[ aquarius records catalogue

KUTI, FELARoforofo Fight(MCA / Universal)cd$ 17.98

Record Store Day 2013 release!

Here's a mighty impressive set for all you Fela Kuti fans out there: two cds packed with his best (Gentleman, Zombie, No Agreement, Coffin For Head of State and more) and the legendary 1982 documentary on Fela shot in Lagos, Nigeria. While the running time is only 53 minutes, there's nary a moment of un-necessary footage. Along with shots of Lagos and interviews with Fela there's plenty of footage of rare live performances at Fela's Shrine club and at the collective where he and his group reside. It must also be noted that this DVD includes both the French and English versions of the documentary which are different -- so it is recommended that you watch both.

MPEG stream: Zombie
MPEG stream: Coffin For Head of State

Two disk anthology of Fela Kuti's grand ouevre. As the title implies, one disk focuses on Fela's jazz oriented cuts and the other on his dance elements -- though parsing those two, which are so entwined in all his music, is somewhat tough. Never the less, this is a pretty good introduction to the music of Fela Kuti, spanning twenty years of his prolific career (with tracks from as far back as 1972 and as recent as 1992) and is recommended to those who are curious about his work, but have yet to make any commitments.

Fela Kuti is on of those artists that's really difficult to pull off putting together a "best of" collection. Not necessarily because it's just too hard to choose selections for such an anthology, but because his songs are just too damn long to fit much more than four tracks on a disc. That doesn't really make much of a greatest hits album. I'm not sure whether this was Quannum intent on putting this together, but a DJ mix running through some of Fela's greatest tracks works really well as a best of. As a continuous mix The Underground Spiritual Game is able to retain the feeling of Fela's extended song structure, but also give the listener a taste of a variety of Fela tracks. As such this disc makes a fine introduction to Fela for those yet to dive into his extensive oeuvre.

MPEG stream: Trouble Sleep
MPEG stream: Unnecessary Begging

Here's three more in the continuing onslaught of reissues of classic records by the King of Afro-beat. Since we're still working sifting through the last dozen, again we'll just list that we have these and hopefully provide some more specific reviews at some future date!

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. 4 songs, recorded in LA in 1969; cover is replica of first Nigerian Fela Kuti record, LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES.

Years ago, we were introduced to the genius of the "James Brown of Afrobeat", Fela Ransome Kuti through a massive cd reissue campaign of his '70s albums, many with 2 albums on one cd. While we never managed to review any of them for the website, our three favorites releases he made with his band Africa 70 (Live! With Ginger Baker, from 1971, and Expensive Shit and He Miss Road, both from '75) have just been reissued on lp and they are definitively some of the best and essential Afrobeat we've ever heard. Expensive Shit and He Miss Road were originally reissued on one cd (still available) collecting the five sprawling tracks of both albums together. But the two tracks from Expensive Shit, in particular, were some of the most politically charged grooves recorded. A little background: Africa 70, a band consisting of two large choruses (male and female) around a core of over a half-dozen musicians on horns, guitars, and percussion from the world over, was formed in the wake of a visit to Los Angeles and Kuti's exposure to the Black Panther movement. Changing his musical focus from love songs to social justice, he returned to Nigeria where he set up a commune like residence where his band could record and play and declared it independent of the Nigerian government. Singing in pidgen English so as to connect with the diverse populations of Africa and practicing Yoruba religion, as his music grew in popularity, he was subject to regular injustices by the government and military including illegal searches and seizures, travel restrictions and beatings. Expensive Shit refers to a legendary incident where soldiers tried to plant a joint on Kuti, which he managed to eat, prompting the soldiers to take him in custody and wait until he shat out the evidence. Legend has it, he was eventually freed after he was able to swap his feces for another prisoner's and thus the police had nothing on him. But the song and the B side, "Water No Get Enemy" in their epic lengths and ecstatic rhythms also serve as a call and response indictment of authoritative corruption and the counterproductive means in which governments wield power over its citizens. He Miss Road runs along a more communal trajectory across three tracks, but the sound is moodier and more hypnotic. Produced by Ginger Baker, who contributed and recorded regularly with Kuti throughout the 70's when Baker moved to Nigeria from England after the breakup of Cream and Blind Faith. The grooves are longer, jazzier and at the same time more abstract, punctuated by swelling organ riffs and Tony Allen's full-burn percussive rhythms. Live! with Ginger Baker is a scorcher of a set with Ginger Baker as guest drummer alongside regular drummer Tony Allen and since it was recorded earlier than the others, it has a tighter feel. You really feel/hear the James Brown comparison on this one. All three pretty damn essential!!

