Mares Laig "Sun Turned Leather Serpent" 2xCS (Clandestine Compositions)
One; I have to admit I'm slightly suspicious of lots of the micro-labels that seem to be taking not just a few cues from the Posh Isolation/early Strange Rules aesthetic, but that's pretty hypocritical coming from me. Two; this is only two C10s – ridiculous, should've been one C20. Yes, this is interesting stuff, spacious, detailed mix of key synths, field recordings, and tone-generator electronics, continuing from the tape on Private Archive; but you'd have to convince me otherwise that the tracks aren't just two ten-minute pieces cut in half. This is also either mastered or dubbed too quietly, I've got this cranked and some parts are just a little too light in the loafers for me. I hope there's more coming from this project though, it's somewhere (unclassifiably) between drone, ambient, and abstract – but with none of the charming and somewhat trendy emphasis on tapes, saturation, and decay. If you've ever wondered what a fusion of low-key industrial and subtle modern classical might be like, I guess this could be it? Might satisify if you liked the Vanessa Amara tape and LP on Posh Isolation. It's late spring, windly, slightly overcast, good weather for this kind of thing. Could be wrong, but I think I hear quotes from U.G. Krishnamurti on the final piece.
Henrik Soderstrom/August Leven split CS (Forever United)
Side A from the guy behind a project I quite like, called Hander Som Vardar, and the Side B from someone I'd never heard of until now.
A side, Sodertstrom's, begins with some Steve Reich-type looping of some (perhaps Nausea) crust singer introducing a song about "peace, cooperation, and anarchy," before things explode into wet crumbling static. Very nice Bloodyminded "Magnetism" textures going on here. Things take kind of a laser-noise turn that frankly is hard to see as standing on it's own, before static is reintroduced and is heavy/bassy without being a full-on ice-fishing drill. As it is, I guess this reminds me of certain Italo-noise like Dead Body Love or Mauthausen Orchestra, which is a nice suprise from the more subdued loop noise I'd expected. Disappointingly, the side of the tape ends before the actual piece seems to.
Oh well – on to uncharted territory with August Leven on Side B. Totally different vibes along the lines of old Bianchi, maybe even If, Bwana with a mix of austere electronics and field recordings, with a loop sensibility and fluttery, wowing tape texture. If you told me this was the US project Copley Medal, I'd believe it from what little I've heard, and that's not a bad thing at all. Things stop after several repetitions and introduce what is blatantly a job-site or workday field recording, also victim to some nice wow and flutter, making very little sound great and disturbing until the weird high-end tones from earlier come back and modulate into harsher alongside some phone-like tones and a dripping water layer. By now, the remnants of the job site loop sound like some monster. Things shortly thereafter fade into some reverberated field recording of what sounds like the leakiest warehouse you can find. Then, some weird new-age twinkly '80s synth emerges from the background Short silence, then crushing, rumbling yet wet/detailed tape-saturated something or other acts like a noise wall alongside some "spraying" tones while at one point, some eerie key synth hangs in the background, only to end almost immediately. I need to hear more August Leven STAT!!
Umgreifende "II" CS (Angst)
Going in blind, I knew only this was the project from the Angst main man. Starts off with what seems to be ominously-reverberated tone synths pulsing away alongside distant clanking and tinkling. Sort of "small" approach to whatever one would call such a thing, I guess. At one point, some very strange chime-like synthesized tones come in – I want to say this sounds like certain moments from Japanese act Negative Climax. Perhaps Organum? The synthesizers have a dark Italian distinctiveness that somehow brings to mind Slaughter Productions' "softer" side. Whatever the case, there's a more esoteric feel than the austerity and introvertedness of many of today's not-outright-or-PE projects, and at one point, things slide into pretty maddening/interesting H.N.A.S./Dom/Ultra territory. That cannot be a bad thing.
Really nicely reverberated metal sounds alongside flute-like synth (or feedback) and guitar (or bass?) and some noise bounce around in a very flashy way immediately beginning side B. Indescribably good noises explode while a very weird, queasy loop is briefly introduced, leading to some excellent tape warping effects and quick edits. Things get more subdued and to some extent, return to the atmosphere of the A-side, but in a more threatening sort of way; complete with more details to notice than once can mention in a review. You could lazily call this psychedelic and such, but that really doesn't begin to describe how good and how daring this is. Pieces complex enough to get lost in feel much longer than the c. 10 minutes each. I need the first cassette from this project as soon as possible, if there's anyone reading this and not sharing my enthusiasm for the project. Excellent at every turn and recommended!!!
Elephants Mourn "Tirana" CS (Blodad Tand)
Sort of a continuation of the last tape, which was awkward and lo-fi serene "new age" type stuff gone awry, this gets a bit dirtier, weirder, sadder, and tape-warped. There's a very small label/project called Korea Undok Group (look for an interview in Fordamning #10), and this sounds like something at home on that label, basically like everything I've heard on it. This, however, is my favorite project from the equally-obscure Swedish label Blodad Tand. The first A-side piece feels like some kind of airport loudspeaker scenario, background noise and field recordings against minimal beat and melody. The second piece is a depressive piano melody alongside some jet-engine field recordings which brings to mind an airport bar. Seems like whomever makes this music travels a great deal, but doesn't see much good of the world.
