosphere combines a sense of impending insanity with sexual deviancy and a large dollop of occultism, creating a dark and troubling misanthropic sojourn that is relatively unique. The final track is probably the most musical, as it is centred on a guitar arpeggio, but no such concessions to convention are present elsewhere on this deeply troubling disk. The accompanying video (CD version ONLY) of "Invocation" shows a Satanic ritual in all its kitchsy glory. Recommended for those looking for something a darker than the usual entities. "When Dark Ambient meets Industrial Deviance" [label info] |
2008 |
€14.00 |
|
| AGNIVOLOK |
Sculptor |
LP |
Wirklich Genre-übergreifend, was das in Israel beheimatete Projekt (aus dem CHAOS AS SHELTER-Umfeld bzw. dürfte Vadim Gusis aka CAS hier auch mitspielen) hier fabriziert hat: Leidenschaftlicher, ost-europäisch geprägter Folk mit klagendem weiblichen russischen Gesang vermischt mit industriellen drones & samples & konkreten Geräuschen, Pianotunes, das alles sehr sehr schwermütig zerbrechlich schön. Auf Seite B lange düstere Streichersounds und drones.. dazu ein großformatiges, sehr ästhetisches Cover mit kirillischen liner-notes. Absolutes Highlight!
Israel based Folk-Industrial project with very passionate & melancholic tunes, very much recommended, one of our highlights!
“ Like all Stateart releases, a highly demanding album. Agnivolok compells us to discover a new world of musical meltdown and takes traditional music into new dimensions. It is not folk - although the traditional fire will project ancient Caucasian gatherings into your mind. It is not ambient - although it makes you dream, and these dreams ache. Agnivolok is near life experience - music for spiritual travellers and the listener's V.I.T.R.I.O.L. This heavy vinyl LP comes in a supreme white cardboard folder with silver print.” [label description]
|
2002 |
€12.50 |
|
| ALDINUCCI, GIULIO / MATTEO UGGERI |
Bureau |
CD |
Matteo Uggeri : Field Recordings and Beats
Giulio Aldinucci : Field Recordings and Drones
In 2016 Matteo Uggeri took hundreds of pictures during his working days in 70’s building aimed at training and desk work located in the surroundings of Milan
Later that winter the photographs served as inspiration for this album themed on alienation of offices working life. Tracks are based on outdoor field recordings
looped, treated and re-shaped in order to be transformed into beats,rhythms, (Matteo) drones and melodies (Giulio)
https://adnrecords.com/album/giulio-aldinucci-matteo-uggeri-bureau/
"An emotionally absorbing, vibrant and sensitive personal voyage
Matteo Uggeri is one multifaceted and emblematic sound/noise designer artist from Italy—also one founder member of the chamber post-rock collective Sparkle in Grey. His usual signature can be described as composite ambient sceneries where sonic textures meet story-telling minimal sketches and expanding downtempo vibes.
In this new release he collaborates with Giulio Aldinucci, who is a seducing and creative electroacoustic soundscaper whose production (in solo or in collaboration, notably with Francesco Giannico) is largely recognized in the DIY indie community with a fancy for mesmeric, chilled-out then discreet electronic ambient music.
Bureau is an emotionally absorbing, vibrant and sensitive personal voyage through a vast array of emotions, tone colors, flexible tones and kinetic electronic impulses. This is mostly one electronic and ambient-centered atmospheric album with a stylistic inclination for hypnotic organic textures (as in the ravishing “Fire Dome”) and minimal-tinged chilled out soundscapes with more abstract sounds and airy clicks and cuts (in “Inceneritore” “Ghiaccio”), even flirting with glitch-esque vibes (“Ghiaccio”) and hauntology (in the eerie and weirdly “Zoo”).
An easily recommended listening and catchy electronic effort to consider if you are into post-minimal techno, IDM and syncretic ambient waves. Somewhere between Christian Fennesz, Microstoria, Oval, Hecq, and Beequeen."
[Philippe Blache (Igloo Magazine) August 23, 2020]
"Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had already registered the return of ADN Records, erstwhile a cassette label with some great releases (New 7th music, Amok, Pascal Comelade, Bourbonese Qualk etc) in the 80s. They were called (not by me) the Italian version of Recommended Records. They have come back, already some time ago and picked up on a generation of ‘younger’ musicians. Matteo Uggeri took hundreds of photos of his workplace in a ’70s building and that became the inspiration for this work with Giulio Aldinucci. They both use field recordings, but Aldinucci melts the re-processed field recordings into drones and Uggeri into beats. These beats should not be understood as a bunch of big 4/4 rhythms, but minimalist drum patterns of a dark nature. It fits the ditto dark drones as produced by Aldinucci, that are sometimes pretty straight forward sustaining clouds of sound, but most of the time also add a small melodic touch to them. I have no idea where these field recordings were made, only recognizing the fanfare on the street in ‘Chinese New Year‘ and some wind/rain/water sounds in other pieces, or vast empty parking space. Sometimes the beats produced by Uggeri seem almost absent, such as in ‘Inceneritore‘, but maybe they are even more spaced out here. I think it is quite a clever move to work with field recordings in the way these gentlemen do; just treating them into big chunks of abstract ambient music has been done quite enough, but adding minimalist rhythms and re-shaping field recordings into lovely chunks of melodic ambient is also perhaps not unique, but it is not done to death yet (at least, not that I know) and as such, this is a great album." Frans De Waard (Vital Weekly n. 1246)
|
2020 |
€13.00 |
|
| ALOG |
Unemployed |
CD |
"Mainstays with Rune Grammofon since their debut ”Red Shift Swing” in 1999, their new album ”Unemployed” finds them on top of their game with what is arguably their finest effort so far. It was recorded in a wide range of spaces and places, from recordings of Haugan and Eide as street musicians in San Francisco while touring, to scavenging old collections of 78-records in the mining town of Bjørnevatn in the far north-eastern part of Norway. From on-the-spot recordings of Sigbjørn Apeland´s legendary collection of vintage harmoniums in the St. Jakobs Church in Bergen, to high-end capture of the unique sounds of Alog´s many custom built instruments in the studios of Notam in Oslo and BEK in Bergen. For a period of three years Alog collected material from all kind of sources, times and situations and made new songs that constantly pushed their creative freedom in unexpected directions. Playful, adventurous, mysterious and exploring, this is 76 minutes of experimental, yet accessible, music of the very finest sort and comes highly recommended." [label info]
www.runegrammofon.com
"Unemployed", das fünfte Album von ALOG, wurde an den verschiedensten Orten und Plätzen aufgenommen. Von Aufnahmen von Haugan und Eide als Straßenmusiker in San Francisco, während sie auf Tour waren, bis zu Stöbertouren in alte 78er-Plattensammlungen in der Bergbauerstadt Bjornevatn im nordöstlichsten Teil Norwegens. Von den spontanen Aufnahmen auf Sigbjorn Apelands legendärer Harmonium-Sammlung in der St. Jakobs Kirche in Bergen bis zu den einzigartigen Sounds auf den selbstgebauten ALOG Instrumenten im Notam Studio in Oslo und BEK in Bergen. Über drei Jahre hinweg sammelten ALOG Material aus den verschiedensten Quellen, Zeiten und Situationen, um neue Songs entstehen zu lassen, die der kreativen Freiheit in unerwartete Richtungen folgen. ALOG kamen in den späten 90er Jahren in Tromso als Duo aus Espen Sommer Eide und Dag-Are Haugan zusammen. In den vergangenen Jahren sind sie unterwegs auf viele einzigartige Musiker gestoßen, die eingeladen wurden, ihren Beitrag zu ,Unemployed" zu liefern. Da wäre das Harmonium von Sigbjorn Apeland, die minimalistischen Geigenimprovisationen des SHERIFFs OF NOTHINGNESS (Ole Henrik Moe und Kari Ronnekleiv), die klingenden Alltagsobjekte des jungen Soundkünstlers Signe Liden, die magischen Stimmen der Rune Grammofon Labelkollegin JENNY HVAL und der Beitrag des legendären niederländischen Soundpoeten Jaap Blonk.
|
2012 |
€14.50 |
|
| AMBARCHI, OREN |
A Final Kiss on Poisoned Cheeks |
LP |
OREN AMBARCHI's Beitrag für die neue "guitar series" auf TABLE OF THE ELEMENTS: vielschichtige Poly-Drones, bestehend nicht nur aus Gitarren-Tönen sondern auch aus elektronischen Kontakt- und Störgeräuschen & sich windenden Feedbacks; ein sehr komplexes Stück, lebendig und elektronisch ausstrahlend in 1000 verschiedene Richtungen. Wunderbar auch, wie es dann allmählich mit glockenhellen Klängen versetzt ausklingt.. AMBARCHI in Höchstform. Himmelblaues Vinyl.
"There is a vivid breadth to the guitar deconstructions of Australian Oren Ambarchi. Sometimes his work takes a delicate lilt; it can also dive into dark and deep pools of sound when he joins cowl-core ensembles Sunn O))) (with Stephen O'Malley) and Burial Chamber Trio (with Greg Anderson). Whether with those bands, solo, or in collaboration with luminaries ranging from Mike Patton and John Zorn to Christian Fennesz, he consistently reroutes his instrument into zones of arch, alien abstraction. A Final Kiss On Poisoned Cheeks offers a dizzying gaze straight into a chasm of extreme frequencies -- paint-peelingly high and bowel-churningly low -- all set atop a sub-strata of menace, angst, and contemplative beauty." Pressed on light-blue marbled, etched vinyl. B-side etching artwork by Savage Pencil." [label info]
"...Still essentially a dronescape, A Final Kiss is rife with sonic activity, so much so that in lesser hands it would be more of a mess, a sort of pretty-ish noise record, but Ambarchi, takes all manner of buzz and glitch, of scrape and hum, and weaves it into a strangely lyrical arrangement. The core of the piece is a thick, undulating low end drone, a muted Niblockian shimmer, that seems not to change so much as shift, reflecting different colors and sounds depending on the angle. Over this nearly constant thrum, exist a veritable universe of strange sounds, streaks of feedback, cricket like electronic chitter,
moaning throbbing swells of guitar rumble, brief blurs of warm soft focus fuzz, layers of crumbling distortion, all of the various
elements constantly shifting and blossoming, collapsing and then blooming again, creating a super organic flow, another instance of
leaving the instruments on the stage, guitars against amps. amps cranked, although here it seems the instruments have come to life, and
we are glimpsing their secret lives, as the communicate musically, telling some sort of story, exchanging mysterious messages, which
while indecipherable to human ears, still manage to sound magical. Guitardrone freaks will, well, freak! Subtly heavy, darkly
drone-y, slightly noisy, rich and dense and textural. Really gorgeous. And totally recommended.
Pressed on swirled turquoise vinyl. One sided, the other side with a super bad ass etching, housed in a thick vinyl sleeve, and of course, as always LIMITED!" [Aquarius Records review]
www.tableoftheelements.com
|
2008 |
€17.50 |
|
| AMUNDSON, NATHAN |
Western Songs |
LP |
"Minimalist singer/songwriter Nathan Amundson began recording as Rivulets in 1999, when his self-titled debut was issued by Chairkickers Union, the Duluth, Minnesota label run by the veteran slowcore outfit Low.
Since then Nathan has released a plethora of albums, EPs, and singles as Rivulets on labels such as Chairkickers, Acuarela, Important Recoords, TROME and Jellyfant. His live performances, both solo and with his band, are highly acclaimed, and much sought after on the European circuit.
"Western Songs" marks the very first time Nathan Amundson is releasing music under his own name. This record is his first for Silentes, and features two side-long late night instrumental guitar jams evoking the vast arid landscape surrounding his home state of Colorado.
Recommended if you like: deserts, drone, experimental, minimalist, mountains and slowcore.
"Western Songs" is released in two different editions:
- 200 copies on black vinyl;
- 50 copies on splattered vinyl. [sold out]" [label info]
13.silentes.it
|
2015 |
€18.00 |
|
| ANDERSSON, PETER |
Music for Film and Exhibition |
do-CD & DVD |
"...Natura Fluxus'. 2CD+DVD in digibook packaging. Limited to 400 copies. Peter Andersson from the Cold Meat Industry act raison detre now presents his sound work for film and exhibition, spanning through the years 1999 to 2006. Peter has been working on several film and exhibition projects, some of these projects never went to final completion but the music was composed in almost all the cases. Music for Film and Exhibition presents a broad spectrum of the sounds and music capabilities of Peter Andersson and those familiar with any of his different music projects including raison d'etre, Necrophorus, Atomine Elektrine, Bocksholm etc. will most probably enjoy this double album (Music duration 151 min.) very much..For now Infinite Fog Productions presents complite edition of 'Music for Film and Exhibition I" which contains real DVD with Natura Fluxus - film by Peter Andersson and Lars Bosma + some rare bonuses, like another Peter's films - Autumn Leaves; Mandala; Dritfing Wall; Nature Morte e.t. Total play time approx. 83 minutes! Natura Fluxus brings us on a poetic, existential and suggestive journey dealing with matters like abandonment, desolation, emptiness, inanimation, remembrance and residual energy through places where we can spot traces of presence of mankind. Discover the aesthetic beauty in old factories and ruins: in the perishable and the metamorphoses that follow. Natura Fluxus is a experimental film where concrete, environmental sounds and original scored music blend with visual stunning sceneries of rarely seen places. The film is in B/W and Color. Highly recommended! Masterpiece of ambient music!" [label info]
www.infinitefog.ru
|
2011 |
€29.00 |
|
| ANKERSMIT, THOMAS / JIM O'ROURKE |
split |
LP |
Der Niederländer THOMAS ANKERSMIT beeindruckt auf der A-Seite mit einem spannenden mikrotonal vielfältigen Stück, welches auf Computer, EMS Synth & Saxhophon basiert, sehr ruhig anfängt und ungeahnte dronige Brisanz entwickelt, am Ende werden Kaskaden von hochfrequent-dynamischen Klangwellen auf den Hörer geworfen....
auf der B-Seite ein älteres Stück von JIM O’ROURKE von 1992 aus seiner „dronigen“ Phase, ein low-fi-fuzz-drone Leckerbissen, wo verzerrte Gitarrendrones auf Oszillatorenwellen treffen - und wie!
Beide Stücke sind so um die 18 Minuten lang...
“Finally! Side one features 'Weerzin' by Thomas Ankersmit, composed & recorded in 2004 (Computer, Serge & EMS Synthesizer). Side two composed & recorded by Jim O'Rourke in 1992 (Oscillators & Guitars). Edition of 750 copies.” [label info]
“Limited edition split LP from two of the most regularly interrogating modern avantists. Ankersmit’s side is a fuzz-encrusted investigation of non-linear routes through the solo saxophone, with wildly dislocated sounds modulated by computer, serge and EMS synths. O’Rourke’s side is an absolute beauty, a monolithic 1992 recording that matches massive cycles of minimally-repeating fuzz guitar with the brain-bombing chatter of rapid-firing oscillators. Sounds somewhere between Sunroof, Folke Rabe and Faust. Edition of 750 copies, recommended.” [Volcanic Tongue]
|
2005 |
€12.00 |
|
| AOSUKE |
Monotone Spirits |
CD |
"aosuke's new album "monotone spirits", which has been released as collaborative work of the labels audiolith and meudiamorte, is highly recommended to all lovers of classic ambient sounds as all four tracks which are paving their way through a total running time of about 36 minutes feature floating, totally beat-less structures of organic ambience influenced of what my be called a slightly post-postrock'ish attitude if the simple use of processed guitar sounds can be regarded as rock-reference. if not, it's just ambient at its best." [label notes]
www.audiolith.net
|
2006 |
€12.00 |
|
| ARCANE DEVICE |
Devices 1987-2007 |
do-CD |
Texturen aus Sirenen-Klängen und Sinuston-Feedbacks, repetitive Patterns aus Extrem-Frequenzen, Effektgerät-Übersteuerungen bilden seltsame Klangkegel aus, elektronische Cut-Ups formen Kaskaden aus befremdlicher Rhythmik. Und alles basiert nur auf einer Soundquelle: Feeback! Auf dieser russischen Kollektion des emsigen MONOCHROME VISION-Labels findet sich älteres rares Material von längst vergessenen Compilations, aber auch neue Stücke von 2007, welche nahtlos an die Vergangenheit anknüpfen, insgesamt aber weniger noisig & offensiv klingen. Very special stuff!
"Anthology of rare and previously unreleased tracks by Arcane Device, recorded within the 20 years. It is divided into two parts. The first one consists of tracks from compilations issued by Subterranean Records, Tragic Figures, SFCR Tapes, and Generations Unlimited, but also unreleased material remastered and/or remixed in 2007. The second one is subtitled as "Feedback symphony" and based on various recordings, presented in four movements and finished in 2007. One more chance to approve the exceptional skills and compositional/ technical talent of David Myers who can control the electrons by will, creating fantastic soundscapes. Arcane Device is the unique project of american graphic designer and musician David Myers, active between 1987 and 1995. His creative output is going beyond any categorization, because it’s possible to re-arrange and demonstrate such many styles of modern music with only one thing that is feedback. This effect usually happens when you shortcut the input and output of any electric device. It’s hard to believe but this almost uncontrolable beast became the driving force for Arcane Device music, armed by self-made bank of delays and filters. Looking like inward sound research, decorated with finest web of random processes and microvariations, it becames the peculiar feature. Endless circulation of electrons, never repeating routes and always having some chance for individual life inside of any macrostructure." [label notes / credits]
"....I might be wrong, but the oldest guy here is David Lee Myers, also known in the mid eighties as Arcane Device and one of my heroes of the time. Myers created his own feedback machines long before someone thought of 'no input mixers'. Myers controlled his feedback with all sorts of sound effects, which made him sound differently than say the average industrial musician. No wonder his first release was on Recommended/ReR records, known for improvisation rather than noise. In the time span of less than eight years Arcane Device released a bunch of CDs, a LP, a double 7" pack and some cassettes (many of them these days available from http://www.pulsewidth.com). For Monochrome Vision, Myers went to his archive to pick some rare (from various compilations on Subterranean Records, Tragic Figures, SFCR and Generations Unlimited) and unreleased for his double CD. I admit straight away that it has been a while since I last played a CD by Arcane Device, but hearing this feast of recognition, prompts me to pull them all out and play them again in the next weeks, when time allows me. The strength of Arcane Device, to work with such unmusical sounds in such a musical form, hasn't lost any of his magic to me. Unlike say the current wave of no input mixers, who like to be microsound, minimal or overtly harsh, but nothing musical, I only know of one equivalent to Myers and that's Marco Ciciliani, who I once saw play a no input mixer in such a musical manner. Great stuff!" [FdW / Vital Weekly]
www.monochromevision.ru
|
2007 |
€17.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| ART BEARS |
Hopes & Fears |
CD |
"New digipak reissue of the first Art Bears album, originally issued by Recommended in 1978. Fred Frith : guitars, keyboards, bass, violin; Dagmar Krause: voice; Chris Cutler: percussion. With: Tim Hodgkinson: keyboards, woodwinds; Georgie Born: Bass, cello; Lindsay Cooper: bassoon, oboe, soprano sax, recorders. "Originally recorded as a Henry Cow album (but eventually assigned to the trio of Art Bears), during the late 70's this grouping made one of the most powerful statements yet in the world of Art-Rock. Whereas Henry Cow showed an inclination to write long-ish compositions interspersed with improvisational aspects, Art Bears' approach combined a more lyrical display, with shorter, extended-song forms. Typically, the word-strong poetry of drummer Chris Cutler was the impetus for the group's recordings. Once written, it was set to music by multi-instrumentalist Fred Frith, (often in a spur-of-the-moment fashion) and was then extrapolated upon and built up by the group during the recording/mixing process in a way that usually validated the lyrical intent.
Hopes And Fears shows the group at its most formidable stage in terms of composition. The pieces are often highly complex, with ideas that zig-zag through a maze of musical imagery, highlighting the group at their peak of virtuosity. Dagmar Krause's vocal prowess is stunningly effective, and the recording itself was edited in a sequence where repeating themes and studio wizardry present the album as a cycle of related, 'songs'. Of the best and most bizarre of the old school of Art-Rock." [press release]
|
2003 |
€14.00 |
|
| |
Revisited |
do-CD |
Unveröffentlichtes, Neues, Remixtes, Neubearbeitetes zum 25jährigen Band-Jubiläum von diversen Grössen der ReR-Family, and beyond...
“Prepared over six years for our 25th Anniversary, this is a collection of specially commissioned re-mixes, re-workings and (mostly) new pieces made from the Art Bears' multi-track masters by JOHN OSWALD, THE RESIDENTS, CHRISTIAN MARCLAY, FRED FRITH, CHRIS CUTLER, BIOTA, OTOMO YOSHIHIDE/GROUND ZERO, BOB DRAKE JON ROSE, OSSATURA, WARRIC SWINNEY/KALAHARI SURFERS, WHEN, THOMAS DIMUZIO, ANNIE GOSFIELD ROGER KLEIR,ANDREA ROCCA, VITOR RUA, JOCELYN ROBERT,MUSCI/ VENOSTA/ MARIANI, MASSIMO SIMONINI, HERB HEINZ. MARTIN ARCHER, YASUSHI UTSUNOMIYA, JON LEIDECKER /WOBBLY, STEVAN KOVACS TICKMAYER andBRIAN WOODBURY - an amazing catalogue of imagination and great music, digi-packed with a cover art by EM Thomas, who did all three original art bears covers and containing Art re-mixes in the booklet as well as comprehensive information. This double also contains Collapse from the Ralph Records single, All Hail from the Recommended Sampler and one previously unreleased and unfinished track completed by Fred Frith and Chris Cutler for this CD.” [press release]
|
2004 |
€19.00 |
|
| AX |
Metal Forest |
CD |
"AX is the project of British rock and electronic musician Anthony Di Franco (Ramleh, Novatron, Ethnic Acid, JFK, ex-Skullflower). Extreme and uncompromising, AX presents a unique sound world of blistering power electronics, pulverising bass drones, feedback symphonies, and dark atmospheres. This CD includes tracks from the legendary long out of print mid-90′s vinyl albums, digitally remastered for the first time."
"Needless to say EXTREMELY recommended, and not just for nineties industrial obsessives (although obviously, for those folks, this is a no brainer), but if you dig minimal guitar mesmer, psychedelic doom, abstract heaviness, post industrial soundscaping, all strains of drone, especially heavy guitardrone, this collection will blow your mind." [Aquarius Records]
|
2012 |
€12.00 |
|
| AXOLOTL |
Chemical Theatre |
LP |
Zwei lange Stücke auf dieser feinen LP des Projekts aus San Francisco: Auf Seite A wunderbar sanfte Drone-Wolken, hell & schimmernd, die sich im Raum verteilen wie akustisches Frühlings-Parfüm, die Sounds kommen etwas taumelnd vor und zurück wie langsam anbrandende Wellen... Seite B hat mehr Druck & Noise und fast schon sowas erkennbare Strukturen im betörenden Drone-Chaos...
Schweres Vinyl, dicke "glossy" Inlays, hand-nummerierte Auflage, auf einem neuen belgischen Label.
"Two long sides of KARL BAUER's best work so far. "Here Bauer uses violin, vocals, electronics and percussion to assemble huge fields of strafing white light that somehow reconcile the all-night flights of Terry Riley and the clouds of lung generated by Yoshi Wada with flickers of microdot vision and stoned oblivion poems... This is another great blast of rigorously thought-out modern American sound. Highly recommended." [Volcanic Tongue].
|
2006 |
€12.50 |
|
| BAD SECTOR / CONTAGIOUS ORGASM |
Vacuum Pulse |
CD |
Re-Release des vergriffenen Tapes von 1996 (OEC 083), zu dem wir damals bemerkten: "Wer beide Gruppen kennt, hat mit solch einer Kollaboration sicher nicht gerechnet! Was dabei herauskommt (kein Split-Tape, sondern gegenseitige Bearbeitung von Basic-material), liegt fernab der für beide Gruppen typischen Sounds: mystische Sphärenmusik durchmischt mit konkretem Material, Samples, etc..die eine Seite CONTAGIOUS ORGASM beeinhaltet Contagious'sches Material bearbeitet von Bad Sector, während auf der BAD ORGASM - Seite genau umgekehrt vorgegangen wurde..." klasssse..
Re-released now, back in stock for a SPECIAL price !
“....From a mere description, this could end up sounding like every other drone and ambient noise release you own, but the fact is that nothing can account for the sheer depth and richness of the sounds on offer here. Everything has an almost organic quality to it, the drones sounding so liquid and deep that they take on a life of their own, both separate and a part of their generative technology – an otherworldly symbiosis of life and machine that stems directly from science fiction. It is hard to distinguish the two different artists’ efforts from one another, as their approaches to sound and composition are so alike, especially when focussed towards this common theme. It is, then, almost the perfect collaboration, each artists’ talents serving to enhance the other’s and producing a work that is not far removed from their usual output, but that has that elusive X-factor of genius and serendipity that quickly ranks this as a classic of modern music. Nearly indescribable, highly recommended. [Gavin Lees, Immanence Records]
label: www.oldeuropacafe.com |
2002 |
€12.00 |
|
| BAKER, AIDAN |
I fall into you |
CD |
Re-issue of an early CDR from 2002 (in fact this is maybe his second or third ever solo-release), which was recorded on analogue 4-track at that time. Five pieces mix heavenly ocean guitars with rhythm-box and (sometimes weird) tape-loops, whisphered vocal material by AIDAN and NAOMI OKABE, and beautiful violin-drones by LISA ROSSITER-THORNTON. Between pure drone-spheres and more poetic & vocal-based song-oriented material, this shows already nowadays fully developed skills. Highly recommended (as almost everything AIDAN touches) !
www.bassesfrequences.org
|
2008 |
€10.00 |
|
| BARBIERI, CATERINA |
Patterns of Consciousness |
CD |
"Patterns Of Consciousness is the powerful second full length album from analog synth composer Caterina Barbieri. Gorgeous high resolution analog textures and algorithmic melodies unfold under Barbieri's careful control, exploring the basic nature of sound and consciousness. These pieces are minimal in arrangement but maximal in presence asserting Barbieri as a unique voice in contemporary electronic music composition. Highly recommended to fans of Alessandro Cortini and Eleh."
https://caterinabarbieri.bandcamp.com/album/patterns-of-consciousness
|
2017 |
€15.00 |
|
| BASS COMMUNION / PRECISION SURGERY |
Kurzwellen 8 |
LP |
"Many of you will be aware of my love of industrial and noise music, and one of my favourite labels of this kind in recent years has been the old school 80’s industrial revivalist label Kurzwellen, affiliated with ToneFloat from the Netherlands (who have released many of my projects over the years, including the IEM and Bass Communion box sets). Each of their releases so far have been in the form of hyper limited edition vinyl only releases, sometimes only 100 copies of so, and each is housed in a 24x36inch silkscreen poster sleeve with suitably grim black and white imagery. This time around the label played me a new album they were releasing as Kurzwellen 7, “Hinterkaifeck” by Precision Surgery (Hinterkaifeck being the location of a famous unsolved murder from the 1920’s), and I felt inspired to create 2 minimal Bass Communion remix treatments which are now being released alongside the Precision Surgery album as Kurzwellen 8. Both LPs are out on 7th July and can be pre-ordered from the Tonefloat Store. Not recommended for people who find the music under my own name quite depressing enough already thank you very much…" [Steven Wilson website]
|
2018 |
€20.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| BERG, CHRISTOPH |
Conversations |
LP |
"Following his critically acclaimed Paraphrases album from 2012 and the more electronic based recordings as Field Rotation, Christoph Berg joins Sonic Pieces with the first new material under his own name in over four years.
Conversations essentially expresses contemplation, consciousness and the urge for retreat from the sometimes overwhelming present times. The musician’s genuine approach to minimal chamber music acts as a fading scenario of nostalgia and memory to rely on, similar to an affecting dialogue with somebody close to you. A manifold violin carries us through the transformation of time and its perception, expanded by humming double bass, the discreet use of piano and subtle percussive structures – all acoustically recorded and only scarcely processed by minor digital manipulation. Christoph hereby creates a fragile and comforting score to a scenic film. The result is an elegant framework from Prologue to Epilogue that guides us through gradually developing melancholy in its most genial understanding. It’s an exceedingly comprehensive, detailed reminder of music as an intimate art form, crafted by an unusually patient and perspicacious performer.
Like a washed out black and white photograph you hang on your wall to remember, these Conversations will keep you valued company. If it’s solace, seclusion or encouragement you’re seeking – you’ll find empathy in these compositions." [label info]
"Typically sublime chamber works issued by Sonic Pieces with all the attention to detail you'd expect from this impeccable label. It’s a deeply contemplative affair rendered through layered strings and found sounds that will hugely appeal to anyone enamoured with the work of Richard Skelton or Max Richter.
The violin is at the core of these pieces, flanked by the low hum of double bass, piano and quiet percussive flourishes; all acoustically recorded with minimal digital processing. Berg does that thing of creating huge widescreen vistas with the most intimate of components; which is essentially what the Sonic Pieces label is all about.
It’s an exceedingly comprehensive, detailed reminder of music as an intimate art form, crafted by an unusually patient and perspicacious performer that by the sounds of it will soon be joining the likes of Johann Johannsson, Ben Frost, Max Richter and Cliff Martinez at the upper tier of artists who have emerged from the corners of this scene and gone on to establish a huge presence in the world of commercial, big budget film scoring.
If you’ve spent any time with Max Richter’s groundbreaking The Blue Notebooks, this one comes hugely recommended." [Bommkat]
|
2017 |
€28.00 |
|
| BERLINER RING |
Orbital |
CD |
Subtile, pulsierende, intelligent arrangierte rhythmische Elektronik von diesem Berliner Ensemble, die auch viele Instrumente und selbstgebaute Maschinen einsetzen...
"An arresting set of 'electromechanical' pieces utilising homemade instruments and various modified electronic and percussive devices, this album hones in on resonant metallic sonorities, both in the pursuit of creating strange, alien rhythms and composing melodically cogent instrumentals. Timpanis, metallophones, Korg MS20s and something called a 'heckeshorn', which if a certain video on YouTube is to be believed is a bit like an industrial revolution-era synthesizer, complete with cogs and all manner of moving parts. There's an entire solo piece on Orbital dedicated to this curious contraption (titled 'Heckeshorn') which makes for a rather creepy jaunt into the steampunk avant-garde. Berliner Ring make all manner of bizarre noises on this record, but their real achievement is in managing to configure them into easily digestible, very musical shapes. Highly recommended." [Boomkat]
"What the London orbital is to the English capital, the Berliner ring is to Berlin: a circular highway that surrounds the city.
The first contemporary release from Art Yard amalgamates disparate elements: electro mechanical devices, invented instruments, modified keyboards, delays, customised rhythm and string machines: a half man, half machine driven trip into the Electro-Mechanical sub-underground, built around a combination of moods and themes drawn from the Berlin landscape. Berliner Ring work toward a brew of forms and techniques, creating geographical references and representations, ‘tonal landscapes’, an unfolding of ambient instrumental stereologues..
Berliner Ring is: Moritz Wolpert:: percussion, tympani, painting, inventor of the Heckeshorn -a hybrid slide guitar, triggered polychord and rhythm machine. Christian Günther: builder and designer of analogue synthesizers, rhythm boxes, theremins and painting machines.
Alexander Christou: samples, electronic grooves, songs, traditional and outside music styles, 12 string guitar. Thomas Stern: bass, osmotic dubbler, doctorate in distillery, orbiting Berliner Ring and great remixer.
A collaboration with Bomb The Bass mastermind Tim Simenon is planned for later in 2009." [label info]
www.rermegacorp.com
|
2009 |
€14.00 |
|
| BIANCHI, MAURIZIO (M.B.) |
YNOHPMYS (special ed.) |
CD |
"This Italian electronics maestro seems to be still going strong after around 30 years with his latest release. Opener 'Ortini' is like the hazey recollection of a long train journey being put through an analogue filter bank. 'The Inflammatory Sesor' has a kind of feeling of nostalgia or distant memory that recalls William Basinski or The Caretaker. 'Oigada' sounds like two decomposing tape loops slightly out of sync creating a disorientating phasing effect. There are some very absorbing sounds here to get lost in. One for a late night in near darkness. Recommended." [Norman Records] |
2010 |
€20.00 |
|
| |
YNOHPMYS |
CD |
"This Italian electronics maestro seems to be still going strong after around 30 years with his latest release. Opener 'Ortini' is like the hazey recollection of a long train journey being put through an analogue filter bank. 'The Inflammatory Sesor' has a kind of feeling of nostalgia or distant memory that recalls William Basinski or The Caretaker. 'Oigada' sounds like two decomposing tape loops slightly out of sync creating a disorientating phasing effect. There are some very absorbing sounds here to get lost in. One for a late night in near darkness. Recommended." [Norman Records]
www.touretterecords.com
|
2010 |
€13.00 |
|
| BJERGA, SINDRE & FABIO ORSI |
Faded Brown and Grey |
CD |
"In October 2013 Orsi and Bjerga recorded a work of haunting beauty in the Extrapool studio. A delicate, precise mixture of Orsi's guitar playing and Bjerga's microcassettes, contact microphones captured in a myriad of electronics. Warm music, intense, yet also dark - like various shades of gray, brown and black. The cover features photographs by Fabio Orsi. Limited to 300 copies."
www.kormplastics.nl
"The Brombron project started in 2000 and is an initiative of Frans de Waard and Extrapool. Two musicians become artists in residence in Extrapool, a space for art in Nijmegen, the Netherlands and have the possibility to do recordings in a fully equipped sound recording studio. The collaboration between Fabio Orsi from Italy and Sindre Bjerga form Norway is a wonderful mix of beautiful sounds. Fabio Orsi is specialized in creating atmospheric drones by guitars, old keyboard and field-recordings. He released music all over the world and did collaboration with a lot of other musicians. Sindre Bjerga is active since mid-nighties and released more that 100 records on labels worldwide. He creates his drones by microcassettes and contact microphones in combination with a lot of electronics. The result is five intense pieces of music. The first track is a short fragile track with some fine sounds and is followed by a composition with an on-going tone and concrete sounds are coming up and fade away. The track develops into an electronic on-going changing sound layers and flows into a melancholic melody played on an electric guitar. The following droney track has the same concept of an on-going and slowly changing tone. The fourth track is a beautiful mix of several sound layers, which create a dark ambient atmosphere. Concrete sounds crack the threatening atmosphere and sphere changes to more chaotic and aggressive. The last track is very strong. The track starts in silence with a droney dark tone. The guitar of Orsi goes on and on and he plays louder and louder with a lot of intensity. The sounds of Bjerga like looping screams or a yelling mass guides the massive guitarsound. Great album, highly recommended for lovers of drones with a taste of experiment." [JKH/Vital Weekly]
|
2014 |
€10.00 |
|
| BJÄRGÖ, PETER |
Animus Retinentia |
CD |
"3rd full length album by ARCANA / SOPHIA mastermind Peter Bjärgö. On his solo works we hear the perfect blend of his previous incarnations where dreamy piano parts, rhythmic percussions and his now trade mark guitar, all blended into perfection. Solemn vocals filled with lyrics of distress and mournfulness lull us into the nether. Filled with nostalgia and longing of a lost world, "Animus Retinentia" forms a threshold into another world where glimpses of light always shine through. A splendid follow up to his previous solo works and dare we say, his best yet.
Edition of 500 copies in 6 panel Digipack. 11 Tracks. Running Time 45:55"
https://cycliclaw.bandcamp.com/album/animus-retinentia
"Peter Bjärgö is an artist that has left his mark all over the post industrial scene of music over the years. Going all the way back to 1994, Arcana, was Peter Bjärgö‘s first musical project to get attention. Arcana focused on a sort of medieval-ambient/neoclassical sound. The 1996 release on Cold Meat Industry of Dark Age of Reason is still to this day a reference point for many musicians. In later years, Arcana would expand its line-up. There also formed a second project Sophia, which focused on an industrial ambient sound. In 2009, Peter Bjärgö would start his solo-project, under his own name. Peter said on social media of this, “After nearly 20 years of activity with Arcana I decided to explore music as a solo artist, without boundaries, and show a more intimate side of my creativity.”
That intimate side turns out to be quite beautiful if also rather depressing. Peter Bjärgö spoke about issues of depression and sorrow, but it was felt on a more global scale, similar to the latest Sophia album, but in a much more personal manner.
Animus Retinentia takes us to this more personal place. A time in Peter’s past when things didn’t seem so bleak and depressing. A time when he had great hopes for his future, as well as the future of our world. Its a reflection on these times, through the lens of an adult who knows all too well the terrible state of affairs on our planet. Now in a time after the illusion has been shattered, looking back on childhood happiness can be a great comfort. In this way, Peter Bjärgö taps into that comfort, allowing it to blossom into a full album of music which is equally melancholic and inspirational. The senses of childhood happiness and adulthood depression are both played out masterfully, each being given its room to leave an effect on the listener. The instrumental tracks scattered through the album touch more on that adulthood melancholy, while the lyrics are often living in the memories, or reflecting upon them.
There are a few loop based instrumental tracks which split up the more active tracks. These instrumentals are full of thoughtful and emotional atmosphere. They give the listener an opportunity to reflect upon the lyrical content of the previous track. We are given an opportunity to think back on our own childhoods, times of youth when inspiration could be found in so many things. As for its comparison to the previous album, Peter Bjärgö explains through his social media outlets, “It’s not a sequel to Melancholy, that will happen later, this one is more cinematic and dreamy, reflecting on my childhood, a period when I last remembered I was truly happy.”
The vocals are at an all-time high level of quality. Peter Bjärgö has shed all sense of reservation on Animus Retinentia. He delivers each set of lyrics with a confidence that can’t be denied. There were hints at this development on the last solo album The Architecture of Melancholy, but only now has this become a purveying force throughout the entirety of the album. The delivery is in a deep bass range. It exudes the confidence and melancholic pondering of the album to perfection.
The lyrical content is well thought out and often quite emotional. The track “Transcend Time” for instance, shows the dichotomy between those childhood inspirations and the more depressing developments of adulthood. Lyrics like “… I need the curiosity now, everything was glowing, but the glow has faded, time has come to remind me.” show his inner dilemma, one which is surely relatable to many listeners.
The music on Animus Retinentia, is some of Peter Bjärgö‘s best yet. He manages to bring together a combination of looped elements with gentle synth sections, and his emotionally charged acoustic guitar parts, all coalescing into a warm and full sound. “Where Night Is Eternal” showcases a toned-down approach with a glitchy drum sequence. Then tracks like “From Agony” take a bold approach, again proving that his level of confidence in this style of music is at an all-time high.
As the album reaches its terminus on “Sleep Dep.Loop2” it’s almost as if there are thoughts trying to repeat themselves, while an increasingly present drone pushes forward from the background. The listener is allowed the sensation of trying to remain in this dream state, remembering the lost childhood naivety. While a beeping starts to push into the background, likely an allusion to an alarm clock, slowly bringing the dreamer back to a reality filled with despair and decay. A reality which played itself out full-force on the last solo album. This reality was also the reference point for the last Sophia album, Unclean, which focused on an apocalyptic reality where humanity had finally gone beyond the point of return.
After so many years making music, one would think Peter Bjärgö must be running out of ideas and inspirations. Yet, there is no sign of this. Animus Retinentia as well as Unclean by Sophia have been some of his best work to date. There appears to be no stopping him from continuing with innovations and fulfilling his duties for each project with which he collaborates. Animus Retinentia is a highly recommended album. Any fans of any variety of post-industrial and neoclassical genres should find plenty to love here. Peter Bjärgö has created an album which should have an emotional resonance with a vast number of listeners. For, how many of us truly enjoy this time in history? How many of us miss that childhood passion and naivety? If you’ve ever pondered these questions, Animus Retinentia is the soundtrack to your ponderings." [This is Darkness]
|
2017 |
€13.50 |
|
| BLACKSHAW, JAMES |
The Glass Bead Game |
LP + CD |
"I'm extremely pleased to announce that James Blackshaw will now be releasing his absolutely spellbinding music via Young God Records. He has received attention as a 12-string guitar prodigy / virtuoso. He used to be in punk bands in England, but then he started listening to people like John Fahey, Robbie Basho, etc., and I assume locked himself in a room for 12 hours a day for several years and just played constantly. It takes intense discipline and a religious commitment to get to the place where he's at with his instrument. But his music isn't about his "skill." It's not showy. It's deeply meditative--the secret language of a pre-thought, pre-dream place. "Blackshaw plays soulful and kaleidoscopic, ever-shifting mantra cycles of incredible beauty. Just his guitar by itself, with its swirling overtones, cascading notes, and a thousand points of light, resembles an orchestra, but with further orchestration--piano, strings, wind, and vocals--the music is positively cinematic and mesmerizing. "The 18-minute-plus gem on this record is 'Arc,' performed on piano with the sustain pedal on full throttle. The rush of sound created by the overtones from Heaven, augmented by strings and wind, when played at proper (full) volume, is one of the most thrilling pieces of music I've heard in years. It takes a rare and single-minded courage and commitment to make music with such a powerfully positive force at its heart, especially in these troubled times. This is healing music that reaches for what's possible, just beyond our grasp. It is stellar... "Blackshaw is joined on this record by Joolie Wood (Current 93, Simon Finn) on violin, clarinet, and flute, and John Contreras (Baby Dee and Current 93) on cello. Lavinia Blackwall (Directing Hand) is a classically trained singer and contributed vocals." [Michael Gira/Young God Records]
"... We totally love how his style and aesthetic remains intact, whether he’s sitting at the piano or with a guitar on his knee, his close attention to detail and use of hypnotic, emotionally captivating melodies shines throughout. Notes flickering and shimmering about as overtones soar above like clouds.
There’s so much about this record that you can get fully wrapped up in, so much detail it would be impossible to absorb it all in just one listen. We’ve already been listening to Glass Bead Game for over a week, and still new details keep popping out of the woodwork. And to top it off, beautifully fitting, earth-toned artwork of various birds of prey perfectly adorns the album with some magical visual hex. By far our favorite Blackshaw album to date and quite possibly his best, highly and fully recommended!" [Aquarius Records]
|
2009 |
€17.00 |
|
| BLITZOIDS |
Steeling from helpless children / Look up |
do-CD |
"Old hands will remember those strange LPs imported and distributed by Recommended back in the late 80s. A studio project, audibly influenced by the Residents, but not over-imitative, the Blitzoids mixed concrete- and tape-manipulations, noise, extended playing techniques and found recordings with iterative song-like structures and open architectures. Always interesting, sometimes scattershot, avoiding any obvious style, they moved fast from one idea to the next. At the time, they were pretty much out there on their own, and achieved only limited visibility, so its good to see their work collected and reissued on this double CD." [label info]
"if comparisons must be made, then imagine putting the Los Angeles Free Music Society, Fred Lane, Fred Frith, various field recordings, radio transmissions, and a haunted house sound-effects tape into a blender. After the blender shakes violently and explodes, spraying globules of audio lunacy across the room, you giggle and dance around like a moron. That's what listening to the Blitzoids is like.
