Juno Recommends Experimental: June 2024

Review: Current 93, led by David Tibet, has often featured a rotating lineup of musicians (with Bjork and Nick Cave among the contributors), with Michael Cashmore and Steven Stapleton as more permanent members and appearing on several releases. Formed in 1982, the group released their ritualistic debut single, LAShTAL, in 1984 and were initially known for their noisy soundscapes but transitioned to an "apocalyptic folk" sound in 1986. This month they have pressed up 500 copies of a series of new albums that layer up acoustic guitars and atonal vocals into alluring and ghostly soundtracks of highly evocative drone, ambient and experimental sounds.

Review: To celebrate Current 93's London and Hastings Channellings, a number of the experimental artist's albums are being repressed having long since become hard-to-find, expensive yet sought-after classics. The Astral Crimes Of Stephen Hawk is actually a new one that comes in the form of two side-long pieces that tap into his signature noisy soundscapes and apocalyptic folk with acoustic guitars and atonal vocals always evolving and making for unsettling listening. This one comes on glow-in-the-dark vinyl with a Risographed insert featuring special artwork by Tibet himself.

Review: David Tibet is the man behind Current 93. He started the project back in the 80s and four decades on it still keeps on turning out some brilliantly haunting drone, ambient, synth and experimental fusions that are full of ghostly sounds and unsettling moods. Much of his material is hard to find and/or out of print but a couple of them have been reissued in limited numbers to celebrate the London and Hastings Channellings. This is one of them and it comes with his own artwork on the front and a Risographed insert.

Review: In May 2024, 500 copies of each of David Tibet's long-running experimental music outfit Current 93's albums were released to celebrate the London and Hastings Channellings. Each title includes a Risographed insert featuring artwork by Tibet on the front and the title and catalogue number in his handwriting on the reverse side. He started this project four decades ago back in the 80s and it is still going strong today. For fans of outlier music and experimental atmospheres, there are few finer acts out there.

Review: Live at the Teatro Iberico by English experimental - or apocalyptic folk, as they are sometimes wonderfully dubbed - group Current 93 capture a transcendent performance that resonates deeply with themes of death, loss, and hope. David Tibet's emotive delivery, alongside his talented ensemble, crafts an experience that transcends dimensions. The first five tracks, predominantly from Soft Black Stars, are hauntingly beautiful, with 'Whilst the Night Rejoices Profound and Still' featuring Antony on vocals, standing out as a pinnacle moment alongside breathtaking closing moments marked by feedback-laden guitars and sublime piano.

Review: Darren Cunningham's latest full-length LP, Statik, is yet another bullseye for the experimental musician. Seeming to nail that impossible balance on the fulcrum between 'static' or 'still' digital noise and 'watery' melodies alluded to in the many titles on offer here ('Dolphin Spray', 'Doves Over Atlantis', 'Cafe del Mars'), this one is ultimately a worthy proof of concept: that even the most arid, bare-bones music can possibly originate from a flow state; that water itself is not wet. Get ready for an ice-cold plunge into a sonic liquid you've likely never immersed yourself in before.

Review: Darren Cunningham's work as Actress has always been top drawer, though you get the feeling that his relationships with record labels have sometimes been a bit testing. The good news is that he seems to have finally found a supportive home in Norwegian experimental music powerhouse Smalltown Supersound. Put simply, Statik, the tenth Actress album, is one of his most immaculate and immersive sets to date, with Cunningham shuffling between heady, slow-born electronic soundscapes, smacked-out IDM, glitchy aural collages full of minor-key melodies, blissed out dancefloor workouts (see the brilliant 'Ray'), experimental ambient dub and spacey excellence ('Cafe Del Mars').

Review: The late great Muslimgauze is a cult figure when it comes to experimental electronic music. He made several revered records that have been reissued since his death and helped to reassert his status. Maroon is a work that like much of his output brings space, colour, depth, and illusion to sound. It is densely layered and textured and finds Bryn Jones, the Mancunian behind Muslimgauze, assaulting all the senses. From the rusty sounds and smeared voices of 'Thimble Cups Of Urdu' to the dense collage of drones, tin pot hits and obscured mutterings of 'Harem Of Dogs' this is a brilliantly idiosyncratic work.

