Oar of Panmuphle (First Begemot)
(Alethiometer - WHISTLE03) CD $12.00 (Out-of-stock)
The off-kilter collage-based compositions of sound designer Gregory Scharpen, who has worked with irr. app. (ext.) and Nurse With Wound, are slow-motion, carnivalesque incantations of ectoplasmic horror and gallows humor. Clattering machines glide into a murky cut-up of organ-grinding Victoriana muffled by reverb; disembodied whispers, slapstick sound effects, and mechanical howls bound maniacally alongside purloined rhythms; wind-up springs and the wooden percolation of noises set a perfectly spooky mood for mechanical toys coming to life. The odd and surreal Oar of Panmuphle drifts eerily among shapeless clouds of darkened thought, and haunted and semi-musical flourishes.
Thomas Carnacki / Vulcanus 68
(Alethiometer / Gigante Sound - WHISTLE05) split LP $16.50 (Out-of-stock)
On one side, real-time manipulation of found objects by Gregory Scharpen, an original members of the live incarnation of irr. app. (ext.), using coffee grinder, half a pair of time-worn epaulets, a large bowl of sand, violas, pages from a book, broken autoharp, jar of marbles, chandlestick, rocks, and field recordings from the Antarctic by Cheryl Leonard. On the flip, two tracks by Jared Blum and Dominic Cramp take the cues from pioneers of musique concrete, such as Ussachevsky, Xenakis, Ruth White and BBC Radiophonic, with quick slices and jarring movement of manipulated tape and electronics.
Where’s My Love, My Eyes Are Gone, The Rains Are Coming
(Alethiometer - WHISTLE06) 7-inch $10.00
A slippery slab of vinacular gravitas that continues the Begemotian crusade initiated with Oar Of Panmuphle in 2012. Once again the streets run red from the exsanguination of countless pomegranates, and this third installment might very well reveal what your darkest imaginings should not hazard to contemplate.