Friday Full-Length: Various Artists, Escape to Weird Mountain Vol. 9

Posted in Bootleg Theater on January 12th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

various artists escape to weird mountain volume 9

New Year, new label samplers. I’ve seen a few coming out, as one will, as record labels begin to look forward at the year to come, celebrate recent releases and herald their 2024 to be. I’ve found over the last couple years that when I want something weird or different, Forbidden Place Records can reliably intrigue and, even if a given record doesn’t change your life, a rabbit hole to go down isn’t nothing, and the Escape to Weird Mountain Vol. 9 comp. — you’ll note that it’s ‘escape to‘ rather than ‘escape from‘; we’re leaving everything and going to the mountain — has a whopping 19 tracks. If you can’t find something in that for even a momentary distraction, maybe go back to the start and try again.

Let’s go through:

1. RUNT, “The Void” — I think the kids call this style industrial punk. Either way, there are a fair amount of solo dudes-as-bands out there now on either side of the country between RUNT, N8NOFACE, Trace Amount, King Yosef, and so on. The shout reminds of Negative Reaction, and as to “where’s my god now,” he’s in the same place he’s always in: the cheese drawer. Clearly a priority for the label and an immediate ‘something different’ to start. Win.

2. Cani Sciorii, “Ringhia” — Sharply punctuated heavy/noise rock boogie. Reminds a bit of Sandrider in the early going but the vocals take it elsewhere. Brash. Gets trippy in the second half but they bring the sway back around.

3. Tojo Yamamoto, “The Mongolian Stomper” — An apparent homage to Archie Gouldie, who was a professional wrestler, the low start-stop fart-fuzz gets quirky complement by the lead guitar and rough-delivered verses. I don’t know if the song is actually about Gouldie, but there are two old wrestling samples and it ends talking about the stomper, and it’s the tone either way.

4. Death Spa, “Make it Hurt” — Weirdo electronica becomes kind of a thread through Escape to Weird Mountain Vol. 9, as the label has more than dabbled by now in multiple spheres. Death Spa are rawer than RUNT, more intense, with a bridge that sounds Mediterranean and screams to complement that call out the title with an especially pleading sensibility.

5. Molefunken, “Suck Your Thumb” — Starts with a set of ‘na-na-na-na’s that is the hook. Big early Funkadelic vibe here in the gang vocals, ’70s swing, and dance-your-ass-off intent. It’s lo-fi, but it’s a party.

6. Prosthetic Bung, “Breaking the Bung Curse” — Avant vibes and echoing fantasy-epic storytelling captured barebones but with enough echo to give an atmospheric impression either. A bit of hi-hat chicanery behind the vocals, which are mostly spoken and partially decipherable, but which add to the ambience amid all the freak-rock swirl and effects-born chaos. Four weird-ass minutes. Ends with “the end.”

7. Saint Omen, “Destroyer” — Another spoken vocal ties it to the prior bung curse, but Saint Omen are more pointedly riffy, with a hook delivered in harsh vocals after a verse low-rumbled like Mark Lanegan, a sample and a lurching nod with buzzsaw-tone soloing and vibrant crash.

8. Sign of the Sorcerer, “Black Night” — You ain’t gonna hear me complain about the nod. Clearly moving into cult rock territory, “Black Night” is slow, foggy and fuzzed, modern in its ancient cavernousness, and almost cruelly stoned. A record to look for, and not the first so far.

9. Oopsy Dazey, “Regrets” — The grunge sidestep from LáGoon‘s Anthony Gaglia and Jamie Yeats of Wizzerd ticks any ’90s nostalgia box you might have while keeping a foot in the drug-cult spirit. Yeah, it sounds like The Dandy Warhols circa 1996, but it lives in a world where drugs and murder are legal, so look out.

10. Your Gaze, “IDK” — Pretty obviously self-aware, if the name is anything to go by. “IDK” feels like the next stage of post-. Like, it’s post-post-punk. Post-post-heavy, post-Joy Division, with just enough heavy slog underneath all that morose, emotionally-goth float to give it presence when the ‘drums’ speed up at the finish. I promise you it sounds cooler than my description.

11. Land Whales, “Dias de Martes” — Cuba’s Land Whales self-released their Null Days LP in November and were picked up by Forbidden Place no doubt for the strong ’90s alt vibes, not quite retro since the shimmer is so modern, but that way it kind of drifts off at the end then circles back to a fuller hook puts the lie to any lackadaisical positioning.

12. Brunsten, “Gamechanger” — A proggy two and a half minutes with semi-spoken lyrics and a so-British-it’s-British-even-if-it-isn’t vibe, but it turns jet-engine buzz and shoutier in its second half and makes its short-ass runtime count for every second. Builds like this take some bands three times as long.

13. NAQOY (vs. planetDAMAGE), “White Rat” — Low volume, moody, drity techno, heavy in its underpinning but actively not trying to be rock and roll, and so not. The beats are hypnotic in their pulsation and the song establishes itself and remains on a linear course for its four minutes, almost like an aside to another dimension coming out of Brunsten, but sharing an exploratory aspect with a lot of what’s included here.

14. Veuve Scarron, “MMDCN” — Something about the gang chorus here reminds me of some ancient Marilyn Manson hook, and I can’t quite place it. Once the hook takes off circa 1:15, the way it’s both caustic and melodic. The whole spirit in this one is pretty despondent, malevolent, but I’d have to dig further to know if it’s the standard self-loathing or what thematically. There’s nothing else here that sounds like this though, so “dig further” absolutely will happen.

15. Under the Clothesline, “Speed Only” — You’re sitting there thinking “Wow this has really gone on for a long time. When’s the garage rock gonna show up?” Here you go.

