DJB.157 – Deepchord (June 2011)

So I'm on shuffle this week and it's kind of nice as I'm hearing tracks I probably would never get to so what a pleasant surprise when this one popped up.  All I can say is...

...you need this.

Killer deep, chunky, dubby tech mix with mostly non-Deepchord related stuff. 

You should still be able to DL it...

Here

Eluvium - Static Nocturne (2010)

Can't remember how, when or where I stumbled across Eluvium but he has developed a sound all his own ranging from slow moving, beautiful piano pieces to dissecting what is often considered "noise" to bring out the beauty found therein.

The first time I ever heard "Zerthis Was A Shivering Human Image" I sat mesmerized for 15 minutes of distorted guitar washing back and forth over me and I achieved a level of peace I could not explain.

This was a limited release from Eluvium (currently going for stupid money on discogs) that tapped into this sound.  For 50 minutes, prepare to be immersed in what he called "an homage to static/white noise."

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Scion – Arrange And Process Basic Channel Tracks (2002)

Been on vacation this week so I've lots of time to put on music and just let it play rather than the usual soundbytes on the way to work, on the way home, as I crash at night, etc.

Killer reworking of stuff from the Basic Channel archives by the guys from Subtance & Vainqueur (also in the Basic Channel family) with driving beats that will take you places...

Put this is in and go somewhere.

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TCH (This Crepuscular Hour) Discography

One of the more obscure gems of the Dorobo/Iridium label.

Eryn Tooey (violin) appears on Shinjuku Thief's The Witch trilogy. Peter Breuer (electronics) appears on Shinjuku Filth's Junk.

Only two releases to their credit.

YouTube has a site with many of their videos if you want to get to know a little bit more about their aesthetic.

Tough to find too, especially Abutilon at 320.

Abutilon (1994) (320 kbps)

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Sinflower (1997) (VBR~256 kbps)

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Mika Vainio - Mining (Video) (2011)

Been on a heavier sounds kick lately, finding the beauty in the apparent chaos.  Ditto the video above.  

It helps if you've seen the original film but this song and this video are a perfect fit.

Boomkat review of his Life (...It Eats You Up) album.

Just another one of those tracks that jumped out at me instantly...

Salem - King Night (Video) (2010)

Maybe some of you know this song and the whole genre that bears this sound...

I knew of the genre (Balam Acab seems to get lumped in there) but didn't pay it much mind until I stumbled across this song (and band and album and genre) that seems to garner a lot of confusion in the press. 

I haven't had a song smack me like this since the first time I heard Ministry's "Stigmata" or Nine Inch Nails' "Head Like A Hole" and sat spellbound by the videos.

I think it was the 'O Holy Night' (a highly meaningful song for me) thing that sucked me in. 

Considering that I find music in the sound of wires in the wind or in the recordings of shortwave radio transmissions and enjoy the musical collision styles of such artists as Bill Laswell and scratch DJs, it isn't a stretch for me to see the beauty going on in the midst of what seems like blithering chaos.

Not sure the song (or video) has any meaning at all but the end result is pretty remarkable (and apparently polarizing).  Genius?  Social commentary?  Apathy? Catharsis?  Or perhaps just a moment in pop culture in which the decomposition of meaning has found a temporary repose.

If anything, there seems to be an inertia behind it which comes from a place so overly sensitized that to be desensitized would be to feel something.  Boomkat's review is well worth reading.

I suppose it takes coming from a place like that to bring forth something like this.

Check it out...


SALEM - KING NIGHT from Theo Wenner on Vimeo.

U-cover Mixes

If you aren't familiar with the U-cover label, well worth your time to check it out.  Mostly the work of label owner, Koen Lybbaert (aka Ontayso), it offers a diverse selection of artists to be found and/or represented and a nice variety of unique musical offerings.

Couple of older mixes here that give a taste of what they have to offer:

Mix #1 (Ambient)

Mix #3 (IDM)
Mix #4 (Minimal)

Missing #2 if anyone has it to offer...

As always, support the labels and artists in any way you can.

Alan Lamb's Night Passage - The Layered Mixes

One of the more visited pieces of music in my collection (much to my GF's dismay...) is Alan Lamb's "wire music" as found on two CDs he has released of the recordings.

Several things prompted me to experiment a little.

At the end of a road trip last week, Murcof's The Versailles Sessions (another challenging yet essential work) was accompanying me and as "Spring in the Artificial Gardens" ended it struck me that David Hyke's "Rainbow Voice" (that I first heard in one of my favorite films, Baraka, essential on Blu-Ray), would blend perfectly into this.

As I started to put this together I decided to use Alan Lamb's "Night Passage" as the foundation. Something about the cacophony of the Murcof track seemed to fit. The 24:51 track length is the entire Lamb piece on its own.

There are two versions here:

#2) The recent post of The Conet Project has a video of a mix with Lamb's "Last Anzac" piece and I figured a random sample of these recordings would fit in with the mix.

