C V L T S / Virgin Spirit on Mishka Records

Got this one in from Mishka, the clothing designer here in Brooklyn and this one is a clear pink split between C V L T S and Virgin Spirit, haven't actually spent any time with either of these groups until today

The C V L T S, from Lawrence KS, started out as a duo and seem to be on a on a more ambient path than say... Black Dice, similar DNA: getting together here and there with no name to record in the basement, a circle of amps, and make some noises...that being said this track, "Time Debt" is surprisingly delicate, they have pretty massive restraint, but then again Gaurav and Josh are good friends. They already have the advantage of knowing by now pretty much what the other is going to do. You don't hear any kind of competition. There's two main sounds at work here; a looping airy delayed big synth melody with huge spaces and a heavily sustained distorted guitar. Sometimes their winding melody almost syncs up together, a subtle harmony back and forth, following each others lead. A low rumble of trucks and miscellaneous loops play around in the back...but this is a nice ride between this dreamy synth and a scratchy guitar. Great to see they've worked with Atelier Ciseaux on this sold out cassette, smart atmospheric experiments.

The B-Side from Virgin Spirit, "Bathed in White" sounds like an underwater 78, muffled and then slowed down to abstract levels, with a just out of reach radio station fading in and out of consciousness. A weirdo dream state of half understanding, but mostly making it up yourself. No webiste that I can find for these guys...this might be their only purchasable release.

Trio C V L T S have long been a Мишка favorite, and are represented by the superlative Amdiscs label. “Time Debts” is a achingly pretty downtempo track that shows off the best of C V L T S. Virgin Spirit, a veritably supergroup made up of Party Trash and William Cody Watson (formerly Pink Priest), haven’t released much in the past, which is part of why we’re so pleased to be a part of “Bathed In White.”

Great package, as always from Mishka, who's going all out on these limited single/shirt pairings, this time letting everyone in on the colored vinyl. They're really going after a crazy variety of acts who seem to be somewhere on the electronic spectrum, but range from all the way dance party to underground goth to this subtle experimental tones. They even put out this remix EP on bandcamp around the release.

Mater Suspiria Vision on Mishka Records

Got a new single from the prolific Mishka Records, this one being the fourth release in their catalog from Mater Suspiria Vision. Mishka seems to be mining a pretty particular corner of electronic music and this single is no exception. From the dark Blessure Grave to freakishly talented Hussle Club, they are artists I wouldn't have otherwise come in contact with, and there isn't anyone out there with this kind of idiosyncratic focus .

Mater Suspira Vision is coming off like the audio equivalent of Holy Mountain, freakishly their own combination of industrial and drone with a similar visual collage aesthetic the the film. Like The Knife they seem to have worked out a strong theatrical element, which is as important as the sound, and once you

The A-Side, "Seduction of the Armageddon Witches" sounds like a single slow, somewhat manipulated rhythm loop with a female vocal heavily delayed to the point where any recognizable words she's saying are bouncing back in on themselves to an unrecognizable degree. There's a slew of very low, subtle, sinister synth sounds writhing away in the background, slowly working through a few chords, but overall it finds this grind and sticks with it. Something like a trance Skinny Puppy sound, or the hyptnotizing dub of Neitzer Ebb...the repetition is a huge part of this...and the occult. Instead of embracing the machine like that era, MSV seems to be turning towards the spirit world of drum machines and keyboards. God knows it needs it, for some reason it's been stuck with being forced to create happy dance music at ungodly BPMs. Scaring the hell out of people can be an interesting place to take pure electronics. MSV seems like they can match this sound with their stage show, when they have one....on their facebook page it says over and over:

NO MORE INTERVIEWS! PLEASE NO MORE BOOKING AGENCY REQUESTS! WE ONLY DO CONCERTS AT VERY SELECTED PLACES!

Nothing like yelling about how you don't want to play to get people even more interested in just what the hell it is these guys are doing. Their videos are equally interesting, are they recreations of sacrifices, or pieced together ritual footage? Either way it adds another level to that unrelenting pulsating bass sound.

