Thursday 8 July 2010

Invite the Spirit 1983

Henry Kaiser, Charles K. Noyes & Sang-Won Park

Recorded in 1983, originally released in 1984 on Celluloid, then reissued on Tzadik in 2007.

Henry Kaiser is one of the most prolific and versatile American free improvisers of the last 50 years. He’s played with a massive variety of artists during his 30+ year career, working with the likes of Fred Frith and Derek Bailey, but also treading ground with the Grateful Dead, Jim O’Rourke and Richard Thompson. This album sees him teaming up with Charles K. Noyes - a percussionist with whom Kaiser’d often play downtown at this time - and Sang-Won Park.

The presence of the South Korean Park is what brings the album it’s unique sound. His kayagum playing, unique vocal style, and the spirit he invites on what must be one of, if not the first fusion of downtown free improvisation and traditional Korean instrumentation, melds bizarrely and impeccably with Kaiser and Noyes.
The music on this record is very sparse and strange…

….I couldn’t find this on any other blogs….so enjoy!

1. Hurum 6:31
2. Choton 6:25
3. Yonggari 5:41
4. Sinpuri 17:51
5. Sirum 5:37
6. Pah 9:06
7. Tah 4:19
8. Sansoo 6:25
9. Oo-Aa-ly 12:28
Total: 74:21

feat….
Henry Kasier - guitars
Charles K. Noyes - percussion, saw
Sang-Won Park - kayagum, tanso, vocals

megaupload



Wednesday 7 July 2010

Choons

....music...

"I am Nothing"


Tracklist:
1) Nothing 3:12
2) Nothing is Me 6:59
3) I am Nothing 6:15

Total: 16:24


feat. TP Bath - guitar, piano, cymbal, vocals

All the music was improvised, but overdubbed.

Download it HERE

Tuesday 15 June 2010

Muzikagain

...yet more music
"Heian Jidai Transit Authority"

Tracklist:
1. Kagaribi 7:20
2. Supermassive Accretion/Te Laat Blues 7:34

Total: 14:35

featuring...
TP Bath - guitars, keyboards, percussion, vocals, recorder, full walton boogie

All the music was improvised, but overdubbed.

"We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance." - Ancient Japanese proverb

DOWNLOAD it HERE

Monday 14 June 2010

Some mo' muzik

....some music I recorded today

"Van Lawaai"


Tracklist:
1. Voetnoten 3:24
2. Het Geluid van Mijn Ruimte/...en Toen Wat Rust 8:35
3. Zonneschijn 2:12
4. Boos 3:12

Total 17:22

featuring...
TP Bath - guitars, keyboards, percussion, vocals

All the music was improvised, but overdubbed.

"The greatest delicacies taste of nothing when eaten alone." - Hanshiro Tsugumo

DOWNLOAD it HERE

Wednesday 7 April 2010

Song of the Now: Drudenfuß by Urfaust

Dutch band in the black metal vein. This is the third track from 2004's Geist ist Teufel.

Learn more on their Myspace or an actual good website instead.




Friday 2 April 2010

Bill Hicks






"We've all heard the same story - a young guy on acid thought he could fly, jumped out a window, what a tragedy...What a dick! Thought he could fly - why didn't he go up there, check it out first? You don't see ducks lining up for elevators to fly south! He's an idiot! He's dead! Good!"

Saturday 20 February 2010

The Music of Today

'Polygon' by TP Bath

Tracklist
1. Polygon 2:51
2. Polygon Must DIE!!! 2:55
3. Poly's Gone 2:54

Total 8:38

featuring...
TP Bath - guitars, tabla, cello, melodica, glockenspiel, recorder

All music was improvised, but overdubbed.

"I have awaited a question..." - The Guardian of Forever, Star Trek

DOWNLOAD it here

Thursday 18 February 2010

Bust away those winter blues...

It's cold outside. It's cold inside. It's February in London, and temperatures are constantly in range of freezing. Our friends in Jamaica however, are experiencing temperatures in the are of 29°C! So what better way to warm up, than with a slice of classic Jamaican culture...



