Leila Abdul-Rauf & Tor Lundvall – ‘Ibis/Quiet Seaside’ 7″
Over the past few years, Tor Lundvall has thoughtfully displayed his ambient sound works in connection with Dais Records, releasing two retrospective multi-disc box sets and two full length albums. Apart from his collaboration with Tony Wakeford on Autumn Calls, collaborations with others have been extremely rare. Tor and multi-instrumentalist, Leila Abdul-Rauf (Vastum / Hammers of Misfortune / formerly of Amber Asylum) first got in touch in late 2011. Their exchanges eventually led to a musical collaboration of both like-minded artists joining in to illustrate their unique and personal visions of nature, life and art. During a visit to Lundvall’s home in May 2012, Leila wrote a spontaneous track on Tor’s Winter Piano entitled Ibis. Tor recorded and engineered the track along with Leila’s vocals. Later that month, Lundvall added various sounds and ambient washes to the mix. A solo version of Ibis, featuring the original piano / vocals but with additional horn, was released on Abdul-Rauf’s debut LP Cold and Cloud on Saadi Saati Records in 2013 (Lundvall also designed the sleeve and created the cover art for this LP). The earlier, collaborative version of Ibis has remained unreleased until now. It was agreed that a 7″ was the perfect format. On the reverse, Lundvall has written a new piece entitled Quiet Seaside constructed around Abdul-Rauf’s guitar riffs which Lundvall also recorded during her 2012 visit. The track captures Tor’s signature lush keyboard and ambient whirl. The early mix was sent to Leila who worked in her slow-moving brass performance and textured tone scales to make this work as introspective as it is beautiful. Limited edition of 300 vinyl copies featuring artwork by Tor Lundvall.
YORK FACTORY COMPLAINT – ‘Lost in the Spectable’
Conceived as a sort of sonic embodiment of Martin and Berdan’s increasingly disgusted worldview, Lost in the Spectacle builds around its noisy industrial back- bone with surprising, beat-driven passages and intense, all-too-human vocals. For an album so unrelenting, though, it offers a certain accessibility that’s uncom- mon in contemporary noise music. Lost in the Spectacle is an extended hand, an invitation to the impressive work Martin and Berdan are doing. It’s immediately striking, but repeated listens reveal its depth.
Maurizio Bianchi – ‘Amentest 7″
The late 70′s rejection of punk and rock-oriented music within select underground subcultures was signified by the works of of bands like Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire and Whitehouse. Using their network of record labels and propaganda, these like-minded noise makers created a sound and aesthetic that is known far and wide as something quite English. But in Italy, a storm was slowly brewing in the works of a lone composer by the name of Maurizio Bianchi. Starting in 1979, Bianchi formed his earliest sketches of abstract loop composition under the pseudonym Sacher-Pelz. After only a few months, he felt it was time to start producing more conceptual works under his given name, sometimes shortening his authorship to only MB. The following years saw some of industrial and ambient music’s most genre defining works. Rumors surrounded a series of mischievous unauthorized releases only to be contradicted by his humble and earnest willingness to collaborate with other like minded composers coincidentaly followed up by his ominous “disappearance†from music during the late 80′s / early 90′s. His various comebacks always showed MB to be the master of his own device who undoubtedly influenced and inspired thousands of musicians, artists and composers with his creative output. Most recently, MB has been reflective on his 35 year history in music and the impact he has had on it. His recent works show MB as undoubtedly reflective yet remaining persistently original. Amentest is Bianchi’s most recent work employing the 7†single format, a medium that MB has only dabbled in briefly. Keeping his abrasive rhythmic sounds, beautiful use of delay patterns and selective subject matters at hand, MB’s genius still shows that he is as relevant today as he was back when he was quietly manufacturing his echoed sound sculptures in the foothills of Italy in 1979. Limited to 300 copies. Edited by Kris Lapke (Alberich) with artwork by Ryan Martin (York Factory Complaint / Dais).
Sissy Spacek – ‘Lead Their Exit’ 7″
On Xmas day in 1999, the channels of the noise canon received a new entry into its ranks by the name of Sissy Spacek. 15 years later, the outfit, held together by core members John Wiese & Charlie Mumma, has left a littered trail of damaged recordings and countless performances in its wake. Known for it’s cult output and conceptual performances—each idea folding over the last to create havoc in the way that most would care to avoid, Sissy Spacek takes this all head on. Their newest 7†shows the band exploring song-based material (see also their live shows), employing it’s newest member Sara Taylor to provide vocal accompaniment to their special brand of furious destruction. To those familiar with their previous works on PPM, Chondritic Sound, Gilgongo or Wiese’s own Helicopter imprint, one will instantly welcome their signature hybrid of grindcore blasts and avant-garde sensibility and remain captured by the band’s semblance of leftfield song writing. Limited to 300 copies.