20 tracks as awesome as "Ballroom Blitz" by The Sweet?? Well, no, not quite. That would be a tall order. But this Blitzing The Ballroom comp (subtitled 20 UK Power Glam Incendiaries) does boast quite a few corkers. Stormers. Blitzes. Whatever the glam slang is for kicking ass (with bubblegum stuck to yer boots). And, like the '60 garage psych before it that so many previous Psychic Circle comps have dug into, '70s glam's definitely a genre that works great in the various artists compilation format. So many one-hit-wonders (or one-hit-wannabes), you can fill a comp with killer songs from bands (or "recording projects") that made just one or two singles, taking their shot at the top of the pops and then disappeared faster than a melting ice cream cone in the summertime heat. While The Sweet, Slade, T-Rex, and a few other greats from the glam scene have stood the test of time, so many obscurities have been forgotten. And that's what this comp concentrates on, bands with such disposable, adolescent-appeal names as Frenzy, Tiger, Panther, Screemer, Giggles, Stumpy... Nope, never heard of 'em either, but Blitzing The Ballroom demonstrates they're each worth 2-3 minutes of your time. And despite the bubblegum goofiness, they are all examples of glam ROCK. The back cover blurb accurately speaks of the "harder edge" that a lot of these selections share (hence the words "power" and "incendiaries" in this disc's subtitle). Maybe not headbanging but definitely hard rockin' with a silly grin on yer face.
As per usual with the many fine comps from the Psychic Circle label (so many we'll never get to 'em all, but cherrypick our faves), this comes complete with full-color graphics and informative liner notes on each track in the cd booklet, often tracing these acts back to their members' origins in the the '60s pop psych scene, or following their fortunes forward into the punk rock/new wave era. Screemer, for instance, featured a ex-member of heavy Hendrixy NZ rockers Human Instinct. And there's a track here by Peter Dunton, the vocalist/drummer who earlier on was a member of AQ fave proto-metal, prog-psych trio T2! (His track actually doesn't seem all that glam, sounding much like the calm, melodic heavy psych of T2, but that's cool too).
Hmm. Now that they've ventured into the glam singles scene of the early/mid '70s, can we look forward to Psychic Circle bringing us a NWOBHM comp of heavier stuff from later in the decade?? We wonder...
We sure are glad to have labels like Tompkins Square. They've proven to be masters at putting together amazing compilations that go way beyond simply throwing together a bunch of old songs. With recent favorites like Fire In My Bones and Unheard Ofs & Forgotten Abouts, this label has gone about documenting great, sometimes very obscure music, while also placing a strong emphasis on its social and historical importance. While these songs will not be mistaken for anything in the modern era, it is clear that they remain an essential part of pretty much everyone's story; the themes on display here are inseparable from our reality.
Bloody War compiles American folk songs recorded in the wake of World War I - ya know, the "war to end all wars" - stopping on the eve of the even bigger shitstorm we call World War II. The songs themselves are part of a lineage of war themed music that stretches back through the ages of America's conflicts, starting with the Civil War. Some of this material is suitably bleak, but more surprising is how hopeful, even humorous, much of it is. We today can envy these sentiments, since we all know things have gotten so much worse. Thinking how warfare has changed so drastically and become way less... um, "personal", it is easy to imagine the unifying power of songs like Tom Darby and Jimmie Tarlton's "The Rainbow Division" (named after the 42nd Infantry Division of the National Guard that would "stretch over the country like a rainbow"), where thousands of men battled it out together, side by side. Likewise, John Carson's "Dixie Division" draws on the Southern pride remaining from the Civil War (disagreeable as most people buying this comp will find that to be) and uses it as a rallying cry to Southern regiments in Europe. Other numbers tackle the crushing realities of war, like the starkly titled "He Is Coming To Us Dead" by G.B. Grayson and Henry Whitter, a song that is actually quite upbeat sounding in its instrumentation. Other songs of course focus on bringing the troops home - something we can all relate to - like the self-explanatory "Everybody Help The Boys Come Home" by William and Versey Smith.
Stylistically, you get plenty of masterfully played guitars, fiddles, and banjos, something we can all get behind. We certainly appreciate the historical context of these songs, but they are also simply a joy to listen to. It would be nice but naive to say that humanity has learned from its past mistakes. But if one thing is certain, war will always give us something to sing about. Too bad people like Toby Keith came to that realization too. That guy sucks. Bloody War does NOT.
It should also be mentioned that proceeds from this compilation benefit the organization Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America.
The record-collecting excess of Nick Saloman (Mr. Bevis Frond) pays off for all of us once again, as he presents yet another collection of groovy old '60s/'70s tracks from rare vinyl that he's compiled for the Psychic Circle label. Blow Your Cool is a sequel of sorts to Psychic Circle's winning A Visit To The Spaceship Factory comp but instead of featuring only obscure UK prog/psych gems, this ventures further afield to showcase tracks by weird/cool bands from Continental Europe as well. Thus it's definitely got something of the Prog Is Not A Four Letter Word/"B-music" vibe.
Of the 20 artists included, a few names jump out as familiar to us, and speak well to the quality of the comp. There's Cosmic Dealer (a psychedelic Dutch band who more than live up to their name, which is much better than what we're told their original moniker was: Floating Fudge), Triangle (the title track "Blow Your Cool" is by this French group, it's also on the collection from them we listed last year), Zior, Egg, Freedom, Mogul Thrash (featuring John Wetton), Les Variations (more Francias Metal de Proto we've reviewed before), Blue Beard (with "Sly Willy", also found on the Some Songs Stuck In My Mind comp we listed last week), and The Rattles (feat. Achim Reichel). Then, among the rest, quite a few new-to-us surprises, from the bombastic, poppy opening track "To Live" by Paradise Hammer from England, to the progged-out, wound-up Hendrixy heaviness of Italy's Tritons on their "Drifter". Also on here: Primitive Man, Barry Freeman & Strange Power, The Foundations, Dream Police, Ferris Wheel, Paul Ryder & Time Machine, Jess & James, Bedlam, and Swegas.
As usual, informative liner notes and graphics pertaining to each track are provided in the full-colour cd booklet. What can we say, but keep 'em coming, Nick!
Second installment in what's now apparently a series. Two years ago (to the day, oddly enough) we wrote about the Dub Tribunl CD on Inflatabl. That disc featured Atom Heart, The Rip Off Artist and Small Rocks (Matt Wand of Stock, Hausen & Walkman) and consisted of fairly off kilter, if not outright irreverent homages to Jamaican dub. This time round The Rip Off Artist is joined by Akufen and Freeform and the genre being dismantled is the Blues. 78 rpm discs meet the modern age head on. You ever chuck a 78 at a laptop? They shatter into pieces. Those silly shellac discs are no match for the durable plastic material they make laptops out of these days. Stupid 78's! Blues sources are mixed, looped, stretched and plundered. It's sure to make the biggest analog and roots music purists cringe, but it's equally likely to put a smile on everyone else's face. A definite must for fans of Atom Heart and Stock, Hausen & Walkman.
Jonathan Lee of the Dreams By Degrees label commissioned this compilation as synaesthesia in reverse by asking the question, "If blue could be interpreted through music, what would it sound like?" There have been many musicians and artists who have attempted to address the painterly metonym between colors and sound, all of which related each to pre-existing musical / visual cues. There's Ken Nordine's beat poetics on the emotive qualities of various colors, Derek Jarman's gut wrenching film Blue with a bluescreen as the backdrop to a narrative about the tragedies of AIDS, and Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, just to name a few. As each of those offered a unique facet to the nature of the color blue, it's unlikely that any encapsulated anything universal about that color. This Dreams By Degrees compilation similarly contexualizes their collection with a pre-existing aesthetic, here stated as ambient post-rock, emotionally naked shoegazing folk, and bleary eyed electronica. Jef Cantu of Tarentel has constructed a variety of musical interludes of pseudo-Stephan Mathieu glitchy drone transitioning between many of the contributions, providing a seemless dreamy quality to the entire album. Other contributers include Film School, L'Altra, Lazarus, Vetiver, Rivulets, Stratford 4, John Davis, Corbi Wright, Your Friend, Park Avenue Music, Vela, and Sir for an album sounds in many ways like a modern day This Mortal Coil.
