Less song-based than the hot, recent (VxPxC)-released CDr ‘Strange on Hind Legs’, ‘Hotel Chelsea Days’ resembles the cool, loose construction of the ‘Drapery Dept.’ disc from a few months ago as it restricts itself to a more-or-less singular theme, visited from many slight angles (15 tracks refracting what feels like one morning, fixed in one spot as the light hits from shifting frames). This fixity is enhanced through a realism of recording rarely experienced in a musical context such as (VxPxC) presents: the camera of the microphone has been wheeled-back so as to include the musicians as producers behind the raw sound, capturing conversations, squabbles, boredom, and the physical noise of the room in which the cast of players exist – all the while as the soundtrack of their art plays out from behind. Though the effect will at times distract from the music – and it is such for a fair portion of the disc – even these moments offer an original vision of performance as an interaction of actors creating action. In this sense, the music itself becomes an entity, just one character among several: in three-piece formation, (core members?) Justin, Grant, and Tim play guitars, keyboards, laptops, harmonium/ica – as well as a number of vocal embellishments.

A seething, swelling keyboard line like a Vangelis encapsulates the opening suite of five tracks to be ended with the perfectly-candid conversation “I Thought I Heard a Knock” (this was recorded in the namesake hotel); likely due to the limitations of the venue, the bulk of instrumentation comes from the a palette of synthesizers – swirling, howling, fizzing – and with few outbursts (these are reserved for maximal effect). The cameo/interruptions of collective-child Cat are high-points of the recording (as they were on ‘Drapery Dept.’), at times a random distraction, but more often as improvisational leader, as on “Shush” where a parental-reprimand becomes a rhythmic cue passing through each instrument until the next vocalization and the next shift. With most tracks hovering near the 3 minute mark, central track “Because They Have Balconies and Kitchens in the Rooms” tops 11 minutes, moving through several phases again anchored by a common thematic rhythm enunciated by an organ-affected coda. The looseness of each track gives the impression of heavy improvisation with few signs of premeditation, the titles reflecting this, with the most sporadic pieces garnering on-the-fly names like “Number 12 Hanging” and “First Thing in the Morning” (the first track, which another listen reveals to contain some subdued percussion – totally absent in the remainder of the album). The specifics of track arrangement are undisclosed, but the impression is that of chronology, as the black cloud of “Chelsea’s Final Cabbage” huffs in drones then bursts with a clap as sheets of pulses rain down between thick drops of piano notes which lead into the final offering “Cloven Hoofing the Bill” wherein the damp and cold are dried in a flash of dry-hot tones and lofty, bassy notes like stairs out of doors.

All told, at 63 minutes, to break up the longer stretches the disc could stand some further editing – or perhaps another stay for some alternate material. But of course, this would only mar the charm of the thing: a true, unmediated account of This Moment in (VxPxC) History. Blue-bottom CDr comes with printed label and full-color insert in an incredible, machine-sewn Velcro envelope with original art designed and crafted by one Clare Elsaesser. Limited to 50 copies - Get moving! (self-released CDr, $10(US)/$12(World) HERE)

Check out this madness from Hästen & Korset (dig the grammar, too):

Afric Simone - 'Ramaya' cassette $7(World)
"This is a fantastic recording from 1975 that i found in a thriftstore for over 10 years ago. I don´t know nothing about this artist and i haven´t find much of google him either but i have choosen to release this as a bootleg cause it´s fucking rule and moore people need to discover this. Totaly original music and some fucking wierd mix of disco, rock, world music, soul, folk, sinnes and strange sounds. A true party killer!" Black tapes Ca 40 min

Herrarnas - 'Best of nr.8' cassette $7(World)
"This tape is a spoken word tape in Swedish i find also in a thriftstore a few months back. It is originally for blind people and the guy reads erotic novels and from Swedish porno mags like Fibban, Lektyr. Very strange and totaly wierd combination... This is not buskis, it´s only a very strange recording i think moore people need to hear. Cover painting by the one and only Martin Frid!" Orange tapes Ca 30 min

WORMS - 'Melted' cassette $7(World)
"A moore static and maybe a harsher side from Altar of flies member. 4 songs, 23 minutes. Really good stuff that´s gonna melt your brain." Black tapes, Ca 24 min

Altar of Flies - 'Fossils' CDr $7(World)
"Amazing artwork by www.mattiasfrisk.com. 2 panel folded pro-printed color covers in vinyl jacket and with a exclusive vinyl sticker specially made for the split cd-r." 63 minutes playtime, First press 66 copies, second and last 44 copies... WEBSITE

To order, EMAIL ... trades welcome.

A lot can change in four years, particularly when those four years are the last four years. It’s been four years since Do Make Say Think released the tremendous ‘Winter Hymn, Country Hymn, Secret Hymn’, and indeed, a lot has changed. I should say straight up that ‘You, You’re a History in Rust’, the band’s fifth album, is their worst. Or maybe I shouldn’t. Back up. Coming from someone who thinks that the four (okay, three) preceding DMST records are among the best records ever, my claiming that this is their worst still leaves space for it to be better than every other record ever. I’m not going to say just that, but know that it is pretty great. Maybe I shouldn’t even compare this to its predecessors because this is not DMST as previously presented. The integral players in the band are the same as always, sure, as are the requisite timbres, progressions, and dynamics, but the façade, the semblance of DMST, is that of a very different band; prior hearing the album, I was apprehensive that the dabbling of band members in various projects (particularly the positively-awful Broken Social Scene) in the interceding years could leave DMST an unmolested entity, and while I don’t believe it has, the effect has been disfiguring in no predictable terms.

Appearances barely hold through intro “Bound To Be That Way”, which, following a standard DMST build-up of casual strums and long metallic breaths, begins in earnest with a riff so plucky it could be banjo; this is the first suggestion of an alteration, but dissipates as the full band comes crashing in behind, with swells of high-notes complimented by lulls of noodling guitars; a building pause ushers in the horns, again to be joined by the rhythm section full lilt in a classic (“post”) rock exit. The best way DMST could wreck expectations/comfort zones would be through the inclusion of vocals (with actual words[!]), and indeed the great coup of ‘… a History in Rust’ is the centrality of leads and full on harmonies on 3 of the album’s 8 tracks. The first of these transgressions occurs on track the second, as a timpani-like rumble accompanies uncharacteristically wispy percussion up to the rusted throat of a love-sick ballad (who at first appears to be Constellation’s resident crooner Frankie Sparo, but is in fact neighbor Alex Lukashevsky): a bittersweet song of uncertain proportions, Lukashevsky’s cries are answered by a plaintive guitar until the group sings out in unison. Beside the conspicuous presence of accordion, what is most striking/most unprecedented about this track is, where in the few past instances that DMST incorporated voice, it is always as an instrument of no greater significance than any other; by comparison, “A With Living” is a deliberate lyrical composition of verse and chorus, written and mixed to accommodate the voice as primary instrument - and a major break from DMST tradition. In the case that you mourn these developments as a loss - or if you’re just afraid of change – these moments are offset by the considerably-more familiar tracks woven between, such as club-banger “The Universe!” (I believe a popular live opener of late), the chiming march of “Herstory of Glory” (which features the triumphant return of Understatement the Violin from “Horns of a Rabbit”), and, to a lesser extent, the twangy funeral-march “You, You’re Awesome”.

