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New Batch – Factotum Tapes
3.27.15 by Mike Haley

There are two undeniable truths about Matthew Reis. He has a HORRIBLE camera (just spend 30 seconds scoping the pics over at Factotum Tapes and you’ll see what I mean) and he’s a super essential cog in the Midwest raw noise gear. The dude is fervent about participating in / repping his hometown of Dayton’s dense experimental scene. Factotum’s releases are now in the triple digits, loaded with Reis’ various solo activity (Developer, Teeth Collection, etc.), one-off collabs, and splits with local jammers. Operations aren’t limited to the Dayton borders, but it’s obviously an important piece of the puzzle.

The Factotum style is straightforward. Black and white printing, shredded artwork, and white shells with no info on them. Meaning if you drop a bunch of his releases, and they spill all over the floor, like I did a few weeks back, you’re pretty much fucked. You have basically no chance at matching those unmarked tapes up with the proper cases, even if you listen to them. But that’s okay. Sometimes it’s okay to be fucked and deal with it. Why would you grip a Factotum batch if you weren’t prepared to be fucked, right?

Speaking of Factotum batches, there is a new one. Five tapes (plus a zine) are now available, and they’re just what you would expect. Reis pairs some desultory, cut-up Developer cruelty with Deceiver, Plagues, and Thirteen Fingers for three split C10’s swarming with crushing power electronics and intensely harsh noise. A C30 called “Remixes” where Developer and Tinnitustimulus swapped sounds back and forth. Chopping, looping, and manipulating until settling on this disorienting material. And finally an hour and a half cassette by Rowlands_Bobby, a duo featuring (you probably guessed it) Matthew Reis and Dayton’s Whoracle Of Delco.

Listen to each of these, in full, below. Order them from Factotum. Be fucked.

[c:s] 104 / Alex Tyson – Split
3.27.15 by Mike Haley

This Exo split is a hybrid strain for sure, with [c:s] 104 providing the indica traits and Alex Tyson going sativa style. Sort of ironic that the original issuing of the Alex Tyson material here was a plantable card, don’t ya think? I wouldn’t suggest burying this version in the soil, though. You wouldn’t wanna get worm goo and dirt smudges all over the impressive layout, which includes a way dope, hand numbered label hugging the top half of the shell. A Super nice detail.

My team of researchers informs me that [c:s] 104 is the project of one Francesco De Gallo, known throughout the land for his work as Hobo Cubes, Ala Vjiior, Dozens (with Ryan Connolly), and many other names. “Somnus / Nucleus” is a nearly 15 minute piece where cavernous drones are drug through a shag carpet. Some sounds get snagged in the fibrous loops and fade into obscurity, others loosen up random bits that have been tangled deep down for a while, like a mush of unintelligible spoken word or flecks of electronic pops. De Gallo keeps the scene extremely restrained and chill on his side.

Alex Tyson treks in a totally different direction with his seven tracks, originally released digitally by Data Garden (mentioned above). Making fine use of an interesting assortment of gear that includes a Commodore 64c PC, photo-chemicals, a fog dispenser, Moog synthesizers, snow, and a water damaged Kent Rhythm Box, Tyson mingles his way through a full bodied spectrum of audio eccentricities. Each of his one to three minute tracks puts it’s peculiar mannerisms on full display. A tumble of computer start up sounds, steamy guitars, cartoonish plops. All highlighted and living in coexistence with kraut and jazz vibes. Do you like Herbie Hancock? Do you like the Muppet Babies? You’ll like Alex Tyson.

This split C30 is limited to 50 copies, and sold out from Exo Tapes, but you can try your luck with the usual suspects. Last I checked, Meditations had copies in stock. Maybe they still do? Good luck, everybody!

Introducing Tymbal Tapes
3.25.15 by Mike Haley

Scott Scholz likes tapes. I know this because I have the internet, and you can find out ANYTHING about a person if you have the internet. If you require further proof, go ahead and read some of his reviews, or listen to his podcast, over at Words On Sound. Scott gives much love to the format, so it was pretty much inevitable that he would start releasing tapes himself. And so we have Tymbal Tapes. The first batch is due out next week, but you can (and should) preorder them now. Need further proof for that as well? I chatted a bit with Mr. Scholz about the label…

 

You do the Words on Sound podcast, correct?

