Other Music New Release Update
April 11, 2001

In This Week's Update:

Nicola Conte
Parson Sound reissue
People reissue
Input 64 comp. of Commodore 64 music
Bosavi music from Papua New Guinea
Need New Body
Judee Sill reissue
Earth Trumpet
Pilote
Conlon Nancarrow
Rova reissue
Tokyo Kid Brothers reissue
Robert Creeley (2)
Phill Niblock
Henry Wolff and Nancy Hennings reissue
Groenland Orchester
Galactic Zoo Dossier magazine & CD
Medical Milestones Hot Air comp.
Red House Painters
Alien Porno Midgets 3" CD
Stephen Malkmus single

Restocks:
Mum
Dave Pike Set reissue
"I Love Serge: ElectronicaGainsbourg" comp.
Boredoms "Rebore Vol. 3" on vinyl


Featured New Releases:

NICOLA CONTE "Jet Sounds" (Schema, Italy) CD/LP $16.99/$18.99
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An undiscovered classic from 1969! I can't believe that it took 30
years for this one to be reissued. A gem in the crossroads where
funky lounge, exotica jazz and bossa nova psych converged. Okay,
Mr. Conte made this record LAST YEAR -- it just sounds like an
unearthed time capsule, and a damn good one at that. Buzzed as
a 'next big thing', Mr. Conte's appeal is particular to those who
adore Burgalat and Thievery Corporation, only his music is more
anchored in time rather than being a transparent layer of sound
connecting the decades. With a little Dave Pike, a little
Umiliano, a little Swingles Singers....or Sunahara, Fantastic
Plastic Machine or Arling & Cameron _without_ the electronics.
Conte draws a long bridge between India and Brazil, his rhythms (a
lot of hand percussion) jump from tabla to cuica, a sitar sings
over batucada jams. Though inspired by Italian movie
soundtracks, "Jet Sounds" lacks anything stiff or sinister,
flexibly hep with sparkling piano, 'bop-baaaah' vox. As the album
rolls by, I slide right off its lustrous surface. Though he's not
breathing new life into the genre, he's certainly perking it up
more than a little. His debut has no faltering steps -- I don't
think Conte could get any better at what he's doing; he's at an
apex right out of the gate. [RE]
CD //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=801834401314&refer_url=email
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PARSON SOUND "s/t" (Subliminal Sounds, Sweden) 2xCD $25.99
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Easily the staff choice for obsessive in-store play this week and
most deservedly so! "This 2-CD set gives both studio and live
concert samples of one of the most remarkable Swedish underground
bands, Parson Sound, known in a later incarnation and continuation
as International Harvester and Trad Gras Och Stenar. The
recordings date from 1967/68 while the band explored unknown
musical territory as well as inner and outer space. While
discovering and perfecting their unique approach towards mixing
rock and minimalism, parts of the musical concepts of Terry Riley
influenced them to create some of the most remarkable tribal
trance-drone-pre-noise music-rock sounds of its time. The marriage
between repetitive structures and tribal rock'n'roll-sounds in the
music of Parson Sound is absolutely comparable to the most intense
moments of Velvet Underground, Grateful Dead, the early Pink Floyd
or Cornelius Cardew's experimental group AMM. It evolves, expands,
starts to have a resonance with the inner systems. There's a light
in this music that is corrosive and completely hypnotic; it's
softer than 'Sister Ray', slower than 'Interstellar Overdrive',
more utopian than 'Dark Star'. Heavenly reverberations, shimmering
fragments, circular rhythms: something is photographed in these
concerts and field recordings, an alternative future maybe, or a
more vivid now." --Magnus Haglund, from the liner notes. Over two
hours of never-before released archival madness and one of the
most important finds we're gonna hear this year. [JG]
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PEOPLE "Ceremony: Buddha Meet Rock" (P-Vine, Japan) CD $25.99
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Way back before sampling even had a name (with the possible
exception of "copyright infringement") a nine-piece Japanese
musical commune known simply as People wreaked havoc with David
Axelrod's 'Holy Thursday' from his 1968 masterpiece, "Song Of
Innocence" (how could they know?), bookending their tribal
freakouts with some very entertaining appropriation! This is one
of the most perfectly-conceived psychedelic albums I've ever
encountered, originally released in 1971 and languishing in ultra-
collectable obscurity until now. It's all here: ritualistic
chanting, sing-song sweet melodies, found sounds, insane wah-wah
guitar courtesy of Kimio Mizutani (Love Live Life, Satoh
Masahiko), and the sublime 'Prayer Part 2', perhaps the only truly
suitable rival to Brainticket's orgiastic eponymous theme song!
Highest recommendation! [JG]
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[V/A] "Input 64" (L'Age D'or, Germany) CD $13.99
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This collection of compositions were made by, for and with the
Commodore 64 computer, originally for games. Unlike the
compilation reviewed last week, this is all 'vintage' '80s
stuff, recorded between '84 and '89. The form for a videogame
composition is somewhat restrictive: catchy melodies that are
supposed to evoke a particular atmosphere, used to simply speed a
game along. These works, viewed through the lens of today, are
great, fun electro-pop that are by no means primitive. Just think--
a composition has to change for a number of levels of play and
when different events happen on a screen. That makes the structure
pleasantly unpredictable, resulting in little spacey instrumentals
that build and build, with melodic loops that go through a number
of transformations along the way, all set into propulsive grooves
(catchy as hell, yet not annoyingly so!). The composers are
German, Brits, Dutch, and Canadian; a few continue to work in the
