Preview Stream for LHP-009 IDHAZ / psychic behaviors.
Release Date: July 23, 2021.
presale link: https://lefthandpathwax.bandcamp.com/album/psychic-behaviors

Left Hand Path could not be more thrilled to present the debut album from rising bay area artist IDHAZ, titled psychic behaviors, the second mixed-media release from us in 2021.  
 
psychic behaviors explores the body and the assignments which are given to it. It explores our undefined nature as creatures of earth, and our desire to be connected without a wall of ammunition between our designated countries. Does one die before their imminent death, and if so, how does one interact with their environment after a mid-life death? The titles of this 10 track album, when read together, are an abstract poem that expands upon these notions of existence. Combining elements such as Gameboy, MPC, SP-555, synth, and original lyrics and vocals, IDHAZ enters into the realms of R&B, house, punk, juke, and noise with his latest release psychic behaviors. 

This release is housed in a clear vinyl bag and contains a professionally dubbed and printed audio cassette. Also included is a zine featuring photos attached are by Beau Devereaux, art by filthykeren and
poetry by IDHAZ

IDHAZ / psychic behaviors (LHP-009) Preview STREAM

Sludge-induced gutter techno acid punk fused with a Trash Can NRG releasing 10/27/2023. Pre-order Digital and limited edition cassette release on Bandcamp here:
https://lefthandpathwax.bandcamp.com/album/trash-can

LEFT HAND PATH presents a statement from PHREAKERS:

PHREAKERS: Seeking to form a new band styled project with live instruments and vocals.. but one that also uses a lot of sampling. In a rehearsal studio, we began to track raw punk rock using bass, drumset, guitar, vocals and the SH-01A and PHREAKERS was born. It all started with a Can of Beans…

Many of the tracks were made in an EXCITED state, later we went back and listened to them and thought : wait- did we make this, what was that?? Exercising our most DEMENTED sonic ideas, playing the guitar incorrectly through 12 effect pedals, scraping it with RANDOM SHIT.

Four handed BASSLINES played with a bow, sampling pig calling contests, just the most far out shit we could come up with . Doing everything incorrectly, welcome to the PHREAKERS sound. Waves of CHAOS, beautiful MADNESS...

The concept of the debut tape is to GO INSIDE a trash can because you ARE a trash can. You dirty piece of f*#$%&@$ shit. PHREAKERS also grooves somehow, in a DEMENTED way. We also love you.

On the other side of the tape we made some wide open...  more
credits
releases October 27, 2023

All music by Teeyam and John Barera
Mastered by Mark Pistel
Artwork by Slimey
Layouts by Jason P

PHREAKERS / Trash Can (LHP-010) Preview STREAM

Cube — "My Cube" / LHP-001
All music by Adam Keith. Recorded in Oakland, CA. Mastered by Mark Pistel.
Released June 24, 2016 on Left Hand Path from San Francisco, CA
Available on vinyl LP + digital formats.

Available for purchase on Bandcamp and soon at fine record stores worldwide: https://lefthandpathwax.bandcamp.com

My Cube

Auto / Composite Face Fetish

Cube - "My Cube" LHP-001 Cube — "My Cube" / LHP-001
All music by Adam Keith. Recorded in Oakland, CA. Mastered by Mark Pistel.
Released June 24, 2016 on Left Hand Path from San Francisco, CA
Available on vinyl LP + digital formats.

Available for purchase on Bandcamp and soon at fine record stores worldwide: https://lefthandpathwax.bandcamp.com/

Safe Word

Snippets of every track on Cube's "MY CUBE" album, LHP-001.

A1: First
A2: Favorite
A3: Private
A4: Silhouette
A5: Safe Word
A6: Opaque
B1: Commercial For Toothpaste
B2: Bargain Water
B3: Emblem
B4: Auto / Composite Face Fetish
B5: No Name / Didn't Feel A Thing

Cube / My Cube Album Stream (LHP-001)

Radioactive Miami Bass experiments — slime-coated dubby techno — nervous electro — and beautifully melodic, selectively not-ambient electronica: The second record on nascent San Francisco label Left Hand Path, "STYGIAN MORASS" by Bay Area artist C.L.A.W.S., offers up four cuts that chart a pathway through techno's outer reaches, a perfect platter for the intrepid at-home listener and essential fodder for the adventurous DJ.

