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[murmur]

Lettera 22 - Salvado (Usagi)

The Haters - Tractor 2023 (Helicopter/Troniks)

These CDs are both excellent. The Lettera 22 one is in the musique concrete/tape music zone, expertly done and with a really interesting, well-matched mix of sounds across the single track.
The Haters CD is more in the noise realm, especially the first track. The rest vary in sound and length, but are all compelling. The second in particular is absolutely gorgeous - not something I expected but welcome.

[k.p.g]

Sewer Election - Psychic Panorama (Discreet Music)
Music this morning; great pacing & great synth work at play here. I remember first hearing this & wondering “has Sewer Election done it all?” Now that Dan just launched a bandcamp at the time of typing this, I may find out the answer to this.

Sewer Election + Treriksröset - Killing for Germany/Rågsved (White Centipede)
“Killing for Germany” is great! There’s great movement & dynamics in sound to be had throughout its run time. Apparently they killed even more places than this, so I’ll have to investigate this pair further.
“Rågsved” starts strong but loses steam after a while. By the end of the track, I was counting down the seconds. Everything that made the first part great is not executed as well here.

Mania - Ultra-Negative (Freak Animal)
Keith truly had something special here. It has the anger of a PE record, but with such oddball structure and sound, it feels like an entirely different animal from its contemporaries AND its imitators. At points, this stops feeling like a noise record & more like a man who just started bashing his head against the wall and forgot to stop recording it. The legend of Mania exists for a reason. Oh, and I completely forgot that Dilloway is sourced on this until just now. No one usually eclipses Aaron like that… well, damn.

[Lactating Tardigrade]

Sewer Election - Psychic Panorama (Discreet Music)
Music this morning; great pacing & great synth work at play here. I remember first hearing this & wondering “has Sewer Election done it all?” Now that Dan just launched a bandcamp at the time of typing this, I may find out the answer to this.

Dan announced a part 2 is in the works and coming later this year.

[parasitenurse]

Null Copula - Not Like This a very strong debut from null copula put out by none other than breaching static. heavy crumbles fractured by sharp feedback at uneven intervals in the stereo field. fast-paced, stutter-laden and full of harsh blasts but my favorite track was the gloomy, looping closer. ordering this immediately.

https://breachingstatic.bandcamp.com/a ... -like-this

[D345]

(earlier today)
green tea - the children of wisteria
worth - hamper
masonna - spectrum ripper

NOW
the new boyfriends - fourth season.

Been having a bad morning this afternoon. The new TNB helps. Pure fucking joy.
Top of the danger is the top of the game.
Shadow motor is like "public castration is a good idea", but fun!

[Tribe Tapes]

Montgomery & Myers - MM1 (Generations Unlimited)

Duo performance of Gen Ken Montgomery (violin) and David Myers (feedback machine). This version of the tape features two tracks not listed on Discogs, “No Fee Unless Successful” and “Live at Amica, NYC”.

[k.p.g]

Sewer Election - Efterspel (Dead Gods)

Great late night listen; sounds like Dan is murdering a violin throughout both sides of the tape. I can faintly hear a sound at the end of Side B that is reminiscent of a scream an old neighborhood friend used to do. It's very creepy, but I also fell asleep listening to it. Why is there a strange sense of peace that lies in there? It is something only Sewer Election is possible of.

Aaron Dilloway - The Rope & the Dogs (777 Was 666)

Very fun compilation of Dilloway odds & ends that I managed to pick up online. I like odds & ends releases like this a lot, as it feels like the pressure for some next level masterpiece is off the table. This is a no-business, all-fun release; most tracks roll with just the build up of a single loop. "The Casket Sinker" stands out as my favorite in the group, as I believe this marks the beginning of the group with that very same name. Olson is just ripping the sax tremendously here. I imagine the two of them with big, stupid smiles being like "we should do more of this" when listening back.

[Tribe Tapes]

Musicide - Chirping Birds [Kill Music, 1995]
Nice package with the norelco case being shoved in the back of a painting. There's 50 of these things and they're all unique. "Chirping Birds" is an apt title since the whole release consists of high frequency chirping. It's bad noise, and I like how it isn't afraid to sound completely terrible. That's why it's good.

Frank Moore - Inter Rhythms [Chero Company, 1989]
He's making a bunch of mouth sounds for 90 minutes.

S. Isabella - 970208 Live Act III [Xerxes, 1997]
Cinematic noise that eschews genre tropes (just kidding). But a real A+++ effort. I had to listen to this tape three times in a row since the digital transfer kept getting fucked up. And three times later it's still the best thing I've heard all night.

Kayoko - Limit [Xerxes, 1997]
Some jag listed this as pop on Discogs. It's not. Government Alpha behind the mixing board for Kayoko from S. Isabella's debut tape, and it's rip-roaring colors and screaming oscillators all the way.

