With the same haste of creation as the Iowa label churns out releases, I introduce you to Sassbologna Records: working mostly with cassettes, the label appears to have access to state-funding in supply (new stock tapes with pro-looking prints, glossy inserts), though state-funding as funneled through a high-school shop class, with an embarrassing wealth of contributors (perhaps half the label’s catalog is comps), all virtually unknown; the sounds are fast and sloppy - from the hip-hop beats to speed metal – and buried under a remorseless boom of home-dubbed gauze. The cover art is assembled with equal (much of it goofy cartoonage by label-man Corey Peak), and despite the excess of sounds, there is often little information to shed some light on this increasingly-mysterious operation.

Seemingly in love with two disparate, albeit tape-friendly genres – noise and dance music – the releases split their time between the two, as the first is witnessed in the self-titled tape by Kæp Yroc and the thrash compilation ‘FAST COMP’. The former, at over an hour of murky noise and degraded programming, feels right at home with the tapes of label Scumbag – horizons of overcast pollution like a statue bleeding into the ground of the tape’s hiss – an attempt to out ugly the ugliest. Half-hearted stabs at beats or in the least, “shapes” are regularly consumed by the miserable groan, a splattered backdrop to be regarded ambient by your worst enemy. On white tapes with white labels, a hand-cut j-card and insert, limited to 50.

With over 33 bands contributing, the label makes its first gesture toward legitimacy by including websites like footnotes for each artist of its ‘FAST COMP’. The premise: given the nature of the practice, each artist contributes no more than one minute’s worth of music, and for the uninitiated, this amounts to a flurry of double bass-pedaling, post-pubescent growling, and trebly guitar zig zags like a blur across both sides of this brief tape. Admixing bands with typical thrash titles like Worker and Parasite, Common Enemy, and a slew of Scandinavian or pseudo-Scandinavian monikers, as well as new school nihilism in names like Dick Punch, Gorilla Pussy, or White Male Dumbinance, we receive a healthy variety of pretension and comedy, gloom and goof. Limited to 200 copies, split between sleeve and tape colors.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, ‘Electronicomp’ represents the label’s penchant for bedroom beats and rather rote dance concoctions. Elsewhere realized as amateur hip-hop ala early Tommy Guerroro and downbeat instrumentals of the Chicago, Tortoisey variety, the club set find theirs in 14 more unknown contributions (e.g. Miami Horror, Fat Legs, Kuriaki) ranging from early Nettwerk house music to Daft Punk adoration and a fare-share of post Four Tet glitchiness, the tracks grow more compelling as they stray from rigid beats and clean production to embrace the smudges of the flawed medium and pull in some sounds that don’t necessarily lend to dancing. Limited to 50 copies on pro-looking white tapes and full-color glossy print. All tapes are $5 and available HERE.

ii/Human Adult Band split C27
"ii is Chaz Wetlands (Human Adult Band, Buzzard, Me & My Panda Machine). Chaz left th' Human Adult Band for Philadelphia and w/ th' absence of th' or any band, he kept drumming. The ii side is a dip into Chaz's voodun inspired drum jams with cult movie sound bites interlaced with the meat. The Human Adult Band side has a previously unreleased and unlikely ambient jam from the 2003-ish 'Wantnaut/Wastenaut' days along with a hc cover recorded in DC on their recent "Let's Roll" / International Noise Conference 2008 tour. During this cover you can hear guitarist Mike 'Burnt Marmalade' McCoskey get shoved into the drums by an overzealous audience member." Limited edition of 25. (Collaborative release w/ Cactus Pony Music). HERE

From the sleeper, Open Range:

Mail Worker: So what kind of music is it?
Me: Uh..Well..It's kinda..weird. I Don't know.
Mail Worker: So like Ministry?
Me: Oh..Wow..Uh..No..Weirder and different. Like noisey.
Mail Worker: Oh Oh Alright. So like Nine Inch Nails? Man Trent Reznor freaks me out sometimes. Me and my kid just listen to a lot of Slayer and Lamb of God you know. His Mom hates that stuff though haha
Me: Yeah..thanks Jay
Mail Worker: Sure thing Business Man, see you next week

ORR-010 'Home on the Range: An Open Range Compilation' CDr $8(US)/$11(World)
"Finallyyyyyyyyy! This compilation has been in the works for a long time. People from other labels had told me before how much it sucks waiting forever for everyone to get their tracks in and everything, but man I had no idea. I'd think it was done and ready, and that there'd be a last track in my mailbox when I got home and it'd be another two weeks. That's some difficult waiting. Anyway, housed in fold over 8x10 artwork by Thomas Bernard with silkscreened insides and glue-sticked tracklist is a stamped CDR with new/unreleased tracks from: Slasher Risk, Sky Limousine, Mike Shiflet, Cursillistas, Stone Baby, (VxPxC), Sore Eros, Sean McCann, Farngo, Tusco Terror, Ajilvsga, Fortress of Amplitude, Blue Sabbath Black Fiji, Gorman, and Manuel Giao. Limited to 50 numbered copies. Get it while it's hot."

ORR-005 Vesuvan - 'Swamp Doctor' C12 $6(US)/$9(World)
"After a number of silly set-backs this monster is ready to eat your boombox from the inside out. Melting it with algae too thick to squeeze through the speaker holes and vocal sounds so sludgy they'll get the insides all fried up. You won't even know what you're listening to anymore. The sound of being thrown out of your giant fan-powered boat right into the mouth of a gator. In a good way." Hand painted tapes and Art by SDReed. Limited to 50.

Start HERE

"V" - 'Standing Still In the Celestial Sphere' CDr
"Debut solo outing from Monks of The Balhill member. Newest addition to the French Psychedelic Underground."

Robe. - 'Star Form' CDr
"Glacial bass drift from the Void."

Drunjus - 'Enceladus' CDr
"Two long tracks of slow motion swamp drone. Final edition with new art. (If you ordered one before, you will be getting this new edition, no charge.)"

Ajilvsga - 'White Path/Red Path' CS
"Heaviest to date. Two 20 minute side long tracks. High bias chrome tapes."

All in editions of 100. $7 ppd in the US each or all four for $24. HERE.

