Some Interesting Releases for the Week

I doubt I'll buy all of these but here's what looks interesting for release this week... if there's anything inneresting in the mainstream releases I'll post some follow-up on Monday. All text below comes from the labels or the mail order company and it goes without saying that I receive no compensation from the company if they make a sale.

The following come from Forced Exposure:



LAST EXIT: Koln CD (ALP 252CD) 14.00
Finally after more than a decade, this seminal lexicon of lightning is again available for public consumption. A veritable Murderer's Row of sonic titans -- each at full strength: Bro:tzmann on tenor; Sharrock on guitar; Laswell on 6-string bass; Jackson on drums. This lineup speaks for itself. "You know, I really feel the Exit quartet is getting stronger all the time... we've been through our 'power playing' period. I don't want to be typecast as just a 'blaster.' Now the shit is really wide open -- it can go anywhere. The interaction is getting to be very sensitive -- though I'm sure there'll always be some good old passion and violence. But there's a lot of potential still to be explored, and I hope we get the chance to explore it." -- Peter Bro:tzmann, 1990.


WHITE OUT WITH JIM O'ROURKE & WILLIAM WINANT: China Is Near CD (ATPR 012CD) 14.50
China is Near by New York's pioneer experimental group White Out, represents their third album and promises to be their most adventurous release to date. This session busts out of the gate, and careens all over the tonal soundscape zagging from icy calm to furious insurrection in sixty seconds. The estimable talents of multi-instrumentalist Lin Culbertson and drummer Tom Surgal are fused with the efforts put forth by master eclectic Jim O'Rourke, their frequent collaborator in recent years. Rounding out the session is special guest William Winant, the supremely gifted percussionist who has worked with everyone from John Cage to Yo Yo Ma to Sonic Youth. The unorthodox instrumentation (analog synthesizers, drums, autoharp, bells, chains, timpani, vibes, scrap metal, springs, gong, etc.) employed by these maverick innovators, helps to create an electro-acoustic collage like no other. The electronic cries and soul stirring blips of the synthesizers, accompanied by the spectral strains of the autoharp, emphatically combine with the clang, spit and growl of the extended percussion. The listener is instantly transported to another sonic realm altogether. A space place where dark mystery resides and possibility is infinite...


VOLCANO THE BEAR: Catonapotato CD (DIGI 014CD) 13.00
"Volcano the Bear was formed in 1995 with the constant idea of being a group with uncompromising and boundless ideas, and they've always tried to aim for a live environment where they can do whatever they please. This results in a live show that, beyond grandiose sonic qualities, blends the very essence of key words such as surreal, shifting moods, myriad of instruments, humor, beauty and to a certain degree, even self-indulgence. That said, these sonic transgressors are not for everyone. If you're a fan of free-form improvisations, free jazz, weird drones, pagan folk, whimsical acoustic pieces, disjointed percussive riffs, crackling electronics and actually own more than one record by either the Sun City Girls, This Heat, Faust, Residents, The Shadow Ring or Captain Beefheart, then you owe it to yourself to check out these cats. Catonapotato is a perfect example of Volcano the Bear in a live setting. All eight tracks presented here were recorded live by the duo of Aaron Moore and Nick Mott at four different occasions in 2004. It's mainly an instrumental affair, although some vocals come up on a few tracks and as if all this wasn't enough, we're served some incongruous electric guitar rhythms that recalls the Sun City Girls at their very best. All in all, Catonapotato is just a brilliant sonic excursion down a musical path very few are brave enough to follow these days, and along the way, the band manages to explain exactly why the true environment for Volcano the Bear is the live setting. This is meditation music for the drone/noise generation." -- Mats Gustafsson.



BIRDS, THE: Birds Birds Birds In the World CD (IMPREC 059CD) 13.00
"The first full length from the Japanese/Norweigan super-group The Birds. Comprised of Cotton Casino of The Acid Mothers Temple and Per Gisle Galaen of Slowburn, The Birds are reminiscent of other Norwegian groups like Deathprod, Supersilent and Alog though their unmistakeable and unpredictable meld of psychedelic melodies, guitar noise, Eno-esque synth dirge, Cale-drone, musique concrete and rock sets them apart. Birds Birds Birds In The World was produced by Kai Mikalsen of Sketch, Jazzkammer/Del member Lasse Marhaug and mastered by Supersilent/Deathprod producer Helge Sten. Artwork by the world famous graphic artist/collectible figurine designer Pete Fowler. The first 1000 will be packaged in deluxe 3-D artwork."



