motel de moka

Image credit: NGC 2070, The Tarantula Nebula by Robert Gendler et al

As much as I was looking forward to it, February 21, 2008 turned out to be a somewhat disappointing day. The evening before, the sky was crystal clear so I had my hopes up high to see the lunar eclipse in all its glory. I had my alarm clock set to 3:30 a.m. but where there was supposed to be a blood-red moon taking hold of the sky I saw nothing but clouds and mist. Definitely no dazzling sky whatsoever. Only in Argentina they seemed to have an unobstructed view on the full cycle of the lunar eclipse. Major bummer, now we’ll have to wait till 2015 for a similar chance. Hopefully some of our readers were more lucky? If so, make me jealous!

I’ve got some pretty amazing stuff lined up again for this ninth instalment, all very noisy and with plenty of distortion. The playlist starts off with a piece of the new full length from the husband and wife duo The Goslings from Florida. I’ve used a track of their previous album Grandeur of Hair – one of my favourites – for the Our Love Will Destroy the World playlist and their new album – this time released on the magnificent Not Not Fun label – is equally impressive. The brutal drone sludge and irresistible melodic structures hidden underneath that wall of noise are still present but overall this new album is more varied and has some additional elements during the softer parts. This track though still kills and unleashes a massive avalanche of guitar feedback and heavy drums onto its listeners. If you haven’t heard The Goslings yet, get ready to meet your new favourite band.

The playlist continues in a similar vein with pieces of last year’s albums by Yellow Swans and Hisato Higuchi. Both albums were somewhat of a departure from their earlier work. The magnificent track featured here by Yellow Swans is a bit more structured and focussed than most of their earlier stuff, although the difference is not as big as with Hisato Higuchi. Sonically speaking this closing track of his 2007 album is at the opposite end of his previous work. However the nostalgic atmosphere and delicate flow are still present which makes this song surprisingly touching for this kind of music.

Another guitarist who is able to make beautiful music with not-so-beautiful sounds is Steven R. Smith. With his new project Ulaan Khol he departs from his Eastern European influences – best known under the name of Hala Strana – and returns to the sound of his excellent Crown of Marches album. This track is a wonderfully compelling and atmospheric composition of guitar, drums and organ and proofs that Steven R. Smith is still growing as an artist.

Finally, the playlist ends with Li Jianhong from Hangzhou, China. An amazing 50+ minute solo electric guitar piece that is as thunderous as anything you can imagine. Single-handedly he builds the noise equivalent of the Great Wall of China but somehow manages to remain fairly accessible too. Great release again by Archive, keep an eye out for their upcoming Nadja and Religious Knives releases. Because I didn’t want to spoil you with the entire piece I decided to include a 16 minute excerpt instead. Which should be enough to get a good impression of what this guy is all about. We’ll be hearing a lot more from him in the future.

1. The Goslings - Motorcade
   Occasion (Not Not Fun, 2008)
2. Yellow Swans - Mass Mirage
   At All Ends (Load, 2007)
3. Hisato Higuchi - Cry Baby Flowers
   Butterfly Horse Street (Family Vineyard, 2007)
4. Ulaan Khol - Untitled 07
   I (Soft Abuse, 2008)
5. Li Jianhong - San Sheng Shi (Excerpt)
   San Sheng Shi (Archive, 2008)

Stream playlist

Previous instalments: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]