Rich Jensen - 'Two Million Years' cassette
"Originally released on K Records in 1991, this handsome tape is full of that old K vibe of spoken word and field recordings. One of the tapes key moments is "Voodoo City," an a capella masterpiece that YACHT recently made into the song "Psychic City, (which Kanye West commented on favorably in his blog.) Side A contains\ no songs at all and, as the tape slip reads, "If you have to hear songs, fast forward the tape and listen to side two first. I am not kidding." Remastered on black C-26 tapes with original wrap around tape slips with incredibly beautiful design. An artifact from an era."

Grandparents - '...dig Everything' cassette
"The neighbors called and they’re pissed. No longer can they listen to the drone of open open E and pseudo-native american drum beats pounding at their eardrums for hours on end. The Hindenburg is crashing! A cacophony of fuzz, chants and paisley patterns reverberates in the sky. Brian Jones and Brian Wilson take off their clothes and have sex in a fusion of mono AND stereo. The sun is coming up and god dammit I’m still tripping balls.If your name is Dick Wiggles you will either be the center of attention or living with your grandparents. Either way this tape will make it into your record collection. Why? I have no fucking clue because you sure as hell can’t play a tape on a record player. Maybe it’s because you, like us, just ...dig Everything."

Sucky Dorks - 'Sick 666' cassette
"Retards are born, not made. Erik Gage has recorded music under numerous band name umbrellas since he was 13, including Richard Cool, Skin Tight Pants, Brave Brave Bears, This Violent Beat, and Super Destroy, as well as hundreds of hours worth of tapes, cd-rs, beats, and saved data under various names. Nowadays he spends a good deal of his musical focus with his friends in White Fang, making beats for Feather Headdress and Savages, rapping under the name Fred Flintstoned, and writing songs as Sucky Dorks. The original idea behind Sucky Dorks was free-jam punk, but we soon realized that was what Super Destroy was. So instead of abandoning such an emotionally resonant and nostalgic band name, Erik decided to use it for his songs. Most of the songs on this tape were recorded before adopting the name Sucky Dorks. Think of Sick 666 as a compilation of tapes and garageband files, a precursor to an era. All of these songs share a common thread of approaching vision, of tapes to come and records to spin. Heavy drums and guitar with dreamy washed soft voices. Songs about being your own sucker. This tape is an edition of 50 only and
ever. Sucky Dorks is here."

French Dad - 'Carpet City' cassette
"Tradition gives birth to Scripture. The origin of French father and the history of the formation of the canon have been the subject of important works in the last few years. A certain consensus has been reached according to which by the end of the first century of our era, the long process of the formation of the "Carpet Taco Bell" was practically completed. This canon comprised the Tôr~h, the Prophets and the greater part of the “value meal”. To determine the origin of the individual songs is often a difficult task. In many cases, one must settle for hypotheses. These are, for the most part, based on results furnished by the white wheel. It can be deduced from them that ancient precepts were assembled in collections which were gradually inserted in the tapes of the baby butter. The older members of "Dad" were committed to writing and touching together. Collections of tapes and greatest hits were combined. Prophetic messages were collected and compiled into the bearing tape under the prophets' names. The original Carpet City can be revisited for a very low 7$"

Lucky Dragons - 'Blond Rats/Fear Melody' cassette
"Lucky Dragons is a Los Angeles based band with an extensive and consistently impressive discography. They've been plaing all over the planet for more than a decade now and in doing so have created sincerely new sounds and expressions in electronic music. Sometimes so wide and ambient that it sounds like the boombox is flying. Other times body inducing dance trance. The two songs featured on this tape show two distinct sides of the band. "Blond Rats" offers soft, shimmering ambience, while "Fear Melody" is a broad, expansive and joyous chant that melts into classic LDs style with barks and pops fading into dreams."

WEBSITE

‘Traiy Cela’ tumbled nicely out of a speaker-setting spin of Sunn O)))’s excellent ‘Domkirke’ (though I suppose it could have been most any of their works), as the tiny CDr’s tiny contents find deep resonances parsed and cleaned down to single, prolonged channels. Automotively constant, the six frequencies of the six tracks carry on for seemingly arbitrary durations (the theme is set in the first twenty seconds, with little variation). That said, don’t let this coincidence imply that Gate Rats sound anything like the above mentioned band, or anything resembling the metal genre. Brilliant knots appear sporadically across the skein of the tracks as tell-tale glitch on adolescent experiments. This should be purely accidental in this lo-fi electronics, far from a hi-fi deconstruction. Of course, accidents are almost all we have now. A 3” CDr from Animal Image Search. $5 HERE.

Accidents are different from mistakes. When Animal Psi receives a request for review touting “two men and a drum machine”, the crest and skittles Echo and the Bunnymen pop of Technoir MA is not what one would expect to come out of the speakers. Offering three tracks totaling twenty minutes – a commitment to the product – the pair share affinities with the Mattress disc of several years ago, from the printer paper inserts to the four-foot/four-track depth of the sonic surface. However, more Sumner than Curtis, they steer soberly to the optimistic right of new wave’s fine line, even when moaning lines like “alcohol/I love alcohol”. In the end, guitar is the vital force of the disc and the long durations, carrying the songs skillfully with a fine palette of effects over the minimal rhythms, and begging to be freed to bigger spaces. A self-released CDr, available gratis somewhere around HERE.

