can you recall a particularly memorable listening experience? what was the setting, what was the music? were you lying down, or with friends in a crowd?
in my life a few moments come to mind.
a field recording of found sounds listened to with the windows open on a warm afternoon. early spring. sounds of city, insects, wind melding together. curtains blowing and, inside me, a pervasive half-waking state. gray and bright and warm
.
or, as twilight darkened and the din of nightlife grew more lush, an open screen door revealing a rickety wooden porch is accompanied by the following album. a mystical moment of two worlds meeting.
the music i gravitate towards seems to revolve around an axis, though not always symmetrically on all sides; there are always cycles, naturally-occurring and inherently repetitive. i think the prime inspiration of some music is the commonality of our bodies' respective homeostases; perhaps there is even a more overarching generalization to be made, one to include all life forms:
that all beings experience stability, both at microcosmic and broad social levels, and that echoes of these concealed processes registered in conscious existence draw us to sounds which entice us toward meditation and introspection.
(this at least applies to me, overly-analytical and sonically-sensitive fuckmonkey that i am.)
there is music that imitates this regular, beating heart existence - that which both you and i share - though the experience of our own sounds and systems are often clouded by noise and static. maybe all of music, or at least rhythm, brings us back to the breathing and beating of the beasts that we are. i know house music has made claims to this - the rhythmic continuity of such music in a public space can provide a safe, belonging feeling as though a larger organism made up of strangers is merging to the same rhythm.
example one of repetitive introspection is this track from texas-based windsor for the derby's 1996 album minnie greunzfeldt ~
"stasis"
young gods records
some music, however, calls back to a historical past and is also free from overt rhythmic usage.
i am not sure how i came across ellen, a stockholm-based sound artist, composer, and musician, but her latest full-length, for organ and brass, has completely mesmerized me as of late.
is it the fact she studied tuning techniques with la monte young and marian zazeela? is it because this piece was recorded on and composed for a 400+-year old german organ? or is it because i am recently finding out about the wonders of just intonation and this piece entered my ears at precisely the right moment when i was becoming completely exasperated with what felt like a limiting spectrum of sound that i was faced with at my equally-tempered keyboard?
( thoughts on just intonation / equal temperament (what even is the difference between tuning and intonation?) are to follow; it is still a completely new world for me. with that said, i have been a worshipper of la monte young's five-hour long well-tempered piano for years now - as have many. that work is nigh unbeatable in scope, scale, innovation, and impact. it must be noted that young was also a disciple of still older musical traditions.
and so it continues. )
hidden within the harmonic framework of the renaissance organ are
intervals and chords that bare a close resemblance to those found in the
modalities of traditional blues music ~
the brass instruments and the organ fall into patterns of interaction in which a new breathing instrument emerges ~
and then there is music which seeks to imitate the known functions of the brain utilizing patterns and feedback loops between humans and technology.
the very day that i choose to write on this particular subject i am graced with the presence of an incredible young composer of electronic and experimental music -
repetition and ideally infinite permutation of patterns as media to perceptual insight ~
. . .
her latest work, patterns of consciousness (important records, 2017), is an utter masterpiece.
composed via "disciplined and exclusive use of machinery (an indexed quad sequencer and an harmonic oscillator)" (source), these four tracks contain sound which definitively synthesize new states of consciousness.
she is as much a philosopher as composer, as much an amateur neuroscientist (as any decent human ought to be) as a mystic, and i am incredibly impressed and inspired by the depth of her analysis regarding her own work ~
sound as an agent of change
a pattern creates a certain state of consciousness. once it is
created, the pattern stands as an object exactly like the sound waves
which generate it. we are at the same time inside and outside of the
object. while being it, we observe it.
over time we become familiar with the inner structure of the
pattern. we decode its gravitational centres, where our psycho-motor
attention is attracted, where everything seems to be drawn. when a
change in the pattern occurs it causes a perturbation of the previously
established field of forces. this causes consciousness to fracture, potentially unfolding
layers of perceptions we weren't aware of or simply suggesting that we
access only a fraction of our own psychic potential.
the layered nature of consciousness and the relativity of
perception are some of the big secrets we can experience through sound. can sound synthesise new patterns of consciousness? in patterns of consciousness, repetition and permutation of
patterns are explored as tools to reconfigure perceptions and bend
emotions, approaching sound as a medium to develop and master our own
perceptual art.
there are four tracks on the album, which may be streamed on her youtube channel. while it is difficult to pick a favorite, the one i shall show you is the one which initially drew me in to the world of the album.
