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- Welcome to the new KILLED in CARS
I center my relationship with music around KILLED in CARS. It is a "thank you" to the musicians who enrich my life, a way to reach people curious about expression through sound, and an attempt to creatively think about music. This site has thrived as a destination for discussion and listening thanks to its disregard for the canon and its dedication to making esoteric genres accessible. I appreciate your readership, and I hope that you choose to participate!
INSTRUCTIONS: Until now, KILLED in CARS has been an approach more than a single destination. This new layout is an attempt to centralize KiC activity in one place. While there is still content on Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook, for example, you no longer need to visit these services to have the full scope of what’s going on. All the links at the top of this page will display the content from the sites you’re used to visiting, while giving you the option to click straight through to said pages. Here are some tips to maximize your visit.
1. The blogs (1 and 2) are Tumblr (the current blog), and Blogger (the archive), respectively. You can click on that word and scroll down to read the most recent posts on each. At the bottom of each page, there is a link that will take you to the full pages. If you would like to explore the Tumblr page in depth, you can click here. If you want to see the Tumblr archive, click here. Lastly, to go through the entirety of the original site, click here.
2. Similarly, the two “VIDEOS” pages are my YouTube favorites and Vimeo likes, in that order. This allows you to see many videos in one place without clicking through to any other pages. You can click the link in the bottom left corners of each to see the actual channels I maintain on each service. You may also click here for the YouTube channel, and here for the Vimeo channel.
3. The forum is the Facebook wall RSS. This is where the most activity happens, and you can see the numerous videos, tracks, and concert listings we pass on here. You can also click here to join the group.
4. “MIXES” is my 8tracks mixes, while tracks represents both my SoundCloud uploads and favorites (click here). You can click “play” on any of my mixes and play them on this page without clicking through to the 8tracks profile (though you can do so by clicking here). Likewise, you can listen to tracks I upload to SoundCloud under “TRACKS,” but you can also go through a great deal of content by switching the drop menu to “Favorites.” There are many mixes there as well, all playable from this page.
5. Last.fm and Twitter are self-explanatory. Last.fm tracks my recent plays and “top” artists of late, and the group page. Twitter is a place to find label retweets, articles of interest, and my record ratings (click here). These ratings are generated from Rate Your Music, and you can click through to the page here, and you can browse the complete KiC list, from start to finish, by clicking here.
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Posts
Three from Eh?
I’m especially excited to showcase some records from this awesome label with long-standing Midwest connections. Public Eyesore, founded by creative improviser and instrument designer Bryan Day, will turn 15 later this year! Public Eyesore has been a home for a wide variety of recordings, “progressive and regressive,” from artists all over the world, and they added a second line of CDR-based releases around four years ago under the Eh? imprint. In my opinion, they’re a particularly important label to follow if you’re interested in free improv and EAI music, but they also release music from a wide range of other disciplines, giving voice to the feral edges of pop, rock, jazz, and classical musics.
Full disclosure: PE released an album of mine back in 2006. But I had already been a long-time fan of the label, having released some of my favorite records from artists like Blue Collar (Nate Wooley/Steve Swell/Tatsuya Nakatani), Jesse Krakow, Mike Pride, Amy Denio, and many more. PE is a label that will consistently surprise you—one never knows what kind of auditory surprises might be awaiting you when you put on a random release of theirs. Recently I’ve covered a couple of their new albums from Philip Gayle and Ydestroyde, and here’s another batch of compelling recent releases. All three of these are officially under the “Eh?” imprint, shipped as CDRs in paper sleeves with poly jackets—not the most fancy packaging, but it gets this music into the world, which is the most important thing. There were similarly spartan releases earlier in the “proper” PE catalog, but nowadays those have gotten fancy packaging—I’ll be covering a couple of those releases in the near future as well (awesome job on the Anderson/Pepper/Tamura/Petit release!). I’m especially excited about the upcoming Normal Love full-length being co-released by Weasel Walter’s ugEXPLODE, and the Cactus Truck album sounds promising, too…
KBD(uo) - Any Port in a Storm
This release features the “principal agents” behind the KBD Sonic Cooperative, with Michael Kimaid on percussion and electronics, and Gabe Beam on guitar and electronics. This is the second Eh? release from these folks, minus Ryan Dohm who also appeared on the earlier “Four Plus One” album. This time around, we get six more untitled tracks of EAI, very cleanly recorded in a very “controlled” sounding, intimate room. The music is produced with percussion (including a lot of bowed cymbals/gongs), guitar (which mostly sounds like “tabletop guitar” with effects), and an arsenal of electronics.
The music evolves slowly in these pieces, usually letting ideas overlap one another for a long time. The first two tracks focus on long tones and sustained atmospheres, and the third piece starts to introduce contrasting ideas, made mostly of short, pointillistic bursts. Polyrhythms of sorts are featured in the fourth piece, with oscillations against softly-repeated drums that come and go amidst subtle guitar manipulations. Like their previous release, the final track is a live performance around 25 minutes in length: while the album mostly works with gentle, carefully unfolding textures, things can get much louder and more intense in live performance, briefly building up to a wall of sound around the six minute mark. But that’s an exception, and most of the live set stays well below fortissimo as well, thoughtfully blending a variety of axillary percussion tools, cymbals, gongs, and occasional undercurrents of sizzling electronic drones.
Hag - Moist Areas
Like KBD, Hag’s name comes from the last names of the musicians involved: in this case, Brad Henkel on trumpet, Sean Ali on bass, and David Grollman on snare drum. This Brooklyn trio plays a fine brand of meditative free improv, working with layers of texture rather than any kind of trad jazz vocabulary. Henkel’s trumpet work sometimes reminds me of Nate Wooley’s catalog of otherworldly sounds, and David Grollman’s snare drum work similarly deconstructs his instrument of choice—I don’t think there’s a moment on the album where I would’ve pinpointed what I’m hearing as coming from a snare. Instead he works with scraping, rubbing, and (I’m pretty sure) blowing directly on the drum head, as there are moments where it sounds like there are two horns playing. Sean Ali’s bass playing is the closest to convention on the album, with occasional cascades of chromatically ascending or descending lines and even brief passages of bowed work, but he too works to draw extended sounds from his bass.
My favorite track is also the longest, “Moist Again,” placed in the center of the album. It shows off how well the group listens to one another, each member getting moments where they lead the ensemble, coming to the front of the mix and moving the group into new variations in texture. It also features an especially wide dynamic range, contrasting not just loud and quiet sections in terms of volume but also with variations in density at both ends of the volume spectrum. The title track, which closes the album, also features some of the louder passages on the record, as well as some trumpet lines played with considerable crunch in the instrument’s lower range, sounding surprisingly like a woodwind instrument instead of brass.
Psychotic Quartet - Spherelon
My favorite of this batch of Eh? releases, Psychotic Quartet is a Philly-based group that brings together a number of really exciting musicians from one of my favorite music scenes in a free improvisation context. Trombonist Dan Blacksberg also plays in Archer Spade with guitarist Nick Milleovi (whose own recent contribution to an Eh? release will be covered soon), bassist Evan Lipson plays in one of my favorite bands, Normal Love (and was probably the only person who could successfully follow Jesse Krakow in Dynamite Club), and violinist Kat Hernandez (who recently relocated to Sweden) specializes in microtonal and alternate tuning systems, a recent obsession of mine. They’re joined by NYC drummer Michael Evans for five rounds of complex improvisation referencing a wide range of musical traditions.
Microtonal doesn’t necessarily equate with “out of tune,” of course. While it can mean touching quarter tones or making waves of weird noise, it also points to playing music that can be even more “in tune” than is possible within equal temperament. I was excited to note that all three melodic instruments working on this album have the potential to play outside of the constraints of ET with little effort, and I found myself re-listening to this album many times with my attention directed at subtle adjustments in pitch happening organically as a simple side effect of listening carefully to one another. And the group keeps things interesting with moments of duo and trio playing, too. The music breathes with the kind of control many groups can only get through composition, but this is what you can achieve when you put four virtuosos who all have their own compositional chops together: cooperation truly equals instant composition.
This is much more note-oriented than the other two releases covered here, which more closely follows my own musical obsessions. Though it is a very “free” affair, there are allusions to various musical genres, especially jazz and even bits of swing violin, that can give listeners moments of stylistic context which slide around in interesting ways that frequently reminded me of very early Anthony Braxton ensemble playing. And that’s a high compliment—parts of this sound like a kind of extension of Braxton’s BYG Actual 6 album from ‘69, one of my favorite records, and that’s a style that just didn’t get enough love for my ears. While sections of this music can be very “serious,” there is also a great sense of humor, humility, and fun running throughout the record. You can tell the musicians are having a great time playing together, and they’ve been kind enough to invite us to listen in. I’m looking forward to the next invitation.
—Scott ScholzThree From Rune Grammofon
I’ve long been aware of the rich musical tradition of Norway. As a guitarist at the end of the 20th Century, I found it hard to ignore the force of Norwegian black metal artists, many of whom evolved in fascinating ways over just a few albums to incorporate many styles into their music: Ulver, Dodheimsgard, Peccatum, and many more. When I was in music school, a native Norwegian trumpet player exposed me to the music of Farmers Market, and as a big fan of the montage approaches of early 90s Zorn and Bungle, I was very impressed. When I dug further into experimental jazz, Norwegians were there, too, showcased over the decades by ECM records, and further highlighted today by labels like Rune Grammofon.
While a lot of the artists showcased on Rune Grammofon have roots in jazz and classical traditions, the label focuses on a broader spectrum of creative music from Norway, including artists whose work falls closer to pop and rock. I recently profiled two of their artists, Scorch Trio and Hedvig Mollestad Trio, in my power trio album review, but there are many more exciting albums and artists to explore from this label. Here are three more of their submissions that make an impressive case for Norway as a diverse cultural destination.
Elephant9 - Walk the Nile
Elephant9 could easily have been included in my power trio review if I had expanded the definition of “power trio” to substitute Hammond organ for guitar. This is a highly energetic trio working in gaps between rock and jazz fusion that recall the best of Miles electric period, Herbie Hancock’s more aggressive 70s work, and Mahavishnu Orchestra. The rock part of the approach is that most of these jams emanate from riff-based guitar and bass work, and the frequent and liberal use of overdrives/distortions on keys (and again an occasional ring modulator effect—dust off your EH Frequency Analyzers, folks). The jazz influences become apparent in the creative unfolding of melodies and solos over the riffs and the sophisticated rhythmic interplay within the group.
The basic framework for each of these songs is clearly composed, but rather than taking turns playing extended solos, the group listens carefully to where the music wants to go, and they seem to collectively improvise the pieces into satisfying variations. Singable, memorable melodies far outnumber moments of dense soloing. And though each track builds to a thick jazz-psych jam eventually, there are many introspective moments throughout the record, too, my favorite being the gentle first few minutes of “Habanera Rocket” that eventually coalesce into a softly-played riff from which vast armies of funk are sent into battle.
This trio is itself a kind of supergroup of Norwegian musicians: Stale Storlokken, man of many keys in groups like Supersilent and Humcrush, leads the band, accompanied by basist Haengsle Eilertsen on bass and drummer Torstein Lofthus, who also drums for a favorite Rune Grammofon artist of mine, Shining. The focus of Elephant9 is relatively narrow compared to the wide range of skills these musicians bring to the band, but they clearly care about this style and they dig deep. I was especially impressed with the way Storlokken often makes the group sound like a quartet, keeping sustained organ passages rolling with his left hand while adding Fender Rhodes melodies with his right. The whole record sounds like a lost artifact from the early 70s: the writing is there, the playing is there, and the recording itself is a warm, huge, and slightly toasty analog affair. If you’re a huge fan of rocking, raw fusion combos of yore but you’ve mostly exhausted your search through old crates, this album will be a treasure.
Stian Westerhus - Pitch Black Star Spangled
I’m always interested in solo guitar albums, and this is a really good one. Westerhus also plays in Monolithic, Rune Grammofon trio Puma, and has been featured in a wide range of other collaborations. On Pitch Black Star Spangled, he pulls out very close to all of the “guitar tricks” I can think of, both in terms of extended technique and in the use of effects. These soundscapes plunge into moments of harsh textures, but I was also impressed at how much melody is included in the proceedings: most records like this sent my way tend to stay focused on either melodic considerations or textural/sound exploration, but this one integrates both impulses very well.
I don’t get the impression that most of this music is improvised. The melodic ideas seem carefully considered, and many of the effects are used in ways that require at least some premeditation to get the layers of sound to flow into one another so organically. Improv probably plays a role in guiding the duration of some sections, but there is a very “personal” feel to the pieces, like sounds and approaches discovered in experimentation getting taken out of a practice room mindset into further compositional refinement.
Placed in the center of the album’s track sequence, the title track is an especially potent piece, and the longest track at almost 12 minutes. It starts very gently, with just occasional sounds of static set into a looping pedal, and gradually builds up through effected swells, feedback, and simply smacking the open strings. It beautifully contrasts short, percussive attacks, sometimes manipulated with quick delays, atop long swells of feedback. Further contrasts between heavy reverb and very dry ambient spaces also create sonically interesting spaces. The last half of the piece includes some very loud-sounding melodic playing, shifting between minor key and half-whole scales, eventually landing on somewhat meditative iterations of manipulated feedback presented at a softer volume which carry directly into the following track, “Trailer Trash Ballad.”
Manipulated feedback, captured and pitch-bent, modified in volume, harmonized, filter modulated, and presented in a variety of perceived spaces through changes in proportions of reverb and delay, is a connective tissue throughout the album, creating pads and melodic fragments over which more sharply-articulated sounds can have various conversations. Westerhus is obviously a skilled “traditional” guitar player, but it’s his deeply considered deployment of effects that make this album so interesting. Highly reccomended for fans of experimental electric guitar music.
Ultralyd - Inertiadrome
My favorite of these Rune Grammofon releases comes from Ultralyd, a band I hadn’t heard of before, though they’ve been releasing records for almost 10 years. “Inertiadrome” looks to be their sixth full-length, having also released a split with Noxagt and a self-released 12” single the same year as “Inertiadrome” (which contains a track of the same name). These are punishing bass and drum-driven jams that frequently ride a groove for their duration while guitar and sax textures make glorious noises above it all. There is an early industrial vibe to most of the riffs, and I’m especially reminded of Kevin Martin’s “God” project that released a couple of excellent jazz-industrial albums in the 90s. I’ve often wished that band would have produced even more records, and I’m delighted to find another ensemble working in that mysterious chasm between industrial, jazz, and goth concepts.
Ultralyd manages to sound almost as dense and heavy as God, an impressive feat for a 4-piece! The drum work focuses on industrial and tribal grooves, at times pushing into the busy, driving approach used on early 70s fusion albums, but the dark, relentless bass riffs and distorted, distant-sounding guitar and sax textures sustain a much more gloomy atmosphere than one would ever expect on an Eddie Henderson record. The guitar and sax approaches on this album are really unique: at times, Anders Hana will take up a two or four note repeating figure high on the neck of his guitar, or saxophonist Kjetil Moster will use a delay pedal to build up a harsh rhythmic counterriff, but over much of the album the two of them push one another into progressively cascading waves of aggressive sound, the timbres of their instruments bleeding into one another and becoming a singular force. They’re united by playing lots of long, sustained figures (no solos here), and through heroic doses of distortion and reverb. It can be a harsh-sounding record with so much distortion blending the higher-pitched parts into ugly masses of dissonance and feedback, but this kind of production quality adds a lot to the cold, despondent feel of the jams.
My favorite riff on the album makes long appearances in two tracks, forming the backbone of the first track, “Lahutma,” as well as forming a contrast against a repeated three-note sax riff in the penultimate track “Geodesic Portico.” Amazing, heavy stuff. Playing in Ultralyd must be a real workout for Kjetil Brandsdal and Morten Olsen, sustaining brutal bass/drum riffage for 40 minutes at a time with very few moments of rest. The repetitive, groove oriented nature of this music, as well as its boundless supply of energy, give it a curious relationship with club music: Kevin Martin largely moved onto more “traditional” sounds and textures in his later dancehall and dubstep related projects, but in my mind there is an alternate universe where Bauhaus and Love and Rockets evolved into aggressive club music, keeping the guitars and basses and real drums and ignoring drum machines and sequencers and synths. There are stages instead of DJ booths at the clubs in this alternate reality, and Ultralyd belongs on those stages, headlining every night.
—Scott ScholzThree from lo bit landscapes
I’m going through a bunch of submissions to KiC and planning to showcase a series of releases organized by label. Let’s start with a trio of albums from Brooklyn’s lo bit landscapes: 2 from Nihiti, and one from Viktor Timofeev.
