Rochester, NY’s Output Noise Improv Collective’s assembled at the Gallery at Potential Life Studios to record A Soundtrack To The DSM-IV - an extemporaneous interpretation of ten disorders outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . The impressively spot-on “Narcolepsy’s” sparse piano melodies tease a lulling urge to succumb to sleep while harrowing strings warn to resist the urge. However, the hypnagogia interpreted here is not the synth-washed post-noise psychedelia that we’ve grown accustomed to associating with the word describing the state between wakefulness and sleep. [...]
Excepter 's Nathan Corbin, aka Zebrablood, just sent in these ominous, narratively ambiguous black-and-white visuals for London-via-Melbourne electronic group HTRK , pronounced "Hate Rock." Following the tragic suicide of founding member Sean Stewart in March of last year, Jonnine Standish and Nigel Yang returned this September with a new studio full-length on Ghostly International - their second in the group's nearly eight years of existence. "Bendi," layers Standish's ghostly vocals over dub-slow deep bass hits and slinky, contrapuntal beat programming. Corbin's video first spoke to me of the feeling of rediscovering the streets and interiors your everyday urban itinerary through the [...]
In addition to being easily the most vibrant internet radio station in Los Angeles (and on the non-geographical internet), dublab has made its name by being an unstoppable cultural curator. In celebrating their dozenth year of existence, the station continues to build upon those chops. If you find yourself in Los Angeles this Saturday, join in on the festivities with sounds and images from Julia Holter , High Places , Teebs , Diva , Daedelus and SFV Acid to name a few. Live video stylings will be provided by the [...]
Los Angeles synth-meister M. Geddes Gengras is at it again, with some dense, graveyard shift sounds. Just a few days ago, Geddes posted a collection of 5 recent tracks on his soundcloud, that are apparently attached to an unnamed, upcoming tape release. If you're familiar at all with his work, it is no surprise that each of these tracks humbly pulls the listener into its own dense, sonic world. That world could be described as an undulating circle of glitches and bleeps. The power of this music is subtle, but undeniable. M. Geddes Gengras, "TRIFLIN@13 [...]
NY/Berlin electronic duo Nihiti have returned to the dark side . After last month’s folk spun acoustic delicacies on the Faced With Splendor EP, Dracon Ostlks (who is associated with Altered Zones) and Viktor Timofeev recorded bass/drum/guitar machines for “Lit Up In Rows” this past August in Berlin under “romantic distress." Ostlks’ pained vocals question the cold, rigid order of urban landscapes found on both sides of the Atlantic while exploring the possibilities of human connectedness, solidarity and renewal. As the track's layers build towards a triumphant culmination urging bodies to [...]
NY/Berlin electronic duo Nihiti have returned to the dark side . After last month’s folk spun acoustic delicacies on the Faced With Splendor EP, Dracon Ostlks (who is associated with Altered Zones) and Viktor Timofeev recorded bass/drum/guitar machines for “Lit Up In Rows” this past August in Berlin under “romantic distress." Ostlks’ pained vocals question the cold, rigid order of urban landscapes found on both sides of the Atlantic while exploring the possibilities of human connectedness, solidarity and renewal. As the track's layers build towards a triumphant culmination urging bodies to [...]
Nothing seems as refreshing these days as music that exists solely for the purpose of having a bit of fun. Consider New Paltz, NY's Leopard Smoke , who seamlessly mix homegrown pop tropes with mad-cap textures and lounge-style vocals. On "Night Ghost" - from their latest, free full-length Night Beaches - the band bursts in with a haphazard, soulful vocal narrative about a terrifying spectre amidst a plodding drum beat and a constantly pounding, ballpark-esque organ melody. The combination may seem awkward on paper, but the track shines delightfully through all of its aural circus' three rings. Things [...]
Nothing seems as refreshing these days as music that exists solely for the purpose of having a bit of fun. Consider New Paltz, NY's Leopard Smoke , who seamlessly mix homegrown pop tropes with mad-cap textures and lounge-style vocals. On "Night Ghost" - from their latest, free full-length Night Beaches - the band bursts in with a haphazard, soulful vocal narrative about a terrifying spectre amidst a plodding drum beat and a constantly pounding, ballpark-esque organ melody. The combination may seem awkward on paper, but the track shines delightfully through all of its aural circus' three rings. Things [...]
Philadelphia’s Chris Madak, aka Bee Mask , produces medium specific, high caliber synthesized compositions with mind-altering intent beyond the scope of what one might “check out” to while having their tarot cards read. Elegy For Beach Friday is an artist selected retrospective of his nearly decade long limited edition cassette and CDr output, reimagined, rereedited and remastered for double LP release on fellow Cleveland underground crew member John Elliott ’s Specturm Spools imprint. Portentous bells and chimes ring throughout the title track’s harmoniously discordant drone. Its meticulously stripped down ambience suggests affinity for [...]
The Kingdom of Light from Captain Ahab on Vimeo . If you knew the apocalypse was coming, what would you do? If you're Jim and Jonathan from Captain Ahab , your bucket list includes IRL Fruit Ninja and In-N-Out Burger (duh). In the new Lawrence Klein -directed video for “The Kingdom of Light,” the duo get to enact their most outrageous impulses and basest desires to a glitchy electro backing tune that sounds like the soundtrack to real armageddon. There are lots of surprises in store during the relentlessly edited, video-game styled clip, but [...]
