Taklamakan - Cavern

I am getting more and more into the Croatian underground-music these days, and latest offering has been called Taklamakan. The mysterious name for the act requires an explanation, here goes:

The name may be an Uyghur borrowing of the Persian tark, "to leave alone/out/behind, relinquish, abandon" + makan, "place".Some sources claimed it means "Place of No Return", more commonly interpreted as "once you get in, you'll never get out" or similar.Another plausible explanation suggests it is derived from Turki taqlar makan, describing "the place of ruins".

So there you go. And with this (place-of-no-return) Taklamakan release, we head into deep subterranean and hidden caverns. A simple 3-track EP, almost about 30 minutes long. 

The first track called Cave, primitive eerie ambiance welcomes the listener. Heavily treated and warped minimal recordings giving the listener an instant hypnotic/ mesmerizing state of mind. Almost sounds like a more primitive and darker version than something out of Aphex Twin´s Selected Ambient Works vol.2. You could also listen to this while watching Werner Herzog´s Nosferatu, with the tv-volume turned down of course! Kind of the same... eerie and damped aesthetic. A beautiful piece, truly cave-like feel to this! 

Second track Stalactites has a more... ritualistic feel to it. Metal-clangings in the deep caverns of the earth could as well be in the deepest pit of Moria if you ask me. Or maybe some deep place close to hell/inferno (in our own world). I am sure that fans of acts like Tombstone and Korpses Katanik will enjoy this!

Last track called Stalagmites, head crashes you into metallic-grinding harsh noise.  A punishing 13 minutes exploitation after being treated almost... ambient-wise into hypnotic relaxation. Early analog-noise treat (early Merzbow) kind of vibe to this. Not the kind of Stalagmites I want falling on my head!

And that is that... you are out of the cavern after being submerged into engulfing darkness, being close to hell and escaping falling stalagmites! And you know what?... You wanna do it again!. It´s a great mini-album by this very productive act (See the Bandcamp site plus the Discogs link below). For you cassette-tape hungry addicts I can reveal to you that this release has been out on cassette via Circumanalis Records, it was released back in 2009 as a split between Taklamakan and I Dreamt of Her Beautiful Tentacles ltd. to 15 copies (nice!). 

Bandcamp:

https://taklamakan.bandcamp.com/album/cavern

Discogs:

https://www.discogs.com/artist/1437771-Taklamakan-2

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/taklamakanNOISE/

  

Catwalk

Catwalk for the ZX Spectrum came out in 1984, done by a Paul Barsby and released via Powersoftware. I REALLY like the inlay-cover with this one, you have a cat running through a foggy graveyard. Clearly showing the evil undead getting up from their graves, with bats and a witch in front of a huge pale ebony moon. Scary moody stuff for sure!. So what is this vintage piece of entertainment software about?

You are a cat, and a hungry one if you ask me. The first level of the game you are in front of two houses in the garden. There are several mice running around, which of course you should catch and eat. Two dogs are also there, walking back and forth... touch them and you are done for it!. At the same time, someone is throwing things (Boots, cups) out of the windows, obviously to hit you! Catch and devour all the mice, end of the first level and further to the next. The next level is completely different, looks like some sort of construction yard. This time you are going to eat the birds. And to reach these bird, you will have to use the up-and-down going elevator shaft in the middle of the screen. Don´t fall down, cause this cat cannot land safely on the ground like in real life! There are also some cap-wearing workers walking around, and climbing the walls. They will kill you, so keep away from them! 

All the levels in this game differ lovely from each other, and the game will give you tons of enjoyment. You will also enter the haunted graveyard and even meet aliens!. So that is that, an excellent, simple but thrilling chase-your-prey game with cliffhanger moments!

World of Spectrum:

http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0000848

 

Night of the Comet

Night of the Comet is a 1984 American science fiction horror comedy film written and directed by Thom Eberhardt.

It tells the story of Regina and Samantha, two teenage sisters who are, apparently, the last people on Earth after a comet passed and turned everyone into dust or zombies.

