Tuesday, August 23, 2016

BRIEF UPDATE ON THE FUTURE OF THE LABEL, PLUS SOME UPCOMING RELEASES

School has started up for me, and it's my last year, meaning i'll be starting in on my thesis pretty quickly.  Obviously this will take some time away from the label.  The last several months have been exceedingly difficult for me personally - one of the worst times in my life - and i've had to really think about what i can accomplish as one person in relation to Altar Of Waste, as well as in regards to my own music, and not fall any further into despair.  I'm feeling burnt out and depressed pretty much all the time, and I can't be feeling that way heading in to my thesis.
Moving forward, the print runs on releases are going to be a lot smaller.  I have to think about what I can realistically manage without going insane.  I would still love to work with lots and lots of artists, but if you're wanting print runs higher than 10 copies, at this point i am probably not the label for you.  Altar Of Waste has always been a boutique label anyways.  That said, there are a few releases coming up that will have slightly larger runs, as per my original agreements with the artists.  But everything new from here on will be limited.
I have two printers at home, both of which have died.  I am tired of spending $300 every six months on fucking printers and even more on printer ink.  I have found a way to outsource the printing; the prints are higher quality than they have ever been before.  I have also lost my supplier of CDr's; i believe i have found a suitable replacement.  But this means filling orders may take a bit longer, so please bear with me as i figure it all out.
My focus lately has been on cassettes; this will probably continue.  I will still do CD releases, as i have some very large scale projects from myself and some other artists in the works for the fall/winter, but i've become sort of enamoured with the cassette as an art object and have been going sort of crazy with them.  I expect it will continue for awhile.
The next releases will be (no precise dates, just working on them now):

Kosmodrom "Conquest Of Space" C30 (amazing new kosmiche noise project born from the ashes of Dead Body Collection)
Body Stress "Forced Entry" C20 (second in a series of four cassettes)
Eugene Critchley "Pessimism Totale" 2xC60 (severely bleak DNW)
Dejection/Naughty split/collaborative cassette
Dejection/Shadowpiercer split/collaborative 2xC40
N0123NOISE/Cory Strand split C40
Curses "Thousand Faced Moon" C47

This fall/winter will also see releases from Dejected Splendor, Big Hole, Dosis Letalis, Natural Actors, Uitgeschakeld, and tons more...
I appreciate the continued support and friendship.  It means so much to me, more than you can know.

-Cory S.





Friday, August 19, 2016

EUGENE CRITCHLEY "I AM SO FILLED WITH LOVE IT IS STILL TOO MUCH TO BEAR" C30 (AOW 414)

Sophomore release of bleak and hollowed out DNW from Eugene Critchley.  The two pieces on this cassette are super dense, extremely bass-heavy excursions into existential terror and loneliness, the nothingness and hopelessness of being illustrated in the black hole gravity of the tracks.  Total despondency.
Playback through headphones (at high volume) highly recommended, or through a stereo system capable of excellent bass response.
Released in a limited edition of 10 hand-numbered copies.  $8 ppd. in the United States, $26 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "UNCERTAINTY" C20 (AOW 413)

Two new somber pieces of ANW/DNW.  This cassette serves as an addendum of sorts to my "A Serious Man: A Reinterpretation" set; it's one of my very favorite films and i return to it over and over, academically and creatively.  The two pieces are are dense and far-away sounding, gloomy drift from the outer reaches of walldom.  Massive and ghostly.
Released in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $8 ppd. in the United States, $26 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

Thursday, August 11, 2016

THE CLIMATE REFUGEES "THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING" C30 (AOW 392)

Very honored to be releasing the debut cassette from this HNW group, comprised of Peter Keller (Condo Horro), Ben Rehling (See Through Buildings) and Nemanja Nikolic' (Dosis Letalis).  If these three names are familiar to you (and they should be) then you know what to expect: totally assaulting, blazing, hyper-destructive HNW of the very highest order.  Loud doesn't even begin to convey the mass of this tape.  The two tracks here are crushingly dense but also severe and crackling, a truly punishing and transcendent sonic experience.  Each of the three members brings their own sound to the mix; collectively it becomes something utterly brutal, a morass of seething destruction.  Environmental degradation and disregard of the planet rendered into audio horror.
This is just the beginning...
Released in a limited edition of 30 copies, with stunning artwork from Peter Keller.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $26 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

CORY STRAND "THE THING: A REINTERPRETATION" C90 (AOW 412)

My half of my split with Crown of Bone from 2014, now on cassette.

From the original write up:
My album is a full on rework of Ennio Morricone's score for the film. My approach on this was similar to the other film-themed splits Dustin and I have done, wherein I allow many of the original OST elements to surface amongst the static and noise. This is a big trippy set of psychedelic noise washout!

This is a sound i don't really return to much anymore.  That said, there are some massive walls on here, most notably the album closer "Despair."
Released in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $26 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "MIDNIGHT SPECIAL: A REINTERPRETATION" 5CDR (REGULAR EDITION) (AOW 409)

My deep ambient rework of David Wingo's ethereal, haunting score for Jeff Nichols' aching science fiction masterpiece Midnight Special.  Filled with stunning visuals, understated performances, and a superbly confident personal vision, Nichols' film resonates with an intensity and hurt that few films can summon up.  It is deeply emotional, a sort of cross between Steven Spielberg's E.T. and Stephen King's Firestarter.
Working with David Wingo scores is always difficult as he tends toward shorter pieces; though brief, they are always moving and elegiac (he is easily one of the best composers working in film at the moment.)  My work here offers up 20 ambient pieces varying in length, from short (4 minutes or so) to longer (45 minutes), depending on what the individual piece dictated to me.  I try to go off my own emotions as much as possible when i do these reworks; the result is a sad and forlorn collection of dense, murky drone.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $30 ppd. in the United States, $46 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com