Simon Fisher Turner - "The Epic Of Everest"

Simon Fisher Turner is an indelibly cool individual, having partied with Bowie at Haddon Hall, befriended Salvador Dali and scored Derek Jarman's films. He released a new score for "The Epic Of Everest", the official film record of an ill-fated Everest expedition in 1924.

The score features Cosey Fanni Tutti (Throbbing Gristle) on cornet ("she sounds fantastically Tibetan", Fisher says) and Andrew Blick (Gyratory System) on trumpet and, among others, the Thapa family, a Napalese family he found through the embassy in London.

On it's own merits, "The Epic of Everest" is a remarkable exercise in ambient aurora, a gloriously slow awakening of an electronic dawn.

Get it here: Simon Fisher Turner - "The Epic Of Everest"(320Kbps)

And enjoy!

Kiss My Jazz - "In The Lost Souls Convention" (1997)

Music from Belgium. I just rediscovered the early dEUS albums and here is one of their side-projects.

They began with a kind of lo-fi combination of jazz and rock with punky intentions, sometimes described as “inaccessible” and “bizarre”. At it’s peak there were 17 members. 

“Kiss My Jazz is a combination of ignorance and jazz. We are a mix of good and less good musicians. That’s even necessary, because without good musicians you wouldn’t be able to play jazz, and without the bad ones you wouldn’t be able to play punk”. - Rudy Trouvé
 
To prevent oblivion and spread their beautiful approach:
Kiss My Jazz - "In The Lost Souls Convention"(320Kbps)

Enjoy!

SchnAAk - "Wake Up Colossus" (2011)

I just discovered SchnAAk - an absolutely stunning duo from Berlin!

"Here in this bizarre world of “Wake up Colossus” the experimental development that happened in contemporary electronic and instrumental music, folds together perfectly embedding infantile sounds, modern composition, electronica, noise, soul, avantrock, worldjazz and oddly funky R’n’B."

SchnAAk walk in new territory and they make it completely their own. 100% recommended!

Get it here:  SchnAAk - "Wake Up Colossus"(320Kbps)

Enjoy!

PS: Track #3 was corrupted. I exchanged the link!

Jandek - "Tribute I & II"

In celebration of Jandek's new album called "Songs of Morgan", here are the 2 tribute albums, featuring the following:

Naked in the Afternoon: Peter Weiss & Brian Charles, Thurston Moore's Dapper, Retsin, Low, Kid Icarus, Gary Young, Goblins, Bright Eyes, etc. VA - Naked in the Afternoon - A Jandek Tribute (2000) 

Down in a Mirror: Jeff Tweedy, Okkervil River, Six Organs of Admittance, Mountain Goats, Kawabato Makoto, Dirty Projectors, etc. VA - Down in a Mirror - A Jandek Tribute II (2005)

Enjoy!

Normal Love - "Survival Tricks" (2012)

Normal Love creates bracingly intense modern music of shrewd density and unique imagination orchestrated for processed voices, guitars, violin, drums and various electronics. Everything about the band displays a cultivated air of alien logic, from their densely detailed sonic conception to their surreal, blacklit live presentation.

“Normal Love don’t simply fuse noise, skronk, live electronics, fire-breathing and new music for the sake of genre-killing or academic posturing, but aim to build majestic, well fortified sound-castles for the post-nihilist movement of emerging experimentalists to dwell.” -Philadelphia Weekly

Get it here: Normal Love - "Survival Tricks"(Vbr)

And enjoy! 

Caspar Brötzmann Massaker - Black Axis (1989)

"Recorded at the FMP studios and sporting a cover design by his father, one might have been forgiven for expecting guitarist Caspar Brötzmann's first album to owe more to Derek Bailey than to Jimi Hendrix. Instead, Brötzmann fils leads a remarkable power trio that manages to resuscitate all that was good about fuzz-heavy bands like Blue Cheer while adding impassioned playing out of Hendrix and allowing himself an expansive space to develop his unique approach."

Just saw him with Pliakas and Wertmüller at Moers. It reminded me of his early stuff. I bought it back then - and it's still so good.... so here it is:

Caspar Brötzmann Massaker - Black Axis (192Kbps)

Enjoy!

Swell - "...Well?" (1991)

Alternating influences from neo-psychedelia, noise pop, and Ennio Morricone film scores, Swell formed in San Francisco in 1989 when vocalist/guitarist David Freel and drummer Sean Kirkpatrick decided to record an album.

