3/31/2006

Primal


Afrirampo is Oni and Pika from Japan .... there's nothing I can say about their sound that can top this profile from their website so I'm just gonna let er rip:

2 young Japanese girls rock duo from Osaka JAPAN!
Naked rock!!!!! Naked soul!!! Red red strong red dress!! Freeeeeeeeedam
paradice rock! Jump! With improvisation.
Sooo fantastic & wild performance !
wowowowowowowowowwoooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Their latest record is a collaboration with Acid Mothers Temple, but these tracks are from their self-titled mini-album from 2004, on Gyuune Cassette. They've also recorded for John Zorn's label, Tzadik.

Parts of these songs sound like they're being made up as they go along, but when they start snowballing downhill (like on the last 3 minutes of Track 5), get the fuck out the way. Apologies for my inability to post the titles in Japanese characters.

Afrirampo - "Track 1"

Afrirampo - "Track 5"

3/29/2006

Disco leftovers

As promised, here are a couple of tunes that didn't make the cut for the disco mix. When I first conceived of the mix, it was going to be -- for lack of a better word -- pretty cheesy. In the end I threw in more modern stuff and went in more of a spacey direction. So here are some of the ones that got away. The two Reflection Records cuts (by L'Ectrique and Denie Corbett) have amazing percussion breaks with phased-out bass lines, and hey, some people even claim to like the vocals! Likewise, the buildup at the beginning of "Simbora" is my favorite part of the track. Just be forewarned, if you checked out the mix and couldn't get past "Cosmic Wind," this post is not for you ....


L'Ectrique - "Struck By Boogie Lightning"

Denie Corbett - "What You Won't Do For Love"



Simbora Orchestra - "Simbora"

3/28/2006

Like Colombian fishscale / ask my man Ishmael


By now it's way past blogger cliche to rep for Ghostface, but "Jellyfish" (posted at Fluxblog, from Ghost's new album Fishscale) is fantastic ... Best hip-hop song I've heard in a while .... That organ sample ...

3/27/2006

The deep


From 2001, a reworking of Barrabas' "Wild Safari" by guys that are now affiliated with Stranger and the Rong camp.

Deep Fuzz - "Kinky Busstop Pt. 2 (Sweaty Palms Mix)"



Roman Flugel remix of Matthew Dear's warehouse techno alias. Sort of has a Carl Craig feel to it, the bit that starts just before the 3-minute mark is blinding.

Audion - "Just Fucking (Roman Flugel's 23 Positions in a One Night Stand Remix)"

3/26/2006

Quick Mix Vol. 3


Quick Mix Vol. 3

Dopplereffekt - Myon-Neutrino
Villalobos - Serpentin
Trentemoller - Sunstroke
Frank Martiniq - Boost (Robag Wruhme's Bokkser Mix)
Noze - Tulip Schnaps
Isolee - Face B

3/24/2006

Gangster whitewalls


Love, Reel to Real (RSO 1974)
I already posted this song once before, but now I'm infatuated with this cover version by Love. Everyone knows Forever Changes, but Love have got a lot more music that's worth your time -- I'm gonna do a big post later on, but for now just check out their DeVaughan groove. This album may win the prize for worst cover / best music .... I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but that bubble-baby is way creepy.

Love - "Be Thankful For What You Got"



Curtis Mayfield, Sweet Exorcist (Curtom 1974)
One of the more slept-on Curtis records. Why does "Kung Fu" shows up on the best-of-Mayfield compilations when there are tracks like this one to choose from? Bow down.

Curtis Mayfield - "Ain't Got Time"

3/22/2006

Debris slide


I try not to repost stuff I've gotten on other blogs (even though it's a pretty big chunk of my listening nowadays), but sometimes I can't help myself. These tracks are from Debris' Static Disposal, snotty proto-punk from 1976, self-released by some guys from Oklahoma. Think Rocket From the Tombs, post-Stooges, early Roxy, pre-Flipper .... great stuff. Found on Insect and Individual, a blog dedicated to exploring the Nurse With Wound list, the rundown of underground and experimental sounds that was inserted into the first two NWW albums and became sort of a holy grail for collectors. The blog ground to a halt in February, but the files are uploaded onto Rapidshare so they don't expire. Go poke around ... hopefully the site will start back up again.

