These Mountains:These Oceans

2011-01-18T02:36:00.000-08:00

moving city/moving house

2011-01-17T06:33:00.001-08:00

just a quick note. i'm currently in the process of moving from leeds to london where i will be starting a new job at ealing studios. for the time being i'll be located in east london. i will have limited access to the internet for the next few weeks and will be busy setting up/settling in, decorating my new flat etc. these mountains is playing a number of shows as one half of 'ten' including the shhhh festival in london on the 22/01, shows in bristol, wales and newcastle amongst others. there is also a small european tour at the end of february, including dates in france and berlin. i'll try and update the blog as often as i can [providing i can persuade my girlfriend to lend me her computer/wait until she's gone to work]. please continue to check back for updates. thanks for your patience...i should also thank all those people in leeds who have provided love and support, collaborators and those who have helped me out over the years. you know who you are, i shall miss you.

door cassette release

2011-01-17T06:11:00.001-08:00

noise duo door release their second record this month: a limited edition cassette entitled 'puppets of nostalgia'. recorded in leeds during november 2010 the cassette runs for 30 minutes and features new compositions. door formed last year in leeds and consists of bryan smith [tsar, stamina nudes etc] and jonny fryer [these mountains]. further releases to be announced via these mountains blog.

Listen to track click here

2011-01-17T06:10:00.001-08:00

2011-01-17T06:09:00.000-08:00

flatlands

2011-01-12T06:39:00.000-08:00

heartworn highways

2011-01-12T06:35:00.000-08:00

this homespun documentary soundtrack celebrates a circle of some of the finest songwriters in progressive country, just as they were starting to come into their own. the intimate informality of the mid-'70s performances finds guy clark at the center of that circle of texans relocated to nashville, with the then-unknown rodney crowell and steve earle among his acolytes. all of them sound impossibly, irrepressibly young, though the early songs of townes van zandt(particularly "waitin' 'round to die") already carried the world on their back. among the highlights are a christmas eve party at the nashville home of guy and susannah clark, where the singalong ranged from his "that old time feeling" to the crowell-led finale of a spirited "silent night." it's fascinating to hear these artists in their formative stages, making music for fun and for each other, in light of what they would become. --don mcleese

a complete list of songs performed in movie:
guy clark - "l.a. freeway"
larry jon wilson - "ohoopee river bottomland"
david allan coe - "keep on trucking"
big mack mcgowan & glenn stagner "the doctor's blues"
guy clark - "that old time feeling"
townes van zandt - "waitin' around to die"
david allan coe - "old man tell me"
barefoot jerry - "two mile pike"
rodney crowell - "bluebird wine"
steve young - "alabama highway"
guy clark - "texas cooking"
gamble rogers - "black label blues"
peggy brooks - "lets go all the way"
the charlie daniels band - "texas"
david allan coe - "penitentiary blues"
david allan coe - "river"
steve earle - "elijah's church" (partial)
ensemble - "silent night"

"extras" bonus songs on dvdguy clark - "desperadoes waiting for a train"
townes van zandt - "pancho & lefty"
richard dobson - "hard by the highway"
the charlie daniels band - "long haired country boy"
guy clark w/ rodney crowell - "ballad of laverne and captain flint"
john hiatt - "one for the one for me"
steve earle - "darlin' commit me"
david allan coe - "thank you, jesus"

party at guy clark's housesteve earle - "mercenary song"
rodney crowell - "young girls hungry smile"
richard dobson - "forever, for always, for certain"
billy callery - "question"
steve young - "I'm so lonesome I could die"
steve earle & rodney crowell - "stay a little longer"
guy clark - "country morning music"

click here to listen to part one and here to listen to part two

2011-01-10T03:27:00.000-08:00

salem fuckt cdr

2011-01-10T03:24:00.000-08:00

click here to listen

2011-01-06T06:06:00.000-08:00

high, low and in between

2011-01-06T06:04:00.000-08:00

biography by kurt wolff :

townes van zandt's music doesn't jump up and down, wear fancy clothes, or beat around the bush. whether he was singing a quiet, introspective country-folk song or a driving, hungry blues, van zandt's lyrics and melodies were filled with the kind of haunting truth and beauty that you knew instinctively. his music came straight from his soul by way of a kind heart, an honest mind, and a keen ear for the gentle blend of words and melody. he could bring you down to a place so sad that you felt like you were scraping bottom, but just as quickly he could lift your spirits and make you smile at the sparkle of a summer morning or a loved one's eyes -- or raise a chuckle with a quick and funny talking blues. the magic of his songs is that they never leave you alone. despite his warm, dusty-sweet voice, as a singer van zandt never had anything resembling a hit in his nearly 30-year recording career -- he had a hard enough time simply keeping his records in print. nonetheless, he was widely respected and admired as one of the greatest country and folk artists of his generation. the long list of singers who've covered his songs includes merle haggard and willie nelson (who had a number one country hit with "pancho and lefty" in 1983), emmylou harris, jimmie dale gilmore, nanci griffith, hoyt axton, bobby bare, the tindersticks, and the cowboy junkies.

van zandt was a texan by birth and a traveler by nature. his father was in the oil business, and the family moved around a lot -- montana, colorado, minnesota, illinois, among other places -- which accounted for his sometimes vague answers to questions of where he "came from." van zandt spent a couple years in a military academy and a bit more time in college in colorado before dropping out to become a folksinger. (van zandt often returned to colorado in subsequent years, spending entire summers, he said, alone in the mountains on horseback.) van zandt moved to houston and got his first paying gigs on the folk music circuit there in the mid-'60s. he played clubs like sand mountain and the old quarter (where in 1973 he recorded one of his finest albums, live at the old quarter, released four years later), and he met singers such as guy clark (who became a lifelong friend and frequent road partner), jerry jeff walker, and blues legend lightnin' hopkins, who had a large influence on van zandt's guitar playing in particular. another texas songwriter, mickey newbury, saw van zandt in houston one night and soon had him set up with a recording gig in nashville (with jack clement producing). the sessions became van zandt's debut album, for the sake of the song, released in 1968 by poppy records. the next five years were the most prolific of van zandt's career, as poppy released the albums our mother the mountain, townes van zandt, delta momma blues, high, low and in between, and the late great townes van zandt. these included such gems as "for the sake of the song," "to live's to fly," "tecumseh valley," "pancho and lefty," and many more that have made him a legend in american and european songwriting circles.

van zandt moved to nashville in 1976 at the urging of his new manager, john lomax iii. he signed a new deal with tomato records and in 1977 released live at the old quarter, a double album -- and the first of several live recordings -- that contained many of his finest songs. in 1978 tomato released flyin' shoes; the long list of players on that album included chips moman and spooner oldham.

