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[WCN]

big fan of the Apefrica lp. truly sits at the top tier of modern pe.

I always (barely jokingly) say that interracial sex is the only actual modern power electronics when I’m talking about the project

I stupidly slept on the Apefrica LP and have been kicking myself. Oskar mentioned reissuing it on CD at one point and I hope that's still planned.

I think you must have my name mixed up with someone elses, becuase I've never mentioned this and have never had plans of doing this.

[Lactating Tardigrade]

I always (barely jokingly) say that interracial sex is the only actual modern power electronics when I’m talking about the project

I stupidly slept on the Apefrica LP and have been kicking myself. Oskar mentioned reissuing it on CD at one point and I hope that's still planned.

I think you must have my name mixed up with someone elses, becuase I've never mentioned this and have never had plans of doing this.

My bad! I must have crossed wires somewhere, sorry for the misinformation. Maybe Jim mentioned doing it or I completely made it up!

[Thomas_B]

Mot & Violent Shogun - Mangle (AE)
Excellent collaboration between these two tape manglers. I love the packaging which includes an unplayable, gold paint slathered tape. One of my favourites of 2022.
Midden - Nothing New Under The Sun (Bent Window)
Gorgeous tape of not quite ambient quiet music. Been enjoying everything I hear from Midden.
Misery Engine - Regime Change Operations (DBT)
One of many ME tapes I spin now and again. Great PE project that seems to have slowed right down if not gone completely defunct, or more likely just focusing on other projects.

It’s just happenstance that I’ve been jamming a bunch of M projects, btw

[Scream & Writhe]

Mot & Violent Shogun - Mangle (AE)
Excellent collaboration between these two tape manglers. I love the packaging which includes an unplayable, gold paint slathered tape. One of my favourites of 2022.

I really like how this one came together overall. There are some leftover covers and inserts, so this might see the light of day again in a small edition without the anti-tape.


Been a bit occupied with other stuff, so haven't been on the noise train too much in recent weeks, but some playlist highlights are the Green Tea - Snowblower CD (New Forces) and Pain Jerk - Trashware CD (Pure).

[xIncorruptibleCorpse777x]

Linekraft - Hunger for Life
Belle & Sebastian - Tigermilk
Belle & Sebastian - Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant
Slavescene - [everything]
Raw Nerve - ditto
Slices - ditto
Buzzov-en - ditto
Uniform - The Walk
Suffering And The Hideous Thieves - All My Friends Are On Prozac EP
Pulp - His 'n' Hers
Calm Collapse - Mirrored Nature
Coast Off - The Big Split
Zao - WBAFBR
Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal

+Eastern Orthodox chant

[Thomas_B]

Secret Abuse - Violent Narcissus, Not Not Fun 2008
Secret Abuse - Ripeness, Callow God 2009
Moody, over-driven and saturated guitar and electronics noise. The Secret Abuse discography is all desert island material for me.

[XXX]

revisiting some of my favorite SNUFF releases as of late. for those unfamiliar i would highly recommend the 7" MALE SUPREMACY b/w GOOD CLEAN FUN. all of their albums hit hard but i would rank SNUFF III as the top of the list. absolutely seething minimalist feedback worship power electronics.

[D345]

latest pile of listened tapes
(gero is bootleg of 45rpm and nothing to hear)

[Namahs]

Nice stack!

[xIncorruptibleCorpse777x]

BLACK MATTER PHANTASM - Rose Napalm
Smrznik - The Static Astronaut
Merzbow & Smegma - Plays [2023 CD reissue]
Suffering Brings Wisdom - Death Is All Around Us
Belle & Sebastian - Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant
Slavescene - [their discography]
Raw Nerve - [ditto]
Slices (PA) - [ditto]
Condominium - [ditto]
Buzzov-en - [ditto]
Uniform - The Walk
Bad Breeding - s/t
Double Negative - Daydreamnation
+ Eastern Orthodox Chant

[D345]

now spilling coffee on Worth - Hamper

[k.p.g]

Prurient - Cain and Abel S/M (Hospital Productions)
I bought the special edition & finally had it land in the mail the other day. I have no way to spin the 12” yet, so just the tape will have to do. It’s not one of my favorites of Dom’s recent work, but it’s still good! It really starts to pick up towards the end of Side B, and keeps going after that. Guest vocals by FFH also kill.

Work/Death - Tender Comrades (Semata Productions)
This feels like an excellent starting place for anyone who wants to get into Scott’s work. It’s a totally complete picture of what the Work/Death project is all about. It balances lush synth textures and sinister noise rumbling so well.

