Hello again my friends, here’s the new batch of reviews,
Hopefully as always I promise that some will be post sooner than between the
last post and this one, but here’s the last batch, enjoy and rock on!
Bastard Noise Sound
Engine
(PACREC; 6 tracks; 52 minutes
42 seconds)
(File
under : Harsh Noise, What Else?)
Although
the Wiese/Wood combo introduced me to the world of noise music 6-7 years ago
(way before I was into Merzbow), I never heard tons and tons of Bastard Noise
but I always appreciate this great combo. This is part of the new
un(that)limited releases series from PAC series. What best way to release an
album from this awesome project to start a new sub-label. That records starts
with a very beautiful track, which is a collaboration track with Jesus Philbin,
which is the noise project of power violence legend Chris Dodge (formerly of Stikky,
Spazz, Duh, No Use For A Name and currently playing in Burn Your Bridge). I
never heard this project, but it gives a slightly different vibe than the rest
of the track. That’s a pretty interesting track. The other two tracks are
really harsh electronics stuff, very high and sharp maybe they are the standard
tracks of the album that you can refer to if you want to see the difference
between tracks. It sounds like they are boring tracks, but don’t worry, the
standard of noise here is high, above most of all noise projects. The fourth
track is a live one, you can catch a slightly different atmosphere but it’s
still the same direct sound. The fifth track is by far my favourite one of the
disk. The track is a mail collaboration with Tokyo noise genius Guilty
Connector. The track begins with the same sound of the previous tracks but then
felt into a very very loud with very inhuman (denying humanity?) vocals. Seriously
just for these vocals and the loudness of this one, this worth checking this record.
The last track is a track a long 26 tracks recorded live on radio. Usually I
hate long live tracks but this one is a really good one. Sincerely I really
enjoyed this record presented in a small slipcase. Fans of Bastard Noise should
check this one out, those who ignore Bastard Noise, go fuck yourself… This is
noise the way I like it and especially for the track with Kohei The Fast of
Guilty Connector you should check this one out. The rest is also high quality
noise. Still one of the best noise is displayed here from one of the best noise
purveyors
http://home.earthlink.net/~johnwiese Bastard Noise
Brittle Foundries The
Garden Of Earthy Delights
(Snip-Snip; 3” CDR; 2
tracks; 18 minutes 20 seconds)
(File
under : Loud Ambient Electronics)
Everybody
who knows me a little bit (or who read the reviews here) know that one of my
favourite noise project around is Luasa Raelon. Being concerned that David
started a new project really makes me curious. At first let’s say it’s still
good quality works. The opening of the two tracks of this debut recording is
like a cold sampling of violin and piano (or maybe it’s not samples, anyway!)
with some louder but yet subtle electronics assembled in a very minimal way.
The other track is not that much a departure from the more experimental and
ambient works of Luasa Raelon, remembering me still once again The Erebus
And The Terror. With that loud boat sounds with that scream-like
electronics. But on the second part of the track a louder sound raise and all
the activities of the first part of the track stops. And then the sounds fade
slowly out… In a sense, I don’t know where did the sounds between David’s two
projects (that’s the same question I got for Control and Exsanguinate and that people
should have between Foutredieu!!! and Wapstan), but with time I guess we’ll end
up and see where does the line between the two projects are, but I hope they
will both be more known since Luasa Raelon is a criminally underrated project
and this one is just beginning. I can’t wait to see what will be next for that
project since this debut release is really to quality and sounds really
professional.
http://www.iheartnoise.com/snipsnip/ Snip-Snip
The Cherry Point/Ahlzagailzehguh split
(Troniks; tapes; 2 tracks (1
each); 20 minutes)
(File
under : Loud Ambient Electronics)
Thank
you once again Phil at Tronik, I can do another cool “Condescending review of a
record I own that you can’t have since it’s sold out!” Every time I review
Tronik stuff that’s the case (but don’t be mad against me Phil, you know I’m a
fucking slacker…) Considering the fact that I love both project I’ll review
them. Ahlzagailzeguh is maybe the most interesting new project around in noise
today and I may not be the only one getting psyched about them. Here’s some
really loud and dirty noise with some panned manipulation. At some point we can
hear something that sounds like knife-chopping stuff followed by some scream.
