RADIO ESKATON
Up and running 24/7 now is Radio Eskaton. The streaming radio station plays all Coil music all the time. Programmed in is all of Coil's music in random order, including regular, rare and unreleased stuff too. The sound quality isn't high enough to get any CDs from but it's sure great to have on at work or at home. Check it out (and other brainwashed-related radio stations) linked at brainwashed.com/radio.

CHRISTOPH HEEMANN & ANDREW CHALK AS MIRROR
Andrew Chalk and Christoph Heemann will be performing live at the Ceremony Hall in Austin (Texas) on Sunday November 5 and Monday November 6, 2000. Andreas Martin will join them for these performances. The November 5 event will consist of a marathon performance by Mirror stretching hours in length. The November 6 event will be individual works performed solo and together. These will be the first and only performances of Mirror in North America. Seating will be limited: early reservation is thus advised.
Tickets are $20 each night. To buy tickets with credit cards, call (512) 302-5233 or visit Thirty Three Degrees Records. In Austin, the venue is located at 4100 Red River.

BRAINWASHED ENDORSES RALPH NADER
In the US Presidential election the winner is going to be either Al Gore or George W. Bush. This is understood, but this is why we're encouraging a Nader vote: If Nader gets 5% of the vote, the Green Party will get Federal Matching funds in the next election. This means that we can indeed live in hope for a more truly democratic future. Currently, Nader's only on the ballot for 44 states. Mathematically he could win, but more than likely he will not.

The most important vote however on Election Day is never the president. Your local and state politics are most important since they will effect you the most. Pay attention to ballot questions because it's your chance to say what you think is right for your state. Read the questions carefully and keep in mind that while tax cuts look good on paper, they might be cutting into education or other necessary funding. Pay attention to who's supporting which question and ask yourself who's causes would you rather support,... Whatever you do, get out there and vote.

THE TEAR GARDEN, "CRYSTAL MASS"
Like a few releases recently, I had to take my time with this one for it to make sense to me. I had to figure out what made me like and dislike the album all at the same time. The reason that makes the most sense to me is this: the members of both the LPD and Download camps have become excellent writers while the excecution of the recordings seem entirely too rushed and careless. The lyrics and instrument playing have both become more developed than ever while the choices of tempo and instrumentation leaves much to be desired. It seems as if there wasn't enough thought involved. I hear the songs on 'Crystal Mass' and imagine some of them slowed down, sound effects added in, color added or various other things. For the most part this disc sounds rather bland while the writing is great. It's heartbreaking as it seems like you're watching a gifted young child surrounded by negative reinforcement. Even more disturbing than this is the lack of care in quality control. Can't figure out who's to blame on this - the band, the engineer, the master or the record company. 9 songs appear on 8 tracks, there's two songs sharing track 3, but lyrics of each song suggest something completely out of order from the printed track list. The only song that I can positively identify is track 1, which is strangely the only track title written in ALL CAPS (possibly suggesting it's not of the 8 tracks all listed below it). Confused???! My favorite song, "Lament" opens the disc in a stunning piece which echoes "I Am the Way, the Truth, the Light" (from LPD's Asylum) in an almost retro-80s pop style, continuing on, songs almost pierce the ears with bland adult contemporary pop-rock feel. One even summoning up old memories of "Sultans of Swing" from Dire Straits. Another gem on the album I thought was originally "Her Majesty's Trusted Food Taster" seems like it's actually "Castaway" as the lyrics make more sense being part of that 2-song track earlier on the disc. I'm all screwed up, somebody please correct this. Can we start again? Leave track 1 in though... - Jon Whitney

samples:

• Lament
• Castaway (?)
• Desert Island Disc (?)

