Originally thought this might’ve originally been a bit of low-level promo type thing for something forthcoming; not everyday Kassem Mosse drops a full release on cassette after all. As it turns out, the cassette version of The Siege Of Troy is a proper quality drop, a damn good album on it’s own accord.
Done under an alias of the same name, self-titled The Siege Of Troy is definitely Mosse’s most experimental release to date. Proper lo-fi vibes, dark and sludgey beats with washed out bass drones create atmospheres over those analogue sounds we’ve come to love Gunnar Wendel’s work for. Other areas are the industrial takes on his minimal approach to techno, blurring from home-listening to underground techno play-out.
Evidently recorded “straight-to-tape”, the release words coin the term “jacknoise”, which is not only an accurate term but something I’m keen to hear more of.
Released on his his own Ominira imprint, it’s not hard to understand why the alias or why the format, only the reasoning behind such a limited physical release. Only a handful of the cassette made it out in to the world, the majority of those being sold from the Ominira shop label and Sounds Of The Universe getting about five copies. The 7″ was given a fairly prompt repress, but regrettably doesn’t feature the highlights of the 30 minute tape album. Instead it features about 7-minutes a side with three ‘versions’ from the album and one exclusive.
Ideally The Siege Of Troy will be appearing on a wax format but probably not, and of course is already going for stupid money on Discogs. For an artist like Kassem Mosse the quantities weren’t a a great call, don’t feel guilty about grabbing this one from wherever you can, it’s a brilliant listen.