DJ Tanuki's music reviews

DJ Tanuki - deep house mix 3/7/2010 "Drumpoetry"

2010-04-08T12:55:00.000-07:00

DJ Tanuki - deep house mix 3/7/2010 "Drumpoetry"

http://tanukidreams.net/3-7-10_deep_set.mp3

Julius Steinhoff - Something Like Wonderful (Smallville Records, 2009)
Cavalier - Deep Rider (Drumpoet Community, 2008)
Leif - New Growth (Thinner, 2008)
Delano Smith - Dee's Gruv (Third Ear Recordings, 2009)
Kawabata - Persuasion (Serafin's Back To New York Re-Interpretation) (Drumpoet Community, 2008)
Cavalier - The Deeper You Get (Drumpoet Community, 2009)
Art Bleek - Pacific Coast Highway (Resopal Red, 2008)
Delano Smith - Synergy (Third Ear Recordings, 2008)
DJ Yellow - Reflection On The Self (DJ Tanuki Edit) (Plastic City, 2009)
Needs - So Many Things (Original Pass) (Needs Music, 2000)
Rebecca Pidgeon - Learn To Pray (Exclusive Charles Webster Dub Mix) (Miso/Defected, 2007/8)
RNDM - Third Hand Smoke Dub (Laid, 2009)
Gamat 3000 - Feeling Love (Wighnomy's Give Peace A Chance Remix) (Freude Am Tanzen, 2003)

Optic Echo Presents 1/24/10 (special guest mix by ethernet)

2010-03-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Optic Echo Presents 1/24/10 (special guest mix by ethernet)

DJ Tanuki (ethernet) - Japanese ambient 1-24-2010 "Summer Acid"

http://soundcloud.com/opticecho/optic-echo-presents-1-24-10-special-guest-mix-by-ethernet

Yoshimi & Yuka - Korokokoro'N Insects + Elegant Bird (Ipecac Recordings, 2003)
Chihei Hatakayama - A Stone Inside The Box (Room40, 2009)
Ken Ikeda - Motion Pictures (Touch, 2000)
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Ice (Commmons, 2009)
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Grains (Raster-Noton, 2008)
Susumu Yokota - Hagoromo (Leaf, 2000)
Space Machine w/ Kawabata Makoto - Planet Of Somnolence (Earworm, 2002)

DJ Tanuki - deep house mix 1-28-2010 "Earth As Art"

2010-03-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

DJ Tanuki - deep house mix 1-28-2010 "Earth As Art"

http://tanukidreams.net/1-28-10_deep_house_set .mp3

Luke Hess - Agape Dub (Modelisme Records, 2009)
Sven Weisemann - Amity (Mojuba, 2008)
Fluxion - Elation (Echocord, 2009)
Nick Solé - Minimal Summer (Mojuba, 2005)
Audision - Red Sky (Mule Electronic, 2008)
Ribn - This Feeling (Steve Bug Remix) (Mild Pitch, 2009)
Art Bleek - City Of Angels (Night Drive Music, 2008)
The Timewriter - Ridin' On A High (Plastic City, 2005)
Bioground - Smooth Summer Nights (Plastic City, 2005)
Arthur Oskan - Stopover (Matrix Records, 2009)

DJ Tanuki - techno mix 1-29-2010 "Tribute To Delsin"

2010-03-27T09:54:00.002-07:00

DJ Tanuki - techno mix 1-29-2010 "Tribute To Delsin"

http://tanukidreams.net/1-29-10_delsin_set.mp3

Delta Funktionen - Nebula (Ann Aimee, 2008)
Delta Funktionen - Intruder (Ann Aimee, 2009)
James Kumo - Alphawave (Ann Aimee, 2009)
James Kumo - 45 Days (Ann Aimee, 2008)
Delta Funktionen - Silhouette (Marcel Dettman Remix) (Delsin, 2009)
Taho - Forest Of Wonders (Delsin, 2007)
Sterac - Rond (Delsin, 2008)
Quince - For My Mr (Steve Rachmad Remix) (Delsin, 2009)
D5 - Floatation Tank (Delsin, 2009)
D5- Run (Delsin, 2006)
Chymera - Hundulu (Delsin, 2007)
Vince Watson - Meant To Be (Delsin, 2006)
D5 - Intruders (Delsin, 2009)

http://www.discogs.com/label/Delsin

DJ Tanuki - dubstep mix 1-24-2010 "Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die"

2010-03-27T09:54:00.001-07:00

DJ Tanuki - dubstep mix 1-24-2010 "Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die"

http://tanukidreams.net/1-24-10_pra_dubstep_set.mp3

Untold - Kingdom (Hessle Audio, 2008)
Kromestar - Interference (Southside Dubstars, 2007)
Zomby - Godzilla (Ramp Recordings, 2009)
Quarta 330 - Sabacco (Hyperdub, 2008)
Untold - Walk Through Walls (Hemlock Recordings, 2008)
Mala - Forgive (Deep Medi Musik, 2007)
DJ Hatcha - Chillz (Eight:FX, 2008)
Benga & Walsh - Dreamscape 24 (Immerse Records, 2006)
Digital Mystikz - Ancient Memories (Skream Remix) (DMZ, 2006)
Benga - Star Wars (The Hatcha VIP) (Tempa, 2006)
The Others - Bed Bugz (Veri Lo Records, 2007)
Cotti - On Da Warpath (-30 Recordings, 2007)
Martyn - Broken (Revolve:r, 2007)
Headhunter - Prototypes (Tempa, 2008)
2562 - Embrace (3024, 2008)

DJ Tanuki - drum'n'bass mix 2-3-10 "Tribute to Metalheadz & Razors Edge '95-'96"

2010-03-27T09:53:00.001-07:00

DJ Tanuki - drum'n'bass mix 2-3-10 "Tribute to Metalheadz & Razors Edge '95-'96"

http://tanukidreams.net/2-3-10_metalheadz_set.mp3

Goldie - Still Life (Photek Remix) (RE, 1995)
Dillinja - Deadly Deep Subs (Remix) (RE, 1996)
Dillinja - Brutal Bass (M, 1995)
Source Direct - The Cult (The Initiation Test) (RE, 1996)
Dillinja - Ja Know Ya Big (M, 1995)
J Majik - Tranquil (M, 1995)
Photek - The Rain (Photek Remix) (RE, 1995)

http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?label=Metalheadz

DJ Tanuki - techno mix 2-28-2010 "Tribute To 100% Pure '93-'98"

2010-03-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

DJ Tanuki - techno mix 2-28-2010 "Tribute To 100% Pure '93-'98"

http://tanukidreams.net/2-28-10_100_pure_set.mp3

Sterac - Alastria (1998)
Sterac - The Lost Of A Love (Mark Broom Mix 2) (1997)
Dreg - Up That Hill (2000 And One Edit) (1997)
Sterac - Fear (1998)
Babies From Gong - Pure 2 A1 (1993)
Jerome - Artmosphere (1998)
2000 And One - Galaxy Child A2 (1997)
Jerome vs Sterac - Trillipone (1996)
Stefan Robbers - Some Kind of Mixture (1993)
Sterac - Axion (Sensurreal New Funk Mix) (1996)
2000 And One - Galaxy Child A1 (1997)
Stefan Robbers - Afridisiac (Jumpy Mix) (1993)
Pure - Pure Music That Is (1993)
Jerome - Epilogue (1998)

http://www.discogs.com/label/100%25+Pure

The sound of Amsterdam in the mid '90s... admittedly, I was in highschool in suburban upstate NY in the mid '90s, but in my heart I yearned for the freedom of the A'dam rave scene! 100% Pure released 24 12"s between '93 and '98, after which they went bankrupt and took a six year break. Since '04, 100% Pure has been back in business, and their most recent 12" PURE #56 was released in November '09. Relentless, hypnotic, quirky, tripped out, 100% Pure!

DJ Tanuki Experience : new radio show every Monday!

2010-03-27T09:40:00.000-07:00

I moved to Portland, OR about three months ago, and have been so busy I forgot to update my blog!

I am pleased to announce my new weekly radio show on Portland Radio Authority, a cool local community internet radio station in SE Portland. My show is on Mondays from 4-6PM PST, and you can tune in online at:

http://www.praradio.org/

There are actually lots of really good DJs involved with PRA, and you can listen all day for FREE! I will endeavor to post tracklists and mp3s of some of the mixes I make, but no promises!

Lastly, I have been keeping a log of everything I've listened to in 2010 on Twitter... its fun! I only list full-length releases that I listen to from start to finish, not just individual tracks/shuffle mode. If I listened to the whole thing, you can assume it is "worth listening to!"

http://twitter.com/ethernet333

Happy 2010!

2009-12-31T22:06:00.000-08:00

Well, a couple weeks ago I thought I would write up some sort of Best of 2009 list, but I realized that this whole blog is basically my Best of '09 list, and I'm too tired now to come up with a proper list before midnight anyway! But anyway....

What an amazing, intense, crazy year! I got a record deal, got into graduate school, visited Amsterdam and Rome, ended a major long-term relationship, bought some gear, went completely broke several times, sold some gear, got really excited about DJing with Ableton Live, played some live Ethernet shows, put out my first full-length CD, got over 30 reviews, all positive, including some proper print magazines like The Wire, and moved from Northern California to Portland, Oregon, two weeks ago as of tomorrow! And probably a number of other things, as well!

In 2010 I will be playing lots of Ethernet shows, as soon and as many as possible, basically, at least around the Portland/Eugene/Vancouver area. I have several hours of new material that I’m really happy with, but that I have been feeling like is not suited for Kranky, more like it has been improving my “chops” and production skills. I’m not entirely sure what I’ll do with this past year’s worth of new tracks… I would love to put out a proper techno 12″, as I’ve made some dub techno and IDM-tinged tracks that I’m finally pleased with (and just because I love vinyl!). For Kranky, I will be working on something very deep and special, and I’m looking forward to exploring the brand new Native Instruments Absynth 5 synthesis engine, as Absynth 4 was the main compositional tool behind “144 Pulsations”.

So, my best wishes to all in 2010, I have a feeling its going to be a good one!

If you haven’t yet, please check out my Myspace page, where I’ve been posting all of the reviews of my Ethernet CD, as well as a brand new interview for The Offline People!

Happy New Year!

FREE DOWNLOADS: Rush Hour Recordings broadcasts & mixes

2009-12-15T14:15:00.000-08:00

OK, obviously I have been getting busier and busier the past couple months, and this blog has slowed down! Since I started the blog earlier this year, I've written reviews of about 70 of my favorite albums, as well as several record label and artist profiles, and a smattering of bonus links to interesting articles or free downloads. Since this Summer, I've been taking online classes in a new masters degree program, and have been preparing to move to a new state since November... currently, my move-out date is this coming Saturday! This month I have mainly been listening to misc. new techno and classic acid house tracks, especially since I discovered the excellent selection of WAVs available for purchase from Juno Download, which seems to offer the best prices I've found. Besides brand new releases from Delsin, Ann Aimee, M>O>S and Rush Hour, Juno is also offering much of the Chicago Trax Records back-catalogue from the '80s; an awesome selection of classic acid house, a sound I've really gotten into in the last couple years. Its nice to see the classic material being released online in full, lossless quality, as the original vinyl is either stupefyingly expensive in the collectors' market, or just old and worn out-sounding! I also got a 25th Anniversary promotional shirt to celebrate and represent.
So, this month I may not actually find any time to review any music, until I'm done with my move around Xmas. In the meantime, I will be listening to the huge collection of mixes, audio specials and video reports available from Rush Hour Recordings' Broadcast webpage, which I somehow didn't notice when I wrote the label profile about them back in May. Rush Hour is one of my favorite labels promoting the sound of Amsterdam, and this year saw some great new 12" and CD releases, including Daniel Wang's Balihu collection, and re-releases of some early Rick Wilhite/KDJ 12"s and old '80s Chicago Trax 12"s too! Once again, there are literally tens of hours of free listening enjoyment here, so check it out and catch the A'dam vibe! Keep checking back on this blog, too, as I will be posting some sort of Best Of 2009 list in the next week or so!

TIP!: $1 CD sale at Brainwashed.com

2009-11-29T11:20:00.000-08:00

Just got home from thxgiving week with the fam, heavily jetlagged and zonked, not a fan of air travel. I was pleased to find a small brown envelope in my mailbox, however, containing 6 CDs in transparent plastic sleeves from Brainwashed! I noticed last week that they are having a blow-out sale on some CDs without covers/packaging, including the entire 3CD Brainwaves 2008 compilation, the first disc from the classic '02 Brain In The Wire compilation, and some brand new releases on their Killer Pimp sublabel! The CDs are priced at only $1 each, which is what you'd pay for ONE TRACK on iTunes or Amazon, and let's face it, a real CD will always sound better than MP3, especially for this kind of full-frequency-spectrum experimental music. For 6 CDs, I paid $7 total with shipping! Brain In The Wire is worth $1 just for the Windy & Carl exclusive version of "Trembling", but you also get unreleased tracks from Legendary Pink Dots and their dub side project Twilight Circus, and a lovely drone and guitar piece by Christoph Heemann and Andreas Martin. The Brainwaves 2008 compilation is well worth $1 for each CD, for the Windy and Benoit Pioulard collaboration as Lambs Laughter, a mysterious track by Coil member Peter Christopherson as the Threshold House Boys Choir, and copious, top-notch tracks from a number of Kranky artists like Nudge, Strategy, Lichens and more. I also grabbed the new Lithops album, a side project of Microstoria and Mouse On Mars guy Jan St. Werner, as I recalled enjoying the quirky, microsound/IDM-ish '98 CD "Uni Umit" but hadn't heard anything more recent by him. There are some dodgy, noise-ridden freak-out tracks in the mix, which I tend to skip, but surely there is something for everyone's taste on these cheap discs! If you're feeling a bit more spendy, grab some of their fantastic Eye DVDs as well!

Stuart Dempster, Tom Heasley & Eric Glick Rieman - Echoes Of Syros (2009, Full Bleed Music)

2009-11-17T20:41:00.000-08:00

When I recently wrote about Tom Heasley's “On The Sensations Of Tone” CD, I checked out his Myspace page and was excited to read that he'd recently been working with Stuart Dempster, a founding member of Pauline Oliveros's Deep Listening Band. This Fall, Heasley released two CDs on his in-house Full Bleed Music label, the first being a collection of older free-jazz trio recordings, and the second a live collaboration with Dempster and keyboardist Eric Glick Rieman entitled “Echoes Of Syros”. Recorded live in Oakland, CA, the album has a very “free” and improvised feel to it, but manages to explore some very deep and lush sonic territory. In fact, I found the opening 34 minute-long title track reminiscent of the drone-ambient mastery of Steve Roach's “Magnificent Void” or “Early Man”, yet entirely organic in instrumentation. The highlight for me is still Heasley's dense, blasting tuba soundclouds, giving even the most potent analogue drone boxes and synthesizers a run for their money, but now they are blended with other-worldly layers of mouth sounds, circular breathing and “extended instrument technique” on trombone, didjeridu, conch shell and garden hose by Dempster, substituting sonically for the abstract synth noise, field recordings and resonant filter sweeps of traditional electronic ambient music. Reiman completes the trio on “prepared” Rhodes electric piano, which seems to take more of an indistinct, background role, with occasional rhythmic note taps and soft harmonic swells. The overall sound is almost primitive at times, evocative of whale sounds and bellowing beasts, with occasional soft percussive noise rattling in the background (presumably Dempster's “toys”, as credited on the cover), transitioning into long sustained drones that sound slightly Eastern-tuned. The final two pieces, “Interzone” and “The Chimaera” delve into more atonal, experimental textures, emulating bird sounds and whinnying horses via found-percussion, noise makers and horn toots. Not exactly meditative, but intense journeying music and very nice for deep listening!

FREE DOWNLOAD: Dead Milkmen - Acoustic set at Crash Bang Boom 10/30/2009

2009-11-16T17:35:00.001-08:00

Well, this month has been all about free online listening for me, as I am nearing the end of my second online class and am now preparing to move next month! This weekend I enjoyed hearing the latest offering from Joe Jack Talcum's Bootleg Of The Month archive: a brand new "unplugged" Dead Milkmen set recorded at what-used-to-be Zipperhead punk boutique in Philly, recorded just a little over two weeks ago! As a DM fan since I got "Metaphysical Graffiti" on cassette in 5th grade, it is amazing to see the band still rocking nearly 30 years after their start (with a few breaks since the mid-'90s, of course), and the performance is funny and entertaining with a lot of energy. Unfortunately there is a screaming child who interrupts nearly every song for the first half of the performance, but maybe I am a little sensitive to crowd noise... Anyway, the recording sounds almost as good as being there. Even better, three video clips totaling about 18 minutes have made their way onto Youtube, so check those out for the full visual experience!

Download the show audio here!

Videos are here, here and here!

FREE DOWNLOADS GALORE: Archive.org Live Music Archive

2009-11-10T16:50:00.001-08:00

So yesterday I discovered archive.org's impressive archive of Smashing Pumpkins shows, and since then I have been browsing it constantly and unearthing even more gems! As it turns out, archive.org has an insanely huge Live Music Archive, which features recordings from any band that has given their "OK" to have their live tapes shared. For the most part, this is jam band territory, with a gargantuan collection of Grateful Dead shows and their modern descendants. However, as a wander through the Artist Index reveals, there are many other non-jam bands featured. Besides Smashing Pumpkins, there are a number of other early-'90s-era alt-rock bands, including some junior high favorites of mine like Gin Blossoms, Spin Doctors and Hum. But I was most excited to find an amazing collection of Acid Mothers Temple shows, ranging as far back as some early radio performances from '98 on XFM UK and KFJC-FM in CA, all the way up to as recent as *last week*, when Kawabata Makoto played some solo shows in Oakland and SF! I have a preference for Kawabata's solo material, which tends to be more drone-oriented rather than an acid rock freak-out, so it was great to find these brand new performances, plus another from last summer! As if this wasn't enough, I next found a great selection of post-rock bands, including Fly Pan Am, Kranky-alumnae Low, Bardo Pond, all old faves of mine although I have to confess I haven't heard any of their new stuff since about '02. But the next biggest shock was not one but two huge archives, one for Godspeed You! Black Emperor and the other for their side-project/continuation A Silver Mt. Zion, each offering not five, not ten, but over 35 shows by each group, spanning a period of ten years! Well, I feel so overwhelmed I have no idea where to start, but luckily many of the shows feature listener reviews to give you a sense of the quality (I always prefer soundboard (SBD) or FM sources to audience (AUD) mic recordings, no matter how clear, but its not a strict rule). Enjoy!

FREE DOWNLOAD: Smashing Pumpkins - Live at VPRO Studios on 1993-06-30

2009-11-09T11:46:00.000-08:00

The amazing Internet Archive has always been a useful tool for tracking down old websites that have gone offline, and is also a massive repository for public domain audio and video. Many artists allow their fans to share concert tapes there, much like the cassette and DAT trading scene of the '80s and '90s. While a predominance of music at Archive.org is jam band-oriented, there are some amazing gems like the previously mentioned Ohrwert tracks, and a large collection of Smashing Pumpkins concerts spanning their entire career, available in high-quality MP3 and lossless FLAC formats (go FLAC!). One in particular stood out to me; a flawlessly-produced acoustic set recorded on the Siamese Dream tour at the Netherlands VPRO Studios. There is a trippy little 6 minute interview in Dutch with Billy Corgan's responses in English, followed by a 24 minute set of five Siamese Dream tracks plus a great, moody cover of Thin Lizzy's "Dancing In The Moonlight." A lovely audio treat for a weary Monday!

Get it here: http://www.archive.org/details/tsp1993-06-30.flac

Ohrwert - Gaussian Skies (2009, Cism)

2009-11-06T20:06:00.000-08:00

Ohrwert is the dub-techno project of Arjen Schat, a producer from the Netherlands who has been releasing an impressive volume of tracks over the past two years, mostly for free download via netlabels. A 12" release on the Millions Of Moments label in '08 brought some significant attention, and since then there have been a steady stream of LONG tracks and EPs released mainly on the web. The style is an homage to the classic Basic Channel/Rhythm & Sound template of the mid-to-late '90s, which, as I trace it, was refined by Rod Modell/Deepchord in the early '00s and is now being emulated by a wide array of artists to varying degrees of success, with some more recent efforts exploring fascinating new sonic territory and others sounding like tired rehashes made with cheap gear/software. Ohrwert manages to avoid the dub-techno blahs, and has a very impressive collection of hardware gear including a nice rack of Moog FX units, a Korg MS2000, Moog Little Phatty and other synthesizers, and the classic Dynacord Echocord Super tape-echo. Over the period of a year beginning of March '08, Ohrwert released a more-than-full-length collection of tracks called "Reduct", the most recent being part 9 released back in April, with each part featuring two tracks. Adding up the whole series, along with the "Lost Reduct" which can be found on archive.org, you get over three hours of free dub-techno, and most of it is really top-notch. Earlier this month, the Cism netlabel from Smolensk, Russia released a new two-track EP by Ohrwert called "Gaussian Clouds". Clocking in at over 35 minutes, the two tracks unfold at an extremely slow and graceful pace, with multiple layers of shifting and morphing synthesizer textures. "Floating Shores" starts with a heavily processed wind-like filter noisescape, slowly leading into soft ambient pads, deep bass drones and soft arpeggiations ala Kompakt's Pop Ambient, while the second track, "Transition Sphere," explores pulsing and stabbing chord textures, slowly building into a head-nodding techno thump ala Basic Channel. Ohrwert's music stands on its own as an excellent entry in the book of dub-techno, with literally hours of listening enjoyment available for free download!

