Thirdorgan - Thirdorgan

Thirdorgan by...Thirdorgan. A new release from a veteran in japannoise! Started back in 1993, with over 60 albums released! All out on various (and noisy) cult labels. Of course, most of them are sought out rarities. This new has been released by a new and cool label called Abhorrent Creation Tapes. Based  in Noyelles Godault in France. I will review further releases from this excellent label, which so far has showcased an interest in japanoise. This one has come out as a limited 350 copies pro-CD, a cool white cover in a simply and good-old-fashioned jewel case. Love the cover artwork, once in a while a screaming white cover with black letters on it just does the trick. Beatles did it with the White Album, and Throbbing Gristle did it with their Second Annual Report as well. Kind of makes you ask a question (or two) what does this white and simple-looking album actually hides? The track has 6 untitled tracks on it, 60+ minutes in total. 

The first track sounds like a digital ghost trying to invade your television set. A mesh of various digital chopped-up liquid sounds pounds up and down while traveling between your speakers. It can also sound like a HUGE arcade hall with over 100 16-bit games, suffering from electronic glitches and power surges. It sounds INCREDIBLE, really does. Reminds me of a bit of the Gantz Graf release by Autechre, just way more complex and aggressive. Good to hear that new ideas for noise music are being developed, this is indeed a new sound we are dealing with here. Remember the digital sounds from the bad guy who was put inside a killer robot in Robocop 2?!...

The second track has a more organic, fluid, and heavily echoed sort of sound. Love the way the sounds... fucks up the mind ( in a good way ). There are people who love splatter effects in gory horror flicks, and there are those who love sound effects on albums like this... it´s absolutely filled with it so far. Incredible how so much action of sound there is on this! Really hard to describe, but good... really good!

The third track goes back to those mutated retro-gaming sounds. Lazer sounds, hints of 8-bit NES melodies, clicks... and cuts, 3d space invaders in virtual reality, and all that. Not only am I a lover of noisy stuff, but also a retro-gaming lover... so of course I bloody love this!                     

Jumping further to the sixth track (the last track on the album). Which is also the most distorted and noisy one. Imagine how all of these sounds would sound if they all... were spewed out of a steel pipeline. That´s exactly how this track works, kind of an outro for whatever you have just been through.

Thirdorgan by Thirdorgan is one bloody masterpiece and a unique one as well. Is it actually japanoise, or is it japanbitnoise?  Again, we might be dealing with a new sound here. When you are just fed up with the constant stream of information being flooded in your brain (on a daily basis), this album should do the trick to reset that digital-fxxxxx-up brain of yours. I want more of this... please!. 

Bandcamp (label):

https://abhorrentcreationtapes.bandcamp.com/album/thirdorgan-st

Bandcamp (band):

https://thirdorgan.bandcamp.com/

 Neolithic Nation - Atavism

Another new act has had its debut out on Steinklang. Includes members from various Russian noise/power-electronics acts. It came out last year on a beautiful and limited digipack (100 copies). The band is called Neolithic Nation and the album is named Atavism. Neolithic means the age after the stone-age era, and Atavism is all about what we have genetically gained (or lost) through the various stages of our biological evolution. Quite a heavy theme right? Makes me think of Devo´s idea of D-Evolution something... whatever... Let´s get on with it now!.

The first track on the album is called Die Neu Zeit. The intro includes merry martial background music from the old days and the sound of whimpering dogs/wolves. All of this ends with a blast, and the power-electronics machine starts at this point. A lovely chunky and rhythmic noise sound, Grey-Wolves´ish vocals in German, and various distorted machine sound blend in very nicely.  

In the second track Materia I, we´re back to a basic and back-to-traditions industrial sound. Early Test Dept or Z´ev kind of. Rumbling and bashing industrial sounds of steel and machinery. 

The third track Spirit of Titanism has a really good intro. A cool and evil-sounding synth sound that pulsates and runs through your speaker like tiny waves of distorted sound. Some cool sounding and distorted spoken words here and there as well. Lots of stuff going on in the background, and lots of flesh on the soundscape here. 