16. Dark Shaman, “Horror Night” — Rolling out cultish nod with full, classic doom riffing and a groove that goes from Black to Sabbath in scope, I’m calling this one a victory outright and keeping that bass buzz in the second half shuffle all for myself, thank you very much. I don’t know this band but I like them now, so that’s what a label sampler gets you.

17. Buskas, “Desiderium” — Be it heretofore known that Buskas are not fucking around. “Desiderium” is the longest song on this compilation at 6:46 and it fills that time building into a rumbling assault of distortion and aggression. Vocals are harsh-throated and positioned to cut through the mix, but the nastiness infects even the nod itself, so that even the crash cymbal hits mean. Don’t be surprised when you hear about this band again.

18. Ash Eater, “Any Port in the Storm” — I’m apparently doing a track premiere for this Portland band next week. Timing is everything. Quicker than it seems, their “Any Port in the Storm” shouts in echo and twists itself up mightily without losing its course. At least until it decides to shred itself into oblivion, that is. Fair enough. See you Wednesday, bruhs.

19. Basic Shapes, “A Quiet Place” — Well clearly not. Bringing together electronica and a stark, punkish riff, Basic Shapes underscore the curated feel of Escape to Weird Mountain Vol. 9 by bringing together multiple sides shown across various bands prior. That’s context rather than their artistic intent, but true nonetheless. Basic Shapes‘ obvious bent toward individualism is no less a vital representation.

Well, that’s it. Used to be I’d get label samplers in CD sleeves in parking lots at club shows, or like band demos, or whathaveyou. It’s not quite the same being on Bandcamp — don’t have to pay for parking — but I’ll be curious to see a few years from now which of these bands and who else under the Forbidden Place banner I might be covering more in-depth in a few years’ time. Either way, you could do far worse than being the go-to when someone wants something fresh, and I hope you find something in here you never heard before that you dig, because that’s the point of the whole thing to start with.

Thanks for reading.

After avoiding the cold that ransacked the house for the last two weeks passed back and forth between my wife and daughter, I would seem to have succumbed. Or at least I seem to be succumbing. I’ve been developing a cough over the last 36 hours like it’s a finely-tuned prog metal riff, and have been feeling generally like what an old friend once referred to as a, “bag of bashed assholes.” So be it.

But it was a week. It had ups, it had downs. I’m going to see Elder tonight at Madison Square Garden. That kind of rocks. I think I’ll have a photo pass? I hope I will? But even if not, it’ll be a trip to be in the building when that happens. Will write about it of course blah blah.

Monday is a day off from school, so kid’s home. MLK. Legit. That’ll make writing for Tuesday a challenge, but the week is packed so I’ll need to figure it out. Pyramid, Saturna, Ash Eater, Kungens Man, maybe something next Friday. Then the week after is more of the same. This thing just keeps going.

Have a great and safe weekend. Have fun, watch your head. I’ll be posting on Monday, because what’s a holiday anyhow, and seemingly into perpetuity thereafter. Thank you for reading and being part of it.

FRM.

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Review: Various Artists, StonedChine Vol. 1 & 2

Posted in Reviews on May 31st, 2023 by JJ Koczan

various artists stonedchine vol 1

Assembled at the behest of SloomWeep Productions and offered as two separate digital compilations, StonedChine Vol. 1 and StonedChine Vol. 2 are specifically focused on the growth of underground heavy sounds in China and the Chinese diaspora. Each volume offers one or two tracks per band and has a runtime that, on its own, would be a 2LP — Vol. 1 is 54 minutes/eight tracks/five bands, Vol. 2 is 63 minutes/six tracks/three bands — if physically pressed. The styles included run a gamut between and sometimes within the bands themselves, as Alpaca from Shanghai lead off with 2019’s single “Drown” (12:04) and the maybe-new “Jauria” (8:03), moving between sludge to psych-dub jamming to grindcore in their first piece while in “Jauria” they use a declarative chug as a backdrop for a Crowbar-style airing of grievances, shifting into a dramatic solo section before looping back to the central riff.

Immediately, StonedChine Vol. 1 claims extremity as part of Chinese heavy, and The Hermit, who close with the whistle-from-the-movie-inclusive “Kill Bill” (6:19) with their Bongzilla-type crust ‘n’ crackle sludge, reinforce the message. But the ‘various artists’ release doesn’t skip on the variety either, as Ramblin’ Roze picks up from Alpaca with a turn toward heavy rock that nonetheless keeps the threat of violent intent palpable with an opening news-broadcast sample about nine hikers being found murdered in the woods.

That song is “Mountain of the Dead” (8:35), and with feedback building behind its start, one expects an onslaught, or, given the content, at very least a madcap boogie in the vein of Japan’s Church of Misery, but the fuzzy roll that ensues is more Uncle Acid in its languidity and guitar interplay, melodic grunge-doom vocals more straightforward to keep up with the tempo boost as they kick into a “Hole in the Sky”-style riff and transition back to the hook with Heaven and Hell-style purpose, lead guitar howling behind the vocals before it goes down the drain at the end. Ramblin’ Roze‘s “Escape” (4:37) is partly acoustic and has an even stronger lead vocal performance, a thick Zeppelin vibe that grows raucous near its conclusion after a relatively peaceful start. They’ve reportedly had lineup changes since 2020’s debut LP, Howl of the Coomb, from which “Mountain of the Dead” is taken as a remaster, but would fit on any number of EU/US heavy rock imprints.

Guangzhou-based deathsludge rockers Rude Gove offer two tracks from last year’s Chirp of Doom in “Save My Soul” (4:15) and “Yeti” (4:15), rawer in production and more beastly in their assault, like they dug a whole in their own low-end mud and decided to record there. Peppered with lead guitar hinting at melody, “Save My Soul” is gritty, low and guttural, and “Yeti” follows suit with a speedier swing and more open cymbal crash, the vocals veering toward cleaner throaty shouts but still with plenty of Carcass-type gurgles to fill it out, catchy and no less coated in dirt-dust for that.

