It's that time of the year again, no one is escaping the lists.
So, let's start with these.
Tim Olive – Hindmost Hand
Recombinants – Splatterfarm
Sewer Election & Incipientium – Sorceress
Mogao – Tri-Kàya
Toanche Dwelling – Wendake Ehen
Leather Dog – Chain Bondage
Kylmäkovamaa – Rikottu Minäkuva
Commando 15 – Inner Insurgency Manual
Special mention goes to Carnival by Outdoor Horse Shrine that was released last year.
XE: FRONT LINE FIGHTERS
SNUFF: V
HINGST: ABSOLUTE HINGST
JSH: REV 13:6
BIZARRE UPROAR: FINAL APOCALYPTIC STRUGGLE
Waiting for more stuff from 2024 from various labels, so list might be incomplete
Invaders of the 21st Century-s/t
Infibulation-Abysmal Providence
Bizarre Uproar-Final Apocalyptic....
(have a feeling the Grunt/BU release would probably be on here as well, but still waiting on the order its in)
Outdoor Horse Shrine-Watercourse
Executionists-The Gerry Commission
The Cherry Point-Dawn of the Bloody Tapes
Desiderii Marginis-Bathe In Black Light (technically from '21, but the physical release was this year so...)
Reissues:
Slave Labor-Vol I and II
Einleitungszeit rereleases on Phage
Snuff - V
Xenophobic Ejaculation - Front Line Fighters
Scatmother / scum - S/T
Grunt / Bizarre Uproar – Toinen Iho
Linekraft – Stupid True Horse Bone Idealist
Fistfun - Up The Rolls
FFH – Frozen Music
Withering Herd – Ron's Angel House
Pain Appendix – Manuhypnoz
Karmic Delusions – Ordinary Confused Human
Freak Animal International Vol. 2
SSRI – Trash Heap
ZSS / XE – War's Wild Beast
Snuff – V
Vigilantism – Fetish Of Death
Maltraitance Animale – Le Langage des Animaux
I didn't listen to many releases this year, but I also include the new Xenophobic Ejaculation in the best 2024 releases.
North Central - Dark & Abusive CD by Phage Tapes
M.I.A. - Mutants CD, also released by Phage Tapes
Xenophobic Ejaculation - Front Line Fighters CD by F&V
ZSS/XE - War's Wild Beast CD, also by F&V
There is obviously more, but those come to my mind immediately!
In no particular order:
Vihaa Ja Kiimaa Ikuisesti
David Gilden - Texas Pillbox
The Black Maghreb - Hashshashiyin
Contortus - The Worst Is Yet To Come
Organ of Corti - Fanaticus
Ulvtharm - 7 Uthras
Caligula031 & Taeter - Escalation
Vihanmiehet III - Matalataajuuksinen Extaasi
Rotat – Persisting Calamity
Rotat – Static Antics
Snuff - V
Pain Appendix – Manuhypnoz
Bizarre Uproar – Final Apocalyptic Struggle To Survive
Grunt / Bizarre Uproar – Toinen Iho
Reissue:
Taint – Misogynist Lust
and of course:
Contortus - The Worst Is Yet To Come
A lot of great stuff this year - pretty difficult to make a shortlist.
Psychward - Vomit Noise
Spring of Life - Training Camp
Amek-Maj - Amek-Maj
Barstool Mountain - Tom
Dressing - Old Town
Pain Appendix - Manuhypnoz
Executionists - The Gerry Commission
Finno-Ugrian Suicide Hypothesis - Kansamme Kuolema
HÖH / Hattifnattar - Untitled
Tim Gick - Neighbor Invader
Green Tea - Owl Arcana
Recombinants - Splatterfarm
Organ of Corti - Fanaticus
Another great year. It feels like the momentum from 2020 has rolled over to every year since and there is more artist output and even more high-caliber artists than ever. Also, a lot of great labels putting in hard work and quality work.
Best of the Best: Top Picks
Dressing - Old Town
Tourette - Matiere Arrachee
Sawn Half - Sink
Jim Haynes - Inconsequential
Jeph Jerman - Burn-im-rag
Spore Spawn - Okoranaideto
Scathing - Clipping Wings Of Grief
K2 / John Wiese - Multiple Density
Grunt / Bizarre Uproar - Toinen Iho
Richard Ramirez - Eye Contact
The Cherry Point - Dawn Of The Bloody Tapes
Sissy Spacek - Antitheater
Honorable Mentions
Spring of Life - Training Camp
Executionists - The Gerry Commission
Toshiji Mikawa - Encounter When Pigs Fly
Richard Ramirez - Heat
Richard Ramirez / Respirator split
Corral Shut - Upside Cross (NASTY and vicious album)
Reissues
David Gilden Texas Pillbox
Slave Labour Vol I and II
Richard Ramirez - Volume 2
Kazumoto Endo - Brick and Mortar
Compilations
Freak Animal International vol. 1-4 (*Can't pick a favorite though #1 and #4 are both insanely strong)
Some good stuff:
ABYSSE DES ÂMES: Mielen lujittama hulluus
Not your basic noise album. This is more like a haunting sound collage full of creaks, whispers, echoes and even some traditional instruments. Very well crafted and structured, and you find something new during every listening session.
https://satatuhatta.bandcamp.com/album/m...ma-hulluus
GREEN TEA: Owl Arcana
A confusing album, tying noise and new age synths together. But this weird solution works, shaping the sharpest edges but still keeping things harsh and interesting. Maybe a bit too long experience but otherwise no complaints.
https://satatuhatta.bandcamp.com/album/owl-arcana
NUORI VERI: NVV
Every Nuori Veri release is like a story. Now I found myself at the forgotten wastelands, where nature is conquering concrete, old bullets and memories lying here and there. Abandoned, prosaic and worn-out soundscapes.
