Disconcerted Sounds

Rambling Boys - Ain't Got No Home

2011-03-22T12:19:00.003Z

That was not meant to be another two month break. It's been a vicious couple of months, hasn't it? All my best wishes go out to anyone caught up in any of the chaos.

This is one I've been meaning to post since the end of last year. I've also uploaded the original Woody Guthrie tracks for anyone unfamiliar with the songs.

Rambling Boys - Ain't Got No Home

Keijo Virtanen, Jukka Nousiainen, Lauri Puttonen and Sami Virtanen join together to put a spin on the dust bowl ballads of Woody Guthrie. After two incredible lathe cuts, they finally throw down a full album of what were once simple road songs, now pulled apart at their roots and tossed into the basement to be jammed into something completely new and unstoppable. Heady rolling guitar licks, fuzzy harmonica wails and snapping drums drift in and out of each other, locking in perfectly only to split back into the mumbling open.
Released on Cabin Floor Esoterica (tumblr) in September last year in an edition of 75 cassettes. The very first track is an original composition but the jams of the other songs are all re-workings of Guthrie songs - 'Ain't got no Home' is actually titled 'I Ain't got no Home in this World Anymore' and is (in my interpretation) about the unfairness of the world.

A1. Something In My Blood
A2. Pastures Of Plenty
A3. Jesus Christ
B1. Aint Got No Home
B2. Rambling Around

Rambling Boys ripped from cassette at 320kbps. Woody Guthrie songs ripped from CD (the fantastic 'This Machine Kills Fascists' compilation) at 320kbps.

Rambling Boys - Ain't Got No Home
Woody Guthrie (four songs)

Second Family Band - Dirty River

2011-01-24T17:00:00.000Z

Two posts in a month! Wahoo?

Got a few label updates included in this one as well as the requested Sloow release - sorry guest (cbox) this is the only one I have uploaded.

Second Family Band - Dirty River

September 2008 release on the fantastic Sloow Tapes in an edition of 70 red cassettes.

Crunching, raw and abstract psychedelic blues improvisations by this collective featuring Clay Ruby of Davenport and Burial Hex fame. Tasty keys, moody rhythms and two long, relaxing and dirty tunes.

Download

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Updates:

Blackest Rainbow: Natural Snow Buildings - Waves of the Random Sea

Galtta Media: Ron Thomas - Archival Remnants & Other Fragments
David Lackner & John Swana - Struttin' Around
Mike Boone - Rewind
Symbiosis Syndicate - Symbiosis Syndicate

Under the Spire: Boduf Songs - This Alone Above All Else In Spite Of Everything (CD release - different sound to past Boduf albums)

Wah Wah Records: Glibert Artman's Lard Free - s/t
Glibert Artman's Lard Free - I'm around about midnight
Lard Free - III
Lard Free - Unnamed
Anima Sound - Musik fur Alle
Kuhn Brothers & the Mad Rockers - s/t
Delired Cameleon Family - Visa de Censure No.X

Senufo Editions: Gregg Kowalsky - Battery Townsley
Eselsohr - Pause peuls

Time-Lag Records: Death Chants - s/t

Corbel Stone Press: *AR (Autumn Richardson & Richard Skelton) - Wolf Notes
also a re-issue of 'Marking Time' on Preservation in April

Burger Records: Television Personalities - I was a mod before you was a mod

Soft Abuse: Horrid Red - Pink Flowers (7")

Aguirre Records: Secret Colors - Lunar
Sean McCann - The Capital
Red Electric Rainbow - Dark Days

And talking of Aguirre; SPV have released a book (and 5 CDs) of Popol Vuh albums taken Werner Herzog soundtracks. Quite an expensive release (£40-50) but it certainly looks nice. Check distros for that.

Housecraft: Jeffry Astin - Grasses Only Green
Basked Unit - Talc Plates
Calypso Borealis - Auale Dino Elmi

Nothing Out There: Przewalski's Horses - Soupe de Sorcière
Przewalski's Horses - Detroit

Existential Cloth: Endless Caverns - Sensei Deprivation

NNA Tapes: Three Legged Race - Raining Order
Dylan Ettinger - Botany Bay
Head Boggle - Unsounds and Domo Live

Conspiracy Records: Ignatz - I hate this city

Not Not Fun: Daughters of the Sun - Ghost with chains
LA Vampires feat. Matrix Metals - So Unreal
The Deeep - Life Light
Angel Eyes - Dire Dish

Ydlmier: Sam Gas Can - Dedicated To Lauryn Hill
Donna Parker - Arachnid Paralysis
Dianetics - Figure in the Mist
Zerfallt - The Candles That Bled

Cabin Floor Esoterica: Copper Still Duo
The Winter-Long Mud Puddle
The Hawkline Orchestra

Journal of the Belgae Folk Club: Team Brick – Hardon for hadron
DTV – Volkhaus
Astral Social Club – Smashed tractor
Skjolbat – s/t
Dave Phillips – Waterfall

Sound Holes: Duncan Harrison - 80 Ghosts
Wand. & The Princess - Funeral Flowers
Hairmaiden of the Totem Robe - Draws of the Bygone

905 Tapes: V/A - Brains on Backwash III: Backwash to the Future
Josh Way & Wyatt Howland - Split
Black Onyx - Sext

Sacred Phases: Slag Heap - Hushing
Christopher Merrit - The Constant Farewell
Sound Out Light - Ornamental Skies
Red Electric Rainbow - Come & Melt Your Face Off

Utmarken have a sale for the rest of Jan - five tapes for €16.

No Kings: Rambutan - Outside
Malibu Wands - CHDW

Jozik Records: Kutomo / Bedroom Bear - split

Mirror Tapes: Maurizio Bianchi - Technology-X
The New Blockaders - Live at Morden Tower (pre-order)
Conrad Schnitzler / Wolfgang Seidel - CONSEQUENZ010B (pre-order)

Siren Wire: Beed and Fascia - The Pruning Remedy
Les Heures Creuses - Awakening

A Beard of Snails: Satanism Around Hollywood - Uncontrolled Winds
Solquest - The Blind Town
Anders Thode - Apartment Rocking With Anders Thode

Apollolaan Recordings: Richard Youngs - Atlas of Hearts (sadly looks to be sold out direct)

Singing Knives: Dylan Nyoukis - Carrion Hut

I noticed the other day that Mimaroglu MS listed a vinyl by Group Ongaku. Wow!

Many Breaths have another subscription series for 2011.

Social Music Records have an amazing subscription series. It includes releases from Sir Richard Bishop, Liz Harris & Ilyas Ahmed, Abner Jay, Evan Miller, Ty Segall and a load more. Joining costs from $49-$175 depending on format and if you live in the USA or not.

2011 - Compilation, Big Blood, Korean Black Eyes

2011-01-03T14:00:00.001Z

Every time I think of the New Year I get Death Cab For Cutie stuck in my head - "So this is the new year and I don't feel any different." Like Gibbard, I have no resolution but I will try and rejuvenate this blog. It didn't go too well at the end of 2010 so I'd suggest keeping realistic expectations for the time being.

A couple of free releases to try and win you back.

V/A - Ishilan n-Tenere
Fantastic African compilation on Sahel Sounds getting a vinyl edition (ltd to 2000) released this week on Mississippi Records. You can listen for free on the above page, donate or buy the LP.

Big Blood - Dark Country Magik
I'm sure a large proportion of people that visited this blog have discovered the existence of this album already. One of the best albums of 2010 and one that appears to be gaining them louder plaudits - nearly 5000 people have watched this review and the rateyourmusic page gained a quick, positive reaction to the release.

Korean Black Eyes
This was put together by Plus Tapes in 2009. It was given 'best cassette' at the end of 2009 by Michael Pursley (a Foxy Digitalis writer) - "Charm, red hot soul, and Elvis, Moody Blues, and Jesus Christ Superstar covers from an all-girl 1970’s Korean rock band. It doesn’t get any better." - and hasn't really shown its face anywhere since. I suspect it befell a similar fate the Francis Bebey tape suffered - a real shame when 7"s cost $50 second hand.

Hope you all have a great 2011.

Chikako - Leave the Flow

2010-09-02T22:57:00.002+01:00

So, the week nears the end and a post exists. A miracle I'm sure you'll agree. Don't know if this will be everyone's cup of tea, in fact, it won't be. But you never know unless you try...

Chikako - Leave the Flow

Now you've stopped admiring my childhood bright blue carpet (you should see the green walls!) I hope you'll give this a go. It is a poppy folk record from the 70s. Well, actually, I have no idea if it was a 70s release. Information about it doesn't exist. Google has no information, popsike has no past sales, RYM was my entry, discogs and allmusic have no records. So if you can help derive any information from the photos or know of a place with details please do help.

Tracks 2, 4 and 5 on the A-side sell this record for me. She puts some effort in. The B-side isn't quite as rewarding. Opening with some guitar work that wouldn't sound too out of place alongside Dire Straits but still containing some good tracks - B3 in particular fits with some of the better A-side material.

Rough track times:

A1. 00:05 -
A2. 03:12 -
A3. 07:39 -
A4. 12:20 -
A5. 16:22 -
A6. 19:08 - 23:10

B1. 00:03 -
B2. 03:41 -
B3. 07:40 -
B4. 11:38 -
B5. 15:07 -
B6. 18:26 - 22:37

Download

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New releases:

Before beginning this list I must apologise to anyone emailing me tracks and albums. I'm really not managing to find the time to listen to them at the moment and there's a large backlog of emails (50+) that are looking neglected. If you have new releases please feel free to add the email address in the top right of the blog to your mailing list but for the foreseeable future I'm unlikely to reply swiftly. You're more than welcome to link to your own releases in the comments, cbox or on the last.fm page.

Avant Archive: Black Eagle Child - Born Underwater
Knit Prism - Growing
A. Pushkin - The Figure

Siren Wire: Susan Matthews - LightScapes
Susan Matthews - The Whispering Void

Blackest Rainbow: Moon Unit - Hell Horse and Heady Stratus
David A Jaycock - Presets
Ben Nash / Magic Lantern - split
Wooden Wand - Wither Thou Goest, Cretin

Great Pop Supplement (check distros): Still Corners - Don't fall in love
Dean & Britta - I'll keep it with mine

Under the Spire are having a small summer sale.

Rainbow Bridge are also having a sale but it ends tomorrow (Friday).

Sweet Lodge Guru: Lawrence English - A Colour For Autumn (joint release with Digitalis but Digi have sold out of their copies)

Brave Mysteries: BONG - Samhain Festival
Lens - Techtron Dawn - Chimera Game II
MV & EE - Muskie&Manitou
The Mumber Toes - Always Already

Apollolaan Recordings: Stormhat - Kabine
Book of Shadows - Chichen Itza

Les Disques Normal: V/A - I Wish I Had a Horse's Head (French Tribute to Sparklehorse) (free download)

Joy De Vivre: Oleoresin Capsicum - Synth Pop

Different Lands (here for contact details / samples): Water Lily Jaguar / Pink Desert - split
Cruudeuces / Rambutan - Split
Wether - Opposed to the Future

Chunklet are giving Kickstarter a go in an attempt to make another book.

Hooker Vision: Nova Scotian Arms / Motion Sickness of Time Travel- The Fire Cult to Your Dream Child
Grant Evans - Ritual 1 & Ritual 2 (posters)

exbx Tapes: Jon Lorenz and Body Morph - Enjoyable Saxophone Music By...
Body Morph - Muted Me
V/A - Weird Stuff vol. 3
Starfox - s/t
Criminals - Wistful Chubby Genius

Three Lobed: Hans Chew - Tennessee & Other Stories...

Catholic Tapes (here for contact details): Fielded - Terrageist (LP)
Dino & Nic - The Arc of Nic & Dino
Christopher Riggs - 0:25, 0:50
Temporal Marauder - Subtractive Existence
Positive Shadow - Replication Slave
Elon Katz - The Pylori Program

Hanson Records: N/A - Network Issue #2
+ big sale

Prairie Fire Tapes: Tom Carter – Numinous
Gremlynz / Ajilvsga - split
Dim Dusk Moving Gloom – Blinded By The Natty White

Graveface had their office and LPs ruined by flooding. As a result they're raffling off tons of stuff. It includes Godspeed You Black Emperor artwork, something (unknown) from The Flaming Lips and Mike Watt's bass. However, there is a downside. You will have to fork out $500 for a chance of winning those. There are cheaper options though.

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Extra:

Found someone had uploaded most of a session by Shuji Inaba on youtube. Thank you Mr.

I love Jackson C Frank's album. I dare say it's my favourite album. And both of Laura Marling's albums have so far ticked the right boxes with me so to find her releasing a 7" covering 'Blues Run the Game' (and 'Needle and the Damage Done' by Neil Young) on Jack White's Third Man Records this month was a welcome surprise.

The people at Apple think they've done something of great originality (again) and have effectively re-created last.fm or mflow. They've called it Ping and incorporating it into iTunes 10. Judging by the surprising success of the iPad this will undoubtedly suck Appleholics in.

MV & EE - Bollywoe

2010-08-23T16:21:00.000+01:00

Hope everyone is well and has had a good summer - unless you're currently upside down in which case have a nice summer.
This post should mark the return of the blog. I'm going to try and consistently make a weekly post, whether each will contain a download depends on whether I manage to sort something out in time (I do have a couple of OOP LPs lined up) and I'll try and start doing the label lists again.

MV & EE - Bollywoe

This is the latest Child of Microtones release from MV & EE (Eclipse and Volcanic Tongue still have copies - elsewhere may also) and limited to 99 copies. For me, this suits more than the recently re-issued 'Liberty Rose' (vinyl edition on Arbitrary Signs) and 'Hick Smoke' (vinyl edition on Manhand), both of which left me slightly disappointed. 'Bhangra Jive' with Erika singing really hits the spot for me at the moment - it deserves a movie scene based around it situated in a dark bar.

"MV’s inspired instant onstage raps are a big part of their live appeals and one of the best tracks here, the 17-minute “The Beater”, basically incorporates a long surreal rap from MV with a sublime Skip Spence plays On The Beach groove courtesy of The Wolfpack: Rafi Bookstaber on percussion/guitar/space whisper, Paulie G on flute, Rongoose on synth percussion and Jeremy ‘Woods’ Earl on percussion and rhythm guitar. MV’s rapping style is inspired, equal parts Dylan circa “Yea! Heavy And A Bottle Of Bread”, Sonny Blount and Kenneth Patchen. The opening “Jook Enthusiast” is a solo MV raga that matches Alan Silva’s Skillfulness with modulated Indian electricity while “Bhangra Jive” approaches the recent live groove-based style that touches on Miles Davis’ Dark Magus era with psychedelic hillbilly stylings and an inspired rap, this time from Erika. Backing comes from Samara Lubelski and John Moloney, with MV trading wild guitar lines with Willie Lane like the early Television. There’s a version of “Sweetheart Of The Nascar” that’s close to the single version but a little more frazzled while the closing “Sweet Yoni” is an eye-lolling raga with some exuberant dulcimer. MV&EE are on a creative roll of late and this is a particularly necessary installment. Edition of 99 copies, packaged in the usual swank COM style, with hand-painted sleeves and fold-out card inner." (Volcanic Tongue)
Track Listing:
1. Jook Enthusiast
2. The Beater
3. Bhangra Jive
4. Sweetheart of the Nascar
5. Sweet Yoni

Download
If you can afford to please support this great band somehow - they're soon to go on tour (again). As well as this release (still available from the previously mentioned distros) there are those two vinyl re-issues, the 'Sweetheart of the Nascar' 7" on Electric Temple, bootlegs on Heroine (direct from the band), Brave Mysteries and an 8 cassette bootleg box from Blackest Rainbow. Soon adds up, doesn't it?

Join the Fangs and Arrows Fantasy Football

2010-07-23T18:31:00.003+01:00

The F&A league needs some growth.

Fantasy Premier League

League code: 340790-96526

Please, feel free to join.

The blog will reignite again soon.

New: Digitalis Ltd (and vinyl)
Sloow Tapes
NNA Tapes
Not Not Fun
Great Pop Supplement
Ikuisuus
House of Sun
Cloud Valley
Ydlmier

Sorry for lack of the usual detail, this is a rushed and incomplete update.

This blog is not dead

2010-07-04T12:41:00.001+01:00

If it appears that way at the moment - let's face it, it does - I apologise. I keep meaning to take a couple of hours out and put together all the stuff filling up my inbox but I'm enjoying the sun and football too much.

I just want to point out a couple of quick releases (I think) you may be interested in.

The lovely Big Blood folk have got a new CD/vinyl out on Time-Lag Records and a cassette on Cabin Floor Esoterica. Later in the year, around September, they will also have a double LP out on Digitalis, more news on that when it comes.
If, like me, you're in the UK, Boa Melody Bar will be getting some copies (not sure how many) of the Big Blood Time-Lag LP if you want to save a bit on the import postage.

Under the Spire are re-releasing Zelienople's 'Hollywood' album. There's also a bonus track (which I would love but I'm not buying another copy) to go with the release.

Blackest Rainbow, as I'm sure you all already know, have a new Twinsistermoon LP and a Beggin' Your Pardon Miss Joan compendium type release, both for pre-order.

Troglosound has a new Burnt Hills 3" CD for sale. €12ppd, so a bit expensive, but go take a listen to the sample. Sounds extremely good. I've just been told it's close to sold out, so think fast.

Type Records have out the last of the Thomas Köner LPs and a new one from The North Sea. Boomkat usually sells out fast of Type releases so be sure to check out places like Norman Records (UK) or Forced Exposure (US) if you want something that looks to be gone.

Proper update to come.

Peter Broderick - Three Film Score Intakes

2010-05-25T18:27:00.003+01:00

It has now been over a month since the last upload on this blog. I didn't start it with the intention of uploading much but a month feels like a long break. It's not like there aren't a million other blogs supplying music though so I don't exactly feel bad about neglecting uploads for a while.
Anyway, getting back to normal, here's something that wasn't available for very long but is very recent.

Peter Broderick - Three Film Score Intakes

This was released two weeks ago on Schedios Records (a newish label founded and run by Clem Leek). Released on a 3" CD in an edition of 200, some of which appear to be available from Experimedia (link below). The music is taken from a short film by Matt Clark titled 'Passenger'.

"the three tracks on display here combine piano, strings and field recordings. A signature of the Broderick classical sound is his ability to take a minimalist approach to composing and through his blending of pre-recorded sounds or looping his own instruments he adds significant complexity to his music. So, for example, “Part 1” in essence a fairly simplistic, but nonetheless beautiful piano composition is supported by undertones of violin and given a distinctly gritty edge through the recorded sound of a train passing by. “Part 2” which seamlessly integrates from the first track, gives the strings a more prominent role and the resulting sound is an emotionally charged, melancholic one. “Part 3,” reverting to a greater piano focus again, is the most melodic of the three tracks yet Broderick again through his ambient intuition, ensures there is not an overriding burden of romance to the composition." (Fluid Radio)

BUY / Download

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New Releases:

Honest Jon's: V/A - To Scratch Your Heart: Early Recordings From Istanbul (4LP / 2CD)

Sloow Tapes: Verde - Tapes
Plankton Wat - Shadows
Marianne Nowottny - Divine Cantos

Under the Spire: Wreaths - Like Sparks From Throats Falling

The Great Pop Supplement: Spectrum & Tim 'Love' Lee / Spectrum & Captain Memphis (picture disc)

Alter: Tomutonttu / Oneohtrix Point Never - Split

Plus Tapes: Alvarius B – Blood Operatives of the Barium Sunset

Electric Temple: MV & EE - Sweetheart of the Nascar

Woodsist: V/A - Welcome Home / Diggin' the Universe

Weird Forest: Mark McGuire - Tidings / Amethyst Waves

Type Records: Rene Hall - Porcelain Opera

Reverb Worship: Lapizjack - s/t

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Olde English Spelling Bee: Stellar Om Source - Trilogy Select
James Ferraro - Feed Me
James Ferraro - On Air
James Ferraro - Pixarni

Plus Tapes: Distractions - s/t

Subliminal Sounds: V/A - Thai Beat A Go-Go (Vol. 3)
Parson Sound (3LP box set)

Full of Nothing: Keijo - First Time
Kheta Hotem - Live at Yläkaupungin Yö, Jyväskylä, Finland 2009
Kheta Hotem - Live at Yläkaupungin Yö, Jyväskylä, Finland 2007

Arbor: Sun Circle - Lessness
Cloaked Light / Pale Blue Sky

Morc Tapes: Circle Bros - Haven

Sound Holes: Lust For Youth / Street Drinkers - Split
Pascal Nichols - One Stone Taken From Every Monument To Form A Wall of Silence
Rale / 3 Headed Monster - Split

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More will probably be added over the next couple of days. If only there was a Twitter service that allowed for more characters, that would be perfect.

Update

2010-05-17T16:06:00.002+01:00

I have loads to add to this list over the next couple of days. It hasn't felt like four weeks since the last post. Time is flying. I'm not going to promise consistency over the summer - losing the World Cup will be a huge distraction - but I will do my best to avoid big gaps in posting again.
More will hopefully be added in the next 24 hours to this list. Nothing uploaded at the moment but will dig something out for the next post.

Dead Pilot Records: Expo 70 - Death Voyage

Second Language Music: Ghostwriter - The Continuing Adventures Of The Strange Sound Association

Sir Richard Bishop has released a compilation of live tracks from his 'Freak of Araby' US Tour - there's also a nice, new t-shirt.

Speaking of t-shirts, Blackest Rainbow have got a couple of new ones. They're also re-pressing the Silvester Anfang II LP.

Reverb Worship: Pete Fosco - Live

Digitalis have new LPs from Heather Woods Broderick (now only available from distros - Boomkat, Forced Exposure) and Ossining.
On the Digi Ltd side of the operation they had a large batch of cassettes from Michael James Tapscott, Planets Around the Sun, White Leopards, Red Electric Rainbow, Mohave Triangles, Knit Prism / W.A. Munson, Mass Ornament and Ricardo Donoso. Five of them seemed to sell out in around 24 hours, if ones you want are gone, be sure to check the usual distros over the next few days.

