Soft Option Killing #2

 

Soft Option Killing – Cassette – Hospital Productions – 2010 – HOS-296.

        1.    Untitled.

        2.    Untitled.

https://phosphorusburning.bandcamp.com/music

There were six Soft Option Killing cassettes released between 2007 to 2010. Three were self-released, Three on labels. Two (Rogue State and Every Brutal Act a Service) were on Unrest Productions and this self-titled release was released on Hospital Productions and Abrasive Records, I believe Abrasive was the artists own label, so it was also self-released. The project was based in the UK, supported many well-known names within Power Electronics circles and now makes work as Phosphorus Burning.

Vocal dialogue samples and rumbling drones fill the sound as the first side starts. An undercurrent of distortion wavers under the main noise, becoming increasingly prominent over time. Vicious drones kick in and hum menacingly whilst waves of distortion start to hit this and howling, echoing noise makes the listener feel lost in a nightmare of sound. It’s mastered and controlled well in that the storm of noise is busy but not at ear splitting displays of high volume, space is kept within the sound. An aggressive blast of distortion then screams over echoing, rumbling bass. The distortive blasts eventually serve to repeatedly cut across the deep rumble – this has a higher level of aggression in the delivery than the earlier part of the tape. This all dies off allowing the rumble to come across as a passage of ambient storm with a lower hissing distortion shooting across it as sampled dialogue plays out to add further layers of depth to the work. The ambient sounds drift through to the next part of the piece. Vocal roar and distortion soon dominate the sound, the vocal is buried within the noise, occasionally resurfacing for short periods of time. This soon dies off into overlaps of subtle, quiet noise to bring an end to the first side.

Side two’s untitled track begins with distant voices cut into by wavering distortions that continue the ambient sounds explored on the first track. High pitched electronics soon wail over this, but they eventually drop slightly so they blend more into the sound. This all forms a layered, bleak Industrial landscape. The varieties of returning feedback are the noise, it isn’t intended in a Harsh Noise context as they are often too isolated, as it wails over echoing, chugging electronics, you realise it is meant to scream across the sound in a Power Electronics way (as were the vocals that briefly appeared.)  through how it accurately intensifies in tone to force the listeners attention. As this part dies out, a busier passage of echoing noise and sharp distortion collide to make a choppier passage of the track. The rise of angrier sound through throbbing sound sources, echo and distortion can be felt very much here. The way this continually drifts into dark ambient territory and is yanked out with subtle and sometimes hostile use of noise is impressive.

Each side seems to have four passages of sound that together, form one track. All are very effective and well considered in their use of sound. Another excellent Soft Option Kill work reveals itself.

Nothing and Nobody 2024.

Soft Option Killing - Every Brutal Act A Service.

Soft Option Killing – Every Brutal Act A Service – Cassette – Unrest Production – Unrest 23 – 2007.

1. – Fajr.

2. - Isha’a.

Soft Option Killing was an industrial project based in Nottingham UK. Two cassettes were released on Unrest Productions, Rouge State (2007) and Every Brutal Act A Service (2010). There was a self-titled cassette put out on Hospital Productions & Abrasive Records in 2010, in addition to this there were three self-released cassettes. The person behind Soft Option Killing was also involved in the project Front Towards Enemy/Bear Faced Boy. Soft Option Killing stopped releasing around 2010.

Side 1, Fajr (the time when the first of the five daily prayers of Islam is performed), the track opens with samples of fighter pilots discussing targets, ending in ‘do not engage the mosque.’ Deep bass noises go off as if to mimic bombs exploding. All of this goes off over a subtle droning sound that changes tone gradually throughout Fajr. The drones begin to take further depth as the time moves on, turning into deep rumbles as the atmosphere intensifies. The shift from wavering wind sounds to distorted code comes in with the changes of the drones, both elements co-exist uneasily. In part the deep rumbling depths that Soft Option Killing engages in reminds me of the slower rumblings that could happen in the work of label mates Shift.

