New Arrivals
VII
The seventh album from Montreal's harbinger of blackmetaldoompsychedelia appears on Important. Of the two sides of Aun's bi-polar output this falls into the cataclysmic doom zone, full of downtuned scorched-earth riffage and ominous ambience. The inclusion of drummer Away from Voivod lends a thunderous motorik propulsion to 'Falcon' and punctures 'Broken Bill' with neck snapping weight. For fans of Earth, Sunn 0))), Pelican, Gnod - Recommended.
Flächen Mit Figuren
Beautifully minimal new work by Asmus Tietchens using layers and stretch out sound fields as a compositional basis and placing miniatures inside them. 54 minutes, 8 tracks, handnumbered edition in nice paper sleeve 300 copies.
Delusion Of Hope
With an eldritch terror that could just as easily be from another dimension as the darkest ocean comes the latest release from Ural Umbo, Delusion of Hope. Feedback and melody barely escape from the murky crevices, tinged with a sense of grinding tension. Sharp, acidic percussion slices through the blackness with violent urgency, while electronic blasts and organic drones entwine and ensnare. Some dim instinctive memory vaguely resurrects a shadowy scene wherein black drums roar madly, and monst…
Seven stars
Fennesz's first solo release since Black Sea (2008) is a 4 track 10 vinyl, with a CD version soon available. Using acoustic and electric guitars, bass, synths, computers, Fennesz continues to engage and entrance us in equal measure. 'Liminal', 'July', 'Shift', 'Seven Stars' (with Steven Hess on drums). Fennesz writes: Seven Stars was recorded in Vienna in January 2011. I recorded and mixed the album within 3 weeks. Liminal and July were existing pieces which I have reworked. (I wrote an early ve…
OvalDNA
In many ways, O, released on Thrill Jockey after a nine-year break, was a second debut album for Markus Popp aka Oval. A radical break with old concepts and methods, a new beginning. While Popp's artistic approach in the 1990s and early 2000s was more of a structural, theoretical nature, O was just about the music itself. Themes such as the means of production, limitations, dogma and concept took a back seat to a musical sensibility. Instead of writing new software to synthesize and proces…
Going Places
In April 2008, American noise duo Yellow Swans (comprised of Peter Swanson and Gabriel Mindel) announced their decision to split. The news was a shock to the noise community, not least because the band had become a regular fixture in the live arena -- touring incessantly and garnering a huge, dedicated following in the process. What the duo neglected to announce, however, was that a final album was already in the works, and while they would not tour together again, steps were being taken to fini…
Double Cut
apanese remastered edition, in paper sleeve -- the only version of this album currently available. "The second release of Moebius & Beerbohm on Sky Records in 1983. Recorded at Conny's Studio. Reissued with elaborate miniature paper sleeve of the original LP. 2007 digital remaster version, limited to 1,000 copies
Dropsonde
2012 repress; originally released 2006. Biosphere is Norwegian composer and performer Geir Jenssen, and this is his fifth release for Touch. In the early 1990s he was a pioneer of so-called "ambient techno," but since then, he has refined his sound into something more magnetic and enduring. Dropsonde isn't a soundtrack like the interwoven Substrata nor an episodic journey in the way that Autour de la Lune is. Here Geir Jenssen is pushing new directions towards the jazz colors of Miles Davis a…
Surviving The Garden Of Hate
"Copper Glove, the new project from Baltimore's Door (formerly Earth Crown; who shared splits with Secret Abuse and Kites on past Arbor releases), shows a further progression of his one man industrial-noise synth unit. In opposition to his former work, Copper Glove is more mindful of composition; utilizing tone generators and processed synthesis and vocals, to present a dense cut up analog form of industrial concréte. Door's nihilistic optimism carries itself with a sense of effortlessne…
The poetry of decay
Recordings by Gordon Sharp (2001-2010) at Belmont shore (ca), mid-levels (hk) & Kobe (Japan) the mid-levels (hk) but manly at Roi vert, Okamoto, Japan. Cut at dubplates & mastering, Berlin, august 2010. Cindytalk have been active since 1982. During the 80s and the 90s their sound was defined by broken down rock structures and abstract piano ambience. A third side to their coin emerged at the dawn of the 21st Century with a turn towards obscure computer usage pushing all ressemblance of me…
Underneath the surface
Since the very first notes, this music appears to be about memory, decay and subversion. It is a deep investigation on the ability of sounds to freely attract or reject each other, in accordance with their own nature and disposition, and still maintain their meaning. Combining dense, multilayered sheets of synthetic sounds, treated bass, electronic percussion, the six tracks reveal their non-architectural principle as the music develops through warm textural details, reverberations, underlying m…
10
Since the very beginning 13 years ago Supersilent have always moved forward with the greatest integrity. No albums, or indeed concerts, sound the same, yet there´s always a strong signature present. So also with this album. Mostly recorded by Jan Erik Kongshaug at the famous Rainbow Studio in Oslo, this was their first session after drummer Jarle Vespestad lef the band. This time they have moved slightly towards a more acoustic landscape with Ståle Storløkken, for the first time with Supersilent…
Repaired/Replaced
Touch presents a 7" from Mike Harding as part of the Touch Sevens series. Recorded in West Wittering in Balham using DPA 4060s onto a Nagra Ares P-ll digital recorder. Cut by Jason at Transition. Artwork & photography by Jon Wozencroft.