There’s something smoky, sassy, warm and backwoods about "…Well?" - and something a little doomy about the linear, propulsive, crawling basslines that drive the songs along. - Fabulous drumming! You can stare at the wall to it - but you will tap your feet!

I still love it! Get it here: Swell - "...Well?"(320Kbps)

And enjoy!

Cyclobe - "Luminous Darkness" (1999)

Cyclobe is the project of Stephen Thrower, a member of Coil , and Simon Norris, whose work with Death in June is well respected. Drawing on both instrumental and sampled sounds run through a surfeit of processors, their first album "Luminous Darkness" creates a new genre of music that one might dub "psychedelic-industrial." Another way to describe it would be as an album DJ Screw and Acid Mothers Temple would collaborate on.

Get it here:  Cyclobe - "Luminous Darkness"(Vbr)

And enjoy!

Mary Halvorson Quintet - "Bending Bridges" (2012)

Ms. Halvorson s work with her quintet has inspired critics to call her "extraordinary" (John Fordham), "hugely inventive" (John Corbett), "daringly unpredictable" (The New Yorker), "a distinct voice of her own" (Carl Wilson), "the most original jazz guitarist in a generation" (Michael J. West), "a multi-faceted artist whose writing is as impressive as her improvising" (Troy Collins) and "one of today s most formidable bandleaders" (Francis Davis).

Whatever - this album is just beautiful. Get it here:
Mary Halvorson Quintet - "Bending Bridges"(320Kbps)

Enjoy!

The Hand to Man Band - "You Are Always On Our Minds" (2012)

The Hand To Man Band is  an all-star-band consisting of Mr. Mike Watt, Deerhoof guitarist John Dietrich, Silver Jews drummer Tim Barnes, and Tsigoti pianist Thollem McDonas. They met in 2010 and almost everything came from improvisations - no pre-conceptions - they just quite simply wanted something to evolve naturally.

Wonderful stuff - Get it here:
The Hand to Man Band - You Are Always On Our Minds(320Kbps)

And enjoy !

Colin Stetson - "New History Warfare Vol. 1 & 2"

Colin Stetson is polarising. Is this jazz ? Is this for real ? Is he overdubbing ? Is he cheating ?

What sounds like studio trickery is actually sheer virtuosity. So adept is he at manipulating the keys on his bass saxophone, that he can generate multiple effects in real time, which in their grainy intimacy occupy a similar world of echo to Arthur Russell's cello recordings.

Highly recommended! Get it here:
More drone: Colin Stetson - "New History Warfare Vol. 1"
More song: Colin Stetson - "New History Warfare Vol. 2 - Judges"

And enjoy!

Guardian Alien - "See The World Given To A One Love Entity" (2012)

Guardian Alien is led by exceptional drummer Greg Fox of Teeth Mountain, Dan Deacon, and Liturgy. This album is a 40 minute psychic/psychedelic meditation that is driven by an intensity that is at once expansive, focused, and heavy on multiple levels. It belongs in a lineage of tribal guitar rock bands meant to shake loose titanic emotions: Oneida, Boredoms, Grails, Swans and Om.

If you are not afraid of some lyserg-driven esoteric moments, get it here: Guardian Alien - "See The World Given To A One Love Entity"(320Kbps)

And enjoy !

Noxagt - "Noxagt" (2006)

The coolest thing about the bludgeoning noise-rock instrumentals by Norwegian trio Noxagt is that they were made without a guitar. Erga's hard-sawing viola could certainly sound like a guitar, and sometimes like an actual viola, but mostly it spewed an unidentifiable mix of winding screech and stubbly drone over Brandsdal's earth-digging bass and Kyvik's precision drum pummel. They also play with MoHa, Ultralyd and Hellfire. Recommended !

Get them here: Noxagt - "Noxagt"(192Kbps)

And enjoy !

Key of Shame - "Threnody for Marcus Junius Brutus" (2012)

Atmospheric radical electronics at their highest peak. Key of Shame is the creature born from the collaboration of Mark Morgan (Sightings) and Pat Murano (No Neck Blues Band, Decimus, Malkuth, K. Salvatore) revealing the black side of psychedelics.

A journey through industrial minimalism evolving from bubbling metal drones into indecipherable structures of subliminal details.

