holy shit, i'm alive?

hi all. yep, it's true. i'm still here. been a while, no? anyhoo, i think i'll give you something nice now since you've all been sooooooooooooo patient (i think?)

so... this is a big one. as you may know, i am a big fan of all things finnish, especially droney folky musicy stuff. this here is a 3 cd collection of tracks from the mysterious and smokey artist Uton. three cds are a lot to cover here, so imma gonna let mr. brad rose do the talking about this one.

"Where to begin with a 3 CD set of one of my favorite artists around... that's not easy. Last Visible Dog's massive "Whispers From the Woods" set is an essential, monolithic look at one of the most underappreciated artists in the sprawling Finnish scene. This release compiles many of Uton's (aka Jani Hirvonen) essential, but out-of-print, releases along with some bonus unreleasted material. It's a huge set, but for those who haven't yet experienced the forest spirit that is Uton, this is the best possible place to start.

The best disc here is the first, just because it finally gives Uton's essential "T?m?n Sanan J?lkeen" CD-R (originally released on Hirvonen's own, now defunct, Haamumaa imprint) the proper reissue it deserves. This densely textured album is the aural emergence of the first primeval woods centuries ago. This music has an old soul and Uton's use of dark electronics in conjunction with acoustic instrumentation is nothing short of spectacular. This is a wholly satisfying release, combining all the elements that makes the Finnish underground so great.

Also of note is the long out-of-print CD-R on the Jewelled Antler label, "Ay Um Au Lam." This seven-song release was Uton's most impressive foray into minimal droneworks. Hirvonen never overwhelms you with the electronic tones on "Ay Um Au Lam." He knows when to hold back and let the listener's imagination fill in any gaps or cracks that he leaves out. It's an underrated skill, but is used to perfection on this album. "Ay Um Au Lam" is the logical precursor to what is my favorite Uton release to date, "The August Light." Where that release had rich, organic threads weaving through it, like it was the modern music of the magic woods, "Ay Um Au Lam" is more primitive. It's the primordial soup that all life emerged from. In this simple state, this is pure beauty.

The other releases on "Whispers >From the Woods" expand on these various themes and offer a deep insight to Uton's modus operandi. The more noisy and abrasive "Mik? Kasvaa Maan Sis?ll?" (from the noise label Hammasratas in 2003) has an almost childlike feel to it, like a baby learning to finally walk. And there's the underrated 3" from 267 Lattajjaa, "Buddhamania," that is like the same moments from "Mik?," but from the perspective of a concerned, yet proud, parent. It's full of anticipation and fear. This is simply an awesome collection by a wonderfully talented artist.

Uton should be mentioned in the same breath as all the better known acts from Finland. Sure, popularity or recognition means squat these days, but in the end, more people need to hear these excellent compositions. Jani Hirvonen knows what he's doing and does it very, very well. "Whispers From the Woods" is essential for fans of Uton and those who have yet to discover his brilliance. 9/10 -- Brad Rose (25 July, 2005)" - from the Foxy Digitalis page.

huge release for sure, get this while it's hot.

Uton - Whispers From The Woods

cd 1:
http://www.mediafire.com/?dxgwmyiruqh

cd 2:
http://www.mediafire.com/?toomeyyzmmm

cd 3:
http://www.mediafire.com/?m0m3ndkuzgn

the harmony of the spheres is in the spheres themselves

kind of more like harmony of the circles (get it? records aren't spheres? get it?) released in 1996 on the awesome drunken fish label as a triple lp boxset with one of the more beautiful booklets i've ever seen (i wish i had scans, i've searched for them. acetate, cardstock, and spot varnish everywhere, not to mention awesome blurbs and partial discographies of all the bands. way well done!) this is like the space-drone who's who of the mid nineties. three lps, beautiful box and book, and a hell of a line-up. one side each by flying saucer attack, jessamine, loren mazzacane conners, bardo pond, charalambides, and roy montgomery. this is a really huge comp, and really really really well done. tough for me to give it the full review job, just know that the flying saucer side is awesome (duh, right?), the bardo pond side is stoned ass meanderings that aren't boring for a change, this is some of the best loren connors stuff, the only better jessamine are either the first lp or the triple 7", charalambides were coming off of the houston lp (i think, it was around there) and it's beautiful, and roy montgomery really can do no wrong. if you have not heard this monumental and wonderful compilation, then do yourself the biggest favor you have done in a while and get it now!

