Dead Man’s Chest: Throwing Shades 12″ EP (Western Lore, 2017)

July 9, 2017 at 6:11 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Dead Man’s Chest: Throwing Shades 12″ EP

Not sure how I missed out on this guy until now, but this is KILLER ’95-style jungle. Atmospheric pads, super harsh, gritty breakbeats, slower hip-hop/ragga samples, and maximum headrush. I’m sure dedicated junglists can probably tell that these are new recordings rather than unearthed dubplates from back in the day, but it taps into that sound perfectly. Some might call this retro, then, but to me anything that sounds like this is always going to be relevant to my life. Looks like he has half a dozen records out before this one, all of which are probably hard to find for cheap by now. I’m hooked.

Steve Coleman’s Natal Eclipse: Morphogenesis (Pi Recordings, 2017)

July 9, 2017 at 10:12 am | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Steve Coleman’s Natal Eclipse: Morphogenesis

Newest album from the composer credited with launching the M-Base movement, which also included the late, great Geri Allen. Very complex yet still grooving music which constantly twists into convoluted shapes, and blurs the line between improvisation and composition. No drums are present (just cymbals and other percussion on a few tracks), and it seems like they would just be in the way, but there is some sort of rhythmic structure to it. All of the musicians somehow seem to be following the same path, even as it keeps turning at sharp angles and tying knots. It risks sounding like something that might give you a headache while listening, but surprisingly, it doesn’t. It feels really natural and fluid. Highly recommended.

