Well, I’m back, and the jet lag is catching up with me. There isn’t a ton in this week, but I’m a little out of practice, so this isn’t the BEST news letter i’ve ever put together. But there’s some sweet stuff, and even more so, there’s sweet stuff in the bins. The gang priced up lots of good used stuff while I was away as well, so get on down for a dig.
Much like the rest of the world, we’ll be taking a short day on Monday for Canada Day, we’ll just be open 12-5.
…..pick of the week…..
Radiophonic Worshop: Burials in Several Earths
(Room 13) 4×10″ Box
In tomorrow… Burials In Several Earths is a brand new work by the legendary Radiophonic Workshop, the soundtrack architects behind classic British TV music such as Doctor Who and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. An evocative suite of synth improvisations, Burials In Several Earths evokes the haunting qualities of their classic work whilst exploring fresh new vistas of sound. Conjuring up atmospheric, immersive textures that mix tried-and-trusted analogue techniques and leading edge digital technologies, the release connects the dots between the work of pioneering British electronic composers such as Delia Derbyshire and artists whose work bares the unmistakable genetic footprint of the Radiophonic Workshop: the likes of Cavern Of Anti-Matter, Pye Corner Audio and Children Of Alice. Features guest appearances from Martyn Ware (The Human League, Heaven 17) and Steve ‘Dub’ Jones (Grammy-award winning mixing engineer for The Chemical Brothers, UNKLE, and New Order). The vinyl edition is a deluxe quadruple 10″ boxset (including fold-out double-sided poster and download card) featuring edits of the tracks unique to this edition, and an alternate mix that does not appear on the CD and digital versions. The formatting is a subtle nod to the retrospective 4 x 10″ set the Aphex Twin’s Rephlex label put out in 2003. Burials In Several Earths was designed by David Chatton Barker, founder of the acclaimed Folklore Tapes label. The titling of the album and individual tracks were inspired by Francis Bacon’s incomplete 1627 literary work New Atlantis, previously used by one of the founders of the Workshop, Daphne Oram, as a manifesto for the original sound sorcery they famously produced in room 13 of the BBC Maida Vale studio complex in London. Room 13 is also the name of the Workshop’s newly minted label!
File Under: Electronic, Radiophonic, Experimental, Library
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…..new arrivals…..
Greg Ashley: Pictures of Saint Street (Trouble In Mind) LP
Greg Ashley has been a fixture on the underground music scene since the late-90s while strafing eardrums as a teenager in Houston in garage-punk band The Strate-Coats. Since then he’s proven himself not only as a songwriter, singer and guitar player in bands like The Mirrors and The Gris-Gris, but also as a producer/sound engineer via his Oakland-based Creamery Studio. His career as a solo artist is vast and varied, spanning the gamut between fried and beautiful psychedelia, gorgeous and cathartic symphonic suites and gentle, damaged folk music, beginning with 2003’s Medicine Fuck Dream and last leaving us with 2014’s Another Generation of Slaves. His latest, Pictures of Saint Paul Street carries forward that album’s musical palette (a rootsy amalgam of tortured, Cohen-esque folk tinged with the beer soaked recklessness of a West Texas honky-tonk). The songs are lush and beautiful autopsies of society’s underbelly, with stark and brutally honest ruminations on humanity. Tracks like “A Sea of Suckers” and “Pursue The Nightlife” pull no punches, while “Jailbirds & Vagabonds” and “Blues For A Pecan Tree” carouse on a more abstract, human (almost romantic) level. By the time you’ve hit the album’s centerpiece; “Bullshit Society,” Ashley’s songs move from ballads of hopeless misery to rallying anthems for the dispossessed. Pictures of Saint Paul Street isn’t always an easy listen, but that’s the point; the journey to salvation isn’t easy or pretty. The protagonist in many of Ashley’s songs may be Ashley himself – a true artist willing to admit he’s nowhere near perfect, and honest enough to document his sunrises & sunsets no matter if they occur in his own backyard, or on a barroom floor.
