A terrifying re-mix re-interpretation by Jessica Bailiff of Ceremony's "Never Make You Cry" from the LP/CD Rocket Fire released last year on Killer Pimp.

EXTENDED PLAY features remixes and reinterpretations from Justin K. Broadrick (Jesu/Godflesh/Pale Sketcher), GD Luxxe, Monster Movie (Slowdive/Eternal), and Jessica Bailiff. 

It's out on April 19th and available for pre-order at http://brainwashed.com/commerce.html

Ceremony, "Never Make You Cry (Jessica Bailiff)"

(this is an exclusive remix by Kid606 which is NOT on the CD EP)

Soundpool follow their critically acclaimed 2010 album Mirrors In Your
Eyes with this fantastic limited CD EP (Killer Pimp will only sell 500
copies) of six remixes and reinterpretations. Syntaks, Strategy, GTO,
Screen Vinyl Image, Colder, and Lawrence Chandler (of Bowery Electric
fame) have all twisted and turned these soon-to-be-classic pop gems
around and infused them with new life. Available separately or FREE
with a purchase of the Mirrors In Your Eyes LP while supplies last.

  1. Shelter (Syntaks)
  2. Mirrors In Your Eyes (Strategy)
  3. Sparkle in the Dark (GTO)
  4. Listen (Screen Vinyl Image)
  5. But It's So (Colder)
  6. I'm So Tired (Lawrence Chandler)

pre-ordering available now at http://killerpimp.com

Soundpool - But It's So (the deadlines gonna kill me remix by Kid606)

We will miss you James Izzo aka Thread aka "The Boy Without Hands"

Coil, "Dark River (the Null Tributary remix by Thread)"

We will miss you James Izzo, aka "Thread" aka "The Boy Without Hands"

Bowery Electric, "Saved (Readwriteerror Mix By Thread)"

This is a remix that James Izzo gave me years ago. It was never released anywhere. RIP James, you're missed.

Meat Beat Manifesto, "Wildlife (Thread remix)"

This was given to me by James Izzo (Thread) back in 1999. It is unclear as to which song or songs he has remixed by Pan Sonic (Panasonic back then).  RIP James, you're missed.

Pan Sonic, "unknown (Thread remix)"

artist: Charalambides
title: Exile
catalog#: krank158
formats available: 2LP / CD / digital
release date: October 03, 2011

Exile is the new Charalambides album. Five years in the making, it was recorded between 2006 and 2010 in various locations in New Hampshire, western Massachusetts and New York City, mixed at Black Dirt Studios, and mastered at Sand with Paul Gold. The group remains the core duo of Christina and Tom Carter, with contributions on one track by the string section of Helena Espvall and Margarida Garcia. 

Deeply imbued with the full historical spectrum of american folk and blues song form, Exile is a tapestry of suppliant invocations directed at the heart of the unseen spiritual forces surrounding us. Dense arrangements and thickly-overdubbed tracks sit side-by-side with material that ranks among the sparest and most skeletal the group has recorded, giving Exile the psychic scope of their classic Market Square album while building on the refinements of the more recent Likeness and A Vintage Burden releases.

This album quite coincidentally marks Charalambides' 20th anniversary, as it was the fall of 1991 when they first started playing, and they made their live debut in December of that year. Since their last album, Tom Carter has released a series of collaborations and solo works on a wide array of labels, while Christina Carter has been steadily releasing her solo work through labels including her own Many Breaths imprint.

track listing:
1. Autumn Leaves 2. Desecrated 3. Words Inside 4. Immovable 5. Before You Go 6. Into the Earth 7. Wanted to Talk 8. Pity Pity Me 9. Rider* 10. Down in the Valley* *LP only bonus tracks

selected discography:
A Vintage Burden 2006
Likeness 2007

press quotes for Likeness:
“Itʼs in the tangled intermingling of drone and chime, guitar and naked voice, where the likenesses become talismanic and strange, impossible to fully decipher.” Dusted

“Mesmerizing guitar drones that may dissolve your brain.” Spin

“This is modern folk music, and by taking handfuls of influences past and present Charalambides have created their most futuristic sounding record to date.” Boomkat

“The mix of the sentimental with the bleak further encourages the disparate mood of unease, making this one of the band's most engaging releases in some time.” Raven Sings the Blues

Charalambides, "Before You Go"

The very first brainwashed 7" single. Limited to 1,027 hand-numbered copies.
Clear vinyl, comes with sticker and post card.

Cover Artwork by Benjamin Palmer of 99th Mind.
Postcard Artwork by Daniel McKernan.
Thread is James Izzo.

Coil, "Glowworms/Waveform" (Obsidian Monarch remix by Thread)

The second brainwashed 7" single. Limited to 1,027 hand-numbered copies.
Yellow vinyl, comes with sticker and post card.
Cover Artwork by John Beck.
Postcard Artwork by Daniel McKernan.

