howdy all….
so i guess we will have winter after all. but records keep you warm.
once again, i’ll be spinning records down the street at the common next thursday night. starting likely around 11pm. come down, say hi, have some beers and hear some stuff you don’t often get to hear in a bar.
…..pick of the week…..
*radiophonic workshop – the seasons – trunk – lp
– in tomorrow. “at long last the rarest and most peculiar of all radiophonic workshop albums is available. originally issued in 1969, the seasons has become almost mythical over the last few years. with its mix of unexpected electronics, percussion, tape manipulation and austere poetry, it sounds like no other. the seasons has also become a major influence on bands such as broadcast and a key reference in the development of ghost box and the whole “hauntology” soundscape. it is seen and heard very much now as an important and lost classic. and after over one year of detective work and rights investigation (which is a lot in this modern world of instant communication), this impressive, strange and wholly unique album is seeing the light of day once again. originally made as part of the bbc’s drama workshop broadcasts, this album was meant for educational purposes. coming in the later period of what is commonly known and remembered as “music and movement” or “movement and mime classes,” the album was issued briefly as a teaching aid for the modern thinking 1960s classroom. the idea was to play the album and get the school children to dance, improvise, think and create to the sounds and words. the music was originated by one of the early pioneering radiophonic musicians, david cain. very little of his music has ever been made available (except on the classic bbc “pink” album) but to some followers of early british electronics, he is the forgotten master. and for this release he has been interviewed by julian house (the focus group) with a fascinating q&a, which will appear in the new sleevenotes. as for the poet ronald duncan, he is now deceased, but had an interesting and inspired life. a born pacifist, he famously wrote the libretto for britten’s opera the rape of lucretia, wrote the script for girl on a motorcycle, and started the english stage company at the royal court theatre. his poetry was published by faber and faber by t.s. eliot, who became a friend. duncan’s 16 featured poems were specially written in 1969 just for this project. the album sold in tiny quantities when it came out and was quickly deleted by the bbc. even the bbc archive doesn’t have a copy. in fact the album’s scarcity has only added to its mythical status. a handful of originals started appearing in bargain bins throughout the mid-1990s, and as interest in british electronics and the radiophonic workshop started to grow, the album’s reputation began to gain a little momentum. the album rarely surfaces, but jonny trunk and fellow collector martin green found three copies at back in about 1998, one of which was passed on to jarvis cocker. this limited edition lp comes with the original 1969 bbc sleeve and an insert of all the poetry. also worth noting is that this album has been remastered from the original radiophonic workshop tapes.”
…..new arrivals…..
olafur arnalds – living room songs – erased tapes – 10″
– in tomorrow. icelandic contemporary composer olafur arnalds presents a highly limited 250 copies-only special edition, including a dvd of the recording session. arnalds’ emotive world of beguiling electronic chamber music and delicate classical arrangements has gained recognition worldwide among indie pop and rock fans.
olafur arnalds – another happy day ost – erased tapes – lp
– in tomorrow. also from arnalds releases his first hollywood film score — the original motion picture soundtrack for sam levinson’s feature film debut another happy day, starring ellen barkin and demi moore. two names, never expected to be mentioned in one of these news letters….
*captain beefheart – merseytrout – ozit – lp
– in tomorrow. “a limited edition vinyl 2lp of the best selling captain beefheart live album which until now has only been available on cd. recorded live at rotters club liverpool october 1980.”
ceremony – zoo – matador – lp/cd
– widely seen as the most compelling, unusual and progressive hardcore of the last five years. the band has refined their jagged sound while continuing to pursue themes of exurban alienation and confinement. “zoo” explores punk and post-punk traditions: the rhythm section remains as tense and propulsive as ever, while the guitars move with ease from ringing power chords to stealthy leads reminiscent of gang of four and the cramps. vocals sometimes recall pink flag or metal box, ranging from a melodic howl to a muttered incantation.
*k.s. chithra – s/t – b-music – cd
– in tomorrow. “the electrification of k.s. chithra and kollywood pop! the uplifting and surprising sound of k.s. chithra is, for many, best exemplified by the early plugged-in-pop she made in the 1980s with the man/machine who first introduced her to the tamil film industry, maestro ilaiyaraaja. there are few records you will hear this year that combine the sounds of a child’s choir, a dx7 bass line, three types of drum machine, amariachi trumpet cry, a resampled forty-piece orchestra and an electronic bass line that takes the moog taurus by the horns and rides into the indian summer.” vinyl soon.