ORGAN OF CORTI: Fanaticus
Forget hassle and hurry. These guys - known from Altar of Flies, Sewer Election and what else - know what they are doing and there is no use to do anything else what is needed. Simple loops and samples, one after another. Quiet music that says a lot.
https://newforces.bandcamp.com/album/fanaticus
Also the new RMSS album sounds very promising.
Quote from: Vrenndel on December 20, 2024, 03:26:12 PMFFH – Frozen Music
Yes, this is good. However, "Tip Of The Spear" is what elevates it to another level: a power-driven oscillating mechanical pulse and reverberating vocal delivery. I would say one of the best
tracks of the year (though "Bloodflag" off the ZSS/ XE album would give it a good run for its money).
SPRING OF LIFE - Training Camp
SEWER ELECTION / INCIPIENTIUM - Sorceress
ARTHUR CANTERBURY - Talking to Dead People
APRIL CHEST - Dog's Tongue With Special White Sauce
ROTAT - Static Antics
ORGAN OF CORTI - Fanaticus
my list of noise/exp related favourites:
Kluik - Verstörung
Junkyard Shaman - The Unborn
[ówt krì] - Parasitic Symbiosis
Free Tala - Underwater Sounds To Lure The Fishes
Juho Toivonen - Sisarusten Toistuva Uni
Palokoro - Vapaat Miehet Kulkemaan
Tahma - s/t
Salo Ra II - Viptronic
Kartio - Annual Report
Mogao - Tri-Kaya
Violent Shogun / Resting Place / Hazarda Bruo Sonsistemo
Magic Nousiainen & Wonderful Lehtisalo - Cafetic Atom
some of these I listened only from bandcamp (so far),
but will buy a copy one later if i find them in nice price.
thumbs up for Wooden Sherpa (all projects) and Junkyard Shaman for being active
and releasing a lot of new intersting stuff.
also realized these are all Finnish. I surely enjoyed some non-Fin stuff too.
Hard AF to do an comprehensive list of the top releases of 2024 as i haven't even had the time to check all the interesting ones that has been released during this year but here it comes:
Bizarre Uproar / Grunt - Toinen Iho (Freak Animal)
For me this was a real stunner after i "got" it. Sources mangled into zapping and buzzing starved shape, wonderfully arranged from the beginning to the end. It has this interesting ominous overall feel instead of pure aggression or being overtly sleazy. Real grower of an album.
Hingst - Absolut Hingst (Ominous Recordings)
Hard hitting caveman harsh noise. Double trouble of JSH and Edvin mangling shaker boxes and DOD distortions live to tape. Who needs innovation when regression sounds like this? More loose and "lighthearted" than the JSH cd but equally crushing affair. This album with the Hingst compilation and JSH cd really restored my faith in this certain kind of boneheaded harsh noise!
JSH - Rev 13:6 (Oxen)
High octane harsh noise! Nothing special here but action packed, back-to-basics harsh noise done masterfully. This album really shows that "shakerbox through DOD high gain into overdriven tape deck" kinda approach can work wonders if the artist have the skills and dedication to the cause. And JSH really do have the those skills and dedication! Immaculate sense of microdynamics and soundsculpting with minimal tools are in display here. No chirpy japanoise sounds, no overdubs, no trends, no fun. Like getting pounded by steel fists of doom.
Mogao - Tri-Kaya CS (SATATUHATTA)
Popol Vuh of Finnish Weird Noise. Really bold and evocative tape that really succeeds in combining the rusty, rotten concrete soundscape with the ethereal and divine feel.
Nostoväki - Raudalla ja Verellä CS (Freak Animal)
I'm a sucker for industrial and noise that tackles with the subject of war and it's effects on people and the nations involved, especially the Finnish Winter and Continuation War. Nostoväki takes the Finnish angle on the subject and really conjures the suffocating atmosphere of being in civil protection shelter packed to its rafters during the Russian bombing raid or those eerie silent moments in trenches before the major offensive starts. Peculiar sounding synths whirr, buzz and bubble within the frame created by the room ambience, clattering junk metal and gruff but audible vocals. Not aggressive but immediate and "deep". Super moody industrial music that really resonates within me.
Will update this post during holidays.
Seen plenty of items in here listed that I already agree were great... Sawn Half and Organ of Corti discs both terrific.
A couple I would like to throw in are...
Outback - Nothing Out Here (Hog Loft)
Death Dedication - Dopamine Abjection Sabotage (Oxen)
Anxiety Star - The Pregnant Spring (Detachment Programs)
Slacking - Sacred Heart of Reinvention (Abhorrent A.D.)
Hand & Knee/Mallard Theory - Basic Instincts (Tribe Tapes)
On the reissue front...
