PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[Yrjö-Koskinen]

KOSMODROM - Forbidden Planet (CS)
Alex said this one would be on the harsher side, but it still took me one hell of a long time to get around to listening to it. Well, after a number of drinks and a number of successful online interactions with various important people, I finally got around to listening to this on my Philips Freestyle (the latter is 80's Swedish for "Walkman", by the way). While I own the complete Kosmodrom cassettography, and really kind of love the whole concept as well as the sound, this is really a new level. Keeping things psychedelic, and definitely remaining in some kind of post-HNW space, this is still closer to home for those of us who like our noise harsh and our harsh noise. There are multiple facets - churning distortion, waves of feedback, tendencies towards ambiance rather than ambient... It's really quite spectacular. While this tape, as per usual, is inspired by any number of Sci-Fi films, novels and records, you don't have to be a Sci-Fi nerd to enjoy it. Nor do you have to be a hardcore HNW fan - this is simply fabulous noise that puts you in a good mood. The Level of Vulnerability delivered on this one, as did the good Dr. Alex.

[Scat-O-Logy]

Urall "Nothing But These Bright Edges" CS (Midnight Manhunt, 2017)
        Bought this basically at random because I'd seen the artist post here occasionally, and wanted to take a chance on something unfamiliar. I'm glad I did, because this is great stuff albeit very much the vogue "bedroom tape concrete" style that is rather current. Nevertheless, this stuff has a melancholic vibe and an austerity that doesn't feel forced or contrived. Simple, crunching and crinking field recordings alongside some looped, decayed melodies (synth, I'm guessing) and processed recordings of birds, insects, etc. This is the type of stuff to go with your morning coffee when you have to get up early and it's cold out, or maybe after coming home exhausted from work – this definitely has an atmosphere and an absorbing quality, but not overwhelmingly so. This isn't ambient as a style of music, but ambient in the sense that varying degrees of attention in listening will probably all produce valid results/reactions. I will note that this stuff is a bit "soft" and radiant, kind of like the above-mentioned O Ratel Ratel. While very much industrial and experimental in nature, I wouldn't assume it has much of a chance with the black-military-hat crowd. Folks into more "accessible" stuff would love this, especially fans of Elisha Morningstar and the Strange Rules roster. Some great warped, saturated piano recordings seem to confirm that suspicion. Overall this feels experimental and not fully-formed, but by no means a pointless exercise. Sketches rather than "songs." Get this if you like solitude and the outdoors.

Hey thanx for picking it up and the nice words!

This made me curious so decided to check your Soundcloud page and I'm glad that I did. These tracks has very obscure sound and it makes the monotonous piano/string arrangements work so well. The murky quality is what keeps it interesting. Checked some other tracks and seems like there is a lot of variation with the sounds you are using. One criticism I have is the fade in/fade out in the mix but that's just a matter of personal taste I guess... That being said, just added these to my ever growing wantlist.

Been listening to more folk influenced stuff with somewhat similar sound: Semilanceata and Wagner Ödegård. His "Nidvintern" lacks all the folk influences and happens to be one of best tape manipulation/synth modulation recordings I've heard recently. That and everything else can be listened here: http://brugmanziah.bandcamp.com/album/nidvintern

He's also behind black metal bands Wulkanaz and Tomhet, both my personal favorites.

A master in creating unique sound.

[Euro Trash Bazooka]

Damn Josh, thanks a lot for the super thorough and intense reviews, and the very kind words.

[urall]

Urall "Nothing But These Bright Edges" CS (Midnight Manhunt, 2017)
        Bought this basically at random because I'd seen the artist post here occasionally, and wanted to take a chance on something unfamiliar. I'm glad I did, because this is great stuff albeit very much the vogue "bedroom tape concrete" style that is rather current. Nevertheless, this stuff has a melancholic vibe and an austerity that doesn't feel forced or contrived. Simple, crunching and crinking field recordings alongside some looped, decayed melodies (synth, I'm guessing) and processed recordings of birds, insects, etc. This is the type of stuff to go with your morning coffee when you have to get up early and it's cold out, or maybe after coming home exhausted from work – this definitely has an atmosphere and an absorbing quality, but not overwhelmingly so. This isn't ambient as a style of music, but ambient in the sense that varying degrees of attention in listening will probably all produce valid results/reactions. I will note that this stuff is a bit "soft" and radiant, kind of like the above-mentioned O Ratel Ratel. While very much industrial and experimental in nature, I wouldn't assume it has much of a chance with the black-military-hat crowd. Folks into more "accessible" stuff would love this, especially fans of Elisha Morningstar and the Strange Rules roster. Some great warped, saturated piano recordings seem to confirm that suspicion. Overall this feels experimental and not fully-formed, but by no means a pointless exercise. Sketches rather than "songs." Get this if you like solitude and the outdoors.

