Chikako - Leave the Flow

So, the week nears the end and a post exists. A miracle I'm sure you'll agree. Don't know if this will be everyone's cup of tea, in fact, it won't be. But you never know unless you try...

Chikako - Leave the Flow





Now you've stopped admiring my childhood bright blue carpet (you should see the green walls!) I hope you'll give this a go. It is a poppy folk record from the 70s. Well, actually, I have no idea if it was a 70s release. Information about it doesn't exist. Google has no information, popsike has no past sales, RYM was my entry, discogs and allmusic have no records. So if you can help derive any information from the photos or know of a place with details please do help.

Tracks 2, 4 and 5 on the A-side sell this record for me. She puts some effort in. The B-side isn't quite as rewarding. Opening with some guitar work that wouldn't sound too out of place alongside Dire Straits but still containing some good tracks - B3 in particular fits with some of the better A-side material.

Rough track times:

A1. 00:05 -
A2. 03:12 -
A3. 07:39 -
A4. 12:20 -
A5. 16:22 -
A6. 19:08 - 23:10

B1. 00:03 -
B2. 03:41 -
B3. 07:40 -
B4. 11:38 -
B5. 15:07 -
B6. 18:26 - 22:37

Download

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New releases:

Before beginning this list I must apologise to anyone emailing me tracks and albums. I'm really not managing to find the time to listen to them at the moment and there's a large backlog of emails (50+) that are looking neglected. If you have new releases please feel free to add the email address in the top right of the blog to your mailing list but for the foreseeable future I'm unlikely to reply swiftly. You're more than welcome to link to your own releases in the comments, cbox or on the last.fm page.

Avant Archive: Black Eagle Child - Born Underwater
Knit Prism - Growing
A. Pushkin - The Figure

Siren Wire: Susan Matthews - LightScapes
Susan Matthews - The Whispering Void

Blackest Rainbow: Moon Unit - Hell Horse and Heady Stratus
David A Jaycock - Presets
Ben Nash / Magic Lantern - split
Wooden Wand - Wither Thou Goest, Cretin

Great Pop Supplement (check distros): Still Corners - Don't fall in love
Dean & Britta - I'll keep it with mine

Under the Spire are having a small summer sale.

Rainbow Bridge are also having a sale but it ends tomorrow (Friday).

Sweet Lodge Guru: Lawrence English - A Colour For Autumn (joint release with Digitalis but Digi have sold out of their copies)

Brave Mysteries: BONG - Samhain Festival
Lens - Techtron Dawn - Chimera Game II
MV & EE - Muskie&Manitou
The Mumber Toes - Always Already

Apollolaan Recordings: Stormhat - Kabine
Book of Shadows - Chichen Itza

Les Disques Normal: V/A - I Wish I Had a Horse's Head (French Tribute to Sparklehorse) (free download)

Joy De Vivre: Oleoresin Capsicum - Synth Pop

Different Lands (here for contact details / samples): Water Lily Jaguar / Pink Desert - split
Cruudeuces / Rambutan - Split
Wether - Opposed to the Future

Chunklet are giving Kickstarter a go in an attempt to make another book.

Hooker Vision: Nova Scotian Arms / Motion Sickness of Time Travel- The Fire Cult to Your Dream Child
Grant Evans - Ritual 1 & Ritual 2 (posters)

exbx Tapes: Jon Lorenz and Body Morph - Enjoyable Saxophone Music By...
Body Morph - Muted Me
V/A - Weird Stuff vol. 3
Starfox - s/t
Criminals - Wistful Chubby Genius

Three Lobed: Hans Chew - Tennessee & Other Stories...

Catholic Tapes (here for contact details): Fielded - Terrageist (LP)
Dino & Nic - The Arc of Nic & Dino
Christopher Riggs - 0:25, 0:50
Temporal Marauder - Subtractive Existence
Positive Shadow - Replication Slave
Elon Katz - The Pylori Program

Hanson Records: N/A - Network Issue #2
+ big sale

Prairie Fire Tapes: Tom Carter – Numinous
Gremlynz / Ajilvsga - split
Dim Dusk Moving Gloom – Blinded By The Natty White

Graveface had their office and LPs ruined by flooding. As a result they're raffling off tons of stuff. It includes Godspeed You Black Emperor artwork, something (unknown) from The Flaming Lips and Mike Watt's bass. However, there is a downside. You will have to fork out $500 for a chance of winning those. There are cheaper options though.

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Extra:

Found someone had uploaded most of a session by Shuji Inaba on youtube. Thank you Mr.

I love Jackson C Frank's album. I dare say it's my favourite album. And both of Laura Marling's albums have so far ticked the right boxes with me so to find her releasing a 7" covering 'Blues Run the Game' (and 'Needle and the Damage Done' by Neil Young) on Jack White's Third Man Records this month was a welcome surprise.

The people at Apple think they've done something of great originality (again) and have effectively re-created last.fm or mflow. They've called it Ping and incorporating it into iTunes 10. Judging by the surprising success of the iPad this will undoubtedly suck Appleholics in.

MV & EE - Bollywoe

Hope everyone is well and has had a good summer - unless you're currently upside down in which case have a nice summer.
This post should mark the return of the blog. I'm going to try and consistently make a weekly post, whether each will contain a download depends on whether I manage to sort something out in time (I do have a couple of OOP LPs lined up) and I'll try and start doing the label lists again.

MV & EE - Bollywoe

This is the latest Child of Microtones release from MV & EE (Eclipse and Volcanic Tongue still have copies - elsewhere may also) and limited to 99 copies. For me, this suits more than the recently re-issued 'Liberty Rose' (vinyl edition on Arbitrary Signs) and 'Hick Smoke' (vinyl edition on Manhand), both of which left me slightly disappointed. 'Bhangra Jive' with Erika singing really hits the spot for me at the moment - it deserves a movie scene based around it situated in a dark bar.

"MV’s inspired instant onstage raps are a big part of their live appeals and one of the best tracks here, the 17-minute “The Beater”, basically incorporates a long surreal rap from MV with a sublime Skip Spence plays On The Beach groove courtesy of The Wolfpack: Rafi Bookstaber on percussion/guitar/space whisper, Paulie G on flute, Rongoose on synth percussion and Jeremy ‘Woods’ Earl on percussion and rhythm guitar. MV’s rapping style is inspired, equal parts Dylan circa “Yea! Heavy And A Bottle Of Bread”, Sonny Blount and Kenneth Patchen. The opening “Jook Enthusiast” is a solo MV raga that matches Alan Silva’s Skillfulness with modulated Indian electricity while “Bhangra Jive” approaches the recent live groove-based style that touches on Miles Davis’ Dark Magus era with psychedelic hillbilly stylings and an inspired rap, this time from Erika. Backing comes from Samara Lubelski and John Moloney, with MV trading wild guitar lines with Willie Lane like the early Television. There’s a version of “Sweetheart Of The Nascar” that’s close to the single version but a little more frazzled while the closing “Sweet Yoni” is an eye-lolling raga with some exuberant dulcimer. MV&EE are on a creative roll of late and this is a particularly necessary installment. Edition of 99 copies, packaged in the usual swank COM style, with hand-painted sleeves and fold-out card inner." (Volcanic Tongue)
Track Listing:
1. Jook Enthusiast
2. The Beater
3. Bhangra Jive
4. Sweetheart of the Nascar
5. Sweet Yoni

Download
If you can afford to please support this great band somehow - they're soon to go on tour (again). As well as this release (still available from the previously mentioned distros) there are those two vinyl re-issues, the 'Sweetheart of the Nascar' 7" on Electric Temple, bootlegs on Heroine (direct from the band), Brave Mysteries and an 8 cassette bootleg box from Blackest Rainbow. Soon adds up, doesn't it?

Join the Fangs and Arrows Fantasy Football

The F&A league needs some growth.

Fantasy Premier League

League code: 340790-96526

Please, feel free to join.


The blog will reignite again soon.

New: Digitalis Ltd (and vinyl)
Sloow Tapes
NNA Tapes
Not Not Fun
Great Pop Supplement
Ikuisuus
House of Sun
Cloud Valley
Ydlmier

Sorry for lack of the usual detail, this is a rushed and incomplete update.

