MJC161 'TERROR TAPES' vol28: VILLA VALLEY/FOSSILS C90 $7(N America)/$10(world)
"str8 outta the junkyard~ 2 units school'd in lofi WTF garbage can jams side a = Villa Valley Michigan noise madness team featuring brain behind rather rad noise/thrash tape label Nurse Etiquette here the boys fully deliver chucking fiery junk hunks crunching feedback burning tapes of siren songs a full dose of rattle crackle scrap scrape. side b = Fossils monster-child line-up of Johnson, Payne and Smith (1000yrFrog) recorded dec 27 2007 at the Frog's Stoney Creek lilypad click of the broken tapeplayer becomes metronome-like marching us thru the animal hospital with amplified heartbeats strange sick creatures grumble and howl from cages a chorus of malfunctioning transistor radios and general malarky blown broken electronics and space invader vibes mixed with monk chants from a digital dimension limited to 33."

'TERROR TAPES' vol28 DELUXXX edition CDr+C90 $11(N America)/$15(world)
"includes above c90 + cdr. 2 tracks brutal & bleeding. 10 minutes of mayhem from the Villa Valley crew. Heavy tear head-first thru wet feedback walls. 15 minutes of monstermash from Fossils. weirdo field records random cut-ups spliced with jams? who knows/cares??" packaged in a large zip-lock bag.

MJC157 FOSSILS - 'dark wood' C60 $7(N America)/$10(world)
"Johnson/Payne/Smith trio present a feast of haunted electronics, tortured vocal contortions strangle you and burnin guitar crust on a beach for two faithful children side a =recorded direct to 4 track and mixed by Payne hear a high-fi weird focused chaos alien improv intense choking pterodactyl resurrection a black powder rains. side b = ghettoblaster w/1mic style~ a musical house for your pure sympathy stretched ropes from steeple to steeple Deck yourself, dance, laugh." limited to 33

MJC158 THE GAPEING C90 $7(N America)/$10(world)
new muscle trio of Boughner, Johnson & Payne no more faith in history just piling on feedback frenzy destructo lazers beamed from the air of Hell squeals screams confused chaos mental metal machine music recorded at MJC hq with no overdubs dec 20 2007~~ side B ends with our 1st set live at the casbah lounge later same day apocalypse meltdown full-on lunatic-style violence venom twists the fire flares up again with its damned." limited to 23

MJC162 FOSSILS BROKEN BEAK DUO CDr $7(N America)/$10(world)
"Johnson/Payne wander thru the wild weirdness winding whining in winter knocking at yr backdoor will you let them in?" limited to 17

MJC159-160 'zombie blizzard' CDr+recycled tape $11(N America)/$15(world)
"dj Paynecake retardo remix of crude slomo tapes lost in the blinding snow from the white gutter bubbling to the brown stank bog sealed in a large." zip-lock bag, limited to ???

ICHOROUS - 'Circumstances' 3" CDr
"Genre: noise. Catalogue number: ICR015. 3 new tracks (recorded and mastered November of last year) of focused, calculated, and destructive harsh noise. This time the concept centers around instances of traumatic and intense situational irony (or "circumstances" as the title calls them), the kind that ruins lives and ends love, leaving those involved ruined and broken."

MESSIAH COMPLEX - 'Above The Floods' 3" CDr
"Genre: noise. Catalogue number: ICR014. Messiah Complex is a two man experimental project from Scotland. Messiah Complex been mixing noise, dark ambient, drone and industrial sounds since 2003. Above the Floods is the second Industrial Culture release for Messiah Complex, it was recorded in the Summer of 2007 and was inspired by the floods that effected much of the UK at the time."

INSANE ASYLUM - 'Caustic Factory Outlet' 3" CDr
"Genre: noise/industrial. Catalogue number: ICR013. These four compositions contain pain of environment made by destroying impact of industrial impurities. Two tracks (opening and ending ones) are noisy transmissions in rather dark mood, other two are slower structures, full of rustles, smashes and uncontrolled effects. Whole material has been recorded as full improvisation after attacks on temporal lobe epilepsy."

Samples, etc. HERE

A small collection of songs for Southern California’s young Folktale Records, the full-size CDr re-release ‘Dangers of Intimacy’ by Gowns has a little bit of everything from the fairer side of the bedroom. The faint percolations and chipper electric guitar of opener “Thick Light” comes with some whispered telephony vocals, suggesting the introvert electronica of Lucky Dragons or an Akron CDr in its 90 brief seconds; this gives way to “Feathers”, now a hidden chorus of whispered voices complimenting the weightless strum of a treble-less acoustic guitar and barely-there samplings. The duo recall those more reticent singer-songwriter types who sabotage the singing and songwriting with more interesting editorial liberties as seen in the layering of the aforementioned track, and in the quasi-improvised guitar embellishments of “Gloves” – and here I’m thinking of the cohort Hannah Marcus, Young People, Carla Bozulich – the last of whom actually appears as the central voice on “Apple”, a day-dreamer’s lullaby sung from a giant bed, with acoustic lather and electronic blooms, evocative lyrics. In seeking more information on the disc, one finds that the credited band-half EZ is in fact he of the Mae Shi, a fact which the unsuspecting listener should only accept as evidence of copious post-production and the occasional spark of a late-adolescent male crooner; otherwise, the pace is absolutely submerged, there is no glitch, and little resembles a beat (partner EMA is she of Amps of Christ). “( )” returns to the wide tones of the introduction, now with growing electronic disruption and agitation in the delivery; the second voice, before so much an accomplice has now taken a side against, making a dissonant duet over the light seer of feedback and padded percussion. “Sugar” is last, resembling a cover in the fashion of Xiu Xiu or under-produced Parenthetical Girls – still in the acoustic and hiss fashion of the rest of the album – what they could hypothetically be covering (Brenda Lee?) is less relevant than the schizophrenic assertions that the heavily-faded background activity, multiple voices, and distended strumming implies. Though only six songs in 20 minutes, this album casts a long shadow, and there doesn’t feel to be anything left out. Printed CDr comes in a sprayed digipak with printed notes. (Folktale CDr, $5 HERE)

IXCHEL - 'Dreams Of' CDr 7€(EU)/8€(World)
"Ixchel is the duo of Timothy Hurley (Quetzolcoatl / Bonecloud) and Barry Semple. Nine out-worldly fantasy melancholic dreamer songs."

