Abstract/Weird/Outer edges

[adult human]

I'm curious as to whether there is an appetite to discuss different kinds of experimental and weird music on this board. Speaking for myself I have always thought of harsh noise/PE/Industrial simply as different strands of the 'weird music' that I enjoy, which just as readily encompasses junky tape concrete, sound poetry, collage, classical Avant-Garde and all manner hard to classify sound art. This is also represented in the kind of stuff I put out, distro and indeed record/perform myself.

I'm aware it is a broad net I'm casting here, but I also think there is a lot of cultural and historical space these many varied art forms have shared in very real terms over the years. RRRecords is an instantly pertinent example with a discography taking in a staggering array of different types of bizarre and experimental sound alongside seriously classic and heavy hitting noise. We see similar ideas in the way Ground Fault, LAFMS, Schimpfluch Gruppe/Tochnit Aleph, Crank Sturgeon, American Tapes, Hanson, Bananafish and no doubt many other important outlets I'm forgetting have presented themselves across the years.

So...any interest here in the wider spectrum of approaches so often encapsulated within the term 'noise'? We can confine it to this thread for now if so but, depending on how things unfold, hopefully dedicated and specific threads will also emerge

[mostlymayo]

I'm curious as to whether there is an appetite to discuss different kinds of experimental and weird music on this board. Speaking for myself I have always thought of harsh noise/PE/Industrial simply as different strands of the 'weird music' that I enjoy, which just as readily encompasses junky tape concrete, sound poetry, collage, classical Avant-Garde and all manner hard to classify sound art. This is also represented in the kind of stuff I put out, distro and indeed record/perform myself.

I'm aware it is a broad net I'm casting here, but I also think there is a lot of cultural and historical space these many varied art forms have shared in very real terms over the years. RRRecords is an instantly pertinent example with a discography taking in a staggering array of different types of bizarre and experimental sound alongside seriously classic and heavy hitting noise. We can also see/hear similar attitudes in the way Bananafish, Ground Fault, LAFMS, Schimpfluch Gruppe/Tochnit Aleph, Crank Sturgeon, American Tapes, Hanson and no doubt many other important outlets I'm forgetting have operated over the years.

Any interest here?! We can confine it to this thread if so but depending on how things unfold hopefully dedicated and specific threads will also emerge

Would love to have a thread just to discuss sounds of this variety! I've always been quite partial to noise because you have the freedom to do whatever you want! If you're interested in checking out more outsider shit, that's what my label focuses on. Had the honor and pleasure of working with and releasing a Crank Sturgeon tape back in 2019!

[PRISONFOOD]

hey hey mostly mayo! I was just checking out "Fuck Kellogs" comp last week, cool stuff. I can dig the idea of sticking it to the man with noise

[mostlymayo]

hey hey mostly mayo! I was just checking out "Fuck Kellogs" comp last week, cool stuff. I can dig the idea of sticking it to the man with noise

Much appreciated! Was the first time I had ever organized a comp. The experience was great, the artists killed it, and so far I've been able to donate over $200 to the union fund in about 2 weeks time, which in my eyes is a huge success.

[Brian O'Blivion]

Glad this thread is here. I'm very interested in musique concrète, experimental, and avant-garde, which extends to the jazz world to a degree as well. Also into musical oddities and general weirdos such as Jandek, Kenneth Higney, The Space Lady, Gary Wilson, et al. Looking forward to checking out your label's discography.

[chadkelsey]

The first paragraph of OP? That’s why I’m here. My current favorite labels are Radical Documents and older American Tapes stuff (they’ve lost it lately )

[Helvitis]

A long time favorite of mine that would fit in here is Graham Lambkin. I enjoy all of his solo output but Community has been getting regular play ever since its release. Love the Shadow Ring too of course. It's a shame that the Cd box set of their discography erstwhile was going to put out doesn't seem to be happening any more. Guess I'll just have to splurge on the Lp box set Blank Forms are putting out.

https://grahamlambkin.bandcamp.com/album/community

[adult human]

A long time favorite of mine that would fit in here is Graham Lambkin. I enjoy all of his solo output but Community has been getting regular play ever since its release. Love the Shadow Ring too of course. It's a shame that the Cd box set of their discography erstwhile was going to put out doesn't seem to be happening any more. Guess I'll just have to splurge on the Lp box set Blank Forms are putting out.

https://grahamlambkin.bandcamp.com/album/community

Major Lambkin fan. Honestly one of the most forward thinking artists going and nobody but him can do quite what he does.

