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Spires That in the Sunset Rise (2004)


Spires That in the Sunset Rise - ekscentryczny girls band, pozostaje od kilku już lat jednym z najciekawszych przedstawicieli tzw. sceny weird-folkowej, penetrującym z powodzeniem rozległe terytorium rozpościerające się między muzycznymi tradycjami Ameryki i domeną mniej lub bardziej swobodnej improwizacji. Już omawiany tu, debiutancki album formacji przynosił świadectwo dużego potencjału i ogromnej wyobraźni muzycznej pań, sięgających z upodobaniem po rozmaite instrumenty (głównie strunowe i perkusyjne) pochodzenia etnicznego. Muzyka Spires to próba odzyskania rdzennego brzmienia pionierskiej Ameryki - jest więc surowa, dzika i dość nieokrzesana, miejscami liryczna, częściej jednak ekstatyczna, bliska histerycznej ekspresji rodem z wyimaginowanych sabatów w Salem. Proszę się jednak nie niepokoić - nie ma tu miejsca na nieznośny patos wampirycznych gotycyzmów - nic z tych rzeczy. Są za to oniryczne kołysanki przeistaczające się znienacka w obłąkane pieśni, czy też może w pieśni obłąkanych, są przedziwne improwizacje - wokalne i instrumentalne, są ulotne ślady plemiennego transu - spiętego klamrą monotonnych powtórzeń, są wreszcie szepty, świsty i pohukiwania dziewiczej puszczy, w której głosy ludzkie i nieludzkie splatają się w jeden wibrujący dźwięk. Intrygująca muzyka nie dla każdego ucha. (gaz-eta)

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Spires That in the Sunset Rise have been unsettling and thrilling audiences for over a decade now with their brand of sonic alchemy. Combining traditional acoustic instruments like cello, spike fiddle, banjo, and lately more on flute and saxophone with electric elements and mesmerizing chants, one can call them goth, folk, psychedelic, experimental, electronic--and it all applies. They have four full length releases on labels like Secret Eye and Galactic Zoo Disk and two more on Hairy Spider Legs. The band is paired down to two women these days, each busy performing and releasing solo material as well. Many audiences have seen them expand into pure improvisation lately, but there is still song writing taking place, and often STITSR play the line between the two. Always original, always pushing themselves into new territory, STITSR still very much enjoy playing, as they are coming upon their 13th year.

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Frank Zappa & Mothers Of Invention - The MOFO Object Project (2006)


I discovered progressive music in 1987, when I was 14 years old. I'd been going through my dad's record collection...he had a big one, easily 300 to 500 LPs, 99% of which were traditional or then contemporary country. However, in digging through the collection, I found a few titles that didn't look like they could possibly be country. I put them aside, however, as my eyes caught an even more gaudy cover...some weird looking guys with long hair and beards, looking like a greasy bunch of hippie biker gang members, and the cover was all posterized and freaky looking. There were no songs listed on the back...just some strange letter written by a high school student. And inside...references to all sorts of weird things...and the song titles..."Return Of The Son Of The Monster Magnet?" "Help, I'm A Rock?" "Who Are The Brain Police?" What the hell is all this about?

The album, in case you hadn’t figured it out, was Freak Out!, the first full length effort from a band named the Mothers of Invention, led by future musical groundbreaker Frank Zappa. My life was never the same again. The MOFO project/object is a 4-CD boxed set celebrating the 40th anniversary of that seminal double LP set. 73 tracks are spread across the 4 CDs, with the majority being previously unreleased material from the sessions that produced the 1966 release. Alternate takes, demos, basic tracks and more are interspersed with a wide range of interview material from 1966 through 1993, placing the album contextually in the time that spawned it.


CD 1 is likely of most interest to the less completist Zappa listener, as it offers, for the first time ever, the original 1966 stereo LP mix on CD. This is the album as I grew up hearing it, warts and all. Interestingly, despite the narrower frequency response possible in 1966, the material holds up well sonically. Freak Out! was never a densely orchestrated album; with the majority of the material being pastiches of early to mid-1960’s pop, super-wide frequency response was perhaps not necessary. This mix features none of the tinkering that FZ did on the 1987 mixes that became the standard for most all CD releases to date, and finally having this original mix on CD should be reason enough for the Zappa-phile to pony up for a purchase.

The set gets most interesting on discs 2 and 3.

CD 2 is primarily drawn from material that would make up most of LP 1. This is the poppier material (as far pop as Zappa got, really). Alternate takes, vocal tracks, basic backing tracks drawn from in-studio mono cassette recordings, and the like fill out this disc. Amazingly, the mono cassette sourced material sounds pretty impressive...easily listenable, considering the age and source. Hardcore Zappaphiles will go ga-ga over this, as it offers unique insight into the creative process that crafted these tracks, sometimes apparently from whole cloth. CD 3, on the other hand, offers a similar insight into the sessions that developed the three longer tracks on LP 2. Loads of percussion sessions from “Return of the Son of the Monster Magnet,” vocal overdub sessions, and some enlightening studio chatter (“Please, I have to ask you to hurry and clear the room. The studio time is costing us a fortune every minute, and we've gotta finish it off, 'cause we're still a low budget rock & roll band. We haven't worked for six fucking weeks. Please leave the room.”) are a highlight, but most interesting is the inclusion of 5 tracks culled from a June 1966 concert performance by the original Mothers of Invention from the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. The band rips through the selection of tracks as if possessed. Would that more of this material were available...


CD 4 compiles some alternate mixes of Freak Out! material as released on the Mothermania compilation, as well as a few 1987 alternate mixes never before released. The rest of the disc is composed of interview material as referenced above. If anything, the interviews show how dichotomous Zappa’s memory could be when discussing his work in the present and past tenses (early interviews chiding the Beatles for ripping off Freak Out!, vs. later interviews where he stated that the album had no influence on music or society at all). Zappa was a musician who was only concerned with his material in the present tense; the disc and set closes with an enlightening response from the man when asked how he wanted to be remembered:

“I don't care whether I'm remembered. As a matter of fact, there's a lot of people who would like to forget about me as soon as possible, and I'm on their side! You know? Just . . . hurry up and get it over with. I do what I do because I like doing it, I do it for my amusement first, if it amuses you . . . that's fine. I'm happy that you'll participate in it. But, uh, after I am dead and gone, there is no need to deal with any of this stuff, because it is not written for future generations, it is not performed for future generations. It is performed for now. Get it while it's hot, you know? That's it.”

Thankfully, there are people who want to remember Zappa and his work.

Hardcore Zappaphiles will likely plump for the deluxe 4 CD edition of The MOFO project/object, available in all it’s spiffnificence with an interesting and informative 48-page booklet, a fold out Freak Map, and packed in a unique soft vinyl case. Less obsessed collectors may find the readily available in retail stores 2-CD version to be more palatable. The original 1966 mix is available as CD 1 in both sets, while the abridged 2-CD version features a selection of material from the other three discs (and, sadly, 7 tracks not included on the massive 4-CD version). Either/both sets are indispensable, and offer the Zappa fan a unique look into one of the most important double LP releases ever. (source)




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Poet Rock Musicians Of The Desert - Rare Phrases and Poems From Captain Beefheart & Jim Morrison (2007)


Both men fronted rock bands from the 1960s and into the 1970s, both men had a fascination with the desert and creatures/animals. This album set pulls together some of their poetic words spoken into the mic.

Comes with a beautiful “desert and rock music” related 10-page foldout CD booklet.

Disc One contains 21 tracks. An intro by Jim Morrison is followed by 18 tracks of poetry and spoken word by Captain Beefheart and two tracks of the Captain’s poetry from the Magic Band days. Disc Two contains an intro by Captain Beefheart and 7 tracks of poetry by Jim Morrison.

Track listing:

CD One:
Track 1 Intro: Jim Morrison talks about poetry and music
Tracks 2-9 Captain Beefheart Poetry
Track 10 Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band – Poetry
Tracks 11-20 Captain Beefheart Poetry
Track 21 Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band Poetry

CD Two:
Track 1 Intro: Captain Beefheart, Jim Morrison – Rebellion, Chaos
Track 2 Jim Morrison – Run To You
Track 3 Jim Morrison – Someone Knew
Track 4 Jim Morrison – 25 Per Cent
Track 5 Jim Morrison – New Orleans
Track 6 Jim Morrison – Every Step
Track 7 Jim Morrison – Reptiles
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VA - My Pussy Belongs To Daddy (1957)


A two-for-one today, thanks to another contribution from the always reliable Ross Hamilton, who writes: "I have heard about this album down the years but never found a copy of my own until now.

I don't know too much about it I am afraid, but it comes under the category of adult albums like (those by) Kay Martin and her Bodyguards, full of double entendres and sexually suggestive lyrics." I too have come across this before, its always cropping up on those 'bad album art' sites, but had never heard any of its contents until Ross passed these two cuts on to me.

