The Story So Far: Leyland "The Caretaker" Kirby #10

This will be cursory, if not brief. Going back at least to his days as V/Vm, James Leyland Kirby has been extremely prolific, in a variety of modes, continuously, for a long time (since mid-'90s at least). The Caretaker &c. have also been fairly well documented on the web, with one notable exception.

V/Vm caused quite the hullabaloo in England over his "Pig" single (1999), when feeding sounds were mistook for a slaughterhouse soundscape. Despite this auspiciously scandalous ground-zero, I cannot find any streaming evidence of this prankster art collage.

The V/Vm Test label released mostly his own stuff, and weird theme compilations (curious about that Falco Tribute 2x7"). And he also gave Kid606 an early platform (then / now).



"Lady in Red" from 7" single (2000)

But he really broke through with uglified & distorted reprocessings of pop hits, like that NME single-of-the-week, or like "Take My Beef Away" or John Lennon. With "White Christmas" (2000) kinda pointing the way more towards The Caretaker. On the other hand, I missed all of that the first go-round.

At one time, huge amounts of The Caretaker discography were available for free download - which was the inspiration for the original post with the Free Music tag. But all of those archives disappeared a long, long time ago...

For about a decade, most everything from The Caretaker took a somewhat similar approach: loop melodic portions of old ballroom 78's (with attendant clicks and scratches), add some echo or reverb or distortions, and either let roll or compose from those modular sections. The results are linked (before or after) with an ongoing theme of the nature, tricks & travails, and cruelties of memory. The Caretaker name is in reference to Jack Torrance in Kubrick's The Shining (1980), who is haunted by the memories and tragedies of the Overlook Hotel - with chilling results.

One final note before we fly through the years: album-title links go to The Caretaker Bandcamp. All digital full-album downloads seem to cost around ₤5 or so ($8) - try something out, you'll love it!



"Thanks" from Selected Memories From The Haunted Ballroom (1999)

Good place to start on the first album, but not everything is that straightforward. Wouldn't be near as interesting that way. The opening track "The Haunted Ballroom" seeps up through the floorboards, darker than shadows.



"We Cannot Escape the Past" from A Stairway To The Stars (2001)

Now that's a great unofficial video. (Remember album titles link to full-record Bandcamp pages.) Drakulady has some good taste with a few videos like "Emptiness." But here is why I do all this blogging - discovering gems like "Cloudy Since You Went Away" (live?!). Yeah, live Caretaker... maybe. (original.) The blue-filtered photography videos, like the first one above and the title track here, are from Kirby himself.



"Stardust" from We'll All Go Riding On A Rainbow (2003)

I couldn't decide between kinda-bleak ("Hoping for Some Kind of Recognition") and maybe-more-hopeful ("We'll All Go Riding On A Rainbow"). Comment on "The Weeping Dancefloor":

i was thinking about how all those people playing in the big band orchestra are probably dead but their music lives on inside the caretaker. - EvilEtiquette

"memory six" & "memory seven" from Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia (#1 Drone/Ambient, 2005)

Not too many unofficial from this one. You can check out the full album + bonus tracks (Additional Amnesiac Memories) either as a YouTube playlist, or at Bandcamp:


I think maybe I should say a bit more here, seeing as this was the release that first exposed me to The Caretaker scene. Going from memory (ha!), these 72 tracks were released free via internet over the course of a year-long project. Then collected into a 6xCD box-set, which is where I come in - courtesy of Boomkat front-page hype.

Wikipedia description of titular condition:

In cases of pure anterograde amnesia, patients have recollections of events prior to the injury, but cannot recall day-to-day information or new facts presented to them after the injury occurred.

Deleted Scenes/Forgotten Dreams (I always forget I'd listed this as #15 of 2007) - one track, or at least title, over 4 parts, double-LP.

For some reason, I associate this one with another JLK identity - The Stranger, through which he's released a self-titled (1997) and Bleaklow (2008). I'd downloaded the first way back when, but never even heard about the more recent one.



"Lacunar Amnesia" from Persistent Repetition Of Phrases (2008)

Terrific album, maybe the best place to begin if just starting out. But who knows? (Click title for all...) I still regret missing the vinyl edition, which sold out too quickly. If only hear for select tunes, randomly chosen: "Rosy Retrospection" and "Long Term (Remote)." This video for "Past Life Regression" might be work-appropriate, due to POV sexytimes via Swedish/Russian film.

That's about it, except for a few web-mixes, of a similar nature. "Recollected Memories from the Museum of Garden History" (2008) with previous Caretaker material, for an event at the Museum of Garden History in London. Here's pretty much the whole thing (on YouTube). Then came Recollections from Old London Town (2009), still available for free download from The Wire. This one includes passages from The Stranger's "Kirkbymoorside" (from Bleaklow), "Von Restorff Effect" and others.

