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Vindran Pluges Suaus offers up two no-nonsense & ear roasting examples of walled noise from this Spanish project. Each track comes in at the twenty-minute mark, and each is as simplistic-yet- searing as each other.
Dennis Hopper is known most for playing fiery, unbalanced & unpredictable characters - racking up over 200 film roles between the 1950s & the 2000s. But he also directed seven feature-length films- most notorious & controversial of these was his 1971 film The Last Movie- a deranged, at-times near incoherent, yet often spellbinding & wholly distinctive creation that flits between gritty character study, trippy travel log, & Peruvian adventure/ drama- blending linear, and non linear film-making, with tons of strikingly imagery & more than a few What-The-Hell moments. Here from Powerhouse Films is first time UK issue of the film- offering a new 4k Blu Ray transferee, a good selection of extras, a poster, and an 80-page book.
Swedish industrial project Maschinenzimmer 412, later known as Mz.412, released its first album back in 1988. Staying active to this day, releasing 13 full-length albums, two EPs and two Compilations. Currently, Mz.412 are a three piece. The most famous member been Henrik Nordvargr Björkkthe project leader and a very prolific musician who has many experimental projects, the most famous of which are Mz.412, Folkstorm, Pouppée Fabrikk and Toroidh.
World On A Wire is heady & bleak, if at times chatty & arty slice of 1970’s Sci-fi drama directed by highly respected German auteur Rainer Werner Fassbinder. For many years this has been unavailable in the Uk- here on Second Sight is a Deluxe Blu Ray box set of the two-part film- bringing together informative extras, a fifty-page book, and a slipcase.
Last Moments Of 1923 was the first sonic statement from British industrial project Konstruktivits- it originally appeared in 1982 as a C60 tape, offering off a selection decidedly wonky & off-kilter ambient tracks built around synths & melted muzak. Here from klanggalerie is a CD reissue of the album.
Sometimes you really can't’ judge an album by its cover- take Rendez- vous- it’s decidedly cheesy cover of a jumper wearing women & smiling breaded man sitting on green grass, may suggest some form of bland romantic folk collaboration. But in reality there’s nothing cosy, twee, or warningly lulling here- instead you get an unpredictable & wonderfully weird slice avant-garde composition, that moves between off-kilter blends of horn & electronics jarring electro-acoustics, squealing- yet playful avant jazz & electro funk crosses, weird & surreal ambience, cartoon-like impro, odd theatricals, and beyond.
Directed by Cuban film maker Camilo Vila, The Unholy was originally released on VHS in 1988 by Vestron Video. One of a great many genre titles of that time to find its way straight to video in the UK. I vaguely remember viewing it around this time but have little recollection of the movie from that time, so this feels almost like a first watch for me.
Originally released on cassette in 1986 by Toracic Tapes , Orfeón Gagarin's (Miguel Ángel Ruíz) Orfeón Gagarin is the debut release of this project. Based in Madrid, Spain, Orfeón Gagarin encompassed the burgeoning, electronic sound of the DIY, post-punk, industrial movement of their scene.Remastered for vinyl and digital, Verlag's reissue of this Spanish experimental classic is its first time on either format.
Here’s a CDR wall-noise split bringing together four fifteen minute walls- we have the bass focused meets often galloping textural details of Dosis Letalis tracks, and the more roughly & grainy-necro-ness-meets smaller detail feast of the Renoffski tracks.
Though this self-titled collaboration may sound like some sort of obscure prog rock spin-off project. It’s actually a wall-noise venture bringing together three of the more respected names in the scene- Nemanja Nikolic (Dosis Letalis), Sergey Pakhomov (Train Cemetery/Reason Art Records), and Casper Van Der Veen (Uitgeschakeld). This hour-long debut from the project surfaced late last year on Spokane, Washington based tape label Lost Light Records- as either a C60. Or digital download- sadly the tapes now all gone- but of course you can still download it.
The Present Is a Hostile Place severs up two half-an-hour slices of bleakly toned & starkly seared walled-noise from this Flanders based noise & stark drone artist. The release appeared October of last year on German noise & experimental label Geraeuschmanufaktu- coming as either a C60 or Digital Download.
