DIGIV038: Perispirit “Spiritual Church Movement”

It’s almost winter as I write this and I am pretty sure everything is about to fall apart. Perispirit is the duo of Ricardo Donoso and Luke Moldof and they have been haunting the Northeast for a couple of years now. After a slew of releases on Hospital & Ricardo’s own Semata Productions, Spiritual Church Movement has Perispirit taking an unexpected turn as they unleash their most cohesive and accomplished work to date.

Spiritual Church Movement is the sound of two worlds colliding and forming something entirely new in the aftermath. In this case, digital and analog systems are turned against each other. Moldof’s analog source material was blitzed and manipulated while Donoso worked his sorcery via digital matrix, showing that both approaches can win the prize. Squalid sonic debris spilled out and melted together with beats that are barely there and melodic shrapnel to create this weirdly compelling, utterly disjointed composition. This is dense music with layer-upon-layer of treatments and tones that could only be combined by two people who are as confident as they are diabolical.

If you thought Moldof and Donoso were concerned about expectations, Spiritual Church Movement is proof that that is the last thing on their minds. Synthesizers are mauled by digital processes, battered down to bare bones. The duo turns these passages of melody into disease-stricken robots, lurching into the black of night. Paired with fractured, plodding rhythms, at times this sounds like Autechre attempting to make a noise record. It is well and truly fucked.

The expertise with which everything is constructed, though, is what makes these pieces excel. Everything is where it should be and the combination is almost religious in its attention to detail. But before the duo gets too close to the sun, everything is burned to the ground and the process starts over. It’s almost arrogant how often they fuck with your perception of what this record is, but that punk rock attitude is what helps take this to a different level. Just when you think you have it figured it out, Spiritual Church Movement is off to another disfigured frontier.

Over the course of these two sprawling sides, the cult of Perispirit is born. Ricardo Donoso and Luke Moldof are convinced that anything is possible and nothing is out of bounds. Spiritual Church Movement is their manifesto and at the end of it all, they are the fucking kings.

Mastered by James Plotkin and cut to vinyl by Rashad Becker at D+M Berlin.
pics/ordering/samples/info :: http://www.digitalisindustries.com/digiv038.html

i couldn’t be happier about mind over mirrors return to digitalis with this brief glimpse of what is coming next. “small portion” picks up where “the voice rolling” left off, but finds jaime fennelly harvesting new ground with new ideas. “barely spun (again)” is the perfect segue into this step forward into the bluest of skies. using positive pipe organ, electronics, and tape to weave each sequence into something fantastically symphonic, “barely spun (again)” floats. light as air and totally mesmerizing, the only thing you can do as it absorbs you is drift ahead.

recorded in belgium at AIR in antwerp, it is amazing how fennelly is able to use their pipe organ and bend and sculpt it so that it sounds like his entirely. the hypnotic rhythm of “barely spun (again)” is puncuated by the meditative sprawl that is “curious shape.” as it unwinds through minimal passages that flicker and drone away, there’s a very slow and casual build up of tension. it’s not instantly recognizable until the piece comes together at the end and lets it all run free. it’s beautiful and reassures you that these are still sonic mountains you want to climb. edition of 125.

ORDER HERE: http://www.digitalisindustries.com/ltd230.html

Cleared / Mind Over Mirrors Winter 2012 Tour
Jan 27 – Montreal, QC – La Brique w/ Koen Holtkamp
Jan 28 – Burlington, VT – Monkey House w/ Koen Holtkamp
Jan 29 – Allston, MA – Spectral Rehab @ O’Brien’s w/ Koen Holtkamp
Jan 30 – Brooklyn, NY – Zebulon w/ Koen Holtkamp
Jan 31 – Philadelphia, PA – Fire Museum @ Highwire Gallery w/ James Plotkin
Feb 1 – Akron, OH – Rubber City Noise Cave w/ Jeremy Bible

DIGIV035: Nova Scotian Arms “Cult Spectrum” LP/digital

Nova Scotian Arms has concocted a sprawling, sophisticated catalog of winding compositions and dizzying drones. Grant Evans, who is also 1/2 of Quiet Evenings and co-curator of the Hooker Vision label, is the brains behind the entire operation. Throughout numerous releases he has shown a consistent ability to keep listeners guessing as he explores endless sonic territories. With Cult Spectrum, Evans is drowning himself in a hazy aural sea.

