Actual Noise

K11

Metaphonic Portrait 1230 A.d.

Actual Noise

K11 is the nom de plume of Italian sound artist Pietro Riparbelli. On his last release as K11, 2009's Voices from Thelema (Aurora Borealis) Riparbelli visited the ruins of Aleister Crowley's Thelema Abbey in Cefalu, Sicily, where he documented signals and sounds coming through short-wave radio receivers--an instrumental trans-communication ritual, acting as a conduit for whatever spirits remain in the Abbey. Continuing his interest in cathedrals with the new K11 release Metaphonic Portrait 1230 A.D., Riparbelli entered Assisi Cathedral in the Umbria region of Italy, not far from his hometown of Tuscany; the 1230 A.D. in the album's title refers to the date of completion of the original cathedral. Audio was recorded in the cathedral's lower basilica, the oldest area where the actual relics of St. Francis of Assisi are kept. Again utilizing short-wave radios as his primary "instrument," Riparbelli has captured a haunting array of cavernous sounds, displaced signals and found ambience. With the addition of some voice and organ elements, Metaphonic Portrait 1230 A.D. sounds not unlike the recordings of experimentalists Philip Jeck and William Basinski if they were under the influence of Crowleyean magick and sacred geometry--a psychedelic meditation from some medieval crypt captured out of time in the present. The numbers used in the song titles are chosen with purpose, all related to the Gematria, the ancient system that assigns numbers to words and how they relate to each other. A video shot inside the cathedral by Riparbelli is included on the disc to give the...

Skull Defekts

Drone Drug

Actual Noise

In their own words, Sweden's Skull Defekts are "all about rhythm, repetition, and all energies in sound." The concept manifests itself in two distinctly different forms. On 2007's Blood Spirits and Drums Are Singing, the band showcased their more "rock"-based sound described by Julian Cope as an amalgamation of Chairs Missing-period Wire, Audionom, and '70s German proto-metallers Tiger B. Smith. However, the DFX, as they're sometimes known, also have an alter-ego under which their sound becomes a harsh wall of droning noise and psychedelic industrial bowel churn. It is that persona that is embodied on The Drone Drug.  Drone is often associated with music that is essentially ambient in nature. While The Skull Defekts do create an ambient aura, The Drone Drug has more in common with the terrifying atmospheres created by noisier cohorts like Prurient then the minimalism of Tomas Koner. The sound is grim, black, and abrasive; mechanical, filthy, and unnerving. This limited-edition LP is the first of two by the DFX to be released by Actual Noise, with the second, Skkull, coming in the near future.   A recent appearance at No Fun Fest, an Eastern US tour in October, an upcoming split with Prurient, and a new release on Important Records, all make 2008 a very productive and successful year for The Skull Defekts.  OCTOBER 2008 SKULL DEFEKTS TOUR DATES 10/3 * Death By Audio, Brooklyn, NY 10/4 * tba, Baltimore, MD 10/5 * Sonic Circuits Festival, Washington, DC 10/6 * Eclectic, Middletown,...