Systems For Sound Research – Flysch (2026) – Album Review
Album: Systems For Sound Research
Artist: Flysch
Release Date: April 3, 2026
Flysch is the sonic output of PNW-based artist Derrick Spotts, known for his experiments in frequency and sonically challenging performances. He has been performing and recording as Flysch since at least 2014, using a variety of devices and tapes to craft thundering subs and rapidly accelerated sine waves as they rage past Nyquist into inaudible territory, only to come crashing back into a steady drone of tape hiss and unrecognizable groans. He has collaborated frequently with Berlin-based Soft Fantasy, aka Lo Moran, and is also known for working with Mordax Systems, a Vancouver, WA–based company that builds Eurorack modules.
Flysch – Systems For Sound Research
It’s interesting to approach an experimental sound album as a “greatest hits”–type release, as Universal Broadcast Network compiles these “singles” into one collection. You won’t have to pay high shipping fees and hope you get a working tape or “mint” CDr on the second-hand market, which is a treat for those who missed out on the initial runs. As a collection, you won’t get an overarching theme, since each release functions as a self-contained archive. Here are some highlights from the collection.
Starting with “Feasting on Epiphany,” it is a more musical piece than Flysch’s other releases, where feedback and saturation meet in a sustained tone that swells in amplification, allowing slight pitch oscillations and longer tails to form short harmonies over the rumbling clutter and sizzling artifacts. These give way to sub-frequencies and then to full crackling noise and shrill resonance, until those yield to tilting LFOs. The earlier harmonies briefly return before trailing off as wet, muddy loops take over the soundscape.
The most aggressive track is “Teeth Like Chrome Skulls,” a steady blast of high gain with short bursts of ducking noise that feels unrelenting. It isn’t as chaotic as it might seem at first listen; there is a clear sense of fluidity and intent in how feedback rates are adjusted, and louder elements are blended. It becomes a delicate dance—if you are listening casually, try a lower volume setting, and you’ll be able to track when Flysch shifts from a signal screaming at itself to dropping into lower frequencies that rumble around in a sonic rock tumbler. Once you get a feel for this push and pull, crank it up (with some ear protection) and let the intensity wash over you.
Kudos to Universal Broadcast Network (UBN) for releasing this archive for those not yet initiated into the world of noise. This serves as a great starting point for the last decade or so of Flysch’s work, showcasing both the sonic variety and the capabilities of his live performance, including the CD-exclusive track “Six Signal Mixer For Malls Live.” Hopefully, we’ll see more collections like this in the future, as it’s important to recognize years of work that can easily be overlooked when the spotlight’s bandwidth rarely shines on sonic risk-takers.
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