There’s also something that sounds like metal pot banging samples. It’s still
the way harsh noise should be played in my sense and I guess Ahlzagailzehguh
can teach to people what is good noise. I guess I never ever had bad times with
this New York project. Sincerely I can’t wait to see how the project turns on
their most recent release (a two tapes set on Truculent and split with the
marvellous Foutredieu!!! (let’s be pretentious) on Snip-Snip) Although the name
of the project is not really as evil as Ahlzagailzehguh, The Cherry Point
starts with very direct and crazy noise. I really like the way the noise of TCP
is doing and considering that he mostly only release 20 minutes tapes it don’t
felt in the boringness path as a lot of projects did. I particularly liked a
deep and loud sound in the middle of the tape that reminds me of a boat horn,
the high feedbacks are also very sympathetic all along the tracks. I guess
every composite of a good noise are present here. The end of the tracks are
more consisting of grating noise effects before returning into some more noise
and then stopping suddenly. So here’s another short but sweet tape from two
always nice to hear project. You missed it possibly, but jump on their other
releases since they are above the genericness of many other noise projects
around… Rock on!
http://www.iheartnoise.com Troniks + The Cherry
Point
http://www.geocities.com/collapsedhole Ahlzagailzehguh
Cock ESP/Origami Genitalia split
(FDDE Records; tape (limited to
27); 11 tracks (10 by Cock ESP and 1 by OG); 30 minutes)
(File
under : Fucked up noise at it’s cock best)
I
always liked the Cock ESP and it’s always a nice pleasure to hear them. This
one is a split with E.W. Hagstorm’s own project Origami Genitalia, proud member
of the Origami Republika. The Cock ESP side is a somewhat typical ESP stuff
comprised of some lousy loops, straight forward noise and some crazy crushing
mayhem alternating together for the purpose of making this 10 track side a
disastrous roller coaster mayhem. I don’t know if I can say more about that,
Cock ESP are what they are. That’s beautifully edited by the way! No cock fans
will be disappointed by this… The Origami Genitalia project is more in the
electro-acoustic manipulation way of the genre. It’s not that much my kind of
pie, but as life goes on I figure that I can see what’s good and what’s bad in
this genre and this is not really a bad kind of thing. There’s an interesting
dark ambient vibe that never fall into creepy boringness. Highly interesting
stuff, I would like to hear more of this Origami project. The small problem
with this one it that this tape (presented in a translucent booktape case) is
limited to a mere 27, so go figure… Maybe you’ll have better chance with that
new 3” of Cock ESP released through deadline and several other labels… Nice
record indeed for a new label…
http://www.cockesp.com Cock ESP
http://www.freenoise.org/origami/ Origami
Genitalia
http://www.geocities.com/fdde_records/ FDDE
Records
Joshua Norton Cabal and Malpa split
(Dada Drumming; tape; 6 tracks
(4 Malpa, 2 JNC); 20 minutes)
(File under : Experimental noise superb rendez-vous)
Here’s
another release from everybody’s favourite tape label. Malpa, the leader and
pioneer of the primate electronic genre starts the split his side with some
speech with some really highs parts along with very loud pulsing beats, the
track is called “Bantu”. The rapidity of the execution is really cool on this
track and there’s a good alternance of noise. The second track (feline-ing) is
a lil bit louder with some spacy vocals that sounds like apes digitally
screaming. There also some distorted keyboard. The third track called “Why” is
more comprised of voice with some manipulated noises still both in the louder
and higher spectrum. The Fourth track begin in a more ambient spectrum and then
some noises raises and then everything fades out… I appreciated Malpa’s side
but I really feel it can be way better, maybe longer. But Malpa got the merit
of playing a kind of different kind of noise, it worth the checking. Especially
of the loud pulsing beats and Malpa is along with PCRV the project that deals
with really high sounds. Joshua Norton Cabal is 100% unknown to my ears, I
really know nothing about him. Pressing play, then I wait, I wait, I wait, mmm,
is there’s something on this side of the split? Is JNC plays silence? Maybe
it’s an error, but there was nothing on my tape’s JNC side… Oups! The other
deck was playing… I guess that fact that I feared that there was nothing on
this side of the tape make me happier when I heard noise coming from this tape.
