Beautifully written, so very true!!!
 

thanks anita, i'm very happy to be a part of this band. with  creative , wonderful people- especially stephen kasner- and a great artist too :)
 

the cd is out today aug 8 ..heres an interview with stephen from hammer smashed jazz blog -..............hsj.. ......................................Saturday, August 8, 2009............Stephen Kasner Interview.. ..............
................
....I remember the first time I saw the work of ....Stephen Kasner..... I thought to myself "Wow, I love this, but I usually don't like stuff like this". Then I realized that I had NEVER seen anything like this, except maybe in horrific nightmares that my mind was continuously struggling to keep away from my waking moments. It was as if the paintings were shifting and breathing, beckoning me to give up my rigid human shell and join them in a bizarre dance of constant evolution, where there is no end, no beginning....and that was after seeing only two paintings


....
....To my mind's horror, Stephen has not slowed down one bit, filling books, album covers, and art galleries with his beautiful renditions of nightmarish beings. And as if that weren't enough, he is now set to release his first full-length CD of music, in the form of his Blood Fountains project, which itself is part of his incredible collaboration series with Utech Records, which has featured cover paintings by Kasner for heavyweights such as Skullflower, Aluk Todolo, and Justin Broadrick's Final. I decided against my better judgment to let Stephen open the gates of his mind and unleash his demons....and the results were as epic as his work.............

..
HSJ: So lets talk about the early days....waaay back. Do you remember the first artwork that really grabbed you? Also,what subject matter did you first tackle? Me, I couldn't stop drawing Kiss when I was 4-5...

..
SK: I was always drawing, but never really gave it a lot of thought. It was just something I did. I used to watch a lot of old Westerns and horror films on television, but spent most of my time drawing to them rather than watching them. I would draw the characters in the films, periodically glancing up at the TV, studying the character(s), paying attention to the film for a moment, then go back to the drawing part. I did countless illustrations of Clint Eastwood/Sergio Leone characters, Dracula, Godzilla, and on and on...
..
I did draw KISS endlessly later on, then there was the Star Wars phase in '77, but I think every kid went through that, right? At least the cool kids did. As a youth, the record album art that most affected me were, yes KISS albums, but more so, the ones that really struck me hard and stayed with me eternally was the Hipgnosis stuff. Also, my father had a collection of old horror anthologies which were illustrated by the incredible Richard Powers. If there was one piece, or one artist, that affected me most deeply as a child, it was him...

......

..
HSJ: Have you always been a painter, or did you begin with sketching? How much (if any) drawing do you do now?..

..
SK: I didn't really start painting until high school, and those were pretty clumsy things. I began to take painting very seriously while in college, and decided to pursue painting vigorously towards the end of my studies. I did a lot of mixed media experiments then, and still do, but the gestation was while I was in school. I had equal focus at the time between painting, drawing, illustration and photography. I used to paint on my photographs a great deal then, and oddly, my illustration instructors despised that. I suppose I was breaching too much tradition by doing that, so it was then that I realized that breaking as many rules as possible was going to be my main focus in life, regardless of what career path I wandered...

..
As far as the division of my time now between drawing and painting, I suppose it's about half, though I don't think about that division much. I don't set particular amounts of time aside for one or the other, I just do one or the other, or both, as it flows naturally. ..

......

..HSJ: Much of your work is admittedly dark. Is there a certain mindset you need to be into for the work that you do? I'm always amazed at how many musicians who create disturbing, depressing music tell me that they don't need to be in that kind of mood to create that kind of stuff...
..
SK: I am seemingly always in the right mood. I don't know whether that's a good or bad thing! I mean, all the work I do comes from a place that is most natural to me. It isn't a stretch for me to get to a place I need to be, mentally, emotionally or psychically. The center of the pendulum that appears to make up my core being is predominantly what results in the majority of my work. Even if I am at some kind of emotional extreme, the pendulum swinging wildly, the center remains the same...


