The Tump Clump Episode 23

A fun special treat for you this month (broadcast from the inimitable SoundArt Radio 18/05/23 at 8pm UK time.... then of course available on Mixcloud soon afterwards)

I recorded a straight to vinyl mix of some dismal sounds.  Various bits and pieces that kinda work together.  Some excerpts, some full tracks, some played at the wrong speed, a couple of skips that I had to edit out afterwards.  Hope you enjoy, I had fun recording this.  You never know, some day I may be allowed into the SoundArt studios to do this live!

• The Dead Mauriacs - Ceremonie Acte 1 (Haemoccult) - 7"  (played at 33rpm instead of 45rpm but still sounds great... I had it queued up ready to go but when I turned my turntable off before lunch it resets to default 33rpm and I just hit that record button without checking.... a schoolboy error in the vein of the late, great John Peel in which I kinda feel happy about)

• BLACKCLOUDSUMMONER - The Singing Wound - Middle Aged Lightning - 12" lathe cut on NIM-BRUT USA... intentionally played a lot slower than the artist originally intended but I kinda liked it this way. Big thanks to my man Plague Arish for gifting this record to me

• Shaun Robert - Envelop - 7" Institute For Alien Research - another record gifted to me, this time by the artist, for which I am grateful. 

• SOFT ISSUES - Pelt - from self titled 12" on Opal Tapes.  I saw this act at Supernormal Festival a few years back and loved them.  Proper noisy powerful angst.  Went straight to the merch tent and snapped it up.

• Ekoplekz - Ekztrakz A - 7" lathe cut (self released) - with thanks to Mr Ekoplekz from Bristol, I play an excerpt of side A of this limited lathe cut release which is a recording from a live show performed a couple of years back.

• LDWG - DRM1MKII - from V/A 12" on Sports Manchester.  A 5 track various artists release of grimy club sounds.  Could have played any of the tracks on here to be honest, all great stuff.

• Ital - Citadel (G.O.D Remix) Toxic Waste Environment, Gang of Ducks 12".  Cannot remember where I got this from, may have part of a haul from Redeye Records  and I should probably pay them an online visit again soon anyway because they always stock some great stuff. 

• GreyArea - Volume 4, track A2, 12" on Samurai / Auxiliary.  Became a fan of the somewhat mysterious GreyArea project - I have the first 5 12" releases and I *think* that is all that was released. So far.  Strange rhythms and barely comprehensible time signatures are the order of the day. 

• Sly & The Family Drone* & Dead Neanderthals - Muck Man Part 2 (Molar Wrench) 12" on Hominid Sounds.  Two great live acts coming together for a killer long form release.  And fantastic artwork from a chap called Ian Watson who lives in Cardiff I believe.  I have a piece of his black pen art framed in the hallway downstairs.  Wonderful.

• Perispirit - 14th Annual Seance (excerpt) Spiritual Church Movement 12" Digitalis.  A favourite noise 12! Two long pieces of weird sounds, where you can drop the needle anywhere throughout and be greeted with some drama.

• Dieter Muh - Herma, The Bjorn Tapes 12" on Force Majeure.  With thanks to Dieter Muh for this release, still sound excellent 20+ years on.

• Justice Yeldham - Fresh Balls (Fresh Books 12") - Feeding Tube Records.  Purchased direct from Mr Yeldham when he was on tour in the UK but I couldnt make any of this performances, the good man posted it to me.

• Manos Tacticos and his Bouzoukis - Agapi Mou Palia - The Sound of Greece 12" Golden Hour.  Perfect 50p charity shop find.  Played obviously at the wrong speed.

• Trerikroset - Filantropen - Harbinger Sound 12".  Mono harsh noise wall. Say nae more. 

• HI-FI Sound Stereo Test Record - Tracing and Pressure Tracing & Grey Noise 12".  One of my all time favourite DJ tools to finish the set off with.  Loads of different "signals" for setting up your speakers and record players.  Great stuff. 

*with thanks to my proof reader, Steve @ Muhmur Radio, for pointing out my error!

See you next month, got some new music lined up, back to the normal format..... but probably another vinyl DJ mix soon because I likey. 

I did a real tape

I failed at mentioning it too much on this blog prior to release because I didn't want to broadcast details before the label did; and then it sold out pretty quickly, and then I forgot. 

My collaborative album alongside Paradox Encounter Group (aka Paul Xemporium) seemed to go down pretty well.  It was one of those long distance pass files backwards and forwards editing as we go along type things.  