United Bible Studies - 'Live At The Warehouse' CDr 7€(EU)/8€(World)
"The second live album by the Irish collective brings together 3 concerts performed in a past Dublin DIY venue "The Warehouse". On this release the Bible Students fully embrace their "anything goes" philosophy and create a truly unique record in their discography. This release terrificly captures the spontaneity and changing nature of the group's live approach over a sea of strange and familiar sounds that mesh together to form some truly imaginative and enjoyable music."

Mystified - 'KrellMuse' C52
"KrellMuse is a cassette release from Mystified, an experienced multi-genre band that focuses on noisy drones and atmospherics. The Krell were an ancient race from the film Forbidden Planet, who seemed to haunt the planet surface, and the catacombs underneath. KrellMuse asks the question-- if the Krell were to write music for humans, how would it sound? Probably a lot like this release-- gritty, droney, and mysterious." - Thomas Park. Cover photo provided by: www.sandystudio.com. Edition of 50

Arklight - 'The Seventh Seal' CDr
"Aesthetic-less crud matrons Arklight are a sometimes duo/trio/quartet who here try to cobble together a personality from guitar improvs, electronic beats and multi-layered recording techniques. Formed in 2003, Arklight dance along the Digital/Analog, Postmodern/Existential Divide, much as the dancers in The Seventh Seal dance on the line between Life and Death. They Are Contradictory In Tone (T.A.C.I.T.)." - Daniel Kolm. Edition of 100

Bjerga/Iversen - 'Empire of Dirt' C41
"Bjerga/Iversen have been exploring the sound ghosts of the grey area for 3 years now. Deep studies in amplified clutter, tape hiss and the mesmerizing nature of the psychedelic drone has resulted in close to 40 records and a bunch of gigs through Europe and the UK as well as Norway. No rest, no second thoughts, no quality control (some might say) but always in the "now sound", always mucking about, always trying to catch that ghost..... This is a live set from the Overtoom 301 club in Amsterdam, recorded April 6th, 2007" -Sindre Bjerga: Tapes, contact mikes, guitar, kitchen utensils -Jan-M. Iversen: Electronics. Edition of 100

Saints - 'Umbanda' C31
"Jarringly intense noise-with-a-purpose from this Californian duo. Hold onto your butts. "Like pulling the sun with a beast drawn plow through a lush jewel field in wet-diamond South America with Macumban's mambo bassdrum looking for a T. Rex in the moonflood. Bend down low." Edition of 100

Changeling - 'Absolutely Free' C21
"Channeling the forces of nature with his guitar, Roy Tatum creates yet another stunning piece. He graciously found some time between recording with Deep Jew, Quintana Roo, and the Insaniacs to conjure this not-too-short but very sweet cassette. This makes for some perfect nighttime winter listening, so take off those boots, kick back by the fire and light one up while taking it all in. You can admire Bethany Cosentino's (of Pocahaunted) awesome collage art while you're at it." Edition of 100

WEBSITE

RAVEN STRAIN + AHD - 'Thin Fevers' CDr $6(Worldwide)
"Matt Billings (Raven Strain) has been traveling to Puerto Rico now for a few months and it's inevitable that we would talk him into recording for Sonora. First off is his collaboration with AHD (Ariel Hernandez), recorded in a beautiful colonial home in the heart of Old San Juan on a busy Monday afternoon, the sounds within are just like a sweaty walk in the scorching-hot sun through the ancient streets of the old city. Beautiful sounds."

I/C/O/C – 'Parasitic Concubine' CDr $6(Worldwide)
"Like the sound of giant footsteps waking you from a deep sleep, this is a three-track monster from the chaotic megalopolis of Mexico City! Our first look into vastly uncharted noise territories south of your little border."

EYE – 'The Dresden Codex' CDr $6(Worldwide)
"Continuing our exploration of southamerican sound masters we now journey to Argentina, specifically the city Buenos Aires, where Mr. Guido Flichman aka Eye (not to be confused with that other "Eye" from Japan) crafts out an excellently composed 30 minute track, using a wide variety of sound material. Highly recommended for open minds."

AHD - 'Hara Kiri' CDr $6(Worldwide)
"Young noise from Puerto Rico. AHD presents five studies for intense noise. First release by this San Juan dweller, with many more to come. Color cover."

ARMENIA + CORNUCOPIA - 'Un Infierno Total' CDr $6(Worldwide)
"Over 70 minutes of pure noise mixed by Leo Sabatto (ARMENIA) using both projects' sounds. Originally released on Bizzare Audio Arts. Second edition."

ARMENIA + CORNUCOPIA + GOVERNMENT ALPHA + OPC - 'Sang Noir' CDr $6(Worldwide)
"Companion album to "Un Infierno Total", "Sang Noir" is another full frontal harsh noise attack mixed by Leo Sabatto. This time divided into three tracks and featuring sounds from japanese noise veteran GOVERNMENT ALPHA (Yasutoshi Yoshida) and young american wall riders OTHER PEOPLE'S CHILDREN. Originally released on Bizzare Audio Arts. Second edition."

