AsleepInTheBack
Ben
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Last Active 01-01-70 12:00 am
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04.05.24 sleeplog24(4)03.19.24 Headphones? Headphones!!! ♦
03.03.24 sleeplog24(3)02.01.24 sleeplog24(2)
01.18.24 Rating Art Is Dumb01.14.24 Good Music Books?
01.02.24 sleeplog24(1)12.30.23 a sleepy 2023 ♦
11.26.23 rec me: YOU!!! (December 2023: Final Ch ♦10.31.23 REC ME: pOst-hardcOre (November 2023: C ♦
10.01.23 REC ME: WEED šŸ„¦ (October 2023: Chapte ♦09.09.23 CUM on REC me NOISE (September 2023: Ch ♦
07.30.23 REC ME: experiMENTAL (August 2023: Chap ♦07.02.23 FUNK ME: rec (July 2023: Chapter 7) ♦
06.01.23 REC ME: FOLK (June 2023: Chapter 6) ♦05.01.23 JohnnyoftheWell recs me (May 2023: Chap ♦
03.31.23 REC ME: BLACK METAL ā€  (April 2023: Ch ♦02.28.23 REC ME: [H I P H O P] (March 2023 -:- C ♦
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REC ME: experiMENTAL (August 2023: Chapter 8)

Hi. My name is Ben. I know nothing about EXPERIMENTAL music (stupidest sput genre tag?). To educate me, pls rec albums. I will listen to 1 album a day in August 2023. I will then describe the album that I have heard in this list. Kind regards, Ben /// SEE FIRST COMMENT FOR RULES PLEASE AND THANK YOU x
1Karlheinz Stockhausen
Kontakte

1st August 2023 [Hyp]

Another human bean on YouTube said this sounds like a horror movie soundtrack made of CHROME and I endorse this statement. The spatial composition is fucky and eerie and textural and surreal mission accomplished ig. Feels like a music lesson as much as anything; reading up on Stockhausen and the way he recorded this and the things he was trying to achieve has been as interesting as the ā€œalbumā€, particularly given the influence this is meant to have had in electronic music and jazz/Zappa-core. Scaring the hoes material for sure, yet surprisingly listenable and meditative for how abstract it is (the sm0l runtime helps; managed to listen to it twice this morning). Helpful reminder of how stupid assigning a number to a piece of art is, as wtf am I supposed to rate this lol. Earns a [4] out of sheer interestingness but no I will not be playing this at the discotheque thank you
2Arthur Russell
World of Echo

2nd August 2023 [Ryus]

Many guacamoles they are holy oh my. Lovelovelovelovelove. In the moment visceral sing with the chest and the blood atop beaut ruthless cello. So many influencees/influences the vox feel like Nick Drake meets Mount Eerie and idk yorke and the guy from alt J ie authentic; some of the songwriting choices (abrupt ends fuzz and spatial shit) feels very The Microphones too tbh; fun side-eye with electronic and ambient, yet also very singersongwritery. In some sense incoherent and in DRAFT but also so full and rich and human. Occasionally feels too clumsy for its own good but then also thatā€™s the fucking charm of it. [4.3]
3Jean GuƩrin
Tacet

3rd August 2023 [someone (FINALLY)]

Interestingly this plods along much of the same turf as 1 - spatialization + avant jazz + primitive synths + textural focus - BUT less abstract/alien and more overtly musical/pleasant. The opening track, "Triptik 2", has this wonderful comical timing to it: psych jazz fuckery descends into nerdy rave of popcorn synths and then perks up further with this hilarious intermittent SCREM happy jazz lick SCREM happy jazz SCREM happy SCREM im chuckling as i write this it gets me every time - genuinely a 5 on its own and worth your time to cheque/ck DO IT. The rest of the record is less structured, more cerebral, more melt into couch while really quite stoned vibes. Personally, I find it less engaging on a -:t h i n k i n g:- level, more right hemisphere let you brain drip into a beanbag of bliss'd to heck sou'dwav's. Definitely aimed at getting you high, more than scaring you shitless. [3.5] enjoyed and would take to dinner
4Ground Zero
Consume Red

4th August 2023 [porc]

