Reissue of this long lost seventies Swedish release, originally purported to be a Trad Gras Och Stenar album, when in fact, it's something much more interesting. Bo Anders Persson, a member of Trad Gras Och Stenar, as well as Harvester, International Harvester and Parson Sound, traveled around Sweden, collecting field recordings of amateur musicians performing (the title roughly translates to 'Play Yourself'). So this is essentially like a Swedish drone rock, gypsy hippy folk version of Smithsonian Folkways (or Sublime Frequencies).
Wild fluttery flutes, chimes and rattles, whistles and tribal drumming, much of this definitely reminds us of modern soundmakers like Avarus and Sunburned Hand.
Simple hypnotic drumming over acoustic guitars and hand claps, whoops and hollers, still more flutes, violins, strings, hand drums, simple skeletal guitar melodies, lots of jaw harp, will percussion freakouts, occasional stretches of groovy spaced out kraut psych jamming, the whole time, the surrounding sounds become a part of the music, people talking, crowds in the distance, tinkling bottles, birds singing, total idyllic outsider psychedelic hippy jam.
A couple tracks on the B side stand out, one that sounds almost African, gorgeous and moody, percussive, but super melodic, like some sort of marimba, looped and loping and rhythmic and so mesmerizing, and another sprawling rhythmscape, cool, and acoustic, all deep lo thrum, big strings buzzing, a warm whirring sound peppered with all manner of jaw harp buzz, and some almost throat singing, really haunting and mysterious and so gorgeous.
Definitely recommended for anyone into the above mentioned Swedish outfits, but also anyone into field recordings and abstract psychedelia.
Exact reproduction of the original 1970 lp release, and of course, LIMITED!
Human League. Tribute. Covers. Stephen Merritt (come on, who else's voice --- other than Phil Oakey --- is more suited to sing these songs?). More Stephen Merritt (Future Bible Heroes do "Don't You Want Me?"). More Stephen Merritt (The Sixths do "Human"). More. Lali Puna. Momus. Ladytron (doing a very bubbly version of "Open Your Heart"). Optiganally Yours. The Aluminum Group. And still more. Some very very faithful renditions. Some very hi-energy and danceworthy just like the originals. Some go in a very new and different directions (the dreamy wash of Lali Puna on "Electric Dreams", the slow strangeness of Momus).
Covers comp, hailing the genius of British grindcore (grindgore?) masters, the late great Carcass. The more melodic, death n' roll of Carcass' last few albums (y'know, what the Champs sound like, when they're not doing the Thin Lizzy thing) is ignored in favor
Mikael Stavostrand has done all that he can to distance himself from his earliest recordings in Archon Satani, whose bleak post-industrial work parallelled the earliest manifestations of the Norwegian black metal scene. No longer embracing the dark theatrical atmospheres embraced by the Cold Meat Industries label, Stavostrand is currently championing the minimal, tasteful,
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Edition Sonoro is the parallel label to Twenty Hertz, both of which are run by the British drone artist Paul Bradley. Resonant Embers is collection of artists who have crossed paths with Mr. Bradley over the years and may be delivering work for Edition Sonoro in the future. There's irr. app. (ext.), jgrzinich, Ueboet, Colin Potter, Bradley himself, Maile Colbert with Tellemake, and Andrew Liles. AQ's beloved bewilderer of sound Matthew Waldron returns to his irr. app. (ext.) moniker with a disorienting chorus for vibrating objects, chiming strings, and distant moans phasing in a tripped out sonic equivalent to a funhouse mirror. Another favorite comes by the way of jgrzinich, who layers together windswept clatter from multiple recordings from high tension wires and the post-Soviet crumbled landscape of his current home in Estonia. A cold, sodden atmosphere oozes from these turnbuckle creaks and (literally) post-industrial ambience. Ubeboet is a newcomer to us, offering a majestic track of dark ambience haunted with distant strings and underwater operatic vocals. Colin Potter propagates a liquid drone from a series of harmonic belltones, which have all of the sublime power and angelic beauty of a Ligetti chorale. Paul Bradley constructs a series of interwoven guitar loops of midrange timbers that reflect similar ideas found in Aidan Baker's solo work. Maile Colbert flickers her voice through a series of looping devices and VLF recordings, recalling the early albums of Grouper but with Jarboe's vocal style instead. And finally, the comp is completed with a track from Andrew Liles, whose deeply minor chord piano keys and lilting gypsy violin have a noirish, horror film quality, perhaps in homage to Coil's lost soundtrack to Hellraiser?
Subtitled, "The Amplified Side Of Heavenly Grooves". This ain't your momma's gospel music. Nope, this collection brings together some bizarre, funny, and downright groovy '60s/'70s tunes by/for Jesus-loving hipsters. Everything from garage rock to folk to
Finally! This is the third collection from Bomb Recordings, documenting the flash, the wizardry, and the techniques of the turntablist. Features DJ Faust, Z-Trip (who presents another triumphant hip hop collage of metal and classic rock in "Rockstar II"), Mr. Dibbs, Shortee, Eddie Def & Extrakd, DJ Design, Cold Cutz Crew, and many others!
