Sometimes German, sometimes English. • The title of this blog used to change from time to time. • Interested in me reviewing your music? Please read this! • I'm also a writer for VeilOfSound.com. • Please like and follow Audiovisual Ohlsen Overkill on Facebook!

2025-04-13

TANGERINE DREAM live in der Laeiszhalle, Hamburg (12. April 2025)


Samstagskonzertchen sind entspannend. Rechtzeitig losfahren, Sprit sparend übers Autobähnchen tuckern, in Ruhe einen Parkplätzchen suchen und noch eine Weile im Planten Un Blomen das schöne Frühlingswetterchen genießen, ehe man gemütlich auf den Weg zur Laeiszhalle macht. Das war der Plan.

Aber irgendwie hielt dieser Plan nur bis gestern vormittag. Danach hatte ich andere Dinge zu tun und im Kopf... Irgendwann saß ich dann im mittleren Rumgammelmodus vor meinem Personalcomputer, dachte mir, ich fange mal an, ein Review zu Künstler XY zu schreiben, oh mir plötzlich in den Kopf schoss: Scheiße, heute ist doch Konzert! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

Normalerweise hätte ich mich zu dieser Zeit schon mindestens in der Metropolregion befunden. Fuck! Schnell rein in die Klamotten, Karte, Geldbörse, Spielzeugkamera geschnappt und los. Ein paar Kilometer später: Scheiße, das Handy liegt auf dem Bett! ... ... Ok, eigentlich komme ich auch mal ohne Smartphone aus, oder? ... ... Vielleicht brauche ich's zum Parken? Und überhaupt... ach Scheiße, Mann! Fuck! Also zurück, Handy geholt, zweiter Versuch. Es sind jetzt schon zwanzig Minten seit meinem Da-war-doch-noch-was-Geistesblitz vergangen.

Es ist Samstag, nicht Sonntag. Hält einen PKW-Fahrer aber nicht davon ab, vollkommen anlasslos eine Schleichschlange auf der Bundesstraße zu bilden. Jede kleine Verzögerung nervt jetzt. Zehn Minuten durch Itzehoe. Ok, normal, ich beruhige mich, ein bisschen. Dann Autobahn. Zumindest herrschen ideale Bedingungen, um nach zwölf Jahren mal zu testen, wie schnell die Seifenkiste eigentlich rollen kann. Ich bin ja eigentlich unbedingter Befürworter eines Tempolimits. Uneigentlich schaue ich jetzt der Tankfüllstandnadel beim Sprint nach links zu. Bis Höhe Pinneberg, ab jetzt ist hundert. Ist jetzt wie es ist, ich habe gut Meter gemacht. Unfall auf der Gegenfahrbahn. Oh Mann, bloß keine Verkehrsscheiße... Wenig später vor der Baustellenverengung: Verkehrsscheiße. Unfall mit drei oder vier Beteiligten, noch keine Einsatzkräfte vor Ort. Offensichtlich keine Verletzten, es geht zügig dran vorbei. Puh...

Von da an noch Stadtverkehr, mal zügig, mal mit mehr Ampelphasen als mir lieb ist. Es bleibt eng. Ich muss schließlich noch einen Parkplatz finden - am Wochenende in der Nähe des Hamburger Doms. Ätzend.

Direkt vor Ort waren natürlich schon alle Straßenparkplätze vergeben. Also weiter zu meiner im Moment letzten Option, über die ich mir Gedanken gemacht hatte. Zum Glück war dort tatsächlich noch eine Lücke frei. Also ganz schnell die achthundertirgendwas Meter zum Johannes-Brahms-Platz im Eilschritt genommen, rein ins Opernhäuschen, eine kühle Flasche Mineralwasser so nah an "auf ex" reingeschüttet wie möglich (man darf ja keine Getränke mit in den Saal nehmen) und auf meinen Platz am Rand der ersten Reihe geschmissen. Gleich geht's los, ich bin nicht zu spät. Alter. Aber Hölle, ich brauche jetzt Entspannung.

Zum Glück stehen dafür die richtigen Künstler auf der Bühne.



TANGERINE DREAM

Tja, sollte meine ausführliche Einleitung die Erwartungshaltung geschürt haben, dass nun auch ein entsprechend langer, detailreicher Bericht zum eigentlichen Haupttheme folgt, so muss ich Dich leider enttäuschen. Dafür weiß ich einfach zu wenig über Tangerine Dream.

