COLD SPRING NEWSLETTER

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

FEASTS FOR THE EYES

KOLLAPS - EU TOUR AND NEW VIDEO

Ahead of their EU tour 22-30 June, watch the incredible new Kollaps video for I Believe In The Closed Fist.

"The intent behind the video for "I Believe In The Closed Fist" was to portray the madness of Western civilization and the broader world we inhabit and coming to terms with that... After having spent countless hours over the period of several months trawling through the relentless hideousness of the internet and making painstakingly short edits, I finally felt that upon the completion of the video that I had reached a pinnacle in my disgust for humanity and our collective failure to function in a dignified manner" (Wade Black)

"...an excruciating automaton, channeling the death, industrial dystopia through a cut-up narrative" (PopMatters).

MERZBOW - NEW VIDEO

Watch the harrowing new Merzbow full-length visualiser for No Cages Part 1 by Abby Helasdottir. CD / Shirt out now.

UNMISSABLE GIGS

Next Saturday (25th) TUNNELS OF AH play Centrala, Birmingham with Nocturnal Emissions. This coming week sees both TREPANERINGSRITUALEN and KOLLAPS embark on EU tours (select dates with Of The Wand And The Moon).

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. All EU orders placed through our Bandcamp or Discogs will display IOSS / VAT information on the outside of your package.

NEW IMPORTS
+ NEW ADDITIONS TO OUR MAILORDER CATALOGUE +

ANDREA BELLUCCI & MATTEO UGGERI - 'The Soundtrack Of Your Secrets' CD (13 / Silentes) - £12

A collaboration between Andrea Belluci (Red Sector A, Iluiteq) and Matteo Uggeri (Sparkle in Grey, Starlight Assembly). Born and grown over the past two years, built on Bellucci's piano and Uggeri's sounds and beats, "The Soundtrack Of Your Secrets" is a work that penetrates inside the soul of anyone willing to let go. Unreservedly, without any limits. "Ten lines to tell what goes on in here. Ten lines to find words for it all: for each of the panorama of shadows and color, for each of the thunderstorms of noise and sound and electric shocks, for this big synthetic house made of major chords, stolen pianos and machines that seem to spit out frequencies on their own and without control... But no, there are four invisible hands bringing reasoning and suggestions behind it. Invisible hands that - above all - bring questions: this work makes you think about what encourages the building of organized sound after two years of a world war fought in millions of solitudes while another world war has already broken out. Sound that rebuilds bridges destroyed by cannon shots, sound that reopens doors kept closed and merges all our different languages in itself" (Marco Pandin). Presented in a 15cm x 15cm trifold sleeve.

CORRADO ALTIERI & PAOLO BANDERA - 'Metamorfosi Asincrona E Discontinuità Biologiche' CD (St.An.Da. / Silentes) - £12

Corrado Altieri (Uncodified, Candor Chasma, Monosonik, TH26) and Paolo L. Bandera (Sigillum S, Sshe Retina Stimulants, Iugula-Thor, and much more) join forces, deploying audio science-fiction with a profound body horror obsession, in love with the intoxicating radicalism of extreme sound tissue surgery. Recorded, manipulated and assembled through a three-year period (2020 to 2022), the end result is a bizarre mix of deep electronics, fringe sampling, awkward atmospherics, unusual structuring and visionary conceptualism... everything drenched in an ocean of special FX and further enhanced by Eraldo Bernocchi's mastering. "Removable genetic affinity defines itself behind the sulcus of the scalpel, as an altered demolition characterization translates access to nightmare laboratories into degraded sensory training: in the heart of immensity, slowed communication codes generate the fierce scent of mutation...". Ltd x 200 copies in a 6-panel digisleeve.

DJINN - 'Apatia' CD (St.An.Da. / Silentes / Death In Venice Productions) - £12

A long hopeless journey, made even more sick by the fantastic collaboration of the American artist HIMUKALT (Ester Kärkkäinen). "Apatia" (apathy) is a work to be considered autobiographical. It contains one of the darkest periods in the life of its creator Vintras (Djinn, Y-Incision). An endless sequence of fear / sadness / pessimism, which day after day bring the human being into a state of mind of pure apathy. Sounds reflecting into the vision of their creation of a world inhabited by his own assassins. The only solution to an already too widespread illness. Silence and loneliness are the only sources of survival. Suicide, the emergency door for few people. "The tone is dark, very dark, and quite noisy... At times power electronics noise, with screaming vocals and distorted electronics... Deep, powerful synthesizers, strong feedback... a firm reminder of the glory days of such music on hissy cassettes and badly Xeroxed covers" (Vital Weekly). Ltd x 200 copies in a 6-panel digipak.

