Swarm, Shrine, Throne, Pyre, Earthen … Arise! We all know about Cold Spring Records from the UK, their brilliant work, the extensive mailorder and the many releases they provide us with. And amongst those releases, there is what seems to be a very frequent sampler which holds the middle of a label presentation, a ‘best of’ and a well-organized overview of new names to keep track of. It’s all done affordably because, yes, it’s a promotion of the label, but it has become more than that because the label has grown so much since those first cassette-only releases back in 1988.
So this year, Cold Spring released “Arise”; two CDs with 33 tracks and over 150 minutes of sounds in all styles. And even though it’s all different styles, there still is a proper flow to the whole album, making it ‘not weird’ to listen to it in one sitting. Therefore, it is perfect for a Sunday afternoon while going through the weekend paper or reading a good book. You only have to change the CD after 17 tracks and maybe pour yourself a nice cup of tea when you feel like it.
Because of the many rereleases Cold Spring has in their roster, two tracks found on “Arise” are authentic ‘golden oldies’, those tracks being Coil’s “Ostia (The Death Of Passolini)” and S.P.K.’s “Invocation (To Secular Heresies)” from the legendary ‘Zamia Lehmann (Songs Of Byzantine Flowers)’. In my honest opinion, it is an album that everyone everywhere should have or at least have heard. But rest assured, these are not the only two tracks that make this sampler a good one from the ‘Desert Island’ perspective.
As said, there’s something for everyone, from droney ambience (Llyn Y Cwn, Lull, Sleep Research Facility) to various forms of noise (Merzbow, Drew Daniel & John Wiese). From music with a tribal, ritualistic background (Trepaneringsritualen, TenHornedBeast) to power electronic (Kollaps, Satori), there are even some quite open and approachable sounds (George Fenton, La Breiche). But hey, those names are only a third of the full line-up of 33 names. And it’s available directly from Cold Spring for only eight quid. What’s keeping you? Wake up! ARISE!!!
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