Sicher, ich weiß, welchen Sound sie geprägt haben, habe sie gehört - und auch schon vielfach auf dieser Seite als Referenz verwendet. Aus ihrer 1970 begonnenen, siebzig Kilometer langen Diskografie habe ich aber tatsächlich gar nichts im Regal. Und so ist mir zwar klar, dass das Trio aus den Synthiespielern Thorsten Quaesching und Paul Frick sowie Geigerin Hoshiko Yamane mit der Originalbesetzung rund um den verstorbenen Edgar Froese soviel zu tun hat wie die heutigen Napalm Death mit ihrem Gründungs-Line-Up, doch fachliche Kompetenz und Materialkenntnis kann ich hier darüber hinaus einfach nicht vortäuschen.

Praktischerweise hat Quaeschning, den ich ansonsten von meinem akustisch fantastischen, aber visuell doch ein wenig limitierten Platz aus kaum bis gar nicht zu Gesicht bekam, gleich am Anfang den kompletten Ablauf der Show erklärt: Ein Programm aus alten, neuen und sehr alten Stücken, eine auf der die Sitze des altehrwürdigen Raumes zum Vibrieren bringende Frequenz basierende Improvisation (dazu gab es dann auch gleich eine kleine Demonstration) und als Zugabe ein weiteres Set aus alten, neuen und sehr alten Liedern.

In der Praxis übersetzte sich das dann zu guten zweieinhalb Stunden fantastischer elektronischer Ambient-Musik, mal einlullend wabernd, mal von knackigen Beats vorangetrieben. Es gab sicherlich keinen Sound im Set, den ich nicht schon einmal gehört hätte, aber in dieser Qualität und Masse, sozusagen von den direkten musikalischen Erbverwaltern der Erfinder, war es schon ein äußerst beeindruckendes Erlebnis - auch wenn ich es wahrscheinlich nicht vollständig bei komplettem Bewusstsein mitgeschnitten habe. Zwischendurch entglitt mir meine innere Uhr auf jeden Fall phasenweise komplett. Aber bei Aufführungen dieser Art erhöhen Grenzgänge ans Traumland die Erfahrungen ja sogar. Entstressung zu vollster Zufriedenheit gelungen.

Sobald die Augen mal geöffnet waren, sprach das Ganze auch visuell sehr an, mit vielen (retro-)futuristischen Grafiken und Filmchen und passenden Lichtern. Ein Stück habe ich tatsächlich als neues Material indentifizieren können, weil per Video zu sehen war, wie die aktuellen Bandmitglieder durch den Wald spazierten und Tonaufnahmen vom Klopfen auf Baumstämme und Zweige machten. Vermutlich als Samples für eben jenes Lied, was gerade gespielt wurde.

Ich bin froh, wieder einmal im Zuge eines großartigen Konzertes eine Legende von meiner bucket list streichen zu können.
Die Auswahl am Merchstand und die Schlange alter Männer davor waren mir dann aber eine Nummer zu groß. Ins Studiowerk von Tangerine Dream wird dann vielleicht doch lieber etwas überlegter zu Hause eingestiegen.

Natürlich wollte ich auch Geld sparen. Die hektische Hinfahrt war schließlich kostspieliger als sonst gewesen. Und in nur eins, zwei, drei Tagen steht auch schon Ostern Roadburn vor der Tür! Die vieles andere überlagernde Vorfreude auf das Festival war zweifellos auch mit für meinen Aussetzer verantwortlich. Fast ein Konzert vergessen, für das ich ein Ticket habe! Alter, das passiert mir sonst nie... Aber ich sagte ja schon ein, zwei Worte dazu, glaube ich.






2025-04-12

Hanging in the Void with ODIOUS SPIRIT, SARMAT, SLEEP PARALYSIS and THE OVERMOLD


Who doesn't like a package from the weird Avantgarde and Extreme Metal specialist label I. Voidhanger Records? Here's my latest one. It contains four CDs, two of them in regular, the other two in DVD-tray-sized digipaks.

We're starting with the arguably most traditional release, a Death Metal banger from last year:






ODIOUS SPIRIT - The Treason Of Consciousness (CD) (2024)

Well, actually... Don't let yourself be fooled by my usage of the word traditional, since we're in very subjective territory here!

Because while in theory Odious Spirit are playing a quite oldschool brand of technical Death Metal with lots of sick lead guitars, blast and double bass attacks, their slightly Blackened Dissonant sound completely refuses to feel nostalgic - not due to some special shtick, but just because mastermind James Oskarbski has an oustanding flair for composing classicaly inspired riffs and melodies which somehow feel completely fresh, even though they are undeniably one hundred percent Metal and should all have been used by other artists decades ago.