It's again time to liberate your inner Austin Powers, and get down to the Swingin' Sixties sounds of Return Of The Instro-Hipsters, Vol. 2! That's right, another 20 "groovy instrumentals from the UK, 1965-1973" compiled by noted collector Nick Saloman of The Bevis Frond. His first volume, entitled On The Brink, was a big hit 'round here, and this second one is just as much fun! This is what you'd have heard in the hip discotheques of Swinging London back then, rock n' roll beat music influencing jazz orchestras to get all freaky and psychedelic, filling dancefloors with shiny, bubbly tunes considered totally sophisticated and hip at the time. Honkin' organs, bright stinging horn sections, and swirling rock guitar are all part of the many lush arrangements found here. There's slinky lounge vibes, and fully day-glo, go-go dancin' funkiness.
In addition to getting you wigglin' your hips, there's definite goofy kitsch value to a lot of this, ferinstance the gimmick track "Fuzz Duck" by Jerry Allen, with all its crazy quackin'. Another group, Thunder Road, does a version of "Peter Gunn" that certainly fits right in. And Cliff Adams's track appears to be from an advert for P.G. Tips tea... Other artists heard here (and almost nowhere else, these days): D. Cordell's Tea Time Ensemble, The 4 Instants, The Roger Coulam Quartet, Harold McNair, Music Through Six, Sounds Sensational, The Masked Phantom, The Johnny Harris Orchestra, Tony Newman, The Tony Evans Band, Kenny Clare, Sharks, The Outer Limits, Oliver Bone, Paraffin Jack Flash, The Helmut Zaccharias Orchestra, and Ning. Groovy, baby.
At last, the compact disc version of this amazing all-DJ, all-scratching compilation. Truly a worthy sequel to the insane turntable antics of 1995's volume one. AMAZING collection of scratching and other turntablist skills sounds so ALIVE and refreshing and immediate, it brings smiles to all who hear it. We are the first store anywhere to carry this groundbreaking collection of turntable strategists kicking lesser DJ ass far and wide. Contributors hail from the likes of Paris, Finland, Cincinnati, and New York City. For fans of more well-known DJs like QBert, ShortKut, Disk & Mixmaster Mike of the Skratch Picklz, LA's Beat Junkies and Manhattan's X-Men (here represented by Roc Raida). You MUST hear this.
Volume 4 of the Bomb label's acclaimed all-scratching DJ compilations. Somehow Bomb Hip Hop, with these comps, has managed to consistently corral all the new 'n exciting scratch DJs you've never heard of, constantly introducing fresh talents and remaining
Back in print! With a new color cover, akin to that of vol. 2. If'n you don't know, this is the crazy acrobatic hiphop turntablist state of the art, a real must-have for anyone interested in exploits on the wheels of steel. Live sound collage mayhem to kick your ass, courtesy of such luminaries (better known now) as Rob Swift, Z-Trip, Peanut Butter Wolf and of course the Invisible Scratch Pickles.
Second in this series of 12"s collecting the crashing, crunching, bashing smunching, thrashing...ummm...twunching(???...well you know what we're getting at) sound of todays electronic underground. The tag team format is still enforced, foisting some of our favorite noisemakers on, well...some of our other favorite noisemakers!! Lesser gets chopped and spanked by Venetian Snares, Kid 606 gets bum rushed by Dat Politics, Knifehandchop gets sliced and diced by new-to-us 0=0, also-new-to-us CB4 gets schooled by Kid 606 (again) and two tag team match-ups offer up some more fresh faces: Casino Vs. Japan and Nudge whip up a little rhythmic hypnotronica workout while Fanny and DJ Paedophile bring the (caustic, face-melting) noise. Pretty cool.
'Revenge of the B-Boy', the soundtrack to the upcoming film 'I Saw Your Mama Breakdancing Bucknaked, features custom-made-for-breakdancing b-boy anthems from producers around the globe like Faust & Shortee, Hydroponic Sound System, Knights of Bass, Jeep Beat Collective, Clockwork Voodoo Freaks, Blade, Metabass, and more! Hip hop, turntablism, electro, big beat, and breaks from the same label that released those Return of the DJ albums. We also have a bunch of big full color posters, if you want one, just ask!
I'm sure you remember how we raved (no pun intended) like crazy about the Soundmurderer record a few lists ago, a wicked collection of the finest old school jungle. Well, here we go again. This time, Soundmurderer (aka Todd Osborn) is joined by SK-1, who may be more familiar to some of you as Dabrye, on this collection of 12"s released by Michigans premiere Jungle label, Rewind Record. Huge bombastic, old school ruffneck ragga, with spastic beats, rumbling basslines, crushing synths and wicked toasting. Folks who miss the old days of jungle will be floored, and all you folks who have been getting into dancehall (and have been digging stuff like the Bug) should check this out.