BLOODYMINDED - 'PHASES: THREE' 3x7" $25(US)/$30(CAN/MEX)/$38(World)
"I know what you are thinking, “What is this thing?” Or maybe, “Why does it exist?” Why does such a beautifully packaged triple white vinyl 7-inch set, housed in individual silkscreened sleeves and custom-made boxes, and containing some of the rawest BLOODYMINDED tracks ever captured on tape, or MiniDisc, in this case, even fucking exist? And lord knows, there are a few preceding raw BLOODYMINDED live recordings, that much is certain. And why are these four basement bruises bookended by such seemingly high-fidelity studio fuckery? Well, let’s talk about it, for a minute. The band went out on tour in August 2006, in support of our “Magnetism” CD, along with some friends: Demons, Graveyards (sometimes Burning when C. Spencer Yeh would appear), and Lambsbread. Each night, we played four songs off of the then-still-new album. Those would be the middle four cuts that appear here. The strange thing about those “Magnetism” tracks (and boy, did they ultimately prove to be ultra-magnetic the night in question, but who knew?), unlike most core BLOODYMINDED songs, is that they have no discernable lyrics, per se, so that always leaves a lot of room for vocal improvisation… or a bunch of screaming, moaning, shrieking, and whatnot. In this particular case, these four works of art were recorded live on August 8, 2006, at Spooky Action Palace, in Saint Louis, Missouri. We had played there before and we were as comfortable as you can get in the humid basement of a house in a Midwestern town, during a tour that saw 100-degree temperatures pretty much every day. That particular night was special, as BLOODYMINDED, which has members scattered not just around the country, but across the globe, had a pretty extraordinary line-up. Über-fan Nicole Chambers had been brought into the fold to play synth and to handle the live mix for that tour. Xavier Laradji flew in from Toulouse, France, to play synth, to add some Froggy vocals, and to take in as much Americana as he could that summer. Isidro Reyes, who could not go with us on that tour due to “other commitments,” made the marathon there-and-back drive from Chicago to Saint Louis, just for this one god damned show. Pieter Schoolwerth was on loan from New York, specifically to break synths, to snap microphone cables, and to keep things as lively as possible. And me, Mark Solotroff, I drove the car, I screamed, moaned, shrieked, sweated, etc. Weird, indeed. Three guys who are among my very closest friends and brothers, and one chillingly silent girl, putting on some mileage and attempting to stir things up, night after night (except Isidro on all but this one night. Damn.). Again, why did this thing get made? Why these songs? Because, it is absolutely the most pure example of how out of control this thing could get, given all of the right/wrong circumstances: a heat-wave; vintage analog synthesizers getting beat to hell on a nightly basis; non-existent PA systems; wound-up audiences of various sizes; blood, sweat, and maybe some tears. And basements. Basements do make a difference. So, what about the first and the last track? Well, following the pattern set with the “PHASES : ONE” cassette and the “PHASES : TWO” CD – and I do love patterns, of course – the “PHASES : THREE” parts seek to offer a different process, whereby songs, audience outbreaks, and incidental moments during a show, find their way into a disorienting mixture of sound and texture, blended up and damaged, as if run through an audio In-Sink-Erator, and then get lovingly re-assembled for maximum fidelity (almost). And why “Magnetism,” why these song titles, and why the moon imagery? I have answered that before. My mom – and – it all really happened. Do we learn? Apparently not. For the record, lest you think that this is some sort of low-fidelity mess more suited for a vomit-encrusted cassette tape, the studio processing on "PHASES : THREE (PART ONE)" and "PHASES : THREE (PART TWO)" and pre-production for all six songs was completed at Conservatory, Chicago, Illinois, September 2007, and mastering was skillfully completed by Salvatore Dellaria at Eightysevenwest Recording, Chicago, Illinois, September 2007. Trust me, crank it up and you will feel like you are in that basement at that show. With love and thanks to ROCOCO : PHASE : ONE : Joe, Nicole, Russ, and Tom." HERE

Slates - 'Street of Dreams' DBL022.ECD208
"Coming off his tapes with such titans of Northwest Noise as Blue Sabbath Black Cheer and Dried up Corpse, Slates drops his first full-length release. "Street of Dreams" is one 44 minute wall, but this wall is laid slowly - brick by brick - until 35 minutes in, when a crackling monument of sound is vibrating before you. It is like being immersed in a waterfall of forks or a gigantic burning tumbleweed, and right as you are starting to acclimate - the sound peaks, the wall falls over, and you are left buried in the rubble of a thousand foreclosed houses. x100 CD-Rs"

The Dead White - 'Endless Mess' DBL024.ECD210
"Andy Brack may not be technically from the Emerald City, he's actually a San Deigo expat and current NOlympian resident, but we love him anyway. This album is many years coming, and lives up to its title "Endless Mess" but, oh, what a beautiful mess! Ripped straight from tape and tracked as SideA/SideB, the recording keeps the lo-fi guitar histrionics intact and intense. I once heard this cat described as "Skaters meets Haino" and I'm not arguing. Beautiful guitar loops clashing with walls of noise. For fans of The Skaters, Thurston Moore, and Bill Nace. x100 CD-Rs."

Agitated Radio Pilot - 'A Field Day' EP
"Rusted Rail is pleased to announce the release of “A Field Day” EP, a 6 track EP by Agitated Radio Pilot. The musical project of David Colohan, this conceptual Australian travelogue documents an expanded and folkier line-up of Agitated Radio Pilot featuring Bean Dolan (Resurrection Fern), Eddie Keenan (The Driftwood Manor) and Gary Morrison (The Hollows) assailing such instruments as accordion, melodica, musical saw, bouzouki, banjo, double bass, piano and all manner of guitars. “A Field Day” was recorded throughout 2008/2009 in various locations around Ireland, in empty theatres, sunny living rooms, on a horse farm and whilst snowed in at the foot of mountains. This 3inch hand-stamped EP of ambling acoustica and fireplace folk is housed in a handmade sleeve."

Yawning Chasm - 'The Shadow is That Hidden' EP
"Rusted Rail is proud to announce the release of “The Shadow is That Hidden” a six song EP by west of Ireland-based home recording artist Yawning Chasm. All songs were written, performed and recorded by Aaron M. Coyne (who is also one half of Rusted Rail act Mirakil Whip) onto cassette 4-track in the cosy confines of a shed in Galway, throughout April, May and June of 2009 . Fingerpicked slo-motion folk stylings and hauntological sonics are coaxed from tenor guitar, mandolin, mandobird, keyboard, guitar pedals, vocals and transistor radio dial: maybe you could call it sci-fi lo-fi. This 3inch hand-stamped EP/mini-album is housed in a handmade sleeve."

WEBSITE

[mt69cs] Endless Time - 'Coasting' C20 $6.5(US)/$8.5(World)
"Open air amidst the float. Expertly paced, beach-influenced tonal meditations from Heavy Psych Kev, with each side developing into seagulls, waves, and the sound of sand beneath your feet. Edition of 125, color covers and labels."

