Bathetic has always been a long-distance relationship label. Jon and I reside in different spots in the country. Jon does the bulk of the work and I run my mouth. Here's shit we listen to a lot.
Mouthus
Probably the most unique band in the sense that their mixture of disgusting noise and psychedelia is perfect. When I first discovered them, I would go put the headphones on, let my mind get smushed by their dumptruck brainwash, but I would be drooling from spacing out, instead of feeling claustrophobic and destroyed like a lot of abrasive noise makes me feel. Best alone-time music. Period.
Keith Hudson Nuh Skin Up
When I lived in Chicago, I would trade old records in for money, but instead I'd end up trading them in for really good reggae albums. This one is definitely my favorite. Delay on the vocals, everything simple. Simple. Simple. It's the way life should be. If you come over to drink beer at the “Bathetic office,” this will be an intro to the evening. Too bad I don't like weed.
Cave Hunt Like Devil/Jamz
I think Cave is the best band of today, and the most genuine dudes for what they do. One big drug party of booty-shaking on repetitive, heavy riffs. Sign me up, Dine me in, Slip me some, Let's have fun.
Angel Olsen
Lately I've been listening to a lot of her stuff she has sent me. Hairs on the back of my neck always slowly rise when her voice belts out those melodies. Really gorgeous stuff. Can't wait to be putting out her tape soon. I'll imagine it'll need to be re-upped.
Angel Olsen – Creator, Destroyer by batheticrecords
Works of Blake Judd
I worked with Blake for a little bit in Chicago. He's a super nice dude and his music is incredible. I'm not really a metal-head, but from talking to him about music, I have a lot of respect for the guy and his involvement and voice in the scene. When I lived in Arkansas, if a thunderstorm hit, you better believe I had a dark beer in my hand, and Twilight was playing LOUD. Nachtmystium is always growing on me and I really like that about a band – fading in, instead of burning out.
Bonus: Eminem. After B.I.G., he's the best rapper ever. Put aside his cheesy “pissed off” stuff, he's the greatest. Seriously. I will argue for hours why.
–Jon Hency
Prurient
Most recently it's been a lot of Palm Tree Corpse and The Golden Chamber, but Pleasure Ground, Time Began In A Garden, and Black Vase will always be top contenders for my ears. Oh yeah, and the Burning Star Core collaboration, Ghosts Of Niagara is epic. I just like letting Dominick freak out my ears. I love how a lot of his records carry this almost melodic tone within them, even if it's submerged in blackened harsh noise… There's tense, deeply buried synth and dark ambient vibes scratching at the chaotic surface. Recordings such as Time Began In A Garden or Rose Pillar, or even the collaboration with Kevin Drumm, All Are Guests In The House Of The Lord, are perfect examples of this. On the other hand, you can crank “Roman Shower” from Black Vase, which is a full on feedback buttfuck for 15 minutes, and it's just as haunting, in a slightly more unnerving way. Play this shit at your office job and watch chicks and dudes lose it.
Gary Higgins, Red Hash
Super mellow vibes… Totally relaxes my brain. This record has a whole story behind it, Gary Higgins recorded this album knowing he was about to go to prison on some weed charges or something, but I don't really remember that all that well. The label didn't make many copies of this jam, but a few years back Ben Chasny passed it on to someone at Drag City and they reiussed it, thank god. Basically, if I smoked weed, you could not separate me from this album and my bong… It's just awesome.
Francoise Hardy, Francoise Hardy
This is just a beautiful, big, very classic, mellow record that always make me feel awesome. There's something about her voice, it's just really warm. The record sounds worn, and raw in a way, but still not old, if that makes sense. I love this like I love Vashti Bunyan or Sibylle Baier or even Nico; these women with those voices, it's really breathtaking stuff. For me, Francoise just takes the cake.
Anything chopped and screwed
DJ Screw's All Screwed Up & Codeine Fiend, Three 6 Mafia chopped and screwed, tons of amateur chopped and screwed stuff on youtube, whatever, but I'll listen to any of that shit. There's something about slow-mo music, it just makes you feel a certain way. I love the bodacious attitude in hip hop, and I love the violent side of gangster rap, but when DJ Screw chops up Point Blank, it fucking sounds like someone who's had a run-in with Satan himself. It takes on an entirely different, unearthly, almost underworld feel. I love that, and I love how a lot of other genres are beginning to embrace this slow-motion aesthetic.
Savage Young Taterbug, Boys Of A Feather
Dude is on some real soulful, trippy, balls-out shit. When something is dropped on Night-People, you usually know it's going to kill. Taterbug is just his own fucking thing. It works perfectly with the Night-People roster, but it's so unique. Just really, fucking deep-dug-in psychedelic soul music, maybe not soul music like you're expecting, but it's some heavy shit. It's a perfectly weird, little 20 minute tape.
–Cody Watson
