Fuzzy Lights (early triple)

Three early EPs from this Cambridge (UK) duo. Well, now they're a five piece but in 2004/05 there were only two official members of the group.

Fuzzy Lights - In Silence We Weep (2004)
This was their debut release - a two track, 3" CD. I don't believe there were any overdubs on this release, just the two of them playing live. The guitarist, Xavier Watkins, makes the most of the loop pedal and the violinist, Rachel Allison, adds appropriately to his base with screeches and melodies.

"Minimal post rock duo from Cambridge reminding you how post rock can still be rewarding if treated with a gentle hand and just the right amount of tension and release." Faded Words
1. No Signal - Help!
2. Picture Thoughts

Download


Fuzzy Lights - Improvised Series #1 (2005)
The first edition of the improvised series came with the idea of an added member to the core of Xavier and Rachel. In this instance they invited along a drummer, Julien Verlant.
The post-rock nature of their music is obvious in this recording but the basic builds aren't as synchronised due to the improvised approach.
The first track sounds like instrumental Low for the first half and then the drummer begins to force the energy release and the guitar catches on.
The second track takes a more avant-garde approach but by halfway has settled to a heavy rock riff with the violin attempting to capture the essence of Steve Reich.
Track three is really the peak of the post-rock track. Somehow the violin begins to sound like a saxophone and the drums become engulfed in the overdriven guitar chords. A bit of an unconventional track that alone I think I would love but it feels slightly out of sorts on this release.

Download


Fuzzy Lights - Improvised Series #2 (2006)
Interestingly the additional musician to the second, and last (unless more are to come?) instalment of their improvised series features a viola, played by Nikki Moran, alongside the guitar and violin duo.
In the last two releases where the guitar was the main mover of the music in the first of these two tracks the classical strings take the dominant position. Towards the end you get the impression that the guitarist was feeling threatened and he comes over the top.
The second piece is led out by the guitar and for the first couple of minutes sounds a bit disjointed with an East meets West tinge. Actually, it rarely really comes together in perfect harmony. Without knowing the title of the disc you would come to the conclusion that it was improvised.

Download
Around this time last year Fuzzy Lights released their first proper album and they also have copies of a 2006 EP avaiable from the Fuzzy Lights Website.
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News:

Singing Knives have released a digital compilation - available here (along with track listing).

Housecraft: Peat Raamur - Arkose Screes
Christopher Riggs - Buried With Bricks In Months
Benevolents - Still Excavation
Pink Desert - Neither Here Nor In This World

Fater Disks: Nicolash - Nicolage I

Type Records has re-released Johann Johannsson's 'And In The Endless Pause There Came The Sound Of Bees'. Currently available from Boomkat and should be elsewhere this week.

Blackest Rainbow is trying to clear a few things so check the Rarities section of their website.

Quiet week, no?

Gorman - Alum Creek

Been a bit slow on the blog-front this month, it hasn't been entirely intentional. The Golden Cup tape has thrown me slightly off kilter. According to mediafire it has been downloaded 1037 times (and counting)! By comparison the next most downloaded releases I've uploaded are 'Five Bells' by Cam Deas with 679, 'Atomic Weekender' by Caboladies with 440 and 'Norns' by Natural Snow Buildings with 422. Searched around and found it on Impose Magazine and Bolachas - neither of which were familiar to me - so thanks to both of them. Hopefully it suggests that others also think it's an excellent release and that distros won't have too much trouble selling their copies.

Moving on...

I'll try and be a bit more frequent with updates leading up to New Year - and beyond.

Gorman - Alum Creek

Gorman was Jordan Spencer, the man that runs Cabin Floor Esoterica. Gorman is now a defunct pseudonym but in his two years he got releases out on Blackest Rainbow, Tired Trails Collective, Housecraft and Reverb Worship, alongside his own labels, Open Range Records and Cabin Floor Esoterica.

"'Alum Creek' features two tracks of floating drones and chiming guitar like sounds that is a delight to behold. Recorded especially for Reverb Worship direct to tape in the autumn of 2008."
There is an underlying drone to Gorman releases but I think ambient is much more appropriate. It's a bright melancholy - if you'll allow me that juxtaposition. Is the distortion digital from the tape to CD transfer? At times it certainly sounds that way, yet somehow it adds to the recording. It gives you that sense of your windows rattling without needing to check if your ears have begun to bleed.

This is still available from Reverb Worship so please consider buying a copy if you enjoy it.