Based in Melbourne, Australia, meditative psych explorers SPAWN issued their righteous Live at Moonah Arts Collective (review here) through SloomWeep in 2021, and are the most tripped-out act on either volume of StonedChine, with “Meditation in an Evil Temple” (6:28) as their lone inclusion, resonant in its worldly acid flow. They’re a sharp curve from Rude Gove just before and they give way to the aforementioned The Hermit to cap Vol. 1, but can’t help but stand out even from the scope of intent Alpaca laid out. Returning to harsh vibes, “Kill Bill” — from The Hermit‘s 2021 The Wall of Desire EP — boasts some subtler layering in the guitar near its finish and is fluid in its movement from one part to the next, making its primary impression in bite with some depth underneath.

various artists stonedchine vol 2

Vol. 2 is perhaps more solidified in its methodology, but consistent in the purpose of highlighting the Chinese underground. “My Pet Depression” (8:04) and “Endless Parade” (13:32) come from Apollo 20‘s Endless Parade 10″, released in 2021, and they appeared in succession there as well. The melodies in the vocals of the former remind a bit of Acid Bath‘s brooding slog, but “Endless Parade” offsets its early whispers with blown-out shouts soon enough before re-mellowing and nestling into an engaging solo-topped jam at about six minutes in that carries them for the duration, some cricket chirping added among the light effects swirl to help ease from one to the other.

A lucid ending there lets the punch of bass at the outset of BanyanRiver‘s “The Ghost of Temptation Still Haunts On Me” (15:36) have that much more impact, and as the longest cut on either volume of StonedChine, it declares itself with a patient buildup and a slow, Black Sabbath‘s “Black Sabbath”-type pull in a short opening movement before a dead stop and feedback arrive to announce an ultra-dense janga-janga march. By the time it gets to including what might be vocals beamed in through another dimension, it’s a semi-metallic thrust that will drop to chants and meditative doom, but the bass and drums still hold the march as the guitar gradually freaks out en route to the inevitable noisy ending. “All is One” (7:48) launches from there with standalone chant-like vocals for its first minute-plus, and maintains that ceremonial spirit as it works its way into a central nod, growing furious and punk in its shove at 5:35 and riding that speedier course to its end, laced with feedback.

Bass also introduces HallucinGod‘s “Go Space” (6:49), which is a less-directly sludged nod at first, clean vocals resting atop an angular but flowing doomer riff, turning semi-psych with guitar effects and backing vocals in its midsection before reviving its prior lumber. HallucinGod‘s second track, “Marijuaua Desert” (11:27) (sic), is broader in its arrangement and remains grounded in the kickdrum even as the guitar reaches into ethereal atmospherics branched outward from the solid groove underpinning. Layered group chanting in the verse fascinates and gives over to speech in the left channel and swirl in the right, but the hint toward the intensity to come is in that drum, which grows steadily more active before taking off into a modded High on Fire-style breakout turned almost cosmic in HallucinGod‘s hands, if only momentarily. They’ve grown huge in the interim, which is shown in the slowdown and subsequent roll toward the return of the folk instrumentation that started the track for its ending, which fades out and brings StonedChine Vol. 2 with it.

With more than a few surprises throughout, these two StonedChine compilations get their point across in the freshness of the bands’ approaches to heavy. As SloomWeep posits, the Chinese heavy underground is new — the label counts 2011 as the country’s first stoner-doom show; Never Before (who don’t feature here) played — and many of these acts sound accordingly young, but it’s new bands, new players and new ideas that result in new sounds, and it may be that the bridges being constructed between styles by some of these groups, whether it’s sludgy grind-dub or just an individualized take on doomed psychedelia, will continue to flesh out as the next decade or so plays out. In any case, the mission of StonedChine in showcasing China’s flourishing heavy scene — as well as SloomWeep‘s roster of talent — is unquestionably a success, and coming out of a comp with the homework of more bands to dig into is an ideal made manifest here. It’s not a minor undertaking, but being split between its two volumes helps, and both the educational value for those outside its own geographical sphere and as a listening experience, easily worth the minimal chasedown. All you have to do is be willing to hear something new.

Various Artists, StonedChine Vol. 1 (2023)

Various Artists, StonedChine Vol. 2 (2023)

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Argonauta Records & The Obelisk Present: Magick Sun & Mystic Moon Compilation

Posted in The Obelisk Presents, Whathaveyou on February 27th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

I went back into the archives and looked, and I’ve been writing about Argonauta Records fare for more than a decade now, and I remain an admirer of the way in which Gero as the founding principal and the imprint as an entity conduct themselves with little regard for trend or anything so much as what speaks to his/its/their own passion. I was asked last month to be a part of ‘presenting’ this compilation, and to be perfectly honest with you, I was likewise honored and confused as to why, since the thing was (nearly) done by then and it’s not like I had much more to offer than some text and that circle logo to digitally-stamp on the cover.

But hey, I’ll take it. It’s nice to be thought of, nice to be asked, and I’m happy to be a small part of it however I can. In addition to having great respect for what Argonauta has accomplished in its time and for the way in which Gero has grown the label over the last 11 years, I also did a lot of the music that comes out under the label’s banner.

Some of this stuff has been released before, some of it hasn’t, but after what one imagines was a not-insignificant logistical challenge in putting it together, the 19-track Magick Sun & Mystic Moon — not to be confused with Barcelona psych outfit Magick Brother & Mystic Sister — emerges as both a good time listening experience and a celebration of the stylistic range that typifies Argonauta‘s roster, the totality of which goes even farther than this. And, of course, one of the most essential facets of what Argonauta does is that it continues to grow and seek new creative voices to support, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t the last time they do a project like this either. Just a heads up, I guess.

