Belial Pelegrim - A Mirror Is Left Unattended (Official AV)

Music video for "A Mirror Is Left Unattended" from the upcoming Belial Pelegrim album, "Imitation Of Faith". Available on cassette and digital format from Bricolage from 15/11/19. ARTIST : Belial Pelegrim TRACK : A Mirror Is Left Unattended ALBUM : Imitation Of Faith STYLE : Experimental, Soundscape CAT NO : bc050 DATE : 15th November 2019
Pre-order available on bandcamp

Ghost Stories 2019

As Hallows' Eve draws ever closer we return with our "Ghost Stories" section on the blog where we ask some of the label roster, associates or alumni to give us a selection of their favourite eerie electronics and terrifying tracks. This year we've got Lying Cat, Steve Hadfield and Danni Rowan on hand to give us a fright....



LYING CAT

1. Sunn 0))) - My Wall

    

Sunn 0))) are incredible - if you can see them live then definitely do so. I don’t really find their music scary, its such an overwhelming sonic tidal wave that, despite its darkness, its actually more meditative. It’s Julian Copes poem on My Wall that really infuses it with a frightening energy for me. Its an earlier Sunn 0))) release and to that end the quality isn’t as good as some of their later records - but this just further adds to the mystique and strange quality of Copes delivery. It really invokes films like The Devils or The Wicker Man for me. Its got that same ancient, earthy, natural, evil themes of a lot of Folk horror. It’s great. 

2. Throbbing Gristle - Very Friendly

I once put a shout out online for my friends to send me the music that scared them the most. One of my friends sent me this and I think its probably the most scuzzy, rotten piece of music I’ve ever heard. It’s so visceral and nightmarish. Despite dealing with a very real set of people and events it has an almost Lynchian level of dream like grot to it. I love the way Genesis-P-Orridge really draws out odd words and maintains an indifferent, almost bored monotone, even when the subject matter escalates into murder.

I imagine if you found this on a cassette in a ditch somewhere you’d be dead within seven days of listening to it. 

3. Leila - Be clowns

I feel like you’re in the minority if you’re not afraid of clowns. Like Spiders. What this track does so well is sonically capture the paradox at the centre of clowns. Something that’s meant to be lighthearted and child like is actually totally sinister and threatening. The circus organ sound that comes in after about a minute is so wonderfully unhinged. Like its manically grinning through gritted teeth. The track then develops into a dark fairy tale, cementing its roots in horror rather than joy. 

4. The Caretaker - All You Are Going To Want To Do Is Get Back There

This is my favourite record to put on at Halloween. Its like putting on Christmas music when you’re putting up the tree. Its gentle and obviously rooted within the concert hall music of the 20s and 30s but there’s a decaying, dream like atmosphere to the way the sounds have been treated that’s really ghostly. There are obvious connections to The Shinning for me as well. 

I think the albums and The Caretakers whole approach to these projects is about memory loss, alzheimers and death - which in a quite different way is very frightening but its the hauntological nature of the audio that really makes this stand out for me. One day I hope it just comes through my speakers without me having put the record on the deck. 

5. Michael Gordon - Weather Three

I had the perfect introduction to this piece. One particularly sleepless night I accidentally tuned into a late night (early morning) radio 3 show which was playing a host of strange and experimental oddities. Without any introduction the first air raid siren began bleeding through my headphones and I lay, half awake and yet totally transfixed for 13 minutes. Conceptually its an amazing piece of music but sonically I find it totally hypnotic. It’s perhaps not scary in the same way that some music can be, but instead there is a growing hysteria and tension that is never allowed to alleviate and its that tension that made me add it to this list.

You can find the debut EP on Bricolage from the mysterious feline here. The cat may be about to lose his second life on the label in 2020. Keep your eyes peeled for more news coming soon....

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STEVE HADFIELD
1. Massive Attack - Angel

I could have picked several tracks from Mezzanine but the brooding opener seems most apt. There is a real stalking quality to the opening section with the insistent bass, echoing clicks and sparse instrumentation. The vocals add tension before the driving guitar crescendos. As an album, Mezzanine is fetishistic horror - there's a sleazy quality to the basslines, amplified by the languid-yet-snarling swells of guitars when they crop up.

2. Skinny Puppy - Riverz End

Skinny Puppy are visceral - sometimes shock horror, other times Lovecraftian weirdness - but always visceral. 'Last Rights' marks the end of the initial Skinny Puppy run and leans into Lovecraftian gothic nightmares from the cover art through to the reverb-heavy production, guttural vocals, and mangled samples. Riverz End is the centrepiece, with ghostly choirs floating over clattering industrial beats and creepy textures. It threatens to be beautiful, but it's Skinny Puppy so it's never short of unsettling.

