Most of Chartier's recent work and collaborations, both under his own name and his Pinkcourtesyphone alter ego, have focused mostly on presenting tones, both natural and synthetic, in a myriad of understated, minimalist contexts. It is perhaps for this reason that Interior Field has such a different character and mood in comparison, as it of a completely different approach. Made up of field recordings, a technique he has not used since 2010's Fields for Mixing, there is a more hollow, bleaker darkness to be explored here that is quite different for him.

With their dual bass and drum lineup (in addition to samples and other electronic elements), Comparative Anatomy may sound like peers of Lightning Bolt, but their approach is very different. Rather than their scum-rock inclinations, CA are more adherents to the absurdist, bordering on batshit insanely comic school of rock. This is an album where each song has a different mammal as a guest "vocalist."

Recorded live amongst the very definition of urban decay, this duo of contrabass players demonstrate their exceptional ability at improvisation. Presented here as naked as possible (no overdubs, editing, or post-production), the result is a compelling minimalist document of both improvised music and a study of sparse, natural sound.

The beauty of this record is in how it makes the idea of space travel not only catchy but entertaining. I hope a lot of kids get a chance to hear it or watch it on youtube, because the lyrics, a collage of utterances made by Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking, and other scientists, as run through an autotuner and placed atop a moving beat and driving melody are truly inspiring. This is popular science at its best.

Following their excellent eponymous debut, this outré music supergroup reconvened after a brief break sans Elke Skelter, but with a pretty exciting new addition in her place (Jim O'Rourke). Given the pedigree of the players involved, it was no surprise at all that the resultant album was a strange and difficult one, but it managed to subvert my expectations anyway. Of course, having my expectations subverted when my expectation was "this will be a brilliant album!" is not entirely a good thing. Mimir clearly had admirable intentions and a formidable line-up for these sessions, but Mimyriad's success is much more evident as an artistic statement and an experiment.

This 1991 release marked the beginning of the trilogy that many regard to be some of Andrew McKenzie's finest and most inspired work. Appropriately enough, its 2004 reissue by devoted super-fan Frans de Waard (Beequeen) marked the beginning of something still more notable: an ongoing campaign to track down and reissue as many hopelessly unavailable Hafler Trio albums as possible—with all omissions, glitches, and compromises eradicated and all financially suicidal packaging triumphantly intact.

Considering the album’s title suggests a bleak monochromatic soundscape, Colin Potter and Phil Mouldycliff quickly confounded my limited expectations with their vivid field recordings and processed sounds. They take us by the hand and lead us on a tour of a sleepy village found somewhere between the Mediterranean coast and the edge of consciousness. Trembling and sonorous, the music the pair generate over the course of the album is rich with delicate textures and hidden beauty.

For Sub Rosa's second blues compilation, they swing their gaze from relatively unknown blueswomen to unsung bluesmen. Crackling, distorted recordings betray the battered, forgotten nature of these individuals but through the murk of time come songs and voices that sound utterly alive and unblemished by almost a century of pillaging at the church of the blues. Although varying in quality (both in terms of the songs and the recordings themselves), I'm Going Where the Water Drinks Like Wine is a fine presentation of undeservedly obscure musicians long lost in the dusty recesses of personal record collections and thrift stores.

With an impressive cast of characters including 2Mex, Saul Williams, and Mia Doi Todd, Thavius Beck's newest record charts a few different paths but manages to carve out a unique path for the LA-based producer. I was a fan of Thavius Beck's last record for Mush, but Thru is even stronger and stranger.

On the third album from A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Jeremy Barnes has held to his word and touring member Heather Trost now joins him in the studio to make a superb collection of new tunes. It is not a break away from the previous releases but it is a continuation of a high quality back catalogue. The Way the Wind Blows hangs together better and feels more complete, especially with the addition of more odd instruments and even stronger arrangements.

This is the product of a collaboration between Italian Gianluigi Di Costanzoand American Brian Salter that wants to come off as a timeless work ofelectronic pop music, but only makes it half-way there. What BochumWelt learns the hard way is that the middle of the road is a dangerousplace to be.

