I admit, I am a fan of Contagious Orgasm. Have been one since the early 90s (Voltage Controlled Filter on Tesco era), and my Discogs counter mentions the number 75 in green. So I must have approximately 75 releases by them or with them. So this saves me buying a new release because, well, I’m listening to it now, aren’t I? The perks of being a reviewer, and I think you already know, I am not going to say anything negative here.
Hiroshi Hashimoto has always been the key figure in the project, and as far as I can tell, this 29-minute track titled “A Voice From Hades” is done by him. After a process of collecting and creating sounds for this track, he carefully layers and mixes them into what can only be described as a gorgeous, surrealistic collage of sounds. A track that keeps on giving: There is constant movement, it is beautifully layered, and when you think you’ve got it, there is another change that completely gives you a different perspective or emotion. Wow. An absolute highlight in C.O.’s discography.
The reverse side of “Velvet Weapons” is by newcomer Praxis from Israel. Newcomer, and this is their actual first official release. The two tracks on this side of the cassette are titled “Keshet” and “Erets Zara”, and their Bandcamp has a release by that name that is from March 2024. So releasing your material through Bandcamp might lead to actual releases on interesting labels. Here is the proof. Praxis is the duo of Meitar Inbar on guitar and vocals, and Asaf Hangal on mix, drums, vocals, and, I suspect, sound processing. What they do is hard to describe. It’s guitar-based ambient, but not ambient, it’s guitar-based noise, but not noise. There are no rhythmic patterns that lead into songs, yet there are rhythmic patterns. It’s a bit of everything, but it’s well executed and, in contradiction of what you might think right now, absolutely coherent. “Keshet” originates from the Hebrew word for rainbow, symbolising hope, promise, and diversity, while “Erets Zara” translates, as far as I could find out, to strange earth. And yes, there is always hope on this strange earth.
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