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artist: THE MAJOR STARS
title: Portable Freak Factory b/w Can You See Me?
catalog #: IMPREC124
format: 7"
Limited edition of 500 w/ the first 100 on color vinyl.
Two brand new burners (including a Hendrix cover on the b-side) recorded during the same sessions for The Major Stars next full length album for Important.
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Spekk
Small Melodies is like a gentle mental massage. The basic premise behind this compilation was for each artist to come up with a piece of music that would fit with the phrase “Small Melodies” and some other qualitative words like “warm” or “calm.” Despite the artists hailing from all over the world, they all had very similar interpretations of these words: minimalist glitches and soft ringing tones. With the vast majority of the music here all sounding like it has been cut from the same cloth, it is unexpected that the album is not boring. There are some delightful pieces by Sogar, Taylor Deupree and Oren Ambarchi; each of their contributions are beautiful, soft works that are a pleasure to listen to.
This is one thing I like about Small Melodies; it fits well for most moods. It may be best presented as a way of winding down after a hard day but it is very listenable in general. It is the sort of album I would reach for when I cannot make my mind up what to listen to. I may not be able to listen to all of it every time but as a handy collection of pleasant music it is wonderful. It reminds me of the Buddha Machine, music that is not designed for listening to like one would with a normal album but music to fill in the sonic gaps in your surroundings. The music may not be the most exciting in terms of action or originality but that is not the point here, the point is to relax and bask in the warm glow.
I have enjoyed this compilation a lot. While it may not be particularly remarkable it is joyous to listen to. I can see how it may be a bit repetitive for some people but I found the many variations on the same theme to be one of the best things about Small Melodies. More remarkable to me is that I know even if I put this on shuffle I am not going to get one loud track ruining my sleepy buzz.
samples:
- Taylor Deupree - For Nicholas
- Aen - Film
- Stephen Mathieu - Small Melody (Fur Richard)
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Presumably because that's what people do, Spaceape includes a list of cultural influences on his MySpace page. It's faintly comforting to sense his appreciation of Solaris, Maya Deren, La Jetée and William Burroughs, though creating enduring work is approximately 23 times trickier than recycling notions of implanted memories, time travel, tribal hypnotism, cultural conquest and viral prophesy. Good starting points though, and there are enough twists and turns away from mechanical sleekness and unsentimental bombast on Memories of the Future that even a future Hyperdub release titled Plague Meshes from the Red Pier of Yesterday under the name Dr A Messenger would get my attention. Someone not on Spaceape's list (or Kode9's) is Keith Hudson; though nevertheless the bones of his skeletal shadow hang over both this record and much of the music that we could call Genre:Noir; since making tangential tributes to French actors is fun, but also because there's a point beyond which language incestuously consumes itself, and hopping, tripping and stepping with or without a drum through a bass jungle of dub grime to find a genre-appropriate label for recorded sound, can seem meaningless. Recognized or not, Hudson's unique, lithe, tough sound remains as influential as that of any dub artist or producer.
The other, acknowledged, influence on this record is the great Linton Kwesi Johnson, often described as a "dub poet." Maybe I just love the smell of pedantry in the morning, but in the original conception of dub, a b-side of a song was made with partially erased vocals, added reverb, echo and other effects for a stripped down, stretched, and sometimes, I would argue, psychedelic version. While that practice hasn't gone away completely, the construction of a dub edifice without the process of erasing (case in point: Echo Base Soundsystem) is commonplace, and indeed while LKJ's music is composed as if sculpted from subtractions, his words aren't generally erased, and their meaning is never sacrificed. LKJ is a bona fide poet treating words with relish, rolling sound around on his tongue, marinating intellect in hard-edged emotion, and sometimes spitting out utter perfection. To his credit, Spaceape has a fair crack at it and his voice fits this sonic landscape perfectly. Kode9's music illustrates a strand of mutant dub that doesn't always swing, has a sheen and core that seem more clinical than organic, and yet definitely retains the necessary alien allure of the exotic.
