You might find the title and cover art of this new Shut-Ins' album to be a bit deceiving... We sure did! They give nary a hint of the ol' style hoedown -- with a little luau ("Hawaiian Cowboy" and "Hapa Haole Hula Girl") and sock hop ("Just Because") thrown in for good measure -- contained within. Although the instrumentation (deep warm standup bass, frantic banjo pluckin', sparkling mandolin, slip-slidin' pedal steel) and overall tone is certainly traditional country, the Shut-Ins keep the barndoor wide open and inviting, ably hoppin' about from style to style as they so please, and they do so at such a fevered pace. They even cover Blondie's "Dreaming" in earnest twangin' fashion! Such fun! Just don't forget your gingham tablecloth, saddleshoes and grass skirt. Eighteen songs in all.
Experimental electro-acoustic improv label Erstwhile has put out a lot of great stuff, but this is perhaps their best release in a while! Too Beautiful To Burn documents the musical meeting of two Martins, guitarist Martin Siewert and drummer Martin Brandlmayr, both from Austria. Siewart we've heard before playing in groupings with the likes of Christian Fennesz, Werner Dafeldecker, Taku Sugimoto, Kevin Drumm, and Jim O'Rourke to name a few. Meanwhile, Brandlmayr we know as the drummer for the fantastic Viennese post-rock outfit Radian. Together, with Martin S. manipulating guitars, lap steel, electonics and synth and Martin B. playing drums, percussion and vibraphone, they've conjured a wonderful 5 track, 45 minute soundscape, ranging from Raster-Noton or Sachiko M style sine-wave tonalities to more vigorous abstract noise that at times even reminds us of the Dead C.
This is spacious, minimal, very beautiful stuff, with layers of gentle electronics, hiss and drone, and glitchy rhythms. Radian fans can perhaps imagine an ambient version of that band, more mellow and drifty. With the guitar as sound source, certainly fellow Austrian Fennesz would be another referent. The duo's live playing gives this a physicality so often absent from laptop computer music, so even though their sounds enter the hard-disc realm at some point, they retain a warm, human element. You can get a sense of how this originated in a live event with two musicans interacting. Extremely successful, and indeed, too beautiful to burn -- so buy it.
On his debut, Bay Area one man band Sort Of Invisible (aka the very nice fellow Daniel Bolig) craftily brings together a fully fleshed out array of shoegazer-ish fuzzy guitar washes, ramshackle indie rock acoustic guitars, trippy woozy space-pop keyboards, and boyish vocals. That's right he does it all himself! Picturesque definitely brought to mind a variety of early/mid-90s bands such as Ride and Pavement, but also made a place of its own.
It's hard to believe this is real. In fact, it took a lot to convince Andee, who was sure this was some Gregg Turkington prank.
But the thing that really puts CUT on the map for us is their way of conducting their religious services, and the fact that someone managed to tape it. The tapes of this service have been floating around for years already. Those of you familiar with Negativland's 1989 album "Escape From Noise" will already be familiar with an excerpt of one of the tracks on this album, as they used it for the track "Michael Jackson", and Steve Fisk has been using these tapes for years as well. This record features live recordings of Clare Prophet 'speaking' out against the evils of rock music. She sounds perfectly normal as she introduces her 'psalms' or 'songs' or 'speeches' or whatever they are. But when she gets going, it's amazing. And so goddamn funny. Her rapid fire high pitched testifying sounds a bit like an insane mix of an auctioneer, a yodeller, the guy who sings the directions at a square dance, Neil Hamburger huffing helium, variations of baseball's 'hey batter batter' chant only faster. It's like that sound you make when you sort of hum/breathe out and move your finger up and down between your lips making a sort of 'bebubebubebubebubebubebubebubebu' sound. It's one of the most amazing things we've ever heard! A must for all cult fanatics, new age withdrawal victims, seekers of the truly strange, and fans of extended vocal techniques. Ever so highly recommended!