WEBSITE

ORR-001 Tones of Dirt & Bone C40 $5
"Deep meditating drone from the closed mind of Mansfield, OH. Conjured up from two guitars, a simple and effective handful of pedals, and cassettes. Beautifully light and airy yet dark and brooding. Building from the light fluttering and trickling of a stream to the powerful and crashing intensity of Niagra only to fall back onto the beautiful chords of the shore." Same music on both sides. Full-color fold-out J-card and labeled tapes. In a hand-numbered edition of 20.

ORR-002 Fossils - 'Bell Jar' C30 $6
"Disgusting murky pits of tape manipulations and static hiss melt across the kitchen floor. Screams are buried in feedback and the two become one in the same. Music to stick your head in the oven to. (Wikipedia search: Sylvia Plath)." 20 sprayed tapes in sandpaper windows with paper-bag belts and an insert. In a hand-numbered edition of 20.

ORR-003 Screen House Music - 'On the Roof' C30 $6
"Screen House Music is Nick Marino of Northport, NY. With the occasional help of some friends he creates beautiful sprawling warm synth drone and simple finger picked melodies. There's no way this could've come out of anywhere but the calm suburbs. No clashing metal or alien soundscapes here. Just the sounds of being round a fire with blankets and wood stump seats. The truly shining moment is the brief breakout of his voice into an all out song near the end of the second track. Truly wonderful pine-tree porch jams." Hand numbered edition of 20 gray sprayed tapes.

ORR-004 Subway Boxcar 2x3"CDr $6
"Two discs each with one long guitar incantation wrestled from the air on a couple of rainy days in December. The first disc is twenty-minutes of swirling tones and plucks in what seems like movements of a piece rather than an individual song. The second disc is a come-down. A slow-droning sparkling and percussive chant to the sky. Contrasting and complimenting." Orange sprayed discs in envelope sleeves with newspaper with different newspaper cutout art on each.Hand numbered edition of 12.

Samples at the WEBSITE

The duo of Florian Tositti and Antoine Clemot comprise Xochipilli. Angers, France’s Tositti comes from the likes of Ghost Brâmes of the Cerf, The Reggaee, and recent Capricorn Wings projects; Clemot of Paris I cannot affiliate, though I’m sure he’s a busy fellow too. “Aircquocces”, the first half of the two-track ‘Airquocces of the Arc Tones’, emerges from some vocal cooing ala the most recent White Rainbow LP, expanding through bird song and crunchy field-recordings with wispy, breezy highlights, acoustic guitar, and bleary vocals resembling the washed-out Mark Nelson of Pan American. The aggregate of parts plus organ forms a warm, deep drone which deviates with the sounds of a plane overhead, gusts of wind, etc., returning slyly once the object as left the channel. The speaker’s cadence begins to resemble John Balance of Coil more than anything else, and the natural back drop begins to reveal a golden mean through polyphonic chirping of metal strings and electronics; percolation and faint radio scrabble presenting a scattered, yet compelling soundscape. “Cyuti” follows up with more field-recorded ambience - through far more muted – a sea-side din simmering beneath faintly artificial organ drones and mechanical oscillations. It’s actually quite a feat of deception, as the natural quality of these very unnatural elements yawns beneath the organic material, resignifying natural as those sounds which the men control. In color-printed acetate sleeve, hand-numbered to 75 copies. (First Person 3”CDr, £3/5€/$6 HERE)

SIDDHI - 'In The Wind' CDr 8€(EU)/10€(World)
"..from the "space guitarist" of Comet III,a pure gift of sounds joy directly from the pulsating and deadly Mother Heart.. 5 songs that go from melanchony and delicates drones thou strings resonance.." handmade HARD cardboard limited to 115 copies.

BROTHERS OF THE OCCOULT SISTERHOOD - 'Odalisque at secret Vortex' CDr CDr 8€(EU)/10€(World)
"...we like to play with fire and also Botos like this..flaming tunes catching with angels chants..we accept the bet for the winner!!another 9 crazy trip from the massive band from Blissland" handmade HARD cardboard limited to 116 copies.

AManAGuitar - 'Winter's Pieces' CDr CDr 8€(EU)/10€(World)
"..winter's tales and slant guitar from the north of France.. aManAguitar "Winter's Pieces" is music that seems like an little private portrait.." handmade hard cardboard limited to 107 copies.

MONKS OF BALHILL - 'Cormoran Sophistry' CDr CDr 8€(EU)/10€(World)
"..the first fantastic album of the french Monks of Balhill "Cormoran Sophistry"..strange tunes between antique rituals and birds in love." Handmade digisleeve with wood front limited to 111 copies.

Samples and ordering HERE

Slow Listener - 'He is a Lost Soul as Ever There Was' CH027 CDr 7€/9€
"Evil karma drones by up and coming hypno-bruiser Slow Listener aka Robin Dickinson. You might think of drone as soothing, meditative, maybe even sleepy but that’s not what makes this record, at all. Much in the vein of Birchville Cat Motel and Jazzfinger, Slow Listener takes out the soothing parts and injects his dronescapes with prickly venom and surges of white noise. Carnivorous bliss in full effect." Grey/white artwerk by Jason Rohm, in slimline dvd cases, edition of 70.

Dragonfrynd - 'Smoke Ring Mandala' CH029 CDr 7€/9€
"Terrific new project by Adam Kriney (La Otracina, Owl Xounds et al) on keyboard and effects and Clinton Wilkins on electric guitar. It’s actually the first Kriney release that doesn’t feature him on drums, in fact, there’s no drums at all here. Just the thrill of entrancing guitarfeedback, kosmische tone workouts, touches of swirling Japanese psychrock and amplified Ash Ra Tempel meditations. A new and exciting direction for one of the most busy and promising talents in the NYC underground." Full colour covers, in slimline dvd cases, edition of 75.

