Saturday, December 29, 2012

Chaitanya Hari Deuter, Govindas, Deva Renu, Nivedano & Rupesh : Basho's Pond (Rajneesh Music, 1985)




"Between sounds of music there are gaps of silence. The authentic music consists not of sounds, but of the gaps. Sounds come and go; those gaps remain. And music can make you aware of those gaps more beautifully than anything else; hence I have to say that music comes next to silence. But it is possible even the musician may not be aware of it, unless his music is his meditation too. Then, soon, the shift from sounds to silence." (Bagwan Shree Rajneesh, aka Osho)




“From Basho’s Pond, past Rajneesh Mandir, winding through downtown Rajneeshpuram, and out to the airport were people. People dressed in red, playing musical instruments, singing, dancing, waving goodbye to their Master. The faces! The faces! Musicians followed the car all the way to the airport, some running all the way carrying their Brazilian drums. I saw faces of people who years before had been dull, and now were transformed, shiny and alive. Osho sat and namasted His people for the last time in Rajneeshpuram.” (excerpt from Diamond Days With Osho, by Ma Prem Shunyo)

Pan-Asian instrumental new age steppers, featuring our man Deuter, himself, in full-tilt metaphysical enlightenment mode. A woodwound percussive medley for us Tomorrow People. Ecstatic-dancing to Pure Moods/Tubular Bells is admittedly  something of the vibe, here, but...And blame it on personal Rajneesh fascination; I've been dropping into Basho's Pond here lately, a bit more than I might even like to admit. These tracks were all recorded during live Satsang celebrations at the now-infamous Rajneeshpuram in eastern Oregon, late 1985. A "cult favorite", if you will. 


Chaitanya Hari Deuter, Govindas, Deva Renu, Nivedano & Rupesh : Basho's Pond (Rajneesh Music, 1985)

Flac + 320



Watch Rajaneeshpuram on PBS. See more from Oregon Experience.


Friday, December 28, 2012

Olivia Tremor Control : Opera House EPs (1996) + Black Swan Network : The Late Music (1997)

Another freshly ripped installment of late-90's artifacts culled from the remains of my long-lost, recently found, cd collection from mine own younger days. These two drops offer up some of the weirder long-form, lo-fi concrete experimentations out of the OTC camp. Out-of-print rarities, both.






The highfalutin lo-fi interactivity that Olivia Tremor Control first explored with the ambient bonus disc included on early pressings of Dusk at Cubist Castle reached its apex with the vinyl version of "The Opera House." A quadraphonic odyssey spread across two 7"s, each featuring the titular psych-pop nugget that leads off Cubist Castle backed with differing musique concrète experiments clocking in at just under 15 minutes apiece, the presentation allows for listeners to create unique songs by playing back the records simultaneously in various temporal combinations and RPM speeds. Similar in conception to the Flaming Lips' Zaireeka, "The Opera House" requires three turntables for maximum mindf*ck action, but the extra effort is worth it. Like those old "Choose Your Own Adventure" books on which kids of the '80s grew up, the paths and possibilities "The Opera House" lays out are endlessly labyrinthine and completely immersive. (Jason Ankeny, Allmusic)
 
 

Olivia Tremor Control : Opera House EPs A+B(Blue Rose Record Company, 1996)


BRRC10112A


2. Black Swan Radar (With Capillary Radar) 14:55
3. The Opera House 3:15
4. Black Swan Radar (With Enveloping Bicycle Folds) 14:55
5. Black Swan Radar (With Capillary Radar + Enveloping Bicycle Folds) *Ghost-Capital Edit: Tracks 2 & 4 combined. Soundcloud audio sample above)





""The Late Music, was born out of a small message hidden in the liner notes of The Olivia Tremor Control's Music from the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle, requesting that people submit recordings of dream descriptions to the band. The album consisted of seven untitled pieces incorporating the submissions with different other ambient sounds and musical fragments. (Wikipedia)


Black Swan Network : The Late Music (Camera Obscura, 1997)



