boston free-spazz skronk masters ready to burn down your town

Digitalis limited

Part of the final cassette "batch" from Digitalis Ltd. The label will continue to release special edition cassettes, but not in large batches as they have in the past. As always, Digitalis cassettes are designed and manufactured with the highest standards of sound and visual presentation...

ex-mutation in the gryd hauntress that is willing to throw acid on your dreams

Digitalis limited

Part of the final cassette "batch" from Digitalis Ltd. The label will continue to release special edition cassettes, but not in large batches as they have in the past. As always, Digitalis cassettes are designed and manufactured with the highest standards of sound and visual presentation...

blown-out scuzz that is utterly, deliciously relentless

Digitalis limited

Part of the final cassette "batch" from Digitalis Ltd. The label will continue to release special edition cassettes, but not in large batches as they have in the past. As always, Digitalis cassettes are designed and manufactured with the highest standards of sound and visual presentation...

time-lapsed drones that drown beneath the blackness

Digitalis limited

Part of the final cassette "batch" from Digitalis Ltd. The label will continue to release special edition cassettes, but not in large batches as they have in the past. As always, Digitalis cassettes are designed and manufactured with the highest standards of sound and visual presentation...

imagine ’70s-era roedelius remixed by autechre and you’re close

Digitalis limited

Part of the final cassette "batch" from Digitalis Ltd. The label will continue to release special edition cassettes, but not in large batches as they have in the past. As always, Digitalis cassettes are designed and manufactured with the highest standards of quality and presentation...

alex barnett & ken camden weave alien sonic environments into a brand new world. Part of the November / December 2011 batch of Digitalis Limited edition tapes. Artwork by Brad Rose.

Digitalis limited

bleak deathscapes beaten through your skull. relentless. Part of the November / December 2011 batch of Digitalis Limited edition tapes. Artwork by Brad Rose.

Digitalis limited

the air is thick with singing birds. first installment. the beginning of the story. Part of the November / December 2011 batch of Digitalis Limited edition tapes. Artwork by Brad Rose.

Digitalis limited

russian excursions mixing field recordings and orchestral reverie. Part of the November / December 2011 batch of Digitalis Limited edition tapes. Artwork by Brad Rose.

Digitalis limited

the 'living wage' EP was recorded over a few mornings following 12 hour graveyard shifts as a taxi driver, in a very weary and warm state of mind while adjusting to a new sleep schedule. each piece was recorded live and manipulated using spring reverb, 1/4″ and cassette tape, with a piano as the sound source on the A side, and a lap steel guitar on the B side. it is intended as a window into my own tattered and crude processes of of tape manipulation, as well as the feeling of soon-to-sleep in full summer light, and a bridge between more fleshed-out and composed full-length albums.

Digitalis limited

surprise surprise... montreal wins again. i don't know what the fuck is cooking up there but i am becoming a full-on glutton. the cryptic e.s./i.s. is the trio of jean-sebastien truchy, riccardo lucchesi, & john chang (familiar to all who frequent the excellent los discos enfantasmes label). "i see you sister...." ticks all the boxes. it is the sound of being trapped in a cybernetic torture chamber. modular workouts catch fire and fade out. disjointed rhythms tease, but never quite take hold. there's a general sense of unease building throughout and eventually with truchy's vocal excorcisms, everything just explodes into hellish chaos. e.s./i.s. is totally, gloriously fucked. edition of 75. chrome.

Digitalis limited

selaroda is the work of san francisco resident, michael henning. "synaptic portals" gets deep into the cosmic cracks, looking for dark corners in which to find life. subterranean rhythms run head-on into dying city streets before hiding again where it's always night. looping soundscapes dissolve into major chord progressions and sequential wanderings. eventually, though, henning decides to reanimate the rabbit hole, pluck your piano strings, and sink in this synthetic quicksand. wretched beauty. edition of 75. chrome.

Digitalis limited

born in the bright lights and smog of los angeles, tiger stripe is the work of ashish sharma. "imaginary number" offers up an entire night that stretches into the far reaches of the morning. club shocks hit first with purposeful movement and downplayed charm. sharma stretches his voice into killer hooks and blasts synth swells over slow, pounding beats. on the backside comes the come down. syrupy synth excursions flicker quietly and build into lazy mountains. it's the best way to drift off. first the party, then the afterglow.

Digitalis limited

joe bastardo returns with bastian void's sophomore missive thrown into the swirling abyss. mirrored shards reach out and pluck chord changes from a diamond's eye. these electric daydreams move along on muted rhythms. soak it all in as you take a journey into the unsettling sonic environments of melting landscapes. this is as much in the sky as it is buried underground. a festive spectrum.

