Autechre "Incunabula" (Warp Records, 1993)

Artist: Autechre
Album: "Incunabula"
Release Date: November 29, 1993
Genre: IDM, Experimental-Techno, Ambient-Techno
Mood: Trippy, Hypnotic, Quirky, Slick
Reminds Of: Aphex Twin, Plaid, Mouse On Mars, Boards Of Canada
What People Think: AllMusicGuide, AmazonUsersReviews
Definitely Worth Buying: CdUniverse, Amazon

Tracklist
1. Kalpol Introl
2. Bike
3. Autriche
4. Bronchus 2
5. Basscadet
6. Eggshell
7. Doctrine
8. Maetl
9. Windwind
10. Lowride
11. 444

Way back in 1993 and 1994, Warp Records released a series of albums under the "Artificial Intelligence" series that have all nearly gone on to be classics. One of these releases was Autechre's Incunabula, and although they've done some more experimental and fairly interesting work since then, this album will always be their benchmark. It's one of those rare electronic releases on which individual tracks all manage to sound different, yet the album has an amazing cohesive quality. Not only that, but it's one of the major releases that helped to spawn the whole "IDM" (Intelligent Dance Music) movement and propel Autechre into the spotlight.

Over the course of nearly 78 minutes, Sean Booth and Rob Brown take you to a world where machines rule, but instead of sounding harsh or industrial (except slightly for a couple moments), they draw you in even more with their delicate and overlapping sounds. It's a highly melodic trip through a warm bubblebath of electronic textures that will make you feel like assimilation with machines maybe isn't such a bad deal after all.

If you've seen the movie Pi, (and especially if you own the soundtrack), you've already heard the first song on this album entitled "Kalpol Intro." It's a moody, gurgling track that provides the perfect, short beginning that helps tickle your inner ear and lead you along and into the rest of the disc. Mixing seemlessly into the next track (as every song on the album does), the group gets things moving a little more with the track "Bike." After a shimmering opening part, it moves right along with a shuffling little beat and some seriously deep backend bass.

Basically, you're not going to go wrong with this disc if you like electronic music that isn't the run-of-the-mill dancefloor bilk. Whether the group is cranking out the awesome "Basscadet" (probably the most upbeat song on the album with a muffled kick drum and all kinds of blips and squeaks) or the slowly-progressing epic of "Windwind," nearly every single moment on this disc is interesting and changing. Although some of the noises used on the album sound a little dated, the arrangements of the actual songs themselves are timeless and the disc flows from beginning to end without nary a hitch.

It's moody, shimmering, and beautiful and quite possibly one of the best intelligent electronic music albums ever made. If you've heard newer material by Autechre and it's a little too cut up for you, don't write them off. Instead, head for this album and listen to it several times over. Play it loud on a good stereo or headphones and hear the subtle layers and textures. If I had to choose only 5 electronic albums to take to an island with me, this would be one of them. 

source: AllmostCool.org

"The album's title is a Latin word, the plural of incunabulum, the term used for printed books published prior to 1501, or more generally for something in its infancy or early stages or development..."

June Of 44 "Four Great Points" (Quarterstick Records, 1998)

Artist: June Of 44
Album: "Four Great Points"
Release Date: 28 January 1998
Label: Quarterstick Records
Genre: Math-Rock, Post-Rock, Indie-Rock, Post-Hardcore, Noise-Rock
Mood: Cathartic, Brooding, Nocturnal, Detached
Reminds Of: Slint, Tortoise, Rodan, Gastr Del Sol, Trans Am
What People Think: MusicCity
Definitely Worth Buying: CdUniverse, Amazon

Tracklist
1. Of Information & Belief
2. The Dexterity Of Luck
3. Cut Your Face
4. Doomsday
5. Does Your Heart Beat Slower
6. Lifted Bells
7. Shadow Pugilist
8. Air #17

OK. I'll admit it. I cried during "Titanic." So laugh, tough guy! I won't be in the theatre while you're watching "Firestorm."

But like yourself, I also thought it really kicked ass when all those people died. Come to think of it, Four Great Points' opening track is pretty analogous to the emotional ebb and flow (and sink) of America's celluloid zeitgiest extravaganza, "Titanic." Twin guitars sparkle off each other like Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. The bass (arctic water) splashes and upholds the gargantuan drums (steel hull). Beautiful, breathy vocals waft over the bow... Lookout! The Chorus! (Iceberg!) Guitars scree distress signals and resonate cacophonous pangs! Lead vocalist Sean Meadows (cruel fate) screams, "Your time! Has come!" Then the baby blissfully sinks into Aqualand. June of 44's rock proves there is grace in disaster.

Songs like "The Dexterity of Luck" and "Cut Your Face" are standard math rock, but these equations are fueled by chaos theory and funky fractals; they're not the sleepy pre-Algebra of JV bands. June even dabbles in dub (ala Tortoise) without trying too hard. I could go on and on about the bands June of 44 brings to mind -- Rachel's, Fugazi, Tortoise, Polvo, Slint -- but they rise above simple fusion. If indie rock is Greek mythology, June of 44 is Neptune.

