May | 2017 | The Answer Is In The Beat

Lazertüth: The Akami LP (House of Watts, 2016)

May 14, 2017 at 8:49 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Lazertüth: The Akami LP

Space prog from New Bedford, Massachusetts. My grandparents lived in that town, so I spent a lot of time there as a kid, and this makes me wonder where all the weirdos were hiding. Their brand of prog is a little on the heavy/stoner-y side, but might still appeal to your (Gabriel-era) Genesis-loving dad or uncle. They also mention Magma as an influence, and like that band, this one seems to sing in their own language, at least during same moments (like the end of the first side). The last few minutes of the album have some pretty epic The Wall-esque shouting.

Arthur King & the Night Sea: Palmetto LP (Dangerbird, 2017)

May 14, 2017 at 8:46 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Arthur King & the Night Sea: Palmetto LP

Swirling, atmospheric sorta-jazz. Definitely similar to TNT-era Tortoise, but there’s some trippy, Miles-esque trumpet playing. The trumpets sound warped and Jon Hassell-y on “Yao Ming”, but there’s way more of a groove. “Metaphor” is longer and is most active and swinging during the middle, but it drifts out into the sea after that. The tracks on the second side similarly drift between languid grooves and spacious zoning. “Nigredo” gets pretty turbulent though, it sounds like someone’s getting caught in a tornado or something. “Glenn’s Theme” sounds like it’s begging to be sampled or rapped over. “Riverhead” ends the album with the same type of swirly melty trumpet tones it starts with.

