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.