The debut full-length album from Delia and Gavin is like an extended single, comprised of four songs extended to their full potential, each stretching between 11 and 13 minutes, which is the perfect amount of time to pull anybody into 'the zone' and then drop them out before anything bad happens. The jagged, staccato sounds generated by the meticulous sequencing create nothing short of an aural strobe light, in the way that staring at it for extended periods of time can easily tamper with -all- senses of the body.

This 1995 album is one of those extraordinarily rare instances in which a remix album was actually a great idea. For one, it focuses almost entirely on material from Evanescence, an album that many (myself included) consider to be Scorn's peak, capturing Mick Harris during that all-too-brief nexus in which his more visceral impulses and his love of disquieting ambiance were in perfect balance. Then, of course, he managed to assemble several of the most compelling and uncompromising denizens of electronic music's shadowy fringes (Coil, Autechre, etc.) to warp it all to their liking.

The major recurrent theme for Soundway compilations is documenting that fragile and fleeting period when two cultures collide and the resulting music still seems exciting, fresh, and revolutionary. Palenque Palenque certainly fits nicely within that aesthetic, but the absorption of African music into Colombia did not follow a predictable path all, as this is a deeply strange and somewhat baffling album (albeit quite a likable one). Rather than sounding like a Latinized Fela Kuti, some of the artists more closely resemble a young Steve Reich on amphetamines trying to construct an Afro-Latin dance album from tape loops.

This piece for two pianos and a viola was one of the last pieces Luc Ferrari wrote and this recording documents its posthumous premiere along with a rehearsal performance. The two sides of this LP demonstrate that Ferrari was by no means running out of steam by the end of his life. The music as captivating as any of his other works for conventional instrumentation. Tense, violent and beautiful, Didascalies 2 is a potent reminder of Ferrari’s talent as a composer.

For this album the Magic Carpathians have played many roles: field guides, sonic scouts, and acoustic archaeologists investigating the musical heritage of the land they call their home. They have been applying the varnish to some improvised sessions recorded over a nearly sleepless two day period high up in a mountain lodge back in 2008. The results are like the whorls in a piece of wood picked up off the forest floor: fractal like, mesmerizing and endlessly intricate.

21 years ago Steven Stapleton was invited to swing by BMS Studios inLondon late one night by resident engineer Nicky Rogers. Stapletongathered up friends John Fothergill and Heman Pathak and made somerecordings with a few goals in mind: very long tracks and no vocals -they hated songs. With the eye catching infamous artwork a classic wasborn, pressed in a limited quantity of 500 (probably because thereweren't enough fans or enough money to make more). It was actuallyquite buzzworthy around London and reviews did pop up around town(maybe not the most favorable) but people were interested in the wackcover artwork at least. In retrospect, it's a bunch of sloppy noisemade by three drugged-out naive kids who were frustrated doing boringjobs of making signs for example, bringing a ton of noisy toys into thestudio. Do I hear a Merlin in here? Loads of wanky guitars color thefirst side of the LP while the second side consists of morenon-conventional noisemakers and randomness. The beauty is that theseguys weren't taking themselves nearly as seriously as modernimprovisationalists, there was indeed an element of purity apparent.None of the tracks really end up where they started, and might servethe purpose of being a great soundtrack to a drug-influenced evening.This album provides an excellent reference point, and the newlyreleased repackage has a complete booklet with old photos of theoriginal trio, a restored front and back cover and even a letter froman A&R Rep at Epic Records in NYC asking to hear some more NWWrecords. (Imagine a world with NWW signed to Epic!) Anyhow if thatwasn't enough, the music's been cleaned up from the analogue tapes andthere's a bonus 15+ minute track recorded in September with Tibet andColin Potter. What's a new track doing on an old reissue? In a strangejustification it belongs, as the track consists of Tibet reading thatfamed list of influencors from the original sleeve, over a minimalamount of sound. It's nothing too impressive but mildly amusing andneat to have an archive of (pretty much like the rest of this record).While the new edition is a nice thing to own, if you're not all thatconcerned with new packaging or a new track, this might not be worthyour cashola. On the other hand if you never picked it up, there's nobetter time than the present. Once again I must state that I wouldpersonally like to see 'Insect and Individual Silenced' and 'AutomatingVol. 2' surface on CD before more reissues like this and 'ThunderPerfect Mind' materialize.