Harmony of the Spheres boxset:
part one:
http://www.mediafire.com/?mydw5rztnnn
part two:
http://www.mediafire.com/?wznkz3jwzjz

sorry for the lack of posts.

internet access around here has been shady to say the least. i'm planning on making a few updates this weekend, so stay perked cause this shit is gonna be howt.

on that note, here's to 1993.

throw up in the sky!

Ashtray Navigations is/are a project of one Phil Todd and his friends when he feels like incorporating them, playing with the likes of Alex Neilson, Neil Campbell, and Ben Reynolds. he crafts a style of drone music that stays very close to the grounds his contemporaries do, but it stays strictly unique and his own. coming from a noisier side of things (think west coast noise bands like Noggin or yellow swans (even though they aren't similar really)), but still sticking to the drone, he crafts lush fields of drone that are spacious and immense, with loads of little details that keep shifting in and out. very dynamic for drone, and usually the quality control is on "high."

this is his Qbico album "Throw Up In The Sky / With Fine Clinking Magnets." two shimmering pieces of processed guitar and tapes and other such jingle-jangle. i like this record a lot, it sounds awesome at 33 or 45.

just ripped at 33 though. sorry.

Ashtray Navigations - Throw Up In The Sky / With Fine Clinking Magnets
http://www.mediafire.com/?fiqzmdln4dr

get slap happy, humphrey.

Slap Happy Humphrey were an interesting little idea of a band from japan. they played covers of songs by japanese folk singer Morita Doji, but they didn't do just straight up covers. they took the songs, and played them as straight as they could except for the inclusion of hyper-distorted ultra-destruction guitar that comes in and makes noise more than solos every once in a while. it's incredible how it comes off, the juxtaposition of harsh guitar noise and the crystalline voice of Mineko Itakura (also singer for Angel In Heavy Syrup). it works quite well, though the entire album is a tough one to sit through at once. there is, however, a standout track entitled Chiheisen (which also was the single released for this album) that is staggering.

this cd is a tough one to find. the band forgot to get permission to do these songs from Morita Doji, so she threatened to sue them unless they stopped selling the cds. so they did. sucks.


Slap Happy Humphrey - S/T
http://www.mediafire.com/?mbhzgxzwt0e

heat, birds, and jewelled antlers

here's the other Jewelled Antler Collective compilation entitled "Heat and Birds." this one is a bit different than the other comp. firstly, there are bands on here outside of the immediate Jewelled Antler family of members, before this the label had been pretty much solidly only side projects and friends bands. now it had grown to encapsulate bands of a similar spirit and global friends. the lineup is awesome. my two favorites are the MCMS track and, of course, the Golden Hotel track, but really there are no stinkers here, though it is a much slower and droneier affair than the other comp. lots more to do with feild recordings. very peaceful, really.

tracklist:
Track Duration
1 Jewelled Antler Collective - 'heat and birds'...and frogs 2:15
2 Hala Strana - Kanasztancok Ket Hegedun 3:02
3 The Floating Birthday Children - Swan On A Black Lake 1:30
4 The Muons - Little Star 3:51
5 Of - Aerial Cisterns 4:12
6 Kemialliset Ystävät - Juurakkotukka 2:49
7 The Blithe Sons & Daughters - Death In The Woods 3:01
8 Dead Raven Choir - Red Rocking Chair 3:28
9 Markus - King Of Black Leaves 2:35
10 Byram Abbott - 'doves rehabilitating at fort cronkhite, 2001' 1:01
11 The Family Of Apostolic - Mabel's Umbrage 3:52
12 The Franciscan Hobbies - The Horned Ibexes 3:21
13 Avarus - Hessu Se Tässä Vann, Ei Mikki 1:58
14 Golden Hotel - The Blame 1:38
15 MCMS - Live In Brooklyn, 8-24-2002 8:23
16 Thuja - Opaque Reeds 8:23
17 Yasmomati-Nandana - Gill's Pier, 6am, 07-07-2002 Krsna Meditation 14:27


hop on pop.

Jewelled Antler Collective - V/A - Heat and Birds
http://www.mediafire.com/?jwzzmm2kmmz

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.)

this one's for the lonely.

happy valentines day everyone.

good ole kills got you a present.

you don't need a review of this one. M Gira bedroom recordings. put this one on and drink bourbon from the bottle smoking cigarettes and staring out a window.

