listen records

…..pick of the week…..

*keiji haino/jim o’rourke/oren ambarchi – imikuzushi – black truffle – lp
- limited gatefold double lp version with printed innersleeves. “the yearly summit of keiji haino, jim o’rourke and oren ambarchi continues with imikuzushi, which finds the group extending the power-trio strategies of 2011′s highly-praised in a flash everything comes together as one there is no need for a subject and bringing to them a newly-sustained intensity. for this performance, haino limits himself to electric guitar and vocals, forming complex networks of slashing rhythm work, noise squall and chromatic shredding, moving at times to near-silent passages of howled vocals and isolated, hanging guitar strums. the tendency towards driving free-rock which surfaced on moments of the trio’s last release is cemented here, with o’rourke’s fuzzed-out, non-linear bass riffing moving the music into almost garage-rock areas, combining with ambarchi’s drums to form a bedrock of hypnotic, metronomic pounding which transforms itself effortlessly into passages of flowing free-time. like all of haino’s best work, the trio transcends any ‘rock’ genre exercise to enter a non-idiomatic zone of ritual intensity, creating a music formed purely out of instrumental and group-mind possibility. presented as four unedited excerpts salvaged from an epic show that lasted well over three hours, the sometimes raw nature of the recording only adds to its directness and harshly emotive quality.” –francis plagne, melbourne, november, 2011. design by stephen o’malley (sunn o)))) with high quality live shots by ujin matsuo and stunning images by tokyo-based photographer and sound artist shunichiro okada.

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howdy all,

well it would appear that the holiday season is upon us once again and as usual things are starting to really slow down for new releases. so to make up for it, we bought a big ol’ beatles collection. lots of beatles albums, as well as a ton of solo and spin off records as well. i’ve listed a portion of them below, but stop in or drop us a line if you are looking for something specific.

…..pick of the week…..

daphne oram – the daphne oram tapes: volume one – young americans – 4lp
- daphne oram, founder of the bbc radiophonic workshop, died in 2003 leaving a colossal archive of reel-to-reel tapes and documents behind. this important collection of material eventually made its way to goldsmiths college, london, who have been administering it on behalf of the daphne oram trust for the last few years. the collection holds over 400 tapes made by oram during her lifetime, and 211 of those have been archived and catalogued by the college so far. the daphne oram tapes: volume one is the result of almost two years spent trawling through the archive in an attempt to piece together a coherent document of one of the most pioneering and genuinely experimental characters in electronic music history. although some of oram’s recordings have surfaced on the oramics compilation, this compilation reveals a complex, dark and sometimes disturbing body of work which has, until now, been partially obscured by the more recognizable radiophonic bleeps and whirrs the workshop is best known for. this first volume focuses on oram’s love of experimental forms, of musique concrète, of the science and mystery of sound and composition. It comes at a time when her work is only just starting to gain wider acknowledgment in scholarly as well as popular circles. the “oramics” machine (the first electronic musical instrument in history to be designed and built by a woman) has gone on display at the science museum in london, an important step in what will no doubt be a sustained effort to assert oram’s rightful position as one of the most important figures in modern music. working through the archive has been a life-changing experience, revealing a wealth of musical treasures that include recordings and sound effects made for stanley kubrick’s 2001: a space odyssey and jack clayton’s the innocents, all the way through to field recordings made in africa. this first volume, put together with the help of goldsmiths and daphne’s family, is the first in a planned series that will, for the first time, make oram’s most important and personal recordings available for public consumption. deluxe quadruple vinyl housed in a gatefold sleeve. highly recommended!!!

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