experimental / avant garde

I like strong female voices. Examples are the ritual chanting of Jarboe, the soulful crooning of Amy Winehouse, or the screaming of Amelie Bruun (Myrkur). Hell, even Adele would be great if it weren't for those mostly cheesy songs.

Last year I added Kristin Hayter of Lingua Ignota to this list. I was genuinely shocked when I first heard "All bitches Die", because of her intense, chilling screams - barely human, and especially not "female" at all. Music is rarely really frightening, but this really shook me to the bone.



So I was really eager to pick up the follow up record, Caligula. From the song titles alone you can already tell this are not really love songs: Butcher Of The World, If The Poison Won't Take You My Dogs Will, Fucking Deathdealer, and so on.

On this record Kristen has been assisted by some high profile musicians (Full of Hell, Uniform et al.). So musically it's a much more diverse affair, with the piano playing an important role. I have
to say this suits her (classically trained) vocals well, although I feel screaming is really her "unique selling point". She does some interesting throat singing as well this time (Fragrant Is My Many Flower'd Crown and Sorrow! Sorrow! Sorrow!), and at times even sounds a lot like Tori Amos ( May Failure Be Your Noose).

The violent and larger-than-life lyrics are an important part of what makes her so interesting, and, as before, they are based on her violent past (she was a victim of sexual abuse in her past). If I had to compare this record to her previous, I would say this is a more therapeutic record. "All bitches die" is rawer, it is the sound of a psychotic girl running around the street screaming, and harassing random passers-by. "Caligula", on the other hand, is Kristen lying on the couch of a shrink, recalling traumatic events from her past. Somehow it sounds more controlled and "safer" than before.

"Caligula" is a very good record, that will surely appeal to the hipster crowd. It's certainly more accessible than her previous record. Personally I would have liked a bit more screaming and a bit
less piano. Then again, this is probably a logical evolution, which should give her a lot more exposure to adventurous music lovers.


​Koen

experimental / musique concrète

Raffaele Pezzella is a busy-bee. On his Unexplained Sounds group, and its weekly radio transmission, he showcases some of the most unique sounds from all over the world. From his home town of Napoli to the deep underground of the African continent, Raffaele Pezzella has a talent to find mesmerizing music everywhere. And when he is not selflessly promoting other artists, he does some musical experimentation of his own. Those experiments have lead to releases on Cold Spring and Gravitysrainobowtapes and now leads to an album on his own Unexplained Sounds Group. 'Phantoms' is an adventurous work which every fan of musique concrete should check out.

Opener 'Phantoms' breathes that old, sixties, experimental music air. It's composed from strange noises and soundscapes, immediately setting the right atmosphere. So does the bizarre track 'Shamanic Rite Passing On A Surgery Table Equipped With Azzax and Trumpet'. This feels more like one of those albums with all different kinds of field-recordings to add to your videos. 'Memorex' somewhat follows that example and 'Dahomy Kingdom' turns that into a scary adventure with bird songs, electronic noises and samples.

By now, I realize that we're not really dealing with a soothing ambient album. We're dealing with intense experimental sounds. These are near-psychotic stories, narrated by an array of samples, noises and sounds. But then there is also the brilliant 'Three Options Collided', my personal favorite on this album. This track seems to balance between the first era of electronic avant garde music and the stuff you could find on many Cold Meat Industry releases. Closer 'Orient Out Of Tune' is another one of my favorites, a deep droning dark ambient track.

In all, this is definitely something for fans of noise and weird music. But then again, I think those people already know and follow Sonologyst. Raffaele Pezzella is a highly creative human being with a massive array of influences in his brain, so I guess it's no wonder he creates such varied music. So check out this gem and join us on the next edition of The Recognition Test, the weekly showcase.


Serge

avant-garde / drone / experimental

Not that long ago, I was at Dunk Festival, reminiscing about the origin of their much loved forest stage. Along with a few festival buddies, I remembered the very first gig in that forest, even before it became a real stage. It was Canadian drone/ambient powerhouse Thisquietarmy and his massive soundscapes. It was pretty amazing, too. 
Years have gone by and Eric Quach has not been at Dunk ever since. So I guess it's time to give him another shot next year. After all, he's got plenty of stuff in his repertoire. He can come alone, or with a full band or in the company of Aidan Girt (Godspeed You! Black Emperor). The latter would be simply baffling.