There are just 10 tracks on the Beacon Records album My Pussy Belongs to Daddy, subtitled For Adults Only - Spicy Songs Sung By Outstanding Artists. Four artists are credited, none of them outstanding. The title song, credited to Faye Richmonde, is fairly mediocre and like so may of these simpering, sniggering, so-called 'adult' albums, aimed at the stag party market, but the other track I'm sharing with you today - He Forgot His Rubbers, performed by Angelina - is great; it reminds me of the wonderful Davy's Dinghy by Ruth Wallis, a Dr Demento standard and one of my favourite comedy records of all time. Co-incidentally Davy's Dinghy was recorded in 1956, just one year before My Pussy was released.

It seemed that Beacon began by specialising in these kinds of releases. Their first album, Hot Pepper, featured the same line up as My Pussy Belongs to Daddy (augmented by Nancy Steele) and included such 'classics' as I'm a Virgin, But I'm On The Verge, It Was Hard When I Kissed Her Goodbye and, not being the kind of outfit to let anything go to waste, the album also includes an earlier outing for My Pussy....cheapskates! (source)



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MC5 - Human Being Lawnmower-The Baddest and Maddest (2002)


Everyone is familiar by now with the legendary legacy of the MC5. As agit-prop band for the White Panther Party, they smashed the unstated taboo against an overt political stance within a rock 'n' roll framework. Subsequent bands like Clash, the D.K.'s, and R.A.T.M. owe much to these trailblazers.

My husband, who was down with the White Panthers when he was a kid, points to this collection as perhaps the best from the John Sinclair archives. I agree. Certainly the sound is far better than usual, with some terrific live outtakes from Jams. I Believe To My Soul is a standout, along with the alternate M.C. Is Burning and the J.B. medley. The rantings of W.P.P. "spiritual advisor" Jesse Crawford are much appreciated, including his support of the Zenta Commandments...

White Panther Chairman John Sinclair is present for some stoned saxophone ramblings on the crazed improv I'm Mad Like Eldridge Cleaver. Remember Eldridge from the good old days when he was the eloquent Minister of Info for Black Panther Party before he lost his mind and became a born-again Republican? At any rate, this is a solid collection for fans of this great band, and stands as an excellent companion piece to their three classic albums. (amazon)

The problem with these rarities compilations of the MC5 and the Stooges is they usually just coast on the band's legend while releasing [poor] quallity live recordings and demos. The new MC5 retro is a rare exception. While it may not be as essential as "Babes In Arms" this one does have excellent quallity out takes & altrernitive takes from "KIck Out the Jams"! That same show produced a cover of Ray Charles' "I believe to my soul" which, up until now, has not even been availible as a bootleg! (Other outkates from "Jams" not yet availible are "looking at you", "black to comm" and Screamin' Jay's "I put a spell on you.") Also, you get the alts of "Moter City's burnin'" and "rama lama fa faf fa". The rest of the CD is more or less the usual mediocer stuff usually associated with comps like these but die hard MC5 fans (like myself) will want this for the "Jams" outtakes. You'll be so pleased with those you'll forgive the rest of the album. (amazon)


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Bobby Boyd Congress (1971)


Utter the name Bobby Boyd Congress to any collector or serious fan of 70s rare groove and you’ll suddenly see their face strangely come to life, lit intensely with a mix of desire, frustration and resignation. Then, he or she will proceed to explain to you that this legendary record is a holy grail of European groove, of which the perilous and dangerous quest sends the most manic diggers insane.

Indeed this little funk/soul gem, displeased with its meagre 300 copy pressing in 1971, possesses a great number of other attributes which have sent its collector value through the roof (up to 1500 euro): a hot and rough production recorded at Studio Davout; the talents of the excellent American musicians exiled in Paris, the participation of Frank Abel (vocals and organ) and Lafayette Hudson (composition and bass) who would continue together, without saxophonist Bobby Boyd, under the Ice name and later the Lafayette Afro Rock Band. These 2 legendary line-ups recorded and released several cult albums in France – break-heavy, and with extended trance-like impros and scorching grooves. Their sound’s energy and power is already flagrant on this one, a jarring mix of funk, soul and rock and explosive instrumentation based on rough guitars, harmonious brass, wild organ and tireless drums. The vocals are just as extraordinary and add the final caress to this outstanding record that has at last been granted the reissue it deserves. (source)




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The Ramones - The 914 Sessions (1975)


Before the Ramones hit it big (OK, they were never as big as the Sex Pistols, but hey, they're the Ramones!) with their self-titled debut album in 1976, there was this little nugget flying around. Recorded on September 19, 1975 at 914 Studios, Blauvelt, New York, Judy's In The Basement was released as a 10-inch EP by Hit & Run Records, and made in East Berlin. The liner notes also state that the songs were produced by Tommy Erdelyi.


Joey Ramone - vocals
Johnny Ramone - guitar
Dee Dee Ramone - bass & backing vocals
Tommy Ramone - drums

At that time, the Ramones were PUNK. But then, given the simplicity of the songs, the catchy melodies, the singalong-ness of their tunes and those bombastic chords (never mind that they were the same three or four ones) - it's hard not to like the Ramones and doubly hard not to be inspired by them. For many, the idea of the Ramones might be boiled down to this: it's so simple anyone can do it! But the Ramones were being themselves and the fans understood this.

So here are the Ramones again... hungry and eager to play and before they got swept away by their new-found fame which their debut album would unleash.

Just how could anyone not want to sing along with I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend? And in the immortal words of Joey Ramone, "Hey ho, let's go!"



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Various Artists - Mobilisation Générale. Protest and Spirit Jazz from France (1970-1976)


This double LP compliation gathers some of the finest protest & esoteric jazz songs featuring a few big names of the french jazz scene and also a few tunes that you have probably never heard.

It includes Le Collectif du Temps des Cerises, Baroque Jazz Trio, Alfred Panou, Mahjun, François Tusques, Full Moon Ensemble, Chene Noir, Areski Belkacem & more... Highly recommended!


Following the elegant and unique 'Freedoom Jazz' compilation in association with French Label Heavenly Sweetness , Digger's Digest and Born Bad Records this time around have joined forces this time around to release mid December yet another beautiful selection of Super rare and hard to find tunes from the post revolutionary era in France....'Mobilisation Générale' is a Protest & Spiritual Jazz from the seventies with a unique sense of freedom and most inspired Composition of the past.. This new jazz compilation is made with the collaboration of Born Bad Records wich has been one of the most consistant sales in those last years as a independant Label in France.


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Udo Lindenberg (1971)


Udo Lindenberg (born 17 May 1946 in Gronau) is a German rock musician and composer.

Lindenberg started his musical career as a drummer. In 1969 Lindenberg founded his first band Free Orbit and also appeared as a studio and guest musician (with Michael Naura, Knut Kiesewetter). In 1970 he collaborated as a drummer with jazz-saxophonist Klaus Doldinger in Munich. In 1971, a band founded by Doldinger, Passport put out its first album, with Lindenberg on drums. He also played drums for the theme music for the German TV series Tator. The first LP of the Jazz rock group Emergency was released in 1971 but met with little commercial success.

The LP Lindenberg (also 1971, and sung in English, already with Steffi Stephan on bass) was likewise unsuccessful. In the following year, the fist LP in German was released: Daumen im Wind (produced by Lindenberg and Thomas Kukuck, who also produced the next five albums together), from which the single "Hoch im Norden" became a radio hit in northern Germany. The year 1973 brought a breakthrough with the album Andrea Doria and its catchy "Alles klar auf der Andrea Doria" and "Cello".

Over 100,000 copies sold, and Lindenberg quickly received the largest record deal of any German-language musician up to that time. Lindenberg was earning a special place in the new German-language music of the 70s: Between internationally oriented Krautrock and pop music, he found his niche. German-language rock had previously been confined to predominantly political message bands whose music was directed at a narrow audience.


Lindenbergs brash style, everyday subject matter ("Bei Onkel Pö…") and his feel for language were an unprecedented combination in German-language music. His pioneering work helped other artists such as Stefan Waggershausen and Marius Müller-Westernhagen get record deals of their own. In 1973 Lindenberg first went on tour with his Panikorchester (Panic Orchestra).

1976 was one of Udo Lindenberg's most productive years. Besides the LP Galaxo Gang he also published under the name Das Waldemar Wunderbar Syndicat I make you feel good, a first Best of Panik Udo and the first in a series of foreign-language publications No Panic, on which Lindenberg translated his songs to English. In the same year (and on another LP: Sister King Kong) with the song "Rock ’n’ Roll Arena in Jena", Lindenberg first mentioned a Panic Orchestra tour in the GDR. In 1976, Lindenberg discovered Ulla Meinecke and produced her first two albums. She was a guest artist and co-author of the 1977 LP Panische Nächte (Panic Nights) and the 1978 Dröhnland Symphonie. On Lindenbergs Rock Revue (1978) Lindenberg and Horst Königstein "Germanized" rock classics from Little Richard to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and went on a big tour. The Nr.-1-Hit "We Gotta Get out of This Place" was also published with German lyrics.