[mt70cs] Cloaked Light - 'Creek' C31 $6.5(US)/$8.5(World)
"A glimpse into the other side; only the most necessary of elements. A dim light shines; a singular focus turns. By the end, the pieces are inside out. Edition of 125, color covers and labels."

[mt71cs] Sean McCann - 'A Wind in Their Way' C35 $6.5(US)/$8.5(World)
"crisp recordings of heavily layered and processed strings, created with much attention to detail. another in a seemingly endless chain of top-quality material from McCann. Edition of 125, color covers and labels."

[mt72cs] Emaciator - 'Defeat' C35 $6.5(US)/$8.5(World)
"From the archives -- an older recording from 2007 finally sees the light. Much in the style of 'Reflection' and others from the era, with deep keyboard melodies buried beneath near-impenetrable layers of grit and throb; resembling a kind of warped trance-goth by the end. Edition of 125, color covers and labels."

WEBSITE

Thou - 'Kingdoms' 3xCS $20/$23/$29
"Edition of 300. PM45 -The boxset comes with pro printed pro audio cassettes, silk screened cassette cases on 100lb epic black linen paper, a 32 page booklet (with all song titles, lyrics, and images), sticker, button, patch, and a glass 'potion' bottle containing pine needles and cones, all resting on a bed of moss in a jet black silk screened 4"x4"x4" box. Strictly limited to 300 copies. A split release between myself and Drugged Concious. Cassette 1 - Tyrant Full Length + The Retaliation of the Immutable Force of Nature EP Cassette 2 - Peasant Full Length Cassette 3 - To Carry a Stone EP ,We Pass Like Night, From Land to Land EP / Leech split tape, Thrive & Decay EP / Black September split, and Malfeasance / Retribution EP"

Light of Shipwreck - 'The Night Sky Burns a Hole in Us All' CDr $6/$7/$9
"Edition of 100. PM60 -Every time you think you know everything Delaware has to offer, it throws something like Ben Fleury-Steiner at you. Think AMREP. But instead of being founded in the States mid 80s, Hazelmyer was from New Zealand and maybe a decade younger. Make sense? Pro-pressed CDRs. Vellum covers and obi, designed by James Livingston of Black Horizons."

Sparkling Wide Pressure - 'The No Self Journey' C32 $6/$7/$9
"Edition of 100. PM64 -Been sitting on this for way too long, and REALLY excited to finally have it out. Well worth the wait. With releases on just about every label around, I am sure you know the deal. Nostalgic guitar / vocal work outs of the highest caliber. Paste on covers, pro-dubbed/imprinted tapes, vellum obi."

My3yeah/6majik9 split C47 $6/$7/$9
"Edition of 100. PM68 -Argentina's answer to Can vs. Australia's answer to drugs. Don't mind the weird names, when you are onto some next level shit like these guys, names don't really carry much weight. Paste on covers, pro-dubbed/imprinted tapes, vellum obi."

All four new releases: $35/$38/$45 /// Any 5 releases: $25/$30/$40 /// Any 10 releases: $40/$50/$70

WEBSITE

Bereft - 'Your Messiah Will Fail' CD
"BloodLust! is pleased to announce the release of the new Bereft CD, "Your Messiah Will Fail," a full-length recording, which at long last, follows the private series 7-inch, "Tough Man" b/w "Religious Leaders" [B!066, November 2006]. The sound on this new album takes a far more confrontational approach, compared to the single, which had a darker, more death-industrial feel to it. "Your Messiah Will Fail" is certainly one of the most straightforward power-electronics recordings that BloodLust! has released in quite some time, and it falls somewhere alongside the high-fidelity assault of the recent Twodeadsluts Onegoodfuck 7-inch and the classic P.E. approach of Slogun -- all the while maintaining its own personality and style. Now expanded to a venomous two-piece group, as Andrew Grant [AKA The Vomit Arsonist] has joined Peter Lee [also the head honcho of the Force of Nature label] since the aforementioned single was released, the sound on this disc thoroughly defines what power-electronics means -- accosting the listener with a combination of harsh-yet-nuanced electronic sounds and potent vocals that feature prominently in the mix. Have no doubts, this is a deliberate, carefully conceived and expertly executed album. Something unusual for BloodLust! -- but certainly not exclusive to the label, based upon the anti-war stance of the upcoming Kriminaaliset Metsänhaltijat "Koskemattomuus" CD -- is the political nature of this release. These songs were written prior to the last presidential election in the United States of America, and it provided Bereft main-man Peter Lee an opportunity to vent about, how in his opinion, the country was going in the wrong direction. The lyrical content of "Your Messiah Will Fail" was directed at then-Presidential candidate Barack Obama, and the exceedingly "star" or "godlike" status placed upon him by the public, and how in Lee's opinion, no man or woman should ever have such exceedingly high standing in the political world. Lee makes a vehement cry against the current two-party political system, and the ever-changing system of support that offers too many politicians the ability to often never have to take responsibility for their actions. These are professionally duplicated CDs, with single panel, double-sided inserts featuring color artwork; in jewel boxes with shrinkwrap." HERE

(TD17) Fossils From the Sun/Rambutan - 'Vertical' split C30 $7 "Two different solo sides of the Century Plants puzzle, split across the sides of one joyous tape. Eric Hardiman (Rambutan) and Ray Hare (Fossils From the Sun) take divergent paths here toward the goal of maximum zen brain warp. Drones, tones, blasts of noise, and radio interference from external zones all play a role here, and the end result should verticalize your head just fine. This one is on endless loop in another world we all oughtta visit."

(TD18) Derek Rogers - 'Petit Chapeau' C30 $7
"Bursting out of Austin TX with more zoned out guitar action than that town can possibly hold, Derek's got the touch of gold with his axe. He's put out a slew of fantastic tapes recently on labels far and wide, and here he offers a glimpse into what makes his work so unique. Cavernous solo guitar that obliterates categories and defies the logic of time. Trippy, hypnotic and ambient at times, scorching and searching at others. A mighty compelling tape that has easily become a personal fave of 2009 here in Tape Drift land."

