Dirty Knobs – Dream with Portals

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Dirty Knobs – Dream with Portals

Released: July 14, 2011

This is a Portal 2 remix project. The original source material can be downloaded for free (legitimately) at:

www.thinkwithportals.com/music.php

Obsessively edited, filtered, remixed, recorded, layered and extreme sound stretched by Zac Bentz.

LISTEN/BUY

REVIEWS:

“Awesome”
—Destructoid
www.destructoid.com/-dream-with-portals-a-portal-2-remix-project-206610.phtml

“…outstanding…dreamy haunting landscapes you can’t help but get lost in…a complete eargasm.”
—GayGamer
gaygamer.net/2011/11/audio_file_friday_dirty_knobs.html

“If you’re a fan of dark-ambient music or Brian Eno-esque soundscapes, this is a must-listen.”
—Dual Shockers
www.dualshockers.com/2011/07/24/zac-bentz-remixes-the-portal-2-soundtrack-in-dream-with-portals/

“Con este remix, en cambio, disfrutamos de una visión distinta de esas melodías que nos acompañaron sala tras sala, portal tras portal. Dadle una oportunidad, merece la pena.”
—Vida Extra
www.vidaextra.com/musica/dream-with-portals-relajante-remezcla-de-la-bso-de-portal-2

“…I decided to listen to the CD one night, and lo and behold, I was able to not think about my ex and fall asleep fast.”
— gamessavedmylife.tumblr.com/post/9596226765/dream-with-portals

“You need this.”
— www.brennanletkeman.com/blog/

“Superb stuff.”
— aheartfullofhornets.tumblr.com/post/7943957557/portal-2-soundtrack-remixed-by-zac-bentz

“…sure-to-be-rising talent”
— Styrofoam Boots
godsshoeshine.blogspot.com/2011/07/new-music-from-zac-bentz.html

“Allvarligt talat, jag älskar drone!”
— twitter.com#!/ineffablyyours/status/103137753952305153

Zoe Keating – Escape Artist (Dirty Knobs Remix)

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Zoe Keating – “Escape Artist” (Dirty Knobs Remix)

Released: May 24, 2011

Dirty Knobs remix of the Zoë Keating song “Escape Artist” from her album Into the Trees.

Original music by Zoe Keating.

Remix and additional whrrs by Dirty Knobs, aka Zac Bentz.

You can find more from Zoë Keating at: music.zoekeating.com.

LISTEN/BUY

REVIEWS:

“I can’t think of two artists that would go together better than Zoe Keating and Zac Bentz.”
— godsshoeshine.blogspot.com/2011/07/new-music-from-zac-bentz.html

Dirty Knobs – Field Recordings from the Edge of Hell

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Dirty Knobs – Field Recordings from the Edge of Hell

Release: February 1, 2011

Every effort was made to preserve the original quality of this recording. The shifting, actively oppressive nature of the environment had an irreversible effect on both the equipment and personnel. As a result, some damage was permanent.

LISTEN/BUY

REVIEWS: 
“…I have little more to add…I swear I can hear organs playing from inside a pit…Wonderful.”
—Warren Ellis, writer of Transmetropolitan and Gun Machine
www.warrenellis.com?p=11908

“…something quite extraordinary…haunting at points and shimmeringly beautiful at others. It sort of makes me want to listen to it forever.”
—Andrea Swensson, City Pages/Gimme Noise
blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2011/04/dirty_knobs_rel.php

“This is the music of R’lyeh. The songs sung by choirs of fallen angels, the inverse music of the spheres. Qlippothic music…Damn, this stuff EVOKES.”
—MG Farrelly, librarian
www.mgfarrelly.com?p=3341

“[9/10] Dall’altro lato, è un segno forte dell’epoca storica in cui viviamo: così che uno dei più straordinari casi nell’odierna musica ambient (in senso ampio) nasce dalla “banale” manipolazione di un software. Si trattasse anche solo di esperienza sonora una tantum, essenzialmente “epidermica” e destinata all’oblio, il suo valore va ben oltre quello dell’oggetto curioso. Se rifiutandovi di accettarla come opera autonoma aveste l’ardire di chiamarla Truffa, sappiate che io ne ho altrettanto per chiamarlo Miracolo.”
—Michele Palozzo \ ondarock.it
ondarock.it/recensioni/2011_dirtyknobs.htm

“Thick, brooding and unforgiving…an interactive sonic canvas experiment, custom colored by the listener’s current emotional state.”
—Greg Swan, Perfect Porridge
perfectporridge.com/2011/04/27/stream-this-8-hour-ambient-album-from-duluth-based-dirty-knobs/

“…without a doubt, worth all of that hard drive space.”
—GayGamer
gaygamer.net/2011/11/audio_file_friday_dirty_knobs.html

“…what is so remarkable is also just how ‘musical’ it sounds, unlike a lot of dark ambient, both widely praised and obscure, it’s not just a bunch of background sound effects, there’s a real sophistication, elegance, and well, just “composed” feel to these compositions that you can grasp and play over in your head to haunt you long after it’s all ended.”
—EarLobeGrease
rateyourmusic.com/collection/EarLobeGrease/reviews

