I posted about a Solypsis tape last year after I saw him in Ann Arbor. He releases way too much music to keep track of, but a few of his recent recordings have caught my attention. Smoke Signals was one of two albums he released on Component last year. This one is focused on his techno side, with many tracks having upfront 4/4 beats which slowly become layered with noise and glitch. Other tracks are more fractured and blown out, eventually becoming more deconstructed and pulverized. There’s a few bits of industrial cyber-hip-hop, and lots of scorching noise techno. It’s an hour and a half long, and lots of the tracks go on for a while, so some of it feels like live jams. Some mindblowing feedback and flanging and other fucked up effects on tracks like “Painfully Tight”. So much to process, but yeah, it’s worth it.
Solypsis: Noise Is Natural
Noise Is Natural appeared on TRASHFUCK, and unsurprisingly, it is a huge, heavy slab of harsh noise. The album contains a lot of tracks that are under 2 minutes, but it’s actually the longer ones that leave a greater impression. Opener “Alone Time” has such a full, all-encompassing sound, and it moves around in all directions. And it’s just so huge and full-sounding. Other tracks are more lo-fi and transistor-y, so they don’t have quite the same impact. Then others like “The Shed” are more fragmented and seem to have a few things going on at once.
Solypsis & Catdog: Resisting Arrest
Solypsis also released a split album with Catdog called Resisting Arrest, on Legs Akimbo Records. The Solypsis tracks have more big, nasty, dirty beats and noise crunching. Some of it’s a bit closer to hardcore/gabber, but still somewhat streamlined in a way. “Millions of Splinters” sounds like just that, in the most overwhelming way possible. Catdog’s tracks take up the second half of this album, and they are absolutely the best material I’ve heard by him. Just a really solid mix of raggacore, atmospheric jungle, and breakcore obliteration. Tracks like “Who Dem Wan Sound” just bomb everything out of the sky.
I didn’t even realize how old this tape was until just looking it up, but I might as well still review it anyway. I need to keep better track of all the tapes stacking up on my desk. Teen Action Records doesn’t seem to get talked about much, even though they’ve been around a while and released tapes by Emeralds and Bee Mask. They also seem to have slowed down their release schedule, and their website doesn’t even mention this tape. It’s still out there in the world if you look for it, though. Most of the artists are pretty much unheard-of, outside of the label’s catalog, but label regulars like S.C.O.A.M., Univac, and Hiss and Hum are present. The best tracks mix cosmic spaciness with heavy sludge, but not in a metal way, in a slow, enveloping dark drone way. The creepy backwards voices and starry melodies of Eezrah Mason’s tracks particularly stand out. Otherwise, some ominous pianos, and plenty of corroded filth distortion. The second side gets more doomy, and then eventually more noisy. There’s some rickety space techno in there somewhere too. And some circuit bent Speak N Spell at the end of the tape, which is never not fun.
This one starts out sounding like it’s drifting up from a swamp, then it gets into sludgy heartbeats and grainy, disoriented textures. There aren’t many tracks but a bunch of them are kind of on the slower side, but not necessarily sounding like they’re slowed down or sluggish. There’s something steady and aware about them. Then the last track is more uptempo and clicky, and reminds me of a lot of Ryan Huber’s recent work. It ends just as unassumingly as it begins.
v/a: House, Disco, Boogie, And Other Oddities tape
This came out a while ago and has already sold out two pressings, so I’m assuming people know about it already, but my copy’s been sitting on my desk for a while so I might as well get around to posting about it. It’s the first release on the Easy Bay label, and as the title indicates, it’s heavily inspired by ’80s funk, R&B, and dance music. Yes, there’s some 100% Silk-style deep house (but not lo-fi or outsider house), and some of it does get pretty out-there, such as the woozy, fuzzy synths on “Walk” by Ajukaja (a regular collaborator of Maria Minerva). Then there’s a borderline electo-swing track by Boogie Butter, and then on the second side it really starts to sound more like ’80s boogie instrumentals. There’s also an incredible Italo-influenced track by Cherushii (R.I.P.) which lives up to its title “Sunburst in My Sequencer”. Actually, listening again, it’s more house-y overall than I remember when I listened before. Anyway, you can still download it for free on Bandcamp.
