Quinoline Yellow is the brainchild of one Luke Williams. Prior to this, his first full length, Williams had two EPs on Skam which were received enthusiastically by starved IDM junkies. On his full length debut Williams sacrifices no quality for the sake of quantity. Dol Goy Assist is filled with skittery IDM rhythms coupled wonderfully with pretty minor key snatches of melody rendered in granular murkiness much like Autechre, Boards of Canada, or Richard James' Aphex Twin circa Selected Ambient Works with their trademark stamp of glacially moving melodies drifting over manic rhythms. And while some may poo poo Williams' efforts as derivitive of good ol' Autechre we might just point to the latter's dissappointing recent works. If Gol Doy Assist is merely a clone of Autchre's former glory, then is the album that Autechre should have released instead of Untilted. Thankfully Williams has picked more than one fruit off the IDM tree for his salad. Melodically he is more indebted to the formerly mentioned Boards of Canada, Bola or even Disjecta, with his alienated and lonesome warbling synth lines. His sonic palette, while similar to all three is even closer to that of grandpa Richard D. James in that much of the sounds he generates seem completely hacked from the factory presets. The cherry on the cake with this release though is the packaging: an impressive bi-fold cardboard cover printed completely on both sides (Andee frothed at the mouth when he saw that they even printed onto the inner side of the spine, that most bands horrifyingly leave bare, interrupting whatever grand vision they were trying to achieve), even going so far as to print additional liner notes on the insides of the sleeve's pockets where the booklet and disc reside. So if you're no averse to ungluing the seams of your eco-pak, you can take a gander at the hidden liner notes inside. The booklet which is included is filled with gorgeous photos of port-o-potties (the cover photo is itself a close up photo of a honey bucket).
Having witnessed an incredible live show by the French electro-acoustic composers Lionel Marchetti and Jerome Noetinger at 7hz in 2002, I can assure you that this live album is an accurate documentation of how it is distinctly possible to re-create all of the expressiveness of musique concrete on a table full of effects. The Quintet Avant features both Marchetti and Noetinger with fellow countrymen Jean Pallandre, Marc Pichelin, and Laurent Sassi. With dynamic stop/start triggers, painterly flanges, whipsnap collages, and agile control of feedback, this quintet has all of the panache of the best of the INA-GRM group (i.e. Pierre Henry, Michel Chion, Luc Ferrari, etc.), with the added flair of being able to pull it off live. So far, only released on vinyl.
I think we maybe got one of these on vinyl before it went out of print. Qelectronics is Mr Quintron's info-mercial / demonstration record for his unique and twisted musical invention the "Drum Buddy", which those fortunate enough to catch him live have been
Originally sold only on cassette tape during a Halloween tour, Quintron's latest cd release, The Frog Tape, is broken into two parts -- essentially making side a, side b. The second half, or side b, is indeed field recordings of North American frogs! That's right, an entire album-side of singing frogs!! And according to Quintron, no overdubs! The musical first half of The Frog Tape reminds me of living in Philadelphia and its overall mood. It's hard to describe the kind of naive art and music that comes from a place like Philadelphia -- but this gives one the gist of it -- the antithesis of sonic refinement coupled with quasi-intelligent leanings in the realm of deranged sillyness. Perhaps imagine David Lynch's Eraserhead -- if it were a band. Hailing from New Orleans, Mr. Q has little to do directly with Philadelphia, but whenever he plays there, typically with Ms. Pussycat, it's in a dark, dirty, hot and sweaty North Philly warehouse. Quintron's music blends with the surroundings invariably transforming the space into an electromagnetically charged freakout zone. I think there are linkings that can be made between places like New Orleans and Philly... a gritty love of all things under the surface of society's pop superficiality, coming from a place that will always be held back from success, but I digress. Quintron's Frog Tape layers scuzzy sounds and fucked-up beats from Quintron's patented DrumBuddy with lo-fi art-school vocal effects and much Hammond organ. Fans of Mr. Q will find this a more moody exploration as it's seemingly intended for play on Halloween, but most enjoyable for anytime of the year. Fans of frog field recordings will rejoice with its album-side of authentic swampy frog-singing goodness!
No one does organ fueled fuzzy garage party rock better than New Orlean's quirky Quintron. Too Thirsty 4 Love has been sounding so damn good blasting from our stereo. Like a way more disturbed B-52's channeling The Cramps, these are the sounds you would want to be going nuts to at the best Halloween party ever. While Quintron is often just laughed off as a joke or novelty artist, the truth is, there is so much blood, sweat, guts and grit to these songs, and this outing is reminding us again of how damn great he really is!
A new record from Quintron is always a good thing. And this is no exception. More wild and woolly organ madness from the undisputed master.
Yay, Swamp Tech is on vinyl toooo! So you can spin yer Quintron 'round 'n' 'round! Here's what we had to say about the cd version...