CAM003CD

7 Tracks, all Untitled.

Amps For Christ -- Circuits (Vermiform, 1999) *Flac + 320




"Circuits was originally released in 1999 on the Vermiform label. It was well received, even charting on CMJ. Comprised of stellar originals, Scottish, English and North American folk songs and Child ballads, biblical lore, and choice pop folk cover tunes, Circuits is singular in its approach. Heavily referencing Steeleye Span and Pentangle’s moves in working with songs of the British Isles, as well as Jean Ritchie and North American Appalachian songlines in general, as well as DIY nosenik modalities, AFC uniquely adds to the history of these songlines. This reissue puts Circuits on vinyl for the first time as a deluxe double LP with a gatefold cover and a full bonus side of unreleased material . Circuits includes AFC collaborator Tara Tavi (ex-Blue Silk Sutures, Bastard Noise, Savage Republic, currently of Auto Da Fe) who plays yangqin (Chinese hammer dulcimer) and sings. Former Man Is The Bastard drummer Joel Connell plays tablas and percussion." (Turned Word)

From the archives; A freshly ripped Flac / 320 offering of the very best album by Amps for Christ. Woefully out of print for years, now, Circuits was recently remastered by the superlative Timothy Stollenwerk for a fancy new double LP reissue (its first time on wax!) by Turned Word / Water Wing, and featuring a full side of primo bonus material. I highly recommend you snatch one up, while the gettin' is still good. This rip, though, is straight from the original cd, which is one of the very few plastic discs I kept around after my college daze. I'm basically re-upping this because it still appears to be OOP in any digital format. If anyone from AFC, Vermiform, et al, wants this masterpiece back down, please just say the word -- Your wish is my command. Paz.




Amps For Christ -- Circuits (Vermiform, 1999)

*full scans included.

VMFM 51CD








Monday, December 24, 2012

XMAS DELIGHTS - The only listenable Christmas compilation...ever! (a Moahaha re-gift)




Just in time to spread the yuletide cheer; an immaculate Christmas reshare from RYM's discerning Moahaha, friend of flawless tastes. In a genre that tends heavily toward mediocre schmaltz, XMAS DELIGHTS is packed with more than a few of my very favorite things. Yes, Virginia, there is a brilliant Santa comp. 

"Well, I for one have never came across a listenable one that wasn't made by myself. As everyone else genuinely interested in music I generally despise this "genre", but every year I make some sort of Christmas-comp. And for a short period in December I really love spinning the 3-4 hour worth of  standout songs I've discovered throughout the years. So I figured I might as well collect and share about 2x45 minute long set for the holidays at my favorite place in blogland too. First half (Santa) is primarely lighthearted secular joy for your Christmas parties or whatever. And the second half (Jesus) a little more contemplative filled with seasonal folksongs, sentimental oldies and heartfelt religious tunes. I know it won't be your favorite album ever, but I'm only aiming for it to become you favorite Christmas compilation. So with this Moahaha wishes you all a Merry Christmas!"





 A: Santa side

1 The Philistines Jr. - Santa Was Seen
2 Asakawa Maki – Zenkasha No N'Mas
3 Elisa Gabbai – Winter in Canada
4 The Soulful Strings – Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies
5 Floral Pops 70 – Jingle Bells
6 Mystic Monks - Swinging Bells
7 Twice As Much feat. Vashti Bunyan - The Coldest Night of the Year
8 Dean Martin – The Things We Did Last Summer
9 Julie London – I'd Like You For Christmas
10 Kate Bush – December Will Be Magic Again
11 The Swingle Singers – Christmas Medley
12 The Torero Band – Once in Royal Davids City
13 Indo Jazzmen – Variations On a Christmas Theme
14 The Carpenters – O Come, O Come Emmanuel    