I love the photography in this one and even knowing it´s not a great movie, it has it´s moments and it´s definitely entertaining to watch. Bright colors and the red filter while all the "bad things" were happening and I absolutely love that, after the rain, the atmosphere returned to normal at the end of the movie, maybe symbolizing that everything will turn out all right. And you just hope that for Samantha, given that she´s such a likable character.
It also has a bleak feel to it and a weirdness, especially when they encounter the blood harvesting scientists.

Resuming, it´s a post-apocalyptic 80s movie with two teenage girls, whose highlight moment is to try out clothes at a mall, at the end of the world, while listening to Cindy Lauper.

IMDB:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087799/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Comet

Rymdborg - Utvalda Medeltida Rymdtragedier

I did a former review for this excellent cult project, which was an (I thought) self-titled cassette. Turns out that the first Rymdborg cassette was part of a greater picture named Utvalda Medtida Rymdtragedier (Selected Medieval Space Tragedies). In physical terms, that means 4 cassettes and a fxxxxxx nice esoteric-looking booklet with surreal collage work. The whole thing/recording works like a bloody well-oiled Tardis machine, u never know where this strange space-traveling machine can take you... a safe journey (back to your comfortable home) is NOT guaranteed. Being really cosmic, surreal and larger-than-life! Space might be even stranger (and bigger) than we ever thought, and Rymdborg are here to prove just that!

The style of Rymdborg ... Well... It´s ambient-music based. Sound elements like warped drones, evocative wind instruments, scary synths. There is a certain focus on a kind of... vintage ambient sound. Take early kraut-rock heroes like Cluster and Tangerine Dream, later Brian Eno and further on with some of the ambient-recordings by industrial pioneers Throbbing Gristle. THAT sort of sound!. It also has that kind of aesthetic to it which you would find on some of the early recordings by Brighter Death Now (Pain In Progress era), or some ritualistic act on the legendary cult label Slaughter Productions (Megaptera, Die Sonne Satans etc). It´s a place where an almost archaic, forgotten and ancient sound (the late 60s to late 70s) meets up with a kind of later-nostalgia sound (Late 80s to early 90s). It´s utterly enjoyable and utterly unique! 

And while we are at it, we might as well try to contact this far gone space-traveler /cowboy what Rymdborg is all about!

Q: How did this project come to be?

I was recording some sounds together with my daughter. She was pulling the trigger on this rather advanced sci-fi toy gun and I was blowing in a birch trumpet (Trælur). I mixed that with me playing the didgeridoo and then just pitched it down and ran it through some echoes and reverbs. It sounded great and this is the first track on the first tape. When it was made I could not really use it for any of my other projects since the sound was not fitting for Fåntratt or Erdig. And the method did not fit my Digre or Redig line of work. It sounded more like some space noise and I remembered this discussion between two of my very close friends of mine. They were arguing about how to relate to life beyond our planet Earth. I do not remember if they even mentioned the idea of living in space other than from Earth. They were both against the modern popularity, enthusiasm, and excitement over the notion of aliens and extraterrestrials. I do not remember most of it but they did both, in the end, agree on the necessity to build, what they called, space castle bases orbiting the earth and a big asphalted letters on the moon facing out to space with a message like "GO BACK!" (actually it was something even more hateful but this is the internet and we should not use to offensive language or phrases. The same words have been at the entrance of a well know place and this sign has recently been stolen) or something to tell these supposed aliens the earthlings attitude towards them. All this was, of course, a drunken joke at the time but the name "space castle (or fort) bases" stuck with me. That translates into Swedish "Rymdborgbas" and I shortened it to "Rymdborg" (rymd = space, borg = castle). That is it and I put that name to the project and started recording tracks. Another thing that inspired this or what made me release it when I did was that I did listen to a Weress album on the Dungeon Synth Archives at youtube.

Q: What are the origins of the ideas/elements of Rymdborg? 

The book "Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future" by Father Seraphim Rose is the cornerstone of this project. This book talks about, in the west, new spiritual moments like Yoga and New Age and even Sci-fi as the same various spiritual deceptions that have existed since the beginning of the Church. Or to make it short and easy: extraterrestrials are demons in disguise (I urge everyone who reads this to get a copy for themselves). With this in mind, I get inspired by whatever that fits like comic books, movies, tv-series, and history. In my mind, I have merged fantasy with sci-fi and got this idea of a very primitive space adventure and timeline. I understand that if you add fantasy to sci-fi you get Star Wars but this is nothing like that world. Also, I think that this is the same world as for where Fåntratt roams but in the unknown cosmos of space

Q: Medevil space-travelling, why?