Whether or not they actually plan it that way, Quintron albums seem to have a habit of materializing just in time for Halloween. You might recall The Frog Tape CD reissue around this time last year. Those very vocal froggie made for some unexpectedly great spooky party sounds! This album's maybe less creepy and strange than that, but it sure ain't short on the party side of things. Heck, that's something you can always count on from Quintron & Miss Pussycat! Totally frantic lo-fi madness! Eagle-eared Andee thought that the eighth song sounded like a Kiss song, and indeed it is! Quintron covers "God Of Thunder", and what signals party more than a Kiss song? Quintron lets loose a medusa head of cheez-organ noodles while the organ's internal drum machine keeps tickety-tock time and the duo sings songs like "Swamp Buggy Baddass", "Love Is Like A Blob", Fly Like A Rat" and oh yes, "Tea Time".
Note: the cd version comes with a dvd, alas, this vinyl version does not!
Whether or not they actually plan it that way, Quintron albums seem to have a habit of materializing just in time for Halloween. You might recall The Frog Tape CD reissue around this time last year. Those very vocal froggie made for some unexpectedly great spooky party sounds! This album's maybe less creepy and strange than that, but it sure ain't short on the party side of things. Heck, that's something you can always count on from Quintron & Miss Pussycat! Totally frantic lo-fi madness! Eagle-eared Andee thought that the eighth song sounded like a Kiss song, and indeed it is! Quintron covers "God Of Thunder", and what signals party more than a Kiss song? Quintron lets loose a medusa head of cheez-organ noodles while the organ's internal drum machine keeps tickety-tock time and the duo sings songs like "Swamp Buggy Baddass", "Love Is Like A Blob", Fly Like A Rat" and oh yes, "Tea Time".
And lest we forget, this CD comes with a DVD too! The liner notes kindly offer this synopsis... "An alligator from New Orleans named Cinnamon finds herself cursed with formosan termites (voiced by Disco Donny) after they visit her sno-ball stand. Then Cinnamon and her friend Lolly Crawfish are on an adventure... aboard a ship with Captain Dreamweaver, visiting the Mother-In-Law Lounge to see Ernie & Antoinette K-Doe (voiced by the real Mre. K-Doe), and even sneaking into the secret world of termite raves! Written and directed by Miss Pussycat". And yes, it is as gleefully entertaining as that sounds!
Mick Harris of Scorn/Napalm Death steps up with drum & bass-tinged effort more on the downtempo side. Smooth latenight jungle.
This is ex-Slant 6 / Autoclave star Christina Billotte's new band. Joining her is her sister Mira and, as a suprise to us, Mick Barr of Orthrelm and Octis (who keeps his lightspeed squiggly metallic guitar style in check here). Quix*o*tic has the edgy danciness of Slant 6, but that's where the similarities end. Stylistically it's really all over the place but in a good way. There are songs that sound like slightly twisted and odd British psych and folk. There's some '60s soul/funk influenced numbers with creative backing vocals that reminded me of the old Motown girl groups. There are a few unfortunate moments on this record however, namely those few cheesy and embarrassing covers that made us cringe. The worst is without a doubt "Lord Of This World" by Black Sabbath. Yikes, that's really bad! A good song, but we don't care for their somewhat careless cover version. I can't tell if they're trying to be funny or not, but I didn't approve. So, if you just skip the covers this record is pretty darn cool, creative and eclectic. With the covers, it's still eclectic, even more so. Bravo, kind of.
From the Bay Area folks who brought us the wonderfully twisted, eclectic sounds of Borful Tang, Blanketship and Vulcanus 68, we've now received a new project of mind-loosening aural trips. Qulfus (aka Dominic Cramp who is currently on the road playing organ with Carla Bozulich's Evangelista whose new cd we also have listed this week!) roams freely through the hills and valleys of art-damaged exotica and dank noise soundcapes. The craftily collaged samples and tactile sounds from analog synths, electric bass, pots'n'pans and other unconventional instruments make for a listening experience very much reminiscent of the glorious dark strangeness of Bruce Haack and Gershon Kingsley. Comes packaged in a burlap covered cardboard case.
Got a whole bunch of new releases from the Universal Consciousness label, a new lp of twisted experimental black noise from Kilt, the final release from shoegaze black metal one man band Wrath Of The Weak, and the latest slab of twisted blackened weirdness from Lord Time. And then there's this, some seriously fucked up outsider bedroom blackened doom folk from the Pacific Northwest, which is even more twisted than that sounds. Imagine intensely strummed acoustic guitars, fluttering flutes, cardboard box blast beats (or maybe it's someone slapping their palms on a table), add some raga like drones, and some seriously harsh blown out vokills, some weird samples, and holy shit, you've got the unpronounceable Quloelfi, whose sound is a seriously demented strain of blackened bedroom weirdness, the sound slipping from furious ACOUSTIC black buzz, to droned out ritualistic psychedelia, to distortion drenched 4 track folk, apocalyptic and menacing, the vocals are sick, a hellish monstrous shriek, that when draped over even the dreamiest folkiness, transforms the sound into something abject and demonic, but even with that shrieking, the band sometimes add a second clean vocal, a twisted counterpoint that only makes it all that much weirder and cooler. Some tracks the drums do sound real, and the guitar does sound electric, but even then, it's got this weird, stumbling low fidelity home brewed bedroom vibe, that makes it super twisted and super unique, especially when the band whip up some seriously majestic black buzz heaviness, using elements that are obviously not typical. We can honestly say we've never heard anything like this, and thus we're sort of obsessed, and think anyone into twisted outsider heaviness, and warped experimental weirdness, will likely be as smitten as we are.