The fourth track is... (surprise!) Materia II. Again, sort of old-school industrial mood vibe going on. Takes me back to SPK... you know. Evil hospital with evil doctors and so on. The cool soundtrack feels, I wouldn't mind if the track was a bit longer. 

The fifth track Flames Of Our Will is a basic (and modern) power-electronics thing with all the workings you might expect. Genocide Organ fans could dig this. It really helps with the field recordings going on, and puts extra flavor to it. 

I will jump over the materia track, and then further to the seventh track called Rabies. Death-industrial moods start the track. A thumping and slow track with a lot of heavy atmospheres attached to it.  Almost depressing and doom-laden piece. So far the best track on the album I think. Most unique if you ask me. 

The last track on the album which I will review would be the last track, simply called Atavus. The minimalistic dark ambiance and eerie sounding breathing sounds. The sounds and the mood jumps between your speakers. A very good ritualistic industrial track, not far from the likes of MZ.412 or Valefor.  

I can feel that a decent amount of work has been poured into this album. There are some good moments, and there are some bad moments. The bad moments would be the ones where you are thinking (as an old power-electronics/industrial nerd ) ´Ok... I have actually heard this before so why listen?´. A bit more of the think-new idea would/could help in this matter. The vocals would be a good example, the same kind of Grey Wolves/Genocide-Organ vocals of course. When so many have done it, it gets a bit boring in the end.   

The good thing about the album is moments when they do try to think about new ideas. I love the field recordings, and some of the distorted sounds are great too. Not to mention the overall quality of the sound recorded, which is done really good. But I would say, it´s a good and decent place to start for a new power-electronics fan. But for an old one?... 

Bandcamp (label):

https://steinklangindustries.bandcamp.com/album/neolithic-nation-atavism-2021

 

 Pete Swinton - Dronebience Vol.1

Ok, let us be honest. I didn´t know who Pete Swinton was. For some reason ( or another ) I took him as another one of those... highly-productive noise artists. I don´t know if it was the cover artwork itself, or just the color of his Bandcamp site. But then I took a look at his portrait photo, and then I got intrigued. A mysterious elderly chap with an almost kind of... Irish elf looks at him. It raised my curiosity, so I began surfing through his numerous Bandcamp releases. 

I loved the cover artwork for the Dronebience Vol.1, and I loved the first 10 seconds of the first track as well. So that is how I picked this one out. The photo of Pete Swinton and those first 10 seconds of Droncebience just made sense, we´re actually dealing with someone who... puts drops of hints of his soul here and there... within the recordings itself. He is a hidden treasure, what can I say?. 

The whole thing has been recorded (and made) this year, in Indonesia. 12 tracks, about 60 minutes total in length. Only available by digital means via Pete Swinton's official Bandcamp site (Link Below).

The first track B5 - One. Includes humming machine drones and dreamy synths. Floating over the city in Blade Runner. Very hypnotizing and seductive at the same time, and the sound quality is great. 

The second track B5 - Two continues the humming sensation, just not as heavy as the former track. The levitating sensation is more obvious here. I love the way how things are in the background, almost sounds like some sort of church organ. Time is slowing down at this moment... I mean really!.

The third track Drone One, makes you think of the cover artwork. Something being abandoned, and being left to its own device. Notice how the tree grows through the car itself, then try to imagine how much time a thing like that would require. The drone´ish church-like organs continue here with some excellent static drones. Exquisite material here kids!. So far, the drones are living and breathing things of sound. Not as static as you can imagine! 

Drone Two being the fourth track, makes me think of Boards of Canada. A semi-high pitched drone of melancholic and nostalgic attributes is there, with some interesting ritualistic undercurrents in there as well. So far I am in bloody heaven. Feels as if someone is opening a door to their world, and you can enter without any form of payment. It feels real and very sincere from the artist himself... so far. 

The fifth track is called Unruly Strings. Heavenly droned and multi-layered string sounds and angelic moods. Kind of reminds me of Swans in a way, one of those "pleasant" drone pieces from their Soundtracks of the Blind era. 

