Easterndaze Vol 2: Judgment Day – new compilation

Published May, 2012
by Easterndaze

One and a half years after VA – Easterndaze Vol 1, we are back with another selection of our favourite sounds from this region. It doesn’t aim to be an all-encompassing, comprehensive survey of the current state of sonic production in these parts of the world, but an offering of the stuff we think deserves recognition and stands out for various, individual reasons.

It’s hard to define the sound of the new compilation, but there’s a predominance of a certain melancholy, channeled through plaintive synthscapes, unhindered psychedelic voyages to the nethersphere, schizophrenic voice-vocal experiments, mutant bass… From Katapulto’s “Stories From Beyond the Sun: Threesome”, a track that quotes the gargantuan UK tabloid The Sun, through our friend Gosia and her solo project LeeDVD, a brilliantly inane rendition of Madonna’s hit, to the Slovenian theatre/artist Irena Tomažin and her powerful and somehow deranged and scary voice-based composition.

Our favourite mysterious monkey from Congo via Gdansk also figures, with his slightly weird and haunting track “Boonsong”, while Route 8 follows in a more uplifting synthy direction, and Anca Stirbacu, aka Hipdiebattery, delivers the album’s perhaps most approachable number, the catchy “In The Air Tonite”. A breakdown. Wild psychedelic experimentation, courtesy of tape manipulations and analogue meddley, comes from the brand new project Střed Světa. b0g, the king of mashup, delivers his bass-driven number, while Zmikeo! comes in live from Belgrade with his “Toys”.

Reckless abandon, lingering in the void, spastic beats. poo and Nava Spatiala create a fitting conclusion, followed by a soothing anti-climax courtesy of Casi Cada Minuto and his “Chievo”.

The cover, same as last year, is a painting specifically created for this purpose. After Jarmila Mitríková’s great psychedelic landscape, this time it’s the Czech artist Jan Gemrot and his cold, Terminator inspired scene.

The compilation is free to download, and comes out on the great Audiotong label. Get it here.

If you are in Budapest on 11 May, pop in and say hi & toast this comp at the Roham Bar featuring several artists from the record, including Hipdiebattery, Route8, or ∑B❍L▲ ▲P∑. Here is the FB link.

<a href=“http://audiotong.bandcamp.com/album/easterndaze-2-the-judgement-day” data-mce-href=“http://audiotong.bandcamp.com/album/easterndaze-2-the-judgement-day”>Easterndaze 2: The Judgement Day by Various Artists</a>