This blog is not dead

If it appears that way at the moment - let's face it, it does - I apologise. I keep meaning to take a couple of hours out and put together all the stuff filling up my inbox but I'm enjoying the sun and football too much.

I just want to point out a couple of quick releases (I think) you may be interested in.


The lovely Big Blood folk have got a new CD/vinyl out on Time-Lag Records and a cassette on Cabin Floor Esoterica. Later in the year, around September, they will also have a double LP out on Digitalis, more news on that when it comes.
If, like me, you're in the UK, Boa Melody Bar will be getting some copies (not sure how many) of the Big Blood Time-Lag LP if you want to save a bit on the import postage.

Under the Spire are re-releasing Zelienople's 'Hollywood' album. There's also a bonus track (which I would love but I'm not buying another copy) to go with the release.

Blackest Rainbow, as I'm sure you all already know, have a new Twinsistermoon LP and a Beggin' Your Pardon Miss Joan compendium type release, both for pre-order.

Troglosound has a new Burnt Hills 3" CD for sale. €12ppd, so a bit expensive, but go take a listen to the sample. Sounds extremely good. I've just been told it's close to sold out, so think fast.

Type Records have out the last of the Thomas Köner LPs and a new one from The North Sea. Boomkat usually sells out fast of Type releases so be sure to check out places like Norman Records (UK) or Forced Exposure (US) if you want something that looks to be gone.


Proper update to come.

Peter Broderick - Three Film Score Intakes

It has now been over a month since the last upload on this blog. I didn't start it with the intention of uploading much but a month feels like a long break. It's not like there aren't a million other blogs supplying music though so I don't exactly feel bad about neglecting uploads for a while.
Anyway, getting back to normal, here's something that wasn't available for very long but is very recent.


Peter Broderick - Three Film Score Intakes

This was released two weeks ago on Schedios Records (a newish label founded and run by Clem Leek). Released on a 3" CD in an edition of 200, some of which appear to be available from Experimedia (link below). The music is taken from a short film by Matt Clark titled 'Passenger'.

"the three tracks on display here combine piano, strings and field recordings. A signature of the Broderick classical sound is his ability to take a minimalist approach to composing and through his blending of pre-recorded sounds or looping his own instruments he adds significant complexity to his music. So, for example, “Part 1” in essence a fairly simplistic, but nonetheless beautiful piano composition is supported by undertones of violin and given a distinctly gritty edge through the recorded sound of a train passing by. “Part 2” which seamlessly integrates from the first track, gives the strings a more prominent role and the resulting sound is an emotionally charged, melancholic one. “Part 3,” reverting to a greater piano focus again, is the most melodic of the three tracks yet Broderick again through his ambient intuition, ensures there is not an overriding burden of romance to the composition." (Fluid Radio)

BUY / Download

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New Releases:

Honest Jon's: V/A - To Scratch Your Heart: Early Recordings From Istanbul (4LP / 2CD)

Sloow Tapes: Verde - Tapes
Plankton Wat - Shadows
Marianne Nowottny - Divine Cantos

Under the Spire: Wreaths - Like Sparks From Throats Falling

The Great Pop Supplement: Spectrum & Tim 'Love' Lee / Spectrum & Captain Memphis (picture disc)

Alter: Tomutonttu / Oneohtrix Point Never - Split

Plus Tapes: Alvarius B – Blood Operatives of the Barium Sunset

Electric Temple: MV & EE - Sweetheart of the Nascar

Woodsist: V/A - Welcome Home / Diggin' the Universe

Weird Forest: Mark McGuire - Tidings / Amethyst Waves

Type Records: Rene Hall - Porcelain Opera

Reverb Worship: Lapizjack - s/t

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Olde English Spelling Bee: Stellar Om Source - Trilogy Select
James Ferraro - Feed Me
James Ferraro - On Air
James Ferraro - Pixarni

Plus Tapes: Distractions - s/t

Subliminal Sounds: V/A - Thai Beat A Go-Go (Vol. 3)
Parson Sound (3LP box set)

Full of Nothing: Keijo - First Time
Kheta Hotem - Live at Yläkaupungin Yö, Jyväskylä, Finland 2009
Kheta Hotem - Live at Yläkaupungin Yö, Jyväskylä, Finland 2007

Arbor: Sun Circle - Lessness
Cloaked Light / Pale Blue Sky

Morc Tapes: Circle Bros - Haven

Sound Holes: Lust For Youth / Street Drinkers - Split
Pascal Nichols - One Stone Taken From Every Monument To Form A Wall of Silence
Rale / 3 Headed Monster - Split

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More will probably be added over the next couple of days. If only there was a Twitter service that allowed for more characters, that would be perfect.

Update

I have loads to add to this list over the next couple of days. It hasn't felt like four weeks since the last post. Time is flying. I'm not going to promise consistency over the summer - losing the World Cup will be a huge distraction - but I will do my best to avoid big gaps in posting again.
More will hopefully be added in the next 24 hours to this list. Nothing uploaded at the moment but will dig something out for the next post.

Dead Pilot Records: Expo 70 - Death Voyage

Second Language Music: Ghostwriter - The Continuing Adventures Of The Strange Sound Association

Sir Richard Bishop has released a compilation of live tracks from his 'Freak of Araby' US Tour - there's also a nice, new t-shirt.

Speaking of t-shirts, Blackest Rainbow have got a couple of new ones. They're also re-pressing the Silvester Anfang II LP.

Reverb Worship: Pete Fosco - Live

Digitalis have new LPs from Heather Woods Broderick (now only available from distros - Boomkat, Forced Exposure) and Ossining.
On the Digi Ltd side of the operation they had a large batch of cassettes from Michael James Tapscott, Planets Around the Sun, White Leopards, Red Electric Rainbow, Mohave Triangles, Knit Prism / W.A. Munson, Mass Ornament and Ricardo Donoso. Five of them seemed to sell out in around 24 hours, if ones you want are gone, be sure to check the usual distros over the next few days.

Mississippi Records have released quite a batch over the past month. They've re-released the best of the Fihavanana 3LP set - definitely worth checking out - on a single LP, done a vinyl issue of 'Moa Anbessa' by Getatchew Mekuria, The Ex and Guests and have just released a new compilation of Abner Jay material. Not seen the Abner Jay in shops yet, but if you're in the UK check out Honest Jon's and maybe Aquarius Records if you're in the States (there may be cheaper distros in the US for their records but I don't know of it - if you do, please leave a comment with info).

Apollolaan Recordings: Black Tempest - Proxima

Essence Music: Nadja - Autopergamene
Drakh - Bethlehem
(both of these releases also have amazing looking box set editions)

Aguirre Records: Caboladies - Live Anywhere
Josh Burke - Prana

Boomkat have a few copies of the Richard Youngs and Valet split 7" (on Root Strata) on sale for £2.95 at the moment (here). It obviously costs more when you take into consideration the p&p costs but if you're ordering something with them anyway then it might be a good, cheap purchase.

Schedios: Peter Broderick - Three film score intakes
(thanks Kev)

Install: Greg Davis - Regarding Wave

NNA Tapes: Nonhorse - Subtle Revenge
Driphouse - 50/50
Pulse Emitter - Longing Thresholds

It seems to be a worthwhile move checking out Norman Records lately if you really want to save the pennies. I noticed you could save 30p on 'For Jose Maria' by Rameses III, a little bit on 'Modlitewnik' by Isengrind and £3 on '...and they have escaped the weight of darkness' by Olafur Arnalds (all including postage). It isn't much but I imagine if you had an order large enough to get free postage (UK only) you could almost get a "free" CD.

Chunklet have a new t-shirt - well, for Record Store Day - available with the words, 'I collect records because pussy hates me' written across it. Crude? Chunklet? Never...
Bring on another magazine Henry!!

