(image: Hasegawa Tohaku - Shōrin-Zu Byōbu)

Disconcerted Sounds Last.fm Group - here. A curiosity if nothing more...

Monday 19 October 2009

Natural Snow Buildings - The Winter Ray

This was a request from someone in the cbox. Great 2004 album from NSB, self-released, limited to less than 15 copies (according to discogs) and long out of print as I'm sure most have realised.

Natural Snow Buildings - The Winter Ray

This album consists of two full discs - a standard of NSB releases - that add up to roughly 160 minutes of audio. I really can't understand how they've it over the years with such frequency and with so few lapses in quality.
That being said, the responses on rateyourmusic for this album are not among the most positive for the band. The record contains more of a post-rock vibe where you would find those long droning folk experiments on newer albums and the shorter psych-folk tracks have been excluded. So maybe people were disappointed to find out that they have since expanded on their sound?
For me this is a gem. Something akin to the sounds Grace Cathedral Park generated on 'In the Evenings of Regret' but with plenty of signs of more experimentation to come.

I've had to split the two discs into three download links because of the 100mb limit but they're clearly labelled 1-1, 2-7, etc. with the first number being the disc, second the track, so it should be easy to sort out. MP3s at 256kbps. Artwork can be found on the discogs page linked above - can't hotlink their pictures.

Disc 1
1. Overture
2. I Don't Know What Psy War Is
3. Dark Side Of Behaviourism
4. Broadcast
5. Micro Chip Little Children
6. The Fake And Sad Lonely Gunman
7. Mae Brussel
8. Counter In Surgency
9. Experiments On Monkeys
10. Toward A Psychocivilized Society
11. Broadcast
12. Places Of Detention
13. Un Manne D'Helicopters And Micro Waves
14. Falling Space Laser Nikola Tesla

Disc 2
1. Over Mt Weather
2. Brighton Beach
3. Fishing Hole
4. Dead Horses
5. Ethy1 Bromo Acetate
6. Bloody Snow
7. Inside Mt Weather
8. I Was Always Cold
9. The Winter Ray
10. Dead Horses (By The Sea)
11. The Exhausted Meteor

Download: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

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Low Point: Celer - Mane Blooms
Gareth Hardwick - Half Light
Tim Catlin & Machinefabriek - Glisten

Great Jooklo news this month. Holiday Records are releasing a collaborative LP between Golden Jooklo Age and Peaking Lights...

...and then Qbico are apparently due to release a set of four new LPs (Jooklo Duo, Neokarma Jooklo Trio and Neokarma Jooklo Experience) next month. Hope they're discounted prices!

Then there is the Twinsistermoon 'The Hollow Mountain' CD re-release on Blackest Rainbow at the end of the month - with bonus material - which will then be followed by the TSM and Isengrind LPs.

Oh, and to top it off, the Big Blood releases on Cabin Floor Esoterica (plus an Elm tape around the same time) and Time-Lag aren't too far away.

I wish I owned a bank, or something.

There are also a couple of new Mississippi Records either just released or on the horizon, Joseph Spence, Michael Hurley and Mata La Pena. Heard there were some more compilations as well but haven't spotted those to know any details.

Goaty Tapes: Banana Head - In the Tubs
Bird - Hoy en día
Vincent Over the Sink - Bible Bashers
Paradise Sisters - Jeff Atkins no. 7

Sloow Tapes: Robert Horton and Tom Carter - Campfire (ltd. 40)
Numinous Eye - The Tunnel At The End Of The Light

Roll Over Rover: Rover Encyclopedia #3 - Sideways Hole
Waterside Gala - Composure & Recreation
Sean McCann - Phylum Sigh (re-issue)
Bats In The Belfry - Because You're Blue

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And again, I'll "plug" the Disconcerted Sounds group on last.fm. I hadn't realised before it was mentioned but there is a DS radio station that is meant to be generated from what everyone in the group is listening to, that should be interesting. Cheers to the people that have joined the group, thanks for the kind comments as well.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

any idea on how limited the TSM reissue or the new LPs are?

disconcerted said...

The TSM CD is limited to 1000.
The LPs I don't know about but most likely around 300-500 of each - can't imagine a smaller pressing.

Joe Marshall said...

Hey, not so much a comment on this post as your blog in general, but I've finally had the chance to read through all your stuff and this is brilliant! Keep up the great work and thanks for the link! Btw, you might enjoy Simon Scott's new record on Miasmah if you haven't heard it already.
Joe x

mj said...

Andrew I totally agree with you on the quality of The Winter Ray. Honestly I haven't listened to it in a few months, but I do think the stuff on that collection is some of their finest work. Since "Wisconsin" was always one of my favorites from Dance of the Moon and the Sun, I was really pleased to find more of that kind of music on The Winter Ray

Unknown said...

About the Jooklo stuff on Qbico: I thought Qbico's last batch of releases was supposed to be the last batch ever? How do you find out about what Qbico is up to now that the web site is gone? Is there a mailing list or something?

Sorry for all the questions.

disconcerted said...

Thanks a lot, Joe. Glad you like what you see.
No problem with the link, you've done some excellent posts.
Have noted down Simon Scott and will try and search for some samples in the next couple of days. Cheers. Always like to try and hear unfamiliar names.

Mike: Really glad you agree (and huge thanks for tracking it down in the first place!).
'Wisconsin' would fit flawlessly into this album. Maybe it was the first recording for 'The dance...' or an out take of this album? Beautiful song whatever the case.

Guy: I honestly have no clue about the status of Qbico. The Makoto and Gustafsson records appeared on a mailing list - Eclipse if my memory serves correctly - and the Jooklo news appeared on the Troglosound site.
Not sure about a mailing list but someone left a comment a few posts ago with a website and contact info.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

"Manafon" of David Sylvian will be the best release of 2009.

Amazing music!

I have the deluxe edition (with the David Sylvian signature), and is a very good edition, but i think that for fans only,
i didn´t see the dvd yet.

:)

disconcerted said...

Cheers for leaving the website and email address again, going to make a note of them this time!

Best of the year? Might have to find a listen to that as well now.

I listened to bits of the Simon Scott album on boomkat last night (the mp3 shop has the full tracks to preview) and like the sound of it. Will try and hear a bit more on the weekend.