Edward Ka-Spel, "Dream Stealer"

An exclusive track to Disc A for "Brain in The Wire" 

Comes in a metal box with a poster, keychain, patch, and image booklet.
Poster and inserts by Daniel McKernan
Other artwork by Jon Whitney

Originally available as a boxset in an edition of 2000. This edition has sold out. Each disc and extras currently available for seperate purchase.

Christoph Heemann & Andreas Martin, "Wires"

 Jessica Bailiff - acoustic guitar and vocals
Nathan Admunson - bass on A1, A2, B1 + vocals on A2 and B1
Michael Anderson - textures on A1, melodica on A2, treated guitar on B1

Produced by Berry Kramer and Maurice Woestenburg for VPRO Radio "De Avonden," November 2002.
With additional help by Jesse Edwards, 2004.
Limited to 500 light green 7" singles.
Pre-orders come with a CD-R of the music + all the other 7" singles released on Brainwashed thusfar.

Four songs from Jessica including "Shadow," only released on the Brain in the Wire compilation (I'm beginning to think this really is my song or something!), the haunting "Mary" from her self-titled third release on Kranky, "Beautiful Soul," which dates back to her 1998 debut on Kranky, Even in Silence, and an exclusive song, "Come and Close My Eyes," a Flying Saucer Attack cover. All recordings are obviously exclusive. Jessica arrived at Kranky by way of Low, having her first two albums produced by Alan Sparhawk at 20 Below in Minneapolis. She has gone on to record more solo singles and albums and has appeared on record with bands Rivulets, Saturday Looks Good to Me, Flashpapr, and Red Morning Chorus, and makes up part of the core nucleus of bands Clear Horizon, Northern Song Dynasty, and Eau Claire. www.brainwashed.com/jb for more images and sounds from her.

By far the most accessible of the Brainwashed singles, Jessica Bailiff contributes 4 live songs, taken from a session on VPRO Radio in 2002. Treated guitar, undisclosed "textures" (drones), melodica and bass accompany Jessica's acoustic guitar and vocals on these tracks recorded while on tour supporting her self titled third album for Kranky. In this setting, Jessica has less protection from the ability to build atmosphere in the studio, which strips the songs bare and exposed, which works well. "Beautiful Soul" (originally released on her first album) is anchored by a drone built from bass and melodica, allowing the guitar and vocals to soar high above the mix. "Mary" shows Jessica embracing the post-shoegaze folkstress that she is. The single ends with a cover of Flying Saucer Attack's "Come and Close My Eyes." It's a notable homage to her current bandmate's former band (she and Dave Pierce released a collaborative album under the name Clear Horizon). While the cover is enjoyable to hear, I think trying to improve on an FSA recording is a doomed prospect. - Dick Baldwin, FakeJazz

The human physical presence of Kranky recording artist Ms. Bailiff is present in the acoustic guitar and her forlorn folk-ish vocals but despite the obvious pop structure the unfledged lo-fi sound (the songs come through a light fog of grainy atmosphere) gives this release a distant removed feel. They used to call music like this Dreampop, but Jessica isn't obsessed with her shoes or the floor on these four live tracks, she lost in the songs. The final track, oddly enough a Flying Saucer Attack cover, "Come and Close My Eyes" sounds the most personal and human piece here. - Scott McKeating, Stylus

Jessica Bailiff is represented by four tracks on "Live on VPRO, Amsterdam" (Brainwashed 7"). Her vocals and acoustic guitar blend with haunted atmospherics, sounding especially lonely and lovely on her cover of Flying Saucer Attack's "Come and Close My Eyes". - Byron Coley, The Wire

Bailiff's songs are pop but sound almost folky due to her soft voice and the languid lo-fi sounds. She is a veteran on the Kranky roster by way of Low (her first two albums were produced by Alan Sparhawk at 20 below in Minneapolis) and she is also a member of Clear Horizon, Northern Song, Dynasty and Eau Clair. The tracks on this release, recorded live in VPRO studios in Amsterdam, are hushed and slightly grainy. First track "Shadow" stands out as a melancholic plea, introducing her soft and dewy vocals. "Beautiful Soul" (a song from her 1998 debut) follows and is much more akin to Low's style than the previous track. Side B begins with the haunting "Mary" (from Bailiff's third release on Kranky). The song features ample acoustic accompaniment to a sweet yet ominous vocal melody. Bailiff finishes the set with a cover of Flying Saucer Attack's "Come and Close My Eyes." All of these songs are wonderfully textured with subtleties (melodica, treated guitar, etc). This is the warm heart of this three single set--dreamy, lovelorn and humble. - Andrew Iliadis, Only Angels Have Wings