Review: CHBB was a project by Beate Bartel and Chris Haas that developed from a collaboration first embarked upon in 1981, while working on the self-titled album Liaisons Dangereuses. After initially releasing their music only on four limited cassettes, this compilation from Soulsheriff flaunts their complete works, including all recordings from the original tapes paired with several new and original tracks by each artist. One can hardly tell the difference between original and new here; from the surreally throat-sung contraltos of 'NBKE' to the jankily strange doubletimes of 'Bali', from the the warbly hypnotisms of 'Shapeshifter' to the womping-kicks-over-German-language-incantations of 'Ima Iki-Mashoo', there's an industrial, experimental treat here for everyone.

Review: Actress fleshes out the heavy melodics on his tenth studio album Statik, a testament to the producer otherwise known as Darren Cunningham's continued preference for making full-length works born of uninterrupted flow states. Debuting for the Norwegian imprint for the first time here, Statik centres on a 'sense of stillness', as ever demonstrating the producer's signature blend of icy, hissy textures with post-club progressions. Albeit this time, he plays up an extra-monochromic found-footage sound, across which all manner of aquatic and cetaceous melodic references are heard.

Review: The Will Gregory Moog Ensemble's debut album, Heat Ray, is a riveting exploration inspired by the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes. Recorded on analogue synthesizers alongside the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the ensemble - led by Goldfrapp co-creator Will Gregory - brings together up to 14 talented players, including Portishead's Adrian Utley and Mute's Daniel Miller. Heat Ray fuses spirals of melody, circular structures, and intricate patterns, drawing inspiration from Archimedes' mathematical principles. The album's genesis during pandemic lockdowns reflects Gregory's deep dive into Archimedes' life, sparked by online lectures. With a lineup boasting instruments like the Minimoog and Prophet 6, the ensemble weaves a stunning superstructure of sounds, guided by Gregory's effervescent spirit of discovery. The result is a splendid blend of ancient history and modern innovation, where musical exploration converges with mathematical curiosity. Heat Ray not only pays homage to Archimedes' legacy but also propels listeners towards an endlessly fascinating future.

Review: Udacha family band Zdehvedo Gob is a collective of musicians who all hail from various cities around the world. It consists of Udacha label head Alexey Kalik as well as drummer Roman Shestaev and Gamayun associates Anton Dvoenko and Stas Mitrofanov and they all got together in the studio in Moscow in summer 2023 and the results are now presented on this new album. Employing an organic music approach to instrumentation combined with subtle electronics, the group go wild for various combinations of off-kilter percussion, organ, chant and birdsong in full ceremonial swing, they trace a path through the various branches of 20th century minimalism, pan-global folk-ism's and the harmonious collective consciousness that My Life In A Bush Of Ghosts encapsulated. It's a gorgeous mix of world, jazz, spiritual percussive, experimental music that rides on nice loose and vibrant rhythms with a great mix of synthetic and organic sounds all offering plenty for the mind as well as the body to get excited about.

Review: The Will Gregory Moog Ensemble's debut album, Heat Ray, is a riveting exploration inspired by the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes. Recorded on analogue synthesizers alongside the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the ensemble - led by Goldfrapp co-creator Will Gregory - brings together up to 14 talented players, including Portishead's Adrian Utley and Mute's Daniel Miller. Heat Ray fuses spirals of melody, circular structures, and intricate patterns, drawing inspiration from Archimedes' mathematical principles. The album's genesis during pandemic lockdowns reflects Gregory's deep dive into Archimedes' life, sparked by online lectures. With a lineup boasting instruments like the Minimoog and Prophet 6, the ensemble weaves a stunning superstructure of sounds, guided by Gregory's effervescent spirit of discovery. The result is a splendid blend of ancient history and modern innovation, where musical exploration converges with mathematical curiosity. Heat Ray not only pays homage to Archimedes' legacy but also propels listeners towards an endlessly fascinating future.

