[ aquarius records

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We have a trifecta of free jazz "twofers" this week from way deep down in the Impulse catalog. Check out the reviews elsewhere on the list for Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders. While the Coltrane features two of our favorite titles from her, the Ayler and Sanders releases are from albums we're less familiar with, or at least hadn't reviewed before, but have been psyched to (re-)discover. While perhaps not the best place to be introduced to these artists, these records reward those seekers of the overlooked deep cuts without the hefty collector/import price! Village of The Pharoahs is from 1974, and while that may be a late year for most cosmically-minded free jazz (most jazz at the time was hurtling towards fusion), this record does not disappoint. Fans of classic Sanders records like Thembi and Karma will find lots to love in the opening three part title suite. Sitars, piano, clattering percussion, and chanting vocals evoke a majestic marching groove rife with drama as soon as Sanders comes in with his elliptical eastern horn phrases, culminating later in a hypnotic three part tribal chant breakdown. Deeper spiritual vocalising permeates the short track, "Myth" as well, before building onto the long-form piano-led meditation "Mansion Worlds". The final two tracks, "Memories of Lee Morgan" and "Went Like It Came" venture more into Blute Note territory as he eulogizes the late trumpeter with a wistful pastoral piece that also includes flute and piano, then ends the album with a kind of rollicking skronky blues bop with a soulful female vocalist. That last track would probably read as a bit out of place on the album proper, but paired up with 1972's Wisdom Through Music, that kind of hard stylistic change-up is a perfect segue into one of Sander's more diverse outings. Opening with the energetic "High Life", Sanders channels the exuberant vibe of percussive African horn music followed by the celebratory and soulful "Love Is Everywhere". The title track that follows brings us back into cosmic mode with harp trills, tampura, and majestic waves of droning reeds, followed by the lyrical string excursion of "The Golden Lamp" and the final long-form vocal incantation, "Selflessness". Quite Stunning!

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More Zorn-sponsored New Jewish Music from this excellent and young downtown NYC jazz group led by 20-or-so year old Israeli expat Danny Zamir. Fans of Masada and the like, should like.

Local boys Saviours are kind of SF's answer to The Sword from Texas and Early Man from New York. The New Wave Of American Indie Ironic Hipster Metal, y'know? They're on the same label as The Sword, home also to the heavy psych likes of Dungen and Danava. Yet while an argument can be made that The Sword and Early Man are indeed indie ironic hipster metal at best (which doesn't stop 'em from rockin', we should note!), a loud listen to Saviours new full-length Into Abbadon ought to convince the most diehard metaller that these dudes are in fact fully, no foolin, METAL. If the cover art (by Joe "Motorhead" Petagno) didn't already. Nothin' ironic about it. Not that such arguments matter much anyway, what's important is, does this album rule or not? Our call: yea, and verily, it doth rule. The sinuous guitar harmonies in the first track "Raging Embers" remind us a lot of the late great epic doomsters Solstice, whilst track two, the title track, gallops out of the gate like a mixture of The Fucking Champs and High On Fire... And on it rages, a showcase of sheer metal mastery. No ballads. No death metal monotony, or black metal makeup. No trendy emo bullshit. Just pure pedal to the metal, metal. The riffage is righteous, the guitars shred, it's old school '80s to the max but HEAVY as heck. The only element that keeps this from attaining total true metal acclaim from the 'heads here at AQ are the punkish vocals, hoarse and shouty and not-so-melodic. Your mileage may vary, lots of folks like that style. But anyway the vocals are more than made up for by the guitars, which provide plenty of melody amidst the aggression, and atmosphere too. As well as, like we said, shred. Tasty solos abound, including guest six string tickling from Tim Lehi of Draugar and Isiah Mitchell of Earthless! In truth, we're a little surprised by how much we dig this album (and Crucifire too, before it). Maybe because they're local we had been taking Saviours for granted, or feeling a little bit of an unwarranted NWOAIIHM backlash. Also we've seen them live many a time (they have a knack for opening for a lot of touring metal bands we want to see) but didn't really fall under their spell until hearing 'em at home, when all their true metallic grandeur could really sink in, without the distractions of shitty sound systems or somebody spilling beer on us. Songwriting nuances are revealed on record that were were perhaps numb to in person. At the end of the day, we're pretty into Into Abbadon.

