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The Magic Carpathians, or Projekt Karpaty Magiczne if you prefer, are the Polish experimental-ambient-ethno-folk duo (augmented by various guests) that developed out of the similarily minded avant-hippy outfit Atman.
In their psychedelic, eco-centered songcraft you may encounter field recordings of nature, the vocals of Anna Nacher (who, we're told, runs a workshop for women only called "reclaiming the voice"), harmonium, guitar, various ethnic instruments, and even some electronic sequencing. Anna and her Magic Carpathian partner Marekk Styczynski have recently been doing a lot of soundtrack work for documentaries on Polish television, including a show about Baltic aquatic wildlife, the cd of which we listed not long ago (Baltyckie Szepty -- we still have a few in stock). Those recordings of Baltic seals splashing and moaning are reprised here, giving this new album (their third) a kind of Chris Watson-meets-Ghost feel... The resulting music is beautiful, strange, and powerful (in a gentle, mellow way).
The saga of The Magic Carpathians, formed by Anna Nacher and Marek Stycznski and using a revolving cast of guest musicians continues to explore traditional Eastern and Central European folk, blended with an eerie psych-drone that never fails to be compelling and moving. This latest, putting tabla and bass center stage on many tracks, evokes both their regional and psychic influences, creating a deep, noisy atmospheric triumph.
For the listener who craves the deep, warm, dark green and forest brown, fog-drenched Indian influenced psychedelia that chartered its way out of San Francisco in the late sixties / early seventies, this reissue of the Magic Carpet�s debut record will ring a true chord. True, the band hailed from the UK” nowhere near the flower children of the Haight, but their brand of "Eastern Psych Folk" is close kin to After Bathing At Baxter�s era Jefferson Airplane (a seriously underrated record) and calls to mind the Bay Area folk revival scene going on today. In a time of Devendra Banhart�s elfin freakiness, Joanna Newsom�s evil-angel resurrections, and the resurgence of interest in Vashti Bunyan, the Magic Carpet�s 1972 lost classic could not sound fresher. Alisha Sufit is a resurrecting chanteuse whose dark voice is crystal clear and mesmerizing; Clem Alford�s sitar playing is top notch and truly psychedelic. The songs come as old friends (our favorite: "Father Time") and hang in the air as mysteries, leading to the sweet 20+ minute instrumental raga not found on the original release. Top notch rainy day music, and for those so inclined, a perfect bong stuffer for the holidays. (Review courtesy of AQ pal and Birdman label boss David Katznelson.)
There have been a lot of bands over the years who've worshipped at the altar of Black Sabbath (some of 'em becoming doom metal legends in their own right) and in our estimation currently the reigning kings of Sabbatherian doom majesty might well be this outfit made up of guys from hardcore punk bands from Boston, Magic Circle, whom we're excited to report have just returned with their second full-length, Journey Blind, which ups the ante on their their phenomenal self-titled 2013 debut, a huge fave among aQ's true doom loving contingent. Magic Circle once again show the metal guys a thing or two, bringing forth the thundering riffs and towering, emotive vocals (the dude RULES!!), somehow channelling both classic Ozzy *and* Dio era Sabbath at the same time. Goddamn, it's quite remarkable how this makes most other Sabbath-beholden bands ever sound like they really didn't quite get it, while the masterful epic energy of this spirited album could almost convince you that THEY'RE the originals.
Vast celestial ventures, blinding cosmic rays, rhythmic inductions, psych jams from another planet! Well, not exactly another planet. Sun soaked Long Beach locals, Magic Lantern have generated quite the buzz over the last year or so after a steady output of limited cdr's and tapes.� We managed to catch one of their kraut-bliss live sets over the summer and we were really blown away. High Beams, their first vinyl release, is a finely crafted representation of Magic Lantern's sheer psychedelic power. Heavy blistering riffs swimming in a primordial ooze of spaced out organ, ripping solos, and luring drones.�By far the most solid and impressive recording we've heard from these dudes.�A fully engaging experience, High Beams maintains a nice balance between more intense, freak out, explosive-type jams and mellow, soft-daze meanderings. Pressed in an edition of 500 by the Not Not Fun family, this album is a must have for fans of anything cosmic! Trust us, you need this!
Damn. If we didn't know better, we'd swear this was some obscure late '60s psych platter reissued by Shadoks or something. But nope, LA's Magic Lantern (featuring the guitar and keyboard talents of astral traveller Cameron Stallones, the man behind aQ faves Sun Araw) are real and current, and the uninitiated will be scratching their heads in amazement, while those who dug any of the band's past work will find no complaints either. The band expertly channels the sounds of Amon Duul II, Ash Ra Tempel, and blown out Japanese psych, and it's almost uncanny just how "authentic" these guys sound - wah wah pedals, dense organ, grooving krauty basslines, stony non-vocals, and drumming that is, as they say "in the pocket" - all that shit is the LAW here. And while these elements can very often lead to bad bad things, Magic Lantern sidestep whatever tends to snag so many bands, and instead they just kick complete ass. Let's face it, not many bands these days can pull off being, uh, "funky". But a good deal of the songs on Platoon fall into that category, and we seriously can't get enough. Magic Lantern do their thing, and they do it well. The spacious production courtesy of Bobb Bruno (Robedoor, Goliath Bird Eater, Best Coast, and a shit-ton more) certainly suits these songs well, giving them a nice thick haze to swirl about in. It has a nice live feeling to it, and while we're at it, Christ, this band must just destroy live (though it appears they may be on hiatus, bummer). Maybe this might be a bit jammy for some people, but if you like this kind of thing, you will love Magic Lantern.
