Dear comrades,
Along with our friends we have prepared the new small old school release in the ZHB Distribution Division series: STRUP from Belarus reworks the recordings of DN23rd in two long meditative tracks. The album is released on factory-pressed CDs in an ultra-limited edition of 60 copies, and also on home-dubbed audio cassettes, limited to 27 copies, info follows below.
In addition, the catalog, of course, has been replenished with a fair amount of new products! Fresh releases from such Russian labels as
Metamodernoise,
Kartaskvazhin,
Dronarivm,
Winter Solstice /
MIC Label,
Nazlo Records,
BioSonar^Lo-End,
Triangle & The Snitches, and such projects as
EKRAN,
Sistema Bezopasnosti and Hum / Sphogha.
A lot of new things have also arrived from our European friends and partners:
Attenuation Circuit (DE),
Winter-Light (NL),
GH Records (ES),
Entartete Musikk / Deutsch Nepal (SE),
Zoharum (PL),
Usagi (SE).
Some of this music you can hear in our September mix #48:
Please send your orders by e-mail
mm@radionoise.ru or
zhelezobeton@inbox.ru. Reservations are possible for a reasonable period.
Best wishes,
M.M.
27.09.2021
I. New release
Strup vs DN23rd
"24d19"
CD (ltd. 60) ~ CS (ltd. 27)
ZHBD-20
1. mm1v
2. mm2v
total length: 61:26
price: €7
"24d19" @ bandcamp
DN23rd: website
Everything what we love: noises of radio ether and mysterious signals are framed by industrial field recordings and utterly abstract inhuman playing on acoustic instruments. A meditative sound collage, under the quasi-static form of which one finds a layered abyss full of micro-dynamic processes. A zen garden assembled from burnt rubber and metal junk. Two long lullabies from the factory radio room.
The physical edition is presented in two versions: a factory-pressed CD limited to 60 copies in a cardboard sleeve and an audio cassette, limited to 27 copies. The digital version is available on bandcamp.
II. Forthcoming events
01.10.2021 – Noiseroom
SVETLO111, SYNPHOCAT, IINEY, SKRIZHALI SNA, VJ Oleg Potiy
St. Petersburg, Музей Звука / GEZ-21. More info...
03.10.2021 – Harsh October
II:II, NEUBIYENNYY, BORISOV/BORISOV, DJ KHARTHON
St. Petersburg, Fish Fabrique Nouvelle. More info...
08.10.2021
NADJA
St. Petersburg, Lastochka. More info...
09.10.2021
AIDAN BAKER
St. Petersburg, Lastochka. More info...
10.10.2021
NADJA
Moscow, Pravda. More info...
21.10.2021 – Moscow Noise Manufacture III
OLD MOSS & [ BƆː ] & DRONING ROOM, JUM-JUM & WANTING SEED & COTTON RUST, HERMETISM & EXIT RAIN, QUEFEAR & NIKITA VASILENKO & WAVE RESISTANCE, ARTEMEIDA & ACCASARI, ATHIALOWI & KATAPYGON, MOSCOW NOISE MANUFACTURE
Moscow, Paper Factory. More info...
28.10.2021 – Ornaments 5
KRYPTOGEN RUNDFUNK, ILIA BELORUKOV, VITALIY STROMCHINSKIY, ALEXANDER SENKO
Moscow, Paper Factory. More info...
III. New items in mailorder catalogue
CDs & CD-Rs
Θ -- "Total Division" -- CD -- €10
2021 Zoharum, ZOHAR 229-2, (ltd. 350)
Dark Ambient / Drone Metal. Behind Θ (Theta) project stands Themistoklis Altintzoglou hailing from Greece and currently residing in Tromso, Northern Norway. He has been releasing music since 2013 and is also half of the duos METATAG and ISOLATION. Θ has been collaborating with MITSUMIDAI on Brazilian horror film soundtracks (Uptake Fear & the Hand), background music for podcasts and has contributed with soundscapes and atmospherics for TAU CROSS and WAR//PLAGUE albums... “Total Division” presents 9 mysterious, and doom-driven tracks that are drowned in distortion and reverb. On this album, Theta unleashes powerful, dense and textural music that you can almost touch. Altintzoglou states that his origins are rooted in hardcore punk and whatever it may be – punk, black or doom metal - you can clearly hear that guitar sound is the center of his inspirations and sources. As bold as this statement may be - MAEROR TRI comes to mind but put into contemporary context. This is the most ”metal” album we’ve released so far and couldn’t be happier about it. “Total Division” is the example of those rare situations, when the Artist reached out to us directly and we immediately knew we want to release this fantastic piece of work... CD edition of 350 copies comes in a 6 panel ecopack. [label info]
[bandcamp]
[SHTURM] -- "Final" -- CD -- €8
2021 MIC Label, MIC 016
EBM / Dark Electro. The final chord of the Moscow military-EBM formation. New material, which had been in the storehouse for almost five years and was waiting for its turn. Vocals are sung by the leader of the Yekaterinburg group SINGULAR 2.0 – Alexei Timkovsky. Musically it's all the same furious and danceable dark-electro / EBM loved so much by all fans of the group. And which, alas, will be heard for the last time within the framework of this project. As a bonus, several old compositions are presented, including the famous "Katyusha", presented here in the rereleased format. [label info]
[bandcamp]
ASTRO -- "Vermillion Gate" -- CD-R -- €7
2020 Attenuation Circuit, ACRS 1015, (ltd. 100)
Noise / Experimental. The Rollator Series on attenuation circuit, dedicated to noise and curated by noise artist ORiFiCE, returns with a new release by Japanese noise duo Astro. Hiroshi Hasegawa on modular synth and Rohco on electric violin (!) and electronics offer an intense, immersive and atmospheric noise album... The album features three tracks, with the first two clocking in at about 15 minutes each. Thanks to the use of a variety of textural materials, not only the instruments mentioned above but also field recordings and samples, Astro create the dense, deep mass of sound that is necessary to achieve a great physical noise experience, but also manage to keep it musically interesting because there are always little changes going on in the sonic texture... The third track, “Vermillion Gate”, lasts almost half an hour and is a relentless climb towards a culmination point which – spoiler alert – could lead one to suspect that one's listening device has broken. If noise is the intentional dramatisation of losing control over acoustic signal chains in order to demonstrate the fragility of our addictive relationship to technology, then this is a masterpiece that goes all the way towards the complete collapse of the system it has set up. [label info]
[bandcamp]
ATE & NOWA ZIEMIA -- "Substrate" -- CD -- €10
2021 Zoharum, ZOHAR 232-2, (ltd. 250)
Guitar Drone / Ambient. Artur Krychowiak (Nowa Ziemia) and Petar Petkov (ate) both hailing from Tricity in northern Poland join their forces to showcase mutual passion for guitar drones and harmony. Nowa Ziemia is not new to our roster and his collaboration with Petkov is his third installment for Zoharum. ate on the other hand has 2 albums released by Bulgarian Amek - a label close to our hearts. “Substrate” consists of 2 long, harmonic ambient tracks. Heavily processed guitars are surrounded by field recordings and subtle electronics creating soothing dronescapes. It’s one of those records which you can play all day long on repeat without fear of getting bored or annoyed, as with each listen you’ll discover new layers of musicality. This music is like a cushion for your mind giving it a sense of safety. [label info]
[bandcamp]
BISSONNETTE, CHRISTOPHER -- "The Wine Dark Sea" -- CD -- €11
2020 Dronarivm, DR-66, (ltd. 150)
Ambient / Drone. The Wine Dark Sea is Bissonnette’s fifth solo studio album. The album’s title is derived from the writings of Homer, where he oft referred to a rough and stormy sea as “wine-dark”. Homer’s descriptions of colour are devoid of any reference to the colour blue. And any suggested meaning in his description of the sea point to the colour red. This apparent contradiction has brought much speculation about the significance and understanding of colour in ancient Greece. Keeping with the motif of colour, track titles on the album are based on references from contemporary artists and their insights on colour, form and implied meaning... The album represents a shift for Bissonnette’s work, moving from an exclusively synth-based series of explorations to a hybrid of electronic and acoustic methods. The result is a rolling and slow-moving tide of tones and undulations. The textures are in some passages soft and mollifying but fluently shift to moments of tension and unease. The Wine Dark Sea is an aural allegory to sound and colour and our tenuous understanding of abstract meaning. [label info]
[bandcamp]
BOCKSHOLM -- "Ironic Discomfort And Cheesy Manners" -- CD -- €12
2019 Yantra Atmospheres, YA-2019-95, (ltd. 306)
Industrial. In 2014 Bocksholm performed live in the outer domains of Boxholm for the first and probably last time. Performing a mashed up 'Best of' live-set in front of native clogs audience, amongst inbreeders and the commonly disabled, in the band's own natural habitat and backyard, it couldn't be anything but success. Wine and vodka flooded like a deluge in everyones throats, black clogs were thrown on the stage from the very first second, the home-distilling machines went overheated, the women-raping-men rates hit the ceiling of the local ironworks and the ancestor Stenbock himself turned in his grave not only once but six times. Now you can experience the same, if you dare to buy the Ironic Discomfort And Cheesy Manners. Somehow this album will become a homage to the cheese manufacturing in Boxholm, that sadly will stop by the end of 2019 because of greedy owners that found a way to save money by moving the manufacturing too another town far away. After this things will never be the same in Boxholm, a huge loss of cultural identity not only for the town itself but probably also for the Bocksholm project. At least, there will still be iron. Maybe the owners will change their minds when they here this album. Well, sad enough, we are also happy to announce that included in this album are six selected and never before released tracks performed live in Pawtucket (US) and Poznan (Poland) as part of the World tour in 2014. These special tracks will remain live only tracks. The CD album comes in a 6-panel cardboard digisleeve displaying the remains of Sweden's first electric locomotive built in Boxholm 1890. [label info]
[bandcamp]
C.C.C.C. -- "Gnosis" -- CD -- €12
1994/2019 Usagi, U03, (ltd. 300)
Noise / Experimental. Originally released as a cassette in 1994 by Drahtfunk Products, Gnosis shows Hasegawa, Hino, Kosakai and Nagakubo weaving a tapestry of strange exotic vistas and harsh chafing textures, exploring sonic depths and caverns not heard before or after. A standout and much sought after gem in the C.C.C.C. discography. Remastered by Hiroshi Hasegawa in April 2021, and finally available in a generous edition on digipak CD. [label info]
[youtube]
CAPERS -- "Lungs" -- CD -- €12
2019/2021 Usagi, U02, (ltd. 300)
Noise. With the LP Dregs in 2018, the Capers sound palette was expanded considerably. On Lungs, recorded not long after Dregs, the sound palette was instead kept at a minimum, and the composition simple, restrained and monotonous. Sparse, ever-sinking, rough, repetitive and patterned noise. For heads into early ZONE NORD and VÅRTGÅRD. Previously released as a C30 in 2019 by Canadian label Freedom Club, with one of the tracks omitted to better fit the cassette format. Lungs is now available in its originally intended full length, on CD in digipak. [label info]
[youtube]
CONIGLIO, ENRICO & GIULIO ALDINUCCI -- "Stalking The Elusive" -- CD -- €11
2020 Dronarivm, DR-68, (ltd. 150)
Ambient / Experimental. This album was conceived in Moscow during the Spring of 2018, when Dmitry Vasilyev organized the concert of Enrico Coniglio and Giulio Aldinucci at ДОМ - Dom Cultural Centre. The album reflects the feelings of some very intensive days made of exchanges of ideas with a multitude of people involved in music (including Dmitry Taldykin of Dronarivm) and moments spent in isolated places out of the metropolis, like a forest not far from an army shooting range... In this album, the two musicians wave together memories of an immutable past and questions about the present, giving birth to a sort of a requiem overflowing with lyricism. This music enlighten the dawn of a future that now appears more uncertain than ever, with frozen intensity and dramatic strength. As a message entrusted to the stars, it leaves as wondering if we can still change the course of events. [label info]
[bandcamp]
CONJECTURE -- "Hydra" -- CD -- €10
2021 Zoharum, ZOHAR 227-2, (ltd. 300)
Dark Ambient / Industrial. Conjecture started in 2013 is the solo music project of the Greek Avant-Garde visual artist Vasilis Angelopoulos. His music roughly stays in a fixed musical pattern and is easily shifting between different genres and concepts. Using mostly hardware synthesizers, metal sheets, piezo microphones, DIY impulse responses "collected" from abandoned buildings, and tape-manipulation expresses his manifestos upon human existence, religious folklore stereotypes and transcendence through archetypal rituals, body deconstruction, human subtraction and murder... On his album for Zoharum, Angelopoulos pays homage to Greek mythology. Every track (and album itself) is titled after more or lesser known mythic creature and tells its own story. As expected, music is dark and sublime and production is perfectly executed - sound is crunchy and powerful. Tension is built from the very first and is being kept high until the last track which eases it off with soothing ambient, field recordings and... trumpet (seriously) giving this amazing album closure it deserves... Greeks seem to have their own vision of ritual industrial music and they perfected it in an amazing way. Conjecture is no exception here. His take on the subject is mature and original and manifests in ruthless machine rhythms and cinematic storytelling that keeps you captivated from the very beginning to the very end... CD edition of 300 copies comes in 6 panel digipack. [label info]
[bandcamp]
CORONA BARATHRI -- "Diabolical Path [Part III]" -- CD -- €10
2020 Speculum Diaboli Records, SDR003, (ltd. 150)
Ritual / Dark Ambient from Russia. This compilation contains the most significant works recorded for the section of the Dark Path 2018-2019. [label info]
[bandcamp]
CORONA BARATHRI -- "Ensomatosis" -- CD -- €10
2021 Speculum Diaboli Records, SDR004, (ltd. 150)
Ritual / Dark Ambient from Russia. Ensomatosis is an album dedicated to the fusion of Samael and Nahemah, to an intercourse or integration between the Ancient Serpent and the Mother of Demons, between the male and the female Evil Principles resulting in the spawn of the unholy tribe. This work is a reimagination of the album "Womb Ov Sheol" released in 2017, at the dawn of the occult project Corona Barathri. [label info]
[bandcamp]
DAY BEFORE US -- "As My Spirit Wanders Free" -- CD -- €12
2021 Gradual Hate Records, GH 149 CD
Dark Ambient / Neoclassical. Prominent act from the post-industrial scene "Day Before Us" is back with a new significant album, casting elegant solitary hymns and shedding an unconventional gothic inspired mood. The instrumentals and conceptual background are approached and elaborated by Philippe Blache while the sound lyricist Agne Srebaliute takes over the vocal parts. "As my spirit wanders free" is a meticulously blended release which gives a large space to contemplative tones, to poignant melodic phrases and to a thick cloud of emotional meandering textures... The message behind the album explores existential themes such as soul stirring fragility, blurred-fractured memories and the mystical nature world. "As my spirit wanders free" is a vast, sensient and windy atmospheric opus that directly takes on the emotions of the listener. This album marks the 10 years anniversary of the project. This special edition is accompanied by the unique photographic work of Natalie Ina that matches the musical signature in terms of sheer emotional intensity and stylistic landmark. [label info]
[bandcamp]
DEUTSCH NEPAL -- "Dystopian Partycollection II" -- CD -- €12
2016 Entartete Musikk, EM09
Industrial / Experimental. The second Dystopian Partycollection contain a mixture of orfan tracks, exclusive remixes and music that earlier only could be found on vinyl as well as some intresting collaborations featuring some of the deepest undergrounds finest selection of artists. A big variation of sounds and representing a wide timespan and alien transformations of the music in orbit round the fat planet Baby Doll. The music was recorded 2009 – 2015, 12 tracks in 63 minutes refined and supported by TREPANERINGSRITUALEN, NAVICON TORTURE TECHNOLOGIES and DER BLUTHARSCH AND THE INFINITE CHURCH OF THE LEADING HAND. [label info]
[bandcamp]
DEUTSCH NEPAL -- "Dystopian Partycollection III" -- CD -- €12
2021 Entartete Musikk, EM14
Industrial / Experimental. Deutsch Nepal's Dystopian Partycollection III is a compilation of orphan tracks, re-recordings, alternative versions and remixes made by Lina Baby Doll alone or in co-operation with other artists as listed below. Every track was made in different occations in time and space why diverse qualities and sounds are to be expected from the listener. Partners in Crime: MAG-NOZ AIR, Benny Nilson (MORTHOUND, JANITOR), Alessio Betterelli (VARUNNA), Geoffrey Delacroix (DERNIERE VOLONTE, POSITION PARALELLE), Roger Karmanik (BRIGHTER DEATH NOW), Thomas Ekelund (TREPANERINGSRITUALEN). Enjoy the ride! [label info]
[bandcamp]
EL ULTIMO SOL -- "Entre Mundos" -- CD -- €12
2021 Gradual Hate Records, GH 146 CD / Soliferro, SF 007, (ltd. 200)
Neofolk / Ritual. A project by Daniel P. (ÀRNICA, WIHINEI RITA) and Gemma A. EL ULTIMO SOL is an encounter between worlds. A crossroad between realities, vibrations and sounds, where the old, the past and the present come together to form a timeless space. Time is diluted creating a sacred circle. For us it is an intimate and personal link, a relationship with the wild, with the mysterious of this apparently ordinary world, and of other worlds hidden from view, and that converge at the same point, at the same moment. An oasis in the middle of a life that pushes you to run, to not have time to feel. A place where everything stops to reconnect with the essential, with the primitive and instinctive, returning to the origin. [label info]
