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Well here’s a real surprise release from late last year, the first album of new material in 30 years from Uk avant-pop/ (off) world music two piece Renaldo and the Loaf. Gurdy Hurding sees the pair returning to the distinctively strange & quirky sonic waters of the past, yet adding in a few new twists & turns to their sound- all to make an album that is both pleasing familiar yet oddly fresh too.
To be honest, when I first got wind of Factory Photographs, I knew it wouldn’t take much convincing that this was something I needed to hear. I love David Lynch and I mostly like Xiu Xiu, so on paper this sounded like something right up my alley. For those unfamiliar, Factory Photographs by Hexa, available as a digital download and LP on Room44, is essentially a soundtrack to the artwork of David Lynch.
Hanakisasage is another recent addition to this Japanese noise legend truly huge discography. The release comes in the form of a CD, and offers up two length slices of dense & shifting noise craft that brings together elements psychedelic & roasting electronics, layers of squalling & searing harsh noise, and often a feeling of lose jam based composition.
The original Blair Witch film remains one of my favourite horror movies, and I’m always surprised at the amount of people who are indifferent or dismissive of it - though I can very clearly see why The Blair Witch Project is a divisive topic. For better or worse, it really launched the ‘found footage’ horror genre, but curiously didn’t launch a Blair Witch film franchise, as it threatened to. There was a second film, which wasn’t very memorable, and more enticingly a prequel, proposed long ago by the original writers, which seems to have been forgotten.
OGROFF(aka Mad Mutilator) is truly derange, ultra lo-fi, and bizarre blend of slasher & zombie genres. The film is French, from the early 1980’s, and it’s a real brain frying experience, which moves between shock ‘n’ gore, and puzzlement ‘n’ oddness. I’m reviewing the region one DVD release of the film which appeared not so long back on Canadian retro focused DVD & VHS company Videonomicon.
Here we have the third volume in the Sonkillage Series, and once again it’s another wacky & decidedly retro focused release bringing together a selection of eighteen tracks that mix together sonic collages, loops & lo-fi electronica into a heady & quirky brew. And I must say this release is carrying on the quality, variedness, and appeal of the last vol in the series.
Frank Bretschneider, whom I have known previously as Komet, released a number of cleverly constructed glitch beat compositions on the Raster Noton label, elaborate but logical arrangements of clicks and pops similar to labelmates CoH and Alva Noto. It would appear he has ceased to use the Komet alias in the last 6 years, but releases under his given name have continued. "Isolation" is one of two albums from 2015. Its sound is quite different from the output of Komet.
Legendary, defunct, German artists, Maeror Tri, are once again given the pleasure of having their older cassette releases reissued from Zoharum. This newest re-issue sees 1991's Sensuum Mendacia and Maeror Tri's side of 1990's split Somnia remastered and given the limited edition treatment. With much of Maeror Tri's catalog out of print, Zoharum is doing the music world a favor by bringing these older albums back into the light.
Laster are an atmospheric Black Metal band from the Netherlands. They released their acclaimed debut, “De Verste Verte is Hier”, in 2014 through Dunkelheit Produktoinen on vinyl and CD, however a limited edition cassette was also released via Broken Limbs Recordings.
Here we have a long-over due & much needed CD reissue of this soundtrack for one of the most classy, campy, & great horror films of the 1980’s Fright Night. The disc takes in just the original released soundtrack album, and not the films score. Featured here are the ten tracks( all but one written for the film), and these take in a good ‘n’ catchy blend of 80’s rock, New wave, and moody pop.
From 1980 Journey To An Imaginary Land is the first album from Gandalf ( aka Austrian multi-instrumentalist Heinz Strobl). And it’s a very pleasing, moody & memorable blend of light instrumental prog, folk elements, new wave music, & and spacey synth-scaping. Imagine a blend of Oldfield & more guitar based Popol Vuh, with hints of Tangerine Dream & Vangelis, and get an idea of what’s on offer here. Here we have a much deserved 2017 CD reissue of the album on Esoteric records.
