Uma 092 JASON CRUMER – OTTOMAN BLACK LP
Ottoman Black is a masterful damn record, a definitive statement that makes most other noise records of this ilk seem immature, if not outright stillborn. From cover' s photography , presenting mundane situation with an air of isolated, hysterical desperation, to the track titles, presented in the style of an academic outline (I.,II.,a.,b.,etc.) this is a formally conceived and meticulously crafted 35 minutes, leaving nothing untitled or untidy.
Ottoman Black is the very highest percentile of achievement, the top one percent of noise albums that come out in 2008. It is not something to nod off to, or put on while washing dishes, but a 35- minute symphony of dread, distress, and yes, betrayal. At the same time, the sheer depth of technological achievement (great sound/mastering/technical know/how) make it an engaging listen, and will assuredly continue to give up new information with multiple listens.
As Urashima reissues go, this is on the new side of old, but its inclusion still makes sense alongside MB and Atrax Morgue and others. If Maurizio Bianchi's atrophied synth and Marco Corbelli's sickly moans diagrammed the depths of their despair and depression, Crumer processes his frustration and failure visually, recreating humiliation and defeat through lucid waking nightmares, recreations of the worst day of his life through sound and text. Ottoman Black still sounds as blazing and new as it did when it was released. It is not a museum artifact or dated in its style, even if it feels like it was created in a different time. Highest recommendation.
Chris Sienko - The associate editor of As Loud As Possible magazine.Lp has been pressed on 140 gr black vinyl with black label and black inner sleeve and comes in a deluxe silver silkscreen on black cardboard sleeve, limited to 199 copies w/insert in luxury 160 gr ivory paper with exclusive notes by Chris Sienko, Raymond Cummings, Tom Grimley and Ryan Jencks. All package in a clear plastic sleeve to protect record Lp, cover and inserts from dirt, shelf wear and damage.
Uma 093 CLIMAX DENIAL – IN THE ABSENCE OF SELF-CONTROL LP 
For over a decade, Climax Denial has been exploring a unique and evolving approach to the power-electronics genre. Beginning with his debut tape on Hospital Productions, and following with dozens of other sought-after releases: peerless in their stalker/submissive debauchery. Alex Kmet with his Climax Denial project practically bathes in its own urgent sexuality, stalking through each album with glassy eyes and a raging boner, just like the protagonists of all of those classics you are tempted to put away when mom/girlfriend/straight-job friends come over. In an age where many of his peers are doing their part to look beyond perverse sexuality, or perhaps expressing it in more poetic terms, Climax Denial rings true like the last of the old-school perverts, a man as terrifying as he is abject. In The Absence Of Self-Control is Climax Denial's first full-length LP and features all new material. Teasing with elements of dark ambient restraint, coyly manic vocals, and anxious industrial texture; we are presented with an unnerving composition of lovingly lecherous soundscapes.
''I've never consciously set out to become a 'Power Electronics Musician' or whatever, it's just like I was saying before, I always want there to be some kind of context behind the noise. Most power electronics deals with exploring the dark side of human nature objectively, or confessing your own darknesses. I write about what I know. I just have to be honest. These things are what I'm into doing and this is what keeps me up at night and this is what turns me on. Mostly what turns me on! It was never a conscious attempt to change the genre. I've just done whatever I wanted to from the beginning, trying to avoid falling completely into any one category. It's sexual and emotional submission with fits of violence. It's the declaration of my self to fully experience the essence of the female sex. It's the severe depression and it's knowing I'm better and stronger than most other people for being able to see things the way I see them.''Alex Kmet interviewed by Chis Sienko on As Loud As Possible magazine.Lp has been pressed on 140 gr black vinyl with black label and black inner sleeve and comes in a deluxe silver silkscreen on black cardboard sleeve, limited to 99 copies w/insert in luxury 160 gr ivory paper. All package in a clear plastic sleeve to protect record Lp, cover and inserts from dirt, shelf wear and damage.
Uma 094 THE RITA – QUEEN SHEETS 2xLP
Some time ago a colleague emailed me and informed me that an artist made a short video of herself knitting to THE RITA's 'Thousands of Dead Gods.' I watched the short video and thought it was interesting, but then also noticed that the woman had a link included on her 'Instagram' account for her sculptural works. I had a look at her work and was instantly taken by the sheer immensity and power of her structures, all exemplary of long hours of labour and provocative patterns behind the materials. The most notable structure for me was the piece 'Untitled Form (Barrier)' which was made up of timber, bricks, mortar and a semi-dynamic use of the material chiffon to hold bricks in a hanging fashion. The semi-opaque, stretching quality behind the white chiffon with height of almost 8 feet instantly brought to mind the focus of my past recordings that delved into the world of nylon and stocking fetishism, eventually contemplating the semi-opaque salmon pink qualities behind the tights used by classical ballerinas and the expanded practice and tradition therein. Looking at an imposing 8'4 x 8' structure like Megan Miller's 'Untitled Form (Barrier)' and it's materials made me think that any sound made by the structure's movement of bricks against each other piled in a virtual sling of moving chiffon would be perfect for textural, abrasive sound source. After some discussion with Megan, it was decided that a new structure would be built for a collaboration with THE RITA that embraced not themes of fetishism, but expanded utilitarian themes around the use of nylon; the stockings, tights and nylon that women wore to work, what our mother's wore for warmth, comfort, and most importantly the virtual make-up of the fabric, the inherent qualities it featured. Her eventual new outdoor sculpture was entitled 'Queen Sheets' and also made use of brick and mortar, expanding over a flat area with semi-opaque chiffon stretching over the whole of the area, covering it. 'Untitled Form (Barrier)' was also erected again in the same outdoor area, and this time the labor intensive building process of both sculptures was recorded for eventual processing by THE RITA.
Sam McKinlay ''An exquisite and entirely feminine material, much can be said of nylon. It moves like us and with us, stretches like us and with us, and, although extremely delicate and easily torn, the fiber is strong enough to make me wonder if it could support bricks. Pantyhose become our second skin, our birth-skin held in its softness. The sound of its softness is remarkable – the sound of second skin of birth – skin and the light sweet between.''
In a letter to Sam from Megan on March 31th , 2014 - (in response to the Rita's ''Ballet Feet Positions'')Both records are impressive, inspired and near perfect examples of Mr. McKinlay brutal sonic talents. This is easily one of the highlights of this year noise releases and a high point in the Rita discography. A must have item for HNW/Noise fans; but also a great entry point into the genre to see how one of the masters of the form performs.
Double Lp has been pressed on 140 gr black vinyl with black label and black inner sleeve and comes in a deluxe silver silkscreen on black cardboard sleeve, limited to 199 copies w/insert in luxury 160 gr ivory paper, plus four color photographs. All package in a clear plastic sleeve to protect double Lp, cover and inserts from dirt, shelf wear and damage.
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