It's hard to keep up with this Rinse series, so much so that we just realized we actually haven't ever reviewed any of the mixes at all, even though they include some killer sets by folks like Skream, Skepta, Kisma, and more. But we couldn't let ourselves sleep on this one, as Roska has emerged as one of our absolute favorite artists in the UK electronic dance scene.
His debut full length is a record we still blast loud on repeat all the time, filled with soul and such high energy, blasting sounds. We can't think of a DJ we would like to hear more when we're out on the floor. And that's what this disc is all about, over an hour of dance floor intensity that mixes dub step, house, and UK garage. Along with his own tracks, he also remixes and mixes in tracks by Katy B, Magnetic Man, Ms. Dynamite, and a bunch of other dubstep and Garage names, many new to us completely.
What separates Roska from the flock is that the man undeniably has soul oozing from his body, as all the tracks he makes, selects, and remixes have a kinetic energy that even the stiffest of folks would be hard pressed not to move to. Roska stands as one of our favorite electronic musicians to emerge in the last few years, from the UK or otherwise, and this is just another record that further seals the deal. So damn good!
One of the coolest things about the dubstep scene in the last couple years is how many different, new and exciting directions that sound has been stretched and twisted and expanded into. There has been everything from rave-step to tech-step to dark-step and even drone-step!
Roska use dubstep as an undercurrent to their totally upbeat, dancey and housey soulful sound. Sitting somewhere pretty exciting between the all out party sounds of Zomby and the more soulful and hypnotic elements of Burial. Or imagine any of our dubstep favorites infusing a touch of Lil' Louis and C+C Music Factory energy into their grooves (and we mean that in a good way!). Not sure if this will be dubbed house-step but we got to say it's a pretty awesome and refreshing sound. While so much dubstep has a very menacing, tough, ultra ominous bent, we love the feminine and R&B fueled perspective that Roska brings to the sound, all the while still having incredible beat making skills that can't be denied. In some of the more squeeching and swirling tracks we even think of what would happen if Mouse On Mars dipped their toes into the world of dubstep. A few tracks feature vocals including "I Need Love" which is one of the best, hypnotic dance tracks we've heard in ages. We think this is one of those records that not only dubstep fans will enjoy but a whole lot of other folks into the more soulful and free side of dance music as well. So damn good!
Hailing from the creatively fertile stomping grounds of Nevada City, CA, Aaron Ross is now best known as the newest member and vocalist for prog peddlers Hella. On his debut solo outing he shows he also has deep folk roots, but much like in Hella, he's not interested in simple point a to point b delivery. Many of the songs on Shapeshifter twist and turn and morph and grow, sometimes sounding like three songs in one.
Ross has a vocal delivery very reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum that can sometimes sound like an amped up John Darnelle playing T. Rex and Led Zeppelin songs. While most folk guys these days seem to whisper and tiptoe around, its kind of refreshing to hear someone belting it out and strumming their acoustic with lots of power and passion.
From the overblown liner notes: "After 20 years of self-imposed isolation, original Funkadelic guitarist, Tal Ross, emerges with his solo debut: 2 decades of sublimely distilled musical vision, lyrical expanse and stone grooves, blending fuck, blues, rock, ambient, and psychedelia."
La Dolce Vita, The Godfather, Romeo & Juliet, Death On The Nile, La Strada, Casanova, Roma, many more...
Born in Italy in the early part of the 1900's Rota was a child prodigy writing his first opera before he turned fifteen. But it was his long standing love affair of film scoring that would make his place in musical history. In 1952 he teamed up with Federico Felini for what would turn out to be a thirty year long standing collaborative relationship. This cd collects Rota's music for four of Felini's films, including "Toby Dammit" and "Roma" which showcased both Felini and Rota at their macabre best. The last four tracks come from "Love & Anarchy" and "Shoot Loud, Louder...I Don't Understand" and once again Rota came up with the perfect sounds to paint these surreal pictures of Italy.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
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Nice 2 disc anthology from this Chicago psych- chamber soul-pop hybrid group featuring Minnie Ripperton. Like the Fifth Dimension on LSD, The Rotary Connection were created to bring some youthful pep into Chess Records aging jazz/blues market, through Chess's subsidiary label, Cadet. Intermixing race and gender and backed by Charles Stepney's dramatic string arrangements, Phil Upchurch's seering guitar work and Ripperton's five-octave vocal range, the group released six albums between 1967 and 1971 before Ripperton departed for solo fame. Never really branching out beyond the midwest and their managements infamous decision to turn down a slot at Woodstock for a more lucrative festival in Toronto, sealed their fate. However, their songs have been sampled in hip-hop for years, most famously the sitar break from "Memory Band" in the Fugee's "Killing Me Softly" (Also used in Tribe Called Quest's "Bonita Applebaum"). This compilation takes the best cuts off five of their albums, but completely ignores their Christmas record, Peace!, which being one of the best Christmas records ever, is the only downside to this anthology.