OK. I'll admit it. I wept to the opening melody and lyric, "This is the greatest place on earth." So laugh, tough guy. I won't be in the room while you're listening to the Deftones. But hey, I also air guitared and ruptured my third vertebra headbanging to the thick riffs.

(Source: PitchforkMedia)

June of 44's fourth full-length, Four Great Points, is their most experimental effort to date -- fractured melodies and dub-like rhythms collide in a noisy atmosphere rich in detail, adorned with violins, trumpet, severe phasing effects, and even a typewriter.

(Source: AllMusicGuide)

“June Of 44s’ name refers to June Miller, wife of author Henry Miller, and the year author Anaïs Nin began writing about June in her diaries…”

Slowdive "Just For A Day" (Creation, 1991)

Artist: Slowdive
Album: "Just For A Day"
Release Date: September 2, 1991
Label: Creation
Genre: Dream-Pop, Shoegaze, Indie-Rock
Mood: Intimate, Ethereal, Gentle, Bittersweet
Reminds Of: Ride, Mojave 3, My Bloody Valentine
What People Think: AllMusicGuide, Boomkat
Definitely Worth Buying: Boomkat, Amazon

Tracklist
1. Spanish Air
2. Celia's Dream
3. Catch The Breeze
4. Ballad Of Sister Sue
5. Erik's Song
6. Waves
7. Brighter
8. The Sadman
9. Primal

Named after a word in one of Nick Chaplin's dreams -- not from a Siouxsie and the Banshees single -- Slowdive formed in Reading, England, in late 1989. The group orginally consisted of Neil Halstead (guitar/vocals), Rachel Goswell (guitar/vocals), Christian Savill (guitar), Adrian Sell (drums), and Chaplin (bass). Formed when they were mostly in their teens, Slowdive was initially lumped in with the remainder of the early-'90s British shoegaze scene; Slowdive's later releases extended upon the likes of the Cocteau Twins and the more atmospheric sides of post-punk, and they closed out their career with an excellent and misunderstood ambient LP.
Signing with Creation, Slowdive's early singles received glowing press and chart placement. Their debut single, Slowdive, thinly veiled an indebtedness to the Byrds and My Bloody Valentine, with no traceable punk influence. (In fact, they were probably amongst the first batch of young rock bands to ignore the movement.) Just after Slowdive's recording, Sell left for university. Neil Carter subbed for less than a year, lending his skills to the follow-up single, Morningrise; former Charlottes member Simon Scott hopped on board prior to the band's third single, Holding Our Breath. The sleepy escapist psychedelia of both Morningrise and Holding Our Breath made significant impressions on the British indie chart. The press dubbed them part of "The Scene That Celebrates Itself" -- a small, loose, conglomerate of like-minded bands who could be seen at each other's shows, frequently hanging out together within the same circle. This "scene" included Lush, Moose, Swervedriver, Curve, and Blur. Not associating with themselves as a move of self-importance, grandstanding, or high society, it was merely a means for those involved to get into shows for free. Most of those involved were university dropouts on the dole. A dastardly move by the press, the tag just made it easier for them to lasso a group of bands into the to-be-expected derision. With the Brit-pop trend close behind, they could cast aside their champs of yesterday with one fell swoop.
For some, Slowdive will always encapsulate all that is wrong about the so-called shoegazing movement. The disaffected vocals, bowl-headed haircuts, the over-reliance on FX pedals and their vague lyrics were all at odds with the music media's then obsession with grunge and Britpop. Certainly, Slowdive weren't to everyone's taste but in a relatively short time they produced three largely excellent albums; each of which featured a signficant development in their sound and now well-respected as essential references in the dreampop movement. As if to prove that Slowdive were always more concerned with melody than they were given credit for, founder members Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell now ply their trade in the spare, more countrified work of Mojave 3.
Their debut album 'Just For A Day' has - on the whole - aged surprisingly well and is a more focused effort than one could reasonably expect from the band members who were still in their early twenties at the time. Granted, the vocals tend towards the effete but there were already signs of the tougher, more robust effects which would be perfect by their second album. Evidence of this is plain to see on the sinister finale 'Primal' and three minutes in to 'Catch The Breeze' as the floating melody is cruelly overtaken by a heavier, darker surge of guitar. In contrast, at this stage of their career, Slowdive were more comfortable with glacial soundscapes of which 'Celia's Dream', the mournful 'Ballad Of Sister Sue' and the gorgeous instrumental 'Erik's Song' stand out the most.