Oooh, inside this Special Pillow you'll find vocals and violins melting sweetly like paisley ice cream cones. Delightful! For close to a decade, Special Pillow have woven their swooning retro psych pop (and yet this is only their second album!). Let it be known however, they're by no means unwilling to amp it up, adding (just a little) garage crunch to their guitars and (just a little) snarl to their singing, and they'll do so at the drop of a hat. Such is the case with the third and fourth songs ("You Can Do It" and "Nothing Important"). If you dig the pretty, wide-eyed and mildly trippy side of '60s style pop psychedelia, cozy up to Special Pillow.
After several records of beat heavy brutality, Speedranch and JanskyNoise, now apparently a single entity, return with their 'ambient' album. But be warned, the term 'ambient' here is definitely relative. This is the sort of ambient record Merzbow would make, or the sort of relaxation record that would come out on RRR. The bulk of the record is a thick, chaotic, face melting Masonna-ish skree. The noise is broken up occasionally by...well...er...other noises. Dark clouds of rumbling murmur, swirling sonic whirlpools of distorted voices, random snippets from movies and television, and industrial clatter, all run through a bank of effects until it sounds like the whole record is crumbling into digital bits. Not so many beats here (when they do show up they are crushed into a sonic paste), but when almost rhythms surface, the 'beats' are mostly produced by the random pulses and chopped samples. This one is a pretty difficult listen, as most Speedranch records are, but there is so much going on here, repeated listens reveal all sorts of bizarre, noisy, and funny gems hidden throughout the deafening GRZZZBBBSSSHHTTTTT!!!!!!!!!
Last list we reviewed Stafraenn Hakon's excellent debut "...Eignast Jeppa". Well we quickly sold out of that one (don't worry, we'll get more) but we do have THIS newer Stafraenn Hakon recording to share with you now. The same facts apply: Stafraenn Hakon, actual name Olafur Josephsson, is from Iceland. And everytime we play anything by Stafraenn Hakon in the store, somebody comes to the counter and asks about it, 'cause this music is simply so nice. Mellow, instrumental post-rock so freaking lovely it's like crying magical tears. No, really, this is nice enough to make 'nice' seem like an understatement. Sad, shimmering, swelling, chiming, gentle, drifting, gauzily melodic. There's another Stafraenn Hakon release coming up on Resonant real soon, and we hope he keeps 'em coming. Sigur Ros, move over.
The completely awesome fictional (or is it?) Sun Ra movie now available in a swank DVD edition courtesy of the fine folks at Plexifilm. If you've seen this already you know it's the best low budget science fiction afro-jazz freak film ever made, and you'll want this new version with bonus stuffs. If you haven't seen it, what are you waiting for? Sun Ra was a genius and also had a sense of humor, this film proves. Made here in the Bay Area by some public television guys and shot on the same sound stage (at the same time!) as the Mitchell Bros. famed porno opus Behind The Green Door (!) this is simply out of this world: the music (lots of live performances), the story, the visuals. Sun Ra wrote all his own lines, by the way. This dvd 'director's cut' restores the film to its original 82 minute length, and includes some truly special features, among them a video interview with the director and producer, and and some silent bonus footage of Ra and the Arkestra cavorting at the Pyramids in Egypt!
And for more Sun Ra dvd action, see the review elsewhere this list for The Cry Of Jazz, a 1959 film featuring Sun Ra and his Arkestra.
