Anji Cheung & Sequences - free album download

Vessel of the Earth is collaboration between Anji Cheung of aquatic dreamscapers Island of Raiell who we've mentioned before and dark ambient artist from Belgium who goes by the name Sequences.

They've put this 24 minutes one-track album out as a free download available HERE. A fusion of light and shadowy tones, this is for fans of shimmery ambience with a heavy undertow - a fluid contemplation between the mossy narrative soundscapes of Anji and the darker, cavernous moods that run deep through Sequences solo work.

Individual tracks from both Anji and Sequences are also featured in the new compilation from ambient/drone/doom/sludgerock blog Droning Earth. Free download available HERE.

New Pocahaunted Album & Preview Track

The first full record from 5-piece Pocahaunted is almost upon us - the album is called Make It Real and will be released on Not Not Fun in the near future - and they've put out Save Yourself (It's Nice) as a jungle dream trip teaser of a free track to download.

We've been waiting for any kind of recorded output from this new incarnation since last July, which in Pocahaunted release months is about 7 years! Too long in other words. Understandable though, as jamming stuff out as a duo is a different thing entirely to 5 members getting tight - especially when you are including the wild buzz baked organ psych king Cameron Stallone aka Sun Araw in your ranks.

Immediately in stark contrast to the languid murky throbbing of old, this preview track immediately jumps into life as a twitchy groove with flailing guitars and ripping organ flourishes, winding down over its 8 minutes into an ethereal cosmic stew of drum flurries and organ pulses.

As you can see for yourselves, the album art is an ultra fried headfuck.


DOWNLOAD - Save Yourself (It's Nice)


And for all our our readers lucky enough to be hitchin' over to SXSW this year, the NOT NOT FUN showcase show is Friday 19th March at The Hideout, with these bands.



Yeah, our third eye popped out it's socket seeing that line up too.

VIDEO: Esben & The Witch - Lucia, At The Precipice

Brighton's most elegant post-rock/avant-pop band released this super limited 7" which sold out instantly, leavign us with only this video floating in the ephemera. I say 'only' - there is nothing slight about the majesty of this track.

SwännS)))

I have a new band. It is made of me and Chris. At the moment we are called:

SwännS)))

This may not be permanent, but it will do for now until we think of anything better. if there is anything better. I like that it is a bit silly, suggests we’re not taking ourselves too seriously, and I like the subversion of the bands within it, and I like how it looks. It suits the music too.

I made us a Last.fm.

http://www.last.fm/music/Sw%C3%A4nnS%29%29%29

Too much punctuation in our name for a tidy url!

1st studio rehearsal captured on tape and thrown up online for listening/dnlding. In the interests of disclosure I should mention that it’s long, takes about a minute or more to warm up but we know where we’re taking it so when it hits the zone it’s lucid. It also features the sounds of seals. Fans of over the counter prescribed radio friendly unit shifting hashtag bumping gloss pop need not apply. But they should.

Click here to bury your ears in some swirly psychedelic murkage>>>

http://www.last.fm/music/Sw%C3%A4nnS%29%29%29/1st+Rehearsal+%289th+February%2C+2010%29/Blokeahaunted

Fur is history. This year will be all about feathers.....


MxBx

Turbowolf Hit Kerrang!

Anyone taking a cursory glance over our blog should be immediately struck by our rabid fandom for Bristol's Turbowolf - they're in our top 101 tracks of 2009, and they were there in 2008 too, so it comes as no surprise to us that their sleek&sexy genre bending glam striped diesel rock is starting to garner column inches in increasingly bigger press - and now Kerrang! have done the UK a favour and given them a full page interview. They're currently working on an album, and have a new EP coming in May. Ready yourselves for something special.

Read it on their blog HERE

Jump on their MySpace HERE

Feast your ears on a dose of Ancient Snake:

101:09 - The Top 101 tracks of 2009

So, Wow. This has taken me massively longer than I first anticipated, but since it was such a hit with people last year (and still gets big hits), and I enjoyed doing it so much, I really wanted to do it again this year. I have been in two minds about posting little blurbs for each track, but it would take me forever to finish if I set myself that task too, so I settled for making up genres in the file properties. maybe I'll come back to that later. If you want an explanation as to why something is higher than something else, or why some tracks aren't included, or why the hell some are, then just ask. Suffice it to say, I have deliberated over these long enough that this is pretty much a definitive selection of my tracks of the year in a definitive order - nothing arbitrary at all about it at all; oh no.