Brothers Steve and Chris De Chiara were running a Chicago record store when they started recording with Jim Nickels. Their first LP, 1987's Stealing From Helpless Children, is a work of unbridled invention, lumping together skronky jazz, tape manipulation, funny sounds, spooky textures and low-fidelity melodies. A reliance on traditional song structures doesn't make the band sound at all conventional, but merely confirms their considerable compositional skill.
Each track is a mini-movie for the ears. “Left or Right?” utilizes Donald Duck laughter for a bizarre refrain; ”Try and Stop Us” is a complex sound collage that recalls Evan Parker at one moment, Penderecki at another; ”Middle of Nowhere” shifts from a tribal jam session to an imagined Carl Stalling horror film score. It's all held together with catchy vocals, cheapo synth drums and Chris De Chiara's inspired guitar work, which can echo anything from John Abercrombie to Snakefinger. For uneasy listening, Stealing From Helpless Children is surprisingly listenable.
1990's Look Up is even more adventurous. The raw materials haven't changed—backwards tape and talk-radio excerpts abound—but each track is so densely layered that it takes many listens to absorb it all. The songs are still accessible: the lyrics to “Good Vacation” are worthy of Bob Dylan's best hallucinatory narratives, accompanied by music that is more appropriate than Dylan ever attempted.
Rounding out this reissue are eight bonus cuts, including the band's funniest achievements. “Fire on the Mountain” transforms an old fiddle tune into a hoedown from hell, and it's hard not to crack a smile through mangled versions of “A Summer Place” and “The Witch Doctor.”
The Blitzoids might have worn their influences on their proverbial sleeves, but their music stands on its own. Give them a listen if your tastes run to the left of strange, or if you just want something to listen to while you're getting blitzed.." [Brad Glanden / allaboutjazz.com]
www.rermegacorp.com
|
2006 |
€14.00 |
|
| BOHMAN, ADAM |
Burnhill Row |
LP |
Incredible weird recordings from 1980 from this one half of todays still very active duo BOHMAN BROTHERS !
"1980 was an incredibe year for London's experimental music scene with many different strands. Recommended Records were rereleasing the first two Faust LP's, L. Voag had found 'the way out', Swell Maps were 'in occupied Europe'. Throbbing Gristle and other industrialists were giving plenty of live actions. Nurse With Wound had just released their first LP, as had This Heat. The other great LP on Piano Records by Steve Beresford was also on the shelves. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the capitol Adam Bohman was making his first recordings working with two budget cassette recorders. Bunhill Row was the first complete album of material, but whilst the aforementioned artists were pressing up their recordings and making them easily available via Rough Trade or the Recommended Records shop, Adam's releases remained in tiny cassette editions made for friends or exchanged on the mail art network. So here for the first time is Bunhill Row, released as it should have appeared at the time - on vinyl. It must be said that this is quite unlike any of Adam's other releases, and quite unlike his work with Morphogenesis, or his work as one half of The Bohman Brothers. This is 'songs' - 30 in all, and the main instrument used is a trumpet (an ordinary trumpet), along with a variety of other acoustic instruments and objects, many of which are still part of the Bohman armoury as known. The overall feel sits somewhere between R. Steevie Moore and Caroliner Rainbow, but this is British of course. Somehow it all works, and all in all opens another window on to the incredibly fruitful astral alignment that occured over London at this time. Adam also has a solo CD on Paradigm Discs, and also appears on 'Variations - a London compilation' the first CD released on Paradigm Discs." [label info]
www.stalk.net/paradigm
|
2006 |
€17.50 |
|
| BRANCA, GLENN |
Indeterminate Activity of Resultant Masses |
CD |
"Worum sich schon lange Gerüchte rankten, was schon lange erwartet wurde, wird jetzt als "Indeterminate Activity" quasi zum ersten Mal veröffentlicht. Das Meisterwerk von GLENN BRANCA wurde in der frühen Phase des "Guitar Army"-Ensembles - kurz nach dem Release der "The Ascension"-EP - in den New Yorker Radio City Studios aufgenommen. Neben Beiträgen von Thurston Moore und Lee Ranaldo von SONIC YOUTH gibt es mehr von regelmäßigen BRANCA Kollaborateuren wie Craig Bromberg, Barbara Ess, Jeffrey Glenn, Sue Hanel, David Rosenbloom und Ned Sublette, sowie zwei weitere Stücke: das Anti-BRANCA Interview von John Cage mit Wim Mertens, dass 1982 auf der Navy Pier in Chicago aufgenommen wurde und eine bisher unveröffentlichte Komposition "Harmonic Series Chords", eingespielt von der New Yorker Chamber Sinfonia 1989. "Indeterminate Activity" ist das ultimative Bindeglied in jeder Sammlung von GLENN BRANCA Werken." [press release Cargo]
" .... The title piece here, performed in 1981 with 10 guitars and drums and timpani is one of the most impressive Branca pieces we have ever heard. Its inescapable tension wraps itself around your ears and while you feel it's grasp taking a hold of you, you don't really ever want it to end. With young devotees like Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore in the ensemble it's no wonder the piece sounds so perfect and received the long standing ovation it so deserved. But one man in attendance of this
performance was not impressed. In fact he had lots to say about it,
and nothing positive. That wouldn't be that big of a deal of course
if that person wasn't John Cage!! In a clever twist of their long
running rivalry and Cage's very public dismissal of Branca's work,
Branca decided to follow the title piece on this reissue with a
conversation that John Cage had with Wim Mertons about Branca's
piece. In the conversation Cage speaks very eloquently as he always
did, about his dislike for Branca's piece and his work in general. He
goes as far to call the piece fascist, which then led to a very
public and bitter tiff between two legends of forward thinking 20th
century music. We have to admit that sometimes we actually like
hearing Cage talk even more then we like listening to his music. As
the rhythm of his voice and the depth of his intelligence is so damn
pleasing to take in. While we wish Wim Mertons would have done a
better job of defending Branca, we can't blame him for being a bit
tongue tied and slow in the face of Cage's eloquent understated fury.
We can imagine that if we ever had the opportunity to have a serious
exchange of views about music with Cage we probably would have been crazy nervous and marble mouthed. The record ends with a late 80's piece by Branca called Harmonic Series Chords which is a really nice somber piece performed by the New York Chamber Sinfonia. Like two heavyweight champions exchanging blows we feel lucky to get to sit on the sidelines as Cage disses Branca, and Branca's music speaks so loudly for itself. Highly recommended!" [Aquarius Records]
|
2007 |
€14.50 |
|
| BROTHER AH |
Divine Music |
3 x CD |
Divine Music, a collection of three unreleased albums from this jazz visionary: The Sea
(1978), Mediation (1981), and Searching (1985). Moving from rich spiritual jazz to more meditative ambience, Divine Music explores Brother Ah's unique sound and musical vision and includes an extensive interview with Brother Ah by Pitchfork and Resident Advisor contributor Andy Beta. Recommended for fans of Laraaji, Alice Coltrane, Terry Riley, Brian Eno, Popul Vuh, and the recent new age renaissance. The
renowned French horn player known as Brother Ah (aka Robert Northern) is one of the most prolific and respected musicians in the history of jazz music, with a recorded output spanning more than 40 years.
|
2017 |
€35.00 |
|
| BURROUGHS, WILLIAM S. |
Call me Burroughs |
LP |
"Originally released in 1965 by The English Bookshop in Paris and later by ESP-Disk' in New York, Call Me Burroughs marks not only the recorded debut of William Burroughs, but also for many the first encounter with his inimitable voice. While Burroughs has had pervasive influence on counterculture in the past 50 years – from the Beats to punk rock and even hip hop – no other figure today is so widely considered the epitome of cool.
Call Me Burroughs features the author reading from Naked Lunch and Nova Express, two of his best-known works that utilize the cut-up method developed by Burroughs and artist Brion Gysin. An eerie, deadpan drawl guides the listener through sci-fi innerscapes, narcotic nightmares, reports from the edge of the apocalypse. Phantasmagoric passages echo real experiences roaming the streets of Mexico, the West Village, Tangiers. Bradley the Buyer and other shadowy agents haunt our ears as Burroughs turns the page and pauses purposefully.
"Anything put out up till now is like pulling a figure out of the air – Enemy installations shattered – Personnel decimated – Board Books taken – Electric waves of resistance sweeping through mind screens of the earth – The message of Total Resistance on short wave of the world"
This first-time vinyl reissue is recommended for fans of Hunter S. Thompson, Patti Smith and Throbbing Gristle." [label info]
www.superiorviaduct.com
|
2016 |
€24.00 |
|
| CHALK, ANDREW |
The Circle of Days |
LP |
"Truly beautiful new LP, "The Circle Of Days", from UK sound/drone artist Andrew Chalk on his own Faraway Press imprint. Recorded in 2003-06 and created with field recordings, keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, and slide-guitar, "The Circle Of Days" includes a return for Chalk to his long-term collaboration with Daisuke Suzuki (Ghosts On Water, Lost Shadow, Siren Records et al), who features on five of the LP's 14 (relatively short) pieces. The field recordings, mostly captured from everyday home/community life, blend with beautiful fragments of minimalist keyboard runs and droning string tones that reach out, rise-up, and resonate to stunning effect, conveying celestial-like imagery of, say, light from another world shimmering in the dark of our own fog-blurred night. The sounds unfold, subliminally freezing/interrupting time, before fading into voids that sometimes leave a peculiar and wondrous sense of longing. Whilst the field recordings feel grounded in the real world, the instruments' rich sounds seem like they arrived from the ether of far-away, deep inside Chalk's expansive artistic vision. A magical, captivating piece of work that functions like a sonic parallel to the way shooting stars grip our gaze in wonder. Released on Chalk's Faraway Press imprint in an edition of 325 copies. Pressed on super-sounding black vinyl, mastered by Denis Blackham and housed in a sleeve featuring a reproduction of a pencil sketch by the artist himself, with layout design by Jos Moers." [Infinite Limits]
www.farawaypress.info
"Andrew Chalk records are the jewels of the English underground. The noise of Ferial Confine gasped with an existential blurt of obstinate tactility, violent in their self-immolation but never directing a rage outward. The gaze was inward. Then, when the drone grounded much of Chalk's classic works in the '90s and '00s, these slippery, elegiac croons of sonic impressionism dripped with an opalescent beauty that also spent a fair amount of time splashing around in the mud. More recently, Chalk has been exploring the poetic fragment, cracking the lens of British avant-folk eccentricity and scattering the results on stunningly beautiful albums like The Circle Of Days. The curious introductory track here sports a clattering of wood, recorded in situ with longtime collaborator Daisuke Suzuki, with a church nearby, whose bells chime the solemn Westminster Quarter melody. The following track pools rounded tones from Chalk's open-body electric guitar, finding a counterpart in the stoner-folk of Tom Carter's early work in the Charalambides. Piano, chord organ, and more guitar flesh out further tracks of nocturnally impressionist details that hang like constellations in the night sky, curving steadfast against the traffic of satellites, planes, and planets. The course of the second side reprises that of the first, with equally wandering expositions of intimate ambient swath, gossamer half-melody, and the soft-spoken mystical charm that has graced many an Andrew Chalk record! Very highly recommended as with everything that Chalk touches." [Aquarius Records]
"Or, where quality meets content. The name Andrew Chalk, and indeed Faraway Press and La Scie Dorée, will be familiar to any attentive Vital Weekly reader. Chalk has been releasing music since the mid 80s and has worked with people like David Jackman, Darren Tate and Jonathan Coleclough. His best know collaboration is perhaps that with Christoph Heemann under the name Mirror, creating a series of albums that belong both musically as visually to the, in my humble opinion of course, to the best that the ‘ambient/soundscape’ genre has to offer. His new solo album The Circle Of Days has been made available in two editions: 325 copies in regular sleeve and 100 in a beautiful handmade portfolio sleeve, which, if you enjoy that sort of thing, is well worth hunting down. Working again with Daisuke Suzuki, headman of Siren records, Chalk has created what can only be described as yet another gorgeous and very fulfilling album. Even though the cover features several song titles on the back, the album itself is banded as one track per side, giving the impression of two suites, which is something I really like. Plus the record features a label that is slightly smaller in size than regular LP labels, which gives the album the look of an ancient 78 rpm record, which, again, I like very much. Full points for style and design therefore. The precise contribution of Suzuki is not always clear: even though some tracks mark his name, the almost hesitant playing of instruments like guitar, keyboards, piano (in gorgeous stereo), vibes could be either of the two. There are environmental sounds added to the slow tempo music; birds, children playing, the sound of a swing, it all adds to a beautiful musical painting of endless summer days. Nothing new, nothing shocking, simply an emotionally moving musical miniature." [FK/Vital Weekly]
|
2014 |
€20.00 |
|
| |
East of the Sun |
CD |
"...These recordings originally came out in 1994 as a cassette, released through Ora's in-house label, Ora being an early collective that revolved around Chalk, Colin Potter, and Darren Tate with occasional assistance from Jonathan Coleclough, mnortham, Lol Coxhill, and a handful of like-minded British drone enthusiasts. A few years later, the Italian label Hic Sunt Leones convinced Chalk to reissue the cassette in digital form. That CD version of East Of The Sun compressed the two sides of the cassette into a single 50 minute piece and was flushed out with some complementary dronescaping. Chalk was never happy with the Hic Sunt Leones version; and thus his reissue of the album returns to the original version found on the cassette, now gloriously remastered in its entirety. For those persnickety types, the 17 minutes or so which concluded the Hic Sunt Leones version is not here; but that is a minor loss compared to the pinnacle of drone-based minimalism found here.
Sure, Eno's ambient records On Land and Thursday Afternoon were milestones in the realm of ambient music, setting an impressionist context through which any number of the images, thoughts, and ideals could be imagined; but that strategy was perfected by Andrew Chalk on a couple of records. There was his ephemeral album Sumac in collaboration with Jonathan Coleclough, there was the first Mirror album Eye Of The Storm, and there's East Of The Sun. Very dark without becoming unbearably cold, East Of The Sun is a constant bloom of nocturnal frequencies, whose origins may be thoroughly blurred bass guitar or possibly some resonant artifact from Chalk's acoustic work in Organum. Regardless, the resultant drones drift with no beginning and no end, merely rippling, reflecting, and turning upon themselves in a perpetual, very slow motion turbulence. Leaves tumbling in autumnal twilight. Fog spilling over coastal hills. Moonlight tickling the agitated surface of a pond. Any of these organic references for meditation on simplicity to reach the sublime and the profound could easily apply to Chalk's East Of The Sun. Not just recommended, this is required listening." [Aquarius Records]
|
2014 |
€17.50 |
|
| CHRYSTAL BELLE SCRODD |
Belle de Jour |
CD |
"While this is the reissue of the second Chrystal Belle Scrodd record which was originally released in 1986, Belle De Jour features some of the earliest recordings that Diana Rogerson produced with her husband Steven Stapleton (aka Nurse With Wound). Belle De Jour opens with three short pieces of bowed cymbal scrapes and metallic screeches bathed in variable layers of reverb sounding not too far off from the early Nurse With Wound album Homotopie For Marie. However, things get really going later on in the disc when Rogerson and Stapleton present "Deadroads / A Gothic Western," which gets off to a groovy start with an infinitely looped '60s go-go rock riff twisted into something that Brainticket would have been proud to have birthed, complete with hallucinogenic guitar freak-outs and Diana ranting in a cavalcade of voices through an impossible to follow stream of consciousness narrative. The thunderous "Riding The Red Rag" follows this piece with Diana's cold-stare vocals haunting above a thick atmosphere of drones and heavily reverbed cracks from a kick drum. Unfortunately, this reissue confuses some of the names of the tracks, as "Riding The Red Rag" is misnamed as "The Demon Flower," and the equally impressive creepfest "Black Mother Mountain" is listed as "Riding The Red Rag." This may probably only upset the die-hard NWW completists; but it certainly does not distract from this amazing reissue of damaged art-rock / post-industrial mantras. Recommended." [Aquarius Records]
|
2005 |
€14.00 |
|
| CISFINITUM |
Coniunctio |
do-CD |
Material from 1999-2001 from the Russian cult-project, some taken from the deleted LANDSCHAFT CDR (IVB Records), one CD is entitled “World of Retribution”, the other “Heavenly Russia”. Monolithic sad noise, sacral post-industrial, spiritual doom-ambience,
overwhelming sounds & sad emotions at the same time, highly recommended!
“Cisfinitum is one of the oldest and well-known projects on Russian industrial scene, and shortly after their well-acclaimed 7” on Drone, Ewers Tonkunst is happy to present another international release of this remarkable project. This 2CD-set contains the tracks from the most gloomy and profound albums of Cisfinitum – “Landschaft” (released in 2001 as CDR by IVB Records) and “Malgyl” (previously unreleased), which have been recorded in 1999-2001. The material has been remastered and recompiled to become the new entity called “Coniunctio”. Newborn album consists of two parts, “Worlds Of Retribution” and “Heavenly Russia”, the first one contains most dark and depressive tracks, the second one presents brighter side of Cisfinitum. Going through the desperate landscapes of today’s dying spiritless world, the listener comes into the sacred and surreal inner space of an immaterial land full of light, mysticism and universal melancholy. One of the most beautiful and heartful records ever done in the drone ambient style, “Coniunctio” could remind of the best and saddest Maeror Tri albums or legendary HOEDH “Hymnus”, but the irrational Russian essence within Cisfinitum’s music makes it unique and completely original. The real masterpiece which we are really proud to release! CD comes in a full-colour fold-out digisleeve. The edition is limited to 500 copies.” [label info]
|
2006 |
€15.00 |
|
| CLOAMA |
same |
CD |
This is dark experimental ambient with a very piercing edge, evokes a very unsettling and eldrich atmosphere....the other, dark & abysmall side of CLOAMA...
“.....This recording, marking a debut for artist / group on the New Old Sentinel label and for the label itself, is five tracks of experimental ambient music limited to 500 copies. Experimental ambient. Two words guaranteed to send most people running off in sheer apoplectic fright. The fear of the unknown. Ambient in all its forms they can cope with but…‘experimental’…too weird. Too challenging. Never assume. On this recording the balance between the differing genres has been implemented in such a seamless and gratifying manner that its only when the recording has finished do you suddenly realise what a strange aural experience you have lived through.
Track one ‘Radiation Amplifier’ starts with what sounds like Tibetan instruments being struck before the piece swiftly introduces musique concrete electronic effects and a sample before ending in something being strummed. Whoa!! Far fucking out maaan. Track two ‘The New Old Sentinel’ throws a whole caboodle of multi effects into the mix merging part drone / part black ambience / part electro acoustic over ghostly voices. Double whoa!! Double far fucking out maaan. I think you can gleam from this what the other tracks are going to sound like. Manipulated electronic sounds and voices resonate predominately. The music continually fluctuates. To move, evolve and grow. Putting out searching tentacles to probe and envelop. Building up pieces which are then demolished before starting anew all within the same track. This combination, which will happily throw dark and light together and damn the consequences, isn’t afraid to take risks. These are minuscule forays into every genre. Picking the finest flecks and combining them into one ethereal state. The music is abstract enough to be confounding and innovative but it never alienates the listener. Instead you feel a guiding hand leading you gently into the more surreal pieces whilst cooing soothing words of comfort are spoken into your ear as you stand hypnotised at the sonic sculptures unfolding.
If this is a foray into uncharted waters, away from the normal Cloama sound, then long may it continue. To produce a piece of work that is structurally complex and yet easily accessible, without falling into the pitfalls of self absorbing wankery, is a feat many aspire to. Cloama have achieved this easily and comes highly recommended to the more adventurous spirits amongst you. “ [Auralpressure]
|
2005 |
€10.00 |
|
| COLUMN ONE |
Electric Pleasure |
CD |
"Formed in Berlin in 1991, René Lamp and Robert Schalinski were working together on short-film projects and decided to expand their scope to include audio and multi-media projects among their repertoire. The next thing you know, Column One was born.
On this highly detailed and wonderfully crafted CD (their fourth), the band have dragged the look and feel of 1950s American science-fiction films deep into their underground laboratory, flicked a few switches and have mutated them into an absolute monster of a release, bringing to life a world of Kraftwerkian rhythms and Forbidden Planet background ambience all cohesively joined by an interesting narrative structure; the tracks ebb and flow into one another not as separate entities but as an entire parable of technology overpowering humanity.
On tracks like Re-Start To Move, the low-bitrate hip-hop tracks bounce along with a curious intent, just as a determined robot would as it seeks its next human prey, while on MZ4, the mood is much more melancholy, clearly showing the more human side to the mechanical creatures contained therein.
The band here have clearly done their homework both in terms of studying classic 80s electro as well as the sounds that brought those tracks to life. The bands label, 90% Wasser is also based in Berlin and is a self described non-profit artist label for electro-acoustic-minimal-spoken-digital-ideological-tonal & atonal-electronic-music plus video-releases, writings & picture-art. It may be a mouthful but this suits the release perfectly as both Column One and their parent label go way beyond the typical concept CD or multimedia project.
Column One have come up with a really classy and incredibly detailed release that deserves repeated listening not only because it will make you dance, but to fully appreciate the narrative content. Electric Pleasure works well on its own, but combined with a live audio/visual experience, the band could very well be unstoppable. Just like the robots contained therein. Highly recommended." [BBC Music Reviews]
www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/w3n8
|
2001 |
€13.00 |
|
| COSTA, RUI & FRIENDS |
Sightseeing for the Blind |
CD |
"Ausgehend von der Idee, dass Touristen beim Besuch einer Stadt die Eindrücker derselben unbewusst mit ihren Wünschen, Vorstellungen und Ideen des Ortes abgleichen benutzte Rui Costa Empfehlungsrouten aus einem Lissabon-Reiseführer quasi als Instruktionen für eine Klangarbeit. Sightseeing For The Blind ist eine knapp halbstündige Soundmap der persönlichen Art geworden. Costa hat in der Folge der Fertigstellung seine Rohmaterialien seinen “friends” zur Verfügung gestellt, unter ihnen Gregory Büttner, Marc Behrens, Bill Jarboe u.a. Einige haben eher mental-psychische Kommentare abgeliefert, andere haben ihre eigenen Feldgeräusche mit dem Ursprungsmaterial vermengt und lösen so den direkten Zusammenhang zwischen Aufnehmendem und Geräuschpostkarte auf." [Zipo / Auf Abwegen]
"The idea for the piece first came to me in 2005, when I was invited to develop a sound project with the city of Lisbon as its theme. I decided to wander through the city, making a series of sound recordings using a pair of binaural microphones. What I concluded from these recordings was that, more than capturing the sound of the place or its “atmosphere”, they reflected a lot about me: my decisions of where to go, what places to avoid, how fast to walk, how long to linger in one place… preconceived ideas of what I wanted to be captured on tape. Later I followed up on this idea by introducing an element of “sonic sightseeing”. I grabbed a tourist guide of Lisbon, walked along the recommended hiking routes and made recordings with binaural and shotgun microphones. I wrote down my impressions, states of mind, mental associations and decisions and then mapped the recorded sounds against these notes, considering them as “instructions” or “cues” for a sound composition. I suppose that the experience that tourists get from a city is in great measure determined by the randomness of these almost unconscious impressions, of a permanent mapping out of what they see against their desires, preconceived ideas, memories, etc. All in all, my intention was to convert this process into a method for sound composition using field recordings. (Rui Costa, 2009)
Sound recordings made by Rui Costa between 2005 and 2008 in Lisbon, Portugal. Composed and mixed by Rui Costa in 2008,
About the Artist:
Rui Costa is a sound artist from Lisbon, Portugal. He has been publicly presenting his work since 1997.
From 1999 to 2003, Rui Costa collaborated with the Spanish musician Iñaki Ríos, under the name ja_dijiste. This duo explored improvisational and compositional techniques based on Max/MSP and Lisa computer software and developed a series of site-specific works in the village of Nodar, Portugal, with subsequent presentations in sound and media arts festivals in Spain.
In 2007, Rui started collaborating with the Italian vocal performer Manuela Barile, through a large scale intermedia project entitled ‘La Scatola’, which was conceived as a series of installations and performances. Rui developed processes that captured the reverberations of the voice inside the body (laryngeal microphones, amplified stethoscopes) so that the spoken word is invested with a musicality and spatial dimension that further extend the expressive capabilities of the voice.
Rui has performed in many venues and sound art festivals in Portugal, Spain, Italy and the United States. He has played with such musicians as Maile Colbert, Iñaki Ríos, Manuela Barile, Pablo Rega, Nilo Gallego, Toshio Kajiwara, Casey Rice, Lê Quan Ninh, Richard Antez, John Herndon, André Gonçalves, Carlos Santos, Pali Meursault and Cédric Anglaret.
Rui Costa is a founding member and artistic director of Binaural, an arts collective dedicated to the promotion of context-based sound and media arts. Binaural runs an artist residency space in Nodar, a small village in the north of Portugal.
Rui Costa’s current artistic research is centered on the use of the psycho-acoustic characteristics of sound to create “sonic fictions” where the notions of space, perception and meaning are submitted to a process of recontextualization and of creation of improbable and unstable relations. He investigates the different ways of making the space audible and of studying the place of the listener within the triangle formed by him/herself, the sound and the space. By capturing the sound resonating through the materials that structure a given space, manipulating it in real-time and then projecting it into the same space, it is possible to create “sensorial extensions” that configure a sonic architecture that operates in real-time and is therefore fluid and unstable. An example of this approach is his ongoing project “The Future Memory”, with the American sound and video artist Maile Colbert, where they visually and sonically map abandoned and almost silent spaces to create poetic fictions around them." [label info]
www.1000füssler.com
|
2009 |
€12.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| CUTLER, CHRIS |
Twice around the Earth. An Experiment in listening |
CD |
Ein Hör-Experiment vom Recommended Records-Betreiber, diese Produktion fürs ORF Kunstradio (www.kunstradio.at/2003A/cutler).
Eine unglaubliche Fülle von field recordings werden quasi als „Reise um die Welt“ verarbeitet: ein Versuch, die Subjektivität und Voreingenommenheit beim Hören zu überwinden...
„Out of the Blue Radio ist eine Radiosendung, die in London täglich zwischen 23.30 Uhr und Mitternacht auf Resonance FM (http://www.resonancefm.com), einem unabhängigen Sender für Radiokunst, ausgestrahlt wird. Gestartet wurde das einjährige, budgetlose Projekt im Juli 2002.
Meine Idee für diese Sendung war es, den HörerInnen das Ohr einer anderen Person für jeweils eine halbe Stunde zu "leihen"; ein Fenster zu einer anderen Geräuschkulisse zu öffnen - entfernt oder nah -, die nicht ident mit der eigenen akustischen Umgebung ist. Die AutorInnen, die uns ihre Ohren zur Verfügung stellen, gestalten durchgehende, ungeschnittene halbstündige Aufnahmen von einem Ort ihrer Wahl, aufgenommen zwischen 23.30 Uhr und Mitternacht Londoner Ortszeit; d.h. halb vier Uhr nachmittags in Vancouver, 7.30 Uhr morgens in Peking oder 00.30 Uhr in Wien. Sie schicken diese unbearbeiteten Aufnahmen dann nach London, wo sie wie sie sind gesendet werden.
Ein wichtiger Aspekt des Projekts ist es, ganze Zeitblöcke in ihrer Entfaltung einzufangen; sie nicht zu verbessern oder umzumodellieren zu versuchen; sie nicht den Vorstellungen eines Produzenten, was gut klingt oder ästhetisch wertvoll ist, anzupassen, sondern einfach nur diese Momente einzufrieren. Ort und Tätigkeit sind gewählt, der Rest sich selbst überlassen. Dies sind allerdings nicht Schnappschüsse aus dem Leben, sondern Hörobjekte: Geräusche, die eingefangen werden und in fremden Kontexten reproduziert werden; Sounds, die gerahmt und objektiviert und unabhängig wiedergegeben werden.
Es scheint mir, dass die Beiträge mit ihrer rohen Beschaffenheit, am "Mangel" an Bearbeitung überhaupt nicht leiden - ganz im Gegenteil: sie entwickeln dadurch eine unglaubliche Kraft. Von allen anderen sinnlichen Wahrnehmungen und von ihren lebenden Quellen getrennt, enthüllen sie, was durch die Zwänge des Alltags, durch das wir eilen, unbedacht überhört wird. Geräusche, die instinktiv ignoriert, in Objekten aufgelöst oder absichtlich unterdrückt werden, können durch ihre unmittelbare Irrelevanz und die Gleichgültigkeit von Maschinen, die keine Subjektivität besitzen, zu neuem Leben erwachen.
Selbstverständlich "klingen" diese Geräusche, doch das ist nicht deren "Bekenntnis". Sie verlangen nicht, als reiner Sound gehört zu werden. Sie sind, was sie sind: Autos, Hämmer, Atmosphären - zugleich vertraut und rätselhaft. Und - wie Geräusche, die durch ein offenes Fenster dringen - können sie Beachtung finden oder ignoriert werden. Sie können lediglich eine Atmosphäre tönen - oder die Aufmerksamkeit auf sich ziehen und unser ästhetisches, analytisches und sogar narratives Auffassungsvermögen in Gang setzen.
Als ich gebeten wurde, diese Kompilation zu machen, wollte ich natürlich die Aspekte des Zufälligen und des Unmittelbaren, die so wichtig für das Projekt sind, bewahren. So, anstatt eine Auswahl der "best of" zu treffen oder besonders "interessante" Sounds herauszusuchen, entschied ich, mich von Geografie und Zeit leiten zu lassen. Ich plante eine akustische Reise zweimal um die Welt, wofür 43 der bislang 230 Aufnahmen verwendet werden. Geografische Angaben bestimmten die Reihenfolge der Stücke; der Zeitfluß welche Abschnitte/Orte innerhalb dieser geographischen Zonen gewählt wurden. D.h. ich nahm die ersten 55 Sekunden von der ersten Aufnahme, dann eine Strecke von ca. 0.55 bis etwa 1.50 Minuten von der nächsten usf. durch die Arbeit hindurch. Ich dies aber nicht so genau und entschied beim Anhören erst, wieviel ich von jedem 55-Sekunden-Abschnitt schlußendlich nahm und wo und wie ich die Übergänge gestalten wollte. Anders als die Überblendungen verweilen die "reisenden" Ohren allerdings immer an einem Ort nach dem anderen. Keine der Sounds wurde bearbeitet oder verändert.
Diese freeze-frame Ausgabe von Out of the Blue Radio, die sich eigentlich ähnlich einer Diaschau entwickelt, kann natürlich weder die Ganzheit des Programms noch den kumulativen Effekt, jeden Tag eine andere Welt zu betreten, transportieren; doch ich habe mich an die Priorität des Hörens gehalten, wilde Landschaften zu nehmen, bevor sie gejätet, bepflanzt und verbessert werden. Die täglichen Sendungen, sogar diese Montage, tragen nur leicht die Handschrift von menschlichen Entscheidungen oder Absichten. Der Rest ist, wie er ist.
So wie ich das Stück geschnitten habe, passiert alles, was man hört, während John Scott am Londoner Themseufer entlang läuft, in Hörweite des Big Ben. Das Stück geht John Scott los, der seinen Lauf beginnt, holt ihn bei der ersten Umrundung des Globus ein und kehrt wieder zu ihm zurück als er kurz vor Mitternacht seine Aufnahme beendet. Zwischenzeitlich reisen wir mit virtuellen 49.803 Meilen/Stunde (79.500 km/Sek.) in Quantensprüngen von Ort zu Ort.“ [Chris Cutler]
“An experiment in listening. These compositions are an offshoot of the daily soundscape programme I ran for Resonance FM radio between July 2001-2002, which consisted of commissioned real-time recordings made all around the world between 23.30 and midnight GMT (the time of the broadcast). This CD begins with material from these broadcasts confecting, as it were, two composites of the Earth and a few of its inhabitants, somewhat analogous to what an impossible satellite ear with pinpoint acuity might hear in transit - plus one ear-cleaning stretch between them, taken from a single hear-point. I have tried to make these pieces both open and to work on parallel levels: not only do they have their own narrative and aesthetic qualities, but I hope they also offer a meditation on listening and not listening, interpretation and structure, chance and microphonics. The list of ears around the world who supplied basic material is too long to print here, but it includes many names familiar from these catalogues, and many from the still young soundscape and phonograpic community. Full details of people and places are given in the booklet, along with artwork and thorough notes. You have to trust me on this, it's a really engaging record. Sometimes unbelieveable. I don't think you'll regret giving it a chance.” [ReR]
|
2003 |
€14.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| DEAD GUM |
Sleepy Town |
CD-R |
"Blurry, multi-layered, dreamy imagery for a dark city at a summer night which almost looks like a ghost town. Numb emotions and gentle touches guide you to a private wandering where materialism cannot be felt. It's a delirious battle inside your dream warrior head. Drift around without touching the ground, smell the transparent fumes, hear the city's most intimate secret noises, make your very own narrations until the death of night finally comes. It's meant to be listened as one piece at the recommended track order.
Limited edition of 50, packaged in jewel case w/ full color artwork on textured paper." [label info]
|
2013 |
€7.50 |
|
| DEAF CENTER |
Low Distance |
LP |
"Low Distance is Deaf Center´s third full-length studio album and perhaps the most focused effort by the Norwegian duo to date. After their last record Owl Splinters (2011) was quite an eclectic endeavor, Erik K Skodvin & Otto A Totland draw their sound back into something more quiet and minimal.
The record starts with a piece of sweeping analougue electronics. It´s a spacious, yet dynamic opener that leads directly into the static tones and piano motivs of Entity Voice, which balances a new sense of abstractation with the classic Deaf Center sound. It´s warm and close while sounding like it´s set in the outer horizon. Overall Low Distance feels both alien and familiar with its atonal synths, close pianos and drowned out noises.
After meeting in studio for the first time since 2011, the recordings came out of a 3 day session in 2017. It was then mixed at both EMS Stockholm and at Erik´s home studio over a longer period to create a blend of deeply layered as well as stripped down pieces. Both Erik & Otto have been active individually since their last meeting as Deaf Center: Otto released 2 solo piano albums, while Erik has furthered his descent into musical abstractation both under his own name and as Svarte Greiner. It´s long overdue to hear them connect their personalities into something new. Low Distance is a welcome return replete with beauty, mystery and uncertainty."
"So I managed to fall into that pattern again, whereby a long-anticipated album by a beloved project sits awaiting just the right time. I need a "perfect" mood and setting to experience Deaf Center, and I must not be interrupted in any possible way. And so I put it to the side. Meanwhile, I procrastinate with promos and suggestions and releases which are all sub par. Then I finally reach out, and I listen for the very first time. Then the second and the third. And time goes by. A month or two. I play it sixth and seventh time, and no, not yet, I'm not prepared to say the right things... I must find certain words to share my thoughts. And time goes by... That is the pattern. Until I recognize it for its block and rip the bandaid off and share. The time has come. Of this I'm certain.
Since their 2014 release, Recount, put out by Monique Recknagel's Sonic Pieces imprint, the duo of Erik Skodvin and Otto Totland have massively raised the bar on their third full-length studio album, Low Distance. I've generally used the word "texture" in the past, to describe the intricate granular details that give a particular recording more depth, complexity and substance, and yet, on Low Distance Deaf Center takes it to a whole new level. Seemingly accidental noises, clips, and circuit howls become the foundation for the platform of this moody record, where Totland's piano finds the courage to reveal its beauty to the world. The heavy fibered bow scrapes at the cello strings to make the instrument convulse and shudder. The sonic gravity of the atmospheric treatments paired with the poignancy of the melodic heartache propels Low Distance into the ranks of albums of the decade, where every coveted position is meticulously picked.
A total masterpiece for anyone inspired by the fine details stitched in a microcosm of harmonies and timbres. One which I will treasure for the many years to come, and with these words I hope you'll too. Highly recommended for anyone delighted by reductionist pianism, isolationist ambience, coarse minimalism and granular spaciousness. Yes, I've authored some of those stylistic genres just for you. But seriously, if you're into anything from the amazing Miasmah (which Skodvin runs), dark and organic drone mixed with evolving soundscapes by the likes of Rafael Anton Irisarri, Ben Lukas Boysen, Brambles, Richard Skelton, and Lawrence English, among the many appearing on this site, you'll be in for a treat. Highly recommended!" [Headphone Commute]
|
2019 |
€35.00 |
|
| DIEVA, DAINA |
KAS |
CD |
https://dainadieva.bandcamp.com/album/kas
KAS is an album by Lithuanian Daina Dieva, composed in 2012/2013, released three years later by Finnish/Russian/Lithuanian/Etc label VIBORA.
"This is the unbridled power of Dieva's creations, that you sit in quiet wonder, following the pieces as they take you through different aural and emotional landscapes.
Especially recommended for lovers of the afore mentioned Human Greed and Andrew Liles as well as the work of Richard Skelton and the 4AD label, 'Kas' is a work of subtle power and emotive resonance."
- review by Grey Malkin, "The Active Listener", read in full: active-listener.blogspot.lt/2016/09/daina-dieva-kas.html
|
2016 |
€12.00 |
|
| DREAD (LUSTMORD) |
In Dub |
CD |
"dread is a newly formed project of legendary sound artist brian williams who began working under the name lustmord in 1980, and since then his dark sound sculptures have been highly influential not only in music genres such as ambient and industrial, but also in film and games. besides these genres, williams is also addicted to the sonic potential of dub music, which was reflected in various dub mixes he made for other artists, in an entire remix album for the puscifer project, and in a dub remix ep for the lustmord album [other] in 2009. for quite a while it was his desire to form an individual project dedicated to the dub genre, and after years of preparation and recording ant-zen is glad to present dread's debut: in dub. the mightiness and intensity of this album is both tense and trance inducing, drawing attention to the shape and depth of the space between sounds as well as to the sounds themselves. the instrumental tracks drenched in echo and reverberation ebb and flow, dropping in and out of the mix, and are kept together by the prominent use of varied deep bass application. the usage of implemented voices, acoustic drums and an alectric guitar played by wes borland (limp bizkit) create a distinctly organic feel to the music, even though the effects are electronically created. both unique and original, this release meld seamlessly into the tapestry of brian williams' work. breathtaking, dark, unshiftable and solid, this is the kind of dread where you're not sure where the evil force lurks, but you know it's out there searching for you... highly recommended."
lustmord.bandcamp.com/album/in-dub |
2017 |
€13.50 |
|
| 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 |
|
| DUKE, ANDREW / AKUMU |
Organic |
CD-R |
Two new unknown names for us on John Gore's (KIRCHENKAMPF) label: ANDREW DUKE has 10 shorter pieces with delayed object-noises, nicely effected roaring drone-waves, weird electronic sounds, and glitchy rumbling granulation-fields, many details & ideas here, every piece is different... AKUMU presents three permeating sonorous drones with lots of micro-sounds... great CDR, much recommended!
"two Canadian sound artists: Andrew Duke of Cognition Audioworks of Nova Scotia presenting his cutup glitch compositions and Akumu (aka Deane Hughes) three tracks of deep drone - limited to 100 copies"
"I always appreciate Cohort’s will to present non-commercial electronic music from all over the world, even at the price of a few minor releases. But the good ones are REALLY good, and this is one of them. Andrew Duke, who is a renowned composer active in many different media, is here represented by a series of relatively dark tracks which feature quite a lot of spontaneous instrumental generation, in addition to Andrew’s obvious technical skills. Deceitful patterns and clashing reverberations release inexhaustible, mind-dislocating clouds of frequencies that contrast – or get married to – hypnotic vicious circles in an unpredictable kinship with hypothetical altered states of mind. Headphones are recommended to catch every minute detail, as Duke works at the margins of the audio spectrum to deliver his brand of electronica from any preconceived interpretation, virtualizing events with the equidistant calm of a neutral observer. Dean Hughes (Akumu) is even more obscure, entrancing and – contrarily to what the titles might suggest – organic. His three tracks are long explorations of the psyche through a mass of extremely resonant low drones that suggest no other behavior than a total relinquishment of our will to penetrate their structure (no pun intended). For my own taste, this is the best half of this split album, bringing memories of current masters of the genre (Frans De Waard’s Shifts and Freiband projects come to mind) through a masterful modulation of our sensitive apparata. But the whole CD is excellent, and it would be unjust on my behalf dividing the artists’ merits." [Touching Extremes]
|
2006 |
€9.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| ELEKTRONAVN / EXQUISITE RUSSIAN BRIDES |
Cosmic Depth / A Sense of Coherence // Golden Rain over Facist Europe |
7inch |
Great little 7" from Denmark, ELEKTRONAVN create choral poly-drones, very organic & emotional clouds of waving sound with harmonies going on underneath (created with Voice, Zurna, Bansuri Flute). EXQUISITE RUSSIAN BRIDES work with Cello, Guitar, loops, Bells & Xylophone and their track sounds a bit more ghostly, but also massively droney... Very much recommended if you like organic / transcendental drone muzak ! Comes in lino-cut printed white cover.
www.bsbta.com
|
2007 |
€5.00 |
|
| ELODIE (TIMO VAN LUIJK & ANDREW CHALK) |
Odyssee |
CD |
"Elodie here featuring core members Timo van Luijk and Andrew Chalk, playing live in Germany
in 2015. Performing a pure duet of flute and string synthesizer over one episodic track 'Odyssee', a poetic and melancholy synchronous soundtrack to a film made and shown by van Luijk on the same evening.
'Odyssee' was mastered for CD release by Denis Blackham and is packaged in handmade gatefold mini LP style sleeve with Japanese language obi." [label info]
"Elodie’s 'Odyssee Musique En Scene II' is the latest offering by Elodie on Faraway Press. Elodie is a musical collaboration featuring Chalk and Timo van Luyk, which first released their particular brand of ambient music, as in a combination of keyboards, wind instruments and ROOM in 2011. Their previous offerings, either on Faraway Press or Van Luyk’s equally impressive La Scie Dorée label have, for obvious reasons, never failed to impress me. This album was recorded live at the Gerauschwelten Festival in Münster on 7 February 2015. It is a brief performance, 33 minutes, but let me assure you that quality always goes over quantity. This half hour+ is 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. The atmosphere and warmth
of the recording is just perfect. The applause at the end is a reminder this was done live, proving not only the sheer quality of playing, but also of the remarkable high quality of interaction between these two musicians and the space they are performing in. As you might have guessed, 'Odyssee', handsomely packed in a sturdy carton gatefold cover, is a highly recommended release." [Freek Kinkelaar, Vital Weekly]
www.farawaypress.info
|
2016 |
€15.00 |
|
| ENS IMPERFECTISSIMUM |
Illuminate E Aelimitate |
CD |
(ZZS 105) Ens Imperfectissimum "Illuminate E Aelimitate"
(A blackened Physical Ritual Recording in the veins of Zero Kama,Phurpa,Lashtal & Arktau Eos)
Ens Imperfectissimum bases his art on worship, work and devotion to the dead, not tied to a single path or spiritual practice. To connect with these spirits, instruments made with human bones are used, such as kanglins, clash of bones, among others, as well as whistles called "whistles of death" used in pre-Hispanic times. The combination of these elements results in a ritual dedicated to the dead, which are presented in a neat and sensible way according to the purpose of who calls them.
