Demdike Stare - The Weight of Culture (Self-released, 2013) CS

One of the finest architects of modern experimental music, the duo of Miles Whittaker and Sean Canty, offers a sampling of crate digging tastes and its even far better than you'd expect.





http://www.discogs.com/Demdike-Stare-The-Weight-Of-Culture/release/4295738

Merryl / Flex 1000 - Split CS (New Body, 2014)

Merryl's (Asheville) side begins with a deep warbling that deconstructs / constructs / reconstructs into some sort of slow viscous pulse. The scab is scratched off to reveal a narcotic four on the floor beat . For lucid ketamine dreaming on the dance floor.

Flex 1000's (Baltimore) side starts off with chaotic loops and noisy stabs that gives way to a rough punkish techno beat reminiscent of some of the intense late 90's Belgian dance scene with a hint of Empire's digital hardcore. There are vocals in there somewhere, buried in this beautiful muck. The second piece is a creepy low end slow burner. A synth loop base with horrifically inane vocals with a sudden shift, resulting in a bright Conrad Schnitzleresque high frequency finale.

This release is from the relatively new tape label called New Body out of Boone, NC.
New Body tapes can be ordered HERE

Young Echo - Nexus (Ramp, 2013)

This is another record I regret slipping past me in 2013. The Bristol collective Young Echo is comprised of several artists with stellar output in the past couple years. Vessel's 'Order of Noise' made my best of 2012, Zhou makes meditative drone, Khan is a respected dubstep producer and the other members, El Kid, Jabu, Neek, Manomars and Ishan Sound have managed to make names for themselves.

Its no coincidence that this album has the Wild Bunch scenario, given that these kids obvious work in that Tricky / Massive Attack tradition. The general aesthetic is the blunted downtempo of their metropolitan mentors. However, Young Echo is deconstructivist. The dancefloor is broken. Beats are fodder for cutups. The hip hop and bass are buried beneath drones, spoken work, ethereal female vocals and frequencies on par with a Raster Noton album. The ghosts of Nurse with Wound and Boyd Rice are here, remixing for some cerebral nonexistent club, a place where sci-fi 2-step co-mingles with dub and introspective pop.

Elements collide, float together, fall apart and fade away, but ultimately, and surprisingly, cohesion is victorious.

Nagual - S/T (Ergot, 2013)

I first saw Ian McHolm at a solo experimental percussion gig he performed last year. He was obviously proficient in jazz and improvisational techniques. More importantly, he was exceptional at combining his kit skills with various instrumentation to create a full wall of sound. Essentially, McHolm grasps how to actually be a 'one man band'.

He doesn't limit himself to solo recordings though. I listened to his Nagual Cassettes quite often after that night. This is the Oberlin, Ohio improvisational duo he has with David Shapiro, and a collaboration has finally yielded a killer 44 minute LP on Ergot Records.

The two musicians craft meticulous loops to create dark and powerful drones. From from piano and synth, to downright Fripp, these experiments meander toward a sense of doom. One track is even reminiscent of current Swans material, with its extended repetition building immense tension until a burst of drumming is released at the end. This is musician's music but with a deep narrative. Highly recommended!

Oxbow - An Evil Heat (Neurot, 2002)

Let's get one thing clear right off the bat: Eugene Robinson's stage personnae is a manifestation of the devil. This six foot plus, muscle bound titan of a man ( a professional fighter and published author on the subject of fighting) wears only his briefs while jumping around stage singing about the most vile things imaginable. I've always compared him to a lyricist as dark and twisted as Nick Cave but without the confusing and beautiful poetic qualities. Don't get me wrong, there is a definitive poetry to Oxbow and their particular aesthetic, its just not pretty in any way. Think Michael Gira and David Yow both transplanted into the body of a heavyweight UFC champion. Oxbow has also been compared to "a spoiled Birthday Party".

