old habits are hard to kick. so is Vibracathedral Orchestra

here's their double lp that i think the band released themselves (there's no label listed at least) and this one is a free-form doozy. loads of skittering and skattering of random percussion, strings, and keyboards going on underneath the layers upon layers of buzzed out, stoned up, messed around, and faded guitars that shimmer in and out when necessary, but mostly just occupy a drone space to set the mood of the track. this is the orchestra really letting loose and bouncing ideas off each other in a way that is playful but still retaining the overall feel that any of their albums holds, drones that you just want to give yourself to and fade into as they fade you out of this world.

i think this is one of the better of this band's cannon of albums. a bunch of minds on tape. truly exceptional.

Vibracathedral Orchestra - Double lp
(link removed cause i'm a dumbass.)

qbico records appreciation pt.1

today's round of posts centers around qbico records, an awesome european imprint focussing on releasing small, elaborately packaged, and beautifully crafted runs of vinyl releases ranging from free-jazz to noise. i've already posted the Family Underground picture disk (download it!), so if you were a fan of that then check these next posts out.

the first of today's posts is the Vibracathedral Orchestra (what a shock, right?) lp qbico put out a few years back. on it's bright green vinyl you find two long buzzing and droning pieces that will not be any kind of suprise to the fans of this band. there seems to be a lot more electronics on these tracks than on other vibra releases, with lots of chirps and electronic hums, but as you get deeper in the tracks the usual free-clattering circle of guitars, pipes, and strings come to the humming forefront. the flip side opens with a huge organ drone that sets the tone for a side full of ur-drone goodness that only this crew could bring.

this release marked a load of changes for the group, as there were a few line-up shifts coming right around this time (flower, campbell, and hayden all left the band for periods around this recording). it's good to hear that even if the band didn't have the same membership they weren't losing focus or straying from a path they laid out so well in the past. this lp is long gone, so good luck finding it out in the real world.

Vibracathedral Orchestra - The Sun Balance/The Open Knot
http://www.mediafire.com/?02mtjxebsyt

lino hi, lino low

as requested, here is Vibracathedral Orchestra's "Lino Hi." this release is very tough to find, and as such is worth the trouble. it opens with scraping violins and flutes and bells tinkling and such as any other vibra cd, but this one has an early quality of a band finding it's stride with each other, each of the musicians seeming very at home with each other and able to improvise off each other well. the drone is in high effect here, with emphasis on the high. loads of static and feedback from one player overlaid by the melody of another person's playing and never sounding dull or contrived... this is the drone music of the gods, my friends. Vibracathedral have never once disappointed me, and i've heard all but 3 of their releases (anyone have the 10" puh-leaze!)

this isn't far off from releases like "Versatile Arab Chord Chart" or "Long Live The Weeds" (posted earlier here!). if you like anything by any of the musicians involved, the drone, or just plain out good gettin' high music, then check this shit out and feel the vibrations!
(sorry, no cover scans, but it's a pretty boring cover anyhow.)

Vibracathedral Orchestra - Lino Hi
http://www.mediafire.com/?3zgz0zmnhdt

that vibrating cathedral needs a sunroof!

how was everyone's weekend? mine was boring and lonesome. sniffle. anyhoo, enough about my mopey ass, you all want to get to the noize!

here' the Vibracathedral Orchestra / Sunroof! split put out by the lovely vhf records a while ago. i'm pretty certain it's oop, but if not you should run and grab it cause it's essential listening.

the cathedral lads and ladies are up to their usual drone and moan business, with loads of high-end violin scrape and random percussion clatter, but there seems to be a lot of singing on this recording, which isn't always a mainstay in the songs... if you are a fan of any of their releases, then you'll really dig it. really, they have never put out anything anyone could call remotely bad, and this release seems to be much more upbeat, mostly because of the ever-present percussion.

Sunroof! for those who are not "in the know" is matthew bower and whomsoever he decides to invite to play with him (richard youngs, neil campbell, tirath singh nirmala, the skaters, etc.) this project of his tends to be much less noisy than most of his other projects (skullflower, hototogisu, total, mirag, etc.) and more concerned with a melodic-sort of drone that carries you far into the high end, with drum-machine loops and singing bowls and loads of his usual distortion, but not in the usual blow your eardrums out fashion (though it's still loud as fuck!) this release sounds to me to be much akin to his cloudz cd or maybe ussa, not the intense wall of guitar skree to be found on silver bear mist (also on the spotless vhf, get it now.)

for fans of the drone for certain, this is a great split 2xcd and well worth your time.

Vibracathedral Orchestra / Sunroof! - Wings Over America 2xCD

Sunroof!

http://www.mediafire.com/?lmlwd2znhgt

Vibracathedral
http://www.mediafire.com/?ctouo3gcnx0

vibracathedral orchestra... what more can be said?

............

i really don't know what to say about this band of brits. ultra prolific, always spot on (i've heard something like 20 releases of their's and none have been stinkers.), the members record great stuff (astral social club, a band, anything mick flower touches), fuck even the almighty matthew bower does time in the band! psychedelic and experimental, their drones take hints from eastern music as well as european classical standards, but don't think it's classical music at all. these guys and gals can sure make one hell of a racket. clinking and clanking around at times, or focused and beaming a shot of ur-drone (yeah, i stole that term from aquarius but it sure as hell applies here) straight to your pleasure centers.

this cd is probably one of the better documents of the band's live sound around the early 2000's. it's rare as hell, being a self-released cd-r, so the only other place you're gonna find it is e-bay. burn baby burn.

vibracathedral orchestra: long live the weeds!

'http://www.mediafire.com/?ilm5ixqicjm'