The glacial skipping and looped spoken sample on "Nine Samurai" suggests travel on a fickering, frosty, sunlit day dipping through several tunnels along the way. The track seems to interlock shimmering bleak prophesy and crackling rural superstition, erasing any discernable distance between the two. "Sine of the Dub" is a highpoint, where the opus formerly known as P.R.Nelson's finest moment, is stripped down by to muscle, blood vessel and bone, as if the suddenly ubiquitous Gunther von Hagens had harnessed his plastic preservation process to create the sound of futuristic nostalgia suitable for the headphones of the long dead. Spaceape alters some phrases where necessary. The economy is admirable and the result striking.
"Victims" is propelled by an echoing freefall quality that is superhypnotic in the sense that perhaps a driver's speed might unconsciously be influenced by the music, or they could suddenly wonder who has been driving the last few miles (a sensation beautifully articulated elsewhere by Lord Buckley on his Subconscious Mind). Perhaps less conscious than self-conscious, Memories of the Future includes four previous Hyperdub releases along with ten new tracks which achieve a depth and spaciousness that could be akin to the oddly freeing sensation of drowning or being smothered with a pillow. Whether "Correction" refers to a slight from a past love or some wider economic or racial injustice matters little compared to it's claustrophobic threat. On "Curious" an echo-soaked Ms. Haptic appears so fleetingly that the only curiosity is whether or not she actually exists. Despite her apparently being a MySpace friend of Kode9, I suspect not.
samples:
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For this album, Chris is joined by Tim Kinsella (of Joan of Arc) and Ben Vida of Bird Show and Town & Country (who also produced the record), as well as members of US Maple, Califone and other Chicago jazz and improv luminaries.
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I think it's unmistakably beautiful. For those who have never heard Kinsella's Owen, it sounds not unlike someone who woke up late on Sunday morning, rolled out of bed and into a guitar strap, and started virtuosically noodling through some condensed notes from half-written parts, spurting out prosaic thoughts which were running through his head right before he went to sleep the night before. The result is a sometimes uncomfortably privileged look into Kinsella's world and the access is twofold: you see not only his unshaded thoughts in the lyrics but also the introverted aftermath of these thoughts presented through polished pieces of music. As a listener, you can't let the bedroom presentation disguise the fact that the songs are incredibly well-wrought and orchestrated. Nothing in them suggests rudeness or laziness, despite the lazy environs.
"Bad News" is both the album's opener and highlight. It begins simply with the four-note plucked refrain which is the song's central motif but soon blossoms into eighteen different complex parts, fading in and out on Kinsella's polyinstrumental whims. Fortunately, Kinsella's musical whims are akin to most people's prudent decisions. He knows when to pull the strings and when to saturate the sparseness. He also knows how to mix simplistic indictment ("Whatever you think you are, you aren't") with lyrical complexity ("I know it's mean to say, but it's something I've been meaning to say to you/ for a while: You're a has-been, that never was"). "The Sad Waltzes Of Pietro Crespi" inquisitively picks up the meandering coda of "Bad News." The kinetic guitar part mimics the intonation of a spoken question and symmetrically mirrors the actual questions posed in the lyrics. I try not to pay too much attention to "One of These Days" because it drips with melancholy. And yet the song is dreadfully compelling, something of an elegy to Kinsella's father, from what I can tell. If that is the case, then it is a proper ode of which any father could be proud. Kinsella usually enjoys punctuating his idylls with an off-color "shit" or "fuck" every now and then, just to remind you that he might be angry amidst the delicate melodies. But there is newfound restraint on this album; Kinsella decides not to force the awkward slur into his music where it really doesn't belong.
