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Psychedelic Music: I guess this is a “round-up…”
You might be wondering what I’ve been doing instead of writing up music, like I should. I mean, I should be doing this more now, right? I’ve graduated, and I’m now unemployed.
Well, I’ve been doing some research. When not reading We Never Learn, Eric Davidson’s excellent oral history of garage punk, and catching up on all the garage punk I missed out on while watching Power Rangers and being five, I’ve been getting my fix of psychedelics. And since I’ve come across such an amazing bunch of finds lately, I figured I’d fill you in on them. Not like I’ve got anything better to do, really.
Girls in the Garage, Volumes 1 - 5
Though there are ten of these Girls in the Garage compilations, I’ve only found the first five (which you can grab by following the above link). Most of the stuff on these discs is a little more doo-wop than garage scuzz, but that’s cool too. Plenty of gems on this one, but my favorite track is definitely “Those Ever-Lovin’ Baby Blues” by the Id, found on Volume 1. It’s one of those “what the hell, babe?” songs for which garage music is oh-so well-fitted, and the vocals are killer. Don’t miss it, it’s the song of every lazy, bummer summer.
Terauchi Takeshi’s Let’s Go Classics
Thanks to WFMU for this one. Terauchi Takeshi is the king of Japanese surf rock, and this record is a collection of his fuzzed-out, psychedelic surf-takes on classical music. Each is nasty, but my favorite might be “In a Persian Market,” because it’s just a bit more out-there than the rest. If you go to the above link, you can get the whole record, and then follow the trail to get another record of straight surf by Terauchi.
Kayama Yuzo’s Black Sand Beach
Speaking of Japanese surf rock royalty, Kayama Yuzo’s ”Black Sand Beach,” which appears twice on the same-titled record found above, is another surf-rock masterpiece that I can’t stand not hearing at least once a day, since stumbling across it earlier this week. You may remember Kayama from this insanely incredible video, which I posted about a year ago (if you’re some weirdo who’s been following this than for a year… do those exist?). Too bad the song from that film never made it to vinyl, or so I hear.
Love, Peace, and Poetry, Volumes 1 - 9
I fully expected a compilation called Love, Peace, and Poetry to be absolute garbage, but I was happy to find that it totally annihilates. Each volume tackles some deep psychedelic cuts from a different area of the map, including the obvious American and British psychedelic scenes, and the more interesting scenes with which you might not be familiar. My favorite comps from this set of nine were the Brazilian and Turkish ones, but they’re all definitely worth checking out. Go for it.
That’s it for now. You’ve got some work to do.
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]Datus - Tanyas
Vitiate (Limbic Systems)
Vitiate, the newest EP from Datus, is a collage of heavy textures. Electronic squeals, polyrythmic drums in which a serious Tony Allen influence can be discerned, and thick loads of fuzz all knotted together during six songs of complex noise and power. Datus previously put out three cool EP’s, each of its own sort of theme, and this time, it’s as if they’ve dropped each element that previously would have been it’s own EP into a pressure cooker, focusing and fusing these parts together to create some sort of powerful monster of sound.
High points for me included the strange beehive of tremendous noise that is “Tanyas” as well as the masterful drumming on “Cuckold.” But really, it’s one of those “you have to listen to it all the way through to get the full effect” things, so just set aside 25 minutes of yer time and kick back. Get melted. Y’know.
Pick up Vitiate when it drops July 23rd. You’ll be happy you did. And remind me to remind you about Datus’ August 2nd show in Brooklyn.
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The Melvins/Isis/Totimoshi at Webster Hall
I’ve been looking forward to seeing the Melvins and Isis in New York for months, especially once I found out Isis was breaking up and it would almost definitely be my last and only chance to see them ever, and I’ve been looking forward to seeing the Melvins perform for years. Last night, shit finally went down.
If you’re not familiar with these groups, just know that they’re two of the most legitimate heavy groups ever. As soon as I walked in, I started seeing heavy metal shirts, and I wondered how many I would have to recognize before I passed the limit of cool and went into nerd territory. I don’t know what that threshold is, but I definitely passed it after the tenth Baroness shirt I noticed from about twenty feet away. If you follow me on Twitter, you will have noticed several tweets from this show, which you’ll find updated versions of here. Sorry about the self-advertisements, but since the total number of times I’ll have made this joke now is about to skyrocket, I figured I needed to disclose everything in order to be honest with you and myself.