John Olson - Open Cave Mouth (Input Error)
Skin Crime - Skin Crime (New Forces)
In terms of live acts, getting to see Jonathan Canady and Interracial Sex in Portland was a real treat. The New Blockaders was a terrific experience in New York. Deterge played a particularly engaging set in a Philadelphia basement. My real favorite above all else though was seeing Munt Cascade's first public set at the Blue Hell Festival in New Jersey. Something about the summer heat, psychoactive substances and piercing movement of the noise made it all so perfect.
Mademoiselle Bistouri's Deconstruction of Perversion is this year's most memorable release for me.
Quick n dirty —
Gotta throw the Rodger Stella/Hal Hutchinson collab in there.
Disgusting Sanctum "Incestuous Vomitus" came out at the tail end of '23 so I'm counting it this year. Excellent packaging from OMM, as usual.
Nostovaki tape. Need more from them!
Infibulation "Abysmal Providence" - very active project so kinda hard to keep up but definitely recommend this cd for anyone who isn't already familiar.
Also much appreciation for all the Taint and Einleitungszeit reissues. And recent IOPS reprints (SOV, COT, etc.) are more than welcome.
More stuff added later, maybe.
Plenty of other things I'm forgetting. Another solid year. More filth and more violence for '25!
THE CHERRY POINT - Dawn of the Bloody Tapes (Troniks / Helicopter)
KAKERLAK - Obdormition (Dada Drumming)
GREEN TEA - Owl Arcana (Satatuhatta)
SPRING OF LIFE - Training Camp
TOANCHE DWELLING / Barret E. Lediard - various
SPALLMAKER - Jackets
PAIN APPENDIX- Manuhypnoz (Freak Animal)
T.D. - Mouth Music (New Forces)
DEATH KNEEL - Burning Grip (Life Of Sensation)
SLACKING + CONFOUNDER - This Is What You Shall Do... (Behind Closed Doors)
SLAVE LABOUR - Vol. I and II (Dada Drumming) *reissue*
Vihaa Ja Kiimaa Ikuisesti (especially SADIO / BU set)
Bizarre Uproar - Final Apocalyptic Struggle To Survive
XE - Front Line Fighters & ZSS / XE - War's Wild Beast
Grunt / Bizarre Uproar - Toinen Iho
SNUFF - V
Caligula031 / Taeter - Escalation
M.I.A. - Mutants
Nostoväki - Raudalla Ja Verella (excited for new material January!)
Alfarmania - Ur Ens Inre Exil
Rodger Stella / Hal Hutchinson - Molten Metal Ecstasy
Reissues:
Taint !!
David Gilden - Texas Pillbox
Slave Labour - Vol. I And II
Agonal Lust - In Transit To Cold Perfection
Even though it's not noise, all the David Fremann represses have been a delight
I am so much behind on new releases, I am not even ready for my best of 2023 list, I guess! I suspect it is the same with everyone though - top 10 for 2020 now to me would look completely different than the list I compiled at the end of that year.
One thing I certainly notice when comparing my 2024 favorites so far to others in this thread is how little I actually listen to noise / HN. All my list is PE, dark ambient and industrial of unspecified nature.
My favorites so far:
ANDROPHILIA - Oedipus Orca (beton raw)
Beckahesten - Svältens Tid (cloister recordings)
Between Voices - Phantom Pinnacles (cyclic law)
Contrastate - Life Without Agriculture (drone records)
Death Aria - As If An Arrow Pierced The Flesh (no rent records)
DN. AIDEATH - Hymne Gorok (detainment tapes)
Kamil Dossar - Wing Attachment (posh isolation)
Kleistwahr - Where the Word Is Never (fourth dimension records)
Leila Abdul-Rauf - Calls From A Seething Edge (cyclic law)
Leslie Keffer - Sanctuary (coherent states)
Mouth Wound - Tallow (handmade birds)
Post Scriptvm - Eisstoß (tesco organisation)
Sutcliffe No More - Campaign 2024 (Old Europa Cafe)
Vanity Productions - The Night Has Passed Already (northern electronics)
Wet Nurse. - medical tyranny (phage tapes)
Reissues:
Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2. I mean, this is the best dark ambient album of all times.
Brighter Death Now - No Decency
Desiderii Marginis - Bathe In Black Light
Stratvm Terror - The Slaying Of The Infants
This thread makes me realise I didn't listen to as much new noise as I thought I did this year.
I think it was one of the best years for Prurient as a project in a while. Destroyed Electricity is prob my favourite solo full length from him since Frozen Niagara Falls. The Linekraft and Agonal Lust collabs were also great. I haven't spent much time with Class Ring or Retaliation yet so will reserve judgement. Electronic Storms was good, not great.
The GO- All is Suffering comp absolutely rocked as well. A stronger release than the new full length and hangs together really well as a full listen. Really strong material from them.
Excited to catch up on Satatuhatta releases I have missed.