Michael Gira - I Am Singing To You From My Room.
http://www.mediafire.com/?1zmntkwjntm

ride those WAVVES man.

ok, i know this is everywhere right now, but seriously, if you haven't checked this out, then please please do so now.

this is Wavves, dude. a one man project consisting of 22 year old Nathan Daniel Williams and his 4 track and a bunch of guitars and drums. he plays a brand of surf-rock that is pretty unique in that genre. his songs are fast, snotty, blown the fuck out, noisey, but most of all fun. the thing that strikes me the most is how young this kid is... what were you doing when you were 22?

this is a band i would want to see at a house party in the summer time. definitely my new party album.

this is the tape version of the lp on fuck it / woodsist.

shimmy out and ride those Wavves on home

Wavves - s/t
http://www.mediafire.com/?xrdermh2mom

i return with a century of moonlight!

howdy.

i'm back. here's some Ilyas Ahmed for you all to consume. i like this album a lot, it's spacey and spacious and fucking brilliant. when he meanders on some sort of formless wave of free-drone noise it helps to drift along with him and find yourself somewhere else, where ever the notes take you. when he's playing that spectral guitar and howling it's truly ethereal. this is the brightest of Ilyas' releases i've heard, but not bright like cheery, like least smokey sounding and open. it's more sundrenched, but washed out. lovely album, really. i truly hope he sticks around for a while and makes more incredible recordings like this.

Ilyas Ahmed - Cetury Of Moonlight
http://www.mediafire.com/?myzmzay1jky

be patient, my friends. the wait is almost over.

i have shady internets right now, but in like 2 days i will have good internets again and will resume the postage. sounds GREAT right? i might need to check my pants i'm so excited.

hang tight, lay loose, and keep on keeping on.

a bittersweet passage

i started this blog as something to "kill time" with, something to pass the long, lonely days spent here in my parent's basement while they went to work and my leg mended. it's been about four months. my leg is doing quite well, i can almost walk without a limp at all (considering i had 3 surgeries, 2 plates, 10 pins, and an external apparatus that went into my bone, i'd say it went well.) so now i am going back to my life (i hope) starting tomorrow. i will have a lot less time to kill, so this blog is going to slow down. i know i've been saying that for a while, but whatever. now it's true.

so, in parting with this chapter i am leaving you here with this: a new mix. it's a bittersweet one, again on the downer side. but, it's definitely a good one. get it if you like. i'd like you to.

as stated before, the blog is not dead. by no means will i stop doing this, it's just going to be a lot more sporadic and less regular. i've got about 40 or so albums coming your way over the next few weeks so keep your eyes peeled. after that, i am hoping to have regular computer access again (i'm getting my old one back! 100 gb of music and all my cds ripped to it! woo!) so posting will resume on a somewhat regular pace, but when that will be i am not sure.

to all of you: thanks for reading and continuing to read. this blog helped me out during some hard times, believe it or not. so, thanks for checking me out. keep on keeping on.

here's the mix.

titled: Four Months Away
1. satanstompincaterpillars - Aphid
2. Deerhunter - Red Ink
3. Current 93 - Lullaby
4. The Blithe Sons - The Rustic House
5. Jarboe - Song For A Buried Child
6. Belong - I Never Lose. Never Really.
7. Glassine - Birds Are The Life Of The Sky
8. For Every River Buried - There Is Not One Fire
9. Jen Wood - Bullet Box
10. Low - Murderer
11. The Softies - Anywhere But Here
12. A Hawk And A Hacksaw - Oporto
13. Colleen - A Swimming Pool Down The Railway Track
14. Fursaxa - Desiree
15. Hala Strana - Home
16. Starbird - Feathers In Smoke
17. Alastair Galbraith - Blue Room
18. Mark Kozelek - Smokey (demo version)
19. Fennesz - Coedine
20. Hush Arbors - Dark Mist Curtains In The Door
21. Set Fire To Flames - This Thing Between Us Is A Rickety Bridge Of Impossible Crossing/Bonfires For Nobody...

thanks folks. i'll be back soon.

"Four Months Away"
Part 1
http://www.mediafire.com/?njmquyymyyx

Part 2
http://www.mediafire.com/?4lni1mq4miz

totally awesome MAGMA video

from a 1977 french television show. my favorite Magma song, "De Futura."

good quality and fucking weird!

enjoy.

ever wanted to see comus live?

here's most of their set from their "reunion" show on the Melloboat last year. as far as reunions go, this one seemed pretty awesome. awkward angle, but the sound is pretty good. part 3 seems rather short, but overall this is pretty cool, and at least interesting to see all the main players there after 35 years.

enjoy.

part 1


part 2


part 3


part 4

flying canyon. that's it.

so yeah, usually i get sort of "poetic" with the titles, but this one deserves better. this one is a cd that deserves to stand on it's own. this is Flying Canyon's s/t cd. Cayce Lindner poured himself into these songs. you can hear it. this is some of the most emotionally strained and saddest folk music i've ever heard. it's intense to say the least, it's beauty spans well beyond the scope of just the songs... it is a personal and incredibly close album, an album of hope and despair at the same time. featuring Glenn Donaldson and Shayde Sartin as the backing band, but mostly focussed on Cayce. as it should be. his sad guitar mixed with his coedine stained whiskey soaked voice makes me break.

