The Other Music Update

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	January 7, 2009


	PREORDERS FOR JANUARY 20 Animal Collective Antony & the Johnsons Bon Iver AC Newman FEATURED NEW RELEASES Efdemin (mix CD) Grouper / City Center (split single) Ty Segall The Rats Asad Qizilbash Glasvegas		Vangelis 7x7" = Funk (P&P 7" Box Set) Arnold Cheatham Flipper Cian Nugent RESTOCKS BLK JKS Nite Jewel VINYL PRESSING Tallest Man on Earth

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WIN TICKETS TO THE BUNKER'S 6 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
Probably the longest running minimal techno party in NYC, the Bunker is celebrating their 6 Year Anniversary this Friday by bringing in two of our favorite current producers. The Berlin-based Marcel Dettman is behind the staunchly underground, hand-stamped MDR label, and creates killer, individualistic, deep sounds for fans of M. Vainio, Sleeparchive, and Pom Pom. We shouldn't forget to mention that he's also a Berghain/Panoramabar resident. Equally notable is the inclusion of John Roberts, the first American to release an EP on the unstoppable Dial label! His new EP, Hesitate, is full of style and sophistication, a la effortlessly swinging warm, thumpy deep house. Other Music has two pairs of tickets up for grabs! You know the drill... enter by sending an email to tickets@othermusic.com. We'll be picking the two winners on Thursday. See you on the dancefloor!

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9
THE BUNKER @ PUBLIC ASSEMBLY: North 6th Street (between Wythe and Kent) Williamsburg, Brooklyn

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OTHER MUSIC IN-STORE PERFORMANCE
THOMAS FUNCTION: Friday, January 23 @ 8:30 PM
We're pretty excited about this upcoming performance from Thomas Function, who create some of the catchiest garage punk that the South has ever offered!

OTHER MUSIC: 15 East 4th Street NYC
Free Admission / Limited Capacity


			We hope you had a great holiday! Last month, we published our Top 25 New and Reissue Picks for 2008, but we've still got a few more lists to go. (You know how music obsessives love their lists!) We've posted our Top 30 Sellers of the past year on our mailorder website, and later this week we'll be publishing our Staff's Personal Top 10s on the site, so check back. But enough reflection, as 2009 is off to a great start. Tuesday, January 20th is shaping up to be a big release day with some very anticipated records from Animal Collective, Antony & the Johnsons, Bon Iver and AC Newman. Other Music is offering pre-orders for these titles below, all sale priced if you buy early. We'll make sure that these are shipped to reach your doorstep by the day of their release.


	Preorder $13.99 CD Preorder $21.99 LP		ANIMAL COLLECTIVE Merriweather Post Pavilion (Domino) The new album from hometown heroes Animal Collective is clearly one of the most anticipated releases we will see this year. They did an early-release of the vinyl and sold out of the entire pressing in one day, but it should be back in stock by the January 20th CD release date.


	Preorder $12.99 CD		ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS The Crying Light (Secretly Canadian) The follow-up to Antony & the Johnson's breakthrough I Am A Bird Now arrives to deliver a blast of warmth in this bleak winter. If the initial single "Another World" is any indication, the album will be another stunner. With orchestrations from Nico Muhly.


	Preorder $8.99 CD-EP Preorder $9.99 LP		BON IVER Blood Bank EP (Jagjaguwar) Bon Iver's haunting debut For Emma, Forever Ago was one of our top sellers in 2008, and this new EP from Justin Vernon comes just as that album is topping many year-end best-of lists. A sweet morsel to tide you over for a while.


	Preorder $12.99 CD Preorder $14.99 LP		AC NEWMAN Get Guilty (Matador) The New Pornographers is definitely a collaborative effort, but Carl "AC" Newman is the driving force in that indie supergroup, and his sophomore solo release is packed with as many hook-filled, witty, retro-pop sing-alongs as anything the band has done. From start to finish, a great album!


