Sex Act (UK) - Demo I: Confession

Reece Green. Again. The guy seems to produce quality projects like you and I produce stools. I've never even met the guy and I want to take him home and keep him chained naked in my cellar, creating edgy underground sonic art to fulfil my every perverse whim.

This latest offering from the man is Sex Act, a one-man lo-fi black metal-based project with post-punk influences. The music is raw and simple; primal and repetitive guitar riffs create a wash of distorted noise, so much so that I can't actually tell if there are any drums or not. The post-punk influence mainly manifests itself in the vocals, which sound like the tormented shade of Ian Curtis murmuring despondently through a distorted mic in the next room, whilst still hanging from the rope that killed him.

There are 6 untitled tracks here, five of which follow largely the above formula. The final track however diverts into slightly different territory; a sheet of squally feedback taking it into the realms of industrial noise, more akin to Reece's other outlets Other Life or Flesh Prison.

This, like Reece's other projects should be available soon on cassette via his Vanity Pill label, and is now available to download from:

http://sexact.bandcamp.com/

I'll see you all next week, by which time Reece should have seven new projects for me to review.

Ego Death (UK) - Decay EP

You know those times when you're wading uphill through a torrent of viscous neon tar that's oozing slowly downwards, with the hot sun scorching the skin off your back, and you reach the top and lie down for a rest beneath a gently oscillating fan?

And you know those other times when you're nailed to the underside of a high-speed train with your ear right next to the screeching wheels, and your flesh is being lacerated by the gravel and sleepers between the tracks as you hurtle through the Kent countryside?

Well, both of these everyday scenarios have been perfectly conjured in sonic form by Folkestone-based noise/power-electronics artist Ego Death (aka Alex Terry) on his recent "Decay" EP, and that's just the first two tracks. All four tracks are awash with a fat, squelchy, moist distortion that sounds like it could be severely damaging to your health.

Ego Death is another part of the small local scene I have recently become aware of, and Alex is co-founder of the new Vanity Pill Tapes label along with Reece Green from Flesh Prison/Other Life.
This EP will soon be released on cassette through Vanity Pill, but until then can be heard at:

https://soundcloud.com/prisonfag/sets/ego-death

Flesh Prison (UK) - "Heaven's Gate"

To my knowledge, Kent has never really had a cohesive Noise "scene" as such; a few scattered artists and collectives here and there; from the full-on noise wall of Slugbait to the more expansive experiments of Nancy's Place and Splintered, and my own flirtings with the genre as Balbulus and Lambda Sond. There may well have been others I wasn't aware of, huddled over their distortion pedals and laughing at my ignorance. 

Of late however, I have become aware of a small scene emerging in Folkestone, largely centred around the various projects of one young man, Reece Green, who apart from being vocalist for Black/PV oufit Sorg, records under the names Other Life and Flesh Prison. Other Life provides a gentler approach, with subtle lambent melodies lurking amidst the static, whilst Flesh Prison is devoid of these niceties, focussing instead on the harsher side of the genre. This is not however a constant full-frontal assault (such approaches tire me easily); there is a constant ebb and flow to the textures, minimal rhythmic loop textures lull the listener into a trance before building up to a pummelling cacophony. There is a tendency towards the lower end of the spectrum, distorted rumblings rather than high-end scree. There is also a raw spontaneity to the material that I find appealing, nothing here has been over-thought or perfected.

This release can be obtained as a "name your price" download from the BandCamp page, plus the SoundCloud page has more regular (if less organised) updates and new tracks.

For more information and updates, keep an eye on the Facebook page.


Note: In addition to these projects, Reece has recently started Vanity Pill, a small cassette label dedicated to UK noise and experimental projects.
https://www.facebook.com/vanitypilluk