Yokota - Psychic Dance (2009, Harthouse)

2009-10-30T16:55:00.001-07:00

I have been a fan of Susumu Yokota's techno and ambient records since I heard the widely-acclaimed "Sakura" and its follow-up "Grinning Cat", two fantastic psychedelic ambient albums in the vein of Brian Eno's classic works, and featured on many album-of-the-year lists at the time. As I further explored Yokota's prolific catalog, I realized that he alternated between lush ambient abstraction and straight-ahead deep house/techno, with several amazing albums and 12"s deconstructing disco samples and soulful house grooves, my personal favorite being the '02 full-length "Sound Of Sky". Since then, Yokota has released roughly one album each year, with each one exploring a different genre or variation of techno or ambient. In '06 he released the brain-bending "Triple Time Techno", which applied the waltz meter of 3-beats per bar to techno, followed by the more-abstract, melodic "Love Or Die", moving back into ambient/experimental territory. Back in the mid-'90s, Susumu released two albums and a couple 12"s on the seminal German techno label Harthouse, and 12 years later he has returned to his "Yokota" alias with a full-length digital download-only release called "Psychic Dance". The album is a strong return to Yokota's oldschool, acid and minimal techno roots, eschewing strange time-signatures and melodic textures in general for heavy, intricate drum machine programming with lots of weird spatial effects and filter tweaks. Occasionally some harmonic chord stabs enter the mix, but for the most part these are purely rhythmic explorations, with each track named after a different neurochemical/drug like "Ritalin", "Paxil", "Betanamin", etc. The vibe is high-energy and pounding, slightly industrial-edged and very dance-able, referencing modern minimal, progressive and Detroit styles. Yokota's masterful programming and sound library are showcased in a new techno format, with many intricate layers of rhythmic elements constantly shifting in and out of the mix, keeping things interesting and engaging. At 76 minutes long, its worth the 8 bucks!

Convextion – s/t (2006/8, Down Low Music)

2009-10-28T12:57:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I am very much a late-comer to Detroit techno, and basically never even heard Juan Atkins or Jeff Mills or Underground Resistance or any of the other “masters” of the genre until the last couple of years. In '06, the Echospace Detroit camp of Rod Modell and co. released several double-12”s with a lot of buzz around them: a remix collection and re-issue of Convextion's “Miranda” from '96; a similar remix & re-issue set of Model 500's “Starlight”, a “classic” minimal Detroit techno track from '95; and the fantastic Deepchord release “Vantage Isle”, the latter both featuring remixes by Convextion. Convextion is one of several aliases used by TX-native producer Gerard Hanson, who released a relatively sparse selection of five 12”s over a period of 8 years from '95 to '03, considered very high-quality slices of Detroit/dub techno and commanding high prices on eBay, plus some electro-oriented 12"s as E.R.P.. In '06, Convextion finally released a full-length 2LP collection of tracks composed over the previous 10 years, but I didn't get a chance to hear it until it was released on CD last year. While I was at first slightly put-off by the Detroit sound, which has a very raw, synthetic-sounding quality with a heavy focus on minimal synthesizer patches, bleep-n-blooping arpeggiators and relatively simple, plodding drum machine programming, but I gradually realized that the album was just extremely pleasant to listen to and created a very hypnotic, chilled out atmosphere. The ten tracks are somewhat of an homage to classic Detroit and '90s styles, and even from my own limited listening experience I can recognize elements of early '90s techno blended with a nod towards the Basic Channel sound. The tone of the album is abstract and mysterious, with the steady beats functioning more as a trance-inducing throb than a dance-able groove. The long tracks steadily evolve and change up regularly enough to prevent monotony, and the synth programming is top-notch. Without making use of any trendy DSP FX or vocal samples, the album manages to maintain a timeless quality. Its not exactly innovative or ground-breaking territory being explored, but its relatively rare to find a full-length album of home-listenable techno music that works from beginning to end, which Convextion accomplishes impressively.

Late-October misc. round-up!

2009-10-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been in heavy work-mode this month, and realize I haven't been thinking in “review” terms much. So I thought I would just post a few blurbs of things that I have been listening to or reading this month, but haven't felt motivated to write more than a sentence or two about.

Chris Ware's “ACME Novelty Library” - I was never much of a comic book fan, although I did my time as an anime geek in the mid '90s (when Pokemon hit the US I realized being an anime fan had “jumped the shark”, so to speak), and I grew up reading Tintin and Asterix. One comic I have been a long-time fan of, however, is Chris Ware's “ACME Novelty Library”, best known for the “Jimmy Corrigan – The Smartest Kid In The World” series, not to mention the blatant uncredited “inspiration” for Stewie from Family Guy. The comic has an incredible visual style suggestive of old-time newspapers and vintage early 20th century comic art, a slightly twisted sense of humor, and a heavy melancholic mood. I recently discovered that Ware had started a new series, and was self-publishing annual hard-cover issues of the “Novely Library”, including a collection of his new “Rusty Brown” series about the pathetic adult life of a comic book nerd in the '70s. The most recent issue was #19 released last Fall, so presumably a new installment is due anytime now. Strongly recommended even if you aren't a traditional comic book fan.

Early SKAM vinyl – Thanks to the magic of the interwebs, you can track down just about any “rare” release that anyone has ever made a big deal of or paid insane amounts for. Among IDM fans, the SKAM label's early releases are considered some of the most collectible and drool-worthy, with people paying hundreds of dollars on eBay for a Lego Feet 12” or one of the MASK compilations, at least back in the early '00s. I suspect the crazed demand has died down since the tracks have hit Youtube and other online sources, and for me it is fascinating to hear what the fuss was all about; some beautiful electronic abstractions and oldschool glitchy rhythms, an occasional diamond in the rough, and a lot of dated, somewhat-annoying experimentation aka “wankery”. Highlights for me are the early Gescom 12”s, marking Autechre's transition from “artificial intelligence tracks” to “insane/genius Wintermute computer-deity music”, and of course the early works of Boards of Canada and Bola.

Stars Of The Lid – I finally got to hear the epic 3LP “Refinement Of The Decline” and “Avec Laudanum” EP and was truly blown away. Deep, lush and organic, classical-sounding drones and memorable melodic passages all made with stringed-instruments and horns. Reminiscent of a more-soothing GY!BE. What made me laugh, though, was the somewhat inappropriate track titles. Do tracks like “That Finger on Your Temple Is the Barrel of My Raygun” or “December Hunting For Vegetarian F-ckface” suggest moody, minimal drone ambient pieces or rather something like quirky indie noise-pop songs to you? They sound like Smashing Pumpkins track titles to me...

Tom Heasley – has two new CDs out on his in-house Full Bleed Music label, one a collection of jazz trio recordings from '99, and the other a new set of live drone improvisations with Stuart Dempster and Eric Glick Reimann, some really great stuff! I actually wrote a review of it last week but found out the CD hasn't been officially released in stores yet, so I'm going to wait until next month to post it.

Labels I am digging – Contexterrior and Tuning Spork putting out great minimal stuff, taking the intricate Villalobos sound in a more dance-able direction. Balihu Records compilation on Rush Hour collects some great '90s-era disco-tinged house tracks by Daniel Wang and co, great Metro Area-style sound. Kompakt with a new Kaito album, a new Total collection, a great 12” by Coma with a smooth, minimal groove, and a new full-length by.. Gus Gus?? Remember the killer “Polyesterday”? Hyperdub 5 Year compilation generating a well-deserved buzz, bring on the King Midas Sound full-length!

Finally, here is a charming anime-style ad for Louis Vuitton, based on the psychedelic artwork of Takashi Murakami, which has made an appearance on Nobukazu Takemura's “Finale” CD cover as well as more recently at the SF MOMA. Music by Yellow Magic Orchestra!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkjGn8CZ_QM&fmt=18

FREE DL: The Black Dog - In The North EP (2009, Dust Science)

2009-10-19T09:11:00.001-07:00

The Black Dog have relaunched their Dust Science record label, releasing futuristic dubstep and what they are calling "dark house" tracks, with a focus on their local Sheffield, UK scene. To celebrate, they launched a viral internet campaign promoting a free MP3 release, and today the link arrived in my mailbox. Titled "In The North", the EP collects four new tracks by Dust Science artists, all new to me, besides TBD:

Tracklisting
A1. The Black Dog – Tesco (Dark House)
A2. Carl Taylor – Walk On By
B1. Grievous Angel – Show Love v1
B2. The Bass Soldier – You Still Live With Your Mum

[links removed 11/4/09]

The EP will only be up for free download until Nov. 4th! The Black Dog's track is the highlight for me, along with The Bass Soldier's blend of dubstep effects at a minimal house tempo, and the whole release is a nice selection of UK techno. I've been told its grim up north...

BONUS LINK: Sonic Warfare by Steve Goodman

2009-10-12T13:05:00.000-07:00

During my time at Mills College, I wrote my MFA thesis on The Use of Sound For Control, Healing and Empowerment, and have often thought about expanding or updating it many times in the last few years. I found, however, that the more I learned, the more questions it raised, and the more implications of major "classified" warfare applications I came across. While my thesis gave examples of some of the military applications of sound, as well as subliminal audio in public spaces and broadcast signals, I also ran into a lot of conflicting data, and particularly denials that any such activity was happening, or even possible; for example I would find de-classified research from the CIA showing they had a strong interest in subliminal audio influence, post WWII, but mainstream newspaper articles down-playing it and calling it nonsense. I also found that some of the more metaphysically-oriented elements of "sound healing" research I had studied in school really did not seem to have much "proof" to them, or provide any method to verify their validity; for example, there are multiple schools of thought in assigning different tones or frequencies to the "chakras" or energy centers in the body, but the actual source for this data is totally obscured in history, and may have come from a totally non-scientific, or just intuitive/"channeled" source. So, on one hand we have the military applications of sound being essentially covered-up, downplayed or unreported, and we have the "sound healing" applications muddied with lots of vague, spiritually-oriented data that do not necessarily have any scientific validation behind them (although most proponents of sound healing would tell you they simply haven't been scientifically validated YET, and practical evidence suggests there is "something to it"). I was left feeling like it would take a whole book to fully research and explain all the various viewpoints involved, and even then I suspected that the questions would not be answered. And so, I was excited to find a link to Steve Goodman's blog for his upcoming book Sonic Warfare: Sound, Affect And The Ecology Of Fear. Goodman is the founder of the innovative Hyperdub label, widely credited with bringing dubstep to the global stage, and a solo artist under the name Kode 9. Goodman is also a musicologist and sonic researcher, and has turned his focus to the military uses of sound. He also posts regular articles and videos on his blog, and has even referenced some of the same articles I came across in my own research at Mills. I am glad someone has taken on such a massive, and relatively "dark", subject and I look forward to seeing what he's uncovered, and his conclusions. The book is available for pre-order online and is printing at the end of December.

Slowdive – Just For A Day (Remastered & Expanded) (1991/2005, Castle Music)

2009-10-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

I have been a long-time fan of the shoegaze genre since I first heard My Bloody Valentine, along with “dream pop” music pioneered by gothic-tinged artists on the 4AD label like Cocteau Twins, in the early-mid '90s, but I have to admit I totally missed Slowdive during their active career. In '03, I found two of their CDs, “Souvlaki” and “Pygmalion,” in the cheapo used bin at Amoeba Records in Berkeley, and was instantly in love with their sound. Blending the aforementioned MBV's distorted guitar sound and alt-rock sensibility, reminiscent of Smashing Pumpkins to my ears, with Cocteau Twin's ethereal vocal soundscapes and dreamy rhythms, Slowdive produced three albums of some of the most pleasant, abstract pop music of the '90s. I think the '94 CD “Souvlaki” may have been the band's most popular release, with a darker, melancholic tinge and more perceptible, song-form lyrics, while the following year's “Pygmalion” was apparently regarded as a “let down”, seeing the band exploring more electronic, minimalist and experimental territory, which I actually really enjoyed. Still, my favorite album has to be their first CD from '91, “Just For A Day”, which was reissued in '05, remastered with a second CD full of their first EPs and a '91 Peel Session. The sound is soothing and hum-able, with catchy melodic hooks and a steady, reverb-laden drumbeat, spacey synthesizer pads, endless layers of guitar drones and blissed-out vocal harmonies. I hadn't encountered Slowdive's EPs before the reissues, but they are all just as high-quality as the album tracks, with the epic two-part “Avalyn” and the sublime “Shine” standing out as intense and beautiful highlights. “Souvlaki” and “Pygmalion” were also both remastered and reissued in '05, with another bonus CD included with “Souvlaki” compiling the rest of the band's EPs. All three albums are absolute classics of '90s shoegaze!

Loscil - Strathcona Variations (2009, Ghostly International)

2009-10-08T14:13:00.000-07:00

[Once again, I find that 'real life' has impinged on my internet/music review time. I also wrote most of a post the other day and then had the whole thing spontaneously delete, with no ability to "undo", so I am not really feelin' it. My "144 Pulsations Of Light" CD is now out on Kranky, and I have been busy preparing live Ethernet sets as well as DJ sets of deep house, Kompakt and minimal-oriented techno stuff and dubstep. I found two local club spaces with good sound systems, and will begin a hopefully-regular series of gigs in the next week or so!]

Until recently, I never paid much attention to Myspace, but since I've been trying to promote my Ethernet material, I set up a myspace page and added a bunch of my favorite musicians as my "friends", although I know only a handful of them in real life. What I like about Myspace, though, is that many artists use it as a place to post links to new free stuff they've made, which otherwise tends to get missed, or is unreleased elsewhere. In this case, I happened to come across Loscil's page, and noticed a new MP3 release announcement. Loscil's previous release was the '06 Kranky album "Plume", which I have to admit I haven't actually heard (although I recently found his excellent '01 debut CD "Triple Point" and was intrigued to find that parts of it had a lot in common, sonically, with my own CD, though I wasn't familiar with his work before a couple months ago). More recently, I found a very nice free full-length netlabel release compiling Loscil's more minimal drone-scapes, called "Stases: Drones 2001-2005", featuring twelve extremely subdued but pleasant textures, some apparently "based upon the backgrounds" from his Kranky album tracks. The netlabel release makes a great companion for Loscil's new "Strathcona Variations" EP, a collection of three ambient pieces totalling about 20 minutes. The tracks are a soothing blend of organic pads and pulsing electronic sounds, with subtle hypnotic rhythms and moody, classical-sounding orchestral passages. The third piece of the set, "Midnight Princess," has a somewhat forboding atmosphere, but overall the EP is low-key and pleasant deep listening music. Best of all, its only $3, so go grab it along with the free "Stases" collection (and don't forget Windy & Carl's "Akimatsuri" for $2 from Amazon.com)! Bargain drone bonanza!

Traum Schallplatten various artists - Traum 100 (2008)

2009-09-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

Traum Schallplatten is a minimal/ambient/abstract techno label in Cologne, Germany run by Jacqueline Klein and DJ Riley Reinhold, better known (to me) as Triple R. Triple R produced a very deep and trippy house mix called "Friends" for Kompakt in '02, featuring moody and melodic tracks by artists from several local labels, including Traum. I can't recall if I heard "Friends" first or the excellent '01 Traum compilation "Elektronische Musik - Interkontinental", but both made a lasting impression and introduced me to many top-notch house and ambient artists. Some favorites of mine were Broker/Dealer, a duo from San Francisco with a great '80s analog sound, the hypnotic arpeggiating textures of Philippe Cam and Waki, Tomas Jirku's psychedelic found-sound minimalism, Anton Kubikov, better known as SCSI-9, and Oxtongue, who later produced the first Kompakt Pop 12". Many of the artists hopped around between labels, including Traum's sub-labels Trapez and My Best Friend, and while I followed Kompakt, Traum and a few others pretty closely from around '02 until '05, I'm not *made of money* and eventually I was overwhelmed by the massive output coming from Cologne. However, in the past year or so I have been getting back into following, if not always buying, current house releases. Last summer, Traum celebrated their 100th release and 10 year anniversary with the "Traum 100" compilation, featuring new tracks by many of the same artists I had loved on those older collections; Broker/Dealer, Fairmont, Process, klick-meister Thomas Brinkmann, and some more recent minimal stars like Minilogue, Moonbeam and Gabriel Ananda. The sound is deep and mellow, with chilled out synthesizer sequences and a jazzy swing in the grooves, and a heavier focus on minimal grooves than I recall from earlier releases. There are definite similarities to Kompakt's trance-influenced melodics and experimentalism, which is understandable as the music all came from the same scene, but Traum offers their own unique spin on futuristic ambient/house crossovers and abstractions.

BONUS LINK: Mnml Ssgs blog

2009-09-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

[Another entry in the "there is so much free music on the web, I'm not sure if or why anyone buys CDs anymore" file]
I came across the Mnml Ssgs blog from a link to a Delta Funktionen DJ mix posted on Myspace, and was impressed to find a whole new mix series hosted there, featuring a variety of top "minimal" DJs. So far there have been 38 "Ssgmx's" in the series, featuring some intriguing sets by Kompakt Pop Ambient folks Klimek, abstract beat producer Shed, and Mule Electronic's deep and chilled Koss. Additionally, the author of the blog (apparently a touring DJ himself, but I can't find any identification of who it is) posts regular round-ups of podcasts and free DJ mixes from all over the web. Also some very astute and humorous music criticism, which I always appreciate as I tend to not even BOTHER writing about music I don't like, even though there are many current "dub-techno artists", not even to mention "experimental musicians", I would like to name-check and demolish in print. A nearly endless supply of DJ mixes and insightful commentary, all free, thanks Mnml Ssgs!

BONUS LINK - The Black Dog monthly DJ sets

2009-09-27T12:08:00.001-07:00

After referencing The Black Dog in my previous review of the new Delsin compilation, I realized I hadn't heard any of their new stuff in several years. I had always enjoyed their quirky, melodic IDM tracks as Plaid, such as their '97 Warp Records album "Not For Threes"which featured a vocal collaboration with Bjork that got a lot of people's attention (they had already done remixes for Bjork's "Debut" as The Black Dog, and later remixed "All Is Full Of Love"). Their early Warp releases as The Black Dog helped define the Artificial Intelligence/IDM sound of the '90s, and have a great old-school sound. On their website, I found that The Black Dog are still going strong, with new CDs and 12"s, and a free DJ mix series they are now producing each month. Their second mix was posted at the beginning of September; a lush, beatless ambient set featuring a couple Kranky artists, Stars Of The Lid and White Rainbow, and recent favorites like Intrusion. The Black Dog blog is updated regularly with new DJ charts, live dates and downloads, and streaming samples of every single TBD release are available from the side menu.

The Black Dog - 02. Sometimes – Ambient DJ Set/Mix

Delsin various artists - Delsin II (2009)

2009-09-25T11:34:00.000-07:00

One of the labels I've really been enjoying for new dance/techno music in the last couple years has been Delsin, operating out of the Netherlands since the mid-'90s. I had heard some buzz around some Delsin artists in the early '00s, like IDM artist M>O>S, aka Aroy Dee who had a bunch of releases on Rush Hour Recordings, and Yotoko, a side-project by the prolific "broken beat" producer Domu, but I didn't really start paying attention to Delsin's techno releases until I heard the '05 compilation "Planet Delsin : Interstellar Sounds Of Stardust". The general aesthetic of Delsin is oriented towards the pure, experimental synthesizer sounds of classic early '90s IDM, blended with the rhythmic patterns of Detroit techno, and brings to mind early Warp Records and Rephlex artists like Polygon Window, The Black Dog or Bochum Welt. Many of the artists compose with minimal palettes of bleeps and bloops and unprocessed, old-skool drum machine beats to craft catchy house hooks, working both as an homage to classic analog synthesizers of the past, and as a forward-thinking futuristic movement in dance music. This year, Delsin released an even greater follow-up compilation called "Delsin II", a 2CD set featuring many of the best tracks from the past couple years of 12" releases, with copious liner notes featuring a label profile and artist interviews. Highlights for me include the moody, melodic atmospherics of Taho and D5, the gritty, lo-fi stomp of Redshape, and the pounding, hypnotic patterns of Delta Funktionen, Quince and Newworldaquarium. While some of the tracks get into territory that I find a bit too robotic, simple or lo-fi sounding, almost all of the artists on this collection can be depended on for regularly releasing high-quality new tracks. Delsin has kept up a steady release schedule, with a new 12" every couple months, and I frequently check their website to see what's new. (BONUS LINK: I particularly enjoy the large collection of free DJ sets and live performances available for download, such as this interview and classics-laden DJ set by label boss Peel Seamus, or this deep and dubby set from Quince.)

BONUS LINK: Autumnal Equinox Dub-Techno Mix by Ethernet (me!)

2009-09-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Fall Equinox to all!

I am pleased to present a deep and hazy mix of some of my favorite dub-techno classics. Thanks to the cool Self-Titled online magazine for sharing my mix! The mix was put together in Ableton Live 7, with most of the tracks ripped from vinyl, and a couple of the newer tracks bought online in WAV format from Beatport, and features live dub FX and delay manipulations by yours truly. Oh yeah, the Bluetrain track is B2 from “Factory Dubs” ‘00!

Download the mix here!
http://www.self-titledmag.com/home/2009/09/22/test-pressing-toast-the-autumnal-equinox-with-an-exclusive-dub-techno-mix-from-ethernet-a-gas-euous-producer-who-oughta-be-called-ether/

My CD “144 Pulsations Of Light”, which is more in the drone-ambient territory rather than dub-techno, is out on Kranky on Oct. 5th! Here is the All-Music Review, featuring short clips of each track!

Microstoria - Snd (1996, Mille Plateaux/Thrill Jockey)

2009-09-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

I spent my junior year of college as an exchange student in central Japan in '00-'01, and took every opportunity to explore the endless winding streets of Kyoto and Osaka. Looking back now, I marvel at the number of concerts I was able to attend, considering the full-time load of classes and Japanese homework I had to deal with every week, and I feel good that I made the most of my limited time there (well, maybe I bought too much manga). One of my favorite places to see shows was the Kyoto Club Metro, a weird little space half-way down a flight of stairs at one of the Kyoto subway stations, which apparently used to be a conductors' bar and hang-out area. There were shows at the space pretty much every single night, as I recall, with lots of punk, ska and weird '60s-'80s pop mash-up DJs. They also hosted a bunch of amazing IDM and experimental nights, including a Rephlex night with Cylob and Freeform, and a deafening night of non-idiomatic improv and turntable destruction from Christian Marclay and Lee Renaldo, followed by Boredoms' DJ EYE. I also went to see Mouse On Mars on their "Idiology" tour there, and was very impressed by the opening laptop set by Jan St. Werner and Markus Popp as Microstoria. I had previously heard Popp's Oval project, when he made a big buzz in the electronic music community with the albums "Systemisch" and "Dok", released domestically on Thrill Jockey, but I had found the material I heard to be too sonicly harsh for my taste, with a focus on gritty CD-skipping digital rhythms. I recognize now that Popp's "Ovalprocess" was pretty revolutionary for its time (early-mid '90s) and predated much of the laptop scene of the next ten years. Teamed up with Werner, also a member of Mouse On Mars, the abrassive side of Oval was tempered into a soft-spoken glitch ambience with a futuristic edge of digital ice. When I returned to the US, I found Microstoria's "Snd" CD and recognized similar textures to what I'd heard live, if even more subdued. Considering the time frame of this album, the experimental DSP processing and granular synthesis effects put to use must have been produced with relatively cutting-edge technology/software, predating the release of the genre-defining Max/MSP Macintosh software. The "Snd" album has a calm ambient atmosphere, with occasionally jittery computer manipulation that creates a psychedelic vibe. Organic sounds of bells, reed instruments and field recordings are occasionally perceptable, but the tracks generally explore abstract, if constantly shifting, territory. Listening to it 13 years later, the CD still sounds impressively futuristic and forward-thinking. The album also led to a follow-up remix collection called "Reprovisors", which featured many big-names in the avant-garde/laptop scene of the time, including Jim O'Rourke, F.X. Randomiz, Stereolab, and Christoph Heemann, bringing the group wider attention from the post-rock/experimental crowds.

