We’re brushing the cobwebs off to bring you a beautiful new video from Karl Vorndran in collaboration with artist/director Eucarya. The video has a folk and experimental feel combining raw, unmanipulated footage with bright, and resilient animation overlays. A blue-ish, purple-ish amorphous shape hovers and bleeds into a background of blue sky and trees as the soundtrack belts out pyroclastic walls of noise and transmission. The orb seems to blend and meld with the sky in an organic way that gels wonderfully with the sound. As the track crescendos, so does the imagery as these distant worlds slowly merge into one, and then in an instant, poof, we are back to our reality. The video is simple, elegant and impactful, just like the accompanying track. The visual efx are just enough to stimulate the narrative imagination, while still leaving room for interpretation while remaining grounded in “reality”.
The music video for “Re-Enter the Orthogonal Phase Shift” was made by Eucarya using footage shot in the woods of Akron, Ohio, computer generated 3D imagery and effects, and original artwork by Nathan Bowers of Tusco/Embassy created for the Cathartic Automation cassette. This masterful blending of video art/folk art technologies with the rawness and natural beauty of both the track and the environment the video was made in make for a wonderful and psychedelic synergy, but see for yourself below, and make sure to pick up the cassette as well!
“Re-Enter the Orthogonal Phase Shift” is a track from Karl Vorndran’s second solo cassette album Cathartic Automation, which was released in February 2022. Cathartic Automation consists of modular synthesizer patches that were recorded to tape in 2014 by Jeff ‘Fej’ France (Imperial Emporium) in Akron, Ohio and mastered by Chris Koltay at High Bias Recordings in Detroit, Michigan. The master tapes were lost for several years before being found and digitized for cassette release.
Every year at Decaycast we like to invite some guest contributors to contribute end of the year thoughts, threats etc, titled “Essential ListEning”. Excited to share the first of many to drop over the next few weeks. First up is DJ/community enabler Dan Kletter.
This year was extremely fucked up for me, so I really leaned hard into music to help soothe the pain. In no particular order, here’s some of my favorites:
This Darc Rama was recommended by [Robert Smith](https://twitter.com/robertsmith) and it’s the perfect balm for when you need cheering up. Really captures a certain essence of mid-80’s new wave music. All of his songs are fantastic. This one is my favorite.
Been listening to versions of the new R.K. Faulhaber from Helen Scarsdale for months. Really wanted to say something sooner about this masterpiece. Everything is constructed entirely from digital synthesizers without any external effects or processing.
For the past few years irr. app. (ext.) has been producing a monthly digital single. His Legends of Frogtown series is the most varied and complex. They’re all amazing. This one is my favorite.
Once again Headboggle has topped himself applying a constraint and working his whimsical style within that framework. Everything is composed with MIDI, digital synthesizers, and a Steinway grand piano, hence the title.
I found these shimmering improvisations for prepared 12-string guitar by Jef Mertens by peeking someone’s Bandcamp collection. Helps me get in the zone with my data science schoolwork.
I don’t know anything about Imperial Valley from Other Forms Of Consecrated Life except it’s meant to be a kind of evocative soundscape to accompany Dorothea Lange’s depression-era photography.
I think Claire Rousay recommended this LP by Skirts and, man oh man, it’s some really wonderful summer vibes music that just makes everything feel warm and delightful.
This LP by MARV from the enmeshed label is a real journey of wistful sounds that will carry you on a bed of fluffy clouds. It’s all about how you spend your time instead of the destination.
Can I say Spiritual Exit is Aaron Davis aka Acre? First met at a Noise Pancakes show and was transfixed by the immense drone conjured from a few guitar pedals. Slip into this trancendental bath and relax.
This debut LP by Sweeping Promises is an immense powerhouse duo of driving no wave inflected post-punk meets gliding new wave. Instantly hooked and played on repeat endlessly.
This incredible piece by Shanna Sordahl reflecting on the transformation from hurting to healing after a physical injury must have been as cathartic to make as it is to listen to.