"scratches on the readable surface"
version 1
"SOTRS"
version 2 (❤)
i feel heavily inspired upon hearing this work, but am admittedly even more thrilled by the writings which accompany the album - i feel as though this is one more signpost on the way towards the total musical and metaphysical realization i've been aching for my whole adult life (and the vision is constantly being shaped by others and the world).
the bell is only truly rung once out of a thousand strikes. but when those vibrations sink in, i can go on humming for a long time. ideally infinitely.
it is funny to note that caterina barbieri did a
dissertation on la monte young and hindustani music, which is the exact
intersection of world and sound which interests me.
. . .
difficult to not include here is another work by caterina composed collaboratively with kali malone ~
"glory (final movement)"
composed at EMS in stockholm 2015
recorded at villa strozzi in florence 2016
the final movement of glory is a slowly evolving canon for two
electric guitars and spectral freeze inspired by polytempic
canons, modality and overtone-centered harmony ~
its pristine and severe
patterns pour monumental landscapes of bliss from the pythagorean
region of the harmonic spectrum ~
this piece also caught my attention because of the heavy and satisfying drone used, as well as the glorious overtones; the jangly and high-tenor tone of the guitars; and the interplay of the two as one and separate - it reminds me a lot of popol vuh! all that delicious space.
kali's solo work is definitely worth checking out as well; she is in many projects (including shoegaze band swap babies).
please enjoy the undulating beauty of this guitar work.
. . .
i think in most of my independent research i am constantly looking for inspiration, listening out for the sound which i've heard before but is being presented in a completely new and invigorating light - all while already inwardly knowing. is what i'm really looking for just an outward affirmation of the known? why would i not be content with following my own instinct through to its fullest potential?
last year it was steve reich and piano phase music, the year before (and still continuing into today) it was post-hardcore and punk and other such band music that utilized interlocking and repeating bass + guitar + drum patterns. this year, i think, i am finally happening upon the glaring obvious - synthesizing (what a fantastic word, that) the disparate musical and philosophical and cultural and spiritual and scientific practices into one combined being.
to live is to be involved in countless processes which are simultaneously running at their own pace, by their own devices. what if sound really can be (and already has been) used to both imitate/reflect and affect the listener? at a level deeper than just the emotional?
seems like i'm the last one to know about this... but perhaps i've just been skirting around it this whole time, for whatever reason. it's worth endless thought and experimentation. why not?
why can't we know try to know more about ourselves and the way we operate through art?
Here is the Seattle-based experimental collective Sun City Girls technical third album, initially released on cassette in 1986 then reissued on LP in 1994 (and once more for CD in 96). It is essentially an album of covers, although about eleven of the tracks are original, mostly eerie spoken word tracks. A few of the tracks may leave your throat hurting. Midnight Cowboys from Ipanema is 'what happens when two boys get ahold of a portable cassette recorder with weak batteries.' I haven't listened to nearly enough SCG to give an educated response to this album, so from a plebeian's point of view, I would have to say that this is the most incredible thing I've heard in, perhaps, forever. These may not be completely original songs, but they are completely original renditions and transformations. I have only really heard "Who's that Lady" and "Tell Me Something Good" in their original versions before, but they have definitely undergone amazing mutations to become these warped, otherworldly-classic rock/psychedelic creations.
"Me and Mrs. Jones" is by far my favorite track on here, though. As I mentioned to a friend, it reminds me of basking in the smoke of a seedy Japanese café during the eighties, hearing it performed among a scattering of sunflowers. This album is really just beautiful in every way.
01 I've Done It All 02 Fly By Night (Written-by Geddy Lee, Neil Peart) 03 Achram, Slow That Speed Boat Down 04 Midnight At The Oasis (Written by David Nichtern) 05 Gary Had Sex 06 Sweet City Woman (Written by Rich Dodson) 07 I'm Gonna Die Tomorrow 08 Who's that Lady (Written by Chris Jasper, Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley, O'Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley) 09 Cook Ya Homos 10 Love Train (Written by Gamble & Huff) 11 Caco Demons 12 Malika 13 Radar Love (Written by Barry Hay, George Kooymans) 14 My Sperm 15 Brandy (Written by Elliot Lurie) 16 Canadian Dave 17 Tell Me Something Good (Written by Stevie Wonder) 18 Desperado 19 Me And Mrs. Jones (Written by Cary Gilbert, Gamble & Huff) 20 Ha Ha
Rättö Ja Lehtisalo is the project of Finnish musicians Mika Rättö and Jussi Lehtisalo, who can be associated with acts like Circle (!!!!!!!), Moon Pharaoh Overlord, and others. UU Mama is their fourth full-length, as far as I'm aware, and there was just a new release by the duo this year.
