Belarisk's "II" the second mournful congregation of synthesized experiments for this new project of Lee Tindall {mutation in the gryd/ zerfallt}. These tracks are formulated as raw, synthesized "feelings" music, but also as end-times music. Clean structures that bubble over with caustic sounds and mutant melodies.

The sounds of a dusty laboratory, test tubes overflowing after all the humans are gone. Recorded and assembled using esq-1/ax60/80, "II" presents a sharper focus on different angles in the compositions, strongly reflecting on the harsh winter of 2010 and the empty trees of central Massachusetts 2011.

Semata Productions

Jan Svensson (Frak, Borft Records) and Joachim Nordwall (Skull Defekts, iDEAL recordings) have been recording and performing as Alvars Orkester since the late 80's and have amassed a modest discography in that time, always releasing choice cuts focused on quality, not quantity, in contrast to many of their contemporaries. Jan and Joachim's versatility has been inspirational around these parts, both of them moving around dance music templates, abstract and cold electronics, drone, noise, rock, ect, all things dear to us, with such ease, it's hard not to be impressed.

On 'Profess' Alvars Orkester take their sound one step further and deliver an impressive song cycle of psychedelic industrial electronic music. Throbbing analog synths and hi frequency bent electronics lay the base for this pyscho spiritual journey, filled with fear. The sense of urgency, claustrophobia and paranoia are prevalent throughout giving you moments of release, but only briefly as the derangement begins to take hold yet again. No one chord minor triad pad 'zones' here, not for the weak of heart - if you can stomach it, strap in and get fucked.

Semata Productions

Dark brooding electronics from mystery project Scuba Death, originally released in a microscopic edition of 40 tapes. Underneath the grime of oscillator abuse, clever tape manipulation & contact mic work 'Demon Seed' has to offer, lies a compositional framework that reveals another world all together.

Motivic material runs throughout each side long piece, revealing itself more & more upon each listen. Dynamic feedback swells and tape crackle function as precise elements of the musical phrasing that comes & goes, and later returns, louder, softer, backwards, inverted.

Passages of harsh noise transform into delicate & melodic ambient textures only to crumble into desolate field recordings, to then go back and return to the 'head'. There is no 'stream-of-consciousness' or improvised pedal wankery on here, instead we have very concise and controlled compositions, starting off with an almost industrialized techno vibe, that then runs the gamut of wall noise to tonal ambience; its clear Scuba Death is a master of his craft.

'Demon Seed' has as much in common with the basement spheres of the noise underground as with contemporary electro-acoustic composition, and that is a great thing and something we hope to see more of. It's time for a shift in consciousness, and as the back of the sleeve reads 'do not stand in a place of danger trusting in miracles'.

Semata Productions

Brendan Murray's "Birches and Marksman's Graves (Voice and Computer #1)" is a clear summation of his interest in controlled drones and gestural improvisation with a step into the unknown. Murray is always keen to transform and manipulate an instrument sound color to the point of non-recognition, utilizing a single source for this piece: the voice of Noell Dorsey. The piece opens with dissonant clusters, moving up and down generating momentum, keeping the music physical while still highly controlled. Vague hints of melody lie underneath the cracks trying to seep through but are swallowed up by the turbulence. It gradually gives way to extended technique vocalisms that call to mind sound poetry and at times even the Sprechstimme of Schoenberg. Later the swirling tones return with a combination of both the higher and lower pitch clusters. It sounds like falling infinitely downward.

Perispirit's side offers a statement that is equally focused but bares little if any resemblance to Murray's piece. It can be described as more active than their previous material, utilizing quick sectional transitions, relying on three key components: harsh noise, delicate melodic work, and degraded lo-fi manipulations. The piece begins with dynamic harsh cutups that pay attention to sound spacialization and stereo field manipulations inspired by the likes of Sickness and Pain Jerk. The momentum grows and is quickly brought down to almost nothing creating a feeling of aural blue balls. The process is resumed and then the piece breaks into looping guitar passages with a subtle electronic underpinning. The layers build than disappear. The noise returns building to a heightened peak of frustration until it drops off and we are left with the sound of lifeless monotony. Gradually a wall of drone begins to creep in and eventually overtakes all else.

Semata Productions