Ambient 3 is the sixth track, a track that enters a more kind of mellow sound. A multi-layered looped and reverbed synth-wall, with some stuff happening behind it... if you dare crawl up the wall and look what there is behind it. ´Endless shores and green pastures... as far as the eye can see.´ One point to Gandalf!

Ambient 4 reminds me of old-fashioned telephones, when you picked up the receiver and put it to your ear... it just gives you that one specific sound. Then try to imagine that sound through your stereo! Pleasant static stuff, an ambient wall without noise here! 

The eight-track The Spectral Gate sounds like something from an older episode of Doctor Who. The track works like a gate, with a gatekeeper asking ´Are you willing to go no?´... And the answer to that question would be...´Offcours I bloody will!.´ 

The ninth track is Dreamscape One. Imagine a deep cave with crystals, and then imagine how the moment of the earth would affect those crystals, in the sound which they would produce. Still good ambient music!

Droneambience Two starts with a humming sound from outer space. Love the metallic (and hidden) reverbed sounds in there as well. Very kind of early Klaus Schulze here, heavy cosmic stuff going on here.

The eleventh track Nightmare one... works as a sort of... parallel universe to the former track. Heavier drone to start with, eerie glitchy sounds some synth sounds. Weird and metallic sounds from a alien world creep in... and start repeating themselves. Not actually the journey which a certain character made in Lovecraft´s ´Whisperer In The Darkness, but more of a journey to another world that started as a nightmare but... ended as something quite else. Very surreal kind of adventurous track here kids. 

The very last track is simply called Dronebience (1). A flanged and psychedelic intro with some highly echoed sounds in there as well. Still maintaining the sound (and aesthetic) that we have already heard on the first track! Again, Pete manages to make the sounds sound like something which is living and breathing. It does sound sincere, no doubt about it. 

Dronebience Vol.1 might just be another indie-ambient album. But we´re still dealing with someone who does something extra to the ambient style, and that is the ability to reach beyond. Pete Swinton is an astronaut, who does have a desire to reach beyond... and he pulls it off... totally with Dronebience Vol.1. Need to drop in and drop out, do it with the company with Pete!

Bandcamp (band):

https://peteswinton.bandcamp.com/album/dronebience-vol-1

 

 

  

     

 Black Leather Jesus - A.N.T.I.

A new bunch of releases to review from one of my favorite noise labels, Swedish Ominous Recordings (based in Stockholm). The first one I will sink my teeth into is actually a re-issue, not many of those these days. We´re talking about the early days of Black Leather Jesus, and one of those early releases was the A.N.T.I. album which was originally released on tape back in 1993 on Richard Ramirez's own label Deadline Recordings. Now re-released in a 200-copy CD edition, in a nifty-looking blackened digipack. Interesting and historic liner-notes by Sam Mckinlay (from The Rita) and remastered by Grant Richardson (from Gnawed and Atrox Pestis). The entire album contains one track, almost 60 minutes long. I actually do think that we (just might) be dealing with one of the first releases to explore that sound... which we today have chosen to call harsh-noise-wall. This release was made in 1993, and the first Rita album was released in 1998.

The whole thing starts with a textured crackle, and another crackle follows, and then... time simply stops. Imagine yourself on one of those big rollercoaster rides, and all of a sudden it goes so fast that you´ll forget the concept of time entirely. Kind of the same way this thing works. It´s a pretty thick bass-driven thing, and a hard and static density of distorted sound is guaranteed. I will recommend listening to the album on your stereo, then on your Compact-Disc player! I did that once, and my inner ear just kept... well... thumping and vibrating. 

To many, recordings like these can seem kind of... beyond fucked? BUT, if one does give it time and some thought one will actually find a treasure chest at the end of the rainbow. There are dynamics within, and the is variation in the sound as well. I find the whole album thoroughly enjoyable, recommended listening after a stressful day for sure!.   

To end it all up...   A strangely comforting beast of sheer brutality, perfect background noise for obsessive minds... and perfect textured sound-recording for a decent power nap. Keep it simple, less is more and all that. 

