Week 22

SEWER ELECTION & INCIPIENTIUM – SORCERESS (CD by Throne Heap) *
CONVENIENS – CONVENIENS (CD by Conveniens) *
CONVENIENS – VICTIMS OF CONVENIENCE (CD by Conveniens) *
EDGE OF DECAY – POLTTOMERKKI (CD by 999 Cuts) *
AGNIVOLOK + NECROMISHKA – ANIMAL GOD (CD by 999 Cuts) *
CHOBOTER & RANES & KADEREIT – SYNAPTIC BIOSPHERE (CD by Gateway Music) *
MAGDA MAYAS’ FILAMENTAL – RITUAL MECHANICS (CD by Relative Pitch Records) *
PORÖS – ALDRIG TILLBAKA. ALLTID. (2LP by Largespons)
DAVID LEE MYERS – PROJECTIONS (CDR by Pulsewidth) *
METGUMBNERBONE – LIGELIAHORN / DRËUN (cassette by Infinite Fog Production) *
METGUMBNERBONE – DRËUN (cassette by Infinite Fog Production) *
CITIPATI – CITIPATI (LP by Hypnagogia) *
ROTAT – BUSEN (3″ CDR by 999 Cuts) *
SHINING FIELDS – THE TOWER TO SURPASS THE CLOUDS (cassette by Moonside Tapes) *
FREEBASS, LEMUEL MARC, CAMILLE DIETRICH, DON DIETRICH – SOLO / DUOS (cassette by Destroy All Music) *
COMFORT LINK – METAPHYSICAL SWATTING (cassette by Spleen Coffin) *
TIM OLIVE – SINTERED (cassette by Spleen Coffin) *
HUMAN ADULT BAND – THE MOVERS BROUGHT RAINBOWS (cassette by Spleen Coffin) *
KADAVER – MONOBLOOD (cassette by Eternal Nightmare) *

SEWER ELECTION & INCIPIENTIUM – SORCERESS (CD by Throne Heap)

Dan Johansson hails from Gothenburg, Sweden and goes by the name of Sewer Election. I heard some of his work, which I found appealing for his use of cassettes and old tapes, sometimes resulting in harsh music and sometimes a lot less hellish. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of work by him I have yet to hear; one day, when I am old and retired, I hope to find time (preferably earlier, of course). I had not heard of Gustav Danielsbacka before working at Incipientium. Together, they play tape decks, broken records, reel-to-reel loops, electronics, field recordings, metal, voice and more. I guess they sat together for the recording, as it says, “recorded in Gothenburg Autumn 2021”. Johansson mixed the first three tracks, Danielsbacka the fourth one, which has the same length as the first three combined. Among the many works of improvised music we receive these days, it’s good to hear something that I believe is very much the core of Vital Weekly, that cross-section of noise, drone, electro-acoustic, tape and vinyl manipulation, and perhaps applying improvisation but ultimately finding form and structure. Some of Sewer Electronics’ works have been quite loud in the past, but I don’t think pure noise is his ultimate goal. On the contrary, working with the lowest means available, constructing music collages from waste material, old tapes, and discarded machinery is what he wants, and, although I am unsure, the same goes for Incipientium. This music has a desolate atmosphere, especially in the creepy voices used in the title piece. The three pieces mixed by Johansson are well-balanced affairs of crumbled loops, deformed and detuned organs, and sick voices, all laced with leaving a fair amount of cassette hiss to be part of the mix and in the Danielsbacka mixed piece (which may very well have three parts, mixed into one) there is more room for minimalism exploration of the same sounds, and changes take longer to arrive. But the outcome is similar lines: dark and atmospheric music, heavy on the loop side, but none of these loops outstay their welcome. I have no idea who the sorceress is from the title, but these two men are indeed sorcerers in their own right. (FdW)
––– Address: https://www.throneheap.com/

CONVENIENS – CONVENIENS (CD by Conveniens)
CONVENIENS – VICTIMS OF CONVENIENCE (CD by Conveniens)