Drenches - 'Holy Dread' CH030 CDr 7€/9€
"Holy Dread, man, holy SHIT. This record is fierce. Heavy nature. Electronic bullying, raining down and piercing right through your balding scalp. The title track opens this monster and when I said raining down I meant it literally like that. Amazing effects that sound like you’re in the midst of heavy heavy rainstorms….inside a tent. Ever been there? It ain’t nice! This might just be the toughest harsh noise rec you have yet to hear this year. Stay proud, play loud." Black and white cover art by Branden Divens himself, in slimline dvd cases. Edition of 60.

WEBSITE (w/samples)

mjc153 terror tapes vol 27: Bottom Feeder/Graveyards C60 $7(world)
"captures 2 live sets from 2 great acts recorded to tape december 2 2007 Toronto side a= BOTTOM FEEDER bros Jeremiah & Johnson of Fossils bringing the goon good Hamilton- style...2nd live set ever takes ya to the ocean bottom cold where new lifeforms transluscent skin smashing lowend crunch earth rumble & horn de-composings sucks you deep in the mud..immobile..wait to be devoured rest of side includes studio tracks cut from ScoJo hands thunder sessions at Cloud Valley HQ loops & horny feedback messiness coffin scrape side b= GRAVEYARDS trio of Olson (sax, tapes, tronics), Hall (percussion) & Buetow (cello) from Michigan~end of the world band playin your funeral with a intense heavy jazzjammer that goes all over and gives everything ultra cello driven drone drags with cracked digital smokesignals drum & cymbal stomp with wet sax feedback freak outs cemetary blues to brew to~" limited to 43

mjc154 david payne - 'feedback 43' recycled cassette single $7(world)
"no input oscillating mixer tones non-techno no vibe frequencies farting funny from beyond total dumb trick burnt rip with no art no info tape in single-hinge case." limited to 7

mjc155 thousand year frog - 'black lantern vol 2' C60 $7(world)
"originally self-released in a criminally low edition Steve Smith blastin best new sounds outta the Hamilton bog weird murk loops tronic static waves wild tears of continental crust with sweet residual blankets of radioactive fallout contaminate cassette decks with this highly recommended bomb +new b/w art by Mr. Smith himself" limited to 33

mjc156 'zombie buffalo' CDr $7(world)
"dip it in the digital ocean with the 1st mjc cdr in months. creeped out elasticband on a tin can jam? total scum gum stuck to yr shoe goo cdr in clear sleeve w/wallpaper "grazing buffalo" landscape insert layered zombie stamp &hand-numbered." limited to 17

Check the SITE or PayPal to: d_revisited@yahoo.ca

GALACTIC CORE - 'DIRECT TRANSMISSIONS FROM THE HUNABKU' CDr $8
"...its Brian Thackeray from Dark Yoga on some crazy fuzz freak-out guitar shredding, recorded with some homies from back east slamming drums (Matthew Clark) and moog bass swoop (Abel Okugawa) on a series of improv burners! recorded at Monkeyclaus, a studio and production facility located in the blue ridge mountains near charlottesville, virginia. covers were screened by brian and dan of dark yoga.....insert illustrated by Brian.. WEBSITE says: "While receiving direct transmissions from the Hunab Ku on Summer Solstice 2007, Brian Thackeray, Matthew Clark, and Abel Okugawa recorded over two and a half hours of raw improvisations in the Monkeyclaus Studio. This took place just after a high noon Sun worship ritual. The session was then mixed a week later, as one 59 minute chron-illogical chunk of the transmission was chosen to be given to the people. The Mayan Factor can be credited with planting seeds, and at times clarifying certain far out notions that encouraged the creation of this particular music. Brian is known for his guitar shredding in West Coast pysche rock bands such as Dark Yoga, and Brave Priest. Matthew is the drummer for Ostinato as well as Grand Banks. Abel is the chief engineer of the Monkeyclaus studio and recorded the session, while laying down some heavy synths. Abel is a fountain of music." EDITION OF 100, mostly sold on their last tour, a few remain. [$5 wholesale to distros]

See the WEBSITE and EMAIL to order

Rahdunes - 'Alive in '07' CDr
"Tumbling weirdness of noise from this San Francisco based duo of Nate Archer and Aaron Coyes. Fuzzing feedback walls of metallic drone stabbing at your ears making them bleed, and the sound of the blood trickles into the recording of these recordings or something? But in a more documentation descriptive approach, this is a bunch of live recordings from a bunch of recent shows. Fully doom drone scapes... somewhere between Black Boned Angel and Mouthus maybe? They got an LP on Emporer Jones out now, and a LP coming on Qbico in the new year along with a LP on Ecstatic Yod. Ripping stuff." 3 panel wrap around cover designed by the band. Limited to 80 copies.

Gown - 'The March Towards The End Continues Despite Any And All Efforts...' CDr
"New 3 track 26 minute CDR from Andrew MacGregor. Really incredible free psychedelic guitar strummz with vocal howls weaved in and out. Andrew is also of The Bark Haze with Thurston Moore and occasional collaborator with Christina Carter of Charalambides, so you know he's got the goods if you ain't checked him yet! Limited to 80 copies with artwork by Andrew, packaged in mini DVD cases, BUT the first 35 come in a slighty 'bigger' package...I'll have about 15 of these (Andrew and one US label will have the rest) so if you want the limited(er) version order fast!"