Bandcamp (label):

https://ominousrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/a-n-t-i

 Catacombs of Doom - Resurrection of the Flesh

A new release from an act which I haven´t heard before, although they have existed since 2009. They have even been on Craneal Fracture Records, which yours truly (back in the day) have had the pleasure of having some releases out on. Nonetheless, Resurrection of the Flesh is their fifth album. Released via Black Death Industry, and distributed via Depressive Illusions Records. So far it has come out on limited tape and CD. A full-length album containing 9 tracks. 

The first track on the album is simply called Resurrection of the Flesh (like the album). Evocative and satanic vocals, ritualistic beatings with a great and varied dark-ambient soundscape running in the background. That doesn't sound like much, but it´s actually quite a big and epic thing. A well thought conceptual sound, with a well thought lyrical theme on top of it. I wish there were more black metal bands who would do this kind of stuff. Sort of like... Sleep Chamber for black metal fans without guitars.  Really love the sound quality here, top edge soundtrack quality that is.

The next track Forlon of the Hammer takes the listener back to that old In Slaughter Natives sound (which I miss). A Barbaric and horrific slaughter of the innocent. Makes me think of how horrific it would be to spot that Viking ship in the distance (out in the sea), and know that your village is utterly doomed. That´s the kind of feeling this track will give you. And those who will survive the slaughter will be a slave of course. A very horrific soundscape with evil intent for sure, lovely drums here.  

The third offering Invictus turns the intensity into a more... "relaxed" state. More of a melancholic and tragic atmosphere here, with a violin there and some poetic esoteric-themed lyrics here. 

In the fourth track Dreams of Ninevah, we are introduced to haunting female vocals (Strawberry Switchblade fans anyone?). These vocals are mixed with the sinister male vocals here. Not really sure what I think when these two are combined, but it actually does sound better than I thought it would. I love the various effects on the vocals here. Reverb reversed, stretched, and so on. 

The fifth track Odor Mortis has some cool tribal stuff going on. If you would remove the vocals, it would sound a bit like something from SPK´s Zamia Lemahl. Dark and satanic world music if you please.

We jump to the seventh track Witch Trial. Sounds a lot like Aghast (R.I.P). So far my favorite track on the album. The drums sound good, the violin is creepy and the vocals are very exquisite. I must admit, the female vocals on this album are more... authentic-sounding than the male vocals, matter of taste I know. 

Lovely ritualistic undercurrents with the eight-track called Nebuchadnezzar´s Dream. A great follow-up to the former track Witch Trial. Again, lovely old CMI sound going on here. Love that witchy kind of atmosphere going on, out in the forest at night at a cemetery etc etc. 

We end the album with a cover of a track originally made by Necromantia. Almost kind of Arabic moments with a hint of Dead Can Dance here. And that ends the album. 

Lots of nifty satanic esoteric moments to be found and heard on this album, and the sound quality (good mastering) is a treat for the ear as well. At times I do think that the growling male black/death-metal vocals require too much of the listener's attention, whereas the female vocals work better in that way. But again, it´s a matter of taste. You can purchase your copy on the link below!

Depressive Illusions (label):

https://depressiveillusions.com/items/tape/dark-ambient-drone-experimental/catacombs-doom-ressurection-flesh?fbclid=IwAR3thxeCKJin2yX9Td1fL_h5HMEGwDhAWcCQ9mvJmFze59pwYHzicVjbktU

Facebook (band):

https://www.facebook.com/CATACOMBS-OF-DOOM-149040875123507

Bandcamp (band):

https://catacombsofdoom.bandcamp.com/

  

 Focus On The Breath - Time

New releases from one of my favorite pure ambient labels around, British Elm Records of course. One of them is a project called Focus On The Breath with the album Time, released in November last year. A limited cassette release, with the awesome Elm Records design with it. Lovely transparent blue cassette. 6 tracks divided on an A-side and a B-side, almost 40 minutes in total. 