Oxbow makes a bizarre blend of avant garde metal, blues, noise and odd time signatures of melancholy hardcore. Don't assume their just another stoner / sludge band because they release on Neurot. They are completely different from everything else, not just on the label, but anywhere.

The narrative of the album feels like a Faust story set in the crack house of the rising sun. This is unnerving, biting, cynical, depressing and nihilistic music. Unabashed hate, violence and misery is what you'll get here. Nothing else.

Oxbow is one of the greatest and most underrated bands of all time.



Listen to a playlist of the album here:

German Army - Burushaski (Belaten, 2013, CS)

Besides the fact that its incredibly good, I'm having trouble describing this cassette. LA act, German Army makes noisey coldwave synth pop? No, that's not enough, it also feels like ritual music from a space tribe. Maybe those supposed aliens that purportedly visited earth thousands of years ago? Of course, this sounds like you're watching the music on vhs. A retro-futuristic cyber dub? Maybe the aliens' ship crash landed at a resort in the South Pacific? Now, they're stuck for eternity, drinking on the beach like the Corona commercials, only their analog synthesizer brain implants allow them to record tape loops while inebriated. Yeah, that's it, and then, twenty years ago, David Lynch and Phillip K. Dick remix it and put it in a time capsule, only they don't bury it because all of this is happening simultaneously...in Manchester...in 1978...when Cabaret Voltaire smoked meth with Ray Bradbury while watching Donnie Darko on laserdisc. Bumbaclot.

Nate Young - Regression: Blinding Confusion (NNA Tapes, 2013)

Wolf Eyes' Nate Young has released a solo album along the lines of his group's record earlier this year. The Harsh and punchy noise pioneers "grew up" on "No Answer:Lower Floors" in that they exchanged the need for song titles like "Stabbed in the Face" and blistering audio aggression for controlled yet frightening musicality. Hell, they even got a guitar player who actually knows how to play.

On "Blinding Confusion", Young takes this concept of control even further. His Sequential Circuits Pro One, synth lines, modules and percussion are incredibly subtle, even minimal. This is an eerily meandering journey through a 70's horror film sans camp factor plus musique concrete. The album is quite lush, creepy and intriguing in its simplicity.

I'm thoroughly enjoying this one on headphones in the dark.

Torn Birch - Effigy (VAALD, 2013)

Earlier this year, Grant Evans, of Hooker Vision, unleashed a beast that wouldn't be conducive to his primary label. VAALD is his new venture, one that documents the lower depths of sound exploration.

Torn Birch, an anonymous project released as part of Evans' first batch of cassettes, is a mindbending listen. This is a narrative pastiche that surpasses music and noise, moving into pure emotion. Beginning in a vein reminiscent of the earliest Abruptum recordings, there are pangs of anguish in the vocals. Things later alternate between ambient, drone and noise, relaying a perfectly experimental bedroom black metal aesthetic. "Effigy" is a paradox of beauty and horror.

Aria Rostami - Decades / Peter (Crash Symbols, 2013)

Recently, Crash Symbols has become one of the best cassette labels in the business, and with this release, they've secured their place in my upper echelon of fine repertoires. Aria Rostami's "Decades / Peter" quickly struck a chord with me. The lush and dense walls of sound are punctuated with subtle IDM rhythms, calling to mind late 90's UK artists (particularly Arovane and Casino Versus Japan) experimenting with beautiful ambience and clusters of beats. There is a strong narrative here. One could easily assume it to be a soundtrack for an epic film. This recording is very lovely, provocative and mature, with sounds so crisp and clean I had to read the liner notes immediately. It was a pleasant surprise to see that Taylor Dupree mastered it. What a package! I'm playing this one on repeat.