The cd version of Platoon contains two bonus that comprised the recent Showstoppers 7".
Magic Leaves has all the elements of things we love to listen to on Sundays. Sunny pop, soft psych-tinged harmonies, and catchy songs that get stuck in our heads for days. Reminiscent of Emitt Rhodes, Paul McCartney and Olivia Tremor Control, Magic Leaves are a more simplified lo-fi heir-apparent to the Beatlesy pop we often go nuts for, but no less charming. A very sweet debut!
Holy shit! The year is just starting but this record (um, cassette) by Magic Leaves is going to find itself on some of our year end best of lists in 11 months or so for sure, as this is totally blowing us away. We had heard some cd-r's by this Bay Area group in the past, but nothing prepared us for the psychedelic wonderland they have created here.
Their music really does fit their name so perfect as it sounds like glimmering sunlight bouncing through the leaves of some crooked old tree in some mysterious magical forest. Expansive and so creative, they take several twists and turns on these eight songs, tapping into everything from Dead Meadow, Ariel Pink, Led Zeppelin, The Fresh & Onlys, Ducktails, Moon Duo,�Caetano Veloso, and The Meat Puppets. From tropical vibrations, to darker stoner riffs, to blissed out explorations, every track on here has taken us to somewhere we are so happy to be. So fucking good!
New side project / 'supergroup' from Black Heart Procession and 764 Hero.
Bobby from Charles Brown Superstar wields some impressive synthesizers. There's something for everyone here, from Gary Numan-style powercheese to CB Superstar-ish pop to depressed drone.
Yet another full length from the crazy prolific Tim Cohen, mastermind of SF jangle poppers The Fresh & Onlys as well as the man behind weird one man black metal band Amocoma (released on Andee's tUMULt label), who was STILL not busy enough so started a 'solo' project, which was in fact a band called Tim Cohen's Magic Trick, but for this new album, a couple things have changed, now it's a proper band, right down to the name, and instead of perfect little 2 and 3 minute pop nuggets, this record is four long songs, the sounds shifting and sprawling, Cohen and company stretching out a bit, keeping much of the pop intact, but weaving it into much more expansive and experimental frameworks. This permutation of Magic Trick includes members of Thee Oh Sees, the Sandwitches and Citay, and Cohen and his cohorts unfurl some gorgeously lush folk, all glimmering melodies, hushed vox, strummed acoustic guitars, ethereal harmonies, the sound beholden to classic sixties psych pop for sure, but reimagined and filtered through Cohen's twisted pop lens, the opener jangly and dreamy, a seriously epic pop song, almost prog pop, and then about 10 minutes in the song shifts dramatically, and is transformed into a buzzing drone-y raga, hazy and psychedelic and darkly dreamy. And from there on out, the record continues on in a similar fashion, not shying away from abrupt shifts, or melding disparate sounds, "Daylight Moon" takes a strummy shuffle, and adds all sorts of progginess, some cool start stop arrangements, some jazzy psychedelic freakouts, but all wound around a delicate pop core.
"Clyde" starts out all hushed and strummy, rife with woodwinds, lush vocal harmonies, infused with a dreamy droniness, the song subtly propulsive but growing less so as the song progresses, evolving into a sort of shimmery drift, before the strangely jaunty almost cabaret sounding coda. And finally, "High Heat" begins with some Fahey style American primitive guitar, draped over a buzzing thrum, before slipping into a reverbed skeletal folk, the sound blossoming into something much more lush, almost like some sort of chamber pop, and then again, the song shifts into a dark drum heavy psych folk, almost dirgey, but still impossibly poppy, and laced with vocal ooh's and aah's and swoonsome soaring strings, Cohen and his crew managing what in most hands would be impossible, creating catchy, perfect pop that just so happens to be in the form of 10+ minute long epics. Almost makes us hope he never goes back to the 3 minute pop song...
Awesome campfire indie folk from this new (at least to us) San Francisco band. Stripped down, raw and warm songs that are as intimate as they are intoxicating. Their sound brings to mind a lot of our favorite tender records that were coming out of the Pacific Northwest in the late '90s by folks like Rose Melberg, Kaia, Sarah Dougher, and Lois, as well as displaying hints of a darker disposition, sort of like a more twee Cat Power or Edith Frost.
We've got a feeling their future releases will be more fleshed out and include more instrumentation, but we are really digging how stripped down this sounds, allowing the beautiful vocals and sincere songs to stand on their own.
The tape comes with a digital download as well.