(TD19) Chapels - 'Shadows' C30 $7
"Fantastic and utterly inimitable creeper style madness from Adam Richards, king of the House of Alchemy label, and best dude ever. We have no idea where he coaxes these sounds from or what he's doing, but this is a magical tape. Restrained, dark, powerful, ghostly and all-knowing, it's near impossible to deny the mastery that Richards has on display here. The roll call of amazing Chapels releases this year is massive, and this one can sit comfortably high atop the pack. You won't be able to describe this music or pigeonhole it, but that's exactly the way we like it. Essential now sounds."

(TD20) The Old Rig - 'Space Crawl' CDr $7
"Duo action from Frank Baugh (Sparkling Wide Pressure) and Patrick Singleton. Representing the deep south (Tennessee), these two could easily be crawling aliens sending us transmissions from a distant spaced out planet. The sonic message they've sent here is awesome in every way. Heavy, industrial grind mixed with hypnotic loops and lurching rhythms, all delivered with a sense of timing and patience that is excellent."

WEBSITE

ltd#52: goatfooted/hunting rituals split C60 $7(US)/$8(CAN/MEX)/$9(INTL)
"canada splits the atom sideways with two mega sides from two opposites from ontario. they couldn't be more different, but they complement each other quite unexpectedly. goatfooted are drowning underground in reverberating caves. this duo of sarah good and josh st. denis will bring you down. melodic guitar lines are the lantern light at the end of a long, winding passage. coming out of nowhere like a cataclysmic collapse are good's vocals. she's the siren leading you to the rocks. beautiful, lilting and up to no good, you won't resist and will gladly die begging for more. what works so well about this split is that hunting rituals aka r. hunter aka scott johnson is happy to show you what that demise sounds like. as your insides are ripped by saws of electronic mayhem, your ears explode under the sudden depressurization. it's horrid and gnarly and totally fucking excellent. bring it all home, canda. edition of 35, red-flowered gems." TRY

ltd#95: plankton wat - 'our solar beings' C28 $7(US)/$8(CAN/MEX)/$9(INTL)
"all love to the master, dewmah has arrived. dewey mahood is probably best known these days as being the non-bindeman third of portland's fuzz kings, eternal tapestry. but when he's not burning down houses, he moonlights as the inimitable plankton wat. fractured folk-infused meanderings with warm strings and organic dressing. mahood's vocals are the ideal accompaniment to these bright, understated anthems. minimal percussion and mbira pick up where the vocals leave off, finding a balance with the acoustic haze. it's been a great year for plankton wat (check his DNT lp!) and eternal tapestry, and "our solar beings" is another vital feather in his discography. edtion of 80, golden red suns." TRY

ltd#96: rambutan - 'incidences' C40 $7(US)/$8(CAN/MEX)/$9(INTL)
"century plants & burnt hills conspirator, eric hardiman, is no stranger to the realms of burnt-to-a-crisp garbage drones. his solo guise, rambutan, has been on an absolute tear this year with not-to-be-missed offerings on stunned, 905 tapes, house of alchemy, & others. his abstract meanderings grind it out with tortured guitar melodies and raw, spitting electronics. hardiman wields tension like most people drop the ball. each side demands submission as each is an open, festering wound that needs to be cauterized. these pieces ooze like liquid gold. mastery, motherfuckers, take it or leave it. edition of 70, green team." TRY

ltd#101: sundog peacehouse - 'bros' C53 $7(US)/$8(CAN/MEX)/$9(INTL)
"the first time i heard this trio i was absolutely smitten. sundog peacehouse are chris mucci, sal farinia and austin redwood and will soon be taking over their native pittsburgh by lulling everyone into a codeine coma. shimmering walls of heavily-processed vocals, guitars and samples ease you down into emerald green pools of total bliss. pure waves of spiralling sonics drench you and hold you close. there is something so unbelievably comforting about this music that it's impossible to get away from, impossible to ignore. having shared bills with caboladies (past) and bardo pond (future), you get any idea where these soaring aural dreams are going to take you. sundog peacehouse are stunning, simply put. don't wait around for the surf to break you out, just stay sunkissed and in love. edition of 70, fuschia waves to the stars." TRY

ltd#103: lakes - 'monument of nests' C19 $6(US)/$7(CAN/MEX)/$8(INTL)
"i'm honestly surprised that lakes AKA sean bailey isn't more of a household name. through the years, he's put out some killer damage on his inverted crux label and his own projects (paeces, lamp puffer w/ peaking lights' aaron coyes, wasted truth, etc). well, "monument of nests" is one of his best and we're damn pleased to make it available again. originally self-released in a micro edition, it's now hear to stay. disjointed, deconstructed pop songs that lean heavy on primitive, almost tribal rhythms and ramshackle instrumentation. acoustic guitars sound like they've been overblown to smithereens. makeshift electronics find their way through the fog, splattering everything in waves of analog fuzz. all the while, bailey's deep, monotone vocals spell the end for anyone who moves to close. punk in spirit, fucked in sound. edition of 70, clear as day." TRY

ltd#104: brother raven - 'nellie' C40 $7(US)/$8(CAN/MEX)/$9(INTL)
"oh how i wish these guys were transversing the astral plane while i was still living up in seattle. i would have been an addict in need of some serious 12-steppage. the brothers raven are in fact jason anderson (spare death icon) and jamie potter (ex-bonus, million mists) cooking up a cosmic bowl of synthesizer stew. their methodic journeys feel like space-age rituals, painted in glitter and offered up to the stars as proof that electronics are alive. anderson and potter weave beautiful mystic webs of sonic spirals. you might as well ditch the crystal healing because brother raven will take you places far beyond the exosphere. bathe in the light and never look back. edition of 70, white as snow." TRY

ltd#105: alphabets - 'pow sound' C34 $7(US)/$8(CAN/MEX)/$9(INTL)
"what an absolute revelation. alphabets is the brainchild of denver savant, colin ward and his first ever tape, "pow sound," is the bedroom dance party of your dreams. total synth overload and excess like somebody stole all the jewels hollywood has to offer and hid them in ward's keyboard. cut & paste pop bliss that is heavy on the heavy beats. seriously, the beats and the hooks are the stars here. you can't help but get sucked in and shake your ass. days later, the songs will be stuck in your head, you'll be humming the shower... from here on out, it's over. don't fight it. give in. enjoy. it's over. edition of 70, aqua blue beauties." TRY

so you know how we love the package deals... whole shot in the arm for $40 US/$47 CANMEX/$53 INTL. once that goatfooted/hunting rituals split is gone, the package will be $36/$43/$49. also note that nearly every past tape on the site is down to single copies (some are down to 2 or 3 left), so if you've been thinking of nabbing some, don't wait long.

