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Saturday 31 August 2019

Pendro - The Subconscious Place.


Artist: Pendro
Catalogue no: KK13

Tracklist:
     1.      Caught Circuits
     2.      Troposphere
     3.      Revolt & Relapse
     4.      Slow-motion Satori
     5.      Neon Reverie
     6.      House on the Hill
     7.      A Merging of Effigies
     8.      Dappled Light Movements
     9.      Chewing the Frequencies
    10.  The Obsidian Axis
    11.  Mirage of Fear
    12.  An Insect Eye


The Kafka’s Kitten music label operates out of Gainesville, Florida, and this is the first of their releases I’ve reviewed. I found this by rifling through some of the Facebook groups devoted to non-mainstream underground and experimental music and just happened upon a link to it. Don’t ask me why, but for some enigmatic reason I just felt attracted to investigate it and so I did. I’m glad I did as it turned out to be a little treasure-house of joyful experimentation and sonic exploration.

Starting with a kind of looped rattle in a tin can noise, ‘Caught Circuits’ hastily develops into an electronic maelstrom, including rasps, blips and bleeps, rhythmic sequences, overloaded circuitry, and some crunchiness. Overall the effect is joyful, in a species of “let’s turn this thing on and see what happens” way. As the gateway to this album, it’s a promising beginning. Now onto ‘Troposphere’, which the title implied that it would be more of an ambient adventure, and I was proved right: shimmering and clangorous metallic planes, ebbing and flowing gracefully, sometimes soaring high and at other times swinging low to the ground.

And the above is, essentially, the tenor of the album, an unapologetic exercise in creating short sketches of moods, feelings, and impressions of fleeting moments, as if caught by a high-speed camera. Colour and texture are in abundance, the artist daubing on his ‘paint’ thickly with thick, rapid, imprecise strokes at some points, but then at others with a studied determination. These are more like tableaux or vignettes, suggesting that Pendro uses an approach akin to that of the Impressionist painters: creating textures and shapes suggestive of movements and atmospheres, leaving out extraneous and unnecessary detail, so that the imagination can fill in the blanks.

As noted in the paragraph above, this isn’t a canvas necessarily restricted to a particular style; rather each piece is shaped in the style most suited to the idea or mood expressed. Some lean heavily to the experimental category, while a piece like ‘Neon Reverie’ has almost a ‘pop’ feel to it, albeit one that has its own definition of what that term means. A watery/metallic percussive backbeat is the constant anchor in this one, while some clean ambient chords and a counterpoint rhythm loop twinkle repeatedly just under it. One can easily imagine a rainy city, in the early hours of the morning, when there are still a few people around but the large crowds have thinned out considerably, and the neon advertising is still flashing garishly on concrete and water. There’s a particular ambience surrounding it that’s lushly redolent of nights like that. An eerie ringing atonality swoops in on ‘House on the Hill’, the following piece, which conjures up images of an old house abandoned after its last owner died, and given over to nature to become a place of wild stories and rumours. Another example of the range on offer here is “Chewing the Frequencies’, an off-kilter swirling ambient outing that has an alarming edginess to it that keeps trying to pull it back to earth.

Probably my personal favourite on The Subconscious Palace has to be ‘The Obsidian Axis’, which starts off as a beautifully uplifting series of musical drones that fly high, circle, intertwine, and chase each other before being subject to a discordant interruption that disturbs the equilibrium. This counterbalance creates uneasy and disconcerting notes, threatening to destroy whatever harmony there is – which it never quite manages to do.

The spectrum of colours, tones, and essences displayed here is kaleidoscopic, as they constantly shift texturally and sonically, with ideas emerging and dissolving, looping around each other, then follow, interweave, or be absorbed and ejected, so that nothing appears to stay still. On the face of it, it might seem to be complex in nature but, just like the Impressionist painters I alluded to above, when looked at more closely is actually composed of simple elements that serve as a framework. However, Pendro constructs these impressions and sketches in such a way that conjunctions and superimpositions fill in all the gaps, or perhaps provide the necessary clues to enable the listener to do so. And the result is a delightful album that is much bigger and broader than it might at first appear, and far more interesting in terms of the overall effect it will have on those who indulge in its many-hued treasures.