Nihiti - Other People’s Memories
The oldest of these records, Other People’s Memories dropped in late 2010 (10/10/10, to be exact). There are a pair of slightly different 1-sheets included in this package, one of which indicates that “not much is known about the actual members of Nihiti.” The same generally holds true for the label, whose website isn’t exactly information-packed. A bit of the “Theory of Obscurity,” ala the Cryptic Corporation, perhaps? At least one person involved in the proceedings seems to be Viktor Timofeev, whose solo release on the label we’ll be exploring shortly. Outside of these recordings, Timofeev is best known for his work as a visual artist, and both the album cover for Other People’s Memories and an included foldout poster feature a rather arresting multipanel work of his entitled “Red/Black: The Cyclical Nature of the Practice of Architecture.”
Nihiti takes a wide stylistic path on Other People’s Memories. There are elements of experimental music, ambient, industrial and pop, played on acoustic instruments, rock instruments, and synths/samplers/drum machines/computers. While that might sound like it has the potential to be very unfocused, it is a very cohesive album: Nihiti mostly employs their ample resources toward creating very dark atmospheres. But I think what makes this album so interesting is how those vibes are sustained through so many stylistic variations: the first few tracks had me thinking the band was on a Godspeed/krautrock/electronic bent, but the third track introduces some 8th note-based piano chord stabs so popular in 60s pop songs, ultimately serving as the introduction to an actual pop song in the fourth track, “the ringing in (the sun is rung).” But it’s still a very weird form of pop, repeatedly overwhelming itself by bringing different instruments out of proportion in the mix. And the ride continues, through passages blending melancholy cello lines with piano and sine waves, more pop songforms, and ultimately an impressive blend of postrock and krautrock textures with early industrial-sounding beats.
This record is largely instrumental, but occasional vocal passages are weaved beautifully into the variety of textures. I found it difficult to make out lyrics, as they’re generally mixed relatively low, treated as another instrumental voice. But the few sections I could make out clearly, like the spoken moments in the center of “the return of kind ropes (laku noc, dusan k), seemed fairly bleak and melancholy, a fitting supplement to the music. This is the kind of music that you have to live with for a while and let it take effect, but it will definitely find itself on return trips to my turntable.
Nihiti’s Faced With Splendor 12” EP shows a very different side of the band. Songs, instead of atmospheres, dominate this music, and the orchestration is mostly acoustic, compared to the heavy electronic leanings of “Other People’s Memories.” This is a melancholy pop effort with folk leanings—not usually my favorite kind of music, but it’s very well performed and recorded, and the arrangements are very thoughtful. Generally it’s very sparse compared to the previous album, but with great harmonies and instrumental countermelodies in perfect places to bring out the best in the songs. The simple precision behind these songs makes me think that this record is a totally different aspect of Nihiti’s stylistic range, rather than suggesting that their previous work was a case of psyche/kraut/electronic deconstruction techniques applied to more basic pop songs. In other words, tossing some noisemaking devices at these songs won’t make them into electronic-style Nihiti—they stand in their own unique way. But fans of the approach on the first full-length will be excited to know that the upcoming Nihiti release, “For Ostland,” promises a return to the more expansive attack of “Other People’s Memories.”
The biggest surprise for me in this lo bit landscapes package was Viktor Timofeev’s release, GIVE HEALTH999. Nihiti gravitates toward melancholy and surreal landscapes, but most of their music still functions in relatively conventional tonality, gravitating toward minor keys with dissonant and textural passages. In contrast, Timofeev mostly transcends the major/minor duality and dives into bleak, yet very addictive walls of sound.
Like Nihiti, Timofeev uses a wide range of instruments toward the production of rich atmosopheres, though all varieties of beat-oriented percussion are absent. The emphasis here is on the building of layers that don’t use much percussive delineation—postrock sounds serve as a brief jumping-off point, but most of the album trends closer to drone music, alternating focal points between distorted guitars, voices, synths, and found sound/field recordings/samples. The opening and closing tracks are heaviest with guitars, accompanied by some distant piano stabs in the opening “December 22nd,” and blended more evenly with oscillating frequencies in the closing “July 28th.”
In between, my favorite two tracks are the longest: both of them build slowly to nightmarish, oppressive walls of sound and slowly thin out again. There are some legitimate, though still very dark, melodies played on clarinets in the 14-minute “Flying Zonogons,” which are gradually stacked upon themselves through overdubs and heavy reverb. Voices are used over sounds of moving water in a similar overdubbed, reverbed, and delayed fashion to create the center portion of “WorldWideWaterWorld,” eventually adding a ring modulator or similar filter that obliterates pitch into metallic densities that rise and fall with the pauses in the vocal overdubs. I really enjoyed the less-effected vocal buildups comprising “1.1.1.1.,” too, which evoke some of the best moments in modern choral writing like that of Gorecki or the micropolyphony of Ligeti. It’s this blend of modern classical, drone, and guitar noise approaches that impresses me more with each listen. I’m captivated by it now, and I suspect this music will continue to reveal more of itself with time.
—Scott ScholzExtra Life - Dream Seeds
Lately I’ve been really impressed with young Brooklyn label Northern Spy’s releases. Home to Neptune, whose newest album I recently reviewed here, they first came to my attention for their involvement with the recent Zs album “33,” and they’re starting to release a number of “Zs family” projects such as last fall’s Hubble Drums and an upcoming full-length from Diamond Terrifier. So I was pleased to see them handling “Dream Seeds,” the latest LP from Extra Life, currently a main project of Zs co-founder Charlie Looker.
It’s my hope that some of these longish reviews can transcend the smarmier consumer-culture exigencies of “record reviews,” and I suspect the subject matter involved here raises those odds. You see, I find it difficult to think of Extra Life as a “band.” I find myself drawn to describing their music in sacerdotal, rather than musical, terms. There are extraordinary riches to explore in this music from intellectual and aesthetic perspectives, but at its best moments, the music consumes you from within, transcending language: a powerful experience, but a perplexing state from which to write a review!
Before we explore Dream Seeds, I want to draw your attention to two earlier Charlie Looker compositions that have been paradigm-shifting for me. The first is “Nobody Wants to Be Had,” from the 2007 Zs release, “Arms,” and the second is “I Don’t See It That Way” from the debut Extra Life full-length, “Secular Works.” In hindsight, I hear “Nobody Wants” as the conceptual beginning of Extra Life, and “I Don’t” seems to be its companion. At first, they seem to be musical antipodes: “Nobody Wants” is sharp and pointillistic, expanding on the idea of recitativo secco, while “I Don’t” is rich with melismatic passages and the lyricism of early music. But as they both rail against the conditions of modern life in their lyrics (conspicuous consumption, homogenized culture, shallow relationships and the like), they perfectly avoid the obvious cliches of turning into abrasive metal screaming sessions, leaving much more unique—and powerful—impressions instead. I still find it difficult to articulate my feelings and thoughts about this music, but as luck would have it, I think Looker did a good job describing the breadth and depth of his own work in a review he wrote of Little Women:
“Like all of the music which I find profoundly revealing, the music of Little Women embraces and consolidates vibes which are normally considered in opposition. The band renders these vibes non-dual, non-opposing, returning to the original place where they are one to begin with. This is the basis of magick in both the East and West, from the Tao to the Hermetic and alchemical traditions.”
So it is with Extra Life as well. This music has plenty of value in terms of entertainment and aesthetics, but for me it especially shines as a catalyst for heavy contemplation, a series of musical sigils that open difficult doors and embody their hidden contents.
Onto Dream Seeds proper. The third full-length effort from Extra Life, Dream Seeds finds the band working in a trio configuration continued from last year’s Ripped Heart EP: Tony Gedrich (bass) and Travis Laplante (synth, sax) are gone, Caley Monahon-Ward has moved over to guitar from violin, and Charlie Looker is playing synth instead of guitar, with a focus on covering bass duties. The other major difference is the compositional approach, which is collaborative this time instead of Looker writing everything. The singular Extra Life sound remains—I think that spinning a minute of any of these songs would be enough to know what band you’re hearing—but the project continues to be refined toward generally more traditional song forms.
I must admit that I miss Looker’s baritone guitar playing. His angular, tense riffage on earlier Extra Life records, blended with delicate arpeggios, was totally unique. But his left hand covers similar riffs on Dream Seeds with a frequently metallic-tinged bass sound. Guitar parts have generally taken a more supportive role, with Monahon-Ward filling in spaces with chord work and Lynchian atmospheric flourishes, though there are times when the synth and guitar parts interact rhythmically to create riffs, such as the verse playing on “First Song.”
There is some truly beautiful songwriting on display in Dream Seeds. No stranger to evocative melodies on previous albums with songs like “I’ll Burn” and “Black Hoodie,” “First Song” is the newest gorgeous and mostly gentle offering, and the violin/piano arrangements in the last half of “Little One” are breathtaking. But my favorite moments continue to include a lot of muscular, more rhythmically active writing: “Discipline for Edwin” repeatedly builds to an explosive chorus, “Righteous Seed” is a propulsive, high energy workout, and there are some crazy, disturbing moments in the center of the album closer, “Ten Year Teardrop,” which build to almost impossibly beautiful melodic passages at the record’s end.
The last two tracks are exceptions to the move toward pop songforms—and maybe “exception” isn’t the best word, since they occupy half of the album’s playing time. “Blinded Beast” is a plodding dirge that builds slowly, eventually adding some very interesting countermelodies and twisting riffs, like a kind of avant-prog Swans. It would be a great album closer by itself, but “Ten Year Teardrop” takes the band into an even more expansive drama. Like the Beast, the first half of the piece is a slow dirge, but without percussion. The center of the piece is a nightmarish collage of reversed sounds, metallic textures and dissonant synth tones, gated reverbs, and intense singing, followed by a brief spoken soliloquy. Once the drums enter the piece, it rises to a wonderful, redemptive end as mentioned above.
Nick Podgurski’s drum work with Extra Life deserves a special mention. It’s difficult to stand out in a band with a songwriter/leader so distinct as Charlie Looker, but Podgurski’s creative approach to drums is a major component of the unique sound of Extra Life. He rarely plays anything approaching a generic pop or rock drum beat, and he lays out a lot of time. But his parts are critical to building tension in all of the right moments in this music, and when he settles into part playing, he emphasizes all of the interesting interactions between melodic and harmonic parts instead of pushing a particular beat. We’re supposed to be big boys and girls—we can find the “one” all by ourselves.
In addition to guitar and other instrumental duties, Monahon-Ward did an exquisite job recording Dream Seeds. This music covers such a vast range of feels, from intimate to anthemic, that it can be difficult to capture on record, but everything is very clear. In particular, the vocals seem to be mixed a little higher and recorded with a little more detail than previous Extra Life albums to my ears, and it’s a lot easier to make out the lyrics.
Speaking of lyrics, I don’t want to attempt a full exposition of the lyrical concepts behind this album, but there is more of an album-length concept behind these songs than previous Extra Life LPs. There are moments of black humor and sometimes quite disturbing imagery, this time focused largely on issues of childhood and dreams. Mostly presented from the perspective of adulthood, simultaneously coveting and fearing the innocence and depth of emotional experience possible in the young (before social conditioning dulls our senses), we re-experience these acute highs and lows as they’re born and buried in our dreams. This doesn’t form a linear narrative, as it flows through the wild terrain of dream logic, but I get vibes of various confrontations with the Jungian “shadow,” terrifying as they occur but offering the potential of powerful transcendence. Many choose to ignore or retreat from stuff this heavy, but Looker doesn’t back down. He’s already done so much of the Work for us that you can simply buy the album and watch the battle from a safe distance. Or you can consider these lyrics and this music to be a fragment of the map into your own unexplored territory—what will you find if you go further into yourself? More light, more darkness, more light.
—Scott ScholzThe power of Blunoise!
Nicoffeine - Lighthealer Stalking Flashplayer
Jealousy Mountain Duo - No. _01
A pair of recent submissions from Germany proved to be a nice surprise. These projects are very different from one another, but both groups share drummer and producer Jörg Schneider, who tracked both albums at the Loundry Room in Hückelhoven. And both are released by Blunoise Records, a label founded by Nicoffeine bassist Guido Lucas in the 90s to document the experimental rock scene in Germany. Lucas also handled mastering duties for these releases.
Let’s explore Nicoffeine first, a band that produces a tremendous amount of sound for a power trio. The stark black & white album art had me guessing that this was going to be some flavor of a metal album, and the first minute of the lead track, “Holy Hell of a Himmel,” has a Goslings-meets-Load Records noiserock vibe that seemed to confirm that suspicion. There’s even a touch of black metal in the first vocal passages, accompanying primal stop-starts that remind me of that brief moment where jazz-infused industrial bands like God were still making records. But the last minute of the track points in a different direction: the vocals are gone, and the guitar parts are flirting with playing a melody…
Fans of a wide range of music, including math-rock, noise rock, postrock, and even modern iterations of psych/noise ala Acid Mothers Temple, should give Nicoffeine a try. It’s a very heavy record, but there are unexpectedly subtle transitions that take it between noise/textural and melodic camps in ways I’ve not heard before. The intensity level of these pieces tends to stay high, with riffs written in a clever, organic way that allows stylistic shifts to sneak up on you, wave after wave. I would find myself really liking some noisy, feedback-drenched sections, for example, and slowly realize that Soheyl Nassary’s guitar had drifted toward tremolo picked textures, then to long melodies, then joined the bass and drums in more technical unison riffing. Nicoffiene sounds like what I expect that Explosions in the Sky would sound like if they actually exploded in the sky.
Except to add emphasis to those most intense tech-riffs, the guitar parts are written in a very exploratory and independent fashion. Many riffs are held down by Guido on bass alone, while guitars alternately slash and soothe on their own. Effects also play a substantial role in delineating the different roles assumed with the guitar: the more technical and noise sections are usually dry, while melodic and psych-solo passages generally include reverbs, delays, and occasionally other treats for punctuation. This independent guitar approach is the key to getting a power trio like this to sound so huge, and these parts are well written to lead the music through interesting stylistic combinations.
Schneider’s drumming adds a lot to this music, too. In support of riffs, he alternates between tribal-sounding patterns and some parts that remind me a lot of early industrial beats. In the more free sections, he proves to be comfortable in open territory as well, playing busy fills that add momentum to passages that sometimes head into doom/drone territory. He’s a hard hitter, but he also sounds like he’s really enjoying himself. He and Lucas sound like they’ve played together for a long time, too, as their transitions in and out of technically structured parts sound effortless and natural.
There are vocals on a few of the shorter songs, which tend to stay closer to conventional forms, but most of the record is instrumental. Three long compositions form the heart of the record, and their epic wanderings include my favorite moments on the record. My favorite piece is the final track, “I Always Shine When You Say Nein,” which adds a few new elements to their sound toward the album’s close. We take laps through noise, math, psych, and postrock, and back to some noise, but at the halfway mark, synthesized sounds step into the mix at a moment of relative calm. As the texture thickens again, it includes some sitar-ish sounds and heartbeats via thumping bass strings, as well as melodic vocals that peek in and out of the mix.
Jealousy Mountain Duo’s debut LP shows a totally different side of Schneider’s drum work. This album has moments of intensity, but it’s a very intimate album. Relative to Nicoffeine, it’s practically pastoral, which is even reflected in the soft, hazy agricultural scene on its cover (which also reminds me how similar pastureland in Germany and Nebraska appear—no wonder so many Germans settled here!). Guitarist Berger (no first name given) plays with mostly clean tones, and these songs are built around his employment of a looping pedal, over which the duo builds slowly evolving compositions.
Using a looping pedal introduces a bit of a formula into most of these songs: typically a “bass part” or relatively simple riff is looped, and more complex parts are added over the top. But Berger mixes up his approach, sometimes looping higher parts first and performing lower riffs “underneath,” sometimes looping rhythmically busy passages and playing long tones over them, and he continues to feed different parts into loops as the music evolves, sometimes recording extra parts toward the beginning on songs that don’t get introduced into the songs again until much later, like the moments of intentionally microtonal guitar used in “Sidewalk Soul.” Loops are sometimes used in reverse, too, adding a nice contrast in articulation.
Schneider’s approach is on the busy side of the drumming spectrum for this project, though he’s playing very gently compared to Nicoffeine. Jazz influences seep into this record’s drum work, sounding like a blend of Zach Hill and a Buddy Rich solo at the most hyper moments. Like his efforts on the Nicoffeine record, there is a certain intangible sense of playfulness that comes through—his enjoyment of the moment while playing for these recordings keeps them fresh and invigorating.
Schneider must be applauded for the quality of this recording, too, which is a sensitively captured live-to-1” tape affair. The drums are rich and warm, and the complex overtones of Berger’s amp going into a touch of overdrive when it’s overwhelmed with multiple loops is faithfully reproduced. This is one of those rare records that I’m guessing represents the sound of this band almost exactly as they are live.
Speaking of which, I was very bummed to realize that Jealousy Mountain Duo toured the US last fall—just missed ‘em by a few months! Fortunately, they’re planning another fall tour of the US for this year, and also hoping to make another record. If you’re in the US, keep an eye out for Jealousy Mountain Duo dates around October. And if you want to investigate either of these albums in more detail, you can go to the Blunoise Records website, or you can find Jealousy Mountain Duo on Bandcamp.
