This tape is a serious trip. For fans of John Carpenter scores and screwed music. Well, actually, you don't need to like screwed music in general, just something really really really slow. And now that i think of it John carpenter scores are usually too suspense filled, but they sound haunting nevertheless.
The minimal liner notes read that it was "recorded ...with a modular synthesizer and time based effects" over 3 days and it really feels like it.
Now, I don't like the ocean really. I don't want to go on a cruise or ever be out of sight of land, it makes me feel so anxious just even thinking about it. How could you be at ease? The constant rocking of the boat, the waves hitting the sides of the boat, just the moon in the sky and the reflection of it off the oil black surface, it really just feels like a metaphor for degenerative nerve damage and loneliness; don't even get me started on jaws (i think it's the same idea though...). This tape makes me feel that way.
The approach on this tape taps into all of that, slow building, creeping ominous landless grief and solitary despair and paranoia. It's so minimal there's not much to write about in terms of tonal range, it's slow, slow, slow, slow, slow modulations over the period of each side, one movement per side. rules.
comes with full color cover on a sweet grey tape with silver screws, color label.
tape tektoniks site:
http://www.tapetektoniks.de/
available from the muediamorte site:
http://www.floor42.de/meudia_3/shop/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=11&sort=20a&page=2&zenid=61264ed8f98a7b9ebb2fb0e7026b12da
SAM PHILLPS / SAM GAS CAN "Sam's club" c30 (Yeay! Tapes)
This tape is a split by two dudes who flank the western mass scene, Sam Phillips to the north, a great dude who runs the space the Tinder Box up in brattleboro and Sam Gas Can who runs faux paus recordings, hailing from the outskirts of worcester in central mass. The concept has nothing to do with big box stores, low prices, buying in bulk or joining their 'club' of lowered labor standards, underpricing small businesses and cheap plastic shit.
The sam phillips side is more of a one man band, touring the alleys, trees and dumpsters of brattleboro. Lots of semi-processed (or not?) field recordings married to the tape hiss and wind mix perfectly with the intentionally 'musical' sounds that come off more as sound clips of weird instruments, sounds and voices. The messes mix and unmix with the sound of children, birds and the tape itself being manipulated, the tape reaches into itself with sam eventually shaking what sounds like a fence into a basic rhythm and singing joyfully along to his new "band" and his audience of a parking lot and stream. a nice ride for sure!
Gas Can's side opens with a similar tone of hand-held tape deck cutting into more 4 track recordings, whereas Phillips' side feels more like a leisurely stroll outside, almost as an invisible companion, this side has more of the feeling of looking in the window of Gas Can's bandroom. lots of jumping around from style to style, casio cruisers and keyboard jams with a real mellow feel jumps into some skittering electronics, then maybe to some sampled pieces (or not??) that sound like it could be a compressed piece of a bollywood soundtrack or something from konono no.1, then everything gets super weird as it sounds like sam sings black sabbath lyrics into a well for a while and the tape just slowwwwwwwws down.
comes if full color sleeve w/black and white backside.
still available from the Yeay! site:
http://yeay.suchfun.net/catalog.html
The sam phillips side is more of a one man band, touring the alleys, trees and dumpsters of brattleboro. Lots of semi-processed (or not?) field recordings married to the tape hiss and wind mix perfectly with the intentionally 'musical' sounds that come off more as sound clips of weird instruments, sounds and voices. The messes mix and unmix with the sound of children, birds and the tape itself being manipulated, the tape reaches into itself with sam eventually shaking what sounds like a fence into a basic rhythm and singing joyfully along to his new "band" and his audience of a parking lot and stream. a nice ride for sure!
Gas Can's side opens with a similar tone of hand-held tape deck cutting into more 4 track recordings, whereas Phillips' side feels more like a leisurely stroll outside, almost as an invisible companion, this side has more of the feeling of looking in the window of Gas Can's bandroom. lots of jumping around from style to style, casio cruisers and keyboard jams with a real mellow feel jumps into some skittering electronics, then maybe to some sampled pieces (or not??) that sound like it could be a compressed piece of a bollywood soundtrack or something from konono no.1, then everything gets super weird as it sounds like sam sings black sabbath lyrics into a well for a while and the tape just slowwwwwwwws down.
comes if full color sleeve w/black and white backside.
still available from the Yeay! site:
http://yeay.suchfun.net/catalog.html
VAPOR GOURDS "Dagger Magic" c30 (Yeay! Tapes)
This tape has been a constant companion in my tape deck since i picked it up from local record store, Mystery Train here in western mass. It was put out, mysteriously, by Neil Young over at Yeay! Tapes, who refused to let it be known who the sorcerer was behind this exceptional tape.
When Jay Dilla died almost two years ago he had just completed my favorite record of his "Donuts" which is essentially a jacked up beat tape, some of the songs have since or were at the time, being recorded over by mc's from all across the map and since his death there has been a non-stop stream of posthumous music (as there usually is when someone dies way too young) and to my surprise, most of it is still AMAZING. i bring it up because this tape, despite having a keen ear for the subtlety of sound that usually accompanies (one would hope!) a noise artist, seems more in line with the left of center, disorienting and beautiful beats that you'd find in the vaults of a jay dilla library.
Albeit, these are a bit more dusty and hang on to, say, swooping washed out synth loops a lot longer than Dilla would, it still has that feel, to me, of someone constructing, building, adding on, taking tiny pieces and coming up with the most amazing pastiche of weird ass soul strings, cheap keyboards, and buried under there somewhere is a beat. There are anomalous moments and that's what keeps this tape worth coming back to; absolutely hypnotizing, reverb soaked guitars, siren/bombs, crazy blasts of keyboard beauty stuck right on top of a beat in a manner that is so jarring it can only be intentional and as it repeats, forming a phrase of "drumbeat, guitar loop, drumbeat, KEYBOARD and then back" the voice of the artist only becomes more apparent and you become more appreciative of the strength of compositions and realize it's definitely a lot more than just "a beat tape".
comes i color copy w/ silk screen covers on white stamped tapes,
still available from the label, check it out FOR SURE.
http://yeay.suchfun.net/catalog.html
When Jay Dilla died almost two years ago he had just completed my favorite record of his "Donuts" which is essentially a jacked up beat tape, some of the songs have since or were at the time, being recorded over by mc's from all across the map and since his death there has been a non-stop stream of posthumous music (as there usually is when someone dies way too young) and to my surprise, most of it is still AMAZING. i bring it up because this tape, despite having a keen ear for the subtlety of sound that usually accompanies (one would hope!) a noise artist, seems more in line with the left of center, disorienting and beautiful beats that you'd find in the vaults of a jay dilla library.