Para el ultimo deje el excelente paso por mis oidos de la misteriosa Jessica Bailiff. Con una guitarra acustica y sonido envolvente tino el dia de un cielo soleado a un gris palido y profundamente melancolico. Los bueno de estas canciones es que son lo suficiente hundidas o profundas como para dejar escuchar al interior (uups.. parezco Luisa Delfino), pero no lo demasiado densas como para cagarte la tarde. El ambiente que propone Jessica es solitario pero no denso, sentido pero no asfixiante y eso se nota en el minimalismo de las cuerdas acusticas rasgadas con cierta pesadez. Me recuerda cierto aire a Espers, en el sentido profano de la comparacion, aunque en el caso de Jessica, parece un alma que va pelandose capa por capa mostrando de a poco su luz interior. Es extrano el caso de "Shadow" que a pesar de ser una melodia lenta debil superficialmente, se percibe una extraordinaria fuerza e impetu: lo que parecia un hilo de agua cayendo desde 3 metros, es una avalancha capaz de pechar un hipopotamo vaguisimo con la fuerza de Conan el barbaro. Concluyendo, si tendria que unir todos estos trabajos de algun modo que no sea pensar en su distribucion por la brainwashed, pensaria en su optimismo pleno. Es decir, a pesar de ser levemente oscuros o un tanto violentos, tienen una energia positiva (uiuuppsss...me sigo pareciendo a Luisa Delfino), un lento pero alentador fluir de movimientos que acompana de forma ritmica a mi bienestar. La vida esta hecha sin dudas para disfrutar. - Pavlo Picco, deVelvet

Bailiff, always the gentlest and most breezy-sounding of artists in the Kranky label stable, offers up four live radio recordings in a trio that provides minimal yet effective backing. The simplicity an acoustic nature of her songs lend themselves to the branding of folk music, but there's too much pop structure here for the tag to truly stick. Bailiff's songs are just as warm and welcoming as they were in the years since I last heard her. Includes a Flying Saucer Attack cover. - Doug Mosurak, Dusted

Recorded live for VPRO Radio in The Netherlands, Jessica Bailiff's 'coke bottle,' transparent vinyl disc includes three originals and a cover of Flying Saucer Attack's "Come and Close My Eyes." Enhanced by Michael Anderson's blurry textures and Nathan Amundson's bass, Bailiff's entranced whispers and acoustic strums distinguish "Shadow." The gentle "Beautiful Soul" originally appeared on her 1998 Kranky debut Even in Silence while "Mary," from her 2002 self-titled album, is rendered haunting by the background haze of Anderson's treated guitar. In a lovely rendition, she imbues "Come and Close My Eyes" with delicate intimacy. - Ron Schepper, Textura

The lovely voice of Jessica Baliiff underpinned by some equally lovely understated strummed guitars. Melancholy and heartfelt music and singing - I always think of her as a very grown up singer song writer - someone who has matured to a point where the frills and possibly cliched bits are lond gone, and you are left with a essense of depth and emotion. You might have gathered that I really like this. Recommended. - Smallfish

Recorded just shortly after the release of her last, self-titled album, this 7" is a rare document of Jessica Bailiff's sound away from the studio. Included are two songs available on her full-length recordings, a cover of "Come and Close My Eyes" by Flying Saucer Attack, and a version of "Shadow," which was previously available only on Disc A of the Brain in the Wire compilation. While her live sound is more bare compared to what she does inside the studio, Bailiff's siren-like voice and hypnotic guitar playing is enchanting, sounding as though it's coming through the ether from some far away, and sometimes sad, place. What this 7" release most exceptionally highlights is Bailiff's song-writing ability. She writes elegantly and fluidly, pacing her music perfectly, allowing her voice to melt into her rhythmic guitar melodies with ease. Her style is completely her own, but not without sympathetic and inviting tones. She can make me believe that she's in the room with me, whispering to me and relating stories pulled from all over the world. There's never an element out of place in her music and each one of these four recordings proves that she's one of the finest writers and performers around. - Lucas Schleicher

Jessica Bailiff, "Shadow (live on VPRO radio)"

 Jack Dangers
Lynn Farmer - Drums [A]
Mike Powell - Samples and keys [A]
John Wilson - Guitar [A]

53 editions come numbered in a special sleeve handmade by Jack Dangers.