Earjerk: Rain Drinkers - The Healing Begins NOW
Prince Rama - Live

A Dear Girl Called Wendy: Testicle Hazard - Het Potatis
Sewer Election - Kvävd

Caff / Flick: No Monster Club - Tropical Decibels (vol. 1 & 2)
Heavy Hawaii / Girls Names - Split
Boundary JIM - Vienna Boys Choir

Plus Tapes: Leaves - s/t
More releases very soon: Distractions, Alvarus B, Other Minds and Exile (x2)

Susan Matthews has collaborated with Mark Ingram, putting her music to his experimental films. Titled 'Autumnal Abduction', the CD & DVD package (£8ppd worldwide) is available here and you can preview the videos here.

The Motljud distro has started a newsletter of their stock. First update contained new releases from Vinter, Sveriges Kommune & Landsting, Oresund Space Collective, Anders and Arv & Miljo.

Dull Knife Records have had some records back from their distibutor, so if you wanted but missed the Andre Ethier or Circuit des Yeux 7"s they're back available direct for $5 and $3 respectively.

Low Point: Christopher Hipgrave - Slow, With Pages Of Fluttering Interference

Dust Wind Tales: Flaspar - Voice Rockets on the Satellites (half way down the page)

Smeraldina Rima have a new website and blog. Their next release is going to be from Ryan Garbes and somewhere along the line they have a re-release of 'Twilight Peaks' by Robbie Basho on CD and vinyl.

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Stunned Records: Chrome Wings - Time Patterns
Queen Victoria — There Will Come Soft Rains
Xiphiidae — Iiustus / Transresonance Formation
Duck Dive / Edibles — split
Archers by the Sea — Sometimes We Should Dance

DNT Records: Sean McCann - Chances Are Staying
Birthdaze Haze (vhs)
Carl Calm / Flower Man - The Sag / The Breslin Wayside Rotary
Deep Magic - Soul Vibration

Important Records: Master Musicians of Bukkake - The Visible Sign Of The Invisible Order
Master Musicians of Bukkake - Totem 2
Grails - Black Tar Prophecies 4
Grails - Black Tar Prophecies 1,2,3
Aun - VII

Mort Aux Vaches: Ignatz - Mort Aux Vaches

Honest Jon's: Actress - Splazsh

Type Records: The Alps - Le Voyage
Thomas Köner - Nunatak

The Tapeworm: John Butcher - Trace
Pita - Mesmer

Bum Tapes: Men Daimler - Live

Krayon Recordings: Moon Unit - New Sky Dragon

Synth Noise: Pulse Emitter - Meditative Music 4

Cubic Pyramid: Lace Bows - Glitter Pulse
Melted Glass - Fluorescent Swamp
Moonflare - All the World is Bright With Joy and Magical Delight

For Noise's Sake: Au - Medianoche en Aspen
Wretched Worst - Frozen in Vomit
Expensive Shit - ATX Ghosts and Flowers
Slut Mouth - Double Penetration
interstates (etc.) - Goodbye Blue Monday
Andrew Coltrane - Vice & Virtue
Indigents - Factory Disease
Rusted Wreck - Concret Now
V/A - no es fest
Lattume Muto - Sokeré

Basses Frequencies: Nicholas Szczepanik - Dear Dad

Rotifer Cassettes: Hobo Cubes - Spheric dawn
Jugu - Pangaeal
Archers by the Sea / Carter Mullin - Split
Bjerga / Iversen - Recovering tiny clumps of truth from the junkyard of lies
Seziki Tetrasheaf - Furnishings of former lives

Sacred Phrases: Ophibre / Dry Valleys - Split

Fabrica Records: Luciernaga - Life Passes Away Like Idle Chatter

Private Collection: Sequin Kit

Invada Records: White Hills / Gnod - split

Offices of Moore & Moore: () - Non Serviam
Knit Prism
nodolby

Release the Bats: Ättestupa - Begraven Mot Norr


Anything else will be added on the next update.

Seth Nehil - Knives

The samples of this record (on Mimaroglu - linked below as 'buy' - and Boomkat) had me completely absorbed last week. I'd argue that the sample - third track of side A - is the best piece on the record but I couldn't help but continually flip the record over once I'd reached 'the end'. If you're into musique concrete or just generally willing to try something new, which I suspect you are, then be sure to check this out.

Seth Nehil - Knives

This is the first release on Senufo Editions - released alongside an extremely limited Alessandro Brivio record - and only has an edition of 180 copies. Lovely clear vinyl, simple but attractive artwork and a nice letterpressed insert.

"Included herein are a series of short musique concrète pieces from composer seth nehil, featuring input from 20-odd instrumentalists (including Matt marble & JP Jenkins) whose individual contributions are transformed into micro-events, yielding a quite detailed & very edit-heavy array of sound."

"Knives has been influenced by cinematic sound design, hip hop music production, musique concrete and noir films, among other things. These days, I am interested in making music that is equal parts dramatic and abstract, songs with all of the regularity removed. I want to incorporate room tone, accidents, lack of control, mimicry, suggestion, tangentiality."

Download / Buy

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Plus Tapes: Montoyan Artesian Connection
Ill Professor – Miracle of Luck

If you missed out on those Dara Puspita tapes Plus released at the very start, Sublime Frequencies are meant to be officially re-releasing the material soon.

Catholic Tapes (Email): Wasteland Jazz Unit
Josh Burke - Shared Lucidity
Running - Running Tape #2

Peasant Magik: Chapels - All Voids
Anla Courtis - Becasa Quiula
Glass Coffin / One Master - Split
Hoor-paar-Kraat - Handy Feet
Annapurna Illusion - The Fifth Veda

Under the Spire: Coldstream - South Island

Milieu Music: Milieu - Bell'n Dither
Milieu - Reverb Microcoma (part 2)
Brian Grainger - Sunburnt under the eyes
Brian Grainger - White Kingdoms

Install Sound: David Tagg - Pentecoste
bit disappointed to see the JCL / Tagg split sold out

Not Not Fun: Sun Araw - On Patrol
Magic Lantern - Platoon
Magic Lantern - Show Stopper

Editions Mego: Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal (pre-order)

Blackest Rainbow (pre-orders): Isengrind - Modlitewnik
Celer - Dwell In Possibility
Lobster Priest - Cat Food
Deas & Denton - s/t

Morc Tapes are having a small sale and have released the third MorcZine (interviews with black flowers, sharron kraus, jessica bailiff, richard youngs and signal).

Great Pop Supplement: Yair Yona - Remember
CWK Joynes and the Restless Dead - 6 selections and premonitions from the Tower, vol.1

Spirit of Orr listed three new MV & EE bootlegs - Not Only Wine But It's Oblivion I Pour; (Bad) Blood On The Doozers Guitar; Electric Wharf: Coventrian - if you can keep up. $7 each.

Holy Mountain are re-releasing the Voice of the Seven Thunders album despite the original not being sold out (as confused as I am?). There's also a new VotST t-shirt available from Tchantinler.

Reverb Worship: Pete Fosco - Byzantium

Record Store Day was on Saturday. If you went and bought a copy of the Blur single I recommend flogging it to the nutcases on ebay paying £200. Maybe next year the shops will press up 100 copies of records and put them on ebay themselves - I suspect at least a few of the listings have been record store employees, but that's the cynic in me.

Weird Forest: Love Cry Want - s/t (re-press)
The re-press of 'Wide' by Grouper sold out on pre-order so check the usual distros


Tuesday additions

Apollolaan Recordings: Susan Matthews & Clutter - Silence Alright

'Honest Strings: A tribute to the life and work of Jack Rose' is now available from Fina as a download. Features MV & EE, Bardo Pond, C Joynes, Hush Arbors, Six Organs, Rick Tomlinson and loads others. Literally hours of music for $15.

Jooklo Duo are playing at Aquarius Records (San Fran) tonight at 6pm. If you're in the area be sure to go. Also check the Trogloblog linked above (just under the picture title) as there have been quite a lot of uploads going on. And check out their tour disc. I got a copy through (from Aquarius) last week and can confirm that it's mental.

Digitalis have re-released the Roll the Dice album on CD.

Deep TapesL Olympus Mons - Aural alchemy
Earthsurfers - Ryderz of the wyld wave

Mimaroglu have copies of the Golden Retriever disc on Root Strata and I think I read somewhere that they may have some more of Scott Wells 'Day Songs' at some point. Check the New page for the GR disc though.

Did anyone go to Hospital Productions in New York on Records Store Day? The first 100 people were meant to be allowed to make their own 1 minute noise tapes.