Show #394 – 5/13/17

May 13, 2017 at 3:59 pm | Posted in The Answer Is In The Beat | Leave a comment

Hour 1
2:00 am Do Make Say Think ~ “Her Eyes on the Horizon” ~ Stubborn Persistent Illusions (new) ~ Constellation ~ 2017
2:08 am L.A. Takedown ~ “Bad Night at Black’s Beach” ~ II (new) ~ Ribbon Music ~ 2017
2:11 am Forest Swords ~ “Panic” ~ Compassion (new) ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2017
2:16 am Niels Broos ~ “No So Yes” ~ EP (new) ~ Alpha Pup ~ 2017
2:19 am dBridge ~ “dB Vs 45 King” ~ Gradients (new) ~ Astrophonica ~ 2017
2:24 am WWWINGS ~ “Even Angels Cry” ~ A+G (new) ~ Bandcamp ~ 2017
2:28 am Fire-Toolz ~ “All Deth Is U [Codename_Final Touch Location]” ~ Drip Mental (new) ~ Hausu Mountain ~ 2017
2:31 am Yialmelic Frequencies ~ “Oozeland” ~ Zjumk (new) ~ Leaving Records ~ 2017
2:37 am Jlin ~ “Holy Child” ~ Black Origami (new) ~ Planet Mu ~ 2017
2:41 am Jlin ~ “Abnormal Restriction” ~ Dark Energy ~ Planet Mu ~ 2015
2:44 am Second Woman ~ “////\\\” ~ S/W (new) ~ Spectrum Spools ~ 2017
2:49 am Telefon Tel Aviv ~ “Something Akin To Lust” ~ Territories (new) ~ 79Ancestors ~ 2017
2:55 am Fred Thomas (local) ~ “Neve” ~ Palimpsest (new) ~ Bandcamp ~ 2017
Hour 2
3:00 am Lesser ~ “Phage” ~ Welcome to the American Experience ~ Vinyl Communications ~ 1996
3:06 am Doormouse ~ “Dirk’s Funk” ~ The Album? ~ Addict ~ 2002
3:13 am Himuro ~ “The Cracks in Your Monita” ~ Mild Fantasy Violence ~ Zod Records ~ 2004
3:16 am Kero (local) ~ “Harmony Spark” ~ CFC Windsor/Detroit ~ Shitkatapult ~ 2001
3:18 am If.Then.Else ~ “Going To” ~ Realizations ~ Emanate Records ~ 1999
3:25 am I-Liner ~ “S-Bahn” ~ Idiosyncratic Expressions ~ Parallel Recordings ~ 2000
3:31 am Marc Williams ~ “Return of the Prodigal Son (Mung Remix)” ~ Beatz By Design ~ Shadow ~ 1999
3:36 am Jacob’s Optical Stairway ~ “The Engulfing Whirlpool” ~ Jacob’s Optical Stairway ~ R&S ~ 1995
3:42 am Air Max ’97 ~ “Vessel” ~ Vessel (new) ~ Decisions ~ 2017
3:47 am Gila ~ “Psycho Dabber” ~ Pick Six (new) ~ Deviation ~ 2017
3:50 am Puto Anderson ~ “Gritos do Infinito” ~ Firma Do Txiga (new) ~ Príncipe ~ 2017
3:55 am Images ~ “Vending Machine (quest?onmarc Remix)” ~ Vending Machine EP (new) ~ Materia ~ 2017
3:58 am GRAŃ & Avbvrn ~ “Personal Joy” ~ Candles (new) ~ Intruder Alert ~ 2017
Hour 3
4:01 am Thoom ~ “Asthmatic” ~ mp3 (new) ~ Soundcloud ~ 2017
4:04 am Muslimgauze ~ “Outside Night” ~ Jerusalaam ~ Staalplaat ~ 1997
4:06 am Jack Dangers ~ “Every Technique” ~ Variaciones Espectrales ~ Bella Union/Instinct ~ 2002
4:11 am Xao Seffcheque ~ “Fehlplan (Wir Sind So Müde)” ~ Ja, Nein, Vielleicht Kommt Sehr Gut (A Selection Of Electronic Beats 1980-82) ~ Bureau B ~ 1981
4:13 am The Neon Judgement ~ “The Fashion Party” ~ Cockerill-Sombre EP ~ Dark Entries ~ 1983
4:16 am Actress ~ “Visa” ~ AZD (new) ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2017
4:20 am Gas ~ “Narkopop 7” ~ Narkopop (new) ~ Kompakt ~ 2017
4:30 am Claudia Anderson ~ “Phase” ~ Dreamy Harbor (new) ~ Tresor ~ 2017
4:39 am Joey Agresta ~ “More Than You Know” ~ Let’s Not Talk About Music (new) ~ Wharf Cat Records ~ 2017
4:42 am Son of Salami ~ “Pretty Girls is a Mother Fucker” ~ A Study in Eraser Headless Tape Recording ~ Feeding Tube ~ 2011
4:44 am Salami Junior ~ “Get Me Out of America” ~ Bacon Street ~ Post-Materialization Music ~ 2016
4:48 am Nina Ryser ~ “Useless Senses” ~ I Hope All Your Dreams Come True ~ Feeding Tube ~ 2016
4:50 am German Army ~ “Pseudodoxia” ~ Diaspora of Intolerance ~ Dub Ditch Picnic ~ 2014
4:54 am Mudboy ~ “side B” ~ Night Eyes (new) ~ Ehse ~ 2017
Hour 4
5:00 am Deathprod ~ “Orgone Donor” ~ Morals and Dogma ~ Rune Grammofon ~ 2004
5:08 am Cozmic Corridors ~ “The Summit” ~ Cozmic Corridors ~ Mental Experience ~ 1973
5:18 am Mirko ~ “As the Morning” ~ LP1 ~ Room40 ~ 2016
5:24 am Norman Westberg ~ “A Particular Tuesday” ~ Jasper Sits Out (new) ~ Room40 ~ 2017
5:36 am Steven Halpern ~ “Optimal Health (Part 7)” ~ Optimal Health at the Speed of Sound (new) ~ Inner Peace Music ~ 2017
5:42 am Arthur King & the Night Sea ~ “Slowed Down Japanese Elevator Music” ~ Palmetto (new) ~ Dangerbird ~ 2017
5:47 am Jaimie Branch ~ “Waltzer” ~ Fly or Die (new) ~ International Anthem ~ 2017
5:54 am Nicole Mitchell ~ “Sub-Mission” ~ Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging World (new) ~ FPE ~ 2017