Ersatz II
The second release from Dieter Moebius and Karl Renziehausen. The tracks were recorded in 1991-92 and released on Nova Era in 1992. Reissue with special miniature paper sleeve. Digitally remastered version, limited to 1,000 copies
Electronics
The Zeitkratzer label releases a limited 3CD box documenting international avant-garde soloists ensemble Zeitkratzer, and their collaborations with groundbreaking electronic musicians spanning nearly a decade. This set collects all three previously-released Electronics recordings (ZKR 004CD/ZKR 005CD/ZKR 006CD), made in Germany, Spain, France, Italy and Austria with non-academic electronic musician Carsten Nicolai (aka Alva Noto), electro-acoustic composer Terre Thaemlitz, and legendary Japanese…
Tretetam
A state of mind between sleep and consciousness, where the past gently glides over the future, weaving it's self into the unknown. An unfamiliar place, surrounded by things you recognized and things you do not. Birds in flight, sprinklers, quiet humming of machines, echoing voices blended with strains of haunted melodies that remind you there is a vast world outside your door in a state of constant change.
Chasm Achanes
MINDBLOWING! Chà sm Achanés is the result of a common project between two experimental musicians of the fertile Bologna (IT) area where sound/art projects like Xing/Raum, Netmage and Sant’Andreadegliamplificatori are run by a community of forward thinking artist and musicians to create a meeting point for different languages and sensibilities. Recorded in one take at Officina49 in Cesena (IT) this record has been created using tape recorders and several electronic devices (Maggiore) and…
Alienology: Selected Works 1998-2008
Stunning collection of works from 1998 to 2008, MY CAT IS AN ALIEN's first decade of adventure in outer space and modern music. All ultra-rare and long-out-of-print material from space brothers Maurizio and Roberto Opalio finally available for the first time in digital format, including a previously unreleased gem entitled 'Where The Lines Go To Sleep' (2004).Starting from MY CAT IS AN ALIEN's 1999 first milestone 'Landscapes Of An Electric City' (originally spread throughout the world by Thurst…
Recherche_00
In this work I am approaching the analogue synthesizer Yamaha CS-40M. I built up the research in a journalistic kind of way. At first I made a plan of procedures, gave myself a problem formulation. In my first step I was looking for sounds that represent the „soul“ of this instrument. The next step was abstracting these sounds without losing the specific character of the instrument. An unconventional click sound was the result. This sound was then fed with additional information, fie…
All Things Are From Him, Through Him And In Him
Brethren Of The Free Spirit combines the considerable 12-string guitar talents of James Blackshaw with the lute skills of Dutch instrumentalist Josef Van Wissem. Those of you who picked up the excellent Blackshaw-curated Garden Of Forking Paths compilation on Important a couple of weeks back will already be familiar with Van Wissem's abilities, dexterously coaxing his baroque instrument into the modern age. The two musicians compliment each other beautifully - there's no treading on toes here, b…