Well, Sun Ra fans have two good reasons to go out and buy themselves a DVD player if they don't happen to have one already -- number one, the DVD release of the Sun Ra sci-fi flick Space Is The Place, reviewed nearby. Number two, this item, a 1959 "polemic on the politics of music and race" made by filmmaker/musician Edward O. Bland that features live footage of Sun Ra, John Gilmore, and the rest of the Arkestra, shot in Chicago jazz clubs, their home turf in that era. 35 minutes, black and white. Brought to us by Atavistic's Unheard Music Series, who continue to earn the gratitude of jazz-heads everywhere. ----* ----* 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. ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE "Last Concert In Tokyo" (Acid Mothers Temple) cd 16.98 AKIMBO "Elephantine" (Dopamine / Amalagate) cd 12.98 ART OF NOISE "Into Battle With The Art Of Noise / 20th Anniversary Edition" (Repertoire) 2cd 17.98 ASHLEY, GREG "Medicine Fuck Dream" (Birdman) cd 13.98 BOYSKOUT "School Of Etiquette" (Alive) cd 14.98 CIRCLE TAKES THE SQUARE "As The Roots Undo" (Robotic Empire) cd 11.98 COACHWHIPS "Bangers Vs. Fuckers" (Narnack Records) lp 11.98 CREATURES, THE "Hai" (Instinct) cd 15.98 DAVKA "The Golem" (Tzadik) cd 16.98 DOCKSTADER, TOD "Eight Electronic Pieces" (Locust) cd 14.98 FIERY FURNACES, THE "Gallowsbird's Park" (Rough Trade) cd 15.98 GALAS, DIAMANDA "Defixiones: Will And Testament" (Mute) 2cd 23.00 GALAS, DIAMANDA "La Serpenta Canta" (Mute) 2cd 19.98 HELLA "The Devil Isn't Red" (Suicide Squeeze) lp 13.98 HOAHIO "Peek-Ara-Boo" (Tzadik) cd 16.98 I.S.O. "s/t" (Sound Tectonics) cd 22.00 JOKERS "s/t" (Modern Music (PSF)) cd 21.00 KEITH, RODD "Ecstacy To Frenzy" (Tzadik) cd 16.98 KING COBRA "s/t" (Troubleman) cd/lp 10.98/10.98 KITCHEN CYNICS, THE "Parallel Dog Days" (Secret Eye) cd 12.98 KYOAKU NO INTENTION "Astral Projection" (PSF) cd 19.98 MODERN LOVERS "The Original Modern Lovers" (Bomp) lp 13.98 MR. AIRPLANE MAN "C'mon DJ" (Sympathy For The Record Industry) cd 14.98 MY CAT IS AN ALIEN "Rest In Silence" (Eclipse) 2lp 18.98 N.LN "Astronomy For Children" (Highpoint Lowlife) cd 11.98 NULL, K.K. "Atomik Disorder" (Neurot) cd 12.98 PALAST, GREG "Weapons Of Mass Instruction Live" (Alternative Tentacles) cd 14.98 PHOSPHENE "Projection" (Secret Eye) cd 12.98 PIXEL "Display" (Raster.Post) cd 16.98 QBERT, DJ "DJ Q Bert's Complete Do-It Yourself Volume 2: Skratch Sessions" (Thud Rumble) dvd 26.00 RAEKWON "The Lex Diamond Story" (Universal) cd 15.98 RAKU SUGIFATTI "Futatsu" (Improvised Music From Japan) cd 24.00 REYNOLS "The Bolomo Mogal F Hits" cd 22.00 SACHIKO M "Derive" (NAIM) cd 16.98 SALVATORE "Tempo" (Racing Junior) cd 14.98 STALK FORREST GROUP "St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings" (Rhino) cd 19.98 STATISTICS "Leave Your Name" (Jade Tree) cd 14.98 STEINSKI "Burning Out of Control, the Sugarhill Mix" (Antidote) cd 17.98 TAPE "Milieu" (Hapna) cd 16.98 THE ORDER: FROM MATTHEW BARNEY'S CREMASTER 3 (Palm Pictures) dvd 23.00 TUSSLE "Don't Stop" (Troubleman Unlimited) cd ep/12" 8.98/10.98 VANDERSLICE, JOHN "Cellar Door" (Barsuk) cd 13.98 V/A "Loch Ness Monster featuring Top Reggae Artists" (Trojan) cd 14.98 YOSHIHIDE, OTOMO / PARK JE CHUN / MI YEON "Loose Community" (Improvised Music From Japan) cd 17.98 ZOFFY "Thou Shalt Not Mess With Zoffy!" (Acid Mothers Temple) cd 16.98 _______________________________________________________________________ ABOUT MAILORDER Please place your order via our website. [1] We will contact you to verify your order and let you know when it will be shipped. Please note that occasionally it may take a day or two for us to reply. We are not a faceless bunch of computers replying to your order -- we are human beings! [2] If we are out of some of your items and we think we will get them within the same week, we can wait to ship. Or... If it's going to be more than a few days to complete your order, we will ship what we have and then will contact you as the remainders arrive. [ note ] Due to the everchanging nature of the independent record business, we are not responsible for listed price changes (due to supplier price changes) and often cannot update our site fast enough to reflect these changes, but we will always try to let you know of any differences.
