Mexico City to Chicago...

After a postal mishap, a very eagerly awaited package arrived from our friend Sergio Sanchez in Mexico City. Not only did it contain the excellent new Kriminaaliset Metsänhaltijat cassette on Ruido Horrible, among other releases on that great label -- it also included the master for a forthcoming Los Heraldos Negros release on BloodLust! -- a really stellar and unsettling recording... more details soon...

"Trophy" T-shirt Re-Print/Special Orders

I have been getting additional requests for special order sizes of the recent BLOODYMINDED "Trophy" T-shirt, so I will be placing a re-print order for this design, shortly. If anyone wants a size other than S/M/L/XL, please let me know ASAP (details in original post)

Timeless Stu Mead Book Available

I have a small number of the truly handsome new Timeless Stu Mead books, published by Xavier late last year... I also have re-stock on the previous Timeless edition, "Madness Becomes Method." I am only taking orders from the USA, as Xavier has a great webshop for international orders. Plus, this new book is best not sent through customs...



Stu Mead Sketchbook

Published by Timeless - 2009 - France

16 x 24 cm
176 pages in b&w
Hardcover

Seven years of Stu Mead doodles and drawings. Foreword by Ramuntcho Matta (Stu Mead paintings collector / musician (who collaborated among others with Brion Gysin) / son of surrealist painter Roberto Matta)

Edition of 400 ex.

Cost: $50.00, including Media Mail or $55.00 including Priority Mail and insurance

See a generous selection of images here: http://www.timeless-shop.com/description.php?lang=2&path=7&sort=Ref&page=0&id=830



Madness Becomes Method

Published by Timeless - 2008 - France

Softcover
Regular edition
150 pages

Cost: $45.00, including Media Mail or $50.00 including Priority Mail and insurance

Features a selection of previously unpublished photographs of Intrinsic Action, taken by Greg Scott of Hydra and Final Solution - includes his handwritten notes.

Complete contents -

Art by: Romain Slocombe, Trevor Brown, Keit Ota, Tampopo, Motomichi, Seven Bastards, Daisuke Ichiba, Beatrice Cussol, Mijn Schatje, Elles Sont de Sortie, Kiki Picasso, Loulou Picasso, T5dur, Pyon, Stu Mead, Cameron Jamie, Blanquet, Gilles Berquet, Mirka Lugosi, Antoine Bernhart, Guy Lemaire, Julien Carreyn, Jonathan Canady, Jonas, Jankowsky, Fredox, Jean Pierre Le Boul’ch, Gea, Otto, Pakito Bolino, Tisbor (Splinter vs Stalin), Keith Brewer (Taint), Michael Williams (Eyehategod), Intrinsic Action, Philip Best (Whitehouse/Consumer Electonics), Bruce Benderson, Peter Christopherson (Soisong/PTV/Coil/Throbbing Gristle), Jordi Valls (Vagina Dentata Organ), Gaspar Noe, Elzo, Angelo aka Joseph Farrel, Martin of Holland.

Interview or Text (english+french) by: Dennis Cooper, Romain Slocombe, Michael Williams (Eyehategod), Philip Best (Consumer Electronics, ex-Whitehouse, Ramleh)

Please e-mail to confirm availability before sending payment. Please, no holds...

Sunday Recap

AoH had a really productive and long practice yesterday. We made excellent progress on the new song, "Then Window," and we also worked on an even newer piece.

I had to skip the Drunkdriver in-store at Reckless, as practice ran pretty late, but the nighttime show was excellent. Running played a great set to start the night off. Some of the bands were a bit too poppy for me, but nothing was horrible. I had not seen No Slogan in quite a while, and they upped the ante, for sure. Drunkdriver was dark, brutal, and intense. Maybe not as P.E.-crossover as sometimes gets discussed - Whip and the Body membership notwithstanding - but absolutely in line with bands like Sex Vid, Total Abuse, Cult Ritual, etc. The crowd went fucking mental during their set. I was glad to finally see them as I missed the Century Village show last summer. And it was nice to hang out with so many friends there. The Sorority was strongly represented, and fairly sassy and impudent, to boot!

All that, and I managed to still see The Who on TV. So much for the protests against Pete Townshend...

Status - 2/7

Up early for a special Sunday morning edition of Anatomy of Habit practice, what with a show and recording sessions coming up quickly...

Checked out a cool show last night at Enemy. A bunch of friends played, including my AoH bandmate Blake - performing as Vertonen (B! cassette soon) - Shattered Hymen (Vadim who released the Soliday/Solotroff CD reviewed below) - PTM - Disgust, an intense new power-electronics duo Mack from Koufar/Bachir Gemayal - Peter Woods from Milwaukee - Cleveland's #1 dark and fouled-noise force, Skin Graft - The Southbridge DJ team of Jon Cates and Jake Elliott, who mutated some BLOODYMINDED and The Fortieth Day into their stew of slowwwwwww electronics -- and several more folks -- Fun night, quick sets, lots of friends...

I hope to see Drunkdriver play today... Hopefully at a Reckless Records in-store during the afternoon, and at Halfway House tonight, with noise-mongers Running and some straighter punk bands...

Mail-order is all caught up, as of Friday evening.

BLOODYMINDED "Trophy" T-shirts will be re-printed soon, as a number of special orders have been placed. If you want the new shirt in a size other than S/M/L/XL, please get in touch ASAP...

