Ben Lawless – Other Motions 12.18.16 by Ryan Durfee
“Other Motions” by Atlanta, Georgia’s Ben Lawless is a 55 minute long paean to all things beautiful about rock and roll. It reminds me of the jam band I lived with in my old house that would get together every Wednesday and fuck around for a couple of hours. I joined in a few times, playing organ, but there was never a real direction. Ideas would float in and out, then start to take shape in a haze. We’d reach heights of heavy psych rock or post rock vibes that would then devolve into dark and menacing blues. Basically whatever felt right at the moment.
This tape sounds like some of our best cuts. All the songs I wish I had recorded while still living in the house. Especially it’s second track, Stick & Move, with it’s lazy blues riffing and shambling drums. It sounds like an epic jam we had going on one summer on one particularly hot and humid Seattle night. Listening to it, all I can think of is sitting on a porch, drinking brews, and sharing cigarettes with buddies. Smiling ear to ear and basking in the afterglow of a solid jam.
Ben (who I am 73% sure played in Prefuse 73’s backing band, but can’t confirm it) recorded every single sound you’ll hear on “Other Motions” himself, which is amazing to think about when venturing on a deep listen to the album. At times it reminds me of The Advantage or The Curtains, with heavier threads of burnt out, desert psych funk blazing through sun-blasted blues runs. Take the song Sick As A Dog for example. It sounds as if it was lifted from some late 70’s Jean Rollin movie where bikers, riding off into the steamy French sunset, encounter a coven of vampires and have to fight for their lives. To no avail of course. Ben also dips into charming, sugary melodies that peek out of the warm tape hiss like the three and a half minute Purse Snatcher; A tune that channels Contra and your kid brother’s manic garage rock band.
OSR Tapes is closing up shop at the end of the month (which is a total bummer!), so grab this one while ya can!
Let’s not kid ourselves – 2016 was a fucking disaster. The entire year was like a waiter clearing a table, stacking up far too many plates and glasses in a Jenga-like tower, and the second they step away from the table the restaurant explodes. But tapes? Tapes did just fine in 2016. Actually, I take that back. Tapes had a blast in 2016, with familiar and fresh names both permeating profound vibes on the fringes of weirdo tape culture. Over the last twelve months around 1,000 little spooled suckers made their way over to Tabs Out headquarters, and we listened to every one of them. Some not all the way through of course . Let’s be real, A LOT of them were garbage, but most were fantastic and provided a glimmer of hope during this jerk of a year.
So here they are: Our 200 favorite tapes from the year – IN PERFECT ORDER!!! Please do not tell us what you think should or shouldn’t be on the list. We are literally the smartest people we know and got this very VERY right. Just like previous years [‘13, ‘14, ‘15] we only included tapes that we had a physical copy of.
Enjoy!
#1: Jake Tobin “Sorta Upset!” (Haord) It’s rare but incredibly exhilarating to hear an album that sounds kind of like the weirdness perpetually bouncing around in my own head, and Jake Tobin’s latest opus, “Sorta Upset!,” stokes every synapse in my skull and fires up a few more. While this tape barely clears 15 minutes of running time, it’s a concentrated quarter-hour with a career’s worth of phenomenal ideas. And for as complex and layered as it can get, it’s somehow catchy as hell, too. You will totally find yourself humming along with this music, and humming more acrobatically than ever before. [read more]
#2: Belarisk “Greys, Escaped” (Moss Archive) Only seconds into “Greys, Escaped” I had a very vivid image in my head. As the tape went on that image naturally expanded into a scenario which was reinforced with each blop, zap, surge, scratch, whist, and tickle Belarisk dispatched. Aspects of the artwork gave credence to this micro story my brain had fashioned. Everything was lining up. My imagination was being a good little boy and deserved a treat in the form of repeat listens. Those repeat listens put even more fat on on the bone of my now rather formulated story. It got deep. Deep to the point of being embarrassing, quite frankly. [read more]
#4: Khaki Blazer “Gelatinous Ground” (Unifactor) “Gelatinous Ground” raids the sugar packet and unlabeled medication caches, nervously blending cocktails and idiosyncrasies. Velvety vocal manipulations mush into eccentric weirdouts. Bubbles pop and thick gels spill. When rapid haphazardness isn’t tugging at your amygdala, Pat cleaves hip hop chunks and kneads em like he’s trying to activate their gluten. At times you almost feel concerned. Is he okay? Why is he doing that with his mouth? Then synthesizer magic swoops in with grace and charm, and you feel even more concerned. Extremely crisp, collected, fist clenching coldness stretches from seconds to minutes. [read more]
#5: Charles Barabé “Les Dernières Confessions” (Orange Milk)
#10: Sam Goldberg “Kiss Me While I Excuse The Sky”(Unifactor)
#11: The Spiritual Switchboard “Post-Age Variations” (Baked)