Another week, another forward thinking electronic music off shoot, another new genre. It's sort of always been like that. Acid house begets jungle begets drum and bass, begets drill and bass, begets UK garage or dark step or about a million other variations, which beget dubstep and grime, which then leads to this stuff, dubbed UK Funky, which was supposedly born out of the aggression and intensity inherent in grime and dubstep, moving back toward house music, a little lighter, with that 4 on the floor beat, and still lots and lots and lots of BASS.
As always, Soul Jazz leaps right in to document this new scene and do a bang up job. Right off the bat, you'll notice a handful of familiar names, Kode9, Roska, Shystie, Grievous Angel, that's cuz Funky is not that far removed from dubstep, it's almost the same sound pallet, just with that dubstep lurch and swing replaced by a more steady driving beat, but around that beat, synths still bloop and bleep and bloop and buzz, the bass rumbles and warbles, and like jungle, Funky has a bit of a ragga vibe, so there's a definite dancehall feel, with some killer toasting on some tracks.
This comp is pretty solid all the way through, and ANYone who's been digging the various Soul Jazz dubstep comps, will definitely dig this too.
MJ Cole's "Volcano Riddim" takes super dramatic soundtrack strings and wraps them around a killer main groove and a very dubsteppy beat, Altered Natives' "Rass Out" is a cool murky muted minimal shuffle with live drums, moody minor key melodies, and some swooping swirling synths. Warrior Queen contributes to Sunship's "Almighty Father" creating a super funky grimy dubfunk workout, Zumen's "Rolexx" features some incredible tongue twisting flow from the awesomely named Leafnuts, Lil Silva lays down a skittery beat underneath bleating synths and woozy funk bass, super stripped down, but seriously bad ass, DVA gets super bassy and buzzy with his "Natty" that sounds like a skipping jungle record slowed down and swathed in synths. We could go on, but why bother, this stuff all rules, and for dubstep obsessive and grime freaks, this is just another collection of bass heavy dancefloor destroyers that should get your toes tapping and rib cage rattling.
Like all Soul Jazz comps, includes a big booklet with lots of liner notes, info about UK Funky, the history of UK dancemusic and more. The cd comes housed in a cool extra wide half sized dvd style case, the lp split over two pricey but super swank double lps...
Another week, another forward thinking electronic music off shoot, another new genre. It's sort of always been like that. Acid house begets jungle begets drum and bass, begets drill and bass, begets UK garage or dark step or about a million other variations, which beget dubstep and grime, which then leads to this stuff, dubbed UK Funky, which was supposedly born out of the aggression and intensity inherent in grime and dubstep, moving back toward house music, a little lighter, with that 4 on the floor beat, and still lots and lots and lots of BASS.
As always, Soul Jazz leaps right in to document this new scene and do a bang up job. Right off the bat, you'll notice a handful of familiar names, Kode9, Roska, Shystie, Grievous Angel, that's cuz Funky is not that far removed from dubstep, it's almost the same sound pallet, just with that dubstep lurch and swing replaced by a more steady driving beat, but around that beat, synths still bloop and bleep and bloop and buzz, the bass rumbles and warbles, and like jungle, Funky has a bit of a ragga vibe, so there's a definite dancehall feel, with some killer toasting on some tracks.
This comp is pretty solid all the way through, and ANYone who's been digging the various Soul Jazz dubstep comps, will definitely dig this too.
MJ Cole's "Volcano Riddim" takes super dramatic soundtrack strings and wraps them around a killer main groove and a very dubsteppy beat, Altered Natives' "Rass Out" is a cool murky muted minimal shuffle with live drums, moody minor key melodies, and some swooping swirling synths. Warrior Queen contributes to Sunship's "Almighty Father" creating a super funky grimy dubfunk workout, Zumen's "Rolexx" features some incredible tongue twisting flow from the awesomely named Leafnuts, Lil Silva lays down a skittery beat underneath bleating synths and woozy funk bass, super stripped down, but seriously bad ass, DVA gets super bassy and buzzy with his "Natty" that sounds like a skipping jungle record slowed down and swathed in synths. We could go on, but why bother, this stuff all rules, and for dubstep obsessive and grime freaks, this is just another collection of bass heavy dancefloor destroyers that should get your toes tapping and rib cage rattling.
Like all Soul Jazz comps, includes a big booklet with lots of liner notes, info about UK Funky, the history of UK dancemusic and more. The cd comes housed in a cool extra wide half sized dvd style case, the lp split over two pricey but super swank double lps...