Highly recommended ! Get it here:
Key of Shame - "Threnody for Marcus Junius Brutus"(320Kbps)

And enjoy !

Fripp & Eno - "Olympia, Paris, France May 28, 1975"

This historic recording documents an extremely rare and classic performance of a mysterious collaborative tour from two of the most creative and fascinating figures in rock. For any fan of ‘No Pussyfooting’ or ‘Evening Star’, this live recording is of epic significance.

Essential listenig ! Get it here:
Fripp & Eno - "Olympia, Paris, France May 28, 1975"(320Kbps)

And enjoy !

STAER - "STAER" (2012)

Raw, brutal and dissonant heavy instrumental rock from Norway. Those genuises could be compared to Noxagt... Although executed in precise, deafening and in slow-motion-like telluric movements, STAER reveal a harsh seething frenzy.

Get them here: STAER - "STAER"(320Kbps)

And enjoy !

NoMeansNo - " 0+2=1" (1991)

"Nonsense is better than no sense at all." 

Their earlier albums "Small Parts Isolated..." and "Wrong" are absolutely recommended for further research - and everybody should know them anyway - but this is the 1st album I saw them perform live. People argued about it - it is too long - it makes no sense - it is not harsh enough - it is WHATEVER ! It is an outstanding avantgarde-hardcore-punk album anyway.

Get it here: NoMeansNo -"0+2=1" (320Kbps)

And enjoy !

Tortoise - "Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters" (1995)

Tortoise invited several friends (including Steve Albini, Jim O'Rourke and John McEntire) to dissect several tracks. The result is a 30-minute continuous mix, ranging from A Tribe Called Quest and Minnie Riperton samples - to environment-sound driftings. Get it here: Tortoise - "Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters" (320Kbps)

And enjoy !

Prong - "Force Fed" (1988)

Prong emerged from the New York City underground of the late 80's, quickly setting themselves apart from the conformist culture of the city's hardcore and metal scenes. Prong was founded by singer/guitarist Tommy Victor who was a sound man for the famous club CBGB and bassist Mike Kirkland. Ex-Swans drummer Ted Parsons joined a few months later.

Force Fed is suitably primal, with one of the best 'raw' mixes in thrashistory. When I bought it in 1988 it blew my mind - it still does the job. And it is different from what they became later...


Get it here: Prong - "Force Fed"(320Kbps)

And enjoy !

Evan Caminiti - "Psychic Mud Shrine" (2009)

You'll probably know Evan Caminiti as one half of the brilliant Barn Owl, but here he's forging a path as a solo artist for Digitalis, devising four towering guitar pieces that move beyond the pursuit of drone and sludge and take on a more slippery, mystical quality.

The outro even features a spot of acoustic guitar arpeggiation, lightening the tone up a little before the deep echo-blues of 'Midnight's Road' kicks in like a duet between Stephen O'Malley and Loren Connors.

Get it here: Evan Caminiti - "Psychic Mud Shrine" (320Kbps)

And enjoy !

George & Martha - "Another Head" (1987)

"Aus dem Zentrum eines giftspritzenden Alien geht der Blick nur über Feindesland."

 Damn great noise-rock album and side project of the legendary Slime from Hamburg ! Somebody called it "future core" back then... Needless to say that "George and Martha" is a reference to one of the most loveable married couples in literature and movie history...

Get it here: George & Martha - "Another Head" (320Kbps)

And enjoy !

Ikara Colt - "Chat And Business" (2002)

Ok, I won't back down. Let them come !

Chat and Business is a mélange of stripped-down noise led by sharp guitars, socially conscious lyrics and a lot of attitude.The energy the band packs into their songs is unbelievable. Ikara Colt creates an edgy, electronic/punk-inspired sound with this album, and the end result is impressively slick.

Get it here:  Ikara Colt - "Chat And Business"(320Kbps)

And enjoy !

HUAH! - "Scheiß Kapitalismus" (1992)

Ok, this might be my final statement on this blog. 5 years, 222 posts and even more albums... I love every single one. And I hope some stay up - from Nihilist Spasm Band to Huah! - it's been quite a journey. I appreciate that some artists and many listeners supported the work. I'd like to mention Weasel Walter and Wechsel Garland. If you want a re-up of something just let me know. Maybe there will be an opportunity here or somewhere else. And let the title of my last post and one of the best german albums from the early 90s sink in:

SCHEISS KAPITALISMUS !