File Under: Indie Rock, Folk
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Beach House: B-Sides & Rarities (Sub Pop) LP
In tomorrow… “When we announced that we were releasing a B-sides and rarities album, someone on Twitter asked, “B-sides record? Why would Beach House put out a B-sides record? Their A-sides are like B-sides.” This random person has a point. Our goal has never been to make music that is explicitly commercial. Over the years, as we have worked on our 6 LPs, it wasn’t the “best” or most catchy songs that made the records, just the ones that fit together to make a cohesive work. “Accordingly, our B-sides are not songs that we didn’t like as much, just ones that didn’t have a place on the records we were making. The oldest song is “Rain in Numbers” and was recorded in 2005, during the summer when we formed the band. We didn’t have a piano, so we asked our friend if we could use his, which was pretty out of tune. We used the mic that was on the four-track machine to record the piano and vocals. It was originally the secret song on our self-titled debut. The next couple of songs are from late 2008. We were so excited about “Used to Be” that we quickly recorded it and put it on a 7″ for our fall tour with the Baltimore Round Robin. “The same session begat our cover of Queen’s “Play the Game” for a charity compilation benefiting AIDS research; we will continue to donate all profits from the song to that charity. As fans of Queen, we thought it would be fun and ridiculous to try to adapt their high-powered pop song into our realm. These songs were recorded at the same studio where we made Devotion. There are a bunch of songs written and recorded in the 2009-2010 window. “Baby” was written and recorded in October 2009 with our friend Jason Quever. “10 Mile Stereo” was recorded during the Teen Dream session in July 2009. Since we used tape, we often slowed the tape way down to create effects while recording, which led to “10 Mile Stereo (Cough Syrup Remix).” “”White Moon” and “The Arrangement” were both songs that we didn’t believe fit on Teen Dream. “White Moon” originally appeared on our iTunes live session. Since that was recorded and mixed very hastily, we have remixed it to better match our current aesthetics. We have also remixed and included the version of “Norway” we did at that same session. We wrote and recorded “I Do Not Care for the Winter Sun” during a break between tours and released it on the internet for free, unmastered. Well, it’s finally been mastered…” – Beach House
File Under: Indie Rock, Pop
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Carter Family: American Epic (Third Man) LP
American Epic represents a 10-year odyssey undertaken by director Bernard MacMahon and producers Allison McGourty and Duke Erikson, and audio engineer Nicholas Bergh that involved tracking down countless long forgotten musicians, restoring the music that they recorded and reassembling the technology that created it. Along the way they brought some of the most important figures in contemporary culture to help them on their quest. Executive Producers Jack White, T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford have lent their support to what Redford calls “America’s greatest untold story.” In addition to American Epic: The Sessions soundtrack, Third Man Records is slated to release 180 gram 12″ audiophile vinyl versions of American Epic: The Carter Family, American Epic: Memphis Jug Band, American Epic: Mississippi John Hurt, American Epic: Blind Willie Johnson and American Epic: Lead Belly plus thematic collections including American Epic: Blues and American Epic: Country. The Carter Family, a family vocal group from Appalachian Virginia, were the most impactful discovery of talent scout Ralph Peer and the first vocal group to become country music stars. Apart from the beautiful harmonies that can only come from kin, Mother Maybelle Carter pioneered “scratch” style guitar picking, a clever synthesis of autoharp, banjo and guitar picking, and for years served as a matriarchal figure in the Grand Ole Opry. Single LP with single pocket tip-on jacket with soft touch finish.
