2014 FAVORITES

Above: some of the musical highlights of 2014 - Circle "Leviatan", The Austerity Program "Beyond Calculation", Mutoid Man "Helium Head", Dirk Serries "XXI-XXV, Godflesh "A World Lit Only by Fire", Heretic Cult Redeemer - s/t, Dead Congregation "Promulgation of the Fall", Altar of Flies - s/t, Trepaneringsritualen "Perfection & Permanence", Wormlust "Feral Wisdom", Black to Comm - s/t, Bob Mould "Beauty & Ruin", Thantifaxath "Sacred White Noise", Baptists "Bloodmines", Allegory Chapel Ltd "Resurrection", Bolzer "Soma", Kriegsmachine "Enemy of Man", Russell Haswell "Conceptual Noise", Hildur Gudnadottir "Saman", Harassor/Glass Coffin - split, Lana Del Rey "Ultraviolence", Sewer Election "Nära", Ghedalia Tzartes "Hysterie Off Music", Noxagt "Brutage", Carpe Noctem "In Terra Profugus", Mdou Moctar "Afelan", Kevin Drumm "Humid Weather"....

There were a good deal more excellent releases this year, as well as others from years past that I'm just now hearing.  I also greatly enjoyed all the releases we issued through SIGE this past year, though that is probably obvious and therefor none of those are listed above. Relatedly, below are a few of my favorite album sleeves from 2014 - from top to bottom they are (band name followed by album designer/artist): Teitanblood - Timo Ketola, Morton Subotnick - Bob Pepper, Wormlust - Metastazis, Dino Spiluttini, Nils Quak - Daniel Castrejon, Russell Hasswell - Ian Burn/Lasse Marhaug, and Pharaoh Overlord - Eetu Henttonen.

Looking forward to experiencing many more great works of art in 2015!

SUMAC UPDATE, MAMIFFER VIDEO, ETC.

Above: cover for the forth coming SUMAC album "The Deal". Artwork by Faith Coloccia, design by Turner/Coloccia.


The SUMAC album will be released Feb 17th via Profound Lore (CD/digital), SIGE Records (2xLP/cs) and Daymare Recordings (CD Japan). Pre-order info will be posted as it becomes available. There is a preview song from the album below, and another will follow shortly after the new year. A short video/audio sample from the album is also viewable here.





Also: Mamiffer has a new video/remix collaboration with Daniel Menche. It's based off the track "Enantiodromia" from the recently released "Statu Nascendi" album. And here it is:





Lastly - winter and spring tours/live events are currently in the works for Mamiffer, SUMAC and Old Man Gloom. Please visit their respective internet outlets for updates/further details. Looking forward to it all....

-Happy Holidays!

OLD MAN GLOOM "THE APE OF GOD" ART + MAMIFFER MIX

Above: Selected artwork from the Old Man Gloom "The Ape of God" LPs and CDs. Artwork by A. Turner, front cover design by Faith Coloccia.

The new Old Man Gloom albums "The Ape of God" are now available for order - North American/European CD version from Profound Lore, Japanese CDs (+ DVD) from Daymare Recordings, and vinyl editions from SIGE Records.

Most of the art for the album was made as large scale ink/plaka paintings on paper, along with some smaller pen and ink drawings. The individual pieces were cut up, collaged and the photographed to create the final images, with some minor computer processing for the layout arrangements. Final print was completed by Stumptown Printers - two spot colors printed on uncoated textured stock, and in the case of the LPs, with additional letterpress printing in select areas on the jackets. Photos of the final print can be view with the Stumptown Flickr page here.

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In conjunction with the release of the new Mamiffer album "Statu Nascendi", Tiny Mix Tapes is hosting a guest mix by Mamiffer. It includes tracks from some of our favorite (and in many cases inspirational) artists - Kites, Alice Coltrane, Swans, Dirk Serries, etc. You can view the full article/mix here, and/or listen to the stream below.

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Currently enjoying: "Stone Mattress" Margaret Atwood, Swallowed "Lunarterial", Jon Mueller "Physical Changes", Batilus  "Concrete" (Andy Stott remix), Cut Hands "Festival of the Dead",  Noxagt - s/t, Dead Fader "Scorched", etc.