B: Jesus side

1 Lois Lynn – Every Christmas We Know
2 Peter, Paul & Mary - A'Soalin'
3 Joan Baez – The Little Drummer Boy
4 Don Amson – Shepherd Boy
5 The De Castro Singers - Snowbound for Christmas
6 Monica Lewis – The Christmas Song
7 Bing Crosby – Do You Hear What I Hear
8 Dinah Shore – The Coventry Carol
9 Fred Lowery – Silent Night
10 Shirley Collins – Down in Yon Forest
11 Bert Jansch – In the Bleak Midwinter
12 Ron Goodwin – The Christmas Tree
13 Mary Mayo – A King Without a Crown
14 The Retreat Singers – Virgin Mary Had a One Son
15 Steeleye Span – Gaudete
16 Unknown - Christmas Bells (1919)



...all in various bitrates and soundquality from various sources 

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Les Griots (w/ Serge Franklin) -- Ouagadougou, Afrique: Exotissimo Vol. 8 (Pathé Marconi / EMI, 1975)




On repeat. This Serge Franklin  seems to be something of a grandmaster OG in the ethnographic forgery game. 'Exotissimo' is right, no? Really though, this is a stunning record. Haven't found much, however, by way of biography for Les Griots, but, it'd be reasonable to assume that the group would've hailed originally from Burkina Faso. The dimensions of the rhythms & sounds here are truly exquisite. Heavy grooves. And, these mid 70's sessions, recorded in Paris, are subtlely realized; deep, resonant and spare. An hour or so of poking around the web has me reasonably convinced me that Loulendo is most likely Jean Loulendo. That's mostly it, although he does seems to show up as in author in worldcat. I've had even less luck with Dolo, who's also credited with an arrangement on this album. Anyone else know more? Enjoy.


Les Griots (w/ Serge Franklin) -- Ouagadougou, Afrique: Exotissimo Vol. 8 (Pathé Marconi / EMI, 1975) 


Side 1

1. Messe Noire (Franklin)
2. Mama Me Mwana (Trad, arrgt. Loulendo)


Side 2

1. Sumama
2. Liwa Wetche *Chant (Trad, arrgt. Loulendo)
3. Morgen *Chant (Trad, arrgt. Dolo)
4. Danse du Fleuve (Franklin)
5. Danse de Filles su Sable (Franklin)
6. Kio Kio *Chant (Franklin)





Friday, November 16, 2012

Biet-Het Vol 1 : A Cheesy Trip Through the Dutch-Belgian Sixties Youth Provo and...Yes..Eating Culture! (Distortions, 1998)




"Who ever listens through these thirty songs objectively will despair and ask: "What on earth went wrong with Dutch popular music after these unprecedented peak years?" (And let's not forget the Belgian contributions to this compilation!) The pure, raw productions, the textual and musical originality and the amazing emotional charge of these records create a gap with contemporary Dutch music which, in meters, surpasses the boundaries of the universe easily. these are the young and passionate singing their hearts out! This CD contains the essence of all of Dutch society of the sixties. Who ever listens...will personally experience the sixties retroactively." (Drs J. Pate, from the liner notes)

Hyperbole aside, this out of print CD comp of rocking Dutch-Belgian garage psych rave-ups is chock full of fuzzy freakbeat, goofy one-offs, a few sweet vegetables, and one righteous cover of the Kinks' Don't You Fret. It rules. Let's just say its "Solid as a Rock!" Enjoy...

 


