A hand-numbered cassette with hardly any information at all? Doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that this is going to be Noise. Harsh, droning Noise. This Napolitano artist requires fairly patient listeners, as Ascent/Descent works on a long time scale. One must be made numb and only gradually come to realize the tectonic wall of noise is moving somewhere. What do you expect from an artist whose name means “Cruel Spring?” Very little information is provided. Side A is “Descent” and side B is “Ascent.” The tape was released in 2011 by Toxo Records limited to 50 copies. Toxo is a small label run by Sec_ [of Aspec(t) and Weltraum, a trio also including the man behind this tape.]
Grausam Frühjahr takes an even more chaotic approach than these acts, though the same devastating intensity is a at work. “Ascent ” begins with a slow build of rattling feedback, not unlike a pinball machine in the Inferno. “Descent” begins with a piercing tone feeding back into guitar noise, perhaps suggesting that it’s all downhill from here. The pitch gradually lowers, and as the noise cuts out more and more, becoming increasingly distorted, the view becomes less clear. One gets the impression that modern life can be gruesome, and that peace, indeed even nobility, can come from enduring pain. Sometimes when you’re a hammer it’s better to see everything as a nail after all. (Joseph Sannicandro)
Grausam Frühjahr – Descent/Ascent
C26 cassette
(2011)
Grausam Frühjahr | Toxo Records
a closer listen 