Sort of cheesy but still very bleak layered, sequenced techno-synths begin side B, but are also subject to the aforementioned warping which makes everything about this project interesting. Something about this music is just "off," sounds somehow unable to express joy. It doesn't really suprise me that the same person appears to be at least partially responsible for all of the projects on this label, being that they are different but share many similarities. Oddly, there is a flute progression that seems to have also been used on the other tape from this project; maybe there's some kind of personal narrative? "Sensitive liberated autistics" indeed!
C.R. Odette "The Ring" CS (Vitrine)
Pretty strange brew of musique-concrete/field recording/tape-collage-with-electronics kind of thing that appears to be "popular" these days. This is the kind of thing that sounds a little more unpleasant than arty, more moody than intimate, although there is quite a personal vibe. The layering and tape treatment of various sources here is so detailed as to be quite the task to isolate; I hear synth loops, bassier loops, human voice, more synth tones, some kind of reverberated spacious sound, and more. For lots of folks on this forum, this is pretty much wading into Hanson territory, but still leagues away from American tapes bullshit. Well, you be the judge...annoying amp buzz and pointless conversation opens the next piece until things get interesting with what sounds like a presumably-black bum going between explaining his bad day and making trouble. I guess in the way that some might want to read stuff by R. Crumb or Harvey Pekar, you might find this interesting, but day-in-the-weirdo's-life things rightly don't interest some. Nice brake-gringing high-end tones amidst some really subtle bass whirring loops fade in following our troubled friend's departure, and actually continue for quite a while (said kind of austere minimalism I'm a sucker for), then side ends. It's indexed at four pieces on the A-side...to me, there was no way to distinguish where one ends and another begins.
Things get a little grimier on the B-side, reminding me in the intro piece of certain Broken Flag or M.B. moments – echoing muffled voice against angular electronics, decayed to shit on tape. Things literally sound like Organum meets a cuckoo clock following that, but still somehow continuing the '80s, grainy reverberated vibe. This is certainly what I'd call challenging, to anyone's perceptions of attitude in music. If you can handle off-putting atmosphere, this is for you. After the fade-out, an insane and fast-moving cut-up of various tape sources rushes in with a sort of embarassing beat gathering everything together in the background. Some sort of idiot teenager mumbling bullshit on top of that, luckily we hear his voice as a sort of instrument rather than whatever he's saying, although I do glean "non-living material" a couple of times. Yeah, sure, man. This is quite maddening, and I could see how in a certain mood I might punch myself for listening to this. Certainly interested to hear more of what Vitrine is all about, but more of this project? Maybe not. This certainly takes skill, but on the other hand, I think this has the effect on me that noisecore might on certain folks..."why, of all things I could be doing in life, am I listening to this at this moment?" I can see the fans of more recent Joy DeVivre outings, the Swedish tape stuff, the artier side of Strange Rules, et al digging this...and did I mention our inarticulate friend pays another visit just before things get truly weird?
(Various Artists) "Deviant" 2xCS (Moral Defeat)
Side A begins with Forbidden Colors; pretty simple and techno-ish industrial beat against sample of two twinks fucking. Next up is a more ambient-industrial piece with some unintelligible sample and a nice build that cuts off abruptly into thin static, just as the last track did. Just stops after a point. Some quiet, reverberated noisy patches against a minimal rhythm following that; this could be so much better than it is yet just fails to excite or bring to mind anything I might call deviant. Some hesitant lazy synth wanking in the background. Things end suddenly again to give way to an echo piece that could have been something like Maurizio Bianchi but instead did nothing interesting. End of side. Again, neither exciting nor deviant-sounding.
Side B starts off as a somewhat thin wall of static noise from Black Leather Jesus. Grainy, mid-and-high range wooshing and hissing without bass. While things do get more interesting and synthier, they don't get heavy. I've heard better use of Richard's more minimal take on things in Werewolf Jerusalem, and some parts just should be much louder, less tinny. At one point, things are broken up by a more enjoyable sample than the twinkfest on the previous side, but it's not the "devil wants you to eat shit, boy" kind of thing.
Next up, Straight Panic on Side C. Extremely primitive, crude, and lo-fi power electronics; four tracks in only ten minutes. First one has unintelligible vocals and sample I assume is about gay rights. Really tasty feedback that could easily be a tenor sax! Second track basically more of the same lines with dynamic noise backdrop and fluttery feedback. Third piece sounds like some kind of distorted field recording, perhaps some public restroom action? Think "Bradford Red Light District," I.E. not interesting enough to carry context. Then some delayed Ramleh-type moaning amidst slow feedback; there might even be metal percussion in this track, but everything's too muddy, quiet, muffled, and lo-fi to sound anywhere near attention-grabbing. That's all for Straight Panic.
Last, we have Body Stress. Forward-momentum harsh noise along the lines of Skin Crime, Macro, '90's BLJ, Wince, et al. Not as good as those guys for inapparent dynamics; but at least there's some audible acoustic elements and some nice field recordings amidst the swirling mass. All in all, not something I'd revisit, and not sure the condom it came with will fit, either.