First 25 mins of this is hilarious and terrifying jesus. How much they achieve with the hojok samples and next to nothing else is brilliant, suspenseful to point of tears, very lost in woods and shaking but also at peace, meditative. Once the drum/bass groove sinks its hooks in and cogs lock together its a surprisingly listenable beast, v. post-rock-ian dystopia a la Godspeed yet the crescendo never comes it just stays fucked. Kinda reminds me of The Disintegration Loops but backwards: becomes progressively more sure of itself as it chuggs along ... UNTIL the closing fuzz fuck im scared again help. [4] would not take to dinner but would invite to church
5Autechre
elseq 4

5th August 2023 [an spicy boi]

Doing surprisingly little for me (oh boy) compared to Confield and LP5, being the other two Autechre Iā€™ve heard - relatively subtle and actually quite melodic/ambient(?), idk, somethingā€™s off. Potentially applicable excuses: quality of headphones, attention span, only 2 listens deep, playing Binding of Isaac during one of those listens, some 5th thing. Will come back to but actually listen to the full 5-part thing like a maniac (my autistic OCD brain is struggling to jump in at part 4 all casual). [3] sorry senior chilli
6This Heat
This Heat

6th August 2023 [cylinder]

Weird lol fuk. Song structures are not a thing. Atmosphere like being watched. Eerie, really. something Slint something Unwound spindly spidery shiver down back in d minor. Kinda unpleasant, part of the appeal, probably. Require more digestion [tbc].

Update (10.08.23): this is incredible at conjuring atmosphere from nothing, but also I feel like Iā€™m missing something. I need to do a Post-Punk deep dive one month to built out my knowledge, and therefore get a better sense of what particular envelopes this pushed. Also wish (shallow critique incoming) that there was a more consistent vocal presence to tie it all together. That being said, feel like the handful of listens Iā€™ve given this isnā€™t enough to form a forever opinion, so Iā€™ll come back. [3.5]
7Diamanda Galas
Plague Mass

7th August 2023 [DAD]

It was at this moment he knew, he fucked up. Trying to digest this in one day is a big no go no no. I will be back. [tbc]

Update (10.08.23): initial impressions remain positive - insane live vocal acrobatics with genuine cathedral reverb terrifying skeletal instrumentation and an authentic / painful message behind it - but still feel like I havenā€™t scratched that far beneath the surface (finding time to seclude oneself when one wishes to be scared shitless and jam this is tricky) but I am in hell and pleased about it. [tbc]

Update (12.10.23): Sorry this took me so long now heard the full thing and opinion largely unmoved: incredibly powerful performance, for the vocal acrobatics, genuine nightmare fuel, etc.; but mostly the idea of doing this live in a temple built by those who condemned your brother is just really stirring. As a piece of music, it is obvs alienating/intimidating, but fuck I donā€™t mind being genuinely shaken every once in a while. [4.3]
8Boredoms
Chocolate Synthesizer

8th August 2023 [ARS]

Well this is some weapons grade nonsense and I am HERE FOR IT heck yes. After the eerie squiggles of 6 and literal fucking terror of 7, these memes masquerading as noise rock bangers were just the ticket (no slight intended towards 6 and 7, mind you, but I was starting to worry that a month of this might kill meā€¦). Back to this: like if Ween and Boris had the sex with Mr Bungle. Iā€™ve heard references made to Butthole Surfers, but have not heard them, so these vague comparisons will have to do. That I was laugh out loud chuckling my way through most of this is a goooood thing, and even more impressive when this decides to stop misbehaving and actually do the LOUD NOISES thing as it actually kinda slaps. Dark horse, snuck up on me, actually brilliant. Errs occasionally on the wrong side of ā€˜too sillyā€™, but itā€™s timing after 6/7 was impeccable and disarming and charming ars you clever boi. [3.7]
9Kayo Dot
Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue

9th August 2023 [DEEZ]

So jamed this twice on my morning and evening commute yesterday, and once today on a 5 hour drive, neither of which appear to be ideal settings for this reclusive long boi filled with long bois. However, despite those hurdle, I am very much enjoying tracks 1 and 2 slow supple classical shenanigans with the screms and the dissonance as appropriate. Rest of the record is less immediate and (in the above contexts) a lil tiresome (particularly the shuddering of Limpid) but thatā€™s my fault as much as anything. Sturdy [3.5] for now Iā€™ll be back when I have some headphones, a dark room and nothing to do
10Tom Waits
Bone Machine

