Helicopter
Label owned by John Wiese, an artist and composer from Los Angeles, California. His ongoing projects include LHD and Sissy Spacek, with plenty of freelance work with many artists as diverse as Sunn O))), Wolf Eyes, Merzbow, Dave Phillips, Smegma, Kevin Drumm, Cattle Decapitation, and C. Spencer Yeh (Burning Star Core). He has toured extensively throughout the world, covering Europe, Scandinavia and Australia as a member of Sunn O))), the UK as part of the Free Noise tour (a tentet including Evan Parker, C. Spencer Yeh, Yellow Swans, etc.), the United States alongside Wolf Eyes, and recently performed in the 52nd Venice Biennale with artist Nico Vascellari.
Amplified Crystal
A howling vortex of psychedelic whiteout and swirling shimmer by trailblazing Japanese icons C.C.C.C. (Cosmic Coincidence Control Center), featuring the core foursome of Mayuko Hino (electronics, voice, performance), Hiroshi Hasegawa (synthesizer, voice), Fumio Kosakai (electronics, tapes), and Ryuichi Nagakubo (bass). Originally released as a legendary, limited vinyl LP on the group’s own Endorphine Factory label, this seminal release has been painstakingly remastered in 2023 by John Wiese and …
Community Center Cyber Crash / Live In Pittsburgh
A searing document of C.C.C.C.’s indelible live performance at Wilkins School Community Center on October 11, 1992, Community Center Cyber Crash/Live In Pittsburgh voyages into an abyss of scorching sound featuring the lineup of Mayuko Hino (electronics, voice), Hiroshi Hasegawa (synthesizer, voice), and Fumio Kosakai (electronics, tapes). Originally released as a vinyl LP in 1993 that helped cement the ensemble’s legacy and influence, the album has been meticulously remastered in 2023 by John W…
Tractor 2023
The Haters classic remixed, remastered and reenvisioned! A full volume grinding cacophony of entropic sound and amplified destruction across three reworked live actions—8/15/87 San Francisco (tearing large sheets of paper & fire sounds), 10/11/87 Colorado Springs (sledgehammers smashing holes through the brick walls of an abandoned metal refinery), 12/16/88 Salt Lake City (destroyed junk on an overflowing club stage). Newly mixed from vintage material by GX Jupitter-Larsen & John Wiese exclusive…
Coronado
In their first collaborative album, pioneering Japanese sound artist Merzbow and prolific outsider outfit Sissy Spacek unite to unleash an unstoppable firebomb of frenzied electronics and raging percussion across two 45-minute discs in this monumental set. Assembled July–September 2023, it features a lineup of Masami Akita, Charlie Mumma, and John Wiese, with a special appearance by Phil Blankenship (The Cherry Point). Beautifully packaged in a metallic gatefold digipak with artwork by John Wies…
Cosm
A new Sissy Spacek album in the realm of free-improv, but a great expansion of the perimeter. This power trio features Charlie Mumma on drums, Masahiko Ohno (Solmania) on guitar, and John Wiese on organ. Unlike anything that's come before.
Black Tupelo
Alex York’s Black Tupelo comments on the obscured line between American folk music and spiritual minimalism. Through sampling across analog and digital media, including vinyl, cassettes, and YouTube, Black Tupelo derives all its sonic material from recordings of Powers / Rolin Duo. In the past, York has primarily sampled jazz musicians, but gravitates towards acoustic drones on this record, which lend to collage and layering. In approaching these samples, York was inspired by a Roscoe Mitchell l…
Threshold
Noise/noisecore/grindcore/cut-up in unparalleled intensity from Mumma/Wiese with two tracks featuring Jay Randall.
Mechanical Abstraction
A scorching assembly of recordings from Sissy Spacek's 2022 ensemble tour, featuring the first John Wiese solo as Sissy Spacek since 2001 and two sets from the trio of Chris Goudreau/Jay Randall/John Wiese. Jewel case with heavy 28-page booklet.
