Arelean Brown / Updates / End of Year (pt. 2)

The most expensive Christmas present I bought this year was selfishly for myself. In fairness, no one really wanted anything and I still owe my brother something - which will be combined with a house warming present. Presents aren't all about cost anyway. The best things are thoughtful or handmade, right?
The expensive item I bought was the 'Light: on the South Side' compilation on Numero Group. It's a bit mental. The near 2" spine is just as close to 1" so don't let them fool you with that statement, either way, it's a hefty package. The box and the book are really well put together, heavy duty stuff. However, I was disappointed with the pressing of the LPs. Crackles and pops all over the place on mine and sometimes the needle can't find the right groove at the start, as a result the first 20 seconds of this song sometimes sounds like a 128kbps stream.
Anyway, this is my New Year song - even though it's sung from a woman's point of view, I just can't help but sing along.

Arelean was around 50 when she sung this track and on harmonica it features the proficient playing of Little Mack Simmons.

Arelean Brown - I'm a Streaker
Hope you all had a good Christmas and a happy New Year.
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Updates:

On Christmas Day Vic Chesnutt ended his life. Any donations to the family can be given here.

Yesterday morning (30th), guitarist for Boys Next Door and The Birthday Party, Rowland S. Howard, passed away at the age of 50.

Troglosound has released the latest Jooklo instalment: Neokarma Jooklo Trio - Evo Magico

Ammagar: Nocillo Furioso - From Ash, Walnuts Story (dvd + half litre of homemade walnut liqueur)

Digitalis Ltd: Eagle Altar / Bugskull - split (probable re-print, Boomkat ordered a bunch though)
Andrew Coltrane - Conflict
Ophibre - Basil forests
America Reads - Towers open fire
Niggas with Guitars - Continent gods
Knit Prism - Perception
V/A - Air rings vol. 1
Emuul - Egeiro

Time Lag (Red Records: Visitations - s/t (2LP)

Gift Tapes (pre-orders): Brother Raven - ITCZ
Father Sound / Harpoon Pole Vault - Split
Golden Retriever - Static Ram

Dream Root Recordings: America Reads - New Age Dropout
Derek Rogers / Slaughtering Dolphins - Split
Al Qaeda - I Don't Even Know What I'm Fighting For

Cloud Valley (Email): Cloud Valley - Softlight Reveries
Cloud Valley - Climax One
Pine Smoke Lodge - Eta Carinae

Christina Carter (Email): Charalambides - Tree-Lane Blacktop (bootleg LP)

Ekhein (Email): Sean McCann - Lower Decks
Mirror to Mirror - Heart
Infinite Body
(Mirror to Mirror & Earn collaboration) - 1958-2009 II

Reverb Worship: Mark Bradley - His Masters Voice

Ini.itu: Francisco López - Untitled #228

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End of Year:

One of the last posts said the next post would probably take a while, allowing me some time to think about an end of year list. I haven't given it much thought at all. I'm still waiting to hear five or six releases (eg. Troglosound releases, Peasant Magik box) and a busted turntable has left me unable to spin the latest Zelienople record, ARGH.
Still...

Albums

10. Nancy Elizabeth - Wrought Iron
9. Rameses III - I could not love you more
8. Caboladies - Atomic Weekender
7. North Sea - Total Football
6. Cursillistas / White Light - Travel Light
5. Natural Snow Buildings - Daughter of Darkness
4. Haruko - Wild Geese
3. KGB Man / Oneohtrix Point Never - KGB Nights / Blue Drive
2. Black Eagle Child & Goodwillies - Bamboo Airship
1. Twinsistermoon - The Hollow Mountain


EPs

5. Expo 70 - Ostara
4. Olafur Arnalds - Found Songs
3. Golden Jooklo Age - Ritual
2. Beggin' Your Pardon Miss Joan - Avon
1. Richard Moult - Suite for Titouan


Singles

3. Boduf Songs - On the brink of all we hate
2. Clothide / Delphine - Split
1. Andrew Jackson Jihad / Cobra Skulls - Under the Influence


Re-Issues / Compilations

5. Open Strings: 1920's Middle Eastern Recordings - New Responses
4. Sveriges Kommuner & Landsting - s/t
3. MV & EE - Road Trips
2. Abner Jay - The Story of...
1. Dave Bixby - Ode to Quetzalcoatl

Some really good music this year, let's hope for more of the same in the one-der years (thanks Aussies for that one).