1. Rock Skipping, Olentangy River (12:15)
2. Stepping Into Early Fog (10:00)

Download / Buy
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News:

A week on Friday (4th December) Bush Hall (Shepherd's Bush, London) will be playing host to Six Organs Of Admittance, Ignatz and Voice of the Seven Thunders (a new incarnation of Voice of the Seven Woods). Only found out about this one this morning. What a line-up!
And in related news Six Organs did a soundtrack to a novel called 'Empty the Sun' and both have recently been released on the official website on CD and vinyl (both limited to 1000).

audioMER (email): Sachiko - Golden Hypnos (LP)

Autobus Records: Brazos - Phosphorescent Blues
Sunset - Gold Dissolves to Gray

Students of Decay: Asuna & Opitope - Sunroom (pre-order)

Not Not Fun: V/A - My Estrogeneration
Topaz Rags - Capricorn Born Again

Abandon Ship Records: Human Adult Band - La-Dee-Frickin-Da
Reverse Mouth - Of The Cloth
Grasshopper / Twisty Cat - split
Excepter - Steps: La Sala Rossa
Mouthus - Eskimo King / Afternoon Penis
Cough Cool - Digestible Doom
Chapels - Days of Sleepless Night

Siren Wire: VII - Part I
VII - Part II

New Shh... This is a Library album, 'Dream Big', is available for pre-order this week from I Had An Accident Records.


A remix of Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking called 'A Glorious Dawn' is out on Jack White's Third Man Records.


The latest Zelienople record on Type was released last Monday. The album is fantastic and the bonus CD was the vinyl is well worth getting the LP for if you're not fussed about formats - Boomkat is the only place I've seen it available so far.

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CD on demand

I've heard this idea quite a bit over the past four or five years. My dad has mentioned a number of times in the past about books on demand where you can go into a book shop, order a title that is no longer available and the shop prints off a copy in half an hour. Obviously this should be quite an easy model to translate to CDs these days. No doubt this isn't the first available but whilst looking around for 'Odyssey of Iska' by Wayne Shorter I saw my first example on Amazon US. This is no doubt the future of the dying CD. Isn't it?
If it is, will they be doing it for games and DVDs as well?
I personally can't imagine the physical format ever dying out completely - at least I really hope there are enough similar minded people out there to help me keep up the obsession - but the eventual demise of high street record / film / game shops will probably strengthen the case for manufacturers to rip us off even more.

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Sorry if I've not yet replied to some emails, I will do one day soon(ish).

Thanks again to the people that have joined the Last.fm Group. The charts are really interesting. Looking down the full list it has been lot more varied than I had been anticipating.

Golden Cup - Kaleidopea

This landed on my doormat today, and usually that means waiting a couple of weeks before considering ripping it but this is a beauty and it is already sold out direct from Digitalis Ltd (should be available from some of these distros soon: Tomentosa, Boa Melody Bar, DNT, Discriminate, Eclipse, I would guess 8mm may also get a few).

Golden Cup - Kaleidopea
For a moment, when the latest batch of Digi Ltds were announced I thought Brad had begun introducing bootleg re-issues of old OOP Japanese LPs. However, it wasn't long until I was corrected. The description suggested nothing of the sort and it was soon pointed out that the group I was thinking of was The Golden Cups. Golden Cup is a project I feel I should have known about as it is a solo project of Jooklo collaborator (specifically a core member of Golden Jooklo Age) and 8mm Records owner, Luca Massolin. Swiftly I gave myself a smack upside the head and ordered up a copy. And here is it.

"kaleidopea" is as accomplished as golden cup has ever been. chattering walls of synth debris find the perfect balance between foreign and familiar leading you down diamond paths. just when it feels like everything is closing in around you, massolin breaks out the guitar and you're in a different place entirely.things really cook as the inimitable sachiko adds her voice to the mix. again, it's all in the balance.

on the flipside, hypnotic synth underpinnings are the perfect canvas for massolin's delay-strewn guitar and sachiko's incredible voice. as the synth repeats over and over it leaves plenty of room for the guitar and voice to interact and suck you under. it's disjointed enough to keep you from totally drifting away, each off-kilter moment snapping you back to reality, but overall the effect is pretty goddamn mesmerising. eventually we all settle down and get lost in the waves. unbelievable. Digi Ltd
Limited to 80 copies and featuring Sachiko (Sloow Tapes, Utech and soon audioMER - see below). Only around 18 minutes long but definitely recommended.

Only two tracks but I'm not 100% on either title. These two are the indicated on the insert.

