Choppy
Noodles > Nevis Kretini – Best of 2019.
This has been an amazing year, so many ace releases. Too many names to mention, it was impossible to limit to 10,so here are my 12 favourites.
I
knew of Rusalka, but this was the first time that I really listened - I reviewed
this on first listen. Base Waters shifts through a lot of changes in Sonic
Language over two tracks to create an album of powerful conceptualised effect. The
sound builds to massive proportions as the language shifts and I am now very
aware of this top tier project.
I’ve
gradually accumulated a lot of Nacht Und Nebel releases over the years through
seeing the project play live. Both live shows and releases are always consistently
strong with the project playing with acts like Ramleh, Blackcloudsummoner, Vampyres,
Culver and many more over the years. However, this release really does stand
out against the others, here the project really ups its game. Sounds are all
sourced from a Cello and treated to varying degrees, overlaid to make epic compositions.
Both
releases by Ordeal by Roses on the Outsider Art label this year have been very strong,
I could have picked either of them. I’d call this a stand-alone, outsider
project based in Cardiff, Wales that has come from trauma to the self. This
took me by surprise, and I see this as a standout project amongst newer artists.
Niku
Daruma have been prolific this year, they featured on a lot of great split
releases as well as their own. They all do other noise related projects, but
this one really stands out. Some of the releases are base raw and work even
better and I could pick from a few of their releases. They seem like nice people
who turn into hysterical, violent monsters when performing, making amazing
Harsh Noise whilst erupting everywhere.
I met
this guy as he runs a tribute page to another noise artist, we got chatting and
he said he had his own project called Suffer in April. The first release Femme Fatale
is what I would call forward thinking Power Electronics, in contrast Pomona carries
on these methods yet goes elsewhere and radiates immense beauty.
This
is a beautifully presented cd that cases the angrier side of Entre Vifs. I
liked the previous album Ontologie a lot, but Offrande seems to go to much higher
levels of intensity. Entre Vifs use their own self-made instruments to create an
elaborate sound that is simultaneously structured and chaotic, yet to me they remain
one of the most brutal noise acts of the present day.
Wolvestribe
came to my attention when a label called Harsh Noise London sent me some of
their releases. HNL tend to put different artists on compilations together on
recycled audio cassettes – Wolvestribe were part of a 4-way split. I was very
impressed and had to investigate further and I was suitably convinced that we
have a new heavyweight amongst the newer UK noise crop. Wolvestribe release
their own lathe cut 10” records and frequently produce new material that is
consistently of a high standard.
I’ve
followed Testing Vault for over a decade now, the project has changed and
shifted gradually – with side projects that experiment in other areas of sound.
The output by the project has been consistently strong, but Amnesia Milk seems
to take the sound of reeds and drones that have been lurking in recent releases
and take a massive leap forward with them to perfect things. Amnesia Milk
eclipses Complete Shit Exorcism as the best Testing Vault recording so far.
S.T.A.B.
grabbed my attention as a strong modern-day project. On ‘Day of the Male’, the
vocals were next level. ‘Mother, Mother, Mother please’ as a repeated opening
sample opens Enemy of Pigs, this album is just bleak violence and pushes the
project forwards to new levels of intensity and quality. Seeing the project
live at the opening party for the release was something I will never forget. This
album is strong on every track, a consistent, impressive step up.
Outsider
art often releases Knifedoutofexistence and does batches of four cassettes, all
by different artists. The acts featured are often newer artists on the UK
scene, however this time veteran project Satori was featured. It’s a repeated
rule in PE that newer artists are where it is really at and older acts are
often seen to be not what they were once. When I saw Satori live this year,
that wasn’t the case, Dave Kirby was an unnerving presence which made for an effective
show. Satori has this distanced rage that I see come through in other Outsider
Art acts of the present day such as Ordeal by Roses and Knifedoutofexistence to
a point where I see it as being influential. To top it off this cassette is
excellent – clear evidence of an older act at the top of its game.
Both
releases by Active Denial are powerful, but this one is the best one, the sound
is stripped down, raw and intense. Horrible noise and ranted sermons of bile.
Active Denial are a name to watch as recordings and live performances are amazing.
Get both recordings if you can, this was so popular it was gone in the blink of
an eye and Research Laboratories reissued it. Thomas Laroche (one half of AD)
has a whole bunch of stuff on there that is a whole new nightmare running parallel
to this. I’m still not over the Summer of Hate, don’t know if I ever will be –
you’re still it.
I
often talk about distanced Power Electronics; this however uses restraint in
its sound – the tension that builds up as a result of this on Your Truth is enormous
and makes for an effective, powerful release. Noise and samples play off each
other, things pushed a hair’s length from their breaking points. This depiction
of the lies used in politics and media is the soundtrack of today.
Nevis Kretini 2019.