Side 2 – Isha’a. (Second prayer of the day, occurring in the darkness of night.) Thick synthesiser resonations seem to pull this track into murkier, territory than Fajr. The drones are ominous and threatening throughout the track. The synthesisers become more death-like further into the work whilst a holing distortion sounds off over this intermittently. I’d argue there was a clear policy in Unrest acts where synthesisers are pushed to maximum effect or to the forefront of the sound. Soft Option Killing was clearly unafraid to do this and dive into Death Industrial territory, a few acts on the label revelled in that for passages of time, S.T.A.B. Electronics lives it. The murkier Isha’a gets, the more it intensifies and steps up to the mark. It wails and gives deep horn like drones at the peak of the track – the sound becomes massive.

The missing in action status of Soft Option Killing adds mystery to the work. The sound of this tape adds credibility and integrity to the name. There are some heavyweight acts on Unrest and this easily holds its own amongst them. 6 tapes released in three years, if ever something should be reissued and known about, it is this work.

Nothing and Nobody 2023.

Salò Salon – Culte Du Moi

Salò Salon – Culte Du Moi. – CD – L.White Records – 2020.

https://lwhite-records.de/

https://salosalon.bandcamp.com/

Culte Du Moi is the sixth release by Salò Salon who have been releasing albums since 2015. Based in Germany, they are one of the countries newer, Death Industrial acts to emerge.

The album begins with ambient, nightmarish sounds and sampled German speech. The Ambient feel dominates Culte Du Moi and this is built upon as the album unfolds. As the first track ends, we have more aggressive sound, with tortured shouting throughout, this is where the real Death Industrial feel of the work begins to show. The work then pulls back into more infected ambient passages, this part really references the work of Premature Ejaculation; infected, nauseous loops that seem to widen and pulsate. strong atmospheres are created in the ambient passages as vocal samples and suspenseful noises play out. Rises in sound or the introduction of more sounds intensify the work massively.

This album is true, sonically nauseous Death Industrial. It is a lot happier in murkier, dark territory than the more explosive, violent tracks. I like the atmospherics in the work, I feel that a lot of its ‘work as work’ is how the sounds and atmospheres are layered and varied so that the album remains continually interesting. There are feelings of angst, anxiety, terror, nausea, disease, aggression, decay and death covered in the work, the shifts in sound ensure a continual movement of effect.

This has made a good post lockdown soundtrack; it has ambition and depth. I recommend buying it.

Dorcus Maximus 2020.

Wolvestribe - Devolutionary Descent.

Wolvestribe – Devolutionary Descent – Dharmakaya/Aaarrrg – Cd/Download – 2020 – 12 tracks.

https://aaarrrg.bandcamp.com/album/wolvestribe-devolutionary-descent

https://www.discogs.com/artist/5656167-Wolvestribe

https://www.facebook.com/Wolvestribe/ 

 

..from an initial chaos...

We shall find a transformative change ...into bestiality...

The machinery of torture stops... a devolutionary descent to primal state...

The inner light unveiled..."

Quote from notes on the release.

I have followed the work of UK based Wolvestribe keenly now for a couple of years, this is one of their many recordings and their 3^rd physical release that they have produced on Aaarrrg and sold through Destroy All Artifacts. The album’s numbered, 12 tracks are split into three sections – Creation, Destruction and Renewal.

The Creation section of Devolutionary Descent starts with an immediately, big and busy sound, this is a heavyweight sound formed through piercing echoes and big Death Drones that fill the sound. This really resonates massively, pulsating, and throbbing outwards. The violence intensifies in the second part of Creation, with sharper echoes creating a mass of violence that is a grid of sharp sound; this screeches and yells continuously. Creation III seems to pull back the sharpness and allow for massive passages of hum and distortion to really push the sound outwards as if to test the boundaries. As it hits overdrive, we seem to have reached the limits, Creation IV seems to give this breakthrough a structured form, holding the sound back, restraining it then releasing the tension as if to allow for controlled rises and explosions.