The subsequent Dröhnland-Symphonie-Tour was staged by Peter Zadek as a big multimedia stage show with a plethora of costumed extras. The result was Lindenbergs first live album Livehaftig. In 1979, Der Detektiv was the second Rock Revue, in which more international hits such as "Candle in the Wind" by Elton John, "Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf, "My Little Town" and "As Time Goes By" (from the film Casablanca) were "Germanized". Also 1997 was published "Belcanto - Udo Lindenberg & das Deutsche Filmorchester Babelsberg" which included hits like "Horizont", "Bis ans Ende der Welt" along with a song by Bertold Brecht and Udo's own interpretation of The Windmills of Your Mind - "Under the drunkard moon" ("Unterm Säufermond").

One of his most famous songs is Sonderzug nach Pankow (Special train service to Pankow), an adaptation of Chattanooga Choo Choo, released as a single on 2 February 1983. It originated from the refusal of eastern German authorities to allow Lindenberg a concert in the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

On June 3, 2011, Lindenberg performed at Kampnagel unplugged. The recording was later released as an album within the MTV unplugged series. Lindenberg was the 8th German artist in that series. The album became the second No.1 album for Lindenberg declared Platin status for 200,000 sold units after two weeks. The second single from the album "Cello" (feat. Clueso) wentNo.4 giving Lindenberg the highest chart position in German singles charts ever reached.

Lindenberg has worked collaboratively with various local and international recording artists (Eric Burdon, Helen Schneider, David Bowie, Tom Robinson, Keith Forsey, Gianna Nannini, and Nena) on a number of projects. He currently lives in Hamburg in the Hotel Atlantic (for several years now). His somewhat hoarse voice is the result of too much liquor and cigarettes. In 1989, he survived a heart attack. In 2010, he designed two stamps, themed on his songs "Andrea Doria" and "Sonderzug nach Pankow", for the Deutsche Post. (wikipedia)



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The Vegetable Orchestra - Onionoise (2010)


The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra została założona w lutym 1998 roku i, jak dotąd, zagrała ponad 200 koncertów w całej Europie, w najróżniejszych miejscach (sale koncertowe, teatry, szklarnie, górskie chaty, kluby, statki; festiwale muzyki klasycznej, elektronicznej, improwizowanej oraz world music). Orkiestra wykonuje muzykę wyłącznie na instrumentach zrobionych z warzyw – na marchewkach i ogórkach zamiast na fletach i trąbkach. W programie „Automate” laptop i sampler zostają zastąpione tak zwanym ogórkofonem (cuke-o-phone) oraz rzodkiewkową marimbą (radish-marimba). Twórczość The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra opiera się na przeniesieniu utworów muzyki elektronicznej do świata instrumentów z warzywniaka. Pracując nad organicznym dźwiękiem oraz szlifując innowacyjne techniki gry i rejestracji nagrań, muzycy powołali do życia całkowicie nowy wszechświat warzywnych brzmień, pozostający pod wpływem najróżniejszych współczesnych stylów muzyki elektronicznej. Z jednej strony, jasne staje się uderzające podobieństwo świata organicznego i elektronicznego, natomiast z drugiej – jesteśmy świadkami tworzenia niewątpliwie unikalnego brzmienia, które nie mogłoby powstać przy użyciu jakichkolwiek innych instrumentów. (kultura.lublin)


ONIONOISE is the third CD by The Vegetable Orchestra, an ensemble unique to the world of music which is committed to the exploration of the acoustic qualities of vegetables.

In addition to performing on the international concert circuit, the 12-people collective from Vienna has spent the last dozen years experimenting with the building of vegetable instruments, industriously unearthing the acoustic universe of roots and legumes, cabbages and courgettes.

All the instruments used are exclusively made from vegetables: from fresh as well as dried plant material such as carrot, leek, celery root, artichoke, dried pumpkin and onion skin. All these components are used for building organic instruments and sound generators which usually only last for one concert or one day in the studio. In addition to the vegetables, various utensils like record players or power drills are used to create unusual noises and to add unexpected texture to the music.

The sounds produced by the vegetable instruments are amazingly multi-layered: transparent & crackling, shrill & massive, dark & hypnotic, funky & groovy – a heterogeneous multitude of acoustic gems and strange, unfamiliar sounds whose organic origin is not always immediately recognizable.

The compositions are tailored to suit the specific characteristics of the vegetable instruments being used, in terms of their sonic attributes and practical considerations to optimize performance. Stylistically the music oscillates between organic pop music and aural sound experiments, with inspiration from various sources: Minimal Techno, Ambient, Noise, Pop, New and Electro-Acoustic Music.

One important characteristic of the orchestra is its collaborative self-organization. Every aspect of the CD (from compositions, photographs, cover design, to label and distribution) has been developed and decided collectively by all members of the ensemble.

This CD is an aural voyage through phantasmagorical continents of sound and imaginary gardens. Living music: multi-layered and idiosyncratic. (vegetableorchestra)

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The Sensational Guitars Of Dan And Dale (Sun Ra & The Blues Project) - Batman And Robin (1966)


You aren’t going to believe this one. In 1966 kids were going wild over ABC’s “Batman” television show. A New Jersey toy company wanted to cash in on the craze and rip off kids by releasing an album called “Batman and Robin.” This slab of vinyl had nothing to do with the t.v. show even though it was chock full of tunes like “The Penguin Chase,” “Robin’s Theme,” “Batmobile Wheels,” “Flight of the Batman” and “The Bat Cave.”

Here is the unbelievable part: Producer Tom Wilson hired Sun Ra and several members of his immortal Arkestra (including supposedly John Gilmore, Marshall Allen and Pat Patrick) to collaborate with members of the New York-based rock and blues band, The Blues Project (best known as Al Kooper’s band even though he wasn’t an original member) and record the sides as The Sensational Guitars of Dan and Dale. Why is this unbelievable? Because Sun Ra,  the otherworldly jazz composer, band leader and musician, was better known for bringing Outer Space and big band-tinged compositions into the experimental frenzy and fun of free jazz.


The album features twelve songs – ten instrumentals and two songs with vocals. It’s obvious that this was a quickie – something they churned out in a day or two. The rfiffs are simple and repetitive and many of the tunes consist of the Arkestra horns turning out recycled classical melodies (like Tchaikovsky’s “Fifth Symphony,” Prokofiev and Chopin) so they wouldn’t have to pay licensing fees.

“Batman and Robin” features pretty traditional instrumentation, especially for a Sun Ra session, of organ, guitar, bass, drums and horns. The album is pretty dang groovy actually. Because it is a record for kids, you won’t find any atonal experiments or any of Sun Ra’s infamous counter melodies layered over big band-like melodies here. It actually sounds like a Southern R&B instrumental combo in the vein as Booker T. & the MGs. Even though the riffs are simple, there is a surprisingly joyful aspect to the playing. It’s obvious they had fun at the sessions. It is also obvious that Sun Ra did in fact play on part of the album as you can tell by the organ blast at the beginning of the album’s first song, “Batman Theme.”

The real star of the record is the uncredited guitar player – it could be The Blues Project’s Danny Kalb or it might not be him. The “Sensational Guitars” is actually it pretty apt title because I imagine the album sounds like what would happen if Steve Cropper was given free reign to rip fractured, Yardbirds-like solos over every one of Booker T.’s song.

The verdict: An interesting and unexpected addition to the already eclectic Sun Ra catalog.  (source)

Alternative cover



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Lonnie Liston Smith & the Cosmic Echoes - Astral Traveling (1973)


Lonnie Liston Smith was 32 when, in 1973, he finally got around to recording his first album as a leader, Astral Traveling. By that time, the pianist/keyboardist had a great deal of sideman experience under his belt, and this superb debut made it clear that former employers like Pharoah Sanders, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Gato Barbieri, and Betty Carter had taught him well. One hears a lot of Sanders, John Coltrane, and McCoy Tyner influence on Astral Traveling; Smith obviously shares their passion for all things spiritual. Nonetheless, this LP leaves no doubt that the improviser is very much his own man and has a wealth of brilliant ideas of his own; thankfully, he has a cohesive band to help him carry them out. On Astral Traveling, Smith's 1973 edition of the Cosmic Echoes includes George Barron on soprano and tenor sax, Joe Beck on guitar, Cecil McBee on bass, David Lee Jr. on drums, James Mtume and Sonny Morgan on percussion, Badal Roy on Indian tabla drums, and Geeta Vashi on the Indian tamboura. An impressive lineup, and one that shows a great understanding of Smith's spiritual nature. Ninety-five percent of the time, Astral Traveling is serene and tranquil; but on "I Mani (Faith)," the unexpected interesting happens when Barron goes outside during his sax solo and gets into the type of dissonant, forceful screaming one would expect from Albert Ayler or late-period Coltrane. "I Mani (Faith)" has a hauntingly peaceful melody, but Barron's out-of-left-field solo makes it the most avant-garde track that Smith ever recorded as a leader. Produced by the late Bob Thiele -- an eclectic heavyweight who worked with everyone from Coltrane, Ayler, and Charles Mingus to Coleman Hawkins, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong -- Astral Traveling is among Smith's most essential and rewarding albums. --- Alex Henderson


