Anonymous Masturbaudioum — Pantyhose Rubbing

Anonymous Masturbaudioum's "Pantyhose Rubbing" was released in December, 2015, on the Italian noise label Signora Ward. It was released on white C60 cassettes in a clear casing, with black and white artwork depicting feminine feet in pantyhose. The tape came only a year on from when they had begun a wave of HNW releases focused on the genre's relationship with worship and fetishization. Specifically, Signora Ward is known throughout the HNW realm as the home of the "Nylon HNW". While it can hardly be considered the very first noise vehicle to draw upon these thematics, the determined proclivity of the label was perhaps unmatched once the obsession had spiralled and spiralled- from its inception at the end of 2014 through to this, it's thirtieth release, at the end of the following year- in that time proving beyond all doubt to most listeners that this label had gone furthest in their allegiance to this topic.

Personally, I have tended to acknowledge that the characterisation of the nylon and foot fetish have played an important role as aesthetic and thematic inspiration for some incredible wallcraft - all the while adhering to my own preferences when it comes to seeking out new artists and their releases, based on the sounds and aesthetic that I particularly enjoy within HNW. The Signora Ward label has never struck me as particularly appealing - noteworth, yes, and certainly a community-positive gathering of like-minded wallers who share not only their obsessive relation to the HNW but also similarities between their very relationship with obsession itself. The label and the 'wave' of HNW that ensued has long held my fascination purely out of respect. In this instance, outwardly the release would not have led me to believe I would enjoy it - and yet, delving into the HNW contained within, I found myself pleasantly surprised.

A project named 'Anonymous Masturbaudioum' would tend to have the listener believe the artist is perhaps unafraid of appearing insincere and silly - and while this can be a deterance to some, I have long held that there are many who make incredibly 'fun' and 'silly' noise who are in fact amazing artists capable of producing the most profound work. And while the realm of HNW rarely permits itself to give in to such an idea, it has nonetheless informed the way I react to both harsh noise in general and HNW greatly. Pressing on with the release itself and the sounds at hand ...

On the first side, Part 1 brings us into a mechanical buzzing and muted bubbling static rumble which is nicely coupled with crackle-and-chirp flutters that slowly ease us into a heavily reverbarated vocal sound. At first I anticipate some form of sample, related perhaps to the theme of the release - but as time passes it appears to be actual vocal employed as instrumentation, coarsing over the top of the wall, wailing and dithering as though they were the uneasy utterances of a prisoner in some kind of 'mental institute' bound in leather. The vocal cuts off very suddnely only a couple of minutes in and the possibility that the sound was sample rather than original vocal is hard to displace. A few striking shreds of modulated noise cut across the static rumbling which is growing ever-so-pacinlgy more ferocious and present. In spite of this growth, the wall remains muted - there are few dynamics and the listener begins to mire into their listening experience. As we are led into the half-way mark of this wall, the miring has truly taken hold, and the crackle-and-chirp has morphed into an outright fiery licking-and-lapping of smouldering static texture - the constancy of the rumbling bass and airy atmosphere surrounding weighing everything down and subduing the listener.

The second side gives us Part 2 - we enter into a cool, shallow pool of rain-like patter with a soft drone-like, almost melodious undertone that slowly spurts like a powerhose with a beligerent forceful weight into full HNW majesty. Like an animal choking on its own tongue, the wall builds and sways and continually threatens its own collapse. There is much less fire-like textural sound here as in the first side - instead, the crisp shredding very much harkens the listener to analogue tape noise - barbed and cutting and visceral. Slowly but surely, this melodious undertone grows in strength, and we begin to hear a frenetic, looping melodious drone that sings and spins around the crumbling and shredding wall. There is something perfectly dizzying about the way in which the two dance with one another. As with the first side's vocal layer, the soft melodious droning is eventually, and abruptly, cut off - leaving the listener nothing but the lathered shreds of HNW to become mired in once more.

Overall, this tape offers much to the listener who craves static immersion from HNW, while also offering much in the way of dynamic textural exploration and playful use of sounds outside of the HNW realm being "referenced" within-wall in such a way that never detracts, never even hints at the possibility that this might be properly divergent and an intentional effort at forming some kind of hybrid sound. Rather, all elements act to build the walls here, as strange and enveloping as they are, and they do so perfectly. I would highly recommend this album to anyone well-versed in HNW looking for something unexpected from the genre. The album is available for streaming on the label's bandcamp - the limited run of tapes is unfortunately long sold out.