van zandt didn't record again for nearly a decade, but he continued to tour. he moved back to texas briefly, returning again to nashville in the mid-'80s. during the early '80s, both "if i needed you" and "pancho and lefty" became country radio hits. in 1987, van zandt was back in business with his eighth studio album, at my window, which came out on his new label, sugar hill. by this time, van zandt's voice had dropped to a lower register, but the weathered, somewhat road-weary edge to it was as pure and expressive as ever. two years later, sugar hill released live & obscure (recorded in a nashville club in 1985), and two more live albums (rain on a conga drum and rear view mirror) appeared on european labels in the early '90s. in 1990, van zandt toured with the cowboy junkies, and he wrote a song for them, "cowboy junkies lament," which appeared on the group's black eyed man album (along with a song the junkies wrote for him, "townes blues").

sugar hill released roadsongs in 1994, on which van zandt covered songs by lightnin' hopkins, bruce springsteen, the rolling stones, and others, all recorded off the soundboard during recent concerts. at the end of that same year, sugar hill released no deeper blue, van zandt's first studio album since 1987. van zandt recorded it in ireland with a group of irish musicians. van zandt sang every song but only played guitar on one.

a year and a half after the release of no deeper blue, van zandt died unexpectedly on january 1, 1997; he was 52 years old. posthumous releases included collections like last rights: the life & times of townes van zandt and anthology: 1968-1979, as well as albums like 1998's abnormal and the following year's far cry from dead, which featured previously unreleased songs.
the early 2000s saw a resurgence of interest in van zandt's music and enigmatic life; three book projects and two films entered production, and features on the musician appeared in such tastemaking rags as mojo. but perhaps the greatest gem was the discovery of a collection of van zandt demos dating from 1966, a full two years before his proper debut. the ten previously unreleased recordings were issued by the houston imprint compadre in april 2003 as in the beginning.... included in the release were liner notes written by john lomax iii.

high, low and in between
01. two hands (2:34)
02. you are not needed now (4:15)
03. greensboro woman (2:21)
04. highway kind (2:15)
05. standin' (3:24)
06. no deal (3:13)
07. to live is to fly (3:15)
08. when he offers his hand (3:00)
09. mr. mudd and mr. gold (2:22)
10. blue ridge mountains (2:10)
11. high, low and in between (3:13)

click here to listen

2011-01-06T03:37:00.000-08:00

2011-01-06T03:36:00.000-08:00

maya mixtape

2011-01-06T03:35:00.000-08:00

check out this great compilation put together by maya, a sound and visual artist living in brooklyn… this comp was originally released on a cdr by maya to be given to her friends but has taken on a life of it’s own as it has been passed around to so many more folks who want to hear these tracks…. all songs are by bands that maya invited to be a part of the comp and they are all using pseudonyms, but if you listen closely, i’m sure you’ll recognise who at least a few of them are. enjoy on this day of relaxation with friends and family.

click here to listen

daily life necessary and pathetic

2011-01-06T03:27:00.000-08:00

daily life are a two piece from providence, ri & have emerged with a sugar glazed classic of monstrous icy proportions. necessary and pathetic sketches out a sputtering romantic vision replete with horny armies emerging from the darkness set to a lush trash strewn landscape equipped with sputtering drumbot rhythms and croon power set to 10 to ensure moist thongs. this is not a lo-fi stab at synth-pop but a fully formed set of songs executed with maximum vision.

01. rogue fate
02. my time
03. hall of mirrors
04. virgin pilgrim
05. mindless power
06. arousal and dreams
07. there's no solution because there's no problem

click here to listen to samples

haare - chemical witchcraft

2011-01-06T03:26:00.000-08:00

a cosmic holocaust drenched in astral blood.

click here to listen

vertonen & demons

2011-01-06T03:24:00.000-08:00

"grew up in a drought/live enemy"

click here to listen

civilization

2011-01-04T05:33:00.000-08:00

tearist cdr 2009

2011-01-04T05:31:00.000-08:00

after making one of the undisputed albums of 2009, the news that former ghosts are to release a new album this year was a pleasant surprise. upset the rhythm are increasing their status as one of the most important record lables in the world at the minute by putting out the lp, which will be titled ‘new love’. there’s little else to go on at the minute, except that it’s been slated for a ‘fall’ release, and a youtube video has been put online as a teaser. already, it sounds better than pretty much anything else than you’re likely to have come across this year

as well as being frighteningly powerful live, it looks as though freddy ruppert is a man with exquisite taste. as well as having jamie stewart of xiu xiu and nika danilova of zola jesus working alongside him on many of the tracks, he’s also roped in some more talent. yasmine kittles is the latest name added to the list of contributors, with mentions both on the group’s official myspace and their last.fm page. thus far, the contribution appears to be limited to an appearance on a ‘winter’s year’ demo that has been floating around the internet for a while. if that’s anything to go by, then we can only hope that she features some more on the album proper.

of course, it would be out of keeping with the rest of her collaborators if she wasn’t already a supreme musician in her own right. anyone who’s heard any of tearists work will be able to testify that she’s more than that. working with a man called william, the two make an eerie racket based in los angeles. though they’ve not had anything put out on disaro, they have been labelled witch house by many, which speaks more about people’s desperation to create a scene than any reflection of the noise they make. there is a dark, brooding ambience, but it’s backed up with pounding drum beats, whilst kittles vocals run riot over the top. rumour has it that she is an aspiring actress, which might explain the passion in her vocals, which borders on the possessed.

click here to listen

2011-01-04T05:28:00.000-08:00

2011-01-04T05:27:00.000-08:00

theologian

2011-01-04T05:26:00.000-08:00

the further i get from your star, the less light i feel on my face

new project from leech, formerly known as navicon torture technologies. bleak power electronics to get depressed to. really great album, possibly one of my top five favourites of 2010.

click here to listen

le-voyage mixtape

2011-01-04T05:24:00.000-08:00

tracklist:
1. intro: fantastic voyage
2. charles de goal – (retour au) dancing (final mix)
3. the misz – cvc
4. suzy andrews – teenage iceage
5. drinking electricity – good times
6. trek with quintronic – when i was young
7. logic system – talk back
8. das ding – h.s.t.a.
9. sauveur mallia – synthetic neuron
10. laisons dangereuses – peut ehe… pas
11. das ding – reassurance ritual
12. rational youth – dancing on the berlin wall
13. we. – recondition
14. :codes – shadow coat
15. human league – seconds
16. storung – this is future
17. das ding – standing in the hall
18. outro enzo kreft – erotic fantaseesz

click here to listen

marissa nadler cortez the killer

2011-01-04T05:23:00.000-08:00

click here to listen

2011-01-04T05:18:00.000-08:00

2011-01-04T02:00:00.000-08:00

dark new year :::

2011-01-04T01:59:00.000-08:00

dark tekno mixtape by the surveyor

created the night of the nyc blizzard 12/26/10… a spectacular mix of bleak darkbeat by the surveyor (of nihiti) … just in time to ring in the dark new year!

