Originally released in 1998, the international distribution through World Serpent begins this week.
Some might recognize Sally from her membership in bothL'Orchestre Noir and Sol Invictus. On this, her first release, Sally'sgentle and gliding voice blankets a small ensemble consisting of doublebass, cello, violin, harp and most prominently, piano. While Ipersonally hate to drop others names or comparisons, this CD couldeasily be an comprehensable and vocally trained Elizabeth Fraserfronting The Johnsons. The music is soothing and the production isflawless. It's brief enough at under 45 minutes, but is full enoughwith 13 shining songs. I imagine Doherty certainly should be a hit withthe Serpent crowd, but with any luck it can most definitely cross somegenres.
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Some might recognize Sally from her membership in bothL'Orchestre Noir and Sol Invictus. On this, her first release, Sally'sgentle and gliding voice blankets a small ensemble consisting of doublebass, cello, violin, harp and most prominently, piano. While Ipersonally hate to drop others names or comparisons, this CD couldeasily be an comprehensable and vocally trained Elizabeth Fraserfronting The Johnsons. The music is soothing and the production isflawless. It's brief enough at under 45 minutes, but is full enoughwith 13 shining songs. I imagine Doherty certainly should be a hit withthe Serpent crowd, but with any luck it can most definitely cross somegenres.
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Also re-distributed byWorld Serpent (from 1998 originally) is the collaboration between LeifElggren, souRce Research and Matmos.
The disc opens with acollaborative effort, "Black," a 10 minute long piece with more silencethan noise. At this point I'm thinking "yippee, another minimalistic thing trying to be cool,..."—Ididn't get it. The second track is a 44 minute long piece withindividual sections of around 15 minutes from each artist, separately.Leif does "Red," souRce research does "Green," while Matmos does"Blue." Things are starting to make sense... The last track, can youguess? "White!" All artists' individual bits are combined together.Anybody who knows how the RGB spectrum might find that cute. Alsoincluded in the CD is three separate covers you can choose for thewindow of your jewel case, Red has Leif's name first, Blue has Matmos,etc,... It's definitely one of the more clever conceptual releases I'veseen in a while.
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The disc opens with acollaborative effort, "Black," a 10 minute long piece with more silencethan noise. At this point I'm thinking "yippee, another minimalistic thing trying to be cool,..."—Ididn't get it. The second track is a 44 minute long piece withindividual sections of around 15 minutes from each artist, separately.Leif does "Red," souRce research does "Green," while Matmos does"Blue." Things are starting to make sense... The last track, can youguess? "White!" All artists' individual bits are combined together.Anybody who knows how the RGB spectrum might find that cute. Alsoincluded in the CD is three separate covers you can choose for thewindow of your jewel case, Red has Leif's name first, Blue has Matmos,etc,... It's definitely one of the more clever conceptual releases I'veseen in a while.Read More
Mark Spybey's mostinteresting work is often the result of collaborative efforts. Most ofthis album is produced and engineered by either Frank "Frankie Pett"Verschuuren (Legendary Pink Dots / Teargarden) or Daryl Neudorf(Abintra) with Frankie being the executive producer, thus some of themeaning behind the goofy title (the rest is somewhat explained by thehumorous work of fiction in the insert). Contributing musicallyare several live players including Neudorf and Niels Van Hoorn, also ofthe Pink Dots. Half of the 10 tracks (the first is merely a 7 secondspoken introduction by Niels' young son Bert) are solo Spybey and theother half collaborations. Spybey's solo tracks are mostly typicalsoundscape pieces comprised of synth textures and drones, sampledsounds and bits of bass. The exception is "The Brother Casio" whichfeatures a tediously repetitive, overdriven beat that's most likely apre-set on a cheap Casio synth. This track aside, Spybey's solo work ispleasantly relaxing but there's nothing much more to say than that.It's the other half of the album where things get really interesting asSpybey's atmospheres and programming mesh with the organic sounds ofthe additional players through jamming and sampling. "Zeehond"playfully splashes keyboard sounds and bass throbs around a cut up drumrhythm by Bradley Dunn-Klerxs. "Dogger", with Neudorf, is alsoambient-ish with bell tones and processed metallic sounds clippingalong. "Bored of Canada" is a live track, though you'd never know it,recorded in Germany this past February. Here DVOA includes Neudorf ondrums and Darren Philips on keys for a mellow jam similar in sound toBoards of Canada, which the title is obviously poking fun at. Once "WetFire Cotton" blasts off, it's dangerously close to the soundtrackrealms of Barry Adamson with its car chase paced rhythm, Neudorf'sguitar and bass lines and Van Hoorn's intermittent sax riffs. "IceCream for Girl" is the most ambient journey with soft spoken words, ahowling wind, synth twinkles and some fluttering flute by Van Hoorn.Notice I've yet to mention the word 'vocals'? That's because thereessentially aren't any, anywhere, which is disappointing. The album asa whole is too heavy on the soundscape side. I really yearn for morecollaborations and vocalized songs such as those on the previous album"Piss Frond". "Frankie Pett" is good but it fails to take fulladvantage of its creative potential and simply isn't as inventive andinteresting as Piss Frond.
