Animal Psi

NP175 Featureless Ghost – ‘Personality Matrix’ LP
Personality Matrix is the debut LP by Atlanta duo Featureless Ghost following a steady stream of EP’s including the recent Mind Body cassette on Night-People. All of those prior releases were great but Featureless Ghost were holding onto something special that they have now fully materialized in the form of this LP. Pre-release listens of the vinyl had friends of the band and the label awed by the heavy and deep sound of this record, a true stunner that buries the speakers and space around the sound. A fully realized master work recorded and mastered to perfect specifications; Night-People has never released anything that simply sounds this good. Featureless Ghost set high expectations and surpassed them. Any reference to the aesthetic or influence seems too simple to fully describe what has been accomplished with this release. Synth pop, dark wave, minimal synth, trance, none of it really matters. This is deep eclectic electronic music performed to live midi, hybrid digital and analog perfection. The dual male/female vocal delivery presented on this record shows a high concern for distinctly developed interplay and identity that is perhaps unequaled in contemporary synth pop. Cyber dreams, lost worlds, and dystopian futures seem to be the subject of Featureless Ghost’s expression but the music itself couldn’t be more solidly realized and perfected. Night-People is so honored to be a part of this release and we hope you end up enjoying it as much as we do. Mastered by Pete Swanson. Artwork by Shawn Reed.

NP171 Goldendust s/t LP
Goldendust rides deep and dark but not free of a lush joyful pop sensibility sometimes sneaking in behind menacing moments to disrupt the darkness and let a little light through. If John Carpenter’s soundtracks had more Romanticism or synth pop sensibility in there stark minimalism it would sound a bit like these songs. Still something else is at play that’s not so easy to pinpoint, which is what separates Goldendust from the current crop of minimal synth revivalists. Joe’s vocals are unique in their delivery like a drifters sense of space and time they come not from some urban machine view of the world but from deserted small town parking lots or streets starring out into vacant fields. Maybe the experience is what separates these songs, the identity of the duo itself not as big city chic but of rural state isolation Justin’s dual analog synth approach creates the perfect balance between dense bass riffs and sharp leads and both dig deep into big melody. Recorded by Luke Tweedy at Flat Black Studio and mastered by Pete Swanson for maximum fidelity; this is a record that sounds great and is not to be missed. Artwork by Shawn Reed.

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Year of the Lips – ‘Cannon Street Road’s Feedback Rituals’ CS $5
TBR’s newest release is a collection of music composed and performed by Gab Marras (aka Year of the Lips) called Cannon Street Road’s Feedback Rituals. The eight pieces of music on the album represent several years’ worth of recordings by Mr. Marras. Sonically, the guitars (and harmonium!) used on this album of noise wrangling squeal, jangle, and take the listener on a journey. Marras is based in East London and primarily works as a visual artist. He says he produces music, “…out of a desire to soundtrack some of the visual art I produce, as well as soundtracking mine and others’ lives as they happen without much notice, and without being noticed much. I’m interested in a variety of approaches when it comes to working with sound, not necessarily ‘musical’ ones.” Turn on this album of exploratory tonalities and see if you aren’t changed afterwards as a listener.

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LEE GAMBLE – ‘Diversions 1994–1996’ LP
‘Diversions 1994-1996′ is made up entirely from samples from the collection of Lee Gamble’s Jungle cassette mixtapes. The audio has been subjected to analog and digital deformations, whilst trying to extract, expand upon and convey particular qualities emblematic of the original music. The effect is that of a musical body scan, all that is solid melts into air. Sounds are unearthed, dissected on the operating table, melted and unlocked , evoking sonics not unlike the heavy dub processes of Jah Shaka and Scion in a INA GRM frame of mind or bearing  a similar  methodological approach with what explored Mark Leckey in his piece “Fiorucci Made me Hardcore”. It can be heard as a ‘memory’ of a period of music and for some could work as a ‘cued recall’, which is a form of memory retrieval.  Lee Gamble started out as a teenager dj-ing on pirate radio and on the emerging Jungle scene, however his own approach to music has taken a more experimental direction. Exploring the outer realms of abstraction through digital synthesis/resynthesis, Lee has described his current compositional process as: “…The configuration of material (ex nihilo) via various digital synthesis methods, prompts further disfigurations and reconfigurations. What you then have left is often the detritus or debris of an idea. Phantasms of both previous and current musical, pseudo-scientific and sculptural influences are manifest as new material abstractions, created from the digital blank canvas. This abstraction allows several interests to appear in the works simultaneously…”.  He is a also a founding member of the UK-based CYRK collective and has curated/co-curated several Cyrk events. He has also produced and curated three radio series for London based radio station Resonance104.4FM and he continues to DJ. Lee has released his computer compositions on the Entr’acte label and has collaborated with composer John Wall and artists Yutaka Makino and Bryan Lewis Saunders. ‘Diversions 1994-1996’ E.P is is the beginning of a longer-term collaboration with PAN which also includes a full length album later this year.   The 12″ is mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M. It is pressed on 140g white vinyl which itself is housed in a silk screened pvc sleeve with artwork by Kathryn Politis & Bill Kouligas.

