Other Music New Release Update
June 27, 2001

In This Week's Update:

Tortoise tour single
White Stripes
Squarepusher
Nagisa Ni Te (3 reissues)
Orton Socket
Ichiyanagi, Ranta & Kosugi reissue
Samba Soul '70 comp.
Basement Jaxx
Jacques Berrocal reissue
DJ Jester the Filipino Fist
Luke Vibert's Nuggets comp.
Angelblood
Battles
Nurse w/Wound reissue
Neotropic
Fennesz
Hava Nargile Turkish '60s comp.
PP Arnold reissue
Gulliver's Travels reissue
Noah Howard reissue
Taylor Deupree
Nitin Sawhney
Coldcut
Motorlabs #1 & #2
Tricky
Triangles
Azalia Snail
Jeff Buckley live
Bionaut singles comp.
Marianne Nowottny

Restocks:
Bill Dixon box
Gorillaz domestic
BYG/Actuel box
Don Cherry reissue
Archie Shepp reissue
Sun Ra/Arkestra reissue
Art Ensemble of Chicago reissue

Featured New Releases:

TORTOISE "Gently Cupping the Chin of the Ape" (Thrill Jockey) CD single  $7.99
In stock now and for a limited time only is the 2001 tour CD
from Tortoise. Featuring two exclusive tracks ('Waihopai' and
'Peering') and  three CD-ROM videos('Seneca', 'Tortoise 98',
and 'Rehearsal 2001'). This is one not to miss, and a must
for any fan. [JS]
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WHITE STRIPES "White Blood Cells" (Sympathy for the Record Industry) CD/LP $11.99/$9.99
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The White Stripes are so easy to love. Every song is an anthem, a
sing-along, and an opportunity for full-fledged, head-bobbing,
steering-wheel pounding, accident-causing commuter rock-out. In
the last few months, Jack and Meg White have won favor with a
wider audience than anyone could have predicted back in 1998,
when their first single was released on Detroit's miniscule Italy
Records. With "White Blood Cells", their third album, the Whites
stay true to a trademark formula; Jack liberates an explosion of
melodious hooks and desperate croonings from some pent-up well
deep in his gut, and Meg pounds unceremoniously along. It's her
no fills, no solos simplicity in their approach to rockin' that sets
the White Stripes apart. Colored with heavy, ominous riffs and
containing all original songs, "White Blood Cells" is the product
of a band coming into its own. Garage, blues, metal, call it what
you will -- the White Stripes are pure, red- and white-blooded,
American rock'n'roll. [SB]
CD  //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=09999158782&refer_url=email
LP  //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=09999158791&refer_url=email

SQUAREPUSHER "Go Plastic" (Warp) CD $13.99
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This may be Tom Jenkinson's most challenging album he's yet made.
Why? Because 'My Red Hot Car' is the most infectious opening tune
to some of the most cacaphonous drum'n'gabber breaks I've heard in
a long time. Tracks 2-4 consist of the kind of amphetamine-fueled
freak fusion that Jenkinson has become known for. From Track 5 on,
he begins a full-frontal attack on the senses (mostly hearing, but
it's powerful enough to leak into others). I especially like the
high-pitched tinnitus-inducing 'My F***ing Sound' (RA above): you
can envision Jenkinson's evil smirk of self-satisfaction from
making you wince. Consider the line "I'm gonna f**k you with my
red. hot. car." A warning to the squeamish and anyone still
enamored with his first single. For everyone else, enjoy
Jenkinson's pummeling assault, 'cuz no one does it quite like
him. But be careful; this one's gonna hurt. [DH]
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NAGISA NI TE "On The Love Beach" (P-Vine, Japan) CD $21.99
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NAGISA NI TE "The True Sun" (P-Vine, Japan) CD $21.99
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NAGISA NI TE "The True World" (P-Vine, Japan) 2xCD $36.99
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Summer starts a chez moi, with this glorious trio of albums from
Nagisa Ni Te, an Osaka-based collective centered around Shinji
Shibayama and his partner-muse Masako Takeda. Shibayama runs
Org Records, the label that first released material by Maher Shalal
Hash Baz among other obscure gems of lo-fi psychedelic pop. And
like those recent faves, Nagisa Ni Te perfectly combine the pop
flavor of, say, Belle & Sebastian or The Pastels with the killer
atmospherics of Neil Young circa "On The Beach" (and I suspect
the title of their first album is no accident in that regard). "On The
Love Beach" was originally released in 1995. It is nothing short
of bliss on a disc; Masako is credited simply as "wind" while
Reiko & Tori from M.S.H.B. lend support. "The True Sun" was
recorded live in 1997. The performances are stripped-down,
yet entirely expansive. Masako sings this time out, ever so
delicately. "The True World" was originally a double LP from 1999
and is reissued here as two CDs totaling 79 minutes. Masako gains
confidence in her singing. "Their three albums are wide-eyed and
wonderful paeans to the delights of love and togetherness that
seem permeated on some cellular level with a power to invoke
memory. Dreamily recollected feelings of wistful regret at the end
of the summer holidays, unforgettable reveries, and joyful
instances of boy-girl oneness when time seems to stop. Moments of
childlike wonder-melody are wrapped up in arrangements that are
at once spontaneous and perfectly realised. Honesty and direct
simplicity are the keynotes, songs sometimes trembling on that
ever so fine edge between profundity and profound embarrassment
as songs are stripped back to the bare bones of punk emotiveness.