An impressive proof of Death Metal not being dead at all - with the fitting and appropriately presented cover artwork.








SARMAT - Upgrade (CD) (2025)

Obviously Sarmat's spiritual successor to the 2023 "Dubious Disk" EP is a very different beast. While their ferocious Progressive Death Metal is just as strong, the New Yorkers also make sure to bring the Jazz with trumpets, keytar (!) and upright bass. And yeah, they're bringing a lot of it, with a cast of musicians that knows exactly what it's doing.

Both the fourteen-minute title track, which includes themes from "Landform" of their full album "Determined To Strike", and the shorter, but even wilder trumpet trip "Serum Visions" are prime examples of how to merge creative Extreme Metal with Jazz Fusion and unhinged John Zorn school Avantgarde. Bonkers and brilliant stuff for everyone who would like a much jazzier and mr.bunglishly insane version of Imperial Triumphant (whose bass player is also contributing to this EP again).

You know I fucking love this shit - and you should too. How else could I possibly take you serious from now on?   







THE OVERMOLD - The Overmold (CD) (2025)

Also an album which feels very much inspired by New York Avantgarde, but in a completely different way, much more akin to "Choirs Of The Eye" era Kayo Dot, is the self-titled debut of the Drone Doom duo The Overmold.

Drummer Tim Wyskida and guitarist / bassist Mick Barr open the album with a over twelve minutes of atmospheric rise and decay, crescendo and descent, over and over again... until finally you realize that a song has arrived. Or has it? It's almost to slow to tell. But don't think the whole thrirty-five minutes of this track will stay this way! No, this will soon go into much more agile directions you won't expect... The whole thing is a super dynamic and suspenseful unorthodox journey for friends of Toby Driver, Dylan Carlson, Insect Ark (where Wyskida is drumming too), but also Sumac, Swans and minimalist Experimental Jazz.

Even though on paper the three following - only four to six minutes short - pieces may look like an afterthought, but being a little more "to the point" and featuring more prominent vocals, they're actually an important completion of the album as a whole.

The Overmold demand patience and attention, but once you let their sound in it will captivate and fascinate you. 








SLEEP PARALYSIS - Sleep Paralysis (CD) (2025)

You think we've already talked about the wildest release in this bunch? Think again! Conceptually Sleep Paralysis's debut is a very stringent work dealing with all kinds of nightly mental horrors. And musically there are also the clear leitmotifs of a base in Black Metal on one and a lot of piano on the other side.

That piano opens the album like the prologue to a silent movie, but remains a key element through most of album's eleven tracks. It seems inspired by Italo horror cinema and Classical composers, but it also swings, does the Honky Tonk or erupts in Free Jazz explosions like in the Deathjazz chaos of "Sarmat" (the album, not the band!) by Effluence.

With these pillars in place Stephan Knapp's solo project would already provide a sufficient reign of brilliant psychological terror, but like the randomness of a "Fever Dream" and the mind illogically jumping around during "Stress", Sleep Paralysis doesn't stop there.
At any given moment the album can also surprise you with Electronic stuff like menacingly glitchy beats in combination with Vaporwave (of all things!) keyboards or a hilarious use of a Windows error sound effect, which is really confusing when you're listening to the this the first time on your PC.

No, despite the bloodcurling idea this album doesn't shy away from musical  humour. If you're still not over that possibility in a Black metal context in 2025, why are you even reading my blog? Hush and away with you! All others: Enjoy this fantastic phantasmagoric madness!







2025-04-09

IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT - Goldstar

As if they wanted to double down on being messengers from another time in an alternate universe, the title track of Imperial Triumphant's new album is... a jingle for cigarettes. The cover even has a warning message glued onto it, and to open the gatefold cover you have to open a seal. That's surely one for the "mint; sealed copy" crowd.

"Try new Goldstar. Die for Goldstar. The epitome of mid Century." the barbershop vocalist sings. But as out of time as it appears, there's definitely no doubt about the place. Because as always everything the masked trio does is an artistic reflection of the moloch and metropolis New York in a portait of hybris, greed and decadence.


IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT - Goldstar (transparent blue vinyl LP) (2025)

The central question is obvious: How can Imperial Triumphant follow up the maximalist overload of "Spirit of Ecstasy" - and what's different this time?