Slacking - Cycling Through Bother and Bliss (Prose Nagge)
This disc I have had in my player more than any other recently. The hype Jim is receiving for his work is well deserved. This is a freaked out journey through tape music’s many strange forms.

[SS1535]

One of his best live releases, I think.

[k.p.g]

Neuntöter Der Plage - Let Your Flesh Writhe, For It is Your Time (Chondritic)
This is a peak Ryan Oppermann tape. Creepy synth & vocals all throughout, with unsettling piano & what sounds like tape loops joining the mix.

Mania - Ultra-Negative (Freak Animal)
Mania sourcing Dilloway? Cmon, how can you not love this? This disc just crushed my stereo system. Thanks, Keith.

Inarticulate - No Worse. (Mechanical Presence)
Debut disc from this Jersey Shore project, endorsed by Jersey king Luk Henderiks. If “bitter psychedelia” was a genre tag, I’d use it to describe this (and just like that, I invented a new subgenre of noise).

[adult human]

Some picks from the last few days

C.R. Odette | Yamilet | 2016 | All Gone
C.R. Odette | Castle Two | 2017 | Chocolate Monk
C.R. Odette | C.R. Odette | 2015 | Vitrine

Jesus I really, REALLY love this project and am happy to see some bits I'd not heard quite recently uploaded to youtube. I hope this continues. There is a distinct series of components that carries across all three of these releases which on its own is very interesting and well executed - broadly speaking it's different flavours of cheapo sounding keyboards and electronics, puttery, pitch bent voice, snatches of tv/radio/whatever sound, the odd bit of field recording and, most importantly, just the right kind of murky midwest 4 tape fidelity binding it all together. This kind of undersells the magic of it all though: there's lots of places she takes these ideas across all 3 releases and the only times the ideas ever seem to be repeating is in a kind of 'signature style' way that absolutely rules. Always new feelings and angles being wrung out.

Fossils | Somewhere Dead in Hollywood | 2006 | Middle James Co.
Fossils | Fly By Night | 2007 | Ley Line Magnetic Tapes
Fossils | Dark Wood | 2007 | Middle James Co.
Fossils | 3 7s |2016 | Cardinal Recordings (these are rips of Cardinal Recordings lathes from the 00s stuck on bandcamp in 2016)

I'm slowly circling a theory about how the 00's era is due a reappraisal noise wise. What was, at the time, an overwhelming, impossible to keep up with and - lets face it - variable in quality onslaught of creativity from countless artists/labels is now something that time and internet allows us to reinvestigate a bit more slowly and carefully. At leisure. The rate at which Fossils seemed to be issuing tapes and cdrs back in their day seemed damned near weekly and I think I just resigned myself to never even thinking about trying to follow it. I don't know if I even own a single release, though I might. Working through rando offerings on youtube and bandcamp has been a treat at work this week and probably a lot more varied in style than I had expected. The 4 releases listed here aren't wall to wall quality, but each contains something genuinely interesting and seemingly the result of a relaxed, regular interplay between more than one person in a room, captured roughly to tape. Loads of different sound sources being explored in each configuration, ranging from clanging guitars, coughing voices, warped records, cruddy feedback loops, shitty fx - all on/off tapes in/out of amps and blown out onto a shitty tape deck, probably. My big takeaway from doing this is how ironically rare it seems to be to come across this approach and aesthetic these days? Am I losing it? Did the 'stoned guys in basements jamming every week and doing tapes with collaged covers' approach that once defined the noise underground's unmanageable excesses at one point suddenly drop off? I could point at a number of heads who still carry the torch, or perhaps more accurately used it to set fire to other things, but I don't clock a whole lot of younger people tuning into this zone. I'm aware it was a maligned methodology in its day but the fact is a shitload of this music really bears up with contemporary ears. It'd be good to see a (considered) return to form somehow. Us guys in the UK can't do it because of our shit living situations but USA people with basements, get stuck in.

