August 2019

TR160 - Joachim Nordwall - 'FORMS OF ECSTASY'

Dead Horses - Macabro

"Flower Studies", the enchanting third album by Australia’s Blue Chemise, consists of eight intimate, delicate and touching ‘études’, reflecting Mark Gomes’ introspective musings on a series of floral studies by 19th-century French photographer Adolphe Braun (1812-1877).
More info: https://linktr.ee/BAADM

Blue Chemise – Chrysanthemum No 1

Yoshi Wada - Off The Wall LP (SLT-003)

First vinyl reissue of composer and Fluxus artist Yoshi Wada's second album, Off The Wall, originally released in 1985 by famed free jazz label FMP. Recorded in Berlin on May 11 and 12, 1984, by a quartet featuring Yoshi Wada and Wayne Hankin on bagpipes, Marilyn Bogerd on adapted organ (hand-built by Wada), and Andreas Schmidt Neri on percussion. Edition of 750. Mastered by Rashad Becker and housed in old-style gatefold jackets printed by Stoughton.

"Off The Wall belongs somewhere between the exuberant harmolodic ritual of Ornette Coleman's Dancing In Your Head, a damp, medieval dirge and the inner ear soundings of composer Maryanne Amacher." – David Keenan, The Wire

"It may be more accurate to think of Wada as a sculptor than as a composer, because his music seems to be a physical reality, like wood or stone, and also because of the way he treats this material. Most composers work with ideas. Their basic interest is in melodies, harmonies, thematic relationships, tone rows, tonal centers, emotional qualities, and other rather abstract things, all of which can then be conveyed in sound, but none of which really are sound. Wada, on the other hand, works directly with the sound itself. His music would sound silly arranged for church organ for example. And if he prefers to preserve some improvisatory freedom rather than to notate specific musical ideas, this is at least partly because he is not so interested in the kinds of musical ideas that can be written down on paper. He wants to maintain direct contact with the physical reality of the sound." – Tom Johnson

Yoshi Wada – Off The Wall I (excerpt)

From the 2017 LP "Collision With Joy Division"

Collision With Joy Division

Transmission

The Expanding Universe

Drums

“It’s not easy to be free, but it’s harder not to be”.These are the first words to Bad Woman, Céline Gillain’s debut LP on DRAMA.

I’ve never had that many difficulties writing a text for a release. There were easy ways of dealing with it actually, like isolating some of the lyrics and making aphorisms out of them that would have punctuated the text. I could have also wrote about her music with hackneyed words and glamorous comparisons with the likes of Laurie Anderson or Leslie Winer.

Maybe is it because it summons the influence of artists that have been crucial in our lives, maybe is it because of the ambition and the absolute sincerity emanating from this record, maybe is it also because of the utter contemporaneity of the record… but I feel stuck.

So I will only say a couple of things. If the idea of an LP following her debut 7″ on Lexi Disques gets you as excited as we were and still are, you won’t be disappointed by Bad Woman. The music on the upcoming album definitely is pop music, but in a disturbing, beyond « good » and « bad » taste kind of way.

It sometimes feel as if Bad Woman has been written by a former Pop diva that saw her expectations being shattered by life and now tries to make her come-back with a new album, influenced by what she believes to be contemporary pop music. The thing is, the result is a mutant blend of everything and anything that has been produced by the music industry these last 30 years, from Cher’s delirious come-back in the 1990’s to the most embarrassing moments in Dance music, and it rather sounds like a record that would have been written in a parallel universe.

That being said, Bad Woman tackles painful issues about our lives as individuals and society but with absolute elegance. After months of being the only one able to listen to it, no need to say that Zaltan & I are now extremely proud and happy to see this record coming to life. Thank you Céline for untrusting with taking care of your album.

OUT DECEMBER 2018 via DRAMA

Bandcamp

CÉLINE GILLAIN - IN THE ARENA (DRAMA2)

From the debut LP "Dream Noise", OUT NOW (Oct 25)

Music Video: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywPgQH3N6Mg

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0TNbbDnUI0aEhgQatSwB7j?si=8hhbxoikRpWW0pZ7eaKiNg

“Dream Noise” was recorded in the summer of 2018 at Candle Recording in Toronto, produced by Josh Korody (“The Dirty Nil”, “Tallies”, “Weaves”) and mastered by Sarah Register in NYC (“Future Islands”, “Depeche Mode”, “Lower Dens”). 
Capitol are influenced by an array of genres from 70s punk to modern indie rock, and “Dream Noise” captures the decades in 11 eclectic tracks. 