Salmon Run might be my favourite from him but I’ve yet to hear any clangers. The tape on No Rent is very good/sad too. I’m less familiar with shadow ring but will get that blank forms box. The work they did on the Solos boxset was phenomenal. The background info around Amateur Doubles in the booklet was particularly fun to read.

Glad to see this thread got a few bites. When I’ve got more time I plan to add some larger posts focused on specific labels and artists.

[adult human]

What do you know, I found some time today!

To start off I'm going to talk about Regional Bears

Without question one of my absolute favourite labels going. A very steady stream of impossible to predict strangeness which takes in some really well known and fantastic names alongside some total mysteries. Always really respect how willing the label is to open itself up to hosting very difficult material which is almost always presented with nothing in the way of explanation or justification. Does what I think all truly great labels do in creating an extremely weird and eclectic back catalogue that all completely makes sense in context of the label itself. https://regionalbears.bandcamp.com/music

Here’s what I’ve got

PIG - Public Announcement Program
A weird one. A morass of lumbering loops (classical piano, whinging yelling, daft keyboard stabs, whatever else) bringing to mind Joseph Hammer on a real downer.

Melkings - Movement Musik
Hard to say enough good things about Melkings. Flawlessly presented collages which take in beautifully crafted takes on improvised sound design as much as they do hyper mundane domesticity and in-the-room goofing off.

J.S. Hogan - Ahh, I See Pan
Basementish non academic, tape hiss riddled electroacoustic improvisations with a clearly displayed hand for slow pace and reveal. Lots of periods with very little happening which really make the introduction of new elements pay off big time when they come. Dead rewarding when you strap in for the long run riddled with tape hiss.

City Medicine - Argentine Dogs
Noisy CRUDE electronic blasts and acoustic messing around on totally shagged, overloaded tapes. Lively, burnt out, stumbling and woozy. Barely music. Totally engaging.

Various Artists - New Tulips
Incredible compilation of voice/text/speech based works. The lineup is unreal. Probably the best release of 2020 and one of the best compilations to have have happened in years overall.

FâLX çèrêbRi - Rite 64
Bit of a weird one in that it was released in collaboration with another label and carries an overall different visual and sonic aesthetic to ‘normal’ RB releases. Reissued/remastered version of material released originally in ’84, very much in the industrial/noise tape underground style of the time. Sound excellent and I really enjoy it but it’s an incongruous release even by the already incongruous standards of the label. Which is good!

Eric Schmid - Technology & Mythology (What Is Structure’s Ontology)
Blasts of monotone harsh noise wall sandwiched by complicated bits of philosophy read by Schmid. Hard, hard work. At the end you get some weird rapping and shitty Casio stuff. I’m a firm believer that sometimes experimental music should be infuriating and unrewarding and this is it. Deliberately so, I’m sure. Started off a still unresolved relationship with Eric’s art I very much enjoy being confused and challenged by. An interesting artist for sure.

Arv & Miljö - Nothing Compares 2 U
2 short sides of fuzzily recorded reed organ drones and shifts. Normally not very much into this kind of thing but within the context of the A&M discography and the Regional Bears ethos of ushering in curveballs it lands so well.

Matthew Sullivan - Zen Cab
2 very narrative pieces which lean quite heartily into pleasant almost ambient territory. Piano chords sitting nicely under recordings of his kid, birds croaking out doors, fumbling and messing with whatever. Clearly the result of going out and collecting loads of sounds but then editing them into very musicalised works. It’s cool how confident he is to avoid overly manipulating his sources. The music of every day.

Michael Barthel - Vollmacht
Odd offering from Barthel in that he’s pounding away on a piano while howling and hacking away in his distinct and entertaining voice. From what I can gather there is quite an overt political theme to this which gives the whole thing a slightly more serious edge than some his other stuff.

Arek Gulbenkoglu - Life Choices/Portrait of the Dutchman
Nice hi fidelity stuff. Continually moving compositions taking in electronics and highly manipulated found sounds/field recordings.

Russell Walker - The Lotus Eaters
One of the more baffling tapes I have on RB. Russell and someone else reading from a long text/script, bits of tv themes occasionally playing. Extremely hard to detect what the fuck its all meant to mean. Started off listening thinking ‘fuck, this will be a slog’ but was rapt by the end. Still think about it all the time

Downwardly Mobile Renaissance Man - Seeing The Elephant
Funny as fuck but also satisfying noisy junk/stolen music presented in the most sardonic of ways.