tracklist:
the mover – nightflight (nonstop to kaos)
coil – the snow (answers come in dreams ii mix by meat beat manifesto)
phunk investigation – yes or not (alexi di stefano remix)
dubfire – roadkill (breakfast mix)
karl o’connor, peter sutton, ian j. richardson – death head said
black meteoric star – death tunnel
phresh fantasy – come on acid
thugfucker – disco gnome (tale of us remix)
santiago salazar – arcade
ancient methods – first method 4
nihiti – creep to death
snuff crew – berghain
mc unknown – untitled acid
ben klock – check for pulse
jpls – zero point
steve lawler – out at night (nathan fake mix)
surgeon – badger bite
vegim – blue code
nathan fake – the sky was pink (james holden mix)

click here to listen

2011-01-04T01:57:00.001-08:00

gospels //video// (+) southbeach //mixtape//

2011-01-04T01:55:00.000-08:00

southbeach mixtape by gospels

click here to listen

☨☨fauxmusica☨☨leaving only ghostly traces

2011-01-04T01:48:00.000-08:00

2011-01-04T01:42:00.001-08:00

the grime and the glow

2011-01-04T01:39:00.000-08:00

chelsea wolfe - the grime and the glow (2010)
14 tracks genre: indie, alternative release: 2010 mp3 320 kbps 128.55 mb

tracklist:

01. advice & vices
02. cousins of the antichrist
03. moses
04. deep talks
05. fang
06. benjamin
07. the whys
08. noorus
09. halfsleeper
10. bounce house demons
11. widow
12. gene wilder (bonus track)
13. move (bonus track)
14. you are my sunshine (bonus track)

click here to listen

2011-01-04T01:38:00.000-08:00

CHELSEA WOLFE "BOUNCE HOUSE DEMONS" from CHELSEA WOLFE on Vimeo.

2011-01-04T01:36:00.000-08:00

lovecult presents: no soul mixtape

2011-01-04T01:32:00.002-08:00

side a

raw moans feat. party trash – drunk dial
the weekend – loft music
rihanna feat. drake – what’s my name (high park remix)
zxz – the distance between us (zxz loves sophie ellis-bextor mix)
him – shatter me with hope (ooooo remix)
mia – xxxo (brewgie mix)
gummy†be▲r!- pokrfceremx
†‡† feat. unison – san marino
cream sound vs. ~▲†▲~ – make me lake inside
nattymari – iievol
drake – 9am in dallas freestyle (love cult edit)
the weekend – the morning
myrrh ka ba – g666 (indica slow edit)

side b
gospels – my life remains a sunday
the weeknd – what you need
ooooo – plains is hot
creep feat romy of the xx – days
egyptrixx feat trust – chrysalis records
^ – staring
drake feat alicia keys – fireworks (physical therapy remix)
alicia keys – unthinkable (party trash edit)
ofwgkta – up (chopped and screwed
hype williams – ooovrrr
butterclock – alaska
nguzunguzu – oxxygenation
girl unit – showstoppa

click here to listen side a and here to listen to side b

2011-01-04T01:32:00.001-08:00

happy new year

2010-12-22T05:13:00.002-08:00

2010-12-22T05:13:00.001-08:00

apocalypse

2010-12-22T05:08:00.000-08:00

nick brunner:
the title of your new ep, Ἀποκάλυψις, seems to carry ominous overtones, religious and otherwise. tell me about where it comes from and how it fits into the theme of your music.

chelsea wolfe:
Ἀποκάλυψις is the greek word for apocalypse, a "lifting of the veil" or "revelation." biblical language and themes have always inspired me, the book of revelation in particular. such heavy, dramatic imagery about the end of an era. that imagery, along with the hideous state of the world and the matter-of-fact view of human deterioration in the book atlas shrugged really inspired me for this ep. the songs deal with it on a grand scale and also on a very personal level. it was a spiritual study of the end of the world for me.

nb: your style has been referred to as goth folk music & described by sf weekly as "goth music [with a] deep experimental curiosity." do you identify with these descriptions? and why?

cw: a "deep experimental curiosity" is a good description, yes. "goth-folk" as well. most all of my music deals with dark or melancholy subjects, but it's not typical 'goth' music obviously. often there is a bit of hope that somehow infuses itself into the songs. i like to try different things with each group of recordings. another purpose of this ep was to capture my current bandmates and i in the way that we play the songs live.

nb: so many photographs of you (show fliers, facebook, submerge) see your face eclipsed. the cover of your ep stands in stark contrast to that theme - what brought you to that design? who designed it?

cw: i like to include myself in the image of my music, but not in a completely straightforward way. i felt like showing my face for this cover would fit with the title so i took a self portrait and gave some prints of it to a friend of mine (c. orr) who does these great drawings of strained faces and cryptic symbols - he uses the word "void" in his drawings a lot which i love - he did a few different versions, all with my eyes blanked out, some with drawings on them, but i liked the simplicity of this one in the end.

nb: who are your favorite sac scene bands to tour, play shows with in town?

cw: i really love mountshout, and alak. fancie is one of my favorite musicians from the area. as for a "scene" in sacramento, i'm not really sure if there is one.

nb: when it comes to the show at blue lamp you, crocodiles and dum dum girls all have rather dissimilar sounds. how did the decision to book you with those bands happen over say a lo-fi rock act?

cw: i don't think they were going to have a local band at all actually, but one of my bandmates is friends with brandon from crocodiles so when they said they were coming to sacramento it just kind of worked out. dum dum girls are rad. should be a good show.

click here to listen

chelsea wolfe - tour 2009

2010-12-22T05:06:00.000-08:00

click here to listen

2010-12-22T05:04:00.000-08:00

salem brustreet

2010-12-22T05:03:00.000-08:00

click here to listen

2010-12-22T02:43:00.000-08:00

chelsea wolfe

2010-12-22T02:41:00.000-08:00

chelsea wolfe is a singer/songwriter and eponymous full band out of los angeles, california. inspired by the dark state of the world and the strange connection between all things, she creates a unique musical blend of goth-folk, experimental rock and spiritual realm funeral songs. ask chelsea how to describe her live sound and she will say, "psychedelia without the drugs." ask her - if a song could be a soul mate which would you choose? - and she will reply, "koni priviredliviye by vladimir vysotsky." with influences ranging from the great minds of ingmar bergman and david lynch, to soviets and end-times literature, her songs conjure visions of other dimensions, claustrophobic echo-rooms and parking garage cathedrals. wolfe has recorded two full length albums, the grime and the glow, out december 28, 2010 on limited vinyl through brooklyn's pendu sound, and her latest record, (apocalypse). she is keeping busy touring the us west coast and planning a tour of france in march 2011, gathering loyal followers, and is now recording a third album titled russian karaoke. compared to the likes of nick cave, siouxsie and the banshees and pj harvey, wolfe's music is rooted in truth but reaching beyond the horizons.

click here to listen: advice and vices

2010-12-22T02:40:00.001-08:00

salem water ep

2010-12-22T02:39:00.000-08:00

click here to listen

yes I smoke crack

2010-12-22T02:25:00.000-08:00

yes I smoke crack is the debut release from michigan and chicago-based band salem. gaining fast popularity, the ep, limited to 500, sold out in pre-sales. the ep was pressed on white vinyl. a video for the song "dirt" was produced by the band, and gathered public interest due to its odd setting. in an interview with butt magazine, john holland stated that the name of the ep was something he may have seen somewhere, and that he just felt it was the right name, in summary.