Meat Beat Manifesto (a band hardly needing an introduction) offer a stellar slab of fried sounds. Side A, "Lovefingers," is a Silver Apples cover, which opens with a clip of a woman retelling a story of her husband (I think) claiming he'd been attacked by a spaceship. This leads perfectly into a catchy, psychedelic and mutated groove, bringing to mind early Faust. This comparison is hammered home when a blast of oscillators and fuzzy filters splatter themselves across the rest of the grooves. Side B follows a similar pattern with "Radio Free Republic." Starting with a voice sample (presumably from a b-movie), it moves into a heavily rhythm-centric pattern which slowly develops over a shifting pallette of synthesizer bleeps and bloops. - Dick Baldwin, FakeJazz

Where in the past Jack Dangers was the man you seek out for some pre-Big Beat busy prehistoric electronics and bollock kicking breaks here we find him at his monitor a little more relaxed. Still peppering his tracks with samples, he moves further into a Hip-Hop Techno area on "Radio Free Republic" where aggression and pace are not the norm. More interestingly is the Silver Apples cover on the A side which is a short blast of harsh electronic pop ending prematurely in short wave radio abuse. - Scott McKeating, Stylus

We have another sexy Brainwashed 7" in this week. This one is by Meat Beat Manifesto and it's on super thick weapon stylee grey vinyl. You know someone ordered a record this week and referred to it as a plate. I've never had that happen to me before but it did amuse me. Holding this sturdy little fella makes me realise if you didn't like the music you could tape up the hole in the middle and use it as some kind of stupid dining service. However if you did that it would be criminal cos here we have a totally cool slab of Jack Dangers instrumental hip hop infused brilliance which doesn't sound too unlike Boards of Canada to be honest. And there's a cracking Silver Apples cover of Lovefingers on the B side. This be my single of the week... - Norman Records

Meat Beat Manifesto, "Radio Free Republic"

"Graham Lewis by any name sounds pretty good. And this Suicidal cover of The Monks' classic is no exception. Layers of vocals, raspy propulsive electronics, pop structure, even. To be perfectly honest, not much post-reconstruction Wire fallout has done very much for me, but this one's cool." - Byron Coley, The Wire

He Said 27#11, "Oh How To Do Now"

 Daniel Padden - guitar, piano, clarinet, voice etc
Chris Hladowski - bouzouki, bow and clarinet
Peter Nicholson - cello
Aby Vulliamy - viola
Alex Neilson - drums

Released in a limited edition of 500 letterpress sleeves, handmade by Michael Babcock of Interrobang Letterpress.

VPRO Radio is most internationally known for their Mort Aux Vaches series and Brainwashed is honored to be blessed with the second release of the year produced live at VPRO Radio by the generous Berry Kammer and Maurice Woestenburg. The One Ensemble of Daniel Padden became the working name for Daniel Padden's extracurricular solo activities outside of Volcano the Bear. Two albums surfaced through Catsup Plate (US) and Textile (FR) almost completely recorded by multitalented multi-instrumentalisy Daniel Padden, himself. Following the two releases Padden assembled an actual ensemble and has played numerous concerts and fests around Europe. As a close and personal friend, Daniel Padden sent me the CD of the radio session. I was completely blown away at how incredible his band had transformed his songs into something so complete and fully realized. As many of the songs are older, they won't be recorded for the next album. I didn't want these recordings to go unheard or unnoticed. Live at VPRO Radio perfectly captures an amazing ensemble in the studio, and in a world which praises a lot of "new folk," there's something to be said for musicians who are incredibly talented and led by a fantastic composer and arranger like Daniel Padden. The music is stellar with the instrumentation of drums, vocals, guitar, cello, viola, and bouzouki, challenging the dogmas of western songcraft while never losing its step and falling down the beaten path of clumsy noisemaking or music school acrobatics. Like the Windy & Carl CD, "Dedications to Flea," this one is letterpressed in a limited edition of 500 copies by Michael Babcock of Interrobang (Isis, Converge, Hydra Head) and the music is so fantastic that I anticipate it will sell out just as quickly.