#12: Fletcher Pratt “Dub Sessions Vol.3” (Crash Symbols) Pratt, a Canadian we allow to live within our borders until Trump kicks him out, started his sweltering dub journey in 2011 on Dub Ditch Picnic. Five years later the third chapter of his “Dub Sessions”, released by Crash Symbols in an edition of 100 copies, continues the heat and humidity of it all. The music has a spooky mechanical nature, but is still sweltering. Sizzling. Sultry. One wonders if Fletcher Pratt relaxed pool side while Dubbot-5Px maintained the phantom flow of swank and style. “Dub Sessions Vol. 3″ being flush, teeth to toes, with such. [read more]
#16: Maharadja Sweets “The Caprice Of Young Gods” (Oxtail)
#17: Various Artists “Compilation Two” (Noumenal Loom)
#18: 21st Century Wolf “Ideographic Space” (Sacred Phrases)
#19: M. Geddes Gengras “Two Variations” (Umor Rex)
#20: Max Eilbacher, Alex Moskos, Duncan Moore “SEF III” (Ehse) The structural layering is so DEEP across the whole release, like one of those yummy 7 Layer Dips that they just bring out in the casserole dish it was made in cause there’s no possible way to transfer it without it falling apart. And you can make out the top couple layers for sure, maybe even a middle layer or two, but you’re gonna want to reach that WHOLE chip in there and scoop up every little piece. Soliloquies on spontaneous clown generation, slowly transitioning into a mechanic relay stream of consciousness. Peppered blasts of frequency modulated nodes. Slippery lilts trigger the resonator squelch. Claustrophobic foot step rhythms. Real tasty stuff. [read more]
#30: IMF “Harlem Electronics” (Pilgrim Talk) IMF is all about discombobulated shots of relentless noise. Noise created by, or not created by, Ian M Fraser. I say not created by because the liner notes state that “this program performs with no human interaction whatsoever”, IMF opting for algorithmic, computer rendered compositions. Human interaction or not, this tape gashes into existence with unsettling, wavy coarseness and grating randomization. [read more]
#31: Yves Malone “Today is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life” (Field Hymns)
#37: Sparkling Wide Pressure “Answerer” (Patient Sounds) “Answerer” conjures up a sonic realm inhabited by acoustic and electric stringed instruments, synthesizers, organs, and looped up, talking background vocals. The A side, with its shorter, lighter tracks acts as the entrance way into this world Sparkling Wide Pressure have created for us. The opener “Deb’s Song,” with its loose, acoustic picking and muted electronics slowly guiding you in. [read more]
#46: Semănat “Duobė” (III Arms)At just under eight minutes, Duobė I coats the A side like a lacquer. Bleached-white guitar riffs exist in a panic-free void, uncoiling in an immutable, reliable attack. Hovering in arms reach above a fog of drones, thumps, and injured vocals. It’s with absolute reverence to grey scale scenery and poorly manicure historical battle sites that Semănat pours this poison.
#51: William Cody Watson “Patriot” (Lime Lodge) “Patriot” is like a fairy tale. One of the classic cuts. The dark as fuck German shit where parents are constantly dying. Nothing sugar coated or CGI’d. “Patriot” is actually worse than the Brothers Grimms’ yarns, because “Patriot” starts off with everyone dead. Well, not EVERYONE. The listener is functioning. And maybe a few talking snakes and grey scale mushrooms. Other than that, no life [read more]
#52: Various Artists “Half A Decade Of Chrome” (Field Hymns)
#61: Ink Jet “Cold Shoulder” (Gohan)Forget everything you know about hanging in fancy hotel lobbies, watching montages of very specific teams preparing for a heist, and Blaxploitation fonts. Wait, that’s not right. Remember those things. Remember all of those things at once. Force them into your thoughts until they crash together like matter and antimatter and create pure energy in your skull. Dapper energy with an unhesitating swagger. [read more]
#68: Talibam! And Alan Wilkinson “It Is Dangerous To Lean Out” (Astral Spirits)
#69: MrDougDoug “These Magical Numbers” (self released) MrDougDoug continues his trek into absurd zones. On “These Magical Numbers”, Doug Kaplan crams a stupid amount of sound into a tiny space. The earlier mention of 69 National Anthem renditions was not a joke. On the track “69 Starspangled 420″ there is literally audio from 69 different videos of the The Star-Spangled Banner ground into a fine paste over the course of a half hour. A thick mush of nationalism and anxiety that feels like walking on a soaking wet red, white, and blue shag carpet. You don’t have to be strapped to a chair with the pause button just out of reach to give this a proper listen, but you fucking should be. And it gets darker. MUCH darker. [read more]
#81: Mot “Rebecca’s Spit” (self released) This tape has the personality of a clogged sink, but isn’t exactly trying to be the most popular kid at the party anyways. It’s not even sure why it’s at the party. With the agenda to drink cough syrup, explore the basement, and burn family photos, it should have just stayed home. [read more]
