12/19/2010
Alex Winston The Basement Covers (Alex Winston)
Alex Winston is a young American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with classically trained background having got much attention during last years performing with diverse range of artists at the different stages (Chuck Berry, Miranda Lambert, The Wreckers, Love Arcade, Electric Six, We Are The Fury, the Satin Peaches, Uncle Kracker, and more). Now he has released an 5-piece cover album, making out a refreshing coat for the chosen songs of Mumford & Sons, Teddy Bears, The Rolling Stones, Jack Penate, and Francis and the Lights. No doubt, her high-pitched timbre and artistical shuffling are up here to reveal her talented skills drifting ideologically very close to the New Weird America movement`s female figureheads like Joanna Newsom, the sisters Casady (CocoRosie), Danielle Stech-Homsy (Rio en Medio), Meg Baird (Espers; The Baird Sisters). As an ordinary characteristic regarding the NWA the soundscape is half-electronic, half-acoustic, conjuring innocently beatific even naivistic milieus via minimal-approved chord paintings. Indeed, enjoy it, it is really worth much attention to be paid for.
Listen to it here
9.5
12/18/2010
Cody England The Monotony Monopoly (Rack & Ruin)
First off, the description "Cody England from USA" met at the record site sounds very amusing way, isn`t? By this way, I can remember for that Dallas, the Estonian indie frontband by 90`s was also made fun of it the same way at times ("Dallas from Tallinn"). However, the Arkansas-based musician is described as "a part-time assistant librarian and a full time creative", which actually says much about his dedication to the creating process. He made his debut this year, having released two issues to date. The debut The Metal Band from Hamburger Land (an apparent reference to his previous employment) showcased his adoreness toward minimal songwriting approach with deeply lovelorn lyrics and taking on some bittersweet arrivings at memories. Yet, the conception of his opening album was a bit too fragile and loose, where the parts of it were set apart from each other, sounding sometimes as a set of the Christmas songs for the lo-fi crowd.
No doubt, the sophomore one is much better evolved into the impressive output, though, based upon the same instrumentation as the previous time. His music is played up with cheap yet magnificient effect-drenched Casio synths (I have at home an example of the first series, namely Casio Tonebank SA-1 bought for 300 EEK/ca 25 USD and being properly worked out during the last 10 years), and home organ GEM H-400 as well. His warm, dream-alike voice does make up lots of great resonances with mild organ drones and programmings on the slow-paced/middle-paced/fast-paced mode. Being sometimes serious, sometimes sad, and sometimes funny the only "weakness" is a fact the record is too short (5 tracks within circa 10 minutes). Searching for soul mates Cody England`s approach can be compared to the aesthetics of his home label Rack & Ruin the first place, though, which generalized sonority has lots of common roots with the bedroom music pioneering by The Russian Futurists and keyboard-drones-based-austereness-drowned-into-harmonies of Beach House as well. A strong workout, indeed.
Listen to it here
9.1
Interview with Thierry Massard
My interview is with Thierry Massard, an experimental sound creator/noisenik/netmusic activist/blogger from France, who shot his first albums at the outset of noise and industrial music history. Indeed, he do not appreciate anyhow he would be described as the musician, and I think I can actually understand him well as this realm of sonority is rather a matter of perception where usual understandings about music have no effect for. At the moment he has new stuff on preparation, such as the upcoming album: inconnu ("unknown" in French) for the suRRism phoenetics label which obviously will be released on the coming weeks; and had just released his very first "remix" for a tribute to the contemporary multimedia artist, Joël Hubaut for Dock(s) - an art revue.
When you started recording your first album?
Sübe Version was recorded during the summer 1979, in my parents garage (if you listen to it closely you can here some buses or trucks passing by in the street).
What kind of equipment did you exploit for the album to be recorded?
The equipment was more than rudimentary - a cheap electric guitar, a chamber of echo (an antiquity) some uncontrollable and strange pedals - some recordings of films sequences (mainly a film noir, but I do not remember the title … a b-movie) there was also an organ for children and a small radio (as amplifier for the guitar, voice, pedals).
Sübe Version was recorded directly on a monophonic cassette tape recorder I had paid 30 euros … and to do a kind of mix of all the sound sources - I just placed the tape recorder on the ground, in the middle of the garage and drawn some circles around, then I just placed the different sources to some relative distances to the microphone. Quite rough, isn't it?
The release as a 50 examples limited edition in the cassette format was done in autumn 1979 - these cassettes were not sold but just offered and sent to some people such as Cosey Fanny Tutti of Throbbing Gristle. This was also often used by the multimedia performer artist Joël Hubaut, in his performances. This first experience had partly some residual follows, a few tracks done between 1979 and 1982, then I stopped producing for over 25 years. This release may probably remained "secret" if I had talk about to my friends Fred Debief and Max Marlow who decided to release it, in 2008, on their netlabel Metropublik (now defunct) - following this reissue he also produced a Hands on Thierry Massard remixes version for Kreislauf, including 25 remixes by some of the major musicians of the netscene and I must say that I was really touched and fully honoured, imagine this forgotten thing - much than reworked by all these fabulous people (I really admire the work of many of the musicians present on it).
