J. Vdek - Earthwake

Magritte Records (MR230)

According to online sources, J. Vdek is a Danish guitarist/analog synthesist born in Copenhagen in 1981, studied at Copenhagen University where in late 1990s he was involved with groups Kloroform and Free Mechanist Orchestra. He emigrated to U.S. in 2010, now living in NYC. This limited edition lathe-cut 12" and tape (100 copies each) seems to be his first solo album, though.

James De Leigh helps out on drums and gong on the more rocking opener "Drone Strike by Inferno's Light" that could be easily passed as psychedelic post rock. The rest of the stuff is more eexperimental for sure... The closer to 13-minute "Deadlands" is just dark, ambient soundscapes made with ARP, MiniMoog and Signal Generator. On side B, "Radioactive Sewage" is a bit noisy, electronic, banging and experimental, short thing that ends suddenly. The last track is the 15:42 long "Thermonuclear Mass for 10,000 Cities (Parts I-II) that has a ominous, post-apocalyptic vibe. This one was composed together with D. A. Gardner, who also plays alto & baritone saxophones, ARP Odyssey, tape and effects on the track. The sax adds some jazzy modes for the very experimental and hypnotic web of sound. Later we also get some tribal synthesized beats and the track gets going in a spacey way with also lots of distorted guitar. Again, not exactly my kind of music, but I still got to appreciate this stuff. Check it out!

jvdek.bandcamp.com/album/earthwake