As "tribute" comps go, this is a really good one. Usually a tribute succeeds only if the cover versions are really different from the originals (for instance, the pop-punk bands doing metal covers on the "I Heart Metal" tribute). At the very least there can be
Blue Cheer of course is the granddaddy of all metal/stoner bands, with their first two and a half classic albums still being heavier in their own way than most stuff released today. And Black Widow have put together a pretty excellent international line-up of their progeny to pay tribute. Pentagram (who are on here twice, and may as well BE Blue Cheer 'cause they do it so well!), Internal Void, Thumlock, Natas, Fireball Ministry, Ufomammut are a who's who of some of today's best doom/stoner acts. Plus there's some more obscure names from the space/prog axis as well. The only puzzle about this comp is that several bands chose to cover songs from Blue Cheer's not-so-heavy early '70s albums, which turn out well, but I can't figure out why they did that, except to be different and demonstrate what big fans they are. Still, quite a bit of 1968's "Vincebus Eruptum" and '69s "Outsideinside" is represented. Right on!
Slowdive's "Pygmalion" was the album that broke the band up and got them dumped from Creation just weeks after its release back in 1995; yet, that album has become one of the templates for the current strain of electronic melancholia. That album was ostensibly a solo album for Neil Halstead, who indulged in a majestic piece of electro-acoustic minimalism disguised as mope rock. "Pygamalion" displayed very little of the sublime tapestries of shoegazing guitars, and often blurred the fragile song structures into beautiful mirages and haunted echoes. For the business minded Creation, it was a commercial disaster and never got any serious consideration for licensing or even distribution for that matter. Which is a real shame, as it was a fantastic album.
While they didn't reissue that album, Morr Records did produce this tribute album to the Slowdive and their contribution to electronic music. Disc one of "Blue Skied An' Clear" (the name of a song off of the aformentioned "Pygmalion" album) is a collection of Slowdive covers by Morr musicians and likeminded artists. This collection as a whole - like everything on Morr - is pleasant, moody, rainy-day electronica with wistful guitars and vocals prominent in the mix. Disc two features tracks 'inspired' by Slowdive. Artists include Future 3, Isan, Lali Puna, Ulrich Schnauss, B.Fleischmann & Ms. John Soda, Limp, Solvent, Styrofoam, Skanfrom, Komeit, Manual, Herrmann & Kleine, Mum, Guitar, Populous, Icebreaker/Manual.
Rounder Records does their part to continue milking the "O Brother" cash cow with 16 tracks from their back catalog. 16.98 for a label sampler? Can you say rip off? C'mon Rounder, if you want to get people's interest piqued on the bluegrass wares your label
Bob Blank is one of the most unsung heroes in the history of the vibrant New York music scene of the '70s and '80s. He had such a wide ranging, amazing and colorful sound, and a massive (if under appreciated) influence like so many of the best musical minds of that era (Larry Levan, Arthur Russell, August Darnell). While his roots were for sure deep in the disco scene he had the kind of left of center disposition that allowed him to work on so many different kind of projects and with so many different, and often unexpected artists. Strut has put together a really loving collection of many of the great songs Blank helped bring to life by everyone from Lydia Lunch to Sun Ra, Lola (Arthur Russell) to Gladys Knight and more. While there is an undeniable level of funk and freespirit running through all these songs, they do all demonstrate the breadth of sound Blank was able to bring to records recorded in his legendary Blank Tapes studio located in the heart of Chelsea. Surely essential for folks who loved the recent Ze: 30 collection or the Mutant Disco and Disco Not Disco comps from the past few years. We're beyond stoked that Strut has put this collection together, not only to bring light to the amazing work that Blank created but simply as compilation, this record is just jam packed with so many super pleasing songs.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
We were already sold on this before we even heard it, just based on the title alone, and likely you are too! And having heard it, we're all the more into it. This latest Finders Keepers/B-Music release is not just another Bollywood - or even Lollywood, or Kollywood - compilation, not that there would be anything wrong with that. Their recent Pakistani picture house collection Life Is Dance is still in heavy rotation 'round these parts, as are others of its ilk. But Bollywood Bloodbath is even better, thanks to its specific, scary theme. Cooler 'cause these songs, as you may have guessed, are all taken from the soundtracks to Hindi horror movies! Ghost stories, killer thrillers, zombiethons, that sort of thing... but unlike American slasher flicks and Italian giallo from the same period (the '70s mostly, though this disc ranges as far back as 1949, and up to the '80s), these Indian fright films are, of course, like other Bollywood productions, elaborate musicals. So the bloodbath sounds like it's taking place at the discotheque!! It's a perfect mix of the over-the-top pop groove-a-delica of the best vintage Bollywood stuff, infused with the even weirder, wilder, and wiggier sounds demanded by the horror movie genre, like shocking screams, stabbing cacophonous chords, and impassioned female vocals pleading for mercy.
Yep, it's pretty brilliant the way this collection combines two of our favorite soundtrack genres into one. Gotta give it up to compiler Andy Votel and his diligent research (involving hours and hours of viewing cheap old VHS tapes found at the Indian grocery store, no doubt), as he's dug up a delightful 'best of' from a hybrid cinematic genre we've yet to explore ourselves. And even if these songs were sourced from Z-grade movies, there's for sure some top talent involved on soundtrack side of things, including even the legendary RD Burman.
Although there's a modicum of ominous, atmospheric creepiness to be found in most of these cuts, moments that are mystical and mysterious, truth be told it's not all that frightening, as the spookiest stuff always gives way to urgent uptempo beats and zipp-zapping "seance fiction" synths, lively rock/disco orchestration and spirited singing, i.e. typical Bollywood bombast! If anything, rather than, say, John Carpenter or Goblin (our usual go-to's for suspense/horror soundtracks), some of what's here reminds us more of stuff from far out Spaghetti Westerns.
Since we're making this Record Of The Week, we should pause to state that if you're not already into Bollywood soundtracks, you need to check 'em out! And this, despite its specific slant, would certainly give you a good idea of what you've been missing - total WTF kitchen sink psychedelic percussive song-and-dance Eastern-inflected rock opera funked up madness.
22 tracks, 78+ minutes. Complete with cd booklet of copious, obsessive, expert liner notes from Votel. And lots of cool creepy colorful graphics of course. (In addition to this domestic cd release, there's also import vinyl available, but we're pretty much out, hoping to have some more from overseas next month, FYI.)
Another label recognizes the brilliance of the wildly prolific Indian film industry's musical scores, puts its money where its mouth is, and releases a compilation. Good on you, Outcaste. This comp is heavily influenced by soul, funk, jazz, and latin music -- and since the record was made specifically for djs, it's purposefully heavy on the groove and not so much into quick changes and challenging juxtapositions, like the more pop-oriented Bollywood Funk records (which we highly recommend). That's not to say the non-DJ can't get into this -- it'd be excellent for your next party. Fans of Bombay the Hard Way will like this.
Indian film music is some of the craziest, catchiest, downright smile-inducing stuff you're ever going to hear. In recent years we've stocked a number of compilations, some better than others: the not-so-great "Bombay the Hard Way", the pretty great two volumes of "Doob Doob O'Rama", and our all-time favorite "Dance Raja Dance".
And now there's this one, another instant fave a la "Dance" and "Doob". Compiled by the same label which released the acclaimed "Untouchable Outcaste Beats" East-meets-West electronica compilation, "Bollywood Funk" is an excellent collection of Bollywood tracks which received no additional production or remixes. While the similar "Dance Raja Dance" album (again: highly recommended, we always carry it) perfectly encapsulates the late '70s / early '80s film music of India, this compilation goes back to the '60s and early '70s for a more psychedelic and groovier sound. Perfectly weird, often kick ass Indian film music. Highly recommended.
Just from the title alone, we knew that this latest installment in the always-amazing Sublime Frequencies series of unusual and under-documented "world music" recordings was gonna be the bomb! Indeed it is. The 'exotic' and infectious verve of vintage Bollywood film soundtrack music, performed with electric steel guitar as lead instrument for extra awesomeness, is hard to beat! The steel guitar, bringing with it the groovy twang of Western Swing and Hawaiian fret-sliding flavor, as well as a measure of classical Indian music, easily effects an emotive echo of the human voice that ordinarily fronts Bollywood themes. Compiler Stuart Ellis' informative liner notes describe these instrumental pop versions of Hindi film hits as the "elevator music of India" and if that's the case, we'd definitely rather be stuck in an elevator in Mumbai than anywhere else. There's 21 rare tracks by a half dozen masterful Bollywood steel string slingers: Van Shipley, Kazi Aniruddha, S. Hazarasingh, Sunil Ganguly, Charanjit Singh, and Guatam Dasgupta, recorded between 1962 and 1986.