I do. I started doing that last fall. I’d been doing this really fun radio show called Other Music on KZUM here in Lincoln, NE about five years ago, and it was great, but it’s live-stream only as well as over the air locally. And we had so many people comment that they wished they could listen at other times. So the asynchronous aspect of the podcast format just made more sense. A really cool lady took over the radio show and it’s still going, too, so win-win.

Just looking for a “yes” or “no”, Scott. Jeez. Haha.

I have to demonstrate my fluid typing skills. I have marketable skills, yo!

Noted! You don’t exclusively play cassettes on the podcast, but they are a pretty hefty chunk of it, right?

Right. The proportions of tapes on the radio show grew and grew, and on the podcast, it’s usually more than half these days.

And I’ve seen you talking about tapes on the web, so your love for the format runs pretty deep, wouldn’t ya say?

It has deepened tremendously in the last few years, for sure. I was making tapes back in the mid-90s and kind of forgot about the format for a while. Then I was doing some review writing for Killed In Cars around four years ago, and I took over their tape submissions briefly. I was just totally blown away by the music. At that time, it was some of the early Orange Milk and Field Hymns jams, and some of that music was totally paradigm-shifting for me. And y’know, you review a few tapes and the next thing you know, your house is full of them, and you can’t leave the house without a Walkman, etc.

So naturally you start a label. It would almost be suspect if you didn’t at this point.

Absolutely. It feels so cliche to say “it’s a community,” but y’know, fundamentally it is. I was hosting house shows for a little while, too, and it’s totally the mailorder extension of that vibe. So you have to pitch in, I think. And not that it’s a chore. I think it’s going to be awesome.

I really dig the vibe you have going with the artwork for the first three tapes. Who did the art for them, and will that look go on for a bit or is it just for this batch?

The art was the toughest part of getting this started. I really am a “words and sounds” kind of person, and I’m totally helpless with design and art. Tiny Little Hammers did all of the design/layout work, and I think it’s lined up to stay fairly consistent going forward. The printing is going to look a little subtler than the online black/white images: I just got the proofs back today for going with a sort of stainless steel or pewter ink on white linen,and it’s totally nailing the feel I was hoping for.

That sounds incredible. I like how Tiny Hammers, who have a pretty awesome and identifiable look, created something brand new for Tymbal. Looks great.

Yeah, amazing work.

When are the first three going to be gripable?

They’ll be out on 4/1/15. April Fools Day, but no fooling.

Pro dubbed or you doing them at home?

I’m doing them at home, at least for the first few batches. I have some decent gear, and part of my dayjob life for the last decade has been working with millions of tapes, so I’m super comfortable with it.

Let’s go through the batch one by one, cool?

Absolutely.

First one is a C35 called “Nunavut” by Peter Kris. That’s a German Army member, right?

Yes. That’s a German Army person. I’ve been totally obsessed with GeAr for the last few years, and corresponded a bit with them–they’re anonymous, but very friendly. And this new “Peter Kris” solo project is a very melodic, approachable guitar-dominant set of music.

Do you know who “Peter Kris” really is? Be honest.

I have thought so several times, but there are layers upon layers of names. It’s really wild. Ignotum per ignotius. What I do know is the person or persons behind that music care very deeply about the world, both in terms of global culture and local culture. The Peter Kris tunes are focused on local culture, poverty near the wealth of LA. It’s a different focus than the dead/dying cultures/languages that GeAr addresses, but similarly universal, I think.

Aside from the jams, is that what got you interested in German Army, and the related projects?

You mean like the literary and geographical allusions in their album and song titles? I definitely perked up to that stuff right away, totally. The sort of “mystery” around the project, combined with pointing in some really important long-term directions. Musically they remind me a lot of early Cabaret Voltaire, a beautiful thing. I like everything about them, really. And that they’re playing a long game themselves–so many releases, subtle relationships between all of them, etc. With the Peter Kris music, there are even more influences coming in–there are moments that approach drone, Frippertronics, all kinds of things you might not expect.

How many of those are you dubbing?