Debris - "Tricia"

Debris - "Boyfriend"

Debris also reminds of current Pennsylvania wastoids Pissed Jeans, who just signed to Sub Pop. I finally got off my ass and mail-ordered their debut, Shallow, which I had been looking for ever since this rave appeared in Dusted, but it never showed up at my usual haunts ...

Pissed Jeans - "Closet Marine"

3/19/2006

Lesbian vampires and Indian gangsters


Vampyros Lesbos: Sexadelic Dance Party (Crippled Dick Hot Wax 2006)
Groovy B-movie madness created by Manfred Hubler and Siegfried Schwab under the name Vampire Sound Inc. -- you might remember "The Lions and the Cucumber" from Tarantino's Jackie Brown soundtrack. Now it gets the deluxe reisuue treatment from the Crippled Dick Hot Wax record label out of Germany. Extra points for including more bonus tracks on the vinyl than on the CD.

Vampire Sound Inc. - "Shindai Lovers"

Vampire Sound Inc. - "Countdown to Nowhere"



Bombay the Hard Way: Guns, Cars and Sitars (Motel 1999)
So I guess the purists hate this compilation because of the additional production that Dan "The Automator" and DJ Shadow put on these Bollywood blaxploitation tracks, but having never heard the originals, it doesn't really bug me. (Okay, a couple of the ones with a LOT of new drum programming come out sounding like Thievery Corp.) I still think it's a good gateway drug into the world of Indian soundtracks. The music was composed and arranged by the movies' directors, the brothers Kalyanji and Anandji Shah.

Kalyanji, Anandji - "Professor Pyarelal"

Kalyanji, Anandji - "The Great Gambler"

Maybe it's you


Hitting NYC for a weekend of shows is Toronto's No Dynamics, who play amped up dance rock fuzz action. "I Got You On My Mind," from their self-titled 12", alternates between jagged / clean guitar chop and wicked distortion, with megaphone vocals and raw rhythm bash. The record's not really available in the States yet but should be soon. A demo version of another track, "Josephine Baker," is up on their web site. Bear witness:

  • Friday 3/24 - Knitting Factory (late show) w/ Love Is All, Cause Co-Motion
  • Saturday 3/25 - Knitting Factory w/ The Gossip
  • Sunday 3/26 - Cake Shop w/ Athletic Automaton, The Fugue

No Dynamics - "I Got You On My Mind"

3/18/2006

Gone dark


This trailer for A Scanner Darkly, adapted by Richard Linklater from Philip K. Dick's novel, has me more excited for a movie than I have been in a while. Radiohead is providing some of the music -- so if the chips fall right, we could have interpretive dancers dressed like the Residents at next year's Oscars.

The tracks I'm putting up here don't have any real link to the movie, just a free-associative one: Linklater --> Austin --> the Texas punk and new wave comp Tales From the Edge Vol. 6. "Thru a Filter" does have an aura of PKD paranoia around it, by way of Eno-style electronic pop ... "Satan Baby" is just fun punk sleaze.

Members Only - "Thru a Filter"

Stick Men With Ray Guns - "Satan Baby"

3/17/2006

Mix of the month - 33/45 Disco Mix


33/45 Disco Mix

Lee Douglas - Same Changes
Nancy Martin - Can't Believe
Mike Theodore Orchestra - Cosmic Wind
Cloud One - Spaced Out
Theo Vaness - No Romance
Padded Cell - Signal Failure
Michael Zager Band - Let's All Chant
Mr. Magic - Potential 1980
Anita Ward - Ring My Bell
LCD Soundsystem - Tribulations (Lindstrom Remix)

3/14/2006

In dust we trust


Well, my "mix of the month" initiative is slowly morphing into a "mix of whenever I get around to it," thanks to procrastination + sad turntable skills. Here's some classic Cloud One to tide you over -- if you like this, be sure to check back in a few days for a new disco mix.