10th August 2023 [squiggly]

Outrageous banger. Dirty blues and scorching ballads from mr ashtray himself. Has that sumptuous blotchy Polaroid/Sepia vibe. Lyrics rich and teeming and sad. Did surprisingly well on the road trip, but so much better with headphones and an beer. [4] probably a grower watch this space etc
11cEvin Key
Music for Cats

11th August 2023 [WRYN]

If you made a cat listen to this they would rob you at gun point. Dark yet boogie-able collage-esque edm with industrial nipple tassels from the Skinny Puppy guy. Initially presents as inaccessible, glitchy long bois (first two substantive tracks) but opens up into some spacey delicate dances (Bird) and redyellowgreen things (Herbalist Rule/Greenhouse Gasses). Necessarily in DRAFT / rough and hacked out of rock vibes, minimal proof reading / sense checking, consciousness slipping direct out of noggin tomb, but thatā€™s part of the charm I think. [3.5]
12maudlin of the Well
Part the Second

12th August 2023 [mort]

Gosh, bookends on this donā€™t half slap a wee bit, ey? Disastrously pretty, closest this list to orthodox ā€˜just quite pleasant soundingā€™ music, tho this still doth curve itā€™s balls. Compositions avoid my best attempts at prediction, the bits where most bands would put a crescendo instead bubbling with more juicy atmosphere/tension/weird proggy fuckery e.g. 6 ish min mark on opener. Itā€™s the transitions that get me, I think; youā€™ll be one place and then youā€™ll be another place but you donā€™t question it because it bangs. Hope yā€™all realise this list is necessarily first impression-y as no way could I keep up with all these nuanced bois on the daily if it were anything else. Feel Iā€™ve a lot left to unpack, sink into, fuck, but rn enjoyment has been had. [3.7]
13Sungazer
Perihelion

13th August 2023 [Spartan de la Purple]

Goooood roadtrip jam: chunky mathy jazz-lite timesignature wizardry with pop tendencies by YouTube people. Quite pristine, precise and dry in a way the Plini limb of proggy metal has done so much with, but which I find kinda difficult to connect with in any meaningful way. Hmm. [3]

Update (07.09.23): [2.7]
14Shoji Aketagawa/Kan Mikami/Toshiaki Ishizuka
Daikanjyo

14th August 2023 [Sniff]

Sniff always knows where they keep the good shit. Dirty blues bones that builds in loads of fire improv jazzy rocky things LOVE. Piano is the star throughout, tumbling through Cecil Taylor manic crashing and Bill Evans loveliness with the flick of a switch, supported by equally deranged vox and a drum person that is good at the drum person things. Idk, so much to love, the weird genre switch ups, the haphazard yet very natural song progressions, the swing and pulse running through it all, very emotive and avoids the experimentation for the sake of experimentation feeling; does what it does for the feels maaaan. [4.3] out of sheer bloody coolness and weirdness
15STOMACH BOOK
STOMACH BOOK

15th August 2023 [slooooth]

Well of course I fucking adore the heart on sleeve passionate screm emotional vomit of eclecticism that is this pure little soul of an LP. Adorable adorable adorable. Best weird emo-adjacent thing Iā€™ve heard since Just Got Back from the Discomfort. Only 1 listen deep but easy [4.3] probably more well done sloth
16Oxbow
King of the Jews

16th August 2023 [jon]

More dirty fucked blues YES except this time it comes with the screm and the noise. Way more accessible than I feared this list is slowly ruining me. Such limbs flail, very drugs ingested, wow: love the punk af riffage on Cat and Mouse that oscillates into hazy head spin ting: love unbridled screm of WOE because unbridled screm: opener is fire: Bomb and Angel are terror: not sure what to do with the twisted molasses of Burn, but you know I think I might just be a fan. [4] kinda wild
17Bondage Fruit
Bondage Fruit

17th August 2023 [hi tim]

Whoa. Dude. Bro. Unexpected.