On an island famous for its multitude of talented musicians, it becomes tough to name one artist as being the most influential. Bob Marley always springs to mind, as does Jimmy Cliff, then one considers the other side of the mixing board - King Tubby, and Lee 'Scratch' Perry. The further back one goes, the name that lies at the beginning of the reggae movement more often than not remains Prince Buster.
A man whose name is more or less synonymous with Ska, and certainly built the foundations for rocksteady, Buster's career began in 1960, with his producing the Folkes Brothers' hit single, Oh Carolina (which would later be covered by Shaggy of all people!) on the British Blue Beat record label. Buster's solo career began in '61 with several singles on the Stateside label, before ultimately signing to Blue Beat in time for his first LP, I Feel the Spirit, in 1963. Any way, this collection cuts straight to the point, and presents Prince Buster's most golden hits, and from the blowout simplicity of Madness, one can instantly feel Prince Buster's influence filtering down through generations of Jamaicans, whether it was a young Bob Marley listening to Prince Buster on a radio in Trenchtown, or the likes of Shaggy getting back to his roots. Highlights include, Buster's reading of My Girl , Ten Commandments of Man (Buster's rewriting of the commandments in accordance with rudeboy lifestyle) and Judge Dread (a courtroom drama set to a rocksteady beat, and also the song that gave its name to the British Reggae artist).

Get the sound of summer...only in winter time!

Prince Buster - Fabulous Greatest Hits

1. Madness
2. Wash Wash
3. God Son
4. It's Burke's Law
5. 10 Commandments
6. Blackhead Chineman
7. 30 Pieces of Silver
8. Hard Man Fe Dead
9. Earthquake
10. Judge Dread
11. Ghost Dance
12. Take it Easy
13. Too Hot
14. My Girl
15. This is a Hold Up
16. Shaking Up Orange St.
17. Big Five
18. Rough Rider
19. Wreck a Pum Pum
20. Julie on My Mind
21. Pharoah House Crach
22. Tie the Donkey's Tail

DOWNLOAD



Wednesday 17 February 2010

Hurling Piss

Purling Hiss - s/t















The eponymous debut solo album by Michael Polizze of Birds of Maya fame, brings us even more fuzzed out acid rock than we heard on 2008's Vol. 1. The Birds' debut was very similar to classic Sabbath (recorded on 1% the budget), and has also been described as sounding like a 'GG Allin demo played through a megaphone', but Purling Hiss takes an approach more akin to the sprawling acid rock laid down by Japanese underground groups such as High Rise, Les Rallizes Dénudés, or Marble Sheep. The opening notes of feedback, instantly melt into fuzz-riffing, and acid-soaked, wah-wah solos, all punctuated by a drum kit barely audible over the guitar onslaught. On top of all this, the occasional vocals are pure Mizutani (of Les Rallizes Dénudés) - delayed, echoed and distorted into a sea of god-like noise, overseeing the ass-kicking garage-jam going on in the foreground. Vocals aren't present on every track, but the ever-present face-melting guitar solos certainly are.

The album is essentially made up of three extended jams (Almost Washed My Hair, Montage Mountain, and Purple Hiss) with three brief tracks composed of noise, psychedelia and in-studio spontaneity (White Noise Machine, Dui, and Sound of Montage). Unfortunately, Permanent Records is listing this LP as "out of print" (guilt-free download anyone?), but it will surely gather a cult following, much like Vol. 1 did. Definitely one of the albums of 2009, I give you a modern masterpiece of homemade, acid garage rock....listen LOUD!


Purling Hiss - s/t (2009)

1. Almost Washed My Hair 9:19
2. Montage Mountain 11:10
3. White Noise Machine 1:47
4. Dui 1:17
5. Purple Hiss 14:28
6. Sound of Montage 1:32

Total 39:30

Credits are unknown....

DOWNLOAD it (megaupload)

Sunday 14 February 2010

When der fuehrer says we is de master race We heil! Heil! right in Der Fuehrer's Face


Voted to be the 22nd greatest cartoon of all time, Der Fuehrer's Face (1943) was one of Disney's most revered cartoon shorts of the 1940s, winning the Academy Award for Short Film, and spawning the hugely popular cover of its Oliver Wallace penned theme song by Spike Jones (pictured below). Originally titled Donald in Nutziland, the name was changed in accordance with the song's popularity. Also, the film uses the word 'heil' 33½ times. See if you can spot the ½ by watching the film below. Here are some notes on the 'toon...

On the story

Donald Duck has a nightmare and finds himself living in Nazi Germany, where he is woken by a bayonet, can only eat miniscule rations of wood-hard bread, and works in a dreary, monotonous munitions factory, constantly being shouted at by the authorities around him. The cartoon bitterly criticizes the fascist regime, via mockery of the ideology forced upon the German people at the time - particularly the ways in which authority imposed itself upon the people. Ultimately Donald Duck wakes up back in the good ol' US of A, and embraces the Statue of Liberty.