Like much of his work, there is a very distinct mood on Cult Spectrum. This is funereal music that is stretched to its breaking point. Distant galaxies are buried underground in a delicate mix of sounds that are as cosmic as they are organic. This duality is at play straight-off with the masterful opener, “Gathering/Composition.” Soaring in crystal skies on beds of hiss, each strained note from Evans’ Rhodes piano that emerged from the murk is an anchor keeping the song and the mood gravity-stricken. It works to perfection, drawing in the listener immediately.

Tape loops and radio interference deliciously muddy the waters of Cult Spectrum. The 16+ minute burner, “Emulsion,” combines all those and more into a cacophonous stew. Acoustic guitars circle around and die in the swirling synthetic drain. Each wave emerges in stages as Evans shows considerable compositional skill in the way the piece is put together. With “Overcast Strumming (1st Delay)” comes a melancholic, skyward glance. Electronic corridors take shape and find a simple beauty through tonal dichotomies. Blurred drones are puncuated by bursts of fuzz, working in tandem to find that sonic bliss.

If Cult Spectrum is Nova Scotian Arms’ biggest stage and loudest statement then the message is coming through loud & clear. Grant Evans is a force to be reckoned with. This is the sound of dissonance sculpted and shaped into something far greater and leaves its mark long after the final, ghostly seconds of “Hearse Overdub (Decomposition)” fade away. Evans is digging a tunnel, heading straight for the sun

Mastered by Lawrence English and cut at D+M, pressed in Germany. Artwork by Grant Evans. Initial copies on caramel-colored vinyl.

pics/ordering/sounds/info: http://www.digitalisindustries.com/digiv035.html

Over the past year-and-a-half, the duo of Dexter Brightman and Jair Espinoza have explored abstract electronics in increasingly new and interesting ways. Over the course of numerous tapes on labels such as Avant Archive, Neon Blossom, and others, the duo has combined the ideas of repetition and sound art and continually mutated them into something that is becoming increasingly difficult to pin down. With the recent “Tek No Muzik” 12” on Crazy Iris, mechanized acid was introduced in the mix. It is not techno music in any sense of the term, but is subversive electronic music aimed at overloading your aural receptors.

On this self-titled debut full-length, KPLR has been stripped down in more ways than one. Due to geographic barriers, Brightman is now on his own and if this record is an indication, he’s operating at the peak of his powers. For this album, Brightman took inspiration from his daily environment. At his job he is subjected to continuous machine noises that, after hours of constant repetition, begin to morph into machine music. Repeated phrases, beats, and even harmonies start to find their way through the mire. This KPLR record takes those ideas and elevates them to something incredible.

These zonked-out digital acid malfunctions fit together like a puzzle. Each piece of debris manifests itself as part of a larger whole. It is music that is simultaneously cold and abrasive yet draws you, almost mechanically, so that you can’t pull yourself away. With influences as far reaching as Merzbow and Ceephax, Brightman is searching for the one frequency to set everything else aflame.

KPLR is inquisitive and intuitive as it bounces rhythmically through the grid. It is hard to call this dance music as it’s too discombobulated and fried. It is beautifully flawed and built on a web of endless, screeching circuits. Dexter Brightman is on his way to becoming part of the machine.

Mastered by Brad Rose and cut to vinyl at D+M Berlin. Original cover artwork by A. Bill Miller.

audio samples:  http://digitalisrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/untitled
pics/ordering/etc: http://www.digitalisindustries.com/digiv037.html

NEWS/UPDATE

Quick bit of news… we have very small quantities of the 3rd “Science of the Sea” pressing available (HERE: http://www.digitalisindustries.com/digiv034.html) and Emuul’s “The Drawing of the Line” (HERE: http://www.digitalisindustries.com/digiv033.html).  In addition, my LP under the Charlatan moniker, “Equinox,” was recently released by Aguirre records in Belgium.  If you’re in the US or Canada, we have copies available for the usual Digitalis prices of $15 / $18 (each PPD respectively).  Please email me if you are interested in a copy of this.  Package deals for multiple records (anything mentioned here + KPLR) are available if you want to save a little on shipping.