At Home With is more robust than previous ones and though musical purists will probably gag when they notice Owen's cover of "Femme Fatale," it's not as apocalyptic as you might think. The VU cover is a wink and a nod to themes of Owen's lyrical past and a light-hearted dig at the sanctity of music never intended to be sanctified, a notion which Kinsella embraces wholeheartedly. He isn't in the business of building temples; he only decorates them.
samples:
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B-Music
The music is Turkish folk from the ground up but decorated with electric guitars and synthesisers. Some of the songs sound great with the vibrant, electric sound. "Ince Ince" and "Yaz Gazeteci Yaz" from early on in the album both accommodate the contemporary psychedelic sound very well. One song that I am glad they did not record with all the electric instruments is "Gine Haber Gelmis," a mournful and sparse piece where Selda cries out her words into the void, it is beautiful stuff. There are other songs I feel would have sounded better with this stripped down approach, some of the guitar is drenched in phaser and flanger effects which makes them sound extremely dated now.
Speaking of words, as an advocate for free speech, Selda’s lyrics got her into trouble with the authorities in Turkey. As I do not speak Turkish I can only assume that the lyrics in her native tongue are better than the strangely translated English versions in the sleeve notes: "Accept this song as my pray" being one example of a line that should have been proof-read before going to press. Plus only five out of the 17 songs are listed in the lyrics section. It would have been nice if more effort had been put into this aspect of the release. There are three pages of sleeve notes telling me why she is important but then they omit most of the proof!
B-Music have committed themselves to releasing what they see as criminally unappreciated rare records. So far their releases have been hit or miss although all have been interesting. The problem with their releases is that they seem to equate rare with genius and it is obvious that this is a silly way to judge records. In this case, they have luckily hit the mark. Selda’s music may be primitive in terms of recording quality but the music is still captivating. You can hear elements of punk, post-punk and modern independent music from Eastern Europe in her music. This is how I imagine what the Eurovision song contest should sound like: songs that exemplify both what is progressive and defining of a culture.
samples:
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Extreme
Parallels can be drawn between the romanticism of the open American highway and the Australian Outback. While Chill Out was the KLF's soundtrack of a fictitious journey through the American landscape, I could see Get a Room scoring a long drive in Australia with nothing but scenery to look at. Like Chill Out, the journey here can act both as foreground and background. Songs morph into each other almost seamlessly, either alone or with the slightest bits of sublime effects. Songs aren't identified, tracks aren't titled, and often there are a few songs or sources playing simultaneously. While the styles range from vocal lounge to micro dub, classic R&B to atmospheric country-influenced steel guitar, orchestral soundtrack music and sound effects, the feel remains pretty easy going. It's always in motion, however; never does it feel like it's dragging nor has it wandered completely off course.
There could be dialogue over bits like on track 6, where a lazy accordion and string melody accompanies the sounds of the ocean, before the melodic climax of course; but in other spots are more vocal songs, which can't help but take center stage. I can't help but feel like I recognize a ton of these songs but I'm embarrassed to say how few I can properly identify. My guess is a lot of it has been taken from underground film soundtracks of the '60s and '70s even though there are clearly songs that come from the '90s and this decade.
The lapping of the ocean returns with what could be Italian or Spanish standards, streetside sounds accompany downbeat R&B before night falls and low tone bells sound over the noises of crickets and other nighttime bugs. It's the low tones and creepy bugs that make this release on Extreme almost make sense, but as things pick back up again to porn soundtrack-ish music, my mind is once again far from the music Extreme has come to be known for.
