Sick Days.

 

Sick Days is the sound project of Canadian artist Jeff Sinibaldi. A new name to me and certainly one I wouldn't have chanced upon if it wasn't for their recent releases on the Finnish Hyster Tapes label. It is just over 20 years ago when myself (as part of Dieter Müh) and Putrefier toured the pubs, clubs, sinkholes and dives of Europe and wherever we turned up at the venue there was "Sick On The Bus" graffiti all over the backstage areas, so I have always avoided bands with "Sick" in their name. (Sickness being an exception because Chris is a fine fellow!). Anyway ... 

Sick Days have released an eponymous cassette on the Hyster Tapes imprint. Two pieces spanning 45 minutes. The first is a 30 minute or so piece called "Cold Tones". An improvisation of layered passive frequencies and loops that lead into a sense of isolation, a sense of abandonment in the tones which leads to the visualisation of white, cold bleakness of an Artic tundra. I do get to listen to a lot of releases pertaining to this genre, the genre of Drone, Experimentalism, Field Recordings, Looped Tones etc and Sick Days do rise above.

"Point Abino" (That may not be the title .. the typewriter Hyster HQ use needs a new ribbon) is some sort of 'hydrophonic' piece based on the rhythm and flow of water. The sound of waves lapping upon a pebbled shoreline. The burbling and gurgling of H ² 0. The running time of this piece is 13 minutes but that's because the tape just ends ... I have a feeling this an excerpt from a much longer piece. 

The only other Sick Days release I can find (Discogs as research) is a 2015 eponymous CDR on the Vacancy label. Jeff Sinibaldi is the owner of the Vacancy label. Whether or not this tape is an edited version of the CDR I do not know, the CDR was limited to 18 copies only and I would imagine long sold out by now. 

                                                    A selection of Hyster Tapes releases.

Hyster Tapes started in 2003, at first it was planned to be a cassette only label using recycled cassette tapes for releases. Running along similar lines to the 'Recycled' series on RRRecords. The label is operated by Heikke (aka Plaa from Grey Park / Nolls). Their first release was Dieter Müh "Doin' It Dresden Style". A 40 minute recording of a live performance at the AZ Conni in Dresden (when we seemed to be following Sick On The Bus everywhere!). I came up with the title as a kind of homage to two of my favourite bands; Slaughter & The Dogs and Swell Maps. It was then four years before Hyster Tapes released a follow up with a release by XXIII, followed by their first compilation "Your Own Shadow Blocks The Light" featuring XXIII, Grey Park, Culver, YuriYuri and others. Since 2007 Hyster Tapes has moved up a gear with releases with tapes from Re-Clip, Uton, D.D.Dobson, Dear Beloved Henry, Zoe Polanski, Leitmotiv Limbo, Keijo and Grey Park themselves. Hyster Tapes have also collaborated with Finnish counterparts Ikuissus to release vinyl LPs by A Handful Of Dust, Varropas and Grykë Pyje. 

Over the years I have really enjoyed discovering new sounds and artists through Hyster Tapes. Sick Days being added to that list. 

Contact Hyster Tapes here : http://www.pcuf.fi/~plaa/hyster.html most cassettes cost €2 + postage. 

Vacancy are based in Toronto. No contact details are available.