Some Became Hollow Tubes is the name of their mutual project. Eric on guitars and synths. Aidan blasting away on the drums. With 'Keep It In The Ground', they delivered a stunning piece of work, one that you will have to listen to several times and at several different volumes. The album contains six tracks, opening a bit hesitant with 'Red Eyes or Bleeding from the Nose or Mouth'. This track gradually evolves and somewhere in the middle of the thirteen minutes lasting sonic assault, the music has slowly put its droning tentacles in your brain. By the end, this is no longer Eric and Aidan, but a well-attuned act and a force to be reckoned with. 

There is one act that often comes to mind when I listen to most of these tracks: Yodok III, or maybe better, The Void Of Expansion. Track two, 'Do Not Run Away or Hide Sick People' could be a track from one of Eric's other projects: Hypnodrone Ensemble. Further down the road, Aidan Baker and his Caudal trio come to mind and - obviously - here and there elements from Godspeed You! Black Emperor come shining through. But, I don't feel like Some Became Hollow Tubes is a band influenced by all these, I think it's pretty much the other way around. Let's just call it an amalgamation of two exceptional talents.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this album is the sheer amount of variation. I mentioned a few different acts, and when I did that, 'Another Bad Subplot About a Boy's Search for his Father' was just starting. With this tune, I'm even being reminded of Ashtoreth for a little while, before the drums come out and turn the whole thing into a jazzy drone tune. My favorite track is 'Dog Faced Propulsion', perhaps the most dramatic and pulsating track on this brilliant album. I think the message is clear here. If you're into drones & drums, kraut & psychedelic, ambient & percussion, you need this album. You'll need to pre-order quickly, too. These will sell quickly...


​Serge

ambient / electronic / experimental / noise

Unexplained Sounds Group

Here in Belgium, as in most parts of Europe, the Americas and Australia, we know many different musical styles. From autotuned R&B to blackened doom metal and everything in between. If it's possible, it exists, that's the basic idea here. Yet, in all our musical indulgence we often seem to forget that there are other areas with a surprisingly varied musical scene. In the past, we have seen bands from unexpected places, like tiny villages in Siberia or crushing death metal from Iraq. Yet, the public opinion about Africa, music wise, is this: rhythmic, repetitive drums and weird chants, which pretty much explains why the sound of Die Antwoord is far from original. 

Anyway, who else than Raffaele Pezzella to dive into that vast continent and come back with some amazing tunes. Pezzella can be seen as the Steve Irwin of underground music: searching for the rarest gems and showing them to the world with the upmost respect and admiration. This continent is another baffling example of Pezzella's perseverance and passion. The compilation contains fourteen tracks, each one a unique piece of music. I'm not going to describe all of them. I'll leave the joy of discovering to you. But there are some jewels I'd like to pick out.

FRKTL delivered the opening track, one which immediately puts you in your place as far as your knowledge about African music goes. The opener, titled 'Hverfa af himni heiðar stjörnur' apparently puts everything back to Germany, more specifically the Berlin School. Klaus Schülze and Tangerine Dream clearly come to mind here. I wasn't expecting that so I was pleasantly surprised. A few interesting acts follow, combining ambient with traditional instruments and melodies. Fans of acts like Zoviet France might be interested. Flashes of dark ambient, drones, jazz and noise give the respective tracks their own identity. Some are beautiful, others plain weird.

Healer Oran is one of those act that deals in strangeness. Traditional chants and drums seem to have been processed through an array of effects which gives the track 'TaP{-' a somewhat unsettling atmosphere.Abdellah M. Hassak comes up with immersive drones and ritual vocals. His cooperative track 'Yearnings Complacency (feat Aziz Nadif)' brings some works of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to mind. I think that's a pretty neat compliment. In_o 's track '(J. Krishnamurti)' is a glitchy piece of electronics, excelling in minimalism and a pitch black atmosphere.

Then there is the bewildering closer of AMET and the confusing track 'Imposer Le Savoir'. This is definitely one for fans of musique concrete and everything avant garde. It's an adventurous finale for an adventurous compilation, one I will recommend to every fan of unusual, abstract and enigmatic music. Pezzella has done his ultimate best again, resulting in a mesmerizing set of odd tunes to enjoy.


