RPM with Spettro Family, Umberto, Ceephax and Samantha Glass

Here is an update on some (new) records I have been spinning the most lately... I hear a lot of music but I have periods in which certain records keep returning on the turntable... for the last weeks I have been playing a lot the Spettro Family 10 inch released by T(r)eue um T(r)eue. It is simply excellent... ghost like soundscapes... ambient with sort of neo-classical elements to it... almost like a pop version of Ligeti at its best moments... it fills the space around you with the spirit of old Europa... this one is recommended to fans of Land... but also in a strange way to people who like Umberto...

The new Umberto album 'Confrontations' is cleaner in sound as before... maybe before it was music for B movies... especially horror and sci-fi films... now it has turned into nighttime music... thematic it is all sci-fi/alien/ufo stuff but take that away and what is left is an amazing piece of space italo disco... some (slow) beat orientated pieces and some more cosmic trippy stuff... all excellent in its moodiness but never depressive in anyway... you could imagine Buck Rogers and the women from 25th century Earth swinging all night on this... here is one track to get the night started...

Umberto - Night Fantasy from Not Not Fun on Vimeo.

Well if the morning is finally coming then we put on the 3 x 12 inch album 'Cro Magnox' by Ceephax... also known of course as Ceephax Acid Crew... I must admit I never bought a record of this musician before... I liked some stuff but was never fully convinced of a release... untill now... still there are some pieces on this album which are too disco for me... but overall this is a great album filled with electronic music... some pieces are superb dance tracks like for example "Camelot Science" while some others are perfect for chill outs in the morning sun after a night out out at a classic English rave party in the countryside...

And... then if the new day hits you and you do not want to wake up to reality as we know it in general... then there is the fantastic album by Samantha Glass... a soothing (day) trip to keep you warm and safe in this cold and nasty world... if you like Group Rhoda do not look furthur... Bronze is another name that springs to mind even though Samantha Glass is more tranquil in sound and performance... here is one piece to get you all comfy...

Samantha Glass - Return To The Sky Pt. 3 from Not Not Fun on Vimeo.

The Samantha Glass and Umberto are available at the Enfant Terrible webshop here... You can still get the Spettro Family from the label (act fast, only 200 copies in total!) and the Ceephax from places like Clone and Juno...

review: Just Another Winter / Hadewych / post-black metal

Since some time there has been a new interest in the black metal genre. Maybe this has to do with the genre being commercialized by some bands, or maybe by Varg (from the legendary band Burzum for the uninformed) getting out of jail last year.
Also last year the documentary film on this genre 'Until the Light Takes Us' was shown in film theatres and at film festival. Untill now there has been no news on a dvd release but this will be done most likely. This film is a sign and also probably a stimulus for the genre.

Anyway in the meantime there has also erupted a sort of new genre which takes style elements from black metal but shapes this into different sounds like drones, dark ambient and dark experimental music. None of these are new styles on their own. But when coming from a black metal background you might aspect it becomes very dark and depressive stuff with an aggressive twist from time to time. Also the themes used in the music refer to typical black metal topics like myths, nature and the heroic past.

Hadewych (also active as Distel on Enfant Terrible) from Holland has produced an excellent debut album filled with dark and moody sounds and songs. The album is a strange mix of some post-industrial sounds, some neo-folk elements and yes some black metal textures. It is not only the dark mood but also the heavy guitar riffs for example that are taken from the black metal genre. What makes this record so good is that it is not one single genre which is popping up in all pieces. Elements and sounds from various styles are used throughout the album. But, they are used subtle so you never get the feeling Hadewych is copying some specific style or band. The sound that results from this is quite unique and original.

The band has started to work on the second album already. Also they have being doing the release and the distribution for their debut all by themselves. This fits in perfect with the DIY spirit if the real black metal scene.

In the meantime German independent label Treue um Treue / Reue um Reue has started a new sublabel for sounds coming from the black metal genre. This label is called Just Another Winter and claims to release depressive ambient-post-black-metal. Funny detail is that TuT/RuR already released on the main label the very nice debut LP by Ad Absurdum. This act plays chiptunes in a black metal way... so Burzum on C64! Check this out for sure if you are into some adventurous style cross-overs.

Anyway, Just Another Winter has started its activities with three releases in a short period of time. First they released the last record by (dark) ambient project His Divine Grace. This one is a split release with the new alias/direction of His Divine Grace under the name of De Grace. Indeed De Grace borrows some elements of black metal. Mostly this is heard in the electric guitar used to create bleak soundscapes. Even though I liked some of the His Divine Grace releases a lot I think in this new appearance the music is even better. The guitar works really well and takes you by the hand throughout the music.

