Friday, June 23, 2006

Music I Liked And Didn't - 6/17/06 - 6/23/06

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BUNALIM: S/T LP (Shadoks) - One might have thought that the well of high quality 60’s/70’s underground music from Turkey must have just about run dry, but the fairly recent releases of gems by Selda, Ersen, and, now, this LP by Bunalim prove otherwise. This LP compiles tracks from singles recorded by various permutations of the band between 1969 and 1972. The majority of the tracks are the cool mix of Eastern folk and Western rock (Anadolu rock!) that I’ve come to expect, know, and love from Turkey. A couple of the tracks veer into less satisfying hard rock territory. Overall, pretty cool, despite the high price.

EVOLUTIONARY JASS BAND: Change of Scene CD (Community Library) - Drawing inspiration from artists such as Sun Ra, Mulatu Astatke, and the pantheon of modern free jazz musicians, Jef Brown (JOMF!) and Co. work out over five cosmic Jazz groovers. Not “high art” jazz, but very enjoyable jams.

RHYTHM AND SOUND: See Mi Ya LP (Burial Mix) - Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald have released pioneering hybrids of reggae, dub and electronica under the name Rhythm & Sound since 1996. I’m just catching up on this 2005 release which features stoney dub vocals from Walda Gabriel, Bobbo Shanti, Rod Of Iron, Ras Donovan and Ras Perez, among others. Irie!

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Running Count For The Year

Adds 81/61%

Did Not Add 52/39%

Friday, June 16, 2006

Music I Liked And Didn't - 6/15/06 - 6/16/06

Now I'm getting busy!!!!!

Adds - JAZZ IS BACK!!!

JORDAN + HAMID DRAKE + WILLIAM PARKER, KIDD: Palm of Soul CD (AUM Fidelity) - Outstanding new release from this trio of world class improvisors led by veteran New Orlean’s musician, Jordan. A wide array of instruments and influences from Asia and Africa are used to create the music on this release. Highlights include the trancedant, “Forever”, with gongs setting the atmosphere for some excellent, soulful, blues wailing and the burning, “Unity Call”. A beautiful release that continues to expand the concept of what Jazz is and can be!

SHEPP, ARCHIE: On This Night LP (Impulse) - Found an original LP version of this somewhat “straighter” early Shepp title. Good post-early 60’s Coltrane informed sounds, most notable for the battery of percussionists/instruments (traditional trap kit, vibes, and africian “rhythm logs”, the latter, courtesy of the late, great Ed Blackwell!) that provide an excellent sonic foundation for Shepp’s saxophone excursions. Nice.

VARIOUS: Ethnic Minority Music of Northeast Cambodia CD (Sublime Frequencies) - The latest blasts from the usually dependable and interesting Sublime Frenquencies imprint are in! This volume features cosmic Cambodian folk music created on a wide variety of indigenous instruments. Excellent!

VARIOUS: Radio Algeria CD (Sublime Frequencies) - A wide range of musical styles are represented on this disc: folk, modern pop (in both Arabic and French), sacred Islamic music, and so on. Overall, very good, but I must admit that I still don’t care much for the “cut and paste” aspect of the all the “radio sourced” discs in this series. At least on this one most of the transitions are less jarring and the “real” musical pieces actually run 2, 3, or more minutes, unlike some of the earlier discs which were very audio collage-like.

It’s a wonderful world we live in. Access to so many cool sounds that would have been unknown to all but locals and a few hard core musical ethnologists only a few years ago.

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LATERNA: S/T LP (Obuh) - Unfortunately the minimal, jazz-influenced improv contained on this fine vinyl LP from the usually reliable Polish label, Obuh, failed to sufficently capture my interest.

Running Count For The Year

Adds 78/60%

Did Not Add 52/40 %

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Music I Liked And Didn't - 6/8/06 - 6/14/06

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SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE: The Sun Awakens LP (Drag City) - On the A-Side, Chasney and Co. put the “acid” in “acid folk” with some of the loudest, most over the top electric guitar to ever grace a Six Organs release, especially on “Black Wall” and “Attar”. The B-Side is a respectable side-long, late night, deep space droner. Not his best, but certainly an interesting and worthy release.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Music I Liked And Didn't - 6/6/06 - 6/7/06

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CONNERS, LOREN: Night Through - Singles And Collected Works 1976 - 2004 3 CD (Family Vineyard) - Conners has been a figure in the underground music scene for a long time and has over 60 releases to his credit. Unfortunately, most of these have been in micro pressings on obscure labels and, as a result, his music has not been very widely circulated. Therefore, this new compilation of tracks from singles, rarities, and previously unreleased material is a welcome addition to any collection. It provides an excellent overview of Conners’ varied musical stylings, from his broken blues, to poignant, reverb drenched, solo instrumentals, and dense, distorto, free rock improvisations. Most of the material is solo guitar instrumentals, but some tracks feature additional musicians (most notable are the two great tracks from his group, Haunted House on disc 3!) and a few have vocals (usually from his wife and long-time collaborator, ethereal chantuese, Suzanne Langille). A late night treat!

SANDOZ - Sandoz In Dub Chapter 2 Live In The Earth 2 LP (Soul Jazz) - Although much of Richard H. Kirk’s output over the years is not really my cup of tea, I’ll still readily acknowledge him for being among the leading trailblazers in the underground music scene for many years. This is his second release of dub on the fine Soul Jazz imprint and, overall, it’s pretty solid and authentic sounding. Perhaps a bit too sterile a times, but that could be expected/understood, since Kirk reached this point via experimenting with technology/electronic music, rather than through the warm, organic, sounds of Rock Steady and Reggae that influenced the genre’s Jamaican originators. Righteous!


Running Count For The Year

Adds 73/59%

Did Not Add 51/41 %

Monday, June 05, 2006

Music I Liked And Didn't - 5/30/06 - 6/5/06

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BORIS: The Thing Which Solomon Overlooked Vol. 2 LP (Conspiracy) - Another blast from these Japanese doom drone/noise punk/heavy psych masters. This one mainly focuses its attention on the amplifier worshipping, noise drone facet of the Boris sonic attack. Not nearly the winner their recent, “Pink” double LP was, but still it has its worthy moments and is, therefore, bordering on essential to hardcore Boris completists, like me.

Not much new to add, just been too busy to process all the cool new releases out there. Hopefully, I'll soon have more info about a spate of new releases on Sublime Frequencies and other things

Running Count For The Year

Adds 71/58%

Did Not Add 51/42 %