Crush Collision 5/11/17

May 12, 2017 at 8:36 pm | Posted in Crush Collision | Leave a comment

Hour 1
10:00 pm AMOR ~ “Paradise (Alternative Mix)”
10:13 pm Delia Gonzalez ~ “Hidden Song”
10:16 pm Abayomi ~ “Centaurus”
10:21 pm Percy X ~ “X Track (Vril Remix 2)”
10:28 pm Cucumb45 ~ “Aqua Elba”
10:32 pm PTU ~ “A Broken Clock Is Right Twice a Day”
10:35 pm Bochum Welt ~ “Family Computer Robot”
10:39 pm Clark ~ “Peak Magnetic”
10:44 pm Jerome Hill ~ “Scez Princezz”
10:50 pm Zeta Reticula ~ “Solar Analogs”
10:54 pm Bileebob & Black Echo Zone ~ “Ethan”
10:57 pm Velocette ~ “Memories for the Future”
Hour 2
11:02 pm Inner Lakes ~ “Modularcut1”
11:06 pm VSK ~ “Breaking Symmetry”
11:11 pm Dryad ~ “Inside Now (Annulled User Malorized Edit)”
11:17 pm Galtier ~ “Forced System (AN System Remix)”
11:20 pm Chants ~ “Crushed Lollipop VIP”
11:23 pm Otik ~ “Cautionary Tales”
11:26 pm Post Scriptum ~ “Year Zero”
11:31 pm Rebekah ~ “Breakfast With Jeff”
11:36 pm BNJMN ~ “Mass Conductor”
11:41 pm Headless Horseman ~ “Shattered”
11:45 pm Ben Kaczor ~ “Asta”
11:52 pm Time Traveler ~ “Chronicles From 1957”
11:57 pm Shifted ~ “Centipede”

Local Music Show 5/10/17

May 12, 2017 at 8:16 pm | Posted in Local Music Show | Leave a comment

Hour 1
9:00 pm Justin Walter (local) ~ “Isotope” ~ Unseen Forces (new) ~ Kranky ~ 2017
9:07 pm Aaron Dilloway (local) ~ “Shot Nerves” ~ The Gag File (new) ~ Dais ~ 2017
9:11 pm Wolf Eyes (local) ~ “Undertow” ~ Undertow (new) ~ Lower Floor Music ~ 2017
9:15 pm Hair Police (local) ~ “Out of the Empty Quarter” ~ The Empty Quarter ~ Harbinger Sound ~ 2007
9:23 pm Mammal (local) ~ “Fog Rhythm” ~ Fog Walkers ~ Scratch And Sniff Entertainment ~ 2002
9:31 pm James T. Cotton (local) ~ “The Drain” ~ The Dancing Box ~ Spectral Sound ~ 2004
9:38 pm Fred Thomas (local) ~ “Real Love” ~ Palimpsest (new) ~ Bandcamp ~ 2017
9:42 pm Selector Catalogue (local) ~ “Human Contact Forbidden” ~ We Exist ~ Reject ~ 2004
9:45 pm JDSY (local) ~ “PBWY” ~ Electricity USA ~ self-released ~ 2015
9:50 pm Ron Zakrin (local) ~ “Haste to Hastings” ~ One in a Million (new) ~ Equal Recordings ~ 2017
9:54 pm Ron Zakrin (local) ~ “Midnight Hustle (D Major)” ~ One in a Million (new) ~ Equal Recordings ~ 2017
9:56 pm The Other People Place (local) ~ “Lifestyles of the Casual” ~ Lifestyles of the Laptop Cafe ~ Warp ~ 2001
Hour 2
10:02 pm Flexitone (local) ~ “Moist” ~ State of the Union EP ~ Spectral Sound ~ 2002
10:07 pm Chris Lowell (local) ~ “Windfall” ~ Archeoastronomy LP ~ Equal Recordings ~ 2015
10:14 pm Moodymann (local) ~ “I Can’t Kick This Feelin’ When It Hits” ~ Silentintroduction ~ Planet E ~ 1997
10:22 pm Theo Parrish (local) ~ “Reaction to Plastic” ~ Parallel Dimensions ~ Sound Signature ~ 2000
10:28 pm Piece [Carl Craig] (local) ~ “Free Your Soul [Future]” ~ 12″ ~ Planet E ~ 1992
10:35 pm Missing Channel [Robert Hood and Claude Young) (local) ~ “Rave to the Maximum” ~ 12″ ~ Hardwax ~ 1991
10:39 pm Silent Phase [Stacey Pullen] (local) ~ “Meditative Fusion” ~ (The Theory Of) ~ Transmat/R&S ~ 1995
10:48 pm Shake (local) ~ “Mood Swing” ~ Mood Music For The Moody ~ Frictional ~ 1996
10:53 pm Model 500 (local) ~ “Interference Mix 2” ~ 12″ ~ Metroplex ~ 1988

