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The cover of Demetrio Cecchitelli’s Jump features an equestrian predecessor to Yves Klein’s famously staged, “Leap Into the Void”, which might give listeners an indication of what exactly is meant by the “jump” in the work’s title. It is definitely not the Van Halen version; rather, it is, as Klein later demonstrated, a jump into the unknown.
Bandits Of Orgosolo sits somewhere between a drama and a documentary- blending barrenly beautiful landscapes with a story of fear, pride and family. The early 1960s Italian film focuses on a Sardinian Shepard whose encounter with Bandits, lands him going on the run with his flock and younger brother. Here from Radiance- both in the UK and stateside- is a new Blu-Ray release of the film that gained praise from the likes of Scorsese and Pasolini. The UK edition adds an extra disc of the director's short films/ related interviews, with the US version being just a single disc affair taking in a 4k scan of the picture and a few extras.
Tchao Pantin is a decidedly glum, down-beat, though kind of enduring at points emotionally felt blend of character study and neo-noir. The mid-1980s French film regards the relationship between a middle-aged late-night petrol station manager, and a twenty-something small-time drug dealer/motorbike thief. Here from Radiance Films is a Blu-ray release of the film, taking in a 4k scan and a few extras.
Rat Patrol is a just over half-hour example of walled noise, with a rather nice/ effective undercarriage of hauntingly warbling ‘n’ drifting ambience. Burial Garden is a relatively new Serbian project- going by their band’s Bandcamp page this is just their third release, as it started in June of this year.
სოციალური ზეწოლა ( English translation Social Class) is a twenty-five-minute slab of raging ‘n’ sheering HNW from this Mtskheta, Georgia project.
Henrique Vaz' De Silenti Natura is an ambient soundscape album with a freeform style similar to Italian artists like Alio Die or Aglaia, though Henrique himself is Brazilian. Rather than use sequenced chord progressions from a synthesizer like the German school would, this is a glimmering, undulating collage of field recordings, shifting air, incidental resonance tones and harmonics, and other difficult-to-identify sounds, which occasionally seems to cohere into something melodic before dissipating again. With patches of light and shade, it is like observing a cloud movement overhead, which parts on occasion to create moments of stunning brightness.
Originally released on CD-R in 2012, Celer's Perfectly Beneath Us gets a well-deserved vinyl release and remaster courtesy of Field Records. This four-part ambient work revels in the soft, shimmering atmosphere of highly distilled drones and oscillations. Like an audio recording of the moving sky around us, Perfectly Beneath Us is enigmatic and beautiful, all while remaining fairly simple and classic. The original was limited to 100 copies, so thanks to Field Records, Celer's gem will be exposed to a bigger and wider audience.
Here’s a tape from the esteemed Ciel Bleu Et Petits Oiseaux Records, released a few years back, I think. The tape features two long tracks, around 25 minutes each, from M. B. aka Maurizio Bianchi - is there a difference between M. B. and Maurizio Bianchi releases? The artwork features colourful photos of microscopic cells (?) on the outside, whilst the inner inlay has a medical photo of parts of a human skeleton.
Here’s the follow-up to Bear Family Records 2023’s compilation Destination Jail, with its focus on being locked up behind bars, and everything connected with it. This new collection takes in twenty-four tracks from between the 1950s and 1960s- with its genre make-up of rock ‘n’ Roll, the blues, and related- with a fair focus on black American artists
Sleeping Dogs, a new mystery thriller directed by Adam Cooper and based on The Book of Mirrors a 2017 best seller by E O Chirovici makes its streaming debut on 21 June via Prime Video
Obsession is a late 1940s British noir/ thriller regarding a psychiatrist who decides to kidnap his wife's lover and carry out the perfect murder. The film weaves clever/well-realized plotting, with moments of tension & subtle dark humor. Here from Powerhouse- both in the UK and stateside- is a new Blu-Ray release, a 4k scan of the picture, a commentary track, and a few other extras.
Recorded live at the Plaza in Houston, Texas on the 9th and 29th September 1999 This dual media set features 10 tracks from classic 70s Brit rockers, Foghat. This release from Cleopatra Records features an elegantly designed digipak rammed with band photos, posters and a brief history of the band, as well as the live video and audio recordings compiled from the two concerts at the Plaza.
