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Veteran industrial/noise act Dissecting Table actually put out three releases entitled "Chaos Attractor" in the last two years, the first being a tape/CD boxset containing the original full length 48 minute track "Chaos Attractor" as well as three different 15 minute remixes, and the other two being re-packagings of the same material. The 3" CDr currently under examination features a single 17 minute remix of the song, labelled as "Chaos Attractor (Remix 2)". Having never heard the other mixes of the song, I have no choice but to evaluate the twisting harmonized tones found here completely on their own merits.
Hate Tasting is a new noise/power electronics compilation from Russia’s Sickcore records, gathering together ten prolific artists from the harsh noise underground.
The first of a proposed trilogy of releases on Debemur Morti Productions marks Blut Aus Nord’s eighth full length album to date. Always a difficult beast to pin down, Blut Aus Nord have been honing their avant-garde style of black metal for close to 17 years now and with 777 sect(s) they have produced what is arguably their strongest and most rounded piece of work to date.
I can’t help but notice that a lot of the records I’ve bought recently have been re-issues: it seems to be one area of the music industry that's truly thriving. These re-issues serve to add detail to the map we already have - whether by drawing in forgotten, “lost” or overlooked areas (the vast plethora of compilations of old 78’s for example, or the “lost gems” being resurrected by the Finder Keepers label, for another); or indeed by simply adding that detail, and showing that the standard textbook history of music - with innovations by singular pioneers - is simplistic and untrue. This album falls into the latter category.
Eald-Ge-Stréon is a compilation of pieces recorded between 2001 and 2007 and made up of tracks that appeared on very limited releases, tracks used during live performances and other odds and sods.
Texas’ Inhalant have been recording since 2000 (with over 20+ releases in 11 years) The project, in itself the creation of Chad Odom, is a combination of power electronics with industrial and noise accoutrements.
“Blunt Force Trauma” finds this highly prolific and sonically violent Serbian HNW project offering up two half a hour plus slices of unrelenting and gruesomely seared walled noise matter.
This barbaric, sleazed and often active two way HNW split is between Texas based Last Rape(aka Texas noise legends Richard Ramirez & Sean E. Matzus) and London based Pollutive Static(aka Hal Hutchinson).
‘Application À Aphistemi’ finds the French king of walled noise slightly stepping outside his self inflicted “No dynamics, no change, no development, no ideas” sonic template with the albums second been track built purely from electro acoustic guitar strumming. But worry not the black bagged Frenchmen isn’t selling- out; the first track is still as brutal and unforgiving as ever, and the second track takes his sound to equally bleak and unrelenting place.
“Unchained” is the second reissue of the classic and cheesy muscle bound metal by Thor on the Finnish label Ektro which is run by Jussi Lehtisalo (Circles Bass player). Thor are a Canadian heavy metal band who are fronted by ex body builder and former Mr. Canada and Mr. USA Jon Mikl Thor. “Unchained” originally appeared way back in 1983 as just an ep, but here it’s boosted to a full length with five extra tracks.
“The Pyre” is an audio/visual project that brings together Ex Anticon, hard hitting and mould breaking rapper Sole. And Denver based poet-painter, sculptor, film artist and activist Ravi Zupa. The release is made up of a 72 page booklet and a full length CD- the CD features Sole’s epic poem put to music, and the booklet takes in Sole's words illustrated by Ravi Zupa.
Taken from a series of live recordings from the Noise Destruction Syndrome Tour, this limited edition cassette consists of 9 tracks from the French three-piece Mourmansk150, who started blasting out their blistering, misanthropic, anarcho-nihilist music in the late 1990's.
Pregnant Spore and Dementia and Hope Trails are just two names among many others that Baltimore’s Justin Marc Lloyd records behind, rapidly releasing seemingly improvised experiments with electronics, sampling and guitar over the past three years or so. This bulky brick of a release by Side A Records, resembling those learn-a-language-in-two days tutorial packs of yesteryear, houses two 46 minute tapes, one for each nom de plume, demonstrating a strong contrast in styles between the two.
Multifaceted industrial vocalist Blixa Bargeld and uncommonly musical glitch artist Alva Noto may seem to some minds an odd pairing, but apparently the two have admired each other's work for years. Both have certainly thrown the full force of their artistic intensity into their hugely ambitious first full length collaborative effort under the name ANBB, titled "Mimikry", which somehow manages not only to live up to expectations, but to be more than the sum of its parts.
16:9 is the debut cd from Glasgows Stuart Sweeney. For the past 20+ years Mr. Sweeney has been a talented musician, songwriter for film, advertising and television and performer with South Bank Centre’s London Philharmonic. An enviable list of work and on this his debut we are given a peek at just how diverse an artist he is.
Technical Drawings are a duo who utilise prepared electric piano and a lot of shiny processing equipment and electronics. They use these to create looping and percussive blocks of sound; or, to be crass about it, something that sounds like electronica or good old-fashioned dance music. To some extent, this is an exercise in maximalism - getting the most that one can out of an often minimised set-up; for example, a guitar, a loop pedal and a microphone, a prepared electric piano and a computer. This is fine in itself; to some extent the whole of free improv is based around this notion, and Aube’s entire career has revolved around it. However, having chosen to maximise this minimal set-up, Technical Drawings have then further limited themselves to structures and constructions clearly derived from electronica/IDM/etc; or at least aiming at them. This is a reasonable and brave venture, but not without problems.
“Procession” is the third full length release from this French one man HNW project. The projects very much obsessed with African tribal culture, myths and magic. This CDR offers up four untitled tracks & just short of eighty minutes worth of static and bass lined voodoo ‘walls’.
“Pulse” is the first release from the new ultra minimal textural noise/ambient project of uk based James Killick(of the controversial Katy Perry influenced HNW project Love Katy and owner of the great uk based HNW label Sweet Solitude).
“The Rack” offers up two just over twenty minute tracks of thick,detailed and textured static noise sculpturing. Any new work by this harsh noise and HNW innovator/originator is always worthy and creative, but “The Rack” stands as one of my favourite works by The Rita(aka canadian Sam McKinlay) thus far. And it’s also one of the finest examples of textured static you ever likely to have come across.
“Scrapyard” is seen as one of the classic recordings of mid 1990’s American Harsh noise scene, and it originally brought together two tracks from Richard Ramirez and one lengthy twenty plus minute track from Black Leather Jesus. This reissue adds on an extra new track from Mr Ramirez.
Black Snow Epoch is the second release on Cold Spring UK from the collaborative efforts of Goatvargr (Swedens Nordvargr and Goat from the US). Taking inspiration from each others prolific artistry of industrial, noise and dark ambient they unite in creating a malevolent, unforgiving world.
Le Sang d’un Poète was a film by the French avant-garde writer Jean Cocteau of 1930. Despite denying that he had anything at all to do with the surrealist movement, the film was financed by Charles de Noailles, the same producer of Buñuel and Dali’s infamous L’Âge D’Or of the same year, and shares a similar, pioneering approach to spectacular experimentation unhindered by plot. And like many surrealist works before, it explores the relationship between art and dreams, initially focussing on an artist who manages to wake a statue who duly sends him through a mirror to explore an unusual hotel, and so forth.
Nascitari is an Italy HNW project who call their brand of noise ‘Black Static Funeral Noise Wall’ -which I think rather nice describes what’s on offer here. So if you dig tar black, very dense and total unforgiving walled noise please read on.
“Cycle” offers up two three inch cdrs- one featuring the noisy talents of Italy based Fukte, and the other the more droning yet still dense of noisy work of Japanese based Soma.