When I wrote about Michael Bridgewater - aka Waskerley Way - back in June , the focus was on his ability to turn a swirling mess of noise into a transfixing piece of music. On his La Magie Rouge cassette, out now on Ultra Friends Records , Bridgewater sharpens his talent for bringing disjointed sounds together. Worldbeat pop gem "Storm Song" borrows bits from the far-flung folk missives of places as far apart and foreign to each other as Senegal and Belgium. Polyrhythmic drum beats and bursting horn riffs are glued together by an interweaving haze [...]
Purling Hiss - The Hoodoo from Philadelphia Philms on Vimeo . When I interviewed Purling Hiss over the summer, one of the points that all three members of the in-the-red garage power trio agreed upon was that the band was their main musical priority and that they were dedicated to upping their profile. That point is borne out by a currently in-progress European jaunt and an extensive US tour (with The War on Drugs) they're launching as soon as they return. Check the clip above, which features the full band lineup jamming [...]
IE-Dungeon of Drunk Girls from Cybergoo on Vimeo . Living in Los Angeles at the beginning of the last decade was an instructive experience. Although I am skeptical of autobiography-driven appreciation, it's impossible for me to think about I.E. (Inland Empire) without falling into a bit of a reverie. Living now at a time when the Internet has become the inescapable medium through which underground music is dispersed, it's strange to think of a time when these transmissions required going out and meeting people, crossing social boundaries and traveling, sometimes alone, to [...]
A few months ago we posted Psychic Handbook 's unabashedly New Age track "Dolphina". Now Alejandro Archuleta (the man behind the handbook) has added some visuals to the pure moods, and dolphin calls of the song. The video is successful in capturing the playfulness of the music. It centers around a group of dancers, including Archuleta himself, journeying through a magic landscape. This landscape includes swimming with dolphins, surfing, and in a particularly exuberant moment, singing on stage with the women of ABBA. The imagery here is both a valentine and a parody of the New Age aesthetic, and [...]
yuk.- bigbright h i g h from Ariana Natale on Vimeo . Ariana Natale's video for yuk's "bigbright h i g h" wears its colors with pride. A woman lies almost lifeless on a tie dyed sheet, next to a swimming pool. A melted red Popsicle lies flat in her hand. This almost looks like one of the murder tableaux from "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer", but it is soon clear that the only thing that has killed the woman is the heat. Melted Popsicles of many colors, tie dyed textiles, and vibrant [...]
According to collectors' circle folklore, only a few original pressings of Stan Hubbs ’ Crystal are known to exist. Recorded in Hubbs’ living room in the Sonoma County hills with a hired band of youngsters in 1982, this confounding album, along with its creator, remained in total obscurity until Companion Records resurrected it a few months ago. (Legend also has it that “a few years after making the LP, Stan Hubbs became one of the few persons in history to smoke so much pot that he died" - Acid Archives via [...]
If you spend a lot of time meandering through the well oiled machine that is the underground music community on tumblr, you are no doubt already familiar with the work of Drew Harris ( Germany Germany ) and Steph Thompson ( Steffaloo ). The duo come together as Toy Camera and mesh their unique talents together with great result on debut EP Blissful Youth . On "Run Away," Harris deploys the same sort of thick atmospherics and trigger-happy percussion one would expect from his previous work, laying down a warm blanket groove for Thompson's hauntingly [...]
On Saturday, September 17th, Visitation Rites and Vibes Management present a night of deep moods and maximalist simplicity at Brooklyn's Shea Stadium . Witness a rare East Coast appearance by drone-driven San Francisco guitar duo Barn Owl after hearing the Branca and Chatham-inspired Noveller (New York's Sarah Lipstate) loop a single guitar into the sound of a dozen. Former GHQ guitar slinger Steve Gunn brings his minutely colored, raga-inspired blues-folk to the stage with drummer John Truscinski of X.O.4. renown, and Los Angeles singer/songwriter Universe opens the night with a mystery [...]
Telecult Powers: Thoughts Through Space from Telecult Powers on Vimeo . The first Telecult Powers grimore to be released on vinyl, Zion Traveler is an aural document of the Brooklyn/New Orleans duo’s continued trans-plutonian explorations. Hand-crafted synth-gun boxes enable psychedelic drone/avant garde/noise communication between “ Witchbeam ,” “Mister Matthews,” and the cosmic others, transcending astral planes through thought broadcast. On “Space Through Thoughts,” low frequency sine wave drones grind against faster oscillations. The combination stimulates an out-of-body time/space warp, and communication between supersensible entities is further enhanced by [...]
Heat Wave's latest mix, "The Clock on the Wall" is like trying to find your way in the desert after both the hallucinations and the dehydration have fully taken hold. The palate here reflects a steady diet of obscure world psychedelia, and DJ Screw. While this is what those who have been paying attention have come to expect and love about Heat Wave, there are some surprising sections of minimal rhythms that are quite the curve ball. These sorts of ruptures make Heat Wave one collage art journey worth keeping an ear out for. Heat Wave, "The Clock [...]
Visitation Rites
[new]: Kanye West – New Slaves
Weekly Mix Vol. I
Watch Queens of the Stone Age on Jools Holland again