Yes, the "Gorey" in the title refers to the late beloved genius Mr. Edward Gorey whose artwork both graces and inspires this release. And yes, this album has been nominated for a Grammy. According to the liner notes, Edward Gorey took such a liking to one of the Tiger Lillies' songs that he was spurred to send them a bunch of his unpublished stories. In turn, they spun a number of them into song for this album, and hooked up with the Kronos Quartet to make for quite an impressive and suitably tweaked cast of players. The results are thirteen songs characteristically (for all involved) very high on twisted theatrics and eccentricities. Vocalist Martyn Jaques possesses a highly affected, oft-operatic voice which he unleashes with a commanding flair on the audience, squawking, cackling and howling out his adaptations of the stories which stay quite faithfully in spirit and tone to that of Gorey (lyrics are included in the booklet). All the while a piano is prodded and tickled, an accordion huffs and wheezes, the Kronos strings weigh heavily on the heartstrings, and a toybox is plundered for more sonic embellishments. Together they weave a delirious cabaret atmosphere that's at once unsettling, macabre, and surreal.
As 2004 ushers in a broad range of changes, good and bad, so it also brings a brand new collection of Twilight Circus tracks. And for the first time the Circus' ringleader, Ryan Moore, has begun working with vocalists as the two 10"s from late last year anticipated. Along with four of the tracks from the Big Youth and Luciano 10"s, Foundation Rockers includes appearances from Ranking Joe, Brother Culture and Mykal Rose. The different vocalists each bring a very different feeling to the Twilight Circus tracks they sing on. Luciano and Mykal Rose both with their conscious reggae background bring an almost saccharine nu-roots soul vibe to the mix, while Big Youth, Ranking Joe and Brother Culture are straight up DJ era toasters. For those who still prefer the strictly dub side of Twilight Circus there are five tracks included here of the good old Ryan Moore at his best, cranking out some floorboard bending bass and echoey horns. CD comes with two bonus tracks previously released on the two 10"s: Big Youth "Love Dub Remix" and Luciano "What We Gotta Do (Acoustic Mix)".
Super limited quadruple 10" set that compiles tracks from both the BBC Radiophonic Workshop records, up until now only available on cd. All the artists get one side, except Delia Derbyshire who gets a whole record to herself. Here's what we had to say about the cd versions:
"BBC Radiophonic Music"
Originally released in 1968, this compilation brings together pieces composed during the first decade of the reknowned BBC Radiophonic Workshop, a groundbreaking sound laboratory that provided British radio listeners and TV viewers with avant-garde musique concrete interludes and wacky sound effects -- Dr. Who being their most well-known client. There's no Who here, but a broad range of other stuff, including music from a War of the Worlds dramatization, experimental radio plays, documentary soundtracks, and signature tunes for local radio stations. Back before computers and sampling, these recordings represent many hours of painstaking, clever work: 33 tracks composed by Workshop electronic music pioneers Delia Derbyshire, John Baker, and David Cain. Their heroic efforts are historically interesting, and a good listen to boot, which was always the intent.
"The Radiophonic Workshop"
The classic 1975 album reissued, chock full o' quirky and/or moody cutting-edge compositions from the the madmen (and women) who inhabited the legendary BBC Radio Radiophonic Workshop in its heyday -- you know, the folks responsible for all the electronic music on the Dr. Who TV show. So, you get all the mysterious whooshes and percolating scifi bleepage you'd expect. Sound effects and music converge here, utilizing the most advanced synth technology of the day (such as the EMS Synthi 100 'Delaware' machine, described as "massive"), and a lot of imagination. Combining electronically-generated sounds with tape loops and live instruments, tracks here range from spritely, happy video arcade pop toons to spooky, creepy soundcapes (or the disturbing gastrointestinal ambience of "Major Bloodnok's Stomach", track 8). Clever montage, music box melodies, and assorted mad-computer sounds abound. Pretty neat.