If you so desire you can grab the digital direct from Tone Burst here, they did a fantastic job on the artwork and the physical media so I suggest supporting them if you are able. Couple of aleftover artist copies of the tape available on my bandcamp page if you wish....

Was a fun and slightly chaotic album to work on.  Paul sent me 4 of his tracks; I worked some ideas of them.  He liked them so much he called them "finished". Hah! Brilliant.  Me, the forever procrastinator, wanted to work some more magic into them.  But in the end we kept with the raw / DIY approach of calling it down.  I then sent him 4 of my tracks which became 5 once Paul had finished.  8 of them made it to the tape and the last one was played on Tump Clump a few months ago.  It might end up online at some point. 

the P.E.G sound is one of harsh noises and volume shifts.  The Soloman Tump sound is one of dismal repetitions and electronics.  I think they go together quite well. 

My original photo which inspired the artwork

The Tump Clump Episode 22

Episode 22 of The Tump Clump rears its ugly head from the foetid abyss and snarls angrily at the clouds passing gaily overhead.  

01 Ahrimanic - Formless Terror (from CAOSAGI)

02 Burnthouse Lane - Subcontent (EUPHORI)

03 Dave Fuglewicz - The Dance of Wendy (Selected Works, 1990-1997 / NO PART OF IT)

04 Dylan M. Howe - Pottery Fragment (Criterion Summer, Cornwall's Dub Cthonic)

05 Dreadful Monkey Machine - Embrace the Wet Pavement (20p Carpet Service)

06 Jo Montgomerie - they all fell so easy (Those Things Beyond & Within, Brachliegen Tapes)

07 Shaun Robert - açtíçañiämûs (IFAR) 4:33

08 VX - FUTB 0001 (The Unpleasant Archive, Preston Capes)

09 EXIT ELECTRONICS - DOING IT WRONG (LEARN THE HARD WAY)

10 Coma Cluster - NGC 4874 - 02 В течение движения

11 BLACKCLOUDSUMMONER - FRUITING BODIES FORMING WORDS (THE REDHEAD)

12 Tweaked field recording of Plague Arish squeaking his wet shoes on the decking outside the Cott Inn, Dartington, October 2022. 

The above is what got played.  This time, pretty much all of it available via bandcamp, and I guess that's just a reflection of the stuff I have been buying / getting codes for / attempting to support artists and labels direct.  As you should too of course. 

I do have a couple of "mainstream" albums I want to pick up soon, so will probably head to Drift Records in Totnes to grab those as its good to support brix and morta whenever poss. 

So anyway....

I love the new Burnthouse Lane album, it came out via Inverted Grim-Mill Recordings from Newcastle upon Tyne.  I have a track by this collective before, way back in the early days of the show.  In typical Tump Clump style it's tricky music to categorise but I guess it falls into the niche zone of cut-up ambient drone? Who knows.

A shout out must be said for the VX album The Unpleasant Archive.  Preston Capes is a new offspring label to Woodford Halse, showcasing the weirder and more experimental sounds that would not find their way on to the main label.  Already up to 12 cassette releases, it is turning into an excellent source of new sounds. 

Finally this month I play a track by BLACKCLOUDSUMMONER from their new album THE REDHEAD, which I believe to be their best body of work to date.  It's got that unhinged crazy that I love, but also plenty of consideration to depth of sound, space and aesthetics.  Kit list: FLESH, METAL, ELECTRICITY, SYNTHS, PEDALS, SAMPLER, MENTAL ILLNESS ETC.  Wonderful. 

Enjoy, or don't, etc..

Kodak Ghosts Run Amok!

Yes, the name of a 1980 track by synth pop outliers Eyeless in Gaza (thanks for the tip-off, Steve of Muhmur Radio), but also an excellent zine coming out of Bristol.  

Being Instagram acquaintances with Matt who creates the zine, it was a pleasure to meet him at Feedback & Frustration in Bristol back in February and grab a copy of Issue 6.  It features and interview with the now sadly defunct Fever 103 (but reborn as Mad Girl so watch this space) and many other wonderful acts of the underground, gothic, electronic and noisy worlds.  Plenty of crossover with Intrusive Signals!

Just before Feedback & Frustration I was asked if I wanted to contribute a track to the forthcoming Issue 6.66 Industrial & Noise compilation. Hot dang yes I would!  The zine itself includes a game, maze, a lush interview with Distraxi (who I made the recent Dartmoor Electronics split CD with) and also an interview with Kelan, who appeared in a past issue of my Snare Rush zine as part of rhythmic ritual duo Salac. 

