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Rakshas is an early 2017 tape release from Richard Ramirez’s Bigfoot themed walled-noise project. If you’ve been reading M[m] HNW reviews for a little time now, you’ll know that Fouke stands of one my favourite Ramirez projects- so when I saw this was out, I just had to hear it.
North Ireland native, Cathal Cully (Girls Names), presents his first solo album under the name Group Zero. Out on Touch Sensitive Records, Structures and Light is a fun piece of synth and drum machine electronica, that deftly switches between playful and brooding, light and dark. Riding on the current, synth heavy trend, Group Zero mixes odes to the past with hints at the future.
“Dendritic”, a collaboration between Gridfailure and Magalophobe which was released on Arbor Day (a day to encourage and celebrate the planting of trees) and has both of these two acts physically planting a tree for reach pre order of the album, has almost come about by accident. It was not intended to be recorded the way it was. Initially the two projects came together to record source material for an upcoming Gridfailure album, however it quickly became the album we are reviewing instead.
For anyone who doesn’t know The Great Annihilator was the ninth studio album of Swans career. Released shortly before Gira and co. elected to go their separate ways, at least until 2010 when Swans would reform once again. Anyway, this new deluxe edition comes packaged with Michael Gira’s solo album Drainland, a worthwhile purchase on its own.
Here’s a pro-CD and package from Hubro, containing works by the composer Laurence Crane, played by the asamisimasa ensemble. The group, six-strong, line up thusly: Kristine Tjøgersen - clarinets, Tanja Orning - cello, Anders Førisdal - guitars, Ellen Ugelvik - piano and electric organ, Håkon Mørch Stene - percussion, and Ditte Marie Bræin - soprano. There’s five works, over 13 tracks, amounting to nearly an hour’s worth of music. The CD comes with a booklet of extensive notes, which perhaps make virtues of the very things I found frustrating with these recordings…
Here’s a double CD reissue of two early releases from northern English perverse 'n' quirky noise-makers Smell & Quim. Both albums offer up an appealing, perversely moody, seared, and sometimes amusing blend of guitar & noise improv, power electronics, and general noise-bound perversion.
Spread over three DVD’s here’s a just over twelve-hour sleazy-athon of obscure, weird & bizarre porn from the early to mid-1970’s. So if you have a taste for strange, twisted, often weird–to- downbeat hardcore porn- this will be right down your grimy alleyway.
Crystal Machine was the first solo album from this British keyboardist, who had worked with the likes of Gong & Hawkwind. The album originally appeared in 1977- bringing together both studio & live recordings, that move between space bound ambience, early electronica & a blend of both. Here we have a recent CD reissue on Esoteric Records- which offers up new liner notes, and few bonus tracks too.
Slaves is a six CD set that focusing in on the more moody ‘n’ unsettling side of this British two-piece's sound. Bringing together elements of: psycho ambience, brooding-yet-building experimental jamming mixing elements of rock, electronica, avant & unwell soundtrack, electro/ acoustic texturing, as well as more subdued & uneasy noise treatments. Sutcliffe Jugend stared off in the 80’s as a purely a power Electronics venture, but over the years have expanded & grown their sound- to the point where it’s often difficult to put them under one genre label.
Here we have a 2016 CD reissue of the third (and arguably best) album from this British prog/ symphonic rock band. Originally released in 1974 the album offers a selection of four purely instrumental tracks- these effortlessly blend together worthy & event-full composition, memorability, virtuoso-yet- focused musicianship, and a real feeling of focus & point, which can’t be said for all 1970’s prog albums.
Portland guitarist Marisa Anderson plays a nostalgic style of Western blues guitar. "Mercury" came in 2013, the 3rd album since 2005, a solo guitar album. She the release of this has since recorded three other album.
Hailing from the mile high city of Denver, Colorado, Matthew Hunzeker's Of Earth and Sun finds its second release, Uncoiled, on Malignant Records. Dense, droning, and fairly hypnotic, Of Earth and Sun makes use of traditional and electronic instruments, all the while piling on layers and layers of thick tones. Over the nine track album, Of Earth and Sun makes its statement known, and draws the listener into its world.
Obscene Noise Korp have a highly brutish industrial sound. Active since 1997 this double Cd collects every recording this project of Peter Nystroms has ever made and adds new recordings from 2013-14.