As we reach the Destruction, V seems to pull right back to allow the sound to grow and strengthen until you are hit by a mass of wall cut into by echoes and sharp noises. Despite the rises in intensity, there is a haunted quality running throughout Destruction. Brief pulsations form VI as low-level throbbing and distortion build VII until sharp electronic bursts erupt and leave devastation through the volume and brooding, mournful sound. As the regular rhythm of the pulsation shifts it creates intense changes of mood of the work. The sonic violence of Wolvestribe is now in full flow in the last part of the Destruction; VIII. This is eventually eroded and cut into as lead sounds are bled out leaving a fractured pulsating distortion until further roars of noise intrude and reinforce - there is no quiet death here.

Distorted ambient echoing is soon complimented by a deep sonic throb which is further complimented by blasts of distortion and screaming, I am soon lost in the huge scope of the sound - this is Renewal IX; X seems to just carry it on whilst intensifying the shouting. The vocal is woven in with the sharp noise which is effective at projecting it whilst complimenting the rest of the noise. Humming drones and wavering distortion play out for a long period of time – the distortion is like sheets of futuristic rain as the hum dies off. The storm threatens into the longest track on the album XI, this really builds landscapes of sound as things Renew themselves as the intensity increases. This is done by slowly raising the distortion, echoes and large rises in sound and buried vocals that emerge more as you focus in on the work. The space carved into the sound as elements disappear allows for the haunted moodiness of the work to shine through, this is until its inherent violence reappears. The violence builds the sound, it is forced to grow and evolve until it seems to go into overdrive and die. XII is as if that never happened, the Renewal is in full swing for the finale. Haunted electronics creak and shout over the mass od electronics that builds.

This album is an excellent Wolvestribe release, perhaps their best. It feels we are entering a new era in the UK of purposely mysterious, obscure PE projects that are ambitious in their creative scope, it is going elsewhere, it doesn’t play to traditional themes, it has its own politics, sometimes they are pointed inwards at the self, sometimes they are thrown outwards. This odd, new  underground is here, I feel Wolvestribe are amongst its highlights (Outsider Art, Knifedoutofexistence, Ordeal by Roses, Blackcloudsummoner, S.T.A.B, Stark, Invisible City Records, Harsh Noise London, Destroy All Artifacts, Tunnels of Ah, Satori, Slow Murder +). As I still mourn end of Iron Fist of the Sun and Unrest moving back deep into Europe, the end of Sutcliffe Judgend who had risen again, I failed to see the new beginnings of a new day, now its rays dazzle my eyes, clearing the mist to leave only the absolute clarity of the now.      

Dorcus Maximus 2020.                                                                                                                                              

ANTIchildLEAGUE,Sandblasting - The Grey Lady.

Antichildleague, SANDBLASTING – The Grey Lady. Not on Label. CD – 2019 – Limited to 30 copies.

https://www.discogs.com/ANTIchildLEAGUE-Sandblasting-The-Grey-Lady/release/13662560

The Grey Lady.

Easy Lady.

Lost on the Motorway.

Excite Me.

This is a new, very limited (30) release CDR with Sandblasting providing the sounds and Antichildleague providing the vocals.

The Grey Lady was very different from what I was expecting, it starts off with warped vocals, but once the noises lick in, it is very rhythmic with massive beats and synthesizer drones very prevalent. The vocal is very ACL – warped and inhuman. The electronics and effects are strong, I feel I received this at the right time as I am listening to a lot of Beat driven noise such as Salford Electronics, Occulting Light, Soft Kill and Tetsuo at present.