Lonnie Liston Smith was familiar to Bob Thiele through his role as the pianist in Pharoah Sanders’ group, but it wasn’t until Lonnie had become a member of Miles Davis’ band that Thiele decided it was time to sign him to his own deal. By this time Lonnie had been on the scene for the best part of a decade playing with Art Blakey and Roland Kirk. He had come into his own with Sanders but there was nothing in jazz to compare with being in the piano seat for Davis’ group. For his Flying Dutchman debut Lonnie went into the studio with George Barron on saxophone, Cecil McBee on bass and a host of percussionists including two Indian players. The sound was atypical of his later recordings in that it was a largely acoustic set – featuring electric piano but no synths – but it fitted in with Lonnie’s cosmic jazz philosophy. The title track set the scene for an album with a mellow, spacey feel that today would be called spiritual jazz. The album was an immediate success and led to a long term contract with Flying Dutchman. --- Dean Rudland


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Bohdan Mazurek - Sentinel Hypothesis (2010)


Album „Sentinel Hypothesis” poświęcony jednej z najważniejszych postaci Studia Eksperymentalnego Polskiego Radia. Związany ze Studiem od 1962, Bohdan Mazurek był początkowo realizatorem nagrań dla innych kompozytorów; z czasem jednak zdecydował się na twórczość kompozytorską zarówno w dziedzinie muzyki ilustracyjnej (m.in. filmowej) jak i autonomicznej. Jego kompozycje charakteryzuje niezwykła dbałość o brzmienie a także słabość do wykorzystywania instrumentów tradycyjnych - nie tyle jako neutralnego czy przypadkowego materiału dla kompozytora muzyki konkretnej, ile materiału, który narzuca mu ograniczenia. Na płycie znajdują się nagrania z lat 1967-1989 ukazujące całe spektrum jego zainteresowań - od klasycznej muzyki elektronicznej po (jak nazwalibyśmy je dziś) nagrania terenowe. Płycie towarzyszy obszerna książeczka z omówieniem kompozycji autorstwa Bolesława Błaszczyka, jednego z najważniejszych badaczy historii Studia a także wieloma komentarzami samego Mazurka. (boltrecords)


Sentinel Hypothesis is a monograph 2xCD album by one of the most important figures of Polish Radio Experimental Studio. Bohdan Mazurek started working in the Studio in 1962 as a recording engineer but soon became its prominent composer, both of illustrative (film music) and autonomous music. His compositions are known for their solicitude for sound and extensive use of traditional instruments - not as neutral or random base for composition but rather as a material presupposing its limitations and ways of usage. The selection of compositions on the album are dated from 1967 to 1989 showing a wide spectrum of his interests from 'classical' electronic music to what would today be called field recordings. The CDs are accompanied by thorough analysis of the compositions by one of the most active researched of Studio's history, Boleslaw Blaszczyk, as well as comments of their author, Bohdan Mazurek. (boltrecords)

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Marta Kubišová - Songy a Balady (1969)


Marta Kubišová (ur. 1 listopada 1942 w Czeskich Budziejowicach) – czeska piosenkarka lat 60., wielokrotna zdobywczyni nagrody Złotego Słowika. Sygnatariuszka Karty 77.

Pragnęła, jak jej ojciec, studiować medycynę, jednak władze komunistyczne nie dopuściły jej do studiów z racji inteligenckiego pochodzenia. Przez wiele lat pracowała przy produkcji szkła. W roku 1964 wygrała konkurs wokalny w Pardubicach i zajęła się karierą estradową. Także w 1964 rozpoczęła pracę w praskim teatrze muzycznym Rokoko. Współtworzyła też wraz z Heleną Vondráčkovą i Václavem Neckářem niezwykle popularne trio Golden Kids, rozwiązane w 1970.

Przed zakazem występów zdążyła jeszcze wydać płytę Songy a balady (1969).

Pod koniec 1968 zaśpiewana przez Kubišovą piosenka Modlitwa dla Marty, wykonana do programu rozrywkowego Piosenki dla Rudolfa III, stała się nieformalnym hymnem końca praskiej wiosny. Władze postanowiły stopniowo odsunąć piosenkarkę od występów publicznych. W tym celu nawet zmieniono zasady przyznawania nagrody Złotego Słowika, którą Kubišová powinna była wygrać w 1969, podobnie jak wygrała m.in. rok wcześniej – połączono kilka kategorii i zniszczono część kartek pocztowych przysłanych na Kubišovą. Oficjalnie zajęła w ten sposób miejsce siódme, nie pozwalające już na uroczyste wręczenie nagrody. W lutym 1970 Służba Bezpieczeństwa przygotowała pornograficzne fotomontaże z jej udziałem i rozesłała je do instytucji kulturalnych i przyjaciół artystki. Efektem był całkowity ostracyzm na oficjalnych imprezach. Na polecenie władz skasowano wiele oryginalnych tzw. taśm matek w czechosłowackim radiu. W mediach istniał formalny zakaz wymieniania jej nazwiska a sama piosenkarka wyprowadziła się z Pragi w poszukiwaniu pracy. Przez lata mieszkała na wsi, gdzie trudniła się chałupnictwem (wyrabiała maskotki z modeliny), w latach 80. wróciła do Pragi, gdzie pracowała jako urzędniczka w wydziale budownictwa urzędu miejskiego. W tym czasie uczestniczyła w wielu nielegalnych, dysydenckich, niezależnych festiwalach piosenki.

Pierwsze publiczne pojawienie się Kubišovej nastąpiło w grudniu 1988 podczas demonstracji z okazji 40-lecia Powszechnej Deklaracji Praw Człowieka, gdzie zaśpiewała czechosłowacki hymn Kde domov můj. W grudniu 1989 podczas Aksamitnej Rewolucji w Pradze zaśpiewała z balkonu Placu Wacława Modlitwę do Marty i, ponownie, hymn Czechosłowacji. Od tego czasu wydała kilka nowych płyt i wystąpiła w filmach.

Zajmuje się działalnością charytatywną i prowadzi program telewizyjny o zwierzętach w schroniskach Chcete mě?

W 1995 została odznaczona Medalem Za zasługi II stopnia.

Jest jedną z głównych bohaterek książki Mariusza Szczygła Gottland (wydanie polskie - 2006, wydanie czeskie - 2007, wydanieniemieckie - 2008). Historia Kubišovej stała się też kanwą sztuki teatralnej Małgorzaty Sikorskiej-Miszczuk ZaginionaCzechosłowacja. Prapremiera została przygotowana w 2011 roku specjalnie na Międzynarodowy Festiwal Teatralny"Demoludy". (wikipedia)


Marta Kubišová (born 1 November 1942 in České Budějovice) is a Czech singer of iconic significance. By the time of the Prague Spring of 1968, with her song "Modlitba pro Martu" ("A prayer for Marta"), she was one of the most popular female singers in Czechoslovakia.

In 1967 she won Zlatý slavík award (English: Golden Nightingale). Her song "Prayer for Marta" became a symbol of national resistance against the occupation of Warsaw Pact troops in 1968. During the Prague Spring, she recorded over 200 SP records and one LP, Songy a Balady (Songs and Ballads, released in 1969), which was immediately banned from stores. In 1970, the government falsely accused her of making pornographic photographs leading to a ban from performing in the country until 1989. She was a signatory of the Charter 77 proclamation. Her first LPs after the Velvet revolution in 1989 were a re-issue of Songy a Balady and a compilation of old songs, titled Lampa.

orn 1 November 1942 in České Budějovice, Kubišová's father was a cardiologist, her mother was a housewife, who later sold records in Celetná street in Prague. In 1952 the family moved to Poděbrady. Wanting to get to college after graduating from high school, she started to work in Poděbrady glassworks. Her singing career began with a dance group which performed in Nymburk at the afternoon teas. In 1961, she reached the finals in Hledáme nové talenty ("The Search for Talent"). In 1962, she lost her job in the glass factory, and auditioned for the Stop Theatre in Pardubice. In 1963, she moved to Theatre Alpha in Plzeň to perform in Black Dream, a production by Ludvík Aškenazy. She began collaborating with Václav Neckář and Helena Vondráčková in December 1965, when preparing for performances of Waiting for Fame. In 1967 she won Zlatý slavík. A song, "Prayer for Marta", with lyrics by Petr Rada, became a symbol of national resistance against the occupation of Warsaw Pact troops in 1968. On 1 November of that year, she joined with Neckář and Vondráčková to create the popular group, 'Golden Kids'. In 1969 she won her second Zlatý slavík award and married film director Jan Němec. A year later, she won the Zlatý slavík a third time, but she had to receive the award in secrecy of the office of the Mladý svět magazine due to the commencing normalization. The last performance of the Golden Kids took place on 27 January 1970 in Ostrava.


