Popol Vuh: The Grail

I feel a Krautstorm a-brewin'!! Feel free to (re-)peruse the "Whaddya Mean, Krautrock?" overview. But here we go with Popul Vuh... After reading the hearty recommendation from the Glowing Raw blog, last week I noticed Coeur de Verre (1977) used and picked it up. It's almost kind of the soundtrack for the Werner Herzog film, of which they scored several.



"Huter der Schwelle" and "Der Ruf" from Coeur de Verre (1977)

The whole thing's definitely worth the price, but what stood out was that first tune on the video: "Huter der Scwhelle." It seems almost like the prototype template for a certain brand of tune from Grails (#6, 2008). Which to me recommends it highly. According to this extensive guide to the history and discography of Popol Vuh, the song "capture[s] the feel of" Letze Tage - Letze Nächte (1976), their previous album. Unfortunately, I haven't seen that one in stores...



Vision Sequence from Herz Aus Glas (1976)

There's some of the movie. According to viewer comments, the cool music towards the end is actually a song from Letze Tage, rather than this album. So, not exactly the soundtrack. Florian Fricke, who's the primary guy throughout the whole timeline, was an early friend of Herzog's, an amateur filmmaker, and I guess kind of a musical pioneer. The first couple of Popol Vuh albums appear to have been among the earliest Moog records, then he did more early ambient stuff, and then started bringing influences from world music and sacred themes.



"Wehe Khorazin" from Sei still, wisse ICH BIN (1981)

Looks like that's one of several later films Fricke himself made, all with some kind of religious exploration theme. I don't have the whole story straight. From what I've picked up, he wasn't committed to any specific religion - more of a constant seeker. Maybe with his quest through various musical styles and approaches too.



Improvisation (1971) by Popol Vuh

And one final bonus video of an early-days Moog 'n' bongos jam. Overally, I'm looking forward to checking into more of the music - and the Herzog movies too. I'm hip to the electronic, instrumental, soundtrack, foreign-tinged, ambient, proto-post-rock Kraut type of thing. Can't get enough, in fact!

Wood-land Wood works Stone...

Following up the #5 spot on the impromptu Top 10 Drone/Ambient of 2009... and prior to that, the Ltd. Ed. frenzy post. But per the link at the very bottom here, it looks like they might have re-pressed. Lucky you, for it is Stone Circle by Wood-land!!


"This Is Our Richness" from Stone Circle (2009)

I think that's an official video, maybe not. Found this one on the year-end segment from the writer of the ecstatic Foxy Digitalis review (10/10). I'm not 100% positive about "best psych album of the year! Maybe even best psych album ever?!" But definitely the best droning rustical-mystery psychedelic noise-ambient album in recent memory - for sure. Since no samples anywhere to preview, I thought I'd make some myself!



"Rippling through Time" and "Return to Lost Cottage"
from Stone Circle (2009)

I'm going to ripple backwards through the album, starting towards the end of the 20 tracks. Most everything here is a little spooky, a lotta weird, like a midnight seance in the woods - on another planet. Seems like more of an experimental collective than a "band," so most stuff doesn't sound too much like the rest, but it's got a mainly dark and haunting vibe. Sometimes it fades into the woodwork, then something will jump out and catch you offguard.



"Stone Circle" and "Spirit Bridge" from Stone Circle (2009)

Stone Circle was recently OOP, with a ltd.-ed. of 100 cd's. But like I say, they either found some more or made a 2nd pressing (very last link at bottom). You can freely download remixes of their entire 1st cd, as Home (rebuilt) (2009). So that's worth checking out. Still haven't found the original 2008 OOP-ltd.-ed. (50!) un-remixed Installation release.



