well, it’s a super light week for new releases, which is as it tends to be this time of year, but there’s loads of restocks showing up so if you have been waiting for something to come back in post xmas.. it may finally be back in, and if not, maybe soon.
…..pick of the week…..
*kawabata makoto & anla courtis – live at namba bears – blackest rainbow – lp
– acid mothers leader and reynols legend meet once again for a wild psych out explosion! kawabata and courtis previously worked together on 2006’s kokura for riot season, here they return for a raging trip of psychedelic noise rock recorded in february 2011, in osaka, japan. both kawabata and courtis are playing guitar, but with anla bringing tapes and vocals to the mix and makoto bow and effects. namba lightbeam, the first of two 20 minute pieces, opens with a eastern sounding drone sound, much like some of kawabata’s solo work, it steadily builds into a torrent of slashing guitar riffs, eventually returning to a more minimal sound even with a more signature acid mothers guitar sound from makoto at one point with zoned vocal drones from anla. this continues onto side b with inaudible bears, with a distorted echoey haze of effects and riffs, layered over one another. this side continues to fluctuate between minimal riffs and blasts of noisier guitar destruction. limited to 300 copies pressed on 180 gram heavyweight virgin. packaged in a very fitting insane sleeve featuring absolutely wild artwork, includes download coupon.
hope you had a grand holiday season and ate and drank more than is good for you. despite the short week here, a few real sweet new slabs in for your listening pleasure….
…..pick of the week…..
*monoton – monotonprodukt07 30y++ – desire – 2lp – a holy grail of electronic music reissued on vinyl for the first time in 30 years, beautiful pressing housed in a deluxe gatefold edition limited. ‘monotonprodukt 07’ has certified holy grail status in the world of electronic music. originally issued by konrad becker aka monoton in 1982 on a then-tiny run of 500 copies, it has been marked out as a genuine milestone by successive waves of respected institutions, featuring in the wire magazine’s ‘100 records that set the world on fire’ and woebot’s ‘100 greatest records ever’ list, respectively. a cd reissue appeared nearly ten years ago, and this faithful edition marks thirty years since it was last pressed to vinyl. as a child of the ’60s inspired by popular sci-fi, who creatively matured during the late ’70s era of kraftwerk and kosmische, konrad becker was obsessed with ideas of automated machine music, applying “meta-mathematical structures, natural constants and resonance patterns in models of “bionic” psycho-active automat music”. this aesthetic is clearly reflected in the lp artwork – blank staves begging to be transformed – and the music, a monotonous moire of motorik rhythm and stark synthetic tones perhaps best compared with the likes of conrad schnitzler, craig leon or suicide, and hailed as “the square root of basic channel, kompakt and oval” by the ever-trustworthy matt “woebot” ingram. this is a methodical, masterfully trippy and forward thinking electronic music, one which consolidates opposing ideas with unsentimental and forward thinking vision, while rooted in something primally affective and mysterious. basically it’s shit hot. don’t miss!
*diminished men – capnomancy – abduction – lp
– in tomorrow… by distorting hard-boiled film music through a cracked, overcast lens, diminished men refocus their influences into something entirely unique. capnomancy, their second release on the abduction label, is a collection of stark, exotic instrumentals full of high-tension energy and infected terror. cloaked in a supernatural fog and man-made electrical storms, chiaroscuro landscapes read like a sci-fi postcard with a giallo ransom note attached. the band’s jagged, hard-charging approach evokes images of slit jugulars and accelerated heart rates, all the while swathing you in a blissful claustrophobia, reflecting elements of morricone’s dissonant horror scores, gritty noir cues, and the bloodshot nerves of a kratom-hazed link wray. distant, searing guitars and pummeling drums seep with slow-pan derangement, panicked suspense and clouded ’50s americana delusion. the smoke clears and reveals a mirage of melancholy wenders-esque backdrops and am radio nightmares, but quickly returns to some other world that it came from. the final album to be released from his now-defunct aleph studio, producer randall dunn (sunn o))), earth, secret chiefs 3, wolves in the throne room, etc.) contributes greatly with his visceral, heavy production, making this album their darkest offering yet. another bizarre series of degenerate no-hit wonders from the phantom guitars of steve schmitt, drummer dave abramson and multi-instrumentalist simon henneman. capnomancy features guest appearances from members of master musicians of bukkake as well as other northwest delinquents, saxophonist skerik and vocalist sara johanne. extremely limited edition of 400 lp copies.
