Bleep

Peerless within experimental rock and distorted dream pop, His Name is Alive, the long-running project fronted by Warren Defever, has over a hundred releases to its name. Disciples have released two vinyl LP compilations All The Mirrors In The House and Return To Never, as well as encompassing companion cassettes 6Teen OK (a sound collage dialogue between Defever and the wandering AM dial of 1980s Michigan radio), and the recent double drop Return Versions and Versions Returned, in which drones from Return To Never were dubbed out and set to drum loops by Walking Trails and Model Home.

Here, Defever returns to his three-part archival compilation series with Ghost Tape EXP. Although, calling the series a triptych isn’t quite right, given the wealth of digressional tape releases Defever has offered along the way. In that spirit, Ghost Tape EXP is a 2.5 affair prefacing the project’s third and final instalment, offering a tantalising glimpse into Defever’s process, all while opening up possible new avenues of what a His Name is Alive release can sound like.

Made by tweaking degraded 4-track sources, the swelling ambiences of this cassette give off the air of ethereality, whilst also remaining palpably textured like the fraying pages of an ancient book. The echoing palpitations which open up ‘Vision Return’ slowly congeal into a limitless wave, which carries across into the subtle Eno-esque melody of ‘Angel Waves’ and distant mechanical tinkering of ‘Keep The Moon On Time’. The presence of a guitar isn’t suggested until ‘Sun Reflection’, its infinite exhale recalling Harold Budd’s work with Cocteau Twins, as well as the minimal kosmische of Michael Rother.

An earnest sonic exploration as well as an essential release for casual fans as well as the initiated, His Name is Alive’s Ghost Tape EXP is available now on limited edition pro-dubbed cassette.