YOU FANTASTIC! Riddler EP 1996

 

Discogs

 

Math rock, noise, experimental music

Tracklist

1		Untitled	1:51
2		Untitled	1:13
3		Untitled	2:08
4		Untitled	2:47
5		Untitled	3:17
6		Untitled	0:13
7		Untitled	1:00
8		Untitled	1:23
9		Untitled	0:55
10		Untitled	1:11

 

YONA-KIT Yona-Kit 1995

Discogs

 

Artist Biography by Stephen Howell

In the mid-'90s, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Jim O'Rourke, bassist Darin Gray, and drummer Thymme Jones were performing and recording in the ambient/experimental rock outfit Brise-Glace. By 1994, a slight augmentation in this lineup took place, which led Brise-Glace to start the side project Yona-Kit. Japanese guitarist/vocalist Kazuyuki K. Null (aka K.K. Null), known for his noise rock trio Zeni Geva, joined the threesome. The new quartet was a cross-cultural supergroup of sorts, considering Gray was a member of Chicago's post-hardcore group Dazzling Killmen, Jones was the founder of experimental prog rock outfit CHEER-ACCIDENT and O'Rourke was gaining notoriety as a famed producer in the underground music community. Yona-Kit wasn't the first time that O'Rourke and Null had collaborated. The two had recorded an album together, titled New Kind of Water, that showcased incredible improvisations and various guitar duets. Yona-Kit was a different monster altogether though. The band wasn't as heavy as Zeni Geva's output, yet it wasn't as light as Brise-Glace. Yona-Kit even had puppet mascots that were associated with their debut album. This wasn't that unbelievable though, considering that the group was on Skin Graft Records, the home of Yona-Kit's members many other bands. Skin Graft was notorious for having puppet characters representing the label, such as Hot Satan. It was June of 1994 when Yona-Kit stepped into a Chicago studio with recording engineer Steve Albini, who had twiddled the knobs for similar groups like the Japanese-Chicago noise blend of Shakuhachi Surprise. The Yona-Kit sessions yielded a more subdued Null scraping out more trebly Shellac-type tones from his guitar rather than his typical blitzkrieg attack. Melt Banana's YaSuko Onuki even stopped by the proceedings to lend vocals to the record. Yona-Kit's self-titled album appeared a year later on July 25, 1995. The record's cover featured an array of puppets, including Chiller Whale and Serious Brown, and not excluding Hot Satan. The cover was designed by Skin Graft founder Mark Fischer, and it became the source of a ludicrous story as to how the band formed. The story was that Yona-Kit's members were on a Skin Graft cruise near the North Pole when their vessel capsized leading to Chiller Whale's consumption of the band. As the members were later regurgitated by the whale, they emerged with a handful of songs which became the album's tracks. Following the release, one of the record's cuts ("Skeleton King") appeared on the September 1997/50th release by Skin Graft, titled Camp Skin Graft: Now Wave. The compilation contained Yona-Kit alongside 32 other Skin Graft artists, who included the Flying Luttenbachers and Lake of Dracula, among others. This was the last time that Yona-Kit was heard from, however, as Gray and Jones began focusing their attention to a new side project called You Fantastic! Apart from the different band moniker, You Fantastic!'s music remained in the same vein as Yona-Kit. Jones also kept busy with his full-time band CHEER-ACCIDENT, while Null returned to Zeni Geva. O'Rourke went on to produce and collaborate with such artists as U.S. Maple, Sonic Youth, and Loren Mazzacane Connors. 