click here to listen

2010-12-22T02:23:00.000-08:00

2010-12-22T02:22:00.000-08:00

island diamonds

2010-12-21T03:02:00.000-08:00

amanda brown co-founded not not fun records in 2006; she and friend bethany cosentino formed the duo pocahaunted the following year. the group has released over a dozen albums, a few eps/singles, and several split releases, generally preferring the vinyl and cassette formats over compact disc. their releases often have handmade/hand-painted artwork. the group has toured heavily since its inception and has had its music released by a wide array of experimental record labels, including ones based in europe. they disbanded in august 2010.

pocahaunted's sound has undergone many stylistic shifts. their early music was primarily based on improvised drones and filled with disorienting reverb and dub production techniques. during this time, they often called themselves "the olsen twins of drone," in a tongue-in-cheek manner. cosentino left for new york to focus on her sunshine pop project best coast ca. 2009, necessitating a lineup overhaul for pocahaunted, including the addition of brown's husband britt brown (a.k.a. robedoor) on guitar and diva dompe (of blackblack) on bass guitar and vocals. the band re-emerged in 2009 with a more upbeat, funk rock-based sound, while retaining dubby bass lines and a tribal overall sound.

island diamonds review

in recent years, pocahaunted have been one of the most active groups on the us improv/psych scene, releasing countless cassettes and other such ephemera, but seeing a proper cd album release by them is something of a novelty. island diamonds apparently took three months to make, which surely renders this one of the more intensively crafted records in the band's discography. it's also one of the strangest. metal drummer bobb bruno weighs in with electronic drums and raccoo-oo-oon's andy spore provides sax, bolstering up an album that reconfigures bethany and amanda's folksy, spiritual noise transgressions of old into something approaching conventional structure. in fact, the clattering, ramshackle reggae of 'ghetto ballet' and 'riddim queen' are fairly explicit in their allegiance with grimy, slow grooving dub. most unexpected, and very very good - boomkat review

click here to listen

2010-12-21T02:16:00.001-08:00

2010-12-21T02:15:00.001-08:00

2010-12-21T02:14:00.000-08:00

chubby checker 1971

2010-12-21T02:11:00.000-08:00

chubby checker became popular when his 60' s dance hit called "the twist" caused a teenage dance craze that took the nation by storm. he went on to record several other dance-themed hits and had as many as five albums in the top twelve at once. unfortunately, chubby's hit-making career came to a grinding halt in 1965 when the public's taste veered into the more exciting music of the times such as psychedelic rock and folk.

however, chubby decided to experiment with psychedelic rock and bluesy-soul with this rare gem released in 1971 entitled chequered/new revelation. these sessions were helmed by record company scam-artist ed chalpin(the same guy behind the bootleg jimi hendrix w/ curtis knight releases ) who first released them in europe in 1971 and in a cutout-version in america. he was notorious for recording no-name studio bands playing the current hits and then he would quickly sell them to record companies in europe and south america to stay ahead of the copyrighting laws.

goodbye victoria opens up with a slow lurking piano groove that is begging to be lifted by the weathermen for their next hip-hop masterpiece. then, chubby's soulful vocals lift the song to greater heights and the piano and hammond organ chime in with the glorious gospel-inflected chorus of "time won't forget you victoria/time just won'letyouvictoria/goodbye victoria/everybody's going to the moon." after the chorus, the hammond organs sound off for a brief interlude and then segueway into the second verse of the song. there is an incredibly funky hammond organ breakdown after the second chorus that sounds like it's highly influenced by jimmy smith. what makes this track so unforgettable is that it has soul dripping from it's pores. you can feel the pain that chubby was feeling in each and every heart-wrenching verse. my mind comes from a high place features blistering guitar solos, funky drum breakdowns and soulful psychedelic vocals that remind you of the band of gypsys.

on if the sun stops shinin', chubby comes out shining with a beautiful vocal that could be compared to bill withers on "lean on me". stoned in the bathroom starts out with a playful carnival organ and martial drums intro that leads into chubby's hazy verse about being "stoned in the bathroom/on a sunday afternoon/stoned in the bathroom/just sitting on the moon." then, the bridge/chorus ignites the track with a fiery guitar/organ combo that goes for broke. towards the end of the track, chubby screams at the top of his lungs which seems to push the band into overdrive for the last thirty seconds of the song. overall, this is an amazing record that is definitely worth looking for.

click here to listen

alan vega jukebox babe

2010-12-21T02:08:00.000-08:00

click here to listen

burial hex

2010-12-21T02:07:00.000-08:00

initiations", the debut recording for aurora borealis, is a lengthy proposition. clocking in at one hour, thirteen minutes, it represents a journey, a metaphysical odyssey of uncertain outcome. from the psycho-religious clamour of 'will to the chapel' with its jihadic cries, through to the somnambulant, subterranean oscillations of 'eight pentacles', the way ahead is far from clear, the atmosphere claustrophobic and threatening. 'the river of los' showcases a new breadth of vision for burial hex with layers of undulating analogue synth and gentle percussion, an opiate addled take on the horror electronics hinted at previously, and perhaps an indication of things to come. this long track takes the listener on a river journey, part apocalypse now!, part orpheus in the underworld, submerged in carpenter's dense fog, slow moving discomfort and ague. the album ends with the half speed collisions, static miasma and white noise squawl of 'bo -ii- ne', the listener deposited on shores unknown, prostrate at the feet of the infinite mystery.

click here to listen

2010-12-17T03:29:00.000-08:00

2010-12-17T03:28:00.000-08:00

little hells

2010-12-17T03:26:00.000-08:00

on little hells nadler builds upon the medieval soundscapes of her previous albums. what we get that's different from her is a greater emotional depth and reach. the music, lyrics, and the images they conger envelop the listener and take them further into nadler's personal world than ever before.nadler's songs are pretty yet stark dreamlands. tracks such as "loner" swirl around you, creating an ethereal fog through which you can see, and almost touch, the places and people she sings about.

the haunting vocals are the main attraction on little hells. however, chris coady's deft production touch, and the wrenching musical arrangements (like the music box sound on "heart paper lover") provide an exquisite frame for nadler's beautifully touching voice. while little hells does hold it's gothic minstrel continuity well, there are some intriguing musical elements included. "mary comes alive" features a hollow electronic backing effect, while the title track boasts a compelling medieval twang. the album concludes on the strangely uplifting "mistress". little hells proves that marissa nadler has come a long way to filling the void for those of us who lament the absence of hope sandoval on the musical landscape.