[Bigsby]

IMG_1322.jpeg (74.73 KiB) Viewed 962 times

worth it alone for the story and the spirit. I have the original release as well which has served as a great conversation piece! hahah I first read about this release as it unfolded on the Troniks board in 2010 and bought a copy from RRR. It’s been a display piece since. I probably only listened to it once back then. I thought I remembered too from the Troniks days that Henry insisted on “real clay!” for the anti-record, though I don’t see that in the liner notes.

Henry was able to bring Emil out of retirement b/c of his total purity. I can’t imagine who else could have done it, or how else it could have been done. a true fanatic in the making.

The piece takes patience, but pays off with sputtering “plunderphonics,” pe worthy loops, in the red dance beats, and utter bananas, scatterbrained, absurd -but often rhythmic!-looney tunes noise.

Great package. Great release. Great noise. Thank you Henry & Oskar.

[adult human]

IMG_1322.jpeg

worth it alone for the story and the spirit. I have the original release as well which has served as a great conversation piece! hahah I first read about this release as it unfolded on the Troniks board in 2010 and bought a copy from RRR. It’s been a display piece since. I probably only listened to it once back then. I thought I remembered too from the Troniks days that Henry insisted on “real clay!” for the anti-record, though I don’t see that in the liner notes.

Henry was able to bring Emil out of retirement b/c of his total purity. I can’t imagine who else could have done it, or how else it could have been done. a true fanatic in the making.

The piece takes patience, but pays off with sputtering “plunderphonics,” pe worthy loops, in the red dance beats, and utter bananas, scatterbrained, absurd -but often rhythmic!-looney tunes noise.

Great package. Great release. Great noise. Thank you Henry & Oskar.

Excellent release. Sort of wild that this, right toward the end of Ron being bothered with recording and firing some stuff out whilst 'rusty' (his words at the time I believe), would be such a varied, unusual thing. It somewhat recalls parts of the goofball weirdness of far earlier works of his but also feels like he's still bringing ideas to the table. It's up to him what he does but damn, I feel sure he had a ton more heat in him had he wanted to keep going. From what I understand he doesn't even have equipment anymore.

Frank Moore - Inter Rhythms [Chero Company, 1989]
He's making a bunch of mouth sounds for 90 minutes.

Sounds good on paper. Anything more to report? I note from his discogs he goes into the whole 'shamanism' thing which is definitely an area where the vocal stuff takes a turn into the cornball.

[Vast Field Magnetism]

Re: Frank Moore
Dude is one of the truest artists I've ever come across. On some Maclisian shit.
The mouth sounds on that tape are (most likely) due to him having severe Cerebral Palsy (the non-verbal kind). He would use a pointer on his head to form sentences and built an entire underground artistic legacy doing so.
He died about a decade ago but all of his lectures and whatnot are still up on Vimeo. I'll see if I can track down his performance on The Pain Factory DVD. Really mind-warping stuff.

[Vast Field Magnetism]

Couldn't find it, but here's another rare artifact:

[adult human]

Re: Frank Moore
Dude is one of the truest artists I've ever come across. On some Maclisian shit.
The mouth sounds on that tape are (most likely) due to him having severe Cerebral Palsy (the non-verbal kind). He would use a pointer on his head to form sentences and built an entire underground artistic legacy doing so.
He died about a decade ago but all of his lectures and whatnot are still up on Vimeo. I'll see if I can track down his performance on The Pain Factory DVD. Really mind-warping stuff.

Wow, fantastic. Thanks for the intel. Found a playlist of videos related to him and I can tell it's going to be a fairly deep and demanding period of research.

[Tribe Tapes]

Re: Frank Moore
Dude is one of the truest artists I've ever come across. On some Maclisian shit.
The mouth sounds on that tape are (most likely) due to him having severe Cerebral Palsy (the non-verbal kind). He would use a pointer on his head to form sentences and built an entire underground artistic legacy doing so.

Nice to see there is some appreciation for this sort of thing here. I would put him in a similar vein as Paul McCarthy in how their performance art explored shamanism / the role of ritual within human interaction and sexuality -- "eroart", in Moore's case. Although, I think that McCarthy focuses on more confrontational means vs. the compassion of Moore's work... (also, that Minóy clip is a gem)

[adult human]

The link is perhaps tenuous but some of this conversation got me thinking about Bob Parks. Specifically his highly manic, nude performances with paint and movement which certainly feel very ecstatic and ritual in nature. The most I’ve ever engaged with his work was watching a brilliant documentary about him (The R&B Feeling) which I recommend highly. His work was chiefly based on paintings and performance but the latter definitely contained enough howling, chanting, singing and flute blasting to qualify for a ‘now listening’ thread