[bandcamp]
EMERGE -- "Steps" -- CD -- €13
2020 Attenuation Circuit, ACU 1021, (ltd. 300)
Field Recordings / Musique Concrete / Experimental. The album "Steps" is composed exclusively from field recordings made at the Dachau Concentration Camp memorial site. It is not possible to represent the horrors of concentration camps in music, and - a lesson learned from the many failures in the history of "industrial music" - the attempt to do so will inevitably result in trivialising, at best. Therefore, this is not about a concentration camp; it is about a memorial site. "Steps" shows to what extent contextual information about the sonic subject matter of a piece influences our listening. Only if we know the history behind these sounds - and the history of the place where they were recorded - are we able to make sense of the present. For part 2, Emerge invited sound artists to give their characteristic processing to the original field recordings. The resulting audio fragments are fed into the performance, symbolising a peaceful, solidary encounter of cultures: Anja Kreysing, Autonomaton, b°tong, Claus Poulsen, Dabit Vocem Austria, Federico Dal Pozzo, Freiband, Herr Penschuck, Limited Liability Sounds, Satori, Sofia Bertomeu, SRVTR, and Toni Dimitrov. [label info]
[bandcamp]
ESCAPE FROM WARSAW -- "Korozje" -- CD -- €10
2021 Zoharum, ZOHAR 221-2, (ltd. 300)
Electro / Acid / Industrial. Karol Su/Ka aka Escape From Warsaw strikes again with his hardware jams of acid electro madness and guerilla electronics fueled by delirious rumblings of a madman concerning Polish reality, politics and far beyond. Album consists of tracks that were originally recorded as Street City Nomad (EFW’s other project) between 2006 and 2010 and newer compositions. Szymon samples and refers to figures like Bukowski, Kerouac or characters known from Polish punk/counter culture. The music itself is raw and uncompromising and along 14 songs you’ll find ones that you can easily dance to and also ones that will make you stand still for a while and question reality. The lyrics question it, as songs are of the kind that are funny on one side but touch very serious matters currently corrupting our country on the other. What deserves a special attention is covert art made by Karol Su/Ka himself. Six unsettling yet amazing graphics which could serve as an idea for LSD blotter. Leave the fear behind and expect the unexpected. CD edition of 300 copies comes in 6 panel digipack. [label info]
[bandcamp]
FROZEN FACES -- "They Who Became Enemies To Their Ancestors / In Order To Confuse" -- CD -- €12
1998/2021 Entartete Musikk, EM15, (ltd. 300)
Industrial / Power Electronics. Side project of DEUTSCH NEPAL with more primitive and aggressive sound. Tapeloops, feedback and distorted vocals becomming sonic walls, simple ambient drones swaying through the room and other tracks turn into morbid cryonic ballads... Tracks 1-11 taken from "They Who Became Enemies To Their Ancestors", originally released in a limited edition of 100 copies on cassette in 1998. Tracks 12-15 taken from "In Order To Confuse", originally released as a 10" vinyl on the Hau Ruck! label in 2005. Remastered at Tröllhölet Studios in 2021. [label info]
[bandcamp]
GAAP KVLT -- "Untitled" -- CD -- €10
2013/2021 Zoharum, ZOHAR 225-2, (ltd. 350)
Dark Ambient / Minimal / Dub. Zoharum is proud to welcome back Gaap Kvlt with a compilation CD of tracks previously released by Polish BDTA label, as we decided that these works simply deserve resurection and more attention. If you’re already acknowledged with this artist and his output you can expect a great extension to his „Jinn” album released by us in 2016. If you’re new to his work it’s a great way to begin your journey. What you’ll find here are dark, minimalist and often bass heavy soundscapes enriched with fieldrecordings, electronica and references to Near East drumming aesthetics. From more isloationist ambient and moods to sink into, through dubbed out pulsations to more rhythmic structures to nod your head to, this compilation presents well balanced and maturely paced selection of the artist vision of music that is convincing enough that at times you can almost smell the sunburned sand of the desert. CD edition of 350 copies comes in a 6 panel ecopack. [label info]
[bandcamp]
THE GREEN KINGDOM -- "Empyrean" -- CD -- €11
2021 Dronarivm, DR-76, (ltd. 130)
Ambient / Post Rock. 'Empyrean' is the third in a trilogy of albums on Dronarivm. Whereas Expanses might be evocative of vast landscapes and Harbor the feeling of floating on gentle waves, Empyrean seeks to transcend the Earthly realm altogether. The album differs slightly from the previous two in that piano plays a larger role in many of the tracks, bringing an ethereal modern classical feel to the Green Kingdom sound at times. Although the mood ranges from pensive to lighter pieces, the intent was to provide soundscapes that elevate one's midstate to the clouds above. [label info]
[bandcamp]
GYDIA -- "Ár Var Alda" -- CD -- €12
2021 Winter-Light, WIN 036, (ltd. 200)
Dark Ambient / Drone / Experimental. Dark ambience for dark goddesses. Gydja presents "Ár var Alda (In Ancient Times)". Thick, expansive drones, woven through with intricate percussive elements, unearthly vocals and atmospheric field recordings. An album of deep, primordial dark ambient. "Ár var Alda" is a simultaneously chthonic and celestial exploration of the opening moments of creation in Norse cosmology, as described in Völuspá and Vafþrúðnismál, envisioned as a suite of nine Rökkr ambient tracks spread across four movements. Gydja is Abby Helasdottir, the wonderful artist and graphic designer behind many Cold Spring releases over the last two decades. Mastered by Robin Storey (Rapoon, ex-Zoviet France). Ltd x 200 copies in a 6-panel digipak. [Cold Spring]
[bandcamp]
HIRSCH, VLADIMIR -- "Katagenesis" -- CD -- €10
2021 Zoharum, ZOHAR 226-2 / Old Captain, OCCD53, (ltd. 300)
Modern Classical / Industrial. Vladimír Hirsch is a composer and a veteran of Czech industrial scene. Member (and/or founder) of projects like AGHIATRIAS, SKROL and CZECH INTEGRATED ENSEMBLE to name a few. “Katagenesis” showcases Hirsch’s consistency in style of creation. Melodic, powerful, sublime and absolutely terrifying. Album is presented in the form of triptych „Axonal Transit”, „Metaspheres” and „Hymn”. Across 11 tracks we are taking true tour de fear as we’re experiencing a sonic representation of horror. Orchestral instruments mixed with electronics are holding us in suspense from the very beginning to the very end giving us only a few short breaks to catch a breath. This is as far as you can imagine from easy listening, but it’s definitely worth the effort as when the album stops you feel the cathartic effect instantly. Amazing take on modern classical and experimental music. [label info]
[bandcamp]
HOLLYWOOD BOXER -- "Day Of The Fight" -- CD-R -- €7
2021 Serdtsevina, (ltd. 18)
Powerful abrasive Harsh Noise from the project of Yuri Samoilove from Moscow. Envelope made of black cardboard with leather embossing + insert.
[bandcamp]
INCAPACITANTS -- "Unauthorized Fatal Operation 990130" -- CD -- €12
1999/2021 Usagi, U01, (ltd. 300)
Noise. Recorded live at UFO Club in Kōenji, Tokyo, on January 30, 1999. Incapacitants in their finest capacity, blending harsh electronic psychedelia, mayhemic screech and visceral ecstasy. Previously released by OR in 1999 on CDR, now available for posterity on CD in digipak. Also included in this reissue is a 22 minute live document, recorded at Shinsaibashi Club Quattro on February 10, 2001. [label info]
[youtube]
JABLONSKI, MICHAL -- "Humanity" -- CD -- €10
2020 Zoharum, ZOHAR 210-2, (ltd. 400)
Dark Ambient / Industrial. „Humanity” is the second album of Warsaw based producer Michał Jabłoński. This is also his debut for Zoharum and his first collaboration with vocalist – Hania „DID” Piosik whose voice appears in two tracks. Jabłoński has been writing „Humanity” on the turn of spring and summer of 2020 during lockdown, which he spent in the countryside. Widespread anxiety, a sense of impending doom and deep inspiration of post apocalyptic motives have pushed him to create an album that’s a mixture of ambient, experimental and film music fueled by strong percussive rhythms drowned in dense atmosphere giving us battalistic yet nostalgic feeling that perfectly captures this difficult moment in the history of mankind. This is a non-obvious journey into the depths of the universe seen through Jabłoński's eyes, in which not all cards are revealed until the last seconds. [label info]
[bandcamp]
JARL -- "Inner Domain" -- 2 CD -- €14
2020 Zoharum, ZOHAR 203-2, (ltd. 300)
Experimental / Industrial / Drone. “Inner Domain” is a third (after “Tunguska Event” and “Negative Rotation / Intensive Fracture”) release by Jarl on Zoharum label. Artist himself often labels his music as withdrawn electronics focused on isolation. Psychedelic, chemical, unbalanced, from calm to destructive, insomnia with or without structure. In this case music was influenced by experiencing sleep paralysis. Each CD deals with either the hypnagogic or hypnopompic state. The before and after experience. “Inner Domain” offers a bit more primitive and aggressive approach to sound but still has that psychedelic feel to it which hallmarks Jarl’s works. Originally intended for a double cassette release and recorded between 2007 and 2009 on either a 4 or 8 track recorder. Electronic sounds on album made with a wave form generator interwine with acoustic sounds with lots of delay. No computer was used during the recording process. Artwork made by Karolina Urbaniak. 2CD album folded in 6-panel ecopack released in strictly limited edition of 300 copies. [label info]
[bandcamp]
JUICE MACHINE -- "Deep As A Depthless Pond" -- CD -- €9
2021 Besperech', (ltd. 100)
Experimental / Field Recordings. We recorded "Deep as a depthless pond" over 3 weekends in May and June of 2021 especially for Besperech. After repeated listens to the Kromeshna cd "Martyata" we decided to try our hand at a nature based meandering long form recording with hopes of release on the same label. We talked about letting the sounds of nature take more of the lead role and letting the electronics set more of a stable backdrop, which is a bit of a departure for us. Cassette tapes and samples were chosen for these recordings that reflected this above ideal and electronics were kept hypnotic, minimal and sparse. We believe you can enjoy these 3 long form pieces as background sound for your everyday living space or as an engaging thought-provoking meditation on human interaction in the vast world of nature. [from the authors] JUICE MACHINE is the improvisational live electronics wife and husband duo of Heather Chessman + Roger Smith. Working in and around the confined genres of noise, tape music, found sound + drone while focusing on minimal tonal + maximal textural audio with rhythmic pulses and sharp jabs of uneasy waves and slurred motivational speeches JUICE MACHINE makes it music in the Pacific Northwest. [label info]
[bandcamp]
LIND, MICHAEL -- "Geographies" -- CD -- €11
2021 Dronarivm, DR-77, (ltd. 130)
Modern Classical / Ambient. In Geographies, Mikael Lind follows up his 2020 album Give Shape to Space, which was nominated for the Icelandic Music Prize for best electronic album. On Geographies, Lind continues his musical interpretations of the shapes and movements of places and environments. Armed with pianos, strings, modular synths and field recordings, Lind digs deeper into his signature sound on this release, exploring the borders between ambient electronica and minimalist classical music. [label info]
[bandcamp]
MAKLAKOV, VITALY -- "Zheleznye Skazki #4" -- CD-R -- €7
2021 Ostroga, (ltd. 50)
Industrial. The fourth part of the "iron tales" from the Ural-based artist. Field recordings, found sounds, tape manipulations...
[bandcamp]
MOSCONI, FEDERICO -- "Dreamers And Tides" -- CD -- €11
2021 Dronarivm, DR-73, (ltd. 100)
Ambient / Drone. The dreamer pushes himself beyond the boundaries of imagination, into places he only can visit. He will come back transfigured, taking along his dream come true and sharing it with those who love him. His trip is like a tide that comes back a little bit different every time and brings something new to those who could wait for it. In each track of the album you can find two different souls, one is physical and the other one is ethereal, the dreamer and the dream. They move together and power each other taking the listener to their world. Nobody knows if that world really exists but someone is living in it for a while. [label info]
[bandcamp]
NEXUS VI -- "Enslaved" -- CD -- €8
2021 MIC Label
EBM / Dark Electro. This is the firth, previously unreleased album of the well-known Russian band NEXUS VI from Tomsk. The materials of this album were transferred to the label by Alexei's father. Mixing and mastering was done by Oleg Sergeev ([SHTURM], HOLOCODER). For many loyal and longtime fans of the group, the album will become a real gift - as it contains compositions that are not quite usual for the band. The groove and drive of the Nexus VI haven't gone anywhere. Female vocals and harsh male vocals definitely call you to the dance floor and turn you on instantly. Powerful compositions of dark-electro / EBM and related genres will appeal to many fans of the "dark" scene and "heavy" electronics in particular. [label info]
[bandcamp]
NIMH & RAPOON -- "Post-Folk Lore Vol. I" -- CD -- €12
2020 Winter-Light, WIN 029, (ltd. 300)
Ambient / Ritual / Experimental. Two highly respected and prolific artists join forces for this collaborative release on our Winter-Light label. NIMH (Giuseppe Verticchio, a member of TWIST OF FATE, HALL OF MIRRORS, MARIBOR, WE PROMISE TO BETRAY) & RAPOON (Robin Storey, a member of REFORMED FACTION and an ex-member of ZOVIET FRANCE) recording together for the very first time, combining both of their key musical elements and forging something very new and different in the process... 'Post-Folk Lore Vol.1' is comprised of 4 long pieces created through shared recording sessions between their respective UK and Italian studios. Using traditional instruments, alongside sampled elements and synthesised sounds, RAPOON and NIMH open the door to this newly created Post-Folk space. Ltd x 300 copies in a digipak. [label info]
[bandcamp]
NNHMN -- "Deception Island" -- CD -- €10
2020/2021 Zoharum, ZOHAR 216-2, (ltd. 300)
Darkwave / Electro / Industrial. NNHMN returns to Zoharum with "Deception Island" a compilation CD of tracks taken from vinyl EP-s titled Deception Island Part 1 and 2 respectively, released by Spanish Oráculo Records. As expected, the duo of Lee and Michal Laudarg deliver hell of a ride. Dark Wave, Synth Pop, EBM, New Romantic, Dark Disco - you name it. Spirit of '80s nostalgia is strong in this music. It's hard to listen to this without nodding your head or moving your hands and feet. Deception Island is very propulsive. From the first synths of "In Darkness" to the last beats of "Nachtgang" NNHMN keeps you enslaved on the dancefloor. The track order has been slightly rearranged so the compilation has a more album feel and makes you find yourself listening to it for the third time in a row moving and watching the stars. You just don't want it to stop. Restless dance of the night endless. CD edition of 300 copies comes in "silk" digipack. [label info]
[bandcamp]
NOX -- "Opus Unending" -- CD -- €12
2020 Winter-Light, WIN 030, (ltd. 200)
Dark Ambient / Industrial. NOX is Croatian artist Jurica Santek (recording as AEGRI SOMNIA for Cryo Chamber and EFIL for Kalpamantra respectively). Here he presents traditional, pitch-black dark ambient, focused on low, sub tones with touches of industrial and horror recordings. Downtune and lo-fi, the feel shifts more towards that of the original dark ambient and death industrial artists from the early period of these genres. Experimental and field recordings were carefully collected and have been used for the construction of an entire album. The main focus is on dark, isolationist soundscapes but also as music without distraction, that can be used as a background meditative for various purposes. The aim is to reach a fluid dark atmosphere that is pleasant and meditational to listen to, but that also has dark and unnerving moments. Ltd x 200 copies in a digipak. [label info]
[bandcamp]
OLD CASTLE -- "Welcome To Graceland" -- CD -- €10
2021 Zoharum, ZOHAR 231-2, (ltd. 400)
Experimental / Industrial. Robin Storey (RAPOON), Robert Pepper (PAS MUSIQUE) and Shaun Sandor (PROMUTE) met in 2011 when they performed in Brooklyn at Cafe Orwell and they just clicked immediately. Starting as colaborative duos, they decided to work as a trio and so Old Castle came to life – incarnation of synergy drawn from the experience and creativity of each member. Given that each gentleman has pretty vast catalogue of very varied music the end result is pretty hard to classify and saying simply that it’s experimental music just doesn’t give it justice... Tracks bear echoes of COIL. You can clearly feel shamanistic approach to sound creation with influences of IDM and LSD (the substance). Album starts in a pretty dark tone to move towards more rhythmic, colorful and abstract structures to end with a droning horror of the last track (ironically tiltled “Mummy Love”). Along the way you will hear unexpected appearances of classical instruments like trumpets, pianos or violins and even less obvious didgeridoo which brings to mind aboriginal trance inducing music. Everything veiled in mystery and eeriness. Overall experience reminds of acid trip with all its lighter and darker aspects... It’s also worth to mention the cover art by Magdalena Eftimova, which after listening goes with the music perfectly. Bits of colours, textures and shapes turn into acid like yet coherent image and same goes with music - collages of sounds turn to coherent tracks and these create eventually amazing album as a whole... CD edition of 400 copies comes in a 6 panel digipack. [label info]