Stopmotion is a British horror film from last year regarding a twenty-something stop-motion animator who is struggling after her overbearing mother is taken ill. It mixes a pervading sense of unease/disquiet, with ghoulish effects, grim fantasy traces, some effective moments of fear/ dread, and a good enough cast who sell the whole thing well enough. Here from Acorn Media International is a new Blu-ray release of the film- taking in a selection of extras.
Andrea De Witt is a seasoned traveler in both acoustics and electronic fields, having cut his teeth as a bass player in the 1990s, and later, moving into collaborative work with a host of electro-acoustic acts. I say this because the measured and deeply intentional way that the music on his first solo album develops over the course of its 12 tracks is the not the work of someone who is merely experimenting willy-nilly with synthesis. No, De Witt is like a semiotician, breaking down the component elements of his sounds, one by one. With the exception of two tracks titled, “PIANOCHROM”, the album is arranged according to dates.
Curva Triangulus is a decidedly warped ‘n’ wavering modern ensemble composition work. It shifts in & out of the harmonic & at points forlornly rising, and the nonharmonic & pitch-bent. As a piece, it feels akin to looking through a bowed, aged, and water-damaged book of paintings/ illusions- as you see equal beauty in both the original grand works and those that have run or warped.
Here’s a recent four-track album from Worship- the rather mysterious walled noise project, which often adds creative twists to its take on the genre. As well as theming all of their releases on celebrating the female form in a non-smutty manner.
This decidedly blunt and charmingly entitled release features a single-slice ruggedly rolling & tautly seared walled noise from this New Jersey’s Magda. The track slides in just under the nineteen-minute mark, providing an unforgiving & intense ride.
California technical death metal group The Last of Lucy have existed since 2007, but didn't release their first full-length until 2017. This was followed by Moksha in 2022, and now this latest epic, Godform.
While one may not picture Birmingham, Alabama as a hotbed of death metal activity, Black Hole Deity once again arises to shift the world's focus to this inconspicuous city. Coming three years after their very well-received EP, Lair of Xenolich, the foursome unleashes their debut full-length, Profane Geometry, via Everlasting Spew. Eschewing the traditional violence, evil, gore, satanism, etc, lyrical content of the genre, Black Hole Deity chose to take the sci-fi/supernatural horror approach with Profane Geometry, and the lyrical tone certainly matches the fun, engaging metal behind it. The end result is an old-school influenced, but forward take on modern death that moves at the perfect pace to enjoy every element while continuing to propel forward and not get self-indulgent.
The Man Who Haunted Himself is a taut, tense, and wholly compelling early 70’s psychological thriller/ mystery regarding a man who after a car crash has someone trying to steal his life- is it someone pretending to be him, is he losing his mind, or is something else afoot?. In its lead role, we have Roger Moore- most known for his role as James Bond- giving a career highlight performance as the troubled business executive, whose world is slowly but surely unfolding.
The McMasters is a US-produced racially focused western from the early 1970’s. It’s set just after the Civil War regarding an African American man returning from war to the small town where he grew up- finding largely prejudice and threat. It’s a mean-spirited if not particularly gritty & overtly brutal film featuring the likes of two Carrdine’s- David & his father John, and Jack Palance. Here from Cheezy Films is a region-free DVD release of the film.
Here's a double CD release with a comprehensive German language booklet featuring some of the heaviest German rock from between the years 1970-1976.
Extinct brings together the king of Japanese noise Merzbow and British electro-industrial collective Meat Beat Manifesto. The two-track album runs around the thirty five mark- and it finds seared, often dense noise-craft meeting jack-knifing, at points careering beat ‘n’ bass tones. Feeling like a more wild, unpredictable, and engaging take on the material found on Merzbeat and related albums.
“It felt like a remedy to some of the existential stress we were feeling during the time,” says songwriter, composer and producer Khari Lucas aka Contour and one half of Black Decelerant. “Simultaneously being in the height of lockdown and thinking about encroaching fascism and anti-Blackness, in the US especially, the making of the record felt very meditative and offered a dimension to ground us.” The urgency of the pandemic may have lifted, but the political and social necessity has not, and the duo’s reflections ring throughout Reflections Vol. 2: Black Decelerant - their jazz-driven sonic experimentation debut and the second in the RVNG Reflections series