C.L.A.W.S., aka Brian Hock, is a music-maker without boundary: he came up in the early-aughts San Francisco scene, playing drums in gothy outfit THE VANISHING, eventually releasing his first solo record as C.L.A.W.S. on Tigerbass Records, the dancefloor-inclined sublabel of Kid606's Tigerbeat6. After a stint in Berlin, he returned to San Francisco where he and two similarly-minded miscreants launched BRONZE, a synth-bass-drums trio that could perhaps be reductively described as "post-punk," whose records have seen release on RVNG INT'L, NOT NOT FUN, and CASTLE FACE, among others. In 2017, he and fellow freaky disc-jock SOLAR are launching SQUIRRELS ON FILM, a record label dedicated to showcasing more brilliantly weird Bay Area artists.

As C.L.A.W.S., Hock's solo productions have become progressively more eccentric with time, culminating so far in the lurid psychedelic tones found on STYGIAN MORASS. None of its four tracks sound particularly alike, but each is clearly the work of an artist with a singular vision. 

STYGIAN MORASS will be released as a ltd.300 edition black vinyl record (with full color artwork sleeve and handmade paper insert designed by the artist) and a digital download via Left Hand Path's Bandcamp on March 10. Forthcoming Left Hand Path releases include a posthumous record from Bay Area artist NACKT, aka Johnny Igaz, the debut 12" from San Francisco producer MICHAEL CLAUS, and more.

Stygian Morass

C.L.A.W.S. / Stygian Morass EP Stream (LHP-002)

"Private Property Created Crime" is the final (for now) work of the late Johnny Igaz, aka Nackt (after the German for "naked"), one of 36 enormously talented and eternally vibrant souls who was lost to our world in the Ghost Ship fire in Oakland, California. Johnny was a visionary musician, with roots in hip-hop and psychedelic music of all stripes, who poured heart and soul into his music. These four tracks are among his best and most compelling productions, proof that a brilliant artist was taken from us just as he was attaining his stride.

The record opens with "Blight Town" (yes it's a Dark Souls reference), a full-throated acid techno stormer that melds emotive modular work with raucous percussion. "Septic Acid" is a rubbery electro joint with heartfelt, melancholy overtones. On the flip, "Let's Go Shopping" features Nackt in full-on hands-up party-rockin' mode, built around a huge bassline and an ecstatic vocal sample from the best film ever made. "Balboa Park" began as a moody collection of synth lines until fellow San Franciscan Michael Claus beefed it up with his intricate, punchy drum work. 

A hand-drawn sleeve by Bryan Peabe Odiamar completes the package. Rest in power, Johnny. We wish you were here to see this record released.

Released worldwide on vinyl and digital December 2, the Ghost Ship anniversary. Distribution by ALL-DAY RECORDS (North America) and LOBSTER DISTRIBUTION (EU).

Private Property Created Crime

Buy vinyl, digital

Nackt / Private Property Created Crime Stream (LHP-003)

"Blight Town," A1 from Nackt's "Private Property Created Crime," is a seven-minute journey through acid techno at its finest.

All music and mastering by Johnny Igaz.

Nackt - Blight Town (LHP-003)

Left Hand Path is proud to present its fourth release — ICE PICK, a beautifully aggressive four track techno EP from Bay Area troublemaker MICHAEL CLAUS. Following acclaimed releases on Jacktone and 100% Silk and his unforgettable remix on our last record by Nackt, ICE PICK plays with (and against) modern movements in underground techno to satisfying effect.  

While Michael's previous releases featured a gorgeous dub-infused atmosphere, ICE PICK steps towards a more militant sound. Its eponymous title track is described perfectly by its name — a lethal rhythmically compelling club track primed for the peak of a late-night DJ set. FOR EACH has the listener ascending an endless staircase of arpeggios, chased by raw electro beats. HEXES is introspective, reinforcing Michael's talent for writing sublime melodic hooks. The record's closer ACID 46 is a bonafide dance-floor stomper built around an undulating, coruscating acid riff, giving it a kaleidoscopic Bay Area twist. 

ICE PICK will be released as a ltd.300 black vinyl record (with full color artwork sleeve by Mariah Tiffany) and a digital download via Left Hand Path's Bandcamp on May 4, 2018.

Michael Claus / Ice Pick STREAM (LHP-004)

Written & produced by Michael Claus.
Mastered by Mark Pistel at Room 5 Studios, San Francisco.
Cover art by Mariah Tiffany.

