The Night Porter — Anna Utenhoven

Anna Utenhoven is a two-track release from UK’s wall noise project The Night Porter. It takes its name/ influence from an Anabaptist woman from the Spanish Netherlands that was martyred for her faith. She was buried alive in 1597, and was the last person executed for heresy in the area. The digital release features two suitable raging ‘n’ battering examples of the HNW form.

This is a self-released affair- with artwork featuring an old print of Ms Utenhoven being buried alive, with just her head showing. The release can be found/ downloaded here
 
Both tracks here have runtimes around the twenty-minute mark, and first up we have “Taphephelia”. Here we find a very roughshod-at-points laboured gallop- this is surrounded by a mass of searing rush. The gallop sits somewhere between low and mid-ranged, with at times it having a very constantly shovelling feel. While the rush feels wildly baying- like grit and small stones hitting ones face. The textures are brought together to create a nicely unforgiving wall- with seemingly the gallop fading, and the rush coming to the fore as the track progresses- through this could of course just be a sonic illustration.
 
Second/lastly, we have “Moments after burial”. Here we find a jagged ‘n’ uneven judder, blended with a swirling-at-points spitting grain swarm. At moments, the layers here nicely blend ‘n’ blur creating a feeling of disorientating/ disconnection( either from the victim or the perpetrators)- which of course is perfect for the release theme.  I enjoyed the first track, but I’d say this one is the keeper- as of the wall really hits home with its effectively unbalancing feel.
 
Anna Utenhoven, features an interesting theme, as well as two well mood fitting ‘walls’. So, in conclusion, another consistent example of walled noise from this UK-based project- and if you like searingly, yet thoughtfully constructed wall-craft- do check this out!.