At times, Shinji and Masako's vocals crack and tremble, the acoustic
strumming falters, and they seem on the verge of plummeting into
an abyss of abject amateur ineptitude, borne up merely by the
thinnest layer of conviction and deep truth." --Alan Cummings
in "Oppobrium." Each title is presented as a miniaturized
reproduction of the exquisite original gatefold LP packages,
complete with lyric booklets and English translations. Go for
broke, sell the farm, hold off on some of that indie-rock you'll
only spin once, buy all three and summer never, ever has to
end! [JG]
"On The Love Beach"
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"The True Sun"
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"The True World"
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ORTON SOCKET "99 Explosions" (Moikai) CD/LP $13.99/$12.99
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Drawing cues from Raymond Scott ("Manhattan Research"
and "Soothing Sounds"), Boards of Canada, Robert Ashley and
early '60s bleepery, meshing those with mumbling echoes and
tweaking repetition (if there's a repeat, it's never exact).
Sweet, tingly keyboards and digital filigree, subtleties of wind
and water and voice scattered. Orton Socket is Rob Mazurek
(also of Pan American, Tortoise, Chicago Underground, Isotope
217, Stereolab, etc?), assisted by most of Tortoise and edited
in part by Mikael Jorgensen and Moikai headman Jim O'Rourke.
Greatly ambient, it's like Eno with a pulse (though not a strong
one), or the early collages of O'Rourke after a trip to the beat-y
parlor. 45 minutes of some of the most delicate, elegant pieces
of electroacoustic music I've had the pleasure of ear-witnessing.
Comes in and out like a lamb, in fact ends with minutes of near-
silence. [RE]
CD  //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=78148490112&refer_url=email
LP  //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=09999158451&refer_url=email

TOSHI ICHIYANAGI, MICHAEL RANTA & TAKEHISA KOSUGI
"Improvisation Sep. 1975" (Drone Syndicate, Sweden) LP $29.99
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Our three-week Takehisa Kosugi bonanza concludes in spectacular
fashion with this final piece in a trilogy of impossibly rare albums
(Taj Mahal Travellers; his solo LP, "Catch Wave") exhumed by
the aptly named Drone Syndicate label. Here esteemed composer,
fellow Fluxus pioneer, and John Cage disciple (and Yoko Ono's
first husband!) Toshi Ichiyanagi joins Kosugi on prepared piano.
Michael Ranta, a close associate of Harry Partch, rounds out the
trio on percussion. Essentially one lengthy drone improvisation
spreading languidly over the two LP sides, "Sep. 1975" unleashes
a mind-boggling array of structures, instrumentation, otherworldly
voices and electronic effects. The end result lies somewhere
between the full-on psychedelia of Taj Mahal Travellers, the very
finest Nurse With Wound, and the innovative avant compositions
of MEV. Originally issued by the Iskra label in Japan, this edition
runs but a scant 300, so act fast. [JG]
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[V/A] "Samba Soul 70!" (Six Degrees) CD/LP $15.99/$16.99
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I've waited a long time for something like this to hit our shores.