A completely captivating collection, already one of our favorites among the many great Sublime Frequencies releases. And probably it should be no surprise that, for example, Van Shipley's "Jan Pahechan Ho" from the 1966 film Gunaam immediately gives us Sun City Girls flashbacks...
In terms of hip International music trends here in the States, the Bollywood music craze seems to have recently died down in favor of the sounds of Ethiopia (thanks in part to its inclusion on major motion picture soundtracks such as Broken Flowers). Our love for both certainly hasn't waned nor wavered. So we're more than happy to welcome this new compilation of Indian film music. If you're seeking a thorough overview of the genre, this is a great place to start. The first disc dishes out a dozen delirious classics from the '50s, '60s and '70s, while the second disc offers eleven more 'modern' tunes, from the '90s. Of course, tracks by Bollywood deities Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi (check out the intense vocal performance on "Madhuban Mein Radhika"!) are in abundance on both discs. Oh such vibrant, manic, aural opulence! Recommended!
Ten years of groundbreaking hip hop releases celebrated in one package -- $28 for *four* discs, over 60 tracks spanning the entire Bomb Hip Hop catalog, and including unreleased stuff as well. This is the label run by SF's own David Paul, who with the Return of
From the folks that brought us the stellar "Return of the DJ" records comes this compilation of RAPPERS from Japan, Germany, Canada, the U.K. and Australia. As usual, the Bomb points the way to the future of hip hop.
While the first Bombay the Hard Way disc featured funky themes from '70s Bollywood films doctored and augmented by the talents of the Dan "The Automator" Nakamura, this here volume 2 takes on the next generation of films -- stuff from the '80s. A lot of it is
We can never get enough of the colorful, zesty, infectious sounds of golden era Bollywood. Luckily we have two more outlets for our fix, as Bombay Connection has released two volumes of Bollywood hits that we've been groovin' to in the store for a few months now and finally have gotten enough to review and list. This is Volume 1 (2 to follow next list) and features tons of kick ass classic Bollywood funk from action thrillers spanning 1977-1984. You know what that means: incredible backbeats, suspense building bridges, and ultra saucy vocals. All the greats are here: R.D. Burman, Asha Bhosle, Kalyanji-Anandji, Sapam-Jagmohan, etc. So fun and so great!
We can never get enough of the colorful, zesty, infectious sounds of golden era Bollywood. Luckily we have two more outlets for our fix as Bombay Connection has released two volumes of Bollywood hits that we've been groovin' to in the store for a few months now and finally have gotten enough to list. Vol 2 features all the golden greats spanning 1959-1972. Songs from all of those amazing nightclub scenes. You know what that means: intoxicating instrumentation, impassioned vocals, and splashes of color that you can practically hear captured in these wild and fantastic songs. All the great Bollywood luminaries are included: R.D. Burman, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Kalyanji-Anandji, Sapam-Jagmohan, etc. So fun and so great!!
The UK's Outcaste label strikes again with this fab compilation of "Indo-Jazz", 14 tracks of Indian-music infused jazz, uh, fusion from the '70s. We're told most tracks are taken from super rare and collectable records and we don't doubt it. Funky, fun stuff with tabla, sitar, and so forth mixing it up with various Western electric instruments. Way more than those lame DJ-mixed "Bombay
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Wild Indian Soundtrack music from the 1960's, made by the Shah brothers Anandji and Kalyanji, that has gotten the 90's production by The Automator, who enlisted DJ Shadow to add a couple of beats here and there throughout the record. It's pretty good, though somewhat same-y after the first half hour. And I have to say that both myself and the Automator are so damn tired of lazy, ignorant food-based one-liners used to describe music made by Asians and Asian Americans. Naming a song on this cd "The Good, The Bad, and The Chutney" just shows that the only familiarity too many Westerners have with Asians and Asian Americans is through food. How pathetic.
Hip hop, called Bongo Flava in Tanzania, has had an odd inverted development in relation to its US mentor. Unlike the US where the genre started in the streets, only to be picked up by the middle class as its popularity spread, it was the children of the wealthy and elite in Tanzania who would bring back western hip hop initially that eventually would trickle down to the poor in Dar es Salaam. But it was the poor who put the creativity and effort into making a full-fledged Bongo Flava scene -- though the production resources are still in the hands of the few, which results in an industry not disimilar to Jamaica's burgeoning music industry in the early seventies. What's more, while the faces of American rap stars grace the walls of clubs (there are some nice photos of such included with the accompanying booklet) and music stalls are pasted with their promotional posters, it's the local Bongo Flava stars that top the charts in Dar es Salaam, not the Americans. This is partially out of a sense of national pride, but also to the fact that the Tanzanian listeners can understand the Swahili lyrics of the local singers, which makes them a great deal more compelling to listen to than someone they can't understand. Part of this sense of national spirit can be attributed to former president Julius K. Nyerere, the first president after the country acheived independence, who sought to unify the country, which included making the official language of Tanzania Swahili. Now, despite the derision of elder Tanzanians who see the music as hooligan's music, the Swahili spoken Bongo Flava can be heard almost everywhere in Dar es Salaam. The production on these tracks shows just how far the digital age and software based home recording studios have made it possible for those of minimum means to approach the production standards set by the well heeled studios of the west. CD comes with a thick booklet detailing the history of Bongo Flava and short bios on the included artists.
The first release from Afrodisiac Records, Booniay is a really fun comp of funk, afrobeat, and highlife from '70s West Africa. There's a lot of James Brown "heuh!" exclamations, a lot of Fela-style horns, a lot of smokin' groovy organs, and ridiculously
A fantastic package here: 3 cds (that's 193 minutes!) of musical/field recordings spanning 25 years, documenting the pre-industrial culture of the indigenous people of Papua New Guinea (y'know, it's an island to the north of Australia) and their
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Not sure what it was, but for whatever reason, some of us had never gotten that into Bossa Nova. Sure there were the standards, the popular tunes that everyone heard, but it never struck a chord, or maybe just at the time, and maybe it was precisely because it was the popular tunes, the accessible jams that made it into the ears of someone who at the time, was more of a jazz dabbler. But Soul Jazz has been killing it lately, with THREE different Bossa Nova comps, which have totally swayed the non believers, converted the haters, and even impressed the folks who were already big fans. First there was Bossa Nova And The Rise Of Brazilian Music In The 1960's, which was reviewed on a past list and you can check out elsewhere on the aQ list, then there was Bossa Nova And The Story Of Elenco Records, Brazil (which we haven't reviewed yet, but hopefully will soon!), and now there's Bossa Jazz: The Birth Of Hard Bossa, Samba Jazz And The Evolution Of Brazilian Fusion 1962-73, which might just be the best of the bunch. We've been listening to this like crazy non stop since we first got it in, and it continues to blow us away. It's still bossa nova, but it's darker, and more intense, mostly instrumental, hard to explain exactly what it is, but the sound, the soul, the vibe, it's just totally doing it for us.
Apparently instrumental music, played by the more popular bands of the bossa nova movement, became known as hard bossa or samba jazz, and as the sixties wound down, there was a huge exodus of Brazilian musicians heading to the US, and many Brazilian based musicians who began to collaborate with US groups, and thus was born Brazilian fusion, and this compilation basically follows that shift, and traces its development musically. But it's the sound, the music, the feel, this comp in some ways feels like a Brazilian version of Ethiopiques 4, our favorite volume in that stellar series, but that one is all instrumental, and in many ways that lets the music do the talking, the emotion oozes from the instruments, and the same is true here, there are some vocal performances, which are incredible, but mostly it's these jazz masters let loose, the drums are wild, there are multiple drum solos, the bass, the piano, the bands are just incredible, and the sounds they conjure up are stunning. And even some more well known names, Sergio Mendes, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Airto Moreira, Baden Powell, all offer up darker more progressive fusion-y sounds, and it's just fantastic, much of this collection sounds very cinematic, and like the other Soul Jazz bossa nova comps, not a single track we had ever heard before, but pretty much every single one we LOVE. So much so that this comp has sent us on a serious bossa nova kick that shows no sign of letting up. Which is always the sign of a good comp.
Like all Soul Jazz compilations, there's a big booklet with extensive liner notes with lots of photos, the cd version housed in a cool miniature hardcover book.
