Stretched out nostalgic moan-pop from New Orleans chillwave producer Fabian Luttenberger. Droney and summertastic. Because I feel like inviting some lighter, poppier tunes to the blog. Because it’s spring, because everything is coming back to life again. This is the music to celebrate rebirth to.
Cream Juice is the synth-bending duo of Keith Rankin (who already made some ripples in the underground with his lighthearted solo project Giant Claw) and Seth Graham (also known under the moniker Henry Dawson). Their Cream Juice project is still a tongue-in-cheek, whimsical take on electronic music, but here the quasi-prog melodies and analogue baroque stylings are dropped in favor of of a “more” dripping, shimmering version of psychedelia that sounds like a less hermetic, non-academic version of Caboladies.
The cassette is divided into 13 unnamed tracks, which are glitch-spattered ambient based impressions, electronic vignettes which are jagged and often chaotic, but not in a tiring, “noise music” kind of way. The tracks are dense and cluttered and it’s hard to notice when one track ends and another begins - rather than being finished, autonomous entities, the tracks work as short “stops” in the constant journey through various shades and moods changing at a kaleidoscoping pace. The density of the album distorts the feeling of time, stretching and shortening at will in a series of wide-eyed vintage-tinged hallucinations.
Half-remembered fragments of melody will ocassionally jut out of the bent, cartoonish reality of the tape, filled with hyperactive, seemingly indestructible wacky characters, injuring each other (and themselves) in truly cartoonish ways. Except it’s all in fast motion, making it even more confusing and disorienting than watching even the wackiest cartoon in regular speed. The occasional echoed lead themes bring to mind the later albums of Autechre (Confield, Draft 7.30), but where the British duo usually focused on cold, futuristic sound, Rankin and Graham focus on LSD madness and attempting to completely fry their synthesizers’ circuits. The project’s name reflects the music perfectly - it’s sweet, soft and delicious, but might give you a sugar rush if you consume too much.
Hello! I am proud to present the first Weed Temple interview in EONS - this one is a brief, yet informative interview with Seattle’s slowly-rising-to-the-stardom synth wizard Norm Chambers, better known under the moniker Panabrite.
Jakub Adamek: At the age of 40, you are older than most people in the scene, who are in their 20’s. You started being quite famous in the scene at around this age. Have you been creating music in your earlier years or was the creation of Panabrite prompted by the vintage synth music trend?
Norm Chambers: Well I’m not 40 yet. I’ve been playing music in some form or another since the early 90’s, starting out with guitar and rock-oriented stuff. Then around the same time started getting into synthesizers after getting bored with guitars and the whole rock/guitar worshipping idea.
JA: But you weren’t well known until the time of Panabrite, didn’t you record anything or was Panabrite the first project you wanted to put on the Internet?
NC: I played in a few bands and projects with friends but never anything that formalized until about three years ago when I started the Panabrite stuff. The time was right for me to work on this project and expand the ideas I’d been gathering for 15 years or so. The whole current synth craze had no bearing on anything because I’d been tinkering with synths for a very long time.
JA: The vintage futuristic and conceptual architecture and design seems to be a central point to your music: practically all your album covers feature collages of vintage technology. What is the relation between the artistic and the musical part of Panabrite?
NC: Well this is definitely a strong visual connection for sure. I’m also a visual artist, and so I have a very definite idea of concepts that I like. Often other people choose to do the album covers if it adheres to their label ethic, but I typically like to have control over that aspect. Certain sounds and images go together very well, and can create a very effective concept and overall vibe. I also studied a little bit of architectural engineering in school but I’ve also realized that at the end of the day anyone can (and does) make collages out of national geographic images, so it’s nice to get away from that a bit (as much as I love those ideas).
JA: 2012 started out very well for you, with two vinyls coming on Digitalis Recordings (“Soft Terminal”) and Aguirre (“Sub-Aquatic Meditation”). Are you planning to go on a bigger scale this year? Going on vinyls and probably CD’s?