"Goldstar" is shorter: Not a double album, but a compact package of forty minutes.

"Goldstar" centers more around the core musicians and doesn't feature as many guest appearances.
A couple of extra vocals and narrations and two tracks with trombones and trumpets don't count as a surprise and aren't actually much for this band. The one guest who really sticks out is Dave Lombardo dueling with Kenny Grohowski on "Pleasuredome". With two rabid machines like these this track definitely doesn't need more cowbell drums. It's awesome.

"Goldstar" has a lower entry threshold for listeners who like Dissonant Death Metal but may have been a bit overwhelmed by the angular, aggressively artistic bulkiness of the previous albums.
Not that Imperial Triumphant are playing easily digestable singalong music and foregoing the Jazz expertise embedded in their songwriting now, but there are several aspects which deliberately appeal to a potentially broader audience within the Extreme Metal community.

As such we have songs like the opener "Eye of Mars" featuring some quite traditional Morbid Angel "Altars Of Madness" style riffs. We hear a brighter guitar tone, be it in in melodic licks or Voivod "Nothingface" vibe passages. Most importantly however the average song length is just shorter.
"Goldstar" could surely be coined an Imperial Triumphant for beginners album, yet it achieves that without dumbing down or risking to disappoint the established fan base. All this is still some superbly unhealthy shit.

Imperial Triumphant tower imposing like a mega city's skyline in a thunderstorm. Yet they're also flooding us with insane, absurdly spectacular performances in an intensity that is just a pure cathartic delight to behold. Somehow you can never tell if their amazing musicianship makes them rather Progressive or just harrowingly chaotic. That era of tension - and all that freaking Jazz of course -  is what makes them so intriguing - and in my opinion one of the most relevant Metal bands of the present.

"Goldstar" distills all their qualities without lengths into nine class A tunes - and seriously: If you've expected me to find anything bad in album that ends with a demonically twisted but still deeply respectful homage to The Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" during the finale of "Industry of Misery", you must be delusional.

No, ZacharyKennySteve are in the masterpiece business. This smoking album is no exception from their impressive streak and could even crack open new possibilities for them.

Naturally “Goldstar” is already a top candidate in the race for the title of the Metal Album of the Year.






2025-04-08

IVAN THE TOLERABLE - Proust, Quartering

Oh, be cursed, you cruel, damn prolific artists with your limited "100 copies - no represse" releases!

I'm still enjoying this one very much though, even despite this package teaching me that I have to drive twenty-three kilometers to pick up packages coming from outside of the EU now. And of course still pay six Euro for this formidable service...


IVAN THE TOLERABLE - Proust, Quartering (orange vinyl LP) (2025)

Luckily multi-instrumentalist Oli Heffernan offers just the right music on this signal-orange record wrapped inside a Japanese newspaper to calm one down after annoyances like that.

Aided by Mees Siderius on drums, percussions and the secret MVP instrument vibraphone, he really leans into the calmingly hypnotizing side of of his work with four slowly evolving tracks right in the middle of an imaginable triangle between Spiritual Jazz, half-Electronic Ambient Krautrock and a swappable corner, which changes its property for each composition. Most obvious are the Asian Folk melody patterns in "Consciousness", which towards the end by the way also features one of the greatest unexpected transitions since The Comet is Coming's "The Seven Planetary Heavens".

If there's one thing you can count on, no matter where Ivan The Tolerable takes us, it's the immensly tasteful palette and layering of sounds. The synths and guitars just flow into each other so warm and satisfying, while the smooth bass super subtly holds it all together.
"Proust, Quartering" is a mild yet potent and inspiring intoxication of the senses.

With a playing time of fifty minutes, the record could hardly be more physically packed. There's just as little of a run-out groove as there's a chance for boredom during this bubblingly creative, yet actually still somehow restrained and unpretentious music. If we were tier-listing Heffernan's Tolerable oeuvre, I'd certainly put it at least in B, probably rather A vicinity. Wonderful! 






THE SURE FIRE SOUL ENSEMBLE - Gemini

Tuesday evening. Seems like a time as good as any for a low effort review if you ask me!


THE SURE FIRE SOUL ENSEMBLE - Gemini (LP) (2025)

The nine players strong big band with the name that couldn't possibly be more programmatic is back and delivers the jazzy Funk. Or the funky Jazz, whichever way you like it better.
Even though their music has never been stuck in 60's/70's nostalgia and incorporates younger ideas like Hip Hop grooves or modern styles of guitar shredding, the overall vibe - no matter if the tune is smooth and soulful or a little more dirty and edgy - is one that makes you expect to see the ghosts of Charles Bradley and James Brown come down to join into the jam while Freddie Hubbard blows his horn at any given moment.