Now on vinyl, split into two volumes...
Not sure what it was, but for whatever reason, some of us had never gotten that into Bossa Nova. Sure there were the standards, the popular tunes that everyone heard, but it never struck a chord, or maybe just at the time, and maybe it was precisely because it was the popular tunes, the accessible jams that made it into the ears of someone who at the time, was more of a jazz dabbler. But Soul Jazz has been killing it lately, with THREE different Bossa Nova comps, which have totally swayed the non believers, converted the haters, and even impressed the folks who were already big fans. First there was Bossa Nova And The Rise Of Brazilian Music In The 1960's, which was reviewed on a past list and you can check out elsewhere on the aQ list, then there was Bossa Nova And The Story Of Elenco Records, Brazil (which we haven't reviewed yet, but hopefully will soon!), and now there's Bossa Jazz: The Birth Of Hard Bossa, Samba Jazz And The Evolution Of Brazilian Fusion 1962-73, which might just be the best of the bunch. We've been listening to this like crazy non stop since we first got it in, and it continues to blow us away. It's still bossa nova, but it's darker, and more intense, mostly instrumental, hard to explain exactly what it is, but the sound, the soul, the vibe, it's just totally doing it for us.
Apparently instrumental music, played by the more popular bands of the bossa nova movement, became known as hard bossa or samba jazz, and as the sixties wound down, there was a huge exodus of Brazilian musicians heading to the US, and many Brazilian based musicians who began to collaborate with US groups, and thus was born Brazilian fusion, and this compilation basically follows that shift, and traces its development musically. But it's the sound, the music, the feel, this comp in some ways feels like a Brazilian version of Ethiopiques 4, our favorite volume in that stellar series, but that one is all instrumental, and in many ways that lets the music do the talking, the emotion oozes from the instruments, and the same is true here, there are some vocal performances, which are incredible, but mostly it's these jazz masters let loose, the drums are wild, there are multiple drum solos, the bass, the piano, the bands are just incredible, and the sounds they conjure up are stunning. And even some more well known names, Sergio Mendes, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Airto Moreira, Baden Powell, all offer up darker more progressive fuison-y sounds, and it's just fantastic, much of this collection sounds very cinematic, and like the other Soul Jazz bossa nova comps, not a single track we had ever heard before, but pretty much every single one we LOVE. So much so that this comp has sent us on a serious bossa nova kick that shows no sign of letting up. Which is always the sign of a good comp.
Like all Soul Jazz compilations, there's a big booklet with extensive liner notes with lots of photos, the cd version housed in a cool miniature hardcover book.
Now on vinyl, split into two volumes...
Not sure what it was, but for whatever reason, some of us had never gotten that into Bossa Nova. Sure there were the standards, the popular tunes that everyone heard, but it never struck a chord, or maybe just at the time, and maybe it was precisely because it was the popular tunes, the accessible jams that made it into the ears of someone who at the time, was more of a jazz dabbler. But Soul Jazz has been killing it lately, with THREE different Bossa Nova comps, which have totally swayed the non believers, converted the haters, and even impressed the folks who were already big fans. First there was Bossa Nova And The Rise Of Brazilian Music In The 1960's, which was reviewed on a past list and you can check out elsewhere on the aQ list, then there was Bossa Nova And The Story Of Elenco Records, Brazil (which we haven't reviewed yet, but hopefully will soon!), and now there's Bossa Jazz: The Birth Of Hard Bossa, Samba Jazz And The Evolution Of Brazilian Fusion 1962-73, which might just be the best of the bunch. We've been listening to this like crazy non stop since we first got it in, and it continues to blow us away. It's still bossa nova, but it's darker, and more intense, mostly instrumental, hard to explain exactly what it is, but the sound, the soul, the vibe, it's just totally doing it for us.
Apparently instrumental music, played by the more popular bands of the bossa nova movement, became known as hard bossa or samba jazz, and as the sixties wound down, there was a huge exodus of Brazilian musicians heading to the US, and many Brazilian based musicians who began to collaborate with US groups, and thus was born Brazilian fusion, and this compilation basically follows that shift, and traces its development musically. But it's the sound, the music, the feel, this comp in some ways feels like a Brazilian version of Ethiopiques 4, our favorite volume in that stellar series, but that one is all instrumental, and in many ways that lets the music do the talking, the emotion oozes from the instruments, and the same is true here, there are some vocal performances, which are incredible, but mostly it's these jazz masters let loose, the drums are wild, there are multiple drum solos, the bass, the piano, the bands are just incredible, and the sounds they conjure up are stunning. And even some more well known names, Sergio Mendes, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Airto Moreira, Baden Powell, all offer up darker more progressive fuison-y sounds, and it's just fantastic, much of this collection sounds very cinematic, and like the other Soul Jazz bossa nova comps, not a single track we had ever heard before, but pretty much every single one we LOVE. So much so that this comp has sent us on a serious bossa nova kick that shows no sign of letting up. Which is always the sign of a good comp.
Like all Soul Jazz compilations, there's a big booklet with extensive liner notes with lots of photos, the cd version housed in a cool miniature hardcover book.
Blame it on the Bossa Nova! What Americans experienced of Brazil's biggest cultural export in the sixties (think Astrud Gilberto's "Girl From Ipanema" and Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66) was actually a watered down version of a vital cultural renaissance of luxury and prosperity in a country transforming itself from its agrarian roots to a new industrial power on the world's stage. Soul Jazz has released this terrific new compilation to highlight the origins of this tremendous and far-reaching cultural shift, with many of the genre's original innovators: Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Elis Regina, Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil, Nara Leao, Wanda Sa, Maria Bethannia, Milton Nascimento as well as plenty of others we had never heard before. With its cool vocals, complex but economic melodic structures and sophisticated jazz motifs, Bossa Nova represented a huge shift away from traditional music to a new modern jet-setting sound. What's neat about this compilation is that even though the names may be familiar, many of the tracks are not the typical hits you may have heard before, reflecting the urgent embrace and hopeful optimism of a country stretching into its new identity. Sadly it wouldn't last. By the time, American's were fully seduced by Bossa Nova's warm wave of tropical sophistication in the mid-sixties, Brazil experienced a military takeover and many of the musicians (namely Jobim and Mendes) were forced to flee to the US. They were able to have successful careers (perhaps even more successful than when they were in Brazil) but Bossa Nova in America became something symbolically different, an almost Imperial embrace of laid-back Latin coolness while completely overlooking the political unrest that displaced it. Thankfully another musical and cultural revolution, Tropicalia, was gearing up to take its place. Still, whatever association you might have with Bossa Nova, this compilation is full of surprises and well worth the listen. So freaking good!
And as with all Soul Jazz record, the packaging is deluxe and elaborate, a slipcover housing a jewel case and a massive booklet, with tons of photos, and a super extensive history of Bossa Nova, detailing the musicians, and the politics of the era.
NOW ON VINYL, spread out over two separate double lps...
Blame it on the Bossa Nova! What Americans experienced of Brazil's biggest cultural export in the sixties (think Astrud Gilberto's "Girl From Ipanema" and Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66) was actually a watered down version of a vital cultural renaissance of luxury and prosperity in a country transforming itself from its agrarian roots to a new industrial power on the world's stage. Soul Jazz has released this terrific new compilation to highlight the origins of this tremendous and far-reaching cultural shift, with many of the genre's original innovators: Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Elis Regina, Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil, Nara Leao, Wanda Sa, Maria Bethannia, Milton Nascimento as well as plenty of others we had never heard before. With its cool vocals, complex but economic melodic structures and sophisticated jazz motifs, Bossa Nova represented a huge shift away from traditional music to a new modern jet-setting sound. What's neat about this compilation is that even though the names may be familiar, many of the tracks are not the typical hits you may have heard before, reflecting the urgent embrace and hopeful optimism of a country stretching into its new identity. Sadly it wouldn't last. By the time, American's were fully seduced by Bossa Nova's warm wave of tropical sophistication in the mid-sixties, Brazil experienced a military takeover and many of the musicians (namely Jobim and Mendes) were forced to flee to the US. They were able to have successful careers (perhaps even more successful than when they were in Brazil) but Bossa Nova in America became something symbolically different, an almost Imperial embrace of laid-back Latin coolness while completely overlooking the political unrest that displaced it. Thankfully another musical and cultural revolution, Tropicalia, was gearing up to take its place. Still, whatever association you might have with Bossa Nova, this compilation is full of surprises and well worth the listen. So freaking good!