Here are two re-issues from a Chaicago-based-duo Conveniens, keyboard player David Sterling Smith and drummer John Maz. Their self-titled debut album was released on LP in 1984 and already re-issued on CD in 2006. The other one, ‘ Victims Of Convenience’, was an LP from 1987. A third LP, ‘Clear’ from 1987, was also issued on CD in 2007. Furthermore, they released a 7″ and a CD in 1992. I had not heard of any of this. These two re-issues still need to be added to Discogs, and judging by the easy and cheap availability of their material; you may wonder why there are now 2024 versions, yet not something for me to consider. I would have avoided this then, being buried deep in the world of noise, power electronics and cassette releases. The music by this duo is far from that. Sometimes, it is all very jazz-like, lounge-like, easy-tune or whatever term you prefer. In their debut album’s first few tracks, the sound is very rudimentary, basement-like. The drums sound rather dull. But as this album progresses, that side of things improves, luckily. The press bundle included with the package (also a t-shirt!) contains reviews from the olden days, and names popping up are Dave Brubeck, Keith Jarrett, and Oscar Petterson, so you know we’re a bit lost here.
On their second LP, Smith takes credit for the synthesiser, piano and “structural then improvised arrangement”, and Maz for drum batteries, synth tapes, and “improvised then structural arrangement”. Their surroundings for recording certainly improved, as there is a fuller sound overall. The musical range of interest is also more expansive here, being at times more progressive rock, a bit (US) industrial, more dramatic (very much so on the title piece), still a bit jazzy, and cheesiness is, unfortunately, still in their sphere’s of interest (‘Cigarette Trick’). Much like their first CD, some of this is stuff I enjoy, even when it’s not at all part of my musical interest. Some songs didn’t cut it for me. Vital Weekly isn’t the right place for this kind of music; it lacks the experiment, the noise ‘n drone, and even its more free jazzy styles are too smooth for (some!) of us. But if a review means getting a mention and gathering interest, it surely worked. (FdW)
––– Address: conveniens@hotmail.com

EDGE OF DECAY – POLTTOMERKKI (CD by 999 Cuts)

Edge of Decay is the second Finnish noise project in the most recent batch of 999 Cuts. Behind the project is Olli Tanskanen, who is active in more projects, among others, Vigilantism, Gourva and Lusters, which is a collaboration between Olli with Circle of Shit. The list of releases by Edge of Decay, who has been active since 2012, shows well-known labels like Aussaat, Freak Animal, Phage Tapes and Nil by Mouth – as well as many more – so yeah, it is a direction in where to place the music a bit.
“Polttomerkki” translates to “Stigma”, and in 40 minutes, you will get stigmatized by Olli. Four 6-7 minute tracks and one a bit longer guide you through a messed up mind of all kinds of intrusive noises. It’s not the harsh noise with cutups and sudden movements like the Rotat CDR elsewhere in this Vital. The music is more organized. When there is a certain movement,, Olli provides time for that sound to evolve, interact with other sounds, and become part of a larger thing, Being the composition. The track ‘Pioneers of Filth’ is an excellent example of that. Or even the hidden layers in ‘Whoreson Blues’, which is the opening track.
The tracks “No More Zen” and “Polttomerkki I” are constructed differently. The space the sounds get is the same, but the origin of sounds seems different, and I couldn’t really get my ears around it. Like massively manipulated vocals or … (re-listening at this exact moment) … Modular manipulation? A massive FX pedal board? In “Polttomerkki I”, it seems like they’re a bit less manipulated, but even then … Sometimes like the origin of stigmas, they remain a mystery. The final track, “Polttomerkki II”, is my favourite of the album, probably because everything I used to describe the previous tracks comes together in this one. There is a nice build-up, lots of space to evolve, and lots explore in hidden layers that are sometimes pushed to the front to reveal themselves. (BW)
––– Address: https://www.999cuts.com/

AGNIVOLOK + NECROMISHKA – ANIMAL GOD (CD by 999 Cuts)

