High Aura’d - “Dusk Latitudes”
Thanks to the brilliant curating and diligent tape-ripping being done over at The Radiant Now (quite simply one the best blogs I’ve come across in ages), I spent a solid chunk of my winter vacation combing through the discography of Stunned Records, a consistently game-changing tape label which unfortunately shuttered its doors early last Fall. Stunned produced some fairly impressive alums over the course of its three-year run, and between its wonderful home-brewed aesthetic (see above) and knack for finding impossibly talented acts to work with, it may very well have been the best imprint of its kind.
All this brings me to last year’s split cassette between Barn owl associate High Aura’d (John Kolodij) and Locrian member André Foisy, a release so crazily good that I would blare through city-wide loudspeakers just to let it be heard. Clocking in at a hefty 45 minutes, the tape sees the artists tapping into some similarly dark frequencies, trading the the starry noodling typical of the genre for something far chillier. While Foisy’s side goes for the throat with subterranean drones and enough tortured screams to spook Dominick Fernow, High Aura’d sets his sights on the skies, bringing all willing passengers to the very edge of the stratosphere. “Dusk Latitudes” is as transportive a track as I’ve heard in months, an expertly-sequenced bit of guitar mastery that gives any likeminded soundscapers a run for their money. Unmissable.
A note: this track is long (22 minutes)- streaming is not recommended
