Category Archives: UPDATE

Lovely Wife – ‘Best In Show’
Limited edition 60 copies. LOVELY WIFE are a sludgey noise rock and/or doom duo from Whitley Bay/Newcastle Upon Tyne (UK), centred around vocals, bass and featuring a revolving cast of drummers and additional miscreants. Performing entirely improvised material that slides easily from depth charge doom, to noise rock madness, with influences ranging from Eagle Twin, The Melvins, and Iron Monkey through to Lightning Bolt, Fossils and The Butthole Surfers. For ‘Best In Show’ the band have enlisted the talents of Rob Woodcock (Fret!, Marzuraan, Tide Of Iron et al) and stripped back from their previous two releases to a trio; as well as trimming the lengthy long form jams into (mostly) more compact bass heavy slabs. Ranging from the lurch of ’Ioniser’ to the short sharp shock of ‘Shenanigans’. The release is very much representative of the current live set up and also makes use of bugle (Watts) and a contact mic’d exercise ball (Garrick) that have featured prominently in recent shows.

Salisman & His Blessed Eunuchs – ‘Absolution’
Limited edition 40 copies. Two Chicago miscreants – poisoned by black market memory pills – slip into comas to awaken six months later, transplanted to Newcastle, UK. They disappear into the grimy pedal steel underground, hesitant to draw attention to themselves. Their conspirator: a local electrician churning their melodies into surreal fever dreams. Minimal fragments, words, and images emerge from their unconscious half-year. Field recordings harness the desperation of birds. There is no off-ramp or rope.

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Secret Maelstrom C60
After brief periods in Secret Chiefs and S66T4, San Francisco via Port Huron musicians Steve Kish and Thomas Nordstrom joined forces with Nordstrom’s sister and former bandmate Carla (formerly of Problem, Hate/Grey, and Hunting Lodge) to form Secret Maelstrom. More traditional song structures and tighter playing than prior groups, every bit as strange. After a few 4 track demos and one rehearsal (all featured here), the group played their first and only gig in November 1986 at 455 10th, only to disband shortly after, with none of the members remaning in contact or joining other groups for 30+ years. Edition of 30 copies, double sided one color art.

Major Blast – ‘Damp Illicit Wealths’
Fourth release by the Dlugosielski/Mitchell tape collab duo, originally released in different mixes on CDr/cassette on a limited basis in 2019. A melted interaction of sax, electronics, and tape compost. Edition of 20 copies, one color art.

S66T4 – ‘The Balance Of Dreams’ T10 VHS
Graphic simulations recorded somewhere in a dream, San Francisco, 1986. Shot on Super 8 with a studio-recorded soundtrack. Completely unreleased/unseen footage from these Port Huron natives/Hunting Lodge associates. Edition of 30 copies. Hand stamped covers with one color prints. NTSC only.

S66T4 – ‘Let The Sleeper Wake + Live’ C60
From the ashes of the original Secret Chiefs (NOT the Mr. Bungle offshoot – CD retrospective in the works), former Hunting Lodge cohorts Steve Kish and Thomas Nordstrom, for a brief time, channeled their Port Huron, MI industrual roots and joined the ranks of the innovative experimental scene of San Francisco circa 1986. This tape features long forgotten and completely unreleased 16 track studio recordings on side A, and the only live show at Mabuhay Gardens (closing night) on side B. A strange and seldom-heard world of sound. Edition of 30 copies, double sided one color art.

‘Street Theater‘ C60
The remains of three abandoned comps, picking up the best pieces. Track by Creode, James Baljo, Body Morph, The Hearing Trumpet, Woven Qualm, Unama’ki, Sick Llama, Major Blast, Tarpit, Secret 66, and The Right Window. Packaged in a screen printed and hand sewn cloth case. Edition of 35 copies.

Quarter Cauldron – ‘Coastal Jacobite’ C60
Recently rediscovered trio session of Tyler Hicks, Heath Moerland, and Knox Mitchell from 2015 processed live at Midwest Color Labs. Hazy electro-acoustics barely maintaining consciousness.

Lidless Eye – ‘Weighted Ghost’ C90
Fried two track electronic entrails recorded live to 2-track. Edition of 20 copies, one color art.