(source: Leonardslair.co.uk)

“For all that I have is written in waves…”

"Eternity And A Day" [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] (ECM Records, 1999)

Artist: Eleni Karaindrou
Album: "Eternity And A Day" [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
Release Date: 1 October 1999
Label: ECM Records
Genre: Soundtrack, Classical, Chamber-Jazz, Instrumental
Mood: Elegant, Sophisticated, Passionate, Spiritual
Reminds Of: George Russell, Henry Mancini, Don Ellis, Jan Garbarek
Definitely Worth Buying: Amazon

Tracklist
1. Hearing The Time
2. By The Sea
3. Eternity Theme
4. Parting A
5. Depart And Eternity Theme
6. Borders
7. Wedding Dance
8. Parting B
9. To A Dead Friend
10. Eternity Theme Variation I
11. Depart And Eternity Theme Variation I
12. Bus (Pt. 1)
13. Depart And Eternity Theme Variation II
14. Bus (Pt. 2)
15. Trio And Eternity Theme
16. The Poet
17. Depart And Eternity Theme Variation III
18. Depart

Film composer Eleni Karaindou was born in the Greek mountain village of Teichio and raised in Athens, going on to study piano and music theory at the Hellenikon Odion. Relocating to Paris in 1969, she studied ethnomusicology for five years before returning to Greece to found the Laboratory for Traditional Instruments at the ORA Cultural Centre. Karaindrou's most successful collaboration was with filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos, with whom she first teamed in 1982, going on to score features including 1991's The Suspended Step of the Stork, 1995's Ulysses' Gaze and 1998's Palme d'Or-winning Eternity and a Day. Although primarily aligned with the Greek film industry, Karaindrou also worked with noted European directors including Jules Dassin and the great Chris Marker.

Eternity and a Day is about an elderly writer, Bruno Ganz, who discovers he has only a short time to live and must decide what to do with his remaining time on earth. The album is both shorter and considerably more varied than its predecessor. Again the music is scored for string orchestra and soloists, this time oboe, bassoon, French horn, mandolin, accordion, piano and two clarinets. Over the course of 18 tracks Karaindrou weaves a series of melodies around a central "Eternity" theme, cues ranging from the eloquent piano solo (played by the composer) "By the Sea" to a traditional wedding dance, various ensemble pieces, a touching elegy for string orchestra and clarinet, "To a Dead Friend" to finally a wind trio against strings for the moving finale, "Depart". More varied and thus more accessible, it is perhaps the better choice for the newcomer to Karaindrou's music.

(source: AllMusicGuide)

“As you are writing…The ink grows less…The sea increases…”

Arnold Dreyblatt "Animal Magnetism" (Tzadik, 1995)

Artist: Arnold Dreyblatt
Album: "Animal Magnetism"
Release Date: 23 May, 1995
Label: Tzadik
Genre: Avant-Garde, Microtonal, Minimalism, Sound-Collage
Mood: Playful, Manic, Cathartic, Quirky
Reminds Of: LaMonte Young, Alvin Lucier, Elliott Sharp
What People Think: AllMusicGuide
Definitely Worth Buying: CdUniverse, Amazon

Tracklist
1. Point Rotation
2. Next Slide
3. Animal Magnetism
4. Group Velocity
5. Side Band
6. Flashbulb History
7. Epilogue

Arnold Dreyblatt's compositions have been recorded for such leading avant-garde music labels as Hat Hut, Tzadik and Table of Elements. The New York native studied film and video at SUNY with Woody and Steina Vasulka, and earned his masters from the Institute for Media Studies. In the mid-'70s, he studied composition with Pauline Oliveros and LaMonte Young, then learned from Alvin Lucier until getting his masters in composition in 1982. By that time, Dreyblatt had already been directing his own music ensemble, the Orchestra of Excited Strings, for three years. In 1984, he moved to Europe where, in addition to composing, he began using texts and images in his installations and performances. He has received numerous grants and stipends including the Overbrook Foundation, and the Philip Morris Art Prize. Dreyblatt has been a guest composer at Amsterdam's STEIM, Berlin's Kunstlerhaus Bethanien and more. He has been commissioned by Ars Electronica, Podewil/US Arts Festival, as well as for his production 'Who's Who in Central & East Europe 1933' for Berlin's DAAD-Inventionen '91. He has also created two independent yet interrelated art works in collaboration with the University of Lüneburg's Kulturinformatik Department, entitled "Who's Who in Central & East Europe 1933" and "Memory Arena." As of the late 1990's, Dreyblatt still resided in Berlin.

