Last post of 2007

So this is it. 2007 was a pretty interesting year here. So much music that I went into overload and had to take time of from blogging, because I was listening to so much damn music. There were some really cool things happening in my little musical microcosm. Bands re-uniting, taking a stand against the RIAA, and being immortalized on the big screen. Here are a few of my highlights:



Radiohead releasing In Rainbows in a few formats was really cool. Shouting a collective "sod off!" to their long time record label, and signing with a couple of smaller indies was even cooler.

Covering Ceremony was just the icing on the cake.






Nine Inch Nails. Damn yo. Not only did we get the fantastic Year Zero, an impressive remix album that included multi-tracks for making your own remixes, but Trent found the time to produce Saul William's Niggy Tardust which benefitted from Radiohead's pay what you like scheme.

2007 also brought us announcements from two of our longest out of circulation bands that they were recording. Portishead and My Bloody Valentine are both finishing up studio albums.

Video Director Anton Corbijn brought us the biography of Ian Curtis with the critically acclaimed Control. I had high expectations for the film and was very happy that they were not just fulfilled, but it exceeded what I thought the film could be. Not really the feel good movie of the year (that honor belongs to Juno) but a film that is in my top 5 of all time.

The film which clocks in at my number 1 spot Blade Runner also had a re-release in the form of a 25th anniversary edition dubbed - The Final Cut it looks more beautiful than I ever thought possible, and it made me remember what it is I love about film all over again.

Speaking of re-releases The boys at subConscious Communications remastered some very influential albums in expanded editions this year. Download's Furnace Doubting Thomas's The Infidel and Plateau's Music for Grass Bars got the treatment, and we got to hear a new collection of Skinny Puppy outtakes, The first Download record in 5 years, and a new Tear Garden album. Great year for fans of the Puppy crew indeed!

Finally 2007 brought us the announcement that march 3rd would give us a new Autechre album.

There are so many other albums and things worth mentioning that I can't possibly give it all lip service here, suffice to say though if you are a music fan (and I would assume you are) 2007 should have given you more than a few things to peak your interest.

See ya next year!

Autechre New Album

I was a little slow on the uptake on this one but a new AE album was announced December 3rd. The 20(!) track album Quaristice will be released March 3rd on Warp.




1. Altibzz
2. The Plc
3. IO
4. Plyphon
5. Perlence
6. SonDEremawe
7. Simmm
8. Paralel Suns
9. Steels
10. Tankakern
11. Rale
12. Fol3
13. fwzE
14. 90101-51-1
15. bnc Castl
16. Theswere
17. WNSN
18. chenc9
19. Notwo
20. Outh9X

Autechre Myspace
Autechre @ Warp Records

Tor Lundvall "The Seasons Unfold" sampler

As previously reported on this blog Tor Lundvall has released (through strange fortune) a sampler that will act as a precursor to the Seasons Unfold boxset.

Each of the the four tracks are exclusive to the sampler and provide a great introduction to Tor's world of ambience. I am a very big fan of the atmosphere he creates, and it his albums should be in the collection of fan of biosphere's substrata

If you haven't places an order with Strange Fortune yet, now would be a great time to start doing so!

The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust!

I didn't quite know what to expect when i heard this album. I had heard the clips (and in fact encouraged people to download the tracks) but my cynicism kind of got the best of me. I didn't think this record could possibly be as strong as the two "leaked" tracks.

Yeah, I took a huge shot of STFU in the mouth when the album dropped. This is by far the most genre bending album I have heard in a very long time. It's (to quote the NY mag) as if "...NIN meets Gnarls Barkley meets Justice..."

All of the noise that Trent brought with Year Zero (which imho is spectacular) combined with the social consciousness of a Fear of a Black Planet era Public Enemy.

Best part about it? No RIAA. $5.00 if you want a lossless copy of the album. Free if you just want to have it at 192kbs.

I decided to try and play a track from the album last week at the local Goth night. It was Saul's cover of U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday The response? VERY favorable. (I dropped it during a post punk set that included joy division, and a little smiths new wave action. Everybody wanted to know who it was, and more importantly how to get the album.

The album is just fantastic. From the very industrial influenced Black History Month, Niggy Tardust, and the Ritual to the really modern hip hop sounds of Tr(n)igger which samples the aforementioned Public Enemy) this album breaks so many musical boundaries that one can only hope that more "producers" (and I use that term very lightly for folks who do little more than sample a hook and add some modulation) will look outside of their tunnel vision and really make the kind of record that can make an impact on more than a limited time fickle audience.

I give this album an unconditional stamp of approval and implore every who has read this entry to download the record. The most it would cost you is $5.00. You will not be disappointed. I promise.

Purchase The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust from NiggyTardustdotcom

The Sultan's Elephant

Sometimes a video and it's audio are so well meshed that the two of them embed themselves very deeply in your psyche.

