Sonic Youth Gossip - Rene Hell (and other Jeff Witscher pseudonyms)

For the past year or two, Jeff Witscher has been one of the few artists that if I hear he's released something, I immediately seek it out. No time for shilly-shallyoing, the editions are mostly far too small.

I don't know much about the history before I first started listening, but he spent 3-4 years as Impregnable, including a side within the Thrash Sabbatical box. I first heard him when he was recording beautiful pastoral drone, with maybe just the tiniest undercurrent of unease, as Marble Sky, releasing cassettes in editions of 12 - 150, mostly on his own Callow God and Agents of Chaos labels. His "The Sad Return" under that name, rereleased on CD by Students of Decay is something of an ambient drone masterpiece.

At the same time as Marble Sky, there has been Secret Abuse. Again, I've not heard much, but I have the LP "The Immeasurable Gift" on Arbor, and it operates in a similar updated shoegaze field as Grouper, but, in my opinion, betters her. When time allows, I must get more.

Next: A few cassettes as Abelar Scout. I have one of them, but it's a while since I've listened to it, and I can't think how I'd decsribe it.

And most recently, Rene Hell: a pretty variable can of worms, operating sometimes in a similar arena to Oneohtrix, someotimes in another different arena in a totally different part of town. My knowledge of the analogue synthesiser thang that's popular with the kids right now isn't sufficient to supply you ols-school 19702 and 1980s comparisons, but I do know good when I hear it, and this is good.

Rene Hell will shortly be marking Witscher's most available release yet with "Porcelain Opera" on Type, on CD and on vinyl with a limited initial number of the vinyl copies coming with a bonus CD. I recommend that you head down to your local independent music emporium and make known your desire to own a copy of this - you won't regret it.

Oh, you'll probably want some links, won't you?

Jeff Witcsher's blog:
http://www.salonturnkey.blogspot.com/

Rene Hell - 1854 Torture Highway cassette download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?5yuzhgd3nzw

Some Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qBtN...embedded#at=16

Marble Sky:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h5oI...eature=related

Some live stuff from US radio:
http://krui.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/jeff-witscher/

A few sounds samples from Porcelain Opera:
http://www.amazon.com/Porcelain-Oper...12762&sr=301-4