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- Unwed Sailor - Shadows
- The Potomac Accord - For Jonathan
- Mikael Jorgensen - Jonathan
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I'm not usually one to buy DJ Kicks or DJ mix records but when I saw this collection from the Kompakt label boss sitting in the used bin, I couldn't refuse. Usually, these collections are from artists, who, more often than expected, have pretty poor taste in music and rarely acknowledge any of their contemporaries. It often results in a comp which is of friends and buddies and doesn't hold together nicely as a unit. Meyer, on the other hand, being the head of a label I adore, is an interesting pick, as with his picks, he might choose a bunch of stuff he likes but wouldn't find a place for on his label.
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Bruno Nicolai, "Perche Quelle Strane Gocce di Sangue sul Corpo di Jennifer?" and "Il Tuo Vizio E una
A small Italian record label has answered the prayers of eurocult filmand soundtrack fans everywhere. As part of their new series "BrunoNicolai in Giallo," Digitmovies has just released the scores to twoobscure 1972 thrillers bearing the unwieldy titles of Perche Quelle Strane Gocce di Sangue sul Corpo di Jennifer? (What Are Those Strange Drops of Blood on Jennifer's Body) and Il Tuo Vizio E una Stanza Chiusa e Solo Io Ne Ho la Chiave (Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key).Composer Bruno Nicolai's career has often been overshadowed by fellowcountryman Ennio Morricone, for whose scores Nicolai often served asconductor, but slowly his own extensive body of film music is beginningto see the light of day decades later. These two discs mark the firstrelease ever of this music apart from the films, are digitallyremastered, and both contain extra material from the recording sessionsthat were ultimately unused.
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samples:
Il Tuo Vizio, composed for a very liberal film adaptation ofEdgar Allen Poe's "The Black Cat," is accordingly somber and sinister,with more of a classical influence than Perche Quelle Strane.Its themes alternate between two slow movements using harpsicord andoboe with hints of harp and a multitude of strings, and create a moodthat is haunting and seductive. There are, of course, energetic burstswhen the tension is heightened. The results are beautiful, chilling,and often romantic. The pieces at times sound as if they could haveinfluenced Angelo Badalamenti's score for Blue Velvet or In TheNursery's delicate orchestrations. Because each of the releases arebased on one or two primary themes, listening to each as a whole feelrepetitive on an initial listen. But once carried away, it's hardlynoticable. Not only that, but it's entirely possible you'll be hummingthem in your head for days afterwards.
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Due to a theater performance in one of the venue's other rooms the band had a late slot at 10pm, after the theater perfomance had ended. The room was well packed with about 200 people, but there was still enough room for everybody to stand comfortably. When the band walked on stage, the great outfits were the first thing to notice: bright yellow or orange pants, neon rainbow belts, matching blue or green shirts, and platform boots. (Even the drummer was wearing a pair of them, probably making it difficult to play.) The band itself is a sight to behold, with the bass player looking like Beck himself, tall guy Pearly White manning the keyboards, the drummer looking like a copy of John Bonham (complete with moustache), guitar player Sledd looking like he used to play in a hair metal band (and boy, the stuff he played sure sounded like that, too) and Monica Bou Bou—the only girl in the band—switching between keyboards, violin and recorder. The real star, however, is 5' 4" singer/guitarist Bobby Conn. Looking like a cross between Lou Reed and a smaller version of early 70s Bowie, he immediately took command of the stage and the audience, ordering everybody to move closer to the front.
The main set consisted mainly of material from the latest album The Homeland, with a couple older songs thrown in. Highlights were the album's prog rock opener "We Come In Peace," the single "Relax," with its funky rhythm and the title track, "The Homeland," which was announced as being the 'official sing-along anthem for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.' For the ballad "Home Sweet Home," Bobby descended from the stage and performed the song amidst the audience. Musically, the set was a mixture of Queen, Led Zeppelin, Iggy And The Stooges, David Bowie, and T Rex, with some funk and disco thrown in for good measure. Quite a few people critizice Bobby Conn for delivering his political messages "disguised" as 70s glam rock, but in concert this worked out fine, with Bobby commenting on the current political situation in the US and talking with the audience between songs.
When the main set ended after a short 75 minutes, it still felt complete and they could have ended it right there. After much cheering, the band came back, performing a few older songs, with "Whores" (from the previous album The Golden Age) being the last one. After that, the band left the stage and Monica started selling merchandise, but the audience was still screaming for more. When the cheering didn't stop after five minutes, Monica left the stage and went looking for the boys to come back for some more. She must have pulled them right out of the shower, for they returned half naked, wearing sweat pants and sneakers, but they did another two fast and loud songs, which Bobby announced with the words "After these, you don't wanna hear anything else." When they finished, the band was finally released to the well deserved showers.
It was a great night with an excellent performance, and it was pretty cheap, too. (Hey, and you can't go wrong with a concert where a platform boot-equipped guitarist is doing jumping jacks on stage, right?) The remaining tour dates can be found on the Thrill Jockey web site.
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I'm certainly not the first to observe this strange paradox, and I won't be the last, but it seems that the release schedule of new Muslimgauze albums has somehow increased exponentially since the death of Bryn Jones. Every month since Jones' untimely passing has brought at least one new release to his already preposterous discography, often two or three. At this stage, I'm actually having a hard time believing that even the absurdly prolific Bryn Jones committed this much unreleased material to tape before his demise. By this point, Gauze might actually have crossed that Biggie Smalls milestone, having released more albums posthumously than those released during his life. I have to admit however, perusing the newly released 77-minute Alms For Iraq on Soleilmoon, it's hard to say who else could have produced this music other than the singular Muslimgauze.
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