 

samples:

• The Six Buttons of Sex Appeal
• Blank Capsules of Emboidered Cellophane
• Strain, Crack, Break

Mark Nelson (Pan American), Frank Bretschneider (Komet) and Joe Kingman (Fisherofgold) are given only one restriction for this project: approximately 15 minutes apiece to subjectively express themselves. I wonder why only 48 minutes total when most discs and players can accommodate 75-80? That question aside, volume 1 of this artist friendly series from Quatermass is a solid collection of complementary tracks.

After listening not nearly enough times, I find myself returning overand over to the same conclusion: amazing. Tara Jane's one of thosemusicians where those 'in the know' will already have everything shehas been a part of. Her multi-instrument playing and singing can beheard on Retsin, Rodan, and Sonora Pine records as well as her fabulousdebut solo release last year, 'Peregrine.' It's inevitable you'd misswho she is if you were also a fan of Rachel's, Ida, or Shipping News asshe's bound to be making an appearance at a show here or there or sharemusicians. There's something almost magical in nearly anything shetouches. I know it sounds queer but if you've ever paid witness to oneof her shows, the amount of bleedingly direct and honest charm whicheminates from her shines really bright. People at her shows can't helpbut be captivated and completely swept up. The recorded sound is a muchmore intricate woven tapestry, however, with a mishmosh of unpluggedinstruments and varying arrangements. 'Peregrine' was such a boldstatement, as Tara Jane collected some of her best friends in andaround NYC and created a solid album of intricate instrumentation, ascattering of styles and an honest production which makes the musicianssound like they're in your livingroom. There's a lot of similar facesstill around, like Dan Littleton of Ida, Rachel Grimes of the Rachel's,Cynthia Nelson of Retsin and Ruby Falls and Ida Pearle, but guestcontributions seem much less prominent than last time. Tara's comehome. This year's album sees her moving away from the urban setting,with more production in Louisville than NY, subsequently the music ismore vocal and the subject matter appears more personal. It almostseems to me as if she proved her point last time around — that she isan accomplished arranger and skilled instrumentalist. This time she'sgot more personal stories to tell as a developing songwriter, who'soften being compared to the likes of Joni Mitchell and Cat Power.Recently I bought a new pair of higher quality headphones and deeplistening has taken on a new meaning, this disc has not let me down.

 

samples:

• The Winds You Came Here On
• Sweet Bargaining
• In This Rough

There's a lot of electronic music out there that either plain bores or annoys the absolute piss out of me. So much of it sounds the same, and what it sounds like is something so pedestrian that it was all created using standard ACID loop libraries. That's why it's so refreshing when something like loscil comes around. "Triple Point" is a fantastic release just based upon the rather unique palette of sounds here. But there's so much more going on in the mix. Sampled sounds so buried you really only hear them faintly, and treated keyboards that sound hollow and distant have such an eerie effect. Each track starts of easy enough, but builds to amazing heights as more sounds are added and volume increases. Scott Morgan, who is loscil, has an amazing ear, as these songs are dense and droned-out but you never lose sense of this music and Morgan never lets you stray from the path long. "Triple Point" is reportedly based on the concepts of thermodynamics, and that couldn't be a more appropriate analogy for the effect this music has on the listener. It soothes, it relaxes, it resonates with a warmth that almost defies description, and it propels you in the same instant, willing you to create or submit to its will. Never has an artist's debut on a label impressed me more. loscil has obviously just begun, and there's great promise for the future.

Samples can be found here.