WEBSITE

‘Bast’ is the “demo” tape of the now defunct (or is that never was?) Dogo & Crackerjacks, a FFM trio of New Jersey scum-punks reveling in the heart murmur of the Garden State. Six songs with sardonic titles looking like they came off a Jesus Lizard disc (“Laugh”, “Dark & Lonely”, “Carcinogenic”), they’ve got slow tempos and a deep bass rhythm, agonized duel caterwauling from the ladies and only the smear of depressed strings to indicate a guitar in the mix. Love Life probably went through a similar configuration before settling on the lighter sounds on which they settled; Babes in Toyland too. The ritual chant and contemptuous drone of guitars reminds one of many an AMREP outfit (definitely NOT Supernova) with all the pacing concerns of Swans or Big Black. Gold-sprayed tapes come with two-sided glossy J-card. Available for $5(US) from d.i.h.d. HERE.

The last time we saw the one-manned Culver was on a similarly little 3” called ‘The Witches Ladder’, and like that track, ‘The Psychic’ is a single, 20-minute drone piece. Were they both a little shorter, they would make nice complimentary halves of a 12”, as they both sustain massive drones layered above and below with counter-drones. For the disc at hand, the dirty roar of the central drone belies the deep, clean hum beneath: a tone of the earth pulsing slowly with tectonic energy and the occultist energy projecting sinister gradations through the fray (again, ala Robedoor). 3” CDr comes in acetate sleeve with color printing, hand-numbered to 75 and available HERE from First Person.

Meursault is Shaun Falconer and ‘Sleeping Debris’ is yet another extraordinary example of Students of Decay’s drone-heavy guitar specialty. Spiritually-affiliated with Loren Conors, Fred Frith, and Tom Carter, these amazing half-drones shimmer with the vibrancy of clean electric guitar and high-definition sound. Two double-digit pieces spaced by three shorter works, the title track is pure ‘Order of Things’ by Tarentel, while “Friday Delivered into Light” recalls Carter’s expansive ‘Monument’, with equal parts micro guitar introspection and macro ambient awe. The droning strings of bagatelle “Winters First Month” and the piano of “-“ make for strong contrasts of timbre and a crushing survey of talent. CDr is hand-stamped, with great art by Martin Hodge on a full-color, standard hard-stock sleeve. Very recommended, and available for $8 from Students of Decay HERE.

Flux Bouquet - 'First' CDr $7
"From the arid wastelands of the upper midwest comes this lush, first offering from flux bouquet—aptly titled first. Chris Miller (Number None, Rebis) and Steve Fors (unseen|unknown) orchestrate cacophonies of melodic decadence with vintage and obsolete electronics, guitars, and vocals. At times both noisy and beautiful, fb weaves shimmering tapestries of sonic expanse, only to leave them shredded on the floor in piles of feedback and static." 22 minutes, color inkjet insert on cardstock, edition of 50. Sample HERE

EMAIL to order

Niches form organically in the grooves of machined networks of exchange and cultural fantasy play. Such is the coincidence of so much First Person and Students of Decay releases, sweating it out in a pocket of hot movement, passing back and forth packets of data while narrowly avoiding the massive debris of the Atlantic circuit. Slow listener, until I regain internet contact, will remain a mystery to me. I sense a single author in all this, the free movement of a single beam of sound kinetically leaping as if jacked straight into a narcoleptic heart. Mid-fidelity mechanical guitar drones first emerge on the single, 17 minute track of ‘Bruise Journal’, a magnetized wave-length resting, then pulling urgently away from the thin metallic hurm beneath. The menace of a Hive Mind purr swallows the lead in a softer midsection, sharp sheets of noise cutting the swarm of monotones which seethe from the exceedingly subdued waveform. Mini CDr comes in traditional First Person acetate sleeve, hand-numbered to 75. (First Person 3” CDr, £3/5€/$6 HERE)

The 40 minute full-length ‘Enthusiastic Pursuit of the Pointless’ offers three such minimalist sculptures. The first, opaquely-entitled “Appreciate all around, it hits me deep”, follows in sympathetic form to ‘Bruise Journal’ with slow forms of shifting feedback, though this time in summer tinges of dull yellow and orange, where the previous was a darker gradation of brown and blue. The track keeps building, Growing – unlike the previous, it has others to explore new themes – permutations of bright whistles singing out from the molten churn of the guitar rhythms beneath. Track second, “‘do you know how I know? It’s because I think so’” stretches into FM3 territory with Moogish, melodic, tonal homeopathy and not-unpleasant feedback forms which play like breeze and soot, sharing a shape yet with such different movement within the drone. This is probably phenomenal live. Final section “Las Vegas Origami” starts with a pure warm drone, exchanging hands for a purely guitared figure, creasing and folding into itself, allowing glints of bright tones to shoot past its shifting silhouette; garble and slick static overtake the contours of the guitar, allowing the tones past to develop flutes of melody. Stamped CDr comes in traditional Students of Decay full-color sleeve. (Students of Decay CDr, $8 HERE)

Better People - ‘Salvia Inside the Broken Home’ [TRHP11] CDr-EP $4.5
"The liners to the latest better people EP recommend the following: "Get stoned and listen to this with you[r] headphones on... and turn it up loud." Yes, yes -- heavy tape loops, gurgling rhythms, piercing drones and the sound of a thousand orcs on the attack. BUT also a steadied, patient study in noise dynamics and one more reason why Athens, GA's Doug Patterson demands to be noticed." B&W artwork on heavy cardstock by the artist. Edition of 100.

WEBSITE

A challenger appears! From Dead Sea Liner:

SRX - 'Vessel' (DSL10) CDr £3
"A beautiful new mini album from Sandra Reignoux as SRX. Sandra doesn't allow musical rules and conventions to stand in the way of producing some of the most evocative and delicate songs and instrumental vignettes I've heard in a long while. The Interplay between Sandra's Nico-esque voice, piano and the tired moaning of her ancient 4-track creates a wonderfully charming effect. The primitive recording techniques and the sound of breath on microphone gives the recordings an intimate quality and the sensation of proximity to greatness."