It is all about venturing into the unknown. I have restricted myself to space travel possible in a medieval fantasy or historical setting so I can distance this project from the imagery of common sci-fi rockets and spaceships. It might be a little misleading then with the silhouette of a spacecraft against the moon's disc, which appears on the cover of the first cassette but the idea is to restrict me or expand my own views on interplanetary travels. There are many more ways of travel into the unknown and misleading cosmos and beyond. Astral travels, magic teleportation, the summoning of extra-dimensional demons, visions given by angels, fantastic portals and whatever out of body method you can think of.

Q: The idea of doing the beautiful booklet, how did this came about?

When listening to music I enjoy walking about along tracks close to nature. This makes the music stand out and I can venture deep into my mind. Even more so than when I am relaxing on the couch or in my bed. But something that I do miss from my youth days is getting a record and reading the booklet and looking at the pictures while listening. Also, I love being at friends listening to their tapes and records while looking at the artworks. So I made this for others that enjoy that too. The artwork made for Rymdborg is made so that it can complement the listening without telling too much. There are a few texts telling stories hinting to some past event of this Astro amoeba harassing the population of the earth but apart from that I think the music can tell its own stories. The college style I use is very inspired by the early artwork made by Kristian Olsson for Survival Unit at the beginning of this new millennium. I started making artwork in that style back when I was involved with the noise scene. I made posters and inlays for gigs and tapes back then. I thought the style fitting for Rymdborg. I often collect magazines, books, and paperclips from second-hand thrift stores and earlier from when it was working different caretaker cleaner jobs. Every page in the booklet does have a theme and I put them together while dubbing tapes

Q: Is there a specific story being told in your music?

No, not so specific. I try to play deep and abandoned ambient walls that paint the image of ever-increasing distance between home security and the abyss loneliness and vulnerability. The samples can tell a clear language but I try to use them without filling the gaps in the story.

Like when you think you are having a great time dropping acid och doing mushrooms but you suddenly realize that you have glided far off, so far off so that nothing is real and you feel that you have abandoned yourself and you fear that everything that was is just a false memory and not only your self and person but even the complete creation is starting to fall apart. Or as a friend of mine once described this feeling: You are on the dance floor with the sweetest moves and the music is pumping and you feel awesome and adored as the center of attention. Then you open your eyes and understand that you are the last man on the dance floor and Satan, the Lord of Deception, as DJ is smiling and pointing at you with mock hate. So more than telling a story I try to bring about this feeling.

Q: Are you planning to do more Rymdborg releases in the future?

Yes. We are going live! Me, Fåntratt and Rymdborg will play live together this September. I will release something before that or around that time. The only thing hindering me to release more tapes and music more frequently is time, family and occupation. The time I have for music is divided among my different projects and I make music as often as I possibly can. Yes. There is more coming.

Q: Any last words?

I saw this X-files episode the last night where Mulder said: "we send those men up into space to unlock the doors of the universe, and we don't even know what's behind them...". Rymdborg is the answer to this question. Behind these doors is a vast emptiness of dread, death, and despair. But all this, of course, is just fiction. The truth is that Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!

Bandcamp:

https://rymdborg.bandcamp.com/releases

Don Mandarin - To Sweeten the Voices 

of Our Dead

Who the hell is Don Mandarin?... I really don't know. Not much has been documented about this mysterious project on either Facebook, Bandcamp or Discogs. A project which has made some of the most beautiful cassette-boxsets releases since the likes of Zoviet France and TG. Most of the project's recordings are available, and the albums can be heard on Youtube (as shown above) or can be located on the Throne of Bael´s Bandcamp site. So far the project has released 3 beautiful Don Mandarin boxsets(released on Bumtapes), each containing 5 cassettes each. Eventually, do a checkup in this via Discogs, or contact Don Mandarin via Facebook.  

