MILLIONS “Shredded Heaven” (Baked Tapes)

Millions is the recording project of Brooklyn-based sound-artist David Suss. He’s self-released a ton of CDRs, put out some more via Obsolete Units and Abandon Ship (et al), and this c30 scorcher, limited to 60 copies, was released by Baked Tapes. The deep earth-digging/shaking drones that come alive on the two sides of “Shredded Heaven” will appeal to gloomy-depressives and the hopeful alike, as the sounds are absolutely suitable for either wall or sun-gazing, or whatever may lie in-between. Both tracks are fully absorptive, washing over the listener with thick, contemplative waves of seductive sonic pulse-fuzz.

Side A rips in with a static bath that completely soaks the space until a celebratory ray of light peeks in through the dense pattern. The trance that Suss produces here is undeniably joyful and flowing, as if a devastated body/soul is rising up from the thickest sludge of Being. Side B establishes a more eerie and apocalyptic mood with a whirring siren that spins around the minefield. The organ shimmers above a cavernous bass hum, materially grounding the gloom for a delayed guitar phrase to smoothly loom on. A monstrous static wall gradually builds, disrupting the open space, transforming the drone into a vertical ride toward everlasting night. No worries, though, because the lights get bright enough here to shine out even the darkest of roads. 8/10

DRIPHOUSE “Romati & Gains” (Baked Tapes)

Driphouse is Darren Ho, the guy who played in Racoo-oo-oon but not the mutated duo-form of that band, Wet Hair. Instead here’s his solo dream scores, Driphouse.

This tape was home recorded in Brooklyn in August 2009 “straight into computer soundcard,” with a Roland Alpha Juno-1 and a sweet delay pedal. The world’s basically at Mr. Ho’s finger tips with that potent one-two punch, and here he conjures barren landscapes and slow moving spirit vessels riding his woeful harpsichord melody. Like if Clockwork Orange was about sensitive kids driving around looking for meaningful new experiences instead of rape victims.

NASA “High Cube” c32 (Baked Tapes)

I straight up don’t think man has ever landed on the moon. It may be the only fringe conspiracy bullshit that I get behind, but whatever, I’m not ashamed to say it. I just don’t believe it, and basically chalk it up to some macho-alpha-country shit we had going with Russia back when them Ruskies meant business, you know? So we faked that shit and got the space race blue ribbon. USA! USA! Flash forward about 40 years. The 2011 budget is announced and NASA are all being doofuses about getting some cuts. Now, let me be straight, I’m totally about space exploration and advancing our collective scientific understanding about the universe and dark matter and all that shit, but ya know… Maybe just chill for a few years until our money is done melting. Anyway, I’m listening to Fleetwood Mac and thinking about that, and then I think “Didn’t I get a package in the mail from Baked like two weeks ago with some tape called Nasa High Dudes or something like that”? When I found this bright colored banger glowing on my desk I had an intense self-debate on what would be a more prudent venture; listen to this tape or watch Capricorn One (a 1977 non-classic in which OJ Simpson and friends fake a landing on Mars). This cassette won out. After pressing the play button I sat back hoping I made the correct choice. So much was riding on this moment!

The cover for this nugget is an eye opener. A briiiight picture of the sun rising over Disney’s Epcot Center (the big golf ball thing) is illuminated in an orange glow with magenta text, printed on fairly heavy paper. I once heard a rumor that if you die in Disney World they wont declare you dead until you are off the property, therefore, no one can die in Disney World. Man, that anti-semite thought of everything before they froze him, huh? Baked did up 60 copies of “High Cube” and at $5 beans a pop it’s a lot cheaper than going to the moon (for the first time, for real).

DRIPHOUSE “Romati & Gains” (Baked Tapes)

“I went all weepy on Driphouse once before, but “Romati & Gains” demands attention cuz it’s one of my favorite tapes of the year, for sure. Minimal electro hypnoses, flying through pristine skies with liquid gold dripping off at lightspeed. I’m such a sucker for this stuff… subtle beats galore drive everything from the backseat. Daren Ho is on fire. I dunno what parts get me more… the inspired ’70s electronic compositional aspects or the total new age vibes that float on top. It’s all mixed-up, it’s all beautiful. I love how this tape just flows from one stop to the next, never losing focus and never getting off-track. Ho’s got some serious pop hooks lurking under veil here, too - a little something for all the kids. B-side is full of heavy meditation - points of light for sure, but a thick mass of synth mud keeps it grounded in a big ball of tension. Driphouse - love it more and more every day. Driphouse vinyl plz! I need it, damnit!”

MILLIONS “Shredded Heaven” c30 (Baked Tapes)

Brooklyn resident David Suss, the man working behind the Millions curtain since roughly 2007 offers up his recent recipe Shredded Heaven, which comes to us fresh out of the Baked Tapes neighborhood oven. It’s a damn tasty treat and is well worth keeping in the Rolodex for your next dinner party. I may be wrong but I’d venture to guess that he called this one Shredded Heaven because he got as pissed as I did when he found out those fucking nebula pictures they take in space are actually doctored on a computer to look so cool. Jerks.

The flip side unearths some of the deeper buried elements of the first side and incorporates them into more subdued atmospherics. Gentle guitars echo in delicate patters, rippling through warm swelling strings and humming synthesizers. Slow airy mutations shape the backdrop, tense illuminations slowly begin to permeate the surface and a sharp, rusty stringed guitar phrase sends us off. Suss is really on a roll lately and this release is no exception. It’s still available via Baked Tapes, which I might add is also on quite a roll. Go get it and pick up a couple of their other goodies while you’re at it.

CHAOS MAJIK “Cry of the 12th Aethyr” c30 (Baked Tapes)

CM, or Chaos Majik, is Todd Brooks. He founded a group called Pendu. They promote occultism, adhocism, and eroticism in art. This is my kind of dude. “Cry of the 12th Aethyr” is the latest tape from CM, out now on the awesome Baked Tapes label.

This isn’t a revelation of experimental music– but that’s okay. I’m sure this stuff is even better live, especially considering CM kicks out these jams with his equipment housed inside a green suitcase. Brooks’ DIY approach has yielded a couple of tracks of strung-out, astral plane drone on “Cry of the 12th Aethyr.” You can’t complain about that. This is a damn good tape. 7/10 — Robert Oberlander

GRASSHOPPER/TWISTYCAT “split” (Abandon Ship)

A pair of stunning New York underground horn noise duos, the trumpet-based Grasshopper and the bari sax/bass clarinet explorers Twisty Cat, here split a cassette for Abandon Ship. Both melt their source sounds into a chirping, droning tone worlds. Grasshopper’s dark, patient builds amid a wall of electronic processing, recall a more successful version of the sometimes frustrating pairing of Jon Hassell and Brian Eno in the late ’70s. Relying more on their instruments’ traditional sounds, Twisty Cat, at least in this incarnation (how many lives again?) are simultaneously more celestial and orchestral, especially with the addition of trap drummer Greg Fox, which brings Ed Bear and Lea Bertucci’s earthy woodwinds into more straightforward—though still resolutely magical—territory.