Ice Pick

Michael Claus - For Each (LHP-004)

Certain feelings, visions, and sounds recur to us as if in dreams. Flashes of recall, hints of remembrance, suggestions of what could have been, or what may yet still be. A spark — a glimpse — a glimmer. We gaze into the abyss, fearless; the abyss gazes back, familiar. Cognition — recursion — immanence. 

Left Hand Path presents the second full-length LP, IDOL COLLAPSE, from Forests 森林. Written by Jon Du, Kuo-Hung Tseng, and Zun Long in Taipei, Taiwan. Eight songs in 36 minutes that unfurl like a flower and expand like a mushroom cloud, designed for utter osmosis and total absorption. The helix twists; the loop is closed. The cycle begins anew. 

Mastered by Mark Pistel at Room 5 Studios, San Francisco, California. Produced in a deluxe gatefold vinyl edition with artwork by Wang Yu and design, layout by Nathan Rickard and Allen Chiu. 

Released worldwide July 27, 2018.

@forestsing

Idol Collapse

Buy vinyl + digital

Forests 森林 / Idol Collapse (LHP-005)

Certain feelings, visions, and sounds recur to us as if in dreams. Flashes of recall, hints of remembrance, suggestions of what could have been, or what may yet still be. A spark — a glimpse — a glimmer. We gaze into the abyss, fearless; the abyss gazes back, familiar. Cognition — recursion — immanence.

Left Hand Path presents the second full-length LP, IDOL COLLAPSE, from Forests 森林. Written by Jon Du, Kuo-Hung Tseng, and Zun Long in Taipei, Taiwan. Eight songs in 36 minutes that unfurl like a flower and expand like a mushroom cloud, designed for utter osmosis and total absorption. The helix twists; the loop is closed. The cycle begins anew.

Mastered by Mark Pistel at Room 5 Studios, San Francisco, California. Produced in a deluxe gatefold vinyl edition with artwork by Wang Yu and design, layout by Nathan Rickard and Allen Chiu.

A1: Scanner Dirge
A2: Disarray
A3: Yes
A4: Basic Love
B1: Stutter Drunker
B2: Non-marginal
B3: Idol Collapse
B4: Slept

Released worldwide July 27, 2018.

@forestsing

Forests 森林 / Idol Collapse STREAM (LHP-005)

Track 3, YES, from Forests' 森林 second LP on Left Hand Path, IDOL COLLAPSE.

@forestsing

Forests 森林 / Yes (LHP-005)

The debut album by RUSSELL E.L. BUTLER (@russellelbutler) entitled "The Home I'd Build For Myself And All My Friends" releases on Left Hand Path November 15, 2018.

PREORDER / BUY: https://lefthandpathwax.bandcamp.com/album/the-home-id-build-for-myself-and-all-my-friends

In ten tracks across 60 minutes and two LPs, and featuring original artwork by Muzae Sesay, Butler presents a vision of an imagined future: "techno" in the truest sense, in its original sense. Wrought of hope and the spirit of resistance, The Home I'd Build For Myself And All My Friends recalls techno's emancipatory, Afro-futurist roots. Written in the aftermath of the Ghost Ship fire in Oakland in December 2016, the album is infused with an immediacy, a viscerality, unmatched by its contemporaries. 

Tempo and tenor vary throughout, making the record an engaging, dynamic listen. "Builder" is a slow burn, a roller for breaking hearts on the dancefloor. "No New Neighbors" is tense, upbeat, and sparse, built around a taut bassline. "These Seeds" runs slow, ideal for twisted afterparties. "Cure Water" is three minutes of unbridled passion, a beatless cosmic otherworld. The album finishes on a high note with its eponymously titled track: uptempo, intensely percussive, and almost overwhelmingly beautiful. 

To Chelsea, Johnny, Joey, Cash, Griffin, Barrett, Micah, Jonathan, Feral, Kiyomi, Draven, Hanna, Peter, Vanessa, Edmond, Billy, Jennifer, Michele, Nicholas, Jenny, Amanda, Denalda, Alex G., Nick, Jsun, Michela, Wolfgang, Sara, Ben, Travis, Ara, Em, Chase, Donna, David, and Alex V.: This is for you. We remember you. We honor you. We love you.

