Eachothers/En Passant split (Watercolor - CD-R)

Eachothers played a killer set at the wygant house this past fall, fusing electribe samples as well as some beautiful ambient guitar work. Many of the same tracks from his gorgeous set are featured on this new release which showcases eachothers texture blending abilities and forrays into sound collage. Perfect late afternoon zoning music. En Passant's side of this cd-r features floating piano lines and deep ethereal grooves. This release is drowned in delay and reverb and perfectly blissed out. Baltimore's ambient scene is really picking up steam through Watercolor, who has been releasing a string of great tapes and cd-rs from some of Baltimore's best experimental musicians.

Full download here:
http://www.wtrclr.com/

Spring Mixtape 2011

In an effort to keep everyone up to date with some musical ramblings I decided to put out a mix of some of my recent favorites. This isn't necessarily a collection of what's new, rather some favorites to enter a droney spring:

1. Midnight Cleaners - The Cleaners From Venus
The cassette culture gods at work. Weirdo dubbed out track.

2.  Untitled - Suzanne Kraft
The last track on his new Missum EP. Sparse, with it's minimal echoing drum pattern a late night zoner for sure.

3.  Ramona - Run DMT
Baltimore/Brooklyn's Run DMT is a bit mysterious and the most I've has been on mixtapes. I hope to hear see some of his music on wax later this year....

4.  Ripples - Moon Duo
A softer and dronier side of Moon Duo from 2009. Quite a difference from the harder stuff on Woodsist, but a welcomed departure.

5.  On The Boardwalk - Ducktails
Ducktails never ceases to amaze me in his output, fuzzy and beachy vibes.

6.  Black Bile 1 - Living Torch
Portland by way of New Jersey droney classical guitar? hell yeah.

7.  Untitled 1 - Gem Vision
Recorded on a 4-track in Baltimore, this is a great introduction to Baltimore's ambient scene. Gem Visions most concise work.

8.  Nopera Fin - Dustin Wong
Dustin Wong's solo work often consists of layers upon layers of guitar loops and this is no exception. Beautiful sound collage on his tape off of Water Color.

9.  Struttin - Edibles
Dubbed out pdx jams

10.  Vessel - Grouper
Off of Grouper's split with roy montgomery, beautiful, ethereal, and one of my favorite recordings in recent years.

11.  Es's - Julian Lynch
Underwater People's has put Ridgewood on the map. New Jersey has it going on.

12.  EM E GEE - INEVERYROOM
Baltimore insanity. Just Listen.

13.  Track 9 - Languis
Beautiful electronics from Los Angeles. Check out the tape on Discotheque Records, one of the most criminally underrated electronic groups.

14.  Let The Sweets Be Filled - Ladyshapes
Portland ambient vibes. Zone the fuck out.



Spring 2011

Lady Shapes

new jams from the portland ambient chillers lady shapes. ambient style ramblings. give it a listen:

Jam 1 (With WYLD WYZRDZ/Braden McKenna) by ladyshapespdx

SFV Acid - New West Coast (PPM Records - LP)

Acid fueled beats and heavily reminiscent of early 90's IDM, this record is an exercise in oceanic synths and mpc processed beats. The first vinyl release from SFV, and hopefully there will be more coming soon. Definitely one of the best electronic joints ive heard in awhile. Pick it up from PPM, only 500 copies. The first fifty on red, white, and blue swirly pinkish wax.

Grouper - Experimental 1/2 hour

Experimental 1/2 Hour - Episode XI: Grouper from Experimental 1/2 Hour on Vimeo.

Grouper's droning tape loops create some beautiful textures. For those of you who missed her at the Artistery, this is a bit of a teaser on the new sounds. Looking forward to the new release in April....

Edibles

edibles. portland, oregon. dubbed out jammers.
More coming on Not Not Fun Records soon....




Edibles-In The Jungle by spacefunk99

Hold the Way

grouper/roy montgomery split - 2010

Eternal Tapestry - Beyond the 4th Door (Thrill Jockey Records - LP)

Effortlessly channeling Kraut and Psych, Portland's infamous Jammers are brought to your home stereo on red marbled vinyl. Heavy rhythms and swirling improvised guitar lines reminiscent of Neu and Can, with a touch of Sonny Sharrock. An adventure into another dimension, and the closest theyve come to recreating the intensity of their live shows yet.