Albeit, these are a bit more dusty and hang on to, say, swooping washed out synth loops a lot longer than Dilla would, it still has that feel, to me, of someone constructing, building, adding on, taking tiny pieces and coming up with the most amazing pastiche of weird ass soul strings, cheap keyboards, and buried under there somewhere is a beat. There are anomalous moments and that's what keeps this tape worth coming back to; absolutely hypnotizing, reverb soaked guitars, siren/bombs, crazy blasts of keyboard beauty stuck right on top of a beat in a manner that is so jarring it can only be intentional and as it repeats, forming a phrase of "drumbeat, guitar loop, drumbeat, KEYBOARD and then back" the voice of the artist only becomes more apparent and you become more appreciative of the strength of compositions and realize it's definitely a lot more than just "a beat tape".
comes i color copy w/ silk screen covers on white stamped tapes,
still available from the label, check it out FOR SURE.
http://yeay.suchfun.net/catalog.html
ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER "Transmat Memories" c40 ? (Taped Sounds)
This tape is a serious piece of work! The output of one dude from Boston may not strike you as fertile breeding ground for space-age synthesizer compositions but this stuff is really solid; stands on par with any of the mid era Tangerine Dream records (though features exclusively synth work, no guitars or acoustic instruments) and maintains a tempo that TD usually drops off in favor of a more ethereal approach.
Two sides of almost manic sequences usually two at a time snaking into each other with one eventually fading as another new staccato burst assumes control. Most have a sort of controlled feeling despite their tempo though there's a great great piece in the middle of the second (i think, i've listened to the tape a couple times and don't know which side is A or B) side that sticks out just by virtue of being slow and heavy. it starts of sounding like a boat motor in mud, total motion sickness vibe, the low disgusting rolling sounds slowly are joined by a bubbling mid range and a uncoiling high end phrase that repeats and repeats, burning the low end sound out of yr ear. From their it's all downhill and uphill and yr skin is peeling off and your listening to the sound of boiling mercury and it rules.
I feel like it's important to point out that Taped Sounds put this out, a label that is constantly cataloging all sorts of tape hiss bliss and dream soundtracks and this tape fits in perfectly alongside the most recent Non-horse tape, Afternoon Penis tape and the Mudboy/Orphan fairytale LP that came out a year and a half ago despite all of them having completely different approaches/methods for coming to the point they're trying to make. Excellent!
There's rumors swirling of a Dolphins Into The Future / OPN collab, can't wait to hear that. Comes in a bleached out pastel color cover, looks like maybe a bomb accident pictured? Blank white tape.
Still available from the label:
http://users.telenet.be/bread.and.animals/
Two sides of almost manic sequences usually two at a time snaking into each other with one eventually fading as another new staccato burst assumes control. Most have a sort of controlled feeling despite their tempo though there's a great great piece in the middle of the second (i think, i've listened to the tape a couple times and don't know which side is A or B) side that sticks out just by virtue of being slow and heavy. it starts of sounding like a boat motor in mud, total motion sickness vibe, the low disgusting rolling sounds slowly are joined by a bubbling mid range and a uncoiling high end phrase that repeats and repeats, burning the low end sound out of yr ear. From their it's all downhill and uphill and yr skin is peeling off and your listening to the sound of boiling mercury and it rules.
I feel like it's important to point out that Taped Sounds put this out, a label that is constantly cataloging all sorts of tape hiss bliss and dream soundtracks and this tape fits in perfectly alongside the most recent Non-horse tape, Afternoon Penis tape and the Mudboy/Orphan fairytale LP that came out a year and a half ago despite all of them having completely different approaches/methods for coming to the point they're trying to make. Excellent!
There's rumors swirling of a Dolphins Into The Future / OPN collab, can't wait to hear that. Comes in a bleached out pastel color cover, looks like maybe a bomb accident pictured? Blank white tape.
Still available from the label:
http://users.telenet.be/bread.and.animals/
BONE RATTLE "SSSSSSSSSSS" c20 (Friendship Bracelet)
This tape is an easy heavy jammer, feels like being at a show in a fugged up basement, mold on the ceiling, sweat on yr vest, while yr ripping the horsehair plaster off the wall and eating it in a total jam out bliss.
Two sides of drums/electronics and voices, duo style. At times the drums and electronics are battling for supremacy: who can jump off the cliff first, who can tape a garbage bag to their head first; never a clear winner except the listener. The battles result in some great drum spasms and electronic cholesterol clogged heart attack blasts. There's also a back and forth vocal struggle, a yelping throated tug of war sometimes acting as an additional agent in the drum/electronics battle, other times acting as a vocal track on top of the instrumentation.
The second side has a bit of voiced exchange that actually surpasses the voice as third party, with some notable pitched battles played out in full. This time the voices are mixed way up front which is a real nice touch and lets you know the vocal aspects of the recording aren't taken for granted or present on the tape only because the dudes are shrieking and screaming because they can't help it.
packaged in simple black and white on orange paper, white tape with simple markings to distinguish itself.
no label website, so use yr stamps:
Friendship Bracelet
3 Beacon St.
Reading, MA
01867
or hit up the band's myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/bonerattle
Two sides of drums/electronics and voices, duo style. At times the drums and electronics are battling for supremacy: who can jump off the cliff first, who can tape a garbage bag to their head first; never a clear winner except the listener. The battles result in some great drum spasms and electronic cholesterol clogged heart attack blasts. There's also a back and forth vocal struggle, a yelping throated tug of war sometimes acting as an additional agent in the drum/electronics battle, other times acting as a vocal track on top of the instrumentation.
The second side has a bit of voiced exchange that actually surpasses the voice as third party, with some notable pitched battles played out in full. This time the voices are mixed way up front which is a real nice touch and lets you know the vocal aspects of the recording aren't taken for granted or present on the tape only because the dudes are shrieking and screaming because they can't help it.
packaged in simple black and white on orange paper, white tape with simple markings to distinguish itself.
no label website, so use yr stamps:
Friendship Bracelet
3 Beacon St.
Reading, MA
01867
or hit up the band's myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/bonerattle
MARKUS SCHWILL "Heart-Beat-Diagram" c60 (Borft)
I was turned onto this tape by Jelle Crama, hanging out in his old spot he was just keeping the soundtrack going for the day, sneaking out of the room to pop on another cassette so you'd only notice halfway through the music had changed and was amazing. This tape was soooo stunning. Supposedly the work of some eccentric German dude who has since disappeared (even though the liner notes say there is more work ready to be released!!!), this tape for me sums up the aesthetic i've grown to love from the Swedish label Borft. A mix of sophisticated and crude electronics / synthesizers, one part mystery, two parts so weird it can't be from this world. This is the same scene Enema Syringe came from.
Recorded in 1992 and released in 1993(and STILL AVAILABLE!) this tape precedes all the current synthesizer/sequencer fascination currently sweeping our ears from under us. It's a live take all done with an MS-20 and effects mixer, it's at times totally raw and grimey and alternately semi-clean and upbeat/dancey. It has a somewhat minimal feel, i think a result of it being recorded live and only one person playing one synth, but in no way does that suggest scarcity or lack in the approach and output.
