S* + KK
GLYPHS OF EREBUS SUBLIME
format: CD (silkscreen)
full-colour print | digipack
300 replicants | archival sleeve
*ADD TO CART FOR CD & DIGITAL DOWNLOAD OPTIONS *
GLYPHS OF EREBUS SUBLIME
improvised live 18 may 2008 at SECTOR QC
01 KHØRA
02 HYPNØSYNE (PSØNN)
03 EX-DREAM OF ARTEMIS
04 SIRIUS
05 IX CHEL (DEAD S* DUB)
06 SHE DREAMS OF ISIS
07 ECLIPSE
08 THRACIA UNVEILED
For one brief rotation of the sun, Montréal noise artist KK (of industrial outfit Dreamcatcher) and estranged sound-artist s* assembled for an improvisation that proved as psychic in its resonance and as it is haunting. Though entirely improvised, their meditational approach results in a series of entirely distinct movements that shift from loop-based rhythms reminiscent of Steve Reich and Terry Riley to effervescent noisescapes that touch upon Throbbing Gristle. The execution is as precise as it is decisive. Working with two reel-to-reel machines, loops from CiTR’s noiz-r radio show circa 1999 — including an unheard interview with Timothy Leary — and a delay processor, s* joins forces with the eerie frequencies and microscopic rhythms of KK’s unhuman machines. A unique, one-of-a-kind project, imaginative, playful, and discerning, GLYPHS captures the two at the edges of telepathy. No post-production save for the intriguing s* rework of IX CHEL into a deconstructed dub.
THE WHITE TIGRESS OF YASS-WADDAH IS DEFEATED IN FLAMES…
IX TAB UNTIES THE WOLF
THE SECOND ECHO OF THE ION ARCANA 2011
/ REVIEWS
VITAL WEEKLY (811) (NL)
A new label from Canada with two great releases in the micro-electric world. The artwork is well done by a professional designer and has a high, spacey character. The music is made by the unknown S*. The musician loves to work with with two reel-to-reel machines and plays with the tapes with loops, speed, etcetera. Electromagnetic crackles, droney sounds, noisy-glitches and several layers makes this music something special. Mostly this kind of music is made with a more academic starting-point. I do not know why, but in this music there is a lot of emotion, although the sounds are harsh, subtle and noisy. Maybe it has to do with the ideas of the musician to create a psychedelic atmosphere, so that the listener can fly away into the sky to other planets. The first release consists of reinterpretations of the music of S*. Six musicians including Coingutter, i8u, Tomas Phillips, Richard Chartier, Jeff Carey and Scant Intone worked with S*’s music and created a complete album, sounding as if it is the work of one person. On the second release, S* plays together with Katherine Kline of Montreal’s psychedelic noise and industrial outfit Dreamcatcher. Samples of voices and cut-up technics makes this second release more human and less industrial. The two musicians play carefully with the electronic bleeds and tones. Lovely album. IO Sound has made a good start with these two beautiful releases which are recorded in 2008. I do not know how many more recordings S* has made, but it these are the only one, it is a real pleasure to discover this spacey emotional world. (JKH)
RAVAGE DIGITAAL (NL)
Sometimes I get those pleasant surprises in the mailbox, for which I’m very happy. The label IO Sound from Canada, recently established, has immediately launched two beautiful editions of S*. Who S * is the label does not say. The only thing known is that in 2008 recordings were made ?? and that he creates music with tape recorders, a mixer, feedback and other electronics.
The CD is in form and space named Glyphs of Erebus Sublime, with many references to other planets. Glyphs or Erebus Sublime is made with KK, or Katherine Kline, a member of Dreamcatcher, a psychedelic noise band from Montreal. Oddly enough the album contains a lot of emotion. Often electronic music in this part of the musical field utilises a clinical approach to sound. This CD knows to build tension and takes the listener into a psychedelic world. The minimal use of noisy sounds, creaking and waves, emerging bleeps and appearances creates a tension that will not let go. Unearthed from Airwaves is more noisy in nature and consists of reinterpretations of music performed by S* by various musicians, such as Coingutter. The musicians work with two tape recorders, working with loops and the tempo of the composed music. Although a compilation CD, it is good that it is consistent with palette, as if only a single musician was at work.
