Tuesday, October 30, 2018
HSFB/Parashi "Assassins" CDR (Skell 025)
Monday, June 20, 2016
Grab Ass Cowboys/\Parashi--Cosmic Microwave Background collab CDR (Skell 022)
Albany's Grab Ass Cowboys and Parashi go back awhile....having played several shows together over the years, each noise unit was familiar with the other's sounds and idiosyncrasies. Mutual admiration spilled over into plans for a collaborative effort. Brass and wind instruments were abused, metal was scraped and pounded, random vocal lines and synth textures were coaxed out of reluctant equipment. The end result was a product that slithers and hisses at your feet like a loyal rattlesnake. Murmurs give way to searing feedback tones, trumpet bleats are cut up and fed thru distortion, bells chime and dissolve, and the whole mess is as organic as it is twisted. Get it before it's gone. Edition of 50, $5 ppd.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
2015 batch deal
Forgot to mention batch prices: USA people pay $24 ppd. for all 4 new tapes, and it's $42 ppd. for international customers.
SECTION 35/CASE split tape (Skell 021)
CASE's side of things is only slightly less bleak, as rolling waves of slithering noises manifest themselves and decay slowly, creating interlocking patterns of tonality and silence. Far removed from his work behind the drums as one half of Burnt Hills' percussive engine, these sounds are haunted and haunting, best enjoyed in the small hours. Pro-dubbed, edition of 50. $7 ppd. USA, $13 worldwide.
Chapels/Curling Hands split tape (Skell 020)
Very excited about this tape--Buffalo's Adam Richards has been at it for years, both with his excellent label House of Alchemy and his well-documented Chapels project. Tape loops, reverb, broken instrumentation, and carefully arranged, fragmentary bits of sonic debris have characterized his work in the past. "Things I Saw on My Way to the Lake" qualifies as classic Chapels. 
Within you will find elements of creeping shadows, forgotten dreams, inexplicable paranoia, and any number of disorienting effects. In short, it's a crusher.....
Liam Rees is a multi-instrumentalist currently residing in London, equally comfortable with raga, psych rock, or noise. His Curling Hands project has a couple of self-released tapes to its name, and on his Skell debut we are happy to say that his dark, noise-inflected viola jams are scratching an itch we didn't even know we had. "The Terminal Object" aches and seethes with care and skill....both sides of this tape will NOT let you down. Pro-dubbed, edition of 50. $7 ppd. USA, $13 ppd. for the rest of the world.
Liam Rees is a multi-instrumentalist currently residing in London, equally comfortable with raga, psych rock, or noise. His Curling Hands project has a couple of self-released tapes to its name, and on his Skell debut we are happy to say that his dark, noise-inflected viola jams are scratching an itch we didn't even know we had. "The Terminal Object" aches and seethes with care and skill....both sides of this tape will NOT let you down. Pro-dubbed, edition of 50. $7 ppd. USA, $13 ppd. for the rest of the world.
Xanthocephalus/Nodolby split tape (Skell 019)
Two noise dudes who like the bass--that's the idea here, one from Brooklyn, one from Italy. Xanthocephalus has been dropping low-end madness upon the world since 2011, with heavy past releases on labels like Tranquility Tapes and Kendra Steiner Editions. Xantho mainman Russ Alderson utilizes a barrage of noisemakers and synth devices along with his electric bass to create churning megascapes of sound; grab hold of one of these icebergs and let it tow you out into the frigid oceans.
Mic Scariot is Nodolby, an unclassifiable and interesting noisemaker if I've ever heard one. Past efforts have surfaced on such fine imprints as Digitalis, Retrograde Tapes, and Obsolete Units. Years ago I heard a c10 by Nodolby, and was hooked...this particular release showcases some occasionally brutal sounds, all balanced within a framework that hangs together delicately. Mic also runs Italy's Dokuro Records, a label brimming with crucial releases by artists like Antony Milton, Mike Shiflet, as well as Skell Records vets Hering und seine 7 Sachen and Vales. Pro-dubbed, edition of 50. $7 ppd USA, $13 rest of the world.
