Now Playing

[papp diin]

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.

Something about Turku seems to breed noisecore, I don't know why. Someone sold me a V/A comp outside of a show once, I assume to buy beer from the Lidl across the street. (You might be reading this and if you are, you fuckin rock)

[papp diin]

Wince - Sekt (Hospital Productions, 2017)

This one has been played a whole bunch lately. I checked it out first purely based on the hilarious track titles, but eventually found that this is in fact an excellent tape. Dense and noisy but at the same time atmospheric and even quite meditative. A consistent rhythm of a distant banging almost lulls you to sleep while some sort of black goo of (almost textureless?) distortion fills the mix.

The man himself is welcome to explain why you'd call one of the tracks "Buttman". The fact that it's on a Hospital Tape is even better.

[James Thompson]

Dominic Sambucco - Relative Cosmologies
Another languid, swoopingly atmospheric release from Language Instinct, washing static and musique concrete nature sounds. I've been really loving their releases recently; Glacial Anatomy - Radiology Noise is another highlight. I recommend! From the label:

"Dominic Sambucco is an Italian-Canadian sound artist and composer. He holds degrees in electroacoustic composition from the University of Montréal, and in modern guitar from the Music Academy of Rimini. His aesthetic is inspired by nature and technology, spanning from experimental electronic music to multimedia art projects, with the constant intention of pushing the boundaries of what has already been seen."



i'm also just about to start listening to this, which seems very promising, but haven't gotten into it yet:

[Butteche]

Not strictly noise, but very cool synthesizer outsider art from the 70s. This guy did medical electronics for his day job, but his hobby was building and recording his own synths. Seems like he wasn't part of any scene or releasing anything, all of this just dropped for the first time (except for one track) a year after his passing. Very cool minimal electronics.

[papp diin]

Consumer Electronics - Surge (2024)

The lads are back and they're better than ever. I must admit, I haven't been much of a fan anything this group has put out since the excellent Estuary English. This however seems like a return to recognisable form, yet completely different than anything Philip Best has been involved with before. Even though Best keeps the vocals pretty cool most of the time, there's still an unexplainable atmosphere in whatever's going on that makes my blood rush. At the same time there's quite a few genuinely dancable moments. (point of reference: The vampire raves in Blade)The opener in particular is just pure joy, and the closer is fucking phenomenal.

[Scream & Writhe]

Consumer Electronics - Surge (2024)

The lads are back and they're better than ever. I must admit, I haven't been much of a fan anything this group has put out since the excellent Estuary English. This however seems like a return to recognisable form, yet completely different than anything Philip Best has been involved with before. Even though Best keeps the vocals pretty cool most of the time, there's still an unexplainable atmosphere in whatever's going on that makes my blood rush. At the same time there's quite a few genuinely dancable moments. (point of reference: The vampire raves in Blade)The opener in particular is just pure joy, and the closer is fucking phenomenal.

Anticipating the arrival of this (and that ideally means distro copies will be landing here as well). I was a fan of the last album, Airless Space. Carnage Mechanics is a perfect track.

[murmur]

I’ve been working my way through the new Adhuman batch, which has been fantastic so far. The Teignmouth Electron cd, You Are Not Alone, feels very intimate, with two tracks being strange radio collage and the other being a mostly lighthearted, two-person improvisation-thing with jokes being told, a trumpet, etc. This doesn’t take away from some of the sombre moments, however. We hear intercepted, sometimes sad phone conversations in the radio tracks, and the improvisation track has moments that sound suddenly like an argument. The fish el fish cd, Dog Wearing Dracula Fangs, is bizarre electronics and vocals that’s extremely inventive. It’s also funny at times, although why isn’t always obvious. Clearly, for both of these, there’s more to dig into.

[k.p.g]

Robert Fuchs - Leprose Wick (Robert Fuchs)
Picked this up in a trade with Dean recently. Super murky mixer feedback/field recordings that are collaged with other variables throughout. There’s one Beatles sample in here on the A Side which is honestly so badass. It’s so cliche that I think everyone would be quick to not do something like that. Which makes Dean doing it all the more excellent.
Packaging is also on point. Love the feel of the j card especially.