Such titles as this last one, coupled with the song’s patina of sincere optimism, divest DMST of its sinister connotations and dark themes in favor of a sort of merrymaking – a reformation which even the truer-to-form songs of the album fail to shake. The final track authenticates this shift with bubbly finger-pickin’, tamborines, vibes, and player-saw - but most evidently through the inclusion of the always harmonious Akron/Family - a group of gentlemen who please everyone by smiling to every side of the divide, but who do so at the cost of restraint and conservatism; this lean reflects the long-standing (yet thankfully rarely acted on) potential of DMST to venture a bit too close to the 'adult-contemporary' fence, a point also evinced in the album's artwork: forgoing the dark, cryptic imagery of previous releases, the cover of ‘… a History in Rust’ reflects the title through the “rustic” (not “decaying”) imagery of a “weathered” antique, a rusted bicycle reclaimed by grasses and soil, and double-exposed images of a dog at play in a body of light and water. And while no one deserves censure for ‘lightening-the-fuck-up’, this is yet another point of (drastic) departure from the dank cold of ‘Goodbye Enemy Airship, the Landlord is Dead’, the separatist revelry of ‘& Yet & Yet’, or the all-around apocalyptic skepticism of ‘Winter Hymn’. Like the lone piece of frenetic painting obscured behind the text of the last panel, “Executioner Blues” - strategically placed just prior the album’s ecstatic outro as a preemptive rejoinder - will have DMST lifers welling-up as it recalls the best elements of the band’s catalog in classic terms: double drumming pattering percussive raindrops, horse-hoof claps, and deft cymbalic strikes; boldly-picked guitars - subtly enhanced by piano – weaving a delicate skeleton, then releasing captive notes; late-arriving brass swells taking up the melody like a chorus; and thick, jubilant dub bass to which these many elements of song stick like taffy.

So maybe it’s wrong to say this is their worst album; this is Do Make Say Think’s most different album - whether or not that’s a bad thing is up to you. Regardless the name attached to it, this is a grand album showing an increasingly versatile band experimenting with the unfamiliar, and sure to win some new fans for the effort. And while I myself long for moody DMST, I can’t help but enjoy their new incarnation as well. CD comes in a six panel cardstock folder; LP is 180-gram standard, and certainly worth the extra bill. (Constellation CD/LP, $13/$18 HERE - available to everyone Feb. 27)

New heat from HP Cycle:

Richard Youngs & Tirath Singh Nirmala LP
"Debut album from the duo of Richard Youngs and Tirath Singh Nirmala (nee John Clyde-Evans) that has the pair creating a bucolic minimalist meditation. Side one interchangeably features hammered strings, gong/cymbal washes, droning vocals, and breathed shackuhachi/flutes. The second side leads with a melodious encounter before delving further into a glimmering psychedelia with sawed strings, fluttering reed organ and electronic drift. The results resemble a non-western approach to traditional musics filtered through the personalized aesthetic that runs through each of the artist's prior works. The LP is enclosed in a full colour cover with suitable "of the earth" imagery."

Kark - 'The Hermit' LP
"Debut album from this massive free ensemble from Louisville which features a revolving cast of over 50 musicians including members of Sapat, Valley of Ashes, Virgin Eye Blood Brothers, Son of Earth, Taiwan Death and the Belgian Waffles. The Hermit consists of three extended pieces that offer spaciously abstract atmospheres as well as moments of righteous cacophony. Utilizing a multitude of brass, reeds and percussion the album careens through numerous passages where intricate harmonics are created from the densely layered sounds. When the full force of the ensemble is unleashed individual elements appear and quickly recede into the squall. As the music nearly becomes unhinged, the sound disintegrates into a godzilla-like rockist thud propelled by the rhythm section and soaring horns before drifting to a sparse conclusion. The LP comes in a full colour jacket with homespun artifacts gracing the cover."

Still available:

Boots/C.C/Snake & Remus - 'Box' 3LP
"Reissue of three privately-pressed LPs of essential damaged-psych from purportedly the same crew behind the Jim Collins and Terry LPs."

Avarus - 'II' LP
"Deconstructed audio junk from these Finnish weirdos creating a new time/mind continum."

Ceylon Mange - 'The Maiming Path' LP
"The trio of Nyoukis/Constance/Nace offer up a mind melt of mangled sounds and organic brain tangle."

Titles are available in North America through Fusetron, Eclipse, Time-Lag, RRR, Mimaroglu, etc...

From L'animaux Tryst (Field) Recordings:

[L-T-(F)-R 003C] v/a - 'If a Tree Falls in the Forest, Can We Record It?' cassette $6(US)
"In which eleven of maine's most compelling outsider artists of music create blips, cuts, shrieks, and sludge over two sides of a 45-minute cassette, and announce to the world a scene you never knew existed. the tree falls on everything from id m theft able's speak-n-spell-n-unhuman-voice symphony to drona parva's warm electric guitar improvisations and everything thereabouts and in between. we've got crank sturgeon's uniquely fucked dada, bird microphone's bell voice cuts and pastes, pine tree state mind control and rattle of polar bear teeth 's combat noise drones, visitations' chants n' strums, aphelion shelter and cursillistas' building-everything echo-swells and loops, bad bus ' haunted basement tapes and scrapes, and nancy scott's scratchy manipulated folk-band strums. a definitive document of maine's contemporary avant/experimental/noise scene." Full track-list and more covers HERE

"I am ready to begin taking pre-orders on this cassette, which was a co-release with Avant Garde Farm Records (they put out the cdr in an edition of 100 in december). our cassette version comes on a ruby-red tinted 45-minute cassette, cased in a one-of-a-kind collaborative collage by alyce ornella (bird microphone) & myself. We're limiting this release to a hand-numbered 45 cassettes, so act fast. $6 includes shipping to US. EMAIL for price quote worldwide. won't ship for another week or two so hold tight."

Did you hear? Kranky loves Yarnlazer. Yarnlazer:

WHITE RAINBOW - 'Sun Shifts' CDr $8(US)/$10(World)
"One 65 minute track called "Sun Shifts" recorded in one sitting with guitar, trumpet, voice, bells, gong, bamboo thumb piano, and other weird stuff lying about going through my standard effect and loop pedal chain. Sitting there surrounded by that stuff but mostly staring out at the sky and across the train tracks and river over to downtown Portland and the west hills behind - all that through the row of big, old, western-facing windows in our warehouse studio. Watching the sun set and the sky turn an infinite and ever-changing combination of colors in slow gradations as the day turned to evening dusk. First i did a 30-ish minute live stereo take, then an overdub that ran an additional 30+ minutes after that first take ended, then an overdub over that last 30 minutes or so." CD-rares in hand drawn covers, edition of 100 copies.