So it was an absolute pleasure to provide an exclusive track "Foxtormire" for this CDr compilation of which there were only 50 copies.  To be featured alongside such inspiring acts as Distraxi, Knifedoutofexistence, Ecotage and Acts of Worship (who all played the all-day gig in Bristol under one guise or another) is a real coup for me! Additionally, Tommy Creep is responsible for the equally awesome Black Panels Only eurorack zine.  

So the zine in question is most likely sold out now. And I don't think there are any plans to make the compilation available digitally.  So you may not be able to even hear half of the tracks played here, such is life in the DIY world.  I know a few are (or will) be available elsewhere, and I may stick Foxtormire onto bandcamp at some point in the future.

Support DIY and zines and stuff. It's fun. 

The Tump Clump Episode 21

A new clump of tump for ye, broadcast on SoundArt Radio 23/03/23, then whacked onto Mixcloud for all the rest of the rabble.  I was fortunate enough to get a new spangled Internet Radio recently, so its nice to be able to tune into SoundArt radio live now (I cannot *quite* get FM from where I am in Devon, just a couple too many hills in the way.... but you can of course listen online too - https://www.soundartradio.org.uk/ 

Sunfish Starfish - The Black Swallower Part 4

Sunfish Starfish are Emma (aka Pettaluck) and Steve (aka THE SPERMACETI ORGAN) and they make sweet dark drones together.   In the live Tump Clump last year, they gifted me a recording of a set to play, so its great to hear some of their recordings now getting a proper release.

Slow Murder - TEDIUM

Feedback & Frustration in Bristol a couple of weeks back was an amazing day out.  I should probably write a full review of the event and stick it up on here to be honest. Hard to pick a standout act from the day, everyone gave it 118%.  Slow Murder is a queer harsh noise / power electronics project from Wales and they have amazing green hair.  There were chains, synths, feedback, and oh yes, plenty of frustration.  I loved it all.  This track gives you an idea of maybe what it was like. 

COLDSORE - DROUGHT DESPAIR

The bio says it all really.

THESE RECORDINGS ARE PART OF THE POLLUTANT SERIES, INFORMED BY THE ONGOING DESTRUCTION OF EARTH IN THE NAME OF CIVILIZATION.

RECORDED IN METSAAN IN NUUKSIO IN 2022 WITH HANDMADE SOUNDMASCHINES, A DRUMMASCHINE + FIELD RECORDINGS. THE GUITAR ON FOREST FORTRESS IS PLAYED BY BY OLD FRIEND P., BASED ON A COMPOSITION WRITTEN DURING THE EVICTION OF THE HAMBACHER FOREST. POWER + SOLIDARITY TO ALL FOREST / LAND DEFENDERS + WATER PROTECTORS.

Soloman Tump - CHEWINGS

A brand new track by me! So new it's not even finished yet! Tried using sparse kit and seeing what I could come up with.  Includes a field recording supplied to me by Arachnopus, my occasional partner in A/V noise crimes.  We have a new video coming up next weekend for Wonder Valley Experimental Festival Virtual Edition #15 - check it out!

BOURBONESE QUALK - SHOCK CORRIDOR

From the 1986 self titled album, which was recently re-released on CD with some bonus tracks.  I also have the debut from 1982 called "Laughing Afternoon" which was also given the CD/bonus repackage treatment.  I have become enamoured with this project; the content is dirty, raw, occasionally shocking (such as sudden coarse screams punctuating what could be described as lounge/jazz moments).  There are tracks based around primal drum machines, guitar, spoken word and many experimental styles between.  But it all sounds very relevant to todays austere world, where the band was formed from the squats of East End London, building up their fanbase and notoriety before parting ways shortly after this album came out.  Love it! I need to hear more of their work. 

Ibiza Shock Troops - 03

From the new "Travel" LP released digitally and ltd CD by Poverty Electronics USA.  This is an excellent collaborative effort between experimental sound artist Carl Kruger from Wilmington, and Oregon based noise artist Chefkirk.  Chefkirk was one of the first noise artists I discovered in my exploration of noise - he operates from a harshly digital electronic world.  The combination of minimal groovy beat structures from Carl layered with abrupt shifting raw noise patterns from the Chef makes this an excellent contrasting album and a project I am happy to endorse.