The B-Side, "Séance Infernale" opens with more heavily echo'd sounds of children breathing or crying? It's hard to tell exactly what's going on, and their counting on this creepy ambiguity. Heavy reverb on a minimal drum track is the only thing that isn't human voice in one form or another. More female vocals, too echo'd to understand are mostly just talking. A terrifying heavy layered synth sound breaks in eventually. A single chord, sustained for the rest of the track. Nothing but warped out voices end the track. It's almost subverting everything electronic music has been used for in the past. This isn't going to be played on any dancefloor, and even as a joke I'm not going to get the Ouija board out and play this song 3 times in the mirror. You can tell when it just isn't worth it. When there's even the slightest chance it might be true...why take the chance?

Get it from Mishka Records:

Mater Susupiria Vision's "Seduction of the Armageddon Witches" 7". "Séance Infernale" featuring Scout Klas and How I Quit Crack on the B-side. Blue Vinyl, only 300 pressed.

Hussle Club - Loose Tights on Mishka NYC Records

From the sleeve credits, Hussle Club is Prince Terrence. Bass, drums, vocals....all done by the Prince. And you might think, Prince? who does this guy think he is? But, he can pull this off, just based on the heavy, super produced sound on both sides, let alone his bad ass attitude in this video just walking around the city. What can I say? - I'm buying it, he's got the talent and style to make something that feels authentic.

'Loose Tights', on the A-Side has some big electronics that slowly creep in, Terrence has amazing control over these technical sounds, building the instrumentation layer by layer. The synth percussion's and basslines are produced huge on the electronic dance side, with roots back to OMD, Camouflage, or Celebrate the Nun, not so much in instrumentation, but style. This really gets into the middle of the ring with some heavy alt-dance hitters, part MGMT dance, with a darker side, like the old school depresso's, Robert Smith and Budgie. Record labels have to be shitting themselves that a talent like this basically can probably have more success without them altogether. He's definitely got his sound nailed already. Vocally he's a serious Peter Murphy, the deep sinister delivery.
But it's hard to relate to this, like my friend once said about watching Connor Oberst live, there's this genius over there playing on stage and you just don't feel like you can even get near it. It's going to feel distanced just because of his god damn overwhelming talent. We aren't going to be friends, he's a superstar already, since he was born. Just plain different.

So many serious warnings on the sleeve, 'Adults Only' ...I would expect that on a Sex Worker single but not this produced electronic pop with a dark slant. Instantly it's a seedier side of dance, underground. I haven't heard anyone exactly working like this in a while. To have put this together singlehandedly is an achievement and the choice of the Cult cover, to reexamine this era, is uncharted.

Hussle Club - She Sells Sanctuary (The Cult) by Мишка Bloglin

The Cult cover of Sanctuary on the B-Side is the second single from Mishka NYC that's pulled out a cover on the B-Side and I end up appreciating this song again. The guitar riff is the star second only to Terrence's perfect homage delivery. Is some of this stuff is overlooked? There's untapped value in that era when 'alternative' groups had that support and label resources to create their best work.
It's what B-Sides were meant for, a surprising departure from the main direction of the band while nodding to the roots. The idea that music as a whole is going to keep feeding on itself long into the screaming synth solo and Terrence's cover about the world dragging you down.
The Prince kicks it up in the updated chorus, giving it a new energy vocally. He manages to more than pull off that tough baritone sound. The Hussle Club infuses the classic track with a pretty hefty synth bassline and twice the beats. Another reason to hear this as it was intended on sweet vinyl is otherwise you'll just never get this bass delivery in any other format. The nuances of the spitting low waves when the sound reaches the bottom and it starts fading and breaking apart... sputtering and popping cones. If the Cult would have ever issued a DJ 12", this would have been the mix. The original song is forever changed and that's the best kind of cover.

Get it from Mishkanyc Records. You have two choices, the regular old black vinyl, or clear white swirl with a shirt.