Tracklist

1		Franken-Bitch            2:44
2		Dancing Sumo Wrestlers	3:35
3		Desert Rose	1:14
4		Hi Ka Ri	4:45
5		Twa Corbies	4:26
6		Skeleton King	2:50
7		Get Out Of Here	2:34
8		Disembody	2:14
9		Slice Of Life	23:36

 

DAZZLING KILLMEN Recuerda 1996

Discogs

 

 

Tracklist 

1	Medicine Me	2:39
2	My Lacerations	1:25
3	Poptones	4:01
4	Bottom Feeder (Reprise)	0:47
5	Serpentarium	2:38
6	Dig Out The Hole	2:15
7	Here Comes Mr. Big Face	3:13
8	Spiral Mirror	1:59
9	No	2:07
10	Premonition	1:07
11	Torture	3:27
12	Numb	3:31
13	Code Blue	12:10
14	******	3:44
15	Ghost Limb	5:42
16	Torture	3:54
17	Killing Fever	4:18
18	Numb	4:07
19	Bottom Feeder	6:17
20	Closet Creep	6:56

 

CAMP SKIN GRAFT: NOW WAVE COMPILATION 1997

 

Discogs

Tracklist  

1	–The Browns (2)	My Name In Italics	0:45
2	–U.S. Maple	Missouri Twist	4:29
3	–The Flying Luttenbachers	Demonic Velocities	3:03
4	–Lake Of Dracula	Plague Of Frogs	1:26
5	–Yona-Kit	Skeleton King	2:49
6	–You Fantastic!	Riddler 5	4:14
7	–UFO Or Die	Zombie Tube	2:30
8	–Zeek Sheck Care Co.*	The Beeper Gets Digested	0:27
9	–Chuck Falzone, Telepath*	You're Just Too Scared Boy	1:06
10	–Shakuhachi Surprise	Nande	2:08
11	–Melt-Banana	Zoo, No Vacancy	0:21
12	–Strangulated Beatoffs	Satan's Pool Party	4:00
13	–Monitor Radio	Insouciance	0:50
14	–Colossamite	Bewilderbeast	3:01
15	–Flossie And The Unicorns	Chewing Gum From Outer Space	3:40
16	–Shorty (4)	Mitzy Lodge	3:01
17	–ZZZZZ	One, Two, Many	0:52
18	–Cheer-Accident	Filet Of Nod	0:04
19	–Denison Kimball Trio	Framed	2:15
20	–Ruins	Hydromasgroningem	1:24
21	–Latham's Snipe	Latham's Snipe	0:37
22	–Omoide Hatoba	Pikadom	4:23
23	–Last Of SG's	Bye To Bags	1:23
24	–Mount Shasta	S171	2:41
25	–Dazzling Killmen	Windshear	2:08
26	–Quintron	Bug Attack	3:52
27	–Bobby Conn	69 Annee Erotique	3:39
28	–Nood Ham	Tokyo Santa	0:50
29	–Tortured Machine*	Flash Fire	0:09
30	–Space Streakings	F.O.J.K.	1:58
31	–Zeni Geva	Terminal HZ	6:34
32	–F-Stein*	Mighty Fuckin' Robots	0:52
33	–Brise-Glace	Likeness	2:05

COLOSSAMITE Economy of Motion 1998

Discogs

AllMusic Review by Nitsuh Abebe

Economy of Motion is a pretty big step from 1997's All Lingo's Clamor EP in terms of pure aggression and abrasion -- Colosamite runs on 10 throughout the record, laying out hardcore noise and screamy chaos and anchoring them with Nick Sakes' (Dazzling Killmen) harsh vocals. Even compared to the roughness of Colosamite's previous releases, the record is on-the-edge and over-the-top -- the band may tone down its amplitude and power at points, but even these more focused segments are just as fractured as Colasamite's most aggressive work-outs. Of course, this makes the record slightly less listenable than previous releases like All Lingo's Clamor -- but this sort of unsettling deconstruction is pretty much the point of Colosamite. Meaning that Economy of Motion is probably their finest record to this point. 

