Mick Harris & Ambre - Dys (2001)

The third and final part of Hushush's threesome-series pairs up Mick Harris and Ambre.

Going to work in his Birmingham studio, Mick Harris started reworking the samples provided by the Belgian trio into five ambient soundscapes very reminiscent of his more experimental work with Lull.

Abandoning the usual methods and rules of traditional music, Harris dishes out a main course of abstract audio soup consisting of minimal drones, hissing pops and crackling clicks whisked together with a few layers of atmospheric ambience.

Dys is easily the most abstract of the threesome-series, making it the hardest to digest for the uninitiated listener. The seemingly structureless pieces offer very little to grab on to, and the cut-up and rather hectic atmosphere remind me of the Eraserhead-soundtrack at times.

48 minutes of experimental sound collages for the mind-bending surrealists out there. Although the album may feel a bit challenging or "out there" at first, it's definitely worth a few repeated listens. Enjoy!

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(95+09MB/320CBR)

Mark Spybey & Mick Harris - Bad roads, young drivers (2000)

The second part of Hushush's subscription-threesome pairs up Mark Spybey and Mick Harris. Good times are about to be had.

Another mail collaboration, this time Mick Harris was responsible for the source material, which he then sent over to Mark Spybey, who at the time of recording resided in Klaverland, Netherlands. Additional saxophone blares were contributed by the legendary Niels Van Hoorn of the Legendary Pink Dots.

Bad roads, young drivers puts more emphasis on the rhythm than the first part of the series, but as Sfumato was practically void of beats, that should come as no surprise to the observant listener.

Fusing together dark and brooding soundscapes, wicked sound manipulations and a truckload of diverse percussions, featuring everything from minimal hip-hop beats and mangled rhythms to furious drum and bass, Bad roads, young drivers certainly brings out the best of both artists. They do such a good job at blending their styles that it's hard to tell where Harris's input stops and Spybey's begins.

An eleven-track excursion with a couple of scorching head-on collisions await you. So better jump in the back seat, buckle up and let these young drivers take you down some truely funky bad roads. Enjoy!

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(95+45MB/320CBR)

Ambre & Mark Spybey - Sfumato (2000)

Sfumato is one of the four canonical painting modes of the Renaissance, a technique that involves blurring of sharp outlines or creating a sense of movement through gradually blending tones into another.

While the Mona Lisa is the best known example of the aforementioned technique in painting, our undivided attention is aimed towards this audial equivalent, the first of a three-part subscription series that was released on Hushush Records.

The first part throws together Ambre, a joint electro-acoustic and ambient project featuring Olivier Moreau, John Sellekaers and C-drík, with Mark Spybey, a man known for his work with Dead Voices On Air, Zoviet France and Spasm.

The collabration was performed via mail. Spybey sent tapes of raw source sounds to Ambre in Belgium, who then embarked on a two-week recording session to De Haan in September 1999.

The main bulk of the music consists of deep drones, field recordings, found sounds and a multitude of ambient atmospheres. Most of the material is very minimal and abstract, with enough gradual and subtle movements in the soundscapes to keep the listener on their toes. Droning, throbbing and pulsating with life, Ambre really did a fantastic job with Spybey's source materials and fleshed this collabration to life.

This album should easily appeal to most people interested in minimalist electro-acoustic soundscapes, ambient and noise. This album is best enjoyed from start to finish, so equip yourself with some good headphones, kick back and dive into these fourteen pieces filled with pleasant surprises. Enjoy!

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(95+27MB/320CBR)

Unsane - Unsane (1991)

There must be something in the water in New York. Everything from the no wave-movement starting in the mid-70's, up to some of the most critically acclaimed names in noise rock and alternative music in the late 80's, a big load of the good stuff seemed to originate from the Big Apple.

Among the Cop Shoot Cop's, Helmet's and Sonic Youth's was another band started up by three college friends, Lawn-Chair-Blisters. As cool as the name may have sounded back in '88, I'm really happy about the switch to Unsane. Technically not a correct word, but is any term more fitting to describe this band than being sane, but choosing not to exercise it?

The trio of Chris Spencer on vocals and guitar, Pete Shore on bass, and Charlie Ondras on drums, shamelessly fused abrasive noise rock and hardcore into a feedback-heavy melting pot of anger and frustration. The result was a distorted combination of furious drum barrages, thumping bass accompanying the wailing guitar and painfully howled and screamed vocalisations serving as the icing on the cake.