Another week, another forward thinking electronic music off shoot, another new genre. It's sort of always been like that. Acid house begets jungle begets drum and bass, begets drill and bass, begets UK garage or dark step or about a million other variations, which beget dubstep and grime, which then leads to this stuff, dubbed UK Funky, which was supposedly born out of the aggression and intensity inherent in grime and dubstep, moving back toward house music, a little lighter, with that 4 on the floor beat, and still lots and lots and lots of BASS.
As always, Soul Jazz leaps right in to document this new scene and do a bang up job. Right off the bat, you'll notice a handful of familiar names, Kode9, Roska, Shystie, Grievous Angel, that's cuz Funky is not that far removed from dubstep, it's almost the same sound pallet, just with that dubstep lurch and swing replaced by a more steady driving beat, but around that beat, synths still bloop and bleep and bloop and buzz, the bass rumbles and warbles, and like jungle, Funky has a bit of a ragga vibe, so there's a definite dancehall feel, with some killer toasting on some tracks.
This comp is pretty solid all the way through, and ANYone who's been digging the various Soul Jazz dubstep comps, will definitely dig this too.
MJ Cole's "Volcano Riddim" takes super dramatic soundtrack strings and wraps them around a killer main groove and a very dubsteppy beat, Altered Natives' "Rass Out" is a cool murky muted minimal shuffle with live drums, moody minor key melodies, and some swooping swirling synths. Warrior Queen contributes to Sunship's "Almighty Father" creating a super funky grimy dubfunk workout, Zumen's "Rolexx" features some incredible tongue twisting flow from the awesomely named Leafnuts, Lil Silva lays down a skittery beat underneath bleating synths and woozy funk bass, super stripped down, but seriously bad ass, DVA gets super bassy and buzzy with his "Natty" that sounds like a skipping jungle record slowed down and swathed in synths. We could go on, but why bother, this stuff all rules, and for dubstep obsessive and grime freaks, this is just another collection of bass heavy dancefloor destroyers that should get your toes tapping and rib cage rattling.
Like all Soul Jazz comps, includes a big booklet with lots of liner notes, info about UK Funky, the history of UK dancemusic and more. The cd comes housed in a cool extra wide half sized dvd style case, the lp split over two pricey but super swank double lps...
Double cd covers comp in tribute to Andee's favorite rock band of all time, the mighty Aerosmith! The participating bands mostly hail from the realm of "stoner rock", such as Natas, Alabama Thunderpussy (who do a great "Sweet Emotion"), Atomic Bitchwax, Fireball Ministry, Drunk Horse, The Want, Core, Raging Slab, Altamont, and 18 more! As these tribute things go, a pretty good one. Furthermore, Andee sez: If this sounds even remotely appealing, you oughta order the Aerosmith cd "Draw The Line" too, which we also carry. It's probably one of the best 'rock' records ever. Aerosmith may suck now, but their first 5 records were '70s hard rock at its best; heavy and groovy and amazingly catchy. Their "Greatest Hits" were not their greatest hits. Trust me.
Well, it's an intriguing gimmick that piqued our interest when we first heard about it -- 99 ringtones for cel phones, contributed by a panoply of musicians and sound artists (many of whom AQ holds near and dear), compiled by the virtually always trustworthy
The list of participants is certainly exciting -- everyone from naturalist soundcollectors Douglas Quin, S.E.T.I., and Chris Watson; to glitchsters Fennesz, Mika Vainio, and Pita; to soundwave conjurers Ryoji Ikeda, Carl Michael von Hausswolff; to pranksters People Like Us, Gilbert and George; to radio transmissions, a Conet Project snippet, New Order, Wire's Bruce Gilbert, and ever so much more.
But honestly, even though all of the above have made full length records we've enjoyed, listening to more or less 10-second snippets from these artists' signature sounds is frustrating, you keep wanting to hear more from a particular contributor, to figure out where in the lineup you are, having to constantly check the cd player to see which track you're on, then ruin your eyes referring to the *tiny tiny* track listing on the cd digipak. It's a headscratching, sort of frustrating exercise. As one big listen straight thru (or even on shuffle) without caring who is doing which track, the experience is schizo but not unpleasant. But collage without any sort of sonic theme besides "short" and "wouldn't it be funny if this was a cel phone ringtone" falls squarely, for me, into the cool-concept-but-bad-listening-experience category.
If you love your booty shakin then you probably got the first installment of this totally endearing and bumpin' collection of Baile Funk deep from the heart of Rio. That held us over for a bit but our booty's were in need of a recharge and we got it thanks to this 2nd volume in this collection. A raw, mutant mixture of booty bass, hip-hop, carnival, and mash-up culture at its most contagious. What makes this collection so infectious is that you can't help but hear how these songs were made free of irony, and giving us a little peak into what a colorful and risquÅ kind of party scene is happening in Rio. Throw this on in between some M.I.A and Lady Sovereign and you're sure to get everyone around you shaking their booty like it's meant to be shook. 100 percent F-U-N!
