ANTIMATTER / ZBIGNIEW KARKOWSKI
KHz
(Auscultare Research) CD $10.50
The second collaboration by Karkowski and Xopher Davidson (Antimatter) slowly rattles one’s skeleton with gradually intensifying hums and buzzes and rumbles and drones and pulsations (and trots out plenty of onomatopoeia from ye olde noise almanac), until one’s bone marrow is more slippery than week-old cat piss pooled in a bean bag chair. Powerful and focused for 45 minutes. You can take it.
Fountains
(Auscultare Research - AUS16) CD $10.50
Digital synthesized contact microphone recordings of simple fountains pouring water into 40-gallon steel trash cans. An electronic whirlpool of water sounds (of course), meaty drones, and metallic roars by this heavy composer with Mills connections. For fans of Hafler Trio, Francisco Lopez, Aube.
Desperate Attempts At Beauty
(Auscultare Research) CD $10.50 (Out-of-stock)
At times startling, at others mysterious, Desperate Attempts at Beauty is an audio exploration of the damaged, and an excavation of inaudible murmurs from hidden recesses. With a strong pedigree in low-key noise and sound, Joe Colley of Crawl Unit should know how to spook a listener with the methodical patience of a thriller villain. An alien journey through a vast, rumbling institution.
Vitoj
(Auscultare Research) CD $9.00
Longtime San Francisco-based sound artist, internationally known for his extensive discography as Crawling With Tarts, continues his microscopic exploration of dense sonic landscapes within volatile stases. Vitoj eavesdrops on pressurized states of compressed gas within hydrogen tanks, diaphanous vinyl recordings of archaic voices, and perilous work environments in the far east. Wicked dream-like.
Illusion is a Natural Condition
(Auscultare Research) CD $10.50
The long anticipated collection of Dave Phillips and R.H.Y. Yau collaborations culled between 2000-2005. Phillips began his musical career when he was 17, co-founding the hardcore extremists Fear of God in 1987, whose increasingly faster, shorter, and noisier approaches to grindcore Philips realized were merely a springboard for more psychologically challenging and physically demanding artforms. Soon after Fear of God’s demise in 1989, he joined the actionist Schimpfluch-Gruppe which has followed the traditions of abjection and transgression as dictated by the Viennese Aktionists. Phillips has further developed these transgressions along with sociopolitical actionism in his solo efforts. Yau is a curator and sound artist who has been active in the sonic arts since 1993; his works are inspired by sound poetry, actionism, and the processes of musique concrète. Bored by academic cliques, Yau creates what he calls “action-concrète” -- organic synapses of voice, body, and raw materiality combined with raw electronics into sound experiences of both ultra-violence and absolute absurdity at the most base level. With ten lithographic reproductions of original drawings by Leif Elggren.
Coagulation
(Auscultare Research) CD $10.50
Selected action-concrète noise from 1996 to 2000 (with guest appearances by Kazumoto Endo (Killer Bug) that’ll prep you for a body bag better than just about anything shy of a 150-pound meat tenderizer with your name on it. Coated with electronic rawness, Coagulation combines belligerent noisician-gone-wild screech with micro-crustaceous nastiness. Go ahead and jump.