Don Mandarin revolves around drones, noise, industrial aesthetics, ritual music, ambient moods with field recording on top of it. It´s a nod to old and defunct industrial-noise cult labels like Broken Flag (Mauthausen Orchestra, Ramleh), Come Organisation (Sutcliffe Jugend, Whitehouse) and Sterile Records (Nocturnal Emissions, Mauricio Bianchi). Grim and bleak ambient-ritual stuff that sounds as if it has been recorded back in the late 80s.Sounds incredible! Ambient music for HNW/ANW fans + suckers for early P.E!

 

This soothing and harsh primal treat gives you almost 30 minutes of heavenly bliss and painful pleasure. The kind of album which you just can press repeat on, and listen to it ALL day. It hypnotizes you, perfectly cleans out your mind while giving you a focused state of mind. WITH NO SIDE-EFFECTS!!!

Bandcamp (label):

https://throneofbael.bandcamp.com/album/to-sweeten-the-voices-of-our-dead

Bumtapes (label):

http://bumtapes.blogspot.com/

Rue Oberkampf - Waveclash

Monday morning, for me it either goes with pleasant drone/synth-ambient or melodic and classic pop music. This morning in the car I went with something which exists (kind of) somewhere in-between those two definitions. 

Rue Oberkampf (also being a street in Paris named after a German-born French industrialist) hails from Munich, Germany (I  think). They/(she) doesn't sing in German though but using the French language instead (she is 50% German and 50% French). Which sort of connects the band-name with the language. They are a minimal/cold-wave inspired electronic act, which just has had their debut mini-album release called Waveclash on No Emb Blanc. It has been released on compact-disc, 12" vinyl plus an edition both including the compact-disc plus the 12" vinyl version in one?. Like I mentioned earlier we´re dealing with an EP/mini-album, 5 tracks about 25 minutes long. 

Obviously, they are inspired by electronic-based new-wave music and later electro-clash... so of course, they have chosen to call their release, Waveclash. Yup, kind of uninspired name for this release. I was told that the EP title is a statement, regarding their new fusion between electro-clash and electro-wave (all those styles!)  But who cares? If this kicks ass, then the EP-title/statement doesn't mean a damn thing! Boring cover as well, circles with some background marble colors?

Another thing (worth taking notice of) is that the EP has been mastered by none-other then Eric Van Monterghem. Who is he? A member of the classic minimal-wave act Absolute Body Control, who would of course later be turned into the more industrial-inspired act the Klinik. So....

It´s quite professional, sleek and streamlined made... I have this thing/issue about certain vintage genres from old days. Minimal-wave/Cold-wave/electronic post-punk etc etc (from days of old) were made on cheap and tricksy synths, crunchy sounds and drum-machines not always following the strict rhythms. But who cared? ... It was punk, a primal force which is (still) loved for its glitches and faults in the raw sound. Now we are having acts which dig that old-sound, which is great because the music from those days was great! The only problem being around this is that all the raw sound-faults and not-intentional glitches of old machinery can be removed, and some will (sadly) smooth these issues out. That is the thing about this act, it just sounds... to controlled and non-experimental, which kind of takes the electronic-edge away from it. To me, it doesn't actually sound like a band who enjoys(having fun) at what they are actually doing. No "dangerous" risks are being taken. Just ain´t enough meat on this bone.

One good thing I can say about this is that they are doing it by-the-book. If you do like the sound of cold-wave/minimal-wave inspired modern acts, and having second thoughts about that dirty-sound of older bands from the early 80s... then this is a good place to start! (nonetheless). Best track on the album has to be Le Train, sad thing that is the shortest track though. Being also a cover-version of Absolute Body Control.

Bandcamp:

https://rueoberkampf.bandcamp.com/album/waveclash-2

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/RueOberkampf/

Evil Spawn

B-movie with a capital B!

Evil Spawn is about a washed-up actress who can´t get decent movie parts so, she jumps at the opportunity when a scientist who is working with Venusian microbes on a "fountain of youth" serum approaches her to test it. It all goes well but the serum starts turning her into a giant bug monster that craves young naked girls and the producers that disowned her.