Hour 1
2:01 am Lusine ~ “The Level” ~ Sensorimotor (new) ~ Ghostly International ~ 2017
2:06 am Herva ~ “Meta Wave” ~ Hyper Flux (new) ~ Planet Mu ~ 2017
2:10 am Telefon Tel Aviv ~ “TTV” ~ Fahrenheit Fair Enough (reissue) ~ Ghostly International ~ 2001
2:14 am Kingdom ~ “Nurtureworld” ~ Tears In The Club (new) ~ Fade To Mind ~ 2017
2:17 am Sevendeaths ~ “Remote Sympathy” ~ Remote Sympathy (new) ~ LuckyMe ~ 2017
2:22 am Dennis Busch ~ “New Yor” ~ Total Youth ~ Pingipung ~ 2012
2:26 am Quarta330 ~ “Digital Lotus Flower” ~ Pixelated (new) ~ Hyperdub ~ 2017
2:32 am Conrad Schnitzler ~ “Lichtpunkte und schwarze Zeichen” ~ Filmmusik 2 ~ Bureau B ~ 1978
2:39 am Camp Candle ~ “Fogged Glass” ~ mp3 (new) ~ Manimal Vinyl ~ 2017
2:43 am Vagabon ~ “Minneapolis” ~ Infinite World (new) ~ Father/Daughter ~ 2017
2:46 am Staring Problem ~ “Lifelines” ~ 7″ (new) ~ Modern Tapes ~ 2016
2:50 am Hydropark ~ “Nonsense (Lymangrover Mix)” ~ untitled fifth tape (new) ~ Life Like ~ 2016
2:53 am Thundercat ~ “Uh Uh” ~ Drunk (new) ~ Brainfeeder ~ 2017
2:55 am Human Mirth Tube Unit ~ “MT-68_d_Chords” ~ SD10 ~ Squiggle Dot ~ 2016
2:58 am Five Star Hotel (local) ~ “Fluid K” ~ split tape w/ Machine Girl (new) ~ Visual Disturbances/Emergency Tapes ~ 2016 Hour 2
3:01 am Machine Girl ~ “Hidden Power (Phase δ)” ~ WLFGRL ~ Dred Collective ~ 2014
3:09 am Machine Girl ~ “Luciferian Live Version” ~ split tape w/ Five Star Hotel (new) ~ Visual Disturbances/Emergency Tapes ~ 2016
3:14 am Machine Girl ~ “Out By 16 (ACIDPUNKMIX)” ~ Gemini ~ Orange Milk ~ 2015
3:18 am BLÆRG ~ “Unremitting Oscillation” ~ The Stolid Membrane (new) ~ Immigrant Breast Nest ~ 2017
3:22 am Dedekind Cut ~ “Fear in Reverse 2” ~ The Expanding Domain (new) ~ Bandcamp ~ 2017
3:25 am DJ Rashad x DJ Spinn x Taso ~ “Royal House VIP” ~ Teklife Till Tha Next Life Vol. 2 ~ Teklife ~ 2015
3:30 am Earthen Sea ~ “Apparent Lushness” ~ An Act of Love (new) ~ Kranky ~ 2017
3:33 am Arthur Russell ~ “Home Away From Home (Andy Stott Refix)” ~ mp3 (new) ~ Modern Love ~ 2017
3:37 am Evan Caminiti ~ “Possession” ~ Toxic City Music (new) ~ Dust Editions ~ 2017
3:43 am Johan Agebjörn & Mikael Ögren ~ “Motor Stop, 6km to Suoyarvi” ~ We Never Came to the White Sea (new) ~ Spotted Peccary ~ 2017
3:46 am Offthesky ~ “Halcyon Blurr” ~ Silent Went The Sea (eilean 38) ~ Eilean Rec. ~ 2016
3:52 am Visible Cloaks ~ “Bloodstream” ~ Reassemblage (new) ~ Rvng Intl ~ 2017
3:55 am Oxykitten ~ “PBCWHBMN&S” ~ Gleeking the Cube ~ self-released ~ 2016
3:57 am On Fillmore ~ “Bota Fogo” ~ Happiness of Living (new) ~ Northern Spy ~ 2017 Hour 3
4:00 am Black Deer ~ “67 Fallout” ~ Fascinating Holiday ~ L.I.E.S. ~ 2016
4:05 am I-f ~ “Theme From PACK (Extended 12″ Version)” ~ 12″ ~ Interdimensional Transmissions ~ 1999
4:12 am Jega ~ “ZX82” ~ Call Super: Fabric 92 ~ Fabric ~ 1995
4:15 am Bleaching Agent ~ “Operai” ~ Vectors 3 (new) ~ Power Vacuum ~ 2017
4:21 am Caracoa ~ “Blood of Deception” ~ New Middle Passage (new) ~ Inam Records ~ 2017
4:24 am Architectural ~ “5ª# Opera” ~ Metropolitan Opera (new) ~ Architectural ~ 2017
4:31 am Kandodo McBain ~ “Pelagic Deep Blue Haze” ~ Lost Chants/Last Chance ~ Rooster Rock ~ 2016
4:39 am The Beau Biens (local) ~ “Times Passed” ~ 7″ ~ Malibu ~ 1967