File Under: Country, Folk
Evan Dando: Baby I’m Bored (Fire) LP
Yellow vinyl LP, single sleeve, printed inners. 2CD Book-back with 24 page book. Emerging after The Lemonheads disbanded ‘Baby I’m Bored’ is a stellar record that stripped Dando of his grunge label. At the time of recording, he was without the band which saw him lean more to-wards an achingly melodic alt-country rock sound. Self-deprecating, these are songs of de-cline and coming back from that. The record includes “Hard Drive” and “All My Life” two tracks penned by Ben Lee and features contributions from producer/composer Jon Brion, producer Bryce Goggin, Tom Morgan, Giant Sand’s Howe Gelb, Calexico’s John Convertino and Joey Burns, ex-Spacehog frontman Royston Langdon, Come’s Chris Brokaw and Arthur Johnson.
File Under: Indie Rock
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Death & Vanilla: To Where the Wild Things Are (Fire) LP
Formed in Malmö, Sweden by Marleen Nilsson and Anders Hansson, Death and Vanilla utilize vintage musical equipment such as vibraphone, organ, mellotron, tremolo guitar and moog, to emulate the sounds of 60s/70s soundtracks, library music, German Krautrock, French Ye-ye pop and 60s psych. They revel in the warmth of older analogue instruments to create a more organic sound, each loose wire and off-kilter noise adding to the rich atmosphere. After a handful of successful releases including a debut EP in 2010, their self-titled LP in 2012 – which sold out on pre-order – and a beautifully designed 7″ single, the experimental pop duo were invited to compose a live soundtrack for the classic horror film, Vampyr (1932), for the Lund Fantastisk Film festival in Lund. Now, newly signed to Fire, the band return with To Where The Wild Things Are. Named after the Maurice Sendak children’s book, the album is comprised of pop music with a wild, dreamy and experimental edge, celebrating imagination and the ability to travel to stranger recesses of the mind. Where the Wild Things Are starts off with some of the most “pop” songs they’ve ever recorded, typified in the sweet and melodramatic “Arcana,” and the classic pop inspired “Time Travel.” Like Sendak’s book of the same name, the album then proceeds into stranger and stranger territory, resulting in some of the most experimental material Death and Vanilla have produced, such as the six minute “Something Unknown You Need to Know” and the machine-like, surf-guitar track “The Hidden Reverse.” The band recorded the new album themselves in their rehearsal space, using just one microphone – a 70’s Sennheiser – which they bought at a flea market for a tenner. It is this unconventional recording process that gives Death and Vanilla their unique personality; using a trial and error approach to recording has rewarded the album with a strangeness that would not have otherwise been achievable. Creating deliciously enticing soundscapes, full of moody moogs, swirling melodies and breathless vocals, their influences on To Where the Wild Things Are are apparent and diverse, ranging from Ennio Morricone to Scott Walker, Tom Dissevelt to Norman Whitfield, The Zombies to Sun Ra, and Bo Hansson to The BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
File Under: Electronic, Psych, Experimental
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Demen: Nektyr (Kranky) LP
A few years ago Kranky received an anonymous email with a link to three tracks and a simple message: “Hi, maybe you would be interested in this music.” The songs were instantly striking: extraordinarily slow, somber, and spacious, each vaulted cathedral chord reverberating poetically into the distance, the melodies rolling out like fog across a cemetery. Captivated, they requested more, receiving a single word in response: “Yes.” Then, nothing. Eventually, 3 months later, another email with slightly more information was received: a name (Irma Orm), a location (Stockholm), and a bit of context (she worked alone, and progress on music was slow but steady ).Fast-forward to mid-2016: the album is complete: Nektyr, by Demen, and it is breathtaking. Hermetic gothic swan songs conjured from funereal piano, twilit ambience, minimalist percussion, and spellbinding vocals. The mood is lulling and lush but lost in sorrow, stark grey structures looming in the night. Majestic open spaces between notes heighten the melancholic grandeur of Orm’s arrangements, blurring the line between lament and lullaby. The songs don’t end so much as ebb away, succumbing to their own downcast beauty.