Ruido Horrible on Jason Soliday + Mark Solotroff 2CD

Sergio at Rudio Horrible has again been kind enough to review another older work of mine, this time the Whitechapel Recordings 2CD set with Jason Soliday from 2007

http://ruidohorrible.blogspot.com/2010/02/mark-solotroff-jason-soliday.html

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Mark Solotroff & Jason Soliday - Soliday/Solotroff (Whitechapel Records, WC-08, 2007)

Esta colaboración entre los excompañeros en Animal Law, Mark Solotroff y Jason Soliday, es totalmente directa. Estos dos ruidosos residentes de Chicago se entregan de lleno a un ruidismo filoso, donde el feedback constituye la parte más esencial. Los quebrantos de los micrófonos en el primer corte son tan agudos que prácticamente no dejan pasar nada, atacando con sus enervantes frecuencias y siendo apenas contradichos por una electrónica igualmente aguda y recurrente. Conforme se acerca el final del tema, los embates se vuelven cada vez más abiertos pero también más intensos, haciendo al escucha, más de una vez, víctima de los puntiagudos bordes, casi inaudibles, del campo magnético en absurda, absoluta saturación. En comparación, el desenlace, mecánico y pesado, se siente como un alivio.
El segundo corte, contenido en un disco aparte, recoge los sonidos de metal golpeado, conversaciones, juegos con distorsión extrema y, nuevamente, la desquiciante malevolencia del feedback. Sin darse descanso alguno, la dupla comienza su ataque directamente con una mole de ruido que mezcla todos los elementos recién mencionados con una pasmosa simultaneidad. El efecto es un ataque sensorial tan extremo que aún a avolúmenes bajos es increíblemente abrasivo. Hacia la mitad, la cautelosa inserción de un drone hace del total algo similar a lo que sería un tema de Glenn Branca llevado al extremo, con el cauce tonal señalando el camino a la masa de ruido que se destiende en toda su longitud.
A pesar de ser claramente un disco de noise, "Soliday/Solotroff" se sale bastante de la norma, ofreciendo invenciones ruidísticas que no recurren a los elementos más comúnes del género y que tienen una capacidad sorprendente de ser extremas y agresivas como pocas. Éste es un trabajo lleno de energía y fuerza. "Soliday/Solotroff" fue editado por Whitechapel Records como un cdr doble empacado en una funda de cartón hecha a mano y con una excelente calidad de impresión. (S.S.)

Archive02 on Discogs

A Discogs listing has been posted for the Mark Solotroff "Archive02" CD, including the complete artwork (at lower-resolution)

Brooklyn Vegan Locrian "Territories" Preview

From Brooklyn Vegan:

Locrian at Show No Mercy last Year (more by Justina Villanueva)

Occupying the vast nothing at the crossroads of black metal, noise, ambient, and drone are Chicago duo Locrian. The band released Drenched Lands last year and are already prepping Territories via Small Doses in the US. The new effort features luminaries from the Chi scene performing their "most fully realized form of Locrian's dystopic vision"; look for Blake Judd (Nachtmystium), Mark Solotroff (Bloodyminded, Anatomy of Habit) Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), and Andrew Scherer (Velnias) to appear on the LP. Until that record hits your friendly neighborhood distro later this month, check out the first taste of the LP above, "Procession of Ancestral Brutalism". The band was recently interviewed by Black Rat Method.

Archive02 Tests Arrived

The test copies of the forthcoming Mark Solotroff "Archive02" CD (B!132) arrived, and everything looks and sounds good. Copies will most likely be available in advance of the March 1st release date. Further announcement to follow...

Idol Threat on AoH

From the Idol Threat blog, with our thanks for the very kind words!

Been taking it kind of slow lately but will definitely pick up in speed soon, for now I just wanted to update real quick to let everyone know of a free show coming up. Anatomy of Habit is somewhat of a supergroup made up of former and current members of various Chicago bands including drummer Dylan Posa of Cheer-Accident and Greg Ratajczak the guitarist from the death/grind duo Plague Bringer. The band doesn’t sound like what you’d expect from the combination of all these different genres, and in the grander scheme of the underground they actually sound quite accessible (especially considering that Mark Solotroff from the noise group Bloodyminded is the lead singer.)

According to the band Anatomy of Habit formed in October 2008, following the dissolution of Animal Law. I first saw them at what I believe was their 1st or 2nd show at a previous free Empty Bottle Monday night. I actually went to see noise experimentalists The Human Quena Orchestra (who are very nice guys by the way) and had no idea who any of the other acts were. I was happily surprised when AoH performed, and without trying to be too hyperbolic I almost could not believe what I was hearing. I think the closest point of comparison I can think of is the Swans, but drawing comparisons to iconic bands aren’t usually a good idea and they are also way more than a mere Swans clone

They performed 2 songs for a little over 20 minutes and I was instantly hooked. Anatomy of Habit became the band that I always talked about when the subject of local bands came up, and I can’t recommend them enough. Mark and Greg have both said that they’re aiming for a debut release sometime in Spring, but in the meantime they’re playing tons of shows (and keep checking for more free Monday shows at Empty Bottle, they’re all usually pretty good.) Here’s footage from one of their performances (taken from Acid-marshmallow.com) but like most videos it doesn’t really do them justice so I suggest you come experience them for yourselves Monday 2/15, 9:30 at The Empty Bottle (FREE)

Locrian "Territories" Covers

Andre and Terence from Locrian were kind enough to bring one of the "Territories" LP sleeves, which had just arrived, to last night's show. The sleeves look excellent and it feels like everything is falling into place nicely...

2/2 Recap

Thanks to everyone who came out to support last night's The Fortieth Day + Noise Crush performance at The Empty Bottle! It was a pretty good turnout for a snowy and cold Tuesday night in early February. It was great to see so many friends there, especially from our r4wb1t5 family. Thanks to everyone at the venue, for the hospitality and for the great sound. Thanks to Mike Krause, for asking us to play... Mike put together a cool, diverse line-up and it was a fun night, overall. My thanks to those who picked up a copy of the new "Pelusium: 540 AD" CD last night!