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Seek and ye shall find: Panacea's alter-ego, m2is not the easiest thing to find (since it could be filed under S, P orM) but it is a treat when you can indeed come home with it.
The firstCD recorded as this alias ended up being released as a Panacea recordby Caipirinha in the USA. The second CD recorded as such was the firstreleased, out by Ant-Zen in a highly limited quantity. This one's outfrom Mille-Plateaux in Germany and like the other two, exploresPanacea's fascination with a minimal amount of sources, playing withsound structures and pulses - completely turnaround from thein-your-face abrasive mentality of the conventional Panacea releases.It's remarkably un-minimalistic as the pulses and rhythms stem from amore beat centric perspective, it's enjoyable as deeper listeningsuncover stuff generally not floating around the top.
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The firstCD recorded as this alias ended up being released as a Panacea recordby Caipirinha in the USA. The second CD recorded as such was the firstreleased, out by Ant-Zen in a highly limited quantity. This one's outfrom Mille-Plateaux in Germany and like the other two, exploresPanacea's fascination with a minimal amount of sources, playing withsound structures and pulses - completely turnaround from thein-your-face abrasive mentality of the conventional Panacea releases.It's remarkably un-minimalistic as the pulses and rhythms stem from amore beat centric perspective, it's enjoyable as deeper listeningsuncover stuff generally not floating around the top.
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This disc is billed as the first in a series of Chris and Cosey pieces from the vaults 'reworked' into modern sounding pieces.
If I was more fond (andfamiliar) with older Chris and Cosey material, I would be able toprovide a more insightful review perhaps of which songs had what doneto them. Only as a reference point, however, as I'm enjoying this CDalong with the other material to come from both Chris and Cosey overthe last few years far more that I have ever enjoyed their music in the80s and into the early 1990s. Not entirely unlike the oother dubprojects Chris Carter has been exploring, this CD has deep rhythms andgrooves, dark energy and a full and rich sound. Musically, it's not aschallenging perhaps as earlier works, but the feel is certainly there.My ears are aching now for more vibrations of further releases in thisseries.
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If I was more fond (andfamiliar) with older Chris and Cosey material, I would be able toprovide a more insightful review perhaps of which songs had what doneto them. Only as a reference point, however, as I'm enjoying this CDalong with the other material to come from both Chris and Cosey overthe last few years far more that I have ever enjoyed their music in the80s and into the early 1990s. Not entirely unlike the oother dubprojects Chris Carter has been exploring, this CD has deep rhythms andgrooves, dark energy and a full and rich sound. Musically, it's not aschallenging perhaps as earlier works, but the feel is certainly there.My ears are aching now for more vibrations of further releases in thisseries.
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Thread is James Izzo and "Abnormal Love" is his new album, one year in the making, tentatively due out this August. Izzo has obviously put mucheffort into making this album dynamic and diverse with a strong senseof continuity. Each song flows into the next, several with the aid ofbrief segue tracks, to make one cohesive whole out of all the pieces.We shift naturally through passages of sample collage, electro/ebm,orchestra, dub, piano arrangement and ambient soundscape. Three songshave vocals. Izzo's don't quite seem to fit by themselves, as on part 2of "The Horror of the Undeserved Gift", but they are functionalalongside those of former SWANS member Jarboe. "The Malformed Heart"gets things pumping with a steady electro heartbeat rhythm. "In SweetSorrow (Duet Version)" differs from last year's single version in thatit's shorter and adds Izzo's low pitched masculine voice ascounterpoint to Jarboe's light feminine vocals. "Blue Darkness(Orchestral)" blurs unintelligible voices amongst foreboding orchestralsynth melodies. "God's Morse Code" is a groove-y 9 and 1/2 minute livejam of underwater alien dub featuring the help of two extra players."Contours" is a bizarre and somewhat difficult mix of percussion andduet vocals, Jarboe especially taking on a devilish persona. "Saudade"(Portuguese for 'homesickness') is a beautifully sparse solo pianopiece. "Skyscrapers and Sand" and "New Horizons" bring the album to anoptimistic close with over 8 minutes of mellow ambiance. "AbnormalLove" is not just a haphazard collection of random tracks, but insteada carefully thought out and arranged album. It is Thread's mostaccomplished and impressive work to date ...
