Switched-on Eugene Documents The Eugene Electronic Music Collective And Some Of The Many Synthed-out Figures In And Around Oregon's Iconic Hippie Stronghold During The 1980s. Whether Connected By Membership, Geography, Or The Tape Trading Scene, The Artists In And Around The Eemc Shared Compelling Visions Of The Future We Now Inhabit, Vividly Captured On Home-recorded Tapes And Distributed Via Zines, Classifieds, And Local Radio. Switched-on Eugene Is A Deep Dive Into A Heretofore Forgotten Sonic Microcosm Unlike Any Other.
righteous expensive: motohiko hamase's 1986 album "reminiscence" scores a decent prize at online vinyl selling platforms and it is worth each coin!
it's a perfect "refuge from nasty reality", as the glorious british 20jazzfunkgreats blog once said. and it comes from a man that knows his trade: bass play - an artisan on which he also already wrote many theoretical books in his more than four decades long career.
in the 1970's hamase was no stranger to tokyo's vibrant jazz scene. together with jazz pianist tsuyoshi yamamoto and jazz-rock guitar-ist kazumi watanabe he played in the isao suzuki sextet and was part of their classic landmark jazz-funk album "ako's dream" from 1976.
in the following years he also participated on records like mikio masuda's latin-funk-jazz gem "moon stone" or japanese female jazz singer, actress, and essayist minami yasuda's last album "moritato". in the early 1980ees his work shifted from pure jazz to electronic and ambient spheres and he started to compose his own music around his deeply emotional bass play.
from 1985 to 1993, hamase released five solo albums. just recently studio mule dropped his first one, "intaglio", in a new recording that sounds as stunning as the original release from 1986.
now the previously mentioned "reminiscence", his second work for the celebrated defunct japanese new age record label shi zen, follows in a fresh shape on studio mule.
as the original, it features deeply touching moments of sheer pristine perfection and distributes hamase's inner emotional landscape with a bewitching bass performance. a soothingly beauty of an album, that reflects hamase's search for spaces of melancholy.
a rhizome of soundscapes that capture, settle and sound elusive while simultaneously being awe-inspiring. as for "intaglio", the 66-years old artist gathered again some befriended musicians, rented a studio, staged his gear and recorded most of the original "reminis-cence" material new, while keeping the moving musical story arc of the original album alive in a fresh wrapping.
the result is a dazzling, blue mood seething, strongly hypnotic longplayer, full of personality and hybrid ambient electronic jazz spheres that open doors to unheard sound universes and that perfectly work for all those stress-relieved souls that love the disclosure of the mind and seek for a "refuge from nasty reality".
Produced by Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak. LP is on coloured coke bottle green vinyl + inclues download code and 12x12' lyric sheet/ liner note insert.
Madeline will be on tour throughout the UK and Europe this Autumn.
'Building from understated beauty to dense guitar theatrics. It reminds me of Chicago circa '93 as remembered in a dream — a little bit of Liz Phair 'Exile In Guyville' - rendered in soft-focus with the graceful confidence of a young master. ' STEREOGUM
In January of 2018, five months after the release of her debut album Night Night at the First Landing, Madeline Kenney traveled from Oakland, California to the woods outside of Durham, North Carolina to record her sophomore album with a new collaborator, Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner.
The choice was a conscious decision to explore new methodology in writing, recording, production and even genre. Perfect Shapes sees Kenney leaping headfirst into fresh and adventurous territory, largely eschewing conventional rock structures in favor of theme and melody. Its ten songs are full of surprises big and small - from vibrant synth lines to taut bass figures and subtly modulated vocals - that instead of feeling fussed over, reveal Kenney's penchant for elegant and abstract composition.
Kenney's 2017 debut, Night Night at the First Landing, was a guitar-centric rock album, produced by friend and collaborator Chaz Bear of Toro Y Moi, Perfect Shapes leans on the foundational pieces of Night Night - fuzzed-out guitar tones, coy wordplay and Kenney's notably strong voice - but with an unconventional approach that allows them to bloom, reincarnated. Perfect Shapes marks Wasner's first foray into producing another artist's work and is permeated by the pair's collaborative spirit. Both Wasner and Kenney play multiple instruments on the record, and engineered the session alongside Kenney's touring percussionist, Camille Lewis.
An eagerness to explore and experiment is apparent from start to finish, as Kenney and Wasner weave endless sonic curve balls into the arrangements. From the delightfully warped percussion on opening track 'Overhead' to the burbling synths on the R&B-tinted 'The Flavor of the Fruit Tree' and the left-field trumpet solo in 'Your Art,' these rich and inventive ideas echo Yo La Tengo's everything-but-the-kitchen-sink mentality, as well as the surging soundscapes of Tame Impala and Wye Oak at their most impressionistic. Lead single "Cut Me Off" is a surprise of its own - the most pop-forward song Kenney has written yet. 'Bad Idea,' finds her balancing fragility as foil; later, 'I Went Home' manages to evoke both frustration and affection in a single breath.
The complex and open-ended questions that lay at the core of Perfect Shapes mark Kenney's arrival into a hard-hitting reflective space: How do you love another when it hurts to do so What is the physical limit to which one can carry the emotions of others How does a modern female artist reckon with the expectations demanded of her femininity Yet for all the notes of doubt and fear that Kenney raises, she delivers each song with confidence and poise, grounded by the pointedly laid and surging soundscape.
Kenney has always had a penchant for curiosity and experimentation. Raised in the Pacific Northwest, she began studying classical piano and dance in kindergarten, and grew to believe her future lay in modern dance choreography. Not one to be tied to a singular pursuit, however, Kenney took a hard left in college, studying Interpersonal Neurobiology and supporting herself with a career in baking. Music remained a constant however, and after moving to the Bay Area in 2013, Kenney quickly found footing in the supportive arts community in Oakland. There, she met and began collaborating with Chaz Bear (Toro Y Moi), which led to the production of her Signals EP and later her debut album, Night Night at the First Landing. Both releases were received with great critical acclaim, and saw Kenney exploring the sounds within her self-proclaimed twang-haze genre, defined by cathartic fuzz breakdowns and lyrical sensitivity.
Compilation of the works by MJ Lallo, weird harmonizing mantras layered with drummachine rhythms.. Very psychedelic compositions where she uses her voice to create all kinds of sound(scapes)
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Take Me With You is a revelatory voyage through the captivating universe of voice artist and poet MJ Lallo. The works on this 2LP compilation were all recorded in her home studio between 1982 and 1997, primarily using drum computer, synth and her own voice processed through a Yamaha SPX 90 digital effects unit. They range from wordless harmonizer mantras and primitive drum computer meditations, to psychedelic latin dance-floor anthems and synth-drenched end-of-the-nighters. Lallo has created her own inimitable galaxy of sound where the human voice, liberated from the constraints of language and abstracted using digital technology, is able to explore the outer realms of human expression, like Joan La Barbara with an Eventide and a new-age sensibility. Although Lallo's flight path is distinctly her own, her journey converges with other travellers as diverse as Jon Hassell, Laraaji, Stereolab, William Aura, Laurie Anderson, Meredith Monk, Gertrude Stein and even Terry Gilliam (whose film Brazil was a big influence on Lallo). Like something beamed in from another planet, Lallo's work is both fascinatingly strange and strangely familiar, and will leave a lasting impression for lightyears to come. Double gatefold LP, remastered DDM pressing.
ADULT. '20 years ODD.'
Over the course of the last two decades, Detroit-based duo ADULT. (Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller) have released six albums and nineteen EPs and singles across some of our favorite labels: Mute, Ghostly International, Thrill Jockey, Clone Records, Third Man Records, and their own label, the revered Ersatz Audio. November 1998 marked their first release: the five-song 12" 'Dispassionate Furniture'. This September, twenty years later, Dais Records is proud to announce ADULT.'s seventh full length album: THIS BEHAVIOR.
The album began as 23 demos written and recorded in a remote cabin in the woods of Northern Michigan during the dead of winter. In total isolation, and with a reduced amount of gear (a modified version of their live setup) on the cabin's kitchen table, the duo were completely immersed in an incessant inescapable studio of their own making - looping, repetitive analogue sequences grinding away day and night. At the end of the intense demo session, a handful of peers were enlisted by the band for the difficult task of paring down the demos into the final album.
The result is 10 tracks of uncompromising dark electronics, showcasing ADULT.'s return to aggressive and energetic dancefloor mastery. Album opener 'This Behavior' alongside the follow-up 'Violent Shakes' (which ascends into synths wailing like warning sirens over Kuperus's commanding vocals) set the stage for an on-edge listen, while the heartbreaking 'Silent Exchange' unfolds as a beautiful sad synth dirge. 'Perversions of Humankind' breaks the mood - driving the listener into a slow and low groove before the frantic album midpoint of 'Irregular Pleasure'. 'Does The Body Know' is the album's post-punk anthem, with irresistible singalong 'we're out of order - we're undefined!' The latter half of the album drives forward with 'On The Edge (You Put Me...)' and 'Lick Out The Content', refusing rest and demanding movement and response. 'Everything & Nothing' emerges slowly from sparkling synth textures, snowballing with nervous energy into an acid techno stomper before the album comes to a close on the icy landscape of 'In All The Debris', a goose-bump inducing slow electronic mantra that closes the curtain on a massive album.
Artist statement on the album's writing process:
'It's confounding how often we negate the importance of disconnecting, getting weird, getting lost. Discomfort and joy intertwined. Day to day, theatrical self-presentation set to rest in our frantic social world. Public becomes private, almost too private. Looking out into frozen woods as you deliver your vocals. For who For what Taking walks along icy shorelines as you try to overcome writer's block, as you try to overcome yourself. Not seeing anyone for days and weeks on end. Overwhelming thoughts and feelings come rushing in; anxiety, fear, purpose, banality, futility of task, power structures, power struggles, pointlessness, collapse.You're faced to face yourself. Your awareness is heightened. You are neither here nor there. You are in a liminal state As you work in this isolated cabin your windows become mirrors.'
"Are we distortions. Are we distortions, perversions of humankind.Are we distortions. Are we distortions, twisted somewhere in time."
ADULT. '20 years ODD.'