Graveyard Crows - Recycled (RRR)
An underrated gem in the recycled catalogue. Weird tape murk that stands out above the rest of the stuff that came out in that era with a similar vein. Wish this dude wasn’t so apathetic towards noise nowadays.

Slacking & Mallard Theory - Brain Cells in the Shape of a Duck (Cruel Symphonies)
Played Caleb’s house this weekend & walked away with this gem. Jim is on point here. The duck is on point here. I hear some quacking. Well worth the wait since I first heard of its existence.

[Kenny]

Bastard Noise + Order - Bastard Noise Order (Freak Animal) - One of my favourite BN recordings, Really great heavy electronics, I don`t know much about Order, anyone have the 7"?
Atsushi Izumi "Schismogenesis" (Ohm Resistance) - FFO scorn and Emptyset - killer!
Neurosis - "Enemy of the Sun" (Alternative Tentacles) / "Through Silver in Blood" (Relapse) - It`s been a while since I heard these, almost forgot how good they were , esp. "EOTS" - Actually The first CD I ever bought.
Big Black "Pigpile (Touch and Go - Obvious reasons, RIP
Consumer Electronics - "Surge" (Dirtier Productions) - like others have said, fantastic record, love the vocal approach on this., and Russell Haswell`s electronics are ace too. AOTY contender
Mick Harris "Hednod 20" (self-released) - another instalment. it`s good.
Iron Fist of the Sun - "We Can Yield Our Own Footsteps" (Cold Spring) - you know.

[papp diin]

The sun is shining a bit too bright today so I found myself in a Skullflower hole. Of particular note is Fucked on a Pile of Corpses, an album I loved when it came out but haven't played in many many years. God damn this might be a perfect record.

[Thomas_B]

The sun is shining a bit too bright today so I found myself in a Skullflower hole. Of particular note is Fucked on a Pile of Corpses, an album I loved when it came out but haven't played in many many years. God damn this might be a perfect record.

Love that one, too. Have you heard the sunroof! CD, “Spitting Gold Zebras”? It was one of the last physical sunroof! things before Skullflower once again took over as the primary output project of MB, and a good chunk of it is really harsh, at least relatively speaking when considered alongside all the other sunroof releases up to that point.

[papp diin]

Toanche Dwelling - Wendake Ehen (Satatuhatta, 2024)

There's something about hitting that perfect tape loop that creates a little world you can inhabit in for ever. William Basinski of course made an entire career out of finding those. On this tape, we have a handful of them saturated in tasty tape hiss, ever so slowly changing and building, like a plant growing. One that took me by surprise, this one. Feels both eternal and all too brief.

The sun is shining a bit too bright today so I found myself in a Skullflower hole. Of particular note is Fucked on a Pile of Corpses, an album I loved when it came out but haven't played in many many years. God damn this might be a perfect record.

Love that one, too. Have you heard the sunroof! CD, “Spitting Gold Zebras”? It was one of the last physical sunroof! things before Skullflower once again took over as the primary output project of MB, and a good chunk of it is really harsh, at least relatively speaking when considered alongside all the other sunroof releases up to that point.

I have not, but all Sunroof stuff I have heard has been good, especially during warm days like these. I'll write that down on this hand-written "to listen"-list i have at work, which also doubles as a mouse mat.

[murmur]

B.P. - Distance Dies

This tape is a great showcase of B.P.’s mastery of what he does. He seamlessly transitions from one aspect of his work to another (very physical-sounding tape music/noise, his distinct style of field recording, beautiful droning synths) in a way that makes you wonder if you were hearing what you are now, before. This is especially impressive given how short the different pieces are: the entire runtime is less than 20 minutes or so.

Death Kneel - Agonizer

One of two very short tapes (C10-ish) the project put out last year, this is extremely physical noise, cutting between feedback tones, contact mic-sounding stuff, mouth sounds, etc. While it’s definitely cut up, it doesn’t come across like other music in the style. I think this is because the particular sounds it’s cutting between are more sparse. The A side is focussed on whistling sounds, while the B side is bass-ier. It’s extremely inventive, distinct and pretty punishing.

