Reinhold Friedl’s honor roll includes his position as artistic director of the internationally renowned ensemble Zeitkratzer. Last year, he was also widely applauded for recording and releasing renditions of complex and seemingly unplayable works such as “Xenakis [a]live” and “Metal Machine Music”, the legendary guitar feedback album by Lou Reed. Friedl plays one of the last remaining copies of the Neo-Bechstein, owned by piano builder David Balzer... feature :: by Martijn Buser

French composer Ghédalia Tazartès makes fascinating, multi-layered cut and paste compositions. These are drawn from an eclectic vocabulary and focus especially on the human voice. Ever since 1977 he documents his own personal sound universe, his own particular outsider avant-garde. Tazartès plays as one third of Reines D’Angleterre at this years Pauze festival. .. feature :: by Jan Opdebeeck

Cloud Valley is the second cousin twice removed of that other damaged Ontario label, Middle James Co. But that makes a lot of sense. Cloud Valley is the brainchild of Scott Johnson who happened to be in the mighty Fossils with David Payne (who runs MJC) for a long while before branching out into his own chaotic soundworld. It's all related up in Canada, or something like that. But Johnson has certainly etched out his own identiy with Cloud Valley (& his killer solo project, Hunting Rituals). He's got so many killer tapes & CDRs under his belt that it's impossible to go wrong... label-spotlight :: by Brad Rose

I really dig the Bay Area. Though, I have to admit I have never been there. I have no clue what it looks like. It's just an adolescent dream of mine. Listening to The Doors, Airplane and The Holding Company too much when I was a teenager, growing my hair, dressing up like a hippy. Ten years later not much has changed. People still think I dress like a hippy, and I still dance to psychedelic rock when nobody watches me. I picture something similar for at least half of the Wooden Shjips crew. When I discovered their Shrinking Moon for You 10" and Dance California 7" two years ago, for at least some weeks a third summer of love took place in my living room. That's how I fell in love with this brain-melting combo. Enough reasons to send Ripley Johnson an e-mail to confess my hippy love and ask him out about the band... feature :: by Steve Marreyt

Let me refresh your minds: “Koen”, the previous Köhn album, isn’t only a highlight in the KRAAK catalogue, it is also one of the best Belgian electronica releases ever. And also the funniest one, if you don’t count all the Eavesdropper records. But I’ve been told they weren’t meant to be funny. Anyway, “We Need More Space In The Cosmos” sounds dreamy, compact and even a little old-school. So just like LL Cool J, but different. .. feature :: by Joeri Bruyninckx

When most people think of Denver, they don’t think of its stellar music scene. Typically the first things that come to mind in that department are the Fray and an endless number of hippie jam bands, but beneath this shining exterior, in a shady neighborhood just north of downtown near the intersection of 35th and Brighton lies an area that has become a “weird music” mecca of sorts. At this strip of industrial buildings and warehouses, on any given night, you can see any number of amazing bands who are pushing the boundaries of music. This is an island that lies in Middle America, somewhere between Chicago and the sea, and these are stories of what happens here. For this interview I step a bit off the beaten path, and some distance from Brighton Blvd. in order to interview Jacob Deraadt Brighton would be a lot less noisy without this guy, and all the other kids from Ft. Collins. Check him out!.. feature :: by Kevin Richards

Steve Gunn plies his trade in the Northeast, calling Brooklyn home. He's perhaps best known for the major role he plays in the mighty GHQ along with Marcia Bassett (ex-Double Leopards). Over the course of numerous excellent releases, it became clear that Gunn was a real force in experimental music. Once his solo music started being unearthed (both under his own name and the moniker Moongang), there was no turning back. Now with a proper solo album under his belt and more good tunes on the way, Steve Gunn is becoming a household name. It's about damn time... feature :: by Constantin Dubois

On a grey Sunday in August the rain strangles a waning summer sky to a steadying dusk. An ever-increasing body of people drift into once empty spaces in the blackened hollows of London’s Luminaire. The evening’s line up begins with local guitarist Spoono. Part of the new generation of post Takoma guitarists, he took the stage with subdued confidence. .. feature :: by Peter Taylor

Dais Records a new label simultaneously run out of Los Angeles, CA and Brooklyn, NY by longtime friends Gibby Miller and Ryan Martin. Both being extreme music enthusiasts and obsessive record collectors, the two have created a label that places emphasis on producing both high quality music as well as high quality objects; Dais is truly a collector’s label... feature :: by Cory Card

Middle James Co AKA MJC is perhaps the most prolific label on the planet... in the freaking universe. It's based out of Hamilton, Ontario and run by the inimitable David Payne, the mad-scientist behind the monstrosity known as Fossils. If you're at all familiar with Fossils output, then Middle James is pretty much to the label world what Fossils is to the world of weirdo music: super fried, paint-splattered jams that sound like they were born out of junkyards and dumptrucks and every sort of droning instrument made. In other words, good fucking stuff. And sometimes, I swear the tapes smell like beer... label-spotlight :: by Brad Rose

Tape Hiss is a (semi) regular column focusing solely on cassette releases. For the uninitiated, this feature was originally run on Stylus Magazine's website, but with Stylus shutting its doors, Bryan Berge is bringing it to Foxy Digitalis. So rejoice and all that, and check out some of these recent happenings in the world of cassette labels. In vol. #33, we take a look at tapes on Sloow Tapes, 905 Tapes, and Heavy Nature. Good times... feature :: by Bryan Berge

FSS (aka Flingco Sound System, or Flingco Sonic Subdivision, or…) is a newborn baby of a label, having just experienced birth pangs in 2007. It is run by Bruce Adams who was a major figure with the inimitable kranky imprint for 12 years from 1993 to 2005. Adams expertise has led to this new endeavor, which he has undertaken with his wife, focusing on digital downloads and limited vinyl releases. So far the results have been impressive and there’s more and more great stuff coming down the pipe. So keep your eyes on FSS in the years to come... label-spotlight :: by Brad Rose