BONUS LINK: XxXy free mix from Example Magazine July '09

2009-09-14T20:20:00.000-07:00

I recently came across one of XxXy's tracks in a long dubstep mix and was so impressed I had to search for more. Part of the Mindset label collective, XxXy presents a further evolution of the Basic Channel/Deepchord-meets-dubstep sound, with deep sub-basslines and intricately crafted beats that resemble a blend of 2562 and Burial. There are a few tracks for free listening at the XxXy myspace page, and this free mix was recently posted for download from a UK blog called Example. I predict the full-length from this artist will be big news...

Brand new exclusive mix from XxXy Example Mix 004

Ghosts On Water - Senshu (2005/8, Faraway Press)

2009-09-11T14:36:00.000-07:00

Ghosts On Water is a project between Andrew Chalk, who runs the Faraway Press label in the UK, Daisuke Suzuki, boss of the "industrial"/experimental Siren label in Tokyo, and his wife, Naoko Suzuki. Chalk is one of the masterminds behind the amazing Mirror, and has been releasing solo and collaborative material since the '80s. Daisuke Suzuki is a drone and field-recording artist who has been recording since the late '90s, with a debut appearance on a single-sided 7" in collaboration with David Jackman and Michael Prime, followed by releases every year or so, mainly in Japan. The trio's first CD was "The Days After", released in '03 on Chalk's in-house Three Poplars label, and was Chalk's first collaborative project since his work with Christoph Heemann as Mirror. Earlier this year, I became aware of Chalk's new Faraway Press label, and noted that several new CDs had been made available for mailorder. All of the Faraway Press releases are hand-made, with extremely high-quality cardboard gatefold cases, hand-painted/stamped covers and inserts, obi-strips and plastic sleeves, and limited to a few hundred copies. "Senshu" was originally released in a tiny edition of 100 in '05, but was re-issued in '08 in an additional 250 copies and is still available. The CD itself is an awe-inspiring work of drone minimalism and acoustic textures, with soft melodic guitar patterns creating a hazy atmosphere of bell-like tones on the opening track "Ukigiri", followed by "Koyurugi", a slow crescendo of meditative, bowed-metal-sounding drones, ending with the subdued climax of "Untan", a blend of plucked notes that sounds like a koto, and blurry clouds of organic drone textures and field recordings. All of the titles and liner notes on the CD are written in Japanese, but I found a translation here. The evocative titles actually give the pieces even more depth. The whole package makes "Senshu" a very personal-feeling piece of artwork, and I look forward to hearing more of Ghosts On Water's new material.

Celer - Engaged Touches (2009, Home Normal)

2009-09-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

Celer was the ambient project of Will Long and Danielle Baquet-Long, prolifically releasing nearly 40 CDs between '04 and '09. Tragically, Danielle passed away suddenly this summer at age 26. Together as Celer, and with Danielle's solo Chubby Wolf project, they generated a buzz online with their masterful dronescapes and processed field recordings, featuring beautiful, often hand-made covers/packaging and poetic titles and liner notes. The majority of Celer's output was self-released on CDr, but in '08 they began releasing CDs through labels and gaining more widespread attention. I first encountered good reviews surrounding "Nacreous Clouds", released on and/OAR in '08 and featuring a verbose and surreal press release and slightly-improbable description of their creative process. Whatever the truth of their sonic sources, the Celer material I have heard is a heady blend of electro-acoustic, organic and synthesized ambient textures, at times melodic and blissful, and occasionally dissonant and unsettling. This weekend, I happened to search Celer on iTunes, and found one of their most recent releases, "Engaged Touches", on sale for only $3.99 (I also found a really nice Windy & Carl compilation track called "Warm Like December" for $.99, tip!). Released on limited CD in April of '09 on the Home Normal label, "Engaged Touches" consists of two long tracks totaling 67 minutes, with each track divided into evocatively-titled movements. "Part 1" begins with a reverb-drenched field recording that sounds like a train station environment, and then transitions to a gorgeous classical-sounding movement, with instrumentation that almost sounds like orchestral strings, but belies its synthesized nature with noisy, artificial-sounding decays. The train station sounds return periodically, puntuacting the movements and transitioning to each subsequent tonal texture. In the second part, the instrumentation starts with a sound similar to accordions, but gradually becomes increasingly other-worldly and singing bowl-like. The classical tones and vintage radio-esque sounds that occasionally swell within the mix give "Engaged Touches" a distinctive and pleasant vibe, with a soft-spoken, mysterious and melancholy tone developing over the course of "Part 2", until a rich crescendo of orchestral chords propels the listener to a blissful finale. This album impressed me, and has more to offer than the "average" drone record! Celer's most recent CD "Brittle" has just been released at the end of August, so check that out as well! (BONUS LINK: Devin Sarno & Celer, live '07 "Symphony 19")

BONUS LINK: Brainwashed : The Eye video series

2009-09-06T12:13:00.001-07:00

Brainwashed.com is home to the band pages of many leading figures in the avant-garde, electronic and ambient genres, and also functions as a record label, periodically releasing CDs and DVDRs, as well as posting weekly podcasts and album reviews. The Eye is a video series of interviews and concert footage initiated in mid '03, with a nonstop torrent of new features each month up to late '06, when the releases slowed down to a semi-monthly schedule. The videos are available for streaming or free download in .MOV format (some are hosted on Youtube), while high-quality DVDRs can be purchased for $10 from the Brainwashed store. An amazing array of innovative sonic artists are showcased, and like the Red Bull Music Academy archives, it is almost overwhelming to choose a starting point. But my eye was immediately caught by features like: an early interview with Keith Fullerton Whitman when he was calling himself Hrvatski in '03, a great Windy & Carl video showcasing their Stormy Records store and live performances, the amazing full-length Andreas Martin feature that the guitar solo video I recently posted was excerpted from, a cool little interview with Ulrich Schnauss, and not one but two psychedelic performances by Edward Ka-Spel and The Silverman, one with The Legendary Pink Dots and the other in collaboration with wild theremin-player, Nicoletta. All this, plus sometimes-rambling interview clips, and a cool feature from '03 on the Mutek Festival, featuring some awe-inspiring live Coil footage. Hours of brainwashing entertainment!

Windy & Carl - Akimatsuri (2006/9, Blue Flea)

2009-09-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

This week, the ambient guitar duo Windy & Carl reissued three of their older albums for digital download via Amazon, iTunes, eMusic, etc.; Their first two, pre-Kranky, albums, "Drawing Of Sound" and "Portal", and a limited edition CD from '06 entitled "Akimatsuri". The CD was only available for sale at the Brainwaves festival in Arlington, MA that year, celebrating the 10th anniversary of Brainwashed, and was limited to just 500 copies, each featuring one of ten photographs by Christy Romanick. I was excited to see the album reissued, featuring a previously unreleased bonus track, and even better: Amazon.com is offering the album for only $1.98! The original album itself consists of one 33-minute long track divided into five movements, each with a Japanese title (Akimatsuri meaning "autumn festival"). The tone is lush and melodic, weaving soft patterns of guitar notes and bowed strings, transitioning from calm and soothing to slightly melancholy, as a subdued organ plays alternating chords beneath sliding electric guitar tones. Swells and crests of other-wordly tones rise up in the latter movements of the piece, suggestive of cellos and flutes, but assumably produced by guitar. There is a distinct "falling leaves" vibe; the summer is over. I always enjoy the textures W&C are able to produce from such simple, organic instrumentation, not to mention the fact that they're able to reproduce it flawlessly in their concerts, and "Akimatsuri" does not disappoint. The bonus track "Seiche" offers an additional 5 minute post-script of gentle drones with a warm, meditative feel. C'mon, its only $1.98, check out some great new ambient music!

BONUS LINK: Joe Jack Talcum's Bootleg Of The Month archive

2009-09-03T13:07:00.000-07:00

I have been a fan of The Dead Milkmen since I was in 5th grade, when a friend and I started listening to his college-aged brother's tape collection and found their newest (at the time) album, "Metaphysical Graffiti". Besides the hilarious and occasionally raunchy skits and clever lyrics, I loved the guitar sound and experimental instrumentation on many of the tracks, and still consider the album an all-time favorite today. (I also remember listening to tapes of Love & Rockets and John Zorn's Painkiller, but neither of those thrilled me so much...) Throughout junior high and highschool I collected the entire Dead Milkmen catalog on cassette tape, but missed my chance to see them on the "Not Richard But Dick" tour, after which they broke up. However, almost exactly a year ago today, The Dead Milkmen announced they were reuniting to play an Austin, TX music festival, and have continued to play shows since, even announcing an upcoming tour this Fall! (unfortunately for me, it appears to be all East Coast dates) Even more exciting to me, however, was the discovery of singer/guitarist Joe Jack Talcum's personal website, where he hosts a monthly-updated archive of bootleg recordings of The Dead Milkmen and their many side-projects, dating from the early '80s to present day DM shows! Amazing, and all free! Of course I was excited to find some demo sessions from "Metaphysical Graffiti" as well as the first performance of material from "Soul Rotation" under the alias of The Draco Reptilians, and even some bootleg tapes I had collected on the tape trading scene back in the '90s (Tipitina's!)! This is genius stuff, go grab some!

Joe Jack Talcum's Bootleg Of The Month archive

BONUS LINK: Mimir - live in Antwerp, Belgium, Feb 12 2005

2009-09-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

Mimir is a sort of a super-group project between members of The Legendary Pink Dots, prolific brothers Christoph Heemann and Andreas Martin, and experimentalist and occasional Sonic Youth-member Jim O'Rourke. In contrast to many of the limited LPD releases, the Mimir CDs were actually find-able in US shops, distributed by Drag City in connection with Heemann's Streamline label. The music is an expert blend of drone experimentalism and acoustic improvisation, resulting in a magical, organic sound. After a hiatus of several years, a limited edition picture 7" of 500 copies was released for mailorder from Brainwashed.com. To make things even more exclusive, only the PRE-ORDERS of the release would receive a bonus DVDr of four music videos by LPD, Mirror, Andreas Martin and Mimir. Luckily the magic of the interwebs has unearthed these videos for public viewing on Youtube. This performance by Mimir in Belgium is of a track from the 7", and is actually part of a long playlist of Brainwashed-related artists with a lot of great clips. If you don't watch the whole playlist, at least check out the following video of a virtuoso guitar solo performance by Andreas Martin!

BONUS LINK: Nobukazu Takemura & Aki Tsuyuko - Live at Empty Bottle, Chicago IL 1999-11-19

2009-08-31T21:05:00.000-07:00

This 40 minute performance by Childisc label founder Nobukazu Takemura and vocalist/synthesizer artist Aki Tsuyuko has been floating around on the web for many years, and is the only concert footage I have ever encountered. I was lucky enough to see the duo perform in Kyoto, Japan the following year during my two semesters as an exchange student and the performance was a similar style; abstract digital glitch ambiance and looping vocal textures and generative rhythms. Apart from some rather peculiar extreme close-ups, this video is very watchable and the sound quality is good.

Check out the video for "Lost Treasure" as well!

Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Insen (2005, Raster-Noton)

2009-08-31T13:55:00.000-07:00

Writing about the "melancholy piano noodling" of '90s videogame soundtracks last week, I was reminded of a fantastic collaboration between piano-meister Ryuichi Sakamoto and uber-minimalist Carsten Nicolai, under his Alva Noto monicker. Sakamoto was an innovator in Japanese electronic music throughout the '70s and '80s, as a member of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, which was sort of like a Japanese Kraftwerk, and a popular soundtrack composer. With a prolific back-catalog of over 50 albums, not to mention 12"s, concert DVDs and other multimedia projects, I have to admit that I am only familiar with a handfull of Sakamoto's recordings, and mainly his material from the late '90s on. His '00 "BTTB" album of solo piano compositions on Sony Classical was a particular favorite of mine for many years, with that distinctive melancholy sound that I love. Carsten Nicolai, meanwhile, has been prolifically releasing CDs of his own since the mid-'90s, usually under the names Noto or Alva Noto. A pioneer of the micrsound genre, his compositions make use of tiny slices of digital audio, simple sine waves and noise pulses to craft intricate rhythms and textures. The majority of his releases have been on the influential Raster-Noton label, well known for their innovative and avant garde packaging and presentation, for example in their buzz-generating countdown-to-the-millenium 20' To 2000 series of 3" CDs or the [O]acis Box. While I appreciate Nicolai's craft and innovation with extremely futuristic sound design, I am not a huge fan of actually listening to most microsound CDs more than maybe once, as they tend to make me feel like I am stuck in some sort of digital computer nightmare. Even before I heard the Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto collaboration, however, I knew that the combination of Sakamoto's gentle piano textures with Nicolai's digital processing mastery would be exciting. And indeed, their '02 debut CD "Vrioon" made a big splash with critics and fans, with both artists producing a synergy of exciting ambient sound greater than the sum of its parts. Noto sculpts micro-rhythms and soft textural sequences around Sakamoto's clouds of notes, occasionally processing the piano through glitchy granular filters, making for both a meditative and other-wordly sonic experience. After a three-year break, I found their second CD "Insen" to be even more engaging and memorable, and the follow-up "Revep" EP continued to maintain the high standards, including a fascinating reconstruction of Sakamoto's "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" soundtrack theme. More recently, a CD+DVD set called "utp_", documenting a live concert with the German Ensemble Modern, was released last year, which I've not yet heard. Any of the Noto + Sakamoto CDs you can find are worth hearing, and genuinely unique music by two masters in different fields of ambient sound.

Dub Tractor - Delay (2000, FX Records)

2009-08-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

Dub Tractor, the IDM project of Anders Remmer, is another long-time favorite of mine that I first heard about on the IDM mailing list in the late '90s. While there were a pair of albums and several 12"s released in Europe between '94 and '99, it wasn't until the '00 CD release of "Delay" that I was able to find any of his stuff in US shops. The album has a very smooth and chilled out downtempo/IDM feel, with glitchy beat programming and quirky sound design, blended with a strong dub influence. There is a heavy element of sub-bass, spring reverbs and tape echoes applied to the downtempo beats, as laid-back synthesizers breathe soft chords over the mix. While dub aesthetics and sound effects play a major role in Dub Tractor's sound, it rarely crosses over into reggae territory, besides on the very Pole-sounding "Drive". Instead "Delay" has more in common with the sound of early '90s Warp-style IDM ala The Black Dog or other "Artificial Intelligence" artists, with an updated instrumentation and lush analog-sounding dub FX. Following "Delay", Dub Tractor was picked up by City Centre Offices, home of Arovane and other soft-spoken melodic IDM producers. The excellent '01 split 12" with Opiate presented four more tracks in the same vein as "Delay", while the next full-length "More Or Less Mono", featured lush and glitchier production as well as some soft, fuzzed-out vocals and very pleasant guitar processing. Dub Tractor's most recent release was "Hideout" in '06, which I haven't heard, and City Centre Offices will be releasing a new full-length CD this November. The catchy melodies and low-key rhythms of "Delay" still get stuck in my head, nine years later.

GENRE PROFILE: '90s-era Videogame Piano Collections from Squaresoft + Falcom

2009-08-25T15:56:00.001-07:00

Many fans of ambient music have a soft spot for subdued, melancholy piano noodlings as composed by Harold Budd or Ryuichi Sakamoto. While technically this might be more appropriately classified as "neo-classical" music, it is essentially just really pleasant keyboard music. One source for music in this same style is Japanese videogame soundtracks, which often were inspired by the early works of Sakamoto or fellow-Yellow Magic Orchestra-founder Haruomi Hosono, who composed many game and anime soundtracks from the '80s to current day (his sublime Night On The Galactic Railroad is a personal favorite). Beginning in '92, Squaresoft began releasing Piano Collections for their Final Fantasy games, beginning with volume IV, which was FF2 in America. As a bit of a game/Japan nerd in my teenage years, I tracked down an import copy of the "Final Fantasy IV Piano Collections" CD and was blown away by the gentle reinterpretations of the many catchy pieces of music featured in the game. While vol. V of the game was not released domestically, vol. VI, released as FF3 in the US, was a classic among many of my friends, and the Piano Collection was equally impressive. All of the pieces in the Final Fantasy series were composed by Nobuo Uematsu, whose distinctive composition style reminds me vaguely of Debussy and Tchaikovsky. The soundtracks also came with piano sheet music, but I have to admit I never got my chops up enough to play any of it smoothly. I haven't kept up with the newer editions in the Final Fantasy series as I stopped buying video games after the Sony Playstation, but the music is still memorable and the CDs stand on their own. While Squaresoft got a lot of the attention of game music fans in the US, there was also some fantastic music produced for the under-appreciated Turbo Grafx 16/Turbo Duo system, known as the PC Engine in Japan. The Ys game series in particular gained a strong cult appreciation for some of the highest quality game music ever produced at the time (early '90s), and a pair of "Ys Piano Collections" were produced. While both were enjoyable, my personal favorite was "Symphony Ys '95", which featured long-form synthesized symphony renditions of themes from the first three games in the series. As far as I can tell, all of the game music was credited to Falcom's in-house Sound Team J.D.K., a shifting group of fantastic composers whom I have never heard of otherwise. While these CDs were only released in Japan, they were occasionally available via import mail order in the '90s, or at weird little bootleg shops in Chinatown, NYC, where I found many gems. One particularly amazing find was the "Legend Of Heroes Piano Collection" released in '96, also by members of Sound Team JDK. Legend Of Heroes was pretty much unknown in the US, with only one volume of the series released on the Turbo Duo under the name "Dragon Slayer". The piano collection has tracks from the first four games in the series, so much of it is unfamiliar to me, but the overall sound and vibe is just beautiful, with a melancholy edge strongly colored by childhood nostalgia. If you are not familiar with the games, I could see how the music might make less of an impression, but much of it stands on its own and makes for very soothing, evocative ambient sound. Finally, no discussion of videogame music can forget to mention Yasunori Mitsuda, composer of the epic Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross series and many more. Unfortunately, a Chrono Trigger piano collection CD never came to pass, but the sheet music is out there and people are posting their renditions on youtube...

SUMMER UPDATE & BOOK REVIEW: The Franklin Scandal - Nick Bryant (2009, Trine Day Publishing)

2009-08-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

I realized again I have been so busy that I've been neglecting this blog. Luckily I did not get caught up in the recent round of lay-offs at my college, and I am nearly finished with my first online class that I've been taking since June. My taste lately has been swinging back and forth between very minimalist ambient music and early '90s alt. rock from my youth, neither of which I feel particularly motivated to write about. A lot of the time that I'm not working on my class assignments, I've been either working on my own music or just reading books, so I haven't been in "reviewing mode" lately.

I did want to make a point of posting a link to this new book that arrived in my mailbox this week. The book is called "The Franklin Scandal: A Story Of Powerbrokers, Child Abuse & Betrayal" by Nick Bryant. It is an in-depth investigation into a major political scandal that happened in Nebraska. The scandal was originally exposed in a book by Senator John DeCamp in the late '80s, and updated in the mid '90s as details and witnesses have continued to emerge. A British production company made a documentary on the scandal called "Conspiracy Of Silence" that was to be shown on the Discovery Channel, but the airing was canceled at the last minute for undefined reasons. An unfinished production copy of the documentary has since been leaked onto the internet and has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on Youtube and Google Video. What originally appeared to be a "simple" case of stolen funds from a local credit union, led to the unearthing of a nationwide child prostitution ring catering to the political elite of America, with implications of black-mail at the highest levels of government. As more details emerged for public scrutiny, a massive and obvious cover-up by law enforcement and FBI went into action like something out of an X-Files script, leaving a trail of mysterious deaths and "suicides" in its wake. Bryant spent seven years uncovering even greater levels of detail, more witnesses and tons of corroboration on what actually happened, all of which adds up to an expose of serious corruption in our government that has been ongoing for decades. The book can be ordered from Trine Day Publishing, who offer a wide variety of fascinating material, in fact right on the front page I am seeing Anthony Sutton's "America's Secret Establishment" which I also recommend strongly.

