From Corners Unknown

In episode seven we discuss the gargantuan third odyssey White Horse Hill from epic doom metal quintet Solstice, the frigid and isolate expanses traversed in Zalys’s Fragments of Life, and Shallow Graves, the pulverizing debut EP from Marietta-based chaotic hardcore trio, Apostle.

Thank you so much for listening and your continued support. Let us know what you think about each of these releases below and please feel free to leave us some album suggestions for future episodes.

Gautier is YATTAÏ's larynx shredder. Founded back around 2004/2005, the belligerent five piece unleashed their demo upon the French underground. Their focus was to concoct distilled grindcore and nothing more. In those early years, Gautier did not write lyrics; he'd snarl, grunt, and gnash his teeth, writhing among the frenetic drum beats and skin-shredding riffs. Post-demo, YATTAÏ released five splits with close friends in other extreme metal groups—most of them grindcore—they shared dilapidated stages with across France. It was not until late 2007 YATTAÏ put out their first LP, Alive and Lovin'. What followed were two more LPs, Fast Music Means Love and 50 Love Hymns for Grindheads, the latter being a compilation of all the band's output through 2011. Since Love Hymns, YATTAÏ has put out four more splits, the most recent being Six Stab Wounds, where they and five other bands produced around six songs apiece for thirty-nine songs in total. And in the not so distant future, another split lurks.

All of these splits over the years embody the essence of YATTAÏ—have fun with friends, play fast music, and party at every show. And this core still persists despite the tumultuous line-up changes the group has experienced since its birth. Only two original members remain in YATTAÏ, Gautier and William (the band's guitarist and principal songwriter), and at this moment they carry on as a three-piece with Thibault being the band's drummer. Since Thibault's recruitment, the group has adapted their sound and style, boiling their tempos down to a crustier, more brooding flavor. And as a result, they have become more concise in delivering brutal slugs of dissonance.

In this conversation, Gautier discusses YATTAÏ's early years, the essence of the band and what being in the band means to him, how they have adapted their sound, and a good deal more. Thank you for listening.

MEDIUM is a strangely refreshing composite of crust, d-beat, and black metal. Enshrouded in veils of mystical atmosphere, this Buenos Aires quartet traverses ethereal planes of existence unseen by human eyes. Founded not long ago by lead guitarist Seba, MEDIUM was birthed in the shadows of Argentina's capital. Once words began trickling from the mouths of friends close to the band about their innovative sound, the outfit made their existence more well-known. Soon they placed their seven-song self-titled debut out into the ether. And after receiving rather hefty acclaim, MEDIUM began working with a (currently undisclosed) record label to help distribute their sound far beyond their local scene.

In this conversation, Seba and Lucien discuss the genesis of MEDIUM and how Seba conjured such an intriguing sound. They delve deeper into their respective backgrounds, describing their favorite bands that shaped them as musicians, and Lucien explores his fascinating lyrics, fleshing out the mystical vistas MEDIUM revels in so feverishly. Thank you for listening.

In episode six of Voices From Corners Unknown, we discuss the debut EP of atmospheric black metal project Cosmotheoros, the latest mini-album Depressant from experimental grindcore paradigm shifters Antigama, and the harrowing industrial throes of Malicious Wonderland’s Pessimism.

Thank you so much for listening and your continued support. Let us know your thoughts on these records below.

Andrew Stephens is an artist, designer, and experimental ambient musician based in Wichita, Kansas. An artist at heart, he has been chiseling away at his design portfolio for well over a decade. Where he began to dabble in art, his close friend Kyle began producing music. And as they both grew in their respective practices of artistic expression, Andrew crafted pieces of art to complement Kyle's sonic endeavors. Since those early days, Andrew has gone on to craft album artwork for local musicians, design websites, logos, produce a multitude of illustrations for clients, and build his brand as a freelance designer. Only recently has he turned some of his focus toward creating his own music. And this first step he took into the realm of music production was with Kyle.

About two years ago, in April 2016, Andrew and Kyle released a succinct EP under the project name ills, an instrumental trip hop duo. Since its release, no new music has poured from the project, but about one year later, Andrew debuted his solo ambient project, Scattered Lodges. Asymmetric Soup, his first release, is a fascinating sundry of emotions and ambiance characterized by a multitude of intricately crafted soundscapes. They dredge vivid images of places unseen and foreboding, yet elicit a strange sense of calm amidst darkened clouds of billowing synths. Since dropping this cluster of songs in April 2017, he has released two single tracks, "The Alpine Chorus" and "Susurrus", both of which are featured in this conversation. And for what remains of 2018, Andrew is actively formulating his next release. At this moment, it's a bit uncertain where he will wander next. But with the indelible moods he conjures on his latest tracks, one can only be excited to hear his new auditory experiments.

In this conversation, Andrew discusses his early years of becoming a designer and an illustrator, how he began producing music, the boom of artistic culture of Wichita, and how he views the need for artwork and music to exist as a single entity—not just to accent the music, but to elevate it and become integral in detailing the world the music paints. Thank you so much for listening.

Year Of The Coyote is a sludgy metallic hardcore band from Portland, Oregon. Founded in the summer months of 2014, Matt (vocals and guitar), Matt (bass), and Travis (drums) congealed to create a three-song demo, which dropped in December that year. Soon after its release, bassist Matt moved out of state to Alaska and the empty space he left was quickly by Cookie one week later.

The band rose from the disintegration of twohands—a hardcore outfit hailing from the same region. Matt, then just the vocalist of twohands, and Travis, drumming for the band, persisted for a couple years together under this outfit. When twohands began stagnating from a writing perspective, Matt took it upon himself to write his own riffs. Though he was only the vocalist at the time, he practiced playing his own riffs whilst singing and Travis backed him from behind the kit. The duo's new sound was quite different from that of twohands. And as a result, they decided to break off to build their new project, paying homage to their past by naming their band after a twohands song.