Where to start on this one? First of all, this is not what I normally listen to or where my knowledge is. Second, I am not planning to do a lot of these, so please don’t suddenly start sending music in this style. But yes, I will review this one because there is something about it.
Who is behind the projects? Let’s start with Necromishka. This is a duo from Israel Michael Molotov from Kadaver and his (lovely) wife Tamar. This is their second output as a duo with the first one also on 999 Cuts. But on “Animal God” they work with Vera Agnivolok, a neofolk artist whose first (split) release hails from the previous century. Agnivolok used to be Vera with two others creating drones and additional sounds and that part is now done by Tamar and Michael. So there is a lot of neofolk on this album and many textures from a different background. All tracks flow into each other, generating a magical journey through the minds of this Russian / Israeli collective.
I don’t speak any Russian, I don’t know what it’s all about. But the atmosphere is nice. I had an excellent 45 minutes. The ambient parts between the tracks are more my taste then the neofolk parts and “Yellow-Eyed Town, Part 2” is my favorite part of the CD. But I THINK I can hear the touch of Michael / Kadaver in that part. So that’s not a real surprise. Music wise – as said – I can’t compare it to anything because I don’t know this scene. But find the collaborative work “Clown’s Way” in this week’s mix and you’ll find a track where the title is so beautifully found together with the created atmosphere. The circus is over, and the clown sits on a stack of hay, tired from working too hard the last days, closer to crying than laughing … Russian tradition is filled with contradictions like these.
The final words are for the AMAZING drawings by Vera herself, which are used for the artwork. Really. Chapeau. (BW)
––– Address: https://www.999cuts.com/

CHOBOTER & RANES & KADEREIT – SYNAPTIC BIOSPHERE (CD by Gateway Music)

The album cover here looks like an AI generated artwork for ambient music, but the music by this trio from Denmark is throughout to be found in the world of improvised music. We have Matt Chobotor on extended piano, John Arne Ranes on guitar and electronic effects, and Jan Kadereit on Tabla, Janggu, Shakuhachi and various percussion. Maybe they go by the name of Synaptic Biosphere; it’s listed as such on Bandcamp. For each of the nine pieces, there is a drawing of a phantasmal animal by Dorian Noel, which, honestly, is not my kind of thing. The label says, “Each explores a different area of what could be called the world hidden inside our minds, the SYNAPTIC BIOSPHERE.” I admit that’s not what I heard. Their improvisations use extended techniques and are verging on the conventional and non-conventional, but we recognise the instruments used. Maybe the guitar has the most extensive level of processing at times and is played with an e-bow for some drone effects. Overall, the music has an atmospheric feeling, which is undoubtedly supported by adding reverb to suggest these darker moods. I am unsure if this is done in the editing stage of the production or sooner by the musicians while playing the music. In that sense, this is not the most typical work of improvisation, yet the way the music unfolds is quite traditional. The three musicians have a rather careful approach to their interaction, almost as if they don’t want to break the mood by doing something out of the ordinary and letting their sounds run freely. Sometimes, their mood is intense or verging towards the chaotic, such as in ‘Asteroidea Brachyura’, but these moments are usually brief. It’s pleasant enough, nothing all too strange. As such, one of the many discs of improvised music we receive these days – and let me retake this opportunity to stress that Vital Weekly is not a jazz or free improvisation publication, even when it looks like it is. (FdW)
––– Address: https://synapticbiosphere.bandcamp.com/

MAGDA MAYAS’ FILAMENTAL – RITUAL MECHANICS (CD by Relative Pitch Records)

A different beast entirely is Ritual Mechanics by Magda Mayas. Two pieces: re-contour and ritual mechanics, the title track. Both evoke an incredible sound world, where re-contour starts in slow motion, and the single notes on the Fender Rhodes are played faster after, give or take, fifteen minutes. It’s an atmospheric, subtle piece with more movement and volume at the end. Ritual mechanics has more movement, and jittery rhythms in several instruments. As stated in the liner notes, the musicians themselves recorded each instrument except for Angharad Davies and Magda Mayas, who were recorded by Tony Buck, who also did the mixing. What isn’t clear to me is if the musicians had a (graphic) score or notes for their improvisations. Maybe it’s in the ensemble’s name: filamental means composed of elements. So, all components are joined together. But by which process? Listen to this in a quiet environment, as all the elements are relatively calm. Oh yeah, before I forget, the musicians are Christine Abdelnour – alto sax, Anthea Caddy – cello, Angharad Davies – violin, Rhodri Davies – harp, Magda Mayas – Rhodes, harmonium (& composition), Zeena Parkins – harp, Aimée Theriot-Ramos – cello and Michael Thieke – clarinet. It’s an incredible ride. Be prepared to invest time and attention to this. Re-tour is a preparation for Ritual mechanics. The latter has more evolving textures and (incidental or accidental) chord changes. Morton Feldman meets post-rock, something like that. All musicians use extended techniques, such as switching on the mini-fan on a piano string, the rattling of keys on a sax or clarinet, and soft multiphonics on a clarinet. It’s ideal music for zoning out by zoning into the music. (MDS)
––– Address: https://relativepitchrecords.bandcamp.com/

