Panda Haus - Exercises In Brevity

Label : Polyamory

Country : US

Year : 1999

Format : C44

Most of some of the time trawling the assorted obscurities of Discogs' database bears strange and rewarding fruits. This is one of those times. As soon as I saw that notification on the electronic mail, I as there. I first discovered this little dirtied gem of a tape when I, as I am wont to do, inputted some appealing filters with the sites rather limited Style system. I believe it was something to the chune of "1990s, Cassette, Avantgarde, Synth-Pop". A winning combination.

As can be seen from the image, this was likely sent for review to the subunderground zine Muckraker and addressed to its honcho Patrick Marley. Though I bought this from CMS Foundation's Chris Sienko, one of those things that get mixed up when buying a little something. When describing the music, I could say that it is along the thread of experimental pop with lofi production with little smatterings of noise here and there. The noise element, though very understated, is appropriate given the involvement of Tovah "Dead Machines" Olson. Personally, I have found more enjoyment in this sort of project, that is melodic yet chaotic and noisy pop rambling, than the more harsh and glitchy sounscapes that has found prominence over the last two decades or so.

Here

Sejayno / Maths Balance Volumes - Split

Label : 8mm Records - 8mm 031

Country : Italy

Year : 2008

Format : C44

This one's a bit odd, I feel like I got a bootleg of a bootleg. There is some sort of incongruence between my copy and everywhere else I've looked on the web, biggest glare being the difference in cover and tracklisting. Most places I see it's usually just the bird without a listing under it. Also, I can't find any place that links the "Blade Runner" track title to this release or to anything by Sejayno for that matter. Strange.

Speaking of Sejayno, whose name I always mess up for whatever reason, I have another release of theirs that I might post if I feel... Inclined to do so. You might also be familiar with MBV, but I don't have anything else by them. Though I did have Loveless a long while ago, pretty good album you might have heard of it.

Both groups do a noisy take on freefolk from what I see, Blastitude fodder from what I hear. Another Pierre ambiguity is the track order itself, my tape topside is dominated by Seyjano and the flipside likewise sublimated by Math Balances Volume, which contradicts what the "official" websites say... Odd.

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Alan Bishop - Radio Moderna

Label : Alterity 101 - Alterity 2

Country : US

Year : 2013

Format : C44

In the annals of the Sun City Girls canon™, improvisation via devices such as the radio is not uncommon. Here, the humble contraption takes center stage thanks to the thumb-twiddling and spontaneous interjections of the Uncle Jim. Talk shows on the AM spectrum to mainstream hits on the FM spectra are not safe from the brothers Bishop. This reminds me of my early experimentations in noise-musicks, an abused boombox cassette deck was not safe in my hands. Anyway, don't expect the beautiful appropriation of traditional musics of the world of 330,003 Crossdressers or the (sheer) hellish carny miasma of Dante's Disneyland Inferno, but more along the lines of Carnival Folklore Radio. Still, the more Uncle Jim, the sleazier, cat.

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