PRE-ORDER

Russell E.L. Butler / Cure Water (LHP-006)

Pneumania
pneu•ma•nia
n(y)o͞oˈˈmānēə/
noun

1. a mental condition induced by cultural or societal environments and marked by an inflated sense of pride, sycophantic behavior, and common narcissism 
“abandoning his principles, his peers, and consumed by pneumania, he believed his work to be of great importance.”

2. an obsession with newness
“each new device introduced to the market inspires greater pneumania.”

Pneumania is the first full-length album by E L O N, the latest project from California vocalist and electronic musician Elon Katz. Across six tracks, Pneumania unfolds psychedelic interpretations of beat-centric electronic music, referencing electro, dub techno, and illbient while searching for new ground. 

The album title, Pneumania, derives from “pneumonia” and “pneumatic,” relating to both respiratory illness and air or gas under pressure, while phonetically pointing toward a literal ‘New Mania.’ The word is the artist’s attempt to characterize an accumulative paradigm shift experienced within the past decade: a rampant increase of precarity and austerity, an acceleration of avarice, and a trend toward extreme political schism.

Elon Katz has worked in various modalities since 2008, maintaining an active culture of projects including White Car, Streetwalker (in collaboration with Beau Wanzer), and a slew of other aliases, preferring creative flexibility over consistent branding. Pneumania is the follow-up to the 2016 E L O N EP, Concupiscence, on MIND Records, and the 2017 mix of original material for Grey Matter Archives curated by Japanese artist CVN. 

His instrumental work includes the mid-2000s IDM project Aguirre, released by NNA Tapes in 2010; the first Elon Katz solo release, The Pylori Program, a minimal ambient work created with an E-MU modular synthesizer and E-5000 sampler; and a 2011 performance with artist Kyle Evans using his custom-built ‘Electronically Modified Didgeridoo’, in which Katz accompanied the instrument with machine rhythms and electronics. Katz operates the music project and label Zero Grow from his home studio in Los Angeles, where he is currently working on a follow-up to his 2016 album The Human Pet.

Pneumania, mastered by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering, will be released in June by San Francisco label Left Hand Path in digital and vinyl formats featuring ‘globalist-agitprop’ artwork from Oakland-based designer and musician Daniel Letson (aka DJML).

Pneumania

E L O N / Pneumania (LHP-007)

Left Hand Path co-founder DJ CZ's debut mixtape on Rinse FM, guesting for Hodge's show November 2018. 

Tracklist:

01/Hrvatski - Catstep/My Kitten/Catnap Vatstep DSP (Ipecac Recordings 2000)
02/E L O N (Elon Katz)- Inside the Private City (Left Hand Path 2019) 
03/Warden CA - Elemental (Lurid Music 2018)
04/Forests 森林 - Yes (Vague Terrain edit) (Left Hand Path 2018)
05/Poison Arrow - Casa Show (Exit Records 2018)
06/Kris Baha - Can't Keep The Fact (Pinkman 2018) 
07/Elexos - Displacement (unreleased 2018) 
08/Martsman - Shades (Hidden Hawaii / Nullpunkt 2018)
09/Makai - Beneath the Mask (alternate mix) (Precision Breakbeat Research 1998)

DJ CZ for Rinse FM (Nov 2018)

Limited edition tape and zine releasing January 29, 2021. 
Go to https://lefthandpathwax.bandcamp.com/album/without-hindrance to purchase.

Tracks A1-A4 written by Aerin Ercolea between 2018-2019.
All other tracks remixed in 2019 by Andrew Nolan (B1), Nihar Bhatt (B2), Lili Schulder (B3), & David Coccagna (B4).
Mastered by Mark Pistel.
Artwork by Ashley Hohman.

Auton / Without Hindrance (LHP-008)

Wholesale US distribution: Direct / contact us
Wholesale EU distribution: @lobsterdistribution

Our BANDCAMP is live: https://lefthandpathwax.bandcamp.com

Listen to our new mixtape in THE WIRE: http://www.thewire.co.uk/audio/tracks/listen-to-a-mix-by-left-hand-path

LEFT HAND PATH is a record label based in San Francisco, CA dedicated to liminal sounds + dancefloor transgression + music without rules

LEFT HAND PATH are Nihar Bhatt + Chris Zaldua
@c_z-1 / @niharb
contact: lefthandpathwax@gmail.com

Left Hand Path

Popular tracks