Rollers/Sparkers - C.I.E. Action Figures

A classic from the Rollers, from their fantastic Hames album
C.I.E. Action Figures by Rollers/Sparkers

Zvuku - Half Full

I missed the physical release of this track by Zvuku (nee Slug of Droid & Slug fame.)
It was released on Rural Colours, but is now available for free download.

It's a beautiful 20 minute piece of droning ambience. Perfect for the post Bank Holiday weekend blues.

You can download it here.

More Zvuku links:
Myspace
Soundcloud

Area C - Trick With a Knife

Track was released on 7" by the wonderful, but sadly defunct Trensmat label.

Free Shark

check out the awesome new, and free, track from Gruff Rhys. Produced by Andy Votel

http://www.gruffrhys.com/shark-ridden-waters/

This is one for all you fly monkeys out there ... funky jazzy greatness and perfect for this autumnal friday morning. I was only introduced to this sucker this week but its a keeper!

ersen

my latest ersen 7 arrived today
time to share the luurve

Bach on Acid

Thread Pulls mix

Here's a mix Thread Pulls made for Skinny Wolves back in July.


1. Alle med balloner og terrasser - Skuffer med jord i
2. Cabaret Voltaire - No Escape
3. Factory Floor - Lying
4. The Human League - The sound of the crowd
5. The Police - Voices inside my head
6. The Dead C - Bad Politics
7. The Selecter - Too much pressure
8. The Residents - Suburban bathers
9. Magik Markers - Taste
10. Dark Day - Don’t bother
11. Autechre - Known(1)
12. Kraftwerk - Antenna
13. Arthur Russell - The platform on the ocean

Electric Eden - Unearthing Britains Visionary Music

This is a really great book on British folk music throughout the 20th Century to the present day that focuses on its 60s 70s heyday. It pays particular attention to Folk music as a medium for expressing a peoples relationship with their community and landscape, a response to seminal events such as industrialisation and WWI and ultimately as a lament for a Golden Age long gone or utopian vision never fully realised. Quite a lot of areas are covered from 19th Century Arts and Crafts founder to Warp and The Caretaker.

Here is an excellent primer on the book that was featured as part of Wire magazines Salon series. Its an interview with the author Rob Young and features some great tuneage.

Mt St Helens mix - Various Artists pt 1

Here is a mix of mainly early 80s minimal and electronic stuff, that I put together. The Desire track is the contemporary exception, it being an IDIB/Johnny Jewel classic!

Mount St Helens / various artists by Minimalmanimal

the bells

Saw this at the weekend and it blew me away. It's a scene from Herzog's Bells from the Deep: Faith and Superstition in Russia.

hypnotic

Guest Mix : : MOONER

Mooner is a one man Cosmic machine, if in slow motion. I’ve got to know Mooner over the years and he's my kind of crate digging adventurous DJ, always willing to experiment with music, and the records he plays, from the latest records to early German electronic music to cumbia.

The psychedelic record collection of his mother´s definitely contributed to his style of mixing. Mooner´s sound is influenced by italodisco-B-sides, obscure cosmic-cassettes from his young days, electro, acid, rock, punk-funk, krautrock and the Club le Bomb wildstyle mixing. Club le Bomb was a anti-techno-wildstyle-club, art project at the same time, which he hosted together with some collegues (Catriona Shaw, Benjamin Bergmann) from the art academy. It took place in the late nineties underneath Munich downtown in a forsaken hydroelectric power plant.

Mooner is probably best known for the compliations for Compost, ELASTE and Zombocombo, Mooner´s current longtime project together with Pollyester, DJ Kaput and Kitt Bang, took place monthly at the famous Club Die Registratur in Munich and enriches now Munich´s nightlife at different locations. Topics like “Medicine Congress”, “Aerobic” or “Good vs. Evil” abrogate the usual situation of a club night. Zombocombo is a interactive party with costumes, shows and idiosyncratic dance music. This is seriously a great party night!!

