Tape Label Or Weed Strain?
4.20.15 by Mike Haley
Today is 4/20. You know what that means? It means it’s time to play everyone’s favorite game involving cassettes and cannabis: Tape Label or Weed Strain!! You’re gonna see 15 names. All you have to do is correctly say if they belong to a tape label or a weed strain. And don’t be a turkey and just look at that list on the right. Simple enough?
[WpProQuiz 3]
New Batch: White Reeves Productions
4.17.15 by Mike Haley
Human fog machines and ex-Hunted Creatures / Dynamo Sound Collective personnel Micah Pacileo and Ryan Emmett just broke a bottle of champagne over the bow of White Reeves Productions with the release of three damn fine cassettes. The label is named after the duo’s project, who just happen to have the inaugural release, a C25 called “Who Is Guitarman?” The first batch also includes Mike Tamburo’s “Emperor and Penguin” C30 and “Lifehater” by Supervolcano. Harmonious jammers for sure. And they’re lookers as well. The tapes, not the people playing on them. Well, maybe the people too…
Judging by the initial offerings packaged up by these Pittsburgh gentlemen, WRP is gonna be a tasty treat. White Reeves provides some mega-hazy, dynamically chill vibes on WRP001 by way of meaty synths and top shelf murkiness. Tamburo’s goes on a inspirative journey of Caribbean electronics guaranteed to leave you feeling 42.0% more positive about life. And Micah Pacieo’s solo action as Supervolcano jabs through a variety of electronic music that sounds like it was made by stick figures who keep falling over.
Collect em all by visiting White Reeves Productions on Bandcamp. Listen to all of them below. Complain that their name has two plural words in a row quietly to yourself.
Macula Dog – s/t
4.9.15 by Mike Haley
The people over at Haord Records are just like you and me. They wake up, eat some weird goo they found in NASA’s dumpster, and put on their octopus costumes one tentacle at a time. Okay, maybe they aren’t exactly like you and me, but that’s a good thing. Because being so “out there” as the kids say makes it possible for them to conjure up and distribute the most bonkers of bonkers shit. Example A: Last year’s 17-track compilation “Haord’s Buncha” which still turns me into a pile of wet spaghetti (and is still available!!). Example B: This brand spankin’ new self-titled slayer from Macula Dog.
Somewhere mushed between mid-century circus culture and no-questions-asked hobo orgies are the songs of Macula Dog. Essentially, this is pop music, but it rollerblades so far out on the horizon it’s not pop music at all. Don’t go into this tape trying to make sense of it (or your life) and you’ll have a blast. Tracks bounce from playful synths and way-cray rhythms chugging along in excitement, vocals crooning like a confused bank hostage to gnome-like loop creations, all with this sort of odd exactness. Like, you know each peculiar quirk or stimulating element is just how they (“they” being Ben & Mat of Haord backbones Tumbleweave and Drut PD) wanted them to be. The track Sumpter Or Save is a great example of what this tape is. Bouncy elements that are shaky and nervous are mixed with gluey, robotic repetition making a total fun house of sound. Get your tickets at the booth. There’s also a smattering of found sounds and/or rando recordings folded in throughout the cassette, each tampered with in it’s own way, letting in a noisy vibe.
Ten tracks can be found on this one, but it’s only a C20. All of this zoinkerness has got my taste buds raging for something longer, that’s for sure. This s/t offering is, by all accounts, a dangerous beast, but I need much MUCH more of this shit crammed into my ears. Oh, and the artwork for this sucker is just as nutso and tough to figure out as the music, and it comes with 1 of 4 Macula Dog trading cards. They’re no first series Garbage Pail Kids, but hey, what is? Pick this up from Haord now! Stream the album below and watch a video for the song Purchase Power-Station belower.
Obscurity And Escapism: Exploring German Army
4.2.15 by Mike Haley
Within the past few weeks alone Peter Kris has released two cassettes tapes. One on the Portuguese imprint A Giant Fern, and another that I talked about with Tymbal Tapes. But who is Peter Kris? Peter Kris is the chief administrator of sorts behind the majorly productive, sonic overcast that is German Army. But who is German Army?? Exactly.
