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Late Round Gems #1
**NOTE** This was originally posted in April of 2006 on the old site in the old style, so it was never in our database, therefore is a) not searchable and in fact, isn't even on the site anymore. So I'm reposting it here, so it won't be lost forever. But it's oooooold stuff (still good, and you should still buy it all. HA!)
So, since I can't for the life of me find the time to write proper reviews of everything I want to, I'm going to do a little house cleaning and rip off The Broken Face's old "After the Gold Rush" columns. I found some great music because of those, though, so I'm a fan of quick write-ups with lots of information.
First off we begin with the enticing Rhizome label. Daniel Varricchio comes at us with a short, but sweet, self-titled disc. This EP starts of like a electronic buzzsaw before it unfolds into a perfect droning flower, opening it's mouth to the sun. There's something beautiful in the discordant distortion. It's simple, but elegant - Varricchio keeps everything under control without being boring. Nice stuff.
One of the other great Root Strata releases from last year was J.C. Ledesma's solo outing, "Voice Sutra." This 30 minute exploration utilizes organic drones (from a harmonium, I believe) as the foundation for layering multitudes of sonic delights on top. Fuzzed-out, low-end drones that sound like wordless vocals underneath a mountain of effects mix perfectly with the subtle sleigh bells in the background. It's an awesome piece of music that devolves into a muddy mess. Can't go wrong with Root Strata these days. Also reccommended is the excellent "Instructional Sculpture for Children" CD-R by John Davis. Unfortunately I don't think it's the same John Davis who put out a handful of great albums on Shrimper back in the day, but it's still a lovely 26-minute journey. It's like multiple tracks all jammed together into one. Really nice.
The virtually unknown but totally excellent (VxPxC) randomly caught my ear recently. One of their members is a long-time customer of ours, and I just casually stumbled upon their website recently, which was loaded with some sweet mp3s. They self-released a monstrous 3 CD-R set, compiling the best bits of their 2005 sessions. There's such a huge variety of stuff here that you can't miss out. Some melodic bits made up of electric guitar and harmonica swirl, and then some downright beautiful pieces backed by banjo and flickering, reverb-laden guitars like "New Lands." I've listened to the 3 1/2 hours on this set a dozen times and can't imagine ever getting sick of it. I'm totally enthralled.
The UK's Barl Fire imprint has been a revelation, with pure gem after pure gem. The Floating World's "Unda" is a real minor masterpiece. Based around flute permutations, these tracks are tranquil and quixotic. Amanda Votta bends and shapes her instrument into something otherworldly. The music dark and beautiful. There's something really quite special happening here, and it sucks me in every time. Also great is the "Heru" disc by Lamp of the Universe. Psychedelic sitar explorations that will have any fan of Indian/raga-influenced drones on their knees, begging for more. Absolutely divine.
Raivo Productions out of Finland has been responsible for some of the country's craziest releases to date. Jumala and Cluster Duo know how to skillfully take a hand-saw to your skull and make you like it. Along those lines is the solo drums album by Shalakari. Five tracks, none reaching four minutes, that splinter your world into miniscule pieces. There's something to be said for the skill with which he navigates his drumset. I could swear he's got five arms. And speaking of Cluster Duo, they've got a new EP out on the same label that's definitely worth checking out, especially if you dug their first mess.
Also on the Finland tip is the hypnotic flights of fancy by Majakka ja Perävaunu. Brought to us by the good folks at Luovaja , these massive improv pieces do a wonderful job of creating an atmosphere for cosmic excursions. Each of these three sprawling pieces (ranging from 20 minutes to 27 minutes) unfolds slowly, but is always led by a sure hand. This is the work of someone's creative vision, and this duo pulls it off quite well. This is the music of the changing seasons, when everything is in bloom, but dying. These tracks contain the aural depictions of nature's yearly decay. It's the sound of falling leaves and browning grass, everything and everyone looking for their place to hibernate for the oncoming winter. With each subsequent listen, you realize that there's really something special happening here. Really lovely.
From our friends at South Africa's One Minute Trolley Dash imprint comes the post-rock sounds of Moranga. Usually this isn't my sort of thing, but something about this group really caught my ear. Moranga lives somewhere in the same territory of post-rock giants Mogwai, though they are definitely treading their own water. Great for rainy nights and exceptional packaging (as always) from OMTD. And speaking of brilliant packaging, be sure to pick up The Wild Eyes intriguing debut called "Our Love Has A Special Violence." It's some weirdo, disjointed pop songs played by a bunch of spazzed-out whackos. And it's quite good! Shit, it's worth the price of admission for the amazing, AMAZING packaging. Seriously. It's that good.
What else... a few months ago, an interesting little soundtrack showed up in our mailbox for a short film called "With God on Our Side." The soundtrack of the same name, brought to us by Something on the Road is actually quite impressive. It's one, short track (around 8 minutes), but one look at the instrumentation (oud, cello, violin, guitar, piano, banjo, nei, flute, percussion, & vocals) and you've got a pretty good idea what you're in for on this Middle Eastern-tinged disc. Too short, but I could listen to it for hours on end.
Drekka is the solo guise of Bluesanct figurehead, Michael Anderson. He's put out a couple of fantastic albums on his own label and some limited edition things on other imprints. Morc Tapes (from Belgium) offers up an excellent cassette release, "Icelandic for Beginners, Vol. 2." This release focuses on Drekka's awesome radio sessions he's done over the years. Frsom the vocal-based sprawl of side A to the masterful sound collages on side B, you're in for a total headswap. You don't wanna miss this.
Antony Milton (of Pseudoarcana fame) started up a sub-label last year called The Seedy R. There's been some real stars in the first batch of releases. Keijo & Friends come with all their marbles on the table. This live disc shows off another side to this essential outfit. Whenever Finland's wise sage performs, you feel like he's channelling some ancient spirit. Spacious, extensive improv sitting in a soil-soaked foundation. It's excellent, as expected. Also of note is the crazy Rise of the Cat City Cult. This Futurians/Dick the Phone side-project is totally damaged, demented, and totally fucking great. It's like Armpit if CJA and Sugar Jon were female. This is the music of the future, baby.
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at 22 April, 2007 18:11,
Gaudí (entity)