PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[k.p.g]

AMK - Crowns (Oxen)

Released in either 2013 or 2014.  Don't feel like going on Discogs to search.  Anyway - this is a fairly modern AMK release, and a good one at that.  It is very zen, which is strange to think about when thinking of my other experiences of enjoying AMK.  At best, other releases have been "liminal."  This one is just straight up beautiful though.  Turntable/flexi work on both sides that eventually gel into ambient bliss. 

File under: "don't let its $6 resale value fool you!!"

[k.p.g]

Smell & Quim - Bull Penis Soup (Glass Jelly Souffle)

Giving more looks to the Smell & Quim camp lately, and wanted to see what later era recordings would be like.  Currently enjoying this one aplenty.  Still great work of sampling/looping to be found here.  Harsh noise sounds have a more "cacophonous" energy to them than triumphant and cutting; works well for these guys though.  Smell & Quim have never had to be the harshest to prove their worth.  Also really enjoying the use of live drums in the mix with some more modern production sound.  Makes me think of a logical successor to some of the more tribal Butthole Surfers skin pounding... hah.

[k.p.g]

Milovan Srdenovic - Voodoo Bastard (Total Black, reissue)
More akin to "songs" than just straight up noise, but this proto-Smell & Quim venture is a really good one!  Being on a recent S&Q kick has taught me to appreciate their loop work a lot more, and I think this can be seen as the origin of those techniques being fleshed out.  The use of weird songs in this bunch made for a nice morning commute soundtrack.  I do prefer 5 Days in Hell a bit more, but a very good listen nonetheless.

Barn Sour - One (self-released)
Not much more I can say about this one that I haven't before.  It is a perfect tape; a comfort listen, if you will. 

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Grunt - Karike CD (Freak Animal)

New Grunt album. Not sure I've seen this discussed even though it's been out since January.

Very "salt of the earth" and organic feeling noise. Metal scraping and jangling, crude and jittery electronics, all with a very live feel to it.

More experimental than the usual Grunt affair. It feels like Mikko is exploring the early days of noise by working with less. Limitation or a set of rules can often set an artist to explore in directions they would not have otherwise. The sounds are a little more lo-fi, but also more nuanced and detail-oriented in smaller and sometimes quieter amplified sounds. 

A very naked and organic sounding noise album. This was a really nice surprise for me and very enjoyable.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Some time ago IOPS changed the routine to be almost entirely "off the social media", so releases have been made, but they are not usually announced in social media nor made available for distributors, so this limits titles be noticed by people who follow what is listed in nhfastore (more precisely https://nhfastore.net/iops ).

It is absolutely true, with this release there was intent to reject all the gear I am usually using and make album with other things. So no synth, no echoes, no tapes, and so on. Studio live recording with totally stripped down equipment. Same applied on collaborations with Gelsomina and Bizarre Uproar, although those had different gear than Karike. Each release had intent to do something different. There is also couple new releases under work, and while they may return more to Grunt song-oriented form, there is also different methods used.

Peoples Person CD (usagi)
Great! I did listen this three times instantly. That's pretty good with several of current CD's. Its almost topic I wanted to discuss on forum: c. 30 min albums? Even if format allow you to fill it up to 70+ mins, sometimes 30-ish minutes works great and also makes one instantly hit repeat. PP is raw and fierce, yet sometimes I think if there would be vocals added, it could pass as almost raw power electronics?

Cyess Afxzs "Kubin" CD
Another example of 30-ish minutes CD that works great. Originally C-20 tape release with one more song thrown on it. From complex noise works that incorporates subtle music on it.

Dressing "Morning Terror, Evening Well" CD
Almost 40 mins, works really well and this is another CD I listened multiple times today and while listening it at my store, person walks in, asks what is this and wants to buy it. Not knowing anything about the project. Simple thing really. Seems like mixer-feedback-loop + source sounds. Something that is VASTLY better than no-input mixer noise. I guess no-input really explains itself, when you just say it: I had no input on this noise. Yeah, dude. Dressing can boldly state that not only he has input on what he does. That is the vast difference to get mixer noise work in favor of artist ideas.

[piisti]

In my head Karike goes same category with Hehku and Kraniometria. Less preaching, more screaming of tones. Highly appreciated. Long live Grunt!

[piisti]

Some time ago IOPS changed the routine to be almost entirely "off the social media", so releases have been made, but they are not usually announced in social media nor made available for distributors, so this limits titles be noticed by people who follow what is listed in nhfastore (more precisely https://nhfastore.net/iops ).

It is absolutely true, with this release there was intent to reject all the gear I am usually using and make album with other things. So no synth, no echoes, no tapes, and so on. Studio live recording with totally stripped down equipment. Same applied on collaborations with Gelsomina and Bizarre Uproar, although those had different gear than Karike. Each release had intent to do something different. There is also couple new releases under work, and while they may return more to Grunt song-oriented form, there is also different methods used.