The acting is awful but it´s a very entertaining movie. It has a lot of "dead parts" but the gory scenes don´t disappoint. Though the effects are pretty rudimentary, they´re fun to watch.

Evil Spawn doesn´t take itself seriously and that is evident on the funny, naughty presentation clip at the beginning.

It´s not a genius or memorable movie but it´s fun to watch while having a Friday night pizza party with your friends.

IMDB:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092992/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Rottentomatoes:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/evil_spawn/

Talog  Vladavina Vampira

The fourth album by our favorite maestro of grim Slavonian dungeon-synth inspired ambient-moods. This time we are sinking our teeth into the myth of bloodsucking vampires, and I am also quite sure that (a place like Croatian) has tons of folklore-tales about/related to them. This new digital+cassettetape release/album is about a vampire named Vladavina (love the name), 2 tracks 15 minutes each containing gothic blackened moods.

The first track called Od Svjetla Sakriveni (From the Light Hidden), a very simple and picturesque melancholic synth-piece. Looking over the wild nature in Croatian from a high tower, the landscape being engulfed in darkness and frosty white snow. While the ebony moon shines it´s cold, pale and shimmering light. The sound of an ancient vampire overlooking the hunting ground?... Could be. Perfect music on a lonely, dark and cold night with only the candlelight keeping you company. The next track Miris Krvi (the Smell of Blood) definitely confirms a certain hunting ground! A track which turns its attention away from the synth, and dives deep into murky black ambiance. Monotonic, cold, grim and just ... well, evil sounding. The simple and single synth key being used has a slightly pc-game game feel to it. Think games like... Doom or Wolfenstein (hear it and you´ll know what I mean). Weird, eerie and kind of spidery sound-effects are gently touching your ears (Could it be the sound of blood running through the victim's pumping veins?!). 

And there you have it. Cold and vampiric moods to set the mood just right for any bloodlusty types. And just take a look at the cassette-release, this HAS to be one of the most beautiful cassettes I have ever seen!. Not only does the artist use the right color-match (Yellow and red) on the cassette-inlay, but the color-design has also been put down on the cassette as well. Thorough is my word for it. Limited to 33 copies, so be quick you bloodsuckers!. Also out on CD-R (20 copies). Out on the label Worship the Abyss!

Bandcamp:

https://talog.bandcamp.com/album/vladavina-vampira

Empty Chalice - Ondine´s Curse

Third album out now by Italian dark-ambient/ritual act Empty Chalice. This time we are dealing with a rare disease called (like the album) Ondine´s Curse. A rare disease which can sadly prevent you to sleep, because if you sleep you´ll suffer from a cardiac arrest!. The name for this disease comes from an old tale :

According to French and German mythology, the nymph Ondine discovered that her husband had committed adultery. Because he had promised his every waking breath to her, she cursed him that so long as he was awake he could breathe, but if he ever fell asleep he would stop breathing and die.

The release being digital available on the band´s and the labels official Bandcamp site, a physical exquisite cassette release have also been released as well. Limited grey 'mushroom' tape edition of 23 copies including 23 different artwork hand painting on white carton plates (13x18 cm) by Omega Kunst plus three photo inserts. Available through the Italian label Ho Gravi Malattie.

Gothic cathedral drones, ritualistic undercurrents, atmospheric gregorian chantings, evocative guitars, eerie synths with occasional (interesting) sound cut-ups. A highly experimental beautiful achievement awaits the listener. Melancholic and dream´ish (like it should be). Although there are some small minor bugs and sound-glitches which irritates me, simply because that I do like the album. The sound recording has a distorted-glitch tendency, the kind of not-intentionality that happens when your recorded sound being too loud. Which is sad cause again... the album is great, with the achievements of this album it just deserves a better sound. Just give it a listen and you´ll know what I mean. So what do I wish from Santa next Xmas anyone?. A re-mastering and a physical re-release.     

