A second installment, almost five years after volume 1, of the column devoted to niche, extremely limited-run musical releases. Despite the time that's passed, this corner of the music world hasn't stood still at all. If anything, it's evolved and grown even further.

For volume 2 we've chosen artists and bands unknown to the wider public but who nonetheless show real inventiveness; sounds capable of striking a chord even with those not particularly drawn to the specific listening territories covered here. Territories that, in this case, range from industrial to noise, from dark-ambient to psychedelic drone, from electronic music all the way to ethereal shoegaze. No claim to being exhaustive, just a handful of pointers for the end of 2011.

ARABIAN HORSES – Guardians Of The Flame (2011, Full Of Nothing)

Full Of Nothing is the small Russian label that put out this mini CD-R – just fifty copies – by Arabian Horses, a duo from Moscow formed in 2009. Their first official release was a self-produced cassette in a run of just twenty copies titled "Fatayri"; more EPs followed before arriving at this "Guardians Of The Flame".

Their sound unfolds through heavy drone textures laced with psychedelic folk. Across the single seventeen-minute track, dissonant guitars with a clear psychedelic timbre accompany incandescent drone carpets, weaving in seductive distant siren calls and horror-movie shades. It's all shaped, or rather dictated, by an ever more relentless rhythm, building to something apocalyptic.

"Guardians Of The Flame" can be read two ways: either as one of many descents into hell, or as the approach of a supernova waiting to explode. Either way, what you're left with is scorching heat and sprawling flames. 6/10

Ø+YN – Barraskiloaren Etxean Dantzan (2010, Makrame Records)

Four members make up this quirky band with a simple but visually striking name. They hail from the city of Córdoba, Argentina; active since 2006, before reaching this mini album they released "La Cancion Del Ciempes" and "La Copa De Un Arbol" between 2008 and 2009 on two different labels (Ikuisuus, Mainumby).

This short EP, a single twenty-minute track available in a limited run as a mini CD-R, is titled "Barraskiloaren Etxean Dantzan" (Makramè Records). The band themselves like to describe their work as "noises or spiritual sounds used as a means of reaching complete healing through meditation".

In every respect, those suspended notes could just as easily soundtrack an enjoyable evening in the seediest coffee shop in Amsterdam, a solitary journey through desolate Patagonia, or a moment of reflection among the Moai of Easter Island. The twenty minutes of meditative, tribal, psychedelic music bring to mind, as the most immediate comparison, British ensemble Gnod. Ø + Yn: a band absolutely worth following. 6/10

VATICAN SHADOW/CONTREPOISON – The Serpent Carries Him Back Into Paradise (2011, Hospital Productions) 

Very few copies exist of this cassette release put out through Hospital Productions, the label founded by Dominick Fernow (aka Prurient).

The split "The Serpent Carries Him Back Into paradise" consists of two standalone tracks: on side A, a track by Vatican Shadow – Prurient's own alter ego – and on side B, one by Contrepoison, aka Pierre Marc Tremblay.

Moving through unsettling synths propped up by moans and distant echoes, "Unknown To The Peacock" (Vatican Shadow) should please anyone drawn to Goblin-style sounds or the giallo soundtracks typical of Lamberto Bava's films. In just two words: suspense and thriller.

The distortion, almost reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails, along with the austere, sickly vocal and the razor-sharp synths, are instead the defining traits of Contrepoison's "A Deserted Story": icy and dark at once.

Just ten minutes of music are enough to make this cassette a tiny gem; strictly for hardened collectors and fetishists of this never-obsolete format. 6.5/10

HAXAN CLOAK – Observatory (2011, Aurora Borealis)

"Observatory" is a brief EP made up of just two tracks ("Observatory", "Hounfour"), released a few months ahead of the artist's stunning debut album. Originally issued in late 2010 in a run of thirty-one cassette copies, the Aurora Borealis label reissued it in 2011 on vinyl, limited to two hundred copies.

On this EP, Bobby Krlic – aka Haxan Cloak – sets aside his usual instrumentation, and in particular the violin that gave the full-length its avant-garde edge, to focus exclusively on electronics.

