Saturday, June 27, 2015

CORY STRAND "THE NEW WORLD: A REINTERPRETATION" 14 CDR SET (AOW 302)

A very special release in honor of composer James Horner, who passed away earlier this week.  I started work on this almost two years ago, shortly after completing my rework of To The Wonder's score.  This is my epic rework of Horner's score for Terrence Malick's beautiful film, The New World; the score is easily my favorite of Horner's.  It seemed fitting to create something equally beautiful; my rework is a massive set of Hecker/Basinski-esque ambient disintegration.  Very, very pretty.
Packaged in 7 double DVD cases, each with their own unique artwork utilizing some of my favorite images from the film.  Released in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $80 ppd. in the United States, $93 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

CORY STRAND "BEYOND THE RIVER'S EDGE" 2 DVD-R (AOW 301)

An addendum to my work with River's Edge, arriving in the form of a "ghost ambient" version of the film's entire audio track alongside a deeper, denser, more hopeless HNW rework of the same (think of it as an alternate "Totality" recording.)  Both versions are extremely cold, despondent, and empty.  Death ambient and death HNW.  Nothing matters.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $30 ppd. in the United States, $43 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "RIVER'S EDGE: COMPLETE" 4CDr + DVD-R (AOW 36 REISSUE)

A reissue of one of my earliest soundtrack reworks, from shortly after I started the label in 2012.  This version has all new artwork and a vastly improved layout; there is also a full "Totality" rework of the film's entire audio track (new to this reissue.)  My work doesn't really sound like this anymore; my methods and techniques have changed quite a bit since this record.  Still a favorite of mine for its incredible coldness.  This record received a favorable review from Musique Machine:

http://www.musiquemachine.com/reviews/reviews_template.php?id=4442

The record can also be streamed over at my Bandcamp page (please note the digital version does NOT include the "Totality" rework):

http://corystrand.bandcamp.com/album/rivers-edge-a-reinterpretation

And here's the original writeup:

"River's Edge" has been one of my favorite films since I saw it in a hotel room late at night on HBO almost 25 years ago.  It scared the shit out of me then.  Today, I feel there are few films that have so chillingly and accurately captured the pervasive nihilism and existential horror that permeates youth, the struggle to find meaning in the void, and the sense of desperation that drives us towards other people in hopes of making some sort of connection to combat the infinite meaninglessness.
The soundtrack to the film, made up almost entirely of classic 1980's thrash metal and hardcore punk, helped reinforce the themes of a distinct negativity at work in the universe and became as much a character as any of the teens themselves.
I have attempted to preserve the severe feelings of banality that I feel define "River's Edge" in my approach to the soundtrack.  Almost every piece here was created by manipulating the source materials in exactly the same base manner; differentiations exist in the form of tonalities and structure.  If a certain strain of HNW and ambient music is about illustrating emptiness, I feel my work here succeeds.  There is an absence in these compositions that surprises me, and I am honored to share it with those interested in sound as oblivion.

This new edition comes packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $35 ppd. in the United States, $48 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

BIG HOLE "PAINTED / WALL" 2CDR (AOW 295)

Incredibly intriguing experimental/HNW release from Big Hole, blurring the demarcations between visual and auditory art.  "Painted / Wall" is a double album recording utilizing Big Hole's field recordings of painter Chris Justice as he created a large canvas piece; those field recordings were then used to create a dense, massive, crackling wall.  The first disc is the unaltered live audio of the creation of the work as captured by Big Hole during the process, rife with all manner of obscure and interesting sounds adding up to a sort of "creation drone"; the second disc is the wall.  Big Hole is one of my favorite recent HNW projects; the work is always massive and engulfing; the intellectual aspect of this recording just makes it all the better.  A very interesting record from this project, with some beautiful, psychedelic art and sound.
Packaged in a DVD case with Justice's finished piece serving as artwork.  Released in a limited edition of 15 hand-numbered copies.  $15 ppd. in the United States, $28 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "BLADE RUNNER: A REINTERPRETATION" 12CDR (AOW 299)

I've been working on a large-scale collaborative project with Justin Wiggan based around Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, so I've been spending a lot of time with both the film itself and Vangelis's beautiful noir-infused score.  Obviously I couldn't resist working with such dark, elegiac material; the result is a gigantic 12 disc rework of the film's score, a massive excursion into deep recesses of drone ambient and unfulfilled existentialist yearning.  Dense, bassy stuff here; definitely for headphones.
Packaged in an oversize DVD case with a distinctly minimalist/"old school" aesthetic.  Released in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $65 ppd. in the United States, $78 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "HELLRAISER (TOTALITY)" DVD-R (AOW 298)

To cap off my work with Hellraiser, I've created a "Totality" recording utilizing the film's entire audio track.  I hesitate to call this HNW because it is so severe and "cut-up"; this is extremely noisy and assaulting but it is rife with all manner of interesting starts and stops, whiffy clouds of noise ambient, huge rumbles, and screaming, piercing shrieks of electricity.  An intensely difficult and challenging listen!
Packaged in a DVD case with a distinctly minimalist/"old school" aesthetic.  Released in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $15 ppd. in the United States, $28 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "HELLRAISER" 12CDR (AOW 297)

The last time I worked with Clive Barker's Hellraiser, i based my recordings around Coil's original score for the film, commissioned by Barker but unused in the actual film.  This time around, I've decided to work with Christopher Young's more bombastic but no less effective score for the film; the result is a crushing set of long static HNW that revels in brutality and obstinate stagnancy.
Packaged in an oversize DVD case, with a distinctly minimalist/"old school" aesthetic.  Released in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $65 ppd. in the United States, $78 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

