Everything created, issued, and reissued by Adventures in Reality, the label and fanzine.
Gearing up for the new Mummies and Madmen reissue album on Fourth Dimension Records reminded me of this from shortly after.
Classic live performance from UK electronic act Stress taken from a concert at the Hammersmith Clarendon, London on June 2nd 1984.
Been creating a video today giving the background to the development of my 1980s Adventures in Reality fanzine for the RILM Archive of Popular Music Magazines in New York.
Pre-orders are open now for the upcoming reissue on CD of the mega rare 1984 Mummies and Madmen cassette. Expected to ship mid March. Order from Fourth Dimension or Adventures in Reality.
https://fourthdimensionrecords.bigcartel.com/product/mummies-and-madmen-grow-dark-in-the-sun-lp-winter-hill-recordings
https://mummiesandmadmen.bandcamp.com/album/mummies-and-madmen-grow-dark-in-the-sun
2 track album
Just fired the gun on the Mummies and Madmen album on Winter Hill Recordings (an imprint of Fourth Dimension Records)/Adventures In Reality to go into production. Release date is pencilled in for March. It's taken a good while to get here, so it's exciting that this is finally happening. This isn't the final artwork btw. Puppy38 is busy fine tuning that. More updates and pre-order details to come as we get closer to release.
This blog feature on Adventures in Reality was written by Cincinatti's Torn Light Records back in April last year, but I've only just seen it myself. Its a very comprehensive and well researched summing up of how, and why I produced Adventures in Reality at the time.
Zines have been essential players in DIY music culture for decades, sites of sharing musical opinions, interviews with underground figures, political information, and tributes to personal passions.
Listen here to my interview on Coventry fanzines on Brum Radio
Broadcaster Adrian Goldberg hosts his music based radio show: Adventures in Music on Brum Radio. Adrian takes you on a journey through gigs he's attended, tracks that are important to him and talks to guests who are part of that story. This week Adrian speaks with Alan Rider to discuss Coventry's Po...
A startling audio recreation of the notorious Stanford Prison Experiment by Alan Rider of Stress and Puppy38 of Hiroshimabend.
Fantastic and hugely detailed 9 out of 10 review of the acclaimed Senestra 'Stanford' album just published on Brutal Resonance. "the true gift of this release is that a story can be told through the sounds created by its composers". Its reviews like this that make it all worth while - thankyou Luke Jacobs. Order the CD and download from Bandcamp here. A few of the 'prison cell' Special Editions are also still available if you hurry. https://senestra1.bandcamp.com/album/stanford
https://www.brutalresonance.com/review/senestra-stanford/
A Brutal Resonance review of Senestra - Stanford (Experimental)
Outsideleft.com an independent Arts, Music and Culture Magazine our newest story is John Robb's deep in the Art of Darkness
SENESTRA-“STANFORD”(FOURTH DIMENSION/ADVENTURES IN REALITY/OPIUMDENPLUTO, CD/DL,2023)
As a music obsessive I spend pretty much every waking moment listening to music, so it takes something special to stand out and grab me by the short-n-curlies. The latest album by dark electronic act SENESTRA is one example of a new release that has given me a 240 volt shock to the te**es. A concept album revolving around the controversial Stanford Prison Experiment, “STANFORD” is not always an easy listen, but it’s infinitely rewarding, and one that’ll keep you captive for days.
Conducted in the summer of 1971, the Stanford prison experiment (SPE) was a simulation to examine situational variables on the participants. The results have been well documented in print and film, but the short of it was that it turned those involved into either submissive prisoners or sadistic guards, and the two-week trail had to be suspended after just six days due to the brutal results. Anyway, it seems it is the perfect subject for an album (especially of the decidedly darkwave variety) and Senestra bring the project to life, and with frightening results.
If ever there was a remake of the 2015 film, The Stanford Prison Experiment, then this album would make the perfect soundtrack. In fact, this release requires no additional media, because the images it conjures are vivid (and frightening) enough on their own. Employing a range vintage analogue equipment alongside modern production techniques, “Stanford” gets off to a haunting start with ‘Opening Credits’, a track that washes over the listener with waves of synths, then drags you down to delirious depths. It’s a hypnotic affair that sets an ominous tone, and the brief tinkling of a bell hints a Pavlov’s Dog, which is a nice touch and suggests all kinds of conditioning and the horror that entails. If you think things couldn’t get any darker, then strap yourself in tightly for ‘Prologue’ because two choice samples are repeated over and over and, along with some discombobulating sounds, create an unsettling, claustrophobic sensation.