[bandcamp]
PHILLIPS, DAVE -- "Post Homo Sapiens" -- CD -- €7
2020 Attenuation Circuit, ACU 1017
Experimental / Musique Concrete / Drone. Dave Phillips' artistic mission is to use intense sounds to change our perception of what it means to be in the world, to de-center our certainty that we as humans are always in control of the world we inhabit. Contrasting human voices with non-human sounds (such as those created by insects) and magnifying their impact on our minds, as well as bodies, through layering and amplification, he makes us feel what it is like to be overwhelmed by something greater than us (in real life, this greater something is nature, evolution – although we in our technological 'civilisation' constantly choose to repress this fact). And this experience, best available if you follow the “Play loud” instruction on this album, can be an intensely sensual and cathartic one... Dave Phillips has often been classified as a noise musician, and this is true to the extent that high volumes and extreme frequencies play an important role among his musical strategies. However, the quieter moments full of foreboding (of ecological disasters, for example) are equally important, especially in this album. “Post Homo Sapiens” is not just about full-on sonic assaults, but also a lot about atmosphere and suspense – hence it is no coincidence that one track of the album is dedicated to Jerry Goldsmith, composer of myriad film scores such as “Omen,” “Alien,” and “Psycho II,” to mention but a very few. However, rhythmic, quasi-industrial noise parts also have their place in this album, as well as the dissonant microtonal droning of the opening piece “Biosemiotics,” which sounds somewhat like Tony Conrad's early-sixties string experiments, possibly played by crickets. Conrad explained his interest in the drone in socio-political terms, namely from his interest in the dismantling of any and all forms of organised culture. This concern may well be shared by Dave Phillips as he urges us to shift our attention from the narrow focus of our human-made culture to the larger natural world of which we are only a part. [label info]
[bandcamp]
RAPOON -- "Call Fires To Cloud" -- CD -- €12
2020 Winter-Light, WIN 033, (ltd. 200)
Dark Ambient / Experimental. The replicant society has broken down and all that remains are a few wandering tribes who traverse the dying planet searching for somewhere to call home. They pray to empty gods. One group places it’s final messages and cultural artefacts into a holographic file but before it can be sent into space a great sandstorm sweeps across their encampment and buries everything. Millenia later another great storm finally blows the sand away from the power panels and the transmitter bursts into brief life. Just long enough to send the following files of music and art...... What began life as session tracks and studio sounds from the Mercury Rising Trilogy, ended up becoming an album of almost entirely new material. Robin Storey takes us on a journey to the outer reaches of a very distant and cold solar system. These intercepted transmissions of audio and visual material, that have bounced around the known universe for millennia, finally allow us a glimpse in to their creators past. [label info]
[bandcamp]
RARA -- "Planet Death Re/Architecture" -- 2 CD -- €14
2014/2018 Zoharum, ZOHAR 167-2, (ltd. 300)
Ambient / Post Rock. Two years have already passed since the release of Rara's previous album "W//TR". The new third album is currently in the works. In the meantime, the project found time to prepare an extended reissue of its debut album "Planet Death Architecture" from 2014, released in a small number on tape and CD-R. This excellent album merging post-rock and ethereal electronica was the beginning of the artistic path of Rara. The new edition has been extended with an additional song that completes the original album. But that's not all, because the album also includes an additional disc containing the recording of the concert in Radio Gdańsk, which took place in the autumn 2017. Rara played in an expanded 5-member line-up then. [label info]
[bandcamp]
RASKOL'NIKOV & HJALMAR -- "Yama" -- CD -- €10
2017 Zoharum, ZOHAR 158-2, (ltd. 250)
Experimental / Ambient. RASKOL'NIKOV is an Italian project joining other artists on Zoharum. The duo, formed by Francesco Todescato and Jacopo Pagin, has been working since 2010 and has been quite active live. Also, they have a substantial number of very limited releases. 'YAMA' is a collaboration between Raskol'nikov and Hjalmar Hach. Completed in 2013 'The Album of the Mountain' is now awakened to be finally released. The six tracks depict a path that leads from the forest through the mountain and from the mountain up to the sky, a path that reflects itself on the cover image. The original painting is hanging on the wall where the album was mainly recorded, influencing its roots. Those who climb on 'YAMA' move in the exotic territories of an unknown language, scrambling on rocks made of fragments whose forms are unknown even to their own creators. Thus, the journey becomes doubly dangerous and exciting, and when the summit is reached, it’s impossible to say whether it is the place of arrival or just another intermediate point within a wider movement that knows no stops. [label info]
[bandcamp]
RIGOR MORTISS -- "Wbrewny" -- CD -- €10
2019 Zoharum, ZOHAR 176-2, (ltd. 400)
Industrial / Metal / No Wave. The band from Płock is back with a new album. The previous release of "Brud" (released on Requiem Rec.) already showed that there is no doubt why musicians had returned after many years of silence and that they still have much to say, thus they have a vision of their own reinvention. Today, Rigor Mortiss, thanks to the "WBREWNY" album, is pursuing the newly chosen path even more boldly, cutting off from the burden of the past, without any complexes. We deal with heavy, seemingly predatory music, but also singularly toned down due to interesting arrangements. There is a captivating trans-like repetition based on a strong guitar groove, balanced by the sounds of often phenomenal samples and the proper build-up of the atmosphere. From the whole album an intriguing story emerges, created thanks to lyrical miniatures, songs about the fear, pain of existence, passing away, almost mythical Haenyeo women and their own reminiscences. There are two unusual tracks here on the album that are worth mentioning: "Cyborgernas Bön", which were based on Eugeniusz Rudnik's "Miniatures" samples, and "Escape from the Flashback", the fragments of which served as a soundtrack to the award-winning "Klechdy" ("Folk Tales") movie awarded on many festivals. [label info]
[bandcamp]
ROD -- "Pòczuj Kaszëbsczégò Dëcha" -- CD -- €10
2020 Zoharum, ZOHAR 217-2, (ltd. 300)
Industrial Rock / Folk Rock. Over the past few years we had the pleasure to work with ROD co-releasing their first two EPs that preceded their debut album “Lelum Polelum” released on Karrot Kommando in 2018. Today ROD is back with the new album entitled “Pòczuj kaszëbsczégò dëcha” that appears this time under Zoharum banner. Rather than a regular band, ROD appears to be more of a collective focused on artistic activities strongly affiliated with slavic culture and rites. References are clear in musical, lyrical and visual aspects of their output. In their work, they consistently try to instill the culture of their ancestors into new ground. Here old rituals, overheard legends, and everyday customs refer to the universal vision of the universe - pure, indigenous and known for centuries. Undistorted by external influence. These propagators of heathen tradition put those values into present context. Their eclectic formula is based on combining two seemingly distant, even opposite musical worlds where modern electronic pulse meets melodies played on traditional folk instruments giving very unique and most satisfying result. ROD’s latest work relates to Kaszuby - region in northern Poland – and it’s rich ethnic and cultural background confronted with present day problems. [label info]
[bandcamp]
SAMOILOVE, YRII -- "Savage Messiah" -- CD-R -- €7
2021 Serdtsevina, (ltd. 13)
Cut-up / glitch / experimental / noise / sound art / chiptune with multi-layered psychedelic collages in the style of Veprisuicida. Full-colour cover. Slim-case with attached piece of yellow felt. [YAOP]
[bandcamp]
SCHROTTERSBURG -- "Melancholia • Dekonstrukcje" -- CD -- €10
2020 Zoharum, ZOHAR 214-2, (ltd. 300)
New Wave / Experimental. Schrottersburg (city of Płock in German) is well known to post punk fans due to 3 well received albums and a no nonsense demo. What makes them different from the other bands (except for great music of course) is their ability to incorporate other musical genres while maintaining the new wave core. Here post punk meets kraut/space/psychedelic or even noise rock and shoegaze. Those broad interests pushed the band towards experiment where they invited their friends who reinterpreted the songs from “Melancholia” album, which resulted in „Melancholia. Dekonstrukcje”. New versions of songs range from trip hop, through traces of electro, industrial, experimental (think of shogaze black metal, seriously) psychedelia and mesmeric, trance inducing sounds. Not wanting to spoil the fun we’ll leave those aural pleasures for you to discover. [label info]
[bandcamp]
SEWER ELECTION -- "Antarktis" -- CD -- €12
2019 Usagi, U04, (ltd. 300)
Noise. Six tracks of icy, dry, blistering, barren and unforgiving noise. Recorded and mixed at Studio Malign, Kortedala, 2021. Electronics, metal objects and reel-to-reel tape manipulation. Digipak CD. [label info]
[youtube]
SISTEMA BEZOPASNOSTI -- "Preobrazhenie (Transfiguration)" -- CD -- €10
2019/2021 Heimdall Records, (ltd. 100)
Ambient / Experimental. The band Sistema Bezopasnosti from the Siberian city of Tyumen' was formed in late 90ies along with some others of the local punk scene, but already in mid-2000s their style changed to their own vision of the European neofolk tradition. It seems that at the turn of the 2020s a new transfiguration is taking place, elements of which could be heard on the previous album "SNezhnost" on the track "Gudron" – namely, the appeal of the project leader VlaD Doronin to synthesized ambient sound, which was fully manifested on this recording. Seven dreamy instrumental tracks, minimalistic in sound and cosmically romantic in mood. As the author himself says, these compositions “fundamentally reflect my movement towards the least possible contact with reality, from which I wanted to evade and even completely delete it from my coordinate system. I tried to do this in a special irrational way, by ignoring it through working with abstract sound images, which are the metaphor and allegory of the unreal and the extraterrestrial. I wanted to quench my thirst for this unearthly beauty, hunger for the beautiful, longing for the impossible, which I feel more and more every day. This is something that, in my understanding, should fill the space, the emptiness, something that is perhaps able to get rid of the existence of fear, disappointment of observing a nightmarish, awkward, three-dimensional reality, an absurd disharmonious atonality of this being"... Standard edition in a cardboard digisleeve, available in two versions: with black-color and full-color design.
[bandcamp]
SISTEMA BEZOPASNOSTI -- "Preobrazhenie (Transfiguration)" -- CD -- €15
2019/2021 Heimdall Records, (ltd. 50)
Ambient / Experimental. Deluxe version of the CD-edition of this album: cardboard digisleeve with standard edition is supplemented with a badge containing the logo of Sistema Bezopasnosti / Heimdall Records, all packed in an outer envelope made of craft paper with a logo and a sticker. Available in two versions: black-colored and full-colored.
[bandcamp]
SPHYXION -- "2" -- CD -- €10
2018 Zoharum, ZOHAR 166-2, (ltd. 250)
Minimal / Electro. Sphyxion is a new name in the Zoharum catalog, although quite well-known French musicians are behind it. Sphyxion is the second project of brothers Frédéric and Olivier Charlot, known as MANINKARI. Their album "2" is an exploration of minimal and rhythmic electronic music in the vein of minimal wave. The structure of the pieces evolves in a repetitive way where the rhythm box remains predominant and leads to the sounds of minor, melancholy and dark nostalgia. On some tracks, drone sounds mix appear depending on the atmosphere of the song. Samples of voices appear regularly and present themselves as haunted memories that lingers in the memory. Sphyxion is a kind of retro futuristic music that explores the themes of the tension between past and future. It's a kind of fiction about events that have not happened but that could have been. [label info]
[bandcamp]
THE STONE TAPES -- "Revolutions In The Head" -- CD -- €13
2019 Attenuation Circuit, ACU 1015, (ltd. 300)
Experimental / Drone. THE STONE TAPES here is: Edward Ka-Spel (THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS), Frans De Waard (BEEQUEEN, FRIEBAND, THU20, SHIFTS, KAPOTTE MUZIEK etc), plus BIG CITY ORCHESTRA members dAS, Ninah Pixie, and Philip Knight. "Revolutions In The Head" represents an almost transcendental stream of 60 minute soundtracks created over several days for a TV station in San Francisco. The concentration involved was almost terrifying, but the satisfaction displayed when that clock hit the magical 60 minute mark seemed like a glorious release. Big City Orchestra instigated the project and were joined by Frans while Edward Ka-Spel joined for the last part of the penultimate session, having literally just got off the train from London and connected his devices mid-session. When the music was over, there seemed to be a general consensus that this meeting of minds needed to be heard by a wider audience... [label info] "A transcendental head trip breathing a calm, blurred atmosphere of circular, hence the 'revolutions' in the title, synth waves, frequencies and radio sounds. That 'revolutionary' circular sound aspect is more or less the central theme here, embellished with, at times NURSE WITH WOUND-like sounds, reversed tones, modified analogue squeaks and bleeps, static and a quieter bit with sequenced chords... a very listenable and pleasant sound sculpture". [Vital Weekly]
[bandcamp]
SUBTERRANEAN SOURCE -- "Ellipsis" -- CD -- €12
2021 Winter-Light, WIN 037, (ltd. 200)
Dark Ambient / Experimental. Italian artist SUBTERRANEAN SOURCE presents us with 5 collaborative pieces on his new album, "Ellipsis". The title references cyclical themes or events in life and how we face these situations in a similar way. For this release, Andrea Bellucci (SUBTERRANEAN SOURCE, RED SECTOR A, SON-DHA, VETROPACO etc) has joined forces with Paolo L. Bandera (SIGILLUM S, SSHE RETINA STIMULANTS, IUGULA THOR), NIMH, LUNAR ABYSS DEUS ORGANUM, NEW RISEN THRONE, and EXIT IN GREY. "Prime dark ambient, with the requisite menacing drones and irregular electroacoustic elements [that] are either percussive or shimmering. Textures vary from smooth to jagged, approaching but not quite reaching noise wall levels" (Avant Music News). Mastered by Robin Storey (RAPOON). Ltd x 200 copies in a digipak. [Cold Spring]
[bandcamp]
TEHOM -- "Phobos" -- CD -- €10
2021 Zoharum, ZOHAR 234-2, (ltd. 350)
Dark Ambient. TeHÔM is the first ever Croatian dark ambient audio-visual project and one of Europe’s mainstays within the genre with released 5 albums on labels such Twilight Command, Cyclic Law and Zazen Sounds. “Phobos” is an audio documentation of a live performance held at the extraordinary location of Sophienkirche in Wuppertal, Germany during Phobos Festival in 2019. It was recorded directly at the mixing desk and over a microphone capturing the church's acoustics, which can be heard on the recording itself. The music is atmospheric and ritual. Grim and narrative electronics enriched by TeHÔM’s chanting and processed acoustics of percussive nature are at the same time pleasant for the ear and unsettling for the mind. Phobos is a dark, dark place to be... [label info]
[bandcamp]
TIBETAN RED / THE OVAL LANGUAGE / DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE -- "The Breath Of The Hydra" -- CD -- €13
2021 Attenuation Circuit, ACU 1029, (ltd. 300)
Experimental / Musique Concrete / Sound Collage. A three way collaboration between artists residing in Germany, Rennes, France and Catalan. This is the culmination of an on-and-off exchange which began in 2016; a continuous exchange of audio material, ideas and suggestions. Salvador Francesch of TIBETAN RED, and Guido Hübner of DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE meet again after a concert of at the LEM Festival in Barcelona. Since then working together became evident, as was the choice of including Klaus-Peter John (THE OVAL LANGUAGE) with whom several collaborations have already seen the light of day. The association of their different sound worlds and even more specifically their extremely particular fashions of creating them was meant to merge and melt in a whole able to blur clear distinctions with only an occasional sneaking out of a head and a hissing tongue amongst many that takes the scent and direction respectively in the brooding heat that forges shape and carves direction. [label info] "All three composers here share a love for the methods of musique concrète; cutting and pasting with sound to tell a story and that is what they do best here... something that is a top product. They work their way through all the material at a careful pace, not fast, not slow... There is some great flair used in creating this music and altogether a great collaboration, free of ego!" [Vital Weekly]. Ltd x 300 copies in a 6-panel digipak.
