Holy Page Halloween Compilation

The incomparable Holy Page Records just blasted this Halloween mixtape our way: 25 tracks, none of them take themselves too seriously, and that’s why this works. Halloween themed too! The original cassette glows in the dark and has candy corn and pumpkin stickers (see Fig. 1). All songs are just as good as their titles (just head over here and take a look why don’t you…), and although they align themselves mostly towards the electronic end of the spectrum, there is something for everyone in this goodie bag: lo-fi rap, ambient narc-washes, thrasher rock, etc. There is probably nothing better than this album for those valiant 3-6 AM radio slots—trust me, it’s even better than playing Prince and Joe Meek at the same time. I cannot say enough good things about this tape. Play it during Spring Break, play it during Christmas, play it at your wedding.

Trick-or-treat bro!

Good Amount - Opening Eye

Sci-fi Casio keyboard explorations from everybody's favorite "neo-neon" artist Christian Filardo, the man behind the brainmelting tape label Holy Page. These four tracks very well could have been A-sides for the soundtrack to a cartoon version of The Terminator or a Tracey Trance/Alex Barnett collaboration in disguise.

Clocking in at about 32 minutes, this is another great bite-sized album which moves quick, from the rumbly lo-fi of the creepy-crawly minor-chord intro to the conclusion: a
moody Vangelis, sci-fi romp through the Alpha Quadrant.

Mostly consisting of slow pulses of synth and drone, it also gets more peppy and psychedelic when it needs to. Undoubtedly inspired by fistfuls of those yellowing garage sale sci-fi books with those inexplicably kickass covers.

It was recently released on tape (and digital version) by his buddies Dwight and Liz. Check it out on the website of their label Crash Symbols.

Kenichi Sakamoto - Bio Feedback

We got this tape a little while back from Ginjoha, and although we liked it enough to immediately slap it on our year-end list, we never got around to reviewing it until recently. It packs a nice one-two punch with both sides clocking in at about 15 minutes, which makes it convenient for small commutes, or those short interludes where you can catch a quick break.

Per usual, the artwork is stunning--with a nice detached filmy quality. Kind of reminds me of those sick Nova videos we would watch in school, or going dumpster diving for yellowing chemistry textbooks after finals week at the local college.

Side A: Starts off with high-pitched hissy electronic beats that would drive your dog crazy. Later transitions (with the help of some heavy industrial equipment humming) into a clicky percussive loop. It’s all catchy in the strangest way possible. At the 10:30 mark, the piece breaks down into squeaky feedback/intergalactic transmissions.

Side B: Gentle, whispering intro. Slowly shifts into harsher vibes—deep resonating pulses and tangled knots of synthesizer. The last 5 minutes is probably the best of the entire tape—a pastiche kaleidoscope of bewitched string elements, broken clockwork, spooky vocals, and that scene from Toy Story where all the toys came back to life and crawled out of that gunk, and it scared you so badly that you peed your pants.

Crash Symbols SPOTLIGHT Tomorrow

Tomorrow the guys from the Oakland-based Crash Symbols Records will make the trip across the Bay to talk about their cassette label, and share some of their current and upcoming releases. The interview will be broadcasted from 8-10 PST on 90.1 FM in the Bay Area, or here online.

They sent us a sick batch of tapes a while back, along with some pretty groovy artwork. This show should be a great one!

KZSU DAY OF NOISE - LIVE!

We started broadcasting at midnight! Tune in anytime in the next 24 hours to catch some great experimental music, all broadcasted live from our studios in Stanford, California! 29 artists in 24 hours. You can sleep when you're dead! Here's the official schedule:

• 12:00 - 2:00 am Brian B James
• 2:00 - 3:00 am Kurt James Werner
• 3:00 - 3:40 am Bryan Von Reuter
• 3:40 - 4:10 am Eoin Callery
• 4:10 - 5:00 am The Voice of Doom
• 5:00 - 6:00 am Feast and Friends
• 6:00 - 7:00 am Bad News
• 7:00 - 8:00 am Peter Nyboer
• 8:00 - 9:00 am David Leikam and Joe Straub
• 9:00 - 10:00 am David Slusser
• 10:00 - 10:30 am Bill Orcutt
• 10:30 - 11:00 am Jessica Rylan
• 11:00 - 12:00 pm zBug
• 12:00 - 1:00 pm Frank Rothkamm
• 1:00 - 2:00 pm Ernesto Diaz-Infante
• 2:00 - 3:00 pm Negativwobblyland (Jon Leidecker & Peter Conheim)
• 3:00 - 3:30 pm Danny Paul Grody
• 3:30 - 4:00 pm En
• 4:00 - 4:30 pm Matt Davignon
• 4:30 - 5:00 pm Aloonaluna
• 5:00 - 5:30 pm Matt Ingalls / John Ingle
• 5:30 - 6:00 pm Matt Ingalls / John Ingle / Matt Davignon / Abode
• 6:00 - 7:00 pm Thomas Dimuzio
• 7:00 - 7:45 pm Megabats
• 7:45 - 8:30 pm Abode
• 8:30 - 9:00 pm Thea Farhadian
• 9:00 - 10:00 pm White Pee
• 10:00 - 11:00 pm The Lickets
• 11:00pm - 12:00am Vulcanus 68

Click here to listen in.
Click here to watch the streaming video on UStream.

Shroud of Winter - Solstice Eclipse

Andrew Plante (known for his main drone project under his surname) delves into black metal in this project, juxtaposing some harsh lo-fi riffs along with the spacious ambience. Xasthur, Mutiilation, and even Nadja come to mind when the guitars and drums come in; otherwise, morbid droning tones prevail. Bleak, bedroom black metal with an abundance of swirling guitar feedback and cassette tape hiss—perfect for late nights spent worshipping Satan. Thrashin’, headbanging black metal riffage; occult guitar noodling. Sounds like a teenager writing riffs in his garage, and I mean that in a good way.

-Diego

Drunjus - Celestial Realms

From the beloved Sonic Meditations label, this is one of those tapes that makes you wonder if cassettes were invented by aliens or underwater sea creatures in order to infiltrate the human world and hypnotize all seven billion of us into submission. I, for one, welcome our Atlantean liberators as our natural overlords, and am grateful that they have created such gorgeous, soothing ambient to lull our useless cortical circuits into a state of blissful tranquility. Shimmering, sparkling resonances of the ethereal void... for fans of Comoros, No Mind Meditation, Enfer Boreal; featuring members of: Grass Magic, Endless, Davenport, Journey to Ixtlan, Second Family Band, and even doom/psych band Jex Thoth (it really is a small world).

-Diego