Finally, thrown in to boot was "Among the Shadows" from Anders Peters' latest, Eerie Calm Reincarnate. Since he is into found sounds as a basis for his "eerie" soundscapes, it all seemed to gel.

#4) I toned down the wire music to bring out the other songs in the mix more clearly.  "Among the Shadows" was replaced with "Her Face" so this one's got some beats and The Conet Project track was replaced with "Origins" from Darrin Verhagen's Soft Ash, an "aural treatment of six different fatal gaseous clouds, most of which being mostly composed of sulphur dioxide." (Source)

Certainly not everyone's thing and certainly not "music" in the usual sense (whatever that is) but hopefully you'll find it interesting...

Night Passage #2

Night Passage #4

Anders Peterson (aka A.P., aka Relapxych.0)

Another mix from one of my favorite artists, Anders Peterson, who operates under many aliases.

Along with being a great music maker, his production techniques grace many releases on labels such as his own Ghost Sounds label and, lately, Silent Season, one of the best labels out there right now.

By the way, his latest release, Eerie Calm Reincarnate, is one of 2011's best.  Picked up the 2 LP release upon its release.  On top of the brooding ambience, he's added beats which really give it a distinctive touch.

Give this mix a listen and give him your support.

The tracklist:

1. 0’00 Katzo – « Iterance »
2. 5’40 Atheus – « Decaedra »
3. 13’10 Alteria percepsyne – « All you see is a ghost »
4. 17’53 A.P reworks Muslimgauze – « Citadel in nightlight »
5. 23’52 relapxych.0 – « Distant radiance »
6. 27’15 Alveol – « Living crystal »
7. 31’11 Deer – « Live in Manchester » (relapxych.0 Remix)
8. 34’05 Akira Yamaoka – « Assault on the police station »
9. 36’30 A.P – « Foreverneverendeverend »
10. 37’37 The exaltics – « Negative agency »
11. 41’29 M.A.L – « Lie detector test »
12. 43’02 Katzo – « Refrain »
13. 46’00 Rhythm and sound – « Trace »
14. 47’25 Federsen – « Gamma »
15. 51’30 Andrea Porcu – « Come le onde »
16. 58’01 Skyscaper / Ekelon – « Shaping the sky »

Input Selector Mix

The Conet Project

The coolest thing I've heard in quite some time...

Some of my favorite albums are those that capture those sounds from the atmosphere that we often miss and forget that it is another soundtrack to our life.  Darrin Verhagen's Soft Ash and Alan Lamb's Night Passage come immediately to mind.

This is a collection - 4 CDs worth - of post World War II shortwave radio transmissions.  There is a conspiracy, spy element to them which makes them all the more intriguing.  You can read all about them here.

These are free on the archive.org website or you can find the recordings on the labels home page:

Here

Speaking of Alan Lamb (which is how I stumbled across this in the first place), here is a mix of his "wire music" and some samples from the Conet Project:



P.S. Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot has its roots in these recordings and they were in fact sued by Irdial, the label behind the project.

Naked Funk

By multiple requests... 

Valium (1996)



Naked Funk's first album.

This one doesn't seem to get much attention. Maybe it should...

Here

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Evolution Ending (1999)




I first stumbled across them on Global Underground's first Afterhours mix. The title song was one of the highlights of the mix.

I've seen their sound compared to The Crystal Method and, on a few songs, this is a fair comparison with the heavy emphasis on bass.

However, there is a bit more diversity in their sound, sometimes a bit funky in an electro kind of way and sometimes more on the downtempo.

If anything get it for the title track but listen to it from the beginning before getting there. It's a nice ride.

Here

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Echospace in the mailbox...

No new music here, just a little bundle of joy to share.  Deepchord presents Echospace's The Coldest Season was one of 2007's highlights and brought the deep underground sound of Rod Modell and Stephen Hitchell into the spotlight.  They continue to turn out amazing releases.

It was originally issued as a four part series of 12" vinyl records.  A few days ago I stumbled across this find at discogs being sold "for one of the artist from Echospace, they are brand new and still sealed but from the original pressing..." 

For good measure, the CV313 "Seconds to Forever [Extended Live Version]" was tossed in.  It does not have a sticker indicating that it is one of the 200 from the limited release but it is a new digipak and still sealed and it's right from the label.

Not much gets my heart racing these days but the feeling upon opening up this package brought quite a little rush.

So, for your listening pleasure...

Coldest Season

Coldcut - Stoned...Chilled...Groove (1997)

Finally tracked down a physical copy of this one for a reasonable price.

A classic.

Chilled...very...

Enjoy

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Analog...

Mo Wax Discography

...go here...get out your translator...be patient while you figure it out...smile for days on end...

Cotton Goods

Here

...gotta be registered...get out your translator...

Discogs 

Dorobo Videos 1992-1995

 

Let's try this again...