Fucking crazy shit here. Very hypnotic noise with some heavy pounding noise
beats that kinda reminds me of Antigen Shift. Wow! That’s my kind of shit, I
really like the way the noise are assembled and performed with the dirtiness of
the sounds. The second track is more in the old school noise way but still well
constructed, sometimes these some part that reminds me of dance music but it’s
still dirty and very noisy. Fast, precise, hypnotic, well constructed and
dirty. Sadly too short. That’s my new complaint. I hope everything else from
this project is that way. Man, I don’t know but I figure that everybody who
release stuff on Dada Drumming delivers themselves at their best and this tape
is no exception. Here’s a great tape from projects that worth being looked.
http://www.geocities.com/malpape/ Malpa
http://www.dadadumming.org Dada
Drumming
LHD Curtains
(PACREC; 5 tracks; 19 minutes
02 seconds)
(File
under : Total Harsh Noise Madness)
Here’s
an ass kicker! Lefthandedecision is dead and now Phil Blankenship teamed with
John Wiese to expend his noise destruction as LHD. I’m always perplex when it’s
time to take a look at a new records in CD since I always know that because the
price of such release are so high that people fill them with long stuff that
sometimes gets boring. That’s really not the case here and that’s maybe one of
the reason why this record is so genius… This straight gentle record time at
less than 20 minutes and consist of 5 tracks. The other reason why this record
is a genuine one is that the noise is so fast and so good that it make this release
a memorable one. Seriously the tracks are sharp razor, relentless… What more
can you want? You will never get the occasion to be close to think that this
record is becoming dull. Maybe that’s a part of genius in Blankenship’s work
both as Cherry Point and here as LHD. All the tracks succeed quickly and all of
them got constant power. I guess of the three inaugural PACREC releases, this
one was the one I wasn’t shiting in my pants while waiting for, but it truly
became my favourite one. Considering the high quality of the Bastard Noise and
Control ones, consider this as a masterpiece. This will truly became a
favourite in my stereo and maybe one fine choice for the noise record of the
year in 2004. A very promising debut (if it’s the debut album). Congrats for
this one Phil and John!
http://www.iheartnoise.com/lhd/index.html LHD
Navicon Torture Technologies Dripping With The Power Of Her Flesh
(Immanence; 9 tracks; 78
minutes 14 seconds)
(File
under : Top quality power electronics)
Criminally
contained to a mere availability of 50 copies, thank Immanence for this top
quality reissue. I first read about this album on Unrestrained! over a year ago
and felt like I should take a listen and when I heard that one of my favourite
label was re-releasing it I was really happy. I’m not that much into power
electronics but the few I listen to give me very freaky listen. This time it’s
maybe the craziest experience I guess I had with power electronics. The
tortured romantic side of NTT is maybe at it’s worst (or best, go figure).
