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Regarding Tweep, Fwerp, and Plamp

An unexpected thing has happened and I’m still not entirely sure what to make of it so here goes… My so called record label Borbid Torpor Undertainment has signed its first artist and is releasing their album.

At the beginning of 2024, I received an email via my Bandcamp page from an account belonging to a Tweep, Fwerp and Plamp. I immediately recognized this as a user name from an electronic music forum I frequented for years until it went offline around 2015. Any evidence of this has been lost in the memory cracks of broken internet links.

What I remember about Tweep, Fwerp and Plamp is they(?) had an odd gimmick that is difficult to describe, leaving posts that were more like clues to some arcane puzzle than the usual discussion of VST plugins, breakbeats, and Venetian Snares. They presented themselves as three beings sharing an account. They occasionally contributed their primitive lo fi music to collaborative forum mix projects, standing out from other users’ electronic beats. They may have actually been aliens, but were probably just British.

The email contained a zip file of an album’s worth of music and the following message:

“ɢʀɛɛȶɨռɢֆ ʄʀɨɛռɖ,,

աɛ ǟʀɛ ȶաɛɛք, ʄաɛʀք ǟռɖ քʟǟʍք ǟռɖ աɛ ǟʀɛ ֆʊɮʍɨȶȶɨռɢ ʄօʀ ʏօʊʀ ƈօռֆɨɖɛʀǟȶɨօռ օʊʀ ƈօʍքʟɛȶɛ ʍʊֆɨƈǟʟ աօʀӄֆ ʄօʀ ǟ քօȶɛռȶɨǟʟ քʊɮʟɨֆɦɨռɢ ɖɛǟʟ աɨȶɦ ʏօʊʀ ʀɛƈօʀɖ ʟǟɮɛʟ ɮօʀɮɨɖ ȶօʀքօʀ ʊռɖɛʀȶǟɨռʍɛռȶ. աɛ ɮɛʟɨɛʋɛ ȶɦǟȶ ʏօʊʀ օʀɢǟռɨʐǟȶɨօռ ɨֆ ǟ ֆʊɨȶǟɮʟɛ քʟǟȶʄօʀʍ ʄօʀ օʊʀ ɛռɖɛǟʋօʀֆ. աɛ ǟʀɛ քʀɛքǟʀɨռɢ ȶօ ɛռȶɛʀ ǟ քʀօʟօռɢɛɖ ɖօʀʍǟռȶ ֆȶǟȶɛ աɦɨƈɦ աɨʟʟ ʄǟʀ ɛӼƈɛɛɖ ʏօʊʀ ʟɨʄɛֆքǟռ. աɛ ɦօքɛ ȶɦǟȶ ʏօʊ աɨʟʟ ʄɨռɖ ɨȶ ǟƈƈɛքȶǟɮʟɛ ȶօ ʀɛքʀɛֆɛռȶ ʊֆ ɨռ ȶɦɛ օռʟɨռɛ ʍʊֆɨƈ ʍǟʀӄɛȶ ɨռ օʊʀ ǟɮֆɛռƈɛ. աɛ աɨֆɦ ʏօʊ ǟ ɮօʊռȶɨʄʊʟ ֆɛǟֆօռ ǟռɖ աɛ ʟօօӄ ʄօʀաǟʀɖ ȶօ ƈօռɖʊƈȶɨռɢ ɮʊֆɨռɛֆֆ աɨȶɦ ʏօʊ.

ʟօʋɛ,
ȶʄ&ք”

I was perplexed. First of all, I’m not really a record label. Borbid Torpor Undertainment has always been just a placeholder name to make it appear as if my self released music has a legitimate business entity behind it (surprise!) I am however more than willing to host this intriguing collection of sounds on my page, if that’s what these guys mean by “publishing deal”.

I’m left wondering why they chose me. I can’t even give away my own music, what could I possibly offer another band? Did they try sending their music to other actual labels before reaching out to me? Did they remember me from the forum days? Am I being trolled? I don’t recall having any particular interaction with them, only amusement at their posts. My replies and follow-up questions to TF&P bounced back as undeliverable. I waited patiently for months for more clues but it seems they have laid this album at my feet and vanished, granting me permission to present it to the world as I see fit.

An internet search for Tweep, Fwerp, and Plamp turned up only to a long deserted SoundCloud page containing these same songs and a profile image of three adorable little hand made green alien figures on a red cloth background. The timestamps of the audio files ranged from 2002 to 2015 as the date of origin.

The music itself is where the real magic is.

I decided to give this a full attentive listen on headphones and I was not disappointed. There are 17 tracks, each under three minutes with a 35 minute total runtime. The opening track “we sing in a triangle” begins with degraded chanting voices, detuned and distant looping twangs and blips. Then we hear what seems to be an antique BBC broadcast of an old woman explaining to an interviewer about “adapting to the ways of the animals”. The album continued to charm me under its strangely naive and unsettling spell. It feels haunted, at times even menacing. There are instruments, some more identifiable than others, resembling toy versions of guitars, flutes, and tom toms. Sampled audio appears from time to time with momentary nods to dance music. The second track “kira” is built on a clip of dialogue from the film The Dark Crystal. There are squeaky chattering vocals of unknown origin in some songs. Minimal percussion in the form of taps, thumps and tongue clicks. Rudimentary synths croak and purr beneath the ritualistic melodies. A highlight is "three total losers", a head bopping tune with shuffling feet sounds. The last few tracks churn up a bit of distorted noise for an uneasy finish, closing with “o, deth” a stark and garbled acapella take on the Appalachian folk song.

I can't help but feel I’ll never be able to do this justice. Personally I think this album deserves to be elevated to cult classic status, but then I tend to be alone in my opinions about music. It ought to be at the very least put out on cassette by a proper label that caters to outsider artists. In my incapable hands, it will surely be cursed with obscurity. Maybe it was meant to remain a secret.

Of course it’s possible this is all a silly joke but I am choosing to take it at face value and accept that I have been selected by an otherworldly presence to share its musical vision with the earthly internet. So without further ado, Borbid Torpor Undertainment presents, unedited and unmastered, the self titled debut album by Tweep, Fwerp and Plamp.

Whoever or whatever you may be, I thank you for this blessing.

-Qrqyt Ixoteptek 

Electronica's rarest cryptid since 1993

The profound impact Libythth has had on electronic music is purely theoretical and the full prunt of its influence on countless nonexistent artists cannot be measured by any stick.

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