Animal Psi

SAPPHIRE SLOWS – ‘TRUE BREATH’ 12″
This young Tokyo gem-gleaner shapeshifts through a neon gallery of
dynamic casio nightlife masks on her stateside vinyl debut, each of
which is impeccably crafted and cradled in a fog basket of her
effortlessly haunting Cocteau Twins-y shadow vox. Check the brand new
VIDEO for the lead cut, “Animal Dreams.”

MARIA MINERVA – ‘SACRED & PROFANE LOVE’ 12″
Tallinn’s finest caps off a powerhouse debut year with her most
confident collection yet of imaginary Euro/house love anthems,
ditching some of the bedroom haze for a more shimmering club mix
approach. DJ gold for the true bold weirdos in the booth. In epic gold
foil-stamped illustrated letter jackets (a SILK first!). Check the new
teaser VIDEO for the bliss-overload banger “Kyrie Eleison.”

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MASTER MUSICIANS OF BUKKAKE – ‘LIVE TOTEMS’ LP
Ltd edition of 1000. First 100 copies shipped on blue vinyl. Selected, mixed & mastered by Randall Dunn.  MMOB present a collage of performances from recordings made throughout the Totem tours. Improvisations and live renditions featuring extended versions of music from Totems 1, 2 & 3.

THIRTEENTH ASSEMBLY – ‘Station Direct’ CD
Cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, guitarist Mary Halvorson, violist Jessica Pavone and drummer Tomas Fujiwara are among the most exciting new jazz musicians to emerge on the New York scene,” declares the Wall Street Journal’s Martin Johnson, “and it is hard to talk about any one of these players without mentioning the others.

ANARCHIST REPUBLIC OF BZZZ – ‘self titles’ CD
Founded in early 2000s, the A.R.of Bzzz brings together ARTO LINDSAY, MIKE LADD, MARC RIBOT, SENSATIONAL and its leader SEB EL ZIN, also known for being composer-singer in ITHAK.

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GR177: Cujo/Cornea – ‘Live In Detroit’ C30 $4
Two live sets recorded in the early months of 2011. Cujo is in trio form, using loud electronics and harsh metal abuse. Cornea is weir psych rock ??? guitar drums and bass downers, playing the B side of the “Shame” cassette. Re-live the cold, fume-soaked gigs, life on tape! Xerox art.

GR178: ‘Assorted Sounds Effects‘ CDr $5
FOUND SERIES. These recordings were found on a C90, a seemingly home-compiled collection of sound effects records. These are the best tracks, very abstract and loud sound effects, really bordering on noise collages. A lot of unknown sounds, glass breaking, cars, dogs, all in stereo. Xerox art, stamped CD-Rs.

GR183: Lidless Eye – ‘Wire Hazard’ CDr + Zine $7
The newest recordings of the Lidless Eye extreme electronics setup. Raw radios, mixers, and modified gear, all live to tape in incredible quality. Harsh and chaotic. Comes with a 9 page Xerox art zine. Stamped CD-Rs.

GR185: Baskery Caves – ‘Mourning Themes’ C30 $5
This guitar unit adds broken electronics and tape to the fold, resulting in zone-out drones and early morning stoned themes. No real guitar, just crudely devised string and spring damage. 6 songs, color art.

GR186: HZMT/Lidless Eye – ‘Live’ C20 $4
Recordings of HZMT (Tony Miller of Maximum Cloud, Mini System, Bitchin’ Summer, etc.) and Lidless Eye (Knox Mitchell) live in Ypsilanti, MI. Side A is HZMT solo homemade synth…slow, quiet, and pulsating. Side B is a duo recording. Xerox art.

GR189: Idle Hour – ‘Nesting’ CDr $5
Brand new all-electronic primitive bedroom unit. Homemade electronic lo-fi tapes on CD. Recorded live. Idle hour is Knox and Christine. Xerox art, stamped CD-Rs.

GR190: Lidless Eye – ‘Don’t Blink’ C60 $4
More expansion of the new extreme electronics setup. These tracks are  short and to the point demonstrations of live modified electronics…no effects, no overdubs, just loud blasts and crude experimentation. Xerox art.

GR191: Orphanage Rats – ‘Live On The Radio’ C30 $4
Sam Hooker (Tarpit) and Knox Mitchelll duo of sax, tape, and bowed strings. Recorded live on WCBN, Ann Arbor. Xerox art.

GR188: V/A – ‘Michigan Rain‘ C90
Live/studio/radio/??? compilation. All Michigan. Email or write for a free catalog with more information and ordering details.