To end on some musical notes, I was sad to hear that Daniel Baquet-Long from the prolific ambient duo Celer passed away recently. I only recently became familiar with their music, but I am very impressed by what I've heard so far ("Capri" and the sublime "Nacreous Clouds"). The latter was put out on CD by the excellent, ultra-minimalist/field recording label and/OAR, who released a CD by one of my professors at Mills, Maggi Payne, several years back which was great but you can't get it anymore. I have also been fiending for the hand-made, limited releases on Andrew Chalk's new label Faraway Press, but you have to order them directly from the UK and I am too broke right now. An mp3 from my Kranky CD has been making the rounds on some music websites, and I also have a little blurb (and photo!) in the Electronic Reviews section of The Wire magazine, that blew me away. Finally, here is an early '80s post-punk track by music journalist Vivien Goldman that has been stuck in my head recently:

BONUS LINK: Dub War NYC presents Podcast #09: Headhunter

2009-08-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

[from the “there's so much free music on the internet, I'm not sure why anyone would ever want to pay for a CD again” department] I came across this DJ mix by dubstep master Headhunter, whose “Nomad” album was a favorite of mine last year. It is the ninth Podcast in a series produced by Dub War NYC, and many innovative artists have been featured, including other personal favorites like Peverelist and Ramadanman. The mixes are available on iTunes or for direct download from the RSS feed. The link was posted on the Dubstep Forum, which seems to be a very active discussion board worth checking out:

http://www.dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=100652

Tom Heasley - On The Sensations Of Tone (2002, Innova Recordings)

2009-08-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

During my time at Mills College in '03-'04, I got to see many concerts of cutting-edge electronic and avant-garde music all over the SF Bay Area. One evening, some friends wanted to go into SF to a performance space in The Mission that was having an ambient night. By the time we got there, all the bands had already played, including the one my friends wanted to see, except for the last performer of the evening, Tom Heasley. When we entered the space, which was upstairs in a big funky warehouse loft full of art/junk/debris, I was struck by a blissed-out wall of sound composed of deep, soothing tones and a washed-out shimmer and crackle reminiscent of ancient records. My first thoughts were that it must be a cutting-edge laptop performer making electronic ambient music in the vein of the recent Kompakt Pop Ambient series I had been enjoying at the time. Instead, when I got to the top of the stairs, I was surprised to encounter a man sitting on a stool playing a tuba, with a bank of pedals at his feet. As I watched him play long sustained tones on his horn and occasionally stoop to adjust settings on his pedals, I realized the entire texture was being created in real-time via his tuba! Using a loop pedal, Heasley would layer up harmonic notes, breaths and vocalisations through his tuba, similar to creating tape loops on an old reel-to-reel, resulting in an immense and enveloping sound with a fabulous organic, bass-y character. Everyone in the space was reclining on pillows and the place was fairly full, making me wish I had been there for the whole evening. Even now I have no idea what the name of the place was, it may have just been an artist's/collective's residence for all I know. After the performance, I picked up Heasley's then-newest CD "On The Sensations Of Tone", subtitled "Ambient Tuba". Consisting of two long tracks adding up to about an hour, the aesthetic of the concert was reproduced with great effect, both soothing and haunting at times. I lost track of Heasley's more recent work until earlier this year when I came across his myspace page, where he has posted some fascinating blogs including an announcement that he will be working with Stuart Dempster of Deep Listening Band fame. His more recent recordings have featured Heasley on dijeridoo as well as chanting/overtone singing, and his most recent CD is a collaboration with drummer Toss Panos. Heasley's music is an exciting, unique organic sound for people who think they've "heard it all" in the drone/ambient genre!

Alio Die - Password To Entheogenic Experience (1998, Hic Sunt Leones)

2009-08-06T19:34:00.000-07:00

Alio Die is the ambient project of Italian musician Stefano Musso. Since the early '90s, Stefano has been running his own Hic Sunt Leones label, releasing CDs of his own and many other contemporary Italian ambient artists. His first CD "Under An Holy Ritual" was released in the US in '93 by influential gothic/darkwave label Projekt, and generated a lot of attention in that scene. In '97, Stefano collaborated with ambient pioneer and originator of the "sleep concert", Robert Rich on the "Fissures" album, released on Fathom, a sub-label of Hearts Of Space, home of Steve Roach, Michael Stearns and others throughout the '90s. Alio Die makes use of many organic instruments such as frame drums, gongs, bells and stringed instruments along with field recordings and mellow electronic sounds to sculpt meditative, introspective textures. "Password For Entheogenic Experience" was a personal favorite of mine, consisting of one long track lasting a little over an hour. Beginning with the soft buzz of insect noise and birds, the album slowly slides into an endless drone of what sound alternatingly like bowed strings and soft horns, playing a gentle sustaining chord that is both soothing and mysterious. The meditative, other-wordly energy of the album is expressed by the ancient mushroom shaman artwork on the cover. The drone is occasionally punctuated by soft frame drum and chimes, as the tones rise and fall in amplitude, until the last ten minutes or so when a crescendo beings to build, suggestive of buzzing reeds or obscure Asian instruments. The album is timeless and calming, and one I've returned to many times. Stefano has continued releasing albums every year, and has recently been playing shows in Europe.

BONUS LINK: Red Bull Music Academy Video Archive

2009-07-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

Red Bull Music Academy Video Archive

Wow! I just came across a website full of lectures, interviews and sessions with an amazing array of modern electronic musicians, sponsored by toxic headache-in-a-can Red Bull, including this incredible two-hour interview with Wolfgang Voigt (Gas, Love Inc., Kompakt boss, etc.) from '08:

There are nearly 250 video lectures with many artists who I've never seen interview footage of before, and I am particularly excited to see lectures from Moritz Von Oswald of Basic Channel/Rhythm & Sound, Theo Parrish and many other dance music and dubstep innovators. Go watch now!

Mamoru Fujieda - Patterns Of Plants (1997, Tzadik)

2009-07-29T18:21:00.000-07:00

Mamoru Fujieda is a "post-minimalist" modern classical composer from Japan who released a pair of CDs in the mid-'90s on John Zorn's avant-garde Tzadik label, reviews of which were some of my first exposure to the label, home to many influential contemporary classical and art-noise names. One can always expect a page-length explanation of each piece in a Tzadik release, as the pieces are frequently the result of some complicated academic sound production scheme. Fujieda's "Music For Plants" is ostensibly composed based on the scientific charting of electrical impulses in the leaves of plants, and the sonic result is a very pleasant palette of gentle plucked string sequences using mysterious-sounding alternative tunings that reference Greek and Asian modes. The pieces are presented in a series of collections, each consisting of four patterns played on different combinations of 17 and 20-string koto, hitsu (25-string zither), sho and viola da gamba, as well as one collection of solo harpsichord pieces. The music has a graceful, soothing quality, with a slightly alien edge due to the non-Western tunings, and makes for very pleasant ambient music. Fujieda continued to compose collections of patterns in the series throughout the '90s and '00s, and released a second collection entitled "Patterns Of Plants II" late last year on Tzadik, continuing in similar directions with mostly the same instrumentation (minus the harpsichord). The new collection has a slightly more lush tone, with more movement and a bit more emphasis on the higher frequencies of sustained sho and violin tones in contrast to the mellow koto plucking on volume one. My preference goes to the subdued calm and slightly more sparse/spacious instrumentation of the first collection, but both sets are well worth hearing.

Ippei Matsui & Aki Tsuyuko - Natsu No Zenbu (2008, Lekoodo)

2009-07-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

Aki Tsuyuko is a Japanese artist who first caught my attention with her '99 "Ongakushitsu" album on Nobukazu Takemura's Childisc label, as well as appearances on several of Takemura's albums and tours. "Ongakushitsu" is an abstract, instrumental ambient record with a very unique sound. Tsuyuko improvises graceful, child-like and slightly bizarre melodic patterns using relatively lo-fi-sounding, simple synthesizer tones. The vibe is relaxing and poetic, but with a distinctly other-worldy essence. When I wrote a label profile of Childisc and Moonlit, Aki Tsuyuko's website had recently gone offline. A few months earlier, there had been an update announcing the release of a new hand-made CDr release entitled "Natsu No Zenbu", released via a label called Lekoodo. I ordered the CD for 1350yen, shipping included to the USA. The album features 27 tracks, adding up to nearly 72 minutes, and comes in a nice plastic sleeve with paper inserts and colorful labels. The tracks heavily feature Tsuyuko's multi-layered solos, with many of the pieces returning to similar motifs, including gentle piano melodies, playful synthesizer and hi-pitched sinewave sequences, field recordings of trains and apartment noises, and strange lo-fi sampler experiments and spoken word/vocal improvisations. Vocals, guitar treatments and other effects are provided by Ippei Matsui, who has released CDs in Japan under the name Teasi. He also collaborated with Tsuyuko in '06 at a Tokyo art installation called "Namae Ga Nai", recordings of which can be heard on Matsui's myspace page. They are also joined by Yasushi Yoshida from Japanese group Suspiria, providing strange vocalisations, cassettes and toy bells on four songs. While some of the spoken word passages, totally in Japanese, left me a bit disoriented, the album as a whole is a very pleasant, mysterious listen and continues further explorations of the sound of Tsuyuko's previous album "Hokane" from '06. Incidentally, "Ongakushitsu" is still available domestically on reasonably-priced 2LP, via Drag City's Moikai sub-label, pick up both! (In case you can't figure out the Japanese, you can order "Natsu No Zenbu" by emailing lekoodo@hotmail.co.jp.)

Greg Davis - Mutually Arising (2009, Kranky)

2009-07-24T10:09:00.000-07:00

Greg Davis has been releasing electronic music and running the Autumn Records label since '01, featuring IDM-tinged compositions by some well-known artists including Kranky-alumnus Keith Whitman. Davis has released CDs and records on an array of notable labels including RKK, Carpark, and Lux Nigra, as well as his excellent first CD for Kranky in '04, entitled "Somnia". His earlier material has a strong laptop drone sound, making use of organic field recordings processed with granular synthesis fx, creating a constant sense of movement and evolving tones, occasionally giving way to unprocessed recordings of guitar or found sounds. In contrast, "Mutually Arising" has a very minimalist sound, and according to the liner notes, the sound source consists of a pair of classic analog synthesizers, the Korg Mono/Poly and the Crumar Stratus, processed through "various pedals" and finally, computer. The album consists of two extended pieces, each well over 20 minutes in length. In the first piece in particular, "Cosmic Mudra," there is much less of a feeling of movement, instead the experience is similar to an immense wall of sound (depending, of course, on how loud you like to listen to this sort of music), slowly shifting textures over such lengthy periods of time that the transitions are almost imperceptibly subtle, until you realize you have been enveloped in a new sound. The effect is somewhat penetrating and intense, but with a transcendental, meditative quality, as though depicting the ascension of consciousness through various bardos or astral planes, with an effect that reminded me strongly of the Kawabata Makoto/AMT sound that I love. I especially enjoyed the second piece, "Hall Of Pure Bliss", which has a more emotive, somewhat-melodic texture. Constantly shifting filters keep the sound in a perpetual state of motion, shifting around the stereo field, with a very soothing effect to help calm back down after the intensity of the first piece. Whereas "Cosmic Mudra" climaxes in higher-and-higher frequencies, "Pure Bliss" slowly fades into the depths. "Mutually Arising" demands patient, focused deep listening, which I enjoyed as a meditative practice and is also something I aim for in my own music, and I can imagine that live performances of these pieces would be very effective.

ARTIST PROFILE: Mirror (Andrew Chalk & Christoph Heemann) (UK,Germany)

2009-07-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

I previously mentioned that part of my first introduction to "noise music" was via the tape trading scene in the mid '90s, when I was obsessively collecting Skinny Puppy bootlegs and studying all their side-projects and referenced inspirations. This led to an awareness of projects such as Edward Ka-Spel's Legendary Pink Dots, a super-prolific gothic-folk-tinged psychedelic experimental group, who put out an endless stream of cassettes and vinyl in limited editions, often hand-numbered. This pattern was repeated by many fringe, noise and ambient artists throughout the '80s and into the '90s, and developed a mystique among traders searching for "rare releases" (I myself was chuffed to acquire a second-generation copy of Skinny Puppy's "Back & Forth" cassette, #14/50). While sometimes the quality of these tapes was questionable, there was a certain intimacy and personal connection with the artist as the acquisition of their music became a quest. The privilege of being one of a very few to experience a recording could border on the mystical, assuming of course that the music was well-crafted in the first place. As CD-burning replaced cassettes, and mp3s began to get people's attention in the late '90s, a file sharing program called Hotline was released on the Mac. Similar to FTP, but incorporating a message board and chat room, a list of servers could be perused, each with a short description advertising their contents/focus. By sharing some of my Japanese collection, I was able to gain membership on a server run and frequented by some relatively well-known names in the modern underground music scene, and was schooled heavily on all manners of avant-garde music. One focus on the server was the projects of Andrew Chalk and Christoph Heemann, who at the time were collaborating on a project called Mirror, and releasing incredibly gorgeous, ornate pieces of audiophile-quality vinyl in tiny editions. Heemann had started composing in the '80s as a member of a German group called H.N.A.S., which translates to Moose Without A Sofa, and was sort of like an early, kraut-Boredoms, dadaist freakout project, which again released a bunch of mega-obscure, collectible trinkets that collectors obsessed over. In the '90s, Heemann founded the Streamline record label, which released a variety of excellent darkwave ambient music, including a lovely collaboration with Edward Ka-Spel and Silverman from LPD, plus occasional-Sonic-Youth-collaborator Jim O'Rourke, as Mimir. Another favorite of mine was Heemann's collaboration with Merzbow, which featured psychedelic Max Ernst-esque collage cover art by O'Rourke, entitled "Sleeper Awakes On The Edge Of The Abyss". It is particularly notable as being one of the only Merzbow released I can tolerate listening to, mainly because the noise has been turned down to a very dull roar, which Heemann sculpts like vaporous clouds of fire. Andrew Chalk, in the meantime, produced a smattering of solo and collaborative material beginning in the late '80s, and worked in the projects Organum and Ora throughout the '90s on, both of whom made their own buzz and have about a zillion releases each, but I have still not actually heard. Beginning in '99, Chalk and Heemann collaborated in the project Mirror, and released two or three LPs and a CD or two each year until '05. The bulk of these releases were sold only at Mirror shows in various locations in Europe, released on their own Three Poplars label, rarely in an edition higher than 800, and often fewer than 200. The LPs featured incredible hand-painted artwork on the covers, drool-worthy scans of which could be seen online (the image included with this entry is the picture disc "Mirror Of The Sea"). Predictably, the records now sell on eBay and collector websites for $75 a piece and higher. Luckily, Mirror's CDs were more easily acquired domestically via US labels IDEA and Drag City, as well as German label Die Stadt, including the minimalist tribute to Tarkovsky's film "Solaris". Mirror has a very organic and dreamlike sound, combining etheric drifting tones with found sounds and field recordings. The overall effect is like a cinema of the mind, and manages to achieve a timeless sonic texture, very rarely making use of futuristic digital synthesizer effects., instead using bowed metal, inner piano strings and such. Many of Mirror's later releases were live recordings of their shows, but the quality of sound maintained a very high level. Beginning in '05, Chalk ended the Three Poplars label series and started a new label called Faraway Press, which has put out a few albums each year in artfully crafted Japanese-style cardboard gatefold cases. The label has been mainly showcasing solo material by Chalk, as well as his collaborations with Japanese ambient duo Daisuke and Naoko Suzuki. New material for '09 was available on their website earlier this year, but the site is currently down. Christoph Heemann seems to have slowed down his release schedule since Mirror, with an occasional super-limited 7" or CDr in the past couple years, as well as a "reinterpretation" album of Mimir's early recordings produced in '07. While much of these artists' material is out of print or only available by import mailorder, any of their releases that you can find can be assumed to be top-notch. As with Skinny Puppy, the vast number of collaborations and labels that Chalk and Heemann worked with and produced through form a gigantic family of fantastic experimental musicians that can provide for years and years of listening and research.

Mule Electronic various artists - My Favorite Things Vol. 1 & 2 (2008,9)

2009-07-12T13:08:00.001-07:00

Mule Musiq is a relatively new Japanese house label, along with sub-labels Mule Electronic and Endless Flight, exploring deep, jazzy, dubby, retro-tinged techno territory. Since '05, they have been releasing new 12"s roughly every month, as well as several full-length albums and compilations. I first heard the name Mule Musiq when I encountered a 12" by Kuniyuki featuring two extended remixes by Theo Parrish with a great, blunted jazz-house sound. Soon after, I noticed new 12"s and remixes by Kompakt alumnae including Lawrence and DJ Koze, and CD compilations featuring vinyl tracks from each label, including the excellent Mule Musiq "I'm Starting To Feel OK" collection from last year. Mule Electronic compiled its releases in a pair (so far) of CDs entitled "My Favorite Things", and both manage to pull-off a totally listenable, progressive-minded, cohesive package of great tracks. I have to admit that I have very specific tastes in dance music which don't necessarily make sense, but in general I can state that I get turned off by vocals, dramatic/dark chord progressions and aggressive/noisy sonics. I tend to gravitate to the "deep", more soulful, melodic and chilled-out side of the house spectrum, but I also like to dance, so I am always searching for the right blend of deep and energetic. Mule Musiq takes the melodic tech-house sound established by Kompakt, and moves into disco and '80s italo sounds, jazz downtempo beats and clearly-Theo-Parrish-inspired tracks, plus references to modern dubtechno and minimal sounds. Many of the Mule artists are new to me, but I found the majority of the tracks very catchy and dynamic. I particularly enjoy the slow, head-nodding beats of Koss, a side project of jazz-guy Kuniyuki in an ambient techno style, and the '80s-vibe meets futuristic tech-house of Tony Lionni, Isolee and Audision. Volume 1 is a bit more uptempo and danceable, while Vol. 2 is more chilled-out and slow-grooving, but each features a high quality selection of modern dance artists, plus some nice moments of Kompakt-style pop ambience. Another label to watch!

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F♯ A♯ ∞ (1997, Constellation/Kranky)

2009-07-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

Godspeed You! Black Emperor is a nine-piece group from Montreal, Canada who create haunting and beautiful, organic post-rock music. They generated a buzz on the web in the late '90s with their fascinating debut LP "F♯ A♯ ∞", initially released in a limited editon of 500 on the Canadian label Constellation, and then pressed on CD and released in the US on Kranky. Along with Windy & Carl, GY!BE were one of the first Kranky groups I became aware of, and helped further Kranky's reputation as a leading influence in the post-rock scene. GY!BE produces its eerie sonic textures without any synthesizers or computer processing, and structures its long, poetically-titled tracks with a series of movements similar to avant-garde classical music. The instrumentation is based around cello, viola, three guitars, two basses, and two percussionists, along with field-recordings, spoken word and song. The music transitions smoothly from drone-ambient to post-rock jams to classical-sounding passages to experimental abstraction or musique concrète, generally evoking a feeling of sadness, decay, loss and also moments of beauty and peace. Along with the intensity of the music, another element of GY!BE's art are their amazing album covers and liner note design, which makes use of grainy black and white photographs, disturbing collage art and cut-up text, and charts or scores to follow along the movements within each track. "F♯ A♯ ∞" includes an image entitled "Faulty Schematics Of A Ruined Machine" which seems to perfectly sum up the tone of the album. GY!BE commenced to tour all over the world, and '00s "Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven!", also released on Kranky, brought the band even greater attention and popularity. In the early '00s, several of the band members also released similarly-styled side-project material under variations of the name The Silver Mount Zion Memorial Orchestra And Tra-La-La Band, as well as a solo-electronics project by drummer, Aidan Girt, named 1-Speed Bike . Since '03, GY!BE has been on "indefinite hiatus."

Kawabata Makoto - Inui 3 (2005, VHF Records)

2009-07-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

[I realize I haven't updated my blog since last week. I have started a new master's degree program which has been taking a lot of my focus, and also have found myself drawn increasingly to silence recently. While I am huge music fan, I am also a fan of meditation and deep listening, and often enjoy just sitting and focusing on the environmental sounds around me. It is similar to focusing the eyes on a candle flame for meditation, instead it is a focus of the ears. Anyway, I am still planning to work on this blog, so I will aim to keep updating at least weekly, and more often when possible!]

Kawabata Makoto is the guru-like mastermind of the Acid Mothers Temple collective from Japan, whom I profiled in a previous blog entry. I became a big fan of theirs during my time in Japan around '01, but didn't get to experience them live until around '05 in San Francisco. Kawabata is frequently touring around the world, recording many live CDs in collaboration with various non-idiomatic improvisors he meets, usually in tiny limited editions. Kawabata's aesthetic is long-form drone exploration, generated usually from his guitar and banks of pedals, although he is also adept at using many traditional asian stringed instruments and experimental electronics. I was particularly impressed by his "Inui" series, which featured Kawabata playing solo on a variety of exotic ethnic instruments, including bouzuki, sarangi, Chinese fiddle, and sitar. "Inui 2", released in '00, was one of the few AMT-related CD's available domestically in the US at the time, and I was intrigued by the gritty, somewhat-raw drone sounds and shimmering textures produced by these organic instruments. I recently read that a third "Inui" album had been released in '05, and was also happy to find that it is available both on CD and iTunes download. The tone of "Inui 3" is more gentle than the previous volume, with two long 12 and half minute pieces, and a third, 47 minute-long epic. Mellow layers of plucked strings and bowed tones drift around the listener, creating a sustained texture that develops subtly over the course of each piece. I was reminded of Windy & Carl's sound, but through a distinctly Asian, psychedelic lens. I prefer the less-noisy side of Kawabata and AMT's work, and "Inui 3" is now established as a favorite in my collection.

Boards Of Canada - Hi Scores (1996, SKAM)

2009-06-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

Boards Of Canada are a duo from Scotland who are among the most well-known IDM artists since the mid-'90s, with their releases on the influential Warp Records and super-limited SKAM label. Their style presented a new interpretation of trip-hop and downtempo atmospheres, with an experimental IDM influence, and a focus on vintage-sounding, slightly-detuned synthesizer tones and obscure film samples. Like Aphex Twin, many rumors regarding Boards Of Canada's production methods spread on forums during the late '90s, but as far as I can discern, much of BOC's instrumentation was produced on "a pair of Roland SH-101s" and all of their material was recorded on reel-to-reel tape for a more authentic analog sound (at least this applied to their earlier releases). While '98's "Music Has The Right To Children" is considered the break-through album that really got people paying attention, I first heard a big buzz online around the "Hi Scores" EP released on limited 12" in '96, but didn't get to hear the material until '99 when it was reissued on CD and distributed in the US. The EP has a more heavily IDM-influenced sound than subsequent albums, but also features the trademark BOC sounds and melancholy melodies. "Nlogax" and "June 9th" are the most unusual of the selection, the former with a sound that brings to mind a merging of Bochum Welt with Metro Area,and the latter bearing a strong resemblance to Autechre's rhythmic sensibility, with both still incorporating recognizably-BOC synth programming. The other four tracks clearly present the seeds of compositional and sonic styles that would become BOC's focus, leading up to the phenomenal "In A Beautiful Place In The Country" EP in '00 and subsequent albums. "Everything You Do Is A Balloon" is a particularly haunting and catchy piece, which inspired a very cool fan-made video. I only wish that vinyl editions of '90s-era BOC was more available in the US...