It's nice to have the Extreme label back in the game, as I have always found their releases pretty solid and always worth listening to. This disc, however, has been a complete surprise in terms of its versatility and has frequently scored dinners at home, car rides, and other things since I got it. I think I read somewhere that the two creators were promising a tracklisting of the album but at this point I honestly don't want to know it.
samples:
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Kubisch's magnetic headphones have built-in coils that respond to electrical fields within their environment. Talking a walk with these phones has spawned here a track of cross-town traffic electrics (rather than electronics) that criss-cross each other like a skyline of pylons. Like a different missive from every street corner, passing pedestrian and piece of underground cabling its possible to hear the silent hum of invisible life. At just under three minutes, and regardless of the details of its creation, this is a progressively pulsing piece of electric-grey head music. The minimal rhythm patterns are pretty simplistic; sounding in places like synth constructed clicks and cuts that threaten to blossom and subside, but never do.
samples:
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Following soon after the critically praised Black Tar Prophecies collection on Important Records, Portland, Oregon's Grails return with their first proper studio album since the 2004 release of Redlight. Burning Off Impurities - their debut for Temporary Residence Ltd. out on May 1, 2007 - makes good on the promise of those past releases in delivering an album that not only thrusts the group to new heights, but also pushes the instrumental rock genre forward for the first time in nearly a decade.
An increased interest in psychedelic, ambient and world music is most likely to blame for Grails' exploration of the lesser-traveled paths of modern music. In addition, their eclectic range of collaborative endeavors - guitarist Zak Riles is also in M. Ward's band, while drummer Emil Amos has moonlighted as Jandek's drummer - has introduced an element of improvisation and reinterpretation of ideas that is both brilliant and earnest.
Like Black Tar Prophecies, Burning Off Impurities was produced by Grails, with production assistance by Jeff Saltzman and Steven Wray Lobdell (of avant-garde legends, Faust). Influenced in equal parts by Ash Ra Tempel, Erkin Koray, Popol Vuh, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and dozens others, this is very likely the closest Grails will ever get to making a classic rock record; the kind of sprawling masterpiece that you savor for years before passing it on to your younger brother so he can repeat the process.
Track Listing:
1. Soft Temple
2. More Extinction
3. Silk Rd
4. Drawn Curtains
5. Outer Banks
6. Dead Vine Blues
7. Origin-ing
8. Burning Off Impurities
Discography:
GRAILS Black Tar Prophecies Vol's. 1, 2 & 3 CD (Important 2006)
GRAILS Interpretations... CDEP (Southern 2005)
GRAILS Redlight CD (Neurot 2004)
GRAILS The Burden of Hope CD (Neurot 2003)
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Mute Audio Documents Box Set Out on 26th March 2007 Mute Audio Documents is a collection of Mute's single releases from 1978 to 1984 and includes the first 4 double CD volumes of an ongoing series plus a 2CD rarities album exclusive to the box set. The series will feature all the A-side and B-side single tracks released by Mute in addition to album tracks by the artists for whom there were only album releases. Mute emerged in the post-punk era. It was a new era of pop democracy, and anyone could make a record. You didn't even need to know three chords, according to Mute founder Daniel Miller. All you needed, he said, was an idea. His 'idea' was to create a classic of DIY pop - a double A sided 7" single featuring the songs T.V.O.D. and Warm Leatherette. He called himself The Normal, designed a sleeve with Letraset, stuck the name Mute on it, and accidentally started a record label. You only have to listen to the music gathered on these 10 CDs to see how Mute became the blueprint for maverick independence and sonic adventurousness - a blueprint that countless labels follow to this day. The documentary evidence is here. All you have to do is listen. Volume 1 1978 - 1981 Volume 2 1982 Volume 3 1983 Volume 4 1984 Volumes 1-4 will be available separately later on in the year, but the exclusive 2CD rarities album, which features the legendary live recording of The Normal and Robert Rental - Live at West Runton Pavillon, live tracks from Depeche Mode, Fad Gadget and Yazoo plus John Peel and David Jensen session tracks from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Yazoo in addition to Boyd Rice variable speed versions of tracks from the Black album, will only be available as part of the Mute Audio Documents box set. Daniel Miller has, for nigh on 30 years, been at the helm of a unique and groundbreaking label, which has gained a reputation as one of the most consistently successful, adventurous and challenging labels in the world. With offices in London, Berlin and New York and a roster that includes renowned international artists such as Depeche Mode, Moby, Erasure, Goldfrapp, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Richard Hawley, Mute Audio Documents unashamedly celebrates the label with a remarkable box set detailing both the known as well as the not-so-well-known tracks (some of which are available here for the first time on CD) and the promise of more volumes in the near future. Mute Audio Documents includes exclusive sleeve notes by Chris Bohn, Stephen Dalton, Ian Johnston and Dave Henderson, original artwork and exclusive original poster for The Normal. Full tracklistings Mute Audio Documents CD 1: CD 2: Mute Audio Documents CD 1: CD 2: Mute Audio Documents CD 1: CD 2: Mute Audio Documents CD 1: CD 2: Mute Audio Documents CD 1: CD 2:
128 tracks over 10 CDs, Mute Audio Documents is a unique insight into the musical development of the label and its artists, highlighting the influence, the success and, most importantly, the great music produced since its inception in 1978.