Over the course of the last two decades, Detroit-based duo ADULT. (Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller) have released six albums and nineteen EPs and singles across some of our favorite labels: Mute, Ghostly International, Thrill Jockey, Clone Records, Third Man Records, and their own label, the revered Ersatz Audio. November 1998 marked their first release: the five-song 12" 'Dispassionate Furniture'. This September, twenty years later, Dais Records is proud to announce ADULT.'s seventh full length album: THIS BEHAVIOR.
The album began as 23 demos written and recorded in a remote cabin in the woods of Northern Michigan during the dead of winter. In total isolation, and with a reduced amount of gear (a modified version of their live setup) on the cabin's kitchen table, the duo were completely immersed in an incessant inescapable studio of their own making - looping, repetitive analogue sequences grinding away day and night. At the end of the intense demo session, a handful of peers were enlisted by the band for the difficult task of paring down the demos into the final album.
The result is 10 tracks of uncompromising dark electronics, showcasing ADULT.'s return to aggressive and energetic dancefloor mastery. Album opener 'This Behavior' alongside the follow-up 'Violent Shakes' (which ascends into synths wailing like warning sirens over Kuperus's commanding vocals) set the stage for an on-edge listen, while the heartbreaking 'Silent Exchange' unfolds as a beautiful sad synth dirge. 'Perversions of Humankind' breaks the mood - driving the listener into a slow and low groove before the frantic album midpoint of 'Irregular Pleasure'. 'Does The Body Know' is the album's post-punk anthem, with irresistible singalong 'we're out of order - we're undefined!' The latter half of the album drives forward with 'On The Edge (You Put Me...)' and 'Lick Out The Content', refusing rest and demanding movement and response. 'Everything & Nothing' emerges slowly from sparkling synth textures, snowballing with nervous energy into an acid techno stomper before the album comes to a close on the icy landscape of 'In All The Debris', a goose-bump inducing slow electronic mantra that closes the curtain on a massive album.
Artist statement on the album's writing process:
'It's confounding how often we negate the importance of disconnecting, getting weird, getting lost. Discomfort and joy intertwined. Day to day, theatrical self-presentation set to rest in our frantic social world. Public becomes private, almost too private. Looking out into frozen woods as you deliver your vocals. For who For what Taking walks along icy shorelines as you try to overcome writer's block, as you try to overcome yourself. Not seeing anyone for days and weeks on end. Overwhelming thoughts and feelings come rushing in; anxiety, fear, purpose, banality, futility of task, power structures, power struggles, pointlessness, collapse.You're faced to face yourself. Your awareness is heightened. You are neither here nor there. You are in a liminal state As you work in this isolated cabin your windows become mirrors.'
"Are we distortions. Are we distortions, perversions of humankind.Are we distortions. Are we distortions, twisted somewhere in time."
The Next Installment In Cold Diamond & Mink's Soul Investigations Introduces A Three Part Harmony Group From California. "my My My Baby" Is A Smoking Hot Group Harmony Groover That Should Drop A Few Jaws At Your Next Dj Set.
Thee Baby Cuffs Was Born Out Of Love For Soul Music And Chicano Culture. Their First 45 "where Did Our Pride Go", Came Out In 2017 On The Raza Del Soul Label, Covering An Unsung Early 70's Larry Saunders Production. "my My My Baby" Continues On The Same Lane Of Midtempo Soul Over Funky Drums And Soulful Horn Lines. The Lyric Is Your Middle Of The Road Love Song Material, But The Group Harmony Lifts It Right Off The Ground Like It's Meant To Happen In This Kind Of Music.
Get A Few Copies And Rock The Instrumental On The B-side Before Dropping The Vocal, If You Feel Like It. Soul Music That's This Potent Is Better Enjoyed In Excess.
Wir Freuen Uns Mit "uhuru" Das Debütalbum Der Summers Sons & C.tappin Zu Veröffentlichen. Das Trio Besteht Aus Turt (rap), Slim (beats) Und C.tappin (gesang + Keys) Und Lebt In London Und Bristol. Turt Und Slim Heißen Mit Nachnamen Summers Und Sind Brüder. Mit Tappin Sind Sie Seit Frühen Jugendtagen Befreundet. Die Musik Der Summers Sons Lässt Sich Als Rap Mit Viel Jazz Beschreiben. Wir Nennen Es Cool Bap. Fans Von Loyle Carner, Mos Def Und Alfa Mist Kommen Hier Genauso Auf Ihre Kosten Wie Beatheads, Die Gerne Flofilz Oder Twit One Hören (mit Letzteren Haben Die Sons Bereits Zusammengearbeitet). "uhuru" Heißt Auf Swahili "freiheit". "uhuru Peak" Ist Gleichzeitig Der Name Des Höchsten Gipfels Des Kilimandscharo-massivs, Den Die Band Während Eines Längeren Aufenthalts In Tansania Vor Drei Jahren Gemeinsam Bestiegen Hat. Der Trip Legte Den Grundstein Für Die Arbeit Am Gleichnamigen Album. Dass Die Sons & Tappin Ihre Ersten Musikalischen Gehversuche Mit Grime (turt), Uk Garage (slim) Und Indie Rock (tappin) Gemacht Haben, Hört Man "uhuru" Nicht An. So Entspannt Und Ausgejazzt Und Mit Viel Soul In Den Hooks Kommt Das Album Daher. Dazu Raps, Die Neben Cleveren Rhyme-patterns Durch Kluge, Persönliche Und Philosophische Texten Überzeugen. So Gesehen Sind Die Frühzwanziger Das, Was Man Auf Englisch "old Souls" Nennt. Dabei Fangen Sie Gerade Erst An ...
Terence Fixmer's path through the changing techno landscape of the past 20 years has been anything but direct. Indeed, the French born producer, musician and Planete Rouge label founder has long been influenced by the periphery of continental European dance music subgenres from electronic body music, new beat and acid, before combining them into his own pioneering hybrid of futuristic, EBM-inflected techno with classic releases such as 2001's Muscle Machine or the collaborative Between The Devil LP with Nitzer Ebb's Douglas McCarthy as Fixmer/McCarthy. While the sound in recent years has been rediscovered and recast in diverse contexts by a new generation of producers, Through The Cortex sees Fixmer gravitating toward a different kind of industrial-tinged electronics, led as much (or more) by analogue sequencers, melodies and ultra-saturated sounds of synthesizers than drums and percussion. Across eight tracks at a compact but varied 40 minutes, the LP touches on an aesthetic hinted at in recent Ostgut Ton releases (2016's Beneath The Skin EP and 2017's Force EP), revealing a sonic narrative through noisy, screaming synth/vocal riffs with a jagged, guitar- like post-punk sensibility. Through The Cortex is techno with a voice - or rather multiple voices - guiding listeners through hypnotic, space- and social-themed terrain as a kind of dark soundtrack to darker days. The result ranges from the slow John Carpenter-inspired Escape From Precinct 13 funk of 'Expedition' and the patient yet muscular stomp of 'Fury' to the mesmerizing Suicide-like pop of single 'Accelerate', where Fixmer, using his voice as an instrument, chants the track's ambiguous title in an invocation of systemic change/collapse. Elsewhere, the story is told with more abstract and wailing vocals like on 'Shout in A Black Hole', or in the warm, entrancing chords floating across the stereo image in ostensibly changing time-signatures on 'A Halo Somewhere' - the LP's uncharacteristically kosmische musik come-down. The track, and Through The Cortex as a whole, reflect what can be described as Fixmer's idiosyncratic take on both techno subgenres as well as the larger pool of electronic music in general. This broad approach translates into a sound that is not only difficult to pin down, but also one that lends itself to multiple listens.
Pyramids. Jagged Teeth Pushing Through Immaculate Skies. The Ever-changing Light. The Expansive Sense Of Freedom. The Wide Open Spaces. The Textured Landscape Seen From Above. Mountains. Watchful And Immobile For Thousands Of Years, Weathering Seasons, Transcending Change.
It's December 2016. I've Left The London Madness To Hit The Reset Button And Compose New Music In A Tiny Village In The Swiss Alps. I'm Over 10,000 Feet High, It's Minus 15 Degrees And The Snow Is Scintillating Under A Rich Blue Sky. I Turn Around And Suddenly This Gigantic Pyramid-shaped Peak Is Towering Over Me, Staring Me In The Face. Mind Blown. Senses Overwhelmed. Perspective. Lightbulb Moment. I Have My Album Concept.
I Wanted To Put Into Sound My Cathartic Experiences Of The Mountains. Every Track Title Was Chosen Before Composing. The Title Would Be A Catalyst For Visual Memories, Narrative And Overall Vibes. I Continued Developing The Tracks On Occasional Trips To Switzerland, But Mainly Back In The Gritty Habitat Of London's Hackney Wick. The Urban-nature Contrast Had An Impact On The Music Too.
I Use A Lot Of Found Sound, Stuff I Have Collected Over The Years, And A Lot Of Resampled Guitar Sounds And Textures. I Love Imperfections In Sound. Detuned Synths. Distortions And Glitches. Rhythmic Flutters And Percussive Frenzy. 'manual' Cut-ups. I Love Moving To House And Disco And Getting Lost In The More Melodic Side Of Techno. I Love Polyrhythms And Melodic Counterpoints. I Love The Energy And Rawness Of A Live Rock Band. I Channel All This To Create My Own Sonic Palette.
Artwork By Jimmy Turrell, Graphic Artist And Video Director Who Combines A Love Of Handmade Collage, Drawing, Screen Printing And Painting Alongside Digital Techniques. He Has Worked For Universal Music, Nike, Lexus, Levis, Mtv, The New Yorker, Intro, Capitol Records, The New York Times, Green Peace, Beck, The Prodigy/xl Recordings, Channel 4, The Guardian, Gq, The Times, La Times, Newsweek, Getty Images, Adidas, Sony Music, New York Magazine, Wired, Glastonbury Festival, And Vanity Fair Amongst Others.
The Debut Album 'pyramids' Comes Out Worldwide On Limited Double, Green Vinyl (including Download Code).