This Yasmin Williams LP is transformative and rejuvenating. There’s depth and layers demanding attention. Or you can also just be vicariously present.
This LP made with hand-built stringed instruments by Ashley Bellouin & Ben Bracken from Debacle Records is a profoundly immersive experience.
This Byron Westbrook LP is thoroughly engrossing. Feels like a reflection of the emotionally heavy times we’re going through without any of the aftertaste.
This compilation from Camp Cryptid Records feels so hopeful in the face of all the crushing despair and overwhelming tragedy. Also, there’s something deviously, beautifully playful about inviting your cryptids to join you round a campfire.
Another random Bandcamp find. I just feel more people should experience this mysterious LP and let its viscous transmission flow and envelope you like a gentle cocoon.
This LP by Raub Roy aka Horaflora weaves a tapestry of resonances from motorized objects and other acoustic instruments, accented by a delightful tour of everyday neighborhood life.
Third installment of John Wiese’s keenly improvisational conversations with various collaborators from overlapping scenes. Because the lineup keeps changing, the result is different yet unpredictably familiar.
Anecdotally, I’ve purchased more accordion music this year than previously. For example… This LP by Walt McClements is a truly exceptional companion soundtrack for real or imaginary travel through the fleeting slices of everyday life.
This LP by Sofie Birch & Johan Carøe from STROOM.tv fills the void with delicate, dreamy sonic prose.
Extremely attracted to this Vanessa Amara LP from Posh Isolation of random microphone feedback (by intentionally placing them wrong) taunting tender, plaintive arrangements with acoustic instruments.
First heard of Guanaco± via [microphones in the trees](http://calmintrees.blogspot.com) about their tape from Sweat Lodge Guru. This LP is like picking up a conversation with an old friend. Beautiful 6 and 12-string guitar arrangements.
Ever since Love of Diagrams broke up I’ve been searching for a band with that driving angular sound and this debut LP by Chimers (also from Australia) is everything you could ask for and more.
This LP of hallucinatory synths and reverb drenched beats by Kristen Gallerneaux from Shadow World is infectious listening. Techno isn’t really my bag but this is simply exquisite.
Below are things released late this year which I haven’t had enough time to really dig into but are currently getting play:
This Ava Mendoza LP of guitar might from Astral Spirits (cassette) and Relative Pitch (CD).
This tranquil EP by Sunken Cathedral from Full Spectrum.
This incomparable LP of bagpipe drone duo by David Watson and Matthew Welch from Room40.
This uncategorizable LP of trumpet playing by the mighty Liz Allbee.
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Dan Kletter loves music, classic movies, fonts, and YOU. Ask him about rabbits! He’s an erstwhile freeform radio DJ and great community enabler at [KFJC](http://kfjc.org) where he booked, produced, and hosted countless live, on-air performances. He also ran 24 Hour Drone with [Norman Teale](http://www.thenormanconquest.net). His acclaimed radio show, [Psychoacoustic Soundclash](http://kletter.us/soundclash) ran from 2000 to 2008.
GORGEOUS DYKES DAZZLES IN BRAND NEW VIDEO ‘SWORDS REVERSED’
Gorgeous Dykes is a dynamic duo from Oakland, CA. Their sound is comprised of new wave, house, post-punk, funk, and synth pop that keeps the dance party going all night and until the sun comes up. Gorgeous Dykes brings the magic girl energy to encourage divine unity in uplifting the spirits in the queer/trans community alike. Their latest album “Swords Reversed” is a powerful statement to keep looking up to what lies ahead.
Supporting their rousing album Swords Reversed(set for release February 11th, 2022 on Psychic Eye Records), Gorgeous Dykes unveil the music video to their first eponymously named single. Swirling with anime-worthy imagery, the band dances amongst nebulas and falls through cotton candy skies while guided by euphoric, pulsating synths.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:
Where do you draw your inspiration from musically and artistically?