JAZZFINGER/CULVER & FORDELL RESEARCH UNIT split LP £10
"Brand new split LP featuring heavy hitting UK bleak dudes... A-Side is Jazzfinger's 'Killed In A Clear Sky', one solid slab of fucked up tapped guitar drone and distant errie whir... like a storm of electric feedback, slashes and cuts. Far out, and a real killer 20 odd minutes to make you lull out. B-Side is a collaboration between Culver and Fordell Research Unit, another side long piece, that starts off with some bassed up doom chugs and slogs that sound like fucking something that could lay down by some Southern Lord brutality, but then it punches you in the face with its distorted churning hell." Limited to 280 white label LPs in black sleeves with hideous brutal artwork by French.

JAZZFINGER/CULVER & FORDELL RESEARCH UNIT split LP + CDr Artist Edition £13
"Super limited edition version of the above LP, comes with an additional CDR of exclusive material split three ways between the artists. Jazzfinger have a killer 19 minute solid track caled 'Our Horn Collector', Culver has a minimal 23 minute track called 'Floor Descending Scream', which is like a minimal gas cooker drone... much quieter than Jazzfinger's blast. FRU busts out 6 short tracks, fluctuating between minimal drone, metallic shimmering rumblings, and weird voices." The CDR comes in a textured paper sleeve, smeared in a cloud of black ink with blotched gold ink, and hand written information. The LP package is also different, two sprayed, splattered and stamped corrugated card slabs wedge the LP, same brutal cover art by French, but printed on cream pastel paper and pasted on. Limited to 40 hand numbered copies.

MV+EE WITH WILLIE LANE - 'Pray For Less' cassette £5
"Second in this ongoing series of live cassettes from Matt Valentine and Erika Elder, this time joined by Willie Lane of The Golden Road in Oklahoma. This is post Ecstatic Peace releasing last year's awesome Gettin' Gone... pro dubbed tapes with printed green shells. Limited to 200, in full colour sleeves with the same art as Catalytic Dung but with different info and a new MV tale... Here's some words from Willie Lane: 'Some of Austin's brightest cognoscenti told us of the "coin" that resides in OK City. So we spent most of our bread on hot dog kings and Mexican coffee at scenic turnouts, thinking we'd make it all back two-fold at the gig. OK City and its lost lake were sobering to our power-ball minds. The Golden Road harvested tonal riches instead - and in spades - to the rejoicing of both common folk and high-rollers alike. Hospitality flowed after the gig & a kind soul rolled a bone on a Lord Buckley sleeve as our minds turned back to the road for what lay ahead. But maybe we shoulda stayed...'

BURIAL HEX - 'Silver Crescent Sonata' one-sided cassette £5
"Two tracks of total bleak weirdo synth, analog noise and fake pipe organ... Sounds like something has taken over your local church, piled in a bunch of hooded dudes and some fucking weird shit is going on. Totally incredible." Stark black and white hand numbered sleeves with heavily sprayed black sleeves with silver inked label. Limited to 59 copies.

CLAUDIO TWO - 'The Corpse' one-sided cassette £5
"New band featuring Chazz Improv and Norma Bates (aka James and Jessica Toth aka Wooden Wand and Satya Sai), and Max "Mev" Wicker, so far this little crew has just had two jams out on Toth's own Mad Monk label... Here you got two tracks of weirdo psyche drone blues, compared by James to some of the Hassara jams, pretty damn slick, I played this in my local record and book store and they compared it to the an old skool German loner, although the name slips my mind." Limited to 100 hand numbered copies with black printed pastel paper sleeves.

CAM DEAS - 'For The Silver Waters, Sing!' CDr £5
"Second CDR from Cam on BR... this time around Cam focuses on 12 string guitar compositions (kinda like a tribute to Robbie Basho) rather than the more far out folk drone of 'Five Bells' (also reissued this month!). The kid has got some sweet finger picking going on... and at times almost has this kinda weird post folk aggro grunge twang to it, which I guess makes no sense, but check it out and you'll get me (maybe?). Closing track 'Raag Of The Sillver Waters' builds from the previous two 12 stringers, but Cam brings his own far out qualities to it with vocal drones, reverse looping, and bizarre bubbling bleeps. A definite for any fans of James Blackshaw, Robbie Basho..." Edition of 98 hand numbered copies on pastel paper.

CAM DEAS - 'For The Silver Waters, Sing!' one-sided cassette £5
Super limited cassette version. Same music as the CDR, but comes in a white card slip over cover, sprayed leaf stencil on one side and paint pressed leaf on the other side... with a hand numbered/hand sprayed/hand stamped insert. Limited to 24 copies.

CAM DEAS - 'Five Bells' CDr (2nd Edition) £5
"2nd edition with different artwork to the first run... The initial 2 seconds of the opener on this 6 track blazer from Cam are screeching electronics which vanish instantly into a seance of a doomed village, with the leader strumming out some bleak herbal drug folk ritual/haze. Track two, 'Where We've Been' blurs into an intense dronescape, smearing into a lighter, more psychedelic, drone piece 'Where We're Going'. 'The Days Are Over' has a floating drone back, layered on top with guitar ala Jack Rose, Blackshaw etc. Title track 'Five Bells' follows burning the guitar into a flaming rage, with a few remaining strum yelps struggling through the flames. The disc closes with a sweet guitar piece entitled 'Two More Days', again similar to Blackshaw and Rose. Cam just moved up for the smoke to the steel city and a bunch of us just discovered his musical vibes. He has a bunch of things dropping soon, and had a split release with Sindre Bjerga not so long ago. The dude has the skills." Limited to 60.

HERE

New Jersey’s Bone Tooth Horn label has been fastidiously crafting tapes in modest quiet for some time, offering in their latest batch a catalog spanning 30 releases. Specializing in cassettes, each tape comes in a stark, enticingly uniform template, with color-printed labels and shadowbox J-cards which feature the album’s image in miniature, as the great Arista LP dubbings once did so attractively; and this remediation is no more evident than in the label’s brazen bootleg of some Pac Man-themed LP, complete with bizarre, psychedelic one-offs in tribute to the mystical Pac Clans which once lived in space. In original sounds, the outfit does well to cover the many stained corners of the Noise-_____ scene, including a split between Wet Cement and Sharks with Wings covers the Blastocyst/Eloe Emoe territory the size of Rhode Island, while the sheer ugliness of the whole of Michigan finds a fledgling gutterance in the murk of Vestigal Limb.