Horrorfilm 'The Johnsons' was one of the biggest productions of 1992 in The Netherlands. The film won international acclaim and became a cult classic in the U.S. and Japan, yet failed to make an impact on the Dutch cultural landscape. Or so it was
thought... 25 years later, the celebrated documentary 'XANGADIX LIVES!' (Bram Roza & Yfke van Berckelaer, 2017), shines a new light on the untold story behind the film's troubled
production and the legacy it left behind...
XANGADIX LIVES! the original motion picture soundtrack, is composed by award winning producer and Deformer initiator, Mike Redman. It's now available on limited edition blood splattered vinyl. Get it now, because when we say limited edition, we mean limited edition!
If you check the credits of The Rolling Stones' Goats Head Soup LP from 1973 you'll find a certain "Pascal" listed on the percussion section. That is none other than Los Angeles based artist Nicolas Pascal Raicevik (1933-1994), aka 107-34-8933, aka Head, aka Nik Pascal, aka Nik Raicevic. Besides his hitting the bongoes on the Stones album, Nik was a great artist on his own, both as a painter and as a musician. As a musician, he was a pioneer in the use of synthesizers, preceeding the Berlin school by some years when his Head LP was released on on Buddah in 1970. Buddah probably saw in Head the opportunity to cash in some money from the remains of the psychedelic scene - the three tracks on the LP are named after drugs used in the late sixties. The sounds, however, are accomplished works that show Raicevic as one of the most interesting pioneers in the use of synths. The album probably didn't do too well, since Buddah didn't renew the contract with Raicevic, who instead took his own way releasing his works on his very own Narco Records and Tapes label. Between 1968 and 1975 Narco would issue 4 LPs credited either to Nik Raicevic (Beyond The End... Eternity) or Nik Pascal (The Sixth Ear, Magnetic Web and Zero Gravity) plus one credited to 107-34-8933 (Numbers, which is in fact the same LP as Buddah's Head, albeit with different cover art). Copies of these LPs came with an ironic sticker over the shrinkwrap that read "Do not listen to this LP if you are stoned".
1972 saw the release of The Sixth Ear (Narco NR666), this time credited to Nik Pascal. A more complex work than Beyond The End..., it adds consistent rhythmic patterns to the mix with the addition of bongoes and also explores some interesting chord progressions.
Besides his musical explorations, Nik was also an interesting painter. His paintings are auctioned from time to time, and are consciousness expanding works influenced by abstract cubism and surrealism, some kind of Salvador Dalí on drugs exploring the outter and inner space. All the artwork on the sleeves of his LPs is done by himself. Spacey landscapes and psychedelic colours that fit perfectly to the music they contain.
"Nik Raicevic's music is at the intersection of radical psycho-electronic weirdness and kraut kosmische music (in particular the scifi-hypno-minimal modules of Conrad Schnitzler in Grun, Rot and Blau). It presents mega epic & tripped out electronic improvisations.
"This is an absolute must for collectors and fans of visceral, neurotic soundscapes." (progarchives)
"As far as late-60s / early-70s American Bedroom' Electronic Music goes, these LPS have to be among the first transmissions from this sector, made all the more attractive when coupled with Raicevic's alien topographIes - the covers are high-color portrayals of Venusian lanes, knotted growths, & future-past architecture in a style you might equate with Vintage' sci-fi pulp-novel covers - & copious Downer' sentiment. This music is imbued with a sort of lonely, anti-social sensibility that's about as far as you can get from the Academic' Early Electronic vector. I will say that if the Steve Birchall, Cellutron & the Invisible, and/or Pythagoron™ seed your garden, this will likely do the same." (twoheadeddog)
Never reissued before on vinyl format, the Wah Wah reissue features original sleeve artwork made of paintings and drawings by Nik himself and reproduction of the famous ironic "Do not listen if you are stoned" sticker. Limited edition, 500 copies only.
If you check the credits of The Rolling Stones' Goats Head Soup LP from 1973 you'll find a certain "Pascal" listed on the percussion section. That is none other than Los Angeles based artist Nicolas Pascal Raicevik (1933-1994), aka 107-34-8933, aka Head, aka Nik Pascal, aka Nik Raicevic. Besides his hitting the bongoes on the Stones album, Nik was a great artist on his own, both as a painter and as a musician. As a musician, he was a pioneer in the use of synthesizers, preceeding the Berlin school by some years when his Head LP was released on on Buddah in 1970. Buddah probably saw in Head the opportunity to cash in some money from the remains of the psychedelic scene - the three tracks on the LP are named after drugs used in the late sixties. The sounds, however, are accomplished works that show Raicevic as one of the most interesting pioneers in the use of synths. The album probably didn't do too well, since Buddah didn't renew the contract with Raicevic, who instead took his own way releasing his works on his very own Narco Records and Tapes label. Between 1968 and 1975 Narco would issue 4 LPs credited either to Nik Raicevic (Beyond The End... Eternity) or Nik Pascal (The Sixth Ear, Magnetic Web and Zero Gravity) plus one credited to 107-34-8933 (Numbers, which is in fact the same LP as Buddah's Head, albeit with different cover art). Copies of these LPs came with an ironic sticker over the shrinkwrap that read "Do not listen to this LP if you are stoned".
Magnetic Web was released in 1973. It appeared under the Nik Pascal monicker and showed a clear evolution in sound, favoured by the addition of an Arp 2600 and some rhythm boxes. It also included percussions and cymbals. The Two Headed Dog site thinks "this is his masterpiece in all of its acid-laced glory."
Besides his musical explorations, Nik was also an interesting painter. His paintings are auctioned from time to time, and are consciousness expanding works influenced by abstract cubism and surrealism, some kind of Salvador Dalí on drugs exploring the outter and inner space. All the artwork on the sleeves of his LPs is done by himself. Spacey landscapes and psychedelic colours that fit perfectly to the music they contain.
"Nik Raicevic's music is at the intersection of radical psycho-electronic weirdness and kraut kosmische music (in particular the scifi-hypno-minimal modules of Conrad Schnitzler in Grun, Rot and Blau). It presents mega epic & tripped out electronic improvisations.
"This is an absolute must for collectors and fans of visceral, neurotic soundscapes."
"As far as late-60s / early-70s American Bedroom' Electronic Music goes, these LPS have to be among the first transmissions from this sector, made all the more attractive when coupled with Raicevic's alien topographIes - the covers are high-color portrayals of Venusian lanes, knotted growths, & future-past architecture in a style you might equate with Vintage' sci-fi pulp-novel covers - & copious Downer' sentiment. This music is imbued with a sort of lonely, anti-social sensibility that's about as far as you can get from the Academic' Early Electronic vector. I will say that if the Steve Birchall, Cellutron & the Invisible, and/or Pythagoron™ seed your garden, this will likely do the same."
Never reissued before on vinyl format, the Wah Wah reissue features original sleeve artwork made of paintings and drawings by Nik himself, and reproduction of the famous ironic "Do not listen if you are stoned" sticker. Limited edition, 500 copies only.
If you check the credits of The Rolling Stones' Goats Head Soup LP from 1973 you'll find a certain "Pascal" listed on the percussion section. That is none other than Los Angeles based artist Nicolas Pascal Raicevik (1933-1994), aka 107-34-8933, aka Head, aka Nik Pascal, aka Nik Raicevic. Besides his hitting the bongoes on the Stones album, Nik was a great artist on his own, both as a painter and as a musician. As a musician, he was a pioneer in the use of synthesizers, preceeding the Berlin school by some years when his Head LP was released on on Buddah in 1970. Buddah probably saw in Head the opportunity to cash in some money from the remains of the psychedelic scene - the three tracks on the LP are named after drugs used in the late sixties. The sounds, however, are accomplished works that show Raicevic as one of the most interesting pioneers in the use of synths. The album probably didn't do too well, since Buddah didn't renew the contract with Raicevic, who instead took his own way releasing his works on his very own Narco Records and Tapes label. Between 1968 and 1975 Narco would issue 4 LPs credited either to Nik Raicevic (Beyond The End... Eternity) or Nik Pascal (The Sixth Ear, Magnetic Web and Zero Gravity) plus one credited to 107-34-8933 (Numbers, which is in fact the same LP as Buddah's Head, albeit with different cover art). Copies of these LPs came with an ironic sticker over the shrinkwrap that read "Do not listen to this LP if you are stoned".
Nik's last album, Zero Gravity (Narco NR123) came under the Nik Pascal name and had a fantastic side long piece on the title track which reminisces of the works of Cluster. B side features four tracks that also bear some Conrad Schnitzler reminiscences. This was to be Nik's last LP before he would sell all his synths to ex car racer and future electronic/ambient music star Steve Roach.
Besides his musical explorations, Nik was also an interesting painter. His paintings are auctioned from time to time, and are consciousness expanding works influenced by abstract cubism and surrealism, some kind of Salvador Dalí on drugs exploring the outter and inner space. All the artwork on the sleeves of his LPs is done by himself. Spacey landscapes and psychedelic colours that fit perfectly to the music they contain.
"Nik Raicevic's music is at the intersection of radical psycho-electronic weirdness and kraut kosmische music (in particular the scifi-hypno-minimal modules of Conrad Schnitzler in Grun, Rot and Blau). It presents mega epic & tripped out electronic improvisations.
"This is an absolute must for collectors and fans of visceral, neurotic soundscapes."
"As far as late-60s / early-70s American Bedroom' Electronic Music goes, these LPS have to be among the first transmissions from this sector, made all the more attractive when coupled with Raicevic's alien topographIes - the covers are high-color portrayals of Venusian lanes, knotted growths, & future-past architecture in a style you might equate with Vintage' sci-fi pulp-novel covers - & copious Downer' sentiment. This music is imbued with a sort of lonely, anti-social sensibility that's about as far as you can get from the Academic' Early Electronic vector. I will say that if the Steve Birchall, Cellutron & the Invisible, and/or Pythagoron™ seed your garden, this will likely do the same."
Never reissued before on vinyl format, the Wah Wah reissue features original sleeve artwork made of paintings and drawings by Nik himself, and reproduction of the famous ironic "Do not listen if you are stoned" sticker. Limited edition, 500 copies only.