"While I really like everything of Arnold's, especially the more "heroic" parts of Nodal Excitations and Propellors in Love, this is the record that really steps out as the first genuinely new sound in maybe 10 years. It's as if the Dirty Dozen Brass band got a hold of some of Arnold's records and decided to give it a go. I cannot overstate how unbelievably brilliant this record is. When played loud, I firmly stand by my declaration that it is one of the 4 or so best records ever made". - Jim O’Rourke

"The bright, punchy staccato nature of Dreyblatt’s compositons allude to some of Michael Nyman’s early ensemble works, a character further emphasized by the dynamic constraints of the instrumentation... ...Dreyblatt wants you to listen through the beats in order to connect with the overtone structures and resonant sound features bouncing off the rhythmic surfaces... ...I’ve certainly grown to love it.“ - David Illic, The Wire Magazine Soundcheck Winner October, 1995

"This particular release from 1995 is initially striking because of its pure energy. I guarantee that it's one of the few releases you'll find featuring "classical" instruments which encourages you to "listen at maximum volume!" Dreyblatt also uses a wider palette than most Minimalists, as his Orchestra of Excited Strings actually consists of strings, horns, percussion, and just-intonation guitar. Yet he holds the same concern with microtonal structure that Conrad does, just through more propulsive music. Some people back in the Seventies used to talk about how the music of Steve Reich and Phillip Glass was somehow related to "rock," but those charlatans don't have anything on Arnold Dreyblatt. - Pataphysics Research Journal

“If you REALLY wanted to scare somebody, wouldn't you find a new way to do it…?”

Scott Walker "Tilt" (Drag City, 1995)

Artist: Scott Walker
Album: "Tilt"
Release Date: May 1995
Label: Drag City
Genre: Avant-Garde, Experimental, Baroque-Pop, Minimalism
Mood: Brooding, Theatrical, Bleak, Autumnal
Reminds Of: Jacques Brel, Nico, Brian Eno, Leonard Cohen, Serge Gainsbourg
What People Think: SputnikMusic, WorldSocialist
Definitely Worth Buying: Amazon, CdUniverse

Tracklist
1. Farmer In The City
2. The Cockfighter
3. Bouncer See Bouncer
4. Manhattan
5. Face On Breast
6. Bolivia '95
7. Patriot (A Single)
8. Tilt
9. Rosary

Tilt was Scott Walker's first album following over a decade of silence, and whatever else he may have done during his exile, brightening his musical horizon was not on the agenda. Indescribably barren and unutterably bleak, Tilt is the wind that buffets the gothic cathedrals of everyone's favorite nightmares. The opening "Farmer in the City" sets the pace, a cinematic sweep that somehow maintains a melody beneath the unrelenting melodrama of Walker's most grotesque vocal ever. Seemingly undecided whether he's recording an opera or simply haunting one, Walker doesn't so much perform as project his lyrics, hurling them into the alternating maelstroms and moods that careen behind him. The effect is unsettling, to put it mildly. At the time of its release, reviews were undecided whether to praise or pillory Walker for making an album so utterly divorced from even the outer limits of rock reality, an indecision only compounded by its occasional (and bloody-mindedly deceptive) lurches towards modern sensibilities. "The Cockfighter" is underpinned by an intensity that is almost industrial in its range and raucousness, while "Bouncer See Bouncer" would have quite a catchy chorus if anybody else had gotten their hands on it. Here, however, it is highlighted by an Eno-esque esotericism and the chatter of tiny locusts. The crowning irony, however, is "The Patriot (A Single)," seven minutes of unrelenting funeral dirge over which Walker infuses even the most innocuous lyric ("I brought nylons from New York") with indescribable pain and suffering. Tilt is not an easy album to love; it's not even that easy to listen to. First impressions place it on a plateau somewhere between Nico's Marble Index and Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music -- before long, familiarity and the elitist chattering of so many well-heeled admirers rendered both albums mere forerunners to some future shift in mainstream taste. And maybe that is the fate awaiting Tilt, although one does wonder precisely what monsters could rise from soil so belligerently barren. Even Metal Machine Music could be whistled, after all.

(source: AllMusicGuide)

“If I’m using politics, I’ll use it to talk about an inner state rather than a political state. They’re related. It’s a way to break out of the [traditional] songwriting format. I’m looking inward—that’s why you get a solitary feel from the music. I’m composing something of myself through fragments.”

The Sonora Pine "The Sonora Pine" (Quarterstick Records, 1996)

Artist: The Sonora Pine
Album: "The Sonora Pine"
Release Date: 26 March, 1996
Label: Quarterstick Records
Genre: Post-Rock, Indie-Rock, Experimental-Rock, Math-Rock
Mood: Autumnal, Literate, Brooding, Suffocating
Reminds Of: Culs De Sac, Gastr Del Sol, Jim O' Rourke
What People Think: RYM
Definitely Worth Buying: NormanRecords, CdUniverse

Tracklist
1. Owl's Nest
2. Compass Lure
3. The Gin Mills
4. Hoya Carnosa
5. Goldmund
6. Ooltenah
7. The Hook
8. Rungs
9. A Couple Of Ones
10. One Ring Machine