Wow. Okay, we're closing in on the end... promise.

Leyland Kirby broke out under that name in 2009 with 1 track on The Caretaker collection Recollections from Old London Town, and that year's more piano-based trilogy of 2xLP's Sadly, The Future No Longer Is What It Was (#3 Drone/Ambient, 2009).



"And Nothing Comes Between The Sadness And The Scream" from Sadly, The Future No Longer Is What It Was (2009)

Check out the HUGE double-trilogy compare & contrast series (against OPN's), probably my biggest project outside of Top 10'ing the entire popular music era. Since it was six vinyl LP's, there's too much to go through here - so here's my video for "I've Hummed This Tune To All The Girls I've Known" then. I'm also very fond of the title "Not Even Nostalgia Is As Good As It Used To Be."

That first year, Kirby apparently released 2 MP3 collections under the title Lost Moments, Errors And Accidents (#001 & #002), but I can't find them anywhere anymore. Also un-locate-able: When It Rains, The Puddles Shine Black download, and "What A World, What A Life, What A Love" downloadable. You can still stream it at The Wire link, but I can't find a D/L there.

Both of The Caretaker and Leyland Kirby aliases combined for the final Top 10 of 2011 entry - wrapping it up just in time: soon.

The Story So Far: Jonas Reinhardt #9

I've had kind of a bumpy road with San Francisco electro-Kraut combo Jonas Reinhardt, including a whole album getting skipped. Given time & space considerations, it's a good thing they've only been around since 2008 or so!

Long ago, I told the original story of discovery and their self-titled debut album. Made a couple of videos too!



"Modern By Nature's Reward" from Jonas Reinhardt (2008)

I can't remember now if Maserati included that one (download from band), or "How to Adjust People" (my video / free download), on their pre-set mixtape. Actually a really nice album of Euphonious Kraut Metronomy, still available on Kranky Records.

This seems to be relatively obscure. Other than those 2 songs (one from me), I could only find album-opener "Lyre of David" on the YouTubes. If you get past the Featured Music set on the band's MySpace, they do have several - plus a couple of 2009 live tracks and most of the related EP. Great tracks and titles such as "Fast Blot Declining," "Worm Preach the Struggling Fire," "Crept Idea for Mom," and others!



"Downright Cabal" from Modern By Nature's Reward EP (2008)

In fact, if interested, save that all-MySpace-songs link... quite the Jonas resource! The EP/maxi-single is more of the similar goodness - with the title track, "Cabal" there, "Witchcraft-prone," and "Port Lligat (Redux)."

Then everything fell apart...



In 2010, The Powers of Audition was my #2 album that I'd missed that year... and I'm still going strong (unfortunately). I know I was still following a bit, because I got their free Self-Titled Mag Needle Exchange 010 online mix (also available here).

Jonas Reinhardt - ATOMIC BOMB LIVING official video from Heidi Petty on Vimeo.

"Atomic Bomb Living" from Powers of Audition (2010)

I've never even downloaded (from here) the free "single" off this album! What is wrong with me? This one is likewise still available from Kranky. Not having the record, I'm going to have to make some educated guesses... check out "Mumma Deed Family Clone" (album opener), "Near a Mirrored Pit Viper" (#3 overall track on MySpace), and "Orbiter Dicta" (also available).

Then 2011 brought another free online mix from Italy's Dissonanze blog (also available here), and of course the #9 releases for the year. Reinhardt has been busy through this current year, including a cassette collaboration I've covered (with free track here), and a 12" single "Foam Fangs." Hey why not?!

JONAS REINHARDT - AUTO GRIFT teaser from 100% Silk on Vimeo.

Teaser vid probably ***Not-Safe-For-Work***

You can stream & download the A-side/title track over at Dublab. Stream a B-side (but no D/L) at the quite-nice JR SoundCloud, and another one here. A little too dance-y for me, I think... I like the last one "Hot Black Mastic" most - and especially the track image from the Astrodome scoreboard. So that's full previews for 3 out of 4 on that.

Anyway, check out the SoundCloud for more downloads, including several Prins Thomas collaborations & "Radtime Benediction" (of unknown origin).

The Story So Far: Barn Owl #8

I'm seriously gonna have to move fast to close out last year's Top 10 before this year's is due. When it came to a certain kind of drone, there's a progression in my head. Originally I never cared too much for Sunn-O))), then I did like some Robedoor, and finally discovered Barn Owl. All these bands (& others like them) are pretty different, but this progression is in my head.

Sunn-O))) is more doomy & metal (and maybe I should try again), Robedoor (#11, 2011 and #15, 2010) is more ecstatic & noisy, and Barn Owl (#11, 2011 and #11, 2010) is Morricone & mescaline & the desert - with just a couple of guitars and a bit more. So let's dig deep into the earth and see what we find.



