FFFF: The Soft Pack - Parasites

Here's this week's (to be known hereon out as) Fast & Furious Friday Feature! This actually isn't especially fierce, so I'm failing the theme already. OH WELL. But this song is awesome and pretty rockin', so here you go. The Soft Pack - Formerly known as The Muslims. This track sounds a lot like The Fat Truckers'Superbike being played by a full band. Definitely a good thing:

SwännS))) 3rd Rehearsal Download

We had our third amped up SwännS))) rehearsal on Monday; a big 4 hour session working on distilling the ideas from the previous sessions and restructuring them into different songs.  We have a 20 minute ‘set’ piece we’re trying to get together and a few other ideas that won’t fit so, so in all we had about 10 song/pieces.

In this track we were working on a bit of a darker bass riff, trying to creep ourselves out with some sinister electronics – so it’s called Avian Argento; Download from Last.fm or Bandcamp:

www.bit.ly/Swanns3
www.swanns.bandcamp.com

(I made us a Bandcamp to see what it’s like, and now moreso because there’s no streaming from Last.fm)

Hope you like!


GxMx & C-B-

Tame Impala - Runway, Houses, City, Clouds

Tame Impala are a band from Perth, Australia. At first the name really put me off and I never followed up on them, but then for no apparant reason it kept popping into my head until I decided I really liked it then the very next day, in spooky synchronicity this track appeared on RCRD LBL.

7 minutes of phaser heavy spiralling psychedelia offset by a freefalling alternate ambient song embedded in the middle and end.  Really trippy.

I think something in the cosmos was definitely speaking to me.  Stop me from having a moment if you must but listen to this and stare deep into the artwork first, then come back to me on it. 

Best Coast - Our Deal

This may be all over the blogs by now but I couldn't go without reposting here. The cleanest recorded clearest eyed Best Coast song yet that leaves just as big a lump in the throat as others, if not more so because of the clarity.  And I never thought I'd hear myself say that.

After the jump:

http://blackiris.tv/brightfalls/

Evan Caminiti Artworks

Evan Caminiti - Member of Barn Owl, Higuma and many other outfits is not only a supremely adept sound artist but he is pretty handy on a canvas too.  He's exhibiting a load of his artwork at the Tartine Gallery, San Francisco from 6th May along with music performances on the opening night from Barn Owl co-member Jon Porras.

Again, for all our Bay Area readers, here's a preview just for you!

EVAN CAMINITI 

DustMay 6th - June 10th

Tartine Gallery, San Francisco
Opening Reception: Thursday, May 6th from 9pm - 11pm
Musical performance by Jon Porras at 10pm

www.electrictotem.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/electrictotem

VIDEO: White Ring - Roses

It's Friday in the PM, time to get something fierce on! Gonna start doing this every week from now on, round about this time posting up something juiced to kick it up a little. Last week I did Sleigh Bells, this week its White Ring. Looks like a massive part of this year is going to be all about Witch House for me - dark, spooky werehouse & beat-heavy keygaze! Get ready to herald in a load of occult-oriented takes on olde gynrys!

No, I'm not apologising for that.

Look out for the Disaro label, oOoOO, Mater Suspiria Vision, Deep Cave, Gr†LLGR†LL, twYlYZoNe -but for now, White Ring:

This may not be super fast but it carries the intensity of a thousand moonless nights; sounding like Crystal Castles getting k-holed into a corner and fighting their way back out again. Danceable, really pretty, pretty ugly, totally fucked.

VIDEO: Hljómar - Bláu augun þín. (Your blue eyes).

Olafur Arnalds recommended Icelandic prettiness. Some beautifully pale and snowy calm, before the beautiful filthy dirty storm I have coming up later.

DOWNLOAD: NFR Mix 2 - The Bee Roared Meat

The Bee Roared Meat

NFR Mix 2, April 2010

DOWNLOAD

For the second in our new series of monthly downloads I've made a deep droney psychedelic trip that dusts you up a bit before spitting you on your way.  For some reason I am really struggling to explain why this mix is and exactly what is does. It’s meditative, the tracks are generally long psychedelic repetitions of cycles, earthy and connected to natural rhythms, animals, totems.  These could be the sounds of nature fetishists, people in thrall to the dual enormity and insignificance of being, recordings with a sense of scale that draw the listener up in their mass, or reduce them to a speck.  Or it could just be my ode to the Microphones In The Trees blog.

Thanks for downloading.  Enjoy!