#86: Christina Schneider “Violence Etcetera” (OSR) The sound and method might be pure C86, but the complex, unblinking lyrics, full of visceral imagery, feel very timely. Another piece of evidence that OSR has an ear for sounds which might be able to transcend the moment of their creation. [read more]
#94: Gerritt Wittmer “Unknowns” (No Rent) Near nothingness. A stretch of vacancy occurs. Then, in a Kramer-like jolt, the machines start up. Functioning correctly or not, gears chug along. Stray bolts drops to the floor and roll underneath the onerous mountains of metal and belts and wire. Maybe the machines grind up bones for old, rich people snort and look younger? Maybe they manufacture those tiny plastic taco and sushi toys for kids? It starts up. [read more]
#109: Glou Glou “Fey Flight Founders” (Full Spectrum)Gretchen Jude and Arjun Mendiratta. Those are the humans behind this magnetizing Bay Area two-piece. An open air recording gives their already temperate sounds an even deeper organic glaze on this hour long, single session cassette. Lustering violin and vocal drones shiver, balloon out, and maneuver through wayward zones of knob swiveling. Brief patterns emerge, but the Glou Glou modus operandi is a random and chill one. [read more]
#113: Ottaven “Sequenze Per Raffigurazioni Mentali #1” (Sincope)
#114: Softest “Six Wishes” (Inner Islands)A kinder gentler iteration of Braeyden Jae, softest gives us six “wishes” over two sides. That’s twice as many wishes as the average genie, folks. And what gorgeous wishes they are—where Channelers often feels oceanic, softest evokes those ozone-heavy moments right after a good spring downpour. These pieces progress carefully, initially feeling a little static but gently evolving as they dry off in the sun. [read more]
#124: C. Reider “Sophist I & II” (self released)His tinkering with sound can be magnetic and calming, but risk is right behind the curtain. In the most casual ways, C. Reider knots sequences of inescapable coils. He creates filmy, and sometimes almost muted atmospheres, then proceeds to nudge them into shared spaces with corrupted noise to the point of vertigo. 9-volt beats, voices rising through distortion, asterisks of glimmering hope all helix into web-like patterns. [read more]
#136: Jay Glass Dubs “New Teeth For An Old Country” (Bokeh Versions)
#137: Various Artists “Death On The Hour” (Geographic North)“Death On The Hour: Aural Apparitions from the Geographic North” is fueled by spectral atmospheres. Focus is averted from the trick-or-treat and pumpkin carving conditions of the holiday and fixated more on the idea of spending the night in the vacant house that Old Man Wallmaker hung himself in on Halloween night 6 years ago. I’m talking classic horror movie patterns, reconstructed as an experimental cassette comp. [read more]
#142: Wild Anima “Blue Twenty-Two” (Blue Tapes)Featuring an eclectic group of instruments including violins, Korean flutes, and more, Wild Anima’s Blue Twenty-Two tape is an atmospheric and at times, supernatural, experience. Alex Alexopoulos is at the helm of Wild Anima, with help from friends. [read more]
#143: Miguel A. García / August Traeger split (Bicephalic)
#148: Sister / Body “Spells” (Baba Vanga)The Prague duo’s ruby red tape features beautiful and mysterious artwork, like a hand holding a fuzzed out crystal ball, with a person’s hand holding what appears to be lotion on the inside, adding to the mystical, about-to-cast-a-spell feel. They open the tape with “Black Jacket Angel,” a fascinating track clocking in at more than seven minutes that puts equal importance on the sound in the song as the silence. [read more]
#154: Comfort Food “Waffle Frolic” (Already Dead)Chicago’s Comfort Food has been laying down their heavy jazz/rock/tribal/math jams for a few years now, but their latest tape for Already Dead, “Waffle Frolic,” is a whole new party power-up for your ears. Their previous tape, “Dr. Faizan’s Feel-Good Brain Pills,” displayed an admirable kind of gutbucket rock/jazz blend with some serious swagger in tunes like “Dem Grapes,” but look: ain’t no Frolic like a Waffle Frolic, ‘cause a Waffle Frolic don’t stop. [read more]
#163: Pay The Rent “Soft On Glass” (White Reeves Productions)Pay The Rent’s “Soft On Glass” is a liquefied bliss. A candied concoction of striking synths, lush as h*ck guitar, and drones. Drones that cascade down the pews of a very large, showy church. They move reservedly, like fog. Guitars bellow from the ornate rafters in outstretched waves, their origins cloaked. The stone queue of creepy, blood stained statues that line the walls sorta sway and throb along with the crystal clear keys. [read more]
#174: Moon Lagoon “How Do I Get Out Of Here” (5nakefork)The enticement game begins right out of the gate with Moon Lagoon throwing charms into your eyes via a handsomely designed silk screened Jcard, textured stickers on the shell, and the shell itself glitterfied in a way once reserved for homophobic presidential candidates. Thankfully, the audio end of “How Do I Get Out Of Here”, A C50 released on the in-n-out of hibernation imprint 5nakefork, hovers in an equally majestic zone. [read more]