We recognize that probably only people who've been looking for these five cds ever since they were first released in limited and expensive form in Japan almost ten years ago are likely to want to pay nearly $120 for this box set reissue, and they already know
In 1993, Japanese label Mom & Dad promised to release fifteen discs chronicling the unreleased studio recordings of Tokyo psych legend Magical Power Mako, but were only able to produce the first five. Israel-based MIO has decided to take on the project and will release three box sets containing five discs each. The material that makes up Hapmoniym 1972-1975 was recorded while Mako was working on his second masterpiece for Polydor, "Super Record". Often compared to krautrock pioneers Faust, this collecton is an incredible assemblage of sound experiments, collage pieces, tape manipulations and astral folk-psychedelia so epic and so out, one might be so bold to state that Hapmoniym as a whole even surpasses the density and innovation of the mighty Faust Tapes. And he was only a wee sixteen years old on the earliest of these recordings! Andee is especially fond of disc two, the part where it sounds like Jimi Hendrix jamming with a meowing cat. Keiji Haino fans take note as he appears on disc one, on possibly his most spaced out psychedelic trip ever. We await the remaining two 5-disc volumes with curiousity and excitement (and, patience). We do, however, have to scold MIO for a slight problem with the packaging: the 5 discs are in slim cd5 cases inside a little red cardboard box, with a booklet as well. It looks handsome, but each disc has its own unnecessary obi that doesn't really fit anywhere in the package once opened, but that of course you can't throw away, either, if you're like us. Oh well. We also could have done with more English language text in the booklet, it's mostly the original Japanese liner notes.
Mako is truly one of the most masterful musical minds behind some of the best psychedelic sounds that came out of Japan in the '70s, a relatively unsung hero of that scene. While his project Magical Power Mako certainly produced other records that are noisier, weirder, more abstract and fucked up, there is no doubt that the 1975 album Super Record is his absolute tour de force! An album that left many of us stunned upon our first encounter with it. It's one of those records that exemplifies what you really want in a psychedelic record, filled with a wide range of textures and mystical sounds from across the globe that take you on a journey and make you forget where you are.
Super Record melts into an unforgettable washed out pastoral setting as it glides and floats through different terrain of dripping colors and hallucinatory smoke. Like the best psychedelic albums of this era, Super Record is an absolute start to finish experience, with different interludes laced with lute, harmonica, melodica, charged fuzzed out guitar all in a ceremonial tone which creates a mood and vibe that would be at home in a film by Jodorowsky or Antonioni.
Think of some mind melting combination of Ash Ra Temple, Bo Hansson, early '70s Pink Floyd, Jean-Claude Vannier, and a dash of The Incredible String Band and you start to get a picture of the kind of musical magic that is happening on Super Record. We also get the feeling that some of our favorite modern day psych music makers like The Alps, Blues Control, and Dungen have all been influenced by the brilliance of this album as well. Super and magical!
In the world of Magick Markers this release on the Gulcher label is perhaps most notable for being their first ever professionally manufactured compact disc. Yup, it's a fact! Up until now the band has had their music released on cassette tapes, cd-rs, and oh one vinyl lp on Ecstatic Peace (aka that label run by that fellow Thurston Moore). So, this is certainly a cause celebre for... someone. Musically, this very long-titled album is a disorderly heap of chunks and slabs of noisy guitar shambles that some folks might consider a distant relative of No Wave, but methinks that comparison would imply more compositional structure and form and organization than the Magick Markers have mustered here. File under: electric guitar dysentery. Note: although they've listed a whole slew of song titles ("Jung Knew Enough To Shut Up" is one of them), this is actually two 19+ minute long tracks (i.e, the individual songs aren't indexed).
A Magik Markers live recording released by Textile Records in Paris, France.
From the sounds of things this might've been their most surprisingly subdued and least chaotic performance ever. The somber guitar pickery and mostly incoherent vocals simmer under washes of cymbals with rhythmic drum rumbles surfacing in the more aggressive stretches. Surprisingly nice.
More chaotic murky Markers mayhem. A live blast of free psych splatter, a stumbling druggy mess of random drum plod, shrieking squealing guitars, sung/spoken female vocals all whipped up into a skull splitting art punk free rock noise crunch.
Packaged in gorgeous hand screened, hand colored sleeves, comes with a druggy trippy Magick Markers coloring book, weird and wacked for sure.
Pressed on pretty purple swirled vinyl, limited to 500 copies and each hand numbered.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
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THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
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Ultra limited, single sided 12" from those lovable noisemakers the Magik Markers. Recorded live in Belgium in 2005, this is the Markers at their disheveled, chaotic, falling to pieces best. Or worst. Hard to tell sometimes. But this is one series splatter of guitar gore and drum damage. Total and utter grinding noiserock skree, dense and murky and druggy and ultra damaged. Guitars scream and squeal, the drums sound like they're tumbling down an elevator shaft. this is like Sunroof! or Vibracathedral Orchestra, but run through some sort of 'caveman' filter, removing melody and composition and any other distinctly musical elements, leaving just a huge swelling, sweating, wiggling, rumbling, roaring, shrieking, fucked up high volume scribble of sonic freakout.
Packaged in a thick chipboard sleeve, hand silkscreened inside and out. Really nice. Limited to 500 copies.
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Up until this point Magik Markers have been quite the confusing and compelling enigma. With a bunch of LP's and cd's under their belt, many of which are already out of print, it's been pretty hard to get a grasp of what this band is all about. Gaining famous fans like Sonic Youth and earning a reputation for electric and stunning live performances, they are one of the first names that pop up when people talk about the booming noise scene of the last several years.
With their first outing on fanboy Thurston Moore's label they show that beneath all the noise and chaos there were some structured songs ready to come to the surface. Boss finds them in fine song form with nine tracks of somewhat traditional structure with Elisa Amrogio proving that she can actually sing, quite well! But don't worry they haven't gotten all normal on us, there is still plenty of dissonance and feedback in these songs, produced by Thurston's bandmate Lee Ranaldo.