Backed with classical samplings and minimal electronics Leech guarantee you a
very disturbing journey passionate aural torture. Torture is the name for the
loop of second track’s 15 minutes nightmare seconded with very crazy
vocals. There’s a track with lyrics
from Oscar Wilde that makes this record more interesting. There’s also a
fucking nice remix by UK’s amazing beat machine Detritus that gives Leech’
scream another sense of violence. Just for that fucking disturbing experience
it worth the CD’s price. This awesome record is presented in a beautiful
digipack with freaky woman in melancholic position. I mean it’s really
beautiful, my own wife who studies in art liked it (she don’t say that for tons
of records, trust me!) Thomas Garrison did the mastering and once again it’s a
pretty good job. I guess NTT is in a classe à part in the power
electronics world. This is a very awesome record that set rules, don’t follow
them. Justice is done now for a record that worth more than it’s original
pressing!
http://www.immanence-records.com Immanence
Never Presence Forever/Metaconqueror Split
(Dada Drumming; tape; 2 tracks
(one each); 30 minutes)
(File
under : Ambient noise meeting)
Another
pretty fucking crazy match-up by Dada Drumming. Never Presence Forever that is
one of my favourite projects joins forces with a Steel Hook Prostheses’ related
project. The presentation is still awesome as most of all Dada Drumming tapes
are. This one comes in a kind of DVD cases for tapes, I really don’t know in
ordinary life for what purpose do they use this but it’s a very cute
presentation backed with a nice design from Scott of Crionic Mind, go figure.
The Metaconqueror side of the tape is more in the minimal way of the noise
world. The track is a small scratchy sound backed with some darker ambient
sounds. The track way long for a minimal thing but I guess it never gets
boring. Then at the end some very processed vocals appear to close the track. I
really don’t know what he says, maybe to change the side of the tape, but I
heard better-manipulated voice than that. NPF is not really on a different path
than Metaconqueror. The track is some ambient sounds with some reversed sounds.
I like that kind of sounds when it’s used intelligently and this time it’s the
case. There’s also some samples of sounds with more disturbing gratings that
really put in a stressful mood ending with some reversed strings and a speech
from a racist loser. Very nice progression of track here while still remaining
in the ambient tones. In a way the track is really great, it’s cool to hear new
sounds from NPF, I guess it’s the first release since the not long enough PAC
release, now this time it’s a long enough track that worth looking. This split
is another very awesome piece in the Dada Drumming catalogue, maybe the best I
actually heard. If you search for the very fast and crazy noise, stay away from
that, check the rest of the label’s catalogue. But fan of subtle and well-done
more ambient noise will get nut on this one. Some other new Never Presence
Forever is just being release and there’s a new full length coming out from
Metaconqueror. Sure I’ll take a look on this one. (Note: the stickers on my
tapes says the wrong sides of the split, Andrew of NPF told me what is track
consist of and I figured that my labels were on the wrong sides…)
http://holyterror.com/neverpresenceforever Never Presence Forever
http://SteelHookProstheses.com Steel Hook Prostheses
http://www.dadadumming.org Dada
Drumming
Odrz Odrz05
(Tibprod; CDR; 1 tracks; 60
minutes 02 seconds)
(File
under : Conceptual experimental noise)
Mmm,
I guess that around Norway’s Tibprod revolves really nice stuff. This one is no
exception. Odrz is from Italy and delivers here a conceptual record. This was
recorded while watching television and I guess (if I follow the logic of the
booklet) they altered the whole recording few days after. So they used six televisions
between 8 PM and 9 PM on February 28 2002 as source. The whole result is way
more interesting that I anticipated. This long track is not just an addition of
TV sounds with some fucked up effects; this is a pure noise construction.