Contortus – The Worst is Yet to Come
Alfarmania – Ur Ens Inre Exil
KSNK – Murska 2
XE – Frontline Fighters
BU – Final Apocalyptic Struggle to Survive
Nihilist Commando/Nyrkki – Split 7"
Reissues: Reptile Womb – Iormungandr-Swastika, David Gilden and Slave Labour boxes
Also,
The 666 Volt Battery Noise - Unblind Discipline Power Annihilate Survive. Good noise, especially Slaughter Prod/Mother Savage/Pure stuff, but I wouldn't say it's mandatory. It's also very expensive item and in the current day economic situation, maybe not the first release to get. But judging by the quality of the release: sturdy cardboard, high quality images, huge poster (that no-one is going to hang on the wall), hardcover book with lots of images and poetry, and the overall cultural preservation work of unearthing this from obscurity, makes it one of the top releases of 2024.
obviously been an insanely good year for reissues so i wont get into them. in no particular order here is my highlights of 2024:
Blue Eyes - Bewusstsein
Dunkelheit Produktionen
Cab - Roadkill
Rasga
DN. Aideath – Hymne Gorok
De/TAINMENT TAPES
Woods Mattress - Morsel Sew
Communal Deafness
Suspect Unknown – Body Land
Fusty Cunt
Moth Drakula - I Greet You At The Beginning Though I Can't Control Your Exit
Misanthropic Agenda
Nekrotiker – Ritualmord
Death in Venice Productions
Slacking – Sacred Heart Of Reinvention
Abhorrent A.D.
The Black Maghreb – Our Revenge Is Black
Tesco Organisation
Red Brut – On Bare Ground
Coherent States
Green Tea – Owl Arcana
Satatuhatta
C:Davis – A Study On Psychosis Of Decay
Korporation Rekords
Valediction – Your World Is Not Mine To Understand
Primitive Propaganda
Exome, Mith-XX – At The Gates Of Death
Black Artifact
Circuit Corrupter – Synthesizing the Absence of Your Soul
Phage Tapes
Morgue File – States of Immense Decay
Self Released
Gabriele Giuliani – Scheletri
Rural Isolation Project
Infibulation – Abysmal Providence
Breathing Problem Productions
Darksmith – A Mark of Disgrace Indicating Ownership
No Rent
Whiterat – Nothing Special
Phage Tapes
Faded Laurels - World Without End
Isolated Incidents
Dressing – Old Town
Input Error
M.I.A. – Heavy Metal
Willpower Records
Torschlusspanik – Cornered Animal
No Rent
Twig Harper - Systematized Sound For Unfixed Worlds
Self released
Compound Bunker - New Pain
Black Artifact
Owen Gardner - Where Is My Hand in Space?
Blorpus Editions
Richard Ramirez & Moonbeam Terror – Choking Hazard: Small Parts
Deadline Recordings
North Central – Dark And Abusive
Phage Tapes
24 that may resonate with those in here which were passed over the hallowed FM band in 2024. All to be found on Bandcamp.
Weiches Loch - '6/7' (Fanalstatt)
Finje - Abismo Aquático (Rasga)
Organ Of Corti - Fanaticus (New Forces)
Blackout Order - Playback Obscurities (Room 2A)
Himukalt - Seven Memories (Cloister Recordings)
YOHIMBE - CHISEL IN THE CRACK ("GASH") (EVIDENCE TAPES)
VA - Et si c'etait le Vent qui avait Raison ? (fernsrecordings)
Mammal - Deserted (Impermanence)
AK Allsehende Komponente - Reshape The Future (Abreakt.)
LA PORTA ERMETICA - LA BUGIA (deathbed tapes)
RLW - C.D. (Penultimate Press)
MELANCOLIA CANCERIGENA - RYOKO INCIDENT (DEEPTHROAT RECORDS)
Culto Licántropo - Eterno (Demo)
VA - Richie Culver x Industrial Coast - Born Coast (Industrial Coast)
Survivalist / Softenon Babe - The Hindrance Child (Marbre Negre)
NORILLAG - The Union of Death (Virtues)
Örastimar - Kalt (Eye Of Rot)
Todesstoss - Das Liebweh - Dekret (I, Voidhanger Records)
Abysse Des Âmes - Mielen Lujittama Hulluus (SATATUHATTA)
Rat Filth - Swag By The Party (Burgan Triangle Tapes)
Agonal Lust / Prurient – BBQ Grave (Hospital Productions)
smr.tni - unrelieving (SILKEN HEART)
Hanzo Hasashi - The Ceremony (Cipher)
Mirocaw - Umarmung Des Todes (Death In Venice)
Some stuff I enjoyed that's related to the board..
Alva Noto - Xerrox, Vol. 5
Organ of Corti - Fanaticus
Nurse With Wound & Bladder Flask - Backside
Herman Damen - Verbosonies and Phonographies
Tourette - Matière Arrachée
Mogao - Tri-Kaya
Absolute Key - Imploding Harmony
Drifting- Dream Autopsy
Dressing - Old Town
Throbbing Gristle – Wotwududo 7" (w/ Electronic Sound magazine)
A few more last minute additions that I finally had a chance to hear...
Grunt & BU (as expected)
Bocksholm-Here Comes Bocksholm (For Your Earthly Delights)
Phelios-Obsidian Forest: This one is pretty much mandatory if you're a dark ambient fan. I've enjoyed all his previous output immensely and this is another great one. Less "cosmic" and focusing more on the tribal elements but still with that rich immensity of dark movement behind it. It reminds me more than anything of the best moments of Sephiroth/Ulf Soderberg.
This text was originally posted in Finnish, for Sarvilevyt page, so its not just list, but describing a bit further
There's no order to the list and the criteria has primarily been the feature: Releases that demand and inspires immediate re-listening. Or multiple listenings. There are many albums that are great and could also be listened to more, but there is another album in the queue that is at least as good that you can listen to instead. Outside of these, there are albums that are not only great, but they have a certain individual feature that is also good. Not necessarily anything revolutionary special, but simply the kind of good album that you can't directly point to have easy replacement. Which therefore really requires listening it multiple times, as nothing else really gives you the same vibes. In some cases, there is not even vibe, just fact that for reason or another, I happened to listening something a lot without thinking why so.