This isn't a chart of singles - I am not such a singles person really - so these tracks are here for a number of reasons. Some are taken from albums that weren't that great but featured one inspired flash of genius; others are representative of an awesome album as a whole; others are singles/downloads/demos and other assorted one-offs that are the kinds of reasons I like to do this single-song list in the first place; to bump the bands I like. It isn't totally correlated to the order of my top albums of the year either - coming next week! - but there are clues.

The only rules I restricted myself by were; Only one track per band/artist allowed (a really tough call in a lot of cases); and that if one track comprised an entire album then I couldn't include it, so albums/tracks like irr.app.(ext)'s 'Kreiselwelle' and Saito Koji's 'Beautiful' couldn't make it in.

So here they are, in descending order:

Tracks 101– 81: Download
Tracks 80 - 71: Download
Tracks 70 - 61: Download
Tracks 60 - 41: Download
Tracks 40 - 21: Download
Tracks 20 - 01: Download

101. Chord - e9 (Flora, Neurot)
100. Velvet Davenport - Robins Lace Vermeer (Happy Ending, SHDWPLY)
99. Mountain Man - Animal Tracks (Self-Released)
98. Brown Jenkins - Hopeless, Godlike (Death Obsession, Moribund)
97. Eagle Twin - Storytelling Of Ravens (The Unkindness Of Crows, Southern Lord)
96. Gold Panda - Win-san Western (Before, Self-Released)
95. Quad Throw Salchow - Speed (Speed, Tummy Touch)
94. Vivian Girls - Out For The Sun (Everything Goes Wrong, In the Red)
93. Weapon - Cacophony! Black Sun Dragon's Tongue! (Drakonian Paradigm, The Ajna Offensive)
92. Book Of Shadows - Garden Of Secrets (The Secret Garden, Folkwaste)
91. Raffertie - Sugar (Wobble Horror 12", Planet Mu)
90. Martyn - Elden St. (Great Lengths, 3024)
89. La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream Lets Get Ravey Remix)
88. Joker and Ginz - Purple City (12", Kapsize)
87. Horse Gives Birth To Fly - Rubbish Drunk On The Sand ('Untitled', Self-Released)
86. Cold Cave - The Trees Grew Emotions and Died (Love Comes Close, Heartworm Press)
85. Florence And The Machine - Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) (Lungs, Island)
84. Curly Hair- Blow the House Down (Single, Toy Soldier)
83. Six Organs of Admittance - Ursa Minor (Luminous Night, Drag City)
82. Black Meteoric Star - Death Tunnel (12", DFA)
81. Urfaust - Unter Töchtern Der Wüste (Urfaust & Joyless Split 7", Ván)
80. Magic Castles - The Mole People (Songs Of The Forest, Moon Glyph)
79. Cooly G - Narst (Love Dub 12'', Hyperdub)
78. Ous Mal - Meidan Piha (Viime Talvi, Under the Spire)
77. De Silence et d'Ombre - From The Dark Unknown Space
76. Darkcell - II (Iceworld, Demo-13 Grave Society)
75. Bone Ritual - Attend To The Signs (Demo)
74. High Wolf - Puesto Varadero Wildlife Party (Animal Totem, Not Not Fun)
73. Black Eagle Child - The Last Day Of Spring (Seeds that Sprout In Summer, Stunned)
72. Cloaks - Dream Tape Number One (Serene, Students of Decay)
71. Converge - Worms Will Feed (Axe To Fall, Epitaph)
70. Demdike Stare - Haxan (Symbiosis, Modern Love)
69. Untold - Dante (Original Mix) (12'', Hotflush)
68. Gnod - Thunderbolt Loop (Wuste Zeremonie, Reverb Worship)
67. Eternal Tapestry - Cathedral of Radiance (The Invisible Landscape, Not Not Fun)
66. Ganglians - 100 Years (Monster Head Room, Woodsist)
65. Slagmaur - Klokker Tramp (Von Rov Shelter, Osmose Productions)
64. Twisted Wires - One Night At The Raw Deal (12'', Italians Do It Better)
63. Sunn O))) and Pan Sonic - Che (Che EP, Blast First Petite)
62. Behold The Monolith! - Guardians of the Abyss - Primal Extenuation - Rise of the Brohemoth (Behold! The Monolith, Arctic Forest Collective)
61. The Fresh & Onlys - The Delusion Of Man (Grey Eyed Girls, Castleface)
60. Knyfe Hyts - Screaming Lov (7'', Dick Move)
59. Bong - Exhalation (Bong-Quttinirpaaq Split 12'', Blackest Rainbow)
58. Rainbow Arabia - Omar K (Ghost on Tape Remix) (Kabukimono, Manimal)