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Hey guess what? It's a sequel to the first Sax Ruins record, 2009's Yawiquo on Ipecac, which we had kind of assumed was a one-off. But nope, they're at it again, sax and drums to the max! In Sax Ruins, Japanese drummer extraordinare Tatsuya Yoshida, who (in Ruins) normally teams up with a bass player, is instead accompanied by the saxophone stylin's of Ryoko Ono. She's got a set of lungs on her, all right. Squealing and bopping like John Zorn hopped up on happy pills. Of the 13 instrumentals here, four are improvs (all in a row at the end of the disc), two are brand new Yoshida compositions, and the rest are interpretations of pieces from previous 'real' Ruins releases, some of their most 'mathiest' in fact, the songs being mostly drawn from Vrresto, Pallaschtom, and Refusal Fossil, though our resident aQuarius Ruins nerd (Allan!) was particularly happy to hear a much older fave, "Bighead", from 1990's Stonehenge. As before, hearing these Ruins tunes with saxophone rather than distorted bass, they are less heavy but no less intense. The complex structures remain, and the melodic content becomes more pronounced. Some of this is really lovely - but hectic hyperactivity is always, like, a nano-second away. Of course! So, if you forget what you're listening to, it's a little bit like the jazzy theme music to some old TV variety show GONE CRAZY. Or, as we said about their first effort, "Imagine a stripped down, pepped up marching band playing really wild Carl Stalling / Raymond Scott style cartoon music". Also, just think of the sort of sounds the saxophone/peacock collage creature on the back cover might make. Recommended to serious fans of Ruins, Zorn, and all crazy math/jazz crossovers. By the way, we noticed that along with the array of saxophones Ono plays (alto, baritone, soprano, and tenor), she also is credited with flute. But not enough of it. That's what we want for their next album together, please - Flute Ruins! FYI, Blimmguass vinyl version upcoming in January 2014.

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Do you like sax? Do you like the Ruins? Then, hey, have we got a deal for you! Ruins drummer/mastermind Tatsuya Yoshida teams up with jazz improviser Ono Ryoko (alto sax) in this new unit, Sax Ruins (sorry, no idea what that name means, how did they come up with it?). The Japanese band Ruins has been Yoshida's vehicle for heavy duty, ultra mathy, Magmoid post-punk prog mania since 1985, and has pretty much always been a drums / bass two piece, Yoshida accompanied by several different insane bass players over the years. Their last album was 2002's Tzomborgha, also on Mike Patton's Ipecac label... and then in 2004 bassist number four (Sasaki Hisashi) left the band, yet to be replaced as far as we know. So Ruins is now defunct, or at least on an indeterminate hiatus, but that hasn't stopped Yoshida from performing Ruins songs, in a mindboggling one-man-band format called Ruins Alone. And now, in the Sax Ruins duo! As you might expect, it's hyper frenetic and jumpy, but also... boppy. The buoyant saxophone helps make this duo's uber uptempo activity feel positively infectious, a joyful noise indeed. And it's not all frantic musical athletics, there's room here for some really lovely, melodic passages too, as on "Epigonen". Ono Ryoko really pulls out all the stops, drawing on her experience playing not only jazz but also funk/R&B, prog, and psych (the latter in collaboration with Acid Mothers Temple). She delves into extended techniques, circular breathing and such, and somehow is a match for Yoshida in the endless energy dep't. Together, what they unleash here is exciting stuff, way more complex and catchy than your average freakout. Imagine a stripped down, pepped up marching band playing really wild Carl Stalling / Raymond Scott style cartoon music. And wisely, Yoshida has kept this instrumental, none of his crazy vocals getting in the way of the sax blasts. The 17 tracks here include saxified reinterpretations of classics from the Ruins' vast catalog, such as "Hyderomastgroningem" and "Pallaschtom", plus some new tunes too, including the album's title track and grand finale, that one a showstopper for sure. So, again, definitely for fans of Ruins - who also like saxophone. And those into the likes of Zu, Flying Luttenbachers, 16-17, Alboth, and other exemplars of jazzprogcore craziness. Oh, and of course any John Zorn / Naked City fan ought to be ecstatic! Dunno if we'll really need any MORE albums from Sax Ruins though, 'cause as cool as this is, we're still keen for more Bass Ruins...

