2.27.2011

William Onyeabor- Hypertension (1982) & Anything You Sow (1985)




i'd [previously] said that i'd post more stuff by chief onyeabor, so here ya go, tip of the chapeau to [fish tail lion]...

[hypertension/anything you sow]

2.20.2011

Alvarius B.- Baroque Primitiva LP



By my count, Baroque Primitiva is the sixth album cut by Alvarius B. and is, like its predecessors, a deep swim through mysterious waters. The 11 tracks here were recorded at various sessions over the course of several years and range from "Humor Police" [a track that imagines what Syd Barrett might have sounded like had he been a devotee of rembetika] to a trippily Beatles-damaged version of 'You Only Live Twice' [the sole surviving shard of the aborted Alvarius B. Plays The Bond Songbook project]. Baroque Primitiva is the first long-format telegram from Alvarius B. since he lost his mothership [the Sun City Girls, with whom he employed his slave name, Alan Bishop] and it also feels like his most consistently non-acerbic -- perhaps even most beauty-oriented -- work. The songs often have a meditative pace and are filled with gorgeous lo-fi blends of vocals, guitar, bass and keys. Eyvind Kang guests on several tracks, but the bulk of the material was broadcast direct from the naked soul of Alvarius B., which turns out to be a warmer, sweeter place than you might imagine. The record also marks the return of the equally-legendary Poon Village label, whose productions are always extraordinary in visual terms, and Baroque Primitiva is no exception. The cover's meditative human mandala is a brilliant ocular ode to shifting visions of feminine pulchritude, and is worthy of the best framing job you can afford.
-byron coley

much kudos to [holy warbles] for the initial posting of this gem... if you have to purchase one record this year, this one is damned well worth it for the amazing hand-screened gatefold sleeve... only 300 pressed. don't fret if you missed out, a cd re-pop w/ deluxe packaging is right around the corner...

update 2.26.11:

sold out. link removed by request. re-ish cd coming soon.

2.17.2011

black hippies



i neglected to cobble together a top-whatever of 2010 list due to... well, just living life. to rectify this a little, i'm posting all the stuff by one of my fave discoveries of this past year, black hippies. not much on the interwebz aside from [myspace] and [last.fm] pages, their posts at [id reverberations] and an interview at [sick of the radio]...

teenagers? really?!? well fuck all, i guess there is hope for the future. dig the whole hobo cult/fonal/not not fun/avant-drone-pastiche vibez? then dig in... dig real deep.



[Acid With Black Hippies]
[Our Prayer]
[The Jewels In God's Wristwatch]
[Wicker House]
[Laughing Sickness]
[PBO present: Black Hippies meets Udmurtia]
[Throwaway]

2.16.2011

daisies (sedmikrásky) soundtrack- 1966



'Daisies' pulls together what you might call the 'Holy Trinity' of the Czech New Wave - director Vera Chytilova, costume and set designer Esther Krumbachova, and cinematographer Jaroslav Kucera - arguably the three most forward thinking and truly experiMENTAL minds in the whole of the CNW collective... The radical and experimental nature of 'Daisies' is further enhanced by its erratic score which consists of the juxtaposition of various non-melodic elements and sound effects, laden with a broad palette of samples and snippets of choral and classical vintage recordings spliced with concrete effects, traditional brass band music, Disney style exotica. charleston dance standards and token 60's beat tracks... By utilising the live sound effects within the film such as clock pendulums, scissors and typewriters Sust and Slitr paid homage to the pioneering work of Pierre Schaeffer and his Musique concrete legacy.
-[finders keepers]




[you don't belong to this century]

2.12.2011

peeesseye- pestilence & joy



the best album sleeve of 2010 and of my personal faves from this past year... just scroll over the above pic to see it in all its full colour tom of finland-meets-caligula glory. only 300 made, but you can still find a few over [here]... free-form psych gunk divine.

[…and a rottener man never drew breath]

[peeesseye]