“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
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.
DECAYCAST Premieres: Bay Area Funk Wizard CHAKI Releases New Video “Water” – WATCH NOW!
If you’re in the Bay Area and you don’t know the work of CHAKIThe Funk Wizard than you must hate fun, funk, horror movies, and capes, in which case, why are you even reading our blog? On his newest song and video, “Water”, CHAKI offers a masterfully crafted, yet slightly dystopian blend of self reflective cosmic brain altering funk! Blending astute musicianship, top notch arranging and production, and a dark sense of humor, like a soldier of Funk, Chaki covers all of the bases himself, performing nearly all the instrumentation solo with wonderfully nuanced results. Warm organ, marching bass lines, swirling screaming synths, hard hitting, tightly would drums, and the voice of an angelic maniac to create a funkily unique and dirty swim through the history of Funk music. “Water” gushes into your face and soaks you head to toe with cosmic funk liquid from the place of Chaki’s origin, a true assault to those refusing to feel the rhythm, or maybe a hymn for those who feel the late night wrath of a post dance party Taco Bell excursion, whatever it is, we’re here for it. With it’s acid peaking level energy, driving in the pocket beats, “Water” is no doubt channeling the bombastic low end of genre-pioneering giants, Cameo, the glossy, psychedelic, and often flawless production of Prince with a dash of Blowfly-esque absurdist humor and what do you have? “Water”, which is to be released as a black vinyl 7” by Who Can You Trust? Records.
It’s a silly video for probably the most personal song I ever made. I was trying to channel my heroes like Cameo and Prince while in the studio.” – Chaki
“The concept came to Chaki in a reoccurring dream and scribbled onto a bar napkin. The vision was brought to life by the local Oakland filmmaker team Han Hale (director) and Dean Snodgrass (director of photography).
CHAKI has brought his dynamic stage show to festivals such as Noise Pop and The Offbeat Fest. This funky alien has gained a cult-like following over the past few years, playing shows with like-minded weirdos Shannon and the Clams, El Vez, Peelander Z, Bob Log III, Captured By Robots, The Space Lady, and Flipper.
DECAYCAST Premieres: Post-Industrial Darkwave duo V.E.X. Shares New Video “Dancing At The End Of Time”
Bay area artists Roxy and LuLu, as V.E.X., (and a myrid of other projects) have been playing music and creating art together for years on end in the bay area and beyond, yet somehow always bring something refreshingly new and politically necessary to the table, and their latest single, supported with a brand new video here “Dancing At The End Of Time” is certainly no exception.
From the artists; “Dancing At The End Of Time” is a low-fi synth ballad of remembrance and resistance in a dying world, the true story of two femme freaks gentrified out of the city but not out of their souls, holding onto their love in spite of all the hate, dedicated to crafting underground subculture music for outcasts, the forgotten, and those fighting back in this genocidal abusive white supremacist capitalism patriarchy death spiral.“
“Dancing At The End Of Time” offers a celebratory, yet real and visceral look at two femmes resisting the violent forces of oppression and gentrification through the streets of a forgotten and endlessly morphed San Francisco. “Dancing…” gels haunted vocals and murky, analog synth arpreggiations, creating both a serene and haunting vibe which encapsulates the listener into a tale from the past. Watch the video below and read some words on the track and video from V.E.X. below. The track is from an upcoming split with Moira Scar.
“Roxy and LuLu have been playing music together since 2001, as The Floating Corpses, Angel On The Nod And The Phantasy Defylement, Terrran Traumantics, Moira Scar, and V.E.X. being the most recent incarnation. V.E.X. (Vortex Empath Xen, formerly Voltage Empath Xanaxax, Ventriloquest Ectoplasmold Xanaxax) is Lu Lu “Lucifer” Gamma Ray and Roxzan “Roxy Monoxide” Zatan as industrial-dark-wave synth-punk surreal-doom noise-romance duo. V.E.X. creates, V.E.X. records, V.E.X. plays shows.”
Check their bandcamp below and make sure to check for select tour dates and an upcoming split with Moira Scar.https://xanaxax.bandcamp.com
The discography of California based imprint Deathbomb Arc spans across rap, noise, experimental, noise rock, abstract electronic music and more boasting releases from experimental rap group Clipping, and rap/noise crossover Death Grips to the dense lush pop soundscapes of Fielded, to the noisy chaotic percussive assault of Foot Village, but none of these releases seem to masterfully weave so many seemingly disconnected genres into such a dense, queer, volatile, explosion of hybrid-styles future music than one of the the labels newest release, “Spirit Realm.Final” from non binary CA based rapper SB THE MOOR. On “Spirit Realm.Final”, SB takes the extremes from “Pillows” and “MNFST.dstnii” and a swarth of self released cassettes and mix tapes and pushes them even farther into the psychedelic netherworld that is their mind. This record truly defies categorization, it’s at once both haunting, beautiful, chaotic, poised, explosive and contained, seamlessly bridging hip hop, post rock, noise, industrial, and avant garde. These terms seem to contradict each other but upon opening your ears to “Spirit Realm.Final” and the work of SB THE MOOR, you’ll find beauty, chaos, anger, confusion, and even peace in the complicated dichotomies of our very existence. Moor has been on an unrelenting tear of touring, recording and collaborations and we needed to know more! We chatted with SB about their newest record, released on Deathbomb Arc, what it means to be a queer working artist, collaboration, touring and how this impacts the creative process. You can order their new record from the label HERE.