Volcano the Bear member Daniel Fadden's latest venture under his own flag enters the world via a limited edition (500) CD-R from the esteemed Brainwashed organisation (visited regularly by this writer for their fabulously Byzantine discographies of acts like Current 93, Coil and Nurse With Wound). It also comes housed in a marvellous letterpress card sleeve, reminiscent of the packaging of the Independent Projects label, which is all to the good, and places the listener in a receptive head space for band versions of Daniel's multi-faceted, multi-instrumental work. For here, Daniel's solo compositions are realised by a five piece ensemble: Chris Hladowski on bouzouki, Alex Neilson on drums and percussion, Peter Nicholson on cello, Aby Vulliamy on viola, and Daniel his own self on guitar and voice. It's clear from the outset that the ensemble approach and looseness of the live-to-radio format suit Padden's work very well. The overall feel is antiquarian, reminding one of everything from the soundtracks composed for Fassbinder by Peer Rabin, to various Greek, Eastern European and Middle Eastern traditions (and there are echoes of the work done by Magic Carpathians on similar foundations) and indeed deconstructed classical chamber music. 'Clown Flinging' begins and ends with nerve-jangling bowing, but coalesces into free-wheeling gypsy folk in between. The bouzouki-powered 'Mustard Mustard' is infused with the smoke of a thousand North African souks - one gets totally immersed in its celebratory, dervish swirl only to have the rug-seller pull his wares out from under you as the piece falls apart into a dizzying profusion of bowed dementia. 'Baltic Antiquarian' wears its roots partly on it sleeve, but the ensemble travels down a vector to the outer rim of sanity by virtue of Padden's pushing the envelope of his fractured Robert Wyatt vocal stylings. These will not be to everyone's taste, but suit the material here perfectly. On 'Norway Sleeps Norway', Padden's voice is more likely to please folk purists, but he's earned the right to be taken on his own terms. It's an astonishing track - a divinely memorable sea shanty suitable as much for plying interstellar trading routes as it is for traversing the oceans of Terra. 'Weevils' has the tortured soul of the best Rembetika - all it needs is the fisherman's cap and worry beads to accompany its ouzo-soaked waltz, Typical of many of the tracks on this release, it builds up a head of steam only to fall apart and then be reconstructed piece by piece. In a sense, it's a very Brechtian technique, drawing the audience in, then forcing it to analyse what is being performed by laying bare its circuitry for scrutiny. Remaining tracks 'The Tumble Waltz' and 'Farewell You Porcupine' (ha!) consolidate a superbly realised set, which achieves a level of virtuosity and creativity that few artists would match given unlimited studio time. One has to constantly remind oneself that it's a live radio broadcast. Listening to Padden's 'Live at VPRO Radio', it's difficult to take some of the other material flying under the free folk banner as seriously as one is clearly meant to. Like the Windy & Carl release before it on this label, copies will not last, so you know what you have to do. - Tony Dale, Terrascope.

Daniel Padden is one-[fourth] of Volcano the Bear and, as heard on his beautifully twisted recordings as The One Ensemble of Daniel Padden, a talented composer in his own right. No false advertising; the first two One Ensemble albums, self-titled (Catsup Plate) and "The Owl of Fives" (Textile), were almost entirely solo affairs with Padden manning everything from guitar, bass and percussion to piano, violin, bouzouki and voice to conjure a spectral gypsy folk/jazz informed by European roots, the early art pop of Robert Wyatt and the bizarre violin-scapes of Aranos. "Live at VPRO Radio" (the home of the revered Mort Aux Vaches releases) is a CD-R that comes via Brainwashed's Handmade Series in an edition of 500 in folded letterpress sleeves. It's both an extremely lavish and minimal package, which accurately reflects the haunted ensemble performances captured within. This edition of the One Ensemble is in fact a quintet, with stunning support from Chris Hladowski (bouzouki), Jandek sideman Alex Nielson (drums/percussion), Peter Nicholson (cello), Aby Vulliamy (viola), and Padden rounds things out on guitar and vocals. Like Steven R Smith's Hala Strana, The One Ensemble takes much of its musical inspiration from more unlikely, but still relatively familiar, territory and combines it with a free jazz or prog approach. Jewish Klezmer, Gypsy and other Eastern Euro styles are drawn into Padden's dense web of ominous tonal phrasings, only to be built up, distended, collapsed and rebuilt. Volcano the Bear's early albums play like Nurse With Wound covering Robert Wyatt's "Rock Bottom," so it's no surprise that Padden's take on European roots leaves plenty of space for freer deconstructions, but what is surprising is just how beautiful these new renditions of his earlier recordings are. "Live at VPRO Radio" is dense with abstract ideas yet manages the rare feat of being composed and spontaneous. Padden's Wyatt-like vocal warbles might be hard for some to wrap their head around, but such an emotionally expressive tone fits right in among this surrealist display. Had I heard "Live..." in 05, it would've easily been among my favorite releases of the year. (9/10) - Lee Jackson, Foxy Digitalis

