Hour 1
2:03 am Machinefabriek ~ “Chinese Unpopular Song” ~ Weleer ~ Lampse Audiovisual Recordings ~ 2006
2:05 am Nurse With Wound ~ “Congregatio Pro Doctrina Fedei” ~ Dark Fat ~ United Dirter ~ 2016
2:11 am Joshua Sabin ~ “Vitro” ~ Terminus Drift (new) ~ Subtext ~ 2017
2:14 am AWE ~ “Rotor” ~ mp3 (new) ~ Soundcloud ~ 2016
2:16 am VHVL ~ “0004” ~ evn (new) ~ Leaving Records ~ 2016
2:19 am Ricky Eat Acid ~ “Know” ~ Talk To You Soon (new) ~ Terrible ~ 2016
2:20 am Anthony Child ~ “Nine Personality Type Map” ~ Electronic Recordings from Maui Jungle Vol 2 (new) ~ Editions Mego ~ 2016
2:24 am Morlox ~ “Alien Death Strike” ~ cassingle (new) ~ Backwards ~ 2016
2:30 am Novi_sad ~ “Sirens” ~ Sirens (new) ~ Sub Rosa ~ 2016
2:35 am Demdike Stare ~ “Hardnoise” ~ Wonderland (new) ~ Modern Love ~ 2016
2:45 am Ben Zimmerman ~ “Lead Sled” ~ Mains (new) ~ H.V.R.F. Central Command ~ 2016
2:49 am Fish Narc ~ “Draino” ~ Fish Snake Narc (new) ~ Pastel Voids ~ 2016
2:53 am Eva Weishaupt ~ “Areopagite” ~ Patriot (new) ~ H.V.R.F. Central Command ~ 2016
2:57 am Machine Girl ~ “Ohio3” ~ split tape w/ Five Star Hotel (new) ~ Visual Disturbances/Emergency Tapes ~ 2016 Hour 2
3:00 am Holy Palms ~ “Jungle Judge (gnawaRemake)” ~ Jungle Judge (new) ~ Artetetra ~ 2016
3:04 am Morlox ~ “Public (Qixoni’s Cremation of Care Mix)” ~ Alien Death Strike + Public Remixes! (new) ~ Backwards Records ~ 2016
3:07 am Executive Slacks ~ “Boring” ~ Seams Ruff ~ Dark Entries ~ 1981
3:10 am Zwischenfall ~ “Polar Magazine” ~ Sandy Eyes ~ Dark Entries ~ 1984
3:13 am Bendingbus ~ “And With Each Step a Wider and Deeper Dream” 7″ (new) ~ Hi-Fi Yeah ~ 2016
3:18 am Graeme Miller & Steve Shill ~ “Midwinter Rites” ~ The Moomins ~ Finders Keepers ~ 1983
3:21 am Saint Etienne remixed by Aphex Twin ~ “Who Do You Think You Are (Quex-rd)” ~ CD single ~ Heavenly ~ 1993
3:30 am Jesse Osborne-Lanthier ~ “Blackwell Dynonetics” ~ 12″ (new) ~ Raster-Noton ~ 2017
3:34 am Constellation Botsu ~ “Botsu_224” ~ グビロヶおもスロいって・ぶあ！！ (new) ~ H.V.R.F. Central Command ~ 2016
3:37 am Shapednoise feat. Rabit ~ “Pulling At The Seams Of Existence” ~ Deafening Chaos Serenity (new) ~ Type ~ 2016
3:46 am Lesley Flanigan ~ “Glacier” ~ Glacier ~ Physical Editions ~ 2014 Hour 3
4:00 am Common Eider King Eider ~ “Black Bough” ~ Extinction (new) ~ Cold Spring ~ 2016
4:08 am Florian von Ameln ~ “Komplement” ~ Rvvr (new) ~ Eilean Rec. ~ 2016
4:10 am Dub Tractor ~ “I’m Like You” ~ Hideout ~ City Centre Offices ~ 2006
4:13 am Telefon Tel Aviv ~ “Reak What (Archive ’99)” ~ Fahrenheit Far Enough (reissue) ~ Ghostly International ~ 1999
4:17 am Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie ~ “The Few of Us Left” ~ Salero soundtrack (new) ~ Erased Tapes ~ 2016
4:20 am Noname ~ “Freedom Interlude” ~ Telefone (new) ~ self-released ~ 2016
4:23 am Kaytranada ~ “Despite the Weather” ~ 99.9% ~ XL Recordings ~ 2016
4:25 am Devata Daun ~ “Animal Instincts” ~ Look (new) ~ Pytch Records ~ 2016
4:28 am Flava D ~ “Clarity” ~ FabricLive.88 (new) ~ Fabric ~ 2016
4:31 am Wordclock ~ “It’s Late” ~ Endless ~ Cryo Chamber ~ 2014
4:42 am Jib Kidder (local) ~ “Seven” ~ Jib Kidder ~ We’re Twins Records ~ 2004
4:44 am Sankt Otten/N ~ “Auf Drei Lassen Wir Los” ~ Männerfreundschaften Und Metaphysik (new) ~ Denovali ~ 2016
4:48 am Mike Tamburo ~ “The Chameleon and the Crow” ~ Basket Full of Dragons: A Tribute to Robbie Basho Vol II (new) ~ Obsolete Recordings ~ 2016