In February 1970, the government banned her from performing in the country on the pretext of alleged pornography, based on the three falsified photo-montages as evidence. She took the director of record label Supraphon, Hrabal, to court for libel, and although she won, she only had her rights fully restored 20 years later, after the Czechoslovak communist regime fell in 1989. During that time, she could only perform at underground invitation-only events. In the late 1980s, she auditioned to become singer of the group The Plastic People of the Universe, but this was disallowed by the secret police.

In 1971, she suffered a miscarriage in the eighth month of pregnancy and survived clinical death. She married director Jan Moravec after divorcing her husband, who had emigrated to the United States. After signing Charter 77, her prosecution and monitoring by the communist state secret police escalated. From 1977 to 1978 she participated as a spokesperson for Charter 77.

On 1 June 1979, she gave birth to her daughter Kateřina. On 10 December 1988 after a long absence from the public eye, she appeared at a demonstration on the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, during which she sang the Czechoslovak national anthem. On 22 November 1989, during the Velvet Revolution, she sang "Prayer for Martha" and the Czechoslovak national anthem from a balcony on Wenceslas Square. Then followed the reissue of Songy a Balady, and in 1990 she returned to the studio and the stage. On 2 June 1990 she performed the famous show "Marta v Lucerně", for which she was awarded the Golden Nightingale in 1970. The music was performed by the group Energit and directed by Lubos Andršt, with whom she then went on tour to perform 60 concerts around Czechoslovakia, as well as shows in Japan, Paris and Berlin. In 1991 she co-hosted Advent concerts. Two years later she rejoined with Vondráčková and Neckář in a Golden Kids comeback. On 28 October 1995 she received the a state award – the Medal of Merit – from President Václav Havel. Adam Georgiev released her biography, Chytat slunce (Catching the Sun), in 1995. On 7 March 1998, she was awarded the Honorary Medal of T.G. Masaryk at a ceremony in the ballroom of Prague Castle. In October 2002, she was bestowed with the St. Wenceslas Honours. Three years later, her second biographical book Asi to tak sám Bůh chtěl, written by Luboš Nečas, was published.

For several years, she regularly prepared recitals her home stage at the Prague Ungelt Theatre. There she also appeared in a chamber musical Líp se loučí v neděli, and was awarded the Thalia prize for her performance. In 2005 she released a novelty album, Vítej, lásko, the full text to which was written by John Schneider. In 2008 Supraphon released her first DVD.

In 2011 the play by Małgorzata Sikorska-Miszczuk based on Kubišová's life was staged at International Theatre Festival DEMOLUDY in Olsztyn, Poland. (wikipedia)



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Mogollar (1976)



MOĞOLLAR (Mongols) were an early Turkish rock band who are best known for being a pioneer of the 'Anatolian Pop' style of modern Turkish folk music. The band first formed in 1967 and released a series of singles with a shifting lineup (including at least two under the name MANCHOMONGOL) before recording their first full-length studio album 'Anadolu Pop' in 1971 (also known as 'Les Danses et Rythmes de la Turquie d'hier á Aujourd'hui').

The band would record several singles in the early seventies with the prolific Anatolian rock star Cem Karaca before disbanding around 1974. Members Cahit Berkay and Engin Yörükoğlu would record two additional albums under the MOĞOLLAR in the mid-seventies before beginning a 17 year hiatus.

The group reformed in 1993. The group is still active today. --- Bob Moore



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Louis And Bebe Barron ‎- Forbidden Planet (1978) [OST]


"Zakazana Planeta" ("Forbidden Planet") z roku 1956 przeszła do historii filmu jako klasyk gatunku science-fiction i pierwsze komercyjne dzieło kinematografii, w którym na tak dużą skalę zastosowano muzykę elektroniczną. Osobiście sądzę, że jest to przypadek podobny do "Conana Barbarzyńcy" - sam film, choć oczywiście sympatyczny, jest po prostu tworem przemysłu rozrywkowego Hollywood, co więcej - po latach może razić prostotą scenografii, umownością efektów specjalnych, nierzadko naiwnością rozwiązań fabularnych. Na tym tle muzyka wyróżnia się nadzwyczaj pozytywnie i na długo zapada w pamięć. W przypadku "Conana" mieliśmy do czynienia z arcydziełem surowego, topornego monumentalizmu, skomponowanym przez Basila Poledourisa, a wykonanym przez orkiestrę i chór, w "Zakazanej Planecie" zastosowano natomiast experymentalną ścieżkę dźwiękową, wówczas niezwykle oryginalną, obecnie wciąż natomiast intrygującą. Autorami tej oprawy byli Louis i Charlotte "Bebe" Barron, małżeństwo kompozytorów muzyki awangardowej.

Bebe urodziła się w roku 1925 w Minneapolis jako Charlotte May Wind, jej przyszły mąż - Louis Barron - przyszedł na świat w tym samym mieście pięć lat wcześniej. Ona studiowała muzykę na Uniwersytecie w Minnesocie, on - w Chicago. Pobrali się w roku 1947, a rozwiedli (niestety!) w 1970, co zresztą nie przeszkodziło im w dalszej współpracy artystycznej. Louis zmarł w roku 1989, była żona przeżyła go o blisko 20 lat - odeszła z tego świata w kwietniu 2008 roku. Pod koniec lat 40-tych para zainteresowała się najnowszymi technikami kompozytorskimi, a mianowicie muzyką na taśmę, muzyką konkretną (której zręby opracowali we Francji Pierre Schaeffer i Pierre Henry), a także wykorzystaniem elektronicznych generatorów dźwięku.

W tamtych czasach nie było oczywiście mowy o nowoczesnych syntezatorach, samplerach i mixerach, nie wspominając już o oprogramowaniu komputerowym. Urządzenia produkowały proste tony i szumy, taśmy cięło się nożyczkami i ręcznie sklejało, a ostateczny efekt odbiegał zarówno od wszelkiej muzyki tradycyjnej, jak i od popularnych form "elektroniki", granych 20-30 lat później przez Kraftwerk, Jeana-Michel Jarre'a, Tangerine Dream i Vangelisa. Experymentalna muzyka lat 50-tych częstokroć zrywała całkowicie ze schematem melodii, rytmu i harmonii, obfitowała w niepokojące brzmienia szmerowe i odgłosy otoczenia. Przykładem może być elektroniczna twórczość Xenakisa czy Karlheinza Stockhausena, która zresztą była jedną z inspiracji dla późniejszych artystów z kręgu industrialu i ambientu. W tej heroicznej awangardzie funkcjonowało także małżeństwo Barronów. Louis samodzielnie konstruował urządzenia wytwarzające brzmienia, a na zarejestrowane dźwięki nakładał rozmaite efekty (np. pogłos, "delay"). Bebe zajmowała się kompozycją - przesłuchiwała taśmy, wybierała określone fragmenty, odrzucała zbędny materiał, zapętlała niektóre motywy.

W nowojorskiej dzielnicy Greenwich Village, pod adresem 9 West 8th Street, małżeństwo Barronów otworzyło studio nagrań, w którym gromadzili się między innymi muzycy awangardowi. W studio zamontowano magnetofony, głośniki, oscylatory i inne urządzenia, często własnej konstrukcji. U Barronów nagrywał m.in. John Cage - sam i we współpracy z Mortonem Feldmanem, Earle Brownem i Davidem Tudorem. Louis i Bebe podjęli także współpracę z reżyserami filmowymi, komponując oprawę dźwiękową m.in. do experymentalnych filmów "Bells of Atlantis" i "Jazz of Lights" autorstwa Iana Hugo. W 1956 roku nagrali bodaj najsłynniejsze swoje dzieło - wspomniany na początku soundtrack do "Forbidden Planet", wielkiej, komercyjnej produkcji zrealizowanej przez wytwórnię Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Producenci planowali z początku zatrudnić sławnego kompozytora Harry'ego Partcha, Barronom powierzając jedynie dwadzieścia minut efektów dźwiękowych, jednak po usłyszeniu efektów ich pracy postanowili zlecić im całość oprawy muzycznej. W rezultacie powstało kilkanaście niesamowitych utworów, idealnie ilustrujących filmowe wydarzenia - a więc m.in. lądowanie statku kosmicznego na obcej planecie, spotkanie z rozumnym robotem, walkę z potworami, tajemnicze urządzenia pozostawione przez wymarłą rasę kosmitów etc. Ascetyczna, hipnotyzująca muzyka składa się w przeważającej mierze z rozmaitych elektronicznych tonów i szmerów, czasami rozbrzmiewających bardzo cicho, kiedy indziej przeradzających się w drapieżny, głośny hałas. Dźwięki wiją się i pulsują, niekiedy układają w extrawaganckie niby-rytmy. Wykorzystano całe spektrum częstotliwości - od bardzo niskich dudnień i buczeń aż po kłujące, wysokie piski. Z perspektywy czasu jest to muzyka tyleż archaiczna, co i futurystyczna.

