Tissa Mawartyassari — Ghost Story
The release appeared at some point last year- sadly I can’t confirm exactly when as neither Discogs or a general google search brought up any hits on this release, which is odd I guess. Anyway, the release appeared on Minneapolis based Altar Of Waste- coming in a double CD case, that featured artwork from the film poster, as well as new theme fitting art. According to the inlay, this came in an edition of 15 copies- these are long, long gone…and really I don’t know what to advise if you did want track this down…who knows maybe it will get a reissue at some point?!.
All but one disc features two ‘walls’ a piece, and opening up the set we have “Ghosts Are Always Hungry”- this twenty minute track starts bringing together of two main buffeting & baying textures- we have a set & constant rolling line of muffled bound rush, this is topped by a violent swaying & jittering layer of more defined mid range buffet- with the whole top off with rapidly scraping & swaying sub-tones. As the ‘wall’ tick towards it’s tenth minute a more taut, ripping & baying bass tone becomes the centre of the proceedings- and this nicely sucks you in deeper to battering structure of the ‘wall’. This track opens the release up in effectively dense, yet horror fed atmospheric form- bringing to mind been trapped in old creaking & candle lite mansion in the middle of a battering autumnal nighttimes storm, with the later more bass ripped tension suggesting the storm getting stronger & stronger. Next on the first disc we the spot on the twenty-four-minute runtime of “The Chowder Society”- this starts out with a moody fading in of rushing & lo-fi rush, which is beaded by small & minimal grains of static judder. At around the two-minute mark we get the fleeting sustain of raw & rumble bound bass grinding noise- the ‘wall’ pares back then for a few minutes before the same grinding & billow layer kicks –in again. As the track progresses on, we get shifts & dips in the layers- first the original elements pare-back- leaving just the now slower & more split grind to hovering with a backdrop of ill-defined drone & grit rush, or we shift to more skittering & unbalancing blend of rushing & buffeting low & mid-range tonal sear. This second tracks ok, but for me, it lacked discipline & focus a bit.
Disc two opens with “Who Are You I Am You”- this just over forty minutes track is an intense & effective ‘wall’- for the opening half we get a mixture of grating- almost white out searing mids, rolling & roasting- yet clipped drone feasts, and thinner ‘n’ terminal grime rushing static grain. Later the intensity pares back just a nudge, for a very slightly more atmospheric mixture of rolling cable drone, and manic rattling ice static rush. Track number two on disc two is “A Working Nightmare” this twenty two minute track sees a blend of rushing, almost overrunning its self-meaty droning noise- played over by a shifting map of popping & juddering static grain runs, and choppy swirls of clutter- with later on shifts towards at first rip bound buckings, and rapidly scarping & searing sweeps & bays. I’d say this track moves more towards wallish harsh noise, instead of true wall-craft- on the whole, the track sees Sanchez pulling her noise through some effective & interesting moments.
Moving onto the third disc & up first we have “Moth in a Killing Jar, Part II”- this nineteen & a half minute track opens in fine bleak- yet- expanding fashion with a slowly cascading blend of muffled haze & building grainy noise drone. At around the two & a half minute, we get the introduction of at first drilling-then-stopping deeper grinds of texture, which finally lengthen & become more constantly. Also at this point, we get the introduction of these most effective scrubbing & light jittering layers of texture coming into play, and these move from the searing & rapid, to the hazily smarting, through to the chugging & exhilarating- and underneath these, we start to get shifting shoals of aquatic knockings. It’s a great, great track- and one of the highlights of this release utilizes really distinctive & expresses textures in a most compelling manner. Next we have the grating drone descent-meets- slightly ringing industrial drone sustain opening of “This Is A Ghost Story”, which later shifts into a layered blend of rapidly juddering & jittering wall making- bringing together blunt bass bucks, with high pitched rattle & scuttles- the twenty seven minute tracks ok, it just felt a little predictable after the great opening track. The final track on this disc is the twenty two minutes of "Mr. Wanderley & Alma”- this sees a fairly active noise canvas of thin skittering grain sweeps, muffled & ill-defined rumbles- in ten or so minutes it shifts up a gear into a more urgent & attention-grabbing blend gritty lashing sweeps, on/ off rumbling cascades, and muffled gallops- again interesting ideas & textures at play here, I just felt as a whole the track somewhat lacked focus & compositional balance.
Moving onto the fourth & final disc- and opening this disc the wonderful ripping & wrecking textural work-out that is “Eva Galli The Most Dreadful Thing”- it sees Sanchez weaving out this urgent & shifting map of ripping, roaring, tearing, and grating low –to-mid ranged texturing, that's seared ever so often by higher pitched forks. This track has a really ferocious & scalding feel to the textures, and at times it brought to mind the fierce-yet-controlled textural workouts of the mighty Rita. The disc & set is finished off by the just over twenty-seven minute runtime of “The Last Of The Chowder Society”- this moves from a fairly creepily atmospherics & open blend of lose bothersome bass tumbles & cascading chalky rattling- before launching into thicker blend of rushing bass rumble & smaller bubbling grain rushers- which are edge by chopping & battering shifts. The track rather brought us back to the eerier & bone chilling autumnal storm vibe of the begin of the set, and I rather enjoyed the way the 'wall' seemed to effective snake & thin back as it shifted by.
Each of the four discs here feature both creative & at times chillingly atmospheric texturing & wall-making. Though I can’t say I enjoyed every wall- as at times I felt there was a lack of focus and a too wider shift into wallish harsh noise for my liking- but that said there are some great, great tracks here too. In concluding I’d say personally I would have preferred say two or three-disc set, of more focused & less wall-ish-harsh noise material- but maybe that’s down to my personal bias for more set & disciplined wall work.