Get it here: HUAH! - "Scheiß Kapitalismus" (320Kbps)

And enjoy, ffs !!!

Scarcity of Tanks - "Fear is not Conscience" (2012)

Matthew Wascovich, the Clevo skater/sporto/wordsmith/punk dude, is touting two new LPs (via his own Total Life Society imprint) that bustle with his crud-bathed white-noise blues.

Oneida/Man Forever drums master Kid Millions, punk-jazz provocateur Weasel Walter, saxman Jim Sauter (of avant-jazz noisemakers Borbetomagus) and Necking's Nick Lesley descended on keysman Don Godwin's Gowanus studio with SOT regular and Electric Eels guitarist John Morton, armed with Wascovich's cerebral-cum-bombastic wordage and sticky guitar-anthem hugeness.

Great guitar skronk poetry! Get it here:
 Scarcity of Tanks - "Fear is not Conscience"(320Kbps)

And enjoy !

Alex Chilton - "Like Flies On Sherbert" (1979)

To say that Like Flies on Sherbert is a masterpiece of lo-fi punk would be a misnomer. Chilton wasn’t a punk rocker, even if he wanted to be.What he found so exciting about punk was its engagement of the audience. Like Flies is G.G. Allin tossing excrement on his crowds; it’s Iggy Pop rolling around in broken glass and peanut butter; it’s Elvis Costello cutting the band off mid-song on SNL and launching into “Radio Radio” instead.  

Like Flies is the sound of a musician railing against the indifference he felt his career had endured. It certainly isn’t perfect, but it’s absolutely real. 500 copies of no-compromise attitude, DIY grit, and triumphant artistic expression.

Get it here: Alex Chilton - "Like Flies On Sherbert"(320Kbps)

And enjoy !

Chrome Cranks - "The Chrome Cranks" (1994)

Scummy punk rock for people who like scummy punk rock. It's low-budget and high volume. It sounds scraped from a blood-stained back alley. It's big city heroin-punk meets rockabilly hipshaking.

After their highly recommended new record I had to get this one out !
Get it here:  Chrome Cranks - "The Chrome Cranks"(320kbps)

And enjoy !

David Hess - "Last House On The Left" (1972)

 

David Alexander Hess’ first recording was a quick hit, which was later performed by and credited to Elvis Presley, "All Shook Up".

Well, in 1972 his career split off into several new directions with his starring role in Wes Craven's controversial horror classic “Last House on the Left” from 1972, for which he also composed (and played !) the soundtrack.

Stunning movie - and great sounds !

Get it here: David Hess - "The Last House On The Left" (128Kbps)

Enjoy !

VA - "A Tribute To Japanische Kampfhörspiele" (2011)

"Jaka sind die schwulste Band auf der ganzen weiten Welt
der Rote ist dick, der Drummer ist schwul
der Basser ist ein besoffenes Schwein
der eine Gitarrist trinkt Pisse, der andere stinkt nach Fisch
und der Grunzer trägt Polohemden von Lacoste"

76 interpretations of JaKa songs... Get them here:

A Tribute To Japanische Kampfhörspiele CD1(320Kbps)
A Tribute To Japanische Kampfhörspiele CD2(320Kbps)

And enjoy !

Bushman's Revenge - "You Lost Me At Hello" (2009)

Bushman's Revenge brings together elements of free jazz and heavy metal, recalling label-mates Scorch Trio and Shining. With a fervent combination of rock-centricity and reckless abandon, the trio suggests how Jimi Hendrix might have sounded had he focused more on expanding the open-ended playing of "Third Stone from the Sun," from Are You Experienced, or how Albert Ayler would have turned out, had he chosen the guitar over the saxophone.

Great Stuff ! Get it here: Bushman's Revenge - "You Lost Me At Hello"(192KBps)

And enjoy !

Periscope - "Speedboat" (2011)

Support your local post-rockers !

Get the song here: Periscope - "Speedboat" (256KBps)

Jandek - "Your Turn To Fall" (1983)

Everybody knows one thing about Jandek, that nobody knows anything about Jandek. There is nothing but the music. Some find it offputting or unlistenable at first, but to open ears it reveals great depth, breadth, intelligence, feeling, and rewards for the listener.

Get this special album here: Jandek - "Your Turn To Fall" (320Kbps)

Enjoy !