This recording does what all good radio sessions do and then some. Multi-instrumentalist Daniel Padden (Volcano the Bear) has loosened his grip on the material from his virtually solo The Owl of Fives LP and recast it live with a ferociously elegant quintet. The performance of these seven pieces (some new at the time of recording and some re-titled excursions) are as open as they can possibly be while still holding in place the identifiable elements that define the song. The opening scrape, saw, and rattle of "Clown Flinging" is a deceptive beginning to a song steered by intricate strings and a mournfully sharp bouzouki melody. The instrument's clinking metallic chimes clank perfectly against the ever-reliable genius of Alex Neilson's (Jandek/Taurpis Tula) free percussion work. When Padden's own sing-along drunken caterwaul intertwines with the swooning viola, it's obvious that this set of songs has design at its core despite the slack reins. For a set of songs written and performed by the bandleader, Padden is surprisingly open with the improvisational spotlight. There's never the feeling that anyone is softened or curtailed from going with the freer flows by a diktat from Padden. The players are more than capable of bringing the most in the possibility of improvisations within these compositions. The album's air is thick with the sweat and steam of Eastern European traditional Gypsy music, heavy doses of Klezmer, touches of Flamenco, and Russian stylings. The cello and voluptuary viola build and capture the gorgeous driving windswept widescreen feel of these ineffably romantic genres. The One Ensemble of Daniel Padden may mine same territory as acts like A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Silver Mt. Zion, and Black Ox Orkestar, but this release packs in many more obvious moments of passion and merriment. Themes like "Weevils" and the strong rhythmic element of "Mustard Mustard" help conjure dancing desert ingenues and other unhelpfully atrocious stereotypes, but there's magic here. Where some of the eclecticism of Padden's solo and group studio work can sometimes sound like the kitchen sink wasn't too far away, this has everything in its right place. The mixture of traditional and the spirit of exploration give the music a fire and a passion that doesn't seem to be boiling over in much "modern" music lately. Padden's rousing shouts and chants (alongside another unidentifiable band members) add to the energy levels urging the band onwards toward almost anthemic heights. The music's complexity and the band's obvious vigour set a high benchmark for followers. The classical look of the handmade letterpress sleeve only adds to the overall impression that this is something special. VPRO have been lucky enough to catch one of those rare moments in time when a band are truly on fire. - Scott McKeating, Stylus

I must admit to being rather dismissive about much of the current wave of so-called "free folk," and certainly I've also been guilty of declaring much of the music it has produced as being the product of an insufferable scenesterism. However, I've also been among the first to praise the truly worthy examples of the genre, and this new release by The One Ensemble of Daniel Padden clearly demonstrates that amazing work continues to come out of the new folk zeitgeist. For all of the undeniably interesting music, performance and aesthetic ingenuity that this scene has produced, it has also spawned an equal amount of talentless opportunism and obnoxious marketing, and a surplus of overpriced limited CD-Rs and LPs filled with senseless cacophony of questionable musical value. I mean, how many different ways are there for a bunch of unshaved bohos to pound tunelessly on a bunch of instruments they never bothered learning how to play, anyway? Live at VPRO Radio was recorded live in 2004, in a performance by the Ensemble for the famous Dutch radio station, and it's one of the most stunning live albums I've ever heard, without a doubt. The performance captured in this radio session easily eclipses Daniel Padden's two studio albums, and also exceeds the rather high standards set by his previous work with Volcano the Bear. The seven tracks on this CD showcase a marvelously talented composer and arranger leading an ensemble of adept musicians through his startlingly unique sound world. Far from sounding like some slapdash, impromptu assemblage thrown together for a one-off gig, the group sounds as if they were born to play Padden's songs, and after hearing this album, it's hard to imagine them playing anything else as well or convincingly. As on his studio albums, Padden freely borrows from the '60s psychedelic folk of groups like The Incredible String Band, along with a wide variety of disparate ethnic musics, but unlike his albums, which often sounded jarringly eclectic, Live at VPRO Radio sounds gloriously cohesive: a triumphant spontaneous creation of a wholly idiosyncratic style of folk music. Though it is tempting to pick through and try to identify specific ethnic signifiers in this beautiful melodies created here by bouzouki, cello, guitar, viola and drums, all of the music here feels of a piece. Under the supervision of Padden, this group effortlessly draws upon a veritable constellation of tantalizingly familiar musical traditions--Jewish Klezmer, Gypsy, Russian and British trad-folk, etc.--but at the same time, manages never to directly reference any of them. Many of the songs are radically reworked versions of tracks that originally appeared on 2004's The Owl of Fives, but they have been retrofitted to work within the live ensemble context, and arrive much the better for these alterations. I mentioned ISB, and while the comparison seens an appropriate one, it also fails to get across the power and ferocity of these performances, many which build to loud, celebratory climaxes, Padden enthusiastically egging the band on with non-verbal chanting and cajoling. Though the players are drawn mostly from the free folk scene, it is perhaps inaccurate to refer to this album as a work of free folk, as each song is clearly a work of composition. However, the performances captured here do not seem over-determined or rigidly rehearsed. On the contrary, it seems as if the group feels perfectly confident to travel outside of the lines of Padden's songs, and his songs provide a wonderfully loose structure upon which subtle group dynamics and improvisatory passages can play an important part. I can't be the only one who has often wondered if ensembles like Sunburned Hand of the Man or Jackie-O Motherfucker might be better and more reliable if they actually took the time to write some songs. There isn't a moment of wasted space or directionless meandering on Live at VPRO Radio, because the group can always fall back on the strong backbone of Padden's impressive songs. Live at VPRO Radio is a gorgeous and hypnotic work that joyously trips and tumbles through a dark, mediaeval wonderland that exists only on an astral plane; a collection of whimsical funeral dirges for a merry band of wandering monks intoxicated on bad liquor and thujone. It is a collection of hymns to wood sprites and elves; it is the soundtrack to suddenly noticing the glorious spectacle of an ant crawling up a tree trunk carrying a leaf. It is a magical conjuring act by a group of trickster alchemists wandering in a foreign land. It is often all of these things and sometimes none of them, but it is always unmistakably beautiful music. - Jonathan Dean, Brainwashed

