Local noise aficionados have probably noticed a dip in production from the once busy bee that is
Rundownsun. Due to the expensive and time consuming effort that was the Tunnel Canary Re-Issue (everyone has that now, right?), Rundownsun had to take a breather. An email launched out today announced that the nose is back to the grindstone and there will be plenty of new releases coming soon. Also announced is the arrival of Critiscum Internationale, a local "punk/power" label that will be exclusively distributed by Rundownsun. Below is the update from the head honcho himself...
"As many of you may or may not have noticed the label and I have been keeping a pretty low pro-file this past year or so. I'm not going to go into the details of my personal life, or personal finances, but I will say it's been in no small part due to other motivations/projects(including a bank breaking forey into the reissue market) and a general loss of interest in further saturating the already saturated noise "scene"(read: market), and a lack of confidence in the quality of my product(not in the content but the material product itself). Thing is, I haven't packed it in, and have no intention to do so. RUNDOWNSUN is still in business, and my energy level is high, and a number of other responsibilities have been shed so the time is right to ramp things back up.
A few reassurances and changes first: every release I have on the books at the moment WILL SEE RELEASE! However, due to supply changes in vancouver in regards to cassette materials, after the currently slated cassette titles I will be halting the release of tapes on rundownsun; if I can't make them exactly the way I want to and for the price I want to, I won't. The good thing is that means more vinyl!
bottom line is: RUNDOWNSUN is in business, has lots of titles currently available, will be building/expanding it's catalogue and roster steadily over the next year, and has lots of plans for the future.
your continued support is much appreciated.
currently available (NEWEST RELEASES FIRST):
BT.HN. (Le Bete Humaine) "rawmada" rundownsun No. 43 lake shark harsh noise #04 (available next week)
previously solicited by LAKE SHARK HN, and now sold out from them. live recordings from inside and underneath the Ramada Inn at New York's JFK terminal. warm, moist ventilation feeds the sex stench of one room to the next, under the buzz of broken-ballast florescence, sodium flood, and incessant, roaring flyover. bitchy unsatisfied wives of meek men, unsupervised teenage girls, cable tv., the mentally retarded, the mini-bar, everyone and everything is implicated. vice fantasy on the airlines dime. limited edition. low-bias c10. offset-printed cardstock cover in italian style ziplock bag. rundownsun copies will come with an additional exclusive paste-on cover collage of materials collected while in NYC in 2007. $6.00usd + postage.
Rough Nobel "s/t" c42 rundownsun No. 46 (released may 2008)deconstructive cassette and acousmatic music from internationally renowned improvisational percussionist Jeffery Allport and multi-instrumentalist, long time Allport collaborator, entrepreneur, and rundownsun ally Robert Pedersen. disposing of the "Tape" completely and focused solely on the mechanism; on a 100 year program to refine their practice as improvisers and composers. much more rough nobel on rundownsun to come. limited edition. hand-numbered. high-bias c42. gold offset-printing on colour paper. $6.00usd + shipping
Ian Gregory James "castle" c92 rundownsun No. 41 (released may 2008)a minimal, temporally deceiving, and challenging new work from young composer and sound artist Ian Gregory James. two distinct but intertwined compositions constructed over a year or more from raw electronic sound and field recordings. visceral but intangible, with mirage-like yet enduring presence. with evidence of influence from the transcendental works of Terry Riley, and Eliane Radigue but stripped of their real or faux asiatic spirituality and instead an embracing of the universally absurd. limited edition. hand-numbered. high-bias c92. green offset-printing on quality paper. $6.00usd + shipping
Workbench + Magneticring "live in a room with all the windows" 2xc36 rundownsun No. 38 (released may 2008)Michael Bernstein (double leopards, heavy tapes, religious knives, etc) and Joshua Stevenson (ex-jackie-o-motherfucker, caste exotic, staked plain, far too many projects to name here, etc.) captured live, direct-to-tape, in march of 2006 somewhere in Brooklyn NY. a collection of musical fragments and motifs ranging from sparse, abstract electronics to pulsating synth chill-out(think KLF?), to cluster & eno-esque ambient, oozing drone, and even some moments of abrasive rhythmic/synth driven industrial. all material culled, edited, and mastered from the original tapes by Joshua Stevenson. limited edition. hand-numbered. high-bias 2xc36. black offset-printing on textured paper. side-by-side style double cassette box. $10.00usd + shipping.
Black Jesus and The Cosmic Prayer "my mind is a fruit farm" cdr rundownsun No. 19 indefinitely shelved cdr version of this obscure, criminally under-distributed, spacey, neu-cosmiche cassette originally released on blakk wainbow records a few years back. the light has come. ultra-minimal electronic waves lap at polished shores of crystalline drone. a curling fog of ritual noise and distant voices smokes your soul out of your skull, set free to cruise the inner-spaceways. cosmic devotional music. possibly one of the most striking and fully realized albums i have had the pleasure of releasing. edition of 50 copies. screen-printed high quality cdr, packaged in a screen-printed, hand-made digipack-style case with paste-on insert. $10usd + shipping.