​Serge

progressive / black metal / doom

In The Woods… were once a legendary progressive metal band from Norway during the 90’s. They released a total of five studio albums, three singles, one compilation album and one live album throughout its initial existence. The band disbanded in 2000 and reformed surprisingly in 2014.

With the album Pure they continued their story with a new lead singer James Fogarty. In 2016 the Botteri brothers left the band leading onto Alex Weisbeek and Bernt Sørensen joining In the Woods... for bass and guitar sessions. Drummer Anders Kobro is the only original member left.

With all those band member changes In The Woods… sounds still like In The Woods… The sound of the band has still the same powerful resonance and intelligence like on the albums Omnio and Strange In Stereo. Cease The Day has a more varied and intensified sound. The music feels more atmospheric and has more black metal influences. Their weeping guitar sound has moved more towards a melodic direction with a very wide-ranging approach of vocals. Black metal screaming and clean singing joining each other in balance.

In The Woods… is still refining their sound and experimenting with various tunes and moods. The keyboards are used to give the songs on Cease The Day a creative and distinctive mood. Elements of doom, progressive and black metal are melted in this very interesting piece of work. Slow old school pieces chance to aggressive soaring black metal and visa versa. The guitars speed up and resonate heavier than they ever did before. 

Cease The Day is mind-bending with an avant-garde touch. In The Woods… shows that the path they walk is powerful and covered with surprising ambience. The story of this band hasn’t been told completely. From their debut Heart of the Ages (1995) until today with Cease The Day (2018), this band sounds still original, progressive, melodic, heavy, kaleidoscopic and timeless. We could stay day and night in the woods listening to In The Woods…

​
Patsker

electronic / experimental / noise

Here is another one of those albums that not only defy the laws of music but also smash all genre boundaries to pieces in order to create something utterly unique. In fact, this thing often crosses those boundaries so blatantly that even the term "music" is no longer in order. Welcome to the strange but wonderful word of Juhani Silvola, composer, musician and producer working across multiple genres and disciplines. Juhani has a master’s degree from the Norwegian Academy of Music, where he studied electroacoustic composition with the world-renowned composer Natasha Barrett. He also worked with Sara-Jane Summers and several others.

And then there is this album, a confusing and often suffocating mishmash of electronic ambient, freaky synths and harsh noise, coming at you in six unique and bizarre pieces of music. The whole things opens with 'Ritualrytmikk', something that brings back memories of the old electronic noise and musique concrete pioneers like Pierre Henri or Karlheinz Stockhousen. 'Machines Of Loving Grace' adds some Merzbowian noise, or any other crazy Japanese harsh noise act you can image. Another artist that comes to mind is Machinefabriek. So yes, noise, mostly noise.

'Vaster Then Empires' feels like the soundtrack for an avant garde sci-fi movie while '20th Century Meditation' delivers at least a hint of calm, soothing ambient. Title track 'Post-biological Wildlife' sounds exactly as you would expect: electronic animal noises, a bit like a haunted house. Closer 'Speculative Phonography Pt.1' feels like some sort of megamix from the previous tracks. I know that sounds dry and unimaginable but this album is simply weird.

Fans of noise and avant garde electronics will undoubtedly love this. For them, this is another unpredictable sonic adventure. Other people might frown upon these eerie sounds. Strange, weird and odd, those are the keywords here, but the second half of the closing track is simply brilliant. 


​Serge

black metal / industrial / psychedelic

Yeruselem is a side project of Blut Aus Nord's Vindsval and W.D. Feld. Blut Aus Nord has been around since 1993, starting out as a black metal band, but gradually drifting into more experimental/industrial territory.

While very influential, it is also a fact that their music is not exactly easy listening. Industrial metal is often quite fatiguing to listen to, so imagine what happens if you throw a heap of ambient noise and dissonant riffs on top of that...However, BoN's last release (Cosmosophy) started showing signs of going into a more accessible direction (relatively speaking, of course, it's still not Steel Panther).