Dr. Decaycast: Thanks for talking with Decaycast! Can you talk a little bit about your project SB The MOOR? Do you consider it more of a band, solo project, or concept?
SB The Moor: hmm I guess when I started, Signor Benedick the Moor was just another name/alias. I think I already finished an album (which ended up being El Negro) and that was just another weird name I picked to call myself. I didn’t expect it to take off. Now, it’s a bit of a mix of all three. SB is sort of a persona, or alter ego with which to experiment and make art with.
DD: You have a new record out on Deathbomb Arc, correct, titled “Spirit Realm.Final”? Is this record a linear continuation of your sound from the previous Deathbomb releases, and if not how has your sound changed?
SB The Moor: This new record…. well I never really know what’s going to happen when I go into album making mode. Even after I’m finished it usually takes a couple weeks of downtime before i really understand what it is. In a way this new record, titled “spirit realm.final” is a continuation of “Toybox”,“cybr.pnk”, and “MNFST.dstniii“. Those records were like…me figuring out how to make spirit realm.final. Sonically, texturally….and figuring out my music making process….as well as how to mix to my liking…those last three records trained me in all of those aspects. Thematically this record reminds me a lot of El Negro, too. It’s almost like a spiritual successor in my mind, because the album was born from a very dark place. This time though I’m experienced enough to identify the darkness and use it purposefully, instead of being used by it. Tbh, El Negro attracted a lot of attention from people I really didn’t want to be associated with haha.
“Representation is everything! Even on this tour ….. non binary kids have been tellin’ me how much it means to them. ….. But, y’know, seeing artists like Mykki Blanco just tear shit up was crucial for me.”
DD: You’re currently on tour, correct? How does touring affect the writing and recording process? Do you record and write ideas on the road or are the two unique and individualized parts of your process?
SB The Moor: Being on tour and being “in the studio” are really yin and yang to me… I find out what works live, what my vocal and performing abilities are. This really fuels what I decide to do when making a record. Then, having leveled up on stage, I make something with new ideas and abilities in mind. I’m not usually thinking of one while I’m doing the other, so connecting the two is usually a learning process in itself, and another way to level up. I do think broadly about recording when im on tour, like what themes I want to explore and what sounds/textures/genres I might use, but I usually only write when I’m actually making a record, working on a collaboration, or of course, working on a commission.
DD: What is the most misunderstood aspect about your work as SB, or rather of nothing comes to mind what would be one thing you would like to share with your supporters that they perhaps don’t know at this time
SB The Moor: I think I felt wildly misunderstood around 2014-2016. 4chan is apparently a big reason for my success early on and I hate 4chan lol. A lot of sweaty racist white boys, proud to tell me about their obscure music tastes, simultaneously putting me down and looking for me to give them a proverbial cookie. Maybe most artists just ignore them but I felt hurt that by these dorks, I’m sensitive damn it! And I also thought about what that meant about me, what part of myself is being reflected here? When I released Toybox, which was pretty much a pop punk record, a lot of people were actually angry! And I’m like wow I’m way too un-famous and broke for these clowns to be getting under my skin…and where were they when I needed support??? Lol. So now….idk speaking plainly where I need to is a bigger part of my music haha.
DD: Might you talk about the zines and other visual art you’ve been making, are these a direct extension of the ideas and concepts your exploring with SB, or do they exist on their own as well, both physically and conceptually?
SB The Moor: Even before music, I wanted to draw comics and make cartoons. So making the zines is more like a childhood fantasy come true haha. The first one I made was with my partner, Marcosa (@multosa on Instagram) who paints beautiful colorful landscapes and puts poetry on top. I thought putting my cartoony, punk-esque drawings in the same magazine would be a cool contrast, so we did a zine! Then I realized I could take what I learned and make my own little comics, which I peddle on my patreon. Both of the mini comics are extensions of the record. One is titled “Sexuality in the Digital Age” and the other “What are Feelings For?” which are themes directly lifted from spirit realm.final. I don’t really know where I’m going with comics but a lot of my favorite musicians also work in comics so I figured I shouldn’t let anything stop me haha.
