Welcome to Zaftig Research

News: It's holiday time, and that means another installment of the Zaftig Research holiday sampler. This year's offering is called "Visiting Kings" and features the following sounds:

Track Listing:

  1. R4 - The Queen's 1957 Christmas Speech
  2. Narishkeit - 52° 7′ NB, 5° 15′ OL
  3. Fail - The Suit is Going to Have to Stay Red Until You Stop Attacking and Eating the Reindeer
  4. Archaic Ruins - Burial Practices of Ancient Christians
  5. C/A/T - Good Santa v2
  6. Instagon - As Lonely As The Moon During The Holidays
  7. Orange - I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas
  8. This Is What I Hear When You Talk - You're Terrible and Deserve Nothing. Get Off My Lap
  9. Stolen Light - Murder on the Polar Express
  10. Goose - Icicles
  11. Fernal Sanders - Opening the C4 Present
  12. DEFORMA - Ciclosintesis
  13. Wilt - Northstar


It's hard to believe that this is year 16 of the Zaftig Research holiday compilation. If it were a person, it could get a driver's license. This one is a really nice mix of harsh noise and beautiful ambient. I have truly been blessed to have amazing artists come through the compilation and this year is no exception. The card we found for this year is particularly weird, and once we saw it, we knew that this was the one. I mean where else are you going to see humingbirds dressed like Aztecs riding on squirrels? Perfect. So how do you get one? Head on over to the catalog or drop us a line at info@zaftigresearch.com. We also welcome trades with other artists, so feel free to get in touch. In fact, we would rather do trades these days. It's more fun and interesting.

News: Stolen Light has two new releases out. First, we have the release that I created to give away during my NorCal Noisefest performance, titled "Consolation Prize." It's the disc that gives you a gold star just for showing up. It features a track titled "This is What I Hear When You Talk (A Wall for Dan Fox)" that is a 31 minute wall of noise recorded using four miced up fans. The other disc is titlesd "Roll the Dice," and comes packaged with a small velveteen bag holding a die. This one was created using samples and randomness. Like my previous releases in the "Blind" series, this was created, sequenced, manipulated, and mixed down without listening to the result until the end. The gaol was to process everything blindly. Chance was on my side and the result was interesting and enjoyable.

News: We have been busy with a bunch of compilation tracks. Stolen Light released "Fragments of Digital Existence" on "PROCRASTINOISE - an Electronic Cottage compilation." I loved the rules. The tracks had to be submitted after the deadline. "Peace, Love, and Jackhammers" was on "KONSTRUCK - An Electronic Cottage Construction." Finally, there is "Nailed It," on the compilation "Dost Thy Instrument Hold Currents? An Electronic Cottage Compilation of Luddite Techniques." This one was a lot of fun, as the sound source could not use electricity. You can guess what the sound source is. Goose did a track for this compilation called "Cascading Water" and Orange contributed "Not So Tough Without Your Microphone." Orange also did a cover of Wichita Lineman for "A Noise tribute to Soft Rock." Stolen Light also contributed "Aqua" to "Thee Cable Connector Compilation: 2023 Norcal Noisefest Audio Documentation Compilation" and "Verkehr und Transit" to Licht on the Diverse Künstler Stockhausen series on Institute For Alien Research. Goose has a track coming out on this year's Taalem "Homework" series titled "Avian Dreams." Last, but not least, I have the usual tracks for this year's Zaftig Research holiday compilation. Orange does an unhinged version of "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," Stolen Light has "Murder on the Polar Express," and Goose gives us a cymbal based number with "Icicles."

News: Stolen Light and Goose both dropped releases on the inimitable Inner Demons Records. The Stolen Light disc is titled "I Really Want Dan to Like This and I Think I Have a Pretty Good Chance" and is a bit more on the Harsh Noise Wall side of things. The Goose disc is called "Selah" and is heavy drone using nothing but a gong and a signal processor. If you don't know Inner Demons Records, you are missing out. The label is great and Dan is a fantastic guy. You can check out the Stolen Light disc at https://innerdemonsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/i-really-want-dan-to-like-this-and-i-think-i-have-a-pretty-good-chance-ind124 and the Goose disc at https://innerdemonsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/selah-ind125.

Call for Tracks: One thing that I like about noise music is that it doesn't take itself too seriously (most of the time) and can sometimes devolve into total ridiculousness. One thing I have been thinking about doing is a noise rap album, so we're throwing this out there. This is going to be a compilation where we put the "G" back into "G-Rated." In other words, we want this to be clean as a Bugs Bunny cartoon, which is to say that we can go with a bit of innuendo, but nothing too wild. And yeah, that goes for the names of the artist as well. One thing I always found funny was how you would have 27 rappers on the same track (e.g., Stolen Light featuring Da Goose, MC Orange, DJ Fresh MC, Lil' Beavis, Yo Mama, and Frank Zappa). So for this, I want as many rappers as possible. For each track, I want one person in charge of the track, but everyone throws down some bars of rap. It doesn't have to make sense. In fact, it's probably better if it doesn't. This is noise, after all, so why should words be any different? Throw down a wall of noise and some distorted beats. We're getting that trunk rattling bass sound pre-installed on these tracks. Want to throw an interlude in the middle? Sure. Why not? I want to get as many people in the noise scene on this as possible, so bring your friends. Don't have any friends? Well, I guess we can take some power electronics folks too, but make sure you read our Manifesto on Noise twice. We'll throw you into a track somewhere. All of this is kind of in the works right now, so the first thing I need to know is who wants in on this project. So drop me a line at info@zaftigresearch.com and let me know if you are interested in running a track or just want in. Once we have the details sorted out, we'll burn it and pack it in coffee grounds because it will be so dope. And no one will be able to buy it from me. I'll be sending all of them out to the contributors and people will have to know someone on the project to get one. Did I mention that I like the ridiculousness of noise? So if you think this is the kind of stupidity that you have been missing out on, drop me a line. I'm looking forward to this being one of the dumbest things I have done since starting this label.