*suzanne ciani – lixiviation – b-music – cd
– in tomorrow. amazing comp of classically trained/avant-minded commercial composer suzanne ciani, the “american delia derbyshire of the atari generation.” ciani stands alongside the likes of pauline oliveros, daphne oram, and ursula bogner in the continuum of female early electronic knob-twiddlers that would’ve never gone out on a date with you. vinyl soon.
miles davis – pangaea – 4 men with beards – lp
miles davis – agharta – 4 men with beards – lp
– in tomorrow. 2 more live electric jazz-fusion from the undisputed master of the genre.
*flower travellin’ band – make up – phoenix – 2lp
– in tomorrow. when released in 1973, make up, with its incredible faux-leather imitation attaché case outer bag, looked every bit the last word in over-the-top packaging and now originals, complete and in good condition, fetch hundreds of dollars in the collectors’ market. this double album consists of both live and studio recordings and features keyboardist nobuhiko shinohara. 2LP housed in a replica outer slip-case and deluxe gatefold sleeve, including the original lp insert.
frak – muzika electronic – digitalis – lp
– in tomorrow. absolutely amazing mix of skewed techno paired with heavy doses of modular synthesizer exploration, noise and bizarro pop from the legendary frak.
heatsick – intersex- pan – lp
– in tomorrow. the title references the work of german sexologist magnus hirschfeld, looking at how music and sexuality can operate in flux on a constantly sliding scale. executed on just a casio keyboard and manipulated loops via guitar pedals, intersex deliberately evokes “ersatz” notions of electronic dance music and early electronics in the line of roberto cacciapaglia’s ann steel record, the work of warner jepson and the kaleidoscopic sound of ron hardy, pushing dance/body music through a saturated psychedelic lens.
*eli keszler – cold pin – pan – lp
– in tomorrow. both a composition and stand-alone installation, 14 strings ranging in length from 25 to 3 feet are strung across a 15×40 curved wall, with motors attacking the strings, connected by microcontrollers, pick-ups and rca cables. recorded in boston’s historic cyclorama, a massive dome built to house the cyclorama of the battle of gettysburg painting in 1884. the b-side features, in addition, a “dry” version of the installation with motor attacks on metal squares rather than strings, creating dense percussive clusters.
magnetic fields – love at the bottom of the sea – merge – lp/cd
– the magnetic fields return to merge! after putting out three synthesizer-free albums, the magnetic fields return to the signature mix of synth and acoustic sounds they established in the 90s with merge releases. merritt has come back to synths with a fresh approach: “most of the synthesizers on the record didn’t exist when we were last using synthesizers”, he notes. the songs (none over three minutes long) were recorded with merritt’s usual cast of collaborators.
main attrakionz – 808s & dark – type – 2lp
– in tomorrow. the internet can be blamed for many things, and while the current consensus seems to be that it is single-handedly responsible for the destruction of the music scene, it’s impossible to deny the influence it has had on contemporary rap music. previously held hostage by industry moneymen, file sharing and social networking has democratized the genre and allowed people to hear what’s really going on in the minds of young producers and rappers. main attrakionz are one such cottage industry made up of rapper/producer squadda bambino and rapper mondrem.a.n..
oliveray – wonders – erased tapes – lp
– in tomorrow. a project from pianist nils frahm and multi-instrumentalist peter broderick. a collection of eight delicate pieces. “without much preconception we just set up the mics and started recording, with an aim to create a short album of half instrumentals, half vocal-based songs. we ran through a few fresh musical ideas that each of us had, improvising along with each other, sometimes just improvising entirely. and before we knew it we had a nice little collection of eight intimate pieces of music.” aaaawwwww.
perfume genius – put your back n 2 it – matador – lp/cd
– a gorgeous soundtrack for anyone trying to keep it together in everyday life, and moving forward. this sonically beautiful, more approachable album will connect with more people directly.
pink floyd – the wall – emi – 2lp
– the third (and final) reissue of these classic albums… too bad they aren’t doing more….