MPEG stream: Expensive Shit
MPEG stream: Water No Has Enemy

Expensive Shit and He Miss Road, two amazing records from 1975 now on one cd collecting the five sprawling tracks of both albums together. But the two tracks from Expensive Shit, in particular, were some of the most politically charged grooves recorded. A little background: Africa 70, a band consisting of two large choruses (male and female) around a core of over a half-dozen musicians on horns, guitars, and percussion from the world over, was formed in the wake of a visit to Los Angeles and Kuti's exposure to the Black Panther movement. Changing his musical focus from love songs to social justice, he returned to Nigeria where he set up a commune like residence where his band could record and play and declared it independent of the Nigerian government. Singing in pidgen English so as to connect with the diverse populations of Africa and practicing Yoruba religion, as his music grew in popularity, he was subject to regular injustices by the government and military including illegal searches and seizures, travel restrictions and beatings. Expensive Shit refers to a legendary incident where soldiers tried to plant a joint on Kuti, which he managed to eat, prompting the soldiers to take him in custody and wait until he shat out the evidence. Legend has it, he was eventually freed after he was able to swap his feces for another prisoner's and thus the police had nothing on him. But the song and the B side, "Water No Get Enemy" in their epic lengths and ecstatic rhythms also serve as a call and response indictment of authoritative corruption and the counterproductive means in which governments wield power over its citizens. He Miss Road runs along a more communal trajectory across three tracks, but the sound is moodier and more hypnotic. Produced by Ginger Baker, who contributed and recorded regularly with Kuti throughout the 70's when Baker moved to Nigeria from England after the breakup of Cream and Blind Faith. The grooves are longer, jazzier and at the same time more abstract, punctuated by swelling organ riffs and Tony Allen's full-burn percussive rhythms.

MPEG stream: Expensive Shit
MPEG stream: Water No Has Enemy
MPEG stream: He Miss Road
MPEG stream: It's Not Possible

Years ago, we were introduced to the genius of the "James Brown of Afrobeat", Fela Ransome Kuti through a massive cd reissue campaign of his '70s albums, many with 2 albums on one cd. While we never managed to review any of them for the website, our three favorites releases he made with his band Africa 70 (Live! With Ginger Baker, from 1971, and Expensive Shit and He Miss Road, both from '75) have just been reissued on lp and they are definitively some of the best and essential Afrobeat we've ever heard. Expensive Shit and He Miss Road were originally reissued on one cd (still available) collecting the five sprawling tracks of both albums together. But the two tracks from Expensive Shit, in particular, were some of the most politically charged grooves recorded. A little background: Africa 70, a band consisting of two large choruses (male and female) around a core of over a half-dozen musicians on horns, guitars, and percussion from the world over, was formed in the wake of a visit to Los Angeles and Kuti's exposure to the Black Panther movement. Changing his musical focus from love songs to social justice, he returned to Nigeria where he set up a commune like residence where his band could record and play and declared it independent of the Nigerian government. Singing in pidgen English so as to connect with the diverse populations of Africa and practicing Yoruba religion, as his music grew in popularity, he was subject to regular injustices by the government and military including illegal searches and seizures, travel restrictions and beatings. Expensive Shit refers to a legendary incident where soldiers tried to plant a joint on Kuti, which he managed to eat, prompting the soldiers to take him in custody and wait until he shat out the evidence. Legend has it, he was eventually freed after he was able to swap his feces for another prisoner's and thus the police had nothing on him. But the song and the B side, "Water No Get Enemy" in their epic lengths and ecstatic rhythms also serve as a call and response indictment of authoritative corruption and the counterproductive means in which governments wield power over its citizens. He Miss Road runs along a more communal trajectory across three tracks, but the sound is moodier and more hypnotic. Produced by Ginger Baker, who contributed and recorded regularly with Kuti throughout the 70's when Baker moved to Nigeria from England after the breakup of Cream and Blind Faith. The grooves are longer, jazzier and at the same time more abstract, punctuated by swelling organ riffs and Tony Allen's full-burn percussive rhythms. Live! with Ginger Baker is a scorcher of a set with Ginger Baker as guest drummer alongside regular drummer Tony Allen and since it was recorded earlier than the others, it has a tighter feel. You really feel/hear the James Brown comparison on this one. All three pretty damn essential!!