The label also does ‘experiment’, as the work of Philadelphia’s Ospreys pays witness. Not unlike Mark Evan Burden’s watershed moment, the group use the single stretch of the tape format to massage a pastiche of sounds into a single moebius strip of disparate textures; like patches of eczema, the smooth calm of plodding piano or warm, clean guitar harmonics are filed down to a rough gauze with stretches of droning improve woven between. Though the C30 comes sans setlist, the sudden, almost-total breaks suggest a change of track, as the voice replaces the prior strings as the focal point of the next collage, voice in two separate currents of chant, offset by rough congos slapped high in the microphone. Though the band manages a sizeable ambience with their use of electronics, the electric storms they conjure, paired with their jerky, subtly out-of-synch playing, creates a stillness which effects more a choking sound than a tribal accelerant. The live-r séance of the flipside booms with bad acoustics and crawls with tickled strings, a churning accumulation made sea-sick by the saw of a cello and a voice like Excepter’s. An agitated burst of bassy guitars plays the thing out with barbaric syllables and a still-queasy disposition. On black cassettes; my copy came with a little hand-colored drawing, hand-numbered to 50 copies.

And from Portland’s Acre comes the ‘Volcanic Legacy’ C40, a fine proof to any lingering suspicions that this drone (yes) will be good (yes) because it has got a short (yes) and evocative name (yes). The tape’s two side-long tracks begin with “Riley”, building rather unabashedly with persistent sustain and addition, a seething electric cloud billowing out with no hint at its contents. In a traditional minimalism somewhere between Menche’s smoother moments and the unwavering suspension of Charlemagne Palestine, to the observer the piece either reverberates effortlessly in its return to the earth or raises serious anxieties about the simplicity of our “kicks” - though likely for the active listener, a little of both. The self-titled side B utilizes a markedly more distinct electronic pulsation to a similar goal as the first, a swelling static which now divulges less the crisp treble which, rather than lying beneath as shorn wires, may actually be lining these clouds in silver. Black tapes. (Bone Tooth Horn cassette, $4 HERE)

Chop chop:

SUISHOU NO FUNE - 'MYSTIC ATMOSPHERE' CH036 CDr
"Mystic Atmosphere welcomes back the unpolished, raw around the edges side of these interstellar psychonauts. Slightly reminiscent of their first Holy Mountain album, Where the Spirits Are. Tail's drums splashing like mossy boulders into the Pacific, primitive pounding Moe Tucker style. Mystic Atmosphere contains four tracks blessed with psych guitar panorama's soaked in holy reverb, a slowed down monster jam sounding like a drone version of a Mainliner or High Rise track and their ever mournful, lost in life wailing. Second track is one of the heaviest Suishou No Fune tracks I have ever heard. 3 minutes of Fushitsusha-like venom, a concrete reinforced mini-jam while tracks 3 and 4 dive deep into the cosmic psych oceans previously explored by Les Rallizes Denudes. Rawest Suisho No Fune record to date, no doubt." 125 copies in the usual slimline dvd cases. Artwerk by Jason Rohm.

KORPERSCHWACHE - 'THE HEALING POWER OF PARANOIA' CH037 CDr
"New round of Korperschwache blackness, cranking out a grimy version of a hot Texan night. Industrial black metal, suicidal drone-noise. Every hint of light/humanity severed by heavily buzzing riffs, sludge drums and sickening cries from the most desolate of netherworlds. Just corpses, no paint." Copies in slimline dvd cases with cover art by Korperschwache's RKF.

HUNTING RITUALS - 'RED SPECTRE' CH038 3"CDr
"We all know Canada's sick underground deserves more than the putrid mud it crawls in everyday but give these guys a nice and warm bath and chances are they'll turn it down. They just love the dirt so much, can't help it. Here's Scott 'Cloud Valley' Johnson (ex-Fossils) getting down and dirty. Like a big pile of decaying noise coming back to life again. Deep trenches filled with junknoise and some seriously sinister reeds blowing it all into pieces. Canada's sick underground has never smelled so bad." 50 copies in mini dvd cases. Artwerk by fartjerk.

WEBSITE

orchestramaxfieldparrish - 'The Silent Breath Of Emptiness' CD $14(US and Canada)/$17(World)
"Faith Strange Recordings is pleased to present the first new full length orchestramaxfieldparrish work since 2002's highly revered 'Tears', titled The Silent Breath Of Emptiness. This new recording consists of an improvised solo electric guitar soundscape originally intended for an exhibition of local area visual artists that never came to be. This piece was totally improvised and freeform, recorded live and captured in one take and then divided into 4 parts. No overdubs were done so as to not augment the original intention of the piece. A hauntingly beautiful reconstruction of the entire work is included as the fifth track. Recorded and mastered in 96K 24 bit audiophile audio. Beautifully presented in a full color limited edition digipak with matte varnish. First edition includes a handmade obi strip of vellum. This work is a refreshing return to the art of true improvisation in the age where music is now recorded mainly as computer edits. Fazio has gone back to his roots of abstract guitar playing on a very personal level with a symphonic approach first explored in past outfits Æ, Copernicus and Chill Faction throughout the 1980's and early 90's and further explored on 2002's 'Tears'." HERE

Things is getting hot. Abandon Ship:

ASR024 Starving Weirdos - 'Absolute Freedom' 7"
"Here it is, our first 7" and we're PSYCHED!!! These two sides represent some of the earliest of SW material; culled from old 4 track tapes recorded in long lost living rooms, with friends and on the fly. Two kernels given the royal treatment, thanks to our friends at Abandon Ship! One an ontological cry into the abyss, the other a march in dedication to those forgotten souls who call it home." - Starving Weirdos. with pro-printed cover art and insert. edition of 500.

ASR029 Strange Girls - 'Skull' 3"CDr
"Another mind-blowing recording from the vaults of Clayton Noone (The Futurians, CJA) and Kaaterama Morehucan (Smokehouse). This one is older than the CJA/Smokehouse tape we released last year, but you would think it's a natural progression from it. Teamed up with Sugar Jon, the three of them jaunt through some rocking numbers, wailing away on their guitars, drums, and vocal chords. It's a short, but epic follow up for sure. This ultra limited release will whet your collective pallets for the upcoming Sundowner LP, which again, features CJA and Smokehouse. Keep an eye out for that late this year/early next. In the meantime, crank the volume on this one while you're sipping some lemonade under the hot summer sun. It's that chill." Smokehouse : guitar, vocals, drums CJA : guitar, vocals, drums Sugar Jon : guitar, vocals, drums. edition of 50.