1. The Mokum Beat Five - Trouw Nooit (Never Marry) (Delta '66
2. The Eurfians - Waaro (Imperial '66)
3. The Jokers - Zet Die TV Af! (That TV Sale!)
4. The Fallouts - De Vlieg (The Fly) (Funckler '66)
5. Peter J. Muller - Links De Kinks (Delta '66)
6. Bob Bouber - Ik Wil Me Donalduckie (I want me Donalduckie) (Phillips '68)
7. Eddy Dyan & The Saints - Lady Sex
8. Ronnie & The Ronnies - Daar In De Wildernis (There in the bush) (Delta '66)
9. NV Groep 65 - Tanger (Delta '66)
10. Ruud Knolraap & The Sweet Vegetable - Sperciebonen
11. Ernie Bender & The Robbins - Cleopatra (Phillips '66)
12. The Clungels - Dat Had Ik Nog Nooit Gedaan (That I had never done) (Artone '66)
13. Aart Brouwer - Hé Pssst (Phillips '63)
14. In Istanboel
15. Hardstikke Dood
16. Hugo De Groot - Ze Nemen Me Eindelijk Mee (the Dutch version of They're coming to take me away haha) (Havoc '66)
17. De Fouryo's - Surf-City (Decca '63)
18. Tony Light - Laat Me Gaan (Me lets go) (Atrone '68)
19. De Clichee-Mannetjes - Lekker Legbad (Nice Legbad) (Omega '66)
20. The Mokum Beat Five - Wat Scheel Je Nou (What squint-eyed you nou?) (Delta '66)
21. Het Pocomania - Peterselie (Parsley) (Fontanna '68)
22. The Eurfians - Opa's Beat (Imperial '66)
23. Ruud Knolraap & The Sweet Vegetable - Geurige Gouden Tinten (Fragrant gouden at)
24. The Sparklings - Ach Barst! (Ah go to hell) (CNR '66)
25. Het - Spat Niet Met Pap (Do not splash with porridge) (Fontana '66)
26. Freddy Scot & The Condors - Kom Maar Hier (RCA '64)
27. Peter J. Muller - Beter Langharig Dan Kortzichtig (Better long-haired than short-sighted) (Delta '66)
28. Johnny Lion - Wees Niet Bang (Phillips '66)
29. Ronnie Schutte - Ze Zegge (Them say) (Delta '66)

Thursday, November 1, 2012

The Neon Vernacular - Halloween Show



The Neon Vernacular's Halloween radio broadcast. Our show, hosted by Ladybug and me, streams live on http://praradio.org, every Sunday 6-8pm Pacific Time. Occassionally, we'll post episodes to our MixCloud account. 

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Friday, October 26, 2012

Re-Ups 4: All Hallows Edition





Can't Stop, Won't Stop, with these endless ADrive re-ups. On the other hand, full of rigor mortis just like a tortoise, might be the better reference in terms of recent pacing around here, but I digress. The All Hallows season is upon us, and nows the perfect time for Nate Ashley's incredible Written in Blood horror music series, so I'd be doing us all a disservice not to mention that Nate's uploading newly upgraded 320 versions of his monstrous collection over at his brand new blogHold it now, hit it! 


V/A- Written in Blood *320 upgrades added all week @ Nate Ashley’s new blog


The Orlons- Not Me (1963)

 


THE PEACE!!- Black Power



 

David Welsh- Blue Lightning Accent (1980)

Jimi Paulix (David Welsh)-Live at the House Compound (2010)

 The Residents- Diskomo / Goosebump [with Snakefinger] (1979)





Warda- Esmaouni (1974)










V/A- Yellow Pills: Prefill (Numero 004)




David Hykes - The Harmonic Choir : Hearing Solar Winds (1983 - Ocora 558 607)





'The Harmonic Choir was formed by David Hykes in 1975. An accomplished experimental filmmaker witha deep interest in traditional and sacred music, Hykes had already acquired broad familiarity with the music of West and Central Asia when he first heard the Hoomi singing (literally "throat singing") indigenous to western Mongolia, and the overtone chanting of Tantric Tibetan Buddhism. 

In the Hoomi tradition, singers produce fundamental tone in the bass or baritone range, and then by extremely precise modulation of the of the abdominal muscles, chest, and vocal apparatus - larynx, tongue, jaws, cheeks, and lips - project simultaneously a higher tone or tones, related in frequency to the fundamental tone by whole number ratios. These higher frequencies are called "overtones" or "harmonics". In producing harmonics, the voice acts like a kind of sonic prism, "refracting" sound along a frequency spectrum which extends upward from the fundamental tone.