—Scott Scholz
Pig Soul - Chorume Da Alma
One of my favorite musical traditions is the Rock In Opposition (RIO) movement, now in its fourth decade of gifting the world with music that artfully integrates multiple musical traditions with an awareness of the complex social fabric of our increasingly interconnected world. While the first wave of RIO bands is sometimes considered the only wave of “true cvlt RIO,” having explicitly signed onto collective tenants of virtuosity in composition and performance integrated with extramusical activities and “a social commitment to Rock,” many bands have continued to embrace the approach into contemporary music and times. Among the newest and most exciting of these is Brazil’s Pig Soul, whose first album, “Chorume Da Alma,” recently arrived at my doorstep.
Pig Soul is a 4-piece instrumental combo whose members are all music grads of Brazil’s UNICAMP. They’re all fantastic technicians on their respective rock instruments (guitar, bass, drums, keys), and they’re apparently collaborating compositionally, as songwriting credits are shared among the whole band on their debut disc. Guitarist Brita also contributes a few well-placed passages on trombone.
While it’s clear that these guys can really play, the emphasis here is truly on composition. This project could turn into a mindless shredfest in lesser hands, but Pig Soul keep their focus on creative writing and energetic ensemble-based performance. There are virtuosic “take a solo” moments on occasion, but they only happen when the music demands them, and even then they incorporate frequent compositional turns that draw listeners’ attention to whole-ensemble interplay.
Like many bands that take an RIO-influenced approach, it’s difficult to describe this music in genre-specific terms, because it incorporates many styles and approaches in fluid, constantly evolving ways. I probably listen to RIO-influenced music more than any other style, yet succinct characterizations of records like this remain elusive. In the case of Pig Soul, one can point to a few compositional tendencies that characterize their approach: playful, shifting rhythms, blends of 70s jazz/rock fusion, melodic jazz, and Meshuggah-like metal chugging, and frequent juxtapositions of repeated ostinato figures, which often get recontextualized in a number of rhythmic, harmonic, and timbral settings, teased into musical corners and re-released as unison figures into the whole ensemble. While that still doesn’t capture their essence, I think it’s fair to say that if you like some of the harder-hitting Cuneiform bands like Doctor Nerve or Cheer-Accident, you will be delighted with Pig Soul.
“Chorume Da Alma” is broken into 10 tracks, but it’s really a 33 minute through-composed suite with track breaks for the sake of convenience. The album begins with an aptly-titled “Intro (11)6142212X,” in which sounds slowly drift within earshot, starting with bass rumbles covered in gentle delays. Piano and percussion add pointillistic flourishes and cymbal scrapes to the atmosphere. When guitar enters the mix, the band builds to a huge crescendo that shifts from a noisy mass toward a tonal center. Then we get some unison stop-time chugging, followed by another crescendo and more stop-time. But this stop-time section is a melodic and rhythmic exploration: the band plays with segments of a motif which becomes the main melody for the title track. At the other end of the album, the closing track, “Taking Waves,” is a long repeated loop, edited just a comma out of common time, that repeats a little ii-V turnaround on a gentle jazz/bossa texture. It goes on for about five minutes looping the same couple of seconds, like a locked groove in a record.
Between the bookends formed by this intro and outro, there is relatively more stylistic consistency in the middle sections of the album formed by the constant presence of structured percussion. Drummer Gigante makes many stylistic leaps and shifts throughout the record, but his playing also serves as an anchor, making sure that these occasionally wild forms always have a clear rhythmic delineation. Even when he gets playful, sometimes moving the beat around while others play a repeating figure, he does so after firmly establishing where the beat is “supposed” to be. Like the rest of the music, his parts sound mostly composed, though played with plenty of style and vigor. And I don’t mean to imply that he’s playing non-stop riffs through most of the music—Pig Soul is a band that uses a wide dynamic range, and he’s also good at finding the perfect cymbals to tease through the frequent soft passages that punctuate this music.
The bass and keyboard work of Boni and Chicao, respectively, are in many ways the most flexible parts of the Pig Soul sound. Both players have complex roles in these compositions that can take them from ambiance/pad duties, to complex rhythmic stabs, to more traditional rhythmic/harmonic parts, to lead melodic roles, very quickly. I’m especially impressed by how much of a role the bass gets in the more ambient, sound-sculpture sections, which are dominated by guitars in many bands. When unison parts are tossed around the band, it’s nice to hear how the bass and piano work together, too: in “Wa A Api Vini,” for example, a melodic sequence is dissected in various ways by the band, but it’s introduced with prominent bass and rhodes piano sounds before the guitars and higher piano octaves are introduced.
A guitar player myself, I’m especially impressed with the guitar work of Brita. He’s a very tasteful player when the music requires it, and plays creative parts with great precision and sound choices, but he has a secret weapon I wish more guitar players would consider when it’s time to get crazy: a whammy pedal! Rather than an occasional effect to yank random notes up and down, Brita uses his primarily as an octave displacement device for whole passages, to put melodic ideas into a distorted, abrasive stratospherically high range. I love it, maybe partially because I use a similar sound approach, and I wish more people did. But it sounds great, bringing a whole new contemporary vibe to the solo at the end of the Mahavishnu and Os Mutantes-influenced psych-fusion of the title track. I suspect I can even identify the digital effects Brita uses, hearing some other multi-effected sounds toward the end of “Romanza,” or the long, bouncing delays in the melody of “L’Amour:” is it a Digitech RP series, maybe an RP10 or RP12? I’ve spent many hours tweaking similar sounds in one of those boxes. Anyway, Brita is a great player with an ear for good sounds, from clean to crunch.
In all, this is a great debut, and I’m excited for what comes next. As far as embracing social aspects of the RIO movement, the distribution of this recording on CD uses a proprietary Brazilian technology called Semi Metallic Disc (SMD), which is intended both to lower duplication costs for bands as well as lower sale prices of music to fans. This disc, for example, lists for R$5,00, which is around $2.75 USD. They look cool, too, with a clear plastic edge around the disc, housed in a kind of paper box I’ve never seen before. The idea of SMD discs has some positive implications for bands trying to control some distribution and promotion of their own music—shlepping mp3s around is fine, but a disc like this provides opportunity for including some visual design and art elements, as well as more information in liner notes than one can really put into mp3 metadata. And the recording can circulate as a normal CD with full audio fidelity. For an album so detailed and complex as this, being able to hear the full-fi mix brings out every beautiful nuance in the music. But if you’re prohibitively far away and you want to track down a copy of this album, you can contact the band for information on ordering at their Facebook page, see some videos of them on their YouTube channel, or hear the music at their soundcloud page.
—Scott Scholz
Kyle Landstra - Look Inward (Diatom Bath, 2012)
A brief scroll through Kyle Landstra’s discography (Look Inward, Mass Solitude, Thought Conjurer, Contemplation Through Meditation…), and it’s easy to see a theme emerging. Where many musicians utilize the drone to induce a feeling of foreboding or menace, Landstra employs it as a synthesized “om.” Look Inward is an expedition into his consciousness; one that he himself took during the recording of the work. The pieces on Look Inward were recorded during the late summer of last year on Landstra’s Roland Juno-106. The resulting vibes are very warm, due not only to the period during which they were recorded, but also to the rich analogue sound of his synthesizer.
Just prior to creating Look Inward, Landstra had exiled himself on the west coast of Michigan in the Nordhouse Dune wildlife area. It was a period of healing and self-contemplation after a series of recent personal struggles. Upon returning to his home in Kalamazoo, he entered into the hermitage during which Look Inward was recorded. The music reflects his solitude.
None of the pieces get too active or overly dense. Instead, Landstra allows the drones to stretch out and patiently modulate. His works progress, but they don’t appeal to any sense of self-aggrandizement through cheaply executed climaxes. To do so would be against the nature of self-contemplation. As listeners we are given a finger pointing in the direction of enlightenment, rather than a beaten path through emotions already well-traveled. We are encouraged to look inward ourselves.
Kyle Landstra - Ode to Hermitage from Ryan on VimeoHere’s a short mix of stuff I’ve been listening to from 2012.
1. Machinedrum - Van Vogue
2. THEESatisfaction - Enchantruss
3. Grimes - Genesis
4. Trust - The Last Dregs
5. Usher - Climax
6. Evian Christ - MYD
7. Tindersticks - Medicine
KZUM (Lincoln) will be hosting Paul Banks (KILLED in CARS) for a free form chat and some music. Look for tracks from KiC’s most recent 8tracks mix (http://8tracks.com/killedincars/infinite-repetition) and some surprises. Stream live from KZUM’s site (URL below).
http://killedincars.com/
http://killedincars.tumblr.com/
http://www.facebook.com/KILLEDinCARSpb
http://www.kzum.org/
http://www.facebook.com/OtherMusicOnKZUM
Artwork provided by the very talented Nate James. He’s great to work with, so hit him up.Neptune - msg rcvd
My first spin through “msg rcvd” filled me with regret and dread—regret that I missed out on hearing this band’s work over the last 15 years, and dread at how much money I’m likely to spend tracking down Neptune’s voluminous back catalog. I don’t know how I’ve been out of the loop on this amazing band, but enjoying revelatory moments like my first time listening to this album are precisely why I’ve gotten into the “record review game.”
For those of you arriving to the work of Neptune as late as me, a touch of background: this band started around 1994 as an outgrowth of a sculpture project by bandleader Jason Sanford. Discogs.com indicates at least seven folks have contributed their efforts to the band over the course of 16 releases. As one might expect, the discography on the Neptune website is more comprehensive, listing 23 previous releases (not including either of their most recent efforts for Northern Spy). Their website also includes a “listen” button I’d recommend checking out, which will launch a player featuring tracks from older releases (check out “Thorns” and “Paris Green”). I’m digging the tracks on “msg rcvd” even more than the music in this sampler, but there are a lot of compositional/orchestrational similarities that will get you into the proper state of mind to rcv yr msg.
The most unique aspect of Neptune is surely its sculptural pedigree: the band continues to design and construct their own instruments. Their guitar designs are visually striking, with wide rectangular or square metal bodies and skeletal metal-frame necks with just enough structure to support fretwork. They’re a fascinating contrast of positive and negative space, or something like Ghost of Future Bo Diddley guitars, if you’re feeling more whimsical. There are homemade electric kalimbas with guitar pickups mounted on their wood block bases. Drum hardware is made to fit around discarded trash bins. And they use many other mysterious homemade metal boxes with various knobs, switches, switches, meters, and jacks—perhaps a few of these are the “new ‘feedback-organ’ machines” mentioned in the album’s promo literature.
But don’t equate Neptune’s devotion to instrument design with novelty. Ordinarily, I might wonder if compositional focus would be compromised with so much thought invested in the instruments themselves, but this music is created with a similarly sculptural—or ritualistic—attention to detail. In fact, “msg rcvd” exudes a unique kind of compositional integrity that is probably only possible when the musicians’ hands are creating both their medium and their message as an integrated whole. I am reminded of the “Crafting A Drum” section toward the end of Rhythmajik, in which Z’EV describes several methods by which a person can consecrate an instrument during its construction: everything from personal sigils, symbols, prayers, songs, and bodily fluids can be focused together at the “birth” of a new instrument. Such instruments easily become extensions of their owner/creators. In the case of Neptune, whose music and lyrics explore connections between cultural disguises and cultural detritus, there is an impressive amount of emotional power in giving voice to “junk.”
Musically, I think anyone who is into the early 80s confluence of industrial/pop/goth music (think early Cabaret Voltaire, Suicide, PTV) will fall in love with “msg rcvd.” Another obvious influence is Einsturzende Neubauten, for some musical connections as well as instrument design/modification, but Neptune has a distinct voice all its own. Compositionally, this is mostly minimalist work—Neptune has the ability to make a LOT of sound, but they’re masters of patience. Tension builds very gradually, even gently, and usually works itself out through repetition of musical sections with variations in orchestration or rhythm. And I really like the vocals, which are mostly spoken and occasionally sung—but there is no screaming. There are moments where screamed/yelled vocals might have been the obvious choice for many bands, but singer/guitarist/etc Mark Pearson’s vocal restraint really pays off, in my opinion, creating even more tension by not falling into aggro vocal cliches.
I really love the blend of sounds: “natural” instruments of plucked strings, plucked metal tines, drums, etc, are electrified and amplified to great effect among other kinds of oscillating ephemera. I’m not sure what a “feedback organ” or an “oscillator organ” would be, structurally, but I do hear controlled feedback or self-oscillation sounds being used frequently. It’s all very structured—this is by no means a “noise” album, nor do I get the impression that improvisation plays a significant role. Sounds one might associate with “noise” are used, but they’re deployed for very specific textural or rhythmic effects. Again, that sense of thoughtful patience permeates the work at every level: instrument design, sound design, compositional permutation, vocal approach, lyrical/thematic motifs. The result, at least for me, is a well-defined and very addictive record.
—Scott Scholz
I really enjoyed this animated accompaniment to Stott’s great track. I think some of the animation is a touch too light for the track, but the finish, especially the war footage, is really impressive and quite fitting.
Here is a mix I made to illustrate the concepts I talk about here. These tracks hail from around the world, and illustrate the increased intensity of repetition in many forms of music. Perhaps our taste for music evolved to sense emotion in modes, thus that’s our nature. However, it could be that emotive power will evolve to become secondary to the propulsive energy of repetition. This nurturing of repetition will eventually lead to the beat being as second nature as melody. Will a bass beat carry the same emotion as a mode one day? Does it already?
I’m trying to decide which DJ Nate track to bring with me to the radio show on the 25th (announcing that later), and I think I’ve found it. I think this might be the most intrinsically beautiful track on Da Trak Genious. This track, unlike some of the others, matches the common hyper-repetition against stretched out, slower vocals that are pitched up. The effect is the track pulls your attention in several directions, but at the same time precisely moves your attention to the most important component of the mix. Genius, indeed.
- Do you like AntiWarhol?
Yeah, definitely. I don’t talk with him/her much at all, but great taste, and I’ve gotten several records from him/her. Why wouldn’t I?
Per Nørgård - Violin Concerto No.1 “Helle Nacht”, and No.2 “Borderlines” + “Spaces of Time” [Herresthal, violin/ Stavanger SO/ Gupta] BIS Label, 2011
“I dream of a music in which the musical shapes provide both foreground and background for each other.” Per Nørgård
One could do much worse than starting listening systematically to Per Nørgård by the three pieces hereby included. Stemming from Nørgård’s late works output, each of them, in the non-symphonic fashion, showcases a different facet of the most esoteric dimension of the atonal episteme developed by Nørgård who, by the way, is arguably one of the three most relevant avant-classical symphony composers still active.
Professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music in London, violinist Peter Herresthal’s boldness is second only to his surgical take on each millimetre of chord emitted by the expert friction he commands on over a Benoit Rolland ‘Signature’ bow against strings attached to a Guadagnini violin built in 1753. Herresthal demands attention from the very beginning, and his performance is so absolutely convincing that one ends up assuming that effortless attention backed up by enthusiasm is the minimum one should mobilise towards the fruition of the two works where he is the soloist.
Fortunately, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra fronted by Rolf Gupta turned out up to the difficult task presented by the three selected works, not ever letting Herresthal down, whilst assisting the violinist, as planned by Nørgård in complex scored manoeuvres, to emphasise the sharp bends that populate the two violin pieces, especially “Helle Nacht (Violin Concerto No. 1)”.
Praise shall be extended to “Spaces of Time (for Orchestra with Piano)”, where Maestro Nørgård sets out to provide for a true show-off in technique and compositional innovation, which occur all along the piece, but never at the expenses of a vibrant undercurrent. The latter chooses to display itself more or less explicitly along the flow, in the format of sonic lightning-bolts in unexpected corners that shift from being corners and turn into minor centre-stages the moment the lightning-bolt strikes.
