[2011] irr. app. (ext.) / Nurse With Wound - 4 Orphans

After Angry Electric Finger 3, 4 Orphans is the new collaboration between these two bizarre figures of the sound collage/dark ambient scene, although it's somewhat of an irr. app. (ext.) album mostly, considering it's based around old Nurse With Wound arrangements, along with the weirdest things the former could come up with in order to spice up the surreal vibe of the album. As usual, artwork by Matt Waldron.

Buy it directly from irr. app. (ext.)'s Bandcamp here.

[2011] Tuusanuuskat - Nääksää Nää Mun Kyyneleet

Fonal Records' latest release, Tuusanuuskat is a collaborative work between their label manager Sami Sänpäkkilä (also known as ES) and Jan Anderzén (Kemialliset Ystävät), both very involved in the past and current finnish experimental scene. This album is a series of disjointed sound collages revolving around similar themes, heavily layered in non-abrasive noise. Defying description, the underlying melodies buried beneath these 5 tracks are both confusing and soothing in nature, concealing its real depth.




Buy it directly from Fonal Records here.

[2007] Smegma - Nattering Naybobs of Negativity

Nattering Naybobs of Negativity is one of the most representative albums (aside from their debut, Glamour Girl 1941) of this band, which has influenced several experimental and improvisational acts during 4 decades, including (but not limited to) projects related to Stapleton in general, and many others with improvisational backgrounds. And indeed, its extensive use of sample manipulation and bizarre free jazz and tape looping predates plenty of artists from back then, without sounding dated or less out there than late, well known projects. In this album the Zappa influence is quite evident, with its cartoonish samples and crazed ramblings with the pervert humor present in Uncle Meat, but instead of delving further into progressive rock, it loses itself in a free jazz craze, which fits the style nicely.

This is a 2007 reissue of the original 1987 release, which includes Morass (cassette), released a year later.

Download it here: [320][V0]


Buy it directly from Forced Exposure here.

[2011] Thymolphthalein - Ni Maître, Ni Marteau

A somewhat unlikely ensemble coming from France and Australia, delivering a rhythmically complex sonic assault, revolving around electro-acoustic improvisation and electronic, self-made instruments to create tones hard to identify among the spastic array of fractured sounds. Surprising debut, recorded and performed live at the SWR2 New Jazz Meeting in France, 2009.

(meant to be played loud given its extreme frequency range, which perhaps could be benefited from a higher bitrate)

Download it here: [192][V0]

Buy it directly from Editions Mego here.

[1973] Faust - The Faust Tapes (2010 ReR Reissue)

After their s/t, this is essential Faust material, which also has more of the tape manipulation and spoken word bits already present on the s/t and took it somewhere unknown. The standard "krautrock" songs are quickly replaced by weirdness track after track, leaving the listener sometimes completely unaware of what's going on if not enough attention is paid. In my opinion this is material that should be own not only by fans of the genre, but those interested in experimental music in general, seeing as this album set precedents still groundbreaking until our days.

Download it here: [V0] Updated!

Buy it directly from Recommended Records here.

[2006] Nurse With Wound - Shipwreck Radio: Final Broadcasts

And here we have it, the final release of the Shipwreck Radio sessions.Only one CD, three tracks, with the last batch of transmissions from their radio show at Lofoten, consisting of recordings in the island of Utvær. Perfect way to end this series.

Download it here: [320][V0]

[2010] Hasegawa-Shizuo (長谷川静男) - 離俯土 (Lift)

Electro-acoustic improvisation done by one of the most interesting japanese duos focused on noise experimentation, this is one of their best works to date. Using unusual tools for their improvisations (traditional japanese instruments) and looped arrangements, this album is easily one of their best works to date. A single song, going through several loops and sound alterations, turns into a light-headed listen spite of its chaotic content.

Download it here: [320][V0]

Buy it directly from Utech Records here.

[2004] Nurse With Wound - Lofoten Deadhead

Following the concept of the Shipwreck Radio sessions, this album contains again on the recorded sounds and experiences spent on the island of Utvær. This album contains 3 songs which according to the names, belong to the transmission dates, and opposed to the incessantly gull squeak present in Gulls Just Wanna Have Fun, this album focuses on fishing, water and sea life being the main protagonists. Lots of spoken word parts sections, some of them untreated (and recorded by Stapleton and Potter as they walked by).

Download it here: [320][V0]

[2005] Nurse With Wound - Gulls Just Wanna Have Fun

Included on the same special box where the two first Shipwreck Radio sessions were, this album follows the same structure, dividing every section with the same jingle used in the sessions. This album, however, expands over a smaller, more focused concept: island sounds. The only information regarding the reason behind this album is in the linear notes, The first 250 copies included the "Gulls Just Wanna Have Fun" CD ("Various Broadcasts and Audio Debris"), leading to believe these are mostly leftovers of Shipwreck Radio. Still quite interesting for being part of the same series.