*portraits – s/t – important – lp
– in tomorrow. “beautiful new full length lp featuring members of tarentel, barn owl, higuma, date palms, the alps among others. edition of 500. screen printed jackets. this large group is somehow able to focus and refine their sounds into sublime acoustic drone full of deep tones, rich harmonics, and an overall lush blend across a wide range of frequencies. recorded & mixed by the normal conquest who also worked on the recent barn owl/infinite strings ensemble.”
sleigh bells – reign of terror – mom & pop – cd
– 2012 release from the brooklyn duo consisting of derek e. miller (songwriter, guitarist, producer) and alexis krauss (vocals). sleigh bells’ unique sound is likely the result of miller and krauss’s contrasting musical backgrounds; miller was formerly the guitarist for the post-hardcore band poison the well and krauss was a member of the teen pop group rubyblue as a teenager.
various – jende ri palenge – soul jazz – 5lp+dvd
– in tomorrow. limited 5lp and dvd boxset of this film and music project made in colombia. featuring original palenque music, plus remixes by osunlade, deadbeat, felipe venegas, aurelian riviere, kalabrese, santiago posada, secondo, rocketnumbernine, matias aguayo, subway, kromestar and jay haze.
various – listen, whitey! sounds of black power 1967-1974 – light in the attic – lp
– in tomorrow. “for the time first ever, black and white artists share space on a definitive anthology of the black power era. listen, whitey! is cross-cultural overview that sees bob dylan’s out of print 1971 single ‘george jackson’ reissued for the first time along with several selections from motown’s long forgotten ‘black forum’ label — motown’s early ’70s black power militant imprint that has never been documented until now with provocative recordings from sncc spokesman stokely carmichael, outspoken african-american poet amiri baraka, and black panther party singer/songwriter elaine brown.”
various – minimal wave tapes volume 2 – stones throw – lp/cd
– “minimal wave: underground diy electronic music from north america and europe in the late ’70s-80s. characterized by ’70s synth and drum machine production and home recording, most of these tracks were privately released on limited-edition cassettes or vinyl and known only to a handful of people over the years. artists include felix kubin, philippe laurent, subject, ohama, geneva jacuzzi, ruins, aural indifference, class info and more.
various – original raw soul volume 3 – now again – cd
– in tomorrow. “the collective that includes the poets of rhythm, whitefield brothers and karl hector & the malcouns present a series of rare funk, jazz, soul and world-psych singles compiled as an album. original raw soul III –looks back at recordings dating back over twenty years but never once sounds dated or dull. there’s the garage funk of the early poets incarnation the bus people express; the deep jazz of vocalist bajka gigging with a max whitefield ensemble; the pan-african psych-jazz of the whitefield brothers. and more!”
…..restocks…..
arcade fire – funeral – merge – lp
arcade fire – suburbs – merge – lp
*robbie basho – venus in cancer – blue thumb – lp
beatles – abbey road – emi – lp
james blake – s/t – atlas – lp
anne briggs – s/t – 4 men with beards – lp
anne briggs – time has come – 4 men with beards – lp
coachwhips – double death – narnack – lp
*karen dalton – 1966 – delmore – lp
j dilla – donuts – stones throw – lp
*faust – so far – 4 men with beards – lp
grimes – visions – arbutus – lp
nicolas jaar – space is only noise – circus company – lp
*kink gong – xinjiang – discrepant – lp
national – high violet – 4ad – lp
portishead – s/t – go beat! – lp
*wendy rene – after laughter – light in the attic – lp/cd
john k samson – provincial – anti – lp
sonics – here are the sonics – norton – lp
surfer blood – astro coast – kanine – lp
vampire weekend – contra – xl – lp
*kurt vile – childish prodigy – matador – lp
*kurt vile – smoke ring for my halo – matador – lp
*kurt vile – so outta reach – matador – 12″
*scott walker – scott 4 – 4 men with beards – lp
washed out – life of leisure – mexican summer – lp
wyrd visions – half-eaten guitar – blue fog – lp
thanks for listening….
listen records
10443a – 124 street
edmonton, ab
t5n 1r7
780.732.1132