50 each for this first round. I kind of want to get a feel for the demand and get my own workflow going to do a good job with everything. The whole “limited edition” scene isn’t my thing, though. I hope people really listen to music, listen hard, listen until it hurts. So I’d be game for dubbing more in the future if people want and need them.

Number two is by The Dept. of Harmonic Integrity. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard that name before. Tell me about em.

That’s another anonymous project. Not sure how I always end up around those, ha. But whoever it is, they’re tied up around the Adderall Canyonly scene. They’d sent the recording to me several years ago, and I reviewed it. I really HATE listening to downloads, but the music was so good. I always thought that one should come out in a physical format, so with Tymbal, it made sense to return to that recording. AdCan did a bit of remastering, so it sounds even punchier. It’s some pretty wild synth-based music that moves along a line between crazy synth-zoneout music and more academic electroacoustic disciplines. And I just love layered, composed music like that. Anything that can be contemplative and fun at the same time is worth a listen or fifty in my book.

If I had to guess, I’d say you’re pretty inspired by Field Hymns. Which is definitely a good thing.

Right. That’s probably still my overall favorite tape label. Tymbal will probably tend toward more “difficult listening” over time, though.

Shit, and it just dawned on me that you are probably in German Army! It just makes sense… Did I crack the code?

Ha, no, sadly. I wish I had their travel budget!

And what is rounding out the batch?

David Moscovich – Gandhi/Gaddafi, C20. And there are more wild sounds happening in that 20 minutes than most days can contain. Moscovich is an author in the NYC area–he wrote this great book called “You Are Make Very Important Bathtime” that came out on Journal of Experimental Fiction last year. But he does this crazy text cut-up/modular synth live thing that makes me disoriented and overwhelmed in all of the best ways. He considers it a kind of extension of the singer-songwriter tradition: like people with acoustic guitars. But instead it’s people with modulars and delay pedals, I guess.

So is he a jammer who writes or a writer who jams?

I think he started out working roughly equally on both fronts, but his focus is more on writing these days. He had a CD of some earlier music called “Ass Lunch” on Public Eyesore years ago, though. But hopefully people like this tape and encourage him to do more of this work, because I think it’s absolutely next-level. And THAT’S kind of my vision for the label, really.

I’m thinking this next one can go one of two ways…

Okay.

Either ALL the shell colors are going to be black OR they’ll all be different colors. Did I get it?

Actually, I think they’re all going to stay white. I was riffing on the kinds of labels that churches put on sermon tapes for shut-ins and that sort of thing. But if you close your eyes…

I never close my eyes. Too scary. Anything planned for after these?

Quite a few things in the works, actually. It’s taken quite a while to launch this, so a good portion of the year is in various forms of completion already.

Anything you wanna mention, or ya keeping it hush hush for now?

I should probably keep ’em hush for the moment, as only one is 100 percent done, but I’m having these interesting conversations with people. I’ve known so many musicians between hosting shows, bands crashing w/me, playing shows together, radio stuff, review stuff, that I thought it might be something different to reach out to people with specific ideas. So I’ve asked a few people to try some specific musical approaches–not like writing pieces for them by any means, but suggesting certain aspects of their work that I think they could dig into in a new way. Long-ish term, I want to focus on composition with the label–not necessarily “written on paper” composition, though music that started through that process would be welcome, but music that’s composed as part of the recording process, thoroughly worked out, etc. And also I want to find those people who have been playing with really dense, complicated music at home, adding and subtracting layers and building enormous mutant musical monstrosities just for the sake of doing it. Maybe their friends or family don’t even know they do it, but if it ever came out, it would be like Mr. Holland’s Opus except that the music would sound more like Conlon Nancarrow and Daevid Allen wrestling with robotic riding lawnmowers or something. If you hear about those people, send them my way.

I want to end this with a question I’m going to ask every person who runs a label I interview, starting now. Right off the top of your head, name a project you’ve never done a release for that everyone should check out.

I’m going to go with Zeek Sheck. That album that came out on Resipiscent last year was criminally ignored, but that has to be one of the best recordings of the last decade.

Scott, thanks for talking, man.

Absolutely! Thanks so much for having me!