The tape has been a constant companion since i ordered it a couple years ago and it has never grown tired or redundant. Unbelievable that it's still available, definitely worth checking out along with anything else on the borft label!
http://www.borft.com
Recorded in 1992 and released in 1993(and STILL AVAILABLE!) this tape precedes all the current synthesizer/sequencer fascination currently sweeping our ears from under us. It's a live take all done with an MS-20 and effects mixer, it's at times totally raw and grimey and alternately semi-clean and upbeat/dancey. It has a somewhat minimal feel, i think a result of it being recorded live and only one person playing one synth, but in no way does that suggest scarcity or lack in the approach and output.
The tape has been a constant companion since i ordered it a couple years ago and it has never grown tired or redundant. Unbelievable that it's still available, definitely worth checking out along with anything else on the borft label!
http://www.borft.com
SALT & PEPPER "s/t" single sided c20 (Scumbag Relations)
So this was in a stack of tapes i got a while back (a long while?) from the dude over at Scumbag Tapes/Relations and it had slipped through the cracks and ended up on the bottom of a pile and shit on me if it wasn't my loss!
This tape is a brief moment of shining sound, literally because the tape is spraypainted a toxic gold and figuratively because the music rules. Remember in Zelda when you went into that dude's cave/store and there were only three things for sale (which, i would like to point out without question played a influential role in the current boutique/gallery/store interior design schemes popular with entrepreneurial youth)? Well, if you can imagine a world where that guy doubled as a used equipment salesman and you could purchase some totally sweet keyboard covered in moss and gemstones and take some of yr magic zelda-world potion, burn a bush, head underground and jam out for a side of a c10, you'd end up with this tape.
Not to be mistaken, this tape in no way searches for the metaphysical, postures about having a self realization read from the shapes of clouds or echoes of seashores; nope, this dude just jams zelda style, simple melodies (with a tenor straight from the theme music) and a clunky keyboard drumbeat to follow along. Man, i wish there was a second side to this tape!
wrote to the label for more info but haven't heard anything yet, unfortunately out of print (sorry i slept on it!) but the Scumbag Relations label is worth checking out anyways, this tape alone is proof of his good sense of sound.
http://www.scumbagrelations.net
http://www.myspace.com/scumbagrelations
This tape is a brief moment of shining sound, literally because the tape is spraypainted a toxic gold and figuratively because the music rules. Remember in Zelda when you went into that dude's cave/store and there were only three things for sale (which, i would like to point out without question played a influential role in the current boutique/gallery/store interior design schemes popular with entrepreneurial youth)? Well, if you can imagine a world where that guy doubled as a used equipment salesman and you could purchase some totally sweet keyboard covered in moss and gemstones and take some of yr magic zelda-world potion, burn a bush, head underground and jam out for a side of a c10, you'd end up with this tape.
Not to be mistaken, this tape in no way searches for the metaphysical, postures about having a self realization read from the shapes of clouds or echoes of seashores; nope, this dude just jams zelda style, simple melodies (with a tenor straight from the theme music) and a clunky keyboard drumbeat to follow along. Man, i wish there was a second side to this tape!
wrote to the label for more info but haven't heard anything yet, unfortunately out of print (sorry i slept on it!) but the Scumbag Relations label is worth checking out anyways, this tape alone is proof of his good sense of sound.
http://www.scumbagrelations.net
http://www.myspace.com/scumbagrelations
M AX NOI MACH "Chaser" c20 (self-released)
M Ax Noi Mach is Rob Francisco (also of angeldust, rubbed raw) who hails from (north) philly. He was heavily involved with the amazing space the Philadelphia Athenaeum which has unfortunately been closed for a few years now. He's put out a series of 10"s, 7"s, 12"s, tapes, mixtapes, cdrs and books over the last years that are all amazing, walking a 'line' between power electronics (a line Angeldust definitely crosses), noise, party music and poetry his releases are always compelling and littered with memorable quotes, "AHHHHHHHH!" or "Don't look at me when i'm talking to you!" He also maintains a great blog with cellphone photos, poetry and occasional other detritus, American Rager which i think speaks to the same aesthetic i find so exciting in his recorded work. A mix of filth and humanity that somehow comes out bruised and beautiful, or stabbed to death in the park.
This tape is a collection of mostly heavy beats littered with minimal noise squalls atop of them. the beats are interesting because they're obviously not mined from the same library, some feel stolen/sampled while others feel like he programmed them, yet all of them come across with his figurative voice, and more often than not his actual voice. And when his voice is present it's amazing and commanding. It's in his lyrics and voice that i think it seems most important he's from (north) philly, so much of what he says sounds like overheard streetfights, or late night screaming matching if you lived above a strip bar. This tape, in particular the second side, is a lot more instrumental but in no way lacking, grimy stained jeep beats drop in and out usually as the noise parts become more prominent.
Another great release, though at 20 minutes you're forced to go through another listen, or two or three or four.
Three color screenprinted covers with clear tapes.
Available from the man himself through his website.
http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/mnstrattacks/men.html
EDIT: Just got info that the European version of this was released by that great french label Tanzprocesz, check their internet presence here, where the tape is still available:
http://tanzprocesz.free.fr/
This tape is a collection of mostly heavy beats littered with minimal noise squalls atop of them. the beats are interesting because they're obviously not mined from the same library, some feel stolen/sampled while others feel like he programmed them, yet all of them come across with his figurative voice, and more often than not his actual voice. And when his voice is present it's amazing and commanding. It's in his lyrics and voice that i think it seems most important he's from (north) philly, so much of what he says sounds like overheard streetfights, or late night screaming matching if you lived above a strip bar. This tape, in particular the second side, is a lot more instrumental but in no way lacking, grimy stained jeep beats drop in and out usually as the noise parts become more prominent.
Another great release, though at 20 minutes you're forced to go through another listen, or two or three or four.
Three color screenprinted covers with clear tapes.
Available from the man himself through his website.
http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/mnstrattacks/men.html
EDIT: Just got info that the European version of this was released by that great french label Tanzprocesz, check their internet presence here, where the tape is still available:
http://tanzprocesz.free.fr/
JESSICA RYLAN "Lush Life" c20 (irfp)
It almost seems unnecessary to write up jessica's stuff at this point. If you're familiar with her work you won't be disappointed. If you're not you have a wonderful world of music to introduce yourself to. Jessica builds all her own synthesizers and having such a keen understanding of their makeup is masterful in her manipulation/exploration of them.
Two sides of synths/electronics, side a being a being more melodic and clean, bouncing about and interacting with each other, creating controlled permutations. Side two is a bit more dirty sounding, with all of the tones having a sort of scratch to them without ever losing sight of what's under the fuzz, a nice contrast to the first side.
If you're reading a review of a tape to decide if you want to get it, it's a no-brainer.
Full color cover, white tapes
still available from:
http://www.irfp.net
Two sides of synths/electronics, side a being a being more melodic and clean, bouncing about and interacting with each other, creating controlled permutations. Side two is a bit more dirty sounding, with all of the tones having a sort of scratch to them without ever losing sight of what's under the fuzz, a nice contrast to the first side.