field today. The booklet contains a very informative history of
the computer itself. [RE]
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[V/A] "Bosavi: Rainforest Music from Papua New Guinea" (Smithsonian Folkways) 3xCD $22.99
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Smithsonian Folkways have been documenting cultures of the
farthest reaches of the world for over fifty years, and the
collection "Bosavi" continues in the tradition of so many of the
wonderful collections this label has assembled. This anthology is
divided into three separately themed discs: guitar bands of the
1990s, sounds and songs of everyday life, and sounds and songs of
ritual and ceremony. Disc one is the most accessible, compiling
eleven 'string bands' from Bosavi. The vocal harmonies soar
beautifully over finger-picked guitars, producing an otherworldly
folk music that hints at pop music in the slightest way, yet still
has a sing-along catchiness. Disc two is a traditional field
recording, capturing the sounds of the people in their daily
lives. Between men's yelps and hollers, you can literally hear
trees falling as a new garden is cleared. Surreal at times, this
disc really transports the sounds of the rainforest into your
speakers, with chirping cicadas harmonizing with the odd speak-
sung vocals. Disc Three contains the ceremonial music of Bosavi,
predominantly dense, clustered voices chanting and weeping in
unison. Equally intriguing on this disc is the group drumming, the
rhythms going in and out of phase in an incredibly cerebral way.
As usual, this set contains a lengthy and informative booklet, not
to mention the excellent b&w and color photos. Diverse,
historically relevant and musically stunning, this collection is
nothing short of essential listening. [PW]
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NEED NEW BODY "s/t" (Cenotaph Audio) CD $12.99
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The debut offering from Philadelphia's Need New Body explodes in a
barrage of Kraut / free jazz / post-punk inspired rhythm and
sound. Driven by a pulsing rhythm section and an array of
keyboard / piano sounds, at times this album sounds like a nod to
Can's dub-influenced output. The more skewed moments here also
venture into Pere Ubu territory, with surreal rants hovering over
the jagged blasts of keyboards and scattershot percussion.
Somewhere in between, elements of free jazz spill out in short,
explosive doses, giving the album an even more fragmented edge. A
stunning debut, Need New Body touch on impressive historical
reference points, but what is most compelling about this album is
their ability to bring all of this sound together into one
cohesive work. [PW]
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JUDEE SILL "Heart Food" (East West, Japan) CD $23.99
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Judee Sill was an extremely talented songwriter and arranger whose
initial claim to fame was the few songs she wrote for the Turtles
in the '60s. As a solo artist in the '70s, she created two
emotionally intense yet surprisingly uplifting folk pop records
before dying from a heroin overdose soon after the release of her
second, "Heart Food". Sill's heartbreaking lyrical ruminations on
God, addiction and the redemptive power of love create a striking
contrast to the gospel-y strains of piano and strings, occasional
blast of Dixieland horns, and her amazing, self-arranged
multitracked vocals. (Her delivery is very similar to that of
Victoria Williams.) Even though the pace of the album is slow,
there's a sense of optimism maintained throughout -- or maybe just
a sense of desperate yearning for deliverance from the daily pain
of living. This one's for fans of Skip Spence, Fleetwood Mac,
and "Pink Moon". I dare you to not be moved. [DH]
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EARTH TRUMPET "s/t" (Cenotaph Audio) CD $12.99
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Earth Trumpet is the creation of Volcano the Bear member Laurence
Coleman. Coleman has created an odd carnival of sounds, sonically
manipulated into a dizzying web. Created with the utmost
precision, Earth Trumpet takes what at first glance seems like
chaos and turns it into a work of sophisticated musical sound
collage. At times Earth Trumpet veers towards what could loosely
be described as song, playing distant piano motifs that wander in
and out of the layers of affected sounds. These subtle melodic
interludes are woven perfectly with gurgling electronics,
modulated voice bits, washes of synth and chopped acoustic
instrumentation. With an sensibility that could be likened to a
music box on LSD, Earth Trumpet has created a unique, brilliant
masterpiece. [PW]
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PILOTE "DoItNowMan" (Certificate 18, UK) CD $15.99
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Stuart Cullen remains one of the most enigmatic contemporary
British electronic producers. In his Pilote guise, he released the
tender, restrained "Antenna" in 1998, which made several critic's
top ten lists and yet hardly went platinum. Perhaps that's
because, like his new record, Cullen makes gently progressing
tracks that are profoundly disquieting. Some of the worst violence
in recent British history has taken place in bucolic settings, not
large, metropolitan centers. Pilote's music reflects the paradox
of rural tranquility and the ancient violence that took place at
sites like Stonehenge centuries ago (happening today, albeit to
livestock, in Essex and Northumberland!). "DoItNowMan" puts the
listener ill at ease because many of the delicately carved,
beautiful melodies here are rudely interrupted by long spoken word
passages which seem difficult to trace or comprehend the meaning
of. Let it be said the man has a sense of humor, which is manifest
on the opening, 'Paul Oakenfold', in which the half-heard words of