I wrote the text below to coincide with the stream of Drive by Wire‘s cover of The Smiths hitting Bandcamp, and it’s got a little more background on what inspired the compilation, etc., put in PR wire blue for form’s sake. Before I turn you over to it, I’d like to say a direct thanks to Gero for having me on board.

Dig:

Various Artists Magick Sun Mystic Moon

ARGONAUTA RECORDS – ‘Magick Sun & Mystic Moon’

Get it here: https://argonautarecords.bandcamp.com/album/magick-sun-mystic-moon

Argonauta Records presents the covers compilation ‘Magick Sun & Mystic Moon,’ featuring 18 acts from the long-running Italian label’s roster, diverse in sound and celebrating influences both glaringly obvious and wholly unexpected. From The Doors and Stooges and KISS to Billy Joel (?!), Darkthrone, The Smiths and Candlemass, artists from a wide swath of styles and legacies are honored by denizens of one of the heavy underground’s most vibrant imprints.

Partnering with respected heavy blog The Obelisk, Argonauta brings forth new and unreleased tracks from the likes of Ancient VVisdom’s Nathan Opposition, who bookends the release in the opening and closing spots, as well as Drive by Wire from the Netherlands, Temple of Deimos, Blues Weiser, Autumnblaze, Mos Generator, Hebi Katana and Mitochondrial Sun, and rare and previously-issued works from Snail, Shadow Witch, Indigo Raven, When the Deadbolt Breaks, Dee Calhoun (ex-Iron Man, current Spiral Grave frontman), Deep Space Mask, Buzzard Canyon, Mourn the Light, The Black Legacy and Sator.

In being utterly packed with righteous executions and aesthetic breadth, ‘Magick Sun & Mystic Moon’ is nothing if not representative in its entirety of Argonauta’s ethic of supporting artists and groups united by passion and quality more than aural homogeny. But if it’s raw heavy you seek, there’s plenty to go around.

“18 Artists from our stellar roster joined forces to give life to a wonderful compilation made of a wide range tunes and bands being honored,” says Argonauta boss Gerolamo Lucisano. “As the label, we are extremely proud of their top quality songs and effort, especially as the project was started and assembled during the difficult times of the pandemic era.”

Begun in 2012, Argonauta Records approaches its 11th year of existence having already contributed significantly to the sphere of underground rock and metal. A somewhat light-hearted concept to contrast with difficult times, ‘Magick Sun & Mystic Moon’ reminds listeners as well as the parties involved in making it that it’s both okay and necessary to step outside one’s normal methods and expressive ideologies, to challenge convention inside and out, and at the most basic level, to have fun doing it.

That spirit is palpable here, and we hope you experience it as well in listening. Thank you for your support.

Tracklisting:
1. NATHAN OPPOSITION (Ancient VVisdom) – The River of Dreams [Billy Joel]* 03:26
2. DRIVE BY WIRE – How Soon Is Now [The Smiths]* 05:23
3. TEMPLE OF DEIMOS – Dancing Days [Led Zeppelin]* 03:41
4. BLUES WEISER – Rags to Rags [Eels]* 04:07
5. AUTUMNBLAZE – Transilvanian Hunger [Darkthrone]* 03:44
6. MOS GENERATOR – She [Kiss]* 06:05
7. HEBI KATANA – Money [The Beatles]* 03:06
8. SNAIL – Fearless [Pink Floyd] 05:06
9. MITOCHONDRIAL SUN (Niklas Sundin) – Neverending Story [Limahl]* 03:44
10. INDIGO RAVEN – Push the Sky Away [Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds] 04:10
11. WHEN THE DEADBOLT BREAKS – Not to Touch the Earth [The Doors] 04:01
12. DEE CALHOUN – The Knoxville Girl [The Louvin Brothers] 04:11
13. DEEP SPACE MASK – Strange Ways [Kiss] 03:49
14. BUZZARD CANYON – Where Eagles Dare [Misfits] 02:20
15. MOURN THE LIGHT – Bewitched [Candlemass] 06:45
16. SHADOW WITCH – I Wanna Be Your Dog [The Stooges] 03:47
17. THE BLACK LEGACY – Been Down So Long [The Doors] 04:28
18. SATOR – A Forest [The Cure] 09:54
19. NATHAN OPPOSITION (Ancient VVisdom) – The End of the World [Skeeter Davis]* 02:24
*previously unreleased

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Various Artists, Magick Sun & Mystic Moon (2023)

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Album Review: Various Artists, International Space Station Vol. 1 Split 2LP

Posted in Reviews on September 5th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

VA International Space Station Vol i

It’s a pretty clever play on the idea of an International Space Station. The ‘international’ part: four bands, each from a different country. ‘Space’: well yeah, everybody here gets decidedly cosmic, thank you kindly. ‘Station’: there’s enough of it to make either your own radio or land your starship on, however you choose to interpret the word. One likes to think it’s in an optimistic spirit that Worst Bassist Records brings together Nashville, Tennessee’s ElonMusk — who probably regret that moniker by now — Electric Moon from Germany, Swedish jammers Kungens Män and Norway’s Kanaan to pay conceptual homage on the International Space Station Vol. I four-way, all-instrumental, 88-minute split double-vinyl to the most genuine evidence of what humans can achieve when collaborating across their own pretend/tribal borders, reminding us that even as the international order teeters (war in Eastern Europe, pandemic, climate change, on and on) and such cooperation feels ever rarer, the possibility of a better way exists.