File Under: Ambient, Electronic, Folk
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Mississippi John Hurt: American Epic (Third Man) LP
American Epic represents a 10-year odyssey undertaken by director Bernard MacMahon and producers Allison McGourty and Duke Erikson, and audio engineer Nicholas Bergh that involved tracking down countless long forgotten musicians, restoring the music that they recorded and reassembling the technology that created it. Along the way they brought some of the most important figures in contemporary culture to help them on their quest. Executive Producers Jack White, T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford have lent their support to what Redford calls “America’s greatest untold story.” In addition to American Epic: The Sessions soundtrack, Third Man Records is slated to release 180 gram 12″ audiophile vinyl versions of American Epic: The Carter Family, American Epic: Memphis Jug Band, American Epic: Mississippi John Hurt, American Epic: Blind Willie Johnson and American Epic: Lead Belly plus thematic collections including American Epic: Blues and American Epic: Country. Blues fingerpicking guitarist, singer and sharecropper Mississippi John Hurt was born in the heart of Mississippi Hill Country, along the veiny tributaries of the great American river. His moving renditions of “Frankie” and “Spike Driver Blues” were included in Harry Smith’s American Anthology of Folk Music in 1952 and were vitally influential on the Greenwich Village folk music revival of the 1960s as well as John Fahey’s development of the American Primitive Guitar genre. Single LP with single pocket tip-on jacket with soft touch finish.
File Under: Blues
Blind Willie Johnson: American Epic (Third Man) LP
American Epic represents a 10-year odyssey undertaken by director Bernard MacMahon and producers Allison McGourty and Duke Erikson, and audio engineer Nicholas Bergh that involved tracking down countless long forgotten musicians, restoring the music that they recorded and reassembling the technology that created it. Along the way they brought some of the most important figures in contemporary culture to help them on their quest. Executive Producers Jack White, T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford have lent their support to what Redford calls “America’s greatest untold story.” In addition to American Epic: The Sessions soundtrack, Third Man Records is slated to release 180 gram 12″ audiophile vinyl versions of American Epic: The Carter Family, American Epic: Memphis Jug Band, American Epic: Mississippi John Hurt, American Epic: Blind Willie Johnson and American Epic: Lead Belly plus thematic collections including American Epic: Blues and American Epic: Country. Texas slide guitarist and gospel bluesman Blind Willie Johnson recorded only 30 songs over the course of his life as a preacher and street performer. Even so, the savvy combination of his gritty and powerful “chest voice” singing style coupled with his mastery of slide guitar (some report he regularly used a knife as a slide) has given him a notably influential legacy, specifically with later bluesmen Howlin’ Wolf and Robert Johnson. His tune “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” was selected for Carl Sagan’s Voyager probe Golden Record, the Library of Congress as well as the National Recording Registry. Single LP with single pocket tip-on jacket with soft touch finish
File Under: Blues
Lead Belly: American Epic (Third Man) LP
American Epic represents a 10-year odyssey undertaken by director Bernard MacMahon and producers Allison McGourty and Duke Erikson, and audio engineer Nicholas Bergh that involved tracking down countless long forgotten musicians, restoring the music that they recorded and reassembling the technology that created it. Along the way they brought some of the most important figures in contemporary culture to help them on their quest. Executive Producers Jack White, T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford have lent their support to what Redford calls “America’s greatest untold story.” In addition to American Epic: The Sessions soundtrack, Third Man Records is slated to release 180 gram 12″ audiophile vinyl versions of American Epic: The Carter Family, American Epic: Memphis Jug Band, American Epic: Mississippi John Hurt, American Epic: Blind Willie Johnson and American Epic: Lead Belly plus thematic collections including American Epic: Blues and American Epic: Country. Louisiana delta native Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter is the master of 12-string blues guitar. His story is one of high-highs and low-lows, from serving stints in prison after killing a man in a fight for a woman’s heart, but then eventually earning early release by entertaining his fellow prison-mates and penning a song for the governor, thus cementing his reputation of singing his way out of prison. Folklorists John and Alan Lomax were early supporters that brought Lead Belly to the attention of Ivy Leaguers as well as a European audience. His songs have been widely covered by artists such as Elvis, Nirvana, Johnny Cash, and the Grateful Dead. Single LP with single pocket tip-on jacket with soft touch finish.