MAMIFFER "STATU NASCENDI" PRE-ORDER + NEW TRACK

Above: LP jacket artwork by Faith Coloccia for the Mamiffer "Statu Nascendi" LP.

The album, along with some new merch, is available for pre-order today via the SIGE Records webshop. There are now two preview tracks from the album available for listening, both included here. Additionally, there is a video for one of the songs directed by Daniel Menche available for viewing here, and an article about the track "Enantiodromia" via Self-Titlted here.

A cassette version of the album will be available from SIGE in the coming weeks along with a CD version courtesy of Daymare Recordings.

Thank you.





Currently enjoying: Boris "Archive 1",  Baptists - live, Altar of Flies - untitled LP, Karl Bosmann "Eskalation", Heretic Cult Redeemer s/t, Carpe Noctum "In Terra Profugus", Lawrence English "Wilderness of Mirrors", Drastus "Serpent's chalice-matweria prima", etc.

NEW A/V: MAMIFFER + OLD MAN GLOOM

Above: Stills from the new Mamiffer video for "Caelestis Partus", and the Old Man Gloom film "Here is a Gift for You".

The Mamiffer "Caelestis Partus" video was directed by Daniel Menche, and the song is taken from the forthcoming 4 song Mamiffer album "Statu Nascendi".  The video is viewable via Noisey/Vice here.

Kenneth Thomas of Scourge Productions directed the Old Man Gloom documentary which is also viewable via Noisey here. A DVD version of the film, along with full performance footage from Old Man Gloom and extended material from Sad Vicious will be available for select mail orders via Daymare, Profound Lore and SIGE. More details on that closer to release date.

Finally, "Predators",  another song from the new Old Man Gloom "The Ape of God" album is available for listening:




Thank you.


Currently enjoying: Inquisition "Ominous Doctrines...", TSPNTH "10 instant compositions", Nightbringer "Emanations", Harold Budd "The Pavilion of Dreams", Circle "Miljard", Greg Kelley and Jason Lescalleet "Conversations", Owwl "Dark PLaces", MGLA "Groza", etc....

NEW SIGE TRACKS: OLD MAN GLOOM + BLACK SPIRITUALS

Above:  Old Man Gloom "The Ape of God" LP cover - drawings by me, design by Faith Coloccia, and Black Spirituals "Of Deconstruction" LP cover, art and design by F. Coloccia.

SIGE is working on a bunch of new releases for the fall, and we now have a couple tracks to share from two of them - Old Man Gloom "The Lash" and Black Spirituals "Radiant". The cassette version of the Black Spirituals album is available now from the SIGE mail-order store, the LP and digital versions coming shortly. The Old Man Gloom LP/cassette will be available in Nov from SIGE, with the CD and digital versions coming courtesy of Profound Lore.

Thank you.





Currently enjoying: Trepaneringsritualen "Perfection + Permanence", James Hollis "The Wounding & Healing of Men", Kerry James Marshall "Painting and Other Stuff",  Diamanda Galas "Saint of the Pit", Gorguts "From Wisdom to Hate", Brunhild Ferrari & Gol "Play Luc Farrari's Exercises d'improrvisation", Blut Aus Nord "What Once Was - Leber II", etc.

SUMAC

Sumac is a new band, the core membership consisting of myself and Nick Yacyshyn (also of Baptists). We have completed our first record "The Deal" which will be released via Profound Lore (CD), and SIGE Records (LP) in Feb 2015. Bass on the album was done by Brian Cook (Russian Circles, Botch, etc), who will hopefully join us as an auxiliary/intermittent member for live performances when possible. We are pursuing this as a fully functional band rather than side project, with plans to play live in the coming year and continue with further writing/recording thereafter.

The album was recorded by Mell Dettmer at Litho and Aleph in Settle, with additional recording done at home. It was mixed by Kurt Ballou at God City, Salem, MA. Artwork is underway, a collaborative process between Faith Coloccia and myself - previews of that and audio clips to come in the next month or so.