Dead Door Unit "Abandon" CD
I've often talked about how essential good interviews are to me. Some people say that interviews suck because they reveal too much and take away all the mystery around the artists. Well, that's fine, but this just shows that either the interview was bad, or the artist is not very interesting in first place. Interesting stories or insights don't become uninteresting just because they're talked about! More so when it turns out that a band that made decent music on some level is just a bunch of ordinary idiots who have nothing interesting to say about anything and their interest in noise was also superficial and clueless, which obviously doesn't make you want to check it out.
In today's crowd, there's probably some kind of American nuance that "human interests" as such an everyday story has started to dominate interviews. Maybe I see it as American feature as I tend to read most interviews in English, often by Americans? I have often annoyed that.. ehm.. womens magazine approach about interviews, where the interesting "personal portrait" is that everyday rubbish that is everyone's common experience. Apparently it provides some kind of comfort, etc. Some survival story and or resolution of personal crises. It usually doesn't inspire me.
If talking about art and underground I personally prefer to read an interview with.. well, perhaps easy examples everybody knows is like Herzog, Burzum, etc. whatever. Someone with slightly unique views, visions and experiences. Doesn't have to be something I live through and have in common. Not at all. The list could of course be longer, but the topic now is noise and not the protagonists of a special culture.
Dead Door Unit, which had previously gone a little under the radar for me, seemed interesting based on the interview. There was nothing complicated or overly special about it, it just became clear that the man is busy with his own sound without any need for success and visibility associated with music culture. The publications are mainly extremely small editions, which perhaps on the scale of the music business are not publications at all. Actually more like personal communication with familiar like-minded people, which takes place outside of "commercial publishing". I was browsing the shelves and wondering what DDU tapes would be on the shelf and there were not many, because many of the cassettes are even less than 10 pieces in editions which I couldn't actually buy. A couple of cassettes where the editions were in double digits at least.
When I got the CD, it stayed in the player for a hell of a long time. Someone might ask what's really special about this and the answer would probably be nothing. Theoretically, "anyone" could do something like this. Technologically speaking. It would require very little financial investment. As opposite, it requires understanding and good taste! The man himself stated in an interview that at first his stuff was weaker, but now he knows for sure that he makes good stuff. That's right. In many songs, the equipment sounds as if there was some kind of source sound on a cassette or looper and often the mixer feedback or/and mixer gain input distortion blends into the source material. The tape loop, the ghostly sounds of the tape rewind speed and the mixer's "routing", whatever you want to call it. Often this is enough to create almost perfect noise when maker just can make that distinction what is good noise. Mixer feedback and bad loops can be also atrocious.
I often get questions from novice noise guys and often with expensive effects and synths, who are wondering why this is "like this". Why it doesn't sound like the good noise they are listening and try to make. Hah. Yep. I personally think that noise is not fundamentally a "hardware", but rather: a vision. The Dead Door Unit interview made fairly clear how the vision for the sound was passionately developed and practiced.
Sometimes the end result of making your own noise is something that makes you want to listen to your of stuff so much that eventually you might even question why even release it? To whom? It can be a perfect for your own ears, something that you can't really find anywhere else. Giving it to couple friends while talking to them can be also enough. I am glad through, that DDU stuff has been made available for "outsiders" so to say!
Good CD that is worth grabbing. Not harsh noise rumble and rumble, but slower-paced and more experimental, sometimes it even reminds me of Merzbow from the early 90s combining with no-tech American tape noise. Very much the kind of "Behringer mixer in useful use" stuff, which can be unbearable at worst and in skilled hands, again, pretty much the best.
https://tribetapes.bandcamp.com/album/abandon
KSNK "Murska 2" tape
Freak Animal released the "Murska" CD and the artist mentioned that there is a lot of material like this, but on the other hand, is it necessary to repeat the same idea too many times even though the sounds are different in themselves. Good thing he did proceed to second release of the style! KSNK is known for usually releasing very different releases. The Murska 2 cassette, on the other hand, is a direct continuation of the Murska CD. Dubbed onto a cassette, "field recordings", more like machine recordings, the crushing sound of the rock crushing machine lines is so nice. It's all released "as is", without any editing and effects or overdubs. Works damn well! The artist's job is mostly to put the microphone in the right place and select what becomes a "song". Dubbed onto a cassette, the sound gets that magic dust finishing touch and the end result is juicier than the bandcamp version. However, it's not bad to listen there, if you can't find a sold-out cassette anywhere!
https://satatuhatta.bandcamp.com/album/murska-2
Abysse Des Âmes - Mielen Lujittama Hulluus LP
A.D.A., which operates with a relatively small profile, has only released one short split cassette before this album. A couple of gigs in Lahti, which may not have even been heard of in the noise scene. I haven't seen the gigs myself because I've been always same time somewhere els. Level of material can be considered also through fact that Satatuhatta was so convinced of the recording that they decided to do labels debut vinyl release out of this recording.