The Aeolian harp is a stringed instrument - usually hand crafted - which produces a range of harmonic tones when wind passes across it. It has a long history - imbued with romanticism and mysticism - stretching back to antiquity, from where it derives its name from Aeolus, the Greek God of the wind. For Path of the Wind - Eisuke Yanagisawa's third record for Gruenrekorder - the Japanese film maker and field recordist constructed his own Aeolian harp, mounting two microphones into its sounding board. He then recorded the tones produced at a variety of locations across Japan.
Here’s as a joint venture between Severin Films & Something Weird- a doubled headed region free Blu Ray release bringing together two different sides of the infamous Mondo genre. We have the slightly more classy & varied Ecco, and the more flesh bound & decidedly scuzzy The Forbidden. Both films are presented fairly untouched & pock-marked in their scans, with a few worthy extras.
From the mid-1960s The Possessed is a subtle creepy, and at times grimly noir infused Italian mystery- that’s knee deep in atmosphere & dread. On Arrow Video- both in the UK & US- here we have a recent Blu Ray reissue of the film- offering up a new bleakly monochrome print of the film, as well as a nice selection of extras.
As it’s title might suggest here’s a lengthy slice of slowly swirling and gently spiralling deep ambience from American ambient legend Steve Roach. The release appeared late summer 2017- in either the form of a CD, cassette or digital download- I’m reviewing the CD version of the release.
Class Of 1999 is a decidedly campy yet often brutal action Sci-Fi flick from the early ’90s. Think a blend of the punky charm of Troma’s school-based movies, slightly lower-grade Terminator & Robocop action, and more explosion fuelled Warriors gang fighting- and you’ll get an idea of what we have here. Here from Lionsgate is a Blu Ray reissue of the film- taking in a good selection of extras.
Sleeping Above The Dry Grassland is a nearing three-hour sonic journey into brutal searing- yet unmoving & terminal suffocating walled noise, which has as its title suggests a fairly primal nature-based feel to it. The release appears on British label Void Singularity Recordings- as either a double CDR or digital download- the physical release appeared in an edition of fifteen copies, and as of this review the label still has copies.
With-in Doom metal there is a sub-genre, characterized by a very slow pace. And this is Funeral Doom. As a style is not particularly monolithic, but, there are a few different sounding bands with in it. Starting from the brutality of the Rigor Sardonicous and the gloomy rawness of Nortt, onto the epic of Shape Of Despair and the psychedelic experiments of Esoteric. The only facet that remains unchanged though-out the sub-genre is the very slow tempo of the compositions.
Spójrzcie Пожалуйста, Jakie Piękne Macie Gęby is the latest release in Zoharum’s ongoing GT Archive Series, where they reissue albums from the band’s back catalogue.
1979’s Eskimo still stands one of the more heady and unique releases from long term Us experimental/ avant pop collective The Residents. It was the projects sixth album to be released, appearing when The Residents where really at the height of their popularity in the UK & Europe, and rather surprisingly it was one of the projects less approachable/commercial releases. Been a six-track album that blended together chilling ambient synth-scaping, weird home-made instrumentation, bizarre tribal chants, and subtle ethnic percussion. From Cherry Red/ MVD audio here is the next in the series of double-disc 'Preserved Series' which sees the labels releasing the ultimate edition of Resident albums- with each album getting a classy new remastering, and a second disc of rare related recordings- many which have never been widely heard before.
Facedown is a sixty-minute slab of cluttering, scuzzy, rough-hewed- yet cleverly detailed walled noise. This pro pressed CD releases appears on New Jersey noise label Uninvited Records, and it certainly stands as one of the more brutally enchanting & involving releases to appear from the pretty constant flowing discography of French wall-noise legend Vomir.
Marabout is the second release from French project Abysse- whose sound sits somewhere between taunt-to-brooding electro-improv, textured noise, & sparse–to-abstract electronica. It appeared late last year as a self-released single side C30- that featured a hand made fabric sleeve,inner baggy & a few inlay papers.
The Fifth Cord is one of more moody, at times bleak & largely blood-less variety of Italian Giallo. The 1971 film brings together often overly talky moments, with lots of brooding architecture shots, and some effectively eerier stalking scenes. From Arrow Video here’s a new Blu Ray reissue of the film- offering up a new 2K scan, and a good selection of new extras.
Unexplained Sounds Group presents Active Noise Area- an international compilation showcasing many of the various permutations found within the noise underground. It’s available as a digital download via the label's bandcamp site here, & features 18 tracks of varying lengths and styles.