Check it out and buy the cassette:





From Crash Symbols Bandcamp:

"Hailing from San Francisco, producer Aria Rostami's music draws from the rhythms of the Bay and the creative landscape formed by the area's interlocking communities and climates, though his influences are varied; IDM to classical to noise, as well as ideas from world music, both contemporary and traditional. Decades/Peter collects two related sets of recordings, two dynamic concepts that play off of one another, though Rostami's work is normally highly narrative based thanks to his cinematic and literary influences. Peter is an aural distallation of his relationship with a former collaborator, written in his memory, and meant to encompass both his and the composer's identity, as well as their intersection. Peter represents a more open ended collection of songs, particularly tinted by Rostami's childhood love of video games. Decades was made as its deliberate antithesis. According to him, whereas Peter 'croons with vocals and strings,' Decades 'grinds and falls apart in lush ambiance and static,' though the thread of Rostami's identity runs throughout. Together, they serve as a compelling introduction to the producer's burgeoning body of work and conceptual repertoire."

Bad News - No End (Chondritic Sound, 2012)

No matter how old I become, its doubtful I'll ever recover from the impact Skinny Puppy made on my fourteen year old mind. Hearing "VIVIsectVI" was a lifechanging experience. Therefore, whenever I hear any current industrial tributes to that era, I freak out over it. Lots of acts are doing it these days but Bad News is the first to really grip me with it.

Pounding drum machines, brutal guitars and harsh synthesizers meet aggressive and teen-like female snarls that cast the apocalypse down upon the doomed listener. This is intense music that is well performed and so authentic you'd think it was a record from Nettwerk circa '89.

There are also elements of punk and a psychedelic tinge a la Chris & Cosey, which gives it a creative edge. Keep your ears on this San Francisco duo, as well as many other acts on Chondritic Sound.

Beautifully painted cassette limited to 100, and they're almost gone.

Prostitutes - Crushed Interior (Digitalis, 2013)

Jim Donadio's "Prostitutes" is a perfect introduction to many current trends in the avant garde electronic world. With patience, he begins the album with minimal beats and tones. This builds into ambience, static and   later, a sudden funky beat akin to Cut Hands powering a combustion engine. Further in, there are sludgy sounds that range anywhere from the viscosity of mid-western noise to the grinding gears of Pete Swanson's technoise.

Abrasive, awkward yet somehow consistently accessible, this is one you shouldn't miss, especially if you're already invested in experimental dance music.

 
Read full review of Crushed Interior - PROSTITUTES on Boomkat.com ©

GermJumper - T.H.A. (Self-released, 2012)

Cyrus Shamir is all over the place, playing in the Atlanta band The N.E.C., contributing to Jamie Hepler (Soft Opening) on his drone project Nest Egg, recording and mixing for lots of people, and doing just about everything musically he has time for.

GermJumper is a solo project released last year. These are a couple of well crafted twenty minute forays in experimental electronics. The aesthetic is reminiscent of early electronic synthesis from Clara Rockmore, Pierre Henry or Morton Subotnick. There is also an eerie alien sub-space transmission feel to the entire composition. The combination of these elements, presented in an undulating rhythmic drone format, is quite different than the current trend of ambient / drone / noise. Shamir has a classical electronic grasp on structure. What seems like meandering is very controlled. This music is esoteric yet strikingly accessible to those with a modicum of interest in left of center sounds.

Cut Hands - Afro Noise (Very Friendly, 2011)

To "cut pure human states" and produce "the most extreme music ever recorded" was the mission William Bennett had in 1980 with his power electronics act "Whitehouse". When industrial bands like Throbbing Gristle and SPK began to calm the storms within, Bennett took his intentionally vile, lecherous and abrasive sound and visual to new heights, disturbing all who witnessed it.

More than 30 years after the inception of Whitehouse, a new project emerged, one light on the noise but heavy on the listening experiences of tastefully aged pair of ears. Cut Hands is a tribute to Bennett's interest in Congolese and Ghanaian persussion. These polyrhythmic African drum sounds are slathered in industrial reverb and complimented by delicately placed ambient textures, drones and even orchestral feeling electronics. All of these elements work incredibly well, creating a surprising groove with a full range of emotion. All this and Bennett's tactically cerebral expertise continues to shine through, never betraying his original essence.