Centre - Contour Process
Harkens back to the mid/late 2009’s era of loop pedals/drones/new age inspired lushness! Probably not one I’ll return to often but still good that it’s out.

Duncan Harrison - fires.serif
Well, this is me so I’m not going to say much beside it exists and I have it.

Vanessa Rossetto - Legends of American Theatre
Subtle but detailed work with lots of field recordings. Really enjoy her approach of treating the material as a kind of musical component, looping and manipulating certain parts and building new things out of it while at other points simply allowing them to play out.

Josh Peterson - Area of Refuge
I can’t speak about Josh’s work without a degree of bias and hype because I really believe he’s one of the most interesting and unique artists to have shown up in recent years. This tape is no exception. Appearing toward the end of his engagement with making recorded sound work it is an austere, fragmented and essential work from someone who has never been content to repeat himself or rest on achievements.

MP Hopkins - Two Pages & Flakes
One of the highlights of the most recent batch. Extremely minimal signals and tones with odd little snatches of voice/tape noise/found sound. By products of speech and vocal sounding, all arranged into a sequence relatively free of dynamics and pace. Just kinda slowly shuffles along revealing occasional glimpses of itself until it’s suddenly over.

Shriner/Lindorff/Lindorff - Kenmore/Lindorff Exchange
There’s a nice back story to how this stuff was made but you should go and check that out for yourself. Sonically - engaging and pleasant tape collage.

UVC - Broken Phonemes of the Unconscious Grid
Excellently home made sounding stuff with broken and shitty sounding electronics folding themselves inside out amidst or alongside very plain situational sound.

[Knifedoutofexistence]

What do you know, I found some time today!

To start off I'm going to talk about Regional Bears

Without question one of my absolute favourite labels going. A very steady stream of impossible to predict strangeness which takes in some really well known and fantastic names alongside some total mysteries. Always really respect how willing the label is to open itself up to hosting very difficult material which is almost always presented with nothing in the way of explanation or justification. Does what I think all truly great labels do in creating an extremely weird and eclectic back catalogue that all completely makes sense in context of the label itself. https://regionalbears.bandcamp.com/music

Here’s what I’ve got

PIG - Public Announcement Program
A weird one. A morass of lumbering loops (classical piano, whinging yelling, daft keyboard stabs, whatever else) bringing to mind Joseph Hammer on a real downer.

Melkings - Movement Musik
Hard to say enough good things about Melkings. Flawlessly presented collages which take in beautifully crafted takes on improvised sound design as much as they do hyper mundane domesticity and in-the-room goofing off.

J.S. Hogan - Ahh, I See Pan
Basementish non academic, tape hiss riddled electroacoustic improvisations with a clearly displayed hand for slow pace and reveal. Lots of periods with very little happening which really make the introduction of new elements pay off big time when they come. Dead rewarding when you strap in for the long run riddled with tape hiss.

City Medicine - Argentine Dogs
Noisy CRUDE electronic blasts and acoustic messing around on totally shagged, overloaded tapes. Lively, burnt out, stumbling and woozy. Barely music. Totally engaging.

Various Artists - New Tulips
Incredible compilation of voice/text/speech based works. The lineup is unreal. Probably the best release of 2020 and one of the best compilations to have have happened in years overall.

FâLX çèrêbRi - Rite 64
Bit of a weird one in that it was released in collaboration with another label and carries an overall different visual and sonic aesthetic to ‘normal’ RB releases. Reissued/remastered version of material released originally in ’84, very much in the industrial/noise tape underground style of the time. Sound excellent and I really enjoy it but it’s an incongruous release even by the already incongruous standards of the label. Which is good!

Eric Schmid - Technology & Mythology (What Is Structure’s Ontology)
Blasts of monotone harsh noise wall sandwiched by complicated bits of philosophy read by Schmid. Hard, hard work. At the end you get some weird rapping and shitty Casio stuff. I’m a firm believer that sometimes experimental music should be infuriating and unrewarding and this is it. Deliberately so, I’m sure. Started off a still unresolved relationship with Eric’s art I very much enjoy being confused and challenged by. An interesting artist for sure.

Arv & Miljö - Nothing Compares 2 U
2 short sides of fuzzily recorded reed organ drones and shifts. Normally not very much into this kind of thing but within the context of the A&M discography and the Regional Bears ethos of ushering in curveballs it lands so well.

