Distraxi – Styx Anaesthetist

Distraxi – Styx Anaesthetist – Cassette/Download – Venalism – V59.

https://venalism.bigcartel.com

https://distraxi.bandcamp.com

1. Jalisco Hail Mary.

2. Descend Instantly.

3. Second Stone Strikes the Gatherer.

4. Submit Becoming.

5. Pluto's Table.

I'd been listening to Distraxi over the last two years since reading about her in Kodak Ghosts. Luckily, I was able to witness her play live a couple of times over the past 12 months. The live performance was one of those immersive experiences that was unforgettable due to the shifts and complexity of the work. The transformative aspect to her personality that occurs during the show is outstanding. Distraxi has been prolific in her time as a project, with around 28 releases on her BandCamp since first releasing in 2021. This work deals with physical transformation through her recovery from recent facial feminisation surgery.

Heavy atmospheres play out with breathing sounds consisting of muffled background noises a combination mixed with field recordings and contact mic shuffling on Jalisco Hail Mary. Background drones build subtly and the surrounding noises become slightly less muffled, building into deeper drones. This transforms into a kind of melodic passage of sustained drones – it feels like someone regaining consciousness.  Descend Instantly begins with similar, cloudy, bass heavy rumblings. Descending sounds present around the bass rumble as if descending to earth or hell, this could be seen as the comedown from the opening track. Is it pain killers wearing off? WHAM! The electronics explode immediately on Second Stone Strike the Gatherer, screaming, sharp, jolting electronics and sirens going off in the background, it is impossible not to feel this track every time due to the long build up of the previous tracks.  It creates a hellish sound that is intensely immersive and short.

Submit Becoming starts with ethereal vocal sounds and a slight, shifting feedback moving around it. Chaotic noise is semi muted in the background, however it begins to gain momentum adding chaos to the heavenly chant. Is it suggested appearances didn’t change what was felt inside or was the existing chaos Now coupled with harmony?  Shuffling sounds introduce the finale Pluto’s Table, a radio plays in the background and a warped acoustic guitar twang played by Hannah Bannanah warbles through  a tune until ambient sounds bring back the heavenly aspect to the sound, we end in a suspended ambient, have we reached a sense of bliss?

This album is an incredible journey, a gorgeous work and possibly her best release so far.

ZG26.

Very Friendly

Very Friendly @ no fit state, Cardiff, 6/6/26.

https://www.nofitstate.org/ 
https://clydachelectronics.bigcartel.com 
https://pamrosecott.bandcamp.com 
https://linktr.ee/y_gwacter 
https://slowmurder.bandcamp.com/music 
https://svartvit.bandcamp.com/music 
https://paleworld.bandcamp.com/music 


No fit state is an old church that is now used for community circus, workshops and classes. It was a beautiful venue to look at. The evening was organised and promoted by local label Clydach Electronics.

Pam Rose Cott opened the show, the set began with wailing into a microphone and rubbing another one into a cloth. The set built up into screaming into different microphones and intensified with some noise backing her up into an immense display of very upset, vocal noise. She ended the set in the middle of the crowd, wailing and screaming without any amplification. I was locked into the directness and strength of what she did.  Anyone who can do a set largely from their voice backed by minimal electronics and a bell deserves kudos. Pam Rose Cott was a very strong opener.

I shook Ordeal by Roses hand as I noticed them at the end of her set. I later spoke to them and that meant a lot to me.

Pale World & Y Gwacter. This is a combined set of Pale world and Y Gwacter. She is a painter who paints on canvas which is connected to contact microphones that run through Pale World's set up. I had seen both of them do a set in Nottingham a month before and was impressed to watch someone paint and noise be made from it was great to see and hear.  The set started with noise from the live painting sourced into Pale World's set up as she became more animated, he did and the noise exploded into a mass of distortion. What I liked is I was hearing drones underneath it all that I hadn't last time they played live together. As the painting took form, the noise took more form as outside sources like chain boxes were used. It was a visually and sonically strong set. Pale World has always been impressive to see live, this duo has added a new dimension to the work. There was also a finished artwork to see at the end of the set- a black and white semi abstract landscape that was dark and menacing. The new tape Torsion on Venalism is well worth your listening time.