Opus dedicated to the devotees of the dead. To those who travel in the stark obelisk adorned with bones of the old aeon. To those who put candles to light the path of the emaciated. May the sound of the femurs and the drums of skulls in sheep's clothing be a constant rumble that connects us with those who once walked our paths.
A guided journey from the stark voices of the abyss...
A devotional and ritualistic work dedicated to the dead from different traditions, cults and religions. To achieve this connection and communication, it was recorded during the days of the dead through necroglossolalia. The sound accompaniment is made up of sounds of human bones, kanglins and pre-Hispanic whistles of death, which fulfill the function of creating vibrations and frequencies that help the manifestation and contact with the dead. These ritualistic syncretisms are recommended for those who follow the path of necromancy...
Official Video Teaser:
youtu.be/HaDQKzKFz5s
https://ensimperfectissimum.bandcamp.com/album/illuminate-e-aelimitate?from=hp
|
2022 |
€13.00 |
|
| EVAPORI / [-HYPH-] |
Bewegungen / Fragmentation itself |
CD-R |
First CDR release for this new Hamburg label, with three tracks by EVAPORI (Itzehoe) and HYPH (Hamburg), strong dynamic sound-collages based on human voice that remind on BRUME and massive floating soundscapes. Comes in special handmade package, recommended !
“ EVAPORI: moody and massively pulsating minimalism of a wide range of frequencies, beautifully swelling overtones and mysterious subliminals. calm in itself, yet constantly evolving. inspired by the general atmosphere of silent movies and e.muybridge.
-HYPH-: title is program. this is the fragmented, irritating, creeping and harshly surprising soundtrack into warfare. source material is 90% human voice, but you wouldn’t guess. strangely processed, vivid and challenging – 30 minutes of you_never_know_what’s_happening_next.” [label description]
|
2003 |
€9.00 |
|
| EXIT IN GREY |
Domination: Audiometry |
CD-R |
"Reissue of the debut 3"CDR "Audiometry" (2004) with an 18-min bonus track "Domination". Guitar drone ambient varying from almost monotonous raw and deep rumbles to gentle melancholic tunes... sonic waves and streams slowly come and pass away, leaving the listener in spellbound numbness." [label info]
"Four pieces of peaceful & harmonic waving deep drone-ambience from this Russian newcomer, extremely slow and minimal. Very much recommended for lovers of ALIO DIE, MIRROR, COLECLOUGH..." [Drone Rec. info 2005 for the mCDr]
|
2009 |
€9.00 |
|
| EXTREMA RATIO |
A Dangerous Method |
CD |
DNN 023 C – CD 2021
Tracklist
1 Naked Convultions
2 Lust of Death
3 Theorem
4 8 Indifference
5 Asthenic Rite
6 Revolution
.xlaidox. : Voice, Effects
Alessandro Cartolari: Sax, Voice
Voldjau Katportha: Electronics
Diego Rosso: Drums
Recorded by Dano Battocchio: 30th November & 1st December 2019 at Mediaducks Studio Perosa Canavese (TO)
Mixed By Dano Battocchio: June 2020 Deepest Sea Torino
Mastered by James Plotkin: October 2020, Bethlehem,PA, USA
##########
"Extrema Ratio cater a highly unique fusion of hyperintense screaming and brutally growling vocals, the muscular drum power and vibe of classic Hardcore whilst all guitar and bass riffing usually associated with the genre have been replaced by oftentimes shrieking, repetetive sax torture and underlying electronic effects to create a well demanding, yet highly recommended tour de force that's to be fully appreciated by those who have been seeking out sonic extremes for a reason" [nitestylez.de / Baze.Djunkiii]
https://extremaratio.bandcamp.com/album/a-dangerous-method |
2021 |
€13.00 |
|
| FANUM |
Kerpg |
CD-R |
First album of this Russian project from Moscow, also active as DASEIN. Very deep & low rumbling dark drones, two long pieces, recommended for lovers of the extreme isolationist low frequency drones as created by AMON or CLOSING THE ETERNITY. Comes with handmade inlay, packed in large black fabric cloth sack, 68 copies made and sold out at the label.
http://kerpg.ohms.ru
|
2008 |
€12.00 |
|
| FRANCIS, RICHARD (ESO STEEL) |
Together alone, together apart |
CD |
Tief wummernder microwave / field recording-drone des Neuseeländers RICHARD FRANCIS (aka ESO STEEL), der hier herrlich rauschig & undurchdringbar tönt, v.a. in den mittleren Frequenzbereichen offenbaren sich feinste Details, ein Genuss! Filed under: mysterious drones opening mysterious ways!
"Tracks 1 and 2 recorded 2006-2007, track 3 recorded 2003 and previously released on V-A "Audible New Frontiers" CD (Physics Room-Radio NZ). Sound sources: field recordings of indoor and outdoor spaces; handling of fabric, wood and plastic; self noise of home stereo amplifiers, loudspeakers and record players." [label info]
"Sound artists like Matt Shoemaker, Loren Chasse, and Steve Roden are some of the very few who are successful in turning found objects and field recordings into thoroughly engaging compositions that don't rely upon the flashiness of techniques to make their work successful. Add New Zealand's Richard Francis to that gaggle as well.
It's been a while since any solo work has been available from Francis, who has previously recorded under the moniker Eso Steel; and more recently, he's been entertaining many a collaboration with his fellow NZ noiseniks such as Campbell Kneale and Michael Morley.
On Together Alone, Together Apart, Francis turns to the miniscule events of daily life whose peculiar sounds capture his imagination. It could be a crackle from rain falling or the distant surf of the Pacific Ocean or a creaking electric radiator or the hissing static from television snow. It's these small sounds which Francis has recorded and stretched into relatively longer compositions. These rattling, crackling streams of softened white noise move in a synchronous fashion, much like the way that a huge flock of starlings can gracefully circle in the sky without bumping into each other, all moving organically in three dimensions. Think Loren Chasse, as if he were reworking any of Bernhard Gunter's compositions, making them rougher, in line with Chasse's Hedge Of Nerves disc. Headphones are certainly recommended for this album, as the last track is awfully quiet... at least, it is when there's a record store full of people. Very well done!" [Aquarius Records review]
www.cmr.co.nz
|
2007 |
€13.00 |
|
| FRITH, FRED |
Rocking The Boat (Volume 1 Of The Fred Records Story, 2001-2020) |
9 x CD BOX |
"First of a three-box collection by one of the most innovative guitarists and composers of his generation, containing 8 ReR CDs, plus a bonus Fred title & a fat historic booklet with artwork, photographs, extensive notes and other comments by Fred, all packed into in a sturdy box -- and at a budget price. Box one contains: The legendary Guitar Solos, Gravity (with Etron Fou Leloublan and Samla Mammas Manna), Cheap at Half the Price, Killing Time (with Bill Laswell and Fred Maher), Impur (for very large ensemble), Middle of the Moment (film score), Keep the Dog (double CD feat: Rene Lussier, Bob Ostertag, Zeena Parkins, Jean Derome & Charles Hayward). Plus, bonus CD Dropera. Biographical: Recipient of Italy's Demetrio Stratos Prize for his life's work in experimental music and Professor Emeritus at the legendary epicenter of American experimental music, Mills College in Oakland, California, Fred still teaches in the improvisation master's program at the Musik Akademie in Basel & as visiting faculty in the Universidad Austral in Valdivia, Chile, where he has been collaborating on the creation of a new School of Music & Sound Art. Also featuring Lars Hollmer, Marc Hollander, Hans Bruniusson, Eino Haapala, Olivia Bruynhooghe, Chris Cutler, Tina Curran, Catherine Jauniaux, Frank Wuyts, Michel Berkmans, Etienne Conod, Denis van Hecke, Veronique Vincent, Asha Curran Frith, the 13th Street Puerto Rican Summertime Band, Fred Maher, Bill Laswell, Paul Sears, Jean Derome, Charles Hayward, Rene Lussier, Bob Ostertag, Zeena Parkins, Ferdinand Richard, Tim Hodgkinson, Fabrizio Appelius, Mikaela Dietl, Robert Lax, Sandra M'Bow, Ida man walatAkhmudan, Tshanak ag Abalbal, women from the Kel lforas tribe, Josefina Lehmann, Johann le Guillerm, Bertrand Duval, Attila Zombori, Jean-Paul Lefeuvre, Hyacinthe Reisch, Emmanuelle Jacqueline, Didier A, Nasser Sai"dani, Catherine Guinamard, Ensemble Heteroclite, David Wood, Pascal Pariaud, Sophie Dufeutrelle, Laure Michel, Catherine Leuchter et al."
Neue CD-Box-Serie des weltweit bekannten und renommierten britischen Avantgarde-Gitarristen FRED FRITH. „The Fred Records Story“ erscheint mit jeweils neun CDs in den drei Teilen „Vol. 1 - Rocking The Boat“, „Vol. 2 - Crossing Border“ und „Vol. 3 - Stepping Out“ auf RECOMMENDED.
Der Multiinstrumentalist FRED FRITH zählt seit fünf Dekaden zu den wichtigsten und einflussreichsten Impulsgebern der zeitgenössischen Jazz- / Rock- und Avantgarde-Szene. So startete der studierte Musiker (Cambridge) seine Karriere Ende der sechziger Jahre als Gründungsmitglied der legendären Artrock-Band HENRY COW. Nach Auflösung der Genre definierenden Band (1979) gründete er gemeinsam mit CHRIS CUTLER und DAGMAR KRAUSE die ART BEARS und rief kurze Zeit später (gemeinsam mit BILL LASWELL) die Formation MASSACRE ins Leben. Zudem veröffentlichte er zahlreiche Soloalben, arbeitete mit renommierten Kollegen unterschiedlichster musikalischer Provenienz wie BRIAN ENO, MIKE OLDFIELD, JOHN ZORN, HENRY KAISER, PHIL MINTON, THE RESIDENTS und RICHARD THOMPSON und ist darüber hinaus als Film- und Theater-Komponist („Step Across The Border“ / 1990), Produzent (DAVID MOSS, TENKO, ETRON FOU LELOUBLAN) und Hochschullehrer (Mills College Kalifornien) tätig. Die neue Box-Serie „The Fred Records Story“ fasst themenspezifisch die Karrie des Ausnahmekünstlers zusammen, wobei mit „Inimitable“ in „Vol. 3 - Stepping Out“ sogar ein bisher unveröffentlichtes Album enthalten ist.
Inklusive: Guitar Solos, Gravity, Cheap at Half the Price, Killing Time, Impur, Middle of the Moment, Keep the Dog (2CD), Bonus: Dropera
https://fredfrith.bandcamp.com/album/rocking-the-boat-vol-1-of-the-fred-records-story-2001-2020
|
2021 |
€66.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| GAL |
Hinaus: in den, Wald |
CD |
Very interesting work inspired by the poetry of the famous Swiss schizophrenic patient ADOLF WÖLFFI, with printings of his art in the inlay!
“In 1986, SPK's Graeme Revell released an album entitled "Necropolis, Amphibians and Reptiles". The recordings were based on the work of Swiss art brut artist and mental patient Adolf Wölfli. Some 15 years later, Austrian composer Bernhard Gal used Wöfli's poems as the basis for a sound installation at modern art museum Essl near Vienna. Now, in 2004, Klanggalerie are proud to present you a CD version of this outstanding composition. There are male and female voices bordering between meaning and non-meaning, footsteps and field recordings. Headphone listening highly recommended! If you need comparison think Robert Ashley, Paul De Marinis or Trevor Wishart.” [press release]
www.klanggalerie.com |
2004 |
€13.00 |
|
| GENOCIDE ORGAN |
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 |
|
| GHOSTS ON WATER |
Senshu |
CD |
"Ghosts on Water is Andrew Chalk and Daisuke Suzuki and together the produce some of the finest quiet music around. On his solo recordings Andrew treats sound as a sort of misting or blurring of the senses. He blends the individual sounds into a multi-coloured expressionist colour-field. Daisuke's presence adds an extra dimension to the sound. There are sketches of melody in the slowly tumbling strings that, in places, give the work a vaguely eastern exoticism. Indeed it is the presence of what could, admittedly with a little stretching of the definition, be classed as melody that makes this album so impressive. It has an inherent lyricism that flows along and even across the broad, washing tones upon which everything is built. As ever, heartily recommended." [Wonderfulwoodenreasons.com]
www.farawaypress.net
|
2008 |
€19.00 |
|
| GILBERT, B.C. & G. LEWIS |
3R4 |
LP |
"In 1980, after three relentlessly creative albums, the members of WIRE were at an impasse, unsure of how to push themselves any further as a four-piece rock band. While frontman Colin Newman spent the band's hiatus mining WIRE's knack for intelligent and contorted pop songs, guitarist Bruce Gilbert and bassist / vocalist Graham Lewis joined forces for a series of experimental projects (DOME, CUPOL, etc.) where the primary motivating concept was "studio as instrument."
3R4, the duo's only LP under the B.C. GILBERT / G. LEWIS moniker and the very second album to be released on 4AD, eschews melody and structure in favor of ambient-noise soundscapes, metallic textures, and tense moods. If the brief "Barge Calm" tracks appear like sonic exercises, the longer pieces ("3.4…" and "R") are true exorcisms, conjuring supernatural found-sounds with the patience and deliberation of (un)holy men. Play this record loud and try not to think that it is the soundtrack to a lost David Lynch film.
Originally released on 4AD in 1980. This first-time vinyl reissue is recommended for fans of FAUST, David Cunningham and Thomas Leer & Robert Rental's The Bridge." [label info]
www.superiorviaduct.com
|
2015 |
€23.00 |
|
| GRKZGL |
Esque |
mCD |
Very complex digital experimental music from a new act from Montreal on this fine Canadian label, not easy to categorize, strange sounds & kind of rhythms everywhere…… recommended for explorers of the digital sphere….
“ 'Esque' is the first 3" mini-cd ep release on Angle Records. To create the music Grkzgl uses laptop, synths and bass, plus there is metal percussion on the last 6th track, which is the most noisy of all. Otherwise, the sound is in the atmospheric glitchy areas, loosely improvised but with a clear direction of where it's going, sometimes even a rhythmic patterns appear. Grkzgl is obviously inspired and influenced by the post-industrial ambience, not being too minimal or too harsh, but still merging all those styles into one whole piece, divided in 6 tracks which are mixed into each other. Very nice ep for this artist and hopefully more releases in the same format to come on the label.” [BR / Vital Weekly]
|
2006 |
€6.50 |
|
| GROWING |
Lateral EP |
12 |
Vinyl-Version der neusten EP dieses New Yorker Ambient/Drone-Duos, deren Analog & Guitar-Sounds mal wieder höchst schwingend & vibrato-schwanger klingen... full fuzzy guitars, extreme Vibrato-Melodien, analogue blurbs überall, leiernde Sounds wanken umher...eine sehr eigene Version von psychedelischem Drone-Sound...
" Brooklyn-based ambient-drone duo Growing never fails to please the devoted. It could also easily be said that the duo has failed to
truly diverge from their original starting point. Although, part of the charm of this sort of music is indulging in a process of creation that celebrates the difference and repetition within a given theme or concept; expanding or investigating a specific idea over a length of
time. Thus, if you like Growing, you'll love this EP. All of the usual landmarks are here: a Nadja on opium meets some sort of Windy &
Carl and Labradford hybrid, heavy filter manipulations, masked, aquatic tremolo and chorus leads, and full-on auto-pan attacks that completely embrace stereo dynamics. We've read that -- specifically within the ambient-drone scene -- Growing has been particularly
reluctant to utilize computers, preferring to employ pedals and more organic looping techniques. Still, a quick listen to this release unearths enough digital-sounding distortion to make the listener wonder whether or not these two dronesters have finally caved in or not. Fans of long, drawn-out melodic landscapes or psychedelic explorations won't want to miss out on this one. Definitely recommended." [Aquarius Rec]
www.socialregistry.com
|
2008 |
€12.00 |
|
| HAMNSKIFTE |
Födzlepijan |
CD |
"First record from a mysterious Swedish duo, whose sound is inspired by, according to the band themselves, Burzum, Earth, Skepticism, Nortt and Trollmann Av Ildtoppberg. But imagine those influences channeled into something more medieval sounding, and WAY more post rocky, a sort of droning medieval slowcore laid beneath softly buzzing metallic rumble and shimmer, and you'll get an idea of Hamnskifte's sound. This is drone and ultimately slow meditative Black Metal with hypnotic medieval folk melodies recorded with guitars, drums, bass, organ, bodhran drum, bells and some self-invented percussion instruments. Originally released to the world in the spring of 2010 by, now-defunct, American label Starlight Temple Society, as a limited edition of 125 copies." [label info]
hamnskifte.blogspot.de
"Fodzlepijnan first appeared on the now-defunct Starlight Temple Society label back in 2010 as a limited-edition CDR release (we still have a couple of copies of this version in stock, as a matter of fact), and it offered a beautifully eerie and ghostly collection of funereal folk-rock and desolate, doom-laden slowcore from the mysterious Swedish duo known as Hamnskifte. The band seemed to have roots in both funeral doom and black metal (indeed, the band cited the likes of Nortt, Burzum, Trollmann Av Ildtoppberg, Earth and Skepticism as direct influences on their music), but their music didn't really sound like either of those forms, and in fact only marginally sounded like a metal band at all. Instead, Hamnskifte craft this strange sound that is more "post-rock" than anything, a mysterious, low-fi sound that creeps across the album using hand-made percussive instruments, organs, bells, and bodhran drums alongside their standard rock lineup of drums, guitar and bass. That original disc really impressed me when we first picked it up, and it's haunting blackened slowcore sound filled the office here at C-Blast for weeks after we picked it up. While the original Starlight Temple CDR came in a handmade package that consisted of a screen-printed silver envelope, an eight page booklet and foldout poster and was limited to just one hundred twenty five copies, the new CD version of Fodzlepijnan that just came out on the black metal label Myrkr presents the album in a handsome new six-panel digi-sleeve that includes a printed vellum inner sleeve for the disc.
At first, Fodzlepijnan opens with a brief intro of wheezing harmonium and martial snares playing a slow, haunting folky melody, the sound very neo-folkish and atmospheric, and that leads right into the first proper song, "Ther Skall Wara Gråt Och Tandagnisslan". It's here that Hamnskifte fully unfurls their sound, a combination of tranquil, almost funereal drumming that incorporates other shuffling percussive instruments into it's deliberate, processional-like tempos, moody strummed chords that seem to be emanating from sort of banjo-like stringed instrument, and swells of lush feedback and distorted guitar. The band weaves these sounds together into simple, dark melodies that sound more like something from Swans than anything vaguely black metallish. But there's also that doom-laden creepiness that lurks beneath the surface of these melancholy folk-dirges, a subdued heaviness heard in those slow-motion drums, waves of vast keyboard drift and that buzzing harmonium-like drone that makes a reappearance, and the deeper you get into this, the more that you can hear the band's admitted Skepticism influence, a vague funeral doom quality to this music that you hear more in the atmosphere and pace of the music than in any overt metallic qualities. It's all some surprisingly beautiful stuff, in fact. The following song "Wäsende" might be my favorite, another instrumental piece that resembles some particularly gloomy, darkened 70's psych-folk, with some of the prettiest acoustic guitar arrangements on the album, laid out over delicate droning organs and that slow, shuffling backbeat. Further in, the sound starts to get heavier as some muffled distorted guitars creep into "Foglarna Warda Fångna Medh Snaror", lending an undercurrent of clanging, doom-laden rumble to the song's hauntingly pretty folk melody and stretches of ghostly, cavernous drone. "Dageligh Beredelse Emoot Döden" has a more ominous feel, death-march drums and minor key jangle woven into a Goblin-esque groove, and closer "Uthi Thet Ytterste Mörckret" unfolds into a twelve minute kosmische trance of pounding tribal drums and slithering bass, moody acoustic strum draped over droning keyboards and sheets of electrical hum, the album closing within the sway of this last krautrock-tinged hypno-trance. Highly recommended." [CrucialBlast] |
2012 |
€12.00 |
|
| HENRY COW |
Ex Box Collected Fragments 1971-1978 |
CD |
"EX BOX is a free bonus CD issued to subscribers to the Henry Cow Box Redux and is NOT FOR GENERAL SALE."
Limited edition of 250.
However, ReR Megacorp also made this CD available for separate purchase. Copies sold to non-subscribers were not numbered.
● 1 : 1971 recorded in Cambridge
● 2 & 3 : remixes done at Cold Storage in Brixton for the first CD reissue of 'Legend' on the Minneapolis label East Side Digital in 1991.
● 4, 5, 6 & 7 : taken from a concert at the Theatre Royal, Sheffield on June 9, 1974. Rescued from an otherwise unidentified cassette.
● 8 : from the 1976 quartet tour of Scandinavia. From an otherwise unidentified cassette.
● 9 : extracted from material generated while working on side two of Unrest, and appeared as a bonus track on the ESD reissue. Recorded at The Manor, probably between the 14th and 28th February 1974.
● 10 and 11 were gleaned from one of the few surviving Orckestra recordings. Taken from an unidentified cassette. [was previously available on a bonus mini-CD given to subscribers of The Henry Cow Facsimile Box.]
● 12, 13, 14 : recorded in January 1978 at Sunrise in Switzerland. They weren't use for future Henry Cow releases, but later appeared on the ReR reissue of Western Culture as bonus tracks. [actually tracks 12 & 13 were also released as early as 1982 on Recommended Records Sampler].
● 15, 16, 17 : recorded on 20th February, 1977 at the TeatroOlimpico in Parma. Mastered from a cassette.
Assembled by Chris Cutler, then improved and mastered at Studio Midi-Pyrenees by Bob Drakein October 2019.
|
2019 |
€15.00 |
|
| HETERO SKELETON |
En la sombra del pajaro velludo |
CD |
"Die Band selbst beschreibt ihren Sound als "Perez Prado am Tor zur Hölle" und darüber lässt sich gar nicht streiten. HETERO SKELETON aus Finnland liefern mit "En La Sombra Del Parajo Velludo" den Saxophon-lastigen Soundtrack zum Abstieg in die Unterwelt. Für Fans von Jazzpunk, wie ihn die FLYING LUTTENBACHERS spielen und für die, denen FAT WORM OF ERROR ein Begriff ist. //
Five unholy speaker cone movers from Finland (Helsinki and Tampere) choke up a hairball of churning sax driven maelstrom. In between the notes, crinkle-cut sound sax spuzz links rude-itude of the highest order. Fans of Finnish campfire/industrial act AVARUS take note, as the same disconnected fuckery pulses through this disc with enough extra forward thrust to kick start your fart.
This disc comes recommended for fans of jazz punk like the FLYING LUTTENBACHERS as well as stumble royalty like FAT WORM OF ERROR. Not just blind free jizz blowjobbery, but roid raged thuggery - click here for an unbelievable taste sensations!
Other discs on Jelle Crama's new label have cemented their songs in the waiting room of forever. The band describes their sound as "Perez Prado at the gates of Hell", and who am I to argue?" [label info]
www.loadrecords.com
|
2007 |
€8.00 |
|
| HOLLOWING + MAOR APPELBAUM |
Collaborating Torture |
CD |
"Collaborating Torture is one of the last known recordings made by Matt Gibney AKA Hollowing, who died in January 2006. Gibney, a member of SOIHADTOSHOOTHIM who was also running the important Rectrix label and mail-order, was joined here by the prolific Maor Appelbaum (Grave in the Sky, Poochaltz and Maurizio Bianchi, to name a few) to create a brooding and massive 54 minutes track of dark pitch-black ambient of hypnagogic swirls and industrialized drones. Sometimes subtle, yet mostly haunted and delirious, this is highly recommended if you like Wilt, Murderous Vision, Brighter Death Now, Aidan Baker, Z'ev, Daniel Menche, The Caretaker and John Duncan.
1 track, 54 min long." [label info]
www.HCBrecords.com, www.topheth.org
|
2008 |
€10.00 |
|
| HOLTERBACH, MANU |
23 Panoramas de Frequences |
BOOK + CD |
"23 Frequencies Panoramas - Urban and peri-urban sound-images of Lyon, Saint-Etienne and in between. This record contains about twenty sound images: recordings, or edited recordings, which have been carried out for a few years in Lyon, Saint-Etienne and in betweens. The used recordings have never been distorted or transformed, except a slight filtration when necessary, to reduce some undesirable frequencies, or to reinforce others, which are highly desirable. These sound images deal with listening to the landscape. They reveal moments when I chose to stop by and listen. They are both extremely familiar and exotic sounds. They are like fragments from our (more or less) everyday environment, which are so subtle and discrete, that everyone passes by without necessarily paying attention to them. However, they are beautiful sounds, which are worth listening to, and which I love gathering. They are these indications of a spontaneous poetry, which is part of the most commonplace or neutral things and situations. Listening actively to these phenomena enables one to make the world his, in an intimate manner, and therefore to get into one of the most poetic part of reality.
The sounds of these sound images stand as found objects. None has been generated on purpose, they are not a "creation". They are noises and sounds of our environment: sounds of machines, electrical devices, vibrations, natural phenomena, animal calls, echos and resonances due to the spatial parameters of different places, etc. This record aims at revealing the eerie beauty of these sound phenomena.” E. H.
This a beautifull CD + book of 64 pages of 15 x 21 cm with color photos. French / English texts by Lionel Marchetti and E. Holterbach. Photos by E. Holterbach. From mole-crickets chorus in a field to flying bats through flashing neon light. Highly recommended !" [publishing house info]
|
2010 |
€17.50 |
|
| HUM |
Flesh of the Soul |
CD |
Nach vielen selbstveröffentlichten CDRs hier endlich die erste "grössere" Veröffentlichung von HUM, "Flesh of the Soul" besteht aus neun mantrischen Drone-Meditationen, die einen sehr sanft und fast unmerklich umschlingen....Musik wie das geheimnisvolle Wispern der Natur, wie der hörbar gemachte Gesang des Äthers. Klänge die das Mysterium der Existenz ausdrücken & wiederspiegeln, dunkel aber überhaupt nicht depressiv...
HUM schafft es immer wieder, die Drones nicht "banal" klingen zu lassen, sondern voller emotionaler Tiefe... und höchst authentisch!
"Being well-known to the inner circles of russian industrialists for his long-time work under different names, Hum didn’t have such an attention that he deserves until now, when Quag decides to change the situation and to offer the first CD of this brilliant russian talent. His mystical cold ambient explores the nature of soul and the soul of nature, the mysteries hidden in the sky, the earth, the water, the forest. Simple and minimalistic musically, Hum is very complex in its influence on a listener’s perception. Quiet unconstrained sound sorcery opens the higher realms of the unseen. Being far from dark and depression Hum is even more far from New-Age-like garbage. Recommended for those who wants to have a rest from darkness without dipping in syrup. The first edition of 300 copies in a special “Quag-pack” printed silver-on-black. IST 024 CD" [label info]
"Finally, after the numerous CDRs and one 7” on Drone Records, this is the first factory-pressed CD of this brilliant drone-ambient project. “Flesh Of The Soul”, which is definitely one of the best works Dmitry Chistov has ever done, is a real masterpiece of cold transcendental soundscapes. The album is filled with majestic melancholy, it is clear and soothing, there’s a plenty of veiled melodies and celestial harmonies hidden inside its simple sound structures. It sounds a bit nostalgic cause Dmitry uses only old-fashioned tape-technique and analogue synth loops, utilizing digital devices just for the final mastering, but the atmosphere is very special, reminding of early Zoviet France, Maeror Tri, Tesendalo or Aidan Baker. It could seem very peaceful and calm, but beyond this bright and peaceful surface the sorrow and darkness is hidden. The beauty of this music is enchanting and it is hard to resist its magical spells, so it might be difficult to fight the desire to play this album over and over in yearning to experience again the tender touch of this unearthly Flesh Of The Soul. The album is limited to 300 copies and comes in special package printed silver on black. Very recommended!" [press release / Indiestate]
|
2007 |
€13.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| ILIOS |
18102002 |
CD-R |
Project from Greece with intense and outstanding pure frequency ambience, static & abstract wave-sounds that move underneath, with some more concrete rumblings on the surface...at most times quite deep droning. Recommended!
"ilios for me stands as one of the most eccentric yet challenging greek experimental projects of the last decade ever since the very first day that we met in march 91 & was introduced to their work. since then they've been always surprising not only me but also
their friends/audience either via their cds which could bring in mind lotsa residents influences at times, intelligent deconstructed pop tunes or obscure ambient soundcapes other times. the same eccentric and bizarre their performances have been, one could turn more 'electronica', the other (such as their amazing early 90's theatre performance 'agamemnon') could turn an obscure ambient piece evenwith kraut rock hints uniquely incorporated into it. the last couple of years the project seems to turn back to its early origins of obscure ambience & bizarre experimentation. the recent 'ba' 3"cd on their antifrost can be an example of this crossover. but even this release couldn't predetermine the night of the 18th of october 2002 at small music theatre. melting sounds of a laptop & utilizing as an extra source as well a glass 'played' w/ a dentist's wheel ilios blasted one of the most flabbergasting live sets ever experienced so
far of a greek experimental project. starting with a frequency that someone might expected to listen to a cool yet standard minimal or
lowercase live set, evolved & outbreaked an ambience whose intensity not only did it amplify the whole space around us but also the audience (who was in total darkness) that we were experiencing with great enthusiasm this impressive moment. a live set the impression & sound of which can only be compared to some of the best 'ambient' (or call it whatever) moments of people like zbigniew karkowski, sons of god, hafler trio, etc & here is nothing but the audio documentation of this monumental night." [Nicolas Malevitsis]
www.void.gr/absurd
|
2002 |
€10.00 |
|
| ILLUSION OF SAFETY |
Surrender |
CD-R |
"I've been releasing things outside of the internet (no part of it), and one of them has been "Surrender", the newest outing by Illusion of Safety. Daniel Burke has made a "remix overview" of this work, and I had to let the cat out of the bag. More information can be found at the video link, including the mail box where money orders/hidden cash is to be sent. Do check it out! The video is exceptional! I've been told some of the processes in making it, and it's nothing short of deftly inspired! $7 postage paid in the US. $12 elsewhere. Available in pro cassette and pro CDR format.
I haphazardly spurred Illusion of Safety back into live action in 2008 when I asked him to do a show with me at the Empty Bottle. From there, we were both asked to perform for WTII's monthly showcase at Darkroom, wherein this clown video material first surfaced, so it's a pleasure for me to release the nexus of a soundtrack to this imagery, coming full circle.
"Illusion of Safety, just passing its 30th year since inception, is often regarded as the innovator of "ambient industrial". Despite having traversed nearly every arena of the experimental milieu, performed prestigious fests all over the world, and collaborated with some of widest ranging and heaviest hitting of the avante garde, core member/founder Daniel Burke has both shown a return to form and a veritable bouquet of new frontiers in his most recent outing, "Surrender". In just under 60 minutes, the listener is taken on a dizzying carousel ride where everything but the kitchen sink is employed to weave a deeply personal (abstract, wordless) narrative that comes off as minimalistic, condensed, and bombastic. But at the same time, it is a constantly shifting, complex and ornate grid iron amalgam of genuine enthusiasm and horror. Recommended if you like a complete disregard for the myopic trappings and short sighted formulae of contemporary sound art today." [label info]
nopartofit.blogspot.de
"Somewhere, an old T-shirt from Illusion Of Safety exists (the last we saw was affixed to Sigtryggur from Stillupsteypa some 10 years ago) with a deadpan/ironic catch-phrase "Illusion Of Safety gives you that soaring feeling" next to an image of a man tumbling headfirst out of a skyscraper window. Such a calculated juxtaposition of word and image was emblematic of the '80s art world (e.g. Barbara Kruger), often speaking to the underbelly of callousness, cruelty, violence and general amorality within consumerist society. Outside of this bold piece of iconography, Illusion Of Safety has operated within a more liminal state of mysteriousness through signifier and meaning. Even in their most placid albums of soft-focus ambience, the specter of some unknowable threat lurks in the background. More common in the Illusion Of Safety catalogue is an iron-fisted grasp of that sense of foreboding and dread through psychologically tense sound design. Over three decades in existence, this Chicago based project has been whittled down to its core member Dan Burke - with a few comrades-in-arms joining him occasionally - and is probably the longest running American industrial project, having produced a very impressive body of work. The 2014 album Surrender fits comfortably next to some of the masterpieces of the IOS back catalogue (e.g. Cancer, In Session, Historical, etc.) through the trademarked juxtaposition of noxious frequencies snaking in and out of harmonic phase patterns only to snap out of existence with a razor-cut edit into an electrical burst of tesla coil noise (for example). Disjointed rhythms, mediated collages, decontextualized field recordings, and psychoacoustic phrases map this album with incredible control and precision. Illusion Of Safety proves once again that they are one of the greats of industrial culture. Grab this album before it disappears, the pro-duplicated cd-r is limited to just 100 copies. Same for the cassette." [Aquarius Records]
"Among the few artists I have been following what seems now to be a lifetime (Asmus Tietchens, Main, Organum), Illusion Of Safety is probably among them the band I saw play live most. Dan Burke, the main man, is a most loveable chap and he always surprises me with his next move. His music doesn't operate in any particular style, but overlaps various genres. Improvised, industrial, ambient, musique concrete, and even a bit of techno beat thrown in. Here's a new album that proofs it. It's called 'Surrender' (which word always reminds me of the Cheap Trick song) and on a label called No Part Of It, meaning they don't want to be part of the world of Internet. There is a website, but there catalogue is hand scribbled on a sheet of paper and the CDRs - professionally designed - can be bought with a money order. Yes! That's what I like. Swim against the tide. Music wise Illusion Of Safety does something we haven't seen him do in quite some time. The collage styled music in which lengthy chunks of sounds are suddenly cut away by voices from radio and TV, a techno beats slips into view and sounds remarkable like the early 90s works such as 'Historical', 'Inside Agitator' or 'Distraction'. Quiet at times, but also quite bombastic at other times, filmic but without too many words. And if we hear any, it's about nuclear waste leakage. In that sense this album also harks back to the post-industrial sound of yesteryear. The balance between the very quiet and the very loud, between the ambience and the beats, is maintained very well throughout this release. Daddy's all right: surrender!" [FdW/Vital Weekly] |
2013 |
€9.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| INCITE |
Minimal listening |
7 |
„neop und procedure: knochentrockene minmale electronics, fragmentierte slomo Grooves und abstrakte rhythmische Arrangements.“ [Incite info]
First vinyl-release for this Hamburg-based duo with their minimal repetitive rhythmic clicks & cuts-IDM. Comes on nice looking grey-sparkled vinyl.
“....... however it's not music that is based on rhythmmachines or sound anywhere close to techno, but rather a raw version of anything clicks & cuts related. Both tracks are slow, under 100 bpm, but played at 33 RPM instead of the recommended 45 RPM, gives an even more alienated feel to the pieces. It's minimal listening music as opposed to minimal dancing music.” [FdW / Vital Weekly] Address:
http://www.incite.gradcom.org
|
2004 |
€7.00 |
|
| IRIKARAH |
Endstation Steinbruch |
CD |
Well arranged "classic Industrial" dealing with 3rd Reich-topics.
"Re-issue of an extremely limited cassette (20 copies!), originally published by Andreas Arndt’s own label Keine Zeit Recordings in 1996. Six tracks of dark and disturbing Power Noise / Death Ambient, not far off the style of Brighter Death Now. Limited to just 300 hand-numbered copies in an outsized foldout package. Recommended" [Cold Spring]
|
2006 |
€10.00 |
|
| |
A happy collection of catastrophes |
CD-R |
“A varied texture of rhythmical power electronics and industrial noise on eight tracks. Recommended” [label info]
http://rapeartprods.com
|
2005 |
€10.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| ISOMER |
Zero Lounge |
CD |
“Here it comes! The follow-up to "serpent age", the highly acclaimed first CD by the australian artist David Tonkin, the man behind Isomer. Isomer does not remain in the field of dark rhythmic ambience; with the second release it explores new fields. This CD brings a blend mixture of classical industrial elements, power electronic noises and ritual soundscapes...it still has its very own touch and varies its style often but never losses the thin red led of an extraordinary brilliance in recording. Follow Isomer into the Zero lounge.” [label description]
“The "Serpent Age" release is a grandiose exercise of 'Black Ambient' excesses. Majestic sweeping passages of haunting dispirited sounds, distilled throughout its eight tracks, drags you kicking into a musical world pitched in total darkness. Echoes reverberate and throb whilst minuscule glitches fight for your attention. Fragments of a barely audible beat dissolve around intricate patterns of electronic waveforms. "Serpent Age" is recommended to be heard at night with the lights turned out and with no outside interference. Under these conditions it comes alive and envelopes you like a tender lover, holding and squeezing you tightly, never letting you go. Try it. You'll see what I'm getting at. This is one of the finest examples of 'Black Ambient' music I've heard in many a long time and, of course, is mega highly rated. Nice one Isomer. Nice one Tesco.“ [Aural Pressure]
|
2005 |
€14.00 |
|
| |
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 |
|
| JASENKA, ANTANAS |
An Artist and a Plane |
CD |
Unser definitiver Favorit unter den letzten ELECTROSHOCK-Releases ist das neue Werk von ANTANAS JASENKA. Zwei Stücke, ARTAC (40:52), und ELECTRONIC SUTARTINES (20:10), mit visionärer, dunkel-fliessender Elektro-Akustik.... verzerrte „poetic texts“.... Soundscapes mit hoher Dynamik, Spannung und geheimnisvoller Aura.......irgendwo zwischen BRUME, ZOVIET FRANCE und Elektro-Akustik wie NORMANDEAU.
Our definite favourite amongst the latest new ELECTROSHOCK-releases! Visionary dark & floating electro-acoustic of highest dynamic and tension & with a secretful aura... DEEPLY RECOMMENDED !!!!!
|
2004 |
€12.00 |
|
| JÜPPALA KÄÄPIÖ |
Rainbow Mask |
LP |
"Rainbow Mask" is a 12" record which contains a long piece on each side. The sound was originally taken from our first session in Geneva in Autumn 2006. Hitoshi processed Carole's viola and voice thorough various effectors in realtime. And we kept playing until the studio space was totally filled with our harmony and noises. Although the sound was quite rough, the experience in the space was strong enough to impress ourselves. ("Lunastus" in "Sporing Promenade" is also taken from a part of the session in the same day.)
We have listened, edited and forgotten the recording, again and again. Then finally the brewed results were contained in this record.
The process often happens during Hitoshi’s sound work. He seriously considers the effect as 'sound fermentation', that increases the astringency and richness of the sound, even if it's in decaying process.
Side A is a noisy psychedelic drone music which is closer to the original session. It may remind you some of Hitoshi's work, as "Spiracle" (if you know the name). Side B is a quiet work, like an ambient music. We played piano together while listening to the original session, and Carole acoustically overdubbed viola tracks afterwards. Then, the sound of the original session was mostly removed.
This side sounds nice by 45 rpm as well.
The mask on the cover was made by Carole, when she was 12 years old. The titles of each piece were also borrowed from this innocent craziness.
How about our "rainbow fermentation technique" which comes from the country of cheese and wine 'Switzerland', and the country of natto (fermented soybeans) and sake 'Japan'?" [label info]
www.omnimemento.com
"A swarmingly beautiful, miasmic piece of psychedelic drone folk! Juppala Kaaplo is the husband & wife duo of Carole and Hitoshi Kojo, the latter of whom had released a number of spectacular drone-smear constructions under the moniker Spiracle. Minimalism is certainly a key component to the Juppala Kaaplo sound, but it's the kaleidoscopic trills that you'll get from Terry Riley rather than the steely suspension from Organum or Phill Niblock. Certainly, Spiracle's last affair - the daydreaming ambient record Ananta - was a much friendlier form of minimalism, but we were still not entirely expecting the shimmering, prism-shot psychedelia of this album. A hypnotizing mass immediately emerges from the lp with lengthy repetitions of Carole's vocal that is equal parts Liz Harris and Tara Burke, haunting the forest-dwelling drones from various bowed instruments that Hitoshi stacks into sinewy passages. Throughout, long breathy gasps of aerated noises push to the foreground alongside a revolving set of church organ trills and arpeggiations that faithfully play homage to Terry Riley's classic Rainbow In Curved Air. The second side is a slightly more somber affair with violin and piano gliding out of an aggregate drone from those two instruments. Like the A-side, it's a wonderful bliss-out number albeit sodden from a rainy night out in the Finnish wilderness. Limited to 450 copies and highly recommended!" [Aquarius Records]
|
2010 |
€19.50 |
|
| KENT, JULIA |
Asperities |
CD |
There's something about that cello sound that keeps me mesmerized. And it's not a bias towards strings - after all I'm a piano player at heart - but rather something about the tonality and timbre of the low-end of those strings. In the right hands, the cello could be moody, stormy, and even dour. I think by now I have accepted my total fascination with melancholy instrumental music, and so it is the music with the cello to which I'm always drawn again.
The 'right hands' this time belong to none other than Julia Kent, a Canadian-born NYC-based cellist, who, after many years of performing and recording in groups, such as Rasputina, decided to go solo in 2007 with Delay. I was introduced and captivated by Kent's sound with her 2013 release on Leaf, titled Character. I was also lucky enough to witness Kent's live performance at the Unsound Festival New York, which I followed with an Interview, and so, you got the idea, I was hooked. Julia's fourth solo studio album, Asperities, is due out on October 30th, again on the amazing Leaf label, and I've got the privilege to spend more than a few hours inside her world.
I was thinking about the concept of difficulty. Whether in life or in nature – of conflict, of being troubled. The idea of friction. Also in geology, an asperity is some part of a fault line that doesn’t move that can create an earthquake, which is an evocative concept.
Asperities is layered, soaked and stratified, and then peeled back upon its core. The cello swirls in clouds of reverb, dancing around the stereo stage, temperamental, volatile and glum. Like the early dark clouds of an autumn downpour, the sonic whirlwind slowly gathers among the textured washes of its aural weather. The atmosphere is nearly electric, slowly building, growing, gnawing with every single piece. This tension finally breaks with my favorite track on the album, "Terrain", which erupts with glitchy percussive rhythm, completely unexpected and very welcome. This is a cinematic journey, meticulously sculpted to keep you on the edge.