Matthew Sullivan - Zen Cab
2 very narrative pieces which lean quite heartily into pleasant almost ambient territory. Piano chords sitting nicely under recordings of his kid, birds croaking out doors, fumbling and messing with whatever. Clearly the result of going out and collecting loads of sounds but then editing them into very musicalised works. It’s cool how confident he is to avoid overly manipulating his sources. The music of every day.

Michael Barthel - Vollmacht
Odd offering from Barthel in that he’s pounding away on a piano while howling and hacking away in his distinct and entertaining voice. From what I can gather there is quite an overt political theme to this which gives the whole thing a slightly more serious edge than some his other stuff.

Arek Gulbenkoglu - Life Choices/Portrait of the Dutchman
Nice hi fidelity stuff. Continually moving compositions taking in electronics and highly manipulated found sounds/field recordings.

Russell Walker - The Lotus Eaters
One of the more baffling tapes I have on RB. Russell and someone else reading from a long text/script, bits of tv themes occasionally playing. Extremely hard to detect what the fuck its all meant to mean. Started off listening thinking ‘fuck, this will be a slog’ but was rapt by the end. Still think about it all the time

Downwardly Mobile Renaissance Man - Seeing The Elephant
Funny as fuck but also satisfying noisy junk/stolen music presented in the most sardonic of ways.

Centre - Contour Process
Harkens back to the mid/late 2009’s era of loop pedals/drones/new age inspired lushness! Probably not one I’ll return to often but still good that it’s out.

Duncan Harrison - fires.serif
Well, this is me so I’m not going to say much beside it exists and I have it.

Vanessa Rossetto - Legends of American Theatre
Subtle but detailed work with lots of field recordings. Really enjoy her approach of treating the material as a kind of musical component, looping and manipulating certain parts and building new things out of it while at other points simply allowing them to play out.

Josh Peterson - Area of Refuge
I can’t speak about Josh’s work without a degree of bias and hype because I really believe he’s one of the most interesting and unique artists to have shown up in recent years. This tape is no exception. Appearing toward the end of his engagement with making recorded sound work it is an austere, fragmented and essential work from someone who has never been content to repeat himself or rest on achievements.

MP Hopkins - Two Pages & Flakes
One of the highlights of the most recent batch. Extremely minimal signals and tones with odd little snatches of voice/tape noise/found sound. By products of speech and vocal sounding, all arranged into a sequence relatively free of dynamics and pace. Just kinda slowly shuffles along revealing occasional glimpses of itself until it’s suddenly over.

Shriner/Lindorff/Lindorff - Kenmore/Lindorff Exchange
There’s a nice back story to how this stuff was made but you should go and check that out for yourself. Sonically - engaging and pleasant tape collage.

UVC - Broken Phonemes of the Unconscious Grid
Excellently home made sounding stuff with broken and shitty sounding electronics folding themselves inside out amidst or alongside very plain situational sound.

This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping this thread would deliver! I adore those tapes of yours and Josh’s, and you definitely have a much better knowledge of this area of sound than me so very much looking forward to more of what you have to say/recommended.

I don’t know if you heard the Greying Snout tape I put out a little while back (a Natural Orthodoxy side project) but it I absolutely love it and occupies a similar space I think: https://outsiderart.bandcamp.com/album/1

[stomachache]

Very happy to see this thread on here! Maybe self-serving as it is closer to what I tend to make (tape loop/manipulation stuff), but also I appreciate the comments so far, as it is also more what I tend to listen to. Couple of labels of late that I've been really enjoying:

No Rent Records - Lucas Abela, Darksmith of California, Joe Colley.
https://norentrecords.bandcamp.com/

I Dischi Del Barone/Discreet - Leda, Neutral, Arv & Miljö, Monokultur, Komare, Mosquitoes. Just got the new Incipientium LP in the mail yesterday - excited to listen!
https://discreetmusic.myshopify.com/
I saw Matthias on here already - would love to know how they find/decide on the artists they put out that they don't personally know - a really vast catalog of artists on IDDB!

Ikuisuus - Sunhiilow, UTON, really excellent Heavy Space Compilations.
https://ikuisuus.bandcamp.com/music

Siltbreeze - CIA Debutante, great back catalog (Dead C, Harry Pussy), lots of cool archival releases lately.
https://siltbreeze.bandcamp.com/

Hanson - Aaron Dilloway, Robert Turman. Both still making great music! New music circle stream a few weeks back was enjoyable: https://youtu.be/yOt97iti8KU

Keep the recommendations coming!