Following the late-1994 dissolution of Louisville math rockers Rodan, bassist Tara Jane O'Neil moved to New York City and founded two separate bands: the rootsy indie pop duo Retsin (with Cynthia Nelson of Ruby Falls) and the more experimental Sonora Pine. O'Neil's chief collaborator in the Sonora Pine was guitarist Sean Meadows, a former member of Lungfish who'd also joined ex-Rodan guitarist Jeff Mueller's new band, June of 44. O'Neil and Meadows soon added improvisational violinist Samara Lubelski, and played a series of shows around New York. After a break to work on their other projects, the Sonora Pine reconvened in Louisville, this time with Rodan drummer Kevin Coultas in tow, and recorded a self-titled debut album that appeared on Quarterstick in 1996. Although the off-kilter sensibility of Rodan was present, the album had a much gentler chamber ambience and folk-pop influence; it also featured guest piano from Rachel Grimes of Rachel's, the post-rock chamber ensemble found by yet another ex-Rodanite, Jason Noble. Indeed, most critics placed the Sonora Pine's music in between the orchestrated sensibility of Rachel's and the angular math rock of Rodan and June of 44.

A great deal of guitar angularity is to be expected from any project involving former members of Rodan, but the Sonora Pine shoots straight past this -- the angularity is certainly delivered upon, but the band's connections to Rachel’s show themselves as well, in the form of lighter, string-augmented, and more orchestrated segments that offset the band's rock side perfectly. The Sonora Pine alternates between these two sides on a track-by-track basis, and the results are occasionally close to exquisite.

(source: AllMusicGuide)

“You might get an infection of depression (these hooks are hard to get rid of…)"

Rodan "Rusty" (Quarterstick Records, 1994)

Artist: Rodan
Album: "Rusty"
Release Date: April 1994
Label: Quarterstick Records
Genre: Math-Rock, Indie-Rock, Experimental-Rock, Post-Rock, Post-Hardcore
Mood: Cathartic, Self-Conscious, Somber, Gloomy
Reminds Of: June Of 44, Slint, The Sonora Pine, Sonic Youth
What People Think: AllMusicGuide
Definitely Worth Buying: Amazon, CdUniverse

1. Bible Silver Corner
2. Shiner
3. The Everyday World Of Bodies
4. Jungle Jim
5. Gauge
6. Tooth Fairy Retribution Manifesto

