Professional Drones

Since we did the amateurs a few posts backs, I figured I could show you how the pro's handle it. Turns out that a lot of this, if not completely free, is "Name Your Price" - or at least cheap. Technically, you could take it all for free... but that would just be obnoxious.


When Maserati (#1, 2010) last came to town, they were selling a mysterious side-project cassette - by Brainworlds. It turned out that it was only the new touring guitarist, but then it turned out that I really liked it. Extended guitar drones with waves of effects and other sounds, real cool.



Brainworlds, Live at the Bemis / Omaha, NE (08/29/2008)

Looks like his ltd-ed tapes are available for download at BandCamp, or at least streaming. The newest is the one I picked up at the show: ••••• (2011). And the freest is Live @ Eyedrum (2010). Apparently, the last few of these have been released on CDr by Sonic Meditations. Around $5, which is a good deal if you want the physical copy or can't bother with lossless FLAC conversion (a good skill to develop).

Here's another live clip, from just last year.



White Rainbow (#2 Drone, 2009) has been dumping output almost monthly at BandCamp. Something like this is what I'd always thought of as meaty, beaty, big and bouncy from him:


White Rainbow - Pulses by itsalldark

I decided to pull down the most recent album: From Now On Let's: The Mixtape (2011). Wow! Someone wants to get taken to the party... As with any one-man hippie noisemaker act, I'm used to some programmed - or at least looped - rhythms. But like something tasteful, a sampled hand-drum pattern and/or throbbing synth-bass. But this just sounds like the squeegiest parts of Cameo (or Chromeo), chopped and crunked into a disco-globe jambox. With some White Rainbow lopes thrown in here and there.

But y'know, by either "Thug Subs Go Poppin" or "Flip On The Boogie Scrips," I was kinda digging it. Still, if you're not looking for the bug-out party-jams, I'd go with something without the "maximalist" tag. Or a cover that looks like Master P's worst nightmare. Wait... that's all of them. Well, you can stream anything before you buy it or whatever.



"Part 3" from Boring Guitar Music (2010)

P.S. I love the liner notes for Ægis (Oct 2010), cover pictured above:

43 MINUTE JOURNEY INTO SOUND
MODERN TEMPLES / ANCIENT RUINS
GRECO-ROMAN/MANDALAY BAY-CORE
FANTASY SITE-SPECIFIC AUDIO INSTALLATION
LUXOR LIGHT BEAM

I didn't have a clear plan for another pro, kind of thought about Maps & Diagrams, but realized I don't know anything about them. (They just showed up as related videos to something else...) Then I noticed that Expo '70 (#29, 2010) had also set up shop at the old BandCamp. Problem solved.



"Transending Energy from Light" from Sunglasses 7" (2009)

Six albums at about $5 apiece is just about perfect. I can't really vouch for any of the specific records at this time, but as always they're stream-able. And Expo '70 have proven fairly consistent for me. I remember looking for Animism (2007) at one point, when I eventually found Black Ohms (2008) instead.

C'mon, Expo '70 is surely reason enough to figure out the FLAC>WAV>mp3 conversion, amirite?
(Also available on straight 320 mp3 too...)