Improv sextet featuring: Thurston Moore (Guitar), Nels Cline (Guitar), Carla Bozulich (Guitar & Sampler), Devin Sarno (Bass), Lin Culbertson (Keyboards) and Tom Surgal (Drums)

Recorded Live at Tonic (New York City) on June 9, 1999 as part of New Music Festival (Curated by John Zorn).

Moore/Cline/Bozulich/Sarno/Culbertson/Surgal(Live at Tonic 06.09.99)  Excerpt

(Excerpt) Recorded Live on February 27, 2016 at Character Projects (Highland Park, CA.)

Carla Bozulich: Vocals, Bass, FX
Devin Sarno: Bass, FX

Photo Credit: Kelly Norris Sarno

Carla Bozulich + Devin Sarno (Live at Character Projects 02.27.16) Excerpt

(Excerpt) Recorded Live on December 28, 2015 at Pehrspace (Los Angeles).

Carla Bozulich: Vocals, Bass, FX
Devin Sarno: Bass, FX

Photo Credit: Sarah Lipstate

Carla Bozulich + Devin Sarno (Live at Pehrspace 12.28.15) Excerpt

Sad Boy Breaker Mastering

Slow Moses #2

Since its inception, the music of Portland, Oregon’s 1939 Ensemble has always explored the relationship between rhythm and melody.

On the quartet’s new EP Beats & Saints, that connection — between pulse and phrase — is turned inside out. The record finds vibraphonist José Medeles, percussionist David Coniglio, trumpeter Josh Thomas, and guitarist Knate Carter in a loose, playful mode, interpreting songs by Charles Mingus, Björk, the Breeders, and Stereolab, alongside two new 1939 originals.

Melodic, surprising, and rhythmically dense, Beats & Saints finds the band teaming with experimental music legend Ralph Carney, known for his work with Tom Waits, Bill Laswell, Jonathan Richman, and Martin, Medeski, and Wood, and any more, along with Josh Klinghoffer (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tinariwen). Demonstrating the band’s inside humor, a Korg Rhythm 55 drum machine also receives a “guest” credit. Hunkering down in the 1939’s own B-Sides Studios, the band and guests indulges in the time-honored tradition of musicians simply blowing off steam, seeing what happens when combustible elements are combined.

“We tried to have fun with it — that was the most important thing,” Medeles says. “There was a sense of ‘How far do we take this thing?’”

The answer ends up being “pretty far out.” Opener “Bullseye” strings together noir cinematics, G-funk grooves, and thick ambience. Next, 1939 takes on Björk’s “Pluto” nudging the song forward by with a heavy synth bass under Thomas’ electronically treated trumpet. On Mingus’ “II B.S.” — “You gotta be crazy to play a Mingus’ song without a bass,” Medeles laughs — the combo translates the song’s familiar melody to vibes, Carney’s sax adding a bawdy heft. The original “Illinois Lead Shot” and Stereolab’s “Percolator” prove exhilarating workouts of the band’s cool jazz/lounge sensibilities, and the band’s take on “Off You,” Kim Deal’s classic from 2002’s Title TK — Medeles played drums on the original — feels like an audible swoon, Klinghoffer and Carter locking in together with liquid guitars over shimmering surf motifs. “Our tip of the spear is making music we really enjoy,” Medeles says. “We hope that translates to people out there. I think this record’s a cool snapshot into 1939’s world.

The record is an example of open collaboration. “It was such a great energy,” Medeles says of the band’s collaborations with outside musicians. “It was really about friendship and energy as much as anything.” Since 2013’s Howl & Bite, recorded by Coniglio and Medeles as a duo in 2010, 1939 Ensemble has expanded its parameters with each release, adding members like Thomas and Carter as time’s gone on. Beats & Saints finds that expansion playing out stylistically, tying together and ultimately transmuting disparate threads of groove, noise, and rhythm. It’s a casual assemblage, “a nice collage of songs,” Medeles says, but a picture of a band “recording music in their own space — in their own terms.” The resulting recording is a demonstration of that sonic vocabulary used to stun and wow — the musical equivalent of a friend laying some knowledge on you just because they know you’ll like it.