File Under: Blues
Memphis Jug Band: American Epic (Third Man) LP
American Epic represents a 10-year odyssey undertaken by director Bernard MacMahon and producers Allison McGourty and Duke Erikson, and audio engineer Nicholas Bergh that involved tracking down countless long forgotten musicians, restoring the music that they recorded and reassembling the technology that created it. Along the way they brought some of the most important figures in contemporary culture to help them on their quest. Executive Producers Jack White, T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford have lent their support to what Redford calls “America’s greatest untold story.” In addition to American Epic: The Sessions soundtrack, Third Man Records is slated to release 180 gram 12″ audiophile vinyl versions of American Epic: The Carter Family, American Epic: Memphis Jug Band, American Epic: Mississippi John Hurt, American Epic: Blind Willie Johnson and American Epic: Lead Belly plus thematic collections including American Epic: Blues and American Epic: Country. The Memphis Jug Band, most active from 1926 into the 1950s, revolved around guitarist, harmonica player and singer Will Shade and featured a wide variety of instrumentation including harmonica, kazoo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, piano, washboard and, of course, jug. They recorded more songs than any pre-war jug band and as a result, were key in developing the jug band tradition and format. Single LP with single pocket tip-on jacket with soft touch finish.
File Under: Blues, Jug Band
John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid (Drag City) LP
John Mulaney has performed standup comedy on stages around the world, written for such shows as Saturday Night Live and Documentary, Now!, and starred in his very own cancelled sitcom. If all that isn’t enough, his dog is a viral sensation on Instagram. Mulaney’s Emmy-nominated 2015 comedy special The Comeback Kid was recorded live at the Chicago Theatre and is issued here on vinyl courtesy of Drag City. Armed with boyish charm and a sharp wit, Mulaney offers sly takes on marriage, his beef with babies and the time he met Bill Clinton.
File Under: Comedy
Needles//Pins: Good Night Tomorrow (Mint) LP
Vancouver power-trash trio Needles//Pins began in 2009 as an excuse for three friends to hang out. Two LPs and a handful of 7 inch singles later the band has come a long way but are still, at their core, a few friends having fun. 2017 sees the band set to release their 3rd LP Good Night, Tomorrow on Mint Records. The record is a progression both musically and lyrically from their older material while still maintaining the hook-centric philosophy of their previous releases. The band has become legendary in Vancouver for wild shows and gruff but catchy punk rock melodies. They draw from classic punk roots like the wiry pop of The Buzzcocks and the gravely anthems of Stiff Little Fingers, but have a unique West Coast approach that would align them with the catchiest of the Lookout! or Dirtnap Records catalog. Though none of the band’s songs overstay their welcome, you’ll find yourself humming one of their hooks days after seeing them play or hearing the record. Recorded with Jesse Gander (Japandroids, White Lung) in Vancouver at Rain City Recorders, the record shows an organic growth from the power pop of their previous two albums. Guitarist and singer Adam Solomonian’s voice is gruffer from playing hundreds of shows, and you can see a richer appreciation of the group’s influences such as Jawbreaker and the Replacements at play in the song writing. Tony Dubroy’s solid bass lines and Macey Budgell’s heavy drumming combine to form a powerful rhythm section that perfectly complement Solomonian’s simple-but-pointed guitar playing.
File Under: Punk
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OST: Baby Driver (Sony) LP
The soundtrack for Edgar Wright’s music laden film Baby Driver features gems from almost every musical genre and spans across multiple decades. The movie tells the story of Baby, a talented, young getaway driver (Ansel Elgort) who relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. When he meets the girl of his dreams (Lily James), Baby sees a chance to ditch his criminal life and make a clean getaway. But after being coerced into working for a crime boss (Kevin Spacey), he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom. Includes music from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers, The Beach Boys, Dave Brubeck, The Damned, The Commodores, Martha & The Vandellas, Sam & Dave, Blur, Golden Earring, Barry White, Young MC, Queen, Sky Ferreira, Simon & Garfunkel and Koala Kid among others.