Featuring: The Normal, Fad Gadget, Silicon Teens, D.A.F., Non, Robert Rental, Depeche Mode, Boyd Rice and Smegma.
Featuring: Non, Depeche Mode, Fad Gadget, Die Doraus Und Die Marinas, Yazoo and Liaisons Dangereuses.
Featuring: Depeche Mode, Duet Emmo, Robert Görl, Yazoo, Fad Gadget, The Assembly and The Birthday Party.
Featuring: Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Robert Görl, Depeche Mode, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, I Start Counting, Bruce Gilbert, Boyd Rice and Frank Tovey.
Volume 1 1978 - 1981
1. The Normal - T.V.O.D
2. The Normal - Warm Leatherette
3. Silicon Teens - Memphis Tennessee
4. Silicon Teens - Let's Dance
5. Fad Gadget - Back To Nature
6. Fad Gadget - The Box
7. Silicon Teens - Judy In Disguise
8. Silicon Teens - Chip 'n Roll
9. Fad Gadget - Ricky's Hand
10. Fad Gadget - Handshake
11. D.A.F. - Kebabträume
12. D.A.F. - Gewalt
13. Non - Soundtrack 1 (loop edit of 1'30" at 33rpm)
14. Non - Soundtrack 2 (loop edit of 1'30" at 33rpm)
15. Non - Soundtrack 3 (loop edit of 1'30" at 33rpm)
16. Non - Mode Of Infection
17. Non - Knife Ladder
18. Smegma - Can't Look Straight
19. Smegma - Flashcards
20. Fad Gadget - Insecticide
21. Fad Gadget - Fireside Favourites
1. Silicon Teens - Just Like Eddie
2. Silicon Teens - Sun Flight
3. Robert Rental - Double Heart
4. Robert Rental - On Location
5. D.A.F. - Tanz Mit Mir
6. D.A.F. - Der Räuber Und Der Prinz
7. Depeche Mode - Dreaming Of Me
8. Depeche Mode - Ice Machine
9. Boyd Rice - Side A Track 2
10. Boyd Rice - Side B Track 1
11. Fad Gadget - Make Room
12. Fad Gadget - Lady Shave
13. Depeche Mode - New Life
14. Depeche Mode - Shout
15. Depeche Mode - Just Can't Get Enough
16. Depeche Mode - Any Second Now
Volume 2 1982
1. Non - Rise
2. Non - Out Out Out
3. Non - Romance Fatal Dentro De Un Auto
4. Depeche Mode - See You
5. Depeche Mode - Now This Is Fun
6. Fad Gadget - Saturday Night Special - Special Mix
7. Fad Gadget - Swallow It - Live
8. Die Doraus Und Die Marinas - Fred Vom Jupiter
9. Die Doraus Und Die Marinas - Even Home Is Not Nice Anymore
10. Non - Physical Evidence
11. Non - Man Kills Self While Cleaning Gun
12. Fad Gadget - King Of The Flies
13. Fad Gadget - Plain Clothes
14. Depeche Mode - The Meaning Of Love
15. Depeche Mode - Oberkorn (It's A Small Town)
1. Yazoo - Only You
2. Yazoo - Situation
3. Liaisons Dangereuses - Los Niños Del Parque
4. Liaisons Dangereuses - Mystère Dans Le Brouillard
5. Yazoo - Don't Go
6. Yazoo - Winter Kills
7. Fad Gadget - Life On The Line
8. Fad Gadget - 4M
9. Depeche Mode - Leave In Silence
10. Depeche Mode - Excerpt From: My Secret Garden
