Silver USA
KK Records North America founded the label Silver USA in association with Koen Lybaert's Silver recordings label in Belgium. The two companies will be handling the distribution of each other's products in their respective continents, while working together to develop new releases of techno, minimal techno and other new genres of rhythm-oriented electronic musics.
Alien Radio Station
Bitter Harvest
MJ Goguen
Starfish Pool
Transformantra
Starfish Pool
Dante's Carnival
CD SU 001B $17.99 (Canadian)
Tracklisting:
1. Flame
2. Dante's Carnival Act One
3. Evil Star
4. Swing little move
5. Dante's Carnival Act Two
6. Clean
7. Satar
8. Flavour
9. Dante's Carnival Act Three
The first release from Silver USA is the first full-length release by Starfish Pool since Koen Lybaert left KK/Nova Zembla in 1996! Belgium's minimal king once again brings us a brilliant album of hard driving beats to get you on the dance floor!
Following the release of several vinyl only E.P.'s and his last full length album Interference '96, Lybaert performed across Europe, finally getting the recognition he deserved.
Transformantra
s/t
CD SU003B $17.99
See New Releases page for info on this hot new group and their remix by Astralwerks' Freaky Chakra.
Alien Radio Station
Bandwidth
CD SU005B $17.99
Tracklisting:
1. Lightheaded
2. Soaking In It
3. Taxi
4. Freakspeak
5. Mile High
6. Gristle
7. Banging The Tank
8. Bottom Feeder
9. Low Down
10. Ready In 5 Minutes
11. Alien Death March
Alien Radio Station is Canada's answer to Scorn and the creepy slow dub-hop of the WordSound label groups. Alien Radio Station's debut features the seductive sounds of slowed funky drumming & jungle-inspired sub-bass synth-basslines. As the beats hypnotise, the emphasis becomes focused on subtle frequency shifts as avant backing sounds become the 'melody' on tracks like "Gristle".
Alien Radio Station has added many new tracks to their slow groove repertoire since their 1996 cassette demo, but many of that tape's highlights, like the sub-bass wobble of "Banging The Tank" and the subterranean chants on "Bottom Feeder" create an impressive vibe on CD.
Of their new tracks, "Low Down" is the most nightmarish, creeping you out with backwards whispers and alarm klaxons. It's heavy stuff for the pre-millennial blues - you may not have noticed but you're 'soaking in it'.
Reviews: "Probably one of the strangest albums I've heard, this aural heroin, dub-heavy Canadian band brings sub-bass synth to a new level. With some songs like "Mile High" tracking at over ten minutes, it can throw you into a deep hypnosis. Perhaps too slow to make it to the dance floor, most of it sort of follows you around like a stalker. Instrumental, sample-ridden songs of dark dub. Best track is "Bottom Feeder", an incredible scarey, spooky song which will have you looking over your shoulder and avoiding your own shadow for weeks. "Low Down" will have you cowering in the corner. What -is this??! Coming with a suggested tag of 'dark hop', which suits it well, this is like instrumental trip-hop done by Jeffrey Dahmer. Alien Radio Station is perhaps a perfect description for the music. If the truth is out there, this is what is being played. Lovecraft would have loved this. Everyone should own a copy of Bandwidth. Probably the closest thing you can get to death, without actually being there. This is just fucked up. 5/5" - Effigy Nov/Dec '97
"Their's is a sound steeped in the dub tradition, but merged with broadcasts from outerspace. Funk for earthlings and anyone who's watching us." - Vice Dec '97
Bitter Harvest
Ritual Music For Broken Magick
CD SU006B $17.99
Tracklisting:
1. Introduction 3.36
2. Time Shift 9.57
3. Voltage Controlled Gamelan 8.46
4. 9 Degrees Ov 23 15.21
5. Alcohol + Fire 5.19
6. Blackout 5.30
7. Rebirth 6.13
8. Eistobi 12.49
Bitter Harvest is Canadian percussionist Scott Mackay aka Scott Righteous. His impressive debut CD comes after previous work with noise and Coil-style synth pop. Ritual Music brings him back to his drums for a Muslimgauze-type rhythm-oriented project. Steady trance-inducing patterns on drums, tabla and finger bells are backed by ominous synths and Tibetan horn drones. The alchemy-oriented sequence of initiatory tracks builds toward the gong-splashed "Rebirth". The finale "Eistobi" ends the cycle on a cosmic and melodic note. This very good CD will certainly find it's place in the post-industrial music scene, appealing to those who enjoy the music of Muslimgauze, Vasilisk, Hybryds and Rapoon.
Sold in Europe by Staalplaat.
