Exclusive Premieres: Paradox Obscur – S/T

Rhodes is the basis of this project. A duo consisting of Kriistal Ann and Toxic Razor, two nick-names appropriated by Anna Michailidou and a furtherly unknown figure whose real name I haven’t found out about. For the solo-project that is called Kriistal Ann, Anna Michailidou created a release last year for release on Werkstatt Recordings, titled “Refraction” – a solo-project based in and out of goth mixed with dark-wave – showing a whole other side of herself. Even though she’s intimately connected with Paradox Obscur, the difference lies in the approach that the duo has in comparison with her own project. The aforementioned project is based out of dark minimal synths with a cold-wave atmosphere, content at leaving the listener in a dismayed landscape of sound – harnessing a deep inner-feeling – charged with an ambulation of emotional lyrical content. A rather bleak introductory to a sound they’ve been working on since releasing a few tracks here and there, some on their own Soundcloud and one for the Parisian podcast-mixes courtesy of M N M L. After a while, before they even had announced the release of their self-titled debut, I got introduced to their sound for real by Jason of Peripheral Minimal.

We decided for me to be releasing a track each day, showcasing their sound to a broader audience. So I started to put up a track after another, until I hit the limit of five tracks that I decided would be appropriate. These five tracks, namely “Scourge“, “Creatures“, “Dirty Parades“, “Grieving Days” and “Conviction” – in no particular order. It got warmly received by those interested in their sound since before and those that hadn’t really been introduced to their sound yet. Everyone got a chance to listen to all these tracks, on a day-to-day basis – to form their opinion and/or interest for their self-titled release – by listening to exclusive premieres of tracks from that release. Now that these days have already went by, you get another chance to listen to these tracks, since they’re up indefinitely. Prepare yourself for a wonderfully cold receipt of what can be done with an erratic sound-scape fueled by the desperate and depressive content that Paradox Obscur shows with their passion for music, accompanied by analogue equipment for the best sound. The artwork for the cover was designed by Frantz Schlusselhuber, displaying the elephant man and various other individuals whom you might or might not recognize. However, you should be listening to these five exclusive tracks on Repartiseraren, because each track has its own character. The release will be put out on Peripheral Minimal in the beginning of May. Stream all tracks down below.

Spotlight: aska / Kælan Mikla split!

Iceland reigns supreme in this split between Icelandic natives aska and Kælan Mikla. Two different genres, but with something in common. A synth-pop track with the best elements included, a soothing synthesizer meets the retrofantastic atmosphere – in here aska creates his magic – related to the notion of “lágstemmt kuldabylgjupopp” (low-pitched cold-wave pop). This split came to be as a internet-only release. When it comes to the differences they display, Kælan Mikla deliver some kind of weird schizophrenic post-punk, with a sullen minimalistic ballad to begin with. Both alternatives are great, especially when you re-listen to the track “þögn” (Silence) by aska, as the icicles melt and simmer down into what could be an absolute breakdown of the Icelandic soul, dipped into the cold waters bordering around the island. The track which is portrayed by Kælan Mikla has a rhethoric question embedded into it, as it is titled “Ætli það sé óhollt að láta sig dreyma?” (Is it unhealthy to dream?). It’s a certain feeling that comes forth when you listen to the beautiful voice of the singer, but then suddenly it degrades into a complete post-punk frenzy – just like that with all the unhinged things it brings with it – a dark baseline later and you’re caught in her intermezzo. Even though the split only consists of two tracks, it’s a nice off-shoot into unguided territory. It also feels nice to include our Nordic neighbors into the mixture when it comes to this blog-zine. So stream and listen to this release down below.

Listen: extravague – L’Ombre d’Un Doute EP

“Ah oui, c’est incroyable,” I uttered. When you combine the melancholic aura that revolves around those pesky Frenchmen, since this gave way for the romanticism and coldness of cold-wave. It’s always surprising when you find the less atonal cold-wave, the wave that rides on a stringent melody. So therefore, when I looked around I came upon the group extravague –a duo consisting of two guys lost in “a hall of dashed hopes“. Before their first EP they released a live album with eleven demo-tracks, titled “Demo / Live in Empty Room” – which they recorded at home with only one microphone. This was three months ago, fast-forward and you’ll see the realization of their debut-EP which is aptly titled: “L’Ombre d’Un Doute EP” (Shadow Of A Doubt EP). A rather bleak example of what can be done when you combine the coldness of cold-wave with a post-punkiness, changing into a more new-wave styled phase which garner the wondrous melodies which they’ve carefully composed. There is actually only a small difference when it comes to how they’ve recorded this one, in comparison to their first release, because it’s also been recorded live with a microphone – but a hell of a good microphone at that – being able to pick up their music. But this time it’s also mixed into the wonderful sound-scape. You should listen to their release down below and stream it to your francophilic joy, or despair. Whatever you choose to do, it’s a great release that deserves to be listened to.