NOW ON VINYL, spread out over two separate double lps...
Blame it on the Bossa Nova! What Americans experienced of Brazil's biggest cultural export in the sixties (think Astrud Gilberto's "Girl From Ipanema" and Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66) was actually a watered down version of a vital cultural renaissance of luxury and prosperity in a country transforming itself from its agrarian roots to a new industrial power on the world's stage. Soul Jazz has released this terrific new compilation to highlight the origins of this tremendous and far-reaching cultural shift, with many of the genre's original innovators: Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Elis Regina, Jorge Ben, Gilberto Gil, Nara Leao, Wanda Sa, Maria Bethannia, Milton Nascimento as well as plenty of others we had never heard before. With its cool vocals, complex but economic melodic structures and sophisticated jazz motifs, Bossa Nova represented a huge shift away from traditional music to a new modern jet-setting sound. What's neat about this compilation is that even though the names may be familiar, many of the tracks are not the typical hits you may have heard before, reflecting the urgent embrace and hopeful optimism of a country stretching into its new identity. Sadly it wouldn't last. By the time, American's were fully seduced by Bossa Nova's warm wave of tropical sophistication in the mid-sixties, Brazil experienced a military takeover and many of the musicians (namely Jobim and Mendes) were forced to flee to the US. They were able to have successful careers (perhaps even more successful than when they were in Brazil) but Bossa Nova in America became something symbolically different, an almost Imperial embrace of laid-back Latin coolness while completely overlooking the political unrest that displaced it. Thankfully another musical and cultural revolution, Tropicalia, was gearing up to take its place. Still, whatever association you might have with Bossa Nova, this compilation is full of surprises and well worth the listen. So freaking good!
For those who remember when there were genuine underground music scenes (or for younger whippersnappers who wanna know what the fuss was all about)... this compilation is a great document of Boston based bands from a brief four year stretch that bridged the seventies with the eighties. Remarkably polished and burstin' out with youthful energy, Boston Underground is nicely varied from earnest jangle pop to sneering garagey rawk to angular no wave. Many of these songs which may seem tame and downright quaint by today's standards were fresh and downright adventurous back then. it's super cool that we're getting a chance to hear these pockets of amazing music that sadly seldom reached the ears of anyone outside of the city limits let alone within them. Check it out!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Compiled by Opprobrium's editor Nick Cain, this little gem of a 7" features some of the best often overlooked avant-noise / out-rock stuff from New Zealand, with Omit's lo-fi alien tape-loop dadaism, RST's humid blasts of guitar feedback, Sandoz Lab Technician's angular no-wave slop, and Surface of the Earth's breathtaking teutonic drones.
This is another one of those compilations that barely requires a description for several reasons. The first is the list of bands. Like an aQ customer's sonic wet dream: Tomutonttu (Jan Anderzen of Kemialliset Ystavat and Avarus), the Skaters, Ashtray Navigations, Zodiac Mountain, Wooden Wand And The Vanishing Voice, Brothers Of The Occult Sisterhood, Armpit, Fursaxa & Zaimph, Axolotl, Astral Social Club, Excepter, Uton, Anla Courtis, Wolfskull, United Bible Studies and Kyrgyz (featuring our very own mailorder maven Christine, along with Loren Chasse, Tom Carter and Robert Horton). Phew. And that's just the bands we know, include these new-to-us sonic treasures: Navy Black, Clixcx, Watersports, Pan To Scratch, Taikuri Tali, PW Best, White Dog and Maths Balance Volumes, and we're talking nearly 5 hours of strange sonic explorations. The other reason this might not need a typically expansive AQ description is the fact that this compilation is crazy limited, to only 500 copies. So odds are we're gonna run out mighty quick, and it's unclear whether we'll be able to get more...
So what's it all about? Skulls Of Heaven sent out a call for artists to contribute their most challenging and bizarre recordings, the only stipulation that the track be between 6 and 13 minutes long. These 25 are the best of the contributions, and they are indeed challenging and bizarre, from a group of artists who traffic in the bizarre and challenging anyway.�
The sounds are all over the map as you might imagine, processed vocals all tangled up in stumbling atonal guitar plink and reverbed swirls, mechanical barnyard symphonies, murky psych-drone crawls, muffled muted ragas, thick buzzy drones and drifting clouds of piano tinkle and creaking machine-like ambience, serpentine Eastern melodies draped over slow shifting sonic shimmers, ultra minimal glitchscapes peppered with haunting growls and alien transmissions, epic washes of roaring growling guitar and quavering theremins, thick sepia toned expanses of soft focus flutter and dark moody drift, mysterious vocal experiments, chanting howling, whispering, crooning, buzzing static drenched electronic fuckery, hiccuping childlike rhythms, primitive percussion, creepy landscapes of Goblin-esque organ and outer space FX and it goes on and on and on. A totally tripped out, mind melting sonic travelogue, from the forests of Finland, to dusty basements in abandoned buildings, to strange undersea caves dripping with reverb, to mysterious cities floating in the clouds to the farthest reaches of outer and inner space...
These are REAL cd's. not cd-r's. Each disc in its own slipcase, both the discs and the sleeves featuring original artwork from Shayde Sartin (Flying Canyon, Giant Skyflower Band, Skygreen Leopards, Kelly Stoltz, Wooden Wand), held together by a thick textured paper cardstock obi, all tied up with a leather cord. Super striking. And again, limited to 500 copies...
When we first heard about this Box Of Dub comp on Soul Jazz, we were super so psyched. Regular readers of the AQ list by now have heard us grouse about the paucity of grime and dubstep releases in the US. And a quick look at the lineup here, had us convinced this would be a killer collection of modern dubstep. Which it is. Sort of.
In fact, more than 'dubstep' as we've come to know it, Box Of Dub is exactly what it purports to be. A box of dub. Modern dub, maybe. Future dub, also maybe, but not always dubstep per se. In fact, most of the tracks on Box Of Dub remind us more of stuff like On U Sound and The Bush Chemists and Adrian Sherwood and African Head Charge and the whole legion of modern electronic dub. Which is not a bad thing. Not at all, just wasn't what we were expecting. That said, there are lots of distinctly dubstep moments, sudden bursts of blown out bass lines, super fuzzy distorted synths and the like. "Dread Cowboy", credited to Tayo Meets Acid Rockers Uptown, would be a straight ahead dub jam, complete with melodica melodies, but draped over the whole track is that trademark dubstep oscillating superdistorted bass line. And "Respirator" by Scuba, is a thick, lurching bass heavy dubstepper for sure. Kode9 contributes "Magnetic City", a dark shuffling dubstep jam, but it too is heavy on the melodica and classic dub guitar lines.
But most of the rest of the record, is more killer modern electronic dub than dubstep, blissed out beats, plenty of reverb, that reggae rhythm, lots of melodica, reggae crooning, but with bits of dubstep mixed in here and there. The beats are slightly darker and distorted, the synths and basslines are thicker and more raw, pulsing and throbbing. In some ways, if you didn't know what dubstep was, this might be the ultimate dub compilation, all the best parts of dub, stripped down, skeletal, but with the bass pumped and all sorts of extra synthy buzz and rhythmic skitter.
It may all just be semantics. Whatever you call it, we can't stop listening to it. And it sounds sooooooo good turned way up with the bass on ten, makes the whole shop rattle. Fans of recent AQ faves like Burial, Kode9 (both on here!), Milanese, the Skull Disco comp, the Science Faction: Dubstep comp, will absolutely need this too...
Much like volume one, which we raved about a while back, this latest installment of Soul Jazz's Box Of Dub collection of dubstep and 'future dub' is as much a straight dub record as it is a dubstep record. Maybe even more so. Hence the 'future dub' descriptor in the title. Could well have called it modern dub or something similar. The dub element, while sometimes totally twisted into new shapes, is more often left relatively pure, a slab of classic old school dub, just slightly modernized, maybe with a bit of extra bass, or some haunting effects, but not much else. The power, as always, is in the BASS.
And just like the first volume, this is an absolute killer. All the tracks here, whether they be shuffling classic dub or super creepy skeletal dubstep, are dark and slithery, with huge thick basslines, skittery dubbed out percussion, vocal fragments, warbly loops, hypnotic rhythms, all hovering somewhere between late night bliss out, and bumping slow motion dance floor destruction.