Even though the Ensemble's regular line-up already has tons of of string and wind instruments, keys and percussion at its disposal, they are are joined by various guest musicians on even more trumpets, harp and tablas - and it's all great. When a group is so good at building a huge sound, in which every single element compels you to smile, why not make it even bigger?

As always the clean production is spot on - and I'm sure many labels and manufacturers would love to know the secret sauce, which makes these records on Colemine Records sound so spectacularly criminally good. (It even says that Gotta Groove Records pressed this on the hype sticker, which is an information rarely shared so prominentyly.)
Let's be honest: In many cases it doesn't really matter in which format you enjoy an artist - but spinning a Sure Fire Soul Ensemble record is a joy beyond the undoubtly fantastic music itself.

If you already love "Gemini"'s predecessors "Build Bridges" and "Step Down" you'll don't need me trying to convince you. This album continues the journey of broadening the band's sound with new influences and ideas, while maintaining their addictive easy accessibility. This is music for the soul, for good times - and to turn bad times around.

If you're an obsessive collector and completist however this release might be dangerous. I don't have sure confirmation, but since I had a card of one band member in my copy I would assume that eight more of those exist... but please don't buy twenty copies now and blame me, because I was wrong and it's actually the same dude over and over again!  






2025-04-05

GODFLESH - A World Lit Only By Dub

Happy dystopian unhappy tenth anniversary, dear "A World Lit Only By Fire"!

For the birthday of Godflesh's comeback album after their great hiatus Justin, Ben and their machines have gifted us a surprise Dub album with long new deconstructions of five tracks. 


GODFLESH - A World Lit Only By Dub (LP) (2025)

Before you ask: No, "New Dark Ages" and "Shut Me Down", which were already featured in alternate versions as bonus tracks back in the day, are not among this selection. This is all fresh new misery.

I can be quite a remix sceptic, but ever since Broadrick created one of the best things in music with the "Perfect Skin Dub" on "Slaveman" back in 1991, he's really free to do whatever he wants in my book. And these renamed extended twists on "Curse Us All", "Deadend", "Life Giver Life Taker", "Forgive Our Fathers" and "Towers Of Emptiness" prove my trust right big time. There really isn't any air of B-side quality to this release in comparison to the original album. Yes, this surely is more abstract in a way - at the end of the day this technicall is just messing around and experimenting wit already finishd material. But in truth it's also just as powerful.

If you know what Godflesh do there's really not much to explain about this release: Sometimes aggressively cracking, other times surprisingly introspective, but always with a healthy amount of rumbling and droning bass and an overall sound that often feels more like Techno Animal or The Bug, this is just Dubflesh in peak form. Nothing more, but sure as hell nothing less. 






2025-04-04

Veil of Stuff feat. EXTERIOR PALNET, FUTUROPACO, SABA ALIZADEH and SOPHIA DJEBEL ROSE


Four reviews of mine on Veil of Sound again. Time for one of these posts again! This time it's a little trip through Europe and beyond and we're starting in Croatia...






EXTERIOR PALNET - Haragma II (2025)
[MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]

Short but sick is this assault of Dissonant Cosmic Progressive Avantgarde Black Metal, which is heavily inspired by the Sci-fi Thrash Metal of Vektor and old Voivod, including the raw vocal performance very akin to the phase from "Rrröööaaarrr" to "Killing Technology". You'll find playful quirky Virus grooves, Blut Aus Nord sensory overkill as well as surprisingly strong melodies on this self-released killer album. Bursting with creative brutality "Haragma II" surely is among the best Extreme Metal releases of the year so far!








FUTUROPACO - Fortezza Di Vetro Vol.2 (LP) (2025)
[MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]

Our next destination is Italy, well California actually. But once again Justin Pinkerton makes his signature mix of Psychedelic Surf Rock, Folk, Funk and Library Music sound so very Mediterranean that it feels as if you're having the most adventurous summer of your youth on a Vespa trip between Venice and Sicilia. Especially the Jaki Liebezeit worshipping drumming and the tasteful dynamic production make this grooving and sparkling journey a highly addictive experience, before you come down to the most relaxed Geir Sundstøl vibes of the title track.