//Tense// Turn it Off on Mishka Records

Mishka Records sent over their latest release, #002 from the band //Tense// out of Texas.
First of all go read their great review of //Tense's// 10" it was a while back and must have been the impetus for pressing this single. Excellent music critique in all things Ministry...I actually found that first full length from those guys on Wax Trax in a Salvation Army and really thought there was a completely different band out there called Ministry in the late 80's after hearing it. I didn't know Al completely wrote that one off...of course it's very different, but I would think that audience would want to know where it all started...why even keep the name then?
I think that's an example of how much music distribution has changed in the last 20 years. There was pressure from people behind the scenes with no business giving their opinions....if their workplace is anything like mine...and that is definitely gone for a band now where Ministry was at that point. I think you could say music as a whole is more artistically pure than it's ever been, the methods of recording and distribution are completely homegrown affairs. It hurts more than it helps to be on a big label.

The A-Side, "Turn it off" is cold, dark electronics but not in that unrelateable psychopathic, weirdo, future way. This is really accessible, relying on dance beats and vocals that are echoed in the traditional style of the genre, far off, down in the cellar. This might be closer to Crystal Castles than Blank Dogs...they seem to be moving butts, instead of people towards the exits because they're terrified.
The hyper electronic glitch sounds and chorusy synths on this track are squeaky clean sounding....and that makes perfect sense for this era. No one was in love with the shit sound of their home equipment yet. As is the case with Kraftwerk I want to hear every 1 and 0 (and on analog vinyl, I know it makes no sense...it really makes less and less sense to hear something super electronic on vinyl, but I can't argue with my turntable).
Blessure Grave, their previous release, still feels extreme...even more so in retrospect and //Tense// is equally as extremist in sticking authentically to that their vision of the '80's.

The B-Side, 'The Chain' is a Fleetwood Mac cover for gods sake. It updates the Mac track by only 5 or 10 years though... it stays so true to that late '80s sound, there isn't a misstep or out of place sound anywhere. The handclaps and bongo sounds where the early machines were trying so hard to imitate an organic sound they accidentally became their own sound. It's become another tool that's never going away... the 808, the 909 they will be drum kits forever in every app or piece of hardware from now until the end of time. //Tense// is building these era authentic tracks...and they get points for completely deconstructing the original song to the point that it's completely unrecognizable.
How does that era keep being influential? Was it because the '80s was all about looking ahead towards an unrealistic optimistic future? The synth and these thin percussion sounds are typical of this failure of those promises and how ridiculous this optimism now feels (and sounds).
That's why I think the A-Side works the best for me. To make something interesting out of the sounds of utter failure. The hair bands/new nu wave...it was an era of unreal persona's on top of a fake future...no wonder it fell apart the year punk broke.
To re-contextualize this cool, dance sound into something ominous is a logical way to look back at that time...it's more realistic.

Mishka is obviously passionate about the labels neo-cold wave direction and the Blessure Grave single was an incredible launch for this laser focus vision.
The world could use a label that's curating a specific collection like this in the 7" format from bands that are either just starting to work with these sounds or have been 20 years ago.

These tracks are both labeled 45rpm edits of what could very well be longer club versions. On blood red opaque vinyl from Mishka Records with a pretty sweet honcho magazine centerfold from 1982 with a steak for a face. Isn't that dude already a piece of meat?

Get the limited edition red vinyl, with shirt from MishkaNYC.

Blessure Grave on Mishka Records

After the preview post I did abut this single, Mishka Records contacted me about actually sending me this single, and I'm glad they did, it's time I forgot about videos for a minute and reconsider Blessure Grave based on the music alone. I learned my lesson, it's a mistake to make some kind of judgment about the band based on a directors visual decisions. His vision of Blessure Grave obviously didn't follow mine, but that's why books are better than movies.