"Teonanacatl" from From Our Mouths A Perpetual Light (2008)

Here's the first Barn Owl that I heard, but I still don't own it - only have a couple of tunes from internet mixes. A little bit more folky, maybe? But I could wander the badlands, exploring various records and just getting lost. Check out a partial playlist.



"Walnut Tree" from Barn Owl CDr (2007)

Earlier in 2007, there had been a couple of self-released CDr's: a self-titled and Bridge To The Clouds. Let's see... I did not know about a Tom Carter split (2008)?! Might gonna have to track that down - nothing streaming that I could find.



Side "II" from Smoke Loom Ceremony cassette (2008)

Wait, we're already back through 2008? Okay... That's apparently only one of a few cassettes out that year. I'm imagining some epic opium den/rehearsal space jam-improv galore.



Side A of The Conjurer (2009)

Wait, wait, wait... I've never once talked about this album? It's fantastic! Like, I dunno, the best Earth album ever or something - and then more. First side is "Into the Red Horizon" and "Across the Deserts of Ash" (above). Here's Side B: "Procession of Golden Bones" and "Ancient of Days" (if you wanted just one song).



"Light from the Mesa" from Ancestral Star (2010)

As much as The Conjurer might have deserved a Top 10 ranking, Ancestral Star almost made it (#11, 2010).

Sometimes downloading those free live jams is the way to go. Barn Owl has got at least the 2nd part from Live on WFMU's Long Rally, Nov 19th, 2010: either from Archive.org or over at Free Music Archive! You can stream their first piece from the show page, or just click here.



"Light" [w/ Infinite Strings Ensemble] from The Headlands (2010)

I remember this coming out, but not why I never picked it up. Among others, per Important Records:

In 1981 Ellen Fullman began developing the “Long String Instrument,” an installation of dozens of wires fifty feet or more in length, tuned in Just Intonation and ‘bowed’ with rosin coated fingers. Fullman has developed a unique notation system to choreograph the performer’s movements, exploring sonic events that occur at specific nodal point locations along the string-length of the instrument. She has recorded extensively with this unusual instrument and has collaborated with such luminary figures as composer Pauline Oliveros, choreographer Deborah Hay, the Kronos Quartet, and Keiji Haino. http://www.ellenfullman.com/

The individuals of Barn Owl - Evan Caminiti and Jon Porras - have released quite a bit of solo material and with other combos. I might come back with an overview later, but don't bet on it!

The Story So Far: Woods #7

Woods are a Brooklyn folk-psych-pop band of recent vintage. I haven't delved too far into their back catalogue... until now. Next Woods post should be the #7 of 2011 write-up, for Sun and Shade.



So I discovered Woods opening for Dungen (#4 Live Show, 2009) - by which I don't mean that they were unknowns and I signed them to a record contract. And much more recently they played a great set at this year's Austin Psych Fest.



"Kids Got Heart" from How To Survive In / In The Woods (2005)

I believe I have this album on back order from Rough Trade. One of those deals where they had it on their webstore, but not actually in stock. Ugh... I'm calling it 2005 (2xC20 cassette), but there seems to have been a 2006 CD release, and then the big one in 2007...

Visuals from Jean-Luc Godard's Charlotte et Véronique, ou Tous les garçons s'appellent Patrick (All the Boys Are Called Patrick, 1959). "Holes" is a good Woods tune. I would normally be turned off by "Make Time for Kitty" as an introduction, so maybe just skip it.



"Blood on the Sand" from Ram single (2006)

First 7"! Hip!! The background vocals are a little different than usual.



"Don't Pass on Me / Keep It On" from At Rear House (2007)

But overall, what am I gonna say? It doesn't sound like they went through various stylistic phases, or significant growth from crappy new act to later greatness. They seem to have always done kinda noisy, sorta lo-fi, catchy tuneful acoustic folky songs, with high-pitched and divisive vocals. I like it, but I'm comfortable with others not. Rear House is a real place, Woods' home studio. Couple more from here: the dirgier "Be Still" and the mellow "Ring Me to Sleep."

Kooky album cover, though...



"End to End" from Woods Family Creeps (2008)

Official video! Getting closer to the known universe... Someone made some YouTube found-film vids for "Creeps Collage" and "Howling on Howling" too. Album sounds a little more ghostly and disembodied.



"To Clean" from Songs of Shame (2009)

More official!! And here's where I enter the picture, or Woods enters my picture... I can support anything from Songs of Shame to nowadays as a good starting or continuing point for the Woods. Here's a cool video of "Rain On [live]" that I think I might have posted before. Big loose jam called "September with Pete!"



