Blog: Brainwashed

Working alone, Marchetti has solidly established himself as truly a shaman of sound. His combination of worldwide field recordings and subtle treatments has created a world that is both alien and familiar, warm and harrowing. Here working alongside Yôko Higashi, the two weave sound that goes from the industrial realm into the wilds of Africa, and then back again.

I haven't seen Dummy Jim yet, but if this soundtrack is any indication, it must be a truly unconventional and memorable film. With the aid of bizarre instrument builder Sarah Kenchington, Daniel Padden and his cohorts have created a kaleidoscopic collision of traditional Anglo-folk, free jazz, drone, and deep-seated eccentricity that sounds like absolutely no one else.

This is allegedly the swansong for Soundway's excellent Panama! series. It's an unexpected choice, given that the rich vein of material doesn't show the slightest sign of being exhausted (perhaps the compilers just need some time away from the heat and the mosquitoes). The focus has shifted away from funk this time around, however this third volume remains every bit as exuberant, smoldering, absurd, and fun as its predecessors.

2009 has certainly been a great year for this young banshee from Wisconsin. Zola Jesus has put out numerous releases this year, each featuring high quality songwriting and production. To have so many releases of such a high quality is truly impressive, and this collection continues that hot streak.

dear family, friends, colleagues!Hi all, i spent last night writing letters to my government representatives asking them to fight hard for success at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit. I asked them in my letters to insist upon the reduction of carbon emissions level to well below 1990 levels within ten years. Anything less than that will not achieve our goal of limited global rise in temperature to 2 degrees celcius.

The original FM3 Buddha Machines appear to have struck a chord with the members of Throbbing Gristle (a number of them appearing in some of Chris Carter's gear photos on his Flickr account) so it is no surprise that they have created their own version with the help of Christian Virant. Containing 13 loops from the TG arsenal and redesigned to look far more stylish than previous models, Gristleism is a slimmed down Buddha with teeth.

This year is a good year for Nurse With Wound-related reissues and this re-release of the collaboration between Steven Stapleton and Tony Wakeford is a good way to finish off 2009. Comprising of the original album on one disc and numerous unused mixes from the original sessions and new remixes from Wakeford and others; this is a good lesson in how to do justice to a classic album. This is a great reissue which has brought back an old favorite from the depths of the deleted release bin.

One of the best international compilations that I heard this year was Tumbélé, which examined the impact of African music on the Caribbean. African Boogalo is its logical counterpoint, providing ample evidence that the vigorous cultural exchange of the mid-twentieth century yielded equally stunning results on the other side of the ocean (though not without a certain degree of weirdness).

Look for the new Four Tet 12 this week along with a live LP+DVD from Trans Am and a boxed sets by Dukes of Stratosphear and Robert Wyatt.

Psych-folk chanteuse Josephine Foster has always been a reliably unusual and singular artist, but her dissonant, artier tendencies have sometimes detracted from the beauty of her lilting, world-weary voice. With this release, a song-cycle based upon the poetry of Emily Dickinson, that experimental impulse is confined entirely to structure and concept. The result is one of her most ambitious, listenable, and mesmerizing albums, as Foster's gorgeously baroque vocals are finally allowed to swoop and quaver around comparatively simple and traditional melodies.

This split 12" was one of the best musical surprises I've had this year, turning up unexpected as it did in my mailbox at the radio station where I do a weekly program. Usually people don't send vinyl to me at the station (though it is encouraged) just CDRs of mostly forgettable music, hence my happiness in receiving a release that some serious effort went into. When I finally got around to listening to the record I was immediately impressed: the epic drone of Scott Cortez's side shows him reaching out into the gorgeous expanses of space with masterfully layered [...]

Under the guise of Padna, Nat Hawks stormed onto tape label Stunned with Siberia/Hinterland, a mash-up of varied styles that reflected the bustle of a scene fraught with chaos. Hawks has quickly followed up that overachievement with this bigger and more daring release.

Today I heard a most terrible lie. Today I heard my good friend Jack Rose had died. It had to be a lie, right? But there it was, on the computer screen, in black and white. Very plain, very easy to read. Jack Rose was gone.For some of you that will mean nothing, but others of you will certainly know why I am now so sad, why my heart is so heavy and filled with grief. Jack was one of a kind, and for those of us who knew him, there will never be another.

Welcome to the beginning of the end of the year. That means that it's Nomination Round time for the annual Brainwashed Readers Poll! Nominations are now being accepted through December 19th at http://brainwashed.com/2009/ - so please read the instructions carefully. Don't nominate music which is already on the list or didn't even come out in 2009. Our staff will be coming through the nominations so please don't keep hitting submit if your nominations didn't come through. Voting round will begin December 20th and last until the end of 2009. Thanks for your participation.

• Ceremony - Someday
• Scratoa ! - V
• Soundpool - But It's So

Sctatoa ! is the new project of Marc Ngyuen Tan (Colder) and Guillaume Ollendorff Tsé, The Mainstream Ensemble, Dust and Chimes), Killer Pimp ( http://killerpimp.com/) and will be released on January 26th, 2010. A bundle discount deal is available now through Brainwashed Commerce. Read on for more information including full MP3 downloads!

It's a slow week for new releases as the beginning of December always is, but new stuff is due from Tristeza, Vetiver, and more.

Combining country, American surf music and the classic Ennio Morricone Spaghetti Western soundtracks, this album sounds like a lost gem from the '60s. However, this trio (supplemented by some seriously cool guest musicians) are not just an ersatz tribute to the past. This is a brilliant homage to these various styles of music that has buckets of enthusiasm and passion to make up for its lack of modernity.

The world does not need another black metal band but the guys from Liturgy don't care. This is fine by me as this is one of the best albums in the genre for a long time. Consolidating the ground won via their Immortal Life EP, the group has expanded in size and in scope. Instead of focussing on a scary aesthetic and not coming up with decent music, they have gone the opposite route of 99% of most modern black metal groups and actually made music worth listening to.

Released a few months prior on cassette (continuing the underground's fetishization of that unreliable magnetic media format), this live recording appears on the wider CD format, remastered to take better advantage of the digital media, and continues this new but prolific band's trek into dense, heavy drone that somehow manages to keep lighter, airy ambient moments appearing in the otherwise gray mist.

In interviews leading up to this release on Mark Kozelek's (Red House Painters) label, Justin Broadrick said he had intentionally set out to make a pop record. Considering many of the prior Jesu EP's (Silver, Lifeline, Why Are We Not Perfect) were already creeping into this territory, the fact this might be his most conventional release is not shocking. However, with Broadrick's return to organic guitar sounds, the combination puts this surprisingly as close to Godflesh as any of his recent releases have been.