If you're reading a review of a tape to decide if you want to get it, it's a no-brainer.
Full color cover, white tapes
still available from:
http://www.irfp.net
WORK / DEATH "Le Corbusier" c20 (Three Songs of Lenin)
First off, Work/Death aesthetic of all Crass style lettering always gets him bonus points in my book, sometimes the releases can look a little similar, but heck, i can go elsewhere for fetishized packaging, and anyways, this is a two color silkscreen on butcher paper, pretty nice looking. The insert unfolds to reveal the series of statements "you think i am ugly," "but this is beacause," "you are a philistine." The assumption is these quotes are relative to the title, Le Corbusier the famous brutalist architect whose work we all know and has been unfortunately the template for low budget 70's population boom buildings (my state school alma mater is perfect example.) The connection isn't insignificant, it's easy to draw a parallel between the critiques of Brutalist architecture and the music (noise) that Work/Death is creating. Often perceived as, well, brutal, huge hulking masses, totally devoid of the flair or signature embellishments associated with a famous architect, his work was often cold, repetitive and made concrete. Still, they conveyed a certain strength, a unity of purpose that made you consider the whole instead of it's parts.
All of this carries over into the recorded work on this tape - one long piece interrupted only by side one of the tape ending - the trajectory is clear and the movement of the music is well controlled. Starting off with a long mid range tone that gets really thick without a lot of low end there isn't an obvious use of loops of layering that usually bothers me when people are trying to build up dense textures. Distorted chunks cut in and out without feeling unharnessed, acting as an accent. (flip the tape) Replacing the heavy chunks the piece enters the shrill territory, creating sound fields that feel like insect swarms or more like the buzzing of a powerline late at night. Just you standing there, staring up above you at massive powerlines and you can hear the energy moving through them in some frantic race. The pieces thins out, ending naturally with pieces falling back and minimizing their role in the structure till yr left with only a minor buzz.
Can't find a website for the label, but you can use the regular old mail
if you're interested:
Three Songs of Lenin
POBox 29680
Providence, RI
02909
All of this carries over into the recorded work on this tape - one long piece interrupted only by side one of the tape ending - the trajectory is clear and the movement of the music is well controlled. Starting off with a long mid range tone that gets really thick without a lot of low end there isn't an obvious use of loops of layering that usually bothers me when people are trying to build up dense textures. Distorted chunks cut in and out without feeling unharnessed, acting as an accent. (flip the tape) Replacing the heavy chunks the piece enters the shrill territory, creating sound fields that feel like insect swarms or more like the buzzing of a powerline late at night. Just you standing there, staring up above you at massive powerlines and you can hear the energy moving through them in some frantic race. The pieces thins out, ending naturally with pieces falling back and minimizing their role in the structure till yr left with only a minor buzz.
Can't find a website for the label, but you can use the regular old mail
if you're interested:
Three Songs of Lenin
POBox 29680
Providence, RI
02909
MONSTURO "S/T" c20 (Ekhein)
Super mystery. I'm not sure where i got this tape and i can't find much about either the label (which looks good!) or the band on line, Monsturo does have a webpage but as you'd expect, pretty limited info.
The tape has solid black xerox labels on both sides with only the label name on them. My favorite thing about heavy coverage like that is the toner doesn't really fuse well, it starts to rub off slightly depending on usage and contact and it gives it a really charred look that i love.
This tape feels and listens just about the same, ultra bleek & minimal with limited distinguishing marks. Total sensory deprivation. Both sides have that aftershock feel walking through some subterranean void with no light. One point worth making is despite being so distant it doesn't have a heavy tape hiss to it which is actually nice, it gives the sounds a lot more depth despite feeling so distant.
Definitely a nice piece of work.
black and white packaging, not much more information.
still available from the artist:
http://www.monsturo.org/
The tape has solid black xerox labels on both sides with only the label name on them. My favorite thing about heavy coverage like that is the toner doesn't really fuse well, it starts to rub off slightly depending on usage and contact and it gives it a really charred look that i love.
This tape feels and listens just about the same, ultra bleek & minimal with limited distinguishing marks. Total sensory deprivation. Both sides have that aftershock feel walking through some subterranean void with no light. One point worth making is despite being so distant it doesn't have a heavy tape hiss to it which is actually nice, it gives the sounds a lot more depth despite feeling so distant.
Definitely a nice piece of work.
black and white packaging, not much more information.
still available from the artist:
http://www.monsturo.org/
PORTLAND "volumes 3-5" c20 (Below PDX)
I got this tape from james squeeky when Argumentix rolled through town, he played a great set of almost industrial music, at once totally intimidating and fierce while maintaining a certain playfulness that made the music that much more approachable. After the set we traded some tapes (bummed i didn't get the invisible scratch picklz bootleg tape) and i've barely craked the stack.
This tape is an edited down tape of apparently three volumes of field recordings of the bright and beautiful city of portland, oregon. The first side is a swiftly paced collage of somewhat standard city sounds, traffic, walking, passerby's conversation, crosswalk, bus engines etc, it's editing is smooth and never gets to minimal or intense. While the second side is a little more 'noisy' with actual instruments clinking around, maybe it's before a show or he walked into a practice space or tripped in the dark over a cymbal?
I feel like i've known a healthy number of people in my life that want to (or do) move to portland because they think it's an oasis of punk and beauty, so this tape is nice to hear foot on pavement, the scanner at the grocery store and the sound of some dude jabbering in the back ground. But still, maybe that proves the point of PDX being a noise heaven, even the street is a noise show! ha!
Black and white cover on vellum, yellow tape. Edition of 38
still available at:
http://www.belowpdx.com/index2.html
This tape is an edited down tape of apparently three volumes of field recordings of the bright and beautiful city of portland, oregon. The first side is a swiftly paced collage of somewhat standard city sounds, traffic, walking, passerby's conversation, crosswalk, bus engines etc, it's editing is smooth and never gets to minimal or intense. While the second side is a little more 'noisy' with actual instruments clinking around, maybe it's before a show or he walked into a practice space or tripped in the dark over a cymbal?
I feel like i've known a healthy number of people in my life that want to (or do) move to portland because they think it's an oasis of punk and beauty, so this tape is nice to hear foot on pavement, the scanner at the grocery store and the sound of some dude jabbering in the back ground. But still, maybe that proves the point of PDX being a noise heaven, even the street is a noise show! ha!
Black and white cover on vellum, yellow tape. Edition of 38
still available at:
http://www.belowpdx.com/index2.html
BONUS BEAST "#1" c30 (High Density Headache)
A first for me, i got this tape from checking out a myspace page. Usually i refuse, even bands i totally love, i can't stand listening to myspace tracks, the mp3 quality sucks, the pages make me want to vomit and you're so distracted looking at everything else there's no way my mind can give proper attention to the sounds. So, when i did like one of the tracks and wrote to them to find out about a tape, i was convinced i'd get it and hate it, it just seemed like poetic justice that i would get the tape and it'd sound like shit, thankfully it wasn't.