[The Mysterious Creep]

Big one for me as of late has been Sword Heaven - Entrance (2007). Total uber-Swans death plod, screeching and pulsing electronics with distant screams and big repetitive drum thuds ("beats" feels like it implies something too sophisticated). Also been enjoying some Mouthus - I got back into reading the reviews section from the webzine Blastitude and they covered a lot of late 2000's to early 2010's American noise. Lots of low budget, improvisational cassettes and CD-Rs.

[James Thompson]

Sword Heaven - Entrance (2007).

just checking this out - great album, cheers for the recommend

[Capers]

SHADOW PATTERN 2CD (Adhuman, 2024)
I'm not very alert when it comes to check out new stuff nowadays, micro editions in particular, so it's nice to have Adhuman out there. All of it might not really be "my thing", but it's ALWAYS interesting stuff. Sort of like I Dischi Del Barone, but with full length releases instead and a slightly narrower scope.

Anyway, this canadian fella has his own tiny square mapped out meticulously. A slow somnambulant semi-nocturnal scenery which borders on the surreal side of things, but stays on the healthy side of bonkers. There's a thread here about "domestic noise", and I guess this might fit? Tape is the method, and bells (the bells!!! His use of little bells - or whatever it is - would have been enough for me to buy this), garbage, domestic machinery and percussion, voice and instruments comprise the tools. But fuck what's being used, who gives a damn. These are pieces that seem born out of curiosity just as much as from boredom, if that makes sense. An intuitive flow to it all. Hands and knobs move slowly by their own will, it seems, with no apparent audience in mind. Some common ground with the more laidback works of Mattias Gustafsson and Thomas Deangelo - might just place Shadow Pattern somewhere inbetween the two, come to think of it - but hardly on purpose. Sort of like in China Mieville's City and the City; you're walking the same streets, but you don't acknowledge one another. Completely different realities on the very same spot at the same time. But in a positive sense in this case, obviously. Where am I getting? No idea. Maybe that Shadow Pattern sometimes stumbles around in the same corridors as the men mentioned, but behind a different pair of shades while coughing and barfing? Sorry! If you need slow somnambulant semi-nocturnal warbly sceneries, look no further. Terrific stuff.

[adult human]

SHADOW PATTERN 2CD (Adhuman, 2024)
I'm not very alert when it comes to check out new stuff nowadays, micro editions in particular, so it's nice to have Adhuman out there. All of it might not really be "my thing", but it's ALWAYS interesting stuff. Sort of like I Dischi Del Barone, but with full length releases instead and a slightly narrower scope.

Anyway, this canadian fella has his own tiny square mapped out meticulously. A slow somnambulant semi-nocturnal scenery which borders on the surreal side of things, but stays on the healthy side of bonkers. There's a thread here about "domestic noise", and I guess this might fit? Tape is the method, and bells (the bells!!! His use of little bells - or whatever it is - would have been enough for me to buy this), garbage, domestic machinery and percussion, voice and instruments comprise the tools. But fuck what's being used, who gives a damn. These are pieces that seem born out of curiosity just as much as from boredom, if that makes sense. An intuitive flow to it all. Hands and knobs move slowly by their own will, it seems, with no apparent audience in mind. Some common ground with the more laidback works of Mattias Gustafsson and Thomas Deangelo - might just place Shadow Pattern somewhere inbetween the two, come to think of it - but hardly on purpose. Sort of like in China Mieville's City and the City; you're walking the same streets, but you don't acknowledge one another. Completely different realities on the very same spot at the same time. But in a positive sense in this case, obviously. Where am I getting? No idea. Maybe that Shadow Pattern sometimes stumbles around in the same corridors as the men mentioned, but behind a different pair of shades while coughing and barfing? Sorry! If you need slow somnambulant semi-nocturnal warbly sceneries, look no further. Terrific stuff.

