Plurals/Timothy C Holehouse - Live split

Artist Plurals/Timothy C Holehouse
Label None
Year 2009
Genre(s) Drone, Noise, Power Electronics

Both artists deliver a live cut recorded in Brighton, November 2008. The tape comes with a train ticket (I'm not sure if this is every copy or not) and a fold out insert listing the artists, their tracks and containing pictures relating to the performances captured within (Above).

Plurals open their track, Midnight Cock Pie, with a warm drone, slowly growing in scope and intensity. Overtaking the listener like a wave. More and more high end is interjected into the mix, possible percussion lurking in the background. What sound like vocals enter the fray, becoming part of the sonic textures. Almost shamanic and used as part of the music, reminiscent of shoegaze styles. Voices offering up lullabies to soothe weary travelers. Subtle chimes augment the calming drones as they begin to morph into a slightly harsher variant, the vocals becoming more profound. At this point the music begins to take a darker edge, spacey sounds merge seamlessly into the miasma whilst the overall piece still maintains a very organic feeling. A million different atmospheres are gelled together perfectly in this live set and it's a pleasure to listen to. This is wonderful stuff, psychedelic and soothing.

The Timothy C Holehouse side, titled A New Dichotomy of Hate... That Tastes Great opens with chanting, which the audience become part of. The chanting is looped and delayed before fading into a dark drone with whispered vocals, at times quite close to Power Electronics, make no mistake about it where the vocals on Plurals side offered a psychedelic element the vocals on TCM's side are unnerving. Buzzing, dirty electronics rise up from the depths. Crashes and damaged beats hover over the buzz, starting out spacious but slowly coming together allowing less and less breathing space, ever teasing at a full out sonic assault. A fantastic mixture of high and low end and a lot harsher than that which came before.To simply call this noise would be a massive disservice to the artist, we're treated to a fucked up (in the best possible sense) mixture of psychedelia, power electronics, drone and harsh noise. Angry shouts in the background in a call and response style. Some almost Masonna esq sound manipulation leaping into your face. There are so many styles at play on this release that it's impossible to cover them all but each supports the others. This is what noise should be, ever changing and refusing to be confined to one specific sound.

This release really shows the best of both artists, all the stronger for their conflict of styles whilst both working within the over-arching genre of "noise". Plurals and Timothy C Holehouse offer two completely different kinds of psychedelic noise, catering to fans of both drone and the more harsh outputs.

Kylie Minoise - Micro-budget Perversion

Artist Kylie Minoise
Label Turgid Animal
Year 2007
Genre(s) Psychedelic Noise

One half hour track of psychedelic feedback abuse and vocal attack by Lea Cummings. Buzzing static layers built upon one another to a hellish cacophony of sound with treated vocals screams and yelps. The rumbling drive of the track sounding so decayed that it may crumble into nothing at any moment, crumbling under it's own sonic weight. It's the buzzing of a thousand hornets descending upon a play park.

Turgid Animal are (or were) known for a fair amount of Wall Noise release, a category which I guess this release could be filed into. This is only in regards to how dense the sound is, this is dynamic noise far removed for the unchanging walls of Vomir and his ilk. The release pounds onwards until suddenly there is nothing. No fade out just a sudden stop, making the release all the more powerful for it.

Nackt Insecten - Double Lunar Halo

Artist Nackt Insecten

Label Beyond Repair

Year 2007

Genre(s) Harsh Noise, Drone

Double Lunar Halo really begins to showcase the more spacey side of the Nackt Insecten sound. Opening with Tunnel Vision, a short piece made up of crackling vocals and swirling synth. This track is still calm but it's not really drone in style. Much closer to harsh noise. After a short while the next track creeps up, powerful drone like thunder caught in a time warp. Dense and dank. Psychedelic high end threatening to come ever forward. As if Spacemen 3 put down the guitars but kept the pedal boards running while they went out to ingest various illicit substances.

A choir made up of children from the Village of the Damned are ready to sing for us, their voices distort as they swirl before our eyes. Stretching and distorting into hideous representations of their former self.

The real meat of this release is the 14 minute title track. A mixture of the more electronic, creepy style of drone that NI first displayed and then relaxed, spacey ritual sound that is currently being used. A real cross section of the development of the project. Somehow comforting and unsettling at the same time. Would have worked as a soundtrack for the fall of British industry.

