Mike Shiflet – ‘Forgotten Somewhere’ C24 $7
It’s a daunting task to think of where to begin when it comes to offering up a succinct summation of Mike Shiflet’s copious and exquisite body of work. Over the past eleven years or so, the Columbus-based musician has investigated a breadth of approaches to sustained sound, from slow-burning microcosmic tones that gradually shift into distinctly unfamiliar forms to more carefully coordinated layers of melodious treatments of guitar, synth, and field recordings that actively extract unorthodox inflections from such familiar sources. Forgotten Somewhere has Shiflet mastering both of these attitudes, the title piece constructing a nebulous, dusky fuzz of subtly gorgeous vibration while “Omicron Meditation†is a textural excursion into crackling, jittering snaps, recalling a piece of warped blank vinyl spinning from damaged speakers. This cassette is a transcendent testimonial from one of the underground’s most celebrated talents, hinting both at territory investigated on 2010′s acclaimed Llanos CD and earlier works such as 2004′s Xenakis Youth CDR. Pro-dubbed/pro-printed edition of 100.
York Factory Complaint – ‘Origins Of Sabir’ C24 $7
Originally recording and performing as the duo of Ryan Martin (founder of the Robert & Leopold label, co-founder of Dais Records) and Michael Berdan (of recent hardcore heroes Veins and numerous other projects), York Factory Complaint have since expanded into a quartet, adding on talents Theresa Smith and Michael Yaniro (ex-Twin Stumps), and thus forging forth an approach that has helped refine the project’s bleak, caustic demolition of harsh-noise, power electronics, and other post-industrial microcosms of extreme music. Origins Of Sabir follows releases on Hanson Records and House Of Alchemy (not to mention to the many that have seen the light of day on Martin’s Robert & Leopold) and an infamous live collaboration with the legendary Genesis P-Orridge, with Sabir finding the solidified foursome pushing their discord to the brink; feedback blankets the pandemonium while all manner of electronics and guitars are defiled in the ensuing disorder. Both sides inhibit shades of what an evasive collabortion between Hijokaidan and early-period Ramleh might have culminated in. Ugly, cruel, and marvelous. Pro-dubbed/pro-printed edition of 100.
Rambutan – ‘Surrounded’ C40 $7
Eric Hardiman is an upstate NY musician who in addition to operating the superb label Tape Drift Records and performing as a long-time member of both psych-rock ensemble Burnt Hills and as one-half of the prolific Century Plants also records prodigious and multifarious drone compositions under the alias Rambutan. Surrounded has been on the table for a long while, and its engrossing, captivating constitution manifests as an audacious rearrangement of guitar-focused experimentation. Hardiman constructs these four pieces around intense manipulations of his guitar and various unidentified electronics using a hand and mind that works both patiently and fearlessly. Pieces like “Unfamiliar Moments†and “Trace†inhabit a state of contemplative obscurity, carefully avoiding the easy pay-off of cheap bombast while the title track, along with “Perimeter,†confidently explores the heavy, hazy psychedelia of British experimental legends like Ashtray Navigations and Matthew Bowers various projects. A pronounced and striking work of a consistently gifted voice in the American underground. Pro-dubbed/pro-printed edition of 100.