Excerpt from "The Word On My Lips Is Your Name" (2012)
Since there's not much of it floating around, I can only offer this promotional excerpt of the A-side title track. Looks to be some still available at this place. Not bad... 2xCD for £8-- unsure how legit, but looks okay.
I've already got a subsequent previous album vinyl re-release, and I've been digging that too.
The guy in TLO is part of The Boats. I'm just gonna say "England," because I lost interest before I uncovered more relevant details. (This time. Looking below, I do see Burnley, Manchester. Fine.)
The Killer In The Rain (2012), by Tape Loop Orchestra
Looks like TLO also released a '3" CDr limited to 100 copies' last year: The Killer In The Rain. I'd never even heard of it, but that's the whole thing up there. Better than nothing, I guess - which is what's streaming online of TWOMLIYN B-side "The Burnley Brass Band Plays On In My Heart." And I like that piece a bunch.
Genre - Classico-Ambient Tape-Loop Music
Official/tumblr - oursmallideas.tumblr.com/
Location - Burnley, Manchester, UK
Review - Fluid-Radio
Download/Purchase - Ltd. to 400 copies...
Hey, look, it's Moon Duo! Whom everyone enjoyed at Austin Psych Fest earlier that same year & at Rudyard's that exact same month (#1 and #7 Live Shows, 2012).
Long way to go & a short time to get there. Both of the two guys from Zombi (#5, 2011) were super-busy last year, and there's a ton of fun out there. Let's start with their side-splitting LP project, Brainstorm. I guess the single was Steve Moore's "Enhanced Humanoid," but here's a cool fan-vid to scope...
"Dawn of Primordial Life" by Steve Moore, from Brainstorm (2012)
Majeure's album side is the 20-minute "Atlantis Purge." Haha, epic.
"Tyken's Rift" by Steve Moore, from Light Echoes (2012)
Course that's not sufficient for either of these dudes - solo releases! Moore had this one, with the massive Part II of the title track, not surprisingly a ST:NG reference.
[Edit, 11/21: Wow, I botched that pretty good - bad "Light Echoes II" link, unclear that "Tyken's Rift" was the Star Trek reference... Fixed.]
"Extreme Northern Lights" by Majeure, from Solar Maximum (2012)
But don't forget about A.E. Paterra... he's gotta have his own (OOP) record too. And with its own catchy title track as well.
Zombi will be hitting the road again for December, opening for the fantastic Goblin reunion. Do try to catch them if you can!
Not only that, but these guys (bandmates in Zombi) have also started up a limited-edition cassette-tape label - VCO Recordings. You want some weird? Try the sold-out Rusting Cyphers of a Forgotten Sky from Jonas Reinhardt & Abyss of Fathomless Light.
On the lighter side, Abul Mogard's 2012 s/t debut tape (ed./100) is still available!
"Post-Crisis Remembrance" by Abul Mogard, from Drifted Heaven (2013)
And they're taking pre-orders for the follow-up right now... with a super-new official video preview. Each cassette order comes with full & free digital download.
[08/08/2013] Yep. I made it, Demdike made it too...
Although a bit short, a very cool set! I only noticed a few hints of original tunes or even anything that I recognized, and then a big chunk of "Kommunion" (below). The music was much like I hoped: dark & dense. Mostly run off some kinda Mac laptop and a bank of samples, effects, and patches... with a little vinyl spinning thrown in.
Got a chance to say hello at the end and thank them both for actually coming to Houston. I'd put the crowd at about 100 people, seemingly most there for Demdike Stare rather than the locals - which I thought was fantastic. I'm still a bit stunned that it really happened.
"Kommunion" live at Mango's, 8/6/2013
That doesn't really give too much of an impression of the actual experience in effect. The sound system was surprisingly nice at the little club. They did get the video projection up & running for Demdike's set - it looks like the same ones from the Berlin / Jodoverse show. Haha, those two earlier videos are kinda better representative.
Eventually a 2xCD collection was released with most of the vinyl, some alternate version replacements, and some bonus tracks... with different track order. So the original vinyl series kicked off with "Mephisto's Lament" - the second tune on the CD's, following "New Use for Old Circuits," which is not on the vinyl.
That's the whole 2xCD release right there. There's a 20-second-longer non-(Alternate Version) of "Unction" on the vinyl. Alternates are the vinyl deep cuts, but the big 'hits,' like "Mephisto's Lament" and "Violetta," transfer in their original form.
"Mnemosyne" from Elemental 2: Violetta @ 33.3 (2011)
That one comes over the same, but you have to be careful to get the right speed. Two YouTubers have put it up at 33-1/3 rpm... a mistake I myself have made. And here again, I think I'll side with the slower, wronger speed. Speaking of slower, I very much like the non-vinyl, 'bonus' CD tracks "Shade" and "10th Floor Stairwell."