Show #401 – 7/8/17

July 8, 2017 at 10:03 pm | Posted in The Answer Is In The Beat | Leave a comment

I got up late so the previous DJ just put on a Chemical Brothers CD at 2 until I got there.
Hour 1
2:00 am The Chemical Brothers ~ “Sometimes I Feel So Deserted / Go / Under Neon Lights” ~ Born in the Echoes ~ Astralwerks ~ 2015
2:16 am Dim Past ~ “Winter For the Machine” ~ Black Dolphin ~ Other Electricities/Roofless ~ 2013
2:23 am Unicorn Hard-On ~ “Wave Vacation” ~ Dream Machine ~ Untergang-Institut ~ 2016
2:32 am Morphosis ~ “Tamrat Version” ~ Dismantle/Music For Vampyr ~ Honest Jon’s ~ 2013
2:40 am Aphex Twin ~ “24 Tsim 2” ~ 12″ (new) ~ Technical Equipment Supply ~ 2017
2:45 am SCSI-9 ~ “Walking Through the Fog” ~ Flight Mode EP ~ Pro-Tez ~ 2007
2:52 am Illum Sphere ~ “Fuel The Fire (Beau Wanzer Adjustment)” ~ Glass 2 EP (new) ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2017
2:57 am Phase Fatale ~ “Spoken Ashes” ~ Redeemer (new) ~ Hospital Productions ~ 2017
Hour 2
3:03 am Longmont Potion Castle ~ “Gabby Gourmet” ~ LPC 14 (new) ~ D.U. Records ~ 2017
3:05 am The Hypnotist ~ “Pioneers Of The Universe (Solitary Dancer Edit)” ~ mp3 (new) ~ Soundcloud ~ 2017
3:10 am Homemade Weapons ~ “Spasmolytic (Ancestral Voices Remix)” ~ Negative Space Remixed (new) ~ Samurai Music ~ 2017
3:16 am Four Tet ~ “Two Thousand and Seventeen” ~ mp3 (new) ~ Soundcloud ~ 2017
3:20 am F ingers ~ “All Rolled Up” ~ Awkwardly Blissing Out (new) ~ Blackest Ever Black ~ 2017
3:25 am Raymond Scott ~ “Portofino #3” ~ Three Willow Park: Electronic Music From Inner Space, 1961-1971 ~ Basta ~ 1962
3:28 am Washed Out ~ “Floating By” ~ Mister Mellow (new) ~ Stones Throw ~ 2017
3:32 am Public Service Broadcasting ~ “Go to the Road” ~ Every Valley (new) ~ PIAS ~ 2017
3:36 am Remano Eszildn ~ “Audio80/Telistrex” ~ R-Tracks ~ Planet Mu ~ 2009
3:40 am Hieroglyphic Being ~ “Imaginary Soundscapes 9” ~ Paradise Goulash ~ Eskimo ~ 2013
3:46 am Slag Boom Van Loon ~ “Casual” ~ Slag Boom Van Loon ~ Planet Mu ~ 1998
3:55 am Vangelis ~ “Atom Blaster” ~ Invisible Connections ~ Deutsche Grammophon ~ 1985
Hour 3
4:02 am Andrew Rudin ~ “Kouros” ~ Tragoedia ~ Nonesuch ~ 1968
4:12 am Metalux ~ “Oblivion Bibulah” ~ split LP w/ K.K. Rampage ~ Rampage Records ~ 2009
4:15 am Electric Sandwich ~ “China” ~ The Brain Box ~ Brain ~ 1972
4:23 am Miriodor ~ “Chapelle Lunaire” ~ Signal 9 (new) ~ Cuneiform ~ 2017
4:32 am Chicago / London Underground ~ “Something Must Happen” ~ A Night Walking Through Mirrors (new) ~ Cuneiform ~ 2017
4:47 am The Body Lovers ~ “track 7” ~ The Body Lovers ~ Young God ~ 1998
4:51 am Roots Radics ~ “Bubbling Dub” ~ Dubbing at Channel 1 ~ Jamaican Recordings ~ 1970s?
4:54 am Forest Swords ~ “Exalter” ~ Compassion (new) ~ Ninja Tune ~ 2017
Hour 4
5:01 am Mark Kozelek and Sean Yeaton ~ “The Reasons I Love You” ~ Yellow Kitchen (new) ~ Caldo Verde ~ 2017
5:04 am Billow Observatory ~ “Nulstil” ~ II: Plains/Patterns (new) ~ Azure Vista Records ~ 2017
5:10 am Joep Beving ~ “Pippa’s Theme” ~ Prehension (new) ~ Deutsche Grammophon ~ 2017
5:13 am James Murray ~ “Living Ghosts” ~ Killing Ghosts (new) ~ Home Normal ~ 2017
5:18 am Ceeys ~ “Concrete Field” ~ Concrete Fields (new) ~ 1631 Recordings ~ 2017
5:25 am 75 Dollar Bill ~ “Cummins Falls” ~ Wood/Metal/Plastic/Pattern/Rhythm/Rock ~ Glitterbeat/Tak:Til ~ 2016
5:31 am Marc Barreca ~ “Diffraction Image” ~ Aberrant Lens (new) ~ Palace of Lights ~ 2017
5:38 am Laurel Halo (local) ~ “Do U Ever Happen” ~ Dust (new) ~ Hyperdub ~ 2017
5:43 am TALsounds ~ “My Side My Sign” ~ Love Sick (new) ~ Ba Da Bing ~ 2017
5:50 am Jlin ~ “Never Created, Never Destroyed” ~ Black Origami (new) ~ Planet Mu ~ 2017
5:52 am Ikonika ~ “Not” ~ Distractions (new) ~ Hyperdub ~ 2017
5:56 am Wet Hair ~ “Lift the Stone” ~ The Floating World (new) ~ Wharf Cat Records ~ 2017