Alog - "Duck-Rabbit" (2001)

To  celebrate Norwegian's duo Alog's new release called "Unemployed" here is their album from 2001 called "Duck-Rabbit". Heavily influenced by the likes of Biosphere or Deathprod the music is elaborated, intense and organic, electronic and yet terribly human.

The marvellously-named "As Complicated And As Beautiful As Always" features stunning distortion and feedback, and the album ends with the charming John Fahey-like faux-naive guitar of "Drunk DJ's", departing with quiet Scandinavian grace. 

Get it here:  Alog - "Duck-Rabbit" (256Kbps)

And enjoy !

Mike Cooper - "Distant Songs Of Madmen" (2011)

Mike Cooper has been a central figure in UK folk, blues, improvisation and about as many other movements as you care to mention - he's truly post-everything.

"I find most 'folk' singers, folk clubs and festivals are incredibly conservative these days and my wish is that a niche might be found in there for some forward musical movement and thinking to bring itself into the 21st century and that this c.d. might be a small contribution toward that end." 

Highly recommended ! Get it here: Mike Cooper - "Distant Songs Of Madmen" (320Kbps)

And enjoy !

Joe McPhee - "As Serious As Your Life" (1996)

"As Serious as Your Life" is a solo recording wherein multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee deeply explores various facets and territories in the music. He begins with a sad, heartfelt tribute on pocket cornet to the late Miles Davis and includes homages to musicians from Sun Ra to Coltrane to Conlon Nancarrow. Arguably the finest of his solo recordings and highly recommended !

Get it here: Joe McPhee - "As Serious As Your Life" (VBR)

And enjoy !

Zoogz Rift - "Nonentity" (1988)

Scrolling down this blog you will find proof for my love for SST. Somewhere I read that Zoogz Rift is "an iconoclastic original" who is "as imaginative and stimulating as he is irritating and vitriolic." Ok, that's right. Furthermore he was influenced by Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart as well as Salvador Dalí and Ayn Rand.

It seems that Zoogz Rift combines frustration with a world that doesn't understand with an additional level of polish that makes this one of his best albums, in a string of exceptional, if often ignored recordings.

Get it here: Zoogz Rift - "Nonentity"(192Kbps)

And enjoy !

Death Grips - "Exmilitary" (2011)

This is an experimental hip hop album based on the principle that punk rebellion requires energy. Lots of it ! Every track operates in a hyperstitious state of mania without hope of reprieve; groaning under blue-note distress, and around every corner a sputtered percussion event and an abused pop-sample. An angular, beat-complex, mechanised update of paranoiac crunk - and highly recommended !

Get it here: Death Grips - "Exmilitary"(320Kbps)

And enjoy !

Cicciolina Holocaust - "Albeit Albeit" (1984)

Florim Prishtina and Rezart Veseli recorded together as Cicciolina Holocaust in Firenze, (Italy) during the late '70s and early '80s, releasing several tapes, all as small private editions given to friends. Using drum machines, home-made synths, guitars, effects pedals and a Tascam 4-track Portastudio, the pair produced oppressive and über-dark synthscapes and minimal proto-techno experiments that slot perfectly alongside the kind of darkside work typified by Regis and the more experimental end of the Downwards label in 2011.

Essential. Get it here: Cicciolina Holocaust - "Albeit Albeit" (320Kbps)

And enjoy !

R3000 - "Muted Fog Delay"

Precious stuff for these precious days: 18 minutes of electro-acoustic music - made by R3000 ! My, harrumph, namesake mixed drones with guitars and field-recordings from San Francisco - "the Golden Handcuff with the key thrown away." - John Steinbeck.

Some people heard Seefeel, some Luigi Nono - well, it might be somewhere inbetween... Great trip ! Hope you'll like it.

Get it here: R3000 - "Muted Fog Delay" (320Kbps)

And enjoy !

Hallock Hill - "There He Unforeseen"

“It’s difficult to talk in terms of influences, as the material is so acutely personal and idiosyncratic. There are hints of Loren Connor’s airs rising damply out of the murk, and moments that are redolent of Scott Tuma’s meta-commentaries on the American tradition, particularly on “Needing Bones.” At other times, in static crackles and strange high ringing tones, I’m reminded of some of Alan Lamb’s recordings of telegraph wires in Western Australia. Yet those only function as pointers, ways in to what is a strange and fecund palette of sound.” - The Wire

Great stuff ! Get it here: Hallock Hill - "There He Unforeseen" (320Kbps)

And enjoy !