The track "Observatory", with its tribal, driving, synthetic circular loops, hammers away at the brain producing a psychedelic, hallucinatory effect: dim light and closed eyes are the tools that make the head follow, through imperceptible swaying motions, this compelling, hypnotic harmony. "Hounfour", by contrast, is a more reflective piece, made of new-age shadings and synthetic, rarefied, misty sounds: with the help of a bit of dry ice, the right mix to create the perfect, dreamlike atmosphere. This guy seems to have a knack for these sounds too; absolutely not to be overlooked. 6.5/10

METACOMET – Depression Ceremony/Strange Riders (2011, Hands In The Dark)

These are Metacomet: a trio from San Francisco, California, made up of two guitars (Max Gardner, Ian Staub) and a voice and synthesizer (Christina Boyd). Last year, in just three months – January to March – and in complete anonymity, they wrote two short EPs: the first titled "Depression Ceremony", the second "Strange Riders".

Only the first, however, found the backing of a label, namely the American Pizza Night, which released it on cassette in just fifty copies. Both releases, downloadable for free from the band's own Bandcamp page, nevertheless caught the attention of the fledgling French label Hands In The Dark, which went on to reissue them this year, in 2011, as a double CD digipack.

"Depression Ceremony", made up of just three songs, unfolds into sugary, sad, harmonious guitar arpeggios that, blending with faint synth notes and Christina's dreamy voice, conjure an enchanted, Alice-in-Wonderland-style atmosphere. A mélange of the new ethereal sound of Autumn's Grey Solace and the old shoegaze of Jesus And Mary Chain.

"Strange Riders", on the other hand, sets aside the vocals to focus more rigorously on clear drone or ambient shadings. Yet, with their hazy, static pace, they unfortunately fail to leave a mark, tending instead to bore the listener.

Probably the best way to listen to it is alone, on a run of rainy days. Metacomet: a comet that has passed by but will surely return to be seen and heard again. 6.5/10

SINDROME – Hanebüchen (In)complete In Its Form (2011, Licht Und Stahl)

The idea for the moniker Sindrome comes from the childhood disease known as "Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome". Who is behind this project remains a great mystery to this day; all we know is that the artist is Italian and boasts a fairly substantial discography dating back to 1999. "Hanebüchen (In)complete In Its Form", in fact, is nothing more than a reissue of the split with Urna (Gianluca Martucci), originally released – in 2000 – on cassette through Ordo Oscuri Domini, an Italian label that has been defunct for years now.

The fifty copies of this CD-R come courtesy of the German label Licht Und Stahl, founded by Mario Löhr, aka N.Strahl.N.

Old-school industrial sounds, hints of dark ambient, classicism given a modern spin, synthetic trickery ("Propaganda"), rhythms hovering between EBM and techno ("Muzak"), metallic, martial beats ("Mehrdeutig") and macabre vocal inserts or samples lifted from Nazi rallies ("Three Guru Performance") are the main features of this album. The twelve minutes of the bonus track "The Revolt" sum up all of these ideas to perfection. Digging deep, one can clearly trace references to the great bands and artists of the eighties industrial scene; above all S.P.K., Zero Kama and Test Dept.

"Hanebüchen" isn't an outstanding album, but it's ideal as a soundtrack for horror films in the style of Dario Argento. This reissue still deserves credit for bringing to light the industrial sounds of the nineties and showing how the Italian scene evolved - or devolved - after the glories of the previous decade. 6/10

VAVA KITORA - Prithivi Mandragoire (2007, Deserted Factory)

"Big In Japan"; so went a famous pop song of the eighties. Paraphrasing that title, "Prithivi Mandragoire" turns out to be a record conceived, created and produced entirely in Japan. Indeed, the artists making up the Vava Kitora duo are Japanese, as is the label, Deserted Factory. Sachiko (vocals and electronics) and Yama Akago (vocals, electronics, ocarina, bouzouki) are the names of these two women; both have a string of solo releases behind them, but every now and then they join forces to put out an album under the name Vava Kitora.

This mini-album, released in a run of just two hundred copies and following the promising 2004 debut titled "The Labyrinth Of Angulimara", uses its two tracks to probe the human unconscious, linking it to the fateful moment of passage between life and death.