Since 2011 German Army, who’s name was chosen by Sam McPheeters of Born Against and Men’s Recovery Project, has been releasing persistent, thoughtful, and coolly haunted music anonymously, in both solo and collaborative forms, with members using handles like Chin Genie, Meatball Maker, and Peter Kris. German Army, or GeAr as they tend to use, implement a style of vocals and instrumentation that has a way of casually sliding under the skin in a creepy but inviting way, like an eel that can get you high. They also show no signs of discomfort while channeling the occasional sun drenched melody as they create outsider music focusing on “important themes of vanishing world culture.” Their earliest output came by way of cassettes on Night-People (“Papua Mass” C40), Skrot Up (“Body Linguist” C30), and Hobo Cult (“Sedentary” C32), with jams flowing steadily since then on the likes of Chondritic Sound, No Kings, Handmade Birds, and (full disclosure) my label 905 Tapes.
A desire to set up personal partitions is behind the anonymity of GeAr, and it’s related entities. “Who I am and what I do professionally is completely separate from the music I make.” Kris said of the forced obscurity “Music has always been a tool I’ve used to balance myself and keep my mind off my work. I’ll get somewhat personal here: I’m a teacher in the second poorest city in America, and most of the students I teach have parents who are incarcerated. These kids suffer from severe behavioral and emotional disorders, and subsequently it’s emotionally taxing on me. Every day I see violence and maladaptive behaviors that will likely escalate into adulthood. Sadly, at least from my own observations, it hasn’t gotten better with time. With that said, the idea of having your identity or photo attached to your music is something I have never really agreed with. I believe music is a separate compartment of a complex individual. If someone’s whole identity is their band, then they must not be very interesting.”
GeAr’s pursuit at musical detachment from reality’s bummers have led them down many paths, including 2014’s “Tassili Plateau”, released in an edition of 75 copies on Field Hymns. Simply put, this tape is brilliant. The array of influences and vibes is dizzying and fascinating. A partial quote from the label description will get you in a legitimate head space. “Short, taut songs, visited by Bollywood dervishes with freckles of exotica, buttressed by fried drum machines lifted from the quarterdeck of Captain (Richard H) Kirk himself, and musically expanded to allow for moments of warmth and redemption, this might be the best outing by German Army yet.”
The first GeAr material I had the pleasure of hearing was the “Holland Village” C40 released in 2013 by Canada’s Dub Ditch Picnic, and I was immediately fixated. So much murky, melting, desperate sounds lurching about and foaming at the mouth. It was music that should make the most fashionable, coldest corners of the underground be embarrassed for etching their songs on glossy wax.
Chris Jacques from Dub Ditch Picnic was in a similar zone after sampling GeAr’s shadowy sounds for the first time. “I hit them up after I scoped out the Hobo Cult and Chrondritic tapes. They catch my ear every time and sound new. Like, I have to catch myself when I hear them. My first response is ‘What’s that? It sounds awesome’ followed by ‘Oh hell. I released that.'”
Dub Ditch Picnic did up 75 copies of “Holland Village”, which is now long sold out, and are in the process of releasing a collection CD compiling some other out of print cassettes.
Even though Kris has left and/or disbanded various groups or names that were becoming too well known, in order to maintain his anonymity, side projects and various collaborations are a plenty in the GeAriverse, each powered with their own unique personality and reason. Included in the fold are the long-distance duo MERX, a Godflesh inspired outing with Bobb Bruno under the name Submissions, a trio called Q///Q, a tribute to political punk from the UK as Final Cop, the synth noise of Black Rollins, the aforementioned Peter Kris solo work, etc., etc., etc.
One thing that just about all of those names have in common, beyond the obvious association, is that they have released material on Denmark’s Skrot Up. “I dig his schizo approach to having many bands and outlets for his musical and philosophical ideas,” said Skrot Up’s head honcho Morten Brohammer “and I like how they develop from release to release. He’s not stuck in one groove just repeating himself over and over”.