[bandcamp]
TSIDMZ -- "The Aeon Of ThuleSehnsucht" -- CD -- €12
2020 Gradual Hate Records, GH 143 CD / Twilight Records, TW 1.160
Martial Industrial / Neofolk / Experimental. The Aeon Of ThuleSehnsucht is not only the best of 12 years, it’s a journey through the best songs of TSIDMZ, revisited tracks and new songs, it is a panorama of the different collaborations carried out and the different styles touched over the years. This record, as well as the soul of the project, is a vision that blends Futurism and Tradition, Eurasian/Hyperborean visions and Post-Atomic scenarios... T.S.I.D.M.Z. (ThuleSehnsucht In Der MaschinenZeit), born and conceived between 2002 and 2007 (the year when it was first produced), is an Italian project of Electronic music with Futuristic, Hyperborean and Martial attitude that takes inspiration from various genres within the field of Industrial, Popular and Traditional Music. In both music and themes, the purpose is to be as eclectic as possible while remaining faithful to the aim of the project. For this reason the project has always been involved in collaborations with other musicians, including split-cds, guest musicians, shared projects and collaborations on tracks and songs. [label info]
[bandcamp]
VIDNA OBMANA -- "Revealed By Composed Nature" -- CD -- €10
1990/2021 Zoharum, ZOHAR 230-2, (ltd. 400)
Ambient. There is no doubt that standing behind Vidna Obmana project Dirk Serries is outstanding creative force and it’s always pleasure to have him in Zoharum. Serries turns to magic whatever he touches. Whenever it’s dark ambient, drone or more experimental sounds you can always expect highest quality of musical expression... This time we offer you reissue of his “Revealed By Composed Nature” previously released in 1990 on Belgian Decade Collection. Album consists of magnificent and gentle sounds with slight new age feel. Beautiful harmonics seep through speakers and induce sedative state. Perfectly constructed tape loops peacefully float into infinity carrying us with them. Tender electronics and treatments enrich created ambience giving us blurry yet amazingly soothing soundscape that you never want to end... We’re almost sure that these tracks have medical quality and this album as a whole serves its purpose as aural therapy that we all needed for our disturbed minds in these crazy times. [label info]
[bandcamp]
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- "r I ɘ" -- CD -- €3
2020 Attenuation Circuit, ACU 1024
Experimental / Musique Concrete / Drone. Every summer since 2017, Attenuation Circuit has been organising the “Re:Flexions Sound-Art Festival” for experimental music at its homebase in Augsburg, Germany. For the 2020 edition of the festival, the label has produced a CD album. Individual artists applied for the festival and were “matched” in trio or quartet configurations by label head and festival organiser Sascha Stadlmeier aka EMERGE to create new collaborations. In anticipation of performing live at the festival together, the newly created line-ups produced the tracks for this album by way of remote collaborations.... BU.D.D.A., Stadlmeier's own latest duo project with Chris Sigdell aka B°TONG, joined forces with trumpet player Fabio Fabbri and TANGERINE DREAM violinist Hoshiko Yamane to create a haunting yet mind-opening space (or laboratory?) scenario with their track “Human Interbreeding”... AGENTE COSTURA plays her sewing machine and lays the beat for “Sudden Descent”, a track that might be described as post-industrial noise-electro (in the 1980s Detroit meaning of electro) in a trio with OCCUPIED HEAD and Boban Ristevski on various electronics... GINTAS K, CALINECZKA, and Wilfried Hanrath weave a delicate tapestry of lowercase drone sounds that is interspersed with fragile metallic sounds of mysterious origin that even coalesce into strange melodies at times. This calm yet by no means monotonous piece is called “Closer Musings”... With Lee Enfield, WATERFLOWER, and KOMPRIPIOTR, we dive deep into drone ambient territory, yet with a noisy edge buried underneath the lush layers of harmony. The track's title “Scare Up” might refer to the noisy beast that is lurking down there, waiting to come to the surface. And sure enough the piece turns into a rather suspenseful ride on the soundwaves... The final track “Ferch” closes the album with meditative post-rock drone ambient. N (91), a veteran of guitar-based drone music who is always “N”, but numbers his projects/releases, meets like-minded duo DEEP, who use two electric bass guitars and some electronics to create their music. [label info]
[bandcamp]
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- "Raíz Ibérica - Sendero del Espíritu Antiguo" -- CD -- €12
2021 Gradual Hate Records, GH 150 CD / Soliferro, SF 017 / Raíz Ibérica, RI 001
Neofolk. From the hand of the Asociación Cultural Raíz Ibérica, Soliferro Grabraciones Iberas and GH Records comes an expected meeting. We present a selection of Iberian projects that investigate ethnography using music and from a not necessarily archaic perspective. Traditional melodies blend with electronic foundations and ancient ideals they recover voice through neo-folk, dark-ambient or black metal. A myriad of sounds that are articulated in harmony on the axis of the pre-Roman, pagan and hidden Iberian Peninsula. SAVIA ETERNA, IBERIAN LOIN, CRYSTALMOORS, EL ÚLTIMO SOL, NOSTRARREL, EL PASTOR DE LA PLANA, ARVERNIEN, ORGEN, LUME, OOOOOOO, LA SOMBRA DEL TEJO, LÓSTREGOS, FALCATA DE FOGO, BAIRAZ, DISCDIZ, P Y R E : N U M E N. [label info]
[bandcamp]
Vinyl
BONCH-BRUEVICH, RACHEL -- "Mono" -- 5" lathe-cut -- €23
2021 Nazlo Records, NzR170, (ltd. 20)
Piano / Modern Classical. Single 2 minute track found on a piece of reel-to-reel tape, mastered by Nazlo Records and released on mono lo-fi lathe-cut records. 5" one-sided square clear lathes with 3D printed plate attached to the record, no other info, generic 5" plastic bag.
[bandcamp]
DREN -- "Time & Form" -- LP + CD -- €17
2019 Zoharum, ZOHAR 181-1 LP, (ltd. 300)
Industrial / Techno. "Time & Form" is the debut of the duo hailing from Tri-City. The material was recorded at the turn of April and May 2018, shortly after Natt and Akton gave birth to DREN. The music on the album is characterized by stylistic eclecticism. Over the course of eight electronic works, you can hear strong influences of industrial, ritual sounds and widely understood "bass music". From the first beats of "Time" to the last bass breath of "Terminus", DREN spreads a dark aura around the listener. Dense, heavy atmosphere hovers above the unobvious, mechanical, yet ritual rhythms. 180g LP with CD in a cardboard wallet included. [label info]
[bandcamp]
GENETIC TRANSMISSION -- "Strychnina (Music For Acoustic Installations)" -- LP -- €17
2005/2020 Zoharum, ZOHAR 207-1, (ltd. 100)
Musique Concrète / Industrial. It has become a sort of tradition that every year during first days of autumn we release at least one part out of GT Archive Series. Keeping this tradition alive we present you seventh instalment of this series that is “Strychnina”. “Strychnina” being one of the most important albums in vast Genetic Transmission discography, originally was released in 2005 as CD-R via his own imprint Die Schöne Blumen Musik Werk. It consists of 2 compositions about 20 min each. 180g LP, limited edition of 100 copies. [label info]
[bandcamp]
PACIFIC 231 & RAPOON -- "Palestine" -- LP + CD -- €17
2007/2021 Zoharum, ZOHAR 228-1, (ltd. 300)
Experimental / Dub. “Palestine” was the first effect of collaboration between two titans of industrial and underground music Pierre “Pacific 231” Jolivet and Robin “Rapoon” Storey. Originally released as limited CD in 2007 by Old Europa Cafe and “Dedicated to the struggling Palestinian Nation and to the memory of Bryn Jones 1961-1999.” Zoharum is proud to present you a first time ever LP reissue of this important album.... Given that “Palestine” is dedicated to Muslimgauze and Israeli-Palestinian conflict it’s easy to predict what you’ll find here. Each side of the record presents artists' take on middle eastern rhythm and sound. Side A is raw. For over 20 minutes Jolivet focuses on subtle processing over hypnotic distorted drum loops. On side B Storey takes us on a long, a bit IDM-ish trip following what seems to be Muezzin call. CD contains additional 3 rare tracks that were taken from the limited Old Europa Cafe version of the album and Pacific’s “el-Arish” business card CD... This album is as important due to the subject it touches as it’s true and uncompromising and is still relevant now as it was in the time of its creation. Remastered by Robin Storey. LP edition of 300 copies comes on red translucent 180 g vinyl with CD insert. [label info]
[bandcamp]
PIGEONS & THE INSANE PORRIGEMAKERS -- "A Gift to a Dog" -- LP -- €35
2021 Чудесаунд / Soyuz Music, (ltd. 100)
Psychedelic Rock. This is a sort of "Best of" from Pigeons & The Insane Porrigemakers, comprised of the brightest psychedelic gems taken from their first four albums. Pigeons & The Insane Porrigemakers is a St. Petersburg-based surrealistic orchestra performing avantguarde rock music full of paradoxes, adorned with ethnic motives and lingering psychedelic improvisations. Two dozen participants are creating a dense and colourful tapestry of sounds, meanings and images. Their first vinyl release is an author's collection of the most characteristic tracks from the four albums of the band. [label info]
[bandcamp]
SCHROTTERSBURG -- "Dalet" -- LP -- €17
2021 Zoharum, ZOHAR 224-1 / Bat-Cave Productions, BCLP05 / DIY Kolo Records, DIY083LP, (ltd. 300)
New Wave / Post Punk. "Dalet" is a fourth full length installment in Schröttersburg (aka Płock – city in central Poland) output. Album presents persistence of vision in trio’s style and that is new wave and postpunk aesthetics with kraut rock propulsion enriched by echoes of psychedelia and industrial rawness. Add yearning vocals on top and you get a balanced mixture that keeps you hypnotized throughout 7 songs from the very beginning till the very end. Album is very cohesive as a whole, but also every song lives its own life as a autonomous entity. The lyrics are as deeply emotional as they are expressive and they complete the music perfectly. Limited LP edition of 300 copies, 180 g vinyl with an additional full-size insert. [label info]
[bandcamp]
SEMILANCEATA -- "Träd, Svamp Och Stenar" -- 10" lathe-cut -- €55
2021 Nazlo Records, NzR167-II, (ltd. 50)
Dark Ambient / Atmospheric Black Metal. Сlear 2-sided stereo 10" lathe-cut records, handmade oversize covers with silkscreened artwork, includes plastic inner sleeve and private download code, only 50 copies made, hand-numbered. Second edition.
Cassettes
ASSEMBLY OF HONEY -- "Courtyards of our Childhood" -- CS -- €8
2020 Kartaskvazhin, [karsk_08], (ltd. 33)
Ambient. Remember how we made secrets in childhood; burned poplar fluff; ran home to drink water and took out a piece of a pie into the yard that everyone wanted to bite off; creaked on a swing; dug passages in sandbox and built castles; gnawed on a loaf of bread on the way home from the store; measured the depth of puddles; chased pigeons; scratched out first letters; collected colored glasses and beautiful stones; played classics and cycled; hiding in the front garden; fed kittens and stray dogs; trusted each other with secrets; ran until dark, sadly awaiting the moment when we would be called home?.. These were the courtyards of childhood, which we did not want to leave. A wonderful world, sunken Atlantis, remembered forever, full of sounds, smells, sunlight. The echoes of all this are in the "Courtyards of Our Childhood" album from the Russian project Assembly of Honey. [label info]
[bandcamp]
ATE & NOWA ZIEMIA -- "Substrate" -- CS -- €8
2021 Zoharum, ZOHAR 232-2, (ltd. 50)
Guitar Drone / Ambient. Artur Krychowiak (Nowa Ziemia) and Petar Petkov (ate) both hailing from Tricity in northern Poland join their forces to showcase mutual passion for guitar drones and harmony. Nowa Ziemia is not new to our roster and his collaboration with Petkov is his third installment for Zoharum. ate on the other hand has 2 albums released by Bulgarian Amek - a label close to our hearts. “Substrate” consists of 2 long, harmonic ambient tracks. Heavily processed guitars are surrounded by field recordings and subtle electronics creating soothing dronescapes. It’s one of those records which you can play all day long on repeat without fear of getting bored or annoyed, as with each listen you’ll discover new layers of musicality. This music is like a cushion for your mind giving it a sense of safety. [label info]
[bandcamp]
BROOKS -- "Smola (Tar)" -- CS -- €8
2020/2021 Kartaskvazhin, [karsk_10], (ltd. 30)
Noise Rock. The album "Смола" (tar in English) is the first audio report from the Брӱкс (Brooks) group, representing the graffiti scene of the Yaroslavl direction of Moscow commuter trains. Seven tracks that have absorbed the remnants of fading graffiti; poetics of solitary confrontation and internal struggle; the aesthetics of the abandoned railway branches along with their wild sprouts on the slopes and rusty industrial zones; the clatter of wheelsets rushing between primeval garages and the attractiveness of abandoned buildings... Initially, the album "смола" was released on the Moscow label Подземное течение (Underground Current) in 2020, and in 2021 Kartaskvazhin prepared a reissue. Recorded in late 2019 - early 2020, partly in the basement on Vodopribor, partly at home. The trombone and rattle (6) were recorded in Losiny Ostrov. Noises (1-2, 6-7) were recorded on the Los-Losinoostrovskaya line. All material was recorded on a tape recorder. [label info]
[bandcamp]
BUFFALOMCKEE + DOLPHIN HOSPITAL -- "青い脂" -- CS -- €7
2021 Nazlo Records, NzR169, (ltd. 23)
Experimental / Lo-Fi / Rhythmic Electronics from two Russian underground projects. Cover art features the poster for the Soviet movie "Engineer Kochin's Mistake".
[bandcamp]
DETSKAYA DEBILNOST' -- "I" -- C-60 -- €8
2021 Winter Solstice, (ltd. 10)
Lo-Fi / Experimental. DETSKAYA DEBILNOST' (Children Debility) was founded in the city of Tula in 1987 by the multi-instrumentalists Anton "Gnusniy" Serikov and Alexander "Producer" Kuchinskiy under heavy influence of joint experiments of Brian Eno and Robert Fripp (in particular, the album "No Pussyfooting" from 1973). Having recorded their debut psychedelic album together at home, which was eponymously called "Detskaya Debilnost'", this experimental and frantically researching duo distributes it on cassettes among urban lovers of rock music and avant-garde jazz, as it was actually normal for the still rather strongly Soviet country, which experienced a boom in the rock movement not only in Moscow and Leningrad, but also on the periphery... Documented on white C60 cassettes, the epoch of "dashing nineties", mocking children's punk and other anarchism with lo-fi sound. The first album to touch the bold experiments of Anton, who was thinking in the same way as The Residents if they were living not in America, but on Saturn. This music will allow you to get a passport of a citizen of this planet without queues and short SMS. [label info]
DETSKAYA DEBILNOST' -- "OligofrenDepressMix (1987-1990)" -- C-60 -- €8
2021 Winter Solstice, (ltd. 10)
Lo-Fi / Experimental. DETSKAYA DEBILNOST' (Children Debility) was founded in the city of Tula in 1987 by the multi-instrumentalists Anton "Gnusniy" Serikov and Alexander "Producer" Kuchinskiy under heavy influence of joint experiments of Brian Eno and Robert Fripp (in particular, the album "No Pussyfooting" from 1973). Having recorded their debut psychedelic album together at home, which was eponymously called "Detskaya Debilnost'", this experimental and frantically researching duo distributes it on cassettes among urban lovers of rock music and avant-garde jazz, as it was actually normal for the still rather strongly Soviet country, which experienced a boom in the rock movement not only in Moscow and Leningrad, but also on the periphery... [label info]
DOLPHIN HOSPITAL -- "Space is Fake" -- CS -- €7
2021 Nazlo Records, NzR171, (ltd. 30)
Experimental / Rhythmic Electronics / Sound Collage from the boss of Nazlo Records.
[bandcamp]
DONTPLAY_WZ_DIKTOFON -- "National Unity Day Session (2021)" -- CS -- €8
2021 Winter Solstice, (ltd. 30)
Industrial / Drone Metal from St. Petersburg, Russia. Distorted drone metal in best traditions of JESU and GODFLESH. Three authentic tracks that will smudge your reality with you. [label info]
[bandcamp]
DRO)))ME + IATEMYSELF -- "Conscious Arcus Cloud" -- C-60 -- €8
2021 Metamodernoise, MMN06, (ltd. 25)
Drone / Noise / Experimental from two Russian projects. Recorded on February 9, 2021 at Seratonin Studio, Sevastopol. Hand-painted cassette shell.
[bandcamp]
ECHO COMA -- "Electrostatic Forrest" -- C-90 -- €8
2021 Metamodernoise, MMN05, (ltd. 25)
Ritual / Dark Ambient / Drone from the Russian underground. Recorded at The Red Triangle Factory, St. Petersburg, May 31, 2021. Hand-painted cassette shell.
[bandcamp]
EKRAN -- "Vintage Voyage" -- C-32 -- €8
2021 [electrotapes archive], [ETA-TAPE-05], (ltd. 50)
Analogue Synth / Minimal / Space Ambient. EKRAN was a collaboration project by the electronic musicians from St. Petersburg, Russia: M.M. (KRYPTOGEN RUNDFUNK) and G.D. (ANTHESTERIA), drawing inspiration from Soviet science fiction, space travel and the enthusiasm for scientific progress. The recording, made in 2004, has long waited for the opportunity to go on an interstellar journey. And now the countdown signal is given. Analogue sound of vintage synthesizers, nostalgia for the mid 20th century sci-fi aesthetics, atmospheric design using works by Taisia Korotkova. A vintage journey to the stars... [label info]
[bandcamp]
HIIRI, SERGEY -- "Imago" -- CS -- €8
2021 Kartaskvazhin, [karsk_13], (ltd. 15)
Ambient / Drone. Sergey Hiiri is an experienced amateur sound artist based in Saint Petersburg. Designing patches in Pure Data, he creates very warm and light soundscapes full of vitality despite being digital. Sergei's new album - Imago - is just about the seasonal return of life. [label info]
[bandcamp]
HUM -- "Mystery of Moonlight" -- C-90 -- €18
2001 Ultra Low Fidelity, Ultra Low Fidelity 7
Drone. One of the early recording of the HUM project from Fryazino, Russia – minimalistic hypnotic drone ambient, played on analogue instruments. High-quality chrome cassette, cover made of designer cardboard + additional full-colour insert.
IATEMYSELF -- "Degrodub @ How Forests Think 2021" -- CS -- €8
2021 Metamodernoise, MMN03, (ltd. 20)
Dub / Rhythmic Noise / Experimental from the Russian project. Live recording from "How Forests Think" open-air festival, made on July 09, 2021. Hand-painted cassette shell.