Track titles are as follows:

1. Spectral Gold  (03:26)
2. Thorn in the Lion's Paw  (09:04)
3. Hollow King  (12:26)
4. Blight's End Angel  (10:19)
5. The Deal (13:34)
6. Radiance of Being  (05:25)

MAMIFFER SHOWS THIS WEEKEND

Hello,

Mamiffer will be playing two shows this weekend, starting tonight in Seattle. Both will be with Black Spirituals and Jessika Kenney (with Eyvind Kang). Info is as follows:

08/28  -  The Chapel, Seattle WA

http://www.waywardmusic.org/event/black-spiritualsjessika-kenneymamiffer/

08/30 -  Disjecta Gallery, Portland OR

http://disjecta.org/visit

Mamiffer will be performing as the core duo of Faith Coloccia and Aaron Turner. Additionally, Daniel Menche will be performing live visuals in conjunction with Mamiffer's Portland performance.

Both are early shows, so show up.... early!

Thank you.

Photo: Meg Webster 

NEUROSIS/SOILENT GREEN + HELMS ALEE 7"s

Above: 7" covers for Neurosis/Soilent Green and Helms Alee.

Hydra Head has just made 2 special edition versions of the above mentioned 7"s available via the RTK webshop. Details as follows:

"We have initiated a new vinyl series at HHR. Utilizing leftover vinyl from previous pressings we have created small run editions of out of print releases. Each release will is packaged in letterpress printed HHR vinyl jackets, hand numbered, and customized with hand stamped text and new artwork by Aaron Turner."

Thank you.

NEW: OLD MAN GLOOM, MAMIFFER, SIGE TITLES, ETC

Above: Mamiffer "Statu Nascendi" album cover, Daniel Menche/William Fowler Collins - split cassette, Death Blues "Non-fiction" LP, Old Man Gloom in Switzerland.

Mamiffer will have a new 4 song LP/CD/CS titled "Statu Nascendi" out in Nov. SIGE Records will issue the vinyl and CS and Daymare will release the CD edition. Artwork is being done by Faith Coloccia, the album was recorded and mixed by Randall Dunn. Mamiffer is also in the midst of working on a full length album to be released in the spring of 2015. Live dates are happening later this month in Seattle (8/28) and Portland (8/30), with Black Spirtuals and Jessika Kenney with Eyvind Kang.

SIGE Records has a handful of new releases now available: Death Blues "Non-fiction" LP and the long delayed cassette versions of the recent Daniel Menche/William Fowler Collins split and Mesa Ritual full length. All are currently available from the the SIGE direct mail-order and/or webshop. Up next are new full length LPs from Black Spirituals and Ides of Gemini. You can check out sounds from some of the recent releases here.

Old Man Gloom have a new album coming out on Nov 11th called "Ape of God". Profound Lore will issue the CD, SIGE Records will release the vinyl, and Daymare will release the album in Japan. Additionally, there is an Old Man Gloom "Here is a Gift for You" directed by Kenneth Thomas that will be circulating later this fall. You can view a trailer for that here.

Thank you... more updates soon... really.

Currently enjoying: Menace Ruine "Venus Armata", Kevin Drumm "Phantom Jerk", Circle "Leviatan", Jessica Kenney "The Heart's Damask", Oozing Wound "Retrash", Irkallian Oracle "Grave Ekstasis", Bohren & Der Club of Gore "Piano Nights", The Austerity Program "Beyond Calculation", Ghedalia Tazartes "Hysteria Off Music", Noxagt "Vol I", etc.

NEW INTERVIEW, SIGE UPDATE, MAMIFFER TRACKS

There is a new SIGE Records feature up over at Impose Magazine. You can read/view/hear it here. It includes SIGE artist tracks and videos, photos, and some background info/philosophy on the label.

Relatedly: new SIGE titles are just out or on the way. The Daniel Menche/William Fowler Collins  and Mesa Ritual LPs are available in the SIGE webshop and digital store. Cassette versions of both are just about done as well. Jon Mueller's Death Blues "Non-ficiton" LP is in and will start shipping shortly. Digital of that will be available next week.