Everyone seems to know a great deal about Rachel's and the Shipping News, two of Jason Noble's most recent projects. Most seem to know about June of '44, Jeff Meuller's pre-Shipping News project. Many know whom Tara Jane O'Neil is, and that she's played with Retsin and the Sonora Pine. Hell, some even recognize Kevin Coultas' name from the time he put in with Come. But what most people don't realize is that all four of these talented people came together to form Rodan. Existing briefly - less than three years - Rodan managed to amass a small, devastating catalogue. The cream of their crop was Rusty, their only full-length album. A combination of all things good from the realms of hardcore, jazz, math-rock and the then-unnamed post-rock, Rusty is a six-song masterpiece that deserves the same respect as anything Slint, Shellac or Godspeed You Black Emperor! have ever released. And that is exactly the terrain Rodan used to excavate: noisy, scrappy post-punk stretched to its emotional and sonic limits; tremendously long arrangements that never relied on repetition and that beat every drop of meaning and worth out of their every second. And "beat" is the right word. Rusty is heavy. It is violent. Imagine if you will, the Dillinger Escape Plan melding with Slint. You may have noticed that I have dropped the S-word twice already, and I really should take a moment to address this. Yes, Slint and Rodan both hailed from Louisville, KY; yes, each band was made up of expert musicians; and yes, they both wrote lengthy, dynamic songs, but the similarities end there. Slint wrote sparse, jarring pieces that made use of space, subtlety and those wonderfully crushing volume shifts. Rodan, on the other hand, wrote busy, turgid, churning songs that rarely used volume as a dynamic because the music was almost always loud as fuck. Yet I still see the words "Slint" and "Rodan" used synonymously almost everywhere I look. And perhaps that's why I needed to write this, to remind people that Rodan was unique, and that Rusty has held up as well, if not better, than the other indie rock classics of the early '90s. It is nothing less than 43 minutes of painstakingly, lovingly, expertly assembled thunder: alarming as it shudders above you, soothing as it rolls in the distance. The album opens with the rich, chiming layers of "Bible Silver Corner", a guitars-and-bass instrumental that sees the members of Rodan work through several gorgeous, distinct movements, provoking tears with its beauty, paranoia with its dissonance, wonder with its whole. It never gets loud, forcing you to pay attention to every note and echo. Picture modern-day Fugazi playing a Rachel's composition in a candle-lit cathedral. Is the hair on the back of your neck standing up yet? If so, prepare for it to be singed off by the alarmingly harsh "Shiner". In two-and-a-half minutes, Rodan blasts through six alternating movements, each one an off-kilter, complex blow to the head. Fierce and visceral in all the places "Bible Silver Corner" was haunting and delicate, "Shiner" sets the stage for the poetic brutality that is the rest of the album: dual-guitar mangling, an other-worldly rhythm section and Jason Noble's bark-wail-whisper vocals. I wish I could describe his screaming of "Shoot me out the sky", but without being able to show the words ripping in half, italics will have to do. The final four songs are an unthinkable amalgam of the first two. "The Everyday World of Bodies", a twelve-minute exercise in tension, shifts seamlessly from punishing, percussive math-rock to quiet, albeit rough-hewn, mazes of plaintive tenderness. It's a constant juxtaposition that never grows tired, but it does run its course, and that's when the variations begin. Guitars begin fluttering and clashing in different ways, time signatures are hacked at and the crucial refrains - "everything changes", "come on, come on, come" and "I will be there" - are unveiled, expanding the song's revolving structure while exposing "Bodies" for what it is, a love song. And when those lovers' promises are finally unleashed in Noble's ragged bellow, they are as chilling as they are lovely. "Chilling" can also be used to describe Tara Jane O'neil's vocals, fully introduced in the early stages of "Jungle Jim". A lonely, disturbing groan, it's a perfect contrast to Noble's voice, and floats like a dense fog over the dissonant, spooky verses. But this is Rodan, so the quiet soon erupts into a scraping whirlwind. "Jungle Jim" does the quiet-loud dance, but avoids redundancy by changing tempo and tone. Every dynamic is used, so it's not just a matter of rising tension and release, it's a matter of true contrast. It's an unpredictable, frightening song, replete with a distant feedback and screaming outro that you shouldn't listen to if you're alone in your house. "Gauge" opens with a discordant, sludgy introduction that begins to take shape just as it ends, making way for a very clean, linear structure over which Noble and O'Neil layer cryptic words. "An anthem designed to take care of you", is how the song is described in the liner notes, and I tend to agree. "Gauge" is simpler and more melodic than most of the material on Rusty and there is a definite feeling that the song is an attempt to cope with loss. How better to accomplish healing than with passionate, abrasive art-rock? "Tooth Fairy Retribution Manifesto" begins with a battered music box and a considerably funky drumbeat, bringing to mind Noble's recent, excellent Permission project. The funk disappears and waves of distorted guitars crash through, loud but beautiful and soothing. A brief quietness ensues, making use of another unsettling vocal performance from O'Neil, and then come the riffs. A brisk, absolutely filthy groove drives the song forward. No blindsiding shifts, just a straight-ahead, ass-kicking track that ends explosively and unexpectedly. And sadly. Only one other person I know owns this album. I have still only read one review of it in my entire life, and that was when I was in tenth grade. If you don't own Rusty, you need to. Please buy it. Together we can teach people that the words "Slint" and "Rodan" do not represent the same things, that Rodan stood on their own, and that Rusty is indeed one of the finest independent albums ever released.

(source: StylusMagazine)

“Gorgeous, distinct movements, provoking tears with its beauty, paranoia with its dissonance, wonder with its whole…”

Aube "Cardiac Strain" (Alien8 Recordings, 1997)

Artist: Aube
Album: "Cardiac Strain"
Release Date: February 1st, 1997
Label: Alien8 Recordings
Genre: Avant-Garde, Experimental, Noise, Abstract
Mood: Uncompromising, Harsh, Intense, Volatile
Reminds Of: Government Alpha, Bastard Noise, Merzbow
What People Think: RYM
Definitely Worth Buying: Alien8Recordings

Tracklist
1. Steal Up
2. Infatuation
3. Cardiotonica
4. Angina Cordis
5. Core-Strain
6. Vent

Akifumi Nakajima's Aube project has amassed a lengthy discography, most entries realizing the maximum capacity for audio variation from a minimum of sampled input (in many cases, a single sound source). Influenced by space rock and musique concrète, Nakajima began recording in 1980 but released nothing until a decade later, when he produced music for an art installation given by a group of friends. Since the installation involved water, he decided to use appropriately watery sounds for the music. Nakajima's first Aube release came in 1991, when the Japanese noise label Vanilla released his cassette LP Hydrophobia. Quite a few more water-related recordings followed, and Nakajima soon began branching out by using varied sources such as field recordings, the hum from fluorescent lamps, human voices, brain waves, heartbeats, even pages being ripped from a Bible. He has recorded for Staalplaat, Manifold, Charnel Music, Pure, Iris Light and the Grand Rapids-based upstart Elsie & Jack Records. Nakajima also operates a cassette-only label named G.R.O.S.S. that has released several albums of Aube material. In 1999 the album Evocation was added and a year later Aube closely released, Richochentrance and Blood Brain Barrier, respectively.