MxBx

Tracklist:

Barn Owl - I (Smoke Loom Ceremony, Blackest Rainbow)

Cabinet of Natural Curiosities - Glass (Searchlight Needles, For Arbors For Satellites)

Ulaan Khol - Untitled 3 (I, Soft Abuse)

Blues Control - Good Morning (Local Flavor, Siltbreeze)

Sun Araw - Canopy (Geneva Hits, Mental Groove)

Partli Cloudi - Tantum (Rotten Wood, Folkwaste CDr)

Pocahaunted - Singing Color (Rough Magic, Blackest Rainbow)

High Wolf - Parallel Vision (Supermodern Temple, Krayon)

Ben Frost - Híbakúsja (By The Throat, Bedroom Community)

Infinite Body - Dive (Carve Out The Face Of My God, Post Present Medium)

Order of Samples:

Claire Kremen: Honey Bee Pollination Crisis

John Cale - Circa 1979: A Signal to Noise (Tuned To The Hum)

John Cale - Circa 1979: A Signal to Noise (Saturnalia Again)

Bill Drummond - Battle of Ideas: Turn That Racket Off

Richard Dawkins - The Greatest Show on Earth

Artwork:

Untitled photograph by Ellen Rogers

NFR/SwännS))) DJ Set @ Oneohtrix Point Never

I've been confirmed as DJ for the Penthouse, above the Freebutt for the night that Oneohtrix Point Never plays.  Will be me and Chris, so it will effectively be a SwännS))) DJ set.  Since we consider this an awesomely special event, we'll probably be recording some special SwännS))) track for the night to play upstairs and will be doing a bit of live action jiggery fuck-aboutery in a psychedelic decks 'n'n fx style. Sort of.  It will be a pretty special event, but we promise it will be totally listenable.

Thursday 27th May
Oneohtrix Point Never with Tomottontu
Penthouse DJs - Me(atbreak) & Chris

DOWNLOAD: ihopeyousuffer - ihopeyousuffer ep

DOWNLOAD HERE

We first came across ihopeyousuffer, an American solo post-rocker through free-download netlabel Pocket Change Records, when they released his first album This Is A Collection Of People To Ruin and he was amongst our favourite artists from that label.  There was a sense of alienated brooding that darkened the tone of the first album, giving the usually expansive sound of post-rock a more claustrophobic form that really intensified on the second release Gold, Oil And Drugs with the track I Could Move Mountains For You - a brewing violence raging within it's boundaries like a churning storm cloud. All appropriatly evocative imagery to suit the post-rock tag, but a description that well fits the sound, and the solo artist form. The restraint charges the music with a greater presence that it might otherwise have it it went all out for the crescendo. 

For his third release, the eponymous ihopeyousuffer, this characteristic remains unchanged but the mood has lightened somewhat. The first song - immensely titled Beware When The Great God Lets Loose A Thinker On This Planet - starts with a keening tone and near-audible sample of a rugged male voice bemoaning the lack of intoxicating pills (maybe more listens will make more sense of it), then a spirited beat kicks in speeding off with guitars and bass in tow creating that giddily emotional rushing sensation that makes this kind of music so addictive.

It's free to download, with, if you haven't caught our beat, 4 essential pieces of highly evocative instrumental music. There's no reason not to let it get you.

VIDEO:Kill Krinkle Club - Airport

The Swedish/Irish girl/boy duo Kill Krinkle Club are a band that we've loved from around the time we really kicked Not For Resale up a gear, putting on gigs and putting our compilations of underground demo bands. They made a beautiful song called Ballrooms that we couldn't stop playing, and now their new tracks are proving pretty infectious too.  Almost as infectious as that facial hair!

This trippy video for the track Airport has been made by Toronto director James Featherstone who's also made videos for Neon Indian and Yacht.

WOODSIST FEST BIG SUR

Here's another US festival we can't go to but feel compelled to preview because the line-up is so ridiculously good, and its being put on by a label that is ridiculously good. It's also being held in a library. Too many reasons not to post it up! It's also good reason to get a Fresh & Onlys live video for you.

(((folkYEAH!))) Presents:
WOODSIST FEST BIG SUR
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Henry Miller Library
3pm - 11pm
tixs @ www.henrymiller.org


Real Estate
Woods
Kurt Vile
Moon Duo
The Fresh and Onlys
Art Museums
Mantles
Eat Skull


BUY TICKETS HERE

Railcars

We were tipped off about this band by GingerJohn over at Dark Party (Andy at The Freebutt!), and we have to say it's probably the best tip we've had all year!