"Towhee (Deadfolk REMIX)" and "Temple Dust.IN THE LIGHT"
from Stone Circle (2009)

There's a remix, of more of a "song" type track. The second one mentions a temple, and there's something spiritual going on with these guys. "The Vessels of the House of the Forest" codename, there's a track on Home named after a verse in Psalms (from The Bible), and "John 14:27" just plopped there on the cd insert. That verse? "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

Genre - Haunted Forest of Lo-Fi Psychedelia
Official/Myspace - myspace.com/woodlandwoodworks
Location - Penn's Woods, Pennsylvania

Review - Foxy Digitalis
Download/Lala - N/A
Purchase - InstallSound (looks like it's re-issued)

Satanic Panic in the Attic - Of Montreal (#9, 2004)

This was the third and last Of Montreal record I bought. The first was their last as a baroque-pop studio oddity, the second a transitional indie-guitar "band" style album. And this was the beginnings of their quirky electro-dance act, which to my knowledge continues to this day. I got the impression that style and trend continued and deepened, and really just lost interest. But Satanic Panic in the Attic is still mostly the work of a pop songwriter and a guitar-centric band, despite some new electronic influences.


"Disconnect the Dots" from Satanic Panic in the Attic (2004)

Like that! Not necessarily what I'd pick for the lead-off single/video, but that's what they were getting into. Digital handclaps! Pastel geometry-grids! Sweet basslines.


"Lysergic Bliss" from Satanic Panic in the Attic (2004)

There's something about Of Montreal that inspires the drama geek inside to direct its own video productions. Maybe the overly literate lyrics, dramatic singing, and femme-indie DIY spirit (I think this is 100% only Kevin Barnes). I only included some better ones, but I've never seen a higher level of theatrical self-reflexivity on YouTube for any other band. This is a good one to follow "Disconnect the Dots," reassuring that it won't be techno-rave all night long. Plus a pretty wide variety of vibes through the course. After those two relative epics, they get back to their roots: millions of ideas presented in 2-3 minute bursts. Nice xylophone riff in "Will You Come and Fetch Me?" Another home-made job... with stop-motion, laundry hampers and dancing!


"My British Tour Diary" from Satanic Panic in the Attic (2004)

Just what the title indicates: lyrics about people actually giving a shit about the queen (not the band) and cabbies playing truly repellent techno music. Speaking of techno... "Rapture Rapes the Muses" [live] was another of the big songs back when. I'm not sure "gloomy Erebus is an anathema to me" should really be actual lyrics, but that's what you get here. "Eros Entropic Tundra" is just their way of saying "the unrequited love themesong." And just when you needed a quiet, melancholy acoustic song, you are provided with "City Bird."


"Chrissie Kiss The Corpse" [live] at 40 Watt in Athens

When I saw Of Montreal on this tour, this was a pretty standout live track. I was hoping for a pretty even mix from the last few records, but it was almost all Satanic with like one each from the previous two. O yeah, and the suprisingly awesome "More Than A Feeling" encore! "How Lester Lost His Wife" fairly rocks out, with a mellowed synth solo and inexplicable lyrics.


"Spike the Senses" from Satanic Panic in the Attic (2004)

Just one more, for the action figure battle royale! I'm leaving out quite a few, since there's 14 songs, plus a couple of different bonus EP's. Maybe even a third of the covers they were playing on this tour? That sounds familiar. I actually ended up bailing on my last chance to see Of Montreal live - at last year's inaugural FPH Summerfest. Kinda wish I'd seen the Bowie cover.

Genre - Indie-Psych Dance-Pop
Official - ofmontreal.net/
Myspace - myspace.com/ofmontreal
Location - Athens, GA

Review - Stylus Magazine
Download - Polyvinyl Records, iTunes
Lala - Satanic Panic in the Attic
Purchase - Polyvinyl Records

Top 10 Drone/Ambient of 2009

I did this for the 2005 set of lists. And since the last couple of months have focused on this type of thing - why not? Here are the sometimes-ambient, sometimes-droney, sometimes-"other" musics that I find worth mentioning right at this moment. By the end of the list, we're pretty clearly off the true drone/ambient axis. But "close enough," says I! Album title links take you to some kind of Headspace post on that release.