And behind this project hides an artist, which has (according to Discogs) been involved in bands doing art/post-rock, folk, and even avant-garde Jazz as well. Besides that, he has been working on this project since 2014, with 4 albums out so far. Wanna check these albums out, then I suggest you check out the Bandcamp site for Cold Tear records (link below). 

The first track on the A-side is called Perpetual, starts really simple in an incredible angelic way. Simple and dreamy piano notes, with a touch of melancholia on a foggy day. Or when the sun rises over a windy cornfield in the morning, when corn fields almost resample waves in the ocean. The time around you absolutely freezes, and your pulse slows down completely. Imagine a black and white movie in the slowest slow-motion. There is also the sound of... dust on a record player evident. Hidden trumpet drones with that angelic touch also being a present in the mix as well. And that beautiful track runs in 16+ minutes. I´m gobsmacked by the beauty of this track. It does remind me a bit of some of the stuff found on Aphex Twin´s Selected Ambient Works Vol.2, or Autechre´s Amber without beats.

The second track on the A-side is called String Theory. Acoustic guitar-driven ambient material, not my cup of tea though. Reminds me of those kinds of new-age shops seeling healing crystals and herbs, acoustic guitar combined with ambient music... I know, it´s a taste thing. The track gets better further on when the guitar gets a kind of looped sound treatment. 

We jump further into the third track which is also the first track on the B-side. The track is called Continuum. Floating in space, or just frozen in time and space. A pretty deep, mysterious, and cosmic track. Waves of recorded sounds swirl and intertwine like liquid mercury. Hints of sampled violin here and there, excellent track here. 

In the fourth track Origin, we get the sensation of moving back in time. The reversed ambient sensation if you please. Some of the reversed sounds sound like they are moving forward, while other reversed sounds sound like they are moving backward... at the same time (does that make sense?). Is forward actually backwards, or is backwards actually forward? I don´t know.

The fifth track The Waiting Room works like a sort of... well waiting room. A short track, offering sounds of dripping water, windy and scrappy drones, and strings. Not a bad track.

The sixth and last track on the B-side (and the album) called Together includes vocals. Not actually words following a certain melody, but more of a humming voice doing the same sort of thing as that piano part did in the first track. Repetitive and simple tunes. Very kind of Sigur Rós here, more ambient than post-rock though.

Not a bad album as it is, it has its ups and downs but the overall quality of the whole album lifts the whole thing up. The one track that nearly overshadows the other tracks is of course... the first track. That one track is an absolute ambient masterpiece! 

Bandcamp (label):

https://elmrecords.bandcamp.com/album/time

Bandcamp (Cold Tear Records):

https://coldtearrecords.bandcamp.com/

Bandcamp (band):

https://focusonthebreath.bandcamp.com/releases

     

   

 

 Room of Wires - Fever Switch EP

An act that goes back to 2013, which I haven´t heard of yet. Until now that is. A nice description of the act can be located via Rednetics´s Bandcamp page : 

Room of Wires is an electronic music duo from the UK, who takes their isolationist approach to the limit. Since forming in 2013, they’ve never met, preferring to work in isolation, sharing ideas and sounds over the internet, one of them using hardware and a tangle of physical wires, the other lost in software and virtual cables.

 With two digital albums out on Ant-Zen, and with several EPs released on Section 27. Fever Switch is one of their newest EPS, which has been released on Rednetic (Bandcamp link below). A limited CD that comes in a nifty looking card-wallet. The EP contains 5 tracks with 20 minutes in total. Style?... Fusion electronica I would call... one minute they sound like Boards of Canada/Autechre even the later Richard H. Kirk, and the next they sound like one of the murky and moody drums and bass releases/acts from Goldie´s Metalheadz label. So, with a proper introduction, let us head-dive into the Fever Switch EP.   

The first track Never Seen Before is a gloomy jaw-dropping high-tech pearl, drifting over a futuristic Los Angelas in Bladerunner... in one of those levitating cars. The lights, the noise, and the mood of it being there on the track as well. I feel the track is too short (cause I like it very much). Melodic, ambient-driven techno piece... very beautiful one, and what an intro!