Beats & Saints

1939 Ensemble - Percolator (Stereolab)

"Glass House" from the album Quieter by Carla Bozulich

Album out 11 May 2018
Constellation
CST132 • 180gLP/DL
cstrecords.com/cst132

"Glass House"
Written and engineered by Freddy Ruppert
Freddy Ruppert: programming
Carla Bozulich" voice

Quieter

Carla Bozulich & Freddy Ruppert • "Glass House"

LYRICS: It can't speak but it's makin' sound, little lips are moving up and down. It's all hate for the nation-state, is it great or just American rape, can't wait for the latest fake today. A sick circus kind of cavalcade, took possession of the USA, it can't think but its shit still stinks, on the edge of a nuclear brink, the paper prints what the faker thinks today. All our rights are going down the drain, pretty soon you're gonna' feel the pain. You're not safe tucked out of the way, the cops are comin' 'cause they're gettin' paid, the faker wishes he was gettin' laid today. How can we go on this way? Every week is like the end of days We gave away our democracy so we could sit and watch tv, the Faker gets the USA for free today.

FAKER

A unique feature of many independent labels is that they’re closely intertwined with one person’s taste and vision. Instead of emphasizing a genre, these ventures often reflect a specific scene or time. Like Jealous Butcher Records, these labels exemplify the true labor of love that can go into an album release. 

In 1991, Rob Jones started Jealous Butcher in Eugene, Oregon. Since then, he’s released countless records from some of the state’s most exciting artists -- many on the verge of their big break. On this episode, Jones describes the history of Jealous Butcher, the philosophy behind the label, and how his business has (and intentionally has not) adjusted to today’s music industry. We also hear from Tim Rutili (Califone, Red Red Meat), who released a new album with Craig Ross earlier this year through Jealous Butcher.

Jealous Butcher is offering a discount to our listeners! Get the code in the episode.
https://www.jealousbutcher.com/

Indie Label Spotlight: Jealous Butcher

Written by Maria Maita-Keppeler
Engineered by Bart Budwig at The Ok Theatre in Enterprise, Oregon, and Matthew Zeltzer at Room 13 in Portland, Oregon
Produced by Maria Maita-Keppeler & Matthew Zeltzer
Mixed by John Askew at Scenic Burrows
Mastered by JJ Golden at Golden Mastering

Best Wishes

Can't Blame a Kid

Estella:
This composition was written as a response to the story of Minerva and Arachne by Ovid, upon invitation by artist Jade Blood.

After listening to the story as told by Liv Albert (of the 'Lets Talk About Myths, Baby!' podcast) I was struck by what Liv said about these types of stories always being told through the lens of men. Somehow the women in these stories, despite their many accomplishments or being literal goddesses, often had nothing better to do than be envious, scheming, and vengeful towards each other.

Therefore I wrote my piece from a perspective where Minerva and Arachne would have naturally seen their shared passion and skill as an opportunity for collaboration. In this scenario Minerva is not lording her goddess-status above Arachne, but instead they use the term to assert their shared power.

Dual vocals are used to reflect their equal status, and the gang vocals towards the end represent the wider community of womxn as a whole, insisting that we are so much more than what men tell us we are.

I wanted the piece to have an ethereal element to it, so used sounds like bells and chimes, along with a healthy dose of reverb. The descending chromatic scale near the start represents Minerva's descent to Earth.

It is fitting that this piece was created for a projected centred on a feminist approach to collaborative creativity, as I would not have been able to make it without the inspiration and assistance of feminist networks such as Girls Rock London, Young Women's Music Project Oxford, and Music Production for Women. 

This is the first composition I have completed using a digital audio workstation and an analog synthesiser, tools I have been learning to use during the current lockdown.

---
Bio

Estella Adeyeri is a performing musician and multi-instrumentalist. She plays in black feminist punk band Big Joanie, and in the anarcho-pop punk outfit Charmpit. She is a music coach at Girls Rock London, a project that seeks to empower women, trans* and/or gender non-conforming folks to play instruments and enter the music industry.

https://linktr.ee/EstellaAdeyeri

1939 Ensemble - Percolator (Stereolab)

Jealous Butcher Records

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