#10 Le mani destre recise degli Ultimi Uomini -
Secret Chiefs 3: Traditionalists


"Renunciation" live from 1998

Genre - Fake Italo Soundtrack
Official - webofmimicry.com/
Myspace - myspace.com/secretchiefs3
Location - San Francisco, CA

Review - Weirdo Music
Download - Amazon, iTunes
Lala - Le mani destre recise degli Ultimi Uomini
Purchase - Amazon

Nice little collection of 28 short set-pieces in the vein of Italian and/or horror soundtracks, as so many are doing these days. Sort of. They've got their own traditional take that differs from either Zombi or The Giallos Flame. Not quite in those realms, but maybe a good intro point to Secret Chiefs 3.


#9 Sylvester Anfang II - Sylvester Anfang II


"Satan likt mijn hielen" from Sylvester Anfang II (2009)
Live jam from Kunstenfestival Can'Art 2008

Genre - Krauty Drone-Jam
Official - funeralfolk.be/
Location - Belgium

Review - Experimusic
Download - Boomkat, Amazon
Purchase - Amazon

I'd totally forgotten I even had this, until I checked out Vinal Edge's 2009 list. Something else must have drawn my attention at the time - it happens... This is much noisier, Krautier, and guitar-oriented than I remember. They've released a couple things more recently, and now I'm thinking about it.


#8 Perdition Hill Radio - William Fowler Collins


"Slow Motion Prayer Circle" from Perdition Hill Radio (2009)

Genre - Apocalyptic Black Ambient
Official - williamfowlercollins.com/
Myspace - myspace.com/williamfowlercollins
Location - Albuquerque, NM

Review - Swan Fungus
Download - Boomkat, iTunes
Stream via Soundcloud - Perdition Hill Radio
Lala - Perdition Hill Radio
Purchase - Boomkat ($6, while stocks last!)

I took a flier on this because of Boomkat's big sale - excellent deal! My regional identification enhances the weirdness of New Mexican dronework. My interest in Black Metal means I'm a sucker for mixing ambient music with those concepts. But this album stands on its own, with the haunted vibe of a decayed and destroyed desert landscape.


#7 Sonic Messenger and Infinite Macrocosm - Expo '70


"Your Beard Is Growing Psychic" from Sonic Messenger (2009)

Genre - Guitar Space Drone
Official - exposeventy.com/
Myspace - myspace.com/expo70
Location - Kansas City, MO

Review - Foxy Digitalis
Download - Beta-Lactam Records
Lala - another album
Purchase - Beta-Lactam Records (2xCD)

On the Floydian coordinates of the space-drone universe, with a good balance between direct sonics and deep exploration. I like guitars, and nothing else around here is nearly so guitar-based. Especially good for the inevitable zone-out.


#6 Broadcast and The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age


A few tracks from Investigate Witch Cults (2009)

Genre - Radiophonic Hauntology
Official - broadcast.uk.net/
ghostbox.co.uk/thefocusgroup.htm
Myspace - myspace.com/broadcastuk
myspace.com/thefocusgroupmusic
Location - England, UK

Review - Pitchfork
Download - Bleep, iTunes
Lala - Investigate Witch Cults [samples only]
Purchase - Amazon

Quite unexpected, innit? The songs (few as they are) ring with a particular classic '60s feel. The interludes range from the spooky to the trippy, always shifting like ghostly fluorescent shadows in a carnival sideshow held in a decrepit Victorian mansion. On a lonely high cliff, under the full blood moon.


#5 Stone Circle - Wood-Land


"This Is Our Richness" from Stone Circle (2009)

Genre - Haunted Forest of Lo-Fi Psychedelia
Official/Myspace - myspace.com/woodlandwoodworks
Location - Penn's Woods, Pennsylvania

Review - Foxy Digitalis
Download/Lala - N/A
Purchase - InstallSound (looks like it's re-issued)

Crazy, possibly Christian, hodge-podge of rustic cabin-fever visions. The band name is apt - conjuring a separate world, green and leafy... with monsters lurking. Full post coming up, this one's different.