Corrupted - "Garten der Unbewusstheit"

Over their career, the japanese Corrupted's sludgy assault of the early releases has been replaced with something more akin to modern composition or ambient music. As such, "Garten der Unbewusstheit" is a logical progression for them as it combines the extreme doomy heaviness of their old recordings with an almost gossamer thin presence.

The music sounds like Earth's "Hex"album if it was re-arranged by Henryk Górecki.

Get it here:  Corrupted - "Garten der Unbewusstheit" (320Kbps)

And enjoy !

The Strangemen - "Duck And Cover" (1988)

As a teenager it was quite amazing to bring this album home and listen to a german band that was actually sharing a similar taste in music. The originals of these six cover songs are by Bachman Turner Overdrive, The Saints, Neil Young, Iggy & The Stooges, The Beatles, and Hüsker Dü.

The Strangemen did a good job - and they rocked. They felt like the german Cosmic Psychos or so. And they opened for Grant Hart in 1989. Listen to their version of Hüsker Dü's "Diane" - it's epic !

Here it is: The Strangemen - "Duck And Cover" (320kbps)

Enjoy !

John Fahey - "Requia" (1967)

In his liner notes to this release, John Fahey mentions his desire to have an entire world orchestra in his guitar, Western to Eastern, bagpipes to gamelan. Perhaps it's this mental approach that sets his music so deliciously far apart from other so-called folk guitarists. "Requia" is essentially in two sections. One is a series of blues-based pieces in line with music he had previously recorded. The second major section here is a four-part suite, "Requiem for Molly", which interpolates, among other things, german nazi tape collages ("Über alles !", "Nicht schuldig !") with his guitar playing.

Well, it's fascinating ! Get it here: John Fahey - "Requia" (320Kbps)
And enjoy !

EA80 - "Vorsicht Schreie" (1983)

"Die Schatten werfen ihre Schatten
die Toten haben Angst vorm Sterben
wir Lebenden verfaulen mit der Zeit
und träumen Träume, die wir einmal hatten"

EA80  is a German punk rock band from Mönchengladbach. They started in 1979 as "Panzerfaust" and changed their name to EA80 in 1980. The band is still active today, making it one of the oldest punk rock bands around. They got a huge reputation in Germany.

Here is there 1st full length album EA80 - "Vorsicht Schreie" (192Kbps)

Enjoy !

VA - "Erik Satie Et Les Noveaux Jeunes"

Erik Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde. His work was a precursor to later artistic movements such as minimalism, repetitive music, and the Theatre of the Absurd. "The laziest student in the Conservatoire" (where he was labelled untalented by his teachers) has left the world some very impressive (and introspective) compositions - of which the Gymnopédies and the Gnossiennes are the most famous.  

 This tribute double-album offers 32 tracks, and a jaw-dropping list of contributors boasting names like Library Tapes, Max Richter, Julia Kent, Part Timer, Rachel Grimes, Sylvain Chauveau, Rafael Anton Irisarri, Goldmund, Pan American, Hauschka, Peter Broderick, Nils Frahm, Dustin O'Halloran...among others.

Get it here:  VA - "Erik Satie Et Les Noveaux Jeunes"(Vbr)

And enjoy !

My Cat Is An Alien - "Cosmic Light Of The Third Millennium" (2003)

"Roberto and his brother Maurizio are the highly advanced lifeforms crewing the mysterious starship that goes by the name of My Cat is an Alien, plotting a quixotic course through three millennia of cosmic music, from the celestial drones of the Pythagorean monochord onwards, to land up in the gravity-free realm of the No-mind." - THE WIRE

"This is proper minimalism, the art of LaMonte Young. Only while Young longed desperately for a trance-state, MCIAA start in one and work from there...it is so staggering, so mesmerizing, and makes music on its own terms so definitely, that it has a certain menacing, willfully unpretty and monolithic grandeur, like some intractable slab of rock, or a vast, empty desert." - STYLUS

All albums are highly recommended. Get this one here:
My Cat Is An Alien - "Cosmic Light Of The Third Millennium"(192Kbps)

And enjoy !