Mississippi Records have released quite a batch over the past month. They've re-released the best of the Fihavanana 3LP set - definitely worth checking out - on a single LP, done a vinyl issue of 'Moa Anbessa' by Getatchew Mekuria, The Ex and Guests and have just released a new compilation of Abner Jay material. Not seen the Abner Jay in shops yet, but if you're in the UK check out Honest Jon's and maybe Aquarius Records if you're in the States (there may be cheaper distros in the US for their records but I don't know of it - if you do, please leave a comment with info).

Apollolaan Recordings: Black Tempest - Proxima

Essence Music: Nadja - Autopergamene
Drakh - Bethlehem
(both of these releases also have amazing looking box set editions)

Aguirre Records: Caboladies - Live Anywhere
Josh Burke - Prana

Boomkat have a few copies of the Richard Youngs and Valet split 7" (on Root Strata) on sale for £2.95 at the moment (here). It obviously costs more when you take into consideration the p&p costs but if you're ordering something with them anyway then it might be a good, cheap purchase.

Schedios: Peter Broderick - Three film score intakes
(thanks Kev)

Install: Greg Davis - Regarding Wave

NNA Tapes: Nonhorse - Subtle Revenge
Driphouse - 50/50
Pulse Emitter - Longing Thresholds

It seems to be a worthwhile move checking out Norman Records lately if you really want to save the pennies. I noticed you could save 30p on 'For Jose Maria' by Rameses III, a little bit on 'Modlitewnik' by Isengrind and £3 on '...and they have escaped the weight of darkness' by Olafur Arnalds (all including postage). It isn't much but I imagine if you had an order large enough to get free postage (UK only) you could almost get a "free" CD.

Chunklet have a new t-shirt - well, for Record Store Day - available with the words, 'I collect records because pussy hates me' written across it. Crude? Chunklet? Never...
Bring on another magazine Henry!!

Earjerk: Rain Drinkers - The Healing Begins NOW
Prince Rama - Live

A Dear Girl Called Wendy: Testicle Hazard - Het Potatis
Sewer Election - Kvävd

Caff / Flick: No Monster Club - Tropical Decibels (vol. 1 & 2)
Heavy Hawaii / Girls Names - Split
Boundary JIM - Vienna Boys Choir

Plus Tapes: Leaves - s/t
More releases very soon: Distractions, Alvarus B, Other Minds and Exile (x2)

Susan Matthews has collaborated with Mark Ingram, putting her music to his experimental films. Titled 'Autumnal Abduction', the CD & DVD package (£8ppd worldwide) is available here and you can preview the videos here.

The Motljud distro has started a newsletter of their stock. First update contained new releases from Vinter, Sveriges Kommune & Landsting, Oresund Space Collective, Anders and Arv & Miljo.

Dull Knife Records have had some records back from their distibutor, so if you wanted but missed the Andre Ethier or Circuit des Yeux 7"s they're back available direct for $5 and $3 respectively.

Low Point: Christopher Hipgrave - Slow, With Pages Of Fluttering Interference

Dust Wind Tales: Flaspar - Voice Rockets on the Satellites (half way down the page)

Smeraldina Rima have a new website and blog. Their next release is going to be from Ryan Garbes and somewhere along the line they have a re-release of 'Twilight Peaks' by Robbie Basho on CD and vinyl.

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Stunned Records: Chrome Wings - Time Patterns
Queen Victoria — There Will Come Soft Rains
Xiphiidae — Iiustus / Transresonance Formation
Duck Dive / Edibles — split
Archers by the Sea — Sometimes We Should Dance

DNT Records: Sean McCann - Chances Are Staying
Birthdaze Haze (vhs)
Carl Calm / Flower Man - The Sag / The Breslin Wayside Rotary
Deep Magic - Soul Vibration

Important Records: Master Musicians of Bukkake - The Visible Sign Of The Invisible Order
Master Musicians of Bukkake - Totem 2
Grails - Black Tar Prophecies 4
Grails - Black Tar Prophecies 1,2,3
Aun - VII

Mort Aux Vaches: Ignatz - Mort Aux Vaches

Honest Jon's: Actress - Splazsh

Type Records: The Alps - Le Voyage
Thomas Köner - Nunatak

The Tapeworm: John Butcher - Trace
Pita - Mesmer

Bum Tapes: Men Daimler - Live

Krayon Recordings: Moon Unit - New Sky Dragon

Synth Noise: Pulse Emitter - Meditative Music 4

Cubic Pyramid: Lace Bows - Glitter Pulse
Melted Glass - Fluorescent Swamp
Moonflare - All the World is Bright With Joy and Magical Delight

For Noise's Sake: Au - Medianoche en Aspen
Wretched Worst - Frozen in Vomit
Expensive Shit - ATX Ghosts and Flowers
Slut Mouth - Double Penetration
interstates (etc.) - Goodbye Blue Monday
Andrew Coltrane - Vice & Virtue
Indigents - Factory Disease
Rusted Wreck - Concret Now
V/A - no es fest
Lattume Muto - Sokeré

Basses Frequencies: Nicholas Szczepanik - Dear Dad

Rotifer Cassettes: Hobo Cubes - Spheric dawn
Jugu - Pangaeal
Archers by the Sea / Carter Mullin - Split
Bjerga / Iversen - Recovering tiny clumps of truth from the junkyard of lies
Seziki Tetrasheaf - Furnishings of former lives

Sacred Phrases: Ophibre / Dry Valleys - Split

Fabrica Records: Luciernaga - Life Passes Away Like Idle Chatter

Private Collection: Sequin Kit

Invada Records: White Hills / Gnod - split

Offices of Moore & Moore: () - Non Serviam
Knit Prism
nodolby

Release the Bats: Ättestupa - Begraven Mot Norr

Anything else will be added on the next update.

Seth Nehil - Knives

2010-04-19T01:03:00.001+01:00

The samples of this record (on Mimaroglu - linked below as 'buy' - and Boomkat) had me completely absorbed last week. I'd argue that the sample - third track of side A - is the best piece on the record but I couldn't help but continually flip the record over once I'd reached 'the end'. If you're into musique concrete or just generally willing to try something new, which I suspect you are, then be sure to check this out.

Seth Nehil - Knives

This is the first release on Senufo Editions - released alongside an extremely limited Alessandro Brivio record - and only has an edition of 180 copies. Lovely clear vinyl, simple but attractive artwork and a nice letterpressed insert.

"Included herein are a series of short musique concrète pieces from composer seth nehil, featuring input from 20-odd instrumentalists (including Matt marble & JP Jenkins) whose individual contributions are transformed into micro-events, yielding a quite detailed & very edit-heavy array of sound."

"Knives has been influenced by cinematic sound design, hip hop music production, musique concrete and noir films, among other things. These days, I am interested in making music that is equal parts dramatic and abstract, songs with all of the regularity removed. I want to incorporate room tone, accidents, lack of control, mimicry, suggestion, tangentiality."

Download / Buy

------------------------
Plus Tapes: Montoyan Artesian Connection
Ill Professor – Miracle of Luck

If you missed out on those Dara Puspita tapes Plus released at the very start, Sublime Frequencies are meant to be officially re-releasing the material soon.

Catholic Tapes (Email): Wasteland Jazz Unit
Josh Burke - Shared Lucidity
Running - Running Tape #2

Peasant Magik: Chapels - All Voids
Anla Courtis - Becasa Quiula
Glass Coffin / One Master - Split
Hoor-paar-Kraat - Handy Feet
Annapurna Illusion - The Fifth Veda

Under the Spire: Coldstream - South Island

Milieu Music: Milieu - Bell'n Dither
Milieu - Reverb Microcoma (part 2)
Brian Grainger - Sunburnt under the eyes
Brian Grainger - White Kingdoms

Install Sound: David Tagg - Pentecoste
bit disappointed to see the JCL / Tagg split sold out

Not Not Fun: Sun Araw - On Patrol
Magic Lantern - Platoon
Magic Lantern - Show Stopper

Editions Mego: Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal (pre-order)

Blackest Rainbow (pre-orders): Isengrind - Modlitewnik
Celer - Dwell In Possibility
Lobster Priest - Cat Food
Deas & Denton - s/t

Morc Tapes are having a small sale and have released the third MorcZine (interviews with black flowers, sharron kraus, jessica bailiff, richard youngs and signal).

Great Pop Supplement: Yair Yona - Remember
CWK Joynes and the Restless Dead - 6 selections and premonitions from the Tower, vol.1

Spirit of Orr listed three new MV & EE bootlegs - Not Only Wine But It's Oblivion I Pour; (Bad) Blood On The Doozers Guitar; Electric Wharf: Coventrian - if you can keep up. $7 each.

Holy Mountain are re-releasing the Voice of the Seven Thunders album despite the original not being sold out (as confused as I am?). There's also a new VotST t-shirt available from Tchantinler.

Reverb Worship: Pete Fosco - Byzantium

Record Store Day was on Saturday. If you went and bought a copy of the Blur single I recommend flogging it to the nutcases on ebay paying £200. Maybe next year the shops will press up 100 copies of records and put them on ebay themselves - I suspect at least a few of the listings have been record store employees, but that's the cynic in me.

Weird Forest: Love Cry Want - s/t (re-press)
The re-press of 'Wide' by Grouper sold out on pre-order so check the usual distros

Tuesday additions

Apollolaan Recordings: Susan Matthews & Clutter - Silence Alright

'Honest Strings: A tribute to the life and work of Jack Rose' is now available from Fina as a download. Features MV & EE, Bardo Pond, C Joynes, Hush Arbors, Six Organs, Rick Tomlinson and loads others. Literally hours of music for $15.

Jooklo Duo are playing at Aquarius Records (San Fran) tonight at 6pm. If you're in the area be sure to go. Also check the Trogloblog linked above (just under the picture title) as there have been quite a lot of uploads going on. And check out their tour disc. I got a copy through (from Aquarius) last week and can confirm that it's mental.

Digitalis have re-released the Roll the Dice album on CD.

Deep TapesL Olympus Mons - Aural alchemy
Earthsurfers - Ryderz of the wyld wave

Mimaroglu have copies of the Golden Retriever disc on Root Strata and I think I read somewhere that they may have some more of Scott Wells 'Day Songs' at some point. Check the New page for the GR disc though.

Did anyone go to Hospital Productions in New York on Records Store Day? The first 100 people were meant to be allowed to make their own 1 minute noise tapes.

Issue 4 of Mountain Fold is available.

Nurse Tapes: Neuntoter der Plage - Swine
Dog Lady - Strung for Her Turning
Ride At Dawn - Aktion Report I
White Boss - Guidelines at Third Stone

Autumn Records: John Clyde-Evans - Go Gracious Kiki Change

Calypso Hum: Early Tunnels - Cold drain
Derek Rogers - Concealed weapon
Lavender Scented Dreamfield

Pony Boy Cassettes: Backwards Sleep - Live at O.Y

Green Records (email): Knox Mitchell - You Chopped My Block Off
Knox Mitchell - Yarns
Five Finger Discount - Life On A Rough Surface
Knox Mitchell - After Music
Five Finger Discount - Eliminate The Bad
Bree Party - Live at Portage Park

If you wanted the Sovetskaya Gone tape on Anathema Sound but missed out, there are some available direct.

905 Tapes: Roman Wolfe - Ylem
Dogbox - s/t
Mick Barr - Brave Grave 2: Guitar
Totem Mold Growth - Straight-internet-copy
Family Treasures / Hunted Creatures - Split

Semata Productions: Bowed Metal Music - Untitled
Asher - Interference
Vic Rawlings / Liz Tonne - Truck Krone

Pete von Petrin is looking for support to fund a 7" via Kickstarter. Julianna Barwick managed it through the site a few months back, and deservedly so, will Pete? I can't find any samples...

One copy left (edition of 15) of 2 cassette split 'Smokestacks' by Sean Gadoury and Scott Johnson - info here.

2:00 AM Tapes: Vestigial Limb - Velo-Dog Dissuader
Palatial - Tierkorperbeseitigungsanstalt (thank God for copy & paste!)
Vales - Tosser
Mike Shiflet - Omen Chaser
Corpse Candle - Into Dust

Munitions Family: Reptile Brain - Dinosaur

Pug Records: V/A - Mekulele, Ukulele, Wekulele
Cave Babies - Green
Math the Band - Don't Worry
Iji - Sorry Seashells

Sonic Meditations: Expo 70 - Psychic Funeral
Breathing Flowers - Magical Order of the Seven Sacred Planets
Matt Hill - Untitled
Also has the coloured vinyl edition of the Umberto record (on Permanent Records) available at the bottom of the page.

The long slow death of cassette players

2010-04-15T17:27:00.000+01:00

Hope everyone has had a nice couple of weeks this Easter. I'll get around to answering any comments and a proper post on the weekend - assuming everything goes as planned. A lot of updates are cheekily taken from people kindly posting them in the Promotion section of Fangs & Arrows so check there if you want to get ahead (and join anyway).

-----------------------------
The long slow death of cassette players

Cassette player 1:

This was (technically still is) my parents cassette player. It's part of a small stack system bought in the late 70s / early 80s that has a turntable on top and a CD player below. I sequestered it around 2003/4 and have had it in my room since 2005/6. The turntable, CD player and radio still work perfectly - only the drive belt for the turntable has needed replacing (this year) - but the cassette player died a couple of years ago and emits a constant sharp tone from one of the speakers.

Cassette player 2:

An old birthday present of mine. Probably from 1992/3 - I still have copies of 'History' by Michael Jackson, 'Things can only get better' by D:ream and 'Come on you reds' by Man Utd - and had been working perfectly until a month ago. Now it has started to regularly chew tapes. It often needed a bit of a warm up, by pressing play for 5 seconds with no tape in, but that no longer works and it has been going mid-tape. This is the player used for most tape rips on this blog.

Cassette player 3:

Best looking tape player I own but God knows when this was retired. It used to belong to my Grandad and was only recently uncovered. It has a record function and a pretty decent radio - now set to Radio 5 live for the football. Sadly, it will reach its end in 2012 when this country (for invalid reasons, in my opinion) will scrap analogue radio for digital. The rewind function no longer works with a tape in - although a flip and a fast forward does the same job - and the play warbles.

Cassette player 4:

A.k.a. 'The last hope'. Not sure how old this is. I'd guess it was bought for long car journeys to the south of France and Italy we developed a yearly habit of making in the mid-late 90s. It would be fair to say it was superseded by a discman after a couple of years whatever the case. It's the only one I own that still works perfectly on a regular basis.

You're probably now thinking to yourself, 'who cares?', or, 'so?', and you're probably quite right to do so. I guess I'm just wondering about the future of formats in general because once the last of these tape players goes I'm unlikely to buy a new one. Maybe I'll cave eventually but I don't think I love the format enough to bother. It's a shame because I love the music contained on a lot of them.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the future of cassettes?
Do you also just buy them for the music or would you pick it over other formats?

--------------------
Hoping to have the next post up on Saturday with all the usual updates.

Voice of the Seven Woods feast (pt. 2)

2010-04-02T18:27:00.000+01:00

The first part was back in December last year (if you missed it). I had intended to follow it up within a month but here we are, four months later and only just getting around to it.
There are four 7" singles here (The Firefly Dusk, Hush Arbors split, Kafamdaki Yangin and The Burning Mountain), one 3" CD (Withering of the Boughs) and a CDr (VVIIW). All are long sold out but I'm sure you could still track most of them down on Ebay or Discogs if you want copies.
A couple of these have been released under alternate names. Yedi Ormanin Sesi was a Turkish alias involving Rick alongside Chris Walmsley and Pete Headley. Voice of the Seven Thunders is again Rick and Chris but with Rory Gibson on bass and is the current project.

As usual, newly ripped at 320kbps mp3. I've checked before uploading this time that they all unzip so fingers crossed there are no problems there.
I'd recommend the first two ('Withering...' and 'Firefly...') - 'Winter's Temper' is especially good. If you're in the mood for something a bit heavier, a psych-rock flavour, then you should definitely check out the Yedi Ormanin Sesi 7" and 'The Burning Mountain'.

Be sure to check out Rick's latest album under the Voice of the Seven Thunders name. CD and vinyl editions were both self released on his Tchantinler Recordings label and are available direct through the site or via shops like Norman Records and Boomkat.

The Withering of the Boughs

1. The Withering of the Boughs

Download

The Firefly Dusk

A. The Firefly Dusk
B. Winter's Temper

Download
Hush Arbors split

A. Voice of the Seven Woods - Mist & Snow
AA. Hush Arbors - Gone on the Way to Know

Download
Kafamdaki Yangin

A. Yedi Ormanin Sesi - Kafamdaki Yangin
B. Yedi Ormanin Sesi - Karanlik Nehir

Download / Buy
VVIIW

1. Quicksand and Wildfire
2. A Meditation Upon Death
3. The Firefly Dusk
4. Isolation

Download
The Burning Mountain

A. The Burning Mountain
B. Dry Leaves (Alt version)

Download / Buy

I'll get around to ripping 'Black Morning' at some point but I don't have copies of 'An Hour Before Dawn' or 'Mareotic Lake' and 'The Journey', 'The Holy Harbour' and the self titled albums are still available from some of the usual shops so won't be posting those.

----------------------
News / Releases

Huge list has gathered this time.

Kning Disk are having a small spring sale - Peter Broderick down to €5, James Blackshaw for €7, Voice of the Seven Woods €8, etc.

As mentioned by Anonymous in the comments, Ikuisuus are also having a sale (until April 15th) - includes a deal for Taco Bells (LP), Monks Of Malaspina (LP), Keijo (CD) + worldwide postage for €30.

Someone over at Fangs and Arrows kindly directed me to Spirit of Orr to buy the latest MV & EE CD ('Liberty Rose').

Low Point: Gareth Hardwick - Of the sea and shore (pre-order)

Under the Spire: Gareth Hardwick - London 22/01/09

Digitalis Ltd: Jouurney - Dancers in the time flux
Sorc'henn - Shadow is ov silver, phantom is ov gold
Indian Weapons - Perousia

Anathema Sound: Black Eagle Child / Thoughts on Air - Split
Sean McCann & Greg Manata - Ornaments
Sovetskaya Gone - Sashweights & Bags of Birdshot

Motljud has copies of 'Orosvisor', the second album by Sveriges Kommuner & Landsting. An art edition will be made in May but the prices will obviously be higher. It's meant to have quite a few of the same songs - some re-recorded - as the first album but I'm not sure of the track listing to be able to give further details.

Davy Graham's favourite guitar was sold this week on ebay for £5,600.

Singing Knives: Pekko Kappi - Vuonna '86

Joy de Vivre: Being - Immaculate steel casket (not listed on the website, send them an email because it is available)

Ark Tarp: Shiggajon
Jørgen Teller & The Empty Stairs w/ PEWTR - Burn Sugar
Inhibitionists - Trapezoid Man
Donato Epiro - Three Different Kinds Of Poison

Synth Series (RuralFaune): Innercity - Visions from dream state
Magina - Nazca Lines
Mark Bradley - Godspeed
Easy Rider - Eternia beach
Marc-Henri Arfeux - Blossom

RuralFaune: The Driftwood Manor - The Same Figure, leaving
Sparkling Wide Pressure - In a new Mouth
Dylan Ettinger - Cutters (LP co-released with Digitalis)

Three Lobed Recordings: Heavy Winged — Fields Within Fields

Stunned Records: Torture Corpse - Stop the Mind
Talisman - Initiate Into the Mysteries
Sparkling Wide Pressure - Facing the Nothing World
Lunar Miasma - Three Legged Elephant
Mortuus Auris & The Black Hand - Freiheit ist immer Freiheit der Andersdenkenden
Husere Grav
Slam Fucking Dunk (Stunned bonus)

Dream Root Recordings (email): Moth Cock - Ronnie James Geode
Derek Rogers & Interstates (etc.) - collaboration
Gammaciphers - Near Distance

Bum Tapes: Lee Noble - Loaded Image
Dream Colour / Lasers from Atlantis - Split
Al Qaeda - Hundreds of wives, only a few are dead

For Noise's Sake: Plonk Moist - Plonk Moist
Shalocins - Trains going by
Teeth Collection
Wicked Rot - The Rotten Flute

Abandon Ship Records: Blue Sabbath Black Fiji - Night Hawk (CD)
Mea'l (CD)
Flesh Coffin - Veil of snakes (CD)
Excepter - Steps: La Sala Rossa (CD)
Nervous Sex / Drums Like Machine Guns (cassette)
Christian Science Minotaur - Maps 4 (cassette)
Moutus - Eskimo King / Afternoon Penis (vinyl)

Tape Drift: Jeremy Kelly - Facing Space
Lee Noble - Infinity Bore
Family Treasures - Altars of Ashes
Cruudeuces - Exile Digs
Book of Shadows - Twelve Degree Chandelier

Astral Social Club - Happy Horse (available from Japan - here - and should be in distros soon)

Two new (I think) Mississippi Records re-issues: The Ex & Tom Cora - Scrabbling At The Lock
Uke of Phillips - Peppermint Birdhouse Tea Shanty Shack

Jugular Forest: 1958-2009 - Live
Human Hands - Palus Nectaris
Earn - In a year
Yellow Crystal Star - Rainbow bridge to dream mirror orb
Pale Blue Sky - Souvenir
Caged Soprano - The newspaper

Editions Mego: Cindytalk / Robert Hampson - Five Mountains Of Fire / Antarctica Ends Here
Emeralds - Does It Look Like I'm Here? (CD & 2LP pre-order)

Blossoming Noise: Merzbow - Collection 4
Merzbow - Collection 5
Merzbow - Normal Music
Merzbow - Flesh Metal Orgasm

Existential Cloth: Lee Noble - Twin Language
Siddhi - Cuttlefish Bone
Aghori / Kedamaian - Split

I Just Live Here: V/A - Fake Sound Routine

Sacred Phrases: Dry Valleys / Mohave Triangles - Split

Reverb Worship: Lady Space - Long Lost In A Twilight Head
Yoshino - Sun, Moon

Moving Furniture: A Vibrant Struggle – Between The Woods And Frozen Lake

Tapeworm: Fennesz - Szampler
Leslie Winer - & That Dead Horse

Jooklo Duo - Free Serpents

2010-03-22T17:05:00.001Z

Next month Jooklo will be paying a visit to the USA - see here for details - and a man named Chris has set up a blog following it from April 12th. It's going to have audio ('Live in Itri' is already available), videos and art from the tour so be sure to keep check of it - Trogloblog.

