COLD SPRING NEWSLETTER

NEWS
+ SHIPPING UPDATES, SPECIAL NEWS ETC... +

TREPANERINGSRITUALEN 'VEIL THE WORLD' VINYL / CD

We are very proud to announce the reissue of T x R x P's Swedish Ritual Industrial masterpiece, originally released 2011, and now on vinyl for the first time, with new artwork by Thomas Ekelund (ᚦᛟᚦ ᚷᛁᚷ | Nullvoid). Ltd x 500 copies on bone white, 180g vinyl. Due to demand, we are also reissuing the CD edition in a digipak with the new 2021 artwork.

LP Bone White | CD | Combo Deal | Bandcamp

LULL 'MOMENTS' VINYL

LULL 'Moments' Ltd 500 Brown 2LP / Ltd 250 Black 2LP. Isolationist, minimal, alienating Drone / Dark Ambient from Mick Harris (SCORN, ex-NAPALM DEATH). Staggeringly beautiful, glacial sub-bass sounds, deep ambient and thunderous tones, with subtle shifts. Originally released as a 99-track continuous CD in 1998 (Relapse), now presented on vinyl for the first time, "Moments" is expanded to 100 cuts, with bonus material from the original recording sessions. 180g double vinyl in a textured gatefold sleeve.

Out 26 November 2021. Pre-orders open Friday 1st October. Watch the new promo video by Abby Helasdottir)

COLD SPRING SUMMER SALE

Over 900 CDs from just £2.50 for the period 2nd-31st August. Ends midnight TUESDAY! Click here for all available items!

IN THE PRESS

DET KÄTTERSKA FÖRBUND (NORDVARGR + TREPANERINGSRITUALEN), new interviews & CD tracks in the latest issues of Zero Tolerance and Sonic Seducer magazines.

UK > USA SHIPPING

The majority of Cold Spring label titles (inc vinyl) are available at domestic prices from our U.S. distributor Forced Exposure.

UK > EU SHIPPING

The majority of Cold Spring label titles (inc vinyl) are available from our usual European distributors / mailorder partners. Email us to find out who stocks us in your country.

NEW IMPORTS
+ NEW ADDITIONS TO OUR MAILORDER CATALOGUE +

ANDREW LILES - 'Blood Theme' CD (Ultra-Mail Prod.) - £22

Another addition to the ever-expanding MONSTER series of releases by experimental sound artist and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Liles (Nurse With Wound). This time we have an 80's themed bloodbath of all new material. Comes in a thick stock mini LP sleeve with amazing cover artwork by Japanese guro manga artist and "grandmaster of the grotesque" Shintaro Kago. Black inner sleeve with silver foil block printing. Ltd x 100 copies.

ATARAXIA (MORT GARSON) - 'The Unexplained (Electronic Musical Impressions Of The Occult)' CD (Fifth Dimension) - £12

Canadian pioneering electronic composer Mort Garson (one of the first to experiment with the Moog synthesizer) takes on supernatural phenomena on "The Unexplained", his only release under the name Ataraxia. Subtitled "Electronic Musical Impressions of the Occult", the 1975 album explores tarot, astral projection, seances, and more with Garson's signature Moog synthesizer serving as the listener's tour guide to the paranormal. A weird trip to an even weirder sound-world of swirling waves of colourful synthesizer melodies, metallic drum loops, and pulsating psychedelic rock. There are moments of freeform electronic oscillations with layers of synthetic whistling and buzzing shifted over each other, and passages with hot-blooded grooves let the listener drift away on a gently flowing river of sound. A pioneering work from a true artist, electronic researcher and classically trained musician who loved the challenge of crossing borders and exploring new territories of sound. FFO: Cluster, Tangerine Dream, and Klaus Schulze, and prog horror soundtrackers Goblin. **Not to be confused with the Italian band!**