The tracks are all distinctly dub, but in all sorts of shapes and forms, from Ramadanman's swirling dizzy shuffle, with strange little sonic flares and vocal snippets over a looped bassline and some modern electro shimmer, to the straight up soulful dub of Pinch's "Step 2 It" featuring the smooth soul croon of Rudey Lee, but like most of the tracks here, peppered with fucked up FX, thick undulating basslines, and all sorts of random sonic weirdness. The Cult Of The 13th Hour track sounds like a Kode9 outtake, super minimal, lots of record crackle over a looped Eastern Melody and an ominous spoken word vocal line, growling and muttering over a revved up Portishead rhythm track. Cotti's "Tamil Dub" sounds like a dubstep Muslimgauze, with buzzing sitars, and a killer throbbing bassline stutter, creepy animal calls, and slowed down vocal samples. Digital Mystikz contribute two tracks, the first some classic sounding dub, channeling the modern British sound of On-U Sound and the Dub Chemists, the second a more dubstep number, but with clanky kitchen sink percussion and horns, sounding like a slowed down Specials. Pinch offer up more dark and dangerous dubstep with their second track "Chamber", a super spare slab of low end sprawl, the drums a hiccupping stutter, the bass surfacing in big roiling waves, everything murky and mysterious, and ultra minimal. The disc closes out with Skream's "Sublemonal", another nod to the old school, with a super reverbed horn refrain over an ultra stripped down barebones dub workout, the snare reverbed into the ether, the bass smooth and shimmery.
The more we listen to this, the less distinctly 'dubstep' it sounds, and the more it just sounds like some freaky outer space dub record, which is in no way a bad thing, just a bit surprising. Because of the dearth of decent dubstep and grime in the US, we're always hankering for more, so whenever a 'dubstep' record pops up, we're pretty excited and order it right away, but lest we forget, long before this new fangled dubstep, we loved us our dub, BIG TIME. So when someone takes a dub record and adds all sorts of buzzing bass, gets it all space-y and tripped out, low slung and speaker melting, haunting and ominous, pulsing and throbbing, we're pretty much sold.
Since we seem to no longer be able to get a hold of that fantastic '60s french girl group Ultra Chicks series, we're delighted to finally get a bunch of this just-reissued collection of girl group tunes compiled, strangely enough, by controversial industrial culture icon Boyd Rice. No, they're not the highly sought French ye ye girls, but they are very much in the same perky vibe as the abovementioned comps. Rice has selected nine lesser known (or quite unknown) artists to showcase: solo singers Diane Ray, Bernadette Castro, Bernadette Caroll, Susan Rafey, Priscilla Paris, Robbie Winston, and Lori Burton as well as the suitably named groups The Love Exchange and Honey Ltd. The songs range from squeaky clean and girlish like Patty Duke to the more worldly and womanly like Petula Clark and Shirley Bassey. The second tune by Ms Castro sounds like something Le Tigre studied thoroughly. Very cool!
Weird, murky drone and darkly introspective goth-ambient sounds from the Austin indie-electronic underground. Brain Club is a series of mixes compiled by Jesse Jenkins (Silver Pines, Pure X/Ecstasy, Thousand Foot Whale Claw) and Kyle Dixon (Survive, Heathen Earth) of unreleased tracks by Austin-based groups (at least for this inaugural edition), most of whom we've never heard of before, but after checking this out we're really excited to know more about them.
The first side is more ambient with tracks mixing into each other beautifully. After a brief clip of a found spoken word recording by the mysterious "The Artist", Daniel Hipolito's Smokey Emery, the one project here we've reviewed in the past, appears with a short outdoor ambient industrial recording made with multiple tape machines that sound like far away drones recorded in a sewage tunnel which segues into VC Childkraft's soft focus "Magnetik Rose", a ghostly pitch-shifted piece of electronic clusters that sounds like a wind-soaked lullaby. Thousand Foot Whale Claw's shoegaze ambience of "Lost In Those Dunes", brings in a slow-motion crest of gorgeous guitar feedback culminating in the final track of side 1, Heathen Earth's witch-house instrumental of bleak hollow synths, echo-y drums and incidental crashing noises.
Side 2 has three more composed electronic tracks, the first a live track by Bodytronix which sounds like a Dam-Funk instrumental without beats. "Reverie" by Jake Schrock is probably our favorite track and it's also the longest. Sounding like a ballad composed by Roedelius, Vangelis, and OMD, it's pretty melancholic synth composition hits that sweet spot of uncanny eighties nostalgia without trying too hard. The final track by Phantastes called "Flight of Stares" is like last call at the Bat Cave, a murky instrumental goth dance anthem that channels Soft Cell or Alien Sex Fiend filtered through some druggy hazy processing. So good! We can't wait for more volumes if they're as good as this one!
Limited to 300 copies, these won't be around too long, so grab them fast. Comes as a pinkish-grey unlabeled transparent smoke colored vinyl in a hand-printed cardstock half-sleeve wrapped in an oversize ziplock plastic storage bag.
Brainwashed.com is an indispensible website dedicated to all sorts of musical arcana, publishing an insightful number of reviews and hosting the official domains for such diverse artists as Nurse With Wound, V/VM, Matmos, Mirror, Labradford, Trans Am,
Hey, we're not claiming these to be right! Have fun with it yourself, we sure did!
Where this compilation succeeds in its musical content, it royally fails in packaging: three loose cds in a metal tin which requires the booklets to be bent in order to fit, accompanied by a cheap keychain, a cloth patch, and a q-tip (???). All of this is wrapped with an unkempt piece of wire. Arrggg.
This bargain sampler celebrates ten years and over 100 releases on Richard D. James' REPHLEX label. 16 tracks clocking in at 76 minutes by µ-Ziq, Cylob, DMX Crew, The Gentle People, Bochum Welt, Chaos A.D. (Squarepusher), Global Goon, D'arcangelo, The Railway River, Baby Ford (Remix by AFX), Vulva, Vibert Simmonds (yes, Luke Vibert), Bogdan Raczynski, Mike Dred with Peter Green,
This is a rather good collection of 22 tracks taken from the consistently great Fat Cat catalog, plus five previously unreleased ones (including one by SIGUR ROS). Fat Cat has released a lot of navelgazing music, especially at their start, but have since branched out and in doing so are forming their own wideranging aesthetic particular to their own logic (as all good labels should do). It's almost all uniformly slow to midtempo, ranging from bedroom electronic melancholia like that of Transient Waves and Mice Parade; to the abstract deconstructions of Fennesz; to the outer edges of postrock and/or postfolk typified by David Grubbs and Set Fire to Flames; to exuberant post punk of Programme, Giddy Motors, and Party of One; to the noisier experimentalism of Black Dice and Xinlisupreme. But none of the Fat Cat stuff ever gets too 'out there', if you know what I mean, so in that nice way it's a great safe label to trust, especially if you're wanting a listen on the more accessible side of nonetheless experimental genres.
With all of the abovementioned artists, plus Kid606, Matmos, Bjork mit Funkstorung, the Dylan Group, Mum, Grain, Sylvain Chaveau and more.
From the folks who brought us the recent Cuban compilation packaged in cigar box, comes this stellar Brasilian collection which is separated into 4 cds cataloged by style: Folk & Traditional, Carnaval, Bossa Nova, and MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira). Nope, no contributions by Os Mutantes, but there IS a song by Joyce, who we'd like to find out more about. (Laetitia from Stereolab, in the most recent issue of The Wire's musical taste test, mistakes Joyce for the Mutantes and goes on about how great both artists are.)
A fascinating documentary that will interest drummers, DJ's, record geeks, hip-hop nuts and fans of Brazilian music alike. Following the group Keepintime, a super collective of high profile DJ's (Cut Chemist, Madlib, J. Rocc, Babu, DJ Nuts) and veteran L.A. session drummers (Paul Humphrey, James Gadson, Roy Porter and Earl Palmer) who initially got together as part of a photo-shoot and interview but ended up jamming together, evolving to play out highly popular live improvised sets.