Turns out this is one of the guys (or more) who was in Big Nurse which i guess is now broke up, i saw them play a pretty good set here in western mass at mystery train records. This tape shares sentiments with the now defunct BN but takes a different route.
Definitely a home-recorded affair, awkward mixing choices, overdriven signals, lost moments, zero engineering and tape hiss are all worn proudly on the sleeve, and i think to their benefit. While it does have a feel to it that it's thrown together at parts it still reveals awesome moments of guitar damage and wiggly drums all woven together, though not without the corresponding moments of clean guitar wires woven through clattering drums. It definitely feels like these guys know how to play underneath the mush and smoosh of their blownout recordings, it's nice they leave it as a suggestion and don't focus too much on showmanship.
The second side has a slight detour into sliding, glazed fields of slowed down tapes, loops and a really nice patterned keyboard that repeats until heading back into the guitar/drum duo where more of their skill sets are revealed definitely suggesting some sort of guitar scales and jazz inflections underneath a wall of spaced out jitters and noisy critters.
not sure if it's still available or not, i just wrote and asked. you could do the same! edition of 24, color printout cover in soft plastic case.
http://www.myspace.com/seriouslyhyped
http://www.highdensityheadache.blogspot.com/
Turns out this is one of the guys (or more) who was in Big Nurse which i guess is now broke up, i saw them play a pretty good set here in western mass at mystery train records. This tape shares sentiments with the now defunct BN but takes a different route.
Definitely a home-recorded affair, awkward mixing choices, overdriven signals, lost moments, zero engineering and tape hiss are all worn proudly on the sleeve, and i think to their benefit. While it does have a feel to it that it's thrown together at parts it still reveals awesome moments of guitar damage and wiggly drums all woven together, though not without the corresponding moments of clean guitar wires woven through clattering drums. It definitely feels like these guys know how to play underneath the mush and smoosh of their blownout recordings, it's nice they leave it as a suggestion and don't focus too much on showmanship.
The second side has a slight detour into sliding, glazed fields of slowed down tapes, loops and a really nice patterned keyboard that repeats until heading back into the guitar/drum duo where more of their skill sets are revealed definitely suggesting some sort of guitar scales and jazz inflections underneath a wall of spaced out jitters and noisy critters.
not sure if it's still available or not, i just wrote and asked. you could do the same! edition of 24, color printout cover in soft plastic case.
http://www.myspace.com/seriouslyhyped
http://www.highdensityheadache.blogspot.com/
CHARLIE DRAHEIM "Reject" c20 (Animal Disguise)
Just picked up this tape from the Animal Disguise site and is listed as a second edition bootleg / unauthorized tape. Not for the faint of heart or those who put on tapes called "Reject" to begin their Reiki sessions, unless you want to unlock the wrong energy. This tape sounds like two muzzled dogs fighting in a pile of steel tubes. Despite being restrained their is a sort of carnage to the action taking place, and the tubes isn't supposed to be a metaphor, it really sounds metallic, heavy and with a that slight room-y echo that you'd get if you were to yell down a long metal pipe, sterile but noticeable. A nice balance of what would feel like harsh, difficult noise with a real palpable bottom end to transport their development / undoing. Comes w/ black text on red paper, simple graphics, bootleg style.
edition of 100 but down to the last copies available from the site:
www.animaldisguise.com
edition of 100 but down to the last copies available from the site:
www.animaldisguise.com
HATRED "Pitted Water" c30 (AA Records)
Picked this tape up when Demons came through town a few months back along with a few LPs and they're all awesome. This tape is two live sides with Nate Young (of Demons, Wolf Eyes) being the consistent member. Don't know about yr predisposition towards either of those projects but if you're into either at all, this tape won't disappoint.
Separating this from the (recent work of wolf eyes) this tape gives lots of room to the interacting members, leaving air and breathing room (or tape/pa hiss and audience noise) between the squalls and squawks of the instrumentation. I'd be more specific about what is being played but the liner notes give no indication, and it's actually sort of welcome, allowing my ears to pay attention not to the mechanical side but the aural. Would be safe to say there's some analog synth, tape, and varied electronics, even safer to assume that knowing the other players are Max Eisenberg (of the great DJ Dog Dick, sometimes Nautical Almanac) on one side and Twig Harper and Max on the other side.
The live in W.Baltimore side is a lot more chaotic than the Detroit side; trading punches of cut up and scattered sounds countered by blasts of truly intimidating walls of gurgled up electronics. The battle slows a bit into a more tempered back and forth mutating into a low heavy unfurling, sounding like a mechanical mucus covered tongue unrolling.
The live in Detroit side has a similar feel at the start, with a good bit of shrieks and wails passed back in forth leading into a really really swollen build up carrying all the information exchanged at the beginning of the performance on its back and leveling out into a full room, totally controlled mess.
Black and white line artwork, white tapes.
still available at AA records website:
http://www.wolfeyes.net/aaindex.html
Separating this from the (recent work of wolf eyes) this tape gives lots of room to the interacting members, leaving air and breathing room (or tape/pa hiss and audience noise) between the squalls and squawks of the instrumentation. I'd be more specific about what is being played but the liner notes give no indication, and it's actually sort of welcome, allowing my ears to pay attention not to the mechanical side but the aural. Would be safe to say there's some analog synth, tape, and varied electronics, even safer to assume that knowing the other players are Max Eisenberg (of the great DJ Dog Dick, sometimes Nautical Almanac) on one side and Twig Harper and Max on the other side.
The live in W.Baltimore side is a lot more chaotic than the Detroit side; trading punches of cut up and scattered sounds countered by blasts of truly intimidating walls of gurgled up electronics. The battle slows a bit into a more tempered back and forth mutating into a low heavy unfurling, sounding like a mechanical mucus covered tongue unrolling.
The live in Detroit side has a similar feel at the start, with a good bit of shrieks and wails passed back in forth leading into a really really swollen build up carrying all the information exchanged at the beginning of the performance on its back and leveling out into a full room, totally controlled mess.
Black and white line artwork, white tapes.
still available at AA records website:
http://www.wolfeyes.net/aaindex.html
BUFFLE "Cavernicole" (Relax Produzioni) c10
I don't want to act as if i'm underscoring the quality of the music on this blue cassette, but i'm obligated to start off by saying this Italian label Relax Produzioni has hands down the best logo i've ever ever seen. A circle w/ a pair of bare feet, in the laying down position with a cowboy hat floating just above, barely touching the big toes on both feet. Super simple but sooo striking, and it's italian!? amazing. anyhow. This label evidently has consistency in mind, great simple logo and great simple music.
