Zine Review: Untitled #6
Untitled zine highlights unique voices in the noise, drone, and experimental scene with a variety of articles and interviews curated by editors Noah Gadke and Chris Gibson.
I discovered Untitled zine a few months ago at a local ambient/noise show hosted by Amek Collective. The Amek crew is known for their refined and selective taste, not just in the eclectic catalog of artists they release on their label but also in the music and print media they distribute at their events. Thus, spotting a new zine on their distro table always gets me excited.
Untitled zine, produced in Canada by editors Noah Gadke and Chris Gibson, stands out as a “forward-thinking” publication that highlights “unique voices in the contemporary harsh noise, experimental, drone, and avant-garde.” Both Gadke and Gibson put tremendous effort into nurturing, documenting, and connecting the multitude of people involved in these genres, making Untitled zine a community-driven and collaborative endeavor. This sixth issue alone features contributions from over a dozen different writers, each offering their own unique perspectives on the experimental sounds and aesthetics.
Something I particularly admire about Untitled is their commitment to including voices from various media, whether it’s publications, blogs, or podcasts. In this issue, they spotlight Anja Bajuk, who manages the online archive for cassette culture, Tape-Mag, and previously ran the now-hiatus Mors Mea YouTube channel. In her article, she argues that an archive shouldn’t be seen as a fixed, neutral reflection of the past. Instead, as Michel Foucault articulated, archives are fragmentary and adaptable, shaped by various approaches and contexts as well as the material structures supporting them. As she puts it, an archive is not merely a repository of the past but also a vehicle that connects the past to an uncertain present. In this way, being an archivist today often also involves being an activist.
Obviously, digital technology has revealed (but not invented) the existence of these archives in certain networks, and facilitated their reinjection into new networks. But today it is necessary to create and circulate in a multi-dimensional way that escapes all idolatrous control: good taste, art history, the State, mortifying conservatism. Today’s archivists reject giving lessons and serving as a model themselves. Just as the archive is not only the object of interest (in the past) but the vehicle that takes us there and brings us back to a present that is itself uncertain, it is difficult today to be an ‘archivist’ (non-conservative, of course) without also being an ‘activist’.
Jim Faes offers a more personal viewpoint on the preservation of tapes and old audio recordings in “Looping into the Past: Reviving Retro Sounds.” This piece is both a personal memoir and a commentary on the cultural importance of preserving and recontextualizing obsolete technologies. Jim beautifully captures the joy and intrigue (as well as nonsense and frustrations) of discovering and experimenting with vintage recordings, whether they are home tapes or industrial recordings from bygone eras.
Another standout article is “The Proliferation of Subliminal Incel Techno: Analysis & Countermeasures” by Alice Thomas. She explores the disturbing appearance of a techno subgenre laced with subliminal messages promoting misogyny and extremist incel ideologies. Alice recounts an experience at a nightclub where she noticed subtle, harmful lyrics in the music, sparking her investigation into what she calls “propaganda techno.”
This microgenre uses ambient sounds and repetitive beats to deliver messages that alienate listeners from women and incite negative emotions like hatred and rage. Alice draws parallels with historical instances of similar propaganda in music, citing bands like Combichrist, and discusses the psychological impacts on listeners, such as feelings of alienation and reduced social cohesion. Alice argues for the importance of critical analysis of music content and urges streaming platforms to avoid promoting music with harmful messages. The article concludes with a call for vigilance against the subtle spread of right-wing and incel ideologies in seemingly innocuous places like nightclubs.
The interviews in this issue are also excellent, featuring artists like Kevin Kirwan (Dressing), Yasutoshi Yoshida (Government Alpha), Howard Stelzer, and Mattias Gustafsson (Altar of Flies / Barstool Mountain). You can also find a lot of great visuals like the primitive folk dolls of Jessica King and the art of Ilkka Vekka.
As a fan of movie reviews in print zines, I was stoked to read about Spanish filmmaker Chema García Ibarra’s 2021 tragicomedy with sci-fi elements, Espíritu sagrado (The Sacred Spirit). Watching this movie led me to other films like Destello bravío (Mighty Flash) and La isla mínima (Marsh Island), which also explore themes of superstition, spiritual beliefs, and the lives of the common people.
The layout and print quality of Untitled zine is super slick, making it a real pleasure to read. Every piece is carefully edited, and it embodies everything I strive for in creating a print zine. I find it superior to most hardcore punk zines I’ve read lately. This sixth issue was released in June 2023, and since then, Noah and Chris have published more. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the latest issues. The noise, drone, and experimental scenes have a lot in common with the DIY hardcore punk ethos, and Untitled zine is an excellent gateway for those looking to explore these genres further.
P.S. Untitled #8 was released in June 2024, and I can’t wait reading the Punishment Park review in that one.