"The Dark" - B-side of "Sunlit" single (2009)

Someone did a video art project with this song. I couldn't find the A-side to see if it was significantly better - a mystery for later!

Next came At Echo Lake, 2010's #6 Record...



Although last year's full-length was my #7, I did miss a couple of things. Apparently, there was a Kurt Vile Summer Tour split (with "Skull" and "Cold Blue") and the "Find Them Empty" single (which I might have bought & forgot). It will be on the upcoming record out later next month though!

The Story So Far: Absu #6

O man, what can I say to prepare you for our #6 album of 2011: Absu's non-self-titled Abzu? Their actual self-titled album (Absu) was the #2 Next 10 Metal Album of 2009. They opened for Immortal at the #1 Live Show of last year! (So I will try to avoid covering the same ground as this pre-Immortal show post.)

Absu play an incredibly technical (well, fast) yet incredibly fun & thrashy version of Black Metal. Their lead singer-songwriter doubles as their amazing drummer, and is the only consistent member over 20 years. He calls himself "Proscriptor McGovern." Subject matter covers everything from Celtic military legends to Sumerian occult numerology. And they hail from Plano, TX!!



I haven't really listened to the earliest couple of Death Metal releases from Absu. First there were apparently some seriously-DM 1991 demo's, later released on 7" as The Temples of Offal EP (1992).



"Fantasizing to the Third of the Pagan Vision (Quoth the Sky, Nevermore Act II)" from Barathrum: V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (1993)

Knowledge reigns supreme over nearly everyone, but especially Adam seems to internet explore.

These posts do me so much good - official Absu video from 1993?!?! This is their debut full-length, and the Death Metal's pretty much gone. That's already close enough to thrashy Blackish US extreme metal, not too far from later Absu. (Maybe I'm missing some other early DM material?) Ahhhh, I was forgetting Dolmen, the pre-name-change Absu!



"The Coming of War" from The Sun Of Tiphareth (1995)

This one's the earliest release I actually have - it's really good, although with regional studio production values. Fortunately the drums came out sounding real good! Here's the full album - nice acoustics in the opener (yet another spelling of the eponymous water elemental).

Note the link to Dark Lyrics at YouTube. There's good reasons for that!



"Swords and Leather" from The Third Storm Of Cythrául (1997)

I've heard legend of a 7" single with two of these songs from 1995, but I cannot vouch for that. Nor much really, as I've never owned this record (with shame). True story: I was planning to buy this & one other at the Immortal show, but the previous 5 audiences apparently tore through all the merch for both bands - and ours was the last of the entire tour.

Once again, the entire album is available to stream. The two long-time mainstays are above and "Highland Tyrant Attack."



"Never Blow Out the Eastern Candle" from In The Eyes Of Ioldánach EP (1998)

Awesomest song!! I definitely associate this EP with Tara, because it added to later CD's, and "Manannán" would re-appear as an album cut.



O Tara, who are you?

Tara – Temuir and Temair in Old Irish. In County Meath, this main royal hill of the High Kings was regarded as the Irish capital. The name derived from the goddess Tea, wife of Eremon, the first High King Of Ireland. The ancient sites dates back to 2000 BC and included an intricate complex of fortifications. Five roads anciently led to those provinces, three of which are still discernable. Tara was finally abandoned as the seat of the High Kings in 560 AD, neither cursed nor neglected.

Lemme tell ya, that's the short entry in the Glossary of Lyrical Magick. The long version is under The Third Storm Of Cythrául section.



"A Shield with an Iron Face" from Tara (2001)

Would you like some Black Metal Classics post? Best record! And here is your full-album stream.

After Tara, Absu kinda went to ground, Proscriptor auditioned with Slayer, and everything got quiet.



"The Gold Torques Of Uláid " from Mythological Occult Metal 1991-2001 (2005)

This collection includes rarities like that one, the opening track on the Gummo soundtrack (1998), a handful of live tracks... A little of that early DM material, like "Disembodied," if you're into that kinda stuff. And some covers of bands like Mayhem, Possessed, and Iron Maiden's "Transylvania."

This comp was the other album that I was hoping to buy in San Antonio. I need to get a move on, just order over the internet, etc.



"To the Gallows" from Speeds 'N Spikes, Vol. II (2008)

That there's a Morbid Scream cover from Absu's split 7" with Rumpelstiltskin Grinder. I learned about fellow Planonians Morbid Scream through Encyclopædia Metallum - and the fact that Absu covered them a number of times. "The Coming of War," embedded above for Tiphareth (1995), "Morbid Scream" from Cythrául (1997), and then that newest one. Yet another Morbid Scream song was included on an advance tracklisting for Tara (2001) as well.

The other Absu track was a 'new' original called "Thrashstorms."



