Mai 12 & Dosis Letalis - Untergrundarbeiten

It has been some time since I have heard something new from one of my favorite HNW acts, namely Dosis Letalis. Actually, Dosis Letalis was reviewed on this blog way back in 2016! Dosis Letalis (and Anonymous Masturbaudioum) were the first two acts that introduced me to the textured sound world of HNW (Harsh noise wall). This one is a split with a Greek-based HNW act called Mai 12, which is also highly productive (Check Discogs link below). The guys behind Mai 12 are Karl Grümpe and Rene P.Q, two lads heavily involved in the Greek music underground. Being noise artists, and running some labels, be sure to check the Discogs link below people!

Anyways, this cassette (Limited to 50 copies) has been released by Grubenwehr Freiburg. You get a nice-looking woodsy-black cassette with some cool print on both sides, and some artwork showcasing hardworking miners from the days of old. Turns out that these poor devils are Greek immigrants working in Belgium mines, and the release itself is inspired by a short movie called Letter From Charleroi (Same name for the track by Mai 12). The letter is sent by a worker to his mother back in Greece, probably a letter about him missing his homeland and describing the harsh conditions (as a coal miner) in a strange and completely foreign land. The other tracks (On the B-side) by Dosis Letalis, have their focus and inspiration from the pictures themselves. Here Dosis Letalis uses intentional malfunctions and abrupt interruptions of the constant sound. In other words, we are getting more deep than underground here! 

The first track by Mai 12 - Letter From Charleroi, actually sounds like a huge drill...moving earth. I do know that (back then) everything was moved by hand and pickaxes. The combination of the drilling sound, and claustrophobic bass walls clearly describes (mentally) the oppressive and torturous feeling of spending (and working) your entire day as a coal miner. The air and scent are different, and offcourse the longing for the sun-light! It´s a harsh atmospheric treat, which pumps and crawls slowly through the listener's ears. Not constant HNW from the start and to the end, but take notice of the atmospheric ambient sounds in the background as well. There are also some high squealing sounds that make me think of bats offcourse.  Also, traces of heavily distorted vocals are being used here as well. The whole thing starts sort of gentle and gets more and more oppressive and claustrophobic in the process. Typically describes the day as a coal miner. Kind of interesting how Mai 12 manages to create a claustrophobic feeling with an atmospheric sound.

We flip the cassette and continue on the B-side with Dosis Letalis. While Mai 12 focused on a heavy and spacious sound, Dosis Letalis has more of a microscopic, minimal, and isolated sound approach. The first track is called Perfect Conditions. Contains incredible crunchy chopped-up distorted bass sounds, kind of get back to that drill. When it can drill, It will drill. Occasionally when it hits hard-rock, it will slow down a bit. Getting totally entranced here, these sounds go straight into the head. Not a negative comment really, because I do like what I hear! 

The second track is called Bunches, which immediately takes me back to Boyd Rice & Frank Gadgets Easy Listening For The Heard of Hearing. How a chopped-up machine noise can actually become a rhythm! I can almost hear the rubble of the mine crumple here, a very tight drill is at work here. Dentist drill being recorded maybe? 

The third (and last) track by Dosis Letalis is called Rupturing Erythrocytes (Red blood cells), does actually sound like something... blowing up. Small and constant explosions of small fire-crackers, or the sound of fabric getting ripped to shreds... inch by inch.  Glittering sounds of distorted bacon on a frying pan, with a murky-sounding bass sound delivering some extra element to the track. 

While this is an excellent HNW album, the end of it also gives me the impression of getting out of the coal mine after a long day's work. My ears are actually banging, and my mind and eyes feel... quite heavy and overloaded. Quite the edgy thing here, the sound and feel really get to you.. which (I believe) is the intention. After the album had ended, you can still hear and feel the aftermath of it. Hell, I even think that it could (and will) haunt me in my sleep. Well, here you are ladies and gentlemen... the latest thing in HNW. Subterranean noise wall, bound to bring you down... totally down! The ultimate HNW experience of 2022!              

Bandcamp (label):

https://grubenwehrfreiburg.bandcamp.com/album/untergrundarbeiten

 Gamnad737 - Hymn To Ahrãmuhntra

From Bangkok, Thailand we have Gamnad737. A highly productive harsh-noise solo act, been active since 2012. The only member Arkat Vinyapiroath, also being a highly productive composer who works within the boundaries of black metal, ambient, noise, and even jazz. This album is his 13th one and it is the second latest release after the new one, which is called Drilling Technique (Tribute To Jeffrey Dahmer). Greek label E.C.T Recordings have released this album on both CDr and on cassette, both editions being limited to 50 copies each. Quite simple, 2 tracks... both being about 30 minutes each. 

Before we jump head-on into the review of the recorded stuff inside, let me just make a copy-paste of his manifest regarding this act:

The sounds of liberation may lead to freeing others from their inner confinement, Siamese Noise outfit represents the stories through recordings from time to time in both acoustic and electric sound synthesis.