New Batch – Paralaxe Editions
3.18.15 by Mike Haley

I’m assuming you’re familiar with how to use an elevator, or a “lifty-loo” if ya speak the Queen’s English. All the buttons with numbers designate a floor in the building. There are “open” and “close” buttons that (sometimes) open and close the doors. Emergency Stop, Alarm, etc, etc… All pretty much self-explanatory. Now, if you see a button that is shaped like a 3D brain, with an X over three lines… Well, that’s the Paralaxe Editions button. Push the fuck out of that one, because it’s gonna take you to a real chill spot. And bring a change of clothes and a toothbrush, because once you make the acquaintance of these cassettes by Ondness and Takahiro Mukai, you’ll be wanting to stay for a bit.

The first thing you’ll notice will be the luxury-look of these fine specimens. Barcelona’s Paralaxe Editions did things up right with thick card stock jcards that are letterpressed and have little extra panels of art affixed to the front. The design is gorgeous, super clean, and subtly textural. Man, I wanna rub em a bit, but I just ate a panini and don’t wanna grease things up. Perhaps after nice shower…

“Them Corja” by Ondness (who’s minty green shell and orange leader tape look fucking baller as heck, but I don’t wanna get tooooooo tape-nerdy, so I wont mention that) patrols like a colony of robotic ants. Bruno Silva’s work is very coordinated and calming. Tons of metallic patterns and ticks that shift in hypnotizing styles. Crumbs come in / crumbs go out. The work keeps pushing forward in delicate control, except for when massive rain drops throw things into a scattered muddle, or a rouge magnifying glass sparks the workers into flames. Silva manages to bring order back to the squad, shaping new placid pathways in the mud over 40 minutes of this way calm listen. Limited to 60 copies.

I was introduced to Takahiro Mukai by the excellent “1409-1” tape on Phinery, which I loved, so I went into “SomosanSeppa” preparing to be pleased. Spoiler alert: I was. Mukai’s raid of sounds are vibrant, oddly dance-able at times, and loaded with attack. Plops and thuds are dropped like wee-petite slime bombs on a secluded village. Residents there seem pretty cool with the oozy barrage, though. I think they get high off the slime and jam tribal rhythms while it’s going on. Win/win if you ask me. This C30 with a red shell is also an edition of 60 copies.

Don’t be a loser, be a user. Scoop up both of these awesome tapes from Paralaxe Editions now. And keep a close eye on their actions, because they are sure to be savage.

Euglossine – Complex Playground
3.16.15 by Mike Haley

I don’t know if you’ve ever shoe shopped for a child before, but it’s a borderline bonkers experience. All the foot gear in the store glows and/or flashes lights and/or sparkles in the most unnatural sparkly way possible. And they are so small, which I guess makes sense considering they are for small children with small feet, but it’s still weird seeing them. It’s like being in a regular shoe store on mushrooms. The socks are pretty normal though…

Now, I’m fully aware all those shoes were most likely made by small children with small feet in bummer conditions, so montage footage of the factory would probably pair best with some Sarah McLachlan downer vibes. But let’s pretend for a moment that the Earth was home to decent, non-awful beings. In that second-life scenario Euglossine would be blaring over the footwear assembly video while blithesome adults toted pouches of brightly colored LEDs, flickering off the power of joy, across the checkered-floored work areas. Assembly lines would be so jubilant they would make the chocolate scene from I Love Lucy look like a Dancer In The Dark sequel.

If sophisticatedly-wacky is a genre, Euglossine nails it. The futurecho’d blazed blips and lounge tinged condensation is repped hard by Tristan Whitehill on “Complex Playground”. He squirts candied zaps on these here tracks that boing about randomly, all fleshy and hypercolored. A randomness fastened together by a sea of Sega inspired jazz fusion rips. Whitehill manages to create something that shouldn’t make any sense, but makes so much. And he does it with casual composure. Because while you want those multineon kid shoes to beam and glisten, they also gotta fit snug and have one left and one right. Whitehill’s got the feet measured properly, EyeBodega fucking kiiiiilled the design, and Beer On The Rug is prepared to bring it all your way. You can preorder this C34 here. It will be limited to 100 copies. Try it on for size below.