Free Music Alert SPECIAL: The Joy Of Aural Sects!

I can’t believe it’s been ages since I did one of these posts!

But thankfully things have quietened down just a little on this front, I thought that now would be a good time to get you all filled in on some rather joyful music that’s out there, in the wild, fresh and free as the morning dew.

But in a change from the usual posts, I’ve decided to up the ante with a special spotlight focused on a particular netlabel that’s been producing some rather brilliant music for a long time now. Created in 2011, AURAL SECTS has been a label and collective that has been nibbling and picking away at the edges of the so-called “Post-Internet” with some relish for a while now. Rising in the middle of the primordial sound soup that was Witch House (Mental note to self – I must get a follow up post on Witch House v2.0 done these days) and other associated genres, they’ve grown and blossomed into one of the hottest burning netlabels online with releases that span from twisted trap rap and booming witch house, to some of the most melancholic trance music you’ve heard in years.

So in the interested of quality music writing, I got drunk and sent an expletive message to one of the label’s many hydra heads, Bunny Intonamorous, about the label and what drives them in this brave new world…

 

Tell us about yourself Bunny in excruciating detail. The who/hows/whats/whys of your life…

Hello, I am Bunny, I was born with a different name, but I like this one better. It was given to me by friends because I tend to just sit down and do very little, but then I was looking after a family pet that tried to suffocate me in the night with its arse so now I keep this name for the same reason that Batman calls himself that. To strike that same fear into the hearts and minds of my enemies. I’m 26 years young, and I am a music and info-addict. I live to ingest new information and music. I have a day job, but that’s not important, but I am also a musician (used to make avant-garde neoclassical music, traded the score for Ableton about a year and a half ago and… well put it this way, I’m getting better), labelhead, writer, DJ (HA! Everyone is a DJ these days), and now, an editor of a small philosophy and music blog.

How did you get started in this music lark in the first place?

I’ve always been an audio obsessive – an avid listener of EVERYTHING I can get my hands on. I decided on a whim to try to get into the practical side of things when I was 14, through education, and had a passion for writing avant-garde classical music, which I then studied, together with analysis throughout university… After that I got a bit bored with that and just went back to listening only until I found witch house, and got inspired by what seemed to be the punk DIY ethic of it all – use what you can to make something. It really inspired me to try to my hand at something relatively poppy (i.e. not alternating time signatures every bar and using 5-6 non-tonal scales in half-hour long works… 5 minute, 4 chord drag songs).

Aural Sects the label – Give us an overview/ ORG chart. Why did it start in the first place? what were the gaps that you wanted to fill with your ideas/desires?

We started it in the first place because it seemed like a lot of artists we thought were really, really good (like, the future of music good) weren’t getting the attention they deserved, and some of these people were our friends. We were all musicians ourselves, and we thought it’d just make sense if we all got together and focused on trying to get all this music out to a wider audience.

Since then, we’ve grown up a bit, and used/abused (depending on your outlook) our tiny, but growing position in a cultural scene, to push certain agendas that we stand for. We’ve started self-referring as “net-positive” since we try to actively encourage all the things that internet culture is built on – which can be traced back to the original hackers at MIT in the late 60s. Roughly this translates to: transparency (we always explain what we’re doing and why to people), virality (playing to the feed culture that the major social sites play to – we try to be a semi-constant feature in feeds, whilst avoiding repeating ourselves, which is what the graphical representations of tracks and EPs is on our page – it’s not just photosharing, it’s playing to the strengths of the feed), sharing our content as freely as possible, only charging for physical products (or things associated with physical products), a distaste for authority (which is why we try to have a fluid structure as a label – there are “labelheads” but anyone can be one, so long as they put the work in), AND, we cannot forget teh lulz.

How does aural sects decide on what music to publish on the label? Is there an overriding philosophy to what you guys so?