57. GREYMACHINE - We Are All Fucking Liars (Disconnected, Hydra Head)
56. Turbowolf - Seven Severed Heads (7'', Spinefarm)
55. Baikonour - Ye Ama Piooo (Your Ear Knows Future, Melodic)
54. Aluk Todolo - Troisiéme Contact (Finsternis, Utech)
53. Belbury Poly - From An Ancient Star (From An Ancient Star, Ghost Box)
52. Dark Castle - Growing Slow (Spirited Migration, At A Loss)
51. FNU Ronnies - Golem Smoke (12'', Skrot Up)
50. Deerhunter - Circulation (Rainwater Cassette Exchange, 4AD)
49. Durrty Goodz - Grime Killers (Prod. By Maniac) (Ultrasound, Awkward Music)
48. Sian Alice Group - First Song - Angelina (Troubled, Shaken Etc., The Social Registry)
47. Monsters Build Mean Robots - Psalm 57 (Psalm 57, Nice Weather For Airstrikes)
46. Music Go Music - Light Of Love (Expressions, Secretly Canadian)
45. Ilyas Ahmed - Enter a Shadow (Goner, Root Strata)
44. French Teen Idol - Last Train To Santiago (El Siete Es La Luz, Nishi - Lost Children)
43. Wooden Veil - Wooden People (Wooden Veil, Dekorder)
42. Shackleton - Mountains Of Ashes (3EPs, Perlon)
41. Awesome Wells - I Think I Just Heard The Hens Applauding In The Hen-House (The Highs And Lows Of De Witt A Stanton, Red Deer Park)
40. Ducktails - Beach Point Pleasant (Ducktails, Not Not Fun)
39. Bone Awl - You're Late (Night's Middle, Nuclear War Now! - Klaxon)
38. Teitanblood - Seven Chalices of Vomit and Blood (Seven Chalices, Noevdia - Ajna - Dauthus)
37. Magic Wands - Kiss Me Dead (Magic Love & Dreams, Bright Antenna)
36. Silkie - Purple Love (12'', Medhi Music)
35. Joker - Psychedelic Runway (12'', Kapsize)
34. Silver Bullets - Flight From Babylon (Free Radical, Stunned)
33. Lotus Plaza - What Grows (The Floodlight Collective, Kranky)
32. Fever Ray - Triangle Walks (Fever Ray, Mute)
31. Neon Indian - Should Have Taken Acid With You (Psychic Chasms, Lefse VCR)
30. Oneida - 10.30 at the Oasis (Rated O, Jagjaguwar)
29. Mayyors - Deads (Deads, Mt St Mntn)
28. Nullifier - If Days Corrode (Demo)
27. Kong - Blood Of A Dove (Snake Magnet, Brew)
26. Bill Orcutt - Too Late To Fly (A New Way To Pay Old Debts, Palilalia)
25. Carrion Wraith - Vers Une Nouvelle ère (Carrion Wraith, Ars Magna Recordings)
24. Crystal Fighters - Xtatic Truth (Original) (Xtatic Truth EP, Kitsune)
23. Ekca Liena - Orb Night (Orb Night, Phantom Channel)
22. Ben Frost - Hibaskuja (By The Throat, Bedroom Community)
21. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Home (Up From Below, Vagrant)
20. The Oh Shees - Meat Step Lively (Help, In The Red)
19. Pissed Jeans - Dream Smotherer (King Of Jeans, Sub Pop)
18. The Antlers - Wake (Hospice, French Kiss)
17. Worriedaboutsatan - Pissing About (Arrivals, Gizeh)
16. Wild Beasts - We Still Got The Taste Dancing On Our Tongues (Two Dancers, Domino)
15. Black Sun - Crawling Like A Leech (Twilight of the Gods, At War With False Noise)
14. Diamatregon - Calvaire (Crossroad, tUMULt)
13. Washed Out - You Will Be Sad (High Times, Mirror Universe Tapes)
12. Oneohtrix Point Never - Zones Without People (Rifts, No Fun Productions)
11. Broadcast & The Focus Group - Ritual/Looking In (Broadcast & The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age, Ghost Box)
10. Best Coast - Sun Was High (So Was I) (California Girls, Fag Tapes)
09. Peaking Lights - All the Good Songs Have Been Written (Imaginary Falcons, Night People - Not Not Fun)
08. Engineers - Sometimes I Realise (Three Fact Fader, Kscope)
07. A Place To Bury Strangers - Everything Always Goes Wrong (Exploding Head, Mute)
06. Atlas Sound & Panda Bear - Walkabout (Single, Self-Released)
05. Cobalt - Two-Thumbed Fist (Gin, Profound Lore)
04. Joy Orbison - Wet Look (Hyph Mngo, Hotflush)
03. Pyramids With Nadja - An Angel Was Heard To Cry Over The City Of Rome (Pyramids With Nadja, Hydra Head)
02. Mount Kimbie - Maybes (12'', Hotflush)
01. Sunset Rubdown – Nightingale/December Song (Dragonslayer, Jagjaguwar)

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM SHOOOOOOW.....