The Dorobo label (now defunct) out of Australia has been one of my favorite labels for a while.  Mostly the brainchild and work of Darrin Verhagen under his various monikers, it features some interesting music of a more "industrial" nature, social commentary with an art school aesthetic.

This is a compilation of videos of artists from the label.  The videos definitely match the feel of the music.  Grainy, industrial, Kafka-esque collages.  An excellent series of videos put together by I+T=R (local designer Richard Grant credited by Verhagen with creating the entire Dorobo aesthetic)

Turn down the lights and turn up the volume for a creepy good time.

This one is long overdue for a DVD treatment.  Richard Grant has been posting some stellar videos on his YouTube account which includes everything here and then some.

TCH (aka This Crepuscular Hour) also has a YouTube account well worth checking out.

Experiment and engaging stuff, highly, highly recommended.

Tracklisting:

1 Shinjuku Filth - Detox
2 Snog - Cliche
3 Shinjuku Thief - Komachi Ruins
4 Hanging Garden - Rust
5 Shinjuku Thief - The Assessor / Stepping From Routine / Lips Of The Guilty
6 Snog - Empires
7 Ryoji Ikeda - What's Wrong / Zone 2
8 TCH - In Sensorium
9 Professor Richmann - Eis
10 Shinjuku Thief - Warm As The Blood Beneath The Clods / In The Path Of Walpurga's Ashes
11 Loggerhead - Demons In Rapture
12 This Digital Ocean - Heartbreaker
13 Shinjuku Thief - The Year Of Silence

Links

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Deepchord's new release has dropped...

To get you in the mood, check these out:

Deepchord

Rod Modell

Illbient...

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If you know, you know.  If you don't, you definitely should.

Beats to go...

P.S.

Anders Peterson (aka A.P. aka Relapxych aka Ghostsounds) mml ssgs mix

Just trying to drum up some more interest in one of my favorite artists.  Perhaps most familiar as Relapxych.0, his mastering credits as A.P. can be found all over some of the best new music coming out from labels such as Other Heights, Silent Season and his own label, Ghostsounds.

He provided two mixes for mnmlssgs.blogspot one of his own material and one of 80s new wave material that he has remastered.

His most recent mastering job was for Alteria Percepsyne, originally slated to be released on Shoreless Recordings but they went belly up.

Anyhow, track down his music and anything has mastered.  He has a deft touch and has garnered an excellent  reputation.

You can find the mixes here.

This Is Home Entertainment

Part1//Part2

(320 kbps)

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(v0 VBR ~245 kbps)

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Try 

(v0 VBR ~245 kbps)

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Some "illbient" sounds from Brooklyn running the gamut from funk to ambient to things that just defy categorization. 

I could listen to this stuff all day...

Used Kids Records - Columbus, Ohio

Just got back from a weekend in Columbus, Ohio. Just a quick getaway but did manage to find a little time to check out Used Kids Records (a vinyl mainstay for a long time...) and some other smaller shops. Was really surprised that Urban Outfitters had a selection of new vinyl. Guess vinyl is kind of, dare I say it, trendy? There is great irony in this because your hardcore vinyl folks are, in general, not exactly hip.

Anyhow, found a few gems for a buck a piece:

- Enigma 12" to add to my vinyl copy of MCMXC a.D.

- a copy of a Red 7 album I didn't even know existed

- a 12" promo of Underworld before they became "cool"

- a vinyl copy of Indio's Big Harvest (this received some press after Eddie Vedder covered the track "Hard Sun" in the movie Into the Wild)

Kinda fun but it's primarily a "classic rock" kind of store with limited selection of new, non-mainstream stuff. I suppose that's the point of digging.

Did see, and passed on, a copy of Mumford & Sons' stunning Sigh No More.

And, finally, just before leaving on the trip, received this little beauty from Murcof:

Elektrons - Red Light, Don't Stop (2007)

The first track is one of those rare tracks that hooks you and doesn't let go.  Funky, old school style throwback...wicked good.

Check it:




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Murcof - Live

Two live performances/mixes from Murcof.

The first is a 2002 podcast on Mutek out of Canada that features his unique glitchy, post-classical minimal vibe in full effect. 

The second file is from the Mary Anne Hobbs show on the BBC from September of 2007.  This was taken from a year end retrospective.  For some reason, it seems really short (only about 15 minutes) but I guess that was it, unless the special from which this was taken was edited.

This is in light of his La Sangra Illuminada sountrack coming out on vinyl.  Previously available only on CD in Mexico, this 2009 release will be limited to 300 copies on red vinyl.

If you aren't familiar with Murcof and his evolving style, his music is a journey worth taking.

Enjoy 

P.S. The whole Mary Anne Hobbs year end special can be found here:

Part1//Part2

Knowone 001 - 004

Volume 001 thru 004.

005 and LP001 are out there too with a little effort.

There is quite a bit of mystery and conjecture surrounding these but the bottom line is that this is some killer music.  It's dub tech but labels too often limit what the music is...

If you don't know what these are you are missing out.

Part1//Part2

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