We’ve had a number of releases and pre-orders out since our last update. From kosmische drones to punk-dub to ecstatic free-improvisation and guitar noise, take a listen below.
Styles: Dub, post-punk, electronic funk, sampledelic Sound similarities: Adrian Sherwood/New Age Steppers, Basement 5, 70’s dub sound systems meeting Bill Lazwell at the Cabaret Voltaire. The Scientist and Mad Professor living in the bush of ghosts.
Lakeshore Sound Clash is a paean to King Pong’s community of New Toronto. A culturally diverse neighbourhood divided along class lines by Lakeshore Boulevard placing industrial lots vacant due to toxic contamination, dive bars, sex clubs, knife and gun violence, and working class families in community housing on the north side, with yacht clubs, lawn bowling, and multi-million dollar waterfront homes just a few blocks away on the south side. Most emblematic of this divide was the recent Ontario election (that saw crypto-fascist stooge Doug Ford seated in power) where it was a close race between the diametrically opposed NDP and PC parties. America has Red and Blue states, New Toronto has Orange and Blue streets and those who voted for Ford walk shoulder to shoulder with those who’ll be most negatively affected. Already you can feel tensions rising.
Toronto’s electronic/post-punk outfit SEMEN PRIEST return with a reinvigorated sound on Pink Skyline thanks to production by KING PONG DUB SYSTEM. The Etobicoke producer cut the tempos of the tracks they’d be working on by half, creating a chilled-out environment for their menacing vocals a discordant guitars to take root.
Features the single ‘Police, Thieves & Private Armies’ — a mash-up cover of Junior Murvin’s ‘Police & Thieves’ and Vivien Goldman’s ‘Private Armies’.
From the “Bored Nation” south side of Etobicoke (the north side gave us everyone’s favourite “crack mayor” Rob Ford and his Trump-esque “Ford Nation”), comes 40 minutes of head-and-booty stimulating electro-dub. An ode to Muhammad Ali, a Kim Deal-sampling homage to the mix-tape era, and a disco elegy to the Pulse nightclub mix with the bass sounds of life on the Lakeshore, best-side suburb of the 6ix.
Styles: Dub, house, acid, electro RIYL: Adrian Sherwood, Black Uhura’s “The Dub Factor” album, Front Line Assembly’s spliffy moments, Material’s house-y side.
SEMEN PRIEST came to our attention when we received a demo package, mailed from somewhere in Canada, containing a blood-filled condom and a vaguely threatening letter (“You should do our tape. xoxo Semen Priest. PS- We know where you live.”). Easily the most unusual demo-package the label has ever received (full story HERE), the CD-R of SEMEN PRIEST’s album that accompanied it prompted us to sign the band instead of notifying the RCMP. Even if we still don’t know who they are. Worst case scenario: Doing a run of pretty awesome cassettes is relatively inexpensive way to ensure your house doesn’t get burned down.
We’ve embarked upon a little experiment in providing free downloads of our out-of-print titles. It’s the Free Albums Download Page. Click the above banner or the link to the right to get to it.
Along with OOP titles from the Arachnidiscs catalogue, some new and/or unreleased albums will be posted here. Perhaps alternate versions of the SPLIT CASSETTE SERIES we’re going to be embarking on soon (exciting).
It looks like the final mixes for both MoonwoodCoal Aberrations and BabelZahlreiche have been completed and mastered. The artwork needs to be finalized and then Arachnidiscs will finally release something (in physical form) after what must be a almost a year.
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ARACHNIDISCS RECORDINGS 