New Batch – Plaża Zachodnia
6.1.18 by Ryn Masteller

So, what, do we in America think we’re the global leaders in experimental music too? That’s it, I’ve had enough. All this foolishness has got to stop. Music, as we’ve seen, is a global endeavor, and it only highlights the connections we have to one another, the similarities we display in response to external stimuli. Case in point: Poland has just as vibrant a music community as the United States, maybe even more so, judging from the brazen display of Polish label Plaża Zachodnia’s Bandcamp footprint. I’m just going to let them do the talking for a minute, because I’ll end up getting an American flag in my mouth or something and cock it all up. Here goes, no interruptions: “[Plaża Zachodnia is an] independent music label founded in 2015 focused on releasing modern Polish experimental and improvised music albums including genres from electronic through psychedelic rock to free jazz and noise.”

I did it, made it all the way the way through with my dignity intact.

These two wild, wacky tapes are firmly in “experimental and improvised music albums” focusing on found sound, object manipulation, and electronic output. While they might not exactly be Polish through and through, they are still proud examples of a wickedly vital scene, one that stretches internationally. So let’s all hop off our high horses and put aside national narratives and have a good time fiddling with our tape players until they play these two cassettes properly, OK? I’m serious, nerds, make those things work. You’ve got pretty much the only primer you’ll ever need right here.

JAZZNOIZE & MIGUEL A. GARCIA – SUVCLATTERS
Jazznoize has a real name, GAWD: Sergio Sanchez; and Miguel Garcia has a fake name, GAWD: Xedh. OK? Get past it. Together they’ve made “suvclatters,” a tape fully identified with both, whether pseudonyms are splashed across the j-card or not. And this is the outlier – these boys are from Spain. Still, their drones aren’t for the uninitiated, as the artists explore frequencies that aren’t easily tolerated by the untuned. From the moment “a schrecestign” emerges into longform gestation, growing with intensity as it bullies its way across your speaker system, warping and oscillating as it goes, you know you’re in for a deep dive. And Sergio and Miguel do not disappoint, ripping holes in space-time with their dynamic and devilish vibrations, from “neutrionn” to “slo emisioner” to “epidinitianiek.” Lots of descriptors are thrown around the press release for this tape, stuff like “intense,” “immersive,” “adventurous,” “etc.” (there’s probably an “etc.” tossed in there somewhere), so I barely have to do any work like consult the thesaurus on my phone. But don’t take my distinctly American short-cuttery for granted – check out “suvclatters” for yourself if you can muster the energy to get off your couch, you stoner.

EARTH UNIVERSAL – “CURTAINS OF SILENCE HUNG ABOUT THE THING”
If anyone was gonna make extraterrestrial contact, it was gonna be Earth Universal. And by “anyone,” I mean anyone between Earth Universal and Jazznoize and Miguel A. Garcia, mainly because of Earth Universal’s use of shortwave in their compositions. Sounds like deep-space transmissions. Which is cool. And if we’re going to get all Star Trek on you, all Asimov, all “Childhood’s End,” then we’re going to have to recognize that extraterrestrial contact is the thing that brings humanity together. Not climate change. Not Bitcoin. Not Trump. No, extraterrestrial contact, and that’s FINAL. So Earth Universal is basically speeding up the process, and we’re really, really grateful. Jeff Gburek and Hubert Wińczyk “[emit] various organic and electronic signals from the ground to the sky to represent the diversity of life forms here,” for the sole purpose of giving any non-Earth-originating beings an idea of what to expect. I’m telling you, I’m not joking: “Curtains of Silence Hung About the Thing” is a varied and vibrant paean to Earth life and communication, a fitting ode to whatever you run across or whatever you imagine. The horrific, the weird, the sublime – it’s all represented. And side B “contains tracks inspired by the RE_WOLTA theater performance, which is something that you’re going to have to look up in your spare time, because I’m not paid by Tabs Out. But for Earth Universal, this is a fantastic tape, and I recommend you have at it posthaste.