"Breath Harmony" is the opening track: a barely whispered voice, faint instrumental accompaniment conveying a strong sense of relaxation, ethereal geometries and hypnotic, trance-like atmospheres; what you might call a regressive, meditative journey into one's own subconscious.

On the title track ("Prithivi Mandragoire"), the voice takes on more spectral shapes and the field recordings become more pronounced, while faint industrial sounds rooted in dark ambient take centre stage. As time goes by - the track runs about twenty minutes - the sounds, glacial and chaotic, gather energy until they're able to shake the walls of the room, creating a vortex that sucks in and drags everything within it down into the deepest, darkest pit of hell.

An album that could be described as the damned song of ghosts; without a doubt a record that went unnoticed at the time, and one that deserves to be reappraised for exactly that reason. 7.5/10

PÜRPLE ZHRÖ - Sorgho N'sryo (2011, Sturmundrugs)

A largely unknown French trio who have long since relocated to England: that's Pürple Zhrö. "Sorgho N'sryo" is their debut album, released at the tail end of 2010 thanks to Sturmundrugs, the Italian label founded by Donato Epiro (Cannibal Movie).

"Sorgho N'sryo", the seventh release in the label's catalogue, is made up of just six tracks, each marked by cavernous, alienating noise, where jagged metallic screeches meet amplified viper hisses and the roars of big cats.

This debut, an excellently recorded cd-r, is saturated with noise that batters the small intestine while tearing at the eardrum at the same time: what you might call the perfect mix of the darkest tribal music and the most metallic industrial.

Comparisons, if you're looking for them, can certainly be found. The first points of reference are tracks like "I Am The Poison" or "Nil By Mouth" from the Nurse With Wound album titled "Sugar Fish Drink", and later, the noisier tapes from the wonderful ADN catalogue, in particular the album "And It's There" by Verdenskang.

Trying to sum it up in a few words, this record could be described as follows: what happens when an industrial plant meets, and clashes with, a building site. One of the best noise albums of last year. A band absolutely worth keeping an eye on. 7/10

PATRIZIA OLIVA – Live At Fluc, Wien (2011, Dokuro)

Behind the moniker Madame P. is Patrizia Oliva. Her résumé boasts numerous artistic collaborations: above all, world-renowned industrial scene guru Maurizio Bianchi, with whom she produced the 2010 album "Invocalizations". More recently, Patrizia Oliva has surfaced in the multi-headed, multi-handed project known as Carver, lending her voice and electronic manipulations to the collective.

Patrizia works and creates solo: her voice as the primary musical instrument, framed by a wide array of electronic gear (loop station, dictaphone, synthesizers, etc.).

The best way to appreciate her music is through her live sets, and this mini CD-R titled "Live At Fluc, Wien" – only sixty copies released on Dokuro – stands as direct proof of that.

Just under twenty minutes of gorgeous vocalizations pushed to the edge of the ultrasonic, with clear Arabic-tinged echoes and shrieks of demonic possession alternating with piercing cries of pain, in a kind of voodoo ritual. All of it is set against, in the track's closing section, sensual, hypnotic, childlike lullabies that build to a well-earned ecstasy.

Patrizia Oliva – aka Madame P – is the Italian queen of extreme vocalizations. 6/10

DAMIEN DUBROVNIK – The Vanity Set (2011, Jartecknet)

After the albums "Songs For Loviatar" (2009) and "Europa Dabog-Europa Diary" (2011), Danish duo Damien Dubrovnik arrive at this third effort titled "The Vanity Set", released on cassette in just one hundred copies. And an effort it truly is: it's hard to get through the whole thing without doing damage to a vital organ.

"The Vanity Set" is one of those many power electronics albums that owe a great deal to Genocide Organ: works in which noise, drones, feedback and dense walls of synth pile up in exponential, though never chaotic, quantities. It's no accident that song titles include "Analgesias" and "Contusions": metal cables carrying continuous high-voltage current are needled – so to speak – by scraping ferromagnetic gashes, while brutal noise swells the skull until it implodes, creating a negative overpressure – that is, an absolute void.

It's not a bad record, but not an outstanding one either; let's say it's average. What's certain is that it takes real courage to sit through a listen like this. 5.5/10

(15/11/2011)

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