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Venerable German sound artist and composer, Asmus Tietchens, sees the re-release of his 1995 piece Eisgang on Klanggalerie this year, with the addition of a bonus track, "Die Barentssee." Residing on the more experimental end of the ambient spectrum, Eisgang is an interesting, fairly brooding piece that churns with reverbed fervor. Easy to get into, but hard to shake, Eisgang is a record that will fill the listener's ears, heart, and mind.
Zen Zsigo's Cremation Lily have quietly racked up a considerable discography of around three dozen releases since their inception in 2011. After starting out producing a familiar mix of distortion led tape noise, power electronics and drone, Zsigo has over the last couple of years opened up the project, imbibing a distinctly introspective take on his coastal environs in the South of England by way of an engagement with dub-wise ambient techno and increasingly complex melodious arrangements. This isn't to say that he's ditched his pedals and tape deck, but rather as the six excellent compositions on this curiously titled record demonstrate he's found a way of filtering the uncanny and often harsh quality of avant-garde and industrial music through a reflective and at times beautiful combination of sound and place. Add to this that the set is released along with a small pamphlet of photographs by Jennifer & Zen Zsigo documenting their time in Hastings, then it's clear that this is something of a statement release.
I do love a review where I have to go in completely devoid of anything pertaining to a press release. This is one of those reviews. Yes, this is all my own words I haven’t copied my friends homework! To be honest, I do prefer reviews like this, the label aren’t going to try to sell you an album based on their own take of the release. So, without further ado….
Cosmic Sounds is a classic slice of populous sonic psychedelia. Originally released in 1967 the album blends together theatrical spoken word, Psychedelic rock, with trippy synth scaping & electronics. As the projects name suggests, the theme here is the signs of the Zodiac, and each of the twelve tracks relates to one sign of the zodiac.
Cloîtrez Et Tuez Vous Tous is one of the more recent releases from French walled noise legend Vomir. And it’s also one of the larger edition from the project, as it comes in an edition of 300 copies pro pressed CD copies.
I have been a huge fan of the work of Nigel Kneale for as long as I can remember. I was a child of the 1970s and his work was everywhere, the one that sticks most in my mind from the period was his Quatermass TV series from 1979. Duing the years since I have revisited most, if not all of the available work of Mr Kneale and fallen in love with his writing. The Quatermass stories are obviously the pinnacle of his success, but The Stone Tape, Murrain and Beasts remain among my personal favourites. I have always wondered just how different Halloween III: Season of the Witch would have been had his original script been followed? There is enough of Kneale in the film for me to love it, but it pains me to imagine just how good it could have been.
From Arrow Video(in both the Uk & US) here we have a dual format reissue of one of the more distinctive & at times disturbing Giallo films of the 1970’s. Directed by Lucio Fulci- who is most known for his later gory & surreal zombie films of the 1980’s. Don't Torture a Duckling stands as one of more classy & thought-provoking films he directed.
From December 2016 Painting In The Dark was the third album to appear from this US ambient legend last year. And it sees him offering up a selection of often subtle harmonic edged examples of deep ambience & thick- yet expansive synth scaping, which flits between dark & slightly lighter hues.
Ressac brings together two spell-binding & hauntingly moody examples of open-ended modular piano composition from this French composer & pianist. The release appears on the always rewarding British label Another Timber, and the CD comes in the labels house style minimal white gatefold packaging.
Here we have a recent playing of this final work by celebrated minimalist/modern classical composer Morton Feldman. And as the title suggests this just under seventy-four-minute work is played by Piano, Volin, Viola, and cello- with the four instruments edging out fragile, quiet, and melancholic patterns around each other- sometimes together, and other times alone.
In the three years following 2014's brutal Altamont Rising, Swedish death industrial act, Shift, have re-emerged with a new, dark, crispy slice of grim goodness with Abandon. Constructed from ten years worth of sources, Abandon is four tracks of dark, heavy death industrial that will please any genre fan.