11. Yazoo - The Other Side Of Love
12. Yazoo - Ode To Boy
13. Fad Gadget - For Whom The Bells Toll
14. Fad Gadget - Love Parasite
Volume 3 1983
1. Depeche Mode - Get The Balance Right!
2. Depeche Mode - The Great Outdoors!
3. Duet Emmo - Or So It Seems
4. Duet Emmo - Heart Of Hearts (Or So It Seems)
5. Robert Görl - Mit Dir
6. Robert Görl - Beruhrt Verfuhrt
7. Yazoo - Nobody's Diary
8. Yazoo - State Farm
9. Depeche Mode - Everything Counts
10. Depeche Mode - Work Hard
1. Fad Gadget - I Discover Love
2. Fad Gadget - Lemmings On Lovers' Rock
3. Depeche Mode - Love In Itself.2
4. Depeche Mode - Fools
5. The Assembly - Never Never
6. The Assembly - Stop Start
7. The Birthday Party - Jennifer's Veil
8. The Birthday Party - Mutiny In Heaven
9. The Birthday Party - Swampland
10. The Birthday Party - Say A Spell
Volume 4 1984
1. Einstürzende Neubauten - Tanz Debil
2. Einstürzende Neubauten - Kalte Sterne
3. Fad Gadget - Collapsing New People
4. Fad Gadget - Spoil The Child
5. Robert Görl - Darling Don't Leave Me
6. Robert Görl - A Ist Wieder Da
7. Depeche Mode - People Are People
8. Depeche Mode - In Your Memory
9. Fad Gadget - One Man's Meat
10. Fad Gadget - Sleep - Electro Induced Original
1. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - In The Ghetto
2. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Moon Is In The Gutter
3. I Start Counting - Letters To A Friend
4. I Start Counting - Adman's Dream
5. Bruce Gilbert - U, Mu, U
6. Bruce Gilbert - Here Visit
7. Depeche Mode - Master And Servant
8. Depeche Mode - (Set Me Free) Remotivate Me
9. Depeche Mode - Blasphemous Rumours
10. Depeche Mode - Somebody - Remix
11. Boyd Rice / Frank Tovey - Extraction 2
12. Boyd Rice / Frank Tovey - Extraction 7
Rarities
1. The Normal & Robert Rental - Live At West Runton Pavilion
2. Boyd Rice - Side A Track 1 - 33RPM
3. Boyd Rice - Side A Track 1 - 45RPM
4. Boyd Rice - Side B Track 2 -33RPM
5. Boyd Rice - Side B Track 2 - 45RPM
6. Fad Gadget - King Of The Flies - Live
7. Fad Gadget - I Discover Love - Live
8. Fad Gadget - The Ring - Live
9. Fad Gadget - Love Parasite - Live
1. Depeche Mode - Excerpt From: My Secret Garden
2. Depeche Mode - Shout - Live
3. Depeche Mode - Photographic - Live
4. Depeche Mode - Somebody - Live
5. Depeche Mode - Ice Machine - Live
6. Yazoo - Bring Your Love Down - David Jensen BBC Session
7. Yazoo - In My Room - David Jensen BBC Session
8. Yazoo - Winter Kills - Live
9. Yazoo - Don't Go - Live
10. Yazoo - Situation - Live
11. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - From Her To Eternity - John Peel BBC Session
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