Jooklo Duo - Free Serpents

This is not my rip. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it, I just wish I had a copy to rip.
Sad face. Moving on...

Ten tracks of free jazz. The Duo formation of Jooklo (Virginia Genta (sax) and David Vanzan (drums)) is probably the wildest - the Finnish Quartet 'Birthday Session' probably being the closest of the other Jooklo projects that I've managed to hear.

This was recorded back in December 2006 and issued almost ten months later on Qbico, alongside 'Infinity' (Neokarma Jooklo Octet featuring Kawabata Makoto) and 'Meditative' (Neokarma Jooklo Trio) - lots of variation across those records.

Download
-------------------------
News:

Dead Slack String: Richard Moult - Ethe
Plinth - Albatross
Magikal Folk of the Faraway Tree - The Soup and the Shilling

Plus Tapes: Perseus Noble – Perseus Noble
Radar Eyes – Radar Eyes

All of the Peasant Magik releases are definitely arriving. I received the lathes at the end of last week and I think my box set is currently at the post office. Tomentosa also has copies of the box set is you missed out - check here.

Also got the new Voice of the Seven Thunders vinyl through this morning from Tchantinler (if anyone was wondering about the delay with that).

Noticed a few things moseying through Norman Records' pre-order section. First was a sleeve paying tribute to Roxy Music's 'Country Life' cover from a new J. Mascis project, Sweet Apple, titled 'Love and Desperation'.
Second was a compilation on Dust to Digital put together by the Excavated Shellac blogger / WFMU free music archive uploader - 'Excavated Shellac: Strings'. The description doesn't make much sense though, how can the songs be, "recorded and released" yet, "All previously unreleased"? Ah. Who cares... Definitely check out the blog if you've not already.
Last record I spotted was a re-issue on Arbor of Oneohtrix Point Never's 'Zones Without People'. Only another 500 copies of it but at least that means people won't have to spend more than necessary to buy used copies off ebay.

They have also just listed that PWHMOBS 'All Cows Are Sacred' CDr on House of Alchemy here. There's meant to be a second pressing due.

Low Point: Kogumaza - Sevens b/w Mara

Thanks to sno in the cbox for these two: There's another new Zelienople piece on their website. Only 65mb this time.

Vulpiano Records have re-uploaded the Natural Snow Buildings album with the skip removed. There's also a Flac version available and a new release from Year of the Tiger.

'Honest Strings: A Tribute To The Life And Work Of Jack Rose' is meant to be downloadable now ($15) but it looks as though there has been an error with the dates - Three Lobed were expecting 19th March but it looks like someone at Fina has put it back a month.

Important Records: Robedoor - Burners
Jon Mueller & Z'ev - Hydration
Mugstar - ... Sun, Broken...
Kid 606 - Songs About Fucking Steve Albini
Merzbow - Ecobag / 13 Birds In A Bag +1 (14CD)

Olde English Spelling Bee: Forest Swords - Dagger Paths
Rangers - Suburban Tours
James Ferraro - Last American Hero

As always, I'm sure I've missed something. This time it feels like more than usual...

Natural Snow Buildings - The Centauri Agent

2010-03-17T18:06:00.000Z

The new Natural Snow Buildings album is available over at Vulpiano Records, run by A Future In Noise's Marilyn Roxie. It's a free download only release and as a result should probably be considered the most available release from the duo - we can't go on about not getting a copy this time.

VULP-0013 is Natural Snow Buildings’ first release of 2010, the free-for-download double LP The Centauri Agent! On part one, the 41 minute “Our man from Centauri” sets the stage, a cosmic, sprawling opener with themes that continue on into “The accidental remote viewer”, before fizzling out into static. Part two is comprised of nine beautiful and intense tracks (particular stand-outs including “The Psychic Circle/Uchronia”, “The storm of resurrection”, and “Solar flares”). Lovely and intricately woven as ever, while frequently heading off into new and challenging sonic territory, Mehdi and Solange have created yet another very special work of musical art with The Centauri Agent!

Part One:
1-Our man from Centauri
2-The accidental remote viewer

Part Two:
1-The Psychic Circle/Uchronia
2-Black holes
3-The storm of resurrection
4-Moscow signal
5-Phantom twin
6-Stuttering probe
7-Solar flares
8-Emergency network farewell broadcast
9-Memories found in a bill from a small animal vet

Vulpiano Records

--------------------
Updates:

Blackest Rainbow: Enfer Boreal - Break The Illusion
Socrum - s/t
Cam Deas - Blind Chance (pre-order)
Aritomo - Fearful Sunshine Filtering Through Foliages (re-release pre-order)

Peasant Magik: Helm - To an end (Alter for European orders)

Under the Spire: Spheruleus - Frozen Quarters

Sloow Tapes: Stranger Son Of WB – Other Songs From Lakes
Wally Shoup and Dave Abramson – Good Curse
Embryo – Aalst 2010
Kosmische Keuterboeren - Harvest

Reverb Worship: The Big Drum In The Sky Religion / Noz Diloar / Mark Bradley - Chronological
Kwannon - The Twisted Book

Kimberly Dawn: ttotals - annimal skkulls
Archers by the Sea - They All Dreamt They Were Bears
Interstates (etc.) - Sanctuary of Memories

Trashcan Man - Live / Death Wish 2 Tribute (free download)

Pony Boy Cassettes: John-A-Dreams
Trash Can Man - First Trash

Calypso Hum: Pine Smoke Lodge / Gitche-Anahmi-Bezheu - Split
Kedamaian - Unjuran Alam

NNA Tapes: Nautilus - Blaster Vision
Xiphiidae - Maps In Exodus
Harmonizer - s/t

Rotten Topics - Bukowski (free download)

Apollolaan Recordings: Spaceship - Out Of Time's Abyss (sold out - I'd recommend getting on their mailing list if you're interested in their releases, all have been selling out very quickly over the last six months or so)

Zelienople / Donato Epiro / Entertainment for the Braindead / Endless Endless Endless

2010-03-13T17:15:00.001Z

Four albums. A couple of these were sent to me - I am slowly getting around to listening to emailed albums - and the other two were stumbled upon. The titles are the links to download pages for a change.
There will be a couple more of these style posts in the near future.
No updates this weekend as there haven't been any (as of yet) to pass on. I've added in a small text box below the title picture for any mid-post edits, the blog posts and Cbox will be used as normal. If you downloaded the Sveriges Kommuner & Landsting album and couldn't extract the third track, it's downloadable here.

Zelienople - Old City
Got a fast internet connection or a deep love of Zelienople? Then head over to their site. They have a half hour long track, 'Old City', up for your enjoyment. Be warned, especially if you were planning to just stream the song, the song is in wav format and is 288mb!
Worth checking out if you can. I would convert it down and upload it but I don't want to tread on their toes. It does sound beautiful.

Donato Epiro - Sounding the Sun

This came out on Stunned Records in October last year (#52). The artwork from the label always reminds me that I haven't got anywhere near enough of their releases - definitely needs to be regular UK distro stock - and this album from Donato Epiro just adds more weight to that argument.
A real smorgasbord of sounds going on in this one. Cursillistas and PWHMOBS both come to mind. Add in some sections of Maurizio Abate-esq percussion and field recordings and you'll be close. Actually, scrap that, it's still not covered. Here's what Stunned said:

"Italian psych magician Donato Epiro aims his wand in all directions of the acoustical field, doing his best chameleon’s dance with drums, flute, chanting, and strings. An impressive dynamism is in play when Donato takes his bonfire percussion & fluttering raga loops, then swiftly braids them down to stilled passages of minimalist vibration"
Just spotted copies available at Tomentosa.

Entertainment for the Braindead - Roadkill

Discovered this artist whilst on the French blog, Unsung (a blog well worth checking - I don't speak much French either).
A girl from Germany playing folk tunes. If, like me, you're a folk fan at heart then I'd definitely recommend taking a listen. She has released the album on Aaahh Records as a stream or free download (mp3 or ogg) with the option to donate an amount of your choosing or buy a CD.

Endless Endless Endless - Things I Saw

This was out on Kimberly Dawn just a couple of months ago. The guys, Brett and James, sent over their 'Black Talisman' disc last year (here) and have kindly followed it up with this one.
'Black Talisman' surprised me a little, with the description including the word 'Nintendo'. I still detest that 8-bit stuff that was doing the rounds a couple of years back but Endless (x3) have relaxed my fears of possible future promos including those words/phrases.

Endless Endless Endless rip through your fragile psyche to reveal a multifaceted world of pure color and tone. This east coast duo wields guitars, gameboy, and vocals to create their own unique drifting dream world of pure discovery.
This, for me, is a step up from 'Black Talisman'. I just wonder what happened to 'East'...

Thanks to the videos currently on Message To Our Folks I've had, and still have, Beefheart stuck in my head. This, taken from his 'Clear Spot' record, plays out the 9 minute 'Vinyl Lovers' video. A near flawless song.

"I've got too much time to be without love"

Updates

2010-03-10T16:28:00.000Z

Forgot to click 'post' with this. I've added in a couple more that have come since the weekend and there are a few of the Record Store Day releases down the bottom that may be of some interest - I figured The Cribs and Bullet For My Valentine wouldn't interest many so it's an edited down list.

La Société Expéditionnaire: Jusdson Claiborne - Time And Temperature

Time Lag Records: Stephen David Heitkotter - Heitkotter

Weird Forest: Buk Buk Bigups - s/t
Grouper - Wide (re-release pre-order)

8mm Records: Bill Nace - Too Dead for Dreaming

Ikuisuus: Monks of Malaspina - Volume One
Color Rabbit / Tretetam - Split
Claypipe / Pony Payroll Bones / Balder - Split
Renato Ciufrini & Bob Marsh - Rosa
Book of Shadows - Prayer Wheel

Tired Trails: Stone Baby - Leap into the Void and Drift
Sunken Landscapes - Transparent Sea

Digitalis: Acre - Sacrifice
J. Hanson - Boolean Blues

Housecraft: Samsara Vista - Miner in a Pit of Fire

Wah Wah Records has re-issued records by Between, Embryo, Jarka, Om and Ia Batiste in the last couple of weeks. Saw some of these arrive at Norman Records and Guerssen, no doubt others have also been stocking them.

Reverb Worship: The Big Drum In The Sky Religion / Noz Diloar / Mark Bradley - Chronological
Hayaken - Jugti
Lunar Miasma - Mirror Squares

Not Not Fun: Dylan Ettinger - New Age Outlaws
Pocahaunted - Make It Real
Edibles - Super Space / Mind Peace
Gnod - Science & Industry
Also a Pocahaunted t-shirt, an LA Vampires cassette single and Topping Bottoms - P.A.R.T.S. over in the Random Section of the site.

Blackest Rainbow: Cam Deas - Blind Chance
Aritomo - Fearful Sunshine Filtering Through Foliages (re-issue)

Keep an eye on Vulpiano Records over the next couple of weeks as they will be releasing - looks to be a free digital release - a new Natural Snow Buildings album titled 'The Centauri Agent'. Will no doubt update on this one.

Moondial: Deep Magic - Levitation

Audio.MER: Frederik Croene - Le Piano Démécanisé

Hundebiss: Mudboy - Impossible Duets
Francesco Cavaliere - Neverending Somersault
Aaron Dilloway - Lip Syncing To Verme

Smeraldina Rima: Panicsville - A Dragonfly For Each Corpse
Nate Wooley - Trumpet / Amplifier
Peeesseye + Talibam! (CD edition available from Invada Records)

Boondock Pissoir: Second Family Band - Nandi
Second Family Band - Naked Ladies & Dragons
Second Family Band - Jerusalem
Vosellglaas - 3 Lieder von Space
Ye Uphall Knyte Fryars - Psychedelic Underground Vol. 1
Meen Mistreeter - Side 3 (for T.K.)
Meen Mistreeter - Now that the roast beef's gone

I've tried picking out a few of the Record Store Day releases that may interest some readers of this blog (format and edition in parenthesis):
Flaming Lips – Dark Side Of The Moon (LP, /500)
Neu! – Crazy / Euphoria (12" single, /500)
The Album Leaf - There Is A Wind (12" single, remixes)
Dum Dum Girls / Male Bonding - Split (7")
The Fall – ‘ury / Cowboy Gregorie (/750)
Wooden Shjips – What it is / Buddy (7", /300)
V/A - 4AD compilation (12")

The list this information was stolen from can be found on the Drowned in Sound board. Not sure if these are just UK promos or for the whole world.

Lily - Dulcimer (Japan, 1973)

2010-03-05T15:12:00.001Z

Another Lily bargain. At $5 this record wasn't quite as cheap as 'Onion', but how many people would turn their nose up at $5 records?

After a bit of a search for information, and really not coming up with much, I stumbled upon this blog that has copied out a list of Ongaku no tomo sha's 'Japanese Rock/Folk 1968-1978 Complete Album Guide' top 100 albums and 'Dulcimer' appears at 95 - although you'll have to read it to understand the ordering as it is alphabetically ordered in Japanese.

Lily - Dulcimer

My preference falls slightly towards 'Onion' but if you liked that record I can't imagine you'll dislike this. Not all the songs are fantastic - 'My dear Mr Romance' and 'As I can't sleep' don't do much for me - but a good standard for the most part with a similar mix of folk and hard/psych-rock.
Apparently, again, the electric guitar is the work of Kimio Mizutani (Out Cast, Love Live Life) and Takasuke Kida (Jacks) is on the drums. It's all in Japanese so I can't give as much information as before but I'd suggest the line-up hasn't changed much (if you can read Japanese, the 5th picture has the info).

Be warned: there is a quiet intro (lasts about 55 seconds) until an electric guitar kicks in loudly.

A1. Good By of Stranger
A2. I Left My Blues
A3. My Dear Mr. Romance
A4. Jun
A5. Pipe Love
A6. Nothing By Mouth

B1. Spring Has Come
B2. Day Break
B3. Don't Eat the Apple
B4. As I Can't Sleep (II)
B5. Why

I've been incredibly stupid with the ending of this rip. Twice I have recorded the b-side to my laptop and twice I pressed stop before the end. There are little solo intro / outro pieces on the LP and the outro section has been ripped as a separate track because of my errors.
Three tracks - A / B / outro - for two sides, each at 320kbps mp3.

Download
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Updates either later this afternoon or on the weekend.
Ideally I'd like to change the layout so I can have updates on one side and uploads on the other but I'm not sure if that's possible.

Scott Wells - Day Songs

2010-03-01T15:54:00.001Z

The brief lull has ended. My net providers apparently upgraded the line and were having small problems causing connection to be lost after short periods of time. It has meant though that I have been able to line a couple of things up for future posts. Certainly not going to go overboard but there should be things like a follow up to the Lily album and that vague promise of a part two of Voice of the Seven Woods rarities fulfilled.

This is going to be a long one...

Scott Wells - Day Songs

"A really lovely suite of electric guitar from the floating world. No idea what's happening here, but Well's delicate touch of the strings generates a soft focus sound that's brimming with shiny harmonics and flecks of metallic gold. The only let down here is that at 20 minutes running time, this disc feels like it's just getting going when it comes to an end. Looking forward to hearing more from this one"
This EP goes best with a bit of concentration. If you get distracted it will flitter away. It also deserves a good amount of volume to capture the gentle string grinding and the brief taps of percussion, to accentuate everything above the underlying buzz and to fully appreciate Wells' swells.

Like the Golden Retriever release out on Root Strata at the same time - another well worth tracking down - this was limited to 100 copies and sold out in about a day.
I stupidly ripped the tracks as untitled - titles iTunes generated - and forgot to change them so replace them with the RS titles if you want:

1. Day Song 1
2. Day Song 2
3. Day Song 3
4. Day Song 4

As always, 320kbps mp3.

*Removed by request

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News:

I apologise if you find some of these have sold out in the passed week.

A couple of youtube videos to start things off:
The first is now one earthquake behind but still a more than worthy cause to support. It's a cover of 'I put a spell on you' put together by Shane MacGowan (The Pogues) and is a charity single for Haiti featuring Nick Cave, Chrissie Hynde, Bobby Gillespie, Paloma Faith - who actually sounds pretty good in this mix - and Johnny Depp (on guitar) as well as a few others.

Second is a trailer for a documentary about Travis Bean guitars. Not sure when, or if, this is going to get completed but guitar fans should take a look.

I know I won't be the only one excited by this: Caleb & Colleen, aka Dontrustheruin / Big Blood, have opened a store on Etsy (here) where you can buy all of their releases. All just $8 as well! Be sure to check it out. They also have LPs due out on Time-Lag, Digitalis and Dull Knife at some point and on their blog they mention tapes are due in the near future.

Earjerk: The Big Drum in the Sky Religion - Sha^ri Va'ri
Guzzo Pinc - The Sea
Second Family Band - Get Me By
Tricorn & Queue - Straits of Maize
Annapurna Illusion - Heat of the Fire, Heat of the Sun

Under the Spire: Jasper TX - A Voice From Dead Radio

Dull Knife: Balaclavas - Roman Holiday
Lamps - Niels Bohr

If you're a writer, Chunklet are looking for people to contribute to their next book. I do hope they create some more editions of the magazine in the future.

Whilst on the subject of publications, there is a three page piece on Pitchfork about cassettes (here) and a good article titled 'Articulate Silences, Ambient Sounds #1' at Drowned in Sound that is very much based around Type Records (here).

Tchantinler: Voice of the Seven Thunders - s/t (vinyl edition)

Goaty Tapes: Russian Tsarlag - Unleash the Chain
El Jesus De Magico - Ragtime Hors
La Danse Du Sperme (Hellvete, Edgar Wappenhalter, Bart Sloow, Silvester Anfang)
Street Drinkers - Circles
Uke of Spaces Corners - Albumen / Ovum (re-issue)
Banana Head Diary: BJ Vacuum Wax (book)

Milieu Music: Coppice Halifax - Halifaxian
Milieu - Reverb Microcoma
Brian Grainger - Entasis

Three Lobed Recordings has an astounding line-up planned for a digital Jack Rose tribute. It should be out in the next couple of weeks and will contain 6 and a half hours of music for $15 with all money going to his estate.

Digitalis Limited (check distros): Blue Sabbath Black Fiji - Wankers
Sacred Basil - Tuvan Annex
Celer - Rags of Contentment
Altar Eagle - Vintage Cats
S.R. Hess - Demise
Pine Smoke Lodge - Twelve Faces of the Smoke Mask
Dylan Ettinger - Interstellar Pleasures
Holy Family - Anoint

Caff/Flick: Peter's House Music

Apollolaan Recordings: Gish / Perry - I'm Afraid I Ate Too Much Butter As A Youth

Arbor: Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - Bloodstream Sermon
Brett Naucke - Southern California
Copper Glove - Surviving the Garden of Hate
Pale Blue Sky - Shades of Gray
Ryan Garbes - Real Sugar

2:00AM Tapes: Flesh Coffin - In The Woods
Abortion Focus Group - MW
CDRX + TAKLAMAKAN - Sulphuric Lake / Ispod Zemljine Kore
Ophibre - Untitled Drones for Iron Oxide
A Vibrant Struggle - Soft Illusions

905 Tapes: Steve Kenney - Outside the Circles of Time
Teeth Collection - 905.101
2673 - When the sinew is cut, the limbs soon relax
Andrew Coltrane / Wether - Split

Release the Bats: Altar of Flies - Förruttnelsen
Blessure Grave / Lust for Youth - split

Free Women in Tragedy downloads here

Night People: Broken Water - Whet (LP)

Reverb Worship: Lunar Miasma - Mirror Squares

Assophon Records (email): Eddy Detroit - Immortal God's

House of Alchemy: A Vibrant Struggle - Black Hole Meditations
Part Wild Horses Mane On Both Sides - All Cows Are Sacred
Nick Hoffman - Silent Island
Wasteland Jazz Unit - Shivering Reflections

New Peasant Magik lathes / tapes / LP

2010-02-19T16:53:00.003Z

I'm having a few computer / internet problems at the moment, intermittent to say the least. It seems to allow an average of five minutes online before dying so I'm trying to work out whether it's my computer, router or phoneline. Will be back to normal soon.

Whilst this is going on I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and also quickly post this Peasant Magik update. It also includes details of the box set posting as well at the bottom.

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Peasant Magik

Three lathes limited to 50 copies each:

God Willing - Forced to Function

Caboladies - Kind Glaze

Concern - Spatium

$15-20 each or all three for $38-45 depending on where you are.

The following tapes will be available from Tuesday:
David Lackner - The Repeaters
Plante
Willful - Speaking in Tongues
Stabab - Mesmerizing Leaves To Flee
Golden Cup - Il Cielo (+ deluxe edition of 12)

These two LPs should be available by the end of the month:
Helm - To An End
One Master - The Quiet Eye of Eternity

Box set: All artist, distro, and pretty much all of the domestic orders have shipped. Rest of the world will ship this weekend. Sorry for the slow shipping, but Philly has been under a layer of ice for the last two weeks, with most public transportation just up and running in the last few days.

Brief update (not much at all)

2010-02-16T23:14:00.002Z

All is a little quiet at the moment. I've been having some late nights again now the Winter Olympics have started and it appears labels have been doing the same.