Each band gets a side, and uses it for one song. It is something of a surprise to find an American band included here at all — Europsych has a tendency toward insularity; it looks out for its own and in the past I’ve perceived a bit of nose-up as regards many US acts; obviously not the case this time — but ElonMusk not only get a quarter of the ‘station’ to themselves, they go first. Thus “Gods of the Swamp Planet” (22:02) unfurls its synth-laced mellow roll a headphone-ready expanse of tripped-out serenity. Floating guitars, floating synth, subtle flourish on the toms and cymbals (thinking of the ride at about nine minutes in), and it’s an outbound motion that builds from the initial drone of keyboards as the guitar, bass and drums arrive, set and launch the course, setting their own mood and that for the release as a whole. Just as “Gods of the Swamp Planet” seems to hit its comedown, at 13:28, a louder and more uptempo movement starts, still with the synth droning out behind, but the drums hit harder, the guitars soar higher, and a post-Earthless triumph rings out, if only or about two minutes. It feels live if it isn’t, in part because of the residual energy carried over as “Gods of the Swamp Planet” settles down again, but at 18:37, it turns back to its squibbly scorcher lead and more fervent nod, and rides that groove until residual drone carries it out.

Side flip. For pleasant surprises, Electric Moon‘s “Duality” (15:46) is the shortest inclusion, but offers a markedly uptempo take, immediately digging into the space rock purpose hinted at in the split’s title and apparent theme. The band recently shifted lineup, bidding farewell to Dave “Sula Bassana” Schmidt, and I’m not sure whether this is their first song without or their last with him — the lineup is now “Komet Lulu” Neudeck (who also runs Worst Bassist Records) on bass, Johannes “Joe Muff” Schaffer on guitar and Bernhard “Pablo Carneval” Fasching on drums — but the band’s long-established modus of immersive and cosmic instrumental heavy psych is given extra flash through a steady percussive tension and a swath of layered guitar effects, smoke trailing their way through the consciousness as “Duality” careens toward its midpoint. Shortly thereafter, a break to silence and a measure of transitional guitar leaves a blank slate from whence the guitar and keys begin to rebuild a post-rock pastoralia, a serene six-minute contemplation that’s a standout from Electric Moon‘s work to this point, if one that carries a familiar hypnosis forward to new ground. Perhaps that’s the band’s portrayal of cross-cultural fellowship. If so, it should rightly be considered a focus point for the release as a whole.

Record switch. The second platter finds prolific Stockholm collective Kungens Män already in motion by the time the needle hits the platter, bending space, time and their own strings as “Keeper of the One Key” (23:24) unfolds its they’re-already-gone-and-it’s-time-for-you-to-go-too interstellar languidity. Smoothly delivered as ever for the band — class explorers through and through — the guitar turns to an improvised sounding bounce and starts running scales at about nine minutes in, but the truth is if you’re not on board by then, Kungens Män have already left without you. But don’t worry, there’s time to catch up as they dig, dig, dig into the realms of hidden matter and unknowable energies, physics turning into so much lazy-eyed goo in their capable, moderating control. It’s not quite as drastic a second-half departure as that of Electric Moon before them, but “Keeper of the One Key” shifts into a more distorted lead tone after hitting the 20-minute mark and caps with a bit of chug to wash down all the prior noodling, its long fade capturing the moment when the jam probably came apart but still giving a sense of the various infinities surrounding Kungens Män as they elicit deeply entrancing calm out of chaos. It’s also telling that as International Space Station Vol. I plays out, the songs get longer.

On that note, one more side flip — and/or a format switch — to the digital-only-because-it-wouldn’t-fit-on-a-12″-anyway “Beyond” (27:43) from Kanaan, who follow 2021’s Earthbound (review here) and herald the upcoming Diversions Vol. I: Softly Through Sunshine with evocative-of-waves ribboning astral jazz. Never mind that with its runtime it’s an album unto itself, “Beyond” underscores both journey and arrival for this collection, gradually making its way into a slow wash of melody and breadth. Should there be any residual doubt the Oslo-based troupe are as we speak positioning themselves as one of the foremost purveyors of next-generation European heavy psychedelia — not an insignificant crowd from which to distinguish themselves — the apparent ease with which they drift into and through the piece’s midsection and out toward the encompassing and louder finish is marked by patience as well as vigor. The final element to go is a howling guitar — convenient aural analog for the outing as a whole — but by the time they’ve gotten there, Kanaan have asserted their emergent mastery over the expanding omniverse of their sound. “Beyond” reminds that time is a construct and the best thing you can do with your mind is expand it. If you want elevated consciousness, then you need to get on that elevator.

United in purpose and largely in mood, International Space Station Vol. I may be the start of a series, or like so many ‘vol. I’ outings, it may not. I won’t claim to know. For right now — such as it is with that whole “time is a construct” thing — the efforts on the part of Neudeck in bringing these acts together are not to be undervalued, and while splits and compilations are often the realm of tossoffs, leftover recordings, etc., this version of the ISS reminds of the incredible capacity human beings have when willing to set aside largely-imaginary differences of demographic and opinion in favor of unity. It wants nothing for substance, building structure from formlessness. Beautiful in ideology and execution.

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Special Feature: Track-by-Track Through Grados. Minutos. Segundos. Pt. 4

Posted in Bootleg Theater, Features on June 6th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Various artists Grados Minutos Segundos

With this, the track-by-track series for Spinda Records‘ massive, 24-bands-on-12-split-7-inches box set Grados. Minutos. Segundos., comes to an end. The fourth and final shipment has gone out, carrying three more splits, and while one wouldn’t want to accuse the label of playing favorites, there’s no doubt that the idea of “finishing strong” was a factor here, as KabbalahArennaBattosaiPyramidal, Híbrido and Here the Captain Speaking, the Captain is Dead come together for the last installment.

