Saturday 29 March 2008

Tirath Singh Nirmala - Smouldering Juniper

Label: Self-released
Format: CDR
Released:
2006

Another TSN release here, and again, no album art. And no blurb, so I'm having to write something. The rest (Blossom Dawn Freckles, Moor Cragg Mist, Sahasri, Tattv-guna-mala 1&2 and Birch Clove Burst 1&2) - that's the rest to my knowledge anyway - shall be arriving on-screen shortly.

Entirely instrumental effort, here. Moonlit Circles takes the raga and smothers it with some Eastern-inflected minimalism. Little tonal variation, quivered guitar strumming; beaten bells build and power through to a hypnotically nod-head ending. Smouldering Juniper takes you back to typical Tirath terrain: dual microtonal pipes slide over extended synth, leaving you with enough space to Pandit Pran Nath-along. Snowflowers Bloom, meanwhile, is a high-frequency chimed track - not so far from recent John Clyde-Evans output - which sits on speakers as fragile as a butterfly on a wheel.


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Thursday 27 March 2008

Son of Earth - Carhole / Man

continuing the son of earth vibe i thought i'd post two more of their earlier records. they demonstrate tremendous control focusing intently on the subtle interplay between sound and space, this has evolved even further in their latest offerings erotic empire and pet. these guys simply get better with age. enjoy:-














Title: Carhole
Label: Apostasy Recordings (AP021)
Format: CDR
Released: 2004

A journey in three parts.

Live recording of the trio of Matt Krefting, John Shaw and Aaron Rosenblum at the Belchertown Carhole 2003. Slow metal sonatas, almost subliminal use of tiny sounds, distant, evocative drones and an approach to the jam that owes as much to Organum and Mirror as it does to AMM and MEV. Came packaged in a folded-in Global Priority mailer with insert and colour cover.

Tracklisting:

Floating Image
Walking The Transom
Owl's Vector Speech

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Title: Man
Label: Apostasy Recordings (AP014)
Format: CDR
Released: 2003

Packaged in handmade, hinged balsa cases. Burned man on front.

Tracklisting:

Our Achievements, Our Regrets
Clump Of Earth
Floor Person

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Tuesday 25 March 2008

Son of Earth - Flesh on the Bone













Label:
Static
Format: 7''
Release: 2004

Short one here: under 10 minutes. Typically restrained-as-fuck.

"Dunno if they've dropped the Flesh On Bone Trio for good but these glam post-Industrialists (Matt Krefting, John Shaw, Aaron Rosenblum) with connections to Double Leopards, Virgin Eye Blood Brothers and The Believers just dropped their heaviest short-form release to date in the shape of an ultra-limited lathe that combines huge lungs of frozen air with the sounds of aquatic nightlife as broadcast over a warehouse tannoy system. Two sides, titled "Naked Float" and "Elimination Of Present Life", though the label also credits the A-side as "Son Of Earth", so I guess this beautifully lonely murk must be their theme song. If the malevolent hiss that cloaks Throbbing Gristle's Live At The Rat sides is yr kind of jam then you'll find plenty to wrap yr head around in the folds of this monster. Limited to only 100 copies, plays at 33¨1/3 and comes in a plastic see-through sleeve with a unique magazine cutting. There will be no re-stock on this one as it's already gone at source, so move fast." -Volcanic Tongue

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Monday 24 March 2008

Tirath Singh Nirmala - Slimp Tench Depth

Label: Self-released
Format: CDR
Released: 2006

Brilliant. Just brilliant. Everything John released underneath this pseudonym is worth tracking down. Check out Bluster, Cragg & Awe (currently on sale) and his more recent back-to-birthname Apetal Thunderfall on Foxydigitalis for two fantastically diverging-approach releases.

"Brand new limited private press CD-R from Tirath Singh-Nirmala, ex-John Clyde-Evans, and reputedly his last full-length for a while due to his temporary re-location to the Indian sub-continent. Heavier, fuller sound to this one, with drums, tons of bells, shivers of breath and tone and a feel that is somewhere between Vibracathedral Orchestra's more widescreen work, Tibetan liturgy, Sun City Girls and the more percussive, long-distance Steve Reich compositions. Already sold-out at source." - Volcanic Tongue

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Saturday 22 March 2008

Edward Ruchalski - Having It Out













Label:
Humbug
Format:
LP (ltd. 50)
Released: 2002

First post for me, but I'll keep it short. Although this release doesn't out-do the fantastic Dark Night, it comes startlingly close. I'll let someone else do the talking...

