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Philosopher and musician David Rothenberg has had a fascinating and singular career. Through his many books and recordings Rothenberg has forged a niche for himself as something of an interspecies musicologist. Beginning with his first book Why Birds Sing: A Journey Into the Mystery of Bird Song he has explored both human and animal relationships to sound and the environment by way of mutual song. This has on several occasions - as it does here on his fourth outing for Gruenrekorder - taken the form of actually playing along with the calls of animals. Nightingale Cities is a sprawling 2CD collection of recordings of Rothenberg and others improvising with those birds in and around Berlin and Helsinki. The release coincides with the publication of a book of the same name.
Part American satire, part twisted modern fairy tale, and part building psycho drama- Track 29 was the 1988 pairing of two of Britain’s great & creative figures of the large & small screen- film director Nicolas Roeg (Performance, Don’t Look Now, The Man Who Fell To Earth), and TV screenwriter Denis Potter( The Singing Detective, Pennies From Heaven, Lipstick On Your Collar). Here From Powerhouse is a much deserved Blu Ray reissue of this darkly quirky & distinctive 1980’s picture- offering a nice new print, a new commentary track, and a handful of extras.
L'Enfer à sa source is the 8th full-length album from French project K.F.R- and what we have here is an extremely noisy, soured, often slurred and at-times crudely ritual take on the black metal form. The album comes in the form of a 12” vinyl release on Purity Through Fire, and is ltd to 199 copies.
The Polish black metal scene is quite extensive and has some really cult and famous acts within it, such as Behemoth, Crist Agony, Graveland, the now very fashionable Batushka and so on. A number of these groups have been playing since the early nineties and are veterans of the Polish black metal scene. However, they are not the ones with whom it all began.
Sonically suffocating, full of self-doubt, and self-disgust Nothing you do will ever matter. Nothing. Ever is the first new full length in six years from American Power Electronics project Slogun aka New Yorker John Balistreri. The project started off, and become infamous for its true-crime ridged PE- but this new album is very much a journey inwards.
Zurich-based sound artist, Simon Grab, releases his first EP on -OUS records with Extinction. The opening salvo from his long term project, Pulse, Grab sculpts electronic and apocalyptic soundscapes for a post-human world. Recorded as a live session, Extinction captures the ephemeral sonic output as it pours forth, adding an honesty and urgency to the mix.
Edwin Brienen is one of the more fascinating & unapologetically brash figures to appear out of European cinema in the last twenty years- his work is often edgy, controversial, and at times mocking of both himself & wider art cinema. Though sadly he never seems to have got the praise of the likes of Lars von Trier or Michael Haneke- here on Brink is a region free Blu Ray boxset bringing together five of his films- so hopefully this will help get his name out there.
III is the latest release from the anonymous US noise act Sacro E Profano- the project brings together elements moody walled noise, ANW, DNW, and an often sleazed/ subtle unsettling atmosphere. This release from May of this year came in form of a physical release, or digital download- the psychical release had an edition of sixteen copies- but these are all sold out now…so ones only option now is the digital download.
From Vinegar Syndrome- those seekers of prime exploitation oddness & retro sleaze here’s Evil Town- a puzzling, at times delirious blend of creepy town chillier, hammy mad doctor action, and unapologetic ‘n’ leering sleaze. Here we get a Blu ray presentation of the film that features a new 2K scan, a few extras, a doubled sided glossy poster- and another great & arty slip sleeve ltd to 2,500 hand numbered copies.
Former Gorgoroth and God Seed frontman Gaahl’s current outfit Wyrd are being hailed as producing some of the best music the black metal scene has to offer today. Formed in 2015 the band are made up of the great and good from the Scandinavian metal scene, bassist Eld (Frode Kilvik) has played as part of Taake’s live band, guitarist Lust Kilman (Ole Walaunet) has a rather fine pedigree having played with Grimfist, God Seed, Sahg and Audrey Horne to name but a few, whilst drummer Spektre (Kevin Kvåle) has played with Harm, Svartelder and Horizon Ablaze among others.
Infinite Undo severs up three twenty six minute examples of walled noise- these move from dense & swirling suffocating, through to bleakly tunneling, onto slurred & crushingly bass bound wall-making. The release appears in the form of a CDR on UK’s Void Singularity recordings- and as of this review, the label still has copies.
Sonic Pornography for the Now Generation is a three-track wall noise release from this Portland Oregano based project. We get two half an hour walls, and one fifteen wall- so you get in total seventy-five minutes of noise. The sound here moves between thick and densely roasting, to bleak and decidedly grimly lo-fi. This release appeared in April of this year as both a CDR & digital release- with an edition of 10 copies, and as of this review, the label still has copies left.
Norwegien experimental guitarist and avant garde composer Håvard Volden is a longtime member of various ensembles, based in Oslo since 2006. The exact size of his discography is unclear due to his many collaborative works, but this is apparently his 2nd solo album, according to the press release.