The release is exceptionally well recorded, making up for a great sound enjoyment experience. The level of non-sense conveyed by the booklet is forgivable, vis-à-vis the amount of useful objective information it contains, let alone interesting Nørgård’s quotations, which are never too many but call for much better contextualisation (which, needless to say, we have to do by ourselves) than booklets usually offer.docperkins
Lil Death Mix - Chapter 3.0 by The Captain
Part 3 of Overthrow’s LIL DEATH mix series. This one comes courtesy of The Captain. For more check out http://www.facebook.com/l1ldeath :
Official Link: http://lildeath.com/mixx-vol-3/
Tracklisting:
Vangelis – Wait For Me
The Phantom – Late Night Sex
Gatekeeper – Visions
Das Glow – Concrete
Röyksopp – What Else is There? (Vitalic Remix)
Redlight – Vampires
Pure – Touch It, Bring It
The Phantom – Gothic
Jam City – Too Hot
Waka Flocka Flame – Round of Applause
Distal – Green Lantern
OOOOO – Burnout Eyes
Drake feat The Weeknd – Crew Love (Shlohmo Remix)
Christopher Young – Hellraiser
Deathface – From Beneath
Bauhaus – She’s in Parties
Geinoh Yamashirogumi – Shohmyoh
Cam’ Ron & Vado – Speakin In Tungs
Clams Casino – Motivation
Araabmuzik – Snapped
Angelo Badalamenti – Twin Peaks ThemeWhite Light 54 Mix – JD Twitch (Optimo)
“I don’t drive but I spend a lot of my life being driven about late at night which can have quite a transcendental effect. I wanted to reclaim the trance word from years of misuse and bad associations and create a mix of what I term pure trance. I knew right from the start the kind of tracks to look out that would evoke the feeling I get late at night, being driven between cities when the conversation has ceased and everyone in the car is lost in their own thoughts, slightly spaced out.”
Tracklist:01. Slave to the Rave [Intro]
02. Tangerine Dream – Love on a Real Train
03. Max Berlin – Elle et Moi [Joakim Mix]
04. Luke Abbott – Brazil
05. Boris – Buzz-In [An Optimo (Espacio) Mix]
06. Subliminal Aurra – Ease the Pressure
07. Etienne Jaumet – Satori
08. Peter Baumann – The Third Site [Betty Botox Version]
09. Mr. & Mrs. Dale – It’s You
10. Chris & Cosey – Driving Blind
11. Petar Dundov – Quinta
12. Truffle Club – Gone Blue
13. Portable – Keep On
14. Egotrip – Dreamworld
15. Moodswings – Time Warp
16. NWW – Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’
17. The KLF – Last Train to Trancentral [Pure Trance Version]
18. Psyche – Eating ViolinsFor Part 1, click here.
Oliver Sacks’ ‘Musicophilia’ is a treasure trove of anecdotes about how various listeners with all sorts of afflictions and conditions hear music. Each of these stories is infused with Sacks’ understanding of the underlying science explaining these peoples’ conditions. Additionally, he got at many of the questions Scott considered, including “why do we like music?” and “how did this appreciation develop?” I think the answer, or at least the theory, is one of the most valuable things I took from the book. According to Sacks, it is possible that the appreciation for music evolved from the refinement of other necessary functions. That is, appreciation of the crucial components of music (relations of tones to one another, pacing, other common structures) is a byproduct as opposed to a primary evolutionary trip.
By honing other skills necessary to survival, this back door development of music appreciation is more or less serendipitous to our species. It isn’t that novel of a concept as it seems at first. Music is one of the most abstract artforms we have. It can seem mathematical (and the development of the ability to process that information might play into the appreciation for the order within some music), but what other analogs are there? For classical music, tonal centers, modes, etc. the entire edifice of sound is an abstract one, something comprised of similar components to those found in nature, yet at the same time it feels synthetic. Compare that to movies, which cannot escape their need to be representational of something. Compare that to books, which (as in ‘Finnegan’s Wake,’ for example) lose form if the author strays too far from the rules of language (although that’s entirely reductive of the novel itself and something I don’t want you to read too much into - the point is simply it doesn’t function as literature precisely because it departs from the common rules of language, something that’s impossible with sound as art). While this isn’t thoroughly explored in Sacks’ book, perhaps the other senses, having more refined, specified purposes to the present human condition, create a limitation on the extent of abstraction the artforms associated with them can survive. Music’s stealth development by means of a patchwork of other evolutionary needs has freed it to be whatever it wants to be, yet function as music.
Therefore, is seeking the formulaic to evoke a connection possible? Simply because music appreciation is the result of a glorious chance event, does that make the manipulation of possessed listening skills any less susceptible to formula? Perhaps not, but one thing I think is clear is that the mystery to music’s purpose, this loose emergence of aesthetic appreciation has rendered tiny corners of the mind susceptible to all sorts of bizarre sounds. Up can truly be down in music, right can be wrong, and vice versa. To slightly flip Scott’s proposition, while the formula isn’t universal, it does hold true from the macro perspective.
That is, at least, in tonal work. It is undeniable that certain modes have been associated with certain emotions since before ancient Greece. However, what if we take an alien listener, a feral listener if you will, and strip out tonality. What if Year 1 was Detroit, 1979, and the only components of organized sound as art came from 808s, 909s, and so on? Would listeners perhaps have an emotional reaction to modes upon first listen? Maybe. I truly think they might. However, acculturation is just as important: the nurture side of the nature v nurture undercard.
What I’ve seen is: while tonality and modes do convey emotion in ways other music can’t, other music, by enhancing elements within the listeners culture, MAGNIFY ENERGY. In the US, I think the primary current manifestation of this is the acculturation to repetition. Over the last 35-40 years, repetition has because more frequent, more intense, and more ubiquitous. Technology has made the repeated figure the basic building block of sound even before Kool Herc unleashed the break. After all, what is the break but, as succinctly explained in Doug Pray’s ‘Scratch,’ “the ability to play your favorite part of music, over and over, to release your God self.” When composers realized they could replicate elements in this fashion, outside of any consideration of tonality, the beat became king, and the building block of music was repetition by means of sampling or computers.
That part of the music that is sampled, then, can be seen as the essence of a community. Hip-hop’s early days represented the cross-section of Latino and Black cultures in the South Bronx. The components used in the creation of the music are different then compared to today, but the underlying approach is the same: taking the human impulse to magnify and replicate itself across culture, and applying it to the construction of music, composers energized their listeners by massive, overwhelming reaffirmation of their culture, their culture’s values, etc.
This is why books like Jeff Chang’s ‘Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop’ are so important: without understanding the society that brought forth the music, without knowing the politics, the street gangs, the economics, the migration patterns, etc., you won’t know why certain elements appeal to listeners. However, you don’t need to understand why Berlin techno works for one person and Chicago footwork works for another: each element of electronic music, regardless of genre, has continually evolved towards more powerful, intense repetition that works to invigorate the listener by reinforcing the rightness of their moment. In many ways, this is more powerful than emotional evocation through tonality, because the power to make someone happy or sad, in contemporary music culture, can pale in comparison to the idea that “we are one, and I AM RIGHT.”
So, the idea is: how is this tapped? The answer is hard to know, because the macro is enticingly apparent, but the individual is quite distant and almost always alienated. Ultimately, this background sensibility might develop a more obvious function, where music, and aesthetics, more readily reveal their purpose. Not to sound like Nietzsche praising Wagner, but perhaps music will persist within our capitalist society based on its power, based on its ability to capture the essence and power of a community. In one way, either back to Krautrock (or before) or hip-hop (or before), and most likely hip-hop, South Bronx culture from the 1970’s has already accomplished that. Guessing what’s next, given how unlikely the Bronx would have been at the time, seems difficult, to say the least.
(image via) Editor’s note: Scott and I will be making free form conversation posts. To see them all, click the “discussion” tag at the top of the post. - P…so Paul and I are talking about this essay mentioned in a tweet by Alex Ross:
Alex Ross (@alexrossmusic)
2/28/12 9:31 PM
A superb critique of that WSJ piece on Adele’s “appoggiaturas”: t.co/sGJu3iRaAnd you know, I mostly agree with Mr. Schankler. In the Wall Street Journal piece, Doucleff dusts off a 20-year-old study that loves on appoggiaturas, and reminds us that melodic variations which “surprise” us in the novelties of their variation make for compelling music. News at 11, indeed. But it reminds me of the search for that “Answer,” how artists frequently pine for the magical knowledge of how every note or color or turn of phrase might be employed toward a consistently potent effect in everyone who comes into contact with their art.
Think of all of the iterations over time of the myth/meme/archetype of books that drive everyone who come into contact with them raving mad, music that makes listeners fall in love (or fall in line, like the Pied Piper), paintings that will turn viewers to stone, songs played on fiddles that force their audiences into frantic dancing to exhaustion, or even death. We have some collective need to feel like everyone around us is experiencing the same feelings we are when we’re in the presence of a powerful work of art. And probably within a given culture, there’s some truth in the possibility. But of course the closer one looks at the matter, it all falls apart—the same piece of music might not even have the same effect on the same person on two different days. Our lives are complicated, and there are a lot of us. Our art necessarily communicates and emotes through the many funhouse mirrors of individual experience.
But a question is raised about biological attractions to art versus environmental factors. Shankler seems to suggest that emotional responses to music are entirely learned behaviors, but there are elements that seem to transcend time and place, suggesting biology: tuning systems, for example. There are some differences and adjustments in temperament made over time, but it’s fair to say that most cultures opted to build their melodies and harmonies with scales that follow the overtone series. Most cultures divided their potential musical scales and modes into overall “happy” and “sad” camps. And some kinds of sonic phenomena like biaurnal beats are fairly reliable at making listeners’ brains shift toward alpha wave behavior.
I think there are other areas where it’s hard to establish biological versus environmental factors, but at least some biological commonalities come into play: on that appoggiatura, front, for example, I disagree with such a specific ornamentation being isolated as an emotional tool. However, from a more general perspective, I’ve long noticed both as a listener and composer that there is more emotional distance, or drama, if you will, in half and whole-step motion than in larger leaps of, say, fourths and fifths. And I think there’s a biological component to this: the difference in vibration between closely-related tones is relatively small, and the ear “follows” those differences very easily. In contrast, leaps of a fourth or fifth are far enough apart that listeners are more likely to perceive the two notes as separate, relatively unrelated incidents. I think this is generally the sort of thing that the WSJ article was hinting at, but it got way too specific in trying to write some kind of “emotional prescription” for melodic motion.
While it still seems almost incomprehensibly complex right now, will there be a time in the future when that mythological thread of consistently effective works of art becomes a reality? I imagine a lot of artists have wondered about the idea to themselves or in conversation. I remember the first time the idea surfaced for me: it was the last week of April 1997. I was at a fellow music student’s house, and we were listening to the recently-released “Pranzo Oltranzista” album by Mike Patton. And at the time, I think we both felt that almost anything might be possible in a conceivably near future.
That was an interesting time period for feeling like “the future” was going to be wild: this was very early on in the popular life of the internet, where it was mostly college students (like us) populating the social media message boards of that 1.0 era. The internet wasn’t a virtual shopping mall or even a virtual porn shop yet, because even photo data still took a long time to load: mostly it was that exciting exchange of information, gradually becoming knowledge with aspirations toward wisdom. Computers and multimedia art forms were coming together through games like those first few Residents CDROMs. Big strides had recently been made in DNA genome sequencing, and Dolly the sheep had just been cloned. And new iterations of cyberpunk literature were coming out, like Jeff Noon’s “Vurt” of a few years before. Surely there would be some biological catalyst, like the swallowing of feathers in that book, that could take folks to a place of predictable sounds and sights and maybe even feelings?
At the time, I had been looking back toward early 20th Century art movements for inspiration and guidance in sorting out these possibilities. I think that’s how we got on the subject of the potential arrival of mythological PowerArt, in fact, thinking of how Patton’s new album was modeled after the multimedia, multisensory ideas in Marinetti’s “Futurist Cookbook” of 1932. Movements like Dada, Surrealism, and Futurism started blending multimedia approaches, social and political considerations, and the “high technologies” of their day, from modern factories to psychoanalysis, in their collective works and lives, toward what I saw as a Great Work beautifully described by Aleister Crowley in the Equinox: “Our method is science, our aim is religion.” In a sense, this was my goal, too, with art and more generally with life, for myself and my community. I wanted to think critically, work thoughtfully, and live with a kind of emotional/spiritual sense of connection and potential transcendence.
Flashing forward from that conversation a surprisingly brisk 15 years, I still feel the same way toward art and life, and I feel like I’ve even done some good along those lines (and I’m still researching all of those art movements). But I also feel like I now understand the old adage that “the more you know, the more there is to know.” And I understand the “religion” part of Crowley’s quote maybe more deeply than I did then: that we’re learning how to connect to some ineffable experience of joy or bliss or whatever you’d prefer to call it, but the actual experience of that cardiognosis can only really be experienced. If we could perfectly and consistently articulate that kind of intense experience in art, art would have to become something even more amazing and ineffable. And actually, I think that really DOES happen, again and again, for all of us (if we’re very receptive and very lucky). But ultimately, the signs seem to point toward an impossibility of easily-codified arts with predictable audience responses.
Which is probably for the best. Some of the best moments in art happen when we get to see or hear or read someone transcending the fragility of the human experience, if only for a moment. Without that fragility itself, the unpredictability and weaknesses and crazy chaos of being human, what would there be to transcend?
(image via) Editor’s note: Scott and I will be making free form conversation posts. To see them all, click the “discussion” tag at the top of the post. - PGogol Suite; Labyriths [Malmö Symphony Orchestra Markiz]
It appears that one of the main hobbies of Alfred Schnittke is to tease and take the piss on ‘our’ 4X4, tonal-by-default perception of music, and it also appears that his main tool to perform the alluded taking the piss is the compositional strategy that he invented and denominated ‘polystylism’. The latter can be observed in motion, and enjoyed in its outcomes, in the “Gogol Suite”, which is a delightful piece of work, even if devoid of the sombre ashes that – fortunately – plague Alfred’s more prominent compositions.
It goes without saying that that characteristic alone – being a ‘light’ piece by the author of ‘In Memoriam’ – should be reason enough for one to include this release at once in their library, not to mention that the piece is packed in a cheerful, flawless rendition.
However, to adopt critical standpoints implies in the freedom of choosing ways of going through the ouvrage of composers we love, principally when that ouvrage is extensive, complex, relevant, and adorable, as it is the case at stake. Therefore, along these lines, and taking into account that I do favour the dense darkness that envelops my favourite works of Schnittke, I suggest that the “Gogol Suite” be considered minor, strictly in the ambit of Schnittke’s works. That would be equivalent to say that in comparison to any non-symphonic piece written by any other avant-classical author the suite is a major achievement in its charming unpretentiousness.
The inclusion of “Labyrinths” makes appraising the release especially difficult. The piece showcases another Alfred Schnittke’s much appreciated (by me) hobby, which is to make use of church-bells in atonal compositions in a unique, breath-taking fashion only rivalled by Scott Walker on “Seventh Seal”, which operates in a different musical niche.
Adding overwhelming insight to churchbelling grammars, “Labyrinths” belongs in the family of dark, psychotic works proposed by Alfred during his facing times when affliction and agony dictated the rhythm of his days and certainly violated his muse, while reporting the protocols of those violations in excruciating detail to a depressed composer. The end-results of the existential torture are monumental, and “Labyrinths” is a goose-bumping, telling – small – brick in that tempestuous aesthetical galaxy.
Last but least, it is worth saying that this great release comes in handy for those who want to start exploring the Schnittkean insalubrious, addicting universe as it provides for enlightening trajectories throughout sectorial aural features that are recurring in his body of work. And it is fun on top of that all.
3.5 stars is obviously an unfair rate, which I might keep for some time, and only by means of benchmarking that is a useful practice in the management of personal music archival systems, which, talking of hobbies, becomes a hobby for music collectors.docperkins
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Omaha, NE 68136 - May 26, 10----------ArtistDiscogsGiven the impressive size of his back catalogue (measured both in depth and breadth), it is easy to approach a new Evan Parker album with trepidation. This reaction is understandable; it seems almost natural to expect that after decades of output, an artist or band must begin churning out steaming turds -- with age it all comes undone, or something like that. So then Mr. Parker's forty-odd (fifty?) year tenure should make him an octogenarian, or at least someone who you would not like to see behind an automobile. Yet Whitstable Solo, along with Evan Parker's other recent releases -- like Relevance, out this year with Dave Liebman and Tony Bianco, on Red Toucan --, stand up alongside the classics in this free jazz elder statesman's discography.Psi records (see comments section for historical details) has made a name for itself (partly) by reissuing old and out of print free improv records, many on which Parker played. Whitstable Solo, on the other hand, is a collection of eight songs performed in 2008 at Whistable, UK -- seven of which were live and in front of an audience, while the remaining track was squeaked out before the crowd had arrived.The jams start in typical Parker fashion, with a cyclic squall of soprano sax nonsense lasting nearly twenty minutes. This is definitive Parker, pioneered way back on Saxophone Solos, and now, to my ears, one of the most easily recognizable styles in jazz. The haze brought on by Parker's relentless upper register recedes in the midsections of this album, revealing a tender and uncharacteristically gossamer sound. The sixth solo is, dare I say, almost melodic! But purist shouldn't fret, for Evan Parker's shrill saxophone reemerges in the final two tracks, obliterating any lingering sense that this gent is softening.Each passage may have antecedent within Parker's own catalogue. In the solo setting, it may be too much to expect truly unique and new material; however, in collaboration, Evan is still redefining the boundaries of his instrument (see 2009's C-Section, with John Wiese). Even so, this album is a delight; I would love as many "derivative" solo albums from Evan Parker as possible.