Normally, I’d feel like a hack about making fun of metal fans for loving Cheetos, funyons, and Dungeons and Dragons, but when the headlining guitarist looks like an anime character and the bassist dresses like fucking Aragorn, not to mention the Legion of Doom behind the dual drum sets, there’s not really that much of a choice, is there?
Anyway, here’s how the show went down. First, the opener, Totimoshi performed. They were a solid stoner metal group but … nothing really interesting happened. In general, I’d say they were a tight act, but then again, some parts of the performance were a bit muddy, so I’m not really sure what to think. Did I hear an accurate representation of the group, or not? It’s hard to say. Definitely some riffs and potential for heavy power, but I don’t know. Something seemed … missing.
After Totimoshi, the Melvins hit the stage! I was expecting Isis to be next, as they were always billed as the support act, and, honestly, the Melvins are just more important. But, I’m guessing the groups are alternating for the stint they’re doing together, which I guess makes sense, especially since, as mentioned before, Isis is breaking up. For an hour and ten minutes, the Melvins fucking jammed. They hit my favorite cuts from their two most recent records, and sampled from all over their back catalog. In general, I think having two drummers doing more or less the same thing is a dumb idea, but the Melvins knocked that idea right out of my head. Even after the immediate cool-factor of them performing these complex pieces in mirror image of each other, one being a lefty and one being a righty, they both add their own unique punch to the ensemble. Both sonically and visually, it’s a nasty combination, and I feel everyone in the room is a better person for having witnessed the performance. I could go on and on about how amazing the Melvins played last night, but why do that when I can complain?
Once the Melvins finished up their set, Isis took the stage. I was looking forward to some heavy sludge, and I was … really disappointed. I don’t blame the group for this whatsoever; the past two weeks I’ve spent listening to their discography in preparation for this gig have reminded me that these dudes know how to play. The issue, really, was the mixing. Whoever was running sound last night really seemed concerned only with one thing: the bass drum. Now, I feel I would be one of the last people to complain about drums being too loud, having spent the last seven or eight months playing drums and being told to quiet down, but goddamn, I thought my skull was going to cave in every time the kick drum sounded. And, if you know anything about Isis, you know that’s a frequent sound. Maybe I was a bit too rocked out from the Melvins, but I honestly think that this was horrible sound engineering, and, I’m sad to report that I left after ten or fifteen minutes of unfortunate sound. What the hell, Webster Hall?
In all, I’m still more than glad I saw the show; the Melvins rocked the fucking universe. Too bad Isis, on what may have been their second to last performance in New York, wasn’t given the same opportunity.
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]Mirador - In Waves
Chapel EP
Hailing from Philadelphia, Mirador is a mainly electronic musical project engineering darker pieces of audio that swirl, float, and saw through air. I choose to believe the first song on the Chapel EP is about Luigi’s Mansion, and the second song, “Trees,” doesn’t sound anything like the original Rush tune. What’s going on?
You can find the whole EP streaming here.
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]Solex vs. Cristina Martinez + Jon Spencer - R is for Ring a Ding
Amsterdam Showdown, King Street Throwdown (Bronzerat)
Maybe I’m prejudiced, but I usually don’t expect much from records where the artist includes the word “vs.” So, though I’m pretty open to whatever Jon Spencer does, I didn’t really know what to expect from this record. Turns out it’s great. Psychedelic funk, garage and electro-pop are all combined on this record to create an exceptionally cool sound. If they ever make another Jet Grind Radio game, something from this record simply has to be on the soundtrack.
The press stuff I’ve seen for this record describes it as “the most exciting collaboration/confrontation since The Jetsons meet The Flinstones,” and, actually, there’s something about that description that seems accurate to me, but I don’t know why.
The song you’ll find at the top of this post includes some hip-hopping from Mike Ladd, who makes a few cool appearances throughout the record. But the real draw is just the groove; drums, bass, fuzzy guitars, and little beeps and whistles all combine to create something ultra-hip.
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]NT - Not
DoNT (self-released)
The group recently sent me a rockin’ five-song demo, and in describing their sound, the words “heavy,” “funky,” and “post punk” were used, and that’s pretty right on. Listening to the track “Not,” I think I’d be more likely to call it “sludgy stoner grooves,” but I definitely get what they’re going for with that description. The bass has some of the best heavy fuzz tone I’ve heard in a long time. You can download or stream the full demo on their MySpace.
