Podcast Episodes 721 & 722 are live!
Mid-November midweek special
Two new episodes are now available.
Episode 721 features Throwing Muses, Eros, claire rousay, Moin, Zachary Paul, Voice Actor and Squu, Leya, Venediktos Tempelboom, Cybotron, Robin Rimbaud and Michael Wells, Man or Astro-Man?, and Aisha Vaughan.
Episode 722 has James Blackshaw, FACS, Laibach, La Securite, Good Sad Happy Bad, Eramus Hall, Nonconnah, The Rollies, Jabu, Freckle, Evan Chapman, diane barbe, Tuxedomoon, and Mark McGuire.
Wine in Paris photo by Mathieu.
Get involved: subscribe, review, rate, share with your friends, send images!
Charly McLion's musical career has extended over three decades and manygenres including rock and blues bands, Algerian Rai, commercial workand most recently, electronic. "The Nature of the Universe" is his solodebut and the 2nd release from Aachen, Germany based KingfisherRecords. McLion, born B?hel, composed these eleven 5 to 7 minuteinstrumental tracks with samples, guitars and keyboards. His music isof a Hearts of Space, electronic new age flavor that at times recalls"A Momentary Lapse of Reason"-era Pink Floyd and the solo work offellow German Michael Rother (ex-Kraftwerk, Neu!). Pretty piano andkeyboard melodies, mellow guitar soloing and accompaniment, lightprogrammed bass and beats and dramatic, sweeping waves of synthresonance are the primary modes of relaxation. Everything isintentionally easy on the ears and unobtrusive, just simply happy toslowly soothe. "Eye In The Sky" introduces a bit of EBM funkiness tothe rhythm while "Sunshine" drops a female vocal sample and bit ofSpanish styled acoustic guitar. Nice. With the sometimes staggeringamount of experimental music I listen to, it's good to put on somethingas straightforward yet enjoyable as this every now and then.
The title of the seventh cut, "Hassle Free Harmony", serves as anexcellent summation of the album in its entirety. Marc Bianchi returnsunder his HSH moniker with 'Manic Expressive', a release that iselegant, yet mellow and uncomplicated. From the three-minute stringarrangement of the opening track to the sweet and wispy vocals on "TheRinging in My Ears", the album blends an extensive assortment ofmusical sources, both organic and electronic. Melodically, the songsare aural decoupage: it's as if Bianchi gives the listener a sonicslide show, displaying bits and pieces of his favorite tunes by otherartists ("Dear Prudence" immediately springs to mind). The result,however, does not give the impression that these outside sources havebeen plundered, but rather form a charming homage. The juxtaposition ofan orchestral ebb and flow with subtle mechanical beats, hypnoticambient atmospherics and glistening guitar is handled with dexterity.Even when the otherwise humble songs surge with drama, Bianchi neverallows them to run amok. The orchestra pit warm-up that opens the firsttrack signals what is to come: the artistic and stylistic developmentof HSH since the previous effort, 'Home Is Where You Hang Yourself'.Break out the electric blankets; 'Manic Expressive' is perfectlistening for curling up in a warm bed on a snowy morning.
Stichting Mixer is a 2-year-old foundation for minimal electronic/acoustic music, it's goal "to start and stimulate initiatives which encourage the encounter between sound and other media". Its recorded output, from knowns and unknowns alike, is released through the Mixer label. This disc is the first release on CD, limited to 500 copies.Battery Operated, apparently the duo of TomKz and Wade Walker, "chase" (i.e. DAT record) sound signals in 8 architectural non places, those modern structures of repetition such as airports, rail stations, hotels and shopping centers. Thus, they use the spaces themselves to construct soundtracks for them. The 8 tracks are roughly 5 to 6 minutes apiece and the digipack offers only the abstruse clue of a greyscale texture for each location. All sorts of unidentifiable sound tidbits are churned up and around, molded into quasi-rhythmic patterns and ambient-ish soundscapes. Tracks 3 and 8 are the real standouts though, simply because they're the most musically dynamic. The former in particular perfectly segues between cluttered and calm moments. Good stuff. Future Mixer releases I'll be keeping an ear out for include a split LP by Pimmon and K?n and a double 7" by Kaffe Matthews.
This full-length CD shares only a tiny amount from the 12" released earlier this year which bears the same name. (For my praise of those four songs from the first side, see 
Bablicon are a Chicago-based trio of curiously monikerd multi-instrumentalists: 'Blue Hawaii', Marta Tennae and 'the diminisher'. This is their 3rd album, apparently conceived as a double album, tracks 1-6 under the "The Cat That Was a Dog" title and tracks 7-15 under "a Flat Inside the Fog". Most songs are rooted in piano composition, which all 3 members play, but vary widely in style and additional tone coloration: voices, various basses and saxes, electronics and all sorts of percussion and other odds and ends like theremin, melodica, 'friendly bird tinkles' and 'electric ghetto duck'.