- May 24, 10----------ArtistDiscogsHere's another from docperkins (and I strongly recommend it):Some people believe that a photograph captures the soul and fend-off a camera as if the essence of their being is about to be abducted at the imminence of a click. Ablinger atonal works operate along the same capturing principle, extracting the music of celebrities’ speeches, concomitantly to the celebrities uttering that speech. The phantasmatic Other of the utterance acquire shape, inasmuch as the meaning that fulfilled the utterance is discarded on behalf of a structure that dispenses with inner meaning, given that it is a derived musical form. And then some.In 1968 Michel Foucault and Roland Barthes pronounced the author dead. The two Latino poststructuralist thinkers demonstrated that it was about time to stop considering authors as almighty producer of meanings and unique sources of signification. Along these lines authors should not bear the ultimate interpretations of works of art in general, not even of their own artistic productions. The death of the author proclaimed by Foucault and Barthes became a cornerstone for a radical understanding of modern aesthetical production and consumption of art.I could see this radical des-authorisation coming in music. If one takes a close glimpse into the recent history of serialisms, one can perceive that the trend had been pulsating in-between the lines and as palimpsests in outrageously insightful works, e.g., Luigi Nono, Luciano Berio and Salvatore Sciarrino, these illustrious offspring of Anton Webern. However, no one had stared in the eyes of the issue as Ablinger is hereby doing.The matter was not to aestheticise the death of the author in the best ‘middle-class tradition’ of celebrating losses with phoney messes, but rather to take the death of the author as a template for aesthetic practice and criticism. The word of order would be, therefore, to extract music from the supply of meanings that in modernity had been monopolised by the Author through spoken and written narratives. The point is that there is music in that monopoly; words in sequence can only come to being meaningfully in music. So, how this music would sound like if played side by side with the narrative, seemed to be an exciting working programme, which Ablinger takes up while killing the author, akin to Foucault agenda. The latter is radical: by killing the author playing music without a composer it displays, by the same token, the ontological limits of improvisation in music.Come to think of it, how can music derived from spoken discourses be considered improvised if its structure is given by the author’s eagerness to make sense (to ‘make meaning’)? Furthermore, how can music derived from eagerness to make sense not be improvised, given that the authors of those discourses had no intentions to make music while talking sense? Improvisation in music, proves Ablinger, is the worshiping of an unsung god, or counting on help from an unknown, invisible hero. There will always be a hidden structure somewhere in the unconscious making sure that that which was deemed improvised is pure symptom. And what is a symptom but a field- marshal of desire, and what is desire but the ontological grammar of a subjectivity, and what is a discourse but an attempt to rationalise that symptom, and what is Ablinger’s aesthetics but the sound of the symptom?Ablinger says that “actually the piano part is the analysis of the voice. Music analyses reality”. I beg to differ, and will hereby engage the same principle he, unbeknownst to himself, used, which is the one of the death of the author. Ablinger shall not have the ultimate interpretation claim over his achievement. He appears to be perfectly aware of what he did, but not at all of what he did does. The music is not analysing reality. The music at stake is the Real or, in other words, the unconscious non-symbolised counterpart of the reality of the discourses. Therefore, music could not analyse reality. What it does instead is to promise that without music ideas can neither be produced nor conveyed in spoken form. Consequently, the fear of this kind of music is the fear of making sense, and to stop making sense is the inability to perceive music.Foucault asserts that once the death of the author is properly carried out “all discourses, whatever their status, form, value, and whatever the treatment to which they will be subjected, would then develop in the anonymity of murmur”. Ablinger brings up this funeral murmur to irreverent, mesmerising music. Let us rejoice, finally a modern requiem was composed to mourn the death of the Author and celebrate the re-birth of meaning. The requiem, alas, is atonal.
- May 21, 10----------
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Rdeča Raketa is a Vienna-based duo comprised of Maja Osojnik and Matija Scdellander, whose 2010 collaborative cassette, “Old Girl, Old Boy,” combines their admirable and respective training in electronic and improvised music composition. “Old Girl, Old Boy” is a contextual and exploratory digital/acoustic collage that demands: 1) literally putting yourself on the electronic device table to comprehend (or not) the complex fusion of these often abrasive, wacky, yet tremendously skillful sounds; and 2) freeing yourself to be a part of whatever adventure on which the entire 37-minute track might take you. In other words, like the composed improvisation itself, the listening experience simultaneously demands intensive focus as much as it does an ability to go with it, wherever the heck that might be.
The first half or so of this cassette appears to be a cry for help, but I don’t mean this in the sense that anyone or anything needs help. The abstract sounds created by the sub-bass recorder, e-bass, and a mish-mash of indistinguishable electronic trinkets appear to emerge from a deserted electro-acoustic island of sorts. The clicks, bumps, loops, drones, human voices, and bass tones, all underscored for the first ten minutes by a constant state of electronic panic, never seem to reach any grounding or final destination. The first half, in sum, is an uncertain and sparse call composed of choppy SOS signals (sometimes human, sometimes not, but always nature-culture). The first part of the latter half (“half” here is defined simply by time; the piece itself has no obvious starts or stops, never mind halves, quarters, etc.), however, sees these sounds reaching the mainland for the first time, a dark, somewhat hopeful, ambient land/soundscape where the panic subsides, even if temporarily, before a sense of uncertainty takes over again around the 25-minute mark, or around the time when a human joins us again for a few seconds, only to disappear rather unsettlingly.
“Old Girl, Old Boy” is brilliantly disconcerting, and, admittedly, will take a few more listens before I really get what might be going on. Spending more time with this album may or may not be a good thing, though, because those big jungle birds sound really fucking creepy.
Christopher Canning - May 18, 10----------
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RYMA Moraine is a geological phenomena; the accumulation of unconsolidated debris, soil and rocks compacted under glacial drifts. Over time these assemblages of loose matter form topographic features gradually exposed to the surface world by retreating glaciers.
Govrins' work evokes this process. Particles of sound are held in a state of suspension, encapsulated by frosty ambiance. Gradual drifts transform his soundscape, tracing subtle patterns of force and revealing contours over time. The naming of the tracks illustrates the variety of forces found in the formation of Moraine, thus mapping distinct processes of geological change; Ground, Push, Lateral, Terminal, Medial, Recessional.
Drawing on a sonic palette of processed cello and violin alongside digital sound synthesis, Govrin has created a work that feels compacted, cold and timeless. Through listening we participate in the process of glacial compression; to be buried deep beneath moving mountains of ice. There are moments that are stark, crystalline and beautiful as in Ground, where cello and violin weave elegiac tones through waves of distortion, and Medial which presents a world of crackling drones punctuated by ghostly and transitory string harmonics.
Comparisons can be drawn with Hildur Gudnadottir's Without Sinking, which is built around a similarly frosty, bleak and expansive use of cello and signal processing. At times reminiscent of the electro-acoustic music of Iannis Xenakis, Govrin engages in a comparable attempt to map features of the natural world through composed sound. Well produced and based on an engaging premise, this is a novel work that succeeds in subsuming our imaginations in geological phenomena.
Fíacha O' Dúbhda - Apr 26, 10----------
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RYMIf the universe operated in accordance with my own personal whims and motives, then KiC would phase out this whole avant-classical thing it's gotten itself entrenched in and start posting really great jazz records again. I'm going to try to get the ball rolling with what in my eyes is at least a very good one. First Impressions made - at the risk of sounding like a complete ass - a truly great first impression. Shamek Farrah makes a kind of modal jazz, occassionally slipping into free territory, that at first glance reminded me a bit of the great Astigmatic. That comparison only really applies to the first and last tracks here however, as what falls in between is a bit more funky and soulful. The album starts off with something that may end up being added to my list of favorite jazz tunes ever, "Meteorologicly Inclined." If Madlib ever gets ahold of the track immediately following it, "Watch What Happens Now," some serious shit is gonna go down. The rest of the album doesn't quite live up to "Meteorologicly Inclined," but it is still a very solid listen. Hell, that opinion may even change fairly soon, as this record has been continuously growing on me since I first listened to it earlier in the week. First impressions are often correct, but time can make the heart grow fonder - or something like that... whatever. - Apr 18, 10----------
Things fade in and out a lot on Jesse Somfay's A Catch in the Voice.
The Canadian producer's latest album is split across two discs, with the first containing ambient compositions and the second being more minimal techno-based. The title of one of the first disc's highlights, "Hypnogogii", stands as a pretty good representative of the territory we're in: the term appears to signify people occupying the "borderland state" between sleep and wakefulness, and by extension the surreal, quasi-hallucinatory imagery generated by the hypnagogic mind, a realm of rushing, humming sound and hyperreal patterns of colour and light (also reported by meditators, prisoners who spend extended periods in the dark, and partakers in hallucinogenic drugs). The music embodies its name: as gorgeous extended synth pads cocoon the edges, sporadic percussion lines weaves in and out of the middle, guiding the track, building to a head and then receding, morphing slowly as they go.
Indeed, much of the imagery here seems concerned with light and space, both inner and outer. A quick browse of the titles reveals the likes of "Good Morning Strange Light", "Folding Ghosts Into Origami Stars", "Borrealis", "Ex Astris, Ad Astra". "Amo Alucinor", from the second disc, translates roughly from Latin as "I love to daydream", the latter word being the root of the English "hallucinate". "Averroes" may well be a tribute to the 12th-century Muslim celestial philosopher of the same name. It's hard to say whether Somfay names these tracks after what the music suggests or conversely uses the titles as templates for the musical ideas, but either way, the two keep pace with one another as a coherent, otherworldly whole.
Some of the shorter tracks benefit from the added focus of constraint. "Folding Ghosts into Origami Stars", for example, layers subtle, buzzing, almost MBV-esque backdrops behind a pretty lead melody and comes off like the kind of atmospheric mini-epic Stars of the Lid do so well. "Brave Late Fade"'s bassy drone is occasionally joined by a choir seemingly heard from a distant dream. Some parts, like the start of "Cuckoo Spit", resemble the murky, primal noises you hear on the kind of medical albums doctors buy to learn the sounds of irregular heartbeats, or the woozy pulsing of an ultrasound scan. And "Irradian Irradiant"'s varispeed arpeggios occasionally even conjure up the unpleasant spectre of Rick Wakeman (not often, though, thankfully).
For my money, the ambient side is the better one, although in practice the two are not often fully separated (see: the beats on the first disc's "Good Morning Strange Light" or "Ex Astris, Ad Astra", the lush drumless flotation tank that is disc 2's "Averroes", or BoC-esque close "NotR"). "Scotia", all looming bassline and fractures of distant melody, and the almost trancey skitter of "Algonquin", are highlights of the second disc.
At nearly two hours total – five of the tracks exceed ten minutes, another three top nine minutes – A Catch in the Voice can perhaps be a little overwhelming to digest in one session. It's not intended as an insult to suggest that your concentration may sometimes also drift in and out of focus: for these field recordings from a land between sleep and wakefulness, there's nothing more appropriate. - Apr 14, 10----------
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RYMContinuing with our series of "What's So Great About Modernity?" is this wonderful collection of Vinko Globokar compositions. Those who are familiar with Globokar likely are thinking, "wait a minute here;" I ask these readers to indeed wait as I provide a snippet of Vinko's background. Mr. Globokar is both an accomplished trombonist, premiering works by many 20th century heavyweights, and a card carrying modernist -- working both with Stockhausen and at IRCAM in the 60's and 70's. But in addition to these composer credentials, Vinko founded the free improv group New Phonic Art (see comments section). Thus leading to the inclusion of Hallo, Do You Hear Me? in this "series." Herein Vinko synthesizes high modernity with aleatoric techniques, interspersing the composed with the improvised. These third-stream compositions are beyond modernity -- in that, unlike post-modernism, they are a progression past, not a counterpoint to, post-WWII composition. Maybe some would say post-post-modernism, but I reserve that word for mudslinging.Comparisons? This compilation could easily have been released by Ambiances Magnétiques and/or have been of Paul Dolden's doing. Yet never does Globokar come off as academic as the aforementioned label, which, considering Globokar's academy roots, only adds to the utter surreality of this affair. - Apr 09, 10---------------ArtistLabelIf you’ve been wondering ‘so, besides Philip Glass & co. as well as the so-called ‘neoclassical’ bands, what’s out there that currently resists the tireless impulses of old modernism?’ here’s some music to help you answer the question. Its form: a postmodern mash-up of minimalism, melodic interventions, kitschy jazz, and voice samples in what Jacob ter Veldhuis has called ‘boombox works’. Because of them, the Dutch composer has been accused of anti-intellectualism and ‘musical terrorism’, among other charges that will certainly come to mind when facing this music. If punk had entirely come from an academy, this could’ve been its sound.
Ter Veldhuis, in this record, draws out pieces on a basis of voice loops from a wide variety of sources, from Gulf War reports or juvenile delinquency documentaries to the voice of Chet Baker. As the speech plays out and generates a certain type of timbre and rhythm, the instruments intervene with melodic passages, always fast-paced, always mirroring the form of the speech as confrontation or as pure company and adornment. The highlight of the album, “GRAB IT!” is the best example of the method, taxing the sax player enormously as the piece constantly demands him or her to keep up with the shouts of anger and the insults in the samples. The rest of the pieces mix this to varying effects, generating an interesting interplay between speech and instruments that most of the time feel like noisy exercises in pissing the ‘serious listener’ off.
And man, are they noisy! I had the fortune of experiencing the aforementioned piece live with a very skilled sax player, at a college festival that combined contemporary works with modern ones in a program that, at the very least, surprised me with its variety. So it was pretty fun and funny to have been assailed by this loud, out-of-control work almost immediately after a classical guitarist had set an initial mood with works by Ernst Krenek and Frank Martin. The rational razor of the modern had thrown the audience’s senses into deep introspection and had meticulously forged the almost mystical connection with the pre-constructed hyper present-tense when after a small break, still meditative, it was blown to pieces by high-volume sound equipment and the precise wails of alto sax.
The rest of the pieces in this album follow, more or less, a similar pattern, always giving speech a very important place among the production of sounds. They’re also inevitably loud, repetitive, and of a technical complexity that has appropriated the modernist language while having simultaneously kind of dumbed it down in an almost joking form of expression that seems to pursue no high ideal, throwing concepts and ideas around to see which ones stick (and if none do, it matters not). In this vein, I found an interesting text in the Quasar Sax Quartet webpage that I’d like to quote: “A controversial figure in certain circles, ter Veldhuis dares to stand up to what he calls the 'washed-out avant garde'. He strives to liberate new music from its isolation by employing a direct, at times provocative idiom that spurns 'the dissonant', in Ter Veldhuis' view a completely devalued means of musical expression.” Regardless of the status of our allegiance to the avant-garde, it’s at least commendable that the man expressly stands against it instead of trying to counter-follow its inheritance in some way (winking all the way to the concert hall) or altogether ignoring it.
One could argue that this enterprise could be done in a more perfected matter, but then again, if punk was the shock therapy popular music needed at the time and it was based upon non-skill, noise, killing history, and clear flaws, then the music of ter Veldhuis might not be too far off from its paradoxical purpose of bringing the avant-garde to the masses. After all, it was pretty amusing that a friend of mine, who attended that same festival and who has fairly conservative musical tastes, utterly disliked the Krenek and Martin pieces and then actually liked the ter Veldhuis one. The man could be onto something, I guess.
In the end, it’s not an album I particularly enjoy, like, or think as 'good' (perhaps my allegiance is still on the other side), but it might prove interesting to explore for you, our dear readers, while considering the few issues brought up in this post and the many others left out because of virtual space or sheer ignorance on my part. Listening to the first piece, at least, makes the exploration worth it. Enjoy (or not)! - Apr 04, 10----------When an ensemble dedicates itself to performing and recording the music of other composers it’s often tricky to balance the intentions of the composer with the musical identities of the performers. One hopes that they will realize the composer’s intentions to the fullest of their abilities but at the same time inject the music with new ideas or energy. That is to say, in an ideal performance the identities of the composer and performers are given the proper balance. This is essentially the definition of “interpretation” in notated Western music. A performance of a famous piece of music is always in danger of repeating the past or straying too far from the composer’s intentions, especially when playing music with any level of indeterminacy.
I first encountered the Arditti String Quartet’s massive discography of 20th century music as a teenager in music school and was instantly enamored. The Arditti Quartet are clearly one of the most skilled and important interpreters of modern chamber music but at a certain point the uniformity of their approach begins to overtake the music. Their virtuosity, commitment, and approach to most music is impeccable; however, when playing more subtle and restrained music like that of Feldman or Luigi Nono, their razor sharp accuracy and intensity can make the music seem “too Arditti”. Knowing this, I approached the first two installments of Zeitkratzer’s “Old School” recording series - each album is dedicated to a different famous composer of the late 20th century - with an exciting but also somewhat guarded interest.