Buffle can slide from side to side, long layered pieces with lots of padding and thickness, like a smokey room with only one lightbulb and water up to your waist. Other times they're playful and the recordings are pretty transparent; yup, that's a guitar and a keyboard and a delay pedal, etc. It's a nice relationship to have with a band, a signature sound that can be applied to any number of approaches. Well, this tape has not only upped the ante, but has also found a soft spot of mine. Much like the muntjac tape on Taped Sounds (reviewed mid october) this tape has a real bedroom, 4-track vibe to it. Well, to be more precise a kitchen/4-track vibe to it, it sounds like the dudes opened the cabinets, arranged a few "drum kits" and busted out the guitars and let er' rip. both sides are mostly these snakey, clanky busted up simple jams that interweave the percussive pots and pans with the noodley but not wank-off guitars. A slight refrain at the beginning of the second side, almost like a reminder of what else the band does; weird keyboard relapse attack but actually a sort of nice interrupt to allow you to feel the cupboard jams fresh again.
Full color cover, blue cassette, blue/clear case and the aforementioned best logo ever.
RELAX Produzioni released it but
check their myspace to see about picking up copies:
http://www.myspace.com/buffle
Buffle can slide from side to side, long layered pieces with lots of padding and thickness, like a smokey room with only one lightbulb and water up to your waist. Other times they're playful and the recordings are pretty transparent; yup, that's a guitar and a keyboard and a delay pedal, etc. It's a nice relationship to have with a band, a signature sound that can be applied to any number of approaches. Well, this tape has not only upped the ante, but has also found a soft spot of mine. Much like the muntjac tape on Taped Sounds (reviewed mid october) this tape has a real bedroom, 4-track vibe to it. Well, to be more precise a kitchen/4-track vibe to it, it sounds like the dudes opened the cabinets, arranged a few "drum kits" and busted out the guitars and let er' rip. both sides are mostly these snakey, clanky busted up simple jams that interweave the percussive pots and pans with the noodley but not wank-off guitars. A slight refrain at the beginning of the second side, almost like a reminder of what else the band does; weird keyboard relapse attack but actually a sort of nice interrupt to allow you to feel the cupboard jams fresh again.
Full color cover, blue cassette, blue/clear case and the aforementioned best logo ever.
RELAX Produzioni released it but
check their myspace to see about picking up copies:
http://www.myspace.com/buffle
SUDDEN OAK : S/T (Bezoar Formations)
Sudden Oak is a newly san franciscan duo made up of John (guitar) and Matt (saxophone). This polka dotted (what does that design have to do with polka?) c21 with a xerox/printed cover is a perfect soundtrack for your summertime hang sessions. That is if your summertime hang sesh happens to be you gettin total bleek, loner style, tied to the front of a greyhound with a mouthful of earthworms.
First side opens with some mellow but slightly dissonant waves, suggesting an interest in droning on, finding the subtlety in the greater picture. Yet as it creeps forward it slowly becomes heavier; not like an Earth record 'heavy' but heavy like a stomach punch played in slow motion where the skin is rippling in an almost hypnotic fashion or like sticking yr head out the window of a moving car with yr eyes open type of heavy. By the end of the first side there's a really thick air, like you're trying to breathe through some ashtray lifestyle and it's not looking too good for you.
Second side does a little side step but definitely doesn't make the dance any more optimistic. While tonally the instruments are a lot more distinct there's definitely a more blown out feel at the beginning though they retain control enough to cough out some synth-sounding parts, definite guitar mangling and some nose-bleed feedback to carry you through till the very distinct 'click' of the tape ending, like a teacher just whacked the fuggin desk with a ruler to take you out of the unreleased, chopped and screwed soundtrack to the hills have eyes (the orig, obv). hot tape dudes!
www.bezoarformations.com
First side opens with some mellow but slightly dissonant waves, suggesting an interest in droning on, finding the subtlety in the greater picture. Yet as it creeps forward it slowly becomes heavier; not like an Earth record 'heavy' but heavy like a stomach punch played in slow motion where the skin is rippling in an almost hypnotic fashion or like sticking yr head out the window of a moving car with yr eyes open type of heavy. By the end of the first side there's a really thick air, like you're trying to breathe through some ashtray lifestyle and it's not looking too good for you.
Second side does a little side step but definitely doesn't make the dance any more optimistic. While tonally the instruments are a lot more distinct there's definitely a more blown out feel at the beginning though they retain control enough to cough out some synth-sounding parts, definite guitar mangling and some nose-bleed feedback to carry you through till the very distinct 'click' of the tape ending, like a teacher just whacked the fuggin desk with a ruler to take you out of the unreleased, chopped and screwed soundtrack to the hills have eyes (the orig, obv). hot tape dudes!
www.bezoarformations.com
LATERAL HYETOGRAPHY : Some Girlzz cassingle (Really Coastal)
First off i have to get my conflict of interest out in the open, Jon, who is lateral hyetography, and i email each other about the Boston Celtics and Books, i don't think that'll effect my write up, but i just want to put it out there.
This tape is a legit, professionally printed m-f'in cassingle. kudos for that ish; you'll occassionally see a new tape that's professionally printed, but i'll be damned if dudes are still making cassingle/promo tapes. Anyhow this jam (it's just one jam! program repeats!) hits a really really soft spot of mine, old organ drum beats, or something that sounds hot-shit-just-like-it. its a great beat that runs through the whole tune. it has a playful pop feel and structure to it, wispy, sort of high pitched vocals. i don't like using musical comparisons because i don't want to belittle or offend people or give one person ownership of a sound but this does have some ariel pink vibes quivering through the atmosphere, though the production is a lot, lot cleaner.
After a bit of verse chorus verse action, there's a long refrain that builds layers and layers of voice and synth padding, which had me thinking about the effect of the Line 6 era of noise bands and their effects/role in constructing pop format songs, there are a few bands, most notably Black Pus, who are utilizing the technique exceptionally well. while i wouldn't put this tape in that category only because it's a studio recording, it does suggest some interesting approaches to the pop/noise/ambient hybridity that are occurring.
Second Edition of 95. released by Really Coastal
http://reallycoastal.com/
This tape is a legit, professionally printed m-f'in cassingle. kudos for that ish; you'll occassionally see a new tape that's professionally printed, but i'll be damned if dudes are still making cassingle/promo tapes. Anyhow this jam (it's just one jam! program repeats!) hits a really really soft spot of mine, old organ drum beats, or something that sounds hot-shit-just-like-it. its a great beat that runs through the whole tune. it has a playful pop feel and structure to it, wispy, sort of high pitched vocals. i don't like using musical comparisons because i don't want to belittle or offend people or give one person ownership of a sound but this does have some ariel pink vibes quivering through the atmosphere, though the production is a lot, lot cleaner.
After a bit of verse chorus verse action, there's a long refrain that builds layers and layers of voice and synth padding, which had me thinking about the effect of the Line 6 era of noise bands and their effects/role in constructing pop format songs, there are a few bands, most notably Black Pus, who are utilizing the technique exceptionally well. while i wouldn't put this tape in that category only because it's a studio recording, it does suggest some interesting approaches to the pop/noise/ambient hybridity that are occurring.