When then leads me straight into the first track, simply called Hymn To AhrãmuhntraPart I. It Starts with a dynamic and layered noise wall. Sound of windy storms, pitched squeals, concrete waves of distortion... and all of this sounds like it has been recorded inside a huge cathedral. Some really ceremoniously chanting vocals enters the void. A very spiritual experience so far, very high to the ceiling here. Slowly moving brutality rather than speed-orientated violence. Interesting mixture of religious chanting and ritualistic noise. I keep asking myself here, who the bloody hell is this...Ahrãmuntra?. But, doesn't really bugger me that I don´t know who it is. The painful (but mysterious) noisy soundscape does raise the question but keeps the curiosity fresh through the track. Very vibrant but lots of dynamics going on!

The second track Hymn To Ahrãmuhntra Part II continues in the same tradition as the former. Although being more focused on a heavier sound. It also feels more aggressive, and less atmospheric as well. Still containing those mysterious chanting voices In the background. When you get to the second track, you will notice a sort of... ambient-mood, if you manage to filter out the brutal noise! 

Kind of like... a coin with two sides. You will listen to the same side twice here, and you are wondering what might be on the other side? Is it the spiritual and ambient-based background? Or is it some info about who Ahrãmuhntra is? A ferocious journey into the unknown, a brutal ritual of horrific noise. You almost feel like being a part of the recording itself, participating in some kind of spiritual cleansing... a harsh spiritual cleansing that is. A wonderful album, truly is. Simple but abstract, minimal but incredibly dense, primitive but highly spiritual. Two contrast are evident here, they work together and it works. Sort of like yin and yang, recommended!

Facebook (label):

https://www.facebook.com/ectrecs

Bandcamp (band):

https://gamnad737.bandcamp.com/album/hymn-to-ahr-muhntra

     

  

 ASTRO - FAR IN THE DISTANCE

Written by Mads Heilskov

Japanese noise project Astro consists of Hiroko and Hiroshi Hasegawa who have been part of countless noise bands throughout the decades, perhaps most famously C.C.C.C. and Nord. Despite this and the fact that Astro has been around since 1993 with a ton of releases behind them, this is the first time I have actually listened to them. This review is therefore only concerned with Far in the Distance and not how it fares in comparison with the rest of their discography. 

To begin with, my first impression was admittedly not very optimistic. The cover art looks like one of those 90s dance CDs one would find in the bargain bins at the supermarket. In my opinion, this cheapens the overall impression of the CD causing one’s expectations to drop. Cover art is one thing, sound is another, and it turns out this release is a grower. In the first few listening sessions, I was not convinced. The sounds were erratic and without any feeling of purpose, giving me associations with this whole “noise for fun” thing which is certainly not an approach I appreciate. Upon repeated listens, however, details began to emerge and I started to get a sense of meaning in the seemingly directionless mess of rapid sonic blitzes. An atmospheric background started to become audible and the little bits and pieces of sound began to make sense, creating a sense of cohesion amidst the overall chaotic sensory overload.  

Track 1, Cluster Amaryllis, goes from an ambient atmosphere with a weird noisy background to a cacophony of sounds surrounding the listener. Around the midway point, it tips over in a bass-heavy crescendo with some nice ambient textures and spacy sounds accompanying it only to descend into noisy territory again. Throughout there’s a myriad of small sounds coming from everywhere creating a chaotic feel. It is like accelerating through space colliding with everything, creating little explosions resulting in tiny pieces of rubble cascading in all directions. It varies between squeaky sounds and sporadic rhythmic outbursts before venturing into noisier territory with high-pitched sounds of distorted bells and underlying distorted horns (or something like that) and back again. By moving back and forth between calmer and more structured industrial/ambient oriented sounds and rapid noise outbursts, Cluster Amaryllis manages to keep the tension and constantly evolve throughout its little over 21 minutes of runtime while keeping the spacy feeling throughout.

Track 2, Rebel Moon and Emotional Resolution, showcases a looser approach to sound creation. It starts off with a found sound/cut-up sound collage consisting of synth sweeps mixed with sound bits of what could be cars, barking dogs, small radio snippets, and construction work sent through various filters and effects. In its first part, Rebel Moon…has a more rhythmic yet somewhat disorientating feel to it. To these ears, it feels like a hectic journey through a noisy city while intoxicated. Although the sounds are loud, everything blends together creating something that feels more distant. It is, to stick with the intoxicated journey metaphor, as if the listener experiences all the buzzing around them through a filter, adding to the feeling of disorientation and confusion. Around the 9 min. mark the spacy feeling from Cluster Amaryllis starts to re-appear, albeit only for a short while before the psychedelic urban confusion takes over again with what sounds like cut-up voices and traffic. Towards the end, the track goes into a more rhythmic and industrial-sounding direction leading to a violent climax. Overall, during the almost 25-minute timespan, small and insignificant sounds are blown out of proportion while more prominent sounds seem to be dampened and placed in the background. The way sounds are enhanced, dampened, clashed with each other, and turned on and off gives a dizzying effect reminding of a bad acid trip. This leads me to think that this track is perhaps more about tumultuous inner than outer space. 