A lot of the melodic material is based on semitones,” Julia elaborates. “So in the music there is an inherent sense of dissonance; that things are too close for comfort. More generally, it seems like a particularly dark time in the world right now, and I think that definitely had an influence too.”
This amalgamation of looped cello, electronics and found sound creates a perfect unity of all that is incredibly lovely about Julia Kent. The album is mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri (whom I actually witnessed doing so at his Black Knoll Studio), and is available as a CD, digital download, and limited edition vinyl LP. Highly recommended for fans of cello music in general, and especially works by Greg Haines, Peter Gregson, Richard Skelton, and Hildur Guðnadóttir.
[Headphone Commute]
|
2015 |
€15.50 |
|
| |
Temporal (lim. white vinyl) |
LP + CD |
Temporal is a meditation on the transitory and fragile nature of existence.
Much of the music that comprises the album was originally written to accompany theatre and dance productions. “The initial inspiration was more external than internal, in that many of these pieces began as a response to a text or a choreographic concept,” Julia explains, “but they all seemed to be coming from the same emotional world and it made sense to weave them together into a record.”
After the threat of violent release on previous album Asperities, Temporal’s relationship to the physical world manifests itself in a more organic, human sound. The electronic manipulations are subtler, with Julia sampling voices from a theatre production and processing them into unrecognisable textures: ghosts of the source material. “I included the processed voices to acknowledge the genesis of the music and also because I wanted to incorporate vocals in a way that turned voice into texture, and blurred the lines between sonic elements.”
https://music.juliakent.com/album/temporal
"Canadian cellist, Julia Kent, is back with a new album for Leaf, a gloomy, dark, delicious journey of texture, cinematic ambience and modern classical timbre. I've witnessed Julia play before, with her shoes off working the loop pedals, all dressed in black, as she appears to be in all of her press photos, her hair dark around the sombre face, an arm tattoo, sharp focus on the music. I dive into the description of this artist because I feel her being bleeding in and onto all her works, a natural extension of her mind, expressed in sound throughout time. Is Temporal a hint at our very own existence? Is there a fear or an acceptance thereof? Perhaps a little bit of both as you traverse the dissonance and tension, so well restrained within this composition.
The rhythmic plucking of the string counts down the clock from an unknown number. The many-layered cello notes (and tones) create a blanket of unease, but find comfort in their warming. A bass begins to pulse. An organ walks the scale. We are acknowledging "Imbalance" and its ongoing presence in our lives. Too much a leaning to the left, too much a resuming to the right, we tend to float throughout this storm, like a lone lost and tiny buoy. The clouds subside and music perseveres, and then, perhaps, we're not alone, surrounded by others in this "Floating City", where pizzicato notes dance lightly with the piano. This cinematic tendency of the sound appears due to the pieces having been originally written for the theatre and dance productions, repackaged now in album form, for our delight and pleasure.
When I perform live with dance and theatre, it makes me enormously aware of the fragility of our physical world. Dancers and actors, anyone whose instrument is their body, have nothing to protect them from the rules of gravity and time. They are so strong, but they’re subject to those demands in a more extreme way because of the physicality of what they’re doing. Onstage, I have an instrument to mediate for me, but they are bare. When I work with dancers, especially, I feel as though there can be an incredible energy exchange. They create a sort of weather system on the stage.
-Julia Kent
This "weather" is indeed transforming through the album, as you can gather from my words (which I've convoked before digging out the quote above). Even with the delayed echoes of the strings, which practically compose the metre of the album, the album feels organic and inherent, with Kent's emotions permeating through and through. Those willing to connect with Julia on yet another level will find themselves immersed in all she has to say. Recommended for fans of Hildur Guðnadóttir [who seems to be consumed by soundtracks these days -- did you see Chernobyl?], Christina Vantzou, Zoë Keating, Danny Norbury, Greg Haines, and Poppy Ackroyd. A favourite on Leaf which calls for your attention." [Headphone Commute]
|
2019 |
€22.50 |
|
| KILLY DOG BOX |
Against the forgetting |
CD-R |
After the nice cassette a new work from this english project – their sound is ultra dark & minimal ambient industrial with a classical touch, they use vocals for instance, but everything stays alien & surreal & non-obvious. Very appealing stuff, recommended! |
2002 |
€10.00 |
|
| KIRCHENKAMPF |
The first circle |
CD-R |
Last copies of this early KIRCHENKAMPF-release!
"Massive ambience. Though the release has only six tracks, it's every bit a full-length release checking in at just under an hour. The ambience portrayed here could be perceived as beautiful by many, but I find it more metallic, not harsh, but metallic. Imagine walking through the guts of a really big machine that digests metal as opposed to organic materials. It's the soundtrack to a very dark day. This record is recommended for those who just need some time to think about things. The artwork on this first edition is astounding. The handpainted, cracking green and black jewel box perfectly captures the mood."
[J. Mundok, AUTOreverse #11]
|
1995 |
€9.00 |
|
| KIRCHENKAMPF & THE IMPLICIT ORDER |
M103 (a cosmic Peregrination in four parts) |
CD-R |
A one-tracker of around 55 minutes with ghostly wind-ambience and vocal invocations, ultra-dark, floating and re-sounding endlessly, loopy & repetitive structures are omnipresent, but it doesn't sound artificial... this is a split CDR where the different parts are linked together
(parts 1 & 3 by KIRCHENKAMPF, parts 2 & 4 by THE IMPLICIT ORDER), the material fits together quite well...
Recommended for lovers of the spheric dark drones...
|
1999 |
€9.00 |
|
| KOVAC, BORIS / NEW RITUAL GROUP |
The Path |
CD |
"What’s remarkable about Boris is that he has carved out a musical form that transcends genre or even musical content; it’s a music of depth and feeling; and that’s what you hear beyond the notes or style. And he has gathered, over time, musicians who can realize that quality. This, for Boris, is a small group, only five people, so they can be looser, more personal than the larger ensembles. Though informed by chamber music, Serbian, Romanian and Hungarian folk music, and jazz, you can’t file this record in any of those categories. Lyrical and ostensibly simple, these exquisitely coloured and beautifully recorded compositions float, occasionally changing density, but always solid enough to be clear about what they are. The drums are especially subtle in this regard, more touch than motor, but they make themselves expressive, even forceful, when they need to. For the rest, the music moves as a sinuous wave, the parts distinct but not separated. It’s autumnal, that I could say." [label notes]
"Mit „The Path“ veröffentlicht der Jugoslawische Komponist und Multiinstrumentalist BORIS KOVAC ein Album, das eine gefühlvolle Verschmelzung von Chamber Music, osteuropäischem Folk und Jazz bietet. Die CD erscheint als Digipack via RECOMMENDED.
Mehr als 20 Alben hat der 1955 in der damals unabhängigen Region Vojvodina am Rande von Jugoslawien geborene BORIS KOVAC bislang veröffentlicht. Und obwohl seine Wurzeln in traditioneller Musik, Improvisation und Jazz verhaftet sind, verschrieb er sich doch auch der musikalischen Arbeit für Filme und Theaterstücke, für die er bereits mehrfach ausgezeichnet wurde. Mit seinen World- und Jazz-Ensembles RITUAL NOVA, LADAABA ORCHEST und dem LA CAMPANELLA ORCHESTRA spielte er mehr als 500 Konzerte in 30 verschiedenen Ländern. In den vier Instrumentalisten seiner NEW RITUAL GROUP fand er nun die idealen Partner um den acht Kompositionen seines neuen Albums „The Path“ auf knapp 50 Minuten zu einer nachdenklichen, zerbrechlich anmutenden Grundstimmung zu verhelfen. Hauptsächlich mit Kontrabass, Piano, Saxophon und Percussions instrumentiert, scheinen die vordergründig einfach gehaltenen Kompositionen durch den Raum zu schweben,
mal düster, mal gefühlvoll verspielt, aber immer kristallklar. Durch ruhige Klänge - so schreibt KOVAC im Booklet - will er dem Hörer ein Ausbrechen aus dem turbulenten Alltag erleichtern und der Natur und deren Ruhe ein Stückchen näher bringen. Ein wunderbarer Gedanke, der mit „The Path“ ideal umgesetzt wird."
|
2016 |
€13.00 |
|
| LA CASA, ERIC |
W2 (1998-2008) |
do-CD |
"A collection of previous released compositions and longtime sold out made between 1998 and 2008 and gather under two main theme, Water and Wind. + a few unreleased pieces. A geographic inventory, a sonic journal, a living alchemy, the pulsing of the world. With Les pierres du seuil, S'ombre, Spirale, Les oscillations, L'Inspir du rivage, Dans le feuillage du lointain, la clameur d'un bruissement, Quelque chose de cela, le désert, L'air au fond rouge, Les aubes sont navrantes." [label info]
www.herbalinternational.tk
"Essential compilation of now hard to find material from sound artist Eric La Casa, thematically separated onto two CDs around the themes of wind and water. These pieces are just as much shaped by geography as by time itself, with each track's vocabulary varying according to what was recorded then and there.
As always La Casa masterfully crafts compelling sound stories with these two elements, emphasizing narration over some purely static documentary exercise. The sound of breezes, flowing rivers, wind tunnels, rain drops and other storms are structured but never denatured, retaining all of their organic depth and beauty. Absolutely recommended, especially to those appreciative of G*Park." [Mechanoise Labs]
|
2010 |
€20.00 |
|
| LA STPO (La Société des Timides à la Parade des Oiseaux) |
Le Combat Occulte |
CD |
Rares und live-Material dieser französischen « Avant Post-Punk »-Band, die in ihrer aktiven Zeit ingesamt mehr als 30 Mitglieder hatte!! Anklänge an DDAA (die erste Single von LA STPO erschien übrigens 1986 auf Illusion Production!), VOLCANO THE BEAR, und die wildesten RECOMMENDED RECORDS-Sachen.....Grosse weirde wilde DADA-Energie!
“It's strange to think that a score of years ago the world was just emerging from the last of its new wave haze, only to enter a brave new era of over produced, digitally recorded schlock. La STPO was borne into this miasma of mediocrity with knives out. They have remained bastions of outré ever since their bloodied birth. Vive La STPO! To celebrate two decades of one of the finest, most fractured & indefatigable European avant post punk bands, BlRR has nailed together this 11 track retrospective of 7300 days in the life of La STPO. & rather than trying to shape this into some sort of "best of" or "greatest hits," BlRR & La STPO have done the reverse by leaning more heavily in on the group's more exploratory moments. This also makes for a better album that, in its own skewed way, fits together as if all recorded in the same session. As presented here, La STPO are truly Rock In Opposition. Unlike their Zeuhl spewing forbears, however, STPO are not trying to fuse jazz & rock. Their rock is in opposition of all things safely established, including Rock In Opposition. Jagged & bleated arrangements with familiar rock instrumentation clash to form screaming, dada-pregnant, contorted punk concertos. Oddly timed & full of changes, this is music to fall down escalators to. Sometimes this is music to lay at the bottom of escalators to. Just as your fingers begin to snap, STPO leaps off the page into a droning menace. A cadence of broken buzzsaw guitar hums ejaculate into soft & staggering staccato strings. La STPO's propensity for quiet tension gives the tumult of their caterwauls that much more weight. The vocalist is as likely to coo & chirp as he is to chant & caw. Reeds, vibes & trumpets walk freely with the rest, making this as dynamic & interesting a record as one could hope for in this hopelessly metering post rock era. Any group that can take The Ex to task & come out singing an aria afterwards is certainly worth falling down an escalator for.” [label press release]
|
2005 |
€10.00 |
|
| |
Le Combat Occulte |
LP |
Stark limitierte Vinyl-Version! Rares und live-Material dieser französischen « Avant Post-Punk »-Band, die in ihrer aktiven Zeit ingesamt mehr als 30 Mitglieder hatte!! Anklänge an DDAA (die erste Single von LA STPO erschien übrigens 1986 auf Illusion Production!), VOLCANO THE BEAR, und die wildesten RECOMMENDED RECORDS-Sachen...
Grosse weirde wilde DADA-Energie!
“It's strange to think that a score of years ago the world was just emerging from the last of its new wave haze, only to enter a brave new era of over produced, digitally recorded schlock. La STPO was borne into this miasma of mediocrity with knives out. They have remained bastions of outré ever since their bloodied birth. Vive La STPO! To celebrate two decades of one of the finest, most fractured & indefatigable European avant post punk bands, BlRR has nailed together this 11 track retrospective of 7300 days in the life of La STPO. & rather than trying to shape this into some sort of "best of" or "greatest hits," BlRR & La STPO have done the reverse by leaning more heavily in on the group's more exploratory moments. This also makes for a better album that, in its own skewed way, fits together as if all recorded in the same session. As presented here, La STPO are truly Rock In Opposition. Unlike their Zeuhl spewing forbears, however, STPO are not trying to fuse jazz & rock. Their rock is in opposition of all things safely established, including Rock In Opposition. Jagged & bleated arrangements with familiar rock instrumentation clash to form screaming, dada-pregnant, contorted punk concertos. Oddly timed & full of changes, this is music to fall down escalators to. Sometimes this is music to lay at the bottom of escalators to. Just as your fingers begin to snap, STPO leaps off the page into a droning menace. A cadence of broken buzzsaw guitar hums ejaculate into soft & staggering staccato strings. La STPO's propensity for quiet tension gives the tumult of their caterwauls that much more weight. The vocalist is as likely to coo & chirp as he is to chant & caw. Reeds, vibes & trumpets walk freely with the rest, making this as dynamic & interesting a record as one could hope for in this hopelessly metering post rock era. Any group that can take The Ex to task & come out singing an aria afterwards is certainly worth falling down an escalator for.” [label press release]
|
2005 |
€16.00 |
|
| LA STPO (SOCIETE DES TIMIDES A LA PARADE DES OISEAUX) |
Tranches de temps jete (Slices of thrown time) |
LP |
Für jeden Recommended Records- und „AvantRock“-Fan ein MUSS, das neue Album dieser ungewöhnlichen Band, die auf französisch singen, sprechen und schreien und musikalisch fast schon theatralisch zu nennende „Szenen“ entwerfen, die irgendwo zwischen Geräuschmusik, Filmmusik & Experimental-Rock liegen.... wobei jedes Stück bis ins kleinste Detail ausgearbeit ist !
Nicht nur höchst kurzweilig, sondern auch anspruchsvoll und ästhetisch tönen diese Aufnahmen, die bereits im Jahre 2000 gemacht wurden...
Dies die limitierte Vinyl-Version....
“Ed. of 325 copies. Vol. 3 of Records are not for Baking In the midst of the world's fascination with so-called Electroclash, leave it to the old school to really show what post-punk is really about, while simultaneously turning the concept on its fractured head. LA STPO has the finesse and invention and the je ne c'est quoi to massage its victims into a quiet trance, only to pummel them seconds later. Slices Of Throw Time is like a Van Der Graaf arc between the bombast of Blurt/Ex/Dog Faced Hermans/Contortions/Birthday Party and the subtle, avant-composerly moments of Henry Cow/This Heat/Univers Zero/Faust. The punchy rhythm section, abetted by the squawky horns, makes for a music to which one can truly contort. LA STPO's musical muscle, however, is always backed up by solid jazz/classical informed chops that can and will chop any lesser outfit into nothing more than a pile of over-loud rock and roll dust. LA STPO infuses their punk with dynamics of both volume and texture, producing a slightly zeuhl flavoured post rock, which should, by all rights, land Slices Of Throw Time on many a critic's year end top 10 list. We all know this will not likely happen, but hopefully there is enough room in YOUR top ten list for rock that both rocks and explores.” [label info]
www.blrrecords.com
|
2006 |
€17.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| LANDING |
Oceanless |
CD |
"THE new discovery in the area of spheric guitar ambient drone Rock, their second album now in stock ! Highly recommended for lovers of the genre." [Drone Rec. 2001]
“Landing is a truly vibrant, celestial-minded quartet of sound painters from Connecticut (via-Utah!). After releasing an ep (Centrifuge, 1999) and a full length CD (Circuit, 2001) on the great Music Fellowship label (responsible for recordings by The Album Leaf and Meisha), Landing touch down toting a truly mesmerizing, otherworldly document. Oceanless, their simply amazing second full length CD, is a dense canvas capturing graceful instrumental brushstrokes, lush audio pigments, and vivid surrealist portraits.” [from the press release]
label-website: www.strange-attractors.com |
2001 |
€13.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| LIGHT OF SHIPWRECK |
From the idle Cylinders |
CD-R |
Kraftvoller Guitar-Drone mit wummernder & stampfender Drum-machine und heftigen Gitarren-Loops, ekstatisch, geisterhaft, nicht von dieser Welt... erinnert an NADJA, klingt für unsere Ohren aber zum Teil auch wie eine Metal-Version von RAPOON !
LIGHT OF SHIPWRECK ist das Solo-Projekt von BEN FLEURY-STEINER, der auch hinter PARADIN und dem GEARS OF SAND-Label steckt, eine echte Überrraschung!
"Light Of Shipwreck is a one-man band operated by Ben Fleury-Steiner, a Deleware-based drone artist and owner of the excellent Gears of Sand Recordings imprint, which has released discs from some of our favorite ambient/drone/drift artists including Encomiast, Cordell Klier, and Aidan Baker. It was actually through Aidan Baker that we found out about Ben's Light Of Shipwreck project; knowing that we're fanatics for "heavy ambient" sound, Light Of Shipwreck was recommended as something we should check out. At first expecting something more along the lines of the kind of floating ambient rumble that marks so much of my favorite Baker solo stuff, I was pleasantly surprised by how percussive the tracks I heard online from LOS were, the dense, ominous feedback drones and heavy rumbling ur-riffs floating freely over a mechanistic tribal-rhythm freakout. We ended up getting in touch with Ben from Light Of Shipwreck and it turned out that he had a nearly hour-long disc that he wanted to have released through our Crucial Bliss imprint, and here we are: a three-track full length of rich, crushing power-ambient, titled From The Idle Cylinders, a reference to the American Objectivist poet George Oppen whose work is a consistent influence on Light Of Shipwreck's imagery, with huge slabs of resonant sheet metal shimmering in an ocean of heavenly feedback and reverberating guitar drone, and surges of droning tribal Krautrock percussion floating along with distorted ambient doom powerchords and washed out vocal cord bliss, each track running upwards of 20 minutes in length. A totally breathtaking piece of music, like Steve Reich, Brian Eno, Can, and Earth swirled together into an austere, hypnotizing heavy-trance masterpiece. This limited edition CD-R of From The Idle Cylinders comes packaged in the signature Crucial Bliss foldover card sleeve with the disc itself attached to the sleeve on a plastic hub and featuring striking photo design, in a print run of 200 copies." [label info]
"Haunting super rhythmic industrial soundscapes laced with a propulsive locomotive shuffle of programmed percussion, keening high end and hissing whirs of smeared almost jazziness, looped and cyclical, some sort of disembodied krautrock/spacerock like a more mechanical Necks jamming in a thick cloud of Birchville Cat Motel fug. A groaning creaking percussive framework beneath a sky full of shimmering black clouds.
All three tracks begin all abstract and drifty, the first "I Rode And Am Riding On An Ocean Of Violent Lights", quickly explodes into a fog of jagged edges and swirling squalls of chaotic percussion and overlapping drones, while the second, "I Watched And Am Watching
A Cold Dead Sun Rise Then Explode" coalesces into a serious chunk of glorious Ur-kraut, a simple stripped down rhythm spread out over a
massive expanse of low end whir and phantom drone drift, gorgeous and mesmerizing, with a dark dreamy melody, both ominous and lovely, think a super mellow druggy Circle, or a slightly more noise rock Necks...
The final track begins with subtle Eastern sounding percussion, before giving way to some Fear Falls Burning massive glacial guitar drone, eventually splintering into glimmering harmonics, the rest of the twenty minute track, a tangle of the two, shuffling skittering rhythms wrapped around slow burning solar flare guitar. So good.
As with all Crucial Bliss releases, the packaging is gorgeous, a dvd sized fold over thick cardstock sleeve, full color inside and
out, the cd attached to a plastic hub affixed to the sleeve... and LIMITED TO ONLY 200 COPIES!!" [{Aquarius ]
www.crucialblast.net
|
2007 |
€10.00 |
|
| LILES, ANDREW |
Black Widow |
CD |
Part four in the VORTEX VAULT-series, embrace thee Ominous!
"This is the fourth release in a total of 12 CDs in the Black Series by Liles, current member of Nurse With Wound and general magic man. Like the previous CDs in this series, Liles uses more and more vocals in his music, which complement his music wonderfully. On this disc famous actor/singer Ernesto Tomasini (who also appeared on Crowded Skies on the BBC television) adds narration and sings. There is even narration in Urdu (by Dr. Malik). Starting off with the thumbpiano of To Maim A Donkey we are sucked into the surrealist world of Liles, where things are never quite what they seem. Strange samples and dark sounds creep in and out and are laced with a unique sense of humur (as in A Hippo Took An Apricot). Before you know it, you're humming along to The cod-James Bond theme And God Doesn't Fuck About, before you realize it's just a little off-beat (and definitely off-set!). The best issue of the Black Series so far, this CD is highly recommended." [FK / Vital Weekly]
www.blrrecords.com
|
2007 |
€16.00 |
|
| LILES, ANDREW & DANIEL MENCHE |
The Progeny of Flies. Tres Muscae Consummunt Cadaver Equi Aeque Cito Ac Leo |
CD |
Untertitel: "TRES MUSCAE CONSUMMUNT CADAVER EQUI AEQUE CITO AC LEO" - "Die Nachkommen dreier Fliegen können ein totes Pferd schneller konsumieren als ein Löwe". Was das Label hier aufgeregt und ziemlich passend "brutal kosmisch" tituliert, entpuppt sich als eine dicke Drone-Suppe mit (wahrscheinlich) LILESschen Synth- und Piano-Sprengseln, man kann sich kaum auf diese nebligen Sounds konzentrieren, immer wieder wird das Bewusstsein eingelullt und quasi ausgeschaltet... vier lange Stücke. Minimal, dronig, und wie immer bei LILES mit einem dunklen surrealistischen Flair...
"Ed. of 500 copies in a book bound CD case.. Kold Krush Groove, y’all. Literally! Individually Liles and Menche have torn the experimental world many new ones, but as a unit they achieve a critical mass so monumental that they deserve their own Hollywood-style canoodling name. That name: Linch-Me-Eels. The graceful ferocity that oozes out within the first few seconds is such that…well, let’s just say that if you called friends and told them you were on the moon, they would believe you. A vicious, celestial-cathedral rumble gapes its maw and spews forth into a sluggish river of electro-magma, reshaping landscapes once carved out by Cremaster Cycles and the gravitational forces of the planet Solaris. While Menche’s test-tones defying low-end slowly compresses the woofers into diamond earrings, an emerging theme for tack piano cautiously stabs at the din. And just before cowboy-robot-gone-mad Yul Brynner shows up to kill all humans, the piano slinks away to make room for the buzzing progeny of the flies, whose crescendo of wing-beats quietly, subtly rises and rises the swarm to Jupiter and beyond the infinite. After multiple listens a Xen(akis)–like state is realized and there should be a giant Star Fly-Child in your living room. Brutally cosmic!!!" [label info]
"I have been a fan of the works of Mr. Liles and Mr. Menche for a while now, so this CD of their first ever collaboration is most welcome. And it looks great; packed in a hard carton slightly oversized CD sleeve with typical Liles-artwork. The 65+ minutes that form The progeny Of Flies are divided into 4 parts. Opener Eggs (signifying the first stage of the fly life cycle) features the now typical Liles-sounds augmented by Menche's higher and harsher frequencies. In one word beautiful. The second track 1st To 3rd Instar features low frequency pulses before subtle piano chords (and reverbed pedals) set in. Again full marks to Liles and Menche. "Pupar" (the third track) starts off with a horse's neigh. After that surprising intro we're in a world filled with bass tones with plucked strings and percussive elements. Closing track Metamorphoses (to end the fly theme) features a low, almost prehistoric growl and Menche's more noisy elements which builds up to a climax. The track ends with piano and the buzzing sound of a fly. This CD, subtitled "tres muscae conummunt cadaver equi aeque cito ac leo", which loosely and very cryptically translates into "three muscular complete corpses indeed quick justice and lion" is a gorgeous piece of work; beautiful, restrained and highly recommended!" [FK / Vital Weekly]
www.blrrecords.com
|
2008 |
€14.00 |
|
| LLOYD, DALE |
Organisms (for Rolf Julius and John Hudak) |
CD |
"Organisms, created between 2004 and 2005, is a unique release for the artist in that it brings to the fore some of the many ambiguous elements and processes he has employed in his work over the years. Organisms is a collection of seemingly organic, micro-environments created from transmuted field recordings of everyday human activity and computer generated electronic sounds. So, contrary to what might seem otherwise, no animal sounds were used in the making of this work. From December 1st through the 4th, 2005, Organisms was presented as part of Susan Robb's Aqua Art Sound Broadcast: Hidden iPod Transmission installation which took place at the Aqua Hotel in Miami, Florida. Only recently - many years after Organisms was finished - was it decided that the CD release would partially serve to pay respect to sound artists Rolf Julius and John Hudak, in recognition of their micro-environment work that pre-dates this one. Listening to Organisms while the CD player is set to 'random shuffle' and
or 'repeat' modes is highly recommended. This release is limited to 100 copies but is not a CDR! Due to a recent manufacturing revolution that allows for smaller CD editions to be made, and/OAR has been going this route for a certain percent of it's scheduled releases since 2011." [label info]
www.and-oar.org
|
2012 |
€14.00 |
|
| LOCKWELD |
Industrial Requiem |
CD |
"Very dark & raw atmospheric noise from a new US project from Ohio. Recommended for all who like harsher drones (like GRUNTSPLATTER, RUHRHUNTER, MEGAPTERA, ..). The label calls it “dark power electroinics”." [old Drone info]
“.. using such elements as power sanders, electric saws and other devices of limited destruction, only matched by tortured vocals and droning analog sounds..” [from the press release].
|
2001 |
€10.00 |
|
| LOPEZ, FRANCISCO |
A sudden pest of droning pseudoinsects |
4 x 7inch |
SOUNDART pur! Sehr ästhetisch-kunstvolle Veröffentlichung eines neuen spanischen Labels in winziger Auflage von 100 Stück: Vier 7"-Singles in edlem weissem Vinyl in weissem Klappcover - die Aufnahmen wurden von LOPEZ für eine Rotterdamer Klanginstallation bereits 1994 gemacht, zur vollen Entfaltung kommen die Klänge bei gleichzeitigem Einsatz und Mix mit vier Plattenspielern. Auch einzeln abgespielt verschaffen sich mächtig-minimale Microsound-Dronescapes in vier verschiedenen Frequenzbetonungen & Klangfärbungen Raum.
"4x7 set, new release from F.L on Spanish label EOZOÖN editions. 4x7s to be played alone or mixed and re-eq'd with four turntables (highly recommended!!) Sounds cover a large frequency range for maxim effect!! Stunning all white folder with 4 x white vinyl 7s. 'A sudden pest of droning pseudoinsects' was presented as a sound installation in the event '220v Klankpark' at the Museum Park of Rotterdam (Summer 1994), organized by v2_Organisatie. Composed and recorded at Messor Studios (Madrid) in 1994, remastered at Mobile Messor in 2002." [label info]
|
2006 |
€38.00 |
|
| |
El dia anterior a la emergencia de los adultos de magicicada |
mCD |
Ähnlich wie auf der legendären Drone Records-Single “Untitled Single Piece 1”, welche infrasonische Sub-Drones enthielt, die man eher spüren als hören konnte, hat LOPEZ auf „El dia“ wieder Infrasound- „Klänge“ geschaffen, die „schwer“ vibrierend in der Luft liegen, ohne dass ein besonderer Eindruck von „Lautstärke“ geschaffen wird.
Alles vibriert. Lebendige Psychophysik. Experiment with your senses !
“The music is there but only your house's walls and selected parts of your auditive system respond to the connection. The piece lasts only a little more than 15 minutes, yet it is a masterpiece; a single subsonic drift comes out a little, then withdraws, then again returns to occupy the corners of the ceiling, slowly taking possession of your essence. Moving around the room, the sound becomes more intense or is almost completely cancelled in a sort of illusory phase whose gradual consumption is completed just when the body recognizes this throbbing code as familiar. Impossible not to be impressed by this game of contrasts between tension and comfort, which confirms Lopez's current state of grace. The "repeat" button is absolutely recommended.” [Touching Extremes]
|
2006 |
€6.50 |
|
| LUNAR ABYSS + OGNI VIDENIJ |
Mohalociya Eroja |
CD-R |
"Continuation of the series of collaboration live recordings. This disk presents a fragment of a pu-erh session in Zanza-room on the night of December 13th, 2014 with minimal editing, in one track. The sonic flow is formed mainly of analogue modulations with hybrid processing and flavoured with strings, winds and voice. On a winter night with a teapot of pu-erh we remembered everything about mosses and lichens, night swamp fogs and former trips, and made the wishes for the future, twisting potentiometers to the beat of thoughts. String drones and bell chimes turn into atomized analogue crackles and rustles, sometimes pink noise and timbral waves blend in multi-layered cocoon of moss. Recommended to listen on wideband audio systems as well as in earphones, and if there's a chance to use both at the same time - surely use both simultaneously. The disc is packed in a cardboard sleeve with a hand-made stamp, each copy is numbered." [label info]
|
2015 |
€10.00 |
|
| LUNAR ABYSS QUARTET |
Cosmologamma |
CD |
CD re-release of this great album from 2000, which appeared only as a lim. 100 CDR on 8th Moon! We wrote: “Last copies of this limited CD-R release documenting live-concerts from this Russian project – they create here alien atmospheres with classic/surrealistic female singing & bruitistic concrete effects and drones. Recommended.” [original Drone Records description]
“Second CD from this Saint-Petersburg outfit. Dark ritual, mysterious and sombre ritualistic stuff, more gloomy than their 10” on Der Angriff or 1st CD “Zheleznaya Voda”. Something in a way of early Ain Soph, Sigillum S and industrial-era Current 93. Ethereal female voice chanting eerie tunes in the crushing collapsing realm of ambient soundscapes, ceremonial bells and metallic crashes. Recommended. The first edition of 300 copies in a digipak printed bronse-on-darkgreen.”[press release]
|
2004 |
€13.00 |
|
| |
Hyperborean |
10 |
Erster Vinyl-Release des sphärisch-mystischen Duos (Katerina Baryatinskaya & Evgeny Savenko) aus St.Petersburg - hier enthalten sind 4 Stücke feinster, osteuropäisch geprägter experimental-drone-ambient, bei dem die menschliche Stimme die zentrale Rolle spielt; so gibt es religiös anmutende Gesänge, geloopte Stimmen-Samples und perkussive Strukturen zu hören, oder wie beim zweiten Stück elfenhafte Sirengesänge, die sich mit Meeresbrandung durchmischen...
Strong first vinyl-release of this russian duo, where the human voice (looped, chorals) plays a central role..
“ The fifth release in well-acclaimed Prometheus series is a new work of Lunar Abyss Quartet, a very interesting newcomer from St. Petersburg that have played on last year’s Heilige Feuer III festival. It is their first vinyl after a few self-released CDRs and “Zheleznaya Voda” CD. This 4-trx 10” is a mysterious travel into the heart of ancient Baltia, where the cold lakes and moss-covered stones in the pine-woods still keeping the secrets of the times long forgotten… Chants, ambient layers and delicate percussion together with some sound effects shroud the listener in the mist of the Hidden… It could be described as a kind of a mix between first TMLHBAC with some Werkbund tracks but with absolutely unique feel. Their best work to date, very recommended! The release is limited to 300 copies and comes in a usual PROMETHEUS series package with a silver embossed back cover and silver-on-black printed front cover.” [press release]
|
2003 |
€12.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| MAES, LAURA & KRISTOF LAUWERS |
Kitch'n Glitch |
CD |
"Cling Film –Mitbetreiberin LAURA MAES hat hier zusammen mit KRISTOF LAUWERS Küchengeräte, die Küchengeräusche von sich geben, akusmatisch verwurstet, und eine hochspannend tönende subtile Soundwelt ins Leben gerufen...zwischen elektronisch anmutenden Drones und ganz trockenden Geräuschen, ein Küchenkontext ist kaum noch zu erahnen... TIP !" [Drone Rec. 2003]
“All kinds of kitchensounds were blended for your exquisite taste. Don't expect loud mixers or banging on kettles, but rather subtle manipulated and cut-up sounds, sometimes creamy and soft, sometimes crispy and cold. caffeine free.” [label info]
“ A first release on her own label by Laura Maes, who runs Cling Film together with Kevin van Volcem (aside from all the organisational work they do in their surroundings). As the title of this disc already suggests, all the raw material was recorded in a kitchen
(Laura's) and later manipulated in the studio. With a total duration of just over 37 minutes, this is a dense work, that requires close
attention from the listener. There is a lot happening here and more often than not, it is pretty subtle. One of the most interesting
phenomena for me is the way Maes and Lauwers move with their sound from sheer electronic to acoustic and back again. From raw material to its manipulation or vice versa. The seven tracks are well placed and spaced, so one can listen to the whole CD as one work without a problem (this has defenitely got my preference). All tracks have strong compositions and very good timing and, most importantly: it's very juicy (and I mean this in the most positive sense!). Another one that is highly recommended. [MR for Vital Weely] Adress: www.clingfilm.org
|
2003 |
€10.00 |
|
| MAGWHEELS / STONE GLASS STEEL |
Pane |
CD |
MAGHWEELS, bekannt durch eine CD auf Ad Noiseam, teilt sich dieses Album mit den schon länger aktiven Sample-Meistern STONE GLASS STEEL. MAGWEELS: majestätische Drones, rückwärtige Sounds, mysteriöse Klangwände, die Geheimnisse verbergen zu scheinen. Exzellent !!
STONE GLASS STEEL: Überraschend ruhig, hochkomplexe ambience-Strukturen voller Details.
Excellent split album with majestic guitar wall-of-sounds, backwards noises, mysterious ambience - structures.. RECOMMENDED for monumental drone-lovers !!!
“One full album by Magwheels and 40 minutes of reconstruction by Stone Glass Steel (first material on CD since 1993). Post rock guitars meets noise meets sampling” [label descr.]
|
2003 |
€10.00 |
|
| MECHA / ORGA |
56:24 |
CD |
Filed under: polyphonic power-drones! Griechisches Projekt mit einem sonoren Drone one-tracker, der an HAFLER TRIO oder NIBLOCK erinnert, Obertöne überschlagen und überlagern sich wellenartig, das ganze wird allmählich immer lauter und massiver in einem fast unmerkliches Crescendo, das furios anschwillt, zum Ende hin gewinnen die Drones eine schon unangenehmen Druck & Präsenz ! Intensiv und definitiver TIP!
“...as if a garden being planted and you are watching all the process from the bare earth to the colourful result, comes “56:24”... generating a drone layer which slowly starts the cultivation process where layers upon layers slowly build a delicate atmosphere and the way they expand and grow draws an even more colourful result, as if a swarm of insects spreads the pollen in our garden, helping it grow even more beautiful and even more colourful, lasting in a flabbergasting droning result... or at least, such was the atmosphere last march in Halandri where Yiorgis Sakellariou (aka Mecha-Orga) premiered this piece for us. And it was John Pallas, who by the time the set ended proposed absurd the cd release and didn't leave until we 3 shook hands... such also was our life in our 2006, like a fertile garden, with lots of releases and trips here and there, always ending with our occasional meetings at cafe Amarrylis in Kifissia for coffee (Mecha-Orga) & Shitloads of alcohol (absurd) or at “Varsos Kifissia” to enjoy our sweets & cofee (Mecha-Orga), hot-cold chocolate (absurd). and as a friend wondered of how the future will look like, we thought nice to picture Mecha-Orga on the cd's front cover sleeve, as a middle aged man, thinking of how he'll create his next piece-live set and a grey haired absurd on the cd label, probably in a meeting w-someone to discuss an upcoming release or project in one of editions_zero's side-ghost labels, book publishing houses, etc etc etc... comes highly recommended if you fancy instant trips to colourful droning soundgardens!!!” [Nicolas Malevitsis]
"The name Mecha/orga keeps popping up in Vital Weekly and though not entirely a household name, it should be one, at least some day. His new CD could be of great help to achieve this. Mecha/orga is the name chosen by Yiorgis Sakellariou from Greece, who works since time under this guise (and plays regular music as well under various other guises and in various other capacities). The work, indicated by it's length, was created one afternoon in february last year, and played live there after a couple of time. No bullshitting about. The length becomes the title, and the listener can come up with his or her own story. Mecha/orga plays drone music. On a laptop. How much more simple can it get? Or rather does it have to be complex? No it doesn't. Over the course of the fifty-six minutes and twenty-four seconds Yiorgis Sakellariou plays a slowly unfolding piece of drone music, which seems to be growing in intensity throughout. When you think nothing more can be added, he adds another layer. And another. And another. Most suitable to play in the dark, at night and ghostly activities will surely occur. Or during the day, outside and watching plants grow. Multi-purpose music, I'd say. Great stuff. Powerful music." [FdW / Vital Weekly]
www.void.gr/absurd
|
2007 |
€13.00 |
|
| MEIXNER, STEPHEN |
Between the Lines |
CD |
The CONTRASTATE – Mastermind is back ! Inspiriert von Daniel Libeskinds Symbolik in der Architektur des neuen Berliner Jüdischen Museums, hat STEPHEN MEIXNER vier beeindruckende, dunkel-mitreissende neue Kompositionen geschaffen, die sich zwischen dark ambient und Elektro-Akustik bewegen.. hinabziehende, schwirrende drones, field recordings, Piano-tunes, Zitate von George Clares „Das waren die Klaars“, eine sehr emotionale und ambitionierte Arbeit, musikalisch wie thematisch höchst empfehlenswert!
The ex-CONTRASTATE Stephen Meixner from London with his first solo-album, a very ambitious work between dark ambient and electro-acoustic, highly recommended!!
“ The inspiration for this release came from the ideas behind the design of Daniel Liebeskind's Jewish museum in Berlin. Liebeskind called his project "Between the lines" and at its foundation is its relevance and representation of the political, social and cultural history of the Jews in Berlin. The music on this CD is not a soundtrack to the museum or its contents. Instead, it takes its inspiration from some of the ideas behind the original project and creates a new "Between the lines" project” [release info]
www.dirter.co.uk
|
2003 |
€13.00 |
|
| MILAN SANDBLEISTIFT / AIDAN BAKER / RELAPXYCH.O |
Saite an Saite (a string based compilation) |
CD |
"MILAN SANDBLEISTIFT has a very minimal piece with feedbacks & strange sounds all over the place which is based on a guitar played as real "object". Over 16 min long.
AIDAN BAKER's piece "One step ahead, one step behind" is a very fitting continuation, experimental guitar drone more experimental & soundbased as usual (over 20 min long), the last piece by RELAPXYCH.O sound more electronic but nevertheless organic, and finishes the split / compilation with a lovely microsound piece with enough interesting sounds to get your attention while setting you in a trance at the same time.........(the healing paradox). a minimal compilation, wtih minimal credit information, and full colour booklet with lots of photos...... recommended!" [Drone Records info]
"3-artist-compilation auf licht-ung; experimentell und ruhig, angespannt entspannt, gitarre ja; aber anders.
„milan sandbleistift mit „seymour in der huette" 16.34 minuten extrem nah am instrument und mit filtern und reduzierten feedbacks über einem (grundbrumm)drone auf der suche nach dem bisher ungehörten. weniger musik (im konsumsinne), mehr experiment (dabei gut konsumierbar) mit gefühl für spannung und aufbau innerhalb eines eng gesteckten rahmens.
an zweiter stelle „one step ahead, one step behind" von dem mann der 10.000 releases, aidan baker: 20.40 minuten ein gezupftes gitarrenloop, langsam durch rauschen ergänzt, ein rauschen, das vielleicht auch irgendein tief verstecktes zer-riff ist, darüber materialisierende delayfetzen und die ahnung angedeuteter melodie. und während noch der gedanke herrscht: hier passiert doch gar nichts mehr, verfolgt herr baker längst dieses frosch-im-kochenden-wasser-prinzip, verdichtet alle ingredienzien und löst auch das rätsel um das rauschige zerren. und, ganz die ruhe selbst, verabschiedet sich dann in der dunklen, aber warmen wolke.
relapxych.0, zuletzt hier mit ihrer split mit rapoon präsent, verbinden auf dem 17.12 langen „insommniactivity (origins mix)" in ihrer art die beiden zuvor gehörten ästetiken: sehr offen und klar im hörbild und experimentell (wie die #1), aber deutlich mehr der „musik" an sich verschrieben (wie herr b.), collagierend und andeutend, kontraste und höhepunkte setzend, ein mikromotiv als aufhänger auf dem weg durch das stück und am ende das entlassen in harmonie; fast; es gibt doch noch letzte worte...
sehr stimmige, deutlich „experimental-" compilation mit schicken lich-tung cover: alles blauschwarzer wald, cd, innen, hinten, vorn, seiten... nur das booklett ein paar andere bilder mehr und die inhaltsbeschreibung auf einer fläche von 100 x 5 mm versteckt, schriftgrösse -1, so ungefähr beim dritten blick zu bemerken, empfohlener leseabstand? ...ich brauche mehr licht (-ung)." [N, Unruhr.de]
www.licht-ung.de
|
2009 |
€12.50 |
|
| MLEHST |
Breathing in Dead Flies / Cock Sucking Lips |
CD |
Breathing in dead flies was the first vinyl release by Mlehst pressed at gramophonov zavody (pre GZ media) in 1996. Basically we sent the master on a high quality chrome cassette tape as that was the highest quality technology we had. The overall sound quality was lo-fidelity to say the least, with a wide dynamic range which meant that a lot of the quieter original audio was buried in the rumble of the vinyl grooves. The 100 copy milky clear vinyl LP cemented the Mlehst and bandaged hand produce DIY aesthetic.
For this digital and CD reissue, a vinyl LP rip has been remastered and repaired with substantial work by “esoteric audio renovations” to create a clearer quality product than the original vinyl. The audio levels and dynamic range have been left similar to the original to preserve its integrity, although some passages of audio have been lifted slightly. High volume playback is recommended!
Cock sucking lips is an earlier Mlehst recording and a bit of an oddity, based on some very early Mlehst source material (1990/1991) with a slightly humorous edge, albeit demented. Very few copies of this cassette album were released, probably around 10-20 copies existed. These recordings are completely at odds with breathing in dead flies, but do show two sides of Mlehst.
