Saturday, April 8, 2017

CHLOE STEVENS "DEBUT" 3XC20 SET (AOW 456)

Chloe Stevens is a new collaborative project between myself and Scott Kindberg (She Walks Crooked.)  There's no greater idea at work here-we just wanted to make an awesome noise project in honor of one of our favorite people, Chloe Sevigny.  The pieces were created by Scott and myself through a process of continuous trading and layering; you'll hear echoes of our individual approaches, but overall it becomes difficult to tell exactly who did what (which to me is the symbol of a great collaboration.)  The sounds here are definitely HNW, but they're tweaked to a degree; there's a definite sadness and melancholy to these six pieces, as well as aggression.  But there is also an element of beauty and yearning at work, and a cold, distanced sort of disdain.  It's different than what you'd expect from either of us, I think, but it's HEAVY.
The presentation for this set is insane, and it took an enormous amount of planning, resources, and execution.  Layout and design was done by the misery chick.  Each cassette is packaged separately, with unique exterior and interior artwork utilizing some of our fave images of Chloe from her film and fashion work, and housed in individual slipcases.  The three cassettes are then bound with an OBI strip, and housed in a small canvas bag.  Each set comes with some additional inserts and a button.  This is one of the most ambitious AOW releases, and really one of the most beautiful.  I'm beyond proud of it, in terms of both aesthetic and sound.
Released in a limited edition of 10 hand-numbered copies.  $35 ppd. in the United States, $51 rest of world.
There will be no repress of this, so if you are interested, don't hesitate!

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

BRIDE WORE BLACK + PHANTASM NOCTURNES "SHE WAS BEFORE THE GODS" SINGLE-SIDED C52 (AOW 467)

Awesome new collaborative cassette from Bride Wore Black and Phantasm Nocturnes, a super-intense series of three pieces that form a suite of sorts.  The sounds here range from creepy, empty and hollowed out-ambient to raging, venom-filled PE style explosions and all-out noise terror to eastern-sounding trickles of melodies and synth gurgles.  Layers upon layers of sounds here, a masterful display of orchestration and arrangement.  This stuff sounds ancient, dusty, and severely evil-or perhaps simply unbound by time or morality.  If you're familiar with either project's solo work, then you know that both artists are adept at creating suffocating, horror-infused atmosphere of ambience and noise.  Together, they've created a work of immense power, suffused with an aura of raw, sanity-destroying terror.  Fucking amazing work, highly recommended!
Released in a limited edition of 20 hand-numbered copies.  $8 ppd. in the United States, $24 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

BRUISING PATTERN "WHAT DOES MY HAPPINESS AMOUNT TO?" C40 (AOW 471)

Brand new full-length release from this young HNW project out of Austria.  Bruising Pattern trafficks in a dense, crushing, bleak and forlorn style of wallcraft; the two tracks on this cassette deal out a heavy dose of emotional pain and droning, embittered sonics.  Enervating and exhausting in the best possible way, with layers of sound attacking and retreating across each track's span.  Total desolation and despair.  There will be a split between Bruising Pattern and Eugene Critchley in the future.
Released in a limited edition of 10 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $26 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

FALSE TEETH IN A SCREAMING SKULL "DREAMS, NOVEMBER 2016" C60 (AOW 466)

Debut release from this new project, a totally bizarre and somewhat disturbing foray into noise improvisation, dream imagery, stream of consciousness music, and source manipulations.  It's difficult to describe this cassette because it exists absolutely in its own world.  It's rooted in noise, and it is at times intensely cacophonous, but it is also eerily calm and borderline soothing.  Two massive tracks on each side, inspired by their creator's vivid dreams.  There's certainly a dead-of-night, Lovecraftian sort of psychedelic element at work here as well; at times I am reminded of some of the sounds issued from Matt Valentine's excellent Child Of Microtones imprint.  It'll take you so many listens to figure this one out, a Lynchian mystery void of light and cloaked in bizarre, inexplicable wonderment.
released in a limited edition of 10 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $26 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

HAYASHI YUME "THROUGH THE MEADOWS OF TIME" SINGLE-SIDED C19 (AOW 470)

After a number of incredibly lovely releases on the Avocado Tapes imprint, Hayashi Yume presents a different take on stasis and minimalism with the utterly gorgeous "Through The Meadows Of Time."  This cassette is a single 18 minute improvised synthesizer piece that takes inspiration from the great synth pioneers and from the beauty of life itself.  It's a transformative, uplifting auditory experience, and I am thrilled to be releasing it.  For fans of JD Emmanuel, Klaus Schulze, and the underground new age music scene from decades prior.  Breathtaking stuff; highly recommended by me!
Released in a limited edition of 20 hand-numbered copies.  $8 ppd. in the United States, $24 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

MELINOE "ROPE BURN STIGMATA" C90 (AOW 459)

A gorgeous, tense, and engulfing noise/ambient composition from Melinoe spread across two sides.  "Rope Burn Stigmata" is really a beautiful and transcendent piece of soundcraft, with competing layers of thick, rumbling static and distortion and shifting overtones of yearning string manipulations meeting to form a piece that is both hypnotic and deeply unsettling.  Ben describes this work as "orchestral noise wall," and that's an incredibly accurate description.  It reminds me very much of Eno's "Discreet Music" crossed with the harsher, more industrial moments of Maeror Tri.  It's really something special.
Released in a limited edition of 10 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $26 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

SSIK C30 (AOW 458)

Hyper-aggressive, blistering hot cassette of nullifying power electronics from SSIK, in honor of the hottest band in the world, the mighty KISS.  Simply put, this shit RIPS.  All manner of buzzing electricity and sweaty, super-echoed blood-in-the-throat screams over thick gurgles of sludgy distortion crafted to resemble riffs haunts this cassette.  Imagine Masonna and Whitehouse forming a KISS covers project and you'll get an idea of what lies in store.  Total shred.
Released in a limited edition of 20 hand-numbered copies.  $8 ppd. in the United States, $24 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com