Railcars is a San Fransisco based one man experimental psychedelic noise-pop band from the mind of Aria Jalali. Live he plays with more people (as you can see in the photo above), but the band and albums are his solo creations. His first 7" Cities vs. Submarines was produced by Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart while his second self-produced record was released at the end of 2009, the 12" Cathedral With No Eyes - insane artwork below.

It's pretty hard to fully describe this sound - it shifts real fast from explosive fragments of sound, through ephemeral ambience to cohesive beats and streamlined gamma rock - as this live video of Cathedral... should ably demonstrate. Amongst loads of things blasting through our frazzled neurons, it reminds us a bit of The Hospitals take on punk, grinding it down to base sound elements and building it back into song form. Pretty exciting, visceral stuff.

Avian Bones

Avian Bones is a new band from the hands of Mausoleums' Andrew Brush. It also features Noel Regis of Marigold Crowns, and Jose Diaz. Back in 2008 Mausoleums released Blackened Fawns Cleanse The Earth With Fire which turned Black Metal inside out and used its ribcage as a wrecking ball across all kinds of genres - it was blown out, super loud, always held way out in the red but the riffs used insanely catchy elements of everything wild and loose; from hypnotic shoegaze buzz to surf jangle and ramalama rock&roll, at the heart of each was the potential for some kind of alternate universe pop music. Not totally sure how that's an introduction to Avian Bones, but know that this band has pedigree, even if it came in a run of about 50 handmade copies.

They have only had a handful of rehearsals and one spontaneous recording session but the tracks up on their MySpace are an intense indicator of great things out there in the wilds of San Francisco. They demo a sound that plays between cavernous atmosphere and acidic feral psych-outs - think Wooden Shjips channelling Darkthrone and Electric Wizard. As soon as Part 2 kicks in (which is pretty much as soon as it kicks off) you'll know what we mean, and we're pretty sure you'll feel it too.

Great name and artwork too.

www.myspace.com/avianbones

VIDEO: Best Coast - When I'm With You

This really needs no introduction, other than the exciteable words - Best Coast's debut video is here!

No Joy

From the twin musical centres of Montreal and Los Angeles come No Joy - a two-girl-duo playing raggedy treble-heavy psychedelia in the deep vein of the dense shoegazing 90's feedback dredgers, with heart bursting beach harmony rock at it;s centre, ala Best Coast, who they recently shared a stage with. They've also played with Harvey Milk and Coalesce, so you know these girls play heavy.

We are especially liking their repetetive use of 'No' in their song titles. A nod to Iggy, we would hope - No fuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnn

You can download two songs - No Summer and No Joy - from from their bandcamp page: http://nojoy.bandcamp.com

DOWNLOAD: Thee Oh Sees - I Was Denied

Mainstays on the NFR stereo, Thee Oh Sees are a band that can just do no wrong.  It's hard to fail with such a solid base of garage noise rock, and John Dwyer is the best man for the sound (We have an awesome Dwyer related special post coming up in about a month - its been a long time in the making, getting honed to perfection, so you will want to stay tuned for that, we promise).

Their fourth album proper Weird Slime, is released on May 11th on In The Red and to trail it they've given out I Was Denied as a free teaser (garage rock + new technology - a juxtaposition I'm not sure will ever sit that conmfortably for us, but one we won't complain about).

It's The Oh Sees as loose, low slung and chaotically mean as ever.

 

Download: Thee Oh Sees - I Was Denied

OO

 http://www.myspace.com/theootheoo

Hideous Gnosis - Black Metal Essays

Last winter, the Black Metal Theory bloggers held a symposium in New York discussing theories of Black Metal. Or as they say on their blog:

"Not black metal. Not theory. Not not black metal. Not not theory. Black metal theory. Theoretical blackening of metal. Metallic blackening of theory. Mutual blackening. Nigredo in the intoxological crucible of symposia."

The symposium is now available in book form - Hideous Gnosis.  Looks incredible. We have ours on order.  Here's the contents list.  Brandon Stosuy's USBM piece is even titled with a fucking Bone Awl album name:

Steven Shakespeare, “The Light that Illuminates Itself, the Dark that Soils Itself: Blackened Notes from Schelling’s Underground.”
Erik Butler, “The Counter-Reformation in Stone and Metal: Spiritual Substances.”
Scott Wilson, “BAsileus philosoPHOrum METaloricum.”
Hunter Hunt-Hendrix, “Transcendental Black Metal.”
Nicola Masciandaro, “Anti-Cosmosis: Black Mahapralaya.”
Joseph Russo, “Perpetue Putesco – Perpetually I Putrefy.”
Benjamin Noys, “‘Remain True to the Earth!’: Remarks on the Politics of Black Metal.”
Evan Calder Williams, “The Headless Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”
Brandon Stosuy, “Meaningful Leaning Mess.”
Aspasia Stephanou, “Playing Wolves and Red Riding Hoods in Black Metal.”
Anthony Sciscione, “‘Goatsteps Behind My Steps . . .’: Black Metal and Ritual Renewal.”
Eugene Thacker, “Three Questions on Demonology.”
Niall Scott, “Black Confessions and Absu-lution.”