Previously Scott Mackay was a member of the performance art group Urban Refuse and the Neo-ist collective Phycus. He has also been a drummer for Dave Howard's band, as well as performing live with the indus-tribal percussion group Ichor (now I -Totem).
Reviews:
"heartfelt work of brooding and mystic tribal ambiance" - Chart March 98
"An occasional member of the (formerly) Montreal based media terrorists Phycus, Righteous has carried some of that project's sound exploration into his solo effort, although the absurd humour often found in the work of the collective is absent here. In it's place is a solemn intensity and a sense of the mysticism suggested by the album's title. Electronic washes and drones float through the mix while various percussive elements - hand drums, gongs, bells - build upon each other to produce a magical and hypnotic soundscape. A fine release that rivals the output of such "dark music" labels as World Serpent and Soleilmoon." - Chart
"Mood is a large part of the Bitter Harvest sound. Whatever emotions you are trying to tap into, there are certainly enough moods throughout the eight tracks. What is especially rewarding with this debut release is that it satisfies countless emotions while remaining listenable and constant through rhythm." - Indie Nation Vol 3 Feb '98
"A member of the Neo-ist collective Phycus, Mackay has abandoned the hard industrial electronics for more acoustic instrumentation and Eastern sounds. On this self-produced debut, Mackay has created a spiritual world that revolves around the rippling patterns of drums, tablas, and finger bells. Underneath this spare, taut drumming, Mackay has layered ominous synths and Tibetan horn drones that weave in and out of the primary rhythms. Mackay has an obvious interest in the Eastern ideas of trance through meditative drones and repeating percussion patterns but this is not another polite Fourth World record that gets by on soothing ambience and evanescence. There is a dark, brooding, almost threatening mood that permeates the record. For Muslimgauze fans and lovers of experimental percussion." - Exclaim March '98
"By now you know me: I'm slighty allergic to all things that are either 'ritual' or 'magick', let alone '... and ...'. It connects my mind to so many things in music that I particulary don't like: it brings to mind a dark crowd of grim looking youngsters that are neither performing rituals or into magic deeply. Having said this, the CD by Bitter Harvest is not bad at all. Many of the eight pieces are indeed dark and rhythmical, like a computerized Crash Worship. But the humming voices and ditto strings, that are commonly found on this sort of releases, are kept to a minimum. Therefore this CD is more enjoyable, well at least for me, then say the average Hybryds CD." - Vital 110
MJ Goguen
Labelism
CD SU007B $17.99
Vancouver's Matthew Goguen may have released a cd that looks like a 70's jazz album from the Affinity label, but the music inside is all about freedom from stereotypes, as signified by his ironic title, Labelism. Goguen wants to blur the restrictive categories, leaving him free to express himself through several electronic genres, from Detroit-influenced techno to downtempo hip hop: 'The title of the album is a term that I coined to denote the mania we seem to have to label music, which to a point, is understandable, however, in the ever changing and mutating field that I listen to, and write, one or two words will never capture the flux of styles and influences, that form the music.'
What runs through all of Goguen's tracks, from the techno-house "Reach", to the appropriately-titled ambient track "Lovely", are the glowing synth backings and a quiet confidence in his music making. Give this a fair listen and we're sure you'll agree it's one of the more mature debuts of 1997.
The eclectic Labelism begins with the Richard Kirk-style tribal rhythms of "Anti-matter Groove". Like Kirk, Goguen loves a good soundbyte, and the following "Rubin/Malcolm" features a reminescence from the turbulent 60's over a gentle hip hop track. He also visits the downtempo breaks on the tougher "Drop It" and the introspective "Chillow", which features a looped byte from poet Maya Angelou.
Review: "As the album title suggests, this Vancouver electronic artist wants to avoid the chronic disease that dogs all performers: being pigeonholed. But judging
from what he has on offer here, there is no danger of that. Goguen moves
easily from the Detroit-influenced techno of "Reach" to the downtempo
hip-hop of "Chillow" and "Drop It," the former featuring a loop of Oprah's favorite poet, Maya Angelou, to the Eno Discreet Music synth washes of "Lovely." But it is the two opening tracks that merit special attention.
"Rubin/Malcolm" layers minimalist repeating synth patterns, electro hip-hop
beats with a spoken word loop that recalls the riots and protests of the
'60s. With the title - no doubt an homage to the late leaders, Jerry Rubin
and Malcolm X - Goguen has created a fitting elegy that shuns boomer
nostalgia of the time period by using contemporary musical tools.
"Anti-Matter Groove" begins with a Carl Craig-style opening, gradually
sliding into dancing electro tribal rhythms and a nice horn sample. Atomic
funk for the new age. Goguen's capacity to span genres sets the bar that
much higher for other Canadian artists to try and reach. Impressive." Exclaim March '98 website