Read full review of Cut Hands - CUT HANDS on Boomkat.com ©

Pete Swanson - Man With Potential (Type, 2011)

I can't help but think the mop-headed militant character on the album cover is a tongue in cheek jab at French noise enthusiast Vomir, who always performs his noise sets hidden underneath a kaffiyeh. Ironically, this scarf has become more recognizable as the fashion of a 22 year old hipster girl than the original image of Yasser Arafat and the PLO.

There are three types of listeners that will drop the needle on this one: The Drone / Noise fans of Swanson's now defunct project Yellow Swans, fans of elegant and classically-minded instrumentals typical of the Type label, and then there are those dance music fans who are as surprised as I am by beats surfacing as a newly integral part of the avant-garde Ambient / Noise / Drone world.

None of these three are remotely prepared for what happens on this album. Swanson decided to fuck with everyone here.

With a hynosis-like approach, he sends you back in time to that really bad tripping experience at the warehouse party in Detroit circa '95. You remember, the one where one of the dj's was walking around shaking hands with people, and later all your friends were talking about how he had dosed his hand with more liquid acid than you could possibly imagine.

By the time you were peaking you saw no reason not to accept the offer for some ketamine. Shortly thereafter, the lights were sizzling your brain like you were staring into the sun, and you were pulling on the side of your head trying to remove that drill bit that was furiously burrowing into your cranium.

All that to say this: Here we have blistering noise-laced techno. This is Jeff Mills, Muslimgauze and Vatican Shadow buried under 6 feet of Prurient and Wolf Eyes.

Remember to take your Dramamine and keep that gallon of oj on hand just in case you want it all to go away.

Stream it Here

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Cindytalk - Camouflage Heart ( Midnight Music,1984)

After the demise of Scottish punk / new wave band "The Freeze", David Clancy and Gordon Sharp formed Cindytalk in 1982. This project is something Sharp described as ambidustrial. I know that doesn't really roll off the tongue but it does summarize how he took elements of Editions EG's ambient releases and fused them with the then hip and new industrial sound.

In case you hear some familiar elements to the vocal stylings, guitar and production, that's because it sounds like This Mortal Coil, the 4AD ambient supergroup that Sharp was a part of. In fact, the single "Kangaroo" that Sharp sang on was the big UK indie hit off "It'll End in Tears" which is one of my favorite albums.

This record is raw, nasty, dirgey, mournful and experimental yet somehow retains a punk as fuck feel. Its bloody good, it is.

Get it Here

Erik Skodvin - The Sickening (Mixtape for Type, 2011)

When label boss Rik Skodvin isn't slaying my brain with his own Miasmah imprint, he's slaying my brain with his friend Otto Totland as "Deaf Center", and sometimes he slays my brain with his solo project "Svarte Greiner. Here is a mixtape he did for Type. Sit back, relax and enjoy this voyage to the bottom of the drone-colored abyss. Cheers.

Don't forget there's a free download option.

Get It Here

Chrome - Half Machine Lip Moves (Siren, 1979)

More weirdo sounds from San Francisco, this time from the late 70's. Helios Creed and Damon Edge used guitar, bass, trashed drumkits, various moogs and tape loop noise to create some of the coolest noise rock ever made. Way way way before its time. Everything and the kitchen sink is thrown in a tree mulcher alongside an intense punk vibe driven by a kraut / motorik / industrial groove. Oh, and lots of sheet metal clanging around. Chrome are the definition of cyberpunk. Sci-fi as fuck. One of the best Rock albums ever made. Cheers.

Get It Here

Today is the Day - Temple of the Morning Star (Relapse, 1997)

“Nothing works out. It's a sweet ride mama.”

I put this record on the other night and then it started storming like a mother fucker. No shit. Seriously though, if this record is the equivalent of the devil speaking to me, than I'm down. Sign me the fuck up. The power is flickering right now and I' m ready to meet the dark lord. Transistors are blowing and this has gotta mean something kiddos. Little red dudes with pitchforks are in my future...