Available as a digital album only from Bandcamp:

Psymon Marshall 2019. 

Fecal Vomit / WAAS.


Album: Fecal Vomit/WAAS split cassette
Artist: Fecal Vomit/WAAS
Label: Laughing Vines Records
Catalogue no: N/A

Tracklist:
     1.      Fecal Vomit – Inflammatory Punishment
     2.      WAAS – No-Platform Genocide


Back nearly three decades ago, when I first began writing and reviewing the industrial music scene, one of the joys of being involved in said scene was receiving, on an almost daily basis, cassettes from DIY and bedroom labels, most of them crudely put-together packages often with hand-written labels bought from a stationery store and photocopied tape inserts as covers (Smell & Quim, one of the favourites of mine back then, sent me loads I remember), and keeping the editions in very small numbers. Thirty years later, it’s great to see the DIY ethic still alive and kicking - indeed one would say thriving, especially in an age when technology has given us the CD. Laughing Vines is one such DIY label, based in Belgrade, Serbia and on this, their first release, they present us with two side-length outings of noisy experimentalism.

Fecal Vomit might inspire you to think that their side will be one long wail of static and grating noise, but actually you might be surprised to know that it’s far removed from any of that. Instead we have something approaching a species of musicality, albeit seen from a harsh noise angle. It may be eighteen minutes long but it’s extremely varied and, above all, very listenable. It sounds like someone has managed to infiltrate a store selling electronic gadgets, turned all devices on to produce a loud blanket of static and grainy torrents, and then produced a trumpet from somewhere and proceeded to blow his lungs out. I am not trying to be funny: this is what I am hearing, and in all honesty I like it a great deal. Interspersed is the odd bit of percussion, a species of rhythm, and some voices (it’s hard to tell whether they’re samples or the actual artist). Granted, it’s a fine balance between being anarchic just for the sake of it and thoroughly intentional, but if you listen closely one can find a deliberately controlled intentionality and a sense of direction swirling within the maelstrom of blasting chaos, however buried it might appear to some. There are enough variations in expression to keep the listener interested, and isn’t just another opaque screen of undifferentiated noise. And then just to add a little humour, it all ends on a little bouncy music.

WAAS (short for We Are All Slaves) have at it with blistering and pulsing explosive noise that’s a vehicle for some heavily distorted vocals. That’s just within the first two minutes, and it continues to rocket along in similar manner for the rest of the nearly twenty minutes’ running time. Whatever’s causing the mayhem sounds deranged, bringing with it a twisted malice that goes beyond notions of evil. It feels like everything is intentionally collapsing into itself, throwing down buildings and hurling dust and debris everywhere while it’s at it. Imagine a catastrophic domino effect: one edifice falls, and the rest follow in short order, until everything has been demolished, and all that’s left is choking dust and smoke.

I have to admit I was unsure when I first prepared myself to review this – I geared myself up for some nuclear concussion waves of pure noise for the whole forty minutes, but I can honestly say that I was wrong. Perhaps it’s just the way my mind works, or what my mind regards as interesting. These two acts do seem to want to go beyond what is normally seen as noise music and introduce other elements into the mix, which I think is admirable; music in all its forms must constantly evolve, or otherwise it all becomes samey and tending to stasis (look at most mainstream music today: most of it sounds depressingly similar to me, what I’ve come across anyway).

Give this a go – it’s a name your price download on Bandcamp, but there is also a black spray-painted cassette version, with band names written in silver ink on their respective sides, in an edition of 20 only, which can be had for €5 or more. Link is here:

Psymon Marshall 2019.