Second Edition of 95. released by Really Coastal
http://reallycoastal.com/
HUI "Excerpts From the Hui Tape Collections" (Stenze Quo / Meudiademorte)
This tape comes with a simple black and white photocopied insert that lists the title, time and all the instruments used on each side. The only other text is the the title "Hui- shows an excerpt of from the Hui tapes collection played by marcel turkovsky." It really makes you feel like you stumbled onto a demo or rough mixes from a huge library of master tapes. Judging by Marcel's output, i bet there is a friggin wine cellar somewhere full of master tapes, notepads filled with ideas and more instruments like the "polnisch knull" or a "pustrohr" that are just waiting to be manipulated and undone as were on this tape.
I remember watching Fast, Cheap and Out of Control and in the documentary there is a robotic scientist who is studying the way in which ants walk and comparing it to contemporary attempts at making movement mechanical. The ant is a really imperfect creature, stumbling about, falling, not precise at all, yet it is what the scientist believes is the most effective. They allow mistakes, working them into a larger routine, whereas robots of the R2D2 nature are so rigid that if they fall or bump into something they are rendered completely useless. There needs to be room for error, or better yet, error needs to be considered an integral part of the process.
Marcel's compositions have something of a similar ring, both in their process and the end result of the sound. I don't want to get too caught up in process, especially since i've never seen him play solo, but there does seem to be a focus paid on the process here, with irregular loops moving in and out of the foreground acting as both structural tool and as embellishment. While the tapes play both parts, they are also assigned a particular role as organic noises enter the field of sound, tapping, bells, walking, something in the background banging; all causing the initial tape looped sound or rattling to be re-registered as something 'taped' or secondary. It is this back and forth and attention to recontextualizing a sound that makes this tape so good. What is a hypnotic bug sound changes dramatically when a mbira/xylophone sound enters and pushes the skittering loop to the background.
This tape is a great example of using loops, layers, field recordings and primitive folk instruments to create a challening and exciting listen that supercedes the standard Line 6 loop fest. listen up!
Edit! I just went to listen to another Hui tape i have to realize they're the same, in different packaging, evidently this was initially released (still available) by Stenze Quo, another great label.
www.myspace.com/stenzequo
www.Meudiademorte.de
http://www.myspace.com/meudiademorte
I remember watching Fast, Cheap and Out of Control and in the documentary there is a robotic scientist who is studying the way in which ants walk and comparing it to contemporary attempts at making movement mechanical. The ant is a really imperfect creature, stumbling about, falling, not precise at all, yet it is what the scientist believes is the most effective. They allow mistakes, working them into a larger routine, whereas robots of the R2D2 nature are so rigid that if they fall or bump into something they are rendered completely useless. There needs to be room for error, or better yet, error needs to be considered an integral part of the process.
Marcel's compositions have something of a similar ring, both in their process and the end result of the sound. I don't want to get too caught up in process, especially since i've never seen him play solo, but there does seem to be a focus paid on the process here, with irregular loops moving in and out of the foreground acting as both structural tool and as embellishment. While the tapes play both parts, they are also assigned a particular role as organic noises enter the field of sound, tapping, bells, walking, something in the background banging; all causing the initial tape looped sound or rattling to be re-registered as something 'taped' or secondary. It is this back and forth and attention to recontextualizing a sound that makes this tape so good. What is a hypnotic bug sound changes dramatically when a mbira/xylophone sound enters and pushes the skittering loop to the background.
This tape is a great example of using loops, layers, field recordings and primitive folk instruments to create a challening and exciting listen that supercedes the standard Line 6 loop fest. listen up!
Edit! I just went to listen to another Hui tape i have to realize they're the same, in different packaging, evidently this was initially released (still available) by Stenze Quo, another great label.
www.myspace.com/stenzequo
www.Meudiademorte.de
http://www.myspace.com/meudiademorte
TOWERING BREAKERS w/ BEN MORRIS "Like Light" (Rayon Records)
I recently got this jam in a batch of tapes from Pascal who runs Rayon records. All the tapes have a similar packaging style, this weird fold over oragami style case with a photo attached to the side making it twice as wide as normal (and impossible to put with the rest of your tapes, though really, it's necessary to have like two other shelves for storing releases like this, plus they look good.) Tape is yellow, spray painted, edition of 50, along with the photo and insert the sleeve is slathered with green goo. for the record, goo is always a nice touch in my book.
The tape itself lives up to the pacakaging offering the listener lots and twine to wrap around your head, tape to stick on your face and cotton balls to stuff in your mouth. Each side has two pieces each offering different imbalances and distractions matched with concentration and integrated forms. Not sure of any of the other releases by Towering Breaker since this is the first i've heard but the fact that they're joined by Ben Morris ("mad dog ben morris" according to the insert) really effected the way i was listening, trying to hear the way a guest was sitting in; sort of trying to find the piece that has been added to the equation.
These guys deliver a great mix of semi-distinct layers interacting, trying to weave together some distant cries caught on tape, with a slightly overblown signal making a mic bounce off the wall, while trying to meet and mate sounds there is also a comfort in the fact that they are their own; what sounds like water sounds and maybe drums (or a person shaking a chainlink fence) shift in and about creating a really unsteady (in a good way) drone that feels like it could fall apart or totally congeal at any point.
The next section starts a bit more spastic and jumpy, allowing for definition between the pieces, to develop their own identity before carrying off into a wall of co-mingling where totally non-verbal voices reach out and grab at everything, pulling segments into a full on wall paper peeling seance of sound. Grey clouds of gloom follow ushered in by shooting rhythmics sounds of totally unidentifiable nature, driving into the sunset there is true comfort and ease in the handling of the resolution. Gong/bell types of sounds hush and brush against walls of tape hiss and wind, something like the concert of a late night harbor for a ship just in from sea.
http://www.myspace.com/rayonrecs
The tape itself lives up to the pacakaging offering the listener lots and twine to wrap around your head, tape to stick on your face and cotton balls to stuff in your mouth. Each side has two pieces each offering different imbalances and distractions matched with concentration and integrated forms. Not sure of any of the other releases by Towering Breaker since this is the first i've heard but the fact that they're joined by Ben Morris ("mad dog ben morris" according to the insert) really effected the way i was listening, trying to hear the way a guest was sitting in; sort of trying to find the piece that has been added to the equation.
These guys deliver a great mix of semi-distinct layers interacting, trying to weave together some distant cries caught on tape, with a slightly overblown signal making a mic bounce off the wall, while trying to meet and mate sounds there is also a comfort in the fact that they are their own; what sounds like water sounds and maybe drums (or a person shaking a chainlink fence) shift in and about creating a really unsteady (in a good way) drone that feels like it could fall apart or totally congeal at any point.
