#Mortuus Auris

[cruel-nature-records]

PRE-ORDER: MAbH ‘Wolves, Windows and Curtains’

https://cruelnaturerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/wolves-windows-and-curtains

Peter Taylor has been making music as Mortuus Auris & the Black Hand/MAbH since 2008. He is also a visual artist working across many disciplines including photography, animation, illustration, miniatures and painting.

‘Wolves, Windows And Curtains’ is his latest work for CNR following ‘ORbIT’ released in March 2024; ‘Look Under’ (2021), ‘Unnamed Vagabond’ (2022) and the collaboration with poet Karen Schoemer ‘Aggro Dulce’ (2022).

With ‘Wolves, Windows And Curtains’ tone poems and real poems meet in a very personal record. Memories and imagined places leak together in drunken ramblings against a backdrop of live recordings. Maybe a swan song. Maybe not. The sound of struggle, nostalgia and ennui.

[senorboombastic]

Exclusive: NEW from Cruel Nature Records - Listen to releases from Stuart Chalmers, Aidan Baker, MAbH and Fast Blood

Exclusive: NEW from Cruel Nature Records – Listen to releases from Stuart Chalmers, Aidan Baker, MAbH and Fast Blood

Words: Andy Hughes It doesn’t seem like five minutes have gone by since we were last bigging up Cruel Nature Records and their latest releases. True to form, the Newcastle-upon-Tyne based DIY cassette label are kicking things up a notch month on month and there’s even more on the horizon. Once again they’ve tasked us with helping tell you about some of the new records they’ve got coming out and…

[musicmakesyousmart]

Mortuus Auris & the Black Hand - Strain/Galaxy

Hyle Tapes

2015

[aonedog]

Mortuus Auris & the Black Hand - xEx c50 (Wounded Knife [CUT#12] 2014)

[tinymixtapes]

♫ Listen: Yama-No-Kami - Kakusareta

I’m so used to Peter Taylor as Mortuus Auris & The Black Hand (MAbH) that when he mentioned to me that he’d released a tape under a new moniker on Portugese label OTA, I was sort of surprised. See, I’ve been pretty good at following OTA’s output, and I couldn’t believe I’d missed that. But sure enough, there was Kakusareta on the label’s page, an album listed under an artist called Yama-No-Kami (Japanese for “Yama’s hair”). That’s also Peter. With two and two firmly mashed together in my mind, certain expectations also sprung up, MAbH expectations. “Uh uh uh!,” Peter tsk’d at me, also from my mind, waggling his finger back and forth like a schoolteacher to a dim student — turns out Kakusareta isn’t something that should be considered within the usual framework. “[Kakusareta] is an album of sketches, dreams, and minor compositions for anyone who will listen.” Hey, that too works for me! Whereas MAbH’s output can fall on the heavy drone side, Peter as Yama-No-Kami opts for lighter fare, wisps of process and imagination sprinkled across an audio canvass in a, dare I say, playful manner. Truly, Kakusareta itself means “hidden,” and the themes Peter flits to and from form a narrative disassociated from waking logic. Whether he’s tracking down a “Seventh Continent” or drifting with “Big Sur Flotsam,” Peter follows the path he’s led by, not the prescribed one with the easy questions and pat answers. He lets it go; we do too. It’s easy to lose yourself in Kakusareta — hide yourself from the world beneath its shimmering carapace. kakusareta by yama-no-kami http://j.mp/2MJfjcZ

[homer75jr-blog]