Korperschwache - 'The Joy of Seppuku' (DSL13) CDr £3
"Korperschwache is in fine form on this new release, this is drone in the best sense of the word. Delve beyond the surface and a multitude of twilight worlds reveal themselves to you, each one danker and merkier than the last. I can only recommend turning this one up loud and allow the music to strip away all your other senses."

HERE

First batch from Second Sleep, and a few peculiar instances of titular infringement:



SS001 KAM HASSAH - 'Harvest' 2xC30 4€
"four tracks of heavy tones and black voices a sonic journey through harsh waves and moments of stasis." vhs box

SS002 KNUNN - 'Downhead Rabbit Tarots' C30 4€
"francesco is the man behind knunn, lexes and scarbox records, this dude is a truly force of nature, some of the most powerfull and focused harsh stuff put out in italy, concept about tarots and ancient magic."

SS003 NACKT INSECTEN - 'White Rainbow' 2xCDr 8€
"90+ min of ecstatic vocals and epic guitar excursions for this amazing unit from glasgow... sunset loneliness." comes in a silkscreened digipack

SS004 MARCEL TüRkOWSKY - 'What Burns Always Returns' C20 4€
"berlin and katmandu are not too far.. two tracks of tape manipulations that sounds like mantra rituals. a long march for solitary walkers."

SS006 WEREWOLF JERUSALEM - 'Static studies' 2xCDr 8€
"a new effort from richard ramirez. a grievous marathon of dense, thick and static harsh walls for lovers only. high volume needed."

SS008 MARCEL TüRkOWSKY & SHIVERS - 'Cones' C20 4€
"amazing jam for this two german potheads, distant synth flow, mixer intrusions and tape manipulation, the result sounds very "industrial."

Samples and order at the WEBSITE or EMAIL to know more

v/a - 'Sing With Me: Music for the human voice' CDr 6€(EU)/$8/7€(World)
"New compilation from Harha-askel, this time focusing on music made for (and with) the human voice, ranging from song-forms to abstract voicings. Demented pirate blues from Alligator Crystal Moth, Robert Horton goes pop (sort of), Jani Hellén explores the mellotron's vox humana, Ville Moskiitto interprets an old Finnish hymn, Komutian throat singing from Kheta Hotem and lots more... Artists from Finland, France, Italy, USA, Australia, Faroe Islands and Great Britain." Limited edition of 80 copies on black cd-r. Printed covers and insert in plastic sleeve.

1. Lamppukello - Maalari Mäki
2. Robert Horton - Fry Your Brains Out In Your Hat
3. Alligator Crystal Moth - The Mad Courier
4. Jani Hellén - Silpoydin (Static)
5. Kheta Hotem - Around a Single Bird
6. Metsämorfeus - Pilvin poikin kottaraista
7. Vellamo - Olemisen riemu
8. The Mighty Acts of God - The Slow Hardwood of a Once Thorough Woman
9. Rokkiryhmä - Laulu miehestä
10. Sorella di Kometan Pärsson - Best Explanation
11. Wanton Loverboy - Sucking Tits
12. Hue (with Gaia) - Pillow Talk
13. Autumn Galaxy - Red Glow
14. The Reggaee - Lude
15. Xenis Emputae Travelling Band & Jani Hellén - The Secret Gregorian Plug-In
16. Ville Moskiitto - Oi Herra jos mä matkamies maan

WEBSITE

ORIGAMI SUBTROPIKA/SYNERGIKA/BONDEPRAKTIKA split fan CDr $10(world)
"Comes in a wooden cover held together by screws, limited to 100 copies. Origami Synergika (Lasse Marhaug of Jazkamer), Origami Bondepraktika (Karl Midholm of Ovum) and Origami Subtropika (Jorge Castro of Clon and Cornucopia) recycle each others sounds into new tracks. Released by Cipher Productions in Tasmania. Very few available."

CORNUCOPIA - '.C.Works' 2xCD $10(world)
"Released back in 2004 by Sonora, Locus of Assemblage and Zeromoon, ".C.Works" contains Cornucopia's 37 minute "C" track on the first disk and 14 reworkings of it on disk two. Artists featured include: Lasse Marhaug, Kim Cascone, Black Sand Desert, Francisco López and others. Comes in a beautiful black double-sleeve and its now out of print. Last copies!

WEBSITE

Dälek/Destructo Swarmbots/Oddateee - 'Deadverse Massive' 12" picture disc $12
"An amazing meeting of three very intense forces in music. The result is four tracks that blend delicate, fender rhodes work reminiscent of Return to Forever-era Chick Corea, atonal ambience akin to Fripp & Eno, radical, black power-laden, spoken word, and some damn fine beats and lyricism for a hallucinatory album that is destined to be a simultaneous head-turner and head-scratcher. Easily, the strangest record any of these artists have ever touched. Artwork from the amazing Paul Romano (Mastodon, Godflesh, Earth) rounds out the release."

Aluk Todolo - 'Descension' CD $10
"With the goal to create a timeless, organic mixing of krautrock's strangeness and black metal's coldness, Aluk Todolo's debut full-length conjures rabid obsessive rhythms and abyssal disharmonic guitars, subliminal spiritualist vibrations and bizarre, magick summonings."

Planet Y - 'Space Station' CD $10
"The mind-boggling duo of beep/boop guru, Charles Cohen and Stinking Lizaveta guitarist, Yanni Papadopoulos. Limited to 500 copies and packaged in the awesome Dual Plover gatefold wallet!"

Ala Muerte & Max Bondi - 'Saturday' 3"CDr $4
"A dynamic melding of ethereal vocals, pulsating drones, delicate melodies, and harsh dissonance all put together without having met each other. Limited to 100 copies."