What’s interesting is that the noise alteration is not really boring and the TV
waves noise make it really looks like a late night fucked up intrusion into the
life of an alienated guy who’s always in form of his TV set. Interesting but
not that groundbreaking, but I like those who try to exit the path of
normality…
Http://www.tibprop.com/ Tibprod
http://www.odrz.org Odrz
Odrz Odrz06
(Part III & VI)
(Tibprod; 2CDR; 2 tracks; 2 X
60 minutes 00 seconds)
(File under:
Conceptual industrial noise)
Another
conceptual release by the Italian experimental noise combo. This time ORDZ
visit the world of the factory sounds. Well let’s say it’s industrial noise…
This album consist of another one 60 minutes track but this time it’s a 2 CD
release… I guess that this release is the part III and VI of a nine part
release??? Excuse me but isn’t that a little silly to release a nine hours
release? But it represents a nine hours working day. But the most interesting
part of that is that there’s music on it. Musically speaking it’s very awesome
stuff. The part six is my favourite of the two. It’s a kind of very ambient industrial
noise with a very very very repetitive but is never really becoming in the
boring path of it. Sincerely great stuff… The third part is a kind of deep
pulsing machine beats (when you put it in your computer the Window’s Media
player says it’s a Steve Howe CD!) that come and goes, fade in and out. I
didn’t really like this one, but the loudness of the pulse is really
interesting. The sixth part is consisting of the hour between 1 PM and 2 PM and
the third part between 10 AM and 11 AM (apparently the fifth part is the lunch
break! I wonder how it sounds.) The biggest complain I got about it is that the
cover of the records is on a slipcase made of metal screen and there’s some
parts of the metal thing that separate from the package and then every time you
have to remove the CD from the case you should carry to not scratch the CD.
It’s a damn cool package but very dangerous for the CD… I still don’t know if a
less conceptual release can be better from this project…
Http://www.tibprop.com/ Tibprod
http://www.odrz.org Odrz
Pedestrian Deposit Volatile
(Truculent/Hospital; 5 tracks;
57 minutes 40 seconds)
(File
under : whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiizzzzzzzziiiiiiiiiz ( )
whiiihhwihslekllsishihe (
) jhjjhhwishwwhwwhhkk…)
The
veteran teenager of the west coast noise scene is back with his very first
official full-length release. Can you realize that Jon Borges is doing it since
around 2000 and he’s now only 19 years old! This sounds like he’ll be a very
big genius of noise in a near future (if he’s not one already!) and this record
is the very big step to show to the world how this youngster can kick some old
bastards’ nuts. First complaint of this record and I read that I’m not the only
one to hated that, please mister Fernow (of Hospital production and Prurient
fame, designer of the artwork), don’t put some writings on gold over a red
back. If I’ll go blind, you’ll be somewhat responsible… Anyway, the artwork of
this album is very beautiful and was done like I just said by Dominik Fernow
who always does very beautiful artworks. There’s a picture of a woman’s neck on
the cover that reminds of the pictures on Prurient’s Troubled Sleep with
some writing, drawings and other pictures inside. Very cute! However, the music
inside is not very very cute… We are in the very harsh path of the noise world,
the one that Truculent recording and Hospital Productions are heading to be a
leader in the genre. Very direct electronics without compromise but never
really boring. The comparison to Immaculate:Grotesque can be easy to do but I
my sense, it’s not that far from that. But anyway all of that comparison stands
for the 3 first track of that five tracks piece. The first track got a very
stressful penchant to sound stopping, the sound stops when you don’t think it
will stops, which makes you think it can stop anytime. That is a very
characteristic aspect of the Pedestrian Deposit sound. The second track is also
an ear-splitting noise destruction that suddenly at 4 minutes stops and gets
bleaker and then the start and stop craziness of the project is there. That "start
and stop" attitude of Pedestrian Deposit sound is surely and fell in the
right name when we call it noise, because it gives us nausea. The third track
also is in the sharp razor noise, not badly done, direct and well
assembled. The fourth track is more of
an experimental ambient track, which is a very very intense surprise. I don’t
want to play the guy who like the ambient tracks better, but let’s say that
this track is more memorable maybe only because of the different style of it
and I’m a fucker who likes ambient shitte. The fifth track is a very harsh live
track that will continue the headache experience at it’s best. This debut
record of this project that mostly release tape is pretty well done and every
true noise fan should get this one. Sell your Merzbow albums and get this one
and all Truculent records!