Anti-Christ Original Motion Picture Soundtrack


Album: Anti-Christ Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Artist: Kristian Eidnes Andersen (sound design) with Lars Von Trier, Georg Frideric Handel, Tuva Semmingsen (mezzo soprano), Bjarte ‘Barokksolistene’ Eike (violin), Karina Gauvin (soprano), and Tempo Rubato Ensemble.
Label: Cold Spring
Catalogue no: CSR272LP

Tracklist:
     1.      Intro
     2.      L’Ascio Ch’io Pianga Prologue
     3.      Train
     4.      Foetus
     5.      Attic
     6.      L’Ascio Ch’io Pianga Epilogue
     7.      Credits Part 1
     8.      Credits Part 2



Before I go any further, I shall put my hand up and admit that I haven’t seen the film yet, although I keep intending to but never actually get around to doing so. I have to admit too that the only Von Trier production I’ve seen is The Kingdom and that was many years ago now (I did love it though). In other words I am going into this blind and without any filmic context, which some might aver could actually be a boon.

The ‘Intro’ rumbles in with a seismic growl before discordant string-like noises weave a disturbing note, in all probability setting the scene for what unfolds throughout the film. Following that is the prologue from Handel’s L’Ascio Ch’io Pianga, a sombre interpretation that also acts as a kind of emotional cue as to the tenor of Von Trier’s vision. Semmingsen’s voice is absolutely sublime and expansive, and its ethereality is no doubt assisted by its having been recorded in Copenhagen’s Kastelskirke. ‘Train’ follows, a subtle but very short rhythmical drone interlude, which in turn is followed by ‘Foetus’, a soft high wind accompanied by rumbles and shimmering chimes. ‘Attic’ is a repeat of the intro, and ‘L’Ascio Ch’io Pianga Epilogue’ is a shorter version of the ‘Prologue’ piece.

However, ‘Credits Part 1’ is on an altogether different plane, a keening wail and a mournful cry, a piece tinged heavily with deep regret and coloured in sombre hues of angst and bitterness. This is a fractured psyche writ large and laid bare, exposed to all who would look. ‘Credits Part 2’ again speaks of pain, of loss and sadness, a deep dark space that goes beyond the human and into something altogether baser and more terrifying. A ghostly breath is but a prelude to a cacophonic piano chord which eventually breaks into piece, followed on by rumbles and deep drones, counterpointed by mid-range chords, both of which flare and contract, swoop and dive, until their force is spent, or dragged down to earth by the gravity of the dark emotions ever-present here, never to be able to regain flight. The darkness here is total – a place for broken minds and bodies to hide in.

It’s fair to say that it’s a short soundtrack, combining elements of avant-garde sound design and drone, and then pitting it against the refined strains of a classical piece. The dichotomous and almost antagonistic nature of the soundtrack works to its advantage: on the one hand, we feel the pain of the couple after having lost their child, but then we also feel for them when that loss results in a tragic downward spiral of fragmentation and aberrant behaviours. Willem Dafoe’s character experiences visions, while his wife, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg, begins displaying violent sexual behaviours and sadomasochism. Purely from the standpoint of someone who hasn’t seen the film, this mixture of the almost demonic and soaring sublimity (exemplified by each style respectively) creates a disquieting tension that would only highlight the couple’s divergent reactions. One can only imagine how the loss of a child would affect the parents – it’s both heart-and soul-breaking. Here is an essay in the ultimate tragedy, and the ways that people cope with it.

Kristian Eidnes Andersen’s sound design is extraordinary, utilising an arsenal of instruments of his (and Von Trier’s) devising; blowing on blades of grass, rubbing stones together, water, horsehair bowed against twigs, and recordings made inside Andersen’s own body. These were them uploaded into a sampler, mixed together, transposed in pitch, and layered. What came out was something unearthly and unpleasant, creating a ‘horror’ ambience for a film that isn’t horror. It creates unease and a heightened sense of psychological disturbance that’s more than the sum of its parts. Less is more, as Andersen said in an interview – and he’s right.