For this digital and CD reissue a digital rip has been gently remastered only, with no real renovation needed.
https://oxidation.bandcamp.com/album/breathing-in-dead-flies-cock-sucking-lips
|
2021 |
€13.00 |
|
| MOHNE, ACHIM |
Accelerated Standstill |
LP |
"Limited edition vinyl of 300. Cut by Jason at Transition, this release is dedicated to Paul Virilio. An assembling for locked grooves. Collected and performed since 1997, recorded live in 2013 as part of 'Touch presents' at Café Oto, London; Ausland, Berlin; the Academy of Media Arts, Cologne, and the Centre for Arts and Media (ZKM), Karlsruhe. This is the 7th in the Touch white label series of releases... This record can be played at all speeds, but the recommended speed is 33 rpm.
Accelerated Standstill is an assembling of locked grooves found on customary vinyl records. The records have been collected and performed live between 1997 and 2013. Locked grooves normally functioning as a 'barrier', avoiding the needle coming into contact with the label at the centre of the record. All grooves sound different, depending on how dust has effected and transformed the soft surface of the vinyl.
By using a triple vinyl deck set-up this (analytic auditory observations of) ending grooves are mixed live thus composing a 'music that lies hidden in the medium itself. The tiny dust particles inside the vinyl groove convert into a 'sound sculpture' - an important syntactical parameter (of the apparatus) is formed by the turntables themselves. The speed of their rotation is not limited to 33 or 45 rpm, but expanded between 1 and 150 rounds per minute thus determining the loops and the rhythm.
Achim Mohné started working with record players, cassette recorders and other sound-media-apparatus in the mid 1990s. He experiments with the space and time intervals of sound-media and is especially interested in the music that lies hidden in the medium itself. His method is to subject the support material to a forensic autopsy. His most recent project analyses the transfer data of a Wi-Fi router called Fritz Box/Fritz Kiste (cf TouchRadio). His further work features sound tracks for film and theatre performances (with Yoshie Shibahara) as well as collaboration with classical musicians (such as violinist Ayumi Paul)." [label info]
|
2014 |
€14.00 |
|
| MOORE, R. STEVIE |
Phonography |
CD |
"The first time I heard R. Stevie Moore was when the Residents played me goodbye piano - which would have been sometime in early 1978. Soon after that, I got in touch with him to import some copies for Recommended - followed over the years by many of his other releases. Phonography was Stevie's first, and a masterpiece. Terminally idiosyncratic but with all the compositional qualities of great pop. R Stevie Moore is a gifted songwriter and marches to his own drum - as this strange and compelling record attests. It's been out of print for some time and we have taken the opportunity to restore it to its original form and carefully re-master it. A classic." [label info]
www.rermegacorp.com
|
2009 |
€14.00 |
|
| MUTANTUM |
EXP² |
CD-R |
Another new finnish project, nine tracks of industrial transcension, long waves of overwhelming ambience.. very much recommended!
“ EXPerimental. EXPerience. EXPression. EXPosition. EXPlosion. EXPloration. EXPansion. Surf the brainwaves and dive into the sonic seas of Mutantum, a musical project by Mikko Muranen. Last time around it was the moment for sonic sideshow, now Mutantum is diving deeper. The music on EXP is more focused than on the further reaching sonic realms of Sonic Sideshow (debut release), the style is now more in the depths of ambient noise. All of the tracks are sonic voyages deep into the inner mind. The majority the basic material are natural and unnatural sounds twisted off their original form. The organic feel is also a mean to get these noises somewhat pleasing to the ear, instead of really harsh noise. The rhythm in itself is not as strong element as on Sonic Sideshow. Many of the tracks do have pulse, but there are no rhythm machines, sequences or drum samples this time around.” [label description]
|
2003 |
€8.00 |
|
| 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 |
Music for the feature film: The Boys |
CD |
"Sound-track to the prize-winning movie. The Necks break with convention here and put several shorter pieces on one CD. All gems and all pared back to the reiterative imperfection that is the Necks' unique and glorious signature. This a band that seems to be coming into its golden age. Prodigious music and highly recommended." [label info]
www.rermegacorp.com
|
2004 |
€13.00 |
|
| |
Open |
CD |
"Die unvergleichlichen THE NECKS mit ihrem nunmehr 17. Album ihrer 26-jährigen Karriere.
THE NECKS haben etwas geschafft, was nur wenigen Künstlern gelingt: einen singulären Stil
zu kreieren, dabei eine ganz unverkennbare eigene Handschrift entwickelt und doch mit jedem
neuen Album nicht einfach bewährte Rezepturen neu aufgekocht, sondern durch feinfühlige
Neujustierung der Parameter neue Nuancen offenbart. Das leitende Motiv bei „Open“ waren –
nach dem vergleichsweise dynamischen, stellenweise eruptiven „Mindset“ von 2011 –
Stille und meditative Klarheit, die etwa „Drive By“ innewohnte. CHRIS ABRAHAMS (Piano),
TONY BUCK (Drums) und LLOYD SWANTON (Bass) setzen im Laufe der 68 Minuten einen
repetitiv-hypnotisierenden Klangfl uss aus leichtfüßig swingendem (Post-)Jazz, repetitiven Grooves à la JAKI LIEBEZEIT (CAN) und elektronischen Sounds in Gang, der elegant innerhalb der selbst gewählten Koordinaten mäandert und bei aller scheinbaren Reduktion und Schlichtheit unter der subtilen Oberfl äche eine komplexe Struktur offenlegt. Wie immer bei den Australiern. //
OPEN will be the Necks’ 17th album, and the 11th released by ReR. Here the band returns to the territory for which it is best known: a single, glacially mutating, long-form piece that runs for a little over an hour.
The previous record, “Mindset”, said bassist Lloyd Swanton, “reached some pretty intense levels at times, and though we never overtly discussed it, I think that on Open, by contrast, all three of us were taken by the idea of working in a field of significant stillness. At least, after a couple of days’ recording, it became clear that the music was leading us in this direction.” Feeding into the ground plan are floating arco harmonics, minimalist funk, iterative piano figures, subliminal and liminal pulses, twittering electronics and at one point an arco bass choir. It is unequivocally a studio work, with layer laid on layer, while still, miraculously, remaining architecturally spare." [label info]
www.rermegacorp.com
"The Necks might be our favorite jazz group, most of their records/performances being single hour long pieces, always a lush, patient, slow build, all texture and mood, super dynamic, but in a way most bands can't pull off, just bass drums and piano, their sound dense and dark, doleful and lovely. The last few Necks records have found this minimal band getting a little maximal, their slow build eventually erupting into something dense and driving and almost psychedelic, as if in response to that, Open finds the group and their most hushed and abstract, with the first few minutes featuring a field of tinkling chimes, spare pointillist piano, and only the occasional flurry of bass notes, spacious and mesmeric, as we usually find ourselves saying about these guys, we would have been happy if there was no slow build at all, and the whole record was just this glistening, glimmering sprawl of abstract free jazz drift.
But there is a method to their madness, and at about the eight minute mark, the song shifts dramatically, an electronic pulse, some simple hi-hat rhythms, the occasional bass drum, and nothing else, weirdly hypnotic and barely there, the sound soon joined by a buzzing hum, a snare crack here, some bass thrum there, the sound blossoming into a sprawl of subtle tribal drumming, and more shimmering chimes, soon the piano comes back in, and the song begins to take a more jazz-like shape, albeit one that's still quite free and abstract, the lilting piano melody offsetting the busy drumming, the sound shifting again soon after, with a snare roll that sounds almost like radio static, the bass and low notes on the piano unfurling a dense rumble, those chimes tying everything together again, before settling into something much more tranquil and serene, only to return to that strange electronic pulse / hi-hat section, which slips from jazzy shimmer, to abstract free form almost-psychedelia, the snare locked into another roll, adding a buzzy thrum, the sound finally settling into some hushed, laid back jazziness, wreathed in a dreamy droned out shimmer, gradually fading to silence.
Recommended, as always!" [Aquarius Records] |
2013 |
€14.00 |
|
| NEW BLOCKADERS / THURSTON MOORE / JIM O'ROURKE |
The Voloptulist |
maxi-CD |
"Some sick, cold atmospherics on this first time colaboration between The New Blockaders, Thurston Moore, Jim O'Rourke and guest Chris Corsano. Track one - TNB with Thurston Moore - is a brooding death tone overlaid with grinding, scraping noises that become increasingly beast-like as the track progresses. Track two - TNB with Jim O'Rourke - is more subtle but equally as menacing. Manipulated white noise and radio waves collide head on at the two minute mark with some muffled, claustrophobic percussion, courtesey of Corsano. Short, sweet and tense as f**k. Recommended." [label info]
"...The disc is divided into two pieces, the first being the collaboration with Thurston, which turns out to be a particularly obscure drone piece, constituted from hissing feedback tones, tape crackle and some sort of chaotic, mechanical sound sources. The piece evolves infinitesimally over the course of its fourteen minutes, rendering an uncompromising, though highly textured vision of analogue sound sculpting. The other, shorter piece '840 Seconds Over' continues in its predecessor's campaign of high frequency feedback manipulations this time with the addition of some caterwhauling noise oscillator free jazz and typically virtuosic improv drumming from Corsano. It's a real force to be reckoned with, and the crispness of Corsano's kit works perfectly against the hiss and fizz from the tape-heavy, droning elements. It's all over rather too soon (the whole thing clocks in at just over twenty-one minutes), but you can hardly expect anyone to keep up these levels of intensity for prolonged periods, can you? Superb, top-flight noise." [Boomkat]
|
2007 |
€10.00 |
|
| NEZNAMO |
Aiwyâstô |
CD |
"If somebody still doesn't know, behind the Neznamo project stands the Moscow-based musician Dmitry Shilov who stepped on the path of ritual ambient music in 1996 under the stage name of Unknown. After releasing five albums on the "Strely Peruna" ("Perun's Arrows") label, the project temporarily fell in a lethargic sleep but woke up again in 2006 with a renewed name and approach.
As Neznamo Dmitriy has released several mini-albums on his own label Moonsun Productions, as well as a number of collaboration works with several other acts from the Russian drone underground: Misery, Bardo, Lunar Abyss, Siyanie, etc… For those interested in the project's roots and branches we can give some more keywords: Temnozor', Medve Na Meche, Peal Grim, Magickal Things.
"Aiwyâstô" is Neznamo's first full-length album and first "factory-pressed" CD. The album consists of one 42-min long composition recorded in a deep transcendental state. Covered in ornaments of unhasting vibrations, flickering and parallel sound layers, dense string drone permeates the whole track. This music is for lovers of deep inner self diving. Towards the depths of pitch-dark sound where one can see all forms dissolving in emptiness and being reborn by it again in an endless game of space and imagination." [label info]
zhb.radionoise.ru/eng/releases.html
"The shadowy figure behind Neznamo is the same Muscovite who offered up the Peal Grim cd from a couple months back. That was the album sporting the disclaimer "This record is not recommended to listening for depressively inclined persons" and Aiwyasyo is a blackened ambient record of a similar disposition. This album is not as exasperatedly bleak as the Peal Grim album, but it makes for another really amazing entry in the canons of contemporary Russian dark ambient works. Synth, guitars, and spectral emanations may or may not be in the mix for the bleak electrical pools of Aiwyasto. Sawtooth hums and buzzes gird the semi-melodic fugues that swirl, rumble, and brood over 40 minutes into this overwhelmingly sublime expanse of Ur-drone majesty that's not all that far from the likes of Troum / Maeror Tri, Aidan Baker's more turbulent solo works, and the cosmological grimness of Inade. Very nice, indeed." [Aquarius Rec.] |
2015 |
€13.00 |
|
| NIBLOCK, PHILL |
Niblock for Celli / Celli Plays Niblock |
LP |
Composer, filmmaker and photographer Phill Niblock is a true pillar of the New York avant-garde. In the past 50 years, he has curated over 1,000 performances at his Centre Street loft and steadfastly built a massive, multidisciplinary body of work. While his earliest musical compositions date back to 1968, Niblock waited until the early '80s to release any recordings. Nothin To Look At Just A Record, a powerful debut with densely layered trombones, would be the first to unfurl his unique approach to sound.
The second album and perhaps the most rare in Niblock's vast catalogue, 1984's Niblock For Celli / Celli Plays Niblock is a meeting of two great minds. Working with reed player Joseph Celli (a composer in his own right, who has collaborated with John Cage, Pauline Oliveros and Ornette Coleman), Niblock nimbly removes the breathing pauses from Celli's oboe and English horn to create seamless, enchanting drones.
Niblock insists that his music be played loud: only in this way can one experience the visceral ringing of these long instrumental tones through the speakers and their natural overtones generated by the room. Niblock For Celli remains deeply absorbing.
This first-time reissue is recommended for fans of Alvin Lucier, Yoshi Wada and Dome.
|
2018 |
€21.50 |
|
| NIETO, MIKEL R |
Dark Sound |
BOOK & CD |
"The book contains Ecopolitik, an introduction as an epilogue by José Luis Espejo, a letter to the Huaorani people, two research texts and one bertso, descriptive texts and photos of recordings, a possible chronology, a glossary, a compilation of several texts with testimonies, reports and declarations from different people, groups, institutions, and publications in reference to the impact—direct or indirect—of the noise from the oil industry during its various phases of development on the people, the environment and the fauna. More info at dark.mikelrnieto.net
34 recordings in one track. In a black polycarbonate CD.
Final editing, mastering and carbon print from Ireland by Slavek Kwi.
Tracklist
01. Nyctridomus albicollis
02. Lipaugus vociferans
03. General Electric CF34-10E
04. Hypsiboas lanciformis, Hypsiboas boans and Unidentified Oil Extraction Machines in the Distance
05. Pogonomyrmex barbatus
06. Paraponera clavata
07. Atta cephalotes
08. Ectatomma tuberculatum
09. Termitidae procornitermes
10. Eciton burchellii
11. Gryllidae and Unidentified Frogs
12. Lophostoma yasuni
13. Leptonycteris yerbabuenae
14. Yamaha Enduro E40X
15. Unidentified Underwater Animals
16. Honda GX160
17. Unidentified Underwater Survivors in Produced Water
18. Changlin YZ26
19. Electric Generator at Tiputini Biodiversity Station
20. Electrical Substation at the Yasuni Research Station (Ten Meters Distance)
21. Electrical Substation at the Yasuni Research Station (One Meter Distance)
22. Air Conditioner for the Electrical Substation at Yasuní Research Station
23. Chevrolet S10
24. CAT MD6420B Drill
25. Cummins KTA19G4
26. HongSheng CYJ-83-37HB
27. CAT 3512 DITA
28. MTU 396
29. Shale Pump SP1614
30. Tiger Rig ZJ30LDB
31. Oilon Wisedrive WD32-34
32. Maxon Oxytherm LE
33. Preamp Battery Blackout
34. Radio Jungla 94.3 FM Through Several JBL Control 1 Pro in Repsol-YPF Access Control"
176 pages, dark paper, black ink, hardback. languages: huao, basque, spanish and english"
www.gruenrekorder.de/?page_id=15050
"In the product page on the label’s website the description of this release ends with this warning: “Partially legible. Sunlight reading recommended”. It’s hard to fail recognising that this warning is absolutely appropriate, until you realise that it’s a black book, with black opaque pages, printed with black lucid ink, housing a black CD. And it doesn’t stop there, as it doesn’t have a fixed sale price, but its price is determined by the crude oil Brent price at the time of purchase, so the author and label warn that if you buy the book you’ll “contribute to the destruction of the planet.” With these creepy premises, a curiosity about the content of the work immediately arises. And after a few attempts, the reader can find the right angle and light to (struggle to) start reading realising that it’s a remarkable collection of essays, pictures and documents on the oil industry’s impact on the Ecuadorian natural environment. This is coupled with a CD with 34 recordings in one track from the Ecuadorian rainforest (the whole work is part of the Field Recording Series by Gruenrekorder). It progresses from delightful natural sounds to industrial machines slowly disrupting them. Then reading, meanwhile, some testimonies or a detailed chronology perfectly let this whole suppressed world to (painfully in every sense) re-emerge from its current status. The pervasive “black”, eventually, doesn’t hide anymore, but becomes the mandatory colour to engage with, in order to learn and understand what has been hidden, but must now be revealed." [Neural Mag.]
"I have listened several times to the CD Dark Sound by Mikel R. Nieto over the past month and have been intrigued by the purpose of the recordings presented by the album. — Dark Sound is a CD length single track album of field recordings taken by Mikel R. Nieto mostly in and around the Ecuadorian rainforest within areas associated with the colonisation and domination of contested areas that were found to have oil reserves. The album traces the relationships between a number of different indigenous groups who have resisted becoming associated with Western European and global models of capital, in favour of continuing the heritage and lives they had prior to the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in the late 15th Century.
The single track CD contains a wide number of field recordings from across various situations that the recordist encountered whilst investigating the noise and culture of Ecuadorian oil mining operations and the impact it has had on the biophonic soundscape and ecology of non-native human, native human, and nonhuman populations. The album comes with an accompanying black paged book with black glossy lettering throughout which makes it impossible to read other than in bright sunlight; a statement upon the darkest of dark geological substrates; crude oil, as well as a comment on the practices of obfuscation that have continued in pursuit of capital gain through oil drilling by corporations. This has led to a number of significant historical, political events including the death of Alejandro Lebaka, a Basque man who in the 1980s took it upon himself as a missionary to position himself as “the voice of the voiceless” (Lebaka in Nieto, 2016: 53) but in his attempted defence and support for a number of native groups, specifically the Huaorani (literally meaning those who speak our language”) which is to say, the native people of the Ecuadorian rainforests, was killed by spears from a group of Huaorani referred to as Tagaeri who no longer wished to partake in the violent systems of control forced upon the Huaorani.
The book provides a significant overview to the political history and issues encountered as a result of the colonisation, and pacification of the indigenous people of Ecuador in pursuit for oil whilst also raising a broad ranging investigation into acoustic research and/or phenomena that are a consequence of the oil operations and their effect directly and indirectly on the Ecuadorian ecology.
The album itself, contains a number of ethnographical and environmental field recordings that include weather events, insects, birds, fish and small mammals and security guards, diesel turbines and high security perimeter fencing. The recordings range from acoustic captures to hydrophones to ultrasound and contact microphones in an attempt to reflect the wide range of acoustic, para-acoustic infra and ultrasonic phenomena that are comprised, altered and ruptured in the pursuit of capital.
The book is highly politicised and the recordings only further emphasise the massive transitions from small tribe to mass industrial practice and the absolute refusal for some to be forced to be adapted and co-opted into a military industrial complex and capital based system of goods exchange and parasitic raping of newly discovered lands." [Mark Parker]
|
2016 |
€44.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| NORTHERN VALENTINE |
The Distance brings us closer |
CD |
Band aus Philadelphia mit drei (!) Gitarristen (sowie Synths & Streicher), die sehr subtilen & warmen, fast "flüssigen" Gitarren-Drone-Ambient machen mit leichter experimenteller & geräuschhafter Note, Anklänge an LABRADFORD, ULTRASOUND, ULTRA MILKMAIDS, WINDY & CARL..
"Northern Valentine is husband & wife Robert & Amy Brown along with friends who join them from time to time. They have been writing & recording music since 1997 & have released material previously on acclaimed label Gears of Sand as well as on their own label Baresound. We are glad to have them added to the Silber roster. They are from Philadephia, Pennsylvania & they love to play live shows. Depending on the performers, live shows can range from quiet and meditative drones to loud & fuzzy instrumental post rock, often within the same set. Recommended if you like: Labradford, Windy & Carl, Ennio Morricone, Eluvium, Mogwai, Seefeel, Earth, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Spacemen 3" [label info]
"So this is one of those records where the cover totally gives away what’s hiding inside. These Philadelphia drift-heads sent us this disc a few weeks ago, and we were totally blown away. The music so nicely reflects the cover photograph: beautiful, expansive oceanic horizons, almost glowing with a looming grayness. With keyboards, violin, three electric guitars and a bass, this five piece really hone in on a super liquidity, an organic, fluid type of drone composition. Their third album out of four, The Distance Brings Us Closer resonates with long, lush tones and delicate melodies that seem to blend and form chords in mid air. Always moving and turning like fog creeping along the forest floor, Northern Valentine has a distinct sound that kinda reminds us of a more darkened and coastal Windy and Carl playing with Rameses III in some giant cathedral. Very dark and mysterious, the record travels through blissed out walls of trance inducing drones and into more textural noisy Fennesz-like atmospheres. Though they call themselves a post-rock band, the guitars and instruments used are so dripping with reverb and delay that it might be more accurate to describe Northern Valentine as a dark and drifting ambient group. At least that’s how they sound on this particular record, as word on the street is their other albums have drums and are more propulsive and less drifty. Either way we dig what they’re doing A LOT, and couldn’t wait to share it with all of you! If you like anything Type records related or that recently reviewed Elegi, you’ll love this too! Completely and utterly recommended!! " [Aquarius Records review]
www.silbermedia.com
|
2009 |
€12.00 |
|
| NOVAK, YANN |
Ornamentation |
CD |
"Source material includes field recordings captured throughout the United States and Canada from 2006–2016 and modular synthesizer recordings, all digitally altered. Yann Novak is a multidisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles. Ornamentation is Novak's first physical release on Touch and continues his investigations of presence, stillness and mindfulness through the construction of immersive spaces, both literal and figurative." [label info]
"For his latest release, Ornamentation, the man behind Dragon's Eye Recordings, lands on another highly regarded UK label, Touch Music. This is the imprint, of course, that brought us recordings by Fennesz, Simon Scott, Anna von Hausswolff and Lustmord, just to name a few released in 2016! Besides Richard Chartier's Line label, for which Novak has already released back in 2010, and Fabio Perletta's Farmacia901, on which an Undefined collaboration with Chartier appeared in 2013, Touch has been a place, in my opinion, that would always suit this Los Angeles-based sound designer. Add the obligatory cover art by Jon Wozencroft, and the mastering ear by the one and only Lawrence English, and you've got yourself a very nice little package, archiving a live performance, presented in LA in fall of 2016.
As is expected from this master of drone microsound, the sound on Ornamentation is abstract, its structure absent, the future obsolete, and stillness absolute. Here we find ourselves in the present moment, immersed in tranquility, nominal hum, and crackling transformation. The vibrations of this continuous din fully penetrate your being, enveloping your ears with endless sonic buzz, until they merge with your consciousness and become as one with all of the silence. This is where sound nearly ceases to exist, as your mind pushes its perseverance to the outer edges of awareness, where it melts into the void of daily noise and harmonious drones, like fuzz of the power lines, or the whir of your laptop fan, or the purr of your neighbor's refrigerator.
Using field recordings from his archive, captured in various settings in the last decade on numerous low fidelity devices, processed through a complicated chain of effects, along with a recording of a modular synthesizer, Novak creates atmospheres that are also pregnant with a conceptual message. On Ornamentation Novak "resists modernism’s problematic relationship to race, class and labor, and attempts to decouple contemporary minimalist sound work from this historical precedent." The title of the album mirror's Adolf Loos' 1913 manifesto, "Ornament and Crime", in which the author claims that human desire to embellish our environments, personal spaces, and bodies with decorations is a primitive impulse, which we must avoid.
Loos devalued the labor traditionally associated with aesthetics and beauty, and equated ornamentation with the degenerate. In this context, one could consider ornamentation as a way of viewing decay. His examples as such (tattoos, fashion, style, painting, et al.) predictably fell along divisions of race and class, coding modernity as the next outward manifestation of white, capitalist patriarchy.
Attending to some of Loos' claims, Novak constructs a composition with a focus on the labor thereof, rather than the extracurricular process of adornment and garnish, that would often distract a listener from its inner core. On Ornamentation Novak concedes to the necessary conventions of today's modern sound art, but focuses solely on the beauty of the labor itself, as the primary aesthetic. This is a beautiful recording on the meditation of sound and time, which will mesmerize as well as challenge one's senses. Recommended for fans of simplicity, purity, and calm." [Headphone Commute]
|
2016 |
€12.00 |
|
| NULL, K.K. / DAVID BROWN |
Terminal Hz |
CD |
NULL in Kollaboration mit dem Australier D.Brown von “Molecular Music Projects” aus Melbourne. Diesen Sound zu beschreiben, der aus tausend kleinen Partikeln bestehen zu scheint, ist schier unmöglich – zu fremd und abstrakt sind die hier dargebotenen Klänge!!
“Haunting soundscapes, like a hurricane in a small space, conjuring strange ethnic musicians trying to stall the storm with unheard pluckings.”
Very much recommended for sound-explorers!!
www.groundfault.net |
2000 |
€13.00 |
|
| O'ROURKE, JIM |
The Visitor |
CD |
"JIM O’ROURKE returns with his first new solo album since 2001. All the classic O’Rourke-isms are here, for you musicologist types: percolating banjos, smooth electric leads, organic, kicking drum sounds, the flickering of shakers to the left and right, mellow but ominous woodwinds, sounds that indicate “vintage” (before turning left and running out the door), sonic jokes, sonic tear-jerkers, sonic jerkoffs, all wrapped in spacious yet subtle left to right placement of everything in the picture. There’s moments of low comedy next to high drama and juicy melancholy with a seeming lack of regard for proximity. Plus—sudden surging rhythms! The Visitor is sort of “O’Rourke Does O’Rourke”—Jim re-contextualizing everything he’s done over the years, and throwing out the bullshit. The one thing you won’t hear is his voice—perhaps another O’Rourkian self-examination? Or maybe he’s just saving it for all the name-calling on his next album." [label info]
"You probably can't find a musician with a wider breadth of sound, or more sonically varied releases, than Mr. Jim O'Rourke. During his vast career he's made everything from harsh noise to delightful pop, was part of one of the more influential groups of the last few decades, Gastr Del Sol, collaborated with Nurse With Wound, became a member of Sonic Youth, was at the forefront of the '90s experimental electronic renaissance, made some crunchy rock albums with his Wilco pal Jeff Tweedy, and the list just goes on and on.
These days O'Rourke has slowed down his output considerably so a new release is both much more anticipated as well as a total unknown as to which side of Jim O'Rourke will be on display. With The Visitor, O'Rourke emerges with his first new full length in many years and wow the wait was worth it! The Visitor is one long track clocking in at
around 37 minutes but it almost serves as some kind of early morning daydream song cycle with a spectrum of nuanced sounds that make us
think of Van Dyke Parks arranging a John Fahey album or what a more restrained James Blackshaw record might sound like.
The record starts with very hushed noodling guitar and as the piece goes on the sounds expand in richness as extra flourishes of bells, piano and other lushness flesh out O'Rourke's delicate guitar playing. Hard to avoid this cliché, but The Visitor really is a total journey, at first you don't really know where it's going and you're not sure if you necessarily want to follow but as the piece evolves it completely grabs a hold of your attention until you are lost in its slowly unfurling sonic voyage. Highly recommended!" [Aquarius Rec.]
www.dragcity.com
|
2009 |
€13.00 |
|
| OBLIVION ENSEMBLE |
Seraphim Hallucino |
CD |
Nach langer Wartezeit endlich ein neues Album für das US-amerikanische Projekt um BRANNON HUNGNESS und JOHN BERGSTROM, die vor Jahren auch eine EP für Drone Records eingespielt haben. SERAPHIM HALLUCINO ist ein erdrückend intensives, dunkles Werk basierend auf Instrumental-Improvisationen, die später im Studio ausufernd bearbeitet wurden... mit elektro-akustischer Finesse ausgestatteten Dronescapes, die geheimnisvoll & geräuschhaft tönen, man scheint wie in einem surrealen (Alp?)-Traum gefangen zu sein, immer wieder schlittern diese Sounds am Bewusstsein vorbei, um dann in überraschenden Arrangements wiederzuerstarken... eine einzigartige, filmische Atmosphäre wird erschaffen. Grossartiges Album!
"The music of Oblivion Ensemble remains as elusive and surreal as the ever-shifting cast of musicians and performerswho participate, knowingly, or unknowingly in their work. Founding members are John Bergstrom and Brannon Hungness (aka Figure). Hungness is a virtuoso experimentalguitarist and composer and a former member of the Glenn Branca Ensemble. Bergstrom is a computer-musicgearhead and a film composer with a classical music pedigree, and mastermind behind the industrial-noise assembly Torse. Seraphim Hallucino is Oblivion Ensemble’s fifth full-length release, the first since the virtual opera “Nightmare:Sinistrotorse” (Complacency, 1995). At Seraphim Hallucino’s source are strange, electro-acoustic improvisations of percussion, trumpet, voice, synthesizers and guitar. These improvisations are sculpted and sampled, twisted and turned, shaped into building and diminishing moments, and, at times appearing alone, pure and unmodified. Deeply imbedded in the music and fragmented lyrics are secrets, intertwining themes, voices, and imprinted messages. All come together to create an enormously complex, mercurial mix of surreal, dynamic and dark sounds. To fully appreciate the scope and intricacies of Seraphim Hallucino, headphones in a darkened room are highly recommended.
"The band most likely to compose a fitting soundtrack for the end of the world. ” [Sorted magAZine]
“Visionary gothic psychedelia. [The Wire]
"the most undefinable gorgeous musical anything that I have ever witnessed ... a beyond great performance, chilling and anxious.
[Best of Times]. In superb digipak, with artwork by Matt Vickerstaff of darkwaveart.co.uk." [press release]
"... Eerie textures are easily combined with chaotic and hectic movements. I am not sure wether we should see all twenty-two pieces as part of the total, or wether they are all separate, I rather believe the first, since some parts do flow nicely into each other, thus making the greater picture. There is a darker undercurrent on this CD, which doesn't make it easy to grasp, but it unfolds great beauty when explored in depth (and in dark, I presume)." [FdW / Vital Weekly]
|
2007 |
€13.00 |
|
| OMENYA |
Ancient Rites |
CD |
Wonderful OMENYA-work with their mystic ethno-ambient soundscapes, slowly percussive structures, floating drones, guttural voices, deep vibes.... somewhere between or similar to RAPOON, ALIO DIE, URE THRALL / ASIA NOVA..... comes on a new czech label, with beautiful fold-out design showing archaic stone-paintings.... a fabulous one-tracker, very much recommended !!
|
2005 |
€10.00 |
|
| ONDO |
Mahavishnu |
CD |
Geheimtip aus Schweden aus dem Doom-Drone-Metal Bereich: ONDO erschaffen den absoluten Katakomben & Gruft-Sound, auf tiefsten Höllenschlünden scheint ihr frei-flottierender Angst-Metal-Drone zu stammen, das ganze klingt sehr eigenständig und authenthisch & tief melancholisch....
"The majestic debut full length album from Sweden's Ondo. Intricate, textured doomed drone, blackened ambience and lush nocturnal electronica, delicately crafted into a dark cinematic vision. A shadow dreamscape of overpowering density, akin to an intoxicating fusion of early Earth, Raison D'Etre and a touch of the shimmering haze of Fennesz, perhaps? Presented as a limited edition of 500 copies only, in dvd presentation box with full colour art." [label info]
".... Whereas that cd-r was a single looooong song, this disc is split into distinct movements, each a bleak and caustic chunk of truly ominous ambience. Actually, there is so much stuff going on, and this is so dark and heavy, it’s almost disingenuous to call it ambient music. This is cinematic abstract free noise drone music. Heavy enough to worm its way inside the ears of drone inclined metalheads, but dark and blissed out enough to keep the drone obsessed in downtuned druggy nirvana.
The label mentions early Earth, Raison D’Etre and Fennesz, and damn if all three of those don’t definitely apply. Pretty melodies are buried under slabs of grinding buzz, chords are woven into undulating sheets of fuzzy sound, everything is hissy and glitchy, with a gauzy sheen. Imagine Earth 2 as reimagined by Christian Fennesz and you might be getting close. Chords and notes, churn and throb, blackened sounds pulse ominously enveloping crystalline shimmers and music box like melodies, voices and samples are chopped up and distorted, riffs are pulled apart into washed out smears of sound. Some of the tracks definitely border on serious doom territory, while others are blurred distorted dreamscapes, all skittery and smeared, dark pianos, radio distortion and amp buzz, distant melodic whir, all tangled into something creepy and beautiful, strings draped over crumbling industrial crunch, all woven around heaving heaviness, rendered in slow moving swells. Way recommended for fans of things slow and low, dark and doomy, murky and mysterious.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES. Packaged in a white dvd style case, with a full color cover and printed black and white insert." [Aquarius Records review]
www.paradigms-recordings.com
|
2008 |
€12.00 |
|
| ONIROT |
Deus ex machina |
CD |
Dritter und letzter Teil der “ONIROT”-Trilogie, hier sehr traurig erhaben & emotional, mit einigen obskuren & surrealistischen konkreteren Elementen... atmet eine filmische Atmosphäre von Verlust & Post-Apokalypse. Für RAISON D’ETRE-Fans definiv zu empfehlen !
“The final chapter in the Onirot trilogy (following on from “Augusta” and “Ritualis”). “Deus Ex Machina” delves into the dark heart of obscure contemporary cold ambience: Mechanical / Industrial sounds sprawl across heart-wrenching and inhuman, dark, deep and ancient star filled landscapes full of subtle sound threads. “Deus Ex Machina” is full of violent beauty delivered across five tracks of pure sonic anxiety. A fine Dark Ambient feast in the vein of Raison D’Etre or Herbst9 etc. Great black & white photography throughout. Limited to 500 copies only and thoroughly recommended!” [Cold Spring]
|
2006 |
€13.00 |
|
| ORATORY OF DIVINE LOVE |
Meditatio |
CD |
"...Meditatio is a circle in the world, pointing us through to something ineluctable, indubitable, something which empirical scepticism must pre-suppose in order to grumpily dismiss. It is hard to explain this CD in words because it transcends them into experience so marvellously. The sounds ebb and flow like tides with the moon to carry us into different valences and intensities of emotion, space and presence. The whole CD feels like a prelude or an aftermath, all at once, a sustained moment drawn out for almost an hour like a tantric orgasm (though of course less pyrotechnic!). That I find myself resorting to outlandish metaphysical analogies to try to explain this release can be taken as a sign that it is worth your purchasing and meditating on. This is ambient music which truly captures the powerful consciousness-transforming potential of this genre of music. Recommended, recommended, recommended, recommended." [Henry Lauer, Heathen Harvest]
"One of the children of John Gore (aka 'kirchenkampf'), The Oratory Of Divine Love presents here their third CD: a fifty-plus minute track of ambient electronic drone that, with gradual progression, features melodies and voices filtering in and out throughout the sound. Though a generally contemplative recording, the piece is quite engaging and will elicit the attention of all who enjoy experimental and drone musics. Previous recordings under this name have been issued by EE Tapes and Waystyx. Housed in a custom printed color wallet. Edition of 500 copies." [label info]
http://discs.diophantine.net
|
2008 |
€12.00 |
|
| ORCHESTRAMAXFIELDPARRISH PRESENTS AERA |
To the last man / Index of Dreaming |
do-CD |
"... The two halves of this album are individually named possibly as an indication of content or possibly as a thematic device for Mike’s overarching driving concept. Either way they encompass a sumptuous and engrossing set of ambient music. Utilising, slow snowfalls of drones, showers of micro-tones and some well chosen field recordings Mike has created a set that fills a room with a cushion of sound
It’s difficult to give you a straight and easy description of the music. It is, by turn, the purest of ambient - like Eno at his best - before morphing into the most uncomfortable of atmospheres - dripping with discomfort and trepidation. His music is as slow and stark as the winter months and as lush and vibrant as the summer ones. Always recommended." [Wonderfulwoodenreasons]
"Faith Strange Recordings has just issued it's first double cd as of January, 2009. This is a new electronic excursion filling two full cds of recordings from orchestramaxfieldparrish and issued under the project name of orchestramaxfieldparrish presents ÆRA.
A beautifully detailed and rich sonic palette exploring the fleeting aspects of memory and dreams. These recordings manage to strike an artistic balance between adventurousness and a neo-classical sensibility, combined with a keen perception of aural sculpture. In a genre that brims with derivations, To The Last Man / Index Of Dreaming is something way ahead of the curve.
Issued in a limited edition 2xCD package in a Japanese style double mini lp gatefold sleeve. Two hours of wide open vistas and introspective private rooms." [label info]
www.faithstrange.com
|
2009 |
€18.00 |
|
| ORIGAMI REPLIKA |
Kommerz - MERZBOW in the Hands of Origami Replika |
CD |
This CD sees Origami Replika (a now defunct part of the ever changing cultural Origami collective/phenomenon) made up by three of Norway's most diehard noise heads -- Lasse Marhaug, Tore H. Boe, and Mads Staff Jensen. Recorded in 1997, this effort is entirely based on sound sources from the back catalogue of Merzbow. With no back-bending, knee-scraping humility, and with a pure love for all source sounds, Origami Replika have shaped classic Merzbow sound into all-new compositions. These are innovative and highly potent re-workings of the harsh sound waves, recommended to all those who still have a healthy addiction to the Merzbow sounds of yesterday. Thick and meaty, the blasts emanating from the speakers are filled with lusty, fetishized, organic heavy noise and experimental Dadaism, ready to be devoured by the faithful disciples. Originally planned for release on another label, and now finally unleashed on Segerhuva, this is a CD that has been tried and tested over and over again. These recordings, created almost a decade ago, have been remastered by Lasse Marhaug, and it is safe to say that this CD has stood the test of TIME. After nine years, it sounds remarkable - a solid chunk of the classic, living breathing Noise Object that some call religion. Bottom line -- the NOISE FETISH is still very much alive and well. This time it comes from a somewhat unexpected source. Indulge!
|
2005 |
€13.00 |
|
| ORNAMENT |
Yzaniaveis |
CD-R |
"Neues Material vom italienischen surreal-drone-Geheimtip ! Tief-dronige Bässe, leichtere Soundtupfer und –sprengsel obenauf, Drone-Eruptionen pflanzen sich unendlich fort, softe Maschinenloops tauchen auf... eine sehr geheimnisvolle und subliminale Musik, Tip !
New material rec. 2000/2002 from this italien surreal-drone-“hot tip”. Deep droning basses, lighter sounddots on it, endless drone-eruptions, soft machine-like loops,.. a very secretful and subliminal music, recommended !" [Drone Rec 2002]
Blade Records
|
2002 |
€15.00 |
|
| ORPHANAGE COMMITTEE |
A Significant Change |
LP |
THE ORPHANAGE COMMITTEE is the solo project of Orphan S.C. Wallace, residing in Sint-Niklaas (Hellgium).
On his long-awaited debut LP, he delivers fresh and playful soundscapes, often with a spastic beat, but mostly with a serious twist, undoubtedly!
Put this record on, loud as it will play and enter the challenging playground of THE ORPHANAGE COMMITTEE.
Strongly recommended for your mental moves!
\'All music is equally abstract, but some music is more equally abstract than other\' - Orwell S.C. Wallace
Available as LP on sealed 180 gm black vinyl, 200 cps with insert and DL
https://eetapes.bandcamp.com/album/a-significant-change-2
|
2022 |
€20.00 |
|
| ORPHAX |
Saxophone Studies |
LP |
Side A/Track 1 of this record contains frequencies and effects (or as someone called it "non-harmonic multitones") that do not work over headphones or laptop speakers. It is recommended to listen on a good sound system on high volume.
Saxophone Studies is an album that took multiple years to form. Already in 2006 I asked friends and other musicians if they could send me audio files to make music out of this. This music never really happened, but one of the files I received was some saxophone recordings by James Fella (Soft Shoulder / Gilgongo Records). In 2017 while browsing my computer for audio files I came across this recording and finally took it up to create work from this.
Straight from diving in these recordings I had a clear goal for these recordings. The result is a 17 minute long piercing drone work where due to the use of multi-layering and rough cutting a psychedelic effect takes place. The "non-harmonic multitones" collide with each other in the room but also your ears to create a mesmerizing mind fuck.
After this track was finished I was eager to create a second piece for saxophone, and I was really happy for this to work with my father. So late December 2017 I brought my recording equipment to my parents where my father played his various saxophones for me.
In this work, which is very bass heavy, I worked with all different saxophone sounds but the focus lies on the baritone. Again with multi-layering and here also phasing of the sounds a slow evolving piece grows and grows. Other than the first piece here I wanted to create a more relaxed listening experience, though still when you dive into the details strange patterns appear with beating sounds, from which in the end the melodic parts of the saxophone slowly emerge.
For this album I want to thank James and Jozef for their contributions, Rutger Zuydervelt for the help with the artwork and Jos Smolders for the mastering and advice, and the dear people from Monotype Pressings for the help in making this happen.
It was a long journey with quite some hiccups, but we made it.
credits
released September 28, 2018
Saxophone by James Fella (JF) and Jozef van Erve (JvE)
Composition and music by Sietse van Erve / Orphax
Mastered by Jos Smolders at EARLabs
Design by Sietse van Erve with help from Rutger Zuydervelt
https://movingfurniturerecords.bandcamp.com/album/saxophone-studies |
2018 |
€16.50 |
|
| OUSTAD, KRISTOFFER |
Filth Haven |
CD |
"As one half of Swedish/Norwegian industrial duo K.N.O., Kristoffer Oustad is no stranger to the Malignant roster, and yet within the broader context of the K.N.O. sound, his exact contributions were never fully known, or at least immediately recognizable. Listening to his debut solo recording, it becomes evident that the more emotive and moody qualities within those recordings seemed to be his primary responsibility. The 7 tracks that comprise Filth Haven operate on a palpable psychological level and are perhaps some of the most personal and deeply emotional recordings Malignant has released. Oustad shows an innate ability to craft intricate and detailed pieces of grey hued, analog darkness that feel suspended in time… dreamlike and meditative, yet always hinting at something ominous on the horizon, as gradually shifting textures, drifting tones and haunting melodies intersect in a hazy, somnambulant procession. While the method for composition (analog synths, guitar, and field recordings) may have been the same, each track is uniquely different than the next, but in the end, feels tightly bound together by a cinematic framework that sinks deep into your consciousness. An absolutely astounding and rewarding work for those that appreciate all manner of dark music." [label info]
www.malignantrecords.com
"Filth Haven is the first full length release published by the Norwegian Kristoffer Oustad under his own name. In the past Oustad has offered several albums and compilation works under the moniker of Kristoffer Nyströms Orkester (a power industrial duet formed with Peter Nyström of Megaptera) and Plague Machinery and the post-metal, avant-garde industrial project V:28.
Filth Haven is an ultimate bleak, demonic and epic soundscaping inferno. Massive, absorbing and grimy, the dark instrumental music rituals offered here are made of brooding droney chords, treated found sources, ultra-sonic electronic assaults, micro signals, harsh noises, disembodied chants and treated hypnotic-like percussive elements. The whole orchestration is amazingly captivating and exceptionally turbulent, as if we enter in complete nightmare-ish hallucinations which send us back to primordial origins or to some forgotten cosmic events. ‘Filth Haven’ is a tremendously hell-ish narrative album, a sublime illustration of infernal scenes of extravagance and final desolation we can appreciate in terrifying painting visions of John Martin, John Charles Dollman or Adolf Hiremy-Hirschl, just to name a few. The apocalyptic mood is interrupted by rare field recordings as in the otherworldly Acheron-like droning sound tapestry of “Row me over.”