Peoples Person CD (usagi)
Great! I did listen this three times instantly. That's pretty good with several of current CD's. Its almost topic I wanted to discuss on forum: c. 30 min albums? Even if format allow you to fill it up to 70+ mins, sometimes 30-ish minutes works great and also makes one instantly hit repeat. PP is raw and fierce, yet sometimes I think if there would be vocals added, it could pass as almost raw power electronics?

Cyess Afxzs "Kubin" CD
Another example of 30-ish minutes CD that works great. Originally C-20 tape release with one more song thrown on it. From complex noise works that incorporates subtle music on it.

Dressing "Morning Terror, Evening Well" CD
Almost 40 mins, works really well and this is another CD I listened multiple times today and while listening it at my store, person walks in, asks what is this and wants to buy it. Not knowing anything about the project. Simple thing really. Seems like mixer-feedback-loop + source sounds. Something that is VASTLY better than no-input mixer noise. I guess no-input really explains itself, when you just say it: I had no input on this noise. Yeah, dude. Dressing can boldly state that not only he has input on what he does. That is the vast difference to get mixer noise work in favor of artist ideas.

Some time ago IOPS changed the routine to be almost entirely "off the social media", so releases have been made, but they are not usually announced in social media nor made available for distributors, so this limits titles be noticed by people who follow what is listed in nhfastore (more precisely https://nhfastore.net/iops ).

It is absolutely true, with this release there was intent to reject all the gear I am usually using and make album with other things. So no synth, no echoes, no tapes, and so on. Studio live recording with totally stripped down equipment. Same applied on collaborations with Gelsomina and Bizarre Uproar, although those had different gear than Karike. Each release had intent to do something different. There is also couple new releases under work, and while they may return more to Grunt song-oriented form, there is also different methods used.

Peoples Person CD (usagi)
Great! I did listen this three times instantly. That's pretty good with several of current CD's. Its almost topic I wanted to discuss on forum: c. 30 min albums? Even if format allow you to fill it up to 70+ mins, sometimes 30-ish minutes works great and also makes one instantly hit repeat. PP is raw and fierce, yet sometimes I think if there would be vocals added, it could pass as almost raw power electronics?

Cyess Afxzs "Kubin" CD
Another example of 30-ish minutes CD that works great. Originally C-20 tape release with one more song thrown on it. From complex noise works that incorporates subtle music on it.

Dressing "Morning Terror, Evening Well" CD
Almost 40 mins, works really well and this is another CD I listened multiple times today and while listening it at my store, person walks in, asks what is this and wants to buy it. Not knowing anything about the project. Simple thing really. Seems like mixer-feedback-loop + source sounds. Something that is VASTLY better than no-input mixer noise. I guess no-input really explains itself, when you just say it: I had no input on this noise. Yeah, dude. Dressing can boldly state that not only he has input on what he does. That is the vast difference to get mixer noise work in favor of artist ideas.

Some time ago IOPS changed the routine to be almost entirely "off the social media", so releases have been made, but they are not usually announced in social media nor made available for distributors, so this limits titles be noticed by people who follow what is listed in nhfastore (more precisely https://nhfastore.net/iops ).

It is absolutely true, with this release there was intent to reject all the gear I am usually using and make album with other things. So no synth, no echoes, no tapes, and so on. Studio live recording with totally stripped down equipment. Same applied on collaborations with Gelsomina and Bizarre Uproar, although those had different gear than Karike. Each release had intent to do something different. There is also couple new releases under work, and while they may return more to Grunt song-oriented form, there is also different methods used.

Peoples Person CD (usagi)
Great! I did listen this three times instantly. That's pretty good with several of current CD's. Its almost topic I wanted to discuss on forum: c. 30 min albums? Even if format allow you to fill it up to 70+ mins, sometimes 30-ish minutes works great and also makes one instantly hit repeat. PP is raw and fierce, yet sometimes I think if there would be vocals added, it could pass as almost raw power electronics?

Latest YANA tape was 35mins totally. Fou CD was less than 30mins only. If you are listening those I guess they make no time-line difference. Just listened latest Tyhjä Pää c31 via online few times and it just felt like maximum twenty minutes long.

[k.p.g]

Kyle Flanagan - BZT (self-released)
Awesome, fried out electronics from Kyle's NYC days.  If I had to guess what the source of these sounds are, it would have to be modified reel to reel deck.  It's a short tape, but covers plenty of ground; crumbling wall, tape gunk, murky junk and plenty of sputtering feedback.  It's always nice to go back to the tapes of this era when I feel like I was trying to absorb every last word the NYC crew was giving to me when I visited Dead Gods just about every other weekend.  Nostalgia can cloud your perception on records at times, but not the case here.  This tape still crushes, this sound is still vital.

Robert Fuchs - Spectator (New Forces)
I'm not sure why I'm stuck on 2021 today, but we can roll with it!  I actually can remember this being my first experience with the Robert Fuchs project too.  The name was getting a ton of buzz in certain pockets of noise, but the tapes were near impossible to find unless you knew where to look.  Bummer; wasn't sure I would ever hear it at that point. But then New Forces came through with this one; amazing! 
But despite all that, I find myself coming back to this tape with fresh ears.  It's been years since I heard it, and I probably played it out of a shittier stereo speaker the last time I did.  Therefore, this feels like a first time listen again.  And with that, I have to say I do really appreciate some of the project's more unconventional approaches to composition.  There is one part at the beginning that reminds me less of noise and more of a cartoon sound EFX record.  It's like a loop of someone being hit with a baseball bat.  You don't hear that everyday in noise!  As it goes on, field recordings find their way through the thick murk of this onslaught.  Never a dull moment to be had here.  An excellent revisit for today.