Forget the fact that, in total, there’s only about 18 minutes of music, and instead revel in the anxiety, turmoil, and disquiet that these short pieces inspire. Coupled with Handel’s masterpiece, the musical, emotional, and textural tensions created as a result lift it out of the ordinary, and the juxtapositions of all these elements delineate their own narrative of two minds and souls forever shattered and battered to the extreme, by an event that’s dreadful beyond imagining. Also, marvel at Andersen’s ability to compress something as complex as a human state of mind into sounds that explicate those emotions perfectly and succinctly – now, if you’ll excuse me, I am going to have to hunt the film down (and the previous two in the Depression trilogy – Melancholia and Nymphomaniac) and get the full experience.

Antichrist Original Motion Picture Soundtrack will be released on September 6th on 12” vinyl in two editions: Eden Olive etched vinyl (in an edition of 250 from Cold Spring only) and standard black etched vinyl.


You can also order either version from Bandcamp, in addition to a download:

For an insight into Kristian Eidnes Andersen’s methods of creating the soundtrack then watch this short video:


Psymon Marshall 2019.

Friday 30 August 2019

Line Spectrum - Bruma.


Album: Bruma
Artist: Line Spectrum
Label: Glacial Movements Records
Catalogue no: GM038

Tracklist:
     1.      A Set of Events at the Shore
     2.      Fabric Merge
     3.      Ways
     4.      Fluidity
     5.      Quietness


Italian label Glacial Movements Records have consistently released some prime examples of glacial ambient for over ten years now, and this latest recording from Ukrainian artist Oleg Puzan, working under the project title of Line Spectrum, only confirms that Alessandro Tedeschi knows what he’s about when it comes to picking the good stuff. Puzan deftly creates some cold, unreachable atmospherics, especially emphasising an element of these icy areas of the world that’s sometimes missing from glacial ambient: the indescribable and ineffable distance in time and space, and experience, that these isolated places represent. Imagination sometimes simply isn’t enough to encompass the reality of the Arctic/Antarctic regions. When I see a photo or video of a landscape belonging to either of these places, I imagine huge stretches of geography cocooned in vast silences.

But, like Bruma delineates, it isn’t like this at all. Beneath the seeming quietude, at frequencies below human threshold, there are tiny glitches and hums indicative of constant movement. These two ice-masses are continually communicating in a language that we humans barely understand (our current knowledge would be akin to knowing how to say ‘hello’, ‘goodbye’, ‘please’, and ‘thank you’ in any non-native language). Right from the outset of ‘A Set of Events on the Shore’, amidst the predominant sounds of waves lapping a shoreline, winds, crackling glitches, deep seismic rumbles, and a persistent electronic whine alert the listener to the activity that goes on without our ever noticing. Expressing it in this way underscores the feeling that these are alien environments, domains where humans may feel unsettled or out of place.

‘Fabric Merge’ explores the theme further, beginning with hissing glitchiness under a crackling slab of grainy noise, accompanied once again with seismic movements and a whirring whine that snakes its way into one’s consciousness. It’s like mammoth chunks of ice shearing away, ice floes riding unseen oceanic currents, or subtle shifts in the mass beneath our feet. All the while winds whip around the body that, allied to the freezing cold, hampers movement and makes even the most minor action a struggle. ‘Ways’ only increases the sense of cold and isolation, spectral winds barrelling and roaring through bizarre tunnels carved out by nature, as is its wont, sounding like massive airways, perhaps supplying air to the lungs of the place’s ecosystem. ‘Fluidity’ begins with quiet low bass air currents, until bubbling water supersedes, a reminder perhaps that this whole ecosystem is composed of the liquid in solid form, and in that lies its hidden strength. If it were to melt for some reason…

And now we come to what is probably the heart of the ice-engulfed lands capping the north and south poles – the sheer ‘Quietness’ that exists here. Yes, there are still those minute cracks, drones, and whines of activity going on (along with a ghostly voice) but on a much smaller scale, perhaps because we are standing at its centre, the axis about which everything revolves. Whichever way you stand, you are looking south/north depending on your location. From here you can only go down or up. It must be an eerie experience to know that when you are, indeed, standing at either the north or south poles.