Eh... who the fuck am I kidding? I've been listening to “devil” music since the third grade or some shit. Let me tell you something. If all these years listening to music inspired by a fictional character had any effect, wouldn't I have already professed my love to a darker power? Don't get me wrong...love the stuff. But if you seriously fear listening to records such as the above mentioned due to the idea that you may raise an entity or some bullshit, you don't deserve to live in real time. That shit is make believe.

Anyways...

You know what I mean. This record is fucking retarded. It's good. Just listen to it. It's nastier than fuck. Steve Austin is a Satanist from what I understand. I heard that years ago and I've never really gotten a solid answer on that, but I just hope that he is. I mean if he isn't that’s fine. No worries. I've never really been into religious music. But if you listen to this record and feel that he is a Satanist, then you it makes you feel stoked cause it sounds like it was made by someone who worships Satan. I mean there’s a song called “Satan is Alive” on it. You get stoked cause some people believe one thing and some people, another. It's cute no matter what angle you look at it.

--Tony Plichta

Get Some Satan Noise Here

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Muslimgauze - Hamas Arc (Staalplaat, 1993)

A crisp zill announces the arrival of an electronic force to be reckoned with. Muslimgauze, aka Bryn Jones was as subversive politically as he was musically. Each track on Hamas Arc lies in wait like a snake in the grass; A snake with the patience of a sloth, the resolution of a sniper and the delicacy of an aesthete.

Jones homes in on our meditative sensibilities with the combination of Islamic salat (prayers) and dogmatic manipulation through heavily phased ambient drones that clash with subtle yet aggressive middle eastern percussion tracks. This is a thematically violent and confusing militant music teeming with the discomfiture of the Palestinian / Israeli relationship that seems eternally doomed, a relationship that Jones felt was far too important not to "speak" about. His point (that the Israeli occupation of Gaza should cease immediately) was clear and simple and he was passionate about implying this as the theme to all of his music.

Jones had many stages to his 20 albums in 12 years: minimal and ambient dub techno, dry and gated instrumental hip hop style beats, abrasive, noisy and inaccessible tomes and this; a convincing and intelligent trance-inducing whirling dervish dance that saturates the senses. This is a vehicle that soothes and delicately massages your mind until you let go of any hesitation. I heard Mulimgauze at an early age, had no resistance and quickly bought what he was selling.

Jones is one of my favorite electronic musicians, second only to Coil. His catalog is vast and unfortunately, his contribution to the history of modern music is far too underground.

Get PLO Style Here

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Further Reading on Muslimgauze Here

My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (Creation, 1991)

When I first moved to the mountains of North Carolina, I lived in Chimney Rock. It was a rough time for me, cause you see...i had been smoking a pack and a half of Tahoe 100 reds a day, and I wasn't used to the curvy mountain roads. The beach I was accustomed to was long and straight. There were no sharp curves, so moving out here was a bit of a motion sickness nightmare for ole Tonester. And on top of that, the move to a higher elevation was giving me inner ear infections for about the first 8 months of living here. Or that's at least what the doctor told me.

So here I was, driving to Hendersonville on Dramamine so I wouldn't throw up on my lap on the way to work at Camelot Music. There were times that I'd be so drowsy from the Dramamine that I would still have to pull over and throw up. I'd get to work and they'd send me straight back home cause I was pale from the drive. Double fail.

Something about this record reminds me of those times. I mean try putting yourself in my shoes. Driving a half an hour, not trying to puke but trying to listen to this swirling, droned out, amazing record that you should really just be lying on the ground and listening to. It spins circles in my mind to this day, and now I just wonder why I even tried making the trek and trying to jam this record. But I ain’t mad.

Get one of the most important records of all time HERE

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Tony Plichta is a microwaveable nutrition enthusiast, has a masters in bullshit, his relationship with his moms aint so great these days, he exhales into his bass drum, and thinks that these banana nut bread scented candles are off the chain!