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Reissued with bonus tracks and detailed sleeve notes, this album highlights the period where Bryars moves from his previous style involving the synthesis of non-musical sources, loops and an almost standard (but beautiful) orchestral arrangement. Here he composes for small ensembles and includes piano and vibraphone almost anywhere he can. This is a very different Bryars to the one I am familiar with, very different but still utterly captivating.
Many of the pieces show a far more playful side to Bryars. As someone who is more accustomed to his most famous pieces, I was surprised to hear music that did not shatter my heart when I listened to them. The completely percussion-led “The English Mail-Coach” is a world away from the crushing emotional weight I expect from Gavin, the jaunty melodies providing a lift when a expected a downer. The repetitive streak that runs through his work is still present, each piece tends to evolve from a small set of ideas and he just shifts the focus of the music as he goes.
Conceptually, this is still the very same Gavin Bryars. The almost compulsive attention to detail that is evident from his constant working, re-working and re-re-working of his mighty “The Sinking of the Titanic” is present on many of these pieces. References to the author Raymond Roussel appear in the notes several times in his sleeve notes, as all these pieces are from the same period it is easy to envisage Bryars trying to tie Roussel to his own work as much as he could, like a child who has given up on collecting toy cars and learning everything about them moving on to the next obsession.
As nice as it all sounds, I cannot help but feel that these recordings have not aged very well; pieces like “My First Homage” and “Hi-Tremolo” sound of their time. That being said, these six pieces are each delightful little (and not so little) vignettes that are almost like short plays, the subtle changes in emphasis mirroring character developments on a stage. This dramatic flair transcends the individual pieces and its influence can be felt in the work of those who have followed Bryars. Aspects of his music, in particular the midnight jazz meets Satie atmospheres present throughout Hommages, have been co-opted by many other composers and musicians. Echoes of these pieces can be heard in the works of Angelo Badalamenti (particularly the end credits from the Twin Peaks TV series) and in Nick Cave’s ballads from The Boatman’s Call era and onwards.
It is nice to see a side of an artist that is normally not on show and Hommages does just that. It may not be the jewel in the Bryars back catalogue or even a classic of modern composition but it is an enchanting album nonetheless.
samples:
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Release Date: June 24th 2008
Infinite Suns begins a new era of change in the Telescopes music field. This LP is very much number one, the introduction to a serie of release (2 new albums and one live recording)
Out on the french label Textile Rds.
This new LP is a selection of analogue tape recordings taken between 2006 and 2007, using a multi directional mic to capture environmental response. Recording levels were set close to saturation, allowing for interaction with the tape machine itself. Side one closes with a piece centered around a lock-groove from the run-out of The Telescopes first album and is lock-grooved again to play endlessly. The recording took place in a room used by a deep trance medium to hold investigative seances. The album ends with The Telescopes channelling out on each others instruments. The sound of earthquakes dreaming, where black holes reveal infinite suns.
The Telescopes have been mining a unique anti-myopian seam of drone/dream psych for 20 years. Expertly bolting gritty blocks of noise, rich with fossil and sediment, onto minimal songs and melodies which are miles apart and miles beyond the reams of drone/ambience out there. In 2006 The Telescopes became a collaboration between Bridget Hayden and founder member Stephen Lawrie. Bridget was an original member of Vibracathedral Orchestra. The two met briefly when The Telescopes and VCO shared the bill at Audioscope festival in 2004, where The Telescopes finished their set by drilling through gtr pickups.
Following a narrow escape from a burning wreck on their UK tour in 2005, The Telescopes 5th line up disintegrated. And In 2006 Bridget left VCO to explore new ventures. Bridget had already been working with Stephen on the Dream
Frequencies artwork for The Telescopes Antenna label. Both were shocked by the intensity of their first session together.
As a volcanic two piece scythe spent 2006 spreading free noise around England, Scotland, Ireland, The Canary Islands, West Coast of America, Italy and Austria, recording all the time. Their first release for the Trensmat label sold out within an hour. Their second release for the label sold out a month in advance. Copies of the releases have been known to exchange hands for over 25 pounds.