[Tribe Tapes]

The link is perhaps tenuous but some of this conversation got me thinking about Bob Parks. Specifically his highly manic, nude performances with paint and movement which certainly feel very ecstatic and ritual in nature. The most I’ve ever engaged with his work was watching a brilliant documentary about him (The R&B Feeling) which I recommend highly. His work was chiefly based on paintings and performance but the latter definitely contained enough howling, chanting, singing and flute blasting to qualify for a ‘now listening’ thread

How interesting. Adding that documentary to my (future) viewing list

[murmur]

I listened to two Seamus Williams (of TVE)-related CDs this morning, both of which make use of something I’ve been thinking about: being outwardly boring, or at least deliberately not being exciting. While this isn’t typically associated with “good” (read: entertaining) music, I’m not sure that it should be rejected out of hand.

Staubitz & Waterhouse, Seamus Williams - Gorger (Chocolate Monk)

This CD contains a single, longer performance using layered field/domestic recordings, touches of feedback, and maybe some other electronics. It’s fleeting, and hard to pin down. Long periods go by without much change, which emphasizes new additions to the stew, such as the sudden feedback mentioned above.

Um:Kogyo - Organic

Not a lot of info out there on this one - if TVE heads out there have any, let me know. This one has a similar set of ingredients to the above, but the results are stranger. The first of the three tracks has legitimately harsh points from what sounds like an overdriven recording of crickets, with other sounds coming and going, levels of harshness changing, etc. over the 20 minute runtime. The second track centres around a recording of walking around featuring a dog barking and a gate opening. The third features muffled yelling (?) at the start, and radio static (?). It’s hard to nail down, but compelling.

[murmur]

I listened to two Seamus Williams (of TVE)-related CDs this morning, both of which make use of something I’ve been thinking about: being outwardly boring, or at least deliberately not being exciting. While this isn’t typically associated with “good” (read: entertaining) music, I’m not sure that it should be rejected out of hand.

Staubitz & Waterhouse, Seamus Williams - Gorger (Chocolate Monk)

This CD contains a single, longer performance using layered field/domestic recordings, touches of feedback, and maybe some other electronics. It’s fleeting, and hard to pin down. Long periods go by without much change, which emphasizes new additions to the stew, such as the sudden feedback mentioned above.

Um:Kogyo - Organic

Not a lot of info out there on this one - if TVE heads out there have any, let me know. This one has a similar set of ingredients to the above, but the results are stranger. The first of the three tracks has legitimately harsh points from what sounds like an overdriven recording of crickets, with other sounds coming and going, levels of harshness changing, etc. over the 20 minute runtime. The second track centres around a recording of walking around featuring a dog barking and a gate opening. The third features muffled yelling (?) at the start, and radio static (?). It’s hard to nail down, but compelling.

[adult human]

I think TVE is a brilliant and utterly under rated project. It’s as though his work is out there in silence like a land mine waiting to be trodden on by folk who dig on all the more typically cited tape mangling artists but the likelihood of those people walking the ground where it lays hidden is slim.

I hear you on the deliberate lack of entertaining qualities. I wonder if this is as much to do with the home made electronics as it is a deliberate strategy. Lining up these demonic devices and working out what they do for their own sake

[Tribe Tapes]

Inspiration struck and I threw on TVE's Diseased Fancy for the morning listen over coffee.
Very much in the league of "your favorite artist's, favorite artist". You have to seek out this sort of thing to know that it's really happening.

I'm interested in the way people choose to listen to relatively sparse material like this. Do you opt for headphones, or let it messily spill out from your stereo?
Headphone listening seems too "active" for my lifestyle today (out-of-place Polvo reference). Active listening, creates an expectation that something has to happen. I prefer a more passive experience, focusing my attention on the sounds only when I'm naturally inclined to.

[adult human]

The bulk of my listening takes place at work on headphones via a laptop and I’ve definitely worked through a lot of TVE this was. I find that it enables me to listen passively whilst fucking around on a spreadsheet or whatever else but also lets me hear in good quality. Plenty of moments when I down tools to focus for a moment. I wish I could spend more time playing things on the home stereo but my most involved listening is certainly in the context. Personally I find it ideal for stuff like TVE where the devil is very much in the details.

[adult human]

A bit of recent listening.

Rory Salter On the Floor, By the Door (2024, Index Clean)

Extremely accomplished album even by the standards of someone who, if you know about him, you always expect extremely accomplished work from. My sense with what Rory does is always that it comes a place where the fun of sonic experimentation meets a very keen hand for composition and tying narrative into the recordings. It looks as though a lot of the things he has been messing around with in a live performance setting have been set to a dedicated and well set up recording session here and the results are utterly compelling. It's a very rich, well constructed sound palette that is always changing and making sharp turns. At the same time enough things are always taking place that make for a lush, warm musicality. You might consider this to be what happens when the thinking behind certain approaches to modern instrumental composition and dyed in the wool sound art are subjected to a murky, concretised deconstruction.