Slow Murder. I'd seen this project about a year ago in Nottingham and been seriously impressed as I have reviewed the project's releases a lot on the blog over the years. The latest album Deserving has made a huge impression on me. This show was short and sharp, possibly around 15 minutes there was deep drones, rumbling electronics and a lot of shouting overlaying into the work. This set blew me away more as it was short in length and when he shouted without a microphone at the end it was just as loud as with a mic, which was impressive. This was everything that I travelled here for. I needed some fresh air so I went off for a short walk around Cardiff after. This set was an intense experience that will live with me forever. Just this alone was worth the three hour drive to Cardiff.

Cariad (means love in Welsh) kept the bar high when I thought that would be impossible after Slow Murder. When I walked in some circus like music was playing which developed into mournful keyboard sounds layered under his vocals when they started and these sounds remained prominent throughout the entire performance. The space in the venue had cleared as finished performers had moved their stuff out of the way so he was using the space to move around a lot, yell and shake an amped up chain. He got right up in the audiences space and the set worked brilliantly. I liked this act a lot.

Svartvit - his sound was immediately haunted in overtones, it followed on well from the ghostlier aspects of Cariad.  He shouted into a Walkman like device, he disappeared and came back as the noise went off alone. When he returned, he used  smaller sounds that were able to interact with each other. Slight shuffling sounds creaked and cracked as contact microphones were played with. I liked how he used drones and smaller noises to work his sound it stayed in a zone where it wasn't overpowering for long periods of time. Sounds were given space to work around each other, combine and play off each one another. Gutteral shouting eventually came into the work.  The haunted qualities of his work really came back as the sounds resonated for long periods of time after the shouting and there were impressive subtle interactions happening. When his shouting came back, it was through distortion as the grief ridden noise played out underneath. This guy was excellent at putting different levels of space into his work. As he did this the work began to pulsate and push against the space as it expanded.  Bigger feedback, screaming into contact mics in mouth and feedback was an intense listen. Ultimately, the work was bleak, blackened, brilliant and beautifully sophisticated and sounded unlike anything I had ever heard before. An amazing finale to a night of much greatness.

I drove home listening to Slow Murder. Because tonight was a perfect night. I am now aware that there is a whole movement of South Wales Electronics going on which I have only began to touch on. Excellent.

Knifedoutofexistece - Dead Man's Eyes.

KNIFEDOUTOFEXISTENCE – Dead Man's Eyes – Cassette/Digital – Outsider Art – 2026.

https://outsiderart.bandcamp.com

https://outsiderart.bigcartel.com

https://knifedoutofexistence.bandcamp.com

 

          1.     Imagined Peace.

          2.     Fills My Lungs Like Liquid.

I have a fond relationship with the work of  knifedoutofexistence, I have seen the project play live many times since it started and reviewed many recordings on here. His other project Playworker is worth investigating too.

Imagined Peace starts with slow rumbling which sounds like a contact microphone shuffling and scraping. Feedback and hissing cut into the sound, once this is all established, everything gradually intensifies. Voice like noises wail in the background making the work feel very haunted, which occurs in a lot of recent knifedoutofexistence recordings, particularly, releases like Gone Is the Shell Garden or Tracing Roots Now Severed. As the tension of the work reaches its' peak and the vocal goes off in the background, the signature style of the project is very evident at the end.

Acoustic guitar notes are plucked, humming sounds exist in the background, it feels like a field recording backing the guitar sounds. The background noise increases to roaring distortion, drones and feedback as the guitar shifts to the background. Unintelligible voice booms over everything and the sound descends into something that is simultaneously heavenly and dark. As this breaks down to abstract sound once the voice and guitar fade, the shift into a kind of resonating lonely space is impressive.

Everything I hear by knifed is great, the project continues to fall further into ghostly new territory while still clearly retaining the core elements of  knifedoutofexistence. The wobbly tightrope of progression always risks a steep, unforgiving fall, yet Dean Lloyd Robinson continues to maintain his balance perfectly.

Nothing and Nobody 2026.

Mourn - It Was Good While It Lasted.

Mourn – It Was Good While it Lasted – CD/Download – Bent Window Records – 2025

           1 . The Boy From Bassenden.

           2. Eyes In Rings.

           3. Forged In the Crucible of Want.

           4. (I Just) Died.

