Valet - Blood Is Clean (Kranky, CD)

If I could choose one person to define Portland, it might just choose Honey Owens, a.k.a. Valet. Owens who co-owns Rad Summer, a rad portland vintage clothing and music store on East Burnside has been a fixture of the portland music scene for years, playing in tons of different projects including Jackie-O Motherfucker and nudge. She has embodied that kind of create your own job and live to create vibe that runs strong here in a way that has inspired tons of new folks to get involved with the Portland arts scene.

Enough about her personal life though, this record put out by Kranky in 2007 is a beautiful foray into moody, atmospheric, ethereal soundscapes that conjure up the deepest feelings your soul has to offer.

Seemingly aimless on a casual listen, the deeper you look into each sprawling loop and vocal line shows a striking level of composition and of care in each note.

The meager equipment used greatly benefits the ambient feel of the record. Fuzz gently creeps into the swirling guitars and gentle percussive loops.

This record will bring your mind into a new world. Just sit back relax and enjoy your trip.

You can listen to some mp3's or order your copy here:

Valet - Blood Is Clean

All Songs Go to Heaven - Lizz King (Ehse Records, Vinyl)

Maybe it's just because i'm from Maryland, but i fucking love Lizz King. From the upbeat cheering at the beginning of the first track "Proletariat Delinquent" to the bouncy drum machines and ukeleles of the last track "Twit" this record has tons of energy to go along with it's freak folk experimentation. 


Lizz King's diversity shines here, from the freaky banjo fueled tune "Teeth and Lips" to the synth driven "Booty Queen" King's songwriting is on display. I'm just glad i get to tag along in her  dream world of demented pop songs.


Ehse is building quite a collection of oddball records. If you haven't checked um out you should go to their website. They're putting out some of the best records in Baltimore, plus they're nice enough to let you listen to all of them for free!


You can hear this record here:
All Songs Go to Heaven

Been Here All My Days (Mississippi Records, Vinyl)

I was trying my best to hold off on another post until tomorrow, but alas, I have been up late tonight listening to some newly bought lps with my friend Hilary. The third record of the night was this very one, Been Here All My days. The record is a collection of blues tracks from the George Mitchell Archive. George Mitchell was an absolutely incredible field recorder who travelled around the south from the early 1960's to the late 1980's collecting blues recordings of absolutely incredible yet unknown musicians.


This particular selection starts off with a lively a-side. Slide guitar, rusty voices,and tough southern stories. It really gets going on the b-side however. The b-side is an absolutely inspiring compilation. The guitar work is absolutely magnificent. Precious Bryant's Georgia Buck reteaches us the art of fingerpicked guitar, showing us the roots of many of todays most celebrated fingerpickers like jansch and drake. The record moves on with another spectacular track Good Morning Judge by Furry Lewis, which features the same luscious fingerpicking with the addition of slide guitar.


The record closes on a Robert Johnson(not the same one you're thinking of) track Hold My Body Down, a gritty southern chant.


You can download the mp3's here:
Been Here All My Days

Try to find it on vinyl! just google it people! I mean really! Don't be a bitch! Support good tunes! :)

Anina - Kenneth John Gilmore (Discotheque Records, Cassette)

From Discotheque records comes a little cassette from Kenneth John Gilmore, or I guess you could say a cassingle(or whatever witty word folks have come up with to describe 2 song'd tapes).

To give a little background, Gilmore is currently a member of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, adding in some guitar and keys for live shows, and contributing heavily to Ariel's new live sound.

The first track "Anina" is a gorgeous track of bouncy bass and guitar, conjuring up equal parts early Underwater Peoples releases and Brian Wilson. The real stride here is in it's production on reel to reel tape. Warm analog fuzz, but not quite the overly fuzzed sound of White Fence or Woods. It's a nice mixture of sunny southern california vibes, and simple beautifully recorded pop music.

The second track "Thick Leaves" while much less poppy than Anina, is a track that'll put you into a moody groove, full of beeps, eery piano lines, and an 80's sounding drum machine. A perfect contrast to the simple beauty of the A-side.

You can hear a clip here:
http://discothequerecords.bandcamp.com/track/kenneth-j-gilmore-anina-preview

Or even better buy it here:
http://discothequerecords.wordpress.com/releases/

The Eyo Beats 60 Africa 70

Hello Internet wanderers!

This is the initial post of what will hopefully be a constant stream of new oddball, out of the way awesome tunes. 

Before I delve too far into my little crazy late night brain however, lets get down to some good old crackly tape music.

While I was wandering around Mississippi saturday with my good friend Angela I came across Mississippi records. Well, not really came across since I made a concerted effort to get to north Portland to  go to said record store..... regardless we walked into Mississippi and I found this little tape right before heading up to the counter to drop some bills on some soulful, hipshakin' tunes.

This tape is a collection of 60's and 70's African music from around the continent. While most of these artists hail from East Africa, especially Nigeria, the collection stretches all the way to Nairobi. Full of horns and funky polyrhythms these beats will get your hips shakin and crack a smile on your face. The horns are full of body and the tracks go from heavy dense beat structures all the way to sunny day headshakin vibes. Put this in your tape deck and enjoy 90 minutes of pure joy in your eardrums.

for those without a tape deck here's a little link:

V/A- The Eyo Beats: 60 Africa 70 (Domino Sound 31 *Cassette)

enjoy!