It’s been an honor — and yes, I mean that — to host this series. I’ve said on three prior occasions now the incredible amount of respect I have for the project. It’s not just a compilation of bands, though it’s certainly that too, and an expansive one at that. It’s a celebration with exclusive material of a generation of the Spanish underground happening at a, at the, perfect moment for that underground itself, which has proven its vitality and creative individuality across the entire collection. It is not the kind of thing that happens every lifetime, and while I don’t know the plans of Spinda Records and honcho Berto Cáceres in this regard, he’s said no re-pressing will happen, so it might actually be once in that lifetime. If you got one, consider yourself lucky.

Past installments in this series are here and here and here. Thanks to Cáceres for facilitating on all, here’s the track-by-track for part four and the stream of the whole thing:

grados minutos segundos vinyl

Purchase here: https://spindarecords.com/grados-minutos-segundos

After 18 stops, his trip to the deepest underground scenes in Spain called ‘Grados. Minutos. Segundos.’ comes to an end with another 6 bands such as Battosai, Pyramidal, Híbrido, Kabbalah, Arenna and Here the Captain Speaking, the Captain Is Dead.

‘Grados. Minutos. Segundos.’ is a no-return trip around the four cardinal points of the deepest underground music scenes in Spain. Thanks to a boxset full of previously unreleased tracks of 24 indie Spanish bands you’ll have the chance to understand how’s the sound of this new generation of independent musicians. You don’t want to be told about it, you want to be part of it.

Grados. Minutos. Segundos. Track-by-Track Pt. 4

BATTOSAI – “Auténtico”:

We don’t usually have many songs with a mid-tempo beat. That’s why when we were writing, the tempo itself was the key and everything was built around it. On the other hand, we wanted to play around an ambiguous chord progression, typical of that sound coming from Seattle in the ’90s. When it comes to lyrics, it’s all about the idea of “no one is authentic enough”. It talks about how hard it is to follow your own path and stick to your convictions with so many things influencing you on a daily basis, such as society, family, friends, traditions, religion… It’s easy to feel some kind of pressure, start even feeling fear of being alone or in some way different, and becoming somebody you don’t want to be.

BATTOSAI – “Entiéndeme”:

It was one of the first songs of the band and it ended up in this project. It collects the essence of Battosai, being the type of music that comes very naturally when rehearsing. It’s a fast song, with vocal dynamics between verse and chorus. As for the lyrics, it talks about those folks who want to convince you of something you don’t want for their own benefit.

PYRAMIDAL – “Cosmic Song”:

This is our journey back. After a few years traveling aimlessly through inhospitable landscapes, we finally found the ship that will take us back home. But before embarking on our journey we will have to face all kind of demons and evil creatures from outer space. Despite everything, we managed to escape from there alive and get our spacecraft off the ground. We don’t know where it will take us and what new galaxies we will encounter along the way, we only know for sure that it will keep the cosmic sound alive.

HÍBRIDO – “Lale”:

This track is a tribute to the mother of one of our guitarists, that’s why the track is called “Lale”, just her name. It’s part of our original track-list, but not part of our first full album. This song emerges from the darkest and most beautiful ideas of his son, bringing subtle guitar harmonies, flowing with smooth beats and increasing the strength and rage, all according to her path in life and way of living. A precious ode, full of influences.

KABBALAH – “Dead Eyes”:

This song guides the listener through the dimly illuminated world of a passing soul. Close to the moment of death and at the gates of the underworld, dead eyes can only assume an approaching darkness and sense what may lie afterwards. Even if we don’t know for sure the fate of the song’s particular soul, the ominous bridge before the last chorus points towards a gloomy afterlife where there’s no possible “requiescat in pace”.

ARENNA – “Οιδίπους 70º30´S (cuidaos del enigma)”:

This song is the first one we’ve written after the release of our last album ‘Given to Emptiness’. It was recorded specifically for this compilation in 2021. When it comes to lyrics, we do prefer to leave it to your own interpretation. There are also a couple of new features as we sing in Spanish for the first time and we felt in love (after a 15-year break) with our old fuzz pedals.

HERE THE CAPTAIN SPEAKING, THE CAPTAIN IS DEAD – “Asymmetric Sequence”:

This is a track that we recorded live, without overdubs or post-editing. It’s a jam that flows like a river and develops with smooth transitions that vary in cadence and dynamics, an invitation to dance relaxed, do not forget to look at the stars while you do…”

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Members of Bushfire, Fu Manchu, Bismut, Humulus & More Collaborate on Stoner Rock Worldwide Community Album 2021

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 7th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Bringing together players from Germany, the Netherlands, France, the UK, Austria, Northern Ireland, Italy, Greece, Sweden, the US and Brazil, the Stoner Rock Worldwide Community Album 2021 boasts seven tracks of remote compositions and recordings, with the songs emerging from members having participated in a call to arms during the pandemic. It’s a hugely ambitious project. In regular circumstances, it would be impressive enough to curate a series of bands and players coming together on a new anything. To sort various parties across international borders into working units even in the age of social media, and then to have them work together creatively, is an oh-hell-no kind of job. Kudos to Felix Melchhardt on making it happen.

Pretty astounding stuff. Vinyl’s in the works as we speak, and the stream went live this past Friday. You’ll find it at the bottom of this post, and considering the amount of effort that seems to have gone into every level of making it, the download is dirt-frickin’-cheap.

More info:

Various Artists Stoner Rock Worldwide Community Album 2021

Stoner Rock World Wide Community Album Digital Release out now! 35+ Musicians, Remotely composed and recorded.

Remotely composed, recorded and finally pressed on vinyl together as a worldwide community of heavy rock lovers – The Stoner Rock World Wide Community Album.

26. May 2020: “What if we release an album remotely composed, recorded and finally pressed on vinyl together as a worldwide community of heavy rock lovers? Musicians world wide writing an album for our lovely world wide community, that’s the deal and we think we could make this happen.” – And we did so.

