Notnef Greco have re-emerged with a follow up to their debut recording Deviant Horses, which they describe as “an underwater suite in three movements”. Ever restless to pursue new sound clusters, in The Demo Tapes Notnef Greco take their trance ambient tastes in a whole other direction, sometimes lighter and more playful than one would expect, other times more industrial and darker than the predecessor, even with a bit of a punk attitude.
This new work is a collection of improvisational “demos” recorded in seven underwater studios when the boys were seeking just the right sound for their new water proof construction. Whimsical and unpredictable, each of the seven pieces reflects the location of the space of their recording, taking advantage of whatever each environment happened to afford: equipment, studio vibes, innocent bystanders.
The thread that binds these pieces together is DF’s electric guitar. It is ubiquitous in every piece, even if not instantly recognizable. All guitar work was heavily processed at the source and recorded live, with no overdubs. Some guitar sounds were then further processed in the mixing phase, except for the solo guitar piece “Polar Delays” where there are overdubs but no electronic processing.
Characteristically disruptive and yet endearing, the mysterious duo discusses this process in detail in a recent interview with Sublamental: sublamental.com/words/an-interview-with-notnef-greco
Credits
released November 29, 2018
Deviant Fond: guitar, bass-drum loop (1), Terminator scratch (2)
Count G: electronics, piano (5), field recordings, arrangements
Recorded in The Sinking Ship (Berkeley) and The Boys Room (New York). Piano recorded on Mansfield Ave. in Los Angeles. Remixed in The Boys Room and remastered at Terra Infirma by Count G in November 2022.
With gratitude to Martin Harries for recording two herons mating in Silverlake, CA (3), and to Adam Parfrey for leaving us his voice (5) to add to our memories.
“Beehive for Adam Parfrey” is dedicated to a dear friend who left this planet last year (www.nytimes.com/2018/05/14/obituaries/adam-parfrey-publisher-of-the-provocative-dies-at-61.html). A groundbreaker in the lineage of provocateur art in America, Adam Parfrey founded the Feral House publishing company (feralhouse.com), which continues as a famous resource for underground, extreme, and what some would call “forbidden” knowledge.
You can find out more about this release and many others at Sublamental Records: https://sublamental.com/notnef-greco/the-demo-tapes