Do historii przeszło nieczyste zagranie ze strony organizacji American Federation of Musicians, czyli związku zawodowego kompozytorów i wykonawców, do którego Louis i Bebe nie należeli. Federacja ta wymogła na producentach rezygnację z określania dzieła Barronów jako "muzyki" i we wszelkich materiałach promocyjnych słowo to zostało zamienione na "electronic tonalities". Ten bój o definicje i przynależność do organizacji, będący przykrywką dla zachłanności i monopolistycznych zapędów związku, przyniósł jeszcze jeden negatywny skutek - soundtrack do "Zakazanej Planety" nie był rozpatrywany jako kandydat do Oscara, ani jako muzyka, ani jako efekty specjalne.

Louis i Bebe nigdy zasadniczo nie zmienili swoich technik kompozytorskich, z biegiem lat coraz bardziej staroświeckich. W latach 50-tych, 60-tych i 70-tych przygotowali m.in. ścieżki dźwiękowe do filmów "Bridges Go-Round", "Crystal Growing" i "More Than Human", a także utwory "The Circe Circuit", "Elegy for a Dying Planet" i inne. Bebe komponowała do początku XXI wieku - ostatnie jej dzieło, utwór "Mixed Emotions", zarejestrowano w roku 2000. W pracy nad tą kompozycją dość wyjątkowo wykorzystano nowoczesną technologię, jak np. program Digital Performe na komputerze Apple MacIntosh. (postindustry)


The 1956 soundtrack to sci-fi classic 'Forbidden Planet' is possibly one of the best known, yet least owned pieces of tape music in history. Long unavailable on vinyl, it's definitively evocative 'electronic tonalities' were crafted by husband/wife duo Louis and Bebe Barron using the earliest tape recording techniques. Louis, a playwright, and Bebe, a researcher for Life magazine had gained some experience with tape through an early Telefunken model given by a German friend as a wedding present. When the couple moved to New York's artistic haven, Greenwich Village around 1950 they encountered John Cage who commissioned them and their tape machine to work with him and David Tudor, resulting one year later in Cage's Williams Mix, a four minute composition comprised from spliced fragments of over 600 recordings. Because they were one of a very select few to own such equipment at the time, their studio was frequently visited by the likes of Pierre Boulez, Stockhausen, and Edgard Varèse, while their writing connection also lead to them making spoken-word recordings of Anais Nin, Henry Miller, Aldous Huxley and Tennessee Williams. Commissions for IBM and Ford followed, before a meeting with MGM's Dore Schary lead to the creation of the 'Forbidden Planet' soundtrack, which at the time was considered by John Cage to be "disgustingly orchestral and musical" and ironically not even recognised as music by the Musicians' Union who decreed it be credited as "Electronic Tonalities". (boomkat)

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Frank Perry - Deep Peace / New Atlantis (1992)


For the first time, Deep Peace and New Atlantis, two classics from Celestial Harmonies, are available on CD. Originally recorded in 1980 and 1983, these meditative masterpieces have long been recognized as remarkable and meaningful works.

Frank Perry employs a fascinating array of acoustic instruments, including 400 year old Zen Buddhist Densho bells and a Ming Dynasty Chinese temple bell. He adds various kyeezees (Burmese meditation gongs), Burmese chime bowls, other glass bowls, Tibetan invocation cymbals and meditation cymbals, plus a variety of bells from Tibet, India, Japan and China. He uses no electronics whatsoever in his recordings; the long reverberations are the natural effect of the percussion instruments he uses.

"Bells and gongs are representative of some of the most spiritual music," says Perry. He is a master of his art form, understanding how each gong produces its fundamental tone, harmonics and sub–tones. He carefully blends to create the specific meditative mood he desires. "Admittedly, percussion is not a field of instrumentation or sound–source most usually associated with meditational music, but I have spent half of my life refining the potential usages and overcoming the initial restrictions imposed by this musical medium of percussion." 


Few artists are as spiritually sincere and philosophically dedicated as Frank Perry. "For the maintenance of well–being, each one of us is in need of a constant attunement or alignment with that deep peace at the center of all life. This music is designed to provide a means, a bridge, towards this condition."

Perry has been perfecting his musical skills as he has been perfecting his spiritual skills for the past several decades. In fact, the two aspects are fused in his life. He is a student of numerology and cosmology, and an ardent reader of varied theological and philosophical works. The knowledge he gains from these studies, he incorporates into his pieces to share with others. "This music centers one's energy through concentration within sound, thus forming a bridge between past and future, or between the visible and invisible realms of Life." (harmonies)

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Wovoka - Trees Against the Sky (2013)


Płyta ta prosi się o co najmniej dwa przypisy. Pierwszy to nazwa grupy - imię indiańskiego uzdrowiciela i mistyka. Lewitował, wystrzelone w niego pociski łapał w dłoń tuż przed tym jak trafić miały celu, ale przede wszystkim potrafił zaszczepić swoim braciom i siostrom z plemienia Pajute wiarę, że kiedyś ziemia ich przodków znów będzie należała do nich a Indianie i biali będą potrafili żyć w zgodzie. Drogą do tego miał być taniec ducha - trwający pięć dni rytuał oczyszczenia.

Przypis numer dwa należy się autorowi większości utworów, które znajdują się na krążku „Trees against the sky” - wielebnemu Blind Williemu Johnsonowi - niewidomemu bluesmenowi, bardowi, prorokowi, jednej z fundamentalnych postaci kultury amerykańskiej. To jego pieśni - te, które sam stworzył jak i te, które ze znanych hymnów gospel potrafił przemienić na własne, osobiste przypowieści - posłużyły za medium dla czwórki muzyków związanych z warszawską sceną niezależną: Pawła Szpury (perkusja), Oli Rzepki (instrumenty klawiszowe), Mewy Chabiery (głos) i Raphaela Rogińskiego (gitara). Blind Willie śpiewał o Bogu, o ludzkiej naturze i o nadziei - choć jego życie zdawało się być tego ostatniego do cna pozbawione. Oślepiony przez macochę siedmiolatek 41 lat później umiera na gorączkę malaryczną w zgliszczach jakie zostały po pożarze jego domu. Mimo to jego głos i muzyka przeszły do wieczności, a jego wykonanie „Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground” wystrzelone zostało w kosmos na złotej płycie gramofonowej, obok utworów Mozarta i Bethovena wraz z sondą Voyager, jako wizytówka naszej cywilizacji. Muzykę Johnsona nagrywali niemal wszyscy artyści, poważnie traktujący muzykę amerykańską - Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen czy Jack White. W pewnym sensie twórczość Blind Williego jest komórką macierzystą bluesa. Za sprawą kwartetu Wovoka rozwija się z niej na naszej scenie nowy muzyczny byt.

Jak we wszystkich prowadzonych przez siebie zespołach, Rogiński (Shofar, Cukunft, Alte Zachen) przetwarza ważną dla siebie, żywą tradycję przez pryzmat swoich własnych, wielowarstwowych muzycznych doświadczeń. Na „Trees Against The Sky” jego gitara mówi językami bluesmenów amerykańskich, jak i tych Afryki Zachodniej, z chodników Dakaru i Nawakszut czy nawet ich tuareskich sąsiadów, rozsianych po piaskach Sahary. Jednak Wovoka to nie tylko Rogiński. Objawieniem jest tu oczywiście wokalistka: Mewa Chabiera, której głos na koncertach porywa do tańca, a na płycie porusza, gdy żegna się przed wyruszeniem na spotkanie Króla („I’m Going to See The King”), wyśpiewuje historię katastrofy Titanica („God Moves on the Water”) czy szuka tego, co tkwi w człowieku poza jego umysłem (w „The Soul od Men”). Cały zespół tworzy tu organiczną jedność - tak podczas żywiołowych koncertów, jak i na tej, dużo bardziej skupionej, intymnej płycie. Cenny jest tu także wkład gości, zaproszonych do studia - Oli Bilińskiej, Huberta Zemlera czy Michała Górczyńskiego (świetne solo w „I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole”). Unosi się w tu między dźwiękami chemia spod znaku grupy The Doors... (jazzarium)


Even to the ones familiar with Raphael Roginski's musical output Wovoka's debut cd must come as a surprise. Roginski is a center figure of modern jewish music in Poland, reinventing the tradition and its expression with bands like Shofar, Cukunft, Alte Zachen, Yemen.

The band is named after the religious leader of Norther Paiute tribe, founder of Ghost Dance movement, also known as Jack Wilson. "Trees Against the Sky" is a tribute to the musical traditions of North America, lost in the river of time.

Music played by Wovoka combines rural blues and native american tribal feeling in a hypnotic, mystical way. There are loads of bluesy licks and slides on guitar, tribal rhythms and obstinate organ riffs that remind you of 70s psychodelic rock (The Doors come to mind a few times). Wovoka is quite an all-star ensemble with Pawel Szpura (Hera, Cukunft) on drums, Ola Rzepka (a drummer with Alte Zachen, leader of indie band Drekoty) but it's a newcomer that steals the show. I can't find any other information on the world wide web which leads me to believe that "Trees Against The Sky" marks the debut appearance on a cd for Mewa Chabiera.