This is pretty much a mixed bag. Although there are elements of the folky, psychedelic, and daring electronica, one might describe their music as just catchy pop (or something closely related). From what I translated of a certain review, they consider Kraftwerk to be an influence? Not important. It's Finnish, which already adds a degree of unusual atmosphere to the listening experience.
White Suns is a Brooklyn, NY-based noise trio. Theirs is a chaotic, angry, yet uplifting noise. Holy and untouchable, or something. On their last.fm, one person says, "Lightning Bolt meets Slint?"
Here is a quote by Kevin Barry, guitarist and vocalist in White Suns:
"I don't identify with the shut-your-eyes-and-pretend-nothing-is-happening mindset, like the chillwave bullshit going on right now. We live in NYC, where there's homeless people facing tough times making ends meet, and the economy is shitty. For someone to sit in their room and make bedroom pop music that isn't about anything outside of some girl who doesn't like them, I think that's irresponsible when you have a large audience."
That cover reminds me of a certain Slowdive cover... forgetting the name at the moment.
Kolya were a midwest band who created this full-length and two EPs in the late 90s/early 00s. As stated elsewhere (just, elsewhere), it's a Slint-inspired band in terms of instrumentation and delivery, for sure. To me, however, there is another undefinable quality to Kolya I don't really find in Slint. There are the same narrative-type vocals but there is also passion, rage, urgency. Think La Dispute - truly moving delivery of lyrics. "Astronaut" is pretty, reminds me a lot of Polvo, and the last two tracks are absolute perfection.
Edit: "Horizon," the final track, is the epitome of post-hardcore perfection .
Kunteynir is a Moscow-based collective of underground hip-hop artists (Техник, Блёв МС, Смешной) and В Гавноis their second album.
It opens with the notes of Schubert's A-flat Impromptu, and from then on a terrifyingly brilliant mishmash of jazzy, abstract beats and lyrical accompaniment unfolds in a mesmerizing, nighttime-colored, fun-filled ride through a fuzzy alternate world. Cigarette smoke and shiny, expensive cars. Grease and sweat and filth. Classy streetfights and flickering lamps. Shadows of shivering trees and the rubbing of tennis shoe on pavement. Mystery all around.
Sov Gott Rose-Marie is this underground Swedish experimental/psychedelic/folk ensemble's first and only release. International Harvester became Träd, Gräs och Stenar in 1969, and continue to create more prog/Amon Düül II-ish type stuff, but that is beside the point.
This is an absolutely, absolutely ABSOLUTELY stunning album. Completely stunning. Listening to it now on repeat, I am just in utter awe of the perfect, intimate beauty of these songs. I am reminded of some Bergman films, like Summer with Monika and Wild Strawberries. A mystery that is transcendental, warm and radiant. Communal peace and stability achieved through glorious repetition. Candid minimalism - children yelling as they play, the music grows dark yet women still sing. One can just envision charcoal-colored smoke rising from a gathering, many heads hung over a fire as the music carries their souls across worlds and universes unknown. A dog barks. Each track on Sov Gott Rose-Marie (Sleep Well Rose-Marie) is like a hand-crafted wooden sculpture. This album is a work of psychedelic magic, mantric lyrics hypnotically chanted in both Swedish and English while traditional melodies and rhythmic, battle-like drums spin away as in some dreamy medieval orchestra on a grassy hillside.
I am in love with this treasure of the past.
Notes:
- Tracks 1 to 13 were originally released as an LP in the spring of 1969 by Love Records (Finland).
- Track 14 is an previously unreleased bonus track.
- The first eleven tracks and bonus track (14) were recorded on August 10-12th 1968 in Nacka Aula, Stockholm, directly on two channels with natural acoustics. The effects were made afterwards.
Los- Jubilee is a new Tel Aviv-based label, their name coming from a neighborhood in west Jerusalem and run by electronic artist Harel Schreiber (Mule Driver, Mujahideen and The Models). The music they release focuses on "raw electronic music, ranging from acid house to deep, unfunctional electronic sounds, while preserving both the liveliness and roughness of life."