The Fundamentalists – ‘Summer Cole Slaw’ C60
New recordings from Bob Forward’s long running (since 1983) Ohio via Arizona unit who has been increasingly prolific as of recent on his Walls Flowing label (check it out). Complete non-sound. Remix at Midwest Color Labs on side B takes the static brain-fuzz even further. Edition of 20 copies, one color art.

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Jacken Elswyth – ‘Six Static Scenes’
Dusting off the earthy sounds of American old-timers Hobart Smith, Dock Boggs and Dink Roberts, as well as Irish singer Margaret Barry, London-based Jacken Elswyth lets their influence flood their consciousness and weave itself into 7 stirring tracks. Side-stepping any revivalism, Jacken allows each track the space to trail its own path, letting the spindling strings of their banjo knot their own patterns and colours. With occasional accompaniment by shruti box and melodeon, there’s a trance like nature to each proceeding, situating Jacken’s work firmly in the tradition of the “avant-folk” (see Henry Flynt’s experiments in country music), but very much tempered to their own voice, as if the listener is being given an intimate private view to Jacken’s memories: both past and present.

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La Mamba Moustache – ‘Live during the foundation’ CS
LA MAMBA MOUSTACHE are one of the most ultra bands ever. Ultra-shortlived, the literally bombed their ultra-fast bangers onto tape. In their lifespan of a few hours which is less than the existence of a mayfly, the three ultra-loonies redefined the terms HACKHACK, BOOM TCHACK, SCREECH and YELL. Not your average power violence blueprint! Featuring members of Turbostaat, Mülltüte, Datashock, Phantom Horse et al. Limited to 25 home dubbed copies. Essential stuff for the faint at heart!

Keijo – ‘What Keijo played last summer’ 7”
Hailing from Jyväskyla in the midst of Finland, Keijo Virtanen plays some of the bleakest thus most beautiful rural blues one can imagine. Stripped-down tunes from a sweated guitar and Mr. Virtanen’s fragile voice – that staggers with instinctive sureness through lyrics unintelligible for most human beings – make this 7“ a one-of-a-kind record. Sadness and desolation may have never been so close to grey elegance. Limited to 100 hand numbered copies with riso printed cover. Artwork by Jelle Crama.

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The Folklore of Shapeshifting – ‘Sin Titulo’ C25
A Textural lo—fi stream of consciousness collage consisting of tape, guitar and field recordings from Buenos Aires.

Berlin Edits C20
A mixture of field recordings and performances by the residents of Hermannstrasse.

Dominic Coppola/The Glass Path C36
The split was meant for an April 2020 tour that never happened. Two different ideas of what tape based music can be.

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DJ FUSILLER – ‘Sacrilege Vénération Vol. 2-b’
Second part of the second volume of the dj project. Superimposed habits, customs, synthesizers and screams. Enjoy.

DMZ – ‘Justice Spatiale’
After several years of silence, their big comeback. An almost opaque white cassette hiding a subtle alternating of chaos and melodies. To be listened too loud on an empty highway.

LAMBRIS
Collaboration between Hotu (aka Collique) and Patrick Lombe (aka 1/2 Placenta Popeye). Synthesizers, tapes, piano, and anything else they could get their hands on. Low-fidelity excursions into parallel worlds.

MOINEAU ECARLATE/PAVEL VIRY – ‘Live Series Vol. 15’
New volume 100% recorded live at the Black Baron, Nancy, France. Side A: Moineau Ecarlate – barbaric cassettes, loops, cut-up and electronics. Side B: Pavel Viry – wild guitar solo and satanic double delay. What a guitar heros should sound like. Usual sewing machine artwork.

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Ballpeen – ‘Pachinko’
Limited edition 65 copies. Featuring members of great North East bands such as Tide Of Iron, Grace, Jinn, OZO and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaind, BALLPEEN burst onto the Newcastle (UK) scene in 2017. Their debut show at Little Buildings was a low-key affair, but their opening performance at the inaugural Brave Exhibitions Festival in the same year was a stand-out of the weekend and led them to becoming the festival’s perennial favourite. With roots in post-hardcore and the dynamism of greats such as Melvins and Unwound, BALLPEEN have looked to capture the energy of their live performances through releases on premier DIY punk label, Serial Bowl Records. 2018’s ‘Loose Knot’ with it’s wry nod to Black Flag in title and excellent artwork, rapped five across the listener’s brow from the get-go, with its attention-grabbing power and undulating groove, coursing through the 6 tracks, leaving you thirsty – but not miserable – for more. And now you can have more. ‘Pachinko’ (again with mind-blowing artwork from James Watts) is an 8 tracker that blisters along like a wide-eyed frenetic who’s had all the speedballs. With quality production that brilliantly captures the urgency of their live performances, ‘Pachinko’ will delight old and new fans alike. Hardcore will never die. FFO Unwound; Black Flag; Melvins; Shellac.