After all this time, around here's where I come in - much closer to Absu in 2009, than even to Tara in 2001, much less The Sun of Tiphareth in 1995.



"Amy" from Absu (2009)

With just a split-7", who could be sure if they were truly back? Or maybe just clearing out some archives... But no! Soon came the triumphant return via the awesome self-titled full-length (#2 Metal Next 10, 2009).

Other than Proscriptor, it's an all-new band that sounds rejuvenated. And this record just blasts it out, relentlessly, but like a major raging party of good times. One more? Why not: "Girra's Temple" for ya!



The 2009 s/t record was the first of the trilogy, last year's new one was the 2nd, and we're due a final chapter sometime over the next year or so (Apsu?). Hopefully....



"Night Fire Canonization (live)" from WFMU/Aquarius SXSW 2009 Showcase

Show audio available for download at Free Music Archive!

Keep up with the Absu blog and their official website for stuff like 25 Minute High Quality Live Performance Video (Paris, France - April 2012).

Top 10 post coming soon!

The Story So Far - Blut Aus Nord #4

So, Blut Aus Nord are a long-standing, well-respected French Black Metal act - focused on main dude Vindsval. Throughout their nearly 20-years history, the band has incorporated electronical styles like ambient, drone, and especially industrial.

For the completely uninitiated, I'll also point out that BM can take some effort and repeated listening - preferably to really good albums in full. The trebly sonics, lo-fi production, and atypical structures can seem strange and off-putting at first. A background in punk or noise (or metal) helps, or just an open mind. Blut Aus Nord's genre-infusions might provide a bridge into this grim and frostbitten world.

If you prefer your Black Metal introduction more fun & thrashy than serious & experimental, stick around for #6.



Fair warning: I am not a true Black Metal fanatic. I'm arriving late to the party, and am only a dabbler. The upside is concentrating on the cream of the crop (and hopefully being a decent introducer). The downside is that I don't own any of these earlier BAN records. So this exploration was as much for me as for you, the hypothetical reader of this post.

And since I have only a general idea of Blut Aus Nord's overall progression, I'm going to mine user reviews over at Encyclopædia Metallum for key themes as we go along. Let's start in the ancient mists of time... 1995.



"The Plain of Ida" from Ultima Thulée (1995)

About Blut Aus Nord's debut (96% avg rating), one Metallum reviewer mentioned:

a grim, wintery landscape - the winter theme - more of a heathen flavor - rawer sounding black metal - quieter ambiance featuring keyboards - black metal screech - like some epic wintry journey ... across the rocky mountainside during a blizzard - scenic bleakness and majesty.

Yep, that describes a lot of early Black Metal to a tee - with the prominance of keyboard ambiance already being taken further. Read about the concept of (Ultima) Thule - which clearly nods to the genre's Norway/Viking roots, as well as more metaphysical destinations.



"Sons of Wisdom, Master of Elements" from Memoria Vetusta I: Fathers of the Icy Age (1996)

The progression of the early phase continues (94% avg rating). Reviewing many fans' overall favorite, one Metallum user talked about:

soul crushing wall of noise - Endless oceans of melodies - the harrowing distortion that cloaks the record - a hidden beauty - more expansive, allowing sublime melodies to sweep - the bass still remains audible - highly melodic - reach a more progressive state - harmonious chanting - The production terrifically masks the instrumentation in surprise.

Audible bass? That's progress. A vinyl edition is finally being released by Debemur Morti. You can listen to the entire album in one YouTube video.



"The Fall, Part V" from The Mystical Beast of Rebellion (2001)

Here's where things get dicey for some fans (78% avg rating), as BAN takes a large step away from more trad Black Metal. Thus, you encounter even the good Metallum reviews discussing:

mostly instrumental riff-based ... minimalism / drone - unusual guitar chord progessions - considerable repetition and monotony - half the guitars lurching up and down - a deep buzzing drone - passages of subsonic throbbing hum or murky ambience - Constant changes of key - a certain sinister majesty befitting a fallen angel - drowned in the maelstrom of guitar noise - mind-bending (and maybe vomit-inducing) - the riffing vecomes drawn out and drone-like - Atmospheric interludes.

That's no way to turn on a hardcore Black Metal audience. The track embedded above is apparently the most oustanding and appealing. There's a quite recent re-release with bonus materials, which I think I saw at Sound Exchange.