Mic Scariot is Nodolby, an unclassifiable and interesting noisemaker if I've ever heard one. Past efforts have surfaced on such fine imprints as Digitalis, Retrograde Tapes, and Obsolete Units. Years ago I heard a c10 by Nodolby, and was hooked...this particular release showcases some occasionally brutal sounds, all balanced within a framework that hangs together delicately. Mic also runs Italy's Dokuro Records, a label brimming with crucial releases by artists like Antony Milton, Mike Shiflet, as well as Skell Records vets Hering und seine 7 Sachen and Vales. Pro-dubbed, edition of 50. $7 ppd USA, $13 rest of the world.
Insects Waiting--Nonsense Codes Vol. 2 (Skell 018)
Mysterious transatlantic duo Insects Waiting return with the 2nd volume of their "Nonsense Codes", following last year's release of "Vol. 1" on the excellent Tape Drift Records. American Eric Hardiman and Scotsman Euan Currie combine their arsenals of sonic trickery, sharpened over the years in their respective main projects Rambutan and Dead Labour Process. The resulting sounds originate more from tapes and loops rather than synthesizers or stringed instruments, and Currie's edits yield a puzzling and compelling series of tracks. Recorded in Edinburgh in 2013, the vibe is a quieter one, pensive and carefully developed throughout. Pro-dubbed, edition of 50. $7 USA, $13 for the rest of the world.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Burnt Hills/Rambutan Eye of the Sun split c60 (Skell 017)
On a snowy night in March 2013 the Burnt Hills crew hosted a show at the Helderberg House with Chalaque, Jon Collin, Yek Koo, and Zaimph. With one longtime member on extended hiatus, Chalaque's Nick Mitchell sat in with us...the resulting bruiser of a set is presented here on side A. Six guitarists, two drummers, one bassist, and a xylophonist baked up a crispy sonic nugget, held together at the seams by feedback, interwoven guitar tones, and a pummeling rhythm section. Burnt Hills has been shredding free-rock style since 2006 on labels like 8MM, Flipped Out, Carbon, and Noiseville--and this missive from the outer reaches of the multiverse fits right in with the band's sprawling aesthetic, showing surprising restraint and unit-wide deep listening to go along with its massive ensemble onslaughts.
Eric Hardiman's Rambutan has had a fine year in 2013--highlighted by the excellent "Inverted Summer" LP on Fabrica Records. While on hiatus in Scotland Hardiman brought Rambutan out live on a number of occasions; this set at Glasgow's Volcanic Tongue record shop finds Hardiman mixing abstraction and more formal melodic elements with characteristic skill, as ideas and textures combine and dissolve in the listener's ears.
Skell Records couldn't be prouder to put this one out, and though there may have been physical separation between Burnt Hills and Rambutan on the days these jams were put down, the eye of the sun saw it all....art gracioiusly provided by Phil French. Pro-dubbed, edition of 100. $7 ppd. US, $12 ppd. rest of the world. SOLD OUT..JPG)
Eric Hardiman's Rambutan has had a fine year in 2013--highlighted by the excellent "Inverted Summer" LP on Fabrica Records. While on hiatus in Scotland Hardiman brought Rambutan out live on a number of occasions; this set at Glasgow's Volcanic Tongue record shop finds Hardiman mixing abstraction and more formal melodic elements with characteristic skill, as ideas and textures combine and dissolve in the listener's ears.
Skell Records couldn't be prouder to put this one out, and though there may have been physical separation between Burnt Hills and Rambutan on the days these jams were put down, the eye of the sun saw it all....art gracioiusly provided by Phil French. Pro-dubbed, edition of 100. $7 ppd. US, $12 ppd. rest of the world. SOLD OUT.