..
..
HSJ: I don't remember the fist time I saw your work, but I definetly remember the second time, thinking "Oh, its THAT guy". So how important is artistic identity to you? And does that help or hinder your work? I know that just like in music, it can be a daunting task to try something decidedly different when you've already established a certain aesthetic...
..
SK: I honestly don't think about that much. I'm not attempting to do popular or conventional work. It's not part of some master plan. As I mentioned, the work that I do, it comes naturally. It's not possible for me to do unnatural work. Frankly, I am continually surprised when my work resonates so strongly with people. I think it's fantastic when that happens, and I am extremely pleased that people connect with it so strongly, but perhaps that occurs because the emotions and themes in my work, though perhaps dark and hidden, are elements that most of us possess. My work tends to bring that out of people, and acts as a catalyst, a true evocation of things that are buried deep within us all...

..
That being said, I don't have a problem with staying consistent, or the pressure of conformity. I just continue to do what I do best, and if my work changes, it is because I, or a part of me changes. We are all evolutionary beings, after all. Nothing is stagnant. We are all constantly evolving and changing. There is no forever.




....HSJ: To that same end, much of your work looks different, but there seems to be something very thematic running through it all. Are these objects/characters all part of one world that exists somewhere in your mind, or is it more random then that? Also, do you ever visualize what these objects would look like if alive and in motion? Honestly just the thought of some of your paintings coming to life and moving around is terrifying!..
..
SK: Naturally, all the objects/characters are part of one world that exists in my mind, but sometimes, the random revelations are also true. I don't plan my work out. I very rarely do sketches beforehand when plotting a painting. I find that if I do that, those pieces usually fail, or inevitably, they transform into something else completely. My paintings are very unconscious. I usually start by making only random marks on the canvas, and let it evolve from there. Obviously, at certain points along the journey, I do make specific choices. If I didn't my work would likely be completely abstract. When the marks start 'making sense' to me, I generally hone in and focus on elements/aspect that make sense or having meaning to me...

..
I do visualize what the images would look like live, in motion. In fact, one of my goals is to eventually work in film, and to realize some of my imagery that way. I can see them as ideal dream sequences for just the right sort of film, definitely. ..



....
..

..HSJ: I think it's great that fine art and music/album art are starting to come together a bit, but they are still quite far apart. Why do you think this is? Also,what role do you think that the "drone" or "thinking man's metal" movement has played in this? Definetly seems an interesting clash of high-brow meeting low-brow...

..
SK: I have been vocal about this issue for many years, and even dedicated a chapter to my album art, and thoughts on the 'fine art vs. album art' double-standard, in my book, Stephen Kasner: WORKS.

....I'm in complete agreement that the tangible shift in this sort of thinking, the blurred lines of growing acceptance, are wonderful, and well overdue. Some of the most magnificent artworks I have ever seen have been pieces created specifically for certain records. Ironically too, much of what we experience as album images are significantly finer art than much of what we see in high-end galleries; that which is sold as 'fine art'. Any of us who have ever wandered into a fine art gallery in New York City, the 'art capital of the world', can attest to what I'm saying here.
Drone has indeed contributed greatly to this clash and blur of the rules. It could be that drone, being one of the more challenging forms of 'metal' in its history, have by virtue broken most of the rules attributed to metal, thereby tearing down a lot of the walls of what is considered standard. You've said it yourself, by referring to is as 'thinking man's metal', so perhaps the 'thinkers' prefer to be challenged a bit more, and introducing imagery that many would consider fine art helps to push the boundaries. To me, it all either works or it doesn't. It's that simple, and personally, I care for imagery, and the marriage of imagery and music, that works. Not too many of us care for things that don't work, unless they harbor sadomasochistic tendencies, which certainly DOES occur...! ..