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[Editor's note: thisCD isn't available yet through major stores, Izzo is shopping for alabel because he doesn't have the time and effort to press anddistribute and promote everything on his own again.]Read More
Over a year ago, Kitty-Yo released this CD in Germany.
This week, Matador introduces the Couch long-player unchanged to the USA. While this CD added to my enjoyment of both the Kitty Yo roster and modern German music, there are many bands pulling off similar modern instrumental rock music pulling both melodic guitars and dub into their sound. I do honestly appreciate this disc, but by now, a year later I think I've heard all these sounds before (with the Notwist, Tied + Tickled Trio and Kammerflimmer Kollektiv). HEY MATADOR: HAVE YOU HEARD FRIDGE YET????! The Kraut is getting sour.
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'Alice The Goon' was previously a vinyl-only issue of 500 pieces, available to a lucky few at the Nevers Festival in France.
It was hard to come by and sellingfor high prices on auction websites. Fortunately, for the Nurse WithWound fans not so lucky to be in France, Stapleton has agreed to alloweveryone a chance to hear this music again.The CD features the two songs from the original release plus anadditional untitled piece which many are calling simply 'Alice TheGoon.' The first track sounds like it would fit right in on the 'Sylvieand Babs'release; imagine an old phonograph player belting out a brass-ladeninstrumental. The second track is a little less involved. The thirdtrack, however, sounds right out of 'A Missing Sense.' There is littlemovement and many drones in this song that could certainly lull you tosleep. An accompanying version of the 12" is also available in alimited pressing with only an etching on side B. It's three tracks,about 30 minutes long, with many expected sounds and surprises thatonly Nurse With Wound can deliver.
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It was hard to come by and sellingfor high prices on auction websites. Fortunately, for the Nurse WithWound fans not so lucky to be in France, Stapleton has agreed to alloweveryone a chance to hear this music again.The CD features the two songs from the original release plus anadditional untitled piece which many are calling simply 'Alice TheGoon.' The first track sounds like it would fit right in on the 'Sylvieand Babs'release; imagine an old phonograph player belting out a brass-ladeninstrumental. The second track is a little less involved. The thirdtrack, however, sounds right out of 'A Missing Sense.' There is littlemovement and many drones in this song that could certainly lull you tosleep. An accompanying version of the 12" is also available in alimited pressing with only an etching on side B. It's three tracks,about 30 minutes long, with many expected sounds and surprises thatonly Nurse With Wound can deliver.samples:
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555 Recordings of Leeds gives us a brand spanking new CD of brand spanking old tracks that most of us haven't heard, remixed.
For a while this label has been issuing7" singles from various European and North American electronic artistsincluding Kid 606, The Remote Viewer, Accelera Deck and Lesser. Thisremix disc utilizes these people as well as others with remixes andcontributions from Kid 606 and his right hand man Cex, Third EyeFoundation, Team Doyobi, Hood and others. It's fun, energetic,irresponsible electronica at its best and highly recommendable whenspotted!
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For a while this label has been issuing7" singles from various European and North American electronic artistsincluding Kid 606, The Remote Viewer, Accelera Deck and Lesser. Thisremix disc utilizes these people as well as others with remixes andcontributions from Kid 606 and his right hand man Cex, Third EyeFoundation, Team Doyobi, Hood and others. It's fun, energetic,irresponsible electronica at its best and highly recommendable whenspotted!samples:
- Jean Bach/Accelera Deck - Furufuta's Theme
- Steward/Cex - This Land Is Nervous
- Team Doyobi - Magic Johnson
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"Pirate Fuckin' Radio 100" celebrates the 5 year anniversary of BillyJam's Hip Hop Slam by documenting it's 100th show.
