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Stephen Molyneux – Wings and Circles
4.24.17 by Kat Harding

Stephen Molyneux, from Denver, put out a tape in February on No Kings that is a relaxing foray through folky improvisation. “Wings and Circles,” with beautiful radar and map views printed in orange and blue on cream paper, is a work of art both inside and out. A map of the night sky graces the inside of the art work, with the Stuart Friebert quote “My body wants the place where the wings and circles are.”

“Wings and Circles” hums awake with tones from an electric organ. The tape was recorded in a basement, which usually brings dark connotations, but this is a warm and welcoming place. Dulcimer, melodica, pan pipes, banjo, lap steel, and percussion all make appearances in the music. It’s engulfing and relaxing, like a warm summer day, or a thick blanket in the winter. The tones echo and vibrate through the space, with clinking bells punctuating the song randomly, like they’re blowing in a gentle breeze. The track is divided by lengths of silence, but it doesn’t feel like we’re switching songs. It feels like we’re taking a breath before continuing the same track, just a different verse. The gentle purring of the organ carries us through the track and it’s more than 16 minute length is perfect to lull you into a trance.

Side B starts off with sharp banjo and lap steel, already louder than side A, but still relaxed. This is a front-porch pickin’ side, with an adept player experimenting with a familiar instrument. The clear chords disintegrate into humming and echoing, like an amp buzzing after the last verse. At about six minutes in, the organ picks up in full effect, giving serious church procession vibes. While we contemplate our sins, the organ continues, with clanking bells twinkling through. With the organ as the backbone of the song, the track meanders along, adding new sounds layered on top. Both sides add to give you more than thirty minutes of soft organ music to unwind to. Prime listening spots include hammocks, beach towels, couches, beds, or any other place to get a moment’s rest.

Get a copy of the C32, an edition of 100 copies, on Molyneux’s Bandcamp page.

Flusnoix – s/t
4.12.17 by Kat Harding

Flusnoix, a Montevallo, Alabama-based group of musicians, was founded by Jess Marie Walker and her need to connect drawing and making music. The group’s improvisations were recorded in March 2016 at the Kewahatchee Lounge in Birmingham. Using flusdrawxing and flusvoxing in other performances and art installations lead to the creation of Flusnoix.

It’s hard to tell what’s on the scratchy black and white photo of the cover; we might be in a cave, we might be in a field, and if you stare hard enough, you can make out the shape of a woman in a flowing skirt standing rigidly in the space. The tape opens in the same mysterious way, with sparse tones weaving through space. Gentle plucks and chirps over tones reminiscent of cars driving past an open window fill the air. The next track, “it ran” ramps up the energy, and we do feel we’re on the run, bobbing through quirky needling sounds, like a guitar being played underwater. Put on “into” while getting ready for your next date; it’s a sexy and relaxing track that’ll give you confidence and calmness.

To see these musicians perform together must be quite an experience, as their pieces fit together in the most natural way, as though they’ve been playing together since the dawn of time. To know they’re an improvisational group is to understand the level of talent they have. The more-than-nine-minute track “the garden” is an incredible work, with soft guitar chords picked over sounds straight from outer space. Soft clanking keeps the track out of the anxiety-inducing realm of deep space and firmly grounded. With alien blips and a deep bassline, “harborin” takes us on a wild ride through time. The tape closes with “mur mur in,” a sweet, almost tropical sounding tune that closes on a high note.

The whole tape is perfect, relaxing music. With mysterious tones and easy-to-listen to experimentation, this should be your choice of sunny day listening. Get a copy of yours from the Sweet Wreath Bandcamp.

Dan Walsh – Fixity
3.23.17 by Kat Harding

Out on Ireland’s KantCope comes Dan Walsh’s “Fixity.” Dan’s the drummer of Great Balloon Race and the tape is his latest foray into production and composition. Released in summer 2016, the jazzy improvised and experimental tape is perfect for these flashes of winter we’re experiencing now in March. Sit by a fire, gaze out of the window, and let Dan’s controlled chaos warm you up and take you away.

With five songs on side A, there is a lot going on. The tape breaks open with “Hungry Clouds,” which gives the feeling of the calm before the storm. A mysterious bass line and rolling drums drive the song along, picking up low murmurings of lyrics and a plucked guitar along the way. We get to relax a bit with the following track “stigmatostigmata,” a meandering and calming track, breathing softly through improvisations and jazzy tones. Every track shows the pure artistry of the instrumentalists, crashing together and pulling apart, feeling highly improvised but at the same time, like the musicians have played together for years. Dan on the drums is the backbone of each track, with bass, guitar, and saxophone building up and around the sound, pushing each song further into contained pandemonium. The last track on the side, “Blue Paint,” is a more than eight minute jam, sure to raise your heart rate and pull your attention from anything else in the room. An ethereal chorus hums life into the song, sounding like angels from on high while the drums quicken. The song breaks down into the pops and crackles of electrical feedback before buzzing out completely. Were we just in heaven or hell?