One thing nobody will ever accuse Dave Pajo of is recording the samealbum twice. Fans of the polished, sparkling instrumental melodic songswill be a little taken aback with his latest full-lengther. Unlike the'Shark Cage' or 'Aerial M' albums, this one is much less a continuousconcept, with variations in both musical and production stylesthroughout the course of the 18+ minutes. Pajo picks up where he leftoff from the recent 'Papa M Sings' EP, singing on many tracks in astyle not completely foreign to fans of his close friend and oftencollaborator, Will Oldham. A trucking anthem, "Over Jordan" opens thedisc, charming, yet shabbily produced songs like "Tamu" could haveeasily been recorded on a tape recorded in the kitchen. IntoxicatingMiddle Eastern and electronic elements come into play (via tablas andsitar) on the stellar "Sabotage." By the time this song is reached, I'mhonestly thinking Pajo's probably the most fearless man in indierock—unafraid to pick up new instruments and do whatever he wishes withthem. The disc ends with "Northwest Passage," which echoes last album's"Arundel." This variation, however is alternately colored with acousticguitar, harmonica, piano and drums. Guest musicians like Tara JaneO'Neil and Will Oldham add to the complex tapestry, but at the end ofthe day, this is clearly more Pajo than anybody else. To top it off,the deluxe 24-page CD booklet features various appealing originalphotos from the man himself with a thick stock and glossy finish. Thefirst few listens may be uneasy but give it time to settle in.
The most striking feature of z.e.l.l.e.'s debut CD is not its exceedingly low volume (barely audible music has become its own genre, so we should all have gotten past that shock by now), but its magnificent use of stereo seperation.
There's something undeniably irresistible about Maximilian Hecker's sugary sweet breathy falsetto and captivating pop melodies. The love for his music is a vice, like cigarette smoking or alcoholism: your first exposure feels rather disgusting but at some point, it becomes quite addictive. Soon, you're not allowed to be around your friends who don't indulge while you feel the need to indulge. It's embarrassing.
Antenne is the new solo project of Copenhagen's Kim G. Hansen, formerlyof Danish group Amstrong, for the long-lived Dutch label Korm Plastics.Hansen mixes up electronic and acoustic sounds - analogue synth wash,gentle guitar strums and notes, minimal bass and beats - for thedesired effect, a sort of slow motion, desolate, ambient pop that makesme think of Locust run through molasses. "Here to Go" sets the moodimmediately with a submerged brushed snare groove. The celestial voiceof Marie-Louise Munch, also of Amstrong, closes the sale. Note to self- seek out the EP for this song featuring remixes by Stephan Mathieau,Zammuto, Accelera Deck, Metamatics and Geiom. For the remaining 7tracks on this disc, Munch lends more lovely, light vocals to 4, andthough they're all good, they're also disappointing after track #1. Thenear ten minutes of "Whispering" would be runner-up, a steam bath dirgeobscuring the gorgeous guitar chords and vocals in time. Program thisdisc in reverse to save the best for last and you're set.
Don't let the unpronouncable band name or low-tech cover put you off,this here's one of the best space-rock drone-pop records of the year.The five member group of D&D players includes Adam from Yume Bitsuand three members of Landing. It's patient, emotional, climactic andintense. Don't expect quietness however, as the barrage of guitarsenvelopes you like a cloud of the most potent marijuana smokeimaginable. You can get a contact high from this smoke however withoutdirect contact with the bong. Get comfortable on the livingroom couchin your rattiest flannel with a comfortable old blanket, turn the musicup really loud, stare up at the ceiling and daze for a few minutes.Minutes turn to hours, nightfall comes early and the lights go down allthroughout the house. Staring through glazed eyes the LED on your clockshows a time you can't figure which is AM or PM. Suddenly visions ofwalking through 4-foot drifts of neopolitan shaving cream enter yourhead. A plaid talking yak leads the way under the orange sky of anIndonesian sunset. Bubbles form and fail to burst, you stumble on LauraDern action figures and fall through a stitch in an oriental rug. Youwake with your mouth open, completely clothed, drool on the pillow andtwo fuzzy cats on your belly. The phone rang. Goddamnit.
With only a single and a few collaborations out this year, Chicago's Locrian have been rather quiet, with this being their first (and so far only) full-length release of the year. The Clearing both recalls their earliest, noise-addled drone work while still looking forward to their current unique take on metal/prog/kraut rock.