PORÖS – ALDRIG TILLBAKA. ALLTID. (2LP by Largespons)

If the date mentioned on Bandcamp is anything to go by, this is not a very recent release, released on 14 February 2022. It also says, in Swedish, I suppose (that’s what Google translate says; the parcel comes from Helsinki), “chipped, taped and mixed together on fire island during twenty-twenty. bo chondrs on calyx in berlin mastered and engraved. rikard lassenius scribbled the cover. was pressed in 100 copies.”. A small handwritten note says, “It’s a composition for eight baritone guitars in four parts”. For the third time in three weeks, we have a double LP, and the guitar plays the primary role; there are no drums on this one. The cover looks battered, but maybe that’s part of the homemade aesthetic of it all. I had no expectations per se, but eight guitars might deliver more rock-oriented or heavy drone music. That’s not the case, as what Porös pressed in the grooves here is quite delicate music. The guitar we recognise in some ways and sometimes not at all. There are various moments where the music seems quite laptop-based, all delicately digitally processing the guitar. The two previous double LPs contained a jazzy/improvised music mix with ambient; Porös’ music is all ambient, with a few elements of improvised music (the bass sounds in ‘xx’, for instance). I am listening to the music and trying to think if there is anything out there like this. Probably there is but I have to learn who or what. The opening piece is the noisiest one, maybe a bit New Zealandish at times, but other pieces have that elegant ambient quality of Stars of the Lid without the same droney refinement. Porös’ music is more collage-like, going within each side of the records to a few places, staying there for a while, and via long crossfades, going somewhere else. The ultimate goal, playing highly atmospheric music is never out of sight. None of this is traditional ambient music, as you may have guessed, but it is all the more reason to like it. I am pleasantly surprised here by this. Like the double albums of recent weeks, this is a release of highly atmospheric music, made with guitar and no other instruments (I think), with a few improvised music elements shaking up traditions. Very nice. (FdW)
––– Address: https://poroes.bandcamp.com/

DAVID LEE MYERS – PROJECTIONS (CDR by Pulsewidth)

Along with the CDR came a short from the composer saying, “Last Pulsewidth release of the season! A bit different”. I didn’t realise people do releases in seasons. The “bit different” remark sounds very interesting, and I can concur: this is a bit different. Scratch that; it’s very different from anything I heard from him before. I have no idea what happened here, but this is a massive change of tune. The opening piece is ‘Guitare Soli’ and you could think, what’s in a title, and then it turns out it is a guitar. A guitar! You read that correctly from David Lee Myers, the feedback man, the modular synthesiser composer. The six strings are sampled; the second surprise is that Myers works with sampled instruments. He plunders his sources left and right, and sometimes we are entirely in the dark about what it is, but effectively, each of the ten tracks is sampled from popular music, jazz, maybe classical, from YouTube or vinyl. Myers writes on Bandcamp, “Perhaps occupying a space between “Plunderphonics” and the output of Carl Stone, “Projections” is a work of appropriation, deconstruction, reconstruction, processing and transformations”, which is very much true. He cuts his material sometimes very short, indeed very much along the lines of Carl Stone’s music these days, offering these very jumpy cuts of hectic music. But then something like ‘Multiplication Table’ comes by, a jazzy piece, laidback, which made me think Myers might also employ some AI tricks here. It sounds recognisable, but at the same time also with a level of abstraction. Mind you; there might not be artificial intelligence here; maybe Myers uses cut-up techniques. In ‘Involution Of The Number’, I believe to heard some of The Beatles’ ‘Revolution No. 9’ sampled (oops, maybe I shouldn’t have said that; maybe Ringo wakes up?) The music is very unlike anything Myers ever recorded (and I heard from him, which is a lot, but perhaps not all), and as such quite commendable to do something so full of surprise, even when not every track is a winner, that jazz bit didn’t do it for me, and throughout I found many pieces a bit on the long side in terms of composition. Should he play this in concert, I can imagine this scrathy cut-up minimal madness would work well at a loud volume; at home, not always. Let’s see what the next season will bring! (FdW)
––– Address: https://davidleemyers.bandcamp.com/