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Another "Archive FMP Edition" from Atavistic's Unheard Music Series. This 1969 recording features a veritable who's who of '60s/'70s Euro improv folks: Peter Brotzmann, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Fred Van Hove, Alexander Von Schlippenbach, Irene Schweizer, Peter Kowald, Han Bennink, trumpter/bandleader Schoof himself of course, and quite a few others. The usual suspects, in other words -- assembled into a big band with three pianists, three sax players, three trumpeters, three bassists, and two drummers, plus guitar and trombone (maybe this tripling of most instruments is where the "echoes" in the title comes from, although echoes are rarely this intense). Yes, as you might expect from such a large grouping, this is loud, powerful stuff, with solos from everyone and much massed music-making -- a blast of freedom sounds that heralded the birth of the Free Music Productions label and the new jazz scene FMP would promote. Two tracks (two LP sides) of about 15 minutes duration each, historically significant and still sonically fearsome. Crank it up!

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Evan Parker et. al.

The aptly-named Scorch Trio is back with another blast of electric guitar fueled n' frenzied Nordic free improv on the Rune Grammofon label. If you liked their previous 3 or 4 discs on Rune G, or the recent Box album featuring Scorch Trio guitarist Raul Bjorkenheim, you're probably eager to grapple with Brolt! Likewise if you're into similar sorts of "dangerous jazz" from, say, Nels Cline's various bands. Yeah, it IS jazz, but with plenty of sharp electric edges and dense drum-battery. While jazz vet Bjorkenheim's six string scorchin' deserves top billing (and he also cranks the electric viola da gimbri), the other 2/3rds of this power trio make plenty of noise too: Ingebrigt Haker Flaten (electric bass, electronics) and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums & percussion), both of whom also play in "garage-jazz" freakout combo The Thing with saxophonist Mats Gustafsson. Track one gets into skonky-rhythmic territory that recalls the spazz-prog of Japan's Tatsuya Yoshida before it's over, while the next one delves into more atmospheric, textural zones a la Supersilent. And so it goes, the whole album chock full of skree-filled soundscapes veering from the moody to energetic.

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NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!! Such a good name for this band! At least right from the get-go with the slash and burn 12-minute opening track it sure seems appropriate. That's some searing and scorching electric guitar there! The album closes with another double-digit epic as well, and in between the trio of guitarist Raoul Bjorkenheim, bassist Haker Flaten and percussionist Paal Nilsen-Love do let up and explore a variety of grooves and moods, from ominous textural soundscaping, to roiling slide workouts, to y'know, burbling sorta melodic stuff that might pass for 'jazz' of the highball-in-hand, nightclub variety. Although, the electric element of about-to-explode skronk always seems just under the surface. Fans of Nels Cline's various bands know the feeling, and ought to enjoy Bjorkenheim and co.'s own, similar brand of 'dangerous' electric jazz... Heck the type of AQ customer for whom names like Cline, Sharrock, Russell, McLaughlin, Takayanagi, and the like mean something (and occupy a portion of their record collection) stand a good chance of being quite happy if they give this a listen. All of those are all individually quite different of course but it's that rock-aware, energetic and amplified style of electric guitar improv (with dense guitar/bass/drums interplay) that this fits right in with, y'know.