..HSJ: I was wondering, as an educated fan of underground music yourself, are you ever proactive when it comes to pitching ideas about art to bands, or do you just sit back and field offers? If you could work with any band, what would your dream project b


SK: Of course, I try to be as proactive as possible, but sometimes that proves to be a double-edged sword, at least in some cases. I do try to communicate as much as possible with a band I may be working with, and the more ideas the better. However, it can border on inhibiting if an idea becomes too specific, or the demands of meeting an exact idea/image become too focused. I tend to work better when I am left as much freedom as possible to interpret music. I can follow certain rules, and express specific ideas, but inevitably, if a band or musician can trust me to interpret those ideas, the end result is often superior. If I push too hard on a specific idea, the artwork merely becomes an illustration, and the imagery results in static and feels forced. Freedom in art to interpret music is just as vital as the freedom the musician needs to realize their own craft...

..
My dream project? Black Sabbath in 1970. Alas...


....
HSJ: Favorite Sabbath song?

....SK: Planet Caravan..




....
HSJ: Currently, my favorite piece of yours is the Khylst DVD art you did. So amazing. It's simplicity really lures you in the more you look at it. Do you have a favorite piece of your own?


....SK: That's a truly difficult question to answer! I love the Khlyst piece as well, but moreover, like how all the Khlyst art works together, including the art for the album and the DVD release. I think the pieces as a whole produce a much stronger statement. If I had to choose, and I think it's impossible for me to select one single piece, I can come close by selecting the Dreamscape series from 1993, as those were some of the first paintings I've done that I feel really came together. Those paintings were the first group that guided the way to the rest of my life's work up to this point...
......
HSJ: Have you ever been, or are you currently in, any musical projects yourself?........
SK: I've had and been in several over the years. In the 90's, I had an experimental project called ArorA. The spirit of that project is very similar to, and has led to the formation of my current project, Blood Fountains. The first Blood Fountains full length album, Floods, comes out today, August 8th, on Utech Records, as the culmination of the year and a half long UR/SK Series I've produced with Keith Utech...
..
Otherwise, I have been an active member of Psywarfare, and I currently contribute to David Beaver's project, Smoker. I am also in collaborative projects with Dwid Hellion and Jacob Bannon as Irons, and Dwid and I have a personal project between us that we are beginning production on called H.E.X. ..
......


..HSJ: I am a HUGE fan of the CD series you've done for Utech Records. How did that all come about? Also, has it turned out how you originally intended? Favorite CD of the bunch?..



..
SK: Initially, Keith contacted me by email and explained his ideas for the series. He had done a series the previous year with photographer, Max Aguilera-Hellweg called, Arc. Keith sent me the entire Arc series, and of course already being a great admirer of his label, I signed on for the project immediately. Keith and I corresponded a great deal in the months leading up to launching the series, and we collaborated on selecting the musicians we wanted to feature. It's been a marvelous experience for us both, and the journey has held many more surprises than either Keith or I planned. That's part of what has made it so fantastic, though...

..
I think my favorite release of our UR/SK Series would have to be Runhild Gammelsæter's album, Amplicon, for several reasons. Chiefly, however, I consider it the most challenging record of the series, and I'm extremely proud to have it included. If I told you the story of how that album came into existence, you wouldn't believe me. It's too magical to describe, and anyway, to this day, I haven't found the right words.

........HSJ: Obviously, when it comes to album artwork, what you're looking for is some sort of synergy between sound and visual. What album cover of yours do you think achieved this to the greatest degree, and why?........
SK: I am proud of most of the work I've done with bands. The only ones I feel weren't as successful are a result of communication issues, honestly, or being treated poorly after I've been baited into a situation under false pretenses. Those are always disappointing. For exceedingly various reasons, though, a few of the artistic collaborations I've done with musicians that I feel contain the most synergy could be Integrity, Seasons in the Size of Days, Runhild Gammelsæter, Amplicon, Khlyst, Chaos is My Name, The Stargazer's Assistant, Shivers and Voids, Martin Grech, Unholy, Meatjack, Trust, Ruhr Hunter, Torn of This, Darsombra, Ecdysis, to name a few.
......