Invited to Sao Paolo to play, the group hooks up with some of the most legendary drummers Brazil has produced, including Joao Parahyba who drummed on "Comanche" by Jorge Ben, Ivan "Mamao" Conti of Azymuth and Samba legend, Wilson Das Neves. While the live performances kill, there are also really great tag-along scenes where we get to see the performers in their element of process: the American drummers visiting a local percussion shop; the DJ's record shopping, comparing notes and trying to one up each other on their finds; lots of cool footage of vintage Brazilian records and artists that'll make the headz drool; Madlib creating beats in his hotel room; and even a frustrating "band practice" scene involving the DJ's. Along the way, there are plenty of stony segways where we learn about the religious roots of Samba, the regional origins of classic Brazilian percussive instruments, growing up in the favelas, and the ups and downs of being an in-demand session player in Brazil. It's almost too much, but near impossible to stop watching. Includes a bonus disc of special features, interviews and photos. So Awesome! ----* ----* In Stock, Not Yet Reviewed : ----* If you want to order one of these, just search on thee item you're looking for, then click on the buy button and it will be added to your cart! AFRICAN MUSIC MACHINE "Black Water Gold" (Fuel) cd 10.98 AIR CONDITIONING "Dead Rails" (Load) cd 14.98 AKERCOCKE "Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone" (Earache) cd 15.98 AKIMBO "Navigating The Bronze" (Alternative Tentacles) cd 13.98 ALOG "Amateur" (Rune Grammofon) cd/2lp 16.98/27.00 ANAL CUNT "Defenders Of The Hate" (Menace To Sobriety) cd 14.98 APPELQVIST, HANS "Sifantin Och Morkret" (Hapna) cd 16.98 ARCTIC MONKEYS "Favorite Worst Nightmare" (Domino) cd 14.98 ASTRAL SOCIAL CLUB "Neon Pibroch" (Important) cd 14.98 ASTRAL SOCIAL CLUB "Super Grease" (Important) lp 16.98 BACHI DA PIETRA "Non Io" (Die Schachtel) cd 19.98 BAD PLUS, THE "Prog" (Heads Up) cd 17.98 BAD RELIGION "New Maps Of Hell" (Epitaph) cd 14.98 BOXCUTTER "Brood VIP" (Abucus) 12" 12.98 BRETSCHNEIDER, FRANK "Rhythm" (Raster-Noton) cd 17.98 BROOM DUSTERS "Sound From The Bottom Of The Tokyo Underground" (Siwa) lp 24.00 BUDOS BAND "II" (Daptone) cd 14.98 BURNING BRIDES "Hang Love" (ModArt) cd 14.98 CALIX, MIRA "Eyes Set Against The Sun" (Warp) cd 25.00 CARIBOU "Andorra" (Merge) cd/lp 13.98/16.98 CHARNEL VALLEY "The Igneous Race" (Paragon) cd 14.98 CHEMICAL BROTHERS "We Are The Night" (Astralwerks) cd 13.98 COMMON "Finding Forever" (Geffen) cd 14.98 CUB "Betti-Cola" (Mint) cd 15.98 CUB "Come Out Come Out" (Mint) cd 15.98 DALEK "A Purge of Dissidents" (Ipecac) book+DVD+CD 31.00 DARKEST HOUR "Deliver Us" (Victory) cd 15.98 DEADBEAT "Journeyman's Annual" (Scape) cd 16.98 DEATH AMBIENT "Drunken Forest" (Tzadik) cd 16.98 DEMBELE, DACUDA "s/t" (Yaala Yaala) cd 14.98 DIMENTIANON / RIGOR SARDONICOUS "split" (Largactyl) cd 14.98 DIZA STAR & THE PINK LADIES "Featuring Mani Neumeier" (Fractal) cd 23.00 DOPPLEREFFEKT "Calabi Yau Space" (Rephlex) cd/2lp 16.98/19.98 ELEGI "Sistereis" (Miasmah) cd 17.98 EMBRYO "Steig Aus" (Revisited) cd 17.98 EVERGREEN TERRACE "Wolfbiker" (Metal Blade) cd 14.98 EVOKEN "Embrace The Emptiness" (Elegy / Solitude) cd 14.98 EX-COCAINE "Keep America Mellow" (Killertree) lp 14.98 EXCEPTER "Streams 01" (Fusetron) cd 15.98 EXIAS-J "Live Document 2003-2005" (PSF) dvd 27.00 EXPO '70 "Audio Archive 001 - Music From Inaudible Depths" (Kill Shaman) cd-r 5.98 EXPO '70 "Audio Archive 002" (Kill Shaman) cd-r 5.98 FAUST "So Far" (Universal) cd 17.98 FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS "The Distant Future" (Sub Pop) cd ep 3.98 GOATREIGN "s/t" (Wabana) cd 16.98 HELLA "There's No 666 in Outer Space" (Ipecac) cd 16.98 HORSEFLESH "Journey To The East" (Chambara) cd-r 6.98 JABLADAV "3K Hum" (self released) cd-r/cassette 7.98/5.00 JABLADAV "Black As Pitch" (self released) cd-r/cassette 9.98/4.50 JASPER TX "In A Cool Monsoon" (Pumpkin Seeds In The Sand) cd 11.98 JESUS LIZARD, THE "Live" (MVD Visual) dvd 16.98 KAMMERFLIMMER KOLLEKTIEF "Jinx" (Staubgold) cd/lp 15.98/15.98 KANG, EYVIND "Athlantis" (Ipecac) cd 16.98 LAS MALAS AMISTADES "Patio Bonito" (Honest Jons) cd 25.00 LEXIE MOUNTAIN / LICHENS "Split" (Hoss) lp 14.98 LICHENS "Omns" (Kranky) cd + dvd 16.98 LIFE ON EARTH "Look!! There Is Life On Earth!" (Subliminal Sounds) cd 16.98 LIGHT, THE "Turn On... The Light" (UT Records) cd 13.98 LINDSTROM (V/A) "Late Night Tales" (Azuli) cd 25.00 LIZZIE BORDEN "Master Of Disguise" (Metal Blade) cd 14.98 MANES "How The World Came To An End" (Candlelight) cd 12.98 MANIERISME "s/t" (Nekrokult Nihilism) cd 13.98 MANSON, CHARLES "The Summer Of Hate - The '67 Sessions" (Arte Lupo) cd 15.98 MARDUK "Rom 5:12" (Regain) cd 14.98 MARGINAL CONSORT "s/t" (Improvised Music From Japan) 4cd 79.00 MARTIN, AARON "Almond" (Preservation) cd 15.98 MARTIN, AARON & MACHINEFABRIEK "Cello Recycling / Cello Drowning" (Type) 10" 11.98 MASERATI "Inventions For The New Season" (Temporary Residence) cd 14.98 MAYHEM "Ordo Ad Chao" (Seasons Of Mist) cd 14.98 MCGONIGAL, MIKE "33 1/3 Series: Loveless" (Continuum) book 9.95 MEAT PUPPETS "Rise To Your Knees" (Anodyne) cd 14.98 MEIZTER, K. "Dark Matters" (Old Europa Cafe) cd + 3"cd 23.00 MEKURYA, GETATCHEW & THE EX "Moa Anbessa" (Terp) cd 18.98 MENCHE, DANIEL & KEVIN DRUMM "Gauntlet" (Editions Mego) cd 14.98 MIRAH AND SPECTRATONE INTERNATIONAL "Share This Place" (K) cd 14.98 MODERN SHIT "Modern Shit: The Stories Told By Record Covers" (Alga Marghen) book+cd 70.00 MORI, IKUE "Bhima Swarga" (Tzadik) dvd 30.00 MORTUUS "De Contemplanda Morte" (Ajna) cd 13.98 NADJA "Guilted By The Sun" (Elevation) cd 8.98 NARROWS, THE "Benjamin" (Wantage USA) cd 12.98 NATHAMUNI BROTHERS "Madras 1974" (Fire Musem) cd 14.98 NEED MORE SOURCES "Shed" (Moteer) cd 15.98 NEGATIVE PLANE "Et In Saecula Saeculorum" (AJNA) 2lp 27.00 NEMESIS "The Day Of Retribution" (GMR Music) cd 23.00 OS MUNDI "43 Minuten" (Revisited) cd 17.98 PESTE NOIRE "K.P.N. / La Sanie Des Siecles - Panegyrique De La Degenerescence" (De Profundis / Rosenkrantz) cd 13.98 PETIT, CHRISTOPHER "Radio On" (Plexifilm) dvd 22.00 PHAROAHE MONCH "Desire" (Universal / Motown) cd 14.98 PHAZM "Antebellum Death 'N' Roll" (Osmose Productions) cd+dvd 