FREEDOM DAY SPECIAL 7/4/17

July 5, 2017 at 12:48 am | Posted in FREEDOM DAY | Leave a comment

HAPPY FREEDOM DAY!!!!!!!!!!
Hour 1
10:06 pm Evolution Control Committee ~ “Star Spangled Bologna” ~ Plagiarhythm Nation 2.0 ~ Seeland ~ 2003
10:07 pm Culturcide ~ “Star-Spangled Banner” ~ Tacky Souvenirs Of Pre-Revolutionary America ~ self-released ~ 1986
10:09 pm Negativland ~ “Our National Anthem” ~ Free ~ Seeland ~ 1993
10:17 pm MrDougDoug ~ “69 Starspangled 420” ~ These Magical Numbers ~ self-released ~ 2016
10:50 pm Dennis Madalone ~ “America We Stand As One” ~ single ~ self-released ~ 2002
10:53 pm Iggy Pop (local) ~ “Wild America” (by request) ~ American Caesar ~ Virgin ~ 1993
Hour 2
11:04 pm B. J. Snowden ~ “America” ~ Songs in the Key of Z Vol. 2 ~ Gammon ~ 1998
11:07 pm Bobby Dimple, Lunar Ladies Chorus, Lipple Kutie Kids, Hutch Davie Diggers Band ~ “American Moon (from The Heart’s Delight Follies ’69)” ~ 7″ ~ Crewe Records ~ 1969
11:11 pm Dick Kent ~ “Rat A Tat Tat, America” ~ The American Song-Poem Anthology: Do You Know The Difference Between Big Wood And Brush ~ Bar/None
11:14 pm New Trier High School Chorus, Conducted by Archie Bleyer, Narration by Don McNeill ~ “Make America Proud of You” ~ 7″ ~ Cadence
11:16 pm Harold Duncan ~ “Be American (Alternate Version)” ~ 7″ ~ American Sound
11:18 pm Byron MacGregor ~ “Americans” ~ 7″ ~ Westbound ~ 1973
11:22 pm Spaze-Ka-Dett ~ “ET In America” ~ 12″ ~ Emerald International Records ~ 1982
11:27 pm Prince & the Revolution ~ “America [backwards]” ~ Around the World in a Day ~ Paisley Park ~ 1985
11:41 pm Jack Henry and Bill Neal ~ “Liberty Bell” ~ Portraits in Patriotism ~ United States Navy Recruiting Service ~ 1968
11:45 pm Paul V. ~ “Stars and Stripes Forever” ~ mp3 ~ 365 Days Project
11:46 pm Harry D. Cup ~ “Sick American” ~ mp3 ~ WFMU Beware of the Blog
11:50 pm Max D Barnes ~ “Dear Mr. President” ~ mp3 ~ WFMU Beware of the Blog
11:56 pm Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings ~ “This Land is Your Land” ~ Naturally ~ Daptone ~ 2005

Chicago trip June 22-24, 2017

July 1, 2017 at 9:04 pm | Posted in Photos | Leave a comment

inside the Embassy Suites we stayed at



















At the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago for the Takashi Murakami exhibit














Reckless Records (Milwaukee Ave branch)