Heavy doom and dark prog for you on Friday 12th February. Some friends, some awesome bands, playing a great venue. Huge sound, small space. Big event.




Trippy Wicked : www.myspace.com/trippywicked
Dopefight : www.myspace.com/fightdopefight
Old Mayor : www.myspace.com/oldmayor
Arteriosus : www.myspace.com/arteriosus

Last FM last 12 months - 2009:

Wow. One month totally out of action. How'd that happen? Hello 2010!

Don't think we've missed out on all the end-of-year craziness; we might not have been posting ourselves, but our eyes have been everywhere and our fingers have been type-typing up our own albums and tracks run-downs from 2009. We'll have a full 50 albums and 101 tracks with you soon. For now as a teaser here's my Last FM last 12 months list. Maybe there's some clues to our top albums of the year, but maybe not....

Meatbreak:

1. Velvet Davenport - 332
2. Wild Beasts - 294
3. Sian Alice Group - 261
4. Awesome Wells - 233
5. Oneida - 206
6. Grampall Jookabox - 202
7. Thee Oh Sees - 199
8. Le Loup - 198
9. Woods - 193
10. Best Coast - 181
11. Teitanblood - 178
12. Fever Ray - 167
13. A Place to Bury Strangers - 163
14. The Fresh & Onlys - 160
15. Deerhunter - 157
16. Volcano Choir - 147
16. The Flowers of Hell - 147
18. Burl Ives - 145
19. Lotus Plaza - 143
20. Horse Feathers - 137


Fokka Wolfe:

1. The Horrors - 62
2. Electric Wizard - 57
3. Turbonegro - 55
4. The Smashing Pumpkins - 50
5. Fever Ray - 49
6. Bob Dylan - 48
7. Yeasayer - 41
7. Crystal Castles - 41
9. David Bowie - 38
9. Major Lazer - 38
11. Primal Scream - 37
12. she - 36
13. Bathory - 34
14. Hedgehog - 33
15. Snoop Dogg feat. Dr. Dre - 30
16. Alec Empire - 29
16. The Rolling Stones - 29
16. Dark Meat - 29
19. Black Lips - 28
20. Nachtmystium - 27

Free Liars 'Scissor' Download

The first signs of the new Liars album 'Sisterworld' are starting to leak onto the web and it surely won't be long before the album itself makes it out there so make the most of the increasing tension, excitement and old fashioned pre-release fervour while you can. It's due out in March and they are giving away the opening track Scissor free on their website.

DOWNLOAD HERE

After starting with some eeire, dreamy delayed vocals about transient distance and journeying it doesn't take long before it smashes the sound barrier with a pretty rugged, rocking almost Metal riff that wrestles itself like its strait-jacketed. The distant dreamy quietness comes in, get's blown out again and then it ends. As an album opener it sounds as potent as Plastercasts of Everything - though if we're dodging any exitable hysteria we'd more honestly say we prefer Plastercasts. You can decide for yourself.

As you can see from the traclisting, there'es soem pretty gnarly, canckerous 'They Were Wrong...' kind of track titles.

1. "Scissor"

2. "No Barrier Fun"

3. "Here Comes All The People"

4. "Drip"

5. "Scarecrows On A Killer Slant"

6. "I Still Can See An Outside World"

7. "Proud Evolution"

8. "Drop Dead"

9. "The Overachievers"

10. "Goodnight Everything"

11. "Too Much, Too Much"


Sounds pretty killer to us. Looking forward to it.


Sign up for more info, artwork and teasers at the website:

www.thesisterworld.com

R.I.P Jack Rose

It is with sincere grief that I am posting this, but here is the news that Jack Rose passed away yesterday 5th December from a heart attack, aged only 38. For me, this is a genuinely shocking event that has left me practically speechless. When I wrote a preview of the gig for the Source magazine I had a short but profoundly affecting email conversation with him about his work and modern American Roots music, then went on to see him play an incredibly meditative set of acoustic guitar ragas at the Prince Albert which was an almost spiritual experience. As you can tell, he left a lasting impression.

In the 90's he was a member of 3-piece electric noise band Pelt,whose fierce, squally efefcts heavy styles gradually quietened down in to more naked acoustic contemplations. In the 2000's Rose began experimenting with fingerpicking, drawing heavily on the American primitivism of John Fahey.

Enough words from me. The man will forever be a legendary musician of his time in my house.

I leave you with a peformance of Kensington Blues from a few years ago.