The next track The Lair goes further into the realm of technoid-electronica. Classy, futuristic, and epic. I really miss this kind of techno. Having hopes that our world (as it is) will be a cooler place in the near future, can technology in the end save us. That´s the kind of mindset I get (so far) by listening to this.

The third track Let Him Go goes straight into metallic and aggressive Aphex Twin´ish break-beats, with some nice retro-sounding synth work to soften the mood. Kind of a surprise track if you consider the former tracks. 

The fourth track Etnetico has a more of an industrial soundtrack feel to it, like something from Ulver´s Perdition City album. Big city electronica for the late hours, noir electronica. Programmed robotic machines work while humans eat and sleep. Everything is fully automatic here. This track is really amazing! Cool rhythms, clicks, scratches, glitchy sounds, evocative mood. Really nice.

The last track called TouchToneOne works like an outro the way an outro is supposed to work. The Dreamy piano works with the vintage synth take me back to Clusters Sowiesoso from 1976! Nothing wrong here, everything is good so far.

Brilliant electronica stuff to listen to while walking on a frosty morning with the sun rising up, radiating the light on windows and high structures made out of cold steel. Although I feel that the tracks are too short, the whole thing works brilliantly as an EP. Dreamy, daring, and futuristic stuff here. Are we looking at the next evolutionary step in techno?... I think so!

Bandcamp (label):

https://rednetic.bandcamp.com/album/fever-switch

Bandcamp (band):

https://roomofwires.bandcamp.com/

    

 

 

    

 Barrera - No Inputs Awake My Interest

The big question remains. What do the elephant-man and the extreme industrial-noise label Marbre Negre have in common? A not too old HNW act called Barrera, an act which has its focuses on no-input mixer techniques. This one called No Inputs Awake My Interest was released last year on Marbre Negre, is the second newest release from this act. It´s a monstrous noise treat with two untitled 30 minutes tracks, one on each side of the cassette. 

The A-side sounds like the burning of gas with hypnotic, static, and humming ambient tones in the background. The funny thing about it, is that earlier today I heard it on my phone... and now I am listening to the cassette. The sound is somehow... different. No question about it is that the cassette sounds well... more raw and analog. While the digital streaming sounded more digital... I guess it makes sense. I like this track a lot. Not a brutal HNW punch to your face, but an almost pleasant and hypnotic force of sound. Cracking sounds on fire, the sound of gas escaping, ventilation systems, and all that. Top HNW so far!.  

The B-side is a bit more aggressive. The sounds are nastier. The sounds of hot boiling water and burning exhaustion in a huge basement room. More static than the former A-side track, and a bit more mind-bending as well (I think I can hear some kind of music in the background). I was reading this older creepy paste called Russian Sleep Experiment. Try reading that one while listening to this B-side. 

No Inputs Awake My Interest will awaken your interests as well. Been too long since the last time I have reviewed an HNW release, and what a joy it was to review this one. A constant and brutal static monster with epic undertones. Experience a religious experience with HNW, here is your poison! 

  

Bandcamp (label):

https://marbrenegre.bandcamp.com/album/no-inputs-awake-my-interest

L'Egarement d'Esprit - Written in Stone

A new customer in the realm of Kalteldur. The label called Steinklang has dared to send us stuff to review. Steinklang is an old European label, with both feet firmly planted into the realm of noisy martial industrial and heathen neo-folk. I was into Steinklang some years ago, and I was surprised to hear that the label was still around. Sort of like... the Austrian´s answer to Tesco if you please.

But nonetheless... they have released a new album/compilation with an act called L´egarement D´Esprit, and the album is called Written In Stone. Here is some basic info about the album from the act itself:

Written in Stone" is a compilation of two digital demos, online compilations' tracks, and previously unreleased material. Part of this album is a collection of oneiric impressions of a warm summer evening when an unknown young man is looking for comfort in lousy cafés and obscure brothels on the eve of his enlistment. The other part is a silent scream of the same young man terrified, hungry, covered in trench mud, longing for home and warmth of woman's body.