#4 Pyramids with Nadja - Pyramids with Nadja


"Into the Silent Waves" from Pyramids with Nadja (2009)

Genre - Epic Multi-Genre Mash-Up Drone/Ambient
Official - pyramidswithnadja.com/
nadjaluv.ca/
Myspace - myspace.com/pyramidsmusic
myspace.com/nadjaluv
Location - Denton, TX / Toronto & Berlin

Review - Tiny Mix Tapes
Download - Amazon ($4!!), iTunes
Stream - at Official site
Lala - Pyramids with Nadja
Purchase - Blue Collar Distro

I never really liked what I heard from Denton's Pyramids. Sure, it was weird. But nothing that made me dig deeper. I've liked most of the Nadja I've heard (#16 of the 2009 Metal Next 10), and will probably like more when I hear that. But this mostly doesn't sound much like either band on their own. Four looong tracks that cover almost everything: quiet, heavy, voices, beats, ambience, drone. Takes some focus to really listen, but worth it. Full post coming, most likely.


#3 Sadly, The Future No Longer Is What It Was - Leyland Kirby


"A Longing To Be Absorbed For A While Into A Different And Beautiful World" [YouTube edit] from Sadly, The Future No Longer Is What It Was (2009)

Genre - Electro-Acoustic Modern Composition
Official - brainwashed.com/vvm/newsmain.htm
Myspace - myspace.com/selectedmemories
Location - Berlin, Germany

Review - Pitchfork
Download - Boomkat (mp3 or flac),
Purchase - Forced Exposure
If you are in Houston, I have seen this on CD recently at both Sound Exchange and Vinal Edge record stores.

I've spent half of five posts discussing this monster of a 6xLP/3xCD trilogy. Click on the title link above, if you dare!


#2 New Clouds - White Rainbow


"Major Spillage" from New Clouds (2009)

Genre - Loop-Psych Healing Drone
Official/Myspace - myspace.com/whiterainbowwhiterainbow
"Blog" (???) - whiterainbow.tumblr.com/
Location - Portland, OR

Review - Pop Matters
Download - Amazon, iTunes
Lala - New Clouds
Purchase - Kranky

I like this album more than perhaps makes sense. So much, that I immediately ordered a couple more after getting it. Looped and rhythmic, with vocals and electronics, but a ton of treated guitars. I hear what others apparently get from Animal Collective's last one. Mesmerizing.


#1 Alphabet 1968 - Black To Comm


"Hotel Freund" from Alphabet 1968 (2009)

Genre - Iconological Ambient Drone
Official - blacktocomm.org/
Myspace - myspace.com/legostar
Location - Hamburg, Germany

Review - Junkmedia
Download - Amazon, Boomkat, iTunes
Stream via Soundcloud - Alphabet 1968
Lala - Alphabet 1968
Purchase - Amazon

Similar thing as with New Clouds: after being blown away, I immediately started tracking down more. This one was clearly labeled a change of pace, tending more towards digestible "songs." One of the great finds of the new year so far!! You can read more in this Disquiet MP3 Discussion Group discussion. Also note that Type Records provides unlimited Soundcloud streaming for all their records (if you're not into Lala) - so check the "Stream via..." links for both this and Wm. Fowler Collins (#8).

Rifts Bonus Sadly

So here we are, wrapping things up. Leyland Kirby took 3 cd's just to fit in his trilogy of double-albums, so only a few points of interest there (some repeated for emphasis). But Oneohtrix Point Never had some room on a 2nd cd for additional music, and I'll cover that.

<- Previous [#3] = = = Start Over [intro] ->


Just a few notes here. There's a bonus 2xCD supposedly due sometimes March 2010, with different versions, mixes and outtakes. I guess kind of like the 7th disc of Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia (#1, Ambient 2005). You can check on the bonus package here, and here is one of those bonus cuts...