[bandcamp]
J.NEHRU -- "Worst" -- CS -- €8
2020 Winter Solstice, WS 011, (ltd. 30)
Experimental / Industrial Rock. This band was a kind of "Russian Psyhic TV" in the 90s. They played music which was well-known in the world, yet completely incomprehensible in their native city of Tula. However they played live a lot and participated in small and big events on the local stage. Now this music sounds no less interesting than early releases by Cabaret Voltaire, Coil, The Residents and many other interesting bands, although we don't want to make such comparisons. This is the history of the Russian underground music, a must-have for everyone who's interested in it... [label info]
[soundcloud] [soundcloud]
KROMESHNA -- "White Rings" -- CS + art-object -- €30
2020 Zaimka, (ltd. 10)
Ambient / Drone. White dust of clouds rubbed by celestial stones. White art object made in mixed media. Each copy is hand-numbered. [label info]
[bandcamp]
KWAINGGELWAIS -- "En Ljudhistoria I 3 Delar" -- CS -- €7
2021 Nazlo Records, NzR171, (ltd. 30)
Dark Ambient / Drone from a little-known Swedish project. Semtransparent single-sided white cassettes in soft polypropylene cases with two-sided inserts.
[bandcamp]
LIGHT COLLAPSE -- "Da-Da Tape" -- CS -- €16
2021 Zaimka, (ltd. 10)
Sound Collage. Finely chopped random tapes, glued in a chaotic manner and subjected to mechanical deformation and speed distortion during further rewriting. The final collage was also randomly glued together. This album celebrates the mechanical reproduction of meaning and the reuse of raw materials. The release includes a sleeve and an insert made of thick paper, a pile of tape and a small sticker. Each copy is exclusive. [label info]
[bandcamp]
LUCHANSKY, VLADIMIR -- "Journeys That Never Happened" -- CS -- €8
2021 Kartaskvazhin, [karsk_12], (ltd. 33)
Ambient / Experimental. Vladimir Luchansky is a multi-instrumentalist from Novosibirsk (southwestern part of Siberia), living in St. Petersburg and for over ten years practicing an improvisational approach in various fields of music - from art-pop to metal, the number of completely dissimilar projects and collaborations is really impressive: GLINTSHAKE, ZHERTVOPRINOSHENIYA, PUSTOTSVET and many others. Owning a guitar, saxophone and various electronics, Vladimir creates and adds something constructive every time, while remaining himself... A few words about the album from the author himself: "Journeys are very important part of every human's life. To think, they are coming up around us since the very birth, short and long: to the grocery shop with mother, to the friends at the other end of the city, to the grandmother at her country house. As we grow, our mind broads, our area widens, and our journeys are becoming bigger, too. Somebody travels with their parents around the globe since the very beginning, another never leaves their local area, but all our thoughts and feelings are always free, travelling, searching, longing to reach the horizon and beyond, and take us there. And very often we dream, plan, leave the marks on the map, maybe even buy the tickets, but then something goes wrong and we never go, never ride, never fly there. This journey stays unimplemented and unembodied, flies around as a ghost somewhere in intangible space. Later, we surely will forget about it, but such stories never disappear completely. Through my whole life, I've stashed some amount of such journeys — from short trivia to endless fields. The most important of them for now — here, in this work, and I'm very happy that I can share these in my favorite form of communication — music..." [label info]
[bandcamp]
MAKLAKOV, VITALY -- "Etages" -- CS BOX -- €16
2021 Zaimka, (ltd. 10)
Ambient / Drone / Experimental. The influence of Soviet architectural modernism on the first foalfoot flowers in a field. Distance from mom to a crib with a baby. If you look at your hands long enough, they will remain hands. Board games on the floor and on the walls. Moving hefty cardboard cubes painted as sky and clouds from one place to another. The myth of how an invisible universe collapses in a plastic bag with toluene. Unlearned lessons and expired candies. Behind the house, the yard guys dug a hole for missing time and a few pieces of dyslexia. And also, if you find another hole near the Blue Quarry and climb into it, the signals of a train passing nearby will seem unusual. Running on crazy grass, running on crazy water... The album was previously released on Heart Shaped Box Prod. in the amount of one copy with a unique design. [label info] Hand-made honeycomb cardboard box, postcard cover, everything is tied with twine.
[bandcamp]
MARE DI DIRAC -- "Ophite Diagram" -- CS -- €7
2019 Gradual Hate Records, GH 142 TAPE, (ltd. 50)
Experimental / Dark Ambient. Mare di Dirac is an electro-acoustic collective project founded in 2009 by two italians sound artists: Lorenzo Abattoir, member of various projects within the noise scene (PSICOPOMPO, ABATTOIR & SATORI, SATANISMO CALIBRO 9) & POSEITRONE, who plays ethnical instruments and analog electronics. The concept is based on the fundamental principles of Quantum Physics applied to field recording of ritualistic practices from different traditons. Acoustic resonances of instruments and natural effects of space, are used as additional sound sources, where any elements are structured to create an unusual process of composition. [label info]
[bandcamp]
N-MISTER -- "Signals" -- CS -- €8
2020 Kartaskvazhin, [karsk_09], (ltd. 22)
Ambient / Experimental. "Is it so hard to imagine the end of the world?" - the radio amateur asked, when the tape recorder snapped off the cassette with the recording of the last radio broadcast. At imaginary frequencies, he heard music that was filled with volume and took shape like this unobtrusively, it was not easy to catch her presence at first. In the acoustic cast of the space, its layers appeared and disappeared. When the texture became intense, it distinctly resembled the desert landscapes of an uninhabited, in the usual sense, planet. Where did she come from? You can't say exactly. All he had to do was fix the signal marked "end of the world music"... After a deep sleep, the radio has reminded of itself again. The same frequencies transmit the signal again. It seemed that that world had sunk into darkness and there was no more life, but be that as it may, on the other side, a living creature breathed sound timbres, woven songs into all reflecting landscapes. The radio amateur has witnessed a renaissance in which everything that faded a few days ago gave life to a new world by investing hope in the fight for the next breath. [label info]
[bandcamp]
NIZHNEE TECHENIE -- "Recording Made By The Request Of Winter" -- C-60 -- €8
2006/2021 Winter Solstice, WS 018, (ltd. 30)
Experimental. Reissue of the album of the Arkhangelsk-based project Nizhnee Techenie (Lower Current), released in 2006. Initially, the guys planned to release it on the Exotica label, but something went wrong. Experimental electronics at the junction of industrial, EBM, noise, IDM and devil knows what else will appeal to all fans of the homemade experimental style. Excellent vocals camouflaged with fierce distortion, lyrics about the end of the world and more. It hurts to listen, but when you are finished, there is an incredible ease. Cover photo courtesy of Alexey Sheptunov (Moon Far Away). [label info]
[soundcloud] [soundcloud]
ONEIRINE -- "Ability to Shuffle" -- CS -- €8
2021 Metamodernoise, MMN04, (ltd. 20)
Drone / Noise. Hand-painted cassette shell.
[bandcamp]
ONEIRINE -- "Textures2Stuck2" -- C-60 -- €8
2021 Metamodernoise, MMN07, (ltd. 21)
Noise Rock / Drone / Experimental.
[bandcamp]
ONEIRINE + TERVAINK -- "Live at Tenb" -- C-60 -- €8
2021 Metamodernoise, MMN08, (ltd. 25)
Drone / Noise / Experimental. Recorded at Faust Bar, Moscow, on December 28, 2019. Hand-painted cassette shell.
[bandcamp]
ONEIRINE / ZEMLEDELIA -- split -- CS -- €8
2021 Metamodernoise, MMN02, (ltd. 40)
Psychedelic Drone / Experimental / Noise Rock from two Russian projects with live and studio recordings. Hand-painted cassette shell.
[bandcamp]
PUSTOTA -- "Driver Bug (Bag Draivera)" -- CS -- €6
2021 BioSonar^Lo-End, 121/2021, (ltd. 6)
Noise / Minimal. This material was obtained by the fixation of a PC glitch happened during the re-recording of background noises, probably because of a power surge. A fragment of noise gut stuck in endless repetition, while algorithmic effects were smoothly sliding along the loop structure. This recording has a high aesthetic value and can be used as a background for a wide range of activities, playing with pets, feeding birds and domestic relaxation. Limited edition in paper wrapping. [label info]
ROMANCE RELIC -- "One Feather For Each Season" -- 3 CS -- €22
2021 Janushoved, Janushoved no. 136, (ltd. 100)
Ambient / Experimental. "Submerged into topaz colored dreams, a blizzard of hiss and hazy pianos, impatient movement reveals a neck tattoo of majestic swans navigating through air like transformative vapour." [label info]
[bandcamp]
ROSEN & SPYDDET -- "Fortuna" -- CS -- €9
2015/2021 Janushoved, Janushoved no. 135, (ltd. 110)
Ambient / Synth / Experimental. A limited edition cassette reissue of the long sold out LP, previously released on Posh Isolation, 2015. "A dove flew high above the green crown of the woods and disappeared in the wet and tempting darkness of the needles..." Presented in a large fold-out cover. [label info]
[youtube]
SADOГИПНОЗ -- "WhyNotNotNot" -- C-90 -- €7
2021 BioSonar^Lo-End, 122/2021, (ltd. 15)
Noise / Experimental. This edition is not a reissue of archives and/or reconstruction of a mossy sound project, but only a publication delayed in years. The first side is a recording of a spontaneous live gig happened at the forest festival "Why Not? 2015". The flip side contains a spontaneous home set from the same year. The recognizable structure and intensity of the sound stream will not leave indifferent both listeners familiar with the work of this project, and young lovers of noise exposure. Limited edition in paper bag. [label info]
SHUMOVOY ZAYATS -- "№7" -- CS -- €5
2020 self-released, (ltd. 8)
Industrial / Dark Ambient / Lo-Fi. Noise Hare visited IKEA and contracted Swedish Occultism there. Сopy number 4 is accompanied by A4 laminated art. [from the author]
[bandcamp]
SHUMOVOY ZAYATS -- "№7" -- CS -- €9
2020 self-released, (ltd. 8)
Industrial / Dark Ambient / Lo-Fi. Noise Hare visited IKEA and contracted Swedish Occultism there. Copy number 1 is accompanied by a men's T-shirt decorated with acrylics and magic coffee spots (size 52 - L). [from the author]
[bandcamp]
SPIES BOYS -- "Word (Anthology Vol. 2)" -- C-60 -- €8
2020 Winter Solstice
Industrial / Hip-Hop / Experimental. The second part of the anthology consists of the very early period of the Spies Boys. The most reckless, evil texts are here! Rep-core, metal, just out-of-control guitar flurry a la Ministry. We cut off the walls in Nikolai Nebogatov's apartment with a grinder and sampled this rumble, and then inserted it in our albums simply as jingles. Then we went to Baboon Records and mixed everything on tube equipment. Here is the key composition of that time – Yesterday. This is a remix of a cover of a Beatles song that was covered by Cool Front. Andrey Grachev invited us to make a remix, took the result to station 106.8, and after that, in fact, our ascent began. [from the artists]
[soundcloud] [soundcloud]
SPIES BOYS -- "Breath (Anthology Vol. 3)" -- C-60 -- €8
2020 Winter Solstice
Experimental. The third part of the anthology is just a strong getaway from the Earth. We were left alone, Nikolay Nebogatov and I, Igor Kolesov. And we realized at that moment that our hands were finally untied, nothing at all holding us back! Here we play as we breathe! This part contains the wildest compositions of the Spies Boys. Math-jazz-core - only keys and drums. Only a couple of the composition entered this part of the trilogy, where we were joined by the bass player Pavel Myakenky once, and on another occasion Alexei Gusev brilliantly strains into the microphone, shouting out the text written by him. The rest of the sonic barrage is produced with a minimal set of tools. [from the artists]
[soundcloud] [soundcloud]
SUDARIA -- "The Syncretic Labyrinth" -- CS -- €5
2017 Attenuation Circuit, ACT 1045 / Sphingidae, PUPAE 001, (ltd. 100)
Black Ambient / Industrial / Drone. Sudaria opens up the gates of (un)reality to unveil the true shapes behind the mirror of the illusory self; 9 mantras to break the illusion, 9 keys to open the holographic seals of Maya. «Following in somnambulism the invertebrate steps of a primary Art. Drowned into the ascetic syncretism of silence and noise. The pulse of necro-mechanical cannibalism. Rising beyond Catharsis in transfiguration; devouring the corpse of the illusory self. 9 Keys to the Gate; 9 mantras to break the holographic seals of Maya. Dressed with the shrouds of Malediction. The Immortal Binary Clock.» [label info]
[bandcamp]
SUURI-PIEKSA -- "Luchshiy Kust / Fitolampa" -- CS -- €9
2021 Triangle & The Snitches, TATS002, (ltd. 70)
Ambient. Named after the Finnish lake Suuri-Pieksä, the St. Petersburg project explores the themes of nostalgia and chontology, dispensing with recognizable samples from old TV ads and retro hits. The EP "Luchshiy Kust" ("The Best Bush" in Russian), according to the musician, was based on reflections on his near-death experience, while the compositions bear names like "Fitolamp" and "Music for growing cucumbers and tomatoes" - the interpretation of this remains with the listener after all. Musically, this is warm, peaceful ambient, in which simple melodies, tape "scratches" and various natural sounds make their way through the low-fidelity hum. The album really manages to evoke a feeling of vague nostalgia for something indefinite - each listener will have his own associative array. And despite the slight touch of melancholy and the effect of empty lonely space created by the music, the work as a whole turned out to be quite light. This is beautiful atmospheric music that is not limited to just a single emotion. [label info]
[bandcamp]
UNKNOWN ARTIST -- "Unknown Album" -- CS -- €10
2021 Kartaskvazhin, [karsk_LX_01], (ltd. 14)
Experimental / Noise. This is the first release of the quasi-anonymous special series LaaXaa under the Kartaskvazhin label! The full version album (cover art, complete tracks, author, album and tracks names) is initially locked to the listener and is unlocked only after purchasing this release, information about the album is contained on the paper insert. [label info]
[soundcloud]
VANNIKI -- "Vodavoda" -- CS -- €8
2021 Kartaskvazhin, [karsk_11], (ltd. 40)
Outsider Art / Folk. Kostya Zavyalov lives at the Psychoneurological Boarding School No. 3 in Peterhof (suburb of St. Petersburg). He loves to bathe, listen and make sounds. The "водавода" (waterwater) album was recorded in August-September 2020 on a smartphone in the bathroom with the participation of a volunteer and friend Seva Korolev. Apart from adding a fade in/out to each track, the recording has not been altered or edited in any way... For our label, this release is interesting as an example of the fact that creating music is one of the freest and most accessible areas of creativity. For sound production, neither special instruments are required (in the most basic version, your own body is enough), nor specialized education (your own desire is enough). On the other hand, a certain degree of freedom is also required from the listener in order to perceive unfamiliar forms of creativity, leaving behind expectations and bias. [label info]
[bandcamp]
ZERODISE -- "Pistorasia" -- CS -- €8
2021 Winter Solstice, WS 020, (ltd. 30)
Industrial / Experimental. Moscow-based psychedelic trio has given birth to a new album. Monotonous, but sometimes emotional recitative by Alexey Gusev, gloomy and almost unearthly electronics by Dmitry Kravchuk and eclectic drums from maestro Igor Kolesov. A sort of Rage Against The Machine on the minimum, as if Zack de La Rocha loved Mayakovsky and didn't like guitars. The album will appeal to all fans of non-traditional forms of experimental music, as well as lovers of avant-garde poetry. The lyrics here are purely gothic. "Doctor, stick my hands in or let the good ones bury the corpse." Either the patient is delusional, or he put the wrong cassette. If you want to understand this tangled story - then you go to us, and we go to you. White cassette in a transparent case. [label info]
[soundcloud]
ZUBOFF SEX SHOP -- "Magic of Personality" -- CS -- €8
2001/2021 Iconic Promo, 056 / Destroyed Room Tapes, DRT-16, (ltd. 30)
New Wave / Psychedelic Rock. First cassette edition of the recordings made by late Dmitry Zuboff (HYPNOZ, DER GOLEM, ZUBOFF SEX STAR, OTZEPENEVSHIYE) in 1996-2001. The release is dedicated to Dmitry's 45th birthday. Side B contains special bonus tracks only available on this cassette. [label info]
[vk.com]
Flea market
AUBE - Deglaze - LP - VG+/VG+ - €8
BIRDS - s/t - LP - VG/VG+ - €9
DJ BALLI / BRUITAL ORGASME / ZR3A / SYSTEM HARDWARE ABNORMAL - 4 Seasons Pizza - picture 12" - VG+ - €5
HUDAK, JOHN - Mover Head - CS - €6
HUDAK, JOHN - Think - CS - €6
HUDAK, JOHN - Wind Rain And Cloud To Human Beings - CS - €6
POLE - Steingarten - 2 x 12" - NM/VG+ - €44
THROBBING GRISTLE - Grief - LP - NM - €9
VEGAS MARTYRS - The Female Mind - LP - NM/VG+ - €9
Don't forget to check the full list of rare & used items with all details, it's here.