Dusty Groove


making music with Justin and Zach


Kitchen 17, on the final day in their old location


pizza burger @ Kitchen 17


rainbow cake @ Kitchen 17


skyline from the navy pier



skyline from the navy pier


skyline from the navy pier

Show #400 – 7/1/17

July 1, 2017 at 1:16 pm | Posted in The Answer Is In The Beat | Leave a comment

R.I.P. Geri Allen :(:(:(:(:(
Hour 1
2:03 am Geri Allen (local) ~ “FMFMF (For My Family, For My Friends)” ~ Eyes… In the Back of Your Head ~ Blue Note ~ 1997
2:08 am Geri Allen Trio (local) ~ “When Kabuya Dances” ~ Twylight ~ Verve ~ 1989
2:12 am Geri Allen Trio (local) ~ “Running As Fast As You Can… TGTH” ~ The Printmakers ~ Minor Music ~ 1985
2:15 am Geri Allen Trio (local) ~ “Feed the Fire” ~ Twenty One ~ Blue Note ~ 1994
2:21 am Geri Allen (local) ~ “Open on All Sides / The Glide Was in the Ride” ~ Open on All Sides in the Middle ~ Minor Music ~ 1987
2:29 am Geri Allen (local) ~ “Alone Together in the Same Room” ~ Homegrown ~ Minor Music ~ 1985
2:37 am Steve Coleman’s Natal Eclipse ~ “Pull Counter” ~ Morphogenesis (new) ~ Pi Recordings ~ 2017
2:43 am Duot & Andy Moor ~ “Arrebato” ~ Food (new) ~ Repetidor ~ 2017
2:48 am Massacre ~ “Over” ~ Meltdown ~ Tzadik ~ 2001
2:53 am John Zorn ~ “Saigon Pickup” ~ Naked City ~ Elektra/Nonesuch ~ 1989
Hour 2
2:59 am Jane Ira Bloom ~ “Blues On Mars” ~ Slalom ~ Columbia ~ 1988
3:02 am Sun Ra ~ “Where Pathways Meet” ~ Lanquidity ~ Evidence ~ 1978
3:09 am Battery ~ “Evidence” ~ Bloom ~ self-released ~ 2016
3:11 am Yowie ~ “The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You” ~ Synchromysticism (new) ~ Skin Graft ~ 2017
3:19 am Jefre Cantu-Ledesma ~ “The Faun” ~ On the Echoing Green (new) ~ Mexican Summer ~ 2017
3:25 am Clams Casino ~ “Wavey” ~ Instrumental Mixtape 4 (new) ~ self-released ~ 2017
3:28 am Lapalux ~ “Petty Passion” ~ Ruinism (new) ~ Brainfeeder ~ 2017
3:32 am Eliot Lipp ~ “Rise Fall Rise” ~ Skywave (new) ~ Young Heavy Souls ~ 2017
3:36 am Goldie ~ “Prism” ~ The Journey Man (new) ~ Metalheadz/Cooking Vinyl ~ 2017
3:43 am Orson Hentschel ~ “Wailing Sirens” ~ Electric Stutter (new) ~ Denovali ~ 2017
3:48 am Xosar ~ “Cybertronika” ~ Xymeria (new) ~ Bandcamp ~ 2017
3:53 am M & G ~ “When I Let You Down” ~ 12″ ~ Dark Entries ~ 1986
Hour 3
3:59 am V/Vm ~ “Together in Electric Drains” ~ Sick-Love Vinyl Version ~ V/Vm Test Records ~ 2001
4:04 am Jeffrey Fayman & Robert Fripp ~ “A Temple in the Clouds” ~ A Temple in the Clouds ~ Projekt ~ 2000
4:10 am Mike Dred/Peter Green ~ “Nautilus 110” ~ Virtual Farmer ~ Rephlex ~ 1998
4:15 am Gimmik ~ “Monitor” ~ Random Access ~ Worm Interface ~ 1999
4:19 am Koichi ~ “Dawn in a Maze” ~ Himuro Versus Koichi: Latest Gorgeous Energy ~ Worm Interface ~ 1999
4:22 am Ovuca ~ “Afternoon Girl” ~ Wasted Sunday ~ Rephlex ~ 2001
4:27 am Society Suckers ~ “Shizofrenetic” ~ Anti-Carnivore E.P. ~ kool.POP ~ 1997
4:33 am Ranphorynchus ~ “side B” ~ 12″ ~ Bubble Core ~ 2000
4:40 am Duran Duran Duran ~ “2016” ~ mp3 ~ Soundcloud ~ 2016
4:45 am Raymond Scott ~ “The Happy Whistler” ~ Soothing Sounds for Baby, Vol. 2 ~ Music On Vinyl ~ 1963
4:55 am Peaking Lights ~ “Everytime I See the Light” ~ The Fifth State of Consciousness (new) ~ Two Flowers ~ 2017
Hour 4
5:01 am Laurel Halo (local) ~ “Sun to Solar” ~ Dust (new) ~ Hyperdub ~ 2017
5:07 am Terrence Dixon (local) ~ “12,000 Miles Of Twilight” ~ 12,000 Miles Of Twilight (new) ~ Out-Er ~ 2017
5:11 am Dark Sky ~ “Badd” ~ Othona (new) ~ Monkeytown ~ 2017
5:16 am Loft ~ “Ngallo Ngallo” ~ World Music Day (new) ~ Permahigh ~ 2017
5:21 am Jlin ~ “Challenge (To Be Continued)” ~ Black Origami (new) ~ Planet Mu ~ 2017
5:23 am Sirr Tmo ~ “Do Ya Thang” ~ mp3 ~ Soundcloud ~ 2016
5:30 am Josh Burke ~ “Sea of Miracles” ~ Prana ~ Aguirre ~ 2010
5:37 am Stereolab ~ “(Varoom!)” ~ Low Fi ~ Too Pure ~ 1992
5:45 am Stereolab ~ “Heavy Denim” ~ ABC Music ~ Strange Fruit ~ 1993
5:49 am Stereolab ~ “Les Yper Sound” ~ ABC Music ~ Strange Fruit ~ 1996
5:54 am Joni Void ~ “Empathy (Ayuko’s Song)” ~ Selfless (new) ~ Constellation ~ 2017

Hills: Alive at Roadburn (Rocket Recordings, 2017)

June 30, 2017 at 10:50 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Hills: Alive at Roadburn

Swedish psych explorers Hills (not to be confused with White Hills, who are far more prolific) present an album recorded at the infamous Roadburn festival, held every April in the Netherlands. All four tracks come within a minute or two of 15 minutes, and they don’t take long to launch into mystical heavy grooves. At times it sounds like there’s tamburas droning away along with the distorted guitars, and hints of desert melodies or rhythms. Also, while some of the group’s previous work was instrumental, this one has shamanistic vocals which seem possessed by a dark spirit (at least on the opening track “National Drone”). “Master Sleeps” has a very entrancing rhythm and ends up with some head-spinning patterns of echoed wah-wah guitar. At the end of the set, someone in the band remarks that they were supposed to play 6 songs but they only had time for 4, indicating how heavily engrossed the band are when they’re playing music.