Xaõ Seffcheque: Ja, Nein, Vielleicht Kommt Sehr Gut (A Selection Of Electronic Beats 1980-82) (Bureau B, 2017)

May 7, 2017 at 12:15 am | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Xao Seffcheque: Ja, Nein, Vielleicht Kommt Sehr Gut (A Selection Of Electronic Beats 1980-82)

Venturing deep into the NDW underground, the great Bureau B presents this fascinating track of early ’80s tracks by notorious prankster. Xaõ Seffcheque. He released an album titled Sehr Gut Kommt Sehr Gut which contained parodies of then-contemporary bands like Der Plan and D.A.F., but their names were mentioned on the record, so the music press though it was an actual compilation. Kraftwerk were also subject of this parody, and they took legal action, so a sticker warning that the record was a parody had to be attached to the sleeve. Of course, listening to Xaõ Seffcheque’s music now, without having the greatest familiarity of all of the music he’s lampooning, the joke might be somewhat lost. Still, just listening to this collection on its own merit, it’s a pretty strange, funny, wide-ranging set of tunes. There’s the Blondie-goes-EBM-with-sax new wave of “Good Friends”, the high-octane silliness/nonsense of “Pogo À Gogo” and “Sample & Hold”, the drunken doo-wop of “O-Lui”, and the backward masking hypnotism of “Mannesmann”. Best of all, at least for my tastes, is “Why We Hate the Residents”, which consists of the lyrics of “Eleanor Rigby” recited in a “spooky” distorted voice over primitive keyboard plunking. Good one.

Sverre Knut Johansen: Secret Space Program (Spotted Peccary, 2017)

May 6, 2017 at 11:36 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Sverre Knut Johansen: Secret Space Program

Norwegian ambient composer Sverre Knut Johansen’s new album is themed around extraterrestrial life and abduction conspiracies, but it sounds a bit more earthly than one might expect at first. Opener “MILAB (Military Abduction)” even features seagull calls and wave crashes. In addition to swirling, arpeggiating synthesizers, a lot of the instrumentation sounds like flutes or sweeping strings, but guitars seem to be the only non-electronic instruments mentioned in the liner notes. The rhythms are often very percussive and dramatic, sometimes getting into choppy, stuttering IDM territory, other times sounding more cinematic. By “Genetic Programs”, we’re into more of a deep space realm, and possibly into some sort of electromagnetic field that’s disrupting the flight, and causing static and interference. “Precognitive Abilities” has skittering Autechre beats along with dramatic new age melodies. “Sphere Being Alliance” is more trancey, like BT or something. The album achieves a very unique combination of guitar heroics, widescreen bravado, cosmos-pondering, and chaotic glitchiness.

Hear in Now: Not Living In Fear (International Anthem, 2017)

May 6, 2017 at 10:24 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Hear in Now: Not Living In Fear

Hear in Now is an intercontinental trio consisting of cellist Tomeka Reid, violinist Mazz Swift, and double bassist Silvia Bolognesi. They were brought together by a commision from Italian organization WomaJazz, and their first performance occurred in 2009. Prior to that performance, the three musicians had never met. This is their second album, recorded during sessions in Chicago in 2012 and 2014. Apart from two group improvisations, each of the album’s songs were generally written by one of the three musicians. The trio are remarkably in tune with each other, readily adapting to the push and pull of the compositions. The music flows between more discordant, free moments and more structured rhythms. The self-explanatory “Requiem for Charlie Haden” is a little more straightforward, but other pieces like “Billions and Billions” are more sinister and turbulent. AACM member Dee Alexander offers encouraging words on the album’s title track. The only other track to feature vocals is “Cultural Differences”, which starts off tense and mournful before Swift’s relaxing, folky scatting switches the piece into something more hopeful and welcoming.