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the saga of mayflower may

2010-12-17T02:42:00.000-08:00

sharing a startling similarity to a female fronted dream city film club, marrisa nadler is new york songstress who cites william blake and edgar allen poe as lyrical peers... buckle up, I'm going in. sharing a vial of dna with both nick cave and kate bush, 'the saga of mayflower may' evokes the image of oh-so serious individuals sat on ocean cliff-tops as the sun sets, reciting their poetry to each other whilst a their thatched cottage burns in the background. or is that just me? based around wickerman guitars, bells, ukulele and pipes, nadler's folk influences are plain to see throughout, whilst her voice is a curiously listenable proposition that dips and dives wildly at every given opportunity. with the likes of 'under an umbrella', 'mr john lee (velveteen rose)' and 'my little lark' possessing an ethereal, hinterland bound quality, 'the saga of mayflower may' delivers a collection of charming and bijou songs that are both unsettling and strangely comforting.

click here to listen

2010-12-17T02:40:00.000-08:00

2010-12-17T02:38:00.000-08:00

songs III bird on water

2010-12-17T02:37:00.000-08:00

for her third album, marissa nadler is accompanied by various members of psych-folk heavyweights, espers, and consequently allows her songs the kind of detailed arrangements previously not found in her recordings. while her precise, fingerpicked guitar and unmistakeable, reverb-cloaked vocals remain at the heart of the album, the presence of helena espeval's cello, and otto hauser's percussion (is there anyone he doesn't play drums for nowadays?) lift nadler's ghostly ballads to a new level. thematically, this record is consistent with nadler's preoccupations with death and mourning, but musically, she's clearly raised the stakes. more emphatically than ever before, nadler proves she can pen a memorable chorus when she wants to, and the fleshed-out arrangements only add to this. greg weeks contributes, not only as a synthesizer and electric guitar player, but as a co-producer too, and the fact that this album sees nadler's songs presented with a far greater emphasis on variety than on her previous works, probably has a lot to do with his presence. opening with the spectral beauty of single 'diamond heart', nadler provides a definitive statement of her songwriting prowess, aided greatly by jesse sparhawk's tremulous mandolin. other highlights come in the shape of an excellent leonard cohen cover ('famous blue raincoat') and the supremely maudlin 'feathers', replete with windswept strings and achingly sweet vocal harmonies. with this, by far her most accomplished album to date, marissa nadler amply deserves the wider audience it's bound to win her. highly recommended. [boomkat]

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marissa nadler

2010-12-17T01:37:00.000-08:00

marissa nadler (born april 5, 1981) is an american dream-folk and fine artist based in boston. she grew up in a small town in massachusetts. she studied painting at rhode island school of design but song-writing became her favored artistic outlet. while exploring old artistic techniques such as illustration, painting, bookbinding, woodcarving and encaustic painting, she also began to hone her songwriting craft. she is a self taught guitarist, who as a teenager learned to play in a style similar to cotton picking, playing a steady bass pattern with the thumb and filling out syncopated rhythms with the index finger. she is also self-taught as a singer. her voice was described by the popular online music website pitchfork media as "a voice you would follow straight into hades. in the boston globe, her voice and music is described: "she has a voice that, in mythological times, could have lured men to their deaths at sea, an intoxicating soprano drenched in gauzy reverb that hits bell-clear heights, lingers, and tapers off like rings of smoke. hardly anyone considers nadler a folk musician."

music critics describe nadler's songs as having american gothic leanings; her stories often take place in an imagined, idealistic time with a cast of characters of her own creation. yet, in recent years, it has emerged that the characters are less make believe than listeners thought and are based on real people, and their real lives, which she revealed in an interview with the music website stereogum.com her links to american gothic are reinforced by "annabelle lee," the last song on her debut album, ballads of living and dying, which puts the poem of the same title by edgar allan poe to a musical backing. singing in a mezzo-soprano, the foundation of her songs are her acoustic guitar, often accompanied by a variety of instruments, ranging from organ to theremin to electric guitar.

marissa nadler released her first album, ballads of living and dying, on eclipse records in 2004; her follow-up, the saga of mayflower may, was released in july 2005. both records were distributed in the us by eclipse records, and by the uk label beautiful happiness in europe. eclipse records' ed hardy, who runs a mostly vinyl record label formerly in the desert of bullhead city arizona, is credited by marissa herself as having brought her into the musical world. marissa released her third record songs iii: bird on the water on peacefrog records in europe on march 12, 2007. the album was released in the us and canada on august 12, 2007 by kemado records. songs iii: bird on the water was nominated for two plug awards in 2008: best female artist of the year, and best americana record of the year. marissa won "outstanding singer-songwriter of the year" in the 2008 boston music awards, with three nominations altogether.

her fourth full-length record, little hells, was released march 3, 2009, receiving high praise from many critics including 4 star reviews from magazines such as mojo, rolling stone in france and germany, uncut, q. it received an 8.3 from pitchforkmedia.com, with critic grayson currin writing, "surrounded by little else but her own melancholy, nadler sums up her career's existential despair: 'ghosts and lovers/ they will haunt you for a while,' she sings. and while they do, little hells suggests through 10 of nadler's best songs yet, the sadness will either kill you or keep you going."

in early 2010 she contributed to the black metal project xasthur, with the final album "portal of sorrow"

2010-12-14T03:16:00.001-08:00

2010-12-14T03:14:00.000-08:00

2010-12-14T03:12:00.000-08:00

spectral duppymaan black metal

2010-12-14T03:08:00.000-08:00

metal from unexpected countries is a subject as played out as photo series of juggalos. it’s fun to look at people who don’t know better when you do, or something like that, and that’s really gross. then again, the liberal middle class celebrating foreigners/the oppressed masses (as long as they don’t move next door) is something that’s gone on for centuries, so it’s worth not getting too stressed about that sort of thing and accept it as part of a bigger problem: everyone in the world is a dick. the oppressed masses are capable of some pretty unpleasant behaviour themselves, you know, so don’t worry about it, che, it all evens out in the end. whatever your feelings on that sort of thing, I’m sure you’re all aware (I’m assuming you’re all regular readers of the red and anarchist black metal blog, right?) that they’ve got black metal in the caribbean now, and despite what we said about this being a played out subject, how weird is it that they’ve got black metal in the caribbean!?

it’s actually just two guys. one seventeen year old in barbados called conrad who mixes and a jamaican guy called orisha shakpana. of course, this is thrilling because the caribbean is a long way away from norway and the frosty climate that we associate with bm, and it’s also a bit second world, which adds a bit of wildness and danger into the mix, it sounds pretty patronising when you write that stuff down, doesn’t it? fuck it, here are some mediafire downloads of their demos, they’re pretty fascinating. it’d be sad for these guys to be seen exclusively as curios, though.

from conrad’s myspace: august 5th 2009 e.v. conrad was summoned in the eastern grasslands of st. philip by 17 yr old kadeem ward (veldt soldaat/emdeka). the project rebels against that which is “accepted” in the anti-metal community of barbados. with the goal to preserve and teach historical tales and ancestral myths, conrad fuses the elements of afro-caribbean rhythms & sounds with epic orchestral ambience and highly distorted riffs influenced by the groundbreaking bands of the early norwegian black metal scene. the project’s themes are highly focused on barbadian folklore which either tells dark or mesmerizing tales about the island’s early inhabitants, nature, paranormal events and various mythical creatures (conrad is said to be an irritable ghost who possessed women and live in their stomachs). other lyrical themes reflect on early african tribes and orishas.

