Rogue Pulse / Gravity Collapse (Sampler)

LOCAL! Rogue Pulse/Gravity Collapse is an epic 10xCD, 180+ track benefit comp put together by Oakland’s Ratksin Records and featuring weirdo music legends from the Bay and beyond (including at least a few Day of Noise performers). Assembled in response to a maelstrom of tragedy, from Trump’s election to the Ghost Ship fire, this collection aims to “[bridge] the gap between artistic documents and radical modes of resistance, fundraising, networking and solidarity.” Flipping the bird to any narrow notion of “experimental” or “radical” music, it embraces a broad constellation of identities and aesthetics, from the dark, minimal pop of Spellling to the free playing of Black Spirituals. (It might be the only major comp that has classical piano, southern rap, AND harsh noise wall.) Proceeds go to immediate Oakland fire relief, the national Black Lives Matter bail fund, and St. James Infirmary in Oakland. The whole compilation is 13+ hours long, so this is just a sampling of what’s on there. All tracks are great; play what intrigues you. This is DIY culture at its best. No FCCs detected.

Disc 1
1. (4:28)—Recording of a BLM march, with a beat that comes in and out. Feedback noise finish.
2. (4:01)—Harsh industrial noise. Pulsing synth beat that zooms up and down the volume scale.
3. (12:48)—Glittering drone with a dark undertow. Background glitches. Gets noisy and hyperactive, then settles into a minimal, calm middle before picking up again. Very quiet final minute.
4. (3:09)—Sweeping, lovely wordless group singing. Noise creeps in gradually and takes over.
5. (5:20)—Fast, pounding sci-fi noise punk. Hard-driving drums. Shouting in multiple languages. Synth freak-out. Killer.
6. (2:41)—Noise like a windstorm tearing across a landscape and taking down human structures.
7. (3:17)—Over-the-top noise-punk intro into power electronics.
8. (2:12)—Dark instrumental hip-hop with soft scraping sounds. Cool breakbeat in the second half.
9. (4:54)—Gothic, minimal folk from the singer of Neurosis.
10. (4:38)—Relentlessly harsh but banging trap-esque noise.
11. (2:52)—Slow, moody post-punk guitar. Ghostly singing. Dubby, minimal beat. Reminds me of MJ Guider.
12. (4:32)—Percussive field recordings from Malta? Sounds of ropes being stretched? Dissonant horns. Construction noise. Pedestrians speaking.
13. (2:32)—Slow, visceral, blown-out breakbeats.
14. (3:44)—Damaged lo-fi techno noise. Medium-slow, minimal. Sounds like it’s being delivered via a broken transmitter.
15. (9:44)—Free improv drumming. Wobbling, euphoric 80s synths. Churning guitar noise. The closest thing I’ve ever heard to retro video game free jazz.

Disc 2
1. (6:21)—Medium-fast, highly danceable techno from one of the artists scheduled to play Ghost Ship the night of the fire. (He survived.) Driving, with retro drum pads.
2. (2:46)—Groovy mid-tempo laser synth industrial techno featuring Obsidian Blade, aka Joey Casio. (In memory.)
3. (3:53)—Harsh rhythmic noise from Jsun McCarty (in memory), Michael Daddona (who runs Ratskin), and Ryan King (Bonus Beast). Crashing sounds, blown-out beats, mangled voices.
4. (4:40)—Pleasant staccato piano piece from one of the original members of Blue Cheer.
5. (4:34)—Wonky, insistent beat. Cut-up spoken word samples woven together to form a tech-skeptical polemic.
6. (4:57)—Mid-tempo techno from a Club Chai affiliate. Hypnotic, slightly noisy.
7. (2:40)—Out-of-control synths paired with shaker and…ragtime piano!?
8. (1:20)—All-out harsh noise. I saw Xome play a set once, and at the harshest points people were cheering and screaming as if they were Van Halen fans watching Eddie pull a sick solo.
9. (0:46)—Easygoing punk instrumental with saxophone. East Bay Express reporter Sam Lefebvre on drums.
10. (2:33)—Spastic freakout synth rhythms from Micah Danemayer. (In memory.)
11. (2:20)—Mid-tempo, bouncy space travel take on 80s hip-hop.
12. (5:22)—Kosmiche drone with buried, spaced-out vocals.
13. (5:37)—Medium-fast house. Another Club Chai affiliate. First 15 seconds are silence. Retro synths and drum pads. Ascetic, dry sound.
14. (4:13)—Mid-tempo breakcore from Sydney.
15. (2:44)—Wall of harsh noise, with fragments of grindcore and bits of broken glass buried in there.
16. (9:28)—Glitchy sound art. Burbling synths, cut-up voices, ghostly singing.