"Axis" from The Work Which Transforms God (2003)

I'm pretty sure "Our Blessed Frozen Cells" was my first exposure to Blut Aus Nord. Their 4th album raises widely divergent opinions (84% avg rating), high quality or beyond-the-pale. From Metallum reviews:

constantly active, rhythmic and complex percussive structures - a transcendental depth - evokes a gloomy, almost post-apocalyptic dimension - the guitar sound maybe somewhat indebted to early Cocteau Twins - dissonant guitar chords ... reminded of 'Daydream Nation' by Sonic Youth - almost shamanistic, and somewhat 'Tibetan' sounding background voices - constantly spiralling guitar chords ... complex blastbeats ... quick double bass ... rather odd syncopated rhythms - textured and harmonized guitars ... distantly reminded of the German band Neu - it is atavistic yet it is complex - humanized, ethereal and mechanical at the same time.

You had me at shamanistic, Cocteau Twins-, Daydream Nation-, Neu!-reminding Black Metal.



"Chapter VIII" from MoRT (2006)

Whereas The Work polarized listeners, MoRT just made them angry (62% avg rating). Let's listen to a very negative reviewer:

a dull, industrial corpse - painfully monochromatic album - uneven industrial drum beats - herky-jerky dissonant guitar noodling - always heavily processed with electronic overtones galore - vocals sound sloppy and muddy - like being on shrooms inside automobile factory - when the actual music so robotic - more than a mere disappointment - a historic bust - intolerable.

ouch.

On the other hand, a generally positive review (85%) instructed that "The whole work is ugly, plodding, and mindbendingly weird... This is really fucking weird music. That cannot be understated." Hey! I like weird music.



"The Sounds of the Universe" from Odinist: The Destruction of Reason by Illumination (2007)

The tides start to turn back (78% avg rating), and Blut reassures the remaining fanbase with Odinist. Sayeth Metallum:

return to a more traditional songwriting - wicked antics of British occultist Aleister Crowley - a revalorizing arsenal of melodic and mesmerizing riffs - an almost Arabic texture - more melodic and somewhat harmonious - misses that devilish and industrial decay-like atmosphere - absence of the shock factor - a transition album though.

This is the one older BAN album that I almost never hear mentioned or opinionated upon. It's not a classic, or reviled... just transitional.



"The Cosmic Echoes of Non-Matter (Immaterial Voices of the Fathers)" from Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue with the Stars (2009)

Now I appear on the scene, naming the sequel to Fathers of the Icy Age (1996) the #1 Metal Next 10, 2009. Although the previous album had backed away from the abyss of avant-electro-industrial "sonic miasma," MVII was widely hailed as a return to Blut Aus Nord's Black Metal roots (90% avg rating on Encyclopædia Metallum reviews).

Truly a massive, excellent double-album epic - ranging from really sweet quiet sections to explosive pummelling. Check out the whole thing!



"Chapter 1" from What Once Was... Liber I EP (2010)

This EP made it to my #16 overall for 2010. Vinyl-only, with no Liber II announced that I've heard of. The rawest BAN in a very long time - leaving EN reviewers to wonder at "filthy, furious death metal riff backed by thunderous, echoing drums" (74% avg rating).

Despite no follow-ups in that EP series, the first two parts of the 777 trilogy (???) came out in 2011. Unfortunately 777: Cosmosophy has been delayed beyond May 2012, but hopefully still this year.

In the next Top 10 installment, we'll talk about the #4 releases from Blut Aus Nord.

The Story So Far: GNOD #3

Real quick, before we get into the glorious history of Gnod (as I know it).

Upcoming/recent releases per INGNODWETRUST tumblr: Chaudelande Volume 2 (2012), out now on Tamed Records!! Apparently there will also be a future CD edition(s) from the great Rocket Recordings.

Also soon... a split with $hit & $hine - for Rocket's Collisions, v.3 (2012). This follows v.1 (2009, The Heads/White Hills) and v.2 (2011, Oneida/Mugstar).



Less recently, you can get one of last year's tunes on a Committee to Keep Music Evil festive mix (2011) - so please do so! And then year before last, Gnod was the co-#5, 2010. Awesome.

You really shoulda moved on the dump of Early Days material, including the more recent 2009 self-titled LP. Sadly, that was Megaupload (RIP)... maybe someone(s) mirrored these downloads elsewhere?

2007 - Abstehen Der Ohren & Live Birth
2007 - Lord Fear’s Dream, Bulletproof Awareness & Pixiedust
2007 - Never Nothing Ever (Volume III) [self-released]
2008 - The Somnambulist’s Tale (s-sided C100) [sloow tapes]
2008 - Aquarian Downer (White Hills tour cdr)
2009 - Bong Split (cdr) [box records]
2009 - Gnod (lp) [pariah child]
2009 - Sex, Drones & Broken Bones

However, I just yesterday discovered two free Gnod-related netlabel releases. First is Supercluster, parts one and two (2009), from Gnod plus Fonik. Second is the Galaxy Being EP (2010), by Gnod vs Noise Research. Oops, one more: exclusive Gnod track "Energy" is on same label's The Adjacent Sector comp (2010). That's a lotta news!



