In this six track EP, hxw hxw paints landscapes depicting the tortured spectrum of a broken mind, from aggression to indifference to loneliness to anxiety, entirely created using manipulated samples from anime.
download: bandcamp | archive.org
Tag: netlabel
186 / Phirnis – 2 Remixes by Phirnis
In between collaborative projects, Phirnis gives us his first solo release in two years, the playful 2 Remixes by Phirnis. While many of his previous offerings were all about noise as ambient drone, this one is about noise as a process.
download: bandcamp | archive.org | soundcloud | hearthis.at
181 / Cuckoo Spit: Sweet Tooth
Dreamy, saccharine vocals clash with socially acerbic lyrics in this misanthropic single written especially for the Holiday Season.
download: bandcamp | archive.org
170 / Cardigan of Wasps – Goreshit Roadkill
Insane, damaged, schizophrenic. Cardigan of Wasps takes a turn for even darker waters in the filthy noise-industrial mechanical monstrosity Goreshit Roadkill. The five unconventional remixes on this EP hack the original song to pieces, reassembling its remaining flesh and bones into beautiful depictions of ugliness.
Sakura Swarm: concept, composition, synth, bass, mix, artwork, additional percussion
o terceiro invisível: percussion, additional ambience
Dr. Decker: plugs & pedals, arpy stringed instruments, chuggy bits
April Anthrax: saliva
Studio Ersatz: ear-splitting noise
download: bandcamp | archive.org
164 / Cardigan of Wasps – Rose Red
Industrial/electronic supergroup Cardigan of Wasps arrives with debut maxi-single Rose Red, featuring a stinging new song along with an experimental remix from every member of the band, each of which twists the title track in an entirely new direction.
Sakura Swarm: concept, composition, synth, bass, mix, artwork
o terceiro invisível: percussion
Dr. Decker: guitar, additional percussion
April Anthrax: voice, lyrics
download: bandcamp | archive.org
162 / Diropel – Yhnpivtr
‘Yhnpivtr’ is a short EP in which Diropel continues to explore environmental atmospheres, including sounds less affected by Paulstretch effects. These three soundscapes have dark and psychedelic textures that immerse the listener in worlds of deep relaxation.
download: bandcamp | archive.org
161 / hxw hxw – a body of water is a kind of mirror, i suppose
After years of silently releasing material without so much as a whisper, the mysterious hxw hxw (romanised from the Ancient Greek, meaning ‘echo echo’) brings us its first single ‘a body of water is a kind of mirror, i suppose’. These two songs have been remixed specifically for this release using elements taken from the upcoming album ‘narcissus stripped bare by his own eyes, even’.
download: bandcamp | archive.org
Netaudio / 60
Azureflex / Bipolar Bear
A short blast of fun 8-bit sounds, brought up to date, particularly in the stand-out last track. 8-bit music obviously often sounds familiar, but this is an exceptional quality EP within the limits of the genre.
Man Watching the Stars / Dusk
An intense ambient album of orchestral drones created with violin and effects. This album is deep, involving and technically brilliant.
Crowns / Disk of Dust
An album of the future, as envisioned from the past. This album is a fantastic recreation and homage to the music of late 70s and early 80s science fiction movies, and principally the work of Vangelis. Full of lush, retro synthesis, this album is originally unoriginal but sounds fantastic.
Netaudio / 57
Jingha-a x 90sFlav / Catch’in The Vibe (EP)
Dusted Wax Kingdom have a longstanding tradition of putting out the very best in netaudio hip-hop, and this, their 286th release, totally lives up to the title. Part trip-hop, part old skool hip-hop, this is proudly stuck in the 90s with lo-fi loops, beats, clicks and cuts.
DR / 4 Drones
Etched Traumas netlabel bring four short ambient drones from German producer Dominic Razlaff who employs field recordings, synthesizers and tape loops to great effect. Chords wash in and wash out from background layers of static, warm distortion meets the coldness of the chords and melodies.
Various Artists / Gem Drops Four
Gem Drops Four is a compilation album from the Dropping Gems netlabel featuring 21 tracks of prime glitch hop from Portland, USA. Particularly amazing is the track Falling by Vandetta, a ghostly acapella.
Netaudio / 55
This week we have two suggestions from Phirnis and one from Heskin Radiophonic.
Bad Kisser / Loss
Clocking in at a mere five minutes, Loss is every bit as curious as it is alluringly short. Drenched in an overbearing amount of reverb, this sounds pretty close to what might have emerged from a fantasy collaborative project consisting of Loveless-era MBV and Japan’s finest, The Gerogerigegege, abandoned once and for all after only a single day’s worth of preliminary writing and recording. It’s that good.
The Volumes Setting Folder / Heidelberg EP
Heidelberg is a city prone to romantic idealization. On this sweetly brief record (can you sense I love whenever people keep it short?), that somewhat nostalgic notion is translated into some of the downright most satisfying drone music of recent memory. Comes with a PDF file featuring scans of several vintage postcards addressed to one Fräulein Babette Metzger, Sophienstraße 19.
Fountain / Fountain
Fountain play angular guitar music, with clashing polyrhythms. It’s distinctly lies in a post-punk groove, both in terms of sound writing and production – this record could easily have come from Manchester in 1978, but it comes from Australia in 2014. If you like the idea of a band that sounds like Wire jamming with Captain Beefheart, this is probably the record for you.
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