METGUMBNERBONE – LIGELIAHORN / DRËUN (cassette by Infinite Fog Production)
METGUMBNERBONE – DRËUN (cassette by Infinite Fog Production)

It would seem that everything connected to the organically flowing entity that was (is?) Metgumbnerbone is shrouded in mist (or should that be fog?) and surrounded by controversy. These two cassettes, released on Infinite Fog Productions, are no exception. If anything, they add another chapter to an already complicated story. First of all, bits and pieces of both ‘Ligeliahorn’ and ‘Drëun’ were released as ‘Anthropological Field Recordings For the Dispossessed’ on a privately released double CD in 2020 (Vital Weekly 1204). As that version has long sold out, both albums are now released in full on cassette. Secondly, the controversy continues in the review of the Citipati album below. In brief, in April 1983, the pre-Metgumbnerbone-unit Citipati recorded several sessions, which were duly shelved. Under the name of Metgumbnerbone, with new member John Mylotte on board and Paul Coates out, new recordings were made, possibly also using some elements of the Citipati-recordings and released under the title ‘Ligeliahorn’ on Gordon Hope’s A-Mission label. It was this album that attracted me to their music in the mid-1980s. I still have my original copy, which gets played – be it on an infrequent basis. Using primarily acoustic percussion, horns, metal scrap and some vocals (and lots of reverb) to create a solid ritualistic atmosphere, Ligeliahorn is a transfixing listen. Most of its four long untitled tracks are of a more droney, subdued, percussive nature. Still, when the music builds up to a climax in the final track, the atmosphere and music both become more industrial, harrowing and threatening. I have always had a weak spot for this curiosity, despite the somewhat cliché-d aspects of the recordings. In a review for Record Collector Magazine many years ago, I described the album as “…the perfect soundtrack to a creepy scrapyard visit at full moon gone wrong” – something I still stand by. It is a great, intriguing, and classic 80s industrial/experimental album! Drëun adds 90 minutes of recordings made in June-August 1983, including excerpts from an open-air performance at Blackhall Mill, to the Metgumbnerbone-archive. Side one starts with a more ‘structured’ improvisation featuring more restrained vocal excursions and a more expansive sound palette. It is a taster for the aggressive, and to be honest, less compelling, second piece where all percussive/vocal hell breaks loose. The third track, where rattling is combined with gong-like sounds, ends the first 45 minutes. Side two continues with a more restrained piece, sounding like a train scrapyard (including distant – steam? – whistling) before a more dense, nervous improvisation arises and, due to the use of what sounds like bongos, a more structured piece with flutes reminding me of Psychic TV’s ‘Force The Hand Of Chance’. ‘Drëun’ is a great tape and an excellent addition to, in my opinion, more vital ‘Ligeliahorn’. And there is more Metgumbnerbone to come: US-based Nihilist Records is planning a Metgumbnerbone double album featuring tracks from the Anthropological Field Recordings 2CD and the more recent ‘reunion’ album ‘Out Of The Ground’ CD (see Vital Weekly 1341). (FK)
––– Address: https://infinitefog.bandcamp.com/album/dr-un
––– Address: https://infinitefog.bandcamp.com/album/ligeliahorn

CITIPATI – CITIPATI (LP by Hypnagogia)

