Winterlandschaft - L'obscurité

Debut release from a project that is active on the new and Polish (and excellent also!) Raven Fortress label. So far the label had released two beautifully looking digipacks from two different projects. This one called Winterlandschaft (Winter Landscapes) and another called Barbaric Frost. I will get to the review of the later release further on. This limited digipack version is a 6 track album, just over 30 minutes of chilly and grim landscapes of coldness and dread. All the tracks on the album don't have any names... just I, II, III, IV, V and VI.          

As you can imagine, the cover-artwork tells it all. A hard-working hunchbacked peasant-lady trying desperately to gain use (grow something) with the hard and frozen soil, maybe trying to dig-up lost potatoes in a spot which she hasn´t been digging? The effort might be as fruitless likes the naked trees in the background, finding food or growing it in the harsh wintertime... something u might do when you are feeling the torture of starvation.

A lovely epic (but quiet) minimal piece of cold and morbid dreadness. Winter synth with a tiny touch of murky bit-synth. The first track starts off with a heavy and vibrating moody synth-key, kind of depressing but with a certain relaxing warmth to it. Think it might be the sound of autumn, that certain feeling when you start to notice the brown leaves and the cold rain on your face. Beautiful but also slightly sad. This heavy synth key meets up with a lighter and atmospheric synth, which almost describes the landscape before you. Yes, the flowers are gone and the leaves are falling down to the ground. The Second track welcomes the cold, darkness and frosty autumn nights. The kind of coldness which leaves frost on your window (or car!). The sound of an upcoming winter depression might be on the way. A darker piece than the first one, nonetheless very beautiful and timeless. The Third track welcomes the snow on the early morning, the kind of snow which kills every sound and movement for miles. EVERYTHING just stands completely still! You are also receiving a sense of getting lost in the mesmerizing snowy-landscape, mainly because everything looks the same... snowy white!. A walk to the nearby village (for food) will not be easier, nor will those potatoes you forgot in the soil (oh dear).

The fourth track welcomes the coldness on winter nights, warmth is all that matters!. It sounds like the kind of coldness which sneaks unnoticed into houses, and leaves you dead-cold after several hours. Almost a haunted horror-themed dread here going on! The fifth track welcomes a kind of hopelessness, the kind of hopelessness that pops up when all else had failed. And you accept it, as you are accepting the beautiful (and cruel) side of the winter season. Last sixth track welcomes death, the kind of death which leaves the same kind of quietness which you´ve heard on track three. A quiet and lonely death which (maybe) will be discovered in spring, after all the snow has melted away. A very meditative melancholic and heavy piece of ambient-synth´ness. 

A great album with tons of minimalistic cold synth-moods. Highly recommended winter-synth for the lonely cold winter nights. Be quick, few physical copies are remaining on the label´s Bandcamp site!            

Bandcamp (label):

https://ravenfortress.bandcamp.com/album/lobscurit

Dispersive Light - Spider

Do u like spiders?... For most of my small boy-years, I was totally afraid of them! Completely unaware that those who lived in my room, actually killed and consumed horrible blood-sucking bugs like the mosquitos and small irritating house-flies. Today, I am ok with them and I even have a tarantella. I am ALSO ok with one of the latest album called Spider by Ukraine-based Dispersive Light. Released via the label (also from Ukraine) called VOLOK Records. A lovely printed CD-R in a great looking solid cardboard limited to only 20 copies (so be quick for the physical version kids!). 8 tracks, 42 minutes.

Dispersive Light´s Spider can be described as guitar-based drone-ambient with industrial moods. Or you could say...not really drone-metal or post-rock, but pure haunted scrapyard ambient noise-rock! The sound is a very living and dynamic being, pulsating waves after waves of crunchy moods in your face. You can almost smell the blood on the distorted guitar strings here, and you can feel the heavyweight-sound holding you down while hypnotizing you. Would that be the spider hypnotizing you, before devouring you (sucking you dry??). I am not 100% sure about that (spider devouring you) since after listening to this great album, it left me in a state of blissful and focused relaxation. A very meditative sensation with tons of analog drones and ritualistic undercurrents. A world of sound that you can emerge yourself totally into! 

I cannot really go down and describe each and every track on the album since the whole thing/tracks work together as one thing/entity. I can recommend this for those who enjoy some of the more experimental tracks with Swans (Soundtrack For the Blind), Stahlwerk Symphonie by early Die Krupps, Controlled Bleeding, but also for fans of that pioneer of industrial esoterica Z´ev (R.I.P). Do yourself a favor and go get it! A rarity u will hear (every time) from the start and to the very end. And the good thing about it is that Disperlive Light has already released many more albums, which can be heard on the Bandcamp site!