This is the best selection of the wavy slinky side of Brazilian (black)
soul music yet in reissue. Unlike the equivalent from Jamaica of the
same period, the soul influence is in the vocals and some of the
instrumentation, but the rhythms are pure Brazil, funky and swinging
with shades of Africa. Kept out of lite and loungy by the punchy
rhythms, if it weren't so rugged this comp. could have provided
track after track to bait Theivery Corp. From Orlandivo's slippery
jazz fusion to Wanderlea's Jorge-Ben-style pop, it all swings hotly,
there's even soulful instrumental big-band numbers! An impeccably-
selected bunch of tracks. But no Tim Maia or Gershon King? Volume
two, please! 57 minutes. [RE]
CD  //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=65703610472&refer_url=email
LP  //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=541037700119&refer_url=email

BASEMENT JAXX "Rooty" (Astralwerks) CD $14.99
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Basement Jaxx' second album is the most top-40 record Astralwerks
has ever done, even hyper than Fatboy Slim, if that's possible --
and why? The Brixton-based duo of Elli and Felix (the Jaxx)
brought in tons of guest vocalists to top off their big pump-it-
out-the-back-of-a-jeep sound. Total hip-hop/R&B soul divas on vox
like UK's Kele Le Roc and the one-named "Cassie" and "Mandy."
They even got DJs Derrick Carter and Junior Sanchez to sing!
(admittedly, background vox, but.) Big, pumping dancefloor anthems
with slicing beats and chunky jumpiness, "Rooty" is the Jaxx' Quad
City DJs/Venga Boys move, and it works. See if you can escape it
this summer. Then stop trying to. [RE]
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JACQUES BERROCAL "Paralleles" (Alga Marghen, Italy) CD $16.99
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Reissue of a magnificent, impossible-to-categorize French classic
originally released on the hopelessly obscure d'Avantage label in
1976. Pretty much the definition of musical anarchy, "Paralleles"
begins with an atonal duo for trombones, wends its way through
accompanied poetry readings and cornet solos, vamps into a rap
delivered by Vince Taylor (France's answer to Eddie Cochran and
Bowie's inspiration for Ziggy Stardust!) on 'Rock N Roll Station'
(which Nurse With Wound deconstructed later on their s/t album)
before ultimately exploding into a 25-minute large ensemble improv
freakout. Berrocal assembled the cream of the avant French scene
including Bernard Vitet, Roger Ferlet, Pierre Bastien, Michel
Potage, Daniel Deshays, and Claude Bernard. This remastered
CD also includes five additional, prev. unreleased tracks that
were left off the original: a short piece for pocket trumpet and
various concrete elements (1972); an excerpt taken from a never-
issued LP; and other electronic experiments. Lovely digipak, bien
sur! [JG]
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DJ JESTER "River Walk Riots" (210 Records) CD-R $11.99
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See if you can imagine this: a 25-year-old wunderkind turntablist
(nicknamed 'The Filipino Fist') starts a DJ scene in his native
San Antonio, getting props from likes of Kid Koala, Ice-T and
Willie Nelson (no kiddin'), creates a mind-boggling mix for a
company that doesn't exist anymore as he now travels the country
in the Boca mobile serving out soy burgers at public events while
pushing his CD. You just can't make stuff like this up. Now
imagine a cross-cultural dialog with Richard Simmons, "In-a-Gadda-
Da-Vida," the themes from 'SWAT' and 'Night Court,' Austin Powers,
Willie Wonka, Aerosmith, Terrence Trent D'Arby and Pavement
ACTUALLY MIXED TOGETHER WELL. These superhuman feats
have indeed occurred, and now you can find out why record shops
in Boston and San Francisco can't keep enough copies of his
debut on their shelves. Watch this kid -- you'll be seeing his name
again and not just on an RIAA warrant. [JGr]
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[V/A] "Nuggets: Luke Vibert's Selection" (Lo Recordings, UK) CD  $14.99
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When an artist of diverse tastes makes his own music, that cross-
cultural embrace is usually embodied in the sound itself; when he
curates a collection the same thing happens. This is,
aesthetically, a backwards extension of Vibert's own work and a
sprawling quirky guide through library music of the '60s and '70s.