Cloud One - "Dust to Dust"

Cloud One - "Patty Duke"

3/12/2006

Embrace the haze


Harmony of the Spheres (Drunken Fish 1996)
This three-LP box set from 1996 (later reissued on CD) summed up the current moment in a drone / rock / experimental / folk scene that seems to have only kept growing in exposure and activity in the 10 years since. "Fantasia on a Theme by Sandy Bull," by New Zealand guitarist Roy Montgomery, is warm and inviting, while parts of Flying Saucer Attack's "Since When" have the feel of a cold and airless moon. Each artist contributed one track that lasted a full LP side; the other four are Bardo Pond (collaborators with Montgomery in Hash Jar Tempo), Jessamine, Loren Mazzacane Connors and Charalambides.

Roy Montgomery - "Fantasia on a Theme by Sandy Bull"

Flying Saucer Attack - "Since When"



Six Organs of Admittance, School of the Flower (Drag City 2005)
Gary Higgins, Red Hash (1973; Drag City 2005)
Ben Chasny's cover of Gary Higgins' "Thicker Than a Smokey" on School of the Flower was one of the events that led to the reissue of Higgins' Red Hash, a rare 1973 folk record, on Drag City last year. These songs teach you how to live through the gray days.

Six Organs of Admittance - "Thicker Than a Smokey"

Gary Higgins - "It Didn't Take Too Long"

3/08/2006

Ladies and gents, the furry lobster


Best animal ever! I think this thing needs a theme song. "Rock Lobster"? Something by Super Furry Animals?

The Soft Boys - "Where Are the Prawns?"

3/07/2006

Woofers in my jeep


Masta Ace Incorporated, Slaughtahouse 12" (Delicious Vinyl 1993)
Subterranean bass, the "Funky Worm" and too many quotables. Too bad the 12" has a radio edit, but it's only mildly annoying.

Masta Ace Incorporated - "Born to Roll (Jeep Ass ... Remix)"

Bwana, Bwana (Caytronics 1972)
Man, even Wax Poetics has an audioblog now? Too much to keep up with nowadays. The "Re:Discovery" column way back in issue #1 spurred me to search out this slab of Latin acid funk rock, and it doesn't disappoint.

Bwana - "La Jurumba"

Bwana - "La Patuda"

3/06/2006

22 outfits and a mic check


I just realized I have put almost NO hip-hop on here since I started the site. We are going to remedy that situation .... to start it off, here's some bootleg remixes by Madlib. Turntablelab used to carry these ... I don't know if they're still in stock, but they've got a search engine now so there's no excuse not to go and check. Vol. 2 ("1980s Saturday Morning Edition: All Samples 1977-1982") is especially hot -- all roller-skater disco jams and fluffy Cloud One funk.

Cappadonna - "Slang Editorial (Madlib Remix)"

Jadakiss - "Put Ya Hands Up (Madlib Remix)"

p.s. Mix of the month will come a little later this month, but it's in the works ...

p.p.s. Three 6 Mafia winning an Oscar was genius. (Nice headline, Associated Press: "Rappers steal statue." Sigh.)


3/04/2006

All night long


This one isn't for everyone, but if you are one of the ones who it's for, uhh .... you'll love it. Dark, skittery French house with utterly mental vocals that actually sort of tell a story (with helpful recap from the female protagonist). The second half is an almost completely new track, with a breakdown that sounds like falling down the stairs followed by a melody made up of synthesized percussion tones and overtones. Out on a Trapez single backed with the equally wiggy "Tulip Schnaps."

Noze - "Kitchen"

3/02/2006

Funky Timmy


Timmy Thomas, Why Can't We Live Together, (Glades 1972)

Masterpiece of funk minimalism from Miami's Timmy Thomas, best known for his 1973 hit "Why Can't We Live Together." Naked soulful singing backed only by an early drum machine and a seemingly improvised, overdriven organ. These two tracks, probably the best on the LP, are also paired up on a 45 on Glades.

Timmy Thomas - "Why Can't We Live Together"

Timmy Thomas - "Funky Me"

p.s. When I was googling for some Timmy Thomas info I ran across this funk and soul blog that I'll definitely be checking in the future ...