German Army: Diaspora of Intolerance (Dub Ditch Picnic, 2017)

May 6, 2017 at 8:47 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

German Army: Diaspora of Intolerance

This is German Army’s second CD release on Dub Ditch Picnic, and like the first, it compiles tracks from their many limited edition tapes. In particular, this one basically contains three 2014 tapes in their entirety, plus one previously unreleased track from those sessions. This can be described as experimental industrial, with plenty of ventures into the mystical/shamanic/ritualistic realm. Lots of distorted voices (but not used in a similar way on every track), some detached rhythms, lots of hazy echo and fading into a different dream scene. Some tracks are elaborate collages of tribal exotica, particularly “Barefoot”. Others have (relatively) more straightforward rhythms and vocals, such as “Expedition”. The track titled “New Order” has a bouncing drum machine beat which seems to be falling apart, and the deep, moody synths vaguely hint at “Blue Monday”. More accurate reference points seem to remain the Residents and Cabaret Voltaire, maybe also Rapoon/Zoviet France or Hafler Trio. Some tracks have heavier beats, such as the more abrasive “Household” or the druggy sleepwalk “Monstrous Bodies”. Others like “Tjeti” head towards deconstructed techno. I wish the 81-second chiptune-ish “Fragment” was way longer. Atmospheric, fluttering guitars drift in during tracks like “Pagan Fruit” and “Corn Mother”; only on a few other rare moments do the guitars seem aggressive. “Wet Heads” is one of the most meditative songs they’ve ever recorded, with tambura droning underneath peaceful acoustic guitar, all doused with enough echo and delay to feel like a mound of sand gradually being blown away by the wind. There’s too many other highlights to mention here; all there really else to say is that this is a group well on their way toward leaving a vast, astonishing recorded legacy.