Nino Nardini, Eddie Warner, and Roger Roger take up the bulk of
the disc, under their own names or a number of disguises, doing
mostly electronic instrumental tricks, some of which sounds
awfully prescient, others even border on glitch music, only with
more melody. This is not a rehash of other CD collections out
there (like the "Stereo Ultra" or "Music for Dancefloors" comps,
or the solo Warner disc [and definitely not the fake Nardini
disc]) -- if it intersects with them at all, it does so barely. The
most amazing track here is Johanna Group's 'Strange Love
Action', a seven-minute seamless trip through all of the styles
of popular music of the time, breezing from funk to country to
lounge on sails of early synth. Wow. [RE]
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ANGELBLOOD "Masses Of The Daggers" (Captain Trip, Japan) CD  $18.99
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The apocalypse is almost upon us and Angelblood will show us the
way. Flames are teased higher and the metal is twisted into totems
of those who will soon be devoured. Conjouring up the magick of
their debut, now with the assistance of Brian Degraw and Tim
Wayne, they also delve into more ecstatic bouts of disorder and
chaos. Making this follow-up one of my favorite albums of the
year. [AG]
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BATTLES "Lycanthropy" (Blue Curtain) CD $10.99
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The Battles debut album is the second release on the Blue Curtain
imprint, and considering that the first was the New Pornographers'
much heralded debut, "Mass Romantic", it is no surprise that this
is a collection of classic sounding pop tunes. Add to the mix that
bandleader Stephen Wood moonlights as a guitarist in Destroyer
and any doubt of the Battles earnest pop smarts is quickly erased.
With hooks aplenty, The Battles have produced a Lennon-inspired
collection of pop grandeur. But, this is not just a Beatles
throwback; the Battles also borrow from other talented songsmiths
like Syd Barrett to Tom Verlaine, without sounding trite or
contrived. While "Lycanthropy" might not break new ground, the
Battles recreate something with class, coming off more as an
earnest tribute, rather than a cheap imitation. [PW]
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NURSE WITH WOUND "Thunder Perfect Mind" (United Dairies, UK) CD  $16.99
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In typical fashion, Steven Stapleton soups up another mid-period
classic. I A/B'd this with the original and there's really no
comparison. Ten years of advancements in mastering has turned
this beast into a monster! The sister release of Current 93's album
of the same title, "Thunder Perfect Mind" was originally released
in 1991. It is a pivotal release in the NWW canon in that it marked
Stapleton's transition from cut-up collagist to rhythmic
visionary. "This new version, in a specially produced full colour
digipak, consists of the 2 classic 30 minute recordings that made
up the original album: 'Cold', an intense industrial mindfuck on
overload, and, 'Colder Still' Stapleton at his most psychedelic
and spaced-out. This album is regarded as one of Nurse With
Wound's greatest. Also exclusive to this new release is the
previously unreleased 'Miss Ticker', a seven-minute psychotic
remix of 'Cold' featuring David Tibet and Colin Potter. With newly
redone cover art and new artwork by Steven Stapleton." -United
Dairies. The digipak is indeed gorgeous and includes the original
booklet. Essential. [JG]
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NEOTROPIC "La Prochaine Fois" (Ninja Tune, Canada) 2xCD/LP $15.99/$15.99
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Riz Maslen's fifth album, and third as Neotropic, finds her
roaming into much more ambient territory. Having set the stage for
leftfield trip-hop and downtempo, she has, like Andrew Coleman,
moved away from the sound she helped pioneer. Instead, we have
atmospheric echoes and choral refrains, solitary piano melodies
and glass-blown acoustic guitar. "La Prochaine Fois," ("The Next
Time") is a soundtrack (the second CD has her film on it), and has
an alien quality about it, as if a MiniDisc has come to life and
re-interpreted the sounds of the human world. Nearly beatless,
the 13 songs form a dreamy picture of modern life, a soft
industrial interpretation of sounds and aural components.
Perhaps its a feminine perspective, perhaps its simply a DJ
leaving the rave tent for the forest, but its certainly conceptual
and refreshing. [DD]
CD  //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=62597820442&refer_url=email
LP  //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=502139223318&refer_url=email

FENNESZ "Endless Summer" (Mego, Austria) CD $16.99
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His most melodic and accessible to date, Fennesz pulls apart tunes
and then leaves them strewn about with space between. If this CD
is any indication, he hears the world in dashed outline rather
than full 3-D color with all five senses. Folk glitch he's making,
and what else can one do but fall over into its prickly pools of
sweetness? Beyond the digital laminate, "Endless Summer" has
an essential acoustic plane, with vastly, pleasingly altered
guitar strums (still recognizable), present tubular bells, calm
keyboards. Hearing this CD is like viewing something sweeping,
impressive and gorgeous (like a sunset) through a field of static.
