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I think Niklas Göransson said it best in his 2016 article for Bardo Methodology when he described Phurpa as being like a Tibetan monastic choir that use a “specific kind of overtone chanting […] based on the principle of the singer’s transmogrification during the chanting meditation”. Hailing from that great Eastern European superpower Russia, little is known of the origins of Phurpa other than they are based Moscow and record and perform under the leadership of artist Alexei Tegin. The band have developed a fascinating contemporary take on the art of throat singing. Doing for this style of music, what Sunn 0))) have done for doom metal. They take it, strip it back to its base form and rebuild it with minimal instrumentation and use immense amounts of atmosphere and ambience to create something that at times sounds menacing and yet is beautiful.
Continuing the GT archive series, Zoharum offer this collaboration with Moan. Once again in a strict limited edition of 200 copies, given the quantity you have to ask yourself “why bother?”, just do it as a download. GT are one of those bands you either liked or loathed, personally I always liked GT, but I still have the gripe that a 200 run isn’t sufficient and really under sells the outfit
Today I have the pleasure of reviewing the 2017 Zoharum re-issue of a Rapoon album I had never previously listened to, 2004's My Life As A Ghost. The original version of this album was a single CD, expanded here to include another disk of material remixed from the original source recordings.
Richard Chartier’s Pinkcourtesyphone project is now six years old and has become a reliable source for some of the best dark ambient music around. Yearly releases on vinyl or CD and distinctive pink artwork help make the project stand out from legions of producers of dull, gloaming, drone music. Indeed the highly defined aesthetic of the project is one of its enduring facets and is rooted in a very particular notion of femininity within the context of modern consumer capitalism and pharmacologically modulated states. That this feminine aesthetic is evoked by a man is of course problematic and worth examining. Also of note has been Chartier’s occasional use of Pinkcourtesyphone’s music to raise funds for transgender and LGBTQ causes. All of which is indicative of a creative depth and social engagement rarely found in the genre. Indelicate Slices follows on from 2016’s lush Taking Into Account Only A Portion Of Your Emotions and features seven tracks ranging from three minute vignettes to half hour epics.
The Devil's Honey is sleazy, cheesy, and at times wonderfully deranged blend of sexploitation, thriller, and romantic drama. This 1986 sleaze feast is one of the later films from Lucio Fulci- most known for his gory & surreal zombie films of the 1980’s, and it’s fair to say if you dig your smut littered with what-the-hell moments- you’ll get a kick from this. On Severin Films, this is late 2017 all-region Blu Ray release of the film.
From Arrow Video here we have a Blu Ray reissue of Scalpel- A tight-as-drum & twisted-as-a-snake 1970’s thriller with southern gothic edges & subtle horror touches. This is the first Blu Ray release of the film, which I believe has only had a VHS release in the past.
Here we have a reissue of two wonderfully creative & varied jazz albums from the early 1970’s by respected American trumpeter, drummer, soundtrack composer, and bandleader Don Ellis. Both albums blend together a big band sound, with fusion, non- jazz genres, and even dives into more angular & avant-garde composition. The release appears in the form of a double CD on UK’s BGO Records- one of the more quality bound reissue labels.
Originally released back in 1998 Time Machines was the epitome of brain-altering & perception twisting drone craft. It offered up four lengthy submersions in deep ‘n’ heady synth craft- with each been themed around the effects of specific hallucinogenic chemical or drug.
Synth maven and underground powerhouse Steve Moore brings his "synthpop" act Miracle back for a second helping of tones and grooves. Reuniting with Zombi-mate A.E. Paterra and rock journeyman Daniel O'Sullivan, The Strife of Love in a Dream shows the lighter side of Steve Moore's oeuvre, and explores themes hinted at in previous works. While not exactly what I would be comfortable calling "synthpop," Miracle's second full-length is an entertaining album.
Arkheth are an experimental Black Metal band from Orange, New South Wales in Australia, formed in 2001. Twelve Winter Moons ... is only their third full length album during that time, and their first in eight years. Arkheth consist of one man, multi-instrumentalist Tyrone 'Tyraenos' Kostitch, who plays all of the instruments himself. This may or may not have some bearing on the large gaps between releases, however finding time to record an entire album on your own in between the day to day grind must prove incredibly difficult. Especially when it’s an album as involved and bonkers as this jazzy, psychedelic slice of experimental Black Metal genius.
Here’s a much need & long-awaited CD reissue of one of the classic slices of quirky & often playful indie rock/ punk pop from the 1990’s. Originally released in 1993 the wonderfully titled Casual Sex In The Cineplex offered-up twelve short ‘n’ sharp slices of melody driven, often energetically paced & lyrical playful guitar music.