JAH WOBBLE AND DEEP SPACE "BEACH FERVOUR SPARE"
"Beach Fervour Spare" is the second installment of the deep bass journey begun last year with "Deep Space". This time around the band is minus Bill Laswell and Jaki Leibeziet and plus Mark Sanders - drums, Chris Cookson - guitar and production, Paul Schütze - atmospheres and Marc Angelo Lusardi - production and retains Clive Bell and Jean Pierre Rasle. I don't (yet) have the first album so I can't compare the two cds and bands, but there's no doubt that this unit has played together for some time. Jah's name is at the top of the marquee but there is a definite band concept at work here as each member is part of the instrumental whole. At the heart of each of the five 9-16 minute songs is Wobble's rumbling bass guitar lines complemented by the others' electric and acoustic guitar, jazzy beats, many wind and world instruments, keyboard atmospheres and dub minded studio trickery. It's a mystical sort of groove thing as the band spontaneously jam upon (usually single) riffs in an ebb and flow fashion. Each song has a distinct character. "Suddenly Fell Into the Underworld" starts things off a bit blandly due to a plodding bass line, but swirling wind instruments help keep it listenable. The title track and "Kinky Mantra" kick the album into gear proper as much busier bass lines compete with cymbal heavy percussion and wind instruments, all wrapped in a dub chamber environment. As Night Falls (which is indexed as 3 separate tracks) features a bright and funky hip hop styled beat loop engraved with acoustic and electric guitars and bits of most everything else. "Trance" is a frenetically paced Middle Eastern flavored barrage of drum fills and odd wailing horns. Interesting stuff well worth the domestic price, but not as impressive as Jah's other recent release "Molam Dub" ... - Mark Weddle

samples:

• Beach Fervour Spare
• As Night Falls
• Trance

JAH WOBBLE & THE INVADERS OF THE HEART "MOLAM DUB"
"Molam Dub" unites the UK's Jah Wobble and friends with the European based Laotian group Molam Lao. Molam is the beloved traditional music of Laos, a competitive courtship ritual based on improvised singing and the khene (a bamboo mouthorgan similar to an accordian/harmonica). It surprised me at first just how well the Laotians complement and mesh with the old school deep dub groove of team Wobble. It sounds and feels completely natural as though the two were always meant to go together. Most tracks feature the sing-song of a single male lead singer who is occasionally joined by the joyous chants and squeals of the rest of the Lao crew. Several songs add tastefully programmed drum loops and dub mixing techniques, the original "Saravane" is entirely instrumental with intricate string and wind instrument jamming and "Lam Long" lets us hear a few minutes of just Molam (which, I admit, these Western tuned ears finds a bit grating by itself). The final 2 tracks - a 'dance' mix and "Hill Music", the latter composed solely by Wobble's unit - are thankfully not tacky add-ons and fit in just fine with the rest of the album. I'm very impressed with and frankly amazed by "Molam Dub" as I feared nearly 70 minutes of native singing would be too difficult a listen. The performances are spirited and sound 'real' throughout, it's always interesting and it simply gives you all the groove you'd want from a classic dub record, only with more of an international flavor ... - Mark Weddle

samples:

• Lam Bane Xoc
• Lam Pouthay
• Lam Saravane Dub

KID 606, "GQ ON THE EQ"
Did you get the NEW Kid 606 full-length CD yet? The eagerly anticipated follow-up to last month's full-lengther, "P.S. I Love You" rounds up various songs kicking around from out of print 10", 7" and unreleased songs. The mood this time around is one step more bridging the gap between the bombastic noisey and the high pitched squealing sonics (or love songs as Kid seems to refer to them). For a single release, many artists focus more on an individual track than a 'concept' that would be carried out over the course of many many songs. In many ways singles compilations can be perfect overviews of an artist's works. On this tasty CD it works! It sounds great and provides a great way to catch up with your favorite wonder-boy electronica poster child without hunting down all those old vinyl singles which are difficult to grab these days. - Jon Whitney

samples:

• Dandy
• Just Another Kool Kat Out Lookin for a Kitty
• When I Want A Gun, Yeah

AIX EM KLEMM
Fans of Stars of the Lid and Labradford need not be surprised as this album truly sounds like what a collaboration between the two groups would sound like. Adam Wiltze from Stars has provided his lush soundscapes of symphonic majesty while Bobby Donne of Labradford brings to the table echoing resonant guitar melodies and even the rare subtle vocals. This disc brings into perspective that Labradford wouldn't be the same without all three elements. Mark Nelson's Pan American project coupled with the live experience of seeing Carter trigger pulses and noises while playing the keyboards pretty much completes the puzzle (if you would consdier it a puzzle to begin with!). Aix Em Kelmm is quiet but not without forward motion, and growing to be one of my more favorite albums of the year. Like most music from either camp, it's a charming listen late at night and a solid record that would easily be able to introduce fans from either band to the other side. - Jon Whitney

samples:

