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The quirkily named Fruupp where a four-piece prog band from Belfast- and during the mid-1970’s the band gained somewhat of a cult student following- due to tour supports with the likes of Genesis, Queen, and King Crimson. As well as releasing four albums on the Pye Records cult prog label Dawn- which are presented here in a box set. And while their output was clear influenced & infused by big/ known prog acts- the band managed to put there own original/distinctive enough touches here & there like more jazzy, classical & world touches- all making this collection an enjoyable ride for those progressive rock fans who are looking to dig deeper into the slightly lesser-known areas of the genre.
Harsh Nurse is a rather intriguing and distinctive collaborative release that brings together brooding-at-times spacey synth craft- with thick sheets of moody often wallish noise craft. The CDR/digital release brings together highly respected US female noise project Tissa Mawartyassari, & Italian project Cronaca Nera
Akio Jissôji was a decidedly versatile and talented Japanese director- moving from family fantasy and Sci-fi for TV in the 1960, before diving into more serious and at times controversial new wave films in the 1970s, which utilized sexual content, artiness, with moments of brutality and heady Avant grade. This four Blu ray boxset on Arrow Academy brings together four of Jissôji films from this period, as well as a good enough selection of extras.
From the mid-1960’s Devils Of Darkness(or as it’s sold here under it's French title Orgie satanique) is a prime shot of over-the-top, often highly campy, and at times silly shot of British gothic horror- the films often labelled as a Hammer Horror knock-off, so this will give you an idea of what to expect. This DVD release appeared on French horror & cult film company Artus Films- it comes presented in a colorful poster/stills filled DVD digipak- which gives the release quite a stand-out look.
Sacred Bones presents Everything That Dies Someday Comes Back, the second collaborative album from Uniform & The Body.
Appearing eight years after the original, The Hills Have Eyes Part II was very much more of a conventional slasher with a desert setting. The film was once again helmed by horror legend Wes Craven, and while it’s far from a masterpiece & often decidedly silly stalk ‘n’ slash venture- there are some neat trap based kills, amusing dialogue, the odd effective jump, as well some fairly eerier atmospherics. From Arrow Video here we have a recent Blu Ray reissue of the film- featuring a new commentary track from the always great slasher collective The Hysteria Continues, and a new documentary about the film.
Composed entirely on a Moog System 55 Synthesizer, Todd Anderson-Kunert's latest, Conjectures, is his first for Room 40. And, based on the number of synthesizers on hand in their Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio, this won't be the last. Letting the Moog 55 flow through him, Conjectures is the sound of one man's relationship with a machine, their conversations, empathic connections, and deepest secrets. Like My Dinner With Andre for the electronic world, Todd Anderson-Kunert's Conjectures reveals a lot about both participants without being overstated.
Little is known about the artist going under the name BROKEN_CANYON . Ostensibly the solo project of one Andrea - based out of New York - the lack of biography and the project's proximity to the Dream Catalogue label raises the suspicion that it could be another of the dozens of aliases used by label head David Russo. The evidence is inconclusive, however a close listen to Andrea's output suggests resonances with the kind of post-vaporwave music Russo specialises in, albeit with considerable deviations and singular qualities. Whatever the truth the project has racked up over a dozen releases on several labels this year alone. Drain appears on the Dream Catalogue digital sister label Pyramids.
Directed by Henri Pachard and the originally uncredited Roberta Findlay, who also produced and shot the film, Mascara is an erotic psychological drama from 1983 starring Lisa De Leeuw and Lee Carroll alongside Lisa Cintrice, Tiffany Clark, Bobby Astyr, Robert Kerman and the legendary Ron Jeremy in smaller roles. The film has been newly scanned and restored in 2k from the original 35mm negatives and looks better than ever.
Live At Sonic City is a two-disc CD and DVD set offering up the final ever live performance from noise terrorists & sonic nihilist The New Blockaders. Both discs feature the same forty-minute performance, which sees the balaclava two-piece making rather splendid & glorious noise chaos- which mostly remains full, all-engulfing & kind of engrossing though-out.
Alone In The World is the latest selection of taut, terminal bleak, & vice-like hope crushing walled-noise from Joli. The release appeared late August of this year- coming as either a three C60 box set or digital download- unfortunately, the tape boxes are all gone, so ones only option now is a digital download.
Finnish singer/songwriter Joose Keskitalo, also known as 'H.C. Slim', plays what he refers to in the liner notes of his latest album Sings as "outsider folk" music. It is a stripped down, simplistic, sleepy style with mumbled, intimate vocals.