Were the Canadians were hoping for a repeat of the Beijing opening ceremony? Bryan Adams miming to the opening song; Chinese competitors in the stands given lunchbox sized drums.
The graphics were extremely well done, especially the whales, but what were the totem-phalluses all about? From the distant camera shot it looked wrong.

Not been very excited by any of the sport so far. Watching the Korean take out the other Korean in the speed skating final will become a classic moment in the same way the American boarder-cross woman falling on the last jump in 2006 did, but other than that... not exciting so far.
But as a result I have been distracted and away from the computer quite a bit (which is lovely). There aren't many updates this week so I've shoved in a bit of music news to pad the post out. Next update will be more exciting.

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Apparently there's a full page piece on Natural Snow Buildings in this months Uncut magazine. If anyone has a copy, please feel free to scan in the page and send it across.

Thrill Jockey: Jack Rose - Luck in the Valley

Abbey Road is to be sold by EMI. Will Paul McCartney use his millions to buy it? There's no rumour of that happening but you never know. No doubt it will be sold to housing developers, split into lots of million pound flats and sold to rich Beatles fans.

La Société Expéditionnaire: Mako Sica - Dual Horizon

Woodsist: Moon Duo - Escape
Art Museums - Rough Frame
Woods - I Was Gone

Leyland Kirby has put out a 6LP package of his 'Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was' album(s).

This would slightly annoy me if I were a big Merzbow fan (that has bought most of the Important Records Bird series already). Important Records are apparently releasing another edition of the Bird Series box set (in a bird seed bag) in March, this time thought to be costing around $150 and containing all 13 CDs from the series plus a bonus CDR.

905 Tapes has opened up a lovely blog shop for releases & distro.

Thurston Moore - needs no introduction - has set up a blog, 'Flowers & Cream', that can be found here.

Ah ha. I think this is proof that the Vatican looked up the definition of 'down on the boys' when they were really intending to understand 'down with the boys'. They have issued (through 'L'Osservatore Romano - The Holy See's newspaper) their list of 'the top 10 pop and rock albums of all time':

1. The Beatles - Revolver
2. David Crosby - If I could only remember my name
3. Pink Floyd - The dark side of the moon
4. Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
5. Donald Fagen - The nightfly
6. Michael Jackson - Thriller
7. Paul Simon - Graceland
8. U2 - Achtung Baby
9. Oasis - (What's the story) Morning glory
10. Carlos Santana - Supernatural

Actually not that bad.

Google takes down music blogs - like this is new news?! Personally I think Google are getting a bit too big for their boots at the moment but that is based on unrelated news to this. I'm surprised it isn't more frequent.

Sveriges Kommuner & Landsting - Spelar

2010-02-10T22:46:00.005Z

If I were in power of the world I'd be sure to change life to fit a ten day week. There would be a seven day working week and a three day weekend, or maybe split the three days up as a two and a one (for a midweek break). Keep the twelve month rotation but instead have three weeks per month and end the year with a five (or six) day holiday. It would give everyone an extra four days of weekend a year and then the nice five day bonus. Best of all, it would make this blog look a lot more productive.*

Sveriges Kommuner & Landsting - Spelar

This was the first I knew of the band. I couldn't help but bid on it - don't worry, I was way off the winning bid. Record limited to six copies. Cool album artwork - if you, for some reason, had all six copies the back covers would result in one big piece of artwork. And then this description:

"The SKL project. Sveriges Kommuner & Landsting (SKL) is the name for a musical experiment that took place in a small studio in Malmö, Sweden. Seven women and men - some classically trained musicians and some really novice - used and tried out many instruments, sounds and drugs during a two day recording session. To name a few things they used: Electric and acoustic guitars, a MOOG and a Hammond organ, violins, a broken mandolin found in a trash can, a clarinet, many different drums, beers, some pot and LSD. No rehearsals had taken place prior to these sessions, which is evident in many ways. The music is not always in key and the primitive recording equipment makes it quite crude occasionally, but the sheer playfulness and improvisational grit of these people is really hard to ignore. The music is either traditional Swedish folk tunes or self penned, although a large part of it is improvised. The music was never intended for an official release, but these people have now accepted a small run of six copies of the music to be released on vinyl by the Kommun 2 label. Swedish painter Peter Wallgren has contributed with expressionist artwork for this release, pasting them by hand on old recycled album sleeves. The vinyls were cut one by one by someone who wants to remain unknown..."
Thankfully last year they allowed an extra 30 copies (this time just CDR) to be released - some are still available (€6), see below. There is another album due out next month (March 25th) entitled 'Orosvisor' (Songs of Disquiet) on Kommun2.

1. Kristallen Den Fina
2. Afghanistan
3. Halvpolska Från Forshaga
4. Uti Vår Hage
5. Det Glimmar Bland Molnen
6. Björndans Från Skåne

Download / Buy
Track 3 may have problems unzipping. The song is downloadable HERE

* Having now looked into this, it appears I've almost completely (unwittingly) ripped off the French Revolutionary Calendar. I wouldn't go as far as decimal time, although if I were four once again it would have saved a lot of confusion with the 24 hour clock.
Oh, the Egyptians also had a ten day calendar. I'll try and be more original with ideas in the future.

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Updates:

Install Sound: Simon Whetham & Mise_En_Scene - Eineanderweltstrasse
Horaflora's - The Gland Canyon

Not Not Fun: Heather Leigh - Jailhouse Rock (quite far down the page)
Psychic Reality / LA Vampires - Split

Shizuka (of Shizuka) and Noma Yukimichi (of Les Rallizes Denudes) have both passed from this world in the last month - Shizuka on 2nd Feb, Yukimichi on 15th Jan.

Norman Records got in the new Qbico records on Monday - be sure to check the shops before spending huge on ebay. The Arthur Doyle Trio / Orkustra split picture disc looks an absolute monster (I mean that in a good way, of course).

Fuck It Tapes made a return this week with a new Peaking Lights cassette. Sold out already but I should think a few will appear at distros - more likely US based, can't ever remember many coming to UK shops.

Mon Insomnie have released a debut digital single, available for free download from here or to stream here. You may be able to buy a copy of CD (limited to 66) from Monster Heart Records.

Apollolaan Recordings released 'Metal Oblation' by Astral Social Club a couple of days ago. Limited to 24 art edition copies it sold out within hours - Volcanic Tongue often picks up their releases so may be worth an email? - but keep your eyes out for a normal, cheaper edition soon. Update: Copies of the special edition will be available from Norman Records very soon.

Deception Island: Outer Space - Lightyear Demonstrations
Tiger Hatchery - Lemon Crystal Sunshine
Telecult Powers - Orgone Freakout: a Happening with the Telecult Powers
Bee Mask - In the Balm Yard: the Nth Dream of the Thermo-Hygrometer

Sturmundrugs Records: Alberorovesciato / Donato Epiro - Split
Black Eagle Child – Poland
Bjerga / Iversen – Return to serpent sky

Private Collection: Misner Space - II

Reverb Worship: Mountainhood - Live At Deerborn House
Oortcloud - s/t

Kning Disk: Anna von Hausswolff - Track of Time
Prince of Assyria - What Ever You Want
Prince of Assyria - Missing Note
Erik Enocksson - Farväl Falk

Great Pop Supplement: Jerusalem and the Starbaskets - Battle of the Orchids (LP)

Ignatz & Harris Newman - Bring You Buzzard Meat

2010-02-02T17:04:00.001Z

Whoever decided that RSS should contain the word 'simple' is an arse. I now consider myself just two or three steps above an OAP in terms of computer skills.
Last week I decided to set up an rss feed to download 'A History of the World in 100 Objects' with uTorrent and somehow managed to have 30 different tv programmes downloading within twenty minutes of leaving the computer alone. Eventually got it sorted with lots of stars, vertical lines and deleted files. One day I'll attempt to rss a blog to save remembering links, but for now I do not want to download everything on the net that contains the letter 'a'.

My cassette player has started to chew tapes this week. Just fixed my record player and now the tape player goes. Great. Does anyone know if cassette players are based on belts as well or if it will be more complicated to fix?

Ignatz & Harris Newman - Bring You Buzzard Meat
I wasn't expecting to ever find a copy of this as it was a 2009 tour only EP but Mimaroglu listed some copies with their last update (link below - may still have some). YES!
This is a very good collaboration. There are parts of Newman's primitivism and parts of Ignatz's weird folk. Then the rest is somewhere in between. Big vibe of MV & EE in the overall atmosphere.

'II' by Ignatz and 'Dark was the Night' by Harris Newman are both well worth checking out if you're unfamiliar with either.

1. Political Song For Carla Bruni to Sing
2. I Will Bring You Buzzard Meat
3. Rise While You Fall
4. Under the Reef of Cloud
5. Stray Dog

Download / Buy
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New Releases

Unlabel: V/A - Bah Unbug (3CD)

Rusted Rail: Brigid Power Ryce - You Are Here

Utmarken: Dusa - Klorofyll
Pestdemon - The Natural Destroyer

Nattmaran: Kristian Olsson - Att vara där jag var innan jag var jag
Kallarbarnen - s/t

Housecraft: V/A - Good Wheel Tea Carpentry

Stunned Records: Sudden Oak — Banquet Years
Sean McCann — Open Resolve
Yek Koo — I Saw Myself
Andreas Brandal — Secrets of the Snow
Wether — Here’s the Bet
Granitkorridor — III

Blackest Rainbow (pre-orders): Cursillistas / Love Cult - Split
Archers By The Sea - Eagle Kiss
Sylvester Anfang II - Commune Cassetten

Ian Watson - music featured here and here - has started a new art blog (here). He's interested in creating some art for music releases so if you're looking for, or know someone looking for artwork, he is welcoming requests.

Three Lobed Recordings: Hans Chew - New Cypress Grove Boogie / Forever Again

Under the Spire (pre-orders): Ithaca Trio - Tesla Verses The Night
Jannick Schou - Night

Reverb Worship: Magic Carpathians - Gharana
Greenhouse - Learning Curve
Reverb Worship t-shirts

Earjerk (email enquiries - pre-order): Second Family Band - Dream Release (vinyl) + limited cassette (around 20/30 copies)

Plus Tapes: Dabor Spasbeken – Transmission 2
Old Fake - Covers
Bob Dey’s Tank Engine Man – Bob Dey’s Dream

Arbor: Lazy Magnet / Social Junk - Split
Gregg Kowalsky - Tape Chants: Early Experiments
Cloaked Light - Plain Curtain
Justin Meyers - Amplitude of Neighbours

House of Sun: Scott Cloud - Ultra Sheen
Talugung - Mole Crickets

Green Recs (email): Precious Trombley
Knox Mitchell – Recalled Muscles
Peoples Coke / Knox Mitchell - Rabbits
Fossils - Fungus Creeps
Knox Mitchell / Interstates (etc.) - Split
Child - s/t
Basket Case - Sin City Deciples
Knox Mitchell - Kirkhof Fountain (lathe cut CD?)
Daytime Television
Bree Party - Don't Jostle Me
Precious Trombley - Send Me Back To Earth
Tarpit - Apart, Fading
Holiday In Cambodia - Silver Spray

Resipiscent: Masaoka, Chen, Grüsel, Nagai - s/t

El Tule: (D)(B)(H) / Russian Tsarlag - I Can't Think / I Can't Walk
Dylan Ettinger - Super Ape
Dylan Ettinger - Communion

A Dear Girl Called Wendy: Sissy Spacek - s/t (2x7")

Word has it that in just under two weeks there will be more new Qbico releases: The Orkustra (Bobby Beausoleil) / Arthur Doyle Trio - Split (pic disc)
V/A - QBICO U-Nite VI & VII, Detroit & Buffalo, USA (3LP)
Direct Current featuring Atiba N. Kwabena and Dave Nuss (99 copies)
James Gurley / Muruga - It's Big Huge (99 copies)

There were more updates there than I thought!

The Wicked It

2010-01-26T17:10:00.003Z

Had alternate distractions these past couple of weeks but have a few things lined up for February so things should get back on track to more frequent posting soon.

This is one I've had for three or four years now, bought off ebay for about £5 from someone distributing a large amount of Sunburned Hand of the Man-related CDs. On rateyourmusic this is titled 'Cerne Abbas Giant Giant D.N.A. Sample'. I would suggest from the packaging (no inserts or writing on it other than band name, label catalogue number and edition number) it was a self-titled or untitled release but more on that in a moment.

The Wicked It

From the Sunburned discography page on myspace this CD is catalogued as #30, it simply states that this album was a 'solo & sunburned remix project' by Chad Cooper. However, the only information on the sleeve is clearly 'Manhand #34' and numbered out of 300.
The next destination for information has to be finding a site for Chad Cooper, and this leads you to The Wicked It myspace page where this information is available:

These tracks [The Wicked It] are a compilation of my recordings from 1992-2005. Some of them were available in very limited quantity cd-r's through John Moloney’s Sunburned Hand of the Man label, "Manhand." The first, M.H. # 7, "Agoraphobic Christcycle," contains early Sunburned tracks on it as well as our first band practice. The second, M.H.# 18, “Manhunt in ‘D’,” is solo music with vocals later over-dubbed by J. Moloney. The 3rd M.H. #34 "The Wicked It: Cerne Abbas Giant, Giant D.N.A. Samples,” is completely solo but using a sampler with clips from Sunburned recordings on some of the album. The remainder of my work since 1992 is now being released here on MP3 format. (here)
So this is part 3 of that series - and that has confirmed the long title and catalogue number, at least from Chad. Oh shit. Just put this into iTunes and it has come up with the track names as well. Result!

I've not got too many Sunburned releases to be able to say, across the board, that this is unlike anything else they've been related to but it is certainly unusual in my knowledge of the group.

Download
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News:

On the Peasant Magik box set, to all those wondering: Sal (owner, organiser and general ruler of PM) has been out of commission for the past few weeks recovering from an injury but is now back in service and apparently posting orders out. Sounds as though there are dozens of trips to the post office needed to get everything out. They should start arriving soon but possibly still a few weeks off for us international folk.

The Golden Lab single series, part 2 will be from Ex-Cocaine and should be out in March. £30 for one single so far... Bit of a shame because the line-up is excellent: Beach Fuzz, PWHMOBS, C Spencer Yeh, Heather Leigh Murray (in addition to MV & EE and Ex-Cocaine).

Tchantinler: Voice of the Seven Thunders - Voice of the Seven Thunders (CD edition)

Milieu Music / Plastic Log: Teenager - Smiling Faces (8" lathe)

Blackest Rainbow: MV & EE - Live Road (now only available from distros and on tour)

Important Records: Merzbow - Bird Series Vol 13: Chabo

Catholic Tapes (email): Sean McCann - Continent
Head Boggle - Alto Coloratura In Synthesize
Dino & Nic - Plays Theme From Dino & Nic
Flower Man - Another Ozone Hex

I Had An Accident Records: Walter Gross and Julia LaDense – So Fucken Ghetto / Sin

L'Animaux Tryst will be re-awakening this year and the line-up looks fantastic. New Lightning Strike Lightning is on the cards!

Stumparumper Records have gone on to Kick Starter - the place that helped make Julianna Barwick's vinyl edition of her gorgeous 'Florine' EP - to try and help cover some costs of old stock.

Flipped Out Records: Burnt Hills - Herb Saint

Woodsist: Eat Skull - Jerusalem Mall
The Fresh & Onlys - Second One to Know

Digitalis (vinyl): Higuma - Den of Spirits
Roll the Dice - Roll the Dice
See distros for these records, Boomkat, Forced Exposure, Mimaroglu, Eclipse, etc.

Beniffer Editions: Brian Ruryk - Cycle of Fords
Thee Gnostics - Archival
Cubic Susuration / Jakob Olausson - Split
Andrew Zukerman - Don't Dress the Petal Near the Void
Matthew "Doc" Dunn - Peace Be Your Rider
Wasted Nymph - Urlapse
Max Eisenballz (DJ Dog Dick) - From Place to Place

Psykick Dancehall: V/A (Jazzfinger, Hobo Sonn, Serfs, Single Helix, Hunter Gracchus, Bad Orb, Wounded Knee, Patrick Farmer) - Psykick Dancehall 2

Beartown Records: Steffen Basho-Junghans - O Som Naha

Neokarma Jooklo Trio - Evo Magico

2010-01-17T00:07:00.003Z

Two days, in my opinion, is close enough in the grand scale of things to not worry about being early or late on birthdays or anniversaries. I'm not saying I'll show up two days late for a funeral or birthday party, but if it is more better for everyone involved to use a nearby weekend or to use a day when everyone can be available, then why not do that? It may seem unsentimental to some but we do now live in the age of convenience, no? After all, you may have received an email about this update sent to your mobile phone providing you with a quick link and seen below the 'on your doorstep' access to a record you may not have had the opportunity to hear until now.
Anyway, my point being: according to blog records, two days on from this point last year the first post was written. It didn't say much other than I was planning to be a stingy bastard - really, there was no purpose behind starting the blog and carrying on was the result of an unintended addiction - and maybe I have been, but uploading is dull. Dull. Dull. Dull. How, or indeed why, people upload five, six, ten albums a day is beyond me. But that's what makes the world go round, right?

I really hated that theme music as a kid. Dana Plato was a little messed up, wasn't she?

What I wanted to say in that block of writing was that this blog has now (almost) been around a year and looking back at the first post containing the amazing GJA album I decided to rip their latest - fortunately already sold out - to celebrate the quasi-first birthday.

Neokarma Jooklo Trio - Evo Magico

This was hidden amongst a slew of other Jooklo releases at the end of last year. Four arrived on Qbico, one on Holidays and this was the last to arrive on their own Troglosound - officially on Christmas day. Oh, and of course a couple of months earlier there was Virginia's freakout with Chris Corsano on 8mm.
This was one of Troglo's one-sided limited jobs. Only 112 copies and all sold out by the start of the new year. However, there are a few still floating about, Flipped Out Records ~~have~~ had a few copies (try emailing Eclipse for copies), as do a few slightly more expensive distros on Discogs.

"Finally the long awaited latest work by the trio, now on their fifth album. Recorded on february 2009, this one-sided lp features a totally acoustic set of esoteric music played by Virginia Genta on soprano saxophone, wood flutes, bells, David Vanzan on bow-harp, kuena, bells, and Maurizio Abate on hurdy-gurdy. Try to feel the sounds that only angels, satyrs and other charming creatures could evoke. Middle-Age's improvisations brought around the world from restless pilgrims who escape the impressions of matter. Timeless mysterious music where the dimensions become infinite and parallels into labyrinths of hypnotic hurdy-gurdy drones, soprano's raising scales and astounding magic vibes coming from a self-made harp played with a bow."
Interesting record this one. The first track took me four or five listens to appreciate, definitely wasn't an instant stunner for me but a good track over time. The second piece is short and leads into an excellent final piece. The result is another enjoyable Jooklo release but in a couple of months time you'll likely be harking for some 'Meditative' or 'Solar Vision'. Then again, you may not. Make up your own mind.

A big step up in the packaging - screen printed cover, nice insert.

1. Musicanti Nel Labirinto Segreto
2. Rideva Il Villano Sotto Il Ponte Elevatoio
3. La Conchiglia Profetica Del Pellegrino In Pelliccia

As usual the tracks haven't been split and the record ripped at 320kbps.

Download
----------------------
News

The above is good reason not to write a blog after four hours sleep and a day wandering around Ikea (two of them!).

I'm finding out about the Peasant Magik box set for anyone interested. That will be included in the next update. Haven't heard about anyone receiving a copy yet so I would guess they haven't been posted yet.
Also asking after the Golden Lab single series that only delivered part 1 (MV & EE) last year so will try and update on that too.

Not Not Fun: Gnod - Science & Industry
Sun Araw - Sun Ark
Topping Bottoms - Tower of spines
Deep Magic - Solar Meditations
Blank Realm - Heartless Ark

Dull Knife: Lamps - Niels Bohr
Balaclavas - Roman Holiday

Root Strata: Danny Paul Grody - Fountain
(sorry, these other two now appear to be sold out. Aquarius may still have some)
Golden Retriever - Golden Retriever
Scott Wells - Day Songs

Sloow Tapes: These Wonderful Evils - Vermilion Sands
The Doozer - Error Engerumong

Reverb Worship: Magdalena Solis - Lady Of The Wild Things

Nothing Out There: Phil Legard (Xenis Emputae Travelling Band) - Psychogeographia Ruralis

Low Point: Kyle Bobby Dunn - A Young Person's Guide To

Kid Shirt: Werneck-Wretchmond - Oneiric Hardware

Jay Reatard died a few days ago.

Roll Over Rover has made some of their out of print tapes free to download. On the store page (linked), the right hand side has some of the titles in red, they're the ones you should be able to grab.

Type Records: Indignant Senility - Plays Wagner - Part One (available from Boomkat)

Weird Forest: Love Want Cry - Love Want Cry

905 Tapes: Boyz - Boyz
Head Boggle & Hollow Bonez - split
Big China & Little Trouble - White Tiger
V/A - Brains on Backwash II: Exile on Brain Street
Form a Log & Totem Mold Growth

Monorail Trespassing: Vestigial Limb - Now, Voyager
Copper Glove - Dead Space / No Power
Wether - Human Parka
Larval Hairs - Aedes Flashback
Emuul - ...On the Origins of Motion

Rahdunes - Drink & Drive or Smoke & Fly

2010-01-11T23:13:00.000Z

Well. A belated welcome to 2010 to all of you, or, let's be honest, just you, the web wanderer.
I'm not entirely sure what 2010 will hold for this blog. The aim is for more of the same. Going to try and keep it chugging along at a nice easy pace.

Anyway, here's to 2010. Hope it treats you well.

Rahdunes - Drink & Drive or Smoke & Fly

Released sometime in February 2009 in an edition of 40 cassettes on Bum Tapes, following previous releases on Blackest Rainbow, Qbico and the split with Expo '70 on Kill Shaman.