On the director, Jack Kinney (1909-1992)

Beginning his work at Disney as an animator on Santa's Workshop in 1932, Kinney went on to work as a sequence director for several Disney classics such as Dumbo, Pinnochio and The Three Caballeros, but Der Fuehrer's Face is by far his most noted work. Read his obituary in the New York Times.


On the music and Oliver Wallace (1887-1963)

Oliver Wallace composed the music for a staggering number of the Disney classics between the 1930s and the 1960s. Oliver Wallace did for cartoons, what Leonard Bernstein did for the broadway, he helped to create a new language for the new medium of feature length cartoons. Although, as with all aspects of animation, his composition was more often than not done in collaboration with other artists.
Wallace was born in London, but started his career as an organist, arranger and conductor in cinema orchestras along the West Coast of the USA, ultimately joining Disney Studios in 1936. He contributed to nearly 150 Disney films, but his song Der Fuehrer's Face - a parody in the style of Horst-Wessel-Lied - is probably what he's best known for as it was one of the biggest hits of the Second World War.


Spike Jones' Version of Der Fuehrer's Face



Der Fuehrer's Face (1943)


Also, check out the opposition and their propaganda from the factories....

Saturday 13 February 2010

Best album ever recorded.....?


....Quite possibly!!!!

JWEM and co makin' rock look like a pussy in another face-melting session somewhere in Manhattan. For fans of music en general, lo siento trusty rombone, Ramones, Paco Ibáñez and pyjama parties....this one's for you.....





Download.........


HERE!

Friday 12 February 2010

Sun-sun-sha!

If you're not too Busey...



I was pleasantly surprised to discover the excellent and 100% fresh biopic about Buddy Holly starring Gary Busey of all people in the title role! The film it turns out is rather formulaic, but doesn't fail to please with some excellent musical sequences, and a brilliantly loveable performance from the now-twisted Busey....
Highlights include Buddy receiving


tips from Sam Cooke, an appearance by the Big Bopper, and the performance of True Love Ways - which legend has it made Holly's widow weep during a private screening in the run up to the movie.

Some inaccuracies are present - namely that the three members of the Crickets are reduced to two, and the total absence of vital songwriter & producer Norman Petty - but who cares?! It was recently the 50-year anniversary of the day the music died, so why not remember the biggest loss of that day (Ritchie Valens was pretty good, but the Big Bopper was just a pervert, right...) by watching this lovely summary of the legend's brief life.

Here's a scene from the start wherein Buddy and the gang decide to rock out in a roller disco of some kind...(the songs are Rock Out with Ollie Vee and That'll Be the Day)






You should totally hear...

...some music I made yesterday morning....

"Dronement"


Tracklist
1. Awesome Intro (to a Bad Album) 2:16
2. Dronement in D 5:53
3. Dronement in A 8:58
4. New New Orleans 2:42

Total 19:48

featuring...
TP Bath - guitars

All music improvised by TPB, except 4 which was kinda written by him (although badly played).

"The mind acts like an enemy for those who do not control it" - from the Bhagavad Gita

Short-but-sweet is this one guys....

DOWNLOAD it here

Tuesday 26 January 2010

Trio from Hell


From whence this came I know not...three of the great gods of avantgarde rock today have joined forces, and are releasing a record of a live performance some time this month! We can expect almost anything from Tima Formosa considering the trio's varied backgrounds. Keiji Haino is Japan's most renowned and legendary king of the underground, and has been for nearly 40 years, releasing endless amounts of ever-changing, mind-blowing music. Haino is a master of vocals, guitars, the hurdy-gurdy, various percussions, digital theremins, flutes, etc. etc.
Oren Ambarchi is probably best known nowadays for his work with Sunn O)))'s Southern Lord record label, but Ambarchi has worked for over 20 years in the field of noise, having been a member of Phlegm with Robbie Avenaim. Ambarchi hails from Sydney, Australia and comes from a Sephardi Jewish background. He utilizes a large variety of instrumentation in his arsenal, but it seems he'll act as the percussionist in this particular trio.
Jim O'Rourke should need no introduction. As producer and musician, O'Rourke has crafted a unique legacy over the last two decades, but is probably best known for his work as a brief member of Sonic Youth, as a founding member of Gastr del Sol, as a collaborator with Nurse with Wound, John Fahey, Derek Bailey, Henry Kaiser, Mats Gustaffson, as a producer and mixer for Joanna Newsom, Tony Conrad, Stereolab, etc. etc.! O'Rourke has also worked reputably in cinema, having worked on scores for two Werner Herzog films (The Wild Blue Yonder & Grizzly Man) and Koji Wakamatsu's United Red Army. I presume O'Rourke's position in this trio will amount to bass duties, but his mastery of the standard guitar along with synthesizers is well renowned.