Key Facts
– 7 Tracks – Remotely composed, recorded and mixed by more than 35 musicians spread over the globe. Magic definitely happened, friendships were made.
– Mastered by Niklas Källgren (Truckfighters).
– Once pressed, worldwide distribution via various heavy rock labels.
– Special guests: Bob Balch (Fu Manchu), Papanikolaou Babis (Planet of Zeus), Tolis Motsios (Nightstalker).
– People participating in the project did not know each other before. Only the love for heavy rock connects them. They were brought together by an open call-out to the community by SRWW 2 years ago.
– Groups were brought together via Facebook. They internally organized themselves on how to approach the songwriting process, exchanged ideas and finally put together 7 unique songs.
– Anything that could go wrong, went wrong (really) – but we made it. **ck COVID.
– Pressed on vinyl right now.
– Bandcamp digital release co-finances the master, distribution and further costs.
– Endurance was key. Shoutout to all the people involved.
– Coordinated by Felix Melchhardt in the name of SRWW. (Cone (Band), Blackdoor Music Festival, SRWW)

Personnel:
Track 1 – Dreams of Space
Francesco Bonardi – Guitar (Hackberry, Netherlands)
Eric Frantzen – Bass (Mantra Machine, Netherlands)
Drev – Vocals (Descarado, Sweden)
Miguel Pereira – Guitar (Bushfire, Germany)
Sascha Holz – Drums (Bushfire, Germany)

Track 2 – Remain
Martin Frank – Bass / Vocals (White Noise Generator, Germany)
Thomas Berger – Drums (Timestone, Austria)
Tony Hochhuber – Guitars (Germany)

Track 3 – The All Seeing Sun
Diamond Pr – Guitar / Vocals (The Same River, Greece)
Oscar Flanagan – Guitar (Insonika, Sweden)
Armin Lehner – Keys (Ozymandias, Austria)
Brien Gillen – Drums (Elder Druid, Northern Ireland)
Rafael Denardi – Bass (Rafael Denardi, Brazil)
Special Guest: Papanikolaou Babis (Planet of Zeus, Greece)

Track 4 – Raw
Luke Taylor – Drums (White Noise Generator, Germany)
Derek Fisher – Guitar (Moth66, USA)
Niels van Eldijk – Bass (Ramkoers, Netherlands)
Ben Plochowietz – Guitar / Vocals (Scorched Oak, Germany)
Christoph W. – Vocals (Ozymandias, Austria)
Special Guests: Tolis Motsios Nightstalker (Greece)

Track 5 – Calypso
Tom Maene – Guitar (Motsus, Belgium)
Jeroen Schippers – Drums (Mantra Machine, Netherlands)
Linda Hackmann – Bass / Vocals (Scorched Oak, Germany)
Dimitris Vardoulakis – Vocals (Honeybadger, Greece)
Jonas Hartmann – Keys (Willow Child, Germany)
Special Guest: Bob Balch (Fu Manchu, US)

Track 6 – Stalactite Caves
Alex Pöll – Bass / Vocals (Cone, Germany)
Jakob Aigner – Guitar / Vocals (Timestone, Austria)
Massimiliano Boventi – Drums (Humulus, Italy)
Uwe Halmich – Guitar (Eternal Engine, Germany)

Track 7 – Wastelands
Peter Dragt – Drums (Bismut, Netherlands)
Jake Wallace – Guitar (Elder Druid, Northern Ireland)
Jason Recoing – Bass (Pelegrin, France)
Dale Hughes – Synth / Keys (Electric Octopus, Northern Ireland)
Francois Roze – Guitar / Vocals (Pelegrin, France)

https://www.facebook.com/stonerrockworldwide
https://srww.bandcamp.com/releases
https://apps.apple.com/de/app/stoner-rock-world-wide/id1478558984
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.srww&hl=de&gl=US

Various Artists, Stoner Rock Worldwide Community Album 2021

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Special Feature: Track-by-Track Through Grados. Minutos. Segundos. Pt. 3

Posted in Bootleg Theater, Features on January 24th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Various artists Grados Minutos Segundos

Completely understandable if perhaps the thought of undertaking an exploration of the Spanish heavy underground across 12 seven-inch split releases, limited in number, shipping in four separate batches — the third went out last month — and all tied together through mosaic artwork and a unity of purpose seems overwhelming. It’s a lot, and in terms of there being 250 copies made once and that’s it, not a lot of it. But the thing you need to understand about Spinda Records‘ Grados. Minutos. Segundos. compilation is that, with exclusive material from 24 Spanish bands, it’s not just speaking to the current moment. It’s presenting a document for future history.

Think of the box like a time capsule celebrating the vitality of Spain’s creative community. Some of these bands are new to me too, and to pretend otherwise would be missing the point. Coordinated by Spinda big-boss Berto Cáceres, the set speaks to a history in punk rock and DIY, but fleshes it out beautifully in presentation and class, just as the music too has grown up. I’m not in the business of telling you how to spend your money — I’m not in the business of anything, as it happens — but the truth is this is something special, that doesn’t come along every day, year or decade, let alone minutes or seconds.

There’s still one more shipment to go out in March and I’ll hope to wrap this track-by-track series then (past installments are here and here). Thanks again to Berto Cáceres, here’s the track-by-track for part three and the stream of the whole thing:

grados minutos segundos vinyl

Purchase here: https://spindarecords.com/grados-minutos-segundos

After the First 16 Stops, This Trip Around the Indie Music Scene Called ‘Grados. Minutos. Segundos.’ Continues Now with 6 New Bands: Atavismo, Mía Turbia, Santo Rostro, Cemënteri, The Soulbreaker Company and Domo.

‘Grados. Minutos. Segundos.’ is a no-return trip around the four cardinal points of the deepest underground music scenes in Spain. Thanks to a boxset full of previously unreleased tracks of 24 indie Spanish bands you’ll have the chance to understand how’s the sound of this new generation of independent musicians. You don’t want to be told about it, you want to be part of it.

