Poltergeists is a biweekly feature in which Michael and Wes share tracks that they have had on repeat over the past two weeks.
Michael
Riotmiloo & Friends - “Child Bride. with Scalper”
Directly from the Ant-Zen Bandcamp page: “'La Pierre Soudée,' Riotmiloo’s first personal album, is a careful selection of past and present real-life stories compiled in eleven tracks documenting women’s suffering in the world. The title is borrowed from French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s book 'Masculine Domination,' in which he describes how language defines and perpetrates symbolic violence against women; the album expands on this idea through storytelling.”
“Child Bride” is an appropriately haunting track for this album. It makes me uncomfortable and unsettled in a way that sticks with me even after the track has stopped. All of the tracks on this album are really well put together and feature some of my favorite artists in the genre, but this one stands out as the most powerful to me. I think, now more than ever, it is important to make impactful statements with music; and this song, and album on the greater scale, is terrifying to me. As a podcaster and fan of storytelling, I feel like this album is geared to all of my favors. It is an important collection of tracks in an important time for women's suffering and violence against women.
Mathias Grassow & John Haughm - “Eindringliche Praesenz”
On Saturday of last week, my partner and I went to see Agalloch play their tour-ending hometown show at the Star Theater here in Portland. The show was amazing and overall a really great time. John Haughm, the founding member of Agalloch, is a wonderful musician and I generally follow whatever he is promoting or puts out himself. “Auræ” is a collaboration with Mathias Grassow and takes on a brilliant ambient atmosphere. The layers that evolve over the course of the album’s introductory track, “Eindringliche Praesenz,” are haunting and cinematic. Something that draws me to Agalloch is the emotional charge behind every song - I feel like a lot of the work that John does is very personal and that he is able, and unafraid, to take the time to delve into the sound elements and shape them into images and textured emotions.
Wes
Sayer - “Glassjaw (Bios Remix)”
Oh, what’s that? A new Saturate release? Well, I guess that means it’s time for me to write about future bass again. Sayer just put out Process Animation and I’ve got to say it has been one of my favorite Saturate releases for the past while. Sayer mixes some really interesting sounds: you have some trappy kicks, some acid arps, and to round it off you have these big clanging snares that sound straight from the junkyard. There’s definitely some parts where I can hearing the synth lines working with a mid-aughts aggrotech project. Definitely make sure to check out the full album.
V▲LH▲LL - “Einhärjar [TRIP CULT EDIT]”
Full Disclosure: Both Michael and I have remixes on this release. This is not why I am writing about this release though: this Trip Cult edit is so god damn dope. It is unlike any remix I have heard; the closest thing I think I’ve heard to this sort of departure from the source was the Seeming remix of iVardensphere’s "Stygian". Trip Cult’s addition of a harmonic choir rendition of V▲LH▲LL’s lyrics adds this wonderful layer to an already great song. And those strings! The dialed back, sort of acoustic take really was a wonderful idea. Though at first I wasn't sold, every time I listen to this track I love it more and more. If you haven't check out this release, do so now and make sure to track down Trip Cult's bandcamp and check out their other work.