With Jakob Skøtt's typical El Paraiso Records artwork this continuation of Futuropaco's last album from 2023 is of course also a wonderful addition to the vinyl collection!









SOPHIA DJEBEL ROSE - Sécheresse (Ashen White vinyl LP) (2025)
[MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]

Next stops: France and Morrocco with singer / songwriter Sophia Djebel Rose (who I happened to see live in an intimate show just a couple of weeks ago) and her hauntingly beautiful Chanson Noire. A guitar, organic drones and a mesmerizing charismatic vocal performance are the cornerstones of her feminist Folk between 70's Avantgarde and contemporary Gothic. "Sécheresse" is powerful poetry become sound, a richly minimalist, touching masterpiece beyond genre restrictions.

Released by WV Sorcerer Productions it's a given that the physical copy is beauty, white vinyl, OBI strip and all... a shame that posting the fantastic cover artwork is often prohibited or punished by the bots of our brave new anti-social media world!



B






SABA ALIZADEH - Temple Of Hope (2025)
[MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]

The final part of this trip brings us far through Northern Africa and the Near East to Iran, home country of composer and masterful kamancheh player Saba Alizadeh. His new electro-acoustic Ambient album, which utilizes the yearning sound of the string instrument alongside modular synths, no-input mixer sound effects, samples and appearances of guest vocalists, is inspired by the events during the "Woman Life Freedom" movement in September 2022, which was brutally shattered by the regime.

With its merging of Experimental Electronic, Modern Classical and traditional Middle Eastern music "Temple Of Hope" paints an intriguing picture of kaleidoscopic fragments, atmospheres and songs. A very serious but all the more beautiful and rewarding album.








2025-04-01

an April appetizer with DATADYR and NITE KITE


With Roadburn, Blood Incantation, Tangerine Dream and several fantastic new albums I personally don't need my upcoming musical April to be much more exciting. But who doesn't love some luxury, right? So here's my recommendation of two great albums coming up this month anyway:






DATADYR - This We Know (release: April 25th 2025)

Weather Report, but as a trio of guitar, drums and upright bass? Something like that is the base of Datadyr's Jazz Fusion sound.

On their new album the Norwegians fully explore what they have hinted here and there on their 2022 debut "Woolgathering" or even more explicit with the song title "Onkel Amerika" on the following "Keymaster" EP:

Exploring the gap between the romanticisation / idolization of the US and the reality of America being part of a new authoritarian axis of evil "This We Know" feels like an obituary. A mostly light and happy one which intends to make the bereaved smile, but at its core still a blue look back nonetheless. Mixing their already very American Progressive Fusion sound with lots of Blues, Country, North American Folk and Bluegrass and giving their instrumental compositions titles like "Dallas Alice", "Looking For Colorado" or "Star Spangled Banjo" Datadyr wear their mission openly on their sleeves. The result often gives vibes close to the jazzier side of Danish Psych masters Causa Sui, which is of course a good thing.

And no matter if you fully indulge in listening to this album as a requiem to a dream never fulfilled or just enjoy it for its great musicianship and songwriting solely on its own - it works either way. As the icing on the already delicious cake two tracks on the album feature awesome saxophone contributions by Aksel Røed, whom you should recognize from his album "Do You Dream In Colours?", which has also been released by Is It Jazz? Records.  







NITE KITE - Erratic Erosion (release: April 11h 2025)

A warm, deeply relaxed sound is brought to us by the debut album of Belgian Electronic artist turned Acoustic/Ambient/Jazz collective Nite Kite.

Soothing, almost ASMR-like Electronic rhythms organically mix with real life Jazz drumming, while modern synths mix with neoclassical piano and smooth double bass lines. While all these elements are definitely live-tracked, there are several other sounds left, which leave you unsure whether they're improvised on the actual instrument or either emulated or sampled. However the answer doesn't really matter, because the blurry fusion of analogue and electronic parts really is responsible for a lot of this project's charme.

Mostly instrumental this beautifully mellow, melancholic album also features a couple of very convincing vocal performances on the songs "The Dancer" and "Laat Me Achter".

If you'd made me guess the label I would definitely say Denovali Records, because it would fit nicely into their roster of Ambient, Neoclassical, Experimental, Electronic and Doomjazz artists. That would be a trick question though, because "Erratic Erosion" actually is an independent release.







2025-03-25

WREKMEISTER HARMONIES - Flowers In The Spring

No haunting ballads, not even actual songs, and no huge collaborations either. On their new album Esther Shaw and JR Robinson present us a conceptually minimalist version of Wrekmeister Harmonies that solely relies on the exploration of sound and texture.