[33033]

The Rita - Kathryn
Worth - Oculus
Cyess Afxzs - No Bull One Left Behind
Dave Gahan - Endless
Ozzy Osbourne - Bark At The Moon

[adult human]

Graham Lambkin | Community | Kye

Not sure if you'd say this is his best but it may be the most classic capsule instance of what he gets up to? Closely recorded sounds, further away ones that sound like they're happening in a room, bits of tape, bells (too many probably, but this is a problem Lambkin has), distinctly 'field recording' recordings, guest musicians people adding contributions, weirdly placed bits of speaking and voice, many of which that have been made to sound ugly and animalistic. There is a a use of sine tones throughout which is only occasionally troubling and misplaced, quite often nearing genius. There's a bit where it all coalesces with the album's only real peak of lush, beautiful instrumentation and it is sheer sublime stuff. When side 2 kicks off it instantly feels like he uses a more trying version of the components he introduced on side 1. If this is intended it's astonishingly well conceptualised. Just another reason to fear the man.

Robert Turman & John Wiese | Solid State of Time | Helicopter

A drone album, basically. It's very well executed and made by two artists I have a lot of admiration for but I don't think there's a moment of music on this where they proffer anything you don't get from any number of other drone albums. I can't say my life is any better at all for having gotten this. They can't all be big hitters I suppose, but maybe they don't all need to be released on CD by Helicopter either.

Kiran Arora | The Wilderness Years | Fantasy Knife

I had the pleasure of watching Kiran Arora play a dazzling set earlier this year along with the extreme misfortunate of having to play right after him. The show was a masterclass of ultra precise, ultra effective blasting which leant heavily into the world of hyper composed computer music whilst retaining all of the rough chaotic qualities of excellent noise. This cd, recorded through 2021 but released this year, is a perfect refinement of all that and more. The dude is a fucking surgeon who can hang with absolutely anyone you like in a live setting but his ability to focus that into fantastic albums that expand his approach of muck meets meticulousness is what shows you how seriously great he is.

Hans Krüsi | EX HK. | Alga Marghen

Recently obtained after some years of hankering. New edition ltd repress of the 2008 release. Pressing is absolute dogshit unless my turntable is on the fritz - side A an absolute festival of clicking and distortion that shouldn't be there - but we'll live with it. Last night was my first real in depth listen to it. This of course has the 'crude outsider w/ cheap tape player' USP to it but it also strikes me that it's something of a forbearer for the 'domestic guy repurposing sounds' thing too. Listening to records and radio whilst sawing, exclaiming, doing bits and bobs, with other sounds layered on top. Strong argument for it being a proto Lambkin approach, but maybe I'm just biased due to what I'm listening to at the minute i.e lots of lambkin. Don't listen to me.

[Lactating Tardigrade]

Gourmet Shit Scene - Family Portraits c30 (Room 2A)
Ripping and piercing junk metal noise from the duo of Richard Ramirez and Sean Matzus. No wall noise or low end on this tape. All piercing highs and lots of feedback! Very active and caustic. Good tape!

Controlled Filter - Sniper c30 (Room 2A)
Richard solo project. Reissue of a tape originally released in 1997. This one has grown on me and I've listened to it quite a number of times. Not quite sure how to describe the sound well. There are a number of layers of electronics that focus more on the mids and the movement is more slow churning. All of the elements are kind of "harsh" in a sense but not overtly active and no focus on ripping high-end feedback or low-end rumbling at the forefront. Everything melds together really well into a uniform sound, which I assume is the result of the 4-track mix more than anything else. Still up on his Bandcamp if you want to check it out.

Helmut Yard - The Platform Shift c60 (Room 2A)
Reissue of a 1996 tape featuring Richard and Donna Mikli, who was once a member of Black Leather Jesus. Another harsh tape, this time with a focus on the mids and some high-end. A textural static underbelly builds the foundation of the track with some play with harsher highs layering the forefront. Cool cover on this one, anyone know what movie it's from?

[k.p.g]

One Dark Eye - Death Knocking at the Door (Mother Savage)
Swallowing Bile - Malicious Intent (Beneath the Ruins)
C.C.I.C. - Cosmick Coroners Investigation Committee (Easy Listening)
Lobo Messiah - God’s Plan (Fusty Cunt)
Kyle Flanagan & Church Shuttle - Beer Drinking Hellraisers (Easy Listening)
Pusdrainer - Dread/the Follower (self-released)
Ligature - Claustrophobe (Joy De Vivre)

I had a lot to say about each tape, but then my phone crapped out in the middle of writing it all down & erased my first post. Sorry. They’re all awesome releases though.