Issue 4 of Mountain Fold is available.

Nurse Tapes: Neuntoter der Plage - Swine
Dog Lady - Strung for Her Turning
Ride At Dawn - Aktion Report I
White Boss - Guidelines at Third Stone

Autumn Records: John Clyde-Evans - Go Gracious Kiki Change

Calypso Hum: Early Tunnels - Cold drain
Derek Rogers - Concealed weapon
Lavender Scented Dreamfield

Pony Boy Cassettes: Backwards Sleep - Live at O.Y

Green Records (email): Knox Mitchell - You Chopped My Block Off
Knox Mitchell - Yarns
Five Finger Discount - Life On A Rough Surface
Knox Mitchell - After Music
Five Finger Discount - Eliminate The Bad
Bree Party - Live at Portage Park

If you wanted the Sovetskaya Gone tape on Anathema Sound but missed out, there are some available direct.

905 Tapes: Roman Wolfe - Ylem
Dogbox - s/t
Mick Barr - Brave Grave 2: Guitar
Totem Mold Growth - Straight-internet-copy
Family Treasures / Hunted Creatures - Split

Semata Productions: Bowed Metal Music - Untitled
Asher - Interference
Vic Rawlings / Liz Tonne - Truck Krone

Pete von Petrin is looking for support to fund a 7" via Kickstarter. Julianna Barwick managed it through the site a few months back, and deservedly so, will Pete? I can't find any samples...

One copy left (edition of 15) of 2 cassette split 'Smokestacks' by Sean Gadoury and Scott Johnson - info here.

2:00 AM Tapes: Vestigial Limb - Velo-Dog Dissuader
Palatial - Tierkorperbeseitigungsanstalt (thank God for copy & paste!)
Vales - Tosser
Mike Shiflet - Omen Chaser
Corpse Candle - Into Dust

Munitions Family: Reptile Brain - Dinosaur

Pug Records: V/A - Mekulele, Ukulele, Wekulele
Cave Babies - Green
Math the Band - Don't Worry
Iji - Sorry Seashells

Sonic Meditations: Expo 70 - Psychic Funeral
Breathing Flowers - Magical Order of the Seven Sacred Planets
Matt Hill - Untitled
Also has the coloured vinyl edition of the Umberto record (on Permanent Records) available at the bottom of the page.

The long slow death of cassette players

Hope everyone has had a nice couple of weeks this Easter. I'll get around to answering any comments and a proper post on the weekend - assuming everything goes as planned. A lot of updates are cheekily taken from people kindly posting them in the Promotion section of Fangs & Arrows so check there if you want to get ahead (and join anyway).

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The long slow death of cassette players

Cassette player 1:

This was (technically still is) my parents cassette player. It's part of a small stack system bought in the late 70s / early 80s that has a turntable on top and a CD player below. I sequestered it around 2003/4 and have had it in my room since 2005/6. The turntable, CD player and radio still work perfectly - only the drive belt for the turntable has needed replacing (this year) - but the cassette player died a couple of years ago and emits a constant sharp tone from one of the speakers.


Cassette player 2:

An old birthday present of mine. Probably from 1992/3 - I still have copies of 'History' by Michael Jackson, 'Things can only get better' by D:ream and 'Come on you reds' by Man Utd - and had been working perfectly until a month ago. Now it has started to regularly chew tapes. It often needed a bit of a warm up, by pressing play for 5 seconds with no tape in, but that no longer works and it has been going mid-tape. This is the player used for most tape rips on this blog.


Cassette player 3:

Best looking tape player I own but God knows when this was retired. It used to belong to my Grandad and was only recently uncovered. It has a record function and a pretty decent radio - now set to Radio 5 live for the football. Sadly, it will reach its end in 2012 when this country (for invalid reasons, in my opinion) will scrap analogue radio for digital. The rewind function no longer works with a tape in - although a flip and a fast forward does the same job - and the play warbles.


Cassette player 4:

A.k.a. 'The last hope'. Not sure how old this is. I'd guess it was bought for long car journeys to the south of France and Italy we developed a yearly habit of making in the mid-late 90s. It would be fair to say it was superseded by a discman after a couple of years whatever the case. It's the only one I own that still works perfectly on a regular basis.


You're probably now thinking to yourself, 'who cares?', or, 'so?', and you're probably quite right to do so. I guess I'm just wondering about the future of formats in general because once the last of these tape players goes I'm unlikely to buy a new one. Maybe I'll cave eventually but I don't think I love the format enough to bother. It's a shame because I love the music contained on a lot of them.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the future of cassettes?
Do you also just buy them for the music or would you pick it over other formats?

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Hoping to have the next post up on Saturday with all the usual updates.

Voice of the Seven Woods feast (pt. 2)

The first part was back in December last year (if you missed it). I had intended to follow it up within a month but here we are, four months later and only just getting around to it.
There are four 7" singles here (The Firefly Dusk, Hush Arbors split, Kafamdaki Yangin and The Burning Mountain), one 3" CD (Withering of the Boughs) and a CDr (VVIIW). All are long sold out but I'm sure you could still track most of them down on Ebay or Discogs if you want copies.
A couple of these have been released under alternate names. Yedi Ormanin Sesi was a Turkish alias involving Rick alongside Chris Walmsley and Pete Headley. Voice of the Seven Thunders is again Rick and Chris but with Rory Gibson on bass and is the current project.

As usual, newly ripped at 320kbps mp3. I've checked before uploading this time that they all unzip so fingers crossed there are no problems there.
I'd recommend the first two ('Withering...' and 'Firefly...') - 'Winter's Temper' is especially good. If you're in the mood for something a bit heavier, a psych-rock flavour, then you should definitely check out the Yedi Ormanin Sesi 7" and 'The Burning Mountain'.

Be sure to check out Rick's latest album under the Voice of the Seven Thunders name. CD and vinyl editions were both self released on his Tchantinler Recordings label and are available direct through the site or via shops like Norman Records and Boomkat.

The Withering of the Boughs

1. The Withering of the Boughs

Download

The Firefly Dusk

A. The Firefly Dusk
B. Winter's Temper

Download
Hush Arbors split

A. Voice of the Seven Woods - Mist & Snow
AA. Hush Arbors - Gone on the Way to Know

Download
Kafamdaki Yangin

A. Yedi Ormanin Sesi - Kafamdaki Yangin
B. Yedi Ormanin Sesi - Karanlik Nehir

Download / Buy
VVIIW

1. Quicksand and Wildfire
2. A Meditation Upon Death
3. The Firefly Dusk
4. Isolation

Download
The Burning Mountain

A. The Burning Mountain
B. Dry Leaves (Alt version)

Download / Buy

I'll get around to ripping 'Black Morning' at some point but I don't have copies of 'An Hour Before Dawn' or 'Mareotic Lake' and 'The Journey', 'The Holy Harbour' and the self titled albums are still available from some of the usual shops so won't be posting those.

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News / Releases

Huge list has gathered this time.

Kning Disk are having a small spring sale - Peter Broderick down to €5, James Blackshaw for €7, Voice of the Seven Woods €8, etc.

As mentioned by Anonymous in the comments, Ikuisuus are also having a sale (until April 15th) - includes a deal for Taco Bells (LP), Monks Of Malaspina (LP), Keijo (CD) + worldwide postage for €30.

Someone over at Fangs and Arrows kindly directed me to Spirit of Orr to buy the latest MV & EE CD ('Liberty Rose').

Low Point: Gareth Hardwick - Of the sea and shore (pre-order)

Under the Spire: Gareth Hardwick - London 22/01/09

Digitalis Ltd: Jouurney - Dancers in the time flux
Sorc'henn - Shadow is ov silver, phantom is ov gold
Indian Weapons - Perousia

Anathema Sound: Black Eagle Child / Thoughts on Air - Split
Sean McCann & Greg Manata - Ornaments
Sovetskaya Gone - Sashweights & Bags of Birdshot

Motljud has copies of 'Orosvisor', the second album by Sveriges Kommuner & Landsting. An art edition will be made in May but the prices will obviously be higher. It's meant to have quite a few of the same songs - some re-recorded - as the first album but I'm not sure of the track listing to be able to give further details.