From the same musician comes also the project Notre Dessein. This project is much more in the black metal tradition, except that it has no drums in it. For the rest it is great lo-fi black metal/dark ambient stuff. In a way maybe something Burzum could have made in jail, as it sounds like it is done with lack of equipment. But this is what is also the charm of this record.

At the same time the double LP by Proces Veneficus was released. After five years and many releases on cd(-r)'s this is the first vinyl release by the project. The record comes in a deluxe gatefold sleeve on two pieces of blood red vinyl. Although the music is dark it is not very aggressive or raw like some black metal. It is much more ambient orientated and some sort of moody chamber music. Very nice is that there is also an traditional tune on the record which is credited as discovered through Espers. Maybe not all Espers fans will like this but some will (like myself).

Just Another Winter made a nice start and I am curious to see what else will be released by them. Why not Hadewych as I think in this "field" its for sure one of the most interesting and promising acts I know.

See here for Hadewych...
See here for Just Another Winter...

review: Johanna Liebhart's early works 1978-1980 - Damals...

Johanna Liebhart might not ring a bell by many people. She is a well kept secret in the world of electronic music and I think this record will not change this in any way. Do not get me wrong I like this record... a lot... it is just most likely that the music itself and this edition will find it's way only to the few people who really want to find it...

Anyway... released on 10 inch in an edition of 277 hand numbered copies with nice inserts you get an overview of the early works of Johanna Liebhart, also known as Anna. This musician was active from the late 1970's to 2000 and has released some music on the Advertance Editions label and the Gigabrosaurus Recs label besides her own Neo Muzik label. All very obscure labels and only for the true music archeologists among us. She was found dead in 2000 with 66 stab wounds.

Her music is romantic new wave, meaning slow and tranquil synth wave that can go into ambient territory but mostly stays on the synth side of the balance due to the nice melancholy synthesizer lines in the tracks. She has been called The New Wave Goddess, and why not?! Her sound is majestic and done with style and has an unearthy feeling at times.

Some of her work has been used as basis for tracks by Wermut and Ich Wollte, Ich Konnte (IWIK). As the musicians behind these projects run the Gigabrosaurus Recs label and the Treue um Treue label it is no surprise they have now released this hommage to Johanna Liebhart, or Anna if you please.

On this 10 inch are seven pieces among which the tracks IWIK and Wermut used for tracks of their own. The track 'Ich Wollte, Ich Konnte' is a beautiful sad piece that has the feeling of classical music but has this lo-fi electronic charm over it. The IWIK version is more spiced maybe but this orginal is simply excellent nighttime music.

'Nicole' was released as an uptempo elektro wave track by Wermut on the "Hoera! Een Hex Voor Thuis!"compilation on my Hex Grammofoonplaten/Enfant Terrible label. The version on this 10 inch is very different. It is down tempo and without a rhythm. The synth lines are pulsating but there is no beat. It is very interesting to hear this original or proto version.

Another highlight is the more ambient like '1 000 000 Worter'. Also closing piece 'Heut' Nacht' is more ambient orientated. It is a long track which comes over you like a slow wave of warm water. It is a sad piece but also beautiful with its melancholy mood all over it.

These seven instrumental tracks are the perfect soundtrack for a lonely night and will produce flashback of the past for sure. The title 'Damals...' refers to the slogan of Johanna Liebhart: "Damals war alles besser". And you may question that saying but listening to this music that makes you remember the past... at least for that moment all listeners will feel this way.

You can get this record at the Enfant Terrible webshop and of course at the Treue um Treue webshop.

review: Nature Morte - (nuées)

As a counter part to the more elektro / rhythmic orientated Treue um Treue is the sister label Reue um Reue specialized in post industrial sounds. Ambient is of course not always a post industrial genre as it depends where the musicians take their inspiration from and thus in what tradition they work.
Anyway this is the second release by Nature Morte on the label. The first one was a cd. For the people who thought that by listening to that release that Nature Morte was "just" another ambient act there is this more then excellent LP to show them wrong.
While the cd was more drone like and possible a bit more typical dark ambient with ongoing sounds building a structure slowly this vinyl release works more clearly and faster to certain climaxes. Therefore it is probably more "easy" listening as the other album and will most likely appeal to a wider audience.
The variation in sounds and structures is for sure more evident as with the previous album. Due to this also the different layers in the music are more easy to recognize. And because of this it is easier to get into the stream and let you drift away in the soundscapes.
Besides this the record is built on nice tranquil layers of sounds on which various noises, melodies, sounds and spoken and whispered words are placed. The overal mood that the tracks breath is dark and moody but majestic.
I am not a big fan of the genre as I prefer some more freaked psychedelics, krautrock and kosmische scene outputs BUT this ambient record does it for me in the same way.
The record comes on colored/marbled vinyl and in a very limited edition of only 222 handnumbered copies. Don't miss this trip!