RICHARD YOUNGS – ‘Rurtain’ LP £9.99
At this point in time Richard Youngs should need no introduction. Through his vast discog-raphy (spanning over twenty years), he has created a fascinating body of work which has found a home on labels such as Forced Exposure, VHF, Jagjaguar and his own No Fans imprint. Like all great artists, Richard’s work is hard to pin down and continues to evolve, mutate, and blossom into new forms, whilst at the same time bearing a unique characteristic that lets you know it could be by no-one else. Split into two parts, “Rurtain” is a new elec-tronic piece which picks up from where the “Core To The Brave” LP on Root Strata left off, but taking a more abstract road into something more skeletal and strange. In the first part, broken beats cluster around minimal hits of percussion and wordless vocals that sound like they’re trapped in a vacuum, evoking a slightly unsettling atmosphere. Things become a little more celebratory in the second part with the addition of some very erratic organ playing, giving an ecstatic and almost ‘free-jazz’ feel to the piece. The b-side features three very different interpretations of Richard’s originals by Neil Campbell (Astral Social Club), John Clyde -Evans and Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never). Neil’s version expands the organ of the second piece into a huge kaleidoscopic drone, whilst John hones in on the woodblock and percussion to make something more metallic and abrupt. Finally Daniel Lopatin closes the LP grandly by adding violent stabs of digital synth and mel-ancholic guitar playing to Richard’s voice, almost creating a kind of futuristic ballad. Five tracks of unclassifiable electronics, limited to 300 copies. Recorded by Richard Youngs, Neil Campbell, John Clyde-Evans and Daniel Lopatin in Glasgow, Yorkshire and New York, 2011 – 2012. Mastered by John Hannon at No Recording Studio and cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering.
EL-G – ‘Mil Pluton’ LP £9.99
Élg is Laurent Gerard. Since 2000 Élg has made a name for himself in the experi-mental underground performing solo in venues across Europe and the USA and also in the trio Reines D’Angleterre with Jo Tanz and Ghedalia Tazartes. Over the years he has built a complex body of work which has been spread amongst reputa-ble labels such as Kraak, SS, Lal Lal Lal, Taped Sounds and Nashazphone. Now, four years since his debut ‘Tout Ploie’, Alter and Hundebiss present ‘Mil Pluton’, the second Élg album on vinyl. In that time Gerard has knuckled down with a bunch of new gear and built a fresh sound which is difficult to categorize but still carries many of the characteristics of his previous work. One can hear EBM-esque rhythms, scalpel-sharp Musique Concréte style editing, dense layers of swampy electronics which open up the same hypnotic spirals that the Élg of old did, but it’s Laurent’s unique approach to songwriting and composition Vocally, Élg has evolved beyond conventional language and now works with an Es-peranto-like form of alien linguistics to front the sonic mass. If your musical interests sit within the realm of outer limits electronics and have been drawn towards the work of Throbbing Gristle, Bernard Szajner, Coil and Tazartes then look no further. ‘Mil Pluton’ also features musical contributions from Jo Tanz, Jean-Philippe Gross, Bill Kouligas (PAN), TG Gondard and Jan Anderzen (Tomutonttu / Kemialliset Ystavat). All tracks were composed, record and mixed by Élg in Brussels in 2011, then mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin in December of that same year, and pressed lovingly onto 150g vinyl by Alter and Hundebiss in September 2012. Edition of 300 copies.