HCT's sophomore release is a superbly-produced double single written by Bär McKinnon (Mr. Bungle, Umlaut) and featuring Danny Heifetz (Mr. Bungle) on drums. Available in download (including 11 bonus tracks), limited-edition 7-inch vinyl (comes with full download), and a thematically-linked t-shirt. 7-inch supplies very limited. Final official mixes mastered to JH110B ¼ inch tape as always.

Side A is Bär's monster composition, Valisystem A. This piece would've been a great candidate for one of his more well-known acts, had it appeared in a different era!

Side B, KlawPeels: Mission Checkup, a 1950’s-inspired, gothic instrumental in the 47/64 meter, penned by Tim Smolens and tuned in accord to the Treaty of Versailles.

Valisystem A marks the first time that HCT has recorded one of Bär McKinnon’s compositions. While he initially demoed it on a cassette 4-track, with the intention to keep it sparse and minimal, we must truthfully report that this did not happen. The project has ballooned to 250+ tracks and the host barely has the CPU to render the mix. While HCT is still working out the kinks of international collaboration, with the disparate moving parts and warbly back-and-forth communications, the initial results are nonetheless stunning. This selection features the distinctive drumming of Danny Heifetz, who also tickles the shimmery vibraphone here, an impressive multi-part string section crafted by Timba Harris, the vintage guitar stylings of Chris Bogen, guest french horn and bassoonist, a hodgepodge of basses (upright, p-bass, synth bass, hollow bass), tenor sax, clarinet, flute, wild throngs of lead and background vocals by Bär, tape-saturated percussion, Tim's real grand piano, the rare Hohner Pianet N electric piano, a kooky and morphing assortment of oddball synths and lo-fi keyboards from asynchronous eras, male choir, an emotionally-moving interlude, the vague looming threat of becoming a full-blown pop song that never quite materializes, multiple unclassifiable genres, a repetitive instrumental “chorus” that exhibits spaghetti western traits, and indescribably more. Valisystem A takes the listener on a blustering ride across the universe atop the pink beam of an ancient satellite.

KlawPeels: Mission Checkup is the B-side and provides a balanced contrast to the rompin', stompin' fanfare of side A. This number is a 50s-style, gothic instrumental featuring the pedal steel work of Stian Carstensen. The listener will be treated to a heavy dose of Joe Meek aesthetic timbres, saturated Farfisa and B3 organs, tremolo-soaked baritone guitar that'd make Mancini proud, timpani, Tim's grand piano tuned to just intonation, tenor saxophone, acoustic guitar, wild vintage surf percussion, grooves & fills by hermit-like guest stick man, Vinnie “Saturn” Metts. This recording contains multiple oddities and conceals a bonafide mystery. The time signature is the never-used 47/64, which is deceptively close to the very common 6/8, but with an additional 64th note truncated from each measure. When shaving such a small fraction from each bar, the result doesn’t sound “progressive” like odd meters oft do, but rather provides a unique, intangible “feel,” best perceived as ever-so-slightly rushing each new down beat. Furthermore, this song does not conform to the established western tuning note of A=440Hz, but instead employs the old French diapson tuning standard of A=435Hz. Such devices are subtle, but if one listens closely, it is clear that we are touching parts of that have rarely, if ever, been touched!

Pick up a download,7-inch and t-shirt today and enjoy the brilliant visual designs by our resident artist, David Dines.

Comes with extensive liner notes, album art, Klawpeels chord changes and lap steel chart.

• Official HCT drummer Dave Murray does not appear on these recordings because they were already underway when he joined the effort. Fans should rest well knowing that Dave is busy charting HCT's next metal journey.

Get the monster, 9-track debut release from HCT, an exciting new post-quarantine, international supergroup featuring members of Estradasphere, Mr. Bungle, Farmer's Market and more! The music herein is not unlike what would be expected from a group with our odd collective musical resumés, yet it is somehow fresh, vibrant, and dare we say mature in its eclectic cadence. Present are densely layered orchestrations, starkly unrelated genre superimposition, the relaxed tuning of the old French Diapson standard (agreed upon in the Treaty of Versailles), and final mixes run to JH110B ¼ inch tape.

Ich Bin's treats the listener to a long forgotten romantic waltz that originated in the heart of an Argentinian immigrant to Paris around 1920. It was at one time run through the pneumatic grinder of a madman inventor of an antique, German self-playing orchestra on the verge of mechanical failure and today is embellished with Estradasphereian bursts of metal to create the novel genre, "Vaudeville Grindcore". Our version is set atop a bed of charmingly rickety, barely tuned keyboards (pump organ saloon piano) and a wonderfully wobbly, piano roll-inspired, tempo grid that conforms to an archaic map. This song features the nuanced virtuosity of Stian Carstensen from Norway, here playing an antique Bugari Armado French accordion that was found submerged in a stranger’s flooded basement and painstakingly restored by his father, who tuned it in tri-reed musette style, imparting a French Bordello timbre. With all of its romance, old world charm, and modern disruptions, this ditty makes a great soundtrack for the dire predicament that lies just ahead; cannibalism or starvation!!

The unlikely route in which Ich Bin’s fell into our lap, almost a century after it was penned, is a tale of fortuitous happenstance. In the mid 1990’s Tim Smolens' parents visited Germany to celebrate their 25th anniversary. They came home with a yellow cassette tape from a museum of antique, automated (pneumatic) orchestras. They thought he would like it because, to their ears, it sounded like “that new weird music you are into” (any guesses?). Tim picked out this tune from the tape as the standout track, but didn’t think of doing a rendition until 2020. Trying to track down the origin and score of this song, based on the information on the cassette tape, proved difficult. There were no traces of the song on YouTube, streaming services, or anywhere on the interwebs. Chris Bogen and Tim began some musical forensic archaeology which lead them to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, only to be told that while the score was in their possession it was not available to the public. After some strong, geeky, internet sleuthing, Chris finally found a copy of the pricey old score at an online French antique sheet music dealer. The obscurity and lack of availability of any audio for this song is curious given its tremendous compositional strength and odd sense of nostalgic familiarity.We are proud to have been able to unearth it, repurpose it, and reveal it to the iPhone generation that has been unknowingly clamoring for it. And not a moment too soon!

The B-side, The Days of Blue Jeans Were Gone, contains a novel blend of vintage Italian cinema erotica and Joe Meek and his outrageously engineered guitar tones, all run through the lens of an inscrutable progression of precise metric modulations. Behold the tasty electric piano and rhythm guitar comping, beefy bass quartet (standup, hollow body, P-bass, surf guitar bass), lush organic string sections, precise drumming courtesy of guest stick man Rory Reagan, fabulous and sensual lead vocals of Caitlin O’Connor, a ripping Van Halen tribute accordion solo, and the tasteful, eloquent tenor saxophone solo. The sophistication of the chord progression and subsequent reharmonizations could only have been developed after careful study of Ennio Morricone and other prominent luminaries of Italian cinema, The Beach Boys, Steely Dan, and jazz harmony in general.

With this purchase you also get 6 bonus tracks and remixes offering valuable insight into the production, full artwork, detailed liner notes, and 8 bonus sampler tracks from other bands that various members play in.

Available in hi-fi FLAC, or WAV 24/96 upon request via email.

Thanks for your order! If you would like download links for Flac or hi-fi WAV (24/96) file please email us and we will get you a link.

(Note to international buyers of physical products (7-inch, t-shirt): when buying more than one physical item from our store (such as 7-inch + t-shirt), it is possible you will be overcharged for shipping since it is hard to account for all possible countries and scenarios of product combinations. After shipping your package we will contact you to refund the difference.)