Together they harness a primeval drone, rich in texture, and build it beautifully in unison with soaring feedback, guitar manipulation & viola which forever spiral outward, fractal and hypnotic - a bed of noise percolating at the edges of audition.
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The NME declares, "Shy Child are to Kraftwerk what The White Stripes are to Led Zeppelin!" And here is their story... Nate Smith (Drums) and Pete Cafarella (Vox / Keytar) met at Wesleyan University in the mid-90's where Nate had invited Pete to join his band. Although Pete was kicked out a few days later the two formed a fast friendship that
would eventually lead to the formation of Shy Child once they both had relocated to NYC. Initially the band was pursued when time permitted between their various projects. They recorded their 2004 album, "One With the Sun" with small expectations and an even smaller budget, recording it in Pete's apartment to a computer with Chris Zane for the price of pizza and beer. It would prove to be just enough…
The band soon were in the studio working on new material along with the band's previous producer, Chris Zane (Les Savy Fav/ White Rabbits / Asobi Seksu). The resulting album, "Noise Won't Stop" bristles with frantic energy and blistering tones leading with the first track "Drop The Phone" and featuring the U.S. debut sonic single, "Astronaut". And producer/artist extraordinaire SpankRock, lends a his rapping/vocals to the slickest albumJol track "Kick Drum."
After a US tour with Hot Chip in November of 2006, the band took the plunge and lived as ex-pats in London for the next 8 months. The time abroad began with a full UK tour in support of their old pals Klaxons culminating in 2 sold out dates at Shepard's Bush Empire in London. And that was just the beginning; over the course of the summer they
traversed the Emerald Isle four times and played numerous shows and festivals throughout Europe. The highlights included sets at 02 Wireless, Glastonbury, The Isle of Wight, and an opening slot at Wembley Stadium with Muse. When all was finished the dynamic duo had logged over 100 dates.
In June of 2007 in the UK they appeared the venerable program, Later With Jools Holland. On the bill with them that night were Sir Paul McCartney and Bjork, which made for some mighty company indeed. Impressed with their unique sound fashion maven Stella McCartney requested the band to be the performers for her segment in the Fashion
Rocks TV special that was broadcasted throughout Europe to over 60 million viewers. And a few months later in January 08, while performing as part of Australia's legendary Big Day Out Festival, they were asked by Bjork to open for her at the Opera House in Sydney.
Now "Noise Won't Stop" has found it's home on the esteemed Kill Rock Stars Label and Shy Child are spending 2008 touring the U.S. Be on the look out for this transcendent two-some.
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Here's what's happening:
COLLECTIONS OF COLONIES OF BEES
Six Guitars
12"
Table of the Elements
Release date: May
This 12" is part of the new Table of the Elements Guitar Series of
one-sided 12" records with etchings on the B-side by Savage Pencil.
Dulcimer hammered acoustic guitar combined with a nest of ringing
e-bowed notes that culminate in a dense swarm where 'Birds' left off.
COLLECTIONS OF COLONIES OF BEES
Birds (Japanese edition)
CD + video
Contrarede
Release date: May
The Japanese edition of 'Birds' is pretty special - including a remix
of 'Flocks I' by Marcus Schmickler's rock group Pluramon, and two
videos: 'Flocks I' by Arthur Ircink and 'Flocks III' by Michinori
Saigo. Available only in Japan from www.contrarede.com
A fall tour of Japan to support the record is currently being planned.
JON MUELLER AND JASON KAHN
Topography
CD
Xeric/Crouton
Release date: June
"...a rich and rewarding listening experience..." - The Wire
Recorded during a U.S tour in March 2007, "Topography" studies various
places from Milwaukee to NYC. These physical differences often
determine what's heard on the recordings; as tones, controlled
feedback, and subtle rhythms function more as interaction with the
environment, than as percussionists simply striking material. Kahn
uses percussion and analogue synthesizer, and Mueller uses percussion
and cassettes. Both take the frequencies and textures of these
instruments, and integrate them into one seemless mix. Released in an
edition of 1000 and packaged in embossed chipboard.
