Gench Thomas Dimuzio‘s presence in the alternative noise underground over the past thirty years or so is something that is hard to overlook. The ranks of artists with whom he has collaborated and the slew of labels on which his work has appeared are almost endless. The latest two releases […]
Monthly archives: November 2020
23 posts
Dais Moon’s milk was flowing strong with Coil’s transition from London to the Weston-lands. An eerie musicality crept over them on 1999’s Musick To Play In The Dark as future and past co-existed, the altar of white rainbows and unquiet skulls soaked up the coastal mists of their new shoreline […]
Blang Bit of a history lesson for you. Way back in the Before Times, when people used to do things outside together and Carole Baskin didn’t get blamed for everything by everyone, there were things called “festivals”. Now, what a festival was was when people would come from far and […]
One of the most flamboyant, original and exciting of synthesists in the world of modular synths and beyond, Thighpaulsandra has been pushing the boundaries of electronic music as a solo performer and as a member of Coil, Uruk (as a duo with Massimo Pupillo) and UUUU (with Valentina Magaletti, Matthew Simms […]
Lulu’s Sonic Disc Club (Australasia and Asia) / Upset The Rhythm (Europe and Americas) A love of hazy voices, alliteration and simple melodies infuses the spirit of Sleeper And Snake‘s Fresco Shed. As members of Terry and alumni of the Australian underground, you might be forgiven for thinking you know […]
Munster This is the first vinyl reissue of Tim Blake’s debut solo album in over forty years, and Munster has given Tim’s work the respect it deserves. The records are beautifully pressed on 180 gramme vinyl, and not only do you get the original album in all its glory, but […]
Kranky I think Ana Roxanne has really found their home on Kranky. This second album, expanding on last year’s ~~~, plays with the kind of delicate atmospheres and mysterious textures that are the label’s stock in trade. Ana choses a kind of gossamer fluidity and heavenly vocalising that washes over […]
Sub Rosa A celebration of Mr Burroughs’ Western Lands, for the The Acid Lands, the Prague-based Opening Performance Orchestra spike the punch with their choice of narrator, and I’ve got to say the choice is a solid one. Iggy Pop’s husky bloom coherently curls into Burroughs’ talismanic trails, romances the […]
Discus It is impressive what Hervé Perez has managed to accomplish on this latest album. With great assistance from Alex Hegyesi, they play an astonishing number of instruments, some of which (psaltery, kokiroko, caval) I have no idea what they are. What they have managed though is to totally encapsulate […]
Geo Graham Dowdall has been operating under the Gagarin moniker for twenty-five years now and yet each release manages to bring something fresh to the electronica table. The Great North Wood has an impressive if slightly disturbing photograph of a forest on the cover; the sort of forest in which […]
Upset The Rhythm The opener from the latest Green Child album Shimmering Basset moves like a dream; the drunken, weaving synths and Raven Mahon‘s light, airy vocals are captivating. It is all synthy heaven and stuns of spectral guitar, as if the duo caught sight of an ’80s synth band […]
Opal Compilations can be rather odd releases, especially ones that cover a large period of time. Normally tracks jar against each other as the artist refines their music and even change styles. This is not the case with Film Music 1976-2020, where Brian Eno’s work seamlessly melds together to give […]
Architects of Harmonic Rooms & Records Although Steffen Junghans has appended Basho to his last name out of a sign of respect for the legendary guitarist, it does not in any way detract from the unique direction of his own work. His latest album, the first in quite some time, […]
Young God / Mute “New Mind” was the soundtrack to a teenage holiday in Cornwall with a couple of mates. It was that kind of holiday: evil cows, bad beer, psychotic karaoke singers (the best-worst version of “Bohemian Rhapsody”), amyl nitrate dreams. One of the people on the trip also writes for […]
Courier The latest release from the ever reliable Courier is a real trip down memory lane for people of a certain age. The cover image shows a handle from a slam-door carriage of vintage British Rail rolling stock, which perhaps goes some way to showing how Ciclismo has set out […]
Timeless Editions are publishing The Universe Is A Haunted House: COIL through their art and archives, a new 400-page full colour hardback book compiled from the personal archives of John Balance and Peter Christopherson. Conceived not only as a showcase of Coil’s much-admired album artwork, but also to offer a […]
Aagoo Nicholas Merz plies the same kind of widescreen, literate music for adventurers that shares some similarities with the likes of The Triffids and The Go-Betweens; a deep, resonant voice, seemingly full of wisdom, backed by a thoughtful band that frames the lyrics and leaves space for the listener’s imagination.
Virgin After 2019’s monumental In Search Of Hades boxed set covering Tangerine Dream’s ’70s output, it’s fantastic that Virgin decided to finish the story by releasing the bands ’80s records on the label. This period is sometimes seen as a regroup and reform period for the band. During the 1970s, […]
Thrill Jockey Conceptual pranksters Matmos invited ninety-nine musical souls to do what thou wilt, with the blank canvas of the cover of the resulting The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises In Group Form an inkling of the freedom involved. Complete freedom? Well, not quite – the Matmos boys introduces a tiny […]
Ankst In my head, Datblygu are putting out records at a rate of knots, but it’s been five years since Porwr Trallod, so what do I know. Time gets slower over forty-odd years, maybe. For the uninitiated, Datblygu are something of a legend in Welsh-language music, and not enough of […]