I am special

Vespere autem Minki deprimitur. Cum primum vidisset quoniam infirmata est accepi a doctrina amice carissime Shweta suo: upupam tristitia appropinquanti sibi. Et cogitabat animo Shweta quia bonam mentem habet. Et in fronte eius non potest facere aliquid. Haec cogitans, reputans ne male loqui Minki Shweta huic rei caput. A Cappella Minki ambulamus, deambulatio pervenit in male/female tutor for SAT in Lahore SOLARIUM de domo sua. Et audivi vocem eius dulcis avem. Si clam ipso sono trahendum Minki vivit semper in cogitationibus suis perdidit. In libro, ut legere, ut esset avis dormienda nocte, et ait per noctem quomodo tam dulcis bid. Etenim non manebit ibi avis?Et dixit: Vis adiuva nos Non enim cupiens videre quod avis? '"Ita, sum pavit ascendet et aspiciens retro et OSCILLATIO fructum vespertiliones nocte. Quis non tantum volunt videre bona loqui avis pulchra? Quid vobis videtur, quam illa avis tibi? "Interrogavit lunae.Is ...? Puto autem quod avis pulcherrima caeruleis oculis, ore rubicundo, parva, luteum, et hyacintho pluma. Caput aureum et erit in supercilio. Ita ... annulos et veniet ex hyacintho et cauda ejus, quod multo plus est, quod ille avium speciali. '' Fiat 's invenies illum. "Lunam ei. Quasi umbra super lunam fragmen bombacii nubibus, cuius figura erat perfectum lepus, venit ad SOLARIUM Minki equitantes super dorsum and asked ut agitabit Minki auris tua. Minki incertus primo et ante paululum, tunc conscendit. Et patet quod musca-am canite Minki cottidie rotetur circum aedificationem in se. Item quia non pervenit autem in quodam loco Minki avis dabant. Repente de superioribus suis retulerunt Minki eadem voce loquerentur. Lunam et statim miserunt ad trabem vidit, reperit Domina Bird est frigus off carmina Regina oculi crus crus tetendit iacentem supra filum.'Adepto ad euge altitudines ... ". Lunam, et gaudium in Minki simul clamantium. Duo mergere delectatio Minki mortuus lepus in aere, ad nubes. Sic Avis TENTIGO audivimus Domina Regina canticum oblivione delebitur. Mirum est luminaria in Fudk mortuus est.Fuscus nigris oculis rotundis tumorem turgidi genas pinguis venter cinereo-fuscus plumas rostro atque colore. "Quid est hoc? Et hoc maxime spectant avis nec usquam. "Legere est, quod luna habet Minki animo cogitabat animo et ait:" Ego cogitabat! '' Quare non vadis aureum alis? 'Non fuit Minki postulantes sedebat si avis. Avis ante maturitatem perducenda est. Ivit ad Minki mens et intellegere. Quote risum Sardonium, 'Quid, quod imperare debet habere aurea alas ibi? Et cantare potest, ut quotiens fuisse felicem. Ego vere diligit haec griseo alas. Haec herbarum adclinavit me a vento tollitur: haywire, haywire. Quid est hoc? '' Sed hoc non videtur esse specialis est? 'Inquit Minki naively. "Si non aurea sicut avis multam, ita ut ultra non posse cantare canticum quoque. Si amicis meis epularer pluma pulchra sunt, quid libellum. Illic acutæ ictum deinde rostro de fructibus. Nos omnes nostram habeant proprium, quod est per aliud. Sic ut aeque certus sum, sicut in omnibus ".Memento Shweta Minki offendit. Quum Shweta abiectum Minki mane. His cognitis rebus Recordatus autem avis est in genere par nihil invenit in ea mechanicas, natandi quoque valde bene est. Cithara et quod sit ipsum bonum fabularum. Minki non parum cogitas habet galerum, tristitiam fugeres, potestate. Ille amplectitur avis praemisit. Et avem aliquid intelligere.Laetabundus recta in leporinum haberent heredis phones est Minki autem misit se nubes et in SOLARIUM. Eius vocem est audivit, 'Salve, Shweta. Nam Congrechuleshn doctrina. Me paenitet, non sum in occursum adventus tui venerunt in domum suam. Nunquam habuit tempus mom. Die Saturni et veni huc. .... tum etiam ludere per "lunam avis, tum sciens quia omnia et tamdiu deambulatio vade in domum tuam. Tum risum obortum suum et abiit in domum suam. Lepus currere post Fudkta esse nubes. Lang=Latin

[neveranythingrecords]