IV. Back in stock
1000SCHOEN / AB INTRA -- split -- 2 CD -- €12
2014 Zoharum, ZOHAR 070-2, (ltd. 400)
Drone / Ambient / Experimental. Zoharum proudly presents the split release of drone stalwart 1000SCHOEN (DE) and ambient soundscape sculptor AB INTRA (PL). Drone and ambient structures are places on the opposite poles, like fire and water, or air and earth. Acoustic music of 1000SCHOEN created with using only natural sound sources in mind and electronic compositions of AB INTRA complement each other on this release despite many differences. In the four parts of this split album various colours, shades, tones of such soundscapes are presented. The content of the following split release would make up separate albums of both artists, yet they gain another meaning in such a juxtaposition, in changeable atmospheres, building tension and reflections. It is a unique record, a rare one in the scene. This collaboration did not end up with sonic content only since both Radek Kaminski (AB INTRA) i Helge S.Moune (1000SCHOEN) paint apart from creating music. Hence the split album boasts two separate front covers submitted by the artists. This release is presented in a vinyl replica sleeve and is strictly limited to 400 copies. [press-release]
[bandcamp]
ABELERESA -- "Sopal Dunnee" -- 9 CD-R BOX -- €25
2021 Zaimka, (ltd. 10)
Noise / Experimental / Free Improvisation. SOPAL DUNNEE - a world of alienation, negativity, loss and bloodshed. Gray bushes and oxygen, which exposes your veins and brain to intoxication, forgetfulness. This world can be multifaceted, of course. Don't look at it lopsided, you can find your new home here. Ash bushes, dreary houses of the VERTEP village, abandoned gardens. Of course, the ruling forests. But it is not them who dominate here, this soil, this herd of worms, a ringing in the ears that frees your cotton wool from the shackles, punches your head with lightning, all this is her, the queen of this world, in whose subordination there are spirits praying and asking you for help. The Queen is not almighty, she cannot keep the border between her kingdom and our world. Sometimes this can be confusing, but the point will be set. Don't bother, why? You can hear the screams, right? Maybe. Listen, they just want your hand, your attention. Also, the queen draws her attention to you, what will come of it? Depends only on her and her crown, dress, world SOPAL DUNNE... I also wanted to say a huge thank you to all those who did not refuse and took their time to record the material on this split. You can find the names of these people as you listen to the playlist (Esmectatons, Jon White and Esmectations, Hevinosis, Zicd, Existência Com Gosto De Nada). Great thanks to you. Your material is beautiful in its own way, it is scary to imagine that it would be without you, because so the picture of SOPAL DUNNEE would look faded. With help all of you, she shone... Box covered with an analog collage interspersed with acrylic, three A4 posters. Each copy is unique. [label info]
[bandcamp]
ANGST78 -- "78-Angst" -- CD -- €10
2019 Zoharum, ZOHAR 190-2, (ltd. 250)
Dark Ambient / Techno. ‘78 Angst’ is a conceptual compilation of tracks composed by Patryk Gęgniewicz (REVISQ) and Lukasz Szalankiewicz (ZENIAL) between 2013 and 2019. This music was composed in various places and circumstances: Zenial recorded in Poznań, Kraków and New York, Patryk in Wałbrzych, Jelenia Góra and Warszaw. Thus, every track has its own specific atmosphere and sound. The musicians have also invited other artists to make their remixes and reworks. One of them ‘At The Gates’ has been made by duo FISHERBOYZ. Dawid Chrapla and Dominik Żochowski are the authors of the next two tracks. The compositions on this album fluctuate around ambient, EVP-drone and techno. The name of the band comes from Gerald Kargl's movie ‘Angst’ and 78 is the year of birth of both project members. The CD is housed in a ecopak sleeve and the album is strictly limited to 250 copies. [label info]
[bandcamp]
ARTIFICIAL MEMORY TRACE / GERALD FIEBIG / EMERGE / PBK -- "Fiction Circuit" -- LP -- €16
2019 Attenuation Circuit, ACW 1007, (ltd. 300)
Electroacoustic / Musique Concrete. ARTIFICIAL MEMORY TRACE aka Slavek Kwi and PBK aka Phillip B. Klingler have been pillars of the global DIY experimental music culture for decades. Both of them have released work on Attenuation Circuit before. Here, they team up with label owner EMERGE aka Sascha Stadlmeier and his colleague Gerald Fiebig. Each one of the four artists contributes one track of about 10 minutes to the album. But while the four-way split LP is a common format in the global sound culture scene, "Fiction Circuit" is more than just a compilation... All of the artists on this album share a love of creating electroacoustic music from field recordings or found sounds. Therefore, label manager Stadlmeier invited ARTIFICIAL MEMORY TRACE (AMT) and PBK to supply source sounds from their archives. These were then used as the basis for the compositions. Leaving the source material identifiable was not the task – it was to be used as raw material to be sculpted, very much in the spirit of acousmatic musique concrète. On the AMT side, we find the tracks by PBK and Gerald Fiebig. They both used AMT's source material to create their tracks. PBK delivers a dense, rather rhythmic track with a decidedly “industrial” feel. Fiebig's track, on the contrary, uses the front cover artwork – a digital collage by EMERGE of visual works by Kwi and Klingler, with other works by them reproduced on the lavishly printed LP insert – as a graphic score for realising a rather harmonic ambient piece. On the PBK side, ARTIFICIAL MEMORY TRACE and EMERGE “play” the source sounds supplied by PBK. The piece by ARTIFICIAL MEMORY TRACE qualifies as exuberant rhythm noise, while EMERGE goes all the way into rather meditative laminar lower-case drone minimalism. Therefore, regardless of which side of the record one plays first (“AMT” and “PBK” are engraved on the vinyl itself to guide the listener), one will experience, thoroughout the whole album, a change between very different sonic textures and temperaments that showcase the wide range of expressive possibilities of electroacoustic music. This is not the product of good luck, but of planned collective composition: AMT and PBK, as the “guests” on the label, were invited to create whatever they liked without any formal restrictions. As it turned out, both of their works were rather intense and direct in character. Therefore, EMERGE and Fiebig both made an effort to complement each side with a more subdued, quiet piece. [label info]
[bandcamp]
BIO -- "Technoromantiki" -- CS -- €10
1990/2020 Winter Solstice, WS 016 / ScentAir Records, MC/SA003, (ltd. 40)
Techno Pop / New Wave. Another reissue of the debut tape album, this time by the Moscow group BIO, led by Alexander Yakovlev for several decades. The joint release of the ScentAir and Winter Solstice labels will delight all true fans of the BIO project. The gorgeous design of the cassette is again to please the fans of this format. Sixty minutes of vigorous technopop, songs about computers, teletourism, etc. - like a journey to the exciting 80s, when new technologies excited the mind and allowed humanity to look beyond the horizon, into the near future, where technologies serve people. [label info]
[soundcloud] [soundcloud]
CATHEDRA -- "Time Was Away 1992-1997" -- 2 CD -- €15
2019 Zoharum, ZOHAR 191-2, (ltd. 350)
Ritual Industrial / Neoclassical. Known today for his projects CODEX EMPIRE and ANTECHAMBER, and as one half of KONSTRUKTIVISTS, MITRA MITRA and OPPENHEIMER MKII, Mark Crumby has been writing and recording since 1990. One of his earliest solo projects, CATHEDRA, recorded and issued a number of releases between 1992 and 1997 on a range of labels including Ant-Zen, OBUH records, MuzaMuza and Jara Discs... After being out of print for over 20 years, a new double-CD, ‘Time Was Away’ compiles 29 tracks selected from these releases, completely remastered, and in some cases remixed from the original master/multitrack tapes... Split over 2 CD’s, the material is divided thematically, with the first disc focusing on ritual/industrial/electronic material, and the second disc compiling classical/soundtrack pieces. The CDs are housed in a ecopak sleeve and the album is strictly limited to 350 copies. [label info]
[bandcamp]
CELER & DIRK SERRIES -- "Background Curtain" -- CD -- €10
2016 Zoharum, ZOHAR 129-2, (ltd. 300)
Ambient / Drone. We are proud to present the collaborative album of two big names in the experimental scene. Four years in the making, “Background Curtain” is a collaboration between the legend of the ambient underground Dirk Serries (otherwise known as Fear Falls Burning, and earlier as Vidna Obmana) and Will Long, dynamically developing his style for over 10 years, known primarily from the project Celer... “In 2012, after trading LPs, I sent Dirk a long track of collaged, stretched tape pieces to see if it was something he could work with. […] this particular set of recordings seemed puzzling to me, and unworkable. […] Later, after a tour (with Mono) he actually sent me some tracks that he had made while listening to the piece […] Out of the blue, maybe a year later, I went back and listened to our tracks, having some distance for my ears, and had an idea. Using the original track that I sent Dirk at the very beginning as a sound source, I shaped it exactly like Dirk’s responding source file – the musical colour and frequencies were the same, but the effects and enveloping was triggered by the waves of Dirk’s track. […] It may be hard to hear the two sides, but it’s really built by the background curtain, and even if you can’t hear it’s place, it’s definitely there. Where does one thing begin and another end? Maybe you can hear it?..” The album is released in a 3-panel ecopak in a strictly limited edition of 300 copies. The cover is designed by Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek) based on the photograph by Will Long (Celer). [label info]
[bandcamp]
COLUMN ONE -- "Cindy, Loraine & Hank" -- 2 CD -- €13
2015 Zoharum, ZOHAR 107-2, (ltd. 500)
Zoharum proudly presents the latest album from the legendary Berlin-based art collective Column One. Their new double album, entitled "Cindy, Loraine & Hank", was in the works for almost 10 years and it is their first album since anniversary box set "No One" from 2011 and "Antiphona" 10" vinyl EP from 2013. For this recordings, Column One were Rene Lamp, Robert Schalinski, Jürgen Eckloff, Andrew Loadman with Nada and Rasmus Schalinski plus a host of guests including Reinhold Friedl and Zeitkratzer Ensemble... This double album presents Column One and their experimental approach to sound at its best. "Cindy, Loraine & Hank" a collection of incestuous figures, a museum of small, lovely bastards. Products of passion & weakness, disorientation and dedication, of dull instincts and narrowness. Twins, triplets, octuplets, dyslexic, presidents, beginners, criminal citizens, sacred Neanderthals, expert idiots. Begotten in haste, hidden in the dirt, covered with garbage... A contourless, monstrous void in the cardigan of the great-grandmother. A voyage through the labyrinthine mind of Column One... a surreal, organic projection. Idiotenmusik - field recordings - orchestral variations - cut-up's - musique concrete - collage... The CDs are housed in a digipak sleeve and the album is strictly limited to 500 copies. The cover was designed by Robert Schalinski, based on "Black Depths" print (1974) by John Hiliard. [press-release]
[youtube]
CORONA BARATHRI -- "Speculum Diaboli" -- CD -- €7
2019 Speculum Diaboli Records, SDR001, (ltd. 100)
Occult Ritual Ambient / Dark Ambient from Russia. "Speculum Diaboli - look into the inner Darkness, in the hidden depth, in Satan's temple inside and see your real face in the reflection of Abyss. Tied with the crown of Abyss, the unbreakable blood ties, reflecting Darkness like the mirror of Diabolus." Limited edition of 100 numbered copies in cardboard sleeve.
[bandcamp]
CORONA BARATHRI / PARANOIA INDUCTA -- "Atra Mors" -- CD -- €10
2019 Speculum Diaboli Records, SDR002, (ltd. 150)
Occult Ritual Ambient from Russia meets Dark Ambient from Poland. "This release is devoved to the Great Plague, the Black Breath bringing death. Every track is full of fear, of inhuman suffering and pain. It is quintessence of horror in black soundscapes. The Sign of Pestilentia..." Featuring Hekte Zaren, Aesthetic Meat Front and Erszebeth (Stupor Mentis). Limited edition of 150 copies in 4-panel digipak.
[bandcamp]
DESIDERII MARGINIS -- "Thaw" -- CD -- €10
2014 Zoharum, ZOHAR 073-2
Of the Swedish wave of ambient acts from the 1990s, Desiderii Marginis is one of the few still active and definitely one of the finest of those few. Far from being a typical project in the vein of Brian Eno/Lustmord, Johan Levin, the mastermind behind Desiderii Marginis, has created and developed its own unique sonic palette merging digital and analogue: melancholic electronica with electroacoustic elements and intravenous rhythms. From the early days his music met with positive reactions resulting in albums on renowned the legendary Swedish Cold Meat Industry label, and lately also on Canadian Cyclic Law... Over the course of 20 years, Levin released 7 full-length albums, a 3-way split and a collection of rare pre-debut demos plus numerous tracks on various compilations. His latest offering entitled "Thaw" compiles the latter and adds 3 tracks from the split "Lost Signals from Unknown Horizons". On the one hand, it is simply a collection of rare tracks, but, on the other, it may serve a purpose of a "best of" album. With the chronology unaltered, it gives you the full picture of the project and its progress. It is a history lesson of the last 20 years in sonic melancholia of Desiderii Marginis. [press-release]
[bandcamp]
DEUTSCH NEPAL -- "Amygdala" -- CD -- €12
2011 Autarkeia, acd 066
Amygdala is the latest album of the Swedish industrial music guru Der General. After listening to this album, one finds it difficult to decide whether it is a masterpiece of hypnotic music, the hallucinations of delirium tremens or perhaps the sign announcing the approaching apocalypse? Magnificent, gloomy and profound tracks create the atmosphere reminding the last days of the last member of the royal family or the celebration of the collapse of its era by a majestic empire. But that is only the general mood of the album. The tracks are very different from each other. Some of them frightful, some majestic, while the rest are calm and deep like dreams. And yet the subject matter of all lyrics is in one or another way related to death and the secret lurking behind it. Actually, Der General conveys it with remarkable subtlety. The album contains a number of crescendos, at least three hits and yet none of them reveal the secret fully. Der General music mesmerises with its slow and massive rhythms inherent most probably only to the Scandinavian electronics, and icy ambient flow inborn to the Northern men. Amygdala is the undisclosed secret. In various shapes it occurs throughout the album tracks where Der General to Heaven travels to meet Jesus and the holy family and investigate the nature of the supernatural ecstasy. Something bothers him and he leaves Heaven. In other tracks he states that we have to be reborn and continue living, later he takes part in the mystic funeral train burying and then resurging dead dogs. Upon their revival, the dogs attack the participants of the train and spread panic. Amygdala is a very colourful kaleidoscope of psychedelic visions. Der General concludes the album by letting us know that it is all clear to him and that the atmosphere is absolutely rotten. Perhaps it is a result of the empty bottle, or much more serious reasons… [press-release]
[bandcamp]
DEUTSCH NEPAL -- "A Silent Siege" -- CD -- €12
2002 Old Europa Cafe, OECD 045
Industrial / Experimental. The final part of "Silent" trilogy published by Old Europa Cafe. Great example of old school industrial! The album has been collected over 10 years and is spiritually close to Lina Baby Doll's live shows - alcohol-fueled, sometimes rhythmical, song-oriented, dark, chaotic and kinky.
[bandcamp]
DEUTSCH NEPAL -- "Tolerance" -- CD -- €12
1994/2009 Autarkeia, ACD 037
Industrial / Experimental. The genial album Tolerance is one more golden deja vu of the industrial culture, released by Staalplaat label long ago, sold out and desperately sought and hunted in auctions by collectors. The new release of the cult album enjoys the enhanced sound and the new package design from the author Lina Baby Doll. And this time it does not come out in limited edition like its predecessor. The new generations can get it without limitations. Those who do not know Lina Baby Doll's masterpieces, should be informed that Tolerance is an artefact of the early stage of project's Deutsch Nepal music. The period is characterised by ritual tribal rhythms, mesmerising loops and indeed suggestive psychedelic atmosphere. [press-release]
[bandcamp]
DJ SHUHER -- "Harvest Of Joy" -- 3"CD-R -- €6
2006, Shuher Audio, SHAU02
Experimental / Sound Collage. Early project of Dmitry Chistov (HUM, MAW, etc.), a 13-minute schizophrenic collage made out of looped vinyl records, rattle and noise, just total crookedness. The recording was made in October 1998 and is dedicated to all autumn's psychonauts. For best experience it's recommended to play this record on maximum volume with repeat functuion.
