Darkrad is a project of Jana Komaritsa, this project seems to have several previous releases which, I am sad to admit, were unfamiliar to me. I am familiar with some of the long form collaboration releases on Cryo Chamber (Azathoth, Nyarlathotep & Yog-Sothoth) which Jana has contributed material to and can say those should not be missed. I was also very excited to see this projects debut was on Cold Meat Industry which also brings a lot of promise.

This album which is titled Heart Murmur is an excellent unsettling but beautiful journey into synthesized ambient music. The occasional vocals are also a welcome addition that add an ominous layer to the music, we do not often get very many female fronted projects in this style but I would say Jana sticks out among all of her peers no matter who is approaching this genre.

This is a project I will be seeking out more from in the future. The main album is great. The bonus tracks which are pieces from other albums, as well as the remixes from Flint Glass & Mortaja do not disappoint either.

I am most familiar with Elliott Sharp from some of his collabs and releases with Tzadik artists which is very promising for my ears. I have not previously heard Helene Breschand.

This CD covers a lot of genres but is sure to please anyone into experimental music and perhaps anyone just looking for something slightly off the normal jazz paths. The vocals from Helene are in French and range from Trip-Hop to chants or even spoken word. Sharp does contribute vocals on two tracks “Le Langue Dans Ma Bouche” and “The Cuckoo” which is a cover of the Ramblin Jack Elliott song. The instrumentals primarily from Elliott are slow and chill at times extremely minimal, quite relaxing through most of the album.

This is not something I usually would have picked up on my own but I am super happy I took the time to check it out and it is a very enjoyable album by two very accomplished artists.

This is a score for a short film that is making the rounds at several festivals across the country. I have had the joy of seeing Guillermo perform live one time and he puts on a very dramatic disturbing show. I didn’t expect anything less from a film score produced by him. This tape has an excellent disturbing feel to it which I’m sure lends an overwhelming feeling to the film. Guillermo is one of those artists to keep an eye on in the future and he is putting an equal amount of time and detail into his label Flag Day Recordings. I highly recommend anyone who enjoys noise or cinematic music, in general, to check out his music as well as his label.

This album reminded me of late 90's / early 2000's dark electro bands mixed with some of today's abrasive power electronics projects. The vocals are gritty and the beats are dirty but catchy.

Less polished than a lot of the dark electro bands and I don't mean that as a put-down, it adds something to the tracks and makes them darker than what usually comes out of that genre.

This is a short but sweet release and as always with the Chthonic Streams releases, this one has some beautiful graphic design and packaging.

OK, so I have to be honest, as it might be affecting my opinion on this one. I sat at home today and watched about 3 episodes of the new Twin Peaks and then put on this album. It was the second time I have listened to this one. The first time I really liked it and listened to it very intently but did not feel as if I was ready to write about it because it is a pretty deep and dark recording.

PBK lived in Puerto Rico for about 4 years in the early to mid-nineties. With an artist like PBK, I can see how being in a different environment would completely affect his recordings. These tracks were recorded at the same time as the Domineer / Asesino / Retro triple LP box set and may be separate pieces recorded in and out of those sessions. These separate tracks, at least what sounds like from the description, all fit very well together as an album even though they are spread out over a 5 year period.

I honestly don't ever have anything bad to say about the work of PBK but this is up there as one of my favorites for sure.

As for the beginning Twin Peaks reference, if David Lynch ever does another season, he doesn't need to look any further than these recordings for some of his masterful eerie visuals. I could easily see this fitting into any episode.