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Oooh...The Secret 7. I already like the sound of this. And it was Raymond Scott's band, so it's got to be good. Scott, for those who don't know, was a quirky composer -- a bonafide genius of very strange music -- who experimented with 'electronica' decades before it became fashionable, and whose big-band jazz was used to score Warner Bros. cartoons and must have inspired John Zorn as a young 'un. Anyhoo, back in 1960 Raymond Scott put together this seven-piece ensemble of anonymous yet all-star jazzers and cut The Unexpected. With this reissue the mystery of their identities is solved (we're warned on the back cover "This package contains new information about the SECRET lineup"). Turns out the Secret 7 included harmonica player Jean "Toots" Thielmans, sax player Sam "The Man" Taylor, and drummer Elvin Jones, among others! So the secret's now blown, but this LP is still alluring, featuring as it does these cats playin' some cool, swinging jazz tuneage by Mr. Scott as well as standards...Cole Porter, Gershwin, "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"...but is it weird or wacky? Well, check out the demented chipmunk vocals (yes!), nursery rhyme lyrics and hyperactive arrangements. Yep it's a fine Raymond Scott fix indeed. So pour a cocktail and get to snappin' yr fingers!

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"Good evening dancing America, and lovers of exciting dance music. We present Raymond Scott, extraordinary composer of modern music, and his Orchestra, featuring Nan Wynn. All this exciting music comes to you from the equally exciting Panther Room of the hotel Sherman's College Inn in downtown Chicago." So says the announcer on track one of this cd, introducing pianist/arranger/composer and nowadays cult figure (best known for the use of his music in Carl Stalling's classic Warner Brothers cartoon scores, and also for his later electronic experiments) Raymond Scott and his band in what was originally an exciting 1940 live radio broadcast. This disc sees Scott updating many of his classic, quirky Quintette compositions to the swingin' big band format of the forties. Female vocalists Nan Wynn and Dorothy Collins (later Scott's wife) sing on a couple of numbers, but mostly this is instrumental dance fare. The 24 cuts here are culled from studio and live radio performances circa 1940-1944, and are mostly jaunty and playful Scott-penned tunes, like "At An Arabian House Party", "Caterpiller Creep", "Eagle Beak", "An American In Russia", "The Lark Leaped In", and "Toonerville Trolley". Some of the non-Scott material includes a song by Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Scott's jazzed-up take on the traditional "Pop Goes The Weasel"! One for fans of Raymond Scott and/or oldsters among you... seriously, lots of nostalgic, energetic fun!

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Double disc set of 41 Raymond Scott Quintette tracks -- and while many of them are alternate takes of pieces you may already own, over a dozen of the tunes were never recorded by the Quintette and are only available to us now because they were captured as live radio rehearsals and broadcasts. Includes the only known recording of Raymond Scott singing! Liner notes include an old Time magazine article about Scott, plus an interview with his first wife. Possibly for Scott completists only. MPEG Download: "Square Dance with Eight Egyptian Mummies" [/audio/scottmummies.mp3]

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Let's state right from the outset that Trey Spruance's musical entity known as Secret Chiefs 3 is simply impossible to nail down and describe. Words really do not do SC3 justice, especially in the case of their latest work -- sprawling in scope, intricate in detail and majestically presented -- but we will make a valiant attempt here. Indeed, adjectives such as magical, mysterious and mind-blowing do apply, however they barely scratch the surface. We'd say 'spectacular' but the folks at Tzadik already beat us to the punch by using it on the cd's obi blurb. On Xaphan they've joined forces with their comrade John Zorn, performing eleven passages from his epic work, Masada Book Two. The eleven players embrace, attack, caress and devour the compositions with an otherworldly zeal. They come together as a single inimitable force, at once seeming absolutely unhinged and utterly in control. The threads of the SC3 aural tapestries are always densely knotted and woven with ace musicianship and from a myriad of disparate styles and inspirations delving into spy thriller soundtracks, exotica, metal, surf, esoteric knowledge and so much more. So it is on Xaphan, and the formidable outcomes may seem impervious to some and electrifyingly listenable to others. Breathtaking.