Thank you for these thoughtful words. Especially enjoy your notion of guys treading the same ground almost by mistake. Different motivations, similar outcomes. I'll also very much take the IDDB comparison and consider it a job well done to be mentioned even a little in the same kind of words. My hope is that the scope of the label can and will evolve as more things come out but I do strive for a rough cohesion among releases. Sometimes all this means is 'things I think should happen that might not unless I ask them too' but hopefully that's enough. Very glad that so many people have picked up on the Shadow Pattern material. It is now sold out from me but I'm considering another run of discs if there's enough demand.

[adult human]

Zheng Hao Breaks (Krim Kram, 2024)

Debut full length from this artist who has been playing, collaborating and organising around London for a few years now. My favourite aspect of this is how representative it is of a lot of her live performances whilst still being a 'proper' recording. Previous releases have headed off down slightly more conceptual routes whereas this feels like a proper 'Zheng Hao album'. Per the label blurb she would describe this as "rhythmic patterns from dusty potentiometers and dirty electronic circuits in modular synthesis improvisation" which potentially undersells her own hand and style here. Yeah, you definitely hear a lot of pulses, ticks and patterns but, as is trademark for her, they rarely stick around for very long before being rerouted into a crackly messy fizz and then reestablished in newforms. There's a minimalism at play here in that (I believe) she limits herself to a handful of devices which she explores thoroughly. I personally love that she doesn't seem all that interested in exploiting her chosen tools beyond a pretty distinct palette of sounds. A shitty summary might be 'minimal harsh noise made by synths played at low volume'. Enough to satisfy (adventurous) noise heads and synthy chin scratchers at once. Cool front cover art too.

Hiroyuki Ura/Zhu Wenbo Jyunishi 十​二​支 (Aloe Records, 2024)

This one really did it for me. As with 100% of anything Zhu Wenbo does, all sounds and methods are ordered by a particular logic and technical approach specific to the album. Here it is a simple idea around tape loops, as I believe both artists coincidentally use very similar approaches and have done independently of one another for many years. Ura arranges material provided by Wenbo onto tape loops and vice versa. The results are a masterclass of even handedness and light touch. Both artists appear to hold back and only use only single sound source. maybe two per track, which find themselves roving about on short loops across a couple of machines at once, or perhaps just one. Rather than establishing a loop and having it remain static they regularly overdub short new snippets from the source material onto the tape/s in real time, allowing the loop/s to subtley morph and develop across track durations. Some pieces are nice and short, others work out over 6-10 mins and at their most powerful moments hit veins as profound in their hypnotic simplicity as things that were being discovered early on by cunts like Riley, Young or Flynt when they were getting fascinated by tape. Don't believe me then give yourself over to 'Tatsu 辰' and see how you feel. A very different and probably more traditionally musical use of tape loops than we might typically talk about in a forum such as this but all the better for it. Another nice touch about this release is that it comes with a link to an accompanying interview on the Aloe site about how it was made. I love this idea and it's something Zhu Wenbo does with Zoomin' Night too.

Goldblum Tears in Limbo (Krut Records, 2024)

I'm less familiar with this project than I ought to be considering how much I love everything else each member is involved with, but I suspect this may be the finest (and final) offering in any case. There is a(n ab)use of stolen, identifiable loops of regular music here that in most hands would be absolutely dreadful - whole bars of tinkly old polite jazz or slowed down twangs and howls of 'GIIIIRL' from some kind of love song - but c/o Goldblum this stuff is used to outrageously baked effect and serves as a bed for deeply intruguing, sleepy spoken vocals, instrument/object improvisation and further tape mangling. It has a very roomy quality which may or may not be derived from live recording. In fact you hear what sounds like audience chatter at one point but it feels as much like intentional foley as a possible artefact of a captured gig. The whole vibe is one of deep, deep, seductive weirdness that feels like it comes from an extremely private and easter egg laden place. Yet it's completely listenable and beautiful too. Proper acts of world building across 6 tracks. In some ways it feels very Lynchian but without all of the baggage and corniness you'd expect from the use of that term when applied to music. I need to give it more listens (as is ever true of everything) but I feel like this will emerge as a favourite of the year. Certainly very out on its own and unlike anything else you'll be hearing anyway.