DOCUMENTS: Lionel Maunz, Pineal Eye; Oyku Tekten, Symposium Photographs; Scott Wilson, “Pop Journalism and the Passion for Ignorance”; Karlynn Holland, Sin Eater I-V; Nicola Masciandaro and Reza Negarestani, Black Metal Commentary; Black Metal Theory Blog Comments; Letter from Andrew White; E.S.S.E, Murder Devour I.


Watch this while you read on:




Until we get out teeth into it and bring you our own opinions, here's what Aquarius Records, arguably the nucleus of the USBM scene have to say about it:

"This one almost doesn't require a review, pretty much every truely obsessive black metal fan is gonna want this, whether they actually read it or not. And having only dabbled, it's hard to say how many folks, metalheads in particular, are actually gonna want to delve into this, a collection (often in expanded and revised form) of essays and documents that were presented late last year at "Hideous Gnosis", a symposium on black metal theory (yes, a symposium on black metal theory), which took place in Brooklyn in December of 2009. That said, we also can't imagine a metalhead who wouldn't feel like they had to have copy of this on their bookshelf, if they have any intellectual pretensions whatsoever (which this sure does), or sense of humor (which perhaps this does as well).

The real question regarding Hideous Gnosis is whether black metal does indeed have some sort of lofty academic underpinnings, or is this academic study of the genre simply another example of hipsters trying to legitimize something that appears to be, at its core, raw and underground and visceral and personal and pretty much diametrically opposed to any idea of scholarly study or academic examination? Which thankfully is discussed quite a bit in this book, in the form of several essays, but via the inclusion of comments from the symposium's website, both positive and negative, plenty of them mean, some of them funny, and a few measured and thought out. But it's good to know that the very fact that there exists an academic black metal symposium is in itself worthy of debate, keeps Hideous Gnosis somewhat grounded.

There are definitely some interesting essays here, one in particular that focuses on black metal's reliance on climate, as in grim and frosty and cold, etc. The most interesting to us, are also the ones that are easiest to read, the ones NOT mired down in academic grad school doublespeak, there are plenty of examples of essays that seem interesting, but require digging though a malfunctioning thesaurus to get to the root of what's really being said. There is an excerpt of Brandon Stosuy's in progress oral history of American black metal (featuring our very own Andee) which was also printed in a different form in a past issue of The Believer, which is definitely cool, there's Hunter Hunt Hendrix of Liturgy's confusional analysis and dissection of "Transcendental Black Metal", and so it goes, the collection slipping back and forth, striking a pretty good balance, between people who love black metal who just want to dig deeper, and explore a music they love and discuss it with other like minded metalheads, and the flipside, dry, academic treatises on various elements and aspects of black metal, a bit too removed from the actual sound, and the fucked up ferocious intensity that is what makes the music truly appealing for us. But again, that doesn't mean those pieces aren't a blast to read, some might win you over, others actually do offer up some keen insights, and some seem to exist simply as fodder for merciless mockery. But really, in some weird way that does essentially reflect the genre as a whole, there are dabblers, there are folks who take it WAY too seriously, people who love it and live it, others who are merely fascinated or curious or even repulsed. It ultimately doesn't matter, like the spate of recent black metal docs, online blogs, if you're into black metal, for whatever reason, you're probably gonna want to read this, even if it pisses you off. ESPECIALLY if it pisses you off. An essential, and maybe controversial [addition] to your metal music library."

DOWNLOAD: Natural Snow Buildings - The Centauri Agent

Vulpiano Records is a relatively new web-based community label, run by Marilyn Roxie, that offers as many of their artists releases for free as possible. Each Vulpiano artist has at least one album, EP, or single for free download. The label is mainly folk or electronic-oriented, though the sounds within just one of their artists albums may stray beyond those boundaries; a label roster united more appropriately by a spirit of independence and experimentation.

The thirteenth release on the label is from a band who we have long admired - and paid a lod of money for too!  Last year's Shadow Kingdom album being one of our all time favourite packages.

