Saturday, December 31, 2011

F I V E

December 31st 2011 marks the 5th anniversary of Holographic Beast. While the majority of time and effort with this project sometimes feels like it's gone nowhere, and the sounds feel like they've fallen on deaf ears, I've still managed to do some amazing things. I've played with some of my favorite bands, met cool and interesting people, played in a few other cities, and put out some tapes that I'm very proud of. It's just incredibly frustrating not being able to always achieve the things I want. But I can't expect too much, despite...I have to continue. Ultimately, this is for myself.

A sincere thank you to the very few people who have actually expressed an interest and shown true support in what I've done. A sincere wish for the rest of you to go to Hell.

In one form or another, this will always exist.

"It doesn't have to make sense"

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Here's another review

Over at Hammer Smashed Sound, they reviewed both "Perpetual Filth" and "Glass Tightrope" Nice to know more people are finally seemingly paying attention.

http://www.hammersmashedsound.com/2011/11/holographic-beast.html

"Once upon a time (now) there was a guy in Seattle named Jeff that made music (power electronics/noise) under the moniker of Holographic Beast. I happened to stumble across reviews of these two tapes (entitled Glass Tightrope and Perpetual Filth) on Demian Johnston's Dead Formats blog (which is excellent, and a constant source, for me, of what's good in this style of music) and was intrigued. The tapes were cheap, so I grabbed a copy of each. Very impressed by what I heard, and surprised that I hadn't heard of this before. This genre of music can become very repetitive and boring, especially for the uninitiated, but these two tapes are far from boring, and not at all repetitive. There's a good deal of variety from song to song, and even within the songs, to keep the listener's (yours, in this case) attention. At times very harsh, and at others... well, not so harsh, and you can almost be tricked into thinking the Beast has become soft. They're both great tapes, but if I had to choose one over the other, I would probably go with Perpetual Filth, just because there's a little more to offer in the manner of substance. That sounds like it takes something away from the other tape, but that's not the case; the pure audial attack of Glass Tightrope doesn't need a whole lot of substance to get it's point across. Get in the box and shut the fuck up.Both the tapes comes with digital downloads, which is nice. Digital downloads are also available via the Holographic Beast Bandcamp page, but for this kind of noise, the analog format is always preferred. (In case you're a newcomer to HSS, analog is ALWAYS the preferred format.) You can order the tapes from the Bandcamp page or email Jeff here for more info."

I don't live in Seattle though.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Seattle Show

I'm playing in Seattle on the 20th at the 2-Bit Saloon. Also playing are Happy Birthday Secret Weapon, Shadowbunny, and POWER SKELETON. An eclectic line up for sure.

I also turn a year older that day.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Elsewhere

I have one copy left of Perpetual Filth left for sale. Once it's gone, it will be temporarily sold out until I can locate the box with the remaining copies. Unfortunately that box is inside a building that I don't have regular access to. Hopefully I will have these tapes within a few weeks.

In other news, there should be a show or two in Seattle later this month. More information as it becomes available.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

New reviews

Over at Dead Formats there are reviews of both "Glass Tightrope" and "Perpetual Filth." Both get a four out of five. I'm very flattered.


www.devdformats.blogspot.com

"Holographic Beast
Glass Tightrope
Know/Care Sounds
(4)

The initial mood set up by this release is almost too comforting. You realize in a couple seconds that everything is probably going to be destroyed. Like entering a room full of stacks of fine china. Something permanent is about to happen. It does. Harsh commanding vocals and a wall of harsh and spastic noise tears into the serene yet somehow alien landscape set up in the first few minutes. That is just the first three tracks. The repetition and rhythmic waves of noise that color this release are incredibly hypnotic. I had a hard time remembering that I had to write about this while listening to it. I started out thinking I was going to give this a 3 instead of a 4 because I was pretty underwhelmed by the layout at first but now looking at it in relation to the audio on this release I would say that it is a perfect compliment. Holographic Beast does not release a ton of things but it is nice when they do. Excellent work. Still has a download in it as well.

Holographic Beast
Perpetual Filth
Know/Care Sounds
(4)

The sounds on this cassette are actually more than a couple years old but I find the work to be very fresh sounding. Odd vocal layers, piercing yet controlled feedback, huge buzzing drones and none of it sounds accidental. I don't feel like this was all improvised. This doesn't seem like simple knob turning; this feels intentional. I was surprised at how restrained the pieces on this cassette were. Moments of Throbbing Gristle meets Andrew Chalk. Each track is unique but they all seem totally cohesive with the other tracks. Haunting and sad sounds are all dedicated to someone who had passed. Nice simple j cards and limited to 100 copies. I hope there are more of these. Includes a digital download if you swing that way."

Monday, August 29, 2011

Glass Tightrope

Two years since "Perpetual Filth" was released, Holographic Beast returns with "Glass Tightrope". This is about circular existence. About being trapped. Repetition. Wanting a way out, wanting something else. Listen and lose hope. Edition of 40.

Listen to the full title track here:
Glass Tightrope

Non-Routine (sample)

Before. Further. (sample)

5 ppd US
7 ppd World

paypal to: stealththought AT hotmail DOT com

Buy this with Perpetual Filth and get both tapes for 8 ppd US/ 10 ppd WORLD


Wednesday, April 6, 2011