Dancing With Fireflies From Sanderson's Second Long Player Urban Mosaic Gets The Treatment Courtesy Louis Haiman, Minimal States And Off Land. Louis Once Again Shows His Flare For Soulful Detroit Influenced Tech, Putting A Fwdthought Spin On Sanderson's Original Arrangement. Minimal States Leaves An Equally Strong Mark With His Rich Idm Techno Flavoured Rendition. Stasis Recordings Stalwart, Off Land, Reworks Just Beyond Into A Gorgeous Piece Of Chill Out Bliss.
Mit brachialen Tempowechseln und sägenden Gitarrenriffs sowie klebrig-süßen Arrangements und ungestümen Ausbrüchen zwischen Hardcore, Punk und Alternative stiegen die Pixies gegen Ende der Achtziger zu Independent-Superstars auf. 1987 nahmen Frank Black & Co. bei einer dreitägigen Session 17 Songs für das Demo "The Purple Tape" auf. Eines dieser lila Bänder fiel Ivo Watts-Russel in die Hände, der die Pixies schließlich bei 4AD unter Vertrag nahm. Acht der Demo-Stücke landeten auf der EP "Come On Pilgrim", der ersten Veröffentlichung der Band. Im Jahr 1988 entstand das Debütalbum der Pixies, "Surfer Rosa", produziert von Steve Albini. Wieder hielt sich das Quartett nicht lange im Studio auf, in vierzehn Tagen war alles im Kasten. "Surfer Rosa" enthält "Where Is My Mind?" und damit den sicherlich berühmtesten Song der Band. Das Debüt begeisterte die Kritiker, "Melody Maker" und "Sounds" zeichneten es als "Album des Jahres" aus. Auch rückblickend gilt die Platte als eines der wichtigsten Rockalben jener Zeit. Zum 30-jährigen Veröffentlichungsjubiläum bringt 4AD die beiden Meilensteine zusammen mit dem 1986 mitgeschnittenen Radiokonzert "Live From The Fallout Shelter" noch einmal als Triple-Album heraus.
New from the ever discerning Nous camp comes AYLN's RehtomEP, a 25 minute exploration of the kind of unrelenting machine music for which both artist and label have come to prominenc
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Side A is a journey through sparse syncopated rhythms, industrial noise motifs and the kind of buzz and hum that the heroes of the second wave of techno music championed, culminating in the EP's title track 'Rehtom' which is an exercise in analogue techno mastery.
Side B's delivery is subtly more dulcet, kicking off with Digital Memories, which has a more classical techno structure than anything that came before, building intricate melodies into an otherwise taut and tightly woven electronic landscape while the closing Impulsive Sheit is a gentle downbeat number, exploring the space within the music and creating an atmospheric ambient discourse to outro the heady charge of the EP as a whole.
With "Rhythmic Conversations" Frisina shifts the coordinates of his music to a more 'raw' soundscape, in which the rhythmic element stands in the foreground. Not just Latin-jazz dancefloor material then, but music with strong percussive and tribal elements. Music is perhaps the only truly effective language that allows people who speak different idioms to communicate with each other, and this is precisely what Gerardo Frisina's "Rhythmic Conversations" are about. Closing the record we have an alternative version of "Camagüey", a very different mix from the original one, in a particular Afro-Cuban music style called "Tumbao".
American composer and multi-instrumentalist Alvin Curran has remained one of the great emblems of experimental music for the last half-century. In 1966, along with Frederic Rzewski and Richard Teitelbaum, Curran co-founded Musica Elettronica Viva, a seminal gesture in collective free improvisation. In the early '70s, his solo work would become a crucial bridge between minimalist traditions on both sides of the Atlantic.
Canti E Vedute Del Giardino Magnetico, Curran's solo debut, was recorded by the artist himself and issued on Ananda, the small Italian imprint started by Curran and fellow composers Giacinto Scelsi and Roberto Laneri. The piece itself was put together in the winter of 1973 and presented for the first time at Teatro Beat 72 (Rome's The Kitchen).
Encouraged by the work of Terry Riley, La Monte Young, Charlemagne Palestine and Simone Forti, Curran binds the listener to aberrant notions of place and time: blending field recordings (wind, high-tension wires, beach waves, etc.) with simple and often primitive instruments. Across two sidelong tracks, Giardino Magnetico forms a lyrical collage of synthesizer, glass and metal chimes, plastic tubes, brass and the composer's alluring voice - converging in an immersive realm of Curran's inner / outer experiences.
This first-time vinyl reissue is recommended for fans of Harry Bertoia, Michel Redolfi and Lino Capra Vaccina.
Label boss Cali Lanauze is joined once again by Jonny Cruz to deliver the fifth release of Opulence's catalogue.
The duo perfectly demonstrates through the 'Flyg EP' the versatility and sounds that Opulence brings to the table: Deep, Trippy, Dark, Groovy & more.
Taking on remix duties of Cali Lanauze & Jonny Cruz's originals, Germany's legendary Roman Flügel delivers a dark warehouse electronica roller remix of 'Flyg', whilst Disco Halal head honcho Moscoman delivers a deep summer instrumental interpretation of 'May The Wind Always Be At Your Back'.
"The Room", Fenster's fourth album and their first release on Altin Village & Mine marks the beginning of a new chapter for the band. After releasing three albums, a feature length film, and touring extensively throughout Europe and North America since 2012, "The Room" serves as an entry point into their sonic evolution. The essential characteristic of the band is transformation - within and between genres, albums, and songs. Their sound is a window framing psychedelic, groovy, hypnogogic, playful pop.
Fenster is Elias Hock (Germany), Jonathan Jarzyna (Germany), Lucas Ufo (France) and JJ Weihl (USA). Their mission in creating this album was to compose and arrange every song together in a room. It is an experiment in collective creativity that pushed all of them to transcend their individuality and create something together which is greater than the sum of its parts.
The songs were tracked live in a house where the band ate, slept, and played together. Often the songs were recorded without implementing a click track. They were intent on finding and locking into a human groove—one open to imperfection—while still maintaining a tightness between them. They wanted to make the songs feel alive—as if the listener were present in the room with them in the moment of creation.
The album's title track "The Room" opens the record like a rollercoaster ride. There is a tension in the first bars that ties us to earth, a minimal riff that guides us to the first chorus where we feel we are slowly lifting into the air—and by the time we reach the second chorus it has exploded into a space far away from the planet's gravitational pull.
The band's use of juxtaposition is not just a way of channeling a vast library of musical genres and concepts, it is a means of expression. Combining tender pop melodies with kraut-beats, disco grooves and psychedelia frees the band from any one sound and creates a genre all its own.
This playfulness is especially vibrant in songs like "Rhythm A" and "HAHA lol" which deconstruct and fuse together disparate moments of explosive rock, tender harmonies, percussion made of splashing water, voices from a radio, and electric piano. Even "Feel Better", a sparkly pop ballad is cracked wide open by a long trippy interlude that appears unexpectedly within an otherwise classic structure.
The cover art, created by the band's own Lucas Ufo, invites us into a room in the shape of a human skull. If one looks "out" the window in the picture, one finds oneself looking in to an infinite portal of rooms within rooms. The record plays a lot with this idea of perception. In "HBW", the relationship between the bass and the drums creates the feeling of an infinity loop. The lyrics lend an enigmatic tint to the landscape of so called objective reality v. perceived reality: "I was a phase — you were going through — said I was the one but there is no one — there's only the sun — that gives shape to the moon"
The record starts with "The Room" and ends with "Two Doors". Maybe one door is an exit, and one leads to another room... who knows The song has something mysterious and expansive, like a digital ocean flooding the room, carrying everything away. The whole process of making a record is about capturing a moment in time. This is the record they made - in this point in time, all together, in a room. The last words of the record roll out with the waves: "What you leave behind for someone else to find — Two doors inside — neither one is right"
Boredom, anxiety, pain killers and frustration make a heady mix for both reflection and action. For three weeks I stared out of the window of the tower block onto the tall brick towers of the old asylum chimneys. The past was a strange land suddenly out of reach, the present confusing and claustrophobic, the future something I could only visualise and idolise.
From the balmy Autumn day of my release a light was switched on, buzzing urgently like a neon street light on my path. Life took on new vigour and meaning. Pleasures starkly illuminated, annoyances inconsequential. Old work was re-examined and appreciated. Machines were treasured and connected. My basement filled with ever greater warmth and excitement.
The toy towns of our inner minds are constructed of a million tiny building blocks of experience. But there's a freedom that comes from realising what might have been. Peace in reflection, untethered from the everyday distraction and I take pleasure in the hum drum. Unhampered by trends, untethered to a scene, stripped back to essential carnal influences and desires. Who are we but the sum of our experience.
'Everything Is Quite Now' meanders through a reimagined landscape of personal history, releasing musical fragments to dri* amongst soaring treetops, hollowed lakes and labyrinthine concrete structures, liberated from genre and form - alive at last. In these great expanses, light and dark are presented not as polar opposites, but as a limitless, unified whole.
References to EBM and industrial techno manifest within the sporadic percussive framework whilst gauzy ambient backdrops form an entire world of their own, constructed from the gentle hiss of a looping tape, the booming caverns of a muffled kick, the vivid distortions of a crystalline synth. In the depths of a misty forest, warmth permeates, absorbing inside it all of the darkness, pain, romance and beauty from before.
Prequel Tapes is a work of deep synthesis. Fragments of melody and memory orchestrated into densely layered tapestries; a deeply emotional study on a life characterised by a shi*ing relationship to electronics. The pieces serve as a chronology of desire and reflection, reconciling a nascent passion for industrial music with a history in the club. Oscillating between utopian to claustrophobic, the evolving synth work, deep techno atmosphere and traces of clangorous energy of early European ambient and industrial tell a distinctly German tale, forged between the forest and the autobahn.
Nach Dem Sensationellen Erfolg Des Ersten Albums - oracle Im Letzten Jahr, Erscheint Nun Das Zweite Album Der Deutschen Jazz-supergroup Web Web. - dance Of The Demons Ist Ein Furioser Tanz Mit Den Dämonen - Mal Im Positiven Spirit Soul Jazz Rausch Wie Bei - land Of The Arum Flower , Das Mit Seiner Ergreifenden Melodie An Ethopian Jazz Der 60er Jahre Erinnert, Oder Mal Verrückt, Entfesselt Wie Bei - sandia .