Not to be negative, this kind of low-down spooky doomtronics seems to be on the way out for Demdike. Maybe just temporary until the next major project? Or yet another great act's style evolving away from what I dig? Only time will tell...
"Violetta" from Elemental 2: Violetta (2011)
Official video released when the vinyl pack was just launching. Anyway, the whole thing's pretty great - sometimes rhythmically inventive, sometimes moody & weird, sometimes something else... The CD's are streamable up there, and the vinyl's probably moot at this point. Couple more cool videos, then I'll wrap it up.
"Erosion of Mediocrity" from Elemental 3: Rose (2012)
Great tune, great video!
"Dauerlinie" from Elemental 4: Iris (2012)
Another favorite track for me. These last three made the digital transition unscathed. Okay, okay...
In February (of 2012), Demdike Stare also dropped a free Modern Love mix/Elemental podcast, "Irrational Advice" - worth checking out. (Tracklist info at the bottom of this post.)
So then there was/is the Slant Azymuth project between them & Andy Votel. For whatever reason, I've listened to this very few times. I never actively disliked it - maybe because it's vinyl only, and so less convenient? But I don't think that's the whole reason. Hold on, I'm going to listen to it now...
"Intervision 1" by Slant Azymuth, from Slant Azymuth (2012)
Maybe I've been put off by the first track/intro, "Gray Equidae," over a minute of cello scrapings & nonsense. (Maybe it's the cover art?) After that, the record alternates between Intervisions [above] and pieces with 'real' names. Like "Black Crolyn," which keeps it short but is still kinda nonsense - rhythmical this time. And yet "Intervision 2" is a little more like it.
"Helican Scan" by Slant Azymuth, from Slant Azymuth (2012)
Hey, I think I might be warming up to (parts of) this! The last couple are a 3rd, final, short Intervision [okay] and "U-Matic Thrill." Despite the name, this last track isn't a New Power Generation-era Prince jam. It's probably the most Demdikesque on the album. So, yeah... despite some weak points, I don't think I had given Slant Azymuth a fair shake. Pretty decent overall!
I really just don't have much to say these days, I suppose.
I was introduced to Broadcast super-late, with ... and The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age (#6 Drone/Ambient, 2009) - which I've enjoyed a lot. HaHa Sound is a terrific album of radiophonic experimental pop, with some folkish nods, and even a little Stereolabic krautiness.
As promised, here are some excellent external YouTube videos for most of the album - Broadcast fans make the effort!
"Colour Me In" from Haha Sound (2003)
Do I have a track-by-track gimmick? Not yet I don't!
Uhhh, I'm sure I've done this before... But since I'm posting user-content videos, how about user-submitted lyrical interpretation? At least until they run dry.
It is the living, subconscious dream of perfection that we all have, be it a person, a beautiful place, a meaning, or state of being. We need to set the ideal, and set out to find it.
is it about making love?
I think it's more about coming back into a relationship
Strangely enough, this theory doesn't show up nearly as much as you'd imagine. Might say something about lyric freaks - I dunno, I just listen to the sounds, man.
Only lyrics at SongMeanings... Despite fleeting moments of true liberty and happiness, the horizon is often darkened by potential misfortune, and you must learn when to prepare for the inevitable & when to celebrate the good times as long as possible.
And someone made their video for "Hawk" private, and there are no comments over at SongMeanings - so great job! If you've got Spotify, try here. Otherwise:
Sow the seeds
Of everything to be
Safe in sleep
I winter in my dreams
Speak your words
Define your grief for me
Out of reach
Some things just can not be
Went to a record store over the weekend, and saw a new CD from "Guapo." Was it that same #2 of 2006 Guapo?
"The Pilman Radiant" [edit] from History of the Visitation (2013)
Why, yes it was!
No longer the full 'classic' line-up (with Miracle/Ulver/Æthenor's Daniel O'Sullivan) - but it sounds fairly similar still... Jazzy, proggy art-Rock In Opposition.
History of the Visitation trailer (2012)
I was wondering why it cost so much, and apparently it comes with a live DVD with shows from 2006 and 2007.
Here are my two home-brewed videos from the 2006 single:
Two of my Top 10 of 2012 are already on-the-go for the New Year.