File Under: OST
OST: Eraserhead (Sacred Bones) LP
Pressed on Silver Vinyl exclusively for the 10th Anniversary of Sacred Bones Records. Comes with deluxe 16-page book, three 11″x11″ prints, and a silver vinyl 7″ featuring Peter Ivers’ “In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)” b/w “Pete’s Boogie.” Limited edition of 1000. It is with great pride that Sacred Bones Records present its official, expanded, re-release of the soundtrack to David Lynch’s landmark 1977 film, Eraserhead. The bonus song “Pete’s Boogie” is a newly discovered Peter Ivers recording taken from the original audio tapes and mixed by Lynch himself. It was previously only available on the long out of print limited edition LP.
File Under: OST, Industrial, Ambient
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OST: Labyrinth (Universal) LP
In Tomorrow… An enchanting fantasy classic that has mesmerized fans for generations, 1986’s Labyrinth was directed by Jim Henson (The Muppets) and produced by the master of myth George Lucas (Star Wars, Indiana Jones). It also happens to feature the one and only David Bowie in the cast as well as several of his original songs on the soundtrack, his second motion picture to feature both his name and Jim Henson’s in the credits. “I’d always wanted to be involved in the music-writing aspect of a movie that would appeal to children of all ages, as well as everyone else, and I must say that Jim gave me a completely free hand with it,” explained Bowie. “The script itself was terribly amusing without being vicious or spiteful or bloody, and it had a lot more heart in it than many other special effects movies. So I was pretty hooked from the beginning.” As both a film and a soundtrack, Labyrinth ended up as far more of a cult classic than a full-fledged smash, but it nonetheless has a substantial fanbase, thanks to decades of the film being aired on various cable networks. And standout numbers from its soundtrack like “Magic Dance,” “As the World Falls Down,” “Within You,” and “Underground” are still beloved to this day.
File Under: OST, Rock
Iggy Pop: The Idiot (Virgin) LP
Iggy Pop is one of music’s genuine iconoclasts, a walking embodiment of all that is risky and dangerous about rock ‘n’ roll. He’s also an artist of considerable depth, and the creator of a diverse body of work that demonstrates his uncanny ability to defy expectations and explore uncharted creative territory. The Idiot, Lust for Life and TV Eye Live, originally released between 1977 and 1978, marked Iggy’s surprise rebirth as a solo artist after the dissolution of his pioneering protopunk band The Stooges. They also marked a timely collaboration between Iggy and longtime admirer David Bowie, then at the peak of his cultural influence. Bowie produced, co-wrote and played on The Idiot and Lust for Life, and plays keyboards on TV Eye Live. The three albums form a trilogy that remains a cornerstone of Iggy’s album catalog. On The Idiot, such standout tunes as “Nightclubbing,” “Funtime,” “Dum Dum Boys” and the original version of “China Girl” (later an ’80s hit for Bowie) introduced listeners to a more cerebral, introspective Iggy, often substituting an understated sense of unease for The Stooges’ raw aural assault.
File Under: Rock
Iggy Pop: Lust for Life (Virgin) LP
Iggy Pop is one of music’s genuine iconoclasts, a walking embodiment of all that is risky and dangerous about rock ‘n’ roll. He’s also an artist of considerable depth, and the creator of a diverse body of work that demonstrates his uncanny ability to defy expectations and explore uncharted creative territory. The Idiot, Lust for Life and TV Eye Live, originally released between 1977 and 1978, marked Iggy’s surprise rebirth as a solo artist after the dissolution of his pioneering protopunk band The Stooges. They also marked a timely collaboration between Iggy and longtime admirer David Bowie, then at the peak of his cultural influence. Bowie produced, co-wrote and played on The Idiot and Lust for Life, and plays keyboards on TV Eye Live. The three albums form a trilogy that remains a cornerstone of Iggy’s album catalog. Iggy’s smiling face on the front cover of Lust for Life signals the album’s more upbeat vibe than its predecessor, with such numbers as “The Passenger,” “Success,” “Tonight” and the anthemic title track embodying the album’s swaggering essence and Iggy’s reenergized creative vision.