Pressed for a fav side project he’s released on Skrot Up, Brohammer (I’m having so much trouble getting over the fact that this dude’s name is Bro Hammer) went with the second MERX tape “Twenty Sq Ft”.
German Army’s ability to deliver their overabundance of prolific action is a satisfying byproduct of having an equally creative experimental cassette scene. Thinking about all of these ever-so-sweet tunes collecting e-dust on a hard drive, waiting for a wealthy investor to come along and press up LPs keeps me up at night. “I would not expect a label to release everything I do on vinyl because it would simply be too much to ask,” said Kris. “I prefer cassette labels because they take risks and put out interesting music. Cassette labels seem happy to work with obscure bands, especially those who want to remain anonymous. They also don’t mind if you send them a picture of sand as your band photo.”
Check out German Army on Soundcloud and look for future activity from this cloudy operation on Fort Evil Fruit, Golden Cloud, Discrepant, and more. I mentioned clouds three times in that sentence. Spoooooky.
New Batch – Night People
3.31.15 by Mike Haley
Sampling the new batch of tapes from Mr Shawn Reed’s label Night-People is the stay-at-home equivalent of jumping from planet to planet, stealing indigenous pop technologies for some sort of grand experiment back on Earth. Doses run white hot with ecstatic structures, abstract dream sounds, and difficult pleasures. Each with the classic, and quite lovely, N-P eye candy design work. Suit up, get in your rocket, and let’s have a taste.
Moon Dice launches the party of five with a C36 titled “My Motel Room”. The four piece from Australia drug themselves in a blooming field of colors. Elastic, psychedelic guitar and vocal treatments gently oiling the landscape. There are obvious influences from the usual suspects, but nothing overwhelming. Night-People make the excellent observation that “Moon Dice have a bit of a new wave feel without sounding new wave”. From what I’m hearing, seems like they pull off that method for several genres and decade-specific zones. Safe to say that Moon Dice holds their own and roll snake eyes.
Another C36 called “Guyonetics” from Coleman Guyon’s Trailblazer is second in line. I don’t think I’ll ever learn how to fold a fitted sheet, but I’ll have no problem figuring out the logistics of melting out to this one. There is only a crumb to munch on here, but ya get some super warm synths and d-lish krauty vibes. I like a snare that pops, too. Once you pop, you can’t stop. It clears my sinuses.
Next is yet ANOTHER C36 (buy blanks in bulk, brother!) from Silent Girlfriend. “Backstabbing Female Supremacist” is the name, and it’s actually a reissue of a tour tape by this solo project of Natalee Decker (formally a member of the trio Uncanny Valley). Decker cold brews stinging, danceable electronic music. Savage rhythms, austere vocals, and an all around gloomy 10-day forecast. Hell, she even mixes in some sound clipage about this love-it-or-leave-it, ace #1 country’s institutionalized racism to get you in an even better mood. For real though, it’s solid as a glacier and just as frosty.
I know everyone has their own opinion on what is considered “beautiful music”, but come on. I think we’re all talking about this. And by this, I’m talking about Tereshkova. Tereshkova is Jeff Lane, and Jeff Lane’s contribution to the latest Night-People batch is a C52 called “Pelagic”. Very dreamy sectors are explored that will leave you feeling very fuzzy. It’s not shoegaze, because you don’t wanna wear shoes while zoning out to this. Sockgaze it is. Go grab some socks, the comfy ones, and a Snuggy.
I guess they didn’t wanna scare you off, so they waited until the end to bust out this bonker box of a C26 by Gem Jones. “Wurm Man Dubiosity” is a costume party for “normal” musical genres. A chance for standard styles to get wacky without worrying about anyone pointing fingers. Zappa shoots the sheriff? Brian Wilson listens to ska? Stop reading these stupid words and listen, ya turkey.
Like the guy at the bowling alley that sorta sprayed that disinfectant stuff into the shoes, I’ve done everything I can do. It’s now up to you. YOU! You have the power to order these tapes now from Night-People.