ASR037 Blue Sabbath Black Fiji - 'Lazer Saber' CDr
"Here's a 2007 JK Tapes repress of this Parisian duo doing what they do best...making loud, raucous, guitar-driven noise. Skull-crushing, gut-wrenching, and face-melting will all take place while listening to this. And then, after some reconstructive surgery, you'll come crawling back for more. Get it while it's hot." edition of 50

ASR042 Eskimo King - 'Weird Flag' CDr
"As Brian Sullivan still flies high from his performance at No Fun Fest this year, we've prepared a gem of a release from this half of the now legendary Mouthus. While feeding off of similar meditative vibes of the aforementioned Brooklyn duo, he manages to put together a cohesive collection of distinct tracks he can call his own. Infinite layers of blown out fuzz dominate some tracks, and deep, trance-inducing rhythms prevail in others. Another primer for an up-and-coming ASR LP, due later this year. Keep your eyes peeled. And as with most Mouthus-related material, this one will not be around for very long." edition of 100.

WEBSITE - Listen to samples now!

Back on the wagon with three discs from the upstart Stunned Records out of Long Beach, California. Having recently published episode number eight, the label has made an impressive impasse with a quality assortment of unknowns (or more appropriately, incognitos) and micro-label stalwarts. Of the former, Ear & Throat’s ‘Viaje’ slightly-surpasses an hour of mellow listening in the lazy minimalism of a trans-generational Terry Riley. As found in the recent work of White Rainbow, Riley’s mid-period excursions into mysticism with keyboard retention are recalled in the “Thank Yous” of the opening track, a shining piece of crackling warmth, breathy synth jabs, and a dark-hued anti-melody of Orientalist flute and strings, throbbing listlessly beneath the swells of electronic static. Emerging from this prelude, “Sandstorm” begins with a proper keyboard riff which weaves in a simple pattern from front to back, a grab-bag of hand percussion toys plodding along beside in weak deference to the bold fidelity of the electronic device. The excitable “Madavee” uses overblown colors to obscure the programming of its Middle Eastern dance, a fluted melody staggering about in a fevered daze. Like Riley’s ‘Persian Surgery Dervishes’, “Bedframe” mixes high-toned drone elements – deep, weaving basslines, fine-grained gain, chirpy shaker tempos – with markedly-improvised organ leads, implying sobriety with its clean frequency and reserved parameters. Nearing the end of the disc, twin tracks “Percolate” and “Feeding Babies” evoke that beloved reference of Labradford, with their dim, half-awake subtlety, a whirring tension of sustained organ notes, and most notably, the centrality of guitar in each. The first uses the slackness of strings to prattle early morning condensation over psychedelic keyboard runs, an ambiguous downer to the second’s melancholy return to bed: clearing the air of the synthesized doom, the organ plays a surefooted song of dull-bright contrast, with just the minor accompaniment of distorted fuzz for effect and refusal of a dawning Nü Age. Stamped CDr comes in a fancy paper sleeve, printed and sewn. Limited to a scant 25 pieces.

Another success of the young Stunned Records is the consistency of their sound. With the exception of two releases by lo-fi folkster John Frank, the label’s tendency toward minimal, single-source psychedelia ensures an agreed program which then mandates some standard of quality. This is aided by access to a cadre of artists with similar creative urges and an innovative feedback, such that it is difficult to speak of each without evoking the same reference points. Secondly, the label places these gems in tasteful packages, which nature designs to entice a predator to consume. Deviating from the all-over rice paper prints of its predecessors, the collaged art of ‘Crossed Bones’ draws the eye in with a subtle, sinister appeal to what I can only describe as childhood horror nostalgia: designed by Ted Trager, the smoky tint and obscene purples of the laser-printed images imply a loosely smuggled creepiness which can only be illuminated in the gruff séance of the Ajilvsga’s messy constructions. Historically a fence-sitter when it came to Brad Rose’s many differed pairings (and of course one can only say this once an exception has been found) – some good, some negligible - or perhaps just adverse to band names which insist on mispronunciation and the subsequent awkwardness which this brings, the long-running Rose/Nathan Young collaboration now finds a place firmly on the green side of the split for reasons beyond their art. The disc in question is made of two tracks, 25 and 13 minutes apiece, fitted like an essay and appendix: “Soulless Mechanisms & Magical Formulae” growls for nearly half an hour with a deep, writhing blast around which howls a blowing gust, hollow sounds falling floorward in the background. Crunchy, insectine sounds aggregate around the ten-minute mark, a passage of surprising ugly for this pair, and leading into the even greater shock of back-end O’Malley amp worship at maximum volume. Ghostly imprints persist behind the decay, and a searing tone cuts like the band’s acid signature across the bottom of the track’s page. More a bonus than a compliment to such work of force, “Black Lightning Arrow” chugs on beneath an oppressive heat of tubular gusts, a dabbling like synth keys scattered around alien gasps of electronics; the pair again summon a maximal strength, but using such muted elements, the piece feels downright bliss to the previous blast. Stamped CDr comes with color art in a clamshell case, limited to 100 copies.

Finally we stumble upon the label’s first release, the brilliant, self-titled drone trilogy by Eureka (William Giacchi, of Magic Lantern). With growing intensity, the three tracks grow in size – from ten to twenty to thirty minutes – all the while consolidating toward pure sound. Moving from the strum and pang of steel strings in the opening moments of “Finity Inn” – a centerpiece struggling in the midst of so much rumble, clatter, and growing chatter – the coming tide of electric guitar surges upward as a wall, consuming these discrete elements into a choppy whole. So much of the disc’s power is found in its crystalline production, an audible clarity which assures the ear of every move, maintaining a compositional transparency which cannot obscure the delicate events of this music. “The Bright New Year” dispenses with the initial gestures toward melody, instead attempting to form a current from thousands of particles, several veins of which we find flowing in every which direction; the levels raise to emphasize a deep bass-line and the swift clatter of a chime, the surface again raising to drown these elements in a single wash which turns slowly in various stunning tints (ala Menche). Having succeeded these previous approaches, “The Nine Months of Christmas” suspends the agenda of movement for a formal sleight of hand, pressing forth a seamless mass of sound beneath which the ear may or may not find the imprints of a counter-harmony, and given the precision and openness of the preceding tracks, this doubt invites only greater doubt, itself spurring on a micro-tonal symphony of imagined qualities. Like the recently-reviewed ‘Sad Faces of the Moon’ by Alistair Crosby, ‘Eureka’ is a powerful meditation among so many naïve poseurs, an album to keep always in close reach. Stamped CDr comes in a fancy paper sleeve, printed and sewn. Limited to a scant 25 pieces. (Stunned CDr, $7 HERE)

Brand new label, Every Label Ever:

WARMER MILKS - 'MASSIVE DREADLOCK' 2xC90 $10(usa)/$15(world)
SIDE A: White Line / Untitled / The Hunter / Tom Jennings / Greet / Untitled / Fountain /Timeosuar / A fishing reprise / Duane / Rail dub SIDE B: Boone snow / The water / In the fields (live) / The Shark (live) / Radish On Light (live) / The Personal SIDE C: Colburn II / Molly / Convincing hand / Bells / Smallest whisper / like a bird SIDE D: Ocean sound / Don't put me down . Marathon man / Weekend / Ocean sound reprise / Lawn boys / Compassionate distance I / Compassionate distance II / The sun is always new / Another image / New age of love all music written, performed and recorded by Michael Turner except for: Side B: live tracks were performed by Michael Turner on vox and guitar, Travis Shelton on guitar, Christopher Cprek on electronics, Thad Watson on bass guitar, Greg Backus and Michael Laugherty on percussion...recorded by Steve Good. Side C: Colburn II and like a bird- Turner/Shelton/Backus/Watson/Cprek/Laugherty...recorded by Paul Puckett / Convincing hand- Michael Turner and Trevor Tremaine- percussion Side D: Leslia sang harmony on Don't put me down / Lawn boys- Trevor Tremaine- guitar, Michael Turner- percussion and vocals / Compassionate distance I and II- Amber Kingsley- guitar and voice, Michael Turner- guitar / Another image recorded by Paul Puckett." edition of 100 HERE

HyRe006: PHIL MAGGI - 'Lucilia Caesar' CDr €5.7(EU)/€6.2(World)
"Phil Maggi, member and active vocalist of different decadent and esoteric combos (hypnotic noise-rock band Ultraphallus, multidisciplinar antipop combo Idiosyncrasia and dark-ambient duet Eve and the Sickness), is an extravagant noisicist improviser and a dronist loop-maker composer since 2003. He recorded and worked on a few mini-albums and EP's -all previoulsy unreleased today- and became the second protagonist of Idiosyncratics Records (first compilation including KK Null, Charlemagne Palestine, Rapoon, Jazkamer, Daniel Menche...in stores now), a disorganised collective, founded by Yannick Franck, his long date compatriot. Phil Maggi's debut album, intituled "Lucilia Caesar", is just ready to be released and is mastered by James Plotkin (Khanate, Khlyst, Lotus Eaters...). "Like a hyperminimalist anaesthetic landscape, the music is a travel inspired and motived by a personal work on memory, painting a narcissic biography with childhhod melodies, between bad dreams and intense instants. A real beautiful sonorial listening, electronically worked with drones, decadence of sounds, various etudes of larsens, and disfigured contemporary classic music, articulated around loops and hybrid orchestrations. The work is, alternatively, very direct to the point conceptually. The simple repetitions achieve what you have in mind. A smokey, haunted, rarefied work of conceptual minimalisms. To my ears, this is the soundtrack to the ghosts of an old, infamous orchestral hall –perhaps mysteriously gutted by fire- . A place where the cries of fractured chords heard to various degrees of abstraction still hum in the ashes centuries after. Plotkin's mastering is flawless per usual and the objective is achieved admirably." LUCILIA CAESAR - All songs written, performed and recorded at home by Phil Maggi between 2004 and 2007. Engineered and mixed by Laurent Meurice in february 2007. Mastering by James Plotkin in april 2007. This album contains samples from various famous masters of contemporary classic music." Limited to 90 hand-numbered copies. Silk-screened 4-panel in 100% recycled paper with insert and pro-printed cdr. Artwork sleeve by JK - Printed by SemitoneLabs.com

HyRe013: ETERNAL TAPESTRY - 'Altar of Grass' CDr €5(EU)/€5.5(World)
"Eternal Tapestry is a psych super-group. It features Nick Bindeman (Jackie-O Motherfucker, Tunnels) on guitar/vocals, Jed Bindeman (Heavy Winged, Bloodbiker) on drums, Dewey Mahood (Jackie-O Motherfucker, Plankton Wat, Bloodbiker) on guitar as well as Bob Jones (Evolutionary Jass Band, Oregon Artifical Limb Co., Fruitface) on bass. This planet rock element released last year by Solar Commune and Hyperblasted Recordings proudly presents its reissue. Keeping the original artwork and making a new style layout (by KENO), presenting a new visual of their music. Planets and rock. Space and music. Psychedelic. Words. Words. Words. Trying to describe the vibes of Eternal Tapestry. Difficult. Let their music speak. It's easier. Eternal Tapestry kick spacey stoner rock with interplanetary sketches evolving into an ode to wind-battered biker hair birthed from full-out riffage. An exciting cross between Anthem of the Sun-era Grateful Dead and Hawkwind with touches of Can." Eternal Tapestry is seemingly adaptable to an infinite degree, moving from drifting psychedelic laze to crashing, shouting beautiful anarchy. Speaking of the psyche, trippy-as-fuck locals Eternal Tapestry play some deep and simmering mindfuck noise." Limited to 200 hand-numbered copies. Packed in 7.1x4.7 inch fold-out "semi-thick paper", full-color offset print and hand-style pro-print on cd.