Download it here: [320][V0]

[2007] Faust & Nurse With Wound - Disconnected

The big krautrock veterans and the experimental collective by definition joined forces in one of the best collaborations the genre has seen. Disconnected resembles the best of Faust's debut with the unpredictability of Nurse With Wound, making them even more bizarre than what they normally are. Six tracks, one of them a live session, in which both projects explore unlikely sounds in a way few would. Essential material for krautrock fans.

Download it here: [320][V0]

Buy it directly from Art-Errorist here.
Buy it directly from Recommended Records here.

[1997] Stereolab & Nurse With Wound - Simple Headphone Mind

Stereolab's krautrock influences and Nurse With Wound's sound collages and manipulation  find a common ground in this underappreciated collaboration called Simple Headphone Mind. At Stereolab's motorik beats, Stapleton & Co. added warped vocals (Sadier's) and all sorts of crazy noises, along with a heavy load of bass, turning what originally was an upbeat song into a rumbling, unpredictable composition full of layers that weren't even present in the original arrangement. The motorik-fueled beat that serves as a base for this collab is actually an instrumental Stereolab song called The Long Hair of Death, which is later featured in the 2xCD compilation called Aluminum Tunes. Simply unique.

Download it here: [320][V0]

[1981] Nurse With Wound - Homotopy To Marie (2007 Reissue)

The quintessential Nurse With Wound album, this is what Stapleton considered as the "first real NWW album", and that it'd later become their trademark sound. Frightening like few, this album is complex and bizarre like the darkest horror flick never made. Hard to describe, like usual; this is a sonic experience that needs to be heard.
As a curious fact, some of the samples used for this album come from a Geinoh Yamashirogumi album called Osorezan / Dou no Kenbai, in which explores what it seems to be a traditional japanese folk ritual. Originally released on United Diaries, this is the 2007 reissue on Jnana Records, retaining the same quality.

Download it here: [320][V0]

[2009] Nurse With Wound - The Surveillance Lounge

Almost 15 years after Homotopy to Marie, Nurse With Wound releases a very similar album, almost starting from scratch. This album features a lot of recognizable brass elements, along with some severely frightening segments that can be likened (or even surpassed) to Homotopy to Marie, making it too inaccessible for continuous listens. A true box of secrets, it's harsh, scary and layered, like few of the same vein. It's difficult to tell the motifs behind this album, specially if we take the cover into consideration. It sort of reminds me of Albert Camus... But maybe that's just me. One of my 2009 favorites, that's for sure.

Download it here: [V0: Part 01 Part 02]

[2005] Nurse With Wound - Shipwreck Radio Volume Two: Eight Enigmatic Episodes From Utvær

This is the second session of radio transmissions from the Lofoten Islands (as referenced in here), 8 out of 24, the third one of those is Lofoten Deadhead, finishing the whole set of transmissions. This one is more dark ambient than Seven Sonic Structures, focused more on the textures than anything else; if anything it's less offputting for a casual listener, although it retains the 2xCD format and the lenghty tracks that often characterize this group.

Download it here: [256: Part 01 Part 02][V0]

[1986] Nurse With Wound - Spiral Insana

My favorite NWW release of all times, Spiral Insana is also one of their most well-known releases, along with Chance Meeting on a Dissecting Table of a Sewing Machine and an Umbrella and Homotopy To Marie, both trademarks of this particular sound. Spiral Insana, like its name implies, is a trip inside the human psyche, cycling and exploring motifs within the same album and other recordings from the past (some are featured later in A Sucked Orange). It's best described as "the soundtrack of a Lynch movie", it goes from pure dark ambient sections to ragtime to pure industrial sounds, all in a whim, in fact the very beginning sounds like some of the dark ambient sections Lynch would perform for his project Rabbits, hopefully some of you may hear it. It also features one of the most frightening transitions between track and track, creating a feeling of tension every time it switches. It's one of the reasons why I ended up enjoying brass sounds so much, the powerful, epic sound it evokes can be uplifting and utterly depressing at the same time.

Download it here: [V0]

[2004] Nurse With Wound - Shipwreck Radio Volume One: Seven Sonic Structures From Utvær

This is the first post of the whole Nurse With Wound discography (or at least selected works) that I'm going to share in this blog. I'll group them on a single post in the future, most likely.

Here we have it, the album from which the blog takes its name, Shipwreck Radio Volume One: Seven Sonic Structures From Utvær. This album according to the linear notes, was part of a series of broadcasts made from the Artic Lofoten Islands (7 out of 24) which are located on the northern side of Norway. It sort of makes sense why it references Utvær seeing as the latter is located to the northwestern side of the country, so it was basically a pole-to-pole transmission. Now regarding the music, we have here one of the most interesting NWW works to date. Most of the songs, in the same way Spiral Insana closed every segment with a certain sound in crescendo, every segment of this 2xCD album begins with a short, distorted radio advertising which welcomes the listener to the lands of Utvær, in the most bizarre way Stapleton could craft. You can hear most of the sound collage that made the project popular, arranged in a very interesting way (some transitions are just incredible), and it all makes for a great, compelling listen. It's not what I'd recommend to a first listener, but it's certainly something that needs more attention.

Download it here: [320: Part 01 Part 02][V0]