This is the hardest part to describe of what we do, really. Partly it’s logical – we don’t want our overall sound to be too clean, or too dirty (we like both the hi-fi dance stuff like VS//YOUTHCLUB and Rachel Haircut, and the dirtier hip-hop stuff like Thoed Myndez and Blam Lord). We do tend to pick up on artists that have a certain mindset though – nothing too backwards-looking, something unique and firmly based in one of several potential futures. I mean, all of our artists are aware of their roots. That’s important for any kind of artist. But I like to think we pick artists that aren’t afraid to gaze into the crystal ball and look towards what might happen in the future, too. Overall, we can kinda tell if an artist “belongs” with us or not. Some of our artists passionately get what we do, they chip in and help any way they can, and we love that. If I were a businessman I’d call it “synergy” but I’m not, so I’ll call it “us being on the same page”.

How have the label’s releases/ attitude changed since the early days. Do you think you are reflecting or helping to drive the changes going on the future-pop world?

We’re a lot more knowledgeable and critical about what we do now. We’ve had a few minor disasters in the past that we’ve definitely learned from, and we’ve learned that no matter how awesome we think we might be, no-one is going to come up and do you a favour or give you a leg up. I was discussing our current position with my friend and fellow labelhead, Joe, the other day, and he pointed out that unlike a lot of labels, we tend not to get overlooked on major platforms, and we’ve never been given a leg up, really, unlike some of our peers.
We’d like to think we’re making changes in the wider arena… but at the moment all we can do is support the general zeitgeist of “free music/art”. Our peculiarities don’t seem to be, so far, reaching a very wide audience, or affecting the way people experience musical culture.

Netlabels – Some say they help to cheapen music and the work of a musician by giving it away for nothing. What do you feel a netlabel such as Aural Sects provides to the role of music in general?

I can understand that point of view, although blaming netlabels is a bit much. Let’s not forget that it was listeners downloading shit for free that caused the collapse of the ’90s model. Let’s also take into account that this particular format has been dominant for the past 40 years ONLY and before that, throughout history, there’s been a variety of money/music/musician models. For me, our label is getting artists out there – we’re a platform to get musicians to the bread and butter of musicians’ paychecks these days, merchandise and touring. Also, the intention is to eventually (really far down the line!) to get all the artists who want to be on a physical, making money that way, onto physical media. There’s no sense in putting new music by relatively unknown artists behind a pay-wall that will ultimately only get pirated in a non-trackable way. At least this way, we can gauge an artists’ popularity and put them in touch with promoters relative to their size for gigs and the like, or in some cases, even organise a tour ourselves. We are actually in the process of organizing a full USA tour for five of our US artists, with assistance in each area, from local artists we’re friends with.

What’s so great about running a witch house netlabel?
Getting to hear new tracks by your favourite artists before release, getting to give advice to people on demos, the lulz to be had, and the weird and interesting ideas you encounter every day.

What’s not so great about running a witch house netlabel?
Comments sections, the “RPG Funk” factor, people giving you their stuff an hour before the release date – or giving it to you and saying they want it released that moment.

2013 – Already some interesting releases, but what’s the main object for Aural Sects?
The main object is just to grow, see how far we can take this, and see how far we can spread this music. I don’t think we’ll really think we’re a success until we have to have IRL offices.

Primer Time! – Tell us of 3 releases on the label and why people should download/listen to them.
AH SO DIFFICULT!Okay, I’m going to give my totally biased opinion, although in reality EVERY release has something for someone…

1) VS//YOUTHCLUB – WAVES EP. These are the gems of the UK side of AS (although one of the members is now Berlin based). Imagine the coolest, sleekest dance music you can, and then combine that with indie songwriting, and slick hi-fi sound. You have the unique futurist vision that is VS// right there.

2) Thoed Myndez – Candy Kisses EP: 5 solid tracks of production collaboration between the estimable veterans of the witch scene, Party Trash and Nattymari (who is one of the basic reasons that AS exists in the first place). They get some of the most interesting rappers around the scene to spit some hooks and verses on each track, creating perfect lo-fi, dirty southern, avant-garde hip-hop. Glorious stuff.

3) Psychic Rites – Psychic Rites EP. This explores the pop side of AS. Proper witchy dance-pop is probably the best way I can describe it. Impassioned and catchy-as-fuck choruses, and that cover art? DAYUM. They’re going on tour as part of the Aural Sects USA tour this summer. I so wish I could be there for what I’ve heard is a tour-de-force performance.

If you like the sound of the these three release, then AURAL SECTS have a metric ton of music that’s freely available at their BANDCAMP PAGE. Also check them out on Facebook as well. You will not regret this. Money back guarantee! etc, etc…

 

Free Music Dump: 100% Fresh and steaming from the udder!