Mesmeric splendor, compelling musical procession and dark contemplative estates that will ravish addicted fans of isolationist ambient music and anything related to post-industrial experimentalism. With this album Malignant Records proves one more time that they figure among the most iconic producers of shimmering industrial ambient music. Filth Haven is definitely a recommended album for collectors as well as beginners in the genre." [Philippe Blache, IGLOO MAGAZINE]
|
2015 |
€12.00 |
|
| PAIN JERK & JOHN WIESE |
Mental Peace Liberation Front |
CD |
"First part of collaboration series between Japanese harshest live electronics noise master Pain Jerk and one of the finest American noise & experimental musician John Wiese. Released in 2007, "Chocolate Grinder" 7" (Helicopter) and "Terrazzo" CD (Harbinger Sound) are following after this album. massive hyper-sonic and heavy fucked-up harsh blast, crashing and throbbing pulse electronics, full throttle cut-up with hi-range frequency. we're sure this has the best moment of all of their sessions. highly recommended! Comes in jewel case with obi, cover designed by Ono Masahiko aka Solmania." [label info]
|
2007 |
€13.00 |
|
| PARSONS, DAVID |
Chakra |
CD |
Chakra is David's third album on gterma. The album carves and weaves its way through the mysteries surrounding the seven Chakras starting at the crown and working towards the foundation. Headphones strongly recommended.
https://gterma.bandcamp.com/album/chakra
"After “Puja” and “Stupa”, “Chakra” is the third album by New Zealand-based composer David Parsons on the Swedish G-terma label.
This time around, the tracks on “Chakra” were very much gear-inspired. David purchased a couple of Synthstrom Deluges, a locally made portable synthesizer, sequencer and sampler from Wellington designed for the creation, performance and improvisation of electronic music. This brilliantly designed piece of gear -running on an internal rechargeable battery- offers pretty much unlimited sampling storage and more composing tracks than one would ever need. In addition, they can also control all David’s other hardware and software synths. About 70% of the album’s music was created in the outdoors during holiday down south with this portable gear.
It ended up as a 62-minute inner journey (overall a bit more rhythmic than Parsons’ last releases) of slow progressing, minimal-angled and lush swirling sound waves. These meet up with David’s signature aural Tibetan and Asian flavours as well as some occasional monk chants. Its effect is dreamful, hypnotizing, and immersive and even becomes fulfilling when the intrinsic power trail of the 10-minute delight “Manipura” washes over the listener. Thereafter, David’s takes his listeners to great heights with the atmospheric, minimalist painting “Svadhisthana” (moving into “Himalaya’s” pure soundwaves), then rounds out the fascinating journey beautifully with the rhythmic-spiced, intense “Muladhara”.
The excellently mastered “Chakra” is a winner on all fronts making a great addition to Parsons’ discography. Headphone-listening is strongly recommended." [Sonic Immersion]
|
2019 |
€13.00 |
|
| PEAL GRIM |
same |
CD |
Peal Grim is one of the names of Dmitriy Shilov known for the projects Unknown, Neznamo and Magickal Things. Peal Grim explores the theme of dramatic experiences of the human life using acoustic and electric guitars, overdrive, distortion and spatial effects. Their sound creates clouds of guitar drone, noise and ringing, assuming different shapes in the acoustic atmosphere: sometimes floating like an impenetrable fog, sometimes rolling like a gigantic front of thunderclouds, sometimes creeping over a dark pit of overwhelming melancholia…
These five compositions were recorded over the course of three years from 2007 to 2009 and were mastered by Sergey Bulychiov (kshatriy.pro) in 2014.
"This record is not recommended to listening for depressively inclined persons".
[label info]
"So, this album begins with the caveat: "This record is not recommended to listening for depressively inclined persons." Now, that is far more enticing than "may cause drowsiness" (which has been affixed to less than inspiring new age / ambient records in days gone by) or Pulp's reverse psychology of "Please do not read the lyrics whilst listening to the recordings" or any number of unimaginative variations on "play loud or not at all, motherfucker!" There is also something rather charming about this translation about "depressively inclined persons" which may just be an utterly commonplace trigger warning in the Peal Grim's native Russian. What we have behind this is a pretty fucking bleak album of crumbling, corrosive blackened ambience that actually morphs into an ominously tranquil, making for an album that could be rather soothing in a dark, wintery kind of way. Peal Grim is the work of Dmitry N. Shilov, who has orbited in the pagan neofolk and mystical ambient underground of Moscow for a good part of the last two decades. In spite of this background, this album has all of the feel of the ambient passages from the best of the best black metal albums, making us think that he must have been buzzing riff with corpse paint instead. Nonetheless, this is a densely layered album of skeletal guitar figures that are blasted out in blackened fuzz, while spiralling down a soul-sucking maelstrom with a stately minor key lament throughout all the atmospheric depression. A properly replicated cd in an edition of 100 copies." [Aquarius Rec.]
|
2015 |
€12.00 |
|
| PERNICE, LAURENT |
Humus |
CD |
Nice Solo-CD from this NOX-member with all kinds of different minimal drones & pure atmospherics, from electro-piercing vibrations to ultra-slow & smooth dark space-sounds. Very good sounds, suspenseful arranged and nicely developing!! Recommended !
“We are proud to present new album of Laurent Pernice, providing fresh views for academic avantgarde, from the different sides of microtonal music, reductive minimalism and other methods of digital decomposition. Release date is 15 May 2004. Limited edition of 500 copies in jewelcase.” [label info]
|
2004 |
€13.00 |
|
| PHILLIPS, DAVE |
Agitated unfilled extended geometric Figure made of Ersatz Substance |
7inch |
"Limited edition yellow vinyl 7" in clear polyvinyl chloride sleeve.
Two pieces for hand-held agitated unfilled extended geometric figures made of synthetic ersatz substance with straight parallel sides and a circular round section at each end.
Presented as recorded in real-time without any edits, overdubs or effects added. This recording contains unprocessed acoustic sounds only.
Headphone listening recommended. Play very loud, at 45 RPM!!! Available in small hole only.
|
2012 |
€8.50 |
|
| |
Should A Seeker Not Find A Companion Who Is Better Or Equal, Let Him Resolutely Pursue A Solitary Course; There Is No Fellowship With The Fool / Cicada Trance |
do-CD |
"should a seeker not find a companion who is better or equal, let him resolutely pursue a solitary course; there is no fellowship with the fool"
dave phillips' trajectory as an experimental recording artist began in the mid-80s, with a punk background that expanded to wilder and more nuanced territories as a solo artist.
having utilized field recordings, both raw and arranged, for over 20 years, not to mention his well-established work with bombastic body sounds, surrealist strings, and tribal percussion, phillips has honed his use of source material in a way that comes off more as a soldier's sense of duty than anything resembling a hobby. with "should a seeker... / cicada trance", he returns with two badly needed physical issues of integral field recording-based pieces that were previously only available for digital download.
"should a seeker..." was initially published as a digital release on the radical matters label in 2008. it is a structured arrangement of sounds with reptilian, amphibian, and insectan origin, remastered for physical release in 2023. for over 56 minutes, gurgles, primal roars, and screams from creatures of the night swirl in and out of the stereo spectrum in complex, yet somewhat rhythmic patterns, for an almost hyperreal effect.
from dave phillips about cicada trance:
the main insect featured here is the first one that drew me to another world, through its sound. a piercing high ringing frequency that seems to go on and on, often alternating with a slower, winding kind of motion, until the sound rises, peaks and drones again. some of these cycles are short, a minute or two a round, others seem to go for an hour, their winding down phase often partly silent; many play in 10 to 20 minute cycles. their song can differ from one region to the other, like dialects. their sound can be heard for miles. it’s ear-splitting loud when you’re close.
i’ve been wanting to do this piece for a long time, maybe since i returned from my first half year in thailand, early 1995. one recording herein is from then.
mostly i don’t see these musicians. many locals all over south east asia told me that these are cicadas. a few others gave other names. i never verified any further. i hear individuals and tribes, not really species. besides, there are all sorts of sonic individuals in these recordings, and i don’t think they care much about what we call them.
recorded in thailand, vietnam, indonesia and south africa, most of these are daytime sonic activities, one is nocturnal. all play in hot climates, frequently during the hottest time of day. two are desert inhabitants (kgalagadi), the others live in the humid heat of tropical rainforests.
i often wonder what goes on in these creatures when they’re playing. when they sing or stridulate, or whatever you want to call it, it’s vibration, it’s ongoing, repetitive. it’s being in the very immediate here and now. the common scientific explanation is “mating call” (another scientific favourite is “territorial call”). this may explain one of many reasons, but reasons apart from “functional” ones seem excluded.
i could imagine these singing ringing cicadas create trance states. like being high on life, ultimately immersed in the present moment and their immediate surroundings and celebrating it. maybe their sound creates altered states of consciousness also in other beings.
immersion - to be part of something
assembled jun ’21 - jan ’22 in zug and brugg, switzerland
dedicated to the most important beings on this planet - insects
alternate headphone listening is recommended
www.davephillips.ch
https://nopartofit.bandcamp.com/album/should-a-seeker-not-find-a-companion-who-is-better-or-equal-let-him-resolutely-pursue-a-solitary-course-there-is-no-fellowship-with-the-fool-cicada-trance
"As we all know, you can easily find noise music in nature. I am not a biologist, but I think cicadas exist in many countries, warm countries or just during the summer in some others. They are fascinating creatures, and many musicians have used recordings of them. Dave Phillips is the latest, and we know him as give or take, a man of noise music. In 1995 he spent six months in Thailand, and ever since, he has wanted to do a piece of music using recordings of cicadas. This now comes as 'Cicada Trance' and a work with a very long title, 'Should A Seeker Not Find A Companion Who Is Better Or Equal, Let Him Resolutely Pursue A Solitary Course; There Is No Fellowship With The Fool'. That piece was originally released in digital form by Radical Matters and used sounds of reptilian, amphibian, and insectan origin. Let's start here, as this is the first piece in the box. I think that the insects make up the backbone of the piece via long-form sustaining sounds, and on top of that, there are animal sounds, roaring and screaming, sometimes rhythmic, but I am unsure to what extent Phillips uses sound effects. There are none (so I believe, at least), and it's all a matter of overlaying sounds until a musical dialogue arises. This is quite a long piece at fifty-six minutes, but it's a great excursion. Strangely, I thought that this was indeed very much a Dave Phillips piece. It's loud but dynamic, and in some of his work, Phillips uses similar sounds but then of a different origin, such as his mouth or body.
Dynamics are not part of the other six, six minutes longer. Here Phillips uses just recordings of cicadas from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and South Africa and places these together. Whereas 'Should' rocks back and forth, and sounds repeat, disappear but also return, no such thing happens here. It's piercingly high frequencies going on and on, just like they do in nature. It is almost like a harsh noise wall, but one realizes that this is all nature's (true!) forces. If you listen closely, and I did as I found this very compelling music, one notes minimalist changes or even melodic singing, especially in the second half. Here too, I can easily see this as a piece of music by Dave Phillips, but this time using only field recordings, and at that from various recordings from one animal. It is recommended to be heard by headphones, which I tried, but I must admit I thought it was too much at least the cicada piece. The other one worked great with headphones. What a blast!" [FdW / Vital Weekly]
|
2023 |
€16.00 |
|
| PICCHIO DAL POZZO |
Abbiamo tutti i suoi problemi |
CD |
Wiederveröffentlichung der zweiten (und letzten) LP von 1980 von dieser legendären italienischen ProgRockExperimental-Band, die komplexe und unerwartete Arrangements und Strukturen, perfekt eingespielt, nur so aus dem Ärmel schüttelten... Anklänge an HENRY COW, ZAPPA, etc..
"One of the most original, impressive and highly respected of all the experimental groups to have come out of Italy in the 1970s, Picchio dal Pozzo were also one of the early invitees to the canonical 'Recommended Sampler', and would have been in RIO, had RIO lasted another year - and had the group not folded up and disappeared before anyone had realised it was there. In the last decade the record was reissued briefly in Japan, then It disappeared again. We have now re-mastered it and put it back into the public domain, where it belongs. Copying no one, though there is some Zappa influence - Picchio had a unique and highly developed style of composition that was not only out of step with it's own time but which sounds contemporary still. Highly composed and devoid of jazz phrasing and riffs with solos, this record achieves maximum musical effect with minimum instrumental means through close attention to timbre, dynamics and expressed tempi and a kind of deep complexity that sounds simple but changes with each listening. A lot of ideas subtly developed - rather than experimented with; a one-off classic." [label description]
|
2006 |
€14.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| RABELAIS, AKIRA |
Eisoptrophobia |
do-LP |
Akira Rabelais’ supremely moving eisoptrophobia album issued on vinyl for the first time, 17 years after it was first released on CD. Harnessing Akira’s own smudged recollections of childhood brought to life via treated solo piano pieces by Erik Satie and Bartok, it’s a haunting mutation of sound that comes hugely recommended if you grabbed his peerless Spellewauerynsherde reissue last year, or indeed any of his releases for David Sylvian’s Samadhisound label. Followers of The Caretaker’s work or Stephan Mathieu’s classic 'Radioland' album should also dive deep into these exquisite, bittersweet memories of secret histories lost in time.
First released in 2001 on CD by Ritornell, a sub-label of Mille Plateaux, ‘eisoptrophobia’ was an early iteration of Akira applying his Argeïphontes Lyre software to classical music, opening a fascinating schism between the original object and his modern, subjective perspective in the process. Made up of spellbinding, uniquely decayed renderings of solo piano pieces, it forms a poetic farewell to the 20th century and a reluctant embrace of new technological possibilities.
The original piano recordings of Satie and Bartók pieces were made at Wave Equation Studios in Hollywood, California, and subsequently transformed by Argeïphontes Lyre with beautifully elusive results. The recognisable melodies here ring out in myriad new ways, sometimes fractured and indented by patinas of crackle that echo the original contours, while, at othere, smudged into mind-bending obfuscation or spectral, timbral thizz. They have the uncanny capacity to resemble exhumed artefacts, dug up after decades of decay, and riddled with potently psychedelic mycelium ready to spore on the listener’s mind. But they also capture that elusive yearning for early life; the distant crackle of AM radio playing in another room, scratched records, a piano playing, somehere.
The title eisoptrophobia itself means ”fear of mirrors“, in an interview with L.A. weekly back in 2002, Rabelais explained that he picked it as a way of articulating his dread of limitation. ”I exist in a much larger space than what I am physically. But if I were to look into the mirror, I would suddenly pull back into my body.” A feeling not unlike the experience of sitting through this remarkable album before suddenly being snapped back to your surroundings.
First time on vinyl, Black 2LP housed inside a deluxe, thick spine gatefold sleeve. Lacquer cut at D+M, Berlin, photography by Jacqueline Roberts, design by Michael Worthington
|
2018 |
€26.00 |
|
| RACHEL'S |
Selenography |
do-LP |
"Die Gruppe aus dem Chicago/Louisville-Umfeld (SHELLAC, RODAN, JUNE OF '44, SONORA PINE, etc..) mit ihrem 4.ten Album (nach´Handwriting', 'Music for Egon Schiele' und 'The Sea and the Bells'). Eine instrumentale, herbstlich schimmernde Mischung aus klassischer Kammermusik und Geräuschparts, alles rein instrumental. Viel Piano & Streichinstrumente, wunderschöne Cover-Artwork. Deeply recommended!" [old Drone Rec info]
"The fourth album from these deft neo-classicists brings a collection of songs that have been staples of their breathtaking live performances, yet had never made it to tape. An integrating of live and electronic textures recorded in various locales between july '97 and January '99." [label info]
www.quarterstickrecords.com |
1999 |
€21.00 |
|
| 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 |
|
| RAMESES III |
I could not love you more |
CD |
"Ein derart vom Rest der Welt abgekapseltes Album gab es lange nicht mehr. Wie ein endloser Fluss ziehen die Tracks ihre Kreise, lassen sich durch nichts stören und wollen niemandem irgendetwas beweisen. Alles hört auf den ganz eigenen Puls der Bandmitglieder Daniel Freeman, Spencer Grady und Stephen Lewis. Ob die der Hektik ihrer Heimat Croydon bewusst etwas entgegensetzen wollen, tut hier eigentlich nichts zur Sache. Perfekte Welt? Der perfekte Moment? Was auch immer hier mit den zurückhaltenden Ambient-Hymnen bespielt wird, wir müssen alle danach streben. Rameses III … das ist der Himmel auf Erden." [thaddi / de:bug]
"Das Londoner Trio entzückt mit Ambient und pastoralem Folk: Mit ihrem tiefgründigen und originellen Umgang mit Ambientmusik haben Rameses III bewiesen, dass aus Croydon mehr als Dubstep kommt. Daniel Freeman, Spencer Grady und Stephen Lewis haben bereits einige Veröffentlichungen für Labels wie Important Records, Digitalis und natürlich Type Records hinter sich, es ist aber das Album "I Could Not Love You More", mit dem sich das Trio in die Musikgeschichtsbücher einschreiben wird. Ein Album, das den Sound der Band zwischen treibendem Ambient und postoralem Folk neu positioniert. Man vernimmt Gitarrenechos von John Faheys legendärem Takoma-Label, aber auch Schatten früher 4AD-Produktionen, was etwa das schimmernde Hintergrunddröhnen anbelangt. Über allem schwebt der Geist Brian Enos, der erfolgreich zur Selbstbeherrschung mahnt. "I Could Not Love You More" hätte aber auch mit seinem elektrischen Klavier, dem Mellotron und den Gitarren Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts entstehen können. Wer aber hätte gedacht, dass es 2009 aus dem übel beleumundeten Süd-London kommt?" [label info]
"..While even some of our favorite modern ambient music relies on layers and layers of digital processing, Rameses III maintains a
certain acoustic integrity by layering strictly live instruments. Electric guitars, electric pianos, and mellotrons produce a warm,
ethereal wash that brings an otherworldly depth to their sound, a depth that digital processing could never recreate.
Ghostly and melodic, mysterious and heavy, ambient and thoughtful, I Could Not Love You More is no doubt the trio’s finest
work and a perfect addition to the Type catalogue, highly recommended!" [Aquarius Records]
www.typerecords.com
|
2009 |
€16.00 |
|
| RAWLINGS / STELZER / TALBOT // GRIVAS / ZIOUTOS / MALEVITSIS |
live documents |
CD-R |
Experimentelles Trio mit dem Intransitive Records – Betreiber, diffizile Knirsch-, Knack- und Kratz-symphonien, die zeigen wie unglaublich experimentell-elektronisch-akustisches Sounddesign heute klingen kann !
"This boston trio uses turntables, tapes, cello and electronics to squeak and scratch out bizarre soundscapes. – also highly recommended." [label description]
|
2002 |
€8.00 |
|
| REAS |
same |
CD-R |
Quite powerful stuff on TONTO by this so far unknown Austrian artist named REAS, using rhythm-box w. distorted bass, between a more experimental BIG BLACK and sound- & loop – collages like early MAIN... everything well-done arranged, very recommended if you like the field between “noise-rock” and distorted ambience....
“... Die als tonto Nr.11 erschienene CD demonstriert das Arbeitsfeld von reas, das Stücke mit treibenden Drumprogrammen und verzerrt gespieltem Elektrobaß ebenso beinhaltet wie vergleichsweise fragil programmierte Rhythmusmaschinerie mit überwiegend unverzerrter Effektbassgitarre, sowie mehrere Soundcollagen, in denen verschiedene analog erzeugte Baßloops zum Teil weitermoduliert neben- und gegeneinander laufen, sich überlagern und unterbreiten. Also Stücke mit Baß und auf eher unkonventionellen Metren basierende, aufwendig programmierte Rhythmusfigurenfolgen sowie "live" aufgenommene (OHNE overdubs eingespielte) Baß- und Effektloops. [andreas klöckl]
www.tonto.at
|
2001 |
€11.00 |
|
| RECHE, PABLO |
Paredes |
mCD-R |
Two pieces of very massive, otherworldy drones from this Argentinian artist. PAREDES means "walls" and these sounds appear indeed acoustic concrete blocks of energy. Recommended for lovers of monumental drones! Comes in nice little photo-cover design. |
2007 |
€7.00 |
|
| REED, RICK |
Music for the Rothko Chapel |
10 |
Die zweite in der Beta-Lactam 10”-Serie kommt von dem uns unbekannten Komposer RICK REED, der sich hier von einem Mark Rothko Gemälde hat insprieren lassen... herausgekommen sind dabei extrem schleichend-hochfrequente Drones, deren Textur sich langsam verändert, Musik wie gemalt (?) ... eindringlich und etwas unheimlich...
Nr. 2 in the “Lactamase”-series of 12 records. RICK REEDS compositions are high-pitched, eerie drones that crawl into the room...inspired by a large Rothko-painting located in a chapel in Houston, TX. Highly recommended! “The music like the paintings, is almost totally monochromatic. Starting with a single bit of guitar feedback, recorded, then played back into the room with additional bits of feedback added each time, recorded layer by layer until "all the brush strokes were rendered nearly invisible". The end result is not at all like feedback, but more like a huge dark cloud of electronic sound, like a totally bent orchestra with a way out string and flute section hell bent on exploring the nether regions.
|
2001 |
€12.50 |
|
| REFORMED FACTION |
Years of Lightning, Day of Drums |
CD |
"Brand new album from two former :zoviet*france: members Robin Storey (Rapoon) and Mark Spybey (Dead Voices on Air). This is the fifth album of their joint project which has been formed in 2006 and now gathers more and more attention from the audience which it really deserves. Obviously the duo is on its best creative form today and this work proves it totally. Delicate improvisational loop/collage technic which became a face of :zoviet*france: of its golden mid-80s era is brought here to a new level of sonic wizardry making a perfect balance between great operational technical skills and living breathing musical canvas. An absolute masterpiece of experimental electronic sound art which is far from both formal approach of concrete music and total lack of structure typical to pure improvisationists. Very recommended not only to :zoviet*france: / Rapoon / Dvoa fans but for much wider circles of true music lovers! This edition is limited to 450 copies and comes in a full colour digisleeve with two inserts." [label info]
|
2012 |
€13.00 |
|
| REIDER, C. |
Aughtet |
CD-R |
Stunning work from C.REIDER where he works with human language which is processed & computerized extremely.... listen to totally fragmented voices, like in a dissociative or psychotic process, when language looses its meaning or gets a new one....the whole creates an unsettling atmosphere....very much recommended !
“c. reider's tendency to manipulate the human voice into weird patterns is explored to its fullest on this release. Voice samples from friends were rendered into rumbling guttural grunts, incoherent alien poetry, spiky shards of plosives, singing where once there was no singing, and smooth grains of foreverness. 99% of the sound sources on this recording come from someone's mouth.” [label info]
|
2003 |
€8.00 |
|
| RESGESTAE |
Etat d'Urgence |
CD |
"RESGESTAE is the project of Nicholas P., an experimental musician living in Athens, Greece. Using samples, field-recording, etc. he creates post-industrial, cinematic soundscapes, incorporating true political, social and economic elements. "Etat d'Urgence" is no more than a social control soundtrack, an experience in our daily lives of fear. Recommended to all those who like POST-SCRIPTUM and PROPERGOL.
RESGESTAE is the project of Nicholas P., an experimental sound-artist living in Athens, Greece. He started creating post-industrial music in 2005 with a dark-ambient project called [distopia] which released a couple of full-length albums, split-releases and a few EP's on various independant labels.
From 2010, being infatuated with the dark-ambient and "horror" concept, Nicholas started experimenting using wave editing software, working with field-recordings and other sound samples. RESGESTAE was born. The name could be translated to "things done", or the space of time that occurs from commiting a crime to the sentencing for that crime.
RESGESTAE is influenced by contemporary politics viewed from a social prism. Nowadays, everything ranging from a discovery of a virus to the theoretical definition of a new field of economic competition is a political act that affects everyone's social life. He's also influenced by the works of W.S.BURROUGHS, F.NIETZSCHE, Aldous HUXLEY, CRITICAL ART ENSEMBLE, Jacques MESRINE and various street articles.
RESGESTAE's purpose is to compose contemporary power-electronics with both "cultural terrorism" and an esoteric aesthetic. For him, the "typical" power-electronics sound , mixing harsh electronics and up-front vocals has gone into hiatus. His purpose is to use extreme frequencies, samples and drones to form a deep sub-sonic landscape. This creates a cinematic experience incorporating true political, social and economic elements. That's why this first release deals with media control, the deep state, technoscience and biotechnology. "Etat d'Urgence" is no more than a social control soundtrack, an experience in our daily lives of fear." [label info]
www.nuitetbrouillard.com
|
2015 |
€12.00 |
|
| REUTOFF |
Gute Nacht, Berlin |
CD |
Zweites Album der russischen dark ambient Industrial – Koryphäen, eher ruhig–introvertiert-melancholisch wie auf den frühen Tapes, mit deutlichem WW II - Bezug. Die Musik wirkt wie ein Epitaph, das voller niemals zu überwindender Trauer die Erinnerung an die Schrecken der jüngeren Geschichte wach halten will...
“....Fifth opus from the Russian trio, 'Gute Nacht, Berlin!' as the previous 'The Fourth Face' 10" and 'ReuTRauM III' 7" is also released by the Austrian label HauRuck! This is the 2nd CD in the Reutoff discography. Released just a few months after 'Unseen Rituals', 'Gute Nacht, Berlin!' is musically very close to the previous mentioned album. The ambiances are the ones we expect when listening to this band: sometimes ritual, hidden... sometimes floating, atmospheric... but always with the undescribable 'something' specific to Reutoff that sets them apart from other bands...
No need to give more details, as the whole album is brilliant. Nevertheless I can't prevent myself from underlining the beauty of the second title 'die sunden der vater'. Just let yourself be carried away by the magnificent soundscapes and the drawn out melody... A very long (11 minutes) industrial ambient piece that is certainly one of the very best Reutoff titles I have ever heard!
The album also features two new versions ('Libera me (edit)' and 'Allegoria No. 3') of excellent tracks present on the first tape of the band ('Das Absterben' released in 1998), re-released a few months ago on CD-R by the Italian label By Blade. For those who do not own this tape or the very limited CD-R, this an excellent opportunity to listen to two compositions based on ancient works...
'Die rote fahne' also deserves to be mentioned... Built upon a combination of small, minimalist and repetitive noises with a rather epic Russian song (extracted from or mixed with a film?), this original composition will endlessly intrigue the listeners... The CD comes in a nice full-coloured digipack and is obviously highly recommended, while waiting for the soon to be released fifth part of the ReuTRauM series...” [NathalieF., Heimdallr]
|
2003 |
€13.00 |
|
| |
NullRauM |
do-CD |
"Retortae is proud to present an epic work from the most world well-known Russian industrial combo called Reutoff which has just celebrated its 15 years of existance. NullRauM is a collection of all the tracks included in ReuTRauM series initially released as seven 7” vinyls issued by seven different labels in seven different countries as well as four tracks made especially for this collection. The entire period of its creation took around 15 years – as long as the project exists – and it could be considered as the band’s most important work to date. Complex dark drone ambient structures typical to Reutoff presented here in all their historical development, from the very first 7” released in 2000 by legendary Drone Records to the most recent tracks made exclusively for this release. The result is extremely pessimistic and profound reflexion of the old world collapse and desperate anticipation of the shape of things to come. Though NullRauM material is a collection of the tracks made during such a long period of time, today it looks really homogenous and holistic, and its mosaic elements have finally found its providential shape. Extremely recommended to absolutely everyone. The release comes in laminated full colour digisleeve with 16 pages booklet." [press-release]
|
2014 |
€17.00 |
|
| ROSE, JON / CHRIS ABRAHAMS |
Peggy |
CD |
Jon Rose and Chris Abrahams (of The Necks), after four decades of being parts of other projects, finally got around to recording as a duo. Jon uses a number of violins, including the bird - a specially made tenor hardanger fiddle with sympathetic strings; his tunings are non-standard, and create complex microtonal dissonances with the standard keyboard. Abrahams is unfazed and somehow manages to make the conversation coherent; they’re still speaking one language – probably because these are both virtuosi and they’ve been around the block a few times. So this is not easy music; the simple problems aren’t stimulating, so these negotiations begin at masterclass level. Though pitch and counterpoint are the main topics, the third extended piece pushes timbral exploration to the edge; piano and violin are typecast as ‘classical’ but here they sound more electronic and industrial. Probably not for everybody, but the real innovators seldom are.
/
THE NECKS-Pianist CHRIS ABRAHAMS trifft in dieser spannenden Zusammenarbeit auf JON ROSE. ´Peggy´ ist der Komponistin PEGGY GLANVILLE-HICKS gewidmet und erscheint als CD auf RECOMMENDED. Avantgarde trifft auf Contemporary Classic. JON ROSE und CHRIS ABRAHAMS kennen sich seit fast vier Jahrzehnten. In dieser Zeit haben sie in einer Reihe von Formaten zusammengearbeitet, darunter z.b. bei ´Violin Music in the Age of Shopping´. ´Peggy´ ist allerdings das erste Mal, dass sie als Duo zusammen arbeiten. Man merkt den beiden Musikern ihren reichen Erfahrungsschatz an. Mühelos spielen Piano (ABRAHAMS) und Geige (ROSE) zusammen, klingen dabei harmonisch und (gewollt) dissonant. Das Album ist PEGGY GLANVILLE-HICKS, einer angesehenen Musikkritikerin (New York Herald) und Opernkomponistin gewidmet, die ihr Haus, nach ihrem Tod, Musikern und Künstlern zur Verfügung stellte.
|
2018 |
€13.00 |
|
| SAD KARMA |
Solis |
maxi-CDR |
Ziemlich beeindruckende CDR auf ONYXIA von einem (neuen?) Projekt namens SAD KARMA, die vier sehr elegisch-dunkle Stücke komponiert haben, irgendwo zwischen reinen atmosphärischen Klängen und richtigen „Songs“.... etwas elegisch, weirde Gitarren & Analog-Synths, Pianoeinsatz...
“SadKarma is the phenomenon of the experience of pleasure, through the perception of balance and proportion of stimulus. It involves the cognition of a balanced form and structure that elicits attraction and appeal towards a person or an inanimate object. SadKarma is the bedlam of organic ambience with decoration & fluctuation in its purest form. The frames of the music bear fragments from certain eras of artists like Swans and Coil but the painting itself has drifting textures far more beautiful. Professionally executed CDR release with full colour sleeve & label. Warmly recommended! Ltd. 200 copies.” [label info]
|
2005 |
€7.50 |
|
| SANTOS SILVA, SUSANA / HAMPUS LINDWALL / TORBJORN ZETTERBERG |
Hi! Who are you? |
LP |
The trio Susana Santos Silva / Torbjörn Zetterberg / Hampus Lindwall emerged in 2015 with their first album If Nothing Else (Clean Feed CF348) which was received with critical acclaim. The unique conceptual approach to composition & improvisation rooted in both free jazz and contemporary classical music was described as “guaranteed a unique listening experience” (JazzIn), “It is art!” (Gapplegate Music Review) and “unique sound and style” (New York City Jazz Record). On their new album “Hi, who are you?” (Matière Mémoire MATME004LP) they have taken the musical creation a step further by adding live electronics for real time sound treatment. Different techniques from experimental electronic music is juxtaposed with simple use of electric guitar effects to obtain tight and highly emotional sound.
Susana Santos Silva - trumpet
Torbjörn Zetterberg - double bass, and electric noise on track 5 and 10
Hampus Lindwall - pipe organ and live electronics
All music composed and performed by Susana Santos Silva, Torbjörn Zetterberg and Hampus Lindwall
Produced by Susana Santos Silva, Torbjörn Zetterberg and Hampus Lindwall
Recorded by Torbjörn Zetterberg in Engelbrektskyrkan, Stockholm, Sweden, January 20-21 2018
Mixed by Torbjörn Zetterberg in Mörbylund, Sweden
Mastered by Mats Äleklint
Cut by Frédéric Alstadt at Ångström studio, Brussels
Artwork collage by Dan Lean (Merciful Stranger Art)
Graphics and layout by Cedric D’hondt
The organ in Engelbrektskyrkan was built by Grönlunds Orgelbyggeri in 1964 and restored in 2013 by the same company. It has 91 stops, 5 manuals and pedal.
https://matiere-memoire.bandcamp.com/album/hi-who-are-you
https://matiere-memoire.bandcamp.com/album/hi-who-are-you
In 2015, Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos Silva teamed up with Swedish musicians Torbjörn Zetterberg on bass and Hampus Lindwall on organ. The combination is relatively unique, as is their sound. Santos Silva is one of the leading voices in contemporary improvised music, often performing together with Zetterberg. Their collaboration with Lindwall is more selective. In 2015 they released "If Nothing Else", and we are happy that the next iteration of their music is now available, albeit in only 300 vinyl copies, so you'd better hurry.
The sound of Lindwall's church organ is critical to the overall feel of the music. Under the influence of his organ teacher, Rolande Falcinelli, he moved to Paris in 2002 and studied at the Conservatoire de Saint-Maur-des-Fossés and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Lyon. He is the Titular Organist in Saint-Esprit, Paris.
In an interview with us about their debut album, Susana Santos Silva explained their approach as follows: "It's improvised music but with a great sense of structure and development within each song. And that's what can be so beautiful in an improvised piece of music, that all the notions of composed music, like the development of an idea, theme and variations, counterpoint, leitmotifs, dynamics, question-and-answer phrasing, different layers, textures, and so on, can just happen spontaneously, in the moment".
Most of the music is acoustic, but frequently altered by live electronics. The result is a strange sonic world, that is at once brutal, haunting, reverent and riveting. The performance was recorded in the Engelbrektskyrkan, a church in Stockholm, selected amongst others for its recently restored organ, that has 91 stops, 5 manuals and pedals.
The resonance of organ, trumpet and bass in the church makes this an even more special performance. In a way, you have to be in the space itself to fully enjoy it, even if the sound quality of the album is also astonishingly good.
Highly recommended!
---
I had the luck to see the trio perform in 2017 in the Saint Jacob's Church in Ghent, Belgium, where I recorded the following video vignettes with my smartphone. Not the ideal quality, but it gives an impression of what this music means in a real church. The trio is of course high up on the balcony next to the organ.
[The Free Jazz Collective] |
2019 |
€23.00 |
|
| SCHEICH IN CHINA |
Scheich in China |
LP |
"Killer album of ferric, monotone, fizzing electronics, slowed down bunker Techno and heavily atmospheric field recordings unearthed and compiled by Golden Püdel's impeccable selector Nina (veteran of mixes for the likes of Blackest Ever Black's Krokodilo Tapes and Berceuse Heroique) and Tobias Duffner's VIS label. Highly Recommended if you're into Alessandro Cortini or fellow Pudel compatriot Helena Hauff.
Scheich in China make exactly the kind of stuff you’d hope to hear during one of Nina’s far-reaching but focussed DJ sets and comes from another one of the club's elusive and extended possee, someone who alongside their nocturnal activities apparently spends their time beekeeping.
Their self-titled LP bluntly stakes out malefic intent to hypnotise thru their unflinching style and greyscale, atonal palette that’s deeply entrenched in a bunker mindset.
On the A-side they lash us into a trio of ever-decreasing drone techno circles primed for the grungiest DJs and clubs that crave a bit of murk on the ‘floor, but the record’s biggest attraction in undoubtedly the B-side’s 18 minute tract of treated and re-wired field recordings, all processed with a cold, hollow, metallic finish that make us feel like some invisible entity haunting the Hamburg docks and Reeperbahn at 6am.
If you fell in love with Alessandro Cortini's impeccable run of releases over the last few years, this one's a must." [Boomkat]
https://v-i-s.bandcamp.com |
2016 |
€16.00 |
|
| SCISS |
Achronie |
Video-CDR |
30 minutes of various visual & acoustical extracts, a combination of lights, flashes, sparks & shimmering drones with more concrete sound effects, environmental filming in a special way, nice colourful waving water-effects, at parts hyperabstract amorph drones, shifting geometrical shapes & patterns with hallucinogenic effects, etc etc., not really psychedelic, this is more subtle and refined. A very recommended work.
“ Achronie - the inability to perceive the phenomenon of passing time - started in 2001 as an experimental audio/video collaboration between Cem Akkan and Sciss. Completed in August 2002, the work consists of eleven short clips and three interludes that explore the interaction between floating and vibrating visual shapes and synchronized sound scapes. While in most cases sound creation followed video, finally a careful balance was found in which the question of stimulus and response or causality arises. The way we look at the images influences the way we hear the noises and vice versa.
More specifically, the clips deal with paradox situations of speed and time perception. A dynamic system in which the recipient can synchronize himself/herself to the stream and, on a different point on the time line, divorce from it. The moment when speed exceeds a threshold and gets mapped back to a state of calmness.” [Sciss-info]
for more info / sound-examples check: www.sciss.de
Music By – Sciss
Video Editor – Cem Akkan
|
2002 |
€10.00 |
|
| SHINKIRO |
Archive: Volumes I-III |
do-CD |
Shinkiro is a dark ambient project from Japan, formed in 2003 by Manabu Hiramoto who dwells in organic isolation full of pulsating drones and elegiac solaris ambiances. Based on the old recording sessions in 2003 - 2007 this release captures the darkest and most beautiful moments of Shinkiro’s music: low-key synth textures merged with rhythmic cadences and slight distortions gradually unfolding roaming melodies, magnetic and cold undercurrents, ethereal epiphanies and ever present longing for the unattainable abyss. Three early unreleased albums assembled for the first time together manifest thrilling, oneiric and existentialist nature of Shinkiro’s nature exposed in its dark and cinematic mosaic: Japanese voice samples blended with strained piano parts, machinery industrial noises, ominous drones, ritual percussion, hypnotic hardware pads leading to the event horizon. Dissolve in the myriad of mysterious emanations towards colossal eschatological pleroma. Recommended for those who follow Lustmord, Apoptose. Amazing music is accompanied with an exquisite layout executed by Mauro Berchi (Eibon Records) and produced as a 2CD edition in a 4-panel gloss-laminated Digipak limited to 250.
|
2018 |
€15.00 |
|
| SIJ & ITEM CALIGO |
Queer Reminiscence |
CD |
"Since 2015's album "The Lost World" Vladislav Sikach ambient project SiJ released "Reflections Under the Sky" in February 2016. This time together with Textere Oris and under the banner of the Cryo Chamber label.
With "Queer Reminiscence" SiJ returns to Reverse Alignment, teaming up with Item Caligo.
As you can expect, "Queer Reminiscence" deliver drifting ambient to get carried away with.
Limited edition of 200 copies in 6-panel digipack." [label info]
ralignment.tictail.com
"This new collaboration is an excellent example of dark ambient/neo-classical collaborations gone right. SiJ and Item Caligo are both known for their sounds that often float from ambient, to dark ambient, to neo-classical, and then back again. As is to be expected of these two artists, we have a nice combination of drone, piano, and various other lesser elements. SiJ and Item Caligo combine to craft a sound that is undeniably listenable. There is nothing harsh here, at many times its not even particularly dark.
Tracks like “It Was Good To Destroy Once Again” showcase a lot of the diversity presented. There are moments when the track is peaceful, with gently sweeping drone-work. Yet, as it progresses it moves into areas of looping and a faint but steady percussion. Reminding of something which generally falls into more experimental and ambient musical outings. It can be something almost akin to the sounds of some artists on the Ultimae or Glacial Movements labels, with their minimalistic yet structured usage of percussion and drones. The cold feeling Queer Reminiscence evokes is another reason to make this connection to Glacial Movements.
The pervading themes throughout Queer Reminiscence are melancholia and frigid temperatures. One can easily find themselves imagining a winter spent in some cold and isolated region, sitting beside the hearth in a tiny log cabin. This feeling of isolation will bring on a sense of longing for the past or some idealistic yet unwritten future. The sadness of Queer Reminiscence is woven into the music. There are no blatant cues to direct one’s emotions in any certain direction nor are their any noticeable field recordings.
This hypnotic suggestion stems from the pure minimalism on Queer Reminiscence. There certainly are some active elements here, as already mentioned about the percussive sections peppered through the album. Yet, this variety of styles and instrumentation still hold a stripped down and minimal feel because of the sparing use and perfect placement of the various sounds. Unlike so many collaborative albums in the ambient realm, Queer Reminiscence makes it extremely hard to label any specific sounds to the musician responsible for the sample. There is never the moment where one thinks, “oh, this is certainly done by SiJ and not Item Caligo“. This is a testament to their individual skills and their years of experience writing music. But it is, even more so, a sign of their natural connection. They don’t seem to be fighting one another for the lead. They manage to give listeners the sense that Queer Reminiscence was created by one mind channeling its concepts into reality.
Queer Reminiscence is an album that should be pleasing to many diverse musical appetites. There is something here for the ambient fans, something for the dark ambient fans, and something else that naturally makes it accessible beyond these boundaries. Having fully focused their attention on concept over stylistic execution, SiJ and Item Caligo bring forth something beautiful and serene. It should be able to evoke a sense of longing from each listener, in their own personal way. This all leads to my suggestion that Queer Reminiscence is one of the strongest releases on Reverse Alignment since its revival. An album which could be recommended to almost anyone."
[Michael Barnett/This is Darkness]
|
2017 |
€13.00 |
|
| SKITLIV |
Amfetamin |
CD |
"...das norwegisch-schwedische Projekt Skitliv, hinter dem sich der ehemalige Mayhem-Frontmann Maniac sowie Schwedens Suizid-Export Nummer Eins, Kvarforth von Shining, verbergen. Mit Unterstützung diverser hilfreicher Kumpanen haben die beiden ihr Debut-Scheibchen "Amfetamin" realisiert und nehmen damit direkten Einfluss auf das zentrale Nervensystem eines jeden Konsumenten. Wahrhaft kranke Kost bekommt man nämlich geboten, was angesichts der beiden Bandleader nicht weiter verwundert. Black Noise, Doom oder etwas derartiges zelebrieren Maniac und Kvarforth mit Skitliv und können sich vieler Sympathien besonders aus dem Lager der Shining-Anhänger sicher sein. Zäh und klebrig zeigt sich das Songwriting, mal psychedelisch, mal geisteskrank und chaotisch. Samples und Synthesizer beherrschen die Szenerie, die nur ein Ziel verfolgen: Die Nerven der Hörerschaft zu zerfetzen und schaudernde Klangbilder von Schmerz, Verzweiflung und Tod auf deren Unterbewusstsein zu projezieren. Nach dem eigentlichen "Amfetamin"-Tonmaterial folgt noch die Aufnahme eines Londoner Live-Konzertes aus dem Jahre 2007, welche instrumental eine weniger gekünstelte und wesentlich authentischere Atmosphäre vermittelt und eine für Live-Aufnahmen erstaunlich hochwertige Tonqualität aufweist. Nur schwerlich ist die an den Tag gelegte Stilistik zu beschreiben - am besten wirft man Shining, Bethlehem und Sunn O))) in einen Topf, kocht das ganze gut auf und rührt kräftig um - fertig.
