V/A - Schloss Tegal Presents Kollektiv -
Music from the Sanatorium
We have been around the world of Schloss Tegal once with the great dark-ambient/death-industrial offering Psychometry. This time we´re not solely dealing with Schloss Tegal, but we are dealing with a various-artists compilation released by the act itself. Inspired by such cult compilations as Für Ilsa Koch (Come Organization) and Vhutemas Archetypi (Side-Effect), this comp was first released on tape back in 1982! And this time around it has been re-released in a CD-digipack edition of 300 copies on Tegal Records.
The theme (or the idea) of the comp itself was to represent the underground post-industrial/experimental/noise scene and how it was distributed on tape via mail, another word: Home-taping mail-art! A lot of obscure names, and some heavyweights. In other words, fantastic obscurity is being re-issued! We need more of those!!!... So let´s dig down and dig the obscurities from the past!
The first track with Seiei Jack called I Can´t Remember This Title already greats the listener what we are actually dealing with. We´re not dealing with the sort who tell themselves that they are gonna do a specific kind of experimental genre/style, either a new Merzbow or a Front 242. It´s freestyled/open-minded stuff with a visionary thought! The track has a ritual-chanting kind of thing to it, while reminds me of some obscure recording with Buddhist monks. The main difference is that it sounds like it has been recorded in some damp cellar, and not in a temple. A short track that raises curiosity without a doubt! Love the low-fi approach here!
The second track with Lard - Untitled. Has a weird industrial free-jazz thing going on, with a thumping proto-death-industrial rhythm (Megaptera?). Lovely kind of 70s TG feeling going on here, REALLY murky stuff.
The third track Banned Productions with Ornament #2 greats the listener with chopped-up distorted sounds, screaming microphones, and someone banging on something metallic. A bit like early Esplendor Geomtrico and SPK.
The fourth track is by Jim Jones, informing the listener about someone having.... a Sexual Interest In Me (track title). A lovely piece of obscure recording with the notorious cult leader puts the listener into the right mood!
The fifth track is also a bit interesting in a truly fxxxxx up way. Euparunia Campaign track called What You Once Were. Includes the warped and distorted sounds of a porn flick with crying babies in the background. Those warped sounds take me back to that strang video, where someone hacked a TV transmission while being dressed up as Max Headroom (Back in the eighties).
The sixth track by Problemist called Krank (Crazy in German). Being a haunting piece of post-industrial obscurity. Evocative distorted bass being played, strange typing kind of rhythms, chant-like vocals. A bit like early C93 or the Hunting Lodge.
Maybe Mental offers the seventh track simply called Sorrow. Creaking of old doors, metallic ritualistic clattering from an old abandoned farm, rat-like sounds with a metallic sound to it, sounds of birds being in a cage... and some haunting piano work here as well. Very interesting and mind-bending stuff. Scary track.
Brutal Temptation by Pink 36 is the eight-track. Bone-narrowing and ear-piercing sounds with voodoo drums. With some interesting stuff going on in the background as well.
The ninth track Cig Sucking Slut by Red Skull. Red Skull like the guy from Marvel? And is Cig a short word for cigarette?. It´s a sick vocal-based track with some distortion on top of it. Think early Whitehouse, Mauthausen Orchestra or Sutcliffe Jugend kind of stuff.
It gets more mellow with the tenth track by John Wiggins track called Anagenic. A fluid-like substance bubbles out of your speakers, while some mesmerizing ambient moods in the background. A very hypnotizing piece! What happens after that, is worth anyone's ears!
The eleventh track Whisper in the Dark by Room 291 has a proto technoid rhythm to it. Still being in the mellow vibe. Early Skinny Puppy kind of stuff here. Technoid rhythms with cinematic soundscapes.
Track number twelve by The Joke Project offers us the Apocalypse. A strange LSD trip with some circus-like keyboard-work. Might just be the weirdest and most crazy piece on here!
The next track is by Schloss Tegal! Called Autopsy the Animal. A lovely kind of harsh Commodore 64´ish keyboard work puts the listener into a trance, while mind-bubbling sound effects lift the listener into higher territory. Evil-sounding stuff from the sanitorium for sure!
Track by Communications Music Company being the fourteenth track, called What Did You Do Today. Mind-numbing electro noise and vocals clattering and thumping until your brain hurts.
The last track by Minoy is called Three Favorite Friends. Sounds like the basement of the sanitorium itself. Being able to hear the agonized voices and sounds from the patients and the building itself. A very painful and memorable ending if you ask me.
So where does that leave us? We have been exploring a piece of documental history for the ears and mind only. A tiny glimpse into the obscure history into recorded mail-art. Every track speaks out for itself, and each track on this comp is great. Why? because as a whole the entire comp works 100%. The artists/acts on the comp don't differ much from each other, but each act has its own and very unique way of expressing itself through sound. For me, it was an incredible journey, not one boring moment here... not one!.
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