Exquisite Corpse is a surreal, layered, shifting & often dense affair that blends together elements of throbbing ‘n’ buzzing synth craft, ritual plucks ‘n’darts, strange & esoteric samples, chants, and lo-key experimentation & atmosphere. It’s the first release from this four piece project, and appears as a CDR releases on the always worthy Reverb Worship.
Sonic Drawings is a four track album of found sounds, analogue and digital machines and self built instruments, and is designed to give the listener the feeling and effects of the world around us. The chasm between silence and noise and what fills that void. The musicality and richness of the machines in our world played out across the albums 50 minute span.
Red Tape is a C60 release that brings together two close to half-a-hour slice of noise craft themed around Burlesque. Featured here is Mexican based Wehrmacht Lombardo, who offers up a blend of spiralling guitar based drone, stark ambience & wall noise. And Frances RRR, who offers up a formal example of walled noise.
Border Of Nowhere is a C40 tape offering up two sides of taut, caustic, and oppressive wall-craft from French HNW project RRR. The release appeared in both physical & digital form- with tape getting at pressing of 20 copies, of which some are still available at present.
An odd numbered year generally means a record from The Necks and they have duly delivered, making a rare break from their own Fish of Milk label to appear via Stephen O'Malley's Ideologic Organ imprint. Unfold, which is lavishly presented as a gatefold double LP also breaks from the traditional Necks format by featuring four individual side length pieces instead of the familiar single hour-plus length meditation. Like the material that made up Chemist from 2006 and Mindset from 2011 all the tracks are around the 15-20 minute mark, a relative degree of brevity that allows the band to showcase a wider range of their technical and textural virtuosity.
Fire! is an improvisatory jazz rock trio which includes Mats Gustafsson, string bassist Johan Berthling and drummer Andreas Werliin. "She Sleeps, She Sleeps" is their 5th album as a group, and one of countless albums conceived by its members.
I Am Not A Serial Killer is an 2016 genre blending film that attempts to bring together a dark tone, sly humour, come-of age drama, suspense & the supernatural. The films certainly a interesting proposition on paper, but in reality I found the whole thing rather uneven & mixed as a piece of cinema. I’m reviewing the recent Uk Blu Ray release of the film on Bulldog Films.
Well, here’s another sumptuous collection on Sub Rosa, centred on a name completely new to me. André Stordeur, as the booklet tells us, was a jazz drummer in the early 1970s, until he heard recordings by Morton Subotnick, and decided to devote himself to these strange, new, electronic sounds. He bought his first synthesizer in 1973, an EMS Synthi AKS, and also founded a small studio to nurture and promote the new electronics; his life hereafter this, was dedicated to this promotion, as well as teaching synthesis to students.
Merzbow these days seems to be met with equal parts praise and derision. He is undoubtedly one of thee most prolific artists ever to toil in the noise spectrum. I dare say his output dwarfs just about any comparable act that has as much longevity and profile.
Asphyxiating Synthetic Obsession is another worthy & consistently smothering collection Nylon/feet/leg fetish themed walled noise from this Swiss project. The release comes in form of a C90 & digital download on up & coming Russian label Reason Art Recordings- offering up four twenty two minutes slices of dense & rewardingly constricting wall-craft.
The provocatively named Demoicum is a four track CDR & digital download from this rather mysterious Russian HNW project. And what’s on offer here is four dense, seared, though fairly indistinctive slabs of walled noise.
Relicuum is the more experimental/atmosphere focused walled noise side project of Serbian noise maker Nemanja Nikoliæ- most known for his prolific & anti establishment HNW project Dosis Letalis. 2500 A.D is the projects first release, and it appears as both a C47 , and a digital download on Lurker Bias
Woods Devil is the most recent slice of Bigfoot themed walled-noise from US noise legend/ HNW originator Richard Ramirez. As a project Fouke has always stood as my favourite of Mr Ramirez many projects, due to its perfect blend of theme fitting & skilfully created wall-craft. And I’m happy to report Woods Devil is up to the projects normal high standards.