PULSE EMITTER “Through the Portal” (Phinery)

Through the Portal begins as a dystopian masterpiece and ends as a three-dimensional polygonal masterpiece, the use of “masterpiece” twice (and now three times) being the main point of reference for any potential listeners out there. Pulse Emitter, aka Daryl Groetsch, is essentially a national treasure, having released a literal ton of music since 2004 – seriously, if you placed all the cassettes and all the vinyl ever pressed on an industrial scale, you’d probably get close to a ton. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but I’m not exaggerating when I say that entering this portal, passing through this portal, and emerging on the other side of this portal is an experience that will transform your life in real and magnificent ways. Or it will, at least, make you feel better about yourself for a while. In either case, Through the Portal is a continuation of the Portland (OR) musician’s modular synthesizer excursions, the pieces at once melodic and ruminative, easily absorbed in the background or engaged with full throttle at the fore of your focus. Actually, it’s probably best to tackle this stuff up front, as it’s masterfully crafted and worthy of the stranglehold it puts on your attention. In fact, once you enter Portalandia, you may never return from Portalandia. Get it? Portal-landia. Because he’s from Portland and there’s that show. (I amaze myself sometimes. Does that say “amaze”? I meant “amuse.” Sort of.) And while Groetsch is perfectly capable of churning out release upon release reflecting his own interior within his own style, there are hints toward other purveyors of similarly trailblazingly tranquil and/or illuminating vibes. “Teal Forest Droplets” recalls prime Ferraro, while “Heat Haze” could be a Badalamenti update for the forthcoming new season of Twin Peaks. But all of this occurs in Pulse Emitter’s world, and it’s his rules that we’re playing by here. I urge you, then, to strap in, because, take it from me, you are powerless to resist the excellentity and magnifitude. In fact, as you stare with wondering eyes at Through the Portal on Phinery’s Bandcamp page, that little voice you hear is not in your head – it’s real. “Buy me!” says Pulse Emitter’s Through the Portal, nestled snugly within its link, ready for your Paypal credentials. You’re powerless against it. Your wallet opens. Your money is set free.

Pulse Emitter

Phinery

--Ryan Masteller

PULSE EMITTER "Unearthly" c45? (Tape Tektoniks)

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

CIRCUIT WOUND/PULSE EMITTER "Split" (Swampland)

So: I’m feeling a little guilty about my vitriolic review below. Swampland is a totally decent label and the other tapes in the new batch are really quite good. I hope that the Werewolf Jerusalem + The Rita collaboration was just a minor misstep that we can all forget about and move on from. And this split c28 from Los Angeles’s Circuit Wound and Portland’s Pulse Emitter is helping me do just that. The Circuit Wound side, titled “Dismal Beauty,” is divided into three movements. The first is a delay-heavy metallic wail. The piece is calm and atmospheric, but not ambient in the you-forget-you’re-even-listening-to-something type of way. It’s not really Circuit Wound’s strong suit, but it's nice enough, and the next two pieces bring the crunch. The second is a little jammy, but the sound is good with a lot of abrasive high end. The last piece is great, though-- much clearer compositional logic. Harsh noise and digital delay sounds almost like a landslide or a hailstorm, thousands of tiny pellets pummeling your roof. The Pulse Emitter side begins with a long buzzy saw-tooth drone. It’s eventually decimated by the howling resonance of a particularly nasty filter. This begins a dramtic build which eventually explodes into a bloopity twittering synth murk. The remainder of the piece is almost proggy and sounds like the best audio sample for a piece of crazy analogue gear you’ve ever heard. Surprising material for Pulse Emitter. Not nearly as sweeping and cinematic as his work usually is, but a whole lot of fun, regardless.