MPEG stream: He Miss Road
MPEG stream: It's Not Possible

Years ago, we were introduced to the genius of the "James Brown of Afrobeat", Fela Ransome Kuti through a massive cd reissue campaign of his '70s albums, many with 2 albums on one cd. While we never managed to review any of them for the website, our three favorites releases he made with his band Africa 70 (Live! With Ginger Baker, from 1971, and Expensive Shit and He Miss Road, both from '75) have just been reissued on lp and they are definitively some of the best and essential Afrobeat we've ever heard. Expensive Shit and He Miss Road were originally reissued on one cd (still available) collecting the five sprawling tracks of both albums together. But the two tracks from Expensive Shit, in particular, were some of the most politically charged grooves recorded. A little background: Africa 70, a band consisting of two large choruses (male and female) around a core of over a half-dozen musicians on horns, guitars, and percussion from the world over, was formed in the wake of a visit to Los Angeles and Kuti's exposure to the Black Panther movement. Changing his musical focus from love songs to social justice, he returned to Nigeria where he set up a commune like residence where his band could record and play and declared it independent of the Nigerian government. Singing in pidgen English so as to connect with the diverse populations of Africa and practicing Yoruba religion, as his music grew in popularity, he was subject to regular injustices by the government and military including illegal searches and seizures, travel restrictions and beatings. Expensive Shit refers to a legendary incident where soldiers tried to plant a joint on Kuti, which he managed to eat, prompting the soldiers to take him in custody and wait until he shat out the evidence. Legend has it, he was eventually freed after he was able to swap his feces for another prisoner's and thus the police had nothing on him. But the song and the B side, "Water No Get Enemy" in their epic lengths and ecstatic rhythms also serve as a call and response indictment of authoritative corruption and the counterproductive means in which governments wield power over its citizens. He Miss Road runs along a more communal trajectory across three tracks, but the sound is moodier and more hypnotic. Produced by Ginger Baker, who contributed and recorded regularly with Kuti throughout the 70's when Baker moved to Nigeria from England after the breakup of Cream and Blind Faith. The grooves are longer, jazzier and at the same time more abstract, punctuated by swelling organ riffs and Tony Allen's full-burn percussive rhythms. Live! with Ginger Baker is a scorcher of a set with Ginger Baker as guest drummer alongside regular drummer Tony Allen and since it was recorded earlier than the others, it has a tighter feel. You really feel/hear the James Brown comparison on this one. All three pretty damn essential!!

MPEG stream: Let's Start
MPEG stream: Ye Ye De Smell

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

New album from the son of Fela Kuti -- the king himself -- and I'm sure it's just as hard not to draw comparisons to his father as it is for him to live in his shadow, but that's the way it is. Femi's got a big studio budget, uses all the appropriate "world

RealAudio clip: Walk On the Right Side

Kutmasta Kurt has been responsible for the production work for a bunch of the Kool Keith records, who does appear on "Masters of Illusion" and is sounding more like one of the guys in Cypress Hill. Kurt's production work tends towards setting up his breakbeats and samples along unwavering loop structures. Fortunately DJ Revolution, DJ Rhettmatic, and DJ Babu scratch their way through the production work, which would very boring without it.

Kuupuu, aka Jonna Karanka, is a name that might not be immediately familiar, but when you realize she has played in Avarus, The Anaksimandros, Kukkiva Poliisi, and in Hertta Lussu �ss” (with Lau Nau and Islaja), then those Finnish music obsessive ears of yours perk right up! This new 7" comes hot on the heels of two super limited cd-r's, and is amazing! Warm and warbly and fuzzed out, like a blurry old photograph, wheezing chords and lush multitracked vocals are spread into a thick staticky haze. Clattery percussion is smeared into the already murky whole, everything wrapped in a warm wispy fog of tape hiss and old record crackle and broken four track bristle. Completely mesmerizing, the first side a dense tangled smear, like a lo-fi loop of foresty fuzz, sonically quite reminiscent of Philip Jeck or William Basinski. Side two is much more spare, with what sounds like super distorted thumb piano, plucking out sparse ghostly melodies, that hang there suspended like dust motes trapped in a beam of late afternoon sunlight, a haunting music box melody from some lost place in time. So lovely. Released on Time Lag so you know the packaging will be beautiful. And it is, a gorgeous full color print on thick textured paper, limited to 600 copies and hand numbered!

Another leafy, spacey, dew laden, sun dappled folk flecked free rock missive from this Finnish female who has done time in both Avarus and Anaksimadndros, which should give you an idea of the sort of spaced out freeform spacefolk loveliness to expect here. Gently looped guitar distortion, swooping spacey FX, clattery percussion, bird calls, warbly machinelike whirs, drifting shimmery organs and sing songy vocals, haunting detuned guitars, creepy atonal melodies, all buried under dreamy swaths of fuzzy gauzy swirl. So nice. Fans of all things Finnish will want to act fast as we only have 20 or so. Third and last edition, limited to 100, packaged in hand made, watercolored sleeves.