Retrieve through EMAIL, WEBSITE, or STORE

Hush Arbors is the work of Keith Wood, affiliate to the bearded stars (Six Organs of Admittance, Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice, Sunburned Hand of the Man); ‘Under Bent Limb Trees’ is a long-sold out early LP on Digitalis (HH’s official reissuer), newly re-released by the label *remastered* with a bonus disc of rare and unreleased tracks. That’s right, “holy shit!” Much like those aforementioned mystics with whom he so often cavorts, Wood draws upon the earthen core of psychedelia and folk-rock straddling the year 1970; however, through ‘Under Bent Limb Trees’ Wood conjures a smoked, musty aura rarely captured by artists outside of the shaggiest decade.

There is a permeation of arboreal themes in ‘Under Bent Limb Trees’ (a theme not limited to this album alone, evinced by Wood’s choice of titles), with each song a dedication to the forest and its flora: following the padded-battery of wind on the (quite-literal) field-recording “Spirits Over Mt. Blanca” (revisited in the 12-minute closing piece “Kudzu Covered Maples”), Wood finds shelter in a natural amphitheatre to play the pluck-and-strum banjo laments “The Forest We’ve Had” and “Wooded Reel”; the first with verses of molten words, both featuring a chorus melding into the hum of organic production. Similarly, “Song for Morning to Sing” is a sleepy-headed greeting to the day delivered in Wood’s gentle falsetto, reminiscent a hushed moment from Sparklehorse’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ filtered through several layers of parchment. An incredibly unique moment, the maypole-merriment of “Where the Black Bear Hides in the Sky” sounds a mix of old European dialects accompanied by the fluty, timeless sound of what is likely the bowed dulcimer, singing to changing seasons and playfully suggesting “darling, when shall we get married?”; the joy of this jig starkly juxtaposed against the melancholy of “Dark Mist Curtains the Doorway”, a song who’s eerie otherness is trumped only by the heavy sadness soaking the voice, plucked reverb, and high, minor hum wilting above. Of the entire album, “May All Your Pastures Now Spring with Herbs” most resembles Wood’s cohort, specifically Six Organs of Admittance’s ‘Compathia’, yet with fanciful imagery channeling mythical histories unknown to his generation and its masterpieces.

The disc of bonus material includes five tracks filling 50 minutes culled from various sources, together suggesting an impressive range to Wood’s songwriting while simultaneously endearing the passages of the first disc as compliments in a unified collection: tracks “Under the Death Tree”, “The Valley”, and “Clothed with Sun” center on guitar and voice in simple harmony, much more akin to the earlier works of Six Organs in melody and structure, yet retaining a unique essence amplified by exotic string and electronic embellishments (most vibrantly in the third). In contrast, the 13-minute drone piece “Brittle Village” expands on the rich ambient constructions hinted behind the songs of ‘Under Bent Limb Trees’, and the final (unlisted) track “If There Be Spirits, Let Them Come” merges detailed natural soundscapes with cello and acoustic guitar in a 21-minute illustration that warms the skin as well as it soothes the ears.

Though the tracks of the second disc don’t hold together with the grace of the first (and why would one expect them to?), they only bolster the strength of the latter, and provide an engrossing document of the artist’s other work like a fine appendix to an otherwise huge accomplishment. Discs come tucked in a gatefold cardstock sleeve with mysterious photography which tells a story of its own. Very highly recommended. (Digitalis Dbl-CD, $20 HERE)

The gears of commerce turn slow but sure for Root Strata:

RS-16 STARVING WEIRDOS - 'Harry Smith' one-sided LP $8
"The first vinyl side from these Northern California mushroom farmers is a real doozy. A live soundtrack to the silent psychedelic films of American hero Harry Smith, this one sided LP is more free drift than free jazz...taking off from a shot in the dark and never touching ground again. Each one with punk rock paste on black & white collage art. Edition of 300."

WEBSITE for ordering, MP3 samples. Soon enough: more Weirdos, Machinefabriek, Grouper, and Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood!

Some real enlightened shit from Elephant Graveyard:

Here it is, finally, the second batch from Elephant Graveyard. Expect some more vinyl coming SOON including the long-awaiting Unearthly Trance 7" and the Word of Command 7" as well as maybe a secret surprise...

Faggot Cop 3" $7
eg-007, 100 copies "Absolutely the worst thing we'll ever release. shitty no-talent thrash hell from the barren wasteland of indiana. i can't even hear drums, but they swear they're on there. songs about gay sex, hating (and loving) authority and a sonic youth cover? who fucking cares."

Wire Werewolves - '...and the moon became a fang' 3" $7
eg-005, 100 copies "Tech metal raging from members of moth drakula & circuit wound. easily the most fi thing we've dropped to date. killer noise passages and guitar proficiency with nightmare vocals about shapeshifter lore. werewolves, vampires and ghouls; delight!"

Sacred Assault - 'By Your Command' 3" $7
eg-004, 100 copies "Obviously driven yet crude and incompetent black metal styled scum-fuckery. blind, mindless warpunk reaching out to clobber anything it can touch. like a prostitute in corpse paint, hung upsidedown in a rain of urine for all to laugh at. sexually tainted and cruel."

Rapers 3" $7
eg-003, second edition of 50 copies "Shitty sludgecore with groaned vocals. sounds like what would happen if early sonic youth was instead made up of three dirty homeless men from the white trash suburbs south of detroit. explicity fueled by cheap beer and cheap women. this band broke up when TC went to jail. this is their only document (and its not very good)."

Word of Command - 'Pestilence & Rot' 3" $7
eg-002, second edition of 50 copies "Misanthropic noisy sludge doom captured by hanging a mike from the lid of the sewer they live and breed in. the sound of true caveman bass thunder recorded while hiding from a storm!"

Entrails - 'Hidden Skull' 3" $7
eg-001, second edition of 50 copies "Original two person entrails line-up before they became a three-headed hateful beast. fucked and dismembered posthumously, this one is for those who grimly sip that purple drank."

Audio samples, order, etc. at this WEBSITE - the price after the title is the paypal button to add to your cart. Editions of 100 for the 3 new 3"s (Faggot Cop, Wire Werewolves and Sacred Assault) and second editions of 50 for the initial batch (Rapers, Word of Command and Entrails) bringing that edition size to 100. Also, the Cadaver in Drag 1-sider is now sold out!

It occurred to me the other morning while listening to this 3” CDr how the currency of music has changed as we’ve settled into this new phase of home production: no longer are we dealing in terms of LPs, EPs, singles (in the secondary meanings of these things; not the EP as a bonus, but rather an alternative format), etc. Instead, the medium becomes the (de)limiting factor to what the artist may present (depending of course on available means; the easy answer is CDr everything): 15 minutes to release? Fit it like a glove with a 3”. Two long tracks? Make a tape. Conversely, what happens when recording for a label that doesn’t give options? This is evident in the produce of First Person, a label releasing only 3” discs (a medium which craps out at what, 23 minutes?), the artists involved thusly accommodating this abbreviated format by necessity (double discs apparently not an option).