• 3x2 (Exit)
• Sophteonal
• Prue Lewarne

MAGNÉTOPHONE, "I GUESS SOMETIMES I NEED TO BE REMINDED OF HOW MUCH YOU LOVE ME"
The folks over at 4AD have the weight of two-decade legacy to bear, and Magnétophone is one of the first new acts to the 4AD roster in years. This French electronic duo seems to float at the surface in the sea of electronicians who merge beats with minimalistic motives. Their first few releases consist of a few tape-only's and some 7" singles through Earworm. This disc here is their debut full-lengther for the 4AD, but it leaves me wondering what the label's motives are for a group like this. Are enough people paying attention to 4AD these days to get excited over something that 4AD has never ventured with? I ask this question because in the 80s, people all over the world would pick up anything from 4AD. Another thing I wonder about is if electronic music like this is commercially viable enough to warrant 4AD's tendencies to go overboard with packaging and artwork? The CD itself is beautifully packaged, including a thin scrap of metal, cut in the shape of a Magnetophone logo and a back which half exposes the CD itself. Overall, I'm impressed as the music refuses to get the least bit boring or overly repetitive. The disc almost sneaks into the genre of the current electronic trendy scenester type stuff, but brings with it a much greater variety in sounds. There's truly a wealth of sources used in the creation of this disc. Absent from this disc is the recent trend from many to include dub elements. The music is subdued enough to hold your adoration and punchy enough in spots to keep you awake. In most parts, it's somewhat improvisational sounding, leading me to believe that a well-practiced live show would be something special to see. The songs themselves are rather sophomoric in terms of structure and composition, haphazardly tossing in samples and gated effects, almost to avoid boredom - grooves start and diversions are tossed in to break any sense of monotony. The sounds themselves are matured and well-defined enough to make me interested in the group to wonder where they're going next. - Jon Whitney

samples:

• Oh Darlin'
• Machine Surrender
• So Much As Hold My Hand

We know that sometimes these CDs are somewhat challenging to find, which is why we have a RECOMMENDED STORES section which can be used to obtain nearly everything available on the site.

MONDAY
Anjali - Anjali CD/LP (Wiiija, UK)
Atari Teenage Riot - Rage 12"/CDEP (DHR, UK)
Echoboy - Turning On 12"/CDEP (Mute, UK)
Fatboy Slim - Halfway Between The Gutter & The Stars CD/2xLP (Skint, UK)
Fizzarum - Microphorus 12"/CDEP (Domino, UK)
Goldfrapp - Utopia 12"/CDEP (Mute, UK)
Motion Control - Groove Tool 12" [picture disc] (Beatservice, Norway)
Red Snapper - Some Kind of Kink 12"/CDEP (Warp, UK)
Emiliana Torrini vs. Di Lacuna and Transient Waves - E-RMX 8 7" (Fat Cat/One Little Indian, UK)

TUEDAY
Banco de Gaia - Obsidian 12"/CDEP (Six Degrees, US)
Fatboy Slim - Halfway Between The Gutter & The Stars CD/2xLP (Astralwerks, US - Virgin, Canada)
* Magnetophone - I Guess Sometimes I Need To Be Reminded of How Much You Love Me 12" (Beggars Banquet, US)
* Microstoria - Model 3, Step 2 CD/2xLP (Thrill Jockey, US)
* Moby - Play: The B-Sides 2xCD [reissue of Play with bonus disc of b-sides and unreleased tracks] (V2, US)
* Mucho Macho - Death on the Wild Onion Drive CD (Wiiija/Beggars Banquet, US)
Frederik Schikowski - ich möchte mich zusammenfalten und nur noch eine mitte sein 7" (Lux Nigra, Germany)
* Tino [Jack Dangers] - Tino's Breaks Volume 3: Christmas Breaks LP [reissue on red vinyl] (Tino Corp, US)

For a more comprehensive release schedule stretching far into the future, please check out the NEW RELEASES brought to you by Greg and Feedback Monitor.