This compelling compilation brings together tracks from a bunch of different releases in Buda Musique's Musique Du Monde series to provide a global, pan-cultural perspective on traditional shamanic ritual music. Here you'd definitely find some wild and wonderful examples of musical expression made by and for shamans and other "possessed" persons from places as diverse as Indonesia, Iran, Siberia, Haiti, Vietnam, Ecuador, Guyana, and Brazil. From the always-incredible Cak chant of Bali to Voodoo frenzies, from the anti-suicide ceremony of a Siberian shaman to the hallucinogenically-enhanced mouth-bowing of an Amazonian healer, this is both some great listening and a fascinating reminder of the universal human desire to transcend this world and find strength and succor in what to some is a very real spiritual realm. Some of the selections demonstrate the communal, celebratory energy needed to make contact with spirits, while others seem to derive their power from the depth of feeling evident in a singer's solo performance. 11 tracks, 60 minutes, an excellent international "shaman-sampler" indeed.
WordSound's Crooklyn crew is back with an other comp of dark, low-slung beats and breaks. Just like the previous volumes, this is the illest of the "illbient", perfect for pumping on the stereo as you cruise in your car, headlights off, through the urban streets at night, looking for trouble. (We're not really suggesting you to do that, we're just trying to paint a picture here.) Usual suspects on board this time include: Spectre, Twilight Circus, Prince Charming, Bill Laswell, DJ/Rupture, Scotty Hard, Roots Control, Zion Train and others.
Ok, so far this Relapse series has visited Brazil, Poland, Japan, the Czech Republic, and Sweden, and all of those comps were pretty great, solid purchases for any grind/death metal fan looking to do some armchair travel. So why make single out this Dutch entry as a highlight? Well we think that at least two of the four bands on here take extreme metal to extremes that maybe would appeal to not necessarily just metal fans. If you're the sort of AQ customer who revels in fucked up sonic fuckery, who digs silly weird noisy music of any variety, you should check this out.
A band called Suppository start things off in righteous grindcore mode, blasting through ten tracks at a zillion kilometers per hour, pausing only occasionally for a humorous audio sample as per grindcore standard operating procedure. Good stuff.
Then, Eindhoven's Last Days of Humanity take over with nine tracks of even faster and nastier grind, with titles like "Decrepitated Regurgitation In Foetal Leprosy". Wow, that's morbid and gross sounding, yes, but does it even make sense? Lyrics aside, what's really notable about this band are the amazing vocals. This singer may in fact have the most extreme, low-end, belching, vomitous voice we've ever heard. Incredible and inhuman, a rumbling drone instrument unto itself. And the band's music is as shreddingly-distorted to match.
But then, when you think *that* was some crazy grind, comes band number three, S.M.E.S., who are all about silly drum-machine dance beats, and super grunty vocals. Vocals that I'd say are even more bowel-scraping that those of Last Days of Humanity, but it turns out it's the same guy. Apparently S.M.E.S. is the solo project of Last Days singer Erwin. S.M.E.S. sorta sounds like an electronic polka mixed with a Chris Watson field recording (lion, rhinoceros, and birds perhaps). A grind rave safari? Erwin must be taking the piss, but regardless these five totally cracked tracks are pretty freaking great.
Batting clean-up, Inhume can't hope to compete with that sort of ridiculousness, so they just stick to providing four straight-forward tracks of killer grind. RRRRrrrrrrrragh!!
So, Holland makes a strong showing here. If you're only gonna get one foreign four-way split grind comp this year, Dutch Assault maybe oughta be it!
Here's a little something for your lo-fi pop sweet tooth... a compilation 7" record featuring Bart Davenport, Chicken On A Raft as well as Elephant 6ers The Minders and Of Montreal. Mr. Davenport's contribution is a gently sung and strummed ditty called "Tee". Of Montreal's is a spritely demo version of "Epistle To A Pathological Creep". The Minders deliver a droll Young Marble Giants-ish "Jealous Baby" and Chicken On A Raft get all raw, acoustic with "Lone Pilgrim". Limited pressing of 500, so hop to it!