Such was the case when I clicked on a bulletin a friend of mine posted to myspace this weekend. Here is is for your enjoyment:



The video was taken from a part of a show by the Royal Deluxe Theatre company called The Sultans Elephant what struck me about the video was not just it's very obvious mastery of puppetry, but the song that was used in conjunction with the video decollage by the French band Les Balayeurs du desert is so perfect that it was almost as if it was written specifically for the video. (edit- it may very well may have been. The band is apparently very closely tied to the theatre company)


download decollage from the album Jules Verne Impact

Skinny Puppy and Star Wars? !!

Welcome to today's WTF.



As if my day couldn't get any more surreal lo and behold an interview with Skinny Puppy frontman Nivek Ogre was just posted at Star Wars dot com.

Yes, you read that right. Star Wars dot com.

I kinda just feel like two of my worlds just joined in an awkward sort of way.

Joy Division "Love Will Tear us Apart"

Has been re-released as a cd single. Do you REALLY need any reason at all to purchase it other than it being available again?

No. Seriously.




It is among the most seminal singles you can own, and is a great teaser for the new re-issues from rhino

Saul Williams track "leaked"

Hmm... I wonder who could have let this one go? Nobody is naming names but if you would like to have a listen either head on over to the pirate bay or grab it here

Enjoy!

Trent Reznor and Saul Wiliams team up to bring you Niggt Tardust

It looks like TR is putting his money where his mouth is... sorta. The new Saul Williams album (which he produced) is being delivered in a Radiohead esque content delivery system. Here is Trent's letter to fans:

As many of you know, I've been working closely with Saul Williams on his new record. We've spent many hours together in hotel rooms, busses, backstages and studios around the world working on something we knew was great. This is the most involved I've been with any project outside NIN since Antichrist Superstar, and I've been impatiently waiting for the chance for you to hear it. Well... guess what?

The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! has arrived! After my own recent dealings with record labels we decided to release it directly to you. Head over to http://www.niggytardust.comfor all the details. Register now and you can download the record November 1st. Working on this project was a real pleasure. Saul was interested in breaking boundaries / crossing genres / defying expectations and we learned a great deal from one another in the process. When asked about the sound of the record, I've had to resort to "... I really don't know HOW to describe it." That's a good thing more than ever these days.

A word on the way we've chosen to release this. There are obvious similarities in how Radiohead just released their new record and the way we've chosen to. After thinking about this way too much, I feel we've improved upon their idea in a few profound ways that benefit you, the consumer. You obviously will be the judge of this in the end. One thing that IS very different in our situation is that Saul's not the household name (yet!) that Radiohead is, and that means we need your support on this more than ever. If you like what you hear, spread the word.

I hope you enjoy the music,

TR

I hopped on over to the site and was presented two choices. Pay nothing and get the album. Or I could pay $5.00 and have my choice of 192kbs or 320kbs mp3 OR a lossless FLAC version (which would require reformatting to play in iTunes or on an iPod).

So now we have somebody who is as well established of an artist as Trent Reznor helping to get a record out there for a really deserving artist. I REALLY hope more people follow suit and push this new model forward. It's the only way that artists will break free of the label system.

You can pre-order the album below. I urge you to do so.

PITTSBURGH IS GETTING CONTROL!

According to a recent announcement Control will play here beginning November 9th.

I am happier than you can imagine!

Just as a reminder

Control is now playing at select theaters in the US. If it is in your town please go see it. The better it does the larger of a snowball's chance in hell it will play in Pittsburgh.



Links: Official website

Downliners Sekt does set your own pricing for EP

HOW did I miss this?

Downliners Sekt (who I covered in my VERY FIRST BLOG POST) released a new ep IN JUNE that is using Radiohead's pay what you want model. or Radiohead is using their model...



I was a very big fan of their last release, and I would highly suggest that everybody who is reading this and is into indie electronic music to download the ep and throw a few dollars to the band.

By supporting these models it will really open up doors for other artists to do the same thing, and it will send a clear message to the RIAA that artists don't need them, but they need artists!

Happy Radiohead day!

I really can't imagine why you would want to spend any part of today reading blogs when a new Radiohead album is available for download.

So in honor of the new record this is all I am writing.

Look for a review tomorrow.


-_A

Happy he ended the slavery

Currently posted on the front page of nine inch nails dot com:


08 October 2007: Big News

Hello everyone. I've waited a LONG time to be able to make the
following announcement: as of right now Nine Inch Nails is a totally
free agent, free of any recording contract with any label. I have
been under recording contracts for 18 years and have watched the
business radically mutate from one thing to something inherently very
different and it gives me great pleasure to be able to finally have a
direct relationship with the audience as I see fit and appropriate.
Look for some announcements in the near future regarding 2008.
Exciting times, indeed.
posted by Trent Reznor at 10:45 AM.

First Radiohead and now this.

Truly shaping up to be an interesting year in the music world even with the RIAA winning a case that is nothing more than an abusive show of power

GOOD ON YOU TRENT!

Portishead album done !!