CATCHING UP WITH THE NITS
You know how it is, when you experience something so wonderful and sublime, you just need to tell the world about it? Well, since I can't tell the world, I can at least post it to a group of people who may get something out of it.
I've just picked up the newest CD by Nits, a group from the Netherlands who—in my opinion—bear more than a passing relation to the Legendary Pink Dots. For over 20 years they've been releasing a steady stream of albums, each one different from the last, and each one worthwhile in its own way. When you pick up a Nits album, you never know what you're going to hear. While some of the tracks are invariably throw-aways, most of them are brilliant, heart-wrenching, sweet and catchy.
Here's how I see it: if you take the curious poetry of Edward Ka-Spel and Leonard Cohen, the varied instrumentation of the Dots, pass it through a sort of "Minimalism Filter," add the painful sincerity of The Red House Painters, throw in influences from all over the world and a big heaping mess of The Beatles and you get something approaching Nits.
Their newest album, "Wool," follows up "Alankomaat" as a shockingly melancholy and wistful CD. Most of the tracks are slow, jazzy pieces (aided by the ZAPP! String Quartet and The Stylus Horns). Henk Hofstede's lyrics are, as usual, oblique and observational, but—in keeping with the recent trends in his music—almost crushingly sad and uncertain. A singer named Leona Philippo sings backup on most of the songs, and I hope that she becomes a permanent Nits member. She swings between soulful vocals and a kind of angelic, crystalline sadness. Arwen & Laetitia are wonderful additions to the group, Arwen's bass helping the noir-jazz sound along.
There are moments of atypical Nits experimentation here as well: the odd, timestretched vocal bridge in "26 A (Clouds In The Sky)," the weird whispery percussion of "The 'Darling' Stone," the analog "space" noises throughout "Seven Green Parrots," and the absolute croaky weirdness of "Frog," the only upbeat track on the CD (reminiscent of the earlier Nits track, "Orange," which helped to defuse the sad loneliness of another album).
I'm not saying that everybody who likes the Pink Dots is going to like Nits—far from it, probably. But if you see "Wool" at a listening station somewhere, or you can convince your record store to play it for you, give "Clouds In The Sky," "Crime & Punishment" or "Strawberry Girl" a chance...but beware. While buying up releases by Nits is not nearly so arduous as buying up LPDs, it's still quite a chore, and, in my opinion, equally necessary for my mental health.
And if you're flirted with Nits over the years and haven't decided whether to buy this new one or not, I can't gush enough about how this is my favourite Nits album so far (excluding the double-live "Urk," maybe). It's cohesive, perfectly & clearly produced, and every song is essential. Not to mention the packaging is a work of art. Quite an accomplisment for a band known for their packaging. Nits website is at www.nits.nl. - Muffy St. Bernard

SIGUR ROS ON THE COVER OF THE NY TIMES
On Tuesday this past week, "Rekyavik Rocks" appeared on the cover of the New York Times. Open to the Arts section and there was a large feature on the Icelandic music scene, with lots of attention paid to Sigur Ros. I'm pleased to see this, truly, as video outlets like MTV, VH-1, coupled with the commercial radio outlets (mainly those posing as alternative) are absent minded when it comes to fresh, exciting movements in new music. It's nice that the New York Times will feature something like this, as these budding scenes should not go unrecognized. Reading further through the article, I'm somewhat disturbed when I find my former boss, Leigh Lust quoted. Lust was my boss at Capitol in A&R, now he works for Elektra in A&R, and he still doesn't get it. The man's a great man, but he talks about how the Icelandic bands should collaborate with English writers so their songs can be done in English, thus making them more commercially viable abroad. Is he that much of a buffoon to think that the people of Iceland don't already know English and choose to sing in Icelandic? Hearing somebody sing in their native tongue and reading along with translated lyrics in a booklet is like watching a foreign film with subtitles while having the songs re-done in English is like watching a foreign film dubbed. A person like Lust has been so involved inside the music biz for so long, that it seems he's forgotten what art means. Score 1 for the NY Times, 0 for the major-label music industry. - Jon Whitney