#181: Used Condo “American Birthstone” (Suite 309)I popped “American Birthstone” by Used Condo, a Larry Wish joint, into the trusty deck knowing nothing about it. Not knowing whether Used Condo was short for used condominium or slang for used condom, I wasn’t even totally sure on the name. Still not I suppose. It was, however, clear by three or four minutes in that this was going to be a frustrating listen. [read more]
#189: Future Ape Tapes “1093” (Fall Break)This collection of mostly instrumental, heavily improvised compositions flows together as an organic, psychedelic whole, with occasional, abstract vocals lending to the atmosphere. much of the music is built from drum loops, synth drones and shimmering, echoing guitars, that when combined sound like dub music for a new age LSD spa. [read more]
#193: Chimess “Growth” (Cave)Listening to “Growth” by Chimess reminds me of sitting on bleachers watching eight, slow roasting innings, unshaded by the heavy embrace of a midsummer’s day heat. Gossamer tones lay a harmonious foundation for low rumblings, faint clicking, analog popping, bubbling, and other echoing, ethereal garnishes. “Growth” is bathed in a series of momentary contemplations, not unlike the somewhat paralyzed feeling of languidly drowning in a fire. [read more]
Wild Anima – Blue Twenty-Two 12.6.16 by Kat Harding
The word “anima” can be translated from Spanish to mean “soul or spirit” and from French to mean “the feminine part of a male personality,” also referring to Carl Jung, the Swiss founder of analytical psychology. Put “wild” with it and the band is a perfect fit for UK label Blue Tapes and X-Ray Records, who describe themselves as “secular drones and spiritual pop.” Featuring an eclectic group of instruments including violins, Korean flutes, and more, Wild Anima’s Blue Twenty-Two tape is an atmospheric and at times, supernatural, experience. Alex Alexopoulos is at the helm of Wild Anima, with help from friends.
Described as “Songs from Above,” side A was inspired by a trip to India and her observations of Tibetan culture. Compassion and forgiveness swirl through the tracks, broken up digitally into 5 smaller listings, but considered as one on the tape. Recorded in one take on a farm in southeast England’s Devon in January 2013, these tracks came about before Wild Anima even settled on a name. The side gently opens with echoing vocals and minimal instrumentation, and continues down an aerial path of swirling reverb and soft tones. The velvety sound can easily fill a room, engulfing you in celestial tones that never feel too dark or unsettling. The middle of the side, “Forget and Forgive,” is my favorite, with misty sounds reminiscent of floating peacefully the bottom of the pool.
Side B is billed digitally and on the tape as one long, beautiful song called “Selene,” produced by French Ambient Dub producer Tom Morant, also known as Natse. He was driven to make this ambient track after having listened to “Songs from Above.” Using some of Wild Anima’s violinists and Alex’s vocals, as well as Inuit shamans’ voices, he pieced together a celestial and haunting song. Side B feels more full than side A, with more apparent instruments and the shamans’ chants, weaving together to soundtrack a dream sequence where you can imagine the flashing lights and seemingly endless tunnel of that Willy Wonka psychedelic boat ride scene, only less scary. Where side A is shadowy, side B has a glittering brightness to it.
Pick up a copy from Blue Tape’s Bandcamp, where you can just grab the tape, or you can get a subscription to all Blue Tape’s releases.
There are few better reasons for excitement in the tape (or music) world than when Cabin Floor Esoterica announces a new tape batch. That said, I thought it would be awfully tough for them to outdo their stellar spring batch from April of this year. While they may not have done that, what they have done with this most recent batch is nothing short of amazing. CFE#60-62 are all duo tapes of musicians who, although are not strangers to recording in duos, have, to my knowledge, never recorded together before.
CFE#60: Shane Parish & Frank Rosaly – Labrys “Labrys” is comprised of nine duets for nylon string acoustic guitar and percussion. Parish’s playing is on point, as per usual, and Rosaly gives his semi-classical guitar flourishes an appropriate percussive background that only adds to the skillful guitar playing as opposed to drowning it out or taking attention away from it. I was expecting more traditional drumming for this tape, but to my surprise the percussive clatter is a perfect offset for Parish’s smooth nylon string compositions. Overall, an excellent effort that stands up with best of today’s guitar/drum duos, even if it is the quietest.
CFE#61: Ilia Belorukov & Taneli Viitahuhta – Sax Worker’s Rights Dual saxophone workouts from Russia and Finland, respectively. Oddly enough, it is the two artists of this batch that I am least familiar with that have me most intrigued and going back for more listens. I had literally never heard of either of these names, let alone their music, before this tape. Sax Worker’s Rights is made up of four fairly longer pieces wherein squeals, shouts, and snorts are evened out with calm, breathy passages. Sax Worker’s Rights is never too busy, yet never too sparse either. Although it may seem rough on the ears upon first listen, its underlying beauty reveals itself in droves upon subsequent listens.