To all my fellow Portlanders

Well the artistery is coming to a close. A sad day.
The good news however is that friday and saturday they will be throwing some amazing shows.
If you are anywhere near Portland. you need to be there. grouper played an hour long tape collage last night. is there anymore motivation needed?

http://www.artistery.net/article/artistery-closing-week-shows

Sun Ra & His Myth Science Arkestra - Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy (Saturn Records - LP)

I don't think theirs an easy way to start with Sun Ra. It seems with every record he released he was pushing boundaries in a different direction. Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy seems however as a precursor to psychedelic music. Cosmic Tones is like a bizarre dream into a world of jarring chords and floating horns that swim intricately over percussion drowning in other-worldly delay and reverb. This is super spacey and given its recording date of 1963, way ahead of its time. You can hear its influence in early Funkadelic records as well other psyched out jazz records like Bitches Brew. While it doesn't seem to get lots of credit as a mainstay of Sun Ra's catalogue it was definitely far reaching and needs to be heard.

Space is the Place

The great Sun Ra. Enter a new world of enlightenment.

Peaking Lights - 936 (Not Not Fun Records - LP)

Peaking lights newest release on Not Not Fun is full of homemade electronics, dubbed out grooves, and fucked up dance rhythms. The floating vocals match perfectly with the lush synth lines providing maximum aural pleasure.

Moebius - Tonspuren (Sky Records - LP)

One half of Cluster, Dieter Moebius, was a genius innovator of electronic music. This record always seems to slip through the cracks, while many talk about Sowiesoso, Zuckerzeit, and other LP's among Clusters vast collection of releases Tonspuren is equally as important. A bit lighter and more minimal than many of Clusters works, it serves as a more personal forray into Moebius' world. A definite late night record and one you'll need to give some time to wrap your head around, Tonspuren manages to be abrasive and melodic at the same time. One of the most brilliant pieces of kraut minimal electronic pop.

Damu

there is a lack of hiphop on this blog. unacceptable.

Blues Control - Local Flavor (Siltbreeze Records - LP)

I acquired this record 2 summers ago on a hot day at other music in the east village. It was my first trip to New York City, and this record always brings back fond memories of that summer. Blasting it in my room at my parents house and marveling at how simple this record is at its most brilliant moments. Dubbed out drum machines, kraut rock ambience, lofi flavor, and mixed in a stew of east coast fuzzed out weirdness. This record didn't get alot of attention upon its initial release but it would definitely be in my top 10 records of the last decade. While fuzzy and drone heavy Blues Control retains a sense of order in their swirling loops. It has clear direction while being open to experimentation and as the record progresses it is evident the band is pushing themselves farther and farther into newly found territory.

SFV Acid

spaceeyyyyyyyyy

Lantvrn

Darkly psychedelic? Moody droney pop? Opium induced daydreams? just enjoy the trip.

portland, oregon

J. Greinke - Timbral Planes (Dossier Records - LP)

While ambient may always seem technological, futuristic, and devoid of organic sound, Jeff Greinke flips that idea on it's head on Timbral Planes. While the focus is on floating synth lines which create layers of atmosphere and beautiful fields of sound these mechanical sounds are contrasted with the use of hand percussion. Tribal sounding percussion instruments and ambient electronics are not two things that come to mind when describing the same record. Greinke however, integrates the two very well. This one is a little rarer but still not an expensive lp. Give it a few quality listens.

Spinnin'

http://www.lclark.edu/college/student_life/klc_radio/

click listen.
mondays 4-6 pacific standard time.
kraut dub ambient electro psych experimental.

Tolerance - Divin (LP - Vanity Records)

While this one isn't easy to find, a new bootleg version of it has just been released so you won't have to shell out the $200 bucks for a copy you have to ship all the way from Japan anymore. Tolerance was a band from Osaka who released 2 lps on Vanity records. Vanity was a label pioneered by Yuzuru Agi in 1978. Agi, a music journalist focused on releasing electronic music that heavily relied on experimentation. Falling somewhere between melancholic ambient and minimalist techno Divin is like a dark daydream. It feels beautiful and melodic and yet retains dark sensibilities. The instrumentation is sparse and full of space for reverbed drum machines and sharp synth tones. Hopefully we will be seeing more Vanity repressings in the near future...