Digitalis limited

ben baker billington has been having an excellent run this year with his solo wares as quicksails. with releases on stalwarts like deception island, NNA, 905, etc, there's no room for error. where a lot of people are happy to let their synthesizers do the talking, billington muffles their voices and increases the impact with layers of chaotic percussion. the combination gets us wondering which road to follow: organic or synthetic? but in this mauling, both provide the aural fruits to get drunk on. technicolor absolutes.

Digitalis limited

from the mind of keith rankin (orange milk records, etc) comes a high-flying adventure into electronic caverns and neon-painted worlds. if terry riley was mega man and stuck in a video game world constructed of synthetic mayhem, well you'd be close. intricately placed song structures collide and overlap with rapid-fire beats swimming in secret codes. this is a livewire on a collision course with pop flare. just run, baby.

Digitalis limited

this new guise from maps & diagrams takes an unexpected aquatic turn with a half-hour set of short & sweet synthesizer compositions. it's not all float-y and dream-y, though - the opener sounds like an outtake from bladerunner and at various other points i feel like i'm listening to a lost soundtrack for some weirdo spy movie. it all stays together, though, and even hints at a pop song or two. get your rockets on, shoot for the stars and ultimately get drowned.

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danchisko may have shortened the name but the impact is still long for this world. the previous sovetskaya jaunts were dreamy affairs but "kimberley al butnan" is something else. skeletal, irregular rhythms dot the horizon while methodic key plundering follows the trail up the mountain. each point on the map flirts w/ melodicism while staying on the knife's edge. there's a wobbly, uneasy feeling hiding under the surface, but i'm okay with getting seasick as long as we continue down this way.

Digitalis limited

killer collaboration between the fried minds of flamingo creatures & hering und seine sieben sachen that keeps getting weirder with each subsequent listen. two side-long excursions that float and sink all while chasing their collective tails. what? ghost choirs dream of synths that flicker and fade away. quiet, minimalist wanderings through an electric forest emerge from darkness to find sun-soaked strings and twisted it all into a faux orchestral embrace.

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australia joins the party as ross healy flexes his muscles on some serious machines. buchla & voyager collisions from the cosmic outback cooked to perfection, bleep and blop into your subconscious. bizarro vocals are cut to shreds and thrown down an echo chamber while static cuts through the underwater buzz. healy mines a lot of territory here but with considerable skill. drowned pop elements even bleed through before being crushed with more bloopy, library sound-infused goodness. dripping dreams.

Digitalis limited

two favorites matching the upward trajectory of both montreal, qc and portland, or together w/ double-sided tape. hobo cubes brings the relaxation zone and plasters synthetic drips into a bright, glossy sheen. beautifully constructed meditative music that brings you into the zone. j. hanson continues his modular explorations with expert moves. pulsating debris grown from metallic fibers

Digitalis limited

space ghost meditations rising from underneath the darkening waves floating out to sea. hailing from japan, buchikamashi (aka mizuhiro) skirts through the shallows unnoticed until emerging, dripping w/ organic, soothing tones on the beach. this is drone music done right, slick as nails and drawn out until it naturally concludes. using a mix of tones and source material, mizuno fires each missive with delicate care and as the float toward the glowing moon there is redemption

Digitalis limited

mike shiflet's "llanos" was one of my favorite albums of 2010 and these two extended reworkings/remixes turns that material on its ear. shiflet and his longtime cohort, joe panzner untangle and retangle the thick aural web of album tracks "pink meadow" and "sunbathers" (hence the title). thick swashes of noise are undermined by subterranean melodies that aren't succeeding if they're not falling apart. the two pieces work very well in tandem with shiflet's restrained touch working as the perfect opposition to panznzer's blown-out mini-masterpiece. i usually shy away from remixes but "meadowbathers" finds very worthwhile new ground. get lost. edition of 75, pro-dubbed chrome.

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debut from this post-taiga remains project of alex cobb's, "a continued garden" is an organic virus festering its way into your skull. cobb has left behind the savory glacial landscapes of his taiga past, instead filling the cracks with expert synthesis and sonic debris. each side-long excursion is visceral to a point. "3d thumbnail" churns along mechanically like a soldier determined to make the kill before evaporating into a digital symphony of bubbling resonance. the awesomely-titled "convenient height" is drenched in euphoria and disconcertingly comforting. you know nothing is really this sweet. edition of 75, pro-dubbed chrome.