..HSJ: How was the Catalyst show you were a part of? I was really interested to know what kind of crowd/people showed up. More art nerds or metalheads?
......
..
SK: Haha, well WE, the artists, were there and some people might consider US just nerds in general! Seriously, no, no one would ever consider us nerds. I'm kidding. The Catalyst show was a fantastic event. Brett Aronson, the curator, really had a spectacular vision for what he wanted the show to be, and he and all the artists put a lot of blood and sweat into making it happen. I have wonderful and fond memories of the exhibition, and the camaraderie and support shared by everyone in the week leading up to the event. Realistically, the crowd was remarkably mixed, as it usually is at gallery exhibitions. There was a bit of everyone, including some knuckleheads who very obviously showed up just to purchase Horkey prints to rush home and put on eBay. That's a true story. That really happened. I mean, these cats didn't even BOTHER to look at the show. They immediately ran to the sales office, well they ran to the line leading to the sales office, to buy prints and leave. Immediately. I love Aaron Horkey's work to death, but I guess I was just startled to realize that people would treat it like that, like a commodity, like a thing without life, to buy and sell, to make a profit and nothing more. Astounding!............................HSJ: Thanx so much for doing this. I'm a huge fan of your work. Give us a heads-up on what you've got coming up this year...

..
SK: Thank you, Beau. I truly appreciate it. I am a long time fan of HSJ and it is an honor to be featured here. Will indeed keep you posted on future events, but for today, the main excitement is the release of the Blood Fountains album. I have a lot of people to thank for helping to make that happen- David Beaver, Yoshiko Ohara, Mat Woods, Cheryl Pyle; all amazing musicians and I'm so proud to have them as collaborators. Couldn't have done it without Keith Utech and James Plotkin, either. I'm extremely grateful for such amazing comrades. I hope those who have interest in the experiments enjoy the album immensely. Cheers, all!
..

......http://www.stephenkasner.com/....
........http://www.thebloodfountains.com/....
........http://www.utechrecords.com/......

............HSJ: HUGE thanks to Keith Utech for helping us hook this up ,and for always being a supporter of HSJ since our inception. Cheers brother.............................
 

On behalf of Stephen, I would like to add that it would be great if people who are interested in purchasing the CD would buy it directly from Stephen Kasner/Blood Fountains @ thebloodfountains.com. ..
....:)..
 

Now available at ....THEBLOODFOUNTAINS.com....

On ....Utech Records....

UR/SK Series09
Limited Edition of 750
Recorded and mixed by Stephen Kasner, 2008-2009.
Music: Stephen Kasner, David Beaver, Yoshiko Ohara, Mat Woods and Cheryl Pyle.

1.Cold Flood/In
2.Head Found in Aptos
3.Spiritless
4.White Wax Blood
5.Hemming
6.Picture of Time and Space/Out
.

Floods marks the final chapter of the URSK series, a sound/art collaboration marrying the dark aural palette of nine Utech Records releases with the supernal imagery of visionary painter Stephen Kasner. Kasner’s imagery has reacted to and synthesized each of the soundscapes it inhabited in the course of this collaboration — paired with Aluk Todolo’s opus Finsternis, it became a totem on charred ritual ground, a bleached human torso protruding through darkness as a memory of corporeal death; Kasner’s imagery helped Runhild Gammelsæter conjure the smallest of microorganisms from primordial space in her solo record Amplicon; it successfully evoked a blackened visage for the maniacal, buzzing guitar drones of Skullflower’s outstanding Desire for a Holy War; and it re-cast RST’s electric vibrations in a universe of contrasting contingencies. It is fitting that Kasner’s own Blood Fountains would bring fruition to the URSK project, which by now has become a vital part of the new dark-psych musical landscape as well as one of the best examples of creative symbiosis that I can remember.