And here’s the LP version of the recordings made by Sean Breadin, Paul Coates, Clive Powell, Richard Rupenus, Philip Rupenus and Bob Bonehead (haha!), alias Citipati. On April 26 and 27, 1983, this somewhat organic group, allegedly named after the Tibetan lords of the cremation grounds, recorded sessions for a proposed LP for Flowmotion records. Using, among other percussive instruments, bones (animal? human? you’ll have to Google for the full story), their acoustic sessions at Morden Tower didn’t meet everyone’s approval and the recordings were shelved and, over the years, thought lost. Until now, Citipati’s sole legacy consists of a few compilation tracks and two live performances. When Citipati morphed into Metgumbnerbone, new and more satisfying recordings were released under their new monnicker as Ligeliahorn. See the review above. End of story, you might think. But no, recently, an album featuring the original April 1983 Citipati recordings was released by Paul Coates, who was a Citipati member but didn’t transition to Metgumbnerbone. Despite some controversy surrounding its origins (was it a relocated tape copy of the original recordings? Were MP3’s involved?) and its status (was this released with everyone’s consent?), here it is. 40 minutes of scraping, percussion and much (natural) reverb. It certainly (and naturally) shares a familiarity with the sessions that yielded Ligeliahorn. In that sense, Citipati is not a real surprise but more a valuable and certainly intriguing extension of the Metgumbnerbone catalogue. Who knew that after 40 years, the opening of the Metgumbnerbone’s sarcophagus would release so much great music? (FK)
––– Address: https://citipati1.bandcamp.com/album/citipati

ROTAT – BUSEN (3″ CDR by 999 Cuts)

Noise is about everything, and yes, everything is about noise. So you can’t find a subject unwilling to be noisified in some way or another. On this 3″ CDR on the label 999 Cuts from Israel, the Finnish project Rotat combines two subjects which are boobs and pain, into a 20-minute harsh noise attack on your eardrums. Extreme motorboating, if there was ever a recording made of that.
“Hung like a horse” and “Firefarter” are two recordings of harsh noise, and that is also the problem with me, your humble reviewer. What more can I say? Porn-related titles and imagery are, in my honest opinion, a quick way of getting noticed. And it seems a bit too easy … Noise – proper noise – is way more than boobies and wieners or political statements which are open for discussion, or, well, you know what I mean. With more effort, Rotat could have chosen another subject for titles and made a real difference with this release. Because musically, it’s more than ok!
Nice, harsh cutups, metal with contact mics … The ‘Horse’-track is a bit more high-frequency based, while “Firefarter” brings in a few more bass layers with loads of manipulated metal + mic sounds, and the feedback proves it’s all completely over the top. The noise is shocking in itself; there is no need for the artwork to be. The black woven bag and nipple clamps are a nice touch to get into the subject more. After all, noise appreciation does have a learning curve. (BW)
––– Address: https://www.999cuts.com/

SHINING FIELDS – THE TOWER TO SURPASS THE CLOUDS (cassette by Moonside Tapes)

Often, there is little information available on the releases I review. Mystery is one of those things many musicians in the experimental field find very attractive; or simply because they want to avoid any guidance of the unsuspecting listener. Sometimes, there is some information whose relevance may elude me. This is the case of the ‘The Tower To Surpass The Clouds’ by Shining Fields. The text is about an earthquake in Japan 1923 that caused fires and tsunami waves. It was during Emperor Taishō’s reign, and I don’t know if it’s true, “during this time poetry, art, anarchism, and popular movements blossomed”. Because of the earthquake, foreigners, anarchists, socialists, artists and intellectuals were imprisoned and executed. Taishō’s reign ended shortly after, and a military state would emerge. This album takes inspiration from people from that time, Suehiro Maruo, Hiroshi Aramata, Seijun Suzuki, Tsuji Jun, and Kyojiro Hagiwara, and in two cases, poetry from them. It’s all good, but how does that translate to the primarily instrumental music? And who is behind Shining Fields, and what instruments are used?
It’s no surprise finding the music in a very atmospheric field, because most releases from Moonside Tapes are in this field. Yet, Shining Fields isn’t your usual slab of ambient music. They (assuming it’s a group) use electronics, guitars, synthesisers and many sound effects to generate something close to shoegazing. There is lots of fuzz, chorus, flangers and phasers, and a lot of sound per song. The few pieces using vocals are even more shoegazing-like. It’s buried in the mix, so not easy to understand, such as in the title piece, also one of the few using rhythms (via a loop or drum machine). These fourteen pieces hold the middleground between ambient, pop and shoegaze, so at least two areas of music about which I am not your most informed person, but I found the music quite enjoyable. Some of these songs were a bit too long and too minimal as such, and the whole album could have gained weight by slimming down those longer tracks but also keeping the album’s weirder soundscapes, as they make a wonderful mixture of interests and keep the variation in the piece. (FdW)
––– Address: https://moonsidetapes.bandcamp.com/