Digitalis limited

logan seguin makes his digitalis return and follows up his exquisite fake soundtrack with another exploration of bare-bone keys, samples & minimalist rhythms. "drone" is not entrenched in drone. instead we find basketcase melodies and handwoven rhythms that sneak a peak under the hood of halloween and cape fear among others. seguin chooses his film samples wisely, manipulating them into a caustic mess. paired with music that creeps along at every angle, the effect is ominous to say the least. expertly macabre. edition of 75, pro-dubbed chrome.

Digitalis limited

it's a eurotrash dream and i'm loving it. paco sala is the alter-ego of konntinent's antony harrison and anyone familiar with his past work will be quite surprised by this turn of events. "radial sundown" is an afterhours vapor trail through italo mazes and darkened alleys. swirling electronics are matched by smooth beats and pop-infused hymns. harrison bounces to the underbelly, always keeping something sinister just off-screen. add in delectable vocals by felicia atkinson (in french, no less) and you're in for the best fucking ride. edition of 80, pro-dubbed chrome.

Digitalis limited

dense reduction's travis bird veers off course and into space with his first solo effort, "two tidal states." bird cracks out his MS2000 to send up this homage to radigue and other forms of synthetic expression. sparse bleeps and blops open the tape, gently guiding you through the rabbit hole. as he rumbles his way through the sub-sonic basement, you're greeted on the other side with the promise of skull-boring oscillations. solid, methodic drones coalesce into a mountain of sonic debris acting like an artificial monument to the cosmos.

Digitalis limited

fossils from the sun is the solo moniker of century plants and burning hills shredder, ray hare, and with "pop shoot pop" he's got all his bases covered. melodic electric guitar interludes share space with dark synth & vocal weirdness. electronics hum and spurt out dust and debris like a midnight meditation. there's even early library sound vibes and bizarro radio colalge creeping into the mix hare has an impressive ability to cloak himself in whatever shroud he spitting out and drop entirely convincing escapades. it's absolutely bonkers.

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jefferson pitcher has quietly been plying his trade as he's moved from the US to canada and back again (covering both coasts and everywhere in between). "hirondelles" is a series of guitar explorations, both acoustic and electric, focusing on the idea of minimalism. pitcher uses an effective combination of abstract melodicism and simple repetition to gently drag the listener into the aural landscapes of his ideas. somehow you find yourself lost within its walls, in a lonely and contemplative place.

Digitalis limited

solo recordings that bleed melodic cosmic dust. serious times.

Digitalis limited

it's time for portugal to stand up and be recognized. "singe qui voit, singe qui fait" is the second offering from the enigmatic j. francisco after a tape on cubic pyramid. "singe" picks up where that one left off and pushes off into another realm leaving a spacewake in her dust. this is the kind of drug you get hooked on at first bite, but it's the deeper experiences on repeated outings that really get you in deep.

revolving chord progression and repetitive sound waves pound themselves into the air. brass-infused flourishes and synthetic loops drip into parts unknown. it always give me this random feeling of being totally blitzed in some smoke-filled downtown jazz joint circa 1974. don't ask, just go with it. heavy blasts are in store if you can pull yourself off the floor for the flip. early moments of chaos dissolve into blissful loops and jangles before devolving into something far more calm & collected in the manner of processed field recordings of birds. it's quite the strong statement from an artist just finding her way.

Digitalis limited

following up their killer lp on immune, the chicago-based duo of steven hess and michael vallera offer up another 40 minutes of expansive, haunting drones and skeletal blues. subterranean tones sacrifice themselves into mounds of barely-there rhythms before hess takes over those duties with aplomb. combined with vallera's angular guitar work, there's a feeling of wandering through empty city streets on "II (6PM)" while "III (NATURAL)" is as dense and sprawling as a black hole. cleared sounds like chicago. what stands out most with cleared is the subtlety with which these two operate. this is long-form experimentalism at its best.

Digitalis limited

travis bird and evan lindorff-ellery caught my attention straight away on their first trio of releases on the label they run together, notice recordings. "fictive agriculture" finds them spewing new organic sonar trails through hazy concrete forests. this is music that requires repeated listens to fully digest all the layers. things start off minimal and almost-melodic before bursting into a blown-out, churning mess. things go back & forth, covered in tape hiss and full of tonal warmth. it's like unsuspectingly tuning into lost radio transmissions from the past half-century, sending out maydays from a distant planet.

the flipside opens things up a bit with some harmonic sand castles from the start. eventually the tide rolls in and smashes the whole thing into bits, but the cleansing is all well and good because bleak, dissonant electronic triumph emerges from the ashes. it coalesces into a feedback labyrinth, unsafe for those with delicate ears.