Totally blown away with this new release by the mighty Rahdunes,
Two full sides of thick smoke driven grooves and swirling, zoned out synths that grow, collapse and fold in on each other, only to be washed clean by waves of some of the most earth shattering drums I’ve heard on tape for a long time!
Stick with this tape for the b-side - in my opinion the more enjoyable side.

A. Sounds
B. Acid Meter Eruption Factor

Download

-------------------
News

Three Lobed Recordings: D Charles Speer & The Helix - Distillation
Steve Gunn - Boerum Palace

Bum Tapes: Huh - Huh
Part Wild Horses Mane On Both Sides / Saboteuse - Split
BambiKill / Joey Chainsaw - Split collaboration
Julian Lynch / Zodiac Toys - Split

Tchantinler Records: Voice of the Seven Thunders - The Burning Mountain

Goaty Tapes: Truth Syrum – Why We Look at our Neighbors
Trudgers – Bedrooms on Fire
HNY – Dead in a Year

Earjerk: Gitchi-Anahmi-Bezheu - Wonder
Enfer Boreal / Drunjus - Climate.Change / Ranking.Charioteer
E.C. Brown and I'Diamond - Gothick Reforme
Varlet Tarsod - Varlet Tarsod
Annapurna Illusion - Heat of the Fire, Heat of the Sun
Lens - Chant Up Babylon
Second Family Band - The Eternal Lag Pt.3
Second Family Band - Street Weaver
Neon Shit - Neon Shit
Circulation of Light - Circulation of Light
Dreamcolour - Solar Gaze
Pan to Scratch - Pagan Blood

Improvised Music From Japan: V/A - Improvised Music From Japan (3CD + book)

Blackest Rainbow (pre-orders): MV & EE - Live Road
The Cairo Gang - Twyxt Wyrd
Guanaco - Sky Burials

Ikuisuus: Taco Bell - Vadelma / Hawaii
Keijo - Songs Of Luck

Dontrustheruin: Bro Oak - Psychic Sun Shine

Milieu Music: Coppice Halifax - Ocean Lion
Coppice Halifax - Ocean Lion (EP)
Brian Grainger - Asleep in the Desert
Brian Grainger & David Tagg - Pillbox N-S (from Second Sun)

Pizza Night: Metacomet - Depression Ceremony
Field of Hats - Shem to the Stars
Radio People - II
Dead Peasant Insurance - Cleveland Scum Skulls

I Had An Accident Records: Blood Blood – Autumn / Harvest

Night People: Dead Luke - Cosmic Meltdown
Faceplant - Faceplant
Baronic Wall - The Golden Sword / In Granite Parlor
Tracey Trance - Fountain
Pink Priest - Gulls Diving Into the Ocean
The Pheromoans - The Pheromoans
DuneBuggy - Suck Me Through a Flavor Straw
Wild Safari - Cave Sequins

Digitalis has samples from upcoming Higuma and Roll the Dices LPs.

Freebie downloads from Warm Laundry Room Air

Apollolaan Recordings: White Pee - Wing off a plane

Debacle Records: Megabats - In/Out

Reverb Worship: In The Merry Month Of May... - At Home
Wooden Spoon - Tape Loops

Stumparumper: Fuck Montreal - Winter Mange
Banned Books - Mission Creep

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

2009-12-31T12:20:00.002Z

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.
------------------------
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

------------------------
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)

2009-12-23T11:09:00.001Z

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

2009-12-20T19:10:00.004Z

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!

-------------------
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)

2009-12-15T15:28:00.001Z

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)
-------------------
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.

-------------------
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

-------------------
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)

2009-12-09T22:00:00.001Z

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

2009-12-07T18:25:00.005Z

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.
----

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
-----------------
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

2009-12-06T12:24:00.000Z

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

Fuzzy Lights (early triple)

2009-11-29T20:56:00.001Z

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

2009-11-25T00:10:00.008Z

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.

--------------
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

2009-11-17T17:15:00.002Z

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

2009-11-11T11:00:00.006Z

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

2009-11-09T00:14:00.005Z

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)
----------------------------
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.

John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats) - Chavo Guerrero Is Champion Of The World

2009-10-29T18:19:00.005Z

This post is a bit different. I was intending to do a big post with a load of stuff that has been sent to me but I still have a couple of things to listen to.
The last week or so I've been going through my collection trying to uncover items that I had forgotten about buying and then just re-organising everything. Anyway, during that search I came across a copy of 'Come, come to the sunset tree' - the demo vinyl of The Mountain Goats 'Sunset Tree' album - and found this tucked within the plastic sleeve. I've never seen another edition of this art series so this is also an attempt to dig a couple more out of the ether.
Hopefully this will be of interest to someone on the net. (A few of the normal label updates below)

John Darnielle - Is This Bunny Rabbit the Champion of the World
Here's a bit of background to the series:

OK, so here's the deal. A coupla years ago I'm writing these songs that would eventually become We Shall All Be Healed, and I'm trying to fit myself inside of my younger skin, and toward this end I start messing around with magazines and scissors and construction paper, making little handmade Tijuana bibles only with less porn and more dread. Each little booklet I made was titled after the working title of the album, which was Chavo Guerrero Is Champion Of The World. When the album was finished, I stuffed all the little booklets into a box and hid it in a closet.

A couple of years and one move eastward later, Brooklyn Fire Proof writes to me and says they're doing a show of musicians' art, and do I have anything that might fit in with the idea? I fetched my little booklets from the closet and looked them over, and now they're slated to be part of this exhibition, which will run from November 18th to December 18th. They're a little pricey, both because they took a fair amount of time and because they're kind of special to me...but they make great Christmas presents for the Mountain Goats fan who's already got all the early cassettes, and are rather more personal than a lot of my stuff tends to be. If you're in New York around the time of the exhibition, anyhow, have a look! (MG Source)

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Updates:

Peyote Tapes: Indigenous Capsules - box
Godseye - Book of Lies Vol. 1
Dead Black Arms - Hands of Elijah

Ketchup Cavern: Fossils - Young Guns
Robedoor - Pagan Drugs
Sissy Spacek - Gutter Splint

Important Records: Mountainhood - The River
Holy Suns - Criminals Return
Merzbow - Bird Series (Volume 10)
Grubbs / Lytton / Wooley - Seven Store Mountain
Guano Padano - Guano Padano

Boomkat had a few copies of that Xela lathe today - again, sorry, it looks like I'm a little too late posting about it - so it could have a few copies landing in US distros next week. The samples (here) sound excellent, and for once a lathe is nicely priced.

Students of Decay have a pre-order for the Jefre Cantu-Ledesma & Paul Clipson DVD re-release(s). From the three that I own (from Root Strata issues) I would say that they're excellent, but check the preview because they are not cheap.

Black Dog Publishing, the people that put out the excellent 'Rough Trade: Labels Unlimited', have a Krautrock book out next month that could be worth putting on the Christmas list.

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The next update will probably be on the weekend.

Virginia Genta & Andrew Barker - Pressure

2009-10-26T18:13:00.000Z

This is one I've been wanting to post for a while. I have so much time for Virginia Genta and the rest of Jooklo (check the Jooklo tag for a couple of other OOP releases).

Brief introductions: Virginia Genta is one of the core Jooklo members and plays sax. Andrew Barker plays in Gold Sparkle Band and Acid Birds and has played alongside musicians such as John Zorn, Thurston Moore and Tara Jane O'Neil.

115 copies of this record were released over the summer as part of Troglosound's one-sided LP series.
I don't really think a huge amount needs to be said about this other than it's a three-part free jazz session of tenor sax and drums. Free jazz is always one to divide opinion so make your own mind up.

Download (one mp3 @ 320kbps)
Future release news from Camp Jooklo has been flying in lately: four records are due on Qbico next month; another is due on Troglosound; Luca Massolin has just released a new cassette on Digitalis Ltd (under the name Golden Cup); the record with Peaking Lights is due on Holiday Records soon; Release the Bats are meant to be releasing something by them in 2010.

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New Releases:

Digitalis Ltd has another big batch: Bigger Insides
Xela
Cliffsides
Laiha
Pink Priest
Drekka
Golden Cup

Kimberly Dawn: Medroxy Progesterone Acetate
Geoffrey Sexton
The Old Rig

Calypso Hum: Avant Reindeer
The Sublevel Arkestra

Blackest Rainbow has some new t-shirts and the Not Not Fun Robedoor LP.

Bum Tapes: Second Family Band
Carefree Eturnum

The excellent Root Strata updated with news of distros of the Barn Owl LP (Aquarius, Mimaroglu, Eclipse, Time-Lag, Fusetron, Forced Exposure, Ctd Ltd, Mid Heaven, Boomkat and Volcanic Tongue) - thank you RS - and news that the Grouper / Xela split 7" is shipping and they have printed another 100 copies of the Oneohtrix Point Never DVD. Oh, and there are some nice looking t-shirts and posters.

-------------------
Thanks to the people that have sent emails in the past week or so with music from their band or info, it's really appreciated, I'm just going a little slow with replying to mail at the moment but I will respond in the next couple of days. Some great music to appear on this blog thanks to some of these bands emails!
And thanks to the 25 people that have joined the Last.fm group. I was surprised when 5 people had so 25 is fantastic. Already discovered half a dozen new groups. Feel free to add end of year lists, recommendations or whatever else you might want to the group.

Richard Moult - Suite For Titouan

2009-10-22T18:59:00.007+01:00

I've been wanting to post this since the day it arrived, it's definitely one of my favourites of 2009. So atmospheric and such beauty from a solo piano.

Dala Horse II: Richard Moult - Suite For Titouan. Dala Horse has already made a huge impression on me, following Kutomo's 'Lauluja Surun Kaaresta' by about 8 months and again limited to just 36 copies, DH#2 strikes you with its beauty for every sense - well, maybe not smell or taste but 3/5 is better than most.

Richard Moult is a member of United Bible Studies and was a founder member of Far Black Furlong (left the band last year). He has also made music with Agitated Radio Pilot and Current 93 and created pieces of art.

This EP is a solo piano suite consisting of five parts totalling just under 18 minutes. It was recorded in a church in East Sussex and that has really helped in adding great size and power to the recording.

I don't want to ruin it by over-hyping this so I'll end short, but I would highly recommend downloading it. Evening of Light have a second suite of Moult's also released this year.

Download (320kbps mp3 - as usual)
Definitely can't wait for the next Dala Horse release.

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New Releases

Sloow Tapes: Robert Horton and Tom Carter - Campfire
Numinous Eye - The Tunnel At The End Of The Light

The Great Pop Supplement: Spacemen 3 / Wooden Shjips - Big City (demo) / I Believe It
Jack Rose & The Black Twigs - Shooting Creek

Norman Records had copies of a Xela / Manahattan lathe released on Static Caravan yesterday but it looks to be sold out - may have gone to other distros or have been an old release?
They also have copies of the new Rachel Grimes (of Rachel's) LP, 'Book of Leaves'.

Root Strata no longer seem to be selling releases directly. I don't think they've said anything in a mail out or on their website but if, like me, you were waiting for the Barn Owl record to be released and missed Boomkat updating with copies it looks as though we could have missed out? It sounds as though there will be a CD edition at some point but shout if you actually spot the LP anywhere (other than ebay).

Milieu Music: Milieu - Eufloria
Milieu - Translucent Forestation
Coppice Halifax - Beach Glass
Coppice Halifax & Radere - ABX2

Under The Spire: Archers by the Sea - The Surf
Damian Valles - Count(r)ies

Synth Series: Drifts - Future Light Cone
Stellar Om Source - Heartlands Suite
Dream Safari / Ophibre - Split
Sky Dripping Venom - In Krasnozem
Rob Funkhouser - This is why Robots are taking over
Lunar Miasma - Monophonic Ritual

Skulls of Heaven: Second Family Band - Vernal Mystery Hour
Second Family Band - Wisconsin Gospel Vol 5
Second Family Band - Incidental Music from "Run Up the Voodoo

SRA Sounds: Celer - Close Proximity and the Unhindered Care-all

Deep Tapes: Crystal Visions
Balance

Natural Snow Buildings - The Winter Ray

2009-10-19T15:10:00.003+01:00

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
----------------------

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

--------------------------
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.

Takahashi Chikuzan - No Shinzui

2009-10-17T14:20:00.007+01:00

This was originally going to be a two part post but that Mountainhood CD got upped instead of the first two sides of this record and between then and now I've managed to rip and upload the other two sides.
I would highly recommend downloading both zip folders, Side D is my personal favourite as it has more instrumentation; Side A has some of the better solo pieces - don't shy away from the whole album, it's an excellent set of traditional Japanese music.

I'm trying to take some photos of this, just can't find the charger for the camera at the moment...

Takahashi Chikuzan - No Shinzui

Takahashi Chikuzan was a blind shamisen player throughout the 20th century (born 1910, died 1998). He made quite a number of recordings and there was a 1977 film about his life called 'Chikuzan Hitori Tabi' ('Life of Chikuzan') but, like other traditional music, the albums are not always easy to find. Some were re-issued on CD in Japan and sometimes records appear on ebay or gemm for $5 (but more often $40+), most are relatively hard to get hold of as they are quite often badly listed (in my experience).

There's a lot to listen to on this record - four sides of roughly 20 mins each - and it covers a wide range for an instrument with just three strings. He is accompanied and introduced by other traditional Japanese instruments on a number of songs but the sides tend to stick to one style rather than have a wide range.

Please see the comments for more information on this record
LP 1 / LP 2
-------------------
News:

Type Records, well, Johann Johannsson have both said that there will be a vinyl release (re-release) of Johann's 'And in the endless pause there came the sound of bees' in the next couple of months (followed later by another CD edition). There is also that Zelienople record looming on the horizon and we've just had Rameses III, Peter Broderick, Seasons (Pre-Din) and Black to Comm is out this week. All looks good over at Type!

Three Lobed Recordings are planning to close pre-orders for the new Steve Gunn and D. Charles Speer & The Helix.

Previews for the next batch of Digitalis Ltd releases are up on Dial Square Tapes (along with a pre-order option) featuring the likes of Xela, Greg Davis and Pink Priest.

Milieu Music: Brian Grainger - White Kingdoms
Brian Grainger - White Dust

Apollolaan Recordings: Brain Lavelle - Avalonian

Reverb Worship: Shores of Darkness - In the Shadow of Distant Nights

-------------------

Please feel free to join the Disconcerted Sounds last.fm group.

-------------------

There are some promising sounding shows on BBC4 at the moment - one last night titled 'Synth Britannia' and another next week about Krautrock - on Friday nights. Probably worth keeping an eye out for if you're in the UK (iPlayer?) or have access to good torrent sites.

Mountainhood - White Banquet: Live at the Story Chapter I

2009-10-13T17:03:00.006+01:00

I was going to do another two part post this week as I'm currently halfway through ripping another 70s Japanese record, and then this request came. Hopefully that record will now go up in one post (double LP) by the end of the week.

Oh, if you use last.fm feel more than welcome to join the Disconcerted Sounds group. Don't know what will go on there but it could no doubt be a good way of finding out about new music from what others are listening to/recommending.

Mountainhood - White Banquet: Live at the Story Chapter I

I've long had an appreciation for 'different' vocals and most take their time to get fully accepted - Tom Waits took half a dozen years; Screamin' Jay took around 10 full rounds of an album (which has since been lost and needs to be re-ordered); MV & EE even took a few months - this Mountainhood album has been another initial struggler.
The problem comes when you realise he has a normal voice hidden away yet he, Michael Curtis Hilde, seems to want to be a bit stranger. Maybe it's how his voice naturally goes? I don't really know but it can make it hard at first to enjoy. By the time you reach 'Way I Feel' you won't really care. The songs start to come through and the vocals naturally come across as a lot more acceptable to your ears. And then the following 'Light Pouring Mynd' hits perfectly, probably my favourite song of the disc.
It's an interesting one. Personally I found the two earlier releases on Reverb Worship easier to get into, especially 'Brother the Cloud'. This live album was also on Reverb Worship, released mid-February 2009 in an edition of 50.

As it is a live recording you receive any issues that may have occurred during the show, in this case they came in the form of bizarre squeaks from the guitar.

"A number of glitches can be heard throughout the songs. These glitches are not technology-related but they were produced organically in real-time at the live performance when the songs got intense and [the songwriter] passed into a mild trance, to fade out for a minute, then falling forward heavily, caught [his] guitar strings upon the mic." (insert)
Copies still available at Tomentosa Records.

Download
He has recently released two records on Time-Lag's Red Records (both sold out direct) and has a one-sided record coming this month on Blackest Rainbow

-----------------------
News:

Peasant Magik's box set has already sold over 150 of the 200 copies so if you want one I wouldn't wait around too much longer.

Blackest Rainbow has announced the pre-order for the CD re-issue of Twinsistermoon's 'The Hollow Mountain' which should be available at the start of November - in time for the London NSB show. Obviously I haven't seen the new packaging or heard the remaster but from what I have heard about it, even if you do own the vinyl edition you may want to seriously consider picking a copy up.

There are half a dozen new releases on American Tapes.

Matt Groening has been announced this week as once again being an All Tomorrow's Parties curator - this time in the UK.

Henry Owings, of Chunklet zine/magazine, has been given the duty by Corey Rusk of flogging 1500 records including test presses of rare Rapeman, Big Black, Henry Rollins, Butthole Surfers. Check his ebay account if you think you're rich enough (or just fancy a good nose around).

Autumn Sun: Charlatan - Equinox
Josh Burke - Speaking With Each Dancer

Ecstatic Peace! have released 'Barn Nova', the new MV & EE album. Can only see a CD edition on their website. There will be a vinyl edition, right?

Norman Records had the limited edition of David Sylvian's 'Manafon'. Sounds and looks amazing (from the pictures) but £70 is way beyond what most of us will be willing to spend I'm sure - although the edition is 2000+...

Stunned Records: Sun Araw (feat. Matthew Lessner) — In Orbit
Donato Epiro — Sounding the Sun
Padna — Siberia / Hinterland

People In The Position To Know: (Wooden) Wand - Haunting the Stagecoach (8" lathe pre-order limited to 100 - youtube video of what it will look like)

MV & EE - Smoked Bossier (#10/12)

2009-10-09T17:40:00.002+01:00

Something for your weekend:

Part of the cassette box, 'Road Trips', Blackest Rainbow released a few months ago. If you haven't got a copy I would highly recommend it (still available at Tomentosa, Norman Records, Alt.Vinyl, etc. - all the usual places). It's an intimidating box when you unfold it and discover the mass of green and white, but there really is so much good music on it that once you begin you quickly work through the lot. And there are some great, new line-ups with the likes of Jeremy Earl, Samara Lubelski, J. Mascis, Willie Lane, Chris Corsano, and so the list goes on. This tape (#10 of the 12) is just MV & EE - I may do one of the bigger ensemble tapes in a few months but definitely not the whole set.

MV & EE - Smoked Bossier

Performed at Art Space, Shreveport, LA (29/01/09)
This is one of the best live sets I've heard from MV & EE - don't want to hype it up too much but it is excellent. Side A has the kind of track list I would like to see them perform - Hungry Stones, Anyway, Freight Train and Cold Rain. Then Side B brings along a 25 minute monolith to the complete an hour long set. Long tracks rarely finish an album on a good note, but live, yeah... That is the way you want to send your audience away.

A1. Hungry Stones
A2. Huna Cosm
A3. Huna Rap
A4. Anyway
A5. Martyn Rap
A6. Freight Train
A7. Erie Cotton Rap
A8. Cold Rain

B1. Weatherhead Hollow
B2. Drone Trailer

As usual, 320kbps mp3s without splices.

Download: Side A / Side B
'Barn Nova' is due out on Ecstatic Peace! sometime in the next two months so keep your eyes peeled for that ('Summer Magic' mp3 from 'Barn Nova')

My Cat Is An Alien (pt. 2): 8" Triangular Lathe

2009-10-07T23:43:00.002+01:00

Part two of two. I don't believe this one has a proper name, just named after the format it was released on.

As usual this is 320kbps mp3. There may be a couple of seconds missed from the start of each side (it was a complicated system I had going).

My Cat Is An Alien - 8" Triangular Lathe

This was released at the very end of October last year on Antony Milton's PseudoArcana label in an edition of 80. The sleeve is lovely - pronounced with the 'o' elongated sounding more like 'arr' - but the format often produces the marmite 'love it or hate it' feelings. Lathes can be awkward, anyone that has ever bought one will probably agree. The sound quality is always a bit sketchy - although with more experimental music it doesn't matter so much - and the grooves shallow, I'm almost certain they are no good for your record needle as well but people are more than welcome to prove me wrong on that.
So long as it plays the music it's fine by me (for the time being at least). This was a million times better value for money than that ridiculous 20 second recording of 'Au Clair De La Lune' Dust to Digital ripped off the BBC website and then sold for £7 a pop - if you bought that you are, in fact, an idiot (someone had to tell you).

Again, slight digression.

"2 short sides etched into a triangle of acetate that illustrate the potentially eternal depth of the subjectively experienced universe.
This record is far less electr(on)ic than some of their pieces. Driven largely by plaintive bell like guitar and a sparse haunting ethereal wordless vocal it sounds like a prayer sung in a chamber deep within some dark crystalline moon." (Pseudoarcana)
Two songs, roughly seven minutes each. Both drone a bit but have more clattering to them than the Sloow Tapes release posted earlier. They're like condensed versions really.

Download
MCIAA recently released: a Mort Aux Vaches disc and an LP on Starlight Furniture Co (can't find a website) with Ramona Ponzini, Lee Ranaldo and Michael Morley. Probably a load more hidden away as well.

----------------------
News:

Want (probably) the best compilation of the year? Check Peasant Magik for a pre-order and info (if you missed the details a month or two back). BIG BLOOD, NATURAL SNOW BUILDINGS, NORTH SEA, GREGG KOWALSKY (and more).

