Ivan Reash/Hana Haruna — Split

Here’s a wall noise split bringing together two US projects- Florida’s Ivan Reash, and Portland’s Hana Haruna. Each party offers up two twelve-minute tracks- the formers are rather churning ‘n’ numbingly pummelling affairs, while the latter are all about dense grind ‘n’ sear.

This is a digital release that appears on Portland, Oregon’s Basement Corner Emissions- who have, of course, been long-term supporters of the wall noise form.

So first up, we have the two tracks from Ivan Reash- as far as I recall, this is my first taster of his work, though he seems to be linked to a fair few aliases/ other projects like Bastard Sword, Contrite Heart, and Sex With Dead Slaves. His first track is “Wall Noise No 1”; here we have a dense, rattling, and low-key ringing mix of muffled industrial pummel, manic chiming, and billowing shred- edged with drifting sonic clouds of hazed purr. Next is “Wall Noise No 2”, here we find a blend of beaded hack, rushing purr, and droning down a veiny flesh pipe rumble. With moments of sudden overload churn ‘n’ rumble so often. Both tracks brought to mind the work of the early 2010 wall project Hearse Fetish.

Next, we move on to the two Hana Haruna tracks- now, if you have even a passing interest in the US wall noise scene, you’ll know this project. It’s been active since 2018- racking up over two hundred releases, and becoming one of the more respected names in the scene. The first track is “Hoshino Aki “, here we find a mix of rapid galloping ‘n’ droning low end, squiggling ‘n’ crunching mids, and subtle touches of higher tone sear/ swipe. Next is “Satō Eriko “ where we find a blend of billowing & sweeping baying grind, serrated grittiness, and a hint of ringing ‘n’ chiming ambience. Another great double shot from this US wall noise master.

It’s great to see a split like this appearing, as it highlights that talent and the skill is very much alive in the US wall noise scene.