While Akifumi Nakajima of Aube not only creates a rather diverse selection of noise works (generally he gravitates more toward ambient than full-blast harsh noise), he also uses some very unique sound sources. This release, as the name implies, is created solely from the human heartbeat, although one wouldn't guess it at first. Distinct heartbeat sounds are heard, but much of the album distorts and twists these sounds beyond recognition. Cardiac Strain is among his noisiest albums. A typical track starts off barely audible until Nakajima either shocks the listener with an ear-shattering burst of rhythmic noise, or until the track eases into things and culminates in a point of pure chaos. Either way, this is a great album, considered by many to be one of his best.

(source: AllMusicGuide)

“If you’re getting a message about the heart being the devil’s organ, or the pit of hell, your brain is ready to endure this album, it’s red flooded sleeve and all.” Carl Wilson, Hour Magazine.

“The six tracks are so creatively processed that it is a shame that those in the electro-acoustic ivory tower will never hear it.” Chris Twomey, Exclaim.

All composed, Mixed, Recorded And Designed By Akifumi Nakajima At Studio MECCA, Kyoto Japan November 1996 – January 1997.

Limited Edition 666.

A guided tour to the human circulatory system…

"もののけ姫 (Princess Mononoke)" [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] (Tokuma Japan Communications, 1997)

Artist: Joe Hisaishi
Album: "もののけ姫 (Princess Mononoke)" [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]
Release Date: 1997
Label: Tokuma Japan Communications
Genre: Soundtrack, Instrumental, Japanese, Classical
Mood: Eerie, Heroic, Nostalgic, Epic
Reminds Of: Kenji Kawai, Chieco Baisho, Taku Iwasaki
What People Think: AllMusicGuide
Definitely Worth Buying: DiscountAnimeDvd, Amazon

Tracklist
1. The Legend Of Ashitaka
2. The Demon God
3. The Journey To The West
4. The Demon Power
5. The Land Of The Impure
6. The Encounter
7. Kodamas
8. The Forest Of The Gods
9. Evening At The Ironworks
10. The Demon God II-The Lost Mountains
11. Lady Eboshi
12. The Tatara Women Work Song
13. The Furies
14. The Young Man From The East
15. Requiem
16. Will To Live
17. San And Ashitaka In The Forest Of The Deer God
18. Princess Mononoke Theme Song Instrumental Version
19. Requiem II
20. Princess Mononoke Theme Song
21. The Battle Drums
22. The Battle In Front Of The Ironworks
23. The Demon Power II
24. Requiem III
25. The Retreat
26. The Demon God III
27. Adagio Of Life And Death
28. The World Of The Dead
29. The World Of The Dead II
30. Adagio Of Life And Death II
31. Ashitaka And San
32. Princess Mononoke Theme Song
33. The Legend Of Ashitaka Theme

Grand, sweeping orchestral music occasionally coupled with synth to create an unusual and effective sound. The music is passionate and always conveys a message even without the aid of the movie. Joe Hisaishi's use of clear leitmotifs helps the listener follow the story without being too obvious (or too subtle!).This soundtrack is rife with emotion, with the heroic yet sad anthem of the Legend of Ashitaka, the intense battle of the Demon God, the somber Requiem, and the otherworldly sound of the World of Dead. It manages to evoke images of people and events.Naturally, it works phenomenally with the movie. I am a huge fan of this film, and the soundtrack is one of the reasons for that. I can't imagine the film being as good without this music. But that's not to say that you need to see the film to enjoy the soundtrack, because that would be entirely untrue.I guess what I'm saying is that it's amazing. It's worth your time, guaranteed.

(source: rateyourmusic.com user: yellowarcher)

I'm going to show you how to kill a god...

"Princess Mononoke" on IMDB...
Watch "Princess Mononoke" movie trailer...

Mercury Rev "Boces" (Columbia, 1993)

Artist: Mercury Rev
Album: "Boces"
Release Date: June 1, 1993
Label: Columbia
Genre: Noise-Pop, Dream-Pop, Neo-Psychedelia, Indie-Rock
Mood: Spacey, Trippy, Rousing, Dramatic
Reminds Of: Pavement, Yo La Tengo, Sparklehorse
What People Think: AllMusicGuide, IndiecateRecords
Definitely Worth Buying: CdUniverse, Amazon

Tracklist
1. Meth Of A Rockette's Kick
2. Trickle Down
3. Bronx Cheer
4. Boys Peel Out
5. Downs Are Feminine Balloons
6. Something For Joey
7. Snorry Mouth
8. Hi-Speed Boats
9. Continuous Drunks & Blunders
10. Girlfren