In support of this release, we'll be playing at this year's Sonic
Circuits Festival (http://www.dc-soniccircuits.org/) as well as some
east/southern dates around that time. More info as it develops.
More info on 'Topography' and audio sample here:
http://www.croutonmusic.com/wp/2008/03/02/crou040-jon-mueller-and-jason-kahn-topography-cd/
JON MUELLER
Strung
12"
Table of the Elements
Release date: June
"In Strung, Mueller doesn't play the guitar; he scrambles its
molecules. Laying down a photon-blast of sound, he initiates a
relentless, rapid-pulse attack signal that summons wave upon wave of
white noise. Think inexorable alien invasion – The Day the Earth Stood
Still, with Lou Reed as Klaatu and Metal Machine Music as the message.
Earth doesn't stand a chance." - label info
This 12" is part of the new Table of the Elements Guitar Series of
one-sided 12" records with etchings on the B-side by Savage Pencil. I
do play the guitar on this, or should I say, the drums do...
MELISSA ST. PIERRE
Specimens
CD
Radium/Table of the Elements
"Melissa St. Pierre tosses classicism and post-classicism overboard,
utilizing the prepared piano - John Cage's notorious instrument of
choice - and electronic enhancement to sail resolutely in the
direction of rock & roll. Peppering the strings, hammers, and dampers
with a variety of objects, she transforms the piano's typical timbre:
sparkling gamelans chatter; harrowing voodoo drums call out in the
night. "Specimens", St. Pierre's debut EP, features production and
performances by COLLECTION OF COLONIES OF BEES; together they rival
famed electric harpist Zeena Parkins as conservatory arsonists with a
decidedly Hendrixian flair." - from label info.
JON MUELLER/CAGES TOUR
August 18 - 24: Midwest
Dates are currently being scheduled for this mid-August tour of my
'METALS' set and Buffalo, NY's Cages. If you'd like us to play in
your city in the midwest, be in touch.
Jon Mueller:
"For the past several years, Mueller has worked with rhythms that come
from gong frequencies, from vibrations of the bodies of bass drums,
and the surprising sonorities
that occur with the combination of these elements. Now he applies
these techniques to
his latest solo effort, to stunning effect: Metals is, as its name
suggests, a bold, all-percussion foray into heavy metal. No
theatrical silliness here; just sheer exhilaration; the fundamental
power of loud, organized, precise rhythms; ringing, heavy
anti-melodies. It's this sound, in the many forms it has taken over
the years, that continually inspires new philosophies, drives
independent thinking, and causes hundreds of thousands of people to
bang their heads."
"Majestic." -- Pitchfork
"Percussion is often subsumed within the densely swelling layers of
electronic and manipulated sound…to a remarkable degree with the
unstable, bottom heavy, rather threatening electronic sounds which are
characteristic of this impressive set." – The Wire
www.jonmueller.net
www.myspace.com/resonatingface
Cages:
An obsession with tapes, field recordings, and vocals as musical glue.
Blending the organic with the inorganic. Bridging the deepest blackest
ocean trench to the frozen stars in the cosmos. Solo project, formed
by Nola Ranallo (Voice, Tapes) after the break up of previous band,
Elad Love Affair. For this "Power Trio" lineup Nola will be joined by
Patrick Bolger and David Bailey to wrangle live strings and
electronics.
"Although initially fashioning what felt like fractured nursery rhymes
exploding with haunted, over the top vocals, Cages is maturing into a
magnificently abstract ambient unit in full command of its own sound."