CFE#62:Nathan McLaughlin & Jeremy Purser – Levain
Using a mixture of acoustic and electric instruments/sounds, McLaughlin & Purser work together to create an ambient sound that plays well off of each other’s contributions. Two side long pieces wind soft, acoustic guitar playing over various quiet background noises. The inserts do not list what is played, but one can assume synthesizer/keyboards, field recordings, and analogue tapes in addition to the acoustic guitar. Quiet, stretched out, and beautiful; this is relaxation (or meditation) music at its best without ever being boring.
All three tapes offer up different but equally enthralling sounds and come packaged in Cabin Floor Esoterica’s usual artistic flair. You cangrip them individually, or as a batch along with some excellent zines that were published by their paper imprint Painted Door Press, here.
“Sloth Period,” by Denver, Colorado based artist Radere (AKA Carl Ritger), is one of a duo of new releases of his on the Full Spectrum label. It’s partner, “I Can’t Sleep, I Can’t Wake Up”, was released as an LP. “Sloth Period” consists of two long form ambient drones, one on each side, composed using modular synths and guitar.
The music is amorphous. Unlike many drones, which seem to have a directional build up in intensity, volume, and sonic pressure, the variations in “Sloth Period” and the B-side composition “Tend the Engine” are periodical, undulating like the back of a lake dwelling cryptid. Tones and musical ideas come and go out of the spotlight on a bare, spacious stage of fuzzy synth drone and atmospheric swirl. Modular clicks and grinds, shimmering bursts, bell-like tones and faint echoing guitars like the most long forgotten dub sample in the universe make themselves heard and then descend once again into the general milieu. The sounds alternate between spectral distance and, more rarely, an otherworldly vitality. This is definitely one of the mistiest, most meditative drone/noise tapes I’ve had the pleasure of sampling. If you could see this music, it would be rounded, soft, and kind of shiny. The surreal, Salvador Dali-esque artwork on this tape, depicting a silvery ball bearing moon rising over a handful of green sludge in muted soft focus shades, captures the mood and feel of the music visually, as does the silver tape shell decorated with bubbles that recall the reverb-dulled edges of the tones. When played back to back with “I Can’t Sleep I Can’t Wake Up”, which is comparatively busier, sharper at the corners, and imbued with more tension, the pair makes for a compelling listen with vast emotional range. The experience can be altered by switching up the order of the listen, allowing “Sloth Period” to function as either a prelude or a comedown. Recommended for patient lovers of pure ambient music.
A. Cooper Reid, recording here as Erasurehead, makes the kind of woozy~hazy bedroom pop that has a really special place in my heart. I’m immediately transported back to the summer of ’09, discovering Dayvan Zombear, Chocolate Bobka, and downloading shitty, 128 bit rate rips of Rangers and Grippers Nother Onesers. It was a treasure trove of weird guys held up in their bedrooms with a Tascam, making beautifully gnarly, in-the-red, lo-fi hypnagogic pop. “Yauhtli”, released in an edition of 80 copies by Plume Records, continues in that fine tradition laid down by Not Not Fun & Underwater Peoples.
“Yauhtli” is named after an Aztec incense made from the Mexican marigold, which was blown into the faces of those about to be sacrificed, or used in combination with peyote or other hallucinogens to induce clearer visions. Someone was kind enough to include marigold seeds, along with directions on how to plant and take care of them, with the tape. You will definitely hear some Ariel Pink, early Ducktails, Sam Mering, and Elephant 6 throughout “Yaugtli.” The whole album is a really solid listen the entire way through, my favorite jammer being Ceremony Of Friendship, all soft smeared synths and languid, reverbed out guitar on top of garbage can snares. My only real complaint is that it’s so short. When this guy gets signed by Captured Tracks and is played on Gorilla vs Bear (that’s still a thing right?), I hope he doesn’t lose his lo-fi aesthetic. I think when all of those people started getting budgets, they began to lose some of the magic and made really bright, overly produced albums that didn’t have the same ramshackle warmth about them. Anyway, I’m rooting for A. Cooper Reid a million percent and looking forward to hearing his next album! I’ve also gotta say that his website is a delightful mindfuck that totally channels that mind gunk OESB was peddling back then. And his videos, especially Rainy Day Thoughts (which is a pop masterpiece), are just something you need to see.
“Ghana”, an impressive experimental album by Red On, was written and recorded just over two years ago on October 23, 2014. Never meant to be released, it was a day of improvisation and recording of one-of-a-kind tracks with analog instruments in a mic-ed up room. I chatted with Red On, also known as Philipp Dittmar, about the original tape “Ghana”, the remixes, and what “Red On” really means (nothing really, just a play on the German word for red, “rot.” Rot On!).
Recorded in the magnificent Veitskirche, Veitsbronn Evangelical Church, Philipp wrote and recorded every track on the album in the moment, the unique improvisations recorded for the one time only, and never meant to be duplicated. Check out this teaser for some views of the hauntingly beautiful space, surrounded by religious relics and carved angels, a perfect fit for the spaced out, wandering tracks. He noted that he spent his childhood in the village near the church and wanted to go into the session not with computers, but with instruments, running everything through bass and guitar amps. The track selection featured very little editing due to the incredible acoustics of the space, which allowed the music to fill the whole room and create an all-encompassing physical experience.