Harold Budd - Lovely Thunder (1986, Editions EG)

2009-06-29T15:42:00.000-07:00

Harold Budd is one of my favorite ambient composers, most well known for his piano compositions and improvisations, such as on the classic collaborations with Brian Eno "Ambient II" and "The Pearl". He has also explored electronic ambient textures in his own melodic style on several recordings in the '80s and '90s, and "Lovely Thunder" is one that I've returned to many times. Budd recorded the pieces while working with gothic/dream-pop group Cocteau Twins, with whom he released an ethereal pop-tinged album "The Moon And The Melodies" in the same year on the influential 4AD label. The tracks are all familiar Budd territory, but unique in their instrumentation, as they were produced in the Cocteau Twin's studios and make bolder use of digital synthesizer sounds. The mid-'80s synth sound has a distinctly "dated" quality to it, but the production and tone of "Lovely Thunder" is such that the sounds have a warmth and haunting, ethereal texture that predates and assumably inspired a lot of '90s-era ambient music. While the vinyl edition featured six song-length sketches, the CD also adds an extended piece entitled "Gypsy Violin", nearly 21 minutes in length, which explores longer-form drone territory as well as orchestral textures and soloing with a very digital '80s feel. Each piece has a different emotional tone, generally exploring soft-spoken mystery, melancholy and drama. In his following album, "The White Arcades", Budd reintroduced his piano to the mix, and worked in more abstract, ambient directions along with slightly less synthetic-sounding instrumentation. Budd has released many high-quality albums over his nearly-40 year career, but I especially enjoy his work from the '80s.

King Midas Sound – Dub Heavy - Hearts & Ghosts + Cool Out 12”s (2009, Hyperdub)

2009-06-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

After getting everyone's attention by introducing Burial to the world in '05-'06, Hyperdub has continued to release a steady stream of quality 12”s every few months, including debuts by many other promising artists on the experimental outskirts of the dubstep and hiphop scenes. I love the chiptune-inspired quirkiness and bass heaviness of the Quarta 330, Zomby and Samiyam releases, and the reggae dubstep stylings of both of LV's killer 12”s. More recently, a new duo called King Midas Sound has made an appearance, first with '08s “Cool Out,” which featured one original vocal track and two abstract remixes by cutting-edge, IDM-tinged hiphop heads Dabrye and Flying Lotus. King Midas Sound is a collaboration between Kevin Saunderson, best known for his many releases as The Bug, a punishing, distortion-heavy take on the dancehall and dub sound, and vocalist Roger Robinson, who has several releases of his own on the Altered Vibes label which I haven't heard. Their second 12”, “Dub Heavy – Hearts & Ghosts”, released earlier this month, totally blew me away with its deep, chilled out dub sound. The songs have a traditional dub reggae style to them, but with a futuristic, gritty sonic palette. My first impressions were that it reminded me of the mid-'90s Massive Attack sound, like something from “Protection”, but with a fantastic updated sound that I don't think I've heard anyone else do anything similar to recently, if ever. Both 12”s have elements of down-tempo, hiphop and dub techno, presenting a fascinating blend with a forward-thinking vision of what could be the next step for these genres. “Too Long Dub”, for example, has a pounding 4/4 throb and hissy textures that are reminiscent of Deepchord/Echospace, yet with a different rhythmic sensibility and composition style. According to the King Midas Sound myspace page, there is a full-length entitled “Super Heavy” forthcoming, of which four demo tracks can be heard in their audio player. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for the release date!

Tread – Tread 3 (2002, Norm)

2009-06-25T10:18:00.001-07:00

Hiroshi Watanabe is best know for his series of releases on Kompakt as Kaito, which turned a lot of heads in '01-'02 with a fresh interpretation of trance techno that reviewers ended up calling “neo-trance”. Most people are not aware that Watanabe had been active in Japan since the mid-'90s producing 12”s and music for video games, including the Beat Mania series. At the same time as the Kaito material was being released worldwide, Watanabe was also collaborating with Takehiko Kitahara, a fashion designer and graphic artist with whom he runs the Norm label, and releasing albums under the name Tread only in Japan, and later, the UK via Third Ear. Whereas Kaito explored multi-layered, high-energy synthesizer riffs and pounding trance beats, Tread is more along the down-tempo, “chill out” side of house music. The tracks have a slow-burning groove, with gentle, undistorted instrumentation, and minimalist, unprocessed drum machine patterns that sound influenced by Theo Parrish, although simpler and less experimental/jumpy. Although centered around 4/4 house beats, most of the tracks are 100bpm and under, making them less appropriate for the dance floor and better suited for lounging and head-nodding. The tone alternates between chill, blissed out and a bit melancholy, with a funky edge throughout. Tread produced five albums between '01 and '05, each consisting of around 8 long tracks, with similar striped covers with a different color scheme for each release, each representing a season of the year (“Tread 3” being Summer). I guess the 5th album wasn't originally planned in the series, and does not appear to feature the same cover style. I personally found “Tread 3” to be my favorite and the most catchy, but all of the Tread material is worth hearing and explores similar territory, plus I have to admit I haven't heard the most recent “Tread 5”. I also have really enjoyed Kaito's 12”s and “Special Life” album on Kompakt, but when I am not feeling so high-energy, Tread makes excellent low-key house music.

Nobukazu Takemura – Kobito No Kuni (Unreleased Tracks ~1999) (2007, Moonlit)

2009-06-24T10:49:00.000-07:00

“Kobito No Kuni” is the most recent solo-release by Nobukazu Takemura, and his first since '03, although it is actually a collection of out-takes from my personal favorite time period of his works. Following the ground-breaking “Child & Magic” album in '97, which merged futuristic IDM and drum'n'bass programming with minimalist, neo-classical instrumentation and singing children, Takemura went deeper into abstraction with a pair of CDs produced for fashion designer Issey Miyake's shows in Italy in '99 entitled “Milano” and “Finale”. Both albums were firmly in the experimental neo-classical mode, using synthesized and real classical instrument sounds to create abstract textures and patterns that bring to mind Philip Glass or Steve Reich, but with a glitchy computerized edge. Takemura also developed his innovative “skipping CD shuffle” sound production technique around this time, in which he created spontaneous, glitchy looping patterns from brief snippets of what sounds like distorted chamber music. This method was used to critical acclaim on '99s “Scope”, released domestically by Thrill Jockey, which introduced many Americans to Takemura's sound. Beginning with the “Sign” EP in '00, Takemura began experimenting with generative hyper-IDM beats and lo-fi computer voice singing, taking his music in another, even more futuristic direction, but leaving behind much of the simplicity of his earlier neo-classical work. I am glad to find that “Kobito No Kuni” collects over 70 minutes of such material, and while two of the tracks clock in at about 18 minutes apiece and could probably have been half that, for the most part the pieces keep constantly moving and shifting in unexpected ways. The textures are at times both warm and organic, mellow and playful, as well as cold and digital, without getting too far into noisy DSP freak-out territory. According to Takemura's website, which has been “under construction” since '06, he spoke in March this year at the Japan Society in NYC alongside Steve Reich, and has recently relocated from Kyoto, Japan to Germany. I have been a big fan of Takemura's Childisc/Moonlit labels for nearly a decade now, and hope that more material along the lines of “Kobito No Kuni” will get released soon.

Theo Parrish – Sound Signature Sounds (2000, Sound Signature)

2009-06-23T09:45:00.000-07:00

Theo Parrish is a house artist and DJ from Detroit who has been putting out original, abstract, lo-fi dance records since the mid '90s, and now runs his own Sound Signature label, releasing a steady stream of his own and his friends' 12”s each year. I first heard a buzz about Theo on internet discussion forums around the release of his “Sound Signature Sounds” CD, which collects tracks from the label's first six 12”s. The aesthetic is minimalist and organic, with unprocessed drum machine beats, gritty low-bitrate samples and live-feeling synth chords and melodic improvisation. Hints of disco and funk rhythms enter the mix, and the mood is deep and soulful, yet largely instrumental save for some abstract looping vocal samples in the background. I love the jazzy feel to the chord progressions and the constant live change-ups in the drum patterns. All the elements of Theo Parrish's later musical composition styles make an experience here, from tribal African drumming, quirky synth programming to endlessly repeating hypnotic disco loops which he later explored on his fascinating Ugly Edits 12” white-label series. Along with fellow Detroit deep house master Kenny Dixon Jr. aka Moodymann, with whom Theo has collaborated on the KDJ label, Theo Parrish is outspoken on the roots of modern dance music as coming from African sources, and considers his DJ sets to be musical history lessons in motion. My personal favorite era of Theo Parrish 12"s is '96-'02, but to be honest I find something I enjoy on almost everything he releases, including his more recent full-length and EPs with organic live house band 3 Chairs, and his '08-'09 Sound Signature 12"s on an extended blunted space-jam tip are well worth hearing!

Gregg Kowalsky – Tape Chants (2009, Kranky)

2009-06-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

"Tape Chants" is fellow-Mills-grad Gregg Kowalsky's second release for Kranky, a US label long-established as an innovator in ambient and post-rock experimentalism. The album is based on a series of live performances/installations, in which an array of cassette tape players were placed around a room, playing recordings of minimal sound sources such as sinewave oscillators, mixer feedback, and contact mic recordings. During the peformance, Gregg would walk around the space and adjust the volume of the tapes, allowing the acoustics of the room and the position of the listener to play a role in the reception of the sound. For the "Tape Chants" album, the surround-sound element has been lost, but many of the recordings used in the performances have been incorporated into the mix, along with some subdued percussive elements played on what sound like the inside strings of a piano, and according to the liner notes there is also gong, motors, water, glass, etc. The result is a very organic-sounding, slightly lo-fi ambience which brings to mind early electronics recordings of the '50s, and feels very far away from modern digital glitch-futurism. The sonic textures are mysterious, hazy, hissy, occasionally static-laden, with a meditative warmth combined with an experimental edge. There is a slow but constant sense of movement provided by the shifting fuzz of what sounds like short-wave radio static or ancient modular synthesizer grit on tape loops, as well as other-worldy sounds that I am guessing are field recordings or contact mic textures; organic yet alien. The drones are occasionally punctuated by distant percussive strikes and abrupt dynamic textural changes, with some soft bass thrumming on the fourth track "VI-VII" provided by Marielle Jakobsons. "Tape Chants" is a very deep, soft-spoken album with an original ambient sound, which I would love to hear/see recreated live!

Tetsu Inoue – Inland (2007, Fax +49-69/450464)

2009-06-19T15:24:00.001-07:00

Tetsu Inoue is an ambient and experimental electronic musician with a prolific catalog of releases since the early '90s. Much of his material was released on the Fax +49-69/450464 label run by Pete Namlook, a hyper-prolific artist in his own right, known among other things for his Pink Floyd-inspired "The Dark Side Of The Moog" ambient collaborations with kraut-meister Klaus Schulze. The Fax label was known for releasing one-time pressings in very limited editions, usually 500 to 1000 copies, which made much of Inoue's back-catalog unaccesable and over-priced for many years. "Ambiant Otaku" from '94, for example, is widely regarded as an essential ambient classic on discussion forums online, but due to its scarce availability of 1000 copies, would regularly sell for upwards of $200 on eBay, as did other Fax releases from the early '90s. Thankfully, Fax has embraced iTunes to distribute much of their catalog in high quality MP3 format, and all of Inoue's albums and collaborations are now available for usually $9.99 per album. My first exposure to Inoue's music was on the more digital glitch end of the spectrum with '97s "Waterloo Terminal" and the '98 Tzadik release "Psycho-Acoustic". Considering the time period, both albums are incredibly futuristc, making use of the latest DSP effects, granular synthesis and bitcrushed field recordings. While some of the tracks have moments of soothing ambience, the tone is generally more abstract, electro-acoustic and slightly noisy, without being overly abrassive. In '07, I saw an announcement that a new Tetsu Inoue solo album had been released that was receiving comparisons to his classic works. While the CD was only available in an edition of 500, the album was available in high quality digital format online, along with the now-reasonably-priced "Ambiant Otaku". Having heard both now, I understand the comparisons, although I can also hear how much Inoue's production technique and musical aesthetic has evolved in 13 years. While "Ambiant Otaku" features repeating tonal structures and arpeggios over a bed of shifting synthesizers with a just-slightly-dated early '90s feel, "Inland" is more formless, abstract and cinematic, featuring constanly morphing clouds of calm sound with a futuristic digital edge. The music is gentle and enveloping, with some slightly melancholy passages and lots of depth and mystery. Each of the 8 tracks has a distinct pallet of sounds, but all flow together, exploring similar ambient territory. I am unfamiliar with much of Inoue's back-catalog, but many consider his Fax releases to be ambient "classics", so probably anything you can find is worth hearing.

Space Machine – 3 (2004, Important Records)

2009-06-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

I first became aware of Yamazaki Maso, best known for his Masonna project, when I was active in the cassette tape trading scene online during the mid-'90s. My main focus at the time was collecting live tapes of industrial group Skinny Puppy, but I encountered many obsessed “noise music” collectors with long lists of tapes by Japanese artists such as Merzbow, Aube, Keiji Haino, and Masonna. My experience with Japanese noise music is that it is very difficult to listen to unless played at low volume, which I suspect defeats its purpose. Masonna's CDs, for example, are mastered at unbelievably loud volumes, such that one must either turn their stereo way down to minimum levels or risk exploding their windows/brains via sonic attack. Merzbow's sonic aesthetic typically revolves around a squealing cat-with-its-tail-slammed-in-a-door distortion effect. While I find the artistic merit of such “music” questionable, I admire these artists' salesmanship and ability to market their micro-limited edition, often hand-made releases to collector geeks in the US and noise otaku in Japan. In '01, during a year in Japan, I encountered Maso's debut Space Machine album “Cosmos From Diode Ladder Filter”, which caught my eye with its cover featuring a vintage EMS VCS3 synthesizer (as used on the classic Dr. Who soundtracks). Apparently, in '00 Maso had begun experiencing ill health and had to curtail his Masonna performances, which often involved intense screaming and self-abuse onstage. This break allowed Maso to mellow a bit and focus on his amazing collection of vintage modular synthesizers. The aesthetic of Space Machine is to produce vintage-styled electronic cosmic drone music, inspired by early electronic artists of the '50s and '60s. The result is, in my opinion, much more listenable than his previous Masonna material, and a fascinating tour of sounds from rare synthesizers that collectors would have to pay thousands of dollars for apiece, not to speak of getting them into working condition. In '04, Space Machine's third album “3” was released domestically by Important Records, making it the first of the series available in the US. The album consists of six untitled studio tracks and a 40 minute live performance recorded in Osaka featuring fellow Japanese experi-mentalists Kawabata Makoto and Nakaya Kouichi. The studio arsenal for this recording includes the Roland System 100M modular synthesizer, Moog Sonic Six, EMS VCS3 and others, plus '60s and '70s-era echo chambers, tape echoes and analog delays. While the sound is abrasive at times, there is a certain cosmic sensibility that seems unique to Japanese experimental music, and makes for some fascinating deep listening. Maso has also applied his vintage synthesizer techniques to retro '60s psychedelia with his Christine 23 Onna project, featuring distorted groovy beats and catchy guitar hooks. Look for '02's “Acid Eater”!

Love Inc. - Life's A Gas (1995, Force Inc. Music Works)

2009-06-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

A solid decade before “minimal techno” began to actually become “trendy”, if only by way of Richie Hawtin's M-nus label in the US anyway, Wolfgang Voigt was beating everyone to the punch with his Love Inc. project on the now-defunct German Force Inc. Music Works record label. Constantly defining trends and defying all completist collectors, Voigt has released well over 100 records under a huge array of aliases, beginning with his acid tracks under the name Mike Ink in the early '90s. His early tracks are storming and 303-drenched, taking the acid sound to its hardcore extremes, but with his Love Inc. project he really began to establish himself as an innovative experimental techno producer. Following a series of high-intensity, acid-tinged techno 12”s, “Life's A Gas” was Voigt's first full-length CD and has a great minimal tech-house sensibility. With a strange collage cover composed of classic '70s rock albums, the album apparently features samples from each album depicted, although I can only detect the obvious re-interpretation of T. Rex's “Hot Love” in the “Hot Love (Mike Mix)”, where the original track has been morphed into a psychedelic cowboy shuffle. Most of the tracks have a club sensibility paired with a mysterious, abstract synth instrumentation, while the downtempo “Where It's At” sounds like it would be at home on Aphex Twin's “SAW Vol. II”. The album itself has hints of modern dub techno, minimalism and progressive tech-house, produced with oldschool synthesizers and hardware drum machines with a great analog/digital hybrid '90s sound. Voigt continued from this point to venture further into abstraction with his Gas project, and founded the Kompakt label in the late '90s to release more catchy minimal and abstract techno, but the roots can be heard on “Life's A Gas”.

BONUS: "Retro Techno/Detroit Definitive : Emotions Electric" compilation liner notes by John McCready, July 1988 (re-edit 1991)

2009-06-16T18:11:00.000-07:00

[bonus post: I found this great transcription of a late '80s compilation's liner notes about Detroit techno, with some great quotes by Derrick May and an interesting interview with Kevin Saunderson. I am mystified, however, by Kevin's statement that his favorite piece of gear is the Roland SD 8000.... I can't find a single piece of info on it. Perhaps he meant the Roland CR-8000 drum machine, which I am a big fan of and have used many of the sounds from in my own productions.]

"The Techno Rebels are, whether they recognise it or not, agents of the Third Wave. They will not vanish but multiply in the years ahead. For they are as much a part of the advance to a new stage of civilisation as our missions to Venus, our amazing computers, our biological discoveries, or our explorations of the oceanic depths." The Third Wave, Alvin Toffler.

"We're not really interested in tearing you up with the scratches and cuts tonight. We're more interested in...educating you for the future..." Derrick May, WJLB Radio Mix

It's 3am and the streets of America's seventh city are deserted as Derrick May pilots his car through a crumbling monument to the Second Wave - the age of industry and mass production - the age of Ford and Gordy who both ran their second wave empires from here. "This place is fucked man. It's finished," he says shaking his head incredulously. We pass a gutted building filled with holes that were once windows. Detroit is winding down the past and isn't sure if it wants to be part of the future.

Driving down Woodward Avenue, we pass the wooden house that was home to the carefully-honed pop soul of Motown. Motown was the musical backdrop to the Second Wave. Motown means nothing to Derrick May.

Via systems dance records like 'Nude Photo' and together with fellow artists Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson, Derrick has invested his time, money and energy in the future.

Detroit rolls by like a discarded set from Robocop, a film set in the city's fictional future. "Now you understand why we make this music," he says, "We can do nothing but look forward..."

[continues] http://www.ele-mental.org/ele_ment/said&did/emotions_electric.html

Autechre - Incunabula (1993, Warp Records)

2009-06-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

Warp Records defined the IDM sound in the early '90s with their Artificial Intelligence CD series, which featured some of the first releases from artists who went on to lead prolific careers and have been defined as innovators in electronic music, including Aphex Twin, Speedy J, FUSE (now better known as Richie Hawtin/Plastikman), and The Black Dog (aka Plaid). Autechre were a duo from the UK, and their debut CD "Incunabula" was distributed in the US by TVT (parent label of classic US industrial label/shop WaxTrax!) so it was actually obtainable in American shops unlike many of the UK-printed Warp releases at the time. Besides having very futuristic (for the time) and mysterious cover art featuring reflective silver text, the sound was utterly unique and much more advanced than other early techno I had heard at the time. I am still actually kind of blown away that "Incunabula" was released in '93. While there are some dated elements, mainly in the form of the oldschool drum machine programming and bleepy synths, all the sounds are put to excellent use and the end result can still be totally appreciated even if heard for the first time today. The album is particularly interesting from the viewpoint of Autechre fans, as it captures the group in a different form than they became known for in the following years, when they established themselves as cutting-edge masters of experimental, glitchy, industrialized IDM sound. They began to incorporate more samples and a much more computer-centered production approach as the '90s progressed, using the latest and most high-end digital software and gear, and the sound took on a somewhat more abrasive, psychedelic rhythm-and-texture-oriented focus. "Tri Repetae++" was also a favorite of mine in the '90s, released as a 2CD set in the US by TVT, which featured the essential "Anvil Vapre" and "Garbage" EPs on the second disc. If you were really lucky you could even spot Autechre's devastating and creepy "Second Bad Vilbel" video on MTV's late night attempt at a "rave music" video show, AMP, which incidentally was one of the first videos directed by Chris Cunningham, who went on to direct amazing videos for Aphex Twin, Madonna and Bjork. Autechre have reinvented themselves with each release, and have put out a fantastic collection of EPs and full-lengths over the years, and while I find a few tracks on almost every release that I enjoy, "Incunabula" is one that I've gone back to again and again.

Polygon Window - Surfing On Sine Waves (1993, Warp Records)

2009-06-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

Since I listened to "Selected Ambient Works Vol. II" last week, I have been on an Aphex Twin kick, and revisiting some of my favorites in my collection. Released under the moniker Polygon Window, "Surfing On Sine Waves" was the first in the seminal Artificial Intelligence series on Warp Records, which spawned a whole new "intelligent dance music" sound in the UK and world-wide in the '90s. The early releases in the series have a strong "bleepy" feel, made mainly with hardware synthesizers and drum machines rather than the software-heavy laptop approach of modern IDM. This was also one of the few Aphex Twin albums that one could actually find in shops in the US during the mid-'90s, thus it was one of his first CDs I bought after "...I Care Because You Do". "Sine Waves" features Aphex Twin in acid house and hardcore-inspired ambient techno mode, composing mainly with minimal-yet-pounding drum machine programming and repeating, washed-out synthesizer tones. While the tempo and beats are on the dance-side of the spectrum, there is lots of reverb and minimal passages, with a mysterious, timeless sound (apart from the dated drum machine sounds, which I would rather call "classic"). There is a total absence of drum loops on the album, and sampled material is kept to a bare minimum, although used to excellent effect with the strange spoken samples on "If It Really Is Me" and the stomping "Supremacy II". The reverb-and-acid-synth-laden "UT1 Dot" and the beatless "Quino-Phec" could fit in well on "SAW Vol. II", while other tracks blend the ambient elements with a strong techno beat, such as "Quixote". In '01, the album was remastered and re-issued with two additional tracks from the original sessions, both in a more down-tempo/IDM style but still in line with the overall tone of the album tracks. Aphex Twin has taken his Polygon/Caustic Window hardcore acid techno sound in an ultra-futuristic-and-yet-slightly-lo-fi direction on his recent Analord 12" series, but much of his early '90s material still stands as all-time classic to me.

Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works Vol. II (1994, Warp Records)

2009-06-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

Aphex Twin has been a huge creative inspiration to me since I was a teenager in the mid-'90s, when I found his classic IDM album "...I Care Because You Do" available from corporate music mail-order service BMG, which I was hooked on at the time. The album, like much of Aphex Twin's material, is both sonically fascinating, catchy and yet challenging, making use of bizarre synthesizer noises and experimental FX processing. Richard D. James, the mad genius behind Aphex Twin, is semi-infamous for his eccentricity, and has managed to spawn a significant cult of personality around his obscure releases, which is pretty impressive considering he makes quirky electronic music, and not stadium rock. Legends have grown about James driving a miniature tank rather than a car, about living in an old bank vault and locking himself in for days at a time making music, and building all his gear "from scratch" or at least modifying and hacking his equipment and creating "black box" FX units. Whatever the truth is, James has managed to inspire people's fascination and created a big collector's scene centered around the "major" IDM labels of the '90s: Warp Records, Rephlex, and Skam. Besides his beat-oriented IDM material and later excursions into high-speed drill'n'bass territory, Aphex has produced material on the more textural and ambient side of things. "Selected Ambient Works Vol. II" collects nearly 140 minutes of this material on 2CDs, and is an epic, ground-breaking, and timeless release. Continuing on the path of beautiful Aphex obscurity, there are no track titles per se, but instead there are round "pie charts" containing small wedges of photographs. Each "pie" relates to a sequence of tracks on the CD/LP, with the size of the pie slice proportionally related to the length of the track. Thus, some collector geeks with too much time on their hands have managed to put together a "tracklist" using descriptions of the photos, such as "curtains", "weathered stone", "domino", "lichen", etc. James has said that his inspiration for the album was his many lucid dreams he has had since a child, and his memories of the music and sounds he heard in his dreams. The music itself is a sort of looping ambient style, composed of repeating melodic motifs and synthesizer textures that build and fade in and out of each other. Far from formless, the tracks are harmonically rich and memorable, with catchy melodic hooks that remind me of the modern Kompakt Pop Ambient sound. Occasionally, faint throbbing drums make a distant appearance, such as on the haunting "grass" and "blur" (CD1-4 and CD1-7), while some tracks even enter a subdued rhythmic IDM territory, predating Susumu Yokota's ambient production style on the classic "Sakura". Snippets of vocal samples and laughter appear in a few of the tracks, but overall the sound-source is surreal and other-wordly, without sounding particularly dated or "synthy". Aphex Twin has never really returned to this production style since the mid-'90s, although he has never ceased to innovate in other genres of electronic music. "Selected Ambient Works Vol. II" is an album that can be listened to on "random play" and often yields new sonic experiences with each listen.

Pauline Oliveros & Stuart Dempster & Panaiotis - Deep Listening (1989, New Albion)

2009-06-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

Pauline Oliveros has been composing and performing experimental electronic music since the '60s, and has long been considered a pioneer and innovator in the field. In the '80s she began releasing albums featuring her accordion improvisations, and experimented with digital processing and spatial environment recording, moving in a more free-form ambient, meditative direction. '89s "Deep Listening" documented her collaborations with trombonist Stuart Dempster and vocalist Peter Ward (aka Panaiotis). The group had discovered a vast underground cistern which had previously held 2 million gallons of water. Now empty, the space was found to produce a massive, sustaining reverberation of sound. The group improvised and recorded long textural drones in the space, four pieces of which are collected on "Deep Listening". The sound is other-worldly and enveloping, yet the instrumentation is entirely organic, consisting of Pauline on accordion, conch shell and voice, Stuart on trombone, didgeridoo, garden hose, conch shell and voice, and Panaiotis providing voice as well as found-object metal scraping on the fantastic fourth piece "Nike". The natural reverb obscures and washes out the sharp edges of the sound, while accentuating certain harmonics as they slowly decay over a period of nearly 45 seconds. Even percussive sounds are rendered into distant washes of soft noise. The tone of the music is at times haunting and mysterious, such as on the etherial "Suiren", as well as soothing and meditative, such as the long passages in "Ione". This album stands as one of the all-time classics of ambient music, and required listening for anyone interested in drones. Pauline Oliveros produced several more CDs throughout the '90s with her Deep Listening Band, while also writing and holding workshops on the practice of Deep Listening, a meditation practice centered on the focused observation of sound in one's environment. I had the privelege of attending a short workshop and concert Pauline held in North Carolina back in '02, and was inspired to attend Mills college, where Pauline had studied and currently teaches, to focus on studying the applications of sound for meditation and healing. Pauline is still touring and composing actively with her accordion and Extended Instrument System digital processing software. She also runs her own Deep Listening recod label, which has released a variety of excellent ambient and improvisation-based CDs over the past decade.

LABEL PROFILE: Jahtari Netlabel (Germany)

2009-06-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

In the past few years, chiptunes have been gaining more popularity and respect in the music underground, with the sound crossing over into club-oriented dubstep and minimal techno productions. The concept is essentially a digital production technique using vintage computer synthesis software, hardware and/or effects to produce ultra lo-fi, videogame-esque tracks. Some artists get really into production with old Atari ST or Amiga computers, while others use Tracker software on PCs that has been around since the early '90s (I got my start on an ancient tracker software for the Mac around '96, and still use Jeskola Buzz today). Other people get into vintage digital synthesizers, NanoLoop software for Gameboy or Nintendo DS, or even build/modify their own sound modules. The outcome is typically gritty, raw-sounding electronic music that sounds strongly dated, yet with an experimental, futuristic direction. To be honest, I still associate a lot of what I hear with the "tracker demos" that one could find on the web throughout the '90s, and a lot of it sounds like second-rate videogame music. Still there are some exotic effects, textures and noises that can be coaxed from these digital tools, and I have been getting excited by some of the more recent developements in the genre. Jahtari started producing "digital 7"s" in '04, and caught my attention in '06 with a minor buzz around their Mikey Murka & Disrupt "Sensi Addict/Arcade Addict" release, which featured samples from a collection of vintage arcade machine recordings made by some kids in the '80s. Jahtari's aesthetic is to create Digital Laptop Reggae, using the lo-fi chiptune sounds to compose dancehall and dub beats. Entirely different from the "dub techno" sound, many Jahtari releases sound like vintage game music (such as Dubmood's "Atari-Ska", out-takes from some "Reggae Adventure Island". Other material by Illyah & Ltd. Candy adds smooth vocal elements and gets into abstract IDM territory, while retaining a strong reggae beat. I particularly enjoy the releases by label-boss Disrupt, which frequently features humorous and trippy samples from old films. The production is impressively high-end considering the lo-fi sound sources, and usually not too abrassive for casual listening. Best of all, most of Jahtari's material is available for FREE. They have also produced actual vinyl releases and a CD compilation, although it is probably unlikely you'll find them in US stores. Disrupt, Bo Marley, Rootah and co. are on tour all over Europe this summer!

Zomby - Where Were U In '92? (2008, Werk Discs)

2009-06-10T12:08:00.000-07:00

Zomby started producing 12"s in '07 and came to "popular" attention with his "Mu5h/Spliff Dub" 12" in early '08 on Hyperdub, regarded as a major innovator in the dubstep genre, which is now morphing into a variety of genres that don't necessarily have agreed-upon names yet (I've heard the word "wonky", but I don't like it). Zomby's style merged futuristic reggae-inspired rhythms and effects with ultra lo-fi videogame/chiptune instrumentation. I was also blown away by his simple yet punishing "Liquid Dancehall" track on Ramp Recordings, a plodding halfsteppy track with bubbling synth sounds and '80s arcade game-esque effects. In late '08, Zomby released his first full-length CD on Werk Discs and caused a big commotion in the dubstep scene. "Where Were U In '92?" is an homage to the classic sounds of rave music in the UK in the early '90s, incorporating motifs and styles from jungle, d'n'b breaks, early hardcore and sample-heavy techno. The record is like a sonic time capsule and an insight into a scene that was before my time but whose influence I've heard in much of the best electronic music in the '90s and today. Big wobbling basslines, pitched-up vocal samples, echoing reggae toasts and airhorns all make appearances in the seamless mix, revealing the roots of the dubstep sound and just how futuristic the early UK sound really was. Based on the law of things returning to popularity every 20 years, I expect we'll hear more of this oldskool breaks-heavy sound in the near future. One example that impressed me last year was the Hyperdub 12" of Kode9 vs LD's "Bad/2 Bad", another homage to the early '90s sound, in this case a reference to the killer 2 Bad Mice. For a long time I felt like a lot of early '90s techno in particular was just too dated to really appreciate, but I am starting to appreciate the intricacies and technical limitations of the production. In fact, Zomby chose to produce "Where Were U" using only '92-era technology, specifically an Akai S-2000 and an Atari ST running Cubase, very impressive! Zomby has most recently released his second Hyperdub release, a 2x12" which typically gets priced around $20 in the US and is only about 21 minutes long, which seems a bit expensive to me, but ufortunately much of the current UK dubstep doesn't have any proper US distribution. The EP itself is really fantastic, however, and returns to Zomby's heavy videogame-influenced sound, with tracks that sound like a psychedelic Mario Brothers underground dance party, amazing! Zomby is currently on tour in the UK, and I'm really hoping more of this sound reaches the US soon...

Headhunter - Nomad (2008, Tempa)

2009-06-08T15:09:00.001-07:00

Turning our focus back to contemporary electronic music, a dubstep album that really stood out last year was Headhunter's "Nomad" full-length on the excellent Tempa label. Headhunter had caught my attention the previous year with his track "Locus Lotus" from the "Iniate EP" 12", a storming 4/4 house track with a very strong reggae/dubstep influence, a style which I think people in the UK are now calling "funky house" or just "funky". The other tracks on the 12" explored grime territory with slow, half-step rhythms and big growling wobbly basslines, with some warm touches of dub techno pads and effects. The style is similar to 2562, who was also a big-name dubstep artist in '08, but on a more melodic and sometimes cinematic vibe, reminiscent of Burial. The production is top-notch as well, with constantly shifting textures and change-ups in rhythm that avoid the "dubstep pitfall" of over-repetition of one groove. "Nomad" starts with a strong, if by-the-books, dub techno track but quickly gets exciting with "Prototypes", a driving techno-influenced track with a dance-able dubstep beat. "Grounded" brings back the dub techno motifs, but set to a sick Burial-esque beat and heavy sub-bass rumbles. Lots of organic percussion mixed with futuristic digital effects add up to a very forward-thinking dance sound that I really want to hear more of in clubs. Slower, half-step tracks like "Baseflow" take the hip-hop inspired UK grimey sound in a hyper-futuristic direction, making for great, head-nodding chill out vibes. Just last week, Rinse FM put up a live Headhunter vs N-Type set for free mp3 download featuring many new Headhunter tracks! Check it!

Trattoria various artists – Shock City Shockers Vol. 1 & 2 (2000, 2001)

2009-06-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

To wrap up my week-o'-Boredoms reviews, I thought I would address the other aspect of Boredoms releases that I find particularly fascinating: the freak-out collage compilation. As you have probably already figured out, Boredoms members like to make new band names for every little project they do, particularly front-man Yamatsuka EYE, who is also an accomplished, if totally insane, visual collage artist, and has even released his own art books, “Ongaloo” and “OK FRED x Death by Basel”. This collage style is more in line with the traditional Japanese noise scene from the '80s on, a world of hand-made cassette releases, weird found-sounds and essentially unlistenable shrieking distortion. Boredoms stood out from this scene by applying the experimental production techniques to actual song-form productions and skilled instrument playing, retaining the chaos and sonic extremity of noise but bridging the gap to avant-garde, post-rock and even ambient experimental music. The first various Bore-related artists compilation was arguably produced by EYE's noisy found-sound Puzzle Punks project on the album “Pipeline” in '95, subtitled “24 Smash Hits by 24 Puzzle Punk Bands”. In actuality, the material was probably all created by EYE and band-mate Shinro Otake, with each track given a different artist's name including MC5 Or 6, Ganja Farmers, Ha Ha Ha, and Wipe Out Shock Shoppers. In '99, the Japanese indie label Trattoria released a compilation entitled “Shock City Shockers” which really blew me away with it's updated, noise-inspired sound, and featured several REAL bands and Boredoms side-projects including Psycho-Baba, OOIOO, Rovo and others. There are also several bands with questionable names such as PP Nights, WeyeW, XOX, and Skyeye, all of which essentially sound like out-takes from “Vision Creation Newsun” sessions and field recordings. The overall vibe is very psychedelic, with some ambient and tribal interludes as well as full-on noise freakouts. The second volume of Shock City Shockers is technically titled as an OOIOO album, as each track is ostensibly a remix of songs from “Green & Gold”, although the sonic result is often unrecognizable from the original versions, including remixes by some of my favorite Japanese electronic musicians, Kiyoshi Izumi and Nobukazu Takemura. More recently, EYE has released his own remix albums which continue this futuristic tribal psych-noise style, and pretty much any of this stuff that you can find for non-collectors-prices is worth hearing! (Bonus tip: look for EYE's mix album under his DJ name, DJ Pika Pika Pika, “Planetary Natural Love Gas Webbin' 199999999”, it is brain-bending! I also realize I completely forgot to mention the most recent Boredoms project, 77 Boa Drum, a massive “drum circle” comprised of 77 drummers playing full drum kits in a huge spiral, outdoors in NYC on 7/7/07. While the concept is fantastic, the actual sonic result did not really thrill me.)

AOA – Emotion Vacation : Silent Summer Collection (2001, Comma)

2009-06-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

I have been listening to Boredoms projects a lot lately, so I thought I would keep it going and dedicate all the reviews this week to some of my favorites. One aspect of Boredoms that I've never gotten to experience is their live performances, particularly at outdoor raves and psychedelic festivals in Japan. From footage I've seen, their live shows, at least in the earlier '00s, had a strong dance and even techno element, with pounding 4/4 beats and drum circle percussion jams. This sound is captured on CD by AOA, the freeform trance project of Boredoms drummers Hira and E-da, with a shifting line-up of special guest musicians. The style is similar to the extended tribal jams on "Vision Creation Newsun", but with a more electronic instrumentation and a rave aesthetic. The material is apparently produced spontaneously around a foundation of 4/4 drum machine programming, with constantly shifting textures, synthesizer arpeggio sequences, and live drumming. AOA is a futuristic blend of Japanese psychedelic production techniques applied to Goa trance dance beats. The group released three full-lengths and two EPs in a period of five years from '98 to '02, and seem to have taken a break since, although the band members are probably just performing with their many other projects now, including Boredoms themseles. "Emotion Vacation" is the only AOA album that is easy to acquire outside of Japan, as it was licensed to Australian label Psy-Harmonics, where it is still in-print and currently on sale for $14AUD, which is about $11.50USD and includes world-wide shipping! My other favorite of AOA's is '99's "Surfin' Alright", which may be an even stronger album but is out-of-print and impossible to find.

OOIOO – Gold & Green (2000, Trattoria)

2009-06-04T10:21:00.001-07:00

Another fantastic Boredoms side-project, OOIOO is composed of four Japanese female musicians, led by vocalist/guitarist/drummer/something-else-probably Yoshimi P-We. The sound is sort of like Boredoms doing more pop-oriented, song-form tracks, but making full use of their array of FX, strange instrumentation and unexpected sonic territory, with Yoshimi on soaring vocals. The vibe is playful and experimental, yet technically masterful and well-composed. When I got a chance to see OOIOO perform live in Japan, opening for Sonic Youth in '01, I was particularly blown away by the bands ability to perfectly reproduce their material from the album in live form. At one point, Yoshimi apparently detected some sloppy playing in the arrangement, and actually STOPPED the song and had everyone start over again, which only accentuated how technically flawless the performance actually was. “Gold & Green” is an album by a band at the top of their game, and while there have been several OOIOO albums since that take the sound forward, perhaps because I have such a strong feeling from their concert, this has remained my favorite. The songs are catchy and full of hooks, as well as many variations and rhythmic change-ups to really make your head spin. Although it took a long time, the album was finally released domestically in the US in '05 on Thrill Jockey, and in fact can now be purchased in MP3 form for a mere $10. If you want to get into Boredoms, but prefer something a bit less noisy, OOIOO is a perfect introduction to this fantastic Japanese psychedelic sound.

Psycho-Baba – On The Roof Of Kedar Lodge (2000, Japan Overseas)

2009-06-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

During my time in Japan, a good friend introduced me to many Boredoms side projects, including one that (as I recall) her friend had hand-drawn the intricate cover art for: Psycho-Baba. In this project, Yoshimi, the drummer of Boredoms but also a vocalist and song-writer in her own right with her band OOIOO, is paired with sitar-meister Yoshidadaitiki and fellow Boredoms drummer ATR on tablas and processed drumkit. The result is an incredible Indian raga-inspired experimental sound, with Yoshimi providing echoing vocals processed live through her Kaoss Pad and live drumming alongside traditional Indian rhythms and instrumentation. Occasionally futuristic digital FX play a role in the mix, providing a strong hallucinatory vibe such as on the aptly-titled “After Bong, Then Sleep”, but much of the music has a timeless, organic feel. Some familiar Boredoms experimentalism and tribal drumming make appearances, and the music is definitely on the noisier end of things, although with a dream-like feel and occasional interludes of droning ambience. This is thankfully one of Boredoms' side-projects that can be acquired in the US, as it is distributed by Japan Overseas and still in stock. Psycho-Baba released several live concert EPs in Japan as the phoentically-spelled Saicobab, which go off in more abstract, ambient directions, centered around beautiful, heavy sitar drones and vocal improvisation. Yoshimi has often reminded me of a Japanese Bjork, in the sense of being a multi-talented instrumentalist and vocal performer with a wild, free-form style. “Kedar Lodge” is a truly unique album and a masterpiece of Japanese/Indian psychedelic music.

Hanadensha – Narcotic Guitar : Imaginary Movie Soundtracks (1996, WEA Japan)

2009-06-02T08:59:00.000-07:00

Hanadensha is one of many side-projects of Boredoms, the psychedelic super-group from Japan. In this case, it is a project of Hira, the bassist, and four other Japanese dudes, including Yojiro Tatekawa who has been drumming for the recent Boredoms tour-group V∞redoms. Hanadensha's early albums were more fuzzed-out, grungy metal rock that reminded me of The Melvins, but their sound was totally redefined for “Narcotic Guitar” and the subsequent EP trilogy produced in '96-'97. The vibe is experimental and a bit noisy, but mainly on the ambient end of the spectrum, with a strong shoe-gaze influence, to my ears. Repeating melodic riffs, laid-back and even jazzy rhythms appear at times, with some very indistinct mumbled/whispered vocals, but mainly this is an instrumental disc with a wild mix of electronic and organic instrumentation and sonic effects. Production quality is impressively high, predating Boredom's shift to kraut-rock tribal experimentalism, and in spite of some slightly piercing, noisy passages, the album as a whole is very listenable, as well as hallucinatory and constantly shifting. The cover also caught my eye at the time I was in Japan, as it is printed on reflective metal foil. Hanadensha followed up “Narcotic Guitar” with a series of 3 EPs in '97, each in a distinct style. My personal favorite is “Astral Pygmy Wave”, featuring two 20-minute long tracks of voyaging ambient tones, chanting pygmies and tribal drumming, excellent. The “Acoustic Mothership” EP is on the acid-noise end of the spectrum, and a bit abrasive, but well-produced. Finally, the “Doobie Shining Love” EP features more straight-forward, short song-form tracks, complete with vocals (“doobie love, love is a doobie, shining...” over and over), and oddly including the previously-released track “Star” from “Narcotic Guitar”. For a while these CDs were available by mailorder in the US, but they are long out of print now and admittedly may be pretty tough to find, but if you search hard enough you will find them! I was pleased to find today that EYE from Boredoms has allowed “Narcotic Guitar” to be put online for free download!

Boredoms – Vision Creation Newsun (1999, WEA Japan)

2009-06-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

Boredoms is a project by a group of Japanese experimentalists who've been active in the noise scene since the '80s, and achieved some modest recognition in America in the early '90s on tour opening for bands like Nirvana and Sonic Youth. In the mid-'90s however, Boredoms shifted their style from crazed, boredom-induced freak-out noise to a more song-oriented, well-produced psychedelic and kraut-rock inspired tribal project featuring multiple drummers and a constantly changing group of musicians. I encountered the epic “Vision Creation Newsun” in record shops in Japan in '00, but at the time it was only available in a box-set that usually sold for around $100, including a bonus white t-shirt with white graphics printed on it that could only be seen in blacklight, and a small chip that made weird buzzing sounds when the box lid was opened. I was lucky enough to see the brain-bending music video for the title track on Viewsic, Japan's MTV channel, and I had the fortune of seeing Boredom's side-project OOIOO open for Sonic Youth there as well. I collected what material I could find (and afford) at the time, mainly side-projects as Boredom's material was very collectible and hard to find in Central Japan. When I came home to the US, I was pleased to find that Birdman Records had issued the album domestically in '01. “Vision Creation Newsun” is a dizzying voyage through cosmic psychedelic trance territory by way of pounding tribal drumming and distorted guitars, with Boredom's distinctive processing, editing and effects mixed in. The music has a fast, pounding rhythm, catchy guitar hooks and melodic patterns, and enough form to fend off total chaos, but with tons of experimentation along the way. This is some of the most psychedelic rock music I have ever heard, mainly instrumental except for some occasional whoops and hollers by front-man Yamatsuka EYE, who I also got to see perform several near-deafening DJ sets during my time in Japan (did you know he did the cover art for Beck's “Midnite Vultures”??). By taking the Japanese noise aesthetic and production methods and blending them with expert musical composition and song-writing, Boredoms set the experimental/noise bar VERY high and have continued to release innovative albums regularly, as well as tour in the US several times, all of which I have regrettably missed. The many members of Boredoms have all released a huge catalog of solo-albums and side-projects, many of which explore similar psychedelic territory as well as more ambient, trance and noise variations. Favorites of mine include OOIOO, Hanadensha, Psycho-Baba, AOA, and Rovo, and I will undoubtedly review several of them in the future!