This self-titled (for lack of title) release by Amber Lions* deftly navigates the format in the sense that the music plays out entirely, the format and its limitations thoroughly absent from the content (musical ideas followed through; no awkward editing or abrupt fades). For a multi-track 3”, this is particularly critical as glaring disconnects between tracks can make a disc feel slapped-together and insincere. According to the label, the band is primarily the vehicle of Tony Ruiz of Spain and Valerio Cosi of Italy; Cosi, you may recall as the magical youth (who probably would rather not be known as this) here, a wunderkind who plays any number of instruments, including producing much of his own work (which is many). Cosi’s signature of sorts are the fireworks-drumming and jubilant, squealing saxophone which make his releases quickly recognizable; and this is the artist’s true talent in that at such an early stage he has already developed a unique “sound” to cultivate. That sound is augmented in the disc’s central track “Pre-Good Timing” with layered guitars and sizzling electronics, the latter forming the common hue linking the six tracks across this album. In subsequent tracks “May and Bliss” and “St. Jack”, guitar comes to the fore as the drums mellow and brass disappears; piano makes a rolling cameo in the second of these tracks, but it is the alternating surge/drone of electronic rhythms which compete (harmoniously) with lazy, Fennesz-like picking which really form these songs. “Le Menor” materializes out of these tracks with a dark, folksy guitar-song which could have been peeled from Chasny’s finest works, stating its purpose in respectable time before melting behind a drone of chant and chime in Japanese-psychedelic fashion. Final track “Faretheewell (Fred Neil)” (presumably dedicated to, and not written by, the guitarist Neil) is a warm duet of fluttery, breathy saxophone and jangly acoustic guitar, calling to mind assorted David Grubbs and sounding the way a summer recording in Spain and southern Italy should (post-fascism, duh).

The unattributed mixing of this disc is something of a miracle as the tracks flow into each other with remarkable fluidity, allowing the undeniably-unique songs a simultaneous unity in three cramped inches. As with all First Person releases, the white-labeled disc comes in an acetate sleeve, color-printed with a track-listing, notes, and a picture (this one appears the side of a zebra or white tiger - definitely not an amber lion). Likely limited, and totally recommended to induce an early summer. (First Person 3” CDr, £3/5€/$6, or 4 for £10/18€/$22 - HERE)

* Here’s another thought: with the myriad collaborations, reconfigurations, “monikers”, etc., are we going to run out of names? I like this one, but it smacks of ye-old “color-plus-noun” equation. (And we can’t all have the ring of Flaherty & Corsano.) [Yeah, I footnote now.]

Feel free to have high expectations of this. That picture's gross! From Fuck It Tapes:

FIT039 Warmer Milks - 'Interiors' cassette $6/$7/$9(US/Canada/World)
"Five track ep that attempts to be settling in execution but really comes off as just another uncomfortable Warmer Milks release. Acoustic jigs incriminated by dirgier scratched up electronic drum builds and a marching band stuck inside a Factory Records bathroom stall. Let us not forget the longer than anticipated whispering session and the extended moments of silence inbetween. All pieces written and performed by M/T. Recorded by Robert Beatty."

Incredible new loot from the Tanzprocesz:

cardboard. painting. brads. textile. glue. spray. wool. toilet paper. plastic fim. totally handmade stuffs.

[tzpCD19] Gang Wizard - '4515 Thesis: A Series Of Split Pots' 2007 Tour black CDr 5€(+ postage)
GW in europe in february 2007 ! teddy bear noise, blast rock, invocations. ??? copies."

[tzpCD18] Slicing Grandpa 'Mobile Bones / Disposal System' black CDr 5€(+ postage)
"More slicing grandpa insanities. chaos + love = slice me forever. packaged with toilet paper, plastic film, cardboard and recycled comic book. each copy got his unique front artwork. limited to 50 copies."

[tzpCD17] CJA - 'Impact Wound' black CDr 5€(+ postage)
"Songs and drone and songs and songs again from new zealand. you're warned. sniper pop art 7" sized packaging. limited to 60 numbered copies."

[tzpCD16] Robedoor - 'Greater Heresy' black CDr 5€(+ postage)
"CDr reissue of the great heresy cassette + 2 bonus tracks. live witchcraft noise. electric voodoo delirium. only live material. included a collaboration with haunted castle. totem hole heretic packaging style + 5 random inserts. limited to 100 copies."

[tzpPRO02] I/C/O/C & Panicsville - split C40 5€(+ postage)
"I/C/O/C = industrial harsh blast - mexico. Panicsville = concrete ecstatic piece - chicago. limited to 50 copies."

WEBSITE and EMAIL

[squeals] Look! From Not Not Fun:

NNF078 Pocahaunted - 'Water-Born' 3" CDr $4
"Lie down in darkness, awake in white water. Eagle Rock’s most amp-laden spirit-talkers block out the sky with this deep, inner piece of elemental communion. Lulling, long-hair guitar strums flow into sweeping sea-breeze feedback while tidal dream-noise ebbs/flows over your blistered feet. Slowly siren voices wing down from grey mists and call you to wade into the warm waves, let go, be washed away…gradually the chanting submerges, dissolves, surrendering to the blood’s undertow, the ocean’s blue womb. A spectral, moving rite of psych passage. Stenciled, hand-numbered 3” CDRs in full-color wraparound portrait-collage covers in plastic bags adorned with heavy woven strips of native textiles. Limited to 100."

NNF077 Barrabarracuda - 'Abasement Tapes' CDr $7
"Confusion is hex. Or worse. Digging around in the BBC vaults yields a lot of dubbed-over Aerosmith tapes and scrawled notes like “chaos jam – LOUD.” Factor in the steady membership flux and restless vibe/sound shifts and you’ve got an archivist’s nightmare on your hands. But here it is anyway. Abasement Tapes spans the band’s last 15 foggy months, culling fucked cuts from early Grace-phase, dual-drummer, post-political, microphone assault all the way to relatively recent Roy-era, stoned-free, art-rant amp-songs. Five tracks, fifty minutes, a thousand years of historical/celebrity shit-talking. Neon stenciled CDRs in black plastic cases with full-color wrap-around collage covers (artwork by Manda), affixed with weird beaded safety pins, plus a stenciled, hand-numbered insert. Limited to 120."

Ay, mama. Mira.

Considering that artists may profit greater [read: get less broke] from certain formats over others (presumably 3”-ers are not high up there, though I suspect this is different for the labels), it is worth measuring a band’s approach to the limitations of specific mediums. Two contrasting approaches may be found below in the most recent releases by Rusted Rail: dealing solely in 3” discs, the label has taken a preemptive axe to notions of larger formats, rationing out spectacular music in little metriphobic doses like a communist bread-line.

