Concern – Truth and Distance CD
Digitalis Recordings/Iatrogenesis
Concern is the ambient project of Gordon Ashworth who also is the sole proprietor of Iatrogenesis Records, and records under both Oscillating Innards and Deep Jew. Truth and Distance is his latest EP of flowing, droning, light ambient music and although it’s a shorty it delivers!
With three tracks spanning roughly thirty minutes Concern pulls out the shining, triumphant, harmonious drones right from the get go in the epic 16 minute opener “Truth and Distance”. With subtle field samples mixed into shimmering metallic layers of …

Andrea Borghi – Moltiplicazioni CD
Lisca Records
Here’s a sexy looking CD and although it’s packaged in a standard jewel case the inserts are heavily textured canvas-style paper with what seems like silk screened artwork. Coupled with very precise text this immediately has a high-tech academic feel. Andrea Borghi is apparently an Italian artist who creates experimental sound using CSOUND and Max/MSP software. The digital element can definitely be heard on much of Moltiplicazioni but it doesn’t hold it back.
The first three tracks on the release are listed as the first “Accumulation” …

DDDD – Frustration Music CD
Love Earth Music
Here is a full length recording from another project unknown to me. With a photograph of a photocopy featured on the front cover I just have to question what kind of aesthetic these guys are going for. The artwork looks pretty bad with black text overlayed on high contrast black and white collage work which makes it unreadable.
Unfortunately the sound doesn’t fare much better. The disc is comprised of 4 long tracks, two of them being close to 10 minutes with the last two …

Cloama – Lernaean Catacomb Complex C55
Erratic Sporadicism Tapes
Now here is some elaborate packaging! With 2 plexiglass pieces screwed together containting a tape and transparent inserts to form an odd-looking object here I’m boggled at how Erratic Sporadicism had the time and resources to make 199 and of these puppies. Very creative but unfortunately not very practicly designed as the case is extremely frustrating because you have to assemble/disassemble the tape and artwork every time you want to listen to this. But definitely worth picking up for the odd packaging alone, …

The Teratologist – Cabinet of Curiosities C30
Cathartic Process
Cabinet of Curiosities is a standard tape in a plastic case with simple text and graphics in high-contrast black and white adorning the j-card. It’s a simple, professional looking item and after dealing with all this weird packaging I’ve been collecting it seems somewhat refreshing. The tracks are simply named “Cabinet of Curiosities Part I & II” one track for each side.
Slow, dirgy, awkward, The Teratologist delivers industrial experimental music here. The strange torture device that adorns the cover seems so fitting for …

The Vomit Arsonist
Force of Nature/Cipher Productions
The Vomit Arsonist is the project of Andrew Grant based out of Rhode Island. Although he has been coined as power electronics in the past Wretch walks the line between death industrial, dark ambient, and power electronics effortlessly blending the genres together to form a cohesive and strong work. As the first proper CD release from the project Wretch is a success in all aspects.
The opener “The Warm Body Complex” introduces the disc well with a low-end drone that builds into textured ambience with …

Irukandji – Urine Nation CDR
Audio Immolation Industries
Irukandji is the harsh noise project of Michael Page who is also the man behind the former power electronics project Fire in the Head and the current ambient/noise/industrial project Sky Burial. Out of the three Irukandji is certainly the harshest, but the least atmospheric as well. Generally there are small bits of 80s and 90s music mixed with with just a touch of sarcasm, but not as much irony as Page professes to being a large fan of much of those songs.
Urine Nation is …

Sistrenatus – Magnetic Resonance CDR
Sophisticate Pleasure Records
Yet another nail to your coffin hit right on the head by Sistrenatus. Magnetic Resonance is a CDREP from this behemoth Canadian industrial project taking the genre by storm and treading new ground in the realm of death industrial. This little release is no exception.
Magnetic Resonance consists of one track that spans 20 minutes and more-or-less contains 4 separate movements. The first portion is a throbbing industrial dirge that slowly builds to a heavy rhythmic séance and straddles the line between death industrial rhythms …

K11 – Waiting for the Darkness CDR
AFE Records
The packaging for this was deceiving. From the photos of forests and runes that adorn the graphic art I was expecting something in the realm of neo-folk or neo-classical, or even dark ritualistic ambient. What K11 delivers here quite different and reminds me much more of the recently reviewed Anemone Tube, or the long-ago reviewed Canadian project Nebris.
Waiting for the Darkness makes a lot more sense after reading the liner notes: “Waiting for the Darkness is an action of instrumental transcommunication with short …

Anemone Tube – Dream Landscape CD
Silken Tofu
Here is something quite a bit different from the Silken Tofu camp. Regarding the packaging here, this is a phenomenal looking release, very professional and quite gorgeous. The CD is housed in a 10 panel, odd sized, folder with black and golden print. The text and minimalist artwork look great and reflect the atmosphere of the sounds well.
Anemone Tube is mostly a dark ambient project that wanders into noisier realms every once in a while. The general rule of thumb for Dream Landscape seems …