BT.HN. "black mirrors and dark planet alignment" one sided LP rundownsun No. 20 over a year in the making, and well worth the wait. BT.HN. (LA BETE HUMAINE) brings you to a place where profane ritual meets barbaric violence! domineering waves of crushing bass and crackling electronics bury slithering spoken rites, and crest in thundering commands. a steady, measured rumble peppered with heavily effected vocals breaks into volatile metal abuse. vocals shift from paced incantation to frantic possession! similar to the abrasive works of TAINT, ATRAX MORGUE and IUGULA-THOR, but underpinned by a raw, ritualistic violence.
2-sided black and white offset-printed cover on heavy paper. one-sided 12" 33rpm vinyl record with silk-screened b-side. housed in a crystal-clear, heavy polyvinyl sleeve. featuring art and layout from the artist. $12.00 usd + postage. wholesale available.
Wapstan "of zero and the void" c30 rundownsun No. 24 no howling abyss. no death-silent vacuum. just the ever present anti-presence of 60 cycles. hardly above perception. life between high voltage power lines. you're living it every day. no sounds, just pure, harnessed electricity. from canada's reigning underground drone lord. spray painted high bias tapes. xeroxed and hand inked artwork on recycled paper. numbered edition of 100. $6.00usd + shipping.
Taskmaster "get dead" c30 rundownsun No.29 a hissing, spiting, white noise sandstorm with bass like a dirty drag though the mud. rushing-water sound for restroom line-ups. edition of 100. offset-printed 3 panel j-card. xerox insert. spray-painted high bias cassette. $6.00usd + shipping
Flatgrey "xxxxxx" one sided LP rundownsun No. 30long-awaited vinyl debut from vancouver underground noise legend flatgrey.industrial noise. harsh, industrial noise. pure sound. mechanical, electrical, valve and tube. scrounged, rescued and resurrected. filtered through obsession. menacing roars of bass pushed along grinding mechanics, like millions of rows of pneumatic teeth. heaving, gnashing. compressor hiss, and blast furnace tongue. incendiary atmosphere, superheated, and forced through junked magnets and shredded cones. a nameless exercise.
1-sided gold offset-printing on heavy black paper. one-sided 12" 33rpm vinyl record with silk-screened b-side. housed in a crystal-clear, heavy polyvinyl sleeve.featuring art and layout from the artist. $12.00 usd + postage. wholesale available.
Werewolf Jerusalem "surrounded by fangs" c26 rundownsun No.31 new material from the legendary richard ramirez. a stripped frame of narrow sounds forced from discrete locales, and oblique devices. organized into sonic terraces; plateaus of hiss and crackle abruptly transition. 2 tracks of dense static and drainpipe howl that exemplify richards meticulous, source-driven investigations of textured sound. edition of 100. offset-printed 2 panel j-card. spray-painted high bias cassette. $6.00usd + shipping
Black Leather Jesus "wild" c34 rundownsun No. 36consistently active since 1989 black leather jesus should need no introduction. their debut for rundownsun offers a focused, three-round burst of pure, speaker-shredding distortion. convulsive emissions, and aggressive blasts in an ecstatic/chaotic convergence. explosive. concussive bombast, screeching feedback, and heavy electronics from this truly seminal american noise unit. edition of 100. offset-printed 2 panel j-card. xerox labelled high bias cassette. dipped in rubber with stamped catalogue tag. $8.00usd + shipping
Eli Bornowsky "untitled" c40 rundownsun No. 37 first available recordings of vancouver visual artist eli bornowsky's tape, and electronic compositions. the first time i became aware of eli was when i was participating in The Western Front Gallery's open call for new musical works. i was lucky enough to catch eli in performance with sam mckinlay of THE RITA, and christian nicolay of THE REV. my face was thoroughly melted. i soon after attended a solo performance of eli's at the now defunct Blim gallery in downtown vancouver. i was immediately confronted with something quite different from the collaborative performance. humoristic juxtaposition, kitsch-culture/noise-culture referencing, caustic frequencies, concrete technique, primitive fourtrack manipulations, and effects pedal tweakings all expertly executed in a mesmerizing albeit abrasive 15 minutes. from those experiences and other like them eli was immediately at the top of my list of artists to approach when i started rundownsun. 2 years on and a release has finally materialized. like his visual art eli's sound work "address[es] perception in a formal psychedelia". total rainbow electronics. colour xerox artwork by eli bornowsky. spray-painted high bias cassette. $6.00usd + shipping
Tunnel Canary 'jihad' / 'live at the ECCA 1980' LIMITED EDITION 2LP (and 1LP) rundownsun No. 44 / No. 49 Formed nearly 30 years ago at the height of Vancouver BC's early punk scene, amidst Canadian HARDCORE progenitors like D.O.A. and SUBHUMANS, TUNNEL CANARY emerged with a sound more in common with the then still incubating UK POWER ELECTRONICS scene and a militant attitude/lifestyle more in-line with straight edge hardcore or east-asian asceticism.