Full of cold, isolationist, and freezing glacial ambient, it is nevertheless a paean to a side of these two regions we don’t often think about. The notion that silence possesses weight, a physical presence that can be felt, that can be interpreted as either welcoming or oppressive, or indeed both simultaneously in a weird kind of Schrödingerian fashion. It’s almost as if by freezing the land and water, sound has also been frozen and left hanging. Above all else, I felt a deep solitude, a detachment and displacement, as if I was no longer part of the world. And, knowing of my own predilection for remote parts of the world, it sang to my soul. And that’s a strange feeling to experience whilst sitting in a warm room in a temperate zone.

Out now, available as a download and CD in 6-panel digipak with special finish in an edition of 200. If you, like me, prefer your ambient cold, distant, and quietly but massively expressive, then I suggest you purchase from either Glacial Movements Records:


Or via Bandcamp:

Psymon Marshall 2019. 

Thursday 29 August 2019

Wolfpack23 Vol 1


Artist: Various
Label: Wolfpack23
Catalogue no: N/A

Tracklist:

     1.      Skulldrum vs. Captain Ergot – MK Ultra
     2.      WHɅLT THISEY – Magnethism
     3.      Bukabog – Maximum Swing
     4.      Third Door from the Left – Transatlantic Flight
     5.      Central Invisible Focus – Tanz Ex-tension
     6.      Amalgamated Wonders of the World – Incredible Cellular String
     7.      Bjørn Hatterud – Für Gen
     8.      Amalgamated Wonders of the World – All the World is Death
     9.      German Autumn – Leningrad
     10.  SHOGGOTH AMENTA – No Self
     11.  Wall Stretcher – Music*Light*Life
     12.  AUTOBONECO – New Mixx 4 Genesis
     13.  Salvador Crowley – Hocus Pocus
     14.  BrandNewBuddhas – This Technology is Quite Remarkable
     15.  iiVLD – The Orchids
     16.  Boreal Taiga – Kobbefjord Greenland
     17.  Joel Gausten – Spiral
     18.  we be echo – Beautiful Lies
     19.  we be echo – Decay of Sleep Bleed
     20.  Caleigh Marshall – IYDMI (If You Don’t Mean It)
     21.  Masha Kr – Flexor (ivanov down)
     22.  HERosion DECAY – The Queers of the Underground
     23.  we be echo – A New Day



It would be fair to say that Genesis P-Orridge has been an enormous influence on many people, myself included, from his days in Coum Transmissions, thence to Throbbing Gristle, and right through to the many incarnations of Psychic TV and then on to his solo and collaborative work. Genesis has, currently, some serious health issues to deal with, and this compilation is one of a series released in order to do two things: one, as a way for various artists and music-lovers to acknowledge their gratitude to this legend, and two, even better, to give back in the form of all proceeds going directly to Genesis to help defray medical costs incurred. Personally, I can’t think of a better way to thank him for introducing me to the underground scene way back in the late eighties, at a time when I felt that ‘mainstream’ music was becoming bland and samey, and that the concept of innovation had been forgotten in the rush to make money. If I hadn’t encountered Psychic TV I wouldn’t have known about Coil, Current 93, Nurse With Wound, Test Dept., In the Nursery, Sol Invictus, Whitehouse, et al., and for that I will forever be grateful.

(Please note: in the interests of brevity and so that I don’t end up writing an epic of a review (which it’ll probably end up being in spite of that, I will describe each contribution here as briefly as possible. However, I do think it more than worthwhile to purchase this item as it’s for a worthy cause.)