Let me repeat that for you. The Portishead album is DONE. I'll give you a moment to pick yourself up out of your chair.



This was posted October 2nd on their blog

hello we have mixed all the tracks and the whole album is shit, so were going to start all over again. ok only kidding...sorry ! its sound pretty good but we have to go back to a few things in the next few weeks though. it sound pretty different from what we have done before i dont think the fondue society will be happy oh well , like the bee joke ends....... fuk em bye geoff

This is the kind of news that really just knocks down. I could safely bet that most of the people who read this blog probably have the same love for the band that I do. Between Dummy and Portishead there are so many memories, raw emotions, lost loves and all night talks that those albums provided the soundtracks for. (not to mention countless makeouts, but I digress.)

In the 10 years since they released their last album the landscape of music has changed. I am very interested to hear if things will have gone full circle for the band with these recordings being influenced by the late period recordings of the bands that influenced them, or if we get a pure album that really makes people drop everything and listen. Not just hear, but really listen just like their last two records did.

With the amount of anticipation that is built up around this record it may not ever live up to any expectations, but after a decade of being MIA there are so many people that are excited just to have them back that it may not matter what the album sounds like, but that Portishead have finally come back.

New Limited Edition cd by Phil Western of Download/Plateau

There are way to many music related things for me to play catch up on, and they keep coming.

This was posted a bit ago by Phil Western on his Myspace blog on the 22nd of September:

I will be releasing a limited edition CD of 10 new songs on a release scheduled for October. The cd will be limited to 250 numbered copies and will be a joint Record Company/DHsound release. I will be taking preorders through here, and also through paypal for early birds (15 dollars, musicatdhsound@paypal.com)

tracklisting so far (three songs still in production)

electric death
crackheads
stalker
where
san julian
no to gladys
ja bay (original mix)
creeper tech
thieves suffer


Pretty cool, no? This was a busy year for Phil with the first new download and plateau recordings since the early 2000's. I can't wait to get the disc!

Be on the lookout for an email interview with Phil soon.

Tor Lundvall Sampler CD

Completely forgot to post this! Considering Empty City was the whole reason I started the blog in the first place!

Tor Lundvall Sampler CD Available the 1st of Autumn 2007



A surprise underground success of the last year has been the evocative "ghost ambient" music of Tor Lundvall, his _Empty City_ album (2006) attracting his widest and most enthusiastic attention to date.

Tor has lately been written up by magazines from Terrascope to Terrorizer, and his music has been heard nationally on NPR radio stations on the "Echoes" and "Hearts of Space" radio programs.

While for many listeners _Empty City_ came as a first glimpse of Tor Lundvall's distinctive world, his unmistakable ambient soundscape craft happens to stretch back a few years.

Following the buzz of _Empty City_, Tor Lundvall and Strange Fortune have decided to make available a special sampler CD that offers a taste of some of Tor's most delicious tracks from his earlier years.

The new sampler CD is called Tor Lundvall's _The Seasons Unfold Sampler_, and it takes the listener on a journey through four seasons of deep and hazy, reverb-loaded "ghost ambient" sonics.

Tor Lundvall's _The Seasons Unfold Sampler_ is offered free to Strange Fortune customers placing orders at strangefortune.com, starting the first day of Autumn (September 23rd, 2007) and lasting until supplies run out.

Tor's next major release in the works is a deluxe box set to be entitled _The Seasons Unfold_ (release date TBA), that will present his first four ambient solo albums together in one package for the first time.

Now might be a great time to head on over to Strange Fortune to place an order!

NEW RADIOHEAD OCTOBER 10TH!!

Yes, you read that correctly. New Radiohead album October the 10th.



However, don't expect to be able to walk down to your local record shop to purchase the record.

It is being made in two distinct formats. Digital download and Disc box.

The digital download which will be available october 10th "consists of the new album In Rainbows . It does not include the Extra Material contained in the Disc Box. You can download the file digitally from the 10th of October 2007.

YOUR PURCHASE MAY BE SUBJECT TO A TRANSACTION FEE. THIS WILL BE SHOWN AT THE CHECKOUT."

The tracklisting is as follows:

15 STEP
BODYSNATCHERS
NUDE
WEIRD FISHES/ARPEGGI
ALL I NEED
FAUST ARP
RECKONER
HOUSE OF CARDS
JIGSAW FALLING INTO PLACE
VIDEOTAPE

How much is it for the digital download you ask? Radiohead have left it up to you to decide how much you want to pay. No joke. At checkout you are asked to put in a price in £. No pre-set price. They are putting everybody on the honor system.

How freaking cool is that?

Well, not nearly as freaking cool as the disc box.

DISCBOX



THIS CONSISTS OF THE NEW ALBUM, IN RAINBOWS, ON CD
AND ON 2 X 12 INCH HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL RECORDS.
A SECOND, ENHANCED CD CONTAINS MORE NEW SONGS, ALONG WITH DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHS AND ARTWORK.
THE DISCBOX ALSO INCLUDES ARTWORK AND LYRIC BOOKLETS.
ALL ARE ENCASED IN A HARDBACK BOOK AND SLIPCASE.