Tracklist

1	The Hot House	1:30
2	Mr. Somebody Does Something	2:13
3	The Eagle And The Seal	2:03
4	Heat Vs. Temperature	3:20
5	Pee Dio	1:45
6	Busy Little Hands	2:39
7	Tooth Of Davinci	2:47
8	Arkansas Halo	2:55
9	An Open-Minded Taxidermist	2:43
10	Untitled	0:09
11	Untitled	0:22
12	Untitled	0:11
13	Untitled	0:10
14	Untitled	0:11
15	Untitled	0:09
16	Untitled	0:09
17	Untitled	0:11
18	Untitled	0:11
19	Untitled	0:09
20	Untitled	0:10
21	Untitled	0:12
22	Untitled	0:04
23	Untitled	0:06
24	Neither Sniff Nor Crictor	3:23
25	Doom + Doom = Doom	2:41
26	Dark, Sliding Shapes	4:40

DAZZLING KILLMEN Dig Out the Switch 1992

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Discogs

Artist Biography by Craig Harris

One of the Midwest's hardest-hitting bands of the mid-'90s, the Dazzling Killmen never lived up to the critical success of their appropriately named second album, Face of Collapse. Although the album, released in February 1994, was dubbed the "number one heavy record of the decade" by Alternative Press, it marked the beginning of the end for the St. Louis-based quartet, which disbanded shortly before a planned tour of Japan. The Dazzling Killmen represented the vision of vocalist/guitarist Nick Sakes, who had recruited original members Darin Gray and Blake Fleming. After several months of honing their sound, the trio released their first single, "Numb" b/w "Bottom Feeder," on Sakes' label, Sawtooth. Releasing their second single, "Torture" b/w "Ghost Limb," on the Crume Life label, they caught the ear of Skin Graft Comex owners and punk rock enthusiasts Mark Fischer and Rob Syers, who launched a production company, Skin Graft, to record their music. With Fischer and Syers' support, the group began to take major strides. After releasing their third single on the small St. Louis-based Sluggo label, they recorded their debut album, Dig out the Switch, for French noise label Intellectual Convulsion.
Adding a second guitarist, Tim Garrigan, the Dazzling Killmen continued to build a following for their hard-edged music. Their live performances were showcased on a cassette that was only available at their shows and mail order.
Shortly after the breakup of the Dazzling Killmen, Fischer and Syers released a compilation of their singles, Recuerdo. Bassist Darin Gray and guitarist Tim Garrigan continued to work together in an anti-band, You Fantastic, while drummer Blake Fleming formed a new group, Laddio Bolocko. Moving to Minneapolis, Sakes launched a group similar to the Dazzling Killmen, Colossamite. As of 2002, he was performing with another group, Sicbay. 

Tracklist

1	Serpentarium
2	Dig The Hole
3	Captain Is Dead
4	Bottom Feeder
5	Here Comes Mr. Big Face
6	Spiral Mirror
7	Reactor
8	No
9	Premonition
10	Torture
11	Ghost Limb
12	Numb
13	Code Blue

I HATE THE 90S LOUD Volume 5

   Latest compilation, this time featuring the louder side of the 90's. Enjoy.

  1. THE MARTIANS Willy the Hypnotist
  2. COP SHOOT COP Traitor/Martyr
  3. DESCENDENTS Everything Sucks
  4. WOOL Kill the Crow
  5. THE MONORCHID Oral Fixation Anonymous
  6. THE GITS Seaweed
  7. UNSANE Blame Me
  8. TRENCHMOUTH The Volcanic Action of My Soul
  9. FUGAZI Bed for the Scraping
10. FLOORPUNCH Not for Me
11. CRAW 405
12. DEADGUY Pins and Needles
13. DAMNATION A.D. No More Dreams
14. KEPONE Loud
15. KEROSENE 454 Anti-Magnet
16. INK AND DAGGER Philapsychosis
17. FURY Space Love
18. BASTRO Pretty Smart on My Part
19. CRAIN Blistering
20. DAZZLING KILLMEN Blown
21. COLE The Art of Bleeding
22. ENTOMBED Eyemaster
23. FITZ OF DEPRESSION Power Shack