Together with his wife Pollyester, Mooner has also founded the label called “Love in C-Minor” – a countdown edition, which stops after 10 releases. Not forgetting my personal favourite the brilliant edits of Conrad Schnitzer rare tracks, in conjunction with the great man himself.

Any way here’s a great mix, an hour long of Exotica from Mooners view point.

Digital Cowboy Mix#3 Exotica by kessakushu

Fine Form

here's a video of Dublin's Thread Pulls in really awesome form recently

If you haven't already do yourself a favour and pick up there brilliant LP HERE

oh and pick up the Hunter Gatherer record while your at it

Hot and Spicy Indian House

This is a great mix of Indian house from DJ Pastek.

Hot and Spicy Indian House by Dj Pastek

Eugen Thomass Undergroovin'

nice kraut tune from the film Scarabea from the late 60's
easy listening.... boooiiiing!

Last Major Vinyl Press in England

Nice slide show and narration on one of the last pressing factories in England. Made with Love :-)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/audioslideshow/2010/jun/29/work-and-careers-heritage

Snapper - Buddy

This is too good, so here is the video in full...

The Dead C - Sky

The Dead C have a new album out - "Patience" on Ba Da Bing. Not everyone's cup of tea and not a band that has an appreciative audience in Casa Iglesias. However, I love them. I saw them at ATP a few years ago and it was one of those gigs that just turns your musical world upside down.

Here is a classic clip of them on NZ TV performing "Sky". There's an interview too. And watch out for a clip of Snapper's awesome "Buddy"

Just Friends - Dogmatic Element

A real charmer of a song from Northern Irish band Dogmatic Element. Released in 1982, this was probably a little bit ahead of its time with its jangly indy pop guitar and lovely (if a little slight) vocal. Very much in the Sarah Records, C86 vein of things.

Just Friends by Minimalmanimal

squarepusher

classic squarepusher tune with vid by chris cunningham for your pleasure

Pierre Cavalli

Un soir chez Norris. Beautiful Tune. Think the kind gentlemen at Finders Keepers put this on one of their comps.

Jeck your head

Super Supersilent

I've been listening to Supersilent 10 almost constantly since I got it. It's easily one of my favourite releases of theirs. Supersilent 11 is patiently waiting in the post office for me to collect it. (Ah those red Royal Mail "Sorry, you were out" slips, how much I love thee...)

Here is a clip from the Supersilent 7 which was released on DVD. It's a fantastic live performance filmed (on Super 8 I hope!) by Kim Hiorthoy.

Patchwork - Laughing Sam

ye-ha \m/

Flexi Fun #1

a short trip through the world of the flexi

probably on a slippery slope here as this is by far my favourite

a free fexi with the Italian fanzine Chainsaw containing 3 of the finest moments in UK DIY Punk. Badly recorded badly played masterpieces of ingenuity and curiosity. I have a a huge love affair with this sound, lo fi at it's convenience. 3 bands, The Tronics, Dancing Did and the legendary Instant Automatons. I tried to record the whole thing but the Tronics track seems to be wrecked, there ya go, that'll learn me to bring it out to play...

here's the Dancing Did

01 Flexi Fun by kessakushu

Lloyd Miller

The truly indespensible Dr Lloyd Miller

awestruck

mash up goodness...

Mulatu Astatke the don

oOoOO

loving this, strangely addictive and digging deep into my brain the way i like it

Hearts by oOoOO

LARRY GRECO - JETTE LA

Larry.. making smoking sexy again oh la la!

Ladies who Lunch - Bull in the Heather (1995)

For a small period in the 90s uber hip Beastie Boys vanity project Grand Royal actually hit paydirt with releases by the likes of Luscious Jackson and their much missed magazine of the same name (favourite article: Vincent Gallo interviewing Vincent Gallo)!