SUPPORT CAPITOL HERE:
https://capitol-band.bandcamp.com/album/dream-noise

-------

Slip out of your dress, my love
Let’s share a bottle of wine
Wade our feet in the river 
And then go swimming 
In the water we feel light

A drop of silver
Dripped off your chin
And you held me
In the summer once 
Am I still shimmering?

“Whole of the Moon”
And “Born to Run”
You’re dancing in the mirror in the middle of the night 
All by yourself, might I join?
We set off headlong
On a curious course
Just a couple of lovebirds
Flying somewhere warm

I wish we had met
When we were young
Would I have found you too impressive? 
I have always been 
The more delicate one

Holy hell
What age are we now?
Our friends are parents and married 
And things I still have yet 
To wrap my head around

We hollow out 
The whole of us
And lay our guts and secrets 
On a table built
Of ash and elephant tusks

Your fortune was read
And given on a Sunday
Said, “Dress your pain in diamond skirts and 
Rub your wounds
In salt and ginger”

“Heart of Glass”
And “Love Will Tear Us Apart”
You’re dancing in the mirror in the morning light

Have I ever said you’re my candle in the dark?
We set off headlong
On a curious course
We can be couple of lovebirds
Finding our way north

“One Day Like This”
and “I Melt With You”
You’re dancing in the mirror in the golden light 
Of the afternoon, and I will too
You’re a stubborn soul
And I’m a fragile man
Aren’t we a couple of lovebirds
With beautiful plans?

Dream Noise

In Ceremony

Written by Dancing Tongues
Recorded & Mixed by Jonny Bell at Jazzcats Studio
Artwork by Micah Bradshaw

Shotgun

Missions - Subcreature (HD057)

Los Angeles-based electro-pop savant Missions makes his full-length debut with the momentous new Subcreature out August 2, 2019. Through the use of drum machines, synthesizers and electronic vocals, solo producer Josh Mills adds a rich emotional gradient and a fresh rhythmic step to the archetypal darkwave narrative as Missions. This impressive collection of addictive bass lines and smooth drum beats are produced and arranged with the proficiency of a polished studio engineer, while the core of Mills’ craftsmanship explores the shaded nuances of seduction and vulnerability. Subcreature is perfectly suited for both late-night dance floors and private listenings, with creative subtleties that peek through the hook-laden anthems and hopelessly romantic lyrics. The heartfelt songwriting and sculpted sound design on Subcreature reflect a unique interpretation of funk, new wave and early electronic music, making up the sophisticated language of Missions.   

Josh Mills was born and raised in Texas and spent the bulk of his adult life developing his craft within the dense synth community of Austin alongside bands like S U R V I V E and BOAN. Mills was brought up in a large family of music enthusiasts with a profound appreciation for dance music and pop culture of the ’80s and ’90s. Industrial, new wave, punk and hip-hop became dominant forces of his formative years and blossomed with the rise of music blogs in the early ’00s and his own college radio show. It was not long before Mills began playing in various bands ranging from disco-punk to shoegaze and honing his skills with electronics, eventually adopting the solo moniker Missions. Since relocating to Los Angeles in 2017, Mills has maintained a heavy collaborative side to his career, working with Emmy Award winning Stranger Things composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein as well as writing, producing and performing with Parisian pop starlet Lou Rebecca. Now on Subcreature, Mills has constructed infectious rhythms interspersed with moments of pure cinematic beauty, carefully mastering the intricate balance of style and technique.