Spotlight: Weeping Rat – Forced Vision/Fractured Zones!

Melbourne, Australia. As the sun sets, the Weeping Rat comes out to feast. Having recorded music under this name since 2012, with their first release “Blood & Fog“, a duo consisting of Jacob and Michael – slowly, over time became a whole group. After having released their second release “Empty Hearse/Funeral Train“, it took them about one year and a half to return with a track with the name “Light Of The Moon“, in January of 2014. Since those releases, they’ve slowly moved away from the rock-aspect of death-rock, having more of the atmosphere which can be conceived in such a genre – to their advantage – which in turn created a rather sense of urgency beneath a layer of coldness. This resulted in a double-EP released in the month of April. The first EP to be put up was “Forced Vision” and the second one was “Fractured Zones“. There is a noticeable difference with these two releases, as they stray away from the grittiness of the death-rock sound, paving a way for a death-industrial-esque trip between the living and the dead. Focusing more in “Fractured Zones” on the general landscape of sound being conceived with the experimentalist notion of decayed noise in a dark ambient landscape. Whilst the other EP, “Forced Vision”, focuses more on the rock’n’roll aspect – wishfully entering the same realm – but on different conditions. Which makes these two releases quite different, even though much of what they have in common is rendered, abysmally.

Though a lot of their sound might have a few things getting used to, it doesn’t sound flawed at all, but rather delivers an intermingling of genres seldom expressed by the artist – into such a sound-scape. Brooding is the total industrial transformation of Weeping Rat. Giving away a uncompromising and outdrawn sound, a secret that is being unveiled when you listen to it, making you feel part of a darker adventure. It doesn’t really make itself that great in text when trying to explain the picturesque landscape of decaying rot that these Australians produce. But it is a milestone in their own discography, making it perfectly clear that even they can change their outfit for better or worse – into something that is so out of touch with their ordinary, by now; memorabilia. Stream both EPs down below and listen to it, so you can discover a whole other side of their sound.

Listen: The Anxiety Of Love discography!

The Anxiety Of Love, made up by former members of Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, Certain General, Joan Of Arc Family, Treehouses and other bands – have just put up their discography for you to stream. From their first release “One E.P.“, which was released in 2012. To their latest release “The Anxiety Of Hate E.P.“. From having their releases put out by the notable Berlinian label aufnahme + wiedergabe, to having their releases put out by their own independent label The Essence Of Soul Limited, Vocoder Tapes and Peripheral Minimal. They’re actually one of the few bands that carry the earlier wide-spread tradition of no-wave into a whole other world, together with their rather long and drone-inspired songs plus releases, to the shorter versions riddled with what Michael B. Wood (the singer) of the band calls; “meth rock“. A most noticeable influence however, would be the looming cold wave atmospheres that knit their no-wave tighter to the most unbearable point of listening, but that is the point of what they are. Another interesting thing about them letting their discography be streamed properly, is the fact that the earlier unreleased tracks that are of compilation-variety, have been put up as samples to be listened to under the collective name of: “So Lonely In Your Crowd“. Before and after they got hinged with different labels, they actually self-released a couple of releases.

The “<<Nausea Libido>>“-single is a reminder of how great their self-released tracks got play-time through their D.I.Y-ethics, but also the live-document “soap in the blood” which features tracks from their live-performances. Another release that is probably seeing the day of light on a physical edition of vinyls, is the release that originally was scheduled for Tujunga Flats, but unfortunately never happened. This release, “The Swarm.“, is a nice reminder of how you can make it without the help of both major and independent labels – unless you’re making it darn sure to do it on your own. A lot of their music is unique in different kinds of ways, never leaving the ultimate darkness in which they brood, staying true to their core principles – makes for a different kind of listening experience – and it shines through. Their music is not that easy to categorize at best, but can be put into the goth rock, meth rock, cold-wave and no-wave, pocket. Now when they’ve been kind enough to put up their whole discography for your listening pleasure, digitally of course, wouldn’t you mind doing them a service and stream it until you drop? Because I know that I would. There are a lot of things to discover and you can do that right now. Stream their whole discography here on Repartiseraren.