I think their name has something to do with Windows.
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]Billy Green - Race
Stone Original Soundtrack (Finders Keepers)
Stone, a classic Ozploitation film in the biker genre, paved the way for movies like Mad Max, but the big deal with the movie is definitely the soundtrack.
I was pretty excited to find out “electronic swamp-funk” was a thing, and if the record had been entirely fitting of that description, I would still have been thrilled with it. But you’ll find so many different styles of sound on this album, from hard psychedelic rock to experimental electronic compositions, and each of them are executed brilliantly. The extensive liner notes - which I’ve noticed is something of a calling card of Finders Keepers releases - describe the music as “the kind of soundtrack that makes you wish you could see the film but it’ll probably never happen.” I’d be willing to bet that’s right on, but the amount of information found in the booklet packaged with the CD might be more interesting than what you’d actually find on the film, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
The record opens with a dark noise experiment, “Eco Blue / Toadstrip,” an unlikely pairing of the Moog and the didgeridoo. Following that is “Race,” retaining much of the strange noise of the previous cut, but throwing an acid-funk base underneath it, creating a sweet transitional pathway from the sound effects of the opening piece into the heavy psychedelic rock of the later parts of the record.
It’s not often that I can recommend fans of Raymond Scott and Soft Machine check out the same album, but this is it. So do it already!
Stone Theatrical Trailer
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]Datus - Stavrogin
Masc, Fem, Neut (Limbic Systems)
Datus, a four-piece project based out of Brooklyn, dropped three new EP’s on WMUA this week, and since their arrival in my possession, they’ve not left my “Now Playing” list for even a second.
Each disc has its own particular feel to it. The fuzzed-out, effected basslines on ”Ipsum” and the gnarly, distorted, instrumental duet on “Stavrogin” exude the power that becomes a defining characteristic of Masc. Fem features the voices of the female members of the group prominently, and at times the EP feels almost like a lost Portishead record.
While Masc and Fem might be a bit easy to place due to their titles, Neut is a bit tougher to pin down. I think the best I can do in describing it is to tell you that it’s weirder. My favorite cut on this disc, “Ice Haven,” contains a sort of droning texture, and some crunchy sax, two things of which I’ve grown quite fond. The first two tracks are out, but the last two are much easier to handle … this one’s got range.
You can find all three EP’s streaming right at Datus’ website, so I don’t know why you’re not there right now.
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Wayne Horvitz at the Northampton Center for the Arts
A World of Piano, February 12, 2010
(photo lifted from Horvitz’ website. Hope he doesn’t mind.)
At Friday night‘s A World of Piano performance, Wayne Horvitz utilized a wide array of electronics and unusual objects in order to effect the sound of his piano, creating an interesting and unique sound from the otherwise familiar instrument.
A heavy assortment of echo, delay, and looping pedals often created atmospheric oscillations, frequently through no more than the plucking of a few strings inside the piano. The first piece of the night employed great contrast and dynamics; harsh grating sounds were left to echo, before melting away, letting the soft, cautious tiptoeing notes be set up for another attack by the previous noise, continuing a cycle of stress and momentary relaxation.
Horvitz did not rely too heavily on electronics, however, as many of the compositions were just the natural sound of the piano, like “In One Time and Another,” a piece making use of a healthy amount of dissonance, and ending with a quote of “Home, Sweet Home.”
Following this more “acoustic” piece, Horvitz performed what he called a “duet with [his] iPod,” which emitted a simple piece of percussion, allowing him to explore time in a more interesting manner than is usually available to a solo performer.
Throughout the night, Horvitz would drop several objects into the belly of the piano, like paper, his wallet, two music boxes, and a harmonica (which he also played). Some of the most interesting effects were achieved through the looping and timbre modification of these objects, particularly the music boxes.
Horvitz’ style reflected an ability to let just a few notes hang for longer than might be expected, in order to allow the full effect of the sound be absorbed. The minimalist experimentation of Horvitz is definitely something to admire, and it’s clear the man has a deep understanding of the relations one can create in sound.
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I don’t know what this is, but I like Dead Meadow, so I guess I’m down.
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