           5. It's Alright With Me Francis.

           6. American Dad.

           7. Just One Cocktail.

           8. Aggravated and Indecent.

           9. R.Kelly Goes To WacArnolds (I believe I can fries).

          10. A Good Friend to Trust.

‘Disgusting and Profane, this album highlights obsessive celebrity worship, true crime and those who benefit.’                        Bandcamp, label quote.

https://bentwindowrecords.bandcamp.com/album/it-was-good-while-it-lasted

https://kadaver.bandcamp.com

https://idealfather.bandcamp.com

https://destruktionsanstalt.bandcamp.com/music

https://www.999cuts.com

 

 

Mourn is collaborative project between Kadaver, Destruktionsanstalt and Ideal Father. They previously released the album Mastema in 2022.

The album's opener The Boy From Bassendean slowly moves It Was Good While It Lasted into life. This is a reference to disgraced artist/singer Rolf Harris who as prosecuted as part of Operation Yewtree was sentenced to 5years and 9 months in 2014. It is about his friendship with Jimmy Savile. Eyes in Rings is immediately more aggressive, using pulsating electronics and distortion. Vague samples are woven into the work. The title is further reference to Jimmy Savile, (the man who groomed a nation). The title references possible necrophiliac tendencies in how he boasted that some of his rings were made of dead people's glass eyes. The sound utilises psychedelic nausea in the sound, I am sure I heard his voice in the closing samples. Forged In the Crucible of Want plays on further Jimmy Saville references, how he got away with his crimes for an entire lifetime is real life horror and one that is still raw in the UK. The noise uses repetitive beats, drones and Saville voice samples.

I (Just Died) falls into very murky sonics, it sounds like a nightmare as it slowly drifts along. It feels like I am in an early industrial time warp. It references necrophile and murderer David Fuller who was an unofficial photographer for the band Cutting Crew, the title part references their hit song (I Just) Died In Your Arms tonight. It's Alright With Me Francis sounds like the Glitter Band with the beats that it uses, it takes me inside a seedy mind-set (Gary Glitter) that I don’t want to be inside, it is like being locked in hell for 3:42 minutes. Not so Fun fact – My first girlfriend was a huge fan (pre-prosecution) and we went to his autobiography signing in 1991. American Dad is further swampy, ambient darkness, conversation samples play out, primitive noises back it. Kettle Whistles go off, as Bill Cosby in samples boasts about a drug called Spanish Fly a drug which makes females horny, this carries on into the bleak fog of Just One Cocktail all reference to his habit of drugging and sexually assaulting women. Samples of Cosby are overlaid into another dark soundtrack, slowed down siren noises raise the alarm to the predator as he talks and brags. A brief passage of humour plays out with samples from the Cosby Show on Aggravated and Indecent, disco beats back samples of chatter. R Kelly is referenced in R Kelly Goes to Whackarnolds ( believe I can Fries), slows the sound down as samples of Kelly’s voice play moving into samples of he disastrous Prince Andrew TV interview play out on the finale A Good Friend to Trust.

I like this album, it does the good work Power Electronics and Death Industrial should do, although it leans more into Death Industrial. It does this through presenting the real -life monsters of society without any explanation. Just my talking about the themes amplifies how grim that it is. Beyond that, the sounds are good Death Industrial murkiness, with dialogue from each tracks subject working over some impressive ambient landscapes. The three projects from the members of Mourn are impressive, but Mourn is equally as good as each project. I'd argue I’d want more obvious vocals in some tracks (not all), but I think this is still a good album and it is very worthy of being in your collection.

 

Nothing and Nobody 2025.

 

SWOLE.

SWOLE –HENCH NOISE VOL.1 – cassette/Download- It Came From the Fucking Deep – 2025.

Links - https://swolehnw.bandcamp.com/

 

https://itcamefromthedeep.bigcartel.com/

1. HENCH NOISE WALL 1.

2. HENCH NOISE WALL 2.

HENCH NOISE WALL//TOTAL BARBELL WORSHIP.

I saw SWOLE perform live in Nottingham last week at a gig supporting Colossloth and Satori. The performance left an impression on me that spurned me to investgate SWOLE’s work in more depth. The live show was introduced by a sample that was dialogue talking about weights and exercise . This was followed by a blast of dense distortion and feedback that was eventually accompanied by him shouting into a microphone. SWOLE looked very different in his appearance which gave the performance an impressive visual aspect and added considerable impact. The use of noise was direct, commanding and radiated a hostile oddness. The show was truly great and stood up well in a line of 5 performances.

