Stoa "Recycled" CS (RRR, 2018)
Artists' description reads "industrial field recordings and primitive electronics," and this really is nothing more, nothing less. And of course that's a good thing, fucker. Samples from other releases I'd previously listened to were mostly thin and minimal but tasty crude electronics. On the A-side, I'd say the field recordings mostly take over, leaving things to sound like an incredibly lo-fi, much, much sloppier version of Mania (lots of background rumble and treated metal impacts). And of course that's a good thing, fucker. B-side seems to focus more on electronic pieces which pretty much have the M.B./M.O. crumbling, sweeping echo bleakness down to a "T." Anyone who digs the Recycled Series should get this to begin with, but the crowd into that sort of non-Harsh Noise noise sound (uh, I guess that just actually means simple industrial, like some M.B., Graustisch, Will Over Matter, Zone Nord) will definitely dig this. I dunno if Stoa's recordings are quite as good as his reviews, but that's a hard one to top. Will be grabbing more tapes in time, nonetheless. Enjoyable shit for sure, especially as a break from all the "nice" stuff I've been getting into. Not sure if Vitrine still exists, but could easily see this coming out on a label like that – seems there's a lot of awareness of "the old-school" here, but it's no less enjoyable and worthwhile stuff.
Zone Nord "Recycled" CS (RRR, ??)
Confession: with the exceptions of the Salbutanol CD and rare techno 12" (!?!) I have never heard, the main reason I like Zone Nord is because I tend to forget who I'm listening to while listening to his stuff, and usually assume it's M.B. or old, old Consumer Electronics before I remember. The kind of thing that's splitting hairs whether you call it industrial or noise. That said, this is not amazingly different from the above except for the higher presence and volume. Is that a bad thing? To you, maybe. I don't really know what I'm hearing, but to me it begins with what sounds like processed train recordings, except that something's just...off about them. Probably some fucked up drum machine recorded to tape and then messed with. Next up there's a tape manipulation piece that is just outright killer and lasts for the remainder of the A-side, great contrast between high and low end texture there.
B-side begins with halting, cut-up rhythmic/sweeping synth stuff that easily has the M.B. effect I mentioned earlier. Despite this being such a low-key release, and liking everything I've heard so far by the project, this might be some of his best stuff – sounds like a lost chapter in the Come Org/Broken Flag/Aquilifer Sodality saga. Next there's an echo introduction like, again, the above-mentioned, but more specifically, Will Over Matter's "Visio Ja Toteutus," that, as well as the piece following it, sounds like the dried husk of a Krautrock rhythm track. Later we get some obscure, reversed pulsing sounds and more static before the echo eventually returns. If you're a fan, I wouldn't miss this as it's $4 compared to the insane prices and rarity of other stuff.
Zone Nord "Roeferon A" CD (RRR, ??)
This is sort of "experimental" for Zone Nord standards, despite staying true to his usual repetitive lo-fi minimalism. One could still make the inevitable M.B. comparison, but it's definitely not as apparent here. The formula is basically the same, but somehow the results are a bit different – dunno if it's the mastering or what, but I'd assume there's some digital equipment somewhere in the process that makes the tape saturation grit all the more crispy. Anyway, these pieces mostly follow the pattern of various sluggish rhythmic industrial noise experiments that most Zone Nord releases seem to consist of.
I recently read a review I think of some Bizarre Uproar release where Concrete Mascara was a little embarrassed about how much his earlier work was influenced by it; well, this is how I feel about Zone Nord and this album – it helped me conceive of my first loops, and was my path between M.B./M.O. and today's tape-nerd stuff, thus I think some of my work sounds pretty derivative of it. It was this album that convinced me it's acceptable for tracks to meander/get stuck in the mud, which was a misapprehension I really regret. So, I guess this is the kind of release that is as much a masochistic listening experience as anything. Weird how perceptions almost always color what could otherwise be a unique experience. As much as I still love the project as a whole, this album is like looking back on mistakes in life – necessarily irritating. Still some great use of crunchy bass and mid-range textures that predates the "softer" HNW approach that was popular at one point, probably the main drawing point for me during tonight's listen. Track 6 could be much shorter but sort of reminds me of early Whitehouse Live Action recordings, not a bad thing at all. Track 7 sounds almost exactly like a track from Putrefier's "Trace Element Syntax" (also from Pure) as far as I remember – sort of a Mlehst-type combination of high-end tones and weird overloaded reverb effects, I swear some saxophone bleeds through the mix at one point (this is the best point on the track, to give you an idea of what I mean). Charmingly disturbing, but the high is over quick. M.O.-Atrax Morgue-style warbling and fuzz/crunch on track 8, should be something I dig but feels tacked on. I'll always hang on to this one, though.
Kjostad "Environment Electronics" CS (Found Remains, 2018)
Another where the title pretty much says it all – "Environment Electronics" is what you get. Could be Ricardo Mazza's mastering, but this is probably the best-sounding of any of the tapes so far, and might be my favorite. Lots of heaviness and crunch but a totally naturalistic and isolated vibe thanks to the bird songs, rain, and so on above and underneath the static (much of which I suspect is just wind from the field recordings). Could be either that there are some of the best uses of tape dropouts and bad jack connections I've heard on any release so far this year, or that my headphone jack in my walkman is going bad (which is likely). I want to compare this to Daniel Menche, but that feels sort of lazy. Conjures images of towering redwoods in particular.
Random notes:
1. RRRon should make t-shirts for the Recycled Series with the "recycled" scribble handwriting in enlarged front graphic, black with white text and white with black text. Include baby and toddler sizes for the noise parents out there. Or possibly buy existing band t-shirts from Goodwill, cover the logo partially with duct tape, and then write "recycled" in marker like the tapes.
2. When are we gonna see an H.Ö.H. Recycled Series tape?
3. RRR's "Pure" Reissue series with Xeroxed/collaged artwork is the best visual aesthetic of any series or any label, hands down.