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RCN00001 ‘Cave Comp One‘ compilation CDr
Cave Comp One is the first in a series of limited, handmade CDr compilations featuring artists connected w/ the RCNCAVE in some capacity. One details the Cave’s innermost dwellers and features one-of-a-kind hand painted/numbered covers by the Cave dewds. In order 1.) FAANGFACE’s chaotic assault tells the tale of a misnamed canine. Gerald or Siegfried (depending on who you talk to) is snarling freeform jettisoned jazz black metal from the smoldering wreckage of a downed dirigible . . . Â 2.) CANE SWORDS assemble a golem from melted laserdiscs and scattered transistors. The smell of obsolete technology hums as facsimile didgeridoo in post-apocalyptic walkabout . . . 3.) ZURVAN’s dialect is melted glass stretched phonemes and enlightenment drones, a balance of dark mystery and beautiful rapture. The soundwaves manifest in physical pattern and amid the paced syllables the tales of heretical and buried knowledge creeps like conjured monsters . . . 4.) BLACK UNICORN was launched in an experimental space craft, aimed at the source of the Wow! signal, and returned w/ this coded message. Nearing Chi Sagittarii, his onboard radio tuned to interstellar motorik was taken control of by unseen entities and redirected to the sounds of star birth and dark matter mystery . . . 5.) XXX SUPER ARCADE’s song is playing after the big game, friendly ass slaps and derogatory banter aside, you and the bros are ready to hit the strip club fr a night of hard drinking and party-harding. The dancer comes out, dancing in seductive stutter to the rocking semi-Sabbath riff and yeah, hell yeah, she’s taking it off. But, wait, what’s that under the g-string? A tentacled spawn of Cthulhu oozing hues of swamp slush and toxic waste . . . 6.) VATICAN is a mystery. We do not know who made these recordings, when, or why. When one of the RCN dewds inherited some land in Tennessee, it included a falling down barn. A large metal flight case w/ the word VATICAN stamped on the side was found amidst ancient tech manuals, cases of resistors and capacitors, and scattered 1970s pornography . . . 7.) HUMAN’s lone banjo quickly becomes magnet and pulls in an assorted cast of melancholic, haunting tones. Attracted like small blocks of metal, each piece fits puzzle-like as temporal leanings stride . . .

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KYLIE MINOISE – ‘THE DELICIOUSNESS OF FIRE’ C20 £4(World)
Lea Cummings (aka KYLIE MINOISE) is not only the proud father of numerous, impressive bludgeon-core projects, but also presides over and directs the rather wonderful Kovorox Sound label from his Glasgow home. Here he is serving up chunks of reliably (un)palatable harsh noise.  Side A of THE DELICIOUSNESS OF FIRE sees the superimposition of stuttering sirens, guttural feedback, and spiralling walls of deep static. Each layer of racket consuming and devouring the other – cannibal-jazz! Solid boulders of sound are drilled, extracted, refined and polished, before being cast back into the roaring furnace of futility.  On the flip side, a deafening toxic gale blows long and hard. Swirling columns of sonic detritus rise up and disintegrate, tumbling down in a series of echoing, slow-motion crash landings. A rusted, collapsing, corrugated iron shed of a release.  Edition of 45, with full colour “exploited crab” artwork.

DALE CORNISH – ‘VOLUNTARY REDUNDANCY SALAD’ C35 £4(World)
DALE CORNISH’s VOLUNTARY REDUNDANCY SALAD is a poignant document of breakdown, regeneration and the ineffable power of shredded greens. Utilising a collection of field-recordings, drones, sample and loops, CORNISH delicately constructs two pieces of intricately arranged “sound events”, with a view to disarm and engage the listener. A collection of musics that, when scrutinised, begin to fall away just as they become discernible. An artifact to be treasured or forgotten, lost in the sea of distraction and detestation. As always, CORNISH’s work is exquisite and porcelain-like – dainty and fragile, subtle and beloved of sensitive old ladies.  Edition of 35 with collage artwork, blue tapes and free essay on the politico-philosophical phenomenon of “The Free Floating”.

THE DIGITARIAT – ‘COMPLEX LOOP NIGHT’ C30 £4(World)
Active since 1994, Paul Knowles has been releasing work and performing as THE DIGITARIAT for over 10 years. COMPLEX LOOP NIGHT is a disorientating excursion into a world of reverberating vocal sampling, abrupt stabs of screaming distortion, and undulating landscapes of textural sonic improvisation.  Butchered synth loops, foreign chic-chat, and prepared abrasives elegantly dance and weave – duetting blissfully and shifting seamlessly under and increasing foreboding sonic sky. The storm on the horizon hits hard at the end of the Side A, I don’t think we’ll ever find out who fire-bombed the glockenspiel factory. Side B. The last moments of a half-mad dying cyborg – screaming and flailing, recalling and announcing, coming and going in a blaze of rhythmic malfunctions.  Edition of 45 with clear tapes, green stickers, “dancing Charlie” artwork printed on tangerine paper, and free educational literature.