Back-to-basics good time rock n' roll from Diamond Dave, catchy and raw, just in time for summertime.
Si, that's right: DLR's classic Eat 'Em And Smile solo album, Spanish language version!! We were so amazed they reissued this, we had to order it in!
Andrew Douglas Rothbard, the self-taught keyboardist, bassist and vocalist formerly of potent (and elusive) aural conjurers Pleasure Forever, Slaves and The VSS, has returned with his first solo album. On Abandoned Meander, Mr. Rothbard seems unconcerned with... no, make that completely detached from trends and popularity contests, and his openness to reinvention results in music which flows forth so naturally it seems effortless.
While passages of Abandoned Meander are fleetingly reminiscent of early T-Rex, Zoso-era Zep or more recent artists such as Devendra Banhart and Ariel Pink, these generally lo-fi but ultra textural and weirdly 'orchestrated' creative forces exist in a realm far outside and beyond the current crowd of experimental psych-folk artists. Time is just another word in the as above / so below matrix of this release, with the I-ching derived musical concepts and astrological / musical conjunctions aligning just in time for us to hit 'repeat play' and reenter Abandoned Meander's audio alchemy. It's swirling strangeness also has the good sense to leave behind the faux eccentricities and posturing of mere mortals, with each hazy number crafted from an open palette of conventional and more unorthodox instrumentation. New and different but not wholly unfamiliar, Abandoned Meander may initially conjure a neo-psychedelic folk impression, but just as swiftly an altogether distinct and personal delirium takes over... and it's not one that we want to escape from anytime soon. Need we say? Highly recommended!
Cantosynaxis is the latest release from the labyrinthine mind of Andrew Douglas Rothbard. Completely self-recorded and performed, this cassette-only album uses layers upon layers of modular synthesizers to pick you up and deposit you, without a helmet, in some kind of space-age landscape. Cantosynaxis is similar to Frequenseqer, his previous cassette reviewed here many lists ago, in that it breaks up the knob-twisting and loops with blissed-out Radiohead-esque vocals and well-programmed electronic percussion. The TR-808 handclaps on "Matrix/Runout" are used especially well. There's plenty of My Bloody Valentine-sounding guitars, too (or maybe they're more synths?) and swelling buzzes that really lift you up, if you let them. What Rothbard created with Frequenseqer seems almost like a rough draft compared to the ecstatic journey on which he takes the listener with this release. Although most of the music is still instrumental, there's quite a bit of vocal work, which is used to tastefully accentuate but never dominate the music. There are more highs and lows, more emotion (which is often difficult to convey with electronic instruments), better production. "Mystic Overreach" is an amazing 12 minute instrumental track that keeps your head nodding and might even make you dance. It is followed by the strange, warbly vocal track "Section 8 Face" which is the perfect comedown after the frenetic percussive relentlessness of the previous song. Not only does Cantosynaxis bear echoes of the bands already mentioned, there's definitely some Aphex Twin and Tim Hecker at work here, though Rothbard's pop-sensibilities are never completely put aside. Anyone who has been following his work over the years knows how crazy talented he is, regardless of the genre in which he is currently working. As with all of Rothbard's music, this latest release comes highly recommended.
Andrew D. Rothbard, member of post-punk pioneers The VSS, and singer / pianist from Pleasure Forever, has delivered to aQ one hell of a departure from his previous projects. Where The VSS was angular and raucous (their 1997 lp Nervous Circuits being one of this reviewer's ALL TIME FAVORITE records), his latest eponymous project is tape loops and knob twisting. The incredible pop sensibility of Pleasure Forever is certainly not gone, however. There's some definite hooks and choruses on Frequenseqer, but they are of the electronic psychedelic type. Oddly syncopated percussion lays a foundation for heavily-affected sitars and buzz-saw synths, and every once in a while some vocals creep in to add a melody or two underneath it all. Does it matter that you can't understand a single word? About half the tracks are instrumentals, blips and bloops making way for swelling walls of sound which end with the sigh of a piano line or the stutter of a manipulated arpeggio. On the tracks with vocals, Andy's voice is excellent and provides a nice washy contrast to some of the harsher elements. Frequenseqer is vaguely reminiscent of the recent Damaged Bug record, if that record were to take a lot of acid (like, a LOT) and draw a picture of Eno and Fripp's No Pussyfooting. Frequenseqer is frenetic at times and strangely beautiful at others, but it's not because the record can't make up its mind where it's going. There's a definite trajectory and a journey at work in the various changes of tone, the listener's emotions being manipulated skillfully. (An earlier tape of similar material, Exodusarabesque, is also available.)