Flash forward to September of 2016 and we’re treated with a remix tape, provided by Philipp and his friends. The remixed tracks are more upbeat and club-ready than their deep and sometimes droney counterparts: these are the songs I want to be soundtracking my exploration of a new city, wandering around in the twilight, while the originals are the ones I want to listen to while laying in a field, drifting in and out while meditating about the universe. Good news for cassette lovers: the tape release is significantly longer than the vinyl, which just features the more dancey selections, according to Philipp. Both were released on Nuremberg, Germany’s Verydeep Records, with the cassettes on a hand-numbered white body, featuring graphic red, white, and black cover art.
Side A of the tape is packed with five tracks, four of which are the same original with completely different interpretations, and it is wonderful. Philipp put full trust in his friends to “do their thing” while chopping and splicing his songs, and then worked on song order together. He did one of them himself, too, under his house music moniker “Philipp Roth.” The second track “Ghana 10 (miira) [Christoff Riedel Remix]” is among my top songs on the side, perfect to dance to, but also has the space to rest in between sections. Although it is difficult to pick favorites, as the following track, a take on the same song by Alex Ketzer, is just as good. Put this tape on to let your body get lost in the sound.
Side B is four entirely different tracks that do not disappoint. “Ghana 11 (moona) [Marx Mid Term Cycle]” is a sweeping remix, washing over you and encompassing you in sound, bleeding seamlessly into the next dance track “Ghana 6 [A. Elm Remix],” a song you cannot listen to without moving. A dark, echoey, and sinister feeling marks the last track, “Ghana 13 [Johannes Lauxens Version]” harkening back to the historical church the base tracks were recorded in. Church bells toll over gloomy reverb for an unsettling end to an exquisite tape.
Pick up the shortened version on vinyl, or the full cassette, from Verydeep Record’s Bandcamp and check out Philipp’s latest project, Miira
Ten Thousand Ways Of The Voice – The Daily Vocal Discharges Of Rene Kita 11.28.16 by Mike Haley
The average person will sleep for 229,961 hours in their lifetime. Europeans eat about 46 pounds of apples annually. And, according to extremely reputable Fart Facts site, an average person farts 14 times a day. In addition to those sleep/eat/toot routines, Rene Kita has thrown an additional activity into his daily groove; Recording one-minute long vocal tracks.
Starting back on September 15th, 2015 Rene Kita has practiced the daily ritual of recording weirdo vocal contortions and distortions with the goal of creating 10,000 tracks in all. A lofty target Kita would hit in his 80’s. “I’m a native of Turku, Finland. That’s the southwest coast.” Rene said over email “Our winters are dark and the streets are paved with ice. So we stay indoors and make crazy music.” This particular crazy music, described by Rene as “anti-meditative and anti-ambient”, consists of restless murmurs, anxious loops, and slippery sloshes with the help of Schism Tracker and ADHD. “Sitting still for two minutes is just about impossible, haven’t tried recently, though. This is more like nervous twitch music. If it makes people uncomfortable it works as designed.”
Kita has soaked in inspiration from all sorts of influences for this undertaking, from the German new wave he listened to as a teen, to Japanese Kabuki Theater, to Cathy Berberian singing Luciano Berio’s Sequenza III, and every 60 second lump is being archived digitally and released in one hour chunks (here, here, here, here). Twenty two of them found their way onto a split cassette with Synaplop, an alter ego of Kita, on the Lal Lal Lal label. The split is an edition of 50 copies and only available through Discogs.
Out of all the tapes scattered about, this is the one I have been returning to the most. I’m not going to be ‘that guy’ and say that things have been difficult – because, ya know, 2k16 or whatever – but I put this on every afternoon to unwind from the day. It’s a really great release from Haju Tapes, who I’d never really checked out before, but will definitely be keeping an eye on!
By way of Kyoto, Kuromoji (or ｸﾛﾓｼﾞ) has put out one of my favorite tapes of the year. The artwork is a collage with a kind of cubist or fluxus feel, at least with the typeface. The cassette shell is green, I think because it’s supposed to signal the listener to go smoke before putting on the tape? I’ve never heard of Kuromoji before, it’s kinda tough keeping up with all of the people using MPCs out there, but he brings something really special to the table. “Soba” is full of dusty snares that snap and lush samples that bring to mind ’08 Adult Swim bumps. The intro, Damselfly, is really nice and gives way to Rise with it’s “Reset” era Flying Lotus sound. The track lengths are longer than most beat tapes, ranging from around two to nearly four minutes, which allows for the songs to take a life of their own on. There has been a school of folks for a while now making fifty second long jams; A short break and maybe a soul vocal, which is fine. It’s nice to see someone draw things out, allowing them to organically grow. My favorite track on “Soba” is Kamigami, featuring beautiful piano runs mixed with soft horns that recall Teebs at the height of his powers. Perfect for lazy afternoons doing the dishes with your head in the clouds. If you’re a fan of mono/poly, Fulgeance, seeing bearded guys buy limited edition beat tapes on Discogs for high amounts of money, and smoking weed, then this is for you.