Plinth, last heard from via the fantastic solo project ‘Victorian Machine Music’ is here as a four-piece from another life: ‘Wintersongs’ is a reissue of an earlier CDr by the label – in fact it is a reissued reissue, the original being a 1999 cassette. For this reason, the album could not be said to accommodate the format, as it was already recorded (though it may have been edited-down a touch); rather, the format is so lucky as to receive this gem on a 3” disc, and in it’s most recent reissue incarnation, two 3” discs to accommodate the addition of new material – a grand resolution. Presumably this new material is the finale, the 13-minute pocket-symphony “Tom Bowcock’s Eve” – and if I may jump ahead for a moment, a most worthy addition. This handsome disc is founded on familiar compositional devices used in the most unfamiliar (or at least unexpected) ways; the disc opens with a chorus of glockenspiel, misleading my lazy ear toward a Godspeed!esque incline - but instead pulling it back in exchange for a small medley of feminine “hallelujahs”, the piece never rising above the opening simmer. “Bracken” appears the official overture, with a deep, resonant guitar plucking a simple three-note melody which is joined and finished by piano, then glockenspiel briefly again; on another plane, the highest notes of trumpet have risen from behind this melody like sunshine, reminiscent the pre-jazz majesty of Debussy’s ‘Sunken Cathedral’. While not entirely dissimilar, the following track “Hearth pt. 1” has a pre-classical sensibility, with the folksy sound of acoustic strings played over textures of sleighbells and melodica; skillfully assembled and presented, the song could have been extracted from the choicest of guitar-centered classics (Gary Higgins, etc.). Streaks of Debussy reappear in subsequent tracks through the atmospheric glockenspiel and guitar song “Frey & Gulliburstin”, a seeming variation on the melody of “Bracken”, visited in a final form with closer “Tom Bowcock’s Eve”: trumpet calls out the melody over warm, oscillating swells and bird’s song; a miniature soundscape passes through; a guitar song exits behind a curtain of chimes - in summation of the album, the track recollects the disc’s varied musicality and melds them in a single, grand gesture. ‘Wintersongs’ is a tremendous reissue reissue, deserving to be reissued again.

An all-new recording, Cubs is made of members from Ireland's United Bible Studies and others in the Deserted Village collective, a group reliable for a rich, earthen folk and the clearest, boldest of production. Yet unlike familiar UBS releases, ‘Stonewater’ is defined by a more gentle, intimate presentation and a closeness belied by their four members. The swift plucking and flourish of acoustic guitar heard in opening tracks “Jimjam” and “Cool Filter” illustrate the simple idea of the album, a lullaby of nocturnal faerie-tale - the latter of these tracks inserting additional strings and a wordless, androgynous siren-call. All tracks were recorded in the same sessions last winter with the exception of “Opening Doors”, an impeccable live recording featuring flute, accordion, and some glowing, unidentifiable stringed instrument over the standard base of clean, flawless picking. The quite literal “Bottlehum” is a jug-solo segue leading into the shanty-requiem “In Memory of Mariners Lost at Sea”, a melancholy collection of (again wordless) voices mourning contently, matched in their sway by a salty accordion. Despite the apparent move inland following the plucky march of “Bijou Banjolin”, the spirit of the ghost ship can still be sensed on “Mountain Folk Wandering” (these guys do live on an island), perhaps the darkest track on the disc, textured by accordion, reverberating guitar, and an indecipherable, plaintive voice accompanied by several spooks and their chains.

Returning to the discussion, by squeezing 9 tracks onto these three inches means that a number of the songs feel clipped and could preferably play for much longer; while there are no regrets among Cubs' offerings, there seems a thematic disparity between the front and back halves of the album as though these songs needn’t necessarily be presented in such tight proximity. Much like the Plinth double-disc, ‘Stonewater’ is a sure candidate for reissue in an expanded package with which to unveil the album’s fullest potential. Both albums come in handmade paper sleeves and are limited to an undisclosed figure. (Rusted Rail 3” CDr, 5€/8€ HERE)

Holy Shit! From Not Not Fun:

NNF068 Moongang - 'Fifth Sun Visions' CS $5
"Watching Steve Gunn’s fingers fly as he shred-drones an acoustic guitar is probably the chief joy of witnessing a GHQ set (at least, it was for us when they cruised through LA this past summer). But when he’s not on the road with Magik Markers or GHQ or Nolan-knows-who-else, he builds buzzing structures of six-string acid navigations under the guise of Moongang. Past dispatches (mainly self-released) have ranged from tranquilizer ragas to swarming arkestral maneuvers to blissed emptiness, but Fifth Sun Visions offers up yet another orbit in Gunn’s psych solar system. Urban field recordings slowly dissolve into stumbling folk trance while static clouds of menace hover in the sky…later thick riffs emerge, bathed in black light, shot through with gross growling and crawling undertones of templar apocalyptica. An awesome oracle of ruin from one of NNF’s favorite psych shapeshifters. Purple tapes with painted skull labels in bags with full-color shadow-shrine collage covers, plus a black spider. Hand-numbered and limited to 100." HERE

I’ve cut this disc ahead in line because it quite explicitly raises some interesting issues; the first volume (January 2007) in DNT’s currently generically-titled 3” Split Series, this disc comes not without scandal: in the “liner notes” (nearly-impossible to read scribbling from a dying pen, photocopied too light [yes, the printer and typewriter are fucked. It’s still illegible]), DNT proprietor Tynan announces that things are not going so well with the endeavor. Specifically, the two bands on the release are the only bands (of 18) to submit their recordings for the 9 month series, and at least five of the bands slotted for a side have dropped out. What’s really interesting here though is, according to Tynan, at least two of these bands cited CDr releases as “a waste of recording money”. I assume these individuals took umbrage with the fact that this is not only a CDr release, but a 3” CDr split between two groups, meaning on average about 8 to 10 minutes or two tracks a piece; alternately, a 7” release with the lofty viability of vinyl could make the journey more profitable, thus allowing for a better shot at recouping costs by the bands. I emphasize this discussion because it points to the widely-ignored elephant banging all over our room, specifically: with the many options we now have, what is the meaning of the media we choose? As the first in a queue of 3” CDrs to be discussed here, I would like to keep these sentiments in perspective as we consider how various artists and labels approach 3” CDrs with respect to other formats, CDr and otherwise.

Despite the necessity of matching these two artists for volume one (see above), the pairing of Bird Costumes and Tunnels has proven quite apt: sharing a common backyard in sunny Portland, Oregon, the two artists also share a similar ominous, human-absent approach to composition - though from opposite sides of the spectrum, with Bird Costumes taking a more mechanical approach to compliment Tunnels’ more textural drones (much in the spirit of the rad, recent Growing/Mark Evan Burden split on Zum). Stepping up for tracks one and two, Bird Costumes (Daniel Osborne) begins his half of the split with metered strafes of what sound like strings played beyond the fret-board or from within a piano; sparks of high-vibration which evoke the New antics Cowell or Partch. Natural-harmonic tones emerge from behind these pulses of sound, gaining in volume with each release until they fill both channels with a torrent of skillfully layered distortion. Track two is another exercise in guitar virtuosity, this time over a canvas of hand-muted guitar, with noodles and slides layered vertically in various states of distortion. At five and three minutes, these two tracks work well on their own as sketches, but could do equally well as seeds for larger movements. Tunnels (Nicholas Samuel Bindeman) takes to task the last track: at 10 1/2 minutes, the untitled piece (all three tracks are suitably untitled) oscillates quickly in a cresting mid-range helicopter drone, behind which tonal drones glint and shift with a rare narrative quality found only in the works of masters like Stars of the Lid. All three tracks are brilliant, well-executed, and far larger than this tiny disc would elude.