Amon Düül - "Psychedelic Underground" (1969)

Mama Düül & Ihre Sauerkrautband spielt auf

It's a very early Krautrock-Classic. Julian Cope described it like this: "Extremely rough recordings - as if a bunch of stoned Orcs are playing endless versions of "Return of the Monster Magnet" by the Mothers and "L.A. Blues" by The Stooges."

Amon Düül's debut album is 90% attitude and 10% skill, but man, what attitude!

Get it here: Amon Düül - "Psychedelic Underground" (320Kbps)
And enjoy !

Derek Bailey & Franz Hautzinger - "Bailey Hautzinger" (2002)

 

In 2001 Franz Hautzinger visited Derek Bailey to make some music. For nearly a year, Hautzinger let the material rest, listened to it, and repeatedly made tiny changes in the sound. These are all signs that "Bailey Hautzinger" has not become a classic improv record. Hautzinger's style, heavily loaded with noise, sabotages the typical reaction patterns and clichés of (the really no longer very) free music. He has opened this music to new perspectives and created other structural levels. As an outsider Hautzinger is able to shift the party lines, thanks to his absolutely individual, idiosyncratic way of playing the trumpet.

One of the first improv records of the new century, said in all modesty. 

Derek Bailey & Franz Hautzinger - Bailey Hautzinger (192Kbps)

Derek Bailey & Henry Kaiser - "Wireforks" (1995)

Derek Bailey is the British elder statesman of guitar improvisation. Guitarists from Jim O'Rourke to Fred Frith would not play as they do if Bailey hadn't been working his explorations over the past forty-plus years. Teamed up here with another of his disciples, Henry Kaiser, the two pluck, scrape, coax, tickle, rub and slam all manner of sound out of their instruments. Their skills as improvisers also include the ability to listen and empathize. These are truly duets, in the fullest sense of the word, as these two men play off each other with an immediacy borne of their supreme talent as both players and listeners.

Derek Bailey was interviewed by Henry Kaiser on October 21, 1975 at Bailey’s home in London.

Get this great album here:
Derek Bailey & Henry Kaiser - "Wireforks" (128KBps)

Maschinelle Strategeme (Ritornell, 2000)

"Distributed Modules and Layers in Post-Digital Music"

Along with Mille Plateaux and Position Chrome, Ritornell is yet another sublabel of the mammoth German techno label, Force Inc, focusing on a dissonant style of highly processed digital music that often crosses the boundary of ambient soundscapes into ear-covering industrial noise. The 15 featured artists here - Autopoieses, Terre Thaemlitz, Taylor Deupree, Fennesz, Keith Rowe, etc. - each present their own individual sound collage, where textured tones clash with one another, occasionally uniting harmoniously with other sounds but most often creating juxtaposing collisions that result in piercing sounds from another world where red clouds obscure sunlight.

Good stuff - so get it here:  VA - Maschinelle Strategeme (320Kbps)

And enjoy !

Matana Roberts - "The Chicago Project" (2008)

Matana Roberts is a saxophonist active on the New York and Chicago jazz and improv scenes where she's played with just about everyone from Peter Brötzmann or Roscoe Mitchell to God Speed You! Black Emperor or Eugene Chadbourne. This fact signals that this is demanding music. It's busy, loquacious and angular and squarely in debt to the 'new thing' of the sixties.

She's ably and energetically supported by Josh Abrahams (bass), Frank Rosaly (drums) and guitarist Jeff Parker (of Tortoise). Guitarist Parker has the most original tone of the four, simultaneously edgy and slippery, like a punk Bill Frisell.

Get this beautiful album here:
Matana Roberts - "The Chicago Project" (192Kbps)

And enjoy !

Frieder Butzmann - "Wunderschöne Rückkoppelungen" (2004)

"Niemand weiß genau, wo Musik anfängt und aufhört."

Frieder Butzmann was born in the City of Constance in 1954. He was a pioneer in german experimental music. He collects sounds, musics, noises, impressions. Most of the time he doesn't know if he should make songs, soundtracks, lectures, radio plays or operas out of his collected material. He was part of the very early industrial movement and had collaborations with Genesis P-Orridge, Blixa, Thomas Kapielski or Santrra Oxyd. And he participated in Wolfgang Müller's Berlin underground manifest "Geniale Dilletanten".

This drony album was originally recorded 1969-1971 - but released for the first time in 2004. Limited to 500 handnumbered copies.

Get it here:  Frieder Butzmann - "Wunderschöne Rückkoppelungen" (192Kbps)

And enjoy !