Shawn Osullivan's picks:
Opera Multi Steel have an almost impeccable track record. This track is from the 90's, and it's just as maudlin, bleak, and utterly satisfying as their earlier (more widely-acknowledged) work. We played this one a lot on the tour van going through Europe with Xeno & Oaklander a few years ago, so there's a lot of sentimental attachment for me, as well. Listening to OMS after seeing the cathedral in Strasbourg just makes sense.
My dysphoric teen years were scored by experimental hardcore techno and early industrial – stuff like SPK, Drop Bass Network, Praxis Records, or these guys, Fifth Era. They're like Marc Acardipane gone black metal. I'd rush home after another traumatic day at school, sprint upstairs, and clumsily beatmatch a cacophonous DJ set at 180 bpm on a pair of belt-driven Gemini turntables. This track is slower, more atmospheric doomcore, but it still takes me back to those days. What is most amazing is that Fifth Era is still making this stuff, 15 years later. Stalwarts of the highest order. Their YouTube channel is a treasure trove of plodding 909 kick drums, grainy video of abandoned buildings, and snippets from exploitation films. It's amazing.
Best track I've heard so far this year! Ancient Methods collaboration with Regis. AM are probably my favorite contemporary techno outfit – hearing them for the first time made me more excited about electronic dance music than I'd been in five years. And Regis is simply one of the greatest techno producers ever. Their last collaboration as Ugandan Methods was great, but this one is really special. On “She Belongs to Eternity”, they abandon any dancefloor affectations and craft a visceral and propulsive rhythmic industrial track, unrestrained from the quantized grip of Ableton. It's exactly what I'd been wanting to hear from both artists.
Owen Hutchinson's picks:
This is what you listen to when you are standing in the craters of the moon, collecting soil samples to determine composition and viability for farming colonies. Also good for mopping floors and dusting.
Pillowtexans' myspace BIO gives a really accurate and awesome history. Stumbled upon their crucial track 'Baking Lizards' off a compilation of Atlanta experimental electronic music from the early 80's.
With reviews like “a trashcan antidote to LaMonte Young.” and “sub-aquatic synth bubble, busted-up cassette-tape hiss and distorted electric guitar hover that sounds like a mythical god banished from the realm of light and trying desperately to clamber his/her way out of a dark bottomless void where time itself stands still.” Dude has a seriously varied and extensive release history. Found the CD-R A Mayflower Garland at John Deaux Records in Hudson, NY and never looked back.
When someone rings the buzzer and you aren't expecting anyone. Don't buzz them in. Pretend you aren't home. Then there is knock in the door. Someone else let them in. A piece of paper is slipped under the door, it's the power company. They are shutting off your power because you never registered an account for over two years. Power never gets turned off. Food in fridge doesn't rot. Hot plate still makes ramen and tea.
Sam Kklovenhoof's picks:
One of the most interesting and poetic bands of the last 2 decades seen here in a live type setting doing some odd song with a riff borrowed from Pink Floyd. As always, lyrically stunning.
This Tazmania/Florida 3 piece is currently my favorite live band in NY. Here, there are no references to the sunny locales of their origins, only the pained grungy moans of a man who dips his toes in Satan's pond.
Perfectly imperfect as people are, they are always on the verge of letting you down, or inviting pain into your life. These problems triple when the good spirits are involved, and this particular song makes note of that with a bold solution.