[RE]
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[V/A] "Hava Nargile Vol. 1" (Dionysus) CD $13.99
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22 tracks of rare Turkish garage and surf and psych from the '60s
and early '70s. A near-east-centric view of the Nuggets scene, the
music straddling the continents of Europe, Asia and America. If
all you know about Turkish music is what you hear in the falafel
and lamahjan place, then take that melodic system and apply it to
classic '60s rock sounds. From spare and mournful to garage
shouters, the songs also bear 'ethnic' stamps in the form of sitar
and tabla (the Subcontinental influence) or Eastern-European
melodies (singer Erkin Koray, for instance, was also popular in
Hungary). Did the rise of Islam in Turkey mean that this stuff
disappeared or went underground for decades? I'm curious!
Excellent fusions, a glimpse of nearly-forgotten musical
phenomena (well-annotated too). [RE]
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P.P. ARNOLD "The First Cut" (Immediate, UK) CD $13.99
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"The First Cut" compiles late sixties soul-belter P.P. Arnold's
first two albums on the Immediate Label. Like those who came
before her -- Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin and Fontella Bass,
Arnold's roots are in gospel music. Coming from a family of those
who have dedicated their pipes to a higher power, P.P., born Pat,
found herself calling on her own blessed power auditioning for the
Ikettes in the late '60s. Her steady, weighty voice carried her
through Ike Turner's famed behavior and got her in with The
Rolling Stones and their manager, Andrew Loog Oldham. With the
help of Immediate, Arnold created her own place in the history of
Northern Soul, making more of an impact in the UK at the time.
Each song on this album has its own history, from the Oldham and
David Skinner-penned stomper, 'Everything's Gonna Be Alright'
(the first single) to the room-quieting rendition of The Stones' 'As
Tears Go By' and the enrapturing Beach Boys cover,  'God Only
Knows'. Her own testifying tunes, 'Am I Still Dreaming?' and
'Treat Me Like A Lady' shake up this ballad-heavy album with
their soul swingin' shouts. Other notables of brilliantly done
psych pop: 'Would You Believe' (made famous by Billy Nichols),
punched up by Arnold's soaring 'la's' amidst a background of
violins and grandiose horn arrangements. If you've ever bopped
around to Aretha, break out the hairbrush/microphone, pop on
"The First Cut" and get to know P.P. [LG]
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GULLIVER'S TRAVELS "s/t" (Immediate/Instant, UK) CD $13.99
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Originally created for a conceptual stage show based on Swift's
novel, this CD reissue, also the show's score, is an assemblage
of pop songs, traditional tunes and tense soundtrack-ish
orchestrations. Conceived by Manfred Mann singer Mike D'Abo
and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham, the album was pulled
from the shelves soon after it was released in 1969 due to it
being a contract violation of D'Abo w/ Manfred Mann (he left the
group soon after). Though in the psychedelic collage style (a la
the Dreamies), there is the feel here (in between the neo-
Vaudeville pop song covers), through lots of looping and
beatmaking, is that of a remix of a swatch of music of its time,
drawing on the music of the Nice, the Small Faces, Lovin'
Spoonful, P.P. Arnold, and even Little Richard. The CD reissue
adds B-sides and an unissued track. [RE]
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NOAH HOWARD "Red Star" (Boxholder) CD $15.99
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ESP alto sax legend Noah Howard kicks it all stately and
sophisticated like throughout the ballad-y first half of this 1977
Parisian session. Certainly titles like 'Creole Girl' and 'Lovers'
might lead us to believe that Mr. Howard himself had recently
fallen victim to Cupid's arrow. Perhaps the luminous presence of
drumming divinity Kenny Clarke also contributed to this melodic
romanticism. In any case, all skronk and hellfire break loose on
the 23-minute title track, a Spanish-flavored free-for-all that
might've made Miles blush. [JG]
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TAYLOR DEUPREE "Occur" (12K) CD $13.99
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When Simon and Garfunkel sang of the "sounds of silence," what
they meant was that even in the constant noise and chaos of the
U.S. of 1968 stood moments of tranquility. 30-year-old radical
electronic minimalist Taylor Deupree also understands how silence
can hold a sense of the serene, but how, when it is interrupted,
even with the wings of a hummingbird, the effect can be startling.
For the uninitiated, "Occur," may sound like nothing more than
long periods of sonic absence followed by sporadic sounds made
under a microscope. Track No. 4 (the pieces are not titled) isn't
going to be on the next "Clicks & Cuts" compilation, though it does
have elective affinities with the approach of some of the artists
on those compilations. Like his peers Ryoji Ikeda, Kim Cascone,
Richard Chartier, and Carsten Nicolai, Deupree is very much a
sound scientist, measuring by the width of a hair each sound,
its resonances and consequences. [TH]
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NITIN SAWHNEY "Prophesy" (V2, UK) CD/2xLP $22.99/$28.99
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Nitin Sawhney stands like a colossus over the world of chill-out.
