Semanat is an project from The Republic of Lithuania active since ca. 2013 in the noise, drone, post-industrial area. Not much can be found of the artist behind, most likely on purpose.
The most recent EP features two longish tracks. At first there is a well balanced and structured rhythmic noise flow on "Glina", aided by processed field recordings which builds an intense soundwork stretching over nearly 14 dynamic minutes. I wish I had a clue what the voice at the end is talking about.
"Pole", starting with static (?) surface noise and a deeply buried melancholic sample and processed voice below an underworldly gong which gets supported by shifting layers of noise and a rhytmic mill wheel. All the time the voice is building up to a multi-layered chorus of the damned transfering the listener in a slight trance which is resolved during the last minutes.
Both tracks work their way in the subconscious and leave their echos. A rewarding listening experience - Aciu.

This 4 track compilation EP actually holds what the title promises. I was really sceptical at first not knowing what to make of 'The Spirit Of The Age' but it get's better and better with each listen. A melancholic blade runner mood captures the loneliness of lockdown and keeping on for the sake of it.

Anotalian Weapons starts with "A Series Of Changes", a great dubby leftfield track, powerful steady rhythms and a looped voice accompany a drift through the current times. Then A Hand dives even more into the loneliness of the androids with continuous hynotic sequences driving 'Modern Cages' into the outer spheres. Gamma Intel adds a decent hypnotic acid touch to his brand of electro to brighten things up a little in "A Note To My Love" before London based Vactrol Park end with a seemingly endless atmospheric dark downtempo track, accordingly named "Dense And Ragged".

A remarkable well curated attempt by this Turin based label to catch the moments and changes we live through since more than a year now.
(Scheduled for release on April 16th.)

As long as I remember Californian duo Psyclones - Brian Ladd and Julie Frith - where rooted fiercely in the American underground scene with their music and running their own (still ongoing) Ladd-Frith label. Collaborating with many other artists and labels in the wide fields of experimental music there was literally no chance in the 80's to miss them completely as you either had a track on a compilation or a release they where involved in if you where into the post experimental diy cassette scene interested at all. With Blackhouse Brian found even more attention due to the projects more handsome straight direction of early Industrial / Dark Ambient.

This compilation, lovingly curated by NB and mastered by Brian Ladd himself dives into the first Cassette Only albums & concentrates on the less industrial post punk freedom which was always a strong element in the Psyclones work. Particularly this reminds me even of American New Wave heroes Talking Heads or DEVO combined with the charm of the French Duo X-Ray Pop or the Belgian weirdness of Bene Gesserit.

There is a playfulness with all instruments at hand and an urge to find new ways in-midst the possibilities, sometimes leaned on proper song structures with dub techniques, vocals are aided by effects, detuned guitars, bass, early beatboxes, frequency modulations and a Laissez-faire attitude make up for an pleasant listening, often even a bit dada-esque.
Overall this compilation works more as a soundtrack "balancing between icy wave coolness and nonchalant neon funk. Insane Music for sane people, smokers, rain lovers, midnight movers and all those cats, that can’t cope with the pre-written consumer life reality" (Quote from Press Info, I just had to cite it).

My personal favourites are "Beetween Space", a moody outro of Side 1 with ambient leanings, loads of echo upon early keyboard sounds and "News Of The World", a track so minimal it's close to a capella with double layered vocals pushing the lyrics for once to the front.

The LP will be published alongside the full download in early March in an edition of 300 copies, pre-ordering is possible.

Herr B worked several years on his solo project debut, at first as 'Children Of God' before he settled on A Prayer For The Worst. He finally accomplished it's debut due to last years spring lockdown and it got lovingly mastered by Friedemann Kootz who started to make himself a name in industrial / experimental / minimimal circles. Otherwise this is a complete solo work - even the design.
The soft pink artwork paired with an mediveal like image showing the revenge of the pigs is a hidden hint on the possibiltiy of everything getting turned upside down.

With "The Awakening" an electro ghoul lures you into this viciously soft journey through darker realms. With the aid of nothing but electronics and vocals a melancholic song cycle unfolds, soothing the listener into a comfortable mellow mood with it's addictive poison spread slowly. Not the darkest black but shades in different guises of grey are the main theme.
Midtempo minimal ballads, not necessarily with vocals, enter the stage one after another. A disillusion goes hand in hand with it, saving 'Lullabies For Babies' from gothic cliches and pushing all these melodramatic sentiments paired with irony and pragmatism into the post electro-punk area although titles like "Funeral March", "A Cry In The Desert", "A Lament" and "Last Breath" call out to a certain existentialistic point of view.
The melodramatic sentiments paired with implied irony and a pragmatic approach reaches a certain positive punk level in the heritage of Virgin Prunes, Fad Gadget, à;GRUMH...,Boris Mikulic a.o., paired with the expertise of someone who actually lived through it all.

Lullabies For Babies is a coherent and enjoyable listening. Many of the 13 compositions are rather short but carefully shaped, the vocals and lyrics are supportive without demanding full attention, the keyboard uses a palette between organ and classic synthesizer sounds in a minimalistic way. A surprising powerful and equally mellow debut fitting with it's subtle melancholy perfect in our times.

This album is one of the few independent productions that actually appears as LP (in soft pink Vinyl), CD (soft pink Digipak) and digital.

The second album by Cernichov is a well developed organic noise ambience symphony in 6 chapters. Recordings started in 2018 and mutated since alongside the concept of a living dominated by organic rulers of the non-human kind.
"Those Sparkling Fires In That Eternal Void" would have made a great album title for this but I guess it would have been too obvious - Cernichov work more deep below the underground and in the hidden corners. The cover pic plays along with it, a bleak Death Metal image with an encrypted writing which could be meaningful.
Marco Mazzucchelli (Milano) and David Gutman (Bruxelles) - both electronics, sounds and the later also mix and production - continue here their successfull partnership I already praised last year for it's constant movement, transformation and sublimity. They developed their style further but kept what they can do best - multi layered soundscapes bare from cliches and repetition.
'The Mold Legacy' is well worth repeated listening; focused ambient drone music in a class of it's own, soothing the sub-conscious into a state of calm wakefulness.

Available as limited ecopak CD and digital.