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Michael Hurley & Betsy Nichols - River in the Rain (Mississippi)

I couldn't resist leaving one last record before Christmas.
This is one of the most recent Mississippi Records releases. A four track 7" recorded between Michael Hurley and Betsy Nichols. Can't find any more copies of this anywhere - Dusty Groove are all out, as are Honest Jons.

Michael Hurley & Betsy Nichols - River In The Rain


(images thanks to Bryan Sinclair's discography site)
Really nice folk duets starting with a minute long a capella of 'Jocko's Lament'.

Michael Hurley's LPs are still available from Honest Jons, Norman Records, Aquarius Records and Volcanic Tongue - no doubt elsewhere.
Not 100% on this one, but let me believe that it is the same Betsy Nichols that can occasionally be heard on the excellent WFMU.

With only four tracks to sort out I have taken the effort to split them into separate files, all at the usual 320kbps mp3.

A1. Jocko's Lament
A2. River In The Rain

B1. Don't Let Me Down
B2. Knockando

Download

Have a Merry Christmas (or whatever else you may be celebrating)
I'll be back between Christmas and New Year to put something else up, finally get around to the bulk email writing (really sorry about that) and try to conjure up some kind of end of year list. Maybe. Seen so many posts the last few days containing nothing but albums I hadn't even known about so feel there will be some catching up to do in 2010.

Be sure to check out the records below as well.

Antony Milton - Summit Is Fragile / Endless Endless Endless - Black Talisman

RATM get no.1 in the UK Christmas charts!*

This is probably going to be the last album post before Christmas - although I will attempt to get up a couple of songs during the week, maybe a compilation? - and allows time to think about an end of year list.

Not seen many updates since the last post but I've gathered together a couple of things at the bottom.

Still looking for any Kapingbdi releases if anyone can help?

Antony Milton - Summit Is Fragile

In the early Spring of 2007 I managed to escape the city for a week in Arthurs P in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand. I took with me a banjo, an ebow and some effects pedals, and a loop station pedal and cette walkman with which to record.

The plains were foggy on the drive up toward the mountains but it was sunny in the high reaches as we arrived at the small cabin we had rented. That evening it snowed and we actually saw very little sun for the rest of our time there. This didn't stop us exploring mossy valleys or clambering up small mountains but did make the time spent by the fire in the evenings all the more appealing.

'Summit is Fragile' is a collection of tone poems, field recordings, song sketches, ecstatic drone pieces and gestural constructions stitched together with short banjo ragas composed over this period. A rendering of the feelings of a place in time that now seems more an impossible dream than a reality. I consider it one of my very best works to date.
This was released in New Zealand last December (2008) on 12" lathes, limited to 40 copies on Antony's own PseudoArcana label. It sold out in a couple of weeks and wasn't available from any distros. I seem to remember he, Antony, mentioned a possible re-release this year but I've not spotted news since.
Sadly a lot of PseudoArcana releases have been caught up in a house fire but there is a $5 charity (San Miguel del Bala Community Trust) download on his website of a recording he made on his travels in South America this year.

A1. Otira
A2. The Cloud Has Been Lain Low
A3. Heath
A4. Mountains
A5. 10pm
A6. Fell With Rain
A7. Dreaming Of Ghosts

B1. Black Tea
B2. Rain And The Rain
B3. Stars Crowd The Gap
B4. Turpentine Bush
B5. Walk To The Pass
B6. A Small House Of Tin
B7. Bourbon Seemed Appropriate
B8. Summit Is Fragile
B9. Walking Down The Hill

Download
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Endless Endless Endless - Black Talisman



Black Talisman is the debut recording from the New York/Jersey duo of Brett Renfer (Brooklyn: guitar, vocals, and pedals) and James Tichenor (Jersey: Korg Gameboy DS). Splitting their time between triumphant post-noise and stretched out bummer-wave, Endless Endless Endless creates music from the sounds of shimmering guitars, squiggly synth lines, filter sweep synth washes, slow-mo 8-bit drums, and infinite layered vocal harmonies all mushed together into a psychedelic, blissed-out smoothie. With no overdubs and minimal editing, Black Talisman captures Endless Endless Endless riffing as songs and ideas build, blur, loop and die. This is music for (and from) pretzel rods and Miller highlife.
Don't be put off by the Nintendo DS thing, 8-bit music is usually utter tripe and I honestly think this is the first bit of music using the tech that I've enjoyed.

