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Tower Levels XV & XIII presents Gods of Leeds by Forest Altar. Forest Altar is one of many projects by Sean E. Ramirez, also known for the Whitehorse, Black Leather Jesus and Thin Mountain. As the moniker suggests, this particular project is the harsh noise soundtrack to some dark, woodland rituals.
Jon Rose has been building aeolian instruments since the late 1970s, which are unique stringed objects that are articulated by the unpredictable movement of the wind. Rose’s latest work, Aeolian Tendency, features two such instruments – the Monolith (2021) and the Tube (2022) – whose rather prosaic monikers belie their whacko sonic characteristics. Each Aeolian contraption is featured on two, long tracks respectively (4 in total), and one really needs to pay attention to distinguish their unique sonic characters. If all of this preamble were not available, you might be convinced that Rose went to outer space briefly, and took a good field recorder with him.
The Devil’s Honey is an erotic thriller from 1986 directed by horror legend, Lucio Fulci (Zombie Flesh Eaters, The Beyond and City of the Living Dead). Fulci, who was best known for his over-the-top zombie movies takes us on a wholly different ride with the fairly sleazy, outlandish, and almost pornographic thriller that is, The Devil’s Honey. The film stars Brett Halsey (Return of the Fly, Today We Kill…Tomorrow We Die! and The Godfather III), Corrine Cléry (Moonraker, The Story of O and Plot of Fear), Blanca Marsillach (Flesh and Blood, Day of Wrath and The Rogues) and Stefano Madia (Body Count, Dear Father and Ernesto) alongside Lucio Fulci himself.
Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs ( aka Zeroka No Onna: Akai Wappa) is an early 70’s Japanese action thriller that is knee-deep in sleaze, violence, a mix of both, and lots of artery-spurting gore. The film is part of a small series of extreme exploitation films released by the prolific Toei Studios in the 1970s- going on under the banner of Pinky Violence, basically being an OTT mix of sex & violence. Here from Neon Eagle / Cauldron Films is a recent region A locked release of this sick, sleazy, and snappy puppy of a film. Taking in an intense and often blood-red seared 4k print of the film, a commentary track, and a few other things.
From the late 70’s Voodoo Passion is a mystery-edged slice of softcore sleaze from prolific Euro cult director Jess Franco. It regards the wife of a British consular- who goes to visit him in Hati and starts having dreams about being part of voodoo rituals & murder. The film mixes mellow jazz to ritual percussive scored erotica, is she-going-mad- or-not mystery, and moments of unease/disquiet. Here from Full Moon is a region-free Blu-ray release of the film.
In A Violent Nature is a recent slasher, which attempts( and largely succeeds) to present the genre in a decidedly creative and distinctive manner. The Canadian-produced film is set in the forests and lakes around Ontario- bringing nature together with stalk, slash, and brutality. It’s presently showing in UK cinemas, and I watched a VOD screener of the picture.
At Future Dawn collections together six ambient guitar-scapes from long running/ respected Belgium sound maker Dirk Serries. The tracks utilizers both gentle feedback & subtlety moody electro detail in their make up, for an ambient album that is nicely nudges at the genres edges.
Defiant Ilussion is an eight-track journey into taut, brooding, at times moodily atmospheric, at others noisily seared electro-acoustic improv. The four-way collaboration features players from the Portuguese scene, and it most certainly highlights the skill and scope within the secene.
Many years and thousands of miles in the making, Ben Powell (as Llyn Y Cwn) brings forth his reworked field recordings on Megaliths. Recording the giant stone structures placed all over Britain, he is giving the listener an intriguing look into an ancient time where science and mysticism meet, but seen through the modern lens of engaging ambient. While the stone circles, pillars, and other structures will give unique experiences to those that visit, Llyn Y Cwn strives to give the same personal experience to those unable to make the trek to these fascinating places. Hoping to recreate the magic that the sacred spaces exude, the recordings are rife with reverb and a darkness that helps to bring one back through time as well as to feel the essence of the stones themselves.
Cannibal Error is the truly definitive and wholly fascinating chronicling of the Video Nasty phenomena/era. The truly huge tome moves from charting the rise of video culture, to its brief uncensored roll, onto the over-the-top clamp down, and its aftermath. With an in-depth look/analysis of each of the titles on the video nasty list, as well as related stories & documentation.
Active during the early to mid-70s Carmen where are American-British band that blended prog, rock, and flamenco music/ dance. Here’s a CD boxset bringing together the band's three albums ( plus bonus tracks) -which shifted ‘n’ darted between the playful, groovy, spacy, flamboyant, and tunefully urgent.
Sweden has a proud history of producing music that is darkly atmospheric and brooding. From the black metal for which Sweden has cemented itself as an enduring wellspring to the more ethereal, but pervasively occultish ambient music that bears all the tropes of the former without the accompanying instrumentation, this is the domain of Beckahesten. Barely five years old, the Swedish trio have established themselves as the creators of sonic soundscapes that borrow heavily from the metal aesthetic, but through which ambient noise and lingering vocals reverberate resulting in music that is much harder to categorise.
Tim Ritter stands as one of the key figures in US low-budget/ SOV horror. Here from SRS Cinema is a four Blu-ray set bringing together all of Ritter’s SOV work- aside from the Truth Or Dare series. It takes in six films in all- each featuring a commentary, as well as interviews and other extras.
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.