ROPAL JAGNU / STEPHEN’S LORIKEET / RIGEL MAGELLAN / DDM 4 Way Split C40 (OJC Recordings)

Like some unholy quadforce forged in the heart of Mt. Doom (and shut up I can mix up my fantasy references if I want to), 4 WAY SPLIT seems to be OJC Recordings’ attempt at total domination. Not to be confused with the CSNY classic 4 WAY STREET, 4 WAY SPLIT packs a quartet of OJC’s wackiest heavers onto one tape, each displaying the violent power they’re apt to unleash at any given, unpredictable moment. You’ve got Ropal Jagnu’s gut-busting synth warble, Stephen’s Lorikeet’s lo-fi guitar tunage, Rigel Magellan’s uncompromising synth pop, and more lo-fi guitarrage from DDM. Personally I’m a Ropal/Rigel fan, and you can catch some of that collaborative wave on the newest Galaxie Deluxe release from OJC. But all four artists prevail in their gloriously debauched idioms, each leveling an uncomfortable amount of “personal expression” at us audience members until we’re MK Ultra’d into doing every bidding of our new OJC masters. Or at least a little seasick from the passage. Either way, it’s hard to shake the disconcerting recordings contained herein, and it’s almost certainly because of the rough edges on each of these tracks. Ropal and Rigel sound like they’re drenched in maple syrup, and SL and DDM come off like they’re playing on the inside of a shoebox. That’s OK for this crew, although it would be interesting if some of that synth drippage leaked into the Stereopathetic Soul Manure–era Beck interlude sounds of the guitar dudes. Whatever your poison, you’ll sure to at least BE poisoned by partaking in this toxic mélange. And you should already be used to that, person reading Cassette Gods – that’s pretty much all we do around here: poison our bodies by listening to toxic sonics performed by sick puppies who get off on our discomfort. And then there’s us, getting off on our own discomfort. Where does the circle end? Maybe it won’t, and that’s just fine by me. Fine by OJC, too, as they’re an important link in the chain.

OJC Recordings

--Ryan Masteller

RIGEL MAGELLAN “Succulent Sounds” C44 (OJC Recordings)

Much like his namesakes Dominar Rygel XVI and Ferdinand Magellan, from whom he surely copped his moniker, Rigel Magellan is interested in charting undiscovered territories on his synthesizers and then colonizing them through sheer force. (And yes, I know Rygel from Farscape spells his name differently, shut up!) Succulent Sounds, on LA-based, garage-inhabiting label OJC Recordings, is filled with straight-up succulent (hence the title) tones, warm and inviting, but not like those astral projectionists whose sole purpose is to transport you to other states of being. Naw, Rigel Magellan, has too much of a pop sensibility to him, and his smeared songs are underscored by – gasp! – beats. Yeah, they’re pretty sparse, many times no more than click tracks, but it positions Rigel in the same musical hemisphere as early Black Moth Super Rainbow, for example, instead of near someone like, say, Emeralds.

Opener “Grits” is pretty krauty, though, and “Drowning” is seasick manipulation at its best, both recalling some of the 1980s-damaged work of “Maestro” Yves Malone, who’s just been knocking them out of the park recently. “Cadaver” makes with the space alien bleeps and bloops, combining Ed Wood terror with extraterrestrial curiosity and all but assuring us consumers that Succulent Sounds is gonna be all over the place in a good way. If this is how the Grays are coming, they can probe me all they want. I’ll volunteer to be in their space zoo.

Also, somehow the beginning of “fLip fLop” sounds like the Sega Genesis startup. And then it kind of keeps going as if the Sega Genesis startup were only a second and a half of an actual song. It’s cool, you should try it!

By side B Magellan is all about getting laid back, where the interplanetary tropicalia of “Yellow Trail,” hypnogogic crystal funk of “Syrum,” and woozy nug-warmth of “Wasser” envelope us in their sweet, smoky embrace. Dare I say succulent embrace? I dare. It’s just such a good descriptor for what our old pal Rigel has ready for us that it’s hard to get the idea out of your system. And I can’t get this tape out of my system – I loved BMSR’s Falling Through a Field and Start a People, and this takes me back to the days when I was just discovering those albums. Maybe this could be the start of a new obsession for you? It probably is for me.

OJC Recordings

Succulent Sounds Bandcamp page

--Ryan Masteller