	$17.99 CD		EFDEMIN Carry On, Pretend We're Not in the Room (Curle) "Soul Revival" Craig Alexander "America" Efedmin Being a huge fan of Efdemin's (a/k/a Phillip Sollmann) full-length album, I had high expectations for his new mix CD. Still, my road to being convinced of its quality was a bumpy one. Initially I was taken back by the smooth and soulful, albeit deep, tech-y sound of the first few cuts. They had the same minimal, spoken-vocal-bits vibe that he does so well on his own tracks, but something was a bit smoother to it that I wasn't sure about at first. I gave up on the mix and shelved it for a future listen. Today, however, I gave it another chance and found myself reaching for the CD case to check on the track info just about every third song. After the initial introduction from a vocal cut, Sollmann subtly shifts gears into long, neo-deep Detroit-style tracks that get killer mileage. Artists like Tobias, Marcel Dettmann, Patrice Scott and Efdemin himself are set into a mix that would go on for hours if I had my way. There is a similar, modern deep house feel heard in the Cassy Panoramabar mix, but the selection here seems just 'that' much more modern. Sollman explores and progresses through deep house structures while creatively and consistently shifting the textures found in the beats and the bass. Spoken bits from self-help tapes and other sources peek in and out at times giving it some kind of deep house/art installation vibe. Excellent mix and highly recommended!! [SM]


	$5.99 45		CITY CENTER / GROUPER Split 45 (Self-Released) Here we have a small slice of hazy gold from two of the best underground solo artists currently making the rounds, namely Grouper (Portland's Liz Harris), and City Center (a/k/a Other Music's own Fred Thomas); they have bestowed upon us one exclusive track each on clear vinyl, and they're both stunners. Grouper's track, "False Horizon," was recorded around the time of her highly acclaimed Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill album from last year, and features Harris sculpting similar song patterns as Dead Deer out of the sounds of her voice, a guitar, and a deep murky ambiance that adds gravitas to an already heavy tune. City Center's "This Is How We See in the Dark" is perhaps my fave of the two, though, with foggy undulating loops swirling around his heavily reverberated vocals as he cries out from one of the deepest, darkest corners of the heart I've heard in quite some time. He successfully provides a counterpoint to Harris's side of the 7" and, in turn, gives the record a lovely "he said, she said" kind of vibe -- they mine similar emotions here but present them in drastically differing formats. If you connected with the Grouper releases of last year, or if you're a fan of the school of deep, dark psychedelic solo pop coming out of the indie world at the moment, you need this. It's also a nice teaser for the heavy dose of quality that is City Center's forthcoming debut album, hopefully to be released in the coming months. This bad boy is limited to 500 copies, so don't sleep! [IQ]


	$12.99 CD		TY SEGALL Ty Segall (Castle Face) "Don't Do It" "So Alone" Though Ty Segall has been involved with a few different bands in his hometown of San Francisco, his self-titled debut for John Dwyer's (of Thee Oh Sees fame) Castle Face label is the first taste I've had of his insanely energetic brand of garage rock. And that's most likely a good thing, too, as his one-man show allows the dude's prodigious talents to shine pretty brightly and without any interference. Owing as much to folks like Hasil Adkins as he does to contemporaries like Thee Oh Sees, Segall blasts through his debut, soaking his bouncing tracks in sheets of reverb, strangling his guitar as he soulfully shouts and stomps out the beat. Rocketing by with only the barest of essentials present (guitar, voice, bass drum, tambourine), tracks like "Pretty Baby (You're So Ugly)" and "Oh Mary" don't mince words or sounds, opening up roars that are every bit as propulsive as they are ferocious. Totally lo-fi and yet still doing complete justice to these twelve tunes, Ty Segall's debut makes a great case for him being one to look out for in this coming year. [MC]


	$14.99 LP		THE RATS The Rats (Mississippi) I may be biased, as I pretty much believe that anything Fred Cole touches turns to gold (maybe cold steel or burning fire would be more apt imagery). But fans of Dead Moon, the Lollipop Shoppe, the Weeds, Pierced Arrows, Zipper, or any of Cole's other blazing punk band's of the past 40-plus years need to grab this one before it's gone. Mississippi Records have released a limited LP repress of the Rats debut from 1980, originally out on Cole's own Whizeagle label. This is the first group of Cole's to feature wife Toody on bass (and some vocals too), and while Cole's sound has never varied much from his first strangled yelp to today, the Rats were formed in the throes of the late-'70's punk rock movement, supposedly after a previous group of Cole's opened for the Ramones and opened his eyes to the new sounds. Buzzsaw guitar, driving rhythms, anger, love, and a trove of other raw emotions. Lo-fi, half-baked, and truly awesome! Includes the original version of Dead Moon favorite "Until It Rains." [JM]