NHK’Koyxeи – ‘Dance Classics Vol.II’ LP  
Kouhei Matsunaga’s ‘Dance Classics Vol.II’ is the continuation of his ongoing development of his more dance oriented material, as seen from his sets with Sensational and also his other minimal techno project NHK. Not feeling tied down to one genre, Matsunaga nestles in the PAN roster, and however that isn’t to say that he is dance per se as witnessed from his recent collaborations with Conrad Schnitzler. The album focuses more on bass/base electronics, music for the dancefloor and/or altered state reflection. Having composed pieces for WDR based on Henry Chopin, Kouhei is equally at ease jamming with Sensational, whilst simultaneously executing a obsessively numerical sequence of dance pieces that borders on Hanne Darboven-like compulsivity.   Born in Osaka, Kouhei Matsunaga is a musician and an illustrator. He started drawing during childhood under the influence of his grandfather. He grew up listening to hardcore- techno and hip hop, studied architecture and has been mainly making music since 1992. Under many different aliases (NHK, NHKyx, Internet Magic, Koyxen) he has released numerous albums on labels such as Skam Records, Wordsound, Raster Noton and his first ever album “Upside Down” on Mille Plateaux in 1998. He has also collaborated with artists like Merzbow, Jungle Brothers’ Sensational, Autechre’s Sean Booth, Mika Vainio, Conrad Schnitzler, Anti Pop Consorium’s High Priest, Rudolf Eb.er, Puppetmastaz crew, Asmus Tietchens, Ralf ‘RLW’ Wehowsky and so on. His own label Flying Swimming was founded in 2002 with the main purpose being to publish and curate events of experimental contemporary music and art.   The LP is mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, pressed on 140g vinyl. It is packaged in a pro-press color jacket which itself is housed in a silk screened pvc sleeve with artwork by Kathryn Politis & Bill Kouligas.

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Alex Cobb – ‘Passage to Morning’ CD
Composed and labored over for many months between 2009-2011, “Passage to Morning” is the first full-length Alex Cobb has released since Taiga Remains’ well-received “Wax Canopy” (Digitalis, 2009). Sonically however, the two records could not be more dissimilar, with “Passage to Morning” recalling more the meditative guitar minimalism of “Ribbons of Dust,” his prior release for the Root Strata label. Here, glacially moving, eternally receding drones sourced from strings, tape loops and analog synthesizer are the order of the day, expertly arranged into succinct and imminently listenable compositions. Comparisons made of Cobb’s previous recordings to Andrew Chalk and Christoph Heemann’s work as Mirror prove particularly apt here, as “Passage to Morning” trades in the same sort of devotional, faraway sound design for which the pair have been justly praised. “The Immediate Past” opens the record, with billowing, lulling tones hanging thick in the air like a struck bell frozen in time. Later, “Bewildered by its Blue” juxtaposes deep, brooding low-end tones with crackling tape noise and truly hypnotic cycles of analog synthesizer. That this is Cobb’s first full-length under his own name is no coincidence, as here he offers us his most intimate recordings to date.

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LW065 VICIOUS BEAST – ‘Tortura Obscura’ CD 10E
Lim. 200 / DVD slimcase packaging. Kali in bestial form. Grim speech from the shadow land. Satan at your back. Reigning dusk with maliciousness. Spite in the form of viral knives. This is the brainchild of Industrial/Noise/Black Metal artist Thomas Mortigan. Locked away within a mind like a churning worm in the earth, this score for a non existent film is a dismally dark and frightening affair. Field recordings meet treated and inhuman dialect, sounds from behind, the dripping, creeping, gaping walkway into nightmare and fear. This is the sound of a mad mind. A fully live studio recording, which makes this experience even more real and intimate. This frightening electronic/noise/score release is a must for horror fans and the minds of the mad. Pro CD limited to 200 copies. Originally released as a C-45 on Destructive Industries in 2009 in an edition of 45.

LW071 KYLIE MINOISE – ‘Empire Of Puke!’ CD 10E
Lim. 200 / DVD slimcase packaging. EMPIRE OF PUKE! IS THE NEW ALBUM FROM KYLIE MINOISE RELEASED ON CD BY L.WHITE RECORDS (GERMANY). IT FEATURES 6 TRACKS OF FLUORESCENT AUDIO VOMIT, HARSH NOISE HALLUCINATION, CRIPPLED RHYTHMIC BLUDGEON AND ECSTATIC SONIC MELTDOWN. IT IS THE SOUNDTRACK TO THE END OF THIS LIFE AND THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT. KYLIE MINOISE IS A ONE-MAN HEALTH AND SAFETY VIOLATION. OVER THE LAST 7 YEARS HE HAS RELEASED OVER 5O ALBUMS AND PERFORMED LIVE AKTIONS IN OVER 20 COUNTRIES BREAKING HEARTS, MICROPHONES AND MINDS. HE LIVES IN GLASGOW, SCOTLAND. HE LIKES SUNSHINE AND KITTENS. CATALOGUE OF PERSONAL INJURIES_, 7 BROKEN BONES, 23 STITCHES, 3 CHIPPED TEETH, 200 BRUISES, 3 BLACK EYES, 130 CUTS/SCRAPES

LW072 DEAD BODY COLLECTION – ‘A Constellation Of Scars’ 3″CDr 7E
lim. 100 / DVD mini-case. Like \”Nearly 20 mins of brutal and sadistic harsh noise wall disturbance from Serbia. Not for the faint-hearted!!