The tape is sold out, but you can still support Kuromoji here, or wait for a copy to pop up on Discogs. For a reasonable price, of course.
Look At These Tapes is a monthly roundup of our favorites in recent cassette artwork and packaging, along with short, stream-of-thought blurbs. Whatever pops into our heads when we look at/hold them. Selections by Jesse DeRosa, Mike Haley, and Scott Scholz.
Sarah Hennies - Orienting Response (Mappa)
Art by Zoltán Czakó, Jakub and Anna Juhás
I haven't had the focus, energy, or interest to write about tapes since the Presidential election. Then I saw this tape and it reminded me - I really need to start working on my coffin. With any luck, I'll have a death-box a quarter as nice as the packaging here. Maggots are gonna be like "ooh, la la! Check out these digs." But that's just wishful thinking! We wont need coffins in the post-apocalyptic, nuclear-zombie-Nazi thunderdome! Don't be a silly face!
Maria Sabina - Mushroom Ceremony of the Mazatec Indians of Mexico (Death Is Not The End)
Art by Luke Owen
As someone who's sherpa'ed dozens of folks through their first psychedelic gleams, Ms. Sabina here does not strike me as someone who's ever had to say "Mike, let go of my leg." or "Seriously, Mike Haley, stop grabbing my leg." or even "Mike, I'm just going to let the woods monsters get you if you don't let go of my leg." Then again, I never uncontrollably busted into traditional folk songs of my people either, so what do I know?
Wei Zhongle - Nice Mask Over an Ugly Face (Pretty Purgatory)
Art by Rob Jacobs
Wei Zhongle's latest EP features a deceptively simple illustration by bandleader Rob Jacobs. You have sort of an alien or frog mask that seems to cover the lower half of a sunglasses-at-night sort of fellow, detached hands hanging languidly below to form a perfect triangle. Or maybe you have Roy Orbison with especially rosy cheeks, duck-lips pointed just away from the audience, settling into the perfect Palmolive position. Either way, I can't stop looking, or listening. Madge, I soaked in it!
Kamil Kowalczyk - Andromeda (Czaszka)
Art by Karolina Pietrzyk & Oliver Spieker
I'd like to think that one day I'll be held captive in a cold, dark room (possibly underground) and grilled by a General Buck Turgidson type and two people in lab coats. They will ask me questions about a series of abstract pictures and photos of diseased animals. When they get to this image, one lab-coated person will say "please tell us which box is shaded." I'll say "the top one", they'll look at each other in horror, and pull a syringe out of a medical bag. Until then, I'll enjoy it on this Jcard.
Meta Mora - Arc of the Sun (Geology)
Art by Weekend Graphics
Geology Records has done a lot of tapes with dashing slipcases lately, and though this might be the simplest of Mr. Kreuger's slipcase designs, it really hits home. A lovely font acts as a window into the photo on the j-card beneath, almost like a die-cut effect, and the toasty reds and yellows vibe perfectly with this extended summer/fall global warming landscape that's keeping our hells from freezing over.
Art by CLUT
Remember that book you bought in high school because you thought you were going to get interested in some far out pseudoscience and say fantastically interesting things at parties (to people who definitely aren't rolling their eyes) about how we are actually balls of energy living inside of a dog's butt's dream or whatever. Well, someone remade the artwork from that book in cassette form and it's amazing!
Rose - Exile (Constellation Tatsu)
Art by Alyssa White
There's something really compelling about understated album art, especially when it imparts another layer of meaning with the music inside. Simple praying hands in soft focus, overcast skies, and a platinotype kind of look all speak to the pensive, meditative soundscapes scattered throughout this solo project of Reuben Sawyer. But then the beats arrive, and perhaps these hands are captured mid-riot, clapping the clouds away.
Grimény - Die große Enttäuschung (Already Dead)
Art by Larissa Blau
This German power trio is conceptually focused on the idea of disappointment: letdowns, failures, shortcomings. And they walk the walk. Look how uncomfortable they are in their royal frockery. That one dude's beard is weak, and that one other dude doesn't even have a beard. And to top it off, their music is compositionally inspiring and flawlessly played and not disappointing at all. Way to go not being disappointing after all, Grimény.
Eeli / Numèric - Whalesongs / To Full HD split (Nyapster)
Art by Eeli and lxtxcx.info
Barcelona's always-bizarre Nyapster solves the ever-present "who chooses the art for a split tape" problem by simply including two covers. Vacillate between a somewhat menacing Etch-A-Sketch session, or what must be the next evolution in vaporwave-related art, as nostalgia meets the orthodontist. Choose your own adventure.BR>
Dinzu Artefacts - first batch
Art by Joe McKay
Look At These Tapes would not be doing it's job if it didn't tell you to look at these tapes from Dinzu Artefacts' inaugural batch. This offshoot of Spring Break Tapes is tackling design with clinical precision, opting for winter-is-coming style covers, hygienic layouts, and a logo that made me punch an eagle square in it's beak. To be clear - they nailed it.