– Artvoice Magazine
"The sound of BIRTH and DEATH." – Kitchen Distribution
www.myspace.com/cages
FREE SAMPLER
And finally, anyone who acquire's anything from the Shop will receive
a free copy of my sampler CD, featuring 8 tracks from my recent work
on Table of the Elements - while they last.
http://jonmueller.net/wordpress/?page_id=6
Thanks for reading and listening,
Jon
--
www.jonmueller.net
www.myspace.com/resonatingface
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FINGERPOINTING features Jim O'Rourke's unique mix of the FINGERPAINTING material released in 1999. At the time, Mayo wasn't into Jim's strange formula. Almost ten years later Mayo dug it out of the piles and loved it. We spun it and dug it as well. Hence the re-issue of a new FINGERPAINTING. Now called FINGERPOINTING.
FINGERPOINTING follows The Red Krayola's ur- formula, first elaborated in The Parable of Arable Land (1967), designed to immerse and entertain the listener and confound the FM DJ's and anyone else's quest for the perfect seque in a narrative of counter - cultural meaningfulness. Where FINGERPAINTING reiterates the structure and the
same material of FINGERPAINTING. It too is a parade of freak outs and songs alternately, and, like its progenitors, a dynamic synthesis that puts in play all that is at stake in the musical relation under the rubric of entertainment.
The songs are by Frederick Bathleme, Steve Cunningham and Mayo Thompson. The freak outs are not 'authored' in the usual sense. All of the music was recorded at Treehouse Studio in Pasadena, CA at the same time as the recording of FINGERPAINTING. It features the performances of David Grubbs, George Hurley, Albert Oehlen, Stephen Prina, Elisa Randazzo, Mayo Thompson, Tom Watson and Sandy Yang. The mix is by Jim O'Rourke.
Listen and See how awesome this version is. That is if you want to.
SONGS:
FFF00
BAD MEDICINE
FFF01
THERE THERE BETTY BETTY
FFF02
VILE VILE GRASS
FFF03
MOTHER
IN MY BABY'S RUTH
FFF04
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Back in 1988 the intention was to sequence these mainly instrumental tracks for release amidst the mostly vocal pieces from the same session. Had that happened, then Sun City Girls' best known release Torch of the Mystics would have been the rarest of beasts: a consistently excellent double album.
Charles Gocher passed away in 2007 and Alan and Richard Bishop will not be recording as Sun City Girls anymore. They are, though, about to embark on a tour as The Brothers Unconnected. Most of the shows will include a 40 minute film of video creations by Gocher followed by two sets during which Alan and Richard will perform acoustic versions of Sun City Girls’ material. Some may say this is not to be missed and indeed I’ll be driving three hours to see the closest show. Meanwhile You’re Never Alone With A Cigarette represents the first volume in what will be a series of archival releases of singles, unreleased pieces and stray compilation tracks. If subsequent volumes are put together as well as this then we are in for a treat.
Starting with “100 Pounds of Black Olives” the group applies blistering energy to their global muse. This opening track is labyrinthine and cathartic yet a structural clarity emerges as the song resolves itself. “Sev Archer” maintains the sense of urgency even as its rhythms and spaciousness seem to call up the spirit of Joe Meek or The Ventures. There is no letup in the intensity on either “Souvenirs From Jangare” or the more solemn and droning “Plaster Cupids Falling From The Ceiling.” Richard Bishop’s guitar is reined in a little on the more egalitarian “Amazon One,” and “The Beauty of Benghazi” uses vocals and guitar in a call and response.
“Wild World of Animals” sounds like a groovy strut through the Latin Quarter of an indeterminate city. There are lovely percussive twists, the bass seeming to swallow or gulp and the guitar twang, glisten and slip. The album ends with the previously unheard 12 minutes of “The Fine-Tuned Machines of Lemuria” which starts out light, then adds squalls, thuds, feedback, and echo for an extended climactic finale. The Bishops' mischievous titles and serious approach to musical adventure will doubtless continue to produce various multi-form explorations. Here is a chance to catch up with their deft and spirited past. Music rarely retains such a cutting edge two decades after it was created.
samples:
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With each new release, Anthony Mangicapra’s Hoor-Paar-Kraat becomes more distinctive and adventurous. I have enjoyed previous releases, some feeling more finished than others, but In Eros Veritas is probably the stand-out of the lot. Here many of the elements and approaches that work particularly well in other pieces come together like lesser metals mixed to form an alloy, creating a far stronger album.