File Under: Rock
Ride: Weather Diaries (Domino) LP
Ride’s first album in over 20 years was produced by legendary DJ, producer and remixer Erol Alkan, and is packed with all the classic elements that made Ride one of the defining bands of the early-90s. Trembling distortion, beautiful harmonies, pounding rhythms, shimmering soundscapes and great songwriting all combine to make an album that’s ambitious in scope, timeless and thoroughly addictive. Weather Diaries will be released through Wichita Recordings and sees the band reunited with label co-founders Mark Bowen and Dick Green, who worked with Ride during the band’s early years on Creation Records. It also brings the band back together with mixer Alan Moulder (Arctic Monkeys, Smashing Pumpkins, The Killers) who mixed their seminal 1990 album Nowhere and produced its follow up Going Blank Again.
File Under: Indie Rock, Shoe Gaze
Soul Wax: From DeeWee (Sony) LP
A brand new Soulwax album, the first studio effort from the indie dance luminaries in 12 years! After a period of extensive rehearsals and a level of planning to befit such a huge feat, From Deewee was recorded with the full touring band in one take at the Dewaele brother’s Deewee Studio in Ghent, Belgium in February 2017. Based on the Transient Program For Drums and Machinery which began touring in the summer of 2016, they set out to record these songs live with the exact same setup, machines and musicians as they had on the road. Playing on this record are Stephen and David Dewaele, Stefaan Van Leuven, Iggor Cavalera, Victoria Smith, Blake Davies and Laima Leyton. The instruments used are two Staccato drumkits, one clear crystalline Meazzi Wooding drumkit, one set of Rototoms, various Hofner bass guitars, a Macbeth M5n, an Oberheim Two-Voice Pro, a Two Thousand Six Hundred copy built by The Human Comparator, one Oberheim OB-Mx, an EMS Synthi AKS, an Arp Odyssey, a TB-303 clone, a Mellotron M4000D, a Sequential Prophet 6, a Waldorf Streichfett, a Burns Sonic guitar, a Vox Phantom guitar, one Syncussion clone built by Loudestwarning, various solid state Roland, Peavey and Acoustic amplifiers and a wide range of effects, all going through three Trident Fleximix consoles, straight into Pro Tools.
File Under: Electronic, Dance
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White Hills: Stop Mute Defeat (Thrill Jockey) LP
The dismal realities, political or otherwise, that are part of our modern world naturally influence our creative voices. It is in this context that White Hills re-evaluated their approach to creating a new album. Having continually refined their sound, pushing the boundaries of psychedelic music, White Hills flipped the script on Stop Mute Defeat. Dave W. and Ego Sensation have brazenly produced an industrially-charged record that pulsates unlike anything they’ve released before. Hard-line, gritty, and intellectually engaged, Stop Mute Defeat is a New York record through and through. With this in mind, White Hills drafted Martin Bisi (Sonic Youth, Brian Eno, Afrika Bambaataa) to mix. White Hills recorded with Bisi on two of their previous releases, Frying On This Rock in 2012 and its follow-up So You Are…So You’ll Be, however Stop Mute Defeat is the first time they worked with Martin “The Beast” Bisi in control of the mixing board. A native New Yorker who made his name in the city’s early hip-hop and no-wave scenes, Bisi was attracted to White Hills’ new material for its distinct early-80s Mudd Club feel. A dance hall, drug den, and bar, the Mudd Club was one of New York’s legendary haunts in the late 1970’s. As a center of a distinct art scene the club served as a major influence for White Hills and Stop Mute Defeat’s sound. Following similar techniques to those propagated by William S. Burroughs (a regular at Mudd Club), Stop Mute Defeat sees White Hills break free from the guitar-driven structure of their earlier releases. Reassigning William Burroughs’ word “cut-up” technique to music, Dave W. and Ego Sensation deconstruct sound clips to create minimalist but