This was the first I had heard of a label that had already been active since 2008. That is not something that happens all too often. So, it’s time to open the browser while listening to sounds and investigate. Quagga Curious Sounds is a heavily DIY label from Norwich in the UK run by Michael Ridge (also known as Zebra Mu). Their discography has many known and unknown names, and editions/releases vary between 1 and 50. Two exceptions, one K2 cassette of 51 copies and the legendary 1″ lathe from Zebra Mu / GX … DAMN !!! I HAVE heard of this label before! Eff me, this was a legendary release when it came out in 2017 (look at Vital 1111). Who in his sane brain would release something as silly as a 1″ lathe cut …
Man, memories are coming back. And I have just read the book about RRRecords – written by Vital’s own FdW – and suddenly, many things seem to melt together flawlessly, or pieces of puzzles fall in place. Back then, I already wondered why people would release unplayable records or sell items as audio objects when there was no sound. Still, we’re talking about a whole different aspect of art here than what – THEN – was part of my knowledge about things. Art, anti-art, dadaism, noise beyond noise (not in the literal form of ‘noise’, but as the art form) … it Seems like I’ve learned a lot in the last seven years. And well, if the RRRecords book interests you, have a look and listen at the link at the bottom, and you might as well spend some time reading about Michael Ridge’s activities.
The 3″ split CDR was released at the end of 2023, and it’s already sold out. Which is good and bad. Bad because you can’t get a copy through normal ways, but good because Blue Spectrum and Zebra Mu made something people wanted. And music-wise, that’s understandable. Blue Spectrum created a nice ambient drone with lots of crackling while Zebra Mu does what Zebra Mu does. Noises of all kinds, distorted sounds, and cut-ups;… I had reviewed his work earlier (Vital Weekly 1337), and because of the recording here, it’s a much better piece, imho. There is no room ambience but a straight-in-your-face wake-up call. The way this kind of noise should be.
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