Duot & Andy Moor: Food LP (Repetidor, 2017)

June 30, 2017 at 8:47 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Duot & Andy Moor: Food LP

Spanish improv duo Duot meet up with the legendary guitarist Andy Moor (The Ex, Dog Faced Hermans) for this bracing set. Tracks typically start off quiet, but get jagged and abrasive. Tumbling drums, serrated guitar, wheezing sax. “Arrebato” is probably the most immediate piece. “It’s Your Business” starts off sounding kinda like a mutated version of the “Blister in the Sun” riff. “Gudi” feels like being crushed against the pavement while rapid wolves are hissing at you (but somehow not biting you).

Crush Collision 6/30/17

June 30, 2017 at 9:24 am | Posted in Crush Collision | Leave a comment

Hour 1
10:01 pm Porter Ricks ~ “Port of Tangency”
10:08 pm Olin ~ “People Fix (Huerco S. Remix 1)”
10:15 pm Cliff Lothar ~ “E-String”
10:20 pm 808 State ~ “Would I Could”
10:24 pm Looky Looky ~ “The Handoff”
10:30 pm Veronique Page ~ “Metropolis”
10:35 pm Sebastian Mullaert ~ “Wings of Remembrance”
10:41 pm Sau Poler ~ “Mitre”
10:46 pm Jad & The ~ “Yeah Band”
10:52 pm Kettenkarussell ~ “Just For a Second”
10:58 pm Figure-Ground ~ “Naches”
Hour 2
11:02 pm Kuzma Palkin ~ “13-05-you-have-to-sleep-too”
11:07 pm Sepehr ~ “Step One (D’Marc Cantu Remix)”
11:11 pm Mike Dehnert ~ “Starground”
11:16 pm SHXCXCHCXSH ~ “Stämma #1”
11:20 pm London Modular Alliance ~ “Home Grown”
11:23 pm Umfang ~ “Where Is She”
11:27 pm Floorplan ~ “Let the Church”
11:32 pm A Sagittariun ~ “The Pathway (Matrixxman Remix)”
11:37 pm Remco Beekwilder ~ “Concrete Jungle”
11:42 pm The Martian ~ “Particle Shower”
11:50 pm Ligovskoï ~ “Lethe (Polar Inertia Remix)”

Jib Kidder: New Works For Realistic Mixer (Care Of Editions, 2016) + Pay 2 Play (Lamb Life, 2017)

June 18, 2017 at 1:06 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Jib Kidder: New Works For Realistic Mixer

Following his poppiest album (2015’s Teaspoon To The Ocean), former WCBN DJ Jib Kidder released possibly his most experimental album. Instead of dense sample collages or trippy pop songs, this one was made entirely with a mixer and a drum machine. The cryptic, nonsensical track titles point to this being his IDM album, and the songs are a bit glitchy and noisy, filled with jagged, piercing tones and dripping beats. Lots of rusty, metallic feedback twisted into strange shapes. In a weird way, this was more accessible than I expected, but it’s not exactly melodic and the beats are far too abstract to dance to. Somehow the album’s weirdest moment is when a sample of a baby’s voice swoops in during the second to last track. It seems to be a perfect example of the humanity of this album, even though it appears cold and robotic.

Jib Kidder: Pay 2 Play

Pay 2 Play is entirely different, and a return to sample-based psych-pop. This contains some of his most bizarre, densely piled-on sample collage work yet, along with sly, strange songwriting. The album comes with a thick booklet containing stories and surrealist drawings as well as the songs’ lyrics. Just in the first few songs, we hear samples of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, doomsday cult speaking-in-tongues, pan flutes, country guitar, IM notifications, etc. I think I heard the coughing from “Sweet Leaf” somewhere in there too (possibly in reference to a certain WCBN PSA?). “Field of Dreams” is an easygoing groover based on a bagpipe sample. The second half of the album seems to be devoid of samples, however, and it goes into more of a soft rock mode, but in a somewhat strange way. “Fortune Presents Gifts” is a Dead Can Dance cover, and a faithful rendition of Tori Amos’ “Cornflake Girl” appears later, with backup vocals during the chorus that I thought were a sample of Tori herself at first.

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