Right! 2012 is now here and this blog has been inactive for long enough. It’s time to get back on the hamster wheel of blogging and begin feeding the beast that knows no name. Well actually, it’s called Kevin, but don’t tell him he’s a beast – it hurts his feelings….

So the best way to ge things going is to throw some delicious morsels of free music, the same was a local crime lord will throw frozen turkeys at crack addicts during Thanksgiving. yes, it’s time for a free music dump!

So what’s first from my sonic bag of tricks? Ahh, this’ll do for starters, “Solar Lights Don’t work At Night” by GOD BOWS TO MATH. An indie rock band from Auckland, NZ. It’s not too bad a listen as it’s loaded with grumbling bass, and slightly emo-atonal guitar lines with a slight Post Hardcore bent. It’s pretty well produced ans is worth the 13-odd minutes of your time.

 

Next up is a bit of sleazy electro squelch from LOVE SPELLS. Their debut album “Paradox” is free to download from bandcamp and it’s chokka with slowed down, screwed up disco sounds and Lo-Fi beats that you would get from your typical dystopian futurescape ála Kandinsky. For the unwashed locals, this is what Nolo would sound like if they listened to French electronic artists from the early 80′s instead of The Cars

 

OK now is time to REALLY rip things up, with some ringing, tingling grime sounds from Birmingham, courtesy of LADY LESHURR. She released this free album/mixtape on the site Hood Tapes and, maaaan, it just continuously piledrives into your brain with some seriously hypertime rhythms. 2012 is certainly going to be the year several female grime MCs are going to break through in the UK and this lady HAS to be one of them. You can check for yourself by downloading the album HERE. (Thanks to Joe Muggs for suggesting this on twitter…)

 

Now to finish things off, time for a little bit of Nepotism. I have a lovely friend in the USA named Jeffrey Owens, As well as sharing a love of music and comics, he also likes to tinker with electronic sounds under the pseudonym TERRAN. He’s released a free EP titled “10 Noises” on Bandcamp and despite the name, it’s actually rather soothing in its own unique way. Each track is a short sharp jab of power electronics and oscillating wave functions. An Ideal palette cleanser from all the MOR molasses that stick to your ears from regular radio use….

 

Hmm, i think that’s a decent start to the new year, don’t you think? Now be off with you! I’m going to conduct some nasty experiments with an A-Ha 7″…..

 

 

Free Music Dump: The freshest shit, straight from the udder…

Yeah i know. in these days of the internet, the idea of free music gets a battering. It was supposed to be that the internet would give you all freer access to more quality music, often dealing straight with the musician or band themselves. what people didn’t realise though was that 99.5% of this new free music would often turn out to be complete cack. Some random squeaking sounds that should be been aborted the moment their musical “creator” decided that he too was gong to be a music star.

Well help is at hand as for this latest installment, i try to sift through the wades of aural sewage, to find those little glinting nuggets that hope may denote shiny jewellery that was accidentally flushed down the toilet. It happens more often than you think.

First up we have the EP “REmixes” by Templ▲te. Despite the obvious Witch House connotations, what we have here are five tracks remixed by the mucker himself. Some of the tracks such as Kavinsky’s “Nightcall” are slooowed down to an almost electronic shoegaze feel. But there are hardly any of the usual Witch House motifs here, such as overloading synths and tinny beatboxes. It’s very listenable…

 

Next up is the free single “In you Room/ Single Man” by GHOST ANIMAL released by Amdiscs, it’s 3 tracks of simple overloaded 60′s power pop with the guitar parts dominating the proceedings before the cymbals stab your eardrums during the chorus. Classic lo-fi sounds from over the last 5 years. If that is something that you’re into then download straight away.

 

For our next offering, we have something rather interesting. A mini album titled “Barest Bones” by a group called BRUT CHOIR. Hailing from Little Rock, Arkansas (Where Bill Clinton is from Pop fact fans…), they’ve produced some rather dark and disturbing gothic synth-led post punk sounds. Lots of simple beats allied with haunting drones and some spooky echoey singing and guitar sounds. Could easily have been released in 1982 from Belgium if they weren’t careful. I actually downloaded this album and i listen to it a lot. It’s a “name your Price” offer, but if you’re skint, you can get it for free….

