Ritual Chair - Post Stacy.

Ritual Chair – Post Stacy. Cassette. Uninvited Records. UNR25. 2017.

https://ritualchair.bandcamp.com/

https://uninvitedrecords.bandcamp.com/album/post-stacy

  Side A.

   1.  I Hear Themis Calling.

   2.  Zeta Prayer.

   3.  I Have 5 Instagram Accounts.

   4.  The Creed.

  Side B.

   1.  Top House Sorority.

   2.  We Should Have Been Hazed.

   3.  How to Build A Personality.

Me: What’s a Sorority?

Friend: It’s Similar to Masonic Lodges with Freemasons.

In the last Ritual Chair review, I moaned, saying I wanted more, so I was lucky that another tape arrived this week (Post – Stacy) - I’d had some Facebook and Discogs luck, Ritual Chair and Skeleton Dust Records came through for me this month. So straight to work.

I talked of the Esoteric aspect of Ritual Chair on the Lacrimae Arma Feminae Sunt cassette. This release is even more so, it is based around Ritual Chairs time in a Sorority. The warping of the dialogue is extreme to the point where you know it is there, yet it is inaudible due to the distortion and warping. The dialogue which I believe is the author and field recordings of time spent there is sometimes played out, then played back in reverse. It is as if she is trying to show the basic horror of that time and its events and then unearth it’s under currents until there is nothing left but what it is – a stripping away of the layers of time if you like.

The use of noise is subtle, it functions on a similar yet more discreet way to Brock Turner, the noise teases around the dialogue as if to be the point of view of the maker. The psychedelic through repetition and minimal use of different elements creates a dream-like state. Like Ashamed there are dialogues explaining what happened, it isn’t as clear, it’s warped and distorted. The esoteric aspect is how it is made to feel like a bad dream, your mood is shifted throughout the release, the past is unearthed, but it is made present by being mocked and dissected. Post Stacey is someone taking the peer pressure of the past and framing it as a picture. I am led to ask who is Stacey, is she a nickname, is she a bullying peer, a deceased peer? The feel of this tape is distressing, traumatic and haunted – it is a bad memory made into a C17. It is real, yet doesn’t feel other worldly, like a different dimension. The artwork seems to be the Sorority Crest in the hairs of a target.

The more I am pulled into this project, the more I am punished, the surprise of where it goes each time is a massive reward each time. Excellent work.

Choppy Noodles, 2019.

Ritual Chair – Lacrimae Arma Feminae Sunt

Ritual Chair – Lacrimae Arma Feminae Sunt – 2018 – Doughgirl Tapes. Cassette – DOUGH009.

https://doughgirltapes.bandcamp.com/album/lacrimae-arma-feminae-sunt

Definition - Tears are the weapons of a woman.

The immediate start of Lacrimae Arma Feminae Sunt guarantees that yet again I am surprised by the work of Ritual Chair, this release from 2018 differs greatly from Ashamed (2019) and Brock Turner (2018). This more of a noise release with drones and a psychedelic use of warping and distortion; the vocals shift from spoken to screamed over news samples and noise. I feel that Lacrimae Arma Feminae Sunt represents the more abstract, esoteric side of the project. All 3 tracks remain a mystery by remaining untitled, no background information is given about the release, whereas others have been more forthcoming in their subject matter.

The mystery of the works content opens possibilities for the project way beyond what I imagined it to currently be. The subtle, slower use of rumbling noise and abstraction of the vocals does not weaken the work at all: it shifts it. Only the emotion is clear as the noise warps itself further, the vocal explosions are impressive and layered, morphing to become haunted as they mutter and mumble incoherently. Is the esoteric feel from an anger at the past (if it is past), a kind of ghost in itself, is the church like cover a link to some religious the theme buried in the work? The vocals remain the dominant instrument; upset, pain and tears are turned into weapons for sure. My only complaint is that I was left wanting more, however this mini album is excellent, as is this project.

Choppy Noodles 2019.

Ritual Chair Overview.

Ritual Chair – Brock Turner (Download, 2018) – Ashamed – (Download, Cassette, 2019).

https://ritualchair.bandcamp.com/

https://houseofruthinc.org/

A noise project based out of Pomona, CA. An ex-sorority girl who didn’t fit in, a girl who is trying to piece together how to move on through PTSD and depression.  Taken from Ritual Chair Facebook page.

I discovered Ritual Chair through a recommendation of her tape Ashamed on Facebook. This led me to the Bandcamp of the project that has a mass of Ritual Chair recordings to play and download, which lead me to the Brock Turner recording amongst others that she’s done.

Brock Turner – 2018. What’s effective in this recording is samples from the news coverage of the Brock Turner’s rape case are layered over noise. 20 minutes of action is the term Turner’s Father used in his reference for his son to the judge, that got him a reduced sentence of 6 months of which he only three months. The entire recording focusses on how Turner’s 20 Minutes of Action virtually ruined someone’s life, yet the defence turned this round claiming the incident ruined the rest of Turner’s life and his dreams rather than that of the victim? The use of noise throughout, creates tension and anxiety over the samples which emphasise the horror and effects of rape culture, white male privilege, Frat culture and flaws in the justice system.

The use of noise mocks and emphasises the words on the recording, the noise is the presence of the creator of Ritual Chair throughout. This highlights the hypocrisy and real-life horror of what happened. It demonstrates impressive use of Death Industrial noise; the drones are powerful. The infected hiss says plenty, it is a blade that rips open the law or society’s hypocrisy where rape is concerned and it is as hard hitting and effective as noise can get, this is a brilliant recording.

 The two titles of this years Ashamed cassette release are Rape and Assault. They are recordings of the artist (I assume) detailing two said events that happened in her life. Prior to this the narrative/vocals were tied in heavily with the noise to the point where it couldn’t easily be made out. On this the recording the narrative is dominant. The details of the Assault are steady and slightly distorted through crackling hiss. The horror of the events builds up gradually and details the grim sexism and sexual assault that happens in some people’s lives. It highlights the culture of guilt reversal.

Rape again uses narrative and no noise, it is entirely reliant on Ritual Chair’s spoken word. It highlights Rape through intoxication, blurred persuasion and the taking a condom off during sex without permission. The recording creates horror through description of real life events, it isn’t a character created, but a real person’s trauma and pain. The narrator questions herself, his actions, explains the aftermath, hopes for his death and so do I.

The direct nature of these and many recordings on the Ritual Chair Bandcamp are powerful and very personal. They highlight the results of the horror of some people and their actions. The use of noise on these two recordings is fairly minimal, it can be a lot busier on other recordings and vocals can be layered into the noise too. Here everything is precise and often well considered. Looking at the project’s Facebook, the live shows are well presented, punishing, intense rituals and they differ greatly each time. On one show a massive crescendo of noise is overtaken by dialogue, Ritual Chair comes from behind the equipment desk and gets right up to the audience. My main criticism is that leaving this project to the realms of Band Camp is like leaving something to the mercy of MySpace, I hope there will be more physical releases over time. The more I investigate this project, the more I’m blown away, is all I can say.

Choppy Noodles 2019.