It's no surprise that there are moments that do kind of echo some great Kim Gordon led SY moments, and even some songs where we thought, wow this is what it might have sounded like if L7 were a little more weird and mystical. It can be easy for bands aligned with the 'noise' scene to just rest on their laurels so we applaud Magik Markers for taking a bold new direction and we have a feeling they will be keeping us guessing and intrigued for a long time to come.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
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Another release in Southern Records' series of ultra limited Latitudes releases, past installments have included the Grails, Ginnungagap, Ariel Pink, Shit And Shine, Sir Richard Bishop, and others. A wildly disparate group for sure, but one that seems to suit this band just fine...
The Magik Markers are definitely one of those love 'em or hate 'em kind of bands. Sloppy and chaotic, noisy and psychedelic, free and seriously fucked up. Live they can be an explosive revelation, or an absolute mess. One show found the drummer blasting away on stage, while the quite comely guitarist clambered through the audience, climbing over audience members, dragging her guitar behind her, stirring up a seriously chaotic skree. Great to see, but not the best thing to listen to. And the band seem to know that, at least on The Voldoror Dance, not relying on any sort of unorthodox antics or wildly destructive staging the band simply unleash some seriously drug addled, psychedelic space rock bliss. Free and blown out, actually VERY free, this is like a band hurling their equipment into the abyss, and capturing every second on tape, the drums a constant splattery free jazz web, the bass (or is it another guitar) buzzing and warbling, throbbing and pulsing, wrapped in dense little tangles around the relentless drumming, while over the top, vocals drift and hover, ghostlike, barely audible over the din of the main guitar, a squirming, squealing sonic supernova, spewing wild peals of shrieking feedback, dense sheets of corrosive skree, walls of fuzzy riffs, smeared into almost-white-noise, tons of FX, wah wah, delay, a relentless free rock, space psych blow out. Tripping wildly though free jazz, free rock, drone rock and drug rock territory, sometimes all at the same time. An ultra noisy, dizzy, stumbling, crumbling, explosive mind melting musical trip.
Comes packaged in a super intricate hand screened die cut fold over sleeve with a full color insert. The cover has a sticker affixed to the front and each copy is hand stamped and numbered. Limited to 1000 copies worldwide, 500 of which made it to the United States, about 25 of which made it here. So you know what that means!
The cd is unfortunately long gone, but for a very limited time, we have the lp version of the Magik Markers' recent contribution to Southern's awesome Latitudes series. Past installments have included the Grails, Ginnungagap, Ariel Pink, Shit And Shine, Sir Richard Bishop, and others. A wildly disparate group for sure, but one that seems to suit this band just fine...
The Magik Markers are definitely one of those love 'em or hate 'em kind of bands. Sloppy and chaotic, noisy and psychedelic, free and seriously fucked up. Live they can be an explosive revelation, or an absolute mess. One show found the drummer blasting away on stage, while the quite comely guitarist clambered through the audience, climbing over audience members, dragging her guitar behind her, stirring up a seriously chaotic skree. Great to see, but not the best thing to listen to. And the band seem to know that, at least on The Voldoror Dance, not relying on any sort of unorthodox antics or wildly destructive staging the band simply unleash some seriously drug addled, psychedelic space rock bliss. Free and blown out, actually VERY free, this is like a band hurling their equipment into the abyss, and capturing every second on tape, the drums a constant splattery free jazz web, the bass (or is it another guitar) buzzing and warbling, throbbing and pulsing, wrapped in dense little tangles around the relentless drumming, while over the top, vocals drift and hover, ghostlike, barely audible over the din of the main guitar, a squirming, squealing sonic supernova, spewing wild peals of shrieking feedback, dense sheets of corrosive skree, walls of fuzzy riffs, smeared into almost-white-noise, tons of FX, wah wah, delay, a relentless free rock, space psych blow out. Tripping wildly though free jazz, free rock, drone rock and drug rock territory, sometimes all at the same time. An ultra noisy, dizzy, stumbling, crumbling, explosive mind melting musical trip.
Like all the Latitudes lps, packaged in that instantly recognizable black and white diecut 12" sleeve, pressed on old school black vinyl. LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES, we have less a handful...
A new record from Sic Alps is always cause for celebration, especially if you dig washed out, reverb drenched, stumbling noise pop, which is precisely what you get on these three new tracks, the first, an abstract drift of angular clang, murky crooning, barely-there rhythm, dark and a little dirge-y, but with a gorgeous streak of melancholy melody. The second track is way less abstract, still tweaked and a bit off kilter, with some tangly Eastern sounding guitar melodies WAY up in the mix, but right below, a simple drum part, some sad boy singing, mumbly one second, and belting out a little falsetto the next, a pretty pop song subverted, and transformed into a gorgeous staggering lo-fi sprawl. The last of the three is maybe the prettiest, total classic fuzzy pop, lilting and catchy, but again wrapped in a warped woozy haze, that makes the song sound like it's subtly changing speed throughout. Tweaked and twisted, but still so goddamn catchy.
Magik Markers Counter with three tracks of their own, forgoing most of the pop for something much more tripped out and psychedelic, clouds of swirling psych guitar over almost krautlike drumming, the vocals formless and all tangled up with flurries of wah guitar, everything looped and stretched out and blurred into a full-on unhinged, reverb drenched, washed out, dreamy and druggy space rock trip out, some of our favorite MM stuff for sure.
Super swank, thick glossy jackets, and most likely limited...
