‘Six Doors’ is a great idea from the Housepig label. Housepig is based in Minneapolis, MN, and focuses on ambient and noise. This compilation holds six top notch acts from the U.S. and Japan: Unicorn; Aube; Bastard Noise; Luasa Raelon; Guilty Connector & Tabata; and Oblong Box. Each shows a different approach to experimental electronics, and each works in an extended format here, with the shortest track at close to ten minutes long.
Unicorn kicks things off in a subtle, yet unmistakably unique way with “sleeper wave”, a wave of drone that slowly awakens after some time of peaceful slumber. Aube changes it up with a noisier wash of frequencies that mutate over time, called “Shackle”. Bastard Noise ups the aggression on “flesh near automation”, and gets the adrenaline flowing. Luasa Raelon mixes synthetic/orchestral stings with some dark industrial clangs on “infradimensional.” Guilty Connector and guitarist Tabata drop my favorite from the disc, “trance oscillation from limbo,” a masterful puree of god knows what sources in adaptation with guitar and effects, this one is really good, I am entranced. Oblong Box closes the disc with “the knife that cuts the handler”, which slows things down with a chillingly slow ambience.
A very solid compilation for fans of experimental noise from Housepig, a label whose bacon I will be keeping my eye on.