DD: I think the 4chan thing you brought up leads into something else I wanted to talk about. Has your experience as a Black, queer artist affected how you’re treated within experimental music circles? Also, I have heard people talk about on how your work as an expansive and eclectic, radical mixed-genre, queer rapper has helped give them a voice as a queer or non binary artist themselves. How important is visibility to you as an artist living and working within a world largely controlled by racist, sexist and transphobic systems of oppression?
SB The Moor: Representation is everything! Even on this tour (Legendary tour with milo, we just played our first date in Denver last night) non binary kids have been tellin’ me how much it means to them. And tbh the first time someone mentioned it I was surprised! But, y’know, seeing artists like Mykki Blanco just tear shit up was crucial for me. And I can understand how I might be something similar to others, especially as I grow more and more into myself. Idk what 4chan thought I was about, I never asked…lol. But the minute I got gayer and poppier, despite becoming arguably MORE experimental and confirmably more skilled at music making in general, I think a lot of 4channers realized I was not for them haha. The contrast between people showing up for my shows back then to now is great, and I look forward to my crowds getting gayer and browner as I grow. Haha
DD: Do you see the politics of representation changing for the better or for the worse within music communities for queer people of color, disabled people and marginalized communities in general?
SB The Moor: Tbh I….idk if I’m qualified to answer in an intelligent way lol. I know it seems to be easier for me and others like me, but this game is still a lot about privilege and I wield mine like a sword. I don’t have kids, I have a great support system, I’ve been lucky enough to work on my mental health with professionals…I’m tall and scary looking…haha. But many of my friends do not have these advantages, and even just working a full time job can really drain you when you’re black/brown, trans, and disabled as many of my friends are. How can they tour, or find enough time to finish projects for themselves? And of course, some do anyway, but….idk I’ve drifted from the question haha. I’m not political, or rather, I’m a political skeptic. Like the police, politicians just aren’t our friends. And as more people like us make music that people can’t deny, then yeah certain things get easier.
DD: Can you elaborate on your (apparent) affinity for collaboration ? You also accept commissions on occasion and can you talk a bit about that process and how you started to be so open and prolific with your talents?
SB The Moor: I love collaboration for a couple reasons…I love to experience newness. It’s a great way to train your brain. I believe if you can look at something new and just accept it, even if u don’t like it, you will never be stuck in your ways. And that leads to learning faster and reaching a certain level of mastery faster. And I accept commissions as often as I can, it was a large part of my smol income last year and it was fun to do, fun to see who is listening and who wants a piece of the pie I’m baking and what kind of weird underground shit is out there. Once I conquered my fears it seemed like the logical step. Honestly I was inspired by Lil Wayne’s prolific output too haha. Saturate the market and have fun widdit. I still have songs poppin up on spotify and bandcamp and I be like, oh damn I made this??? I’ve done like 150 commissions so I really be forgetting lol!
DD: Future plans for SB the Moor ?
SB The Moor: future plans:
keep bein’ dope
stay in the dojo
upload to the spirit realm
DD: OK, Finally, any shoutouts, closing statements etc
SB The Moor: Shout out to milo, the ruby yacht, Randal bravery, Pink Navel asleepin like a angel beside me, my Taurus Moon Sweetie back in Port Orchard, our families, my big little brother and my little little brother, the ancient ones, the future ones, shout out ratskin for the continued and future support, and lastly shout out to myself cus I couldn’t have done it without me.
Oceans of Blue, Forests of G R E E N : AN INTERVIEW WITH ANNA LUISA PETRISKO
The work of multi-media artist Anna Luisa Petrisko has been making waves in the bay area and beyond for years under her own name, the longstanding JEEPNEYS project which mixed recording, performance and video, which culminated in a video game project “JEEP JEEP”, The Black Salt Collective, and now her new album, titled “Green” , released on LA’s Practical Records help solidify Luisa as one of the most important contemporary artists working today across many different platforms while still retaining their roots and radicalized aesthetics. Luisas’ tour with XINA XURNER , “The Royal Hearts Tour” stops in Oakland this Wednesday at Pro Arts!
Hello Anna, thanks so much for taking the time to speak with Decaycast. Can you introduce yourself and speak a little about your current performing/recording project?
My name is Anna Luisa Petrisko and I am an artist working across many mediums. I recently released an album called “Green” which was co-produced with Julius Smack and features guest vocalists Adee Roberson and Ana Roxanne, and piano by Gavin Gamboa. I’m getting ready to tour (with my friends Xina Xurner) in support of this album. I’ve been calling it “tropical new age pop” but you could throw in “synth” and “experimental” too. It is definitely song-based. I live in LA and although there is a ton of nature, it isn’t the greenest kind, especially in the summer and after several years of drought. The “green place” I dream of through these songs is this lush space where we can all chill, heal, and play. And pray for rain! Green is the color of your Heart Chakra and I wrote this album while grieving, so the green place is also where we process grief and connect to the ones we’ve lost, our ancestors and whomever else we keep close.