[adult human]

Very happy to see this thread on here! Maybe self-serving as it is closer to what I tend to make (tape loop/manipulation stuff), but also I appreciate the comments so far, as it is also more what I tend to listen to. Couple of labels of late that I've been really enjoying:

No Rent Records - Lucas Abela, Darksmith of California, Joe Colley.
https://norentrecords.bandcamp.com/

I Dischi Del Barone/Discreet - Leda, Neutral, Arv & Miljö, Monokultur, Komare, Mosquitoes. Just got the new Incipientium LP in the mail yesterday - excited to listen!
https://discreetmusic.myshopify.com/
I saw Matthias on here already - would love to know how they find/decide on the artists they put out that they don't personally know - a really vast catalog of artists on IDDB!

Ikuisuus - Sunhiilow, UTON, really excellent Heavy Space Compilations.
https://ikuisuus.bandcamp.com/music

Siltbreeze - CIA Debutante, great back catalog (Dead C, Harry Pussy), lots of cool archival releases lately.
https://siltbreeze.bandcamp.com/

Hanson - Aaron Dilloway, Robert Turman. Both still making great music! New music circle stream a few weeks back was enjoyable: https://youtu.be/yOt97iti8KU

Keep the recommendations coming!

Cool list. I'll confess to being a bit underwhelmed by No Rent despite how many unarguably good things they have released. I really appreciate how they bring a lot of newer and unknown (to me) names out but very little of it hits for me over all. Still, I'm ultimately really happy they exist.

Siltbreeze is of course an amazing thing to raise here. I have yet to hear the CIA Debutante thing but I've been pretty interested in what I've heard by them before.

Hanson..What can I say?! Dilloway is simply a one off and we are all fortunate to be alive at the same time as him. Seriously.

One thing I also want to mention is how much brilliant stuff is coming out of Canada these last few years, albeit in a maddeningly low key and hard to find info on way. Stuff like/on Barn Sour, Korea Undok Group, Makade Star....everything on this youtube channel is amazing and I am desperate for a real copy of this Marijana Mandusic tape as well as more from her: https://youtu.be/B0WQmbpjkT8

[mostlymayo]

Loved what you had to say about Regional Bears. Such a fantastic label, I can’t get enough of their stuff!

[Matthias]

would love to know how they find/decide on the artists they put out that they don't personally know - a really vast catalog of artists on IDDB!

Haha yeah... I have been receiving this question many times but I don't quite get it, isn't that what labels are supposed to do, seeking out awesome new music? (Or do you mean releasing stuff with people you haven't met? Haven't really thought about it but I have met a majority of the artists at this point) Never really been interested in fitting into a certain genre or... uhm, "scene", I release stuff that I like, it's quite simple. Full respects to labels dedicated to only releasing cute twee pop or free jazz or whatever, that's just not where im at. So much good stuff out there. That sounds nothing alike. Always loved diverse labels like above mentioned Siltbreeze which of course is totally impossible to pin point to a certain sound, more like certain "eras". I love that shit! I don' think SB would be held in the same regard today if Tom Lax just had put out a huge bunch of Harry Pussy or Strapping Fieldhands clones for 30 years. We need Tyvek and Ex-Cocaine too. I totally get if some "turns" in the IDDB discography could been seen as strange and I certainly don't expect anyone to like it ALL, but in my head there's a red thread there.... somewhere..... ;)

[totalblack]

A long time favorite of mine that would fit in here is Graham Lambkin. I enjoy all of his solo output but Community has been getting regular play ever since its release. Love the Shadow Ring too of course. It's a shame that the Cd box set of their discography erstwhile was going to put out doesn't seem to be happening any more. Guess I'll just have to splurge on the Lp box set Blank Forms are putting out.

https://grahamlambkin.bandcamp.com/album/community

As far as I know the Shadow Ring box is gonna be on Blank Forms on CD first? I think it’s 13 cds or something crazy like that. I think it’ll be on vinyl as well, but I can confirm this. I was listening to Lighthouse earlier today and it’s kind of shocking how it’s at times like a bizarro version of early Whitehouse.