Bandcamp (band):

https://emptychalice.bandcamp.com/album/ondines-curse-2

Facebook (band):

https://www.facebook.com/empty.chalice

Bandcamp (label):

https://hgmmusic.bandcamp.com/album/ondines-curse

Facebook (label):

https://www.facebook.com/hogravimalattierecords

Poppet - Future Tense

A strange outsider project which so far has spawned 7 digital Bandcamp releases. We are in an eerie and surreal multiple-dimension dungeon-synth inspired universe. According to the artist himself, he gets ideas from cartoons, occult, and wizardry. A kind of mad-hatter sort of a wizard, or the Captain Beefheart of dungeon synth maybe?. Nonetheless, this one being his newest release (7th June 2018), running 40 minutes with 8 tracks. 

The albums also work around a certain idea which has been described as following:  

This album features me veering into unfamiliar territory when it comes to Dungeon Synth. With Horror Synth, Synthwave, and Black Ambient elements, this album was a lot of fun to work on. Fitting the name, Future Tense is more focused on science fiction than ancient fiction, while still keeping that lovable quirky edge

First track Simplicity of Fog get´s you into that John Carpenter horror flick with it´s atmospheric and haunting retro-synth, there are also minor elements here which reminds me of Coil... and Nico? (for some reason). Strange minor Arabic elements are also to be encountered here. Childhood memories are at work here also, the soundtracks to horror series for kids?. You know ... Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark etc. Second track Onwards Aoshima it get´s randomly weird! Epic, dramatic and VERY improvisated piece. An 8-bit´ish synth, a string synth, Dimmur Bogir (kind of) piano-work all challenging each other (more or less). Hints of order and melody here and there which ends of clashing in mayhem and chaos. Tons of weird chaotic sci-fi mood swings in this.

 An interesting fusion of ideas and sounds here, but a bit too random-created for me. The next track Left-Hand Track has a more retro/synth-wave/Jarre wipe to it, with those Arabic sounding elements again (remember the Pc-game Magic Carpet?). Fourth track A Black Dress... adds more eerieness o the mind. But with the fifth track, it does get ... catchy? Almost kind of early Aphex Twin here (Analogue Bubblebath vol.3). A fantastic evocative electro-soundtrack! The sounds are amazing here!. Sixth track Of Magics Old... sounds like a magic experiment being on the edge of going wrong. Did it go wrong (I don´t know), but the wizard at work is... quite mad!. Seventh offering of a track calld  Into the Caverns adds more horror-synth to the mix. Last track the Abandoned Lighthouse being one of the most easy-going of the tracks on the album, being a decent mystical dream´ish ending.

So there you go!. It is a messy and challenging affair with Future Tense. Again there are some interesting ideas being mixed with other ideas. My personal opinion would be that I would like if the album had more tracks like A Black Dress (the fifth track). But who am I to decide/judge? I think the artist has made an honest and sincere album, trying to mutate the sound (and aesthetic) of dungeon synth into something quite else. And I am happy to have someone like him around, trying to journey and explore other sound-territories worth exploring. Tired of traditional dungeon-exploring in a typical medieval world?. Then try this for a change!.

Bandcamp:

https://poppetblackmetal.bandcamp.com/album/future-tense

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/PoppetBlackMetal/

Ivonne Van Cleef

Not much is known about this mysterious (and anonymous) one-man psychedelic-drone and acoustic driven act, hailing from the sun-baked desert landscape of San Jose, California. So far we have 7 EPs and one double-limited cassette release on Luxury Bucket which compiles the first five EPs. I then was contacted by the act for a review, and I was literally gobsmacked by the material. I immediately made an order for the double-cassette release... and my´oh´my! One of the best music on cassette I have ever invested in... seriously!. For those who didn´t read the former review (see link below), I can quickly describe the sound/style as being; drone-driven guitar psychedelics, hints of slowed down surfer-strings/guitars here and there while a cool breeze is blowing through the desert. A slowed down ambient version of Kyuss, or Ry Cooder deciding to do a soundtrack for the latest David Lynch flick. And yes, it is that good. Seems like that perfect psychedelic soundtrack-experience which you just have been searching for in years. And heck, there is not much info about this cool (cult) act! Let´s get it on with an interview then!

Q: The name... Is that a name for the act, or your real name? 

Ivonne Van Cleef it’s just a pseudonym, the name for the act. 

Q: What is your interest+background to this kind of music you do?