Hey thanx for picking it up and the nice words!

This made me curious so decided to check your Soundcloud page and I'm glad that I did. These tracks has very obscure sound and it makes the monotonous piano/string arrangements work so well. The murky quality is what keeps it interesting. Checked some other tracks and seems like there is a lot of variation with the sounds you are using. One criticism I have is the fade in/fade out in the mix but that's just a matter of personal taste I guess... That being said, just added these to my ever growing wantlist.

Cool i appreciate it, thnx!  And i get what you mean with the fades, it's maybe indeed a way of 'working' i'm a bit stuck in at the moment.

[Yrjö-Koskinen]

JAPANESE TORTURE COMEDY HOUR - Recycled
Before ordering and receiving a pile of Recycled tapes (these are fucking great, and everyone should be reminded of them at all times everywhere), my experience with JTCH was limited to their track on the Release Your Mind vol 2 compilation. Now, that track is truly fantastic and suitable even for group listening. This tape is more of a mish-mash of all sorts of ideas. It begins terribly with shitty grind/punk influenced noise which makes me want to punch people. After only a few minutes, though, droning feedback and brutal loops take over the proceedings, and I'm where I want to be. Unfortunately, drums and what might be heavily deconstructed guitar reappear time and time again throughout, but occasionally it is at least charming in an early C.S.S.O. or perhaps simply Anal Cunt type of way. When it sticks to noise, JTCH's Recycled tape is excellent, and there are also plenty of experimental parts that work out comparatively well. The attacks of punk/rehearsal space fuck-aroundery remains a slight annoyance throughout. In its defense, the constant shifting about of style and the incoherent utilization of odd ideas (including goofy-ass vocals) serve to make sure that you never get bored. No need to light candles and practice breeding techniques to keep your attention from slipping here. If you're like me, you'll spend approximately half the time being severely annoyed and the other half enjoying yourself. Clearly a better ratio than the life average, so why not give it a go?           

[FreakAnimalFinland]

atrax morgue "Cut My Throat" Lp + Cd
urashima
Once in a while, I find myself thinking how many more Atrax Morgue LP's one needs? This, is one of those moments. If it wasn't the fetishistic love for Slaughter productions lethal noise, this would file pretty much 100% under wanky crap. One of the worst AM things in my collections. One can try to convince it being worth being on LP, since there ain't many of this style AM releases done on LP. But in the other hand, perhaps that was better situation?

Necrofilia "Sein Zum Tode" Lp
Urashima
And then you get things like this. Atrax Morgue side project, vitalizing the interest levels for more AM stuff on vinyl! This is dark, ripping, lethal synth & vocals narrating necrophiliac urges or other deadly themes. It's minimal in a way, but quite unlike usual AM stuff. Structure of electronics is different, although same bleak minimalist approach.

[Yrjö-Koskinen]

DEAD BODY COLLECTION - Recycled
After praising the Recycled series yesterday I felt somewhat weird, given that the particular tape was very much a mixed bag and my comments ambivalent. Today will be better! Being a completionist (so far) when it comes to Dr. Alex' Kosmodrom project, I can immediately admit that I do prefer that to DBC, as well as to much other HNW. This tape does have the only two things which Kosmodrom holds back on: harshness and monotony. Two great walls, one per side. The first one is a bit murky and miserable, the second has a fuzzy edge to it. In no way annoying or unpleasant, despite having plenty of rawness and little to no dynamic changes. The sound fluctuates in a fairly cyclic manner in endless quasi-loops of distorted fuzz. No melody, no rhythm, no music. Meditative in a fashion. Once again, from a conceptual, and often from a pure enjoyment, standpoint I am actually more impressed with Kosmodrom, but DBD will always have that pure, HNW edge that makes it worth listening to time and time again.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