Digitalis limited

hell hath no fury like the desert, or at least that seems to be the implication on this latest mini-opus from the inimitable william fowler collins. the sparse landscapes of new mexico (where he plies his trade) are evident all over "hiding in light." the churning of distant machines fight against the wind and blowing sand. but the darkness overcomes as soon as WFC drops the guitar bomb early on and lets things disintegrate from there. eventually you're dragging bones toward the river styx looking to fill the blackest hole in your heart.

"lost in fire" echoes how you feel after the fact. once you've destroyed everything and secluded yourself in isolation, the numbness takes over. but there's an unsettling comfort in feeling nothing and WFC etches that out like a true sonic magician. eventually the blackness reaches a distorted feverpitch and falls in on itself until there's no sound left.

Digitalis limited

library sound explorations with minimal interference

Digitalis limited

the boggling continues fresh out of the bowels of the san francisco space program. "banjo signal generator as advertised" keeps the psychedelic synth scrapes brewing and brewing until everyone is buried underneath his electronic portal clouds. inside this howling vortex of bubbling electronics come unexpected shifts of composed guitar melodies that fade away as quickly as they arrived. in its wake, the synth waves dial it in and intensify until petering out into a sample of your favorite piano spooks of all time.

but as i've come to expect, headboggle shows up for a live rendition next making me jones heavy to see this spectacle in person. minimalist electronic sculptures battle it out with the crowd's voices, the latter adding an unexpected bonus to the proceedings. it's some haunted spliff. headboggle never sounds like anything but headboggle and ends up stuck in your skull for days on end. you just have to keep going back to it, trying to figure out what the hell happened while you were out.

Digitalis limited

AC brings his bag of toys back to oklahoma, but this time goes back in time and pulls out a total war bomb from the archives. heavy electronics and thick, bleeding walls of synth skronk are just what you need after a long weekend of drinking with the fam. it feels like there's some serious guitar riffing trying to find its way out of this electronic hell, but half the time there's no fucking telling what's going on here. it's everything all at once. coltrane goes to eleven. i don't even know. sax blasts come in from the deep, sourcing new megacreatures that don't just want your blood, they want your fucken soul.

rusted factories breaking down never sounded so damn good. hell, if this isn't cathartic, i don't know what is.

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finally done, this little split guy has been on the books for a while. EAGLE ALTAR offers up a thanksgeever slice of synthed out space. barely methodic, crawling along linear lines we search for hooks in the frozen undergrowth. hypnotic on some level, but always a good time.

bugskull gives us three dishes from the "communication" sessions that had to be cut from the final album to fit it on vinyl. more glowing electronic reverie that fades into the background, turning it into pure, psyched-up magic. good times again.

Digitalis limited

dan dlugosielski's body morph project has been scorching ear drums all over the world for the past few years. fuzzed-out and stretched-to-oblivion electronics spit their way into a black cauldron. scuzz reeds scatter like buckshot, painting everything in town a solid shade of red. in the static, beats emerge to plug the holes where water is pouring in. i dunno if this is a nightmare or a wet dream or what, but i can tell you it sounds oh so fucking good. screamers for the masses.

Digitalis limited

sam gas can is one to leave you wondering endlessly and wandering aimlessly. it all starts with a low-key dance party for your favorite haunted asylum. manic voices and near-tribal beats plummet like a meteor through the clouds. you walk into this mental ward with no fucken clue how you got there. luckily there's clarity on the horizon in the form of uber-melodic synth passages that will guide you like a drunken sailor back to the shore. the morning brings pump organ catharsis that's bathed in warm white light. hypnotic vocals fill the air while the melodies grind along underneath. it's blindingly emotive - you can't help but be drawn in by the familiar comforts of each note that gently takes you home. beautiful stuff from one of the most underappreciated artists in massachussetts.

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solo effort of alice dourlen for gnarled guitar and voice. ugly, pretty.

Digitalis limited

christopher riggs is 1/2 of the soulcrushing duo, trauma (w/ graveyards' ben hall), but has been cranking out mounds of cryptic debris in his own right for years. "live in michigan" documents one of his rare live performances, recorded in december of 2008. riggs turns his guitar into a sonic chainsaw, dismembering strings and notes with the precision of a blind surgeon. this is not a safe environment and soon you'll feel your bones cracking under the pressure. good stuff.

Digitalis limited

alms is the solo project of nathan young (ajilvsga, indian weapons). static synthetic drones, zone out galore.

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