WEBSITE

February’s trimesterly publication from the Sonic Arts Network is entitled ‘Blood, Muscle & Air’, an allusion to its subtitle “The intimate voice” and the theme of human utterance. Curated by vocalist David Moss, each track of the disc features active - and by virtue of their profession, necessarily Avant Garde – vocalists, given the instruction to speak directly into the listener’s ear. A nifty concept of the sort well-worn in musical theories circa 1985 (so intimately bound to technology, slavish and befuddled by the vagaries of capturing voice), the disc manages to go beyond the novelty of these early experimental productions to explore a variety of new approaches to voice work since disseminated by Mike Patton, as well as those more-established Anglo and Japanese inroads which seem to define the genre. Pacing each track with a fragment of nonsense speech – perhaps a codification of the title’s acrostic which names each odd entry – Moss acts as a belligerent host to each guest (including himself), beginning with the work of Melissa Madden Gray: like spoken word poetry, the whisperings and vocal dawdling, loosened word flows and cross-chatter of “Heart Murmur” comes first annoying and ostentatious, chaffing one’s unfortunately civilized sense of well-being and, most of all, distance from one’s consumables (headphones are must); but soon, this discomfort reveals itself as genuine estrangement, a point of departure from the recognizable good (and therefore, false) experiment, for a true experiment with listening. Most contributions appear a cappella, though the exceptions seek equally to incorporate those instruments most voice-like (something like a didgeridoo, the thick larynx of the shamisen). Médéric Collignon offers an unusually coherent imitation called “Improlibration”, a stretch of unshaped breaths lent a melodic direction by uncanny passages of beat-boxing and resonant intonation to rattle one’s license plate frame. The strangulations of Phil Minton and Maja Ratkje respectively illustrate attempts at “range”, from stamina to texture in two decidedly less song-based tracks, more like pallets for composition. Highlights include the strangely-singing ramblings of Chris Mann, the erratic cadence of his incredulous Australian accent spitting a supernatural hip-hop; the devastating sputter of Jaap Blonk’s “Idling on Air” rattles the brain in ways no Hototogisu blast can manage, a human seduction by voice which may truly posses the ear; and “Where is the End?” by Madalena Bernardes is an aerated entry of bodily noise ala Dave Philips, with ample outbursts of textless ambiguity in repulsion and eroticism. The curious yet wonderful conclusion “The Pedophile in the Park” by Martyn Jacques breaks with the others in the disc’s most musical return, a nostalgic shanty of strolling piano which explores the flemmy quality of the standards-singer, as well as an engagement with lyrics of explicit perversion and violence. With additional contributions by Gunnlaug Thorvaldsdottir, Yumiko Tanaka, Fatima Miranda, Tran Quang Hai, David Moss, and Koichi Makigami. In an oversize booklet with a page on every artist, designed by Joerg Hartmannsgruber. (Sonic Arts Network booklet/CD, £15 HERE; alternately, subscriptions are £20(UK)/£25(overseas), and include three discs for the year)

The laziest update ever? From Scumbag Relations:



Ignatz - 'The Draft' C40 $7(US)/$10(World)

Hollow Bush Meets Pigs In The Ground Uptown C50 $7(US)/$10(World)

The Polly Shang Kuan Band/Pink Buffalo C45 $7(US)/$10(World)

Pukers/Lifers C45 $7(US)/$10(World)

File complaints HERE

Hum of the Druid - 'Raising the New Wing/Braided Industry' LP $15(US)/$25(WORLD)
"Eric Stonefelt returns with another meticulously crafted album of crunching, crumbling, crackling modern industrial music. The sounds of metal and machinery and vocal vomit. HOTD constructs audio works of intricacy with such careful attention paid to timbre and texture, each repeat listen revealing a heretofore unnoticed detail or ten. For fans of Daniel Menche, Small Cruel Party, The New Blockaders, Einleitungzeit, Linija Mass..." black vinyl w/ printed label; pro-printed cover on cardstock, pasted-on matte white LP jackets; pro-printed cardstock insert; pro-printed 11x17 glossy poster.

Dog Holocaust - 'Vol. I-III' CD $10(US)/$15(WORLD)
"Scathing and unrelenting, a perverted mix of static, distortion and feedback that harkens back to the mid-90s heyday of loud, sleazy noise. Dog Holocaust is the collaborative effort of Nolan Throop (Kakerlak) and Dan Johansson (Sewer Election) and this CD is a reissue of their first three now-out-of-print cassettes. An absolute must for fans of Macronympha, Incapacitants, Merzbow..." Edition of 300; pro-pressed CD (NOT CDR) in jewel case with black and white cardstock insert.

HERE (with samples)

Super Minerals — 'The Pelagics' (Stunned no. 7) CDr $7
"A new age slowburner that leads the listener on drone-descent through the five classified depth zones of the ocean – the pelagics. The deeper the Minerals duo dive, the stranger their field transmissions and creature encounters become. Whale moan symphonies, sonar decay, poisonous urchin, squid in telepathic sex-trance, underwater lava, and the bones of our ancestors who fought for their land over the face of the sea. Among Minerals' most expansive sessions yet, and the third official chapter in their devolutionary cycle following sold out tapes on NNF & DNT." Ltd. 50 hand numbered cdrs in polyvinyl sleeve with color insert.

Sleepwalkers Local — 'Better Living Through Science' (Stunned no. 8) CDr $7
"Better Living Through Science is the third Sleepwalkers Local solo outing of (VxPxC)/Thousands jammer, Echo Curio curator, and Phantom Limb label blazer Grant Capes. Wielding guitar as primary source of slo mo explosion-making along with a versed range of effects, drums & voice, Grant ushers in deep deserts of spaced rock before floating us into open skies of introspective instrumentals, and then back around again for a mini-opus or two. Like waking from a beautiful dream and going about your day, only to wake again for real, but this time down the block in your pajamas... help is here." Ltd. 80 hand numbered cdrs in polyvinyl case with color art.

HERE

This is Rayon:



Rayon 16 - Peter Strickmann/Patrick Farmer split C30 5€
"Percussive brain/sine-waves and missadventures from two solo percussionists/alchemists. Peter Strickmann(Ciao Bird, DE) delivers a microculture of physical tabletop experiments, whislt Patric Farmer (Good Anna/Cars) takes his snare drum to outer space, riding out some cosmic drones." edition of 50 so get your skates on.

Rayon 15 - PART WILD HORSES MANE ON BOTH SIDES - 'Christmas Day" CDr 5€
"latest jams from rayon headquarters, deep vibes/good times sucked into a cosmic nightmare." Handmade stencil/watercolour sleeves/discs,,edition of 30.

Rayon 14 - BARBARIANS DVDr 5€
"(7 minutes, its all you need) legendary performance at Levenshulme's Klondyke Club by the pinnacle of gang culture in South Manchester, BARBARIANS. these dudes operate a shifting lineup of projectiles/injuries/urban waste/behaviour." Edition of 30 with individual artwork by Pascal.

Rayon 13 - Oso el Roto/Ben Knight split C20 5€
"This is an acapella tape, SIDE A- Oso el Roto (Galerie Pache),Side B - Ben Knight (Towering Breaker, Hlehesten)." Edition of 50.

Rayon 012 - Smack Music 7/UBOAT/Andy Jarvis CDr 5€
"This is an incredible collection of free-music/noise/droners from the shores of the UK. The first track by Smack Music 7 (Karen Constance of Blood Stereo, Ceylon Mange) is an 18 minute creeper moving in and out through the darkest recesses of the subconscious with harsh churnings echoed through manipulated tape-loops and chimes in total blackness and human screams and backward-masking fuckeries providing some ill vibes all-around … becoming one of my favorite jammers of late. UBOAT is up next, a duo of Pascal Nichols and Ben Knight (of Stuckometer, Towering Breaker) and they quickly shake things up clamoring, stammering into some primitivist ecstatic free-jams of freely-associated guttural vocalizing colliding with clattered-percussion and hair-raising weirdo jazzic copulations and groans. Finally, Andy Jarvis (of the FirstPerson label, A Warm Palindrome) creates buzzing drones and squelchy free-drumming. The final track, appropriately titled Punch’d Plasma Blues, is a sick spacey feedback burner that just fucking rips and ends the cd perfectly. The listener feels both exhausted and satisfied." The CDR comes beautifully packaged in an artbook with a lino printed cover and Xeroxed art inside.

