I’ve been listening to noise with growing interest since
the early 90s, this led me to review for other sites for periods of time until
I landed here on my own blog. I often review acts that fall into the different noise
categories. Sometimes they are shared out by the label or artist and it creates
a wider audience. Most of the time I am reviewing what I buy, and I feel like I
am making that extra effort in this mpfree day and age of music listening. However,
a balance of obscure and popular is often needed within the blog as it grows. I
created a Facebook profile purely to promote this blog and then artists started
contacting me to do reviews, which I liked as I hadn’t heard of many of them
before.
I was reading the latest Special Interests magazine I had purchased
from Unrest and there was an interview with the artist Wince and they spoke
about how different golden eras of US noise have been come and gone. Being presently
far from any Golden Era of noise, I figured my own way to document the
underground and build a wider knowledge of what’s happening worldwide via individual
tours of the Facebook Noise Groups where artists and labels seem to advertise
their available work. I wanted it to function as a glimpse into today’s underground
artists. They release, many play live and they are out there doing it.
For this tour, I will skim through the recent postings in one
of the many the Facebook Noise groups: it is called Power Electronics/ DeathIndustrial/ Harsh Noise/ Dark Ambient. The group features artists that link to
all or a few of the genres in the title.
Clipping Teeth – Enamel Shrapnel.
Clipping Teeth – Over the Lips, Past the Gums.
Label/Collective - Men Behind the Sun - mp3 release – 2018.
Clipping Teeth is a collaboration with the guys behind the
Men Behind the Sun collective and Paul Byrn who does some very good ambient and progressive music worth checking out. Clipping
Teeth’s Enamel Shrapnel revels in a harsh American Digital noise assault, so it
is very choppy and chaotic. Throwing out a mass of tangled feedback that begins
to die until reinforced by pulsating bass and then it’s cut into by screams. A
shifting journey spread across two minutes.
Over the Lips, Past the Gums, centres around vocal samples of
a narrative describing Toe Nail Clipper Teeth Clipping. This, at first is more
restrained than Enamel Shrapnel, until it explodes halfway through into a wall
like mass of noise with distinct clear elements doing different shifts of
domination. For a noise side project, Clipping Teeth delivered two interesting,
refreshing, textured cuts of pure noise that will soon need a longer physical
release.
Mai 12. - La Nuit Qui Tombe - Split release September 2018.
Mai 12
– Does Soil Get Old?
La
Nuit Qui Tombe – The Wind In The Ruin.
I keep seeing Mai 12 releases in the groups, based in Thessaloniki,
Greece they are Karl Grümpe and Rene p.g. They release gorgeously packaged
tapes and cdrs truly enhanced with visual flair via their Bandcamp page. Their
split release with La Nuit Qui Tombe looked so nice, I bought it before I heard
it, I hope it’s good.
This is a two-track tape in a unique mesh and car cover,
one long track by each artist, each around the 43-minute mark. Mai 12’s piece
is ‘Does Soil Get Old?’ it begins with warm bass like distorted crackle wall as
things creak and groan in the background. The background sounds increase as the
piece progresses - I would describe this as a warm and creaky wall of noise
that is solid and consistent. It has a purposeful obscurity and stands as a
document of a period in Mai 12’s existence.
A Douglas P interview sample begins La Nuit Qui Tombe’s –
The Wind in the Ruin whilst a cocky sense of Avant Garde gradually steps in. My
mind drifts away from DIJ towards the act Somewhere in Europe’s earlier bleak
yet playful material. Things progress into juxtaposed blasts of foggy noise and
dark, ominous ambient soundscapes form. A sense of past times permeates the
recording which seems to hang over all Qui Tombe releases. This builds into a
dense, ambient wall of sadness that moves into a closing sermon.
Both tracks do contrast against each other yet do tie in together
via differing walls. A strong and very well presented split.
Analfabetism - Kniven Sitter Kvar I Bonden - 2018
1. De som
dräpa och som dräpas skall.
2. Av
daga tagas.
3. Fördärv.
4. Där
svinhugg går igen.
Sweden’s Analfabetism is the
solo project of Fredrik Djurfeldt active in many other projects.