Yeruselem shows these guys going further into this direction. The sound immediately reminds me of Godflesh, but the guitars would not be out of place in a goth or deathrock band, and the melodies are at times, well, poppy. Vocal-wise,it also sounds refreshing - at times it made me think of Jesu, Front 242, or even Depeche Mode (go figure). Don't get me wrong, it's still heavy, but a more accessible way.

There are 9 songs on "The Sublime", two of which are instrumental mood-setters. The rest are fairly short songs, barely exceeding 5 minutes at max. Of note are album opener "The Sublime", (brilliant guitar work) , and "Eternal", with twisted drums and catchy vocals. 

What Jesu is to Godflesh, Yeruselem is to Blut aus Nord. And since I'm a big fan of Jesu, this really made my day. 2019 is off to a good start!


Koen

dark ambient / noise / drone / experimental

Cold Spring

The Cold Spring label celebrates their 250th release with a 29 track double CD. This UK label is specialized in all kinds of extreme music. This compilation contains a broad view of artists who create uncompromising underground music. All the tracks were already previously released. The only exclusive and unheard song is from Coil with Spastiche (Trumpo).

The songs are drowned in the darkest  and coldest atmospheres you can imagine. From the harsh noise of Merzbow to the addictive dark ambient sounds of Sonologyst, or from the doom punk escapades of Zeni Geva & Steve Albini to the creepy sounds of MZ.412. There is enough to discover on this sampler.

​The most curious artist on this release is Barry Adamson, former bass player of The Bad Seeds (Nick Cave). In collaboration with Pan Sonic, Barry Adamson composed this ice cold vocal song, The Hymn Of The Seventh Illusion, that ends this compilation in beautiful darkness. The sampler is a true guide in dark music for beginners and for experienced listeners. This double CD,  limited to 4000 copies in a gate fold Eco-pack is more than worth its money!

black metal / industrial metal

Debemur Morti Productions

During the darkest days of the year a flock of blood sucking bats were released with the compilation of Servants Of Chaos II. The French label Debemur Morti Productions indicates fifteen years of dedication to dark metal music. In fact, this is a very original release that contains fifteen exclusive tracks of fourteen bands. Au Champ Des Mort has the honor of having two hunting and atmospheric black metal tracks on the album. The variety of this extreme metal compilation is high. The psychoactive guitar riffs of Blut Aus Nord and Throane next to the more experimental and industrial approach of Terra Tennebrosa and Manes and the old school attitude of Behexen and Wallachia, show us the broad spectrum of the label in extreme metal. With no doubt Servants Of Chaos II leads the black metal fans to a dark and scorched heaven.

folk / celtic

With a fiddle and Hardanger fiddle as the only instruments used on Solo, Sara-Jane Summers shows her diverse talents on these folk instruments. She has already made several  live performances at rock, jazz, folk, country, and noise festivals worldwide. Sarah-Jane Summers  is releasing music as a duo with her husband Juhani Silvola and solo since 2008. She has made already many recording contributions in the folk-scene. Her playing  embraces the historical Celtic melancholic mood.  This release of old folk covers received an intelligent input. From happy dancing tunes to the sad sounding fiddle vibes, Solo, has the wisdom not to be boring or sleepy. Sarah-Jane Summers  managed to revive Celtic music from a different perspective. 

folk / acoustic

Stvannyr is a project of the Hungarian guitar player István ‘Musicformessier’ Csarnogursky. This artist from the Carpathian basin is a multi active guitar player involved in several projects. From guitar ambient (Musicformessier) to black metal (Realm Of Wolves) and much more (Silent Island, Black Hill). István Csarnogursky has the talent to create special floating guitar sounds that make you drift away.  With Secrets Of Black Ruins he brings a more  folk touch to the ambient guitar licks known from his other project Musicformessier. Six beautiful atmospheric folk instrumentals overwhelmed us with day-dreaming peace. Only available as digital download. Do not hesitate to have a listen to this artist’s other projects.

ambient / electronic

bandcamp

Evan Bartholomew has been performing electronic music for nearly 20 years as Bluetech. He has also credits in composing music for video games and TV/movie scores. With Liquid Geometries this American electronica artist from Portland joined the DiN label of Ian Boddy. Evan Bartholomew explores the electronic sounds  like the old masters of the Berlin School did. A lot of sequenced vibes  are put together into an interesting trip of soundscapes. Nothing new on the horizon but the recording has a high quality production and sounds refreshing. Bluetech  provided nicely constructed and moody tracks on this release. This is a grower. 