I've wondered about quite a few foreign labels how they only focus on re-releasing decades-old sure-fire hits. My own gut feeling is that the biggest hunger of people is not the yet another tape of known artist rigged from history, but would be for NEW and GOOD stuff they want to discover? Maybe Finland is an exception, as you don't have to look so hard for good experimental noise and it is not half assed substitutes, but artists who keep pushing things at least equally good as "classics", even if perhaps slightly different styles.
In fact, I could make this year top noise releases even merely looking the albums released by Freak Animal. Haha! Selfish, perhaps, but not really: They all have been released precisely because they were so good and preferred that over reissuing vintage relics.
A.D.A. is not exactly noise, but we go within the framework of this experimental sound, electro-acoustic, musique concrete and kind of higher achieving sound.. but clearly combined with a subculture perspective! The sound collage has features that would perhaps not be accepted among academic art music expression. There are rough and noisy elements, traditional instruments are used for rather unmusical ways, the work is built from short pieces often progress or change hectically. Many others would certainly be tempted to stay in great soundscape for longer times, but this album has a constant sense of progression and never stays still for long time.
I remember once name dropping that the album was suitable for Nurse With Wound fans. That doesn't mean much, since NWW has done so much and different things. Maybe comparison is good enough that one knows the focus is on interesting and great sounds that create a surreal and strange atmosphere that has the ultimate "sound of studio" feel, but also "work done by hand" feel. Not at all that academic vibe or "Finnish experimental underground" hobby activity. Here we have the level should most likely result that in the future the album will definitely be a cult release and any time people talk about will include words like "underrated" etc.
https://satatuhatta.bandcamp.com/album/mielen-lujittama-hulluus
Kommando "Wage of Wrath" LP
I've been wondering what's actually so good about this album? It's hard to say, but there's something that made me listen to the album many times. Every time the side ends, I put the needle back to the beginning of the side and listen again. Or flip it and do that for a while. A long-standing German heavy electronics artist, a modest 100 copies edition LP. At its most violent, a very traditional German heavy electronics pulse and a shouting through a flanger/phaser. Sometimes it calms down to slower flowing synths and rhythmic elements. Not dancey, but dark!
Kommando was a project that preceded Thorofon. The early Thorofon vinyls were quite a technological step forward in the genre. It may not be so obvious today, but at that time the band was clearly one of the forces that renewed the genre. After a excellent debut, they soon progressed to an almost danceable SPK-vibe industrial beat and my own interest quickly faded. They made a comeback under the name Kommando in 2007 and out of a few albums, this latest one is hard and at times the aggression even reaches Thorofon's best years! 25 years ago the sound that was fresh. Now it's kind of "fresh retro", heh! Despite certain new sounds made possible by modern technology, its still pretty 90's feel - which is fresh because this kind of stuff is no longer done well in so frequently as it used to be?
https://ant-zen.bandcamp.com/album/wage-of-wrath
Nuori Veri "NVV" tape
There don't seem to be any music samples from this online and the cassette itself was an annoyingly small edition compared to domestic demand here in Finland! A strong guess is that with the Finnish language being such a significant element, the demand for cassettes would be the highest here and would be nice to get enough copies to Finland, hah.
Of course, NV music can be listened to purely as a great sound, without understanding what recordings are about. Then the multilayered nature of the material and the significance of the sounds remain unperceived. It is by no means self-evident that the sounds on the record are somehow meaningful.
There is a lot of noise, majority of it, that is formless and shapeless and even" meaningless" - except within its own framework. Those familiar with all kinds of abstract art know that a painting or sculpture, for example, does not have to represent anything or tell about anything, but the work itself IS. Not reference, just is what it is. The same thing with shapeless sound. It does not have to refer to something outside itself to justify its existence. Asking and pondering what it means or what should be "understood" from it is something that I myself sometimes fall into. More often it is a painfully dull question. If it has probably been completely obvious way of expression for a hundred years, that an art object can be purely independent, and not just a figurative representation referring to the existing world.. to go back to same basic questions feels a bit weird. Sometimes you have to wonder if that idea is too difficult, or too poorly articulated, when it doesn't seem to be understood very broadly even after a century?!!?
On the other hand, it is no surprise when I often say that figurative noise in particular is close to my taste! That is, sounds that tell about this world, evoke images and visions, perhaps surreal soundscapes where the volume, object or situation can be recognized, but it takes place in some... unreal world that is detached from reality. Nuori Veri has been masterful in a way where all the songs tell about something, describe something, usually something not mundane. Even the "ensimmäinen miekka", which starts the album, is very nice. It deals with the idea of ��objects made by people. Axes, spears, bows, all kinds of objects have had uses related to hunting, survival, perhaps construction, and finally when the first sword is forged, its only use is to: kill another person. It does nothing else really. It is weapon to kill humans. When "noise" work from these starting points, evoking ideas you may have not formerly even thought about, even if they may be sort of obvious, it has the ability to speak to you in a very different way than, for example, just an aesthetic experience. An no, NV is not brutal noise focusing on killing people, but far more. Good luck hunting for the cassette. Let's hope that someday there will be a new edition!