An Skitliv bedienen sollten sich demnach wirklich ausschliesslich Gemüter, die schwerstverdauliche Kost gewöhnt sind und strapazierbare Trommelfelle, Nervenstränge und Magenschleimhäute ihr Eigen nennen. Alle Anhänger satanischer Schrammelorgien und paganer Erhabenheit lassen besser die Finger von "Amfetamin" - das ist einfach die falsche Baustelle. An sich jedoch ein faszinierendes Werk, welches gewaltig zünden wird, sofern es denn auf die passenden Konsumenten stösst." [Schwermetall.ch]
"Exclusive release from the Doom / Noise project of Maniac (ex-MAYHEM), featuring Kvarforth (SHINING), and with special guest vocals by Attila (SUNN O))), MAYHEM). From Black Metal through Funeral Doom and Demonic Noise, Skitliv cover all the bases in modern extreme sonics. The CD version includes bonus tracks from Skitliv's live performance at the Camden Underworld, London, 13th December 2007, with a special intro from CURRENT 93 (David Tibet & Andrew Liles)." [label info]
"... Abusive storms of harsh noise add a quite interesting supplement to the spheres of metallic steel. A quite interesting album that shows that the mixture of metal and electronic expression can end up with a very interesting result. Thus recommended for listeners of both electronic and metal music." [NM/ Vital Weekly]
|
2008 |
€10.00 |
|
| SLAVES, THE |
Ocean on Ocean |
do-LP |
"The mystical drone-folklorist Jon Porras introduced us to the luminous sound of The Slaves, so we thought it fitting that he should expound upon their radiant shoegazing heaviness. Here speaks Mr. Porras:
"A shadow moves beneath the water. Ocean On Ocean: two abysmal surfaces echoing into one another. Mutually reflecting an endless geologic score to a post-apocalyptic litany. Planes of ambivalence obliterated by light, voices eclipsed by devotional low end, synthesized stereography spiraling from an eternal core. Hovering above the weighted disposition of Doom and below the consolation of Shoegaze, the duo transmit a burdened grace that unfolds like a radiant mammal writhing in black water. We discover an object heavy and obtuse until placed into the sea. Lines of light swell and dissipate behind hushed lyrics. Feedback and whitenoise ebb and flow, the mammal's breath hollowed, tumbling below the surface. The hum offset and displaced by water that surrounds. Holographic accord materialized by invalidated hopefulness. We are unsure and skeptical of what this optimism holds. What lies waiting at the depths carved between these two reflective surfaces? Ocean On Ocean implies a tangible province exists between these mirrored planes. A staircase built from reflective feedback, extending horizontally into bliss. A bliss that is fleeting and simultaneously petrified in the present. A paradox realized by the duo's distillations of urgent ambiance and luminescent melancholy. Conjuring environments that billow out from instrumental restraint, Ocean On Ocean is an exercise in disciplined abstraction.
Initially a cd-r, Ocean On Ocean reaches its supreme possibility today. An acoustic artifact cast into alchemical tangibility, these recordings are finally at peace on vinyl. Now the relics hidden between these Oceans can be crystallized."
The Slaves are Barbara Kinzle and Birch Cooper, who hail from Portland, Oregon and who have released other works on Digitalis and Paradigms to considerable acclaim, drawing favorable comparisons to the likes of Grouper, Slowdive, Earth, and Barn Owl. The 2LP of Ocean On Ocean is limited to 400 copies, and the recordings were mastered for vinyl by James Plotkin." [label info]
www.helenscarsdale.com
"Fuck, yeah! Here, we have the double lp reissue of the aQuarius favorite Ocean On Ocean by The Slaves, the Portland duo of Birch Cooper and Barbara Kinzle. We got the cd-r of this album back in early 2011, upon the enthusiastic request from the former aQ-staffer Jon Porras, known to some as one half of of drone-doom duo Barn Owl. The rough sound of the cd-r has been considerably improved via remastering by James Plotkin, with the vinyl cut at 45 rpm so that all the heavy / dreamy / shoegazy loveliness is even richer and more radiant. Still one of our favorite albums, made even better!
We love bands whose music-making formula appears, on the surface, simple and intuitive, yet the sounds they create are huge, engulfing and seemingly complex. Using two synthesizers and echoing vocals, The Slaves inhabit a sound that is as lush and dense as it is mysterious and minimal. Their debut album, Ocean on Ocean, is the perfect showcase of a group that can conjure up bountiful sounds within a restrained approach. Honestly, we can’t get enough of Ocean on Ocean, something about those enormous, dreamy, engulfing songscapes just leaves us wanting more. Their oozing brew of minimal pop melts and blurs with the melodic thickness of MBV's Loveless or early Slowdive, but surrenders to a contemplative mode that falls somewhere between Gregorian hymn and pagan ritual. The duo spin a radiant web of sustained vocals and heavy synth, each chord drawn out and smeared into a neon haze while indecipherable lyrics suggest longing, loss and submission to oblivion.
"Seventeen" unfolds with a slow arching chord progression that grows and dissipates like a coastal tide. Female vocals creep into the oceanic haze while fluttering noise and cosmic wash hover in obscurity. And though the rhythm-less wash may appear to be aimless improv, a close listen reveals a defined structure beneath the veil of long tones and heavy atmospherics. And yes, The Slaves are heavy. And it's not a "down-tuned guitars through a wall of amps" kind of heavy. It’s more evident in the slow movement of the songs, and the visceral effects felt by each musical gesture. The duo have perfectly crafted a searing offering of "soft doom", so gorgeous and mesmerizing we’ve had Ocean on Ocean on repeat for the past week. "Shadows" is another noteworthy track. We love the push and pull of heavy synth and whispery vocals, whirls of female voice echo into the night then dissipate into huge swells of HEAVY distorted synth. Crumbling low end amid ethereal dream chants, what else could we ask for?? One of our favorite records in recent memory and highly recommended!" [Aquarius Records]
|
2012 |
€22.50 |
|
| SLOAN, JASON |
Deluge |
CD |
If we have any StillStream fanatics here chances are you might remember this performance, which originally streamed live on the Sadayatana show back in 2011. Although then presented without title, Jason intended for this piece to capture the aftermath of our world after having suffered through a grand deluge. gterma are very happy to bring back to life again this emotional recording. Jason has also kindly composed for us a brand new epilogue which now closes the album. Comes in jewel case with 16-page booklet.
gterma021to040.blogspot.com/p/gterma039-jason-sloan-deluge.html
"Jason Sloan is a US-based new media & sound artist, electronic musician, composer whose sonic creations explores immateriality and its connection in memory, systems and the virtual world.
“Deluge” contains his performance, which was originally streamed live on Stillstream’s Sadayatana program August 2011, which intended to capture the aftermath of our world after having suffered through a grand deluge.
For the cd-release, the 60-minute dark-ambient recording though has been extended by a brand new epilogue which now closes the album.
The continuous live-set is an inner world ambient affair drifting into ethereal lands as it smoothly changes shape and reveals intrinsic motion along the way. Headphones are essential to discover the many fine details and hypnotic realm embedded in the carefully molded, overtly minimalist atmospherics, which all received the balanced, delicate and refined mastering touch of Anders Peterson.
The epilogue is a soft and warm soundscape wandering, opening up melancholic farscapes as it drifts and evolves onward.
All in all, “Deluge” makes an impressive and imaginary ambient listen. Recommended.
Website: www.jasonsloan.com" [Sonic Immersion]
"In the case of “Deluge” by Jason Sloan we’re dealing with a recording of a live performance on StillStream Radio on the 5th of August 2011. From what I read in the booklet, the broadcast was transmitted in a non-legal (let’s not beat about the bush, just pirate) way in Baltimore and the surrounding area. Guerilla ambient – I like it.
For many years, Jason Sloan has been bouncing on the edges of the ambient scene releasing several albums, most of them in his own label SloBor Media. Perhaps his contact with gterma will cause that he’ll reach this fifty or hundred people more – as for a minimalist ambient it’s quite much anyway, and the material contained on “Deluge” or rather “Live On Sadayatana – Deluge” indicates that the musician definitely deserves it.
“Blue Star” is a long, slowly developing set of drones, bathed in soft sound haze. Torn from the impression of space-time and drifting aimlessly in the night sky. Although I may be wrong with this “space” term as it has a specific American taste. In my mind’s eye I see strange lights flashing in the sky over the Arizona desert, and in the back of my head the name of Steve Roach begins to form. At the beginning and at the end (not only in this piece) there are some pieces of radio transmission somewhere in the background, which further enhances the sense of non-existence and emptiness, where past, present and future meet.
“ElevenEleven” continues this minimalist journey, where it ‘s difficult to talk about a destination. Although it seems like the music has taken a bit darker direction. As if somewhere in the distance a vortex of unknown provenance appears, absorbing everything it encounters on its way, no matter whether it is a material being or not. Oh, this music fits to my taste, oh it fits. Teetering on the verge of dark ambient but not throwing itself into the dark void, so that I should have advised Jason to send the music to Cyclic Law or Malignant.
Low drones can be found in “The Fifth World”, but at the same time there is more contrast between them and the fetching synth melodies, so I have the impression that this track has the richest sound in the whole CD. “Deluge” is somehow the closest to “The Fifth World”; it’s added to extend the album’s length, but it is not a bad track, on the contrary. It sounds a bit better than the other ones, but not different enough that the album can’t be treated as a homogeneous journey into the unknown.
As always in gterma releases, the booklet contains several atmospheric photographs, which in my opinion this time not entirely correspond to the images projected by my mind. But in fact this is a little thing that cannot affect my overall positive opinion. I would take such trips more often." [Santa Sangre]
|
2014 |
€13.00 |
|
| SONOLOGYST |
Silencers |
CD |
Eerie drones, oscillations from the ether, distorted dark matter, signals from other dimensions… The music of Sonologyst fluctuates between scientific sonic documentaries and psychedelic abstraction, illuminated by early experimentation of the 50’s and 60’s, as well as future possibilities of the electronic and electro-acoustic.
“Silencers (The Conspiracy Theory Dossiers)” is inspired by the testimonies of those who have had contact with the so-called “Silencers” or “Men in Black”. Federal agents? Aliens? International conspirators?
Sonologyst makes a documentary in music, including spy tech, declassified documents, official recordings, control techs, secreted scientific information, CIA Deep Black Programs, NASA classified tapes, Secret societies and breakaway civilization hypotheses.
Recommended for those who follow the nebulous paths of Inade, Schloss Tegal, Bad Sector, Lustmord.
Presented in a digipak with booklet.
https://coldspring.bandcamp.com/album/silencers-csr253cd |
2018 |
€13.00 |
|
| SPECIAL INTERESTS (MAG) |
No. 9 |
mag |
SPECIAL INTERESTS #9
(June 2013)
B5/84 pages
Cover Artists
Coelho / Sektor 304
Essential albums
MK9
Prurient
Recommended books:
-MK9
-J.Jerman
Interviews:
– Jaakko Vanhala
– Sektor 304
– Das Synthetische Mischgewebe
– Pogrom
– Mikkel Rorbo (Alleypisser etc)
– Foetus
Live noise feature
with Haters, Con-Dom, Keränen + artwork by Tisbor
harsh noise 2013 feature
With The Rita, Being, Tourette, Developer, Alogirl.
Massive 84 pages B5 size issue!!! Interviews: Jaakko Vanhala. Sektor 304. Das Synthetische Mischgewebe. Pogrom. Mikkel Rorbo (Alleypisser. etc..). Foetus. Cover Artists: Coelho / Sektor 304 Essential albums feature with: MK9 and Prurient. Recommended books by MK9 and J.Jerman. Live noise feature with Haters. Con-Dom. Keränen. Harsh noise 2013 feature with The Rita. Being. Tourette. Developer. Alogirl. Reviews.
|
2013 |
€10.00 |
|
| STIMULUS |
Programme Music |
10 |
Mit ihrem Debut-Vinyl begeistern STIMULUS aus England mit einer sehr ansprechenden Mixtur aus atmosphärischen Effekten und eher strukturierten & harmonischen Electronics, eingängig und trotzdem anspruchsvoll, sehr schön gemacht.. Nr. 3 in der LACTAMASE-Serie.
Part three in the lactamase series is by STIMULUS, an experimental trio from England, creating a very appealing hybrid of effectful sounds and more structured & harmonic electronics. Recommended!
“Futuristic electronica? Repetitious tonalities (croaking textures, tempered guitars, sparse, resonant bass), into a sand blasted piano denouement, introducing one to the taut, kinesthetic dynamics utilized by Stimulus. Each track is constructed around repetitious cadences upon which disparate textures twitch and spasm. The muffled, steel wool scrubbed, looped rhythmic impetus of the hypnotic "transference" is shattered as agitated streaks of fluorescent light hover and screech like flaming electronic pterodactyls. Though they utilize a love of "Nurse With Wound, '70's Italian Prog, Iron Maiden & field recordings" as inspiration, Stimulus move well beyond, exploring sonic territories uniquely their own.” [taken from label press-release]
www.blrrecords.com |
2001 |
€12.50 |
|
| TARAB |
Strata |
CD |
"Strata has been constructed from recording made in a series of vacant lots and their immediate surrounds in the north-west of Melbourne. These vacant lots are backed onto by various factories and warehouses on one side and a train line and Moonee Ponds creek (perhaps more aptly described as a concrete storm water drain) on the other. Running some 20 meters above all this is a large multi-lane highway overpass. This area has interested me for some time, the creeks and their walking paths act as a thoroughfare of sorts somewhat removed from the rest of the city. Somewhere to move through but not to stop and spend any real time. This collection of empty lots in particular has become an overlooked pocket, acting as a trap and dumping ground for rubbish or as a safe out of the way location for homeless people to live. It is a place where the industrial meets nature to create a zone which is strangely neither. It has a odd feeling of emptiness while being both sonically and physically dense with traffic noise, over grown weeds, hidden dwellings and rubbish.
As discussed in the introduction to Francesco Careri’s book Walkscapes: Walking as an Aesthetic Practice (Editorial Gustavo Gili, 2002) there is a common held view of the urban landscape as full with small pockets of emptiness (be it parks or demolition sites), as opposed to the rural landscape which is seen as empty with small areas of density. A view which holds within it much of the associated baggage regarding centres, peripheries and social marginalisation. What is thought of as empty is often simply that which is not seen or heard, the majority of people wilfully choosing to ignore. As for many others, these areas of cities hold great fascination for me, acting as a sort of hidden zone, full of the traces and debris of various past and present human activity, whether commercial, domestic or nefarious. All the while being slowly eroded by weather and reclaimed by the now unrestrained plant and animal life.
Rather than attempting to document this location I set out to construct a sound piece from the place itself through my direct interaction with it. Somehow collecting together all the existent traces I could unearth to form the work. Not only through walking, observing and recording the various areas and sounds but also by crawling and scratching around in the dirt; sifting through the piles of discarded objects; listening to the solid vibrations of the concrete pylons and traffic noise from inside the creek; by burying microphones and dragging them through the dirt and rubble. Strata attempts to respond to ideas of urban density and emptiness, and to show how these states blur and overlap each other. I have tried to highlight the small hidden details and with them create a condensed hyper-real version of my many wanderings through this area. But perhaps more simply put, Strata is the result of a process of attempting to, if only fleetingly, inhabit somewhere. To see, hear, smell and touch it." ]Eamon Sprod, September 2013]
www.unfathomless.net
"Vacant store fronts, abandoned buildings, and empty lots are increasingly harder to find in San Francisco these days. Even the former wastelands well to the east of our Mission location are filling in with all manner of development, from modern office spaces to sleek steel & glass apartments. Complaints of gentrification can hardly be made when such buildings are constructed on purportedly mitigated toxic sludge or the settled landfill of crumbled highways from the '89 earthquake. These dead zones in the urban landscape nevertheless are thriving ecosystems of feral plants and animals that can exist sprouting through broken asphalt and plumping themselves on the scraps of whatever can be pulled from nearby garbage cans. Few would pine over the loss of such spaces, and the Australian sound artist Eamon Sprod (aka Tarab) is one who would actively explore vacant lots instead of ignoring them. Over the years, Sprod has released a small catalogue of brilliant, if understated albums that reflect these dead spaces in the urban landscape, often with apocalyptic foreshadowings through his compositions. He patiently builds this work through layers of sparsely processed field recordings and found object manipulation often recorded directly in such environments - empty warehouses, military bunkers, dry sewer ducts and the like. For Strata, Sprod has documented something of a concrete island on the outskirts of Melbourne, bordered by train tracks, highways, and drainage ditches. In collecting his recordings, he would dig and claw through the broken concrete, construction refuse, bum trash, and aggregated debris, amassing a whole array of crumbled textures and noises that would also echo with the distant din of cars and trains roaring by, many miles away. What is always impressive about Sprod's albums is the incredible clarity of detail which pops into focus, as the bright frequencies of found metal debris take the shape of obsidian shards with possible diabolically mystical qualities. The compositions coalesce into churning swarms of texture that snap into expansive rumbles paralleling the desolation of Thomas Koner's polar treks, giving way to doppler-effected field recordings of trains with the grinding of brakes and the pulsing thunder of the engines. It's that rich attention to detail that warrants comparisons to Chris Watson's impeccable phonography, but the compositional approach strikes a balance between the psychological implications of Luc Ferrari and those damn-near perfect collages by Small Cruel Party. As with all of Tarab's work, this is very highly recommended! Limited to just 200 copies!" [Aquarius Records]
"Not the most active when it comes to releases by Eamon Sprod always gets around with his music, and has been releasing music on 23Five Incorporated, Naturestrip and most recently on Semper Florens (see Vital Weekly 866). Here he has a thirty-four minute piece based on a recording in a 'series of vacant lots and their surrounds which back on the Macaulay Station and Moonee Ponds Creek, North Melbourne, Australia', so train sounds are part and parcel of this. Although it's not entirely clear what he does, I'd say Tarab uses an excellent balance between pure, untreated sounds - here's where the trains drive right through your living room - and the treated versions there of, but it's never really that clear what is what indeed. Maybe Tarab stuck some contact microphones of the tracks as to pick up some far away signals, or rummages through the dirt along the tracks, which makes a very dynamic piece of music. Sometimes very loud and present but then as abruptly switching off and staying
is this low audible audio rumble of amplified gravel. Sometimes, as say around eight minutes, there is a deep end bass sound which must be something the computer coughed up, but then, I might be entirely wrong here. This is a great release of music that comes to us a soundscape and not as a pure documentation of sounds; exactly the kind of thing I like. Much enjoyable release from down under." [FdW/Vital Weekly]
|
2013 |
€14.00 |
|
| TATE, DARREN & PAUL BRADLEY |
Sometime today |
CD |
Zusammenarbeit dieser britischen Droner aus dem ICR/COLIN POTTER-Umfeld.... ein one-tracker von 39 Minuten Länge, der den Hörer in etwas verwunschene, aber gleichwohl betörende akustische Fliessmuster wirft...
“Sometime today’ is a collaboration between Darren Tate and Paul Bradley. In his own unique and intimate way, Darren recorded the basic tracks at his home in York. Including guitar, keyboard and various other techniques, these recordings were passed onto Paul who took them with him, along with a laptop, on a recent visit to Turkey. These original tracks were supplemented with various field recordings taken around the town of Fethiye and the piece assembled during this three-week visit. Voyeuristic, evocative, abstract and delicate, you are invited to spend some time in their sonic world.
Darren Tate made his name in the group Ora, a floating collective that included Colin Potter, Andrew Chalk and Jonathan Coleclough. More recently he is heard as one half of Monos with Colin Potter and on a growing collection of limited solo release CDRs on his own Fungal Records. Paul Bradley started out with his first commercial release on ICR and this friendship and partnership has continued over two collaborative CDs with Colin Potter. He has released several solo discs on his own Twenty Hertz label and recently appeared on the Monos release "Landscapes", which then led to the "Sometime Today" collaboration.” [press release]
“'Sometime today' can be filed under: late-summer-afternoon-walk-in-the-park drone. It's reminding of a hot weather summer afternoon walk with loved ones in an almost empty park, yellow leaves have falled from the trees, a pond... Inspiring atmosphere and music.... Nice, peaceful, relaxing piece, patiently changing in few phases by adding layers of sound. Ok for both close listening or as a background while reading something casually, poetry recommended.” [BR/Vital Weekly]
|
2004 |
€13.00 |
|
| TBC |
Eileithyia |
CD-R |
“ACT UP AGAINST YOUR NATURE, BE AN ARTISTIC BODY. PUT THE CONTRARIES OUT OF JOINT”. EILEITHYAIA is a crypt on the Kreta-isle, which served as place for a fertility cult. Inspired by this, TBC questions the gender-construction, and reflects on what “noise” means or could mean. Nicely illustrated and conceptualized new work, this is a pure drone-hiss / white noise / water / field recording – composition, carefully executed. As everything on ANTIINFORMATION so far, highly recommended !
“Thomas Beck is the man behind TBC and he has a long standing reputation for producing music aswell as releases on his own Wachsender Prozess label. If I understand correctly his piece 'Eileithyia' was recorded at a performance on Trojan boat - safely
assuming a replica here - and at home he worked some more on the recordings. In two more or less thirty minutes TBC offers the processed sound of water - at least that's what I think. In long washes of minimalist changes, TBC slowly transforms the water sounds into vastly droning sound clouds, especially in the second piece, which I found the best one. It's a tad bit more varied with various sounds swirling in and out.” [FdW / Vital Weekly]
Address:
|
2004 |
€9.50 |
|
| TEST DEPARTMENT / TEST DEPT. |
Disturbance |
LP |
In an ideal world, Disturbance, the new album from industrial pioneers Test Dept, would not exist. It wouldn’t need to. Britain would not stand divided by xenophobia. Working class communities would not be under siege. Capitalism would not have created a climate change crisis pushing the planet towards a dangerous brink. And the Thatcherite ideals that Graham Cunnington and Paul Jamrozy spent Test Dept’s early years raging against would not be so terrifyingly back in political vogue.
Back in1981, Cunnington, Jamrozy and a revolving door of talented artists from disparate disciplines and backgrounds formed Test Dept, forging an incendiary new sound from a squat in New Cross that made them underground heroes, landing the group under surveillance by the British government. 37 years later, on Disturbance, that sound is as incendiary as ever.
“It began with a project to do with our archive,” recalls Cunnington. It was the early 2010s and Test Dept had been dormant for years. The pair wanted to sort through Test Dept’s old recordings to “re-establish our history and get our music out there again” after record label red tape left many of their 14 albums out of print.
When attention turned to the “next logical step of a new album”, an idea emerged – taking germs of ideas from old songs and turning them into new, sledgehammer-heavy sonic experiments full of powerful protest poetry. Politics had come full circle. It felt fitting to do the same with their music.
The result is an album that at once peers into the past and roars into the future, across eight tracks that conjure the raw power of Test Dept in their original, 1980s incarnation while adding new elements. “We’re different people now – not spring chickens anymore,” laughs Jamrozy. “We’re still angry but it’s tempered by a slightly different wisdom. We tried to upgrade the sound, to soup things up further.”
“Art is not a mirror to reflect reality, but a hammer to shape it,” the poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht once wrote. It’s a mantra that continues to drive Test Dept. who return to their past on this eviscerating new album in order to move into a bold new future. They hope Disturbance can soundtrack a society doing the same.
music merch
Disturbance
by Test Dept
Wishlist
supported by
dauvit thumbnail
dauvit Test Dept. have always sounded like Test Dept. and nobody else sounds like Test Dept.
Another fantastic release.
jvvoda thumbnail
jvvoda Not a case of sentimental cash-out reunion call, quite the opposite. This record will keep you pushed to the edge of your comfort zone, and true to the title, it will leave you disturbed - in the best possible way - as a wake up call from your apathy and ignorance back to action.
mipsen thumbnail
mipsen What a great interpretation of my favorite track of the "Unacceptable Face of Freedom"! The whole album is extremely recommended! Favorite track: Gatekeeper.
R5N thumbnail
R5N Just a fucking brilliant album. 🤘Glad to see such a great return.
Bryon Wilson thumbnail
Bryon Wilson Love the album! I honestly can’t say what my favorite track is. I keep listening to the entire thing straight through. Great work.
Synthonic thumbnail
Synthonic You don`t listen to Test Dept, you feel them. If you have a heart, that is.
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more...
Landlord 00:00 / 04:41
Streaming + Download
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
£5.99 GBP or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
package image package image
Single black vinyl in gatefold sleeve with artwork designed by David Altweger
Includes unlimited streaming of Disturbance via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 3 days
£17.99 GBP or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
package image
CD in 6 panel digipack with artwork designed by David Altweger
Includes unlimited streaming of Disturbance via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 3 days
£8.99 GBP or more
1.
Speak Truth To Power 06:21
2.
Landlord 04:41
3.
Debris 04:33
4.
Full Spectrum Dominance 07:27
5.
Information Scare 04:50
6.
Gatekeeper 05:32
7.
GBH84 04:21
8.
Two Flames Burn 07:53
about
In an ideal world, Disturbance, the new album from industrial pioneers Test Dept, would not exist. It wouldn’t need to. Britain would not stand divided by xenophobia. Working class communities would not be under siege. Capitalism would not have created a climate change crisis pushing the planet towards a dangerous brink. And the Thatcherite ideals that Graham Cunnington and Paul Jamrozy spent Test Dept’s early years raging against would not be so terrifyingly back in political vogue.
Back in1981, Cunnington, Jamrozy and a revolving door of talented artists from disparate disciplines and backgrounds formed Test Dept, forging an incendiary new sound from a squat in New Cross that made them underground heroes, landing the group under surveillance by the British government. 37 years later, on Disturbance, that sound is as incendiary as ever.
“It began with a project to do with our archive,” recalls Cunnington. It was the early 2010s and Test Dept had been dormant for years. The pair wanted to sort through Test Dept’s old recordings to “re-establish our history and get our music out there again” after record label red tape left many of their 14 albums out of print.
When attention turned to the “next logical step of a new album”, an idea emerged – taking germs of ideas from old songs and turning them into new, sledgehammer-heavy sonic experiments full of powerful protest poetry. Politics had come full circle. It felt fitting to do the same with their music.
The result is an album that at once peers into the past and roars into the future, across eight tracks that conjure the raw power of Test Dept in their original, 1980s incarnation while adding new elements. “We’re different people now – not spring chickens anymore,” laughs Jamrozy. “We’re still angry but it’s tempered by a slightly different wisdom. We tried to upgrade the sound, to soup things up further.”
“Art is not a mirror to reflect reality, but a hammer to shape it,” the poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht once wrote. It’s a mantra that continues to drive Test Dept. who return to their past on this eviscerating new album in order to move into a bold new future. They hope Disturbance can soundtrack a society doing the same.
credits
released March 1, 2019
Graham Cunnington - Percussion, Electronics, Vocals
Paul Jamrozy - Percussion, Electronics, Vocals
Zel Kaute - Drums
Lottie Lou - Electronics, Live Sound
David Altweger - Visual Director
Rob Lewis - Additional Drums
Ashley Davies - Bass / Percussion
Laura Thompson - Additional Vocals on 'Gatekeeper'
Roz Corrigan - Piano on 'Debris'
Michelle Outram - Cello on 'Truth'
Jordi Blanchar & Ilenia Bombardi - Additional Vocals
Recorded:
Flesh & Bone Studios, Hackney
The Shed, Nunhead
Mixed & Produced: The Shed
Engineered: Lottie Lou
Mastered: Giovanni Versari at La Maestra Mastering, Tredozio (FC)
GBH84 Is dedicated to The Orgreave Truth & Justice Campaign
Artwork by David Altweger
Photos by Michael Kötter |
2019 |
€20.00 |
|
| TIETCHENS, ASMUS & DAVID LEE MYERS |
Flussdichte |
CD |
DAVID LEE MYERS ist auch als ARCANE DEVICE bekannt und hat v.a. Anfang der 90er unter diesem Namen hochinteressante Feedback-Musik veröffentlicht. Diese dritte Zusammenarbeit mit A.TIETCHENS nach „Speiseleitung“ (auf Raum 312) dringt in einem Mikrokosmos aus geheimnisvollen elektronischen Sounds ein, die sich schnell verändern und stets Spannung aufrechterhalten... erschienen auf einem neuen Hamburger Label.
“ The artist's work consists of creating original circuitry that forces electronic effects devices to generate their own tones and patterns, often in unpredictable ways that are hard to tame. Myers fed his music to electro-acoustic artist Asmus Tietchens (aka Hematic Sunsets) who shaped it into strange soundscapes that could belong as much to Luc Ferrari and Pierre Henry as to modern sound artists like Koji Asano or Rafael Toral. Their soundscapes often hold a dark, almost Gothic atmosphere -- the resonances of electronic cathedrals. Although process-generated (at least in its initial stage), the music never sounds like a calculated exercise. Each piece has been carefully shaped, composed. The sound palette is varied, but always remains close to vintage musique concrète. If track titles like "T29:M5/3" or "T31:M5/10" are not very talkative, the album title already states the best description possible: a dense, rich electrical flux, sculpted with art. Recommended. [Francois Couture | ALL-MUSIC GUIDE]
|
2001 |
€14.00 |
|
| TITUS TURU |
Entertainment XXL |
CD-R |
TITUS TURU ist das Experimental-Projekt des Bremer Musikers Volker Hormann, der auch als Solo-Gitarrist unterwegs ist... hier dringt hier mit massiven slow-motion Soundschwällen in fast gegenstandslose Welten ein, wobei das ganze von entrückt-dunkler, wabernder, unheilvoller Schönheit ist. Diese amorphen Klang-nebelmassen scheinen stets in halluzinogener Bewegung zu sein und verändern ihre Gestalt in jeder Sekunde. Bestimmte Klangquellen sind nicht auszumachen in diesem dark-ambience-Sumpf ! Anklänge an: YEN POX, MAEROR TRI, CLOSING THE ETERNITY, DRONAEMENT; TIP !!
Massive monumental ambience & power-drone at its best, from this Bremen-based project. Recommended !
|
2002 |
€10.00 |
|
| TONIUTTI, GIANCARLO |
Ura itam taala' momojmuj löwajamuj cooconaja |
mCD |
Faszinierende Veröffentlichung von Klang-Morphologiker GIANCARLO TONIUTTI, der auf dem Gipfel eines Berges in Italien (Monte le Zuffine) ein drei Meter hohes Kreuz fand (mit einer kleinen Glocke) - Klänge dieser Objekte und die psychogeographische atmosphärische "Aura" des Ortes dienten als Grundlage für diesen wunderbar mysteriös wummernden one-tracker, der zischelnde & leiernde Blasen wirft....
this is really CRYPTIC Ambience...
"This work could be seen as a process of sonic magnification. A couple of years ago I made a field-recording on a mountain top. It was meant to go on a project I had in mind. I needed a pure field-recording, almost silent. On this mountain I also found a small bell and decided to vaguely use it to generate a faint tonal presence. But in the end the recording was spoiled by the recorded presence of many tiny natural noises.
The project as process: Recently I took this recording back to life, and decided to mainly work with the sounds coming from the short bell performances, trying to generate the whole sound morphology from a mesostructural derived process, through analogic treatments of these acoustic fragments.
The epiphenomenal world: Somehow intended as a magnifying process of the internal structural features of the sounds from a bell and its mechanics, the work took advantage also of the fact that all these sounds were strongly embodied in the acoustic micro-activity of the natural environment. The selected sources were basically dirty, from interferences of insects and other small sounds. While magnifying and isolating the bell sounds, it was impossible (and not meant in the end) to remove these accidental environmental noises surrounding each sound particle. Thus, as they became part of the timbral quality of each single sound, they also shaped the evolutionary process of the work.
This work could be seen as a process of inflow moistening (title in Hopi language) " [label info / credits]
"No one will ever accuse Giancarlo Toniutti of releasing too much music into the world. It has literally been ten years since Toniutti has released any recordings outside of a very rare
compilation track here or there. That said, Toniutti is an undeniably intriguing sound artist, who has deeply immersed himself into obscure forms of ethnomusicology and linguistic study, all the while keeping a finely tuned ear to the habits of vangarde composition. His
earliest recordings emerged out of the Italian power electronics community of the early '80s whose most well known practitioner was
Maurizio Bianchi. Like Bianchi, Toniutti put out a handful of recordings on the seminal British noise label Broken Flag. While
bracing, complex, and adventurous in its crunched tape manipulations and sinister synthesis, Toniutti's work stood apart from the signature Broken Flag arc of transgressive noise, due to Toniutti's intellectual rigor. It was this rigor that brought Toniutti to pursue
his collaborations with Andrew Chalk and Conrad Schnitzler, and it was probably this rigor that caused the prolonged length between
recordings over the past decade.
So, the 20 minute composition that Toniutti produced for Ferns impressive series of 3" discs has been granted a Hopi Indian title based on an ancient song dealing with cunnilingus and bedbugs. I'm sure that Giancarlo has a very particular reason for placing such a text alongside this warbling set of mutated field recordings; but as of yet, it remains something of a mystery. This composition does enjoy a hermetic quality, in spite of Toniutti's explanation that he derived all of the sounds from a field recording he made in Italy involving a mountain, a 10ft tall cross, a metal pylon, and a temple bell. Out of that environment and those objects, Toniutti arrives at a record that might appear somewhat meditative at first, with its constant wash of low frequencies; but upon deeper investigations into the piece, he reveals queasy, off-kilter tonalities which gently vibrate against each other, bristling with quiet textures. His is a pretty unique sound, somewhat like the early electronic work of Xenakis with the diminutive sensibilities of early Bernhard Gunter. Highly recommended!" [Aquarius]
|
2007 |
€7.00 |
|
| TOTSTELLEN |
Mein Licht beleuchtet nur Abgruende |
CD-R |
"processed fieldrecordings of a journey through the baltic states, finland + lapland. reflections on constructed nature + disruption as utopia.
01 - anorexie im bauch eines wals (12:42)
02 - faules blut in molochs adern (19:38)
03 - keinen traum mehr zu haben (01:24)
04 - fuer die noch lenenden toten (17:32)
05 - vermehrt zu gast im laeukemiecluster (23:38)" [label info]
http://telenautik.de/grimm/totstellen
"Der Alptraum kommt in lautleisegefälligen Schritten, die baltischen Länder bieten neben der touristisch entlegenen Industrieromantik auch etwas wie ein dreckig-verschlafenes Lokalkolorit, welchem mit Mikrophon und Sampler zu Leibe gegangen werden kann. Wann beginnt der Alptraum wirklich? Dann wenn man aufwacht und feststellt, dass die Realität sich bei aller Authentizität doch beliebig verformen lässt. Totstellen hat in 5 Kompositionen seine einjährige Reise durch die baltischen Länder festgehalten, streng feldrekorderistisch, wie ein audiophiles Tagebuch welches die jeweiligen Reisemomente auf ehrlichste und naheliegendste Art zu skizzieren vermag. Mal rauschen die Bäche, dann wiederum dräunt und hallt der industrielle Alltag der Straßen und öffentlichen Plätze durch die Aufnahmen, werden Funkstimmen und Wassertropfen zu grotesken Klangmonstern, die ihre Formwandlung auf unerklärlich hässlich-faszinierende Weise exhibitionistisch zur Schau stellen. Wenngleich Totstellen’s Abgründe sich ihrer Funktion wohl nur im Gedächtnis seiner eigenen Reiseerinnerungen öffnen, atmet »Mein Licht Beleuchtet Nur Abgründe« eine ganz eigene Sprache, das verworren-gutturale Geflecht aus Erinnerung und Lücke. Die archaische Umverpackung, handgenäht und mit Siebdruck versehen, macht aus diesem Release eine besonders intime Angelegenheit. Chapeau." [Thorsten Soltau / AEMAG]
"...Totstellen uses both field recordings, but plays music, sound material creates what he encounters, like the rustle of plastic and metal buckets on ticking. In one way or another, the atmosphere is nostalgic and melancholic compositions and are true sound paintings. These beautiful CDR's packaged in a self-sewn cover with a picture book where the emptiness of the city and nature plays a central role. Highly recommended!" [JKH/Vital
Weekly]
|
2010 |
€12.00 |
|
| TREPANERINGSRITUALEN |
Algir; Eller Algir I Merkstave |
CD |
Trepaneringsritualen return to Cold Spring with an album-long ritual working entitled ᛉᛦ — Algir; eller Algir i Merkstave. On this record — constructed from a series of rituals designated to guide the last ceasing of ᛏᛇᚱᚫ ᚾ ∴ ᚾ ∴ ᚾ — T × R × P is manifest in its most obscure form. Sonically minimal yet devastating in emotional impact, this working lets the listener grasp the last vestiges of Nifl and Múspell, and with them as weapon and beacon traverse the Night. ᛉᛦ reveals a barren landscape where crooked paths lead onward, through soot black veils to a point of radiant light where all that is is Union & Dissolution.
Dedicated to our sister, ᛏᛇᚱᚫ ᚾ ∴ ᚾ ∴ ᚾ.
T × R × P channelled through the forms of ᚦᛟᚦ ᚷᛁᚷ, ᚾᛟᚺ ⩝⚭⩝, and ᛏᛇᚱᚫ ᚾ ∴ ᚾ ∴ ᚾ at the 63rd Link, 4 & Rising, and Zone Rouge December 2017 e.v. — July 2018 e.v. Mastered by Martin Bowes. Artwork by Nullvoid.
___
I tordön rister marken och i ett enda andetag rämnar alla världar. Den arma kropp som en gång med knapphet höll samman faller nu itu, och itu, och itu. Tills varje beståndsdel blir till Ingenting. Likt en vålnad utan hud och blod och anda — utan köttets förtvivlan — kastar jag mig — handlöst och av vanvett vredgad — i ditt vidunderliga gap.
Här, i gudars sotsvarta skymning, där natt och dag förgås, hörs alla ord och stäv för första gången tydligt. Här tar alla vaga förnimmelser sin sanna form och stiger ur ett disigt skimmer.
Här, i alla solars gyllne gryning, strålar tusen — åter tusen, pilar av det mest förblindande ljus, mot en enda punkt. Skapandet, och varandet, och blivandet löses upp där prisman splittrar ljuset. Framför mig syns vägen klar och uppenbar.
Vi Vandrar Vidare
V ∴ V ∴ V
CD in 6-panel digipak
LP - Limited first edition of 500 copies on 180g black vinyl. Printed inner sleeve with reverse board outer sleeve.
Official teaser: youtu.be/8bTlXaUPpzI
https://coldspring.bandcamp.com/album/algir-eller-algir-i-merkstave-csr275cd-lp
"After a run of strong albums framed around vocal driven, rhythmic death industrial compositions, Trepaneringsritualen (TxRxP) has chosen to take an abrupt left-hand turn (onto the left hand path?) to deliver an extremely minimalist ritual dark ambient album, thus harks back to an earlier phase of the project. In fact this new instrumental album is so minimal and ritualized in style, it would not at all be out of place on the Aural Hypnox label.
Compositionally this album consists of two lengthy nineteen-minute tracks, each titled with the algiz rune, but noting for the second track the algiz rune has been inverted. To glean meaning from this, in its upturned position, the algiz rune can be interpreted as a human with upraised arms to received the protection, guidance and wisdom from the Universe. But in its inverted position can be interpreted as meaning hidden dangers for the self and the need to reflect and look within as part of the process of gaining strength and connecting with higher self. Yet even with the cover image of the algiz rune formed by tree branches, based on the spartan artwork and text in Swedish, how the algiz runes should be interpreted in context of this album remains unclear.
Sonically speaking the atmosphere is one of bass driven tonal depth and catacombic echo, where blackened washes of archaic drones blend with reverb drenched ritual percussive sounds, including: deep catatonic drum hits; sparse gongs; wailing horns; ritual chimes; singing bowls, low atonal piano notes etc. Yet for all of its apparent minimalism, this album is one that immediately draws you into its sinister clutches and does not loosen its grip for the entire album duration, particularly given the ample tensile sonic elements which keep interest and engagement throughout. Although cut into two separate tracks, the sound effectively plays out at an album length track as the sound between the two pieces bridges the same pace and articulates visions in the mind’s eye of a ritual ceremony being conducted in the falling twilight on the damp forest floor, while tree limbs creak and sway in response to the winds gusting through treetops far above. Also of note is the deep shuddering thud featuring at the start and end of the album album, as if sonically representing the opening and subsequent closing of a ritual cycle.
Prior to the release of this album, perhaps I had assumed that TxRxP would continue to forge ahead with a song-based approach. That impression has been proven to be completed incorrect, but at the same time, ᛉᛦ – Algir; Eller Algir I Merkstave is an exceptional example of minimalist and strongly meditative ritual dark ambient music, and completely takes me back to the earliest days of when I started listening to this type of music. Recommended." [Noise Receptor]
|
2019 |
€13.00 |
|
| ULTRA MILKMAIDS |
AMR |
lathe-cut LP |
"the milkies are back on ant-zen, ready to do good and to excite both old and new fans alike with 'amr', where they present two continuous works of unmistakable quality. during the nearly sixteen minutes of the title track you will be carried onto a strange but not unsettling place by electronic tone floats with underlying twelve string drones. the second track 'lira & morphine' is a well-balanced post-psychedelic blend of distant cymbals, swirling synths and oscillating soundscapes interspersed with a subtle rhythmic interlude - contemporary electric music for mind and body. those who wish to get 'amr' on vinyl are heartily recommended to hurry up, due to the strict limitation of 92 copies. however of course an unlimited number of listeners will have the opportunity to acquire this album in digital format. the saga of the legendary ultra milkmaids continues...
available: 14february2k13 " [label info]
|
2013 |
€20.00 |
|
| UP-TIGHT |
The Night is yours |
CD |
"Finally out this mighty masterpiece of dark and wild psychedelia from the Japanese three-piece legends! Fuzz and reverb drenched jamming sounds from the basements of Hamamatsu evoking the always welcomed ghosts of Amon Düül and Les Rallizes Denudes.
Originally released as an instantly sold-out LP edition on Sloow Tapes in 2011, we decided to do justice and make The Night Is Yours available again, this time as a CD edition limited to 200 copies. Housed in our high quality tip-on mini-LP gatefold packaging (plus insert) featuring new sonic treatment by the mastermind Aoki Tomoyuki and expanded trippy artwork by Bart De Paepe!"