MPEG stream: Linnut
MPEG stream: Jaa Maa

Kuupuu is a bit like a Finnish Grouper, her songs are murky and mysterious, the sounds feel disembodied and otherworldly, her vocals are ghostlike and gauzy, but those Grouper-like sounds are filtered through her Finnish folk filter, having spent time in Avarus, Anaksimandros and a handful of other big time aQ faves. Nearly half the record is made up of hushed intimate lo-fi ballads, muted and muddy and almost underwater sounding, her voice and musical accompaniment bleeding into each other until it's sometimes almost impossible to tell which is which, but those stretches of bleary eyed balladic drift and muffled shimmery dreamdrone are peppered with chucks of weird soft noise, abstract rhythmic workouts and some strange very Finnish sounding bursts of what-the-fuck chaos: plenty of clattery tribal percussion, detuned guitars, demented music box melodies, field recordings and found sounds, tape manipulation, gongs and bells and birdcalls, looped acoustic guitars, super lo-fi tape recorded voices, swooping backwards melodies, and the occasional jagged shard of feedback or streak of fractured crunch, but somehow Kuupuu manages to tie it all together into something much more cohesive and lovely than you might imagine. Definitely for fans of all things Finnish and foresty and folky and freaky: Avarus, Islaja, Anaksimandros, Kemialliset Ystavat, Kiila, Shogun Kunitoki, Es, etc. And adventurous fans of Grouper might give this a try, if they're not averse to some weirdo noisemaking with their moody melancholia.

MPEG stream: Pahan Lintu
MPEG stream: Susipoika Siniset
MPEG stream: Joella

Yet another blurry, bleary eyed, sleepy and soft, dreamlike missive from the mysterious KuuPuu, another of the Finnish forest denizens who have captured our hearts. Unilintu is the second of two vinyl only releases compiling the best tracks from long out of print cd-r's. The record begins with a burst of blown out electronic buzz and stuttering machinelike rhythms seemingly crafted from a skipping record, but don't be scared off, once you've waded through this brief blast, you'll find yourself in a dark and wondrous abstract forest folk wonderland. Soft and warm, whirring organs drone and drift over lilting sing song vocals, various lines all lazily intertwined,ultra lo-fi acoustic guitars wrapped in all sorts of natural ambience, the sounds of rain and thunder, and again those dreamy ghost like vocals. The whole record has that rainy day back porch vibe, or sometimes that late night dark forest campfire feel, both so intimate and personal. Old pianos plinked and plonked in big echoey empty rooms, wheezing violins, atonal detuned guitars, warm washes of fuzzy ambience, occasionally interrupted by little chunks of noise drenched 4-track fuckery, but for the most part, Unilintu is one long sweet sonic dream. Definitely for fans of Islaja, Grouper, Fursaxa, Valet and the like.

Another gorgeous dreamy slab of free floating Finnish forest folk. From Kuupuu who delivers the very dreamiest of the bunch. Sonic similarities abound to countrymen Avarus, Anaksimandros, Kemialliset Ystavat and the rest, but Kuupuu are dreamier and driftier, less tribal, less linked to this mortal plain, the music of Kuupuu is like some mysterious lullaby that drifts like the smell of burning leaves through the forest. Shimmery atmospheres of delicately plucked strings and music box melodies, detuned guitars and thick droney warble, lo-fi but strangely lush, a whirl of haze and murk, warm and soft and inviting, disembodied vocals, wordless, more like another instrument than a voice, another layer of sound. These are late night lullabies for forest folk and we just can't stop listening. So easy to drift off and float away.......

The best cover versions, we always think, are the ones where the band doing the covering really makes the song being covered their own, do you agree? Then, that makes this one of the best covers albums ever, 'cause regardless of whether Kuvezin and Yat-Kha are doing Led Zeppelin or Kraftwerk, it sounds like the music of the steppes. That's right, Yat-Kha are the band from Tuva in Central Asia whose music is already a hybrid of the rustic folk traditions of their native land and Western rock, on records like Yenisei-Punk and Tuva-Rock. We like 'em very much. I mean, a rock band with a throat-singer is hard to beat! Vocalist Albert Kuvezin is always a regular member of Yat-Kha (he's the band leader in fact), but he gets special star billing here I guess 'cause the songs they're doing are his selections, reflecting his influences outside of Tuvan folk music. You can tell that the counter-cultural Kuvezin is no garage-band or electro-clash obsessed youngster, but the tracks he's picked are, taste-wise, pretty right-on. A good balance of the hip, classic, and obscure. The aforementioned Zeppelin and Kraftwerk songs are also joined by the works of Hank Williams, Iron Butterfly (it says "via Slayer" but we don't hear any of the latter), Joy Division, Captain Beefheart (whose voice Kuvezin must love!), Motorhead (another vocalist Kuvezin clearly appreciates), the Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, and others, including some less familiar names like Russian cult figure Vladmir Vysotskiy and Tuvan symphonic composer Alexei Baktrevitch Tchyrgal. There's notes on each track (about why they were chosen, what they mean to Albert and Yat-Kha) and even a map pinpointing the geographical origins of the original artists. There's of course a novelty aspect to this in part, we can't deny (just as we can't deny that it's just plain cool to hear "Orgasmatron" performed acoustically with a singer who makes Lemmy's gargle sound like the voice of a song-bird) but it's not as if Kuvezin and Yat-Kha aren't serious, and like we said, they really make these songs their own -- you might not always immediately figure out what you're hearing, and even when you do, if you didn't know better you might be able to believe that "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" was originally a Tuvan tune, for example, meant for Kuvezin's rumbling voice and the high lonesome Country Eastern sounds of Yat-Kha's traditional instrumentation.