"The Darkness That Separates Remembering From Not" from Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was 2xCD bonus set (2010)

A good way to keep up with Leyland Kirby goings-on is at his History Always Favours the Winners blog. It's for things like news about releases, free music downloads, commentary, or the Sadly artist and artwork. I'd also like to re-plug the original Free Music post, which points you to a lot of cool stuff from the Caretaker just waiting to be downloaded.

What else? You could check out the Disquiet MP3 Discussion Group's 2-page discussion of Sadly, The Future Is No Longer... Two pages!!

I got my ltd-ed 6xLP package, and I'm a little concerned. It looks like the three LP covers are fastened to one another. So only the first cover and third back are actually visible, without ripping them apart. Not exactly what I was expecting from the photo, but I'm checking on it... [Boomkat helpfully clarified that the spot-glue could be carefully detached without damage. And they were correct!]

Also, I think I'm going to do a 2009 Top 10 Drone/Ambient.
Watch for it!



With the extra space on Disc 2 of Rifts, Daniel Lopatin was able to pick out various songs to highlight. So this back stretch doesn't have the unity of a single album, but features a variety of high-level stuff.

Oh, I don't think I'd ever mentioned that the whole set is available at Lala. Might have been worth doing already, but maybe better late anyway. Alright, here it is!

Rifts - Oneohtrix Point Never

"Lovegirls Precinct"
A short and relatively upbeat song, the title of which reminds me of Blade Runner or some other cyberpunk urban dystopia. Originally from a 2009 split-cassette with Outer Space, an Emeralds-related project.

"Ships Without Meaning"
Much longer and floatier, really pleasant actually. Appears on the Ruined Lives cassette (2008). Tracklist also shows "Actual Air," which appears on Rifts in place of a different (or differently-titled) Betrayed in the Octagon tune.


"Terminator Lake"
I like the heavy, almost distorted, waveforms chugging in the background. And then the laser-blast finale certainly lives up to the title.

"Transmat Memories"
There is a 2008 cassette by this title, which this is likely an except from. It's pretty busy, with patterns overlapping and clashing. Don't think I could take 30 minutes sustained at that level.


"A Pact Between Strangers"
Quite a relief, much less frenetic and more harmonious.



"When I Get Back from New York"
Another edit for YouTube, only 7.5 of the 16.5 minute track. The full tune is suprisingly engaging, for the longest track of the set. I prefer it to either of the "Woe Is the Transgression" pieces on Octagon. Last two of these originally appeared on A Pact Between Strangers CDr (2008).



"I Know Its Taking Pictures from Another Plane (Inside Your Sun)"
What?!?! Acoustic guitar, vocals? I... what? From the Young Beidnahga CDr (2009). So, both collections end on an unexpected note.


I'm also on the lookout for the ltd-ed, OOP Memory Vague dvd (2009) from Root Strata. Here's the tracklist, with non-Rifts videos provided.

1 "Zones Without People" [already linked]


2 "Angel" from Memory Vague dvd (2009)

3 "Ships Without Meaning"
4 "Memory Vague"
5 "Nest 9500"
6 "Chandelier's Dream"
7 "Unmaking The World"
8 "Heart Of A Champion"
9 "Radiation"
10 "Computer Vision" [already linked]


11 "Nobody Here" from Memory Vague dvd (2009)


<- Previous [#3] = = = Start Over [intro] ->

Sublime Frequencies World Tour

After I'd named Choubi Choubi! Folk & Pop Sounds from Iraq as the #7 Repertoire/Compilation of 2005, some discussion ensued over on Facebook about the greatness of the Sublime Frequencies label. It was co-founded by Alan Bishop of Sun City Girls and focuses on lost musics from around the world. More info located: here.

Although pretty much sold out, they do have a few streaming samples for various albums at Boomkat. Usually 3 tracks each... Also, they've reviewed a lot from the label over at Dusted Magazine. So check them out too!