All tracks are heavy on deep atmospherics, with the vocals whispered, screamed and shouted. At times I am reminded of the broodier, later work of Pain Teens. It seems to build images of cityscapes and their activities – there is an urban feel to the work. Quirky beats and rhythms have long been an occasional guest on ANTIchildLEAGUE albums, and this seems to pull the project well into it.

After my Birmingham gig escapades from a few weeks ago, Lost on the Motorway’s intense, lively rhythms and beats take me back to the journey home from the said event. These malfunctions and slowly rebuilds to an impressive dance and dance. The electronics seem to drag and shoot off at high speeds. The final track Excite Me seems to be the fastest track, reminds me of the film Trainspotting and its observations of the darker sides of life, this falls into some warped form of Techno that drops and rises in sound; the beats seem to get faster until it ends.

I like this, as a collaboration it brings out an area of ACL that’s kind of lurked in the background for years only surfacing in the odd warped form again, I feel Gaya’s voice works well with beats. The music is good, using minimal elements to create big sounds that are rich and evocative. The work of both artists gels together well, making for a solid, atmospheric release. It isn’t listed on eithers Bandcamp, but the CD is available on Discogs, no downloads, just a very limited CD - Good work.

Choppy Noodles 2019.

Revisiting the Premature Ejaculation discography 1. Premature Ejaculation - Part 1. 2010

Premature Ejaculation – Part 1 – Malaise Music – 2010 – 2 x CDR.

Started in 1981, Premature Ejaculation (PE) was the most prolific and favourite project of the late Rozz Williams (1963 – 98). Much of the material was self-released and on labels like Happiest Tapes on Earth, Dark Vinyl, Gymnastic, TripleXXX, Malaise Music, Baader Meinhof and Cleopatra records. There was a lot of PE material released privately on cassette by Rozz himself and Happiest Tapes that has never been commercially available to fans and they have now been unavailable for some time. With Malaise now gone, this review revaluates my original reviews of the project from when the series of Lost Recordings began in 2010. The Lost Recordings were the tapes that Rozz did himself and gave to friends.

The original Malaise Music was a label started by Rozz’s close friend Erik Cristides in the 1990s, one great compilation was released (Merry Maladies), but plans to release all of the rare PE material on Malaise were cut short by Erik’s untimely death in 1997. Original masters of the cassettes were purchased by John Collins and Malaise Music was reactivated by two German fans. Benjamin Siebert expertly remastered all the lost recordings and the first release is Premature Ejaculation part 1.  Alex Scott remastered all the original the artwork. The original cassette has been remastered in its entirety onto one disc, it has been broken down into 7 untitled tracks. Additional found bonus material from around the same time has been added onto a second disc, this was then released in 2010.

These recordings were Rozz’s first recordings of Industrial noise material, key influences at this time were Throbbing Gristle, Johanna Went, Monte Cazzaza, SPK and Boyd Rice. It was also known Rozz preferred Industrial sounds over most other music throughout his life.  An additional mind-blowing fact is that Boyd and Rozz having become friends (after Rozz used to stalk Boyd and watch him eating his salad at an LA restaurant) were meant to collaborate on a project before Rozz’s untimely death.

Part 1 (recorded in 1981) also highlights how open ended the later named early Deathrock scene was, Rozz was active in Christian Death, yet had a strong interest in Industrial. 45 Grave had an experimental project around the same time called C.E.D.S. (Citizens for the Exploration of Deep Space) Indicating that the movement had a sideways influence from Industrial. 45 Grave drummer Don Bolles was renown for wearing a Throbbing Gristle badge in early group shots. Nervous Gender trod a fine line between Post Punk, Deathrock and Industrial making their own unique odd sounds.