Et Pourtant has made their catalogue available for free download (try before you buy).

Dull Knife: Rosemary Krust - Bernt Anker

Reverb Worship: Kawabata Makoto - Farewell Kiss After Rain

Dontrustheruin: Brother Oak (not sure how you can buy it but Tomentosa Records and North East Indie get most of their releases)

Catholic Tapes (email): The Cove
KGB Man / Oneohtrix Point Never - KGB Nights / Blue Drive
Fielded - The Lord reigns down, let the people tremble
Face Plant - Get high and listen

Apollolaan Recordings: The Zero Map

Not Not Fun Records: Inca Ore - Silver Sea Surfer School
Robedoor - Raiders
Wet Hair - Glass Fountain
Little Claw - Human Taste

Housecraft Recordings: Xiphiidae - Pass Hidingly Seek
Kane Pour - Cat on a Paisley Shawl
Thoughts on Air / Tricorn and Queue - Split

My Cat Is An Alien (pt. 1): Alien Minds

2009-10-04T23:37:00.001+01:00

Ok, so this is the last Sloow Tapes post for a while... possibly.

I apologise if there is any digital distortion on this rip. There shouldn't be, but the couple of loud parts were looking close.
Both sides in 320kbps mp3.

My Cat Is An Alien - Alien Minds

Keijo was Sloow Tapes #1, MCIAA was Sloow Tapes #2 - released July 2005 in an edition of 80 copies housed in spray painted envelopes with photos (remember them?) stuck to the front and back.

I have to be honest, I find MCIAA a little hit or miss. It probably depends more on my mood than what they've recorded but this one always tends to go down well - especially played at high volumes through headphones.

Both sides are live performances, the first from La Batie Festival in 2004 when they supported Sonic Youth and the second from a gig in Cambridge (UK) in 2005. They aren't hugely dissimilar in sound - mostly electric drones with interjections from percussion or toys and bits of "singing". Good for a proper listen or as something to phase in and out of.

Side 1: 26 mins
Side 2: 30 mins

"Beautiful cosmic dronescapes from the Opalio brothers using mostly guitars, sparing percussion and children's toys processed through 'cosmic rays effects'." (Boa Melody Bar)
Stealing the recommendation on the insert: Play it very loud!

Download: Side A / Side B
----------------------
Haven't had many updates recently but I've heard Mimaroglu has the new Barn Owl LP in stock.

8mm have put the Virginia Genta / Chris Corsano LP up for sale. Got to be good, right?

Blackest Rainbow have a couple more releases: 'Cranberry Horn' by Pine Smoke Lodge and 'Eternal' by Mark Bradley.

Sound & Fury have got two discs, one from Morning Stalker and the other from Underlapper.

CaveLife: Slaughtering Dolphins - The Tropics
Infinite Body / Terrors - split/collaboration
Secret Abuse - Sink Like a Stone/Simple Test, Vol. 1
Human Hands - Silver Syrex Hyb

Glastonbury tickets went on sale today. Sold out in 15 hours. Didn't have a clue. Wahoo.

Number None with Medroxy Progesterone Acetate (pt. 2): Damp & Damned

2009-09-29T00:33:00.003+01:00

Well this is part two. Another day late - my Sunday plan was flawed by a BBQ - but hopefully you don't mind and if for some reason you do, oh well, bad luck. You possibly realised what this post was going to be, or expected it in part one?

Big fan of all things Sloow, well, almost all things (nothing is perfect), so I can guarantee you a couple more of their OOP releases will appear in coming months.

Number None with Medroxy Progesterone Acetate - Damp and Damned

This was the last release of 2005 for Sloow Tapes capping off a rather successful first year - Keijo, Uton, MCIAA... Limited to 65 copies each with a hand cut octopus (or 'squidopus' - as described on Sloow's site) stuck to the J-card.
Now I'm not 100% sure how this was created so please excuse me if I'm slightly wrong, but the two pieces on here (one per side) are apparently made from Number None's 'Nervous Climates' disc (see previous post). The two guys in NN rejigged the sounds and then sent them off to MPA to remix.

"Chicago’s Number None end up reworking two tracks from their own 2004 3" CDR release Nervous Climates into two new pieces via the devolutions of Iowa’s Medroxy Progesterone Acetate’s side long remixes. The similarities to the original tracks are fleeting and buried as the barren landscapes of the originals are abused and bruised into extended storms on this cassette release" (Brainwashed)
Just listening to the tape I wouldn't have guessed. The two pieces are poles apart with the A-side sounding like an ambulance riding haunted winds and the B-side sounding like Charlie playing cars inside Willy Wonka's bubble machine.

"Damp and Damned is a silly, sobering, ghoulish treat. Break out a skeleton costume, paint your face, and prance." (Stylus)

Download

Tracks 1 and 7 of the MPA release in the last post will be re-posted tomorrow (ran out of time tonight).

---------------------------
News:

L'Animaux Tryst has closed until 2010, their releases will only be available via distros. "L'animaux Tryst is going with the natural order of things and preparing for a brief hibernation period. We're shutting down shop till at least January, at which point we'll take a moment to re-assess."

Blackest Rainbow: Sindre Bjerga - Polluted Oceans Of Hiss And Muck
Mountainhood - Death Pod (one-sided LP)
Tom Carter, Shawn McMillan & Starving Weirdos - Live At The Accident
Heavy Winged (cassette)
Emuul - The Ghostwood Estates
Stefan Kushima - Magnetic Levitation
Basillica - Desert Queen

Apollolaan Recordings: Still Light - Lything

NNA Tapes have just this moment let loose the second edition of the Caboladies / Oneohtrix Point Never cassette.

Gel Life: Dunebuggy - First Ride
Evan Miller - Contacting The Eye
51717 - Sch
V/A - Radio Malaysia

Reverb Worship: Ammonites - The Tenth Transmitter

Gift Tapes: Pulse Emitter - Grass
Matt Carlson - Stereo Face
The North Sea - Daytona

Sentient Recognition Archive: Celer - Close Proximity and the Unhindered Care
Entia Non - Disinter
Hiroki Sasajima - Monogenic

Hanson Records: Aaron Dilloway - Hiss Nausea

The next couple of Under the Spire releases could be real sleepers - by that I mean unspotted gems. Apparently they will be from Ous Mal (myspace) and Martin Herterich (myspace).

Root Strata should be re-opening soon and will most likely have the new Barn Owl LP for sale - not saying definitely but it was on sale at their recent festival thing.

Number None / Medroxy Progesterone Acetate (pt.1)

2009-09-26T01:30:00.001+01:00

This is part one of the two parter with the second part appearing on Sunday, hopefully. Bit delayed on this one having trouble with uploading and as a result the Number None is in 320kbps and the Medroxy Progesterone Acetate is in 192kbps due to length and upload limits.
I'm also quite tired right now - 1am, listening to the new droning Maarten Van Der Vleuten which is quite lethargic at this hour - so forgive me if this ends up quite short and looking incomplete.

Number None - Nervous Climates

Released on Mike Tamburo's New American Folk Hero label, mid-late 2005. There were only a dozen of these left (out of a print of 100) in February 2007 so I'm assuming this is now out of print - there may have been a second pressing?
Number None (myspace) is not the best known but have made some really great pieces. They're a duo from Chicago and consist of Christopher Miller and Jeremy Bushnell.

"Originating in Chicago, Number None are an experimental drone outfit who explore the very edge of noise on their 3" CD Nervous Climates. Clocking in at 18 minutes the album is the sound of glacial movements, the single beat of an insects wing, or maybe the sun imploding. Eerie, dark and foreboding this is a strange trip of the highest order." Terrascope
1. Chevy Hex Setup
2. Nephophobia
3. Polar Kraken
4. Psychic Exhaust Vehicle

Download
(if you too are wondering, 'nephophobia' is the fear of clouds)

Medroxy Progesterone Acetate - We're a Monotonous Band

This was a MusicYourMindWillLoveYou (MYMWLY) release from September 2007.
Tricky name to read - as I'm sure is the same with every chemical castration drug - so from now on you'll just process MPA.
MPA (website) is Darren Bauler out of Iowa. Treated field recordings from churches and cemeteries, spoken stories and bells. A dark album but definitely worth listening to - especially enjoy track 7.

"The sound of crackling black electricity from darkest Iowa. Sometimes a dense churring like millions of robotic grasshoppers, sometimes the high whir of interplanetary radio waves. Digging the felt inner sleeve." (Boa Melody Bar)
1. The Yoke
2. Paleyellowpurple
3. Circle of Salt
4. Teenage Basement Spaceship
5. Slaughterhouse Champs
6. How does the Skin Man get His Skin?
7. The Story of the Solehn Sisters, Who were in Love with Each Other
8. The Necropsych Snowblind Blues Band Performs Overdriven Liturgical Dirges for Lotte Reiniger

Download (files 1 and 7 are corrupted for some reason, they are for download here and here respectively)

Twinsistermoon news

2009-09-24T18:07:00.004+01:00

Literally just received this news from Joe and it appears that he (as Blackest Rainbow honchō) will be re-releasing the CD edition of Twinsistermoon's 'The Hollow Mountain'.

The original plan for the album was to have a limited vinyl release on Dull Knife, which happened, and then have it released on CD by UltraHardGel, but that didn't seem to happen. I can't tell you the ins and outs of what happened there, because quite frankly, I have no clue, but the CD edition will hopefully be appearing towards the end of this year.

Not much information about the re-release is known yet as it is still in the talking/planning stages, but expect the originally planned bonus tracks to be included. And we are talking about the people that this year have released two CDs, seven cassettes, an LP and still have at least two or three more pieces planned, so maybe more has been written?
Who knows?
My recommendation would just be to sign up to the Blackest Rainbow mailing list - if for some reason you're not on it already - and be patient for a couple of months.

There is NO pre-order for this currently so please consider the health of Joe's fingers if hundreds of people start asking him about it.

------------------
A two part blog post hopefully tomorrow and Sunday (not related to this post).

Ben Nash - Minions by Foot / Alcatraz Dialect

2009-09-21T18:09:00.007+01:00

Two out of print, late 2008 EPs from Ben Nash (myspace) here. As usual they are both uploaded as 320 mp3s.

Ben Nash - Minions by Foot

This was a 3" disc released on Open Range Records (later transformed into Cabin Floor Esoterica) and was issued in a puny edition of 50.
It starts off with a short minute and a half track that isn't the most exciting but the second track, which is runs below the three minute mark, is fantastic. Great acoustic backing with a nice crunchy guitar, some pretty bell sounds with a screechy electronic sound - almost sounds like the noise you get when you suck in air between your teeth (if you know what I'm talking about). The third and final track is free. Similar to some subdued PWHMOBS with extra droning guitars and synths played out in the open in Australia.
This EP has gradually become one of my favourite Ben Nash pieces. Highest recommendation (as Volcanic Tongue would say).

As all three of the tracks are untitled I've put the order in parenthesis so you can play it in the correct order with out having to check extra info.

1. Untitled (1:26)
2. Untitled (2:52)
3. Untitled (8:17)
Download

Ben Nash - Alcatraz Dialect

This was released just a week or two before 'Minions by Foot' on Ben's own Recollections of Knulp label in an edition of 96. Why 96 and not 100? I have no idea but it does look a nice number written down...
There are two longer, more ambient tracks on this disc equalling about 25 minutes in total. The title track is a calm affair. A really relaxing 12 minutes. 'Samaya' is a piece of textured synths. Sustained notes punctured by staccato, reverb/delayed guitar that later comes to light on its own - although that becomes the point where I always question whether it has actually been a guitar.

1. Alcatraz Dialect (12:09)
2. Samaya (13:13)
Download

Ben has recently released another EP with Sophie Cooper on Blackest Rainbow but has recorded and mastered more for other people in the past year. Looks like a split with Magic Lantern is still planned on BR but I don't know of any more, hopefully there will be lots in 2010.
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New Releases:

Sloow Tapes: Cosmic Trip Machine - Vampyros Roussos
20 Guilders - Wrong Songs For Patricia

A Beard of Snails: Pine Smoke Lodge - Pine Smoke Lodge
Lee Noyes & Bruno Duplant - This is Our Post-Exoticism
V/A - Expulsion Into Offering #3

Pizza Night: Sudden Oak - Limestone Sinks & Stream Deltas
Outer Space - 0000278928993
David Russell - Artistic Suicide
Imaginary Softwoods - The Invisible Cloud Container

Rusted Rail: Agitated Radio Pilot - A Field Day
Yawning Chasm - The Shadow is That Hidden

Dead Pilot: Ekca Liena - Sleep Paralysis
V/A - Drone Poets
Seabuckthorn - Distant Summer Storm
Stray Ghost - An Avalanche of Swollen Tongues

Subliminal Sounds: The Amazing - s/t (members of Dungen)

Cursillistas - Peace Pipers and Cursillistas / White Light - Travel Light

2009-09-15T14:56:00.020+01:00

Was really hoping to get this post up and finished last night but got completely distracted by the football and pizza - a pizza that was ordered at 8:30 and arrived at 10:15! So here it is...

It was pointed out to me the other day that both of these were uploaded to Microphones in the Trees over the past couple of weeks (here and here respectively) so maybe everyone will have already downloaded these, but having spent the time ripping and uploading these, they're going up. It should be noted though that they're both really good releases and deserve to reach as far as they possibly can - definitely check the split if not both. And also, it's probably worth mentioning that the Joint Chiefs LP is out next month (limited to 200) and Les Biches has just been released. Both small editions so don't say I didn't warn you...

Both freshly ripped and recorded as sides A & B (rather than split tracks) and then converted to 320kbps mp3s.

Cursillistas - Peace Pipers

Exclusive jams that add up to a prequel or addendum to the Joint Chiefs LP out on Digitalis later this year (see below for more info on that). 45 minutes of headspace dustbowl jams that are a perfect complement to your zoned-out summer heatwave evenings.
A1. 4:20 Sundial
A2. Totem / Tokem
A3. Realm of Hungry Ghosts
A4. American Afghan
B1. Arrowhead Necklace
B2. Light up at the End of the Tunnel
B3. Stoned Eagle
B4. Feathered Chimes
B5. Medallion
B6. Love is all we eed

Download

Cursillistas / White Light - Travel Light

This LP was made for the Cursillistas / White Light tour and limited to 150 copies. There were a couple left over and subsequently sold via the L'animaux Tryst mailing list.
Some really great psych-folk stuff here.
Matt and Cursillistas manage to bring out a couple of excellent songs, a nice 10 minute jam and two shorter pieces. 'That Great Stone' being my personal highlight of the A-Side.
The only thing I had heard of White Light before was the split with Barry Burst but after this I really hope to hear more. 'Five Horses' comes as a bit of a revelation. Can't ride them all.

Cursillistas
1. Crutches (3:28)
2. Incantations of Bona Dea (4:17)
3. That Great Stone (7:57)
4. Rewa Dokpa (18:09)
5. Tivoli

White Light
1. The Root of All Evil (3:13)
2. Five Horses (8:52)
3. Without the Other One (13:51)
4. We Do True

(times are rough finishing points of tracks)

Download
Looks like Cursillistas is travelling around the US during the next couple of months so check the Myspace page if you're interested.

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Loads of new releases and news:

Root Strata is closed for the month of September, but good news is the 'Tsuki No Seika' single series (that one that was costing up to $50 for four 7"s) is going to be heading to distros. Hopefully the price will come down slightly as a result.

Apparently there will be a CD edition of the Bobby Beausoleil 'Lucifer Rising Suite', expected for release in November.

Low Point: P Jørgensen - To
Celer - Mane Blooms
Gareth has also worked Sound Cloud into the website so you can preview what you're buying.

Blackest Rainbow has shipped the NSB 2CD sets and the vinyl edition (distros: (US) Eclipse, Time-Lag, Forced Exposure, Tomentosa. (UK) Norman, Volcanic Tongue, Alt Vinyl, Second Layer, Boa Melody Bar. (Europe) Repo Man, Bis Auf Messer, Unrock) is heading out at the end of this week. Can't wait!
Vakhchav - Birth To A Point It Comes
Basillica - Kingdom Of Status
Master Slave - Death Prayer

Install: Aidan Baker - Dry
Jason / Shinobu - Dispel Space-Time Lust

Utmarken: Relic
Oneohtrix Point Never - Scenes with curved objects
Skonhet - The girl who stole the Eiffel Tower
Dead letters spell out dead words - Live at Lava / PK365

Winebox Press have released a triple cassette box featuring guitar wanderings from Ross Parfitt, Tom Carter, Matt Valentine, Tom Settle, Jon Collin and Infinite Light. This costs £30 though. Ouch.

Country Roads (Milieu Music): David Tagg - Established Trees

Cabin Floor Esoterica: Archers by the Sea / Kawrelia Soul Collective - Split
Gorman - Red Oak Trail (most likely sold out)
Gorman/Cursillistas - Ash Masks

Cass/Flick: Jonathan Lesbian Seagull - Jitterbug

Digitalis: Bugskull - Communication
Seht - HRRY
Elm - Nemcatacoa
Evan Caminiti - Psychic Mud Shrine

Digitalis Ltd: Goatfooted / Hunting Rituals - Split
Plankton Wat - Our solar beings
Rambutan - Incidences
Sundog Peacehouse - Bros
Lakes - Monument of nests
Brother Raven - Nellie
Alphabets - Pow sound

Myiasis Tapes: Pummeler - The Sewage Riot
al Qaeda - Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Plasmic Formations - The High Preist's Will Save Us All

Reverb Worship: Timas 23 - Levitation

Gronland Records are apparently working on a box set comprising of four Neu! albums.

According to the latest issue of The Wire we are all due a bunch of Peel Sessions from the likes of PiL, Gang of Four and The Specials.
They also claim that at some point this month we're due another edition of the BBC's Britannia series, this time about synths. If they're anything like previous instalments then I'd highly recommend looking out for it if you have a passing interest.

Boomkat have copies of the new Rameses III record on Type in. Heard lots of good things about it - haven't taken the time to listen yet though, check the Type site for a stream.

Kimberley Dawn: Eagle Altar - The Life of Bridgette Driscoll
Pink Priest - Goddess
Scott Cloud - Infi Cycles

Peasant Magik: Thou - Kingdoms (3 cassettes)
Light of Shipwreck - The Night Sky Burns a Hole in Us All
Sparkling Wide Pressure - The No Self Journey
My3yeah / 6majik9 - Split

Kutomo - Lauluja Surun Kaaresta

2009-09-07T11:11:00.006+01:00

Ooooh, gif.

Dala Horse 1: Kutomo - Lauluja Surun Kaaresta. It's a strange Finnish folk album by Veli-Matti Ikavalko, aka Kutomo, a name you may have come across alongside Kulkija (Uton, Keijo & The Free Players, Vapaa…) under the guise of Tulasi.
There's a religious feeling to this release between the guitar and the wind instrument (does anyone know what that instrument is?). The mystical language which, if I wasn't told could have been anything from Japanese to Latin, all adds to that perception.

The care and attention taken over the packaging of this one - by Lidia, who used to help create some of those Centre of Wood releases - gives the impression that you should take some time with this release. And if you do it becomes a much more rewarding and pleasurable listen.

"In his music lives all the poetry about the cold, the lakes and the immense Finnish forests. Melancholy and intimate as a day passed looking at the snow falling outside a window but also, in a certain way, "epic" as the natural landscapes of his land."
1. Univelkaisen Varityskirja (3:12)
2. Kauas Vie (3:22)
3. Hautuulehdon Puut (1:56)
4. Runnelma Ja Ruumiin Esto (3:43)
5. Orastava Syksy (2:35)
6. Meidan Varjoinemme (3:45)
7. Kauneudessa Kasvat (3:41)
8. Usvan Runoja (1:45)

Download (320kbps mp3)
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Releases:

Under the Spire (pre-orders): Coldstream - Alarums
Pillowdiver - Tony Rides A Bike

Milieu Music: Milieu - Tidewater Petrol
Pink Space - Let Me Show You Them
Brian Grainger - Noxious Variations
Coppice Halifax - Blackforest Dirt
Vhom - Blackener

905 Tapes: Andrew Coltrane - In dreams we channel the flight of the blind

Tired Trails: A Man & A Guitar - To kill a dead man
Zack Kouns - Peter Denied Our Lord
al Qaeda - Aluminum Lock Smith
Goodwillies - tangerine tape burst
Donato Epiro / throuRoof - Tamandua's gorgeous dream drones

Reverb Worship: The Restless Dead - Live / Dead
Wereju - Fairytale Ending
UFO Zion - Si Music Festival At The Living Room

Boa Melody Bar is having another blow out sale (not on every item). Some extremely low prices.

And Digitalis have a quiet pre-order of the upcoming Elm and Evan Caminiti CDs (both Barn Owl).

Mitchell Akiyama - Mort Aux Vaches

2009-08-31T16:43:00.008+01:00

Discovered this one a bit by chance a couple of years back. Was searching around for some info on the disappointing Colleen edition of the series (Mort Aux Vaches on Discogs) and saw this slightly crumpled copper cover close by. Tried ordering a copy from Staalplaat only to be told it was out of stock, same situation over at Rough Trade. Can't remember where I eventually found it but it turned out to be well worth the painful hunting - opening up the jiffy bag and getting spiked topped it all off.

The recent Yellow Swans edition put this one back into my mind. So I dug it out and after a couple of listens I came to the conclusion that it was well worth sharing.

Mitchell Akiyama - Mort Aux Vaches

"A 40min+ untitled composition focussed around a glitch to harmonius drone transition with guitar notes, ratting micro percussion, heavy bass passages, white noise all melted into a wonderous semi classical framework." (Boomkat)
It really does have a great selection of sounds, you could probably cut it up and make a ten track album out of it but as one piece it works perfectly. Lots of details to keep it interesting.

