Geisst — Electroplasmic Veiling
It’s fair to say that Geisst (Geißt) has been one of my favorite newer projects to appear from with-in the wall-noise/noise texturing scene in the last year or so. Behind the project is respected & fairly prolific noise maker/ experimental artists Peter Keller- Condo Horro, Bacillus, Dirac Sea, PTRKLLR, & Unser Verhängnis. Geisst began in 2017- and thus far put out three releases- the theme of the project is ghosts/ spirits, and the sonic concept is that it’s untouched by (alive) human hands, with the no input walled noise left to sway ‘n’ shift on its own, as Keller captures the recordings in his creepy basement. Also all of the projects work is recording on certain luna circles- which adds another neat twist to proceedings.
In all the release takes in eight tracks- these each have running times between eleven & nineteen-minute mark. And on the whole I’d say the mood/ tone of these tracks is edgier-to-tense, whereas the previous two releases were more about creating a chilling & unsettling mood. The tracks on Electroplasmic Veiling are more about jarring-to-prolonged terror, with a keen use of more high pitched tones been at play here.
The eight tracks are all named Electroplasmic Veiling, with Roman numerals after each . So first up we have “Electroplasmic Veiling I”- this sees a blend of reeling spinning textures & higher pitched simmers/ hovers- as the track progresses we get nicely unbalancing dwells in just wavering high pitched sour-ness. This track created in my mind pictures of terrified Victorian folk sat in a parlor, as rickety projector starts showing ghastly & terrifying footage from the spirit world.
Moving further into the release we have “Electroplasmic Veiling IV”- this is built around constantly simmering-yet slow altering blend of high & medium noise, with grey swimming static. At times the ‘wall’ creates a swirl & vein popping string like eerier-ness. At others more weathered & hazy dwell in a fuzzy static haze. “Electroplasmic Veiling VI” is very creepy & agitated with it’s taut 'n' tense weave of micro scrapings, insect-like jitters, rolling bleak drones, and constantly drilling & smarting higher frequencies. Each of the eight tracks here present up there own distinct blend of creative textures- with an overriding vibe/ feel running throughout the whole release.
I’ll have to admit when I first heard Electroplasmic Veiling- the higher pitches did bother me somewhat, you see I’ve never been a fan of more ringing & sourly high pitches in my noise. Really enjoying the more lower-to-mid range noise structures- sure higher pitchers can be effective in places, but when it goes all & out sustained like in a lot of PE I find it a big turn-off. But as the higher tones present here are used to creating mood & almost psychedelic unbalancement it works for me, and it also nicely progresses/ develops the projects sound on from the first two releases.
As of writing this review the label still has a few copies of the tape box set- so if you can I’d see if you can hook one of these quick before they're all gone. The two clear tapes come in a long clear cassette tape- and this features a double side pro-printed monochrome cover- on it’s outside we get a darkly dreamy college of melted human faces & murky organic texturing, and on the inside a short write-up about the projects concept/ themes, as well as track listings recording dates, links etc. In conclusion, Electroplasmic Veiling is another great addition to Geisst’s faultless discography- really it's one of the more original & creepy-yet-intense releases your likely hear this year.