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Amid the constant, welcome flood of reissued Sun Ra treasures, this is certainly an oddity (and that's saying something). Apparently Sun Ra (who plays Hammond B-3 on here), Marshall Allen, John Gilmore and other Arkestra greats decided to cash in on

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Solo album (and we mean SOLO), from the bassist for eccentric Spanish doomlords Orthodox. Avant-garde and experimental, this disc consists of improvised soundscapes of creaky string screech and droning, bowing rumble on acoustic double bass. It's all very dark and atmospheric, difficult listening at first, but then it gets kind of mesmeric, Serrato layering his bass textures into constructs of claustrophobic density. The penultimate track "Las Dos Caidas De Cuervo" adds horns and drums (all ALSO played by Serrato via the magic of overdubbing), for more of an overt free jazz (or "death jazz"?) approach. Comes with liner notes from Serrato, commenting on each track with regards to this album's overarching "story" (a mythic concept about an unborn crow...) was well as citing specific musical inspirations including raw early '90s black metal, Hindemith, Xenakis, Ligeti, Black Sabbath, and fellow improvising bassist Simon H. Fell. Orthodox fans looking for doom metal won't really find any here, not that it's not "doomy" in other ways. But if you like the more un-orthodox extremes of what Orthodox does, then check it out. By the way, Serrato also plays in the isolationist duo Jacob, whose disc on Utech we reviewed last year.

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'66 live set from famed Brazilian Afro-jazz acoustic guitarist Bola Sete (real name: Djalma de Andrada).

Reissue of a 1985 recording by Brazilian new age / jazz guitarist Bola Sete. Pleasant soft fingerpicking. Plays well at those little tourist shops in sleepy beach communities. Produced by George Winston.

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Montreal musician Shalabi (of his namesake Effect, Molasses and AQ-faves Silver Mt. Zion) tries his hand at (studio-aided) composition, getting a dozen local improv-oriented musicians to play with the tape rolling and then later assembling these pieces

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Deluxe vinyl reissue of this until-recently-not-even-on-cd free jazz guitar holy grail! Originally released in 1969 on the Vortex label, this documents both Sonny Sharrock's pioneering guitar skronk and his then-wife Linda's equally out vocalizations, a la Yoko Ono or Patty Waters. Also appearing: Dave Burrell (piano), Milford Graves (drums), and others -- quite a cast of NYC ESP-era

The amazing Sonny Sharrock cranks out three lengthy tracks for the BYG/Actuel label, accompanied by his lovely wife Linda, bassist Bob Guerin, and drummer Jacques Thollot. "27th Day" is a seventeen minute free psych epic that begins with minimal abstraction (and Sharrock on a slide whistle!) and slowly builds into a massive freakout fireball. "Soon", written by Linda Sharrock, is

Paradise was released in 1975, well after Sharrocks' first two, more experimental solo album excursions showcasing his avant jazz guitar, and it was the last record to be heard from him before his Laswell-nursed resurrection in the late '80s (Last Exit etc). Sharrock and wife Linda (yes, that's her lookin' beauteous on the cover) wanted this album to sound very R&B / funk, and thus it's a lot more accessible than Black Woman and Monkey Pockie Boo. There are these breathtakingly lovely pastoral passages where Linda vocalizes like an angel -- rarely pronouncing words, just *emitting* -- as Sharrock lays down a lush field to sink into as he gently plies pretty phrases from his guitar in the background. These parts are my favorite, and there's a good deal of it here. Other instrumental workouts feature Sharrock's trademark delightfully pling plong, bouncy, thrown-around guitar sounds, and then sometimes he tames it all down into honest to gosh R&B licks, with the rest of the band right there gettin' down boogie woogie with 'im. The combination is a little headscratchy at first but ultimately you may, as I did, fall in love with it. Well written liner notes by Byron Coley. Windy gives this the thumbs up.