BAXAXAXA - 'Catacomb Cult' CD (The Sinister Flame) - £11.50

Once thought long dead, existing as they did during the ancient days of the early '90s, Baxaxaxa arose from the dead in 2018 with an exclusive performance at the esteemed Destroying Texas Fest and then a gig in their native Germany. Feeling scorn for current Black Metal and wishing to stir the cauldron of yore, they recorded two EPs of the Black Metal to which the band is beholden: rotten, primitive, and ancient, out of touch and most definitely out of time. Nearly 30 years after their original formation, Baxaxaxa finally release their debut album: "Catacomb Cult". Exquisitely OLD and proudly so, the album is everything a Baxaxaxa full-length should be: patiently hammering, ghoulishly atmospheric, and reeking of sulfur. As the album sounds like quintessential Baxaxaxa, there are subtle developments in their ever-uncompromising sound. Their characteristically medieval synths, tastefully applied, linger like funeral fog. The clear and cutting production reveals every haunting nuance without sacrificing any grit. FFO Mortuary Drape, Root, Tormentor, early Samael, and very early Mayhem. The past is alive and dead with Catacomb Cult!

BAXAXAXA - 'Catacomb Cult' LP (The Sinister Flame) - £20

Vinyl version of the above release. Limited Edition (unspecified).

BEYOND MAN - 'Beyond Man' CD (The Sinister Flame) - £11.50

A sulfurous stench, as in diabolic apparitions, ushers in the self-titled debut album from Norwegian Black Metal 4-piece Beyond Man. Dormant for over a decade, the project once known as Vordrinn has been awakened like an ancient curse from an old and sandy burial ground. In an epoch of records in which resounds the dull embellished atmosphere of a cozy bedroom, these tracks smells of old amplifiers drenched in rotten blood, ash and whisky, the reek of a cave I dare you to enter, where the frustrations of a group of Satanic cowboys take sonic form together with their zealot visions and nightmares, veiled by a truly ferocious and sinister aura. Call it Black Metal if you wish, or envision Morbid Angel sitting down with Black Sabbath and listening to Norwegian Black Metal while sharing a bottle of red wine followed by straight shots of heavy smoked whisky. Nidrosian Black Metal at its very finest.

EL ALTAR DEL HOLOCAUSTO - 'Trinidad' LP (Throne Records) - £18

"Trinidad" is the 4th album from one of the best live bands southern Europe has to offer. It was entirely composed and recorded in Madrid during lockdown and isolation times. Completed with two unreleased (on physical format) songs from 2016, properly re-mastered. "The sound of EAdH can be best described as a combination of soothing Post-Rock melodies with the gut-wrenching, droning gnarliness of Doom. They lure you in with a sweet, mellow guitar-only intro and then punch you in the stomach with rumbling, thunderous drums and droning basslines... beautifully crafted" (Veil Of Sound). Ltd x 100 copies with full-colour 12" insert featuring all lyrics.

EYEHATEGOD - 'Confederacy Of Ruined Lives' LP (Throne Records) - £20

An early purveyor of the Sludge / Doom Metal genre, Eyehategod has influenced countless bands since their inception in 1988. The New Orleans act has featured members from notable acts such as Superjoint Ritual, Corrosion Of Conformity, Down and Crowbar. "This band is the absolute epitome of Sludge Metal. In every way shape and form, this is what the genre should be. Dark, heavy, slow, and effective... A loose interpretation of it might be Sludge Metal with some Southern Rock thrown into the mix. But in a genre that bends rules and defies labels, anything goes... a powerful, dark, dank album" (Sputnik Music). Originally released in 2000 (Century Media), now presented on 180g vinyl in a gatefold sleeve. Ltd x 200 copies.