Download (320kbps mp3)
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Releases:

Not Not Fun: Eternal Tapestry - The Invisible Landscape
Wet Hair - Glass Fountain
Little Claw - Human Taste

Utmarken: Werewolf Jerusalem - The Last to Know
White - Tears of Piss
Sandor Rado - Kiruna Khyal
GBG Rovente - Storfrasarna
Viking Jews - Wheel Bite

Ingen Våg: Street Drinkers - Chemical Imbalance

Dull Knife: Andre Ethier (7")

I-Absentee have re-released Milieu's excellent 'New drugs for nuclear families of the seventies' with a bunch of bonus tracks.

Erased Tapes have put Olafur Arnalds 'Founds Songs' onto disc (CD & wax) but it's an expensive 10" (£13!) and you can still download it for free here.

Apollolaan Recordings: Book of Shadows - Metrognomes

Stunned Records have reached Stunned 50 with releases from Dreamcolour, Sagas, Magnetic North Duo and Torture Corpse.

Reverb Worship have put Beggin' Your Pardon Miss Jones' 'Avon' onto 3" CD - check Olbas Noise for download. They have also released CDs from Tranko III, Jenisej and Book of Shadows.

There's also that Beatles box set out at the end of the week. If you can afford to spend £135-£200 on it (prices: amazon) then you probably have too much money. Actually, the cheaper box set it probably a bit of a steal for that price as it's hard to find their albums for much less than £10 and there are 17 discs in that set. £200 for 13 discs is a royal fuck-over though. Does that not count as price fixing? Come on EU, sue them.

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After that Nick Cave reading ('The death of Bunny Munro' is out this week) video a few posts ago I decided I didn't really want to post any more Youtube videos on here. The new widescreen format covers too much space for my liking and I can't find a way to resize it to standard format even if the video inside the player is not widescreen - sort it out Youtube!. Anybody able to offer technical advice?
But anyway, this made me laugh a little.

Sacred Basil - Days of Six Billion

2009-08-25T09:26:00.007+01:00

Sacred Basil, a collaboration between members of Cursillistas, Gorman, Planets Around the Sun and Tempera, do jams. They've only released one so far but another is soon to follow on Digitalis Ltd. This excellent debut tape comes from Cabin Floor Esoterica and was limited to 50 copies.

Grooving organ, trumpet wails, building drum circle pounds, singing bowls, etc. A treasure chest of instruments dumped on the floor and a rotating cast picking them all up to work out the tones.
Download
Copies may still be available over at ~~L'Animaux Tryst~~ Time Lag.

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Blackest Rainbow now has a blog and has posted a sneak peak of the zine artwork. Looks so good!

Existential Cloth Recordings: Rambutan/Derek Rogers - Street Secrets
Dream Safari - Energy Lift
Bjerga/Iversen - Monochromatic
medHammer - Shedding Life

Feral Child (the label that bootlegged the Clothide / Delphine split) has released their second 7", a split between Joy Division ('No love lost' demo) and The Buzzcocks ('Whatever happened to?' demo) limited to just 150 copies. Costs £6.99 ppd in the UK but expect to see it for much more on ebay. Contact GPS for details.

Lee Fields / Otis Lee

2009-08-21T21:37:00.003+01:00

Finally catching up with problems. The computer issue is now solved and I'll try and fit in a few posts this week to make up for lost time. As it has literally just been sorted though I'm starting off with a couple of singles with the option of 320kbps mp3s or wavs.
The first seems most appropriate right now, "problems all the time". Both of these are fantastic soul singles.

Lee Fields - Problems
Unfortunately the LP (also titled 'Problems') containing this track is out of print but if this single is anything to go by it would be an amazing record. Slightly curious is the case that the LP was released in 2002 and the single only this year, but Truth and Soul, who released the single, also released his latest album 'My World'.
Only the a-side - probably should have had the same track on both sides because this 7" is quickly getting worn out.

Lee Fields - Problems MP3 or Wav

Otis Lee - Hard Row to Hoe
These have both been purchases from Honest Jons - currently my favourite shop anywhere - and even though their prices are absolutely amazing, this single sided 7" costs a fair bit (there are still other places selling it for more) but getting your hands on an original will cost you well over $1000 on the 'bay! To be fair, the song is a classic.
Pretty sure these new records are bootlegs and I have no idea when the original was released, mid-70s would be my guess.

Otis Lee - Hard Row to Hoe MP3 or Wav
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New Releases

Troglosound: Orfanado - Sete (one sided LP) The sample of this sounds sooo good, personally can't afford it right now but listen to the sample!

L'Animaux Tryst and Time-Lag Records are now shipping the Cursillistas and Tempera records - not sure if TLR have the Tempera but Matt has both plus some other cool small edition stuff (Cursillistas cassette and White Light & American Drone Band) so send him a mail before it's too late.

Tomentosa has returned with a huge new list of stock. Literally hundreds of odd items, well worth a look.

Tape Drift: Fossils from the Sun / Rambutan - Split
Derek Rogers - Petit Chapeau
Chapels - Shadows
The Old Rig - Space Crawl

Blackest Rainbow have started posting the Sophie Cooper & Ben Nash CD, also check them and Boa Melody Bar for copies of the ridiculously delayed (seriously ordered that 2nd Jan) MV & EE 7".

Update / Death of Bunny Munro / Computer troubles

2009-08-10T14:42:00.014+01:00

Last week my main/good computer picked up some nasty fecker of a virus that I can't get rid of. It has blocked Norton, skirts around Ad Aware, undetected with Kaspersky's online scanner, SuperAntiSpyware can't find it and Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware can't dig it out either. By running all those scans I did find 60 other files that neither Norton or Ad Aware have been able to pick out over the years though. Really recommend the Malwarebytes software, that's done the best job so far.
But anyway, lots of computer troubles so I don't want to send stuff across to you lot in uploads from that computer, hence the reason more dishy noises aren't being sent.
Hope everyone has been enjoying that Caboladies LP, it's a blinder if you haven't listened to it yet.
I will try and have something up mid-week from this computer but apologies if it takes a while longer.

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'The Death of Bunny Munro' is Nick Cave's second novel and today I found there were a few excerpts on Youtube. This is a dirty chapter so be warned if others are nearby.

Bloody widescreen videos. ARGH!

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Updates:

Root Strata: Tarentel & Paul Clipson - Over Water (DVD)
Christina Carter - Lace Heart (2LP)
Unfortunately no Oneohtrix Point Never DVDs available direct - Aquarius have/had copies and Volcanic Tongue are apparently due some.

Blackest Rainbow: Natural Snow Buildings - Shadow Kingdom (3LP + 2CD / 2CD - both with zine) This will be mental. Artwork is looking very colourful and the music is meant to be another mind blower.
Ben Nash & Sophie Cooper - Alchemy
Forest Creature - Frustrated Analogue
All are pre-orders at the moment

Nothing Out There: Howlin' Ghost Proletarians - The Last Farewell
Daymoon - Goupil Le Fol
Hands Of Sand - Clay Dreams

Low Point: Celer - Brittle
Sadly Danielle passed away last month but expect quite a few more recordings to posthumously appear.

Arbor: Oneohtrix Point Never - Zones without people (LP)
James Ferraro - Citrac (2LP)
Rale - Whispering Gallery (12")

Stunned Records: Analog Concept - Listen Already Today to the Music of Past!
Fabric / Sparkling Wide Pressure - Late Clothes / Blue Doorways
Pummeler / Derek Rogers - Juggernaut / Simmer
Mortuus Auris & the Black Hand / Emuul - Omicida Della Regina / Songs For Solo Piano
Historians - Proof (bonus if you buy all of the other four)

Digitalis Ltd: M. Geddes Gengras
Sovetskaya Gone
A Wake
The Shitty Listener
Body Morph
Ossining
Tonal Wasteland
Enfer Boreal
All cassettes

5 Minute Association: Loren Connors - The Light of the Crescent Moon (10" lathe) Only available from distros (see earlier 5MA post for the list); expensive records but beautifully put together - this one comes housed in a wooden box.

Rampart Tapes: V/A - Resonant Hole Vol. 1

Amethyst Sunset: Ajilvsga - Red Crow (LP)

The Boomkat sale is clearing a lot of Type Records releases at the moment, some good bargains.

The Bobby Beausoleil 4LP set on Ajna Offensive has been disappearing from everywhere - was amazed how quick they sold out from distros over here. Hopefully more will appear on these shores. Check out Dennis Dread's blog 'Gross Anatomy' sections for the working of the box set's art.

New Epic45 is due later this week on Make Mine Music. Haven't heard any of it but I really hope they have pulled out another 'Slides' or 'Drakelow'.

Beniffer Editions: Schimpfluch-Gruppe - Paris Aktionen
Wasted Nymph - Inmost Diarrhea of the Astral Crone Part II
Metalux - 1-0-0-3
Ignatz - Some of Them Are Funny Songs
Andrew Zukerman - Book and Cassette

Kning Disk: Erik Enocksson - Man tänker sitt
The Bats - The Guilty Office
Nils Frahm - The Bells
Rickard Javerling - Valleys

Digitalis: Cursillistas - Joint Chiefs (+ pre-order bonus)
Pulse Emitter - Oppressive Nature
Green Blossoms - Whiskey Leaves

Type Records: Peter Broderick - 4 Track Songs (available at Boomkat as of today so keep a look out at other stores)

Please feel free to point stuff out that I've missed or promote your label/band, always good to find out about new music.
I'll try and get something up this week. There will probably be a couple of cassettes, some amazing rare soul tunes and possibly some zine zip folders (have to say, not the new NSB until it's OOP).

Caboladies - Atomic Weekender

2009-08-01T00:24:00.005+01:00

Not planning on staying up much longer tonight so this is going to be quick and will probably be edited in some way tomorrow.

Caboladies - Atomic Weekender
Only released in May this year on Digitalis and limited to just 100 copies so disappeared pretty fast. I believe this is the first slab of wax for Caboladies but I hope there is more to follow because it sounds fantastic.

Although the album is named after the main track of the b-side, 'tartar hologram' is the stand out piece for me.

The first second or two of SLP1 is missing so it jumps into it a little, you don't miss much with this rip though.

A1. tartar hologram
A2. space ladder spiritual I
B1. space ladder spiritual II
B2. atomic weekender
B3. space ladder spiritual III

Download (320kbps mp3)

Past Post: Caboladies - Earth Canal

Apparently Peasant Magik will have a Caboladies lathe record (ltd 50) out in the next few months.

Matthew Lovett & Ian Watson - Untitled

2009-07-29T15:35:00.004+01:00

Delays, delays, don't we all hate them?
Well, I have to say that I don't when I'm the cause but I do apologise for the length it takes me every now and then to get something new together. This one has been intended for at least a week now and I really hope you'll agree that it was well worth the wait.

You may remember one of the earlier posts containing the 3" CD of Ian Watson & Mark Jolliffe's 'Leaf Skeleton', well, since then Ian has kindly been in touch - don't believe the post and the email were related, so slightly coincidental timing - and has kindly sent me some of his new material.
You can find some new tracks over on his Myspace page, but in my opinion this is the piece really worth listening to. No title to the CD or track as far as I'm aware, but I may correct that with time...

Just one, 16 minute long piece, definitely worth the download.
It's rather mechanical and noisey, not something completely wild. Maybe scratch some of your noise/drone CDs and you'll be on your way to this.
The start sounds like twisting metal out in the countryside, or a lo-fi recording of metallic instruments tuning up where the musicians are slowly working on how to bow their crazy contraptions. Then there's a synth sweep and the engine gets going, the instruments wake up and everything begins to rise.
Around the six minute mark the piece begins to gather momentum but things really start to kick in around nine minutes in with strong, sharp tones and the widest expanses following.

Give it a try. If you're finding the start slow and get tempted to move on, don't. Leave it running. Just let it do the rounds. Obviously I'm not going to force you, but as a complete piece this is excellent.

Download / Myspace
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There will probably be another update on Friday/Saturday and I'll have a dig around for new releases to include with that.

Do go and check out Lex's new Olbas Noise site for some new Guanaco and Beggin' Your Pardon Miss Joan. The 3 new BYPMJ tracks are some beautiful folk that I'd especially recommend.

Kawabata Makoto - Kiss Me Goodbye / Subjection of Drone

2009-07-23T01:53:00.006+01:00

A little bit of exciting news that has officially emerged this week; Peasant Magik has confirmed the eight 3" CD box set for the end of August. Groups/musicians involved include Big Blood, Gregg Kowalsky, Natural Snow Buildings, The North Sea, Valerio Cosi, Fabio Orsi, Super Minerals, Throuroof, Andrew Paine and Pillars of Heaven. You've got to assume Cosi and Orsi will be doing one of the joint discs, not sure about the other.
It had been on the Peasant Magik myspace page for quite a while (as PM50) but with a line up like that I honestly wasn't expecting it to happen, it's too good.
When I find out more info on it I'll put it up.

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Two Kawabata releases here from 2008. Haven't seen either of these appear online yet and his new disc on House Pig (slightly disappointing) inspired me.

'Kiss Me Goodbye' was released in October last year on Apollolaan Recordings in the UK in an edition of 80.

"Beauiful new CDR of bubbling, trickling drones from the Acid Mothers man. This is even gentler than the "Inui" releases, but no less psychedelic for it. Really lovely and strange."(alt vinyl)
1. Slobbery Kiss Good Morning
2. Sensual Kiss Goodnight

Download

'Subjection of Drone' was released just a month later on Reverb Worship - another UK based label - in an edition of 100 copies.

"'Subjection Of Drone' is a solo improvised 'live' recording from a performance at Music Japonica in Osaka,Japan on 4th October 2008.The cd features one long track which flows in different segments starting off with ethereal jazz styled technique then into bowed string playing,then multitracked drone,followed by glissando styled effects finishing off with ever increasing guitar noise.The piece comes to an abrupt end followed by polite applause." (label description)
1. Subjection of Drone

Download
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New Releases:

Reverb Worship: Gnod - Wuste Zeremonie

Plus Tapes have a huge batch of eight or nine tapes announced.

Noticed this week Norman Records listed the new Bobby Beausoleil 4LP box set as available, so if you have the money it's time to start searching the usual distros.

Blackest Rainbow: Spill - Where You Aren't
MV & EE - Road Trips (box set), very near shipping

Black Eagle Child: Black Eagle Child - Two Days
W.A. Munson - Controlled Wave

Near Passerine Devotionals (email): Ajilvsga - The Muddy Banks of the Arkansas (LP)

Insound: Richard Hell - Destiny Street Repaired (LP)

Milieu Music: Milieu - Swaying Palms
Coppice Halifax - Submarine Green
Coppice Halifax & Foamek - Lush Q Trax III
Coppice Halifax & Foamek - Lush Q Trax 3.1
Brian Grainger - Tortoiseshell & Other Improvisations

Ikuisuus: Silk Urns / Sand Rattle - Split
Strongly Imploded - Why Use A Proxy

Dust Wind Tales has a bit of a sale going on (free release with every order).

What's with the ridiculously high prices of NSB releases on discogs? Just checked the other day and people are asking for insane amounts - could probably get some things for under half the price on ebay, and that's really saying something.

Autolux & Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood

2009-07-17T16:52:00.006+01:00

No, there wasn't a record made between the two groups. These are just two releases that have been requested recently and thought I may as well put them up for more to hear.

Autolux - Live at KEXP (promo 7")

This was given away by Insound.com in 2004 with pre-orders of 'Future Perfect'. Maybe some were also sent out to other shops but I can't ever remember seeing anywhere else mentioning it. Just a two track record featuring songs from the aforementioned album.

A. Plant Life
B. Asleep At The Trigger

Download
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Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood - EJE

This was released in October of last year in an edition of 66 copies. I've just noticed this afternoon that there are still copies available to purchase as well for just $7 (including postage) so please, consider supporting the label (link below).
BOTOS have done some blinders in the past on the usual labels - Students of Decay, Root Strata, Time Lag, Digitalis - but also put out a load of material on their own label MYMWLY (Music your mind will love you) out in Australia. They're a brother and sister duo, Michael & Kristina Donnelly, and you may be familiar with Michael's music as part of 6magik6 and Terracid.

Buy / Download
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Goaty Tapes: Cro Magnon / Circuit des Yeux / Bird - split
Bone Patrol U.S. / Varlet Tarsod - split (members of Dead Luke, Peaking Lights, Jerkwave tapes)
Caethua / Ancestral Diet - split (members of Uke of Spaces, Flak Mask, Impractical Cockpit)
Blobs - Hey Hello (Orphan Fairytale and Dolphins into the Future collaboration)
Edgar Wappenhalter - Spuiglavementen

Vanishing Hour Revival: Xiphiidae - Waning in Archaic Color Sequence
Antigua Ibis - Bisected by Ravines
Zebulon - Webolo

Big sale going on over at Release the Bats.

Reverb Worship: Mizuumi - Motion
Sproatly Smith - The Yew & The Hare
The Spirit Dies - Death Notes

Apparently this has been out for almost a couple of months already, new Makoto Kawabata ('Tales of the Dream Planet') on House Pig Records.

And lastly, Captured Tracks have a few copies of the Acoustic Family Creeps (Woods) bootleg 12". Only four tracks and one sided - for $22 to the UK that's too steep for me, but they're sure to go quick.

Jackson C. Frank - Jimmy Clay / Frankie & Johnnie

2009-07-13T23:07:00.010+01:00

Sometimes you're sent things that are just too special to keep under wraps. These two pieces of audio have been hidden for 40 years. If like me you thought the 'Blues Run the Game' two disc compilation released in 2003 contained everything that was left to hear from Jackson, you were also wrong.

Last year Jim Abbott announced a book that was going to be published and with it he said that the first 1000 pre-orders will receive a CD full of unheard/rare Jackson tracks. Well the book didn't appear - see Naturalismo for more insight into that story - and as a result neither did the CD. If you spot websites asking for money to pre-order the Jackson C Frank book, it's not recommended you do so. Keep an eye on either here or Naturalismo and you will most likely hear if the book appears.

Copyright issues no doubt would have plagued the CD anyway so chances are the tracks were going to stay hidden a while longer even if the book had appeared. Two have surfaced though!

Huge thanks, from me and other Jackson C Frank fans, to all the people along the line involved in unearthing these two songs.

Jackson C. Frank - Jimmy Clay

'Jimmy Clay' was originally written by Patrick Sky and released on his 'Reality is Bad Enough' LP. There have been re-issues of Sky's eponymous album and 'Songs that made America famous' but everything else appears to be long out of print. Recently passed ebay prices suggest that you shouldn't have to pay much for original copies though and Youtube offers a few treats from him - I can't find him performing 'Jimmy Clay' unfortunately.

Lyrics for the original version of 'Jimmy Clay' can be found here.

This Jackson C Frank cover is apparently a BBC recording, maybe intended as a Peel Session? A couple of years ago, I'm told, Gideon Coe was scheduling a Jackson C Frank session for his Radio 6 show but eventually couldn't find the recordings. So what has happened to the rest of the set is anyone's guess.

Download

Jackson C. Frank - Frankie & Johnnie

This was apparently recorded all the way back in 1962 when Jackson was still in college. 'Frankie & Johnny' - the songs correct title (same thing that happened to 'Anji') - was a song originally written by Hughie Cannon (famous for penning the song Bill Bailey took his name from) and become a staple of the American musicians' catalogue. Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Leadbelly, Johnny Cash, Van Morrison, everyone seems to have done a cover of it (even Lindsay Lohan).
Loads more information on the song can be found on Wikipedia.
One of my favourites is the instrumental version by JoAnn Castle:

In 1962 Jackson was soon about to exit his teens and also the USA. His eponymous album was still three years away.
Apparently there were another eight or nine tracks alongside this on a tape, but again, unfortunately I have no idea where they are. One day we will hopefully be able to hear both sets in full.

Download

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New Releases:

Low Point: Fabio Orsi & Seaworthy - Near And Faraway

Krayon Recordings: C. Spencer Yeh / Ryan Jewell / Jon Lorenz trio (7")

Earjerk: Second Family Band - Logos Destroyer
Circulation of Light - Circulation of Light
Dream Colour - Solar Gaze
Pan to Scratch - With Happiness
Lens - Surveyor
Neon Shit - More Neon Shit

Not Not Fun: Sun Araw - Heavy Deeds
Malibu Falcon
Rangers - Low cut fades
Pocahaunted - Live from the New Age

Cut Hands: Chapels - It’s Just a Pause
Social Junk - Four Chambers of the Heart
Kohoutek - Der Schnellen Geist

Release the Bats: V/A - Utmarken 10"

RuralFaune: Lunar Miasma - Monophonic Ritual
Rob Funkhouser - This is why robots are taking over

Gareth Hardwick / David Tagg - Split (2 x 3")

2009-07-09T11:05:00.005+01:00

First things first, sorry about the length of time between posts. If you arrived here during the period between now and that Clothilde / Delphine post expecting to find the recent Oneohtrix Point Never cassette (split with Caboladies), apologies for that. It will appear again in the future but as there is another edition in the works it was taken down. The first edition is still available from Volcanic Tongue if you're desperate for it asap but keep an eye on NNA Tapes for the second batch.

Secondly, I've had a little spruce up of the blog links, apologies to those removed but it didn't seem worth keeping links to completely removed blogs. There will be a few more added in the next few days having found a couple more linking here - which is really appreciated, thanks a lot.

Lastly, Motljud have listed 30 new copies of the Sveriges Kommuner & Landsting album for sale. Apparently that name means 'Sweden's municipalities and county councils'... My suggestion is that name alludes to a gathering of musicians from a bunch of Swedish groups but I'm not 100% sure who was involved. There were only 6 copies of the original LP made, somehow, so this extra edition comes as somewhat of a relief.

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Gareth Hardwick / David Tagg - Split

This gorgeously packaged release only came out a month ago and you're already too late (sorry). David Tagg has come up with a bizarre contraption to house the 3" CDs, but like the Expanding Electronic Diversity (now Install) CD cases it is a complete success. He probably went mad making the 54 copies.
The Gareth Hardwick track is lovely with slow melodies that gently soak into the ambience and David Tagg has created a piece that just grows over the 12 minutes, almost rolling in a way that a giant egg would (that may make more sense when you listen to it). I don't know if either track will leave you in awe, they are both rather subtle tracks, but they are certainly calming, peaceful and well composed.