3. Ben Frost - Stomp

'By The Throat' seems like the obvious choice for a Ben Frost Halloween pick but 1) that featured in last year's Bricolage blog and 2) 'Stomp' from 'Theory of Machines' is the pinnacle of building tension through minimalism. Every aspiring electronica producer should study this track for its use of space - the details are in the gaps and the sound design is masterful. The bass is the protagonist's pulse as they hide in the dark and the driving guitar is the predator. This is Massive Attacks 'Angel' updated for the 21st century.

4. Venetian Snares - Öngyilkos Vasárnap 

I love the etymology of this track. The original song is Hungarian and known as the 'Hungarian Suicide Song' with appropriate urban legend surrounding it. Popularised in its English language form by the incredible Billie Holiday, Venetian Snares uses that as a base for one of his most unique compositions. The feeling is one of black and white horror, with the lo-fi lyrics set against the jaunty military march of the standard Snares 7/8 percussion. Haunted strings and woodwind flurries heighten the tension. This is horror of the mind.

5. Wolves in the Throne Room - Thuja Magus Imperium 

I felt like this list needed at least one black metal track, and the Gothic majesty of Thuja Magus Imperium seemed apt. Opening with ominous chiming bells and vocals that feel like an incantation, it's almost as if WITTR are summoning down the storm of noise which ensues.

Steve has also placed these tracks into a Spotify playlist which you can find here. You can catch Steve performing live at our first ever live event this December. RSVP here.

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DANNI ROWAN

1. Eartha Kitt - I Want To Be Evil

“Like something that seeks its level/ I want to go to the devil...”

No song slices through the oppressive atmosphere of 1950s America with such a malevolent glint in its eye as ‘I Want To Be Evil’ by Eartha Kit.

In the song, our anti-heroine seeks to break out of her gilded cage, exchanging her “unspoiled gender” for booze, betrayal and hustling pool.

It’s surely the perfect soundtrack for a spot of trick or treating this halloween.

2. Laurie Anderson - From The Air

Pilot announcements are meant to reassure, but not when Laurie Anderson is in control of the cockpit.

“We are about to attempt a crash landing… your pilot says put your hands on your head, heh, heh”... so runs Anderson’s darkly philosophical monologue as our plane plummets to oblivion accompanied by a frantically turbulent brass section riff.

“You know, I’ve got a funny feeling I've seen this all before. Why? ‘cause I’ve got eyes in the back of my head.”

Well now that we’ve cleared that up, I guess all that’s left to do is put on this track, squeeze the eyes on the back of your head tight shut, and hope for a smooth crash landing.

3. Mica Levi - Lipstick To Void

I've not seen Under The Skin, the cosmic stalker horror set in my home town of Glasgow, but Mica Levi’s soundtrack is a horror film all of its own.

In ‘Lipstick To Void’ Scratchy strings slime, slither or scuttle their way across a dark and sparse sonic space occupied by clanking, gritty percussion and resonant mid range drones. 

If this track doesn’t make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up you’re probably already dead.

4. Muddy Magnolia - American Woman (David Lynch remix)

David Lynch’s warped vision of the American Dream has its most pure musical form in his remix of Muddy Magnolia's cover of ‘American Woman’.

Twin Peaks: The Return introduces Special Agent Cooper’s sinister doppleganger against a backing that sounds like a slow motion explosion in a munitions factory, as a demonic voice instructs us to “bring the bacon and I'll put it in the pan”.

It sounds like breakfast at the Double R Diner is going to be an eventful affair.

“Every move I make is just a part of my plan/ And I do it just because you said I can't...” these lines could be the cryptic Mulholland Drive director’s mission statement, and I for one salute it.

5. The Handsome Family - Bottomless Hole

Husband and wife duo The Handsome Family are my go-to resource for darkly comic gothic Americana, of which ‘Bottomless Hole’ is a standout example. 

Compelled to investigate a mysterious abyss opened up behind his barn, a stubbornly brave farmer, aided by his wife, descends into the gaping pit in pursuit of either its end, or his… whichever comes first. 

It’s black comedy at its most surreal and magical, and its final couplet always sends a shiver down my spine.

May their music continue to provide us many more sleepless nights. Danni recently featured on our "0141" compilation back in August. You can find her track "Heck" here and DL the album here.

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Imitation Of Faith (Pre-Order)

Pre-order for our 50th release on the label is now available.

"Imitation of Faith" from Belial Pelegrim. Available on digital and cassette from 15/11/19/

Dare you look in the mirror?