Mercury Rev are strange. Out of all the messy, out of control, and chaotic noise-rock albums to come out during the 90's Boces is pretty much the craziest. Not just because it’s overly filled with feedback and distortion, but because the band will go from playing light hearted dream pop to boisterous noise-fests. The mellow guitar lines and dreamy vocal melodies will lull you in and then the band will go crazy thrashing away at their instruments blasting hard hitting guitar riffs and thumping bass lines. Just take the first track Meth of a Rockette’s Kick for example. The group lulls you in with David Bakers hypnotic voice and the female la la la la backing vocals. The first part of the song resembles a demented Sesame Street theme song as it hypnotizes you with it’s whimsical beauty. However towards the end of the track Mercury Rev take you by surprise as they pump up the volume and ruthlessly pound out noisy guitar distortion. Blending dream-pop, psychadelica and shoegaze influences Mercury Rev create the ultimate stoner anthem with Meth of a Rockette’s Kick...and that’s only the first ten minutes of the album.Fortunately the opening track is not the only redeeming quality of Boces. The band continues to attack their instruments on tracks like Bronx Cheer and Snorry Mouth where Donahues raging guitar verses dominate the vocals and bass. You just can’t beat production like this, the double dueling guitars take over the music as the vocals are buried deep in the mix. Boces is both dreamy and out of control at the same time and that’s what gives it such a unique and interesting sound.But Mercury Rev can do more then turn up the volume on their guitar amplifiers. Boys Peel Out incorporates an xylophone into the music as it’s compelled by Bakers childish voice and whimsical lyrical imagery. While the tune is drastically different from anything else off of the album it does not sound out of place due Bakers trance inducing voice. The single, Something For Joey resembles a rusty Pavement song as its scratchy guitar riffs and dreamy, summertime atmosphere takes control of you. Mercury Rev even throw in a wiry flute solo during the instrumental chorus creating another strange yet satisfying effect. Possibly the eeriest song that the band has ever composed Girlfren takes away all the chaos and distortion that the album features and focuses on something entirely different. It showcases Baker mumbling indecipherable words over simple piano chords. Out of the ten tracks on Boces most of them have at least a few minutes of noise filled pop but Mercury Rev change things up occasionally and experiment with their already unique sound.If you combine the Flaming Lips, My Bloody Valentine, and the Melvins you have Mercury Rev in a nutshell. Boces is certainly not the most accessible album out there but it sure is one hell of a trip. The intricate blend of psychadelica, metal, shoegazer, and dream-pop creates such a trippy and chaotic atmosphere that it’s hard not to like. If you want something strange and experimental or if you just want to rock out then you cannot go wrong with Boces, the ultimate noise album.

(source: Sputnikmusic.com)

"Your fume, baby soon baby, kaboom kaboom kaboom...Tonight I'll dig tunnels to your nightmare room..."

Would you like a fresh vegetable soup?

Worldwide one of a kind, the Vegetable Orchestra performs on instruments made of fresh vegetables. The utilization of various ever refined vegetable instruments creates a musically and aesthetically unique sound universe.The Vegetable Orchestra was founded in 1998. It consists of 11 musicians, a sound engineer and a video artist. Based in Vienna, the Vegetable Orchestra plays concerts in Europe and Asia. From time to time workshops are given - on how to manufacture an instrument or on musical topics.There are no musical boundaries for the Vegetable Orchestra. The most diverse music styles fuse here - contemporary music, beat-oriented House tracks, experimental Electronic, Free Jazz, Noise, Dub, Clicks'n'Cuts - the musical scope of the ensemble expands consistently, and recently developed vegetable instruments and their inherent sounds often determine the direction.A concert of the Vegetable Orchestra appeals to all the senses. As an encore at the end of the concert and the video performance, the audience is offered fresh vegetable soup.

Talk Talk "Laughing Stock" (Polydor, 1991)

Artist: Talk Talk
Album: "Laughing Stock"
Release Date: November 19, 1991
Label: Polydor
Genre: Post-Rock, Experimental, New-Wave
Mood: Sophisticated, Autumnal, Literal, Intimate
Reminds Of: Roxy Music, David Sylvian, Bark Psychosis
What People Think: HeadHeritage, SputnicMusic
Definitely Worth Bying: Amazon, CdUniverse

Tracklist
1. Myrrhman
2. Ascension Day
3. After The Flood
4. Taphead
5. New Grass
6. Runeii

Virtually ignored upon its initial release, Laughing Stock continues to grow in stature and influence by leaps and bounds. Picking up where Spirit of Eden left off, the album operates outside of the accepted sphere of rock to create music which is both delicate and intense; recorded with a large classical ensemble, it defies easy categorization, conforming to very few structural precedents -- while the gently hypnotic "Myrrhman" flirts with ambient textures, the percussive "Ascension Day" drifts toward jazz before the two sensibilities converge to create something entirely new and different on "New Grass." The epic "After the Flood," on the other hand, is an atmospheric whirlpool laced with jackhammer guitar feedback and Mark Hollis' remarkably plaintive vocals; it flows into "Taphead," perhaps the most evocative, spacious, and understated piece on the record. A work of staggering complexity and immense beauty, Laughing Stock remains an under-recognized masterpiece, and its echoes can be heard throughout much of the finest experimental music issued in its wake.

(source: AllMusicGuide)

I'm putting on my new headphones...

Listen to a Talk Talk interview back from 1986...