Dirty, DIRTY! sex rhyme booty beat music from Brazil. Sounds interesting, mmmmno? I think it might be called a couple of other names, but this comp's titled Rio Baile Funk: Favela Booty Beats. The sound is a rudimentary hodgepodge of beats/breaks/melodies appropriated from all sortsa other music: Os Mutantes, Def Leppard's "High and Dry", an assortment of late 80s/early 90s Hip Hop, and 90s New Wave/Top 40 all mixed into an incessant percussion, over which a (for the most part) singular (and sometimes a child's) voice yells totally explicit sex rhymes! Now, I don't know Portugese, but it doesn't take rocket science to imagine what they're yellin about here. First of all, what comes to mind with the term dirty sex ryhmes? Hmm, ok. If you haven't gotten the hint yet, imagine where it comes from: the ghettos of Rio and its millions of homeless children ruling the sprawling city with violence day and night. In a place like this, nothing but this type of music would be appropriate. Regardless, the beats are amazing, the lyricism (well, yelling) is hilarious but fierce, and the overall sound is fresh, inspiring and ridiculously fun. Crazy recommended!
From Atari Teenage Riot's furious electro-punk to Christoph de Babalon's glacial darkness, "Riot Zone" is features Digital Hardcore's "greatest hits" so far. Along with the aforementioned acts, you get Shizuo, Hanin Elias, Alec Empire, Ec8or, Bomb20, and Patric Catani. DHR-heads will have some of this already, but unless you've got all the 12" vinyl this is still essential. And of course it features a manic neo-situationist manifesto from Mr. Empire.
Hopefully all of you are now familiar, probably thanks to the HBO's Paradise Lost documentaries, with the unjust plight of the West Memphis Three: Arkansas teenagers Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelly and Jason Baldwin, convicted of murders they in all likelihood are innocent of, more on account of their supposed goth/alternative "weirdness" than any real evidence. If not, go please rent the first Paradise Lost film, it'll shake you up...or look for a new book about the case called Devil's Knot. Anyway, more publicity (and money for lawyers) for the WM3 can only be a good thing, and ol' Hank Rollins (whatever you think about his post-Black Flag music, spoken word and film career, he's a well-intentioned individual) had just the idea: another benefit album (there's already been one), but one with a "must-have" concept: a whole bunch of well-known singers doing their favorite Black Flag songs. With his current Rollins Band line-up on bass, guitar and drums, Rollins invited everyone from fellow former Black Flag singer Chuck Dukowski to Iggy Pop to Chuck D into the studio to take on 24 Black Flag classics. It's celebrity Black Flag karaoke, basically. Henry himself shows up on six songs, such was his enthusiasm... So, if you're at all curious to hear Ice-T sing "Police Story", or Exene Cervenka dueting with Rollins on "Wasted", or Dean Ween's version of "Gimme Gimme Gimme", or just want to support a good cause, here you go. And boy, does Lemmy's "Thirsty & Miserable" sound like a Motorhead original! Some other participants: Mike Patton, Keith Morris, Ryan Adams (performing solo, making "Nervous Breakdown" sound like a PJ Harvey song), Tom Araya of Slayer, and members of Rancid, Queens of the Stone Age, Poison The Well, The Mars Volta, and Slipknot. (Look online at www.wm3.org for more info about the three, or if you want to send $$$ to 'em directly rather than buying this cd!)
Field recordings by ethnomusicologist Deben Bhattacharya, freshly recorded in February 2001. Traditional Bangladeshi music can be divided into two forms, the more traditional Indian-influenced Raga-Tala system, and the more simple form known as Deshi ('of the
Road To Nowhere? No way, this road leads to stoner rock heaven. Hot shit badasses Fu Manchu, Nick Oliveri, Brant Bjork, Burning Brides, and The Dwarves share the joint (heh heh, pun intended!) with lesser known indie upstarts Big Truck, Winnebago Deal, Truck Fighters, Dig, The Sammies, In The Detail, Baby Woodrose, Leech, and locals Turn Me On Dead Man (unfortunately misspelled as "Dean Man" on the packaging -- guess spelling took a back seat to rawkin'). Oh yeah, and there's also a lil' band here called The Freeks whose lineup includes members of Kyuss, Monster Magnet, Nebula, Skin Yard and Earthless!
