Xqui - Microchasm / Recent Wormhole World releases: Robyn G Shiels & Steve Nolan - Sky Drew Near/ Mzungu - With Seasonal Affect/ Outside The Glitsch - Cartography / Jewels Of Shame - Negative Dialects / Quimper - Dejado

Xqui's fourth full-length came amidst a storm of other recordings he posted on his bandcamp during the quarantine. At first I thought that this would be his most structured releases due to some beats here and there, but it reveals itself as the exact opposite. It might not have the utterly Lovecraftian subterranean feel of other releases (apart from "Scale"), but it is one of the most psychedelic ones, at it reminds at times of Coil's mid-90s phase and even other mind-bending Coil-related projects such as The Threshold HouseBoys Choir and UnicaZürn, and it has some weird fuzzy beats that sound similar to old video games!

You can buy it for a very small price on bandcamp, and it's always a good idea to support his music.

Wormhole World is a label with which Xqui is closely related and it has released recently some quite nice music.

First is Sky Drew Near by Robyn G Shiels & Steve Nolan, which is a nice change from the label's usual abrasive electronics output, as it is a dark pop heartbroken music album with a touch of americana. I really liked this one.

With Seasonal Affect by mzungu is an adventurous attempt at wintry ambient with very beautiful frozen synth washes that you really must hear.

Cartography by Outside The Glitch is one of the best albums of 2020 so far. It is superb imposing ambient . It has all the best elements of Basinski and Robert Rich shaped in a very personal approach that I would dare say incorporates also elements of elemental/primordial beatless ambient techno. I see that the artist has also done other releases on Wormhole World which I will definitely give a listen to immediately. 

A slightly older release is Negative Dialects by Jewels Of Shame, some guy wanting to be shrouded in mystery, as most of his tracks are titled by date of recording, and they have all been recorded during the 2000s. There's some primitive horror noise/ dark ambient with a mostly crude sound and an unfinished feel to it, which I like, as it presents a non-linear and anti-closure/anti-perfection approach that I find interesting as in other artists such as J.G. Sparkes.

The last one of the recent lot that stood out is Dejado by Quimper, which is fun dark synth-pop/ hypnagogic electronica, like a more electronic/beat-y Ariel Pink with dark house music lurking somewhere in there...

As always, both Xqui and the Wormhole World label are very-hardworking and cool people that really deserve some support, so don't hesitate to pay some little cash to get these very nice musics.

Maurizio Bianchi & TH26 ‎– Arkaeo Planum

Maurizio Bianchi playing glitsch electronics with beats? Well that's a surprising thing. Haven't heard TH26 before to know if his collaborators on this one do that thing, but it sounds as if there are some patently dark MB atmospheres working underneath the beats. 2006 cd on SmallVoices.

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Christophe Charles - Verena (and a comment on how Coil can potentially destroy your life)

"Verena" is a minimalist ambient composition created by Christophe Charles in 2000 composed of field recordings, glitsch electronics close to Coil's Worship The Glitsch, and a floating sense of drone ready to break out. Highly recommended listening.

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Speaking of Coil's Worship The Glitsch (released as ELpH vs Coil) the time when I first listened to it coincided with a period of acute depression and anxiety disorder with psychosomatic symptoms that plagued my everyday life for many months and nearly destroyed my relationship with my then-girlfriend (and now wife) as well as my stomach. So, the three-part track "Halliwell Hammers" from that album, which refers to the murder of controversial British playwright Joe Orton - who wrote the influential play Loot - at the hands of his boyfriend Kenneth Halliwell with a hammer. I don't know if I subconsciously related the sounds of that particular song, and especially its second and third part, with the actual murder - there is a percussive sound throughout, not a violent hammering bang - but from the first time I heard it I got instantly scared and anxious, and I don't remember ever having managed to listen to it through, though it lasts only 2.30 and 3.30 minutes respectively. Its cold crystalline sound always evoked to me an image of frozen green blankness, of expressionless faces, and to this day, the hair on the back of my skull and neck stand up. Combined with my then tortuous depression and stress-induced stomachache, I felt that if I was put to listen to that track continuously I would slice my wrists. I don't know why I'm going through the test to listen to all three parts of this track right now and write all this nonsense; maybe the fact that I'm in a extremely better situation right now in my life - being a father, having a regular job - enables me to confront that period. However, the suicidal sounds of "Halliwell Hammers" are still capable of raising my hair.

 The first, relatively harmless part:

The unspeakable part:

Violence Beyond The Snowline - Hollow Shit For Dull Suburban Witches 3"cdr

Glitchy ambient electronics with a weird medieval witch concept going around. 2005 3" cdr on First Person.

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Pjorn(o)72

Yet another comp by the great label Pjorn 72, featuring the vastness of Culver's drones, psychedelic electronic house by Legion (totally unlike the track they made on Doing the Right Thing Takes the Emptiness Away comp), a really calming and uplifting acoustic guitar track by Fordell Research Unit, abstract electronics by Twocsinak, two synth gems by Midwich, funny percussive Casio synthy music by Button One, an oscillating stretched drone by Wounded Knee, heavy bass drone by Subvs.Loop, screechy rhythms by Tartan Trolley, office muzak by The Maniac Upstairs (who is getting his rifle to kill his colleagues at the office downstairs), music for kids science documentaries on a sequencer by Pop.1280, glitch by O'er The Moon, and drone pop by Milklemonadechocolate. 2006 cdr on Pjorn 72.

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Rahmane & dsic ‎– Occident Caravan Blues (2016, lf records)

 Humid improvised electronics on this live recording by Rahmane, the alter ego of Duncan Bruce, and dsic, very much like a mixture of both artists' styles, that is menacing dungeon avant-horror with organs and Coil-esque glitchy levitations. New Zealand guaranteed quality, so grab it. 2016 tape on lf records.

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dsic ‎– Love City cdr

Glitchy noisy electronics by this New Zealand/UK outfit. Mid-to-late-90s Coil meets computer-era Merzbow? 2007 cdr on lf records.

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Aboolele Vs Gaop ‎– Fist Your Ears cdr

One in a series of collaborations between Israeli noisers Gaop and Aboolele, which culminated in a split with Cock E.S.P., something that should tell you enough. This has varied styles, combining harsh and rhythmic noise, glitch, some IDM, even EBM and some Pan Sonic-styled electronics. Quite creative and entertaining. 2005 cdr on ron_zed DIY records.
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PS Stamps Back vs Anal Vissi ‎– Homefucking Is Killing Prostitution cdr

Collaboration work between Greek artists PS Stamps Back (boss of the legendary 1000+1 TiLt label) and Anal Vissi (a pun on the name of a popular Greek pop singer called Anna Vissi) with  strong underground and DIY message. Experimental rhythmic and minimalist electronic music, somewhere between IDM and glitch, with a touch of industrial sheet-y sounds. 2005 cdr on 1000+1 TiLt

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