THE ALBUM DOWNLOAD AUTOMATICALLY COMES WITH THIS PACK.
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE FILE DIGITALLY FROM THE 10TH OCTOBER 2007.

DISCBOXES ARE BEING MADE TO ORDER AND ARE PRICED AT £40.00 INCLUDING POSTAGE.
SHIPPING WILL BEGIN ON OR BEFORE 3RD DECEMBER 2007.

Along with the tracklisting as stated above the second disc with the box has the following track listing:

MK 1
DOWN IS THE NEW UP
GO SLOWLY
MK 2
LAST FLOWERS
UP ON THE LADDER
BANGERS AND MASH
4 MINUTE WARNING

I just pre-ordered the box. December the 3rd cannot come soon enough.

So how do you get yours?

Easy. Head on over to the In Rainbows site and place your order.

I got an email confirmation almost immediately. This is the best news I have heard all week!

Ok, quit reading and start pre-ordering!!

My Bloody Valentine at Coachella 08?!!

I know better than to believe Coachella rumors, but this one really peaked my interest.



Can it be true? After all of these years of obsession, and talk and whispers can MBV FINALLY be reuniting? The band that rightfully lands on most top albums of the 90's list may finally be playing a show.

I'm speechless.

I don't remember my life before Loveless. The only other band that holds that same esteem for me is Skinny Puppy. Thinking back to the first time I heard Only Shallow I know my life was forever changed.

Bands won't be announced until January, however that hope will get me through these next few months. Even if the show doesn't happen something is brewing in the MBV camp right now as evidenced by a new official myspace page, along with a new domain . Who knows? Maybe it will actaully happen, and I can cross them of of my list of bands I wish I had seen.

Have a great weekend everybody, and do yourselves a favor and give loveless a spin.

Blade Runner: The Final Cut trailer

Ok, do I REALLY need to say anything about this? Really?

I have a feeling if you are reading this blog you have heard of this film, probable have seen it more than once, maybe even had a domain name connected to it at one time.

What ever your connection to this film, you are going to be excited to learn that Ridley Scott's definitive cut of his OTHER sci-fi masterpiece (Alien anybody?) will be released THIS FALL.

How about I stop typing, and you start watching?

Skinny Puppy Cleveland Ohio June 3 2007

Hello everybody!

I know it has been far too long since I have updated. I have started a new photo blog project, and to be honest it has taken up way too much of my time. That being said however, I have had the time to really think about what I want to post, and I have some really cool stuff coming up here on radio2019.

Today though I would like to share the entry from my photo blog. It's no small secret that I have love for a little electronic band from Vancouver, and I had an opportunity to shoot some pictures of them at the recent Cleveland, OH show.

Atrocity Exhibition: Skinny Puppy 6/3/07

Enjoy, and look for some more regular updates starting next week!

What more can be said?

Does there need to be a long daitribe about Star Wars and it's impact on film, culture, spiritualty, etc?

My childhood would have ben vastly different with out it. I would be vastly different with out it. So, thank you George for not just giving me an amazing movie, but for providing the fist step into a larger world.

(I should like to point out that I am jealous of my friend Christine who shares the same birthday! HAPPY BD CHRISTINE!!)

I'll get back to music blogging next week. For today though, why not take a trip to a world from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Control

I've been looking forward to the the Ian Curtis biopic since it was first announced. Just a few days ago I came across 2 things that made it even more exciting.

1. The poster



2. A small version of the trailer via some hot YouTube action (with French subs no less!)



There was a fairly blah writeup on Screenhead about the movie.

It receives a standing ovation at Cannes and this cat was all kinds of Negative Nelly about it.

F'n goths. I tell ya.

I hope I can find a better version of the trailer soon.

Barron Storey Life After Black

Who is Barron Storey you ask? Simple put, he is one of the most influential illustrators of our time. His work has graced the covers of Time Magazine , he did the first official rendering of the Space Shuttle for NASA, and his classes at The Academy of Art in San Francisco have turned out hundreds of illustrators who understand the true nature of being an "artist".

My first introduction to Storey's work was through his 1996 Watch Annual in 1996. I can vividly remember seeing it in a comic shop in PIttsburgh on my first trip there. At the time I was (and still am) quite the Dave McKean junkie, and when I saw his name on the cover I had to grab it right away. I not only blown away by Storey's art, but amazed by the obvious influence it had on McKean.

That one book became a huge turning point for me in the way I created art. I knew of his now legendary Marat/Sade Journal that was printed in 1993 (and out of print almost immediately) but could not get my hands on it for quite a few years. My mom happened upon a copy and gave it to me as a Christmas gift in 2003. It is one of the most treasured books in my collection, and I only take it out on a rare occasion to share with a friend, or to remind me what it is to be an artist.

I learned earlier this year from a blog entry on Neil Gaiman's page that there was going to be a NEW journal by Barron Storey. I was so excited I do believe my head almost exploded.

