Mystified Music

Hellwaste by Mystified

Mystified’s second release on innovative label “Magnatune” is out. This release is called “Hellwaste”.

“Hellwaste” is a drone essay on Hell– as a place, a concept, and an atmosphere. Deep tones and swirling voices connote an underground setting. Strange brass sounds and drumbeats tell you you are in the lair of the Efreeti. This release is less didactic and more exploratory than many artworks concerning Hell, and is meant to be enjoyed, rather than understood.

For those not yet aware, Magnatune offers unlimited free preview streams. If an album is purchased, you help to determine the price according to your level of interest and ability to pay. Purchased albums are available in a wide variety of forms, including mp3s and lossless WAVs.

So stop by for a listen:

http://magnatune.com/artists/albums/mystified-hellwaste/

Special thanks to www.markjondahl.com for the cover art!

5″ cdr, $6, postpaid in U.S.

Thoughtful, static-laden ambient sounds from prolific experimentalist. This is easy to get lost in, like diving too deep in the water.

PayPal/contact: ourouwnhymns (at) gmail (dot) com

This is the third collaboration between Mystified and Saluki Regicide. This time the concept is unique: one is assigned all frequencies below 1kHz, and the other gets everything above. The upper and lower halves were not united until the final mix, and then only adjusted for compatible levels and fades.

Recorded by Thomas Park & C.P. McDill
Produced & Mastered by C.P. McDill, 2008

http://www.archive.org/details/wh110

“Beyond Numb” is a sort of parody of the techno dance genre. The track, by mystified, originally appeared on the cdr, “Soothgrains” (Dim Records, 2007).

Mystified has been asking for remixes of the track, and received some excellent mixes from artists C. Reider and Full On. Mystified proceeded to remix his own track several more times, and what came of it all was over 42 minutes of very cool and eclectic takes on the track “Beyond Numb”, including the original.

Free for streaming or downloading from the CGR netlabel.

http://www.archive.org/details/MystifiedBeyondNumbRemixes

A very nice review of mystified’s cd, “Displaced Assemblage” (Bone Stucture, 2007), is up at the “Heathen Harvest” webzine. Surf on in:

http://www.heathenharvest.com/article.php?story=20080914014907588

Jeremy Keens, reviewer, has written a very nice review of mystified’s AmpTower cdr, “Baseline”, in his blog, Ampersand etc.. Here is a direct link to the review:

http://ampersandetc.blogspot.com/2008/09/mystified-baseline-coldstream-c30.html

Thomas couldn’t resist reprinting the review, as it makes some comparisons between mystified and some of his favorite artists:

“We listen to music through our musical history - so here is part of mine. I bought King Crimson, In the Court of, from a friend at school and sort of liked it. Then my sister bought me Larks’ Tongues in Aspic which amazed me and won me over (that period KC is it for me - also note a connection with Tom Phillips). That same sister was a fan of Bowie, and then one day in the car and over the radio came Always crashing in the same car, from Low. Again, another epiphany about what music could be. Soon after someone played me Taking Tiger Mountain (by strategy) and I bought a copy of Another Green World and a musical trinity was set up for me. Sometimes I play 6 degrees of separation to connect various artists in my record collection to that Eno/Bowie/Fripp heart. Hence the many references to Fripp and Eno here especially. So where does it fit here?

Well, this Mystified album reminded me of what is one of Eno’s many atmospherically perfect songs - The Belldog
Most of the day/we were at the machinery/
in the dark sheds/that the seasons ignore
(words thanks to More Dark Than Shark). And the majority of this album Baseline could be a site recording from those machinery sheds. (OK - it’s a long bow to draw, but my mind works in Mysterious was.) We start with some Man machine drones active ringing tones, some softly buzzing and some deeper vibrations: metal with softer undersides. Waves of whooshing from machines that a throbbing deeper underground in Hertz two oh, before rumbling hiss of Diesel powered equipment. We are moving with Uncertainty listening to soft winds through the tunnels and come across a buzzing, more active Baseline, high tonal-voices woven in. Strange winds simply as titled, rumbling of a distant train, and in some ways ends this phase of the album.

It becomes more active with Mystified’s remix of Piskadear, pulsing rings and more variation and sounds in the drone, before a complete switch is thrown in Always beginning where we have beaty fast rhythm loops, guitar ambiences and a sense of activity. Back to drifting with the long, shifting ringing descents of Polar out, reminiscent of Eno’s Apollo, some of which are ear-ringing. A reprise remixed by Coldstream ends the album with a rawer version, more edge and echo on the loops. Another excellent ambient outing from Mystified.”

–Jeremy Keens, 2008

Everything has been so nuts and bolts of late. Thomas has not had the inspiration to add anything of note to the journal– other than raw news.

Some things– “Thoughts About Music” has been deleted. Thomas had fun spouting about his opinions of the music scene, but he finally found the page to be tedious and took it down.

There are some exciting releases coming up– including 2 more from Magnatune. If you have not discovered Magnatune yet, Thomas highly recommends it. All releases are available for free, endless preview, and downloads are set on a flexible scale.

http://magnatune.com/artists/mystified

In September, Thomas’ drone essay on Hell is due out, called “Hell Waste”, and at some point following is due a great release of layered world ambience and percussion called “Spheric”, both on Magnatune.

Lots of netreleases are freshly released, and there are quite a few cdrs coming out shortly, including a chilly, drone-y cdr called “Science Fiction”, from RONF Records.

So don’t sleep at the wheel, because things are afoot– you might even want to subscribe to the RSS feed, if you are able.

“Constant Mix 2″ is a mix of fairly recent versions of the “Constant” theme appearing at Treetrunk Records. Original tracks were edited down to shorter segments, with prolonged crossfades, as with the first “Constant Mix”. The purpose of this mix is to expose folks to some current takes on the “Constant” theme, and also to provide a positive listening experience.

Artists included in this mix: K.M. Krebs, Wavespan, Mystahr, Jon 7, Stephen Philips, Phillip Wilkerson, The Ghost Between The Strings, mystified, and C. Reider.

“Constant” pieces are works of minimal drone that tend to use a “less is more” approach. The idea of these songs is to create the least possible ambient drone material necessary for listening. Mystified created the first “Constant” on Webbed Hand Records ( www.webbedhandrecords.com ). Several artists gave the theme their own spin at the TZP Drone Company ( http://www.archive.org/details/tzpdc ). Treetrunk Records has now begun exploring the “Constant” theme.

http://www.archive.org/details/Constant_Mix_2

“Constant 16″ is a longform drone piece created using radio signals generated by the Earth, granular synthesis, and a variety of other processes.

“Constant” pieces are works of minimal drone that tend to use a “less is more” approach. The idea of these songs is to create the least possible ambient drone material necessary for listening. Mystified created the first “Constant” on Webbed Hand Records ( www.webbedhandrecords.com ). Several artists gave the theme their own spin at the TZP Drone Company ( http://www.archive.org/details/tzpdc ). Treetrunk Records has now begun exploring the “Constant” theme.

Free for streaming or downloading.

Thanks to Kathleen Pingelton for her photography.

http://www.archive.org/details/Constant_16