Lucy: We draw a lot of our inspiration for our artwork from magical girl shows. We’re inspired by a lot of 80’s post-punk bands, but also really enjoy house music.
Ana: I’m really drawn to music that is meant to dance to, to move your body to. I’m always searching for music that gives one a certain frisson and to learn about what elements contributed to that in a song. It’s fascinating and challenging.
Who are some of your favorite artists you’ve performed with and/or would love to see yourself performing with?
Lucy: I would like to play a show with Sneaks.
Ana: Totally. That would be a really cool time.
Tell us more about your upcoming album release. What led you to write this album?
Lucy: We tried a lot of new things and experimented with a lot of new sounds. We wanted to write an album where each song felt unique and had space for its own feel.
Ana: We still have two more singles we’re working on getting out that we’re really excited about. Since a majority of it was written during the lockdowns, I had a lot of time to get introspective and philosophical, ha. We tried to tell stories about isolation and regeneration – coming out on the other end. Some of them are just about us being in love, which whoever would or could have a problem with that, can play in traffic.
How does the process begin for you writing songs? Is it always the same or different each time?
Lucy: A lot of the times we like to start with a beat that we can jam on/groove to. We always like to start with either a melody or beat and just let the song evolve from there.
Ana: It definitely has to start out with room for us to mess around and see what sticks first. Sometimes I’ll hear a new melody jump out in my head that couldn’t have come from anywhere but the song and that’s always a cool moment. Lucy is really inspiring to work with – she has damn near perfect pitch. She’s so humble about it, though.
What is your favorite song on the album?
Lucy: I think for me it’s Unsolicited because it has a really fast and fun energy that I’ve always wanted to create in a song. It’s also really enjoyable to play.
Ana: It’s hard because I like them all so much but Swords Reversed was when I felt we were really in our element. I actually felt very emotional when writing the lyrics, which while I tend to put a lot of feeling into writing lyrics, I don’t usually get all choked up like that.
How do you see yourself as an influence to the younger trans/queer community?
Lucy: I haven’t really thought about it that much because I’ve always felt like I was the one looking up to other trans artists for inspiration and motivation but I hope I can inspire other trans people to just be themselves and wear whatever they want and have confidence about it and I’d like to think of our music being sort of a background theme song to that feeling.
Ana: I would hope to be more of a tool or comfort if possible, rather than an influence I suppose. If someone younger found our work and could appreciate it and if it could help get them through a tough time or to stand up for themselves, that would make me happy.
What advice would you give to someone that aspires to be a part of the trans/queer artist community who has trouble meeting other peers?
Lucy: Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and try to meet other queer folks in the community – you never know who can help you or motivate you to get your art out there in the world.
Ana: Reach out to collab with someone whose work you admire, show your support when you can and practice maintaining a strong sense of integrity. Look for kind people who don’t want the world on a platter. As an introvert with a couple of mental illnesses, I would say don’t hide yourself but also value yourself enough to recognize the qualities in others that make you feel safe. Nobody’s perfect but as long as there is love and (clearly demonstrated) respect between you and the other person, connecting with special people is so worth it.
Do you have any plans to do a tour?
Lucy: Yes, we want to go on one!
Ana: If we don’t get to go on a tour (I’ve never been on one before) I’m going to climb to the top of a mountain and scream, ha. It’s a huge goal.
“Pulsing Place” is the brand new single and video, which you can watch here for the first time, from Trippers & Askers ahead of their new full length album, “Acorn” . The song begins with distant acoustic guitar and voice which tells a complicated tale with deep underpinnings. The track, much like the video feels very very close; morose and present, laying it all on the line, earnestly connecting with the listener in a very up front and personal style lyrically and recording wise which really serves to draw us in to this soon to be modern folk/jazz classic. I often felt like I was in the room with Trippers & Askers, being sung directly to, almost as if in question form, and the video is a beautiful, cinematic representation of this closeness and humanness that seems to be such an important part of the music of “Acorn” and this track specifically. Pulling equally from Modern Americana Folk traditions as well as modern jazz and literary worlds, “Pulsing Place” is a complex and meaningful investigation through song.