Cheminant is the latest collection of works from French pianist/composer Melaine Dalibert- who has a knack of creating often stark, yet moody & memorable piano work. This recent release comes in the form of a CD on modern composition/ modern classic label Elsewhere Music- the CD appears in a rather striking dark green mini gatefold, that takes in various abstract patterns/ shapes.
Taking Tiger Mountain is an early 1980’s art film, featuring Bill Paxton in his first screen role- it’s a black & white shot Sci-fi film set in a highly controlled future, where gender is switched/ controlled. It’s a decidedly mixed bag of a film- that sits more like a mid-1960’s- to-early 1970’s venture, feeling like a haphazard blend of early Cronberg, and Warhol at his more ponderous. This first-ever digital release of this oddity appears on Vinegar Syndrome- featuring the labels always classy new print, and a good selection of extras.
The Day Time Ended is another one of the more early wacky films produced by Cult B movie king Charles Band. The late 1970’s venture stands as one of the more bewildering, at times nonsensical family sci-fi/ fantasy of all time. On Full Moon Features here we have a recent Blu Ray release of this film- bringing together a largely bright and sparkling new print of the film, a commentary track, and a few other extras.
This rather lengthily and frankly pretentiously titled C40 severs up a selection of seared ‘n’ roasting noise matter that hovers somewhere between HNW, wallish noise, and dense harsh noise.
That Same Old Feeling Of Being Alone is a bleak drone/ DNW split. It comes in the form of a C60 cassette/ digital download- and features two around fifteen-minute tracks from each project. We have Texas-based No123noise, and T.Ruston from Bradford- so it’s a transatlantic affair.
Black Metal, perhaps, is the most popular- yet extreme form of the genre. It has many different subgenres whose roots are in the so-called, Raw Black Metal. At the dawn of the of the form almost all Black Metal bands had such a sound - raw, dirty, unbalanced, close to rehearsal recordings of garage punk bands. Over time, the sound and professionalism of the musicians improved, raising the “underground” bands to a higher level. However, Raw Black Metal has firmly taken its place in the hearts and minds of musicians and fans, forming a fairly large army of supporters around the world.
Coming in at the tail end of the Sexual Revolution, and making quite a statement about the burgeoning panic concerning the society ruining diseases stemming from it, David Cronenberg found fertile ground for his sexually charged brand of body horror. With public interest in this "epidemic" and horror films both at a fevered pitch, the creation of a tax loophole in Canada opened up a perfect channel for filmmakers to get their vision and message out to hungry fans and a terrified public. Starting with his third feature, Shivers, Cronenberg began to play on the conservative public's fears of rampant STDs and how they would tear apart society. He followed this up with 1977's Rabid. In a stroke of brilliance by producer Ivan Reitman, American adult film star Marilyn Chambers was given the lead role. In an early cinematic trolling of outdated mores, having an extremely well known adult film starlet as the lead was a delightful middle finger to an uptight old guard. Add blood, more sex, and Cronenberg's delightfully outré approach, and a winner with the fans becomes a nightmare for the naysayers.
In 1979 one of the most iconic science fiction horror movies of all time was released. A claustrophobic tour de force set aboard the spacecraft the Nostromo that would change both horror and science fiction cinema forever. That film was Ridley Scott’s Alien, a film whose influence and legacy can be felt in every aspect of popular culture from film to advertising and beyond. Memory: The Origins of Alien is a feature-length documentary that takes the analysis of that film and its themes dissect them and rummages around inside until it uncovers chest-bursting levels of interesting information about the film’s genesis and production.
Awirë is an example fleeting ‘n’ darting improv- that’s somewhere between waving-to-sour-drone matter & sprightly modern composition- with flavors of both folk and playful modern classical music about it.
Racines is a five-track album of that sits somewhere between electro-acoustic composition, and subtle scuttling- to-surreal ambient sound-scaping. All creating a decidedly dream-like release- that ebbs, lightly darts and lulling shifts.
In the world of electronic and experimental music, collaboration or split albums of two projects are fairly common. Every day a certain number of such albums are released. Some of them, unfortunately, go unnoticed. Others, sorry for this, do not deserve attention. But there is a category of albums that fans of experimental music should pay close attention to.
Spirit Manifestation is the most recent release from Sihir- one of the more recent projects from uber prolific & multiple projects linked French noise maker Julien Skrobek. The self-released C10 tape offers up two side-long tracks, that sit somewhere between textured noise and dense suffocating ambeince- which all very much fits the releases themes ghosts/ supernatural.