WEBSITE

Jonathan Lesbian Seagull cassingle
"Formed in 2008, Jonathan Lesbian Seagull are an improv synth-pop duo who began making music with a loop station, some green maracas and a £10 yamaha keyboard in their own words "as an adjunct to being shit at playing other instruments together". Every gig is different, with the music entirely improvised and the ever evolving songs constantly overlapping with weird covers (a current fave is Scott Walker's 'Farmer in The City' spliced with Phil Collins 'Groovy Kind of Love'). Until very recently this was also strictly a live proposition only (the band cite Bill Drummond's book '17' as a key inspiration), and this could well turn out to be their only ever official release, so best snap it up while you can! Tapes are home dubbed and come in princely purple shells and slick plastic sleeves with an exclusive free download of both tracks. Super limited to fifty tapes only!!" HERE

FAX#007 SAM GAS CAN/D.MOOR - 'The Decadent Tape' CDr $4(US)/$6(World)
"Two buddies collaborating on a late night jam session on children's instruments in a store that doesn't sell anything. Comes in poly-bag with 2-color silkscreen covers with art by Chris Dooley (Gastric Lavage). Comparisons to Buffle aren't too far off."

FAX#008 RUSTY SPOONS/SAM GAS CAN split C20 $5(US)/$7(World)
"The members of Stonewall Jackson show off their solo personalities. Spoons being a Casio curmudgeon, he provides a digital dirge inspired by Northwest living called "Fog, Fog, Rain", while Gas Can's side is a live recording made on Memorial Day of sax squawk, vocal improv, and acoustic clatter. Edition of 36, so these are going to be gone quick!"

FAX#021 PAK - 'Creosote' C20 $5(US)/$7(World)
"This dealer's a squealer, tape loops and vocals that gurgle and echo their way into organs you never knew you had. First female artist on our roster, comes with beautiful silkscreened inserts made by Pak herself!"

WEBSITE

Mincemeat Or Tenspeed - 'Strange Gods' CD
"No synthesizers, samplers, sequencers, drum machines, computers, musical instruments." Right in the liner notes for "Strange Gods," Philadelphia's David Harms has turned his methodology into an ideological stance. Using solely effects pedals and a mixer, Harms started Mincemeat Or Tenspeed as a recording project that became a live entity in 2006. An initial attempt to learn guitar lead to a deeper interest in effects pedals to the point that the instrument was shunted altogether. The sound of the pedals themselves took precedence and Harms began making rhythmic and melodic adjustments out of a feedback circuit. Labor-intensive trial and error lead to a compositional approach that some mistake for pure improvisation. The essence of this music then is partly its means of production, though in a live setting its rhythmic throb has started plenty of moshpits. Having toured with modern music weirdos like Nero's Day At Disneyland, Social Junk, Foot Village, and Drums Like Machine Guns (with whom he shares a split 12") and shared stages with Black Dice, Parts and Labor, Extreme Animals, and USAISAMONSTER over the past three years, Harms imbues Mincemeat Or Tenspeed with a hardcore work ethic that's earned him a cult following (Dan Deacon is a supporter and has booked Harms at Whartscape three years running). "Strange Gods" is an evolution of sorts, letting the tones ride our more than previous efforts, a continuation of a process begun with records like the "All Critters" 12" (Deathbomb Arc), or this year's double CDR "Manifest Wizard." As the first "official" Mincemeat Or Tenspeed CD release, the seven (and a half) tracks here set the bar for "maximal minimalism", post-apocalyptic chirps and whirrs shifting and coalescing, cresting and searching for catharsis where none may be coming. Reminiscent of "a smart ass take on Steve Reich" (Z Gun) or even the synth-scuzz of Mr. Brinkman, Mincemeat Or Tenspeed is keeping it real whilst making experimental music uniquely accessible through the simplicity of its principles. A forthcoming collaboration with Dan Friel (Parts and Labor) is also in the works. Album artwork by Mark Price, edition of 1000 CDs, full color jewel case." HERE

BT-019 Chaos Majik – ‘CRY OF THE 12th AETHYR’ C30
”Todd Brooks, the multi-hatted New Yorker responsible for the creation of fine goods and organizer of epic events through his Pendu organization as well as purveyor of a new breed of cerebral jazz as member of the city's seminal damaged jazz titans Ghost Moth, here offers a rare peak into his far overlooked (and underpraised) solo project, Chaos Majik. True to the adhocist roots that embrace all of Todd's work, spontaneous acts of creation thru use of readily available materials, we see (or hear) his homebuilt circuits come alive through interactions with itself, Brooks and their shared environment as the setting sun slowly coerces the shape of these photosensitive oscillations. Despite it's very electronic origins, Cry of the 12th Aethyr never strays from its organic roots, conjuring images of pitch dark nights in unfamiliar woods, completely blinded by the shadows, but fully cognizant of the thousands of formless shapes slowly enveloping you. Go ahead, turn off the lights and take a stroll through your mind. EPIC.”

BT-020 Abusement Park – ‘SMOKIN' IN THE BOYS ROOM’ looping 30 sec tape + urinal cake
”Two dudes, a sax and a makeshift drumset from bongos, trashcans, sheet metal and other assorted crap constitute the behemoth that is Abusement Park, a band lavishly known for their ability to crash a party in style, celebrating the poignancy of unwelcome guests via locking themselves in bathrooms (sometimes together, sometimes separate) and churning stomachs with their guerilla tactics in a congealed acoustic mess of horn damage, clangs and ceaseless pounding. They recently stopped by The Bakery to cut this tape, for which I had to flank mics from pipes in a tiny NYC apartment railroad car style bathroom. The entire performance, some 10 minutes of putrid agony ringing thru the building's heating & water pipes, was later cut up, and merged down to this looping 30 second tape. "This loop is solely for demonstration purposes and should only be played at top volume through a boombox situated in a bathroom." EXTEMELY LIMITED QUANTITY AVAIL, email first. Due to the size/weight of this, USppd shipping for this tape and cake alone is $7.”