	$15.99 CD		ASAD QIZILBASH Sarod Recital: Live in Peshawar (Sub Rosa) "Raga Darbari" "Raga Piloo" Born in 1963 to the renowned Pakistani violinist K.H. Qizilbash, Asad Qizilbash is apparently the only sarod player left in Pakistan these days. The sarod is a kind of Persian lute-variant but has a unique and haunting sound, a sound exploited effortlessly by Qizilbash. These three lengthy ragas explore the spiritually transcendent improvisations Qizilbash has made his calling card, drifting through time delicately and assuredly. He might be closely related in sound to the better-known Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, but Qizilbash has a lightness of touch which helps his sounds soak into the mind of the listener. He is joined here by expert tabla player Mustafa Khan who adds a propulsive backbone to the ragas. His elastic rhythms guide Qizilbash's gliding sarod patterns and take the listener through dazzling desert lands and bustling marketplaces. This mystical collection of avant drones should be a must for anyone trailing behind the agitated Pied Pipers of drone and experimental folk. Hearing someone attack these idioms with skill and dedication is both a pleasure and an inspiration. Beautiful music. [JT]


	$11.99 CD		GLASVEGAS Glasvegas (Columbia) "Lonesome Swan" "Geraldine" Judging by the buzz these guys (and girl) have been making on the other side of the Atlantic, one could easily imagine Glasvegas to be the UK's musical equivalent to Barack Obama. Alan Mcgee proclaimed them to be "the most exciting thing I've heard since the Jesus and Mary Chain in the '80s" in his Guardian UK blog. Like JAMC, this Glaswegian quartet does share an affinity for reverb'ed guitars and '60s girl group melodies, but the similarities pretty much end there. Glasvegas doesn't hide behind a shroud of white noise and feedback; instead the group's eponymous debut simultaneously combines the ashen guitarscapes of Doves with Oasis bravado. Singer James Allen is a master storyteller and generously borrows from the last fifty years of rock 'n' roll to frame his tales of hardship and heartache in modern Scotland. Carried by Moe Tucker-meets-"Leader of the Pack" drumming and a thick wall of power chords, Allen's heartbreak melody in "Daddy's Gone" eventually crests into a soaring doo-wap refrain. During "Geraldine," a Spector-esque chorus of "ooohs and "ahhhs" bookend lyrics like "When you say that I'm no good and you feel like walking/I need to make sure you know that's just the prescription talking;" what at first sounds like an anthemic love song surprisingly reveals itself to be a tune about a social worker with a messianic complex. "Stabbed" is lifted straight out of the Shangri-las' playbook (e.g. "Past, Present and Future"), here Glasvegas using Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata as the backdrop for Allen's spoken word monolog. But even with all the past references, the group avoids falling into that retro trap. To borrow another Mcgee quote, "Glasvegas are the sound of young Scotland today." [GH]