The next section starts a bit more spastic and jumpy, allowing for definition between the pieces, to develop their own identity before carrying off into a wall of co-mingling where totally non-verbal voices reach out and grab at everything, pulling segments into a full on wall paper peeling seance of sound. Grey clouds of gloom follow ushered in by shooting rhythmics sounds of totally unidentifiable nature, driving into the sunset there is true comfort and ease in the handling of the resolution. Gong/bell types of sounds hush and brush against walls of tape hiss and wind, something like the concert of a late night harbor for a ship just in from sea.
http://www.myspace.com/rayonrecs
TROPA MACACA "Peca Ma" (Silver Ghosts)
This tape comes from a live performance (one set split over both sides) from "OUT.FEST" in 2007. Tropa Macaca is a duo, i believe, from portugal. If it weren't in the liner notes i wouldn't have guessed that this were a live release considering the weight and length of some moments. But i think that is my prejudice coming through, where live sets are often marked by an anxiety that translates into quicker transitions and shorter parts. Then again, i'm not from the school of mellow dudes on the floor...
That said this tape is not without its share of fractured moments and there's no hesitation over the introduction of new directions or textures but there is a definite focus on the development of their drone elements. A deep bass ocean is introduced, an ocean of lotion, thick and simmering with heavy heat beaming down carrying on through sputtering loops of percussive wind warmth. Elements of synths (maybe not actual synths though?) mix easily with more airy whispy creating a nice balanced palette, though not without the necessary tension to keep a recording (performance) interesting and with a sense of movement.
Sounds of unplugging and plugging in scatter across the surface; a nice metaphor for the music, the sounds of instruments and action creating a world in tune with and plugged into the fabric of being undone and unattached, floating across the surfaces, looking down, under the rippling, fractured bubblings.
Comes in plastic case with silkscreened cover.
no website yet, you can email silverghosts@gmail.com for copies
That said this tape is not without its share of fractured moments and there's no hesitation over the introduction of new directions or textures but there is a definite focus on the development of their drone elements. A deep bass ocean is introduced, an ocean of lotion, thick and simmering with heavy heat beaming down carrying on through sputtering loops of percussive wind warmth. Elements of synths (maybe not actual synths though?) mix easily with more airy whispy creating a nice balanced palette, though not without the necessary tension to keep a recording (performance) interesting and with a sense of movement.
Sounds of unplugging and plugging in scatter across the surface; a nice metaphor for the music, the sounds of instruments and action creating a world in tune with and plugged into the fabric of being undone and unattached, floating across the surfaces, looking down, under the rippling, fractured bubblings.
Comes in plastic case with silkscreened cover.
no website yet, you can email silverghosts@gmail.com for copies
WEIRDING MODULE "Underwater in Space" (Silver Ghosts)
Weirding Module is the solo synth project of mike, the bass player awesome color. If you're familiar with their rip roaring rock and roll records, this tape may come as a bit of a surprise. If you're only familiar with mike as one half of the duo Bisexual Ghengis Khan (with colin from usaisamonster) than this will seem like familiar territory for this soldier of rock to walk.
It feels almost like the release was named after him trying to describe the sound of the tape to an aunt or an uncle who hadn't smoked pot. Underwater in space, though not possible (is it?) is a pretty literal description of the noodles, franks and beans that make up this primordial stew. A really great tape that starts with lots of decaying sounds, tones being ripped apart and bounced about in semi-rhythms, half in time half out creating a reallly disorienting set of blerps and beeps to follow. The second piece is a lot more minimal and almost devious in its pause. Comes across like a true vouyer staring into a mirror.
The second side starts, appropriately, wave-like with pulses cascading in and out and crashing against anything in their way. I remember a koan about the strenght of something soft, like water, breaking something hard, like stone. Soft is harder than hard. These pieces in all their mechanical circuitry have something soft in them, an ability to rise and descend to express and manipulate while still being rather cold and rigid, almost surgical in their execution.
A great tape, well played and pretty diverse in the approach and the movement of the music. Not particularly bleak or dark but not really uplifting and storybook. Maybe that's what space is like, or underwater. Environments that are almost totally inhospitable to humans, yet, with the proper equipment somehow people end up there staring at themselves and whatever goo and dust is floating by.
Silkscreened covers by M. Padding, in a plastic tape case perfect for filing.
No website available, you can email silverghosts@gmail.com for copies
It feels almost like the release was named after him trying to describe the sound of the tape to an aunt or an uncle who hadn't smoked pot. Underwater in space, though not possible (is it?) is a pretty literal description of the noodles, franks and beans that make up this primordial stew. A really great tape that starts with lots of decaying sounds, tones being ripped apart and bounced about in semi-rhythms, half in time half out creating a reallly disorienting set of blerps and beeps to follow. The second piece is a lot more minimal and almost devious in its pause. Comes across like a true vouyer staring into a mirror.
The second side starts, appropriately, wave-like with pulses cascading in and out and crashing against anything in their way. I remember a koan about the strenght of something soft, like water, breaking something hard, like stone. Soft is harder than hard. These pieces in all their mechanical circuitry have something soft in them, an ability to rise and descend to express and manipulate while still being rather cold and rigid, almost surgical in their execution.
A great tape, well played and pretty diverse in the approach and the movement of the music. Not particularly bleak or dark but not really uplifting and storybook. Maybe that's what space is like, or underwater. Environments that are almost totally inhospitable to humans, yet, with the proper equipment somehow people end up there staring at themselves and whatever goo and dust is floating by.
Silkscreened covers by M. Padding, in a plastic tape case perfect for filing.
No website available, you can email silverghosts@gmail.com for copies
MUNTJAC "Warp" (Taped Sounds)
A new mini-planet has evolved and it's soundtrack is straight from the "home taping" scene of yesteryear. this release is an unbelievable little nugget of quirky, chirpy, simple, songs and that in and of itself makes it quite an amazing feat! This tape would fit right in along side anything that came out of the Shrimper-Era home recording blitz that brought us a million and one amazing tapes (and personally was a big inspiration). One of the unfortunate features of a lot of those tapes was usually some dude whining about something 'personal' in a voice that maybe should have remained at home and not recorded. still, a lot of the music was exceptional and was catapulted even further into the stratosphere of "sweeeeet" by the super ultra lo-fidelity of the recordings. This Muntjac recording is right on time. It sounds like instead of multi-tracking he did the old boombox next to a boombox so all the tracks have a 'live' feel to them. A lot of the standard weapons are used, shitty keyboard beats, shitty keyboards, guitars, overdriven bass and some tape manipulation. Many of the tracks are self contained ideas but a few move in and out of the structured and into 'fields' of sound yet never lose sight of the intentions of the track. Major kudos for that. Again, so thankful for the lack of voice; there's no way words (and the human voice) could say something more interesting than the music. Then again, you never know. Comes packaged in a mini ziplock bag with a black and white insert with some drawings of a planet and some animals on it along with a color mini zine featuring weird marker drawings and basic release info.
http://users.telenet.be/bread.and.animals/
http://users.telenet.be/bread.and.animals/
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