[soundcloud]
DREN -- "Time & Form" -- CD -- €10
2019 Zoharum, ZOHAR 181-2, (ltd. 300)
Industrial / Techno. "Time & Form" is the debut of the duo hailing from Tri-City. The material was recorded at the turn of April and May 2018, shortly after Natt and Akton gave birth to DREN. The music on the album is characterized by stylistic eclecticism. Over the course of eight electronic works, you can hear strong influences of industrial, ritual sounds and widely understood "bass music". From the first beats of "Time" to the last bass breath of "Terminus", DREN spreads a dark aura around the listener. Dense, heavy atmosphere hovers above the unobvious, mechanical, yet ritual rhythms. 300 copies in 3-panel ecopak. [label info]
[bandcamp]
EXPO 70 -- "Corridors To Infinity" -- 2 CD -- €14
2009/2014 Zoharum, ZOHAR 086-2, (ltd. 500)
Originally released in 2009 in a small tape and CDR edition (150 and 100 respectively), ”Corridors to Infinity” has been our favourite in their extensive discography. This edition, which sees the light of the day 5 years after its initial release, has been expanded to a double album with an additional disc entitled ”Star Coloured Clouds”. The original sound of Justin Wright's project – guitar-based drone psychedelia – has been augumented here with organ and synthesizer sounds giving it an even more spacious, but also meditative character. Expo 70 came closely here to Ash Ra Tempel without copying the German trio's sound, but having a similar feel drawing a few parallels with their early work. The second unreleased disc, recorded just one month before the sessions for the main album, has more guitars, yet manages to follow the same contemplative path complementing ”Corridors to Infinity” and thus creating a cohesive 2CD offering. The CD is housed in gatefold sleeve in the vein of Japanese-style vinyl replica and is strictly limited to 500 copies. The cover is based on the original release and the design was handled by Justin Wright. The whole production process was overseen by Michal Porwet. [press-release]
[bandcamp]
EXPO 70 -- "Frozen Living Elements" -- CD -- €10
2014 Zoharum, ZOHAR 087-2, (ltd. 500)
It's been three years since Expo 70 appeared on the ”From Earth to Sirius” compilation and now they are back to Zoharum with a full-length offering. Their latest album is entitled ”Frozen Living Elements” and it features an expanded line-up. Apart from Justin Wright, Expo 70 were Jim Button on drums and Aaron Osborne on bass and additional synthesizers for the sessions and the result can be described as space rock power trio. With three tracks spread over 45 minutes, the trio takes us on a cosmic tour de force. With influences ranging from analogue electronica through guitar drone to noisy psychedelia, Expo 70 manages to travel back in time to the 1970s, yet stay as contemporary as they can without sounding dated or irrelevant. The musicians transport us to their rehearsal room drenched in dry ice where they play their extended acid jams landing somewhere in-between SunnO))), Can and Sperm... The CD is housed in an ecopak sleeve and is strictly limited to 500 copies. The cover was designed by Justin Wright. "Frozen Living Elements" was mastered by Scott Colburn. The whole production process was overseen by Michal Porwet. [press-release]
[bandcamp]
EXPO 70 -- "Mother Universe Has Birthed Her Last Cosmos" -- 2 CD -- €14
2009/2018 Zoharum, ZOHAR 162-2, (ltd. 500)
Psychedelic Rock / Space Rock. Here we have another archival material by EXPO 70, the project of Justin Wright. 'Mother Universe Has Birthed Her Last Cosmos' is a collection of rare recordings from 2008-2010, previously released only on two mini CDRs and two cassettes. Unavailable for a long time, they contain some of the finest tracks in the Expo 70 history, most importantly the title recording, reminiscing of ASHRA and the early AMON DÜÜL II. This composition and 'Ostara', which make up the program of the first CD, are the beginnings of a trio version of the project, known as EXPO SEVENTY (in contrast to the solo recordings marked with the spelling EXPO 70). The personnel on both recordings was augumented by Matt Hill on bass... The second CD of this compilation is filled with four songs (clocking-in at around 15 minutes each) from Justin Wright's solo sessions. In addition to traditional guitar sounds, he explores the possibilities of the Moog synthesizer. These compositions perfectly complement the material from the first disc... The CDs are housed in gatefold sleeve in the vein of Japanese-style vinyl replica and is strictly limited to 500 copies. [label info]
[bandcamp]
FIRST HUMAN FERRO -- "Heterodox" -- CD -- €10
2016 Old Captain, OCCD17 / Gradual Hate Records, GH 128 CD, (ltd. 200)
Old Captain’s owner, Olegh Kolyada (Oda Relicta, In Meditarium), fights the sea and presents his Lost Generation victory in defeat. “Heterodox” is a dark ambient album born of the sound and the fury with heroes lonely and mad. A sparse, straightforward yet emotionally vigorous record with its own interior monologue, a discourse to be a silent interlocutor to. Restraining the interior the musician offers the nature symbolism via modular synthesizers and analogue junk approach to scatter one’s ego worldwide for good. Full of elemental primitiveness the heretic in his destructive folly challenges to claim a nihilistic vision of reality to engage the listener into an ever-present absurd. A 200-CD edition in a classical glossy Digipak. A co-prod of Old Captain and Gradual Hate Records. [label info]
[bandcamp]
HUM -- "Ether Rider" -- 7" -- €10
2004 Drone Records, DR-70, (ltd. 300)
Drone Records is proud to present HUM, another newcomer from the growing russian experimental scene, who had out before a few most promising self-released CDrs on his own label. HUM (originally a reduction from “hum-an”) sees his work as a representation of emptiness and sound, derived from tantric tradition. The basic intention is the “restoration of mythological time”. This release, being dedicated to “magic flight”, enlights on the first track with full vibrating “cosmic” drones, sounding like a swarm of low-pitched insects. The second piece CRUCIBLE is more loop-structured & noisy, with low-fi mechanized rumblings, filled with organic substances... two fantastic sound-samples that show the ability of drone-sound to lead your inner mind into the center of nothingness. Filed under: magic-flight drones. BLACK VINYL. MINIMAL DESIGNED WHITE COVERS WITH B/W PHOTO. [press-release]
HYBRYDS -- "Mythical Music From The 21st Century" -- CD -- €10
1986/2013 Zoharum, ZOHAR 041-2
This is the second volume in the ongoing series of Hybryds reissues on Zoharum and it coincides with the 30th anniversary of artistic work of Sandy Nys and company. "Mythical Music from the 21st Century", the first full Hybryds release, collects tracks recorded between 1983 and 1986 scattered on various compilations. Yet they form the first representation of their venture into the world of sonic rituals and magic. Their perspective on sound still has not been imitated or copied and even after 30 years they still sound fresh. In the words of Sandy Nys: "The first recordings were made in 1983. During the next years more recordings and musical rituals were created with different people in different places. In this first release about 20 people were involved. The recordings were a field trip, a diary of my life. The recordings became a story. The mythical story of NaHeMa. Most of the songs were sent for compilations on independent labels, yet the complete story was released in 1986 for the first time as a cassette on 3RIORECORDINGS (there was also a very limited edition in a box of 30 copies with the Dream Machine building prints.) In 1990 it was re-released by Nuit et Brouillard (France) as a cassette in a small box. In 1998 a limited picture disc in an edition of 666 copies was released by Triton (Germany). This version is shorter than the cassette one. This new CD release contains extras: the unreleased live version of "Sacred Voices," performed live on Radio Centraal and an unreleased mix of "Octahedron" by the Alpha Project." The album has been digitally remastered from the original stereo cassette master by none else but Sandy Nys, who also provided the cover based on the previous editions. This is the ritual music at its best. Now you can enjoy it in the best digital quality. [press-release]
[youtube]
INNER VISION LABORATORY -- "Continuum" -- CD -- €10
2019 Zoharum, ZOHAR 180-2, (ltd. 300)
Ambient / Dark Ambient. Karol Skrzypiec returns with a new album to the Zoharum fold. This artist, consistently following the path chosen by himself, discovers new areas with every new recording. In his compositions, synthetic structures increasingly give way to acoustic instruments. Not only does it give a different quality to his music, but also affects a completely different reception of it. Nowadays it is more spatial, has richer arrangement and boldly goes beyond the former structures that have been associated with the INNER VISION LABORATORY project. It would be difficult to describe this album as dark ambient. Although it is impossible to deny a composer the skill of building the right atmosphere, he is far from pathos or dark aura. You can find a note of melancholy, thoughtfulness, a space for reflection, but with light seen from a distance. Who knows - maybe it is an attempt to reconcile with the inevitable, with the thought that all that touches us serves the purpose of going further? To sum up, "Continuum" is an album of many sounds, colours, moving not only by the richness of sounds, but also encouraging reflection and bringing solace... The album is released in an ecopak limited to 300 copies. [label info]
[bandcamp]
KOLACKI, RAFAL -- "Ā’zan. Hearing Ethiopia" -- CD -- €10
2017 Zoharum, ZOHAR 154-2, (ltd. 300)
Field Recordings. Rafał Kołacki's new album entitled 'Ā'zan. Hearing Ethiopia' is another set of field recordings of this artist in which he aims at an in-depth analysis of the audiosphere of a big city. This time of Addis Abeba, the capital of Ethiopia, the place with an extremely wide range of sounds. A multicultural city, both ethnically and religiously, where there are many different languages and different forms of religious activity. The voice of Muezzin praying in the distance, the Christian songs sung in the church or played through loudspeakers throughout the day. It all remind us of the openness and tolerance of the Ethiopians, their ability to function in mutual symbiosis, beyond religion and politics. [label info]
[bandcamp]
KOLACKI, RAFAL -- "Hijra. Noise From The Jungle" -- CD -- €10
2016 Zoharum, ZOHAR 120-2, (ltd. 300)
The new album by Rafał Kołacki entitled “Hijra. Noise from the Jungle” contains field recordings made during a trip to the temporary refugee camp called The Jungle in Calais, France. There lives about 4 000 immigrants where on a relatively small area various nations coexist creating an eclectic, unique sound culture. The album is a recording of music events, it is a kind of a subjective archive of an ethnomusical trip. Above all, it is full of emotions and feelings of people for whom creating art, music is very often the only form of recovering from homesickness. The album is released in a 3-panel ecopak in a strictly limited edition of 300 copies. [label info]
[bandcamp]
KRYPTOGEN RUNDFUNK -- "Tales from the Mirrored Spaces / Live in Gdansk" -- 2 CD -- €16
2019 Zoharum, ZOHAR 186-2, (ltd. 100)
Special double CD edition (ltd. 100) of "Tales from the Mirrored Spaces" with a recording of a live gig based on the same material and played in Gdansk in November 2017. Bonus CD comes in a separate sleeve with the artwork by the St. Petersburg-based graphic artist Kirill Rozhkov.
[bandcamp]
KSHATRIYAS AGAINST TIME -- "Seelenloch" -- CD-R -- €6
2021 Paper Moon Republic, PMR_63, (ltd. 50)
Dark Ambient. I decided to release another album from the French project. Minimalist, full of archaic winds soundscape inspired by the works of the Norwegian project Ildjarn. An ode to the souls of the ancients, buried in the old Western European barrows of the Neolithic era. "The soulhole" on the overgrown gravestones, as an invitation to contemplate the great cyclical endless nostalgic journey from one body to another. CD-R with printing on the surface, packed in Half-DVD-box. [label info]
[bandcamp]
LITVIN, ARSENY -- "Pluto Flower - Chapter One" -- CD-R -- €5
2021 self-released, (ltd. 14)
Industrial / Dark Ambient. The first chapter is a story about the magical Pluto Flower. The first piece of the puzzle. A piece of history encrypted with a digital cipher and a soundtrack for it. CD-R with printing on the surface, packed in jewel box. 14 copies. Numbered with Tarot cards of the same suit (cups). [from the author]
[bandcamp]
LITVIN, ARSENY -- "Pluto Flower - Chapter Two" -- CD-R -- €5
2021 self-released, (ltd. 14)
Dark Ambient / Experimental. The second chapter of the great cybernetic legend. Pluto's flower hasn't bloomed yet, but its root system is already monumental. History is being created and encrypted before your eyes. A new piece of the puzzle is ready to take its place in your heart. CD-R with printing on the surface, packed in jewel box. 14 copies. Numbered with Tarot cards of the same suit (discs). [from the author]
[bandcamp]
LITVIN, ARSENY & TSYGANSKAYA GRUST' / PROKHOR GOROVOY -- "Untitled Split" -- CD-R -- €5
2021 Paper Moon Republic, PMR_59, (ltd. 10)
Noise / Industrial. Two noise greetings from Novosibirsk and Saratov. A rusty rat with aluminum addicted slowly and timidly gnawing its way through your armor and an introverted party in the middle of a heavy metals workshop. CD-R with printing on the surface, packed in half-DVD-box. [label info]
[bandcamp]
LOPEZ, FRANCISCO + NOVI_SAD -- "Titans" -- CD -- €10
2011 Gradual Hate Records, GH 112 CD, (ltd. 500)
Experimental / Field Recordings. Sound artists Francisco Lopez (Spain) and Novi_sad (Greece) have explored together the blurred territory between reality and the creation of self-contained sound environments through a long process of transformation of sonic materials. Working with the same shared field recordings carried out in the region of Ancient Olympia in Greece, they have created two individual pieces with extreme dynamics, at times obscure and dense, but laden with hidden complexity and a few surprises for the most adventurous listeners. [label info]
[bandcamp]
MACHINEFABRIEK with ANNE BAKKER -- "Short Scenes" -- CD -- €10
2018 Zoharum, ZOHAR 174-2, (ltd. 300)
Ambient / Experimental / Modern Classical. Machinefabriek, or Rutger Zuydervelt, is one of the most prolific artists in the field of contemporary experimental music. However, unlike many musicians with extensive discographies, the quantity goes hand in hand not only with the quality but also diversity. "Short Scenes" (the sixth album by Rutger on Zoharum) is a mixture of electronic textures and neoclassical violin parts enclosed in twenty miniatures... Rutger Zuydervelt on the album: ”Short Scenes” came to life when working on a soundtrack with violinist Anne Bakker. Taking a series of her improvisations as a starting point, I started to edit and construct them into new songs - no pre-conceived plan, just being lead by these violin recordings. Still working in the ”soundtrack modus operandi”, the resulting tracks are short and concise. None of them ended up being used in a score, but from the very beginning I felt these little vignettes would form a darn fine album. And here it is...” The album is released in a 3-panel ecopak in a strictly limited edition of 300 copies. [label info]
[bandcamp]
MANINKARI -- "L'Océan Rêve Dans Sa Loisiveté <>" -- CD -- €10
2017 Zoharum, ZOHAR 153-2, (ltd. 300)
Three years after the release of "Continuum Sonore Part 7>14" back in 2014, the remarkable French duo Maninkari returns to Zoharum catalogue with their new offering. Just like the title says, the new album is a continuation of the recordings entitled "L'Océan Rêve Dans Sa Loisiveté". Once again, the duo proves that they are unmatched in creating unbelievable and unclassifiable sound texture... "L'Océan Rêve Dans Sa Loisiveté, Second Session" is much based on improvisation and leaves room for more melodies, especially for viola, the resonances of the bodhran and its repetitive rhythms gives access to a form of trance and have a character of composition. This album with the subjective title transports us in a frenetic universe where the sea mother of idleness reigns in all power, land and sea form a vibrant balance. The voluntary control of certain melodies is felt through cymbalom and santoor and sharp long ethereal resonances. The voluntary reverberation of certain instruments resounds like a dream prayer... The CD is housed in an ecopak sleeve and is strictly limited to 300 copies. [label info]
[bandcamp]
MARUTTI, ANDREA & CARLO GIORDANI -- "Impressioni Organizzate Di Ansie Liquide" -- CD -- €11
2020 St.An.Da., 2024, (ltd. 200)
Musique Concrete / Experimental / Dark Ambient. In 2011 Andrea Marutti (AMON, MARIBOR, NEVER KNOWN, HALL OF MIRRORS, etc.) and Carlo Giordani were invited by Massimo Indellicati of Ambiente H to provide a soundtrack to accompany a series of experimental movies whose main theme was "water". That led to the creation of a series of long pieces that were collected under the title "Impressioni Organizzate di Ansie Liquide" ("Organized Impressions of Liquid Anxieties"). In 2019 the five parts of this fruitful collaboration were completed. On this release, the vast array of analogue / digital synthesizers and electronic devices handled by Marutti is perfectly matched to Giordani's field recordings and tapes, giving life to a totally immersive environment, handing out moments of considerable tension, but also sudden flashes of light and calm mesmerizing passages. The tracks feature incredible recordings taken by Giordani during a 5-day expedition in the restricted areas of the dams of Venerocolo and Pantano dell'Avio Lakes in the Brescia district of Italy, which are effectively used in combination with sampled and electronic sounds to create an 'augmented Musique Concrète' that touches Dark Ambient territories. Ltd x 200 copies in a 6-panel digipak with photography by Stefano Gentile. [label info]
[youtube]
MAW -- "s/t" -- 3"CD-R -- €6
2002/2012 Datura Landscapes, Datura 12
Industrial / Drone. Side-project of Hum. One long track recorded in 1999 and previously released on a self-titled cassette by Ultra Low Fidelity label in 2002. The composition starts with a slowly looped flanger coil gradually powering up and then suddenly falling in rusty abyss... metallic clanging comes in, interrupted by unexpected outbursts of insanely hypertrophic voice and subtle resonating waves embracing everything in a droney fog... Beautiful soundscape in vein of isolationist ambient / industrial / drone... "Initially dedicated to a one from Blake's "Proverbs of Hell" in demo version this project had a subtitle - "Everything possible to be believ'd is an image of truth", later reduced. All material recorded and mixed on 4-track in three days in early September 1999 with using tapes, tape loops, Lel'22, radio and Korg ToneWorks. There are two versions of this work. This release contains the original version of September 1999 without any correction. Cassette release of 2002 features a revised version, with some additional treatments and an extra section excluded from original mix of 1999. Final section in both versions co-produced with Roman Sidorov (STARUHA MHA, DER GOLEM), who in turn used same material as basis for the last track on "Diszipline of Blown-up Bridges" album. Both versions are illustrated by photos of Pavel Aleynikov made in 1998/99 and perfectly conveying the idea and spirit of the project." [from the author]
MURMUR DRIFT -- "s/t" -- CD-R -- €10
2016 self-released
Drone. Another project of the Russian musician Dmitry Chistov who stands behind HUM, MAW, MIKOSTERION and a number of other projects. Archival recordings made in 1998-1999. Gentle electronic drones and infinite loops drawing hypnotic ornaments. A beautiful example of haunting minimalistic music.