EYEHATEGOD - 'Dopesick' LP (Throne Records) - £20

Reissue of a classic sludge milestone release from EyeHateGod, originally released in 1996 (Century Media). "A festering pinnacle of rage for Sludge and extreme music in general. Arguably EyeHateGod's best album to date. "Dopesick" is one of the finest examples of pure hatred and misery expressed in music. It’s one of, if not the best sludge albums created. If some southern styled detuned blues mixed with bursts of hardcore fury sounds nice to you, this is your album... This album is a pinnacle in the history of Sludge and extreme music in general. It completely captures human negativity and frustration with all the power this art form can allow" (Sputnik Music). Ltd x 200 copies on 180g vinyl with full-colour 12" insert featuring all lyrics.

GRIEF - 'Come To Grief' 2 x LP (Throne Records) - £25

The most thorough vinyl issue this 1994 Sludgecore classic has ever accomplished, extended with an exclusive extra track, 'Bury the Dead'. "The heaviness of Grief's music is astounding; the controlled aggression that comes with every mind crushing riff is the crux of Come To Grief. Sludge doom from Boston, Grief have been around for the most part of the last [three] decades, albeit a five year hiatus beginning in 2001. Come To Grief is their second full length, and is an album of various metaphors; a thousand hammers smashing in your face, a multiple car pileup on your face, or simply having the shit beaten out of you for not listening to this album. The opening feedback gives a sign of things to come with Come To Grief: this is sludge at its finest. Dirty, punishing riffs, smothered in a very tolerable fuzziness that, rather than washing out the sound, gives it a delectable gritty edge" (Sputnik Music). Presented on 180g vinyl in a heavyweight gatefold sleeve, featuring enhanced artwork (directly scanned from Eric Harrison's own paintings). Includes fold-out Poster (62x31cm).

IFRINN - 'Caledonian Black Magick' MCD (The Sinister Flame) - £9.50

In 2016, the mysterious Scottish Black Metal entity Ifrinn made their first mark with a self-titled mini-album: a cold, swirling chasm of aural hostility and cavernous mesmerism, reflecting the ancient, bleak, and desolate landscape that the band calls home yet intertwined with the malign currents that reside beyond the veil of night. Prizing quality over quantity, Ifrinn return 5 years later with the aptly-titled "Caledonian Black Magick". The hypnotic rhythms created by Ifrinn, are an intensification and consolidation of its predecessor. The attack is sharpened to an enviable degree, finesse meeting fury headlong, as each catacombesque creation expands onward and outward. The vortex of sound Ifrinn create is akin to levitational hypnosis: undeniably physical in its approach, sometimes overwhelmingly so, but a paralysis of subconscious and spirit that's paradoxically liberating and intoxicating. Despite its Highland origins, Ifrinn are without geography nor era; authentic Black Metal orthodoxy knows no boundaries, and its windswept splendor is timeless. We are blessed and cursed to hearken the malign majesty Ifrinn invoke with "Caledonian Black Magick".

IFRINN - 'Caledonian Black Magick' 12" (The Sinister Flame) - £16

Vinyl version of the above release. Limited Edition (unspecified).

LASCAR - 'Distant Imaginary Oceans' LP (Throne Records) - £18

"Distant Imaginary Oceans" is the 4th album from South America's leading Atmospheric Black Metal incognito artist. "Chilean post-black metal artist Lascar sounds absolutely ferocious on their new album Distant Imaginary Oceans. As if it's a musical encapsulation of a storm-swept sea, the raw black metal of the release features deeply stirring, wave-like surges of melody that flow past the listener as the fiercely pummeling guitar rhythms and frequently gut-punching barrages of blast beats proceed. From the very first moments, the lightning flashes of melody that ring out through the mix feel absolutely gripping, like they’re musically encapsulating lurches for safety while trapped in an isolated boat like the one on the album's cover art... There’s a stunning, all-encompassing grandiosity to the album’s experience" (Captured Howls). Ltd x 200 copies with full-colour 12" insert featuring all lyrics.

