Cosmic Noise Waves / Ataraxy — Valles Marineris

This 3inch CDR box set offers up three slices of mars themed walled noise from these two German projects. I guess you could say this is some what of a sequel to last years Martian Impressions( also on Vomit Bucket Productions)…with the pair offering up a track a piece, then a collaborative track- all of which shift between HNW & ANW.

The three martian orange spray painted mini CD-Rs each come in their own separate slim cases. Each of these is  partially spray painted( again in martian orange) with individual full-colour  covers that take in pictures of the planets surface, and these put together make up an interlocking landscape of an orange desert scape. The three discs come inside a full-colour DIY-cardboard-slipcase, which shows more Martian landscape views.

First up on disc one we have a sixteen minute track from Cosmic Noise Waves( formally Malevolent Alien Being). The track is titled “Naktona Valis”, and is built around this tight jittering/chopping ANW texture, which is backed by this seemingly continual rising ‘n’ simmering dark drone sustain.  This tracks most effective in creating a vibe of tense yet brooding space-ness, and with it you can imagine images of a  space craft hovering over Mars's strange ‘n’ alien desert landscape.

Onto disc two, and we have an eighteen minute track from  Ataraxy. This tracks entitled “Chasm”, and after the more moody AWN/ dark drone first track this goes for more nervy & bone grinding HNW. The ‘wall’ brings together a deep yet muddy & set bass drilling noise tone, which is rapidly meshed  into crisp, crackling &  jittering static. Both textures lock down into an intense, yet fixed  attack. It’s a most effective & meaty bit of ‘wall-making’, and while the spacey vibe is less prevalent here, you can imagine a space buggy trailing over the Martian landscape.

Lastly on disc three we have the collaborative track, this is entitled “Crater Expedition”, and is the longest of the three tracks here at the twenty minute mark.  The ‘wall’ brings together this rapid jittering yet hazed mid-ranged static tone, which is fed over by this ominous & brooding dark  ambient rumbling drone. Oddly for walled-noise the ambient drone is the more dominant element in the tracks mix. And this element just seems to stretching out this great eerier vibe, which brings to mind sinister going-ons on the dark side of the planets surface.

I had rather enjoyed the pairs 2013 Martian Impressions split, so I was looking forward to hearing this new split. And I’m happy to report that is as good, if not better than Martian Impressions. So if your into more atmospheric & space bound walled noise, this really is a must have item!. It appeared in an edition of 20 copies- so hopefully you will still be able to pick one up….pop over to Vomit Bucket here to see if you can.