“4.5/5—Nearly perfect / Uncommon beauty”
“7.5/8—Special record / Truly beautiful”
“4/5—Masterful”
—RateYourMusic
rateyourmusic.com/release/album/dirty_knobs/field_recordings_from_the_edge_of_hell/

“…Sunn O))) meets Arnold Schonberg meets My Bloody Valentine meets Skinny Puppy meets Nurse With Wound in an instrumental wall of sound that’s as psychedelic and horrifying as it is beautiful.”
—Styrofoam Boots
godsshoeshine.blogspot.com/2011/04/bandcamp-roundup-cheapfree-doom-metal.html

“Der Preis für das wahnsinnigste Album des Monats geht aber zweifelsohne…”
Beat magazine, Germany

“…conjured up all sorts of images from some eternal nether world like a Beksinski painting, or the space and solitude of Dante or Milton’s depictions of Hell, or real life wastelands like an Antarctic plain…”
—email

“…not office music. I realize this now. Sitting at my desk looking around nervously. Not sure who or what to trust.”
—@BenBurton, paranoid office worker

“Spent 9-10 hours with the curtains drawn, lights off and the volume waaaaaaaaaaaaay up and started feeling like I was having an out of body experience. F–king glorious.”
—the_shotgun_rhetoric
boards.adultswim.com/t5/General-Music-Discussion/Xero-Music/m-p/59968178/message-uid/59968178

“I’m not quite sure if I’d qualify that as hipster music. Unless the hipster was also a lich or something.”
—comment
tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=12916537000A37233500&page=2#47

“…feels more like a soundtrack to…well anything dreary…It’s hard to pick a favorite…”
—Daily CD Discoveries
dailycddiscoveries.blogspot.com/2011/02/dirty-knobs-field-recordings-from-edge.html

“Amazing dark ambient, very long. Great stuff.”
—Badger Blog
badger.livejournal.com/1859069.html

“I Think We May Have Just Received Tr00′s Album Of The Year In Our Email”
—Number of the Blog
thenumberoftheblog.com/2011/02/05/i-think-we-may-have-just-recieved-tr00s-album-of-the-year-in-our-email/

“…something amazing…I get all sorts of ideas for really weird games.”
—Krystian Majewski
gamedesignreviews.com/scrapbook/field-recordings-from-the-edge-of-hell/

“La mia camera ora è una grotta e mi preparo un fuoco contro i dinosauri fluorescenti che mi attendono all’uscita.”
—Vice Magazine
www.viceland.com/it/a7n3/htdocs/records-it-746.php

“…ponad 480 minut drone/ambient/noisu tylko dla twardzieli.”
—Neiz nas tego
nieznasztego.wordpress.com/2011/02/11/presspack-29/

Twitter:

“@theQuietus: Listening to eight hour long noise album called ‘Field Recordings From The Edge Of Hell’. That’s livin’ alright.”

“I can see this driving me crazy after a while. Well, crazier.” @aspeed

“…one of the best atmospheric albums I’ve ever heard.” @Greydius

“I bought this…over two months ago and I’ve gotten so much listening of it / I dare you to listen to this whole album in one sitting” @syphoon

“What a bargain: one dollar for eight hours of beautiful noise…” @_allroy

“Best background music for concentrating on work so far” @davidjbarton

“Hämmentävää kamaa.” @mandrl

“AWESUM DRONE DOOM” @agpublic

Email:
“It’s sort of put me in this state where everything else in my playlists sounds annoyingly short.”

“…conjured up all sorts of images from some eternal nether world like a Beksinski painting, or the space and solitude of Dante or Milton’s depictions of Hell, or real life wastelands like an Antarctic plain…”

“The fire horns is amazing.”

“Keep me informed of further episodes of insanity.”

“Big.”

Interviews:
fun.areavoices.com/2011/02/19/zac-bentz-and-his-8-hour-tour/

godsshoeshine.blogspot.com/2011/06/token-of-my-extreme-and-now-for.html

The Surfactants – Diminishing Returns

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The Surfactants – Diminishing Returns

Released: March 10, 2008

The Surfactants are:
Eric Anderson: Bass
Zac Bentz: Drums, Programming
Marcus Matthews: Vocals
Brett Molitor: Guitar

All songs written by Zac Bentz (ASCAP),
except 07 written by Byung-woo Lee and 13 written by Steve Harris
All lyrics written by Marcus Matthews (ASCAP)
except 13 written by Steve Harris
Recorded by The Surfactants
Mixed by Bentz

Design by Bentz

Copyright 2008 Xero Music
xmcd013

LISTEN/BUY

Press:

“One of the most satisfying electro-hybrid albums we’ve ever heard – ever.”-Perfect Porridge

“Their first album is perfect.” -Adam Lazlo/Analog Electric

“The album seems to progressively mature as each track plays and by the time the time track ‘Us Against All’ played I was completely floored at how good it was.” -Stereotoid

“…well-produced, expertly executed…All those traits are represented in equal measures on The Surfactants…a very smart, successful experiment in computer-driven genre mashing.” -Chris Godsey/MNArtists

“The current album is amazing.” -High Plains Drifter

“These guys mix electronics with standard rock sounds, which ends up sounding pretty good.” -Rift Magazine

“If the songs on the band’s MySpace site are any indication of what’s to come, Duluth is a few months away from being kicked in the teeth.” …and the heroine screams help!