Dreamrecorder - First Test Replications
Always nice to know when something interesting and different is happening in my mother country... Denmark that is. This release is definitely one more of them. This release has been released on a label called Thank You Tapes, a label being maintained by the same guy behind this project. As for now, he solely releases his own music on the label, but will hopefully (shortly) release other artists. The same guy also works under the Skidtmads alias and among cool projects as well, you can check them all in the Bandcamp link provided below.
This project called Dreamrecorder is solely based on the dreams of the artist himself. He has had ideas of having a machine to record the sounds of his dreams, but offcourse we all know that it isn´t actually possible. But anyway, he has tried recreating these dreams into pure analog sound. First Test Replication is a limited cassette, with 5 copies left so be quick!
The cassette itself comes in a cool-looking soft-plastic cassette box, and the tape itself is pink with a sticker on it. The pinkish artwork shows some s/m-related material, with the tracklisting offcourse. Inside the booklet, we have some extra info and photos regarding the label. I really like the mysterious and fuzzy-looking artwork, nice old-school feels for sure. 14 tracks, 45 minutes.
The first track is called Doctors Appointment. A low-fi analog nightmare representing (I think) the fear of doctors. Chunky analog sounds, manipulated recording/sample of a doctor talking. Takes me back to some of the very early (and first) recordings by Cabaret Voltaire or Esplendor Geometrico. Quite a unique sound.
The second track I Have A Weird Feeling Now gets more into a sort of eerie ambient vibe. Crystal-like tunes from an underground cave, and the reversed sound of a contact-mic getting brushed by a toothbrush. Definitely a dream-driven idea in this. Some of the sounds have been recorded from tape, while the tape head is being tampered with.
The third track Touch My Face (Good Boy) has again a certain nightmarish edginess to it, thinking of extreme performance art here... or some kind of murky porn flick from the 70s.
The fourth track I´m Very Sad About What Happened is filled with analog chaotic glitch sounds and samples. Almost as if there is a melody in the random noises. Bit like the noisy Autechre at times.
We jump further into track 8 called Things Are Not What They Seem. Warped ambient melancholy with flimsy sound-images changes in and out of focus.
And track 9 In Some Sort of Factory Setting, an unrelentless blistering sea of glitches, knops, and turns. And strange electronic humanoid voices in there somewhere as well.
First Test Replications is a strange, rare, and interesting beast. The feeling of isolation and creating something unique, without belonging to a local scene is obvious. This is a good and refreshing thing since so much is being made out there that sounds like it has been made, with the same ideas... and on the same equipment. Really love how chunky analog sounds get thrashed together into a flimsy digital dream from the past/the future. A term for this tape? Harsh ambient glitch anyone?. Might just be the most unique item to be reviewed on Kalteldur this year, give it a spin!