Floods is a truly magnificent record, offering such a complete representation of Kasner’s cosmic vision that it could serve as a travel-guide through URSK’s entire spectral universe. Here, Kasner’s painting depicts a faintly glowing halo against an infinity of unfathomable blackness. The halo beckons as far-away galaxies might, luring us out from earthly existence and into the initial dread, eventual terror and ultimate apotheosis of the unknown. This image, more than any other image in the series, captures the sublime essence found at the limits of human consciousness, the transcendence we may attempt to experience through ritual, meditation, magickal or religious practice, rigorous self-discipline, etc. In a universe like URSK’s, the violence, darkness and apparent chaos of any challenging artwork is entirely consistent with our responsibility as sentient beings; here, such a work represents an attempt to utter the ineffable, to grasp at the unreachable, and to extend experience beyond that which is already known to man.

Sonic fibers are slowly unfurled into an ever-shifting canvas of textured drones. You may discern the sources of some of these sounds — a guitar quietly buzzes, a Rhodes churns, Bloody Panda’s Yoshiko Ohara utters a ritual incantation from a far-away place — but together the voices strike a profoundly unified and otherworldly tone. The pacing of these compositions is methodical and perfect, both organic and esoteric, like a slow accumulation of magickal power. There is a definite structure to every track, but it’s as if their formative elements have been blown apart by a breeze, gently torn into a silken skein that may momentarily vanish into ether, forever lost to our worldly souls.
Jenks Miller / Horseback

 

..-----------------------

First heard on the Nymphaea disc of Darsombra remixes that came out on Public Guilt last year, Blood Fountains is the new musical venture from artist Stephen Kasner, whose creepy, disturbing portraits and oceans of deep blacks and greys have graced album covers for bands as diverse as Integrity and Khlyst, Lotus Eaters and Himsa, and anyone who's been paying attention to underground metal and hardcore for the past fifteen years will be familiar with at least one of his images.

I've been a huge fan of Kasner's work since the latter half of the 90's and have followed his output ever since, finally getting to the point this year of actually commissioning artwork from him for the new Subarachnoid Space album, Eight Bells. So I was intrigued when I heard that he had this new project in the works. I liked the Blood Fountains remix for Darsombra, which pointed towards a deep, murky dark ambience, but that was only a vague stirring of what his solo material would fully evolve into, a kind of gorgeous black-kosmiche psychedelia that takes form on his first full length, Floods.

Released by Utech, who has also been partnering with Kasner lately for the majority of their cd package designs, Floods is a collaborative effort that sees Kasner creating sprawling, shadow-covered ambient soundscapes of Lustmordian darkness and spectral drones with help from a number of musicians, including Mat Woods on guitar, experimental jazz flutist Cheryl Pyle, guitarist David Beaver, and vocalist Yoshiko Ohara from Bloody Panda.

According to Kasner, the music of Blood Fountains is meant to be a sonic extension of the strange, otherworldly imagery found in his artwork, but this is nowhere as grim and horrific as I thought it was going to be. Floods is actually quite beautiful, as each of the six long tracks drift through fields of dark drift and jazzy ambience that sometimes feels like the extended tones of a dusty, moldy Rhodes piano being stretched across time, while thick black smears of buzzing psych guitar and crumbling distorted amp-drones snake their way through these mysterious soundscapes. Bloody Panda fans will especially love this album, as Yoshiko Ohara's vocals are all over it, though her performance here is restrained compared to the violent shrieks and ecstatic howls she uses in BP. Instead, Yoshiko's voice floats disembodied across Kasner's midnight-drenched poppy fields, cooing whispers and uttering deep gutteral Tuvan-esque throat singing on thick clouds of druggy reverb that always seems to be on the verge of being swept away on a tide of nocturnal blackness.

Imagine Bloody Panda at their softest, and filtered through the dark freeform psychedelia of Keiji Haino and ghoulish graveyard dream-bliss of Aghast, or a more ominous and weighty Onna-Kodomo mixed with Tangerine Dream or Klaus Schulze and drenched in shimmering, jazzy, dark ambience. I knew this was going to be good, but Floods still ended up taking me by surprise with how beautiful it is, especially the blissed-out ten minute, "White Wax Blood". That's my favorite song on here, with cascading, crystalline guitar melodies and delicate wisps of digital glitchery drifting into a gleaming cosmic fug of flutes and wispy female voices and deep bass pulses and peals of black acid guitar, forming into something akin to a Cocteau Twins song stripped down to an ethereal cloud of dark pop bliss and pitched into the abyss.