Listen: Tomas Nochteff – Pagan Easter

A name like Tomás Nochteff might not ring any bells, but if you consider the fact that he’s involved with Mueran Humanos, you might know of him as a part of that artistic duo. He’s an Argentinian musician that in 1992 started the group Dios – together with Javier Aldana and Pedro Amodio – a group which in itself over time became a cult-group in Argentina. When the self-titled album was released in 2001, they broke up, and three years after that, he released a solo-album under his own name, called “Le Beat Juste“. Exactly on the time when he decided to move to Berlin in the 2000s, he found Carmen Burgess and officially founded this duo, Mueran Humanos, in 2006. They’re probably most known for their first self-titled release on Old Europa Café. But, since time passed and they released “Culpable” – a 7¨-release in 2012, as well as the maxi-single “El Circulo/La Langosta” in 2013 – he moved onto what became a continuation of his works under his own name. A solo-project that was continued where it was left off in 2006. Before we get to that however, we must also shed a light on the split-release he did together with the Spanish musician Arnau Sala Saez, titled “Música Para Disciplina” (Music For Disciplina) – intended for an art show called “Disciplina” – featuring the works of Gustavo Eandi at Galería Logo in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

Now, if we’d adjust the clock and set it onto 2014, Tomás Nochteff continues his trip as a solo-musician with the release “Pagan Easter“. Now in April, fittingly enough, Noisekölln Tapes – a label based out of Berlin  – decided to put this release out on a limited edition cassette. His guitar-driven industrial music is more than it sounds like, a grandiose outlook into droning guitars and ambulant noise. Fading into a long-going atmosphere of the most substantial sound even to be found within a genre like this. Focusing more with the help of hardware, on the analogue aspect, giving a whole other warmth to the instrumentation. A rather grainy expedition into the heartland of noise and industrial combined, entwined with other influences. With the help of three pedals, strings and channels – the music was created during three days in Easter. Mind you, he once released it on cassette for his friends, limiting it to only nine tapes. So Noisekölln Tapes are re-releasing this music onto an edition of thirty-three cassettes, symbolically enough one would think. Stream the whole release down below and buy a tape if you’re interested.

Video Premiere: Heroin In Tahiti – Alo

We can present to you the wonderful music-video of the track “Alo“, that Heroin In Tahiti had put up a month ago, as a celebratory gesture for their coming vinyl 7¨ on Yerevan Tapes. “Peplum” is the name of their two-sided release, featuring the title-track “Peplum” on the A-Side, a kind of post-apocalyptic hurrah for an imaginary Ennio Morricone soundtrack, blended with the fururistic gaze of Lee Van Cleef’s rather ghastly face. As we look into matters on our own, the B-Side contains the track “Alo“, which you can listen to in the aforementioned video, as you get to follow them on a trip through rainy landscapes, on their highway to heroin. When it was written, it was originally featured in the exhibition by Phil Collins, called: “In Every Dream Home A Heartache“. In comparison, “Alo” is a more gloomy track which drones into the horrific but steadily engaging sound-scape that would make you awe-inspired even if you’d hear only a bit of it. Lurking in the shadows is the face of them, their clownish demeanor and their samba-like percussion on ecstasy. We suggest you look into the visuals for the first track, whilst you mellow out with the clandestine approach of the first track, as “Peplum” ceases to exist and flows magically into the B-Side. Hear the dreamy sound change into chugging guitars with a horror-themed drowsiness to it.

The release itself will be put out by Yerevan Tapes on a vinyl 7¨ on the 2nd of May. So whilst you wait for this promising release, have a bit of coffee and relax to the music-video which Repartiseraren could harbour to his own channel. It is by no means exclusive, other than for my channel at this time, but it can also be viewed from theirs. As I said in the beginning, this is more of a celebratory gesture for the growth of an organic Nordic themed Repartiseraren, together with the internationalist vibes of Heroin In Tahiti. Join us on our joint-adventure and await total misery, a slight transfusion with drowsiness – and the exceptionally great and original sound they produce.

Exclusive Premiere: Suren Unka – Weather Science

Suren Unka. You might’ve heard of him, or you might’ve not. He’s a descendant from India living in New Zealand, raised in the town of Opotoki, currently living in Auckland. The name he’s chosen for himself is derived from his real name, which is Suren Raj Unka. Earlier, he’s been a part of the group Ponnyfight together with Fergus Burnett, and now he’s released his own album on CD titled “El Chupacabra“. We re-visit some kind of bizarre turn into ambient dubstep of some sort, where the atmosphere is the most important for the almost clerical melodies that can be heard. It stands clear that it’s influenced very much by the modern electronica that has sprung up in the 2000’s. Currently, Suren is educating himself at MAINZ (Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand). Even though his music seem to be far from what I’ve been doing, I just had to have something to do with it. I must say that I despise dubstep as such, but this modern variant which clings to some of the elements of that genre, it also lets free some IDM influences, danceable ambient and other very interesting combinations. The build-ups in the structure of the tracks come from a heavy melodic content which is supplied with sampling, just to hit the climactic peak together with the baseline that itself – also is melodic as hell. So this might turn some of you off, but I guess that others will listen to it with an “open” ear, if you know what I mean. He actually contacted me via e-mail and we came to the conclusion that a track should be put up by me.