Side B is just two songs, opening with “damagedgood.” A sweetly strum guitar holds the tune while fuzzy droning swarms behind it. Dan has brought us to the bottom of the ocean and we’re staring up through the clear water to the sunshine above. We’re floating and drifting along, aware of the inherent danger of the open ocean, an anxiety communicated in the background of the song. It comes to the forefront with buzzing growing increasingly louder and more prominent, competing with our trusty guitar, soon overtaking it, the screeching alone closing out the song. “Song for Tree” brings us back to land, grounding us in bass and enveloping us in reverberation. The track is warm and comforting and ends with sparkling tones that fade to silence.

This tape is for fans of experimental music, sure, but also for fans of jazz. It’s chaos coming together in a beautiful way. Pick up the tape now.

Sarin – Just Beat The Devil Out Of It
3.13.17 by Kat Harding

Peering out at you from the front of the cassette is a mysterious grey alien, barely decipherable on the green and black cover, guarding the bright green tape inside. Released on Des Moines’ experimental tape label 5CM Recordings, Sarin’s “Just Beat The Devil Out Of It” is almost 40 minutes of droney, psychedelic improvisation by Matt, Kyle, Kaylee, and Mathias. Recorded in early 2016 and released in August, the tape is nearly 40 minutes of tight listening.

Both sides named after vibrant pigments: Pthalo Green I and II, matching the vibrant green of the cover and the tape. Each side is almost twenty minutes of improvisation ranging from psychedelic to drone to sludge metal. The side starts off with rolling drums, creating a noisy, echoing, drone-filled space. Continuing with anxiety-inducing guitar wails, feedback weaves through the song as it meanders along. A mysterious feeling overtakes around the 8 minute mark, reminiscent of the part of the horror movie where the character doesn’t realize they’re being followed by a monster, but we know. Will they figure it out in time? Probably not. But the song and improvisation continues, even coming together for a brief foray into a jazzy section, with lots of cymbals and a low bass beat. The song picks up speed, screeching around, for one last bit before coming to a halt with one last cymbal crash.

The second begins with industrial reverberation over clanging, moving into a toe-tapping section, that while dark, is more upbeat. The drums are out of control on this song, with heavy-handed smashing and constant cymbals. Continuing into a section of alarm-style tones, the cymbals then throw the song into a section of heavy sludge metal. With seven minutes left, the psychedelic influences reappear, begging to be paired with a projected, swirling light show over a blank wall. The alien repetition evokes outer space and all it’s vast chaos: I’ve never felt like the dense universe would be a peaceful and calming place. The song unravelings into twinkling chimes over pulsating drums and fading to reverb, closing out the song in more of a whimper than a bang — just like the world will end.

Pick up the tape for yourself on 5CM’s bandcamp.

Pal+ – Pictorial
1.24.17 by Kat Harding

Released in September 2016 on Os Tres Amigos (“The Three Friends”) label out of Portugal, Pal+’s “Pictorial” tape features melodic beats and vivid synth sounds for an upbeat and energizing listen. The cover art is a smattering of paint and crayon in vibrant blue, purple, pink, yellow, and black over the familiar blue lines of notebook paper, enclosing an off-white tape full of Fernando Silva’s recordings made between 2012 and 2016.

The hypnotizing “Aural Canvas” opens side A, a bright humming track that clocks in at just over two minutes. “Africa Eyes” picks up after a beat of silence with buoyant drum beats and simple, repetitive chanting over circuitous synth work. I really like “Morpheus,” which sounds like it could be found in a tiny club with strobe lights and everyone dancing and drinking colorful cocktails. Mysterious airy tones add lightness to the gripping track, which fades to a peaceful end. The industrial clanking and sinister synth at the start of “The Ice Palace” create an unsettling world building to a swell and ending with a heavy crash that reverberates through your skull. The silence ends and “Grand Canyon” begins, a Middle Eastern-esque track with soft wailing over a constant shaker and fast-moving percussion.

The first track on side B, “Mantra,” starts off with frantic, breathy sounds building over beats reminiscent of the opening of Netflix’s Stranger Things, evoking a sense of uneasiness that nearly tips over into full-blown fear. The longest song on the side, and the whole tape, the track often slows, pulling the tones down to a much deeper register before speeding back up again. “Motor City” is much less threatening than “Mantra,” and feels like a light relief after the panic of the former track. “The Emerald Hill” closes the tape, a roaming animated tune with alien synth sounds and a beat to move to.

Get your own copy of the tape on the OTA Bandcamp.