13.98 PHIL MOORE & HIS ORCHESTRA "Polynesian" (EM Records) cd PIAF, EDITH "Chansons De Films 1936 - 1961" (Trema) cd 14.98 PIAZZOLLA, ASTOR "Pulsacion" (Circular Moves) cd 16.98 PIG DESTROYER "Phantom Limb" (Relapse) cd/lp 14.98/16.98 PILIA, STEFANO "The Suncrows Fall and Tree" (Sedimental) cd 14.98 PINEBENDER "Working Nine To Wolf" (Lovitt) cd 12.98 PINK REASON "Cleaning The Mirror" (Siltbreeze) cd 13.98 PJUSK "Start" (12K) cd 14.98 PLACES, THE "Fawns With Fangs: Selections From The Dark Heart Of The Thicket" (High Plains) cd-r 9.98 PRIESTBIRD "In Your Time" (Kemado) cd 13.98 PROFUNDI "The Omega Rising" (Profound Lore) cd 15.98 PULSEFEAR "Perichroresis" (Profound Lore) cd 10.98 QUI "Baby Kisses" (Heart Of A Champion) cd 12.98 RAMESES "Misanthropic Alchemy" (Feto) cd 14.98 ROBBERS ON HIGH STREET "Grand Animals" (New Line) cd 14.98 ROKY ERICKSON "You're Gonna Miss Me" (Palm / Manga) dvd 33.00 RUNEMAGICK / OCEAN CHIEF "The Northern Lights" (Chapter 53) cd 14.98 SAXON "s/t" (EMI) cd 12.98 SAXON "Strong Arm Of The Law" (EMI) cd 12.98 SAXON "Wheels Of Steel" (EMI) cd 12.98 SCHENKER, MICHAEL GROUP "s/t" (EMI) cd 12.98 SCORPIONS "Lonesome Crow" (Brain) cd 17.98 SHAIN'S, LOS "Anthology" (Iempsa) 2cd 21.00 SHEARER, HARRY "Songs Pointed & Pointless" (Courgette) cd 14.98 SHIRE, DAVID "The Hindenberg (OST)" (Intrada) cd 30.00 SHIRE, DAVID "Zodiac (OST)" (Varese Sarabande) cd 16.98 SHITMAT "Grooverider" (Planet Mu) cd 14.98 SIGNAL "Robotron" (Raster-Noton) cd 17.98 SKREAM & CLUEKID "Sandsnake" (Disfigured Dubz) 12" 12.98 SOLSTICE "Halcyon" (Cyclone Empire) cd 16.98 SOLSTICE "Lamentations" (Candlelight) cd 16.98 SONDE "En Concert" (Oral) cd 16.98 SONDE "En Ordes" (Oral) cd 16.98 SOUVENIR'S YOUNG AMERICA "An Ocean Without Water" (Crucial Blast) cd 14.98 SPECTRE, AARON "Say More Fire" (Rag & Bone) 12" 12.98 SPIRITUALAIRES, THE OF HURTSBORO, ALABAMA "Singing Songs Of Praise" (CaseQuarter) cd 14.98 SPOOKY, DJ "System Error. Al-Yamamah Mix" (Horus) cd 17.98 STEVENS, MEIC "Sackcloth and Ashes: The EPs Vol. 2" (Sunbeam) cd 16.98 STINY PLAMENU "Odpadni Galerie" (NAGA) cd 14.98 STORMCROW / SANCTUM "split" (20 Buck Spin) cd 13.98 SUB VERSION "s/t" (Future Dub) 2lp 24.00 SUN RA "Shadows Took Shape" (Transparency) 2cd 15.98 SUN RA "The Creator Of The Universe" (Transparancy) 2cd 16.98 SUPERBAD "OST" (Lakeshore) cd 16.98 TARWATER "Spider Smile" (Morr Music) cd 16.98 TAYLOR, MIKE QUARTET "Pendulum" (Sunbeam) cd 16.98 TERRESTRIAL TONES "Dead Drunk" (Paw Tracks) cd 14.98 THE BEST OF "LONE WOLF AND CUB" "OST" (La-La Land Records) cd 11.98 TINY VIPERS "Hands Across The Void" (Sub Pop) cd 13.98 TODAY IS THE DAY "Willpower" (SuperNova) cd 14.98 TORSO / UNICORN "split" (Divorce) cd 8.98 TORTURIUM "Black Lunatic Chaos" (Aura Mystique) cd 15.98 TOTAL FUCKING DESTRUCTION "Zen And The Art Of Total Fucking Destruction" (Translation Loss) cd 14.98 TRANSMISSION 0 "Memory Of A Dream" (Candlelight) cd 13.98 TULSA DRONE "Songs From A Mean Season" (The Perpetual Motion Machine) cd 10.98 TUSS, THE "Confederation Trough EP" (Rephlex) cd ep 11.98 U-ZIQ "Duntisbourne Abbots Soulmate Devastation Technique" (Planet Mu) cd 14.98 UFO "Force It" (EMI) cd 12.98 UFO "Phenomenon" (EMI) cd 12.98 ULTRALYD "Conditions For A Piece Of Music" (Rune Grammofon) cd 16.98 UNDER SATAN'S SUN "s/t" (self released) cd-r 8.98 UNKLE "War Stories" (Surrender All) cd 13.98 UPSILON ACRUX "Galapagos Momentum" (Cuneiform) cd 16.98 V/A "Molam: Thai Country Groove From Isan Vol. 2" (Sublime Frequencies) cd 16.98 V/A "Phoning It In" (West Main Development) cd 11.98 V/A "Searchin' For Shakes" (Amigo) cd 17.98 V/A "Silver Monk Time: A Tribute To The Monks" (Play Loud) 2cd 21.00 V/A "Some Songs Stuck In My Mind" (Crazy Apple Boutique) cd 21.00 V/A "The Busy Drone" (BVHAAST) cd 17.98 VENETIAN SNARES "Pink + Green" (Sublight) cd 15.98 VEX'D "Degenerate" (Planet Mu) 2cd 14.98 VILE CHERUBS "The Man Who Has No Eats Has No Sweats" (Afterburn) cd 13.98 VILLAINS "Drenched In The Posions" (Aurora Borealis) cd 14.98 VIRUS SYNDICATE "Present: Contagious Vol. 1" (Tyke) cd 17.98 VIRUS SYNDICATE "The Wasted EP" (Tyke / Planet Mu) 12" 12.98 VISITATIONS "s/t" (Time Lag Records) cd 16.98 VXPXC "Porchmass" (Digitalis) cd 11.98 WAGONER, PORTER "The Rubber Room" (Omni Recording Company) cd 21.00 WEEDEATER "God Luck And Good Speed" (Southern Lord) cd 15.98 WHITE STRIPES, THE "Icky Thump" (Warner Bros.) cd 16.98 WIJLEN WIJ "s/t" (Aesthetic Death) cd 15.98 WILDILDLIFE "Peas Feast" (Chicas De Hoy) cd-r 4.98 ZORN, JOHN "From Silence To Sorcery" (Tzadik) cd 16.98 ZWEINSTEIN "Trip / Flip Out / Meditation" (Captain Trip) 3cd 88.00
**MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** **MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT** **MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT**
Remember that amazing String Of Pearls compilation, which collected a handful of awesome and obscure 78's from all over the world, compiled by Ian Nagoski? Well, that may be out of print, but Nagoski returns with yet another collection, a sequel of sorts, gathering up various dusty gems from all over the world, Portugal, Spain, India, Iran, Macedonia, Switzerland, Greece, and yeah, even America.
Just like the first volume, Brass Pins & Match Heads is overflowing with wonderful and wondrous sounds, almost without exception warm and mysterious, haunting and lovely, from gypsy folk to classical guitar, wild steel string workouts, soaring dramatic operatic vocals, old timey big band jazz, lush choir like harmonies, rickety skeletal strum, sweetly singing strings and more more more, all wreathed in that hazy dusty record crackle...
Our favorite track is definitely "Alpufzug", which is the name for the ritual procession of cattle through the Swiss Alps, the wordless musical interpretation is sung by a club in a town called Thun, the lead vocals by a man with an impossibly clear, high, feminine voice, who also yodels, the track itself slips from dreamy ethereal chorale to wild whooping hoedown, replete with yelps and howls and yodeling of course, as well as the bleating of cattle, voices of villages and the gorgeous soft cacophony of tinkling cowbells. So great!
Packaged in a super swank old school style tip on cover, with 4 pages of extensive liner notes, photos and more...