rhythmically complex phrases. Title track “Stop Mute Defeat” layers turbocharged bass loops with squalling guitar samples, to create a sound that calls to mind Xtrmntr-era Primal Scream. “If… 1… 2” goes even further down the rabbit hole, oscillating into the experimental electro-sound of early 80s Sheffield, UK band Cabaret Voltaire. Meanwhile the taut brawny grind of “Attack Mode” industrially hardens White Hills’ rock boundaries to tribal densities. Appalled by the rampant consumerism and the proliferation of ‘post-truth’ mythology, White Hills’ defiant lyricism is at their most philosophically scathing. Condemning doublespeak as “Subliminal seduction…a serenade with a grenade,” the song “Overlord” laments political and economic opportunism, where “In travesty, [there’s always] another dollar to be made.” On “Attack Mode” meanwhile, a clenched-jawed Dave W. channels the perverse cynicism of Throbbing Gristle, throwing scorn on “societies where misogyny leads and the objectification of young girls runs free.” Exposing Western vulgarity in bright light, Stop Mute Defeat is a fearless and necessary denunciation of the political and economic powers that be.
File Under: Psych, Rock
Various: American Epic: The Best of the Blues (Third Man) LP
American Epic represents a 10-year odyssey undertaken by director Bernard MacMahon and producers Allison McGourty and Duke Erikson, and audio engineer Nicholas Bergh that involved tracking down countless long forgotten musicians, restoring the music that they recorded and reassembling the technology that created it. Along the way they brought some of the most important figures in contemporary culture to help them on their quest. Executive Producers Jack White, T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford have lent their support to what Redford calls “America’s greatest untold story.” In addition to American Epic: The Sessions soundtrack, Third Man Records is slated to release 180 gram 12″ audiophile vinyl versions of American Epic: The Carter Family, American Epic: Memphis Jug Band, American Epic: Mississippi John Hurt, American Epic: Blind Willie Johnson and American Epic: Lead Belly plus thematic collections including American Epic: Blues and American Epic: Country. Early geniuses of Delta Blues – Robert Johnson, Geeshie Wiley & Elvie Thomas, Son House, Charley Patton and many more have been painstakingly remastered using a mix of analog and digital technology for a hybrid sound that is simultaneously contemporary, immediate but still completely true-to-form. Single LP with single pocket tip-on jacket with soft touch finish.
File Under: Blues
Various: American Epic: The Best of the Country (Third Man) LP
American Epic represents a 10-year odyssey undertaken by director Bernard MacMahon and producers Allison McGourty and Duke Erikson, and audio engineer Nicholas Bergh that involved tracking down countless long forgotten musicians, restoring the music that they recorded and reassembling the technology that created it. Along the way they brought some of the most important figures in contemporary culture to help them on their quest. Executive Producers Jack White, T Bone Burnett and Robert Redford have lent their support to what Redford calls “America’s greatest untold story.” In addition to American Epic: The Sessions soundtrack, Third Man Records is slated to release 180 gram 12″ audiophile vinyl versions of American Epic: The Carter Family, American Epic: Memphis Jug Band, American Epic: Mississippi John Hurt, American Epic: Blind Willie Johnson and American Epic: Lead Belly plus thematic collections including American Epic: Blues and American Epic: Country. Early champions of Country Music – The Carter Family, Uncle Dave Macon, the Massey Family, Jimmie Rodgers and many more – have been painstakingly remastered using a mix of analog and digital technology for a hybrid sound that is simultaneously contemporary, immediate but still completely true-to-form. Single LP with single pocket tip-on jacket with soft touch finish.
File Under: Country