So anyway, here's a spin around some suggested listening from only a few corners of the globe. All the links go to YouTube, embedded ones are mostly clips I made for albums I've got. Quotes are from the Sublime Frequencies website.


Middle East and North Africa

Choubi Choubi! Folk & Pop Sounds from Iraq (2005) - V/A


"Yumma, Al Hilou" (Mother, Here's My Beauty)
"Ahl Al Aqil" (O People of Reason)
"Choubi Choubi" - all artists unknown

Meticulously selected from Iraqi cassettes and LPs found in Syria, Europe and the Iraqi neighborhoods of Detroit, Michigan, this unique collection of folk and pop styles displays a wealth of outstanding music that is exclusive to Iraq and has rarely been showcased abroad. There are many reasons why Iraqi music stands alone in the dynamic world of Arabic music: one example is the unbelievable rapid fire machine-gun rhythms fluttering atop the main tempo.

Unknown-titled song by Souad Abdullah


Omar Souleyman (Folk & Pop Sounds from Syria)

Omar Souleyman is a Syrian musical legend. Since 1994, he and his musicians have emerged as a staple of folk-pop throughout Syria, but until now they have remained little known outside of the country. To date, they have issued more than five-hundred studio and live-recorded cassette albums which are easily spotted in the shops of any Syrian city... Here, classical Arabic mawal-style vocalization gives way to high-octane Syrian Dabke (the regional folkloric dance and party music), Iraqi Choubi and a host of Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish styles, among others. This amalgamation is truly the sound of Syria.

Highway to Hassake (2007): "Atabat"

Dabke 2020 (2009): "Llansob Sherek"
and "La Sidounak Sayyada"


Guitars from Agadez: Music of Niger (2007) - Group Inerane


"Nadan al Kawaznin" and "Telilite" from Guitars from Agadez (2007)

Group Inerane is the now sound of the Tuareg Guitar Revolution sweeping across the Sahara Desert and inspired by the rebel musicians that started this music as a political weapon used to communicate from the Libyan Refugee camps in the 1980s and 1990s. These ten tracks are a combination of amplified roots rock, blues, and folk in the local Tuareg styles at times entering into full-on electric guitar psychedelia.

"Ano Nagarus" [live]


1970's Algerian Proto-Raï Underground (2008) - V/A


"Mazal Nesker Mazal (I'm Still Getting Drunk.... Still)"
by Groupe El Azhar
"Ana Dellali (I Cuddle Myself)" by Cheb Zergui

This is Rai Music from Algeria as you've not heard it before. In the early 1970's, a new group of singers and musicians were operating on the northwest coast and what they pioneered was a sound that eventually reached worldwide status by the end of the decade, however their names are relatively unknown to this day outside Algeria. This crucial and defining period of the development of Rai is criminally ignored and overlooked by Algerian music historians and Rai's fans. Due to censorship and government controlled music diffusion, this scene and lyrical style was forced underground and banned from broadcasts yet slowly built a small following around the seaside cabarets of Wahran (Oran).

"Li Maandouche L'Auto (He Who Doesn't Own a Car)" by Bellemou & Benfissa

"Malgre Tout (Despite Everything)" by Boutaiba Sghir


Group Doueh

If you think you’ve heard all the great electric guitar styles in the world, think again. This Saharan sand-blizzard of fine-crushed glass will grind your face to a bloody pulp. Group Doueh play raw and unfiltered Saharawi music from the former colonial Spanish outpost of the Western Sahara. Doueh is their leader and a master of the electric guitar. He’s been performing since he was a child playing in many groups before finally creating his own in the 1980’s. Doueh says he’s Influenced by western pop and rock music especially Jimi Hendrix and James Brown.

