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)

Main - Hydra-Calm (1992)

Once upon a time, there was this band called Loop. Founded in 1986 by a bloke called Robert Hampson and his wife Bex, the band played a fuzzy mixture of psychedelic rock, and managed to release a handful of albums before the group started to wind down in 1991.

It was during this period when things started happening rather quickly. As Godflesh and Loop were touring the UK, Paul Neville was considering leaving The flesh to concentrate on Cable Regime, while Robert Hampson laid the foundation for Main with fellow Loopster Scott Dawson and released the first 12" titled Hydra. After the tour was over, Loop was laid to rest and disbanded, Neville left to concentrate on his new project and Hampson joined the ranks of Godflesh for the Pure-album.

As we know now, his visit with the band was a rather brief one and after appearing on a handful of tracks on Pure and the '92 European tour, Main's Calm 12"EP came out and Hampson left Godflesh behind to focus on Main full time.

So .. after another rather long-winded rant let's get over to the sounds. Judging by the album title, it should come as no surprise that Hydra-Calm collects both EP's on CD, with an additional track, "Thirst", exclusive to the disc. Although later-era Main-material leans more into the isolationist ambient side of things, this album is still heavily rooted in the psychedelic roots of later-period Loop. And unsurprisingly, the disc closes the gap between both bands with a high note.

The key elements are both repetition and rhythm. Throw in a healthy dose of ambient soundscapes, guitar drones, feedback and some minimal mechanic beats, and you've got Hydra-Calm: A great abstract and experimental ambient record, which is almost mandatory for those "zone out"-sessions on headphones. Join the trance, feed the collapse!

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(95+38MB/320CBR)

Meat Beat Manifesto - Storm the studio (1989)

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. It's been hot and humid in Finland and I haven't been spending too much of my time inside. I'm unable to function and think in this melting heat, except for some relaxing in the shade, so I'm only going to put this one request up for grabs. Don't worry, the heat can't last forever and there should be more stuff coming sooner or later.

This my friends, is a truely groundbreaking album. And I hope I'm not the only one thinking so. Most of you know the story of Storm the studio, but for the uninitiated here's a quick rundown: Meat Beat Manifesto were recording their first album but the studio surprisingly burned down. What was salvaged from the fire came out as singles first, only to appear as reworked pieces on Storm the studio.

I'd call this album "four songs remixed into fifteen parts" if life was easy, but it's way more than that. While "remixes" are supposed to keep the sound and feel of the original tunes, these mutated and mangled entities haven't got much in common with their original counterparts.

But what was pushing new ground, was the music itself. Combining various aspects of electronic music, rock, funk and hip-hop into something I just called "weird" back when I first heard it. It's got so much things going on throughout the disc that I won't even bother to begin with describing it all. It simply needs to be heard, preferably in repeated doses, to be understood. Just so we're clear on this, this album holds a very dear place in my heart, as it opened up a whole new world of music and influenced the fuck out me.

It's the soundtrack of going to a party, only to realize that you're the only one who is totally blazing on acid. It's a bright, colourful and freaky electronic symphony! Lap it up and enjoy!

"Rock and roll music is an art form. Rock and roll is here to stay."

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(95+62MB/320CBR)

Flux - Protoplasmic (1997)

My first encounter with Flux was through a good friend of mine. The man had introduced me to bands like Dead World, Incantation and Exit-13 a few years before, and still had quite an appetite for anything related to Relapse Records.

As I had a knack for "weird shit", as he called it, he kindly went for a few extra records from the Release sub-label whenever he was putting in an order. When he acquired Protoplasmic, and I heard of the involvement of James Plotkin and Mick Harris doing the production job, I once again, like many times before, volunteered to trade the extra baggage off of him. And it paid off.

Protoplasmic utilizes many of the same elements already present on The joy of disease. Catchy guitar loops and overdubs, experimental rhythm patterns, various electronic sounds and Ruth Collins's almost narrative spoken word. Additional sung parts by both Collins and Plotkin are treated with effects and layered into various tracks on the album.

If The joy of disease had a more darker and gloomier feel, the overall vibe on Protoplasmic is much groovier and almost upbeat at times. Although much of the hypnotic ambience is achieved through repetition, the album does not feel stagnant and dull at all. Once you get your head nodding to the groove, the 55 minutes are gone long before you know it.

As much as I hate categorization and labeling, I'm still going to throw the word "progressive ambient pop" out there. Besides using the "experimental"-tag to excess, it's pretty much the only thing I can come up with to describe Flux. Fluffy and warm experimental music for the long summer evenings.

Hope you enjoy!

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(95+27MB/320CBR)

Ashes - Ashland (1994)

As anything related to Eraldo Bernocchi seems to be highly successful with the readers, perhaps the time has come to share some of his lesser known and rare material.

Eraldo, performing under the pseudonym of Surrealistick Master, started Ashes in the beginning of 1990 as an alternative outlet for material that didn't fit under the moniker of Sigillum S. While this first album was Eraldo performing solo, except for some assistance by Nicola Bernocchi on clarinet and saxophone, on later albums he started collaborating with Bill Laswell, Raiz and a varying cast of other musicians.

The music itself is very relaxed and laid back. As much as I don't want to use the term New Age music, I'm almost willing to bet a small amount of money that this is Eraldo's take on it. Playing everything from guitars, keyboards and piano to programming the beats and organizing the sounds, the album features a wide array of soundscapes, ranging from eastern influences all the way to some tribal drumming.

Released in 1994 under the banner of Verba Corrige, the joint label of Eraldo and Pettulia Mattioli, the disc features nine tracks of instrumental ambient. This is recommended to anybody into early 90's experimental music, and especially for those of you even remotely interested in the works of Eraldo Bernocchi.

It's definetly not the party album for the weekend, instead it's a meditative and almost hypnotic disc for those long nights spent alone. Hope you enjoy!

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(95+06MB/320CBR)

James Plotkin - The joy of disease (1996)

The annual Midsummer's festival is up during the weekend. The Finnish people have a funny way of leaving their urban environment behind once a year, because Juhannus "can only be celebrated and experienced correctly at the countryside". Popular activities include lighting bonfires and consuming dubious amounts of alcohol. When you combine The Land of the Thousand Lakes with heavy drinking you end up with another highly popular activity: people drowning in those said lakes.

"So what's that got to do with anything?" I call bullshit on this highly popular holiday. I am staying at home. For once, Helsinki and it's surroundings are almost deserted. Time to dedicate my time to those good things in life.

If you've sampled any of the previous Plotkin-related releases I've shared, you've perhaps become somewhat acquainted with his guitar playing and sound deconstruction. Combining forces with Plotkin are Franz Treichler of The Young Gods and Mick Harris, providing additional samples and "atmospheres", with Ruth Collins contributing her ethereal voice in sung and spoken form.

It's hard to file this album under one particular genre, as it features such a broad spectrum of influences and different soundscapes.

Starting with the cold mechanized beats and heavy riffs of Casual murder, transforming into an almost cheerful vibe halfway through the track, which somehow reminds me of The love of life-era Swans, and ending with the looped guitar strumming and the menacing calmness of Disease as a child. This album has it all. Scattered throughout the nine songs is everything from trippy guitar loops, feedback manipulations, subtle drones and looped beats to dark ambience in the vein of Lull.

It all comes down to a form of escapism, really. I like to imagine myself and a few friends on a silent beach with the album playing in the background. Zoning out to this psychedelic and colorful album is a much better alternative than taking that final plunge into a dirty pond.

Hope you enjoy!

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(95+39MB/320CBR)