Metal as fuck proggy psychy riffage my goodness, but then also Zeuhl spiritual vocal arrangements and a whole bunch of airy grace, and then the RIFFS come IN again JESUS, and then thereā€™s folky/jazzy flourishes wut. Delightfully goofy, yet also instrumentally technical and impressive, YET ALSO emotive and heartfelt and delicate: none of these things usually coexist, at least not so consistently across a hour long LP. Only criticism: this is at its best when the focus is on the vox / spiritual side of things atop primal rhythmic girth, as the thrash adjacent chugging is the least interesting thing these kinky bananas have to offer. Overall slapper tho. [4]
18Meshell Ndegeocello
Peace Beyond Passion

18th August 2023 [rabid]

Funk and soul was last month my guy what you doin? Exam question ignored BUT damn good record nonetheless. Fab vocalist / lyricist, immaculate bassy production, great mix of tracks, very relaxing and all around enjoyable. Not dug too much into the themes of this, but the closer is great, the F-Bomb track is a shocker but great. All damn great. Minus 1.5 for breaking the rules but plus 1 for recing a banger leaves you at [3.5]
19Naked City
Naked City

19th August 2023 [veldin]

I feel like Iā€™m trapped in a spy novel with riffs help. Kinda kitschy and tongue/cheek but in a non-pejorative way; feels joyous and celebratory in all the flavours of jazz and blues-y rock it dances around without straying deep into parody. Brilliantly written, respectfully pulled tighter, but (most importantly) a lot of fun! Conceptualising it as grind+jazz (as Iā€™ve seen some do) feels misleading and overly simplistic, cause idk this is mostly bop-ish jazz in the ZORN way (I remember some of these motifs!) with the intermittent structure/melody of grind/hardcore; it doesnā€™t feel like an equal merger of two things, it feels like its own little cute NEW thing. [4] will return
20La Peste
Untitled (HL26)

20th August 2023 [Avagantamos]

I can find next to nothing about this, or the artist, online. This is giving me the tingles. Mystery factor is a big supporting player for my intrigue w/r/t this, and the techno(?) with blobs of industrial with minimal percussion and weird af song structures is cool! Some spatial stuff, lots of thumping, itā€™s a thing! Enjoyable? Question mark indeed. Interesting though. [3.5] if anyone can actually tell me anything about this / the artist Iā€™d be grateful thank you x
21Colin Stetson
New History Warfare Vol 2: Judges

21st August 2023 [dedex]

I like this too yā€™all bringing fire!! Kinda overlaps with 2 in that heavy emotive cello thing, except itā€™s sax and it sounds like glorious deth. Drone-lite / minimalist / kinda electronic wut is this question mark. The spoken word poem things are also kinda lit. [4] someone rec a dud to bump up my street cred pls thanks
22Blind Idiot God
Blind Idiot God

22nd August 2023 [ffs]

From ffs: ā€œeye-wateringly dynamic jazz-informed instrumental noise rock with black/thrash riffs that deteriorates into dub groovesā€.

Good description! I donā€™t disagree. [3.7]

That this came out in 1987 is kinda fucked very cool forward thinking mishmash. Would love this to have a manic vocalist on top to tie it all together. Am looking forward to digging deeper and digesting the yummy songcraft further. It sounds seem less but feels like thereā€™s loads going on under the hood.
23John Zorn
Cobra

23rd August 2023 [hawks]

God thereā€™s been a lot of ZORN in these monthly lists. Not a complaint. Well kinda a complaint. His music is always long and tricky, with the exception of 19, and ill suited to an album-a-day format you bunch of silly sillies. BUT Iā€™ve pretty much loved very record recā€™d, so itā€™s been no bad thing.

This is bizarre tho by whole new standards. A game piece, composed improvisationally with a set of cards that, being shown to players, tell the ensemble what to do. Take that, and times it by TWO into this monster double album of mostly abstract weirdness.

Very cool concept, pushing boundaries etc, but not suuuupeer enjoyable. Very head spiny, very stop start, very confusing. Poor list placement means this is dealing with late month fatigue. Has enough coolness to warrant the listen though. [3]
24David Shea
Satyricon

24th August 2023 [Jots]

Yooooo I really like this. Draws from so many places: western and non-western, acoustic and electronic, classical/ambient/soundtrack/moreplaces/ahhhhhhhhh! Hops between them all like itā€™s nothing, all the while shifting up the emotive typography - oft sinister, oft hypnotic, fleetingly gorgeous, which only makes it more gorgeous. [4] needs more ratings
25Ben Frost
By the Throat

25th August 2023 [sint]

Wolf ambient techno? What do this be? Fucking slaps tho.