We made the debut lp No Visitors from these Texas drugged out psych/doom/noise/kraut/sludge weirdos a Record Of The Week back June, and well, since these tracks were culled from the very same recording session that produced that record, you could very well consider this a sort of Record Of The Week part two, and really if you dug No Visitors, this is more of the same, blown out psychedelic heaviness, that sounds like a mashup up of the Butthole Surfers, Hawkwind and Shit And Shine, all filtered though AmRep nineties noiserock and Texas knuckle draggers Rusted Shut. Which if you're anything like us, is about all you need to know. But if you're new to Quttinirpaaq, or just need a reminder, give a listen to the first couple samples below. The brief sort-of intro, the sweetly titled "Diary Of A Pig Keeper's Wife", is all detuned trudge, crumbling slo-mo riffage, death march drums, weird, slowed down chant like vocals, this is some sort of wasted, psychedelic ultra doom, but it's on "Chinese Hercules" that Quttinirpaaq really get to flex their musical muscles, locking almost immediately into some seriously tranced out, heavy hypno-rock riffage, that weds super distorted drum pound to churning looped riffage, garbled vox and swirls of noise and effects into some heavy, space, psychedelic noise rock that takes everything we love about White Hills, The Heads and all the rest, cranks it WAY up, and drags it through the filth, resulting in some seriously next level kraut-sludge space-psych heaviness that KILLS.
And while it doesn't necessarily get better from there (not sure how it could really), it stays pretty epic and psychedelic, heavy and warped, tripped our and trancey, most of the tracks some weird sort of hybridized psychedelic krautrock and noise rock crush, the band locked into endless grooves that roil and churn mesmerically, while all around sounds swoop and swirl, streaks of feedback, blasts of FX, constantly shifting textures, buried melodies, all blurred and smeared into heaving, noisy, heavy psych weirdness.
Some of the tracks here get downright out there, some surprisingly beautiful, still noisy, but infused with surprising melodies, and crafted with a delicate touch, while others are just pure skull caving crush, and still others are almost electronic sounding, seemingly dabbling in the same warped outsider electronics as Shit And Shine.
Needless to say this RULES. Everyone who bought and loved No Visitors, is gonna want this too. And if you've yet to check these guys out, Let's Hang Out might just be your new favorite heavy / noise / psych / space jam. You have been warned.
Pressed on 180 gram vinyl, clear with 'blood red spray'. Comes with a full color insert, and it's LIMITED TO 300 COPIES!!
We got our first taste of these Texas weirdos on a split with psychedelic drone-drug-doom heavies Bong, and the virtually unpronounceable Quttinirpaaq were definitely a good match, countering Bong's longform sonic explorations with their own heavy psych / caustic noise / kraut-sludge pummel. What we didn't know at the time, was that Quttinirpaaq includes among its membership, members of former Record Of The Weekers Rubble as well as Shit And Shine offshoot outfit Same Sac! Which totally makes sense, as No Visitors is a serious blast of drug addled Southern psych, the opening 90 second blast a crumbling almost industrial sounding dirge that sounds like Brainbombs at 16rpm, filtered through some seriously Butthole Surfers style drugginess. Which if you're anything like us, had us sold pretty much right away. And while not all of No Visitors is nearly so noisy, it is all pretty goddamn great. From pulsing low slung krautrock style murk, like on "Malvert", which drapes the motorik mesmer with wild squalls of caustic guitarnoise, and creepy hissy whispery vocals, and what might be some detuned pianos, to slo-mo black noise doom-dirge crumble, like on "Ex-Batts" which literally sounds like the tape has been slowed down, so all the instruments rumble and crumble and moan, everything wrapped in sheets of wild squealing feedback, and near Merzbowian noise, all the while lumbering and lurching like some lost Buttholes jam played back on a broken boombox.
These guys exist somewhere between skull crushing noise rock, atmospheric noise drenched Japanese style psych and primitive caveman dirgery, the comparisons we've read mention Brainbombs, Skullflower and Les Rallizes Denudes, but we'd probably also include Drunkdriver, Twin Stumps, Violent Students, Rusted Shut, Burmese, Liquorball, you can probably figure out what sort of glorious, druggy noisiness we're talking about. Super heavy, ultra psychedelic, stumbling and crushing, tranced out and woozily hypnotic, massive slabs of churning low end, beneath crunchy, jagged, distorto guitars, wild streaks of feedback everywhere, the vocals yelped and yowled, sometimes bellowed, here and there delivered in a deeply dramatic, and sort of creepy croon, the sound constantly on the verge of collapse, but always seeming to eventually coalesce into some seriously demented, kraut-sludge heaviness that will have most aQ customers losing their shit big time. And hell, there's even some faux techno, check out the gristly pulsating "Golden Needles", that sounds like Shit And Shine on Kompakt. Fuck yeah!
LIMITED TO 300 COPIES!!
