Genre: Dark/Ambient/Experimental
Track Listing:
01 Snieg
ULV is a Dutch outfit that is definitely not for dancing. The 333 second song, “Snieg” is the only cut on this 3” CD, put out by Dutch record label Witte Dood Records, which is a subsidiary, or “sub-label“ of Svartgalgh Records. Witte Dood focuses on occult-style music: very dark, ambient but ominous, there is no such thing as pop in their vocabulary. Recently founded, Witte Dood came on the scene just in the last year or so (2009). The bulk, if not all of their releases are packaged as if they were DIY, to, no doubt, cut down on cost and overhead, but also to emit that indie vibe to potential listeners and they only release 3” CDs, packaged in very minimalistic sleeves to keep costs down - the average WD release goes for about 2 Euros, maybe a little less than a 2 bucks.
Well, as far as ULV goes, the whole of “Snieg” is a sort of monotonous drone that just goes on and on in an ominous way for exactly 333 seconds, as is stated on the paper sleeve accompanying it. “Snieg” is mostly atonal, repetitive and ambient in an eerie, but cool way. Only in Europe would you find stuff that is this self-important with no irony or irreverence.
Witte Dood actually has 12 “rules” for any prospective artists who wish to record for them. I thought it so interesting and, well just unique, to say the least, that they would have such guidelines. While checking out what the label is all about on their website, I came across these 12 rules and while some of them are based on the style/quality of music submitted, others, strangely aren’t, they instead follow some mystical, occult guidelines. Anyway, the “rules” are as follows:
0. Drone, (dark) ambient, industrial, EBM, trance, black / doom metal or whatever's related; sorry, no noise
1. Music is dark - we decide what is dark
2. One track only - title is one word
3. Track is 333, 666, 999 or 1332 seconds long (exactly - so 5:33, 11:06, 16:39 or 22:12)
4. Patience is a virtue
5. You get 3 copies for free
6. We don't do any promotion, unless we want to
7. If not 333, 666, 999 or 1332 seconds, then don't bother
8. If not one track, then don't bother
9. We make the sleeve, you provide a picture and other info
10. Only b&w artwork
11. Each band gets a max of 4 releases, them being the 4 different song lengths
I’m not sure why the first one is # zero and the twelfth is #11 but - hey, that’s show-biz. So, it’s no accident that the one song on this 3” CD is 333 seconds: it’s following rules #3 and #7.
Sure it’s kind of bizarre, but also original and a definite outpost for the most outré of dark occult-minded serious sunglass-wearers-at-night and whatever they do behind the creaky, ten-foot castle doors they dwell in is their own business, not ours to judge (as long as there’s no human sacrifice going on).