Included on countless chill-out comps, he has a Dionysian impact
on the world he walks in. Impossibly lush and incomparably
romantic, the sound of Sawhney is one of numerous cultures and
styles: his own Indian background with a cool cosmopolitan
cityness. But look further into Sawhney's complete albums and
you'll find there's a protest under the silk exterior, a soulful
Terry Callier vibe of idealism. His fourth release, "Prophesy" is
a global soul protest. Firstly, the album was recorded in Chicago,
Rio, Soweto and Madrid. Then there are vocals from Callier
himself, snippets of Nelson Mandela, a ranting cab driver
and "news reports courtesy of the BBC." Finally bring in multiple
guest vocals to add layers of experience, and you've pretty much
mastered a new sound. Let's call it conscientious chill-out. [DD]
CD  //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=503319715912&refer_url=email
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COLDCUT "Re:Volution" (Ninja Tune, Canada) CD single $6.99
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From the late 80's on, Coldcut has always maintained a definitive
aesthetic in electronic music, setting and surpassing their own
precedent as they go. With "Re:Volution", they revisit a sound not
heard on Ninja Tune in a while as they bring a hard, beat driven,
almost acidic sound to the dance floor. This three song release
also contains an instrumental (the only vocals are voice over
samples including the rant of "The lunatics are taking over")
and a remix by the winner of a competition judged by Coldcut
themselves. [NF]
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[V/A] "Motorlab #1" (Kitchen Motors, Iceland) CD $14.99
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[V/A] "Motorlab #2" (Kitchen Motors, Iceland) CD $14.99
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A collection of tracks from the new Kitchen Motors collectively-
run label. Mostly improvised music from the dark of winter,
seemingly, (though actually from monthly live events during 2000)
with members of Stilluppsteypa, Mum, Sigur Ros, etc. (that
Icelandic scene is quite close-knit). The first edition contains a
long piece by Stilluppsteypa and poet Magnus Palsson, plus a
junkyard improv symphony (really gloomy) and some digital
clevernesses (like the 'Telefonia' track, of electronic twitch and
voicemail messages left by the audience).  #2 contains a
collaboration between Mum and Sjorn, a lyricist who worked
on "Dancer in the Dark," shortwaves vs. moogs from the Apparat
Organ Quartet, rock/electronix improv from Big Band Brutal.
Packaged in neat clear green and red vinyl cases. [RE]
Motorlab #1
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Motorlab #2
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TRICKY "Blowback" (Hollywood) CD $16.99
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Almost, but not quite, Tricky's version of the "Duets" concept --
rather than holding forth on his own, Tricky invited a busload of
collaborators into the studio. And while it may have been a
mistake to lead the disc with the Alanis Morrisette collaboration
(it's the weakest, lyrically), it only goes and gets up from
there. With tarnished beats backing a slick sound, he replaces his
own scarred caterpillar of a voice (much missed here; barely used)
with a huge population of guest singers, rappers, toasters. John
Frusciante and Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers twist and reconfigure
the Wonder Woman TV theme, Hawkman does a series of great
toasting tracks (he's Tricky's stand-in), there's even a Cyndi
Lauper guest spot. But "Blowback" has got such a range of
production sounds that there's no real stamp of personality here.
Has Hollywood taken the place of music in Tricky's heart?
Hope not! [RE]
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TRIANGLES "s/t" (Moikai) CD/LP $13.99/$8.99
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Triangles are a duo. Kevin Drumm and a mystery figure are
rendered in pen and ink on the cover, and as there isn't really
a cult of personality surrounding most electroacoustic improvisors,
I can't tell who the other figure is (the back cover drawing is by Leif
Elggren -- perhaps it's him). The album has skitters and scratches
of guitar strings, injected swaths of white noise like sandpaper
across tape heads, and whirrings so distant they reduce
helicopters to the scale of mosquitoes. By the second track
they've drawn the sounds back to something which resembles an
actual guitar (though tinnier and more sinister -- like you know
it's probably done up like Frankenstein) and toy cash registers.