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TR-011: GUR BRUO/JAZZNOIZE – ‘Tiempo de Reacción/Polirritmia Organizada’ CDr 5E
Gur Bruo is a duo formed by the electroacoustic/experimental composer Elías Merino (Madrid), and by Grassa Dato (Madrid), an individual project of saturated, aggressive and brilliant noise that has experienced an authentic creative emergence during 2011. In Gur Bruo, Elías Merino and Grassa Dato combine their talents to create dark atmospheres, industrial percussions, creaky frequencies and electroacoustic passages, in a highly conceptual, dense, and deep music.  “Tiempo de Reacción” is the only track of this work, an enigmatic piece based on “the period of time that comprehends the moment in which an external factor emits a stimulus, and the moment of collecting, perceiving and compressing it in human conscience, that acts as a mechanism in reaction to the stimuli, through intervals of interpretative impulses”.  For Gur Bruo, this instant is defined as “a kind of ephemeral personality that is created during some seconds of perception and interpretation, when the modified stimulus is forwarded, and immediately blurred away leaving its way to another new one”.  Jazznoize is the project that Sergio Sánchez (Murcia) maintains since the beginning of 2005. Its modus operandi is handling, in a more instinctive than academic way, sounds from field recordings, loops, samplers or sound errors. His work is based on the capture of recordings of the actual historic moment, that Sergio inevitably associates to protest and social commitment. Sound appears like a metaphor of mankind, which work transforms nature, environment and society.  Until now, there have been few occasions for Jazznoize to release in a physical format. “Polirritmia Organizada” is an extensive track in constant mutation, based, once more, in handling of familiar sounds that are returned to us as strange and fascinating.  A landscape based on communicative conventionalisms, that slowly evolves through different environments, cracklings and creaks. An invitation to rethink what routine shows as immovable.   “Tiempo de Reacción / Polirritmia Organizada” is a 2 track CDr with 45 minutes of sound, presented in a blue slimcase with an transparent insert.

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Himbert & Herbert/Golden Arrow Holy Face – ‘It’s Happening!’ split cassette $7
The third cassette released by Teflon Beast Records is a split album bringing together the synthetic and the natural. TBR is also riffing on a little known Supremes/Neil Diamond album of the same name and similar artwork. On one side of the cassette, pop worshippers Himbert & Herbert revel in melodies and electronic beats. Vocalist Keegan Kinney recalls 60s girl group tones while the production combines modern synths and dance beats to create a wholly unique work of art that never trades on nostalgia. The flipside of the tape contains modern folk music courtesy of Houston’s Golden Arrow Holy Face. His intricately fingerpicked acoustic songs live out of time – out of this world. They’re rich lyrics and layered sonic landscapes will reward upon repeated listens. Limited edition of 25 cassettes.

VARIOUS ARTISTS – ‘Christmas with the Beast‘ cassette $7
Ending the year with a multi-artist eccentric holiday compilation, Teflon Beast Records celebrates Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day on Christmas with the Beast. The lead-off single and opening track is Chris Daily’s “Thanksgiving (It’s Not Christmas). This is a full-on ode to Phil Spector’s classic Christmas album complete with Daily’s own “wall of sound.” Other highlights include a noise collage from Gary Busdriver, a spooky cover of “O Christmas Tree” by Golden Arrow Holy Face, and a Swedish themed end of the year jam from Himbert & Herbert. The second side of this tape compiles five years of whimsical Christmas rock from Austin’s The Daily Brothers. Limited edition of 25 cassettes.

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Ed Schrader’s Music Beat – ‘Welcome To The Roman Empire’ CS
Ed Schrader has been a creative fixture in Baltimore for several years now. But before his live talk show, the Ed Schrader Show, was first taped in a chilly warehouse, and before he joined forces with bassist Devlin Rice in his unholy duo, Ed Schrader’s Music Beat, he was conducting extensive home taping experiments in various locations in upstate New York. To compile Welcome to the Roman Empire, Fan Death Records has dug through several hours worth of Ed’s archives spanning from handheld tape recordings and projects for a broadcasting class at SUNY Brockport dating back to 2003, to rhythmic quasi-industrial tracks that made it to his 2009 vinyl debut The Choir Inside. The tape also includes some spoken interludes of Schrader’s remarkable comedic talent. While his releases as Ed Schrader’s Music Beat show him further refining his skill at “banging the hell out of a floor tom” (Baltimore City Paper) into a pop context, this tape is as much Raw Schrader as you’ll find anywhere.