And: two new-ish Mamifer tracks are now available digitally on the SIGE bandcamp page - you can check those out here. Both are from the recent cassette split with House of Low Culture.

Thank you.

Recently enjoying: Paul Jebanasam "RITES", Death "The Sound of Perseverance", Black Spirituals - rehearsal recordings, Death Blues "Non-fiction", Hot Victory - live, "Woman Rebel" Pater Bagge, Godflesh "Decline and Fall", Fugazi "In on the Kill Taker", etc.

NEW SIGE TITLES OUT TODAY

Two new SIGE Records titles are available today, in digital and physical formats:

- MESA RITUAL - s/t
- DANIEL MENCHE/WILLIAM FOWLER COLLINS - split

Digital versions of the albums available here. Physical versions here.
The Mesa Ritual album is trimming in full via FACT Magazine here.

Next up for SIGE: Jon Mueller's DEATH BLUES "Non-fiction" LP/digital, and BLACK SPIRITUALS debut LP/CS/digital.

Thank you.

MENCHE/COLLINS LP ART + NEW SIGE TITLES

Above: front and back cover art for the Daniel Menche/William Fowler Collins split LP, and a new t-shirt design using the same source images - all for/from SIGE Records. The artwork and design for these projects were a collaborative effort with Faith Coloccia.

Both the Menche/Collins split LP and the SIGE t-shirt are now available for order in the SIGE webshop, along with the new full length by Mesa Ritual (which also includes William Fowler Collins alongside Raven Chacon). You can order here and listen here.

Thank you.

Recently enjoying: Cut Hands - live, Godflesh - live, Circle - live, Trepaneringsritualen - live, Oathbreaker - live, Teitanblood "Death",  Alice Coltrane "Lord of Lords", Killing Sound s/t, Pitreleh - s/t, Horseback "Piedmont Apocrypha", Grouper "The Man Who Died in His Boat", Thomas Pynchon "Gravity's Rainbow", etc

BLOODLET LP

Above: Artwork for the Bloodlet "Live on WFMJ-FR 03.23.1995" LP coming out on A389 next month on Record Store Day. Thanks to A389 and Bloodlet for inviting me to participate in this project.

Also: collaborative album with William Fowler Collins finally complete - release details forthcoming. Old Man Gloom European tour starts April 1st. Details on two new SIGE Records releases coming soon (Daniel Menche/WIlliam Fowler Collins split LP/CS + Mesa Ritual LP/CS) - you can preview a track from the Mesa Ritual album here:



Thank you.

Currently enjoying: Noisem "Agony Defined",  Mesa Ritual - s/t, Bloodvite "Falskt Spektrum" Virile Games "Wounded Laurel", Helm "The Hollow Organ", Bloodlet "Entheogen", Brunhold Ferrari "Tranquilles Impatiences", Marissa Nadler "July", etc. 

SIGE/TURNER/COLOCCIA INTERVIEW

Black Magazine has kindly instigated and published an interview with Faith Coloccia and me, regarding our various collaborations, independent projects, SIGE activities, upcoming releases, etc. The intro is in German, all else in English. You can read it here. Thank you.

*photos above by F. Coloccia and A. Turner

GLOOM OVER EUROPE

New poster design for Old Man Gloom European tour 2014. Background drawing by Desmond Scofield.

KHLYST "CHAOS IS MY NAME" LP

Above: a couple pieces from the forthcoming LP version of the Khlyst album "Chaos is My Name". Original artwork by Stephen Kasner, logo and design by me. This album originally came out on CD only via Hydra Head in 2006. Should've been on vinyl as well, but it took about 8 years to get that happening. Better late than never as it's an amazing piece of work. It will be available this spring on LP, and there may still be some CDs lingering in the HHR webshop. More specifics on the release date soon.

Thank you.

Currently enjoying: Castavet "Obsidian", "Life Zone" by Simon Hanselmann, Hatred Surge "Human Overdose", Baptists "Bushcraft", Puce Mary "Success", Jessika Kenney & Eyvind Kang "Live in Iceland", Pietro Riparbelli "Three Days of Silence", Aanipaa "Through a Pre-Memory", Inquisition "Obscure Verses of the Multiverse", etc.