Guitar Music from the Western Sahara (2007): "Eid For Dakhla"
and "Wazan Samat"
and also "Dun Dan"


Asia and Pacific

Shadow Music of Thailand (2008) - V/A


"Luk Tung Klong Yao" and "Klong Yao" by The Son of P.M.
"Sawan Bangkok" by P.M.7/Jupiter
"Bangkok by Night" by Johnny Guitar

Shadow Music was a broad term given to the Thai guitar pop movement of the 1960s and the groups that came out of it, all under the profound influence of early Western rock and roll... Shadow records were often marketed as 'Thai Modernized Music' which it was in the truest sense. Traditional Thai melodies were given the Shadow treatment; incorporating rock, surf, a-go-go, exotica, soul, blues, Latin and other worldly styles of the times.

I think this is kinda related as well...


Cambodian Cassette Archives: Khmer Folk & Pop Music (2004) - V/A

An unbelievable collection of dynamic Cambodian music recorded between the 1960s and the 1990s, both in Cambodia and in the United States. A truly Khmer blend of folk and pop stylings - Cha-Cha Psychedelia, Phase-shifting Rock, sultry circle dance standards, pulsing Cambodian new wave, haunted ballads, musical comedy sketches, Easy-Listening numbers and raw instrumental grooves presented in an eclectic variety of production techniques.

"Blue Basket" by unknown artist
and "Sat Tee Touy (Look At The Owl)" by unknown artist



Folk and Pop Sounds of Sumatra - V/A

The equator runs through only ten countries on earth and I bet that you cannot name them all without consulting a map. Indonesia is one of them and the only nation in Asia with the equatorial stripe impaling it. There are so many different cultures spread-out on these islands, that it would take several lifetimes to experience them all properly. Within this umbrella of diversity is one of the world's richest and most dazzling sound museums. Sumatra is the northwestern entry point to the great archipelago. It is a large island approximately the size of California. There are jungles, mountains, swamps, various forms of myths and folklore, hustlers, Padang Food, Tigers, the Durian, dozens of cultures and languages, and more music than you've ever been allowed to hear. The selections on this CD are a combination of droning beat pop, pseudo-gypsy songs, jungle folk trance, and other improbable traditional and hybrid styles heard by only a handful of outsiders.

Vol. 1 (2003): "Indang Pariaman" by Samsimar

Vol. 2 (2004): untitled song by unknown artist


Singapore-a-Go-Go (2009) - V/A

Sublime Frequencies works its way down to the tip of the Malaysian peninsula with this superb collection of Singaporean 60’s beat, pop, and “off-beat cha-cha” instrumental classics from original vinyl 45’s. These 22 supercharged beat-a-go-go tracks defy a common held belief that the Chinese couldn’t rock, groove, or swing back in the 1960’s.

"Good Luck in the New Year" by Linda Yong and the Silvertones
and "Mimi Cat" by Chew Yan and the Stylers


Bollywood Steel Guitar (2008) - V/A


"Jan Pahechan Ho" by Van Shipley

Bollywood Steel Guitar is the most comprehensive collection to date of Steel Guitar pop instrumental music from India. All 21 tracks featured here were Film hits from 1962-1986 and all the masters of the steel guitar sound from the period are represented... An entirely different approach that rocks, swings, and grooves through some of India's most beloved film tunes, the electric steel guitar as lead instrument transforms the already infectious melodies into a multitude of higher sound dimensions.

"Duniya Mane Bura To Goli Maro" by Gautam Dasgupta


Guitars Of The Golden Triangle: Folk And Pop Music Of Myanmar (Burma) Vol. 2 (2005) - V/A

Most outside this Burmese region have never heard of Shan State, but this massive sub-tropic tableland has an average elevation of 3000 feet, perfect for the cultivation of poppies for which it is very well known (in fact and fiction) as the center of the “Golden Triangle”. Never before presented outside a tiny minority of the Burmese community, this unbelievable collection of garage and psychedelic rock, raw folk blues ballads, and country -western styled music is a product of Shan and Pa’o musicians hailing from the early 1970’s.