WEBSITE

HR43 Fossils - 'Empty and Marvelous' C35 $5(N. America)/$7(World)
"tape cuts chew themselves to cerebral fuzz and mush, hacked and hazy."

HR44 Isaac Willow - 'Pressed Amphibian' C17 $5(N. America)/$7(World)
"swamp gas from the life shack."

HR45 Slow Listener - 'Son of the Man of the Year' C20 $5(N. America)/$7(World)
"spiraling smoke glows, dense with reverberations from the innermost."

HR46 Bad Rep - 'Chicago Slime' C20 $5(N. America)/$7(World)
"breezy feel-good clusters ornament the dark, shot straight from a future fried." cover drawing by Shawn Reed (Night People, Racoo-oo-oon, Wet Hair).

HR47 Hunting Rituals - 'Tree Route' C14 $5(N. America)/$7(World)
"lost in the woods. no light, just trees."

HR48 Zebulon - 'Spatterdock and Muminchogs' $5(N. America)/$7(World)
"out of fun jail and straight to brain camp. features s&m ouiji readings by guest entity."

WEBSITE

From the allied Meudiademorte and Tape Tektoniks labels:



mddm36: LOOSERS - 'Aint No Party Like A Holy Ghost Party' one-sided C60 5€
"psychedeliv drumm-n-chant carneval from our portugues friends. till now theyre radest recording. this 30 minutes are totally outa space." limited to 100 copies. silkscreened covers and package by thomas weirich. SAMPLE

mddm39: CONES - 'USE YOUR ILLUSION III' C30 4€
"Cones features Marcel Turkowsky and Ulf Schutte both members of Datashock and involved in other projects/labels like Aosuke, Tapetektoniks, UUHUU, Shivers and more. Lo-Fi Cosmodelic tape manipulation.A frantic amalgam of beauty and audio psychosis. More Kegel." Limited to 100 copies. SAMPLE

tek19: INFLUX/TOBERT KNOPP split 7" 6€
"this rad seven inch features Vancouver's IN FLUX (2 members of shearing pinx)doing a melted creamy dreamscape, their first release on vinyl!!! while side B features German noizzzling T.KNOPP of Aosuke/Turbostaat etc. with a weird cut up stress-mode tape buzzle. Totally killer sounds from both projects, very different from one another yet interesting and entertaining.....what else can be said??? Check'em out before they disappear !!!" 2-color silk-screened sleeves by matteo/second sleep////Ltd. to 196 copies. MYSPACE/MYSPACE

tek22: PULSE EMITTER - 'Unearthly' tape 5€
"Two loooooooong tracks of super heavy modular synth research from worlds favorite chief engineer daryl groetsh. these recordings defy the laws of nature and leave you lost somewhere at the rear end of a vast universe. side a sounds like Galactus playing pinball with planets in slow-motion. the flipside is a crawling ether mattress drone in classical void style." Ltd. to 100 copies. HERE

tek25: PAX TITANIA - 'Orphaned Daughter..' tape 5€
"progressive synth music never sounded that weird. half man half oscillator aka christopher cprek (formerly of warmer milks) pulsates through four pieces like being wired to his equipment... total outsider sounds." MYSPACE

tek26: TIME LIFE - 'Es Tut Mir Leid' tape 5€
"new tape by TIME LIFE aka lucas nonhorse crane and heidi diehl of the vanishing voice. lucas' alien technology cassette tape wizardry and heidi's somnambulistic guitar and hypno vocal skills building thick wave-like blankets that will guide you to a misty landscape hidden behind vapor hill." MYSPACE

WEBSITE

CV 47 The Doom Riot - 'Ablaze by truth' CS $5(N.America)/$7(world)
"Doom riot is Claus Haxholm --->throwing down some serious space station noise ambience...in this tape he provides multi-dimensional drone doom, an absolute cereberal listen, fantastic diverse tape including some full on inbetween departures, and returns---> from the black hole." MYSPACE

CV 48 Fat Legs/1000 year frog split C30 $5(N.America)/$7(world)
"Fat Legs is Dan and Tiff. On side A they come in slow and creepy with full on texturize alien feedback tones and electronic animal squalor sounds, the side builds and builds with beautifull layers of multitextural electronics...and, by the end--stunned and immobile, weird weird ass descending crescendios of minimalism...smoked. 1000 year frog is on side B. Steve Smith is one real ZONER jammer...he takes the time and has the patience to always offer you some new goods, in a diverse texturized manner....no exception here....the frog side enters and sustains with weird-weird shit---minimal drone angels shrieking in the backdrop, refined and subdued feedback moans and what sounds like reptilian slithering and shifting movements with weird clock-like rythms...and then, SMASH the bang for your buck has arrived, all the levels go up, and you're lost in a rabbit-hole ever descending." MYSPACE

CV-49 Hairmaiden of the Toem Robe/Hunting Rituals split C49 $5(N.America)/$7(world)
"Side A of this tape is blessed with the beautifully intense a-tonal murk trickery from Xiphiidae and Royallen. included are 2 full on 10 minute+ jammers that are completely out there. wonderfull blend of electro-acoustic tones, concentrated feedback and wicked ass droning here! beautifully so, I wouldnt be surprised if Thoth was awakened by these jams, awesome wtf vs meditative psych Side B: absolute departure, full on live dicto-reed-accepella looping complimented with bare minimum live acoustics and vocal moans running through mod effects, really weird super lo-fi crust ...no horns or scrapes, only the banshee raga choir from the deepwoods, one jam fills the side...sort of a nasty continuement of a more serene set of hr jams entitled "mourning rituals" on a different split." MYSPACE/SPACE

all 3 for $11(N. America) or $14(world)

HERE

New label by Italy's Valerio Cosi. It's called Dreamsheep:

DS003 Klangmutationen - 'Liturgie' CDr
"One of the most outstanding/uncompromising jazz collectives circulating right now is (without any doubt) Klangmutationen. Coming from the Eastern side of the world, they suddenly remind us of noise legends such as Masayuki Takayanagi, Kaoru Abe and Kousokuya. But you should consider them an exception because they come from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and they play 'organic free metal' (!). 'Liturgie' is a black ritual devoted to schizophrenia and otherworldly meditation which clocks at around 20 minutes. It is a burning candle for Shiva. For all you listeners, a final suggestion is to turn off the lights and immerse yourself into this deep black hole." CDR comes in a limited edition of 150 copies.