Late '70s Magma, with more fusion and even gospel influences present. Fantastic cover by H.R. Giger! Much better sounding than the Tomato-label version some may be familiar with.
We just got a few of this great new live disc, French progsters performing two epic compositions ('Theusz Hamtaahk' and 'Kohntarkosz') for BBC Radio in '74. Inspired.
"Quand Les Enfants Chantent Magma" actually: meaning this is a group of French school-kids singing Magma! Cool.
This has been around on VHS before, but we're in the DVD age now (heck, aren't we all watching TV shows on DVD these days, renting whole seasons to devour in a weekend?). So this live Magma concert from 1981 thereby gets reissued in the DVD format, though the video quality still looks second or third generation. Magma fans, you may want/need this... sure, the early '80s weren't prime years for the band, as these French prog-rock weirdoes best albums belong to the early to mid '70s. But we know that even now, in 2005, Magma still kick ass (both live and on their new album K.A) so in 1981 they could hardly be considered over-the-hill. This ain't their strongest material, though, as they do concentrate on their more jazz-fusiony, gospel-influenced later sound of the era, which means this includes a manaically happy Christian Vander, who seems totally high on life, stepping out from behind his drum kit to take a star turn singing his always-bizarre, bug-eyed, alien-soul standard "Otis"! Plus they were at their most Spinal Tap back then, with shiny sci-fi costumes in full effect!! Ah, the '80s. Kinda cool now though. One of the strangest, most amazing (we think) bands EVER goes completely over the top here, basically. This is NOT the Magma document to convince people that they're not the most absurd band ever, quite the opposite in fact. Magma *and* non-Magma fans will both find this good for a laugh. I mean, this IS ridiculous, from the band's disco/Battlestar Galactica styled get-ups to Vander's facial expressions... it's not the oh-so-serious Magma of the M.D.K era, or today. 112 minutes, NTSC, region free. ----* ----* In Stock, Not Yet Reviewed : ----* If you want to order one of these, just cut and paste the info into the comments area on the order form, or just email mailorder@aquariusrecords.org. 13 & GOD "Men of Station / Soft Atlas" (Anticon) 12" 8.98 50 CENT "The Massacre" (Shady) cd 15.98 ABE, KAORU "Winter 1972" (PSF) cd 21.00 AESOP ROCK "Fast Cars, Danger, Fire And Knives" (Definitive Jax) cd 17.98 AKRON / FAMILY "s/t" (Young God) cd 13.98 ANGELS OF LIGHT "Sing "Other People"" (Young God) cd 14.98 APPRECIATION "Healing The Father Wound" (self-released) cd 9.98 ATOMIZER "Death-Mutation-Disease-Annihilation" (Drakkar) cd 14.98 AUBE "Chain[Re]Action" (Blossoming Noise) cd 14.98 BIG BUSINESS "Head For The Shallow" (Hydrahead) cd 14.98 BIRCHVILLE CAT MOTEL / BRUCE RUSSELL "s/t" (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon) cd 16.98 BLACK LEOTARD FRONT "Casual Friday" (DFA) 12" 6.98 BLACKSHAW, JAMES "Celeste" (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon) cd-r 14.98 BRASIL AND THE GALLOWBROTHERS BAND "The Band Plays On, The Dunes Move On (Caught Me With My Eyes Closed)" (Last Visible Dog) cd 11.98 BY THE END OF TONIGHT "A Tribute To Tigers" (Temporary Res) cd 14.98 CHIMNEY SWEEPS "Devil Girl" (Norton) lp 10.98 CLARINETTE "Transmuting Fall" (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon) cd-r 14.98 CLASSICAL M "Bad Guys: The Complete Collection" (Pacemaker / Lion Productions) cd 16.98 COH "0397post-pop" (Mego) 2cd 24.00 COLD BLEAK HEAT "It's Magnificent, But It Isn't War" (Family Vineyard) cd 14.98 DILLOWAY, AARON "Boggs, Volume 2" (Hanson) cd 14.98 DOORMOUSE "Stanley Yershonowski Presents Xylophone Jism as the Riducator" (Cock Rock Disco) cd 15.98 DOTS "10th Anniversary Box II" (Rather Interesting) cd 26.00 DREAM DEATH "Back From The Dead" (Penance Music) cd 14.98 DURRETT, LIZ "Husk" (Warm) cd 13.98 ERICKSON, ROKY "I Have Always Been Here Before" (Shout! Factory) 2cd 31.00 FAITHFULL, MARIANNE "Before The Poison" (Anti) cd 16.98 FAY, BILL GROUP "Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow" (Durtro / Jnana) cd 14.98 FIELD MICE, THE "For Keeps" (LTM) cd 