Whatever happens, I can't wait for this one - check out the video of these guys rippin' it up down below!



Saturday 9 January 2010

I Have No Eyes, and I Must Read!


Harlan Ellison is one of the most influential and prolific science-fiction authors of all time, and here's a collection taken from a cassette tape (The Voice from the Edge, Vol. 1) of the unique author reading some of his novellas aloud. Hearing the man read his own work is almost better than reading them, largely due to Ellison's charismatic attitude and reading style.

Includes Ellison reading...

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream
Grail
Paladin of the Lost Hour
A Boy and His Dog

and others...

ALSO here are some other links relating to Ellison...
- A Point-and-click game emulator which includes a version of Ellison's I Have No Mouth CD-ROM game!
- Ellison's own website, Ellison Webderland
- Wiki page on The City on the Edge of Forever, the episode of Star Trek Ellison wrote

Download The Voice from the Edge, Vol 1 HERE

Tuesday 5 January 2010

Get your hands off my Beefheart!


John "Drumbo" French has just had his book about life with the Captain published, and the 880-page memoir looks like it's gonna be my book o' the year already! If you liked the liner notes to the Grow Fins rarities box set (and this is basically more of the same) then pre-order now now now!

Drumbo was the man who transcribed the Captain's piano lines, whistles and rhythms into something tangible for the Trout Mask Replica sessions. Drumbo's love-hate relationship with the Captain is the stuff of legend, with Beefheart infamously forcing Drumbo and the rest of the Magic Band into near-clinical states of depression, anxiety and anger until they each collapsed in tears in submission to the Captain...the communal house where the band lived and breathed the Trout Mask sessions for eight months became a "Manson-like" cult according to friends of the group, with the musicians ending up in states of poor health, forced into shoplifting food (when they were caught, Uncle Frank bailed them out!). Drumbo was the only member to leave before the album's release, and remained uncredited on the initial release of the album at the wishes of a raging Beefheart. Drumbo returned in time for Lick My Decals Off, Baby, and would return on and off to the Magic Band throughout its career, notably even playing much of the guitar and marimba on Doc at the Radar Station. Word is the Captain is now wheelchair-bound and suffering from a long-term illness (his painting habits ceased in the 1990s too), so it's as good a time as any to learn more of the man's past before he departs!

John Peel said (∞) that Beefheart was the genius of pop music. Tom Waits' masterwork, Swordfishtrombones, was simply the result of discovering Beefheart's music. But John French was the man behind the genius...

I'm Gonna Booglarize You, Baby, Live on the Beat Club show in 1972 (it's actually Art Tripp on drums, and bizarrely, Roy Estrada on bass)

Friday 1 January 2010

What's in my ears...

Billy Faier - Travelin' Man (1958)

Tracklist:
1) Travelin' Man (3:04)
2) The Downfall of Paris (2:55)
3) Billy the Kid (3:52)
4) Bahaman Lullaby (4:21)
5) Wind in the Trees (3:36)
6) The Dying British Sergeant (3:06)
7) The Great Assembly (2:10)
8) The Galveston Flood (2:45)
9) Soldier's Joy (1:45)
10) Miner's Lifeguard (3:29)
11) Payday at Coal Creek (5:06)
12) Nine Pound Hammer (3:34)
13) Diane's Reel (2:37)
14) The Hellbound Train (2:47)

Billy Faier - banjo, guitar, vocals

I first heard Billy Faier's banjo playing on his 1973 album (the inventively titled Banjo), which - as it was released by John Fahey's Takoma label - I got ahold of in the midst of a Fahey binge. At the time, Faier's solo banjo playing didn't overwhelm me (particularly when compared to the lyricism of a single Fahey song), but overtime I grew to wholly enjoy Banjo. Further investigation led me to Faier's website, which is an excellent resource about the man, but it also includes several of his albums (including the aforementioned Banjo) free for download straight from Faier himself along with some great notes on the songs. His second album, recorded one year after his debut LP, The Art of the Five String Banjo, is a collection of impeccably performed traditional and original songs Faier added to his roster during his late-50s. The banjo and guitar accompaniments are far from simple, but take a back seat to Faier's wonderful singing. Highly recommended!

www.billyfaier.com

For fans of - John Fahey, The Incredible String Band & Eugene Chadbourne

Download it HERE