Debut recordings from excellent, local Hobart/Nipaluna duo, brm & frank. Encountering the recordings of these two young heads-in-the-making has been a revelation the last year. Blake and Frank only recently graduated college (Tasmanian for high school) at the end of 2024, yet have already been prolific live giggers and home recordists. I became aware of their folk trio Raspberry Terrapin and was immediately impressed by the level of musicianship and maturity of songwriting for such youts (more on RT later... maybe...) However, this duo project sees them leaning closer to the outer-limits styles found in Blake's solo work as brm, channeled through their and Frank(ie)'s shared love of William Basinski, Japanese ambient and communication with each other through musical recording processes. Despite their age, this release harks to the glory years of DIY tape music, long before their time. Dusted, murked and yet still oddly beautiful. Think early experiments by O Yuki Conjugate, NWW, Zoviet France et al. At least to my ears, this is the feeling drawn out. The fact that there are young people choosing the difficult path to making sound, rather than jamming everything into a grid and trying to polish it into complete meaninglessness, is inspiring in and of itself. That the results are this immediately listenable is truly revelatory for a hardened tape-music lifer like myself. Finally, something to be thankful for in a climate rife with too much negi. Altered States Tapes, 2025
