The latest release on dark local label Popnihil (full disclosure: Popnihil is run by OW editor Matthew Moyer) is the consummation of a cross-border union born right here in Orlando just before the pandemic came down.
Homegrown weirdo polymath Joshua Rogers and experimental Canadian artist bBomit crossed paths in 2020 as performers at a post-International Noise Conference show at the Nook. From that serendipity now comes Demo(n) Hextape, their fascinatingly interpretive collab.
The A-side features six fresh tracks of bBomit's electronic frenzy. But the B-side is where Rogers has his way with her material. Best known as the boss of vaporwave label Illuminated Paths and a video artist under the name Broken Machine Films, he's here under the moniker Black Wick. After percolating through Rogers' audio lab — where he applied layering, cassette-to-cassette hand manipulation and his famously strange mind — the tracks emerge distinctly transformed with sinister atmosphere.
Taken together, bBomit and Black Wick's Demo(n) Hextape is a recorded tryst of international intrigue that plays like a scrambled and warped porno on an old VHS tape. It's available on digital and cassette formats through Popnihil's Bandcamp.
On the more affable side of Orlando's left-of-center music offerings, local concept-pop king Marc With a C recently made his first release since his world was turned upside down by both his own hand and fate in general. After he unveiled his latest album, Low Fidelity (or "How I Spent the Nervous Breakdown") in January, Marc then dropped the bombshell during the livestreamed release event that he would be permanently shedding the beloved Marc With a C persona (but not the name). Shortly after, he was himself rocked by some serious ongoing medical issues.
But, while he simultaneously contends with his health and prepares for a new, decidedly candid chapter of his career, Marc's managed to crank out a new batch of covers titled The Intermission EP (or "Let's All Kill Each Other"). Even with other people's material — specifically, Mudhoney, Ween, John R. Butler and Soul Asylum — Marc's signature humor and irrepressible pop smarts still shine through in his song selection and execution.
And just to keep the MWAC rollercoaster going, Marc recently announced that he's signing with Needlejuice Records, the physical format label that's also home to acts like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Tally Hall, Lemon Demon, and Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears. Hopefully, the next bolt of good news from Marc's camp will be that he's feeling better.