Along with the Harmonia Live 1974 cd that we're making Record Of The Week, the Water label has reissued the first four solo records of Harmonia, Kraftwerk, and Neu! veteran, Michael Rother. We're reviewing our two favorites here, the others we should get to on a later list.
We'd assume that the majority of AQ regulars are largely familiar with at least one of Michael Rother's projects. Whether it be his his work with Kraftwerk, Neu!, Cluster, or Harmonia, Rother's contributions to the last 30 plus years of music are innumerable. Still, his solo work that has been conspicuously absent from most write-ups and record shelves. Perhaps that's because the early '80s saw Rother in a bit of transition period from his Krautrock glory days to a point where he embraced New Age with arms wide open. Despite naysayers, New Age isn't necessarily a four letter word. Not necessarily. But fear not, while embracing New Age, Rother didn't -- or perhaps couldn't -- completely abandon his musical past. Thankfully, the fine people at Water have made the first four Rother albums available once again, lovingly remastered and repackaged with original art and new liner notes.
Like the three preceding releases, 1981's Fernwarme finds Rother accompanied by drummer Jaki Leibezeit of fellow uber-famous Krautrockerers Can. Unlike the first three solo albums, this one shows Rother returning much closer to his days with Harmonia than attempting to incorporate elements from anything like, say, Kitaro. In fact, despite the lead guitar of opening number "Silberstreif" relying heavily upon the "Do-Re-Mi" tune taught in grade school music class, Fernwarme is an excellent contribution to an incredibly impressive career, full of simple beauty, a warm embrace of blissed-out pop melodies. Jaki's lightly propulsive motorik shuffle is the heartbeat pulse that underpins the harmonized guitar lines spun by Rother, his harmonies at times making us think of Citay's most exquisite moments... elsewhere Rother delves into darkly droning keyboards, and Fernwarme starts to sound not unlike a much mellower Zombi. Very very nice, a highly recommended early '80s spacey prog kraut classic!!
A few weeks back, we made the newly unearthed and amazing Harmonia Live 1974 album our Record Of The Week, and also highlighted two of the four solo albums by Harmonia's Michael Rother that were also reissued at the same time. That's a lot of krautrock goodness to absorb at once, so we are just now getting around to listing those other two Rother solo discs, Flammende Herzen (1976) and Katzenmusik (1979), chronologically his first and third solo efforts. On both of these, as with the previous pair, Rother's beautifully harmonized, multitracked guitars and synths are joined by the incomparable, propulsive drumming of fellow krautrock hero Jaki Liebzeit of Can. And another legendary figure in the scene, Conny Plank, produces.
Flammende Herzen, which means Flaming Hearts in English, is a blissful concoction of motorik beats beneath Rother's trademark shimmering, soaring melodies. It's easy to see why it was a big hit when it was first released (apparently outselling all of Rother's albums with Neu! combined!). Truly gorgeous instrumental compositions that will brighten your day, being sources of both relaxation and energy... ok, that sounds a bit New Agey, doesn't it? But fans of the kosmische krautrock stuff should be comfortable with that, after all, there's a definite overlap, with Ashra, Tangerine Dream, Deuter, and Popol Vuh among others being krautrockers later to cross over to careers in the New Age field... and it's not like you have to get into a yoga pose to enjoy this album (though you could). Such nice music for a drive in the country, or lazing at home on a rainy afternoon, as well. Definitely a fine follow up to his work in Harmonia, tracks like "Feuerland" certainly not ignoring the r-o-c-k part of the krautrock equation in the process of being all spacey and hypnotic.
While we can solidly recommend Rother's solo debut, the other one under review here, Katzenmusik, is a bit iffier (though some folks actually consider it his masterpiece, cf. allmusic.com). On it, Rother moves more and more in that much-maligned New Age direction, mellowing out even further. The blue sky, fluffy white clouds, and arcing jet-trail of the cover photo are well-evoked by the music inside. Twelve untitled, again all-instrumental tracks, all very airy-fairy. Gently uplifting guitar confections ride along on the tick-tock of Jaki's drumming... It's quite nice all right, just without any edginess. If you love Rother, you'll probably want it, but get the others first.
These are both, again, nicely done reissues from the Water label, with the original art and new liner notes.
A few weeks back, we made the newly unearthed and amazing Harmonia Live 1974 album our Record Of The Week, and also highlighted two of the four solo albums by Harmonia's Michael Rother that were also reissued at the same time. That's a lot of krautrock goodness to absorb at once, so we are just now getting around to listing those other two Rother solo discs, Flammende Herzen (1976) and Katzenmusik (1979), chronologically his first and third solo efforts. On both of these, as with the previous pair, Rother's beautifully harmonized, multitracked guitars and synths are joined by the incomparable, propulsive drumming of fellow krautrock hero Jaki Liebzeit of Can. And another legendary figure in the scene, Conny Plank, produces.