I’m sure an electronic freak would be able to deconstruct the instruments used here and their merits far better than I, but what I can tell you is that they create atmosphere perfectly. Conjuring images of super-cool science fiction neo-noir (think “Alphaville”) ‘Day 1 – The Beginning’ is as eerie as it is endearing and, like passing a high-speed car crash, you can’t help but peer into the tangled wreckage. With one track devoted to each day, exploring the thoughts, feelings and sensations of the participants, “Stanford” places the listener in the centre of the experience and, if you are listening correctly, then the rattling doors on ‘Day 3 – Submission’ should fill you with abject terror; it’s kind of like Arthur Koestler’s “Darkness At Noon” set to music. “Stanford” offers little in the way of redemption, and lets little light shine through...but never has the dark side sounded so good!
Unlike the SPE, the experiment Senestra have conducted is a triumph!
The second video by Puppy38 to accompany the 'Stanford' album by Senestra. This is 'Day 1 - The Beginning'. Buy the album on Bandcamp and please like on Youtube and share the video.
https://senestra1.bandcamp.com/album/stanford
https://youtu.be/mIAx12X2fNU
Taken from the debut album 'Stanford' by UK/Austrian Dark Electronic act Senestra.Video by Puppy 38Order the Special Edition 'Prison Cell' CD, standard CD ed...
Don't miss out. There are only a few of the 'Prison Cell' Special Edition CDs left. See what you get here and order through the Senestra Bandcamp site. https://senestra1.bandcamp.com/album/stanford
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-TdH0okOuE
This is the very limited 'Prison Cell' Special Edition CD of the debut album from UK/Austrian Dark Electronic act Senestra, featuring a 3D printed outer case...
Amazing five star review of the Stanford album just published in Outsideleft.com https://www.outsideleft.com/main.php?updateID=2641
Outsideleft.com an independent Arts, Music and Culture Magazine our newest story is A Soundtrack for Stanford
Glowing review of the Senestra album 6 minutes in.
Track-by-track feature just published on OutsideLeft.com international Arts and Music magazine. Order the album here and share this post as widely as you can. https://senestra1.bandcamp.com/album/stanford
https://outsideleft.com/main.php?updateID=2631
Track-by-track feature just published on OutsideLeft.com international Arts and Music magazine. Order the album here and share this post as widely as you can. https://senestra1.bandcamp.com/album/stanford
https://outsideleft.com/main.php?updateID=2631
Outsideleft.com an independent Arts, Music and Culture Magazine our newest story is Track by Track: 'Stanford' by Senestra
Light reading
A Brutal Resonance interview with Senestra (Experimental)
Get one before they are all gone.
First batch of the Limited Edition "Stanford" CDs by Senestra shipping early and going out today ahead of the release date of 17 March...comes with a nifty sticker too (not pictured)...
Get a copy before they're all gone (16 copies left)! The Standard Edition is also available at the same link for EU and the rest of the world (excluding UK orders):
https://hiroshimabend.bandcamp.com/album/stanford
Watch this
Debut collaboration between Puppy38 (Hiroshimabend) and Alan Rider (Adventures in Reality, Stress, Dance Naked, Attrition, etc.) co-released by...
The countdown has started. Senestra's debut dark electronic album 'Stanford' launches March 17th. On Fourth Dimension, Adventures in Reality and Opiumdenpluto. https://senestra1.bandcamp.com/album/stanford
Download this track for free from the Senestra bandcamp site where you can also order the full album on download, CD, or Special 'Prison Cell' edition CD. You're welcome. https://senestra1.bandcamp.com/track/day-5-visitation-cage-remix-by-martin-bowes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4PBXgeVKqY
Cage mix by Martin Bowes (Attrition) of a track from the 'Stanford' album by Senestra on Fourth Dimension Records/Adventures in Reality/Opiumdenpluto. Releas...
10 track album
Outsideleft.com an independent Arts, Music and Culture Magazine our newest story is Recognising The Signs of Delerium
Something for the weekend...
with Alan Rider and Graham Burnett
Coming this Thursday on the JAMMING! FANZINE PODCAST: Alan Rider and Graham Burnett on their Coventry and Southend-on-Sea fanzine compendiums. And fanzines in general. Including their own.
Special offer. Buy both books for £40. Save £3.50 on the cost and get both for the same postage cost. Tales From The Ghost Town: Following Alan...
You can download the Conspiracy Theory album by Stress from the Stress Bandcamp site. A re-mastered collection drawn largely from the first two cassette albums, it originally came out on vinyl on Dark Entries Records with a special 'Stress' edition of my Adventures in Reality fanzine included, available as a bonus PDF with the full album download. You also get a bonus live track.
12 track album
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The countdown has started. Senestra's debut dark electronic album 'Stanford' launches March 17th. On Fourth Dimension, Adventures in Reality and Opiumdenpluto. https://senestra1.bandcamp.com/album/stanford
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