ASTRAL SOCIAL CLUB and VARIOUS: THE FEEDING OF THE 2,079,211 Cassette - Idwal Fisher, 2007

... the latest volume (No. 15) of ASTRAL SOCIAL CLUB's works on CDR was sent my way recently, and it's 11 more tracks of unbridled and hyper electronic malarkey of stratospheric roar, alien gurgle and mutant beats. Listen LOUD for full pshycoactive effect. Try Track 4 before you buy, and mail astralsocialclub@hotmail.co.uk for info. There's a new LP out too, "MODEL TOWN IN A FIELD OF MUD", just released on Textile Records.

Mr Campbell also sent this comp of super-underground sounds from the West Riding of Yorkshire, featuring 'The Club' and our friends ASHTRAY NAVIGATIONS - both of whose tracks throb really nicely here. To be honest I was a little frit at the prospect of a compilation of 'sperimental/noise (on cassette!), dreading an 80's-sounding, 'post industrial'/'power electronics' shower of shite. Thankfully my prejudice was overturned by the varied and entertaining damage on here. MUTANT APE are the noisiest bunch here, with a barrage of electronic spew; OCELOCELOT sounds like what the neighbours heard when I was sanding the walls in the flat recently; Longstanding jokers SMELL AND QUIM are pretty subdued, but good, in 'Dream Fucker', a murky attack of guitar(?) and shouting.

Cotton Crown goes to the self-confessed "Macho and Pathetic" FILTHY TURD, whose two long pieces are the bread that package this sandwich. 'Steel' is just treated and twisted voice and it's demented, like some old Dadaist sound poetry from the 1920's (Probably the wrong thing to say, but it's as anti-musical, weird and primitive). 'Silver' must be a recording of a live performance; after a lot of noise two (?) madmen's voices start gibbering what sounds like "COCK OF STEEL!"; there's the unmistakable (and repeated) sound of hand against buttock and incredulous laughter before it gets noisy again. It's very, very funny and genuinely wild.

It's a nice looking package too - IDWAL FISHER is also the name of a magazine devoted to similarly hardcore and crazy shit, so contact the HQ of this cottage industry for info at idwalfisher@dsl.pipex.com or write to PO Box 147, Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire BD19 6WY, UK.