Dark and beautifully creepy, this one is definitely recommended. Comes in that signature style of Utech sleeve, with Kasner handling the artwork, of course. © CRUCIAL BLAST

--------------------

Floods marks the final chapter of the URSK series, a sound/art collaboration marrying the dark aural palette of nine Utech Records releases with the supernal imagery of visionary painter Stephen Kasner. Kasner’s imagery has reacted to and synthesized each of the soundscapes it inhabited in the course of this collaboration — paired with Aluk Todolo’s opus Finsternis, it became a totem on charred ritual ground, a bleached human torso protruding through darkness as a memory of corporeal death; Kasner’s imagery helped Runhild Gammelsæter conjure the smallest of microorganisms from primordial space in her solo record Amplicon; it successfully evoked a blackened visage for the maniacal, buzzing guitar drones of Skullflower’s outstanding Desire for a Holy War; and it re-cast RST’s electric vibrations in a universe of contrasting contingencies. It is fitting that Kasner’s own Blood Fountains would bring fruition to the URSK project, which by now has become a vital part of the new dark-psych musical landscape as well as one of the best examples of creative symbiosis that I can remember.

Floods is a truly magnificent record, offering such a complete representation of Kasner’s cosmic vision that it could serve as a travel-guide through URSK’s entire spectral universe. Here, Kasner’s painting depicts a faintly glowing halo against an infinity of unfathomable blackness. The halo beckons as far-away galaxies might, luring us out from earthly existence and into the initial dread, eventual terror and ultimate apotheosis of the unknown. This image, more than any other image in the series, captures the sublime essence found at the limits of human consciousness, the transcendence we may attempt to experience through ritual, meditation, magickal or religious practice, rigorous self-discipline, etc. In a universe like URSK’s, the violence, darkness and apparent chaos of any challenging artwork is entirely consistent with our responsibility as sentient beings; here, such a work represents an attempt to utter the ineffable, to grasp at the unreachable, and to extend experience beyond that which is already known to man.

Sonic fibers are slowly unfurled into an ever-shifting canvas of textured drones. You may discern the sources of some of these sounds — a guitar quietly buzzes, a Rhodes churns, Bloody Panda’s Yoshiko Ohara utters a ritual incantation from a far-away place — but together the voices strike a profoundly unified and otherworldly tone. The pacing of these compositions is methodical and perfect, both organic and esoteric, like a slow accumulation of magickal power. There is a definite structure to every track, but it’s as if their formative elements have been blown apart by a breeze, gently torn into a silken skein that may momentarily vanish into ether, forever lost to our worldly souls.

-Jenks Miller of Horseback..
 

..Aquarius Records New Arrivals #327
04th September 2009
....http://www.aquariusrecords.org/....

One of two new records this list from the always kick ass Utech label, the other is from Vagusnerve, a tripped out bit of guitar and laptop sonic alchemy, and this dark gem right here, the first release from the mysterious Blood Fountains, which counts as a member artist Stephen Kasner, responsible for much of the amazing Utech artwork (and has an amazing book of his art, we have one or two in stock if you want one, and you should!), and counts as a guest, dooooom chanteuse Yoshiko Ohara, from avant doom merchants Bloody Panda.

And the sound? Well if you're familiar with Kasner's artwork, it's hard to imagine that this isn't exactly what his paintings would sound like. Creeping fluttery ambience, flecked with ethereal vocals, spidery tendrils of Eastern buzz, draped over soft shards of muted crumbling thrum, deep swells of Godspeed like rumble, all beneath soaring string like shimmers, while a dense Lustmordian buzz sprawls into a sea of whirring blackness, and deep resonant hum. A slow motion, ultra delicate soft focus dreamdoom, rendered in flickers of wistful flute, processed guitar feedback, and glistening slabs of synth, wrapped in ephemeral flurries of reflective tones and overlapping layered vocal harmonies. A grim blackened new age drift, dark and mysterious and quite lovely. Like all Utech releases, gorgeous packaging, a lush full color fold out sleeve, featuring original artwork by Kasner himself (of course).......
 