Web Web Spielt Nun Mittlerweile Seit 2 Jahren Intensiv Zusammen, Man Hat Duzende Konzerte Absolviert Und Man Spürt Förmlich Die Geschlossenheit, Intensität Und Kraft, Die Sich Als Homogener Organismus Aus Einem Guß Heraus Zu Einem Phantastischen Sound Zusammenbraut.
Als Einen Besonderen Glücksfall Konnte Die Band Den Berühmten Marrokanischen Sänger Und Gembri-spieler Majid Bekkas Gewinnen, Der In Rabat Beheimatet Ist. Tony Lakatos Arbeitete Mit Majid Und Joachim Kühn In Den Letzten Jahren Immer Wieder Zusammen, Ebenso Roberto Digioia In Zusammenhang Mit Klaus Doldinger. Insofern Lag Es Nahe, Diesen Brillianten Musiker Mit Seinen Nordafrikanischen Wurzeln Mit Dem Ungeschliffenen Konzept Von Web Web Zu Verbinden. In - maroc Blues , Einer Soloperformance Von Majid, Hört Man Den Warmen Klangkörper Der Gembri, Einem Kontrabassartig-klingendem Instrument (dreisaitige Langhalslaute), Sowie Auch Majids Wunderbare Stimme, In Der Sich Die Jahrhunderte Alte Tradition Der Berber Widerspiegelt. - safar Zeigt Ebenso Die Große Improvisatorische Klasse Von Web Web, Vor Allem Wie Sie Auf Allen Ebenen In Die Spirituelle Sprache Eintauchen.
Majid Bekkas Ist Einer Der Bedeutendsten Musiker Und Vertreter Der Gnawa-musik, Die In Der Südlichen Sahara Beheimatet Ist. Am Konservatorium Für Musik Und Tanz In Rabat Studierte Er Seit 1975 Klassische Gitarre Und Oud.
Nach Ersten Erfahrungen Mit Eigenen Bands In Den 80er Jahren Gründete Er 1990 Sein Trio Gnaoua Blues Band, In Dem Er Blues Mit Gnawa-musik Verband. In Den Darauffolgenden Jahren Interessierte Er Sich Zunehmends Für Jazz, Trat Schon Bald Mit Größen Wie Archie Shepp, Louis Sclavis, Peter Brötzmann Oder Hamid Drake Auf.
- dance Of The Demons- Wurde Wie Auch - oracle An Einem Wochenende Live In München Eingespielt
Toningenieur Ist Wie Auch Bei - oracle Jan Krause (beanfield, Poets Of Rhythm U.v.m.)
Das Nächste, Dritte Web Web Album Wird Im Winter 2018 Ebendort In München Aufgenommen, Und Es Werden Wíeder Ein Oder Zwei Hochkarätige Gäste Dazu Eingeladen.
Web Web Sind: Roberto Di Gioia (piano, Synth, Percussion), Tony Lakatos (tenor- Und Sopranosaxophone), Christian Von Kaphengst (upright Bass) Und Peter Gall (drums).
Roberto Di Gioia Arbeitete Mit Zahlreichen Jazz-legenden Zusammen, Wie Z.b. Mit Woody Shaw, Art Farmer, James Moody, Johnny Griffin, Charlie Rouse, Clifford Jordan, Clark Terry, Roy Ayers, Gregory Porter U.v.m.
Anfang 1990 Wurde Er Mitglied In Klaus Doldingers Passport.
Als Pianist Machte Er U.a. Aufnahmen Mit Udo Lindenberg (mtv-unplugged,2011), Charlie Watts (- music Of The Rolling Stones , 2005), Console (- reset The Preset , 2003), The Notwist (- shrink 1998, - neon Golden , 2002).
Seit 2007 Arbeitet Er Zusammen Mit Samon Kawamura Und Max Herre Als Kahedi: Max Herre (- hallo Welt , 2012), Joy Denalane (- gleisdreieck , 2017), U.v.m.
Seine Eigene Band Marsmobil (produziert Von Peter Kruder) Wird Im Herbst Ihr 4.studioalbum Veröffentlichen.
Tony Lakatos Stammt Aus Der Berühmten Lakatos-familie Aus Budapest, Ungarn. Sein Vater War Ein Berühmter Geiger, Ebenso Sein Jüngerer Bruder Roby. Er Begann Mit Dem Saxofon-spiel Als Er 15 Jahre Alt War.
Tony Studierte Auf Dem Bela-bartok-konservatorium In Budapest, Machte Seinen Abschluß 1979 Und Spielte Seither Auf Über 350 Jazzproduktionen Weltweit Mit, U.a. Mit Al Foster, Kirk Lightsey, Randy Brecker, George Mraz, David Witham, Terri Lyne Carrington, Anthony Jackson. Tony War Mitglied Der Band Pili Pili Von Jasper Van´t Hof. Seit 1993 Ist Er Solist In Der Hr Radio-bigband.
Christian Von Kaphengst Bekam Mit 6 Jahren Klassischen Klavierunterricht Im Peter-cornelius-konservatorium In Mainz.
Von 1988 Bis 1995 Studierte Er Jazz-kontrabass Sowie Instrumentalpädagogik An Der Musikhochschule In Köln.
Sein Jazzquartett - cafe Du Sport Absolvierte Im Auftrag Des Goethe-instituts Tourneen Nach Pakistan, Indien, Türkei Und Westafrika. Seit 1999 Ist Er Regelmäßig Bassist Von Patti Austin Sowie Der New York Voices Für Europäische Konzerte.
Von Kaphengst Spielte U.a. Mit Randy Brecker, Nat Adderley, Roy Hargrove, Joe Sample, Charlie Mariano, Katja Ebstein, Xavier Naidoo, Roachford, Yvonne Catterfeld.
Peter Gall Gewann Bereits In Jungen Jahren Erste Preise Bei Jugendjazzt Und Tourte Mit Dem Bundesjazzorchester Unter Leitung Von Peter Herbholzheimer. Er Studierte An Der Berliner Universität Der Künste Und Am Jazz Institut Berlin Bei John Hollenbeck. Gall Absolvierte Sein Masterstudium An Der Manhattan School Of Music Bei John Riley.
Er Arbeitete U.a. Mit Kurt Rosenwinkel, Seamus Blake, Ben Street, Gabriel Rios, Jasmin Tabatabai, Thomas Quasthoff, Peter Fessler.
Feedback - Web Web - oracle :
"oracle Ist Nicht Nur Ungemein Packend, Sondern Klingt Auch Absolut International, Bewegt Sich Auf Einer Ebene Mit Leuten Wie Kamasi Washington Oder Shabaka Hutchings." - Jazzthetik
"sun Ra Wäre Stolz Gewesen Auf Web Web Und Ihr Erstes Album Oracle." - Soultrainonline.de
"...the Album Is Engaging And Fascinating In Equal Measures. ... Sonically, The Album Embraces The Various Late 1960s And '70s Jazz Aesthetics Of Modal, Fusion And Spiritual Jazz Soundscapes, But 'oracle' Isn't A Strata East Or Black Jazz Tribute Record. This Is Very Much A Contemporary Affair With Its Richness Emanating From The Group's Varied Musical Tastes And Sensibilities And It Favours An Entire Listening Experience." - Ukvibe.org
"raise A Glass And Toast This Supremely Enjoyable Recording." - Birdistheworm
"oracle Contains 13 Tracks Of Pure Retro Sounding Perfection. This Is Like A Long Forgotten Treasure. It's Certainly An Album Serious Lovers Of The Genre Will Embrace." - Reviewgraveyard
"wonderful Album!!" - Simon Harrison / Basic Soul
"this Is Amazing. Going To Have To Grab A Vinyl Copy For The Collection" - Kev Beadle
"fantastic Record ! Love It ! We Need More Music Like This !!" - Peter Kruder
LP in printed innersleeve + download code. STUFF.'s highly anticipated new album is a cross genre groove, spanning broken hip-hop, electronica and jazz-influenced future funk, bringing forth a completely different and exciting sound.
STUFF.'s highly anticipated new album is a cross genre groove, spanning broken hip-hop, electronica and jazz-influenced future funk, bringing forth a completely different and exciting sound.
With fans that include Plaid, Kev Beadle, Kutmah, Lefto and Gilles Peterson, STUFF. began life in 2012 when drummer Lander Gyselinck was asked to play live music in-between DJ sets. Collecting together like-minded musician friends, they would keep the vibe of the room bubbling, with spaced-out jams and improvisation, taking elements of funk, RNB, electronica, jazz and hip-hop, forming their own compositions as a result.
Hotly tipped in Belgium as one of the country's brightest new hopes, they released their first EP the same year, which included the track D.O.G.G. and it caught the attention of bloggers, 22tracks and DJs across Paris and Brussels. Supports slots with D'Angelo and Robert Glasper soon followed and the band would go on to share the stage at the Dour Festival with Hiatus Koyote, Flying Lotus and Lefto.
In 2014, STUFF. were invited to perform a Boiler Room session for the prestigious global, online music broadcasting platform, the first European live band to do so.
The band's self-titled debut album, released in 2015, received critical acclaim, with the Belgian press citing the release as the "record of the year" and "the best thing that happened musically in Belgium since the last 25 years". Mastered by Daddy Kev (Flying Lotus, Thundercat, Jon Wayne), several tracks from the album received airplay on leading dance and electronica radio stations across Europe, and included support from Gilles Peterson on BBC Radio 6 Music and Phil Taggart on BBC Radio 1.
STUFF. have performed sold out shows across Europe and have gained a growing reputation for their explosive eclectic live sets, playing over 150 shows on such diverse stages as the North Sea Jazz Festival (Netherlands), Pukkelpop (Belgium), Secret Garden Party (UK), Shambala festival (UK), Dimensions (Croatia) and Fusion (Germany). The band were also personally invited by Gilles Peterson to perform at On Blackheath, London.
Accolades in Belgium include two MIA's (Belgian Music Industry Awards) for 'Best Musician' (Lander Gyselinck) and 'Best Artwork' (Rinus Van de Velde).
