PETE SWANSON/RENE HELL: Waiting For The Ladies (Shelter Press)

themilkman on Mar 9th 2012 01:19 am

Pete Swanson/Rene Hell: Waiting For The Ladies

PETE SWANSON/RENE HELL
Waiting For The Ladies
PS02
Shelter Press 2012
04 Tracks. 31mins02secs

Boomkat: LP

Originally self-released on a vinyl run of just 250 copies in 2010, this split album from Yellow Swan’s Pete Swanson and Rene Hell is getting a welcome re-issue, again for a very limited run (520 copies this time) on Brussels-based imprint Shelter Press. Composed of four tracks, three of which the work of kosmische purveyor Rene Hell (Jeffrey Witscher), the side-long fourth, which opens the proceedings here, from Swanson. After a first salvo of typically distorted noise through which his voice occasionally filters out, Swanson settles for a much quieter set of textures and cyclical patterns which slowly gains in granularity throughout the rest of its course, but steers clear of the dense clusters of feedback he often displays on his records. Continue Reading »

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RENE HELL: The Terminal Symphony (Type Recordings)

themilkman on Apr 13th 2011 01:36 am

Rene Hell: The Terminal Symphony

RENE HELL
The Terminal Symphony
TYPE085
Type Recordings 2011
10 Tracks. 38mins22secs

Amazon UK: CD | LP | DLD US: CD | LP | DLD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD

If there was any doubt to the electronic nature of James Witscher’s latest project, the title of his second album as Rene Hell spells it out loud and clear: this is music made for computer. The Terminal Symphony is however a much more ambitious project, which, while retaining much of its predecessor’s refinement, aims at reaching an entirely different level of creativity.

2010 was a busy year for Witscher, who, since the release of his debut album barely a year ago, has delivered a number of tapes, singles and split releases on Arbor, Kraak or Agents Of Chaos. But, as this latest offering prove, this was clearly not enough for the inspiration stream to dry up. Witscher embarked on a much more ambitious project when he set out to record The Terminal Symphony. Continue Reading »

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THE 2010 REVIEW

themilkman on Dec 19th 2010 08:49 pm

The 2010 Review

As 2010 bows out, it is time to look back on a year that has been rich in new music, some from very well established artists, and some from entirely new comers. Here are themilkfactory’s twenty favourite records of the year, and this year for the first time, this list is augmented with thirty other records that have marked the year.

With no less than four albums in the top 20, the year belonged to Rune Grammofon, and more particularly to Supersilent, who occupy two places, including the top spot. Room40 also place two albums in the twenty best records on 2010, while new imprints Desire Path, Hibernate and Textura also feature with some strong releases.
Continue Reading »

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RENE HELL: Porcelain Opera (Type Recordings)

themilkman on May 20th 2010 01:22 am

Rene Hell: Porcelain Opera

RENE HELL
Porcelain Opera
TYPE077
Type Recordings 2010
06 Tracks. 33mins58secs

Amazon UK: CD | LP | DLD US: CD | LP | DLD Boomkat: DLD

Sanctity and sleaze. That’s what seems to advertise the cover of Jeff Witscher’s latest venture, and in a way, it is what he delivers as he swaps the realm of noise which constitutes the bulk of his work for sparse synthetic textures and soundscapes reminiscent of Cluster and Harmonia on one side, and of early Tangerine Dream on the other. But, while he could easily be associated with the wave of Kosmische-obsessed acts that are currently pushing electronic music back onto its natural experimental track, Witscher’s take on the genre is distinctively modern, somehow bridging the gap between the German pioneers of the seventies, BBC Radiophonic Workshop oddities and the ambient electronica that has been in a constant mutating process over the last twenty years. Continue Reading »

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