Giärmäi "Ratapölkkymme" tape
When the samples was online, the feeling was like "yeah, I could take it when I get the chance". Then when I actually got the chance and didn't just listen to it from some online stream, the feeling is much stronger! This operates strongly in the direction of the "rural noise" work that has gained momentum in Finland. There is a bit of "anima arctica" and a bit of "brown hill scene" here at the same time, but it is unlikely that the artist has actually set out to copy anyone. Old reel-to-reel tapes, blurry handmade sound processing. Of course, there is modern technology, but the end result sounds dusty and handmade, which is emphasized by the artist's desire to dub the tapes himself and assemble the packaging that differs from mass products. That's it!
https://giarmai.bandcamp.com/album/ratap-lkkymme
Amek-Maj CD
There are a handful of bands in Finland that don't let the listener in easily. Especially foreign ones. Strange names that you can't really remember. If someone from abroad is wondering which band someone recommended, was it SSRI, KSNK, RMSS, KITU, AMEK-MAJ, GIÄRMÄI, PALOKORO, METSÄKIRKKO, etc etc... what the hell! Several dozen releases are released every year and it's not necessarily possible to remember the names correctly without checking online. Not to mention that you could pronounce names to your friend while talking.
The name of the new Amek-Maj CD album is apparently some kind of hyphen sign, but I wouldn't doubt that many people will confuse this 2024 CD album with the previously untitled CD released by Freak Animal, heh! Well, if you don't own them, it's worth buying everything, so you can go for it.
The 2024 album was released by Hiisi productions and due to the minimal edition, it might be out of stock when reading this? Combining rugged and handmade harsh noise with somehow strange ideas, makes it hard to describe. Wet and broken, happening in space but on the other hand containing synthetic elements that feel to be.. not in that room space. A very unique album from an artist whose albums are so different that even if you own something, you can safely grab more of them. The less than minute sample below doesn't give an idea of ��what the album as a whole is about:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUdSxBlRf4Q
Lettera 22 "Salvado" CD
Technically released in late December 2023, but for me it's good enough for this year's albums as who would have gotten it before 2024?! A friend mentioned that the CD isn't very good, but what the hell!! This is absolutely amazing! A long recording of a strange noisy experimental set. Just one long tape loop that runs through several reel-to-reel tape recorders and a couple of microphones in the room recording the process. Hard to put into words what this is. I agree that this is not aggressive harsh noise, but I still consider this some kind of noise, and not "experimental music" and it also manages to evade the sonic shiftiness of a lot of conceptual art. The noise levels are so high that it works as an album, and not as a bland museum piece. Of course, the guys from Lettera 22 are not exactly shirt & tie types, I suppose, so the starting point must have been that it had to be a really good noise album, and not just a good arty idea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=popiQTH0U8I
Nuori Veri "NVV" tape
There don't seem to be any music samples from this online and the cassette itself was an annoyingly small edition compared to domestic demand here in Finland! A strong guess is that with the Finnish language being such a significant element, the demand for cassettes would be the highest here and would be nice to get enough copies to Finland, hah.
Of course, NV music can be listened to purely as a great sound, without understanding what recordings are about. Then the multilayered nature of the material and the significance of the sounds remain unperceived. It is by no means self-evident that the sounds on the record are somehow meaningful.
There is a lot of noise, majority of it, that is formless and shapeless and even" meaningless" - except within its own framework. Those familiar with all kinds of abstract art know that a painting or sculpture, for example, does not have to represent anything or tell about anything, but the work itself IS. Not reference, just is what it is. The same thing with shapeless sound. It does not have to refer to something outside itself to justify its existence. Asking and pondering what it means or what should be "understood" from it is something that I myself sometimes fall into. More often it is a painfully dull question. If it has probably been completely obvious way of expression for a hundred years, that an art object can be purely independent, and not just a figurative representation referring to the existing world.. to go back to same basic questions feels a bit weird. Sometimes you have to wonder if that idea is too difficult, or too poorly articulated, when it doesn't seem to be understood very broadly even after a century?!!?
On the other hand, it is no surprise when I often say that figurative noise in particular is close to my taste! That is, sounds that tell about this world, evoke images and visions, perhaps surreal soundscapes where the volume, object or situation can be recognized, but it takes place in some... unreal world that is detached from reality. Nuori Veri has been masterful in a way where all the songs tell about something, describe something, usually something not mundane. Even the "ensimmäinen miekka", which starts the album, is very nice. It deals with the idea of ��objects made by people. Axes, spears, bows, all kinds of objects have had uses related to hunting, survival, perhaps construction, and finally when the first sword is forged, its only use is to: kill another person. It does nothing else really. It is weapon to kill humans. When "noise" work from these starting points, evoking ideas you may have not formerly even thought about, even if they may be sort of obvious, it has the ability to speak to you in a very different way than, for example, just an aesthetic experience. An no, NV is not brutal noise focusing on killing people, but far more. Good luck hunting for the cassette. Let's hope that someday there will be a new edition!
I still have some copies of "NVV" in stock. Aussaat: ernten@aol.com
recommend anyone to grab, and also there are other goodies, Finn and international to take along it!
Year-end lists have always posed a conceptual challenge for me. Some things I appreciate might be a bit too obvious to mention. Attempting to encapsulate an entire year's worth of music within a singular framework feels inherently reductive, particularly in a landscape where the production and dissemination of music are ceaseless, and personal taste remains fluid and non-context-dependent. My listening habits are often anchored in retrospective exploration, gravitating toward the enduring soundscapes of the 1960s and 1970s—an era that continues to captivate my attention. However, within the domain of 'everyday noise'—those auditory experiences that seamlessly integrate into daily routines while gradually asserting their significance—a select number of releases have distinguished this year:
Aube - Huile Sur L'Eau (Advaita) - cassette
I've written a review of this. I still have about 10 copies left in the distro, priced at 13 euros each for anyone interested in revisiting it. It's professionally dubbed, unlike what many manage to achieve these days.