I took a look at the quite spectacular Graphic Novel Art Blog that was written by the gentleman that was publishing the new journal. The older entries were glimpses into the art, and publishing of the book. The art was simply phenomenal, and I placed an immediate pre-order for the book. I watch with anticipation as the days became closer to publication, and witnessed the cover being made, and the final inspection. It was making me giddy as if I was a child who somehow happened upon Santa's workshop, and saw my gifts being made.

The journal arrived just a couple of days ago, and I must say that it far exceeded my expectations. If you are a comic fan, art lover, an artist yourself I cannot stress how much you will love this book. It needs to be in your collection, and studied ,and appreciated and talked about. The standard edition of the journal is $49.00 and is available now. There are even talks of re-printing the Marat/Sade Journals which means an entire new generation of artists can have the book, and not worry about having to pay in excess of $150.00 for it!







Enjoy, and by all means tell your friends about this amazing work!

Walk in Silence

I had considered a woefully out of print Friday for today, however instead I would really like to dedicate today to the memory of Ian Curtis. It was 27 years to the day today that he was found hanged in his Macclesfield apartment on the eve of what would have been Joy Division's first American tour.



The haunted lyrics that Ian wrote in the last few months of his life seemed to echo his understanding that his life was to be cut short, if not by the health problems that plagued him, then the stress of balancing family life, and the tempestuous affair he was having with a Belgian journalist. This along with his already crippling depression made death seem like the only solution.

I write this today, and think about the influence Joy Division has had on countless scores of musicians, artists, writers and most importantly fans. I ask that any readers of this blog take a moment to reflect on not only on Ian and the legacy he left behind, but life, and how precious it really is. I'll leave you with the lyrics to Digital. It was the last song preformed by Joy Division on May 2, 1980.

Feel it closing in,
Feel it closing in,
The fear of whom I call,
Every time I call
I feel it closing in,
I feel it closing in,
Day in, day out,
Day in, day out...

I feel it closing in,
As patterns seem to form.
I feel it cold and warm.
The shadows start to fall.
I feel it closing in,
I feel it closing in,
Day in, day out,
Day in, day out...

I'd have the world around,
To see just whatever happens,
Stood by the door alone,
And then it's fade away,
I see you fade away.
Don't ever fade away.
I need you here today.
Don't ever fade away.
Don't ever fade away...




Ian Kevin Curtis July 15, 1956- May 18, 1980

Silicon Scally "bioroid", Snoweffect "Rustic Physiocrat" and Small Fish Records BIG sale

A friend of mine tipped me off about Silicon Scally due to it's haujobbish feel. He was right. Before you ask me why I might be talking about something like this. Besides my fetish for really good industrial (and not much in recent memory falls under that category) I really dig on the style 'jobb has on most of it's records.

Bioroid is everything GREAT about haujobb minus any industrial trappings. Intricate programming? Check. Complex melodic structures. Check. Dance music that isn't just a simple 4 on the floor beat accompanied by arpeggiated keys and bad vox? HUGE CHECK. It's undeniably funky and I have a feeling it is going to be played at both of the nights I dj

This album really would appeal to fans of not only the aforementioned haujobb, but also to fans of early Autechre, Gridlock, Funkstorung, or Lassigue Bendthaus (think pop artificaille minus vox though not as glitchy)

This cd succeeds because it is not only a compelling listen, but is begging to take over the dance floors.

The mastermind behind the project Carl Finlow has been tearing up dancefloors with his other projects Random Factor, Voicestealer, IL-EC-TRO, Circle City and merits further investigation. (according his bio on the Haywire site he " is more influenced by classic artists rather than contemporary that he sets his standards so high. He cites Tomita, The White Noise, Yello, Prince, and Depeche Mode before going further back in time to experimental godfathers Stockhausen, Varese and Raymond Scott as his source of inspiration.") You had me at Tomita.

download Population III

download Encapsulate.m4a




Had I not benifited from the kindness of an ebay seller I would not have discovered this Japanese band.

Snoweffect is a 3 piece laptop band, comprised of Takafumi Ishikawa (who engineers the recordings), Masaaki Takemura (who is a well known guitarist from Kyoto), and KenIchiro Hoshi (a well known fixture in the techno/ambient scene in Japan)
and produce instrumental glitch pop from the Oval school of thought. The pieces are really compelling and quite complex with out being strictly academic. I am quite a fan of the way they craft the skips and glitch and make it fun and interesting to listen to. Still probably not your mom's glitch pop (or your significant other that hates those cds that sound broken for that matter) Sadly there is very little information about the project available in English so I am going to contact the label for a little more info (and perhaps an email interview)

Until I hear back enjoy two tracks from Rustic Physiocrat

download PS2 - Powdery Snow

download Physiotronica

Finally, my favorite (virtural) record shop in London is having a HUGE sale.



