Turntabling Records is at it again–this time with a brain-shreddingly unusual compilation of Chicago electronic music projects by Paisley Babylon, Savior Noise, Thelema USA, Satan’s Tea Boy and other acts featured on Electronic Sadism: A Chicago Compilation.

That link takes you to the 20-track iTunes download version of the album, but there is also a limited edition 12-song sampler available for sale on compact disc. The CD version is limited to a run of 500 and is completely hand-assembled. No more than 500 will be made and sold.

The 12 tracks available on the CD sampler are a strange mixture of Coil, Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire and Skinny Puppy textures. There are vintage-era industrial and ambient sounds combined with soundtrack-esque interludes, mellow meanderings, and nearly hallucinatory side-trips. But the ghost of the Marquis de Sade is always lurking nearby to bring you back to attention with a sonic blast of fury and chaos.

The packaging for this CD special edition is deceptively LP-sized, right down to a poly outer sleeve.  But make no mistake, this is a compact disc full of electronics, evil and doubt (as Brian Eno would say). Going from wildly chaotic to strangely danceable, Electronic Sadism is a great birthday gift for the old-school industrial music fan in your life. Anybody who wishes for the good old days of Throbbing Gristle and Test Department should have a listen to this.

Have a free listen to the download-only track “Speaker Damage Guaranteed” from the digital version of Electronic Sadism or listen to the final track on the limited-edition Electronic Sadism CD by Thelema USA, “Robes Off”

Electronic Penis Choppers sound like a demented picnic between members of The Orb and Richard D. James, with Gillian Gilbert from New Order acting as referee. Don’t ask us what that’s supposed to mean, it’s just the mental picture that comes when Android Sex Farm is on.

EPC is a troublemaking little project from the same studio that spawns Paisley Babylon material. If Paisley Babylon is electronic music for isolation tank expeditions, Electronic Penis Choppers is what you’d want to be listening to on the dance floor after a nice long go on the nitrous oxide dispenser. The Orb, Aphex Twin and fans of The Other Two are all likely to enjoy this track, written at 2AM after a night of driving through Chicago city streets with headlights turned off and the stereo on full blast.

So yes, this is energetic chill-out music. Is that a contradiction? Perfect for post-club listening, Electronic Penis Choppers are carving out their own little niche with hallucinatory, laid back grooves. When you’ve had more than enough to drink but aren’t anywhere near ready for bed, this is the stuff.

You can preview and download the Android Sex Farm digital single from Electronic Penis Choppers via Amazon.com for .99 cents or check out the entire Electronic Penis Choppers album, Sex Music For H.P. Lovecraft on iTunes.

I’ve long been fascinated by the decline of the music industry, the rise of the independent artist, and the whole indie music scene in genearal. From fascinating indie labels like Beta-Lactam Ring Records to the insanely prolific Legendary Pink Dots, there is plenty of life in indie music even as the majors crumble into nothing.

But I personally haven’t seen any site that has really taken full advantage of some of the tools and tricks other online retailers use to sell Widget X or Service Y. I have a theory that with the right kind of presentation, even a teeny tiny more or less unknown micro-label like Turntabling could get some new fans by presenting music in interesting, left-of center (but fan-friendly) ways.

So Turntabling begins an experiement with the micro-label stuff.

We’ll be posting a variety of individual tracks, singles, EP packages and full albums available for purchase and digital download. No postage to worry about (yet–we plan on offering some flexi discs and other novelties at some point) just pure digital downloads. At a buck per song, what’s the risk?

The toughest part about any experiment like this is cross-referencing unfamiliar music with better known artists to give people an idea of what to expect. Some Paisley Babylon tracks sound like the two-headed mutant offspring of Nurse With Wound and Brian Eno. Electronic Penis Choppers can be Aphex Twin-esque, but veer off into Coil territory with regularity. Thelema USA has an sinister ambient vibe but also winds up in Coil’s musical zip code…

But suffice it to say that this experiment will be quite interesting from both a musician point of view and a music sales point of view. It’s tough to make any kind of living at all from music, art, any creative pursuit. I’m hoping that this experiment gives Turntabling Records projects some added exposure to people who would enjoy these sounds and become part of the audio cult that is Turntabling Records.