Track one begins with a long passage of synth frequencies, this material is far more aggressive than a lot of PE’s later material. I consider this to be an early, primitive attempt at Noise with a slight leaning to Power Electronics, a movement that as we know it now, was in its infancy, Whitehouse were very much also in their early days at this time. Due to the lack of distortion here I would there is an untreated rawness that reaches high levels of aggression through merciless repetition.  Premature Ejaculation appear to be testing the boundaries of noise at that time, shooting higher frequencies across the recording at intervals. The synths then break into low frequency drones. Track two indulges displays of higher frequency passages of noise stretched out for long periods. Track three begins with the sound of bubbling coming from underwater whether this is containers, or a person being held under is unclear, however a heartbeat takes over as the solo sound, this is consistently rhythmic and manipulated. A helicopter sample takes over to be quickly replaced by a pulsing synth and sounds recreating baron atmospheres as they work around each other. This sample would crop up on later PE releases; PE constantly recycled their own sounds onto other recordings to tie works together. It is this track that begins to formulate their later approach to their releases as human pulses and sounds bring the collage to an end.

Track four continues sound and sample combinations to more suggestive effect; the human sounds are looped, painful and unpleasant. Suggestiveness is where PE flourished, there are no obvious details, and samples are very everyday such as toys, video loops and cheap keyboards. There is also a mock religious/esoteric feel to the track, but it’s not too specific so other avenues of thought are opened. Tambourine percussion opens five as an intro to a further human chant. The two sources work around each other and morph as one, this being the most effective use of combined sounds. 6 begins with a guitar noise feedback episode which pays light homage to Lou Reed’s metal machine album, considered later to be a major influence on contemporary noise. Raw, abrasive frequencies return to build primitive walls of sound that close PE part One.

The bonus disc shows another different aspect to Premature Ejaculation in that a lot of untreated electronic instrumentation and toy sounds unite in a chaotic unstructured jam. There is some SMEGMA homage plain and simple; SMEGMA’s Ace Farren Ford would work with Rozz on later projects including Heltir. What’s interesting is the layering of different sound sources that would flourish later in PE’s discography. Raw noise assaults and unstructured instrumental work would be put aside and used on early Heltir releases such as Ill Bancheto del Cancri/VC06 and 69 rituals.

Overall this is a very raw recording; each area works individually and is best seen as a presentation of separate experiments in abstract sound manipulation. It highlights how Chuck Collison’s later involvement was crucial in helping to bond separate threads of interest together with his own, as well as reaching much higher production standards. It also show’s Ron Athey’s role in the early US Industrial/Noise scene before taking off as a solo performance artist, widely respected in the history of Body Art. It is unknown as to how many of these recordings feature Athey and which feature Collison or are Rozz alone. It shows an open-ended approach before Premature Ejaculation tightened its focus to selected working methods. It shows Williams and Athey, in areas to be active practitioners of Industrial Noise with purpose and conceptualisation. The original artwork along with certain tracks mark the beginnings of the later P.E. Death Culture aesthetic.

wejustwantyoutoseethingsasclearlyaspossible

Choppy Noodles 2019

Wolvestribe, Understanding the Ecological Role.

Wolvestribe – Understanding the Ecological Role – Single Sided Lathe Cut 10” – MP3 – Aaarrrgh Records – 2019 - https://aaarrrg.bandcamp.com/

  I Opened Your Eyes.

 Now I Have to Close them.

"Death des sometimes seem like a solution that dissolves emptiness. But noise always lures us back into it. And mumbles of rebellion seem to slip into cramps of fear. .."

I discovered Wolvestribe in the last review, it was amongst a batch of 6 tapes from the Harsh Noise London Label and Wolvestribe’s contribution to Harsh Noise London Recycled Tape ‘Series #15: Clove’ was just a 21 minute live performance, which was stunning and one of the highlights of the whole batch - there was some excellent other stuff in there. The purpose of this review is to examine Wolvestribe beyond that contribution as I’m very interested. There has been a digital album released on Fucktron Records – Mortification: Mind/Body/Spirit. I will just review Understanding the Ecological Role as a 10” at this early stage in the project demonstrates impressive commitment. The members are two identities – Kshayaath and HTV, two people or two personalities, who knows? 

