Reviews published by the Side-line website at www.side-line.com
[CD, Spectraliquid/33 Recordings]
Despite working as a producer and mixing engineer for several years John Valasis – aka Poordream – only now releases his debut album Immaterial Monarch. The album collects two original tracks inspired by the Zeitgeist movie series and offers a further eight remixes of the title track by an assortment of artists including Valasis himself.
[CD, Killer Pimp]
Kempers Hands compiles the first two UK only 12” singles (15 and Weapons) from the four piece Ulterior. Added to the tracklist are three bonus MP3 mixes from the Weapons single, a collection of images and the videos for both singles. The London based band consists of brothers Paul (vocals) and Benn (keys), together with Simmons (guitars) and Karl (bass) who have collectively earned a strong reputation with their live shows.
[CD, Killer Pimp]
Besides recording under his own name, Columbus, Ohio based David Reed also records as Luasa Raelon and Envenomist. This, the latest in a long line of cassette, vinyl and CDR releases under the Envenomist moniker, features sounds sourced solely from synthesizers in the style of Maurizio Bianchi, Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze.
[CD, Tourette Records]
Recorded largely during 2007 and 2008, Enquiries is the debut album of Lloyd James of Naevus recording under the name of Retarder. Essentially a collection of experimental pieces, some instrumental and some with vocals, Enquiries is at time challenging but always intriguing and interesting.
[CD, Killer Pimp] [AEONFLOW RECOMMENDS]
The wonderfully named Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words is the brainchild of Thomas Ekelund, a Swedish graphic designer, musician and visual artist. With a long list of releases to his name dating back to 2000, “Lost in Reflections” is Ekelund’s first release for Killer Pimp. Recorded at the end of 2005 and first quarter of 2006 just after he was diagnosed with a potentially debilitating mental illness, Ekelund chose to look deep into the shadows and describe what he found
[CD, Killer Pimp]
“A Picture of a Picture” is the second release from the collaborative venture of Aidan Baker (Nadja, ARC) and Eric Quach (Thisquietarmy and Destroyalldreamers). This album is a much more subdued affair than their sought-after debut EP “Orange” that was released in an edition of just 200 copies on Quach’s own Thisquietarmy Records label in 2006.
[CD, Tympanik Audio]
“Fallen Clouds” is Tijs Ham’s latest release as Tapage for Tympanik Audio. This, his second album for the label, follows last year’s “The Institute of Random Events” and is limited to 333 copies. Having previously released a couple of hardcore EPs, Ham’s releases for Tympanik Audio have seen him refocus on his IDM roots without completely dispensing with his love of breakcore.
[CD, Tympanik Audio]
SE is German Sebastian Ehmke’s solo project which takes its name from the initial letters of his first and last name. Having recorded albums for friends and associates in the past, Ehmke joins the critically acclaimed Chicago-based Tympanik Audio label to release is debut album “Epiphora”. The word epiphora is a medical term meaning an overflow of tears due to a blocked tear duct.
[CD, Killer Pimp]
Three years after the release of Blood Money’s “Axis of Blood” – their debut album on Killer Pimp – the trio of academic and vocalist Ken Ueno, musician and founder of brainwashed.com Jon Whitney and experimental music artist Tom Worster return with their second album, “Blood Brotherhood”.
[MP3/CD, Bugs Crawling Out of People]
Cocytus is the river in Hell referred to in Greek mythology as the river of wailing and described by Dante as a frozen lake. Inhabiting the ninth and lowest circle of Hell are the perpetrators of the most despicable and reviled acts of betrayal and treachery, Dante describing Cocytus as imprisoning Lucifer himself from his waist down in ice, the lake replenished by his tears and frozen by the flapping of his wings as he tries to escape.