I love the cover art, it fits perfectly, that superimposed sheet flying up supposedly appearing in front of a Victorian house. It has a creepy deceptive feel from the early days of photography when you could double expose a negative to photograph 'ghosts' and it was the craziest special effect anyone had ever seen.

'Stranger in this house', the first track on the A-Side would be enough for the single, but Mishka went to the trouble of pressing both sides at different speeds so there's two here. It's a typically great Blessure Grave style track with a rolling tom fill beat, recorded thin sounding, a hint of high end static distortion, slightly mechanical, echoing that dehumanized drum machine sound with a simple delayed chorus guitar melody on top. They don't ever rely on a lot of tricks or gimmicky effects to get this depressed sound, and that's why it works, it's going to stay classic. There's nothing to tie it to a particular technological invention.
Not relying on new sounds and then choosing to have a pretty minimal instrumentation adds to the isolation feel of the vocal delivery and lyrics. Reyna adds her vocal sparsely enough in contrast to T's layers of deep singing; she's the ghostly echo to his ceremonial chant.
The second track, 'Shadow', speeds things up and I realize I haven't ever heard them go the obvious slow tempo route to create their ominous sound, this one is bordering on punk even, it's warning a girl about lost innocence without it sounding at all cliche. They have a sincerity that comes through in all of their work I want to hear more of, I'm never disappointed at their catchy sinister sound. That's when the Cure or Joy Division are most successful for me, when they're writing fast, forceful songs about alienation and not drowning in their own droney overblown instrumentation.
The cover of Sleep's 'Dragonaut' is the one worth finding out a way to track down this single. It's not going to show up on anything else, and it's a great example of why bands do covers in the first place. To take a song like this from Sleep who became such an influence after the fact, but what sounded like groundbreaking stoner rock in '92, is heavily dated now. Blessure Grave puts their imprint all over the track, while slightly changing their own sound as well...that's the best cover, that kind of crossover. The original is reinterpreted, and re-exposed to a new generation of fans possibly who will do the research on the original track, and the current band might just hit on something new in the process. That's what's happened here. The vocals are completely different as well, they force the melody into their aesthetic, and this original epic metal translates well into their stripped down goth. Reyna and T. singing together on this one is a great direction for the original. They're both great natural vocalists anyway... I really have to see how this is performed live. They introduce a really low bass synth tone over a couple of layers of guitars, it sounded new in their sound and was a great way to solve the drone guitar sound from the original. It's a well executed cover, they really took their time with this one. It's one of those covers that's so different and interesting on it's own you would mistake it as their own.
Almost forgot to mention a friend of mine texted me the back of his rear view mirror which had this sinister inscription! Blessure Grave is all around us! Serious injury is everywhere!

Still available from insound, on black or clear pink vinyl with t-shirt.

Blessure Grave preorder on Mishka records?

If we're going purely on sound, I'm really into Blessure Grave, they have got a handle on just enough goth paired with a super low-fi aesthetic to throw it off in a Blank Dogs kind of way. Maybe that recording style evokes even more dread...like some kind of fog over the whole thing...it's murky, you don't know exactly what your hearing even and you fill in the blanks. Unlike Cold Cave who is leaning lately more towards some kind of electronic dance probably just do to the slickness of that latest one from Matador.

I was just about to catch a show of theirs in the neighborhood But I watched the video for 'Open or Shut' that afternoon and it just threw the whole image I had of them. I wanted the Hoods from the black and white Learn to Love the Rope sleeve, I thought they were a little bad ass. Black metal with a 4-track? The two of them? That's gold...maybe I'm still thinking of that Portal show. I wanted it that hardcore. Not playing with silly string, crying in the corner.



No matter what though 'I will reduce you to black smoke' on the split DiTG single will always be amazing, I just wish they didn't ham it up like it was goth 1989. They're just too stylized and into their image in a little bit of a cheesy way. There's just no defending that video. Why are you even in it? There was such an opportunity there.
Then they're collaborating with some kind of Urban Outfitters fashion label?
I'm totally confused.

This is available with or without t-shirt from insound.