Chabiera sings and screams and cries through the songs, she's truly an incarnation of a shaman prophet. Her voice is strong, deep, dark and filled with passion as much spiritual - religious as carnal - sexual. It's hard to play favourites among the 10 tracks but I'll go with the seductive late night blues "Soul of a Man", the maddening crescendo-trance of "I'm gonna run to the city of refuge" and the fiery sax cameo and percussion groove in "I know His Blood can make me whole".

Wovoka's music is both singular in vision and powerful in execution. Bluesy, spiritual, hypnotic, trance, tribal, seductive, sinous, psychodelic. It makes you it's captive. Either you will surrender and dance the Ghost Dance or you'll be scalped and your soul will be lost to you forever. Call me a believer but I daresay it's one of the most exciting releases of the year. (jazzalchemist)

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Bobby Brown - Live (1978)


Bobby Brown stands as a shining example of a California musical eccentric.  By the way, that's meant as a heartfelt compliment, rather than a slam.

Born and raised in Sacramento, California, by the early 1970s Brown was making a living as a one man band, playing up and down the California coast.  As shown on the front cover, his act included an impressive home-made rig that contained some 50 instruments that were placed on racks that could be easily loaded and unloaded from a van.  Brown would apparently cruise up and down the coast, stopping to play concerts for folks, selling copies of his albums from the back of his van.


Selected as the opening act for a Fleetwood Mac/Kenny Loggins concert at the University of California Berkley, Brown originally planned to release the results as a live set. Unhappy with the resulting tapes (the crowd noises were apparently distracting), he piled his recording equipment into a van, drove to a local beach and recorded nine tracks in front of a curious and somewhat mystified crowd (love the back cover pictures). Released in 1978, "Live" wasn't half bad. Recorded without postproduction adornment you had to admit the guy had a great voice. Sure, as a one man band the sound was occasionally a bit thin, but you had to admire Brown's earnestness; 'Hawaii' and 'Mother Nature We're Guilty' echoing his deep seated ecological concerns. On the other hand, dog lovers were bound to get a kick out of 'My Dog Is Every Bit As Good As Me'. Spread across two sides, the material started to sound alike and Brown had an irritating habit of stretching his voice. Check out the bizarre performance on 'Motherless Child').  Still, for a vanity project it wasn't bad. (source)




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Heavy Goods Vehicle - Keeper Of The Sands & Hand Of Doom (1975-1976)


Loud, super-stoned and super-slowed blues rock, in the tradition of Black Sabbath and Pentagram. Maybe a little bluesier than either of those bands, but just as noisy. This album totally sounds like garbage, probably demo recordings of some kind, but it's pretty great because it sounds like they're breaking the tape deck with their volume. Includes a completely incomprehensible cover of 'Wild Thing' that somehow manages to be sloppier than the original. Maybe more proto-doom-metal than proto-punk, but it's got the spirit.

Colin Cookson - drums
Mal Fuller - bass
Dave Smith - vocals and guitar


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Masami Kawahara & The Exotic Sounds - Ecstasy (1970)


Back in stock! The Tiliqua label is back, and not soon enough for these ears let me tell you. Since last year's explosion of 1960's classic Japanese porn-star albums I've been so sexually frustrated I've had to spend most pre-work mornings phoning into television helplines to vent my pent-up anger and desire for Japanese starlets with guns, so it comes as something of a relief to see Tiliqua return to this much sought-after blue series. This particular disc comes to us from the very capable stable of Masami Kawahara, not a name which might ring any bells instantly with you - but you might like to know that this was the same insane brain who was behind the very awesome and highly acclaimed Ike Reiko album (still to our mind the best in the Tiliqua catalogue, and now long sold out). So you should know what to expect if you managed to bag that little gem of a release, this is prime quality Japanese porn-jazz, with some Latin-flecked funk edits featuring a very saucy young lady moaning over the top. In the liner notes M.Kawahara reminisces that he doesn't remember who the girl was, but says when she had to moan she was touched or petted on cue - now that sounds like hard work eh? The funniest thing is that some of these tracks are actually totally insane, take the fourth track (it has a name in Kenji so please don't ask me to write it out) for example, all tribal drums and fractured synthesizers as our protagonist comes to a rather violent orgasm (amidst some whooping and chanting from what sounds like a cannibal filled jungle). This is utterly crackers stuff and for crate diggers, people searching for something totally unusual or those of you looking to get past the readers wives section of Razzle, this should be just the ticket. It's like Martin Denny's incredible "Exotica" series, except with some carnal activity going on in the background - how genius. Well I love it, and since we only have limited copies in stock you'd better act quickly if you want to bag one. Oh, and did we mention the gorgeous vinyl-reproduction Japanese packaging? Essential Purchase! (source)


alternative cover




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VA - Instro-Hipsters a Go-Go 5CD Box Set (2008)


A five-CD limited-edition box that combines all five volumes of Psychic Circle's Instro-Hipsters a Go-Go series, complete with a new 80-plus page booklet that ties everything together and adds biographies of the artists as well as discographies, this set is nothing less than the instrumental soundtrack of Swingin' London in the late 1960s and early '70s. The variety on display here is impressive, ranging from B-3-driven soul-jazz jams to twangy surf guitars, honking sax R&B stompers, and sweeping, orchestrated lounge oddities. Truthfully, it sounds like the Mod soundtrack to an epic James Bond movie tossed into a time warp blender, and while there is almost every kind of instrumental style represented here, it has a surprisingly unified feel and tone when all is said and done (the whole affair was compiled and sequenced by Nick Saloman, otherwise known as the Bevis Frond). Among the highlights are Timebox's delightfully loose "I Wish I Could Jerk Like My Uncle Cyril," the insistent "Saturday Jump" by Midnight Shift, the Mike Cotton Sounds' "Like That," the Roulettes' "Junk," and the nascent funk of "Ridin' on the Gravy Train" by the Thunder Company, but again, even though this box certainly feels varied, there's an overriding scheme to it that makes it all fit together like a giant, glowing neon hymn to the wonderful excesses and eccentricities of hip '60s London. If that's one's cup of tea, than this is a big old cup of tea. --- Steve Leggett



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Fushitsusha & Keiji Haino - A Document Film Of Keiji Haino (2012)

Between Keiji Haino's sunny percussion pieces and thundering vocals he stretches open enough weather space for any other sound you can think of to fall like permanent rain. Where does that energy come from? What Haino releases in performance is the most tightly wound spring in music, not just coiled up in Japan for a decade or two but twisted worldwide for centuries --- Tony Conrad
Haino Keiji's music reminds me of Cioran's vision of man's isolation -"a wintry landscape in which the snow is like materialized ingenuity; a light mist blurring the contours of the land; white silence, and in it, Man, ghost-like, an exile among the snow flakes." That, and the the shock of a whisper, the tenderness of the abyss, the force of a caress, the solace of sound.--- Alan Cummings
Keiji Haino is one of the towering figures to emerge from the Japanese underground, a maverick whose every performance, ranging across a multitude of instruments, projects and collaborators, is marked by his unmistakeable personal touch - a singular, sustained, ritualistic intensity which borders on the mystical.---Oren Ambarchi / Sunn O)))
It's hard to describe the lessons through realtime communication in music with such a master of form, but needless to say they were much different than what I was expecting and beyond! Proof again that expectations lead to dead ends. Was a most challenging experience in real-time music.--- Stephen O'Malley / Sunn O))) 
bouncing prouncing prancing dancing
singing swinging stinging flinging
bubbbly wobbbly willowwwy wistfullly
bibbity......bobbity.......booooooooooooooo !!!!!!--- Charlemagne Palestine
if Gurdjieff had known him, Keiji Haino would be one of the" Remarkable Men " he wrote about. Haino has the power to make time stands still ---  jean-herv pron / art-Errorist)


Bass – Chiyo Kamekawa (tracks: 1, 2) 
Design – Takuya Kitamura 
Drums – Kiyasu (tracks: 1, 2) 
Guitar, Vocals – Keiji Haino

Keiji Haino: the interview
The experimental musician speaks about hard rock, long hair and electricity bills

He's a legend, a true original. For 40 years, he's towered over the Japanese underground music scene, attracting praise, scorn and outright bafflement with his experiments in freeform psychedelic rock, noise, drone, solo percussion and whatever else animates his muse. His distinctive appearance – jet-black clothes, ever-present sunglasses, long hair and immaculate fringe – is matched only by his almost ascetic lifestyle: he's vegetarian, doesn't drink, smoke or take drugs, though he is rather partial to cakes.

So it's with no small amount of surprise that we found ourselves sat opposite Keiji Haino, discussing the pricing structure of electricity bills. Then again, we've caught him on unfamiliar ground. With a new film about the musician, Document Haino Keiji, opening in Tokyo this weekend, he's doing his first ever all-day interview sessions. And what's more, he actually seems to be enjoying the experience.