Preorder now up for a fantastic group of albums out July 19 - 

NA11 - Mortuus Auris & The Black Hand / The Journal of a Disappointed Man

NA12 - Charles Barabe / Cicatrices (Double Album)

NA13 - Peter Kris / Labrador (Double Album)

NA14 - Lustana / Pt. II

[cruel-nature-records]

Masche – ‘Oxia Chaos’ (DL/MC – limited to 40)

Masche was born in 2013 in Canavese, Italy as an open collective (Anatrofobia, 3eem, Ex-p), aiming at finding sonic combinations between electronics, rock, and improvisation.  Their latest album fuses quirky electronics with deconstructed funk bass and free jazz skronks; sounding to these ears like The Pop Group and Glaxo Babies at their most experimental and loose.

 Salisman & His Hermetic Order ‘Clairvoyance’ (DL/MC – limited to 50)

Following their acclaimed 2020 debut ‘Absolution’, the Anglo-American project (Chicagoans Paul Foreman and Travis Salisbury, with Tyneside’s Chris Tate) continue the expert song writing and meticulous attention to detail on their second album; upping the ante with moments of psych, Americana, shoegaze and - on tracks such ‘Crystal Window Hangings – full-blown acid-prog rock workouts.  Immerse yourself in it, you will not be disappointed.

 Omnibael ‘Rain Soaks The Earth Where They Lie’ (DL/MC – limited to 60)

Last seen on 2021’s split with NYC noise-punks, Lip Critic, Stoke’s Omnibael enter 2022 with a raging debut, developing further the dark dense industrial nihilism with Burroughsian cut-ups, tape loops and gnarly noise.  And whilst that may dominate the album, it’s the percussion that kills. Armed with a host of drum machines and samplers, they create a barrage of beats that hammer away amidst a murky cacophony of dense, disturbing sound. And it’s heavy as hell, particularly with the vocals which are by turns shrieking demonic and droning atonal.  FFO Godflesh; Throbbing Gristle; The Body

 Pigments ‘Thought Forms’ (DL/MC – limited to 40)

Pigments is an electronic ambient project from Porvoo, Finland, which crafts ambient soundscapes with various synths, live instruments, loops and voice. 'Thought Forms' is inspired by Hilma af Klints strikingly original abstract art and her philosophy and involvement in spiritualism and Theosophy in the early 20th century. It gravitates around mysticism and scientific advances, exploring themes of revelation, belief systems and science fiction, to a soundtrack of evolving electronic ambience, drone and experimental soundscapes.

 Charlie Butler ‘Deep Space’ (DL/MC – limited to 40)

Charlie Butler is a Reading based artist who began a series of solo releases in 2021 exploring weird, heavy and hypnotic sounds alongside being a member of Cody Noon (see 2020’s ‘Ace Of Wands’ https://cruelnaturerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/ace-of-wands), Mothertrucker and Head Drop. A prolific artist, ‘Deep Space’ is his first solo release of 2022: four tracks of beautiful ambient guitar ranging from bleak post-rock laments to heavy, slow-burning drones in the vein of Godspeed, Codeine, Papa M, Earth and Barn Owl. What’s it all about?  Isolation and taking solace in Star Trek, of course!

 MAbH (Mortuus Auris & the Black Hand) ‘Unnamed Vagabond’ (DL/MC – limited to 40)

MAbH is the solo project of UK based artist Peter Taylor, who has been producing music since 2008 and made his CN debut in early 2021 with ‘Look Under (see https://cruelnaturerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/look-under).  'Unnamed Vagabond' is two pieces of musique concrète, improv and noise that maximises loops made using scratched and sculpted old vinyl, while exploring improvised vocal and non-instrument compositions. The album contains 60 minutes of experimental improvisation and avant-garde composition, decorating the hour-long running time with cracks of light, shards of shadow, and moments of insanity.

[cruel-nature-records]

Our March batch of releases have landed!! Tape and digital available from https://cruelnaturerecordings.bandcamp.com/ NOW!