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Hering und seine sieben Sachen/Parashi split c40 (Skell 016)
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Daniel Voigt is well known in the underground as the man behind the wonderful Sicsic Tapes label. His Hering und seine sieben Sachen tape on Cae-sur-a from 2011 was one of my favorite releases by that fine label, and he has subsequently released material on Cosmic Winnetou and Sicsic. Voigt's side of this split tape (entitled "Desiring Machines" utilizes four walkman cassette recorders as the primary sound sources, augmented by pedals and mixer treatments, and it's a zoned-out beauty of a piece. Drones, voices, and odd sonic interjections all flow together into a ceaselessly interesting, rapidly-shifting river of sound.
Parashi's menacing sonic collages have appeared on labels like Tranquility Tapes, Stunned, and House of Alchemy. These two tracks feature modular synthesizer and a variety of tape sources, chopped and mangled beyond recognition. Parashi's side (entitled "Sigil of the Shining Man" was recorded live at Heron Room North in 2013. These two pieces delve into the darker regions of the psyche, an area where the subconscious mind is the ruler of all it surveys. Edition of 100. $7 ppd. US, $12 ppd. rest of world.
Vales--Boreal Head Trip c28 (Skell 015)
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Saviour Self/Grab Ass Cowboys split c30 (Skell 014)
This split tape features two of the Albany/Hudson area's most vital noise crews. Saviour Self is a duo from Hudson NY that works with mixers and pedals and various sound sources; the resulting sound is a distinct amalgam of patient dynamics and harsh textures. Albany's Grab Ass Cowboys use tape recorders, home-rigged microphones, percussive devices, and an array of pedals to create their sounds. This live piece from May 2012 is a killer example of their style, explosive and cacophonous in some parts and restrained and almost pretty in other parts. Each side smokes, can't wait to see where both these crews are headed next..... Edition of 50, SOLD OUT. Image manipulation/design by Julie Watts.
Skullorian Sound Sculptures--Keseruseg c60 (Skell 013)
Skullorian Sound Sculptures' Thomas Gerendas has been a busy man this year. While handling the artwork for Ghetto Naturalist Series (the outstanding label that he runs with Cruudeuces' Nathaniel Brennan), he's also managed to drop a solid collab tape with Sicsic Tapes headman Daniel Voigt. Here Gerendas returns under his more familiar alias of Skullorian, bringing forth 60 minutes of his trademark murky, scuzzy noise trickery. Sounds appear and disappear, they float and stumble together, and it all flows like liquid concrete. Before long, the tape is finished, and all that's left are the questions....
Edition of 50, pro-dubbed. $7 ppd. US, $8 rest of world.
Image manipulation/design by Julie Watts.
Kraken Mare--Iapetus Ocean c30 (Skell 012)
Adam Harris is the man behind Kraken Mare--he also plays in Den and runs the excellent Retrograde Tapes label out of Chicago. Last year's self-titled gem on Retrograde was fashioned from huge, dark, and abyssal synthesizer tones. "Iapetus Ocean" offers up a bleak and stark collection of noises, patiently sculpted into massive structures, equal parts material and space. The waves of the ancient oceans are heavy with dread and the bloody memories of prehistory. Edition of 50, pro-dubbed, $7 ppd US, $8 rest of world. SOLD OUT. Image manipulation/design by Julie Watts. 
Mortuus Auris and the Black Hand--the Transit of Venus c40 (Skell 011)
Peter Taylor's Mortuus Auris and the Black Hand project has been responsible for an intricate and unique body of work over the last few years. Outstanding releases on fine labels like Stunned and Reverb Worship have shown Taylor to be a clever and thoughtful manipulator of sound. On "the Transit of Venus" MABH creates an extended sonic ritual for the planet Venus that blends elements both old and new, giving the listener a deep look into a challenging, blissful, and well-ordered musical system. Accordion and warped vinyl and pitch-shifted tapes and electric organ all combine in forms that confound all expectations and yield a deeply meditative listening experience. Edition of 50, pro-dubbed, $7 ppd US, $8 rest of world. SOLD OUT. Image manipulation/design by Julie Watts. 
