Shinichi Atobe ‎– Ship-Scope (2001)

Demdike Stare's unearthing of new material from this mysterious Basic Channel artist on their own eponymous label is the impetus for this post.

Although I must admit that a copy of the original going for $600 right now just reinforces the absurdity of the vinyl market.

Info

Demdike Stare info

Blueneck - King Nine

Have been eyeing this for weeks and dropped an order today for the limited edition vinyl, mostly on the strength of this song:

It may have to do with the cover art and the whole 'Gothic South' thing as well, perhaps adding to the myth and thus the appeal for me. Go here for another UK connection to the same fascination and you'll see what I mean. Here's the back story on how the artwork came to be:

How Blueneck Sent Lasse Hoile On A True Detective Mission

Have been gravitating not necessarily away from 'dub techno' (it's still the general ambience in which I swim) but toward more drone/post rock categorized music and especially that point at which the two merge. There's something therapeutic when the level of noise/distortion somehow morphs into what is often referred to as ambient. Pretty sure these guys fall into the "post rock" category but, not being familiar with their back catalogue (yet), this is my first go round with their stuff.

You can stream the album

HERE

The Denovali label is one of the best labels out there. Artists off the mainstream radar who are really trying to make music in its best form: personal expression and creativity. Sound like a sales pitch? Guess it kind of is but such pitches don't come lightly.  

Check out their label here:

Denovali

P.S. A bit puzzled by the label's move on the mp3 that was stated, in writing, to be included with the vinyl purchase. Dropped almost $50 for the LP and the mp3 download that was to be included with it will be in the album. So it is included with the album in a literal sense. Meanwhile, folks can download it on the site and enjoy listening to it while those of us who chose to invest in the vinyl have to wait.

Update: One of the band members contacted me about this which is pretty cool. They had no control of the 'how' of the digital files for vinyl buyers and he graciously offered a link to a stream of the album. Didn't think the band had anything to do with it (know how that works) but it still says a lot for him to do that. Mad props, show support however you are able.

The Qur'an

Something a little different here. For those who don't know I spent seven years studying Islam in great depth (while immersed in Pentecostalism) and seriously considered converting.  I have a different understanding than most of all the crap you hear in the news about Islam. It's not as cut and dry as Western media (especially that in the U.S., Conservative or Liberal) might lead you to believe.

You can read more in depth on my journey here. It is a much more powerful tradition and is much more diverse in its manifestations than most people realize. There is a 'Rumi' infatuation which has been removed from its context and accosted by the New Age sect that has a large audience. You can find my opinions on this here.

Not sure how many have heard recitations of the Qur'an but these recitations are, for Muslims, music to the ears. More traditional Muslims tend not to listen to "music" as it is generally recognized; instruments are, for the more staunch traditionalist, not allowed.

The only instrument in this case is the human voice and, according to this line of belief, the most pure "music" would be the recitation of the Qur'an. And, I must confess, they have a valid point.

You may be thinking to yourself, what place does religion have here on a predominantly music blog?  Consider how often these recitations are sampled in and throughout music and I think you'll agree there is power here. Listen for yourself and let me know what you think.

I can listen to the Adhan ("Call to Prayer") without ever tiring of it...

The text is presently available for download here.

Electronic Samsara

So simple, so deep. 

Bears repeated listening to fully grasp what's here. 

Nice 7" box set available on this one as well.

Info

A Different Detroit Connection

We are all multi-faceted and highly complex individuals, some more than others, which is what makes the world the marvel that it is. None of us have The Answer but in life we do gravitate toward those things which help us make sense of the world in which we live and set our priorities aright.

You can scratch the surface of my journey here but after many, many years of 'spiritual' searching, seeking meaning, looking for The One Thing, in the late 90s, as my electronic music love affair was reaching critical mass, I found myself immersed in the world of Charismatic Christianity. 

I've gone from the early days of personal questioning (driven by something much darker); to the writings of Joseph Campbell; to the militant agnostic/atheist path; into the quantum physics/New Age connection; through the eastern philosophies, including an ever deepening walk through the 'original' Chinese text(s) of the Dao De Jing; through a decades long love affair with alcohol and drugs capped off with a yearlong chemically fueled walkabout; to a full baptismal immersion within the Pentecostal tradition; to a Comparative Religious Studies degree tempered with a seven year deep dive into Islam.