Decimation Blvd. - 'Put Your Hand in Fire' 3"CDr $4
"The debut release of acrid electronics, throbbing drones, gunshot rhythms, and eerie soundscape from Cream Abdul Babar noise choker, Tradd Sanderson. Limited to 100 copies."

Kiss the Anus of a Black Cat - 'Turn Hegel on his Head' 7" $5
"The young wizard of dark, apocalyptic folk (Belgium's Stef Irritant) unfurls his first vinyl release, a 7" using Hegel's dialectic's as the conceptual foundation. White vinyl!"

WEBSITE

UNITED BIBLE STUDIES - 'Black Colcannon' CDr 6€(Anjou & around)/7€(world)
"All-live recording by the fantastic irish troubadours of the Deserted Village collective. Four tracks plus a long and amazing final medley of 30mn length, Come listen to the beautiful sounds of the acoustic & electric guitar, cuatro, accordion, tin whistle, melodica, keyboards, electronics, percussion, vocals, glockenspiel, vox Celeste, theremin, finger-picked guitar, bass, bugle, tenor sax, slide whistle, soprano sax, trumpet, drums..." Oversized Sleeve 20X14cm (7,87”x5,5”), closed by a mini pewter square ; 3 exclusive black & white photos included.ltd100 WEBSITE

'THE RUR L.A. FAUNE' 4CDr BOX :
CHANGELING - 'Animals in Exile', INSANIACS - 'Age of Rust', POCAHAUNTED - 'Pocahaunted', and VxPxC - 'I see a Fire in the Distance'
"made of stick wicker the Rur Los Angeles Faune boxset presents four works by artists from the city of angels. Changeling is Roy Tatum from Buried Valley label. He plays abandoned drones with magick melodies Insaniacs is Changeling + half of Robedoor. They abandon you in a deep, dark and black noise Pocahaunted hypnotize you with 2 psychedelic incantations The mighty VxPxC trio embarks us in an astral journey , full of meditation and wisdom." Including a small poster , exclusive to the box, all individually limited to 45.

THE CLEAR SPOTS - 'Princetown Air' CDr 6€(Anjou & around)/7€(world)
"First ever recording by the Pennsylvanian quartet outside the Deep Water Acres camp. A live session of rural noise that builds a massive freestyle edifice. An intense & experimental work made of guitarz and heavy drums. The Clear Spots are so amazing that they were on the top of my favorite releases of 2006 ; sorry but I love ‘em !" ltd72 WBST

THE COSMIC MANDOLINERS - 'Colorn Lincorn' CDr 6€(Anjou & around)/7€(world)
"Do I need to tell something about the french duo ? Reunion of the long time musical veteran Vincent Fribault (Prester, Monks of the Balhill) and the exponentially young-talented Florian Tositti (Ghosts Brames, the Reggaee, Xochipilli, Heads of Pagan…); here’s the first release of their cosmologic drones. Sharped sounds, abstract noises and other sonic astral voyages into black holes; The CM universe is made of beautiful particles hidden behind a wall of icey asteroids. Transcendental." Oversized Sleeve 20X14cm (7,87”x5,5”). ltd80 WBSTE

GIFT HORSE - 'Two-Lane Fiddles in a Four-Lane World' CDr 6€(Anjou & around)/7€(world)
instruments series 001: "The fiddle is a bowed stringed instrument that is the highest member of the violin family, it has four strings and a hollow body and an unfretted fingerboard. Played with a bow the term fiddle refers to a violin when used in folk music. After cdrs on Foxglove, Hal Hugues, long-time collaborator of Robert Horton (sound recorder on this release), played here with his wife Jill Kjömpedahl songs from our History. Covering tradional tunes from Ireland, Scotland, America but also from the Balkans, Albania (…) the duo deliver a rough interpretation and gives us some keys to understand today’s music. Requiring but essential." Intruments series will present works dedicated to traditional music and solo–instrument releases ltd56

SAMPLES. EMAIL. WEBSITE

The newest discs from France’s Natural Snow Buildings come by way of entropy, with the duo split into solo units for Solange’s first outing and Mehdi’s second. This is not to say they are alone, however, as each assists the other in the peripherals, including the design of their hardbound book-style covers, a new pinnacle reached in the art and craft of home recordings (or any recordings really). Having set the bar themselves with the previous solo and collective works, they now move on to hard-bound gatefold- and accordion-style sleeves with built in pockets, ornate, full-color prints, gorgeous hand-scripted text, multi-color printed discs, and so on; in general an overwhelming effort.

To begin, Solange’s debut as Isengrind is entitled ‘Golestan’, both of which names I would like mean something grand, yet at the same time, I wish to remain forever opaque. Gently held knotted with dark red ribbon, the disc holds twelve songs all of hardy weight, the entire effort just surpassing 70 minutes. Opening piece “Morgenstern” is a hollow, hallowed spiritual in the fashion of Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood, though altogether more melodic and wider in scope. Tambourine, flute, piano give the feathered mass lift while the wordless choral blows it all gently on vapor in the fashion of Pocahaunted; “Virgin Rainfrog” follows even more so with bright, clean guitar strumming moseying toward the unexpected, masterfully-sacral vocal collage “Cum mortuis in langua mortua”, an acapella production of additive voices flashing on and off like pedal-point, like an ebbing shoreline. While instrumental pieces like the following “All Tiny Animals” play through as like-minded though wholly unique fantasies, it is those tracks which feature Solange’s delicate voice which carry the most weight. The processing on “Convicta et Combusta” is a fine example of this, understated as it is, the spirit of her voice carries even in those unsung moments of droning, pulled-off notes; beneath this, a brassy fog-horn of cello bobs in the still thick of the backdrop she’s constructed like a mural. Interrupted by a skilled flute piece, “With its Mouth to the South & Its Tail to the North” and “How deep is the mud?” are two dance-daring ragas of opposed color livened by the steady clap of tampura, guitar, and multi-pointed percussion, an exotic dare in the company of Anvil Salute and Popul Vuh alike. An anthem made of sliding, shifting tones, the Eno/Glass organ song “Ogles Tan” simply swoons with the doubled-effort of cello midway, proving again the talent of Solange in a wide selection of instruments as well as compositional modes. Final piece “Perchtmilk” refuses to repeat a moment, picking electric-psychedelia poinitlism out over a programmed beat of pronged-percussion, sea-sick sawing in a playful counterpose for the track’s nine minutes, leaving you a little delirious and starved to revive the many distinct gems which encrust this fantastic collection. More than just an incredible piece of art, this recording more than carries the collection past whatever hype the package will rightfully generate. Hand-numbered to a precious 32, eagerly and hopelessly recommended.