4:42 am Vaguess ~ “Life’s Long Enough” ~ Guilt Ring (new) ~ Sinderlyn ~ 2017
4:43 am R. Stevie Moore & Jason Falkner ~ “I H8 Ppl” ~ Make It Be (new) ~ Bar/None ~ 2017
4:46 am Tobin Sprout ~ “A Walk Across the Human Bridge” ~ The Universe and Me (new) ~ Burger Records ~ 2017
4:49 am Stef Chura (local) ~ “Spotted Gold” ~ Messes (new) ~ Urinal Cake Records ~ 2017
4:51 am Bonny Doon (local) ~ “Lost My Way” ~ Bonny Doon (new) ~ Salinas ~ 2017
4:56 am Froth ~ “Contact” ~ Outside (briefly) (new) ~ Wichita ~ 2017 Hour 4
5:01 am Ibibio Sound Machine ~ “Joy (Idaresit)” ~ Uyai (new) ~ Merge ~ 2017
5:04 am Pick a Piper ~ “Nikko” ~ Distance (new) ~ Tin Angel ~ 2017
5:09 am Throwing Snow ~ “Recursion” ~ Embers (new) ~ Houndstooth ~ 2017
5:15 am Moiré ~ “Secret Window” ~ No Future (new) ~ Ghostly International ~ 2017
5:20 am Octo Octa ~ “Move On (Let Go) (De-Stress Mix)” ~ Where Are We Going? (new) ~ Honey Soundsystem ~ 2017
5:25 am Person of Interest ~ “Boost The Whip (I-95 Mix)” ~ 12″ (new) ~ Future Times ~ 2017
5:33 am Vasudeva ~ “CSPAN” ~ No Clearance (new) ~ Skeletal Lightning ~ 2017
5:38 am Grails ~ “Tough Guy” ~ Chalice Hymnal (new) ~ Temporary Residence Ltd. ~ 2017
5:42 am Brokeback ~ “The Strollers’ Memorial” ~ Illinois River Valley Blues (new) ~ Thrill Jockey ~ 2017
5:45 am Mind Over Mirrors ~ “Glossolaliac” ~ Undying Color (new) ~ Paradise of Bachelors ~ 2017
5:49 am Noveller ~ “Corridors” ~ A Pink Sunset For No One (new) ~ Fire ~ 2017
5:52 am Bing & Ruth ~ “Flat Line/Peak Color” ~ No Home of the Mind (new) ~ 4AD ~ 2017
I’ve been pretty late to the Machine Girl phenomenon, I hadn’t bothered to listen to their music until they toured with Five Star Hotel a few months ago. I guess I always confused it with the Enduser/Line 47 project of the same name from a while back. As soon as I looked up the newer Machine Girl on Discogs, I knew it was something I needed in my life (just based on “breakcore” and “juke” being used to describe the same releases). I guess Machine Girl used to be one guy but now it’s two, one playing Lightning Bolt-worthy drums and the other causing calamity with electronics and screaming. Total bursts of concentrated power. Machine Girl and Five Star Hotel released a split tape for this tour, and while it doesn’t contain the live drumming, it’s still filled with breaks, noise, and harsh feelings. All of the tracks originated as sketches from their previous tour, and most of them are named after places. “Ohio3” is the type of dose of hard jungle that I need in my life from time to time, and “Luciferian Live Version” is an intense mix of trance, breakcore, industrial, and the occult which never feels like it’s going in too many directions at once. “Portland2” starts out faster and more adrenaline-spiked and then slows down into a mutated version of Baltimore or Jersey club. Five Star’s side flows together perfectly, seeming like it could be the program for one of his live sets. It’s not quite his noisiest, harshest material, it’s a bit more trappy, but it slowly seems to become unwound and unhinged. There doesn’t seem to be any screaming on this one, so it’s not quite as cathartic or painful as Five Star can be, but it ends with a darkwave ballad called “For a Moment” which adds an icy new perspective to the Five Star Sound.
