While dubbing Mania "All Aftermath" tapes, I tend to listen every dub I make - of course not completely, but handful of seconds from both sides, to make sure sound level and brightness is on level I expect them to be. Often noise tape is easy to measure. If red light is blinking, its good dub. This tape, has so much dynamic range, that it varies from fairly quiet to loud. So always listening short fraction located about 2 minutes spot from beginning of tape and the b-side from same place. I know it is sort of lame to praise things you put out on your label, but after listening this tape many times in full, but also listening literally more than hundred times this one particular fragment of it, it makes me wonder how much there is noise with such a rich dynamic range?
And would you prefer noise that is as loud as possible all the time, or is there particular favorites where albums/tapes have wide dynamic range. Tension, expectation, climax... and not just all climax? hah...
Especially with contemporary CD production, everybody tends to push master to ultimate maximum, which can be fine, but also shows certain limitation. If you are already at the absolute maximum, where you go when you want some particular elements to stand out notch more?
I am not particularly fan of noise being like equivalent of "jump scare" tactics of horror movies. But I am quite surprised how little there are noise compositions that take advantage of CD format (or digital in general) dynamic range. Too bad I can't remember at all what was the first CD that made me think about. I just remember that I was listening some experimental, yet noisy CD, that had been going for long time. Volume was adjusted to perfect to what it should be. And then suddenly I am thinking what is that HUGE sonic roar, bass-loaded and colossal sound, as if bulldozers ready to demolish your house. And get up to watch from window, and turns out it was "just" as sounds on composition, that managed to surprise. When rest of the album was happening on certain volume and certain frequencies, suddenly bassy droning element was slowly crawling in, using both, way way wider frequencies and way louder volume, that it really added another dimension to piece you thought you were already listening loud.
With this Mania tape, there are some of those moments. When you crank it up, on volume, and it slowly starts scraping and clanging and crushing, but there is more to come. Parts of the tape, compared to other parts are extra punishing if you thought to listen it with the volume it has in very beginning.
Favorites, recommendations? Not perhaps just the cut-up noise that vary with expected silences and maximum bursts, but albums with somehow surprising dynamic elements?