BT-021 Millions – ‘SHREDDED HEAVEN’ C30
”Horrifyingly beautiful in the truest sense, an exquisitely woven and meticulously shaped narrative assembled from the horrifying nomenclature of hums, buzzes and shrieks by one mister David Suss under his Millions nom de plume. With ever-increasingly epic releases on the likes of Peasant Magik, Abandon Ship and Obsolete Units, Shredded Heaven finds Suss at his finest. "Scrape yr skull against that great celestial cheese grater and let the fruits of that communion drift down and slowly blanket the earth. float back home and watch as all you know is submerged beneath the sweet glacial avalanche." Synonymically literal artwork by Suss.”

BT-022 Sunglasses – ‘NICARAGUA '72’ C60
”Having recently relocated to Chicago from Queens, I was glad to hear from Matt Kimmel (man behind the camera at Acid Marshmallow and the keyboard in Fluorescent Vibes) that he quickly settled in and had hooked up with former Miami Beach bandmate, Ryan Chupick, and together had been bringing a new brand of focused meditative hymns to the windy city. Nicaragua '72, their debut, is a hour long excursion in four parts, each painstakingly restrained, slowly budding from repetitious ebbs and flows, subtlety expanding mantras lowering the pulse and drawing one into a somnolent state, growing steadily until side B erupts and shit starts to get real.”

BT-023 Pork Lion – ‘BAJON ‘ C7 + bizcard
”A freakshow of recent experiments gone horribly awry. These diary vignettes range from psych guitar noodlings to knob-twiddling vocodations, with excerpts of an unintended chorus of a oddly sized and tuned folk guitars, a Mothers "cover" and a tone poem for ring modulator and LFO to round out these 3 sides. Quick glimpses into a burnt mind.”

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[tzpPRO07] NUSLUX - 'Saison' 5€
"Cracked keyboards from Finland. Acid Disney trip melodies. Abstract funfair looped jingles. Pro-duplicated tapes. artwork by jonas. 50 copies - C20 cassette."

[tzpPRO08] Fricara Pacchu - 'Just Giggin'/Massimo's Mega Mix' 5€
"Side A is what you could expect or not from Fricara Pacchu : keyboards, rythm boxes etc. Laser sounds and machines from outerspace Side B is just clashing your brain with yr teenager discography. This is THE cut-up of yr golden years. Pro-duplicated tapes. artwork by jonas. 50 copies - C30 cassette."

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A biography as good-natured and folksy as the label célèbre (a quality unfortunately over-performed by the “slacker” cover design), ‘Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records’ features a tale unfolding over nearly 300 pages of carefully-strung interview charms and littered with plenty of referential pictures. Cook, a journalist from the fringes of the scene maintains a low profile throughout, narrating sparingly and doing his best to remain neutral in the minor dust-ups which compel the Will to Seven-inch. In constructing this GenX diorama, decisive moments are objectified by the many perspectives of musicians, label people, club owners, and corporate hacks, often in a comical synthesis of corrections and alternate takes. A few superfluous essays by unaffiliated individuals are inserted to further refract this seemingly simple rise to the top of the shelf, and with just one evident typo (page 201), the book concludes with a label discography in appendix as subtle exclamation.

‘Our Noise’ emphasizes the decade from about 1986 to 1996, shoring nicely into the next generation as captured in Jeff Winterberg’s wonderful pictography ‘Rat-a-tat-tat Birds’, and with a casual refresher just before the coals of the major label culls of the Hype! era finally grow cold. ‘Our Noise’ comes as a more ethnographic, and for that, loving story of “indie rock” wet from birth as documented in Michael Azerrad’s ‘Our Band Could Be Your Life’: the same chronological jolts are felt here as the tale of Mac and Laura crimp over the story of Mac and Laura and Merge, over the story of Mac and Laura and Superchunk, over a scattering of vignettes including Matt Suggs (Butterglory), Neutral Milk Hotel, Magnetic Fields, Lambchop, and others. Making case histories for Albini’s familiar allegory through the could-have-been-any-of-us major label missteps of artists like Trail of Dead, Spoon, and FM Cornog (though it seems he stepped in golden shit), the story takes on a fatalistic tenor as the blind self-rape of corporate labels exploits independent playthings a prophetic decade before the entire entity of free-market liberalism eviscerates itself (a sea of guts upon which Merge now floats its lucky boat, while the dingy-handed Touch and Go nearly drowns).

An aging ethics buried in the avuncular lessons of the label and their business model Dischord – between longevity and cultural capital, the two continue as exemplars in the never ending pragmatism-versus-principle quandary – and the like (the modest community of players, now in their autumn, add color, romance and humor, but differ little in this regard), those of us on the border of underground cultures should find ourselves asking, are we now stoking the wrong fire? Like it or lump it, this means Pitchfork and not zines/Magnet/friends; Discogs and not friends/cousins/hipster-bullies; Indietorrents and not Insomnia, label catalogs, or wherever you once dry-humped those capsule reviews you were too broke, immobile, or awkward to go out and physically pick up at Amoeba or, shit, Tower. Having reached a certain peak, the label is no major, yet could hardly be called an indie. Unlike the more deliberate isolation of a Dischord or Constellation, Merge has grown into its own beast, capable of curious things (Jaguar commercials, Arcade Fire), derived from an apparent openness to everything but major labels in name alone (foreign distribution rights aside). With a catalog including but not limited to ‘Nixon’, ‘In An Aeroplane Over The Sea’, ‘Cor-Crane Secret’, ’69 Love Songs’, ‘On The Mouth’, ‘Girls Can Tell’, and ‘Your Blues’, it’s remarkable what this little venture has produced, even by the most pessimistic reading of happenstance into their history. ‘Our Noise’ admits as much with an exaggerated shrug, but all it wants is to pull you back for some more welcomed nostalgia. (Algonquin book, $18 HERE)

ttc 015 donato epiro/throuRoof - 'tamandua's gorgeous dream drones' C20 $6/$8
"two fine Italian artists team up for some anteater magic. tunnel visions & fevered hallucinations. see title. edition of 24."