What groups were your most important influences at the time?
I must say that I'm not a "musician", before doing these first steps, I had just some experiences in early local punk bands, but at the time I was mainly fascinated by the early industrial scene, Throbbing Gristle of course, Chrome, the first singles of The Human League, Robert Rental, The Normal, or The Residents, Pere Ubu, Kraftwerk, early Devo things, Faust, Neu! and more generally the Krautrock and all the early punk scene.
Might it be possible looking for some philosophy behind your music?
This is difficult to talk about a philosophy behind my sounds, this was (is) more a kind of general attitude regarding our social environment, I always described myself as a "combative pessimistic".
In my personal case I can not talk of an evolution or "changes" for all over the years, because I stayed silentful during all this time listening to music as a regular music fan - my absolute passion for music became more "active" through my experience with the netaudio scene on coordinating two blogs from 2006 until 2009 - this deep interest for writing about music (as you) gave me a taste of "doing things" which grew and became some recent releases.
Let`s deliver us some description about your sophomore album?
Staircase & Corridors is precisely that kind of release which really comes and goes through some time strata - some of the primal stuff treated there come, yes, from analogic recordings of 1982 (and you can here me talking with my mother) some of these original recordings were filtred through an antic Wem chamber of echo, but always recorded with a low cost recorder easily & often satured - the sources come also from radio waves, and for the recent stuff (digital) from EvP (electronic voice phenomenas like for what what", and what² (a kind of remix) I'm also often working on very microscopic samples from here and there that I use to cook or mix like.
I really love the mild and lush timbre of your latest issues (jeudi 16 septembre...;...vendredi 4 juin 2010). Am I being right supposing for you are using computers and potent interfaces nowadays?
I'm only using audacity on my oldish PC as this is precisely the only program I understand and my computer is blowing out of breath as an ox - I'm also considering that I'm not concerned by the standards of music production - I like that rough way of my sounds - cut ups sometimes - noisy on several ways - as you can see I'm a sort of homing device person, looking after things and others, and mostly, I can not imagine and accept to be considered as a musician.
Thank you, Thierry.
12/17/2010
Raindeer Raindeer EP (Bandcamp)
Raindeer does consist of three lads - Charlie Hughes (vocals, synth), Devin Byrnes (synth), and Beau Cole (guitar, bass) - coming from Baltimore, Maryland, a town being once home for Animal Collective. Vis à vis with Collective, besides the trio`s aesthetical heritage originating from similar (post-)psychedelic breeds and DIY-based conceptions and lo-fi-infused common ground their start, however, is not a less impressive opening at all compared to the very launch by Avey Tare-Panda Bear circa 10 years ago, more concretely, being soaked in a rousing mix of electronics and indie pop and subtly nudging at their boundaries and zones. Yet, those 6 tracks of the debut issue are remarkably more extrovert and pop-oriented encompassed by broad yet intelligent postures and caustic keyboard (under)currents, the kind of reminiscent of those played up by the English innovative pop group Space in the last years of the Britpop-era (the track The Green Lights), and MGMT as well. Of course, there can be found out some similarities with the later-era Animal Collective, which drove some obduarate Collective`s fans to despair (Dark Place). On the other side, fortunately, Raindeer is able to avoid this kind of ostentatious artistical shelves cranking out of emotions being anchored at a subject`s genuine sensitiveness. No doubt, the trio is able to master crafty pop numbers, for instance, the ending This Is My Last Transmission which at the outset is intentionally restrained to come off into a catchy even hysterical explosion.
A solid debut, indeed.
Listen to it here
9.2
12/16/2010
Ghost Dance Elkan (Ghost Dance)
Ghost Dance (not to confuse it with the same-titled gothic rock band from England in the 80`s) is a two-piece ensemble from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Chris Corrao (guitar) and Tyler Taglieri (drums) play up a decent joint of math rock and noise rock with an intense touch of experimental rock. Being influenced by the likes of Tera Melos, Hella, Lightning Bolt, the duo`s 6-track debut release is managed to showcase seriously sheer and rough ornamentics of repeated motives driving mainly on up-and-down drifting abrasive guitar riffs embellished by more light-radiant, progressive rock-like keys, and at times massively hammering rhythm combinations too. Sometimes Ghost Dance`s soundscape is quite laconic by building up the way on arid chord bows and even drone-shaped glimpses. Sometimes all of that seems to be thoroughly composed, the another time quite loosely related, yet. All in all, it reminds of a kind of gestalt rock manifesto playing out in a mode of improvised, jazz-like music applying a vague control upon it. Undoubtedly it is a vital issue, yet, which circumscription needs lots of listen times for the access to be allowed.Listen to it here
8.8
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