Reminiscent of late ’70s and early ‘80s electro-boogie, the vocals of Missions are synthesized through a vocoder, injecting a vibrant groove into the often cold realm of contemporary dance music. The passionate lyrics on songs like “Spoken” and “M’aidez” have a tangible human quality veiled through slick electronics and thumping bass. In addition to his lush synth tones and driving sequences, one of the most significant characteristics of Missions’ sound is the heavy half-time swing of the drum programming. The beats on tracks “Dark Blak” and “Feelin’” reveal an intrinsic worldview with hip-hop and R&B ingrained into the fabric of his musical vocabulary. This infusion of bounce and swagger underlines the wistfully drab overtones of Subcreature’s ten tracks, making this record stylistically complex and intensely fascinating. Mills’ catchy melodies and clever arrangements are indicative of a brilliant pop talent with the lens of a skilled composer, showcasing a unique blend of influences that are both innovative and classic.

At its essence, Subcreature is a fun and compelling statement of originality within modern dance music. Mills has built a truly endearing identity and established Missions as a new cultural force majeure.

Feelin'

Order 'Venus in Leo' at: https://ghostly.com/products/venus-in-leo
Or at the retailer of your choice: https://Ghostly.lnk.to/HTRK-Venus-in-Leo

Venus in Leo

HTRK - Hit 'Em Wit Da Hee

First Terrace Records have the honour to present an album of new work by influential and idiosyncratic artist K. Leimer.

Kerry returns to First Terrace with his first full length on the label following his part on the 12” split series with FTS001. The album finds the composer working in a solemn & focused mode, rendering deep sonic landscapes that shimmer, sink into themselves and play host to a slowly emerging carousel of auditory apparitions. 

Emerging in opposition to the sunless days & countless distresses of current US politics, each track is imbued with a refreshing sense of equanimity - in Kerry’s own words, "Authoritarian ideas that have persisted somewhere in the depths of human nature for millennia have resurfaced at a crucial moment for the environments we all inhabit — natural, cultural, intellectual and economic. The power and influence of this ideology will again prove catastrophic, as it already has for many people in many parts of the world. Authoritarianism, along with the refutation of our shared responsibility to one another and to objective knowledge in favor of personal gain & gratification consistently lead to disaster. Yet, somehow, a significant number of people seem to feel that this time will be different. To some extent they are right. It will be infinitely worse. 

Irrational Overcast is preoccupied with the perpetual failings of human tribalization, of assuming dominance over nature, of choosing belief and ideology over objective reality. The impetus was brought into immediate focus by the destructive impulses and actions of such excrescences as the Trump Administration and his republicans, as well as the blatant dishonesty and bigotry of thousands more retrograde, ill-informed nihilists operating in and outside the pubic sphere. 

I do not profess that music — especially an experimental, lyric-free music — can change or influence such circumstances. But this is the context in which we now live, and this has shaped the music of Irrational Overcast — a coping mechanism for living under clouds of baseless beliefs and simplistic ideologies that disfigure and stifle what is an admittedly difficult though really quite lovely world. Music, to my mind, can not clearly express anything so literal, or metaphoric, or allegoric — but Irrational Overcast makes the effort to articulate the problems created by some enduring and banal aspects of human behavior. Which is the reason it is built of lo-fi, deformed emergent or regressing or fragmented phrases, subsumed by distortion, noise, wow and flutter… and played with the understanding that there can be no more bedtime stories.”

The album is released worldwide on July 5th, on LP & digital formats, with artwork featuring images from Richard Misrach’s series of photographs documenting American petrochemical landscapes. A limited run of 30 editions will be made that include a bonus tape titled ‘Irrational Clearing’ - featuring two beautiful long form tracks from the Irrational Overcast sessions.

