Brainwashed Radio: The Podcast Edition

Aurora Borealis image from California by Steve

Look up

Music for gazing upwards brought to you by Meat Beat Manifesto & scott crow, +/-, Aurora Borealis, The Veldt, Not Waving & Romance, W.A.T., The Handover, Abul Mogard & Rafael Anton Irisarri, Mulatu Astatke, Paul St. Hilaire & René Löwe, Songs: Ohia, and Shellac.

Aurora Borealis image from California by Steve.

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Virna Lindt, "Shiver"

This reissue (from 1983) is something of a gem. Virna Lindt's music is a blend of fashion and espionage as perfect as if she were the love-child of Emma Peel from The Avengers and Ilya Kuryakin from The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
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The For Carnation, "Promised Works"

This collects for the first time in ten years the band's two EPs: 1995's Fight Songs and 1996's Marshmallows. The results on this record are curious, occasionally interesting, but more often than not frustrating. Brian McMahan's second act following his turn in the massively influential Slint, The For Carnation took that band's adept usage of open space and tension and attempted to apply them to low-key acoustic arrangements.

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D+D (Dereck Higgins+Dino Felipe), "D+D"

Public Eyesore 

On this very brief pink/red marbled vinyl 7", the two artists collaborate on a rather subtle work with both sides showing a very distinct character.  "Properties" is all stuttering electronics, field recordings, and other near-impossible to place sounds.  Squeaks, bangs, and a bit of guitar abuse sound like damaged childhood toys put out to pasture in a suburban parking lot to deliver their dying breaths.  The flipside, "Ribbons" is somewhat more conventional, based around guitar textures, electronic tones, and field recordings of birds and insects.  It's a bizarre set of recordings, but very compelling in their oddity and definitely worth checking out.

Thee Majesty, "Vitruvian Pan"

Just weeks after Psychic TV's dismal new album and mere months since Throbbing Gristle's disobedient reunion record comes the delinquent sophomore full-length from this spoken word project of the ubiquitous frontperson behind all three musical entities, making 2007 one of his/her most prolific periods in many years.
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The Kooky Scientist, "Kook Kontrol"

A techno pioneer with countless aliases and highly sought-after releases, Fred Giannelli still apparently holds quite the grudge against former collaborator Genesis Breyer P-Orridge. Instead of bitterly lambasting the transgender icon, this veteran producer displays his biting sense of humor in this electrifying yet cheeky live document.
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Maserati, "Inventions for the New Season"

Cut adrift when Kindercore Records went dormant a few years ago, this Athens, Georgia, band took the separation in stride. Since then, their musicianship and songwriting have evolved, resulting in a more deliberate and energetic style that evokes a broader range of experience. On this, their first new album in four years, Maserati gets everything right.
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Fovea Hex, "Allure"

This release is a beautiful finish to Clodagh Simonds' beautiful Neither Speak Nor Remain Silent trilogy. It is as fabulous as the short previews available online have hinted it would be. There is a further increase in complexity and power, much like the progression from Bloom to Huge. The sound is less abstract but still ethereal, like a familiar setting enveloped in mist.
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Khanate, "It's Cold When Birds Fall from the Sky"/"KHNTvsSTOCKHOLM"

While the final studio release from Khanate seems to be in cold storage, two essential live albums have been given the remaster and reissue treatment. Recorded a year apart from each other, these two discs provide a couple of vivid snapshots of an imposing live band. Both performances see Khanate in top form, destroying all hope with their sub-bass despair. It is exhilarating to hear such a ferocious racket channelled with such precision and purpose, yet utterly depressing that the group responsible is now no more.
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Brush, "Brush!?"

Originally released in 1971 as a tiny private pressing in Japan, this rare psychedelic album finally makes it to CD for the first time. Apparently it took a couple of years to track down the material, but the effort was certainly worth it. Great musicianship, excellent production, and the skillful mixture of various styles make this album enjoyable from beginning to end.

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Erik Satie, "Cubist Works 1913-1924"

One of the most revered musical pioneers of the 20th century, Erik Satie also had connections to the avant-garde of other artistic disciplines. This album contains primarily his collaborations with Picasso and Cocteau, as well as a couple of other seldom heard works. Performed by Bojan Gorisek, who has recorded Satie's entire piano oeuvre, this is a playful and entertaining collection that presents another fascinating side of this eccentric composer.

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