1. Dialogue plays out, it is Arnold Schwarzenegger talking about the benefits of weight bearing exercise, the clanging of weights can be heard, melody plays over all of this before the distortion kicks right in. The noise is dense, bass heavy and layered. Distorted haze drags across the sound as it judders, roars and pulsates. The bass layers have a shifting rhythm that hugs you whilst the later adition of sharp distortion chops at and screams in your face.

2. Further dialogue of Tom Platz (The Quadfather) plays to introduce a wall that uses a lot of choppy bass but has a sharper tone of wall. The distortion rains heavier than before, it feels like being caught in a storm. The focussed energy of the noise compliments the urgency of the ddialogue. This shouts at you at speed, the tension radiated here is very physical and happens quickly.

The noise continually takes on physical characteristics as it interacts with the listener, it has the focus to be able to do that. I like this tape and think that it is as great as the live show, SWOLE is one to watch for sure. Top work.

Nothing and Nobody 2025.

Petrichor - Ascend to the White Lodge.

Petrichor – Ascend to the White Lodge – CDr – 2025 – self released.

https://www.instagram.com/petrichor_noise/

https://petrichor-noise.bandcamp.com

1.     The Red Room.

2.     Pain & Suffering.

3.     Meanwhile.

4.     Where I'm From the Birds Sing a Pretty Song.

5.     Once We Cross, it Could All be Different.

6.     Goodnight, Margaret (re-edit).

I watched Petrichor play live a live set on Friday June 6^th, I was impressed enough to buy this cd. This was sandwiched between a number of strong performances by different noise artists that night, some new, some veteran – Petrichor came off very well that night. He's been doing the rounds around the UK recently. It is like we have a new generation of post Knifedoutofexistence/  Outsider Art generation forming new networks around the country.

The album is chocked full of Twin Peaks references, the RIP David Lynch text on the back pointed me towards searching the references out. I am a big Lynch Fan with a Twin Peaks box set that I have yet to watch, so I am good with that. I have seen the film a few times, so don't judge me too harshly.

Petrichor's live set was Harsh and Abrasive last week, I was expecting the album to be something similar. However, what’s presented here is something else completely, it models the layered textures of the live show, but allows for subtle interplays of smaller sounds to occur. Sometimes they build up slowly, at other times they gradually reduce to fractured soundscapes. In the Red Room, there are what I would call some old fashioned, early industrial loops worked into distortion, drones and contact microphone dragging. The early Industrial thing sounds seem to come and go, like late 70s and early 80s TV sound effects – they enter the scene and leave the scene.

Nauseous, warped melody, feedback and clattering play off each other to form Pain and Suffering. The hostility to this track has space to breathe and echo and is quick to make itself known.  A screwy, hallucinogenic, nauseous psychedelic darkness soon becomes the dominant language of the track. Meanwhile uses a lot more scrape, drag and contact microphone battering within its dense, claustrophobic pulses. Warbling noises return Where I'm From the Birds Sing a Pretty Song, with a rain of distortion cutting into it, scraping and dragging noises cut into all of this. As this all gets busier, it radiates anxiety. The explosion, the drop happens later on, a big wall of distortion roars, while the earlier noises of the track re-appear within it.

Once We Cross, it Could Be Different - Organ drones play as crashing metal noises and distortion crackle over it. Warped, dragging drones and broken electronic splattering become the main body of noise to create nauseous, bubbling mechanisation. Scrapey, tweaks glitch over this like an occasional noise trying to throw out a message. The dragging organ sounds are like a vomit inducing nightmare. The feedback and aggression increase towards the latter part of the track, it begins to choke and gasp later on. I like the constant shifts going off throughout this track. Harsh Noise kicks off in Goodnight, Margaret (e-edit), it blasts at us. Petrichor strangles this in order to slow it down and allow other noises and sounds to play into the mass of the track. These methods make a haunted nightmare to end things on.

I think Ascend to the White Lodge has a good level of complexity, it presents different languages of noise to keep the listener constantly engaged – I think those languages and methods could be pulled even further apart, less related purely to Harsh Noise. It would be a shit out if this project stops after a couple – four releases. I think it has hit on something good, a Nurse With Wound/Sickness level attention to detail is obviously apparent and needs to grow and find itself over many releases. It is very good now and could be brilliant over time. Keep up the good work.

Nothing and Nobody 2025.