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Warm Climate — Pigeon Brides Weigh In c39 (Stunned no. 136) —out of stock—With Cailtin on drums, Jake on bass, and Seth on guitar, the incomparable Warm Climate takes aim at the center of the target and shoots yet another bullseye of jawdropping outsider-rock. Sounding like nothing that’s come before them, this tightly-rehearsed L.A. group fires one psych groove & infectious hook after another. In a parallel reality where the music industry isn’t steered by tasteless major label trends, Warm Climate would be ringing out on all worldwide hi-fi’s the liberated rush that comes from their marriage of songwriting genius with a gutsy combo of seasoned rockers. As our label’s last cassette release, ‘Pigeon Brides Weigh In’ is firmly perched at Stunned’s summit, a pinnacle experience of music at the end of a trail that can be climbed no higher. Special edition of 222 pro-dubbed & imprinted c39 tapes with double-sided jcard and insert.
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review:
— Honest Bag
M. Geddes Gengras — The Empty Space c93 (Stunned no. 135) —out of stock—Let it spill through you like the peak experience of your choice. In your hands is ‘The Empty Space’ and pouring into your head is Stunned’s most trusted synthesizer medicine man M. Geddes Gengras. This is an album dealing with freefall, the ground suddenly dropping out, the fierce void we rush against that resists our naturally preferred trajectory. The cycles and patterns appear to dominate — yet MGG boldly transcends such conditions with his fearless navigation through an unpredictable modular synth patchwork, taking a plunge into analogue novelty in its most naked state. Roots run deep in a tree bearing aural fruits this sweet. Special edition of 222 pro-dubbed & imprinted c93 tapes with double-sided color jcard.
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review:
— Weed Temple
Nite Lite — Marlene c36 (Stunned no. 134) —out of stock—The boys are cut loose and Myste takes up the solo Nite Lite reins on her new peripatetic audio-tour ‘Marlene’. A tribeswoman from the black time of innocence discovers interdimensional gates within Nature. The sounds of forest animals, machines, and people mingle with subtler sounds welling up from the earth’s very core. All vibrations become indiscriminately suspended in her ear, their energies funneled from hidden brain glands into the alchemical chamber of her heart. It is from this activated place of love that ‘Marlene’ is captured, held for a while, then released back into the wild again. Keep your nite lite burning. Limited edition of 111 pro-dubbed & imprinted c36 tapes with double-sided jcard and insert.
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review:
— Weed Temple
Pimmon — Lay Down Real Slow c41 (Stunned no. 133) —out of stock—Epic pieces like “Lay Down Real Slow” have contributed to Pimmon’s career being quite an impeccable one over the last decade. It’s no secret that many masters of their craft eventually return to the piano, seeking its raw tactility as a fundamental starting point for new articulations. Pimmon takes this approach here on his second essential release on Stunned Records, and the results are invigorating. Samples from the ivory keys glide beautifully within a patient matrix of laptop manipulations, a technique that draws cosmic gestures from humble origins. A national treasure not only to his homeland of Australia but to all of us around the globe, Pimmon is paired best with a relaxing and carefree listening environment, going down like the finest of red wines. Limited edition of 111 pro-dubbed & imprinted c41 tapes with double-sided jcard and insert.
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reviews:
— Coreografo del Cerro
— Textura
Social Drag — New Age Healer c39 (Stunned no. 132) —out of stock—One of the most flat-out incendiary debut tapes ever shared with this label, Social Drag’s ‘New Age Healer’ employs wickedly smart noise structures as a necessary remedy for any digital-age depressions. In the hands of this frequency surgeon we are provided a reboot and awaken fresh to what has made the last decades of experimental music worthwhile in the first place — starting with the artist’s scandalizing and unapologetic plunder far beyond all safety zones erected by society. Opening his aperture into this lawless place of awesome possibility, Social Drag directs red hot mutagenic forces through writhing cables and circuits fried to crispy perfection. Limited edition of 111 pro-dubbed & imprinted c39 tapes with double-sided color jcard.
Parashi / Granitkorridor — Celedon / VI c80 (Stunned no. 131) —out of stock—Parashi returns with his signature branded on forty fresh minutes of amplified turbulence and gnarled electronics. While his “Troika” (Stunned no. 115) ushered in longform pieces of crackling scuzz, the opening side of this split with Granitkorridor reveals Parashi isn’t treading the same ground for long. Listeners behold six distinct scenes that evoke images of malevolent applications of nanotech, wastelands glowing green with radiation, and lab-weaponized parasites slithering their way into flesh. None of these perceived traumas seem to daunt Parashi, however, as he brings the magical powers of a sonic warrior to the fore of his side’s entirety. Germany’s most somber string-puller Granitkorridor knows a thing or two about a warrior’s skills, having spent a half dozen releases now exploring cavernous realms that few else dare to entreat. His time here is split evenly between two huge pieces of pure bass guitar blackout. Amazingly spacious, it possesses everything that has made Granitkorridor’s previous cassettes so repeatable and essential in our psychedelic music collection. Limited edition of 111 pro-dubbed & imprinted c80 tapes with double-sided jcard and insert.
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review:
— Upstate Soundscape
Berber Ox — The Great Parenthesis c54 (Stunned no. 130) —out of stock—The dream logic Berber Ox weaves throughout ‘The Great Parenthesis’ presents an immersive environment with no orientation to time. It bends linear constructs with duality-erasing fields of lifelike detail and backward flowing sound motions. A beautiful specimen unlike many registered in the books, its astral quality simply eludes classification. Limited edition of 111 pro-dubbed & imprinted c54 tapes with double-sided color jcard.
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review:
— Textura
Queen Victoria — The Present Tense c60 (Stunned no. 129) —out of stock—Sitting down with a Queen Victoria album proves to be a profound time spent by the stereo, as those who tuned into last year’s “There Will Come Soft Rains” tape can testify. QV’s enigmatic lyricism, graceful guitar composition, and wizened vocals sure can sneak up and take hold of those happily entranced by bandleader Nick Malkin’s mellow delivery. Ageless ways of rock, blues, and folk fluidly channel through this incredibly promising musician from Los Angeles, and “The Present Tense” is his unforgettable calling card. The entire program repeats on the B-Side for a conveniently-looping listening experience. Limited edition of 111 pro-dubbed & imprinted c60 tapes with double sided jcard and cover photography by the band.
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review:
— Tiny Mix Tapes
Enfer Boreal — Drone Is Dead CDr (Stunned bonus #11) —out of stock—This 11th release concluding Stunned Record’s bonus series finds us resurrecting the formerly mortified CDr for the occasion of the final album to be released by Enfer Boreal. Ever since starting in an obscure corner of France five years ago, this musician has become increasingly recognized as the go-to guy for Drone’s most delicious tones. What a difference half a decade makes. Now with multiple rhythm-based projects in full force and a world tour under his belt, the mysterious man behind Enfer Boreal is declaring “Drone Is Dead” — at least for himself. On the way out the door he delivers this brief and potent eulogy with style. Defiant metallic scrapes and trippy bell clatter occupies the disc’s first half, admirably staving off a totally-inevitable, yet totally-appropriate One Last Uber-drone. Adieu indeed. Complimentary edition of 111 hand-painted CDrs with double-sided color cover in vinyl jacket.
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review:
— Foxy Digitalis