Like the whole record, loud and violent, the cover of a decapitated man managed to stir up some mixed emotions. Wearing a jacket of the Members only-brand, whose tagline just happened to be "when you put it on, something happens", the headless bloke goes to underline the absurd black comedy and anger of the band even further.

Hard, pissed off and catchy as hell, these boys piss vinegar and shit anchor chain. Enjoy!

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(80MB/320CBR)

Halo Manash - Par-Antra I: Vir (2004)

Aural Hypnox has been releasing first-rate dark/ritual ambient records for a good five years, and as the previously featured Zoät-Aon-release proved to be quite succesful, at least by the amount of downloads, for this feature I decided to go with the first ever release to come out on the Aural Hypnox-label, Par-Antra I: Vir.

The first part of the Par-Antra-trilogy, and the only part of the trilogy released so far, is entitled Vir, the latin word for man. Drawing inspiration from the "triad formation of night, sky and time", the album is a meditational journey into the dark depths of Man and the aim for a heightened consciousness laid out in nine tracks, each represented by a sigil.

Although all of the track titles consist of esoteric wordplay with the Finnish language and won't "open up" to the uninitiated, the music still speaks volumes and will capture your attention. This I promise.

The soundscapes are comprised of a blend of organic and synthetic sounds. Shamanistic percussions, moaned, whispered and chanted vocalisations and windbones exist in perfect unison with hypnotic guitar drones, analog synthesizers and a wide array of samples. Everything boils down to a ritual that feels scary and enchantingly beautiful at the same time.

The esoteric path to the Vir is best walked alone, with Halo Manash merely acting as a guide. They are careful not to interfere with the seeker or to reveal any answers along the way, leaving interpretations of the found knowledge pretty much to the listener. Whether he is open-minded enough to find his path is up to him and his instincts.

Truely enthralling electro-acoustic ritual ambience of the highest class. Warmly recommended!

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(95+44MB/320CBR)

Cable Regime - Assimilate & destroy (1992)

After their first full length album, Life in the house of the enemy, both Cable Regime and Permis De Construire Deutschland were interested in the idea of a remix album.

After recieveing the prepayment from PDCD, Cable Regime once again set foot into Avalanche Studio and began remixing Assimilate & destroy, a track previously featured on their first full length, with Justin Broadrick.

Four different remixes and an untitled medley, comprised of the previous four remixes, placed end-to-end in a single continuous track, found their way onto the EP. With funky remix titles such as "Open sore in the pit of hell mix" and "Stupid vulgar son of a bitch mix" one surely can't go wrong?

As this happens to be the first material by Cable Regime that graced my ears, I'm simply going to answer "Of course not. Psychedelic and drugged out industrial rock remixes can never be wrong". While looping this disc in the background, I recommend digging into "The naked lunch" by Burroughs. A rather confusing, but growing experience.

Hope you enjoy!

"Systematic, systematic world control. Magnetic. Genetic. To match your soul."

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(95+34MB/320CBR)

James Plotkin & Mark Spybey - A peripheral blur (1998)

It must have been a weird day in New York, back in 1996. Two men improvised an unprepared soundscape in front of a festival audience at the Brooklyn bridge anchorage. Their performance turned out succesful and it sparked their interest to collaborate further with a recording project.

To recreate the conditions of their shared performance, Mark Spybey sent tapes containing first-take improvisations of vocals, ethnic stringed instruments and various toy sounds to James Plotkin, who then laid out multiple layers of his manipulated guitar sound into the mix.

Although the source sounds are rendered beyond recognition, the end result is a very fluid and minimal ambient album. Totally void of beats, the album progresses through the use of simple looped melodies surrounded with gentle washes of noise and drones.

It's always a joy when artists manage to complement each other. Not only on an audial level, but on their artform and aesthetic as a whole. Not too many albums manage to pull off the feeling of fluffy warmth and calmness where you can get sucked into, with an indescribable sense of dread and danger looming in the sonic textures, at the same time.

Five sound collages of headphone enjoyment dedicated to the insomniacs amongst us, especially the chosen few reloading the front page numerous times a day. Hope you enjoy!

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(95+20MB/320CBR)