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The name of Howard Phillips Lovecraft is firmly inscribed in the mass culture. The works of the great writer, the inventor of the Necronomicon and the Cthulhu Mythos, inspire filmmakers, artists, and musicians. It is difficult to say how many musical groups appealed to the work of Lovecraft and how many tributes have been made.
Different State began life as an industrial metal bands some 20 years ago, and after numerous lineup changes and various style changes during the intervening years they have become something quite unique that draws influence from a variety of different genres. The two albums in this two disc collection “More than Music” and “It Cleans My Wounds” were originally released separately as limited edition CD-Rs in 2005 and 2006 respectively. In the interest of the preservation of such rare materials Zoharum have stepped in to ensure they are preserved for those who missed these titles first time around. The project’s driving force comes in the form of multi-instrumentalist Marek Marchoff who is not only involved in all of the band’s performances and songwriting, but who recorded, mixed and mastered both discs.
Italian exploitation is renowned for ripping off of more known & popular cult films, but boy this late 80’s Sci-Fi/Horror film takes things to dizzying new heights. It basically wholesale rips off scenes, dialogue & even musical cues from both Aliens, and The Terminator- all wrapped up with a selection of rubbery lo-if effects, crappy futuristic costumes, and truly terrible acting- that moves between overacting & truly stilted
Jyotisavedanga are an international experimental metal band consisting members from India, Russia, and Ukraine. The name of the group is a slight variation of the words for ancient Indian text on astrology and astronomy Jyotisa Vedanga.
Pataphysical Electronics is a bulging crop of new sonic odd-ness from Andy Ortmann- Chicago’s finest purveyor of audio surrealisms & noisy unsettlement. The release features a fairly varied selection of Mr. Ortmann ’s distinct brand of sonic unwell-ness…going from quirky blends of surreal storytelling & off-kilter beats, through to queasy psycho ambient edged with field recordings. Onto playfully melted & dis-arrangement of orchestrated work, though to unsettling electro/ acoustic sound worlds. Onto to blends of musique concrete & old-school synth scaping, and beyond.
Vigil is an arty-yet-never overly indulgent New Zealand film from the early 80’s, that mixes together drama & coming-of-age genres in a stark rural setting. Here from the Arrow’s Academy line, we have a Blu Ray release of the film.
TSE is a suite of five modern compositions that move between doomed simmering’s, angular sourness, and wavering dread. The release comes in the form of a CD on Sheffield’s Another Timbre, and as we’ve come to expect from the label this is another of shot well conceived & perfectly recorded experimental sound craft.
Crunching noisily onward, Belgium's NDE return for a third time to Cold Spring with this year's United (Through Iron and Blood). Utilizing rhythmic noise loops, feedback, and varied vocal styles, NDE put together a grim and punishing power electronics release. Bringing a semi-danceable style to the gruff cacophony, NDE challenge convention and do a pretty good job of it.
Esoteric Russian traditional music group Nytt Land released "Oðal", their 4th album, this year on Cold Spring.In their promo pics, Nytt Land wear something like a cross between black metal attire and that of 'freak folk' artists who aim to look like relics from the 1800's. They look completely ridiculous to me, hamming it up with mirror contacts, 'mysterious' and intimidating facial expressions, necklaces made of teeth, heavy tattoos and disheveled white dress shirts, presented in heavily color treated images made to look dim and desolate. Perhaps I'm getting older, but this sort of thing doesn't convince me in the slightest. All that's missing is the blood spatters on their clothes.
Heal is the project of French experimental musician Laurent Perrier. He has sporadic releases using the alias dating back to 2000. This 2018 LP "Espace d'incertitude" is the 4th album as Heal. Its nine pieces run a mere thirty seven minutes; it is the rare soundscape album for the impatient. It features two boldly contrasting sides:
"Finnish synth pop" may sound like a made up genre to many, but the folks at Svart have compiled a wonderful collection of this underheard movement. Satan In Love showcases 22 tracks from 1979-1992 and brings this interesting period to the world stage. While the synthesizer may have been a late addition to the Finnish music scene, these pioneering Finns embraced it and turned out some fun and well done pop.