[Scream & Writhe]

Bastard Noise - Descent to Mimas (Ground Fault, 2001)

A solid Wiese/Wood effort, with only a couple minutes of vocals tucked into the first track. This is another album I haven't listened to in years that I think still managed to be burned deep into my subconscious. Likely one of the first places I heard these fried/bubbling "insect electronics". The second track, 'Beneath Ice Skin', exists in a field that I often find myself in when recording Primitive Isolation Tactics material. I'd be curious to know what gear was used on that track, because it almost sounds like mixer feedback and a couple pedals for the most part, which doesn't seem to correlate with the parties involved (when did Nelson start making the Trogotronic gear?).

[k.p.g]

Bastard Noise - Descent to Mimas (Ground Fault, 2001)

A solid Wiese/Wood effort, with only a couple minutes of vocals tucked into the first track. This is another album I haven't listened to in years that I think still managed to be burned deep into my subconscious. Likely one of the first places I heard these fried/bubbling "insect electronics". The second track, 'Beneath Ice Skin', exists in a field that I often find myself in when recording Primitive Isolation Tactics material. I'd be curious to know what gear was used on that track, because it really just sounds like mixer feedback and a couple pedals for the most part, which doesn't seem to correlate with the parties involved (when did Nelson start making the Trogotronic gear?).

Awesome release. I doubt that there is much mixer feedback going on though. Nelson was already building gear for the band by then. And if it was not his gear, then it probably was some of the stuff Barnes had already been using. I imagine Wiese was just using his usual laptop setup.

[k.p.g]

David Gilden - Texas Pillbox (Fusty Cunt)

Well, this is gonna take a while. Tape 1 is great so far. I will report back on it as a whole whenever I finish.

[Scream & Writhe]

Bastard Noise - Descent to Mimas (Ground Fault, 2001)

A solid Wiese/Wood effort, with only a couple minutes of vocals tucked into the first track. This is another album I haven't listened to in years that I think still managed to be burned deep into my subconscious. Likely one of the first places I heard these fried/bubbling "insect electronics". The second track, 'Beneath Ice Skin', exists in a field that I often find myself in when recording Primitive Isolation Tactics material. I'd be curious to know what gear was used on that track, because it really just sounds like mixer feedback and a couple pedals for the most part, which doesn't seem to correlate with the parties involved (when did Nelson start making the Trogotronic gear?).

Awesome release. I doubt that there is much mixer feedback going on though. Nelson was already building gear for the band by then. And if it was not his gear, then it probably was some of the stuff Barnes had already been using. I imagine Wiese was just using his usual laptop setup.

Yeah, what I'm hearing in it definitely doesn't transcribe to what they would have actually been using, but it's interesting to hear something evolved out of the cave man electronics of the project's early days that is still rather simple and primitive compared to the later high precision techniques with the Trogotronic rigs.

[k.p.g]

Bastard Noise - Descent to Mimas (Ground Fault, 2001)

A solid Wiese/Wood effort, with only a couple minutes of vocals tucked into the first track. This is another album I haven't listened to in years that I think still managed to be burned deep into my subconscious. Likely one of the first places I heard these fried/bubbling "insect electronics". The second track, 'Beneath Ice Skin', exists in a field that I often find myself in when recording Primitive Isolation Tactics material. I'd be curious to know what gear was used on that track, because it really just sounds like mixer feedback and a couple pedals for the most part, which doesn't seem to correlate with the parties involved (when did Nelson start making the Trogotronic gear?).

Awesome release. I doubt that there is much mixer feedback going on though. Nelson was already building gear for the band by then. And if it was not his gear, then it probably was some of the stuff Barnes had already been using. I imagine Wiese was just using his usual laptop setup.

Yeah, what I'm hearing in it definitely doesn't transcribe to what they would have actually been using, but it's interesting to hear something evolved out of the cave man electronics of the project's early days that is still rather simple and primitive compared to the later high precision techniques with the Trogotronic rigs.

It is amazing what they did back then. I would love to see some of Wood's earlier rigs from that time period (the only photo you can seem to find is the front of the "Live in Japan" CD - and even then you can't see into the box he is playing out of). Releases like "Skull Wave" are so barren in sound that it's hard to imagine anything more than like a simple oscillator.

[Scream & Writhe]

TOURETTE - eroboros CS (Truculent Recordings, 2006)

An all-too-brief tape. Harsh noise dynamism breaking free and moving wide across the field, willfully contrasted with extended moments of beautiful ambience. Never betraying its roots, yet not afraid to step outside for a moment. Comparisons to Oscillating Innards immediately spring to mind, and Tourette occupies territory similar to that of OxI, Pedestrian Deposit, etc. It makes perfect like-a-glove sense that Gordon Ashworth often championed this project.