Davy Graham's favourite guitar was sold this week on ebay for £5,600.

Singing Knives: Pekko Kappi - Vuonna '86

Joy de Vivre: Being - Immaculate steel casket (not listed on the website, send them an email because it is available)

Ark Tarp: Shiggajon
Jørgen Teller & The Empty Stairs w/ PEWTR - Burn Sugar
Inhibitionists - Trapezoid Man
Donato Epiro - Three Different Kinds Of Poison

Synth Series (RuralFaune): Innercity - Visions from dream state
Magina - Nazca Lines
Mark Bradley - Godspeed
Easy Rider - Eternia beach
Marc-Henri Arfeux - Blossom

RuralFaune: The Driftwood Manor - The Same Figure, leaving
Sparkling Wide Pressure - In a new Mouth
Dylan Ettinger - Cutters (LP co-released with Digitalis)

Three Lobed Recordings: Heavy Winged — Fields Within Fields

Stunned Records: Torture Corpse - Stop the Mind
Talisman - Initiate Into the Mysteries
Sparkling Wide Pressure - Facing the Nothing World
Lunar Miasma - Three Legged Elephant
Mortuus Auris & The Black Hand - Freiheit ist immer Freiheit der Andersdenkenden
Husere Grav
Slam Fucking Dunk (Stunned bonus)

Dream Root Recordings (email): Moth Cock - Ronnie James Geode
Derek Rogers & Interstates (etc.) - collaboration
Gammaciphers - Near Distance

Bum Tapes: Lee Noble - Loaded Image
Dream Colour / Lasers from Atlantis - Split
Al Qaeda - Hundreds of wives, only a few are dead

For Noise's Sake: Plonk Moist - Plonk Moist
Shalocins - Trains going by
Teeth Collection
Wicked Rot - The Rotten Flute

Abandon Ship Records: Blue Sabbath Black Fiji - Night Hawk (CD)
Mea'l (CD)
Flesh Coffin - Veil of snakes (CD)
Excepter - Steps: La Sala Rossa (CD)
Nervous Sex / Drums Like Machine Guns (cassette)
Christian Science Minotaur - Maps 4 (cassette)
Moutus - Eskimo King / Afternoon Penis (vinyl)

Tape Drift: Jeremy Kelly - Facing Space
Lee Noble - Infinity Bore
Family Treasures - Altars of Ashes
Cruudeuces - Exile Digs
Book of Shadows - Twelve Degree Chandelier

Astral Social Club - Happy Horse (available from Japan - here - and should be in distros soon)

Two new (I think) Mississippi Records re-issues: The Ex & Tom Cora - Scrabbling At The Lock
Uke of Phillips - Peppermint Birdhouse Tea Shanty Shack

Jugular Forest: 1958-2009 - Live
Human Hands - Palus Nectaris
Earn - In a year
Yellow Crystal Star - Rainbow bridge to dream mirror orb
Pale Blue Sky - Souvenir
Caged Soprano - The newspaper

Editions Mego: Cindytalk / Robert Hampson - Five Mountains Of Fire / Antarctica Ends Here
Emeralds - Does It Look Like I'm Here? (CD & 2LP pre-order)

Blossoming Noise: Merzbow - Collection 4
Merzbow - Collection 5
Merzbow - Normal Music
Merzbow - Flesh Metal Orgasm

Existential Cloth: Lee Noble - Twin Language
Siddhi - Cuttlefish Bone
Aghori / Kedamaian - Split

I Just Live Here: V/A - Fake Sound Routine

Sacred Phrases: Dry Valleys / Mohave Triangles - Split

Reverb Worship: Lady Space - Long Lost In A Twilight Head
Yoshino - Sun, Moon

Moving Furniture: A Vibrant Struggle – Between The Woods And Frozen Lake

Tapeworm: Fennesz - Szampler
Leslie Winer - & That Dead Horse

Jooklo Duo - Free Serpents

Next month Jooklo will be paying a visit to the USA - see here for details - and a man named Chris has set up a blog following it from April 12th. It's going to have audio ('Live in Itri' is already available), videos and art from the tour so be sure to keep check of it - Trogloblog.

Jooklo Duo - Free Serpents

This is not my rip. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it, I just wish I had a copy to rip.
Sad face. Moving on...

Ten tracks of free jazz. The Duo formation of Jooklo (Virginia Genta (sax) and David Vanzan (drums)) is probably the wildest - the Finnish Quartet 'Birthday Session' probably being the closest of the other Jooklo projects that I've managed to hear.

This was recorded back in December 2006 and issued almost ten months later on Qbico, alongside 'Infinity' (Neokarma Jooklo Octet featuring Kawabata Makoto) and 'Meditative' (Neokarma Jooklo Trio) - lots of variation across those records.

Download
-------------------------
News:

Dead Slack String: Richard Moult - Ethe
Plinth - Albatross
Magikal Folk of the Faraway Tree - The Soup and the Shilling

Plus Tapes: Perseus Noble – Perseus Noble
Radar Eyes – Radar Eyes

All of the Peasant Magik releases are definitely arriving. I received the lathes at the end of last week and I think my box set is currently at the post office. Tomentosa also has copies of the box set is you missed out - check here.

Also got the new Voice of the Seven Thunders vinyl through this morning from Tchantinler (if anyone was wondering about the delay with that).

Noticed a few things moseying through Norman Records' pre-order section. First was a sleeve paying tribute to Roxy Music's 'Country Life' cover from a new J. Mascis project, Sweet Apple, titled 'Love and Desperation'.
Second was a compilation on Dust to Digital put together by the Excavated Shellac blogger / WFMU free music archive uploader - 'Excavated Shellac: Strings'. The description doesn't make much sense though, how can the songs be, "recorded and released" yet, "All previously unreleased"? Ah. Who cares... Definitely check out the blog if you've not already.
Last record I spotted was a re-issue on Arbor of Oneohtrix Point Never's 'Zones Without People'. Only another 500 copies of it but at least that means people won't have to spend more than necessary to buy used copies off ebay.

They have also just listed that PWHMOBS 'All Cows Are Sacred' CDr on House of Alchemy here. There's meant to be a second pressing due.

Low Point: Kogumaza - Sevens b/w Mara

Thanks to sno in the cbox for these two: There's another new Zelienople piece on their website. Only 65mb this time.

Vulpiano Records have re-uploaded the Natural Snow Buildings album with the skip removed. There's also a Flac version available and a new release from Year of the Tiger.


'Honest Strings: A Tribute To The Life And Work Of Jack Rose' is meant to be downloadable now ($15) but it looks as though there has been an error with the dates - Three Lobed were expecting 19th March but it looks like someone at Fina has put it back a month.

Important Records: Robedoor - Burners
Jon Mueller & Z'ev - Hydration
Mugstar - ... Sun, Broken...
Kid 606 - Songs About Fucking Steve Albini
Merzbow - Ecobag / 13 Birds In A Bag +1 (14CD)

Olde English Spelling Bee: Forest Swords - Dagger Paths
Rangers - Suburban Tours
James Ferraro - Last American Hero


As always, I'm sure I've missed something. This time it feels like more than usual...

Natural Snow Buildings - The Centauri Agent

The new Natural Snow Buildings album is available over at Vulpiano Records, run by A Future In Noise's Marilyn Roxie. It's a free download only release and as a result should probably be considered the most available release from the duo - we can't go on about not getting a copy this time.


VULP-0013 is Natural Snow Buildings’ first release of 2010, the free-for-download double LP The Centauri Agent! On part one, the 41 minute “Our man from Centauri” sets the stage, a cosmic, sprawling opener with themes that continue on into “The accidental remote viewer”, before fizzling out into static. Part two is comprised of nine beautiful and intense tracks (particular stand-outs including “The Psychic Circle/Uchronia”, “The storm of resurrection”, and “Solar flares”). Lovely and intricately woven as ever, while frequently heading off into new and challenging sonic territory, Mehdi and Solange have created yet another very special work of musical art with The Centauri Agent!

