The HNW Quartet — Self Titled
The label-less purple tape comes in a white shelled cassette case, and this features black & white art- with the front cover taking in the collectives name, and a back drop of a smeared & hazed selection of circular patterns. This is the first release from Hallucination Tapes- which is the new label of highly respected & prolific Paris based wall-maker Julien Skrobek(Ghost, Ruine, Ecco, The Killer came from the Bronx, Sumbru ). The release came in a edition of 18 copies, and sadly these are now all gone- so the only way you’ll get to hear this now is via the labels band camp.
The HNW Quartet brings together Sumbru- which is Julien's most recent project. Black Matter Phantasm- the main HNW project of Metz based noise-maker Joseph Szymkowiak. PsôM- which is the project of Eric Duriez, who is also from Metz. And lastly Küne de Lisch- which is the project from Rouen based Hugo Blame.
Side A track is entitled Part 1 & Side B side is entitled Part 2. And each ‘wall’ finds each member of the Quartet offering up a layer of noise, which are all mixed together very well by Skrobek; to create both the feeling of pleasing tension & rewarding textural definition. The first sides ‘wall’ opens up built around the following elements: A blunt & muffled fan like constant churn, & a tight mid-to-higher pitched air escaping-out-of-an-inflatable tone. At around the 3rd minute you get this texture appearing which seems to sweeping from the left & right stereo channels, and this is best described as a mid-ranged squeezing air tone. By around the six minute mark this buried scrapping static element has appeared in the depths of the ‘wall’. Though-out the tracks length certainly the muffled fan like churn seems to become more spread-out & muffled at its edges. As for the other textures; I think there is maybe some subtle shift here & there, but mostly they remain fairly firm on their textural paths. Put simply this is ‘wall’ is great & masterfully example of artfully layered noise-making of the highest order.
Side B’s ‘wall’ opens with the blend of the following textures: A slowed galloping roast. A churning yet wiry thinner looped electro circulation tone, and an intermittent wholly judder. At around the three & a half minute mark a layer of thin & crisp continual crackle is added to the ‘wall’. As the track progresses on Skrobek perfectly balanced mixing makes sure you can clear define each individual layer, and at around the 7th minute a subtle yet slightly dragged haze of buzzing is added into the mix. As the track goes on the gallop seems to be contracted back very effectively, which brings the smaller textural more to the fore, and as a result ones ears are staining more & more to pick-up every detail of the layers of patter-nation. This second side is just as entrancing as the first sides ‘wall’, and in some ways it’s even more impressive & captivating due to the finer textural detail- which highlights both the creativity of the textures themselves, and Skrobek ear for highly focused & detailed mixing.
In conclusion this tape stands as one of the high water mark releases from with-in the HNW/ static texturing genre this year. Each ‘wall’ here is built around a creative selection of textures, which are mixed together perfectly by Skrobek, to create a truly captivating & wholly layer satisfying experience. It’s a really pity the tape version of this disappeared so quickly, as really no fan of the ‘wall’ scene should be with out it!; but as mentioned early you can still check it out on the labels Band-camp here