NAGAMATZU -- "Neural Interval" -- 2 CD -- €14
2014 Zoharum, ZOHAR 084-2, (ltd. 500)
Thanks to music lovers from all around the world, forgotten gems from the analogue era hidden in basements have been popping up in the digital age. We have witnessed (re-)discovery and (re-)appreciation of new age, library music, acid house, post-punk and many others. One of those hidden gems from the 1980s is Nagamatzu with Stephen Jarvis and Andrew Lagowski (known for his ambient/electronica releases on Zoharum amongst the others). In their 10-year tenure, they pioneered their own peculiar instrumental version of the so-called dark wave, a mixture of goth-tinged post-punk with pulsating, danceable electronica... Nagamatzu released 3 tapes and a 12" vinyl back in their heyday. They gathered good reviews, small but devoted following, but once they drifted apart, their music was lost. Fortunately, not to all. First, some tracks kept popping up on Andrew Lagowski's website. Later, Josh Cheon from San Francisco-based label called Dark Entries re-released their two cassette-only album on vinyl. Now, it is time to present their analogue output in its enirety on CD... "Neural Interval" collects all the three tape albums from Nagamatzu: "Shatter Days" (1983), "Sacred Islands of the Mad" (1986) and "Igniting the Corpse" (1991). It also adds "Space Shuttle Shuffle" 12'' (1987) and an unreleased version of "Lift Off" as bonus tracks. It gives you an insight into still little known work by this excellent duo (or trio at times) who should have been a mainstay of 4AD, Beggars Banquet or Factory back in the 1980s. We hope that thanks to the vinyl reissues of Dark Entries and Zoharum CD anthology the band will achieve such a kind of recognition they truly deserve... The CDs are housed in a digipak with an additional poster booklet inside. [label info]
[bandcamp]
NATT -- "A Better Place" -- CD EP -- €10
2020 Zoharum, ZOHAR 195-2, (ltd. 100)
Dark Ambient / Drone. For those following the publishing activities of Zoharum Records for a while now, NATT became known as a co-creator of the project DREN, which led to creation and release of the album "Time & Form" in 2019. The album was well-received by the audience seeking more off-beat and unique sounds and got good reviews in the press. Recently issued EP ‘A Better Place’ contains merely four compositions: a coherent whole, an unusual story closed in just around 20 minutes. We’re still dealing here with electronic music, pulsating, still leaning towards darkness, but this time making more space for melodic tunes and nuances – that’s how each piece is built and arranged. ‘A Better Place’ is a promise of something bigger, which served piece by piece, will allow the audience to get to know NATT’s creative work and its characteristics better... CD EP released in a fixed amount of 100, hand-numbered CDs, packed in a metal box with few collectibles. [label info]
[bandcamp]
NIGREDO -- s/t -- CD-R -- €10
2001 Sphogha, Ultra Low Fidelity/ULF02
Drone. A project of Dmitry Chistov (HUM, MAW, SPHOGHA, MURMUR DRIFT, etc.) released on his own label. Sound sources for this recording were "Polyvox" Soviet analogue synthesizer and reel-to-reel recorders. Mysterious hums and hisses, distant electronic flows and - like always with HUM - catchy atmosphere.
PHURPA -- "Lta Zor" -- LP -- €17
2020 Zoharum, ZOHAR 213-1, (ltd. 300)
Ritual. Zoharum is proud to present another ritual recording by PHURPA brought to you on beautiful 180g vinyl. After "Rituals Of Bon I & II", "Lta Zor" is the third installment of mysterious Russian duo on Zoharum. If you ever had the opportunity to experience PHURPA live you know how overwhelming experience this is, as this is not a gig. This is a ceremony in purest sense of word. Overtone singing piercing through your mind and soul creating vibration that penetrates every cell of your body, occasionally accompanied by traditional Buddhist instruments (some of them made of human bones) all veiled with dense smoke of incense. This is what "Lta Zor" is like. It’s a spiritual transfer enclosed in an album format. This is the power of human voice. This is the power of sound. [label info]
[bandcamp]
RAPOON -- "Ghosts From A Machine" -- 3 CD -- €17
2010/2020 Zoharum, ZOHAR 194-2, (ltd. 500)
Ambient / Ritual. The compilation “Ghost From A Machine’ has been initially issued by the record label Vinyl-On-Demand. It contains alternative versions of the pieces, which were created while early albums of Rapoon, mainly "Raising Earthly Spirits", "Fallen Gods", "Vernal Crossing", "Easterly 6 Or 7", were in the making. All those pieces were put together by Robin Storey and Frank Mayer and created an entirely new album, released on 3 vinyl records. For 10 years since the premiere, that release has become a rare collector’s item and surely a delight for a refined collector. The new edition, prepared together by the author and Zoharum Records, is visually and sonically referring to the first issue, creating a sort of a replica, available for the first time on 3CDs. Issued as an 8panel digipak the volume is limited to only 500 copies. [label info]
[bandcamp]
RAPOON -- "Offworld OP1 Equs: Mercury Rising 2" -- CD -- €12
2018 Winter-Light, WIN 018, (ltd. 300)
In celebration of his 25th Silver Anniversary, we are releasing a trilogy of new work from Rapoon entitled ‘The Mercury Rising Trilogy’. The Mercury Rising Trilogy will comprise of three brand new studio albums, all with exclusive material. The albums will bring a new feel to Robin’s work, that of a more off world spacious feel, jazzy in parts with a ceremonial thread running throughout. Each album interlinked by this feel and theme, as the titles suggest, but with each one still having it’s own unique identity... Here we present to you the second installment of the Mercury Rising Trilogy - 'Offworld OP1 Equs'. The trilogy began with 'Sanctus Equinox', released through Winter-Light in November 2017. The journey now continues....... Every 150 years the moons align and block out the light entirely from the small inhabited planet of Offworld OP1. Too cold even for the androids to survive they move en-masse to the farthest moon Celios and wait out the winter in the relative warmth. The ice crystals in the nearby gas planets rings reflect the meager light of the far sun and throw rainbows down to the surface of Celios… a sign… The androids have built their shelters in the shape of the six pointed star with a circular perimeter representing the outer rings of home system Saturn and the sun that moved. Looking back along the aligned moons they diminish in intensity until Offworld is just a shadow, a memory. Waiting. It will take six months before the the first light shines again on Celios and another six before the androids will return. Celebrations await that return…. for now there is only the slow resignation of winter and a promise of it’s end... Spacious synth sweeps glide through the air, whilst icy piano tones play out, filling the spaces with crystallised sounds. Drums crack and fall away, a lo-fi saxophone plays a sombre song to itself, as alien voices raised to the skies chant the mantras of a temporarily dislodged Offworld race of sentient beings. [label info]
[bandcamp]
RAPOON -- "Pell Mell" -- LP -- €17
2002/2020 Zoharum, ZOHAR 215-1, (ltd. 300)
Dark Ambient / Experimental. Originally released as a 2-track CD in 2002 on Staalplaat, after almost two decades “Pell Mell” gets its well deserved remastered reissue on vinyl with bonus track “Scatter” and new cover art! Album comes on 180g LP limited to 300 copies. [label info]
[bandcamp]
RAPOON -- "Sol Laude: Mercury Rising 3" -- CD -- €12
2019 Winter-Light, WIN 023, (ltd. 300)
Space Ambient / Electronics. In celebration Rapoon's 25th Anniversary, Winter-Light are releasing a trilogy of exclusive new studio work entitled 'The Mercury Rising Trilogy'. 'Sol Laude' concludes the trilogy, thundering its way through the universe, leaving its impression trailing across the cosmos like a giant comet's tail. Deep industrial, space ambience and majestic choral bursts are interspersed with retro sci-fi electronica, emotive piano elements and off-world jazz. "The replicants have followed a well known path. Disagreements and divisions began to grow and sectarianism proceeded to develop. Soon it was an all out war of religious intolerance. Fighting took place and many died. Quietly, and without being noticed, those who held no radical religious beliefs gathered their things and slipped away in small ships and set course for a new life somewhere far away from the division and hatred that had developed in what was once a united community. They journeyed for many years and eventually found somewhere new. An indigenous lifeform of primitive primates seemed to be the most advanced species on the warm planet with blue seas and green forests. It was almost Utopia". Ltd x 300 copies in a 6-panel digipak. [label info]
[bandcamp]
RAPOON -- "What Do You Suppose? (The Alien Question) / Project Blue Book" -- 2 CD -- €14
1999/2015 Zoharum, ZOHAR 096-2, (ltd. 500)
The mainstay of our label, or Robin Storey aka Rapoon that is, returns with the next release of archival recordings. In this case, it is the third reissue of an earlier album, which has been expanded in the new version with an additional disc with previously unpublished material. This album is coming in 1999. "What Do You Suppose? (The Alien Question)". Different among the works of Rapoon, because it is based primarily on the word. Canvas of this project are the theories related to aliens and their presence on the planet made by William Cooper. Music is therefore subordinate to the text, it is much more withdrawn than on other Rapoon releases, but it does not make it one-dimensional. On the contrary, by moving the centre of gravity to the verbal layer, Robin Storey redefined his compositional language. The bonus disc called "Project Blue Book" is the new album mixed in the current year, which uses the original tracks to the "What Do You Suppose? (The Alien Question)," but this time it is devoid of the narrative. The result is not even an alternate version of the original, but a completely different album, where accents are distributed differently. More ethnic trips here, but it will also include pieces for lovers of shimmering ambient... The CDs is housed in a digipak sleeve and the album is strictly limited to 500 copies. The cover was designed by Maciej Mehring based on Robin Storey's paintings. "What Do You Suppose? (The Alien Question)/Project Blue Book" was mastered by Maciej Bartkowiak. The whole production process was overseen by Michal Porwet. [press-release]
[bandcamp]
RAPOON / LORDS OF INFINITY -- split -- CD -- €10
2021 Zoharum, ZOHAR 223-2, (ltd. 500)
Dark Ambient / Experimental. What we have here is almost 70 minutes of beautiful and enchanted music. A great split release between Robin Storey (RAPOON) and Marina Kryzhanovskaya and Mikhail Kiryukhin (LORDS OF INFINITY) hailing from England and Russia respectively. “For this split CD I returned to the origins of processes that had been there in their most fundamental form in Zoviet France. A ritualistic and shamanistic approach to the creation of music. Uncensored by intellect. More spiritual in nature than conceptual. Elemental and primordial. Not that these elements do not exist in my contemporary creation process, more that they are stripped bare in these pieces.” – Rapoon... “Behind Russian ritual ambient and experimental project LOI stand Marina Kryzhanovskaya and Mikhail Kiryukhin - the woman and the man, two eternal souls. The main idea is that life is an immersion to the mystery. The main and essential mystic experience is love and creation. Spiritual invocation awakes delight and horror. We believe that music incarnates pan-unity. But whereof one can't speak, thereof one must be silent. Our split is about the eternal marriage of all that exists, flow of the eternally youthful life energy.” – Lords Of Infinity... The only thing we can add is that artwork for this was also created and provided by the Artists themselves. CD edition of 500 copies comes in 6 panel digipack. [label info]
[bandcamp]
S.E.T.I. -- "The Sphere Of Density" -- 2 CD -- €14
2020 Zoharum, ZOHAR 201-2, (ltd. 350)
Dark Ambient / Space Ambient. S.E.T.I. is one of the most important representatives of the dark ambient genre of recent years. Another incarnation of Andrew Lagowski and his most active project, with releases on labels such as Loki-Found (Power & Steel), Touch, Incoming!, VIVO, Ash International and Syntactic (Klanggalerie). 'The Sphere of Density' is his latest album, which consists of two CDs, of which the first contains completely new studio material, and the second is a record of an improvised concert that was very well received at the Wroclaw Industrial Festival. Both CDs depict various styles of the S.E.T.I. project. Although they were created around the same period of time, they are completely different in terms of sound character or construction of the tracks. The Sphere of Density is inspired by the vision of Alexander Petrovitch Kazantsev - a russian science fiction writer. [label info]
[bandcamp]
SCHLIENZ, GUNTER -- "Know Your New Age" -- LP -- €17
2019 Zuckerzeit Tonträger, ZEIT 1 LP, (ltd. 300)
Ambient / New Age. ”Know Your New Age”, a third album by Günter Schlienz released on Zoharum, is a great treat both for devout followers of his work and also the newbies. Starting with the shimmering of seawaves, it takes you on a journey through the universe created by one Mr. Schlienz. Inspired by the works of Peter-Michael Hamel, Deuter and Eberhard Schoener, he has created 6 meditative composition clocking in at 52 minutes. Schlienz merely takes cues from his masters to develop a unique sound based on sonic structures built on his own modular synthesizer interspersed with occasional acoustic guitar accompaniment and subtle field recordings. After organ studies, music for space airports and musical interpretation of autumn, this album would be best experienced meditating on the seashore. Yes, ”Know Your New Age” lives up to its title. [label info]
[bandcamp]
STROM NOIR -- "Maľované Kvety & Xeroxové Motýle" -- CD -- €10
2017 Zoharum, ZOHAR 140-2, (ltd. 300)
Drone / Ambient. This year Emil Mat'ko celebrates 10 years of an artistic activity under the moniker Strom Noir. For this occasion we have prepared a special release which is both a new album and a compilation. "Maľované Kvety & Xeroxové Motýle" contains two unpublished Strom Noir materials, originally recorded with the intention of releasing them on cassettes. The first session contains recordings from the years 2015-2016 and these are excellent drone compositions, close to the recordings of "Glaciology". The second session contains compositions from 2011, giving the atmosphere and the character of the early Strom Noir recordings. Raw electronic structures are enriched by the reconstructed acoustic guitars. Both materials provide an excellent insight into the work of Strom Noir. The album is released in a 3-panel ecopak in a strictly limited edition of 300 copies. [label info]
[bandcamp]
STRUP -- "Everybody Die Young (Vse Umirayut Molodymi)" -- CS -- €5
2010/2011 Depressive Illusions Records, cut413, (ltd. 100)
A gorgeous album, true discovery-2010 for the post-Soviet noise scene! Lo-fi collage noise material built on multiple samples from Soviet records from 70-80-s, concrete & field recordings and talented author's poems read in a very expressive way (resembling Egor Letov...). The result is a haunting weirdly atmospheric work, a kind of caleidoscopic dream with cuts from Veprisuicida and unforgettable breakthroughs of the project Communism. Psychedelic "babyphone" for thirtysomething people. [YAOP]
[bandcamp]
TANCE SNU -- "Meander" -- CD -- €10
2018 Zoharum, ZOHAR 171-2, (ltd. 500)
Neoclassical / Medieval. "Meander" is the second album of Tańce Snu, an intriguing troupe created several years ago by India Czajkowska and Sebastian Madejski, and now extended with a guitarist Christoph Matyaschek - passionate about jazz-blues sounds and a percussionist Adam Rozenman. On this new album the artists invite us on a musical journey inspired by the sounds of the past, often interwoven with avant-garde sounds of neoclassical improvisation. In the maze of melodies, cymbals and zither, a vocal duel takes place, a kind of dialogue of voices repeatedly quarreling and discussing in order to finally combine in harmony. This peculiar dance between the vocalisations of India and Sebastian, characteristic for the work of this project, fits in perfectly with the story which seems to be an extraordinary journey between the worlds. Like slides, we can hear the echoes of early music, sometimes flirting with modern sounds and a hint of psychedelia. "Meander" is a journey to the mysterious realms of musical imagination; to the lands where time goes by with its own course... The album was released in an ecopak and is limited to 500 copies only. [label info]
[bandcamp]
VIDNA OBMANA -- "The Trilogy" -- 3 CD -- €17
1996/2018 Zoharum, ZOHAR 159-2, (ltd. 400)
Dirk Serries, known for his Zoharum collaboration with Celer entitled 'Background Curtain', was operating for many years as Vidna Obmana. The first recordings under this moniker appeared in the mid-1980s. Initially in his work he penetrated very rough industrial sounds, but at the beginning of the following decade he turned to ambient music with subtle ethnic undertones. His first albums, where he successfully explored this style and which also brought him wider notoriety, were 'Passage in Beauty' (1991), 'Shadowing in Sorrow' (1992) and 'Ending Mirage' (1993), composing a trilogy in both sonic and visual sense. A few years later, they were reissued in one package by the American label Relic... This year marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the last album from these three. This is a good opportunity to bring the entire trilogy to light again, as it is considered one of Dirk Serries' outstanding achievements as Vidna Obmana. On top of that, all three albums, both in the form of a triple compilation and as single discs, have long been unavailable and reach quite high prices on auction sites. The discs received a new graphic design, their sound was also remastered by the artist himself. We can enjoy over three hours of these classic ambient sounds again... The triple album is released in an 8-panel digipak and it is strictly limited to 400 pieces. [label info]
[bandcamp]
Our full mailorder catalogue is available here:
http://zhb.radionoise.ru/eng/distro.html
We're also selling on Discogs:
https://www.discogs.com/seller/Kryptogen/profile