conrad – oceaan kroniek
click here to listen

conrad is the only metal project from barbados, a relatively small island in the caribbean. the band was started on august 5th 2009 in the eastern grasslands of st. philip by then 17-year old kadeem ward (veldt soldaat/emdeka). members of such black metal bands as fornost (nicaragua) and orisha shakpana (jamaica) have also contibuted to conrad's releases.

as for the name - conrad is said to be an irritable ghost from the bajan mythology who possessed women and live in their stomaches. according to the project's mastermind, "with the goal to preserve and teach historical tales and ancestral myths, conrad fuses the elements of afro-caribbean rhythms & sounds with epic orchestral ambience and highly distorted riffs influenced by the groundbreaking bands of the early norwegian black metal scene. the project’s themes are highly focused on barbadian folklore which either tells dark or mesmerizing tales about the island’s early inhabitants, nature, paranormal events and various mythical creatures. other lyrical themes reflect on early african tribes, orishas and pirates of the caribbean".

while the music of conrad is definitely influenced by black metal, overall it's more of ambient folk/pagan metal with lots of synths. or maybe even "pirate metal"?.. yaarrr!!! anyway, it's much better than i expected, very melodic and atmospheric (but not very raw or brutal). the archive includes all the artwork and lyrics (some of which are even in yoruba language!), along with mp3 files.

today, kadeem ward is working on conrad's next demo, "conrad within". looks like the society of barbados is very hostile to any forms of metal, and it's hard to him to find any like-minded people there, but he have already found a drummer. this future release will be far more darker and eerie in terms of the musical, lyrical and visual aspects entailed. of course i'd upload it too, if he send it to me. it's cool to have readers even in barbados! article from here

orisha shakpana – spectral duppymaan black metal
click here to listen

burzum dauði baldrs

2010-12-14T03:07:00.000-08:00

dauði baldrs or dauthi baldrs (english: "baldr's death" or "the death of baldr") is an album by the norwegian black metal solo project burzum. however, this album is an ambient/neo-classical album. the album was recorded using a synthesizer and a normal tape recorder while varg vikernes was in prison, as he was not allowed to have any other instruments or recording equipment. it was completed in a few months due to his limited access to synthesizers, which was also the case with hliðskjálf.

the album is about the legacy of baldr, the second son of odin in norse mythology. most likely a concept album, as the whole album leads up to ragnarok, the battle at the end of the world in norse mythology.

the album was originally supposed to be named baldrs død. the misanthropy promo cd sent out prior to the album's release had this title, as well as a different cover. additionally, some copies of the album have a misprint of the burzum logo, spelling it "burzu". rare original pressings of the lp include an eight-page booklet with artwork and norwegian text as well as a set of six tarot cards.
stylistically, the album is a mix of medieval music, ambient, classical and minimalism, a huge stray away from the raw black metal that characterised burzum's earlier work. some songs are very folk-driven and medieval, while some are sparse, hypnotic ambient minimalist songs, particularly "illa tiðandi". the songs contrast each other quite a lot, with the title track, "bálferð baldrs" and "í heimr heljar" being the most medieval-like. móti ragnargkum contains monophonic sections mixed with other thicker sections. "illa tiðandi" is easily the most minimalist track, with only two sections being repeated over the 10:29 duration, which are both simple piano melodies, which are eventually accompanied by a choral chant.

click here to listen

2010-12-09T02:18:00.000-08:00

2010-12-09T02:14:00.000-08:00

burzum hvis lyset tar oss

2010-12-09T02:12:00.000-08:00

hvis lyset tar oss (english translation: if the light takes us) is often regarded as one of, if not the, greatest achievements in black metal history. not only has the album been a major influence to many different bands (not just black metal), but it is also admired for depicting the black metal genre in its purest and rawest form.

to better understand hvis lyset tar oss, we must first take a brief look at the man behind it all, the infamous varg vikernes. varg vikernes, also known as count grishnackh, is the former bassist for black metal pioneers mayhem. in the early nineties, varg was convicted of arson upon numerous churches throughout norway, most notably the fantoft stave, a historical building that had been around for centuries (a photograph of the church after it was destroyed was later used for the cover of burzum's aske ep). his most notorious crime however, was the murder of mayhem member øystein "euronymous" aarseth. while his motives for the murder are still relatively unclear, vikernes himelf claims that he was only acting in self defense and that euronymous planned to kill him first. his conviction of the murder landed him twenty one years in prison, a sentence that he is still living out to this day. and although vikernes is a self-proclaimed pagan and an advocate of nationalism and anti-theism, none of these sentiments directly influence the album itself.

while bands like ulver brought a lighter, folk-influenced sound into black metal, vikernes chose to go in the opposite direction. the first three tracks of the album are bound to be some of the most morbid and unrelenting songs you will ever hear in your life. the first track, "det som en gang var," is the backbone of the album and arguably one of the best black metal songs ever recorded. it starts off slow, setting up a dark, gloomy atmosphere that will remain for the duration of the album. then, it continues to build in intensity until you're faced with a haunting, atmospheric, raw wall of sound and presence that does not let up until the final song of the album. the album continues in this general direction until the forth and final track, "tomhet." "tomhet" is the track that brings everything back down and concludes the album. instead of invoking the same feelings of death and despair as the rest of the album, "tomhet" creates a calm and peaceful atmosphere with its droning ambience and soothing keyboards.

the ability of vikernes to convey so many different emotions throughout one piece of music never ceases to amaze me. on the surface of hvis lyset tar oss, you'll hear some of the most brutal and despairing music ever. but below its dark and depressive shell, you're likely to discover an atmospherically beautiful album full of raw passion and emotion that has yet to be surpassed.

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aske

2010-12-09T01:50:00.000-08:00

aske (norwegian for ashes) is the second release by the norwegian black metal artist burzum. it was recorded in april and august 1992, and released in march 1993. bass guitar on the ep is performed by samoth of the band emperor.

the cover is a photograph of the fantoft stave church after its arson on 6 june 1992. varg vikernes (aka count grishnackh) was strongly suspected of burning the church, and the photograph is widely believed to have been taken by vikernes himself. the first 1000 copies of aske were packaged with a lighter bearing the same image.

aske was later re-released as burzum / aske alongside the songs from burzum's debut album.

click here to listen

2010-12-08T02:10:00.002-08:00

2010-12-08T02:10:00.001-08:00

alan vega collision drive

2010-12-08T02:08:00.000-08:00

one half of the seminal electronic duo suicide, alan vega was born in brooklyn, new york in 1948. he began his career as a visual artist, gaining notoriety for his "light sculptures; " eventually vega opened his own lower manhattan gallery space, which he dubbed the project of living artists. the project served as a stomping grounds for the likes of the new york dolls, television and blondie as well as the 15-piece jazz group reverend b., which featured a musician named martin rev on electric piano. soon, vega and rev formed suicide, whose minimalist, aggressive music — a fusion of rev's ominous, repetitive keyboards and vega's rockabilly snarl — helped paved the direction for the electronic artists of the future. suicide disbanded in 1980, and both vega and rev undertook solo careers. vega's 1980 debut and his 1981 effort "collision drive" continued to explore the fractured rockabilly identity he had established in his earlier work. 1983's "saturn strip", produced by longtime fan ric ocasek, marked vega's debut for elektra records; corporate relations soured during production for 1985's "just a million dreams", however, and at one point the label even attempted to remove the singer from his own studio sessions.