NC: Well, yes. Under the Spire Recordings (UK) is going to reissue “Illumination” on LP, which I’m very excited about. It’s an album I feel strongly for, because it’s a bit of a departure in terms of production methods, ideas, etc… and just seems to have more thoughtful and rich compositions than much before it. I also have a tape finished for a label called Love all Day, titled “Blue Grotto”, which should be out soon, as well as “Seychelles”, which will come out soon on Field Studies. Beyond that I’m working on something for Preservation too, an Australian label, and a tape for VCO Recordings, a new label operated by the Zombi guys.
JA: You’re being a busy guy. 
NC: Yeah! it’s kind of ridiculous, but I enjoy working on stuff. I actually haven’t recorded anything in two months now, since I had some computer issues. That’s an eternity to me but I’ve recently upgraded my studio gear and hope to be back in the swing of things very soon.
JA: Any brief description of the equipment you usually use to record music?
NC: I’ve used the same stuff since the beginning, gear I’ve had around for years: Roland Juno 60, Crumar Performer, Minikorg 700, Analogue Solutions SEMblance, and various other gadgets - lots of effects units, etc…
JA: Do you play music as Panabrite for a living or is it just a hobby to your day job? If so, what do you do for a living?
NC: No, I definitely don’t make money doing this. I do have a day job that’s not musical in any sense. But affords me the opportunity to focus on making music more or less free of work stress.
Panabrite’s new vinyl, Soft Terminal will be released in early March. In the meantime, listen to the samples on Digitalis Recording’s Bandcamp.
Delicate, crumbling ambient soundscapes from Memphis resident Dominic Van Horn. A reflection of falling into slumber by open windows, heavy clouds rolling across the steely sky and watching buildings and ships reflect in the water. Soothing stuff. Make sure to check out the rest of his Bandcamp, False Bay isn’t the only one of his great releases.
Walk the dead earth: Joseph Angelo prepares you for a cleansing journey through the windswept wasteland with a series of brooding, post-apocalyptic soundscapes. But even though the overall sound of the album is bleak and somewhat depressive, there are moments of certain beauty hidden among the jagged, scorched rocks. Worth listening for the first track alone. Originally released on cassette on Sonic Meditations.
Wavepool Abortion is a team of two friends from Moscow, Russia who decided to create a massively catchy collection of lo-fi garage punk anthems, much in the vein of their infamous imperialist predecessor Wavves (might explain the band name). The songs here are short, to the point and make your feet stomp even without you knowing. I’m glad to mention I have this on cassette and while this might not be the best cassette in my collection, this is sure to get me going when I need a fix of energetic, positive vibe music. Bonus points for the hilarious, parodistic j-card of the cassette (as seen above).
Burning, ultra-stoned red hot psych jamzzzz from Fayetteville, Arkansas. Influences include Blue CHILL and HawkWEED. In all seriousness though, this band is a nice treat to all fans of heavy guitar jamming. In some tracks they really sound like Wildildlife circa Six, the same sort of groovy lysergic sludge. Check it!
First of all, I cannot stress enough how much I love the artworks on most releases from the Holy Page label. Their complexity and nature remind me the extensive collage work of the people behind Stunned Records, but moved into more digital, Megazord-ian areas. Second, I just fell in love with the term “drone slams” - this is how Holy Page describes the sounds of Shapeshifter by Orca Life. A collection of semi lo-fi, slightly abrasive synth vignettes reminiscent of Sky Stadium - this nice little cassette will surely fill your needs for a quick, drug-free zone-out.
The mysteriously and somewhat ominously named Delayed Summer is the newest offering from Toulouse’s Roman Barbot. His dark and massive, loud post-rock influenced music can be best by the “term” invented by my friend: sunless ambient. A reverbed and distorted wall of sounds, relentlessly pulsing their way into the night; this is no beach party music. Perfect soundtrack for the long, dark winter nights.
Two previously unreleased archival compilations by Seattle-based synth wizard Norm Chambers. Norm has become quite a big name in the kosmische zone revival scene in the last two-three years and these tracks document his development as a composer and musician. I also hope you’re saving your money for Panabrite’s debut LP, Soft Terminal, coming out soon from Digitalis.