Review: If you're a fan of synthesised music in any way, shape or form then Kraftwerk likely remain a bucket list band to see. Sure, only traces of the original group remain. Nevertheless, the spirit and aesthetic quality of the group has remained largely unchanged, and this is immediately apparent the moment they walk out in front of a crowd. Another Lonely Night: Live At The Palalido Milan Italy May 27th 1981 captures some of that magic, and really makes it clear that Kraftwerk's live sets are as tight as their performance is regimented. The men machines living up to their reputations as living metronomes. Boasting some of their best loved tracks - 'The Model', 'Computer Love', 'Radioactivity' - alongside some refreshingly less prominent tunes, it's well worth a dive into.

Review: Interzona is well worth getting excited about. The debut album from what the label Gost Zvuk describes as "the hidden gem of the Moscow electronic scene, Dmitry Drozdov," the record is a complete masterclass in synthesised production. One of those LPs that takes you in countless directions, all of which are great, but does this with depth and authenticity. 'Eliseus' is a dubby ambient techno workout, ghostly breath work and bleeps adding complexity to an otherwise pared back arrangement. 'OK' is a smoky, lo fi house strutter, nods to blues and hip hop more than audible. 'Sliding On Enamel' is one of those smoky, heads down breaks numbers we all wish more people made. 'Voices' goes for bouncy, percussive, floor-first tech, 'LAFS' a naively sweet and playful combination of flutters, taps, plucks and shimmers. 'Loop' is a electro-weird gone full, well, weird.

Review: Shit and Shine returns with Masters Of All This Hell, a new electronic LP that showcases Craig Clouse's signature pataphysical and unapologetically free approach to musical composition. This album is a masterclass in surreal collages and idiosyncratic beat-making, offering a distinctive blend of sonic thrills that is both stiflingly lo-fi and refreshingly unembellished. Clouse's latest work shows his unique soundscape that defies conventional electronic music norms. While his music could be classified as techno, it is imbued with the raw, sweaty energy of basement noise. His machines pop and stutter, creating a blown-out fuzz of noise and distortion that feels akin to Green Velvet jamming with Wolf Eyes. Tracks like''Death Perception' feature muffled militaristic snares, queasy reverb, distant vocal echoes, and stabbing bass sounds, creating a dense, immersive experience. 'Jogging in Jeans' is a demented DSP exercise that sounds like it's been left in the washer-dryer for an extra cycle, adding a layer of unpredictability to the album. Even on tracks with more familiar elements, such as 'I'm Trying to Watch the Fucking Telly,' Clouse injects tongue-in-cheek vocal samples and grubby breakdowns that keep the listener on their toes. Masters Of All This Hell is a no-holds-barred exploration of sound, demonstrating Clouse's creativity in blending the surreal with the rhythmic. It's an album that pushes boundaries and challenges listeners.

Review: Diamanda Galas' latest full-length album is a live project, centring on select recordings from two shows that the artist played in 2017. Pieced together from Galas appearances at Chicago's Thalia Hall and Seattle's Neptune Theatre respectively, the album hears her in performance paired solely with the piano, which makes for a stark contrast compared to the instrumental ambition and breadth of her recorded music. Still nonetheless straddling all her best stylistic hallmarks - from ranchera to rembetika to soul to free jazz - Galas achieves it all in a single seven-performance swoop.

Review: 'Conny' Schnitzler's name needs to be remembered by more people. Born on the cusp of World War II, he would prove instrumental in the post-war surge of sonic experimentation that took Germany by storm from the 1960s onwards, playing an integral part in West Germany's krautrock movement having already been an early member of seminal band Tangerine Dream and founding father of Kluster. But it's his solo work that really needs more attention. A proponent of the Dusseldorf school - arguably Germany's most important city for popular music in the late-mid-20th Century - in 1974 he released Blau, a bold record comprising two extended tracks, 'Die Rebellion Haben Sich In Den Bergen Versteckt' and 'Jupiter'. One feels like the late night synth soundtrack to rain-soaked city streets. The other as though we've opened the hatch and stepped out into retro outer space. Take from that what you will.