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Kikuri brings together two legendry, often noise bound experimental and oriental artists; Masami Akita- better know as Merzbow & Keiji Haino. Pulverised Purple is the projects first born & it mangers to meld seething noise, creative & inventive sound making and often a real emotional resonance/ atmospheric air.
French born modern classical composer & noise maker Edgard Varèse is best known as an influence on the young Frank Zappa, but he deserves much more attention and appreciation beyond this. Varèse's work has certainly an big influence on both the noise and industrial genres, as well as wider experimental music forms with its use early electronics’, noise matter and mixing it with orchestral instruments & the up front and often violent percussive focus running through much of his work.
This Norwegian trios mainly instrumental 2nd album is a real heady, creative and memorable muilt-genre trip mixing in so many different musical colours and sonic shapes along the way in a effortless and inspired manner. The three piece is made up of Ivar Grydeland whom handles; guitars, banjo, pedal steel guitar and various instruments. Tonny Kluften on double bass and various instruments and lastly but hardly leastly Ingar Zach on percussion, tabla machine, sarangi box, shruti box and various instruments
Tecumseh take on doom is very hypnotic, drone based and dense; the slow crush and barely shifting riff’s that populate this the bands debut album often feel like the sonic equivalent of trying to tread though a sucking muddy bog or an endless quick sand desert.
Constructing Towers is a wonderful, memoroble & always dramatic collision; between Electronica, drum ‘n’ bass, post-rock, jazz touches and cinematic atmospherics. Terminal Sound System is a one man Australian project featuring Melbourne based Skye Klein- this is the project 7th releasers and 2nd on extreme.
Justin Wright's mostly one-man project Expo '70 had its beginnings in Los Angeles, prior to his relocation to Kansas City. Expo '70 was a World's Fair held in Suita, Osaka, Japan between March 15 and September 13, 1970. The theme of the Expo was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." Could that be what Mr. Wright is shooting for through his recordings? It's hard to say for sure, but suffice it to say these recordings do have a sort of spiritual feel. There's a palpable sense of darkness and tension to be found in equal measure to the blissful elements, which makes for a nicely balanced listening experience.
So far every release that I've reviewed on the Afe Records label has been intriguing, original and intelligent. It's quite an accomplishment, considering their extensive release schedule. Each one of their CD-R's are released in tiny editions, and are presented in a suitably simple, classy package adorned with beautifully printed art or photography. Perhaps their biggest achievement, though, is that there is no common "label sound" associated with the recordings. They skirt fashion for substance and present quality music without concern for hip genre exercises.
I:Baphomet delivers six slices of damned, blacked yet often fairly shiftily moving dark ambience. The tracks are simplistic yet memorable in their execution and above all thick with dark and sinister intent.
Phantom Orchard is the sonic joining of forcers of two of the most respected women in experimental music; Ikue Mori (Death Ambient, Electric Masada,solo work, ect) and Zeena Parkins (Carbon, Keep The Dog, News From Babel, solo,ect). Orra is the projects first wonderful sonic fruit - which sit’s between creative electronics, world music, quirky classical elements, sound tracking, ambience and improv elements.
High Culture Motherfucker is juddering often manic ride that jumps between atmopsrics/ dramatics & playfulness often. Utilizing a mixture of live electronics , turntable elements, percussion, piano, brass and strings for it’s often rollercoaster like ride.
Electronics is the first of three collaborative releases between genre shifting German chamber orchestra Zeitkratzer and other respected experimental artists. This first release finds them working with Carsten Nicolai who is one of the mainstay and owners of minimalistic and arty electronic label Raster Noton.
I’ll have to admit I was rather doubtful when I first heard about this project; cover collections or tributes are often very hit and miss and more often than not misses. But I’m happy to report this is a hugely successful through out with Down in June really making these track’s very much their own and mixing in all manner of often surprising musical genres along the way too.
Hot Gossip were a dance troupe/ experimental Synth pop collective from the late 70’s / early 80’s. This is their debut album from 1981 is a quirky at times quite electro noise lined and experimental slice of synth pop making and electronica- which had a big input from both Martyn Ware and Ian Marsh(ex Human League, Heaven 17, ect).
Passing Images finds respected Norwegian Accordionist Frode Haltli been joined by noise maker,vocalist & modern composer Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje, Trumpet player Arve Henriksen (supersilent & solo) and Voila player Garth Knox(Ensemble Intercontemporain).
The musical entity peculiarly named Bluermutt (a word suggested by eBay) creates, like the infamous Perrey & Kingsley, quite catchy pop through 'avant garde' means.
From Sweden comes Auton, a trio consisting of Douglas Holmquist, Petter Samuelsson and Rikard Heberling. Apart from regular instruments like electric guitar and Wurlitzer they also have a thing called a 'vibrafonette'.
Halfway to Dangerous has the feel of melancholic 70’s celluloid bleak social commentary film or a bizarre yet barren 70’s horror movie with burst of very real violence bourn into audio form. With it’s mixture of mournful flute, flattening doom riffs, grim organ cinematic tone, accordion down swoops and waling female vocalising.
This release on Lotus House Records is a black-bottomed CD-R presented in a nice high quality paper wallet-sleeve, with attractive silk screened gold printing. My copy is numbered as 137/200, so it's also a "limited edition" release. Kind of reminds me of the old "if a tree falls in the woods and nobody's there to see it, does it make a sound" expression. Every CD-R is more or less a limited release now. Hand numbering a release which will only sell out if it's given away to all of the band's friends and relatives has become commonplace, thus cheapening the idea of a "limited" release.
Trieb is very satisfyingly grim, suffocating & dank excise in murky old school industrial, damed electro-acoustic, barren ambience and noise matter. As the album progresses you are pushed deeper and deeper into a subterranean, decaying and clanking hell hole.
Fragments & Compositions brings together six breathtaking, exquisite and often melancholy tinged tracks of drone craft and minimalism that utilize classical strings, piano,subtle electroincs & field recordings.
Rehab is the new project from John Hegre(Jazzkammer & Noxagt) & Bjørnar Habbestad(PHO, Lemu & N- Collective). Man under train Situation is the duo's first full length and it's a manic ride into guitar improv, noise matter, quirky electronics, Cut up expansive sound scaping/ ambience and general controlled chaos.
The wonderfully entitled Folkfuck Folie is the second album from distinctive sounding French Black project Peste Noire who line their blacked craft with touches of NWOBM, punk, prog and all manner of bizarre & surprising edger’s.
In Bocca Al Lupo(in the wolfs Mouth) is the third full length album from Uk electroinca/ experimental one man project Xela. It finds J.P Twells (Xela creator and type label boss) slowing, blacking and making more cinematic his sound. Following on from the horror tinged tone of his last album The dead Sea, but dragging things down mostly into a darker and dense black ambient tone.
Black Desolate Winter / Depressive Hibernation is the next chapter in Displeased records reissuing of old albums by Striborg -the prolific and often avant garde touched one man Black Metal project from Tasmania. These two albums come from 2005 and were originally released Asgard Musik and make up near on an hour & twenty minutes of suffocating grimness.