Cayce took his life almost a year after this cd was released. this sounds like his heart was already breaking. so sad.

this is one of my favorite cds of all time. put it on and give it a good close listen. it deserves that.

Flying Canyon - Flying Canyon
http://www.mediafire.com/?lmoijfuyelj

time for a reality check

i'm going back to the real world in about a week (my leg is healed! yay!). posting is gonna start slowing waaaaaaay down cause i will lose regular computer access. this does not mean the blog is dying, no no no quite the contrary. it just means i am gonna have a hard time uploading stuff and will do so whenever i get the chance (which may be more often than i expect). i'm gonna fill my mediafire with shit too so that there will be stuff to post even if i have to go to a public library. so, if you are reading this blog and are a newcomer, go through some of the older posts. chances are if you like the first page, you will like the other pages just as much.

sorry folks, i need to have a life again. the operative word here is NEED.

here's a cool video i found searching youtube recently, not really music related.

after a few days off it's time for a MAGIC HOUR of posting!

Magic Hour were a quartet consisting of Kate Biggar (guitar), Wayne Rogers (guitar & vocals, of the awesome Twisted Village label and about 30 or so bands), Damon Krukowski (drums), and Naomi Yang (bass, the latter two of Galaxie 500 and Damon & Naomi). these folks made some exceptional psychedelic fused dreamy pop with extended fuzz solos and really gentle voices. This cd is titled "No Excess Is Absurd" and if you can find the first edition you should purchase it for the really nice packaging alone (let alone the music, which is exceptional, this being my favorite of their stuff). housed in a silver box with some printing on it and packaged with a really nice booklet, it looks as awesome as it sounds. the later editions have the cover art pictured here. this cd is pretty much necessary downloading for those fans of D&N, g500, any Wayne Rogers band (the guitar and FUZZ are way awesome!), and extreme solos.

Magic Hour - No Excess Is Absurd
http://www.mediafire.com/?i35fcjk2izq

more bower, more TOTAL

this is one i've been slacking on putting up, though also mediafire didn't seem to like me uploading it either (took me 4 seperate tries. fucking internets.)

here's TOTAL's awesome noise opus called "Clear Factory." this is an awesome release, put out on that swell label Majora a bunch of years back. this is pure Bower in top form, with tons of extra blown out guitar, loads of layers of feedback, and yes, even some melody laid underneath it all. there are three tracks on this one, each longer than 10 minutes. the instrumentation is much sparser than other Total releases, centered around Bower and his ultra destruction guitar (though there is some piano and what sounds like a radio present as well). this album is prime, one of the best things Matthew Bower has ever done.

if you are a Bower nut like i am, then don't hesitate. get this now.

super duper special thanks to david for the high quality rips here. rock on my friend!

Total - Clear Factory
http://www.mediafire.com/?jmzkwyhmzux

another visit to the astral social club

ah, Neil Campbell, you rule my world.

here's Astral Social Club's #11 cd-r which he put out himself, of course. strictly limited to 150 copies (and reissued on a mp3 cd-r which i think is out of print now too...), this cd-r has sounds very close to the important releases. loads of high end skree and layers here, and tons of that fast-forwarded tape sound here too.

actually, his own description is much better than i could do:
"Content this time around is highly nitrous, with much overloaded top-end twinkle. Check for some particularly screwy (and often barely-recognisable) versions of tracks set for release on QBICO and Important Records later this year, taking the demented recent ASC live persona and twisting it further with heavy collage/layering techniques. Offset this with remedial drumbox stumble and mysterious processed tracks and you know theres only one hotel you can be checking into. Edition of 150 in colour ASC corporate house-style. 7 tracks, 42 minutes"

get it. no cover scans, but the art is the usual "Astral Social Club" picture with a green background.

Astral Social Club - #11
http://www.mediafire.com/?nwknzykdzwz

sorry no uploads today.

i'm not feeling great. here's a jack rose video to cheer you all up.