MPEG stream: In A Gadda Da Vida
MPEG stream: Love Will Tear Us Apart

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Yet another release in Tiliqua's Erotic Oriental Sunshine series of Japanese erotic music from the sixties and seventies. We reviewed Kokotsu No Sekai from Japanese sexy action heroine Ike Reiko a few lists back, as well as a long lost release from seventies bondage / S&M queen Naomi Tani, whose record was issued to commemorate her withdrawal (ahem) from the world of porn. Now we have another gem, this time from Japanese "Play Girl" Kuwabara Yukiko, who in addition to starring in a handful of films, and posing for various fashion and nudie magazines, made her mark most notably as the star of the erotic action series "Play Girl" which ran for 5 years and nearly 300 episodes! Yowza! That's a lot of erotic action for sure. Yukiko only released a single album, this one, in 1971, another titillating example of Iroke Kayoyoku, a bastardized version of a more popular Asian music of the time, sexed up with chanteuse like crooning, and most important of all, an amazing array of moaning and groaning and cooing and giggling, as if in the throes of EXTREME passion. On Kuwabara Yukiko to Anata, Yukiko coos and purrs over a lush bed of Lawrence Welk strings, sexy smokey sax, playful vibraphone melodies, and flamenco melodies. Soft and easy, swinging from big band jazz ballads, to spaghetti western twang, to champagne bubble waltzes, with soaring strings and shuffling percussion, muted Wes Montgomery-like guitar and that slow moaning sax. Much like the Tani disc, Yukiko, lays way back, spending as much time lounging quietly as she does whispery sexily in our ears. Only occasionally does her kitten-like purr escalate into downright moaning and groaning, instead, she spends most of the time, doing her best Birkin or Bardot, sing speaking what can only be sexy tales and subtle come-ons.. Oh la la!!! Wonderfully wild and kitschy, and oh so sexy! Packaged in a super deluxe Japanese miniature gatefold style cd sleeve, with a printed obi, saucy nude photos of Yukiko on the cover, and extensive liner notes in English and Japanese! ULTRA LIMITED!!! Only 1300 copies pressed. Already almost sold out, these will most likely be our last copies...

MPEG stream: One
MPEG stream: Two
MPEG stream: Three

A slight departure from the silence and drones that often-inaudible composer Bernhard Gunter's Trente Oiseaux label is known for, this disc by Japanese cello and violin duo Kuwayama Kiyoharu and Kijima Rina is a live acoustic improv set. Not exactly jazz improv, though! More of an avant-garde modern classical chamber improv thing, but minus the actual "chamber", 'cause the real twist is that "01.06.16" isn't just live, it's what you might term a "field recording" -- they recorded it outdoors, beside a highway at midnight! So you get the sound of passing cars and trucks, adding a whooshing, rumbling texture to the proceedings. We're not sure if they're really listening to the traffic and interactively improvising with those sounds -- although it seems that way at least some of the time -- but the ambient (and very present) pulsation of the highway noise makes a nice setting for the creaking, scrabbling, droning interplay of their strings. This type of thing is this duo's modus operandi, as we've also heard Mr. Kuwayama's and Ms. Kijima's previous, self-titled disc on GG Records which featured them improvising similarily in a warehouse and on the construction site of an expressway. Although we're still a bit surprised to find this on Trente Oiseaux -- being the label that released Reynols' "Blank Tapes", we'd have expected them to want even more highway and less violin and cello on this release...