A. LICHT / T.SHIRAISHI "Our lips are sealed" CD
RRR/Pure
I picked this up today from shelves just as I didn't remember at all what it was. Merely 20 minute piece of free-jazz noise. Or jazz? Well, basically one can use that reference merely due usage of saxophone. Trying to play through some dance-music oriented Nocturnal Emissions CD's before this, and being forced to eject disc before losing my will to live, this disc felt perhaps even more amazing than it is.
For some reason, it sounds really painful. Shirashi's saxophone is more of Borbetomagus than jazz. It's short and most irritating sounds, almost just equivalent or screeching glass. Nothing musical really. Alan Licht is NYC guitarist known for playing with Lee Ronaldo etc. His role here is to abuse Twin Reverb, Digital Delay, Turbo Rat, Tube Screamer, to create noisy electronics. After CD ended, I checked out from discogs what this really was and turns out I just didn't remember it was originally part of Pure series, but happened to have this RRR jewelbox version in my shelves too. For whatever reason, I don't see this mentioned even in list of Pure CD's I made here:
http://www.special-interests.net/forum/index.php?topic=3097.0
Perhaps famous names (Shiraishi, founder of Fushitsusha) may create situation where one doesn't necessarily want to check it out. Or lets say, to me it often seems that there is big gap between people who will only check noise made by well known artists, and the others will stay as far as possible if there is even remote link to sellingpoints including famous rock groups.

That Pure topic should be certainly resurrected. Entire Pure series feels like needing to be revisited!

NMPERING / JASON LESCALLEET "Love me two times" 2xCD
Intransitive Recordings
Too bad my copy of the item is so heavily scratched, first disc keeps skipping... Not that this would be rare or hard to find to have good copy in mint condition. Lescalleet has always been brilliant. I have less experience with Nmpering. Perhaps length alone makes this too long to really make one big impact, but it's listening pleasure consisting over and over again "what a great sounds" -feelings. There is strength and vision in composition too, but tasty sounds themselves are the real power of this release. Lots of physical objects and carefully adjusted sound textures.

[Yrjö-Koskinen]

NAPALMED - Recycled
This could go on for a few days, but since I have time for about a tape/night and have a recently received pile of these it makes sense both to listen to them and write a little on them. I first got to know Napalmed as the inferior half of a split with Yggdrasil (I seem to remember I wrote something about that here 1+ years ago). This bad-boy is better - perhaps due to the lack of competition, but more likely because this is really better. There are some musical samples and other things that border on bullshit/joke-noise, but most of the time they are included in a sufficiently classy way so as not to offend my delicate sensibilities. Lots of stuff going on here - "percussion" made up of clocks, clicks and hisses meets sweet-ass distorted rumblings and more commonplace abuse of things iron and hard. The intensity varies immensely, though it seldom lets up completely. Sometimes a showcasing of various genres of noise/industrial, but with some kind of thread holding all or most of it together. Nice use of stereo. Not quite my regular taste, at least not all the time, but still very nice.

[Deadpriest]

Listening to a lot of SJ atm. Very edifying. Getting into Masks.

[Deadpriest]

Had it with racist stuff started questioning why I was listening to it couldn't really come up with much. Fak knows, for the time being at least. Bon voyage Brethren.

[Kim V]

Had it with racist stuff started questioning why I was listening to it couldn't really come up with much. Fak knows, for the time being at least. Bon voyage Brethren.

Never liked his stuff, voice always annoyed me

[Deadpriest]

Had it with racist stuff started questioning why I was listening to it couldn't really come up with much. Fak knows, for the time being at least. Bon voyage Brethren.

Never liked his stuff, voice always annoyed me

Yeah, no one does. I did think that clean vocals are the thing for them though.  *no on like the vocals I mean.

[burdizzo]

Good God, you wanted a box set of all racist projects last week, and now you're fed up w/it all... Not a bit schizo, are we?

[Deadpriest]

Good God, you wanted a box set of all racist projects last week, and now you're fed up w/it all... Not a bit schizo, are we?

If it was going to happen, it was going to happen some time. Forgot about my idea. Not schitzo just difficult.