Urkas--Desert Shapes c34 (Skell 010)
This is Urkas' third release, and on it the duo of Russ Alderson (Xanthocephalus) and Mike Griffin (Parashi, Burnt Hills) continue to improvise dense, abstract soundscapes generated from bass, a variety of junk percussion, and modular synth. Within these pieces desolate areas expand and open up endlessly, only to suddenly contract and reveal themselves as labyrinths of mysterious design. Edition of 50, pro-dubbed. $7 ppd US, $8 rest of world. SOLD OUT. Image manipulation/design by Julie Watts. 
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Toning Paranormal Romance c42 (Skell 009)
Cody Brant is the man behind Toning. After outstanding releases on labels like the late great Stunned Records and Eggy, he brings his soundworld over to the East Coast with this release on Skell. Paranormal Romance finds Brant continuing to tinker with miniature musical forms, preferring distilled and focused pieces to sprawling side-long jams. Guitars and synths make most of the sounds, but it is Brant's imaginative treatment of these instruments that separates him from the ranks of the arpeggio-istas that litter the current synth scene. He is scheduled to be touring in the spring of 2012 with synth pioneer JD Emmanuel.
Pro-dubbed, color covers, a gift of peace to those who need it, a gift of bliss to those who don't. Edition of 50, image manipulations by Julie Watts. $6. SOLD OUT, check Tomentosa or Flipped Out for copies.
Fossils from the Sun vs. Parashi/Xanthocephalus split c34 (Skell 008)
As a member of Burnt Hills and Century Plants Ray Hare's journeys into the deepest realms of guitar and vocal-based noise psych have inspired and impressed; while his long-running solo project FfrtheSun has released material on labels like Reverb Worship, Digitalis, and Peasant Magik. Parashi's Mike Griffin unleashed a slew of material in 2011, on labels such as Stunned, Tape Drift, and Ghetto Naturalist Series before joining Burnt Hills midway through the year. Their soundclash uses guitar, synth, and voice to brew an amalgam that drones, scrapes, and creeps its way through a side-long 17-minute ride.
Xanthocephalus is helmed by Brooklyn's Russ Aldertone, who released outstanding material on Kendra Steiner Editions and Ghetto Naturalist Series in 2011. He combines elements of harsh noise, field recordings, and occasionally furious bass playing, mixed together with a healthy sense of restraint amidst the chaos. COYE is a molten slagheap of sonics, powerful, menacing, and unique.
Pro-dubbed, color covers, lurking in the unseen matter of the universe. Art manipulation by Julie Watts.
Edition of 50. $6. SOLD OUT.
Cruudeuces--Various Skin Figurines c30 (Skell 007)
Cruudeuces' Nathaniel Brennan is a conjurer; utilizing tapes, percussion, clarinet, and various bits of electromagnetic interference, he creates cleverly detailed and utterly bleak zones of sound. After a slew of releases on labels like Kimberly Dawn, Tape Drift, his own Ghetto Naturalist Series imprint, and Existential Cloth, Brennan has a large and impressive body of work. On Various Skin Figurines, he uses a subtle palette, with thick and crunchy low-end tones balanced by swirling clouds of tape noise and darkness--the results are astounding. So happy to put this one out!
Pro-dubbed, color covers, ready to disturb sleep cycles and create vague feelings of dread. Art manipulation by Julie Watts, edition of 50. $6. SOLD OUT.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
new batch coming for a new year
Exciting times here at the Skell basement, as a new year will bring a new batch of tapes after a period of some inactivity. We will have a c 30 from Cruudeuces, a split c35 from Fossils from the Sun vs. Parashi and Xanthocephalus, and a c42 from Toning. The pic of the new batch is courtesy of Eric Hardiman.
SK-007--Cruudeuces Various Skin Figurines
SK-008--Fossils from the Sun vs. Parashi/Xanthocephalus Dark Matter/COYE
SK-009--Toning Paranormal Romance
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Xanthocephalus--s/t CD (SK-006)
A xanthocephalus is a yellow blackbird. Like its namesake, this project is not what it seems on the surface. Churning, dissonant, and noisy to be sure, but possessed of a surreal calm within its roaring texture that gives a subtle depth to all of its storm and clatter. Mastered by Chris Lapke at Hospital Productions.
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