I’m interested in a lot of artistic ways of expression, musicals, and graphics, photography, photomontage, paintings, literature and I could go on and on. I wouldn’t know if that’s “my background” or the things that lead me to create the kind of music I do, but I think it’s the result of all of these. For a long time I’ve been wanting to be a part of a project like this one, I had a portastudio 4-channel and I lost it, but when I got the chance to buy a new one, that’s the one that started it all, experimenting with it. After a while, I got myself ready and dared to publish Ivonne’s first EP

Q: Why the rural setting as a theme?

I live and also work in a rural area a few minutes away from the city, it’s just a part of my daily life,  it’s fauna and habitat and the local’s habits it’s my last obsession and that’s why it’s reflected in the aesthetic of Ivonne as a whole, and in my music through all the field recordings.

Q: Where do you get your ideas and inspirations from?

I listen to tons of music weekly, from classics to artists that are not famous or actually pretty unknown, all genres, and also I get a lot of recommendations from my friends and they share with me their own music. I guess it all affects and influences me unconsciously. However, now that I think about it one of the things that influence me the most might be the fact that I play all the instruments even though I don’t quite know much about them. Clearly, when you play and record everything by yourself and gives you a different perspective, you see everything from a different point of view, it gives you certain freedom but also limitations that are just different when you compose in a group or a band. Above it all it’s a hobby, I’m an amateur with no formal education in recordings or playing any instrument.

Q: Is there an interest for this kind of music in San Jose?

I wouldn't know, right now Ivonne Van Cleef goes from my studio to the internet and that’s it.

Q: What about live performances?  

Live performances it’s always an idea I have in mind, in fact, sometimes we reinterpret (play) one of Ivonne’s tracks with friends and we daydream about a performance. It’s also something that worries me because the time it would take to get everything ready for a live performance its time taken away from continuing to record as frequently as I do it, and I would get different results from the EPs I’ve already released. Once you start to rehearse to play it live, it often happens that you change and rearrange and maybe a couple months in and it changed a lot and it’s something different than when it all started. Finally, I have to say that there’s a chance of doing a live presentation.

Q: Will there be more physical releases in the future?

I would love to, and I’m always down for a new project. I’m sure enough I’m going to release new stuff.

Q: Do you have any recommendations for your listeners, other bands, and acts?

Everything that Luxury Bucket has published is awesome, my favorite is Lewis’ project, “Shit greek”. I also really like all the material published by Liquid Library, Rota Frangitur, Orb Tape.

I found The Eagle Stone Collective and I loved it. I love the craziness of Pilowsnake. There’s a lot of good proposals in Latinoamerica, like Thenatoloop from Chile, Prius discos, and Anajunno from Argentina, El octavo from Uruguay and lots more. It isn’t fair that I only name certain labels and bands because there’s a lot of great labels and projects.

Q: Any last words?

I’m so thankful for this, giving me the space to say all of these and to give people the chance to get to know me. 

Bandcamp (band):

https://ivonnevancleef.bandcamp.com/

Facebook (band):

https://www.facebook.com/ivonne.vancleef.9

Facebook (label):
https://www.facebook.com/luxurybucket/

  

The Zeal of Fata - Birth of the Bizzare

4 EPs/mini-albums with this new dungeon synth project have "just" been released between April and May this year. I couldn´t help myself to just pick the one with the medieval mutant Fabel-freaks on! 5 tracks about 15 minutes, dealing in doom and despair in darker times. 

First track The Beginning of the World, a mesmerizing funeral-like and slightly gothic piece. The apocalyptic melody takes me back to Dead Can Dance´s ´In The Realm of a Dying Sun´or some of the early recordings by Arcana (Dark Age of Reason). A good intro without a doubt. Second track Birth of the Bizzare with its strange tinderbox melody, eerie violins, and infernal martial drummings. I´m thinking of certain paintings by Hieronymus Bosch here. Third track Rise of the Others, who the Others are (I Don´t know)... Might as well reveal to you that they don´t sound pleasant. It starts with an epic and uplifting feel, but a slightly subtle feel of punishing discomfort continues further on. Someone thought that they were witnessing the birth of their saviors, but instead, they got the 4 riders of the apocalypse!. 