FREEBASS, LEMUEL MARC, CAMILLE DIETRICH, DON DIETRICH – SOLO / DUOS (cassette by Destroy All Music)

There are many projects named Freebass. One particular ‘famous’ one was a short-lived one with the likes of Peter Hook and Andy Rourke and other four string peddlers from Manchester. The Freebass I am hearing right now, is the project of Tony Gordon, from Atlanta, Georgia. As long ago as 2002, he had a 7″ on the always curious Edition… label (Vital Weekly 470), and in 2000, a CDR for GD Stereo (see Vital Weekly 250). Yet, 24 years later, his discography is still tiny. Suppose we take in this cassette about seven (possibly more, not listed in Discogs). On this 30-minute cassette, we find three solo pieces, all for solo bass guitar, and three duo pieces, one each with Lemuel Marc (piano), Camille Dietrich (cello) and Don Dietrich (tenor sax). What I heard from him is far away, so I no longer remember. In his solo pieces, Gordon uses (at least I think) objects upon the electric pieces, amplifying both bass and objects, and the results are a bit of a ferocious attack on the notion of musique concrète and electro-acoustic music. It’s loud music but remains acoustic if you get my drift; it is just massive amplification without the usual feedback. Each piece is four minutes long and a concise attack on four strings.
The three duos may also use only acoustic sounds or no additional sound effects. However, the results are different, not just because there are suddenly two instruments but also because the other player is someone from the free improv/free jazz field. There is a nervous, hectic approach here, massive clusters of piano sounds, the cello is almost sawn in half, and Borbetomagus’ Don Dietrich on saxophone is doing what he does best, producing an incredible amount of noise. The three pieces on this cassette are way noisier in the more classical sense of the word than the pieces on the first side. The two sides form an exciting contrast in approaches and show the possibilities of the bass guitar as a solo instrument and how it can be used in a duet with others. The three duets may be on similar ground, and it would be interesting to see what else it could do. (FdW)
––– Address: https://destroyallmusic.bandcamp.com/

COMFORT LINK – METAPHYSICAL SWATTING (cassette by Spleen Coffin)
TIM OLIVE – SINTERED (cassette by Spleen Coffin)
HUMAN ADULT BAND – THE MOVERS BROUGHT RAINBOWS (cassette by Spleen Coffin)