	$19.99 CD		VANGELIS Sex Power/Poem Symphonique (Platinum Music) "Movement One" "Movement Four" Even if you don't like everything that he does, you can't deny the influence Vangelis Papathanasiou has had on the world of electronic music. He may have released a lot of records, and not all of them are worth treasuring (see also Klaus Schulze), but he is responsible for one of the most important collections of electronic music of the 20th century. Of course I'm talking about the Blade Runner soundtrack, which should need no introduction with its surprisingly subtle blend of buzzing synthesizers and ethnic folk. However, dig a little deeper and there's plenty more Vangelis to get your hands on. Sex Power is considered by many to be the artist's first solo album, and was recorded when he was still a member of Greek pop band Aphrodite's Child. The soundtrack to a lesser-known French porn film, this recording, originally only available on LP, is considered the holy grail of Vangelis recordings. Rare and deservedly treasured, its pornographic themes are far removed from that of other contemporary erotic soundtracks; this is no Deep Throat and it certainly doesn't have the lively frivolity of Vampyros Lesbos. Rather, Vangelis bends the jaunty themes into something far more experimental, pushing and pulling instrumental snippets in and out of reality and clearing the way for his trademark sounds: lilting choirs, melancholic piano lines and anthemic synthesized leads. Bundled together with Sex Power comes the even rarer Fais que ton rêve soit plus long que la nuit (also known, thankfully, as Poeme Symphonique). Made up of two long tracks (initially split for the vinyl release), this was originally released in 1972 and is one of the composer's most unusual works. In many ways it can be seen as a precursor to the stone-cold-classic Heaven and Hell and works in very much the same way -- with choirs, samples, instruments and poems drifting in and out of a bustling soundscape. A sort of cross between the sound-collage tape-chopping of the musique concrete set, the soundtrack work he became better known for, sacred music and French classical music, this for me sums up everything I love about Vangelis. The fact that he managed to do so much at a time when there was precious little in terms of comparison is a lasting testament to his innovation. Fantastic music, and well worth burrowing into whether you're a crate digger, a soundtrack junky or a dedicated electronic explorer. [JT]


	$39.99 7" Box Set		VARIOUS ARTISTS 7 X 7" = Funk: The Funky Side Of P&P Records (P&P) Most deep disco enthusiasts are pretty familiar with P&P's umbrella of labels and their stellar output of disco-soul 12-inches that are revered to this day. Headed up by in-house producers Patrick Adams and Peter Brown, this Harlem-based imprint has actually been in existence since the early '70s and made their initial mark cranking out heavy funk and soul sides. This limited edition, vinyl only box set of seven "rare as hen's teeth" 45s tends to stay on the funky side of things. My personal faves are the two sides from the NYC-based band Sons of Darkness. Tracks like "What It Looks Like" and "Black Ice" are thump-heavy, wah-wah pedal abusin', instrumental workouts reminiscent of early Funkadelic. Other highlights include Ella Hamilton's sweet funky, proto-disco cut "I'm Gonna Fool You" and the crazed, popcorn funk of Otis Turner's "Do the Funky Donkey." Like the unhinged, after-hours disco that this label made a rep on years later, there's a loose, spontaneous and very raw energy to all of these tracks. According to Mr. Peter Brown, most of these songs were recorded in three takes or less, the producers sometimes recording as many as 10 bands a day and releasing the songs one to two weeks after the initial recordings. I've heard that most of these originals have been $200-500 eBay records for years now, so it's nice to see a set like this at a nice price. All the fans of the Eccentric Soul series, Chains and Black Exhaust, Funkadelic, and the like take note. Quality! [DH]


	$14.99 CD $9.99 MP3		ARNOLD CHEATHAM Thing (Porter) "Sketch Pt. 2" "Road Through the Wall Pt. 2" Don't call me a hater, but if you had previously tried to tell me that there was an unknown Boston group making raw, smoking-hot jazz fusion in 1972, I would probably have glazed even before I lied and told you "I gotta check that out!" I would have been wrong again, as the eternal optimists at Porter Records have proven with this wonderful release from Arni Cheatham's Thing. The group was a loose affiliation of players clearly influenced by Miles' electric albums and early Weather Report, and while those are not easy heroes to emulate, these guys are all great players and have an easy, natural rapport. Recorded at Harvard in '72, the original is a rarity even amongst collectors in their hometown, but it is a dark, soulful masterpiece, and well worth your time. [JM]