Sarah Hennies - Orienting Response (Mappa)
Art by Zoltán Czakó, Jakub and Anna Juhás
I haven't had the focus, energy, or interest to write about tapes since the Presidential election. Then I saw this tape and it reminded me - I really need to start working on my coffin. With any luck, I'll have a death-box a quarter as nice as the packaging here. Maggots are gonna be like "ooh, la la! Check out these digs." But that's just wishful thinking! We wont need coffins in the post-apocalyptic, nuclear-zombie-Nazi thunderdome! Don't be a silly face!
Maria Sabina - Mushroom Ceremony of the Mazatec Indians of Mexico (Death Is Not The End)
Art by Luke Owen
As someone who's sherpa'ed dozens of folks through their first psychedelic gleams, Ms. Sabina here does not strike me as someone who's ever had to say "Mike, let go of my leg." or "Seriously, Mike Haley, stop grabbing my leg." or even "Mike, I'm just going to let the woods monsters get you if you don't let go of my leg." Then again, I never uncontrollably busted into traditional folk songs of my people either, so what do I know?
Wei Zhongle - Nice Mask Over an Ugly Face (Pretty Purgatory)
Art by Rob Jacobs
Wei Zhongle's latest EP features a deceptively simple illustration by bandleader Rob Jacobs. You have sort of an alien or frog mask that seems to cover the lower half of a sunglasses-at-night sort of fellow, detached hands hanging languidly below to form a perfect triangle. Or maybe you have Roy Orbison with especially rosy cheeks, duck-lips pointed just away from the audience, settling into the perfect Palmolive position. Either way, I can't stop looking, or listening. Madge, I soaked in it!
Kamil Kowalczyk - Andromeda (Czaszka)
Art by Karolina Pietrzyk & Oliver Spieker
I'd like to think that one day I'll be held captive in a cold, dark room (possibly underground) and grilled by a General Buck Turgidson type and two people in lab coats. They will ask me questions about a series of abstract pictures and photos of diseased animals. When they get to this image, one lab-coated person will say "please tell us which box is shaded." I'll say "the top one", they'll look at each other in horror, and pull a syringe out of a medical bag. Until then, I'll enjoy it on this Jcard.
Meta Mora - Arc of the Sun (Geology)
Art by Weekend Graphics
Geology Records has done a lot of tapes with dashing slipcases lately, and though this might be the simplest of Mr. Kreuger's slipcase designs, it really hits home. A lovely font acts as a window into the photo on the j-card beneath, almost like a die-cut effect, and the toasty reds and yellows vibe perfectly with this extended summer/fall global warming landscape that's keeping our hells from freezing over.
Art by CLUT
Remember that book you bought in high school because you thought you were going to get interested in some far out pseudoscience and say fantastically interesting things at parties (to people who definitely aren't rolling their eyes) about how we are actually balls of energy living inside of a dog's butt's dream or whatever. Well, someone remade the artwork from that book in cassette form and it's amazing!
Rose - Exile (Constellation Tatsu)
Art by Alyssa White
There's something really compelling about understated album art, especially when it imparts another layer of meaning with the music inside. Simple praying hands in soft focus, overcast skies, and a platinotype kind of look all speak to the pensive, meditative soundscapes scattered throughout this solo project of Reuben Sawyer. But then the beats arrive, and perhaps these hands are captured mid-riot, clapping the clouds away.
Grimény - Die große Enttäuschung (Already Dead)
Art by Larissa Blau
This German power trio is conceptually focused on the idea of disappointment: letdowns, failures, shortcomings. And they walk the walk. Look how uncomfortable they are in their royal frockery. That one dude's beard is weak, and that one other dude doesn't even have a beard. And to top it off, their music is compositionally inspiring and flawlessly played and not disappointing at all. Way to go not being disappointing after all, Grimény.
Eeli / Numèric - Whalesongs / To Full HD split (Nyapster)
Art by Eeli and lxtxcx.info
Barcelona's always-bizarre Nyapster solves the ever-present "who chooses the art for a split tape" problem by simply including two covers. Vacillate between a somewhat menacing Etch-A-Sketch session, or what must be the next evolution in vaporwave-related art, as nostalgia meets the orthodontist. Choose your own adventure.BR>
Dinzu Artefacts - first batch
Art by Joe McKay
Look At These Tapes would not be doing it's job if it didn't tell you to look at these tapes from Dinzu Artefacts' inaugural batch. This offshoot of Spring Break Tapes is tackling design with clinical precision, opting for winter-is-coming style covers, hygienic layouts, and a logo that made me punch an eagle square in it's beak. To be clear - they nailed it.