Much like the more recent electronic work of Otomo Yoshihide or
Sachiko M, only frankly, more engaging. For fans of anything on
Erstwhile. Two tracks, 37 minutes. This is what I imagine your
brain and blood are doing when you get the caffeine jitters. [RE]
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LP  //perl-bin/OM/CD_Add_To_Cart.cgi?sku=09999158441&refer_url=email

AZALIA SNAIL "Brazen Arrows" (Dark Beloved Cloud) CD $10.99
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Ms. Snail's umpteenth CD, and she's still glowing in the deep
twilight of psychedelia, only this time her voice takes the fore
instead of acres of echoes and reverb. Usually her CDs consist
of her sinking singing buried under layers of echo and guitar as
if pushed through a long tube, here, she piles keyboards on top
of Casio pop and drum machine, her voice lifting out of the mix,
rhythms provided by a tinny drum machine or breath samples and
not much else. Imagine a psychedelic record made by one person
in 1984 and you're halfway there. You'll have to listen to the
samples above to get the other half. 12 long tracks and 70
minutes. [RE]
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JEFF BUCKLEY "Live a L'Olympia" (Sony, France) CD $21.99
Buckley performed at this famed Parisian venue in 1995, a few
days later recorded a duet with Azerbaijani singer Alim Qazimov:
both are on this disc. The Olympia show included covers of
Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah', the bilingual 'Je n'en connais pas
la fin', and was reportedly one of the more ecstatic shows
Buckley'd done at that point.
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BIONAUT "Lubricate Your Living-Room" (Matador) CD $13.99
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A collection of singles from Bionaut, otherwise known as J.
Burger, the Modernist. Covering 1993-1997, this stuff escapes
sounding dated, even as it's in that very mid-'90s genre of
ambient techno. Tweaky and sly, he jerks you around wearing
big soft mitts. [RE]
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MARIANNE NOWOTTNY "Manmade Girl" (Abaton) 2xCD $21.99
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Only suburban New Jersey could spawn sounds so sick --
Nowottny's music is like something that crawled out of the mucky
passages of the Meadowlands, the product of industrial waste and
cattails. Nowottny's voice is distinctive, a more mannered PJ
Harvey or female version of Nick Cave, her drawled phrasing is
that of a child birthed by Kate Bush but then adopted by Meredith
Monk. Her goth attitude, much more prevalent in earlier recordings,
is tempered by the Daniel Johnston effect, namely of not-quite
random air organ melodies cascading through a song. Her lyrics
are (I think) still pretty juvenile, but she's certainly persevered and
left the most overtly gothic themes behind. Disc two is mostly
instrumentals, like twisted, clunky versions of Kitaro or funhouse
echoes. [RE]
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Restocks:

BILL DIXON "Odyssey: Solo Works" (Archive Edition) 6xCD Box Set  $79.99
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An Other Music retail exclusive! Signed, numbered limited edition
of 1000 copies. Throughout this set, Dixon performs compositions
for solo trumpet and flugelhorn of such astounding clarity, depth,
and variety that I find myself transported into cinematic reveries
that complement his sounds. In the solo world of Bill Dixon,
breaths become punctuation, silence becomes accompaniment. In
a heartbeat, fluid melodic lines screech into impossible flurries of
noise, the soul of expression. He is not afraid to process,
enhance, multitrack or even to duet with himself as he does here
on occasion, the purity of his vision shines through undiminished.
CDs 1 through 5 collect many rare and previously unreleased
recordings, with a heavy emphasis on compositions recorded in
the early to mid-'70s. Included also is the controversial "Collection"
(recently reissued by Cadence allegedly without Dixon's
permission) in its entirety and in Dixon's intended sequence. Disc
6 is a revealing Q&A. Highest recommendation! [JG]
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GORILLAZ "s/t" (EMI) CD $16.99
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Gorillaz, an imaginary (okay, animated) quartet of characters are
in fact the real-world humans of Dan the Automator and Del tha
Funkee Homosapien (also collectively Deltron 3030) collaborating
with Damon Albarn (Blur), with all kinds of guests. Typical upbeat
Britpop backed with some odder beats and moments, samples of
all sorts (squiggles of radio transmission, coughing, etc) twisted
into a rock/hip-hop hybrid (with more rock than sample school). It
really hits stride halfway in, where the beats start to shudder a
little more and Albarn has stopped crooning in favor of dribbles
of vocal lines as an equal member rather than the dominant
contributor. New domestic price! [RE]
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These Actuel reissues have been OOP for 8 months or so; we just
got them back in:

[V/A] "JazzActuel" (Actuel/Charly, Germany) 3xCD $29.99
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Subtitled "A Collection Of Avant Garde/Free Jazz/Psychedelia From
The BYG/Actuel Catalogue Of 1969-1971." Easily the most fully
realized compilation of out music ever assembled! You get: Sunny
Murray, Archie Shepp, Steve Lacy, Daevid Allen, Sonny Sharrock,
Grachan Moncur III, Clifford Thornton, Sun Ra & His Solar-Myth
Arkestra, Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Andrew Cyrille, Don Cherry,
Anthony Braxton, Paul Bley, Dewey Redman, Musica Elettronica Viva,
Jimmy Lyons, and many many others! You also get entire LP sides
from Frank Wright, Kenneth Terroade, Dave Burrell and Alan Silva's
Celestrial Communication Orchestra. Highest Recommendation. [JG]
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DON CHERRY "Mu" (Actuel/Charly, Germany) CD $14.99
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This was the first release in the classic BYG/Actuel series, the
Holy of Holies for the free jazz fan, documenting the month-long
Parisian recording sessions of August 1969, which assembled just
about every 'out there' player you could name, and set them loose.