From the label that helped put out the swell "Darker Than Blue" reggae/soul compilation, comes a new, even more obscure collection of great tracks. Everything on this collection comes from the vaults of the Canadian label / recording studio Half Moon, sort of a Great White Northern version of Wackies and every bit as good. Lots of crispy, crunchy hi-hats and boomy-muffled bass surround the vocalists in a sandwich of audio love. There's a really nice rootsy reworking of Michigan & Smiley's "Nice Up The Dance" rhythm with some vocals by Johnny Osbourne. Along with Osbourne many Jamaican stars came to visit and record with the in house Super 8 Corporation band during the eighties. Included on this set are Joe Higgs, Stranger Cole, Leroy Sibbles as well as the home team's own vocalists. In addition to the vocal tracks there's some really sweet dubs on here to boot, fairly stripped down in style with a little added instrumentation here, a little more spring reverb and delay there -- very tasteful. The recording quality is very reminiscent of Lee Perry's early Black Ark era stuff, cramming as much signal onto the magnetic tape as will saturate (just caint do that darn thing with that digital crap!) Quite nice. Comes packaged in a nicely printed cardboard box. Our only regret with this release is that they shot the wad on the outer sleeve and neglected to include any liner notes, not even a cover for the actual CD case within. But we can't bitch too much, it's a great collection filled with rarities.
Think you know what good music is? Think you know bad music when you hear it? How about a third option: 'wrong music '? From the folks who brought you Metallica Drummer, here's a 70 minute, 26 track compilation cd-r sure to please said video's fans, outsider music followers, and WFMU djs. Low Band Width is the result of some disturbingly obsessive trawling of the internet's outer reaches to rummage up the most jaw-dropping sonicïtreasures. All songs found as genuine mp3's. All songs from the heart. One man's proverbial trash...
The comp eases you into things with an a capella performance of Toto's "Africa". Seems harmless enough, doesn't it? How aboutïa singer/songwriter whoïheard theïtheme song on 'Cheers' and perhaps thought "I can do that... about my favorite bar, too!" And he can. And did.ïAlong the way, we also encounter absolutelyïexcessive drum programming, lisps, odes to Jesus, Mexican Food and sea rescues(!), anthems to friendship, andïwhat resembles Emerson, Lake and Palmer on a budget of zero. Oh, and a Christian death metal band so committed to the cause that they're going to fight Satan themselves PHYSICALLY. "Aam gonna body slam saaatan - Aam gonna rip his head off!!" No one plays a single note that any of us recognize. Sooooo fun, but definitely a subjective experience: as The Alphaï(the track-inclusion-number-winner) states "you will be let down, but not by me... I promise."
At times endearing, inspiring, unsettling, and disturbing, but always entertaining! And they mean it! Seriously, everyone on this comp is absolutely *there*, wherever that is.
Several months back, a copy or two of this compilation of early '80s Germany new wave / post-punk / proto-electronica came in the shop with little or no fanfare. Yet each time I attempted to play this disc, somebody would immediately come up to the counter to ask two questions: "What is this?" followed by "Can I buy it?" Needless to say, the album must have done very well all across the globe, as it has only been recently that we've been able to get a hold of enough of these to list. With the notable exception of DAF, Der Plan, and Pyrolator, we've never come across any of these bands, much less heard of them. For the most part, this catalogue of terminally obscure groups have produced some exceptional tracks of synth-based, noir pop. Occasionally playful, but often seriously sterile, these songs often revolve around the Kraftwerk / Cluster axis of a futuristic synthesis of state of the art technology (well for 1980 with primitive sequencers and drum machines) and sci-fi leaning metaphors. Along with those aforementioned groups, New Deutsch features Weltklang, Neon, Grauzone, Gleitzeit, No More, Stratis, Christof Glowalla, Eiskalte Engel, Za Za, Keine Ahnung, Die Gesunden, Fehlfarfen, Blingaenger, and Die Hornissen.
