Clinton Green “Thylacine” CD/digital - These four tracks were created and recorded at various locations in Cradle Mountain National Park and Cradle Mountain Wilderness Gallery (Tasmania), during my residency there in October 2017. The two outdoor tracks attempt to bring wildlife and environmental sound to the fore, with my own sound in a supporting role. The tracks recorded inside the gallery focus on acoustic turntable preparations, with the sound of the extinct fauna calling at intervals from a nearby exhibit. Limited edition of 100 copies.
https://shamefilemusic.bandcamp.com/album/thylacine
Clinton Green “If Good Fortune Follows A Fellow” cassette/digital - Two different sides of recent turntable manipulation/output. Side A uses audio signal output noise from a misplaying “How To Be A Ventriliquist” LP found in Auckland, agitated by layers of cardboard and a suspended fingerdrum. Side B changes stride to a meditative percussive work generated by four turntables arranged with overlapping acoustic preparations. The cassette is a limited edition of 25 numbered copies, each individually packed with a Merz assemblage/lucky dip of objects/detrius collected/constructed by myself and Chemical Imbalance label overlord, Mitch Soden (includes download code). Digital version available here https://chemical-imbalance.bandcamp.com/album/clinton-green-if-good-fortune-follows-a-fellow
Clinton Green & Ernie Althoff "Blindfold test" CD/digital - "I think I know how these four machines sound", Clinton said of the images of Ernie's recently constructed kinetic sonic machines.
"Ok, then build four pairs for these, send me the images and the sound files, and I'll mix them down to four duet tracks", Ernie replied. These became Part 1 of 'Blindfold test'; the name stuck from the start.
Part 2 eventuated when the duo were asked to perform at 'Autumnal sounds', a house event in Bayswater North. Three different and separate turntable pieces were devised by each player. These were performed back-to-back for added theatrical effect, with photos and videos only later revealing the processes. A mobile phone alarm ended each section.
Jessica L. Wilkinson & Simon Charles "Marionette: a biography of Miss Marion Davies" CD - Wilkinson reads from her 2012 book on Marion Davies, the actress perhaps best known for her 30-year affair with media mogul William Randolph Hearst. The text draws attention to the gaps and inconsistencies in Davies’ story, whilst playfully attempting to locate the voice of a woman whose story can never be fully told. Wilkinson’s reading is accompanied by a collage of instrumental and electro-acoustic performance composed by Charles, and performed by an all-star quartet of Jenny Barnes (voice), Phoebe Green (viola/viola d’amore), Andrew Butler (piano/harmonium) and Michael McNab (percussion). Like most of Charles’ compositions, the music is beautifully fragile and fragmented, an intriguing setting for this reconstruction of character. CD comes in a 6-panel digipack with 4 page booklet, with download code.
Noise Machines "Scanners Deprived Internal Harmonics" CDR - One-off group improvisation project experimenting with automated sound output featuring members of Club Sound Witches, Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood, and Smoking Ruins. Limited edition of 30 copies.
Various Artists "Bad Taste, Vol 2: another collection of sounds from the NZ underground" cassette C100 choker full of the weird, wonderful and strange of New Zealand Underground music, featuring Peter Wright, Duckling Monster, The Strange Girls, Axemen and many more. Ltd edition of 70 tapes, with full colour 3-panel jcard and download code.
Club Sound Witches "bdtd155" CDR - Lo fi industrial synth grinds to a near half before revving up again. Perhaps a voice warbles deep back in the mix? Half-dead-battery-power-electronics.
Club Sound Witches "CSW (bdtd165)"CDR - Picture the aftermath of a dance party. A deserted dance floor, sticky with spilt drinks and vomit. Musical automata whirr occasionally to life and emit random beats. A figure is curled up in the corner, rocking back and forth, murmuring torch songs into a mic. A stunning, unique album.
Club Sound Witches "bdtd172"CDR - A relatively more maximalist, industrial approach by CSW, with a denser array of sound present, but still ultimately broken and creating an impression of technology breaking down until it becomes almost organic.
Club Sound Witches "bdtd185" CDR - Vocals feature more prominently on this album. Well relatively speaking; often they are nothing more than a murmur amongst the semi-erratic slow beats and damaged synth whirrings. A collection of serenades for a post-technology world.
Club Sound Witches "bdtd208" CDR - Nearly-regular beats? Barely anything there, though. The sonic artefacts – reverb, bottom-end distortion – become just as important. Maybe a voice deep in the mix, or is it just the wind? Nothing is ever clear with CSW, but they are never more compelling than here.
Club Sound Witches "bdtd227" cassette - Ultra minimal not-quite-right beats, pulses and whirring malfunctions on the A side. Slow percussive wind-down-running-out-of-batteries jam on the B-side. From 2016, issued on upcycled cassette.
