Rat Life introduce The Pagan Rites

Uncanny Valley’s sub-label turn to the elusive Swedish minimal wave act for their fourth release.

Headed by Alexander Dorn, aka Uncanny Valley artist Credit 00, Rat Life Records emerged last year with a stated focus on “providing tools for a working DJ’s night out in the wilderness” and served up three records that delighted the more esoteric selectors out there. When quizzed about the future of the label, Dorn told us the Rat Life release schedule would make it hard to pigeon hole, stating “there will be all kinds of stuff, not only edits or what someone might think,” and their fourth release focusses on an obscure Swedish minimal wave project

Do a brief online search for ‘Sweden’ and ‘Pagan Rites’ and you’ll be directed towards a long running black/thrash metal band from Swedish town Halmstad, but they aren’t responsible for Every Mauser & Browning. Instead, The Pagan Rites looks to be a seemingly defunct Minimal Wave project from Johan Norling and Karl Lihagen, two Stockholm artists affiliated with the Top Nice collective. The four tracks on Every Mauser & Browning were apparently recorded between 2008-13 and have been floating about on YouTube for some time. Set to arrive next month, the 12″ can be previewed below, with Rat Life claiming it is “packed with bittersweet melancholia, reflecting the neverending darkness of cold Scandinavian winter”

Rat Life Records will release Every Mauser & Browning by The Pagan Rites on May 11.

Tracklisting:

A1. Every Mauser & Browning
A2. Track 03
B1. Torpedo Ahead 02:58
B2. Call Forth