Mirag - Black Temple Carved In Smoke

Label: Battlecruiser
Format: CDR
Released: 2006

"“Black Temple Carved in Smoke” is Matthew Bower’s (Sunroof!/Total/Hototogisu/ et al) contribution to Campbell Kneale’s ingenious Battlecruiser label, an imprint that features black and doom metal releases created by the alter egos of various drone/free titans. Previous Battlecruiser releases have featured, among others, Pete Nolan, Antony Milton, CJA and Kneale himself in a variety of blackened guises. Along with Ming’s “The Kill” and Myrtu’s “The Burning Ground,” “Black Temple Carved in Smoke” is perhaps the most captivating and essential of these fascinating releases. Foregoing recognizable or parodic metal touch points, Bower opts instead to construct a singular, howling, polyrhythmic maelstrom of sound.

The first untitled track finds Bower navigating through thick, foggy vistas of feedback and chugging percussion, blasting through the chaos with his characteristically searing riffs. Sections of the piece are reminiscent of “Ghosts from the Sun”-era Hototogisu, all white electricity and blistering guitar pyrotechnics. Track two is less rhythmic than its predecessor, opening with a torrent of feedback squeals and de-tuned riffing before spiraling downward into driving gloom and murk. Both tracks are fantastically heavy and quite compelling, my only complaint is the length of the disc, a shade less than fifteen minutes. Lets hope this isn’t just a one-off for Bower." 7/10 - Alex Cobb, Foxy Digitalis

Here

Blue Sabbath Black Fiji + Helicoptère Sanglante - Untitled

Short post follows:








Label: Countripsyde
Format: CDR
Released: 2007

Five tracks of acerbic noise from this Parisian collab.

here

*Blue Sabbath Black Fiji's Lazer Saber from last year has just been re-released on Abandonship Records in a tiny pressing of 50. Don't waste any time.

Death Chants - Natural History / Valley of Light

Another couple'a Death Chants as per request.

Death Chants - Natural History












Label: Time-Lag
Format: CDR (ltd. 180)
Released: 2005

"As genres continue to liquefy into each other and separate out into individually crafted and organic mash-ups, the world begins to sound like a smaller friendlier place. As a band name, Death Chants a total misnomer, this collective are far too alive and remarkable to be soundtracking any repetitive marches to the graveyard.

It’s easy to find a lot of music that’s based in the worlds of free playing and traditional structures/styles, and Death Chants aren’t alone in giving heavy nods to country and folk. But where many bands give in to crapulous backroom antics or moonshine madness, Death Chants are endearingly rickety, yet undoubtedly focused. They combine loose playing with long drifts and tentative steps into areas like drone and free playing. There’s an immediately warm lo-fi atmosphere on Natural History that appears to be rooted in the traditions of early American music.

The opening “A Dog in the Ether” begins conventionally on acoustic guitar and cello before gracefully flowing into areas of what should be on the border of discord. Instead, the cello swoops like John Cale’s viola, creating a raga-drone through the song. Following the same basic tenets, “River Road” tiptoes along through smog-infested feedback. A strum-along acoustic section moulds the song whole, as shimmering peaks and falls roll through. An accordion tries to steer the song back into the traditional world, but its foothold proves too loose, and the composition melts away like buffeting drifts of snow. The movements between wandering adrift and core melody make this 11-minute ride arresting from start to finish.

“States” wraps things up with a short ramshackle take on beginner’s garage rock, a decidedly odd touch. The loose and shaky percussion follows a battered acoustic guitar and kazoo-like sing-along vocal. There’s an unexpected flute line that, while eerily ethereal, holds the piece together quite well.

Natural History has many of the hallmarks of a debut – fresh, devoutly amateur and full of potential. I’m looking forward to finding out if future Death Chants hold the same charm and bizarrely bright edges." - Dusted


Tracklisting:
1. A Dog In The Ether
2. River Road
3. States

here


Death Chants - Valley of Light















Label: Cauliflower Dreams
Format: CDR
Released: 2006

"this disc will send you to the moon and back. 2 loooong tracks that sing about the deepest river on earth, your mind." - Cauliflower Dreams.

Tracklisting
1. The Village & The Lake (37:57)
2. Distant, Faraway Suns (28:20)

here

Heavy Eye of the Sun - I & II

Heavy Eye of the Sun - I







Label: Self-released
Format: CDR (ltd. 100)
Released: 2005

Surging, melifluous folk dirges spanning a meal of instruments. Fantastic vocal interplay (sustained vs. fluid overtonation). "Three pieces to get lost in"

Tracklisting:
1. Forest of Cymbals,
2. Comme des nuages dans un fleuve
3. Eyesun/Solœil

here
buy


Heavy Eye of the Sun - II









Label: Self-released
Format: CDR
Released: 2006

"The name Heavy Eye of the Sun inspires vivid imagery. I imagine Mayan temples erected toward the sun-borne gods, and ancient ritualistic dances performed in the fire light by feather-adorned priestesses. It's one hell of a name that insinuates something monolithic, something great. So it takes some guts to name your band that. Thankfully on Heavy Eye of the Sun's latest album (and their debut before this, quite honestly), they certainly live up to these lofty expectations.