For me though their greatest moment came in 1995 with the release of a perfectly formed 7" simply called Ladies who Lunch Present: Kims We Love. With its simple illustration of a ladies tennis match on the front and photo of a toy casio keyboard on the flip I simply had to have it ... and that was before I realised that the songs were covers of two of my favourites Gigantic & Bull in the Heather ... But far from being just pure slavish examples of hero worship, these cover versions demonstrate lo fidelity deadpan minimalism at its finest with Bull in the Heather in particular giving it socks with a dirty John Carpenteresque electronic squiggle ... Of course its only fair to say that both ladies (who lunch) were on first name terms with the Kims (Deal and Gordon) of their love (Josephine Wiggs being The Breeders bassist and all), but do you think posterity cares!

Bull in the heather (ladies who lunch) by Minimalmanimal

Two improvised live sets to enjoy

Two fantastic live sets for you to download and enjoy.

The first is from the wonderful Keith Fullerton Whitman improvising with synths:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2010/09/30/130239680/keith-fullerton-whitman-in-concert-high-zero-festival-2010

The other is from Tomoko Sauvage And Matmos's M.C. Schmidt improvising with... water.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2010/09/30/130236704/tomoko-sauvage-and-m-c-schmidt-in-concert-high-zero-festival-2010

Both performances were recorded at the High Zero Festival in Baltimore.

Time waster #1

I should be working but have been messing around with Seaquence for the last while. Seaquence is a fun and easy to use online music creation tool. Or in the words of it's makers:

Seaquence is an experimental musical petri-dish. Adopting a biological metaphor, Seaquence allows you to create and combine musical lifeforms into unique, dynamic compositions.

Seaquence Demo from Daniel Massey on Vimeo.

Try it for yourself here:
http://seaquence.org/
and post your experiments in the comments below.

Here's mine: http://seaquence.org/zn5

Lick my Decals off Baby

Wonderful T.V comercial for Captain Beefheart's very original album "Lick my decals off Baby". Im fairly sure this turned a few heads when it was televised back in the day. In fact, It might have been banned for being too good... sorry.... strange.
Its not known as his seminal album. "Trout Mask Replica" still holds the trophy, but i believe Don himself prefers this one. Matter of opinion, as is everything. My hearts still with Trout mask :-)

Stephan Mathieu

This is a fantastic (and unfortunately very short) live clip of Stephan Mathieu's solo recital of contemporary classics performed on the Octave Virginals – a Renaissance keyboard instrument – and mechanical gramophones.

Out of Tune: Stephan Mathieu from herbst remixed on Vimeo.

And here is a lovely piece of processed piano:

A Piano Wave by Stephan Mathieu

There's a load of audio available to stream on his site:
http://www.bitsteam.de

LOS BARBAROS

nice argentinian psych. difficult little bugger to find

Daevid Allen & Euterpe - Wise Man in your Heart

Every so often it is possible to come across music that just boggles the mind. Songs so totally unclassifiable that the sheer act of listening is like entering a parallel universe of sound. Of course it could be said that ex Soft Machine and Gong maestro Daevid Allen has been a lifelong botherer of musical cul de sacs but when the results are so brilliantly mad, who cares! Wise Man in your Heart is certainly the most bonkers thing I've heard him do, it being a post Gong collaboration with the Catalan band Euterpe. Just don't call it Prog!!

Wise Man in your Heart by Minimalmanimal

Art Ensemble Of Chicago - theme de yo yo

after all these years i still wet myself evey time i hear this. fontella bass probably at her finest :-)

cumbia de sal - cumbia de moog...nice

feeling thai

Woke up this morning with the B flat Dorian Blues

This is in desperate need of a re-issue.

More info here.

WOD Begins

so another new blog eh! Exactly what the world needs, right? So what’s this one about then…well it’s a group of music nuts messing around with, things they like, videos, write ups, mixes, edits what have you. Blowing their trumpet about a band and record they’re digging, new, old and genre expansive. For it not to be only a files provider, but something a bit more fun and personal, come join us and get involved, and maybe dance a little!!