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Sound artist, musician and self-taught composer Stephan Mathieu graces us with his 2011 release A Static Place. The cd is created through electro acoustics; using gramophones to play early 78 records, re-recording the sounds through specific microphones and processing these sounds utilizing spectral analysis and convolution his is able to form sounds that are graceful and distinctive.
Following on from their 2009 debut Strange Fruits and Undiscovered Plants, the Dutch psychedelic rock/blues outfit DeWolff here pull out all the stops to drench this new venture in the multifarious styles of 60's/70's classic rock. They are heavily influenced by bands such as Led Zeppelin, T-Rex, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, the Doors and a variety of other legendary bands, but somehow fuse it all into an invigorating and - in the main - successful reanimated rock-corpse.
The cover of “Relations Between Static Objects” features a crude and bleak picture of a man completely warped up(except for his head) in either badgers or fabric. This is highly apt, as the bleak & static slice of HNW with-in very much feels like your been slowly enchased and restricted by unrelenting and bleak sonic wall bombardment.
As a split release, this offering on Utech Records is more a trailer to the musical union confirmed by the latest full album (Mare Decendril) by the Seattle-based Mamiffer, which sees Aaron Turner (ex-Isis guitarist and head of Hydra Head records) firmly inducted into his wife, Faith Coloccia’s project based around her piano compositions. Reflecting the conjugality, Faith features in Aaron’s contribution to this split as House of Low Culture, presented here as a three piece completed by a surprising guest appearance from the legendary percussionist Z’ev. Both tracks feel like they belong together as they experiment with a ritualistic morbidity that invokes the ghosts of extended prog rock interludes much more than the dynamic contrasts of post-metal.
Black Lung's latest, "The Soul Consumer" is packaged in an attention grabbing digipak featuring photos of mauled, bloody and skinless carcasses of unidentifiable origin. Opening the case, we find main member David Thrussell's note, in which he relates having first tasted human flesh several years since, and how his preoccupation with creating an album while subsisting on solely human flesh resulted in this album. Needless to say, I was disgusted and intrigued by this, truthful or not, and conscious of the fact that Thrussell had blatantly crossed a boundary few dare to tread near.
“Extra Space, Extra Time” brings together theses two highly respected and often rhythmic obsessed experimental artist to create an approachable and often entrancing album which ploys the middle ground between each parties distinctive sound.
This very elegantly decorated, fold-out card cover, houses quite a world in its tiny confines... It contains the work of Arcn Templ - a duo from Singapore, who start from a base of quite simple, folky textures and arrangements, and build outwards.
This wonderfully consistent and pro-looking four way split brings together the work of some of the great European HNW acts. Each project here offers up a 30 plus minute track of distinctive and creative walled matter, making this one of the most wholly rewarding HNW collection in recent memory.
Here lies before us Sleeping Peonies newest release, Ghosts and Other Things, limited to 150 copies. The duo has been around since 2009 and this is their second release. Leaning heavily on the shoe gazer/ambient/post rock sound with touches of black metal gives it a diverse atmosphere to say the least.
Monocoastal is Marcus Fischer’s sonic summary of his experiences of the Pacific Ocean as viewed from the west coast of America. It collects eight relatively short pieces delicately formed by a consistently minimal range of instruments and sounds from the explicit tones of acoustic and electric guitars to the implicit accompaniment of field recordings and unspecified home made instruments. Compositionally, each track seems to follow a similar tact in hanging its selection of sonorities and environmental evocations loosely together as a kind of mobile, letting the sea breeze suggest its sequence.
In 2010, Kindvriendelijk released "21 Februari 1916", 20 minutes of grey monochrome noise with WW1 themed titles and artwork. I'd advise against taking the packaging too seriously, since once the disk is playing, there are no samples or sounds to establish a theme or specific atmosphere, just meaty chunks of abstract static.
First off - this is an excellent, wonderful album, from the highly acclaimed Utech Records label, and one of the most intriguing and carefully considered explorations of the higher realms of experimental music that I have heard in a long time. Following on from their debut album Elegy For Native Tongues, from a few years ago, the three members of Tetragrammaton play and integrate a variety of more unusual instruments, from waterphones and crystal bowls, to gongs, hydrophones, hurdy-gurdy's and frame drums, but also the more familiar saxophone, rhodes piano and electric guitar. They have produced a near-perfect album which alternates between subtle, playful reveries such as the paradisaical waterbowls and tinkling bells of Portrait of Turab (Parts 1 and 2) to the discordant sax, drums and percussion which swirl up to a resonant, epic crescendo in the invigorating Disjecta Membra.
Whitewater Orgasm are a mysterious project from Finland who create overloaded, atmospheric and often high pitched seared Hash noise matter that’s littered with pained and disturbing screams. “Noisexual” is seemingly the projects third release and it comes in the form of 3inch CDR.
This no nonsense and straight to point entitled release is the fourth of twelve 3inch CDR releases that are been released by Irelands Bored Bear recordings. Each release in the series celebrates and pays tribute to one of the many projects of highly influential & respected Texas noise artist's Richard Ramirez
This is the first full length release from Polish HNW project Jake Halter, the only other release they’ve had out (as far as I’m aware) was a split with I’m A slut which was entitled "Hang'em High Slut" and appeared on Zvukovina last year. This full length release offers up three lo-fi and crude slices of walled matter that are themed around the life and death of 17th century Polish serial killer Melchior Hedloff.
It’s been over three and a half years since Clodagh Simonds’ Fovea Hex concluded its critically acclaimed trilogy of EPs, Neither Speak Nor Remain Silent.
Jazkamer’s “Failed State of Mind” CD offers up nine tracks each clocking in at exactly 3:20 a piece, recorded between 2008-2011, across three different countries (Norway, Agrentina, and Vietnam – all couldn’t be more different), and collaged together to a cohesive yet disjointed album of mellow, weird ambient noise.
Sleep Of Ages is São Paulo, Brazil based project who hammerout & boil up an often energetic mixture of: Harsh noise, Melodic yet seared experimental electronica, blown out electro sounding tracking and HNW dwells. “Peplum” is the projects first release, and it offers up seven very varied and shifting tracks.
Dead Voices on Air is the Experimental, Industrial and ambient project of Mark Spybey's (Zoviet France, Download, Reformed Faction) that was formed in 1992 after he left prolific post-industrial band Zoviet France. “Fast "Falls the Eventide” is a 2xCD collection released Chicago based Lens records. This double disc contains tracks previously released on a ’94 G.R.O.S.S. records tape and other tracks are also re-releases from that era
'Abuse’ is an early release by Chilean noise artist A.R.GH. on Chilean label Prime Unit records.
Nervous Corps is the HNW/thick and blacked Harsh noise project of William Grace aka WM. Rage whose one of the main minds behind Seattle based blacked noise collective Blue Sabbath Black Cheer. “Exclusion=Isolation” is a 3inch cdr that offers up a single track of thick yet shifting tar black noise/drone matter with wallish dwells.
I studied this cd for a while before listening to it, because the packaging sends out such mixed messages - I was curious to see what it would actually sound like. The front cover has a nice spartan image of a fiery cat, the titles have the scent of metal about them, and the name and title suggest something retro and psychedelic. So which would it follow?
"Fetish” is the second full length release from this French one man project whose obsessed with African tribal culture, myths and magic. On offer here are four untitled, lengthy and slow moving ‘walls’ that have a distinctive sludgy or burnt out tribal vibe about them.
This untitled c6o split brings together two side long tracks from two great European HNW acts. On side one we have Serbian’s highly prolific and brutal Dead Body Collection, and on side two we have Netherlands based Svartvit.