 ..Blood Fountains, "Floods"
Written by Creaig Dunton
Sunday, 20 September 2009

An appropriate coda for the URSK series on Utech, the slew of drone oriented releases from both established (Skullflower, Final) and the up and coming (Aluk Todol...o, RST) ends with a new project featuring visual artist Stephen Kasner (the SK of URSK) and collaborators including Yoshiko Ohara (Bloody Panda) clashes ethereal and oppressive dynamics to maximum effectiveness.

While the prior works in this series had been largely focused on the more bleak and dark sounds, this work lets in a bit more of the light that had been otherwise obscured over time. The disc opens and closes with tracks that focus on light ambient ethereal sounds that on their own are rather beautiful, but take on an entirely different quality given the distant, haunting vocals of Ohara, sounding like a spirit channeling from other worlds.

Both "Head Found in Aptos" and "Spiritless" mix the dark vocals with heavier guitar riffs that infringe upon metal territory, but are only one part of a much more diverse compositions. The former combines heavier guitar with more ambient riffs, ending with layers of string-like textures. The latter is longer and mixes softer electronics with the deeper metal riffs, but eventually slipping away to reveal unabashedly beautiful tones to conclude the track.

The remaining tracks pull some of the darker layers away to focus on the more ethereal elements. "White Wax Blood" has subtle low frequency elements but gentle, chiming guitar notes that are much more 4AD than Southern Lord. The creepy, dissonant vocals remain, but the other elements of the track overshadow the darkness. Even the occasional dank basement from hell low end doesn’t drag the track downward. "Hemming" mixes gentle guitar strums, backward notes, and light synth work with some more obscure, sinister elements. It’s a disparate combination of sounds that manages to actually come together beautifully.

The closing "Picture of Time and Space/Out" strips everything down to simply the vocals of Ohara and some treatments of them, mixing heavily effected vocals with the pure ones, ending the album (and series) with some sense of closure, as isolated and frozen as it may sound.

Like the Arc series that preceded it, the URSK series of albums curated by Keith Utech has assembled various practitioners of dark, droning sound to wonderful effect, with the known artists doing some of their best work, while aiding in the younger folks getting a bit more attention. Stephen Kasner’s visual art that accompanied each of these releases have been the perfect metaphor as well: dark, grimy paintings, but small fragments of light escaping describes the sound of most of these albums, but this one especially. It is a haunting finish to a memorable set of albums...
 

........Blood Fountains...... ....Aquarius Records reviews Floods

One of two new records this list from the always kick ass Utech label, the other is from Vagusnerve, a tripped out bit of guitar and laptop sonic alchemy, and this dark gem right here, the first release from the mysteri...ous Blood Fountains, which counts as a member artist Stephen Kasner, responsible for much of the amazing Utech artwork (and has an amazing book of his art, we have one or two in stock if you want one, and you should!), and counts as a guest, dooooom chanteuse Yoshiko Ohara, from avant doom merchants Bloody Panda.

And the sound? Well if you're familiar with Kasner's artwork, it's hard to imagine that this isn't exactly what his paintings would sound like. Creeping fluttery ambience, flecked with ethereal vocals, spidery tendrils of Eastern buzz, draped over soft shards of muted crumbling thrum, deep swells of Godspeed like rumble, all beneath soaring string like shimmers, while a dense Lustmordian buzz sprawls into a sea of whirring blackness, and deep resonant hum. A slow motion, ultra delicate soft focus dreamdoom, rendered in flickers of wistful flute, processed guitar feedback, and glistening slabs of synth, wrapped in ephemeral flurries of reflective tones and overlapping layered vocal harmonies. A grim blackened new age drift, dark and mysterious and quite lovely. Like all Utech releases, gorgeous packaging, a lush full color fold out sleeve, featuring original artwork by Kasner himself (of course).....Read More........................................[ Aquarius Records ]........Source: www.aquariusrecords.org....20th century composerscompilation / splitcountry/folk/bluescountry/folk/blues ("no depression")dvd / video / filmelectronicexotica / noveltyexperimentalfound sounds, field recordings, odditieshiphophiphop .......
 