[k.p.g]

Due Process - God's Favorite Noise (RRR)
Unsure of the last time I revisited this tape.  I think I bought it from RRRon during the pandemic.  Yeah... sounds about right.  At the time, I am sure I thought of it as just weirdo & meandering sound collage.  Now though?  Lovely listen for cooking my meals for the weak to.  The interplay of spoken conversations on-air with various types of noise provides a journey.  Sometimes the two clash and create a rather disorienting attack on the senses.  Sometimes, it feels epic as all hell.  A great release.

R.H.Y. Yau - Coagulation: Selected Works 1996-2000 (Auscultare Research)
A bizarre compilation of the early years of this California figurehead.  This compilation does feel like you are witnessing the evolution of Yau's work right before you as it goes along.  Starts off very strong with his side of a split with Government Alpha.  You get some puke noises following that.  Admittedly, the disc does fall off a bit in the middle, but finds itself regaining composure by the end.  What started as just a series of vocal freak outs ends with static buzzes and hums; some thumping and the occasional regurgitation.  It feels like I successfully moved through the bowels of R.H.Y. Yau.  Lucky me (I guess?)!  This disc may not leave the rotation for a minute.

[Theodore]

Due Process - God's Favorite Noise (RRR)
I think I bought it from RRRon during the pandemic.

Does Ron keeps them in print for the shop only ? Do you know ? You can see this release up for sale at 99EUR !

RE: Due Process: I recently got this https://www.discogs.com/release/366628-Due-Process-RRRadio-26-30 . Maybe i reverse sides but i think it was Side B that felt weirdo and meandering. But Side A ? My first thought was this is the best collage i have ever listened ! In my utopia there would be only one radio station that will play only sound collages, to not say only sound collages of these guys, cause it's impossible to have them there 24/7. But it's an utopia, we can do it, 24/7 Due Process.

[k.p.g]

Does Ron keeps them in print for the shop only ? Do you know ? You can see this release up for sale at 99EUR !

The RRRon process I've always known is "if I have the tape master, I'll make you a copy."  I'd say shoot an email and see if he still has a copy of it.  99EUR is insane when you could get it off the man for $10!

[k.p.g]

Taint - Piece-Meal Dissection (Reanimated Miscarriage, reissue)
At $9 USD, this reissue is simply too good for you to pass up.  Reanimated Miscarriage knocked it out the park as far as packaging goes.  Multiple layers of piece-meal dissection lead you to this gross cassette.  Having packaged razorblades with cassettes before, never have I thought to tie 2 razorblades to both sides of the physical tape before.  So much anxiety went into trying to remove those without slicing my finger.  Crisis averted - let's play this.

I've always been under the impression that while Taint has had its fair share of great stuff, Mania was the Keith Brewer project for me.  It felt more mature, more realized, etc.  This release proves I am wrong, and that Keith had his vision set out from the get-go.  This sounds like a mutated synth bubbling over the edge with samples galore.  Some sound like broken spirits crying for help; others are the obvious fuck n suck show sounds.  Scrap metal continues to grow throughout each track on top of this.  By description alone, you might be thinking something chaotic, but it is surprisingly disciplined in its restraint!

It will be hard to find any better reissue this year.

[Tribe Tapes]

Private Collector K7 [2025, Not On Label]
Longform tapestry of (to my ears) processed field recs tapes and electronics. At its sparser moments it touches on an uncanny valley type of feeling, vague mouth sounds emanating over what could be either a synthesizer or just as likely churning water. When harsher it teeters on the verge of collapse.

[k.p.g]

Kyle Flanagan - Purely Psychedelic (self-released)
I cannot believe it is already 5 years since the first tape in this series came out.  Wow.  Ugh.  Here I am; so young, yet feeling so fucking old.  But you know what isn't old?  This tape.  It still stands the test of time.  I told myself this morning "I want a mellow tape to get in the zone to.  Where do I find that?"  This wasn't what I expected to pull out, and I actually did not recognize this as being the first volume in the Purely Psychedelic series. 

Sound wise, it takes its time to evolve.  Synth crawls creep at a glacial pace, with the occasional variation coming in every so often.  Similar to a record like Coil's Time Machines, this tape can present changes you won't really notice until they are already there.  For as much action as I find myself making in my own noise works, it is nice to put the breaks on and hear something that reminds you of the power that a slower pace can bring.  As far as I am concerned, very few do that better than Kyle.  Now I am curious to revisit the rest of these.  I know that he has plans to release a Volume 9 to the series, so this could be a great pregame.

[Zeno Marx]

Private Collector K7 [2025, Not On Label]

a lesson in how to not be searchable