ttc 016 goodwillies - 'Tangerine Tape Burst' C30 $6/$8
"amazing drunk junk pop from the synth samurai. total sizzler. break through & burst ! edition of 44."

ttc 017 al qaeda - 'aluminum lock smith' C20 $6/$8
"delayed sunshine for our round red summer faces. drifter drone for that daydream deliverance. comes w/ mini-zine. edition of 22."

ttc 018 a man & a guitar - 'to kill a dead man' CDr $7/$9
"desert grifter blues from france. paris, tx vibes with less texas twang & more paris flare. just the right amount of minimal madness. edition of 22."

ttc 019 zack kouns - 'peter denied our lord' CDr $7/$9
"10 epic verses about denial recorded in the woods at night. loner folk vibes - mysteriously catcy & lulling. edition of 22."

want more than you can afford? make us a deal, we're easy.

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CAM DEAS/SPOONO - 'Tour' LP (Private Press Edition) £14(UK)/£15(EU)/£16.5(World)
"Limited private press edition of only 8 copies. In regular sleeves (4 white / 4 black) with a yingyang / negative vibe. The cover features a black and white photograph by myself, the back is the same image inverted. Includes an insert printed on a fancy antique green pastel paper, each of which are hand numbered and include all the liner notes. Only 2 copies available!"

VAKHCHAV - 'Birth To A Point It Comes' CDr £5.5(UK)/£5.75(EU)/£6.25(World)
"New release from New York based Nickolas Mohanna, following some fine releases on Abandon Ship and Super Minerals/Magic Lantern's Phil French consistently excellent Stunned Records imprint. Mohanna creates Vakhchav through a hazed blur of synth, guitar, electronics and computer, giving this, his first non-US label release, a real nice ambient quality throughout. 'Sequels' opens the disc with a star-gaze wavering drone, washing in from multiple directions for full immersed bliss. 'Line In Motion' has a deep bass working your brain from the distance with a purely electric droning riff fading in from some unknown source. 'Passage' is brief with barely audible voices being subjected to pure static destruction, before heading into 'Of a Curvature', which returns to the blissed out multi drones of the opening track. This fine disc finished on 'The Take (at Dusk)' which is a 7 minute piece which somehow seems to blur all the elements of Birth To A Point's frenzied dizzying bursts and the euphoric dream like moments."

BASILLICA - 'Kingdom Of Status' CDr £5.5(UK)/£5.75(EU)/£6.25(World)
"This sold out before it was even out! So we've made a small run second edition, only 24 copies, these ones are hand number on the inside and printed on paper, the original was printed heavier card, and was un-numbered.... Brand new CDR from Mike Vest of Bong, Master Slave and Lobster Priest... 3 solo wanderings through temple ritual guitar wailing layered with mists of lo-fi tape worship, and deep fog of hazy green smoke burning at your blazed eyeballs. This is a must for people who wanna lay down and zone out to psychedelic mirages transported from a realm way more tranced out than where we're at."

MASTER SLAVE - 'Death Prayer' CDr £5.5(UK)/£5.75(EU)/£6.25(World)
"Second run of this beast from the north from Pete Ryde and Mike Vest (Bong, Basillica) limited to 20 hand numbered copies on blue card. Only 3 copies left."

SPOONO - 'The Divers Private Revelations Of' CDr £5.5(UK)/£6(EU)/£6.25(World)
"BACK IN STOCK! Solo guitar tunes from Jack of Towering Breaker, which sound has really developed vastly since I heard material back in 2006. Smooth, and very well produced indeed, blew me away when I first sat and listened to it... some serious fast finger picking goes on here. People who dug last months Cam Deas 'Silver Waters' CDR will probably dig this... Black and white sleeves with artwork by Paul Sammut. Limited to approx 170 copies - thanks to the sweet post office screw up!"

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High Wolf - 'Incapulco' CDr 6.5€
"99 copies. New Cdr only release. Random jams recorded after those releases you enjoyed (animal totem on Not Not Fun / gabon on Winged Sun / digital heaven on Stunned) . Expect some fuzzy wah guitars, trancey keyboards, delayed vocals, groovy percussions and jungle spirit! Artwork by Skyler Hitchcox."

iibiis rooge (Astral Social Club + High Wolf) CDr 6.5€
"99 copies. Superastral team, iibiis rooge is the proof that the famous 1+1=3 equation is correct. Modern psychedelic High Wolf jams + Astral Social Club fucked up improv electronics = something we don't have a name for. Better than a one shot collab this duo is made to last. Forthcoming debut LP on Dekorder. Artwork by Bartolome Sanson."

WEBSITE

Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood – ‘Grass Openings’ CD $18AU(Australia)/$16US(World)
"Full-length CD edition of 500 in hand stamped, gatefold sleeves. After numerous CDs, CDRs, cassettes and LPs, Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood have established themselves as one of the many lights in modern improvised outsider music. Their latest offering, ‘Grass Openings’ sees them continue down this winding path of intoxicated trance derangement. Drawing heavily from psychedelic, jazz and weirdo traditions to create a unique form of mutant sound." EMAIL

CFE#16 Archers by the Sea/Kawrelia Soul Collective split C60
"A glorious split from foreign land brothers and sisters. The A side's got Vincent Caylet, a french-man who has been dropping little fog clouds for the past few years as one half of Monks of the Balhill and sittin' solo as "V" and The Pistil Cosmos. Now as Archers by the Sea he works out a set folk songs, overflowing with precious melodies and covered in layers and layers of heavenly memory-clouded reverb, warm tape hiss, and in-the-red muffles. Over the course of these five tracks he pulls it all together into ear-filling dense beauty. On the flip side are Kawrelia Soul Collective, a family of Russian/Finnish folks with a room full of pots and pans and an affinity for making kitten noises. Delay-stuttering acoustic lullabies, coos and squawks, junk percussion, and the great feeling of the open air. Water-colored and handwritten tape labels in a embossed sewn-felt pouch with an insert and a painted-tied-pouch of shells found on the banks of the Gatton Rocks swimming hole. Edition of 50."

