WV108 Zbigniew Karkowski / Li Jianhong / Torturing Nurse (PL/CN) - Noise in Shadow City CD

●●●PRE-ORDER, SHIPPING EARLY JUNE
●●●BANDCAMP DL CODE INCLUDED
●●●discount price 11€ during pre-order, will be set back to normal price after the album is released

▼WV108: Zbigniew Karkowski / Li Jianhong 李劍鴻 / Torturing Nurse - Noise in Shadow City

陰影城市 中國虛無篇章

- 6-panel trifold cover in 7" format
- w* obi
- pro-printed black CD-R
- limited edition of 150, hand-numbered

▼

In memory of Zbigniew Karkowski (14th March 1958 – 12th December 2013).

Noise in Shadow City documents a fierce, long-lost collaboration between three influential figures in experimental and noise music: Zbigniew Karkowski, Li Jianhong, and Torturing Nurse. Recorded in 2009 at Shanghai’s 0093 Rehearsal Studio during a private performance — part of a low-profile tour across Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Nanjing, this 46-minute harsh noise piece captures not only the volatile synergy of three artists but also marks Karkowski’s final visit to China before his untimely passing in 2013.

Karkowski, a Polish composer and experimental music pioneer, was a formidable force in the international noise and avant-garde scenes. With a background in both academic composition and radical computer-based sound (notably Max/MSP), he pushed sonic boundaries with a confrontational intensity that left a lasting mark on experimental culture across Europe, Japan, and beyond. His presence on this recording is unwavering, disciplined, and brutal in its refusal to compromise.

Li Jianhong, a veteran in China’s underground since the 1990s, lends his freeform guitar work, oscillating between texture and feedback, while Torturing Nurse, one of the most internationally recognized Harsh Noise projects from China, known for its relentless live shows and prolific output, injects abrasive tension through effects pedal manipulations, unleashes an arsenal of sound toward violent extremes.

The sound itself is raw, singular, and monolithic. Rather than building toward a climax, the trio sustains an unbroken wall of distortion — grinding, humming, erupting — suggesting a controlled immersion in physical, almost architectural noise. There are no dramatic gestures, only the steady erosion of sonic space.

Long thought lost, the audio was rediscovered from an old camcorder recording with the help of Dennis Wong and carefully restored by Thomas Stadnicki. This release marks its first-ever appearance in physical form. Issued by WV Sorcerer Productions as a black CD-R, hand-numbered and limited to 150 copies, housed in a 7-inch jacket with OBI strip.

Bleak, minimal, and resistant, Noise in Shadow City reflects not only a historical trace in Chinese noise scene, but a time capsule of intensity from its shadow years.

releases June 5, 2025

Zbigniew Karkowski: Max/MSP
Li Jianhong 李劍鴻: Guitar
Torturing Nurse (Junky): Effects Pedals

Recorded by Olaf Hochherz, at 0093 Rehearsal Studio, Shanghai, 27th September 2009
Audio restored and mastered by Thomas Stadnicki, 2023
Photography (inner pages) by 0093 Rehearsal Studio & Li Jianhong 李劍鴻
Photography (cover & CD), design & layout by Ruò Tán 若潭
Special thanks to Dennis Wong 黃仲輝

© & ℗ WV Sorcerer Productions 2025
www.facebook.com/wvsorcerer
www.youtube.com/c/wvsorcerer
Instagram: @wv_sorcerer_productions
巫唱片
WV108