I post this here, today, on Sunday, because something happened during this period of searching and I went to places that I could never have imagined had I not dove headlong into it. Sometimes it is far too easy to criticize from outside and you need to go in.

There have been many a 'peak' moment in my life and this is the music that takes me back to one of them. 

I could go on and on but I leave you with the music...

P.S. He is from Detroit. Seems fitting, no?

Info

Info is available on qobuz. Looks like I need to update Discogs.

Speaking of the previous post...

Try it, you'll like it.

Trust me.

Info

Sunday Morning Old School

I won't bore you with details but my entry ramp into what would become a life spent immersed in electronic music began with the albums below. Disparate elements of electronics in music have been around for many, many decades but it seems as if it was the 80s where it all began to coalesce into the ubiquitous sounds that surround us today.

High school, early 80s, family trip home up from Florida, met 'Kit Kat' (remember CB Radios?) on the Interstate. Long story that I may go into sometime. During a visit to her home in Chattanooga, Tennessee (longer story there), an evening under the stars on her back porch and there is this music playing that sounded otherworldly, foreign, odd, invigorating. 

The first album below, spinning on that turntable, changed not only the environment that evening but it expanded my musical horizon. I went out and bought that album and the follow up on vinyl and swam in that ocean over and over again until I learned every nuance of each of the albums.

Though less well known, the third album came out my senior year. While this album veered in the direction of 'pop' (Track is 4 a catchy, almost wrongfully so, head bobbing, drive faster groove), it was the tribute song on this album that stands out as it stirs up reflections of physics class being stopped to wheel in a t.v. to watch the disaster thus giving the album a permanent residence in long term memory.

Although the seeds were already present, this was the gateway drug that set me free.

So, sourced from wax, the way I first heard them.

Info

Info

Info

Santessa - Delirium (2000)

A sleeper in the trip hop archives, overused tag that it is.

Such comparisons to Portishead are inevitable yet without the ominousness and just enough dub, funk, jazz and omnipresent bass groove throughout to set it free from such strictures.

Japanese version (always the best releases) with three bonus tracks, not even listed on Discogs, which makes it even more of a sleeper.

Nice. Very nice. 

Info

Dub Techno Live Podcast(s) - Mixlr

Live today and every Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern Time, 8 p.m. Greenwich time on Mixlr.

HERE

Mixlr says Dub Techno is one of the most popular tags on Mixcloud. Featuring Dub Techno Blog at the #1 spot along with a host of other artists/DJs spinning tracks, the list is 

HERE

If only I could listen to music at work and if only the rest of my universe liked dub techno so it could be the air I breathe 24/7.

Sunday Morning House; Chapter That Is

For the completist, this is the entire album in all its variations.

Gets a bit irritating for either fans or the OCD among us who have to drop boatloads for the issues upon re-issues and remasters to get every single track of a particular release.

While a solid album it ultimately gets lost in the ocean of all the other "shoegaze" bands that flooded the 90s and MBV who, it may be argued, both perfected and sealed the fate of the genre. This album is perhaps most well known (which is how I originally found it) by the GC bonus disc (not included here).

Info

Drone

By request. Essential to anyone's musical vocabulary.

Info

Info

Info

The Epic of GIlgameSH

The one that really matters. Before Nirvana's SLTS explosion and pre-MBV's game changing second LP this mind blowing refined wash of layered guitar and buried vocals seemed to emerge out of some deep, dark other world.

I was well beyond the obligatory suburban diet of classic rock regurgitation and 'hair metal' and looking for an edgier, dirtier and, in the true sense of the word, grungier sound to channel the anger that I was forcing down with alcohol. NIN's HLAH was on constant repeat by this time and gave some expression to that anger while foreshadowing my full immersion into the electronic underworld.

But this one tapped into something. No one in my circles had a clue what this was ('Who?' they would say) until the next album dropped. That one made them famous but it was this one...

Had an original first issue cassette I recently coughed up to my nephew 20+ years later.  A vinyl aficionado, there was a slight irony when he didn't know how to close it once it had been opened.

Play loud.

Info