	Album - Generic $15.99 CD $9.99 MP3 Gone Fishhin' $15.99 CD $9.99 MP3 Sex Bomb Baby $15.99 CD $9.99 MP3 Public Flipper Limited $19.99 CDx2 $15.99 MP3		FLIPPER Album - Generic (Water) "Life Is Cheap" FLIPPER Gone Fishin' (Water) "Sacrifice" FLIPPER Sex Bomb Baby (Water) FLIPPER Public Flipper Limited (Water) "If I Can't Be Drunk" Water Records does the world a favor by reissuing the albums of influential San Francisco post-hardcore band Flipper! Flipper stood out from the crop of better-known Cali punk and hardcore groups like Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, and the Germs from the beginning -- they consistently remained slower, bleaker, heavier, and artier than their contemporaries, yet managed to contain the tumult and chaos into surprisingly catchy songs with heavy doses of humor. Their initial incarnation recorded two studio albums and two albums' worth of live recordings; if you're new to Flipper, definitely start with either Album - Generic or the follow-up, Gone Fishin'. Album - Generic is without question a punk rock essential, up there with Gang of Four's Entertainment, Black Flag's Damaged, and PiL's Metal Box as a definitive document of punk's power to effectively personify through music the disturbing depths of the human psyche. Gone Fishin' is a close second; it's somewhat less bleak but no less intense. Sex Bomb Baby compiles 7" single tracks, live cuts, and assorted other odds 'n' sods, while Public Flipper Limited is a double live CD compiling concert recordings from 1980 to 1985. These guys are definitely the sort of band you don't dip into casually -- their vibe either grabs you or it doesn't, and if you start with one, you'll most likely end up collecting them all. It's a blessing to have these records back on the shelves again, and Water comes through as usual with a stellar package including liner notes from the likes of Nirvana's Krist Novoselic (who is now Flipper's bassist, incidentally) and King Buzzo of the Melvins. Often imitated, never duplicated, Flipper's records remain some of the truest documents of the essence of what "punk" aesthetics really stood for -- true, uncompromising individuality with a hefty dose of accidental innovation. Highest recommendation! [IQ]


	$13.99 CD		CIAN NUGENT Childhood Christian Lies and Slaughter (Incunabulum) "Baka Danse" "Abyssal Plain" A stunning live set from this 19-year-old Irish guitarist, just one lone acoustic guitar and the weight of history riding lightly on his back. Nugent is strongly influenced by Fahey and early folk, blues and traditional English and Irish music, and in his nimble fingers the six-string fairly sings with its past and its possibilities. What else is there to say? Spare, simple playing that is rich with emotion and truly beautiful. [JM]


	$7.99 CD-EP		BLK JKS Mystery EP (Secretly Canadian) "Mystery" "Summertime" Unsigned no more, Johannesburg's BLK JKS have found a home on Secretly Canadian, who've re-released their Mystery EP. Produced by Secret Machines' Brandon Curtis at NYC's Electric Lady Studios, this is an excellent four-song sampling of the quartet's infectious sound, an indescribable, shapeshifting blend of kwaito beats, jazz, punk, and eerie noise. BLK JKS' music has a heart and pulse that resonates with anyone who listens, their diverse arrangements echoing both the conflict and celebratory spirit of this modern day tribe surviving the city under an African sky. [NJ]


	$6.99 CD-R		NITE JEWEL My CD (Human Ear Music) "Artificial Intelligence" "Bottom Rung" We have limited copies of the self-released Nite Jewel CD-R, the brilliantly titled My CD which includes pre-mastered versions of tracks (plus more) featured on her 12-inch EP on the killer Italians Do It Better label. Nite Jewel also has aesthetic connections with LA's Human Ear Music label (John Maus, Ariel Pink, Vibe Central) that we've been feeling for a while now. Be the first on your block to woo the crowd with these utterly charming, narcotic, bedroom-disco jams. Imagine Calling Out of Context-era Arthur Russell eating opium with a black rubber-bangled Madonna and Mark Hollis huddling in the corner while the 4-track tape is rolling. What's cool is how the stuff conjures thoughts of OM posterchild Russell without making the mistake of just "sounding like" him. There's just something in the lazy, hazy, listless, romantic atmosphere of Nite Jewel that puts you in the same '80s prom-dream, dance-in-the-living room, evening-cuddle vibe. Add to that the dubby, single-note, acid house melodies and beats, plus songs that are ever so distantly related to some memory of a Bangles/Cyndi Lauper/Book of Love hit. Check out the Sylvester-esque "What Did He Say" with the echoed snare slithering across the floor, "Say No Go" synth accents in the background and bobbing Theo Parrish/ Other People Place bass line. I like to imagine this song becoming the standard Casio keyboard demo song. That's a compliment. Yes, recommended! [SM]