Needless to say there’s a broad range of styles, ranging from techno to industrial, experimental to ambient, a reflection of the trajectory of Genesis’ musical career over the decades. Straight from the top we get the extremely danceable Skulldrum vs. Captain Ergot’s ‘MK Ultra’, guaranteed to get those hips wiggling and feet stomping. WHɅLT THISEY’s contribution, apart from giving Word a nervous breakdown when trying to find a suitable backwards N, is a lilting piano-led ambient piece set against soft crackles and noises. Meanwhile, Bukabog get out their tool set for ‘Maximum Swing’, whirring in with what sounds like a drill that’s eventually supplanted by distorted sounds and vocals. ‘Transatlactic Flight’ by Third Door from the Left is another hip wiggler, this time leaning more towards the tribal end of the percussive scale. Central Invisible Focus sounds like classic Throbbing Gristle, improvised staccato guitar rhythm evolving into fuzzed up chordage and a ringing riff overlain by vocals.

The first of Amalgamated Wonders of the World’s entries, ‘Incredible Cellular String’, is a folky/psychedelic jaunt reminiscent of early PTV (as well as the late ‘60s), all weird filters and treated vocals. Between this and their second contribution comes Bjørn Hatterud’s ‘Für Genesis’ (For Genesis): rumbling drones, low whistlings, and swelling chords, a mountainous landscape scarred by erosion. AWotW flows in directly afterwards with a wistful, ghostly, and (dare I say it) slightly creepy and atmospheric piece, distant vocals matched only by equally distant weird noises (including what sounds like a duck and nocturnal swamp insects!). German Autumn brings us ‘Leningrad’ (now St. Petersburg, fact fans!), a laidback jazzy-type number, the one that immediately conjures up visions of smoky nightclubs replete with skimpily-clad dancers and a resident jazz band. SHOGGOTH AMENTA enter from stage left with ‘No Self’, a shimmering keyboard figure supported by a shuffling backbeat, and spoken vocals.

A distorted voice and syncopated beat opens Wall Stretchers’ minimalist ‘Music*Light*Life’, its sparse sequences and vocals lending it a quality of mystery and smokiness. Genesis himself is the star of AUTOBONECO’s little oddity, ‘New Mixx 4 Genesis’, which comes in at under 2 minutes. ‘Hocus Pocus’ from Salvador Crowley is ranting vocals over a swirling electronic backdrop, while the next track, BrandNewBuddhas’ ‘This Technology is Quite Remarkable’ is another techno outing, jumping, burping, and bouncing under a prolonged dialogue from some old science fiction film (complete with some good old clipped British accents). iiVLD gives us some ambient in the form of ‘The Orchids’, some summery, light chords set against a relaxing strolling beat. ‘Kobbefjord Greenland’ actually exists, having a Fieldstation there for ecological monitoring work; no surprises then when I mention that Boreal Taiga’s track is beautiful glacial ambient, reminiscent of some of the material released by Glacial Movements Records. It’s a slow-burn track, quiet and meditative, which slowly, glacially (no pun intended) evolves over the course of its near ten minute running time. (My personal favourite so far)

Now we get some industrial clanging, machine repetitions, and spiralling noise, courtesy of Joel Gausten’s ‘Spiral’. This IS industrial in all senses of the word: this is mass production by machine, hypnotising, rhythmical, and dangerous. In complete contrast we have ‘Beautiful Lies’ by we be echo (and the first of three from them), guitar and drum driven indie pop/rock. They occupy the next slot as well, their ‘Decay of Sleep Bleed’ a much sparser and more experimental affair (with some ambient thrown in), soft percussion and noises that suggest 1950s sci-fi films. Caleigh Marshall’s ‘IYDMI (If You Don’t Mean It)’ is a short sharp growl of acidic bile.

