Ok, since I already have enough new tapes for the next epsidode this post is overdue as fuck. So let's not waste time and press PLAY!
MAUD THE MOTH - The Distaff (2025)
This is not a transparent vinyl edition. I had actually ordered that one, together with Messa's "The Spin". Yet somehow my retailer kept putting me off from month to month, even though both limited editions were already on the market. So at some point I canceled that order and rather got the albums in other formats. And I must say that the Woodford Halse tape version of Maud The Moth's "The Distaff" was a great choice, since it surely must be the loveliest edition of the release, with a slipcase, a cut-out J-card and the possibilty to put in an alternatiove cover artwork. A very nice item!
And musically? While Amaya López-Carromero remains the sole songwriter of her project, and her piano work and ethereal or operatic vocals are still the main attraction on her new album, it features a lot of guitar by her Healthyliving bandmate Scott McLean (who also contributes Moog synths and saxophone) and drums, which often make it feel like a "real" band effort.
On top of that it can of course never be wrong to also have Alison Chesley aka Helen Money on cello on your recording.
"The Distaff" is an impressive journey through dynamics and emotions. From the small and brittle to the surprisingly crushing and cathartic it's an amazingly beautiful achievement. And it does it all in complete defiance of genre conventions. Neoclassical, Doom, Ethereal Wave, Singer-Songwriter, Experimental Folk, Post Rock... the tag list on the album's Bandcamp page goes on and on - and nothing is wrong there, while it still feels as if this is made of a dozen more stylistic influences.
Maud The Moth doesn't try to outdo the the hooks and earworm qualities of Healthyliving's 2023 debut, yet instead impresses with touching heavenly heights and profound spiritual depths. Mesmerizing art.
And musically? While Amaya López-Carromero remains the sole songwriter of her project, and her piano work and ethereal or operatic vocals are still the main attraction on her new album, it features a lot of guitar by her Healthyliving bandmate Scott McLean (who also contributes Moog synths and saxophone) and drums, which often make it feel like a "real" band effort.
On top of that it can of course never be wrong to also have Alison Chesley aka Helen Money on cello on your recording.
"The Distaff" is an impressive journey through dynamics and emotions. From the small and brittle to the surprisingly crushing and cathartic it's an amazingly beautiful achievement. And it does it all in complete defiance of genre conventions. Neoclassical, Doom, Ethereal Wave, Singer-Songwriter, Experimental Folk, Post Rock... the tag list on the album's Bandcamp page goes on and on - and nothing is wrong there, while it still feels as if this is made of a dozen more stylistic influences.
Maud The Moth doesn't try to outdo the the hooks and earworm qualities of Healthyliving's 2023 debut, yet instead impresses with touching heavenly heights and profound spiritual depths. Mesmerizing art.
THISQUIETARMY x OTAY:ONII - Howl And Tell (2025)
Speaking of captivating female singers there's no way around the spellbinding magic of Lane Shi Otay:onii, who seems to be everywhere right now - yet still I keep missing my chances to see her live in Hamburg due to clashes with other shows...
For this album the Chinese-American artist spontanously teamed up with Candian Drone guitar master Eric Quach aka Thisquietarmy. So this is just the two of them - guitar and effects on one side, vocals, keytar and kazoo on the other interacting with each other. A duet and dialogue here, a harmonious or deliberately cacaphonous merging there. Whatever happens, the artistic chemistry is always palpable.
At the latest once you reach the feral despair ofthe album's midpoint in "Limps Dragging Towards Saturn Slowly", there's no denying that this a meeting of exceptional experimental artists, who know how to make your bones rumble and your soul shake. A logical sequel to Hypnodrone Ensemble's "The Problem Is In The Sender - Do Not Tamper With The Receiver", where they met before, yet a much closer and more dangerous experience. Amazing waves of emotional Noise!
The cassette design is solid, I especially like the full print on the shell itself.
For this album the Chinese-American artist spontanously teamed up with Candian Drone guitar master Eric Quach aka Thisquietarmy. So this is just the two of them - guitar and effects on one side, vocals, keytar and kazoo on the other interacting with each other. A duet and dialogue here, a harmonious or deliberately cacaphonous merging there. Whatever happens, the artistic chemistry is always palpable.
At the latest once you reach the feral despair ofthe album's midpoint in "Limps Dragging Towards Saturn Slowly", there's no denying that this a meeting of exceptional experimental artists, who know how to make your bones rumble and your soul shake. A logical sequel to Hypnodrone Ensemble's "The Problem Is In The Sender - Do Not Tamper With The Receiver", where they met before, yet a much closer and more dangerous experience. Amazing waves of emotional Noise!