RealAudio clip: 01.06.16 f

Here's the Japanese cello and violin duo of Kuwayama Kiyoharu & Kijima Rina's second release for Bernard Gunter's Trente Oiseaux label. Their creaking, mysterious improvisations are always set within a larger sound-environment. Their previous disc had them playing next to a highway at midnight, this one finds them in a warehouse on a pier, so rather than the buzz of traffic the ambient sounds are gently lapping, sloshing water in a large acoustic space, interwoven with their fog horn cello droning and deep string stroke scritch-scratch. Really nice and evocative, for fans of both modern free improv and field recordings -- it's maybe like violinist Malcolm Goldstein jamming with field recordist Toshiya Tsunoda. We're also somewhat reminded of works by Pauline Oliveros, Koji Asano, Philipp Wachsmann, and Akio Suzuki. MPEG Download: "02.08.31 e" [/audio/kuwayama020823.mp3]

MPEG stream: 02.08.31 e

Back in 2010 or 2011, these guys were being touted as the next big thing, which was crazy, cuz we couldn't track down their record. We were reading about them everywhere, and seeing the on all sorts of top tens, all before we heard a lick of music. Well when we finally did, we definitely understood what everybody was so excited about. That first record was heavy and hooky, and was a sort of mish mash of influences, black metal, D-beat, cock rock, stoner rock, and somehow it all worked, it might not have knocked out socks off like everyone else, but we did dig it a lot. Enough that we were pretty excited to discover there was a new record. And if anything, this new one Meir, pretty much oneups that first record in every way. Well, almost. The first one was definitely meaner, and had more of the black metal and D-beat stuff going on. This new one is a whole lot poppier, and the clean vocals are really good, like proper singing, with some of the songs here catchy enough that we wouldn't be at all surprised to hear them on the radio. We mentioned Turbonegro in our review of the first record, and recently when someone was in the store asking what these guys sounded like, we came up with "Turbonegro, if they weren't joking", which isn't all that far off the mark. The sound is crazy catchy, over the top, totally bombastic, but still pretty heavy, most definitely metal, but there are some crazy melodies that sound like they were plucked straight off some top 40 jam, the saving grace is that they're then doused in distortion and someone howls their guts out over the top. And most of the songs have full on blast beats, furious riffing and lightning fast pounding, but often those blasts don't sound mean or black, just epic and triumphant, and like a faster version of the catchy part already in play. Check out the first two sound samples, those have to be the happiest, most sunshiney blasts EVER. And the third track starts off with a full on blast, but with gang vocals, and some swirling guitars, and the blast blossoms into some classic sounding anthemic eighties metal, or at least a meaner more modern version. Again, catchy like crazy, but still heavy, there's even some slide guitar giving the sound a sort of Hellacopters vibe. In fact, every time the clean vocals come in, the sound gets VERY Hellacopter-ish. Allan hates when we mention bands like Queens Of The Stone Age or the Foo Fighters, but in some ways, Kvelertak sounds like a heavier, meaner, louder and WAY better band than groups like those. Holy shit we just got to a part with handclaps and footstomps, the band suddenly sounding like a super metal version of Queen. Which is absolutely a good thing!! These guys are Norwegian, so this stuff probably IS top 40 there, that's usually how it works, in a country where Dimmu Borgir win Grammies, but really, this record is so good, and these guys are genuinely fucking great, it's sort of a crime this stuff is not all over the radio EVERYwhere. Which of course means, if you couldn't tell, WAY recommended.

MPEG stream: Apenbaring
MPEG stream: Spring Fra Livet
MPEG stream: Trepan
MPEG stream: Bruane Brenn

It was beginning to get pretty ridiculous, for ages we were hearing all about this band, how great they were, reading about them in metal mags, hearing other metal bands rave about them, much talk of how amazing their record was, appearances in top ten lists, pictures of the super striking John Baizley cover art everywhere, even beginnings of a backlash on the blogs about how overhyped they were, but the only problem was, you couldn't find the record ANYWHERE! At least in the US, we spent months and months, trying every metal distro, every non metal distro, we had just about given up, when voila, it finally got picked up and released domestically, with a whole mess of bonus tracks to boot. So was the wait worth it? Does Kvelertak live up to the hype? Well, yeah, actually it was. This stuff IS pretty awesome, and bizarre, a weird blend of blasting black metal and D-beat cock-rock Turbonegro style over the top rock. Just have a listen to the opening track, which explodes in a frenzy of buzz and blast and shriek, only to switch gears into a way more groovy heavy metal punk pound, the shrieked vocals the only thing keeping it from going full Turbonegro. In fact, the NON black metal parts kind of sound like a supercharged Hellacopters, which is not at all a bad thing. And the sound is epic, the production massive, the energy through the roof. But it's that sort of heavy rock groove thing, that might deter lots of the more true and kvlt metalheads. "Mjod" is all pounding pianos and tamborines, and big rock riffage, epic and swinging, that Hellacopters vibe huge, and the vocals are shrieky, not counting the deep bellowed gang vocals on the chorus, there's even a little acoustic guitar break, and then suddenly, a stretch of blasting black metal, which slips right back into the soaring cock rocky chorus. And so it goes. Hard to tell if these guys are black metallers indulging their inner KISS (or Turbonegro, or Hellacopters, or...), or if it's just some heavy rockers who toss in a blast here and there or a little tremlo picking to add some cult cred. Cuz it is a weird mix, and it doesn't always flow so smoothly, but we're digging it a lot, and if anything, it sounds like these guys probably KILL live. And that definitely comes across here big time.