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Any record that is an homage to Eric Dolphy and his (possibly imagined) interaction and fascination with birds is pretty much guaranteed to hit the spot. But when said record is wrapped in some of the most striking cd artwork we've seen in ages, and is in fact a strange sort of jazz drone collage constructed from samples of Dolphy records, field recordings and some added percussion, well, it's almost like they came to us and asked us what sort of record we wanted to hear, and we told them "Let's see, drones for sure, some field recordings, and heck, why not include some Dolphy..." The cover art is amazing. Like the illustrations for some childrens' book. A big eyed, horned, bat-bird-witch flying over a forest of angular trees, sitting in the clouds over a sea filled with ships manned by black headed rabbits with water pouring from their eyes, and spiriting away with a dry eyed black headed rabbit in his claws, while below, another rabbit fills a chalice with one eye, and the sea with the other. The artwork alone sets the bar pretty high. Dark and dreamy, playful but slightly ominous... Thankfully, the music is also all of those things. And then some. The brief opening track is a tangle of bass clarinet, smeared into a deep expanse of low end shimmer, while above, melodies and melodic fragments drift and splinter. Very evocative of a cloudy day, wet streets and soft sheets of rain. The second track introduces a simple motorik rhythm, that shuffles and skitters beneath a constant shifting drone woven from looped horns. Super hypnotic and dreamy. Almost like a stripped down, drone-y jazzy Pharaoh Overlord. As the drums peter out, the horns begin to bounce and dance, chirp and flutter, and suddenly the sky is clear and full of birds, or is it just Dolphy playing the sounds of birds? The final track is an epic, clocking in at almost 20 minutes, Dolphy's horns surface here and there, but most of the track has them stretched and smoothed out into ultra minimal low end drifts, warm swells of muted melody, a totally mesmerizing abstract drift. This is one of those records, that had we not known the story behind it, we probably wouldn't have necessarily made the Dolphy connection, or the bird connection for that matter, and actually the jazz element is subtle and quite minimal, but as a chunk of dreamy dark drone drift, it's really quite fantastic. And as far as we're concerned there can never be too much tribute paid to the late great Eric Dolphy!

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SORRY. WOW. And do we mean WOW!! Fifteen classic free jazz records from the late sixties / early seventies, long out of print, finally getting the ULTRA deluxe reissue treatment. Incredibly limited, these will probably be out of print before you know it. Comes in a gorgeous diecut fullcover three panel sleeve, with new artwork, as well as a huge booklet with the original album sleeve notes, new liner notes in french and english as well as a bunch of cool photos. So nice!

The cd is out of print and no longer available, but is reissued here on 180 gram vinyl in a beautiful gatefold sleeve. Originally released in 1969, Archie Shepp, Lester Bowie, and Malachi Favors (from the Art Ensemble of Chicago), Philly Joe Jones, Dave Burrell, and Jeanne Lee. So nice.

BACK IN STOCK! We thought these Charly reissue cds were gone forever, but lo! here they are again. Dunno what's up, but get 'em while you can. So, here's another in that BYG/Actuel reissue series, documenting American avant-garde jazz giants in exile (in

1967 Live album performed the same year that Shepp's Magic of Ju-Ju was released. This performance occured at the Donaueschingen Music Festival in Germany and is basically one piece split into two parts. "One for Trane" is a tribute to the recently departed jazz giant and features a brilliant opening solo by bassist Jimmy Garrison who played with Coltrane's band in their heyday. But this is not a sedate or maudlin performance and has actually been compared to the likes of the Stooges in its uncompromising raw free jazz power.