Arek Gulbenkoglu The Greek Tape (2024, Index Clean)

Released at the same time as the above but sadly not availed of nearly as much commentary (albeit commentary limited to brief sentences in Instagram stories. So it goes). This is without question the finest thing Gulbenkoglu has done yet. Seemingly picking up where Fissure, Fissure, Fissure before it left off, we are treated to an album where manipulation of voices on tape serves as a core strategy throughout. Often this is plainly audible and something for which I am an unrelenting sucker. Other times though - and this is where the greatness of the record really comes through - there is a flexibility to this approach that allows accident and circumstance to prevail. Just ears leading you into all the right directions. You could consider this album like a series of short settings where different processes are taking place, lined up in sequence. There's plenty of nice sharp cuts from one thing to the next and the mood of catalogued experiments prevails. Lots of stuff here is touched by what I'd guess is a massive interest in historical, classic or, y'know, older electronic and tape music works but it never descends into stupid copycat bullshit or parody in the way it could and so often does when those influences are at play. Recommend this so highly.

Augustė Vickunaitė Dance Alone (2024, no label)

Pretty straight up tape music greatness from an artist working in pretty straight up great tape music. It's loop heavy stuff which I appreciate a lot. I feel like a lot of modern tape music, for all its many merits, is marred by a lot of flashiness and the prevalence of certain moves and approaches (Italy, I'm looking at you). I like how Vickunaitė here is exploiting something more simple and gritty about the possibilities of these machines. Plenty of crunch, tactile noises and murk, don't worry about it, but most of what's going on here is kinda Dillowayesque looping with more focus on illegible voices morphing into slightly creepy repetitions. It's really nice, effective, unpretentious stuff from someone who continues to wrangle really interesting work from a methodology which breeds a lot of enjoyable but samey music.

Diurnal Burdens & Matt Atkins Futile Phantoms (2023, Chocolate Monk)

A surprise hitter in this house which I sadly just got around to recently. May have emerged as a 2023 favourite if I listened in time. Two pretty prolific and active UK artists in collaboration. On paper this is something I might have typically swerved since both of them work with tendencies toward drones and electronic approaches that would normally not be up my street. On this, though, they wonderfully shape these very same components into something I love by way of ultra sparse recording qualities, tape hiss, subtlety and knowing when not to do anything. The beauty of this one is really how much they make of very little going on. The droning tones, modulating harmonics and synthesis are left very much as a small background details while gunky, gurgling, folding lower case noise very much in the style of something like TVE as discussed earlier is allowed to lead everything on. Another one I recommend happily and something that, as with most Choc Monk releases, will undoubtedly have flown way under the radar.

[murmur]

Palatial - Perennial Apologia (Fanalstatt, 2023)

Anne-F Jacques & Takamitsu Ohta - Oto to Secchi (tsss tapes, 2021)

Two very atmospheric tapes, but presenting very different atmospheres. This is more literal on the second, which is a walk-through of a sound art installation. Small sounds come in and out, repeat, and the movement through the runtime from one sound to another is really interesting and satisfying to listen to. The Palatial tape brings TG to mind, although probably more what I imagine them to be than their actual output. Dirty concrete and cobbles, high walls, etc. are where this one goes - very grey. Excellent.

[D345]

BIOFILMI / STEEL ROMANCE SPLIT TAPE (self-released)

Heaviest full metal tape that I have ever felt! Really good. Debut by Steel Romance (Finnish project of course)
Biofilmis side reminds of their split with Touch Starved, but faster! Steel Romance is more minimal, ambient-feel industrial electronics. Really good pairing.

[lastof]

I posted this in the NNP Facebook group too but I've been enjoying:

Weasel Walter / Rick Eye / Adios From Everywhere - Endless Punishment
Weasel and Rick are in the noisecore band Vomitatrix together (highly recommended by probably not appropriate for this group). This recording sees Weasel forgoing drumset entirely and ONLY "electroacoustic percussion" which I assume means contact mic'd stuff? As well as the BASTL KASTLE V1.5 which I also own and love haha. Rick Eye is on guitar and electronics. AFE contributed artwork and videos for the album but isn't performing sonically.
This is a real brutal listen, a single super harsh extended form (1 hour) track. Real gnarly.

Maniacs Dream - Turku Hold 'Em
Speaking of harsh and longform, that also applies here (45 and 22 minute tracks on one CD). Extremely HIJOKAIDAN esque with traditional instruments and electronics all in a trebly blast. Obnoxious, abrasive, you know how it gets. Very cool CD.