Here, we have a bundle of three new cassettes by the US Spleen Coffin label and another set of guaranteed releases of experimental music in various shapes and forms. I reviewed a cassette from Comfort Link before (see Vital Weekly 1370). Back then, I had no information about the who or what of Comfort Link, and that didn’t change. No name, no handy list of instruments, other than what the information calls “skewed concrete muzak albums knitted together with wobbly tape loops of found and recycled sounds, gradually shifting toward a darker post-industrial”, which I think includes some heavy use on the Dictaphone, certainly in the opening piece, ‘Leadership Conference’, but something that lingers on through all five pieces. What kind of electronics he uses is unclear; undoubtedly, some delay pedals and the voice play a significant role. Not that Comfort Link sings in any conventional way, but he speaks or recites words or texts, adding a more sound poetry-like feeling to the music. Not much along the lines of Henri Chopin, nothing too wild and noisy, but more intimate yet quite experimental. At times, Comfort Link goes a bit too long without not enough variation, such as in ‘Essential Fluff’, for instance. I heard last time that the slightly more industrial music-oriented edge is not present to that extent on this new release. Here, the music seems intimate, voice and poetry based, with a solid experimental edge, nothing conventionally song-based.
On a few occasions before I mentioned, Tim Oliver’s solo career took off some time ago, during the COVID-19 period, and as a result, there is a string of releases. Mostly with four pieces of almost equal length; here, it’s between six and seven minutes. Still armed with his array of magnetic pickups, metal objects, radios and spring reverb, all trusted partners in creating some of the more exciting forms of noise and drone music. In much of his work with others, which is what he occupies with otherwise, when on the road, his solo music isn’t that careful; au contraire, it’s at times quite heavy, and the four pieces on ‘Sintered’ seem notably louder than some of the other recent solo releases. From the information, I learned that he was a member of the noise-rock group Nimrod, which I may have known, but wasn’t aware of. Maybe Olive thought it was about time to do something relying more on the noise aspect for this release, for old times’ sake. Each piece has a mildly distorted undercurrent or some downright feedback, such as in ‘Sintered 3’. The music weighs heavy on the eardrums, but it is a pleasant sort of noise, in my opinion—nothing too loud, not too abrasive and yet with a hard edge. My favourite is the last one, where Olive puts extra menace on the drones and creates a creepy, dark atmosphere. Olive’s music is somewhere between improvisation and composition and once again, excellent stuff.
The final new release is by Human Adult Band from New Jersey, and their ‘The Movers Brought Rainbows’ is my introduction to this group. They are a four-piece, with guitar, bass, drums, and voice, and if you think that might result in some rock music, you’re wrong. Rock music might be at the core of what they do, but they also employ some kind of treatment. The information mentions this, “source sessions recorded at various locations are unapologetically run through the wringer, subjected to tortuous electronic post-processing”, without being too specific about what this processing entails. In the opening (and title) piece, the notion of a rock band is nonexistent. It’s shimmering mass of feedback and far away drum rattling, as if the music was recorded in a parking house with the microphones on the first floor and the band upon the roof. Far away, the residue of rock is recognised. In ‘I Believe’, they pull back and offer something creepier, still with that hollow parking house feel. ‘Low Spin’ takes the quietness even further and spookier. Now the rock element is entirely gone, and it’s almost a spacious synthesiser piece, however crudely recorded. In the final piece, ‘Second Spin’, they treat us to the rockiest form. I have no idea what genre of rock music this would fit, sludge or doom or whatever, but in comparison to the other three pieces, this is the group in the most traditionalist manner. I am unsure if this is a sad thing or a good one. It shows they are a rock band, which is something the other pieces may not have put forward as such, so maybe it’s some justification to put this piece on this release. Throughout an exciting release, especially if rock music is not your alley, which, in my case, it is. (FdW)
––– Address: https://spleencoffin.com/

KADAVER – MONOBLOOD (cassette by Eternal Nightmare)

Two tracks, “Out of Blood, ” around 20 minutes, can be found on this cassette. The label is the unknown Eternal Nightmare from Pennsylvania for me, but – with this kind of music – I wouldn’t have blinked if it said Transylvania somewhere. Blood is blood. A little exploring shows us that the label has been active since 2020, and we see some better-known names like Macronympha, New Grasping Machina, Gnawing Teeth, Torturing Nurse, subservientdominance and Sodom Hussein (I’ll never forget that name), those final two being projects of label owner Doug Dewalt. Whose split LP with Peasant Farm was recently reviewed in VW.
But this is about Kadaver, “Monoblood”. Two brilliantly loud and obnoxious tracks the way we know Kadaver’s stuff. Yet there is something special about the first of them. Side A: the clarity of this one track is so beautiful. The noise is obnoxious, as said, but the way Michael Molotov weaves the backing layers through that wall of massiveness is lovely! Backing sounds of all kinds and in the same way where Eno described ambient as being ‘designed to modify the listener’s perception of the surrounding environment’ (wiki) in the same way I completely lost track of what was in the music, what was in the background and what was in my direct environment. So why is that so special, you ask? It meant that Michael created a sonic environment where I lost track of reality. And even though I listen to shitloads of this stuff, there aren’t many Harsh Noise projects that get me to that point.
And to emphasize it, I didn’t have this feeling with the track on side B, which was also a great track, but instead of those background noises used on the first side this second one had voices and more feedback. It is also good, but my God, that first track is massive! (BW)
––– Address: https://eternalnightmareinc.bandcamp.com/