1. Stuart Chalmers / Distant Animals – Live at Cave 12

Stuart Chalmers and Distant Animals explore the line between improvisation and composition with two long-form works for acoustic and electronic instruments. Sharing a stage at Geneva’s Cave 12 in 2019, these two recordings document intimate solo electro-acoustic performance.

2. Aidan Baker ‘Stimmt’

Aidan Baker is a classically trained multi-instrumentalist from Toronto (now resident in Berlin) with the electric guitar his primary instrument. Using prepared and alternate methods of playing the guitar, along with various electronic effects, Baker creates music which generally falls within the ambient/experimental genre but draws on influences from rock, electronic, classical, and jazz.

“an intriguing album that stands out as being quite different both musically, and in the context of Baker’s output. Unusual but good and offering much to explore." (Aural Aggravation)

3. MAbH (Mortuus Auris & the Black Hand) ‘Look Under’

MAbH is the solo project of UK based artist Peter Taylor. 'Look Under' is a collection of seven pieces that claw beneath the surface, never quite fully appearing in the light. The dimness of sounds is that of a captured breath; a head, half-submerged in water - ears below the surface, and tired eyes watching the wider world flushing in chaos.

4. Fast Blood ‘Fast Blood EP’

Comprised of stalwarts of the Newcastle-upon-Tyne DIY scene, Fast Blood played their first gig in April 2019 opening for Durham pop-punk mainstays Martha. They have since shared the stage with the likes of Jeffrey Lewis, Mannequin Pussy and Cocaine Piss.

“Go buy the record. It’s the least you can do to thank them. Fast Blood have given us their bruised but powerful hearts in order to strengthen our own." (Birthday Cake For Breakfast)

[cruel-nature-records]

AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW

Karen & Peter 'Aggro Dolce'

https://cruelnaturerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/aggro-dolce

Cassette + 19-page booklet of Karen Schoemer's poems which accompany the release, with beautiful artworks by Peter Taylor (limited to 50 copies)

In the fall of 2021, sound artist Peter Taylor and poet Karen Schoemer decided to create songs together, despite never having met. Both drew on the faded industrial landscapes of their respective countries. Peter was inspired by the Calder Valley in Yorkshire, with its history of coal mining and asbestos contamination; Karen had recently relocated to a rural town in upstate New York once known as “Factory Hill,” where remnants of 20th century fires and floods scar the landscape. Their independent investigations of disparate locales uncover commonalities that hint at wider, even universal, human conditions.

Karen Schoemer is a poet and former music journalist who frequently collaborates with musicians including Oli Heffernan, Mike Watt, Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby. She contributed words to Ivan the Tolerable’s “Out of Season” (2020) and words and vocals to The Long Year (2021, both released by Stolen Body Records). With Mike Watt she records as the duo Jaded Azurites. She is vocalist for the upstate New York band Sky Furrows, which released its self-titled debut album in 2020

Peter Taylor has been making music as Mortuus Auris & the Black Hand/MAbH since 2008. He is also a visual artist working across many disciplines including photography, animation, illustration, miniatures and painting. He is based just outside of South West London by the River Thames.

[cruel-nature-records]

OUT NOW!

MAbH (Mortuus Auris & the Black Hand) ‘Unnamed Vagabond’ (DL/MC – limited to 40)

https://cruelnaturerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/unnamed-vagabond

MAbH is the solo project of UK based artist Peter Taylor, who has been producing music since 2008 and made his CN debut in early 2021 with ‘Look Under 'Unnamed Vagabond' is two pieces of musique concrète, improv and noise that maximises loops made using scratched and sculpted old vinyl, while exploring improvised vocal and non-instrument compositions. The album contains 60 minutes of experimental improvisation and avant-garde composition, decorating the hour-long running time with cracks of light, shards of shadow, and moments of insanity.

'scratching out love letters in the blackened dirt, MAbH moves closer to transcendence' - Foxy Digitalis

[cruel-nature-records]

MAbH (Mortuus Auris & the Black Hand) 'Unnamed Vagabond' pre-order now https://cruelnaturerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/unnamed-vagabond