http://experimedia.net/ Latest arrivals at Experimedia.net. en Copyright (c) 2013 Experimedia Ltd. Experimedia Experimedia Fri, 17 May 2013 10:20:19 -0700 Zen-Cart v. v 2.1.4 14.02.2008 15:26 RSS 2.0 Feed 1440 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8521 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8521 ]]>The idolized and enigmatic duo are back. After considerable speculation by their rabid fan base (not to mention the media following every step of the way), Boards of Canada have revealed that their new album Tomorrow's Harvest will be released on June 11 via their long time home, Warp Records. Musically, the album is somehow dark yet positive, with atmospheric dissonance and mind-bending melodic creations. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8521 Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700 warp257lp http://experimedia.net/images/warp257lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8520 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8520 ]]>*Special CD edition with 3 artcards.* The idolized and enigmatic duo are back. After considerable speculation by their rabid fan base (not to mention the media following every step of the way), Boards of Canada have revealed that their new album Tomorrow's Harvest will be released on June 11 via their long time home, Warp Records. Musically, the album is somehow dark yet positive, with atmospheric dissonance and mind-bending melodic creations. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8520 Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700 warp257cdx http://experimedia.net/images/warp257lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8519 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8519 ]]>The idolized and enigmatic duo are back. After considerable speculation by their rabid fan base (not to mention the media following every step of the way), Boards of Canada have revealed that their new album Tomorrow's Harvest will be released on June 11 via their long time home, Warp Records. Musically, the album is somehow dark yet positive, with atmospheric dissonance and mind-bending melodic creations. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8519 Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700 warp257cd http://experimedia.net/images/warp257lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8549 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8549 ]]> Field recordings of a volcano by Geir Jenssen, better known as Biosphere. Stromboli is an active volcano off the north coast of Sicily in the Mediterranean. The volcano has erupted many times and is constantly active with minor eruptions. The last major eruption was on April 13, 2009. Recorded at Stromboli's crater edge (924 m) on July 19th 2012 at 9:30 pm. Weather: gentle breeze, +15°C. Location: 38°47'33.69"N, 15°12'50.96"E. Recording equipment: Fostex FR-2LE field memory recorder, Audio-Technica AT835ST shotgun microphone, and a Canon 5D mkII SLR. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8549 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:16 -0700 tone048ep http://experimedia.net/images/tone048ep_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8548 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8548 ]]> The duo of Messages may be based in New York, but "Mirages" has a decidedly different regional point of view as the four tracks frequently delve into European electro-acoustic practices and the scales and timbres of Eastern music. Though they permeate the record, every piece begins with a tremoloed frequency that drones and soothes in all the right ways before being topped with handheld percussion, cascading guitar melodies, and sizzling electronic manipulation. It's a formula that may get old if Messages weren't so vivacious in their approach, allowing the album to revel in warm and lively intonations. The album closes with the side-long "Magaraga," a decidedly darker take on what came before it, but linked in its ritualistic and worldly approach to drone. – Ryan Potts, Experimedia Primordial moves and stone cold drones from this New York duo of Taketo Shimada and Tres Warren (Sacred Bones Records). Save for a small long-gone edition of CD-Rs, Mirage is the third full-length release by Messages, recorded in 2008 before their first two albums and has remained unreleased until now. This record documents the duo's earliest long-form drone explorations and intonations, most of which were recorded during long sessions in Tres' basement bunker in the East Village. Mixing orbits of homemade acoustic instruments, electric drones and percussion, Mirage is a humid transmission sent straight from the womb. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8548 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:15 -0700 rs095lp http://experimedia.net/images/rs095lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8547 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8547 ]]> Miles' returns with a half-hour EP of new material more squarely aimed at the floor with four darkened, robust variants. "Blatant Statement" slowly emerges from a rough alignment of metallic percussion and abrasive stabs you'd most likely associate with Vatican Shadow, before super-warm bass stabs shifts the perspective. "Technocracy" delivers an oozing house deconstruction, while "Infinite Jest" revolves around an industrial cacophony somewhere between technofied Pete Swanson and a sweaty Kassem Mosse. "Plutocracy" is a bleached-out warehouse chug surrounded by a submerged choral arrangement. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8547 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:14 -0700 love084ep http://experimedia.net/images/love084ep_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8545 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8545 ]]> The medium of 1/4" tape has been romanticized in recent years as our world tumbles further into a predominately digital interface, but sometimes it is absolutely necessary to capture an idea and broadcast intent. Dylan Ethier's new self released cassette "Nightly Exchange" illuminates such an idea with a real time collage of worn and saturated tape that was then looped, delayed, and spliced between three other tape machines. Even at just 20 minutes "Nightly Exchange" is an overwhelming work of sound, structure, and chaos that veers from obliquely alien to weirdly melodic every few seconds. Its most apt comparison may be Keith Fullerton Whitman's "Generator" pieces since both feature endless permutations of sharp, staccato blips of sound, fuzz, and rhythm that pop up and recede without warning. – Ryan Potts, Experimedia Tape reconstruction of saturated analogue electronic patterns focusing, through fragmentation, on the exchange between lucidity and loss. recorded september 2011- february 2012 in nashville, tennessee. edition of 100. includes high fidelity download. An alternate version of nightly exchange was presented as an interactive installation on march 9, 2012 in nashville, tn in collaboration with the exhibition titled nest curated by molly lahym. the installation involved real time collaging of deteriorating 1/4" tape recordings. these recordings were then looped / manipulated between three tape machines at various speeds which additionally subtly triggered synthesized video projections. presented inside a structure of black fabric and wood, exhibitors were free to further manipulate the audio / visual content. the intent here was in utilizing found materials in the process of constructing a creative and meditative environment. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8545 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:13 -0700 dylannightly http://experimedia.net/images/dylannightly.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8546 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8546 ]]> From Fluid Audio, the UK stalwarts of all things instrumental and somber, comes a trademark release that encapsulates many facets of their distinct style. With his debut as My Home, Sinking, Enrico Coniglio charts a course of windswept atmospherics and an unlikely post-rock feel that does away with the genre's often trite structures for something lively and altogether enthralling. The self titled album is diverse and emotive at nearly every turn, from the slow motion guitar reverie of "The Void" to the dousing of distortion on "Descending" to the downcast chamber-pop that places the vocal layerings of Laura Sheeran and Marc Aubele front and center on "The Body Tired Pt 1." The exquisite CD comes with a letter pressed cover, photography booklet by Giacomo Vianello, archival paper, and pressed lavender. As it should be, the package it comes in is as lovingly crafted as the music it holds. – Ryan Potts, Experimedia Here is something slow, pastel and elemental, in concert with the haze of early spring. Enrico Coniglio–recording as My Home, Sinking–offers his finespun debut with contributions from Katie English, Barbara De Dominicis, Laura Sheeran, Orla Wren, and others. The joined arsenal boasts acoustic instrumentation as well as synthesizer, manipulations and field recordings. Here guitar, cello, piano, harmonica, melodica, percussion and voice ring alongside Korg Monotron, Orla Wren's processing, and Coniglio's vinyls. Tracks range from glowing string examinations to humming whitewashes, from vocal reveries to textured pop allure. Listeners may already be familiar with the guitar reverberations of opening track "The Void," which was originally released on the Wire Tapper CD #26, in August 2011. Remaining tracks are previously unreleased, yet still beckon like old companions. "Touching the Void" regales with De Dominicis' surreal choir of one, the coquettish spoken word as lovely as her ravishing vibrato. "Skyline Obscured" tenders the gentle optic brume of ambient–that one kind of visual pollution worth hoping for. Keeping with the subject of horizons, "Sunset Eyed" sets electronic pinpricks against De Dominicis' tender dexterity, English's hopeful pizzicato, and the composite thud of percussion. Elsewhere "Fading to White" floats above a simple, unadorned guitar lick, weightless with Sheeran's savory vocals and the untethered gusts of harmonica. Sheeran also delivers a humming, layered performance on "The Body Tired," a languid, guitar-driven beauty which simply mesmerizes. With this tender and crafted release, Coniglio has announced a new direction, and a number of Fluid Audio alumni have headed there with him. Perhaps we are all at risk of sinking in. Presented in four panel letter pressed covers with belly band, twelve page (recycled paper) photographic book by Giacomo Vianello, five bespoke prints on heavy card stock wrapped in archival paper, pressed lavender… All wrapped in luxury papered lyric sheets and sealed. The whole thing then rests inside hand typed/numbered envelopes. Two hundred and fifty copies for the world! ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8546 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:13 -0700 fa015cd http://experimedia.net/images/fa015cd.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8544 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8544 ]]> Metro Detroit frisky/risky dreamer DJ Coyote Clean Up serves up a heart n' hardbody emotional saga with 2 Hot 2 Wait, his deep-debut freaky full-length on 100% Silk. Hot-under-the-collar horniness (a woman simply counts to three on "Zebra Go Seek" and you start to undress), headphone-house grain (the fuzzy gut-bump on "The Least U Could Feel" is like warm breath whispering in your ear), skrewed RnB Freestyle strip-hop (stuttery layers give hopeful, life-affirming energy to the lover-lost "Awesome Luv") and out-of-time mash-ups ("Double Dip" is a memory overlapping, with a classic '95 dial-tone under and over contempo EDM knob-twists) blend blissfully, fashioning a sentimental journey through a sex-love-loss odyssey. 2 Hot 2 Wait is a sensua-stellar standout, beckoning, daring, colorful and celebratory in its exhibitionism and lust. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8544 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:12 -0700 silk044lp http://experimedia.net/images/silk044lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8543 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8543 ]]>Sophistication and elegance have not always been the strobe light honey for die-hard divers into the Dance genre, but it's been Octo Octa's strongest suit since his 2011 debut 12" on 100% Silk, and here again are those initial ideas of identity and hunger for intimacy all leading to an adrift, uneasy feeling, only they've materialized into that instantly recognizable, authentic OO sound. Promising was an early word used to describe the thoughtful, dedicated producer (who records in a cramped corner of a kitchen in a cramped corner of Brooklyn), and our anticipations were justified; Between Two Selves has a facile sensuality – the reclining nude of Octo's Blue Period – with more room to breathe or sigh, and the sort of anthemic samplics handily summed up with a single coaxing call ("I want you," "I don't want you to go," "All his kisses taste sweet"). Focusing on fewer elements manipulated, pitched and played with over the course of more extended, abstracted compositions, Octo Octa has become one of the prophetic personifiers of regal melancholy in electronic music, along with James Blake and King Midas Sound. Homoeroticism and homosentimentality, urge and satisfication, celebration and celibacy lay languidly across Between Two Selves, a lofty, soulful statement that Silk is blessed to release on the world. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8543 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:12 -0700 silk046lp http://experimedia.net/images/silk046lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8542 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8542 ]]>Sophistication and elegance have not always been the strobe light honey for die-hard divers into the Dance genre, but it's been Octo Octa's strongest suit since his 2011 debut 12" on 100% Silk, and here again are those initial ideas of identity and hunger for intimacy all leading to an adrift, uneasy feeling, only they've materialized into that instantly recognizable, authentic OO sound. Promising was an early word used to describe the thoughtful, dedicated producer (who records in a cramped corner of a kitchen in a cramped corner of Brooklyn), and our anticipations were justified; Between Two Selves has a facile sensuality – the reclining nude of Octo's Blue Period – with more room to breathe or sigh, and the sort of anthemic samplics handily summed up with a single coaxing call ("I want you," "I don't want you to go," "All his kisses taste sweet"). Focusing on fewer elements manipulated, pitched and played with over the course of more extended, abstracted compositions, Octo Octa has become one of the prophetic personifiers of regal melancholy in electronic music, along with James Blake and King Midas Sound. Homoeroticism and homosentimentality, urge and satisfication, celebration and celibacy lay languidly across Between Two Selves, a lofty, soulful statement that Silk is blessed to release on the world. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8542 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:11 -0700 silk046cd http://experimedia.net/images/silk046lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8541 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8541 ]]>Mix Mup and Kassem Mosse. Six track mini LP on The Trilogy Tapes. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8541 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:10 -0700 trilogy003ep http://experimedia.net/images/trilogy003ep_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8540 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8540 ]]>Transmuteo is the project of Jonathan Dean and a revolving group of collaborators, both musical and visual. The project encompasses audio, video, digital art, site-specific installation art, radio broadcasts, live performance, and experimental social networking. Jonathan shows us where we need to go next. Ultra-soothing transmissions from the crystal dome by the mysterious New Orleans based Atlantean being. Pure, beautiful, and raw -- the new age. You know you're in for a journey of self-discovery. Artwork by Jonathan Dean. Mastered by Jonathan Dean. Pressed at Handle With Care, Berlin. Limited edition of 200 copies. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8540 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:10 -0700 zorn030lp http://experimedia.net/images/zorn030lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8538 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8538 ]]>Kudos to Lieven Martens of Dolphins Into The Future for bringing J.D. Emmanuel back into the spotlight. In 2007, Lieven dug up the masterpiece album Wizards and re-issued it on his own label. A few years later, in 2011, J.D. was asked to tour through Europe where he was accompanied by Dolphins Into The Future and Paul LaBrecque. Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, and Holland welcomed J.D. and the people attending the concerts knew they were in for an electronic blast from the past. This 2LP set covers the tour with a great deal of unreleased live tracks. The live recordings show J.D.'s phenomenal skill to create a universe of swirling and constantly turning sounds. He's up there in the big league of early electronic and new age pioneers with the likes of Iasos, Laurie Spiegel, and Trans-Millenia Consort. Some words from the man himself: "After my European tour, I decided to use the name Time Traveler to describe my music because it can put the listener into a state where time seems to disappear. This is my goal with my music, to create an altered state for expanding consciousness." With Hawaiian-inspired artwork, just like J.D.'s colorful character, and of course, his T-shirts. Includes a glossy double-sided insert. Mastered by J.D. Emmanuel. Pressed @ Handle With Care, Berlin. Limited edition of 500 copies. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8538 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:09 -0700 zorn025lp http://experimedia.net/images/zorn025lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8539 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8539 ]]>Following the much-loved Nova Scotian Arms/Motion Sickness Of Time Travel split LP on Aguirre, here's the second collaborative LP by the couple from LaGrange, Georgia. In a little over three years, the duo that comprise Quiet Evenings -- Grant and Rachel Evans -- have become two of the most prolific and active artists in the American underground. Each also has solo projects: Grant's Nova Scotian Arms and Rachel's Motion Sickness Of Time Travel. Between those as well as Quiet Evenings, they've amassed well over 50 releases for various labels in various editions. They also co-run the Hooker Vision label, clocking up a similar amount of releases for other kindred spirits. On Impressions, both sides offer super-repetitive drone-work in the highest form. Outer-space that balances a slow pace with an incredibly intense inertia to evolve immediately, yet gracefully. With minimal instrumentation of guitars and synthesizers, the pieces on Impressions captivate the listener into the world they've created. Far from the realm of pure ambient drift, subtle forces build within their disarming restraint and provide a stunning balance between light and shade. Quiet Evenings inhabit a ghostly space of unique elegance. This is a duo that can carry their craft well beyond standard shapes. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8539 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:09 -0700 zorn026lp http://experimedia.net/images/zorn026lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8537 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8537 ]]> Not Waving --> REMOTE VIEWING --> EXTRA- SENSORY PERCEPTION --> SENSING WITH MIND --> REMOTE LISTENING --> "I want to give a sound to places I don't know." throbbing//textural// noise//processed// casualties// mistakes//accidents// anxiety//claustrophobia// abandon//absention// escapism. Inspired by '80s weird Italian electronica, Manuel Göttsching, Peter Baumann, This Heat, Ike Yard. "Remote Viewing" is a powerful, paranormal technique developed in the 1970s at Stanford Research Institute and used by the U.S. government. analog pedals//synths//drum machine//guitar//violin//voice. Written, produced and recorded between September and December 2012 in London. Limited edition transparent vinyl of 300 copies only. Mastered by Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3) at New Atlantis Studios. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8537 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:08 -0700 elp001lp http://experimedia.net/images/elp001lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8536 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8536 ]]> Part of Julia Holter's "Phonetic Translations" series, in which she interprets global kitsch music by translating foreign word-sounds into surreal poetry in her native tongue, English. Features side-by-side lyrics in the original Russian, and in Holter's phonetically-translated English, both printed on the vinyl's inner-sleeve. Side B holds a Roxy Music tune covered back in 2009 on KDVS radio. Includes a download code to redeem for the entire KDVS radio set in 24bit and mp3 formats. Comes on deep purple vinyl with ivory inlay. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8536 Thu, 16 May 2013 12:47:38 -0700 hemk020ep http://experimedia.net/images/hemk020ep_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8535 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8535 ]]> "Aquarium Eyes" proves to be an apt descriptor of Ritornell's sophomore album: much like hundreds of fish swimming on the other side of glass, the album is a challenge for your ears to take in the multitude of swarming sounds, lush layers, and startling depths. The Austrian duo of Richard Eigner and Roman Gerold carve out a loose and jazz-like approach to instrumentation, which makes their careful and deliberate compositions even more impressive. A bevy of acoustic instruments – piano, strings, accordion, organs, bass, and about a dozen different bells – are fed through a variety of digital manipulations that stutter and palpitate in colorful ways. All of the tracks stay in the three or four minute range, and no matter how abstract or obtuse they seem to get the duo always brings that back to accessibility with the help of Vienna based vocalist Mimu. – Ryan Potts, Experimedia Aquarium Eyes is the second album by the Austrian duo, Ritornell. Their debut, Golden Solitude, was released in 2009 on Karaoke Kalk. Acoustic and electronic sounds merge on Aquarium Eyes. Paying great attention to detail, Ritornell recorded at various locations (the studio of Patrick Pulsinger being one of them). The results are gently woven into their very own world of sound. Defamiliarized by subtle electronic manipulation, instruments such as piano, double bass, vibraphone, kalimba, and accordion develop a surprising life of their own, only to be consequently swallowed up by the hissing and buzzing of electronic devices. Gleaming, multi-layered electroacoustic drones, isolated organic sounds, and sophisticated textures complete the intricate arrangements. On Aquarium Eyes, Ritornell tackle the art of songwriting for the first time: Vienna-based vocalist Mimu sings, whispers, and sighs golden threads through some of the fragile sound structures that Gerold and Eigner assembled with intuition. The duo also collaborated with vocal artist Didi Bruckmayer on the track "Tremble." "Music Box" is a conceptual piece: under the direction of Richard Eigner, 20 people simultaneously turn the levers of their music boxes: melodies of musical history blend into a sparkling confusion of sound. With their interpretation of Roxy Music's "In Every Dream Home a Heartache," Ritornell give it a twist: the guitars from the original have been replaced by a string trio. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8535 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:07 -0700 kk071cd http://experimedia.net/images/kk071cd_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8534 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8534 ]]>Les Conversions are Jason Meagher(NNCK, K-Salvatore), Pat Murano (NNCK, K-Salvatore) & David Shuford (NNCK, Rhyton) Recorded at Black Dirt Studio autumn 2012. Limited to 300 copies. Silk Screened at Bright Spot Ink. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8534 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:06 -0700 kel015lp http://experimedia.net/images/kel015lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8533 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8533 ]]> "We could talk about an improviser's ability to listen to the other players around them and how important it is to crossing the line between jamming and spontaneous composition… But instead, we should dwell for 40 minutes on the idea of a person being at the top of their game. It is not an expression used in music very much, but it applies here. A musician can have many peaks at various points in their relationship to sound. At these moments, they are masters… wizards… conjuring other worlds almost immediately. This session documents a moment when two such musicians crossed paths… " Black Dirt Studio Limited to 300 copies. Silk Screened at Bright Spot Ink. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8533 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:06 -0700 kel014lp http://experimedia.net/images/kel014lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8532 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8532 ]]> Jason Meagher( NNCK, Black Dirt Studio) and Pat Murano (NNCK, Decimus) have sporadically been releasing material as K-Salvatore since 1995. The sparse and disturbing electronics captured on this LP, their first since 2006, reflect the dark and cold of the winter's night on which they were created. Edition of 300 in jackets silk screened at Bright spot Ink. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8532 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:05 -0700 kel010lp http://experimedia.net/images/kel010lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8530 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8530 ]]>It's hard to believe it's been twelve years since Dan Snaith released his first album as Manitoba back in the spring of 2001. In fact, April 2013 marks the tenth anniversary of his breakthrough album Up in Flames, still the biggest selling album in The Leaf Label's history. To celebrate, Leaf is re-releasing his first three albums, making them available on vinyl for the first time in years. Not only that, but they're pressing 600 copies of each LP on colored vinyl, exclusively for Record Store Day 2013. All copies will also include a CD of the album. Subject to a well-documented lawsuit, Snaith was obliged to change his artist name to Caribou, which was first used for the release of 2005's The Milk of Human Kindness. Start Breaking My Heart and Up in Flames will be available for the first time under the Caribou name, with fully restored album artwork, while The Milk of Human Kindness will be an exact reproduction of the original vinyl release. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8530 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:04 -0700 bay042lp http://experimedia.net/images/bay042lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8531 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8531 ]]> "No Neck Blues Band are the last of their kind, children of a New York City that no longer exists. They've operated in the shadows of Gotham's music scene for almost 20 years—as likely to perform in art galleries as loft spaces. No Neck Blues Band are revolutionaries, carrying on the search for freedom through improvisation that began after Coltrane liberated jazz. But No Neck Blues Band don't play jazz per se, or any other known idiom for that matter. Their sound has its precedents—most notably the genre-blurring, early-‘70s work of England's Third Ear Band and German groups Exmagma and recent co-conspirators Embryo. No Neck Blues Band further those explorers' investigations of non-Western sounds by infusing them with psychedelic-rock dynamics, the tenets of minimalism and Fluxus-inspired performance. Each No Neck Blues Band record is a spontaneously composed ritual containing a variety of hard-to-pronounce acoustic instruments, unmoored percussion, guitars, keyboards and various electronics, at once familiar and exotic. While a few members have come and gone, No Neck Blues Band is Keith Connolly, Michiko, Jason Meagher, Pat Murano, David Nuss and David Shuford. No Neck Blues Band activity has been sparse in recent years since their celebrated rehearsal/performance space in Harlem, The Hint House, fell victim to gentrification. Recorded in 2009 at Faust Studios in Germany, YTIU is the avant-gang's latest offering and finds them in one of their more accessible moods. Only during the second half of Side A's Platinum Willows does the band indulge its tendency for atonality. YTIU's second side—fittingly dedicated to departed Pink Floyd member Richard Wright—is a keyboard-dominated stunner that is more Saucerful of Secrets than The Wall. Mixed by Murano and released in an edition of 300 copies (vinyl, naturally) on his own label, Kelippah, YTIU is another exceptional document by one of the most vital bands New York City has ever birthed" Jeff Conklin, East Village Radio ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8531 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:04 -0700 kel005lp http://experimedia.net/images/kel005lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8529 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8529 ]]>It's hard to believe it's been twelve years since Dan Snaith released his first album as Manitoba back in the spring of 2001. In fact, April 2013 marks the tenth anniversary of his breakthrough album Up in Flames, still the biggest selling album in The Leaf Label's history. To celebrate, Leaf is re-releasing his first three albums, making them available on vinyl for the first time in years. Not only that, but they're pressing 600 copies of each LP on colored vinyl, exclusively for Record Store Day 2013. All copies will also include a CD of the album. Subject to a well-documented lawsuit, Snaith was obliged to change his artist name to Caribou, which was first used for the release of 2005's The Milk of Human Kindness. Start Breaking My Heart and Up in Flames will be available for the first time under the Caribou name, with fully restored album artwork, while The Milk of Human Kindness will be an exact reproduction of the original vinyl release. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8529 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:03 -0700 bay016lp http://experimedia.net/images/bay016lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8528 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8528 ]]>DAN MELCHIOR's (in collaboration with his wife LETHA RODMAN) latest called The Heron (Doesn't Care When the Woman Stamps Her Boot). Dan's music continues to evolve and is very much a separate entity from some of his earlier blues based work. While most people know Dan's garage work with Billy Childish, Holly Golightly and his own band Broke Revue, this record is certainly more on the experimental side of things in terms of sound. An edition of 231 copies;. We hand cut and constructed the inner sleeve, and attached a photograph that Dan took to it. Then a window was hand cut hand in the outer jacket to reveal/frame Dan's photo. The record centers are hand stamped (with an image based on a drawing of Dan's). ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8528 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:02 -0700 la025lp http://experimedia.net/images/la025lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8527 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8527 ]]> There is a certain type of music that echoes the feeling of a dark promise. It triggers anxiety, and it is precisely this effect that makes it appealing and as fascinating as a Cronenberg film. Denseland's music oscillates precisely within this suspense. Hanno Leichtmann, Hannes Strobl, and David Moss have already released an album titled Chunk (2010). Now they bring us Like Likes Like with the Berlin label M=minimal and seek to combine everything that belongs together. Rhythmic textures, rudimentary melodies and a clear renunciation of harmonies develop into a lesson on the subject of minimalism. The songs produce a deep and chilly effect, and beyond the rhythmic structures appears David Moss' magical "sprechgesang" (a vocal technique somewhere between speaking and singing). His voice seems to whisper directly in one's ear. It creaks, it grumbles. It then expands and shapes into a sort of singing as ghostly voices breathe in the air. It is precisely this vocal that widely contributes to a feeling of discomfort on Like Likes Like. Almost all repetitive music operates on the principle of hypnosis through repetition. Sometimes a song needs a few minutes to unfold its hypnotic effect; on the contrary, Denseland needs only a few seconds. The centrifugal force in its downbeat repetitions becomes practically unavoidable. Denseland's members depict mastery in opening new frontiers, employing minimal resources with maximum efficiency. Descriptors such as "slow-motion funk" or "minimal spoken-word noise techno" do not live up to the trio's dark and energetic tracks. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8527 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:02 -0700 minimal021cd http://experimedia.net/images/minimal021cd_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8526 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8526 ]]>Formed almost 20 years ago, Evoken are one of the godfathers of epic funeral / death doom metal and among the first American bands to adopt the style, being influenced by the likes of Thergothon, Disembowelment and the early years of Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride. Between 1998 and 2007, they released four albums, all considered milestones in the genre. Now, five years since their last full-length, the band triumphantly returns with Atra Mors, their most powerful work yet. In true Evoken tradition, the album is a step forward from its predecessor, adding old school death metal elements and incorporating some of the mellowest, most searing moments in their illustrious repertoire. An atmospheric masterpiece, Atra Mors is a crowning achievement that will once again earn one of America's doom metal forefathers a rightful place on the throne. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8526 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:01 -0700 pfl100lp http://experimedia.net/images/pfl100lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8524 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8524 ]]>2013 repress. Container is a recent moniker of Nashville, Tennessee resident Ren Schofield, who has been actively shifting about the U.S. playing shows and releasing cassettes on his mysterious I Just Live Here imprint for a long while now. Known primarily for his God Willing project, a disjointed, confusing maze of crude oscillator, tape, and guitar, Ren has established himself as a staple in the East Coast underground. Here we have a new experiment in electronic beat-oriented music. This is no standard fare, however. It glows with a vision all its own, completely isolated and separate, making it difficult to place in the awkward world of the "genre." The sounds are a thick stew, congealing new ideas and naive experiments into something in the ballpark of the new super-weird Wolfgang Voigt 12"s, abstract and minimal in nature with time-stopping tendencies . Take those 12"s and send them through the garbage can, tape loop, reel-to-reel experiments of Ake Hodell's "220 Volt Buddha" or that weird track with a lawnmower by Charles Amirkhanian on the first Slowscan volume and we might be getting closer. This music, by being so unruly and defiant of any kind of trend, has created a fresh fusion we have not heard until now. "Application" introduces you to Container in the most suitable way. A confusing anti-rhythm accompanied by eerie, unidentifiable tones before a collapse of metallic drum sounds washes you out into the minimal, motorik "Protrusion." The flip takes off with intense feedback squeal and more light speed rhythm, leading into "Overflow," the album's wildest, most textural piece. "Rattler" leaves the listener absolutely baffled and flipping the record over again to try to figure it all out as this record makes no sense to anybody but its creator. The experimental nature of this album alone warrants its vinyl release; however, the fine detail and unique structures will have you waiting for the next Container 12". Mastered and cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin, July 2011. Design and layout assistance by Mike Pollard. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8524 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:00 -0700 sp007lp http://experimedia.net/images/sp007lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8525 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8525 ]]>Formed almost 20 years ago, Evoken are one of the godfathers of epic funeral / death doom metal and among the first American bands to adopt the style, being influenced by the likes of Thergothon, Disembowelment and the early years of Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride. Between 1998 and 2007, they released four albums, all considered milestones in the genre. Now, five years since their last full-length, the band triumphantly returns with Atra Mors, their most powerful work yet. In true Evoken tradition, the album is a step forward from its predecessor, adding old school death metal elements and incorporating some of the mellowest, most searing moments in their illustrious repertoire. An atmospheric masterpiece, Atra Mors is a crowning achievement that will once again earn one of America's doom metal forefathers a rightful place on the throne. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8525 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:34:00 -0700 pfl100cd http://experimedia.net/images/pfl100lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8523 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8523 ]]> LP version. Staubgold is proud to reissue the one and only solo album by Patrick Vian (Red Noise), originally released in 1976 on the Egg label. A wonderful and obscure gem of electronic music certain to please the fans of Krautrock, French '70s electronic music and kosmische musik. Patrick Vian plays Moog 2C, ARP 2600, Moog Sequencer and piano and gets help from jazz musician Mino Cinelu (who had played with the likes of Gong, Weather Report and Miles Davis) on drums and percussion. Georges Granier adds Fender Rhodes, marimba, noise and scissors. Bernard Lavialle (Ame Son) plays guitar. Together they create a unique hybrid of experimental electronic, jazz and world music. This highly original sound made Steven Stapleton include Patrick Vian on the famous Nurse With Wound list of adventurous music. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8523 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:33:59 -0700 staub126lp http://experimedia.net/images/staub126lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8522 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8522 ]]>Yeti returns with a new issue featuring great stuff like groovy posters from Christchurch, New Zealand in the ‘60s, designed by STUART PAGE of AXEMEN; a lengthy oral history of CODEINE, recent paintings by DAVIDMORENO, surrealist writer GISELE PRASSINOS, a FURSAXA interview, collages by ILYAS AHMED, comics, fiction, and a tone more. Includes a bonus 7-inch with tracks from GREAT UNWASHED, MOON DUO, TRYPES, and KAREN DALTON—none of which have been released on vinyl before. 8-inch square format, full-color wrap-around cover. 192 pages. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8522 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:33:59 -0700 yeti013bk http://experimedia.net/images/yeti013bk.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8518 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8518 ]]>"On the cover: Babble On!: In A 20-page special, Wire contributors assess and rethink the relationship between underground music and words, texst and language. Including Rob Young on songs about themselves, Ken Hollings on Cage's pulverized language, Derek Walmsley on dread talk, Alasdair Roberts on verbal jousting, Daniel Spicer on hip semantics, David Toop on Improv words and gestures, Nina Power on female machine voices, Hua Hsu on vocalese, Marcus Boon on profane rappers, Rory Gibb on Footwork's vocal science, and more. Inside this issue: Invisible Jukebox: Jaap Blonk (The Dutch vocal improviser has a glossolalia attach over The Wire's mystery record selection); Global Ear: New Castle, NSW; Cross Platform: Foghorn Requiem (In the North East of England, a trio of artists aim to harness the warning sounds of the maritime industry in an elegiac nautical soundwork); Epiphanies: (In Budapest, David Crowley tracks down a long forgotten but still mercurial Hungarian vocal aritist)." ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8518 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700 wire352 http://experimedia.net/images/wire352_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8334 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8334 ]]> Daniel Menche is never one to rest on his laurels, but with "Marriage of Metals" he may have outdone himself. The latest in a string of Menche's eMego releases, the album carries two side-long tracks of ringing feedback loops that cycle in between phrases of gamelan and their swirling harmonics. Menche was granted access to a wide array of gamelans to experiment with and though the instrument isn't usually found in Menche's distorted waves, its addition to his sound is incredibly natural, as if his noise has been waiting for it all along. Listening to each detailed component - the pulsing distortion, impossibly deep bass undercurrent, gamelan melodies - and trying to follow them through the thick web of sound is a joy in itself. Your ear gets caught up in the intoxicating sway and momentum of traditionally noise-ridden material with the clean, shimmering metallic resonance of the gamelan and, in the end, it's a hybrid that is thoroughly addicting. Highly recommended. - Ryan Potts, Experimedia In its history throughout millennia it is fair to say the Gamelan has never had an encounter quite like this. Marriage of Metals is a devastating extension of the harmonic properties found in the instruments of Indonesia. Daniel Menche was granted access to a remarkable Gamelan studio where he was given full privilege to record any and all of these rare and ancient gongs -- most notably, the gigantic "Gong Ageng," that contains the deepest of deep acoustic bass. Menche took the raw source material from this Gamelan gong session and launched into a heavily-processed yet surprisingly sympathetic 21st century take on this unique instrument. Marriage of Metals comprises two side-long works where the purity of the sound source exists amongst the entire din. Metallic rhythms bounce alongside synthetic pops swaying from reality to fantasy, from pure acoustic tonality to fuzzed-out distorted clatter. A distant feedback squall is teased amongst the foreground, creating a clamorous din. Equal parts curious, engaging, and groundbreaking. Menche, like Philip Corner before him, extends the language of the Gamelan into brave new worlds. Out of the extensive discography of Daniel Menche, Marriage of Metals stands out as his most elegant and graceful recording, yet still staying within the grit and grime of his sonic garden. This recording would not exist without the generosity of The Venerable Showers Of Beauty Gamelan ensemble, located at Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8334 Wed, 15 May 2013 14:19:32 -0700 emego174lp http://experimedia.net/images/emego174lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8516 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8516 ]]> *Follow up to 2012 ALBUM OF THE YEAR "Mil Pluton". North American Exclusive. Includes download coupon.* After melting minds (my own included) with last year's underrated gem "Mil Pluton," Èlg is back with, impressively, his best effort yet. There's always a level of pressure involved in trying to follow up something as well-received as "Mil Pluton," but it becomes obvious within the first minute of "La Chimie" opener, "Vue Neon Ouie," that all is well. Hypnotic synth swells mutate into broken, disjointed voices before the curtain is pulled back entirely, leaving a recording of someone bawling in a checkout line in its wake. I know, WHAT? Yet not only does it work, it's the perfect way to start a record as perplexing and wonderful as "La Chimie." Bizzaro-world vocals dominate the album, mixed and matched in unexpected ways. From the inflected crooning of "Grand Huit," wrapped around shredding guitar riffage and minimal synth patterns, to the Suicide-esque minimalism of album standout, "Notringo Indigo," Èlg is cutting a wide path. "De Salem" treads in haunted, soul-infused waters. Throughout, "La Chimie" is an experience that envelopes the listener, locking him or her into this strange place Èlg inhabits. For someone who has been around for quite a while, it's in the past few years that he's really found his voice. Biggest recommendation I can give. – Brad Rose, Experimedia Half of duo Opéra Mort and third of trio Reines d'Angleterre, alongside the famous Ghedalia Thazartès, Èlg is a brilliant and multi-talented musician living in Brussels. His discography is a bit of a red herring: from somptuous acid folk wanderings ("Tout Ploie" on Kraak/S.S.) to schizophrenic and incredibly creative tour-de-force ("Capitaine Présent 5" on Nashazphone) to the tangential electronic experimentations of the excellent "Mil Pluton" LP released in 2012 on Alter/Hundebiss. On "La Chimie", Èlg concocts a stunning blend of tracks that appeared initially on small-run and now out-of-print releases ("Der Prediger" CD-R on Young Girl Records and "In Coro" cassette tape on NO=FI) plus an unreleased one. This creates, like for any of his previous releases, a strange euphoria sensation. It feels like falling in a remote place of cosmos, a place of his own, where synthetic buzzings, declamations in non-identified languages, sparkles of musique concrète, electronic flare-ups and proto-industrial beats mix together in a fascinating mess, something like bodies in distress floating in the great big galactic void. Yes, "La Chimie" is as hypnotic as a weird pattern on a filipino hijab. It's now your turn to taste "La Chimie" and tickle your mind's eye. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8516 Wed, 15 May 2013 14:19:32 -0700 sdz016lp http://experimedia.net/images/sdz016lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8517 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8517 ]]> *THE DIFFICULT TO FIND 2012 ALBUM OF THE YEAR REPRESSED. Brand new 2013 album "La Chimie" also now available.* Second edition repressed on 150 gram vinyl into color reverse board jackets. Èlg is Laurent Gerard. Since 2000, Élg has made a name for himself in the experimental underground performing solo in venues across Europe and the USA and also in the trio Reines D'Angleterre with Jo Tanz and Ghédalia Tazartès. Over the years he has built a complex body of work which has been spread amongst reputable labels such as Kraak, SS, Lal Lal Lal, Taped Sounds and Nashazphone. Now, four years since his debut, Tout Ploie, Alter and Hundebiss present Mil Pluton, the second Èlg album on vinyl. In that time, Gerard has knuckled down with a bunch of new gear and built a fresh sound which is difficult to categorize but still carries many of the characteristics of his previous work. One can hear EBM-esque rhythms, scalpel-sharp musique concrète-style editing, dense layers of swampy electronics which open up the same hypnotic spirals that the Èlg of old did. Vocally, Èlg has evolved beyond conventional language and now works with an Esperanto-like form of alien linguistics to front the sonic mass. If your musical interests sit within the realm of outer limits electronics and have been drawn towards the work of Throbbing Gristle, Bernard Szajner, Coil and Tazartes, then look no further. Mil Pluton also features musical contributions from Jo Tanz, Jean-Philippe Gross, Bill Kouligas (PAN), TG Gondard and Jan Anderzen (Tomutonttu/Kemialliset Ystävät). All tracks were composed, recorded and mixed by Èlg in Brussels in 2011, then mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin in December of that same year, and pressed lovingly onto 150 gram vinyl by Alter and Hundebiss in September 2012. Edition of 300 copies, housed in an elaborate fold-out jacket. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8517 Wed, 15 May 2013 14:19:32 -0700 alt006-5lp http://experimedia.net/images/alt0065lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8356 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8356 ]]> LP version. "Following on from 2012's acclaimed Imikizushi (BT 007CD/LP), Now While It's Still Warm Let Us Pour in All the Mystery is the fourth release from the established power trio of Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke, and Oren Ambarchi, recorded in January 2012 at their yearly concert at SuperDeluxe, Tokyo. While the trio's two previous double LP releases featured sprawling, side-long performances, the music here is presented in six shorter pieces, each one displaying a different side of the trio's interactions, from holy minimalism to cave-man rock. The record begins with the trio joined by special guests Charlemagne Palestine and Eiko Ishibashi, conjuring ghostly tones from wine glasses as an accompaniment to Haino's angelic vocals. This 10-minute piece, which moves from near silence and the sound of onstage footsteps to a stunning passage of clean guitar work from Haino, is steeped in the same mysterious atmospherics as Haino's great folk-drone project, Nijumu. When Haino turns to the flute on the LP's second track, a performance that clearly demonstrates the importance of the special concept of space and silence (ma) that Haino has developed from traditional Japanese aesthetics, O'Rourke and Ambarchi transform into the delicate and probing rhythm section of a classic '70s fusion side. When the trio returns to the crushing free-rock of their last two records, O'Rourke's heavily effected bass rolling alongside Ambarchi's tumbling rhythms as Haino's guitar squeals and slashes above them, their performances display a new purposefulness and concision. Now truly operating as a band after a number of years of playing together, the pieces here feel like instant rocks songs -- O'Rourke and Ambarchi instantly locking into solid riffs over which Haino alternates between jarring no-wave chords, intense soloing and his signature vocalizations. When the trio slow down and stretch out, the rhythm section plods like an abstracted Crazy Horse on the brink of collapse, and Haino elicits long, mournful solos reminiscent of the first classic Fushitsusha double live LP. Perhaps more accessible than the trio's previous recordings because of its range and concision, Now While It's Still Warm... exudes the dark, alien quality of Haino's greatest recordings and testifies to the strength of the musical bond that has developed between these three players. --Francis Plagne, Jan 2013." Limited edition LP in a lavish gatefold with a printed inner sleeve. Design by Stephen O'Malley with high quality live shots by Ujin Matsuo and stunning artwork by Shunichiro Okada. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8356 Wed, 15 May 2013 14:19:32 -0700 bt009lp http://experimedia.net/images/bt009lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8515 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8515 ]]> *Follow up to 2011 ALBUM OF THE YEAR "Xinjiang".* His contributions to Sublime Frequencies may be more notable, but Laurent Jeanneau has steadily been raising the Kink Gong profile with a steady stream of limited LPs and self-released CD-Rs over the past several years. "Voices" focuses on the titular theme with basis of recordings made throughout Asia, but, as always, that is just the starting point for these pieces that are then edited, overlaid, and augmented by acoustic and electronic instrumentation. This gives Jeanneau the freedom to pair otherwise disjointed sounds together, including the clanging percussion and vocal incantations of "Dapcymbalwukhmu" that take on the form of a spiritual devotional before getting torn apart by a torrid electronic frequency half way through its runtime. "Voices" is both a special aural document and one of considerable compositional talents. Truly a one of a kind recording. - Ryan Potts, Experimedia Laurent Jeanneau's, aka Kink Gong's, electronic project continues on Discrepant. Since the end of the '90s, Laurent Jeanneau, also an integral Sublime Frequencies contributor, has been recording the music of mostly endangered minorities of South East Asia. Alongside his relentless pursuit of remote, exotic, and unpublished musical traditions, he also started creating electronic versions by combining raw recordings with natural sounds, archive material and electronically-treated sounds. For Voices, Laurent based his alternate re-versions around the extensive voice recordings he made on location in the southern regions of Yunnan and Guizhou in China as well as in Sapa, North Vietnam, and Phongsaly, Northern Laos. The compositions contain unedited acoustic recordings, computer modified parts, sound collages and acoustic recordings of people and instruments. All tracks were recorded on location and re-arranged by Laurent Jeanneau in Dali, China. Special vinyl one-time pressing of 300 copies mastered and cut at Dubplates + Mastering by Rashad Becker. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8515 Wed, 15 May 2013 14:19:32 -0700 crep007lp http://experimedia.net/images/crep007lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=7941 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=7941 ]]>The second ‘Deep Distance‘ full length for March here, sees a welcome return from Texan Patrick R. Park‘s ‘Kosmonaut‘ project. Having kicked off this on-off Great Pop Supplement sister label in late 2011, we're treated to another epic full length of deep spaced out zones recalling the rich ‘Cyborg-esque' tones and pulse of Schulze, Froese / Tangerine Dream and Conrad Schnitzler in tandem with latter day Kosmische heroes like Mist, Umberto and Expo 70 (whose own full length features next on the label here). The first instalment disappeared within a week of release, and subsequent killer releases on his own ‘Ethereal Mother' tapes not to mention other quick fire Deep Distance sell outs mark this one firmly down in a "snooze and lose" situation… Once again housed in a minimal single colour themed packaging design as a homage to the incredible project of private press / gallery edition Schnitzler releases from ‘73 onwards. Embossed with inserts galore and hand numbered in an edition of 300 copies. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=7941 Thu, 16 May 2013 18:28:51 -0700 dd005lp http://experimedia.net/images/dd005lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8514 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8514 ]]> *Includes download coupon.* "The Elektrik Karousel" is a pastiche of 1960s styles that never quite existed: paisley jazz and psychedelic sampling, all overturned in favor of a brand of pop song that is sourced from library music. The Focus Group, the name behind the music of Ghost Box co-manager Julian House, has kept quiet for the last several years and has not released any music since 2009's collaboration with Broadcast. "The Elektrik Karousel," however, holds even bolder combinations of sounds in their raw and alien formats, pairing playful and candy-colored material with slightly sinister and decidedly experimental intent. At an expansive 29 tracks, The Focus Group careens through multiple genres with woozy keyboard lines and grainy beats frequently giving way to sizzling guitar figures and exotically plucked string instruments. In doing so he illuminates a pop language that only very few can make sense of and portray so vividly. – Ryan Potts, Experimedia The Elektrik Karousel is the new album from The Focus Group, the alias of graphic designer and co-manager of Ghost Box records Julian House, and it"s the most sonically rich, enjoyable and psychedelic so far. It"s an evolution of the Cut-Up experiments of the earlier albums where House developed a musical style that mirrored his collaged design work. House's graphics are familiar to millions through his work for Broadcast, Oasis, Primal Scream and Stereolab, amongst many others. On Elektrik Karousel House, with help in the studio from Broadcast, weaves his samples into a rich tapestry of electronics, fuzzed guitar and processed exotic instrumentation together with fractured skipping rhythms and submerged melodies. There's a weird alchemy at work that manages to distil essences of jazz, psychedelia and soundtracks into something utterly unique. For a clue to its moods, think Czech animation, Italian Giallo, early Radiophonics, HP Lovecraft stories, 1960s underground cinema, Lewis Caroll and baroque psych. Given House's design credentials, it will come as no surprise that Ghost Box places great importance on physical products and has tweaked the formats this time round to produce a luxuriously packaged super heavyweight vinyl LP (complete with free download codes) and a highly desirable 8 panel digipack CD package. The design is heavily inspired by 1960s underground press and conceived as a kind of mind altering DIY board game. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8514 Wed, 15 May 2013 14:19:32 -0700 gbx018lp http://experimedia.net/images/gbx018lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8513 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8513 ]]> "The Elektrik Karousel" is a pastiche of 1960s styles that never quite existed: paisley jazz and psychedelic sampling, all overturned in favor of a brand of pop song that is sourced from library music. The Focus Group, the name behind the music of Ghost Box co-manager Julian House, has kept quiet for the last several years and has not released any music since 2009's collaboration with Broadcast. "The Elektrik Karousel," however, holds even bolder combinations of sounds in their raw and alien formats, pairing playful and candy-colored material with slightly sinister and decidedly experimental intent. At an expansive 29 tracks, The Focus Group careens through multiple genres with woozy keyboard lines and grainy beats frequently giving way to sizzling guitar figures and exotically plucked string instruments. In doing so he illuminates a pop language that only very few can make sense of and portray so vividly. – Ryan Potts, Experimedia The Elektrik Karousel is the new album from The Focus Group, the alias of graphic designer and co-manager of Ghost Box records Julian House, and it"s the most sonically rich, enjoyable and psychedelic so far. It"s an evolution of the Cut-Up experiments of the earlier albums where House developed a musical style that mirrored his collaged design work. House's graphics are familiar to millions through his work for Broadcast, Oasis, Primal Scream and Stereolab, amongst many others. On Elektrik Karousel House, with help in the studio from Broadcast, weaves his samples into a rich tapestry of electronics, fuzzed guitar and processed exotic instrumentation together with fractured skipping rhythms and submerged melodies. There's a weird alchemy at work that manages to distil essences of jazz, psychedelia and soundtracks into something utterly unique. For a clue to its moods, think Czech animation, Italian Giallo, early Radiophonics, HP Lovecraft stories, 1960s underground cinema, Lewis Caroll and baroque psych. Given House's design credentials, it will come as no surprise that Ghost Box places great importance on physical products and has tweaked the formats this time round to produce a luxuriously packaged super heavyweight vinyl LP (complete with free download codes) and a highly desirable 8 panel digipack CD package. The design is heavily inspired by 1960s underground press and conceived as a kind of mind altering DIY board game. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8513 Wed, 15 May 2013 14:19:32 -0700 gbx018cd http://experimedia.net/images/gbx018lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8494 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8494 ]]> The Way Things Fall – the band"s first full length since 2007"s Why Bother? – is a record that sounds both focused and coherent, flowing with a conceptual ease. "[The album] flowed efficiently and agreeably for us," says Miller. "We have never worked better together. We believe this is because we exorcised all of our demons through our past records, we have no baggage, we started anew. We left behind the self-conscious adolescents." And indeed, ADULT. have never sounded so self-assured, so poised, and so vital. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8494 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:37 -0700 gi181lp http://experimedia.net/images/gi181.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8493 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8493 ]]> The Way Things Fall – the band"s first full length since 2007"s Why Bother? – is a record that sounds both focused and coherent, flowing with a conceptual ease. "[The album] flowed efficiently and agreeably for us," says Miller. "We have never worked better together. We believe this is because we exorcised all of our demons through our past records, we have no baggage, we started anew. We left behind the self-conscious adolescents." And indeed, ADULT. have never sounded so self-assured, so poised, and so vital. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8493 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:37 -0700 gi181cd http://experimedia.net/images/gi181.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8454 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8454 ]]>After her highly-acclaimed debut Strange Cacti landed in the hands of listeners, it became very obvious the special presence Angel Olsen offered to listeners. She had a fresh edge to her sound, a warm and wonderful range, and a level of skill and charm out of this world. Half Way Home is a continuation of her elegance brought forth on Strange Cacti, a collection of both new and old music, honed and matured, thoughts revisited. We're hearing this same beautiful girl with that same beautiful voice, this time brought up to a new level, in no doubt a growth and reach brought on by several roadtrips with the one and only Bonnie "Prince" Billy and crew. The work of Angel Olsen is entirely her own: a raw, glowing sound that stands out now just as much as it did in 2010. It's an emotional stew with Angel's robust voice up front, bold and engaging, coming out of the background, aching to be heard. With the help of Emmett Kelly (The Cairo Gang) behind the board and playing throughout the songs, Half Way Home is a natural progression showcasing the wondrous sounds of a songwriter with such a voice that is rarely found. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8454 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:36 -0700 jagspec17cd http://experimedia.net/images/jagspec17.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8410 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8410 ]]>The Brother JT saga (proper) begins in the early '90s. The Brother had been doing a bunch of solo recording that he felt were outside the scope of the Sins. One night he ended up on a Siltbreeze tour that alighted at the rural homestead of bald, music fatty, Byron Coley. Chemicals were in the air, and when JT played him some tapes, the results were released as the first Brother JT album, Descent,on Wayne Rogers and Kate Biggars' Twisted Village label. This led to an array of other JT projects, many of which paralleled the Sins' trajectory, until he decided to pursue the Brother JT psych-path more exclusively. Results appeared on such labels as Drunken Fish, Siltbreeze and Drag City, and man, they were great. Now he has made his debut on Thrill Jockey, and it is, perhaps, his most outstanding effort yet. The Svelteness of Boogietude is a typical of JT's output in certain ways -- rockers mixed with ballads, all of them crafted with causal elegance -- but there are new elements here as well. In particular, there's an attention to the legacy of later-period T. Rex, which results in tunes that kick total ass. Mr Coley, having seen Bolan play during his Zinc Alloy/Zip Gun Boogie period, went so far as to claim that "JT's approach to this stuff equals that of the Master -- huge riff-based anthems that balance glam dynamics with mystical history on the head of a pin. " But JT also manages to pull of ballads that can remind one of Beat Happening ("Gliding") or what it might be like to hear Warren Zevon covering the Velvets ("Somebody Down There"), a lost track by the Stalk Forrest Group ("Muffintop") or even a Kevin Ayers/Scott Walker move so bold you'll shiver ("I Still Like Cassettes"). It's inconceivable that anyone who truly digs rock music will not be sucked deeply into the vortex of Boogietude. We can only pray that you will hear it, to experience the massive wonders of he who is Brother JT. From his remote headquarters in Central PA, the Brother has let another massive arrow fly. Don't not get in its way. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8410 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:34 -0700 thrill334lp http://experimedia.net/images/thrill334cd.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8413 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8413 ]]>The album is housed within a handsome multi-color silkscreened jacket bearing new artwork from Michael Elrod (based on a photograph by Chuck Johnson) and includes Johnson"s informative liner notes. The album is accompanied by a download coupon for DRM-free digital files of the downloader"s choice. Crows in the Basilica is from an edition of approximately 750 hand-numbered copies and is pressed on 140 gram Dutch vinyl "Chuck Johnson"s second album, Crows in the Basilica, somehow bests his already-impressive discography — which spans several film scores, as well as his work in different experimental groups. Joyful yet cerebral, the new record spirals melodic phrases in and out of the depths; it"s like a gentle hurricane at sea. At eight minutes, the deceptively quiet "On a Slow Passing in Ghost Town" is a raga that rages moodily." - NPR Being from North Carolina, we at Three Lobed have long known of Chuck Johnson. Whether it was watching him lead a twelve piece guitar ensemble through one of his compositions at the old Transmissions Festival, rock in Spatula or Shark Quest, or provide otherworldly transportation in the acoustic trio Idyll Swords, his skill and way with musical phrasing led us to have him be one of the first folks we ever worked with (2002"s Idyll Swords contribution to the Purposeful Availment series). It has been with great interest that we have observed his dedicated focus on the acoustic guitar over the past several years. Chuck"s compositional voice and performance style represent those of a mature player, with a focus on what music should do for the listener rather than showing off what he can do as a player. His 2011 album A Struggle, Not A Thought (Strange Attractors Audio House) was one of our favorites from that year. The deeper with went with that album, the more we knew we wanted to be part of his ride. We could not be more thrilled to help bring you Crows in the Basilica. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8413 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:34 -0700 tlr099lp http://experimedia.net/images/tlr099lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8449 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8449 ]]>Exclusive brand new recording from Daniel Higgs released on UK label Latitudes. LP edition limited to 1,000 hand-numbered copies on 180gram vinyl packaged in a deluxe die-cut & foil-blocked jacket with color insert. 500 copies pressed on black vinyl, 500 copies pressed on white vinyl. CD edition limited to 500 hand-numbered copies packaged in deluxe foil-blocked origami style folder with color insert. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8449 Thu, 16 May 2013 16:04:08 -0700 gmt033lp http://experimedia.net/images/gmt033cd.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8448 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8448 ]]>Exclusive brand new recording from Daniel Higgs released on UK label Latitudes. LP edition limited to 1,000 hand-numbered copies on 180gram vinyl packaged in a deluxe die-cut & foil-blocked jacket with color insert. 500 copies pressed on black vinyl, 500 copies pressed on white vinyl. CD edition limited to 500 hand-numbered copies packaged in deluxe foil-blocked origami style folder with color insert. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8448 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:34 -0700 gmt033cd http://experimedia.net/images/gmt033cd.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8507 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8507 ]]>*CLEAR VINYL EDITION* For over twenty five years, Northwest native Daniel Menche has been involved with innovative methods of composition and sound experimentation. His formative work being rooted in noise has since developed into highly idiosyncratic and sophisticated forms, while remaining integrated with the genre"s emotionally visceral core. He has put out over 75 releases on several prestigious labels including, Editions Mego, Touch, Important Records, Utech, Sub Rosa, and Soleilmoon, and has collaborated and performed with a list of who"s who in experimental music, including Sunn O))), KK Null, Kevin Drumm, John Wiese, Joe Preston/Thrones, Oren Ambarchi, Lawrence English, Agalloch, Mike Shiflet and Mamiffer. Vilké is another step forward in this ongoing evolution, and a formidable and experience for the listener. Daniel Menche has been an active musician for 25 years and issued releases on labels such as Editions Mego, Touch, Sub Rosa, Soleilmoon, Alien8 Recordings, Important Records, Beta-Lactum Ring, etc. Pressing of 500 numbered copies, packaged in a deluxe LP sleeve and o-card with art and design by Faith Coloccia. Clear and black vinyl versions available. Menche has collaborated with artists such as Andrew Liles, KK Null, Kevin Drumm, Zbigniew Karkowski, Mike Shiflet, Joe Preston, John Weise, Sunno))), etc. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8507 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:35 -0700 sige019lp http://experimedia.net/images/sige019lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8489 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8489 ]]> If 2007's "Copia" was an overture, then Matthew Cooper's new album as Eluvium is a full-fledged opus with sweeping orchestral flourishes and lulling atmospherics. Yet that description could have been applied to nearly any LP he has put out in the past ten years. What makes "Nightmare Ending" different isn't just the sheer volume of material (a double album clocking in at nearly an hour and a half), but also the breadth of sounds and styles it covers as Cooper ably flows distorted abrasions into quiet lullabies. In many ways "Nightmare Ending" is an effort to consolidate all the various permutations Eluvium has shown over the past decade, from static-ridden vignettes ("By The Rails") to stately strings ("Don't Get Any Closer") and vocal-led minimalism ("Happiness"). That he does it so seamlessly is a testament to Cooper's structural and tonal talents. – Ryan Potts, Experimedia Nightmare Ending is the first proper Eluvium album released since 2010's Similes, the unexpectedly vocal-heavy ambient-pop record that simultaneously delighted and confounded longtime fans. But the Nightmare Ending story actually began years earlier, as it was intended to be the follow-up to the watershed album, Copia. Conceived as a way of helping loosen his selfimposed ideals of perfection, Cooper labeled each Nightmare Ending track as either a "dream," or an "imperfection" – a way of differentiating the philosophical concept of "dream vs. reality," couched in the more tangible technical distinctions of "flawless vs. flawed." With each progressive listen those differences naturally challenged themselves, and without relying on the standardized perfection protocol, Cooper became increasingly reluctant to release any of it. He shelved it, and pursued Similes instead. But Nightmare Ending wouldn't go away; it lingered in the back of his mind, the abandoned fruits of a truly worthwhile and noble journey towards a less creatively constraining mindset. Cooper returned to it with renewed vigor, writing and recording in a blur of time that spanned several years, ending with a pair of inspired collaborations with Mark T. Smith of longtime friends and label mates, Explosions In The Sky ("Envenom Mettle," closing Disc 1) and Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo ("Happiness," closing Disc 2). The result is a body of work that encompasses everything remarkable about past Eluvium albums, executed more powerfully and poignant than ever before. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8489 Fri, 17 May 2013 10:20:19 -0700 trr214cd http://experimedia.net/images/trr214.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8406 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8406 ]]>Lush and gorgeously rendered, Glenn Jones' guitar playing is something to admire, but unlike that heirloom or keepsake that remains locked away, Jones seems to urge you to get intimate with his music and embrace it warmly. That's what it feels to me at least as his unfurling notes seem to contain sage wisdom and comforting vistas to a world short on both. "My Garden State" is an ode to his New Jersey home and his family's roots and oddly that sense of history comes through his twisted tunings and odd fingerpicking in a sublime way. He is capable of taking on fast paced rags, such as Going Back to East Mongomery," as well as slowing things to a crawl on the quiet, thunderstorm-laden "Alcouer Gardens," but more than anything he truly harbors the ability to spin a song, a narrative, or a string in a timeless manner. – Ryan Potts, Experimedia Glenn Jones is a unique voice working in the decades-long tradition of American Primitivism. What sets him apart from the many devotees to this style is the combination of expressive playing and technical skill, most significantly his inventive use of alternate tunings and partial capos. As anyone knows who has seen him perform, Glenn is a remarkable storyteller, and his songs reflect that talent. The songs on Glenn"s latest, My Garden State, are evocative and redolent, and serve as a testament to Glenn"s talent for conveying a wide array of emotions, many times in one song, without saying a word. My Garden State was written in the New Jersey home where Glenn's family moved in 1966, while he was caring for his mother who suffers from Alzheimer"s. The songs and sounds on the album are reflective, but never dour or sad. My Garden State was recorded by Laura Baird in Allentown, NJ. Laura joins Glenn on the first proper song, "Across the Tappan Zee" on banjo, interweaving her plaintive melodies with Glenn"s gentle picking. Laura"s sister Meg, who was a founding member of Espers and plays with Laura as The Baird Sisters, also joins in on the final minutes of "Going Back to East Montgomery," an eight minute long composition that showcases Glenn"s ability to craft a long form piece that is at once expansive and immediate. The two tracks that form the centerpiece of the album, "The Vernal Pool" and "Alcoeur Gardens" were composed spontaneously in the studio, a technique Glenn developed on tour with Damo Suzuki with his former band Cul de Sac. Where "The Vernal Pool" is exuberant, "Alcouer Gardens" is sparse and quiet, with field recordings of rain and thunder providing a bed for Glenn"s guitar, emphasizing the space between the notes as much as the notes themselves. The songs on My Garden State could have been written by no one except Glenn Jones, brimming joy, sorrow, and the complex in-between that makes life worth living. Glenn will be touring throughout the Spring, as well as finishing an album with drummer Chris Corsano and monologist David Greenberger of The Duplex Planet. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8406 Fri, 17 May 2013 07:21:01 -0700 thrill326lp http://experimedia.net/images/thrill326cd.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8353 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8353 ]]> "Ambient/Ruin" may be the most aptly named album in some time and anyone who knows the work of Stephen O'Malley will instantly know why. And because of that comparisons will undoubtedly be made to Sunn O))), but Gravetemple is more abstract, less composed, and even more raw than the last couple Sunn O))) releases. It's a truly awe-inspiring display of psychedelic black metal and cauterizing guitar feedback from O'Malley, Oren Ambarchi, Attila Csihar, and Matt Sanders that features sound collages, full band improvisations, and field recordings from around the globe. Blackened squalls of distortion do dominate the four sides of "Ambient/Ruin," but the quartet is much more varied than you may expect, with bouts of Ambarchi's shimmering motorized cymbal heard on side B, pummeling thrash drums on side C, and doom-laden guitar drones on side D. Truthfully, any regular listeners of all the names mentioned above will want to pay attention to this engrossing 55 minute journey. - Ryan Potts, Experimedia Gravetemple was formed in 2006 as a side-project of the band Sunn O))) by Oren Ambarchi, Stephen O'Malley and Attila Csihar. The group formed initially to tour in Israel in the summer of '06, creating several recordings which eventually became The Holy Down album, which was released on Southern Lord Recordings in 2007. At the time of the Israel tour, the Lebanon War started and was in action. In summer '08, the trio reformed together with the addition of Australian drummer Matt "Skitz" Sanders for a short European tour culminating in a headlining performance at Supersonic Festival in Birmingham. In late 2009, the original trio reconvened for a special one-off concert at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts. April 2013 marks the first set of live action since that period, and a new chapter in the ongoing system of the related network. Ambient/Ruin was created with the 2008 quartet -- elements of tape collage, concrète, and field recordings blend within a strong, geographically-diverse (parts were recorded in Japan, Australia, Paris and Israel) suite of heavy minimalist/maximalist music, black/death metal and drone. The culmination of these efforts become the music, literally, of Sadistik Exekution meeting Phill Niblock. Gravetemple clearly adapted the more abstract and experimental aspects related to Sunn O))) and have continued from that point, with ongoing focus on metaphysical construction of free music and will. The music became a geographically and metaphysically-based effort. Attila (chants & percussion & Fuji sounds recorded on location in Kamakura May 08); Stephen (guitars & Korg Polysix recorded in Paris & Saalfelden June 08); Matt (drums were recorded at 3 Phase studios, Melbourne by Sam Johnson March 06); Oren (guitars, motorized cymbal, electronics, bells, tympani, atmos recorded at Jerker House, Melbourne & BJB, Sydney 06-08). Cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin February 2013. Drawings by Justin Bartlett/VBERKVLT. Art direction & backline design: SOMA. Housed in a gatefold sleeve. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8353 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:39 -0700 soma015lp http://experimedia.net/images/soma015lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8363 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8363 ]]> Loren Connors' approach was always something of a quiet collision, transcribing the remnants of muted Delta blues, subdued minimalism, and lo-fi guitar techniques into a whole that feels familiar conceptually but always new sonically. Family Vineyard have wisely reissued a key cog in Connor's discography, "The Departing of a Dream," the first of a three volume set. The recording was originally based on Miles Davis' "He Loved Him Madly," but Connors goes much further than that and seems to carry an entire generation's longing and loneliness in his quiet guitar figures and hiss-imbued atmospheres. And in some ways he was doing exactly that, with two tracks dedicated to New York on September 11, 2001 that elegantly and emotionally pursue answers to a question that will never have them. – Ryan Potts, Experimedia Vinyl reissue of master guitarist Loren Connors' modern classic The Departing of a Dream — the first of what would become a three volume series based loosely as tribute to Miles Davis' "He Loved Him Madly." This album finds Connors exploring slowly churned darkened hues — each collapsing onto themselves like echoes of Miles' muted trumpet and Connors' signature ghost melodies. Since the late 1970s, Connors' use of haunted Delta Blues, minimalism and compositional underpinnings have become an avant-garde style synonymous to him. When The Departing of a Dream was released as a CD in 2002 it signaled a dramatic growth in Connors' sound by combining electric, acoustic and bass guitar with the unsettling menage of subtle percussion and ambient hiss. Remastered from the master tape this 180 gram LP extends the closing two part suite "For NY 9/11/01" with a bonus track. Comes with download code. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8363 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:35 -0700 fv11lp http://experimedia.net/images/fv11.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8221 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8221 ]]>Masami Akita: the man, the myth, the Merzbow. Since 1979, Merzbow has released approximately 500 albums in every format imaginable: solidifying his status as a true master of physical media. Akita specializes in art that is deeply subversive, focusing on walls of hissing power electronics, pornographic images / BDSM culture, and radical promotion of animal rights. He has collaborated with experimental heavyweights Boris, Jim O'Rourke, Sunn O))), Genesis P-Orridge, Z'ev, Mats Gustafsson, Christoph Heeman, John Wiese, & Richard Pinhas. According to Handmade Birds, Takahe Collage is "A dynamic bouquet of densely crafted sonic structures and a soaring achievement for experimental music. This is Merzbow's seminal release." CD is limited to 500 copies worldwide and is packaged in a DVD-style digipak. Takahe Collage is an hour of all new music from Masami Akita. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8221 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:33 -0700 hbirdsdis060cd http://experimedia.net/images/hbirdsdis060cd.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8512 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8512 ]]>To this day, Nicholas Bullen is best-known as a founding member of arguably grindcore's most important act: Napalm Death. Although he decided to call it a day before the band slipped into the mainstream circuit, his sonic fingerprints were all over their influential debut Scum, and he's been breaking boundaries ever since. A key figure in Birmingham's experimental scene, Bullen was also a founding member of Scorn and has been involved in a variety of projects since. Over 30 years later we arrive to Component Fixations, an album that Bullen has been contemplating, working, and reworking for some time. It is, after all, his solo debut proper, and as such is a work that absolutely represents him as an artist both visually and aurally. Taking influence from the early electronic artists of the 1960s, Bullen has fused this passion with his own musically explorative past, resulting in an album of beguiling tape-manipulations, drones and noise. Component Fixations is far more than a simple exercise in academic sound, and Bullen has injected his long-form pieces with a rare mortal sense of corruption and failure. Every single sound on the album was taken from field recordings captured in the confines of Bullen's house and garden, and this only serves to confirm the unshakable humanity of the record. Component Fixations might be a long way from Scum, but dig deep and you'll find the same curious mind, desperate to pull apart sounds and give them a brand-new meaning. Extreme doesn't have to mean loud, after all. Cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8512 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:39 -0700 type115lp http://experimedia.net/images/type115lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8412 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8412 ]]>In their prime Double Dagger were a brash, athletic rock band that rarely toned it down and never turned it down. But former member Bruce Willen, along with William Cashion of Future Islands, does something unexpected with Peals, the newly formed duo that Thrill Jockey now houses. "Walking Field" is laid back, abstract, and almost breezy in its eight songs that fit somewhere between moody rock, classical bells, and ambient manipulations. It begins at an apex with the opener "Floating Leaf" using processed guitars that loop, dive, and metamorphoze in dreamy arrangements, inching closer towards drone as its eight minutes stretch toward a conclusion. The remainder of the album delivers on that atmospheric promise with "Walking Field" being a pure sonic delight, perfect for wandering an unknown city or soundtracking spring weather. – Ryan Potts, Experimedia Peals is a new band led by William Cashion (Future Islands) and Bruce Willen (Double Dagger), members of two of Baltimore's most dynamic live bands. Formed in early 2012, the duo have turned inward for their debut Walking Field, crafting a meditative and exploratory headphone panorama of the highest order. From the first moment, they set aside the basses of their high-profile post-punk outfits for acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, tambourines, toy pianos, and other sonic tools in pursuit of a stripped-down, warm living-room atmosphere. The music that sprang from these sessions, simultaneously exultant and cerebral, took the duo into unexpected territory. While the emotional intensity of their other projects is on full display here, its more gentle, melancholic and often abstract expression recalls Robin Guthrie and minimalist recordings from the sonic pioneers of the 1970s German scene - all direct inspirations for Peals as the songs that would become Walking Field took shape. Walking Field"s home-recorded sessions followed an analog approach, welcoming the happy accidents and unplanned moments that bring their music"s most organic qualities to the fore. With no bass guitars or drums present on the album—all percussion sounds were generated by contact with guitars and microphones—the emphasis here is placed on texture and feeling. Songs flow one into the next, talking to each other as they take the listener on an intuitive journey to destinations unknown. The chiming guitars of "Tiptoes in the Parlor" flirt with the layered melodies and heroic peaks of Dustin Wong, while tracks like "Believers" venture into a more challenging electronic headspace. Throughout, hidden corners are illuminated with the incorporation of field recordings, the crackle of walkie-talkies, and unexpected bursts of feedback. On tracks "Pendelles" and "Koan 1," the addition of cello from Kate Barutha (member of Adam Lempel and the Heartbeats and Soft Cat; guest on recordings by Future Islands, Small Sur, and Weekends) adds a complex dimension of modern classical to the album"s sonic palette. Peals" live performances strive to create an intimate atmosphere, embracing art galleries and back porches in smaller towns off the usual tour circuit. Their expressive and exhilarating debut record reflects this shift in sensibility. Walking Field is headphone music for summer afternoons and cold winter nights; a soundtrack for deserted beaches and wooded campfires; the feeling of a sunrise alone, or a sunset with a close circle of friends. This is Peals: something wholly new and unexpected from the ever-fertile Baltimore scene. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8412 Fri, 17 May 2013 07:20:11 -0700 thrill335lp http://experimedia.net/images/thrill335cd.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8505 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8505 ]]> Margaret Chardiet was born and raised in New York City. She has been making power electronics / death-industrial music under the name Pharmakon for five years. As a founding member of the Red Light District collective in Far Rockaway, NY she has been a figurehead in the underground experimental scene since the age of seventeen. She describes her drive to make noise music as something akin to exorcism where she is able to express, her "deep-seated need/drive/urge/possession to reach other people and make them FEEL something [specifically] in uncomfortable/ confrontational ways." Engineered by Sean Ragon of Cult of Youth at his self-built recording studio Heaven Street, Abandon is Pharmakon"s 1st proper studio album and also her first widely distributed release. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8505 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:38 -0700 sbr099lp http://experimedia.net/images/sbr099.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8504 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8504 ]]> Margaret Chardiet was born and raised in New York City. She has been making power electronics / death-industrial music under the name Pharmakon for five years. As a founding member of the Red Light District collective in Far Rockaway, NY she has been a figurehead in the underground experimental scene since the age of seventeen. She describes her drive to make noise music as something akin to exorcism where she is able to express, her "deep-seated need/drive/urge/possession to reach other people and make them FEEL something [specifically] in uncomfortable/ confrontational ways." Engineered by Sean Ragon of Cult of Youth at his self-built recording studio Heaven Street, Abandon is Pharmakon"s 1st proper studio album and also her first widely distributed release. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8504 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:38 -0700 sbr099cd http://experimedia.net/images/sbr099.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8479 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8479 ]]> Crawling Up The Stairs is the second LP from Austin, Texas' Pure X. Made up of principal members Nate Grace, Jesse Jenkins and Austin Youngblood, they stay true to the dense sound they explored on their last album, Pleasure, but add twinkling atmospherics and a new clarity to their carefully cultivated, emotionally heavy songs. Where Pleasure was built on syrup-slow hooks and a weighty, sexy haze, Crawling Up The Stairs is the sound of Pure X emerging from that humid cocoon to stare all the screwed up parts of life directly in the face and embrace them. When Grace's voice, cracked and worn, breaks through a fog of downtempo drums and misty guitar on "Someone Else," the pain that used to be visible in his face when he was on stage is pushed to the forefront of their sound, his voice growling and moaning with barely contained anger and apocalyptic worry in anguished falsetto. Crawling isn't a record about escape, it's about what you do after you've realized that escaping isn't an option and you just have to face the world you live in head on. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8479 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:37 -0700 ace028lp http://experimedia.net/images/ace028.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8478 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8478 ]]> Crawling Up The Stairs is the second LP from Austin, Texas' Pure X. Made up of principal members Nate Grace, Jesse Jenkins and Austin Youngblood, they stay true to the dense sound they explored on their last album, Pleasure, but add twinkling atmospherics and a new clarity to their carefully cultivated, emotionally heavy songs. Where Pleasure was built on syrup-slow hooks and a weighty, sexy haze, Crawling Up The Stairs is the sound of Pure X emerging from that humid cocoon to stare all the screwed up parts of life directly in the face and embrace them. When Grace's voice, cracked and worn, breaks through a fog of downtempo drums and misty guitar on "Someone Else," the pain that used to be visible in his face when he was on stage is pushed to the forefront of their sound, his voice growling and moaning with barely contained anger and apocalyptic worry in anguished falsetto. Crawling isn't a record about escape, it's about what you do after you've realized that escaping isn't an option and you just have to face the world you live in head on. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8478 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:37 -0700 ace028cd http://experimedia.net/images/ace028.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8472 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8472 ]]>Saltland is the new project led by Montreal-based cellist Rebecca Foon (Esmerine, ex-Silver Mt. Zion), joined by Jamie Thompson (Unicorns, Esmerine) on miniature percussion, programming and signal processing. I Thought It Was Us But It Was All Of Us is a beautifully restrained debut album that telescopes the directness and delicacy of Foon's compositional and vocal styles into lush, twilight atmospheres aglow with luminescent tendrils and flickering particles. Foon sings of childhood innocence lost, of serene utopic reveries and downcast dystopic horizons, and the search for soft, stoic strength in a darkening world, in most cases propelled by Thompson's handmade percussion and understated programming/processing. The album's ambience also owes much to the work of Mark Lawson, the award-winning producer (Arcade Fire) who collaborated closely with Foon to record and mix these songs. With contributions from Laurel Sprengelmeyer and Jess Robertson (Little Scream), Mishka Stein (Patrick Watson), Colin Stetson (Bon Iver), Sarah Neufeld and Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire) among others, Saltland offers up an unassumingly immersive debut album of searching songs that blend several core influences into a distinctively naturalistic sound. Saltland stakes out a unique space where minimalism, shoegaze, dream-pop, coldwave, chamber music, drone and ambient/electronic coexist and coalesce. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8472 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:36 -0700 cst094lp http://experimedia.net/images/cst094.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8471 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8471 ]]>Saltland is the new project led by Montreal-based cellist Rebecca Foon (Esmerine, ex-Silver Mt. Zion), joined by Jamie Thompson (Unicorns, Esmerine) on miniature percussion, programming and signal processing. I Thought It Was Us But It Was All Of Us is a beautifully restrained debut album that telescopes the directness and delicacy of Foon's compositional and vocal styles into lush, twilight atmospheres aglow with luminescent tendrils and flickering particles. Foon sings of childhood innocence lost, of serene utopic reveries and downcast dystopic horizons, and the search for soft, stoic strength in a darkening world, in most cases propelled by Thompson's handmade percussion and understated programming/processing. The album's ambience also owes much to the work of Mark Lawson, the award-winning producer (Arcade Fire) who collaborated closely with Foon to record and mix these songs. With contributions from Laurel Sprengelmeyer and Jess Robertson (Little Scream), Mishka Stein (Patrick Watson), Colin Stetson (Bon Iver), Sarah Neufeld and Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire) among others, Saltland offers up an unassumingly immersive debut album of searching songs that blend several core influences into a distinctively naturalistic sound. Saltland stakes out a unique space where minimalism, shoegaze, dream-pop, coldwave, chamber music, drone and ambient/electronic coexist and coalesce. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8471 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:36 -0700 cst094cd http://experimedia.net/images/cst094.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8194 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8194 ]]>Prolific and always engaging, Sean McCann has put out a torrent of releases on too many labels and in too many formats to count over the last five years. But Root Strata gives us the opportunity to look back and reassess one of McCann's most subdued and meditative recordings that was originally issued on the artist's label as a CD-R in 2011. "Prelusion," now on vinyl, starts with the impressive side-long piece "Our Silhouette" that unfurls from the speakers, in long, calming tones interspersed with pensive piano keys and wisps of held organ notes. Its pace and subtle melodic weavings make it appear like a pastoral piece Harold Budd would have assembled. Similar in mood if not always tone, the b side glistens with drones ("Port") and submerges lo-fi hiss ("Have I Forgotten?"). Another admirable addition to the extensive catalogs of Root Strata and McCann. – Ryan Potts, Experimedia The definitive version of this triptych of tectonic drift originally released as a CD-R on the artists' own Recital label in 2011. Our Silhouette, which blankets the whole of the first side with jewel like piano runs and distant fading synths, may be one of McCann's most elegant moves. The reverse holds two tracks of long form organ/string plateaus that float elegantly in space, refracting light and sound in patterns around the head. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8194 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:35 -0700 rs092lp http://experimedia.net/images/rs092lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8453 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8453 ]]>The cover of Brooklyn-based Small Black's second LP, Limits of Desire, features a photo of a man and a woman embracing on either side of a ladder, completely naked, divided by its triangular arc. They're close, but they can't get any closer. It's a moving depiction of connectivity and interaction in the 21st century and it serves as a sort of source code for the record. Limits of Desire is Small Black's most accomplished album yet. It's a crystalline realization of a sound they've been building toward since their self-titled EP in 2009. Now a full-time four piece, Josh Hayden Kolenik (keys, vocals), Ryan Heyner (guitar, keys, vocals), Juan Pieczanski (bass, guitar) and Jeff Curtin (drums, percussion), the band have moved way beyond the hazy home recorded sound of their previous releases toward a full-fledged, but still self-produced, clear approach. Where 2010"s New Chain was a lesson in maximalist pop, Limits of Desire finds the band trimming their sound to the essentials, yet hitting new and unexpected heights with the addition of live drums, electric guitar and trumpet to the existing Small Black palette. Tonally the songs sweep and glide over lush keys, bolstered by lyrics that illustrate the semi-abstract moments of lost opportunities and misread signs, hinted at by the cover image. The title track whirls softly, and channels luminaries Tears for Fears and The Blue Nile, anchored by Pieczanski's punchy bass as Kolenik sings: "Other lives droned/ far from the grass where I lay/ each eye stared out the opposite way." As much as the record is about looking for deeper connections, it's also about avoiding real life, if only for a moment—getting out of your own head just long enough to calm down and find perspective. "Free At Dawn" and "No Stranger" do what fans have come to love Small Black for, only better. They"re smart pop bangers tinged with a specific brand of melancholy that slowly build to night-affirming climaxes. While "Breathless" ups the tempo, over synth stabs, with lyrics that tackle apathy and uncertainty with catchy grace: "I'm standing in tomorrow's way/ future's fine/least it seems okay." It paints a concise portrait of a generation struggling with unlimited freedom and malaise. The band builds on a rich history of synth pop by making a thoroughly modern album, on both the front and back end. One that seeks out cohesion, connection and calm in a world that won"t sit still. Limits of Desire doesn't attempt to provide any solutions, but coming to terms with not finding the answers feels infinitely more fruitful. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8453 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:36 -0700 jag208lp http://experimedia.net/images/jag208.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8452 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8452 ]]>The cover of Brooklyn-based Small Black's second LP, Limits of Desire, features a photo of a man and a woman embracing on either side of a ladder, completely naked, divided by its triangular arc. They're close, but they can't get any closer. It's a moving depiction of connectivity and interaction in the 21st century and it serves as a sort of source code for the record. Limits of Desire is Small Black's most accomplished album yet. It's a crystalline realization of a sound they've been building toward since their self-titled EP in 2009. Now a full-time four piece, Josh Hayden Kolenik (keys, vocals), Ryan Heyner (guitar, keys, vocals), Juan Pieczanski (bass, guitar) and Jeff Curtin (drums, percussion), the band have moved way beyond the hazy home recorded sound of their previous releases toward a full-fledged, but still self-produced, clear approach. Where 2010"s New Chain was a lesson in maximalist pop, Limits of Desire finds the band trimming their sound to the essentials, yet hitting new and unexpected heights with the addition of live drums, electric guitar and trumpet to the existing Small Black palette. Tonally the songs sweep and glide over lush keys, bolstered by lyrics that illustrate the semi-abstract moments of lost opportunities and misread signs, hinted at by the cover image. The title track whirls softly, and channels luminaries Tears for Fears and The Blue Nile, anchored by Pieczanski's punchy bass as Kolenik sings: "Other lives droned/ far from the grass where I lay/ each eye stared out the opposite way." As much as the record is about looking for deeper connections, it's also about avoiding real life, if only for a moment—getting out of your own head just long enough to calm down and find perspective. "Free At Dawn" and "No Stranger" do what fans have come to love Small Black for, only better. They"re smart pop bangers tinged with a specific brand of melancholy that slowly build to night-affirming climaxes. While "Breathless" ups the tempo, over synth stabs, with lyrics that tackle apathy and uncertainty with catchy grace: "I'm standing in tomorrow's way/ future's fine/least it seems okay." It paints a concise portrait of a generation struggling with unlimited freedom and malaise. The band builds on a rich history of synth pop by making a thoroughly modern album, on both the front and back end. One that seeks out cohesion, connection and calm in a world that won"t sit still. Limits of Desire doesn't attempt to provide any solutions, but coming to terms with not finding the answers feels infinitely more fruitful. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8452 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:36 -0700 jag208cd http://experimedia.net/images/jag208.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8506 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8506 ]]> Elite Excel is the first listen to Stellar Om Source"s new album Joy One Mile. Furthering her sound further from the formless soundscapes of her earlier work by digging up the roots of NYC electro and Detroit techno, Christelle Gualdi's version of dance music remains unpredictable and inventive. Featuring a top-notch remix by recluse producer Kassem Mosse. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8506 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:38 -0700 rvngnl19lp http://experimedia.net/images/rvngnl019.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8408 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8408 ]]>Since launching an onslaught both sonically and in the press after their 2011 album "Aesthetica," the Brooklyn black metal group Liturgy have been mostly quiet and low-key. Survival, a band headed by Liturgy vocalist Hunter Hunt-Hendrix and rounded out by Greg Smith and Jeff Bobula, return to fill that void with their self titled Thrill Jockey debut. There are certainly dense instrumental knots and blaring guitars, but overall "Survival" is much more forgiving aurally than Liturgy as the trio mine Cave In's "Jupiter," '90s alt rock, and other similarly loud and melodic music. Emotionally Survival are more than capable of showing scars and downtrodden moments, as heard most convincingly on "Original Pain" which repeats the word "pain" in various patterns so that it feels like a true embodiment of the word even as guitars spiral skyward in electric glory. – Ryan Potts, Experimedia Survival is an album of dark and meditative heavy rock. Hunter Hunt-Hendrix, Greg Smith, and Jeff Bobula have been playing together for over a decade and recorded this album as Survival with Colin Marston (Krallice, Dysrhythmia) at The Thousand Caves. Syncopated riffs, intricate rhythms and atypical time signatures create dramatic and complex melodic lines that provide a bed for chant-like lyrics. The group opperates as a collective, writing lyrics, riffs and singing with one voice. The album is a unique document that harkens back to post-hardcore, Black Sabbath, Magma, Aphrodite"s Child, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Aaron Copeland, The Smashing Pumpkins, and the first wave of math rock. The galloping "Tragedy of the Mind" opens the album, triumphantly proclaiming, "Ending begins." On "Since Sun" and "Tragedy (Reprise)" the group also employs acoustic guitars to create a hushed atmosphere of contemplation and reflection. The final song, "Triumph of the Good," provides the Survival"s most cathartic moment; as the distorted, almost baroque guitars slowly ascend and get louder the group collectively sings "Forgive us" before all of the instruments line up to create a massive rhythmic assault. Survival was born out of the ashes of band Birthday Boyz. The songs on Survival emerged after years of retooling and rearranging, with the riffs, melodies, and song structures evolving gradually over time. The band will be touring the US this summer for the first time to celebrate the release of the album. Liturgy is also in the process of recording material to be released next year. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8408 Fri, 17 May 2013 07:21:39 -0700 thrill328lp http://experimedia.net/images/thrill328cd.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8220 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8220 ]]>We know what you're thinking: 1) This is the greatest band name of all time. and 2) They must have Schwartzenegger motifs throughout the album. The first assumption is undoubtedly true. The second is not. In fact, what you will find as you attempt to read the custom printed lyric scroll before the music completely melts your skull and you become blinded by your own flesh, is an extremely academic, sociologically informed narrative on what drives us and what plagues us. As the juxtaposition of a sleek custom laser cut black slip cover against a Bosch-period sliver of a classic Matthias Grunewald suggests, the old and new converge to challenge our perspective of a dark human journey. The aformentioned lyrical content is woven within a blisteringly raw wall of sound, a recipe that is one part stringed instrument (David Saylor- bass + vocals), and two parts pummeling fortitude delivered with the nuance of masters (Rob Buttrum of renowned noise resort House of Tinnitus and operator of Out-Of- Body Records contributes a unique blend of electronics, and Ben Scott serves bed and breakfast on the drum kit). In other words, if you were listening to your favorite bass driven classic hardcore record at full volume and a UFO landed on your face, you might at least be prepared to listen to this album." Cassette packaged in an attractive, oversized black di-cut sleeve. Pro-dubbed C45 with red shell and full color 3-panel J-card. Tape comes with rolled lyric scroll. Mastered by Matthew Barnhart. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8220 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:33 -0700 hbirds052cs http://experimedia.net/images/hbirds052cs.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8351 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8351 ]]> When a noose adorns an album's cover, you pretty much know what you're in for. The Haxan Cloak validates that with a bleak and pervasive intensity that coats every sonic inch of "Excavation." The mood may be oppressive, but Bobby Krlic's considerable compositional prowess as The Haxan Cloak is rich and imaginative and he uses a host of instruments ranging from stately classical strings to industrial-leaning extreme electronics. How he combines these two disparate entities is key as he often takes the warmth and natural resonance of an acoustic instrument and digitally embellishes it to reach his artistic needs. "Miste" is a perfect example, as the funereal grind of a cello is pulled to even deeper timbres with electronic pitchshifting and paired with a desperate, digitally manipulated vocal that longs to be heard. Krlic wrings emotion out of circuits, strings, keys, and mouse-clicks alike, crafting a towering album that will be difficult to outdo. – Ryan Potts, Experimedia In 2011 with the release of his debut, self titled album, The Haxan Cloak, solo project of multi instrumentalist, Bobby Krlic, appeared seemingly out of nowhere with an impressively fully formed sound that blew away most anyone who heard it. Recorded over the space of 3 years The Haxan Cloak was a wildly ambitious fusion of malevolent strings, junkyard found-sounds and primitive percussion. In the two years since the release of his debut, Krlic relocated to London and began working on it's epic follow up, and Tri Angle Records debut; Excavation. Bolstered by the concept he was developing for his follow up and a desire to challenge himself into new terrains, Krlic has evolved his sound to incorporate more of his electronic influences. The result is an album awash with serrated beats and cavernous sub-bass, meshing with the classical drones and ghostly details The Haxan Cloak fans will have already been accustomed to. Whereas The Haxan Cloak was a dense, and at times, suffocating listen, Excavation finds Krlic confidently adopting a more minimalist approach, experimenting with space and silence without forsaking any of the intensity that made his debut such a powerful statement of intent. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8351 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:35 -0700 tri018lp http://experimedia.net/images/tri018.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8352 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8352 ]]> When a noose adorns an album's cover, you pretty much know what you're in for. The Haxan Cloak validates that with a bleak and pervasive intensity that coats every sonic inch of "Excavation." The mood may be oppressive, but Bobby Krlic's considerable compositional prowess as The Haxan Cloak is rich and imaginative and he uses a host of instruments ranging from stately classical strings to industrial-leaning extreme electronics. How he combines these two disparate entities is key as he often takes the warmth and natural resonance of an acoustic instrument and digitally embellishes it to reach his artistic needs. "Miste" is a perfect example, as the funereal grind of a cello is pulled to even deeper timbres with electronic pitchshifting and paired with a desperate, digitally manipulated vocal that longs to be heard. Krlic wrings emotion out of circuits, strings, keys, and mouse-clicks alike, crafting a towering album that will be difficult to outdo. – Ryan Potts, Experimedia In 2011 with the release of his debut, self titled album, The Haxan Cloak, solo project of multi instrumentalist, Bobby Krlic, appeared seemingly out of nowhere with an impressively fully formed sound that blew away most anyone who heard it. Recorded over the space of 3 years The Haxan Cloak was a wildly ambitious fusion of malevolent strings, junkyard found-sounds and primitive percussion. In the two years since the release of his debut, Krlic relocated to London and began working on it's epic follow up, and Tri Angle Records debut; Excavation. Bolstered by the concept he was developing for his follow up and a desire to challenge himself into new terrains, Krlic has evolved his sound to incorporate more of his electronic influences. The result is an album awash with serrated beats and cavernous sub-bass, meshing with the classical drones and ghostly details The Haxan Cloak fans will have already been accustomed to. Whereas The Haxan Cloak was a dense, and at times, suffocating listen, Excavation finds Krlic confidently adopting a more minimalist approach, experimenting with space and silence without forsaking any of the intensity that made his debut such a powerful statement of intent. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8352 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:35 -0700 tri018cd http://experimedia.net/images/tri018.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8503 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8503 ]]>What began as the extremely lo-fi two-piece of Elias Rønnenfelt (Iceage) and Loke Rahbek recording on 4-track has evolved into an experimental noise/ industrial/ techno pop quartet. On this album Vår utilize everything from acoustic guitar, power electronics, bass, trumpet, multi-tracked vocals, and various percussive instruments, to broken glass & sheet metal samples. No One Dances Quite Like My Brothers is a remarkable debut, an emotional rollercoaster of sorts which at times is profoundly uplifting, at times decidedly morose but remains unfailingly moving throughout. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8503 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:38 -0700 sbr088lp http://experimedia.net/images/sbr088.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8502 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8502 ]]>What began as the extremely lo-fi two-piece of Elias Rønnenfelt (Iceage) and Loke Rahbek recording on 4-track has evolved into an experimental noise/ industrial/ techno pop quartet. On this album Vår utilize everything from acoustic guitar, power electronics, bass, trumpet, multi-tracked vocals, and various percussive instruments, to broken glass & sheet metal samples. No One Dances Quite Like My Brothers is a remarkable debut, an emotional rollercoaster of sorts which at times is profoundly uplifting, at times decidedly morose but remains unfailingly moving throughout. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8502 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:38 -0700 sbr088cd http://experimedia.net/images/sbr088.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8490 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8490 ]]>Like his best and most iconic works, the magic of William Basinski?s new album, Nocturnes, is in the glacial, inevitable decay of something beautiful. Tape loops of prepared piano – composed and recorded more than 30 years ago – reflecting, refracting, and disintegrating into a haunting sentimental haze, like losing a vivid memory to the natural deterioration of time. Nocturnes is two sprawling new works, begun in 1979 and completed in 2012. It is Basinski?s first new studio release in nearly four years. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8490 Wed, 15 May 2013 11:25:37 -0700 trrspec10cd http://experimedia.net/images/trrspec10cd.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=300 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=300 ]]> CATALOG NUMBER: 12k2014 RELEASE: NOVEMBER 17, 2009 PRESS RELEASE: PDF Savvas Ysatis and Taylor Deupree were at it again in Deuprees country studio, about two years after the creation of 2007s The Sleeping Morning CD-EP. They gave themselves one week to see what they could create with the studio as a blank canvas, and the two emerged with Hourglass, four songs of carefully crafted pop-infused ambient music destined for release on 12" vinyl. Hourglass follows in The Sleeping Mornings footsteps with two instrumental pieces and two vocal songs created with a multitude of acoustic instruments, analog synthesizers and very little computer aided programming. The idea of treating the computer as a tape deck instead of a programming device was vital to their process as they surrounded themselves in the studio with as many noise-making objects as possible, shunning nothing if it could be used in interesting ways. "Clouds" opens the A-Side with a crisp and spacious arrangement fueled by Ysatis airy vocals and a warm, driving harmonica line over a bed of bass synths and looping autoharp. Utilizing room tones, microphones and treated guitar, "Hourglass" is a distant, longing and highly textured escape into ambient territory that the duo knows so well. Side B opens with the 2nd "poppish" song, "Like Ice On A Summers Day", aptly titled for both its glistening and warm textures driven by acoustic guitar and the spacey swirls of a Jupiter-8. "Somewhere On Earth" closes out the EP in an organic mood where the whole studio becomes a live, swirling world of improvised instruments and playful experimentation. Hourglass is the much anticipated next step for Ysatis and Deupree who have been collaborating since 1994 and have been known for embracing many different genres with their critically acclaimed catalog of releases. The Hourglass 12" is limited to 400 numbered copies and comes packaged in a beautifully printed full color jacket. Each copy includes a coupon with a code to download both Flac and MP3 versions of the songs. Additionally, the EP will be available from 12ks usual digital retailers. TRACKS: A SIDE: 1. Clouds 2. Hourglass B SIDE: 1. Like Ice On A Summer's Day 2. Somewhere On Earth REVIEWS COMING SOON ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=300 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:22:09 -0700 12k2015lp http://experimedia.net/images/2015minibig.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=7960 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=7960 ]]>The collaborative efforts of Athens native Savvas Ysatis and New Yorker Taylor Deupree were well known in the early and mid 1990s through their work as SETI, Futique, and Arc, as well as their soundtrack to Japanese architect Toyo Ito's famed Tower of Winds building in Yokohama, Japan. After going their separate ways – Ysatis to recording for Tresor in Berlin, and Deupree to founding the 12k label – they have united again for their first project in nearly 10 years. Almost all of Ysatis and Deupree's projects were founded not only on conceptual ideas, but on technical processes as well, setting rules and restrictions on themselves to help focus their creative energies in the endless playground of the studio. Whether it was the complex sound design of SETI or the cassette-tape-sourced sample manipulation of Tower of Winds, Ysatis and Deupree continually reinvented themselves, moving from ambient, to lounge, to minimal techno. Their new EP, The Sleeping Morning, was created during a week-long visit from Greece to the US. Ysatis and Deupree wanted to freely create and see what came naturally after a 10-year hiatus from working together in the studio. However, their session quickly turned into an album guided by a select set of instruments and methods which led to their most unique work to date. The music flowed naturally, and the 10 years disappeared into a day. All of the instrumentation; acoustic guitar, autoharp, various bits of percussion, and analog synthesizers, were performed directly to multi-track with very little editing (they preferred to re-take rather than edit). The duo recorded much of the sound with with microphones to capture roomtone which created a warm, organic and often playful mood. Loose drums, the squeak of a monosynth and lush pads from the Jupiter-8 make The Sleeping Morning appear at first as an experiment in micro-folk but when vocal tracks are added a whole new world of song-structure and post-something is created. The four tracks they recorded hint at a variety of new avenues that Ysatis and Deupree can explore. Their extensive music careers and long history of collaboration and friendship have given them experience rich with insight and experimentation – and with the low price of airfare and the affordability of decent grappa, there will certainly be a chance to continue what they began 14 years ago. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=7960 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:22:07 -0700 12k2007cd http://experimedia.net/images/12k2007cd.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=927 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=927 ]]>Richmond based artist and musician Stephen Vitiello transforms environments with the physicality of sound. His installations have been presented in New York's Whitney Museum, London's Museum 52, Paris' Cartier Foundation, and dozens of other sites around the globe. His music has been released by labels like 12k, New Albion, and Sub Rosa, including collaborations with Machinefabriek, Lawrence English, Pauline Oliveros, Scanner, and Anduin. This DVD, however, is his first commercially available collection of collaborations with visual artists. Soundtracks includes videos and short films by Seoungho Cho, Matt Flowers, -der Santos, Kevin Gallagher, Andrew Deutsch, and Nic DeSantis, all scored by Vitiello along with some assistance from musicians Molly Berg and Josh Quarles. Visually stunning and sonically captivating, this is a release you can truly immerse yourself in. Select the play all option and a bonus video / soundtrack will be revealed. Packaged in a silkscreened, chipboard case. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=927 Thu, 16 May 2013 11:22:05 -0700 smtg5-020dvd http://experimedia.net/images/svcover1.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8393 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8393 ]]>LP version. "London-based artist Dean Blunt presents his first official solo LP, The Redeemer, released via his own World Music imprint and Hippos in Tanks. The Redeemer proceeds with a yet more direct and heartfelt message, and a notable lifting of the veil of tape hiss and blurred signifiers that characterized Blunt's previous work." ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8393 Sat, 11 May 2013 08:12:08 -0700 hip025lp http://experimedia.net/images/hip025lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8374 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8374 ]]> Triple LP version. Comes with a bonus 7" and free MP3 download. Soundway Records present Kenya Special: Selected East African Recordings from the 1970s & '80s -- a treasure-trove of rare and unusual recordings from East Africa. Spread out over two CDs and one triple LP set, Kenya Special is accompanied by detailed liner notes, original artwork and photographs. It follows on from Soundway's much-acclaimed African "Special" series that to date has focused on the highlife and Afrobeat output from 1970s Nigeria and Ghana. Kenya Special is a collection of 32 recordings (most of which were only ever released on small-run 45rpm 7" singles) that stand out as being different or unique as well as some classic genre standards. From Kikuyu language "liquid soul," Luo benga and Swahili Afrobeat, to genre-bending Congolese and Tanzanian tracks recorded in Nairobi, Kenya Special sees Soundway yet again taking the less-trodden path. Many of the tracks featured here are peppered with innovation and experimentation, highlighting how diverse the music scene in Kenya was at the time. In 1970s Kenya the two threads of rumba and benga loosely dominated the music scene. Benga quickly became Kenya's unique contribution to Afro-pop; spreading like wildfire through the interior countryside with its fast, 4/4 machine-gun beat and intricate electric guitar layers. The Congolese take on Afro-Cuban rumba was introduced by touring bands, many of whom settled in East Africa -- influencing bands from Kenya and Tanzania to come up with their own take on this popular style. Alongside these styles were small ensembles and hotel-sponsored bands, playing a blend of music that often included rock 'n' roll riffs, elements of "Afro" music (influenced by West African musicians like Fela Kuti), and multiple other combinations from South African and Zambian guitar styles to disco, funk and Swahili coastal rhythms like chakacha. Painstakingly compiled, assembled and researched over two years by a team of five people from five countries (Kenya included), Kenya Special is a collection that looks beyond the mainstream and brings new life and recognition to some little-known gems and forgotten classics of Kenya's past. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8374 Sat, 11 May 2013 08:12:14 -0700 sndw046lp http://experimedia.net/images/sndw046lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8511 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8511 ]]> Building on a trend of recent UK successes that have pushed dark, coiling electronic music to the fore, the Edinburgh-based duo Marc Dall and Alex Ander borrow pieces from Demdike Stare and Andy Stott, but in doing so illuminate previously shadowed corners and overturn abstraction for big, mysterious beats. "An Ambassador for Laing" doesn't only use the typical drum machines and digital loops for this effect and instead process instruments usually relegated to an orchestra to form their fuzzy, drama-laden rhythms. Dalhous present "The Physical Body" as the perfect example of their cinematic beat-scaping, as flutes, organs, and bells spiral and quiver around a bed of colorful pulses that manage to push the listener deeper and deeper into a dream-induced haze. - Ryan Potts, Experimedia LP version. Debut album from the Edinburgh-based duo of Marc Dall and Alex Ander, who work with intricately-stacked percussion, dub-wise bass and a rich harmonic tapestry of processed voices, keys, harp, vibraphone, guitar, woodwind, strings and synthesizer -- every sound re-sampled to the nth degree then subjected to subtle automation and rigorously fine-tuned over a period of many months. From the mesmerizing, pastoral drift of "Anger Sees Red" and "Dwelling by the Meadow" to agitated arabesques like "The Physical Body" and the self-titled "Dalhous," the resulting pieces explore dream-like but treacherous terrain. Eleven questions in a world of blue. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8511 Fri, 10 May 2013 16:11:00 -0700 blackest003lp http://experimedia.net/images/blackest003lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8510 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8510 ]]> Despite the advances in technology and equipment, one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring sounds is still a few suppressed keys on an unadorned acoustic piano. It's an idea that Lubomyr Melnyk seems to hold in high regard, though he plays many, many more notes than a few on "Corollaries," his first album for Erased Tapes. Over the last 35 years he has pioneered a style of piano playing called "continuous music," which includes sustaining rapidly played notes to form a bed of constantly shifting and pulsing piano textures. It's a kindred spirit to Charlemagne Palestine's "Strumming Music," but Melnyk veers a bit closer to a regulated rhythm and gliding, evolving melodies that seem to push forward as much as cycle through repetitions. The tone is set perfectly with "Pockets of Light, a 19 minute epic that sounds like it has three different sets of hands contributing to its mesmerizing piano layers and delicate harmonies. Yet, when Melnyk's vocals appear seven minutes into the piece, it somehow feels perfectly natural. The flow isn't broken, but instead augmented in a way that couldn't have been anticipated and feels exactly right. In fact, an underpinning of other instruments happens frequently on "Corollaries," but usually they are left to set a moody backdrop or provide a rich harmony to the proceedings. It's not until the closing two tracks that they really come to the fore. An e-bowed guitar slides alongside the piano on "Nightrail From the Sun" and, most notably, Peter Broderick's violin provides a duet on the stunning closer "Le Miroir D'Amour." Still, Melnyk's exquisite piano tapestries are the clear and unbridled highlight to the album, which just happens to be one of 2013's best. - Ryan Potts, Experimedia Ukrainian pianist Lubomyr Melnyk -- the pioneer of Continuous Piano Music -- presents his first release on UK label Erased Tapes. Entitled Corollaries, the album was recorded and produced by Peter Broderick with the additional help of Nils Frahm and Martyn Heyne. Erased Tapes founder Robert Raths knew it was time to share the great musical legacy of Melnyk, to which he simply responded: "Where were you guys when I was thirty?" Melnyk is a true innovator, exploring new directions in contemporary music. Classically-trained and greatly affected by the minimalist movement in the early 1970s, the Ukrainian pianist developed his own unique language for the piano, named after the principle of maintaining a continuous, unbroken stream of sound. Melnyk has shown a remarkable devotion to the instrument, always striving to discover new ways of composing music in the continuous mode. His focus is on the actual sound of the piano as much as the harmonies and melodies of the music. Playing rapid and complex note patterns made Lubomyr one of the world's fastest concert pianists. His virtuoso piano technique forms overtones that blend, collide or even create new melodies in rare moments, and thereby shape the composition beyond its original form. In the artist's own words: "My first encounter with Peter was at the Ambient Festival in Cologne, when I came into the cathedral where he was playing along with Nils. I was amazed and enthralled by the beauty and power of their music. The colors and majesty of the cathedral coupled with their music made it a great experience I will never forget. Some time later, Peter contacted me with an invitation to come visit him in Berlin and try creating some music together. I had not played improvisation with other ambient musicians before, having worked solo for all these past years. So it was such a relief to start playing at his studio and hear his wonderful input. He was adding a beautiful and delicate dust cover of sounds and pearly effects that cast a lovely sparkle over the piano music -- I loved it. It was a thrill to hear Continuous Music in some new clothes! And with the addition of Nils and Martyn, we all felt the beautiful spell of the communal flow as the music carried us into wonderful spaces." The album artwork and design was created by American contemporary artist Gregory Euclide, known for his cover art for Bon Iver's self-titled album. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8510 Sat, 11 May 2013 08:11:10 -0700 eratp048cd http://experimedia.net/images/eratp048cd_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8509 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8509 ]]> Co La is the primary project of musician and producer Matt Papich, whose explorations of sample-based electronic music have culminated in Moody Coup. The emotional palette of Moody Coup, Papich"s second album and first for Software Recording Co., is more complex than its exuberant predecessor Daydream Repeater (NNA Tapes 2011). Where that record"s relentlessly bucolic tone drew from the saccharine core of reggae, exotica, and 60s girl groups, the bedrock of Moody Coup is elusive and abstract. The various genre coinages that have been tagged to Co La"s music before – new exotica, Avant-luxury, furniture music, etc. – fail to accommodate the brainier obsessions behind Moody Coup‘s genesis. A new brand of alchemy occurs in the album, where cryptic sources are enhanced and embellished to a point of transcendence. This departure is the brilliant process of Co La"s unpredictable electronic music. Highlights of Moody Coup include "Remarkable Features", which consolidates the prior seismic scope of Daydream Repeater into a dance floor standout. "Deaf Christian" transforms a Neil Sedaka doo-wopper into a mesmerizingly dark House cut, complete with synth chasms and haunting voice chants (supplied here and throughout the record by Angel Deradoorian). The meticulously crafted "Suspicious" ventures into more calming pastures — an extra dimensional, dubbed-out take on the Psychic TV gem by the same name. At the outset of Moody Coup, "Sukiyaki (To Die For)" melodically alludes to the Kyu Sakamoto song "Sukiyaki." The original was penned as a mournful assessment of post-war Japan"s relationship to the US, albeit dressed by Sakamoto as a love song. Ironically, "Sukiyaki" became a hit oversees in the US and was later covered by A Taste of Honey. Rather than translating the lyrics, A Taste of Honey set new words to the original melody. (Stranger still, the word "Sukiyaki" itself refers to a Japanese hot dish.) It"s important to note that the wide range of reference sources does not serve Moody Coup as a superficial demonstration of Papich"s eclectic taste. Instead, all of the micro pieces function mosaically, creating an impression at a macro level that is extremely potent as music as well as concept. Co La"s intellectual obsessions are rooted in questions about how music is dilated by the cultures who created it and the power structures that shape those cultures (see "Sukiyaki"), while his musical obsessions are always rooted in the sensual, the beautiful and the immediate. Papich describes the working Co La method on Moody Coup as "employing the hegemony of delete." He likes to be interrupted, and is fond of working in places where domestic concerns are on equal terms with studio practice. Much of Moody Coup was made in the kitchen of Papich"s Baltimore home — a place where he describes having the "best interruptions." Assistant to Papich"s production was friend Joe Williams, who programmed and performed all synths. Tracks were additionally consolidated from field recordings, samples and composed in Ableton Live and mixed in Brooklyn at Gary"s Electric Studio, located at the Software HQ. Software Recording Co., which has become a vital home to similar explorations in new electronic music, will be releasing Moody Coup on May 7, 2013. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8509 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:18 -0700 sft027lp http://experimedia.net/images/sft027lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8508 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8508 ]]> Co La is the primary project of musician and producer Matt Papich, whose explorations of sample-based electronic music have culminated in Moody Coup. The emotional palette of Moody Coup, Papich"s second album and first for Software Recording Co., is more complex than its exuberant predecessor Daydream Repeater (NNA Tapes 2011). Where that record"s relentlessly bucolic tone drew from the saccharine core of reggae, exotica, and 60s girl groups, the bedrock of Moody Coup is elusive and abstract. The various genre coinages that have been tagged to Co La"s music before – new exotica, Avant-luxury, furniture music, etc. – fail to accommodate the brainier obsessions behind Moody Coup‘s genesis. A new brand of alchemy occurs in the album, where cryptic sources are enhanced and embellished to a point of transcendence. This departure is the brilliant process of Co La"s unpredictable electronic music. Highlights of Moody Coup include "Remarkable Features", which consolidates the prior seismic scope of Daydream Repeater into a dance floor standout. "Deaf Christian" transforms a Neil Sedaka doo-wopper into a mesmerizingly dark House cut, complete with synth chasms and haunting voice chants (supplied here and throughout the record by Angel Deradoorian). The meticulously crafted "Suspicious" ventures into more calming pastures — an extra dimensional, dubbed-out take on the Psychic TV gem by the same name. At the outset of Moody Coup, "Sukiyaki (To Die For)" melodically alludes to the Kyu Sakamoto song "Sukiyaki." The original was penned as a mournful assessment of post-war Japan"s relationship to the US, albeit dressed by Sakamoto as a love song. Ironically, "Sukiyaki" became a hit oversees in the US and was later covered by A Taste of Honey. Rather than translating the lyrics, A Taste of Honey set new words to the original melody. (Stranger still, the word "Sukiyaki" itself refers to a Japanese hot dish.) It"s important to note that the wide range of reference sources does not serve Moody Coup as a superficial demonstration of Papich"s eclectic taste. Instead, all of the micro pieces function mosaically, creating an impression at a macro level that is extremely potent as music as well as concept. Co La"s intellectual obsessions are rooted in questions about how music is dilated by the cultures who created it and the power structures that shape those cultures (see "Sukiyaki"), while his musical obsessions are always rooted in the sensual, the beautiful and the immediate. Papich describes the working Co La method on Moody Coup as "employing the hegemony of delete." He likes to be interrupted, and is fond of working in places where domestic concerns are on equal terms with studio practice. Much of Moody Coup was made in the kitchen of Papich"s Baltimore home — a place where he describes having the "best interruptions." Assistant to Papich"s production was friend Joe Williams, who programmed and performed all synths. Tracks were additionally consolidated from field recordings, samples and composed in Ableton Live and mixed in Brooklyn at Gary"s Electric Studio, located at the Software HQ. Software Recording Co., which has become a vital home to similar explorations in new electronic music, will be releasing Moody Coup on May 7, 2013. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8508 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:18 -0700 sft027cd http://experimedia.net/images/sft027lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8501 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8501 ]]> The impact of the twin releases "Ruiner" and "No Becoming" is an impressive one and Lee Noble is clearly at the apex of his murky pop powers. More clear-eyed than its counterpart "No Becoming," when "Ruiner" chooses to approach the pop stylings of Benoit Pioulard or Xiu Xiu it does it fully and with abandon. The album is still streaked with hiss and embedded with homespun distortions, but the gleaming pop of "December" and the stark drum machine-led ballad "Remind Me" positively shine in their own beat up, downcast way. Over the years Lee Noble and Bathetic Records have teamed up for memorable moments and an impressive discography, but "Ruiner" and "No Becoming" have clearly raised the bar for dreamy atmospherics and dilapidated songcraft. – Ryan Potts, Experimedia Lee Noble has stepped out from behind his lair walls to unveil Ruiner, the follow-up to 2011's show-stopping Horrorism. Noble is progressing with his vaporous sound, once again turning the idea of pop music elemental and stealing your heart. There's a warbling, home-spun quality to Ruiner, with it's atmosphere soaked in the warmest of fuzzy hiss, guitars woven into and around organs, and Noble's voice, a combination of moans and whispers. Ruiner doesn't just pick up where Horrorism left off, it moves beyond it, with its hooks and with its drive. Ruiner is an album that will dominate you. It's a record that demands full attention, start to finish. It's a full album in every sense of the word; each part compliments the other, but it is absolutely a collection of songs. Noble isn't just walking in fields of ambient air and drone dirges, he's bending and manipulating sounds and textures to craft his art. It straddles between a world of ethereal experimental music and fleshed out indie-rock. Weighing heavier on the former, it finds itself a Grouper-meets-Radiohead in a basement type affair. He has created a sound that feels familiar, comfortable, and lived-in - but it's entirely his own sound. You immediately know when you're listening to Lee Noble. With Ruiner, the sounds are worn well, they've been thought about, they've been executed with Noble's delicate touch, and they've been strung together beautifully. Ruiner is an ardent record, and it's a heavy listen, that'll have you introspective and reflecting. It's unquestionably both haunting and gorgeous, but what else would you expect from Lee Noble? ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8501 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:14 -0700 bath074lp http://experimedia.net/images/bath074lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8500 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8500 ]]> Lee Noble reappears on Bathetic, with two LPs of material prepped for simultaneous release: "Ruiner" and the focus of this review, "No Becoming." The album ends up landing somewhere between a muted and rusted horror soundtrack and a garbled Grouper song. Those two influences are heard in countless leftfield music releases lately, but it's easy to hear that Noble is coaxing something original from the template and exploring dark and deeply personal emotion. Musically its a wealth of texture and melody as "No Becoming" crams a lot in its two sides: mangled guitar figures, pots and pans percussion, echo-drenched vocals, whirling organs, fuzzy tape murk, high gain amplifiers, and plinking Casio beats. But they all make sense, all have worth, and all are modes of expression, especially in Noble's able hands. – Ryan Potts, Experimedia With No Becoming, we hear Lee Noble as he began to curtail his droning stretches into more song-based, pop-infused, atmospheric measures. His sound possessed a beautiful, bedroom-base quality, with casio beats driving the rhythm while chord organs and guitars fuse to create an undeniably emotional score. Seeing Lee's early works is like pulling open that bedroom door and discovering a man building his craft, watching how he coaxes the sounds and textures from his instruments. We've seen Lee Noble take on new platforms and dominate new plateaus as he's progressed as an artist, but through No Becoming we can see his work has never been devoid of that powerful, sentimental atmosphere. That's what makes Lee the artist he is, vulnerable and invincible, with his own sound, emerging from a pool of influences and peers. With No Becoming, we witness the man shaping and controlling his sounds, coming upon new lands, fields of resonance, filtering ideas, bending, molding, working. A beautiful album of early work, a pulling back of the curtain. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8500 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:13 -0700 bath073lp http://experimedia.net/images/bath073lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8499 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8499 ]]> Scott Morgan has provided drums and rhythmic anchors for indie-rock outfits such as Destroyer, but around these parts he's always been known best as Loscil, a unique electronic artist that's been pioneering an ambient style longer than most. On the self released "Intervalo" he focuses on reworking versions of past Loscil pieces with a different approach, thanks largely to the contributions of Seattle-based pianist Kelly Wyse. Her plaintive keys soak into Morgan's vast atmospheres and rainy-day drones, providing an acoustic signpost that bobs like a buoy on a great open sea. They take the description literally on "City Hospital" that folds bleak layers of static and field recordings of waves beneath estranged piano notes. The track is a towering moment and "Intervalo" wisely uses 16 minutes of its runtime to let it fully develop and resolve into a despondent coda of keys, surely a highlight in the vast Loscil discography. – Ryan Potts, Experimedia Vancouver's Loscil featuring Seattle's Kelly Wyse on piano. Original and adapted works for the piano released on limited edition white vinyl. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8499 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:12 -0700 frond001lp http://experimedia.net/images/frond001lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8497 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8497 ]]>To manipulate a recording of the improvised process is to directly dilute spontaneous conception, and thank god for that. Centering and Displacement was composed in the winter-summer of 2008 in Chicago. A body of improvised source material was collected, segmented and organized by a simple chance operation. These segments were then orchestrated into a sound program and arranged by order of the strict composed form. At times, the score also regulated post-recorded effects to manipulate the original material. As the material was edited, it was divided into six separate channels (three stereo tracks). Each pair of channels was transferred to a cd and each was played on three cd players simultaneously, creating a simple six-channel sound installation. In 2011, the dense six-channel score was revised and reduced to two channels (one stereo track), which is now the final, preferred version. The result is a centrifugal record filled with moments of surprise and complexity. Drums, percussion and electronics are at the core, revealing themselves with precision and radiant color. Frank Rosaly has created a piece that stands apart in the field of challenging music. Art by Zachary Rossman. Limited to 300 copies. Black vinyl. LP includes cd version of the album. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8497 Thu, 16 May 2013 16:08:13 -0700 urlp074lp http://experimedia.net/images/urlp074lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8498 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8498 ]]>Limited edition of 300 copies. 12" vinyl only. A new series of vinyl-only releases, From the Archives. Islands Inbetween was originally released on cassette in 1983. The second in this series, Drumming for Creation, originally released on cassette in 1985 is now available. Walo Shatan Gwari: the ensemble, led by Malam Walo, belongs to the Gwari people of Niger State, West Africa. The performances, at London's Commonwealth Institute, also encompassed drumming sessions and instrument-making workshops. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8498 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:11 -0700 to033-3lp http://experimedia.net/images/to0333lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8496 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8496 ]]> A release by Mr. Yannick Dauby, an homage to young hares and their fascination with bells. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8496 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:10 -0700 oiseaux002cd http://experimedia.net/images/oiseaux002.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8495 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8495 ]]> Extended version of Drowned by Voices, recomposed April 15th 2013 with analog delay and fender twin reverb.oices, somewhat rather slowly, ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8495 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:09 -0700 oiseaux001cd http://experimedia.net/images/oiseaux001.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8492 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8492 ]]> Subtext presents the debut album from UK-based Sri Lankan artist, Paul Jebanasam. Rites brings together five settings of stark sonic poetry whose underlying logic bridges the worlds of contemporary classical, metal, sacred music and sound design. The pieces explore the central themes of grace and savagery, contrasting historical musical languages with the emergence of visceral sonics and immersive tonality, overlaying the past on to the present and considering the possibilities of sound as an eternal, universal medium embedded within the order of civilization. Rites takes its central inspiration from Jebanasam's exploration of liturgical music while integrating aspects of his seminal production work for the Bristol-based Tectonic label and his defining role in the re-emergence of Subtext in 2011. Through the five ceremonial passages, Rites brings together a unified vision of existence projected across human memory, merging the primal impulse of metal, noise and richly-textured drone with the tension and emotional narrative of classical composition. The material summons these elements together, evoking a machine of incalculable scale, forging a world distinct of time where man's transit and reckonings merge with a vast and unforeseeable purpose. The visible and invisible stream together into pools of chaos and sanctity, a landscape stalked by the unknown, the human spirit uttering a desolate whisper to the spirit of its ancestors. Rites brings these classical themes together into an immersive statement that considers the possibilities for contemporary composition to connect with new sonic forms, exploring abstracted structures and sculptural synthesis, and ultimately examining music's potential to converse with its earliest origins while being embedded in the present. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8492 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:08 -0700 sub004cd http://experimedia.net/images/sub004cd_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8491 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8491 ]]>In the early 1970s, Franco Evangelisti assembled Gruppo Di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, a collective of Italian composers that included Ennio Morricone on trumpet. Gruppo aspired to revolutionize composition through group improvisation and—like their peer, Karlheinz Stockhausen—musique concrète, aleatory (controlled chance) techniques and early electronic music. One significant influence in the studio was their use of chess to define key parameters of their music. Musica Su Schemi is unpredictable, fluid and always marked by a tension between the performers and their conscious rejection of traditional forms. Each member of Gruppo would establish themselves as important figures in 20th century music, though no others gained the notoriety of Morricone. Nonetheless, Gruppo"s influence on modern composition endures. As composer / saxophonist John Zorn explains, "[They] were instrumental in founding a radical tradition of Western musical improvisation that owed little or nothing to anybody and created some of the strangest music ever made." ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8491 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:07 -0700 sv015lp http://experimedia.net/images/sv015lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8487 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8487 ]]> With a bounce and whimsy that aren't even found in the same world as some of eMego's more challenging releases (Kevin Drumm, Daniel Menche, etc), COH's new album extracts from IDM and glitch styles that prevailed about a decade ago. Despite that statement and the album's title, "Retro-2038" is much more than a retread of bygone eras with Ivan Pavlov pursuing a unique hybrid of sound that is hyper-detailed while never forgetting the singular power of a booming beat. This comes together most convincingly on "Method As Fun," the last track on "Retro-2038." With a base of pin pricks of static and deep bass drones, chopped melodies and rhythms flicker from one ear to the other and back again at an incredibly rapid rate to create an effect like Raster-Noton releasing a disco record. - Ryan Potts, Experimedia Gatefold double LP version. COH is the moniker used by Ivan Pavlov from Russia for more than a decade. COH is also the Russian word for "sleep." Yet, do not be deceived -- RETRO-2038 is much more of a deep space than a deep sleep. The second COH release on Editions Mego is a true delight to behold, inviting as it does its exploration of electronic sound in minimalism, futuristic pop and the uncharted territories in-between. Ranging from digital updates of Giorgio Moroder's pulse experiments to menacing, lingering LF tones, with occasionally scattered outbursts of jovial noise and glimpses of tonal interstellar disco, RETRO-2038 precisely engraves each of its components with a melodic line and a rhythmical pattern, often beatless. The album as a whole is a work of profound playfulness, at once whimsical and deeply seductive. It opens a crisp crystalline cosmos of its own, rich with unknown objects dancing through ominous orbital auras and smooth gravitational fields. Like a cyber-organic spacecraft moving through dark matter, RETRO-2038 looks back with a warmth as it heads towards its future with abiding optimism. After all, the future can't wait. Artwork by Tina Frank. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8487 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:05 -0700 emego172lp http://experimedia.net/images/emego172lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8488 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8488 ]]> The Death Of Rave is proud to present the first album-length beat-less composition by Patrick Stottrop aka Kareem. Since 1996 the now-legendary, Berlin-based artist has produced nearly 20 singles and albums for both his Zhark Recordings and Ramadan labels, Kanzelramt's K2 0 subprint, and Paris' Fondation Sonore, forging a strong identity split between uncompromising industrial techno and RZA-like instrumental hip-hop, all with a blackened streak of Gothic finesse. Following a hiatus during the late '00s, in 2012 Kareem was prompted by the death of a relative and the need to retreat, spiritually and mentally, into writing "Porto Ronco." Borrowing its title from a village by Lake Maggiore on the Swiss/Italian border where his grandfather bought a house in the '60s as refuge from potential war, and "in case the Soviets would march into Berlin," it manifests marked detachment and evolution from his previous work, abandoning all but traces of rhythm to concentrate and expand upon the downcast atmospheres and Brutalist structures which always lurked behind his beat-driven compositions. In doing so, it implies intrinsic psycho-geographic and hauntological resonance between the place and the piece, opening a space for stoic sehnsucht, elegiac reflection in classic tradition. The original piece is an unabridged 45-minute composition, but for this release Kareem made a 30-minute vinyl edit split over two sides of an LP. Primed for sequestered solo listens, it captures an elusive Berlin spirit which has been lost with successive tides of weekending dunces in the easyjet age; a metaphysical feeling or spectral presence that has long lain brooding in the city since Conrad Schnitzler's earliest invocations and since percolated everywhere from Christina Kubisch's radiant electromagnetic recordings to the gothic industrialism of Einstürzende Neubauten, thru the monotone ecstasy of Basic Channel and the etheric romance of Leyland Kirby in his Friedrichshain period. Ultimately, it's a deeply-personal piece of work bound to capture the imaginations of depleted ravers in the after after-hours. Vinyl cut by Rashad at Dubplates + Mastering. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8488 Fri, 10 May 2013 11:24:43 -0700 rave003lp http://experimedia.net/images/rave003lp_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8486 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8486 ]]> A Life Is Everywhere is an ecstatic mix of rhythm, noise, drone, texture, and melody. Simultaneously heartfelt and not for the faint-hearted. Within their self-contained world, Cindytalk continue the unique trajectory that has purveyed their career starting in 1982. This installment further explores the fearsome terrain that was initiated with previous Editions Mego releases such as The Crackle of My Soul and Hold Everything Dear. Throughout the six tracks on offer, the standard fair of music is run through serious level processes leaving, taking rhythm and sound to extreme limits while always retaining trace elements of their core. Ringing bells are interrupted by artifacts from shredded sound-matter, euphoric chords are swamped by chopped rhythms which succumb to an endless storm of electronic bliss. Utopia has never been so bold. The unique positioning of Cindytalk's output over a 30+ year period is a testament to the will to explore, unfettered by trend, taste and desire. This is unadulterated expression, a future music for those willing to confront the future as a viable option. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8486 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:04 -0700 emego167cd http://experimedia.net/images/emego167cd_CU.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8485 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8485 ]]> No death metal band in the history of the genre is as bizarre, unique and aesthetically engaging as Australia"s Portal. Unfolding a singular vision through polarizing music, distinct imagery and otherworldly live shows, Portal has slowly set a new standard within the underground over the course of a decade—indeed, giving a new meaning to the term "death metal" itself. The band has spread their sonic plague via three full-length albums to date, the last of which, 2009"s Swarth, brought them their highest level of recognition and praise yet. Portal"s surreal psychosis sounds like a Lovecraftian nightmare manifested; weird rhythms and perplexing musical structures twist together in a cinematic soundscape of sheer terror and madness. Vexovoid takes their artistry to new levels, delivering their biggest and most dense sounding album of their career. Comprised of seven harrowing tracks, it proves once again why Portal is the harbinger of the coming new dreadful age of death metal. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8485 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:04 -0700 pfl111lp http://experimedia.net/images/pfl111lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8484 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8484 ]]> No death metal band in the history of the genre is as bizarre, unique and aesthetically engaging as Australia"s Portal. Unfolding a singular vision through polarizing music, distinct imagery and otherworldly live shows, Portal has slowly set a new standard within the underground over the course of a decade—indeed, giving a new meaning to the term "death metal" itself. The band has spread their sonic plague via three full-length albums to date, the last of which, 2009"s Swarth, brought them their highest level of recognition and praise yet. Portal"s surreal psychosis sounds like a Lovecraftian nightmare manifested; weird rhythms and perplexing musical structures twist together in a cinematic soundscape of sheer terror and madness. Vexovoid takes their artistry to new levels, delivering their biggest and most dense sounding album of their career. Comprised of seven harrowing tracks, it proves once again why Portal is the harbinger of the coming new dreadful age of death metal. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8484 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:03 -0700 pfl111cd http://experimedia.net/images/pfl111lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8482 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8482 ]]> Abyssal are a mysterious trio from the UK that plays death metal in a twisted, avant-garde manner, encapsulating pure dread and inevitable doom. Their self-released 2012 debut full-length, titled Denouement, seemed to come out of nowhere, flying mainly under the radar of the metal scene, yet its angular, unorthodox take showed immense promise. On January 1st, 2013, Abyssal unleashed Novit Enim Dominus Qui Sunt Eius on an unsuspecting public. A true vision of death metal horror, it takes the inverted hypnosis of Blut Aus Nord and filters it through the likes of Mitochondrion, Portal and Antediluvian. The self-distributed album caught the ear of forward-thinking metal label Profound Lore, who agreed to make it widely available for the first time with a proper release, putting the obscure trio within the elite circle of UK death metal dread alongside Grave Miasma, Curciamentum and Indesinence. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8482 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:02 -0700 pfl114cd http://experimedia.net/images/pfl114cd.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8483 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8483 ]]> Already recognized as one of the underground"s best live acts, Ireland"s Altar of Plagues released their debut album White Tomb in 2009, garnering widespread acclaim as one of the most prominent contemporary groups merging the genres of black metal, post-metal, experimental and ambient. Refining their sound even further with 2011"s Mammal, the band distanced themselves from the post-black metal stereotype, delivering something darker, bleaker and more singular. A North American tour followed with label mates The Atlas Moth, culminating in an appearance at the 2012 Hopscotch Festival. Now, Altar of Plagues emerges with Teethed Glory and Injury, their most accomplished work to date. The nine-track album is unlike anything the group has done before, pushing further into new sonic terrain. Realized primarily on analog equipment in the studio, it incorporates more ambient, noise and electronica elements in the signature Altar of Plagues sound, distancing them further from the so-called post-metal movement. A true exploration of sound rather than simply a collection of riffs backed by a steady rhythm section, Teethed Glory and Injury is the product of a band in their own league, aeons beyond the work of their contemporaries. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8483 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:02 -0700 pfl115cd http://experimedia.net/images/pfl115cd.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8481 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8481 ]]> Metro Detroit frisky/risky dreamer DJ Coyote Clean Up serves up a heart n" hardbody emotional saga with 2 Hot 2 Wait, his deep-debut freaky full-length on 100% Silk. Hot-under-the-collar horniness (a woman simply counts to three on "Zebra Go Seek" and you start to undress), headphone-house grain (the fuzzy gut-bump on "The Least U Could Feel" is like warm breath whispering in your ear), skrewed RnB Freestyle strip-hop (stuttery layers give hopeful, life-affirming energy to the lover-lost "Awesome Luv") and out-of-time mash-ups ("Double Dip" is a memory overlapping, with a classic "95 dial-tone under and over contempo EDM knob-twists) blend blissfully, fashioning a sentimental journey through a sex-love-loss odyssey. 2 Hot 2 Wait is a sensua-stellar standout, beckoning, daring, colorful and celebratory in its exhibitionism and lust. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8481 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:01 -0700 silk044cd http://experimedia.net/images/silk044cd.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8480 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8480 ]]>House is at home with Bobby Browser, who is Still Browsing after 2012"s Just Browsing EP, but these four tracks feel like he"s finally splurged on the pleasure-purchase. Never afraid to fuse sad Soul II Soul-isms with flute-floozy Milan model-walk wonders, or blue lipstick, platform dance with classic groove-back ogle-voguing, Browser remains a San Fran late-night-on-Haight-night Latin legend. He"s known for DJing gel-gems like "Bad Bad Boys" and other, mostly forgotten, romantic thrift store singles, and as producer he"s got the same no-boundaries deep-"preciation for all that can be stirred in his stoopid stew. Howard Jones meets Earth, Wind, and Fire meets N"dea Davenport meets Sade meets Frankie Knuckles but not at all straightforward, and nothing short of silky slip-peeling. Always lovely and light, sleek and chic, Bobby Browser"s bought a spot on your yacht. It"s going to be a smooth cruise. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8480 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:50:00 -0700 silk043lp http://experimedia.net/images/silk043lp.jpg http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8476 http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&products_id=8476 ]]> Ayelet Lerman: viola | Wade Matthews : digital synthesis & field recordings | Carmel Raz : violin | Recorded by: Lars Sergel, March 2012, "Wire Tapping" at Barbur Gallery, Jerusalem. ]]> Experimedia http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=8476 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:49:58 -0700 trrn0723cd http://experimedia.net/images/trrn0723cd.jpg