De som dräpa och som dräpas
skall is ambient bleakness that uses repetition and drones to build the sound whilst
blasts of distorted vocal rage move in and break things up continually. Pulsating
beats back the Power Electronics blasts of noise. The depressive Av Daga Tagas builds
deep drone ambience whilst being repeatedly interrupted by aggressive crashes of
distortion. Fördärv drags through further landscapes of bleakness hitting more
blasts of aggression throughout its journey. This forms a combination of
Ambient textures and noise throughout the album. The tracks have a fluidity
through repeated sounds and technique. Select hypnotic repetition often forms
the base to each track and its sonic performance. Där svinhugg går igen follows
Fordarv’s example but allows for more noise chaos during its gradual build up. The
finale Kniven djupt begravd i bonden slows things down and pulls right back to allow
rich synth work to wash over everything, gorgeous repeated melody and sirens
wail to briefly shift the context of the works state to a drop. Chaos returns,
and things explode to a climatic end.
Analfabetism is a strong album
documenting a rich journey that I was glad to be taken on.
I’d had a good dose of Ambient
lushness today and needed something harder as I was battling with my
subconscious after too much deep intense listening. I then discovered some
reassuring noise horror via Throne of Bael’s Bandcamp page. Throne of Bael seem
to post regularly in the group and their releases are frequently horrible in
subject matter and visuals. So, I dove in –
Scott Lawler’s Spank Hookers – Disturbing Deeds of a Dominatrix is a recently released digital only album. It is
immediately expansive with a large sound that continually reaches outwards.
Each release was named after extreme fetishist acts that are conducted to
submissive clients by the central hooker characters of the album. The themes
covered include -Tit Milking, Diapers, Bonded Rubber Pants and Water Bondage. The
sound stands as an intense juxtaposition of Harsh Noise, Wall Noise and Dark
Ambient all at once to produce an impressive wide, ambitious sound. However, I
couldn’t help but think is this project for real, is it someone just playing
with extreme subject matter that has been revelled in time and time again? I
have a very 50/50 take on the project and question if it is Lawler’s darker
side or Noise for Noise’s sake, Does Spank Hookers need to be Spank Hookers? But
I can’t say this is bad release or project as it is sonically impressive too as
is the other material on Lawler’s BandCamp.
I then find I was Killer’s or
Killer – A Day of Play. This is a digital only single track that incorporates a huge list of themes. I
was Killer’s or Killer is a highly prolific project possibly based in South Africa. A Day of Play is instantly deprived it appears
to be a duo. It is massively warped and abstracted beyond recognition, I can’t
tell if the vocals are babble or have a narrative. This is impressive guitar formed
scum sound that is incredibly random and energetic whilst maintaining a unique sense
of mystery and originality. All I can say is that I am excited about this impressive;
an incendiary, shitspew of abstract greatness.
RRR is Sébastien Bach and Bruising Pattern is Petar S. .
France’s RRR have been active since 2012 and Austria’s Bruising Pattern
since 2017.
The Bruising pattern side is
multiple layers of hiss and shifting, faltering crackle overlaid on each other.
It is backed by drones. The drones become more apparent and intense as you
drift into the distortion which drags and pulls along; you are pulled to and
from both as your concentration shifts.
RRR is a different project, as
if it is an ever-emerging loop. The work here is in the details woven into the
merciless repetition. As a result, RRR deliver the most punishing, torturous
side of the two in an early NON way. Compared to other RRR works on the
Bandcamp, this is more varied and broken up which opens the work up to other
possibilities.
This is an agonising release that was pure head torture, which isn’t a bad experimental thing. I found different
qualities in each project with a wealth of new work to explore.
Destruktionstalt - Døds-hymner. MP3 release September 2018.
Per Najbjerg Odderskov is
based in Denmark has been active since the late 90s and releasing since 2000. Destruktionstalt
is describes as ‘back to basics Death Industrial with atmospheric psychedelic
overlays.’ The latest offering from September 2018 is Døds-hymner.
This uses vocal samples and
noise to create rich atmosphere. There are some impressive svnth drone and
arching noise passages, particularly on infection where a few elements are used
to create ambitious soundscapes. As an album this does shift into different
ideas across the tracks, they’re strong. But I do question if it needs a strong vocal
presence in the mix to top things off. Minor criticism aside, a very strong
album that I have played through happily a few times.
Choppy Noodles 2018