Feghoots - Trajectory Emulation

Such is the nature of DIY tape labels, I think I bought this at some point last summer and after a while realised I had been sent a blank tape! Hah.  Never mind, the wonderful Beartown Records sent me the digital files and I dubbed it myself.  What a wonderful world we live in.  I hung out with Feghoots briefly at Supernormal Festival last summer.  It was late on Saturday night I seem to recall.  Quite a hazy time sat around the haybales talking about things. Lovely.  

Axebreaker - Concrete Tombs

A track from the brand new album called  Bunker Archeology, Vol. 2- Deteritorialization released via the ever dependable Brachliegen Tapes.  I sometimes think this show is kind of sponsored by them! Alas, it is not.  But I do like the work they do and the sounds they release, so I shall keep playing them. Axebreaker hails from Maryland USA offering a harsh brand of anti-fascist power electronics.  I look forward to hearing the rest of this tape when it is released!

Omnibadger vs Grey Frequency - Speeding Ground (Part iii)

Taken from the forthcoming Rental Yields Volume 4 compilation from Front & Follow, which is raising essential funds for the Manchester charity SPIN (Supporting People In Need), doing all they can to help those who face homelessness and hunger.  A very worth cause.  This project has brought together many many artists from all across the spectrum of music, inviting us to share sounds, tracks and samples in randomly assigned groups of 3, remixing each others work and forcing us to think outside of the box.  A real honour to be part of this project and the depth and breadth of sounds from the releases is pretty outstanding.  I was paired with Megaheadphoneboy and Klaus Von Mork.  

Here I present Omnibadger reworking sounds by Grey Frequency in an epic crusher of a track! So many good collaborations here, I cannot recommend it enough and you know your money will be going to a great cause. 

Lutkie - Exhaust

Another recent compilation, this is lifted from Industrial Coasts "Women Invented Noise Vol II" which was a limited tape  / digital release that came out just before Christmas.  Whilst some of these tracks a almost disappointingly not noise music, there are some great efforts here, including other Tump Clump alumni Jo Montgomerie, Wild Rani and Kate Rissiek.  I'm just a sucker for compilations, as regular readers / listeners will know, and the Lutkie track here is a fine example of her work. Caustic rage but restraint.

Pillars Of Golden Misery - Temple Of Catastrophe

Another new album! Turbo Necropolis was released on limited lurid coloured tape just last month, and marks a bit of a change of direction for PoGM.  This album is more minimal, dark and brooding, taking a step away from the EDM carnage of previous albums and into the world of dark industrial doom electronics.  I like this album very much - sinister vocals and dismal soundscapes is right up my street, of course. 

Soloman Tump - Bonus Clump Krell Jam #2354345342

A final ditty to see out the last couple of minutes of the show, some live manipulated krell patch action with my trusty Behringer Neutron and some other widgets.  What would I do without her.  Le sigh. 

That is all for tonight.

Thank you for tuning in. 

The Tump Clump Episode 20

I am a few days behind with getting this blog posted so apologies if you have been feverously awaiting the track list for Tump Clump 20. I am but a simple human being and occasionally other stuff happens that restricts my ability to do the things I want.  Hey ho.

For this show I had borrowed Mrs Tump's e-bike and had cycled off up into Dartmoor armed with my pocket sound recorder and some notes.  So the vocal bits between are live from some woods which was quite nice to do.  Shame about the occasional cars. 

Episode 20 begins with the dark ambience of Jeremy Beckman, an artist who creates all of his tracks directly from recordings made via his phone that are then manipulated with the free software Audacity.  A great artistic decision - firstly, it's not cost him anything other than his phone, and secondly, Audacity is really bloody good and there are some great plug-in effects for it.  I compile my radio show with it, mix tracks, chop up live recordings and all sorts of stuff.  

The track here is called "Panic Attacks" from his 2022 digital LP called A New Low.  His artist bio of "Unprofessional photogapher. Amateur electronic musician." rings true and cuts deep.

Secondly tonight I played a track by Pennsylvanian artist Snartic, the final track from his album THE NEXT INSTANCE called "Final Fragmental Displacement".  The sounds are a personal diary of expressing feelings through paranoia and this is evident from what we are treated with here.  This artist discovered via Reddit, where I follows r/bandcamp and quite often pick up a whole bunch of excellent free YUM codes.  And I like to share some of mine on there too, its a nice (fairly) open minded community! 

