Where were we? It is relentless, it is perpetual, it probably doesn’t keep the country clean, it is a non stop operation. Thankful? Thankless? There first thing you need to know here is that Lana Del Rabies in involved, or at least Lana’s other self. Let’s let Sam explain… 

“I’m Sam An, aka Lana Del Rabies. I wanted to reach out because Organ has covered and supported my work for a while now, which I greatly appreciate. That considered, I wondered if there would be interest in the first artist release I am putting out this month on my new DIY record label, Feral Crone Recordings, as well as a release of mine I have coming up in November with Phage Tapes as a co-release with Feral Crone” –

Now everything Lana Del Rabies does is vital, everything she does looks and sounds deliciously rich, the deep red visuals, that power of her sound, the way she paints it all in such a powerfully consuming way, she is a constantly uncompromising challenge, of course there’s massive interest in her new label, feral indeed…. 

The first release, Uncaged, marks the “punishing debut from Ash Barrett, a rogue truck-stop artist and arcane force formerly of Arizona industrial outfit Tassel. Now carving out a new path in Texas, Barrett delivers a feral, unapologetic body of work that tears through the gloss of today’s darkwave scene. Recorded entirely on 8-track, Uncaged’s twelve uncompressed tracks channel raw rock noise and an industrial rumble that’s both visceral and cathartic. The result is a sound that collides the abrasive experimentation of Einstürzende Neubauten with the restless energy of Big Black and early Deerhunter, reimagined for a new generation, as BIG, BAD, LOUD”.

Ash Barrett – Uncaged (Feral Crone) – Uncaged isn’t quite brutal, it isn’t ever that obvious, it is dark, it is punishing, it is indeed, to quote the label, “music without mercy: a stark rejection of polish, and a return to pure sonic brutality”, it is more than that though, Uncaged has a lush undertone, a sensual warmth, something inviting, like a moth to a flame maybe? Or a cage although it isn’t quite clear who might be in the cage. It is exactly what you’d expect for first statement of intend from a label run by Sam An (or Lana Del Rabies), it sounds just right. Repetitive industrial music yes, but with an edge, with a need to challenge rather that conform to a fashion or to the now often tired blueprint Industrial music tends to mostly follow these days. There’s something reassuringly disturbing here, something in the rhythm of Inflatable Doll, or the darkness of Needle – that needle doesn’t feel that clean and Lick really does feel feral and who’s licking what? Or being made to? Or maybe wanting to be allowed to? The undercurrent here is as delicious as the textures, the edges, the rawness of those machines and those repeated riff that kind of almost threatens to touch on some kind of very darkly dressed moody fetish flavoured glamness with a mean Rockabilly undercurrent. That repetitiveness is a positive, the almost minimalist maximalism of it all, the quality of the textures, the art of the sound. Damn fine first release and a fien statement of intent from a new label that could easily be in love with itself and much as Ash Barnett is in love with himself.  The closing track is called Punishment…   Bandcamp            

Meanwhile the second release on Sam An’s label is from her alto-ego Lana Del Rabies…

Lana Del Rabies – Omnipotent Fuck – (Phage Tapes/Feral Clone) – “Omnipotent Fuck is the second instalment in a trilogy of releases by Lana Del Rabies, exploring a psychological descent into the hell of how eros affects the subconscious mind. Demons, the underworld, history, and mythology emerge as shadowy symbols of perversion, exploitation, longing and death. The trilogy begins with the 2025 EP Le Temps Viendra and will conclude with Lana’s forthcoming fourth full-length LP.  Omnipotent Fuck is not a traditional record, but exists in limbo. A four-take, stream-of-consciousness, death industrial recording that grapples with romantic and sexual possession by a demonic figure”.

And it does possess, it does demand go you with it, with her, or it dares you to? It does both sound and feel demonic, or encasing, something that you could get lost in. And it does demand you play it loud, you give it full commitment, you fill the room with her and that you don’t ask where she’s going (or is she doing the asking?). This is a recording, a piece of art, that drips with dark atmosphere, disturbing if you let it disturb, beautiful if you want it to be – beautifully disturbing. If it was a painting it would be all deep rich reds and very dark blacks. And of course it is a painting, the art of sound once more, an aural performance, a (beautiful) headfuck to get all wrapped up in, to dare to get all wrapped up in. She’s right, this is not a traditional record, if it is then maybe somewhere the world of Throbbing Gristle, warmer though, inviting, enticing rather than confronting. Sound art, spoken word, collage, performance, do you want to be a what? What did vengeance get you? I’m not your fucking martyr, who is though? Who is the (potential) martyr here? Is she taking us with her, leading us, or is she the one being taken somewhere? Are we the voyeurs here? She’s certainly going deeper than before. And as for the closing title track, well where have we ended up? You find yourself so weak, she’s almost rolled us up into a musical ball here, or maybe the same question again, is she the one rolled up? Isolation? Back where we started, sucked back in again, not dragged kicking or screaming, it is consensual, play it again. It isn’t so much spoken word as it is unspoken word, the wisdom spit of it all, an omnipotent headfuck, a beautiful one (if you let it be that beautiful).  sw

Previous Organ coverage / lanadelrabies.com

Anne Boleyn is from the EP Le Temps Viendra, Directed, edited, styled, performed and shot by Lana Del Rabies…