4:56 am Sun Ra and His Outer Space Arkestra ~ “The Bridge” ~ Singles: The Definitive 45s Collection 1952-1991 ~ Strut ~ 1967 Hour 4
5:00 am Tiger Hatchery ~ “Sonic Bloom” ~ Sun Worship ~ ESP-Disk ~ 2013
5:06 am Little Annie ~ “Bitching Song” ~ Trace (new) ~ Tin Angel ~ 2016
5:10 am Prosternatur ~ “Hydragyrum” ~ Abyssus Abyssum Invocat (new) ~ Mercenary Musik/Symbolic Art Productions ~ 2016
5:12 am Virginia Wing ~ “Permaboss” ~ Forward Constant Motion (new) ~ Fire ~ 2016
5:14 am The Empire Line ~ “Fragrance Arpège” ~ Syndicat de la Couture (new) ~ Avian ~ 2017
5:19 am Florian Kupfer ~ “Track 03 Cut” ~ mp3 (new) ~ Soundcloud ~ 2016
5:25 am Ssaliva ~ “Bearable” ~ mp3 (new) ~ Soundcloud ~ 2016
5:29 am Scheich in China ~ “B” ~ Scheich in China (new) ~ V I S ~ 2016
5:33 am Siriusmo ~ “Rantanplant” ~ Enthusiast ~ Monkeytown ~ 2013
5:37 am Oli XL ~ “Rogue Idiot” ~ Tracer Wanz (new) ~ W – I ~ 2016
5:39 am J. Albert ~ “Sahara Desert Dating App” ~ mp3 (new) ~ Soundcloud ~ 2016
5:45 am A Made Up Sound ~ “P.P.B.” ~ A Made Up Sound (new) ~ A Made Up Sound ~ 2016
5:49 am King Britt ~ “9.11 (Dreamers)” ~ Up Too Early (new) ~ Friends of Friends ~ 2017
5:54 am Whetzel ~ “Moving Forward” ~ Beatology Volume I (new) ~ self-released ~ 2016
Bendingbus: And With Each Step A Wider And Deeper Dream 7″
Pleasant downtempo instrumental pop made with old-school analog synths. Surprisingly, this doesn’t try too hard to sound retro. It’s not some sort of intentionally kitschy thing like Moog Cookbook (probably a really outdated reference but whatever, I still love their albums). It’s gently playful, but not novelty music. It’s more like an electronic lullaby than anything else, like Solvent putting his kids to bed (or somebody’s kids, I don’t know if he has kids). Or think Raymond Scott’s Soothing Sounds For Babies, but actually soothing rather than manic, and short and structured to fit on a 45. Or maybe this is an artifact from an alternate universe where Plone became the biggest band in the world, and this is a tour-only 7″ from their 5th world tour following their 8th consecutive #1 album. The dream only gets wider and deeper. The B-side is an even more mellow version of the A-side, for sweeter dreams. Bliss out on Bandcamp.
With H.V.R.F. (Hard Vapour Resistance Front) Central Command, we have yet another netlabel that releases way too much material for anyone to keep track of, unless you only devote your time to listening to one label’s output. I definitely love the idea of Hard Vapour though. Too much vaporwave just seems so jokey and memey and gimmicky and effort-free. HV has much more bite to it, it’s closer to gabber and breakcore and IDM. Dream Catalogue and H.V.R.F. know what the fuck they’re doing. Patriot is my introduction to this label and it’s a total smash. Some of this might’ve been called “braindance” 20 years ago (especially standout “Rex”) but it’s more blown out and aggressive, yet there’s still some more crystalline moments like “Dirigens”. “Minerval” shocks the hell out of some sugary rave chords, but it seems more earnest than some sort of ironic PC Music thing. “Areopagite” is closer to footwork, and it straight up smacks your face. Best debut release of the year? If not the best, maybe the hardest. Free download on Bandcamp.