ltd#221: sundrips “misplaced” c26 (75 copies)
tonal fluid dynamics sequenced into soaring prismatic heights
ltd#222: sashash ulz “yalos, yalos” c34 (75 copies)
russian excursions mixing field recordings and orchestral reverie
ltd#223: spiral index “gilded dawn” c41 (75 copies)
panabrite changes face and scrapes out prog movements from the bone
ltd#224: raajmahal “celandine” c44 (75 copies)
beautiful, ominous grit from members of NNCK, flower orgy, etc.
ltd#225: piotr kurek “heat” c38 (75 copies)
archival tropicalia on 60s vox organ, modular synth, etc.
ltd#226: nathan mclaughlin “echolocation #1″ c32 (75 copies)
the air is thick with singing birds. first installment. the beginning of the story.
ltd#227: battered movement “garden shackled” c31 (75 copies)
bleak deathscapes beaten through your skull. relentless.
ltd#228: runawei “abduction” c32 (75 copies)
alex barnett & ken camden weave alien sonic environments into a brand new world.

individual tapes are $7 US/$8 CANMEX/$9 INTL.  entire batch $42/$50/$58. get in touch.

shipping approx dec. 8th

PLUS! a small restock of the following titles:

DIGIV033: emuul “the drawing of the line” LP

DIGIV034: jurgen muller “science of the sea” LP

first taste:

Chubby Wolf was the moniker used by the late Dani Baquet-Long of Celer for her subdued world of sound. With the help of Dani’s husband and Celer’s other half, Will Long, the final Chubby Wolf recordings are finally seeing the light of day and the world is a better place because of it. Turkey Decoy represents some of her most accessible work.

As the album opens with “Cantankerous Baby,” you immediately drift away on cybernetic clouds. Soothing as it may seem, this song is transportive. It’s like endlessly floating though an unknown haze built around processed vocals and sample-ridden electric guitar. As you continue dreaming through the morose romanticism of pieces like “Short Dick” and “Prescient Inspiration,” there’s an understated carnality that weaves its way into this music. “If There’s An Elephant in the Room” pulls back the curtain and reveals a breathless aftermath punctuated by distant piano chords and sprawling drones. Each swell of Baquet-Long’s voice makes you want to avert your eyes, unsure if this is something you’re supposed to see.

Turkey Decoy evolves delicately. Each layer is an article of clothing, slowly removed until there’s nothing left to hide. This is Dani Baquet-Long at her most visceral. Every quirk and imperfection is on display as if there wasn’t any other way to exist. It’s intense.

Closing out the album, “Scalloped Toes” and “Intrusively Coexisting” wrap things up with an elegant sweetness as everything comes full circle. The former is swimming in warm, relaxing tones that bleed into the barking and howling of Dani’s beloved wolves that begin the last song on the album. “Intrusively Coexisting” is vaguely gloomy and leaves lingering questions about all that came before. It’s the right way to end such a raw album because the only thing left to do is go back to the beginning and try to figure it out all over again.

Art by Dani Baquet-Long. Cut & mastered at D+M Berlin. Initial copies on clear vinyl.

audio samples: http://digitalisrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/turkey-decoy
pics/ordering/etc: http://www.digitalisindustries.com/digiv030.html

ltd#212: giant claw “tunnel mind” c36 (75 copies)
terry riley stuck in a video game world of electronic mayhem
ltd#213: quicksails “bywater colours” c30 (75 copies)
chaotic percussion mauling synthesizers forever
ltd#214: josephine “you are perfect today” c45 (100 copies)
jefre cantu-ledesma & milton cross together, a droning party of doom
ltd#215: bastian void “horicon sketches” c32 (75 copies)
growing up right before our eyes, mirrored shards amplified and blitzed out
ltd#216: inez lightfoot “pollen on the brow” c34 (75 copies)
organic spectre with heavenly voices swirling around a wooden abyss
ltd#217: tiger stripe “imaginary number” c31 (75 copies)
first the party then the afterglow
ltd#218: selaroda “synaptic portals” c32 (75 copies)
reanimate the rabbit hole, pluck your piano strings, and sink in this synthetic quicksand
 ltd#219: e.s./i.s. “i see you sister, stand in that effulgence” c66 (75 copies)
the sound of being trapped in a cybernetic torture chamber

individual tapes are $7 US/$8 CANMEX/$9 INTL.  entire batch $42/$50/$58. get in touch.
shipping approx october 3rd

(giant claw, quicksails, josephine (jefre cantu-ledesma+milton cross), inez lightfoot, tiger stripe, selaroda, e.s./i.s., bastian void)