Here's an interesting collection. Put together by Robert Crumb, at the behest of his wife Aline, from his personal collection of 78's. The collection moves across the globe by continent, starting in Louisiana, USA moving south through Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America; then touching down in Europe (Spain, Sicily, Greece and Turkey), moving south through Africa, on to India and South East Asia (Burma & Vietnam), and finally resting in the South Pacific. Most of the recordings come from the 30's (with a few from as early as 1927 and as recent as 1950) and are quite likely to be tracks you've never heard before in your life. Some artists, like Greek singer Rita Abadzi, first lady of Cajun Cleoma Falcon and Norteno musician Lidya Mendoza are well known, and have plenty of recordings assuring their place in history. But of much of the others on this disc, very little is known. In a typically erudite, but self deprecating and witty form that is unique to himself, Robert Crumb leads us through his recordings armed with what little knowledge he's been able to glean about each performer (mostly from the internet and, Crumb insists, with the help of others who understand such modern technology).
Fuzz and groove from the Andes, mostly circa 1969-1974, uh huh! If there's anything we've learned from all the cool comps and reissues that have come out over the years, is that almost ANYPLACE on Earth you can think of, no matter how out of the way, chances are they had their own happenin' psychedelic garage rock band scene back in the day, chock full of cool bands that we'd never have ever heard of but for the diligent efforts of collectors and compilers. Certainly we already know this to be the case in '60s/'70s Peru, as we're already in love with such great bands from that land as Traffic Sound, We All Together, and Tarkus. Now from the same Lima-based label, Repsychled, that just so happens to be responsible for reissues of albums by all of those, we get this killer compilation devoted to bands from Peru's second largest city, Arequipa, located in the south of the country, high up in the Andes. None of these groups recorded full albums, but they did release rare singles and make live 'party' cassettes and left behind enough cool music that this disc is packed, 21 tracks from five bands: Los Texao, Free Love System, Los Incognitos, Madera Fresca, and Opus.
Los Texao, named after the type of flower associated with Arequipa, have the lion's share of the tracks, ten of 'em, including some covers (Cream, The Guess Who, Steppenwolf). They are also responsible for several of the best originals on here, especially their druggy groovy freakout "Stone", which by itself may justify the purchase of this disc, and exemplifies their own musical style called niebla (= fog in English), we're told "because of the effect produced by the band's rotor amps and reverb and echo effects". But Free Love System don't let us, or Arequipa, down either (with a name like that, you gotta be good!) and their four cuts are also pretty cool and, uh, foggy, including one with driving fuzz guitars and a kind of "You Really Got Me" riff, entitled "Correteando Anoranzas". They (as well as Los Texao and the others) also do some dreamy pop stuff, with melancholic psych guitar solos, so it's not all heavy and rockin', but mellow and moody too.
Meanwhile Los Incognitos have more of a twang, sounding a bit like something out of a Spaghetti Western on their four cuts. And then there's a couple by Madera Fresca. In particular, their track "Anytime" is pretty crazed, though also extremely lo-fi (fortunately it's the exception in that regard amongst the tracks here), and heck even if it wasn't, that'd be ok with us, we'd happily crank a whole album of this sort of distorted worbbly-warbly instrumental jamming. And then Opus, a band formed by Free Love System's former guitarist in '76, wraps up the disc with track #21, the only one on the disc that's not actually from the '69-'74 time frame, though it sounds it, despite being recorded as late as 1982.
Whoo! Along with our recent initiation into the wonderfulness of the "chicha" sound (which combined Andean folk traditions with psych/beat influences), this comp certainly adds to our infatuation with Peruvian music of the psychedelic era. If you dig stuff like the Love, Peace & Poetry: Latin America comp you'll want to hear this. The cd booklet is illustrated with vintage photos and press clippings, and includes informative liner notes in Spanish and (somewhat abridged) English.
Does there need to be a tribute to Weezer? Maybe, although need is a strong word. Could there be? Sure. Should there be? Probably not, especially when the bands and their versions deviate very little from the original. Pretty pointless. Features Weezer
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Local favorites Fuck, Grady Sisters, Snowmen, Baby Carrot, Ponyride, etc.
Oneof three new Mississippi titles this week is an infectious ten inch charting what they call "The Global Rise of Rocking Music" over two decades , eight songs and seven countries. Largely, this is swinging big band music with touches of boogie, jive, early rock and roll and hot jazz from corners both far and near, each with its own unique cultural trademarks. A Thai take on an American song called "Rocking in Baghdad", a classic from Zimbabwe that has been described by the Everly Brothers as the first rock n roll record they ever heard, a female Japanese jazz singer who was once a geisha, jump blues from Egypt, Columbian cumbia, Chicagoan polka, hillbilly boogie from Ohio, and an Indian film theme that would have fit right in on one of the Great Googly Moo compilations. Red Hot!