I Opened Your Eyes: This track really seems to go for a trebly assault, with sharp, jittering frequencies, this is a very abrasive track that radiates and pulsates. The sharp assault is impressive, the relentless repetition and consistency in the amount of noises used is good, it doesn’t suffer from death by overload, which can kill off a lot of noise that does this, it no longer becomes effective. There are vocals warped into the mix well, they are woven in tightly. Now I Have to Close Them; both titles blend in together to form one sentence. This track really pulsates into action as a cut up, distorted vocal goes off whilst sharper frequencies cut in and form a mesh of noises. The chopped vocal makes it another abstract noise so it becomes a part of the track, rather than leading it, which I like.

This whole record is very raw, roots Power Electronics, the noise angle is really emphasised in the sound and flits between layered and stripped down during the record. I feel it is way more leaning into Noise and Power Electronics with a hint of Death Industrial, both tracks are strong. This is a solid, outstanding release and I am very glad my adventures led me to Wolvestribe.

Choppy Noodles 2019.

Dead Normal - new, urgent stuff with a sharp aim.

DEAD NORMAL -There Is Nothing Left But The Enjoyment Of  Senseless Destruction – LP – 2019 – Harbinger Sound.

Dead Normal Bandcamp

Dead Normal Facebook.

Dead Normal - Live 2017 by me.

Dead Normal - There Is Nothing Left But The Enjoyment Of  Senseless Destruction LP.

Back in February 2017 I went to see Sutcliffe Judgend play live in London with a four other solid acts  supporting, these included: In Search of Death, Antichildleague and Black Scorpio Underground. An amazing act called Stark was meant to play on the bill, but had to cancel, Stark is Bagman and Bagman is very heavy duty and one of the best PE acts in the UK - an unsung hero. I wouldn’t have liked to have been the act that had to be the compensation for his cancellation, and I wasn’t prepared for the act that actually stepped up and did this. They were called Dead Normal; they were from Barcelona. When they came on it was that nasty brand of cold, choppy electronics with beats woven into the texture of the work. Everything was very direct, this was added to by a sharp delivery of vocals from two vocalists - Zoe and Oriel with noise by D. Forma. They were very ‘street’ and I felt I had received a sonic bollocking for 40 minutes and when they finished, I wanted more. This was one of Dead Normal’s first gigs, the bar was set high that night. For years I have been excited to see what they come up with.

The album is immediately on target, it is that live performance intensified massively and perfected over years. Oriel Rosell’s vocal has intensified, the delivery less sarcastic and more targeted and Zoe V is needle sharp, pointed and factual. The electronics provided by D. Forma (Marrio G Ferrer) are concise, stripped down only what is needed to serve the  work. The delivery and urgent repetition transcribe as punk urgency, Bobby is an excellent example of this. In parts the delivery is cut up vocals that complement the choppy nature of the electronics. I don’t want to debunk the album with comparisons, but it seems to fall in with PE/noise that has clear lyrics, techno elements, sharp delivery and is amplified and intensified by lively, urgent electronics.

I often like to concentrate on how the electronics and vocals work together as one on albums and how the vocals become noise. Here they are too direct to do that, the vocals and noise become one in a different way in that they become an assaultive unit. The use of beat and looped, repetitive rhythm isn’t detrimental to the work, often beats and noise can easily fall to shit, this isn’t - it’s incorporated into the work effectively.

It’s hard to offer any criticisms about this album as it’s very strong and it easily one of my 2019 highlights of which there’s a lot of strong competition (read through my reviews). I’ve been listening to a lot of stuff that teases with techno and warped beats of which this shares parallels. This is a great debut album and I can’t praise it enough.

Choppy Noodles 2019.

ANTIchildLEAGUE - Infect Your Gut, Infect Your Thoughts.

ANTIchildLEAGUE – Infect Your Gut Infect Your Thoughts. 2018. Cassette. Bacteria Field. Bacteria Field 061.