Given that Zeitkratzer’s output over the past few years prominently features chamber ensemble re-workings of electronic and non-academic/non-Western music, it seems obvious that their new Old School series (dedicated to the most well-documented composers of the post-WWII avant-garde) is an attempt to breathe new life into music where the performance practice is already seemingly codified. Skilled, imaginative and vital interpreters that they are, suffice to say that Zeitkratzer is successful in this goal but the results can be a mixed bag.
The Cage disc includes three pieces from Cage’s final creative period, most commonly referred to as “the number pieces”. I have always loved the number pieces. With his final work Cage finally struck the perfect balance between indeterminacy and control, truly achieving his stated goal of both imitating nature and “letting the sounds be themselves”. That said, Zeitkratzer’s performances of “Four6” and “Five” sound a bit too much like Zeitkratzer for my taste. Allowing very little space for silence, these recordings showcase Zeitkratzer’s now familiar arresting intensity that achieves greatness in most situations but in the context of John Cage’s gentle, tender approach to sound seems forced into the Zeitkratzer ideology. The recording of “Hymnkus”, on the other hand, is astonishing; a surprisingly complex piece composed just a few years before Cage’s death, the piece proceeds intently but not too forcefully.
Perhaps because James Tenney’s music is not reliant on indeterminacy, the Tenney Old School disc fares much better. While still a well-known and respected composer, James Tenney’s exploration of several kinds of experimental music, and most notably his work with alternate tunings, has yet to receive the kind of affection and documentation that seems to benefit Cage and other well-known composers of the era. This disc is a welcome addition to the somewhat more limited availability of recordings of Tenney’s music, including one premiere recording (the stunning “Harmonium #2” from 1976) and new interpretations of two more well-known pieces. The disc concludes with one of Tenney’s most well-known pieces, the aptly titled arch piece, “Having Never Written a Note for Percussion” which is finally given a definitive, masterful recording by percussionist Maurice de Martin. While the instrumentation of this single-note piece is left to the performer, the piece is most commonly performed on a large tam-tam because of the tam-tam’s endlessly rich timbre and breathtaking dynamic range (much credit is due here to the recording engineer - only on Michael Pisaro’s Hearing Metal has a tam-tam ever sounded so good). It’s a stunning, controlled performance that transcends both performer and instrument, and is the perfect end to what is the finest document of Tenney’s music I’ve heard on a single CD. - Apr 03, 10----------
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LabelWell, originally slotted for this post was a collection of Mr. Hosokawa's string quartets to compliment that wonderful Nancarrow False Bread so kindly posted the other day. However, as the days have become longer and my shirt sleeves shorter, I have found it harder to tolerate this vitamin D deficient music -- thus, Deep Silence.
One word frequently comes up in descriptions of these compositions -- shimmering. And I agree, though the adjective need apply in two cases. First, as the sun peeks through the window pane while you are enjoying your first cup of coffee (or whatever caffeinated beverage you enjoy in the morning), its glare temporarily blinds you, obfuscating the screen of that laptop you were hiding behind. Ah yes, shimmering! On the other hand, when you become affixed to the dancing of the flames at the first bonfire of the season, whereupon the radiant colors against the dark of night haunts you for what seems like ages. Yup, that kind of shimmering as well!Let me explain what this has to do with Mr. Hosokawa. Contained in this release from Wergo are seven compositions, three written by Toshio and four Gagaku (Japanese classical music). All seven are performed by Stefan Hussong on accordion and Mayumi Miyata on Shō (a bamboo mouth organ), with Hosokawa and Gagaku pieces alternating. Therein lies the shimmering bifurcation: as one might expect, the Gagaku pieces are dissonant yet still tonal (remember, tonality only just died a century ago), whereas Hosokawa's compositions are fiercely atonal. Even still, the theme remains constant throughout each piece; extended drones link the room-filling "shimmers" with deep silence. Because without orchestration, without performance, a composition is merely just annotated silence. And here, on Deep Silence, one can almost see the notes being carried from parchment to the aural plane. - Mar 29, 10----------
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RYM1) I'm just going to get this out of the way: You are not able to download this album here. Erstwhile is a distributor, and they don't take kindly to our types robbing them of a fistful of dollars (dollars they actually deserve, as opposed to say EMI). Also, this record came out just last year. Go buy it. It's worth it.
2) This post is my response to Taylor's Tatsuya Nakatani post, located just south of here. Like Green Report 12, Let's Fall in Love! is a solo percussion record. I hear one big difference between this and Green Report and that is this: Let's Fall in Love! is actually a good record. Whereas Nakatani is content to wander from instrument to instrument and noodle a bit at each one, Carlsson creates gorgeous (and occasionally frightening) textures out of a handful at a time, slowly developing a piece to feel like a well-rounded composition rather than an off-the-cuff improvisation (this record is improvised, mind you). "My Heart was Screaming Like a Cow" is one of my favorite solo percussion tracks ever, mostly for what appears to be the use of a snare drum to generate a sympathetic buzz juxtaposed to a bowed god-knows-what, creating the illusion of a distorted signal. That kind of trickery is something I truly swoon over, and it is my hope that some of you may find yourselves swooning over Let's Fall in Love! as well. - Mar 28, 10----------
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RYMI was going to ask the readers to skip what follows and download Green Report 12 immediately, since I think it can be most effective without any prior knowledge of Nakatani. However, this premise will not work for two reasons: (i) an album in which Nakatani collaborated on was posted back in November (with Michel Doneda and Jack Wright) and (ii) plastered right on the cover is "solo percussion." So then I must presume some familiarity on the part of our readers with Nakatani, if only due to the connotations of a solo percussive album.Before I proceed, I must mention that Tatsuya is currently on tour in the US and will be doing so for the next few months. I highly suggest everyone check him out if he's coming into your town. Through the artist link above you can find his complete schedule. If you happen to take a gander at his schedule, you will notice that there are some gaps in it, both in terms of where and with whom he will be playing. If you happen to reside in one of these areas and would like to see him and/or play with him, it is worth your time to contact Nakatani. When he came through where I live I was only able to stick around for his solo set, so I cannot speak of his improvisational interaction with others; however, what I saw was "rad as fuck."That aside, some description of what Tatsuya actually does. In his set and, from what I can tell, on this album Nakatani employs a multitude of peculiar extended techniques -- scrapping "prepared" drums with cymbals, abusing singing bowls, and most prominently, bowing gongs -- all together producing sounds you would believe were not percussive unless you were told otherwise. Although all of his set was flabbergasting, the gong work was the truly mind mending tool in his repertoire. The technique works as such: Nakatani bows against the side of various large gongs, primarily toward the top (for better control, as far as I can tell), alternating both the speed and duration of his stroke in order to generate massive overtones, somewhat reminiscent of Robert Rutman's Steel Ensemble. Then, once one gong's reverberations blanket the room, he juxtaposes its sound with another's, whose tones are just enough dissimilar from the first's so that all the right kinds of dissonances challenge your ears. Time suspends and you begin to no longer just hear sound, you actually feel it.
So check this album out, and if it tickles your fancy, support this "master percussionist" (who has also played with nmperign and Nate Wooley, to name a few others) by attending a show of his in your hometown. - Mar 25, 10----------
ArtistIn order to further complete (y)our Feldman collection here at KiC, here's a little something that might, at the very least, grab your attention. Also, I'd like to share some thoughts with you regarding this album, maybe as a review, maybe just as a general "whatever" kind of text. Please take it with a grain of salt.
The first piece, just titled "Piano and Orchestra", constantly shifts in form and color like one of those abstract expressionist paintings he admired so much; while this is a bit far from action painting, it certainly resembles the process behind it. If one is to trace the origins of the "method", one could go back to Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros and his New York workshop at the end of the thirties, a location that attracted more than one future American star such as Jackson Pollock. This place of experiments in material aspects of the two-dimensional art brought forward an enormous force to the theoretical background of Pollock et al. As a 'venting' grounds for Siqueiros' heavily contrasting ideas about art in general (as much as a result of the "good neighbor" policy with Mexico), it's no wonder that a whole generation of painters and the musicians later associated with them share little bits of thought from the angry, outspoken, deeply militant Siqueiros. I'd like to argument that one of these ideas was that of a 'new classicism'. Siqueiros, like most good avant-gardists, wanted to eradicate the formal pressure of history upon art, but unlike most of those same good avant-gardists, he also wanted to create a 'new classicism'. He wasn't referring to pretty old neoclassicism as we know it, but a simpler, perhaps more utopian endeavor: the replacement of a tradition of repetition with a tradition of the now (almost of improvisation), self-renewing and self-rupturing.
Since this is intended to just be a brief text about the album, I'll stop there for you to interpret and research as you will, considering that yes, the idea is quite paradoxical, maybe philosophically vacuous, and has been a subject of a myriad discussions regarding the historical vanguard in general too. So, soldiering on with the argument and ignoring all sorts of holes, there is a Feldman quote within the liner notes in this album, in relation to "Rothko Chapel", that brought me to it all: "While it was possible with the paintings to reiterate color and scale and still retain dramatic interest, I felt that the music called for a series of highly contrasted merging sections. I envisioned an immobile procession not unlike the friezes on Greek temples." Of course, it seems like an easy shot, but considering that the chapel itself is a kind of neo-spiritual monument informed by paintings that tried to lure the spectator into a 'fourth dimension' (deeper into space, deeper into time), the whole work seems imbibed with this idea of a new classic. Rothko and Feldman had found it: the spiritual experience absolutely never gets old, and proof abounds everywhere you look in human culture. By entering the fourth dimension, each prayer, each meditation, would be constantly renewed in states of mind unshackled from Enlightenment and furiously grasped upon perception, the mindlessly empiric, the perpetually changing. And yet, it would all be framed by monumentality, by death and the immobility of a classical frieze. The tradition of the now would be practically complete, with its minimal, almost silent, horizontal micro-revolutions represented both in painting and music. Action painting be damned, this would be truly transcendental for both the individual and the collective ("highly contrasted merging sections"). Like the ending of the piece, it would be utterly sublime.
"Durations II" is the other side of the coin: with only the pitches specified, the performer is practically required to do 'action playing' and keep the listener on the edge of his or her seat. Each recording, then, would be like each painting hung on the wall, a different experience out of the same work, a frame that is always self-renewing; not a 'style', but a sort of new form of tradition.
Here's the album for you to enjoy. I hope I piqued some of your interest; I did not intend to make a solid essay or review, and instead went along with my intuition to bring a flawed idea about a possible interpretation for you to consider when listening to these pieces. As for the recording itself, I think it's good enough. There's other versions out there that are more powerful and/or severe in their treatment of the music, but this one is fine and compiles three of Feldman's most evocative pieces. In any case, there you go: - Mar 01, 10----------
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Ensemble Pittoresque formed in 1977 when "The Sex Pistols, Kraftwerk, Can, Faust, Fripp & Eno, Pere Ubu and a wide variety of mainstream artists pounded the world with their personal pinnacles of artistic brilliance." Many see Ensemble Pittoresque as fore-bearers of "cold wave," whatever that is... And while it may be true that there would be no Cold Cave without Ensemble Pittoresque, I hear this more as a cross between Bowie's Low and This Heat, whatever that means...
Most songs follow a deceptively simple early synth-pop format, and do it incredibly well, but I'm not sure that I would be discussing this album at all if it weren't for "Auratorium." The first time I put on For This Is Past I was half-asleep and ready to call it a night when this track grabbed my attention and really threw me back into the music. I sat up wide-awake until the record was finished. "Auratorium" stands out from the rest of the record because although it may not be, its choral samples give it a much denser feel. Its forward thrust gives the song an almost proto-house feel. It's just exciting music, plain and simple. Elsewhere "Maitre Satori" uses classic "O Superman" vocoders to great effect. Every song here is a synth-pop classic. It's still available from their label's website, and I believe you get both the LP and CD when you order it, so you should feel even more inclined to pick up this fantastic record! - Feb 28, 10----------What I offer to you, technically, is the soundtrack to the movie of the same title; however, "soundtrack" is a bit misleading. The film is a documentary of Fred Frith and his interactions with heavyweights of the late 80's avant-rock/improv scene (Tom Cora, John Zorn, and Arto Lindsay, to name a few). Again, "documentary" may not be the best word choice, for even the subtitle reads "A ninety minute celluloid improvisation by Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzel". That is, Step Across the Border was shot through the sporadic filming of band practices (mainly Skeleton Crew, I believe), live performances, accidental conversations, and impromptu improvisations. Thus resulting in a collage of (i) music at moments resembling Frith's solo work but mostly in the vein of his 80's colloborative efforts (especially Art Bears and the aforementioned Skeleton Crew), (ii) found urban sound, and (iii) musings on art, life, and politics. No better is this, and dare I say Frith himself, encapsulated with this final scene.But again, what I provide below is the soundtrack. Please do add this film to your Netflix queue, if not for its merits as a film, but at least for the wondrous integration of sound and vision. There is a certain tenderness to some of the shots, in particular those with René Lussier, wherein the improvisations take on an extremely melodic form, almost defiantly composed, yet obviously spontaneous. The only further musing I have is on the track 'Morning Song': I cannot shake the feeling that, with the use of the alarm as a rhythmic element, this track is a nod to Derek Bailey.
Note: Both this album and a DVD copy of the film can be purchased at the label link provided at the top of the post. - Feb 23, 10----------As much as you try to deny it, we as human are so impacted by the weather: we choose where we live based on it, we choose what we do based on it, and finally, we choose to what we listen. As much as I love Radulescu, his string quartets just do not sit well with me on a sunny and sixty Saturday morning. So when I went around today saying, "How about that weather on Sunday, am I right?" intimately connected with that sentiment is fond remembrances of lazing in the grass listening to Huntly Town, ignoring any and all responsibilities. The melodies are simple, the guitar work seldom exceeds stock folk, but the atmosphere is undeniable; the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. This Dublin group demands days drenched in vitamin D, and brisk, sweater nights. Let United Bible Studies proselytize the good book of springtime.
- Jan 30, 10Here we have the most fully-realized work of music this decade (though very young) has yet to see. This master-stroke of an album was apparently in the works for over a year before the three brave intellectuals who produced it finally landed on a take they found perfect enough to release. The 45 minute composition (recorded completely live with no overdubs) "Hey Jude" contains all the best elements of EAI, spectral composition, and PB&J, thus introducing a completely new immaculate genre: IEA (Industrial Elephant Anthems). Detractors have noted the uncanny similarities to Wagner's Ring Cycle, though anyone who truly dissects this music will find that Wagner is obviously inferior. Instead Not for the Faint of Dick is the kind of logical progression from Vampire Weekend's debut that Contra failed to be. Download it now, and you probably won't be disappointed.
- Jan 08, 10----------
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Errata: As revealed in the comments section by none other than KiC reader Nate Wooley, no editing or post-production went into this recording; Wrong Shape to be a Story Teller was completed all in one sitting. My confusion arose from the dating, which is explained within the comments section for the interested. Even though this invalidates a portion of my analysis, my praise for this album is steadfast, nor do I think Wrong Shape to be any less unique.
Many thanks to Nate for both reading this blog and correcting my error; I am very much so sorry for my false assumptions. Since in my review I stressed Nate's supposed transparency, I leave below my original post unedited. I do hope others enjoy the irony surrounding this post as much as I did -- so much so that it warmed my otherwise frigid bike ride.
----------Compared to his lowercase brethren, and even with consistently glowing reviews, Nate Wooley has received little to no attention from RYM free improv enthusiasts. So with Wrong Shape to be a Story Teller, recorded in August 2004, I attempt to rectify this glaring omission.
As a member of the trio that released Throw Down Your Hammer and Sing, KiC readers ought to be familiar with his name, if not also his playing style. Although Wooley's work with Lonberg-Holm and Roebke is exemplary (and one of my favorites from 2009), his group approach, as it should, greatly differs from his solo style. An aside: I suggest those interested in group improvisation to check out an interview with Nate over at bagatellen. In this interview he describes the way in which he listens to his band mates, focusing on "cycles".
Indeed comparisons to the likes of Greg Kelley and Axel Dörner are apt, but at the same time incredibly reductionist. Yes, these three trumpeters heavily employ extended techniques, but those casual words -- "similar to" -- betray both the feeling and the creative process that goes into each of these artist's improvisations.
Throughout Wrong Shape to be a Story Teller I hear flashes of resemblance -- the timbrel fluttering around the tenth minute could easily be an excerpt in Kelley's Self-Hate Index -- but delightful quirks destroy the homogeneity hypothesis. For instance, around the fifteen minute mark, a field recording of (what seems to be) a BBC television report on the 2004 Presidential election can be heard. In this sample, the reporter makes reference to the "final hours" of campaigning. With this time-stamp, Wooley wears post-production on his sleeve (or at least stitched prominently on his jeans), giving the listener a welcomed moment of transparency. Silence, as well, is employed prominently in this fifty-odd minute piece, via Wooley's deft navigation between nearly inaudible hiss, font-size six licks, and overbearing feedback.