Again, in spite of the rough start the series has had, the first transmission is a smashing success, and considering the many dynamite names familiar to DNT, I have high hopes that the project will continue to please. Tynan surely has his reasons for choosing the 3" format, and hopefully those reasons monetary in nature will not prevent him from realizing this series to its fullest. Sprayed disc comes in a heavy-plastic folder with a shabby color-copied photo insert. Mega recommended. (DNT 3” CDr Split Series, $35(US/Canada)/$50(World) HERE) * For info on the series,

"Hello everybody! Ever since I first started DNT, I've wanted to have some sort of series with installments, and now that's about to happen. For the past six months I've been searching for bands to be a part of this. Starting January 2007, The DNT 3" split series (help me think of an actual name for it) will be started. Each month a new 3" cdr will arrive in the mail, featuring 10 minutes of exclusive material from two bands, for 9 months. (That's 18 bands) No other distros or stores will have copies, and so the only way to get these is to subscribe to the series.

"The cost will be $35 in the US/Canada and $50 internationally. (To cut down on shipping costs for international subscribers, you will receive a package every 3 months unless an order is made in between in which case I'll toss them in). Slots will fill up fast; PayPal to: dntrecords@dntrecords.com.

The full line-up is not quite determined, but the line-up as of now is:

Upsilon Acrux
My Little Red Toe
Leviathans
Twin Crystals
Tent City (members of soft shoulder)
Silver Daggers
Night Wounds
Shearing Pinx
Tunnels
Bird Costumes
Horse Head
Shepherds (members of woods, meneguar)
Color Wheel (members of abe vigoda and mika miko)
Haunted Castle
KK Rampage
Meadow Argus
Monitors
Acre

A ways back, Thurston Moore collaborated with pitch-rapist Prurient (live, and surely elsewhere) - a successful pairing, in my opinion, despite the former’s erratic yet understated style necessarily taking a supporting role to the latter’s, you know, enthusiastic presentation. Presumably recorded during or immediately following this affair, the two tracks of ‘Flipped Out Bride’ appear Moore’s impression of, or perhaps homage to, Fernow: a sort of “Roman Shower, for solo guitar and amplifier”. By no means is this to imply that the same tones are pierced/decibels shredded/loathing inspired; rather, the austerity and meditation of this title-piece are nurtured through the concentrated sound of a lone player approaching a holistic channel of sound, the opening movement a single beam of (relatively) unaffected guitar in harmony with its shadow: a subtle play of frequency and delay, the tension struggling to hold before breaking into a quiver of measured, songless strumming. Never once is the player felt in this piece – a testament to Moore’s skilled hand and mature ear. In compliment, second track “O Sweet Lanoline” strikes out with restrained life, graphically, with subdued metal shrieks as the strings are teased, stretched with precision, the invisible player pounding a war-drum beat against the body of the guitar while the rising drone vibrates through the pick-ups; the beat shifts as the hand returns to the strings, sliding, picking, and rubbing in time, the friction frothing to a fine tone of evaporation. At nearly 30 minutes between these two tracks (both a side of vinyl), the portions fit just right, executed with a fine sense of meter and progression. It remains unclear how the music is meant to match the titles, and then how these are to relate with the cover imagery (two pieces of art by sonic wife Kim Gordon) and brief poem by Moore inside – and this is the sole point of digression - these oblique components risk suggesting the album as slapped-together rather than a premeditated work suitable to the quality of these compositions, marring the recording to a degree, however slight.

Originally released last August as a 12” on Blossoming Noises’s vinyl arm Pygmy, the record sold out in what seemed to be hours (in typical Pygmy fashion), despite the standard run of 500 copies; this CD replication comes in a digipak, with scaled-down replications of the original’s art. A tremendous presentation, there is no doubt that this recording deserved re-release. Blessed are those who buy vinyl. (Blossoming Noise CD, $13 HERE)

Already? Yeah! From Friendly Biceps:

FB031: Horse Head - 'Melted Wax Daisies' CDr $5ppd
"Horse Head soar soar into the clouds, channeling static electricity and piles of dust. Showing us hints of free-everything, no wait...FREE-DOM! Free-noise rock and and space punk. Synth roar and frantic dream poetry." MP3 sample HERE

FB030: Boy Milk - 'Live In, Live Out' CDr $5ppd
"Boy Milk is Tristan. Tristan constructs sounds to soothe your front porch psychedelia. 'There's a sitar here, why dont you play it?' This album takes you places without taking you anywhere." "Live In, Live Out" sample MP3 HERE

WEBSITE, EMAIL, and ordering infotronix

TO ORDER:
Send me an email at friendlybiceps@gmail.com that lists what you want to buy. The prices above are postage paid for those in the U.S. For international orders, I will give you a shipping price when you email me. I can only accept cash and money orders. NO PAYPAL, sorry.

STILL HERE:
FB028: Yellow Crystal Star "Maya" CD-R - $5
FB027: Tundras "Underwater Bed" CD-R - $5ppd
FB026: Snake Oil "Passed Pyramids" 3" CD-R - $4ppd
FB025: Women in Tragedy "Low End Landscapes" CD-R - $5ppd

Look at Arbor, all grown up!

arbor24 Odd Clouds/ Wigwam - split C32 + 3"CDr $8ppd (US)
”Long before the Ford Motor Co. ruled over Michigan, Plains Indians would chill out and ride wooly mammoths everywhere. Then the mammoths hit the pits, and Henry Ford created the car, ever since then the state has been clogged with smog. Odd Clouds (Rep-ing MI labels Fag Tapes and Tasty Soil) create a cacophony of tribal electric jamming. Loud and mean; a group improv cave jam going back to the basics and just kicking it. Wigwam (of Kalamazoo's Tapeworm Tapes) creates a maize field of drones only to light it on fire, and burn it to the ground so that it can be reused later. War horns streak through the desolation of bass drum onslaught. Comes with a 3" of additional oil slick sludge rock from the Odd Clouds cave. In an edition of 100 copies in oversized tape case with double sided full color art(front by Heath Moerland of OC; inside by Miles Haney of WW), sprayed/stamped tapes, individually water colored 3" sleeves, the works.”

arbor25 Door - ‘Destroy All’ C30 $5ppd(US)
”New Jersey is like the gloomiest place in the country. Daniel La Porte (aka Door) tries to rep the 732's as gloomy as possible. The dude's jams are like an onslaught of machine smog; a march through grey streets. Door rips through the air with the hypnotic and concrete progression of a helicopter. A close dude of the Nautical Almanac crew, Door has the similarly sparse but tortured vocals emanating every once and a while through the clink-clanking of the machine hum and mixer destruction. Featuring art by Daniel on minimally stamped tapes in a numbered edition of 100 copies.”