The fourteen track return of solo Mehdi as Twinsistermoon at first strikes the ear as the immediate return of Solange as Isengrind, the communal raga of flutes, bells, and tamp(o)ura in the extended “Winter Pamgri Epidemic” vibrating at the same welling frequency of many ‘Golestan’ moments, and the ambiguous, wordless voice of these tracks implying Mehdi’s female counterpart in Solange (and indeed it may be - unlike the former, this disc only credits instruments, not players). The song moves through a triplet of phases of the sort suggested above, all of a wide lens which then tightly constricts as the more familiar acoustic guitar of previous Twinsistermoon pulls into focus on “Soul Fate”, Mehdi’s voice now filling the frame as the breaths between his falsetto compete with the clicks of his metallic strings. Though several of these tracks entail lyrics (four of which come transcribed in the inlay), always in English, Medhi’s whisper on the literal tracks works more in the fashion of the wordless melody of the other tracks – big and small – where we find a symphony of organic noises in pagan séance “Lady of the Animals” or the accompaniment of voice to guitar on the brief folk song “The Black Under”. Switching modes between the group psychedelic of No Neck and the loner folk of Vashti Bunyan – about one of the former for every two of the latter – the transitions can be rough, though the styles sympathetic. Further, while the tones of the big pieces remain conclusively dark and storied, the smaller guitar tracks laced between seem to take an upward lilt, progressively growing brighter, in turn exaggerating the sinister convictions of the orchestrations. To hint toward the fantastic Anvil Salute yet again, “Javelin of Pestilence” distills wonderfully the magic rituals of the old and new worlds illustrated in the book’s pages (art and design by Solange), with flutes and melodica intimating an end-times allegory over the rote dance of hand percussion and droning strings of foreign origin. This theme is revitalized moments later in the title track, a wildly-timbral drone akin to the broader strokes of the pair’s work as Natural Snow Buildings, the intensity heightening to a mad fervor of metallic scratches and a cracking skin of percussion. Guitar/voice duet “With Blackened Eyes” blossoms into a middle-way song with flutes, drone, and some percussion, combining the best elements and striking a style which could easily carry an album of likewise tracks. And while to this point Mehdi’s guitar-playing has remained simple and understated, it isn’t until second to last “Death Head Moth” that he allows the guitar to speak for itself, pressing the bright melody on several gently-nested tracks, the warm analog of these (four-tracked?) smaller pieces truly rupturing the dynamics of the situation to supplant these basic elements to a higher plain of harmony. Final piece “Veins” attempts to restate the thesis of disc with a solid raga akin to the opening track, then a bold gap of nearly equal size dissolving into the delicate coda resembling a Franco-shoegaze with accordion-like melodica and heavily streaked acoustic guitar engulfing the reverb of his voice and his lyrics “your veins are green river/ I can make myself so small/ and live in your heart forever.” Like its predecessor and accomplice, the disc’s 77 minutes exists in a rotation of its own, refusing to happen but rather exist in its totality. I haven’t made a decision if its the best form of presentation, but this is a moot point in the face of so much well-crafted music. Hand-stamped, hardbound, incredible, hand-numbered to 36. (self-released CDr, both editions are, of course, sold out. However, Digitalis is working on the re-release of both HERE)

mddm37: Silvester Anfang - 'Spontane Opnames I: Anti-Metal ...' cassette
"Spontane Opnames I: Anti-Metal Politie-Interventie" One Sided C90 Cs New and last release for this year from the Silvester Anfang Cult. Dark, post-krautrock, heavy jam mode: guitars, bass, keys, flute and percussion combine with vocals to create a doomy funeral psych rich in the textures of ritual and worship. Starts off in a drugged Satanic ritual and ends in a cosmic slaughterhouse." SAMPLE/BAND

mddm38: Sunburned Hand Of The Man - 'Locked/Loaded' One-sided C60
"New Limited cassette from Sunburned Hand Of The Man. Sounds funky like a psych jam at a hot summer day in the winter. But where is the ice cream... lim to 200 copies." SAMPLE/BAND

tek12: JAMES FELLA/SHIVERS split CDr
"James Fella is the Gilgongo label head and member of Soft Shoulder and Tent City. Rhythmic electronic weirdness and wilderness, oursider sounds and dazed clarinets lead you through the zone and back. Shivers offers one long track of total clinical cut up bustle. Feedback exploitation /head in the dryer style." BAND/BAND

tek21: ANTI/UTON - 'Sininen Nauha' tape
"Finish wizards Anti and Uton teaming up with Pietu. Loads of instruments like guitar, percussion, analogue synth, piano, organ and voice were used to create these two extensive tracks of tingling mysteries. Layered psychedelia, free jazz and ecstatic noises will make you do the snake dance. Artwork by Uton " UTON

All 4 releases are available for 5€! SHOP