FROM THE SWAMPS

Kang Tae Hwan is a Korean saxophone player known to be a torch-bearer of the avant-garde in Korea, taking after the hojok player Kim Seok Chul. The reason why I have posted this album is because it is one of the few recordings that features Kim Seok Chul, who appears on the second track, "Eien (Eternity)." I find it especially important to share because these recordings have become increasingly hard to come by, both physically and digitally. The music has a very shamanic spirit, and though some call it "free jazz," the moniker being the most convenient analogue, I think it belongs in a league far beyond that. The roots of the performances on this album lie in the ritualistic folk music tradition of Korea, a tradition that Kim Seok Chul fully lived and understood. The cries of the saxophone and hojok are free-wheeling, and utterly alien to modern understanding. Their setting is primordial, and they crackle like burnt offerings to a history of mankind that ha...

Marble Sky is a lo-fi ambient drone project by Impregnable's Jeff Witscher. This a compilation of tracks from some of his previous cassettes, including The Sad Return and Low God / Lady . His music is characterized by simple, nostalgic drones that drift like aromas, but aren't over-saccharine or "relaxing" either. Like the work of Tim Hecker or Ricky Eat Acid, it's an active emotional experience, but in sound I find it most akin to Celer. You may not be prepared for the memories "What You Might Forget" will bring Marble Sky

One of the coolest field recording albums I've ever listened to. I learned of it from this interview with Lasse Marhaug. I trust the man's taste, I was not disappointed. Just a whirlwind of different textural moments from frogs crooning, screaming like humans, whispering, making all kinds of noises one wouldn't normally expect a frog to make. Pair that with the folksy scientist (presumably Bogert) giving a brief introduction to each frog in between, it makes for a very unintentionally funny album that caters to fans of noise music as well. Playing this over So, Black Is Myself , my previous post, works really well. Would definitely recommend. Sounds of North American Frogs

Keiji Haino is a musician and thinker who requires no introduction. Truly the musical embodiment of the Kyoto School of Nihilism, his work entrances the listener beyond the veil, into pregnant nothingness. What you get with this album is a level of simplicity on par with Soliloquy For Lilith  by Nurse With Wound: purely a tone generator, Haino's voice (which does not make an appearance until at least a half an hour in I believe), and the rare interjection of a stringed instrument that sounds somewhat like a sitar but most likely is not. A profound psychological experience all the way through, modern monophony in its stolid singularity provides a prism for self-effacement. So, Black Is Myself

The most psychedelic of modern black metal, seemingly inspired by Ved Buens Ende . Somehow a well-kept secret, despite their insane prolificness. If their discography is daunting, this a good place to start. Long, expansive passages of surreal, meditative black metal, ferocious in dharmic contemplation. Seriously, it's quite dense, but if you stick it out, the rewards are worth it. Definitely an album that warrants many re-listens, you can't catch it all in one go. Nji. Njiijn. Njiiijn

While we're on the topic of death/doom, here's a little something for you.....Brulvahnatu from Canada. A solo project of Kib Sreng, a former member of Antediluvian and black metal cult AMSG, Brulvahnatu warps the formula set by diSEMBOWELMENT by bringing the already quite slow brew to a nauseating churn, not unlike Portal on Outre. Mix that with some saxophone and other ineffable fuckery, and that's what this album is. Yet another unique, extremely imaginative project that has slipped down the endless chasms of Bandcamp, and is more than deserving of being brought to the light. I also love that the album title definitely sounds like you're in for some slam if you put this thing on, ooh how wrong one would be to assume so... Menstrual Extraction Ceremony

Goatlord was a very short-lived death/doom project out of Las Vegas that existed from '85 to '97. Some speculate that since their first demo came out in '85, they were the first death/doom band in existence. Despite their short tenure in the scene and limited output, they have undoubtedly carved a trail for bands venturing into the imaginative territory of Goatlord: draping the blustery howling quality of black metal across a bludgeoning titan of slow brutality. This is the 2007 re-release of their crowning achievement. Witness! Reflections of the Solstice