Bandcamp (band):

https://dispersivelight1.bandcamp.com/album/spider

Facebook (band):

https://www.facebook.com/DispersiveLight

Bandcamp (label):

https://volokrecords.bandcamp.com/album/spider

Facebook (label):

https://www.facebook.com/volokrecords/

        

Testing Vault - Amnesia Milk

Testing Vault from Italy has been around for some time since 2003 to be exact. Over 15 albums released and a handfull of mini-albums. Most of the material has been released via the act´s own label called Looney-Tick Productions, a label which also has released the likes of Premature Ejaculation and Le Cose Bianche (see link below). This album called Amnesia Milk was released on Looney Tick Productions on the 5th of March this year (2019), if you would purchase the physical (and limited digipack) copy u even get an extra CD with it!. Amnesia Milk? ... What the hell is it?!. Here is a clue from the cover/inner-sleeve. 

"Amnesia Milk" is a sound installation for a recurring dream that Daniele Santagiuliana (the person behind the moniker Testing Vault) has been experimenting with since the end of 2018. An intangible but so lucid place that he can go back every time he wants to see it, where instead of the street lamps, the only source of illumination are milk bottles with a lighted bulb inside each of them.

That´s pretty.... abstract but, interesting. It makes it more interesting when you look at the cover as well, even more, interesting when u are listening to the album while looking at the cover (at the same time)... it makes sense. So what kind of stuff is it?. Think melancholic icy drone-ambient like Biosphere and the surreal pitch-black eerieness from Coil. The kind of experimental ambient-music one might isolate with while it´s raining outside on a dark night. I will only review the main-album, and let the recordings in the extra CD be a surprise for the listener!. 

The first track is a prelude, being a tribute/homage to Alan Lamb (Check him out if you don´t know him!). He did this one album where he recorded 20 hours of sound material using microphones on telephone wires! Interesting metallic scraping ambient intro to the album. The second track Amnesia Milk jumps straight into an eerie and surreal modern horror-story, and yes it does that have... dreamy feel attached to it. That kind of dream where you are quite convinced about it, yet not fully understanding it. Eerie windy sounds composing haunting tones while a moody illbient-like rhythm pounds endlessly, the ending sounds like something from Twin Peaks. Third track Digest adds more eerieness to the album, interesting organic sounds... real ear-candy believe me. Fourth track A Friendly Light being one of my favorites. Beautiful haunting Eno´ish ambient-melodies with lots of interesting sounds and creakiness, a perfect soundtrack for a modern victorian ghost story/movie if you ask me.

Fifth track Pale Pink is a ritualistic piece with a jazzy feel to it. Humming and looped human-like voice-sounds, reversed sound of plastic bags being handled, free-jazz saxophones. Second, last track Blackout further expands on that David Lynch´ish meets Nurse With Wound/C93 atmosphere. I would highly recommend listening to this with some decent speakers standing, the stereo-recording here is VERY good!. Voices slowly crawl in and out from one speaker and then further on to the other, and I fxxxxxx love shit like that! Last track called Contempt, also serves as a homage to Alan Lamb, being the longest track on the album (11 minutes). Serves as a perfect weird ending for a great album. Church-like bells, warped human voices, thick electronic glitchiness. All wonderful!. 

Excellent surreal treat from Italy, more if that if you please! At the time I was listening to this album (Often), I was walking the (rather late) mysterious dunes of west Jutland alongside the beach. All while the sun was sinking slowly over the mysterious and empty landscape. While having this on my Discman, I took these photos. The sight, the mood, the music... a perfect match!

Bandcamp (band):

https://testingvault.bandcamp.com/

Facebook (band):

https://www.facebook.com/TestingVault/

Looney Tick Productions (label):

http://eafmcart.blogspot.com/

   

Tarzownik - Castle

Chiptune should be no stranger when it comes to dungeon synth. For some of us, dungeon-themed computer-music was some of the first dungeon-synth´ish music that reached our young and innocent ears. We´re talking games on older consoles (Sega Mastersystem, Megadrive, NES etc) and on older home-computers (C64, PC, Spectrum, Amiga500). This project merges the elements from old-school primitive dungeon-synth with chiptune, the result sounds like vintage background music on classic point-and-click adventure games. We´re talking about those kinds of adventure games we had on the Amiga500 and PC. Secret On Monkey Island, Loom, Manic Mansion and then further onto such classic fantasy-themed RPGs like Bards Tale, Fairytale, Pools of Radiance and Eye of the Beholder. Nevertheless, 11 tracks packed into one album is about 30 minutes in total. The album (called Castle) is available via the band's official Bandcamp site, and it has also been released as a beautiful (kind-of) digipack via the Polish label Raven Fortress. The physical release (sadly) is sold-out via the artist's page, maybe one should try to send a message to the label via the official Raven Fortress facebook profile (see link below!).

The first track simply called Honour puts the mood right and tells (honestly) the listener what sort of dungeon synth we´re dealing with. 8-bit graphics showing a gloomy and grim castle surrounded by a mist, with valiant knights in shiny armour standing as guards at the castle-gate. Pretty cool, evocative and minimalistic fantasy-themed chip-tune dungeon-synth so far. Love the synthetic wood-´ish sounding xylophone here, really puts the listener into a nostalgic mood. The second track offers a more doom´ ish setting. It´s called Armies, and by the heavy and grim sound of it does resample march music for an orc army! Something heavy armoured and bend on death and destruction. Third track King sounds... as if the king sees that there is absolutely no way to escape this utter destruction, I am imagining a crazy king like Denethor II (Lord of the Rings). 