RACHEL'S/MATMOS
Recalling the recording "Full On Night," I was expecting an evening of collaborative work between both groups, as there were two performances scheduled tonight at the Brattle Theater. The Brattle is not a typical rock venue, it's a movie theater which specializes in cult, foreign and art films. For the last few years, the Rachel's have been packing the audiences into the Brattle as they play their own special blend of instrumental serenity as performed by acoustic and classical instruments. Tonight was completely unexpected. Matmos opened with their own set. The night begun with a simple explaination from Matmos member Martin Schmidt, who shared with the audience his own interpretation of electronic music performance and how the duo decided to play with their backs to the audience, with their computer screens facing the crowd. For approximately a half hour, it seems as if they allowed us into their livingroom studio, entertaining us as they played their own quirky electronic music style, coupled with non-electronic elements like blowing into a water bowl and accented by accompanying video sequences. At one point, the two whipped out a hamster cage and played a pretty melody by plucking various bars on the cage before playing it with a violin bow. Captivating, fascinating and intelligent. Wow! While I've always been a fan of Matmos' music, I can safely say after seeing them live that I finally 'get it.' Next up was the Rachel's, whose style and grace is untouchable. It's like watching what the classical musicians in an orchestra do when they decide they want to rock out. The violist always looks out of place however standing out in the middle of nowhere while everybody else sits distant from him. The Rachel's music is almost too soothing however and I often find myself getting way too comfortable during their set. Electronic wizards stepped in shortly and the madness begun again, this time with feeling! The dimensions of dementia were otherworldy, while Drew from Matmos played his head and a neck brace, Martin's fingers triggered various sonic noises, on the other side of the stage, drummer, guitarist and cellist seemed to try to steer the musical element more on course. Once the group's matriarch, Rachel sounded in on the piano, everybody seemingly backed off, the song begun and the noises painted the background other than the foreground, carrying the audience into a happy bliss of electrics and acoustics. Matmos exited stage left while Rachel's finished the show. The audience was ushered out and I jumped back in line to get back in to see the second performance! - Jon Whitney

TINO CORP
Since it was 'halloween' night theme at the bar, the band came on wearing Marvel Comic style hood masks. They immediately started with the new material off the Tino Breaks Vol 5 record. With three large television sreens, clips from Bride of Frankenstein and others were like eye candy to the music. It wasn't till the third song did they remove their head customs to reveal themselves and there was Jack stage right with all his musical gear. The beats constantly pulsed, generating a great soundscape layered with tons of samples. The set lasted for about an hour in which they finished with two new Meat Beat Manifesto songs. I know one started with the sample "I am a zombie" in a constant loop. You can't compare this new material with anything else JD has done before in the past but the heavy bass was there. The songs were heavily layered in samples, no vocals but the samples made up for that. I like the direction that JD going in with these new songs - it doesn't have the tweakeness that was so prevelant in his last release and the songs were great. After the show, I picked up Tino's Vol. 5 which is a double set record with 15 tracks. I haven't listened to it yet, but if it sounds anything like what they did in concert this should be Tino's best release. There's a lot of substance, much more than the previous four releases, and yes the drums drive the songs but they're more of a backbeat driving nature. It's 1:30 and I don't think my neighbors would appreciate me playing the album now. Disappointingly, they didn't have MBMs new one on sale there tonight. According to the girl selling the items, she said only 1000 were made. So pick it up while you can, because you might not get a second chance. Just an awesome show and afterwards JD was nice enough to autograph my Satyricon CD cover - my favorite MBM release. - Craig Keliher

OVERCOMING THE PROBLEM
Has masturbation taken over your life? Are you out of control? Well, thankfully somebody has posted some advice for this at just.rtfm.net/stopwank.html. Unfortunately I haven't even made it to step 1, can't seem to get past "deciding to end this practice."

BRAINWASHED TOP 10?
The top 10 sellers this week:

1. Coil - Constant Shallowness CD (Eskaton/WSD)
2. Current 93 - Faust CD (Durtro/WSD)
3. Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun CD (Fat Cat)
4. Godspeed you Black Emperor - Lift your skinny fists CD/DLP (kranky)
5. Team Doyobi - Push Chairs for Grown-ups CD/12" (Skam)
6. Daffeldecker, Kurzmann, Drumm, Siewert, O'Rourke - s/t CD (Charhizma)
7. Pluramon - Bit Sand Riders CD (Mille Plateaux)
8. Namlook / Spyra - Virtual Vices II CD (FAX)
9. V/Vm - Masters of the Absurd LP (V/Vm)
10. {tie} C-Schulz / Hajsch - s/t CD/LP (Sonig)
    Pimmon - Kinetica CD (Kraak 3)

You just answered your question. It is tough some times, everybody on the staff has other lives to live. There's no brainwashed office and nobody gets paid so we all do it with much love and appreciation. I honestly don't know how sometimes things really get done!