MPEG stream: Ulvetid
MPEG stream: Mjod
MPEG stream: Fossegrim
MPEG stream: Sultans Of Satan

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

Talib Kweli, who formally worked with Mos Def in Black Star, releases his latest album to critical acclaim. Featuring Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans and Common, Beautiful Struggle is very cool until about half way through, at "Around My Way". Whoah -- is that a riff from The Police? Umm, yeah. Huh? Couldn't one of his friends have told him that's just not cool, man? Well anyway, "We Got The Beat", featuring Res, leads the album back into goodness. Post-bling acts like Kweli are on the rise right now. "People buy my music not because I'm socially conscious but because it's dope," he says. "There's a lot of people who put out conscious music that doesn't sound good, and it's not interesting. The music has to come first, before the message." This recording and its production are tantamount to how delicious it can sound without shouting about banging and ho's.

MPEG stream: Going Hard
MPEG stream: Back Up Offa Me

Brooklynite rapper Talib Kweli's name literally means "seeker of truth" -- if his parents were that cool then you can imagine how conscious and smart he must be. After releasing highly regarded albums with Mos Def (Black Star) and Hi Tek, his newest album is a solo affair, although he certainly had plenty of help: Mos Def, DJ Quik, Pharoahe Monch, Black Thought, Cocoa Brovaz, RES, & more. And the record may feature a different producer on almost every track, but said producers prove themselves uniformly great, especially when they lend their smart ears to the choosing of sample material, all of which is unpredictable and not overused. There's driving rock guitar in the first song, emotional viola on several tracks, a killer Chi-lites sample on "Guerrilla Monsoon." Al Green, Black Sheep, Eddie Kendricks. "Get By" -- which might as well be considered a remix of one of Windy's favorite songs of all time, Nina Simone's epic version of "Sinnerman" -- makes excellent use of Simone's handclaps and the way she leaps all over the piano. Listen to that track for sure. Really nicely done and consistent. Recommended.

RealAudio clip: Get By
RealAudio clip: Guerilla Monsoon

No doubt one of the best mc's hip-hop has to offer. His first two albums stand right up their as two of the finest hip-hop records of this decade. While his last release seemed to be a bit of a slip and reached for more commercial success Right About Now finds Kweli back to basics and what he does best. While filler and unfunny skits seem to haunt so many hip hop albums, Kweli keeps keen focus throughout the entire record. With the help of friends like Mos Def and MF Doom he's put together a super solid mix of songs that will remind you of why you fell in love with him in the first place.

MPEG stream: Drugs, Basketball & Rap
MPEG stream: Supreme Supreme

Attention fans of that '60s experimental psychedelic freakout The Fifty Foot Hose: members of the '90s reunion group have resurfaced with this new entity simply named Kwisp. Walter Funk and Reid Johnston craft sonic DaDa-esque squirreliness composed of squelch-effected vocalizations, a jumble of found sounds and dialogue samples, wheezy horn spasms, analog burblings and masses of custom made instruments. With guests Daevid Allen, Fifty Foot Hose founder Cork Marcheschi, and Mandible Chatter's Grant Miller.

MPEG stream: Dragon Titties
MPEG stream: Ether Bunny's Music For The Masses

Wow. We can't get over this incredibly cosmic, tripped-out debut cassette from KWJAZ. SF mastermind Peter Berends decides that space is the place and sets his sights for uncharted musical territory. Falling somewhere between outsider instrumental pop and dubbed-out psychedelic ethno-jazz, Berends leads a colorful excursion into the astral unknown. The two, side-long tracks unfold like some otherworldly mix-tape, deep basslines giving way to sizzling warbling drones, cut-up bits of rhythmic clatter ooze and materialize into slow grooving monuments to the stars. Chopped up samples and distorted swells melt into a lo-fi woozy web. Hazy, primitive beats (picture a slowed down Ethiopiques loop) rock and sway as horns, electric piano and weirdo samples add to the celestial crunk. And keep in mind, though KWJAZ is weird, far-out and strange, this humble cassette is overflowing with musicianship and close attention to layering and detail. What makes all the tripped-out, genre defying weirdness so satisfying is Berends's ability to form these diverse elements into a propulsive, evocative musical journey through time and genre. Moments of cool jazz tranquility unexpectedly morph into trip-hop fantasy ballads, long-tone new age bliss suddenly shifts into West African romps, and somehow all these tangents seem impossibly and seamlessly linked. We can't recommend this one enough! Limited to an edition of 121, fans of Hype Williams, Rangers or Ducktails will not want to miss out on this lysergic masterpiece!