Every city in every state, every country, has its own little musical scene, one that has grown and changed over the years, bands playing gigs, recording records, breaking up, moving on to other gigs, finally getting real jobs and settling down and having families, those records and gigs and bands forgotten. But think about all the places, all the cities, all the years and decades, and how many bands and records that we've never heard or heard of must be lurking out there. Records that were given to friends, consigned at the local store, or just stashed in the garage or basement. Rare record reissues are nothing new, and there's enough that they can't all possibly be good. In fact it's gotten to the point where if a record is old, and nobody heard it, it suddenly becomes a rarity worth unearthing. Which is not always the case. But with all those records out there, all those forgotten bands, some with only a song or two legacy, it's worth digging though all the rest, on the off chance of stumbling on to something amazing. And scenes have always fed off themselves, often where there was one good band, there was two, and where there was two, there was a whole bunch. Which brings us to Rocky Mountain Low. A killer collection of seventies rock and punk rock and power pop from Colorado, which is a place we're pretty familiar with, at least from the eighties onward, but we didn't know a single band here, and some of these groups are amazing. AND, for such a sprawling varied collection, there's very little chaff. In fact, this could very well have been a Numero Group reissue, super well researched, incredible song selection, a totally unknown lost scene, a bunch of amazing bands, and tons of killer tracks, maybe a bit more punk rock and lo-fi, but then, that's fine with us.
The Ravers are crunchy and jangly and sound like they're from Minneapolis, Radio Pete might be our favorite, effortlessly creating some gloriously rough edged reverb drenched garage pop, the sort of thing all those new groups are desperately emulating, sounds like Ariel Pink or the Oh Sees or Ty Segall if they were from the early seventies, the Front are snarly almost metallic sounding punk rock, Defex kick out the muddy murky bass heavy jams, all squiggly angular leads, wild drumming and killer pop hooks, the Cells are total Romantics style new wave power pop, the Profalactics are all yelpy Riot Grrl sounding lo-fi punk rock three chord lo-fi crunch, the Instant are woozy low fidelity punk pop psych, a lot of this reminds us of Guided By Voices too, that sort of British sound filtered through a US punk rock aesthetic, and it goes on and on. So many kick ass bands, so many amazing tracks, a double lp AND a cd, with a massive full color magazine sized booklet, jam packed with extensive liner notes on EVERY band here, cool stuff for sure, and an awesome glimpse of yet another lost and forgotten scene...
Who doesn't love pirates? Y'know the eye-patched, peg-legged, sword-totin' ones in storybooks and movies? Mind you of course, out on the real high seas they're a whole 'nother subject, but within the relatively safe confines of a leatherbound hardcover or a multi-screen cineplex... well, shucks! Anyway, this double cd set is most definitely pirate-themed, and while it's not technically a soundtrack album for Pirates Of The Caribbean 2, Rogue's Gallery was produced by that film's leading man Johnny Depp, director Gore Verbinski and Hal Willner (the man also behind the recent Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man soundtrack). Think of it more as a companion work, and a big one at that. This compilation is a whopping 43 songs in total -- all of them olden day seafaring songs as interpreted by modern day artists. Many of them are performed in unexpectedly strange and entertaining fashion, such as the opening track by Baby Gramps who sounds like a drunken Tuvan throat singer! The list of participants is quite astounding, it includes Van Dyke Parks, Nick Cave, Richard Thompson, Lucinda Williams, David Thomas, Lou Reed (very staid), Stan Ridgway, Jarvis Cocker (an awesome number that builds to a frenzied stormy climax!), Bill Frisell, Loudon Wainwright III, Rufus Wainwright, Kate McGarrigle, Gavin Friday, Bryan Ferry with Antony (injecting the comp with a little melodramatic flair), Mary Margaret O'Hara (a surprise appearance by this mysterious, captivating Canadian artist and sister of actress Catherine O'Hara!), Jolie Holland, Akron/Family, White Magic, John C. Reilly (!), a couple of guys named Sting and Bono too, and more! We won't make you walk the plank for this one, but we will politely attest to the fact that this is indeed for the most part a jolly good listen!
The subtitle says: "rare tracks from the best Italian '70s crime movie soundtracks". A *great* collection of music from these flicks, with lots of previously unreleased or unreleased on cd stuff by soundtrack composers Cipriani, Vasile, Bixio, and of
While this was playing in the store -- not knowing what it was -- some of us thought, "Geez, this sounds like these bands really like The Smiths!" Well, y'know what? It is an indie pop tribute compilation to The Smiths. Haha! Anyways, The Lucksmiths, The Pines, Pale Sunday, Pipas, Simpatico, The Liberty Ship, The Snowdrops, Slipslide, Would-Be-Goods, The Young Tradition, Lovejoy, and The Guild League pay their respects by doing their pretty jangle best to replicate rather than reinterpret Morrissey and co's tunes. Super mellow and sweet.