Download
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New releases:

Singing Knives: Alberorovesciato - Tigers on acid in the hell of the brushwood

Under the Spire: Tom White - A well-known phrase

Blackest Rainbow: Best Coast - Where The Boys Are
Master Slave - Death Prayer
(cassette & cdr sale)

Teosinte Records: Sparkling Wide Pressure - Reborn in action

Music Mundane (email): Early Hominids - Metatarsal
Foldhead - Drugs, paint, alcohol

Deception Island: Chris Benedetto Madak - Bees Removed
Fragments - Kinetic Sphere
Bee Mask - Shimmering Braid
Skin Graft - Brick in the Mouth of a Corpse

Ripley Johnson of Wooden Shjips has got a side project 12" single out under the name Moon Duo. Check out the myspace blog for stores - Europeans may be better off checking Norman Records.

Root Strata new releases are expected at some point over the next week. The Christina Carter LP (double) looks so good and there is also going to be an Oneohtrix Point Never DVD.

Clothilde / Delphine - Split 7" & Max Ochs - Imaginational Anthem 7"

2009-06-28T15:01:00.003+01:00

Two 7"s, four songs, two French, two instrumental.
First things first though, spotted this morning that there's a new Bobby Beausoleil 4LP coming out next month on The Anja Offensive. $50 but one well worth looking out for. Will try and upload 'Mantra' in a few weeks time.

Clothilde / Delphine - Fallait pas écraser la queue du chat / La fermeture éclair

These songs come from a couple of rare 7"s from 1970s French chanteuses - both on separate records. Rare, out of print, expensive, great songs, each a valid reason for why the songs received the bootleg re-issue treatment a couple of months ago. Even these bootleg copies (edition of 300 on Feral Child - no website) were going for up to £15 on ebay so that should give some impression of how sought after these songs are.
The Delphine track is especially good. Just realised how bassy these rips are coming out, I'll try and sort that out for future rips. Still, don't let that put you off (maybe lower the bass in your media player's equaliser).

Download

Max Ochs - Imaginational Anthem

Cousin of Phil Ochs, 60s/70s concert promoter and friend of John Fahey. That might give some basic background to what this 7" sounds like. It certainly has leanings towards both names but also with what you'd suspect he was surrounding himself with when finding bands/musicians to play shows.
Two good songs on this 7" but nothing spectacular or ground breaking.

BUY / Download

Peter Broderick - Five Film Score Outtakes (link) / Falling Behind (update)

2009-06-25T18:49:00.009+01:00

For anyone else that missed out on the recent Peter Broderick 3" ('Five film score outtakes') Akteon have kindly uploaded it. Sounds like good stuff again from Peter.

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So easily distracted at the moment and the sun has slowed the world down, thought I'd just leave a little update on new releases and recommendations. Should have the next post up this weekend.

Troglosound: New one-sided LP between Virginia Genta and Andrew Barker.

Digitalis Ltd: Another huge haul containing - Meditations, Space Dive, Young Boys / FM.Face, Black Eagle Child & Goodwillies, Pink Priest, Charlatan, Ester Poland.

Dial Square Tapes: Three new cassettes by Sovetskaya Gone (ltd 24), Dick Test (ltd 11) and Youth Studies (ltd 16).

NNA Tapes: Caboladies / Oneohtrix Point Never, Toby Aronson, Jefre Sei Getsu Ledesma

905 Tapes: James Fella, Pillars of Heaven & Joe Breitenbach, Mossy Throats & Wether, Wasteland Jazz Unit, Century Plants, Social Junk, Forbes Graham, Endless Time.

Reverb Worship: New releases from Pistil Cosmos and The Hare & The Moon.

Housecraft Recordings: Xiphiidae / Pan To Scratch (LP)

As mentioned in the last, lengthy post, Blackest Rainbow announced a pre-order for the MV & EE 12 cassette set due for the end of July/start of August.

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Got a couple of beauties through the post this morning, first was the beautiful new 'Suite for Titouan' by Richard Moult on Dala Horse. I don't think many labels or musicians put as much effort into the packaging as Lidia and also manage such a lovely result. However, David Tagg is one person that excels virtually everybody. If you ever bought one of the Expanding Electronic Diversity CDs you would probably have no problem in agreeing with that. He's outdone himself with the recent split between himself and Gareth Hardwick on Install. Great little contraption. As that has sold out already I'll try and get that uploaded in the next week.

If you're a folk fan I'd highly recommend keeping an eye on the Bracken Records page in a couple of days time for the debut Haruko LP/CD - check out 'the dragon's tears', really beautiful.

A re-release of Richard Skelton's 'Marking Time' on vinyl is due in the next week or two on Type Records - check the link to stream the album.

MV & EE - 12 Cassette Set (info)

2009-06-21T17:02:00.006+01:00

Blackest Rainbow have announced details of the follow up to MV & EE's 2006 12 CDR bootleg set. Considering the amount it costs to get some of their LPs in Europe and the fact there are 12 albums in this package this one may go quicker than you'd expect, despite the price. The format may put a few people off though, so who can guess how long they'll really last?

TITLE: tbc
PRICE: £45.00 + shipping
AVAILABILITY: Limited to 250 copies, under 175 available for sale between myself and Alt Vinyl, some of which will be distributed to stores and mailorders.
RELEASE DATE: Mid/Late July
PACKAGE: Custom made 12 way plastic case (like the Natural Snow Building set we did earlier in the year), pro dubbed cassettes, printed shells, artwork and insert of liners.

TRACK LISTING:
The MV & EE Medicine Show - Citybillies (Brooklyn, NY 5/23/02) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

my love for you has turned to life
york street blues
meditations on frankie
rank stranger
buck creek girls
ganga gurls

MV & EE With The Bummer Road - The Suncatcher Blossoms A Novatone (Tonic, NYC 7/18/2005) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

1. suncatcher >
other kinds rama >
mountains of yaffa >
death don't have no mercy
2. meditations on payday
---
3. tea devil
4. environments > solestrial
5. cold rain

MV & EE With The Bummer Road - Abstarct Blues and Egyptian Mud (Campfire Sounds, Acra, NY 7/15/06) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

1. parchman farm >
2. suspended in the sky
3. poor boy variations
4. death is my friend >
5. who do you abort?

MV & EE with The Bummer Road - Pastis King (Paris, November 11th, 2006) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

cold rain > tea devil
----
boo woe
death don't have no mercy

MV & EE with The Golden Road - Barn Joint (Red Barn, Amherst, MA, 10/16/07) (feat. J Mascis and Tom Carter) (PREVIOUSLY OUT AS AN UNOFFICIAL BOOTLEG)

1. I GOT CAVES IN THERE >
THE BURDEN (15:59)
2. SUMMER MAGIC (6:07)
----
3. COLD RAIN > ENVIRONS (9:46)
4. EASY LIVIN' (6:29)

MV & EE with The Golden Road - Lobstora Vs Tone Crabs (Floristree Auditorium Baltimore, MD, 6/14/08) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

1. EASY LIVIN' (07:48)
2. GET RIGHT CHURCH (10:31)
3. LAZY LIGHT (06:09)
4. HAMMER > ENVIRONMENTS > EAST MOUNTAIN JOINT (23:46)

MV & EE with The Wolfpack - Yurt Aspects/Rural Centrifuge (Wickermania Festival, The Yurt, Goshen, MA 8/2/08 / Tinderbox, Brattleboro, VT, 8/3/08) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

1. you matter (23:17)
----
Decade
Drone trailer
Tea devil
Cold rain

MV & EE with Jeremy Earl - He's On Tonight, Saddleback / Multiple Gravitrons (Cakeshop, NYC, 1/20/09) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

The hungry stones (06:27)
Huna cosm > anyway (16:58)
Valves rap (01:25)
Tea devil > weatherhead hollow (21:11)
Gravitron rap (03:34)
Drone trailer (11:49)

MV & EE with The Wolfpack - Mamma Zooed (The Triple, Richmond, VA, 1/23/09) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

anyway
hungry stones
huna cosm
----
tea devil > cold rain

MV & EE - Smoked Bossier (Art Space, Shreveport, LA, 1/29/09) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

Hungry stones
Huna cosm
Huna rap
Anyway
Martyn rap
Freight train
Erie cotten rap
Cold rain
Weatherhead > drone trailer

MV & EE with The Golden Road - Sequential Circuits and Fiber (Vintage By The Pound, Toronto, ON, Canada, 2/7/09) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

1. the hungry stones
2. huna cosm
3. profile rap
----
4. anyway
5. the burden
6. easy livin'

MV & EE - Pete's Pix Vol. 2 (2004-2006) (tracks from Cambridge UK, Colour Out of Space, Thurston's ATP, Oxford, London, and more. Features Nemo, Chris Corsano, Samara, Willie, Jiggs, Sparrow, Simoes) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

01. cocola moves thru the bizarre
CB2 basement, cambridge UK 5/31/2005

02. really poor boy
shaw library, london school of economics
london, UK 11/14/06

03. codeine
the port mahon, oxford, UK 12/6/04

04. solestrial (w/samara & nemo)
albany bar, london, UK 12/20/04

05. special rider blues
maximum arousal farm, guilford, VT 4/01/05
(erika (space echo/live dub), mo' jiggs (harp))

06. color out of the canned (w/samara & chris corsano)
colour out of space festival
the ocean rooms, brighton, UK 11/12/06

07. canned approximations
ATP, minehead, somerset, UK 12/09/06
(w/the bummer road - willie, samara, nemo, sparrow, jiggs, simoes, corsano)
thx to j mascis and david keenan for loaning me their guitars

08. death don't have no mercy
the red rose, london, UK 11/13/06

Lily - Onion (Japan, 1971)

2009-06-20T12:30:00.002+01:00

Don't know much about this one but it has taken quite some time tracking down a copy at a good price. From what I've managed to find on the internet about it the first pressing was in 1971 and quickly followed up with another pressing on May 5th 1972.
Some of the musicians involved: Kimio Mizutani (Out Cast, Love Live Life), Hiro Tsunoda (Jacks, Strawberry Path, Flied Egg), Takasuke Kida (Jacks).

Great disc by at that time 20 years old female vocalist Lily. It was her first disc and right from the start the tone is set as Lily sings away in her husky styled voice that is reminiscent to a post-Carmen Maki folk and blues era style. The overall tone is folk-like with some psychedelic undertones, which get infused by some of her excellent backing musicians such as Foodbrain / Out Cast / Path Through Haze / People guitarist Kimio Mizutani and Jacks / Asakawa Maki drummer Tsunoda Hiro. Some tracks are embedded in a bluesy atmosphere, where her voice gets some effects that resemble singing through a telephone. Stunningly beautiful. Great acid folk-like bluesy and psychedelic album of 1972.
The whole album is a folk/pop/psychedelic rock fusion sung in Japanese with enough variety to sound like they're mixing it up, but not too much to sound like a real mish-mash of an album. There is one blues track sung in English, 'woke up blues', which is probably one of the weaker songs.
Considering this cost $2 I think its a gem - and a bargain having looked at the popsike.com prices - with only a couple of faltering tracks, but it would be interesting to see other opinions.

A1. Alone Am I
2. I Had A Dream
3. Train Window (Reminds Me Of Your Smile)
4. Woke Up Blues
5. Twelve Midnight
6. As I Can't Sleep

B1. How Have You Been
2. My Movie
3. Calender With Just August
4. Life Is Repeating
5. Close Your Eyes
6. So Far Away

*Sorry for the skipping in the last 30 seconds (B-side), my computer decided it wanted to hibernate*

Download

Keyboard: Jun Fukamachi
Drums & Percussion: Hiro Tsunoda
Side Guitar: Masatsugu Matsumoto
Acoustic Guitar: Takahiko Ishikawa
Electric Guitar: Kimio Mizutani
Bass: Jun Suzuki
Harmonica: Hiromi Yasuda (A-4)
Acoustic Guitar: Nobuyoshi Hagiwara (A-4)

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New Expo 70 3" limited to 100.

Personal favourites Sloow Tapes are back with two more cassettes from Im Jahrtal and DRMWPN.

Gift Tapes: Brother Raven - A sound like wailing winter winds is heard
Jeremiah Walker - Early to rise
Million Mists - Spaceship

Release The Bats have released the new Ducktails ('Backyard').

Blackest Rainbow have the new Starving Weirdos, Darryl Norsen, Robert Horton & Sindre Bjerga releases available.

Rampart Tapes have a new Orphan Fairytale, a release from Coptic Nausea and a new compilation.

Tranko - Neko 77 / Mujam

2009-06-17T21:14:00.004+01:00

Quick one again tonight. Decided to rip a couple of records today and will hopefully do a couple more tomorrow - took so long to set the damned thing up (old stereo) so I'm going to make the most of it. A few international records have been converted so far. One of the next two posts will be a Japanese psych/rock/pop/folk (+ a blues track) LP that took a while to track down a copy of and hasn't disappointed - for $2 as well! - and the other will be a recent bootleg re-issue of two 70s French tracks. Both in the next week.

Tranko - Neko 77 / Mujam

Released at the start of last year (2008) on The Great Pop Supplement this one didn't really do much for me when it first arrived so I'd recommend giving it time to grow on you.

Killer debut 45 from japanese psych band- whacked out moog / sitar collision like some holy Acid Mothers / Popol Vuh jam with Ananda Shankar at the controls

Don't think that totally describes it but definitely leaves a vague idea, you'll have to take a listen if you've not heard it already.

Download

They have put out two releases on Reverb Worship, first one has all gone but second is still available. Boa Melody Bar looks to have copies left of the first.

Larkin Grimm / The Beautiful Babes In Springtime Brainwave Band (feat. Earl Monster)

2009-06-14T12:03:00.003+01:00

I've been intending to rip this cassette for some time now, partly to digitise a few more Sloow Tapes releases but also to give it a few more listens. This one occasionally appears on discogs for cheap but it's long out of print (released in March '06, edition of 100).

Larkin Grimm / The Beautiful Babes In Springtime Brainwave Band (feat. Earl Monster) - After You Men Explode The World We Women Will Sing It To Sleep

Thank God for copy and paste! I always just call this the Larkin Grimm tape because that has got to be one of the longest titles out there.
Lots of blank space on the cassette so this runs at about 25 minutes having cut that out. The A-side is all Larkin Grimm with additions from a child - it may not be, but it definitely sounds like a youngster. The B-side belongs to the Beautiful Babes which also consists of Larkin Grimm. The last two tracks are noted as one but it seems like two to me, 'mori moma bega' being an a capella piece and 'patch it up' sounding as though it could be an old folk song, but you can make your own mind up. They are probably my two favourites on this album though so be sure to get there.

Holding on to the thick rain smelling black and white striped hairs of a wild cat these psychedelic prayer songs ride you all the way down a shadowy world of haunted forests and deep ice-cold lakes in which powerful otherworldly voices seduce you with some sweet melodies.

A1. The Last Tree
A2. Today Was Warm
A3. There Is No Sun
A4. The Reservoir
B1. We Lit Candles We Floated To Our Seperate Rooms
B2. If You Kill Me Tonight They Will Find You They Will Kill You Too
B3. Mori Moma Bega
B4. Patch It Up

Download

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L'Animaux Tryst has official pre-orders for the re-release of 'Les Biches' (LP/CD) by Cursillistas and 'Tempera' (LP/CD) by Tempera.

The Great Pop Supplement has a new 7" from Cam Deas ('Untitled Blues 1 & 2') and an LP by the Woodcraft Folk ('Trough of Bowland') out this week.

Exbx Tapes released nine new cassettes last week. Yep, nine! Compilations, Sparkling Wide Pressure, Andrew Coltrane, Uneven Universe, God Willing, and a couple more, $6 each.

If you're rich and enjoy Warp Records, you may be interested in their upcoming Warp20 release. Five 10" records, five CDs and a 192 page book. Yeah, costs a small fortune (£85 for pre-orders before July 5th, £100 thereafter) but for once the high price sounds reasonable. 10" records are extremely annoying though, aren't they?

MV & EE - Space

2009-06-11T12:51:00.006+01:00

Pretty sure you can still get copies of these bootlegs from Matt - he sold a bunch on ebay the other night - so this is the only other one I'm going to do for the time being. Black Ark/White Egg is also floating around the blogosphere.

With Space, the duo find themselves alone for an intimate set recorded in Portland, Maine. Half of the performance is live versions of tracks from Drone Trailer. If you enjoy the duo's more spaced-out moments, you're in for quite a treat with Huna Cosm. EE does an amazing job singing on Tea Devil, my personal favorite track here. Out of the innumerable live CD-Rs available out there, Space might not sound exceptional and stick out among the rest, but there are plenty fine moments in here to please even the most hardened fans. (myrecordcollection)
1. The Hungry Stones (7:32)
2. Huna Cosm (10:27)
3. Tea Devil (11:18)
4. Weatherhead Hollow (10:33)
5. Drone Trailer (12:45)

Download

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Housecraft:
A.M. Shiner / Xiphiidae / Heat Conference / Anvil Dome - split
Vanilla Host - Folded At The Face
Jeffry Astin / Josh Burke - split

Under the Spire:
Jasper TX - Lungs (pre-order)

Klorofyll Kassetter:
Hanna Hirsch - Tala svart/Versioner
Million Brazilians - New ideas in psychic music
Altar of Flies - Eremiten

Reverb Worship:
Light Of Shipwreck - As I Hold the Ashes
Sproatly Smith - The Yew & the Hare

Woodland Recordings:
Diamond Family Archive - The Wanderer (+ 'Aeroplane' for limited time)

Black Eagle Child:
Seasons (pre-din) / Black Eagle Child - Split

Sonic Meditations
Expo 70 - Center of the Earth

Also worth keeping your eye out for: Norman Records are getting in a Peter Broderick 3" CD tomorrow (probably that film score disc), a couple of new Dial Square Tapes releases are expected soon. It sounds as though Matt is preparing the new L'Animaux Tryst LPs from Cursillistas & Tempera (see C-Box).

Oh, and Ronaldo is for sale, but you've probably missed the boat on that one.

Accident Child - Into the Gorge

2009-06-09T00:53:00.004+01:00

Why do I always decide to do these well after midnight?!
One day this month there will be a mid-day post... hopefully.

Tomentosa still have this available ($8) so if you enjoy it please consider supporting a great label through a fantastic distro.

Accident Child - Into the Gorge

Had to buy those two new Big Blood CDs, just had to, and at the same time they (dontrustheruin) also released this disc and a new Inspector 22 album. Didn't spot the I22 at the time - it was a rush email to make sure the Big Blood CDs were snapped up - but did notice this one. No description, just some interesting artwork and a curious name.

"Matt Norris is Accident Child. If you had to describe it, loner folk would be as good a term as any. Reminds us a bit of Tuli from The Fugs or King Darves."
To my ears some of the melodies between guitar and voice on this album resemble those on Chriss Sutherland's 'Me in a field' and there's a similar feel on some songs to those early John Frusciante drug-infused solo albums.

Download / Buy

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Dala Horse have just announced their second release. A new one from Richard Moult. Looks and sounds like a definite winner - again, like the Kutomo release, limited to 36.

DNT: Plankton Wat - Dawn of the Golden Eternity

Students of Decay: Little Skull
Everyday Loneliness - The Bond
John Davis - There's Always Tomorrow

Dust Wind Tales: Beggin Your Pardon Miss Joan / Siddhi - The Tree Told Me

Francis Bebey - New Track

2009-06-02T20:59:00.006+01:00

Another Plus Tapes release here. If you enjoyed the Mako Sica tape posted a few weeks back, this is different. You don't get much genre consistency with Plus Tapes but you do get a batch of great music.
Just as a warning though, they weren't happy with this cassette re-release and ended up pulling it from sale - Aquarius Records kindly chucked in a free copy with a bulk PT order - but you won't find much wrong with it, hopefully.

Francis Bebey - New Track

Francis moved around a lot, born in Cameroon, educated in both France and the USA, temporarily lived in Ghana before heading back and settling in France. This album shows the styles of music he came across through his travels, it's not a simple guitar album or jazz record, the songs happily go on for up to 11 minutes and there is a well worked mix of vocal and instrumental work across the whole release.

A1. Haiti (6:20)
A2. The Song I Keep Humming (11:10)
B1. New Track (8:25)
B2. Super Jungle (9:25)

Francis Bebey biography

Removed by request

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Centre of Wood have kicked off their Cave series with three very dark sounding releases.

Root Strata opened up orders to their a capella single series, entitled 'Tsuki No Seika'. It will consist of four separate 7"s split between two groups - so 8 bands (Grouper, Christina Carter, Richard Youngs, Islaja, Xela, Zelienople, Hisato Higuchi, Valet) - and cost you $40-50 depending on where you are.
They've also put out a CD edition of Grouper's 'Cover the windows and walls' album.

Dull Knife release a new 7" by Circuit des Yeux.

I'm trying to find out about that Twinsistermoon CD on Ultra Hard Gel, if I hear anything I'll leave a note somewhere.
UPDATE: Heard this second hand but it doesn't sound as though this CD is close. Would be interesting to find out more but in the meantime if you want to hear it you may probably be better off trying to download it (if you don't own the LP).
If anyone hears about it please say. I'll try and keep tabs on the UHG website in case something appears.

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Will try and get a new post sorted for the weekend.

If anyone has an opinion on the rip quality of either this or the Part Wild Horses Mane tape in comparison to some of the earlier cassette rips (Keijo, Ben Nash, Mako Sica, Barrabarracuda) I'd love to hear. Recently discovered an old cassette player I had in the early 90s that I think has a better sound quality than my walkman but my computer speakers aren't good enough to get much of an opinion from with regards to rip quality.
Thanks.