WREKMEISTER HARMONIES - Flowers In The Spring (Pink Opaque vinyl LP) (2025)

"Flowers In The Spring". "Fuck The Pigs". "Shepherd Stares Into The Sun". The snouts on the cover and the oinking pink vinyl. A winged skull above an hourglass. That's all the information we get to construct a story. Everything else is long waves of droning guitar and oscillating loops of sounds and feedback. Final. Boris. Big|Brave. No vocals. Hardly even real beginnings and endings.

You're blindfolded and your ear is your hand exploring unknown surfaces. "Flowers In The Spring" is the Ambient soundtrack to its own experience. Trying to explain it on an intellectual level is doomed to fail. This is a you either feel it or you won't situation. And I am feeling a lot of vibrant stimulation of my senses. Wrekmeister Harmonies just unlocked their purest Drone mode, pervasive and beautiful.

Given how broad these pieces feel, how deep they seep through every pore, it's pretty impressive - and you need to be told about it to realize it - that each piece has been recorded with the self-imposed limitation of only using four input channels. Maxi-minimalist perfection. This album knows exactly what it wants and nails it flawlessly. A porcine meditation. A spiritual escape from the wallow to the blooming flower field. I cannot find anything not to love about it.

Kudos for Thrill Jockey for being among the commendable labels still attaching a download code to their records (which should be an undisputed standard), because in this case it means you're unlocking ten more minutes of "Flowers Variation" which didn't fit on the physical copy.






2025-03-21

digital delirium with BONG-RA, RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON x TWIN SISTER, TDK / ТДК and many many other various artists


Did I freeload new promos again? Am I too poor to buy proper records/CDs/cassettes again? No and no. Or well, yes too actually, but it doesn't apply to this post here. These are actually all recent digital-only releases of... mildly varying length. The first one is a reminder that Christmas Roadburn is only one month away:




RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON x TWIN SISTER - Mirrors For Discharge (2025)

The finale of Roadburn Sunday 2022: A spontanous jam of Kanaan and RRRags led me to miss this comissioned cooperation of Dutch Heavy Psych machine Radar Men From The Moon and the trio Twin Sister, which itself includes René and Otto from Dead Neanderthals. Surely one of the toughest clashes of that extremely strong festival edition. I'm glad that at least I finally get the chance to hear what I missed now!

In total there were nine people on stage, including two bass players and three drummers. And they did pretty much what you would expect from knowing the featured bands - and probably even the best version of that. "Mirrors For Discharge" is a stomping work of hypnotic Industrial Sludge Noise with Punk vocals on top. This rumbling beast of five mighty repetitive steamrollers must have been completely obliberating to behold. Since there's no physical release planned at the time this is as must-have as a download can be!





BONG-RA - Cold World (2025)

We're not moving into too different territory with this new single from Bong-Ra, who have recently turned from a Drone Doom Metal trio with Jazz influences to an Industrial Metal trio with electronic drums. As one does. Or as Jason Köhnen's mood wants it. The title sounds very familiar and indeed this is a cover version of one of the greatest Godflesh songs of all time. Can it be as great as the original? Probably impossible. But great still this is. And surely a banger to perform during their shows. Would love to see that!

And yes, I will review the recent new album of Bong-Ra. But not today.





TDK / ТДК - ZHVK (2025)

This new three-track EP from Bulgaria continues right where "Nemesta" left off - with an absolutely bonkers clusterfuck of Post Punk, Mr. Bungle Avantgarde, Disharmonic Extreme Metal, Jazz, Noise and manic spoken words vocal performances. TDK are all over the place - and they are the landlords of this particular, delightfully paranoid place. This quintet plays in the top league of whatthefuckishappeninghere. Wish this was longer than just thirteen minutes!





VARIOUS ARTISTS - Who Is The Dreamer? - A Tribute to David Lynch (2025)

This release is unreviewable. I probably haven't even listened to half of it and sure as hell will never play the whole thing. So does it suck so bad?

No, but let's just say that 383 (three-hundred eighty-three) tracks with individual lengths between one and forty minutes are quite a task, even if the devoted listener burns the complete rest of his/her music collection. There might be record-horrible stinkers on this compilation or the best song of all times - and I haven't even noticed either while shuffling through it. However what I can say for sure is that the overall atmosphere feels very adequate for a tribute for the great late David Lynch.