	$11.99 LP		NITE JEWEL Good Evening (Gloriette) One of my favorite recent releases, the new Nite Jewel LP has been getting heavy play by me both at home and in the shop, thankfully to much delight by my co-inhabitants in both scenarios. After one of the most promising debut releases of '08 (the My CD CD-R, reviewed above, which has been a constant seller), our lady returns in full force with subtly remixed versions of the jams from the CD-R, along with new tracks which point in some possible new directions and flesh her sound out a bit, almost literally -- tracks like "Heart Won't Start," "Universal Mind" and "Chimera" take the mood and tempos down a few notches, evoking moods akin to the synthetic soul of Roxy Music's Avalon LP. She makes a more overt nod toward Ferry & Co on the album's closer, a deep, sweet cover of Roxy's "Lover," which was an obscure b-side to the band's "Same Old Scene" single. The rest of the LP is Nite Jewel as we know her -- deep, after-hours jams smeared with neon and infused with the blood of a lonely club child fending for herself on a floor filled with vampires. Anyone that's been in the store while this has played on my shift has seen me literally dance my way across the floor while "Artificial Intelligence" has pumped out of the speakers; it's possibly my favorite song of the year, and the whole album just screams with the promise of an artist to watch. One of the most special, between-the-lines records of 2008, and definitely one of my favorites. [IQ]


	$21.99 LP w/45		TALLEST MAN ON EARTH Shallow Grave (Mexican Summer) "I Won't Be Found" "The Gardener" The Tallest Man on Earth's much acclaimed debut album is now available in this limited vinyl pressing, which comes with a bonus 7" featuring four tracks from his self-titled EP from 2007. Shallow Grave was a staff and customer favorite last year, coming in at #13 of our top 25 picks for 2008. Here's what we wrote when we first featured the album last July: For a while I'd been hearing about The Tallest Man on Earth, the moniker of Kristian Matsson. I finally tracked down a copy of his debut Shallow Grave and from the opening finger-picked guitar of "I Won't Be Found," I knew I was going to be hooked. And then Mattson's vocals came in, a truly stunning amalgamation of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, and Van Morrison. This first listen of Shallow Grave reminded me of how I felt the first time I heard Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever: shocked, amazed, and completely drawn in. The Tallest Man on Earth is just one man and his guitar, holed up somewhere in Sweden pouring his heart out into every note and poetic word. This man has definitely studied the greats, but instead of just emulating people like Dylan and Guthrie, he has taken this music and made it his own. Yes, the music on Shallow Grave has been done before. I mean, how many people have tried to create a Dylan-esque record? But, how many of them have truly come up with something that is all their own, and with the tunes to back it up? And that is the thing about Matsson; he is an amazing songwriter making music that will stick with you for a long, long time. A song like "Honey Won't You Let Me In," with its catchy strummed guitar line, Matsson's nasal vocal delivery, and some beautiful lyrics, will put a smile on your face from ear to ear. And at just under three minutes, it is a perfect little ditty that will have you hitting the repeat button before you get to the other half of the record. All 10 tracks are great but it is my personal favorite "The Gardener" that really hits home -- a sparse, witty, love song with one of the catchiest melodies I've heard in years. It's a classic tune, and one that could easily be held up next to the greats of yesteryear. And that is just it; the man who calls himself The Tallest Man On Earth has created a truly timeless, classic album, one that can stand on its own as a near perfect work of art. Need I say more? [JS]


	PHONE ORDERS Phone orders are accepted at (212) 477-8150 (ext. #2, mailorder) Mon-Fri, Noon - 7pm EST EMAIL For general inquiries or other information please email sales@othermusic.com. Do not reply to this message. REMOVE This is an automated list. If you would like to be removed for any reason, please visit: digital.othermusic.com/subscribe.php		THIS WEEK'S CONTRIBUTORS [MC] Michael Crumsho [GH] Gerald Hammill [DH] Duane Harriott [NJ] Natalie Johns [IQ] Mikey IQ Jones [JM] Josh Madell [SM] Scott Mou [JS] Jeremy Sponder [JT] John Twells THANKS FOR READING - all of us at Other Music

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