Irrational Overcast

Order the LP

K. Leimer 'Uncertain Instruction'

R. Elizabeth is the recording name of London-based artist and academic Rachael Finney. Every And All We Voyage On is her
solo recording project’s second full length and is a focused distillation of her practice in sound art and her knack for pop
minimalism. It follows a long sold out release on Where To Now? Records and a prolonged period in which she concentrated
on artist residencies exploring her interest in recorded sound and voice. Immediate and natural, Every And All We Voyage On
manages to sound joyful while tackling complex themes, handling everything with an improvisatory touch. The songs are full of
air and light; infectious, melodic and off-the-cuff.
Recorded using a single 80s Casio keyboard, reel-to-reel tape manipulation, piano and vocal, Finney’s practice with R. Elizabeth
belies a studious attention to detail. Her academic work is often focused on analysing sounds – particularly voice and language –
divorced from meaning and R. Elizabeth challenges the listener with overtly emotional tropes: sweeping portmento lap-steel
guitar keyboard tones on Back From Ten suggest a nostalgic melancholy when it intersects with the narrator closing her eyes,
realising she has nothing left to give. The lilting vocal cloaked in reverb is disarming, with an almost child-like surrender to the
undertow of the song. On Tragedy And Trade there’s a rough grace to the mixing with visceral, manipulated tape sounding like
the artists’ hands are literally in the speakers wrenching the melodies in mid-air. When it intersects with chants about the “gaps
and the silences” it has an eerie, hauntological effect. R. Elizabeth is constantly playing with sound and song: a Wonderland of
perceived emotion, the listener’s perception of what they’re hearing constantly in flux, it’s deceptively simple and deserving of
repetitive listening.
Cut Piano opens the album and introduces a documentary-feel which the album upholds through-out. It’s the sound of the artist
mangling a tape of her own piano recording, twisting it out of shape and suggesting a bend in reality. We’re listening to the artist
becoming a ghost in her own machine, a 3rd or 4th generation copy of an emotion rendered a long time ago, chilling and playful at
the same time. An Image Is Different bursts out of this with a sunny Casiotone beat, a melodic contrast that also introduces
Finney’s vocal. It flitters between a gorgeous repetitive melody ruminating about the nature of reality and a seemingly careless,
conversational tone. The effect is joyful, but you don’t really know why. The lyrics instruct someone (you? The artist?) to “go
outside and break someone’s neck, make it feel so real” before ending with R. Elizabeth nonchalantly stating “I dunno, to be
honest I don’t really care” as if on the phone to someone they’re bored with. It would be jarring if it wasn’t so catchy and uplifting.
The title track is a slow-tempo meditation with droning synths providing the background to slow, dragging tape sounds and
grounding, just-out-of-focus vocals bunkering down in the mix. The methodology suggests the work of Broadcast: there’s a
loping bassline that propels the track forward but the duet/duel between Finney’s haunted vocal and the soloing tape warble
provides aural snakes for the listener’s ear to follow.

R. Elizabeth - SPIRITUAL TO SYMPHONY (from Every And All We Voyage On)

US-born, Stockholm-based minimalist artist and apprenticing organ tuner Kali Malone gave a special organ performance in TivoliVredenburg's Grote Zaal as opening of Le Guess Who? 2019. The performance was part of The Bug's curated program for the festival. 

We can now share two exceptionally beautiful pieces from the performance: 'Sacrificial Code' and 'Glory Canon III'. Both are deeply immersive and mesmerizing tracks, drawing in listeners with Kali Malone's well-known warmth and timelessness.

Captured on Thursday, 7 November 2019, at TivoliVredenburg's Grote Zaal during Le Guess Who? 2019.
Recorded and mixed by Marc Broer & Philip ten Brink.
Photography by Jelmer de Haas.

Kali Malone - Sacrificial Code

Sign Libra "Sea of Nectar" 
From Sea to Sea

Learn more here: http://smarturl.com/seatosea

Sea to Sea

Sign Libra - Sea of Nectar

◉ La Ola Interior : Spanish Ambient & Acid Exoticism 1983​-​1990 | BJR059 | March 05 , 2021  ◉ 

Following “La Contra Ola” (BJR015), Bongo Joe is pleased to present LA OLA INTERIOR, a compilation exploring the ambient side of the Spanish electronic music produced in the 80’s. It gathers musicians from various horizons and of many generations, who shared the desire to create an immersive soundscape and to combine electronic music with non-Western musical traditions. As a general rule, the Anglo-Saxon tropism did relate the spanish peninsula’s ambient music to the Balearic Sound, that is to say to the relaxing music played in Ibiza’s nightclubs. But this music takes place in the productive territory of experimental musics, and particularly in its two main breeding grounds: the tape recording underground and the independent musicians-producers scene.

LP & Digital album preorder : https://lesdisquesbongojoe.bandcamp.com/album/la-ola-interior-spanish-ambient-acid-exoticism-1983-1990

R. Elizabeth - SPIRITUAL TO SYMPHONY (from Every And All We Voyage On)

Night School Records

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