RÓF is a new Reykjavik-based label “specialising in limited, hand assembled releases of noise and other post-industrial forms of art”. Its first two physical releases are CDrs by the artists Skjálfti (“Trembling” in English) and Ófreskja (“Unfresh”). Both are packaged in folded over A4 paper sleeves insert into plastic bags – about as DIY as you can get.
I reviewed other Skjálfti releases on the prior iteration of Life in the Vinyl Lane, so I had an idea what to expect from They Are Bad People, They Deserve To Suffer. And Skjálfti delivered, and by delivered I mean hit me with a solid wrecking ball of harsh noise bordering on power electronics, capturing the suffering aspect of the title. The electronics blare and crackle with distortion, just as they crumble the synapses in your brain. I believe there are some transformed vocals in here as well, though even the slightest hint of humanity has been wrung out of them by filters and modulators and the rage of a thousand burning suns.
Ófreskja charts a different, though somewhat similar path. “Partur Eitt” feels to be driven by guitar-based feedback. Not that there are recognizable riffs here, but instead something more akin to rubbing razorblades on the strings, torturing them, damaging them. If anything it puts me into a Les Rallizes Dénudés-esque headspace – noisy, yes, but also trippy… spacey… a bit psychedelic even. The sonic approach of “Partur Tvö” is similar, though there are less psych elements and more a sensation of sounds reaching earth from the deepest parts of space.
I picked up physical copies of these two releases from a friend in Reykjavik, but I’m not sure how you might be able to track them down. The label does have a Bandcamp page HERE, where you can check out Skjálfti digitally. The Ófreskja album can be found on that performer’s Bandcamp page HERE.