Suffer Little Children is head-scratching, jarringly-cut, and at times gory slice of early 80’s SOV madness from the UK. The film blends together elements of haphazard telekinesis, demonic possession, zombies, and murderous children- all to create an amusing, campy, and at times fairly disturbing ride back into the 1980’s.
Greek composer Yiorgis Sakellariou creates deep listening electronic pieces in a dynamic musique concrete style. His first releases came in 2013. As of 2017, he has found a home on the excellent Crónica label, which released many of my favorite artists of recent years including @c. His 6th full length, "Stikhiya" is made up of two pieces, sides A and B, each roughly 18 minutes in length. It is a very limited edition of 100 copies, and a cassette only release.
From Elevated Gangways Rivers Of Molten Metal Flow is the first release in five or so years from this moody, often unsettling & difficult to peg project. It’s a CD/ book release- which takes in just over forty minutes of music, and the book takes in a selection of black & white photos dealing with decaying & abandoned factories, and rundown industrial sites.
Here’s a long overdue reissue of the soundtracks for one of the biggest family fantasy films of the 1980’s The Neverending Story. The score is a mix of synth pop, atmospheric & moody synth/ guitar scaping, and more formal orchestral scoring.
Long time, dark ambient feature Vidna Obmana (Dirk Serries) made a number of albums in the 80's that were more industrial focused than the dark ambient for which he is known. These long out of print tape releases are hard to come by, so it's a treat for modern listeners when a label like Old Captain takes interest in re-releasing this hard to find material. Not only does Old Captain give Vidna Obmana's The Face That Must Die new life for a new audience, they've also included four bonus tracks to further one's Vidna Obmana knowledge.
Electric Sewer Age? Nope I'd not heard of the project either. But what this modest disk contains is some of the last material produced by Coil's Peter Christopherson prior to his untimely death in 2010. The disk also features long time Coil collaborator Danny Hyde alongside Divine Frequency head John Deek, who also sadly passed only a year after this material first saw the light of day on his label in 2012. With the title concepts leaning heavily towards classic Coil material of their later period the whole project has a distinctly haunted quality about it while also showcasing some of the best posthumous Coil material released so far.
Nineteen-Sixty-Seven is a collection of bizarre & total unrecognisable covers by this ex-member of The Residents. And boy is it one of the most unusual & strange cover albums you’ll ever had heard!…it’s also highly creative, and at times darkly sinister & unsettling- which is really is the last thing you’d expect from a covers album of songs from the year 1969- the so called ‘Summer Of Love’
The Creeps is a late 90’s slice of classic monster fun, & here it's reissued for the first time on Blu Ray by Full Moon Features. It sees Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, The Wolf Man, and The Mummy brought to life; but with a twist, they are all only three foot tall.
Void is the debut album of a new musical entity by Pär Boström (Kammarheit) and Kenneth Hansson. An expanded version of the limitededition cassette released by Hypnagoga Press in late 2016, this new, 4 track, version features two previously unreleased tracks.
Death Machines is a slice of cheesy, but unpredictable action bound 70’s exploitation. Blending together elements of martial arts, cop & action films, with side-lines into semimetal drama & sci-fi. From Vinegar Syndrome, here’s a duel Blu Ray & DVD reissue of the film.
Here we have a 2004 CD reissue of Jet Lady- a slice of quirky & off-angle female singer-songwriting from the early 1980’s. The album is often counted as a classic of outsider music and featuring the bizarre (non) hits like "Jet Lady" & "Stinky Poodle".
Night.Nylon.Boudoir is a three-way split bringing together half-an-hour of nylon fetish themed walled noise. The release came in either a physical edition of 30 copies or a digital download- sadly the physical edition has all sold out, so your only option now is the download. But I’d certainly say it’s worth checking it out, as offers up an highly effective & theme fitting collection of wall craft.
Hypnopompik Visions offers up nearing thirteen hours worth of wall- noise matter from this Hungarian project. The material moves between rushing white-outs. Onto Scuzzy drone and latten industrialized noise simmers. Though to brooding-yet- caustically seared feast, and galloping pummelling’s of tangled sears.