Nackt Insecten - Sick Animal Eyes

Artist Nackt Insecten

Label At War With False Noise

Year 2007

Genre(s) Noise, Drone

An early release from Nackt Insecten here, a lot harsher that some later material. More of a brooding, creepy edge to this release.

Broken electronics attempting to function, burning out and shutting down. The memory of function, crawling slowly onto your shoulder. Enveloping us in broken leads, tying us down to view their final stand. Everything blows out as the sound begins to die.

Pretty uneventful drone on the next track, nothing really happens and the sound is somewhat hollow.

The third track follows much in the same vein as the first two. I'm not gonna focus on it but I'd like to make a quick point. I do like Sick Animal Eyes, I like it a lot. I just feel that it pales in comparison to the later Nackt Insecten works. SAE is a solid, creepy drone release, but it's not the amazing kraut inspired drones that NI is now known for (Or at least he should be known for)

Nackt Insecten - Stairway to Levitation

Artist Nackt Insecten

Label None (?)

Year 2007

Genre(s) Drone

Light, airy drones opens up this release. As if we're already ascending towards the clouds. Sections that almost sound like "world music" from some far off planets sneak through the cloudy electronics and regale us with stories of their home world. Like a space shuttle lift off being slowly undertaken between bouts of relaxation. The rocket finally takes off, ever so gently, we're on our way.

More electronic rumble now as the fuel burns, propelling onwards t'wards alien tribes and new customs. Relaxation replaced by wonder, machinery swirling in the background. Soon.

Landing, to be greeted by an alien welcoming party, singing their native song. A lush planet, but somehow not right. Purple trees rise up against a beetroot sky. Long, languid walks through the flora and fauna of this beautiful world. Until the final night, when you sit across rugs and play local folk music with your alien brethren.

Nackt Insecten - Quantum Odyssey

Artist Nackt Insecten

Label Blackest Rainbow

Year 2009

Genre(s) Drone, Krautrock

I've certainly made mention of the more krautrock leanings of Nackt Insecten before. That was nothing compared to the full blown freakout presented on this beautiful slab of vinyl. Equal parts Popul Vuh and Maeror Tri. This release really moves Nackt Insecten head and shoulders above most acts that seem to be coming out of the drone "scene" at the momnent.

There's real focus here and the entire release flows perfectly. Like looking over a landscape of THC plantations that stretch to the heavens, slowly dancing in the cool breeze. It's wonderful on this plateau. There's simply not a single low point on this release, beautifully crafted and performed. Warm and all encompassing. This record is simply wonderful, and is definitely my record of the year for 2009.

Nackt Insecten - White Rainbow

Artist Nackt Insecten
Label Second Sleep
Year 2007
Genre(s) Drone

Two discs of beautifully composed and performed drone by Ruariadh Sanachan. Warm swells of sound painting a beautiful calming picture. Slowly soothing souls in the space age. There is a psychedelic gleam peaking around the slowly morphing drones, calling forth memories of Kraut Rock and early psychedelia. Built upon one main drone but padded out with beautiful synth and dreamy electronics. There are certainly elements of noise here, feedback is a prominent element of the compositions but always used to accentuate that which is on offer. Guitar makes a stunning appearance, being worked into the swirling vortex of sound. At the same time I am very much reminded of Popul Vuh. You see many bands these days described as Kraut Rock but none that I have heard captures the spirit and styling in quite the way Mr. Sanachan does.

The drones that are created here are never relegated to simple background music, there is too much going on. Sure you could play this in the background (It's common bed listening for me) but you really owe it your full attention too. Spacey electronics and dreamy synth dance together.

Disc two continues with more drones, this time darker and more ambient based. Conjuring images of desolation, the aforementioned vortex of sound suddenly sucking you in and throwing you into a desolate world long since destroyed. More dense drones with less breathing space. Harsher without crossing over into noise. All the elements from disc one are still here but they are utilised in different ways, showing a completely different side to Nackt Insecten. With disc 1 we were treated to a cosmic voyage on a cloud, disc 2 offers us the ruins of civilization telling us the story of the past. Mournful en yet still full of beauty. It closes without catharsis or resolve, we're trapped in this ruined landscape.

I don't usually do this but I also want to bring up the packaging on this release, 2 spray painted (Not to the point where it will flake and damage your CD player) cd-r's housed in a wonderful silk screened gate fold slipcase. Aesthetically linked with the music contained within. A wonderful package all round.