Head on over to the Small Fish site you will see that they are running a fairly unique sale- any cd released before January 1, 2006 is 50% off. How cool is that?

Now might be the time to catch up on some of those back catalogue titles, no? As it is you should know this shop. They introduced me to more music in one trip to the shop than any other shop I have been to!

Small Fish Blog
Small Fish Myspace

I'm going to try to do one more post tomorrow, and then it's woefully out of print Friday (already!)

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 I decided indulge my shoegazer fetish and talk about an unsung Band from Boston called Drop Nineteens and their album Delaware.



1992 was the year My Blood Valentine dropped Loveless on an unsuspecting world, and the waves could be heard everywhere. Many people were already proclaiming it to the the greatest album in the history of albums (just as many were saying it was crap) and dozens of bands "influenced" by the band were releasing records to it's coat tails.

The Drop NIneteens were different though. They didn't just make a copycat record, but rather expanded on the ideas, and really made it into something uniquely their own. The band charted in the UK's Indie and charts, but sadly did not make nearly as much of a splash here in the states as they were lost in the buzz created by their (very overrated, and derivative ) labelmates The Smashing Pumpkins. Delaware was an impressive debut that should have made much more of a splash here in the US, but sadly other than college radio made little more than a ripple.

The band broke up due to artistic differences in 1995 having recorded only one other full length album National Coma in 1993.

I have included the tittle track, and their cover of Madonna's Angel for your weekend musical enjoyment. Enjoy, and try to track the album down. You won't be disappointed!

download Delaware

download Angel

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 a cd that was my introduction to dark electronic music outside of movie scores (though it was a rejected score it's self) I"m referring to Coil's Unreleased Themes for Hellrasier



It was 1987 that Clive Barker released Hellraiser on a very unsuspecting audience. The blood, sadomasochism, sexual imagery- and that was just in the first 5 minutes- left quite an impression on this particular kid (enough that I can VIVIDLY remember my very first issue of Fangoria magazine with a Hellraiser cover story) enough so that I sought it out on VHS and got to see it that same summer. I loved the movie. It was in a word AWESOME.

Rumors started to float around about an alternative soundtrack for the film. This peaked my interest because I knew how much of an important role music played in the film, and I could not imagine what this other score could have possibly sounded like. I just knew if was from some band called Coil.

Little did I know that Coil had been making some of the most influential experimental and f'n DARK electronic music since the early 80's. (Give me a break. I grew up in rural Ohio) I spent a good amount of time trying to track the cd down. It was through an ad in Thrasher that I found the record- well the cd. How could I possibly turn down an album that was given this endorsement "The only group I've heard on disc, whose records I've taken off because they made my bowels churn." - Clive Barker, Director of Hellraiser.

I was not at all disappointed. That cd opened up a whole world of music to me, and provided some of my favorite remixes of all time (Gave Up on nine in nail's Fixed EP comes to mind) However that being said nothing will ever compare to the first time I heard the Hellraiser EP and how it pretty much changed EVERYTHING for me.

The songs are available on the Unnatural History II comp, but that 6 track EP is one of my favorite 17 minutes of music, and I hope that a few of you can track it down and listen to in the way it was intended. Lights off, candles lit, and playing with a curious puzzle box.

download The Hellbound Heart
download Box Theme

Coil page at brainwashed
Threshold House for all of your Coil needs

Happy NIN day!

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few months, you probably know that the new Nine Inch Nails record Year Zero is out today.



Year Zero is a concept album based on an entirely plausible future where the United States Bureau of Morality is the high law of the land, and listening to a "subversive" album like this could land you in some serious shiznat. More over the US in entranced by what is being called "The Presence" (which could be nothing more than drug influenced hysteria) and brandishing bibles like they are going out of style...

What intrigued me most about this album was not just its concept, but the way that the concept was carried out from start to finish.

It all began innocently enough with some diligent fans decoding a url on a shirt (!!) that lead them to iamtryingtobelieve.com

The weirdness didn't end there several songs were leaked via usb drives left in restrooms at shows, and more websites started to emerge. All of these sites pointed to more bits of info about this distopian future...

All of it leads to the release of the album, and the very scary world that Trent Reznor has constructed.

In the next couple of days I will try to post a few of blogs about some of this. For now I'm doing what the rest of you should be doing...

Listening to Year Zero and trying to make sense of it all...

One more non-music related post for today

I just discovered Audrey Kawasaki's artwork via boing boing earlier today.



I am completely drawn into the subjects of the paintings. The melancholy I see in their eyes makes me want to sit down with a cup of tea and just listen- the stories they have of what that brought them to that moment must be fascinating.



I have not been as drawn to a piece of art since I first saw the works of Dave McKean years and years ago. (Though his work touched me on a different level.)

I highly recommend you take a long look at the work on her site. I cannot imagine any reader of this blog not falling in love the same way I have.

It's been a while since I posted a mashup

This one however, is not music. It's video. Robocop VS The Terminator.



My inner cyberpunk just made a very Quagmire GIGGITY GIGGITY GIGGITY GOO!!!