 

Last, but definitely not least, is a very fine EP from a good buddy of mine, Mr KEMPER NORTON. Kemper has been producing a lot of music for a while now that he has given away for free. It could be mental illness, but maybe it’s because he loves music and feels that you should share in its beauty as well. For his latest EP, “Libraries Act”, he has created 4 tracks that have been given titles that are denoted with numbers from the Dewey decimal system (search it on YouTube). Denoting his style “slurtronica”, the first track has a simple piano led sample with a spoken word track in the background. It sounds something that could have been created by Roy Budd for a Michael Caine thriller in 1973.The rest of the EP contains broken, overlaying samples and field sounds glued together with skittering beats to create a very Cornish Hauntological sound.

 

Now go away. I have more important things to do, like catergorise my bellybutton fluff in order of hairiness…

 

Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Music! so free, it’s, like practically naked and stuff…

Right now I’m not feeling my best. I can sense my faculties slowly ebbing away from me as i try not to tear my vocal chords in coughing fits. Damn, being a living human being is so tough. But even on my death-bed, i still have you, my greedy, selfish, good-for-nothing “Readers” foremost in my mind and my heart. And i want you out of there, NOW! It seems the only way i can do that is to toss a few scraps of free music your way in the hope that you’ll leave me alone. So here goes nothing…..

The first of tonights picks is Californian group Ghost House with their “Division” EP. Now they have tagged themselves with the zeitgeist-y moniker Witch House, but i think they’re too clean and echoey to be really called that. More like dark ambient goth pop with some heavy echo and delay abuse. But it all sounds rather nice, spooky and cavernous. definitely good for a quick spin or two….

 

Right Enough of all that spooky spectral shit. We need GUITARS goddammit! Oh, what’s this? it’s only the demo release from Grammar. A 4-piece from Washington DC they play that nice , noisy math rock guitar squall with clattering drums. all perfectly services with decent chorus. Sounds a little bit like Sudden Weather Change on a slightly more melodic day. Either way for a free EP, this is defintely wrth a shot.

 

But maybe you don’t want guitar rock and gothpop you say. Perhaps i want some fearful, icy, desolate dark ambient noise with which to scare myself at night while playing online computer games. Well then i have just the thing for you! Malibu Wands is a pseudonym for dark organic musician Pink Priest and on this 25 minutes track, he creates atmospheric music that’s just dying to be heard in a cave, or even better on your headphones while tripping balls under the crevice of a glacier.  It’s just feels really cold in my flat now listening to this. I need to put another jumper on…

 

Last (and definitely not least) is the EP “Myrrh & Myth” from Golau Glau. they describe themselves as “an anonymous group of people who collectively create silverpop.  ”Golau” rhymes with “Doll Eye” and “Glau” rhymes with “Eye” too. Or “Cry””. Their sound is a rather quirky take on electronic folk pop with church hymn overtones (“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is a classic example, almost having a  . On a certain level, they have a similarity to the Likes of JJ; but they feel more energetic,  better even. Another good addition to the collection of obscure English electronic music that i have on my hard drive.

 

OK that should be enough to get those bloody freeloaders of my back so i can down and hear my chest give out this weird distinctive “death rattle” sound

 

Free Music Dump: Have you been a good boy? then put your Hand Down Santas sack for a surprise…

Well as i´m in a slighty better mood, i should really give you freeloading bastards a reason to keep coming to this Pus ridden flea pit that i call a blog. And of course my best currency is the oodles of free music that seems to drift towards me like a floating body in the tide…

so what do i have in store for you this week? Lets get tunnelling…

First up is the Album “VIVA§” by Spinning Beach Ball of Death. It’s been release by those fine purveyors of Noise and everything lo-fi and Free, Amdiscs Records. These are rather mysterious. A check up on the tube reveals no MySpace or bad Bio at all, but this album contains 8 tracks of music that veers between old school synth pop and post punk workouts done through a muffled lo-fi noise filter., Rather mellow and fuzzed out.

You can download “VIVA§” right HERE….

PLUS!!!!…. here is another Free EP they did last year titled Calorama. They even have a track on it called Eyjafjallajökull which is a noise belter! See if it is better than the song done by Eliza Newman….