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Holy heck. This is some serious over the top "blackjazz" indeed. No, not "black" jazz like, in the African American sense (which would be rather redundant anyway), but more like, "blackened" in the metal sense. 'Cause this band is from Norway, y'know. And none other than that modern day Viking, Grutle from Enslaved, makes a cameo vocal appearance on one track. One could argue that this "blackjazz" is not really jazz at all. Unless your idea of jazz comes entirely from the works of John Zorn! And he'd be the first to tell you it shouldn't. But if you like John Zorn and Mike Patton and others of that ilk, you'll probably dig this. Likewise if you're already a fan of Shining, of course. We've certainly enjoyed their previous albums as well - notice now that they're not on jazz/experimental label Rune Grammofon, but on a metal label, albeit a fairly adventurous one, whose last release highlighted here was by Japanese weirdos Sigh, fans of whom just might be able to wrap their heads around this too. If you haven't yet heard Shining, this album will pull no punches in the matter of acquainting you with their unique sound. Jazz IS a part of it (including saxophone... though there's sax in Sigh too and they're not jazz) but there's more, lots more. The first track is a hyper spazzed, fuzzed out almost industrial metal onslaught (interestingly, they do it again later in the record in a more abstract, atmospheric fashion). And they just descend from there further into skronky, complex, heavy prog madness, laced with ADD electronic weirdness and improvisatory jamming, played with both metal and jazz chops. Speaking of which, the squealing saxes come to the fore on "Healter Skelter" (which is not a misspelled Beatles cover), a track that actually gives Japan's Koenjihyakkei ensemble a run for their money!!! Then there's "Blackjazz Deathtrance", perhaps the album's centerpiece, the longest track anyway, nearly 11 minutes of utter, uh, blackjazz deathtrance indeed: spasming percussive assault, sampled screaming crowd noise, frenzied sax blat, shuddering fuzz riffs, spiraling into energetic disassembly, diving into droned-out depths, throbbing with electronic menace. It's kinda like 16-17 meets Fantomas. And that holds for much of the rest of the record too. You could also compare this to the likes of Guapo and Naked City, with some Jazkamer thrown in for good measure. The disc ends with a cover of the oft-covered "21st Century Schizoid Man" but they do it really well (that's the one w/ Grutle on vox). And that particular King Crimson classic is perfect for Shining, being prog pioneers King Crimson's most metal composition (really one of the earliest metal songs ever) as well as one that's a natural launchpad for hyperchaotic free jazz freakouts too. In a word, when it (and this album) is over: whew!

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The previous Rune Grammofon album from Norwegian electronica/jazz outfit Shining (2005's In The Kingdom Of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster) we liked quite a bit -- and sold quite a few copies of as well. But we don't remember it being quite as hard and heavy as this new disc! Some of this is almost industrial-metal, seriously. Herky-jerky rhythms one moment, sheer droning heaviness the next, with moody male and female vox amidst the instrumental/electronic onslaught. This has a sinister circusiness that makes you think that Mike Patton (Fantomas/Faith No More/etc.) must somehow be involved, though of course he's not. Doubtless he'd like how spunky, brassy, swirly, and dark this is, and that Shining haven't lost their any of their intense cinematic Morricone-ish sensibility.

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MPEG stream: Psalm
MPEG stream: Fight Dusk With Dawn