It's pointless to list even a fragment of all the artists and bands involved in this mammoth collection. Naturally it includes a lot of Experimental music, but you'll also find bits of Rock, Pop, Hip Hop, Jazz, Country, Modern Classical and who knows what else in the depths of this lodge. There are variations on soundtrack pieces like the legendary Angelo Badalamenti themes from "Twin Peaks" or Ambient textures with interview snippets from Lynch over it. Some artists are only featured with one small track, others provide a whole album's worth of material.

This is the water and this is the well. Props to The Church of Noisy Goat for curating this endless surreal odyssey!




 

2025-03-16

SEVEN IMPALE and OXOMOCO live at Logo, Hamburg (March 15th 2025)


Just two days after the four band bill at the Headcrash (including Rivers Of Nihil and Cynic) I drove to Hamburg again yesterday for a show I basically had been awaiting for ten years, since I've heard Seven Impale's debut album "City Of The Sun" for the first time. Unfortunately it took the Norwegians two albums and a hiatus longer to finally come to Northern Germany. But better late than never, right?

When you only have a short time between visiting (and afterwards reviewing) shows, there are certain things that can happen. One is that you quickly adjust your previous judgement of the last music night. I'm always trying to be positive and see the good when it comes to music, experiencing shows on a goodwill basis. But when you go to another concert shortly after and see how much better many things can be... well, I don't want to go on about this too long. But yeah - and sorry if that's a spoiler -, but after the Seven Impale show and talking to another fan who had been there last Thursday too I must admit to my huge Cynic fan self that apart from discovering Beyond Creation that other night was actually more disappointing than I let on in my review.

Another annoying thing had happened, whichb only occured to me when I wanted to take a picture of the Logo being not really up to the right date (but stuck ten days into the past) with my Digital Harinezumi toy camera, which is also responsible for most of my live photos.


On my first try I realized that I had forgotten my MicroSD card in the slot of my PC after copying the pictures for my last review. Shit.  Luckily there's a Mediamarkt just a couple of houses away from the Logo. But just when I got there they wre fucking closing the door, so it took me a little while longer to find a phone shop that could help me out. Has been a couple of years since this has happened to me the last time.





OXOMOCO

The night started with a local trio from Hamburg. Oxomoco began their instrumental performance very smooth and relaxed, slowly building up to heavier Post Rock with Stoner Metal vibes here and proggy parts there. I definitely wouldn't want to put their music into one specific box. For sure it was good mix of beauty, coolness and heaviness with some nice hypnotic usage of lead guitar loops.

During the second to last song, the singer and keyboardist of Seven Impale jumped on stage and aided their jam them with organ sounds and vocalizations. Nice!
The show was a great attunement for what was about to happen next and I made sure to grab a copy of the band's first CD afterwards.








SEVEN IMPALE

Seven Impale started their show with the opener of their second album, followed by the opener of their third album and the opener of their debut album. So I guess if they already had a discography of seven or eight albums, this review would be really convenient to write and boring to read.

But if there's one thing the Prog/Jazz Rock/Metal sextet certainly was not guilty of at all, than it was being boring! If you know only ohne of their rollercoaster rides like "God Left Us For A Black-Dressed Woman" or "Sisyphus" then you already know that between soothingly smooth Jazz licks, challenging Fusion grooves, heavy Math Rock chugging, roaring organs, incredibly majestic guitar and saxophone climaxes Seven Impale just never fail to impress and entertain.

That goes for their fantastic studio work and absolutely translates into the live performance. Prog Rock (and adjacent stuff) can barely get any cooler than what these guys are doing. And I didn't even mention trained opera singer Stian Økland's powerful voice - and that before this show I had absolutely forgotten that he also plays guitar. What can I say, the whole show, which was mostly split half-half between longtracks from the 2014 debut and the 2023 album "Summit", just was a wholesome experience.

Of course the band is too obscure to sell out this location, but there were enough people to not make it awkward. The satisfaction of finally hearing long-admired tunes live and the (not perfect but more than sufficient) very good sound helped to make this my favorite show of the year so far. I really hope that there are more touring activities to come, then maybe with a divided focos on "Contrapasso" (got the t-shirt!) and a possible new album? 




Finally, here's the full setlist:
(with my translations into the actual song titles)


And on another added note I maybe should have gotten my poster signed, now that I see it on the door. However I really didn't think I would actually find a place for it, just taking it with me anyway, because it was for free. But in hindsight you're always a smart-arse.