Download / Buy


* No doubt now I've written that X Factor overtook and got #1 - and you've probably realised that this was written (but not posted) before the unavoidable result. Can't say I've been paying any attention to the charts (last time I did was probably the same era as 'wicky wild wild west' by Will Smith) or supported either song, but I do support the fact that money is being donated, from the RATM campaign, to Youth Music, Shelter and a free show in the UK next year (if it did happen to make #1).
Pogues & Kirsty MacColl for #1 every Christmas!

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New releases:

Not entirely sure how new it is, but this past week I've spotted a couple of mentions of the 'Nippon Folk, Japan Blues' compilation on Trilogy Tapes. If you liked the Takahashi Chikuzan / Takahashi Yujiro split a couple of months ago (here) it is apparently along those lines.

Housecraft: Jeffry Astin - Stray Dreams Zodiac
Gitche-Anahmi-Bezheu / Jugu - split
Talugung - Adelosa Glare
Xiphiidae - Sewn Within a Circle

Release The Bats have nothing new, but 2010 is sounding great. Records from: Blessure Grave, Dolphins Into The Future, Altar Of Flies, Ättestupa, Street Drinkers / Skeppet, Viking Jews / Smycken, Blessure Grave / Lust For Youth, Sewer Election, Cross (Michael Turner / Warmer Milks), Satan Power (Lasse Marhaug, John Olson, Edwin Pouncey and Joachim Nordwall) and Tavaresh (Oneohtrix Point Never & Caboladies)

Updates / Mako Sica / End of the year (part 1)

Just a quick one today. There will be another upload sometime during the week - if all goes to plan - but I hope the Voice of the Seven Woods and Zelienople (and Jooklo - I'll try and be less bitter about that in the next post) releases will suffice for a few more days.

But... if you were hoping for something to listen to: you may remember the Mako Sica post back in April. Well, an email came through last week from the band with a link to a release they're putting out in Feb 2010 on La Societe Expeditionnaire. It features three tracks from the Plus Tapes cassette but re-recorded and re-worked. The quality is much better and as a piece I would definitely recommend checking it out.

Mako Sica - Dual Horizon (link underneath the album art)
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I've just remembered, I was going to ask if anyone possibly has Soulsavers cover of 'Blues Run the Game' (in mp3) and/or anything by Kapingbdi. Please leave a comment or send an email to disconcertedsounds [at] gmail if you are able to help with either. Thanks.

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News:

Not entirely sure what's new from Tompkins Square any more but they have a little sale going on, $5 off if you buy 2 releases, $7 off for 3, $10 off 4 or $20 off 5+. Not spectacular but they have an excellent release list so it wouldn't be too hard to save $20 - although it's only a saving if they're releases you want.

Images of the Peasant Magik box set have appeared and look amazing:
I suspect these will be arriving soon.
New PM cassettes: Locrian - Endless Plains / Flat Horizon
Eyeballs - Treasure
Rambutan / Fossils From The Sun - Split
UUHUU - Stringfigures for Flynt
Bones of Seabirds - Hidden Places

A Beard of Snails: Harps of Fuchsia Kalmia - Time of Love Doesn't Converge With the System of Evil
Aditi Tahiti - Spontaneous Conversations
Bessemerr - Emmeduranki
P.R.E.C. - Contageous Insanities
Joseph McNulty - Week
Sacred Carp - The Rest of Sacred Carp
Sacred Carp - More Rest Of

Ikuisuss are having an insane sale of 50% off (prices not adjusted on the website but it is a 50% sale on all Ikuisuus releases and distro items).

John Frusciante has apparently quit RHCP (MusicRadar)

Reverb Worship: Expo 70 - Galaxy Of Mysticism

Tomentosa has had a serious update.

Kraak: The Afternoon Saints (Lee Ranaldo, Christian Marclay, Günter Müller, David Watson) - The Shirley Jangle
Hellvete - De Gek

Different Lands (email): Jen Paul - 1965 Ghost
Yuhasz - 12 | 28 Variations
Taluum Shimmering - Thunderous Slit-Gongs on Islands of Clouds
Orcs - Jaw Bones
Pink Desert - See you later
Future Twin - III

Slaapwel: Peter Broderick - Music for a Sleeping Sculpture of Peter Broderick

Type Records: Richard Skelton - Landings (LP available from boomkat and forced exposure, CD available from Richard)

Inca Ore @ Silver Club.
Reminds me a bit of 'Protection' by Massive Attack. Very nice.