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Score – ‘Modern Wreck’
Limited edition 40 copies. Score is the solo project of Chris Tate, known for his work with d_rradio; producers of a number of notable atmospheric electronica cuts from the early 2000s. ‘Modern Wreck’ follows 2018’s ‘Vent’ and is a delight for old and new fans alike. 9 tracks of rich layered dreamy psychedelic ambience and massive sounds that verge from glitchy noise to lush orchestration via spatial melodies and drones.

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Wind❏ws – ‘Spiral Tundra’
Wind❏ws explores an inner sound world riding the line between music for meditation and a minimalism. Informed by just intonation, the group’s sensibility towards magic, spiritual, and the sublime is often accompanied in live performances by Camilla’s sound reactive light installations. Wind❏ws finds a sound both ancient and cosmic through their use of saxophones, crystal singing bowls, flute, chimes, and synthesizers. Camilla Padgitt-Coles _ crystal singing bowls, synthesizers; David Lackner _ woodwinds, bells, synthesizer. artwork by Mark Price, twxx.us

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Mental Anguish – ‘This Isn’t Kansas Dorothy’ C60 $7
Six new pieces by 80’s cassette culture heavy and Harsh Reality Music mastermind Chris Phinney’s nearly 40 year running Mental Anguish project. Double sided one color art. Numbered/stamped edition of 30.

Minoy – ‘Red Tape In The Sunset’ C60 $7
More unreleased footage from the late master of controlled noise brought forth by the efforts of PBK. Two unheard pieces from 1991-1992, the tail end of his tenure. RIP. Double sided one color art. Numbered/stamped edition of 30.

Witches Of Malibu – ‘ILLS’ C60 $7
Live in studio performances from the Witches. Originally released as a limited tape-trade club only release, now presented with new art. Double sided color art. Numbered/stamped edition of 30.

Quartered – ‘Quarter/ed’ C30 $7
Debut recording from the Sick Llama / Lidless Eye duo. Live with two mics to stereo tape at Fag Tapes HQ, July 2019 in preperation to open for Dilloway/Wiese. Double sided xerox art. Numbered/stamped edition of 30.

Jeff Central – ‘Decompositions 1983’ C47 $7
Compilation of early experiments from Ohio’s Jeff Central (Exoteque Musique, ITN, Central Inhabitants, 10 Speed Guillotine) recorded in his hometown of Port Huron, MI. Best of three long-deleted tapes from the ITN catalog. Double sided one color art. Numbered/stamped edition of 30.

Undercurrent – ‘Live 2019’ VHS $7
After a 30 year hiatus, 80’s home taper mystery Undercurrent makes their live return. The best of their first show since 1990 (second show ever) captured and fed through the Midwest Color Labs video processor. Crude homemade industrial clatter. Xerox art, stamped and numbered edition of 20. SP mode, approx. 15 minutes. NTSC only. Coming soon: Undercurrent 5xCD discography boxset.

Hunting Lodge – ‘Shack’ LP $26
Recorded between 1985-1988, “Shack” finds Hunting Lodge in gritty 4-track mode, venturing into territories like booming metal percussion and tape collage, as well as songs later re-recorded in studio. Originally released on the double cassette compilation “Insomnia Vol. 2” by We Never Sleep, remastered here for vinyl by Warren Defever (His Name Is Alive, Third Man Records) including two bonus tracks, all previously unreleased on vinyl. Covers designed and printed by Bruce Licher/Independent Project Press to reflect the spirit of the original WNS release. One time pressing of 300 hand-numbered copies. All copies include a pro-duplicated CD including the full LP and several previously unheard bonus tracks. No digital download.

Church Shuttle – ‘Home Audio Diagnostic’ VHS $7
Chris Durham (All Gone Tapes) Live at The Precinct, Detroit processed through the Midwest Color Labs video processor. Color, 15 min. SP Mode. Numbered edition of 30.

All six May 2020 tapes – $35 (+ shipping)

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