Audioccult Vol. 16: The BlackBlackGold Edition

Light a candle. Draw the required sigils. Now, raise your arms above your head and slowly, gently, exhale your soul. You won’t need it here. This is Audioccult, and it’s time to get low.

After a hearty chit-chat with some Gucci officials, I ascend into brand crap heaven. GG no more, it’s a BlackBlackGold lifestyle. A name you can lust, and a promise of quantity. Still wear black, ya’ll. Bring it back, ya’ll. I always have mixed feelings about Crystal Castles, and the latest peek at their upcoming third LP doesn’t make them any clearer. ‘Plague’ is…fine, but it’s also just kind of ‘there’. It sounds a bit like one of the White Ring tracks that isn’t ‘Suffocation’ or ‘IXC999’. While I do appreciate how noisy it is, it’s not anything to freak out about (unlike the new White Ring material). It’s a good direction, but I hope the rest of the album has a bit more punch. Great cover, though.

No lack of punch in the new Total Freedom remix, but I expect nothing less. Ashland is a beast, and his violent remix of Gatekeeper‘s ‘Tree Drum’ far surpasses the original. As a fan of the Suspiria-disco of Giza, I found Exo severely disappointing. Gone is the black magic or suspense, replaced by tinny beats and a video game (by Tabor Robak, but still.) Remixes like the below, however, give me reason to indulge my learned inclination to download anything with the word ‘Gatekeeper’ in it.

Sewn Leather gets a lot of lip service from me, and why not? He’s a handsome boy. He’s also one of the gnarliest, snottiest synthpunks around, and he has new sounds to prove it. The freestyled ‘Illumiknotty Dread’ comes off an upcoming Hundebiss Records 7″, and like all things Hundebiss should be snatched up immediately. Also recently added to his bandcamp are boths sides of his last LP SIKKNASTAFARI SLASH CRASSTAFARI, now sold out. Listening is strongly encouraged. The lurching ‘Bath Salts’ by ASAP Mob is on another level of evil. Growling spitting flow and horrorbeats, culminating in being told I’m a ‘fucking queer’…how did they know?? Scary stuff indeed.

Bestial Mouths is another group I’m always trying to push on people. See them live sometime and you’ll know why. Lynette Cerezo’s voice hits you like a whip as drums pummel your feet and consciousness into the dirt. It’s post-punk done right: loud, brash and deadly. While this live recording of ‘Cutters’ may not be quite as punishing as the actual assault, it still shows how powerful the LA trio can be.

I’d love to see more remixes of thrash-happy sounds like this; the viciousness of intent sharpened into a dancefloor spear, primed to thrust into the heart of partygoers. Imagine, for example, something like this transfixed like a jewel in a trap beat like ‘ℒёαй (тнαт ℘цґ℘ʟё $тцḟƒ)’. Spacepunk? Whateverwave? Theowlsarenotwhattheyseemcore? Who gives a shit, let the rhythm steal your soul.

Before you leave, ask yourself: are you sure everything is fine? Stay aware.

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When he’s not writing and editing for Electronic Beats, Daniel Jones is a music promoter and creator of the subculture reconceptualization & aesthetics tumblr Black Black Gold.

Published July 31, 2012.