First off, a Ltd. Ed. of 300 LP+CD+MP3 from Tape Loop Orchestra (#10, 2012): In A Lonely Place. I found it here on Boomkat. Although a bit expensive, unlikely to last long... Looks real nice & real limited. Tiny Mix Tapes has a CD(?) (p)review(?) from last year, and here's one of the tracks:
Gnod (#8, 2012) has their new LP up for pre-order on Trensmat Records: GNOD Presents..Dwellings & Druss. Not sure if it's super-limited like the regular Trensmat 7"s or what. But might as well too early rather than too late.
You can probably get a pretty good idea about most of this from the recent Caretaker/Leyland Kirby overview post. Earlier on, I covered the return of The Caretaker, since this was the first year under that guise in awhile. Most all of this 2011 stuff arrived via his annual digital subscription, which I don't believe was repeated for 2012. This is still mostly early-20th ballroom edits (of Caretaker fame), with some surprise electronics (from the Kirby EP's).
Let's start again with The Caretaker...
"Libet's delay" from An empty bliss beyond this world (2011)
The first thing that jumps out at me (as on "All you are going to want to do is get back there") is the vinyl snap, crackles & pops - they do not feel organic. Not sure if accurate or intentional, but it sounds like a different sound-field. Like they are looped separately and added in, or that a different effects-set is applied to them. Depending on the magnitude of the effect, it can become a little distracting. You might also notice the jump-cut out, which occurs through the album.
Tape flutter or maybe mechanical noise likewise creeps in - for example, "Moments of sufficient lucidity." Quite a few brief clips here too, under the two-minute mark, including "I feel as if I might be vanishing" and "Bedded deep in long term memory." As always, the full-album length is the correct approach, as the dreamy, time-transporting effect works best when allowed to accumulate and envelope the listener.
And then the Leyland Kirby LP was more compositional, more piano, and with longer tracks... like so:
"My dream contained a Star" from Eager to tear apart the stars (2011)
The only really bite-sized one is "To Reject the World," based on a more ominous drone. They're all a little different, like the lullaby-march of "They are all dead, there are no skip at all." Weirdly, none of the subscription-only bonus tracks are out there now.... (I guess that's the point of exclusivity), but they kinda split the difference between the drifty album and the 3 more noisy Intrigue & Stuff EP's.
"Video 2000" by Leyland Kirby, from Intrigue & Stuff, Vol. 1 (2011)
This is what kicked off the series, and surprised me and (I would assume) many others. A little bit back to V/VM's glitchy finger-in-the-eye of the dancefloor? Whew.
I still don't know exactly what prompted these noise-bump EP's, and why they're under the Leyland Kirby tag. Seems pretty separate from that previous stuff, but maybe he's consolidating identities & styles back down together. One more from Vol. 1: "Ruined Visions."
"Eventually, it eats your lungs" by Leyland Kirby, from Intrigue & Stuff, Vol. 2 (2011)
Was originally going to start with the one short track, stereo-shifter "Speeded up slow motion." But that's too cool with the video! Third track brings another epic: the 20-minute "Complex Expedition."
"The watcher and the watched" from Intrigue & Stuff, Vol. 3
Hahahahaha! I made that video almost a year ago... Enjoy!!
If you're reading this in the distant future, check around the cyber-cloud for "Lie low, pick your moment" - a true return to his V/Vm roots.
"Remember Us" by Leyland Kirby, from Intrigue & Stuff, Vol. 3 bonus tracks (2011)
But it looks like me and Leyland are the only ones making videos for Vol. 3 & bonus tracks.
Genre - Modern Classical / Ambient Hauntology / Electro Official - brainwashed.com/vvm/ Location - Berlin (still, I think) via UK
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
Although it's only been a couple of days, I'm not sure at this point how I discovered this. But I definitely missed it originally, back in August.
Demdike Stare (#8, 2010) - live in 2012, at The Boiler Room (NYC)! So that should be something like spinning, electronics, a bunch of samples... a creepy horror-movie vibe with some Easternisms? That sort of thing?
Surely you're gonna want to download that (down-arrow), but why not check this out... Video!
Demdike Stare, live at the Boiler Room, 08/14/2012
So you can watch them, stream it, and own it yourself - all three.
Let's see... Here's the BR page for the show. Otherwise, pretty self-explanatory.
Okay - to not just leave it at that, I searched YouTube for anything else more recently.
"Demdike Stare Meets Shangaan Electro/Version" from Demdike Stare + Hype Williams Meet Shangaan Electro 12" (2012)
That's from a remixes split-12" EP of South African dance style Shangaan. Read about the originals here or from the label. I got that when it came out, but it's pretty different & I can't remember listening to it much. Actually had forgotten all about it.
My other option was this custom video for "Hashshashin Chant," but I've put that song up a few times. Surreal animation from Cyriak.
