NWR Release: Holy Hum/Lobekraft Split

On October 8, 2016 Nasty Wizard Recordings will be releasing their fifth tape release of the year in celebration of International Cassette Store Day, and this one is a real winner: a split between Vancouver based soundscaping genius Holy Hum and Beijing glitchwave champion Lobekraft. All around the world labels both large and small will be celebrating the antiquated but endearing medium of magnetic tape and the Nasty Wizards are immensely proud to represent their home base of Beijing with a limited run of 100 tapes. Yet what’s more the release combines not just the work of two musicians on top of their game but also the gorgeous visual art of Adam Lofbomm of Lofbomm Visual Labs in Chicago, USA. Happy Cassette Store Day! The Holy Hum & Lobekraft split (NWR023) will be available for download on the Nasty Wizard Bandcamp on October 3, 2016 and will physically released in tape format on October 8, 2016 at fRUITYSPACE, Beijing with performances by Lobekraft, Noise Arcade, and Punx. The tape will be available for purchase and distro within China and internationally — pick one up while stocks last because once they’re gone, they’re gone.   

On side A we have Holy Hum, the alias of Andrew Lee, a Canadian born to Korean immigrant parents. Previously a member of the indie bands In Medias Res and Siskiyou in recent years Andrew has been diligently crafting ambient textures and shimmering soundscapes reminiscent of Brian Eno or even Pink Floyd’s more subtle explorations. Previous Holy Hum releases have oscillated between lengthy pieces and tighter single-length compositions and the music found on this release leans towards the latter, a suite of five compositions under the banner ‘You Be Holy I’ll Be Human’. Recorded in Holy Hum’s home studio the five tracks take us on a journey through warm pump organ drones, drifting guitar lines, and haunting yet blissful hums. When listening to these compositions you’ll find yourself in a world that is very much Holy Hum’s, dictated by his structures and inspirations, like a painter who creates boundaries for your imagination to play within. Yet it is not a private party — you are invited in, to explore, and to experience. Recommended for listening to while situated in front of a quality sound system with a warm beverage of your choice.

On side B we find Lobekraft aka. Blake Stone-Banks, an electronics producer native of Kentucky, USA currently residing in Beijing, China. Blake is a familiar face in the Beijing electronic and experimental scene thanks to work under the alias Fløøød and as a co-founder of the Beijing based tape label 87fei87, who gave exposure to some of the most exciting producers working in the Chinese capital and introduced Chinese audiences to ‘skweee’. On this release under the Lobekraft moniker we are presented with two tracks, ‘Horse Flesh’, ‘And How to Sell It’ built on generative MIDI algorithms voiced by an MFB synthesizer meshed with other electronics, improvised in real time. The two parter crafts a sonic realm in the same manner as Holy Hum yet with a vastly different feel: it’s ambient but in a quirky, broken-future kind of way, as if you’ve entered the heart of the machine only to find its circuits fried and its processes collapsing in on themselves. Music born from the detritus and grime of a bright future that has started to lose its gleam, Lobekraft is perfect listening for late night journeys across glittering metropolises with a side order of smog.

On the cover of the tape we find the artwork of Adam Loffbomm, a visual/voice artist from Tennessee who currently resides in Chicago, USA. Adam’s work is concerned with the urban landscapes and the human forms that inhabit them, in his own words “The body of the city…Corpus Urbani.” Eroticism, decay, hidden messages, personal histories are all central themes in his photographic work, where roles between people and architecture are frequently blended, swapped and distorted. The piece chosen for the cover of this release originates from a time when Adam was exploring Seoul and experimenting with analog print making techniques, originally presented as part of exhibition “Urban Excerpts”. The fact that iconic form of Seoul Tower is present draws a link to Holy Hum’s Korean ancestry, yet the ethereal quality of the work meshes perfectly with the sounds presented by on both side of this tape.

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