Tabs Out

Serrater – s/t

1.13.21 by Ryan Masteller

I can’t friggin’ believe it!

Can you?

I can’t!

Serrater is a noise tape from none other than Michael Potter, who has made his fair share of “pretty guitar music” over the years by himself and in the Electric Nature and what have you. He runs the NULLZ0NE and Garden Portal tape labels, and he’s a fixture in the Athens, Georgia, underground scene. To say his music has been played around these parts* would probably be an understatement – it’s more accurate to say that his music has OFTEN been played around these parts. And that doesn’t even include the releases by other artists on his labels. Then we’re getting into more obsessive territory.

Can you believe Michael Potter’s made a noise tape? I can’t. And it’s a good one, and its presentation is striking. It’s not noise in the nuclear-blast-to-the-face-for-two-hours sense, but it’s still in the this-power-plant-is-outputting-some-serious-ampage one, a constant ripple of electromagnetic intensity. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it “soft noise wall,” but Potter himself has dropped the “dark ambient noise wall” hint for me to pick up on, and by “hint” I mean obvious categorical descriptor. I’m going to use it, because being in the presence of “Serrater” is like being in the presence of negative space, dark energy pulling you closer to its jagged knife’s edge. By the way, there’s lots of knife imagery on display here with this tape. It’s cool. It’s TOUGH.

It reminds me of a 1980s hard-R action movie poster. There’s even an “R” rating given to it on the inside of the j-card! This thing read my mind … So it’s not for kids, and that should come as no surprise. The rippling frequencies feel like liquid matter made sound that engulf you and leave you on the other end feeling … serrated? Certainly scoured, like I’ve been hollowed out, my innards replaced with black radioactive goop. I want to say the experience was difficult and painful, but … I liked it? Yeah, I sure did. I liked it.

Can you believe it?

This tape is already sold out from the source, Already Dead, and it just came out on December 11! But that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to find it. I know you’re a resourceful bunch.

*By “these parts” I mean my house, not the Tabs Out offices, although he’s probably been played there more than a few times as well. 

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R.E.E.L. – Music for Psychedelic Duelling

1.12.21 by Ryan Masteller

It’s a warzone, it really is. A wasteland. A bloodbath. R.E.E.L. – or Rapid Eye Electronics Limited – has been around for a while, so they’ve seen some really intense things, experienced firsthand the absolute carnage of the UK Psychedelic Duelling Wars of 1979–89. It was here, in the trenches, where they pitted their minds against the minds of other masters and fought for unbridled supremacy. Armed with $1.00 acid (just a guess – see j-card) and a vast amount of sound samples, they went toe to toe (or head to head) with other duelists in telekinetic battles to determine ultimate supremacy over their foes. That they’ve survived at all is a massive accomplishment – I’m feeling scathed just listening to this thing.

So “Music for Psychedelic Duelling” is both soundtrack to and arsenal in the titular struggle. It acts as a mind enhancer, to get yourself in the right headspace, to use as a battle tactic against your foes, to trip you out completely if you’re doing none of those things. What starts as warped kosmische ratchets down to seasick outer-space dub, and you can feel the third eye opening right in the middle of your forehead. (It’s not literally there – don’t be alarmed.) That eye sees all, perceives your opponent, targets their weaknesses. Then it unleashes a barrage of tribal techno that DARES anyone who goes against you to keep up with it. And that’s when you realize that “Music for Psychedelic Duelling” is two thirty-minute workouts – you can keep your foe going for a whole hour before having to figure out what to do next!

On the “Repose” side (side A is “Prayer”), the duelists pull back, allowing the synthetic atmosphere to fill the space while they recharge. Don’t allow yourself to be lulled into a stupor! You’ll lose the duel, and possibly become a total casualty of the war. As a rhythm slowly emerges to undergird your psychic renewal, the energy intensifies around you, until it’s ready to be unleashed in the direction of your opponent. I think this is what happens in Dragonball Z, maybe Mortal Kombat, but mentally. Once you win – you’ll obviously win – you can walk away from the conflict confident in your psychic warfare abilities. You’ll have to master this skill at some point – the twenty-first century depends on it. 

Edition of 50 from Zona Watusa – comes with A5 poster and a Zona Watusa sticker. All that cool stuff!