[k.p.g]

Atrophist - Perverted Architect (Tribe Tapes)

Crude is an understatement; this tape sounds like it was dragged through a bed of glass and mud. I LOVE IT. Lots of hypnotic synths to latch to and anything harsh always sounds like it is a 2x4 hitting the floor of an empty warehouse; another gem find from Tribe Tapes.

[Joie de la Blumpy]

See Best (and worst) of 2022

Also been skulling gallons of green tea (with soy sauce)

[murmur]

Working through a package from our fearless leader.

Max & Johnny’s Duplication Breedings (French Market Press)

This tape rules. It’s a perfect combination of Max Eastman and John Olson (specifically the mixer feedback etc. style)’s sounds. Music comes in and out, the noise aspects are harsh, they blend together at times, great.

Darksmith - A Mark of Disgrace Indicating Ownership (No Rent)

The first Darksmith tape I’ve heard, and I’ve clearly been missing out. The sounds jump all over, and the result is really evocative.

Imminent Death - Radiant Ignition (Veil Tapes)

This project had a really good tape on Dead Gods a while ago that I missed out on, so had to grab this. The music here is less aggressive than the other tape, but has a lot of the same elements (synths, loops) and is maybe more cinematic? It’s certainly not as blown out. The other tape’s direction suits my tastes more, but this is still good, and extremely well-crafted.

Cost - Circular Cages of Graded Tin and Rusted Wind (Joy de Vivre)

RIP. I really liked this project’s take on wall noise, Sand Clung Blood (Veil Tapes), but the notes said that wasn’t their typical style, so I got this, which is also excellent. It goes a lot of places within HN, and rides the line well between sounding composed and chaotic.

[The Mysterious Creep]

Picked up a tape by the project Ecology: Homestones recently (guy who runs the Sleeping Giant Glossolalia label was playing a show at Wax Atlas records as part of the band Opening Bell, I traded him one of my own solo tapes for it) and it's quite good. Extremely crude Industrial Power Noise with a weird sense of humor. It's loud as hell regardless of playback volume and manages to be decently creepy in spite of its sillier aspects. Mostly just very distorted synths and some equally distorted beats, some of the tracks sound like being stalked by killer robots.

[murmur]

A few tapes from the Initial Shock merch table

G.X. Jupitter-Larsen & Richard Ramirez - Black Fire by two (Deadline)

This tape was a real surprise. It’s a lot less harsh than I expected, especially the B-side, which sounds like you’re in large building’s HVAC system or something. The A side has what sound like super blown out notes, some vocals, and while distorted is kind of pleasant to listen to.

deep grey - Radiation Torment (Focus Media)

A lot of ground is covered on this one. It has music (blown out and not), field recordings, other stuff (?) and really dynamic and varied noise. I think this is my favourite thing the project has done.

[Lactating Tardigrade]

A little overwhelmed with a few bigger items I picked up recently and trying to work through it all. Received the David Gilden box and spinning a disc every few days or so. Going to take quite awhile to work through it all. Absolutely beautiful looking box and Jim did a stellar job putting it together. HUGE labor of love. I can't wait to get to the Sawgasm tape, been looking to get ahold of that for many years.

I also recently got an Incapacitants "Box is Stupid" in very good condition second hand from someone and just couldn't pass it up. Stellar material from Stupid is Stupid, Extreme Gospel Nights, and many more. I'm still missing the "Alchemy is Stupid" box if anyone is looking to part with it, send me a DM.

New Dead Body Love reissues for Repugnance and Crossfire are both great and Gabriele's full length album on Phage Tapes is also quite good, but very different from the material under the Dead Body Love moniker.

Many many great reissues and new releases coming out this Summer. Too much to keep up with!

[murmur]

Dieter Muh - Hanging the Blind Dog (Hanson)

Heavy, droning tape music, performed live on side A judging from the audience sounds, etc. It gets really overwhelming at some points, but very small and quiet at others. There are also elements of rhythm that come in, but I wouldn’t call it rhythmic. The tone of it shifts around a bit, as do the elements of the music, but not in an incoherent way. The word nuanced comes to mind. I especially like the use of recordings of people talking, which become really strange with how they’re used. The artwork also fits nicely with the music, especially as it’s oriented sideways.