Roomrunner – ‘Roomrunner’ CS
Hailing from Baltimore, Maryland, Roomrunner is the newest project from Double Dagger’s (R.I.P.) Denny Bowen. Anyone who has taken note of Bowen’s drum style can easily see he came from the School of Grohl, with his hard hitting drum style and bash your brain fills. Instead of just pulling from the Buzz Bin songbook, Bowen throws in his unique sound of bendy guitars and odd stop-starts that make this debut cassette something to behold. Songs like “Shed” and “Upside Down” combine bendy pop guitars with the push and pull that would make US Maple jealous. “Spinning” bounces back and forth with such solid guitar work and catchy vocals, you’d think Bowen worked on perfecting these songs for years. While every blogger/message board geek is trying to be the first in line to label a band with some new genre name that will last as long as a Longmont Potion Castle Orange Julius phone call, we’ll make it simple for ya: This is a “Rock” release from start to finish, and a jaw dropping one at that.

Überchriist – ‘Überchriist’ CS
As winter approaches, Fan Death Records is pleased to present the first offering by Atlanta black metal trio, Überchriist. On their debut cassette, singer/guitarist Colin Mee, bassist Greg Knap and drummer Shane Patrick offer an idiosyncratic take on old-school black metal, supplying aggression, melody, and atmosphere in equal measure. Memorable musical motifs emerge through efficient structures and few-frills execution. Themes of destruction, domination, ritual, conjuration of the primordial state of man, and the transformation of consciousness are expressed through pulverizing blastbeats, riffing, and harsh vocals as well as more reflective, downtempo instrumental passages. Ultimately a careful balance is struck between all-outrage and thoughtful mysticism, all without taking itself too seriously.

Woollen Kits – ‘Live 22/09/11’ CS
After they caught our ear with a killer two-song 7” on Sydney’s excellent R.I.P. Society label, Melbourne’s Woollen Kits have prepared this tape in advance of their February tour of the full U.S. Recorded live in the studio on September 22, 2011, Live 22/09/11 (see what they did there?) captures a moment of WK that will hopefully whet the appetites of fans of laconic guitar jangle, as played by early 90s slackers in the Pacific Northwest, New Zealand, and Rust Belt Ohio. This tape features several so far-unreleased tracks off of their upcoming LP, as well as a cover of “Round & Around” by fellow Victorians Lower Plenty. After they finish that cover, someone in the crowd yells out “Great song,” and we’d have to agree about all eight tracks on this tape.

Leather – ‘Wretch’ 7″
Philadelphia’s Leather are wasting no time in whetting the appetite of their ravenous fanbase by releasing one of the most anticipated punk records of the year. Hot on the heels of their Sterile 7″ (Jade Tree), their latest four-songer,Wretch, is a testament to their unpredictability. While both sides start out with pounding, ferocious hardcore clang, the second track on each side marks exciting detours for the band. The A-side’s “Idolator” puts singer Alex Agran’s vocals front and center while the band careens behind him like the bastard children of Poison Idea and SST-era Soundgarden. The B-side’s “Moyamensing Killers,” on the other hand, is their current set closer and shortest track to date, topping out at barely over one minute of sharp guitar noise and an infectious vocal chant. After a couple spins of this record, anything you play after will sound as limp as a Big Mac left on the dashboard of a Toyota Tercel.

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(kimdawn047) Skullorian – ‘Kozmosz Punci’ CDr
German sound sculptor Skullorian is making a name for himself as both an avid collector of obscure sounds and an innovative sonic alchemist. Kozmosz Punci is one of his finest bits of psychedelic re-contextualization yet combining elements of 70’s funk, cosmic drones, and unclassifiable abstract sounds into a stew that is totally strange and yet somehow “right”.

(kimdawn048) Inez Lightfoot – ‘The Ballad of Wandlimb’ 3″CDr
Taking narrative cues from the tree folk of Tolkien stories, Inez Lightfoot has crafted this lush meditation on longing and reaching outward. The combination of murmured vocals, field recordings, and looping sounds creates a stirring sense of contemplation and entrancement.

(kimdawn049) Ancient Ocean – ‘Nico’ 3″CDr
In this brief glimpse into the world of Ancient Ocean, John Bohannon displays his skill as a mesmerizing master of shimmering guitar ambiance. Gorgeous, spacious tones are enlivened with an unwavering sense of timing and reservation. Each note merges into the stream as the cycle grows and resolves.

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