While no new songs escaped into the ether between their demo and November 2017, Year Of The Coyote has been busy writing songs and pushing their technical capabilities as musicians. Just a couple weeks ago the three-piece dropped their first LP, Siege, a ten track concrete cudgeling of relentless sludge, complex riffage, and intricate drumming. And in this conversation, the band discusses the writing of Siege. They also divulge details about their origins, the philosophy underlying their sound, where they draw their inspiration from, and they also delve some into their personal backgrounds as musicians. Thank you so much for listening.

In our fifth episode of Voices From Corners Unknown, we discuss the strangely fantastical self-titled debut from Buenos Aires blackened d-beat/crust outfit Medium, Deadly Probe’s isolate and morbid space ambient journal entry EXPEDITION n. D34D5P4C3, and the final release from Vancouver atmospheric progressive sludge juggernauts Astrakhan, Without New Growth Process is Bloodshed.

You can download the audio in the player above or listen in the embedded video below. Beneath the video are the artists we discuss in chronological order of our conversation.

Thank you for listening and your continued support. Let us know what you think of each of these records and please feel free to leave suggestions for albums we can consider for future episodes. Any feedback is also most certainly welcome.

Paul Lopez's path through music bridges a disparate expanse. A drummer at heart, one of his first endeavors began as the snare smasher of Leviathan—a speed/thrash metal band from California founded around 1989 that quickly changed their name to Scalpal. They produced a single self-titled demo and a slough of covers from metal legends such as Slayer and Celtic Frost, but the group soon splintered as the young members embarked on new paths in their respective lives. Paul didn't move away from the area where Scalpal was established and once the band disintegrated, he stepped into the realm of shoegaze. With a close friend, Paul forged a duo titled Spell 336, a wonderfully airy and dreamy shoegaze project with Paul playing guitar, writing lyrics, and singing. The duo crafted one self-titled release and recorded the songs contained on it over 1991 and 1992. But it never saw the light of day until around 2008 and just recently did Paul make the project available on Bandcamp.

Between the time of recording Spell 336's self-titled to the early twenty-tens, Paul produced little to no music. He worked as a police officer for many years during this gap in his output and after experiencing a myriad of harrowing engagements, he retired from the force when his father did in 2007. Four years later, Paul founded The Shoegaze Collective, a radio show dedicated to showcasing fresh and upcoming groups in the re-surging genre. And then in 2013, Paul delved back into the fold of music with the debut of his dark ambient project, Sana Obruent (which roughly translates to "drowning in sound"). Every song he crafts under this guise is produced with a guitar, some minimal effects, and they are recorded in a single take. A couple years since founding Sana Obruent, Paul began a more traditional shoegaze project by the name of Angel Falls with St. Paul-based Dan Ballek. In this project, Paul found himself back behind the kit, playing the instrument he sincerely loves.

There's a depth to Paul's work, especially as Sana Obruent, that continues to evade me. I wrote a review some time ago about his masterful opus August and it's simply one of the most emotionally overwhelming dark ambient releases to ever grace my ears. Paul seldom gives interviews, but shortly after my review's publication, he wanted to discuss in much more detail August and his cousin's life, to whom this record is dedicated. On the path toward that tragic story, Paul details his early works under Scalpal and Spell 336 and later illuminates the deep well of passion driving his project Sana Obruent. Thank you so much for listening.

In the fourth episode of Voices From Corners Unknown, we talk about the 2018 re-issue of the meditative, windswept epic Black Snow Desert by Nonsun, the next chapter in Apophys’s tech death intergalactic war of alien species titled Devoratis, and the evocative cinematic dark ambient tale of In The World of the Anesthetist as told by Hezaliel.

You’ll notice a new song introducing and concluding this episode. This will be used in all episodes going forward. It was written and recorded by none other than Barren of Shape. A massive, unending thank you to them for their time and energy spent crafting this grimy theme song for us; we are eternally grateful.

Thank you so much for listening and your continued support. Let us know what you think of the albums and our recommendations below.

Decline is an extreme metal band based in Pelham, Ontario. Helmed by producer, multi-instrumentalist, and audio engineer, Jameson, Decline vomits disdain toward humanity upon the quiet town of Pelham and the larger Toronto landscape. The band's first release was realized in the summer months of 2017 with a lone track,"Wretch", being spewed into the ether. Shortly thereafter, they played a single basement show, wreaking havoc in the six-foot tall concrete cube on those gluttonous for punishment. The band then fell silent for a bit as Jameson exercised his drumming and bass playing in the haunting ambient doom project, Lovelace. Five months later, Jameson returned to Decline and churned out EP1—a destructive, ear drum ripping scythe of glass gargling vocals littered with repugnant feedback and troughs of rotten, grinding guitars. What's impressive about this brief EP beyond its sheer anger is every instrument, every word retched was played and recorded by Jameson. This is not to say Decline is a solo project, but when the moment strikes for him to record, he will latch on to that ephemeral state and create. He recorded all of what you hear on EP1 in about 24 hours. No rest, no sleep.

Outside Decline and Lovelace, Jameson owns Woodcutter Studio, where he records, mixes, and masters albums for bands in the greater Ontario area. He's assisted a handful of bands thus far and continues to cut his teeth on recording a wide swathe of sounds to sharpen his sensibilities and skills in the myriad of genres that co-exist in the world.

In this conversation, Jameson discusses the origin of Decline, his love for misanthropic music and bastard feedback, the raw, bitter sentiments underlying his lyrics, how attending loud and abrasive shows can dredge catharsis, and a good deal more. Thank you for listening.