Muscle Drum is the home recording project of Robert Spector (formally of Spector Protector and Fuckwolf) which he uses as a testing ground for his work with his current mainstay, San Francisco dark psychedelic art fuck dance trio Bronze. Muscle Drum has been active for years, recording albums of synth/drum machine pop experiementation and psychedelic guitar pop. This music has been available via CDRs passing through the hands of the more discerning music enthusiasts in the Golden State and beyond. The sounds on these records range from austere synth "ballads", to short circuited drum machine work outs, to psychedelic jangle pop that reminds how the eighties actually sounded. Recently, with the impending release of Bronze's first full length on RVNG, Muscle Drum has been making its way beyond the bounds of the CDR and has been spotted on compilations by Human Ear Music and digital singles label Beko.

Fog Hag, both the first official release by Muscle Drum and the first release on Break Up, represents the maturation of the ideas captured on the Muscle Drum CDRs. Covering the range of styles Muscle Drum has dabbled in, be it jangly guitar tunes, synth pop nods to dance music, or just plain pop weirdness, Fog Hag envelopes the listener in Spector's off kilter pop haze. Limited to 500 copies, playable at 45 RPM. The first 100 copies come with a CD of earlier material "The Early Drum Catches The Snare"

Compromise

Haven

St Christopher

Sashay

Public Transportation

When To Strike

Avenue Blue

Room To Hide

The Rumble

A Perfect Two

Swimming Headache

free from the city

What began as a forced aural exorcism has manifested into a shared psychic healing. Shakes Gown's origins lie in the sub-zero climate of Berlin with a cassette 4-track, Casio SK-1, some effects pedals, and a microphone, but with time the vision has evolved. Where once there was one now there are three. With the use of antiquated synthesizers and organic percussion Shakes Gown has metamorphosized from a flat-screen vision into a bio-dynamic Northern California synth-pop oddity. Imagine 'Once in a Lifetime' filtered through Americanized post synth-Britannia and you are still off target.

Shakes Gown features members or Fuckwolf, le Flange du Mal, Zeigenbock Kopf, Earwicker, Curse of the Birthmark, and other San Francisco musical malfunctions yet represents none of the above. Their live shows have been compared to the epileptic episodes of Joy Division blended with Depeche Mode covering Steely Dan at a Pink Floyd laser light show. The description is questionable but what isn't.

01 Euro Bomber

02 Dusted Pain

03 Steely Dan

04 You Are Not Me

05 Oksana Baiul

06 Copper Street

Fever/Downtown 7" to be released early Sept. on Break Up 
http://www.break-up.us/

Mixing by Marc Kate 
Mastering by Thomas Dimuzio

Fever

The first installment of the Break Up Cassette Series casts a net across the San Francisco Bay Area Dance/Electronic scene and surfaces 3 distinct and truly amazing artist. Space Burn of Oakland weigh-in with a heavy mix that simultaneously envelopes with friendly rhythms and disorients with subtle abrasion. Never Knows (AKA Marc Kate) taps into minimalist techno to supply the perfect soundtrack for high-speed travel through abandoned zones of freeway architecture. Lastly is Bézier who is Robert Yang (Honey Soundsystem, Robot Hustle); however, you wouldn't know considering the hard-hitting analog drive-by he has contributed. Each tape has been designed with late nights and car rides in mind. If this series doesn't make you fucking dance you're probably dead.

Space Burn - Side A

12/6 @ The Lab: Never Knows, Head / Head, Bézier, Space Burn.

Break Up

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