ERALDO BERNOCCHI | MERZBOW - 'Patterns And Mechanisms' CD (13 / Silentes) - £12

Eraldo Bernocchi (Sigillum S) and Merzbow's first album together was written and recorded during the lockdown. Both artists exchanged audio files and ideas fascinated by the phenomenon of urban wildlife where wild animals decide to relocate, or establish home in our cities. The album is two long pieces (over 20 mins each). Despite being dense and noisy, "Patterns And Mechanisms" has a 'melodic' approach to composition, with Merzbow's noise assault conjugating with Bernocchi's music. The outcome is a sonic journey across concrete horizons, dystopian landscapes, and new species, all while being amazed by how nature reclaims her domain for good thorough a slow and persistent displacement of biological living organisms. Ltd x hand-numbered 300 copies in a 15cm x 15cm trifold sleeve, conceived by Petulia Mattioli.

HELLIGE - 'Camino De Agua' CD (Dying Sun Records) - £11.50

After almost ten years and a handful of ultra-limited tape / CDR releases, this duo from Argentina returns with their first full-length album on CD proper. Highly atmospheric Avant-garde Black / Sludge / Doom Metal with sombre melodies, a touch of the oppressive / depressive, and with dark and raw production. Growling vocals in Spanish cover dark, philosophical and poetic themes that show some inspiration from the writings of Henry David Thoreau. "Then idle Time ran gadding by and left me with Eternity alone". For fans of Lychgate, Blut Aus Nord and Deathspell Omega. Ltd x 300 copies in a digipak with 12-page booklet.

HIJOKAIDAN - 'Modern' 2 x LP (Urashima) - £28

The first ever vinyl reissue of "Modern" by Hijokaidan, originally released on CD in 1989 (Alchemy Records). Resting at a fascinating juncture between space-harsh progressive, improv and noise, it was years ahead of its time when it first appeared, becoming one of the great holy grails of Japanoise. Creatively thrilling - filled with emotive highs and lows - it's a crucial piece in the puzzle of Japan's wild and wonderful history of noise music. The core of the band revolves around the trio Jojo Hiroshighe, Junko and Toshiji Mikawa (Incapacitants) with various guests for both live performances and studio recordings. On vinyl for the first time, the classic three-person line-up created one of the finest albums in their incredible discography. "Modern" carves out uncharted territory between Faust and mid-70s Soft Machine, pushing improvisation into a near undefinable realm. The sound of Hijokaidan subverts and deconstructs; hitting you like a prolonged electrical discharge on neuromuscular receptors. Hijokaidan stretches out, laying down cycling fuzz rhythms and guitar feedback lines that channel the modalism of John Coltrane and hypnotic psychedelia, before embarking upon scream excursions into the outer realms. Ltd x 299 copies in a deluxe gatefold sleeve.

KLOOB & ONASANDER - 'Tempestarii' CD (Winter-Light) - £11.50

Following on from their excellent "Mundus Patet" collaboration, Kloob and Onasander offer a new album of deep and turbulent dark ambient. In medieval lore, Tempestarii were weather magicians, who claimed the power of controlling the winds by means of incantations. Dwelling amongst the common people these sorcerers possessed the power to raise or prevent storms and were capable of summoning up a storm to blight crops. Agobard, the archbishop of Lyons, wrote in 820 that in his diocese, people believed in the possibility of tempest-making by witches. Anyone reputed to be a weather-maker was the subject of respect, fear and hatred, dependent on the storm's outcome. Agobard also made reference to the belief among some of his parishioners, that Tempestarii were in league with a mythical race of cloud-dwellers from the land known as Magonia. These mythical sailors of the clouds would supposedly pay Tempestarii to summon up storms, during which the Magicians would swoop down and steal harvests of corn and grain. Ltd x 200 copies in a matt-laminate gatefold digisleeve.