Thank you for going in so deep, how has the sound of “Green”, your newest recorded work, changed since previous works such as the esteemed JEEPNEYS project? Also is collaboration a main theme of all of work audio works?
JEEPNEYS was a project that was in and of itself constantly evolving and was a way for me to process coming into my self as a multimedia artist, rather than somebody who was always in bands, as well as processing my identity and culture as a Filipino. When I decided to retire JEEPNEYS (in the form of a video game JEEP JEEP) I knew my next album would be something different. But it is still a lineage and a continuation because the theme music from JEEP JEEP evolved into the first song Offering on GREEN. Damn I guess I cannot escape myself! The songs on GREEN feel different than music I released as JEEPNEYS, and they are not tied to specific performances whereas JEEPNEYS releases are more like opera soundtracks.
I am mostly reclusive in the studio so collaboration is really fun and a way for me to get out of my insular world. I love my friends so much but I am also a create-aholic so collaborating is how I hang out with my peeps without having to leave the studio! Working with Adee, Ana, Gavin and Julius Smack on this album was absolute pure joy and lots of snacks. If we collaborate, I will feed you.
So in a way, the work under your own name is less tied to multimedia works? Are you still working in other mediums, and if so, will they work their way into these newer works under your own name?
I don’t have plans for Green to become a large scale performance project, but I did make music videos for “Mountains Gold Rivers Green” and “Maintenance in Loving” and they will be premiering this week! In terms of my other work, I continue to do the Sagittarian most. I am currently in a group show in Oakland at Dream Farm Commons with a bunch of amazing peeps including my longtime collaborator and friend Grace Rosario Perkins. I have plans to collaborate with The Creatrix for a special residency with Practical Records in Berkeley in November. I am also working towards my next experimental sci-fi opera premiering in 2019 which will have holodeck-inspired mixed reality experiences and space cult vibes!
Wow, thats a lot of projects in the works How do you manage to balance so many projects at once in so many different mediums? Do they all inform each other, or do you attempt to operate in different mind sets for the work flow of each project?
To be honest my flow often feels like a sporadic and heavy gas pedal / sudden brake situation but I thank my lucky stars every day for my completely nonsensical & non-linear process because it usually comes into focus at some point. Not always but that’s ok. I mostly just follow my intuition, make lots of mistakes, and try not to get anxious thinking about it all by doing lots of self-care. You seem like you are doing a million things, and supporting not only your own work but so many other people’s work who are all very unique. What’s your secret?
Honestly I’ve always respected you as an artist for many reasons, but one of them being you seem to have so many different projects going, but they all are fully realized and it seems as if you’ve successfully cloned yourself. I am doing a million things, but i have so much unseen support, mostly from women of color, and all of the amazing radical art that gets produced by folks that have exponentially less privilege than i do is a constant inspiration to do better, and do my part in documenting all of the amazing work thats being produced right now, also strong weed.
Is there anything else you’d like to talk about within either the context of your practice, or the world in general lol?
Thank you! I totally feel you and resonate with what you are saying. I have so much seen and unseen support from friends, family, and history in general! There’s a long lineage of artists who came before and after, and had/have it way harder than me! Grateful is a small word to describe a big feeling. Can’t wait to see you in Oakland! Take care
DECYCAST Premieres: Kinetic Attack “Watch Out” Official Music Video
Check this world premiere of Kinetic Attack‘s “Watch Out” video for Miami based Crass Lips Records “Watch Out” is directed, designed & edited by Ingrid Mouth (@ingridmouth) and features the band riffing through various brightly colored scenes, opening passageways to psychedelic portals, glowing, strobing lighting effects give an other-worldly effect, which still maintaining a DIY charm not too far off from an early Shana Moulton influenced works. Smoke, steam, goblets, antlers, walls of ripped and tattered fabric play off each other with skillful, stylized on beat, fast paced editing, gel the seemingly endless scenes together. Kinetic Attack plays a raw, angular, aggressive version of percussion heavy synth-punk, with sharp, frantically yelled vocals which play off of the loopy, dizzying synth riffs and thick, driving bass parts and this video is the perfect counterpart to “Watch Out”. All together, a cohesive, driving interpretation of synth forward punk music with a take all it’s own! The video component is no slouch either, that of a dizzying array of glitter-bombed, surrealist, brightly painted props obscure glistening bodies and playfully nihilistic dadaesque actions create a fun, confusing, yet tense and INTENSE visual for the song, a perfect pairing. Fantastic collaboration.
Bay area artists Roxy and LuLu, as 
D E C A Y C A S T Magazine 