Surgeon – This Is For You Sh*ts (2007, Warp Records)

2009-05-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

Anthony Child (aka DJ Surgeon) has been producing hard-edged, industrial-tinged techno records since the mid '90s. Beginning in '02, Surgeon joined forces with one Karl O'Connor (aka Regis) to form British Murder Boys for a series of 12”s. Besides having a fantastic band name, the music stood out with heavy, aggressive textures and IDM-influenced rhythms built on a foundation of hardcore techno. Everything sounds like its been put through distortion pedals and lo-fi granular effects, while the beats have elements of tribal and off-beat house music. '05's “All The Saints Have Been Hung” 12” was my favorite in the series, with an intense, menacing vibe and pummeling beats, punctuated by a disturbing ambient piece centered around an old recording of cult-leader Jim Jones riling up his followers. I was excited to hear a mix CD by DJ Surgeon would be forth-coming on Warp Records in '07, and was very impressed with the result. A perfect bridge is formed between hard techno music and the Warp IDM sound, recontextualizing classic tracks by Aphex Twin, Autechre and Squarepusher into surprisingly danceable sequences. Many of the tracks only linger for a minute or two, and the transitions are often so seamless that you need to pay close attention to your CD player display to hear the start of the next track. British Murder Boys tracks make several appearances on the mix, producing often the most rhythmically compelling dance sequences on the album, such as the transition from Squarepusher's “Red Hot Car” into BMB's “Anti-Inferno”. Elements of dubstep/grime and raga are here as well, presenting a very impressive fusion of a wide range of electronic dance styles. While many of the artists on this disc are well worth hearing on their own terms, the mix is truly greater than the sum of its parts.

2562 - Aerial (2008, Tectonic)

2009-05-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

2562, an artist from the Netherlands named after his postal code, caught my attention with a killer remix of Quantec's "Ray Of Hope" on Echocord Colour under his alias A Made Up Sound. The track begins in a dub techno style, but rather than the 4/4 pulse, the rhythms take their cue from dubstep, with a syncopated, steppy groove, and made me sit up and pay attention to a style that shows a tremendous amount of promise. One short-coming of dub techno is that frequently the beats are a little too slow, or mellow, or minimal to really get on your feet and dance to; it is usually more of a head-nodding type of techno. Dubstep on the other hand is extremely danceable, with (ideally) lots of rhythmic variation, build-ups and break-downs. 2562's debut full-length "Aerial" is an amazing document of the meeting of dub techno with dubstep, moving away from the UK garage-inspired sound of Burial and others, closer to Berlin techno and the Basic Channel sound. All the elements are here; echoing chord stabs, sub bass pulses, skittery percussion fills and off-time beats with a reggae-tinge. The result is both intricate enough for home listening and funky enough for club play, which makes me hope that this sound will become more popular in the near future in US clubs. "Aerial" collects most of the tracks from 2562's intial 12"s on Tectonic, an excellent dubstep label also know for their releases by big-name artists including Pinch, Cyrus, Skream, Martyn and other luminaries in the scene. 2562's material released under the name A Made Up Sound seems to have a more tripped-out, minimal dub-techno influence, and I really enjoyed last year's "Next/Density" 12" on Subsolo Records. A lot of this material sounds like it would mix really well into a straight-ahead techno set (the rolling "Techno Dread" track for example), which makes me hope that the club scene will become more rhythmically dynamic with an influx of good dubstep tracks. Time will tell!

Jan Jelinek Avec The Exposures - La Nouvelle Pauvreté (2003, ~scape)

2009-05-28T16:12:00.000-07:00

Jan Jelinek has been releasing a steady stream of excellent glitchy house-inspired ambient material on ~Scape and Klang Elektronik since the late '90s under his own name as well as the alias Farben. Many of his albums have received critical acclaim and showed up on "best of the year" lists for their innovations in sampling texture wizardy. Jelinek's aesthetic is recycling and hacking up old loops and samples from fuzzy jazz records (hence the title of his first ~Scape full-length "Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records"), and piecing them back together to create micro-house and trip-hop rhythms. The name of the game is abstraction, with lots of futuristic DSP processing and granular mushing of samples, yet always creating a very listen-able, often laid-back groove. Vinyl static and buzzy warmth permeates the recordings, creating a timeless organic feel amongst the digital effects. I especially enjoyed Jelinek's releases subtitled "Avec Les Exposures", which seems to be an imaginary band, contextualizing his sound into a slightly (if *very* slightly) more song-form style. Some samples that make more reference to '60s and '70s pop music as well as lounge rhythms find their way into the mix, drifting away from the jazz vibe into fuzzy pop abstraction. Following "La Nouvelle Pauvrete", a collection of Exposures out-takes was released, continuing in a more down-tempo style. In '05, Jelinek released the fantastic "Kosmicher Pitch" which took his looping style and applied it to the noise textures and effects of '70s kraut rock material, resulting in very heady psychedelic vibes. Jelinek's Farben material is also top-notch and worth seeking out as an excellent example of late '90s "clicks'n'cuts"-style techno and downtempo.

Kompakt various artists - Pop Ambient series (2001-2009)

2009-05-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

The Kompakt label was started in the late '90s by German haus-meister Wolfgang Voigt to release minimal tech-house-oriented material from the Cologne scene. The label presented an exciting new take on techno (and continues to do so today), utilizing abstract ambient sounds and experimental beats within a dance-music context. Frequently the 12"s from Kompakt would feature at least one or two beat-less ambient tracks delving into deeper abstract territory. Beginning in 2001, Kompakt began issuing CD and 2xLP compilations entitled "Pop Ambient" followed by the release year, focusing entirely on these short-form ambient pieces. The compilations made waves among both techno-heads and ambient fans, presenting a fusion of house-inspired melodic sequences and arpeggios, but stripped of dance-able rhythmic content. The tone is generally soothing and blissed out, with hardly any dissonance or noise, usually in a "loop ambient" style. Rather than 10+ minute drifting textures, the tracks are more "pop oriented", packaged in shorter 4-6 minute pieces, like ambient 7" edits or also reminiscent of some early Brian Eno works. Wolfgang Voigt makes appearances on many of the compilations under various aliases including All and Mint, continuing his ambient tradition from his Gas material, but often in a more tonal, melodic form. Dettinger and Ulf Lohman are also frequent contributors and originators of the Pop Ambient sound on their early Kompakt 12"s. Markus Guenter has become a well-known Kompakt artist with many 12"s and albums in both ambient and dance-able styles, and The Orb's Thomas Fehlmann is featured on several of the recent compilations. Finally, Jorg Burger shows up with gentle melodic tracks under the name Triola as well as collaborations with Voigt as Burger / Ink. A new compilation has been released at the end of each year, and each has maintained a high level of sonic quality and an excellent showcase for new electronic artists. This series sounds especially warm and beautiful on vinyl!

CONCERT REVIEW: Windy & Carl w/ Benoit Pioulard, White Rainbow, etc (Holocene, Portland OR 5/24/09)

2009-05-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

I drove up to Portland this weekend for a chance to see a showcase of Kranky artists, headlined by the ambient shoe-gazing guitar duo Windy & Carl. The show took place in a funky little warehouse venue called Holocene, which features a big bar, sunken dance floor area, and smaller secondary stage with bench seating around the perimeter, which was where the bands played that night. I say bands, but besides Windy & Carl all the acts were actually solo artists, and the general sonic theme was fuzzed-out, tonal ambient textures. Unfortunately I can't remember the opening act's name, I think someone in the crowd told me it was "Tom Bullet", but I can't find any reference online. His set was really good, basically one long evolving texture with elements of guitar and electronic synthesis. Alongside him was a video artist on his laptop, producing extremely trippy psychedelic video feedback textures, pulsing on-and-off negative and positive colors, overlaid over footage of what looked like ocean waves and aerial shots of volcanoes and islands in fog, intense! Next up was Benoit Pioulard, which sounds to me like someone's name, but I think it is actually the project of a guy named Tom, who sat behind a monitor speaker on the side of the stage surrounded by instruments and pedals. His set had a very deep emotional tone, with added heaviness provided by vintage footage of a molten metal foundry and then a surreal warehouse fire and the aftermath. This set was more song-based, with distinct pieces including obscured vocals, played on different instruments; first guitar, then harmonium, then something else. I really enjoyed his "Temper/Precis" 2xLP from '08, and I think I recognized a couple of the songs from it, although I don't know them by name. As the set finished, footage of firemen drinking from tin mugs after loading bodies into trucks was playing, and the vibe was very dreamlike and intense. I also picked up his "House Of Owls" 7" featuring two amazing covers of old dreamy pop songs done in a sort of retro shoe-gaze drone style, excellent! The third set was White Rainbow, a Portland local that seemed to have a strong following in the crowd. I haven't heard his album yet, so I'm not sure if the whole set was improvised or following a track(s) from his CD, but the set had an amazing organic wall-of-sound feel, composed of many layers of looping sound. Using little shaker eggs and metal objects for percussion, and bumping the mic on the stage for a kick drum, a rhythm was created and over-dubbed into a complex loop, over which he would then add synthesizer and guiter textures, while messing with a whole row of pedals and boxes at his feet. It was definitely the most rhythm-oriented set of the evening, and had many people in the crowd bobbing their heads. The only thing missing was a visual element, following the first two acts. It seemed like the music was calling for even a very simple abstract geometric light show, but it was interesting to watch the artist manipulate his gear and hear changes in the texture of the sound. At one point, the entire rhythm track shut off and a whole different array of tonal sounds became audible underneath, and the crowd cheered. Finally, around I think 11PMish, Windy and Carl took the stage, armed with guitars and a small bank of pedals to either side. This time the visuals were back in effect, a looping sequence of what looked like arctic sea creatures; schools of fish, spiky things, lobsters, seals, manatees, orcas, creating a vibe both playful and mysterious. The set itself was absolutely top-notch, with many recognizable tracks from Windy & Carl albums from the past decade, along with some new tracks from the recent "Songs For The Broken-Hearted" album featuring Windy on vocals. Their performance of "My Love" was especially heavy, sad and beautiful sounding, and the long drawn out piece that followed which I am thinking was the first track from "Antarctica" but actually it may have been "Balance (Trembling)" from "Consciousness", anyway it was trance-inducing and really amazing. The set lasted a solid hour and each song flowed into the next smoothly and beautifully. For the tour, an edition of 500 LPs were pressed with alternative mixes and out-takes from the album, featuring hand-painted covers by Windy. I realize I should have picked up a CD version of Windy's "I Hate People", as I had previously gotten the LP version by mail-order a few months ago, but read that the mixes on each version are different! Oh boy! Anyway the whole show was a great show-case of modern shoe-gazing ambient music, and hopefully not Windy & Carl's farewell tour! In any case, I will be looking for new material from all of these artists in the future! The tour is still continuing through June, so check out Windy's myspace page for dates and info!

LABEL PROFILE: Contexterrior & Tuning Spork & Future Dub (Germany)

2009-05-22T17:25:00.000-07:00

Contexterrior is an abstract tech-house label established by Philadelphia native Jay Haze, and a parent label to several more experimental sub-labels including Tuning Spork and Futuredub. Many artists appear on several of the labels, but each label is reserved for a slightly different style of ultra-psychedelic, ultra-minimal, click-oriented techno. Jay Haze was a name I heard often associated with minimal-house superstar Ricardo Villalobos, and as it turns out they both shared (still do?) the same production studio, and have collaborated on several records. To be honest, I typically find the super-minimal tech-house or “click house” sound to be a little bit TOO minimal, with glitchy percussion sounds that don't particularly make me want to dance as much as defragment my hard drive or work out complex mathematical equations. Villalobos, while being a sonic innovator in the minimal field, has tracks that go on about three times longer than I feel like they need to, and I get very bored listening to his material. In contrast, I find Jay Haze's production to run along a similar sonic line, yet to be vastly deeper, more innovative, and very listen-able. Haze incorporates a lot of field recordings and organic textures into his production, as well as organic percussion samples that give his tracks a unique feel. His material explores dub techno and all types of tech-house territories, but often using unexpected organic sounds in place of typical synthesizer sequences and effects. Besides his own solo releases and excellent collaborations with artists like Jeff Samuel and Robag Wruhme, the Contexterrior label has also released solid 12”s by Akiko Kiyama, Lump and several others. The overall tone of the releases is very percussion-heavy, with not much emphasis on melody or bassline, but exploring heady psychedelic rhythms on the glitchy end of the spectrum. The Future Dub sub-label is particularly interesting for an original take on the dub techno/electronic dub sound, taking sounds pioneered by Basic Channel but moving closer to the original '70s dub sound with less of a house influence, while remaining ultra-futuristic throughout. Haze's releases as Dub Surgeon as well as his '07 full-length collaboration with Michal Holy entitled “Sub Versions” 2x12” are well worth hearing. Tuning Spork seems to be releasing slightly more dance-floor-oriented records, although sticking with the percussion-heavy minimal tech-house sound. I particularly enjoyed Guido Schneiders “Earth Browser” 12” as well as this year's Alex Cellar “Trapped In Dub” 12”, very dance-able tripped out techno. Anything you can find on these labels is worth hearing.

Slag Boom Van Loon - So Soon (2001, Planet Mu)

2009-05-21T12:40:00.000-07:00

Slag Boom Van Loon is the awkward name of a collaboration project between Jochem Paap (best known for his prolific Speedy J techno/IDM releases) and Mike Paradinas, aka µ-Ziq, label-boss of Planet Mu. Their first CD was one the initial Planet Mu releases in the late '90s, although it didn't cause much of a stir in the US. "So Soon", however, is a remix collection with contributions by many of the luminaries of the IDM/experimental electronic scene of the late '90s - early '00s. The album was making a buzz on music forums even before its release, because of the announcement that the album would include exclusive tracks by Boards Of Canada and Coil. At the time, Boards Of Canada were basically red-hot in the IDM community, having released their incredible "In A Beautiful Place..." EP and album "Geogaddi" the previous year on Warp (and, unbeknownst to fans at the time, would take another four years before their next full-length). As I recall, the 12" version of "So Soon" was released slightly before the CD, which also helped elevate the buzz (plus it included an exclusive Múm remix which didn't make it onto the CD). The album is a very cohesive unit, exploring a variety of sonic terrains in the IDM landscape. µ-Ziq explores minimal tech-house sounds in his own glitchy way, while Leafcutter John assembles found-sound organic recordings into crunchy beats. There is a heavy dose of glitchery and some noisy DSP effects, but overall the tone tends toward the ambient and abstract side. The classic warm IDM sound is captured in buzzing synth tones, but there is also a futuristic edge that the Planet Mu label is well-known for. Boards Of Canada and Fourtet both present mellow, downtempo tracks, while Pole, Horse Opera and Coil create gritty, abstract ambient interpretations of the tracks. All of the artists involved in this project have extensive back-catalogs of excellent releases of their own, so this album can be a great introduction to a wide array of new musicians.

Windy & Carl – Antarctica (The Bliss Out, Vol. 2) (1997, Darla Records)

2009-05-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

Windy Weber and Carl Hultgren are a duo from Michigan who have been producing dreamy, guitar-based ambient music since the early ‘90s. Their style takes the shoe-gazing guitar sound of groups like Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine and stretches it to infinity, producing glittering ambient music without the use of any synthesizers. Instead, e-bows and various pedals are used to sculpt the guitar tone into an endless textural drone. At times it is difficult to discern that the sound is coming from guitars at all, while at other points soft plucked-string arpeggios enter the sonic field, as well as distant, obscured vocals by Windy. I became aware of the duo after hearing positive reviews of their contribution to Darla Records’ “The Bliss Out” album series, entitled “Antarctica.” The title itself gives a pretty good impression of the territory being charted here, with three long tracks totaling about 40 minutes of abstract, tonal drone meditations. The vibe is calm and relaxed, yet vaguely mysterious and at times slightly dark-tinged, but never collapsing into noise or cacophony. This is powerful journeying music which I’ve been recommending to friends for nearly a decade. Following hearing this release, I have been collecting pretty much everything Windy & Carl have put out and have never found myself disappointed. Their following two albums on the brilliant ambient/post-rock label Kranky, “Depths” and “Consciousness” are both excellent excursions into the shoe-gazing ambient sound, as is their most recent “Songs For The Broken Hearted” double LP which Windy & Carl are now touring for (I’ll be at the Portland, OR show this weekend!). Windy & Carl also have run their own record store in Michigan for many years by the name of Stormy Records, where they have also self-released their own and others’ material through their Blue Flea Recordings label, including the fantastic “Introspection” 3CD box set of all their early, rare vinyl and compilation tracks. You can still order Windy Weber’s new solo album “I Hate People” on ltd. ed. blood red or peacock splattered vinyl directly from Stormy Records, it is great stuff, check it out!

Harold Budd & Brian Eno – Ambient 2 : The Plateaux Of Mirror (1980, Editions EG)

2009-05-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

This is an absolute all-time favorite and frequently-suggested-album from many years back. A family friend loaned me this record (as well as David Tudor’s “Pulsers/Untitled” LP) when I was in highschool, and I still have the cassette that I dubbed both records onto (although I recorded over the Tudor side eventually). For periods of my life this was an album I would listen to almost every evening to help unwind after the day, and I eventually tracked down my own copy of the original vinyl which I still listen to regularly. Brian Eno’s original “Ambient 1 : Music For Airports” record is widely regarded as one of Eno’s most important releases, and the origin of the term “ambient music” as defined in his essay in the liner notes. While I appreciate this first release for its place in history, the sound was taken to a deeper, more beautiful level with the collaboration of pianist Harold Budd added to the mix on “Ambient 2”. Budd plays with a melancholy, improvised sound, soft repeating piano motifs and sequences, while Eno applies spatial effects and reverbs to blur the edges of the textures. Soft field recordings and what sound like synthesizer string swells play in a couple of the tracks, but the piano is the star instrument in this mix, heavy on the sustain pedal. This music is particularly gorgeous on old, crackly vinyl, as the dynamic swells of tone tend to become crackly and fuzzed-out at their loudest moments, but maybe this is just my own preference based on how I originally heard the material. More soothing and organic than a lot of synthesizer-driven electronic ambient music, this album is timeless and top-notch. Harold Budd continued on from this point producing many CDs in a similar style of lonely, ambient piano. Particularly worth-hearing are his “White Arcades” and “The Pearl” albums from the mid ‘80s, focusing more on his solo piano compositions without Eno’s reverb/fx experimentation. Brian Eno went on to a massively prolific recording and production career in a variety of genres, with many of his ‘80s ambient records being favorites of mine, as well as his more recent “generative” compositions. I have long been a fan of Eno’s production work with pop groups, such as the UK group James on their classic “Laid” album as well as their fantastic, improvisational “Wah Wah” from ’94. Many people are unaware that Eno was also the producer of many of U2’s mega-smash-albums including “The Joshua Tree” and “Zooropa.” Both Eno and Budd are masters of the ambient sound, and have many excellent records spanning the past four decades.

ARTIST PROFILE: Kawabata Makoto & Acid Mothers Temple Collective (Japan)

2009-05-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

Acid Mothers Temple And The Melting Paraiso UFO were a local group in Central Japan that I heard about several times during my two semesters spent there in ’00-’01, but never got a chance to see live until many years later. After returning from Japan, I researched the group further online, and found that a small but dedicated following of American fans was feverishly collecting the super-limited edition CDs being released seemingly monthly from the many group members. Kawabata Makoto was the central figure of the group, sort of like the leader of a Japanese hippie musician cult. Makoto claims to have grown up hearing cosmic sounds of UFOs in his mind’s ear during his childhood, which he gradually has translated into audible form by way of his guitar solos (and other obscure, traditional Asian stringed instruments). Acid Mothers Temple’s mission is to channel cosmic music from the highest UFO sources, sort of a Japanese Sun Ra but a lot noisier, and their catalogue of probably a hundred releases at this point voyages in many experimental directions. The band line-up has been composed of a huge variety of Japanese improvisation masters and unknowns, frequently changing and giving itself new names for each album, such as Acid Mothers Temple & The Cosmic Inferno and Acid Mothers Gong. The main bulk of the material can be characterized by extended passages of guitar drones and feedback, sometimes at a low rumble and other times swelling to a galactic roar, punctuated by throbbing ‘70s-kraut-rock-freak-out drums and synthesizer effects. Tracks frequently break the 15-20 minute mark, and are often trance-inducing with their pummeling rhythms and formless feedback. Other material by AMT’s side projects are less intense, and easier to listen to in general, such as the ambient meditations of Uchu and Floating Flower. Kawabata Makoto’s prolific solo-work in particular has stood out for me as some of the best in minimal, abstract drone ambient/noise that I’ve ever heard. Usually based around solo improvisations on some sort of stringed-instrument such as bouzouki, sirangi, sitar, cello, guitar, etc, the music alternates between soothing and meditative, and piercing and intense. My favorite of Kawabata’s works are his earlier ’00-’03 era of releases, as this was when I was actively collecting the band, and I lost steam as I was overwhelmed by the massive output that started happening around that point. From this period, “You Are The Moonshine”, “I’m In Your Inner Most” and “Infinite Love” are all fantastic collections of instrumental sessions on the less-noisy end of the AMT spectrum, although I realize these albums were typically limited editions of 1,000 or less, so you may be significantly more likely to find one of his many recent CDs from the past couple years. I was able to see Kawabata perform with the Acid Mothers Temple crew in San Francisco in I’m thinking ’05, and truly this is probably the best way to see this group in all their cosmic glory. UFO stands for “Underground Freak Out!”

Squarepusher – Hard Normal Daddy (1997, Warp)

2009-05-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

Squarepusher is the main outlet for Tom Jenkinson's prolific IDM/drum'n'bass/drillcore/jazz/undefinable productions on the UK's Warp Records. An expert jazz bassist and drummer, Jenkinson began applying IDM synthesis and FX to his tracks, crossing over into a blend of jungle, hardcore techno and IDM experimentation, with a dose of live drumming and bass samples chopped into the mix. His tracks are characterized by blindingly fast drum loop manipulation, chopping up breaks in a junglist style, but with even more intricacy and abstraction. Often a rhythmic pattern will morph with each iteration, never repeating the original form, which can have a head-spinning effect. Listening to the programming on “Hard Normal Daddy”, I have often wondered if Jenkinson has some sort of super-human ability to create these micro-edits and lush layers of instrumentation. Perhaps like his friend Aphex Twin, he just locks himself in a vault for days on end, drinking coffee and dropping acid and programming franticly. However he does it, “Hard Normal Daddy” stands as one of my all-time favorite IDM/electronic albums. The tone is more melodic and jazzy than much of Squarepusher's other output, and seems to draw more on Jenkinson's traditional jazz background than acid experimentation, although all the elements are still present here. There is a blend of live drumming samples mixed with classic “Amen” breaks and jungle drum loops chopped into oblivion, and some crazy acid bass lines played at high speed on live bass. Mike Paradinas' µ-Ziq and other artists on his Planet Mu label continued to take this drill'n'bass sound to further and faster extremes in the late '90s – early '00s, such as on µ-Ziq's classic album “Lunatic Harness.” Squarepusher has changed and evolved in styles with each of his releases, at times going further into the live-drums-and-bass-direction with the downtempo “Music Is Rotted One Note” and “Budakhan Mindphone” EP (another favorite of mine). His newer material has continued in his high-speed, one-man-band IDM sound, and pretty much all of his output on Warp is worth hearing.