Off we go!

–Joe Wallace

If you weren’t able to make Flashback Weekend to score a copy of this ultra-limited edition Turntabling Records compilation CD, you’re in luck. It’s now available as a free MP3 download (13 individual tracks) for your listening pleasure.

All of these tracks may be distributed freely to music blogs, among friends, iPod players, etc. This compilation will be available in its entirety for a limited time only–several of these tracks will be taken down at a later date but many will remain available for the duration.

This compilation is made up of Turntabling Records projects and in a couple of instances, related material used with permission from our friends in these bands. This  is a compliation best enjoyed in the dark. Download and savor the strangeness:

Download 13 UNUSUAL TRACKS from TURNTABLING RECORDS

1. Paisely Babylon—Stone Garden

2. GOOP—Theme From Goop

3. Post-Mortem Telepathy—Nitrous Oxide

4. Paisely Babylon—Gold

5. Paisely Babylon—Retina

6. GOOP—Nuclear Xmas

7. PMT—The Forbidden Mashup

8. Paisely Babylon—Grainy Archival Footage

9. Paisley Babylon—Let’s Make Love (Before the Zombies Come)

10. Paisley Babylon—Moonbase Phaze One

11. Post-Mortem Telepathy—50s Horror Sound/The Dead Parade

12. Opinion8—Frank, I Want My Cadavers

13. Opinion8—Singles Night

Yes, we’ve gone over to the dark side here….but I do love the idea that you can update Twitter and the blog at the same time. I do love the simplicity of Twitter and actually thought it might replace blogging for a bit, but I see now the utter folly of that notion.

In other news, purchased the Criterion version of Border Radio, more on that after it arrives and I can review it. Two months ago I scored the once-rare vinyl LP soundtrack for the movie which features the Flesheaters, Divine Horsemen and Chris D. I love this movie and it’s even more fascinating now in light of the fact that the music business as depicted in Border Radio all at once no longer exists AND is the same as it ever was.

I love contradictions and dichotomies.

There is plenty of news about our label, Turntabling Records. We’ve got three new CDs planned for May/June 2009 and it looks like things are heating up in the recording studio once more for Paisley Babylon. The new albums include the first-ever wide release of a Post-Mortem Telepathy CD, plus Texas new wavers Goop are readying their toxic onslaught for May as well. Brace yourself! The tidal wave of tunes is coming…read all the relevant details and save your pennies for iTunes downloads coming soon.

Turntabling.net has become Turntabling Records! We’ll still be doing the usual blog posts but when there’s news on Turntabling Records releases, we’ll post them here. Turntabling Records will release material on vinyl and .mp3 and perhaps even CD if it’s convenient…but the shiny disc seems to be an endangered species, so who knows? Vinyl is much tastier. We’re very pleased to be serving up unusual music under the Turntabling banner and planned releases include several compilations, the resurrection of the American military/punk  sensation TOILET (formerly released on Zombie Records) and Opinion 8. Turntabling Records is a continuation of the now-defunct Zombie Records, which began in Texas in 1995.

We’re pleased to present our first release is Paisley Babylon’s Midnight Hallucinations, which you can buy on iTunes, CD Baby, Napster and elsewhere. Here are two sample tracks from Midnight Hallucinations for your listening, mashup and free distribution pleasure:

Paisley Babyon–Not a Hangover mp3 (may be freely distributed)

Paisley Babylon–Pavement and Broken Windscreen mp3 (may be freely distributed)

Buy Paisley Babylon’s Midnight Hallucinations on iTunes

…And here’s a bonus track from the ultra-rare Paisley Babylon release The Alpha Wave Variations:

Paisley Babylon–Alpha

Stay tuned for more information on Paisley Babylon and other Turntabling.net releases coming soon.