MARCELLO GIOMBINI - 'Astromusic Synthesizer' CD (Fifth Dimension) - £12

A reissue of the 1981 album from Italian synthesizer artist and pioneer Marcello Giombini. "Astromusic Synthesizer" is a diverse concept album based on the zodiac signs. The uniting elements are the entirely synthetic, yet warm analogue sound and the surreal, spaced-out atmosphere. Melodies, harmony patterns, and rhythm structures are inspired by a '60s pop approach, baroque elements, and even pure soundscapes that make you feel like being trapped in the interior of a thinking machine. The synthetic sound adds a futuristic shine to each composition. The mood changes are dramatic: You will float down a peaceful river of dreams at one point and then become swallowed by a vortex of musical fury that projects a galactic battle before your third eye. Indeed, the whole album could work as a soundtrack for an epic science fiction movie whose story drags you far out into space. If you love movies such as The Black Hole (1979) and synthesizer heroes such as Mort Garson, you will treat "Astromusic Synthesizer" as a precious musical treasure.

SUBTERRANEAN SOURCE - 'Ellipsis' CD (Winter-Light) - £11.50

Italian artist Subterranean Source presents us with 5 collaborative pieces on his new album, "Ellipsis". The title references cyclical themes or events in life and how we face these situations in a similar way. For this release, Andrea Bellucci (Subterranean Source, Red Sector A, Son-Dha, Vetropaco etc) has joined forces with Paolo L. Bandera (Sigillum S, Sshe Retina Stimulants, Iugula Thor), Nimh, Lunar Abyss Deus Organum, New Risen Throne, and Exit In Grey. "Prime dark ambient, with the requisite menacing drones and irregular electroacoustic elements [that] are either percussive or shimmering. Textures vary from smooth to jagged, approaching but not quite reaching noise wall levels" (Avant Music News). Mastered by Robin Storey (Rapoon). Ltd x 200 copies in a digipak.

TAUMEL - 'In Pieces Volume One' 10" (Substantia Innominata / Drone Records) - £15.50

Taumel is a German duo comprised of Sven Pollkötter (also a professional percussionist playing in diverse orchestras) and Jakob Diehl (also an actor featuring in the cryptic Netflix series Dark). Moving beyond / between / inside various genres (improvisation & composition, collage, jazz rock noir, folk and ambience), well-shaped from various winter sessions with Berlin's ENSEMBLE ADAPTER - a kind of acoustic theatre or surrealistic sound poem going through various contradictory emotional states. The contrasts and boundaries between composition and improvisation, freedom and determination, chaos and structure blur or collide. The recordings were combined with additional studio material using: voice, piano, drums, keyboards, synthesizer sampler, percussion, guitar, bass, harp, flute, clarinet, typewriter, loop machine, FX, banjo, lyre, tape players, electronics, noise, and alienation. These pieces can also be heard as an acoustic theater, or as a radio play without words, or as a soundtrack without a film, or as a film without a picture, or simply as an order of changing sound events. An attempt at beauty and its overturning into destruction and failure. Ltd x 300 copies.

THE DEATH & BEAUTY FOUNDATION - 'A Reanimated Corpse 1982-1985' CD + T-Shirt (Ultra-Mail Prod.) - £38

For this release, the UK experimental / avant-garde group The Death & Beauty Foundation, were renowned visual artist and founder VAL DENHAM, Elita Denham, Oli Novadnieks, Gerry Hobday, and Danny Loka, with spoken sections from Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson (COIL, THROBBING GRISTLE), and Genesis P-Orridge (PSYCHIC TV, THROBBING GRISTLE).

Recorded in Seven Sisters, London 1982-85, these recordings have been taken from the original 2-track reel to reel tapes. Previously self-released by Val Denham in a tiny run of 23 CDRs in 2010, this is the first time on CD for these 19 tracks. Remastered by Anatoly Tokee Grinberg. The accompanying red t-shirt features a black and white print of the group's skull & rose logo. Size Large only, Topix brand. Ltd x 100 copies with art by Val Denham.