The cassette design is solid, I especially like the full print on the shell itself.
TAVARE- Too Small To Be So High (2025)
Smooth transition to another core member of the Hypnodrone Ensemble with Aidan Baker's trio Tavare featuring him on guitar, Tim Bakker on bass and Angela Muñoz (who's also part of the Ensemble) on drums.
Their music is quite quiet, a minimalist semi-acoustic form of slow-motion Alternative and Post Rock, very song-driven with all members singing. It is stripped down, but ambitious enough to still intrigue you. Atmospherically this actually reminds me a lot of good old SubRosa, but Tavare have their own very distinct vibe, providing an excellent soundtrack for winding down with songs that keep getting stronger with each listen.
Could this be one of my favorite Aidan Baker projects? Possibly. But he has so many, right? Well, who cares? Especially the natural, imperfect but just right feeling and tasteful harmony vocals on "Too Small To Be So High" are just balm for the soul.
And the interestingly structured "Left Behind" alone makes me happy that I got this cassette, which comes in an all-cardboard packaging, from Cruel Nature Records. A cool, lovely release.
Their music is quite quiet, a minimalist semi-acoustic form of slow-motion Alternative and Post Rock, very song-driven with all members singing. It is stripped down, but ambitious enough to still intrigue you. Atmospherically this actually reminds me a lot of good old SubRosa, but Tavare have their own very distinct vibe, providing an excellent soundtrack for winding down with songs that keep getting stronger with each listen.
Could this be one of my favorite Aidan Baker projects? Possibly. But he has so many, right? Well, who cares? Especially the natural, imperfect but just right feeling and tasteful harmony vocals on "Too Small To Be So High" are just balm for the soul.
And the interestingly structured "Left Behind" alone makes me happy that I got this cassette, which comes in an all-cardboard packaging, from Cruel Nature Records. A cool, lovely release.
SOLAR CORONA ELEKTRISCHE MASCHINE - Live At Cafe Oto (2024)
And now we're getting really trippy with a live release from last year, featuring a live performance from 2023, when the Portuguese Improvisational Stoner Rock band Solar Corona played an especially cosmic, hypnotic, infinitely improvised and above all very electronics-based show in London - hence the "Electric Machine" extension of the band name.
In two long Kraut jams with robust robotik backbones sounds are pulsating, oscillating, creaking, wafting and drifting through the cosmos like an android's mind discovering its soul and consciousness and the beauty of the stars in existential wonder.
The hand-numbered tape comes in an interestingly designed, layered combination of one transparent, one shiny silver J-card and prints on the cassette tray. A good visual fit for this great Experimental Psychedelic music. Awesome stuff!
In two long Kraut jams with robust robotik backbones sounds are pulsating, oscillating, creaking, wafting and drifting through the cosmos like an android's mind discovering its soul and consciousness and the beauty of the stars in existential wonder.
The hand-numbered tape comes in an interestingly designed, layered combination of one transparent, one shiny silver J-card and prints on the cassette tray. A good visual fit for this great Experimental Psychedelic music. Awesome stuff!
THE MOND - 3 修正ニュートン力学 (2019)
My introduction to the Czech trio The Mond and their self-titled 2016 album hasn't been long ago. I actually featured it in the previous edition of the cassette craze chronicles.
Three years later their combination of Electronics, trumpet / bass clarinet, synths, organ and electric guitar still creates a distinct range of sounds. And while this is still home at the crossing of Experimental Free Jazz and Psychedelic Noise the performances on "3 修正ニュートン力学" (which unsurprisingly I cannot pronounce) actually feel less bonkers and more focussed here. Still way too crazy for the average consumer, but that's a basic prerequisite of everything Avantgarde, right?
The kind of weirdness that makes me happy, with a nice artwork that doesn't hurt either.
Three years later their combination of Electronics, trumpet / bass clarinet, synths, organ and electric guitar still creates a distinct range of sounds. And while this is still home at the crossing of Experimental Free Jazz and Psychedelic Noise the performances on "3 修正ニュートン力学" (which unsurprisingly I cannot pronounce) actually feel less bonkers and more focussed here. Still way too crazy for the average consumer, but that's a basic prerequisite of everything Avantgarde, right?
The kind of weirdness that makes me happy, with a nice artwork that doesn't hurt either.
