There’s always a resounding happiness that lingers after the weirder Leaving Records releases finishes in your ears for the first time. But SP-MOLD is on an entirely different level of musical arena-ship. Like, Matthewdavid is no stranger to the avant/experimental (see: D/P/I, Diva Dompe, M. Geddes Gengras, Nerftoss), but also no coward in the face of niche physical releases (see: Leaving Record’s back catalog of floppy discs), so it’s super pleasing that — although linked with a much larger label/distributor, Stones Throw — that the West Coast label continues to keep shit real as fuck. And damn, even though SP-MOLD’s 3-hour release, Midden is a complete digital folder listed for FREE, there are few labels who’d even fuck with hours of music to release in one bulk like this, and at no cost. Just impressive.
At any rate, below is “2012” by SP-MOLD. It’s an excellent example of what you’ll be getting dirty with in Midden. There’s warped out bass-lines. Piano strings vibrated like xylophone plates. Samples as alien as “WHAT WAS THAT?” Drums lo-fi’d into a swamp of melody muck. When I tell you it’s nearly impossible to move past “2012,” and then you see the slew of tracks behind and ahead of it, you’ll be all, “Sick, I’m set for the year!” Well, don’t feel TOO complacent (because new Ahnnu is just around the corner, and D/P/I and Smurphy are neck-and-neck in new shit, constantly), but take your time. You DO have the rest of your life to trudge through the thicket of SP-MOLD. Enjoy!
• Leaving Records: http://leavingrecords.com
More about: SP-MOLD