Merzbow - Mercurated x 2 LP (Urashima)
Review already written.
Frans de Waard - RRR book (Korm Plastics).
Review already written in the Classifieds-thread.
Taint reissues from Freak Animal.
Star – Hormone Lemming 10" (History Buff Records).
Inconsequential CD by JIM HAYNES and the other releases on WCN, XN's-latest, + Satauhatta's activities.
Honorable mentions of new cassettes from Suomi: Finno-Ugrian Suicide Hypothesis and Giärmäi (a few copies left).
The Caligula031 & Taeter – Escalation CD from Cipher Records was the only Christmas gift I received this year, and one of my family members accidentally opened the package and read the booklet.
Skuggsidan 14:
Pain Appendix split w/ Hollow Serpent Tooth quickly sold out, and I think there are still a few copies left at Freak Animal. For the next release, we'll probably make 150 cassettes, or adjust the quantity based on the level of interest in the release. Hence, a "pre-order" in this case. We are focused on finalizing and releasing projects that have been in development for some time.
Looking forward to what 2025 will bring, I have much more from 2024 year to revisit and explore.
3 Ambient Noise Wall albums from 2024 I really appreciated:
1. Kafka Semyavin - "Anhedonia"
Excellent mix of dark, dreamlike ANW and field recordings.
https://kafkasemyavin.bandcamp.com/album/anhedonia
2. Silver Dove / Volovec - "s/t"
I don't have much to say - just lovely, soothing ambient textures with lot of low-end clattering.
https://silverdove.bandcamp.com/album/silver-dove-volovec
3. Dead Housewife - "Bones"
I love everything what DH does. This album is particularly dark and has mortuary-like atmosphere. As if late Marco Corbelli recorded ANW album. This album has hints of classic harsh noise, but still these elements don't disturb its coherence.
https://deadhousewife.bandcamp.com/album/bones
Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on January 01, 2025, 12:41:46 PMrecommend anyone to grab, and also there are other goodies, Finn and international to take along it!
Done :) Looking forward to the package.
My best of 2024:
Athavor - tape
Bizarre Uproar / Grunt
Commando 15 - Inner insurgency manual
Commando 15 - Bothnia Metaphysica
Contortus - The worst is yet to come
Harsh ways syndicate boxset
Palokoro - Vapaat miehet kulkemaan
Pain Appendix - Manuhypnos
Tourette - Matiere arrachee
Vihanmiehet - II
A bit new to the genre so not to good in explaining the choices :)
Really enjoyed the above releases last year.
So crazy year... gets easily mixed up what was 2024 and not 2023 or 2022. Without further analyzing, went through by what I got in my shelves.
Palokoro - Vapaat Miehet Kulkemaan
Corral Shut - Upsidedown Crossbreed
Mogao - Tri-Kaya
Tahma - s/t
Nuori Veri - NVV
Murmur & Jazzhand split
Pain Appendix - Manuhypnoz
Augmented Atrocity - Aneurysm
Åthavor - s/t
Commando 15 - Inner Insurgency Manual
Form Hunter - Dread Harvest
Rautakymi and Ieskadulla tapes
Giärmäi - Ratapölkkymme
Re-releases;
Skin Crime - s/t
David Gilden - Texas Pillbox
Merzbow - Mercurated
Taint - Misogynist Lust
Atrax Morgue - Death-Orgasm Connector
Incapacitants - Default Standard
V/A - Listen and Die!
My official best of release is agnostic to genre:
http://existest.org/ee_v3/?p=10711
of the stuff on that list that could possibly fit under the greater "noise" genre would be:
NZNZN – 'ﻼ
Leila Abdul-Rauf – Calls from a Seething Edge
Theologian – All The Tyranny in the World Won't Put a God in the Heavens
Sophia – Age of the Narcissist
The Nausea – Requiem
To End It All – Of Blood and Memory
Some honorable mentions of noise records I listened to a lot were:
Hasufel - Keys to the Kingdom
Scathing - I Hope This Weapon Finds You Well
Sutcliffe No More - Cute
N. - Death Is Sure... Are You Ready?
Trepaneringsritualen - The Totality of Death
Xal - Spirit Breaking
Eden Parish - s/t
Haustorium - s/t
Sarin Snow - Death Numerology
Bolksholm - Here Comes Bocksholm (For Your Earthly Delights)
QuoteThe Caligula031 & Taeter – Escalation CD from Cipher Records was the only Christmas gift I received this year, and one of my family members accidentally opened the package and read the booklet.
Ha!
Quote from: xdementia on January 03, 2025, 08:01:41 AMMy official best of release is agnostic to genre:
http://existest.org/ee_v3/?p=10711
Great list! Only once critique: Invulche should be Invunche, but it's a great record regardless. Rock 'n' roll black metal greatness.
Looking at my favourites for 2024 (and that's across all music, not only noise), I was happily surprised to see so much females artist on my list, which I think is great but maybe I'm getting more mellow getting older? Anyway great releases all around this year, and excited for the next one to come.
Slowly catching up on releases I missed from 24 and had to add the Suspect Unknown LP on Fusty to this thread. Incredible record. So direct and confrontational.
All round that whole batch of releases from Fusty was great.