“Fistula takes on the minimal and the harsh, devastating abrasion and delicate clicks, working in both of Sujo’s & Sun Hammer’s own styles. This is a massive album, huge walls of speaker shredding noise that soothe the inner beast, blissed out darkness, a desolate, frozen tundra that hasn’t seen snowfall in months, white noise that turns in on itself, unnerving high end with bleak industrial feedback, hints of Sujo’s metalgaze balanced out with Sun Hammer’s bleak subtleties, these guys work incredibly well together, pushing for sounds neither have done on their own, coming up with something that’s a shining star in both of their catalogues.” - Anti-Gravity Bunny
“On the surface, this is static, both literal and figurative; at its core there is a slow dynamic at work. The disc builds to a frenzied tangle of sound, then works its way back out–but never entirely. The title track is a great example–the sudden release from the sound-beating you’re taking comes with the growing understanding that it’s about to start again. Is it enjoyable? Hell, no. And it’s not supposed to be. It’s a matter of gritting your teeth and enduring.” - Hypnagogue
“With the name as an obvious initial example, 'Fistula' propels the listener back into that early era of noise music as a deliberate disturbance to one's immediate listening environment and a vehicle for appreciating all sounds, be they environmental or (more often than not) starkly mechanical in nature. The sounds present on 'Fistula' serve only to invite equal measures of environmental appreciation and outright dread, with the release as a whole being perfectly suited to a solo venture through a Chernobyl warehouse; attempting (and sometimes failing) to stifle rising nerves.” – futuresequence
"It’s, simply put, little more than an extended blob of bongwater noise that labels like 20 Buck Spin and bands/artists like Nadja/Aidan Baker were trucking in by the dozen more than a half-decade ago. Several of the tracks, in particular “Safian,” begin in intriguing ways, but once the bulbous blob swallows them up like Percosets they might as well be fiddle farts or trumpet toots; either way it’s impossible to scrape past the muck." - The Gumshoe Grove
“Fistula isn’t noise for noise’s sake; it’s savagery on a leash. The key to the album’s allure is the balance between the virus and the antidote, the distortion and the tune.” – A Closer Listen
credits
released October 30, 2012
Written and produced in April 2012 by Sujo and Sun Hammer.
Mastered by Joe Panzner.
Photography by Peter Nejedly.
CD available on Inam Records.
Cassette available on Music Ruins Lives.
Sun Hammer is an American sound artist who identifies as an Enneagram Type Five, a lover of sweets, and a very active person. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
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