..Blood Fountains "Floods" CD
Posted on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 @ 7:49 am » permalink
I've only recently started listening to experimental music again after a three- to four-year hiatus, but nothing would have kept me from checking out "Floods" (released by the very intriguing Utech Records), the long-awaited debut from Blood Fountains – which is the current musical outlet of visual artist Stephen Kasner, who just happens to be my favorite artist of all time. Said to be "initiated in the idea of transforming images into sound – a soundtrack extension of painting", the material certainly works to invoke appropriate visual components from the imagination – though of course standing on its own as well. Kasner works with several collaborators throughout the 40-minute excursion – most notably the hypnotic, chillingly abstract, chant-like vocals of Bloody Panda's Yoshiko Ohara, which work surprisingly well to complement the overall atmosphere of the misty whirrs and rumbling dark ambient hums that drive the bulk of the compositions. Guitars accent said foundation by offering both shimmery passages that almost border on tangible "riffs" and waves of subdued drones and feedback, while quite nice spurts of distant, melodic bass color the background. For whatever reason, I typically dislike traditional instrumentation being a recognizable sound source in experimental music, but that's actually not the case here at all. I'm sure a part of that is because the avant-garde nature of Blood Fountains' work certainly expands beyond the bounds of "noise" by further developing such textures into something more musical, thus the overwhelmingly improvisational nature of the collaborators' approach still somehow retains a sense of structure and arrangement. Hear for yourselves…......http://www.aversionline.com/blahg/2009/10/28/blood-fountains-floods-cd/..
Blood Fountains "Hemming" (excerpt)....Apparently the pressing is limited to just 750 CD's, which I imagine will sell out at some point, so… if this type of thing interests you, don't sleep on it for too long…
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..Stephen Kasner is best known for his skill at oil painting. Perhaps you’ve seen some of his art, if not then ....check it out..... There’s no question that he’s one of the foremost at what he does, and has proved very influential in the art world. He is undoubtedly amazing at what he does. But what unparalleled dark beauty he creates visually is now manifested audibly with his new project, Blood Fountains. “Floods” was released back in August on the noteworthy label, Utech Records. He had done album art for some of the other artists on the label as well. Blood Fountains, however, is the ultimate synesthetic experience. It is the perfect harmony of sound and art. The artwork is stunning and presents to the eye what the CD offers to the ear. It offers the same unparalleled quality that makes every Utech release unique. Chill on the floor and just get lost in Kasner’s own art, especially for “Floods,” while listening to the album itself. Essential experience. You won’t be the same afterwards.

If you could put your ear up against one of his paintings, a track off of “Floods” is what you would hear. It’s like patiently listening to the voice of the sea shell. Shadowy layers drift hither and thither with indecipherable female incantations via Yoshiko Ohara (Bloody Panda) that flow like a drone itself. It feels like you’re walking onto the scene of some primeval pagan ritual with a priestess softly chanting a magical formula in a foggy forest. The focus is undoubtedly fixed on the mood. When one approaches a Kasner on the wall it does something. It morphs your environment into something sinister, mysterious, and ethereal, yet strangely hopeful. It’s all about the impression. And that’s just what these six tracks do. They are a soundtrack to something completely alien…a dreamscape bordering on a nightmare that you could never quite invent. That’s the genius of Kasner in his painting and that’s also the genius of Blood Fountains. It’s hard to think that someone less than divine could knit such an intangible aesthetic creature together and contain it on a canvas, or in this case, a compact disc. Now through the end of the year you can score this disc at the unbelievable price of only $10.00 at Utech’s site. Don’t miss this one! 9/10 -- ....Dave Miller.... (8 December, 2009) ........