Great tundra atmos with loads of cool progressions I just spent 3 hours gardening and canā€™t feel my arms so this be a short write up [3.7] probs grower

Then next album is 3 hours long oh god
26Eliane Radigue
Trilogie de la Mort

26th August 2023 [sniff2]

A deeply restful, meditative, soothing experience. Idk if itā€™s what the album ā€œisā€, or what it requires of you, that makes it so. Sitting down in a beanbag undisturbed (mostly) for basically 3 hours eyes closed but not falling asleep and not scrolling on phone is a weird thing to do in 2023, but I found it very beneficial (particularly as someone prone to sensory overload on a regular basis). Intentional nothing. Iā€™m probably not giving these compositions enough credit, though, as the way they do the same thing for aaaaages but also not, with loads of lil textural movements and the occasional lil melodic flourish, makes it a surprisingly not boring listen, w/o over complicating its d r o n e - I donā€™t think it would work with a lesser piece. Thrum deth x3. [4]
27Alfred Schnittke
String Quartet No. 3

27th August 2023 [DAD2]

God I know diddly nout about classical - therefore no clue what particular envelopes this is pushing. Enjoyed, though. Very cinematic and gloopy. Classical September, maybe? [3.5]
28The Pyramids
Lalibela

28th August 2023 [widow2]

God this hurt my head on first listen, so percussive and shrill and continuous, jumping from groove centric jam vibes to weird jazz. By the third listen I was vibin. So slick and sink-in-to-able. Enjoyed far more as the ā€œFull Versionā€ listen without breaks or song names - feels like it honours this as the 45 min epic performance that it is. The kinda intricacy in percussion weaves through melody that you get from like idk a love supreme check this!! I expect great things on further listens. [4]
29Natalie Rose Lebrecht
Warraw

29th August 2023 [porc2]

Erm I love!! I think!! I listen deep more required thanks!! [tbc]

Update (02.09.23): Occult and quirky. Mangled and disjointed. These are good and bad things. Love the melodies throughout, particularly when this beautiful little tune will pop out of relative murk (this happens a lot) and the vox are a treat but also wish it held itself together a bit more coherently. [3.5]
30Throbbing Gristle
Part 2: The Endless Not

30th August 2023 [someone2]

RYM says this is a terrible THROBBING GRISTLE (what a name) starting point someone what you doing to me.

Psych! I enjoyed this. I gather very different to their early stuff. Is this post-industrial I donā€™t yet understand industrial vanilla help. Super eerie and fucked I was cycling home from a shit day at work in the rain and the dark and it was an -:v i b e:-

Do I like it? I donā€™t know!! Gosh why are you saving all these weird cryptic difficult to parse albums to close out this list smh. Also having a shitter of a time at work atm so my brain is fried rip. [tbc]

Update (02.09.23): I love it and I donā€™t. Granted, I rejammed this after my flight got delayed 2 hours and I was lounging grumpily in the airport, meaning this got an unfair grilling. Feel like I need to hear their earlier stuff to see how this slots in. At its best when itā€™s jazzy and aloof. Hmm. [3.3]
31Boredoms
Vision Creation Newsun

31st August 2023 [jon2]

Holy space-aged goodvibes BATMAN!! Psychy spectral whooooooooooo very sensible, tho, c.f. the glorious nonsense of 8. I like both, but for very different reasons. The track with the acoustic guitar and the machine gun drumming is my immediate fave, beautiful and visceral yes yes yes. Opener is dope, too, hazier etc. At its best when the haywire percussion means the sun and the stars - I have yet to fully buy in to the long form psych stuff this is doing (I am sober) but suspect relistening to this without the expectation that itā€™d be as weird as 8 will help ima come back [3.7] for now. Post note: really do enjoy how interconnected this is - album composition and general songwriting on fleek and much better than 8. Less fun tho. Fair trade???
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