If you don't already know Voivod then this is a chance to familiarise yourself with one of the most interesting and creative bands of the 1980s metal scene. If you are familiar then you are probably aware of their unique brand of progressive thrash metal, and are approaching this new release in much the same way as myself. These new reissues are very much about hearing the new remastering job and checking out the extra content. Rrröööaaarrr features a second disc of live audio recordings from Montreal in 1986, and a 3rd disc featuring a mix of live audio, video, demos and assorted artwork and photographs.
This is at least the sixth release by legendary German producer of "absolute music" Asmus Tietchens on Richard Chartier's often austere Line Imprint. This stark collection of five wispy, almost mysterious electronic compositions comes four years after his last effort on the label, Soirée.
It’s fair to say that Brain Damage is one of the more distinctive, bizarre & memorable horror films to appear out of the 1980’s. Here on Arrow video, we have a new dual format release of the film- this new reissue offers up a host of new & exclusive extras- all making this a must buy for fans old & new alike.
Boston's Replacire are back with Do Not Deviate, their follow up to 2012's The Human Burden. Replacire's first release on Seasons of Mist sees the quintet tearing through eleven tracks of well recorded, technical death metal. Honing their craft with extensive touring with genre heavyweights, Replacire use their finely tuned skills to bring an entertaining and pummeling piece of metal to the masses.
I think what I have before me is a promo pack, consisting of the CD, and an insert - there’s no track-listing as such. Anyway, the pro CD has six tracks of muscular rock, performed by a conventional trio: Guro Skumsnes Moe - bass/vocals, Håvard Skaset - guitar, and Joakim Heibø Johansen - drums. This line-up is aided and abetted along the way, not least by Pain Jerk on a few tracks. (For a further noise connection, the cover design is by Lasse Marhaug.) The six tracks present a dark, metallic take on noise rock.
In the last months of his life the ageing William S Burroughs, long the undisputed doyen of American literary counter-culture, attended an exhibition of his work at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Nova Convention, a literary festival he had inspired and destined to be his last public appearance. Also in attendance were film maker Aes-Nihil and Dr David Woodard who had recently piqued Uncle Bill's interest with his recreations of the primitive brain-wave stimulator pioneered by Brion Gysin and Ian Sommerville, known as the Dreamachine. The machine itself as Woodard explains in detail is a revolving upright tube with holes cut out, through which the light from an electric bulb or naked flame flickers through. The frequency of this flicker, as modulated by the speed of rotation, is what's purported to cause the machine's hallucinogenic effect. The footage from these events and a conversation with Burroughs at his home forms the significant body of this decidedly lo-fi DVD. Interspersed are several often bizarre monologues by Woodard on the history of the Dreamachine (most of which are fictional) and other less discernable topics.
Black Needle Noise is producer John Fryer. This gentleman needs no introduction to any fan of 4AD, Mute or a host of other indie labels. His work is almost the stuff of legends. Its certainly the stuff of most indie or alternative kids dreams.
Modelbau is one of the projects of Frans De Waard(Captain Black, Freiband, Quests, etc), and Movement is one of it's most recent offering . Released on cassette by Sentimental Productions, this is Modelbau’s 11th release since their debut in 2014. Issued in a limited edition of only 50 copies this cassette has proved to be an interesting listen.
Any new work from always this creative & often progressive UK based walled noise maker is worth check-out and this C60 release from late last year is no exception. The release offers up two just shy of thirty-minute tracks, which blend together well conceived & crafted textured noise elements, with more ambient & eerier experimental sound craft.
Faceless is a C40/ digital release from late last year- it offers up two slices of masterfully tooled walled-noise. The split brings together Werewolf Jerusalem- which is the most known projects of US noise legend & HNW originator Richard Ramirez. And up ‘n’ coming / often creative Swiss wall-noise project Anonymous Masturbaudioum.
German Martin Lang's Todesstoss has been active in the black metal scene since 2000. Employing an avant-garde approach to metal, Todesstoss almost theatrical style pushes the limits of art and metal, and helps to allows Lang to showcase his vision more clearly. On his latest, Ebne Graun, Lang does this in the form of one, long, forty six minute track.