Shefa Shefa (Wealth) is a field recording of two taxi drivers having a passionate discussion analyzing the behavior of local economic trends, social movements and the secrets of love. Mule Driver's opening track is a ghetto house version, using a repetitive sample of the dialogue which translate into "here we have plenty, plenty" (plenty also meaning "wealth"). Yair Etziony (False ind, Neo Ouija, Spekk) combines almost the entire recording on top of a dark ambient techno background. Rei Elbaz, DJ and a veteran producer, contributes an aggressive acid techno version. The compilation closes with "One Plus One," the first track by The Models in three years. The final track on the EP is the original field recording, meant to invite the listener to make a personal version. I only wish I could understand the meaning of what is being said in the field recording, but ah... well... I find this a very interesting compilation.
as you ALL hopefully know by now, Death Grips is a fairly new band who fucking rule. here is their latest... or a link to the pre-order at least. links up for free download can be found here.
i might like it better than exmilitary, their first album, but it's pretty hard to tell. enjoy.
this is the greatest thing i have heard all year, and it was only released 9 days ago on bandcamp. please listen to it.
information on the album itself:
"Recorded in San Francisco, California from 2005 to 2009. Drum machine, records, field mics, dat, guitar, synths, and found objects. This album was created with pagan story-telling structure, hip hop bass, and punk diy ethics. Witchbeat-Noisepunk for the kids."
So fucking incredible. This is like seriously the most amazing thing you will ever hear in your lifetime.
30,000 Monkies is a Belgian four-piece noise rock/stoner metal band, and this was their debut EP. They have some Electric Wizard and some Earth in their sound but mostly this is like the next level of amazing stoner/noise rock.
This cover you see here is what happens when you try to extract more information from less information, for better or for worse.
Naked on the Vague is a mysterious Australian two-piece band who make mostly minimalist noisy new wave music with the occasional art rock elements. The singer is also a girl with a really low voice, so I'd say this is very similar to HTRK.
Sad Sun was one of Naked on the Vague's first releases, and in the past 4 years they have released a number of other EPs and full-lengths (two EPs came out last year). Theirs is a ritualistic and depressive yet sexy and rhythmic noise, and for those reasons I was hooked.
Really lovely and uplifting noisy/indie pop rock. I really didn't know how I would feel about this but I can safely say it is a safely fun and inventive album. So be safe.
Deleted Scenes is a pop rock (I dislike this term, but it fits + (some noise)) duo from Maryland founded in 1998. From what I can tell, this is their second full-length, the first being released about 3 years ago.
My favorite tracks were "Bedbedbedbedbed," "Nassau," and "The Demon & the Hurricane." These are all god-tier tracks.
Young People's Church of the Air is totally Animal Collective-worship. Or any band that sounds like that. Just a precaution, or a friendly reminder, if you will. They would do better constructing warm, sad, rainy lo-fi songs out of the poppiness of their more AC-sounding songs. Actually I don't know anything forget it.
I'm having a lot of trouble believing this came out in 1979. Nothing comes even close to the sheer corrosiveness of their sound. I am really in love, and I don't care how many times I say that.
Teenage Jesus and the Jerks was a post-punk/new wave/experimental noise band from New York active during the last few years of the 70s, founded by James Chance and Lydia Lunch.
Pink, or the band's self-titled EP, combines material from two of their preceding EPs: Orphans (1978), and Baby Doll (1979) with two tracks from a live recording of the band in the fall of 1977 (now to be found on the release Live At Max's Kansas City 1977).
It's all very, very short. Their entire discography is a little over 18 minutes. I like it that way, however. Succinct brutality is the sweetest.
this is... quite possibly... no... without a doubt... the greatest... rap mixtape... of all.... time....
if there was ever a way in heaven or hell that i could have sex with this i would. i love the rapping, i love the beats, i love the lyrics, i love the track names, i love their voices i love their randomness i i i
Oh yeah, this album is so so so so so so so so goddamn incredible. Honestly. It is energetic and all over the place, pulsating with some indefinable, attractive chaos. The frantic sounds edge around psychedelia and a constant, steady beat keeps it moving. The vocals, which by the way are unforgettable, reminded me of Les Georges Leningrad. They're the kind that grate against your ears but leave you begging for more.
Mi Ami is a San Francisco-based noise rock/experimental trio founded in 2007. They've been releasing EPs and 12"'s since 2008, and Steal Your Face is their second album of three (the latest one being from 2011). Fuck everything else on your to-do list today or lack thereof and listen to this album now.
Something else that I admire about this band. They have very nice track names which are ordered in such a way that they seem to... need each other...? lkdwnn told me about this, so thanks @ him.
01 Harmonics (Genius of Love) 02 Latin Lover 03 Dreamers 04 Secrets 05 Native American (Born in the U.S.A.) 06 Slow
As a bizarre French punk band who incorporate jazz, punk, and even some classical into their shrieking, riotous sound, Lucrate Milk is a band most people haven't heard of, but love once they do. I think. Here is a compilation of tracks from a 1983 split with MKB Fraction Provisoire, a 1983 EP entitled Nepla Relou, and their 1987 full-length I Love You Fuck Off. Enjoy.