Flammende Herzen, which means Flaming Hearts in English, is a blissful concoction of motorik beats beneath Rother's trademark shimmering, soaring melodies. It's easy to see why it was a big hit when it was first released (apparently outselling all of Rother's albums with Neu! combined!). Truly gorgeous instrumental compositions that will brighten your day, being sources of both relaxation and energy... ok, that sounds a bit New Agey, doesn't it? But fans of the kosmische krautrock stuff should be comfortable with that, after all, there's a definite overlap, with Ashra, Tangerine Dream, Deuter, and Popol Vuh among others being krautrockers later to cross over to careers in the New Age field... and it's not like you have to get into a yoga pose to enjoy this album (though you could). Such nice music for a drive in the country, or lazing at home on a rainy afternoon, as well. Definitely a fine follow up to his work in Harmonia, tracks like "Feuerland" certainly not ignoring the r-o-c-k part of the krautrock equation in the process of being all spacey and hypnotic.
While we can solidly recommend Rother's solo debut, the other one under review here, Katzenmusik, is a bit iffier (though some folks actually consider it his masterpiece, cf. allmusic.com). On it, Rother moves more and more in that much-maligned New Age direction, mellowing out even further. The blue sky, fluffy white clouds, and arcing jet-trail of the cover photo are well-evoked by the music inside. Twelve untitled, again all-instrumental tracks, all very airy-fairy. Gently uplifting guitar confections ride along on the tick-tock of Jaki's drumming... It's quite nice all right, just without any edginess. If you love Rother, you'll probably want it, but get the others first.
These are both, again, nicely done reissues from the Water label, with the original art and new liner notes.
Along with the Harmonia Live 1974 cd that we're making Record Of The Week, the Water label has reissued the first four solo records of Harmonia, Kraftwerk, and Neu! veteran, Michael Rother. We're reviewing our two favorites here, the others we should get to on a later list.
We'd assume that the majority of AQ regulars are largely familiar with at least one of Michael Rother's projects. Whether it be his his work with Kraftwerk, Neu!, Cluster, or Harmonia, Rother's contributions to the last 30 plus years of music are innumerable. Still, his solo work that has been conspicuously absent from most write-ups and record shelves. Perhaps that's because the early '80s saw Rother in a bit of transition period from his Krautrock glory days to a point where he embraced New Age with arms wide open. Despite naysayers, New Age isn't necessarily a four letter word. Not necessarily. But fear not, while embracing New Age, Rother didn't -- or perhaps couldn't -- completely abandon his musical past. Thankfully, the fine people at Water have made the first four Rother albums available once again, lovingly remastered and repackaged with original art and new liner notes.
Sterntaler is from 1977 and is Rother's second solo work recorded by Conny Plank and featuring Can's Jaki Liebezeit on drums. Similar in scope and feel to Cluster's more pastoral efforts, namely Sowiesoso, Rother's signature gliding guitar playing is recognizable throughout. Think Neu! light. And that's not a diss, although Andee thinks it sounds like an eighties movie montage or the background music in a timeshare video presentation. But you have to remember, Andee doesn't like Can either... And put in context that Rother's first solo album Flammende Herzen sold more than all Neu! records combined, we might understand why Rother would pursue this more New Age-ish direction. And if you're gonna listen to New Age, then stuff like Rother and fellow (former) krautrockers Ashra and Deuter is the way to go. In any event, Sterntaler definitely reaches to the heights of late-period krautrock a la Cluster and for curious fans is very worthy of your time. Lovely and recommended.
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Rothko literally finds a voice as one of the trio's bassists steps up to the mic to reveal a breathy Nick Drake like croon accompanying their epic and melodic basslines. While there are only vocals on one track, this temporary interruption of the low-end sonic austerity is indicative of this album's multifaceted nature. From the melodicism reminiscent of their debut "A Negative For Francis" to shimmering droning swells of sound to fretless bass ambient-jazz (that warranted shouts of Jaco! from a customer). Despite leaning a little more heavily on the jazz than their first album, Rothko has managed a beautiful to create a lush sound that eclipses the wankery of Tortoise and other mavens of post-rock.
Once a trio of bassists gently interweaving painterly melodies, Rothko is now under the sole governance of Mark Beazley, as the other two members Jon Meade and Crawford Blair have left to pursue other projects (Lomax and Geiger Counter, respectively). The new Rothko is not dissimilar to the Rothko which produced such masterful albums as "A Negative For Francis" or "In The Pulse Of An Artery;" though Beazley does flush out the two missing bassists with a baroque application of additional instruments. Guitars, bells, vocals, drums, field recordings, trumpets, and keyboards make themselves known as the supporting cast to the Rothko sound which continues to promote the richness of basslines that spiral through somber melodic repetitions and cascading washes of sustained drones. The vocals from Caroline Ross recall the Celtic siren calls from Enya, and thus renders the possibility of Rothko delving into the drivel of New Age. Fortunately, her presence only on the opening track is an aberration to the rest of Beazley's otherwise exceptional re-incarnation of Rothko. The LP is missing two tracks featured on the CD.