Friends In The North (Live Event)

We'll be taking our first foray into events and live music before the year is out....

Luckily we'll be guided along the way by Dark Fidelity Hi Fi, Lo Five, Sarmism and Steve Hadfield for an evening of IDM, glitch and experimental electronics.

Delve into the sounds of the underground with Bricolage as we make the short trip from Glasgow to Manchester and meet up with our "Friends In The North". We're rendezvousing in the basement of The Peer Hat venue, where man will meet machine, as we bring you a night of live electronica, IDM and glitched out bliss. Dark Fidelity Hi Fi (Bricolage/ Emotion Wave/ Astropilot) Lo Five (Emotion Wave/ Castles In Space/ Concrete Tapes) Sarmism (Disquiet) Steve Hadfield (Disintegration State/ See Blue Audio) Find out full event info and RSVP the event on Facebook and Resident Advisor.

In The Loop : Episode 35

Our latest episode of "In The Loop" is a look back at mixes and articles regarding the label from the last couple of months.

First off, a look back at a special guest mix. Back in August we did a special all label guest mix for Jilk on their monthly show on Threads Radio. The hour long session features a mixed selection of electronics from the label including some previews from upcoming releases.

The guest mix starts around the 30 minute mark.



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Back in September we had a wee blether with the wonderful souls at I Heart Noise as part of their "Indie Roundtable" feature. We discussed things like label direction, the challenges faced in the independent music sphere, our views on streaming services and much more. You can read the whole interview in full here.

Be sure to check out our 2018 Retrospective Mix for IHN below too.



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Bricolage label head, Fragile X, also recently sat down with Ste Knight at The Waveform Transmitter for a chat about label life, the Glasgow music scene and the process of mixing which in turn leads to an exclusive hour long mix full of lush ambient, IDM, 90s drum n bass and an unreleased Fragile X track. There's also a lovely track by track review of our recent "0141" compilation album. You can catch the full article here.



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Back to Threads Radio and the recent "Faster Than Transmission" episode that features Justin Case '#Ulysses' from his recent split EP with Devras Plexi, "Lotus Eaters".



Sticking with the same EP....

Night Swim Radio recently featured the Devras Plexi track "Westrive" in their weekly "Dive" show.



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Ly Tumnus and Broken Form were featured in the recent Gated Canal Community Radio Show at Reform Radio.



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Bricolage Podcast #50 : Quinquagenarian

Our monthly podcast has been one of most revered features over the last four and a bit years and this month we've reached the milestone 50th episode. To mark the occasion we bring you an extra special mix to mark our 50th podcast.

Without fail, over the last 50 months, we have brought you a fresh podcast within the first week of every single month. No gaps, no hold ups, no filler. Just a constant and steady flow of crisp and exclusive mixes via a slew of artists from all over the globe and presented in all manner of styles from ambient to techno and everything in between. For number 50, we gather together all 34 artists that have contributed to our monthly podcast series into one expansive set. Our special "Quinquagenarian" episode features a track from each of those 34 artists and is mixed together by label head, Fragile X.

As always you can stream the mix below or at our mixcloud.



TRACKLIST

01. Alpha Skies - Evergreen Morning
02. International Debris - Thursday Morning, Taylor Swift (Part 2)
03. Sceadu - Embryo
04. Blue Notes - The Cave
05. Kill Them With Noise - Gravity Well
06. Willy - What Was That?
07. Esef - Dear Grey Place
08. Sunn Boo - Ladyland (Mental Mix)
09. Ty Lumnus - Tolerances
10. Subsequent - Smallbatch
11. Minerva - Oligarch
12. futurendeavours - Fifteen Minutes Of Fame
13. Daniel Katinsky - Helsinki
14. Gregor Garnutsi - Access Granted
15. Rain - Cold
16. Oscurito - Kunoichi
17. Roy Or Bison? - The Breakfast Show
18. Lo-Jacker - Litter Lout (Live)
19. Amunraja - No Mud No Lotus
20. Get-Effect - Ruinenlust
21. Loui Cleghorn - Waterworks
22. Justin Case - Seagulling
23. Figurate - Exist Strategy
24. Belial Pelegrim - Jellied Minotaur On A Bed Of Lettuce
25. Devras Plexi - diffuse:Grid
26. Fragile X - Strange Attractor
27. Arran Trax - Morgenlicht
28. No Arrival - Earhart
29. Roman Fahls - Alaric
30. Steve Hadfield - Ghost Seeks Friend
31. The Jaffa Kid - Feel Like I Have
32. Leit Motif - Aria
33. Dark Fidelity Hi Fi - In Your Pursuit Of Modern Happiness
34. Chairman Cow - Landscape Mode