Existential Cloth Recordings: Deep Magic / Love Cult - Split
Inhibitionists - Phantom Tart Brother
Aghori - Forced Fate
Enfer Boreal / Pine Smoke Lodge - Lighting the Qulliq Vol.1
Sparkling Wide Pressure - Bob Moves / Linda Speaks

Tired Trails Collective: Monks of the Balhill & Enfer Boreal - Split

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End of the Year

I'm not coming up with my end of year list just yet - on the weekend I went and ordered a copy of 'Light: On the South Side' from Honest Jons and I'm still patiently waiting to hear the new Zelienople and the TSM re-release - but please feel free to leave you lists.

Here is the top 10 from Wire magazine:
1.Broadcast & Focus Group - Investigate witch cults of the radio age
2.Oneohtrix Point Never - Rifts
3.Bill Orcutt - A new way to pay old debts
4.Alasdair Roberts - Spoils
5.Sunn O))) - Monoliths & dimensions
6.David Sylvian - Manafon
7.Group Doueh - Treeg Salaam
8.Jim O'Rourke - Visitor
9.Ben Frost - By the throat
10.King Midas Sound - Waiting for you

What has been underrated or undiscovered this year, people?
The new Our Love Will Destroy the World on Blackest Rainbow surprised me last week and the two (affordable) new Qbico Jooklo records have really begun to chime my bells - although they have done better. Haruko's 'Wild Geese' (on Bracken) has been lovely to relax to and the collaboration between Black Eagle Child and Goodwillies ('Bamboo Airships' on Digi Ltd) is fantastic. No idea what I'd consider the best of this year though.

Zelienople - Gone (OST)

June 2007 was an excellent month, it produced probably the surprise of the year for me. I'd never consciously heard of Zelienople but something on the Boomkat website led me to impulse buy a vinyl copy of 'His / Hers' - it was probably the simple fact that they wrote something along the lines of, "white vinyl limited to 100 copies!" and my feeble mind responded with, "Shit! 100 copies! I don't want to miss out on that". Two years later I have devoured everything by Zelienople (the only exception being the split 7" with Tekulvi), and even with ten albums sitting on the shelves in my room I want more. They cannot ever stop creating for that would be like the death of a good friend.

Zelienople - Gone (OST)
I've only listened to this once, about two weeks ago. As I'm technically getting 'Give it Up' for Christmas (bought it myself to give to my parents to give to me - just ensuring I got a copy) and this is a bonus CD that was packaged with the vinyl edition it would seem a shame to ruin it by knowing every nuance of both albums before the day Jesus did something*. As a result I can't really tell you much about this album other than that it was a pleasant first hearing.

If you hadn't realised already, it is the soundtrack to a film called 'Gone'. The film created by Donald Prokop - also did their 'Land of Smoke' dvd footage of the bullet train through Japan (youtube) - doesn't have any obvious information about it on the web. If I find anything out about it I'll post it, or if you know please enlighten us all.

1. Main Theme
2. More Than That
3. Slaving
4. Missing
5. Clarity
6. Trees & Sparks
7. Indifferent Dreams
8. Closing Theme

Please think about buying yourself a copy of 'Give it up'. Not sure about the vinyl edition any more but the CD should be available from the usual distros.

Download



I'd also highly recommend checking out the new Beggin' Your Pardon Miss Joan track over at Olbas Noise, another really beautiful song from Lex.




* I do know why we celebrate Christmas, I'm not really that ignorant.

Voice of the Seven Woods feast

It has been great to see over the past couple of days a huge amount being written about the recently departed Jack Rose. You do a quick search of his name and everywhere from Pitchfork Media, Brooklyn Vegan, Brainwashed and Arthur Mag to little blogs, record labels, venues and forums crop up. Sad loss to music. Best wishes go out to all his family and friends. RIP Jack.
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Rick Tomlinson is another fantastic guitarist, probably my favourite stylistically of the modern crop. When he does decide to sing you also find he's hiding a rather good voice, vaguely resembling Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree ('heatwave' on the Tchantinler disc may make you agree?).

His Voice of the Seven Woods project has now moved on to become Voice of the Seven Thunders and they played their first show a couple of nights ago, supporting Six Organs of Admittance and Ignatz in Shepherd's Bush. News of an imminent 7" and an LP due in Feb 2010 got me all excited and digging out all of my VotSW releases, hence this post.