Wow, we've gotten in three releases this week that starkly contrast with the sunny warm weather we've been having. Seemingly residing in the chilled shadows of dense forests and ancient stone chambers are the latest albums from Rothko, Tanakh and XXL (the collaboration between Xiu Xiu and Larsen). Dark, expansive beauties, all of them! Go on, defy the sun or tuck these away for a suitably overcast autumn or winter eve.
The first stage in Rothko's new full length is a slow descent into somber guitar depths. You're drawn up by gossamer strings for a fleeting breath before slipping back down into the languid folds of bass guitar. Such is the post-post-rock path Rothko takes over the course of these ten songs. Brief glimmering fire lights spark out through ominous storm clouds.
Recommended for fans of Godspeed You Black Emperor, Explosions In The Sky, Sigur Ros and Mogwai.
When Rothko's first album "A Negative For Francis" came out a couple years ago, it appeared that this all bass (almost), all instrumental UK trio had the potential to single handedly alter the course of post-rock away from Tortoise's jazz fusion
Although Rothko have been an AQ staff favorite for a while now, I was never quite convinced. Their moody ambient soundscapes tread dangerously close to new age for my taste. Thankfully this live album, while still mostly 'ambient', sounds so visceral and raw
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All-bass English trio Rothko consistently conjures up the loveliest, warm sounds. Often compared to Tortoise, but much better! Recommended.
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A suprisingly rich sound is captured by this all-bass trio! With all of the bass-heavy work coming out of Chicago & Cologne, it's quite pleasing to find such simple, satisfying execution of slow moving instrumentals from this new British band. The ethereal production of Simon Raymonde (ex-Cocteau Twins) certainly doesn't hurt.
Since their one and only swan song "Rivers Without Roads" found on their debut "A Negative For Francis" the bass centred Rothko has been far more interested in mood engineering than the joys of songsmithery. This project has long reveled in an overcast gloom typically created by wrapping each sound and note in sheets of cathedral reverb. Mark Beazley, the only remaining member of Rothko, has retained those sentiments for this collaboration with Blk W/Bear, the chosen moniker for Washington DC based artist and AQ pal JS Adams, who offers a description of his work as "concurrent transgressions and turntable deconstructions, recordings of failed communication and decomposed transmission, archival reconstructionism." Implicit to the allegories in the work of both Beazley and Adams is the pathos of antiquity -- which is far more physical in Adams case with his mechanical devices producing a creakiness similar to Philip Jeck or Saule, where Beazley's atmospheres emote their sadness through space and spartan melody. Thus, these two artists work very well together, often alternating between each other's signature styles. Thunder cracks of shortwave boom with echoing reverb, lugubrious fingerpicking recalls the empathic notes of Loren Mazzacane Connors, and requiems for piano evoke their lilting melodies. "Wish For A World Without Hurt" is a very beautiful recording.
That said, I could do without the information that this record is a dedication to 9/11. The realization of any musical connections to the tragedies of September 11 are a little shaky; but like the other elegy for 9/11, William Basinski's epic "Disintegration Loops," the music transcends the earthly confines of that specific event and bears witness to the universal fear and awe of the sublime.
Woah! Francais Metal de Proto!!! Dunno if y'all remember a cd-r mix that was floating around a few years ago, featuring such obscure & amazing early '70s French proto-metal, heavy psych acts as Docdail, Les Variations, Chico Magnetic Band, Quo Vadis, Zoo, and this band, Rotomagus. It caused a bit of sensation 'round these parts. Seriously, there was some incredible, ahead-of-its-time heaviness on there. So whenever we track something down by any of those bands we get pretty dang excited. And this is the best reissue related to that to come along yet, an anthology of the complete recorded works of this group, responsible for the raucous, more proto-punk than proto-metal really track "Fighting Cock" on that comp, which also featured Rotomagus' equally radical singles tracks "Eros" and "Madame Wanda". Those are all here, of course, as well as five more tracks from 45s, and entirety of the band's even more maniacal final unreleased 1971 demo session, which includes rawer versions of "Fighting Cock" and a few of the other singles cuts too... 17 tracks in all. Quite a treasure trove!