17.98 FIELD MICE, THE "Skywriting" (LTM) 2cd 17.98 FIELD MICE, THE "Snowball" (LTM) cd 17.98 GUAPO "Black Oni" (Ipecac) cd 15.98 HALF-HANDED CLOUD "Thy Is A Word + Feet Need Lamps" (Asthmatic Kitty) cd 14.98 HALL, ARCH JR "Wild Guitar!" (Norton Records) cd 14.98 HARMONIC 33 "Music For Film, Television & Radio Volume One" (Warp) cd 16.98 HECKER, MAXIMILLIAN "Lady Sleep" (Kitty-Yo) cd 16.98 HENKE, ROBERT "Signal To Noise" (Imbalance Computer Music) cd 16.98 IELASI, GIUSEPPE "Gesine" (Hapna) cd 15.98 IKEDA, RYOJI "Formula" (Forma) cd + dvd 39.00 JUDAS PRIEST "Angel Of Retribution" (Sony) dualdisc cd/cd + dvd 17.98/24.00 KOICHI, MAKIGAMI "Koedarake" (Tzadik) cd 15.98 LCD SOUNDSYSTEM "Yr City's A Sucker" (DFA) 12" 6.98 LUGOSI "s/t" (CMR) cd 16.98 MACLEAN, JUAN "I Robot / Less Than Human" (DFA) 10" 6.98 MADLIB "Mind Fusion Vol. 1" (Madlib) cd 16.98 MADLIB "Mind Fusion Vol. 2" (Madlib) cd 16.98 MAGICK MARKERS "I Trust My Guitar, etc." (Ecstatic Peace) lp 16.98 MARDUK "Plague Angel" (Candlelight USA) cd 16.98 MATTHEWS, ERIC "Six Kinds Of Passion Looking For An Exit" (451) cd 14.98 MERZBOW "Bariken" (Blossoming Noise) cd 14.98 MIKAMI, KAN "Bachi" (Abruit Secret) cd 17.98 MILTON, ANTONY "'Sirens' & 'And Where The Coloured Planes Are Rafts" (Last Visible Dog) cd 11.98 MONTAG "Alone, Not Alone" (Gooom / Carpark) cd 14.98 MORRICONE, ENNIO "La Corta Notte Delle Bambole Di Vetro" (Dagored) cd 15.98 MORRICONE, ENNIO "Tepepa" (Dagored) cd 15.98 MU "Out Of Breach (Manchester's Revenge)" (Output) cd 16.98 NAGISA NI TE "Dream Sounds" (Jagjaguar) cd 14.98 NIBLOCK, PHILL + SUN RA & HIS SOLAR ARKESTRA "The Magic Sun" (Atavistic) dvd 14.98 OKLAND, NILS "Bris" (Rune Grammofon) cd 16.98 PATTON, MIKE / X-ECUTIONERS "General Patton Vs. X-ecutioners" (Ipecac) cd 15.98 PEDESTRIAN "Volume One: Unindian Songs" (Anticon) cd 14.98 PHAZM "Hate At First Seed" (Osmose) cd 11.98 PHONOPHANI "Oak Or Rock" (Rune Grammofon) cd 15.98 RED SPAROWES "At The Soundless Dawn" (Neurot) cd 14.98 RODEN, STEVE "Ear(th)" (Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery) cd 13.98 SATWA "s/t" (Time-Lag) cd/lp 15.98/17.98 SECTION 25 "So Far" (LTM) dvd 32.00 SEHT "The Voice Of The Taniwha" (Last Visible Dog) cd 11.98 SIX EYE COLUMBIA "Judy At Carnegie Hall" (Roosevelt Franklin) cd 9.98 SMEGMA "Rumblings" (Hanson) cd 14.98 SPACE: 1999 "OST" (Silva) cd 16.98 STARZ "Attention Shoppers!" (Ryko) cd 12.98 STARZ "Coliseum Rock" (Ryko) cd 12.98 STARZ "s/t" (Ryko) cd 12.98 STARZ "Violation" (Ryko) cd 12.98 STYX "The Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings" (Hip-O Records) 2cd 24.00 SUBTLE "Earthsick" (Dose) cd 14.98 THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND "Philadelphia Folk Festival 1969" (Tallulah) cd 13.98 THUNDERBOLT "Inhuman Ritual Massmurder" (Mercenary Musik) cd 14.98 TOMOKAWA, KAZUKI "Itsuka, Toky Mite Ita" (PSF) cd 21.00 V/A "Grime 2" (Rephlex) cd/2lp 15.98/17.98 V/A "Mini A Go-Go" (Khmer Rocks) cd-r 9.98 V/A "Soul Gospel" (Soul Jazz) cd/lp 19.98/24.00 V/A "Spirits Of Life: Haitian Vodou" (Soul Jazz) cd/lp 19.98/24.00 V/A "World Psychedelic Classics 3: Love's A Real Thing" (Luaka Bop) cd 16.98 VANDER, CHRISTIAN "Un Homme... Une Batterie" (Seventh Records) dvd 27.00 VENETIAN SNARES "Rossz Csillag Allat Sz�letett" (Planet Mu) cd/2lp 14.98/17.98 VERONICA LIPGLOSS AND THE EVIL EYES "Strip Mall Glass" (GSL) 12" 7.98 ZORN, JOHN "Rituals" (Tzadik) cd 15.98 _______________________________________________________________________ ABOUT MAILORDER
New (well, 1998) two-song single, from the current incarnation of Christian Vander's Magma. But it sounds more 1978 than 1998. Good!
Great live document from 1975. Quoting Vander: "It contains 'Kohntark', which is indeed 'Kohntarkosz' renamed for a problem with a producer, and also an extract of 'MDK', our famous tune. 'Mekanik Zain' let us hear one of the most paroxystic moment of the concert: the chorus of Didier Lockwood with a 7/4 rhythm which brings him in outer limits. It's the first live album of Magma. There is a contained violence, such a musicality, with also improvisation and such a cohesion. In 'Hhai!'(=Alive!), on a 4/3 rhythm, it's a song of hope, a call of life where you can hear sorrow, joy and eternity..."