The video itself is a visually arresting story of a fluttering gold being navigating uncertainly throughout the world as the band plays on. The churning of a tide, the gentle flutter of a gust of wind from an undefined direction, the gentle crinkling of dried leaves as we search for meaning and a way out, a way forward all paint a picture of the hope of discovery of something better, of something to take us forward.
“Inspired by the world building, Afrofuturist radicalism of the novel “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler, the latest Trippers & Askers LP “Acorn” blends spiritual jazz and traditional styles in ways that pose fundamental questions about the nature of “American” music…..
“Parable of the Sower was written in the 1990’s and set in 2020’s U.S. when society has collapsed for everyone but the super wealthy due to climate change, wealth inequality, religious fundamentalism, and corporate greed. The protagonist – a woman named Lauren Olamina – embodies a kind of radical hope that has nothing to do with denial. In fact, it’s a kind of hope that can only spring from the fact that she understands the severity of her and her community’s situation better than anyone else.”
Make sure to pre oder“Acorn” from Sleepy Cat Records ahead of it’s July 16th release date! And we leave you with these parting lyrics from the single/video here:
“Grab the car and pull around the side
We’ll peel and steal away
All the time we’ve been afraid to take” – Trippers & Askers
TWO NEW RELEASES OUT TOMORROW ON DECAYCAST MAGAZINE!
Thanks all for following Decaycast! DECAYCAST is a sub label of Ratskin Records and specializes in small edition handmade cassettes, CDr’s, digital releases and small edition art objects as well as a Online Fanzine (decaycast.wordpress.com)
we’re really excited to present two new albums for release tomorrow both on limited edition CDR with handmade card stock slipcases.
Thank you so much to everyone that preordered! All pre orders have been shipped and any orders placed for Bandcamp Friday or over the weekend will ship out this coming Monday!
AURAS has crafted a lush and foreboding sonic landscape with “Chant For A Broken Chalice”, their first release for Oakland based imprint DECAYCAST. On “Chant For A Broken Chalice” intentional and otherworldly sounds envelop into a whirlwind of a slow churning concoction of beauty and anxiety. Dense choral envocations pulse over a sea of strings, keys, percussion and voice. HAURAS crafts tense and delicate music concerned with the rapid decline of empathy as intensified through the violent throes of capitalism. Both meditative and a warning, like a distant pulse of a lighthouse gently peaking over the fog as a distant warning of impending doom and collapse, scary and at this point completely unavoidable, but wow the beauty and elegance of the message is not something to soon be forgotten.
“My work is concerned with the psychology of society at the end of Civilization.” – HAURAS
The first single “Hold My Hand” takes a psychedelic dubbed out industrial approach to transport the mood and psyche of the listener to a blissful yet slightly unnerving underworld. The vocals glide through the mix like a robotic worm infecting an unknown host. Like most of Hauras’s work; “Chant For A Broken Chalice” holds the listener in an hourglass where time is rapidly and chaotically slipping away. Intentional, heartfelt, and intense.
“You’ve heard of the Music of Tomorrow? This is the Music of the Day After Tomorrow.” – Chris Ryan (Composer, Cerddorion Ensemble,, Tzadik)
“The sonic equivalent of expired film in my Holga.” – Richard Youngs
BONUS BEAST (Ratskin Records, Coral Remains, Ryan King, et al) always brings a new and modified sonic whirlwind to the table and this recently unearthed board recording of live from Lewcid Joosebox is no different. A complex and psychedelic spattering of amalgamated synths, blasting and curdling mangled beats, with the occasional and sporadic transmission twisted warped vocals patterings peak out ever so slightly from the sampler, but this is no dance party, this is blasted out sonic destruction, controlled chaos, collapsing towers, the rhythms of the machines of the city clang and hammer against each other like a seizing engine about to blow. their first release for Oakland based imprint DECAYCAST and ir is not to be missed. One of the masters in the game. Very very limited
Nearly twenty minutes of blown out acid noise, crunched beats, signwave radio interference, mental decayed sprayed on the walls of the box as BOBUS BEAST blasts forth a sonic mayhem like no other. In the realm of early Robert Turman, MB, Esplendor Gemoetrico, etc
Please consider picking something up as it helps us sustain the project (both the imprint and fanzine) side of things.