Grados. Minutos. Segundos. Track-by-Track Pt. 3

ATAVISMO – “Psicopatías del 2021”

“This track is a new vision of an old creation from the past. New language, new performers, same minds at stage. “Psicopatías del 2021″ is bringing our insanity down to the deepest abyss, to be eaten by our own demons and again like a new status of reality. Space-rock and psychedelia dancing together around a crazy sublet beat, while the strings machines are killing the common sense of the harmonies. Enjoy!”

MÍA TURBIA – “Centro de gravedad”

“For this compilation we wanted to write something a bit closer to space rock and all these things inspired by Hawkwind, plenty of synths and tape delays. The track itself came from a previous demo, but twisted it, added some vocals and we got it – we kept things on the dirty side. The song talks about about a lonely traveller who goes down into the depths of the ocean. The world that surrounds us is sometimes so wrong that to be isolated is the only solution.”

SANTO ROSTRO – “Annual”

“We’ve been playing live this song since 2019 and it’s purely Sabbath – we love it!  We set up everything in a warehouse close to our rehearsal place and we recorded it live. Then on the studio we added another guitar and some vocal overdubs and we got it. Pretty straightforward, and it sounds live and fresh, if that makes any sense nowadays.”

CEMËNTERI – “El verano más corto”

“Trying to do something different, we went from a noisy intro at the beginning to the quietest music we’ve ever written. Singing spoken-word in this part is also unusual for us. However the end of the song is quite punk and noisy and we personally like this contrast. In terms of lyrics, this song is Covid-19 related. “El verano más corto” (the shortest Summer) goes about how fast the Summer of the year 2020 went and how disappointing it was at the end. After being locked at home for 8 full weeks, we thought Summer could bring great news, but the fact was that it was still crap, with everybody scared and out of their minds – everything was so depressing.”

CEMËNTERI – “El ritmo frenético”

“In here we also tried to do something different and definitely we managed to add something fresh to our style without losing our personality. African influences and a more funky-dance sound get together with punk rock. Drums follow afro-beat stuff whilst guitar goes closer to Tuareg-rock before merging into punk rock half way through the track…

Lyrically the song is an invitation to dance, to go into a room completely packed and surrender to the power of music, the vibration of the bodies and the physicality of music. We finished the song after Covid-19 first lockdown and by that time dancing was completely forbidden and everybody must be seated in bars and live shows. The message was poignant – we were writing about something that we took for granted for decades and we lost it quickly.”

THE SOULBREAKER COMPANY – “Kill the Devil (with his dick)”

“The song tries to create a serious atmosphere since it talks about that kind of men, referring to them as “the Devil” that use sexual workers (In the lyrics a fiction story where that “devil” is killed with his own dick). In terms of melody and harmony, we tried to create a continuous rock beat with unexpected tempo changes which are not very usual in our compositions. This, together with the claps and some extra voices, makes this song a rarity within our discography.”

DOMO – “Aldorassa”

“Aldorassa is one of the highest peaks in the Scandinavian Mountains. When composing our music, we mostly get our inspiration from nature, from its most ancestral and wild side. We truly believe there is a connection between melodies, riffs, rhythms and the vastness of the rocky sceneries shaped by the erosion and passage of time. When we return to dust, music, like mountains, will be everlasting.

Cemënteri, “El ritmo frenético” official video

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Robustfellow Productions Announces Robust Split Series Tape Box Set

Posted in Whathaveyou on December 9th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

robust split series season 1 tapes

If you’ve ever been in a band and tried to put together a split with another band, you probably know that there’s a ton of things that can interrupt any plans that dare to be made. I don’t imagine that’s less the case for a record label trying to coordinate one split offering, let alone an entire series thereof, but people do it. Ripple Music and Spinda Records and Heavy Psych Sounds come most immediately to mind in terms of successful split series, and now Ukrainian imprint Robustfellow Productions is throwing its hat in the ring.

Robust Split Series will pair Ukrainian acts with international, from-elsewhere types, and what’s been called ‘Season 1’ has been partially unveiled as a set of five tapes that, if you subscribe, come complete with a box to hold them. If you know the label’s work, you know they’re no stranger to in-depth packaging or support for the native Ukraine underground. This would seem to combine those elements while continuing as well to spread their international reach.

Beyond whatever logistical challenges may crop up, it is an admirable purpose. More details to come, but for now, this from the PR wire:

robust split series season 1

Robust Split Series (RSS) is a completely new direction created and curated by Robustfellow Prods.

The label will acquire an ampoule of Choloepus Didactilus, a majestic two-toed sloth. As this sloth has only two toes, so the vinyl and tape have only two sides.

Robust Split Series (Season 1) is a box of 5 cassettes, where each tape includes a band from Ukraine on one side and a band from another country on another side.

Season 1 will be dedicated to sludge/doom and all that’s slow and heavy. 10 bands from 3 continents representing 6 countries will share heaviness via “Robust Split Series” cassette BOX.

Analog fetish esthetics at its best.

Tarot inspired artwork by the finest robust artist – Yuri Nagorniy

RSS001 Kasu Weri [UA] / Taser [FI]
RSS002 Celophys [UA] / Radian [US]
RSS003 TBA
RSS004 TBA
RSS005 TBA

Pre-order available at this location: https://robustfellow.bandcamp.com/album/robust-split-series-season-1

You’ll be able to purchase a single cassette tape or trust the sloth and subscribe for a collectible BOX.

https://www.facebook.com/RobustfellowProds
https://www.instagram.com/robustfellow_prods
http://www.robustfellow.bandcamp.com

Various Artists, Robust Split Series Season 1 (2021)

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