"Nga Ley" by Khun Kaung Kay Maung
and an Unknown-titled song by Khun Paw Yann


2 volumes of Molam: Thai Country Groove

Molam is a multi-faceted folk music native to Laos and the predominantly rural Northeastern region of Thailand known as Isan - home to myriad ethnic groups and provinces, and once a part of present-day Laos. Mo meaning "master" and lam meaning "song", molam literally translates into "master singer", but it remains more of an umbrella term covering over a dozen types of lam styles in which male and female singers can be backed by a free-reed bamboo mouth organ called a khaen, indigenous lute-like instruments (the phin or the soong), a bowed fiddle called a sor and a percussion ensemble featuring finger cymbals and hand drums.

All I found was this documentary trailer.

Genre - World/Folk/Vocal Pop
Label - Sublime Frequencies
Myspace fan page - myspace.com/unknownartistdude

Review - Dusted Magazine
Download/Lala - nope!!
Purchase - Forced Exposure

Pong Super, Escobarb Superb

One time I was disappointed in a Pong live show - once!! Unfortunately, it had been the last one - something around a year ago. There was a new guy, but other than the cool new live light mix usurping the iconic magic globe of ray beams, he didn't do anything wrong. The show was dominated by "new" songs, so the lack of familiarity was part of it. But more than anything, a bunch of those new songs just didn't translate for me live. Too electro-dance and yet not bangin' enough all at once...

Saturday in Austin - the record release show for those very same songs, and with still another new band member. I gotta say, oddly I had confidence... or faith. And my opinion was kinda proven right and my faith kinda vindicated. But Pongwise, everything is pretty damn right with the world!


As the title might have revealed, things went well. The new member is probably Kerri Atwood (based on cd credits), and she adds one more voice to Pong's arsenal. I've always said not enough bands throw out enough singers together, separate, mixing it up. So, that worked for me. I'm pretty sure the live versions of the new material had been tuned up over the last year or so. Although I got a bootleg of that last show, I don't think they were all that more familiar to me. The tape's pretty muddy, so not on constant rotation. Anyway, I enjoyed the show a lot.


"Rocket Fuel" from Escobarb (2010)

Also, I picked up the new CD! The show was kind of centered around the album, being a release party thing. But it's pretty short, so probably about 1/2 live classics and 1/2 Escobarb songs (although I don't think the title track). I want to say that "Rocket Fuel" was the first of these songs I ever saw live. I remember liking it right away, asking about the title afterwards, and to this day consider it the best of the new crop. Still rockin' out, with that boogie-thrust energy.


"Laika" from Escobarb (2010)

At the end of "Rocket Fuel," there's some electronic messing-around. Although "Laika" [live] grooves on a metallic riff and the funky drummer, a pretty big portion of the album seems built for the studio more than the stage. It actually reminds me a lot of the 7th inning stretch on their debut, Killer Lifestyle (2001). Three of the songs towards the end stand out as less band-developed and more like demos. I like those songs fine, but they don't hold up to the full treatment elsewhere. And I don't think I've ever seen any of them performed live...


"Suicide Cat" from Escobarb (2010)

The thing is, those types of songs get equally fleshed-out on this record. "Suicide Cat" has been on Pong's Myspace page for quite awhile. It's leisurely, electro-beaty but not really bangin'. Live, I don't know how it will pan out. But as recorded, it throws a ton of '80s new wave maneuvers your way. Obviously the synth action and robot vox, but listen to the guitars! That's new business for Pong, and they pull it off suprisingly well.


"Superwrong" from Escobarb (2010)

I could be wrong about "Rocket Fuel" preceding "Superwrong" into the live repertoire, but I'm pretty sure they were first and second. And once again, it's a bit more old-school Pong rockin' than most of the others. So from the getgo, I think the first half is the more immediately appealing and live-playing oriented. But I suspect the second half has more to dig deep into... The rocking and electro balance is reversed, song lengths stretch out (mostly), and arrangements get more dense and twisty.


I want to wait until I've figured it out a bit more, and until I've made some more videos. But part two coming up!

Certainly by the time Pong brings the new people by Super Happy Fun Land on Friday, April 2nd.