DS004 Ryan Jewell/C. Spencer Yeh/Wasteland Jazz Unit - 'Ohio Ghastly Soil' CDr
"Sounding like Laddio Bolocko playing Aufgehoben's songs, this amazing quartet shares a seriously mindblowing connection with the huge underground noise scenery in the United States. This half-an-hour free-form session between these Ohio-based dudes is a long electroshock torture which features Yeh (experimental violinist/electronic musician with a highly growing reputation around the world) playing bass here, Jewell (experimental drummer/electronic musician also involved in Pink Reason and Psychedelic Horseshit) on drums/electronic junk and John Rich/Jon Lorenz (Wasteland Jazz Unit) totally immersed in a hyper-amplified and nihilistic sax playing. File under sparkling brutality." CDR comes in a limited edition of 200 copies.

WEBSITE

Two years in the making, the debut recording from New York five-piece Hells Hills, ‘Little Matter of Death’ is a C30 of no minor proportions. The geocentric adventures of the band commence with “Corridor Beneath the Waves”, a title and sound suggesting similarities to Growing, Tunnels, and White Rainbow at times, the band build slowly and densely with shimmering guitars and a droning bass smog, as little squiggles of electricity running over the surface. The sound isn’t tight, but the ample blur employed keeps improprieties to a minimum. All parts appear for “Mountain on Top of a Mountain”, the definite highlight: broad, swinging percussion keeping a steady tread, crackling electronics and wide sweeps of guitar, a wall of drone like a darkened frieze from which buried voice echoes like a throaty animal. The darkness of Sunn O))) set to the frequencies of Growing. On the reverse, side-long live track “Into a Skull Dream” begins with a longer run-to of post-rock colors, a bright synthesis dabbling under the chirping scratches and punches of amplification, growing in volume; having overwhelmed the details (to return later as a ticking pulse), the guitar sound swells into a noxious cloud of drones, where a peeled whammy retreating in crawling notes over and again. Whirring oscillations of noise break the monotone as stringed metal repeatedly dissolves into the amorphous fold, sustaining the crisis of labeling which will not afford these ugly/beautiful transgressions an easy title. I definitely look forward to more from this lot. On spray-painted tapes with color J-card. Limited to 100 copies. (Obsolete Units cassette, $6 HERE)

905.2: Fossils - 'Airport Journals' C30 $6
"The first time I saw Fossils I was sitting far to stoned on a piano bench in Ontario and they fucking killed it. I like to think that is exactly how they recorded "Airport Journals" - superfluously blazed on some Canadian piano furniture. The Boughner / Smith / Payne trio bring it here with thirty minutes of circuit crunching, mind numbing, limb twitching junk. Shit that makes you grind your teeth and then fall over. These are some serious bottom of the ocean sounds. Everything was recorded live, straight to tape, making for some raw crawls into the gutter."

905.5: Vestigial Limb - 'Lung Fluid' C20 $6
"True story: The exact second i popped the master for "Lung Fluid" into my stereo my entire block lost power, which stayed off for just over twelve hours. Now maybe the cause was the huge storm raging outside, I don't know, I'm not a scientist. All I'm saying is that I wouldn't be surprised if Vestigial Limb blacked out the town. Ray Shinn continues his slow motion menacing with two more tracks of rumbling taunts. Both sides keep a similar audio aesthetic, haunting and crackling their way through a grey mess, while keeping separate moods. Side a focuses on a total bleak atmosphere. the flip side drools out shards of panning waves and thick static. Utterly sick."

905.8: Leavenworth - 'Retention, Reunion' C20 $6
"Leavenworth, one of the most under-worshiped noize headz around, has been laying tracks of poison for a couple of years now in virtual secret. Hailing from fly over country USA, this dude hovers blankets of paint stripping, bong ripping clamor on top of you until a rush of warmth and awkwardness flows through your veins. Utilizing a blend of mixer feedback, pedal tickling, and radio transmissions, Leavenworth blazes the room thoroughly."

905.8: Blown Doors - 'Blown Mind' C24 $6
"Delaware dealers of harsh psychedelics third offering to date. Blown Doors is the duo of Mike Haley (Wether) and local speed liver Sean Connolly who together deliver three tracks of enough oppressive vocal manipulation to preform a distortion abortion to an entire village of unwanted belly burdens. "Blown Mind" is a heavy disturbance that omits straight from speaker to gut. Low blows covering cold and forbidding chants. Totally new (r)age."

available HERE

CORNUCOPIA - 'black operations' CDr $7
"Thirty minutes of analog/digital moss. Using synth noise boxes and other sound generators and location recordings. Ends with a super harsh passage and data debris." Released for No Fun Fest 2008.

CORNUCOPIA - 'star trails' CDr $7
"Companion release for "black operations", "star trails" was recorded live in rotterdam, netherlands in late 2005. Turned out to be our most powerful set during that trip." Released for No Fun Fest 2008.



(temporary) WEBSITE

Current scene-ripper Sun Araw (Cameron Stallones of Magic Lantern) rides the lightning-hotstreak with the ‘Boat Trip’ 3”, a deep psychedelia in two healthy chunks. Immediately differentiating itself from so many colleagues, the rhythmic throb of “In the Trees” represents the foremost tribalism of the man’s sound, followed immediately by acidic guitar wah, hand percussion and Stallones’ soulful bellow applied in sustained bursts; entirely believable as an excerpt from White Rainbow’s recent ‘Prism of Eternal Now’, the track also hints of Muslimgauze in its machined chime and spirited patterns. The fuzzy effervescence of guitar only blinks before suturing-on “Canopy”, a side-scrolling track of accumulating elements – bongo drumming, rain stick, reverb – in wonderful harmony, with vocals wordlessly returning the calls of the Pocahaunted clan. Beyond the actual bird sounds sampled throughout, instrumental noises mimic the realer animism of jaguars, snakes, and large, slow insects. The arboreal theme implies this boat trip should be spent on your back, which is exactly where the disc will put you. Sprayed CDr comes in a heavy vinyl sleeve with color art and a mini, hand-sewn envelope on lavish paper. Limited to 50 hand-numbered copies. (Stunned 3” CDr, $6 HERE)