The Clientele – The Violet Hour (2003, Pointy)

2009-05-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

The Clientele are a UK trio who put out a whole slew of 7”s between '98 and '02, along with a couple full-lengths on Pointy Records, in a dreamy, vintage-sounding brit-pop style. While their first album “Suburban Light” is a more straight-ahead rock album with a slightly '60s UK sound, their more dreamy side came through on their following “Lost Weekend” EP and '03's “The Violet Hour”. In this mix, the vocals are drenched in reverb, set back as more of an instrumental tone than straight-on lyrical expression. The guitar and drums are generally subdued, acoustic and mostly un-effected besides a soft reverb. The overall mood is summery and calm, slightly lonely and melancholy, but overall soothing. It reminds me slightly of the Cocteau Twins in that the vocals are obscured and hard to discern, helping the listener (me, at least) to focus less on the lyrics and appreciate the overall musical experience. The pace tends toward the down-tempo, chilled-out side, making the album very listenable and pleasant background music. The songs are expertly crafted, with long instrumental passages and intricate melodies, and quite catchy in spite of some of the words being obscured in reverb, perhaps more appropriate for humming than singing along. This album came at a time in my life when I had pretty much stopped paying attention to guitar-oriented vocal pop and rock music, focusing more on the electronic, abstract and “deep listening” side of the spectrum, but “The Violet Hour” made enough of an impression that I am still listening to it today.

Kuchen Meets Mapstation – s/t (2003, Karaoke Kalk)

2009-05-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

Another unique and timeless, genre-defying album from Berlin-based label Karaoke Kalk. This time, a collaboration between previous KK abstract IDM-ish artist Kuchen and post-rock group To Rococo Rot alumnus, Stefan Schneider under his Mapstation alias. Kuchen had already made a name for herself in the IDM community with her '01 disc “Kids With Sticks,” a gentle electronica album with a chill-out vibe by Muriel Barham, ex-guitarist/vocalist of The Pale Saints. Mapstation had already produced a pair of top-notch post-rock/ambient electronic albums for the Staubgold label, and would soon begin drifting into a reggae-tinged direction with collaborations with vocalist Ras Donovan. The Kuchen Meets Mapstation collaboration is a very difficult-to-define collection of melodic, pleasant, child-like explorations; ambient in the sense that there is almost no percussion or beats, IDM-ish and post-rock-styled in the repeating, tonal motifs and hum-able melodies. A nice blend of guitar and synthesizer sounds, digital effects and organic recordings, constantly shifting and changing unexpectedly. The programming and processing is expertly done, and provides very stimulating listening. An upbeat, exuberant feeling is maintained throughout the album, never veering into overly-experimental or noisy territory. Following this release, Mapstation has continued with a new album every other year or so, with an excellent, dub-tinged full-length on the great ~Scape label in '06. Muriel seems to have since taken a break from the Kuchen project. Both artists' catalogs of material are worth hearing!

Smashing Pumpkins – Pisces Iscariot (1994, Virgin)

2009-05-13T11:24:00.000-07:00

[Another in a series of “Highschool Discs”, albums that defined my teenage years (~'93-'99) and moved me in that deep way that seems unique to that age..] For my generation, Smashing Pumpkins were largely brought to our attention via MTV during the era of grunge and alternative rock in the early to mid '90s. There was a huge promotional push of guitar-oriented rock acts like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Sound Garden, Stone Temple Pilots and other big-name acts that could be found in every teenager's CD binder. In retrospect, I still find a lot of this alternative rock music to be very catchy and often quite experimental and distortion-heavy, particularly in comparison with modern mainstream pop. “Siamese Dream” was Smashing Pumpkins' big break-through record, although they had already made enough of an impression with their debut “Gish” that I had become aware of it at summer camp and happened to buy it just before their massive single “Today” started playing constantly on MTV every day when I got home from school. The album still stands up as a classic of grunge-y alt.-rock, with a fantastic array of guitar distortion pedals. Billy Corgan's unique whiny voice and Butch Vig's production sculpting a euphoric, warm tone. In my memory it seems like an eternity between “Siamese Dream” and the release of “Pisces Iscariot” although I know that they are copyrighted a year apart. The moment I saw the album in my local independent record store, I snatched it up with excitement. The opening tone of the album is quite different from “Siamese Dream”, and it stands in my mind as a classic collection of the Smashing Pumpkins in their more unrefined, experimental mode. Many of the tracks are collected from the b-sides of singles from “Siamese Dream”, making me kick myself now for not buying those 7” singles when I saw them, and there is some unreleased material as well, dipping into an even-more experimental, post-rock territory. All of the material here is catchy and hum-able, sometimes distortion-heavy and driving, alternating with soft, gentle and melody-oriented tracks. My personal preference is the Pumpkins' more melodic, softer side of the spectrum, and the opening track “Soothe” is a perfect example, an intense, minimal and sparse acoustic guitar & vocal demo that I still find stuck in my head to this day. Each track following this has many of the qualities of an album “a-side”, but it is understandable how they wouldn't quite fit on “Siamese Dream”; a relative roughness in the recording quality and slightly unrefined composition creates a unique vibe. The entire “Pisces Iscariot” set has its own flow that makes it sound like an intentionally-structured, if experimental album by the Pumpkins. The band gained even more massive fame and exposure with '95's “Melon Collie And The Infinite Sadness”, but if you missed this early collection, check it out!

Arovane – Tides (2000, City Centre Offices)

2009-05-12T13:40:00.000-07:00

Arovane is the IDM project of Uwe Schmidt, a German architect who began releasing 12”s on DIN and City Centre Offices in his mid-30s, a somewhat later age than many of the up-and-coming late ‘90s IDM artists just out of college. But with maturity comes depth, and Arovane’s debut CD “Atol Scrap” made a big stir on message boards in ’00, with a gritty, futuristic IDM sound similar to vintage Autechre, with just the right mix of static-y, glitch percussion and warm synthesizer tones. Only six months later, his second full-length “Tides” was released to even greater acclaim, with comparisons to IDM-superstars Boards Of Canada and placement on many “album of the year” lists. The album was a significantly different feel from Arovane’s IDM works thus far, leaning more into the down-tempo spectrum and away from abrasive glitchiness. “Tides” was apparently inspired by time spent at the Mediterranean seaside, and natural field recordings and tidal swells of soft static play a role in many of the tracks, alongside gentle plucked-string melodies and organic-sounding drum programming. The beats are vaguely trip-hop tinged, thus the comparisons to Boards Of Canada, but the mood is soft-spoken and melancholy and there are even some entirely beat-less ambient tracks, reminiscent of Susumu Yokota’s “Sakura”. Four of the tracks feature beautiful guitar playing by label-mate Christian Kleine, whose own releases for CCO are well worth hearing. Following this album, Arovane returned to his more glitch-oriented rhythmic IDM production for a few more years, with his most recent full-length “Lilies” released in ’04, and no new material since (according to Schmidt’s Myspace page, he is “having a break from making music”). The “Cycliph” 12” from ’02 and ‘03’s “Minth/Neel” 7” are both essential Arovane listening and have more of a connection to the soft, lonely sounds of “Tides”, mixed with a dose of futuristic glitch beats.

Fluxion – Vibrant Forms II (2000, Chain Reaction)

2009-05-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

In 1995, the Basic Channel folks established the Chain Reaction label to release further explorations in super-deep dub techno and experimental ambient music. The label wrapped up its production in 2003, having released thirty five 12”s and eleven CDs. Many of these albums are still held in the highest regard among ambient and techno fans, and a number of the artists involved went on to have prolific, long-lasting careers, including Monolake, Vladislav Delay, and Porter Ricks. The final full-length CD release was a double-album set by Fluxion (real name, Konstantinos Soublis) entitled “Vibrant Forms II”, compiling two of his previous 12” releases along with several new pieces. The album explores similar sonic territory to the Basic Channel and Gas sound, but in a more lush, tonal ambient direction. Some natural field recordings find their way into the mix, bringing a rich organic feel to the music. Different elements of the techno spectrum are focused and experimented on track-by-track. This is fantastic mid-volume, space filling music, alternating between hypnotic, soothing and mysterious. Depending on if you're in the mood for drifting ambiance or more rhythm-driven textures, you may end up skipping around the two-plus hours worth of material collected here, but all the tracks are very high quality and manage to avoid the more abrasive and experimental side of the Chain Reaction sound. Following his “Vibrant Forms” collections, Soublis moved on to produce a series of 12”s and two full-length CDs under the names Fluxion, Silex and Unsquare Mode on his own Vibrant Music label, which explored more IDM and experimental minimal techno-oriented atmospheres. While writing this review, I discovered that Fluxion has just released a new 12” on Resopal Schallware this year, his first since '04. It is good to see a talented Chain Reaction producer still active over a decade later. Another 12” on my wishlist!

März - Love Streams (2002, Karaoke Kalk)

2009-05-09T11:15:00.001-07:00

März is one of many projects by Ekkehard Ehlers, an artist of many aliases and labels, with multiple releases every year since '00, with a slight break after '06 and a return with a new CD this year. Much of Ehlers' work falls on the electroacoustic and experimental side of the electronic spectrum, with many buzzy, glitchy releases on the Staubgold label under his own name, as well as tech-house and beat-oriented releases as Auch and Betrieb. The März name was reserved for a collaboration project with Albrecht Kunze, and is a brilliant merging of acoustic elements with minimal clicks'n'cuts techno music. Their initial 12” on Karaoke Kalk entitled “One From The Heart” caught my attention, with its beautiful blend of ambient classical music elements and understated glitchy beats. Most of this first EP was collected on the “Love Streams” album the following year, an aptly-titled, heartfelt, sentimental collection of progressive electronic music. The album centers around 4/4 house structures, but most of the instrumental elements are taken from acoustic sources, bringing to mind classical music and folk textures. Guitar strums, hand bells and orchestral swells play a prominent role in the mix. Alongside these melodic figures pulses a rhythm composed of bass frequencies, static and soft metallic percussion. Beginning with a looping guitar passage from Nick Drake's “From The Morning”, interspersed with a minimal tech-house beat and German poetry that undoubtedly is expressing a heavy feeling, the tone of the album is established. “Love Streams” is incredibly pleasant listening, an intriguing take on experimental pop music. A further 10” and full-length CD in '04 continued the sound in a similar vein, with a slightly more deep and melancholy feel. Ehlers has continued to produce a couple albums per year in the abstract, beatless ambient realm for Staubgold, as well as a variety of collaborations with other artists in the electroacoustic and glitch noise-oriented field.

Gas – Nah Und Fern (2008, Kompakt)

2009-05-08T10:41:00.000-07:00

Gas is the ambient house project of the unbelievably prolific producer Wolfgang Voigt, who has released literally hundreds of 12”s since the early '90s under a wide array of aliases. Many of his projects have been considered ground-breaking and innovative classics in the minimal, acid and experimental house genres, including his ultra-minimal Studio 1 series, acid works under the moniker Mike Ink, and some excellent mid-'90s techno as Love Inc. and Burger/Ink (with Jörg Burger). Voigt also established the Kompakt record label, a top-notch minimal and tech-house label still very active today, and several other more obscure experimental techno labels such as Profan and Auftrieb, and the one-7”-per-week-countdown-to-the-millennium label Kreisel99. In spite of the incredible volume of releases, Voigt's material is reliably high quality and well-produced, if a little overly bizarre and abstract sometimes. My personal favorite series of Voigt's has been his Gas albums, mainly released on the fantastic Mille Plateaux label between '96-'00, now defunct and out-of-print. The albums explored long-drifting compositions involving endless, droning samples of German classical music, processed, granularized and reverbed into infinity. Soft crackles of record static appear in the mix, and clouds of strings slowly rise and fall. Thumping below the ambient mix is a steady 4/4 kick drum and minimal sub-bass line, driving and moving the listener ever forward, creating a sense of tension and flux. Many tracks break the ten-minute mark, and it is easy to get lost in the pulse. Kompakt has thankfully re-issued Gas's four main albums in one 4CD box set entitled “Nah Und Fern”, remastered to a higher quality but otherwise untouched from the originals. Only missing from this set are Gas's haunting “Oktember” EP 12” and limited 3” CD for Raster-Noton's millennial “20' To 2000” series (his earlier “Modern” 12” as Gas on Profan is in a more gritty, swirling psychedelic ambient style, relatively different from the Mille Plateaux series). This music was incredibly influential and inspirational to me in my own composition. My only complaint is that I sometimes find the kick drum a bit overbearing and DOOF-y... I prefer a soft pulse. Nevertheless, Gas taught me that ambient drone music and minimal house music can have a common ground which I found very exciting. This music was way ahead of its time and remains an essential classic.

CiM - Do Not Multiply Models (2004, Ann Aimee)

2009-05-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

Ann Aimee is a sub-label of Amsterdam's Delsin Records, and both are dedicated to carrying on the IDM ((Intelligent Dance Music) sound pioneered in the early-mid '90s on labels like Warp Records and Rephlex. CiM is the solo project of Simon Walley, who made a stir in the IDM community between '98-'00, releasing five 12"s and a full-length. CiM's "Service Pack" 12" was one of the first releases to get people paying attention to Delsin, who are still releasing 12"s and CD's actively each year and getting more attention on the dance floor. The sound is a warm blend of analog and digital synthesizer tones and computerized drum machine beats. Lush synth strings and melancholy sequences are reminiscent of Bochum Welt and the Rephlex sound, but the drum programming is much more intricate and futuristic, incorporating tricky DSP effects and low bit-rate samples. "Do Not Multiply Models' compiles all the tracks from "Service Pack" as well as the follow-up "Warm Data" 12" on UK label deFocus, plus a compilation track, all remastered for optimum sonic clarity. This is very listenable electronica, and a great introduction to the artist and modern IDM style. There is a nice blend of percussive workouts and pleasant tonal sequences, without too much abrassive distortion or glitchiness (two qualities I'm generally not fond of in IDM). I enjoy having music like this on while I work on the computer, as it is mentally stimulating and dynamic, without any distracting vocals or noisy outburts. Shortly before the release of this CD, CiM also put out a 12" of new material entitled "Noki Bay" in late '03, and it is great stuff. Ann Aimee artists Alex Cortex and Delta Funktionen are also well worth checking out, Cortex in particular exploring similar IDM territory to CiM, Delta producing excellent deep techno tracks. Unfortunately there hasn't been anything new from CiM since "Noki Bay", so hopefully there will be a release forthcoming soon...

Susumu Yokota – Sakura (2000, Leaf)

2009-05-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

“Sakura” is another all-time favorite ambient album, although in this case it was hard to choose between this album and its successor “Grinning Cat”. In the end, I think I have returned to “Sakura” even more than “Grinning Cat”, but both have received my strong recommendation for many years. This CD made a buzz on some discussion forums I was on when it first came out, as it was called by many an “ambient album of the year”, with frequent comparisons to Brian Eno. Indeed the first two tracks of “Sakura” have a very Eno-esque feel; warm, melodic tones following repeating patterns slowly shifting form, echoing and timeless. As the album progresses, one realizes what an impressive palette of sounds Yokota paints with. I’ve often thought that he must have an incredible library of field recordings, as he layers up an amazing sequence of organic and acoustic samples seemingly from all over the globe. Ethnic percussion and obscure found-sounds are woven around looping patterns of tonal instrumentation, sometimes leaning into the “down-tempo” side of things, other times drifting into beat-less ambience. The lush, high quality field recordings and samples take this to a level above many synthesizer-oriented ambient releases, as many of the sounds have a very organic vibe. The result is both soothing and entirely other-worldly, with a somewhat playful, psychedelic feeling. This is probably one of those “top 10” kind of ambient albums, in that it has a very distinct, unique sound that I really haven’t heard other artists capture. 2001’s “Grinning Cat” deserves another mention here, as it takes this ambient sound and develops it more in the down-tempo/groove-oriented direction. Yokota has continued to explore both ambient and dance music in his many releases (for a while he was putting out a couple albums per year), and just about anything you can find by him is worth hearing. His deep house and disco-influenced rhythmic explorations are top-notch dance material (“Sound Of Sky” is fantastic), while his more recent CDs have explored waltz time-signatures and classical motifs.

Yoshinori Sunahara – Works ’95-’05 (2007, Ki/oon Records)

2009-05-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

Yoshinori Sunahara is one of those prolific Japanese artists who didn’t get much attention in the US, except on some electronic music forums which I was reading in the late’90s, when his “Take Off And Landing” and “The Sound of ‘70s” albums were generating some buzz with downtempo/trip-hop heads. A former member of the quirky techno-pop group Denki Groove, Sunahara’s solo material is a mostly-instrumental blend of super-crunchy lo-fi lounge and bossa samples mixed into heavy, tripped-out beats. The vibe is psychedelic and plunder-phonic, with a good dose of humor thrown in. “The Sound Of ‘70s” has all the old, scratchy sounds of a cheesy ‘70s lounge record or elevator music, but remixed into funky, head-nodding grooves. “Take Off And Landing” is a personal favorite that was always a hit at parties, a concept album based on a ‘70s promotional airport 7” that Sunahara sampled and used to create the sonic equivalent of a “Tokyo Underground Airport” of the future. The album goes in some very bizarre, extremely quirky directions, but keeps a solid groove throughout and will make you smile. After a couple years break, the fantastic “Lovebeat” album was released, taking Sunahara’s style in a new direction. The sound is an evolution of ‘80s-era down-tempo electro beats, computerized and hyper-futuristic. Kraftwerk-esque blips and bleeps pulse alongside synthetic computer voices commanding “don’t stop”. There were also some excellent 12”s released around this time, with some more dance-oriented remixes. Unfortunately things went very quiet after “Lovebeat”, and nothing was heard from Sunahara again until 2007, when a new 2CD compilation entitled “Works ’95-’05” was released. A collection of two or three of the best tracks from each album, with a second CD full of remixes from a variety of Japanese artists, this is a great introduction to Sunahara’s musical catalog. For those who weren’t obsessed collectors in the first place, the second CD of remixes will probably be entirely new, since most of the artists are basically unknown outside of Japan (besides some big names like Cornelius, Towa Tei and Yellow Magic Orchestra). According to Y-Sunahara.com, a new soundtrack release for a film called “No Boys, No Cry” is planned for this Summer in Japan.

ARTIST PROFILE : Rod Modell aka Deepchord, Echospace, et al (Detroit, MI)

2009-05-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

[This is an updated profile I wrote a couple years ago for my tanukidreams.net blog, which I am now using just to post my own music and updates, rather than reviews]
Rod Modell, out of Detroit, MI, has produced some of the most captivating, intriguing, enjoyable electronic music I have ever heard. Coming from someone who has collected electronic music obsessively for over a decade, this is a strong statement, and I stand by it. Along with Mike Schommer (aka Techniker), Rod started the Deepchord label in the mid-'90s and began releasing 12"s in extremely scarce editions. I began hearing a buzz about Deepchord on some discussion forums around '01, and was lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of "DC10" on yellow vinyl when it first came out. I had been introduced to the Berlin techno sound of the '90s by way of the production duo Basic Channel and their many side-projects, plus their record label Chain Reaction which released many landmark minimal/dub techno 12"s and albums of the decade. A fascinating, mysterious house-inspired sound, usually structured around a 4/4 kicking beat, but often drifting into ambient, abstract and experimental territories. I was captivated by the style, which to me was taking a lot of the progressive production and sonically-fascinating elements of genres like IDM, industrial, darkwave and ambient, but blending it with the body-moving techno beat and deep basslines. When I read comparisons between Deepchord and Basic Channel's legendary dub-techno Rhythm & Sound project, I had to hear what the fuss was about. I was totally blown away.
Deepchord's style takes the Berlin house sound in a direction that is more dreamy, ethereal, warm, dub-reggae-tinged, sometimes almost tropical sounding yet other-worldly. The beats stay minimal and maintain a hypnotic pulse throughout the experience while a soft wash of analogue static and warm synthesizer tones rise and fall, punctuated by an occasional, percussive, nearly-infinitely-echoing "deep chord". Some of the pieces incorporate field recordings and organic audio sounds, as well as live hand percussion like conga drums, which give the pieces a beautiful, timeless, and not-digital sound. In some ways, the Deepchord sound is a beautiful synergy of the minimal house sound combined with lush ambient space music. I understand that a collaboration with Steve Roach was in discussion for a while but never came together, which is a shame as it sounds like a perfect fit and makes a lot of sense as a direction that both house producers and ambient/experimental producers will be exploring further in the future.
Much of Deepchord's back-catalog is now out of print, and sells for collector's prices on eBay and discogs.com. Luckily, there was a compilation CD made, entitled "Vibrasound", which collected many of the '99 through '04-era tracks, including all of "DC10", most (but not ALL) of "DC11", and none of "DC12", plus a few other gorgeous tracks. There is also a very nice mega-mix CD put together with Kevin Hanton, entitled "Illuminati Audio Science" that is required listening, and maybe not so difficult to track down. In the past couple years, Rod Modell has gotten very active again with a new record label/project called Echospace in collaboration with Stephen Hitchell of Soultek, several new Deepchord records, a new pseudonym called CV313 which harkens back to the DC10/11 era in a beautiful way, and a whole mess of remixes for other artists including Convextion, a gorgeous rework of Juan Atkins/Model 500's "Starlight", and several others.
Since I wrote this profile in 2007, Rod Modell released a couple of CDs on the more ambient side of the spectrum. CV313's fantastic "Subtraktive" was rereleased on vinyl, previously having been a limited 3" CD release of 150 copies. Echospace did a few more remixes as well as expanded, digital versions of their "OBMX" and "Sonorous" 12"s, and Stephen Hitchell began releasing his solo work under the name Intrusion. The classic track "Grand Bend" from "DC10" was remastered and remixed for an essential 2x12". Deepchord circa 2001-2005 is definitely my favorite era of Rod Modell's work, comprising his "DC10" through "DC16" 12"s, his two 12"s for Echocord Records, and the "Electromagnetic Dowsing" 12". Anything you can find by these artists is worth hearing.