Fourth track Chapel follows the King theme further on into moody darkness. Fifth track Defensor, illustrates panic and stress among the protectors of the castle (I Think). Not a very comforting track, but a more angst-ridden and stressed out piece. Sixth offering named Castle (like the album title) brings a more protective and secure mood, obviously, nothing can break down the walls of this ancient castle. A very solid track! The Monks being the seventh track returns the album to its essence of gloom and despair, but the ending of this track reveals a tiny glimpse of hope. Angelic synth-choirs reveals a way-out... salvation before death perhaps? Next track which is a short one called Ranger, clearly describes someone being very stealthy and deadly... Bowman sniper-style, the kind which can see through the darkness. Swordmaster being my favourite track on the album, do give this track some extra ear attention! Second last track Torchlight, being the strongest track on the album. A very hectic escape down through a narrow and long staircase, with that flickering torchlight in your hand. The album ends with Shadows... shadows?. What shadows? The shadows that still lingers in the grim castle after the brutal massacre?. Who knows...

A very dark and serious computer-vintage chip-tune dungeon experience if you ask me. Perfect for playing AD&D Ravenloft to in the background, or a horror-themed Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying scenario (if you ask me). Might even call this castle-synth rather than dungeon synth, you´ll understand when you hear it! Would I recommend it?. Yes, to hardcore fans. For beginners, probably not. Not because it's bad or anything (I fxxxxxx love it!) but again, a very dark and heavy album for the chip-tuned dungeon-synth beginners. Everyone who would remember those old video/computer-games will love this, I am absolutely sure!.     

Bandcamp (band):

https://tarczownik.bandcamp.com/album/castle

Facebook (label):

https://www.facebook.com/Raven-Fortress-Polish-Stronghold-of-Dungeon-Synth-700582633656372/

   

Kontravoid - Too Deep

The second and latest album from Canadian but Berlin-based minimal-EBM-Industrial act Kontravoid. I remember that there was some hype around the debut, but I did not give it any attention (that was actually way back in 2012). Songs From Under the Floorboard posted the latest video from this album via Facebook, and I, of course, thought that I should check it out. I was actually kind of surprised, not only was it raw, cold and minimal (just the way I like it) but it was also HIGHLY epic and melodic without being too over-dramatic. So what happened next was that I saw the video like... 10 times I think, over and over again. Even played it at my work, someone actually went over and stopped the music! Autotuned rap-based spineless pseudo-pop music is the preferred music at my work! Anyways, my next step would to buy the album and review it. So here goes!.

The style of Kontravoid. Not really EBM, not really synth-pop. Heavy minimal-wave meets gothic-techno with minor industrial hints here and there. Think early industrial/EBM-gothic act Apoptygma Berzerk (Soli Deo Gloria) meets the catchy technoid electro-tunes of Solvent. A quite effective (and catchy) combination!

First track lets in an industrial-coldness not that far away from Dirk Ivens project Dive. Metallic looped distortions, atmospheric cold vocals, and calculated machine-drums (Snare-drum sounds like a lashing whip). The second track with its catchy new-beat mood and aggressive machine-gun bassline, lovely percussion-like rhythms here. The third track follows up on cold brutality and whiplash precision... sounds like it has been recorded in a HUGE hospital basement. Fourth track Too Deep was the track which I saw the music video for (Interesting and good video if you ask me), a HIGHLY contagious and rare piece of simple genius melodic electro epicness! We are still talking something very minimal, but with that epicness that wants to squeeze its way out. 

Fifth track Never Alone turns down the aggression and heads further down into lovely post-punk´ ish electro-pop. Fans of the early recordings by Vicent Clarke anyone?. Sixth track Cost of Life with its minor synth-wave soundtrack element and robotic coldness, beautiful how the melodic elements pump life into the coldness here. Next track Distress strangely reminds me of the Wolfgang Press in a more minimal version, the catchy drum patterns and the mood? The haunting piano keyboards are excellent good here, and the almost Peter Hook´ish bassline works like a charm. 10000 Voices being the last and shortest track on the album, retro-wave coolness gets mixed up with an 80´s crime-movie mood. It could have been used in modern Miami Mice.

And woawww! One catchy tune after the other! Yup, I would love 2 dance to each of these tracks without being embarrassed that I am over 40 years old. This is catchy as hell, the artist has a clear understanding of how to create a decent pop-tune but also to balance it with a raw mystical edginess. I can and I will HIGHLY recommend this release for any fans of old-school electro and groundbreaking retro/synth-wave. Sofar the release has come out on vinyl and CD (check links below!).   

Bandcamp:

https://kontravoid.bandcamp.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/kontravoid