V/A ELEVEN NOTES IN BLACK - Various Houston Artists Noise Compilation CD
Mask Of The Slave Records 2009
About same time as I re-issued to me some of the classic old Houston noise tape comps on Industrial Recollections (V/A Tension State Collapsing I+II 2xCD), came out this compilation that was compliled over 10 years later by very same mr. Richard Ramirez and put out on Romanian label. It's curious to compare how things were then and how they are now.
In a way, one could say, things haven't changed that much. Houston harsh noise is still characterized by filthy and rough harsh noise. Basically the landmark sound of "american harsh noise of 90's". No Japanese influenced hifi, no super layered and edited material. Just crude rawness was was originally packaged in C-60's with xerox sleeves.
Melani Riehle (known from Limacon, Baptist Skin Community, Rapecity,..) continues well with the tradition. Simple wall of noise, with enough of texture to keep it interesting. You can spot some tones and random bass rumbles below the surface of fuzz, feedback and crackles. Everything is pretty flat, not very distinctive sounds, but in this case, can be given as positive attribute.
S.P.I.T. is scott houston, known as member of BLJ and Respirator, and his style could be kind of classic houston. It is very harsh, very nasty, but sounds like one take live in studio. Some vocals noise, some feedback, very much same range of sound as "deadline crew" in general. It's relatively dynamic. Like Masonna and Randy Yau, with all the "coolness" and artistic merit that may appeal to "outsiders" removed, and focused on just underground noise filth. I like it.
Loudspeaker is GEorg Markoff, also known from Wasp Honeymoon etc. His sound is the heavy wall of noise. Low bass rumbling, very widely stereo separated crispy high end. It doesn't sound violent, more like creeping & slowly moving wall. It has enough of texture to be interesting, but also compared to tracks before, quite carefully balanced.. making it in the end pretty.. soft? I guess wrong word to use, but it lacks any element of danger and loudness. Still pretty decent track.
T.E.F. should be no news to anyone into texas noise. Also member of BLJ, but his solo work well known. And not without reason. His style could be perhaps compared to analogue times of Thirdorgan and noise works of Monde Bruits? It has fast moving electronic atmosphere, but no aim to create heavy bassy rumble or brutal lo-fi harshness. Track could have been perhaps before Loudspeaker, since when the track before was so fully abusing all frequencies to absolute maximum, T.E.F. sounds slightly silent in comparison. But this is one of the artists that should be published more on LP or CD!
Last Rape, is one of the endless Ramirez projects. It seems like projects have pretty vague concept in style. There is some name, but it could be also published under other name. Like now. This isn't perhaps the similar Last Rape what I have heard recently, but this is great. It's heavy, it's slowly waving, like harsh noise take on death industrial / dark ambient. It's massive and bassy, but also a lot of great detail, density, and kind of subtle tonality what changes nature of sound from "noise" into something else. Of course, no melody, but some sort of obscure harmony. Fucking amazing, one could listen this track for half an hour and just sink into it.
Concerete Violin had unfortunate duty to be the next. And his quite routine short noise blast couldn't really bring anything special after supremacy of Last Rape.
Forced Orgasm originally from Japan, now living in Houston TX, also brings easy slighly droning noise. It has high pitched fuzz what sounds as if computer distortion would have been applied in top of everything, making it crispy, but also somehow covered in veil of flattening effect. When track proggresses further and you start to forget what happened on previous tracks, I start to appreciate this. Not phenomenal, but good.
Werewolf Jerusalem has to unfortunate role again, to be nearly 100% similar in range & types of sounds, but just being inferior in substance. Problem of wall of noise is that it is good if its good. But when its bad, its bad. You known from beginning of track that this it is. There's not going to be changes. And from beginning of this track, I knew it simply won't stand out on this compilation. It's like sound range of Forced Orgasm without substance. Composition close to Loudspeaker, without good sound and interesting texture.
Baptist Skin Community another Ramirez related project. Good name. That's one of the reasons why I bought many of the tapes of project. And they don't fail here either. One could say the track basically walks hand in hand with Last Rape. It's dark, slow, noisy, but not exactly plain noisE. Minimalism of wall is decorated with subtle structures and good sound. No computer distortion like pitch, but suffocating and nasty. End of track is nearly like waves of ocean.. which it might be?
In the Lands of Archers is duo with guys from Last Rape and BLJ, but no Ramirez here. And you can see where perhaps some tonality and certain other qualities of Last Rape emerges. This lacks the crudeness of Ramirez hand, and is more hi-fi, hight pitched, but pretty unique. Below crystal clear feedback & electronics, you hear echoing spoken sounds and tones. Very distinctive sounds. Without being too clean, you can easily spot all the layers and elements that create this great piece. Band only has handful of CDR's done between 2002 till now, I guess mostly on their own label. And probably sold out long ago. I wonder if their full length output matches quality of this track?
CD is completed by White Nurse Black Death. Ramirez and members of Kai-Ros. You can hear the very typical effect boxes Ramirez likes to use, but it's nice. Is it ultra fast delay effect turning sounds to oscillating drone? Is there bass guitar on back? Clashing metals, some high pitched fuzz. Perhaps sound not totally ideal, but the texture is rich enough to carry short harsh noise piece to end with pride.
While I'm not too keen on the cover art or design, I would strongly recommend this. With few weaker points, especially as companion to Tension State Collapsing, it is very good way of getting to know with this whole Deadline / Houston / BLJ scene. And once again, it simply keeps surpricing me, how little quality control Ramirez has when putting out his own works, and then when he is curator of compilation, he managed to pull out pretty much some of the best things in noise???
Well, conclusion, if you want something from Ramirez or Mask of The Slave label, let it be this compilation! (MA)