Like early Nurse With Wound, there is a huge emphasis on strange sounds devoid of any real context. I know I have likened Mangicapra’s music to NWW before and I do not wish to pigeon-hole him as a tribute act but the ambient noises, squeaks and mysterious sounding cymbals of “Est Queadam Fiere Voluptas” could have been remnants from Steven Stapleton’s cutting room floor circa Homotopy to Marie. The Latin titles do not help with orientation (my Latin is restricted solely to anatomical terms and animal names), instead making the whole album feel like some dusty old recording taken from a strange library in a city that does not exist now and may never have existed.
Mangicapra seems to relish the details of ordinary sounds. The creaking door of “Materiam Superabat Opus” is opened and closed at a variety of speeds and intensities, changing the character of the sound completely, going from a spooky haunted house groan to an everyday back-door scraping. As the door is creaked for longer and longer, it starts to lose all its door-like qualities, becoming a crack in time itself. More musical sounds appear during the gritty “Acta Est Fabula, Plaudite!” Beneath the rasping metallic din, a low pitched rhythm that sounds like a bowed bass can be heard. It is mesmerising in its menace, sounding like some of the less riff-centred works from Sunn O))).
In Eros Veritas has been released both as a limited edition LP and a slightly longer and far more limited edition CD. Having only the CD release in front of me, I cannot comment on the presentation of the LP but the handmade sleeve of the CD is a tastefully designed card sleeve in the same style as previous Hoor-Paar-Kraat albums. A drawing of an Edwardian couple walking away opens to reveal the track listing, the credits and Mangicapra’s now familiar fingerprint (how many non-detectives become familiar with fingerprints like this?). As usual, it all seems to fit with the music contained on the disc. I do not know how or why but it all makes some form of sense.
I can find no fault with In Eros Veritas. Some of Mangicapra’s other releases have the odd duff track but here there is no unwanted surplus. Each piece sounds as strong as the one that precedes or follows it, all adding up to a magnificent album.
samples:
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With a title like this, it would take some level of ineptitude not to guess what this album sounds like. The only fear from such a title is that it will either be campy hipster metal or that it cannot possibly be awesome enough to live up to such a lofty title. Previous releases from Lair of the Minotaur rule out the former worry instantly, and only seconds of listening prove the latter completely unfounded.
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With a title like this, it would take some level of ineptitude not to guess what this album sounds like. The only fear from such a title is that it will either be campy hipster metal or that it cannot possibly be awesome enough to live up to such a lofty title. Previous releases from Lair of the Minotaur rule out the former worry instantly, and only seconds of listening prove the latter completely unfounded.
This is the sort of album Slayer should have made after Seasons in the Abyss, something with actual muscle, tendons and blood; something with a bit of fire in its belly. I can imagine Kerry King sitting down listening to this wondering why he did not come up with these riffs and solos himself. Lair of the Minotaur’s debt to classic thrash metal has always been more than obvious but on War Metal Battle Master they have honed their trade to a fine blade of razor sharp metal. Indeed, the sounds are incorporated during the intro to the title track, the clash of steel and the sound of medieval warfare providing a perfect backdrop for the musical assault that the group mount on the listener.
The album continues relentlessly with songs like “When the Ice Giants Slayed All” and “Assassins of the Cursed Mist,” sounding like runaway combine harvesters, mincing everything in their path. All the musical elements sound perfect, the drumming sounds like thunder and the bass sounds like rumblings from hell. The vocals are superb; Steven Rathbone’s roar is getting more feral with each album and his clean delivery sounding like a Spartan general giving commands on the battlefield. Everything comes together to resemble the soundtrack of an army conquering the world. It is immense.