Cherry, already the post-Ornette nomadic griot, met up with fellow
former Coleman sideman Ed Blackwell and recorded two albums'
worth of spare and elegant music. In addition to his beloved pocket
trumpet, Cherry plays piano, Indian flute, bells, percussion, and
even chants a bit, while Blackwell provides a steady bottom on
drums, percussion, and bells. A delightful mix of freedom and
discipline, jazz and world elements, the innocent and the holy.
[AL]
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ARCHIE SHEPP "Blase/Live at the Pan-African Festival" (Actuel/Charly, Germany) 2xCD $17.99
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"Live at Pan-African Festival" finds Shepp improvising with
Algerian musicians at this festival (in Algiers). But what stands
transcendent is "Blase." All of the sorrow and pain of 1968
manifested itself here. Anxious, hyperventilating harmonica
strains, the soft moans and wails of Jeanne Lee (terrifying
lyrics, too), and Shepp's own cathartic blasts of horn combine in
a chillingly sad, yet uplifting listening experience. With Malachi
Favors, Lester Bowie, and many more. "Blase" was Shepp
defining his path for political free jazz, that led to the
astonishing "Things Have Got To Change" "Yasmina/Poem
for Malcolm", and "Attica Blues." [DH]
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SUN RA/ARKESTRA "The Solar-Myth Approach Vols. 1 & 2" (Actuel/Charly, Germany) 2xCD $17.99
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Perhaps the most satisfying glimpse of Sun Ra's studio
prowess. 'Commissioned' specifically for BYG and recorded in
New York (or Philadelphia, depending on the source) between
1970-71, "The Solar-Myth Approach" effectively serves as Sun
Ra's State-of-the-Universe address. So utterly complete in scope,
it's as if he had consumed the revolutionary essences captured
within the Actuel catalogue recorded in Paris throughout 1969
(Cherry, Shepp, AEC, Alan Silva, Braxton, Frank Wright, etc.)
and  accepted the challenge of presenting his version of the
story. Oscillating wildly between solo flights of Moog, stripped-
out percussion romps, and full-on Arkestra explorations; serving
forth free improvisations and revisiting favored themes and
embracing the newly-forged relationship between free jazz
and rock cognoscenti. Highest recommendation. [JG]
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ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO "A Jackson in Your House/Message
to Our Folks" (Actuel/Charly, Germany) CD $14.99
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This disc captures the Art Ensemble at the beginning of their
sojourn in Paris, during the heady summer of 1969. It was a
turning point for the Art Ensemble, the moment when the tension
of the earlier Nessa and Delmark recordings exploded in every
possible direction. Here is a cornucopia of human emotions,
Morse code to retune your blood pressure. Love, rage,
pensiveness, whimsy...what you find depends on what you bring
to this snarling, growling, shouting, laughing, mournful, soulful,
powerful jazz. [AL]
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This week's contributors: Sandra Barrett [SB], David Day [DD],
Robin Edgerton [RE], Nick Follett [NF], Lisa Garrett [LG], Jeff
Gibson [JG], Andy Giles [AG], Jason Gross [JGr], Duane Harriott
[DH], Tim Haslett [TH], Andrew Leigh [AL], Jeremy Sponder [JS],
Phil Waldorf [PW].

The Big Picture:

To see a complete list of Other Music new releases for the
week ending June 26, 2001, use this link as a shortcut:
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