Off to a rocky start, I must say that my relationship with this CD has become much better than first anticipated. Even the cover art (which I still find off-putting) makes sense as it gives a cosmic vibe that fits well within the psychedelic exploration of outer and inner space in all its chaotic and erratic glory. This CD features a cacophony of small collisions of sound and may send the listener on a hectic and uncomfortable, but nonetheless rewarding, journey through a space full of objects that are hard and sharp, but, along the way, also beautiful. I can therefore only recommend that you put on your space suit, swallow the red and blue pills and let Astro take you on a trip into a stratosphere that is wild and chaotic rather than calm and soothing.

Bandcamp (label):

https://abhorrentcreationtapes.bandcamp.com/album/astro-far-in-the-distance

Bandcamp (band):

https://astro-hasegawa.bandcamp.com/

 Liposucción - Tácticas De Combate Entomológicas

 

Another interesting CD-R release from Greek E.C.T Recordings. Liposucción hails (all the way) from Armenia Colombia and this album is the second from this act. Limited and numbered 50 copies edition, Tácticas De Combate Entomológicas comes in that iconic E.C.T-CD-R-design look. A folded (and informative) CD cover with a printed CD-R housed in transparent rice paper. All of this is housed inside a nifty plastic bag. And what about the artwork on the cover? I didn´t understand the album title, but a closer look at the photo revealed some kind of winged insect of some sort. Some strange and kind of high-tech-looking graphics are sort of mixed into the photo as well. A note to mention, Filipo Laresca is the guy behind this project. The founder of Haunted Exp Laps Records, and responsible for tons of cool releases on his Bandcamp, I suggest u go check out (link below)

Anyways!...Hightech insects?... Maybe. The album title is translated as Entomological Combat Tactics, which basically means... how to use science to battle the insects by certain combat tactics. The album is based on an article called El Uso De Insectos Para Crear Plasgas, which means (roughly translated) Using Insects To Crete Pests. Interesting, I might wanna read that article. Who the hell wants to use insects in that matter? To drive people out from some area, or to use insects in the matter of warfare? If it was me, locusts might be a good idea. I wonder, is it a locust on the album cover? The locust thing is a classic thing of biblical proportions. Anyways, we´re dealing with a 12-track album, about 47 minutes in total. 

The first track is simply called Entomologia, and begins the album with a kind of low-tech (and analog) psychedelic glitch sound. Someone (obviously) is pushing the very limit of what sort of electronic sounds old-school analog equipment can produce. I mean I love it. The sounds are sharp and to the point, the sound quality is absolutely exquisite. Kind of a fusion between high-tech and low-tech here. The insectoid sound feeling is quite evident so far. 

The second track Cantos de Guerra de los Insectos (Insect War Songs) continues with a highly atmospheric and buzzing sound, with noisy elements and mercury-like electronics. The sound of insects... planning and scheming for world domination. It´s all pretty spacy and weird, but it makes absolutely sense when u get into the concept of the album! 

The third track Insesticidio moves further into the area of harsh noise and gets me back to that Japanese album with Third Organ I reviewed. Lots of panic and chaos-driven moments here, I guess that is what you´ll expect (as a bug) when humans use insecticide on your entire world! 

The fourth track Tácticas de Combate Entomológicas gets right back to that eerie low-tech old-school industrial atmosphere, very similar to early Maurizio Bianchi and Zona Industriale! Metallic psychedelics with lots of otherworldly reverb effects, incredible beautiful primal industrial stuff here!

The fifth track Artrópodos Infectados (Infected Arthropods) is a totally hypnotizing sound piece. A really ear-candy sort of a track, with lots of stuff moving left and right through your speakers. Clicking sounds there hissing sounds there. I also saw (in the informative booklet) that field recordings of bugs have been used!

The eight-track ÁCaros Fitófagos (Phytophagous Mites) sort of... gets close to me. I have hens in my garden, and just recently we´ve had a case of bloody blood mites in there. Every time I went into their little house to fetch eggs, I came with that creepy crawling feeling of mites all over. And yes, this track is a quite convincing creepy-crawling track. Doom-laden industrial electronics with some menacing mechanic bubbling effects. Believe me or not, we had to use some other super-mites to exterminate the blood mites.

The rest of the album is a bloody blast. Analog-industrial atmosphere exploring the world of insects... through science. I could imagine that if H.P. Lovecraft had an idea about how the insectoid (and crap-like) Migo communicated, then it could sound like this. Pretty otherworldly and has a pretty microscopic mood throughout the entire album, with lots of conceptual focus on this album. I suggest that u go and get it before the bugs do! 

Discogs (label):

https://www.discogs.com/release/26086348-Liposucci%C3%B3n-T%C3%A1cticas-de-Combate-Entomol%C3%B3gicas

Bandcamp (band):

https://filipolaresca.bandcamp.com/