As a whole -- a precaution to the meek, this album is only one track -- through this unusual narrative, Nate Wooley provides not only a snapshot of lowercase technique, but also a glance at his distorted voice. - Jan 04, 10----------
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RYMTopology is a swath of mathematics that investigates the properties preserved under a continuous transformation. Originating from an in depth study of the real line, this field equips the analyst with the ability to abstract beyond the familiar, in addition to generating a convenient link between analysis and the other major fields of mathematics -- algebra and geometry.
The most commonly used tool of a topologist is a homeomorphism. Essentially defining topological equivalence, two spaces are said to be homeomorphic if one can be deformed into the other in a well-behaved manner. As such, topology is frequently called "rubber sheet geometry". For instance, in jest, a topologist is said to not know the difference between a donut and a coffee mug. Put as simply as possible, topologies allow mathematicians to "stretch", "cut", and "glue" abstract spaces
The applications for this field are countless outside of pure mathematics, and in titling this album so, Joe McPhee supplies an interesting and unforeseen context to examine his music. I had grown accustom to thinking of jazz as a means of expression, with free jazz and its sub-genres as the liberal extension. From the spiritual revelry of Pharoah Sanders to the existential musings of Sachiko M, I had been caught up in this tautology. However, through this Po Music, I was able to break free and view each passage as a deformation of another. The free improvisation of "Age" blends seamlessly into the reinterpretation of older styles of "Blues for new Chicago". Before the listener can grasp what has occurred, all structure is cut away in the titular final track, through Radu Malfatti's electro-acoustic explorations.
In many ways, this topological framework is useful to understand the traditional role of an improviser. They extract motifs from their conscious, then instantaneously stitch them back together. Although Topology is said to be a non-idiomatic session, the interpretation is similar. And this fantastic cast (the aforementioned Malfatti and McPhee, Irène Schweizer, and others) do not disappoint.
Sorry for the stodgy math! - Dec 29, 09----------
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Xu Cheng's Wild Fox Chants was brought to my attention by Danny's wonderful, but dormant, blog 'By Chance Upon Waking.' A couple things made me excited: first, logistically, it was free for download. I had not heard of Cheng, and I might not have been willing to shell out $20 for a disc of "prepared guitar" by an artist I hadn't heard of. By putting it out free on Archival, Cheng really sucked me in and made me a fan.
The second thing that got me interested was, of course, the "prepared guitar." Whenever I read "prepared" to describe an instrument, my mind naturally recalls John Cage's prepared piano pieces, and although the instruments are quite different, I think a familiarity with Cage's works could be a partial introduction to this. There are scrapes of the strings, tightened and loosened string, plucked more than struck. Indeed, large passages seem to center directly around various textured metals striking the strings as the tuning pegs loosen, then tighten, creating a tone variation that is both familiar and unique (in timing).
It should be said that this is not quite eai or microtonal, although a Keith Rowe fan might find something here to like. This, like most genres that require (instead of recommend) close listening, goes to great lengths to focus the listener on both newer compositional methods (variable timing, odd repetitions, atonal playing that highlights the percussive qualities of the instrument), and on the physical properties of the instrument (the sound of the bridge, the uses of the tuning pegs, the electronics in the pickups). In this way, the artist can heighten the listener's awareness of the inherent properties of the guitar, and work to dissolve the notions of "intuitive" playing. In short, it is not the intuitive way to pick up a guitar and play open chords. Rather, the intuitive way to play a guitar is to bat at it, twist its knobs, and shake it to effect reverberation. - Dec 29, 09----------
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RYMComposed in 1999 and premiered in 2000, L'Amour de Loin is Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's first opera. As a reinterpretation of Jaufré Rudel's La vida breve, Saariaho, along with librettist Amin Maalouf, tells a story of idealized love from afar. Set in the 12th century, through five acts, a jaded Parisian falls in love with a woman from Tripoli, whom he has never met. The male lead, Jaufré, travels to Tripoli to meet his distant lover, Clémence, but falls ill during the voyage. Upon arriving in the modern day Libya, Jaufré perishes in his lovers arms.
Although Saariaho fits nicely alongside the contemporary composition that litters this domain, L'Amour may not be the best introduction to Saariaho's work. In fact, I cast aside this piece on first listen earlier this year, finally revisiting it after having heard her Chamber Music and at Alex Ross' bequest. Kaija, having studied at IRCAM, should be of interest to Les espaces acoustiques adorers; however, to the best of my knowledge, Saariaho does not employ spectral techniques in L'Amour, nor in any of her other works.
At the time of this composition, both Saariaho and Maalouf -- a Lebanese also living in Paris -- were expatriates; most certainly, the two's experience with voluntary exile helped to warp this meditation on international obsession. I am still a recent convert to opera, but I can confidently say that L'Amour is a work that demands to be heard -- many commentators described it as a 21st century Tristan and Isolde.
Before I call it a day, some housekeeping. The release I have been describing is a performance at the Finnish National Opera. The label link directs you to Deutsche Grammophon's DVD release. Additionally, below, I have included a link to the audio from this DVD, for which I cannot find an official release.
Download. - Dec 29, 09----------
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RYMAs sometimes happens, after I finished the upload I found out, while searching for the above links, that Mutant Sounds has already posted this record. However, if you listen to the record, you'll see that it generally fits with this site, and I know that some of you don't like Rapidshare, so I kept the post.
This post fits nicely with the Jocy and Hallett posts from earlier, ie. female vocals, sure, but vocals mixed with a wide array of sounds, presented in pieces that span several genres. The first track, for instance, gives off a sort of Nico vibe, with wavering vocals, almost ritualistic, layered on top of fluttering pulses and random noises and clicks. "Lines" follows, and has a distinctly early electronics feel, arpeggios flash back and forth like Christmas lights on a string, tempting you to screw up your perception by predicting or skipping ahead. These electronics (perhaps a manipulated synth?) resurface against a meandering violin in "Play," a track devoid of vocals for long stretches.
The last three tracks are a little more "out," seemingly focusing on the vocal manipulations we've seen from Meredith Monk, Ratkje, and several others on the blog, with these vocals more improvised against a varied backdrop of clicks and small instruments. I haven't heard anything after this by Fuchs, but apparently she is still very active. Her site link above is basically her CV, and the Mutant Sounds link provides a good overview of things she has done since this.
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As for the site, I am going to continue to revise entries as I can. I realized over the weekend that many people link to this site on their own blogs and sites. Additionally, many artists have used the blurbs I've typed up for their own sites. Since this site is about the musicians, and since I really appreciate their work, I want to give those artists better quality. Therefore, I am going to try to improve the posts that I know for certain have been used by artists on their own sites.
Likewise, if you link to KiC on your blog or site, I want you to use this comment box to give me a link to your blog or site so I can reciprocate. When I redid the template for this site, I lost my link box. I did not want to take it down, but I screwed up. Please help me to regenerate it! - Dec 23, 09----------
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We've interrupted this regularly scheduled broadcast for a re-blog from the fantastic and unjustly esoteric Twice Zonked!.
With releases from, among others, Cage, Bailey, Lucier, and Ashley, I suppose it is easy for Coria's breathtaking solo prepared piano work, En rouge et noir, to get lost among the Cramps shuffle. In addition to a continuous, approximately twenty minute long rendition, this release is also broken down into twelve discrete vignettes.
Coria violently commences in Materiali A, where the piano "almost sounds as though a rake head was laid inside." This approach, carried over through a few parts, resembles Derek Bailey at his most aggressive. As the Materiali progress from A to N, Coria's playing dissipates into sparser territory, with seemingly electro-acoustic elements in the middle sections. By happenstance, in my most recent playing, Martin Siewert & Martin Brandlmayr's Too Beautiful to Burn succeeded En rouge et noir. Siewert and Brandlmayr's first track, "Form", provided an excellent counterpoint, resembling Coria in sound, but obviously not in execution.
Although this LP was initially released in 1976 by Cramps, it has since been re-released by the aforementioned label in 2004, then by Strange Days in 2007 -- both in CD format. Seeing as neither label's site is in English, I feel it safe to provide a download link, from what I believe to be the 2004 issue. However, I linked to Strange Days, in hopes that our Japanese readers can find an in-print copy. - Dec 16, 09----------
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RYMThis was limited to 66 copies, which the label page is showing are sold out. Given Aleph Naught has put out a couple free things online, I think it should be safe to pass this along. I was listening to this record, and looking stuff up on it when I learned that Anthony Mangicapra did the artwork for this. I met Anthony recently, and he was a great guy, really cool to talk with about music. I need to get around to reviewing his music, too. For the time being, I'll cover this album, which is an EP, to be more precise.
Some might call this dark ambient, and I see the dark aspect to it, but there is really no comparison to Lustmord or anything like that. This is more heavy, undulating synth drone, with the volume pushing beyond the canvass in redlining pulses, streaks of melody paradoxically high pitched, but pressed low in the mix. The feeling is that of attending a rehearsal of five minutes of Gubaidulina and sustaining blunt force trauma to the ear. The volume distorts the sound, the textures flatten and stretch, all the while pushed by a persistent, increasing melody below.
For the record, I don't like when distortion is used to sort of "cover things up," so to speak. I really enjoy the sound of static and distortion, obviously, but unless there is more, or unless it is fantastic distortion, it sort of makes the music anonymous or cheap. The flip side, with a few records I've posted, and this, is when it comes out natural, or measured, or fits with the piece (or whatever), it really can add something, both aesthetically, and intellectually. I think the things that I take the most from this is the static is a sort of framing mechanism for the core melody that I mentioned. It sort of encapsulates a central melody within a ring of static. That is, the sound distorts at certain volumes, and if you think about your speaker array as being able to organize air for a certain distance, that distance from your speaker, its outer reaches, is the frame. Here, the volume distorts at a certain level, and is at the forefront of the music, thus the outer border I'm talking about.
Very cool, short, and although not revolutionary, expertly executed.
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Workshops Overview
workshops.acfphiladelphia.org - May 16, 12
The Hundred In The Hands - Keep It Low (Andy Stott Remix)
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Red Night forthcoming on Warp June 11/12, 2012. http://thehundredinthehands.com/red-night Preorder - https://bleep.com/release/35835 http://www.facebook.com/... - May 16, 12
Aaron Dilloway / Jason Lescalleet 'Burning Nest' excerpt (PAN 30)
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Aaron Dilloway / Jason Lescalleet 'Grapes and Snakes' LP (PAN 30) A. Dilloway: synth and tapes recorded at Tarker Mills, Oberlin OH J. Lescalleet... - May 16, 12
Mika Vainio / Kevin Drumm / Axel Dörner / Lucio Capece 'Venexia' excerpt (PAN 28)
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Mika Vainio / Kevin Drumm / Axel Dörner / Lucio Capece 'Venexia' LP (PAN 28) Music by Vainio / Drumm / Dörner / Capece. http://pan-act.com/ - May 16, 12
Jeph Jerman at FRCC Community Studio
vimeo.com
Sound artist Jeff Jerman performs at Front Range Community College's Community Studio at the Fort Collins Museum of Art for the Sound Through Barriers sound art exhibition on April 24, 2012. - May 15, 12
A Record Release Party for Anenon's 'Inner Hue' with Guests Shigeto, Dntel, Gold and Soil
Tomorrow at 8:00pm at Center for the Arts Eagle Rock, CA - May 15, 12
Tha Pope - Jungle Juke.mp4
www.youtube.com
some of that Chicago Juke for ya feets. Find this at http://www.planet.mu/discography/ZIQ290 - May 15, 12
circuit bending -the movie-
www.youtube.com
a film about the projectweek with lektrolab (emma davidson and paul b. davis) at merz akademie 2006. a work by lisa lang, stuttgart, germany 2006. read my bl... - May 15, 12
WHOURKR - Arithmetic Punishment (539 Snare Drums)
www.youtube.com
From '4247 Snare Drums' Buy it here http://www.adnoiseam.net/adn158 - May 15, 12
Pasolini intervista Ezra Pound
www.youtube.com
Un frammento dell'intervista condotta da Pier Paolo Pasolini ad Ezra Pound. - May 15, 12
Tomasz Sikorski
Pan Mietek: Wyniki wyszukiwania: sikorski
panmietek.blogspot.com - May 15, 12
100 Seven Inch Records By John Wiese
www.youtube.com
100 Seven Inch Records By John Wiese Opening reception October 17, 6--9pm October 17--November 8, 2011, Open 1--9pm, Closed Mondays Family 436 North Fairfax ... - May 15, 12
Julia Wolfe — Stronghold (for eight double basses), pt. 1
www.youtube.com
I do NOT own the copyright for the music that I upload and will remove it immediately upon request from copyright holder or band. Uploaded for promotion on h... - May 15, 12
My favorite Roy Montgomery.
Roy Montgomery - Dawn Fades Over Ocean
www.youtube.com
Originally appearing on the Winter Songs 10", but taken from the "Inroads" compilation. - May 15, 12
pascal battus / bertrand gauguet / éric la casa : chantier 1
www.youtube.com
pascal battus / bertrand gauguet / éric la casa Paris, 2012. - May 15, 12
tonight in Bologna
Michael Vorfeld - Glühlampenmusik Part 1, Mousonturm Frankfurt, 02.12.2011
www.youtube.com
In seinen Installationen und Performances benutzt der in Berlin lebende bildende Künstler und Musiker Michael Vorfeld ein weit gefächertes Sortiment untersch... - May 14, 12
ErstAEU
a new CD label focusing on young American experimental artists, first releases in the second half of 2012. - May 14, 12
DJ Screw My Mind Went Blank
www.youtube.com
One Of My favorites On Volume 2(all screwed up) - May 14, 12
John Cage, Joan Retallack: Musicage: Cage Muses on Words, Art, Music (1996) at Monoskop/log
monoskop.org
The entire range of John Cage’s work and thought, explored in three wide-ranging dialogues, which constitute his last unified statement on his art. - May 14, 12
Daphne Oram: An Individual Note of Music, Sound and Electronics (1972) at Monoskop/log
monoskop.org
Daphne Oram was educated at Sherborne School for Girls, and then, during the war, she joined the BBC in London as a Music Balancer. There she worked with most of the well known international musicians in the fields of chamber music and opera. But, alongside this work, she was intrigued by the possib... - May 13, 12
mika vainio & franck vigroux - live 1
www.youtube.com
@ Le Génerateur, Paris, France, festival Extension 2012 images Gregory Robin - May 12, 12
blixa bargeld - ouvertüre
www.youtube.com
blixa bargeld - commissioned music http://www.discogs.com/Blixa-Bargeld-Commissioned-Music/release/424446 - May 12, 12
husband tests bullet proof glass with his wife
www.youtube.com
Shot in the early thirties, a man with a rifle tests an early version of bullet proof glass by having his wife hold the glass to her face while he shoots at ... - May 12, 12
Hans Werner Henze: Doppio Concerto per oboe, arpa ed archi (1966)
www.youtube.com
Hans Werner Henze (*1926): Doppio Concerto per oboe, arpa ed archi (1966) -- Heinz Holliger, oboe; Ursula Holliger, arpa -- Collegium Musicum Zürich diretto ...
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Tracks
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Mixes
- 39 plays / Created Mar 13, 12
- 41 plays / Created Sep 05, 11Wide range of tracks, from vocals, to indie ballads, to eai and classical. Of course, this is a synopsis of the week's listening.
- 49 plays / Created Aug 28, 11A wide ranging mix of drone, eai, and techno with some metal thrown in for good measure. There was flow when I put it together, but I promise nothing.
- 33 plays / Created Jun 19, 11Nine tracks including music by Aki Onda, Factums, and Laurie Scott Baker.
- 42 plays / Created Jun 06, 11Nine tracks including music by Andy Stott, Black Zone Myth Chant, and DJ Sniff. Recent ratings and a few recent faves.
- 27 plays / Created May 30, 11Twelve tracks including music by Ensemble Economique, Im Jahrtal, and Jérôme Noetinger, Michel Doneda, eRikm.
- 30 plays / Created May 30, 11Eight tracks including music by Axolotl, Islaja, and Krzysztof Orluk. Chosen (literally) at random
- 38 plays / Created May 29, 11Eight tracks including music by Big Sean, Eddie Prévost & Jennifer Allum, and Lee Noble. Testing this out.
- 18 plays / Created May 09, 12Part II: More traditional music angles and commentary, beginning a Jon Hassell track from the third Sub Rosa Myths collection, followed by one of the most beautiful vocal pieces I've ever heard - from Mongolia, a tribute to Albert Hofmann, and closing with a piece for Annemarie Frank. "Hands made big to give." Tracklist in the comments. Pictured: the brail-like labyrinth plaque near Trinity Church behind the Eaton Centre, Toronto. Inverse Image.
