Bandcloud 363
Nick Zanca, Noise à Noise, Hreám Recordings, Wthr Exposed, Stuart Cook, MEROUJ, margenrot, Dunya, cast coverts, The Department of Energy, Relaxer and Aho Ssan
It’s always been a slight shame of mine that most of the music that features here, no matter how hard I try, comes from the US or the UK. Someone recently shared a spreadsheet of “Eastern bloc” artists, and I’ve gone through a fair few and tried to feature some of them this week.
I was back in the DDR studio for the first time since March 2020 (I don’t want to say pre-pandemic because it had already started by then!). It was slightly ropey, and the first 10 minutes or so were dead air, but I got things going and I managed to play lots of great music. Some new bits, loads of records I’d bought just before lockdown began, even some stuff that was on my USB from the last time I’d been in the studio! Anyway, link here if you’re interested.
As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, a cacerolazo is a protest where people bang on pots and pans and other household implements. This album is a world away from that raucous clank, however, although there are moments of submerged thrash, almost like the point between two radio stations on the dial, with elements of hissing frequencies battling rock impulses for your full attention. At times it’s almost so subtle that it forces you to jack up the album to really feel what’s going on. An inventive approach.
Another selection of noise pieces from artists from Iran and based around the world. Spoken word samples and manipulations sit alongside deep and atmospheric vibes, while crunchy distortion prefaces intriguing sound art. I have a Bandcamp code for this for one interested party, so let me know if you’re keen.
VA - Music for Mental Health (Hreám Recordings)
‘Threnody to the sheer horror of living under a Tory government during a fucking pandemic’. A 27-track compilation raising money for mental health charity Mind, some of the stuff here is ambient, some weirdly expressive, some electronic and some just weird. ‘little charley’s a battler’ from dogs versus shadows sounds like a tripped-out take on ‘Piano Phase’. Underrated star of 2021 Quiet Clapping turns 21 minutes entitled ‘Drone Improv No. 1’. relay station’s ‘Y-Station Intercept IV’ sounds like its title, a surreptitious capturing of sounds found flicking through the airwaves.
Wthr Exposed - Things We Found In The Fire
This was shared with me by a friend, and while there is a backstory of sorts I’d like to refer instead to his description of the music:
“This is definitely what i would consider to be ‘desert ambient,’ inspired by long drives on dirt roads where you see thunderstorms sweep over vast expanses of dry land.”
We don’t have deserts in Ireland, and the closest thing to dirt roads are country roads like this, where ambient wash won’t really help you. Instead, maybe it’s music for staring into space as the birds fly by, the sun sets earlier and earlier and the air chills unexpectedly, following a similarly unexpectedly warm day.
Stuart Cook - Piano at 51°40'49.6"N 2°14'09.2"W
This album is built around recordings made of a broken-down piano in a playground. Every track makes use of the same recordings, and at times they’re unbearably crunchy and corroded. It’s a fascinating and fabulous piece of work. Obviously I’d stand over any piece of work that I share week to week, but I can see myself listening to this one for a long time to come.
Just two short minutes, but this murky slab of techno is driven by the word uttered about halfway through: restriction. It’s short, gets its point across briefly and manages to be thrilling and exciting without hanging about. Kind of reminds me of that DJ Lostcat piece from a few months back.
I don’t even know where to begin with this album. It’s like soft, quiet, electronic industrial. Lots of clangy sounds but in a gentle and squidgy way. Apparently Obkhod means detour, and that works, as some of the tracks sound like the feeling of forgetting what you’re doing, particularly the title track. It’s almost like regular ~electronica~ at times (whatever that means) but then you hear strange recordings and even the sound of a creaking door. It is October after all.
Dunya is a duo, Georgian artist FH HF and Tunisian artist Anasisana, and this is the result of a long-distance collaboration. This album comes on a label named Amulet of Tears, and the opening strains of the first track sound like the feeling of crying thick, weighty tears that stream down your cheeks. It’s called ‘A Wound Kisser’, which is either deeply romantic or disturbing; make your own mind up. The titles are all amazing actually, things like ‘Sympathy for Melancoly’, ‘You Are the Rain on My Dry Land’ and ‘To Feel Sad, Without Being Sad’, to name a few. Proper woozy sadness, really gorgeous sounds. Deep sigh.
12th ‘One Shot’ International short film festival At ACCEA/NPAK (mixed by cast coverts)
This mix is from cast coverts, aka Armenian artist Raf Gyoletsyan, is from the 12th ‘One Shot’ International short film festival. I think it was a live set/performance? It was shared this week but I can’t work out when it’s from. The music is strange and timeless (and even amusical at times) so I don’t think it matters. It’s rather striking and wholly engrossing. Not what you might expect to hear as a soundtrack to a film event but sure look.
The Department of Energy: Deep Water Dub
This is a rather stunning show, and I don’t know that I have the words to describe it.
“It is an immersive sonic experience containing – Kilmurry seconds, Anahalla minutes, Gougane Barra hours, white noise, incandescent particles, midwinter light, moving water, deep pools, burnt Ash, Volca bass, infrasonic artefacts, Alder embers, broken peaks, hidden valleys, temporal frequencies, electromagnetic radiation, noise pollution, empty space and The Hum”
It’s a “dub” of a sound installation from Listening to the Anthropocene at Coventry Cathedral, part of Coventry Biennial 2021. It’s deep and immersive, full of stretched sounds and evocative birdsong. DoE himself (itself?) explains all this in the opening minutes, but I would recommend you just dive into these murky waters.
New Relaxer alert! The artwork is at odds with previous music by the artist, offering an almost austere and abstruse entry point. However, the artist maintains that it represents “this open, airy material squeezed and wrestled into a contorted shape, suspended in air with an empty center”. As can be expected, once you press play, the album contains worlds that are enveloping, overwhelming, unsettling and fascinating. ‘Mello’ leans on percussion that wouldn’t be out of place during the prog-breaks period of the early 00s, while ‘Narcissus By The Pool’ is both gentle and sinister. A series of brief interludes offer snapshots of ideas, while the double whammy of ‘Twins’ and the closing title track offer intricate sound design that would make Objekt proud.
Last year’s Simulacrum was a standout record, reflecting on imagined heritage and looking to the future with simulated musicians. To accompany a vinyl release of the album, Aho Ssan has invited artists to rework each track from that album. These include FRKTL, Roly Porter, Ziúr and KMRU to name a few. The sounds are bold and striking, operating broadly within the framework set out by the original but stepping beyond it into atmospheric, almost orchestral ambience and lurching non-club club music.