Friday Five highlights music by Washtenaw County-associated artists and labels.

This week features dubby jams by Laserbeams of Boredom, ambient by Othercast, electro-techno by Lamont Stigler, gothic-folk by Dollie Rot, and electronic soundtracks by G.B. Marian.

Laserbeams of Boredom, Basement Snacks
This Ypsilanti project builds jams from the bottom up. Craig Johnson lays down drum tracks and layers sounds over the top like a one-man This Heat, creating an experimental hip-hop dub hybrid that wouldn't sound out of place on the 99 Records label circa 1981. Johnson has been blasting Laserbeams of Boredom since 2006, but Basement Snacks is his first release in seven years. He limited himself to just drums, two-string bass, and some effects to create these nine tracks, but the overall effect is that of a full live band jamming out otherworldly sounds. Nope, it's just Craig.

Othercast, Tales From New Time (live)
Ann Arbor's Kelman Wolfkostin—aka Othercast—released the cinematic Cult of the Circle Dance album in 2022, but it was under construction for many years. But in 2023 (and early 2024), Othercast explored similar epic-ambient soundscapes in live settings, which were captured for Tales From New Time (live). These four performances, totaling more than 100 minutes, were taken from WCBN Local Music Show (1/17/24), Sound & Silence at Canterbury House (11/7/23), the Artificial Horizons: Exploring Alternative Robotic Futures exhibit (10/7/23), and an open-mic event at The Society of Les Voyageurs' cabin (7/9/23). Pure sink-into-your-couch music.

Lamont Stigler, Humanoid
While he was born in Ann Arbor and spent part of his life in Ypsi, Lamont Stigler is a man of the world having also lived in Hamburg, Germany and Antwerpen, Belgium. It's no surprise that the music he's made over the past 15 years reflects his Euro-American living experiences, pumping out a unique mix of electro, techno, hip-hop, and acid that borrows from all the creative scenes where he's resided. Humanoid was released on the Momb Records in 2021, but Stigler recently made it available on Bandcamp.

Dollie Rot, Covers
Ann Arbor's Dollie Rot makes moody, minimalist, reverb-laden music that borrows from folk and country but with a darker edge. She has a few original songs posted on her Bandcamp page, but her most recent release is a six-track EP featuring covers of tunes by Bon Iver, Katy Perry, Zach Bryan, Nicole Dollanganger, Billie Marten, and Josiah and the Bonnevilles. It's an interesting collection of source material, all rendered in Dollie Rot's slow-motion, gothic-folk style.

G.B. Marian, Cymetrodons Vs. Abhoragon
Ypsi's G.B. Marian makes movies that just so happen to be music. He's a devote of the Egyptian god Set, and it seems like most of his music is in some way inspired by Middle Eastern mysticism. His latest release sounds like the electronic-music soundtrack to a sci-fi epic—which it kinda is even if the film hasn't been made yet. You need to visit the Cymetrodons Vs. Abhoragon Bandcamp page to read Marian's backstory for the album because my CliffsNotes version won't do it justice.

Christopher Porter is a library technician and the editor of Pulp.