GNOD has done a lot of stuff - from super-avant pseudo-improv art-jamming in the early days, to almost electro-acoustical ambient pieces in the middle times, to more noise-psych freak-outs most recently. After the future, but before the past, let's look at where we (they) have been.

Plus, check out this Revolt of the Apes article.



"The Epidural" & "The Crowning" from Abstehen Der Ohren & Live Birth (2007)

As near I can tell, the 1st three (2007) were all CDr and/or cassette self-releases. They sound like mostly live or home recordings (sprawling lo-fi jams), but worth checking out if you can locate them. That first track made it onto our blog MP3 comp #6.



"Sonic Delights of the Earth Inferno" from Lord Fear's Dream, Bulletproof Awareness & Pixiedust (2007)

Volume III: Never Nothing Ever,... has a 30-minute 2007 live version of "Zeitgeist!" Also, a High Flying Lo-Fi Home Recording version of "24 Minutes Over Manchester," which I think might be "Live Birth: Umbilical Tension > The Epidural > The Crowning" from Volume I. Hard to tell...


The Somnambulist's Tale (edit 2) by GNOD

"The Somnambulist's Tale" was a 50-minute side of a ltd-ed (90 copies) c100 cassette from Sloow Tapes, where you can read a description at least. Find another edit and some other tuneage at GNOD's SoundCloud. (Although many of their previously-posted live recordings have been removed...)



"Abstehen, Pts. 1 & 2 " from split-CDr with Bong (2009)

One of these days I'm going to videoize "Subordinate Contact" from the first White Hills collaboration, Aquarian Downer (2009) - but that day is not today.

Gnod are not afraid to recycle, and that video's tune shows up quite a bit. Obviously on Abstehen Der Ohren & Live Birth, but also as "Untitled I" on the self-titled LP (2009). Which includes this track as well...


"Untitled II" from GNOD (2009)

GNOD being the least-inspired album title (as all self-titled names are), I'd go with Sex, Drones & Broken Bones (or secret pathways to hidden lands) as the most. That 2009 CDr contains the tune "Pathway" and some other quality mellower material. Gnod has gotten much noisier of late.



"Off Somewhere in a Dinghy" from Wuste Zeremonie (2009)

You never know what's going to be documented on the cyber-highways. Nothing at all for Aquarian Downer, but 2/3 of this CDr - along with "Thunderbolt Loop" (on MySpace). I haven't found this one yet.



"Tony's First Disco (live)" [part 2] at WERKKAMP, 07/24/2010

The Crystal Pagoda (2009) was released on cassette by Expo 70's Sonic Meditations label. Title track for side A, "Tony's First Disco" on the B. Tony will later have his "First Communion" released in 2011. Before that Revolts of the Apes interview (way up top), I'd never known that "The Crystal Pagoda" was an alternate soundtrack for a crazy film (which I kinda suspect "They Live" might also be)... and that "Tony" somehow comes from Tony Conrad + Faust + Outside the Dream Syndicate. Info!



Tapes.

Big Chief by GNOD

As with most cassette-only releases, I totally missed Science & Industry (2010). Side A was amusingly named "Deadbeat Disco In Paper Error Shocker!" Side B is right there up above this here.

That's already a lot of music, not even touching on the middle White Hills collaboration Drop Out I (2009), the Robedoor split-7" (2010), and the mysterious possibly-later-period CDr Three Sticks a Penny (????)... plus whatever else. Let's wrap it up!


High Wolf with Gnod - Live by Rocket Recordings

According to the track description: "Live collaboration between members of HIGH WOLF & GNOD. Teeth of the Sea 'Your Mercury' Album launch night at The Lexington, London, 22/11/10." (I believe that's Nov 22 in UK-dating.) Wish I'd been there - wish I could download.

So... two Gnod partners at two straight Austin Psych Fests? What might 2013 hold in store??

The Story So Far: Woodsman #2

I should probably save up my limited trove of Woodsman tales, for they could be counted on a single human hand. They are four guys: two guitarists + two drummers (no bass), with lots of effects and some occasional synth and/or vocals. They were from Denver, but now NYC. They play psychedelic and jammy guitar grooves with sometimes krauty rhythms. Here's an artist profile if you want.



Two cosmic entities are definitely most responsible for my recent discovery of the band: Austin Pysch Fest (#4 Live, 2011) and the former music site Altered Zones (help them re-Kickstart).


Woodsman, "Supernal Radionics" by The FADER

That's from the Humdrum CDr (2008), earliest Woodsman I know of...

