Klaustrosignal : 2009
Format : CDr

Clo Goelach is among the growing number of artists, labels, zines, etc. that seem to be making an impact on the Industrial and Power Electronics scene. I’m assuming due to the websites and contact info that the person behind the project is also responsible for the Klaustrosignal label as well. This is my first exposure to the project, but I think there must be something about the North Eastern Europe climate that makes the area ripe for filth…or possibly we’re reaping the rewards of the Chernobyl fallout? Formed in 2006, GM has been rather prolific this year contributing to a comp, two splits and three releases of his own.

The disc begins with “Little Cunt”, a low-end howl accompanied by a thin layer of vocals so overblown and filtered they are almost unrecognizable. The monotone hum never wavers or varies until it sputters and disintegrates towards the end. It ends with a sample of female voices, speaking in what my uneducated guess is Lithuanian. The next track, “Failling Indigo/Sticky Hole” is basically more of the same. Things change up a bit with “Hole In Reflection”. The noise is a bit more chaotic and thick, and while the vocals are still heavily filtered and delayed, they are more distinguishable. This makes for a more aggressive and enjoyable listen. “Filthy Scum” is next. It begins with a slow, sluggish sounding male speaking sample gives way to more low crunch and again the heavily effected vocals, but occasionally a phrase or two is recognizable in the chaos. “Flesh & Bone” features a nice, noisy loop for the foundation with the same distorted vocals. At first I was mildly annoyed because the track never varied, but after awhile the loop becomes almost hypnotic forming its own pulsing rhythm. The disc closes with the title track. A single, minimalistic bit of grinding static with more distorted vocals that eventually ends with humming feedback.

All in all there’s nothing really ground breaking going on here, it’s pretty much PE101, but it’s far from bad. Personally I’d like to see things varied a bit on the source sounds and maybe lose a bit of the vocal effects. Keeping with the labels DIY aesthetics, the CDr is housed between two 7” slabs of heavy stock cardboard stapled together and a Xeroxed cover glued to the front. Each of the limited to 30 editions comes with a nice, zine-style booklet with art accompanying each track title and/or lyrics.

Websites: lmbyh.lt | lmbyh.lt/klaustrOsignal