TOM DISSEVELT & KID BALTAN - 'Song Of The Second Moon: The Sonic Vibrations Of Tom Dissevelt & Kid Baltan' CD (Fifth Dimension) - £12

Considered one of the most influential recordings in the history of electronic music, "Song Of The Second Moon" is far more than an historical curiosity. Created by electronic music prophets and Philips Research Laboratories employees Tom Dissevelt (1921-1989) and Kid Baltan (aka Dick Raaijmakers, 1930-2013) in the late '50s/early '60s, the album was originally released in 1962 as "Electronic Music" under the moniker of The Electrosonics. "1950s-era fusion space-age electronic pop / big band jazz that captures the ethos of its period in twenty little melodic masterpieces... "Song of the Second Moon" is a wonderful historical document of a kind of experimental electronic music that incorporates both avant-garde stylings such as musique concrete and the popular music of its time... the composers coaxed sounds out of tone/noise generators and traditional music instruments and used filters, delays and reverb to manipulate the material. Rhythms and melodies were constructed with the use of tape loops. Several tape machines might be synchronised manually to play back an entire song, complete with loops and melodies: the laborious process might take the duo several months to create one piece of music... this album is right on par with the offerings of Raymond Scott, Daphne Oram and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in futuristic space-age melody and mix of optimism and foreboding". (The Sound Projector).

TROUM - 'Autopoiesis / Nahtscato' CD (Zoharum) - £11.50

Troum is the brilliant drone duo of Glit[S]ch and Baraka[H] (ex-Maeror Tri). Originally released in 2010, this collection is finally back in print. One of the most interesting publications of the Bremen duo, two long sold out elder vinyls are presented for the first time on CD. The four tracks which make up "Autopoiesis" (originally released as a picture disc LP on Small Voices Ltd x 567 copies, 2004) are all linked to each other. Beautiful drone music / hypnotic and oneiric ambient experimental music, each using fragments or basic structures of their own; in this way they build a circular system, influenced or a part of the other tracks. The archaic hallucinogenic rituals of "Nahtscato" by the masters of drone is impeccably hypnotic. Originally released as a 12" EP on Paranoise Records (Ltd x 300 copies, 2005). The bonus tracks were recorded in 2003. Remastered. Ltd x 500 copies in a 6-panel digipak with updated artwork.

TROUM - 'Vorbei Der Tod' LP (Raubbau) - £23

For over two decades Troum, the German drone duo Glit[S]ch and Baraka[H] (ex-Maeror Tri), have taken the clues from their dreams and translated them into a transcending sound of majestic beauty. Their drone-based compositions are mostly on the calm and soothing side, but never lack a little edginess and experiment to spice things up. "Vorbei Der Tod" emphasizes a sacral, ceremonial approach, with a hands-on approach using acoustic instruments and guitar sounds rather than electronics. Troum create a universe of sound from there: according to its thematic backdrop the A-side is dominated by what seems like the residue of organ sounds and religious chants, whereas the B-side is more serene, immersive and hallucinatory, before the final 'Theme Dream' provides a ceremonious finale. The LP format is definitely the perfect fit for this material - expressive, captivating music, yet so quiet and expansive. Put on repeat to discover more of those little details, and rest assured: death is over. Ltd x 200 copies in a matte-finish sleeve with layout by S.Alt, printed in blue and silver ink.