It is perhaps a bit confusing: The One Ensemble Of Daniel Padden, whereas the cover lists five players. The previous two albums by Daniel Padden contained music, all played by Padden himself, but as we are dealing here with a live album, it's not strange to see it become a real ensemble. Padden, who is also a member of Volcano The Bear, is assisted by people who play bouzouki, drums, percussion, cello, viola whereas the man himself plays guitar and sings. As the attentive reader probably noticed the recordings were made at the VPRO radio, by the very same (nice) people who delivered so many excellent recordings for Staalplaat's Mort Aux Vaches series, it's, when you hear this, not really a big surprise that they aren't released by Staalplaat. Although the series has many different musical angles, the music of Daniel Padden is very very far away from what Staalplaat releases. Padden plays a very personal version of folk music. Not always very skilled and trained, and the songs aren't the nicest ones, this is new folk, a somewhat more grim version of folk music. Rooted not just in folk (or perhaps, not at all), this has traces of free improvised playing, with elements of drone and noise coming in at the far end of the sound spectrum. Just as it's music that Staalplaat wouldn't release, it's also music that is vastly away from any daily appetite at the headquarters of Vital Weekly, but perhaps that's the reason why I must admit that I quite like this. Surely not music I would want to hear all day, but this release blew me away, just because it's so different than so many other things here (well, perhaps with the Panicsville/Spires That In The Sunset Rise 7" mentioned elsewhere this week). Moody new folk music that fits the dark short days of the time of year best. Very very nice. Just 500 were made - and I don't know why not on a real CD! - Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly

With a distinctive instrumental configuration of bouzouki, violin, cello, drums, and guitar, The One Ensemble of Daniel Padden mines a similar kind of 'nuevo folk' territory to A Silver Mt. Zion and A Hawk and a Hacksaw. Having originated the One Ensemble as a moonlighting project from his Volcano The Bear day job, multi-instrumentalist Padden produced two albums alone before assembling a touring group for European concerts and festivals, and it's this outfit that was captured live in the studio for the radio session.
The 45-minute album's opening attack clearly intimates that The One Ensemble is a band best heard live. After an opening flourish of string scrapes, "Clown Flinging" settles into a dirge before the folk dance "Mustard Mustard" finds the quintet alternating between reflective and thunderous passages. Aside from their shared predilection for elastically handled folk forms, there's one other thing that connects the One Ensemble's sound to A Silver Mt. Zion's: Padden's vocalizing, whichothankfully, on "Baltic Antiquarian" onlyorecalls too vividly Efrem's strangulated delivery. A more controlled approach in the epic waltz "Sleep Norway Sleep" renders Padden's singing much more palatable; his snarling yodel in "Weevils" even vaguely calls to mind David Byrne during Talking Heads' prime. The One Ensemble's sound may reference gypsy, klezmer, and Greek folk traditions but Padden and co. boost it with a fearless intensity and improv sensibility. Like Windy & Carl's Dedications to Flea, Brainwashed's inaugurating Handmade Series release, Padden's disc is available in a limited run of 500 letterpressed copies and will in all likelihood vanish quickly. - Ron Schepper, Textura

absolutely love it! - Aranos

The One Ensemble of Daniel Padden, "Mustard Mustard"

An exclusive track from the "Peace (for mom)" compilation on the Brainwashed Handmade series. 

