
Hersendood na weer een geweldige editie van het KRAAK festival? Nee, een kleine hoeveelheid cellen houdt dapper stand. De auditieve cortex is in ieder geval nog intact, want ook deze maand is het gelukt het kaf van het koren te scheiden. Van de akoestische black metal van Urpf Lanze , via de minimalistische drones van Éliane Radigue naar de slidegitaar improvisaties van Jon Collin ; op het eerste gehoor rustige muziek, doch met een intense uitwerking. Intens was ook het release schema van maart, vooral in de staart. [...]
O Teatro Maria Matos divulgou há poucos instantes a sua programação musical para os próximos meses. O grande destaque vai para a apresentação, a 13 de abril, do espetáculo «'Jhonn', Uttered Babylon», com que os Myrninerest, projeto formado por David Tibet e James Blackshaw, evocam a vida e a morte de Jhonn Balance, antigo membro dos Coil. Os bilhetes são postos à venda a 22 de março. Programação

James Blackshaw - The Cloud of Unknowing Julianna Barwick - Flown Brian McBride - Supposed Essay On The Piano (B Major Piano Adagietto) johnny_ripper - House VGA Host - Hatch Pauline Oliveros - Horse Sings from Cloud Anthony Braxton - Dedicated to Ann and Peter Allen Julius Eastman - Evil Nigger Kaki King - Frame Arvo Pärt - Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten Carl Stone - Banteay Srey [...]
As I idly flicked through my iPhone the other day, looking to see what I’d been listening to this year, a thought struck me. The thought was this: In this year of being unadventurous, not actively seeking out much new music, retreating into known acts releasing their umpteenth album, a record that I would choose as one of my favourites of the year would be one by a largely unknown English guitarist whose album takes its name and song titles from a somewhat obscure SF writer named James Tiptree JR. Or rather, Alice B Sheldon . [...]
Wow. This was painful. I tried to describe as many of these as I could without resorting to copy/paste from record labels, 'zines or blogs, but eventually we all start to fatigue. Sure, it'd be nice to look all respectable with one-hundred totally unique and informative descriptions of these albums, but I don't have that kind of [...]
In honor of Independence Day, KEXP is saluting some of our favorite indie record labels who's DIY-spirit helped revolutionize the music industry. As an independent radio station ourselves, KEXP is thrilled to give a 13-gun salute to these pioneers with a series of label spotlights through the Fourth of July. Despite getting his start working at major record labels, Josh Rosenthal has resolutely stuck to his own eclectic, and at times seemingly unmarketable interests, releasing fascinating compilations and re-issues through his label, Tompkins Square . He cites his work in [...]
Reaching the halfway mark of the year is an exciting time for a music fan, especially for a year that has so much potential with forthcoming records. Let's be honest, 2012 hasn't quite shaped up to be the best of years, especially after a far more incredible 2011. In the end though, I will always take the bad with the good, and this year has had plenty of interesting records to look back on. As a music fan, I absolutely love to see lists of top albums because it's a very accessible and convenient way of discovering new bands and [...]
We cool? Cool. RULES for uninitiated noobs: I give birth to a weekly Mix Tape to be deposited on your iPods or Zunes or Kingklangs or whatever the industry is currently pushing on you. Sometimes there will be themes that link all the songs together, other times I’ll just throw songs at a wall (not [...]
True fans of music spend countless hours searching for that next great song, album or artist, whether it be online or in a local record shop. The beautiful thing about music in today’s age is that technology has created an infinite supply of great music that is available to us at the click of a mouse. How perfect is that? We can discover a brand new artist on the opposite side of the globe in seconds without a radio or a music television channel. It only makes sense that a website so dedicated to this gorgeous universe of music would [...]

Instrumental music is always open to interpretation – the truth being we rarely understand the stories behind the songs. The latest James Blackshaw album may take its titles from author Alice B Sheldon’s (her pseudonym was James Tiptree Jr) sci-fi stories, but the UK musician’s latest is a far cry from outer space. In fact, it’s some of the most earthy, beautiful and imaginative music I’ve heard this year. Opting for the six-string nylon guitar seems to have given Blackshaw a renewed love for the instrument and indeed his signature style. It’s like discovering the guitarist all [...]