Now, as we've previously discussed, a LOT of awesome music came out in 1971. But very little if any of it was quite as freaked out and fucking punk as "Fighting Cock"! Elsewhere, among the tracks here, there ARE some poppier, melodic moments, which only make the aggro acid rock explosions of most of the rest of the disc seem even more insane. Certainly the two flowery tracks from the band's debut 1969 single, lush and la-la-la filled, don't provide any warning of how crazed Rotomagus would sound just a year or two later. Too bad the band never got to record a proper album, but presumably the record company heard the full-length demo found here and, shocked, pulled the plug on Rotomagus's career, robbing the world of an early entree into a realm of Raw Power that it would take Iggy & the Stooges another couple years to achieve... Seriously, this stuff is proof that Rotomagus belong in the annals of the "early heavy", high energy division, alongside the likes of the Stooges, MC5, Sir Lord Baltimore, Jerusalem, Night Sun, Crushed Butler, Colored Balls, Cerebrum, May Blitz, and Detroit's Death.
So, if you want a disc full of distorted stomp, wailing wah-wah'd out geetar, and wild vocals, look no further! There's fuzz and FX a-plenty, plus schizoid proggery and other weirdness (like the chipmunk vocals of the single version of "Laureline"). The Hendrix-y title cut is almost tame by comparison to some of the rest of this stuff, which comes off like the Pink Fairies at their most punk... It's funny, France turned out some bands in the late '70s who sounded like the Stooges (Angel Face, Soggy) but who knew they had one this early too?
As with all Lion reissues, nicely appointed, with a 32 page booklet full of liner notes, in both English and French, including the (practically frothing with amazement and disbelief) review of the "Fighting Cock" single that the Seth Man originally scribed for Julian Cope's Head Heritage website a few years ago...
FYI there is also a double lp vinyl version of this planned for release sometime this fall.
The first we heard from weirdo Italian blackened industrial noiseniks Rotorvator was via a collaboration with one man black metal band Rhuith, the two groups a perfect match up, each with their own peculiar take on black metal, with Rotorvator seemingly the weirder of the two, adding some tortured, twisted WTF-ness to Rhuith's sound, and if there was ever any doubt, this new full length most definitely goes a long way to demonstrating that Rotorvator are indeed masters of seriously damaged outsider avant industrial black metal weirdness. Or something. For a thumbnail descriptor, "damaged outsider avant industrial black metal weirdness" definitely works, the sound here all over the map, and not just the black metal map either, noise, industrial, psychedelia, electronica, it's all tangled up into a wild, warped, ever shifting, sonic sprawl, machine like rhythms, underpin dreamy almost shoegazey guitar buzz, howled demonic vokills, gnarled and dissonant, the sound slipping into a churning buzz drenched blackness, before exploding into a weird galloping blast, that sounds like some demented robotic black metal, the song slipping from blackened lope, to dense noise drenched howl, to furious blasting crush, to tranced out guitardrone. And that's just the first song.
After that the sound shifts into a weirdly ominous, sort of cinematic drift, all weird hand clappy rhythms, minor key guitar, skeletal drumming, weird high end guitar skree, more howled vokills, the vibe sort of droney and dirgey and psychedelic, a little bit electronic too, laced with pulses and pulsations, at one point interrupted by a blast of white noise static, and weird moaning voices, before slipping right back into it. The follow up is some spaced out minimal electronic skitter, some carnivalesque looped mesmer, that gives way to some super lo-fi black buzz, again, programmed beats drive the furious riffing, which is muted and muffled, the vocals WAY up in the mix, the song stuttering and lurching, the sounds panned super hard so they swoop from speaker to speaker, druggy and dizzying.
The sound shifts dramatically at that point into some seriously pretty heaviness, some blown out shoegazey dirginess, that could have gone one of two ways, and of course, it's Rotorvator, so instead of staying melodic and darkly lovely, it splinters into some noisy, churning, screeching blackness, but that stuff is draped over the pretty melodic guitar buzz, and it's a killer combo. The next track is more of the same, all swoonsome soaring synths and shoegazey black buzz, sounding a bit like a black metal M83, before crumbling into a gnarled lumbering creep, but again, even then, it's weirdly pretty, haunting and harrowing, but still pretty, with some seriously metallic riffing, some robotic drum pound, swirls of dense effects, and some gorgeous melodies, culminating in a weird final stretch of processed vox, ticking clock drum machine rhythm, and gristly swirls if staticky buzz. And finally, the record finishes with a dark, twang flecked dirge, drifting through clouds of melting FX, echo drenched guitar clang, pounding rhythms, swirling strings, haunting and like much of the record weirdly pretty.
LIMITED TO 400 COPIES!!! Housed in a DVD style case, with full color artwork/insert, and inside a set of heavy cardstock, two sided, printed cards, bound by a silkscreened black on black obi.
Yet another baffler from Norway's Jester Records (the weird-ass label run by Garm from Ulver) who in the past have brought us Bogus Blimp, When, Esperanza, and the newer, more experimental Ulver records. This is sort of an electronica record. Sort of.