Housed in a beautiful collage by the artist & photographer, Maryse Latulippe, "II" is the aural equivalent of a sacred talisman. It is enchanted with mystic spirits. This Montreal duo, comprised of Olivier Borzeix and James Schidlowsky, at times remind me of a more acoustic-based, freer version of The Skaters. Their voices bounce off each other like trees spiralling toward the sky. The opening track, "Comme les ailes des libellules," is an absolute mind-bender. Dueling, rapid-fire acoustic guitars destroy everything in front of them so that Borzeix and Schidlowky's voices can rise above the ether. It's perfectly executed and totally great.

After following a similar track on the second track, the duo unleash some absolutely hypnotic folk goodness on "Shivers." Their voices, again, are the key here. High-pitched wails sound as if they're conjuring the essence of long-dead gods. "Shivers" is thick with layers of acoustic guitars, like a neverending cosmic thicket. Hints of banjo rise from the haze to show you the path home. This is truly brilliant stuff.

"II" ends with the loose-blues of "Sun Spiralling Down." It's far more meditative than its three brethren, but is the perfect end to an excellent album. "II" is full of beautiful acoustic drones, steeped in decaying leaves and wrapped in walls of sonic ivy. It is masterfully organic in all the right places. "II" carefully carves out a niche like an archaic stream slowly etching its way toward bedroock. This is Heavy Eye of the Sun's journey to the sea. Recommended. 8/10" (Brad Rose, Foxydigitalis)

Tracklisting:
1. Comme les ailes des libellules
2. Dappled/Pommelé
3. Shivers
4. Sun Spiralling Down

here (*.m4a)
buy


Heavy Eye of the Sun III is still available through FoxyD's ltd. ed. line. And, I assure you, does not disappoint.

Dylan Nyoukis - The Shield That Pierces The Earth

Label: Catsup Plate
Format: LP
Released: 2000

Limited release of 300 copies. My God this is incredible.

"Dylan Nyoukis, most known for his work with the Scottish sound
collage ensemble Prick Decay, has recently unearthed his first
solo full length. Self-described as a folk album, "The Shield
that Pierces the Earth" doesnt exactly mimic Dylanisms a
la "Highway 61", as Nyoukis instead explores otherworldly terrain,
inspired partially by indigenous music from around the globe. From
the gamelan-like percussion explorations to the howling monkish
chants (and so much packed in between), "The Shield that Pierces
the Earth" is a one-man tribute to a large portion of the Folkways
library. Nyoukis also incorporates odd looping bits of sound and
electronics, and with the lo-fi recording and crackle of vinyl,
these fragments could easily be mistaken for a lost recording of
classic concrete sounds. Seaming it all together is Nyoukis
ability to give each sound a distinctly old-timey feel, producing
a fluid continuity between folk and non-folk terrain. Packaged
gorgeously as a handmade gatefold LP (complete with pink
vinyl!) "The Shield that Pierces the Earth" drops from the skies
as a lost experimental classic immediately upon release" (othermusic.com)

Tracklisting:

A1		Excerpt From ‘Dead Pharaoh Vs Smeared On Monkey's Eyeball
A2		Clay’s Festering Lungs
A3		The Lonely Way To Go-Go (Variation On A Theme By Neil Campbell)
A4		Release Me From Your Kung-Fu Grip
A5		Return Of The Javanese Rod Puppet
B1		Mohair Pants
B2		Morgue, Newness
B3		The Chicken Sees
B4		The Snout Of A Zoom Lens

here

p.s. Absence explained by academic concerns, but all is over now.

Sunshine Has Blown - S/T

Label: musicyourmindwillloveyou (mymwly0048)
Format: CDR
Released: 2006

gorgeous solar aquatic noise scapes from this Joel Stern and Adam Park led ensemble, weaving tones amongst abstract structures...electric, meyeopic, static, streams of image noise like pictures...good to grow.

originally packaged in textured paper with inner sleeve artwork by velvet pesu.

joel stern (1,2,3,4) – electronics, violin, guitar, mbira, trumpet, objects
adam park (1,2,3,4) – reel to reel tapes, electronics
velvet pesu (2) – cello, mbira, percussion
joe musgrove (3) – turntable, voice, objects
scott sinclair (3) – drums, voice, pc

edited and mastered by Joel at Governor's House March 2006.

