DIGITALLY REMASTERED (HOT RELEASES, NC 2011)

FROM THE ARTIST:
I JUST WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK WYATT FOR PUSHING ME AND FOR BEING MY EVERYTHING WHEN IT COMES TO GETTING THIS WORK DONE. IT'S SUCH A JOY TO SHARE AND I CAN'T EVEN BELIEVE I AM LIVING IN THIS MOMENT. WHAT A WAY TO BEGIN CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF BEING A NOISY ASS WOMAN. HERE'S TO 15 MORE XOXO LAURIE

FROM RYAN MARTIN, MY LONG TIME FRIEND, SUPPORTER, AND INSPIRATION:
Flashback to the year 2011 - the Carrboro, NC underground music scene was steadily gaining in momentum and bursting with creativity, much of it centered around my old house, Meadows of Dan, a small 3 bedroom (one of which was the mylar-lined 'show room') located in the middle of residential Carrboro. At the time I lived with the prolific Phil Maier (then of VVAQRT, Lack, Grovl Tapes etc, since graduated to running the Enmossed label and creating increasingly headier music) and between the both of us we managed to host multiple loud gigs a month (sometimes several in the same week) powered by the heavy duty former Nightlight PA. Meadows gigs fell somewhere between church and a bacchanal, though the party was focused around raw, creative performances and not at the expense of it (my donation collecting managed to eventually weed out people who didn't give a shit about the reason for the occasion). Classically, the small town scene style meant the local performers had very distinct styles, from noise to techno to synth pop to free jazz and even some weird rock bands at times, usually sharing the same bill with touring acts coming through town on the underground circuit - basically: different sounds but a similar mindset, with an often small but deeply engaged audience, many of which were performers themselves. I remain grateful for every participant, and even at the time I appreciated it, knowing these moments don't last.

Yohimbe, then the married duo of Laurie and Someone (name edited by artist), participants and a crucial lynchpin in the whole operation, driving out from Raleigh for every gig and powering up the atmosphere even on the nights they didn't play. (I can attest that Laurie's charisma is still off the charts). Their sets were raw, real, unmannered - due to the improvisational aspect you wouldn't get the same thing twice in a formal sense, but the intensity was consistent. The palette would be something along the lines of: feedback, keyboard, circuit bent toys, record player, recent Craigs List acquisitions, sometimes drums even, all wrangled with brute force, intuition, emotion. They were freaks who found in noise a fitting conduit for their flame. Laurie has always been a force of nature. She's loud and brilliant even without an amp, capable of harnessing the storm through her voice and producing some of the ugliest and most beautiful sounds.

"I Would Marry You" is my personal favorite document of Yohimbe phase one. I had released a tape for them the previous year and it was a nice surprise being presented with a new full-length cassette that was even better. These are home recordings, and to me convey the interweaving of creativity and domesticity - immediate concerns and inspiration caught on tape, with characteristic rawness, brilliance, emotion, humor - the honesty and restlessness/recklessness results in an eclectic, engaging listening experience, with a different form of intimacy than their live performances. The tape begins with a beautiful introductory synth track, then a hilariously deranged tape piece featuring an irate voice in conversation with a sweet black cat named Baby (this track became a mixtape staple). From there we have unorthodox fucked psychedelic noise electronics, wrecked spontaneous songcraft, cracked beats, demented free-bin record manipulation, dialogue from "PK and The Kid", a made for TV film about a troubled youth and her fucked up parents, a lovely duet with phantom voices on the radio ... all creatively unorthodox, unlawful, underground.

Revisiting this material, it's wide open nature is especially striking. Nowadays in noise and underground music I've noticed more of a push for technical control, doing things the 'right way', adhering to charted parameters of a genre, which makes the uninhibited, inspired by life, exhibitionist, follow-your-vision and let-it-rip quality of this tape all the more exciting. It helps that it is produced by a genuinely unique and brilliant person. I had a blast listening to it on a loop again over the course of a day and a half and am also happy that Yohimbe continues to exist, and in fact put out a future classic last year called "The Dentist" (available to listen via the Evidence Tapes Bandcamp),

Keep it U.U.U.

FROM WYATT HOWLAND, MY MUSE, MY HEART, MY BABY-DADDY, AND THE KING OF HARSH NOISE WHO STOLE MY SOUL AND SET ME ON FIRE FOREVER:
YOHIMBE - I WOULD MARRY YOU
In 2020 I was introduced to the discography of YOHIMBE. Laurie had presented me with boxes of material only heard on cassette,
including complete albums unheard by anyone. The cassettes offer a look inside the inner workings of Laurie's mind..
She possesses an ultimate ability to communicate freely through electronic music. "I WOULD MARRY YOU" is the first
in a series we are doing reissuing her early work. Recorded in 2010 and 2011 in Raleigh NC, the tracks cover a wide array of sounds and moods, adventurous in spirit, .. many instruments and tonal shifts:: turntables, FM synths, circuit bent materials, vocals, guitar, etc. // the sound collages on this album put you in another world .. // the recordings are TRUE and DELIBERATE, HONEST while PLAYFUL, PSYCHO-DELIC while SUPER REAL. YOHIMBE is a master of SOUND DESIGN, COMPOSITION, and PURITY. YOHIMBE is a SUPREME DEMONIC FORCE. It is an honor to help facilitate the release of these sounds to the abyss after being hidden for TOO LONG.. // -Wyatt

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40 COPIES FOR MY 40TH BIRTHDAY. NOISE AGES LIKE A FINE WINE... BLAH BLAH BLAH. BON APPETIT. I LOVE YOU, YOHIMBE