STUFF. are Andrew Claes (ewi/sax), Lander Gyselinck (drums), Joris Caluwaerts (keyboards), Dries Laheye (bas), Mixmonster Menno (turntables)
The new FEMUR release features the Swiss duo SAVAGE GROUNDS, agents of a dirty, raw and miserable sound. 'Es un flash electrónico' is a true exercise of proximity and freshness combining mid-tempo landscapeses with stimulating accelerated bursts. The release consists of 3 original tracks and a remix by Esplendor Geométrico, which elevates the original called 'Última línea' to another dimension.
Mac DeMarco's breakthrough sophomore album, Salad Days - released on April Fools', 2014 - garnered widespread critical acclaim, landing on over 30 Year End lists. It was the album that catapulted DeMarco from 'loveable slacker' to 'mature songwriter with a gaptoothed grin,' all at the tender age of 23. DeMarco's demos for Salad Days, originally included in an expanded edition of the album only available on Captured Tracks Mail Order site, peel back the curtain of said artist, who, up until then, may have been more known for his raucous live shows than his genuine talent as a songwriter and craftsman. This collection of demos and sketches as well as previously unreleased instrumental demos offer a rare insight into Mac's world and process.
Thomas Fehlmann steps away as co-member of The Orb following two acclaimed full lengths on Kompakt (COW - 2016, Moonbuilding 2703 AD - 2015) and embarks back on his solo career with a career defining album 'Los Lagos' - from Detroit to Schaffel techno he conducts a broad spectrum of electronic music into a seamless flow.
Thomas Fehlmann has been active since the late 1970's from Palais Schaumburg, the Tresor defnining trio 3MB (with Moritz von Oswald and Juan Atkins), Ocean Club (together with Gudrun Gut) and of course The Orb.
Artwork direction and design by DESIGNERS REPUBLIC.
'Los Lagos' is Thomas Fehlmann's seventh solo full-length, his 4th for Kompakt following his Berlin inspired 2010 full length 'Gute Luft'. in the musician's own words it's about "checking the juice".
Establishing a picture of his current artistic condition, as suggested by the title - los lagos / die lage / the situation (literally translating to 'the lakes' but taking the meaning of 'wassup' in the context of a relaxed discussion between friends), the album refers to Fehlmann's "musical motivation, dreams and wishes" through the language of music exclusively: a way to "allow myself to techno" he says, "to techno as a means to deconstruct and rebuild again. Set up an area of tension, loose it in the flow of the grooves. Magnifying some detail out of proportion, regroup around that and slowly knit a texture. Expand."
"It was time to take a bend and head where the sun rises or sets, wherever my heart drives me." This is pretty much the kind of decision Thomas Fehlmann has made. 61 and shining, longstanding member of The Orb, multi-talented composer and boundless experimentalist, had to make in the twilight of his collaboration with Alex Paterson, eager to taste the flavours of the unknown on his own again. "It was the moment when felxibility would have become compromise'. Far from being the demise of their joint dream, this was bound to split it in two distinct, parallel fantasies - rich of their own singularity.
As goes with that essential love of his for the free-flowing nature of electronic music, a fascination born out of its "lack of borders", capable of "inventing, changing the emphasis, experimenting with an unpredictable outcome", 'Los Lagos' "freely connects disparate extremes. Art, disco, minimalism, schmalz, jazz and funk". As he likes to say, Fehlmann's head functions as a sampler, capturing elements and re-assembling them under his own embracing perspective ; not afraid to leap from a deep, dubbed-out hypnotism ('Window', 'Morrislouis', 'Freiluft') to the playfulness of '90s-style bleepy schaffel ('Tempelhof' featuring Max Loderbauer), through out-there, muscle-flexing dancefloor cuts ('Triggerism') onto the calmness of ambient ('Geworden').
In need to keep his inner balance in check, Fehlmann committed himself to "switch off the control" and follow his intuition, which isn't so much of an easy process as he also wanted to incorporate the side disturbances experienced: "it's a complex process of search and destroy to bring out a new beauty trying to expand my vocabulary". With 'Los Lagos', Fehlmann looked at finding "the structure that's surprising, disturbing and rewarding". The artwork for the record, courtesy of contemporary artist and friend Albert Oehlen whom he shares lots of artistic ambitions with, echoes the producer's "funky use of shape and space, sludge and clarity" like a second skin. A search for light and harmony that Fehlmann sums up eloquently: "Does your inner musical voice respond", that is the question. Then "doors open up in unexpected corners, rays of light appear; you follow through and you're in - in your oasis."
The young virtuoso producer Prins Emanuel follows up his acclaimed debut album on Music For Dreams with something quite different than what we're used to hearing from him. While Arbete & Fritid was an epic odyssey into the furthest corners of disco with an array of studio wizardry and complex rhythms, Diagonal Musik is a sparse and delicate exploration of the acoustic guitar. Steering away from his comfort zone, the Prins follows his intuition for experimentation and lands somewhere in a field of genre-defiant folk-jazz meditations; a development that fits like hand in glove for the eccentric nature of Music For Dreams. The album reads like a soundtrack to the country house Emanuel shares with his family and friends, a place on the map called Oran. From atop a hillside overlooking a lake, Oran is lodged deep in the heart of the Skåne landscape, the southern part of Sweden that once belonged to Denmark. This place encompasses the whole of the album, as the track titles all pinpoint crucial locations on the courtyard and its surroundings. 'Orön' which opens the album is named after the small half-island that sits in the centre of the lake. There's the hand-built sauna ("Bastun") at the edge of the yard, and behind that in a slope the old root cellar ("Jordkällaren"). While the nature here is anything but balearic, the overwhelming calm of the country life seems to inspire the same laid-back attitude and passion for all things organic (and not just musically, as this is where Emanuel also makes cider from local apples according to the vin naturel school). Upon listening to Diagonal Musik one might be keen to draw references to works in similar style, such as the output of late 80's new age label Windham Hill or the dreamy lullabies of long-time friend and Music For Dreams affiliate 55 Cancri e. This is all circumstantial however, surprising as it may seem.
Crazy 12 Track Library Music Style Album On This Ace Italian Label. All Based Around Bumping Live Rhythms Triggering An Obscure Japanese Drum Synth Module..recorded In 2017.
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It Was November 2017 When I Received A Call From An Old Friend, "hi Fabrizio, I Found A Rare Japanese Drum Machine, You Should Come And See It Before I Put This On Ebay." I Went To Check It Out And Immediately Realized It Had More Potential Than Just Drum Sounds Generation, It Was Able To Produce Quirky And Creepy Sounds If Triggered By Any Sound Source. So I Bought It And Brought In The Studio, Where Me And Alex Were Laying Down New Beats And Ideas. It Took Just Three Days Of Jams To Get The Skeleton Of This Record Done: I Programmed The Module To Receive Alex's Drum Hits And The Device Started Creating Synth Lines, Almost As It Was Speaking Its Own Language.i've Found A Soul In This Machine, And I Wanted To Bring It To Life In These Tracks, A Mix Of Arranged Compositions And Improvised Jams. No Root Keys, No Grids, No Clicks, Everything Came Out In An Instinctive And Natural Way
As Far As We Know It's The First Time This Synthesizer/drum Machine Is Been Used In This "improper" And New Way.
Next up on Nang it is time for a slice of spot-on male vocal house and disco. Liverpool based Thomas Lang made some fine albums in the 80s and 90s with John Murphy (who went on to carve a highly successful career in movie tracks) and David Hughes. Somewhere in between that and a string of recent albums (Torch Songs and The German Alphabet) he also managed to buy one of the finest recording studios in North West England, Parr Street Studios (the "Abbey Road of the North").
We are pleased here at Nang to see a new avenue turned in Tom's life, his first foray into the dance world. "Scared" was written with late Liverpool songwriter John Uriel quite some time ago. It first emerged as a b-side to Tom's comeback single "August Day" in 2011. Here at Nang we always loved the smooth and sophisticated vocal and melody. When Tom suggested some remixes we were on board.
"Scared" is a peak time vocal house track, here presented with remix options.
The a-side sees fellow Liverpool DJ crew The Imposters taking the track on a dubbed out trip, before flipping over for their hypnotic, swing-house rework which highlight the layered vocals and smooth sax. Camanchi take us for some peak time House action.
As we celebrate the 25th year of V Recordings, it couldn't be a better time for another release from DJ Patife & Vangeliez. One of the OG's of Brazilian D&B Patife teams up with fellow countryman Vangeliez (formerly one half of Human Factor) once again. Fresh from their last single, as well as features on last year's very well received 'Viva Brazil' compilation released in conjunction with SUNANDBASS, this duo has definitely found their own lane!
* On 'Living Together' they link up with two of the most recognizable voices in the D&B, MC Fats and Stamina MC to create an uplifting summer anthem, that spreads the positivity of music across the globe. These two vocalists need little introduction, but in case you don't know, they are behind some of the most seminal moments in our genre's history, classics like Calibre's 'Drop It Down' , DJ Hype's 'Peace, Love & Unity, DJ Marky & XRS's 'LK', D Kay's 'Barcelona' and so the list could go on... Basically with the coming together of these four names you're in safe hands! 'On The Floor' continues to push a euphoric feeling, but adapts a sub low bass that could tear through any system!
* Teaming up with Manchester's finest for vocals on 'Ain't That Bad', the tracks follow in the vein of their previous collaboration on Soul-R, and DRS delivers a stellar vocal performance that brings the track to life, and is again full of good vibes, definitely something you can never have enough of! 'Unexpected' is dripping with original liquid vibes - think Carlito & Addiction, Calibre, D Bridge Big Bud, Solid State - with a 21st-century twist - one for the those who like it deep.
* Drum & Bass as a genre now has so many different sounds and styles, but one sound that has ridden the waves of fashions and emerged as timeless is on display here as the duo deliver 100% organic, funk-filled Drum & Bass music for the soul.
* LABEL MARKETING: Features on V Recordings Podcast, Dedicated newsletter to 85,000 V Recordings subscribers. 80,000+ Facebook reach through label controlled Facebook and Twitter. Press on websites across the globe.