We’re back with another installment of DECAYCST Guest Mixes, this one from frequent mixer and digger DJ MICOSE.
This is a continuation of the “Digesting 2020” series I’ve been posting on the ploqueMixcloud, featuring only music that was released in 2020. It’s a free-form mix with abstract ambient sounds, industrial-influenced electronic songs, plus a variety of loud and repetitive rhythmic tracks. Features artists from Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Peru, Poland, Norway, and the US.
The Soft Pink Truth – Go
Racine – Geranium
Ale Hop – La Procesíon
Sébastien Brun – Empty
Tantão e os Fita – Ich Bin Der Fluss
Thoom – Large Fly
Negro Leo – Absolutíssimo Lacrador
Eartheater – Burning Feather
SIKSA – Proste Hasło
Jonquera – Artisou
Golden Oriole – The Granitoid Panics
The End – Allt Är Intet
Arrington de Dionyso – The Mani Malaikat Awakening
DECAYCAST Announces Preorder For HAURAS 4/9/21 “Chant For A Broken Chalice” OUT 5/7/21
HAURAS has crafted a lush and foreboding sonic landscape with “Chant For A Broken Chalice”, their first release for Oakland based imprint DECAYCAST. On “Chant For A Broken Chalice” intentional and otherworldly sounds envelop into a whirlwind of a slow churning concoction of beauty and anxiety. Dense choral envocations pulse over a sea of strings, keys, percussion and voice. HAURAS crafts tense and delicate music concerned with the rapid decline of empathy as intensified through the violent throes of capitalism. Both meditative and a warning, like a distant pulse of a lighthouse gently peaking over the fog as a distant warning of impending doom and collapse, scary and at this point completely unavoidable, but wow the beauty and elegance of the message is not something to soon be forgotten.
“My work is concerned with the psychology of society at the end of Civilization.” – HAURAS
The first single “Hold My Hand” takes a psychedelic dubbed out industrial approach to transport the mood and psyche of the listener to a blissful yet slightly unnerving underworld. The vocals glide through the mix like a robotic worm infecting an unknown host. Like most of Hauras’s work; “Chant For A Broken Chalice” holds the listener in an hourglass where time is rapidly and chaotically slipping away. Intentional, heartfelt, and intense.
“You’ve heard of the Music of Tomorrow? This is the Music of the Day After
Tomorrow.” – Chris Ryan (Composer, Cerddorion Ensemble,, Tzadik)
“The sonic equivalent of expired film in my Holga.” – Richard Youngs
Sarah Davachi, Laaraji, Father Murphy, Low, Tom Carter, Common Eider King Eider, Mary Lattimore, Tom Weeks, Lee Noble, Louise Bock, Clarice Jensen, Jonas Reinhardt, Carl Hultgren, John King, Lea Bertucci,
Home Learning has shared their newest video and song “Let Us Know You Are Here” from their new album released this past December, “The Case for Final” via Healing Sound Propagandist. “Let Us Know You Are Here”– is a beautiful ambient, soothing A/V tone poem exploring slow undulating shifting spaces within a beautiful marriage between image and sound. The track is evocative of sadness, unknowing, maybe even discovery, but within a paused and pregnant framework and the slow moving psychedelic visual eruptions are constantly birthing something new to be contemplated.