MARCO BERTONI - 'Live In Trentville' CD (13 / Silentes) - £12

"On this release, which occurred like all truly welcome things - in an unexpected and unsought way - I have collected some of my own compositions created only from sound material recorded around or taken from other recorded music. Such material has been mutated with various sound processing, and assembled by multiplying layers in both digital and analogue environments. The time passing in this music is the result of a search for sensory fulfilment and expressive freedom". Marco Bertoni is a composer, musician and producer born in Bologna. He founded the seminal avant-garde rock band Confusional Quartet in 1977 (with which he is still active), and worked as an arranger and producer for various pop music publications. He has composed soundtracks for film (Bigas Luna, Michele Placido), for ballet (Enzo Cosimi) and for theatre (Magazzini). In parallel to all this he has always created and experimented in the areas of electronic and contemporary music, collaborating with artists such as Enrico Serotti, Lydia Lunch, and Bobby Gillespie. Presented in a 15cm x 15cm trifold sleeve with photography by Stefano Gentile.

MASONNA - 'Filled With Unquestionable Feelings' LP (Urashima) - £20

Cascades of electronic noise, a psychedelic touch and processed vocals mixed together constitute the ingredients of Mademoiselle Anne Sanglante Ou Notre Nymphomanie Auréolé, the double-barreled name for MASONNA. Maso Yamazaki founded his project in 1987, becoming a cult figure in the Japanoise scene. His abundant productions on his own legendary label Coquette were presented in very limited editions (sometimes just one sole copy), and reflect his predilection for 60's psychedelic music revisited in its own very peculiar way. "Filled With Unquestionable Feelings" is an ultra-rare cassette originally released in 1995 by Coquette in an edition of only 36 copies and is now reissued for the first time in a stunning vinyl format. Side-A can be considered a classic Masonna piece, where it reaches its full artistic maturity here: brash, earsplitting and mad. The distortion and effects on the vocals are top notch, combining with screams to create a complete audio assault. Everything is scraped, fast and beautiful and focuses an electrically-overcharged universe, punctuating the thrilling and vocal sonorous power with some quite moments and brief interruptions, conferring a very particular dynamic to work. Side B-is completely different. The voice disappears / is transformed by feedback. The structure is more compact and organized but eventually becomes far wilder, building up to pointillistic bleeps and dense layers of electronic fizz that unexpectedly cut to near-silence. Fully remastered for vinyl. Ltd x 299 copies.

MASONNA - 'Hate' 2 x LP (Urashima) - £28

This 1995 outing by MASONNA (here as Mademoiselle Anne Sanglante Ou Notre Nymphomanie Auréolé), was released by his own Coquette label on cassette in an edition of just 15 copies with handmade covers, composed of different materials and inserted in transparent envelopes. The album "Hate" features one of Masonna's most exciting and extraordinary work. By deploying stripped down microphone-and-scream foundations, Masonna's ingenious sonic palette and his unerring sense of rage are cast in thrilling, clear-eyed relief. The use of pedals and effects overwhelms the vocalizations that are practically not heard and creates an irresistible tension, layering a dazzling array of rich sonic colours, hard fragments, and unsettling timbres over the sort of taut psychedelic feedback used in Kosmische Musik and the echo of Tangerine Dream's masterpiece "Zeit" ring out in the grooves of the double vinyl reissue. The polarities are pronounced and brilliantly assembled, injecting even the most rough brushwork with an inescapable air of suspense; it's a real gem, deftly balancing harsh noise and otherworldly effects. Ltd x 299 copies in a deluxe gatefold sleeve.

MASONNA - 'Like A Vagina' LP (Urashima) - £20

One of Maso's first recordings, released on cassette on his own label Coquette in 1988 in a minuscule edition of just 20 copies. The original cassette is graphically provocative and contains a long track on each side. Although quite immature as recordings, we are faced with a real discovery, what will become an exceptional blast of vigor and revelation from Japan! Masonna surpassed all extremes with a full frequency violence that was as fast as it was psychedelic. Explosive seconds of visceral feedback, fast and beautiful, focusing an electrically-overcharged universe, then awesome screaming creates the complete audio assault. A revelation and terrific listen from start to finish, not to mention a crucial addition to the canon of Japanese noise music and its shadowy history that radically challenges and expands the terms of movement's definitions. An absolutely amazing accomplishment, offering long overdue attention to a never before available body of work composed by one of Japanese noise's most important figures. An absolute must for seasoned noise music fans and devotes of obscure side of Japanese electronic music, as well as anyone just beginning to explore this incredible realm. Ltd x 299 copies.