So, that’s exactly what I did a couple of days ago. The track “Weather Science” from his newly released debut-album “El Chupacabra” was put up on my Soundcloud. Just so you could hear it from yourself and get a taste of what was to come from this release. The unreleased track is up and running, and the album itself has just been self-released by Suren. Listen to this bizarre mixture of different genres and stream, but listen to, this track so you know if you want the whole album or not. It has been put out on iTunes so you can buy it. But make up your mind first and listen to the track down below.

Spotlight: Ōgon Batto – 007 / Ōgon Batto

The seventh release by Hare Akedod – a label specializing in electro-acoustic “improvisation rituals” on limited cassette-runs – is Ōgon Batto. It stands for “Golden Bat“, in Japanese; “黄金 バット” – which is a Japanese superhero invented by Ichiro Suzuki, a Japanese illustrator, in 1930. Symbolizing what came to be the first superhero of Japan, at least when it came to cartoons. References to this character have been made in the anime Paranoia Agent, for example. This first release, however, was created by someone whose real name is Bent Von Bent. He also created the beautiful artwork for this particular release of his own. Bent has a history of being involved in different releases on Hare Akedod, specifically on the first release “001” with various instrumentation, whilst David Edren took care of the synthesizers and guitars. David shares the label with Bent, as they run it together. Anyhow, Bent was also a part of the second, fourth and fifth release – in the same kind of way. This seventh release marks a third year of releases, together with Hare Akedod and Forklong Daruplat before this one. Even though a lot of the electro-acoustic music on this label don’t touch me emotionally, this seventh release manages to do just that. Carefully laden guitar-chords that make up the landscape of sound, together with improvised selections of riffs that – together with the swirling and sublime background guitar – make up a wondrous atmosphere that is relaxing to hear. Another thing which makes this music even more exciting is the locations at which he’s recorded field recordings in. To get a local kind of vibration to everything, he’s recorded on site at Xi’An (西安) in the Shaanxi province of China and in Sapporo (札幌市), the fourth largest city in Japan. The intensiveness of the music itself is laden into place with a mellow string of variation instrumentation. Some kind of chaos is brewing down below.

You can fetch the release through Hare Akedod themselves, or soon through distributors ex-Vinylo in France and Tomentosa in the US at the moment – as more international re-sellers will appear. The cassette itself is limited to 80 smokey clear tapes with white print in a black cassette case with black screen-printed golden j-card and fullcolour insert. The music was recorded on site with Field Recordings in Xi’An and Sapporo, but the release itself was recorded in studio with everything else at Zol Der Wahn, whilst the first, fifth and sixth track were recorded by Roest at Jocques & Die Scheldebunker. Synthesizer on track number five, namely “Bunker Symfonie IX : Opmars“, was recorded by D. Edren at CEM Rotterdam. Artwork for the cassette was made by Bent Von Bent and the cover-photograph was taken by Roest. Everything you’re hearing was recorded in between 2013 to 2014, with the assistance of others, but mainly by Bent Von Bent. Stream the whole release down below and listen to it, carefully.

Listen: Various Artists – Kollektion 6

The sixth installment of the selection made by Katabatik. A compilation titled “Kollektion 6” featuring both artists and groups that are a part of the roster, but also those whom aren’t. This compilation is the sixth in a row of free compilations that can be listened to through Katabatik. Everything in electronica from C.L.A.W.S. to Zania Morgan, to the Michael Buchanan (the label-owner) solo-project Identity Theft. Weird electronica, minimal electronics, sincere dark-wave, odd industrial and everything in between. The compilation itself features twenty-three songs from artists and groups like Mikronaut, C.L.A.W.S., Zanna Nera, Cinkrillan Weight, Silent Girlfriend, Abandoned Footwear, Obsidian Blade, Not Breathing, RPTN, Thee Source, Exillon, Identity Theft, The Vivid, aratKilo, Blue Window, Seacrypt, Nebuzaradan, Zania Morgan, Antlers Mulm, Veil, Ionophore, Fluorescent Gray and Sinew. Representing the US as a whole, but mainly Oakland, throughout the rest of America. But also featuring international artists and groups whom are everything from known – to unknown – to somewhere in between. The compilation is rather eclectic but seem to highlight the weird combination between forceful techno, acidic house, 1990s themed dance music funneled into psychedelia – and otherwise forgotten electronica, but also new beat mayhem. Maybe not really my cup of tea – but it might be yours. Stream the whole compilation in its entirety down below.