Tony Paterra is another ½ Zombi (some recent news on the other dude here), and works solo as Majeure (co-#5, 2011 and co-#2, 2009). Modern analogue synth exporations a specialty - despite being the drummer!
He's got a new album out on Temporary Residence Ltd. (hopefully my LP is on its way!), but also continues to release the small-scale stuff too.
Then there's VCO Recordings, not coincidentally, the audio-cassette micro-label being run by part of or more than Zombi.
They're running out of Trancer cassettes (with immediate digital download)!
Only 5 copies of the 50 non-tour cassettes left for sale here. Grab yers quickly! (Another 100 copies were taken out opening for Maserati, whom Paterra drummed with last tour...)
The one preview track on the VCO Bandcamp is the opening tune on live recording of his opening set for this 2012 Maserati show (in Athens, GA).
I can't find any video of this current tour, so here's a German one from last year...
Yeah! That's the way to intro your synth-show. Here's part 2 and part 3 from that one.
Some quick hit-and-run action on the hauntological newsbeat!
Newsflash!
Announced: Another two new Study Series 7"s!! (01-04: #9 of 2010, and 05-07: #19 of 2011). There's also been #08 since then. From The Belbury Parish Mag item: "One will be a collaboration between Belbury Poly and Brighton's remarkable cabaret-folk-automata-electronics performers, Spacedog. The other is from Listening Center, the work of New York based composer, David Mason. This single will also feature a Listening Centre remix by Pye Corner Audio."
Speaking of Pye Corner Audio, they've just recently released a full-length album on Ghost Box, Sleep Games (2012). Pye had these two songs on Autumnal Activities: Ghost Box Study Series 07 (2011)... "Cloud Control" and "November Sequence."
No full previews, but here's a series of clips from the Ghost Box SoundCloud:
And what would a Ghost Box post be without these guys??
"Unforgotten Path" from As the Crow Flies (2011)
I think the most recent Advisory Circle album hit me quicker than than latest Belbury Poly. They were released somewhat close together, and each is the project of a Ghost Box co-founder - so comparisons are... Actually, I think I just bought them together, which isn't the same thing at all.
"Goat Foot" from Belbury Tales (2012)
But I continue to find precious gems whenever I go back to Belbury. That's the jam!
Continuing with this recent series: next up is SubArachnoid Space. No, not the brain cavity... the Portland-via-SF psych-jam band - apparently inactive since last year, but still on Facebook.
The one appearing on the For Lee Jackson in Space comp (2012)! Much like Primordial Undermind, I'd heard of SubArachnoid and once again assumed they were some kind of electronic noise freak-out - rather than the actual jamming guitar psych-ambient project it was. (And I stick by my contention that's what those names evoke for me...)
Good overview with some album reviews ("Approved by the Post-Rock & Psychedelic Prog teams") over at Prog Archives... and a couple of free downloads from the Free Music Archive.
"Karoshi" from Delicated Membrane (1996)
Would seem that that the first few years were made up of semi-formless abstract explorations of the acid-rock jamming variety. Like whole albums made up of what other bands use for inter-song transitions, or extended intro's and coda's.
"Whispers of Momentum" from Either Or (1997)
I could definitely see myself going either way with this. They actually seem good at what they're doing, but it might end up a bit too improvisational. Probably worth a shot for me, though...
That's almost the whole album. Not sure what "bonus song 9" means since there are only 6 tracks, but there it is.
"Will You Make My House A Carnival?" from Endless Renovation (1998)
Sounds a bit different than before - with the Floydian organ - but maybe I'm letting the new art style influence my hearing. Might also wanna check out "Square Wheels" for more. Just by the number of songs on YouTube, this one might be another fan favorite.
"Indy Maru" from A New and Exact Map (2000)
No-one ever accused SubArachnoid Space of being in a hurry to get anywhere, probably. Maybe I should start any serious exploration in the later phases?
song "D" from These Things Take Time (2000)
Time for another live album - again without interruption. SAS was certainly generous with their releases. Here's song "A".
Not too much anywhere from Also Rising (2003), supposedly their first move from full-on improv to more structure... Also the last album with band founder Mason Jones, owner of the Charnel Music label, releaser of the Walking Timebombs’ self-titled debut?
If that embed doesn't work, stream or download that song from archive.org.
"Ourobouros" from Red Veil (2005)
Approaching closer to the Now, the band continued on & probably relocated to Portland. Opening rocker "Honorable Mention" is available for stream or download at archive.org as well.
"Hunter Seeker" from Eight Bells (2008)
The only album currently up on SubArachnoid Bandcamp. This seems to be the most recent, and possibly last, record. Looks like the music-making has stopped, with just a vestigial internet presence still ongoing.