Sean McCann - Chances Are Staying (Lp- DNT records)

Having just bought a new turntable, lately folks have been stopping by to listen or have been bringing over records they love. Chances Are Staying was lent to me and has struck my ear in a way that has prevented me from being able to take it off the turntable. A delightful mix or organic and synthesized instrumentals, some ambient, some with floating rhythmic textures. Both showcase McCann's brilliant songcraft. Whether he takes a freeform approach or a more melodically structured one the songs come out completely mesmerizing. While the songs are long and drone filled they also manage to be lush in a clear and vibrant way. Pick this one up before it goes out of print!

Austin, Texas

I've always had a fascination with this town. My mother was born there to students at The University of Texas, and naturally I grew up hearing stories about the crazy 60's and 70's in this town, where my Uncle would later go to school, and my family would often travel to.

As I grew up I found my musical upbringing would begin to blossom as I sat around a dusty turntable at my grandparents house In Fort Worth(where my grandmother had moved a few years after my mother was born) listening to the Beatles, Pink Floyd, and countless other bands. These years instilled a deep love of music in me, I was fascinated even by early Simon & Garfunkel tapes my grandparents would play to help me sleep. It was a starting point in my growing obsession with record collecting.



Even with this connection to Austin, I never truly knew of the influence Austin had on the Psychedelic music world until a few years ago after viewing High Fidelity and falling in love with the opening track of the film, "You're Gonna Miss Me" by The Thirteenth Floor Elevators. The Thirteenth Floor Elevators, who were led by frontman Roky Erickson, popularized the term "psychedelic rock" with the name of their first record, "The Psychedelic Sounds of the Thirteenth Floor Elevators"



Austin's influence only began with The Thirteenth Floor Elevators. The band's label International Artists, based in Houston, was largely directed by Lelan Rogers, the brother of country star Kenny Rogers. International Artists began picking up other Austin Bands such as The Golden Dawn, as well as Bubble Puppy, and Red Crayola(at the time based in Houston). These artists would have a wide stretching influence on the world of Psychedelic music and arguably play a more prominent role on the further development of garage and psych freakout music than even San Francisco.



The Red Crayola's tape loops and freeform noise, would become prominent in the development of the no wave and noise rock movements later based in New York City. The group's record The Parable of Arable Land is often cited as one of the biggest influences on modern lofi and noise music. In addition the records of Bubble Puppy and The Golden Dawn would become underground classics, masterworks of the acid generation.



The songs of these artists were not mere introductions to the world of lsd, or glorifications of the flower power generation. They were masterworks of psychedelia in a state that largely ignored the genre, and because of this they never received the proper credit they deserved. That being said, the influence Austin had on Psychedelic music cannot be ignored.

Do you have Soul? That all depends....

Some great northern soul.

Ducktails - Lost (Fuck It Tapes - Cassette)

Matt Mondanile has been one of my favorite musicians over the last few years. He's released a string of great cassette's, lp's, and 45's on some great labels(not not fun, woodsist, underwater peoples, among others.) I first heard his music on the Underwater Peoples Summertime Sampler in 2009, and ever since then his psychedelic pop tunes have been a warm and fuzzy reminder of some good times spent bummin' around on humid east coast summer days. This cassette is a bit of a departure from his previous releases, even featuring a dilla drum loop. The mood has become almost lonely and isolated since his previous lackadaisical beachy early days but this is a welcomed departure. A collection of tracks that didn't quite make it to his latest release on woodsist and stuff that had been sitting around, it sheds light on what may be a foray into darker lysergic loops for Mondanile who has already perfected his brand of fuzzy psychedelia.

Limited to 200 Copies so snatch up one if you can find it.

don't forget your roots.

Tony, Caro, & John - Born on the First Day (Gaarden Records - LP)

Hello folks,

I've been on a Psych binge lately, and found this great old record by a band called Tony, Caro, & John called Born on the First Day. It was recently repressed by a great little label named Gaarden which is based out of Baltimore. It's an amazing blend of folk instrumentation and Syd Barrett style songwriting. And the record is on Green Vinyl. So be Sure to Pick it up.

The Psychedelic Aliens

Hello folks of the interwebs!
I apologize for the lack of posting lately, however, i hope you all have been well. I stumbled upon an interesting record by a band named the psychedelic aliens. Some great psych influenced afrobeat from late 60's/early 70's Ghana, discovered by the great crate digger, Frank Gossner. Enjoy!