VARIOUS ARTISTS - 'New State Of Flux' 2 x CD (Reverse Alignment) - £16

A double disc set to celebrate the relaunch of Swedish Dark Ambient / Experimental label Reverse Alignment, now part of the Unexplained Sounds network of aural disorientation. The extremely fine work released by label founder Kristian Widqvist from its inception in 2007 and over the next 13 years is a rare example of integrity and quality in terms of aesthetic choices, creating a collection of minimalist and isolationist gems by releasing a series of albums by musicians that have constituted a new paradigm in minimalistic ambient music. This compilation has been curated with the intention of continuing that tradition in the same spirit of sonic exploration and philosophy, and adding some new names that we hope will be appreciated just as their predecessors were. Many of them will be the launch-pad for a new Reverse Alignment trajectory. Features: Ajna, Andreas Rönnquist, B°Tong, Bleak Fiction, Brian C. Short, Diskrepant, Dödsapparaten, Equal Stones, Freiband, Henrik Meyerkord, Jarl (IRM, Skin Area), João Sousa, Mats Undén, RNGMNN, SITKA, Sonologyst, Taphephobia, VelgeNaturlig, Vongoiva, and Zuhé. Ltd x 200 copies in a 6-panel double digipak.

BACK IN STOCK!

IRR. APP. (EXT.) - 'Are All Things Equivalent?' 10" (Substantia Innominata / Drone Records) - £14.50

Two new tracks by the master of surrealistic, mysterious sound (and visual) worlds, whose collages and titles often reveal a cryptic and thought-provoking nature: micro and macroscopic dimensions intermingle and oscillate; multi-layered drone expansions and deep humming drones evoke a strange organic feeling; complex noises and drones seem to be in a circling state of endless metamorphosis. Known for recurring collaborations with Nurse With Wound and through a fantastic trilogy of albums with reference to the radical psychoanalytic and founder of body psychotherapy Wilhelm Reich, the creations are much grounded in non-orthodox surrealism and collage and fall somewhere between beauty and absurdity, between amorph drone ambience transcensions and bewildering and attacking noises, often with deep philosophical and psychological implications involved. First edition of 300 copes on clear vinyl with die-cut inner sleeve, with art by Matt Waldron.

NOISE RECEPTOR #7 Magazine - £11.50

The seventh issue of Noise Receptor features in-depth interviews with: Am Not, Cloister Recordings, Himukalt, Ochu, Pterygium, and Tone Generator (of SPK & Last Dominion Lost), plus a series of previously unpublished SPK photographs from 1982. Features a large section of in-depth music reviews (ambient / industrial / experimental / power electronics etc). 94pp, A5, perfect bound with professional greyscale print with artwork by Richard Stevenson. Limited run of 600 copies - act fast!

NOISE RECEPTOR #8 Magazine - £11.50

The eighth issue of Noise Receptor features in-depth interviews with: Nordvargr, Moral Order, Post Scriptvm, and Total Black label. Features a large section of in-depth music reviews (ambient / industrial / experimental / power electronics etc), plus live reports. 94pp, A5, perfect bound with professional greyscale print with artwork by Nordvargr. Limited run of 600 copies - act fast!

NOISE RECEPTOR #9 Magazine - £11.50

The ninth issue of Noise Receptor features in-depth interviews with: Contrastate, Die Kombination, Linekraft, Live Bait Recording Foundation, Martin Bladh (IRM, Skin Area), Murderous Vision, and Nil By Mouth Recordings. Features a large section of in-depth music reviews (ambient / industrial / experimental / power electronics etc), plus live reports. 98pp, A5, perfect bound with professional greyscale print with artwork by Martin Bladh. Limited run of 600 copies - act fast!

RAISON D'ÊTRE - 'Mise En Abyme' CD (Transgredient) - £12

Studio album by this well known Swedish ambient industrial project, continually renewing the dark ambient genre since 1992. All the previously beloved elements of raison d'être's music are here: spacious deep drones, touching sacral choirs, ritualistic sounds from gongs and bells and other awesome integrated field / object recordings - all impressively enhanced to reach a new level of masterful atmospheric composition. Moving from dramatic tension and threatening uproar to meditative beauty, this near hour long album reveals various changes and details, while always sounding monolithic, expressing almost unbearable sensations of melancholy, vastness and contemplation. 'Mise en Abyme' is an inner journey down to the most hidden and dark parts of the Self. 'Mise en Abyme' literally means 'placed into the abyss' and conceptually the album contains ingredients from 'The Divine Comedy' by Dante or any similar stories/myths around the katabasis theme. Instead of being linked to religion, history or morality, it is purely a psychological and therapeutic trip to the underworld, investigating the subconscious. But even in the darkest and chaotic places in the depths, there are small shades of light, hope and understanding; one can be enlightened and purified upon returning to the conscious world. The definite raison d'etre masterpiece! Comes in a 6-panel digipak.

