Brainwashed Radio: The Podcast Edition

Solstice moon in the West Midlands by James

Hotter than July.

This week's episode has plenty of fresh new music by Marie Davidson, Kim Gordon, Mabe Fratti, Guided By Voices, Holy Tongue meets Shackleton, Softcult, Terence Fixmer, Alan Licht, pigbaby, and Eiko Ishibashi, plus some vault goodies from Bombay S Jayashri and Pete Namlook & Richie Hawtin.

Solstice moon in West Midlands, UK photo by James.

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Whitehouse, "Quality Time"

cover imageIn the canon of Whitehouse, this is an odd release.  It lacks the unabashed brutality of the early releases, the monotone sex-crazed sounds of the mid period, and is far more restrained than anything that has been released since.  I think for that reason this has become, at least for me, their lost classic.  Not lacking the caustic, angry vocals and genuinely disturbing moments of their discography, the other component is a very nuanced study of electronic textures, and an oh-so-subtle sense of humor and irony that really holds it all together.
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Éric La Casa, "Zone Sensible 2/Dundee 2"

cover imageConsisting of two distinct conceptual pieces spread across a total of four tracks, La Casa creates sound based upon the disparate concepts of both nature and urban sprawl, utilizing field recordings in each case both in their untouched and heavily treated states.  The complex result is simultaneously warm and inviting, yet cold and detached, exactly as the source material would lead one to expect.
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Harappian Night Recordings, "The Glorious Gongs of Hainuwele"

cover imageThe title of this album alludes to a deeply macabre and scatological Indonesian myth about young girl who possessed the dubious magical ability to defecate surprising items ranging from earrings to knives to...well...gongs.  When she distributed these items to men at a village dance, the villagers collectively decided that her power was an infernal and unseemly one and that they needed to bury her alive.  Fortunately, the story has a happy (albeit grisly) ending, as her friend later dug up her corpse, dismembered it, and reburied its parts all over the village, which caused delicious tuberous plants to grow.  
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Aranos, "Crow Eye Hint"

cover imageAranos’s new long-form opus may be a bit lacking in his characteristic eccentricity, but it maintains his usual high standards of adventurousness, difficulty, and oblique conceptuality.  While ostensibly a drone piece, the tone is much less meditative than I expected.  Instead, Crow Eye Hint is a nakedly experimental and exploratory work for much of its duration, focusing on both negative space and the acoustic properties of misused pianos and clashing tones.  Also, it gets pretty scary.
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The Aeolian String Ensemble, "Lassithi/Elysium"

cover image Recorded throughout the '90s and released in 1998 by Robot Records, the first proper album from The Aeolian String Ensemble is something of a mystery. Though it is attributed primarily to the work of David Kenny, the liner notes for Lassithi/Elysium also mention names like David Tibet and Steven Stapleton. Both songs bear out comparisons to music by either one, but the Ensemble's especially light touch and new age flourishes are entirely unique to them.
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White Rainbow, "Prism of Eternal Now"

After years of work with other bands, and consistent but low profile solo-work, Prism Of Eternal Now will certainly be Adam Forkner's most visible release yet. White Rainbow might not be his most recognizable moniker, but those acquainted with his past work will find something familiar.

 

Kranky

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Gang Gang Dance, "RAWWAR"

Continuing the small trickle of releases since God's Money, this EP demonstrates the diversity of Gang Gang Dance's sound, even though most of the constituent songs aren't among the band's best.

 

The Social Registry

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Smutny, "Telehors"

The composer Daniel Smutny has dropped his first name for his debut album. Despite his avant garde leanings, Telehors is accessible and devoid of any scholastic tendencies. It is a nice album made up of abstract sounds and haunting melodies. It can get dull at times but overall Telehors is a highly enjoyable experience.
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Wang Changcun, "The Mountain Swallowing Sadness"

This is the first album from Wang Changcun, who is a member of the China Sound Unit, a group dedicated to investigating aural phenomena in various urban centers. Blurring the distinction between noise and the avant-garde, it also marks the first release of a Chinese composer by a Western label with international scope.

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Current 93, "Earth Covers Earth"

cover image Earth Covers Earth was the first Current 93 album I obsessed over. I acquired it not long after I found a copy of Emblems for $2.89 in a bargain bin at a record store where none of the clerks had ever heard of David Tibet or Current 93. It was a godsend. When I first heard Emblems it was like being drawn towards a black hole, and when I finally sealed my fate by listening to Earth Covers Earth I was pulled beyond the event horizon. One of the things I love about this album is the mixture of Tibet’s own lyrical songwriting, traditional tunes, and the obscure metaphysical poetry set to music. Pervaded by a vitriolic melancholy, I listen to it when I want to evoke the intermingled feelings of sadness, hope, futility, anger, joy and faith.
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