MPEG stream: Once In Babylon
MPEG stream: Frighteous Wane

Another great document of 20th century (verging on 21st in this case) classical music, on the always-pretty-amazing German label Kairos. This disc features three pieces from the 1990s by Kyburz, a Lagos-born, German-educated Swiss composer who currently

RealAudio clip: The Voynich Cipher Manuscript pt.4
RealAudio clip: Parts pt. 1

This brand new 7" from Swedish depressive black metaller Kyla sounds exactly how you might expect, considering the man behind Kyla is also responsible for the equally black and depressive Hypothermia, as well as counting himself a member of damaged black metal pop weirdos Lifelover. Kyla traffic in a sound we love, a woozy, super distorted, melancholic, minor key buzz, which begins all warbly and minimal before giving way to a mesmerizing trancelike not-quite-blast. The vocals are howled and anguished and echo drenched and nearly hysterical sounding at points, but they surface only here and there, leaving most of the record to pound out a hypnotic blackened dirge. The guitars are downtuned and almost sludgey sounding in tone, the drums muffled enough to blend in with the blurred guitars and rumbling low end, the B-side has a weird pop vibe running through it, and a killer main melody, reminding us big time of Lifelover, but the vocals are even more unhinged, exploding in squalls of terrifying shriek. Pressed on ultra thick vinyl, housed in super striking black and white sleeves, and of course VERY LIMITED!

MPEG stream: Marvin Mole For Prime Minister
MPEG stream: Lovejoy
MPEG stream: Hish Speed Dubbin'

Kylesa are another one of those bands we've always dug, but for whatever reason, have never reviewed ANY of their records. So time to remedy that omission right now, with this, their 5th full length, since 2001, when the band was born out of the dissolution of Savannah sludge metal outfit Damad, and like Damad, Kylesa trafficked in a similarly sludgey Southern sound, epic crushing downtuned riffs, howled vox and dense tribal drumming. Heavily influenced by Neurosis, Kylesa kicked out jams that were doomy and low slung, swampy and thick, crushing riffage giving way to stretches of rhythmic mesmer, only to explode into another head caving burst of metallic crush. Over the years though, Kylesa's sound has changed dramatically, like their Southern sonic compatriots Baroness, their music started out super heavy and sludgey, almost punk, feral and fierce and crusty and brutal, and gradually developed into something much more psychedelic, melodic, and at times downright poppy. On A Spiral Shadow, the songs concern themselves with texture and arrangement as much as pummel, moreso in many cases, the dual drummers adding an awesome and densely rhythmic element, with the band sometimes breaking down into total Crash Worship drum jams (and live, the stage is littered with drums, so the guitarists can join in), the guitars too, for as much as they grind and churn and chug, they also soar and chime, melodies and harmonies woven into intricate psychscapes, the songs slipping easily from hooky metallic psych pop to fierce doomy plod and back again, howled male vocals switch off with more melodic female vox, it's easy to see why this seems to be Kylesa's 'breakout' record. It's still heavy, and complex, and metal, but also hooky and melodic and sort of tripped out and psychedelic. Makes sense that folks into Mastodon and newer Baroness are all over this stuff. And rightfully so. If we had to pick a favorite track it would probably be "Don't Look Back" which is so dangerously poppy, it almost sounds out of place, like it might belong on a Torche record, or like it must be some nineties indie rock cover, but for all it's extreme hookiness, and incredibly catchy guitar harmonies, the sound is still thick and lush, with some seriously crunchy verses, and some pummeling drumming, holy shit, it's just so goddamn catchy, this song totally KILLS. The thing is though, the more we listen to this record, the less this track really stands out, and the more the rest of the songs seem to start sounding nearly as catchy, even at it's heaviest, A spiral Shadow is infused with melody and texture, the arrangements hypnotic and trancelike, soaring epic crescendos and stretched out hypnodronerock all tangled up with gnarled downtuned pound and fierce churning pummel, and for every bit of metallic chug there's some mysterious melodic warmth or poppy psychedelic shimmer woven in. Awesome.

MPEG stream: Don't Look Back
MPEG stream: Tired Climb
MPEG stream: Drop Out
MPEG stream: Distance Closing In

[ aquarius records catalogue — K ]