In 2002, Rotten Sound released what will undoubtedly go down as one of the absolute highlights of the grindcore genre, the unsurpassable Murderworks. Topping the relentless speed and complexity (and yet catchiness as well) of that monumental album seemed a futile effort but these fearsome Finns have come damn close with this equally punishing new record. There is a clinical precision to the playing on this disc that should impress even the most non-metally inclined amongst you, in particular the near inhuman drum skills of Kai Hahto, who turns in yet another tour de force. Each new album finds Hahto somehow increasing the dial of his internal metronome a few notches faster but it's the technicality of the breaks he throws in at will amongst the fury that is truly stunning. OK, yes we are major drum nerds, but seriously you gotta hear this guy play! The rest of the band fills in more than ably, with some seriously vicious vocal attacks plus that classically huge buzzing Scandinavian death/grind guitar sound a la Entombed and Nasum -- the late Mieszko Talarczyk of Nasum even recorded this. Definitely a necessity for fans of Napalm Death, Terrorizer, Discordance Axis, Pig Destroyer, anything on Relapse and anything insanely fast!
Ew! Look out, it's a ROTTING CORPSE!!! Well, when these guys named their band Rotting Corpse, a name like that still had some shock value. Heck, it was like 1985, and they were the first and only thrash metal band in their part of Texas (Dallas Fort Worth). Their brand of punk inflected, speedy, shreddy, Slayerized thrash was pretty darn deathly for the era. Metal maniacs of a brutal bent into old school style morbidity ought to check them out, maybe you've heard 'em already on that terrific Texas Metal Archives Vol.1 compilation we highlighted here just a few weeks ago, which included Rotting Corpse's namesake tune "Rotting Corpse". Among the bands on that '80s comp, ol' Rotting Corpse were one of sickest, along with Death Tripper and Necrovore, sounding pretty gnarly next to a lot of the other acts, many of whom stylistically were in more of a traditional, epic, speed metal vein (also cool of course).
Now, as if someone knew we were primed to hear MORE Rotting Corpse, this showed up, a two disc cd -and- dvd set, the cd compiling all of the band's surviving demo tape tracks circa 1986-1990, recorded by various lineups, Rotting Corpse membership early on featuring future Solitude Aeturnus guitarist and Brainticket label boss John Perez, and always including founding member and former Pantera roadie Walter Trachsler (great surname for a thrash metaller, eh?) on guitars and sometimes vocals.
It's killer stuff if you like your thrash raw and underground, with the buzzsaws, we mean guitars, all about chop-chop-chop riffage and chaotic soloing. The vokills are guttural, throat-retched and/or punkish, expressing Reagan/Bush era hardcore 'tude. And all the while, the frantic drum battery and loose-strung bass threatens to shake your boombox to bits (a boombox, Walkman, or car stereo being the preferred playback equipment for the original demo cassettes we're sure). It's hard not to mosh, listening to this.
The cd booklet includes several pages of detailed band history (from which we learn that after they played a show with Nuclear Assault, Dan Lilker was heard to say that Rotting Corpse were "America's noisiest band", high praise from the likes of him, indeed), pictures, fliers, and lyrics. Oh, and the dvd disc, meanwhile, contains live concert footage of Rotting Corpse in action, a bunch of it filmed at reunion gigs in 2005 and 2006 (revealing that at least one guy in the band still has really long hair... and also likes to wear what appears to be a camouflage patterned kilt, for some reason). Better yet, it also includes some much more entertaining vintage video from a show back in '89.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
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Hip hop remix.
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Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "One Minute Man" (Missy Elliott).
Call us opinionated. Overly opinionated. But I have to say -- we had really high hopes for this solo cd from singer songwriter Josh Rouse, and they've been dashed. These hopes were based on the lovely collaborative album "Chester" that Rouse made with
I want to like this but, man, those lame drums keep bothering me. Listen to the first soundclip: Andee, our resident drummer, says that beat is the first rhythm you learn after you learn 4/4 to 'mix things up': 'boom - bap - boombaboom - bap'. The VH1 shuffle. Indierock's breakbeat. Ech! Sounds like the soundtrack to some Dawson's Creek episode... oh wait, he *did* make some music for that show!
The beloved Bay Area saxophone quartet (whose Bruce Ackley managed AQ around the time this record was released!) gets the honorary reissue treatment from Atavistic's wonderful Unheard Music Series. This originally self-released 1981 record has never before been
New one from San Francisco's world-renowned Rova. Featuring the six-part Zorn-style game-piece "Maintaining the Web...".
At long last we have this much-sought after Japanese title back in stock, thanks new local label Incidental who have licensed it for domestic release. Here's what we said about the import version: SF's KUSF radio station has had this Japanese band in heavy rotation for months now...what's all the fuss about? Rovo is a new group featuring violinist Katsui Yuji (of Bondage Fruit) and
All that still applies to this version (although there's no bonus 3" cd like the import came with). The band is soon to be touring here as well, in July. They'll be playing in San Francisco with Live Human, which should be a good, interesting matchup. Also look for a future live release on Zorn's Tzadik label...