Enjoy! And be on the lookout for Worfully out of Print Friday!

PS I updated my links. Check out the things I check all of the time.

Monday post just because...

Ok, so just a few things.

First of all The Field.



All of the hype? Totally worth it. Holy crap. This came out of left umm...fie...erm you get the point. Minimal techno at it's most interesting. With the copious amount of microhouse I've been listening to this really hits the spot. I can't believe how much I like this record, and the more I listen to it, the better it becomes. You can bet your bottom dollar that there will be a track or two from it played at the first week of Halcyon here in Pittsburgh.

To wet your appetites you can download the track over the ice here.

In a non-music related post I'd like to point you in the direction of the website for Chanwook Park's new film I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK.



Who is Chanwook Park you ask? The Director of the spectacular revenge trilogy (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, Lady Vengeance) which are 3 of the most amazing films in recent years. This film focuses on Cha Young-goon (played by Su-jeong Lim) who is committed to a mental institution, because she thinks she is a cyborg. She finds love with a quirky patient named Rain (Park Il-sun) who thinks he can steal people's souls. The movie looks like it is going to be nothing short of amazing. The website is set up like a virtual pop-up book, and is just really cool. (be sure to let each page load!)

Finally, I wanted to thank all of my readers for coming back, and sending emails. It's cool that I'm reaching as many people as I am!

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 one that was a bit of personal frustration for me. I was getting some music ready for a new downtempo night here in Pittsburgh, and I noticed that this cd was missing. So I hopped over to Emusic. NOPE. iTunes... Same thing. I even tried to find a Torrent of it desperate to get the couple of songs I was thinking about playing. Guess what? NO TORRENT. The only mention of it in the blogosphere was one of my earlier entries! UGH. So with out further adieu I give you Welcome 4000 by For a Space.



I first heard of this little project via a remix of the haujobb track overflow in 2000. I was taken aback by the simplicity of the remix. It didn't try too hard to be something it wasn't. Naturally being the person I was I spent a chunk of time trying to track the band down. They had one album that was self released and was out of print. However, there was something new from the band coming very soon. So I just had to be patient.

My patience paid off. Welcome 4000 was released in 2001 on Daniel Meyer's (of haujobb and NEWT fame) Basic Unit label. The very first few moments of the album is that of a passing subway train, which transformed my environment into an unnamed bustling metropolis in a not too distant future. (this particular track could have easily appeared on the Fifth Element soundtrack.) The subdued click beat is a nice accompaniment to the pads that dominate the track. The simple melody keeps the flow of the song moving along. A lush song that held my interest for all of it's 7 minutes. The rest of the album was the same sort of blissed out ambient that would probably appeal to fans of Microgravity era Biosphere.

For a Space re-released their first album Secrets Behind in 2003 to the delight of fan boys everywhere. The second proper full length Civilian on a Battlefield was released in 2005. While both of these are great records, the magic of Welcome 4000 will always hold a soft spot in my heart. (though that being said... Civilian is quite spectacular, and the addition of female vocals will really appeal to some dream pop fans)


download Overflow (For a Space Remix)
download Mindtrip from the Basic Unit Productions Subunit Four comp/

For a Space home page

Something a little different for Friday

This week there will be no woefully out of print Friday.

Today I would much rather talk about an unsung (to the casual listener) hero who pioneered electronic music production. HER name was Delia Derbyshire. The name may not be familiar, but her work certainly is to any Sci-Fi geek worth their salt.




Delia joined the BBC in 1960. During that time she composed quite a bit of incidental music for radio plays and television shows.

In 1963 she was asked by composer Ron Grainer to produce the theme song for a new show on the BBC called Dr. Who. Delia as a part of the Radiophonic Workshop labored for weeks on the theme song. Her production was such a major component of the success of the theme that Grainer reportedly tried to get her a co-composer credit. Due to BBC red tape (and a slight bias against women working in productions) This was not meant to be.

To listen to the song in modern times it sounds very straight forward. However in 1963 the luxuries of multi-track recorders, and synthesizers did not exist. Each note had to be recorded to tape, and spliced together to form loops which were then syncipated and the output was then recorded into a final mix. Sound complex? Here is a short video clip (which was posted earlier this week on the excellent Create Digital Music blog) that demonstrated the process by none other than Ms. Derbyshire herself



Delia continued working in music production throughout the 60's and 70's. By the mid 70's though she was disillusioned with the future of electronic music and dropped out of the industry all together. Her interest was re-peaked in the 90's but sadly she passed away in 2001 at the age of 64.

Much of the incidental music that she produced IS woefully out of print. Some things can be found on ebay, or through vintage record shops. (several of the Avant Garde recordings she did with various groups have been re-issued ove rth eyears, but can be hard to come by) For the most part though the music is floating out there floating in the ether waiting to be heard again.

DOWNLOAD Dr. Who Extened theme


Delia Derbyshire dot org -featuring interviews, music clips and a discography

Martin's Delia Derbyshire page An audiological chronology. A conscise biography of Delia with a ton of information.