“Tokyo psych monsters Up-Tight come out of the classically wasted/drug-damaged school of excessive fuzz and reverb, giving the nod to the endless jam style of Les Rallizes Denudes while spiking their sound with dark downer ballads that owe as much to The Jacks as they do to The Velvet Underground. The Night Is Yours is the absolute apex of their catalogue to date, crossing beautiful comedown folk-psych moves with whole sides of extended scorch. Indeed, there’s a new focus on psychedelic ritual here, especially apparent on the staggering “She’s So Heavy” with choirs of disembodied monks chanting in the background while the bass – played with all of the thunderous power of Mik from Kousokuya – marches the group ever forward and vocalist Tomoyuki hovers over the track like a wraith. If you can picture Spacemen 3 circa “The Perfect Prescription” produced by Ghost circa “Temple Stone” then you’re close to the outrageous levels of psychedelic excess captured here. Tomoyuki’s guitar tone has to be heard to be believed, with tactile garage punk crunch put to the service of endlessly euphoric orbits of three droning chords. Up-Tight have been responsible for a buncha the most memorable releases to come out of the post-PSF underground but this has to be their recorded pinnacle, the perfect balance of two chord Velvet downers and strung-out post-Rallizes string violence. One of our records of the year so far! Highly recommended!” (Volcanic Tongue)
www.essence-music.com
|
2014 |
€15.50 |
|
| V.A. (VARIOUS ARTISTS) (COMPILATIONS) |
Ein Prosit zur letzten Tide |
do-CDR |
Eine Compilation des Hamburger HÖRBAR e.V. – als Soundquelle für alle Beiträge dienten Unterwasseraufnahmen, die auf der jährlichen HÖRBAR-Barkassenfahrt im Juni 2003 gemacht wurden, sowie Aufnahmen vom leeren Kinosaal des B-MOVIE’s (wo die Konzerte stattfinden) für das HAFLER TRIO – Konzert kurze Zeit später..... ein guter Überblick über die alte und neue Hamburger Experientalszene !
Nice Compilation from members of the Hamburg-based HOERBAR–association, who organize experimental concerts in the B-MOVIE in Hamburg. This compilation gives an ovierview about the old and new Hamburg-scene, with exclusive material by the long active ASMUS TIETCHENS, JETZMANN, Y-TON-G, TBC, XYRAMAT, EBINGER, ELEKTRONENGEHIRN, WILLI W., but also newer promising acts like [-HYPH-], GRADIENT COMMUNICATION, EVAPORI, AUDIBLE PAIN, FÜR DIESEN ABEND, TOTSTELLEN, SONATA REC., and some more.... the only track here from “abroad” comes from MURMER (we think).
All material is based on underwater-recordings made by ASMUS TIETCHENS during the yearly riverboat-trip by the HOERBAR-members & friends on the ELBE, from June 2003, AND recordings from the empty concert-hall for the HAFLER TRIO concert (which happened a little later). The whole project was organized and put together by WILLI W. Very much recommended !!
|
2004 |
€12.00 |
|
|
Evolved As One - a Collection of emotional Ambient Drones |
CD |
Ein neues Label aus Utrecht, NL, wartet gleich mit einer hochkarätigen ambient-drone Compilation auf. Sehnsuchtsvollste Sphären wieder von URE THRALL, transzendentale DeepDrone-Kaskaden von MOLJEBKA PVLSE, DUAL taucht in micro-detail-Flächen ein, ULTRASOUND umschwirren zart die Sinne, STEPHEN MEIXNER (ex CONTRASTATE) fängt den Hörer in eine traumhaft-weiche Atmosphäre ein, CATS OF TEL AVIV (Solo-Projekt von Rober Ovetz/ ULTRASOUND) betört mit ganz minimalen Hauch-Vibrationen, und TROUM betrauern das nicht zu ändernde Schicksal.
Wir meinen: Eine Top-Compilation wie aus einem Guss ohne Schwachpunkte, Pflicht für Freunde dronig-erhabener Klänge !
Pure yearning of the spheres ! This one’s made to break your heart! A new Label from Utrecht, NL, with their first release – a highly recommended ambient-drone compilation, we think one of the best that has ever been done in this genre !!
“A new label from The Netherlands: hurray! Evolved from a series of concerts held in Utrecht, their main man nows has his own label and as a start he released a CD with nine tracks by his favourite seven artists. Like with the evenings, Evolved As One focusses on ambient and drone related music. They seek drone music in various directions: sad, introvert or melancholic. On this CD we find some very deep drony music by some of the more well-known players in the field. Dual, Ultrasound and Troum all have releases out that gained quite some recognition. Runner up are SRMeixner (the solo project of Stephen Meixner, formerly of Contrastate), Ure Thrall (whose 'Breathing' here is on the edge of kitsch, I must admit), Cats Of Tel Aviv (solo project of Rob Ovetz of Ultrasound) and Moljebka Pvlse. These seven groups play their usual standard - high standard, I must say - of organic, densely layered music, but the standout is Troum's 'Ananke', with accordion playing and a highly reverbed and slowed down sea man choir. A true melancholic song - a song that it is, rather then a landscape. It's the shortest song, but quite a surprise. The converted to the genre will surely like this, as much as I do (because I am already converted) and the uniniated will have a splendid introduction to the genre.” [FdW, Vital Weekly]
www.evolvedasone.com
|
2003 |
€13.00 |
|
|
Beyond ignorance and borders. An African, Middle-Eastern, Asian noise and electronic compilation |
CD |
Äusserst bemerkenswerte Veröffentlichung des belgischen Kosmopoliten C-DRIK (Ambre, Ammo, etc.), eine Experimental-Compilation mit Acts aus Ländern mit denen man wirklich nicht rechnet! Breites Spektrum von Ambient bis Noise, Analog bis Digital, alles frisch & unverbraucht & meist mit grosser Energie versehen, die vielen Namen sind nahezu alle unbekannt, es gibt hier (aus der SOUND Perspektive) viele neue Welten & Musiken zu entdecken!!
"Throughout the last twenty years or so various noise compilations with focus on the different cultures around the Globe have been released; from the "Japanese/American Noise Treaty" (Relapse/Release) across "Sound Of Sadism : An International Power Electronics Compilation" (Crowd Control Activities) to the "Extreme Music From…."-series with editions focusing on Africa, Russia, Japan and Women (Susan Lawly Label). Now Belgium label Syrphe Records has brought us a new compilation of noise music. Titled "Beyond ignorance and borders" the compilation presents us for artists of nationalities from the Eastern world. The contributions do not come from Japan, the kingdom of Noise, but from other countries that are relatively unknown regarding noise music. And this is what makes this compilation very interesting. Twenty tracks from countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Lebanon, South Korea (just to name a few), the styles ranges from extreme noise to breakcore and field recording. What makes this album interesting is that the origin of many of the artists represented on the compilation seems to saturate the expressional style on the contributions. Highlights on the compilation is the weird technoid track "629" by Skorfuse (Philippines), harsh noise tracks such as "Useless summer" by Yan Jun (China) and the ultra-aggressive "Ithrane n ithige" from Algerian artist Nepa Ios. Also the ear-shattering closer "The night as it was raining (aka 26 aunigrai)" from Goh Lee Kwang (Malaysia) is remarkable. This is certainly a great compilation, worth investing whether you are noise-head or simply an adventurous listener of the more extreme kind. Highly recommended!" [NM / Vital Weekly]
label: www.syrphe.com
|
2007 |
€12.00 |
|
|
 DRONE-MIND // MIND-DRONE Vol. 1 : HALO MANASH, UBEBOET, JARL, B*TONG (SOLD OUT) |
LP |
The NEW LP-series from Drone Records, dedicated to the Drones of the World, and the Drones of our Minds. A kind of continuation of the Drone 7"-series on a more user-friendly format. Each LP features four artists from the international drone-scene and is limited to 500 copies, pressed on four different vinyl-colours. Volume 1: UBEBOET (Spain), HALO MANASH (Finland), B°TONG (Suisse), JARL (Sweden). Stunning artwork paintings by British artist PETE GREENING, design by NINA KERNICKE (ALL SIDES).
Vinyl-colours each 125x : SOLID WHITE // GREEN // GOLD // SOLID ORANGE MIXED WITH BLACK.
Having celebrated the vinyl back in 1993 when the 7" series started, we still think its the best & most beautiful format to present music!
Don't miss the beginning of the second wave of DRONES on our label !!
FULL INFO:
The NEW LP-series from Drone Records is dedicated to the Drones of the World, and the Drones of our Minds. A kind of continuation of the Drone 7"-series but on a more user-friendly format. Each LP features four artists from the international drone-scene and is limited to 500 copies and pressed on four different vinyl-colours. Each LP artwork will feature paintings by British painter PETE GREENING. This series shows the various sides of todays experimental drone-music. The title symbolizes the interaction between sound of the Eternal and our psyche and raises questions: Can Drones (or sound per se) be regarded as "intelligent"? Does every mind produce a Drone? Isn't it possible that any organic or non-organic entity produces a Drone? Drone Music is seen as more than a mere 'music style', it expresses an approach to perceive & understand the world. DRONE-MIND and MIND-DRONE build a circle of diverse inter-relations. The Drone as a metaphor for everything that vibrates, that releases energy - from atoms and elementary particles to the hum of the earth and the universe.
The Drone as an entity that connects everthing that exists within our own "mind-space", perception and self.
Four "Drones" on one record! The first Volume (MIND-01) ist OUT NOW ! (December 2011) and features:
VOLUME 1: UBEBOET / HALO MANASH JARL / B°TONG
UBEBOET from Spain starts off the new series with two fantastic "transcension drone" pieces derived from choral / voice-material - highly emotional, contemplative and sublime.
HALO MANASH is the main project from the AURAL HYPNOX-family based in Oulu, northern Finland, known for powerful shamanistic / ethnic otherworldly drones. "Walkeus" comprises two pieces of dense ritualistic sounds based purely on ethnic instruments and voices without using any electronics, recorded on analogue reel-to-reel tape.
JARL (the drone side / solo-project of the Swedish Industrial duo IRM) is known for "pure sounding" overwhelming, at times noisy hypno-drones. The long track "Zero in Scream" uses zither-sounds in an innovative way.
B*TONG from Switzerland creates highly experimental pieces that seem to use all kinds of concrete sound-sources, leading into surrealistic drone-based journeys, always challenging and forming a very own musical dimension
= four projects that differ considerably from each other, but united through the idea of the power of the Drone.
~ ~ The drones of their minds "materialized" ~ ~ The "intelligence" of drones materialized ~ ~
"Compiled by the tireless sound archeologist (and Drone Records founder) Stefan Knappe, “Drone-Mind/Mind-Drone Vol.1” can be seen as a well-deserved masterpiece in a career that may open a new chapter in the history and archiving of the drone. This ancient foundation of music, myth, and rituals both sacred and profane is alive and well in a new generation of artists. Those chosen for this first volume have contributed mesmerizing and deeply memorable drones that ought to make this an instant classic of its kind." [Mike Wood/Foxy Digitalis]
“El Rey ha muerto. ¡Larga vida al Rey!”
It took Stefan Knappe 18 years to fill the roster of one hundred 7″ releases on Drone Records. Since the first 7″ by his own Maeror Tri (which was actually predated by a cassette release in 1991, also by Maeror Tri), Drone Records has been a home for artists to release their sounds on the sacred vinyl as well as get a chance to deliver their own artwork.
To reminisce: the simple artwork yet immensly thick drones by Yen Pox (DR-15), the “Fuck, how am I gonna send out 250 metal plates”-release by [multer] (DR-51), and the fragile boxed edition by Xabec (DR-92). Very well known as well as completely unknown artists, who either made it or didn’t; they are a part of Drone’s 18-year history of vinyl releases.
But times, they are a-changing. It is time for something new, and the chosen format is vinyl, LP, and four artists per release to promote their sounds and become part of the family. On this first release in the new series, pressed in solid white, green, gold and black / orange mixed vinyl, we get acquainted with new works by four artists from different scenes: Ubeboet, Halo Manash, Jarl and B°Tong.
And no, for a change, your humble reviewer will not go in depth into all the tracks and describe them for you. Because if you made it this far already, you know you want this album, and you are going to buy it. What makes this release a definite must-have is the same reason why you visit festivals with sounds, music and sound art. Even if you don’t know all this artists or there is a track you maybe don’t like at the beginning, it fits the release as a whole. Exploration of artistic depths and differences, very well combined by ‘His Masters Drone’, Stefan Knappe.
Four days before the year 2011 is over, this release solidly puts itself in the annual Top Three. Without any doubt!" [Bauke van der Wal / Connexion Bizarre]
"The LP is a fascinating showcase for four different drone and ambient artists, and that is perhaps the essence of everything ever done by Drone Records. Although I have a personal preference for the A-side here, there is much to love, and subtle variation in the presentation of these four artists. A glorious debut on coloured vinyl for this new series, and a highly recommended release for all droners out there. Here’s to the future!" [Oscar Strik, Evening of Light]
|
2011 |
€15.00 |
|
|
From Earth to Sirius |
do-CD |
"With Ah Cama-Sotz, Apocalyptic Visions, Atomine Elektrine, Christblood, Different State, Electric Uranus, Emme Ya, Expo '70,Hybryds, Kallee, Kia Karma, Nordvargr, Ouroboros, Phelios, Rapoon, S.E.T.I, Therion Trismegistos, Unknown Caller, X-naVI:et, Zenial (space ambient mantras).
A compilation dedicated to the canine star. 20 artists, 130 minutes-well-known masters of the post-industrial music and also a few newcomers. Highly recommended!!!" [label info]
www.zoharum.com
|
2011 |
€15.00 |
|
|
Departure of Melancholy |
CD |
"Sound poetry with CM Lundberg, Marja-leena Sillanp, Peter Cederblom, Helena Boberg, Pr Thörn, Eva Kristina Olsson, Petra Axelsson, Nanok, Arijana Kajfes, Giuliano Killgren Medici, Tectonic Ox, Jakob Anckarsvrd, Johan Andrén, Ulrika Gomm, Iris Smeds, Johannes Flink. Recommended." [label info]
www.fireworkeditionrecords.com
|
2008 |
€12.00 |
|
| |
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
luzparÃs/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 |
|
| V.O.S. (VEIL OF SECRECY) |
Deadtech |
CD-R |
The YEN POX–Sideproject of STEVE HALL, with live-recordings made in Chicago March 2001 at the DEADTECH-Galery. Great haunting dark drones and abrasive sounds in between, made with distorted e-bow-bass and tapes. Beautiful apocalyptic ambient industrial with interwoven harmonic fields at its best ! Excellent recording-quality, only 50 copies made, in DVD-slipcase. RECOMMENDED ! |
2004 |
€11.00 |
|
| VAN VELDHOVEN, WOUTER |
Four simple Songs for five dead Bumblebees |
CD |
Debut-Album für den Niederländer WOUTER VAN VELDHOVEN, der elektronisch verfremdete Drones und "kleine" Instrumenten-Klänge sowie Holzknirschen & weitere leise Objektsounds zu sehr intimen, warmen, minimalen Tracks verwebt.. kommt im handgemachten Stoffcover, auf neuem Label aus Utrecht !
"The debut full length of dutch sound artist Wouter van Veldhoven is also the first release on the eat this media label.
Wouter is becomming a well known name in the dutch experimental music scene with his reel to reel tape recorders. Seeing his live perfomance is believing; handcrafted analogue ambient. With this record he convinces the homelistener of his qualities too.
The first track opens with sounds of a wooden floor. Sounds are added, melodies float by, get recorded and degenerate. And then you wake up, realising the music has stopped and you're listening to silence, the silence of your room."
[label info]
"After appearing alongside Machinefabriek and Soccer Committee on previous releases, Wouter Van Veldhoven has at last put together an official (i.e. non-CD-r) debut solo album. Don't be misled by its excessively humble title: this album is anything but simple. While the melodic content and the range of sounds Van Veldhoven draws upon are highly accessible, production wise there's an awful lot going on here. Although the artist's combination of drone tones, static signals, field recordings and ramshackle instrumentation is certainly nothing new to the world of ambient electronics, Wouter still manages to make something fresh, and moreover, emotionally resonant. Everything is balanced, EQed and filtered to perfection, meaning these forty minutes are deeply absorbing, but beyond that there's a plainly evident musicality to all this that tends to be absent from a lot of the more academically-geared music in the genre. A real joy to listen to, and decked out in landed gentry-style tweed packaging, Four Simple Songs For Five Dead Bumblebees must be this week's best dressed, and most quietly beautiful release. Highly recommended." [Boomkat]
www.eatthismedia.org
|
2008 |
€10.00 |
|
| VANCE ORCHESTRA |
Vance plays Vance |
CD-R |
Nur konsequent: Die Meister im recyclen obskurer Sounds recyclen sich selbst! Very consequent: the dutch masters of obscure-sound- recycling recycle themselves! Two long beautiful half hour tracks filled with lots of strange loops, concrete field recordings, ambiences.. like BIG CITY ORCHESTRA, they explore the small area between beauty, weirdness and hypnotism. Comes in handmade and sprayed woodpackages with glitter-effect, and fullcolour silkscreened poster-insert !! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! |
2003 |
€15.00 |
|
| VELEZ, DAVID |
El Pajaro que Escucha |
CD-R |
" "El Pájaro que Escucha is a beautifully crafted publication that brings together field recordings made in the Palomino region of Columbia in January 2012. The piece is alive with the sounds of wildlife, completely immersing the listener in a sonic landscape that has depth, variation and a subtle radiance that is a joy to experience.
At times we are also reminded of the invasive presence of human beings, with the drone of a light aircraft pervading the natural atmosphere. Velez demonstrates an acute awareness of the beauty found in the natural world, focusing primarily on the sounds of animals that call the rainforest home. El Pájaro que Escucha does not rush the listener, but rather encourages patience and an appreciation for the natural sounds of our planet. This is a stunning release of the highest calibre and comes highly recommended."
— Cheryl Tipp
"This work that David Vélez presents us …is a sense that David Vélez finds as exteriority, in the jungle of Palomino…what we listen are not birds singing, or the crickets squealing, or the leaves moving; it’s David who plays his tune through the birds and the crickets from the Palomino territory; he manages for the referred songbird to become an act of listen…
… David shares with us is a sensible experience, which consists in transform sound making into sound listening; and it is through the possibility of the recording that this experience is modulated to be accessible for us. Is through this mediation that the author makes audible something in the exterior, approaching the natural element to what is being heard by the human.
The act of listening is therefore, a transference of sense through the sonority of the environment, and in this case also a way to experience an environment by recording, ordering, modulating and presenting it in this way that David Vélez considered as the most appropriated.
“El pájaro que escucha” is a cultural approximation to the natural. There is no birdsongs without hearing and no acoustic experience without sensible language."
— Trixi Alina " [label info]
www.3leaves-label.com
|
2012 |
€10.00 |
|
| VIBRACATHEDRAL ORCHESTRA |
Joka Baya |
LP |
"The ever-mysterious Vibracathedral Orchestra returns from another relatively quiet period with an uncompromising set of outre jams on a trio of limited-edition LPs. Slightly reorganized around a line-up of stalwarts Mick Flower and Adam Davenport with frequent collaborators John Godbert (Total) and John Moloney (Sunburned Hand of the Man), the band here stretches way, way out over these six sides. Joka Baya offers up a set of shorter pieces on the A-side in a high-fidelity style that contrasts the dark, smoky sound of the rest of the tracks. The percussive grooves are overlaid with Sunroof!-like shimmer, stabbing electric leads, gentle acoustic rain, and droning organ peeking through at opportune moments. The roaring side-long epic on the flip is a droning, phasing slice of psychedelia with Moloney's drums battering the tape in between long stretches of humming stasis." [label info]
www.vhfrecords.com
" It's been a while since we've heard from UK ur-drone spacelords
Vibracathedral Orchestra, founder Neil Campbell took off on his own a
while back, and now kicks up a ruckus as Astral Social Club, but the
Orchestra is still going strong, fronted by long time members Mick
Flower and Adam Davenport, who for this new set of THREE (!!) full
length releases, is joined by John Moloney of Sunburned Hand Of The
Man and the mighty John Godbert of the legendary Total.
Each of the three, Joka Baya, The Secret Base and Smoke Song,
function on their own as fully formed proper albums, but the three
also seem to fit together into one expansive whole, a sweeping
sprawling songsuite, that seems to drift from one lp to the next, and
in fact, although we didn't try it, we imagine you could probably play
these records simultaneously in various combinations and the results
would be even trippier.
Needless to say, most folks will most likely want all three,
but no harm done in starting with one, and then grabbing the others
later, unless they sell out that is, which seems very likely
considering that these are quite limited.
Up first is Joka Baya (in the black cover) beginning with a bit
of African drumming, which gives way to some gorgeously glimmering and
glistening prismatic dronemusic, swirling effects, all dreamlike and
bleary eyed, with what sounds like birdsong mixed into the chiming
notes and extended tones. The record shifts gears after that into
something much heavier and more blown out, a full on psychedelic post
Hawkwind spacejam, a heavy krautrock rhythm beneath a flurry of
tangled psych guitars. The African drums return briefly before the
band lock into a throbbing processed minimal looped dronescape, murky
and washed out, dark and hypnotic.
The flipside is a single side long epic, a slow burning cloud
of processed guitars, cymbal shimmer, glitched out FX, building to a
pounding psychedelic crescendo before slipping into a propulsive muted
buzzdrone raga outro.
The second lp is called The Secret Base (in the white and red
cover) and begins immediately with a total Spacemen 3 / Loop styled
drug rock jam, repetitive, mesmerizing, super hypnotic, the guitars
smoldering and incendiary. The next track is an Eastern tinged
spacekraut groove, strangely Southern sounding as well, a bit twang
flecked, a little dubby even, melodic, and major key and surprisingly
playful. Like the first record, The Secret Base also fills its second
side with a single extended track, this time, it's all clattery and
ritualistic and tribal, shakers, bells, hand drums, moaned and chanted
vocals, very reminiscent of Avarus, NNCK, Sunburned Hand, eventually
the sound locks into a skeletal groove, hypnotic and propulsive, but
still abstract and way loose.
Finally, the third art in the trilogy, Smoke Song (in the
Orange cover), which begins with a sprawling bit of Clattery, twangy
tribal free drift, fluttery flutes, lots of percussion, a sort of wild
and wooly drum circle, laced with woodwinds and swirling effects,
before slipping into a muted spacey jam, all subtle drumming, wheezing
chords, little bits of guitar jangle, warm whirring keyboards, druggy,
psychedelic, and just a bit Doors-y (or Wooden Shjips-y, for a more
contemporary reference).
Smoke Song too offers up a side long closer, this one ending
the whole trilogy, and it's a doozy, full on droned out drug rock,
cyclical, mesmerizing, sitar-like buzz wrapped around a simple, but
pounding motorik beat, while all around it a swirling cloud of hiss
and buzz and shimmer.
Needless to say, all three are recommended, and again, not sure
how limited these are, or how long they'll be around..." [Aquarius Records]
|
2009 |
€16.00 |
|
| VROMB |
Chorégraphie. Electro-Bruits et Tonalites Low-Fi |
CD |
"for more than twenty years the canadian project vromb a.k.a. hugo girard has masterly transformed a plethora of different inspirations into sound, resulting in a multitude of releases based on many topics. for the realization of his recent opus, girard drastically changed his approach: instead of choosing an exterior subject he wanted to transcribe the tones and voices generated in his own mind, keep hold of them and etch them onto record, and thus he is the choreographer of imaginary sounds which become physical musical entities.
'chorégraphie' demonstrates vromb's incredible skills at handling his' analog electronic equipment, which means in large part the sound manipulations are created by directly using the machines with only a little part of computer assisted sequencing, audio montages and overdubs. subliminal trance-inducing beats, mighty pulsating sub basses and repetitive sequencer textures enriched with surrealistic ambient dronescapes and hugo girard's recognizable voice generate a steady but everchanging semi-ritualistic flow which was, is, and will be associated uniquely with the sonic world of vromb.
a wonderfully composed album which allegorizes the disposal of the sounds created by an artist's inner self, and at the same time an essential listening for those with a different view. highly recommended." [label info]
www.ant-zen.com
|
2015 |
€13.00 |
|
| WALDRON, M.S./ STEVEN STAPLETON / S.B. SIGMARSSON / JIM HAYNES / R.K.FAULHABER |
The Sleeping Moustache |
CD |
Akustischer Surrealismus in Reinform auf dieser aufwendige Ketten-Collaboration, Drones und Collagiertes zu gleichen Teilen, Sprachexperimente, Geräuschaftes, Weirdes, abenteuerlich und schön!
Anhören und staunen !
„... Im fünfmaligen Wechsel von gut 10-minütigen mit 2- bis 3-minütigen Tracks jonglieren die Fünf mit den elektronischen Schatten von Nähmaschinen und Regenschirmen, wuchten nackte Eselskadaver auf Konzertflügel, klingen nach der Nachtschwester und lassen sich das Schamhaar neu friesieren [...].. Auch wenn sie das Pissoir nicht neu erfindet, ist sie doch Frucht einer langen Erfahrung aquis submersus.“ [Bad Alchemy #51]
“....Each with a peculiar understanding of the audio arts, these five artists came to the proverbial table and thought it a good idea to collaborate. Given the predilection for the surreal and the sidereal that each of these five employ in their many audio and visual projects, those agendas oozed from the recordings that became known as The Sleeping Moustache.
An epiphany of controlled disorder, a convulsion of beauty, a cascade of thought from delirious minds, The Sleeping Moustache is an exquisite manifestation of sound poetry scattered into a tortuous collage mired in an oblique melancholy. Magnetic tones extracted from the ether, mechanical sounds smeared into a lugubrious growls, horns trumpeting straight out of John's Book of Revelation, ululations sliced into information overload that Schwitters himself would be proud of. The Sleeping Moustache presents a psychically instable landscape, where dreams and nightmares wreak havoc upon the drudgery of daily life. The closest audible territory for The Sleeping Moustache might be the psychoactive constructions of Nurse With Wound's Homotopy To Marie, although the characters in this drama happened upon an entirely different map of that terrain.
The artwork for the first edition of The Sleeping Moustache features five letterpress prints from each of the artists with an edition of 1700.” [from the label description]
"You know it's gotta be an amazing record when we start a review by stating "we don't know where to begin with this record" and then we blather on and on for another 500 words pretty much demonstrating that while we may not where to begin, we certainly have a lot to say. And that totally applies to The Sleeping Moustache, the latest release from the enigmatic Helen Scarsdale Agency. The most well known of these five audio contortionists is Steven Stapleton who is the brains behind Nurse With Wound, who convolutedly reconstitute Surrealism, avant-garde aesthetics, and krautrock expressivity, resulting in some of the most profoundly brilliant and disturbing records we've ever heard. Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson is one of the drunken pilots of Stilluppsteypa, an Icelandic project of electro-absurdity capable of magnificent minimalism. M.S. Waldron is responsible for irr. app. (ext.), (an unwieldy moniker for sure) which has produced an amazing body of post-Surrealist expressivity in recent years. When he's not manning the fron counter here at Aquarius, Jim Haynes has developed a peculiar knack for rust-inflected dronescaping, and finally R.K. Faulhaber, who is the mystery man amongst the bunch, although we've been told his unpublished works offer a byzantine array of mutilated sonic collages. The album that these five produced is a weighty proposition to say the least, with detours a plenty within this mangled concoction of delirious dronescaping punctuated with glossalaic vocalizations. Delicate plinks and plonks sprinkled across sublime, gaping tones which transition to a convulsive beauty with mechanical spasms and nightmarish creakings. Throughout The Sleeping Moustache, ghostly reminders of each of the contributors' refined aesthetics emerge as a Gordon knot of convoluted logic, unsettling shifts between horror and comedy, psychological instability, and disquieting soundscapes. If you're even remotely a fan of Nurse With Wound or irr. app. (ext.) or Stilluppsteypa, this album is not just recommended... it's absolutely required." [Aquarius Records] |
2006 |
€14.00 |
|
| WAPPENHALTER, EDGAR |
On the Beach |
LP |
"About Edgar Wappenhalter: Wellknown facts: Edgar Wappenhalter is Steve Marreyt, co-founder of belgian psych-rockers Sylvester Anfang, and the Funeral Folk label, and is currently working for the Kraak-label. After leaving Sylvester Anfang II last year, Steve focussed on a string of tape-releases as Edgar Wappenhalter, his psychedelic fuzzed out dronefolk act, released on labels as divers as Goaty Tapes, Cabin Floor Esoterica and Young Girls Records. On The Beach is Wappenhalter's vinyl debut. Lesser known facts: Steve debuted ten years ago on Morc, with a comp-track of his band Elo vs Saturn, and did a few EPs as John Merrick Band on Morc as well. Although Wappenhalter creates a psychedelic sound world, he uses a very straight-ahead approach. About On The Beach: Whereas Edgar Wappenhalter's earlier tapereleases focussed on either his reverb-drenched folksongs, or his ecstatic tapeloop-experiments, On The Beach brings a perfect symbiosis of these two sides of mr Marreyt.. So you can expect plenty of songs that blend shoegaze and psychfolk, or that sound like a beachparty heard from so far away that you can't tell what the DJ is playing, only that it sounds familiar and that you like it. The LP is pressed in an edition of approx. 180 copies. The jackets were silkscreened by Levi Seeldraeyers of Smeraldina-Rima. Press quotes: Music for the missing link (Digitalis Industries). A blast of righteous lo-fi psychedelic-folk, beautifully crisp around the edges and soft n squishy in the centre (Kid Shirt). Recommended if you like drone, folk, experimental singer-songwriting, ecstatic psychpop, Ariel Pink, Drekka, Fabulous Diamonds, Urdog, The Doozer." [label info]
www.morctapes.com
|
2010 |
€17.00 |
|
| WATERCOLOURED WELL |
Arsonist's Rebirthday Audition |
CD |
"This is debut album of the german band consisting of various artists who are involved into the experimental music scene since 80s, each one is quite well known through own activity, but for this album, they gathered altogether for the first time. Seven improvised tracks are recorded in the best way of post-industrial jam sessions of the past.
Release date is 10th June 2012. Limited edition of 500 copies in jewelcase."
www.monochromevision.ru
"The album "Arsonists Rebirthday Audition" Water Coloured Well is of one different order. Originally from Germany, but with another musical intent. Seven musicians and a visual artist came together in the Walpodenakademie in Mainz and went together to work without rules and without purpose. The result are seven improvisations and some drawings.Also here the musicians do not play over the top and are inspired by the multitude of angles and sound capabilities and achieve a surreal atmosphere. The drawings of Barbara Rössler are dynamically and related to the underwater life and not earthly. The music has the same intension. Not of this earth, but somewhere far away, where people are free to make music as they want. Two beautiful releases, highly recommended." [JKH/Vital Weekly] |
2012 |
€12.00 |
|
| WISHART, TREVOR |
The secret Resonance of Things |
CD + BOOKLET |
A new release from Trevor Wishart, based variously on data from Supernova explosions, Chaotic and Turbulent processes and Physical Models of Imaginary musical instruments. Like his 'Encounters in the Republic of Heaven' (with which it shares the format of a booklet containing a CD) this was originally an 8 channel sound-surround performance piece an the CD contains a stereo remix. The booklet explains the scientific data underlying the project. It is very detailed and acedemic, but the music itself is amongst some of his finest, ranging from intense, almost old-school contemporary electronic/musique concrete to percussive interludes to wild simulated impossible brass instruments. Highly recommended
|
2017 |
€23.00 |
|
| WOLFRAM |
Atol Drones |
CD-R |
WOLFRAM aka Dominik Kowalczyk ist schon seit längerer Zeit mit seinem Label POLYCEPHAL in der polnischen Experimentalszene aktiv. Mit WOLFRAM wagt er sich hier in submarine Drone-Welten, sehr kontemplative und elegante Drone-Flächen & Pulsationen. Excellent submarine drones and pulsations from this polish project.
Recommended !!
|
2002 |
€10.00 |
|
| WOLLSCHEID, ACHIM |
60xX |
CD |
Soundmäßig wohl das zugänglichste Material, das der Frankfurter Konzeptkünstler bisher produziert hat. Digital verwobene found sound-Wellen, v.a. Streicher, vermischen sich mit Störgeräuschen in endlosen, ratternden Kaskaden.. immer in Bewegung und Veränderung. Sehr vital und geräuschhaft schön ! Als Soundquelle dienten seine eigenen Radiosendungen..
„ While the common modes of broadcasting, distributing and listening to sound seem to be changing rapidly it may make sense to tune into that process and give way to a flexible organisation of sonic structures - 60 x X bases on my monthly broadcast on Radio X, Frankfurt a.M. (www.radioX.de) I use all available players at the radiostation to play different records, CDs and cassettes from my archive at the same time. The resulting layered stream of sound is re-structured and re-composed by a real-time computer-program. Composition thus becomes a method to select, transform and develop sonic presence on the brink or randomness. This ritornell CD is a re-structured version of recordings from such
broadcasts. The first 60 min of 60 x X was broadcast on resonance fm, London in 2002. (www.resonancefm.com). This ritornell CD (post-produced at FTF Studio, Frankfurt a.M.) is the
second edited version - evenly underlaid by a grid of indexes that separates the sonic stream into 60 pieces. - (both shuffle mode and sequential play are recommended). Artwork by Charly Steiger.” [press release]
|
2003 |
€13.50 |
|
| WRIGHT, PETER |
Red Lion |
CD |
Londoner Aufnahmen von 2004: field recordings von verschiedenen Plätzen Londons (Red Lion Square, Tate Modern, etc.), feedbackin’ hyper-effektierte Drone-Guitars, merkwürdige Obertonräume entstehen, Daydream-Akustikgitarren verschmelzen mit Environmentals, sowas wie Helikopter-Vibrationen(?), einzelne metallische Töne ziehen Resonanzen wie Schweife hinter sich her, himmlische Vibratos, die in der Luft schweben & zu schimmern scheinen, sirrend-fräsende Klangwolken mit Siren-Effekt...
Wie fast kein Zweiter ruft PETER WRIGHT aus seinen Gitarren manchmal fast aberwitzig zu nennende Obertonresonanzenschwälle hervor, schafft sirrend-schwirrenden Singsang par excellence, der nie in langweiligen tumben Noise oder Drone abgleitet, sondern immer in fein- ästhetischer Balance bleiben....
RED LION ist ein poetisch-verträumtes Werk mit vielen Facetten und sei hiermit allen die PETER WRIGHT noch nicht kennen ans Herz gelegt. 9 tracks, ca. 55 min.
“You can remove a Kiwi from New Zealand but you sure as hell can't remove New Zealand from a Kiwi. Such is the case with Christchurch transplant, Peter Wright. Over the course of a decade, Wright has etched his name in glass in the annals of drone-world superstardom. And while I'm not sure what that really means, the point is that when it comes to soaring dronescapes, few do it better than Peter Wright. He has helped pave the way with contemporaries such as Birchville Cat Motel and Double Leopards, but clearly has his own distinct voice. With his past few albums, Wright seems the logical successor to native Kiwi, sound manipulator extraordinaire, Roy Montgomery.
"Red Lion" is Wright's latest incarnation and, once again, pushes the boundaries of what he can do with his trademark 12 string Danelectro to the absolute outer limits. He pushes the limits of simplicity without ever breaking. Wright's albums are a thing of sheer, pure beauty, existing in a vacuum where nothing on the outside can tamper with their grace. Even with his lofty intentions, "Red Lion" is immediately approachable and grabs the listener from the opening notes. As always, Peter Wright offers up something wholly infectious and undebatably magnificent.
Press about Peter Wright: "The finest in underground free noise / drone...mostly from New Zealand but all around the world as well. For those of you new to the CpsiP label, imagine classic Siltbreeze (Dead C, etc.) mixed with Jewelled Antler (Thuja, Blithe Sons etc.), dark and deep listening that sometimes verges on all out noise, but more often than not remains subtle experiments in avant drone and abstract sound." - Aquarius Records
"This is easily some of the most evocative proto-drone work to reach these ears in a while, with beautiful almost folk melodies that flutter on the edge of audibility cut up with a thick soup of early-evening smog and long forgotten geographies. Somewhere between early Flying Saucer Attack, Mirror and William Basinski. Highly recommended." - David Keenan, Volcanic Tongue
"If Windy & Carl's vision of Antarctica is your idea of bliss, you will drool over this soundscape depiction of Peter Wright's home in New Zealand. Now living in London, these are what the label calls "love-drones," as Wright's memories of his home's wide open spaces inspire slowly unfolding waves of lush guitar." - Jim Steed, Fakejazz “ [label info]
|
2006 |
€13.00 |
|
| |
Yellow Horizon |
CD |
Der grossartige Neuseeländer PETER WRIGHT (auch aktiv als POLIO) liefert seit Jahren Gitarren-drone durchtränkte Traumlandschaften ab, die sich dunkel aber unpathetisch in den Äther schwingen. Seine tänzelnden Gitarren-Ozeane sind von besonderer untergründiger emotionaler Spannung und Melancholie beseelt, und wirken doch auch entspannend....keine Oberflächenmusik, sondern der „wahre“ Kern des Selbst scheint hier aufzuflackern..... Demnächst auch eine 7“ auf Drone Records !! NZ-Import.
“New Zealand guitarist and sound-artist Peter Wrights back catalogue stretches to something like 30 releases over the last dozen years. 'Yellow Horizons' is the most recent of these and follows on from 2004's 'Distant Bombs' (Last Visible Dog), and 'Desolation Beauty Violence' (Digitalis). This CD finds him relocated to dirty old London town from where he has written a series of love-drones to the wild South Island of his homeland. Described by David Keenan (of The Wire, Volcanic Tongue) as a "consistently impressive thinker", Wrights guitar craft opens vistas that are as contemplative as they are emotionally engaging. Periods of preperatory silence awaken into long slow shifting drones; layered 'folk' patterns build to an almost psychotropic intensity before being subsumed once more within the drone... These scenes are as varied as the South Island itself. There are glaciers as well as sunburnt plains. Writing about the recording of Yellow Horizons, Peter had this to say: "The nature of my reduced travelling bag of equipment has meant a more concise distillation of sounds than before with the 12 string guitar now dominating. To make things even more cohesive I tuned the guitar to an open C chord and every track on this disc uses this tuning, creating an almost seamless continuity, and an overall foundation". [press release]
“Another fucking stunner from this re-located New Zealander, Desolation Beauty Violence is mostly based around various manipulations of Danelectro 12-string guitar using minimal effects and field recordings but for the most part the source feels supremely dislocated. This is easily some of the most evocative proto-drone work to reach these ears in a while, with beautiful almost folk melodies that flutter on the edge of audibility cut up with a thick soup of early-evening smog and long forgotten geographies. Somewhere between early Flying Saucer Attack, Mirror and William Basinski. Highly recommended.“ [David Keenan/ Volcanic Tongue]
www.pseudoarcana.com
|
2005 |
€14.00 |
|
| XEDH |
Serpents |
mCD-R |
Reverberating metall-percussion, monumentally vibrating drones & odd effects, alienated vocals at the end, real archaic “handmade” industrial.... destructive and authentic stuff, recommended ! Comes in greenly oxidated copper-sheet cover !
“Since 1995, Miguel A. Garcia, through his project "XEDH", has been developing an incessant search of new musical proposals within the more industrial and noisy side of music. More familiar to old bands, such as Throbbing Gristle or Esplendor Geometrico than current panorama which has a more conventional attitude. Garcia's sound forms are strengthened by noises and rhythms trying to create an environment that reflects simultaneously the self-destruction of the human being and the decline of a society that becomes less and less human. "Serpents" is a good example of that: obsessive rhythms that evoke in the distance the sound of the human machinery into action. Sounds are based on dissonance, manipulated voices, noise "increscendo" no exempted from influences within the most brutal noise panorama and the light fragments of most conventional music (that calles melody). The soundtrack of a world on the verge of extinction, the present time, and the mortality through the personal apocalypse of a single human being.” [label info]
|
2004 |
€7.50 |
|
| Z'EV |
Forwaard |
CD |
Great drone-work from Z'EV, very slow & otherwordly movements with lots of strange sounds... recommended for any dark drone fan looking for something special !!
"Since almost forty years z'ev belongs to the absolute fore front of experimental music. Playing percussive music he gained a lot of attention, but in more recent years he returned to working with electronic tape manipulation. One aspect is working with other people, such as Francisco Lopez or Kasper Toeplitz. On 'Forwaard' he uses field recordings made by Frans de Waard (hence the title), which are 'recoded' by z'ev into a forty minute, densely layered pattern of musique concrete. Many of the water like sounds disappear in the 'recoded' version and makes a particular strong work. 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] |
2007 |
€13.00 |
|
| ZGA |
Riga |
CD |
"One more of my favourite groups. Zga came from Latvia (they've relocated since to Russia) and this is a recent Russian CD reissue of their first (and for me also the best) album originally issued by Recommended in 1989. The tracks were recorded in 1987 and 1988 in a public apartment, played mostly on home-made scrapyard instruments (metal plates, springs, wood) amplified and recorded direct to a stereo tape deck. This is very serious and powerful music, extremely inventive and deserves anyone's attention. The reissue contains also some extra material reportedly from even earlier. Unfortunately it seems that this particular CD is totaly unavailable outside Russia. So, you can get it here. The group is still active and going strong. Thanks goes again to Hrempe for suggesting this." [Mended Records] |
2004 |
€13.00 |
|
| ZNR |
Traite de Mechanique |
CD |
Originally released in 1978. "The second and last release by this most exquisite and eccentric of groups, who hardly touched the world of working bands, and whose existence was tenuous, flickering, mythological -- and yet who managed, to find its way to legendary status -- rather like Duchamp's fountain, by leaving an indelible trace in recorded form of their verifiable existence. If Captain Beefheart had been Erik Satie..."
"Bereits Jahre bevor HECTOR ZAZOU mit seinem Album „Noir Et Blanc“ internationales Aufsehen erregte und fortan als Komponist und Produzent für und mit Künstlern wie BJÖRK, SUZANNE VEGA, JOHN CALE oder SIOUXSIE SIOUX arbeitete, betrat er mit JOSEPH RACAILLE und PATRICK PORTELLA das Studio um als Experimental / Avantgarde-Formation ZNR das Debüt „Barricade 3“ aufzunehmen. Der abstrakte, schlichte und avantgardistische Kammerrock der aus Marseille stammenden Band wusste zu überzeugen, und doch trennten sich nach Beendigung der Aufnahmen die Wege der Musiker. Als die Rufe nach einem Nachfolgewerk immer lauter wurden, taten sich ZAZOU, RACAILLE und PORTELLA wieder zusammen, nahmen 1979 „Traite De Mechanique Populaire“ auf, trennten sich allerdings auch hier wieder kurz nachdem die Aufnahmen abgeschlossen waren. Diese kurze und intensive musikalische on-off-Beziehung hinterließ zwei außergewöhnliche Alben, die Avantgarde mit Klassik, Minimal / Art-Rock, Jazz und Elektronik verbinden und einen unverwechselbaren Sound entwickelten. Nachdem „Traite De Mechanique Populaire“ lange ausverkauft war, veröffentlicht RECOMMENDED nun die neu gemasterte CD mit neuem Artwork."
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2017 |
€13.00 |
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