Certainly for fans of Adult., I Am Spoonbender, Gary Numan, etc.
We were never all that into techno. Especially house music. But then along came the Chain Reaction label, and removed everything from the house music equation -except- for the beat and some leftover sonic detritus. And suddenly we found ourselves digging this new sort-of-house music. So now along comes Kompakt, and this time, they strip away all the -beats-, leaving just dreamy soundscapes, swirling eddies of sound, lonely chords, melodies drifitng lazily into space
with no beats left to keep them earthbound. The result is a gorgeous, shimmery ambient music, angelic and ethereal, eschewing all of its techno roots, instead positioning itself somewhere between the late night chill out of the Orb, and that sort of barely-there music for meditation. New Age? As much as classic Tangerine Dream was new age, which is to say, a little certainly. But these Pop Ambient compilations manage to be soothing and shimmery without crossing the line into Windham Hill / Yoga tape schmaltz. Think AQ faves Gas with the beats stripped away completely. Or think an even more blissed out, less glitchy Oval. Gently strummed guitar chords, spaced far enough apart that you can almost hear the notes dissipate into the ether, gradually mutating melodies are stretched over a vast expanse of pastoral hum, shrouded in clouds of whir, subtle sonic swells create 10 bpm rhythms that don't sound like rhythms at all, tinlking chimes create shimmery waves that move slowly outward forever like ripples in a pond. So good. Perfectly dreamy and relaxing. Impossible not to love, this is volume four in Kompakt's Pop Ambient series and they just keep getting better. And more ambient. At this rate by volume 6 or 7 there may not be any sound left at all, just gentle whispers and inaudible drones. Can't wait. (fyi, the cd has one more track than the vinyl.)
The second testimonial, following the excellent Braindance Coincidence sampler, to the consistency of quality and occasional goofiness of Richard D. James and Grant Wilson Claridge's visionary Rephlex label. What you get here is a handful of 'hits' from some of electronic music's underground superstars as well as some of the amazing electroacoustic gems you just might have slept on in the recent past. Given the fact that Rephlex is notorious for their unpredictable agenda of keeping the back catalogue in or out of print (the majority of these tracks are from albums currently out of print or very hard to find), here's a good chance to catch up with what possibly flew over your head. Braindance heads will need this for the two exclusives takin' it back to the old school: AFX drops an acid classic while Luke Vibert shows you who's Papa, Amen Andrews style. Neophytes will enjoy previously released cuts from Astrobotnia, Pierre Bastien, Bochum Welt, Cylob, D'Arcangelo, DMX Krew, Ensemble, The Gentle People, Global Goon, JP Buckle, Leila, Like A Tim, Robert Normandeau, Bogdan Raczynski, PP Roy, Slipper and Yee-King.
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.
With this new release, local underground hiphop/turntablist label Hip Hop Slam goes to war -- against the war, that is. Subtitled Emcee Dubya vs. DJs of Mass Destruction, this anti-war comp takes a plunderphonic approach at the expense of our respected (ha) President and his invasion of Iraq. Contributors include Public Enemy (with a mix of their track "Son of a Bush"), Cat Five, Mr. Lif, Shingo2, Tino Corp, Azeem, and many others, some (like DJ Saddam and DJ Sars) with explictly topical monikers. There's even the inclusion of a track by Steinski & Mass Media, the pioneer of the "political cut-and-paste" electronic music genre whose work inspired so many of these folks. This kind of audio activism can only be applauded, getting out the message that not all Americans are so gung-ho on the Bush regime's program. Bring the noise, fight the power, c'mon. Proceeds from the sale of this not-for-profit project benefit a variety of peace orgs.
First and only offical release from the mighty VON, a legendary black metal band from right here in the Bay Area. Never heard of 'em? Not surprising. Not only did they never release an actual album, but they were spurned by the scene at the time for playing sloppy fucked up, super simple and repetitive metal, unlike the technical thrash that was popular at the time. Von took their sound from
Hellhammer, Bathory and Venom, playing very simple trance-like riffs, over and over, with barked, super-affected gutteral vocals, and very little melody. Simple and raw and way more Satanic than most bands of the time. This droning grimness would become the blueprint for modern primitve black metal, but at the time, Von were pretty much it. Certainly around these parts. This disc collects everything, the Satanic Blood demo, the Satanic Angel demo, and a live show at the Stone in San Francisco from 1991. Wow.