A few years ago, I was making a mix CD for a friend, and casually asked if he wanted liner notes to accompany the music. He replied by saying that he appreciated having the notes, if for no other reason than to know that each song wasn't just selected at random. In a way, that's how I feel about most compilations I hear. In many cases, they're released as label samplers, tribute albums, promotional tie-ins or other such categories, though somewhat frequently, they exist because of a cause. The Red Hot series has long contributed to AIDS charities, while a Filter/Urban Outfitters compilation released at the beginning of 2005 titled Tsunami Relief offered just that, with benefits going toward the UNICEF Tsunami Relief Fund. The newly released compilation Peace (for mom) has a no less noble ambition behind it, but one extremely personal to those involved. Released in memory of Marilyn Whitney, the late mother of Brainwashed founder Jon Whitney, Peace (for mom) is dedicated to those who have lost a mother too soon, and is all the more heartbreaking for it. In honor of Whitney, proceeds will be donated to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Mass., where she volunteered. The songs assembled on the two-CD set aren't necessarily written with the theme in mind, and many of them have been previously released, but that said, their inclusion on this set is not without significance. Quite the contrary, there is a contrasting feeling of both somberness and of beauty, of grace and of grief. Disc A begins with "Sunbeam" by A Place to Bury Strangers, and is one of the Brooklyn band's most stunning and delicate songs. The next song, Antony and the Johnsons' "You Are My Sister," is perhaps the most well-known here, but actually seems more directly tied to the central theme and background. Aranos offers a gauzy ambience in "Fall's Golden Whispers," and Boy In Static layer on a bit of fuzz for "Stay Awake." Caribou's "Hummingbird" is a woozy standout with synths warbling and vibrating, Current 93's "All The Pretty Little Horses" is somewhat tied to the themes as well, though a bit creepy. That doesn't mean it's not great, though. On disc B, Matmos offers an ascendant electronic dream sequence in "Staircase," and Monster Movie contributes the amazing "Vanishing Act." In fact, the first 30 seconds of this song alone is enough to make me want to dig through the band's catalog, which is one of the best things a compilation can do. Marissa Nadler's "Stallions" is characteristically spectral and delicate, which is a wonderful thing, of course. I've never been a particularly big fan of The Dresden Dolls, but I can make an exception for Amanda Palmer's cover of Death Cab For Cutie's "I Will Follow You Into the Dark," which is achingly gorgeous to say the least. In the liner notes to the album, whose artwork has a stark beauty of its own, Jon Whitney notes that it was his mother who bought him his first records, took him to his first rock concerts and classical performances and came to the first festival he organized. The importance of family is rarely mentioned in rock music, but Peace (for mom) brings it to light and celebrates it, if somberly and with quiet reflection. Those with mothers like Whitney's, who express the importance of music and art, might consider this for a Mother's Day gift (or if you choose to keep it, at least remember to give mom a call!). No matter what, this compilation features everything that makes its kind essential--great music, unheard new discoveries and a really big heart. - Jeff Terich, Treble

A couple years after the time I first started getting into music that was outside of the mainstream, one of the first websites that I discovered was Brainwashed.com. At the time (clear back in 1996), it not only hosted websites for a variety of different artists, but also featured weekly updates (called "The Brain") with album and live reviews and other related information. Over the past decade, the site has grown in scope, but retained the same overall feel, with direct hosting of numerous artist websites (including Matmos, Windy & Carl and a ton of others), often-updated reviews, release date information, and other stuff. Along the way, The Brainwashed label launched, with several sub-labels attached (including Killer Pimp, which was home of the recent A Place To Bury Strangers). They co-released a couple Fridge albums with Temporary Residence, put out a DVDR series of live and behind-the-scenes interviews with great artists, put out limited 7"s and have put out several limited releases under the "handmade" heading. Peace (for mom) is the newest release in the handmade series, and it's dedicated to the memory of site-founder Jon Whitney's mother, who passed last year and was the major source of enthusiasm and influence in life. Like the site as a whole, the release is about as varied as one can possibly get, with everything from quiet folk and chamber music to electronic pop and experimental electronic. Thirty-four songs stretch out over 2CDs, and they're housed in a lovely hand-letterpressed sleeve from Interrobang letterpress. Although there's plenty of great already-released music on the compilation to recommend it (including work from Antony And The Johnsons, Marrissa Nadler, Fridge, Caribou, and others), it's the unreleased work that will likely be the biggest treat for most people (and is the real draw of this very-limited pressing). Boduf Songs, Andrew Lilies, Matmos, Jessica Bailiff, Little Annie Bandez, and Nudge all contribute tracks that are exclusive to this release alone, while Keith Fullerton Whitman and the aforementioned A Place To Bury Strangers both offer up songs that have only appeared on harder-to-get vinyl releases to date. In addition to the exclusive new tracks, there are a slew of exclusive alternate takes of already-released songs, and they're welcome additions as well, with "Woven Clouds" by Carter Tutti standing out as a particularly aching addition. As with the Brainwashed website as a whole, I don't find myself completely loving everything on the release, but there's more than enough excellent stuff to keep me coming back. A great little release, Peace (for mom) is a limited pressing with proceeds going for a great cause. - Aaron Coleman, Almost Cool

Little Annie, "Smile"

An exclusive song from the Brainwaves 2008 triple CD.

Boduf Songs, "Left Behind Like A Piece Of Shit"

By request, another piece from Aranos. This also comes from the "Peace (for mom)" compilation.

Aranos, "Fall's Golden Whispers"

Greater Than One, "We Don't Have Weekends"

An exclusive track recorded for Brainwaves 2008 by Peter Christopherson as Threshold HouseBoys Choir. 

Threshold HouseBoys Choir - Cap Rot Taxi

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