[Helvitis]

A long time favorite of mine that would fit in here is Graham Lambkin. I enjoy all of his solo output but Community has been getting regular play ever since its release. Love the Shadow Ring too of course. It's a shame that the Cd box set of their discography erstwhile was going to put out doesn't seem to be happening any more. Guess I'll just have to splurge on the Lp box set Blank Forms are putting out.

https://grahamlambkin.bandcamp.com/album/community

As far as I know the Shadow Ring box is gonna be on Blank Forms on CD first? I think it’s 13 cds or something crazy like that. I think it’ll be on vinyl as well, but I can confirm this. I was listening to Lighthouse earlier today and it’s kind of shocking how it’s at times like a bizarro version of early Whitehouse.

Ah I must have misunderstood then. Thats great news.

[adult human]

Will take a cd version of a project like that every time. Vinyl is great - definitely worked brilliantly for the solos set - but I just think cd is a better format overall for these ambitious archival collections

[New Forces]

Will take a cd version of a project like that every time. Vinyl is great - definitely worked brilliantly for the solos set - but I just think cd is a better format overall for these ambitious archival collections

The thought of having to store and then ship 300 5-LP boxes (as opposed to 5-CD boxes) makes me want to cry.

[totalblack]

let’s also take into consideration 13 cds would be about 20 lps, which just makes the whole thing so much worse

[New Forces]

let’s also take into consideration 13 cds would be about 20 lps, which just makes the whole thing so much worse

Didn't even think about that, this Hands To CD box I'm about to put into production would obviously double from 5 discs to 10 LPs.

[Scream & Writhe]

let’s also take into consideration 13 cds would be about 20 lps, which just makes the whole thing so much worse

Didn't even think about that, this Hands To CD box I'm about to put into production would obviously double from 5 discs to 10 LPs.

And at that point it just makes no sense. I can understand stuff like the Come Org box and whatnot, but format warriors be damned - material like this sounds better on CD anyways and just deserves to be out there at a relatively affordable price.

[adult human]

material like this sounds better on CD anyways and just deserves to be out there at a relatively affordable price.

Well, quite. Without wanting to wade too deeply into the format wars (!) I think sound quality (or rather the ability to present material more accurately/neutrally) and affordability of CD is a huge factor in these kindsa projects, or should be. Reissues becoming expensive scarcities of their own = maddening. Cutting up recordings into new combos so they fit across sides of vinyl = ridiculous, imho.

[adult human]

Listening to the new Twig Harper album, 'Two Variations for the Shadow of the Absolute' before adding it to the distro list.

Very very strong left hand turn from Mr. Harper here into very outwardly contemporary classical instrumentation and composition! A big curveball and something takes a bit of time to get accustomed to but I'll be damned if it isn't highly ambitious and extremely successful. My guess is that he has enlisted various performers to play and record his own composed passages on an array of wind, reed, string and percussion instruments before throwing it through an increasingly fucked post-production wringer of reverb, manipulation and synthesis. It's seriously bold stuff from someone we probably are all mostly familiar with due to his cerebral electronic works but in the end it's something that really comes together and makes a lot of sense. A number of well known guest spots on there too if you can read between the lines. Great stuff.

[T.D.]

Hope this thread continues to have legs, it's very relevant to my own interests. Don't have time to offer much of substance ATM, but will echo praise for Regional Bears, for my money the most consistently interesting label of the last five or however-many years. 

No Rent is also often not my thing, but there are plenty of exceptions I've missed out on that I should really try to find (Darksmith, Spoils & Relics, Joe Colley, Kjostad for starters...). Some heavy hitters in there, can't argue with that. 

13 CDs seems like a lot for the Shadow Ring, I wonder how much is in the vaults that hasn't been released in some form already? Even including all of the 'Remains Unchanged' 2xLP, the live bootleg, all the previously unreleased tracks from 'Life Review' etc. I can't figure how it adds up. Maybe some live sets, the Footprint tape? That'd be nice to hear.

'Lighthouse' has all kinds of weird shit going on. Early Whitehouse, ZNR, Tyrannosaurus Rex...the collisions of disparate influence realized through limited means is a big part of what makes Graham's work unique. 

[adult human]

13 CDs seems like a lot for the Shadow Ring, I wonder how much is in the vaults that hasn't been released in some form already? Even including all of the 'Remains Unchanged' 2xLP, the live bootleg, all the previously unreleased tracks from 'Life Review' etc. I can't figure how it adds up. Maybe some live sets, the Footprint tape? That'd be nice to hear.

Good question. Personally I own zero Shadow Ring so am not adverse to getting most/all of it in one hit but yeah, I'd be wound up if I had to balance a bunch of existing titles with picking up the holes in my collection. I guess we'll find out soon what will be included. 13 is certainly many hours of music.