http://www.truculentrecordings.net Truculent
http://monorailtrespassing.com Pedestrian
Deposit
Pedestrian Deposit/Armenia Split
(Dada Drumming; 7” (limited to
300); 2 tracks (one each); around 8 minutes)
(File
under : Harsh noise…)
Dada
Drumming was supposed for so long to release 7” that the day it went out
everybody should be happy! And what a great meeting for an inaugural release
than this one. I guess the more I listen to that great project that is
Pedestrian Deposit, the more I like it and in this record it’s still at his way
good… On this track there’s a very nice piano ambience that is mixed with the
typical star/stop headache-giving harshness of the project. Sadly it’s a little
bit short but it’s pretty sweet. But what’s interesting is that I start
thinking that Pedestrian Deposit has a very distinct sound which is not
something that a lot of project got in the noise world and that make true noise
people from amateur... The other side feature the long-running Ecuadorian
project Armenia. I really like Armenia too, not only because they are from far
away and looks exotic, but because they are pretty fucking harsh and doing it
really nicely. The Armenia side is very harsh and fast with some fucked vocals.
I really liked the track too, it’s fast, harsh and short… That’s a pretty nice
release I guess and they should take this as a compliment since I’m not big on
noise 7”. This said 7” is a blue vinyl coming with a translucent sleeve. And as
Dada Drumming is mostly specialized in tapes this 7” got a special offer, if
you buy it and you’re part of the 50’s to own it, you got a bonus tape with
both tracks “Presented For Your Mobile Listening Pleasure”. That’s mainly if
you don’t listen to punk rock like me in your car…
http://www.dadadumming.org Dada
Drumming
http://noiseweb.painreceptor.com/armenia/ Armenia
http://monorailtrespassing.com Pedestrian
Deposit
Sören Fading
Memories
(Monorail Trespassing; 3” CDR;
1 tracks; 17 minutes 08 seconds)
(File
under : Ambient grating noise)
Sören
is a new side project of Sweden’s Daniel Johannsson who is more known for his superb
noise in Sewer Election. This is a more minimal project, well minimal is maybe
not the name. This one tracked 17 minutes record consist of a long ambient
grating drone. I picked this record since I like Sewer Election and I wonder how
a different project would sounds. The result is pretty amazing! This is a very
subtle noise release in the way I like, it reminds me of Scandinavian fellows
of Ovum and Iversen or Metaconqueror’s part of their split with Never Presence
Forever. I’m pretty interested in hearing more of this project, I hope it won’t
be that kind of one release side-project since it’s really good. It’s presented
in a full colour picture of brick wall in a translucent case. Very Promising!
http://www.iheartnoise.com/sewerelection/ Sewer Election (Sören)
http://www.monorailtrespassing.com Monorail Trespassing
XV Parówek Chewing
Is Pointless
(XV Parówek;
CDR)
(File
under : Field recordings)
I
guess it’s the first time I actually have the chance to listen to a complete
album of field recording. Considering that it’s coming from a very interesting
project outta Poland, I guess that the activity here should be fun. Well, I
don’t really know if it’s supposed to be a story or something like that, but I
guess that this is like an unvoiced and unpictured movie… This is like the
collage of multiple recorded sources such as inside a car or a bus, in the
streets, in some shopping centre, well, in a very urban life… The result is in
my sight very well put together, like a succession of recordings with some
times between the recordings. And it’s something really noisy but always clear
and distinct about where did the sounds should be from. I don’t know how he
recorded everything but we don’t hear some feedbacks like when the sounds are
recorded with Microcassette recorder. Considering that this is from a project
that usually delivers very harsh and direct noise, this can be very interesting
considering the difference in the mood of the recording. I was really afraid
that this record should have been only a curiosity and then just another record
in my record collection but I guess that surprisingly I like the mood of that
record, every silences between recordings makes me perplex about what’s coming
out… I guess that mixed with the heavyweight noise of the XV Parówek’s usual
recording the marriage can be a very fierce one… In a sense it’s always
interesting to see some noise project experimenting something different and
this record is a very good example. It’s always crazy to face the fact that
some of the most disturbing noise source is our everyday life.
http://xvp.terra.pl XV
Parówek
