Mitchell Akiyama - Mort Aux Vaches

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

----------------------------
'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!

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

-----------------------------
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")

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.

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