At loooong last...and not just 'cause it's been, like, seventeen years since they last released a studio album, or even longer than that since they put out a really classic studio album (1978's Attahk), here's the new (NEW!) Magma album. It's at loooong last also in part 'cause our copies got lost in the mail coming over from France, and now *three* months after ordering 'em, a second box was shipped and we've finally got them in. Whoo-hoo! And what's the really good news? This album, K.A (short for Khontarkosz Anteria), is freakin' great! Actually, we expected it to be good. Of course we're Magma fanatics and all, but we're realistic about bands doing stuff thirty years past their prime. But we had high hopes nonetheless 'cause 1) the current incarnation of Magma absolutely slays live which Allan for one can attest from life-changing experience and 2) the material on this disc was in fact written back in the '70s, but never recorded for an album back then. (So, this is kind of Christian Vander's Brian Wilson's Smile, I guess, but better.) The results are magnificent, and gratifying.
Imagine if any amazing band from the '70s suddenly came out with a new album, that actually could fit in comfortably with one of their beloved old LPs? Hard to imagine, actually. Like if Led Zeppelin suddenly reformed (with a Bonzo clone, say) and recorded some hitherto unknown, lost link between Houses Of The Holy and Physical Graffiti. Impossible right? Well Magma's basically done the impossible here. You won't be entirely fooled into thinking this is a vintage '70s release -- the production and some of the synth sounds give it away -- but it comes darn close. And the composition K.A is without a doubt an authentic Magma masterpiece worthy of their reputation. Three tracks, one long piece.
Pretty sure this is a for-fans-already oriented release, so I dunno if we need to try and describe Magma here or not. And they're not that easy to describe anyway, being a French '70s avant-rock band that combined John Coltrane and Richard Wagner (to use the usual shorthand) in a spiritual, sci-fi, jazz-prog stew that sounds nothing like any of the other prog rock or jazz fusion bands of the day, really. Except for the ones they then influenced, of course. K.A will indeed give the uninitiated a full grounding in the classic Magma sound, that's for sure. Bombastic, epic, large-scale stuff dominated by chanting, acrobatic vocals and relentless rhythms. There's perhaps more guitar than you might expect, along with all the choirs and keyboards -- and of course, drums! Magma mainman Christian Vander is a god among drummers and shows no signs of slacking on this album.
The packaging is pretty special too...I've never seen a digipack quite like this one. There's two booklets -- one half sized. The bigger one is devoted to all of K.A's lyrics, in Magma's own made-up language Kobaian (no translations, sorry -- I guess this is just for singing-along-to purposes: "Wi wi siwili do ri / siwi do woh wehre sehn deweloi / hel hel...")
And the cover art, a moss-covered gravestone carved with the Magma logo, jutting out of the dirt against a star-strewn sky, might be a bit silly but I love it.
So, it's kind of cool, for those of us who weren't of record-buying age in the '70s, but got into Magma from buying cds by such bands as Ruins and Guapo and Koenjihyakkei and even Flying Luttenbachers, that we can now go purchase a brand new Magma!
Amazing Magma debut. Magma mastermind Christian Vander comments:
"After the death of John Coltrane (41) in 1967, I composed 'Kobaia' (=eternal) in front of the musical chaos and the misunderstanding of mankind; and then I created Magma and the 'Zeuhl Wortz' (=music of the universal might). To Life, to Death and after... It brought me to my real work on earth. My unique and true function. this album was a renewal, a complete rebirth. Many enjoyed it. This allowed the birth of many new groups in France, creating a new musical trend: the zeuhl music."
At last! We'd been wondering when/if it would happen: a vinyl reissue campaign has at last begun for this French Utopian apocalyptic sci-fi spiritual prog jazz fusion et cetera ensemble, the one and only Magma! Lead by drummer/vocalist/visionary Christian Vander, Magma are one of our '70s prog faves, continuing to the present day. They've been described as Sun Ra meets Wagner, and that's not the half of it.
The first four records reissued by Jazz Village include three of their newer ones - and this seminal effort from 1974. It features the two part Vander composition "Kohntarkosz", one of Magma's prime masterpieces, a complex, ominous epic at the heart of the Magma mythology, full of lumbering bass, eerie synth drone, and majestic vocal chant. Vander's lyrical, piano-laced tribute to his hero John Coltrane, "Coltrane Sundia", is also included, along with an unsettling tune by bassist Jannick Top, the stirring, string laden "Ork Alarm". Classic Magma!
Interesting lineup fact: this album features Brian Godding formerly of UK pop psych act Blossom Toes, on guitar. Also, note: thanks to the quirkiness of our website, we're leaving out all the MANY umlauts that each title mentioned above would normally be adorned!!
One of the all-time Magma classics. Of all their Wagner-meets-Sun Ra output, this is perhaps the most dark and militaristic-sounding, despite the inherent spirituality of the concept. Vander's comments: "The 3rd movement of the trilogy 'Theusz Hamtaahk', 'MDK' is really my 'My Favorite Thing". The melodies are played infinitely, becoming more and more intense, attaining a kind of paroxysm, of zenith. It was composed in 1971-72; this trilogy which contains 'Theusz Hamtaahk' (1st movement),'Wurdah Itah' (2nd movement) and 'MDK' (3rd), has been recorded randomly. Indeed, I play a long time the themes before recording them and 'Mekanik' was the first of the three movements that was played live. The other ones have been developed later and recorded then: 'Wurdah Itah' in 1974, 'Theusz Hamtaahk' in 1980, in 'Retrospektiw 1&2'."