Machine Girl: WLFGRL tape
I bought some of Machine Girl’s older albums at the show as well. WLFGRL originally came out digitally in 2014, and I guess was the first Machine Girl album after a few EPs. This one seems to veer closer to ecstatic breakbeat hardcore rather than juke/footwork, which is entirely alright by me. Kind of reminds me of Evil Robot Ted. There’s super-fun kawaii rave (especially the delightful “Krystle”) that never gets unbearably cutesy, and there’s more darkside-leaning moments. “Ghost” is a really trippy, wavy blend of juke and house. “Hidden Power” on the second side is such an epic, awe-inspiring piece. All of this is just really exciting, energizing combinations of hard breaks, ecstatic synths, a few spikes of pure evil, and sick edits. I guess this album is pretty legendary by now. The tape version that I bought actually contains 3 tracks that aren’t on Bandcamp, adding some extra acid-sugar-rave to the album.
Machine Girl: Gemini tape
Gemini, from 2015 and released by Orange Milk, takes the sound of WLFRGL even further into the dream world. Some of the rave parts and breaks are harder, but then there’s woozier textures and melodies that seem like they’re being played by holograms. There’s maybe a little less of the evil twinges present in the previous album, but the last track is called “Machine Girl Vs. The Demons Of Her Psyche”, so there’s some sort of internal conflict at play here. I guess if Lone was into the breakcore scene some of his music might turn out like this. Anyway, it’s great, all Machine Girl is great, grab all of these tapes if you can.
The third release in Power Vacuum’s compilation series brings together 8 artists doing blasted-out, noisy analog techno, industrial and electro. The breakout star here is Pan Daijing, whose scud bomb “Very Uncomfortable, Please” is a true mind-obliterator and one of my favorite tracks of the year so far. Later in the release, Bintus remixes Daijing’s “Druid” into jittery, haunted techno with whipcrack beats and ghost-like wailing synths. Dr. Skime’s “RX7 Jams” is as bashed-out and lo-fi as its title suggest, basically sounding like several different sessions on a cheap drum machine smushed into one 8-minute track. Beau Wanzer’s track “Up Chuck’s” isn’t much more than a slippery uptempo beat which seems like it’s sweating. My longtime buddy Duran Duran Duran makes a surprise appearance with a hard, cracking electro track called “Drap Jam”. Not quite the same as his gonzo breakcore tracks from the early ’00s, but it’s still a major headrush. Another highlight is the trippy, sliced-and-shredded track by Opal Tapes’ Bleaching Agent.
Hydropark released a series of excellent tapes leading up to their astounding full-length last year. This tape came out around the same time as the LP, but it seems to have came and went without a trace; it’s not even available online anywhere, as far as I can tell. This is a shame, as it adds more of an abrasive, electronic-heavy edge to their masterful Krautrock-y instrumental pop sound. The first side contains remixes by artists near and far, including Dykehouse, Lucky Dragons, Lymangrover, and Coyote Clean Up/Ice Cold Chrissy. It’s bass-heavy and blown out and crunchy, and it sounds fantastic. The first few mixes are a little breaky and hip-hop-leaning, kinda. Charles Trees’ mix tips toward cosmic drum’n’bass. Then it goes closer to trippy lo-fi house with David Shettler’s mix, and then two appropriately chilled (and chilling) dubby mixes from Chrissy under both his names. The second side seems to be some new jams from Hydropark, but they’re a little looser and synth-heavier than the album. “Evil Within” seems to be some sort of bubbly acid space rock with Black Sabbath riffs snuck in. Some tracks are more bashed-out garage-Kraut, and others like “What Do We Call You?” have the type of heavy, breakbeat-ish grooves of the mixes at the beginning of the first side. Super messy and casual, and sounds like it was recorded on an old, not-properly-functioning boombox, but this tape probably doesn’t exist outside of a few weirdos’ tape decks anyway. Maybe Fred still has some copies around?
This is the second 7″ by an Estonian band doing the hazy, dreamy Mazzy Star thing, with the noir factor cranked up a bit higher. “Sleeprydr” is a lovely two-chord sleepwalker which sounds like it could be the theme to a modern spaghetti western film, or perhaps a really bummed-out surf movie. This mesmerizing song ends with a smoldering gutar solo, and the track’s six minutes float by quickly. “Descending” has more pounding drums and a bit more of a rainy day feel. The vocals aren’t over-expressive; they don’t need to be. This isn’t overtly ecstatic music, but it’s not a careless snooze either. It has its mood, and it expresses it well.
The Answer Is In The Beat 