Part One:
1-Our man from Centauri
2-The accidental remote viewer

Part Two:
1-The Psychic Circle/Uchronia
2-Black holes
3-The storm of resurrection
4-Moscow signal
5-Phantom twin
6-Stuttering probe
7-Solar flares
8-Emergency network farewell broadcast
9-Memories found in a bill from a small animal vet


Vulpiano Records


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Updates:

Blackest Rainbow: Enfer Boreal - Break The Illusion
Socrum - s/t
Cam Deas - Blind Chance (pre-order)
Aritomo - Fearful Sunshine Filtering Through Foliages (re-release pre-order)

Peasant Magik: Helm - To an end (Alter for European orders)

Under the Spire: Spheruleus - Frozen Quarters

Sloow Tapes: Stranger Son Of WB – Other Songs From Lakes
Wally Shoup and Dave Abramson – Good Curse
Embryo – Aalst 2010
Kosmische Keuterboeren - Harvest

Reverb Worship: The Big Drum In The Sky Religion / Noz Diloar / Mark Bradley - Chronological
Kwannon - The Twisted Book

Kimberly Dawn: ttotals - annimal skkulls
Archers by the Sea - They All Dreamt They Were Bears
Interstates (etc.) - Sanctuary of Memories

Trashcan Man - Live / Death Wish 2 Tribute (free download)

Pony Boy Cassettes: John-A-Dreams
Trash Can Man - First Trash

Calypso Hum: Pine Smoke Lodge / Gitche-Anahmi-Bezheu - Split
Kedamaian - Unjuran Alam

NNA Tapes: Nautilus - Blaster Vision
Xiphiidae - Maps In Exodus
Harmonizer - s/t

Rotten Topics - Bukowski (free download)

Apollolaan Recordings: Spaceship - Out Of Time's Abyss (sold out - I'd recommend getting on their mailing list if you're interested in their releases, all have been selling out very quickly over the last six months or so)

Zelienople / Donato Epiro / Entertainment for the Braindead / Endless Endless Endless

Four albums. A couple of these were sent to me - I am slowly getting around to listening to emailed albums - and the other two were stumbled upon. The titles are the links to download pages for a change.
There will be a couple more of these style posts in the near future.
No updates this weekend as there haven't been any (as of yet) to pass on. I've added in a small text box below the title picture for any mid-post edits, the blog posts and Cbox will be used as normal. If you downloaded the Sveriges Kommuner & Landsting album and couldn't extract the third track, it's downloadable here.


Zelienople - Old City
Got a fast internet connection or a deep love of Zelienople? Then head over to their site. They have a half hour long track, 'Old City', up for your enjoyment. Be warned, especially if you were planning to just stream the song, the song is in wav format and is 288mb!
Worth checking out if you can. I would convert it down and upload it but I don't want to tread on their toes. It does sound beautiful.


Donato Epiro - Sounding the Sun


This came out on Stunned Records in October last year (#52). The artwork from the label always reminds me that I haven't got anywhere near enough of their releases - definitely needs to be regular UK distro stock - and this album from Donato Epiro just adds more weight to that argument.
A real smorgasbord of sounds going on in this one. Cursillistas and PWHMOBS both come to mind. Add in some sections of Maurizio Abate-esq percussion and field recordings and you'll be close. Actually, scrap that, it's still not covered. Here's what Stunned said:

"Italian psych magician Donato Epiro aims his wand in all directions of the acoustical field, doing his best chameleon’s dance with drums, flute, chanting, and strings. An impressive dynamism is in play when Donato takes his bonfire percussion & fluttering raga loops, then swiftly braids them down to stilled passages of minimalist vibration"
Just spotted copies available at Tomentosa.



Entertainment for the Braindead - Roadkill

Discovered this artist whilst on the French blog, Unsung (a blog well worth checking - I don't speak much French either).
A girl from Germany playing folk tunes. If, like me, you're a folk fan at heart then I'd definitely recommend taking a listen. She has released the album on Aaahh Records as a stream or free download (mp3 or ogg) with the option to donate an amount of your choosing or buy a CD.


Endless Endless Endless - Things I Saw

This was out on Kimberly Dawn just a couple of months ago. The guys, Brett and James, sent over their 'Black Talisman' disc last year (here) and have kindly followed it up with this one.
'Black Talisman' surprised me a little, with the description including the word 'Nintendo'. I still detest that 8-bit stuff that was doing the rounds a couple of years back but Endless (x3) have relaxed my fears of possible future promos including those words/phrases.

Endless Endless Endless rip through your fragile psyche to reveal a multifaceted world of pure color and tone. This east coast duo wields guitars, gameboy, and vocals to create their own unique drifting dream world of pure discovery.
This, for me, is a step up from 'Black Talisman'. I just wonder what happened to 'East'...



Thanks to the videos currently on Message To Our Folks I've had, and still have, Beefheart stuck in my head. This, taken from his 'Clear Spot' record, plays out the 9 minute 'Vinyl Lovers' video. A near flawless song.

"I've got too much time to be without love"

Updates

Forgot to click 'post' with this. I've added in a couple more that have come since the weekend and there are a few of the Record Store Day releases down the bottom that may be of some interest - I figured The Cribs and Bullet For My Valentine wouldn't interest many so it's an edited down list.


La Société Expéditionnaire: Jusdson Claiborne - Time And Temperature

Time Lag Records: Stephen David Heitkotter - Heitkotter

Weird Forest: Buk Buk Bigups - s/t
Grouper - Wide (re-release pre-order)

8mm Records: Bill Nace - Too Dead for Dreaming

Ikuisuus: Monks of Malaspina - Volume One
Color Rabbit / Tretetam - Split
Claypipe / Pony Payroll Bones / Balder - Split
Renato Ciufrini & Bob Marsh - Rosa
Book of Shadows - Prayer Wheel

Tired Trails: Stone Baby - Leap into the Void and Drift
Sunken Landscapes - Transparent Sea

Digitalis: Acre - Sacrifice
J. Hanson - Boolean Blues

Housecraft: Samsara Vista - Miner in a Pit of Fire

Wah Wah Records has re-issued records by Between, Embryo, Jarka, Om and Ia Batiste in the last couple of weeks. Saw some of these arrive at Norman Records and Guerssen, no doubt others have also been stocking them.

Reverb Worship: The Big Drum In The Sky Religion / Noz Diloar / Mark Bradley - Chronological
Hayaken - Jugti
Lunar Miasma - Mirror Squares

Not Not Fun: Dylan Ettinger - New Age Outlaws
Pocahaunted - Make It Real
Edibles - Super Space / Mind Peace
Gnod - Science & Industry
Also a Pocahaunted t-shirt, an LA Vampires cassette single and Topping Bottoms - P.A.R.T.S. over in the Random Section of the site.

Blackest Rainbow: Cam Deas - Blind Chance
Aritomo - Fearful Sunshine Filtering Through Foliages (re-issue)

Keep an eye on Vulpiano Records over the next couple of weeks as they will be releasing - looks to be a free digital release - a new Natural Snow Buildings album titled 'The Centauri Agent'. Will no doubt update on this one.

Moondial: Deep Magic - Levitation

Audio.MER: Frederik Croene - Le Piano Démécanisé

Hundebiss: Mudboy - Impossible Duets
Francesco Cavaliere - Neverending Somersault
Aaron Dilloway - Lip Syncing To Verme

Smeraldina Rima: Panicsville - A Dragonfly For Each Corpse
Nate Wooley - Trumpet / Amplifier
Peeesseye + Talibam! (CD edition available from Invada Records)

Boondock Pissoir: Second Family Band - Nandi
Second Family Band - Naked Ladies & Dragons
Second Family Band - Jerusalem
Vosellglaas - 3 Lieder von Space
Ye Uphall Knyte Fryars - Psychedelic Underground Vol. 1
Meen Mistreeter - Side 3 (for T.K.)
Meen Mistreeter - Now that the roast beef's gone


I've tried picking out a few of the Record Store Day releases that may interest some readers of this blog (format and edition in parenthesis):
Flaming Lips – Dark Side Of The Moon (LP, /500)
Neu! – Crazy / Euphoria (12" single, /500)
The Album Leaf - There Is A Wind (12" single, remixes)
Dum Dum Girls / Male Bonding - Split (7")
The Fall – ‘ury / Cowboy Gregorie (/750)
Wooden Shjips – What it is / Buddy (7", /300)
V/A - 4AD compilation (12")

The list this information was stolen from can be found on the Drowned in Sound board. Not sure if these are just UK promos or for the whole world.