1973 alternate version of "Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh".
That's right. We're not even sure if anyone uses mouse pads anymore what with those newfangled optical mice. But whatever, this is a MAGMA mouse pad. So we got a few (just a few). A 19 cm diameter round foam rubbery mouse pad emblazoned with the familiar Magma symbol in red. Cool, eh? 'Nuff said, I can't believe we're reviewing a mouse pad!
People (well, Magma fans, who are the best sort of people, right?) have been waiting for this! Another dvd document of the modern-day (and still amazing) Magma playing live, which is a very special thing. And super super special when they're doing really really old stuff like on this dvd. All the songs here date from the dawn of Magma, the early early '70s, "Epok 1" in the terminology of this dvd, which is the first in a projected four-volume set documenting 35 years of music from the band. In the spring of 2005 they played four weeks of sold-out shows in the intimate confines of the Paris club Le Triton, devoting one week each to what they consider the four "Epoks" of their career to date. So the compositions performed on this volume, from the 1970-72 era of such albums as Kobaia, 1001 Degrees Centigrade, and MDK include: "Malaria", "Stoah", "'Iss' Lansei Doia", "Aurae", "Kobaia", "Sowiloi", "KMX B12", and the 35 minute first movement of "Theusz Hamtaahk".
Now, we just got this in, so we haven't actually had the chance to screen the whole thing. But we did excitedly slip it into the computer and skipped through a few chapters and definitely what we saw made us eager to find the time to sit down in front of the TV, crank the volume, and watch the whole thing through (like, ten or twenty times -- but we ARE huge Magma nerds).
Aside from the basics -- that this is a professionally shot video recording, filmed from multiple angles, of a kick ass band of both young and old Magma folks, including a long haired, leather-vested Klaus Blasquiz on vocals, plus Stella Vander as well, and a bald headed Emmanuel Borghi on Fender Rhodes -- we noticed a few entertaining details. Borghi, lurking at his keyboard, resembles Nosferatu just a bit... Blasquiz's gives what seems to be a genuinely shocked reaction to a particularly noisy solo played by guitarist James Mac Gaw... and no, bearish band leader Christian Vander doesn't have a tattoo -- what looks like a tattoo is actually an excess of upper-arm hair!
OK, there's no getting around it. This will probably make you laugh. They're funny. We admit it. But they're not a joke, and while they make us laugh at times, being so over the top and insane and absurd, and looking so dorky-cool (the horn section, in their oversized white Magma t-shirts, were definitely "band guys" in high school, if you know what we mean) they are also completely awesome for other reasons, musical reasons, as well. And if you're interested in this dvd we imagine you share that opinion so we won't spend any time here talking about their bombastic brilliance.
Speaking of t-shirts, watching this you'll realize if you haven't already that Magma are probably the most heavily "branded" band ever. The spikey, semi-circular Magma symbol is displayed on everybody here, on shirts, pendants, etc. The band themselves seem to be one of the biggest markets for Magma merch... Which reminds us, by the way, we've got a handful of official Magma logo *mouse pads* for sale, see elsewhere this list!
Tech specs: this dvd is all region, NTSC, 1 hour and 56 minutes long.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
EPOK 2 has arrived!! For all Magma fans, a glorious moment indeed. Actually this moment should have occurred a month or two ago, but unfortunately the label in France accidentally sent us PAL rather than NTSC dvds, and we only just finally got the correct NTSC ones. But no matter, it was worth the wait! This is part two in the planned four-disc live dvd series documenting Christian Vander's current, amazing Magma lineup (plus some special guests from Magma days of yore) in concert doing versions of their '70s classics, for their 35th anniversary in 2005. Not sure why the heck we didn't fly to France for it, but thank god these shows were filmed for dvd -- pro shot and edited, with multiple camera angles, very intimate and exciting. The disc starts with behind-the-scenes footage of the band arriving at the venue and warming up... they joke around as they greet one another backstage but then when it's time to play... damn this gets SERIOUS.
That's right, since the material performed in the Mythes Et Legendes series was organized chronologically, this second dvd features some of their heaviest masterpieces, several utterly crucial Magma compositions from 1973 to 1976, including a 49 minute "Wurdah Itah", a 42 minute "Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh", and a 21 minute "De Futura". That's what we said. WURDAH ITAH. MEKANIK DESTRUKTIW KOMMANDOH. DE FUTURA. Damn.
Not only that, but freakin' bass maestro Jannick Top (like Vander, an old dude now but looking weirdly burly and badass in his black leather vest and shades) joins the band for "M.D.K." and his own "De Futura"! Plus he shows off with a moody, virtuoso bass solo based on a Bach piece. As if he needed to prove anything.
Basically, if you like Magma, you want, no you NEED to watch them do "De Futura" on this thing. They tear it up. Vander's in a frenzy. Top's bass playing is off the hook. The choir does some crazy shit too. Oh yeah, another old friend is on here -- vocalist Klaus Blasquiz. And by the way, unlike Epok 1, there's no horn section.
What else to say? If you're a Magma fan, you'll be happy with this as soon as you hear the music looped on the menu page, we're telling you!
Tech specs: NTSC, all-region, 2 hours and 18 minutes.