April 2012 zal de boeken ingaan als de koudste sinds 1997, en als maand waarin woorden als Kunduzcoalitie en Wandelgangakkoord werden uitgevonden. Gelukkig was er genoeg nieuwe muziek voorhanden om ons daar van af te leiden. Ik noemde eerder deze maand al Dylan Ettinger , Will Guthrie , Franco Falsini , FRKWYS Vol. 9 en de compilatie Eight Trails, One Path . Als er één artiest is die zo op laatstgenoemde verzamelaar had gepast, is het James Blackshaw wel. Hij heeft met het album Love Is The Plan, The [...]

From The Cedar Box February 2012 James Blackshaw Written by Marissa Nadler I met James Blackshaw at the Tin Angel in Coventry, England in 2004, where we were both booked on the same bill. It was one of my first tours outside of the United States and it was one of James' first tours as well. Even in the early years of his career, his music was already intensely beautiful. [...]

Among the current crop of acoustic guitar phenoms, James Blackshaw has always remained one of our favorites. His Important debut O True Believers grabbed the attention of RSTB with a mix of complexity and grace. Following a move to a few other labels including the venerable Tompkins Square and some rather intricate works for Michael Gira's Young God, Blackshaw has returned to his roots at Important. Preceded by a stunning EP, this new album is a hushed and somber piece of work. Love is the Plan, The Plan is Death sees James employing his usual mix [...]
Según podemos leer en Exclaim! el guitarrista y pianista James Blackshaw publicará un nuevo EP el próximo 24 de abril. Se titulará Love Is the Plan, the Plan Is Death , contendrá seis nuevos temas y será editado por Important Records . Al parecer la inspiración para los cortes que componen este sencillo le ha venido al artista inglés de las novelas de la escritora de ciencia ficción James Tiptree, Jr. El piano es el principal protagonista de sus canciones instrumentales, llenas de minimalismo, suaves melodías y ricas [...]
Is it ages since we listened to some James Blackshaw together? I don't know, but it seems like it. Here's something from his 2006 album O True Believers . I guess this is pretty much the start of his attempt to blend together folk music, minimalism and mysticism. Spiralling Skeleton Memorial is a fluid, shimmering thing. It spins blindfolded with only the warmth of the sun to keep it oriented. Don't claim to see the connection between all of Blackshaw's odd Christian references and 12-string guitar playing, but I'm sure churches [...]
You guys, I can't do this anymore. I can't give you descriptions of all these albums and post 30 or 40 MP3s along the way. It just takes too much time and effort. I'll try to make this a little bit more than just a list, because I want it to look a tiny bit [...]

16. Cam Deas – Quadtych 1 & 2 Vier stukken, verdeeld over 2 lp’s, van de Engelse gitarist Cam Deas . Wanneer ik voor de zoveelste keer John Fahey en de Takoma style aanhaal, weten de meesten al in welke hoek je de muziek moet zoeken. Dat zou zijn talent tekort doen. Geïnspireerd door het improvisatiespel van Anthony Braxton en minimalisme zoekt hij de grenzen op van zijn gitaargeluid, zodat Quadtych (uitgebracht op zijn eigen label Present Time Exercises ) een moeilijk album genoemd mag worden. Zijn [...]

die kurzen kommen häufig zu kurz. oft übersieht man sie. dabei können sie ähnlich bezaubern, wie es einem durchgängig guten album gelingen kann. aber vielleicht liegt genau darin die stärke einer nur einige wenige titel fassenden songsammlung: komprimierung, abschottung der besten von den weniger guten. 2011 erweist sich als ein jahrgang, in dem sich einige besondere eps finden ließen, zusammengestellt zu einer ersten top ten: (01) tiny cities – the matter & light **** (02) allysen callery – winter island **** (03) james blackshaw – holly **** (04) [...]

lediglich 200 kopien gibt es von der "holly ep", die james blackshaw jüngst auf important records veröffentlicht hat. eine schande, wenn man zugleich lesen muss, dass es sich bei diesem kurzen longplayer um eine seiner besten aufnahmen handeln soll. "all is falling", sein achtes album, war gerade erschienen, james hatte eine längere tour hinter sich, da spielte er die beiden auf "holly" enthaltenen arrangements ein. der titeltrack beginnt mit einem sparsam gezupften motiv, woraufhin es munter zu rollen beginnt, begleitet von pianotupfern entwickelt er einen steten sog, der fruchtig ornamentiert wird, leichte ausfallschritte, crescendi, sprudelndes, verwirbelungen, [...]