Show #393 – 5/6/17

May 6, 2017 at 4:01 pm | Posted in The Answer Is In The Beat | Leave a comment

Hour 1
2:01 am Pleasure Symbols ~ “Ultra Violence” ~ Pleasure Symbols ~ Avant! ~ 2016
2:04 am YOU. (local) ~ “Lost Mines” ~ Bouquet ~ Avant! ~ 2016
2:06 am The Agnes Circle ~ “Martial Love” ~ Some Vague Desire ~ Avant! ~ 2016
2:10 am Koban ~ “Between the Differences” ~ Abject Obsessions ~ Avant! ~ 2016
2:14 am Fotoform ~ “Retracing Suburbia” ~ Fotoform (new) ~ self-released ~ 2017
2:18 am Inhalt ~ “Programming” ~ Part Time Punks Sessions (new) ~ Cleopatra ~ 2017
2:23 am Xao Seffcheque ~ “Hinweise Zum Neuen Klang” ~ Ja, Nein, Vielleicht Kommt Sehr Gut (A Selection Of Electronic Beats 1980-82) ~ Bureau B ~ 1981
2:25 am Kriminelle Tanzkapelle ~ “Klatschmohn” ~ Magnetband – Experimenteller Elektronik Underground DDR 1984-1989 ~ Bureau B ~ 1985
2:29 am Sverre Knut Johansen ~ “Secret Space Program” ~ Secret Space Program (new) ~ Spotted Peccary ~ 2017
2:37 am faUSt ~ “La Poulie” ~ Fresh Air (new) ~ Bureau B ~ 2017
2:43 am Delia Gonzalez ~ “Hidden Song” ~ Horse Follows Darkness (new) ~ DFA ~ 2017
2:47 am Future Islands ~ “Black Rose” ~ The Far Field (new) ~ 4AD ~ 2017
2:50 am JDSY (local) ~ “Shostaproko” ~ Electricity USA ~ self-released ~ 2015
2:53 am Joey Agresta ~ “I Feel Like Shit and I Want to Die” ~ Let’s Not Talk About Music (new) ~ Wharf Cat Records ~ 2017
2:56 am JPS ~ “I Don’t Wanna Break My Back” ~ OSR #33 ~ OSR Tapes ~ 2015
2:58 am Mount Eerie ~ “When I Take Out the Garbage at Night” ~ A Crow Looked at Me (new) ~ P.W. Elverum & Sun ~ 2017
Hour 2
3:00 am Jesu/Sun Kil Moon ~ “Needles Disney” ~ 30 Seconds to the Decline of Planet Earth (new) ~ Caldo Verde ~ 2017
3:07 am Slowdive ~ “Go Get It” ~ Slowdive (new) ~ Dead Oceans ~ 2017
3:13 am Hovvdy ~ “Meg” ~ Taster (new) ~ Double Double Whammy ~ 2017
3:15 am Big French ~ “The New Cochlear Sun” ~ Stone Fish (new) ~ Wharf Cat Records ~ 2017
3:18 am Horse Jumper of Love ~ “Ugly Brunette” ~ Horse Jumper of Love ~ Joy Void ~ 2016
3:21 am Crown Larks ~ “React” ~ Population (new) ~ Already Dead Tapes ~ 2017
3:26 am Vagabon ~ “Cold Apartment” ~ Infinite Worlds (new) ~ Father/Daughter Records ~ 2017
3:29 am Sam Sowyrda ~ “Occidental Error” ~ Luminous Horizons (new) ~ Gold Bolus ~ 2017
3:33 am Trautonist ~ “Stay” ~ Trautonist ~ Pest Productions ~ 2016
3:40 am Aaron Dilloway (local) ~ “Born in a Maze” ~ The Gag File (new) ~ Dais ~ 2017
3:45 am Rapoon ~ “Lunarists in the Jungle” ~ Cold War Drum ‘N’ Bass ~ Caciocavallo ~ 1999
3:52 am Trepaneringsritualen ~ “All Hail the Black Flame” ~ Deathward, To the Womb ~ Cold Spring ~ 2012
3:55 am German Army ~ “Household” ~ Diaspora of Intolerance ~ Dub Ditch Picnic ~ 2014
Hour 3
4:00 am Deathprod ~ “Treetop Drive 2” ~ Treetop Drive ~ Rune Grammofon ~ 1993
4:10 am Horoscope ~ “New Piece” ~ Misogyny Stone (new) ~ Wharf Cat Records ~ 2017
4:16 am Svarte Greiner ~ “Garden” ~ Moss Garden (new) ~ Miasmah ~ 2016
4:37 am Marcus Fjellström ~ “Hermitage” ~ Skelektikon (new) ~ Miasmah ~ 2017
4:41 am Hear in Now ~ “Requiem for Charlie Haden” ~ Not Living in Fear (new) ~ International Anthem ~ 2017
4:44 am Nicole Mitchell ~ “Dance of Many Hands” ~ Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging World (new) ~ FPE ~ 2017
4:49 am Jaimie Branch ~ “Theme 001” ~ Fly or Die (new) ~ International Anthem ~ 2017
4:53 am Alice Coltrane ~ “Hari Narayan” ~ The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda ~ Luaka Bop ~ 1987
Hour 4
5:00 am Carl Craig ~ “At Les” ~ Versus (new) ~ InFiné ~ 2017
5:07 am Flying ~ “Marilyn (Remix Version)” ~ 12″ ~ Dark Entries ~ 1985
5:16 am Andy Mac ~ “Stormy (Dubwise)” ~ Diving Bird 2 (new) ~ Idle Hands ~ 2017
5:23 am Grebenstein ~ “Self (Version)” ~ Gloss (new) ~ Horo ~ 2017
5:27 am Emptyset ~ “Ascent (Cevdet Erek Remix)” ~ mp3 (new) ~ Thrill Jockey ~ 2017
5:32 am Gas ~ “Narkopop 8” ~ Narkopop (new) ~ Kompakt ~ 2017
5:37 am Ryuichi Sakamoto ~ “Stakra” ~ async (new) ~ Milan ~ 2017
5:40 am Cylob ~ “We Never Said Goodbye” ~ Cylob Music System Volume 1 ~ Rephlex ~ 2004
5:45 am Passarani 2099 ~ “Implosion” ~ The Mururoa Project ~ Rephlex ~ 1996
5:49 am Fibla ~ “Rec Image” ~ Landscapes ~ Quatermass ~ 2000
5:54 am Actress ~ “Untitled 7” ~ AZD (new) ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2017