Of all the european SOV films the German Violent Shit franchise is the most infamous, notorious, often nonsensical, and heavily gory-bound. The films have been hellishly difficult to get hold of for many years, with even the DVD reissues fetching large amounts of money. So it’s great to see this three-disc region-free DVD collection from last year- which brings together the four violent Shit movies, with a bonus lo-if Zombie splatter film from the same director.
Artefact presents the listener with two near on half-an-hour examples of stark-yet-moodily detailed & subtle shifting walled noise; which moves between ANW & dense atmospheric Wall matter. The release appeared late last year on Albuquerque, New Mexico label Modern Tapes- coming in either a cassette edition( which I’m reviewing) or a digital download.
Toe Cleavage is truly epic, classily packaged, and searingly artful statement of fetish themed noise craft. Over the releases seven tapes this Canadian noise master moves from dense harsh noise-scaping, onto moody noise-drone work-outs. Through to walled noise raging's, onto perfectly controlled & crafted static noise texturing, and a selection of audio collages that focusing in on both the distinct kink of toe cleavage, and general toe, feet , shoe & leg fetish.
Thrown To The Wolves. Now Packleader offers up two hellishly thick, terminal oppressive & crushing slabs walled noise. The release comes in the form of a C60 or digital download and was released late last year on Stockholm based Ominous Recordings.
Abstructum is a new project consisting of members Andy Ortmann and Hanna Elliott (Hogg). Their self-titled debut shows the project dabbling in a few different styles, from post-industrial to musique concrète to near sea shanties and folk jazz. An interesting debut with fun electronic flourishes, Abstructum makes the most of its abbreviated run time and is a decidedly different approach than the members' previous projects would suggest.
Psychic Activation Ritual is released on a C-46 tape via Nihilist Recordings and features the sonic talents of Ka Baird, founding member of Spires That in the Sunset Rise, and Andy Ortmann founder of Nihilist Recordings, and musician in his own right who has recorded under various guises throughout the last 28 years, most notably as part of Panicsville with David Forquer and Ryan Kohler. This album appears to represent the pair’s first collaboration together.
Experimental ambient guitarist and composer Mike Fazio has been playing and performing for decades now, really coming into his own during the 2000's with a profific string of soundscape albums under a variety of aliases on his own Faith Strange label.
Pulsing Dot brings together a selection of fairly quirky & at-times surreal examples of modern composition utilizing piano, live sound processing, electronics & voice. The release appears in the form of a CD on demark based Clang Records- who focus in on releasing adventurous & experimental music from a few different genres.
From early summer 2017 Dunkelgraue Lieder is an extremely re-worked & expanded version of Allerseelen’s 1990’s album Sturmlieder. The release shows the Austrian Industrial/Neo-folk innovators bridging the gap between the past, present & future sound of Allerseelen.
From the early 1970’s Dark Dreams was an attempt to blend together hardcore action, with unsettling & horror fed atmospherics. And it does so to fairly mixed results- not fully satisfying as an arousing skin flick due to the unsettling mood, and lacking enough depth of story to be an effective chiller. Though that said it does summon up so quite effective moments of unease & puzzlement- making it worth a look, for those looking for something a little unusual in their 70’s sleaze hit. Here from Vinegar Syndrome, we have the first official DVD of this cross-breed oddity.
Megalophobe debut release spans four tracks of somewhat unusual ambience mixed with synths, percussion and theramin. There’s a vaguely musique concrete feel to the spartan nature of these recordings, that add a beautifully haunting nature to the proceedings.
Long running, Swedish ambient juggernaut raison d'être is back once again with his newest release, Alchymeia. Making his debut on Cyclic Law, Peter Andersson's latest journey bases itself in the works of Carl Jung and his work with human archetypes. Intriguing subject matter aside, this long slice of ambient goodness provides a lovely soundtrack to contemplating life over a cup of tea and a long stare out over a snowy landscape.
Bloodway are a three-piece progressive Black Metal band hailing from Romania, the country renowned for being home to Transylvania, the Carpathian Mountains and of course count Dracula himself. A Fragile Riddle Crypting Clues is the third release for the band on I, Voidhanger Records, and their second full length album following on from debut EP Sunstone Voyager and the Clandestine Horizon, and their first full length album Mapping the Moment with the Logic of Dreams. The band are led by the incredibly talented graphic artist Costin Chioreanu, on guitar and vocals, this three piece certainly know a thing or two about making a metal record.