MAURIZIO BIANCHI & LIEUTENANT MURNAU - 'Tapes 1980/1981' 2 x CD (13 / Silentes) - £15.50

In the tape network of the early 1980s, where everything seemed possible, Maurizio Bianchi meets Lieutenant Murnau in two obscure but historical postal collaborations, originally released in a strictly limited edition for the British tape label Flowmotion ("It Should Be Used Only Once") and for the German label Litanic ("Techno-Logy"). Two of the best known promoters of the Italian experimental scene create two surreal experiments that anticipate the mash-up vogue, hybridising radical industrial noise, romantic soundtracks from the films of Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau and mocking 'plagiarist' field recordings. Ltd x 200 copies in a 6-panel digisleeve containing graphics created by M.B. at the time of the original releases, and images from the Lt. Murnau fanzine, with an introduction by Vittore Baroni. Already sold out from the label!

MERZBOW - 'Magnesia Nova' 2 x LP (Urashima) - £28

Beginning in 1979, Merzbow stands as the most important artist in Japanese Noise music. Embracing technology and the machine, first in an absolutely analogue way and then welcoming digital innovation, Merzbow broke boundaries and pushed toward new territories of the extreme, arriving at a sonic space of uncontaminated, straight noise that, has continued for over 40 years, setting the pace for the entire genre of noise. Exquisitely recorded and mixed between February-May 1995 at his own ZSF Produkt Studio, "Magnesia Nova" is stunning immersion into the world of Merzbow during one of the project's most engrossing and important periods. Inspired by the intersections between Greece and Japan and between Western and Eastern civilization along with work of Athanasius Kircher, true blasts of noise are meticulously crafted into gorgeous sound collages. For the first time ever, this seminal document from Merzbow's 90's period appears on vinyl featuring a bonus 20-minute track of unreleased material from the same recording sessions. "Magnesia Nova" is an uncompromising cascade of brutal noise, completely overwhelmed by synthesizers and handmade objects that become his unconventional musical weapons. Ltd x 299 copies in a deluxe gatefold sleeve.

PAIN JERK - 'Neurotten' LP (Urashima) - £20

Beginning his extreme sonics in the 1980's, Kohei Gomi is one of the most prolific and influential noise units operating out of Japan, hurling maelstroms of chaotic chunder and deranged grime at anyone who could handle the extremes. By the 90's Pain Jerk became one of the leading figures in the "dynamic" style of Japanoise and is also the owner of the noise tape label AMP. Among his 70+ albums, "Neurotten" stands out, reaching cult status and instantly becoming a classic of the genre. Released in 1996 on the legendary Slaughter Productions by Marco Corbelli (Atrax Morgue), the original cassette was presented in a tiny edition of 80 hand numbered copies in special packaging. The assault here is very high-end heavy: relentlessly aggressive. The sound severs and bleeds more than it beats and bludgeons. Side-A is divided into two tracks of incredibly devastating, unfriendly harsh noise. Nothing compares to the sounds emitted by vinyl grooves composed of constantly flowing noise - always recorded live without overdubs. On the 23 minutes of side-B we encounter one of most iconic compositions from his wide discography: 'Disembowel'. Hearing impaired volumes that duel, bouncing sound structures displacing the ego and generating many difficulties in brain processing. Rips and chaos, pulsating pulses of recycled transient sounds, loops, and muffled high tones. Ltd x 299 copies.

VIOLENT ONSEN GEISHA - 'Shocks! Shocks! Shocks!' LP (Urashima) - £20

Tokyo-based Japanese Noise musician Masaya Nakahara (Violent Onsen Geisha) has been dazzling us with his singular approach to sound since 1989. Combining cut-up noise, techno, pop samples and hip hop, as well as his sister's karaoke singing or his parent quarrelling, screams and glass or ceramic bowls broken, he has built an incredible body of work producing arrangements where all the styles and the sonic atmospheres meet in a junk room, elaborating his delirious patchwork studio from magneto-phone tapes. His amazing cut-ups proved interesting to major bands such as Sonic Youth and Beck, who invited him on a US tour in 1995. His best-known cassette "Shocks! Shocks! Shocks!" released in 1989 on the legendary Vanilla Records. Now pressed on vinyl format for the first time, V.O.G. takes us deep into the intimately responsive aspects of his work. Despite the density of its structures, that combine the most disparate musical genres with deafening shouts and crashes, "Shock! Shock! Shock!" feels like a breath of fresh air, fearlessly skirting the line between creative rigor and focused interplay, with a playful irreverence that leaves you wondering where the hell you are. Ltd x 299 copies.