'Maybe Ruchalski's most beautiful work yet, and another example of his densely layered, swirling sound constructions. Working from basic materials such as nondescript scrapes & buzzes, feedback, self-made motor mallet instruments, metal sheets, field recordings, vinyl loops from old 78's, one could easily imagine a bleak and/or very "difficult" music but neither is really the case as Ruchalski has a way of bringing real life to these inanimate objects, letting them breathe, sigh or sing in their own peculiar, rustic way. Sometimes even a narrative element is felt as if a story were being told (most likely a sad one - perhaps of the destiny of the WW1 soldier staring blankly at us from the collage on the cover?). Who knows? The music of Ruchalski remains shrouded with a sense of mystery to me. The underlying ideas are often familiar, like the almost obsessive study of the minutiae of sustained vibration.....(maybe it's "minimalism" to some extent?), or the environmental/field recordings thing .....but there's always something else in there, too. This LP contains mostly unreleased material (the side-long "Having It Out" and a shorter piece on the B-side), as well as some choice cuts from previosuly released CD-Rs "Moveable Sites" (Humbug011) and "Radio Journal" (Homemade Records). Edition of 50.'

Tracklisting:

A1. Part 1
A2. Part 2
A3. Part 3
B1. Moss Lake
B2. Highway 6A
B3. Refined Localities
B4. Elegy for V

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Thursday 20 March 2008

Satwa - Satwa


















Label: Time-Lag Records
Format: CDR
Released: 2005 (Originally as a private press LP in Brazil in 1973)

"...Largely void of voice and word, the songs – Côrtes plucking steely leads from his sitar while Lailson's 12-string thrums crystalline chords – are loose and lovely. The sole interference in these glistening arabesques is the hoary electric fretwork of one Robertinho on "Blues do Cachorro Muito Louco," the most explicitly fried track. Otherwise, Côrtes and Lailson are left to experiment in musty silence. Seemingly taped live, each track is a dry documentation of the duo's gently rambling improvisations. Far from the recombinant psychedelia of tropicalismo that reigned over the pre-hippie underground in Brazil's bustling metropolises five years earlier, Satwa play bed peace bards. In double-mono, or fake stereo, Satwa is raw, untreated mentalism translated into pure songflow. At times exhausted and dusty – "Atom" – or archaically splendorous – "Valse Dos Cogumelos" – the duo's spiraling scrolls etched in rustic timbres unfurl gracefully."

awesome.

Tracklisting:

Satwa
Can I Be A Satwa
Alegro Paradissimo
Lia A Rainha Da Noite
Apacidonata
Amigo
Atom
Blue Do Cachorro Muito Louco
Valsa Dos Cogumelos
Alegria Do Povo

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Edward Ruchalski - Dark Night


















Label: Foxglove
Format: CDR
Released: 2004

excerpt taken from a most visual interpretation of this record:-

"..The disc begins with a swelling ringing drone that rolls and sways like wheat in a gentle breeze. Over this lulling undulation one can hear the whistles of distant trains passing by. The second track marries lightly stroked piano with resonating bells and chimes that are overshadowed briefly by screeching harmonics of bowed metal before the mournful cry of the train whistle returns. Underneath this swell, the steady insistent sweep of a sprinkler hovers into range.

Over the next several parts of the piece, these basic elements are manipulated and modulated expertly to build a narrative in which individual events can be discerned (the slightly spooky piano figure from "Part Three", the "clock" striking the hour in the middle of "Part Four") but never interrupt the leisurely movement of the whole. As "Part Five" begins with gently plucked guitar frames chiming bells, one can easily picture the easy harmony of an elemental duet between a solitary farmhouse occupant and the wind chimes on the back porch. It is the first hint that acceptance and peace can be attained even amidst the turbulence of nocturnal noises.

Once the delicate piano chords at the start of "Part Six" have been swallowed by gamelan-like echoic bells, a babbling brook emerges as the underpinning for Rebecca Klossner’s "singing bowls". The presence of unfettered water (as opposed to its earlier appearance in sprinkler directed form) is emblematic of the softening the piece has undergone over its length. The final "Part Eight" breaks like dawn illuminating the previous evening’s sinister room corners as merely an innocuous and essential meeting place for the walls of home." - steve rybicki (fakejazz)


Tracklisting:

Part One (5:17)
Part Two (7:25)
Part Three (6:42)
Part Four / Part Five (8:02)
Part Six / Part Seven "Night Pasture" (6:52)
Part Eight "For Rebecca" (4:19)

Composed, performed and recorded by Edward Ruchalski.

Rebecca Klossner: singing bowls and field recording on Part Seven.

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Saturday 15 March 2008

Various Artists - Naturalism

















Label: Nature Tape Limb
Format: CDR
Released: 2004

for me this record teems with life & spirituality, containing a world i could happily submerge myself in for quite some time! wonderful.

"a compilation ranging from minimal forest droppings to ritualistic bloodbath songs." - nature tape limb

"like an outpouring from all the forest creatures hiding under the protection of old growth trees. lay down and put this on headphones, and as soon as you close your eyes, you'll smell the pines in the distance." - foxy digitalis

Tracklisting:

The Nether Dawn - Talking Northoly
The Wooden Cupboard - Cabin In The Sky
Neil Campbell & Robert Hayler - Live
The Skaters - Fishing Continent Horizon
The Wooden Cupboard - The Sun Dances With The Animals
The Candle Magicians - Lanterns Of The Black Witch
CJA - Clutha
Calf - Iron & Wind
The Gnome Eaters - Fly A Garlic
Noun Cocoon - Silhouettes Of The Sabbath

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