We know we aren't the only ones crazy for the sounds of Chicha, at least judging by the number of copies we sold of the first Roots Of volume, not to mention the amazing collection of songs by Juaneco Y Su Combo. It's pretty much impossible to be into a wide range of music and not be floored by the rad sounds of Chicha. Fuzzy and psychedelic, washed out and surfy, all wrapped in the sounds of cumbia, carimbo and Peruvian traditional music. Barbes is doing such a great job with this series helping expose the truly amazing music coming from this scene in Peru from 1968-1981. It not only has such a cool sound that tons of bands today wish they could recreate, but the songs also have such a sense of soul that makes this one of those records that gets everyone in the store shaking gently back and forth and tapping their toes and we have lost count with how many times we get asked what is playing when this is on as its a record that appeals to such a wide range of tastes.
It shows how rich this scene was that Juaneco Y Su Columbo aren't even on this volume, yet all the other bands included we would kill to hear more from. We know if this was on Sublime Frequencies we would sell even more of these, so c'mon if you love amazing sounds from different parts of the globe you've got to get on the Chicha train!
As implied by the title, this collection is an exploration into the humble origins of what is now a household name around the world. Originally existing only for local consumption in Jamaica's back streets at a time when all the rest of the world new about the island was Bob Marley, the current crop of dancehall stars -- Sean Paul, Elephant man, et al. -- are either cameoing on major US hip hop albums or being signed to major labels here. It just took 20 something odd years. The tracks here are all come from the work of Linval Thompson, Junjo Lawes and the Roots Radics band at their Channel One studio in Jamaica. Thompson and Lawes are largely credited with being the founding fathers of dancehall in Jamaica and these tracks, most recorded in the late seventies, are some of rarities and reworkings of classic tunes. Included here are Horace Andy, Barry Brown, Linval Thompson, Earl 16, Freddy McKay, Don Carlos and more. Comes with a nice color booklet with liner notes by David Katz (author of the Lee Perry biography People Funny Boy) and archival photos.
Possibly a bit of a misnomer in the title, as the "roots" of gamelan predate any recording equipment by nearly a thousand years. 1928 however, when these earliest recordings of Balinese gamelan were recorded, could well be considered the roots of Balinese gamelan as it exists today, as the now ubiquitous Gong Kebyar of Bali was born, by most accounts, a mere fourteen years prior to these recordings (see "Music of the Gamelan Gong Kebyar Volume 1" from list 128.) In a sense, these seminal recordings exist thanks to all the wrong reasons. Apparently two record labels, Odeon and Beka, had the idea that they could record and market Balinese music to Bali on records. They put together 98 sides on 78 rpm discs, but the Balinese were completely uninterested in shelling out the dough for those recordings for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which was that by the time the recordings hit the shelves they were pretty much old news. The discs sold in small amounts on the international market, but for the most part the concept was a flop. Today, however, we are left with a wonderful time capsule of Balinese gamelan as it stood at the beginning of the century. Along with the early kebyar examples here, there are also several tracks of gamelan pelegongan, gender wayang (the quartet that accompanies puppet theater in Bali), jangger (a comical form featuring a chorus of young boys and girls, with the boys singing in a vocal style which we today are more familiar with as kecak) and anklung. Due to the limitations the 78 rpm disc and its 3 minute capacity, much of the works contained here are broken up semi-artificially into movements. Also included at the end of this disc are six tracks of gamelan transcriptions performed by Canadian composer and Balinese music scholar Colin McPhee (of whom the records which make up this collection belonged) and Benjamin Britten on piano and Georges Barrere on flute. These performances are quite interesting in and of themselves, especially for anyone who's familiar with McPhee's later classical compositions (or even fans of Lou Harrison) which were based entirely around Balinese music. Includes a healthy 27 pages of well scribed liner notes on the recordings and Balinese music in general.
Producers DJ Scud, I-Sound, and Errorsmith present this 4-track mini-comp. There's one track each by Scud, I-Sound, Disco Consultant (I-Sound & Errorsmith), and Thunder And Lightning (DJ Scud & I-Sound) of fucked-up glitch-dub beat/bass mayhem. It's not as heavy and damaging as some of their other stuff, but it's in the ballpark. On the new sister label of noise/reggae imprint
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
It seems there's a "Rough Guide" for practically every kind of music from every inch of the world. Sort of like those "Idiot's Guide To..." or "... For Dummies" books which I have to admit are pretty darn helpful and informative, if somewhat insultingly titled. Luckily this compilation series isn't as unfortunately named, but is however less in depth and fulfilling. Certainly it's doesn't proclaim to be more than just an introductory tutorial, but although key figures are included like Asha Bhosle, Udit Narayan and Mohammed Rafi, it really barely skims the surface of this amazing genre. So if you're just looking for a basic sampler history lesson in Indian film music, this might do ya fine, but for those looking to delve a little deeper, don't wait another moment to check out the following titles: Doob Doob O'Rama Volumes 1 and 2, Vijaya Anand's Dance Raja Dance, Bollywood Funk, and The Best Of Asha Bhosle. Although these titles focus a lot more on the "golden age" of Bollywood than the more recent decades, they're much more thorough collections.