Masha Kr’s ‘Flexor (ivanov down)’ sounds like some early Soviet electronic experimentation, bleepy high-pitched notes sweeping over a wavering undercurrent, soon joined by some automaton-like percussion. HERosion DECAYS comes on like some eighties electronic pop act from Hamburg or Berlin, sleazy Reeperbahnstrasse atmospherics mixed in with futurist aesthetics. And finally, we be echo’s final contribution, ‘A New Day’, a swooping wind, cold and hollow, the prelude to some string-like drone chords that flutter and float with the prevailing currents.

These are only brief tags describing all the tracks here, and as such there are those which will appeal mightily while others not so much. But that’s not the point: $15 for 23 tracks (works out at around 65 per track) is good value however you look at it AND you get to help out an underground legend (ALL the money goes directly to Genesis). And this is only Volume 1 – currently there are three listed altogether, and I’ll get around to reviewing the other two in due course. It’s a wonderful cause, and it’ll be money well-spent.

All volumes currently available from here via Bandcamp:

Psymon Marshall 2019. 

Harsh Noise London, #19. DZKYIN "Noisetape #1".


HARSH NOISE London #19. DZKYIN. “Noisetape #1”. Cassette. 2019.


SIDE A.
     1.    HNW Mirror.
     2.    Hora Dos Demonios Caminharem Pelas Estradas De Sua Mente.
     3.    Surviving.
     4.    9’06”
     5.    Dipyrone.
     6.    Nothing to Say About….
     7.    Never Let Them Tell You How To Express Yourself (Cyberpunk Anarch)
     8.    Metronidazola.
     9.    Sujel Meu Lencol De Porra.
    10. C.F.C.

SIDE B.
     1.    00.59.
     2.    404
     3.    Into My Brains.
     4.    2017_11_29(3)
     5.    Denied Experiment.
     6.    Fury (Reverse Version)
     7.    Lembrances De Um Passado Esquecido
     8.    Pathetic Friday
     9.    LL We Need Is Love Shock (Part 1)
    10. Homophobics Must Die (Compressed till 88 seconds)
    11. Not Music Today, Only Noise. (Edit)
    12. Garganta Raspada.


In a past review I’d really dived into a bunch of releases from Harsh Noise London’s recycled cassette series. Old cassettes are dubbed over with new material by different artists and given a new cover. All there is, is a Facebook group for the label, no advertising anywhere else, it’s restricted only to the group. I like the modernity, isolation and recycled nature of the series, as well as the work itself. This time it is the turn of Juan Carlos aka DZKYIN; a project that has been active since 2016.

Noisetape #1, at first, uses some very compressed, dense low-end wall noise, Digital choppiness is woven into the work throughout the album, tying in with the cyberpunk/virtual reality character aspect of DZKYIN. The Wall qualities are strong though the deep, low-end background hum. Cuts and falters are effective as the resonance of the hum intensifies massively. There are shifts and changes in tracks which I believe may be movements into other works rather than everything being cut up into a series of different tracks. As this all begins to break up, it becomes a passage of pure, faltering, very low end, cut-up wall, like a fire spluttering out slowly.

The B-side introduces severe passages of overwhelming static radio signal noise which hums with a pulsating resonance. The work has shifted from Walls to Harsh Noise, demonstrating a fiercely revitalised strength of sound. Tonal abuse and broken distortion take over as part of a long series of frequent sound shifts that eclipse the walls of the A side. The dynamics seem to grow and grow, the low-end noise serves as a base for sharper noises to stack on top of into tower like proportions. The ever-shifting nature of this side is impressive and ensures constant engagement. Side B is a case of saving the best until last.

I remember in the 2000s, buying work from American noise labels like Obscurica and Gameboy, getting loads of CDRs by anonymous projects, some of those projects are still here, some had a short lifespan, ending or changing name to become another project. It’s beautiful to hear these phases of work and how they develop, I get that obscure noise, beauty feeling when I hear DZKYIN which could perhaps be one of many projects by the same artist. This is a good release and an impressive addition to the increasingly heavyweight Harsh Noise London recycled series.

Choppy Noodles 2019.