
The Magician, his breast bare, stands before an altar on which are his Burin, Bell, Thurible, and two of the Cakes of Light. In the Sign of the Enterer he reaches West across the Altar, and cries: Hail Ra, that goest in Thy bark Into the Caverns of the Dark! He gives the sign of Silence, and takes the Bell, and Fire, in his hands. East of the Altar see me stand With Light and Musick in mine hand! He strikes Eleven times upon the Bell 333 — 55555 — 333 and places the Fire in the Thurible. I strike [...]

mrr-adm - "'002" (download) From the EXTREMELY rare, and highly sought after MRR-ADM 10" EP. Featuring the very talented Malcolm Catto playing some heavy, heavy drums. A must for any beat-head. MRR-ADM stands for Michael Raymond Russell & Adam Douglas Manella (the San Diego production duo previously known as MHE ). lastfm (myspace page does not seem to be working)

As San Diego duo MRR-ADM (formerly known as MHE) continue to prep their full-length debut for Now-Again Records , they've been funding the home stretch by selling off the last remaining vinyl copies of their stellar 2008 103 EP over at the Stones Throw webstore . And though the vinyl is now sold out, Stones Throw is still offering the previously difficult-to-obtain EP as a digital download. This untitled 103, one of my favorite releases from last year , is unmistakably built around, and centered on, the [...]

One of my favorite recent finds on the interweb is the oeuvre of DC based Peoples Potential Unlimited , a small 7" only label devoted to re-issuing obscure and private press early 80s funk. Much like the Numero group has made a cottage industry of unearthing several volumes of home made "eccentric soul", PPU mines the Jheri curl synth-laden past and comes up with some great finds. My favorite so far is the BallPlayers EP, a short collection of laser heavy dance tunes that are supposedly the work of major league baseball players Lenny Randle and [...]

Well, the year is over, but I've still got a bit of reflection left. Whether they were leftover collections from established favorites or stunning debuts, lush baroque-pop or lo-fi trip-hop, noisy drone or melody-driven math rock, 2008 was littered with a range of excellent EPs. I managed to compile a short list of favorites (and some honorable mentions). Enjoy and feel free to leave your own lists, or perhaps some EPs you think I may have missed or should have been included, in the comments section. Next up... my favorite albums from 2008. ------------------------- [...]

Grupo Fantasma : Se Te Mira taken from the album Sonidos Gold on Aire Sol (2008) Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 : [...]