Here we have another release of archival material from Justin Wright’s Expo 70 project via Zoharum. This two disc collection gathers together two albums of rare material that was previously released in limited numbers on CD and cassette in 2008 and 2010, and has been unavailable ever since. I have a great deal of affection for this project, Wright’s music transports me to Germany circa the early 1970s and leaves me feeling relaxed and calm. It possesses a beautiful cosmic quality that reminds me of Ash Ra Tempel and Amon Düül II.
The French Tape offers up two just shy of thirty-minute examples of pared-back & intricate static noise studies from Swedish walled noise project Rien. It appeared in May of this year as either a C60 cassette or a digital download- sadly the physical version of the tape our now all sold out, so digital is your only option.
Rats Clinging To A Ship is the debut release from Unwashed- the more Power electronics focused project of Southampton based Clive Henry, who in recent years has been known/respected for he’s often more progressive take on HNW/ static noise making. The release appeared in November of last year, and came in the form of either a C30 tape or a digital download- and as of this review the label still has copies.
With Sidereal Decomposition Activity the two masters of the Italian electronic scene joined together for the second time here. Their first collab happened back in 2007 with the album Erimos. Maurizio Bianchi, acting here under the initials of MB, is a veteran of the Italian industrial / electronic scene, who started his career in the far 80s. Matteo Uggeri (Barnacles) is also widely known as a visual designer and composer since the 90s, whose also made many collaborations with famous experimental artists over the years
This is the fifth album by Philippe Petit and Friends, and their first since 2012s Cordophony. Philippe is the co-founder of Strings of Consciousness and a long time collaborator of Lydia Lunch, he has worked with the likes of Jarboe, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Edward Ka-Spel and a host of others within the electronic music scene. The songs on this album were originally intended for the third in a trilogy of albums by String of Consciousness, however their subsequent split means that they have found their way out on this particular album.
Something of an event release this for Gruenrekorder; The Secret Life of the Inaudible is a double CD collaboration between the New Zealand born American composer Annea Lockwood (She of A Sound Map of the Hudson River and numerous brutalised pianos in the 1970s) and Christina Kubisch who's most recent release on Gruenrekorder was Unter Grund a record which made use of material collected appropriately enough beneath the earth's surface at various locations in the area of the Ruhr in Germany.
Cold Spring Recordings presents Midori, the third release by She Spread Sorrow. For those unfamiliar, She Spread Sorrow hails from Italy and is the moniker of one Alice Kudalini, previously known for her work in Deviated Sister TV. I reviewed her debut album Rumspringa a few years ago and was really floored by her deft melding of cold industrial and ritualistic power electronics. On Midori, Kudalini takes the template from the debut release (I sadly overlooked her sophomore effort Mine), but takes it in a dark ambient direction.
Return of Django & Eastwood Rides Again are the first & sixth albums from Lee "Scratch" Perry house band The Upsetters. Originally put in the late 60’s/ early 70’s they show the first shoots of sonic flair & invention from this respected reggae producer- who pioneer both creative production in the genre, and of course was one of the key minds behind the development of Dub. Here on Doctor Bird- a sub-label of Cherry Red we get a recent CD reissue of the two albums.
Here we have a CD box set reissue of three of the most important releases from with-in the euro ambient music scene. Originally released between 1991 & 1993 Passage In Beauty, Shadow In Sorrow, and Ending Mirage stand as not just important moments in development of this projects sound , but a huge influences on the wider experimental euro scene.
For Lisa is a recent-ish full-length CDR release from Swiss wall-noise project Labbra Di Lurido Blu. The disc presents us with five examples of traditional-yet-fairly creative & often active HNW.
Kyrylo Shablevsky is a Ukraine project walled/ static noise project, and this is the projects first physical release. I came in the form of a CDR on Russian Reason Art recordings, and it presents the listener with four fairly creative & varied examples of static noise texturing.
Synthwave terror GosT returns with Possessor, his third release on Blood Music. Mixing metal pacing and flourishes into his synthy composition, GosT brings some much needed grimness to an album dealing with Satanism and possession. Sometimes dancey, sometimes headbanging, Possessor is a synth fueled trip to the darker side of human nature.
The Soultangler is a shot of deranged 80's low-budget horror fare. It blends together elements of the mad scientist's genre, hooded killers, Zombies, & crazed/ bizarre gore, with moments of surreal dreaminess, and Lovecraft dread. This is the first ever DVD release of the film, and it's a joint release between those resurrectors of lost cult films AGFA, and Bleeding Skull- a website that charts obscure trash- fed-horror film fare.