Pretty recently I came in touch with Turkish label Merdümgiriz, pretty young but quite productive, especially focusing on projects by label founders Merdümgiriz and Emir Toğrul. It’s quite a unique label, not only for being a Turkey-based one (which cannot be that easy out there), but because of the explicit philosophy (especially of some specific acts that are on their roster) and the ‘strange’ signings.
I am sure most Ambient ‘fans’ know the name of Haerleif Langas from Northaunt, maybe Therradaemon or Mulm, or his collaboration with Azaghal (yes, I know, this has nothing to do with Ambient, but try to stay open-minded, okay?!). This guy did create another outfit, seven years ago in mean time, called The Human Voice.
Songs Of Hate + Hate is not the first collaboration in between those two projects. Gnomonclast and Art Abscons co-operated on a split-EP in 2011, which also featured Luftwaffe, which was released as well via Italy’s Old Europa Café (like some other of their stuff). Luftwaffe and Gnomonclast share members, by the way, being J1 Statik and N2 Itiniti, in case it might interest you.
Gloomy Hellium Bath are a French collaboration with former members of e.g. Nerv and Würm. Via the crazy label Dooweet Records, they release Sistema Solera, which brings a totally frenzy mixture of Electronics, Industrial Metal and hundreds of other additions: Noise, Hip Hop, Death Industrial, Punk, Un-Pop, Trip-Hop, Indie, Goth Rock and so much more.
Hailing from Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania, Inquisitor were formed at the beginning of this century, initially as a technical and eccentric Symphonic / Dark Metal band. Throughout the years, however, their aural style did permanently evolve, but the lyrical approach maintained its bizarre thematic ideas: metaphysics, esoterica, the search for the Inner Eye, empiric data, epistemology, identity and perception.
Once again Cyclic Law satisfy my ear drums with a monumental offering, Proslambanomenos by ONUS. ONUS? Indeed, ONUS.
About three and a half years ago, Mexican musician L. Nergot started the outfit Sacrimoon, another depressed solo-outfit to express his ideas about life and death, love and loss, tragedy and melancholy, suicide and self-mutilation.
Azure Mortal “is producing avant-garde electronic audio-experiments and writing low frequency music for live performance, art installations, expos, films and choreography. Dark Ambient is maybe a good description for the Azure Mortal sound” – quite a statement, this introduction, but to the point for sure. The list of ‘reasons’ to write music for (performance, art installations, enfin, you can read it in my former phrase) gets translated through the huge curriculum vitae by the members involved.
Shibalba are a Greek project with e.g. Acherontas V. Priest (known from e.g. Acherontas, Nihasa, Virus Of Koch, Acrimonious etc.) in its ranks. But despite those other projects this guy is, or was, involved with, Shibalba have nothing to do with (Black) Metal. ‘black’ is correct, ‘metal’ is not.
Fabiant are a band from Belarus, which were formed almost a decade ago. However, despite ten years of existence, they didn’t release but two recordings in mean time: Life Despite Nothing, a mini-CD which was self-released in 2010, and Death Is Not The End, their full length debut that sees the light via Ukrainian Wolfshade Records.