Billy Jam's showwas originally broadcast from a college station but he ran into FCCissues and turned to the freedom of censorship free, commercial freelow-watt pirate radio. The cd flows through two dozen tracks ofmostly underground hip hop and turntablist studio tracks and live jams(many only available here) covering the station's history, amusinglistener call ins and show and station IDs. The most notable names arethe ones thoughtfully listed on the front of the insert: The InvisiblSkratch Piklz, The Space Travelers, Eddie Def, DJ Sushi, Kool Keith andKut Masta Kurt, Money B, Peanut Butter Wolf and DJ Marz. Turntablismis a lot like drum 'n bass for me ... it all sounds about the same andgets tiresome after a short while, so it's good that there's a variedand creative assortment here of scratch, sample cut and paste, freestylerhyme and old school rap and beats. My favorites: Peanut Butter Wolf'ssmooth sample collage "The Chronicles (I Will Always Love Her)", KoolKeith and Kut Masta Kurt's nasty and minimal "Keep it Real... Represent",Chief & Soci's Italian rap "Keeping It", DJ Stevie K's samples andscratch "Young Mixdown", Zion I's positive flow "Inner Light (icey mix)and Money B's crudely confident "Fuckin' Around". The insert includeshistorical and artist liner notes and, most importantly, instructions onhow to build your own pirate radio station! Well worth the ~$12 domesticprice, with a portion of the profits going to various charities. Anaccompanying VHS "Pirate Fuckin' Video" is also available.
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Billy Jam's showwas originally broadcast from a college station but he ran into FCCissues and turned to the freedom of censorship free, commercial freelow-watt pirate radio. The cd flows through two dozen tracks ofmostly underground hip hop and turntablist studio tracks and live jams(many only available here) covering the station's history, amusinglistener call ins and show and station IDs. The most notable names arethe ones thoughtfully listed on the front of the insert: The InvisiblSkratch Piklz, The Space Travelers, Eddie Def, DJ Sushi, Kool Keith andKut Masta Kurt, Money B, Peanut Butter Wolf and DJ Marz. Turntablismis a lot like drum 'n bass for me ... it all sounds about the same andgets tiresome after a short while, so it's good that there's a variedand creative assortment here of scratch, sample cut and paste, freestylerhyme and old school rap and beats. My favorites: Peanut Butter Wolf'ssmooth sample collage "The Chronicles (I Will Always Love Her)", KoolKeith and Kut Masta Kurt's nasty and minimal "Keep it Real... Represent",Chief & Soci's Italian rap "Keeping It", DJ Stevie K's samples andscratch "Young Mixdown", Zion I's positive flow "Inner Light (icey mix)and Money B's crudely confident "Fuckin' Around". The insert includeshistorical and artist liner notes and, most importantly, instructions onhow to build your own pirate radio station! Well worth the ~$12 domesticprice, with a portion of the profits going to various charities. Anaccompanying VHS "Pirate Fuckin' Video" is also available.samples:
- Zion I - Inner Light
- Bullet Proof Scratch Hampsters - The First of Our Kind
- Penut Butter Wolf - The Chronicles
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I'm always somewhat lost and rather dazed when I get a new Isotope record, as it's never what I really expected.
This time around, the group recruited veteran Chicagoproduction guru, Casey Rice among others into the production team ofchampions. For the umpteenth time this week in a review, I feel thatthese 60 second sound samples do not do the songs justice, as each songon this album changes gears almost completely after a few minutes,starting off with electronics usually and ending on an improvisationaljam by young jazz upstarts. Most of the recordings took place in thestudios, but there's bits and pieces near the end which were allstarted on the stage. Damon Locks of The Eternals steps on themicrophone to get the crowd pumped up towards the end, the band groovesand then studio fuckery takes over in a wonderful mishmosh of noise,jazz and glorious sound. Saucy and electrifying, this disc will surelybecome one of my favorites again this year.
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This time around, the group recruited veteran Chicagoproduction guru, Casey Rice among others into the production team ofchampions. For the umpteenth time this week in a review, I feel thatthese 60 second sound samples do not do the songs justice, as each songon this album changes gears almost completely after a few minutes,starting off with electronics usually and ending on an improvisationaljam by young jazz upstarts. Most of the recordings took place in thestudios, but there's bits and pieces near the end which were allstarted on the stage. Damon Locks of The Eternals steps on themicrophone to get the crowd pumped up towards the end, the band groovesand then studio fuckery takes over in a wonderful mishmosh of noise,jazz and glorious sound. Saucy and electrifying, this disc will surelybecome one of my favorites again this year. samples:
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