arbor30 Robedoor/Haunted Castle - ‘Nameless Race’ one-sided collaborative LP $10ppd(US)
”Summertime is all about transcending space and going on tour with your buds. How could a tour alliance be more buddy buddy than that of LA's Robedoor and Detroit's Haunted Castle? Britt, Alex, Dan, and Suzzette traversed the west coast with the goal of pacification by sonic means. This collaboration was recorded in studio with a bunch of mics in Davis, CA. Robedoor blankets Haunted Castle's abrasive drones with meditative tones. The recording is held together by the bass drum's rhythmic p(e)ace. In a numbered edition of 300 copies with pro printed fold over poster art and printed labels by Jeremy Earl of Fuck It Tapes and an insert by Britt.”

arbor36 Changeling/Quetzolcoatl split C20 $6ppd(US)
”Scientists say that sound travels better through water and rocks than it does through air. LA's Changeling and Dublin, Ireland's Quetzocaotl challenge these scientists. In a split tape of international proportions, airy loftiness and spiritual mist-icism play the key roles. Changeling's guitar-centric drones become one with the ambience of the mist surrounding them. Quetzocoatl uses a multitude of instruments and delay to build a drone which floats across the sky next to the birds. Each piece ends too soon, almost evaporating into the clouds from which they were born on a constant migratory path to rad. In a numbered edition of 100 tapes in sprayed/screened/stamped linen bags with art/insert by Roy Tatum(aka Changeling).”

arbor38 Melee – ‘Violent Forms Of Laughter Pt. 2' C30 $6ppd(US)
”If there were noise bands in the roaring twenties, they would sound just like this. Melee creates creaky drones with traditional jazz instruments. The percussion sounds like rain and rakes scraping against the wall(if the wall were a giant snare drum). The cello strings squeal sending chills up the spine. The trumpet cuts through basement asbestos fog choked under concentration. The whole mess progresses almost cinematically, totally full of suspense. Features members of Graveyards. Pt. 1 forthcoming on Meudia Morte label out of Germany. In a numbered edition of 100 in sprayed tape cases with paste-on cover and printed/painted tape labels.”

Straighten-out, fly right - HERE!

I’ve heard that New Brunswick, New Jersey had a rather active noise scene which peaked not long after I moved away in 1999. I’ve found this surprising, despite the fact that it has all the wasted makings of a fine, obnoxious epicenter: a quality university with bored/crappy students and proximity to a smart-ass university; a patriarchal corporation from which to steal and deface; a more-or-less collapsed community infrastructure; a vegan option on the menu. I imagine my incredulousness stems from my own biases against New Jersey as a whole, which I admit are largely shallow and childish.

Currently, Human Adult Band operate out of said Mecca, so I wonder: what’s the scene like now? If ‘Are We Sleeping?’ is any indication, it’s mellowed out considerably. The title of this CDr could very well ask “are we Sleep?” for its glacial, smoldering demeanor - yet with the slop of a noise ethic replacing the hott riffs of metalhead precision (“lethargic punk” they call it). There’s a sense of humor here – hopefully deliberate – from the pseudonyms (Trevor Pennsylvania, King Darves [that could be a real one], Ancient Lake) to the titles (“Schitzophrenics Control the Weather” [sic]) to the very band name. There’s really no telling from the music, as each jam fades into another with only a vague, mumbling voice to hint at the musicians behind this murk of electronic moans, guitar feedback, and dragging percussion (bassy drums and tambourine in tandem); kind of reminds me of earlier Robedoor if they had incorporated some stoner-metal drums. Such is the formula for the 10 minute opener “Schitzophrenics…”, while second track “Hoops” is a more skronky, angular voyage down this same slow-burner path of madness; the drums trip under their own feet while voice and guitar bicker over fucked visions of wolves along the trail (or maybe the guitar is the wolf!). “Hoop Dreams” - perhaps a sequel to track two - sees percussion back in formation, with guitar humming a very pleasant tune over vocal moans and the simmer of loose wires. Short and to the point, Human Adult Band use the disc's four tracks to explore the theme without killing it, then get the fuck out like fratboys in a housefire.

Also available from the dihd label, ASPS is a noise project by King Darves of HAB and Kevin Winter of a couple bands I have not heard of (2673, Thee Black One), their self-released tape 'You Ain’t Got Time To Die' an experiment in erasing authorship from one’s recording, mixing torrential blasts of electronic fury with hollow lulls of hum and oscillation. At 45 minutes split into 4 tracks, this tape’s got a lot to take in; listening to this a second time on a good stereo, I am pleasantly surprised to hear what was once a lo-fi wall of mush go pop! with color, the first side diptych “Torrents of Greed” hitting soothing washes and exhilirating blasts of noise as though someone was taking notes at the Marcia Bassett School of Range. Flip side-long “jesusshit” takes its time, teasing with a few false-start blasts before settling into alternating currents of high and low buzz, climaxing with a mid-level, multi-channel mic/amp conflict before punching out (there are a few minutes of additional rabble and a looped-sample colophon tacked-on, but they just serve to fill the tape). Reminiscent of Noise (with a capital "N") circa 2003 (White Rock, Axolotl, Dead Machines), ASPS have clearly been studying and have put together a very enjoyable tape.

An interesting peek into what New Brunswick is up to these days, now that it's back on the market. And hey, they’re 3 dollars! The handsomely-labeled disc comes in a sprayed cardstock sleeve with duct-tape and insert, limited to 50 copies; cassettes are hand-stamped/-sprayed in an edition “around” 30 copies. (dihd CDr/cassette $3, usually available from dihd.net, which is currently in a coma. For now, EMAIL or PayPal to tpenn000@hotmail.com.)

Digitalis comes alive:

Hey everyone - finally thawed out from the crazy icestorm a few weeks ago. still some snow around, though and more on the way this week, supposedly. makes me that much more ready for spring. anyway, in the midst of the digifest craziness (see new fest page HERE, we've got a handful of new foxgloves ready for consumption. Best, Brad

foxglove147: Cahier - 'Jour Ouvrable II' CDr
"Finland's marko neumann aka cahier returns with his second blast of warm air straight from the arctic. lilting drones that are conjured from a variety of sources, some electronic, some acoustic, dance like magical lights just out of reach, but close enough to feel. this sequel to cahier's first foxglove offering puts the puzzle pieces in place so that the listener can hear the full scope of his range. the short bursts are like chance meetings in the street; like a place of refuge from the cold. cahier's latest continues neumann's quest to touch the sun."

foxglove148: Chaob - s/t CDr
"this supergroup of sorts recorded this, their first album, in october of 2005 in portland, oregon. consisting of mike tamburo, matt mcdowell, and world's honey owens and adam forkner. the results are monolithic. two sprawling jams that illuminate the night sky with their own vivid lightshow. these massive drones are dense and subtle, with each hypnotic change commanding the listener's full attention. on their own, each of these artists are major league talents, but put them in a room together and they're a different monster. just one listen to chaob and you'll feel the electricity in the air."