Yes, it all sounds like something out of Ernst Junger´s famous first world war book In Stahlgewittern (recommended reading). We´re dealing with a physical digipack release with 14 tracks, 55 minutes in total.

The first track with no name (Untitled) instantly reminds you of such classic ritualistic acts as Archon Satani or Inanna. Ceremoniously, looped, and distorted samples going on with a ritualistic mood on top of it. Love the piano parts in there, which gives the ambient piece a nice edge to the harsher elements within the track.

The second track Cafe Parisien starts with a church organ, setting the mood. Eerie sounds from a past creep in, the sound of dust on a record player in there as well. Slowed down human voices talking, with epic drones giving the track some extra room and space.

The third track Laudanum Euphoria has that classic kind of CMI sort of beginning. Heavy machine-like drones, ritualistic chantings with repetitive rhythmic sounds.

The fourth track La Force De Lámour gets into something else. A lighter dark-ambient piece, with something going on in the background with a synth. I feel that this track almost has a story to tell, it evolves into something else from the beginning and to the end.

The fifth track (Bloody long French title) almost sounds like a romantic one. Beautiful organ synth stuff going on in here. Dungeon synth fans would dig it. Love the religious feeling to this, so far my favorite track on the album. The track should have been longer!.

The sixth track Vergib Mir, Camarade is a spacy industrial-martial piece with a movie sample that I don´t recognize. Touches of early Kraut-rock here and there.

I am gonna jump a bit to the tenth track called Amen. A very evocative drone piece here kids. Imagine the war between angels and devils in slow motion, or just the mood of a city turned to dust. I saw a video the other day of the Ukraine city of Mariupol, a drone showing the city. That sort of mood. From life to death in a few days. Mariupol kind of makes a track called Amen, sort of scary.

The eleventh track That Last Summer, doesn't sound like Blue Ouster Cult´s Summer of Love. But more like a track caught between the idea of hope in a hopeless situation and the idea of being comfortably numb in hell. It is a very easy-listening piece of evocative ambient music, but there is a touch of evil in there. Like something taken out of a Pasolini flick.

There is lots more stuff to be explored on this moody album. It works like a compilation and it sounds like a compilation, without being too messy in the aesthetic of sound. I did have one thought (idea) if the band could manage to create a conceptual album with 4 tracks on it. and each track would be around 10 minutes long. Whatever this band does, they could do it even better by making longer tracks. Good ideas require more time, and these guys have some good ideas. Will be looking forward to a full-length conceptual album in the near future!.

Bandcamp (label):

https://steinklangindustries.bandcamp.com/album/l-garement-desprit-written-in-stone-2021

 Don Mandarin - Peking A Poem / 

Guided Meditation

A new release from our favorite and mysterious Don Mandarin. For those who don´t know who he is, then I suggest you read a former review I did with one of his releases called Black Crown. An underground artist with an immense body of work. Started in an indie-rock band back in called Head (1987-1989), and then, later on, got into experimental trip-hop stuff with Pregnant and Applecraft (1997-2010). And then started his solo recordings as Don Mandarin in 2016, often releasing huge cassette box-sets with a beautiful and detailed nod on the aesthetic of the design. It should also be mentioned that it was also him, that designed the sleeve for the Pop Groups Y album in 1979.

The stuff he does is a strange mixture between field-recordings, early industrial, and dub and often invoking such feelings as nostalgia being a timeless thing of wonder. Quite often we´re dealing with the mood of something like exotica. If you can imagine, the hidden link between the world of Bryn Jones, Throbbing Gristle, and Martin Denny.  

This one release comes with a BEAUTIFUL book! The kind of which you read in while Don Mandarin takes you on a fantastic journey. It REALLY is quite the trip I tell you, let us check the tracks within!

In the first track, you have someone singing a peculiar song (While walking). Something about how his minus fortune keeps on following him, and then the track stops. 

Track two imediatiatly enters Asian territories. Reversed violins, traditional Asian music-instrument with strings with then some stringed-synth going on as well. Sort of reminds me of Coil in a way. A really beautiful mysterious and highly aesthetic piece, that puts the listener in the right mood.