"collision drive" continues the trend started on the first alan vega album of incorporating vega's love of '50s rock and r&b. "ghost rider," which sounded cold, sleek, and mechanical on suicide's first album, now becomes an upbeat rockabilly rave-up. vega covers gene vincent's "be-bop-a-lula" and plays it mostly straight (although he does throw in his trademark howls and yelps, along with some synthesizers). the two versions of "magdalena" aren't really different enough to justify their presence, although the song itself is likable. the track that stands out the most, however, is the 13-minute "viet vet," an extended poetic rant in the pattern of suicide's "frankie teardrop." it will either seem like a brilliant piece of performance art, or it will sound unbearably self-indulgent, depending on a listener's tolerance for vega's excesses. for the most part, though, rollicking tracks like "raver" and "rebel rocker" are enjoyable and exciting enough to offset any of the less successful experiments. "collision drive" may be uneven, but at its best, it will definitely provide more than enough smart art pop to chew on. [source: amg]

click here to listen

2010-12-08T02:07:00.001-08:00

2010-12-08T02:06:00.000-08:00

halloween (1978)

2010-12-08T02:05:00.000-08:00

the success of the original halloween launched six sequels, a ravenous decade's worth of imitators, and hollywood careers for star jamie lee curtis and director john carpenter. but its budget was a micro one, and director carpenter managed to save a few bucks by hiring the same composer he'd worked with since his days as a student and struggling indie--himself. borrowing the staccato rhythmic devices of mike oldfield's tubular bells cum exorcist score, carpenter overlaid them with a few simple grand guignol-esque synth chords and created nothing less than a surprisingly enduring horror classic. carpenter also gleaned a few hints from italian prog-rock horror-score kings goblin, imbuing his simple, synthesizer-based cues with an almost subconscious sense of dread, tension, and impending doom. if the music has become something of a modern cliché, that's only a testament to its continued ability to strike terror in the hearts of listeners. --jerry mcculley

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valerie and her week of wonders

2010-12-08T01:57:00.000-08:00

continuing their ongoing mission to seek out old records and boldly go where no crate digger has gone before, the finders keepers crew have excavated another utterly essential piece of cinematic history - and this one's right up my street. sadly i have never seen the film this soundtrack has been disengaged from before (something soon to be remedied, thank you internet shopping) but when you mention eastern europe, vampires, perverted monks and sexual discovery my ears and eyes are wide open. the cover itself is a rather fabulous looking blood-spattered daisy... i mean, i don't even have to hear the music and i'm sold - it's just so darned inviting. luckily the shimmering sounds held captive beneath the legend are even more enticing than i would have realised, perfectly summing up everything i adore about library music, film music and cinema itself. we've got it all here - glockenspiels, choirs, harpsichord, string sections, flutes - every boxed is less ticked, more blotted out with a giant magic marker. yet not once do the pieces sound overdone or cheesy, there's a tendency in this scene to lavish praise on the more 'ironic' exotic sound of 70s exploitation flicks, the whole porn music sensation. 'valerie and her week of wonders' is no such soundtrack, this is so much more than cheap filler for a bad media party, don't take my word for it though, trish keenan from birmingham's finest exports broadcast gives her verdict in the liner notes claiming that she loved the film and soundtrack so much she wouldn't even copy it for her friends. i think you probably get the idea - this is life changing stuff, sitting somewhere between folk, psychedelia, choral music, avant garde classical and traditional music. don't think you can label it though, it's a record you need to hear to truly understand its mystery and awe-inspiring atmosphere - i've said enough... you know what you have to do.

click here to listen

2010-12-08T01:56:00.001-08:00

2010-12-08T01:52:00.000-08:00

horror scores for the dancefloor

2010-12-08T01:47:00.000-08:00

horror scores for the dancefloor, vol. 2

pendu disco… aka “horror scores for the dancefloor” is a dance party dedicated entirely to new + classic dark musick for the dancefloor featuring live shows from touring aritsts as well as nyc artists (from the known to the ‘need-to-know’) followed by a dance party with guest djs spinning new+classic darkbeat, synthpop, industrial, electro, italo, cold, minimal, post-punk, cosmic disco, slowed, et al…

tracklist:

fostercare – scavenger
ooooo – mumbai
the detachments – fear no fear
follower – silver sash
skinny puppy – the choke
white car – a path
human ppuppets – reise nach deutschland
nitzer ebb – hearts and minds
white ring – suffocation
front 242 – lovely day
circuit 7 – video boys
ministry – the angel
black devil disco club – the devil in us
crossover – dark blue
salem – frost

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jim o'rourke remove the need

2010-12-08T01:44:00.000-08:00

cs, complacency, 1989
dope early sound sculpturing from mr o'rourke.

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occult blood - stephen hawking c10

2010-12-08T01:43:00.000-08:00

stephen hawking was released in a set with two other cassettes, robert ebert and christopher reeve all limited to 100 copies on labels magik crowbar, sweat lung and destination failure. this is occult blood's more harsher blown out material compared to some of their other releases and live performances that are more along the lines of grindcore or punk.

click here to listen

2010-12-07T08:09:00.003-08:00

2010-12-07T08:09:00.001-08:00

2010-12-07T06:36:00.001-08:00

grave wave

2010-12-07T06:26:00.000-08:00

1. grave wave grāv-wāv noun:

a term used to describe the recent musical upswing of all things dark and deathly. encompasses witch house, post punk, neofolk, ebm, death rock, goth, electro, 80s revivalists, batcave purists, et al. frequently accompanied by a strong graphic aesthetic: symbols, videos, visual and performance art. sometimes creeps into the mainstream (see: cold cave, the horrors). sometimes remains purposefully under-underground.

continue reading article

—–
to accompany this article with the help of some of the bands and labels featured we have created and exhaustive three-disc compilation showcasing this “grave wave.” these three discs contain almost three hours worth of music featuring new and exclusive music, remixes and fan favorites from some of the most interesting and exciting bands making music today. 35 tracks total at just over 2.5 hours!

a pdf of the entire guide to grave wave article is included along with each disc.