a frustrated, tired DJ demanding lavish back stage treatment are
set against the sudden orchestral synth stabs de rigeur in
current 'progressive' trance. Sitting alongside that is the
lonely 'Beaulieu Road', which conjures images of someone waiting
for the phone to ring, waiting for a call that will never come. [TH]
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CONLON NANCARROW "Lost Works, Last Works" (Other Minds) CD $14.99
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Composer Conlon Nancarrow came to the player piano as his
compositional medium through dissatisfactions; both with people
and with a country. Though born in the U.S., as a registered
Socialist, the gov't wouldn't grant him a passport to travel (a
similar situation to Paul Robeson's) -- effectively making him a
prisoner in his own country. So he emigrated to Mexico, where
there was a small community of leftist expats. But the isolation
made it difficult for his works to be performed, so he returned to
the refuge of the mechanical player for execution of his ideas
(today no doubt he'd be making computer music). And found that
he had more freedom that way, composing works that would be
impossible to play even if you had extra hands. The player piano
mimics a CD on a giant scale -- patterns of holes and solids are
like zeros and ones. These thirteen tracks have never made it
onto CD before, and are some of his most delicious, from the
placid 'Blues for Piano' from 1935 (I've never heard this side of
him before) to some hyper piano works for prepared or player
pianos. It works well as an introduction to Nancarrow's style as
well, with some long explanatory interviews at the end of the
disc. This CD also satisfies a particular kind of curiosity, like
peering past the stage into the wings. [RE]
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ROVA SAXOPHONE QUARTET "As Was" (Atavistic) CD $13.99
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Originally released in 1981 on Metalanguage, this 45-minute LP was
this San Francisco group's seventh. Free jazz influenced by Nino
Rota, European traditional music, Albert Ayler, Messaien, and Otis
Redding (the latter three have pieces dedicated to them). Their
music, the four saxes buzz like a small swarm, power shared and
traded intensely -- you could almost imagine them playing in a
circle, keying each other's instruments -- there's that much
contained trust on this record. Working in rhythm more often than
melody, their playing is close, tight, and sharp, solos overlap in
a continuous stream. The best way I think of this record is that
it's Brownian motion in sound, the aural version of placing
detritus in a clear glass of water and watching it swirl around.
[RE]
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TOKYO KID BROTHERS "Throw Away The Books Let's Go Into the Streets" (P-Vine, Japan) CD $25.99
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Impossibly obscure 1971 release by the theatrical troupe led by
Tenjo Sajiki that would later become known as J.A. Caesar. Imagine
the musical "Hair" staged on acid. Oh, it was? Yeah, well then so
was "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In". OK, imagine the musical "Hair"
staged on really great acid, greatly upping the boogie ante, and
produced by Magma! This and their other album earned them a
spot on that ridiculous Nurse With Wound "list". Wondrously
psychedelic, yet quaintly earnest in a plaintive sort of way that
makes me so very happy that I don't understand Japanese. [JG]
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ROBERT CREELEY "s/t" (Jagjaguwar) CD $12.99
ROBERT CREELEY, CHRIS MASSEY, STEVE SWALLOW, DAVID CAST & DAVID TORN
"Have We Told You All You'd Thought to Know?" (Cuneiform) CD $13.99
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Two CD releases from poet Creeley, whose connections to musicians
go back a little: a number of years ago Steve Lacy used his poems
as lyric settings on a couple of albums, and Mercury Rev have set
some to music, too. Here Creeley steps to the fore, on two CDs,
one with music, one without. Originally in the Black Mountain
College scene, Creeley's since won just about every poetry prize
there is, but that doesn't tell you much about his poems. His work
is animated by a sweet life force that acknowledges both darkness
and light, read here in his wonderfully burnished, aged voice.
With pieces playful, compact, and free, his solo CD is all of
'unreleased' poems -- meaning unpublished, only existing in oral
form; he's always trying new forms for poetry, this just happens
to be his newest experiment. (My favorite track is a heart-zinging
bit of simplicity written to his teenage daughter.) The ensemble
CD puts Creeley in the middle of tense, textural improvisations,
the vaguely vibrating music complementing but not overwhelming his
work. The best examples of 'spoken word' albums of recent
vintage, all integrity, no attitude. [RE]
"Robert Creely"
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"Have We Told You"
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PHILL NIBLOCK "Touch Works, For Hurdy Gurdy And Voice (Touch, UK) CD $14.99
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A bold new work of computer-enhanced minimalism. Utilizing samples
of Jim O'Rourke playing the hurdy-gurdy and vocal samples and live
throat singing from Thomas Buckner, Niblock has constructed three
lengthy and remarkable pieces of drone and overtones that spiral
into layers of ever-increasing richness and complexity.
Enthralling! [JG]
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HENRY WOLFF & NANCY HENNINGS "Tibetan Bells" (Vajra) CD $14.99
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A long-unheralded classic recording from 1972 finally gets its due
(not to mention a pristine remaster job!). At the time of its
recording, "Tibetan Bells" was essentially unprecedented; an
organic meditative flowing of bells and their reverberations that