Matt Atkins - Cracked Syntax Variants 04 was next. Matt experiments with electronic norms, squeezing new ideas into patterns and unleashing surprising results.  "CSV" is a great example of this, reminding me of artists like London's Icarus, Autechre and Rob Clouth.  Lush broken beats and patterns collapsing in on something else.

Histamine Tapes, 2023 sampler! Go download this! It's great! I played a montage of 3 tracks by The Dark December which really makes me want to get the album.  So that's good, because that's what a sampler should do.  Great label, support.

Then, Brighton based Knifedoutofexistence with "Faces Removed From The Photographs".  I am writing this blog post after the Feedback & Frustration show in Bristol last Saturday, the 10th anniversary party of Knifed performing live.  It was a triumphant day, a really good turnout in an excellent venue and some real talent on offer on stage.  Noise, drones, power electronics, chaos, rage, feedback and frustration.  I picked up some great merch tapes on the day too.  A testament to Knifed's hard work running the OutsiderArt label and the diverse collective of outsider artists that are represented therein.  More to come about the day soon when I have properly collected my thoughts.  The track hear is a great blend of gutteral human voice sounds, harsh melodic elements, field recordings, odd noises... wrapped in despair.  Thank you Dean!

2 tracks next from the ToneBurst compilation entitled "Tying Up Loose Ends #2: Sea Rove" that deftly explores nautical noise themes of Flotsam, Jetsam, Lagan & Derelict - Salvaging Sound....  the 2 tracks I play here are salvaged (remixed) sounds of other artists.  Matilde Meireles has reworked sounds by The New Emphatic, and The Clumsy Giantess worked with HR Jansen.  A great project and I really could have picked any of the tracks to play on tonights show, but these were the lucky ones.

Then: VIOLEER with "Bellwether" - I can't quite remember how I stumbled across VIOLEER but I am glad I did.  This is not quite static noise wall - there is subtle changes and movement throughout which I really dig. Some tracks have spoken word, others have field recordings, but there is enough here to keep my ear keenly tuned in and vibrating to what I am hearing.  These tracks all come from live sessions recorded at the end of last year which is quite cool.

Then, to round things off, a recording of myself and Plague Arish from the woods of Braziers Park in Oxfordshire, on the Sunday morning of Supernormal Festival 2022.  We started off with quite a drunken noisy recording on Saturday night which we recorded in the woods behind the Vortex and Red Kite tents.  A few people stumbled through as we strobed and whirred and bashed out some hideous sounds.  

Sunday morning was a slower more caffeinated affair; birdsong, twigs, people coughing and still stumbling by and admiring us occasionally.  Horns, tin cans, random detritus.  Attempting to capture the sounds of the weekend in whatever way we can.  Below is the kit I was using to make the drones; all battery or human powered. Plague had his own battery devices and can be heard blowing his practice sax horn thingumajig throughout the recording from various parts of the woodland. Hope you enjoy!  

Trying to figure things out

 

Not sure where to go next with Soloman Tump sound output.  

Need some fresh inspiration.  

I recently gained some great inspiration from a collaborative project with Paradox Encounters Group - we have a forthcoming tape release of 8 tracks due soon via ToneBurst.  I love it when collaborative projects come together with great ease - we just passed sounds back and forth until we felt they were ready, and it quickly became apparent that we were happy with them after just a couple of passes.  Bouncing sounds and ideas off someone else's brain is a grand way of mixing things up. 

But as a solo artist, there are certain sounds and atmospheres that I want to create but I don't feel able to do it with the equipment I have, or maybe it's just I need to spend more time with what I have trying to figure out how to achieve it.

AI assisted Soloman Tump self portrait

I want more field recordings of interesting sounds (not just the obligatory birdsong or tidal ebb).  I need to ensure I have my recorder with me at all times to capture those rare spontaneous occurrences.  

I think, overall, I just need to dedicate more time to the craft and really work on what I want to do.  But as with most things in life, I tend to spread myself a little too thin and do loads of different things without ever becoming an "expert" at anything!  

Speaking of which, I'm slowly working on Intrusive Signals Issue 4, and Tump Clump #20 is pretty much almost ready.  #noiselife indeed. 

And lets not forget all the IRL stuff I do with work, family and other volunteering stuff.

I never let myself get bored!  But I do want to produce the best Soloman Tump releases that I can.  This is not to say I am not proud of my output so far, but I don't want to start chucking out releases that I am not 100% pleased with.  

So there may be a wait until the next release, we shall see where the inspiration comes from next.

Tump.