Tracklisting:

Governor's House Brisbane 25th November 05
Mormon Gibbon Brisbane 19th Feb 06
Muji Judith Wright Centre Brisbane 19th December 05
Governor's House Brisbane 25th November 05

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Tirath Singh Nirmala - Blossom Dawn Freckles

Label: Self-released
Format: CDR
Released: 2006

Last oop TSN upload. And as a novelty, a (tiny) cover. It's been emotional.

Awesome variety on this release. Perhaps a little too much? Nah. There are more than noticeable traces of Neil Campbell on the final track. Ha. Here's some cryptic volcanictongue-isms for you:

"New limited edition CD-R from Astral Social Club collaborator Tirath Singh Nirmala aka John Clyde-Evans. Another schtoof straight through the third eye from this q-tip, with lycanthropic looped vocals and knotty violin rags that re-situate the milky cosmic romance of Tony Conrad and Jack Smith in a thatch-covered barn somewhere deep in the mud. Also features some unerringly piloted sheng singing, distorto sine wave tone momes, a buncha clouds raining steel shots of chanter, bamboo flute and a cascade of loomping doom. A mouthful of cotton wool butterflys, from a guy who knows how to gargle a buncha significant modern alphabets. Highly recommended, as is every toot from his peeper." -Volcanic Tongue

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Son Of Earth-Flesh On Bone Trio - S/T

Label: Apostasy Recordings (AP007)
Format: CDR
Released: 2001

long out of print release consisting of three full early live shows.
originally packaged in shortened manilla envelopes, each with unique artwork.

Tracklisting:

As If We Are A Number (A Stone For John Shaw's Beard)
(Pilgrims) Spirit Blanket
Dream Of A New Mountain

download

Tirath Singh Nirmala - Moor Cragg Mist

Label: Self-released
Format: CDR
Released: 2006

Penultimate upload here. African kindly uploaded Birch Clove Burst 1&2 and Tattv-guna-mala 1&2 over at wehavenozen. Moor Cragg Mist was briefly up in the volcanictongue rarities (you can pretend that it's still available through googlecache), but it's just been snapped up. Blossom Dawn Freckles is still available through vt.

"Self-released session (his 5th to date) from the revitalised Tirath Singh Nirmala (aka John Clyde-Evans), a forlorn extension of vocal, feedback and tactile drone strategies, with loops of voice generating pyramids of 4-D construction, computer-manipulated brain waves, harmonium-led prayer hovers, bowed guitar/bamboo flute rituals and plenty of damp earth magic. This guy is turning into a one-man UK underground and every release so far has been a mind-blower. Out of print." - Volcanic Tongue

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Orphan Fairytale - Twilight Time

Label: Sloow Tapes
Format: Single-Sided Cassette
Released: 2006

"Looping casio keyboards inhaling magic dust and blowing it out into bright dancing psychbubbles. Lost star heaven of 100 copies."

this is one of my favourite sloow tapes releases. it shifts between fractured, whimsical melodies, crude rhythmic clanging and passages of industrial-like drone. a highly unique and enjoyable listen.

Tracklisting:

A Untitled

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Tirath Singh Nirmala - Sahasri

Label: Self-released
Format: CDR
Released: 2006

An unusual one here. Sahasri has more in common with the mentality of minimalism than any other release: this one could pass for a high-frequency Theater of Eternal Music / La Monte Young piece. Lovely.

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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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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

download

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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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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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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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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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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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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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Various Artists - Radio Phnom Penh

Label: Sublime Frequencies
Format: CD
Released: 2005

thought i would further diversify this blog by posting one of the best compilations to yet come out of sublime frequencies. the music here is infectious and that which leaves me revelling in all its multi-faceted glory. a must hear!

"Rebel Guitars, Assorted Dialects, Heat-Stroke Synthesizers, and thats just a taste of this diverse assortment of Cambodian musical treasures you’ve NEVER heard before. Flowing from traditional to Modern, from rock and pop to folk and hybrid, all sequenced in the spirit of how it was captured: as radio programming designed to immediately transport you into the heart of Cambodia’s Capital."

Tracklisting:

Don't Want to Let You Go
Multi-Pop Indigenous
Blondie in Khmer Camouflage
Street Guns and Studio Drums
Synthesizers East of Siam
Indefinite State of Emergency
Phnom Penh on the Seine
Bubble Gum Independence
Rebel Guitars in Strange Dialect
Shiny Radio in a Blind Man's Wallet
Re-Mixed Culture or: The Graffiti Walls of Angkor Wat
Condoms and Condors
Sign-Off/The Venerable Anthem

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