The music on this EP was conceived in China, between 1989 and 1993. The original tracks were mixed to DAT in real time, in a small neighbour-proof studio inside my apartment in Macau, a 19th floor with a view to the hurricanes. There's a small, unexpected or improbable story behind each track, some little magic fused with the local atmosphere, certainly guaranteeing their lasting authenticity 25 years later.
TAIPEI DISCO
Late 80s Guangzhou was an exotic city where the traditional past coexisted in harmony with the present and even already with the future.
I'd rather spend my weekends in Guangzhou than diving into Hong Kong consumerism - as most ex-pats in Macau did. I took a cab at the border and travelled 150 Km through chaotic roads with family and friends until reaching the hot, humid, mega South China metropolis.
We ate on street joints in the evenings, went on to a karaoke bar and ended up at Taipei Disco, the only proper club in town. All the others were inside hotels and played generic music or they were seedy, sleazy, smoky cabarets.
Taipei Disco used to be a cinema and played cantonese pop music and anglo-saxon pop/rock (that was new). The spacious dance floor was generously lighted, the atmosphere was airy and modern. Boys and girls were in the habit of dancing in pairs, one in front of the other, observing a respectful yet sensual distance. When the girl took a few steps back, the boy went along and vice versa. With legs and feet (more than the upper bodies) synchronized with the music, they never exceeded in extroversion. Cool.
I always carried a MicroComposer and a portable DAT recorder in my travels through China and weekends in Canton. Any spontaneous musical idea was imediately recorded and memorized. The MicroComposer allowed multitrack recording, which was very handy on the road. Based on the emphatic choreography of Taipei Disco's dancers, i started to compose a rhythm track while sitting at a table, with headphones, listening to Cantopop in the background. As if by magic - not a rare occasion in music - everything began fitting together. Odd as it may seem, the track ended up sounding more germanic (Kraftwerkian) than Cantonese pop.
The story ends in a circle: the cantonese DJ at Taipei Disco, whom i used to ask to play certain records, wanted to play my music at the disco when it was basically only just a rhythm track and little else. From a cupboard under his set up he took out a battered keyboard (unrecognizable brand) and invited me to play over the track with the available sounds on the keyboard. The circle was complete, with Cantonese clubbers happily dancing forwards and backwards, as if it were another Cantopop hit.
I didn't get payed but the house offered us free ice cream cups in which little Portuguese flags were sticked.
The track would be finished later, in studio, with vocoder strings ensemble and synth solos.
TAIPEI DISCO (LIVE)
The live version of 'Taipei Disco' was recorded during a live set at the China Pop venue, in Macau, 1993. China Pop was a rock club built in the ample space of an old fishing warehouse, located in the labyrinthic Inner Harbour area. It was decorated with large Mao Zedong and Cultural Revolution posters and memorabilia and had a unique atmosphere, fusing Pop Art with film noir. We began our performance at 1AM, pretty early for Macau's nightlife standards. We were lucky. An audience showed up. And in Macau there were always several friends among the audience, which tranformed a musical performance into a relaxed party.
The atmosphere was particularly surreal on that night. The front row was dominated by French Crazy Horse dancers, a sort of Oriental Moulin Rouge. The girls had finished their last performance of the evening at the Crazy Horse and were still energized from their show. During our performance, right in front of us and perfectly synched, we could hear the famous irreverent screams of can-can dancers. You always had to expect the unexpected in Macau.
RED MAMBO (IMPROMPTU)
I was familiar with the Portuguese-speaking African countries well before having lived in China. I found myself returning several times to one in particular, always attracted by its magic and very distinct, identitary culture and music: Cape Verde.
During the early years of DWART a lot of the inspiration for drum machine rhythms (Roland's TR series) came from African music, especially from new musical trends that gained full autonomy with Cape Verde's independence from Portugal, as was the case with funaná.
I had the privilege of having known and befriended some of the greatest Capeverdian composers, musicians and singers during the 70s and 80s, such as Bana, Luís Morais, Cesária Évora, Paulino Vieira, Chico Serra, Tito Paris, and historical bands such as Bulimundo (ambassadors of funaná) and Os Tubarões (great innovators of morna, coladera and funaná, with the sonic impact of an afro-beat big band).
When Luís Filipe de Barros began playing Os Tubarões for the first time on Portuguese radio, that was the turning point for African music in Portugal. The 'Tabanca' album was so widely heard and talked about that it quickly got a Portuguese release through one of the big labels of the time.
The mystic of this band from the Santiago Island would reach the East. Os Tubarões played to a packed room in Macau in 1992, and after the bombastic gig we arranged a dinner and party at my place.
We ate and drank generously and the moment came for a jam session at the small studio on the 19th floor. Because Os Tubarões didn't all fit in the studio, we recorded an impromptu with only three of the musicians: Tótó Silva (electric guitar), Mário Russo Bettencourt (bass) and Zeca Couto (piano). And there we were improvising without barriers, suddenly detached from cultural roots, labels and constraints, a truly unique moment. The track is now being released exactly as it was recorded, imbued with the real communion between the musicians. And it could only be titled 'Red Mambo'. I wish to dedicate it to the memory of Ildo Lobo and Jaime do Rosário, founders of Os Tubarões, sadly and too soon departed from the land of music.
Goatherder is the seventh album from underground London producer Kristian Craig Robinson, AKA Capitol K. This ace manipulator of audio and punk warlord of groove has crossed a tapestry of styles and approaches with his own secret compass since 1998.
Along with everything from Chinese pop to the marching band music of the United Arab Emirates in his early musical vocabulary, the influence of rave, new wave, grunge, and noise-core would collide to create a bold new sound. His early studio experiments gave birth to his debut, Sounds of the Empire (Planet Mu, 1999) built upon a heady balance of samples and live sources that placed Capitol K at the forefront of the UK's electronic scene. The follow-up, 2002's Island Row, was released via XL Records, with lead single Pillow becoming a daytime Radio 1 crossover. Nomad Junk (2005) combined Asian field recordings into a vibrant psychedelic collage, while Notes From: Life On The Wire With A Wrecking Ball (2008) paid homage to London's squats and free anarchistic artistic spaces of which K was a part for many years. Andean Dub (2012) was an exploratory South American-influenced album of heavy synth laden cumbia sound system tracks.
The last seven years have seen Capitol K's stature as a producer elevated with his establishment of the renowned Total Refreshment Studio and recording work with musicians such as the Mercury Music prize nominated The Comet Is Coming, global dance act Ibibio Sound Machine (Merge), the pan-Arabic Flamingods (Moshi Moshi), Serafina Steer and her BAS JAN project, and contemporary folk artist Rozi Plain, among many more.
This latest work was developed and recorded in his native Malta, where he built a studio in a cave (a former goat stable). K gathered bamboo instruments collected around the world, including an ancient Quecha reeded pipe (his new-found lead instrument), and various resonating vessels and percussive objects including dry fennel storks collected from Punic troglodyte sites, and atonal flutes built from fresh cut farmland reed. Ritualistic improvisations took place over a series of seasonal visits, awakening genetic memory and plant communication.
Back in London the tracks were interfaced and expanded with post-industrial machine beat and bass guitar lock down. Homage is paid to New Age synthscapes, while a Spirit Jazz overtone arrives from K's recent years as the sonic muscle behind a plethora of luminous albums born in his Total Refreshment Studio. Goatherder follows on from the 2016 collaborative incarnation LOOSE MEAT and sonically abridges 2012's Capitol K album Andean Dub.
Outside of studio production and his solo repertoire as Capitol K, Kristian has toured as guest musician with multiple bands over the last 15 years, including Brazil's Cibelle (Crammed Discs), Archie Bronson Outfit (Domino) (whom he also co-produced), and recently Du Blonde (Mute Records).
His last project, Loose Meat, was a collaborative album of poetic dance music received lots of radio play in the UK and toured across the country for a year, performing a number of festivals.
He established the Faith and Industry record label which handled his subsequent releases and through which now he releases a number of other artists that he develops and produces.
Brooklyn trio Forma's latest LP continues their mission to 'broaden the idea of what an electronic music ensemble can sound like.' Semblance emerged from exploratory sessions at The Schoolhouse, the Bushwick loft where members Mark Dwinell and John Also Bennett live, then was tracked at Gary's Electric studios, where their previous album Physicalist was also recorded.
Inspired by polyrhythmic composition, the human voice, and conceptual improvisation strategies, the songs are striking in their textural detail and emotional nuance, alternately synthetic and sentient, futuristic and intuitive. Incorporating flute, piano, guitar, saxophone, acoustic drums and cymbals alongside an array of synthesizers, the record persuasively demonstrates the group's unique playing abilities and fluid chemistry - attributes they credit to 'techniques we've developed to trick our electronic machines into mimicking the spontaneous character of live instruments.'
Members George and John Also Bennett also cite as an influence their recent stint in minimalist composer Jon Gibson's ensemble, performing his 1973 proto-ambient masterwork Visitations. The long- form modal piece requires restraint and deep listening to execute, qualities especially apparent in the more muted moments of Semblance, such as 'Rebreather' and 'New City.'
The group states the intent of the new album as 'to be more direct and exacting', which it is. Over half a decade spent writing and recording together has distilled Forma's hybrid electro-acoustic interplay into an attuned and astounding language, capable of articulating impossible symmetries and reflective states.
The stunning visuals of the artwork are by frequent collaborator of the group Peter Burr.
The Long Now is a duo featuring Richard Norris and Finnur Bjarnason, with special guests. They mix piano, voice, string section and electronics with the sound of the Icelandic breeze. The music sits within the post ambient, electronic, contemporary classical genre, with a strong sense of landscape, mood and melody. Richard Norris One half of the Grid, alongside Soft Cell's Dave Ball, one half of Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve with Erol Alkan... Richard Norris has a thing about working as a duo. With many productions and remixes under his belt, including tracks for Warpaint, Brian Eno, Tame Impala and many more, Richard brings an electronic sensibility to the Long Now. He has a long term passion for ambient, electronic, drone, soundtrack and modern classical music. Finnur Bjarnason Finnur Bjarnason is an Icelandic musician whose background is in classical music. Having trained to be an opera singer, rst in his native Reykjavík and later at the Guildhall School of Music and National Opera Studio in London, he then pursued an international career as an operatic tenor for over a decade, appearing in many of the world's most prestigious opera houses, singing everything from Montiverdi to Wagner to modern opera. As he has become ever more interested in where the boundaries between musical worlds get blurry, and particularly how the sound world of 'acoustic' singing world could best intersect with electronic music, he has begun an earnest exploration of the 'other side'. The Long Now play the Blue Dot Festival on Sat July 21st, with more dates to follow. The performance will be accompanied by a lm by BAFTA award winning director Kieran Evans, recently shot in Iceland. The band are currently preparing an album and series of live performances featuring piano, voice, electronics and string quintet.