Influenced by avant-garde guitarists Fred Frith and Keith Rowe, contempory electronic composers like TUDOR, STOCKHAUSEN, and CAGE, and NO WAVE bands like MARS and DNA, TUNNEL CANARY produced a volatile and often violent mix of pure-noise, synthesizer music, free-improv, and confrontational performance art. Centered around the chaotic guitar antics and synth compositions of guitarist Aleh Kaheen(now: Nathan Holiday) coupled with the accusatory and often absolutely-hysterical caterwauling of vocalist Ebra Ziron, and supported by the tasteful and powerful bass punctuations of David Sheftel, TUNNEL CANARY’s unique sound sits somewhere in the spheres of POST-INDUSTRIAL, PROTO-POWER-ELECTRONICS, and NOISE.
This 2LP set represents the definitive TUNNEL CANARY document&183; Culled from material recorded between 1980 and 1983 representing the bands most prolific and powerful period. Included on the first LP is the bands sole released work ‘JIHAD’. Edited and re-named “Erdang” and released on the cassette compilation “Stitching Small Tears” in 1981; here ‘JIHAD’ has been restored to its complete length and original title. Flip of ‘JIHAD’ is a recording of TUNNEL CANARY’s extravagant multi-media live performance of ‘BEAUTY SECRETS’ from 1983. LP number two is a raucous performance from 1980 recorded at the Emily Carr Center for the Arts.
American Noise Legend, and early TC ally GX JUPITTER LARSEN remembers the TUNNEL CANARY live experience:
“A Tunnel Canary show had layer after layer of racket fragments bouncing somewhere between the back of your teeth and your inner ear. They were the classical complaint against calm, and the archetypal battle against boredom. They made you realize there was more to punk than just safety pins and leather. I remember seeing them open up for a William Burroughs reading in 1981. They blew the PA in seconds! Nathan I know doesn’t care much for that one, but I remember Burroughs telling me how he loved it. We all loved it. Tunnel Canary was a wake-up call for those of us fortunate enough to catch them live in those early days. When we heard them we heard the future, and the future was going to be loud!”
Absolutely no expense has been spared in the manufacturing of this record: expertly mastered by Joshua Stevenson (magneticring, samara lubelski band, caste-exotic archives, etc). Cut twice for quality assurance. Imported black paper poly-lined inner-sleeves. Quality offset printed, double-sided, 2-panel heavy cardstock covers. A HUGE 25.5" x 34" offset printed poster! And a beautiful vinyl-ink screen-print on the b-side of the live LP.
sound clips at: www.punkhistorycanada.ca
PAYPAL TO: therealjosh@hotmail.com
MORE INFO: rundownsun@hotmail.com
2LP $25.00 usd + postage(limited quantaties)
1LP $16.00usd + postage(please e-mail for rates as they are different from those for the 2LP version)
please add $12.00 usd for postage in North America, $29.00 usd (AIR SHIPPING) for postage to Europe and Japan.
other international customers please send e-mail for postage rates.
also introducing vancouvers newest punk/power label
CRITISCUM INTERNATIONALE exclusively distributed by RUNDOWNSUN.
Blouse "s/t" c20 60%236315atwo tracks of idol worship, parody, and confusion from vancouvers only real power electronics group and "NEW SAVAGE" pioneers. 2 synths, vocals. simple. cut short in their prime by an untimely death. RIP. more post humous releases to come. $4.00usd +postage
SH. PX. (shearing pinx) "ruinator" c10 61%969472a14 racks in 7 minutes. blistering punk/post-hardcore/noise rock from the now famous vancouver trio who's output is sounding more and more like Pink Floyd with every release. this is 100% no bullshit, real punk rock. $4.00usd + postage
Black Mage "some level 1 spells" c10 61%924175ablackened, encrusted fantasy metal (equal parts sword and sorccery and fantasy baseball). low-brow punk/metal absurdity. but seriously. they mean it. $4.00usd + postage
COMMING SOON: NU SENSAE 7", NU SENSAE CS, BLEEDER CS(feat. members of AHNA, and D. YELLOW SWANS), SEX NEGATIVES CS, BIGGER HATE CS, 6" GOLD BLADE CS, AND MORE.
all CRITISCUM INTERNATIONALE cassettes come in cassette boxes with 4-5 panel black and white xerox j-cards.UPCOMING RUNDOWNSUN TITLES INCLUDE: WHITE HAND RETROSPECTIVE CS BOX, FERVEUR NOIRE CS, V.VECKER CS, IAN WYATT CS, SICK BUILDINGS CS, AND MORE...thanks,
JTCR josh rose
rundownsun the accursed share
apt.#1-675 salsbury drive
vancouver BC canada V5L 3Z8."
Drop the man an email and pick up some of Vancouver's finest in noise/punk/soundart and general sonic havoc.
