Split by Fern / Yu

This split release brings together two intensely unique electronic artists from two disparate corners of the globe. Fern's side comprises a suite named "(A)live in Isolation" - a glacial display of synth drones and ambient textures produced without the use of a DAW. On side B, Yu presents a disorienting mix of what he does best: glitched freak-outs and abrasive beats in one big slab of meticulously controlled sonic chaos.

---

"First, we have Fern, from Sweden. A one-person operation, I would think. The piece '(A)live In Isolation' is, so we are told, recorded without the use of a DAW, which stands for Digital Audio Workstation. Usually that bit of software which allows you to record various channels and mix these. But as the title implies here, this is the work of a live recording. I have no idea what kind of instruments are used here, but I would think it is heavy on the synthesizers. These are played in a combination of ambient and glitch, with a bit of rhythm in the third part, 'Ex Ipsis' (if I am not mistaken; all tracks fade into the next). Despite using the word ambient, the whole thing is rather lo-fi in approach. Quite nice, but with some room for improvement. Yu is Stuart Peters from Glasgow and one-half of The Fear. His music is much louder, sometimes bordering on distortion, which I thought was a pity because it took away some aspects of the music. Primarily it is the guitar that howls about here, but there are also beat-oriented pieces (nothing to dance to though) and then it all moves towards crude outer space version of techno music, but with a lot of guitars, and still too much distortion. The best is at the end when he goes all out on his mellow guitar sound and mucho reverb to create a fine trip in sound."

- Frans de Waard in Vital Weekly #1256 (http://www.vitalweekly.net/1256.html)

Dead Hound Records is a (very) small DIY imprint run by Ollie Turbitt in Edinburgh, specializing in experimental digital releases, tapes, USBs and zines which expose the unsung sonic underbelly of Scotland and beyond.
//
deadhoundedi@gmail.com

Facebook