CFE#17 Breathing Flowers - 'Audiomancy' C20
"McKinley Jones (ex-Expo '70) dollops out a spoonful of star-gazing cosmic folk/astral flower picking, full of fly-by guitar buzz and synth warbles, melted field recordings intertwined, dipping from dark vibes to light all the way to the melodious happy ending. A short but sweet collection full of interesting twists and turns in a cohesive vision of nights laid out in the grass dreaming of blooming lands. Tied up in wrap-around sewn wallpaper border pouches with an insert and a flower bud. Edition of 50."

CFE#19 Gorman - 'Red Oak Trail' one-sided C30
"One-sided tour tape with one fifteen minute piece of climbing and falling viola. In painted and handwritten envelopes with white painted recycled tapes. Edition of 9."

CFE#20 Gorman/Cursillistas - 'Ash Masks' C40
"Tour split between Gorman and Cursillistas for their short string of mid-west dates together in June during the epic Cursillistas/White Light jaunt down from New England. Gorman side is bowed banjo and bells swirled into a familiar drone. Cursillistas drops a jangling moving extended drone piece at a totally different side of the spectrum from Matt's usual song-based jams. Dropped together in a hurry outside the Morning Glory in Pittsburgh - "Sagittarius" is misspelled! - but full of love regardless. In full-color wrap-around cardstock art with a printed vellum strap and an insert. Limited to something less than 20 and single digit copies left on my end!"

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Walter Gross – ‘A Kind of Blues’ CDr $6
”Walter Gross went into isolation after losing the ability to hear. It took a few long months of intense reflection before his hearing slowly returned. As he reintroduced himself into society Walter Gross felt distant - strange - different. Walter Gross spent countless hours listening to his grandfather’s old blues cassette tapes and sat in reflection. Deep in reverie he thought about numerous things; how lucky he was, and how beautiful the blues are. During his recovery Walter Gross pieced together four movements he entitled A Kind of Blues. A Kind of Blues takes pieces of the blues and intertwines it with unorthodox mixes; constructed out of a miscellany of sources, field recordings, monstrous beats and sound fragments. A Kind of Blues is being offered by Afternoons Modeling - a new label based out of Jamaica Plain, MA and fronted by Julia LaDense. The album is limited to 10 handmade CD-rs for $6 or a free mp3 download.” HERE

Heart Heart Julia – ‘Love and Be Judged’ CDr $7
”Recession. Violence. Abuse. Injustice. Along with an infinite amount of others, these words are frightening and inevitable to our everyday lives. How do we counter against the struggle? Are there any guidelines left to provide us with hope? Heart Heart Julia understands these guidelines, or at least one of them in particular. Musicians J.Scott, J.LaDense, G.Dutton, and O.Wyatt have come together with the fresh Afternoons Modeling label to let us all know what it means to "Love and Be Judged." With instrumentation ranging from guitars and dulcimers to Buddha machines and rattles, these eight beautifully constructed masterpieces of song intend to sooth your ears with excellence and remind you about the importance of what makes living so ethereal in the end: faith, acceptance, mental stability, father-son bonding, and so much more. The album is complete with breathtaking handcrafted artwork by E. Puekert from Germany. The album is limited to 10 handmade CD-rs for $7 or a free mp3 download.”

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‘Goodbye East, Goodbye West’ - the second full-length by Madagascar - fibs a bit about the Baltimore band’s instincts and the nebulous locale they imply by this title. By singing saw (“The River in its Sunday Garb”) the band comes clean it was they who looted Blackheart Procession’s equipment immediately after the recording of ‘2’. A chamber ensemble ala Anvil Salute or Las Vegas Club, this comes more like a “hello” to both directions. They also found in Pall’s van the song book (and Scrabble letters) of lesser-known San Diego colleagues Maquiladora, whose shambled ballads and dusty waltzes require a greeting to the southern border – though more Baja than Calexico, by their willful dissonance (“Imperium in Imperio”). As if this weren’t not enough, the album’s wordless anonymity, tempera paint production, and twee/tree cover art evoke the warm fantasy of the Secretly Canadian network (indeed, the band’s prior release and the CD version of the present album are both on Western Vinyl). Having apparently covered all the points of the compass, the funeral march “S’Vivon” flips the shit out of the argument as it begins the second side. With a jaunty har/mel/onica/ium and heavy-handed crashes of percussion, as though lumbering from some other sea onto some other land, the escape is thick and nostalgic like the nautical utopia of Maakies. That’s right “oh shit” - a soundtrack for Maakies. On marbled blue vinyl in a handsome letter-pressed sleeve. Limited to 500. ...And I hope to have occasion to repeat this, but Gaarden label boss and Madagascar team-player Tony Lambright has adopted the worst logo ever, worth the money just to see. Long live the blight! (Gaarden LP, $13 HERE)

BANNED BOOKS - 'Mission Creep' 12" $10
"Banned Books has existed for less than a year, yet this trio has already created a 24 minute musical masterpiece. They're a rock band, but none like you've ever heard. Superb songwriting, brilliant production, and awesome musicianship make for a really really fantastic album. The entire thing is pure, rockin' joy, but they still have a control of nuance like none other. Find me another band like this and you win a prize. But don't try because you won't find one. Edition of 300 12" vinyl records housed in thick, 100% recycled and hand screen-printed paper sleeves. Includes MP3 download card of the album and a 1" pin." HERE

905.83: ANDREW COLTRANE - 'IN DREAMS WE CHANNEL THE FLIGHT OF THE BLIND' C35 & C30 $10(us)/$12(canada)/$16(world)
"fried and singed electronics from the coldest of the cold turkey's, andrew coltrane. the blend of hieroglyphic scribble and sax wrangling is brought over the course of two cassettes. just over an hours worth of material recorded on a self-tweaked tape deck, and to make matters even better, the master for one of the tapes snapped like a wishbone and had to be re-assembled at 905 hq. blaze the flight of the blind and see if you can guess which one! fun for the whole family! first non-norelco release in the catalog."

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