RAISON D'ÊTRE & TROUM - 'XIBIPIIO - In And Out Of Experience' CD (Transgredient) - £12

The second part of the collaboration series that started in 2013. Here all Raison D'être source material was used, processed and mixed with additional recordings by Troum (guitars, voices, flutes, accordeon, cello, violin, didgeridoo, dombra, tapes, found sounds); sounds completely different than Part 1 ("De Aeris In Sublunaria Influxu"). Music that reaches for the eternal, but it only exists in the very moment. An essential drone / dark ambient release! Features stunning artwork by MARCIN LOJEK. 6-panel digipak.

RNGMNN - 'Arctic Interference' CD (Winter-Light) - £11.50

Germany's RNGMNN deliver 8 tracks of icy Arctic ambience ranging from cold, drifting pieces to stark, rhythmic, pulsating soundscapes. Field recordings, percussive elements, sampled sounds, dark electronic pads, scrapes and stabs all combine creating a sense of drifting isolation, disorientation and knee-deep, jagged movements across vast snow blown and storm battered mind-scapes. There are plenty of variations on this album, to peak the interests of even the most windswept and experienced Arctic travellers. The tracks were recorded in the month of December, over a period of 5 years (2014-2018). Ltd x 200 copies in a digipak.

TROUM & YEN POX - 'Mnemonic Induction' CD (Transgredient) - £12

Completely re-mastered re-issue of this much requested dark dream-opus from 2002 (originally on Malignant Records, Ltd x 1000), now bringing out more sound details inside the endless amorph morass. Deep, brooding, low-end drones, eerie wails and moans stretched to inhuman lengths, with bleak rumblings phasing in and out. "Mnemonic Induction" alternates between soaring expansiveness and claustrophobia. These 4 movements (63+ minutes) feature Troum & Yen Pox's collaborations through the years 1996-2002. "All minds dream, and all dreams are flavored with madness". Comes in an 8 panel digipak with new artwork by Gydja, including the 'dream essay' by R.B. Hensley.

VACANT STATIONS - 'Clones' CD (Winter-Light) - £11.50

As the first solemn sounding notes play out, the mood is set, hanging in the air like a heavy, dark oppressive mantle. But all is not lost... there is always hope. Vacant Stations is a dark ambient project hailing from London. Through his music, Vacant Stations conjures visuals and inspires creativity. Some of the motivations and intentions behind 'Clones' concern the theme of identity: a meditation on the conflict and pressures of striving for individualism in an era of homogenisation, while considering implications about the future of human identity as it inevitably merges with the technology it creates. A self-reflective comment on dark ambient conventions. Ltd x 300 copies in a 6-panel digipak.

YEN POX - 'Universal Emptiness' 10" (Substantia Innominata / Drone Records) - £13

Yen Pox is Michael Hensley (Blood Box) and Steven Hall (Veil Of Secrecy). Brand new material by this cult US duo, working with deep e-bass sounds to create an isolationistic mass of darkest cosmic ambience. When you put this on you are immediately touched by the cold breath of an amorph "otherness" - this sound is so monumental and complex that it seems to suspend not only the mind but also the physis, and you experience intensely that both are the same anyway... there's something in this music that lets you really shiver and feel levitated at the same time.. gloriously, the self is dissolving! Ultra heavy black hole ambience! Ltd x 500 copies, with spot-varnished artwork by Eyelyft.