Fourth track Plaque and Punishment? Definitely, something to do with those 4 riders. A non-typical Dungeon-synth piece which reminds me of the late 80s/early 90s gothic-classical era of Attrition. Realy interesting piece. The last track The Absolute End of the World... Well, what can I say... It´s the end of the drama, everything is in ruin and a relaxing quietness being every. Actually the most uplifting piece on the album, but also the saddest as well. 

A good and decent short DS-mini album with eerie apocalyptic undertones. Although being rather short, it does actually serve its purpose (regarding the album theme). It´s medieval bizarreness that ends in a whimper... not a bang! Give it a go and tell me that I am right! There is ALSO t-shirts available via Spreadshirt (see below)

Bandcamp:

https://thezealoffata.bandcamp.com/album/birth-of-the-bizarre

Strictures - Block Soul

Let us have another go at something being related to electronic body music / electro-industrial. This time we´re traveling to Kansas. Amongst all the country/bluegrass and jazz musicians, we have been so lucky in stalking down a highly interesting electronic 2-piece act being a Dan Kilmartin and Jess C.b.a Describing themselves as weird, grim, minimalist IDM/Industrial. Doesn't sound too bad now does it?! So far there has been 2 albums out and a single, the 2 albums have been released on a label called X.O. Skeleton Musick which Dan Kilmartin himself is running together with an Alex Spalding. And the single was out on Alex Spalding´s defunct net-label Noise-Joy. The first album Gloom Wave Klassics and this are available as pro CD-Rs and can be obtained by contacting the label (see links below). This album (again Block Soul) is their latest, released back in March last year (2017). Now... Let´s us talk about some music!.

Once again we are dealing with the old-school is the new-school thing. Again, they have tried to mix IDM elements into the mix. I don't know if that actually succeeded, but whatever they have tried doing actually ended up pretty good.. and unique I think. There is a nod to old-school stuff like Portion Control, early Skinny Puppy and Klinik, proto Cybotron electro touches and then sort of... mix it all up in a kind of free-improv sort of way. Simplistic and yet kind of chaotic and manic at the same time. There IS a lot of metallic-meat on this bone! 

Losing control while maintaining the sound aesthetic. A perfect example of this would be the very first track called Kowgirl (not an Underworld cover!). Frantic and cold EBM electronics, distorted glitches, complex and super-tight rhythms. Not really trying strictly to be pure 100% old-school, but more like pushing the old aesthetics into newer and unknown territories. Dirty high-tech primitive stuff!. The rest of the album?... Worth exploring!. 

    

Bandcamp (label):

https://xosrecords.bandcamp.com/album/block-soul

Facebook (label):

https://www.facebook.com/xosmusick

Facebook (band):
https://www.facebook.com/strictures-152735398097407/

Gremlins

Nostalgic mood. Gremlins is a part of my childhood and I and my brother have watched it so many times. Released in 1984 and directed by Joe Dante, Gremlins is now an 80s icon.

Randall Peltzer, a struggling inventor, visits a Chinatown antique store in the hope of finding a Christmas present for his son Billy. In the store, Randall encounters a small, furry creature called a Mogwai. The owner, Mr. Wing, refuses to sell the creature to Randall. However, his grandson secretly sells the Mogwai to Randall, warning him to remember three important rules that must never be broken – do not expose the Mogwai to bright lights or sunlight which will kill it, do not let it get wet, and never feed it after midnight.

Obviously, the rules get broken, by accident one must say, and all hell breaks loose as the mogwai generates little devious creatures when it gets wet. After tricking Billy into feeding them after midnight, they transform into gremlins and terrorize the whole town.

It is a delightful black horror comedy. The scene when mean old woman Deagle gets flown out of the window gets me every time and the gremlins are just hilarious raising havoc.

The soundtrack makes the movie scenes between Billy and Gizmo so endearing and the photography is great.

I don´t really know what else to say about it. It´s a classic movie that I´m sure everyone saw but it´s so cool that I´m sure you´ll see it again later in life. Also, it made way for other little monster movies such as Critters, Hobgoblins, Ghoulies, Munchies... 

IMDB:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087363/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gremlins