Live In Hong Kong
Sissy Spacek is known for their extended approach to sound and performance. Founded in 1999, the group (since 2013, primarily a duo of Charlie Mumma and John Wiese) have released a broad range of work, from grindcore to musique concrète, with a considerable gulf of experimentation in between. Their performance at Empty Gallery in Hong Kong and its peripheral documentation is an example of the band’s abstracting style and approach. Recorded on the occasion of Takeshi Murata’s “Infinite Doors” ope…
The Elusive Flexure
Helicopter is proud to present the first trio album of Joseph Hammer (Solid Eye, Dinosaurs With Horns, LAFMS), Joe Potts (Airway, Extended Organ, LAFMS), and John Wiese (Sissy Spacek, Strain of Laws).
Solid State of Time
Robert Turman is an American sound artist best known for his innovative and experimental work in the field of ambient and minimalism. Beginning in the mid/late-1970s, Turman became involved in the world of experimental music, being particularly drawn to the work of minimalist composers such as Steve Reich and Terry Riley, and began to experiment with tape loops and other forms of sound manipulation.Turman’s first solo release, the cassette album “Flux” (1981), is a landmark in ambient and minima…
Plays
Available for the first time as the artists originally intended!
XCIII
More than 25 years after their first partnership, international collaborators Smegma and Merzbow reunite for an all-new album that pushes the conceptual springboard of random composition generation even further. Consisting of two movements spread over 93 tracks, XCIII presents a collage of abstract electronics, unconventional instruments, reel to reel tape manipulation, loops and effects, best experienced in unique combinations on shuffled play.The first movement, Climactic Gruesome Costumes (wh…
Reslayer
Tip! ‘Sissy Spacek reaching full maturation – Hyper destructive low end heavy cut ups. Harsh noise from unheard nether-realms.’ - Brandon Hill
Electric Field In Parallel
‘Another stunning, definitive and beyond harsh release from the arguably the most forward thinking ultra-sonic-destruction unit in the world.’ - Brandon Hill
Radio Format
While we may live in an oversaturated time of hi-definition, microwave-pulse paced images and video snippets, one format that has remained in play since the early 1900’s is that of radio. A format perhaps overlooked most in its ability to not only act as a conduit of audio, but also that of a uniquely non-visual live performance, facilitating a direct audio-only portal from performer to the imagination of the listener.Radio is a place where live collaboration and conversation can occur not just …
Mutant Stomps
These American legends of outsider avant-garde need little introduction. Since becoming core members of the Los Angeles Free Music Society five decades ago, they have retained their focus, determination and unmatched originality, influencing generations and never seizing to advance further avenues of progress. Mutant Stomps is a result of Smegma’s living room recording sessions at their pink house in Portland. All tracks were produced 2012–2013, with one dating back to 1975 for good measure. The…
Live At Zebulon
Airway began as a solo project of Los Angeles Free Music Society member Joe Potts. The first release was the Airway 7-inch, which featured subliminal messages to coincide with an art exhibition in Tokyo. Since their August 1978 live debut at the LACE Gallery, the group has performed many concerts with different large lineups, always with Joe Potts’ subliminal message experiments as a central feature. Airway’s “Live At LACE” LP, first released in 1978, and introduced to Japan by Takuya Sakaguchi,…
Violent Adaptation
The latest release from Form Hunter, a duo that comprises S. Aune (Breaking the Will, Kjostad) and W. Czerkies (Sunken Cheek, Goddaughter). Everything pushed defiantly into the red, pummeling scrap metal, mangled electronics, blasting tape hiss and shredded eardrums. Grinding you into the dirt, cutting to the bone with a rusty hacksaw, a reminder that noise feels best when it hurts. For those forever chasing the euphoria only harsh noise can provide.
Scissors
* 2x7-inch, gatefold cover * 20th anniversary edition of Sissy Spacek's second album, first reissue since it's original release, this time as a double 7-inch in a deluxe gatefold cover. An incomprehensible, discombobulated wreck."This four-track explosion of sound had my jaw agape from the first note to the last. With minor percussive breaks between sizzling hard-wired damage, this wasn’t at all what I expected. Instead John Wiese has offered tracks that intensely re-align your senses for their …