Here are four of his EPs (all at 320kbps mp3): Tchantinler, Solo Guitar Recordings, The Far Golden Peak (Part One) and Seventh Step. A few others may come in a future post. Personally I think all are fantastic and well worth leaving on repeat for hours, but if I were to recommend just one I'd probably go with the 'Solo Guitar Recordings' release. Hope you go and enjoy them all.

Voice of the Seven Woods

Tchantinler

1. First Light
2. Heatwave
3. Transition
4. Journey to Sanahin
5. The Rain

Download


Solo Guitar Recordings

1. The Furnace
2. Spring
3. A Lonely Mind
4. A Meditation Upon Death

Download


The Far Golden Peak (Part One)

1. The Far Golden Peak (Part One)

Download


Seventh Step

1. Seventh Step
2. Blizzard of Two
3. Broken Hearts
4. Eight Red Lights Atop the Hill

Download
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News:

Kning Disk: Kim Hiorthøy - Solo piano for old friends
Mats Gustafsson Duo - Box set (3 x 7")
Anla Courtis / Fredrik Söderberg - The KREV Passport Sonata

Plus Tapes: Rabble Rabble – Jail Bait

A new Apollolaan Records compilation is meant to be out today featuring "Andrew Paine, Brian Lavelle, texlahoma, Richard Youngs and more..." Limited to 100 copies, so the email read, with proceeds going to the Cat Protection League. I'm more of a dog person but the compilation line-up sounds good.
Aaah, I see. Should have looked a bit closer at the email addresses, it looks to be a Sonic Oyster release. There's an email address just above the friends section on that myspace page if you're interested.

Important Records have a mental sale on - 16 LPs for $90 and $1 CDs (although you have to buy 44 or 66). I did the maths for the records (with postage included) and even for us international folk that works out at about £5.50 a record and £1 a CD (with the batch of 66). So get your wives and girlfriends on the case if you want them. Beware of import charges with the post office though.

DNT: Ättestupa - 1867
Sean McCann - One Morning I Waked Up Early (VHS)

Hip Records (Qbico): Neokarma Jooklo Trio - Memories from the age of the dragon
Neokarma Jooklo Experience - Peaceful Messages (Sorry for pulling the link of this, it was done out of respect for the label as the records are just released and available - the link wasn't intended to be shared so soon but it was posted. You know what I'm like with the OOP thing.)
Jooklo Duo - Rising Above
Jooklo Duo - Live at Itri

Holiday Records: Golden Jooklo Age and Peaking Lights

Dust Wind Tales has wrapped a bonus 3" CD for orders of 'Both Sundays' by Adam Lipman.

Sound & Fury: Penelope Joy & Jasper TX - Waverly Cemetery (Sydney)

Earjerk: Gitchi-Anahmi-Bezheu - Wonder
Enfer Boreal / Drunjus - Climate Change / Ranking Charioteer
Circulation of Light - Circulation of Light
Dream Colour - Solar Gaze

Sloow Tapes: Seven That Spells - You Must Do This On Stage Vol. 1
Fredrik Ness Sevendal - Tinoll

Blackest Rainbow: Bong - Gilgamesh Lives
Eyeballs - The Invisible Castle
Our Love Will Destroy The World - Fucking Dracula Clouds
Loads of new distro items and rarities as well

Shores of Infinity (Email): Code Sap
Winter Ruby (2 cassette)
Saturnus Pyramydne - Loyal to Love

Stunned Records: Excavacations
M. Geddes Gengras / A.M. Shiner — The Blue Push / The Red Kush
Analog Concept — Impressions
Ossining / Afterlife — split
Pine Smoke Lodge — Haligdaeg
Connector - Steel / Rust

FairChild Tapes: V/A - Live at Turnup Records (Field of Hats, Relentless Corpse, Sam Goldberg, Xiphiidae, Pan to Scratch)
Interstates- Textures

RIP Jack Rose

This news came in late last night from Three Lobed Recordings:

Sorry for the random update, but Three Lobed Recordings is extremely sad to pass along news that our dear friend Jack Rose passed away this morning in Philadelphia at the age of 38. This news is still fresh to us and we're still trying to process it. Jack was a warm, caring person and was always a pleasure to be around. His larger than life spirit will truly, truly be missed even moreso than his inspired musical ability. Our deepest sorrow goes out to his wife.

Jack Rose (February 16, 1971 – December 5, 2009)





RIP Jack Rose