Who S* is remains a mystery. According to the label, the origin is unknown. Anyway, names really do not matter. S* creates a tense, crackling, rich world. I await with expectation the follow-up to S*’s journeys to other planets, taking us by storm with the electronic processing of reality. (Jan Kees Helms)
!EARSHOT (CA)
Creating subtly nuanced electronic soundscapes is pretty easy when you have months in a professional studio. But, creating the same experience live can be a real challenge. S* is apparently from Montreal, but, as is habit with electronic musicians, his or her identity has been obscured. The music here was performed live off the floor in 2008 and has a feel of early industrial to it. The suite, performed in 8 interlocking tracks, always has a low, menacing hum leaking through the more overt sounds of static bursts, repeated vocal samples and high-pitched whines. S* produced the music through two reel-to-reel machines, using tape loops to create the drones that back up the soundscapes. Overall, the album takes about 45 minutes to get through. Also, as it almost cliche in this genre, the album is on a very small label, IO Sound, and limited to a few hundred copies, with gorgeous artwork. If you like very early industrial, the style of Throbbing Gristle, or the modern work of Pan Sonic or Pole, this should be up your alley. It’s captivating and a very challenging listen. (Steve Marlow)
OFFERINGS (CA)
My cousins kinda spooky. Actually, I’ve never really had a proper conversation with him in all my life (we’re roughly the same age). He’s always been somewhat of an sickly, outlying branch on the family tree. I never really see him that often – except at birthdays and funerals and the like – mostly keeping to himself or seated at the kids table. It’s shameful to think that we’ve all pretty much willfully ignored him most of his life mostly because, in some inexplicable way, he was born weird. There are certain habits that manifest in the way he comports himself that, though we try our best to overlook, are hard to ignore. Sometimes I swear that I hear some severe sine tone in an unsettling register that issues from his pores in the way that vinegar-like fumes waft off an hygienically-challenged degenerate on the Dufferin bus… Of course I know, being a reasonable, competent human being, that this is not possible and therefore some kind of conjecture. But I know, as sure as I am that my cousin shaves his sideburns/eyebrows bi-weekly, that he is responsible for for the acute migraine that dogs me after each of my family reunions. He also has this strange ability to interfere with electronic components simply by being in the same room. The subtle stench of fried capacitors seems to follow him like hungry ghosts. My watch exploded on my wrist, I have a tan where it used to be. My great-aunt’s hearing aid picked up signals from military aircrafts and speaking to her was like asking a Wendy’s drive-thru for a prescription of anti-balistic hair relaxer… He has a way of looking absent-mindedly into your soul, carelessly toying with your psyche with no express purpose beyond apathetic boredom… Or is it a front? Maybe he’s an alien/hypnotist/genius… I don’t see him that often… But is he not here? Detuning my thoughts, southward, I think of my penis (when was the last time I used it?)… bacon Double Chestburger, down the hatch – rocketed into unknowable space – cavernous, shallowopen – silent but deadly… His initials (KH) – Tim Hortons in Space – jolly ranch dressing the Nurse with Wound… My sneeze smells like cauterized plastic; earmuffs on a confused-looking, teenaged dog. Am I listening to S* or KK? Or both… Or is my cousin in the next room having tea with my multifunction shower head? (Andrew Zukerman)
/ CHARTS
#27 CKUT TOP 100 for 2012
AIRWAVE POLLUTION on KDVS (UC DAVIS)
CKUT 90.3FM (Montréal) / Top 30
#14 week of February 7th, 2012
#13 week of February 14th, 2012
#10 week of February 21st, 2012
#08 week of February 28th, 2012
#20 week of March 6th, 2012
#21 week of March 13th, 2012
#23 week of March 20th, 2012
CFBX 92.5FM (Kamloops) / Top Ten Electronic Albums
#4 week of 15 October 2012