The jazzy drums and very-nearly-worn-through loops of the opening track hooked me immediately. Then it sounds like hundreds of birds are attacking a string quartet. Then there’s thick, melodic tones and scraggly guitars. Very abstract, but at the same time very directly emotional. Von Ameln has such a unique way of putting together sounds which are wayward and wavy and loose, but yet still make absolute sense. Also, every single track on this album sounds totally different. Such a huge range covered here. Kind of astonished that this guy isn’t more well known. Unbelievably good. Listen at Bandcamp.
So as you might have noticed, I’m playing catch-up today, uploading reviews I wrote but never posted and finally getting around to writing about stuff I’ve had for weeks/months and just never got around to. Now that it’s winter I’ll hopefully get around to most of the tapes and downloads (not as many vinyl records or CDs) that people have sent me that I said I’d get to and never did. Pastel Voids has released an enormous amount of music and I’ve only mentioned a few things they’ve put out, but they are deserving of far more press. This is an album of remembrances of TV or movies or concerts. It’s something like lo-fi big-room, cartoon pop, scattered electro, plastic toy rave, bleep-house transmitted from cat whiskers. “(Not As) Nasty As I Wanna Be” might just be Mark Bell’s ghost speaking to us through Fish Narc’s equipment. Other songs trap trap in a hamster wheel, and others beg to be let out of the doghouse. No reason to doubt it when Fish Narc says they really mean it. Available at Bandcamp (limited tapes/pay what you want DL).
Former WCBN-er Thomas Meluch returns to the 7″ format with this lovely little snapshot. Each copy comes with a postcard, and the music has a similar captured-in-time feeling, especially since the songs were based on writings and recordings from the beginning of the century. “Seize” is a light, pleasant ambient folk tune, but the real treat is “Marre”, a thick cloud of scratchy loops and heavy longing. Also, it’s worth mentioning that this is on an Italian label called Backwards, not the Backwards Records from Denver whose artist Morlox I just reviewed today (or the related Backwards NW from Seattle).
Carson Cox w/ Sam York & Austin Brown: Fire Dance 7″
This 7″ brings together members of Merchandise, WALL, and Parquet Courts, but it sounds nothing like you’d expect. It’s better than you’d expect, actually. It’s some sort of lo-fi new wave goth disco, with synths and drums both live and programmed. The A-side title track is a more uptempo dance jam, with shuffling drums, sizzling synths, and several shades of space-age noises. There’s a lot of layers to this one, but it doesn’t sound over-stuffed, it’s all tuned into the same groove. “Rene”, on the other side, is slower and more industrial. The guitars are sharp and searing, and they swarm around you like hawks, but they’re still no match for the sequencers and battering drum machines, and the vocal chant “memories”. It’s punishing and intense. Pre-order at Wharf Cat.
Newest album of ultra-depressive lo-fi creepcore from Carlos Gonzales. His songs seem like they barely hold together, but they actually do, and a lot of them are actually proper songs with verses and choruses. They’re just slow and bleak and use cheap keyboards and minimal guitar. Sometimes there’s radio static transmissions mixed in, or voices captured from the dead and looped. “Screaming in a Car” is a capella and really haunting. “Bellevue” is a tape-loop/keyboard instrumental that seems like it’s stuck in a soap opera and can’t escape. “Along the Way” is just guitar and vocals, and a slight bit more uptempo than the rest. He does a lot with a little, and he has an incredible way of expressing emptiness. It seems a lot more vague than it really is. Very much recommended for the Jandek fan in your life.
So I’ve reviewed one of Variant’s many recent releases on this blog before, and I basically said that while he certainly sticks to a certain sound (and yes, his albums can tend to sound like variations on each other), some of them hit harder than others. This one is definitely another one that just devastates. It’s very washed out ambient dub techno, but there’s just such a sense of despair and lost-ness to this one. There’s also beats, and they pump away like you’d expect from dub techno, but they seem to barely puncture through the thick waves rather than becoming the central focus. Seriously, this is deep as hell. I don’t want to get out. Get lost on Bandcamp. And yes, it blips out for a second about three minutes in, that’s just how it happened because this was a live one-take recording and it couldn’t be edited out.
James Whetzel plays dozens of instruments and has explored soundtracks and world fusion with his many releases. Here, he begins a study of hip-hop beats. He plays around with placing the kicks and snares in unexpected places. He also uses instruments not usually associated with hip-hop like accordion, dholak, and sarod. The more off-base it gets, the more original it sounds (such as tracks 3, 4, 7, and 9). Pretty neat! Available on Bandcamp.
![Variant: Vortexual [Element Seven]](https://theanswerisinthebeat.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/variant7.jpg?w=300&h=300)
The Answer Is In The Beat 