Original Soundtrack - Super Deluxe Version, (including 4 tracks never released on vinyl before, this feature is exclusive to this edition, see the tracklisting), 180g vinyl, mastered at half speed, heavy cardboard old Stoughton tip-on sleeve, obi, gold sticker Info We Release Jazz is delighted to present the official reissue of the original soundtrack of Jean-Pierre Melville's 1970 film noir classic Le Cercle Rouge (starring Alain Delon, Bourvil, Gian Maria Volontè, and Yves Montand) composed by French soundtrack master Eric Demarsan, available on limited edition 180g vinyl LP mastered at half speed and including 4 bonus tracks not available on previous pressings of the album. Eric Demarsan's compositions for Le Cercle Rouge draw from the orchestral spirit of the Modern Jazz Quartet (as requested by Melville who loved John Lewis' work), abstraction and minimalism to create a suspenseful and hypnotizing audio landscape which elegantly underlines the tense atmosphere of unavoidable fate that shrouds the movie and the doleful beauty of its characters. Simply put, it's the finest combination of underworld existentialism, coldblooded chic, and crime jazz! Le Cercle Rouge boasts the participation of celebrated jazz players Guy Pedersen (bass), Daniel Humair (drums), Georges Arvanitas (piano), and Bernard Lubat (vibraphone). Starting as a collaborator of François de Roubaix and Michel Magne in the 60s, Eric Demarsan went on to become a mainstay of French cinema soundtracks, composing for directors such as Jean-Pierre Mocky, Costa-Gavras, and Patrice Leconte among others. He also recorded the cult album Pop Symphony (for Pierre Cardin in 1970) under the Jason Havelock pseudonym.
The long awaited answer from the notorious southern-hemispherian sound system, Subtle Sound System. This debut release from their record label aptly named Subtle Recordings is bringing some heavy weight straight out of Christchurch, New Zealand, first up with local legend Headland. Exquisitely imprinted 'no holds bar' by the masterful Optimal Media in a full art sleeve, this 180 gram, vinyl only, no-repress recording superbly ushers in a new beginning for the sound system and is another pillar of foundation to the future sound of bass music.
Headland, with his atmospheric soundscapes, sparatic drums, jarring percussion and punishing basslines, has been taking his unique sound to the world for the past few years and has sequentially been picked up by some of the most forward thinking labels in the bass music scene. From notoriety like Innamind Recordings and Zam Zam Sounds, Headland is one of the most noteworthy artists on the scene today and is a staple in sets from artists including, Samba, Mala, VIVEK, Commodo, Sleeper, just to name a few. Headland's infamy continues on Subtle Recordings debut release with the two outstanding tracks, Quiver and Deathbed.
From a spacious beginning, Quiver quickly builds pressure, manifesting into a track that by the end of, you'll have to regroup your crew as all would have been taken on their own solo journey. Navigate through high level percussion, sonic stabs, sub-temperate basslines and menacing vocals, all encompassed within a 130 bpm landscape where the richters leave you feeling vulnerable and insignificant. Quiver is a force of nature not to be taken lightly. After setting the stage, this behemoth pushes to another level, with erratic note changes and misplaced beats, before opening up to a plateau of relative safety within rolling basslines and familiar haunts. Recollecting yourself, you are once again thrust into unknown territory. A barrage of death blows commences until eventually you find yourself on the other side, disorientated, demoralised, but thankfully unharmed. With support from dons like Gantz, Boofy, J Kenzo, Mr K, Quiver has begun to leave its mark through the next frontier of bass music.
A usually silent, still and chilly affair, Deathbed is anything but, with its uplifting groove, conscious beat scape and warm bassline. But don't get too cosy, cause this assortment of frequencies is cold. Foreboding basslines. Wholesome mids. Trademark Headland accents. Deathbed builds in monumental 140 bpm splendure, in a simplistic formation, that will have you calling home to tell Mum of your triumphant return. Bask in all the glory as the track sheds back into its essential ingredients before collapsing into a well rewarded breakdown. Another confident drop will re-immerse you within the ride, reminiscent of what has been conquered and celebrated in the dystopian sound Headland has crafted in this atmospheric masterpiece. Banging dancefloors worldwide by artists like, Commodo, VIVEK. Deathbed produces the goods for an old fashioned shelling.
Two Words is the debut release from the duo of Canadian sound artist crys cole and Australian songwriter Francis Plagne. Building on a series of experimental live performances in which the pair toyed with possible common languages for their seemingly unrelated approaches to music, the LP's two sides present a single piece that brings together abstract texture and slow-motion song in a sonic space where genre cedes to the logic of dreams.
The piece begins with a long, nearly static sequence built primarily from rubbed surfaces, using movement in the stereo field and changing mic placements to create a unified but unstable sonic environment that mimics wind, water, and breath, opening an impossible space between nature and artifice. This artificial outdoors ultimately makes room for Plagne's electric organ, which sounds a series of melancholic chords to accompany a wandering Wyatt-esque keyboard line as cole's intimate contact mic textures sizzle and pop in the foreground.
From here the piece makes a surprise detour into song, as the majority of the second side finds Plagne intoning a series of obtuse two word phrases (from a text by Berlin-based poet Marty Hiatt) to an austere organ accompaniment. Working closely with engineer and producer Joe Talia, cole and Plagne extend the studio-as-an-instrument tradition of Teo Macero and This Heat, introducing subtle yet unexpected production shifts that lead the listener from the initial austerity of the organ and voice to an oneiric space of asynchronised vocal doubles, creaking textures, and distant whistling, ultimately arriving at something like an imagined meeting of Organum and Arthur Russell.
Packaged in a suitably mysterious sleeve featuring a lush work by Australian painter Anne Wallace on the front and text by Hiatt on the back, Two Words is both comforting and strange, a disorienting blend of seemingly discrepant elements.
New album from Anthony Ferraro aka Astronauts, etc, who for most of his music career, served as Toro y Moi's keyboardist, with this album 'Living In Symbol' being his debut solo record.
Sonically, the album weaves its influences into an alien drapery. 'The Border' introduces Latin psychedelia to a groove à la David Axelrod, setting the stage for a vocal performance that manages to be equal parts Lee Hazlewood and HAL 9000. On 'The Room', a Borgesian story gets dressed up in an eerily graceful string arrangement reminiscent of Les Baxter. And 'Who I Talk To' nods to George Harrison in a soft rocking arrangement that supports Ferraro's ghostly croon.
Living In Symbol Is An Ode To Ambiguity, The Future, And Saying 'so Long' To The Known. A Member Of The Last Generation To Experience Life Before Total Interconnectedness, Anthony Ferraro (digitally Known As Tony Peppers) Aims To Be A Bridge Between Two Very Different Realities.
The Spirit Of Change Is Especially Pronounced In California's Bay Area, Where Technologies Dawn And Disruption Is The Noblest Goal. Critics And Advocates Of All Stripes Write Columns And Fill Talk Radio Hours With Their Analyses Of The Times. Ferraro Is A Funny Case: A Sometimes Luddite With A Romantic Streak, He Would Probably Be A Doomsayer If It Weren't For His Being Situated In The Middle Of It All. As It Happens, He Ended Up Writing A Generative Music Algorithm That Sold On Auction At The Smithsonian For $5,000.
His Take On Tomorrow Is Nonjudgmental, Meditative, Imaginative. It Keeps Away From Unqualified Hope Or Outright Alarmism, Choosing Instead To Embrace The Indeterminacy As Food For Dreaming.
Ferraro's Friendship With Chaz Bear, Who Co-produced The Album, Began Modestly Enough: Bear Walked Into The Coffee Shop Where Ferraro Worked While Attending Uc Berkeley. The Two Became Friends, And When Ferraro Graduated The Following Summer, He Signed On As Touring Keyboardist For Toro Y Moi. Musical Bonds Were Forged Over The Next Few Years, And The Pair Began Collaborating On What Would Become Living In Symbol.
Living In Symbol Is A Series Of Rooms, A Choose-your-own-tomorrow Story. Step In And Peer Through Its Open Doors.
Following a self-titled EP last year, Dario Rojo Guerra aka Natureboy Flako is set to release his second album 'Theme For A Dream' on Five Easy Pieces on 20th July 2018. Exploring the boundaries of music, science and spirituality through a prism of colourfully synthesised-sound, heart-pounding rhythm and cinematic soundtracks; the core essense of 'Theme For A Dream' is the exploration of the human inne space, the balance of musical energies and music's healing capabilities. 'Theme For A Dream' is a more electronic sounding record than his debut. Guerra makes extensive use of old and new analogue equipment such as the Juno 106, Korg's MS-20, ARP Odyssey or Roland's SH-2000 synthesisers, alongside recordings of vocals, guitars and other instruments. This serves to create a dynamic and eclectic sound spectrum, all unique to his musical handwriting. 'Theme For A Dream' will be accompanied by an experimental and interactive website that allows users to preview music while being an immersive, unique multi-sensual 4D xperience of its own. Snippets of the music from 'Theme For A Dream' become audio visual poetry and an immersive exploration of state of the art technology and oneself. 'I don't think technology necessarily means not being natural. Technology can be very much in balance with nature, since it is mostly just trying to imitate or trying to understand something from within nature. Around recording 'Theme For A Dream', Guerra also co-produced/co-wrote and engineered Kutmah's recent debut and Jitwam's forthcoming album, as well as produced almost half of Fatima's follow up album to 'Yellow Memories'. He is currently working on a film project with a London based production company and is already working on a new album, which is expected to bring back his vocal talent, previously released under the moniker Dirg Gerner.