 |
|||||||
| IMAGES:
|
FB002: Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words / Ronnie Sundin Format: 7" vinyl + inlay card INFORMATION: European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Christer Fuglesang is part of mission STS-116, known to be the most complex construction flight yet attempted. Fuglesang is the first Swedish astronaut and will, according to recent calculations, be the 1000th person to leave earth. After departing on the Space Shuttle Discovery and docking with the International Space Station (ISS), Fuglesang will perform two spacewalks, the main purpose of which is to purpose to rewire the ISS. The space stations current electrical system, designed to support the space station during the assembly phase, will be rebuilt and upgraded to support the attachment of new research modules. This, and the delivery of a new solar array system executed by mission STS-115, readies NASA to activate the permanent cooling and power systems of the ISS. Now... this is worth celebrating, and celebrate we do by releasing this seven inch artifact, proven to carry compositions by two of the most interesting artists around at the moment, international drone pop superstar Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words and minimalist master Ronnie Sundin. Links: Ronnie Sundin, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words. TRACKLIST: C. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - Born To Go REVIEWS: It’s about time labels got inspired by trading cards! I’ve been e-caught once or twice extolling the virtues of baseball cards with all this “limited-edition” and “trades welcome” type of talk around here. First, I hear Bread and Animals was giving out basketball cards with one of their releases. Now, northern neighbors Fang Bomb out of Sweden drops “Fuglesang, Astronaut” a commemorative seven-inch hailing, yes, the first Swedish astronaut, Christer Fuglesang. This average-looking Euro dude (I’m sure of genius intellect) sits on the front cover nicely, freshly minted in astro suit complete with a spacewalking grin. The insert is a NASA approved stat sheet with lots of arcane shorthand and acronyms about his impending (perhaps, past) space flight. Two Swedes contribute a track apiece dedicated to and inspired by our humble outer-space Argonaut. I just noticed; even the sides are dedicated to the super-Earth Swede’s initials! Side C belongs to Dead Letters and this guy has no problem filling that void. I love the hell out of this track. I played it thrice-over the first time it hit the turntable like a 50s teenie-bopper with an Elvis 45. One of the Dead Letters stats on the back cover reads “INS: Hawkwind”; hell yeah. Lone member Thomas Ekelund brings it heavy as soon as the needle hits with 60s space synth, lots of distortion, and a little noise grit rubbed into the creases just to fuck with you that much more. About halfway through, this track splits open with a subdued organ melody and bass drum globs making the most of the six-minutes. Side F is handed to Ronnie Sundin who takes a different tact with micro-noise and feedback with some unintelligible babble eventually giving way to a massive wall of brown-out distortion. There’s a lot of movement in this track, though not a whole lot of progression. While tilted toward the obnoxiously abrasive, getting even more unbearable as the side moves on, the track still succeeds on its “INS: Sun Ra” mission, hooking us up with joyful noise in celebration of their Swedish space hero. Overall, this is a great release that is just a hilarious addition to any seven-inch collection. Seriously, all these dark, psychedelic covers than a big portrait of a Swedish astronaut…Classic. // Kenneth Zubiate, Foxy Digitalis, November 2007
Interesting split single with two Swedish artists paying tribute to the first of their countrymen to be invited to visit space. Dead Letters' track "Born To Go" doesn't seem to be the Hawkwind tune, but I might be mistaken. There's the sound of machined guitar buried under layers of something, and it drones and pulses like a house afire. Nice. Sundin's side, "Space Is The Place", is not the Sun Ra song, and that's OK too. It's a pleasing mix of gibbering sounds and quietly schrieking electronics. Spacey. // Byron Coley, The Wire #280, June 2007 A curious 7" on Fang Bomb has found its way onto the turntable. This is a split between DEAD LETTERS SPELL OUT DEAD WORDS and RONNIE SUNDIN and is called 'Fuglesang, Astronaut'. I've just played the Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words side on 45 RPM instead of 33 RPM while I sussed out who the record was actually by. It sounded pretty fucking cool too. I've now slowed it down to the appropriate speed and what's emitting from the speakers is a terribly good drone track. Super dark, lots of subtle changes and a throbbing sub bass. A scary undertone running throughout is the icing on the cake for me. There's even melody hidden amongst the rich layers of sound. I'm loving this one. On the flip Ronnie Sundin's track 'Space Is The Place (In Space Nobody Can Hear Your Demons Mix)' begins with what sounds like a dog sleeping and then waking up to some fucked up screeches and then eventually a skull crushing, heavy distorted throb of noise which is totally repetitive and therefore utterly cool. The screeches continue and become more intense. // Ant, Norman Records Last week I failed miserably (or felt miserably?), but someone distracted me of going to the concert of both Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words and Ronnie Sundin. The prospect of getting a small musical lesson elsewhere prevented me from going. You can't be in two places I guess (sorry guys). Which is a pity since in the past I heard quite a bit of both artists, who now share a 7" to commemorate the first Swedish astronaut in space, launched on December 7th, 2006. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words present a top-heavy guitar drone piece, that, despite its weight flows free in the sky. Like a big space ship, perhaps the ISS (to which this astronaut is heading) in a vast empty space. Perhaps a bit short, this trip. Top heavy is also the piece by Ronnie Sundin, but it works on a totally different level. It starts out with some vocalizations, feeding through a bunch of effects, and as the piece evolves, things get louder and louder, until the disappear in space. 'You can't take words into space', Burroughs said, and this launch proofs we have to leave our words behind. Maybe the format of a 7" doesn't entirely justify this kind of music, but it's a nice statement. // Frans De Waard, Vital Weekly
|
||||||