So there I was, tickets to Austin Pysch Fest 4 - with only a few of the acts being known quantities for me. Obviously Roky Erickson (#1 Live, 2009), The Black Angels (#3, 2006), White Hills (#5, 2010), and a couple more. But I had much to learn. To decide what I needed to check out at the Fest, I went on a more focused hunt for free MP3's, from every band announced. Some had none on the whole internet - notably The Cult of Dom Keller, although their video stockpile on YouTube got my attention. (See our most recent comp for a CODK mp3!)



Anyway, Woodsman stood at the far other end of the spectrum. I think I found 7 songs, totalling a bit more than 30 minutes - mostly via Altered Zones. So basically, a sampler mini-album... And they quickly became my #1 Priority to see at Austin Psych. And we saw them, and they were excellent - even more jammy and tripped out than the downloads would indicate. And we bought a bunch of vinyl - free MP3's paid off! A lot of those Woodsman mp3's have turned up on more recent blog comps too, because they just keep putting them out there.

Woodsman - Golden Leaves from Fire Talk on Vimeo.

Yet another dreambient track from the sleepy Indoor Days cassette (2008)...

These are both pretty new to me, so I'll leave it to Woodsman to explain. Per the SoundCloud set for these first two:

Woodsman was more of a circle of friends jamming in those days. The idea of a "band" didn't really cross our minds until the following Fall. We bought a mixing board and some mics and transformed our living room into a studio. Over the course of that Winter we began piecing together what would later become the "Humdrum" EP. When it was finished we booked a little DIY tour around the mid and southwest. I remember staying up until 5 am burning CD's the night before we left, putting it on in the car on our way out of Denver and listening together for the first time. Later that year while anticipating the release of our first proper record "Collages" we fired up that home studio and in one night made the "Indoor Days" EP. Those tunes just fell out of us, without any pre-concieved ideas the sound flowed from our instruments and what we needed to feel at that exact moment went to tape. Being locked inside on snowy Colorado days has this effect.

History!

Woodsman - Sunglass from Fire Talk on Vimeo.

On to Collages (2009) - good Bandcamp there, guys. Notable for a few more 'song-y' songs, and also for an uproarious tune called "Dikembe Mutombo" (after the former Denver Nugget & Houston Rocket). I like this one quite a bit. Not sure if the vinyl was on sale at APF, but I shoulda/woulda picked it up had I known. Still kind of amorphous in places, though... The closer "Mothershift" is like 20 minutes long, dude (not completely unprecedented).



"Balance" from Mystery Tape EP (2010)

In my opinion Woodsman fully forms at this point, cohering into a distinct experimental combo. And given the existence of 3 official videos from 1 EP, I think the band felt the same way. "Balance" is a natural 'single': focused, with forward momentum, maybe even a hook. Mystery Tape opener "Beached" could have served as well. "When the Morning Comes" is a more low-key tribal-drone bliss-out, with nature films. "Smells Like Purple" sounds like some early-'70s motorik epic or maybe a distant relative of Butthole Surfers' "Psychedelic Jam." Three tunes from this EP are played on Woodsman's Daytrotter session (live 11/8/2010).



"Manual Control / Chants" from beko-34 digital single (2010)

Just found this one mere days ago, due to barely any evidence of its existence at all - so I threw together a 2-song vid! Downloadable from the beko-DSL label (pretty far towards the right). The A-side is really the only place that I can hear the much-overused Animal Collective comparison. The B-side brings a more typical mid-tempo mantra vibe, with hypnotic repetition into the horizon. Real good stuff for a random free digital single label discovery.



"Insects" 7" single (2010)

This was the lead single from the Rare Forms LP, so I'll just say that it was one of the first tunes to really catch my ear during the Austin Psych Fest preparations.



"Tone Cloak" from Tjutjuna tour split-cassette (2011)

The Woodsman side of a tour-only split-EP cassettesingle - the other side was "Songer Dance" from Tjutjuna (more info + download). For some reason, the sound patterns at the start always remind me the synth part towards the beginning of "Negativland." Not really that close, but connects for me. There's another song that uses something similar to Neu!'s drilling loop (from #3, 1972), but Woodsman puts that at the end.


Woodsman - Little Drummer Boy by firetalk

And even more recently than the #2 Albums, it's... "Little Drummer Boy" from the McGolrick Trees/Fire Talk Records holiday comp download, A Very Merry Christmas (2011). Fire Talk (FB) is a record/tape label run by one of the Woodsman, and McGolrick is "possibly NYC’s only tree stand with a Tumblr" - according to The Fader.



So that's everything that I'm aware of - leading up to, and even following after, Woodsman's two album releases from 2011: ranking #2. One final note before I start the actual Top 10 post... I really like the art style for the later Woodsman stuff. It's ironic that most of these are focused on photocollage, but their earlier album actually named Collages (2009) looks more like a Spin Art t-shirt from a suburban mall in the early-'90s. And I'll try to mention the unusual Rare Forms cover style - coming soon!