The Third track moves into harsh soundscapes with industrial elements, almost a bit like Prurient. A fat and distorted bass, and interesting looped sounds jump in and out of focus. It may sound like a bloody mess (From Asian stuff to harsh stuff), but so far the conceptual mood sticks very nicely!.

On the fourth track, we are entering straight into field recordings. Might be on some bus, with some nice young ladies chatting about everyday stuff. Something about someone being a bitch because of that and that, you know... that sort of talk you hear in a bus you are trying hard to ignore. Of course, I end up thinking of Throbbing Gristle here, tracks like Wall of Sound and Hometime.

The fifth track is a haunting piece of old-school industrial soundscapes. Thinking about old English coastal cities falling into a state of decay and disrepair. Rust, grey-colored and rotten boards all around. Sounds really ugly, but really beautiful. 

The sixth track is where it gets even weirder. Sounds like Don Mandarin has resurrected Bill Evans, playing one of those jazzy synths (which he managed before he died). Gobsmacking shit I tell you. 

I will now jump straight into my favorite track on the album which is track 9.  A long journey into an improvised dub-inspired jam. A real masterpiece if you ask me. Slowly starting and slowly building up to show all the expressive ideas and spacy sound effects 35 minutes can hold! Just bass, drums, vocals, and effects. Imagine a 35-minute version of Alien Sex Fiend´s Magic with Nurse With Wound! That sort of trippy thing. Could have this one track on repeat the entire day (if you ask me!).     

The rest of the album is something for you to discover! Its a highly strange and unique album from another planet, but using a language which you all can understand (in some way). That is where the book can help you to understand the recordings within, either the recordings get you into the mood of reading the book or vice versa! The two items are closely knitted together (as you can read). I HIGHLY recommend this jewel on all accounts! Still available (Link below). 

Musicglue.com:

https://www.musicglue.com/environmental-studies/products/peking-a-poem-slash-guided-meditation-by-don-mandarin-aka-rich-beale?fbclid=IwAR1p-Hts-lMneziInN-ciFwTSWzySVjO1zuq2gMA7EKF3nxSM09e9kn7K6U

       

 

 A Ghostly Vacuum Trapped in a Confinated Space - 80 Endless Days and the Hardest moments of Greif For Our Fragile Existence...

An unknown act called A Ghostly Vacuum Trapped in a Confinated Space

(from Mexico) asked for a review. And since it has been a long time I have heard something new from Mexico, I asked myself why not?. And with a band name as interesting as the album title, I was curious and sucked right into it. I also enjoy the artwork as well, sort of... surreal kind of minimalism vibe to it. There is only one track on the album, a lengthy one that is... almost 40 minutes long. Let us hear a quick word from the artist himself (Manny Garcia), telling us what conceptual idea lies behind this album.

This long track was Made for those hard days what Me and everyone are living with the sorrowful bereavement of someone dear being, Me, Loss of My beloved Mother, What I still can't overcome... And of someone nearby persons as Friends What they passed away, a is enough understand the Death and heal the huge Emotional pain, these inside wounds of the soul...

Moments for that you love every second, minute, to Your beloved dear beings, perhaps tomorrow is too Late.....

A classic conceptual theme about death, time, and loss. The older we get, the closer we get to "understand" the idea of how time actually moves. How time constantly, changes the landscape we live in. As a child, I was quite sure that time as I knew it, would to some degree move really slowly. But all of a sudden you folks die, and the old folks of your friends die too. Sort of like... the idea/thought that popped into my mind when hearing this release. 

Pure melancholic drone music with touches of cosmic space ambient here and there. Multi-layered drone music that is, there are heavy drones and light drones... and LOTS of spacy effects. Perfect headphone ambient music while watching the stars on a cloudless night in the springtime.  

Bandcamp (label):

https://avenegramu-sick.bandcamp.com/album/80-endless-days-and-the-hardest-moments-of-grief-for-our-fragile-existence