foxglove149: Quetzolcoatl - 'Forever Bleeding Canyon Cloud' CDr
"Ireland's timothy hurley has carved out his own ocean in the back alleys of dublin as quetzolcoatl and as 1/2 of bonecloud. "forever bleeding canyon cloud" is a fuzzed-out parlay of ghost drones and atmospheric wreckage. hurley bends and twists minimal instrumentation and chants into a massive, bubbling concoction of stuck souls wailing for freedom. it's a murky proposition, but in the end the bliss will come. looped walls of feedback scorch the walls surrounding the kingdom, and by the time the last track fades away, the organic ruins left behind are nothing short of beautiful."

foxglove150: Murmansk - live CDr
"Another gem from the land of ireland graces us with this live document from deserted village pawnpins, murmansk. always a group to be steeped in organic excesses, these three live performances (culled from three separate dates in 2004 and 2005) show off the group's multiple personalities. the creaking and scraping from a bevy of bowed strings is apparent, but unlike many previous releases is accompanied by a smattering of electronics. this darkness is an unexpected treat. it's like being caught unexpectedly in the rough seas of the north atlantic: dense and choppy and there's no end to what lurks below."

foxglove151: The Holy See - 'Fucking Physics' CDr
"Welcome to the abrasive indulgences of the holy see. this duo of jefre cantu-ledesma and jim redd (both of the inimitable tarentel) spews molten lava from their fingertips into a fireball of droning extravagance. "fucking physics" is heavy on the electronics (hell, it's heavy on everything) and denser than a black hole. it's an absolutely exquisite mess that is shot towards the heavens before being drowned in the darkest depths of the silver sea. this is corrosivity and it's radiant best."

Also:

comp011: 'Wailing Bones' vol. 10 CDr
"This is the tenth installment of an ongoing series of cd-r releases, split between four artists, each contributing longform tracks. volume 10 features exclusive scree from gavin prior (united bible studies, murmansk, etc), the vulture club, grey park, & new fairfield parks & recreation."

Order via the WEBSITE - $7 each or the whole lot of 6 for $36 (worldwide shipping included) - EMAIL if interested in the deal.

Finally, the digitalis festival line-up has been announced (HERE, if you missed it) and the subscription series is nearly sold-out (HERE if you're interested). Coming up next on digitalis will be the debut CD by softwar (new jewelled antler group with loren chasse, christine boepple, kerry mcglaughlin, & geoff koops) and a 2CD monster from fabio orsi & gianluca becuzzi.

In a global community such as ours that thrives on distance and division, it can be easy to overlook the people behind the music we hold so close. Let us not forget those we have lost, and those we may never see. A word from Fabien of Textile:


Dear Friends, Textile partners

I'm really sad to announce that Benoit died yesterday at the Pitié Salpétrière Hospital in Paris after a lengthy fight with cancer. He passed away very peacefully surrounded by friends and family. Benoit was 32 years old.

Benoit founded Textile Records 5 years ago. His label and people he worked with were a really important thing in his life. When I saw him for the last time last week, we spoke about Textile, he was always thinking about new releases, new bands, and was always wondering how were the musicians, if I had news about them and if everything was ok for them. Everything was possible with Benoit, working 8hours a day in his daily job, booking some gigs in the evening, doing 400km to bring me some records!! He was always smiling, joking, and was always cheering us up. All this hard work was about one goal, hang out with people he loved, and work with people who inspired him.

Benoit was not a business partner for me, he was my best friend. And I've probably didn't tell him enough how wonderfull he was and how much he was loved by us. I loved him dearly and will miss terribly. Textile will never be the same without you Ben.

My heart breaks for Agnes and their little baby Nicolas.

Fabien.

The massive Erstwhile distribution division has been updated and slightly revamped. They are doing a great service, stocking tons of records from all over the place, and they are eager to take your money. See it all HERE. And for a very sweet, solicitous letter from Erstdistro whipping-boy Jon,


hello all,

it's been a long time between update mails, but quite a bit of news in this one. specifically, ErstDist is now being run by me and me alone. Chris got too overwhelmed, so I'm going to take over again, just like when I started this, for those of you who were around then. so some changes in policy/things you should be aware of:

the catalog has already been cut down, Chris has held onto most of the more noise-oriented stuff and will be selling it through his Little Enjoyer site at some point down the road. I'm going to try to keep the catalog around the size it is now, we'll see. turnaround time on your orders should be quicker, as I don't have a day job like Chris. if you're just interested in the noise stuff we stocked and you want to drop off the mailing list, let me know (and if you want to be on Chris' mailing list for when he starts selling stuff again, let him know, still erstdist@gmail.com).

shipping will only be USPS, first class/priority mail within the US, and air mail outside of it. I don't like using media mail as I find too many packages disappear or get damaged, but if you insist, I'll send it that way at your own risk. international customs declaration values will be $1/item. I'm happy to combine ErstDist, Erstwhile, and even eBay items (seller name erstrecs).

there was some confusion in the transition, so if you placed an order with Chris recently and aren't sure of the status, please write to both him and me. if you placed an order with me in the last few days, it will go out tomorrow.

I'm going to run this out of my house, which is in Jersey City, a couple of train stops from the West Village. I'm considering letting people I know browse through the stock by appointment, if they're serious about buying things. if you're interested in this, let me know and we'll talk about it.

new items: I listed a bunch of things that have come in over the last month tonight, so take a look, I'm too burnt to write any more tonight.

thanks a lot for all of your support and patience, and hopefully this will work well enough going forward that it'll be a thriving business for years to come. if you have any questions, or want to place an order, please e-mail me at this address, erstrecs@aol.com. thanks a lot!

-jon

Two new releases from the honorable Buried Valley:

bv009: Siren - 'living light' C20
"listening to this you get seriously lost in a fog of far away guitar strumming, heavy vocals, and celestial sounds. bethany of pocahaunted." Edition of 50


bv010: Changeling - 'the truth of the blossom' C25
"a dream like haze. entrancing. reaching out into the darkness. most recent recordings to date." Edition of 60

Plus a little distro:
Empty Vessel - "a world of dew" c15 ed. of 100
Changeling - "deep reflection" c31 ed. of 66
Changeling - "astral arch" one sided 7" ed. of 176
Insaniacs - "age of quandary" c40 ed. of 56

EMAIL for availability/ordering, and check the WEBSITE!

Menace, Italian-style. From Long Long Chaney:

LLC014 FAMILY BATTLE SNAKE – 'spiral growl' CDr 5€
"Two long tracks of dark submarine explorations. Tons of vocals and creepy guitars jam into a dense fog of smoke."

LLC016 JAKE VIDA – 'culling the dead' CDr 5€
"Killer harsh noise from canada, dynamic and focused."
CDs silkscreened by: Canedicoda.com

Samples and precious-little info at the WEBSITE