Thursday, June 11, 2015

CORY STRAND "AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY: A REINTERPRETATION" 22CDR + DVD-R SET (AOW 296)

I started thinking about doing a large scale series based on Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy after the 2013 release of the second film, The Desolation of Smaug.  Howard Shore's scores were so utterly and overwhelmingly magisterial and lovely that i knew I had to do something to honor both the compositional work and the filmmaking; I do not subscribe to the belief that Jackson's prequel trilogy is any less worthwhile or accomplished than his Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I find the Hobbit films to be exquisitely crafted paeans to friendship and perseverance, just as in the LOTR films; the cinematography is breathtaking and Jackson's extreme action sequences are second to none.
This release is an epic one, in every sense of the word.  Across 16 discs, I have reimagined Howard Shore's ethereal score and transformed it into an expanse of ambient dronedrift, both mournful and dark.  The rework also includes two full length "coda" compositions that bookend the rework proper, blossoming out into a more Tim Hecker-style ambient excursion.  Also included is a "Totality" rework of the extended version of the film (over three hours!) and four massive HNW pieces crafted from elements of the score.  All in all, just about 25 hours of music to carry you off into the fantasy and violence of Middle-Earth.
Packaged as a large scale set, with the albums housed in 11 double DVD cases and 1 individual DVD case (the "Totality" recording), each with their own imagery culled from the film and related ephemera.  Released in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $175 ppd. in the United States, $183 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

CORY STRAND/THE EBONY TOWER "BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S" 12CDR (THE EBONY TOWER SELF-RELEASED)

Just received my artist copies of my gargantuan split with The Ebony Tower, focusing on Truman Capote's Breakfast At Tiffany's.  My six discs are massive crushing walls built from elements of the film version's soundtrack; The Ebony Tower's six discs are working off of Capote's novel.  All in all, a devastating, wholly destructive 12 hour assault of tsunami-like wallcraft.  Crazy stuff. 
I have four copies available (this was an edition of 15.)  $45 ppd. in the United States, $58 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com  

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

LOVE KATY "I'LL BE YOUR GIFT" C30 (AOW 294)

PLEASE NOTE:  This is being offered as a PREORDER.  Again, just to offset the cost of manufacture.  I will be submitting the tapes for duplication very soon; I expect the cassette to be in-stock and shipping by early June/late July.

I am very pleased to announce a new work from the always outstanding Love Katy, one of my very favorite projects in the HNW world.  This release comes in the form of a C30, with two 15 minute slabs of joyous, dense, tonally explorative noise crafted in honor of Miss Perry's sublime parade of double entendres "Birthday," off of her latest record Prism.  As always with Love Katy, the walls here are crumbly, bassy and very "heavy," but suffused with a healthy dose of the project's trademark humor and adulation.  This is a project that just makes me happy to listen to; i think James would be pleased to hear me say that.  As always with Love Katy, not to be missed!
Comes on a colored C30 cassette with full colour artwork, in a limited edition of 20 hand-numbered copies.  $8 ppd. in the United States, $21 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

NIGHTMARE CASTLE "PHIBES" CDr (AOW 292)

Awakening from a long slumber, Nightmare Castle returns with a crushing new lofi set of crumbling, drifting, windswept horror walls for your listening displeasure, a full oceanic texture immersion based on the classic film series Dr. Phibes.  The sound here is quintessentially NC; i don;t know that i need to say anymore about it.  If you've enjoyed this project's work in the past, you'll dig this one too.  Almost calming in its psychedelic staticism, "Phibes" is an unrelenting set of sonic vomit and a welcome return from one of the genre's towering figures.  I am very pleased to release this on Altar Of Waste!
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 15 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

ANGER PRISONER "S/T" CDr (AOW 287)

Long in the works debut release from this new (and possibly now defunct) HNW project, a joint venture between Kenneth Parker (Willowbrook, Earthenwomb) and Cody Gaskins (Crown Of Ashes, Fault Worship.)  Anger Prisoner weave up a dense, layered, tonally complex and detailed HNW assault across three searing tracks, proving their moniker an apt one.  Echoes of Parker's and Gaskins' individual approaches can be found throughout, but the sound here is ultimately one that is more immediately raw, visceral, and pissed off, a towering assimilation of the two artists' styles and sonic aesthetics.  Old school, vicious walling here; not for the faint of heart.  Staticism as the ideal.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 15 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "JURASSIC PARK: A REINTERPRETATION" 4CDr + DVD-R SET (AOW 293)

With the release of Jurassic World just a few days away, I decided to go and revisit Steven Spielberg's original film.  I have long been a fan of Jurassic Park; i have a first edition printing of Crichton's novel (which my mom gave me when I was about 11 years old) and saw the original film during its theatrical run in 1993.  I've never been terribly impressed with John Williams' score for it (a bit pompous and overbearingly bombastic for my tastes), but the main theme often gets stuck in my head.  My original plan was for this rework to have been ambient, but after some initial manipulations I decided that HNW was the way to go.  And it absolutely was!
This is some of my densest, most ferocious wallcraft.  I find it interesting (and a little amusing) that my most extreme walls to date have been for works that don't necessarily invite the treatment (my rework of Sherlock: Season One being the other example.)  This is seriously a crushing release: a manipulation of the score spread across four discs, and a "Totality" rework of the film's entire audio track on DVD-R.
Packaged as a three volume set, with each volume housed in a DVD case with their own artwork (personally, i find this to be one of my loveliest sets visually-the artwork came out beautiful on this one!).  Released in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $35 ppd. in the United States, $48 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com