NOW ON VINYL! Not one but two albums by this weird sorta jazz electronica group on Rune G. Here's a review cobbled together from our write-ups of the cd versions of the relevant records... In The Kingdom Of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster was the 2005 debut of Shining, from Norway (not to be confused with the black metal Shining from Sweden). What be they if not black metal? Hmm, let's listen...good grief, dunno the genre for this even...it's jazz we guess...of sorts. Powerful and freaky and technological. Lead by Jorgen Munkby (ex-Jaga Jazzist, as is the Shining's keyboardist) who plays (on here) everything from sax to accordion to church organ to guitar to mellotron to synths, and does drum programming too. But Shining is a five-piece band so as multi-instrumental as Jorgen is, he's doesn't have to do it all at once. And they leave the tubular bells to a guest musician. So, you get the idea that there's potentially a lot going on. The requiste Kim Hiorthoy cover art, which kinda looks like a blown-to-bits website, implies as much. The ten tracks here veer from booming bombast to melodic moodiness. Energetic ADD explosions of horns and percussion are calmed with weird wordless vocal parts, rhythmic frenzies give way to eerie grooves, and the players' jazz chops are chopped up. There's plenty of tension, and release, let's say! Just imagine some hotshot jazz guys gone on a dark, cinematic bender, unhealthily obsessed with Carl Stalling cartoon scores and arty prog rock and all possibilities of modern electronics. Your ears will feel fully exercised (and dare we say delighted) after a session with Shining. Very cool. Then in 2007, Grindstone came out. Compared to the debut, it seemed quite a bit harder and heavier than we remember! Some of this is almost industrial-metal, seriously. Herky-jerky rhythms one moment, sheer droning heaviness the next, with moody male and female vox amidst the instrumental/electronic onslaught. This has a sinister circusiness that makes you think that Mike Patton (Fantomas/Faith No More/etc.) must somehow be involved, though of course he's not. Doubtless he'd like how spunky, brassy, swirly, and dark this is, and that Shining haven't lost their any of their intense cinematic Morricone-ish sensibility. A handsome gatefold package, limited to 500 copies.

MPEG stream: Goretex Weather Report
MPEG stream: Aleister Explains Everything
MPEG stream: The Smoking Dog
MPEG stream: In The Kingdom Of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster
MPEG stream: Psalm
MPEG stream: Fight Dusk With Dawn

The first two discs from this Norwegian "deathjazz" unit, reissued together as a double cd package. Here's what we said about these two albums originally - first, In The Kingdom...: This Shining is not to be confused with the black metal Shining (who hail from Sweden). What be they, then, if not black metal? Hmm, let's listen...good grief, dunno the genre for this even...it's jazz we guess...of sorts. Powerful and freaky and technological. Lead by Jorgen Munkby (ex-Jaga Jazzist, as is the Shining's keyboardist) who plays everything from sax to accordion to church organ to guitar to mellotron to synths, and does drum programming too. But Shining is a five-piece band so as multi-instrumental as Jorgen is, he's doesn't have to do it all at once. And they leave the tubular bells to a guest musician. So, you get the idea that there's potentially a lot going on. The requisite Kim Hiorthoy cover art, which kinda looks like a blown-to-bits website, implies as much. The ten tracks here veer from booming bombast to melodic moodiness. Energetic ADD explosions of horns and percussion are calmed with weird wordless vocal parts, rhythmic frenzies give way to eerie grooves, and the players' jazz chops are chopped up. There's plenty of tension, and release, let's say! Just imagine some hotshot jazz guys gone on a dark, cinematic bender, unhealthily obsessed with Carl Stalling cartoon scores and arty prog rock and all possibilities of modern electronics. Your ears will feel fully exercised (and dare we say delighted) after a session with Shining. Very cool. And then, Grindstone: The previous Rune Grammofon album from Norwegian electronica/jazz outfit Shining we liked quite a bit - and sold quite a few copies of as well. But we don't remember it being quite as hard and heavy as this new disc! Some of this is almost industrial-metal, seriously. Herky-jerky rhythms one moment, sheer droning heaviness the next, with moody male and female vox amidst the instrumental/electronic onslaught. This has a sinister circusiness that makes you think that Mike Patton (Fantomas/Faith No More/etc.) must somehow be involved, though of course he's not. Doubtless he'd like how spunky, brassy, swirly, and dark this is, and that Shining haven't lost their any of their intense cinematic Morricone-ish sensibility.

MPEG stream: Goretex Weather Report
MPEG stream: Aleister Explains Everything
MPEG stream: The Smoking Dog
MPEG stream: In The Kingdom Of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster
MPEG stream: Psalm
MPEG stream: Fight Dusk With Dawn

[ aquarius records — Jazz ]