Prairie Fire Tapes/Dub Ditch Picnic

PF-054 Flesh Coffin – ‘Raise the Dead’ C40
It took us almost 50 releases to reconnect with Andreas Brandal, but once we did, he offered us one hell of a tape. Raise the Dead is an astounding mix of the subtle and the violent. Lulling ambiences quickly shift to harsh and cacophonous volleys of near unforgiving noise. Unlike the walls created on his previous PF appearance as Museums of Sleep , Andreas creates a moving organic set of pummeling junk metal loops that smash and crash you into submission. Raise the Dead pairs well with batchmate Dead Machines for a stunning collection of harsh noise releases. Ed. of 40 w/ DL

PF 056 Worker – ‘Dead Machines’ C40
Our Vancouver friend Graham Christofferson (AHNA) graces us with a brand new set of Worker tracks. If you have been following the PF saga, you’ll know that we brought out Dream Dead early on in our discography. Dead Machines is a departure from that tape as the doom//drones have been replaced with 2x 20 min. of harsh industrial noise. Scraping, squealing, raw electrical buzzing permeates the magnetic impulses for a way more visceral experience. Dead Machines along with batch mate Flesh Coffin mark a return to our noise roots. We are thrilled. You will not be disappointed. Ed. of 40 w/ DL.

1971.034 Microdot – ‘Middle Age Dating’ C30
Our Winnipeg pals kick off summer with the follow up to their first DDP tape Lamps Not Amps. Middle Age dating shows marked growth in the band: in addition to the core of Bill Northcott, Rob Nay, & Jen Alexander is Jan Field on Gtr expanding the trio to a quartet & the actual recordings shift from two track ‘bash it out in the practice space’ to properly tracked and recorded thanks to the splendid new studios at UMFM. What hasn’t changed is the winning Microdot take of Kiwi garage pop now somewhat fused/fuzzed? with the post-punk sensibilities of bassist Bill’s solo project F.P. Tranquilizer. Their last tape made WFMU’s release of the day and a bunch of year end lists in Canada. We highly anticipate this one will too. Ed. of 50 w DL

1971.036 Moon s/t c25
We stumbled upon these East Coast Kraut-poppers quite by accident. After hearing some rough mixes of tracks that had leaked out to the internet via Weird Canada, we were smitten. Side A’s offrings: Stained Glass & Card Crane Ha consists transition from indie rock through strong krautrock and mod. psych stances. On the flip is Dented in the Bag, that recalls late 80s early 90s Sonic Youth only to end with the psych blazer, Bliss. Don’t let the shortness of this one detract you, it’s quality from beginning to end. Ed. of 50 w DL

1971.037 Aaron Sheppard – ‘Agent’ C40
Agent is multi-instrumentalist Aaron Sheppard’s 3rd proper release and first for Dub Ditch Picnic. Using synths, guitar, and sometimes the combination of the two, Sheppard creates a proper minimalist ambient vibe that often conjures up images similar to Manuel Göttsching’s mid-70’s solo work. There is a complex yet simple beauty at work here. Like the movement of the universe it begins with a dense center and slows moves outward becoming more and more expansive with each beat. Agent pairs well with Blunderspublik & English Dream. Ed. of 50 w/ DL

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