Aside from Celtic Frost’s short lived comeback, there was nothing thrash related remotely worth speaking about aside from Lair of the Minotaur. For better and for worse, this is still the case. While I’d love a proper thrash revival, I’m glad that the market is not saturated with weak imitations of metal at its most glorious. War Metal Battle Master may sound like a ridiculous character title from a roleplaying game, but it is a beast of an album that keeps my faith in real metal alive and fighting.
samples:
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Matthew Bower's reappearance as Skullflower a couple years back has already yielded a slew of releases that, while retaining his love of all things noisy and guitar based, has shown frequent stylistic shifts. This, the first installment of Utech's "URSK" series (after concluding the excellent "Arc" series ) is nearly an hour of full on feedback and guitar shriek that, for all its harshness is immensely listenable and demands to be listened to VERY loudly.
The opening “Your Cities, Your Tombs” starts off with a bang, being an extremely thick wall of feedback and distortion that really sets the tone for the album. In the way many rock bands close their shows with extended sessions of noise and feedback, Skullflower starts with it. The consistent noise roar of guitar definitely stays throughout like that slightly obnoxious friend that, regardless of their behavior, are still fun to keep around.
The more “rock” Skullflower, is not here. The sound has much more in common with the dissonance of Tribulation than the more rock tinged Exquisite Fucking Boredom or Orange Canyon Mind. In some of the harshest moments, namely “Moses Conjured A Blood Niagara” and “Eve’s Dream,” the work isn’t that far removed from harsh noise practitioners in its thick, dense squeal. Unlike the more abstract acts of that genre, there is always a sense of control and careful arrangement, and it is mostly obvious that a guitar is complacent in at least part of the racket.
Some concessions to Skullflower’s more structured past come up on “Frozen Spectres” and the closing “Divinus Deus,” both of which have a buried rhythmic elements and a bit more of a space rock feel to them, the former’s more obvious guitar strums and sustained notes that aren’t too far removed from Spacemen 3’s “Suicide.” While by no means gentle or calm pastiches in the storm of feedback, they do have a somewhat more musical tone compared to the rest of the disc.
The most obvious parallel to draw here is that to the classic Metal Machine Music, since that was also a behemoth of a work built around guitars distorting and feeding back in ways Les Paul and Leo Fender never anticipated. While that was Lou Reed’s 60 minute “fuck you” to the record label, this is Matthew Bower’s art, and it is much more enjoyable with that intent behind it.
This is one of those discs that simply can’t be enjoyed in tightly controlled or low volume situations. Like one of my personal favorite unsung moments in the 1990’s UK noise rock genre, it’s like Bodychoke’s “The Red Sea.” The volume needs to be loud, speakers need to be large, and there should be a moderate amount of ringing in the ears when it’s all over.
samples:
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On this four track, half hour-ish EP, Kieran Hebden has created something that is for all intents and purposes, techno. We in the field of music criticism hate such simplistic descriptions, and especially one such as that with some unintentionally pejorative connotations, but this is something that could easily get asses shaking at the disco or wherever the kids go to dance these days. But, for all its 4/4 thumping, it is also an amazingly complex piece of programming and composition that is just as well suited for deep, headphone-centric analysis.
The bleepy repetitive synth sequence that opens “Ringer” would, with its simple but catchy hook that seems to go on and on, be the perfect thing for someone who just took some E to fall in love with if it was blaring out of an overamped club PA. Listening to the same thing through a pair of headphones, I hear a complex world of subtleties and nuances that could easily slip by without listening attentively, but for those who care, the micro-melodies and tones are fascinating.
Both “Ribbons” and “Swimmer” are a bit more beat focused alongside the bleeps and beeps of synths, and the drum machine programming is every bit as complex, with the rhythms shifting and changing throughout. The closer “Wing Body Wing” goes more for full on rhythms, while the preceding tracks lent a greater attention to melody. The vast palette of percussion drawn upon for this track is almost dizzying, with its techno thump counterbalanced by synthetic tribal polyrhythms and complex breaks.
Rarely is this kind of music satisfying on both the physical and intellectual level: people rarely listen closely to the work from the multitude of boring DJs who make “club” music, nor does anyone really pop ‘n’ lock to Autechre on a Saturday night. This EP, however, could appeal to both demographics in ways that most others couldn’t.
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