...For David Hykes, the significance of the harmonic series as both a source and an aesthetic standard for musical composition lies in its organic lawfulness and proportion. His work begins at the point where a singer can articulate at will various harmonics in the series. From there, it moves towards a living research into the unexplored realms of sound made accessible by harmonic singing, where acoustical order can become truly iconic to what is at once a more universal world of number.

In many cultures, it has traditionally been the role of music to express a sense of the order of the universe - an order which man can aspire to understand and to look for in himself. As a "traditional" music of present-day culture, perhaps the singing of the Harmonic Choir can fulfill the same pupose.' (Theodore Levin, album notes)

'This recording was made in l'Abbaye du thoronet, a 12th-century Cistercian monastary in Provence, where I had previously brought the Choir in 1978. The simple harmonic geometry of the Abbey seemed perfectly proportioned to magnify the Choir's music and let it resonate within its sacred space. Working there was an incredible challenge: our sensations, our breathing, and even our thoughts and emotions became intensely amplified. We recorded most of the nights of August 6 and 7, and i wish to express my deepest thanks to Pierre Toureille and Michel Lepage and his crew for their sensitivity and earnestness in seeking with us the ideal results.' (David Hykes, album notes)


 Hermetic harmonics in choral a cappella. Recommended material for an hypnotic late night zone-out, drone-out. The new age is upon us. 2012, Quetzalcoatl, Oneohtrix Point Never, and so on. 

The Harmonic Choir have been a recent discovery for me. Turns out Hykes had scored Baraka and Meetings With Remarkable Men, both of which I'd enjoyed years ago, but had never looked too deeply into their soundtracks. It looks like Rootblog, among others, have upped some other prime offerings from Hykes & The Harmonic Choir. Now here I am, casting a fresh rip of this LP out into these interweb's Solar Winds. And while it had long been out of print, it has since come to my attention that a remastered version of Solar Winds is now available for purchase from the likes of CDBaby. And so, in the interest of promotion & courtesy (and of keeping this blog), the links below will be available here at GC for only the next two weeks. Enjoy.


David Hykes - The Harmonic Choir : Hearing Solar Winds (1983 - Ocora 558 607) 

*Links removed (see write-up, above)

Side 1
Part I : Rainbow Voice
Part II : Multiplying Voices at the Heart of the Body of Sound
Part III : Arc Descents - The Fall
Part IV : Gravity Waves

Side 2
Part IV : Gravity Waves (continued)
Part V : Lens by Lens
Part VI : Telescoping & The Flight of The Sun
Part VII : Two Poles; Ascent
Part VIII : Ascending and Descending








Friday, October 19, 2012

Super Djata de Bamako -- Vol. 2 (1983 -- Musique Mondial, MAD 004) *Flac



"Zani Diabaté, prominent guitar player in the Super Djata Band, one of the most popular bands from Bamako during the 1980s, joined the Ballet National in 1963, where he sang, danced and played guitar, kora, balafon and percussion. In his spare time, he would play in Harmonica Jazz, where he played harmonica, and later he formed the Ganoua Band with Daouda Sangaré on kamalen n'goni and on vocals, and with Maré Sanogo on djembé. In the early 1970s, the Ganoua Band was appointed the third National Orchestra of Mali (Formation C). When they were left without work, Zani and his fellow band members decided to switch to a private band which they named (Super) Djata Band. It was in 1974 that they started recording for Radio Mali.

The sound of Super Djata, based on the, compared to the mellow malinke sound of for instance the Rail Band, hard hitting Bambara rhythms and melodies, is highly coloured by the outstanding guitar playing by Zani Diabaté." (Musiques-Afrique)



Friends, you can still grab the (better sounding?) mp3 version of Super Djata's Vol. 2 at the invaluable World Service music blog. And, be sure to show some love over at WS, too...Not only for showing extraordinary taste and generosity in having shared our interweb's first best rip of Vol. 2 (and more!), but also for WRLDSERV's  own heartfelt personal insights and recollections about the life & career of Zani Diabaté & co.

Huge thanks to  DJ Cuica for lending out this platter that matters.  Djata truly brought this afternoon to life back here at the homestead. Heavenly sounds.