A. Madrigale Masico
B. Ursa Maior

But. The B-side is also named 'Ursula Maior' further down the insert and 'Ursa Major' on the Digi page, the page that also names the A-side 'Madrigale Magico'. I've gone with the insert titles but thought it was worth pointing out they may be incorrect.

Download
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New Releases:

Not Not Fun: Expensive Shit - Powwow With Chopper
Sex Worker - The Labor of Love
Dylan Ettinger & The Heat - Smokin'
Dylan Ettinger - Bringin the Heat

Important Records: V/A - The Harmonic Series
Eleh - Retreat
Eleh - Return
Jozef Van Wissem - Ex Patris
Robin Crutchfield - The Hidden Folk

Install: Milieu - Phosphene Weather
Wood-Land - Stone Circle

Under the Spire (pre-orders): Shaula-Haze
Grass Rewound - Aaron Martin Reinterpreted by Part Timer

Bum Tapes: Unknown release (60/70s asian jazz pop. Maybe from somewhere like Cambodia?)

Blackest Rainbow: The Blue Tree - s/t
Bong - Gilgamesh Lives (pre-order)
Eyeballs - The Invisible Castle (pre-order)
Our Love Will Destroy the World - Fucking Dracula Clouds (pre-order)

audioMER (email): Mireille Capelle - Anello. Naga. Sunyata (3CD)
Sachiko - Golden Hypnos (LP)

Apollolaan Recordings: Plastic Crimewave - Fire in the Whole

ZeroJardins (myspace): Chora - Plume Like
Motherfucking - Danke Liebe
Faux Amis - I

Sonic Meditations: Das Energi - Recitations
Gnod - The Crystal Pagoda

Amethyst Sunset: Mist - s/t (LP)

905 Tapes: V/A - Deaf in the Valley
Wether - Mountain for a Picnic
Ay/Arc w/ Skin Graft - Psychotropical / Psychoerotic
Wasteland Jazz Emsemble - It's the first time of the month
Arabian Blade & Joe Breitenbach
Mike Shiflet - Cycles
Matthew Riley - Crestabutte

Soundway Records: V/A - Ghana Special (5LP)
V/A - Panama! 3

And for anyone curious about that sold out Peasant Magik box set, it apparently should begin shipping around the beginning of December.

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NME Top 10 of the decade:

1. The Strokes - Is This It
2. The Libertines - Up The Bracket
3. Primal Scream - XTRMNTR
4. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever To Tell
6. PJ Harvey - Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
7. Arcade Fire - Funeral
8. Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
9. The Streets - Original Pirate Material
10. Radiohead - In Rainbows

Phil Ochs / Krzysztof Penderecki: Remembrance Day

A couple of songs for Remembrance Day:

This was a track from a series of songs Phil wrote for Broadside magazine (1963/64) so it isn't too surprising not to find a video of him performing it, thankfully this guy does a nice cover.


Oh, I am the Unknown Soldier who died in World War Two.
I didn't want to fight, it was the only thing to do.
I was the victim of a world that went insane
Will you show me that I didn't die in vain.
Remember me, when the crosses are a burnin',
Remember me, when the racists come around.
Remember me, when the tides of peace are turnin',
Remember me and please don't let me down.

On the South Pacific Islands and the Iwo Jima sands
We raised the flag of freedom over many distant lands
And every time I killed a man my own heart felt the pain
Will you show me that I didn't die in vain.
Remember me, when the crosses are a burnin',
Remember me, when the racists come around.
Remember me, when the tides of peace are turnin',
Remember me and please don't let me down.

And I carried my old rifle to the European shore
And every friend that died made me die a little more.
Have pity on the man who put a bullet through my brain
And show me that I didn't die in vain.
Remember me, when the crosses are a burnin',
Remember me, when the racists come around.
Remember me, when the tides of peace are turnin',
Remember me and please don't let me down.

When the Fascists started marching many millions had to pay;
We saw them rise to power but we looked the other way.
It happened once before and it can happen once again
Will you show me that I didn't die in vain.
Remember me, when the crosses are a burnin',
Remember me, when the racists come around.
Remember me, when the tides of peace are turnin',
Remember me and please don't let me down.

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Krzysztof Penderecki - Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima
Around 100,000 people lost their lives to the Hiroshima bomb and a three days later another 50,000 in Nagasaki. Sadly, the losses are always far greater to the people rather than to the people that send them to war in the first place - "It's always the old to lead us to the war, it's always the young to fall."
Not everyone that dies in war wants to be involved and not everyone that dies deserves that fate no matter what their beliefs.
Penderecki's ode to the dead ('threnody') is as haunting a tribute to the cries as you could find.