Reason #16 for sticking with the Ethiopiques series: 'cuz just when you think you've got the series pegged, along comes something from way out in left field to kick your generalizing ass. And that's exactly what Asnaqetch Werqu did to ours. So no, this is not another funk groove record -- for those of you who may have had enough of that. Like the Harp Of King David (Ethiopiques #11) that was released back in 2001, The Lady With The Krar is more of a "traditional" Ethiopian music disc. Culturally though, the Krar is the polar opposite of the Beguena and considered quite literally to be "the devil's instrument". The performer of this demi-satanic instrument, along with holding the claim to fame of being the first actress to appear on the Ethiopian stage, arose against the odds to acheive super star status as a sort of Woody Guthrie meets The Bard political minstrel performer. This is because Asnaqetch Werqu was not born into a family of performing musicians, a caste known as Azmari. Instead she acquired her fame through sheer lyrical, improvisational and musical prowess. A five (sometimes six) stringed lyre with a gut resonator, the Krar sounds not unlike an old-time five string banjo; though with its creepy tuning it sounds closer melodically to something out of Java than the Appalachians. Werqu accompanies her vocals with the Krar, playing a semi-paralleling melody to her vocal line. The interweaving of Werqu's soft, lilting voice and the percussive twang of the Krar is absolutely hypnotic. Andee almost immediately proclaimed this his new favorite in the series, to give you an indication of the magnitude of this recording. Highly recommended! Comes with a 30 page booklet with biographical liner notes, lyrics and historical photos. The 22 tracks included on this disc were taken from two LPs recorded by Werqu in 1974 and 1976.
Whoa, as the first track begins on this new Wisdom Of Harry full length, we're hit with the thought that somewhere along the line Wisdom Of Harry got some even more raucous funkiness in their formerly sweet, sensitive folk-tronic sounds. They've certainly gone through their fair share of stylistic shifts in the time between their albums, the lovely 1999 collection called Stars Of Super 8 (an AQ fave) and the somewhat jarring House of Binary released in 2000 (not an AQ fave) and this their third full length. But hang on a sec, it seems mainman Pete Astor and co. have fused elements of their past two divergent releases into something new, both intimate, earthy and groovy, revealing a greater depth to Wisdom Of Harry. Lo-fi programmed beats, raw acoustic percussion, folksy acoustic guitars, slinky electric guitars, and shifty electronic textural layers along with Astor's smoky return to the sensitive guy vocals all fall into place with seeming ease. The much more confident and cohesive Torch Division definitely brings to mind shades of Beta Band, Badly Drawn Boy and The The.
Newest release from AQ black metal favorite Xasthur, who was responsible for the godlike Nocturnal Poisoning album a couple years ago which was a buzzy droning slab of Burzumic grimness that rivalled almost any black metal we had heard. Xasthur is just one man, a misanthrope called Malefic, who carves bleak crushing black metal buzz-scapes from sheer wells of blackness and despair. While Nocturnal Poisoning was a monochromatic wash of midtempo Norwegian style blur, with lots of sonic murk and low end rumble, The Funeral Of Being adds more uptempo numbers and a lot more treble. Yep, treble. Harkening back to ear shredding classics like Ulver's Nattens Madrigal and any old Darkthrone, this is a drill to the cranium of high end mosquito swarm guitars, splattery buried-in-the-mix drums, and barely audible anguised howls. In fact the production is really quite strange, considering how weirdly lush the first record was. It's as if Malefic thought that Nocturnal Poisoning was *over produced* and prurposefully set out to make this new recording as RAW as possible. And raw it is. Even the ghostly keyboard breakdowns are under a fuzzy layer of hiss. But the production only enhances the beautiful grimness of The Funeral Of Being. Rarely is an artists tortured soul so perfectly laid bare by the cacophonous sound of his instruments but then Xasthur is indeed a rarity.