APHEX TWIN: Analord 10 PIC. DISC (ANALORD 010EP) 12.50
12" vinyl picture disc, Aphex Twin logo on both sides, in clear PVC sleeve with sticker. This record completes the highly-acclaimed Analord series, produced by Richard D. James -- at least for the time being. The style is rhythmic and melodic electronic music in the much-loved AFX style. The music is suitable for public performance as well as home listening. It's a re-issue of the tracks that came with the now-infamous Analord binder, which was available for a limited period only from rephlex.com.

Artist:	CUNNINGHAM, CHRIS
Title:	Rubber Johnny
Label:	WARP FILMS (UK)
Format:	DVD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	WF 003DVD

"Rubber Johnny -- the long-awaited release from award winning director Chris Cunningham -- chronicles a 16-year-old, inbred mutant's solitary existence, locked in a pitch-black basement by his ashamed parents. They are TV addict rednecks who occasionally feed Johnny and yell at him for making noise. Johnny's only company in the basement is his little dog. His dog's I.Q. far outstrips Johnny's, who is a completely insane, bi-polar imbecile. The first of many projects with Warp Films, Rubber Johnny is an abstract short featuring music by legendary electronic composer, Aphex Twin. Shot entirely on DV in infrared, this lo-fi live action animation is unbeatable on a technical level. The packaging presents Cunningham's first published sketchbook of original drawings and photographic artwork which promises that the DVD will be a highly desirable collectable for hardcore Warp fans and aficionados." The DVD is NTSC format, region 1 (North America only). Running time: 6 minutes.

And some old school and some ambient wonders from Aquarius Records:

B, ERIC & RAKIM Follow The Leader (Geffen) cd 11.98
Upon their release, Paid In Full (1987) and Follow The Leader (1988) were instant classics. Pioneering the recipe of simple beats, perfect samples (including a first use of James Brown) and powerful bad-ass rhyming with super smooth flow, EB&R led hip-hop into new territory and have since not quite been matched in their effortless style and effectiveness. If you've lost your cassette tape versions of these classic albums and didn't go for any earlier overly expensive reissues, here's your chance to get 'em pretty true to the original album with only a few new remixes.
MPEG Stream: "Follow The Leader"
MPEG Stream: "Never Scared"

B, ERIC & RAKIM Paid In Full (Island) cd 11.98
Upon their release, Paid In Full (1987) and Follow The Leader (1988) were instant classics. Pioneering the recipe of simple beats, perfect samples (including a first use of James Brown) and powerful bad-ass rhyming with super smooth flow, EB&R led hip-hop into new territory and have since not quite been matched in their effortless style and effectiveness. If you've lost your cassette tape versions of these classic albums and didn't go for any earlier overly expensive reissues, here's your chance to get 'em pretty true to the original album with only a few new remixes.
MPEG Stream: "I Ain't No Joke"
MPEG Stream: "Paid In Full"

CHASSE, LOREN The Air In The Sand (Naturestrip) cd 16.98
With all of those Jewelled Antler projects keeping AQ's dear friend Loren Chasse busy, it's no wonder that it took over three and half years for him to complete the follow up to his acclaimed 2002 album Hedge of Nerves. Yep, it's true that Loren has released two solo projects under the Jewelled Antler moniker Of; but he doesn't see work such as The Air In The Sand (or Hedge of Nerves, or anything from id battery or Coelacanth, for that matter) as being related to Jewelled Antler. Who are we to argue?
That said, Loren's solo work is made in pretty much the same manner as much of the Jewelled Antler work, particularly The Blithe Sons, where he treks up and down the Pacific Coast making tons of field recordings and then playing those recordings back in similar environments with small speakers and occasional accompaniments from rocks, sand, teasles, leaves, and the occasional alto recorder. Part of this process is an attempt to move away from the constraints of the digital workstation; but at the same time, Chasse is far more interested in the curious alchemy that occurs when a space listens to itself making sound. A nighttime chorus of crickets gurgles within aqueous percolations and the tectonic crash of surf crashing against rock. Rain vaporizes in a caustic sizzle as it falls upon overhead electrical wires, and this sound is compouned by the sharp crack of branches and the slow hiss of sand. For all of the elemental sounds that dominate his recordings, Chasse extracts subtle musical timbres and fragile half-melodies that haunt The Air In The Sand. Beautiful and timeless, this is another marvellous album from Mr. Chasse.
MPEG Stream: "The Air Inside The Sand"
MPEG Stream: "The Air Inside The Rain"
MPEG Stream: "Drawing Water"