Lily - Dulcimer (Japan, 1973)

Another Lily bargain. At $5 this record wasn't quite as cheap as 'Onion', but how many people would turn their nose up at $5 records?

After a bit of a search for information, and really not coming up with much, I stumbled upon this blog that has copied out a list of Ongaku no tomo sha's 'Japanese Rock/Folk 1968-1978 Complete Album Guide' top 100 albums and 'Dulcimer' appears at 95 - although you'll have to read it to understand the ordering as it is alphabetically ordered in Japanese.

Lily - Dulcimer





My preference falls slightly towards 'Onion' but if you liked that record I can't imagine you'll dislike this. Not all the songs are fantastic - 'My dear Mr Romance' and 'As I can't sleep' don't do much for me - but a good standard for the most part with a similar mix of folk and hard/psych-rock.
Apparently, again, the electric guitar is the work of Kimio Mizutani (Out Cast, Love Live Life) and Takasuke Kida (Jacks) is on the drums. It's all in Japanese so I can't give as much information as before but I'd suggest the line-up hasn't changed much (if you can read Japanese, the 5th picture has the info).

Be warned: there is a quiet intro (lasts about 55 seconds) until an electric guitar kicks in loudly.

A1. Good By of Stranger
A2. I Left My Blues
A3. My Dear Mr. Romance
A4. Jun
A5. Pipe Love
A6. Nothing By Mouth

B1. Spring Has Come
B2. Day Break
B3. Don't Eat the Apple
B4. As I Can't Sleep (II)
B5. Why

I've been incredibly stupid with the ending of this rip. Twice I have recorded the b-side to my laptop and twice I pressed stop before the end. There are little solo intro / outro pieces on the LP and the outro section has been ripped as a separate track because of my errors.
Three tracks - A / B / outro - for two sides, each at 320kbps mp3.

Download
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Updates either later this afternoon or on the weekend.
Ideally I'd like to change the layout so I can have updates on one side and uploads on the other but I'm not sure if that's possible.

Scott Wells - Day Songs

The brief lull has ended. My net providers apparently upgraded the line and were having small problems causing connection to be lost after short periods of time. It has meant though that I have been able to line a couple of things up for future posts. Certainly not going to go overboard but there should be things like a follow up to the Lily album and that vague promise of a part two of Voice of the Seven Woods rarities fulfilled.

This is going to be a long one...

Scott Wells - Day Songs


"A really lovely suite of electric guitar from the floating world. No idea what's happening here, but Well's delicate touch of the strings generates a soft focus sound that's brimming with shiny harmonics and flecks of metallic gold. The only let down here is that at 20 minutes running time, this disc feels like it's just getting going when it comes to an end. Looking forward to hearing more from this one"
This EP goes best with a bit of concentration. If you get distracted it will flitter away. It also deserves a good amount of volume to capture the gentle string grinding and the brief taps of percussion, to accentuate everything above the underlying buzz and to fully appreciate Wells' swells.

Like the Golden Retriever release out on Root Strata at the same time - another well worth tracking down - this was limited to 100 copies and sold out in about a day.
I stupidly ripped the tracks as untitled - titles iTunes generated - and forgot to change them so replace them with the RS titles if you want:

1. Day Song 1
2. Day Song 2
3. Day Song 3
4. Day Song 4

As always, 320kbps mp3.

*Removed by request

--------------------
News:

I apologise if you find some of these have sold out in the passed week.

A couple of youtube videos to start things off:
The first is now one earthquake behind but still a more than worthy cause to support. It's a cover of 'I put a spell on you' put together by Shane MacGowan (The Pogues) and is a charity single for Haiti featuring Nick Cave, Chrissie Hynde, Bobby Gillespie, Paloma Faith - who actually sounds pretty good in this mix - and Johnny Depp (on guitar) as well as a few others.


Second is a trailer for a documentary about Travis Bean guitars. Not sure when, or if, this is going to get completed but guitar fans should take a look.



I know I won't be the only one excited by this: Caleb & Colleen, aka Dontrustheruin / Big Blood, have opened a store on Etsy (here) where you can buy all of their releases. All just $8 as well! Be sure to check it out. They also have LPs due out on Time-Lag, Digitalis and Dull Knife at some point and on their blog they mention tapes are due in the near future.

Earjerk: The Big Drum in the Sky Religion - Sha^ri Va'ri
Guzzo Pinc - The Sea
Second Family Band - Get Me By
Tricorn & Queue - Straits of Maize
Annapurna Illusion - Heat of the Fire, Heat of the Sun

Under the Spire: Jasper TX - A Voice From Dead Radio

Dull Knife: Balaclavas - Roman Holiday
Lamps - Niels Bohr

If you're a writer, Chunklet are looking for people to contribute to their next book. I do hope they create some more editions of the magazine in the future.

Whilst on the subject of publications, there is a three page piece on Pitchfork about cassettes (here) and a good article titled 'Articulate Silences, Ambient Sounds #1' at Drowned in Sound that is very much based around Type Records (here).

Tchantinler: Voice of the Seven Thunders - s/t (vinyl edition)

Goaty Tapes: Russian Tsarlag - Unleash the Chain
El Jesus De Magico - Ragtime Hors
La Danse Du Sperme (Hellvete, Edgar Wappenhalter, Bart Sloow, Silvester Anfang)
Street Drinkers - Circles
Uke of Spaces Corners - Albumen / Ovum (re-issue)
Banana Head Diary: BJ Vacuum Wax (book)

Milieu Music: Coppice Halifax - Halifaxian
Milieu - Reverb Microcoma
Brian Grainger - Entasis

Three Lobed Recordings has an astounding line-up planned for a digital Jack Rose tribute. It should be out in the next couple of weeks and will contain 6 and a half hours of music for $15 with all money going to his estate.

Digitalis Limited (check distros): Blue Sabbath Black Fiji - Wankers
Sacred Basil - Tuvan Annex
Celer - Rags of Contentment
Altar Eagle - Vintage Cats
S.R. Hess - Demise
Pine Smoke Lodge - Twelve Faces of the Smoke Mask
Dylan Ettinger - Interstellar Pleasures
Holy Family - Anoint

Caff/Flick: Peter's House Music

Apollolaan Recordings: Gish / Perry - I'm Afraid I Ate Too Much Butter As A Youth

Arbor: Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - Bloodstream Sermon
Brett Naucke - Southern California
Copper Glove - Surviving the Garden of Hate
Pale Blue Sky - Shades of Gray
Ryan Garbes - Real Sugar

2:00AM Tapes: Flesh Coffin - In The Woods
Abortion Focus Group - MW
CDRX + TAKLAMAKAN - Sulphuric Lake / Ispod Zemljine Kore
Ophibre - Untitled Drones for Iron Oxide
A Vibrant Struggle - Soft Illusions

905 Tapes: Steve Kenney - Outside the Circles of Time
Teeth Collection - 905.101
2673 - When the sinew is cut, the limbs soon relax
Andrew Coltrane / Wether - Split

Release the Bats: Altar of Flies - Förruttnelsen
Blessure Grave / Lust for Youth - split

Free Women in Tragedy downloads here

Night People: Broken Water - Whet (LP)

Reverb Worship: Lunar Miasma - Mirror Squares

Assophon Records (email): Eddy Detroit - Immortal God's

House of Alchemy: A Vibrant Struggle - Black Hole Meditations
Part Wild Horses Mane On Both Sides - All Cows Are Sacred
Nick Hoffman - Silent Island
Wasteland Jazz Unit - Shivering Reflections

New Peasant Magik lathes / tapes / LP

I'm having a few computer / internet problems at the moment, intermittent to say the least. It seems to allow an average of five minutes online before dying so I'm trying to work out whether it's my computer, router or phoneline. Will be back to normal soon.

Whilst this is going on I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and also quickly post this Peasant Magik update. It also includes details of the box set posting as well at the bottom.