мишка presents the guide to grave wave [disc 1]
1. these new puritans – orion
2. dream affair – silent story
3. his electro blue voice 0 black veils
4. screen vinyl image – siberian eclipse
5. blessure grave – stranger in the house
6. soft metals – hot on the heels of love
7. //tense// – turn it off (valis remix)
8. funerals – aitu (lqd live edit)
9. pink priest – snake flick its tongue
10. scorpion violente – ray ov gold
11. ðose – spells

click here to listen

мишка presents the guide to grave wave [disc 2]
1. hussle club – good morning midnight
2. white car – spread spit slap
3. these new puritans – white chords (stalker remix)
4. night gallery – mary bell
5. lake r▲dio – always
6. gr†ll gr†ll – they all
7. passions – endless
8. warm hands – darker
9. memory tapes – green knight (creep remix)
10. ghxst – holy speed
11. m△s▴c△ra – krystalmeth/alanwatts

click here to listen

мишка presents the guide to grave wave [disc 3]
1. gatekeeper – visions
2. salem – asia (jokers of the scene remix)
3. fostercare – heat high (refix)
4. party trash – beast
5. lust for youth – on your knees
6. cult of youth – lace up your boots
7. gummy†be▲r! – gurl
8. cccandy – blood and guts
9. black math – bottomless sea
10. †‡† (ritualzzz) – kvltstep
11. dadfag – twins
12. mater suspiria vision – the ring
13. nowa huta – nowa huta vs. pink priest (nowahutarmx)

click here to listen

2010-12-07T05:27:00.000-08:00

2010-12-07T04:06:00.001-08:00

todd brooks pendu mixtape

2010-12-07T03:54:00.000-08:00

pendu nyc is an art gallery, an online magazine, a record label, and puts on art and music events in new york since 2005. it is run by todd brooks who kindly answered to a few questions and made us a great mixtape.

in todd brooks’ own words, pendu is a curatorial organization working in parallel mediums, here to bring to the forefront the best of the new, the best of what is happening now…

tracklisting:
01. chelsea wolfe - bounce house demons (out soon on pendu sound recordings)
02. louise huebner’s 1969 “seduction through witchcraft” with dj screw “phil collins- in the air tonight”
03. †‡† - initiation
04. underground resistance – storm
05. chris & cosey – mary
06. vita noctis - against the rule (1985, first slowed minimal dance track that i know of)
07. die form & dz lectric – untitled
08. atelecine - kitchen light (pendu sound recordings)
09. mater suspiria vision - exorcism of the hippies (out soon on pendu sound recordings)
10. family - n.o.
11. modern witch - in your eyes
12. ghxst – memoria
13. twilight ritual - I never called you a dream
14. coil - tainted love
bonus track:
15. bass patrol - twenty 15`s (bp drag)… (1992, first use of the word “drag” referring to slowed-music)

click here to listen

2010-12-06T07:33:00.002-08:00

2010-12-06T07:33:00.001-08:00

strange keys to untune god’s firmament

2010-12-06T07:28:00.000-08:00

cd1:
01. shivering aurora
02. starlit mire
03. enochian tapestries
04. city of dis
05. gateway to blasphemous light
06. basement of an impure universe
cd2:
01. nibelungen
02. blood mirror streams
03. blackened angelwings scythe the billowing void
04. chaotic demons fly in to my eyes
05. skar konstellation
06. rheingold

skullflower are one of a number of bands that grew out of a jaded punk scene, featuring individuals that wanted to continue to test their audience by producing even more unacceptable levels of sonic oblivion. they formed in 1985 having evolved from a much darker vehicle, the band total, who in turn had been shaped by members of pure. for the next eight to ten years, all of these players worked alongside each other to create a catalogue of bruising, psychotropic mindfood. skullflower took an elongated hiatus in 1996 after the release of the album this is skullflower but their continuous discography is proof enough that they never really left us. strange keys to untune god’s firmament is their first brand new studio album in thirteen years and it’s certainly not for the faint of heart. having been described by the label as “not easy listening by anyone’s standards”, it is of no surprise to find that skullflower are still experimenting with their extreme assault.

with ‘shivering aurora’ throwing you straight in at the deep end from the first note, there is immediately a sense of panic, a loss of sensation and ability to breathe. for nine minutes the slowly warping, sucking industrial machine drags you down, but with acceptance comes a heightened sense of perception. the dissonant dirge shifts discreetly, like sand particles that never quite settle. then, the pattern cuts out to be replaced by the steady mechanical boom of ’starlit mire’, which comes up at you from beneath the white noise, feeling almost like a replacement for the heartbeat that you soon realise has gone missing.

not often do I find myself reaching for an album such as this; I find the intensity of the experience all too overwhelming, each track merely an elongated, stagnant wave of oppression, but prior experience has taught me that with discipline comes a certain level of self-detachment not often found in other extreme genres – the mind is suddenly free to wander. I am alone in a bell-tower for ‘enochian tapestries’ surveying a sea of people far below; I am being stonewashed to death by vast mechanical hoses during ‘city of dis’ and again during ‘nibelungen’; I am aboard a craft approaching warp speed during the marvelously-titled ‘gateway to blasphemous light’, and yet really, all this time, I have been merely sitting here drinking in what is essentially just a vast ocean of fragmented synth, dirty feedback and white noise.

there are moments where lucidity fails me. ‘basement of an impure universe’ has the most obnoxious tweet and succeeds in pushing me over the edge, whilst ‘blood mirror streams’ threatens to turn my skin inside out such is the scouring intensity of its bass roar. ‘blackened angelwings…’ and ‘chaotic demons…’ dare to break out into a disconcertingly bellicose black metal drone, but then we get a track like ‘skar konstellation’, uniquely forming a series of ear-rending explosions, teasing me into ramping up the volume just one more notch.

sktugf is an utter riot in which to immerse yourself, a cacophony of messages all sounding off at once, but, given time, the careful layering does seem keen to reveal much that is hidden within the gritty folds of its skin.

click here to listen

2010-12-06T03:51:00.000-08:00

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2010-12-06T02:25:00.001-08:00

HORSE MACGYVER (///▲▲▲\\\) - rub from fsck. on Vimeo.

HORSE MACGYVER (///▲▲▲\\\) – rub from fsck.. ///▲▲▲\\\ – rub from fsck.

2010-12-06T02:24:00.001-08:00

horror scores for the dancefloor

2010-12-06T02:21:00.000-08:00

pendu nyc mixtape! “horror scores for the dancefloor, vol. 1”

pendu disco… aka “horror scores for the dancefloor” is a dance party dedicated entirely to new + classic dark musick for the dancefloor featuring live shows from touring aritsts as well as nyc artists (from the known to the ‘need-to-know’) followed by a dance party with guest djs spinning new+classic darkbeat, synthpop, industrial, electro, italo, cold, minimal, post-punk, cosmic disco, slowed, et al…

1. no more – suicide commando
2. death in june – the calling
3. cyberaktif – paradiessiets
4. front 242 – u-men
5. detachments – to the night
6. led er est – wait for you
7. ministry – we believe
8. chris & cosey – driving blind
9. public image ltd. – the order of death
10. revolting cocks – no devotion

click here to listen

2010-12-06T02:02:00.000-08:00