CANOPIC LIDZ "Da da vinci code" c40 (Senseless Empire)

man! i don't know what you guys do on yr days off but me, i spend them browsing through old pen and pixel album covers on the internet or, if i'm alone, jamming a tape with one in my room unfolding the totally destroyed j-card in joy (is it still a j-card if it folds out 100 times, each with a different ad for a record you know probably never came out?). well, when i got this tape from senseless empire boy was i psyched, other than the deathbombarc cd, this is the first time i can think of cash money / no limit style art/aesthetic gracing the front cover of a 'noise tape.' now, don't get me wrong, it's not a 'bling-bling' affair with butts and diamonds in the sky and cadillac driving from beyond the grave. nope, the cover is just a sarcophagus, tut's, and some reggae-gradient background with the text across top and bottom, but it has that something special- that feel. you know?

the tape/music itself is sort of on another level, though the connection is still maintained through simple beats, mostly loops accompanied by keyboards/synths and some weird ass production choices. whereas Beats by the Pound would usually use cheap keyboards it seems Canopic has often eskewed the thrift store scores for more sophisticated equipment, a variety of synthesizers and unidentifiable electronics accompany the stuttering, staggering beats. Side A is a lot more of a rawkus affair, disjointed beats with heavy wheezing noises filling the voids and rearranging yr mind, the second side has a much "softer" feel, at times a hair away from a secret passion of mine, soft rock. though it never does get there and stays firmly in the 'gross sound' township.

This tape could have easily been a gem at a flea market, just imagine it on a fucked up old maxell, a 4-track demo made by some kid listening to old cabaret voltaire records, writing self-mutilation fantasy poetry, then going into his room and making these beats crying off his goth make-up at the thought of facing another day in this cruel world full of worthless humanity and his heavy all encompassing desolation (and his love of rap tapes from the american south in the early 90's).

full color art, spray-painted tape, in an edition of 100
still available from the label:

http://www.senselessempire.com