A little of the old catch up.

So, I kinda dropped the ball on this whole blog thing last week. Yes, life kinda got in the way, but that's no excuse.

That being the case, I'm going to try to pack as much musical info into the next week.

So, welcome back to Radio2019. You can read along with me in your book. You will know it is time to turn the page when you hear Artoo-Detoo beep like this

Lets begin now.

First order of business is The Prairie Cartel.
I got a friend request from them on myspace. I usually proceed with much trepidation with these invites, after the large amount of awful indie and electronic acts I've heard on there. (No, I'm not a snob- well ok, I sorta am, but really a few chords and some Apple Loops does not a band make.)

However, that is not the case with this Chicago based band. I was mad impressed with the sound of their project. The track Fuck Yeah that Wide reminded me very much of Land of Rape and Honey era Ministry. While other songs had a very great post punk/disco feel to it that will really appeal to fans of Bloc Party and the like. I have a feeling that the next time I dj they are going to be a big part of my arsenal!

Their myspace page has 4 songs available for download, and I encourage peeps to head on over there, and check them out!

Prairie Cartel on Myspace
Official Site

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And now for something completely different.



I should come right out and say I don't like pop music. Like not at all. It doesn't challenge the ears, nor is it up to par with the production standards that demand. Annie being the exception to the rule, but I digress.

However, my ears were given the a treat earlier in the week in the form of an IM from a friend of mine who told me I HAD to check out this band called Khoiba. Ok, now I am really particular about my music, and not to say that my friend doesn't have good taste in music, but he does legitimately like the Insane Clown Posse. Again, I proceed with caution.

I was blown away. To call Khoiba pop is a great disservice to this amazing band from The Czech Republic. Really mind blowing intricate noisy electronic pop structures with female vocals that remind most people of Bjork, but to my ears she sounds like a cross between Bjork and a much less annoying [and talented] Jewel.

I would post some mp3 love, but I have the iTunes DRM'd versions of the Album. No love I'm afraid. However there are a bunch of songs at both their myspace page, and the official site.

Who would it appeal to? Fans of Dntel, The Knife (at their noisiest), and of course Bjork. [Though I think if you played this for the average Jewel fan their heads would asplode. ;) ]

Khobia on myspace
Khobia Official Site

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[almost] Woefully out of Print Friday... erm Sunday now.

Each Friday I'm going to dig through my cd collection and talk about a cd that really should be available for purchase, but alas and alack is gone daddy gone.

This week is going to be a little different. While this album is not out of print NOW it almost was not heard by a generation of electronic musicians. That album is The Planets by Isao Tomita.



The year was 1976. (A scant two years after I was born) Japanese synthesist Isao Tomita had released several critically acclaimed electronic albums albums (including electronic interpretations of versions of Moussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition and Stravinsky's Firebird Suite) but was found him self with a legion of new fans as his version of Gustav Holst's The Planets found it's self at #67 on the Billboard pop chart at the #1 slot on the classical chart.(1)

One subset of fans that he didn't have was the estate Gustav Holst. They demanded the album be withdrawn as it was a sub-par recording, and an abomination. (The other complain from classical music purists was several of the tracks were abridged versions, which As a result the album was pulled from stores, and a generation of electronic musicians lost out on an amazing recording.

Enter the age of the Compact disc. Not Only is The Planets Available on CD, but it was given the special edition treatment with a new recording and mix in 2003!

While not everybody's cup of tea (some people find it fairly kitschy) The recordings really stand the test of time as a really cool piece of electronic music history.

Tomita official site
Tomita fan site

download Mars here

(1) interview with Tomita originally from Keyboard magazine available here

Woefully out of print Friday

Each Friday I'm going to dig through my cd collection and talk about a cd that really should be available for purchase, but alas and alack is gone daddy gone.

This week is going to be 1997's -273c by NEWT



Not content with being the current kings of the Industrial underground Daniel Meyer (of haujobb) and Andreas Meyer (of Forma Tadre) got together to do an album of progressive ambient. Interviews from that time period call NEWT "dynamic and structural elements from different sources, trying to envision our own musical conception which has to do with small and great spaces, empty rooms, electricity, flow of energy."

I found it to be an amazing soundtrack for an unmade sci-fi film. The environmental sounds of that record and it's stark isolation were touched upon in Biosphere's album Substrata from that same year, though this album suggested the reaches of a deep dark space many years from now, and not a winter tundra. While it's influences are worn almost like a badge of honor (Aphex Twin being the most obvious ) this album stands very much on it's own sounding like an alien transmission that somebody recorded and mass produced on CD.

I can't say that this album would be everybody's cup of tea, but for somebody like me it is one of the most mind-numbingly amazing record I had heard up until that time, and I will maintain that it had more influence on the current music I both listen to and produce than any other single album ever had.

The accompanying Phaseshifting EP is not to be missed either. The reconstructions of these tracks are simply amazing. (Especially the Architect mix of Abyss, and the new song Patina. Perfect for a night in an off world bar.

download Testone from -273c
download Abyss (Architect Mix) from the Phaseshifting EP (fair warning. this song is a 9 minute long beast... might want to go put on a pot of tea while it's downloading)

Planet Myer home to Haujobb, NEWT etc
Andy Maya dot com home to Forma Tadre
Amazon dot com search for -273c
273c search on Ebay

For those who know- free music

I just got an email update this morning from James Vehslage (who handles drums in For Those Who Know):

For Those Who Know is a psychedelic band from Austin, Texas, who released a self-titled EP that came out last year, and caught a lot of attention here in Texas. Comparisons have been made to the Jesus and Mary Chain, New Order, Sonic Youth, and My Bloody Valentine. You can download the entire album for free at for-those-who-know.com and at myspace.com/forthosewhoknow .
They are currently planning a tour to the East Coast for October, and on August 10th they will play their first show in California, headlining at the Silverlake Lounge with the Fleeting Joys, the Meeting Places, and Rachel Goldstar(of Experimental Aircraft).
Also, FTWK is working on a new full length record and a video with Super!Alright! for "Night At The Danceclub". Super!Alright! has done work with Single Frame, the Octopus Project, and the Black Eyed Peas.

As somebody who has just a bit of a Shoegazer fetish, this is right up my alley. I would love to see a triple bill with these cats, Asobi Seksu and Alcian Blue.

Dream pop bliss. Yum. :)

download Grow Old Together and Die
download Night at the Danceclub

For Those Who Know on the internets