Mai 12 - Post Structural

The second time around I get to review something related to this noisy one-man act from Greece. Last time it was a collaboration with Dosis Letalis, who (again) is no stranger to Kalteldur. This full-length CD is limited to 20 copies and is a self-released album by Karl Grümpe himself. The disk is housed in a custom-printed cardboard case with flaps and a 2mm spine. It is kind of nifty and different at the same time. 

The artwork shows something from a children's playground, like a swing or something. And then there are fences around it, with a sort of industrial complex in the background. Poststructural? Makes me think of a place In Germany I visited this summer. The town of Duisbuch has a major closed-down industrial complex from the Second World War, which has been turned into a park. The place has a kind of... post-war feel to it. But anyway! The whole thing is a 6 track album over 1-hour long. All the tracks 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 have all been mixed so the album sounds like one whole track.

Scraped metal against metal, creating blistering iron sparks in the air. The sound of a red-hot flame is bursting through a huge rusty-looking chimney, while a river of melted iron floats into a pool of smoking water. I can almost sense the smell of someone welding. The sensating of metal pipes creating steams of noise submerged the listener into the recording itself. It´s noise-wall, just being a lot more harsh-noise dynamics. True primal industrial noise! Love the punctuating thumps and occasional bleeps here and there, a constant and menacing storm made of fire and steel. A nuclear explosion that doesn't end! At track 3 the distorted tones get a bit higher, while the bass gets even more dense and thick. Minor elements of rhythmic elements can be traced here. Pulsating waves of liquid noise get squeezed into the listener's ears like a great pumping syringe. Later on, a high buzzing electronic mosquito sound will paralyze your senses with some lovely and excellent crunchy noise sounds. The last track takes me straight into some submerged atomic-driven submarine!

It´s a monster to satisfy every fan of HNW and harsh noise. With lots of experimental touches here and there, it manages to create a soundscape of its own with an organic and dynamic feel to it. Quite adventurous as well. and it has that authentic live-session atmospheric feel to it. Highly recommended!  

       

Bandcamp (band):

https://mai12.bandcamp.com/album/post-structural

 Zakhme - Kula

A new project out on the esoteric Italian label Industrial Ölocaust Recordings, a debut by an act called Zakhme, and the album is called Kula. Out on CD-R and on numbered cassette. Zakhme is in Urdu, a language spoken in India and Pakistan. It means bruise, offend, spite, hurt, and wound. Kula means community, tribe, or clan. 

The front cover artwork shows an ancient hand wedge. A primitive tool and weapon used back in the Stone Age constructed sharp-edged flintstone if u like. Inside the booklet, there are some detailed esoteric writings about the act and the album itself. Worth reading while listening. It´s a 3-track album, with about 45 minutes in total.

The first track is called Parte I: Rito / Illusioni. There is a mesmerizing and ceremonious drone combined with shimmering bells. Think there is a boiling cauldron somewhere, or the sound coming from a lab of an alchemist. Farway ritualistic tribal beats slowly fade in while the focus of the sounds zooms in and out. Really hypnotizing, deep stuff that sucks the listener in. There is that Zeit by Tangerine Dream meets Bladerunner sort of vibe here, dramatic and epic... but also strangely calm and mysterious as well. Also, some well-done melodic elements are hidden in there as well!

The second track Parte II: Hypnos. For those who don´t know, Hypnos is the god of dreams in Greek mythology. You can also meet him in the world of H.P. Lovecraft as well! The sound of dust on a looped vinyl player, the buzzing of night crickets, screaming reverbed sounds in the distance, birds chirping (a bit), and the sound of a UFO above. Mind-opening stuff for the imaginary mind for sure. Love the sound of dribbling lime-stone caverns here, or is it the sound of a bonfire?

The third and last track Parte III: Stella Del Mattino / Risveglio offers a reversed sound of some kind of stringed instrument and bells, with a mind-boggling drone-driven soundscape in the background. Kind of being at a druidic ritual, with the presence of strange spirits being summoned. But at the same time, it has that... futuristic touch to it. Again, ancient ritual music meets Bladerunner. For some reason, the one track which had the biggest impact on me was this track. I think it was intentional, not because it was more dynamic than the former tracks but just because... the other-worldly sensation/feeling was slightly increased!

Kula is a really good ambient album. Or is it ambient? There is drone stuff and tribal stuff. And a tiny touch of Berlin School as well! It´s an ambient-driven album that connects the past with the future. I can't say one bad thing about this album, I really can´t. It´s honest, unique, and well-made. The experience is quite... a thing (believe me!). One of those albums...(which I think...) will be a new experience every time the listener would lay their ears to it. It´s a pure angelic monster the whole bloody way through! For fans of Zoviet France/Rapoon, Controlled Bleeding, and Brian Eno.        

Bandcamp (band):

https://zakhme.bandcamp.com/album/kula

Official site (label):

https://cardinium.com/product/ior-tk-xxviii-cdr/