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Peasant Magik

Three lathes limited to 50 copies each:

God Willing - Forced to Function


Caboladies - Kind Glaze


Concern - Spatium

$15-20 each or all three for $38-45 depending on where you are.


The following tapes will be available from Tuesday:
David Lackner - The Repeaters
Plante
Willful - Speaking in Tongues
Stabab - Mesmerizing Leaves To Flee
Golden Cup - Il Cielo (+ deluxe edition of 12)


These two LPs should be available by the end of the month:
Helm - To An End
One Master - The Quiet Eye of Eternity


Box set: All artist, distro, and pretty much all of the domestic orders have shipped. Rest of the world will ship this weekend. Sorry for the slow shipping, but Philly has been under a layer of ice for the last two weeks, with most public transportation just up and running in the last few days.

Brief update (not much at all)

All is a little quiet at the moment. I've been having some late nights again now the Winter Olympics have started and it appears labels have been doing the same.

Were the Canadians were hoping for a repeat of the Beijing opening ceremony? Bryan Adams miming to the opening song; Chinese competitors in the stands given lunchbox sized drums.
The graphics were extremely well done, especially the whales, but what were the totem-phalluses all about? From the distant camera shot it looked wrong.

Not been very excited by any of the sport so far. Watching the Korean take out the other Korean in the speed skating final will become a classic moment in the same way the American boarder-cross woman falling on the last jump in 2006 did, but other than that... not exciting so far.
But as a result I have been distracted and away from the computer quite a bit (which is lovely). There aren't many updates this week so I've shoved in a bit of music news to pad the post out. Next update will be more exciting.

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Apparently there's a full page piece on Natural Snow Buildings in this months Uncut magazine. If anyone has a copy, please feel free to scan in the page and send it across.

Thrill Jockey: Jack Rose - Luck in the Valley

Abbey Road is to be sold by EMI. Will Paul McCartney use his millions to buy it? There's no rumour of that happening but you never know. No doubt it will be sold to housing developers, split into lots of million pound flats and sold to rich Beatles fans.

La Société Expéditionnaire: Mako Sica - Dual Horizon

Woodsist: Moon Duo - Escape
Art Museums - Rough Frame
Woods - I Was Gone

Leyland Kirby has put out a 6LP package of his 'Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was' album(s).

This would slightly annoy me if I were a big Merzbow fan (that has bought most of the Important Records Bird series already). Important Records are apparently releasing another edition of the Bird Series box set (in a bird seed bag) in March, this time thought to be costing around $150 and containing all 13 CDs from the series plus a bonus CDR.

905 Tapes has opened up a lovely blog shop for releases & distro.

Thurston Moore - needs no introduction - has set up a blog, 'Flowers & Cream', that can be found here.

Ah ha. I think this is proof that the Vatican looked up the definition of 'down on the boys' when they were really intending to understand 'down with the boys'. They have issued (through 'L'Osservatore Romano - The Holy See's newspaper) their list of 'the top 10 pop and rock albums of all time':

1. The Beatles - Revolver
2. David Crosby - If I could only remember my name
3. Pink Floyd - The dark side of the moon
4. Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
5. Donald Fagen - The nightfly
6. Michael Jackson - Thriller
7. Paul Simon - Graceland
8. U2 - Achtung Baby
9. Oasis - (What's the story) Morning glory
10. Carlos Santana - Supernatural

Actually not that bad.




Google takes down music blogs - like this is new news?! Personally I think Google are getting a bit too big for their boots at the moment but that is based on unrelated news to this. I'm surprised it isn't more frequent.

Sveriges Kommuner & Landsting - Spelar

If I were in power of the world I'd be sure to change life to fit a ten day week. There would be a seven day working week and a three day weekend, or maybe split the three days up as a two and a one (for a midweek break). Keep the twelve month rotation but instead have three weeks per month and end the year with a five (or six) day holiday. It would give everyone an extra four days of weekend a year and then the nice five day bonus. Best of all, it would make this blog look a lot more productive.*

Sveriges Kommuner & Landsting - Spelar


This was the first I knew of the band. I couldn't help but bid on it - don't worry, I was way off the winning bid. Record limited to six copies. Cool album artwork - if you, for some reason, had all six copies the back covers would result in one big piece of artwork. And then this description:

"The SKL project. Sveriges Kommuner & Landsting (SKL) is the name for a musical experiment that took place in a small studio in Malmö, Sweden. Seven women and men - some classically trained musicians and some really novice - used and tried out many instruments, sounds and drugs during a two day recording session. To name a few things they used: Electric and acoustic guitars, a MOOG and a Hammond organ, violins, a broken mandolin found in a trash can, a clarinet, many different drums, beers, some pot and LSD. No rehearsals had taken place prior to these sessions, which is evident in many ways. The music is not always in key and the primitive recording equipment makes it quite crude occasionally, but the sheer playfulness and improvisational grit of these people is really hard to ignore. The music is either traditional Swedish folk tunes or self penned, although a large part of it is improvised. The music was never intended for an official release, but these people have now accepted a small run of six copies of the music to be released on vinyl by the Kommun 2 label. Swedish painter Peter Wallgren has contributed with expressionist artwork for this release, pasting them by hand on old recycled album sleeves. The vinyls were cut one by one by someone who wants to remain unknown..."
Thankfully last year they allowed an extra 30 copies (this time just CDR) to be released - some are still available (€6), see below. There is another album due out next month (March 25th) entitled 'Orosvisor' (Songs of Disquiet) on Kommun2.

1. Kristallen Den Fina
2. Afghanistan
3. Halvpolska Från Forshaga
4. Uti Vår Hage
5. Det Glimmar Bland Molnen
6. Björndans Från Skåne

Download / Buy
Track 3 may have problems unzipping. The song is downloadable HERE



* Having now looked into this, it appears I've almost completely (unwittingly) ripped off the French Revolutionary Calendar. I wouldn't go as far as decimal time, although if I were four once again it would have saved a lot of confusion with the 24 hour clock.
Oh, the Egyptians also had a ten day calendar. I'll try and be more original with ideas in the future.

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Updates:

Install Sound: Simon Whetham & Mise_En_Scene - Eineanderweltstrasse
Horaflora's - The Gland Canyon

Not Not Fun: Heather Leigh - Jailhouse Rock (quite far down the page)
Psychic Reality / LA Vampires - Split

Shizuka (of Shizuka) and Noma Yukimichi (of Les Rallizes Denudes) have both passed from this world in the last month - Shizuka on 2nd Feb, Yukimichi on 15th Jan.

Norman Records got in the new Qbico records on Monday - be sure to check the shops before spending huge on ebay. The Arthur Doyle Trio / Orkustra split picture disc looks an absolute monster (I mean that in a good way, of course).

Fuck It Tapes made a return this week with a new Peaking Lights cassette. Sold out already but I should think a few will appear at distros - more likely US based, can't ever remember many coming to UK shops.

Mon Insomnie have released a debut digital single, available for free download from here or to stream here. You may be able to buy a copy of CD (limited to 66) from Monster Heart Records.

Apollolaan Recordings released 'Metal Oblation' by Astral Social Club a couple of days ago. Limited to 24 art edition copies it sold out within hours - Volcanic Tongue often picks up their releases so may be worth an email? - but keep your eyes out for a normal, cheaper edition soon. Update: Copies of the special edition will be available from Norman Records very soon.

Deception Island: Outer Space - Lightyear Demonstrations
Tiger Hatchery - Lemon Crystal Sunshine
Telecult Powers - Orgone Freakout: a Happening with the Telecult Powers
Bee Mask - In the Balm Yard: the Nth Dream of the Thermo-Hygrometer

Sturmundrugs Records: Alberorovesciato / Donato Epiro - Split
Black Eagle Child – Poland
Bjerga / Iversen – Return to serpent sky

Private Collection: Misner Space - II

Reverb Worship: Mountainhood - Live At Deerborn House
Oortcloud - s/t

Kning Disk: Anna von Hausswolff - Track of Time
Prince of Assyria - What Ever You Want
Prince of Assyria - Missing Note
Erik Enocksson - Farväl Falk

Great Pop Supplement: Jerusalem and the Starbaskets - Battle of the Orchids (LP)