stood apart from both ethnic and avant-classical music with a
rather unsuspecting elegance and an undeniable beauty. This is
the first in a series of marvelous Wolff / Hennings collaborations
that got swallowed up in the heady ecstasy that would become
the "New Age" movement, but please don't hold that against it.
For me, it's just one more killer trip, man. [JG]
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GROENLAND ORCHESTER "Nurobic" (Staubgold, Germany) CD $15.99
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A goofy, circuslike and chompy bumpy ride of goofy electro, but
one that's neither over-the-top nor kitschy. The Orchester's
instrumentals teem with buzzing and artificial pipe-organ
noises, the sounds of insects moving their legs really fast.
Tracks are melodic but distracted; melodies wander and
rarely return to a riff or 'chorus'. Drum machines
contrast/coexist with keyboards, each revolving in their own hyper
circle of sound. Ping, pong, bing, 36 minutes, eight tracks of fun
without being 'ha-ha'. Supposedly created by a group that can
swell up to 40 members but I am quite skeptical on that account.
This is their second album. [RE]
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[V/A] "Galactic Zoo Dossier #5" (Galactic Zoo) CD & Magazine $15.99
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My first viewing of the quite impressive "Galactic Zoo Dossier" is
with this, number five. Where have I been? Editor Steven Krakow
drew and wrote this entire zine BY HAND. That's right, nary a font
lies within, and only a few photos (he mostly does line drawings
of photos). I swear, probably the most difficult thing in the
production of this must be figuring out the layout space when
handwriting an entire article! The whole issue is infused with a
casualness that you get from other zines like "Rocktober", that
combination of a personal voice with lots of useful info. In this
case Krakow is WAY into guitar bands, either of the long
psychedelic jamming type or the sweet '60s psych-pop type, and
he includes not only short, informative overviews of nearly 50
groups, but also interviews with Can, Eddie Shaw of the Monks,
Moebius and Michael Rother of Neu!, and more. Plus a few articles
about the ways psychedelia made its way into mainstream comics
of the '60s and '70s (lets just say all of them were extremely
silly), and a lovely set of 50 "Guitar Gods" cardboard 'trading'
cards. Not only that, but you also get a CD containing a handful
of rare '60s singles and a ton of unreleased tracks from current
guitar-blast groups (most of the spacerock variety -- and yes,
you've heard of most of them). Did I say impressive? Yes I did.
[RE]
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[V/A] "Medical Milestones" (Hot Air, UK) CD $13.99
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Hot Air Records' series of 7" singles were that frustrating
combination of really good and really expensive (each selling for
about $7.99)! So the label, run by the guys in Stock, Hausen and
Walkman, nicely relieve some of that frustration in releasing this
CD sampler. Which contains some of the tracks on those 7"s, along
with a kind of label overview (selected tracks from CD releases)
and a few unreleased/Japan-only cuts. Explosions of punching and
treble fuzz, art experiments of an 'offensive' nature (the track
of noises from someone's colon), creak and tick and slam
electronic beat tracks. What is Hot Air records about? Not lying
down. Five Dummy Run tracks (1/2 of Stock Hausen & Walkman),
others from Los Sampler's, Vomit Lunchs, Janek Schaefer, Gino
Robair, Speedranch & Janski-Noise, more. [RE]
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RED HOUSE PAINTERS "Old Ramon" (Sub Pop) CD $14.99
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If you know them, this is exactly what you'd expect from the Red
House Painters is provided here, no digressions or turnovers of
style. And where it veers at all is that this is a LONG album--
over 70 minutes for 10 songs. Any one of their songs, folksy
indie, clear vocals, a fine layer of mist in the guitars,
stretched out to seven minutes tends to emphasize the slow grind,
the slow burn of their music. While they can escalate into Big
Rock (there's one Teenage Fanclub soundalike track) they equally
smear out songs heavy with pedal steel. Strength comes from their
crouch into intimacy, the kind of songs where singer Mark Kozelek
sounds like he's in the room with you, wire brushes on the drums
fluttering around his head. [RE]
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ALIEN PORNO MIDGETS "The High Altitude Porno Waikiki Beach Alien Midgets"
(V/VM, UK)  3-inch CD  $11.99
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Oh, I love little 3" CDs. There's something about miniatures?I
want lots of them so I can make curtains or string them into a
belt. Unfortunately, all of the 3" CDs I own I'd never relegate to
pure decoration, they're too good. No exception here... a
confluence of Hawaiian musics and sharp digital edits of
minimalist techno, Alien Porno Midgets also take advantage of the
lopsided sound of Hawaiian slide guitar and emphasize it as if a
record rotating way off-center (which it very well may be). This
also tastes of music for a videogame in which you might chase wily
hula maidens while avoiding the monkeys up in the palms throwing
coconuts, simultaneously leaping lava flows. Alien Porno Midgets
(is this an alias for V/VM? anyone?) knew that microbes and prions
were eating holes in Duke Kahanamoku's brain and decided to record
it. Twenty minutes. [RE]
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STEPHEN MALKMUS "Jenny & the Ess-Dog" (Matador) CD single $4.99
The second single for Malkmus' solo album, bolstered by three
tracks recorded live in Germany -- covers of Black Oak Arkansas,
Coloured Balls, and the Wipers.
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Restocks:

MUM "Yesterday Was Dramatic -- Today Was OK" (TMT, Iceland) CD/LP  $16.99/$16.99
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This Icelandic group have supported countrymate Bjork on tour,
which makes perfect sense -- their work resembles her at her most
lulling, lullaby-ish, not that they can't rip it up with woodshop
sounds and drum'n'bass. While Mum use some of Boards of
Canada's 'pastoral' electronic effects (ticky sweet and bell-like
synth tones), they warm it by blurring the line between the
acoustic and electronic. They pull in and out of sped-up bouncing
harpsichord notes, trumpet, clarinet, guitar and strings, lovely
vocal chanting, and a glockenspiel that I can't tell if it's real
or faux. Acoustic guitar tones might start a song and make you
think it's going to become indie-pop, until the whole thing
collapses delicately on a fainting couch of fireplace crackles,
Casios that imitate the trilling and chirping of birds, and
resonant triangle tones. Fans of Sigur Ros or Autechre will like
this very much. Primarily instrumental, but one song drifts in and
out on breathy, multitracked angel vox. An absolutely exquisite
recording, now a whole lot cheaper. [RE]
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LP //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=569082299381&refer_url=email

DAVE PIKE SET "Noisy Silence--Gentle Noise" (MPS, Japan) CD $23.99
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Pike's poppy, swingy production jazz for the small ensemble of
vibes, guitar, bass and drums landed him square in the easy-
listening genre. However, this being 1969, it's also time for the
group to experiment, you know, for the kids. And so this is the
Set's jazz-psych record, including the highlights of a Frank Zappa
cover arranged by Volker Kriegel, and the spectacular, sitar-
heavy 'Mathar', one of the best global groove tracks EVER. Newly
remastered (24-bit sound) and in Japanese mini-LP packaging. [RE]
//perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=498800525885&refer_url=email