Au Revoir Simone and The Bird of New Music

So you may remember a few months ago when I went seven different kinds of ga ga over a band called Au Revoir Simone. I was kicking myself because it had I listened to a friend of mine's imbedded music on her myspace profile sooner I would have heard this great band.

Fast forward a few months. I go back to said bands myspace profile and lo and behold I find a blog post from JANUARY which tells me that their new album will be out in digital form March 5th.

Seriously. I need to do a little something about this lack of mindfulness.



This new record is a step forward in song-writing, and has a different feel to it. I stick to my original assessment- that it sounds like the LIbson sisters with synthesizers. It's there. It's delicate in it's femininity, like those characters were. However, in this case the Libson girls grew up in a later decade on a steady diet of Wes Anderson films. (that being said I would be quite surprised if we don't see the band show up on a few more soundtracks soon) There is not as much melancholy, but rather a playfulness with their emotions. (that is not to say the last album was melancholy. It's just that this cd is even less so)

It's quite hard to listen to this band with out having a smile on your face. Some people have maintained that they are a little too squeaky clean in their production, and it detracts from the overall sound. I really disagree. In a world where I can spend an afternoon listening to an album that was reconstructed from scratched up and painted cds, I like being able to celebrate a group that takes their instruments and PLAYS them. Nothing more, nothing less.

This band comes and album HIGHLY recommended. It's pop in it's purest, and a great example of the craft of song writing with no gimmicks. Just great songs. The band is probably going to be in your town very soon. (Just not if you live in PIttsburgh) I urge you to check them out. The album is available right now from both itunes and emusic

Download A Violent Yet Flammable World

Au Revoir Simone on myspace

Au Revoir Simone dot com

Wait, don't worry I've not left you again

I know, my first week back and no woefully out of print Friday. Well... right now I'm working on a pretty big post about an electronic music pioneer, and would like to get some high quality rips to share. So if you can be patient I PROMISE that you'll hear some cool stuff soon.

Speaking of cool stuff... anybody hear anything that is really striking their fancy? I'm all about microhouse and glitch (again) but I would like to know what other cats are on about these days.

Maybe in the next few days I'll post some of the tracks that keep ending up in my on the go list.

Later taters.

PS. Look for a post about Alva Noto soon...

The Return of the Revenge of the Woefully out of Print Friday (Strikes Back)

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 I'd like to dig to the early days of techno with a little record called The North Pole by Submarine by Bleep.



1990 was a year of changes in electronic music. Most notably Bel Canto founding member Geir Jenssen wanted to branch off from the band and record something new and fresh. So Bleep was born. In a 2004 email interview with The Milk Factory Geir Describes it as happening ...by accident. In the summer of 1988 I started listening to acid house and techno. The second Bel Canto album, Birds Of Passage, recorded in the summer of 1989, had some elements of this music. While recording Birds Of Passage in Brussels I also worked on my own material in a small 8-track studio nearby. This was the first time I used a sampler. This material became the Bleep album The North Pole By Submarine.

North Pole by Submarine had a club hit A Byte Of AMC but Geir lost interest the project as he wanted to avoid unwanted associations with the UK Bleep techno scene. Thus Bleep was no more. Jenssen released the first Biosphere record Microgravity in 1991. This album however stands as an interesting monument to the early workings of the man who would redefine ambient in the late 90's.

One interesting tidbit that I dug up about the record. According to legend Geir Jenssen signed to R&S the same day as the Richard James. The two met in the label's offices where Aphex admitted to listening to The North Pole By Submarine almost every day!

download A Byte of AMC
download Cycle 92

Biosphere page

Well, hello new blogger!

So, just a couple of things before I get started up again. I had mostly given up on this blog because I really thought that it had fallen on deaf ears. It wasn't that I needed validation for doing it, but if anybody had said something about the blog I would have known that people were appreciating it and the time I was putting in was totally worth it to everybody.

LIttle did I know that a BUNCH of people were reading it, AND commenting. Blogger failed to let me know that it was going on.

So I wanted to thank EVERYBODY that has taken the time to not only read, but interact with the blog. It really meant the world to me.

So, what better way to thank you than to post something supremely cool?

How about 3 members of Portishead performing a stripped down version of Only You a couple of days ago?



Apparently this gig happened out of nowhere. There was a dj gig going on, and according to this story over at PItchfork "Geoff and...Adrian Utley began to play 'Wandering Star'-- Geoff playing bass. A few bars in Geoff picked up the mike and asked 'Anyone here know how to sing?' At this point Beth walked on stage and started singing."

i've listened to this about 4 times since I found it. If the rumors are true this is going to be the year of PORTISHEAD. I cannot imagine a better way to spend 2007 than looking forward to new material by them.

Between this, the new NIN tracks that have leaked (which will get their own entry this week) AND a new Download record... it's time to dust off my blogging skillz, and get this party started again.