Download (20mb)

Sadhu Sadhu - Live at the Hideout

Apologies for the lack of updates over the past 10 days or so. I've been like a watch failing to adjust to British Summer Time, still ticking but just a little behind. Will try and make up for it in the lead up to Christmas/New Year.

Sadhu Sadhu - Live at the Hideout

Sadhu Sadhu (myspace) are a 3-piece (guitar, bass, drums) based in Chicago. The name, according to wikipedia, means 'well done, well done' or 'good man, good man' - or otherwise refers to yogi, the former seems more likely in my opinion.

This is a live recording ripped from a cassette that was emailed to me by the band (there are a few other email-sent recordings coming in the next couple of weeks) and is just split into A and B. Not sure if they have any copies of this release left but no doubt there will be more recordings released over the next couple of years.

Their sound is somewhere between Wooden Ships and Acid Mothers Temple with a 70s psych/blues/rock predominance, not a million miles off (if I'm remembering it correctly) the Kawaguchi Masami Sloow Tape style. Really good. Would definitely like to hear their sound from a studio/home recording session in the fture.

Download (direct download, should just open up a save box)
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News:

Well, completely missed the NSB performance this week due to poor forward-thinking. I've reliably been informed that there were no new/special releases for sale at the show, but their set was meant to be fantastic if a little short. Being the first band on you expect that but it seems a shame for them to travel from France for one show and then be done in 25 minutes. Short reviews at Mapsadaisical, Thesvelteone and The Milk Factory.

Rameses III have a free gig on Sat 28th Nov at the Union Chapel in London. Starts at noon.

Last bit of news for Londoners: Chiswick Auctions are selling off Mike Read's (Radio 1 DJ) record collection (estimated to contain 120,000 records!) on Monday 30th Nov.

Releases:

Utmarken are having a bit of a sale at the moment 3 tapes = €12, 5 tapes = €18, 10 tapes = €30.

ExBx Tapes are also having a bit of a sale on.

Under the Spire have reduced the price of their t-shirts and will reduce them by another £1 if you buy a CD at the same time.

Blackest Rainbow: Twinsistermoon - The Hollow Mountain (CD)
Mountainhood - Death Pod (one-sided LP)
Starving Weirdos with Tom Carter & Shawn McMillan - Live At The Accident (LP)

Low Point: Tim Catlin and Machinefabriek - Glisten

Rural Faune: Sky Dripping Venom - In Krasnozem
Dream Safari / Ophibre - Split
Stellar Om Source - Heartlands Suite
Drifts - Future Light Cone
Yuko X Chino - Sensory Deprivation Techniques
Cyrus Gengras / M. Geddes Gengras - Family split
Rural Faune Collective - I
Expo '70 - Psychic Funeral
Eyes Like Saucers - Parmalee, tribute to a dog

History Always Favours The Winners has released the 3CD opus of Leyland Kirby's 'Sadly the future is no longer what it was'. Spotted it on Norman Records and Boomkat so far. Obviously if you've already bought the vinyl editions (you've way overspent) you probably don't need these discs.

Numero Group have release an amazing looking compilation & book. $60 + postage direct, boomkat have it for £63 in the UK but my recommendation would be to head to Honest Jon's where it is £50ppd (UK) if you're interested. No chance of me ordering this one at the moment but might have the nerve to ask for it for Christmas (with the knowledge it would never be received). If anyone has a full mp3 of Arlean Brown's 'I'm a streaker baby' I would love to hear it.

MV & EE news: They have let out three more bootleg releases - 'Mutron Lovers', 'Greenspace' and 'Forever Upwards' - which I would assume are available direct or soon from Volcanic Tongue and Eclipse (usually where they appear). And I shot an email to Ecstatic Peace! asking about a vinyl edition of 'Barn Nova' and they say it will be available in the new year.

New label Sturmun Drugs have released a split between Black Eagle Child and Kabyzdoh Obtruhamchi (yeah, I definitely had to copy and paste that name!).

2:00AM Tapes: Low Speed Orchestra - Music of Falling Bridges
Vales - Sun Sick
Wether - Horses

Dekorder: Wooden Veil - Wooden Veil
Machinefabriek / Nils Frahm - Dauw
Uton - Unexplained Objects
Black to Comm - Wave UFO
Groupshow - The Science (Behind Shoes)

Keep forgetting to post this one - Fang Bomb have released a collaboration between Peter Broderick & Machinefabriek LP entitled 'Blank Grey Canvas Sky'.


Tell me if what I've missed, there's no doubt a load of great stuff.