- 9 plays / Created May 06, 12Thirteen collected pop oddities from around the world. Begins with a track by the Italian Lucio Battisti, from Anima Latina, circa 1974. You're then taken to 1982 Brazil with Antena, Japan in 2004 c/o Ayuo & Ohta Hiromi from John Zorn's Tzadik Label, modern day Mali from Mississippi Records, 70's Persia via Finders Keepers, among others. Tracklist in the comments. Pictured: a friends globe, in her favourite colours.
- 72 plays / Created May 04, 12Ten tracks in anticipation for the best summer ever - hopefully - including Loudon Wainwright III, Chicago and Ghostface Killah.
- 7 plays / Created Apr 19, 12
- 55 plays / Created Apr 12, 1221 tracks featuring music by Tim Hecker, offthesky, and Jefre Cantu-Ledesma
- 32 plays / Created Apr 08, 12Just eight tracks that I'm really feeling at the moment, including music by Jay Electronica, Nico, and Lee 'Scratch' Perry.
- 7 plays / Created Apr 07, 12
- 40 plays / Created Mar 31, 12Sunbursts on the optic nerve vibrate the heartstring orchestras. Among them were Edu Lobo, Harumi, and The Mindbenders. Also, the world's sleaziest song about studying English Lit.
- 35 plays / Created Mar 29, 12Gotta love this current heat wave here in the UK. Ten tracks including music by Beach House, Scientist and Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
- 159 plays / Created Mar 23, 12
- 36 plays / Created Mar 23, 12Spent the last few weeks revelling in musical melancholy despite being, on the whole, chipper. These are eight recent favourites, including Low, Sun Kil Moon and Earth.
- 20 plays / Created Mar 22, 12
- 14 plays / Created Mar 19, 12
- 43 plays / Created Mar 16, 1214 Tracks including music by Belong, Désormais and Nine Inch Nails - mix designed for late night/early morning - headphones highly recommended.
- 71 plays / Created Feb 28, 12"Alexander Bell made a pact with his remaining brother: if a second one of them should die, the survivor would try to invent a device capable of receiving transmissions from beyond the grave. Then the second brother did die; and Alexander, of course, invented the telephone. He remained a sceptic and a rationalist throughout his life, but only because his brothers never called." A séance conducted by gramophone and electricity with Louis Armstrong, Clarence Williams and Tom Waits.
- 21 plays / Created Feb 21, 12A listen through the rougher work of Pan Sonic's Vainio & Väisänen, using the harsh and pure sounds typical of industrial techno spaced out into longer soundscapes similar to reggae and dub. Tracklist in Comments includes collaborations with Alan Vega, Keijo Haino, Dirk Dresselhaus and Hildur Guðnadóttir, all ranging from 1996 to 2011. V1 focused on quieter material. Pictured: back-piece of broken turning mechanism for a door-ringer.
- 19 plays / Created Feb 21, 12A listen through the quieter, disorienting work of Pan Sonic's Vainio & Väisänen, using the harsh and pure sounds typical of industrial techno spaced out into longer soundscapes similar to reggae and dub. Tracklist in Comments includes side-projects such as Ø and Philus, collaborations with Alan Vega, Dirk Dresselhaus, Hildur Guðnadóttir, and Barry Adamson, plus a Björk remix, all ranging from 1997 to 2007. V2 will focus on heavier material. Pictured: broken turning mechanism for a door-ringer.
- 14 plays / Created Feb 17, 12
- 118 plays / Created Feb 11, 12Hotel swing, 1928-1942. When grand hotels owned their own dance bands and broadcast with their own radio towers. When fast-talking came to the movies, the unemployed dreamed of Greta Garbo, and "Ritz" was the electric sound of money. Sixteen short tracks, announcements and interludes featuring Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, and Xavier Cugat and his Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra.
- 61 plays / Created Feb 08, 12Sixteen tracks including music by Autechre, Black To Comm and Boards of Canada
- 64 plays / Created Feb 06, 12Another country walk with Sunforest, Pearls Before Swine, and Bill Fay.
- 21 plays / Created Feb 02, 12Immersive textures from the borderlands of dreams by Igor Wakhévitch, Terry Riley, Oren Ambarchi, etc, including a rare capture of ritual healing from the Yanomami tribes of the Amazon, ending with a wax-cylinder of one of Aleister Crowley's scarlet women, Leah Hirsig, spinning out the final moments of this 2.5 hr mix. Check comments for track-order. Pictured: my cat, Luna, sleeping with the inmost light.
- 63 plays / Created Feb 01, 12Because only motown can have "sad" songs or songs about troubles that brighten your day and make you wanna groove ... With the exception of the opening track because that's just an awesome jam. Including songs by War, Sam Cooke and Nina Simone.
- 71 plays / Created Jan 30, 12Fourteen calypsos and fake calypsos with Wilmoth Houdini, Blind Blake & The Royal Victoria Hotel Calypsos and Van Dyke Parks.
- 10 plays / Created Jan 29, 12Scrape, moisten - country-pickin, syrupy croons, naive ejaculations
- 47 plays / Created Jan 28, 12Eight tracks featuring music by Great Plains, Serge Gainsbourg, and the Soul Lifters.
- 79 plays / Created Jan 26, 12Thirteen tracks including music by Grimes, Caribou and the Jimmy Castor Bunch.
- 45 plays / Created Jan 24, 12A fifteen-track maelstrom of traditional rhythms and electrified highlife jams from Africa. The mix aims for maximum novelty, drawing from field recordings, modern collaborations, big band orchestras, to tribal, folk, and cafe music. Sourced as far back as 1950 to the present day if that's the sort of thing you're interested in. Tracks by Marijata, Konono N°1, Ali Farka Touré, etc. Pictured: a window-display on Queen Street East near Broadview Avenue in Toronto, ON.
- 40 plays / Created Jan 22, 1210 tracks including music by Mrs. Washington & Co., Zinja Hlungwani & Ernie K. Doe.
- 48 plays / Created Jan 15, 12To make this mundane world sublime, Take half a gram of phanerothyme To fathom Hell or soar angelic, Just take a pinch of psychedelic
- 83 plays / Created Jan 15, 12twenty three tracks including music by Black Swan, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and The Caretaker.
- 37 plays / Created Jan 15, 12An ultraviolet memory of summer, with Leo's Sunshipp, Donald Byrd, and Gilberto Gil.
- 23 plays / Created Jan 15, 12
- 36 plays / Created Jan 15, 12Remember this one? How about that one? What do you mean you were too drunk?
- 17 plays / Created Jan 14, 12for the dance party that no one sees - i hope they happen soon.
- 45 plays / Created Jan 13, 12I never said it has to be european. It just has to feel right. So come party with me in my smoked up room.
- 15 plays / Created Jan 12, 12Ten tracks including music by CoH, Cosey Fanni Tutti, James Blake, Derek Jarman, Coil and Linda Perhacs, all featuring creative augmentations of the human voice. Pictured: small pool of water in the midst of surrounding waterfalls near Wolf's Den in Ontario, Canada.
- 191 plays / Created Jan 08, 12Some of the oldschool legends and greats.Press play and enjoy....
- 25 plays / Created Jan 06, 12fuck you, blondie is pretty punk. well at least the self titled record. that one is punk. come on... they were playing max's kansas city. "Was it the Sex Pistols in england, was it the Ramones and the Velvet Underground in New York? It was the Ramones, it was the Sex Pistols. Who cares who started it, it's music. I don't know who started it, I don't give a fuck. The one thing I do know is that we did it harder, we did faster, and we definitely did it with more love."
- 34 plays / Created Jan 05, 12Don't forget to bring a flashlight, a gun, a stake and garlic.
- 37 plays / Created Jan 04, 12It gets kinda loud. Maybe You need that. It sucks to adjust. The music is mostly new. some Surprises Perhaps. Don't be late for work today.
- 66 plays / Created Jan 02, 12Get your discoball, girl. I`m bringing synthpop back, plus some other indie schmindie girly dancey tunes. Towards the end -> songs for when we`re drunk and stuck in 1999. Am zis.
- 54 plays / Created Dec 29, 11Just don't commit suicide by driving yourself into another car.
- 29 plays / Created Dec 28, 11A mix with mixed moods and mixed feelings. A bit cheesy, you might say, but you know how I am going to be feeling on new year`s, just when i`m a little drunk and everyone is making out.
- 49 plays / Created Dec 26, 11This mix is for all our lives.Sometimes we need to stop and think.Music is a very big part of our lives it flows through our vains making us stronger,weaker,happier,or sad.And so I made this for you'r inspiration.For you'r questions.For you'r Life.
- 17 plays / Created Dec 23, 11maybe half a year from now, half way accross the world, you`ll bite my lip so hard that i`ll fall out of the boat and in love with you.
- 141 plays / Created Dec 22, 11Nineteen dark and light, old and modern songs of the season from Luciano Berio, David Lang, Benjamin Britten, and others. (For T and D. Stay warm.)
- 56 plays / Created Dec 15, 11lullabies, for nights like that. or for headphones and closed eyes when you are riding in the back seat with your head against the window glass falling asleep Ten tracks including music by Bruce Springsteen, Arcade Fire, and Mazzy Star.
- 33 plays / Created Dec 14, 11I'm in a good mood. Merry Christmas. Monster 2-hour+ mix with twenty eight tracks including music by Pharoah Sanders, Julio Bashmore and Holy Fuck.
- 73 plays / Created Dec 11, 11Twenty-five tracks including music by Andy Stott, Burial, and Plaid.
- 13 plays / Created Dec 11, 11hand picked favorites4favorite Eight tracks including music by Roxy Music, John Cale, and Pixies.
- 60 plays / Created Dec 10, 11
- 92 plays / Created Dec 04, 11Eight tracks including music by ?, Alice Deejay, and BiM.GREAT MIX FOR CHILLIN OUT OR JUST CLEAR OUT YOUR MIND SO CLICK PLAY!!!
- 72 plays / Created Dec 04, 11Twenty tracks including music by Grouper, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, and Tim Hecker.
- 56 plays / Created Nov 26, 11study buddy-ing with Shlohmo, My Bloody Valentine, Animal Collective and more.
- 32 plays / Created Nov 25, 11Eight tracks including music by The Creation, Jens Lekman and The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band.
- 10 plays / Created Nov 23, 11sounds to get me through realism, malian censorship, synesthetic architecture and michael snow
- 38 plays / Created Nov 22, 11Eight tracks including music by Oneohtrix Point Never, Floating Points and Oumou Sangare.
- 97 plays / Created Nov 20, 11Eight tracks including music by AC DC, Crazy Town, and Eminem feat Nate Dogg. JUST PRESS PLAY....
- 52 plays / Created Nov 19, 11Twenty tracks including music by Born Ruffians, Efterklang, and Field Music.
- 112 plays / Created Nov 19, 11Eight tracks including music by Arctic Monkeys, Gnarls Barkley, and Grits.THIS IS F*CKING AWESOME YOU WILL DIE AFTER YOU HEAR THIS YOU WILL BE CHANGED SO CLICK PLAY AND BE YOU......
- 25 plays / Created Nov 15, 11Thirteen tracks exclusively from Raster-Noton, a collaborative electronic music label in Germany, run by Olaf Bender, Frank Bretschneider and Carsten Nicolai. Pictured: Alcor A & Alcor B in the Milky Way from the American Museum of Natural History, New York.
- 22 plays / Created Nov 15, 11Part I. Traditional music angles and commentary from Eyvind Kang, :zoviet*france:, Omar-S, Autechre, and various field recordings from Africa. Assembled from random notes in the course of a years' listening. The tracks in this mix get shuffled and added-to/subtracted regularly, so listen often and listen well. Pictured: the brail-like labyrinth plaque near Trinity Church behind the Eaton Centre, Toronto. Positive Image.
- 39 plays / Created Nov 13, 11Twenty-three tracks including music by Andy Stott, Liars, and Kill Me Tomorrow.
- 139 plays / Created Nov 11, 11Eight tracks including music by Blue Foundation, Chase & Status feat. Sub Focus & Takura, and Coldplay.
- 14 plays / Created Oct 25, 11Is there life on the earth? Is there life after birth?
- 54 plays / Created Oct 22, 11Laura Marling, M∆DD3N, etc. You make me happier than I think I've ever been in my life. You're a dream come true, at the risk of sounding cliche. I hope I can be the same for you. We're both damaged, we're both broken; we can fight our demons together.
- 42 plays / Created Oct 19, 11Twenty-one tracks including music by Xinlisupreme, Björk, and Massive Attack vs Burial.
- 83 plays / Created Oct 18, 11Ten tracks including music by Bert Jansch, Herbie Hancock and Fairport Convention.
- 31 plays / Created Oct 17, 11If I start screaming in my sleep, do not wake me up. I will attack you. *goes to sleep* Ahh, wake me up! Free me from this!
- 45 plays / Created Oct 15, 11Twenty-three tracks including music by Boards of Canada, Fever Ray, and Grouper.
- 6 plays / Created Oct 14, 11More music to fill/empty a room. With Pumice, Josephine Foster, Yabby You and Borden, Ferraro, Godin, Halo & Lopatin.
- 29 plays / Created Oct 11, 11Some slow jams from Sibylle Baier, America Reads, Jean-Luc Guionnet / Seijiro Murayama, and ES. To sleep or study or fill a room.
- 44 plays / Created Sep 30, 11Twenty-three tracks including music by En, Swans, and Ben Frost.
- 79 plays / Created Sep 27, 11Another late-60s soundtrack with Marcos Valle, Apple, and Nina Simone.
- 51 plays / Created Sep 26, 11
- 42 plays / Created Sep 25, 11Old faves and a few new including music by Agitation Free, Caetano Veloso, and Bohannon.
- 107 plays / Created Sep 25, 11"Sympathize, I sympathize," her only friend wails, but she won't look him in the eye. She can only turn around and say, "Run; go. It's a warning, I'll destroy you." A Human, Entertainment For The Braindead, CocoRosie, etc.
- 71 plays / Created Sep 25, 11It's a good sadness. 82-75, Cake Bake Betty, Entertainment For The Braindead, etc.
- 42 plays / Created Sep 21, 11Ten tracks including music by Jurassic 5, Clark and Neon Indian.
- 15 plays / Created Sep 18, 11Eight tracks including music by Brian Eno, Exuma and Crass.
- 13 plays / Created Sep 16, 11Some eclectically assembled tracks I'm into right now, including Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf, Los Shapis, and Secret Boyfriend.
- 7 plays / Created Sep 16, 11"Step in the circ step in the circ step in the circ."
- 392 plays / Created Aug 15, 11Nineteen tracks including music by Arvo Pärt, Balam Acab, and Coil.
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Recent Tracks
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- Primul om by Negură Bunget
- Written On the Sky by Max Richter
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ClipseActressAraabMUZIKFlying LotusMadlibG.H.AutechreZombyDemdike StareJandekAndy StottThe WeekndJay-Z & Kanye WestZelienopleJ DillaFriedrich CerhaoOoOOSalemBroadcast and The Focus GroupCyclo.Sandwell DistrictA$AP RockyPan SonicMark FellFriedrich JürgensonNo-Neck Blues BandTyler, The CreatorKanye WestKrengMitsuko UchidaDaphne OramKaija SaariahoRadioheadGiacinto ScelsiDustin WongGrouperJames Blake▼▲▼vagina vangiJoe ColleyLil BWomenAhleuchatistasAjilvsgaGil Scott-Heron & Jamie xxDJ NatePanda BearDJ RocKode9 & the SpaceapePrince Rama Of AyodhyaOneohtrix Point Never- 31 plays
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Tweets
- How does Jim Jones keep getting nice production? http://t.co/arhwg6ar
- Just heard a new Malice track on Sirius XM. Damn, he's dropped off bad. Used to be one of my favorite rappers.May 16, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- May 16, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Lucio Capece's Inside the Outside I off Zero Plus Zero is very, very strong. I've definitely been moving towards his darker material.
- @rogertthatt @poppa_scott Shawn Kenp?! Karl Malone better than all those guys. Moses Malone, too.
- @Holy_Mountain like the 1996 all star uniforms from San Antonio game?
- @ubuweb do you have any Алексей Елисеевич there? I'm looking, but not finding...May 15, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- @johnxela @blackeaglechild ah, not the comp you put out. I see
- “@blackeaglechild: Can someone tell me how to buy this new Thomas Köner CD please?” @johnxela
- @badmachinery *retch*
- “: Out today: http://t.co/wCDxmkh9 New album! Drones & Piano.” @jpanzner how novel
- Witold Szalonek is a revelation. Really good pieces on this 2003 disc. http://t.co/n4WchiiLMay 14, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- @reverenddollars @jawnita @one26am it's sorta white trash jail bait nonsense- perfect for Florida, but driven by/for pervs (maybe)
- @reverenddollars from huffpo: The sleepy-voiced rapper rhymes about cute boys, sexting, drinking Bud Light Lime, and doodling on her binder.
- @reverenddollars @jawnita @one26am but I admit that's my perception and I don't pretend to know her intent
