"Latitudes" is a Canadian noise compilation cassette released by Disaster Sources, a fairly new noise label from Montreal and this tape marks the fourth release in the label's discography.
Canada is one country that has been cooking with noise recently, with great new artists emerging all the time and releasing lots of excellent material. 16 artists are presented here, presumably handpicked by label boss Aaron Scholz, including familiar names like Primitive Isolation Tactics, Murmur, Tim Olive, Toanche Dwelling, Jute, Mot, Mass Marriage, and more. There's a lot of quality here, all artists have clearly put in a real effort. Some bigger names are absent, but I think this compilation focuses more on the new breed of Canadian noise, introducing lots of new names to me.
The mix has a nice flow, with no big pauses between tracks. They flow together almost seamlessly and have nice variation of material, so it remains interesting throughout. The label's promotional text suggests that there's one dominating theme across the tracks: "Latitudes ruminates upon the inextricable relationship between sound and place; how an individual’s meaningful perceptual experience with place is contextualized by the sounds created and heard within it." Could be, as many of the songs are very evocative and have at sense of space or feeling of location in them.
As a whole, this is a very enjoyable listening experience and serves a good introduction to Canadian noise from the 2020s. The artwork is done by the consistently excellent Paul Van Trigt.