Double disc live document of the Japanese supergroup -- which features Seiichi Yamamoto of Omoide Hatoba and the Boredoms and Yuji Katsui of Bondage Fruit, among many others -- while on their white hot jaunt across the US in 2001. Recorded and mixed by Bill
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This disc pairs up two jazzy-but-weird underground Japanese bands: Rovo (featuring Yamamoto Seiichi of Boredoms/Omoide Hatoba) who you probably know from their popular "Imago" disc released last year on San Francisco's Incidental Music label, and the delightfully-named Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden, a crazy big-band project that's got Ground Zero's Otomo Yoshihide playing guitar.
Rovo's half-hour track "Sino" starts off all droney and spacious, with pretty keyboard frills and sparse, funky drumming. Thirteen minutes into the piece, a propulsive, trance-inducing percussion-driven jam ensues. A soothing, muted violin passage is shortly interrupted by a funk bass line, which some of us here found kinda annoying, before settling back into some sort of zoned-out space-jazz.
This is followed by DCPRG's 32 minute piece (entitled "Pan-American Beef Steak Art Federations") which is a schizoid, cut-up composition that incorporates bad jazz, rap, psych guitar, funk, sampling, etc., etc., and makes about as much sense as its title. It has an undeniable sense of fun, however.
So, Rovo is calmer, DCPRG more chaotic, and neither do we fully understand, except that somehow it seems appropriate that they're together on this cd.
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Guitar experimentalist Keith Rowe (of famed British drone-improv collective AMM), with a rather self-explanatory cd title. His second solo disc ever, over an hour long, three tracks ("Quite", "Very", and "Extremely") focused on the concept of "harshness". Not so much the harshness of the sounds produced by the guitar, although they are far from melodic, but rather about the harshness of the world at large... Humming drone and string scraping sounds make one imagine Rowe's guitar as a living creature, aching and stretching after some unpleasant slumber. Recorded live in Cologne, Germany by Markus "Pluramon" Schmickler. The cd booklet explains with colorful cartoon graphics Rowe's particular guitar preparations, and purpose of the drawings themselves (the acceptance of cartoons vs. the denial of harsh guitar music...) is discussed in a Q and A with Rowe, by Rowe. His ideas and sounds both are interesting.
Pianist John Tilbury and guitarist/shortwave manipulator Keith Rowe are two-thirds of the classic British improvising institution known as AMM. This wonderful, droney double cd (approx. 130 minutes!) is their first ever duo recording, and it's a doozy. We asked AQ pal Loren Chasse -- a long-time AMM admirer -- to pen some words about it, as follows:
"This sonic eulogy for John Tilbury's mother, Doris, is yet another reason why AMM music could be considered the primer for all 'experimental' music. What makes their music seem so timeless is the degree to which they are succesfully 'listening', so present with one another as listeners during performance that you can only imagine that their ears must extend far into the reaches of the music culture at any given time -- spanning the years since 1966 with the release of the first AMM record -- always sounding like the 'latest thing'. Despite AMM percussionist Eddie Prevost's absence on this recording, the mysteries of the music are no less dynamic and evocative. There is no pretense that this is not a piano being played, but bred with the crusty electronic palette of Keith Rowe's tabletop guitar laboratory, the image of a piano gives way to one of sonic apparitions that flutter, moan and dissolve, wholly obscuring their origins in the hands and instruments of two English gentlemen. Maybe it is because of some basic craft here of objects being manipulated, of a microphone strategically amplifying the long decay of tones in a piano's guts while the hum of an amplifier is expertly finessed, of a monumental physicality, that makes Duos for Doris seem so much more essential and exciting than its already 'dated' contemporaries stuck in the middle of a drone waiting for software updates."
In other words, quite recommended!
MPEG Download: "Cathnor" [/audio/rowetilburydoris.mp3]
Fortunately this is not another laptop improvisation thingy that is endemic of the European 'new music' scene, Oren Ambarchi and AMM's Keith Rowe have improvised with comparitively traditional instrumentation, the prepared guitar, for their collaborative album "Flypaper." The results don't offer any new tricks or surprises to either guitarists' predelictions for the gestural drone and gritty, impressionistic textures; but on the other hand, they certainly won't disappoint the fans of either musician. From wheezing motorized clatterings to electrically charged hums to Rowe's shortwave filtering through heterodyned signals and gray static washes to Ambarchi's softened eBow reverberations, the two transition from one sound to another with a controlled subtlety and deliberate pacing. In the end, this shares more in common with the drone haziness that's been endorsed by Corpus Hermeticum (i.e. Surface of the Earth, RST, and of course late period Dead C).