The Haino story is clouded with myths and exaggerations, both scandalous (that he and the members of his first band, Lost Araaf, went into hiding after inciting a riot at the Sanrizuka Genyasai music festival in 1971) and cute (that he had to cancel an appearance at the Le Weekend Festival in Scotland due to over-indulging on cream cakes). Kazuhiro Shirao's portrait removes some layers of mystery while adding others. There are revealing insights into Haino's childhood in Kawagoe – where he dreamed of becoming a zookeeper and chafed against the strictures of the education system – and his working process, though it's unlikely that anyone will ever fully fathom what goes on under that carefully sculpted haircut.

In an interview from 15 years ago, when you were asked how you saw yourself in your sixties or seventies, you said, 'I'd like to be totally white-haired and still be playing hard rock.' Seems to be going according to plan, doesn't it?

[Laughs] I'm glad that's how it's worked out. As for whether I'll be doing this when I'm 70, I can only say that I'd like to. But I've made it as far as 60: I've got that far.

They say you get mellower as you get older, but your recent shows would seem to suggest the opposite...

I just keep on finding more things that I like. With everyone else, if they like something but then they discover something new, they'll give up on the old one. But I like things so much, it surprises even myself. I still listen to everything, there are still lots of things I won't put up with, and I won't say 'You can't do that' in a small voice. For instance, when people are saying 'Get rid of nuclear energy' – it's never changed anything in the past, but I'd still rather be the one right at the front, shouting 'Get rid of it!'

What are the kinds of things you won't put up with?

Let me tell you something serious. [Laughs] Do you want to hear something interesting? Have you ever had a close look at your electricity bill? In Japan, there's a basic rate and then it increases in tiers. Maybe I'm the only one who's confused by this, but there are three tiers, and the sum of those gives you the final amount. But the way you use electricity is just like water, isn't it? I don't know why they insist on adding it up like that: you pay this much if you use less than a certain amount, then this much if you exceed that amount. I started thinking about this system, so I called Tepco, asked them lots of questions, got angry with them, and then the person I was talking to admitted it themselves: this system is strange. [Laughs] I think everyone should go home and take a good look at their electricity bills. People who don't use much fall within the basic rate, so they don't pay much. But if you fall in the second tier, you pay both the basic rate and the extra charge, and Tepco gradually gets richer. Then when someone messes up and has to be fired, they can use that money to pay them off and find someone else. That's what I won't put up with. When they raised tuition fees in Canada recently, people protested in the streets, but Japanese people just don't do that. Some say it's different now, but people have been brainwashed into not questioning authority, because of the imperial system. That makes me angry. [Laughs]


It's not just restricted to electricity bills, is it?

No, it affects everything. When you grow up, you realise that making a point about these things won't make any difference. But if something's out of line, it doesn't matter if you're an adult or a child. There's a difference between getting angry and doing something about it, but I won't put up with things I don't accept.

You said the same kind of thing during Document Haino Keiji, didn't you?

There are lots of more extreme things I could talk about, but I've stopped dwelling on the heavy things as it gets too negative. I could give you some more extreme material. I do a lot of interviews, and I decided to soften the parts that felt over the top. [Laughs] I can pretend to be an adult. But if there's something I won't put up with, I'm deadly serious about it.

I was surprised that there weren't any interviews with other people in the film. Didn't you think it would be worth including comments from other musicians?

Actually, the director decided from the start that it would only contain interviews with me. They received comments from lots of other people [which are used in the publicity for the film], didn't they? I thought that those people would appear in the film, but the director said from the start that he wanted to focus on me – so much so that he wouldn't let other people appear. So I said, 'Well, what shall we talk about?'

Do you think there's anyone who can explain your music better than you?

No. I'm showing off a little, but it's because I invented my music. There's that scene in the film where I'm playing percussion, right? I think I was inventing sound there. I'm discovering sound, and inventing music. This is probably a very Japanese way of putting it, but I'm defying the notion that you can't create something from nothing. I want to start from zero. When Europeans don't understand something, they still make an effort to understand it by inventing terms and definitions. I want to obliterate those. That would be enough in itself. I listen to a hell of a lot of music; I've listened to most kinds of European music from the 4th to the 20th century. It's because I like music so much that I want to create something completely different. My basic principle is to start from the very first sound, which is why I describe my music as being something that didn't exist before.

When you supported Akron/Family with Fushitsusha last year, I couldn't tell how much of it was composed, so I was really intrigued by the scenes of you rehearsing with the band, and the system of notation that you'd devised. How did you develop that?

The only way is to explain things carefully, and create sound in the studio. If I put my score in front of a professional musician, I don't think they'd be able to do anything with it at first: they wouldn't understand what was written there. Your fingers move naturally, when you're practising. [Mimes fingers on a fretboard.] I'll ask the other members: why does this sound have to come next? For instance, if I played C and then D, I probably wouldn't get stopped at airports. [Laughs] I think I get stopped because I play F after C. That's just an example. By demonstrating it myself, I get the members to understand why I go to F rather than D.

Do you think you could express what you wanted to using conventional notation?

No, I don't think I could. The important thing for me is the process of moving from that first sound to the next one. When a sound does this [hits the table], you can hear it, and you understand the what it is. But if you then do this [hits the table softly] nobody notices it. If you're playing the piano, you're compelled to go in a particular direction, your mind and spirit aren't free. I'll keep asking, 'Why don't you go here?' I want to convey to the other members: this way is difficult, but it's interesting.

How do you pick your band members?

It's difficult. This is top secret, but all of my band members have long hair. [Laughs] I've always liked '60s hard rock. It's difficult for young people to understand now, but for my generation in Japan, having long hair was a real risk – although at the same time, I liked that. [Laughs] There's no other way to say it. Maybe it was a childish thing to be fighting over, but that risk was what mattered. It's like what I was saying earlier: if something seems strange to me, I won't do what everybody else is doing. [If I'm told to] go here, look at this, go straight, I'll do something different. That's why I've had long hair since I was young. If one day they suddenly issued a law banning loud noise, I'd be arrested right on stage. I want to play with the kinds of people who'd be arrested there with me. I want to play with people who won't let themselves be ordered around.

When you're collaborating with other people – for instance when you played with Tony Conrad here a few years ago – how far are you willing to compromise what you're doing?

That's a good question. With Tony, we agreed on what we would do beforehand, so if my amp was too loud, he could say, 'Haino, point your amp in another direction.' [Laughs] We like each other a lot, so anything can happen. If I get too loud, I'll bring it down suddenly so I can hear what Tony is doing. I'll have my amp up loud, but if that means you can't hear what the other people are doing, there's no point playing together, so I won't do that.

You say in the film that you wanted to be a zookeeper when you were young. Was that what inspired you to become a vegetarian?

Probably. Young people today probably don't know this, but there was rationing after the war, so there was a limit on the amount of food you received each day. I grew up just after that, but the mentality still remained. As far as I can remember, I was forced to eat meat: it wasn't because I thought it was delicious, but because there weren't any other options. At some point, I started to feel that I didn't like the thought of killing animals, and didn't want to eat meat – so while [keeping animals in a zoo] is unnatural, there's a connection between my wanting to become a zookeeper and becoming a vegetarian. I like animals, so I don't want to eat them. There wasn't a moment when I suddenly declared, 'I'm a vegetarian!'

40 years ago there weren't any vegetarian restaurants in Japan, so you really had to fight. If you went to a Chinese restaurant and asked for yakisoba or fried rice without the meat, the staff would say, 'If you take the meat out, it isn't yakisoba.' It would be bad if I was asking them to add it, but if I'm asking to take something out, surely they can take it out? It was tough. Asking nicely wasn't going to get you anywhere: you had to demand, 'TAKE IT OUT!' It was a real fight. [Laughs] 40 years ago, the only option for vegetarians was fighting. But a century ago, everyone here was vegan. That's how people lived: Japanese were vegans for a long time, so that's a better lifestyle for them. There probably aren't any other countries where the average height of young people has increased so much in the past 40 years. It's because their diet has changed; it's frightening. People aren't Japanese any more, they don't have the same way of thinking. They're just American clones.

I've never been to one of your marathon solo shows at Koenji Showboat, but I'm curious about how much of it is planned out in advance.

I'll look at what instruments I've got with me: for example, 30 minutes of oud, 20 minutes of oscillator, 15 minutes of hard guitar, 40 minutes of blues guitar, something like that. [Laughs] I'll go like that, and then realise, 'Ah, it's 5 hours!' [Laughs] Showboat gives me all the time I need – 'Just play for as long as you like' – so if I think 'I'd like to play shamisen tomorrow', that'll be an extra 20 minutes. [Laughs] The longest show I've ever played was an eight-hour Fushitsusha gig 20 years ago. I could still do that now. I love music. It'd be fun.

I saw you DJing at Liquidroom once, a long time ago. Why don't you get more bookings?

Other DJs don't like it. Maybe they're jealous? [Laughs] You should set something up. If you set it up, I'll do it! [Laughs]




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