Next up is the EP titles”Parade, I don´t care” by The Fruhstucks. they’re from “The Mediterranean” and they make a mix of psychedelic Pop and fuzzy electro acoustic ambient nonsense. It’s rather joyous in a its own little way. REminds me of early 80′s pop for some reason.

Next up is “Lazy Friend You Move So Fast” by Okinawa Lifestyle. Now this i really do like. A duo hailing from Tblisi, Georgia of all place (isn´t the internet great at this kind of shit?), their EP is full of loopy arpeggiated synth electro pop  that is reminiscent of glo-fi but it’s far more punchy and danceable. Not the most original music out there, but still better than 92% of most home bedroom productions…

If you really like what they dom then go to their blog (on the link above) and there are 3 more EPs for a free download.

And finally, we have “Gaiden” by Change Leopardon from York. Lots of nice droney guitars, mixed with reverb soaked drums and howling in the distance vocals. Very Shoegaze-y but most dirty, less dreamy. It all actually sounds very melodic and relaxing! Very Reccommended.

Also, if you like this album, then there are 2 more EP’s for free download at their bandcamp page….

Well i think that’s all you need to keep you going for now. As for me, i´m off to completely sort my record collection along the lines of how angry each track makes me…

 

Like, OMG!!! you’re really giving us loads of FREE shit and Stuff???

….Yes i am my little munchkins….

although i do have to be quick. My anger levels are high and i do feel my skin turning green and my t-shirt is starting to get inexplicably tight right now. Oh and i do have to rush off and see some god damn culture, the BEST that Reykjavik can offer in 2010…. Hmmmm….

Well first off is a nice little group called Glass Vaults. They´ve released a free EP called Glass . It’s very much an ambient affair but with a bit of folky gloom running through it. A bit like if foals did a collaboration with grouper, or something. But remember it’s free so it’s no skin off your nose…

OK next up is Team and their free EP Catch Pool. Starts off like and indie band playing in a very deep dark cave, then morphs into some chopped up funky beats, then chilled out trip hop and shit. Hey don´t ask me, i´m drinking right now! Go and check them out for yourselves though…

What i have next for your dirty little mitts, is the self titled EP from Skeletal System. Again a lot of ambient and early 80′s New wave vocals with 2nd hand new order drum machines. But it’s nice and gloomy, which is really my default setting…

And last but not least was something that was recommended by my father (well at least he is in my mind) Warren Ellis. It’s a free EP by those whispering Electronic dudes RxRy and is entitled Memory Landscapes. 5 Tracks of Soft Hypnagogic, sounds with woodland scuttling and cracks to break the methadone glide….

Download it from here

Ok i need more beer…….

 

Music dump special: Floating free music that´s out there for you to catch….

i´m awaiting some pictures to be posted of the rather “messy” mystery arts trip i went on yesterday before i go into what happened, but there was certainly a lot of nakedness, alcohol and dirty red clay. I´ll probably write about it tomorrow or monday.

But until then, let´s see what free music is out there for us to cannibalise on teh internets for your listening pleasure. First up is Dunian. There´s not much information on his MySpace page, apart from the fact that the garish background animation is bound to give you a massive migraine. But his music has that kind of crunching beat driven electronic pop reminiscent of the likes of Four Tet and Toro Y Moi. But more importantly his debut EP is free to download from his MySpace page. It´s guaranteed to put you in a good mood…

Next up is How to Destroy Angels. If you haven´t already known, this is the side project of the Dark overlord od moody industrial pop Trent Reznor and his partner Mariqueen. If you fancy some dark, minimal electronic alt-rock that would give Massive Attack nightmares, then you´ll love this. The video is especially bleak with blood, fire and death. I´m sure there’s some hidden message if i can be bothered to work out what it is. Their 6 track debut EP is also free to download from their website.

and last but not least is the collaboration between Icelandic Blues-Master Mugison and My editors band of supreme noise rock slackers Reykjavik! Their track “sumarást” manages to blend the two main component parts of their sound (blues rock and…err… loud noise rock with added twiddly bits). But it sounds all fun and great to dance to. And you can download it for free here!

Reykjavik!/Mugison – Sumarást