 Track Listing.

A1. Infect Your Gut.

A2. Breath in Breath Out.

A3. Infect Your Thoughts.

A4. Resilience.

B1. Spineless Class War.

B2. Your Truth Won’t Make Me Free.

B3. Human Symbolism.

B4. Resilience (Baby Rats Mix).

I discovered the work of ANTIchildLEAGUE years ago via a blog. By then the project had done a demo, batch of singles and it’s first CD album. I’ve been a fan ever since and done a round up of the whole discography here there and everywhere. I liked the first demo a lot, the singles were great, and the album showed a lot of development. The eventual trilogy of albums was strong: The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost.

What’s followed over the last three years is even better -a batch of Cassettes – Holy Spirit, Bruises and Bites (split w Cronaca Nera) a split with The Rita and this album Infect Your Gut, Infect Your Thoughts. Throughout these recordings, the project has begun to mutate and form into something a lot nastier. It is as if a label says “Hi Gaya we want to release a cassette of your work, can you do something for us?” and Gaya says “Oh, cassette, brilliant, I’ll go even more apeshit than I do on CD, make my vocals into raw noise and I can really lose my shit big time!”

That’s exactly what’s happened, one of the angriest, most tortured, torturous ACL releases yet. It has traditional industrial elements that serve as the base for the horrid vocals and noise to kick in. The use of noise as urgency is stronger and more alarming throughout the album. There are times when the tracks seem to go on too long, however this technique makes the repetition and noise more punishing as if forcing the work to do its work better – making it work harder until it is exhausted and finally ready to die. There are bits of spoken more coherent dialogue, but it’s the abstraction of voice where the voice is strongest. You can hear ACL straining at its limits as a project across Infect; this adds manic tension.

There was recently a gig in New York, what was it like? Was it as good as this? Seeing acts like this is so hard and rare in the UK, it’s like a release when you do. Performances or Shows become urgent, explosive actions – violent acting out. If it doesn’t work to this effect, it tends to serve as an excuse to go home early. That’s what makes Power Electronics so taboo here in the UK, so underground and still unique. So, part of this review is a call to action.

Along with Hellworm and The RITA split this is the strongest ACL work to date.

Choppy Noodles 2018.

ANTIchildLEAGUE /The RITA split cassette

ANTIchildLEAGUE / THE RITA – split tape.2018. Cassette. Obsessive Fundamental Realism.

Obsessive Fundamental Realism - http://obsessivefundamentalrealism.blogspot.com/

ANTIchildLEAGUE - https://antichildleague.bandcamp.com/

https://hagshadow.net/

The RITA - http://bakurita.blogspot.com/

ANTIchildLEAGUE

-Elephant in the room you can control.

-I’d rather stay in my hell than share your paradise. No remorse.

-Psychometric test.

-Larva epidemic.

THE RITA

-Gaya Donadio Study (Audio and Aesthetic).

The ACL side of this split starts small with eerily atmospheric and minimal sound. It eventually juxtaposes vague background dialogue and noises that gradually build up. Beeps and drones are playful; other sounds contrast this by snarling at and threatening the listener. In parallel to this the sound shifts from being chaotic to knowingly structured.

On here vocals are used as noise and aren’t often coherent or spoken; screamed hysteria cuts into tracks dramatically and builds extra layers on what is already there. On later tracks beeps and drones become nauseous and intimidating as horrible vocal sounds bully until waves of static offer an alternate static, waves of static distortion flood the proceedings. Larva Epidemic is part ambient soundscape interrupted by urgent repetitive noise.

ACL gleams when the noise is left to do most of the work and titles are suggestive without binding the work too tightly to an overall concept. As I play this release I can immediately say that this is thankfully the  ugliest, rawest ACL release in ages – Best work yet.