ZELFHAAT - 'Smarten Van Een Ontwijde Ziel' CD (Dying Sun Records) - £11.50

Hateful, Depressive Suicidal Black Metal from Tilburg, Netherlands. "Smarten van een Ontwijde Ziel" (Sorrows Of A Consecrated Soul) is a dark journey into the deepest pits of depression. It captures true self-hatred and the utter despise for human life. "The whole album is filled with these hollow screeches F. does and they do make you feel like you are in absolute misery... if you want to be dragged into despair and musically tortured, "Smarten Van Een Ontwijde Ziel" will have all of those elements for you. A great album to lose your mind to" (Dutch Brutal). Comes with 12-page lyric booklet.

BACK IN STOCK!

ABBILDUNG - 'All Demons Are Horned' CD (Winter-Light) - £11.50

Dark Ambient from the dark realm of dreams. "All Demons Are Horned" is the 10th anniversary release from the Romanian sound artist ABBILDUNG. Over 3 years in the making, the release takes you to a transcendental journey through finely crafted dark ambient soundscapes, and mystical drones. This is a release that is pushes the boundaries of ambient, taking it so much further. The tracks are exquisitely crafted pieces that at times are tinged with fusions of an oriental journey, propelling you through harsh atmospheric re-entry or simply leaving the listener alone to drift in absolute solitude. Ltd x 300 copies in a 6-panel digipak.

CONTROLLED DEATH (MASONNA) - 'Ritualistic Mutilation In The Bloody Darkness' 2 x LP (Urashima) - £28

Controlled Death is the dark project by the Japanese noise legend Maso Yamazaki (a.k.a. MASONNA). The activities of Controlled Death are like an archaic revival to the music experience before Masonna. We can also find the pathology image of the early industrial period and the shadows of Vienna activism such as Hermann Nitsch as well as loose bits of seminal black metal. Wild and amazing, this one is absolutely essential for any fan of synth and dark ambient music. Cracked minimal electronic sounds of Korg MS-20, unclear and disturbing voices with the influence of primitive black metal and dark ritual. The smell of death is soaked in every groove produced by the four vinyl sides. Comes in a deluxe gatefold sleeve with impressive photography (of a cave church with the remains of the people who were massacred by the Saracens in 999 A.D. during the invasion of southern Italy) by Aldo Volpe. Ltd x 299 copies.

SEETYCA - 'Winterlicht' CD (Winter-Light) - £11.50

As the album title indicates, the theme is that of the winter's light and comprises 12 new tracks, combining deep drones and sparse dark ambient pieces to create a vast wintry landscape. The opening track 'cold morning' invokes images of sunlight playing across fields steeped in deep white snow while your cold breath disappears in to the morning air. The title track 'winterlicht' is a slowly evolving darker, deeper 13-minute drone piece. Here the heavy mantle of winter steadily envelopes the listener, drawing the darkness of the nights ever nearer, as the cold winds howl and the ice begins to form, locking the landscape in to a frozen tundra. The play between light and dark, the subtle use of environmental sounds and carefully chosen instruments, played by a stellar array of Seetyca's friends, is what makes this album truly engaging. Ltd x 300 copies in a digipak.

VELGENATURLIG - 'Kundalini' CD (Winter-Light) - £11.50

Portuguese sound sculptor VelgeNaturlig returns with an album of deep, immersive ambient drones. On "Kundalini", Ivo Santos presents an album layered with a rich tapestry of dense drones, reverberating sub-bass and circulating processed sounds, cleverly woven together with field recordings. As with most, if not all of VelgeNaturlig's work, on "Kundalini" the tracks flow together as one, creating vast musical landscapes to traverse within the mind's eye. The music weaves an infinite pathway between the light and the dark, sometimes isolating but always keeping the listener engaged. "Kundalini" is an album of true awakening, invoking a clash of primordial sounds and energies. Let the currents flow. "...another fine album, pushing all the right deep ambient buttons, using the right amount of reverb to make it more atmospheric, touching upon a bit of experiment and the perfect rainy autumn day soundtrack" (Vital Weekly). Ltd x 300 copies in a digipak.