VULP-0013 is Natural Snow Buildings’ first release of 2010, the free-for-download double LP TheCentauri Agent! On Part One, the 41 minute Our man from Centauri sets the stage, a cosmic, sprawling opener with themes that continue on into The accidental remote viewer, before fizzling out into static. Part Two is comprised of nine beautiful and intense tracks (particular stand-outs including The Psychic Circle/Uchronia, The storm of resurrection, and Solar flares). Lovely and intricately woven as ever, while frequently heading off into new and challenging sonic territory, Mehdi and Solange have created yet another very special work of musical art with The Centauri Agent!

Download here (mp3): http://www.mediafire.com/?znqyt5i5nym

Download here (FLAC): http://www.megaupload.com/?d=G6502Z5X

—-Tracklisting—-

Part One:
1-Our man from Centauri
2-The accidental remote viewer

Part Two:
1-The Psychic Circle/Uchronia
2-Black holes
3-The storm of resurrection
4-Moscow signal
5-Phantom twin
6-Stuttering probe
7-Solar flares
8-Emergency network farewell broadcast
9-Memories found in a bill from a small animal vet

—-

Cover art is by Marilyn Roxie, designed from Creative Commons images Alpha Centauri and the Batman Nebula (by jah~) and Swirl texture (by ~Essence of a Dream~). Font used is Poilet Taper.

Sleigh Bells - SLAY BELLES!!!

Yeah, that was obvious, sorry. Still, gotta be said and every time at that. First I thougth Infinity Guitars was the tune, but this totally wrecks a dancefloor like nothing else - glam violence, truly. Really into bands that push the needle way out the other side of red, and this Brooklyn boy/girl Alexis/Derek duo go for it and then some, but keep a sweet, chewy centre to bite down on again and again.

It's Friday afternoon, time to kick it up a gear. So chew on this:





www.myspace.com/sleighbellsmusic

Godspeed Vs, ATP!

This is me rendered speechless.  All my usual cynicism about band reformations has nysteriously vanished in a cloud of overwhelming excitement.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor will perform on all three nights in the Centre Stage venue.  Seems like they will be playing a few shows other than just ATP too.

They've announced the first handful of bands - Tim Hecker is a good choce.  Teh others we can take or leave to be honest.  Plenty more to come.  EXCITING!

Check the ATP site for more details here:

http://www.atpfestival.com/newsview/1004082209.php

Joker - Tron

Everyone is writing about this track, but with good reason so we make no apologies for joining in the immense occasion of it all.

It's been a long time coming, but now his own Kapsize label has released Joker's massive Tron. A producer who has consistently thrown out tracks that are vastly greater than the sum of their genre parts - wobble/wonky/soul-step/dubstep/techno - The 20 year old from Bristol eats up all those and spits them out into instrumentals that sing - from Digidesign, Purple City, Snake Eater, Psychedelic Runway and now Tron. This is the sleeper hit that hasn’t really been sleeping, as a feature in his sets for the last couple of years it’s been gaining momentum until now when it is about to drop in fully formed 12" format.

And speaking of drops - get ready to be overwhelmed by a load of 'em:

On Land 2010 - Root Strata Festival

Root Strata have announced their second On Land festival for September

Oh to be in America. THAT is a line-up to die for. I just passed out reading it.

From the Root Strata site:

On Land 2010 - September 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th.

Thats right, we are throwing a party again this year! The dates are set, and we'll be updating the On Land website soon. Ticket info will follow. The line up is thick, we hope you can make it!

* Charalambides
* Grouper
* Dan Higgs
* Bill Orcutt
* Ilyas Ahmed
* Common Eider, King Eider
* Higuma
* The Alps
* Valet
* Zelienople
* Xela
* Grasslung
* Metal Rouge
* Le Révélateur
* Oneohtrix Point Never
* White Rainbow
* Pete Swanson
* Operative
* Robert A.A. Lowe
* Eli Keszler & Ashley Paul
* Golden Retriever
* Barn Owl
* Starving Weirdos
* Date Palms
* Pulse Emitter
* Danny Paul Grody
* En


Here's a video of Bill Orcutt at Colour Out Of Space last year. My jaw was on the floor all the way through this set.




And here is an opposite to that all too human experience, a fan video of Oneohtrix Point Never's Russian Mind: total alien enviroment immersion:

Fokka Wolfe's Top 6 Chillwavers

Our boy Wolfe gets the back page all to himself in this month's Brighton Source Magazine as he runs down his 6 Of The Best Chillwave acts HERE

Read his own blog intro and some blurbs about a few more of his favourites who didn't quite make the cut on his blog here:

http://fokkawolfe.blogspot.com/2010/04/chillwave-6-of-best-5-more.html