The Rita are now a duo of Sam McKinlay and Arlie Doyle, they deliver a slab of noise which is direct and immediate; you are thrown straight in the middle of layers of deep, dense, static walls of distortion. This is cut into with drops and quick stops in sound intermittently with change provided by some impressive shifts across the stereo range and changes of the overall tone of the walls sound. Screaming noise reveals behind the main wall of static and its continually crackling distortion as my attention shifts.

As with many Rita releases the cover is adorned with legs, this time in fishnet stockings/tights. Gaya Donadio appears on the rear cover in heavy eyeliner and a fishnet mask. Women’s legwear - a regular Rita theme dominates this recording. I personally respect this dedication to one’s own interests and with this I finally get why I love the Rita releases that I have. The bold abstract qualities of The Rita have forced the same out of ACL resulting in a solid recording that is typical of Obsessive Fundamental Realism’s growing line of releases.

Choppy Noodles - 2018

Ramleh - A Return to Slavery

Ramleh- A Return to Slavery. Harbinger Sound – 2017 – LP – Harbinger 161-

http://www.brokenflag.com/ http://harbingersound.bigcartel.com/

Personnel: Gary Mundy and Jerome Clegg.

Tracklisting 

A Return to Slavery

Nordhausen

New Force

Phenol

Squassation

Prossneck

The Hand of Glory (PT. 1)

The Hand of Glory (PT.2)

Formed in 1982 Ramleh are one of the key pioneers of the early UK Power Electronics scene. They initially combined blunt subject matter and artwork: their sound has a layered psychedelia adding confusion and distortion. Intensified emotion is buried into everything they do, this is also something that seemed prominent in the work of several Broken Flag artists. Ramleh has always seemed to aim to unsettle the listener emotionally, especially in their live approach, this was still very evident when I saw them several years ago.

A Return to Slavery is one of many recent reissues of early 80s Ramleh material originally from their early days on their own Broken Flag label. Originally recorded in 1983 as a split album with Philip Best’s Libertarian Recordings project. It now has The Hand of Glory material on the B-side to replace it, now making this a complete Ramleh release. The Black and White cover artwork shows a body being dissected, framed in the classic Broken Flag visual layout.

The Return to Slavery side revels in combinations of low end and high-pitched sounds while Gary Mundy and Jerome Clegg scream out shards of agonised vocal noise. Bleak samples are coupled with rumbling electronics as sharp frequencies dissect everything.  Their use of sounds will often combine around four elements and suddenly drop down to two and let them linger as if to allow for the vocal noise to have an intensified effect. Oddly, there is still a warmth to the sound, cold starkness wasn’t really Ramleh’s thing; the Ramleh approach is very different to other pioneers of the time. The vocals radiate sadness, hurt and pain; like the artwork, it further conceptualises the overall concept.

Recorded four months later, The Hand of Glory is a denser recording that is even bleaker than A Return to Slavery. Warbling psychedelic electronics and sharp wailing noises build up to continually shove the vocals into the background as electronics eventually oscillate and squeal over them. However, as the record progresses the defiant vocal shoots to the forefront and echo around the proceedings.

In one of Facebook’s many Power Electronics/Death Industrial groups, one of Ramleh’s later releases (Hole in the Heart) was recently listed as an essential Death Industrial recording. At first, I was confused by this, but on the Return to Slavery release, there are key essential sounds in place that would later come to fruition as an influence on other artists of that genre such as infected keyboards, pained vocals, dramatic shifts between full and minimal sound with over the top repetition.

Ramleh continue to push new boundaries with their Noise and guitar based work, particularly the recent Circle Time album. Their most recent Power Electronics album 2009’s Valediction along with Mundy’s recently prolific work as Kleistwahr continues to develop and intensify the Ramleh sound of old. However, a Return to Slavery serves as an important document in noise history and cements Ramleh’s importance as true innovators and a continued force.   

 http://harbingersound.bigcartel.com/

 http://brokenflag.com/

Choppy Noodles 2017