“This video for the first track off of Home Learning’s album “the case for final” was put together during the COVID 19 pandemic. It combines footage of suburban mall-sprawl, crowded with shoppers in spite of the health risks, with abstract visuals that evoke chemicals, fire, and a gradual build up of distortion/disintegration. Not everything is bleak…the colors and sounds also bring metamorphosis, slow but significant change, and eventually, light sifts in. “
Ethereal washes of sound and shape blend together like flickering bacteria under a microscope excited by a newfound chemical reaction. Gentle explosions are what come to mind visually, and the track itself brings thoughts of time collapsing between unknown worlds. Sounds delicately drone slightly in the red which gives the recording a slight bit of intensity without compromising the vibe or intent of the morose, and often times blissful offering that is “Let Us Know You Are Here”. Smoke dances across the failed architecture of a forgotten society and we dream and try to dream of a land almost totally forgotten. Very beautiful marriage of parallel moods to create an evocative and intriguing visual representation of the track bringing to the table both uncertainty and emotional resolution. WATCH BELOW NOW!
Home Learning is a long distance collaboration between Tom Schmidlin (Pagination) located in Bentonville, Arkansas. and Edmund Osterman (Screener) in Covington, KY
Morose and warm new visual from Hedia – “Untitled 3” from the Quartets cassette that came out in July.
A beautiful union of enveloped, undulation machine of reverberated moods; a warm refreshing breath in cinematic neo-classical minimalism. Pinched tones, crawling, yearning for a new breath, a new beginning, Hedia works the space of decaying sound in a beautiful and nuanced treatment of the sounds themselves bringing the space to live in a tremendously rich pattern.
With hedia, I hope to create a blank space for the listener to enter and find stillness for a moment, unfocus your eye, escape from the desert heat.” – Bryce Hample
Microscopic sonic events washing ashore fade into arpeggiated synths, but only for a few seconds as envelopes of sound and vision open and close on the viewer to create a somber distortion in both time, place, and vision. A blurry fade into an unknown place, loss, grief, strings, sadness, hope all sputter past each other like blurred pedestrians buzzing through a rush-hour rain station. For a few moments, we have some peace.
Hedia is the music of multi-instrumentalist Bryce Hample. Hedia is spacial music, creating a place to inhabit, if only temporarily. Musical spaces to encompass the listener, unfolding organically and spaciously, in a blanket of drifting piano chords, viola da gamba, brass, subdued guitar, and tape manipulations.
Grimalkin Records or GR has released a collective statement of solidarity with the global uprising in support of All Black Lives and ways folks can contribute to fighting anti Black racism, transphobia, and xenophobia and all forms of oppression through music, art, poetry, fundraising projects, transparency, compilations and performance. GR boasts an impressive roster of artists working at the forefront of everything from rap to bedroom folk, with social justice projects and grassroots fundraising campaigns rooted in anti oppression at the core of their beliefs and conceptual underpinnings. Check out a few releases we’ve selected below from their Bandcamp page as well as some infographics provided by the label’s collective members.
A few of our favorite releases:
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ABSOLUTE LEGEND IN THE MAKING. Backxwash is one of the most forefront artists of our time, do not sleep on her, this album goes into so many different places, a true tour de force of modern Rap, industrial, and experimental.
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Fantastic sampler spanning all of the unique genre bending hits of the GR family, another essential release in the catalog which you should not miss, a little something for everyone on here, plus many exclusives as well. From the somber, blissful acoustics of Elizabeth Owens , to the funky, Prince inspired, experimental R&B from Quinton Barnes, this is a beautifully curated eclectic mix and showing of the sonic diversity of the collective.
Here’s a few infographics provided by the collective to elaborate on ways folks can practice anti racism in music and art communities and grassroots organizing efforts, something that is much needed, and long overdue,
“Grimalkin is music & zine collective & record label comprised of artists from all over the world to raise money and support socialjustice & civil rights organizations locally in Richmond, Virginia, USA & worldwide”
D E C A Y C A S T Magazine 