Another Trensmat release; I’ve previously talked about another of the records from this label – but this one isn’t a lathe-cut record. It’s a regular 7″ single pressed onto rather fetching translucent dull green vinyl. I’d no idea who Cheval Sombre were before coming across this record, and then soon after receiving it I saw a full page review of one of their other records in The Wire. Obviously I’m not as all over the experimental drone/noise music scene as I could be. I’m not sure if I’m happy with that situation or not.
Some aspects of note:
- The record’s labels are blank, save for a simple ‘trensmat – every noise has a note’ stamp onto one side. This gives a nice lo-fi feel to things.
- An accompanying CD-R joins the record within the sleeve, containing the songs on the record along with one extra piece. However, it’s hard for me to give the name of these songs as the text on the disc has been printed onto one of those plain white CD-Rs and has subsequently seeped out into a strange red-grey blur of bloated text. It looks interesting, but I don’t know what it might be doing to the all-important digital information underneath. I’m afraid to play this CD-R: a fire could break out. Safety first.
- I mentioned the back-to-front sleeve opening of the other Trensmat release that I’ve written about here. This record’s sleeve is even more maddening – it’s all wrong; if it’s supposed to open from the right hand side then the text is going in the wrong direction; if it’s supposed to open from the top then the front cover is on the back, and vice versa, or the front cover is printed the wrong way round; if it’s supposed to open from the left hand side with imagery on the front cover, the text on the back is in the wrong direction. (Should I just get over these hangups? Perhaps I should tear the sleeve in half in order to put things around the way I want them).
I have two copies of this record. There was some slight confusion over payment when I ordered this and a couple of other Trensmat releases, meaning that two sets arrived but I’d only paid for one. The very nice man from Trensmat said for me not to worry about it and let me keep both sets. I can’t remember what the other duplicates were, but if anybody wants my spare copy of this, drop me a line…
I think “Sombre” certainly was what they got across in that cover!
Do you still have that extra copy around? I’ll take it!
Sure thing, drop me a mail with your address (simon@nineteenpoint.com) and I’ll get it to you.
Great! I just sent you an email.