heavy metal

Athrox plays a groovy kind of old school metal, a mixture between Armored Saint and Anthrax. This hardworking band from Italy released with Through the Mirror their second album. The songs have lots of variety in style and tempo. When they speed up  you can feel and hear fragments of Metal Church. Athrox perform their music with finesse and deliver good melodic tracks. The down tempo songs don’t lose strength and have no disturbing effect on the album. Some compositions contain a welcome input of thrash metal. Athrox released with Through the Mirror an old school metal album carrying a wide range how heavy metal should sound. Nice work.

​Patsker

ambient / drone / experimental

Consouling Sounds

It was a profound year for the Belgian quality label Consouling Sounds. Dark Night Mother is the last of the twenty-two CD launches the label made this year. Stefano Pilia and Massimo Pupillo are two Italian musicians behind this project. They know each other more than a decade and started to record their acoustic home sessions. These creative meetings formed the foundation of Dark Night Mother. 

The broad experience in different music styles, the artists worked with, makes it difficult to catalog the recording. Stefano Pilia as bass player and Massimo Pupillo as guitar player are improvising musicians with a keen view how to melt their chemistry into mysterious and ethnic musical journeys. With the help of four female vocalists (Olivia Arebalo, Lucinda Mahua, Alexandra Drewchin and Sandra Canessa) a strange world of native singing, ambient and acoustic sounds was established.

The duo prepares precisely and patiently the listener to enter a world, not so easy to discover in one bite. After several listening trips it became clearer what the artists tried to achieve. Emotions of the past, present and future are molded in beautiful sound constructions. Indigenous voices bring a shamanic atmosphere and produce a strange hypnotic effect. The female singers have a very important contribution to the sound structures on this album.

Dark Night Mother had a weird outcome in how time moves when you are grasping deep into the music. In fact there is no darkness to be found in this recording. Beautiful, peaceful vibes with some melancholic parts create a new perspective of combining the uncombined. The weaving of world music, acoustic music with minimal electronica is what Dark Night Mother stands for. Stefano Pilia and Massimo Pupillo  shaped a beautiful world with abstract minimalist moods, grown from improvisations.

This music for the mind shows its splendor with patience and will be appreciated among music explorers like the fans of Hector Zazou and David Sylvian.


​Patsker 

black metal / dark ambient / experimental / industrial

Here's a review for an interesting release that flew largely under the radar: Haiku Funeral's "Decadent Luminosity", released end of October 2018. I do find it strong enough to revisit - after all, at the year's end, one should be compassionate to those who do not get what they deserve.

"Decadent Luminosity" is a double CD, with a total of 12 songs. Thematically, both discs stand on their own: the first one, called "Decadent", sounds like diabolical industrial metal - the band themselves call it "blackened industrial darkness". The second disc is called "Luminosity" and is a more ritualistic, organic affair ("ritual satanic ambient").

So what exactly is blackened industrial darkness? Imagine hammering industrial drums, meandering fuzzy basslines, some metallic impacts here and there, ancient string instruments, and, to top it all off, ritual chants and declamations. The end result is pretty electrifying, at times reminding me of NATO- or Wat-era Laibach, and of the icy cold declamations of Coph Nia's Aldenon Sartorial.

Highlights on this disc are the church organ solo at the end of the first song (Scientia Intra Satana), the eerie piped melodies on Lunata Sveti Kato Smwrt, and the Laibachian The Crown Of His Glory.
​
As already stated, the second disc sounds more organic, largely due to the absence of the industrial drumming. Instead, what we get is a carefully constructed atmosphere, composed of slow drones, reverberating vocals, bells, saxophones, and other odd instruments. Perfect background listening, in my opinion - again, Coph Nia seems to have been a big inspiration (e.g. Poems of infernal Flesh).

Haiku Funeral is a French duo, operating from Marseille since 2008. Published by Aesthetic Death, Decadent Luminosity is their fifth release. Is it perfect? No, at times I find the lyrics to be somewhat silly. But apart from that, this is a gratifying and immersive listening experience for those cold days and nights spent sitting by the fireplace.


​Koen