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Boris Hegenbart and 19 Artists – ‘Instrumentarium’ 2LP
Eight years ago, Boris Hegenbart began turning his interests in Dub principles into reality and during this period of time, he made his collaborations with (or if you want, he made commissions for) monumental artists, such as Fred Frith (Henry Cow, Art Bears, Skeleton Crew, Naked City, Material, Massacre), David Grubbs (Gastr del Sol, Codeine ), Oren Ambarchi (Burial Chamber Trio, Sunn O)))), Martin Brandlmayr (Radian, Polwechsel), Felix Kubin, Ulrich Krieger (Metal Machine Trio), etc…  The principle was simple: artists did overdub recordings with Hegenbart’s material, which would be later transformed, using studio as an instrument, as a typical work process that features 99% history of dub sound. But in this case, dub is only a statement or concept, which means, there are no typical dub trademarks and tools (delay, reverb). This leads to only one result: if dub is deconstruction of music, then those pieces are deconstruction of dub!  This double vinyl master piece, is nothing more then a perfect homogenous collection of so many different personalities at the same place/record. The hardest and the greatest achievement, is to connect all of them into one musical milestone, something that Boris Hegenbart succeeded without highfaluting.

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Liquid Mary – ‘Matteus’ 3”CDr
Matteus creates on a basis of dérive. Travelling through a number of destinations, he documents a series of images, experiences and people. In liquid Mary, the context of his work is icy, almost haunted, with song writing being at the epicenter. Hand crafted 3D decoupage cards in envelopes. White Cd-r. Edition of 60 distinct items.

‘Children’s Improvised Music Workshop‘ 3”CDr
A team of children’s creative abilities enthusiasts collaborate with young musicians, providing all necessary amenities and freedom for them to interact with each other as members of a free improvised band. This edition is based on recordings from a series of workshops that took place in 2009 at Kinky Kong, Athens. 200 gms coloured paper. White Cd-r. Artwork design by Tasos Stamou. 100 copies.

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The Lay Llamas – ‘The Lay Llamas’ C30 6€(EU)/7€(World)
A trip, or rather an adventure of sounds, from the beats of the jungle to the drones of outer space. Soft poly cases with artwork designed by Nicola Giunta. Limited to 50 copies.

Olli Aarni – ‘Pohjoisen kesä’ C30 6€(EU)/7€(World)
So distant, yet so close and warm. Relaxing sounds of radio frequencies. Ambient music for nights and days, mornings and evenings. Soft poly cases with hand-stamped inserts. Limited to 50 copies.

Kikiilimikilii – ‘Watch Out for Witches and Stuff’ C20 6€(EU)/7€(World)
Synthetic beauty, where the buzzing drones and clear drops of sound are falling together into a puzzle. Soft poly cases with hand-stamped inserts. Limited to 40 copies.

Ypotryll – ‘Yellow Smoke’ C40 6€(EU)/7€(World)
Meditative drones looping their way into your sub-conscious mind. Soft poly cases with hand-stamped inserts. Limited to 50 copies.

Micromelancolie – ‘Gravity Boat’ C50 6€(EU)/7€(World)
Realizing that everything around you is music could be a side-effect for listening to this tape. Soft poly cases with hand-stamped inserts. Limited to 50 copies.

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VATICAN SHADOW – ‘It stands to conceal’ 3xLP
It stands to conceal contains the most recent vatican shadow cassettes on vinyl. this set includes: jordanian descent, ghosts of chechnya, and atta’s apartment slated for demolition. total pressing of 911 copies with gatefold sleeve. the first 119 copies on red, white, and blue vinyl.

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LA VAMPIRES with MARIA MINERVA – ‘THE INTEGRATION’ LP
many-years-in-the-finishing, this collab is as weird, woolly, and
warped as you’d hope a mind-meshing of these 2 outsider divas would be. a million moods and modes are tried on, modeled, messed with, and tossed aside. playful and possessed in equal measure. CD version available next week!

GOLDEN DONNA s/t LP
Debut full-length by this Madisonian innerspace skysailor. focused
yet airy synthesizer freefalls through syrup atmospheres. so
excellent.

SIR STEPHEN – ‘HOUSE OF REGALIA’ LP
New orleans club king time-travels through decades of hedonistic hot zones for a hypercolor immersion in wild-style dance utopias. in insane new waver jackets designed by Spencer Longo.

JMII – ‘NUEVA YORK’ 12″
Spacious, jazzy acid and freeform psychedelic club cruisers by this Barcelona mastermind. sounds epic at any speed.

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