[V/A] "I Love Serge: Electronicagainsbourg" (Mercury, France) CD/LP1/LP2 $21.99/$16.99/$16.99
RealAudio: /ramgen/othermusic/eleGain1.rm
RealAudio: /ramgen/othermusic/eleGain2.rm
This lovingly assembled project features notable mixologists
tackling Serge Gainsbourg's hot/cool melodies and ineffably slinky
style. This byproduct of Mercury's massive Gainsbourg reissue,
remaster, and reclamation project finds the label granting artists
like The Orb, Herbert, Bob Sinclar, Readymade, Faze Action, etc.,
intimate access to Serge's precious masters for
recontextualization in the 21st Century. Thankfully, everyone here
succeeds in enhancing our relationship to the originals, while
retaining the verve and elegance of his vision. Gainsbourg's
laconic vocals allow for optimal breathing room for sonic
innovation and are perfectly suited to the de/re-constructions
this stellar roster churns out. Serge would have said 'oui' to
this, he'd see it as just another transformation, no? (LP released
in two parts) [JG/RE]
CD //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=73145485522&refer_url=email
LP1 //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=73145486641&refer_url=email
LP2 //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=73145486651&refer_url=email

BOREDOMS remixed by DJ KRUSH "Re-Bore Vol. 3" (Warner, Japan) CD/LP $29.99/$34.99
RealAudio: /ramgen/othermusic/BOkrush1.rm
RealAudio: /ramgen/othermusic/BOkrush2.rm
Krush's approach to the Boredoms takes the form of a rolling
thundercloud sending out streaks of lightning. Roughly separated
into two sections (though one continuous 44-minute track), Krush
uses their excellent raw material to build a thickly atmospheric
miasma, from which spikes a yelp, a crash, a small pocket of
beats. He creates ladders to different rooms full of enchanting
swirls of sound, mechanical twitters, a rave in miniature. With an
array of precious materials at his disposal, he makes a piece that
doesn't just springboard off of the B'doms excellence but is based
first and foremost on his own. (I also think this is the best so
far in the series)[RE]
CD //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=494367402266&refer_url=email
LP //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=499718450047&refer_url=email


This week's contributors: Robin Edgerton [RE], Jeff Gibson [JG],
Duane Harriott [DH], Tim Haslett [TH], Phil Waldorf [PW].


The Big Picture:

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