Mutant Hunt is a cheesy splat of 80’s sci-fi/ action Schlock- with a paper-thin budget, tacky effects like stretching arms ‘n’ melting cyborg's heads- it features black shoulder padded bad guys, dumb heroes, and sloppy kung fu fighting. Originally released in 1987, here we have a recent(ish) region free DVD of the film as part of Full Moons Grindhouse collection.
Like a death metal phoenix, Nocturnus AD arises from the body of the now defunct Nocturnus with their first full length, Paradox. With founding Morbid Angel member Mike Browning at the helm, fans of old school death metal are in good hands. Paradox is a follow-up to the themes and events presented on 1990's The Key, and sonically, it's a wonderful transition.
Raison D'Etre is, perhaps, the most famous and significant Dark Ambient project in the world. Founded by Swedish musician Peter Andersson in 1991, to date, the project has in its discography 25 full-length albums. In 1993, on the cult Swedish label Cold Meat Industry, the first full-length album of the project was released, entitled Prospectus I- in the ensuing 25 years, the album was reissued three times on various labels. The 4th and most recent edition appeared at the tail end of 2018, as a joint release of the German label Cyclic Law and the Italian label Old Europa Cafe. It should be noted that this is not just a reissue of the original album, but a newly assembled, remixed and re-recorded material. So it can be said that this is an update of a classic Raison D’tre album.
Hardy Fox was one of the truly unsung, and largely unknown key figures with-in wider experimental music, and more than a few of its sub-genres. For most of his forty plus year career he remained hidden, under an eyeball ‘n’ top hat( and other disguises) as one of the key songwriters in The Residents. He left the project in 2015 due to ill health, going onto release eighteen solo albums under the pseudonym of Charles Bobuck…then in 2018, he put out his first self titled album, and revealed his many years of work for The Residents. Sadly, in October of last year Hardy passed away from brain cancer- 25 Minus Minutes is the final recordings he made just before his passing…and it’s a release that is both poignant, yet devilishly creative- highlighting his talent, and the great hole his passing has left.
Fabio Orsi is an electronic musician from Taranto, Italy, specialising in atmospheric drone. Inspired by the pre-war folk recordings made by Alan Lomax, Orsi uses field recordings as the basis of his music with the intention of creating sonic images. He is known to admire the way in which Lomax used folklore and folk music as the basis of something that goes beyond mere historical artefact. He describes it in his own words as “an expression of suffering with a thirst for rebellion.”
Built around mostly retro synthesizers, mellotron's, and organs The Haze of Sleeplessness moves between quaint & playful early electronica/ambience, and noisier to more moody fare. The CD album comes in with a relatively short/almost EP runtime of thirty-two minutes; but it’s a nicely satisfying at this length- as nothing ever feels overstretched, indulgent, or contrived.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last year or so, I’m sure you’ll be aware of this controversial film based on the equally controversial book of the same name. Lords of Chaos attempts to chronical what went on in the Norwegian black metal scene in the early 1990’s- the church burnings, the self mutation, murder, metal mayhem & backstabbing (literally & figuratively)…and it’s fair to say it’s a decidedly muddled, unevenly acted, at times shocking & semi-effective film, which has really split my option unlike any other film in recent memory.
The always reliable No Rent Records presents Jaki Crush, the latest album (available on cassette and digital download) from Chicago-based sound artist Mukqs. For those unfamiliar, Mukqs is one Maxwell Allison who is a member of free music trio Good Willsmith and co-founder of tape label Hausu Mountain. This is my first foray into the artist’s work so I got to experience Jaki Crush intently with a fresh pair of ears.
Chicago based Bloodyminded is a fairly unique project within the wider noise scene, and in particular, Power (Heavy) electronics / Death Industrial sub-genre. As these genres are often one-man affairs, & Bloodyminded is made up of six members, each of whom is already quite famous in the world of experimental music. Perhaps this is the only PE group in the world with such a large line-up.
Mill of the Stone Women or Le Moulin des supplices to give it the French title is sold under here. Is one of the lesser known entries in the early 60’s euro horror genre- it’s an at times overly melodramatic blend of gothic horror & mad doctor sub-genres. Here from Artus Films is a recent duel Blu Ray & DVD presentation of the film, presented in a sixty four-page media book format.
Even though it was released thirty-nine years ago Maniac still stands as one of the most grueling, intense & deranged slasher/ psycho thriller ever made- it’s a film that oozes sweaty unsettlement, tense stalking scenes, and extreme/ prolonged killings. Here from Blue Underground is the ultimate edition of this sleazy & brutal masterpiece- bringing together a three-disc set- which takes in a new Blu Ray 4K print & two commentary tracks, a DVD loaded with extras, the full CD soundtrack- all topped off with a lenticular cover, and a glossy inlay booklet.