Aural Hypnox — Underworld Transmissions III
This release appeared in April 2015, and just like the other two volumes it comes in slight oversized brown cardboard tape box. The box features a cut out front cover, through which you can see the inlay booklet. This small booklet takes in an black ink on black art paper cover, which on it’s inside flaps features hand printed multi coloured ink spheres, and texts about the recordings. Inside the booklet it’s self you get four pages that features black printed ritual elements on white parchment like paper. The release came in an edition of 50 copies.
So first up on side A we have "Séance IV / 2014 (July 2014)", and this is listed as featuring three players from the Helixes/Aural Hypnox collective. The track opens up with an eerier mix of buzzing low-down organ drone, creepy whispers of feed back, possible some sort of bowed string saw, and what sounds like galloping 'n' aged electronics. As the track progresses the whole thing nicely shifts between been dense/ manic, and more pared back. In the denser moments it almost sounds a very lose & more dark take on a space jam ala early Tangerine Dream, and at others it almost moves towards to all out noise. And in the more pared back moments it moves from unbalancing & slight wonky ritual drone matter, to thinned back dark space droned out hover. The whole track has a nice organic & loose feel to it, and on the whole is an effective bit of improvised yet atmospheric sound craft.
Flipping over to side B, and we have the track "Séance I / 2015 (January 2015)"- this track features five members of Helixes/Aural Hypnox collective. This track starts out with a fading-in & sustained organ tone- this has a rather horror fed brooding, yet wavering feel about it. At around the minute mark we get more elements- first it’s a an eerier feed back points, then slow & wiry winds of unwell guitar craft- and after this layers of slow-mo wailing retro electronics, and a rising ambient analogue synth like drift. The whole thing has a great feeling of woozy or darkly stoned-ness about it, conjuring up half formed memories of strange nocturnal ceremonies.
This new chapter in the Underworld Transmissions series sees the collective take their improvised journeys into ritual ambience/ noise, that little further out into a looser & often shape-less place. I once again rather enjoyed this release, but I can’t say it will be for everyone- as there’s less firm structured ritual-ness here, and more wavering drift.