Brainwashed

A great music website

Just wanted to throw this out there - I try to find, read and keep up with as many websites dealing with music as I can.  Few are worth much though.  That isn't the case with Brainwashed.com.  It is extremely helpful with experimental, post-whatever and everything not mainstream.

I could go on for days about everything the site offers - so just go check it out; extremely great info on acts such as Current 93, Nurse with Wound, Christoph Heeman and so on (these are just some of my favorites I keep up with, but they have a TON of info on all kinds of acts and styles...not just collage/drone work).

Brainwashed has been running since 1996, and now even curates a music festival each year.  There are album reviews, news, new release info, video interviews, archival material and a ton more.  I check the site usually every Sunday late evening, or Monday afternoon/evening for the new updates.

Brainwashed.com - go check it out if you don't already follow it.

For the love of you

From 90s hip hop back to 70s disco funk

Okay so this post may not be worth anything to some, but to others it might be fun.  I grew up in the 80s/90s, and got my introduction to music through the emerging Mtv, local pop radio and rarely mix tapes I found randomly through friends or other means.

Most of the music I encountered in the late 80s/early 90s was hip hop/rap.  They had a almost common musical theme back then - steal from the 60s & 70s.  Sampling ran wild in hip hop, and the Isley Brothers were at the top of the list.  I had albums from Tupac, Masta Ace, Ice Cube and so forth.  Probably sad looking, some 14 year old white kid listening to ex-NWA member solo releases in his parent's garage...buuuut I loved it, so who cares.

The most interesting thing to me about that music was that they chose sex-inducing, romantic late night radio music from the 60s and 70s as the basis for their music...not their lyrics mind you, but the actual music was heavily influenced, or straight pulled from acts like the Isley Brothers, Parliament, Kool & The Gang, Bootsy Collins, War or the Bar-Kays.  This never registered with someone at my age in the early 90s.  

Fast forward to high school and college - I became heavily interested in vinyl.  I LOVED the sound, still do, of a crackling and popping record playing music of the past.  There is something about that that you can't encapsulate by simply calling it retro, vintage or nostaglic.  It is a magic all its own.  There was another magic feeling I had the first few times I put on Isley Brother records I had taken out of storage that belonged to my parents and grandparents.  They had discarded these records years and years ago, being a worthless means of entertainment to them in this new era of stereo hi-fi machines!

Those records were exactly what I was searching for.  That music - I had heard it before...sped up, slowed down, chopped and diced to fit something I was use to - but this sound was much warmer, more inviting....less volitile.  I didn't mind the volitilty mind you, but still there was just something exciting about hearing this music in reverse.  I already knew what it sounded like being rapped over, and with as a heavier bass-lined track...but to hear it in its most original, pure form was awesome.  I still am amazed to this day when I put on those records.

There are a few stand out tracks to me - Footsteps in the Dark (being sampled on my favorite rap song of all time from Ice Cube's "Today Was A Good Day"), For The Love Of You" and a few others that I always go to first but almost all of their music is extremely worth while, and their albums typically have very little, if any, filler.

If you know what I'm talking about than just hearing the drums start up on Footsteps in the Dark will excite you forever.

Richter Indulgence

Some videos featuring Max Richter music

Halloween is truly the best holiday

Scar Stuff Blog

Sooooo this is something different, but equally as important to me.  I want to recommend another blog, much better and more interesting than this one.  Scar Stuff is loaded with interesting information, pictures, videos and yes, best of all, downloads of TONS of amazing records collected from the vintage years that deal with Halloween - whether its Halloween safety records handed out to children in the 70s, records you could purchase from comic books, haunted house sound collections or just really weird horror-rock...you could sit, read & listen for hours.

I know this is a bit early, buuuut Halloween isn't too far away so I thought I would throw this one out now so whoever reads this could get some great stuff downloaded in preperation for the best holiday out there.

You can find Scar Stuff here.

Gas - Nah Und Fern (2008)

Gas - Nah Und Fern (Kompakt, 2008)

Gas is a project that you wish wouldn't be so limited in releases.  The atmospheric breathing of sound and the pulse of a 4/4 beat can keep you in a trance for hours.  The sounds of Gas have been described as music heard underwater or something playing in the far-off distance.  I don't know if that makes it appealing to anyone or not...all I can say is it is beautiful whereever you hear it coming from.

The Nah Und Fern box set collects all 4 Gas albums (Gas, Zauberberg, Konigsforst & Pop ), with some minor editing and reworking.  This Kompakt release is a really great way to listen to the original sound that has pushed Kompakt ahead of the curve for electronic/techno music in the last 5 to 8 years.

if inclined, feel free to try out the album here before purchasing. 

Kompakt website.

Lindstrom - Where You Go I Go Too (2008)

Lindstrom - Where You Go I Go Too (Smalltown Supersound, 2008)

I am new to Lindstrom's work, but really enjoy what I am hearing thus far.  The new album combines his overall typical sound, but throws in some great audio references to sci-fi scores of the 80's...which as a child of that era is simply awesome to hear it be given respectful use, and not just passed off as if it were on the same level as 1970s plaid pants, or any other ridiculous item that pop culture attempts to use in a quick definition of times past.

The three tracks that make up Where You Go I Go Too are greatly minimal, but powerful too.  You'll feel the atmospheric rise and fall, the dance beats just present enough to keep you energized but quiet enough to not ever be overbearing.  This isn't as thick or dirty as Justice, not as robotic as Daft Punk...Lindstrom is his own sound, and rightfully so.  The heavy use of arpeggios and classic synth sounds are a great tribute to old school electronic music, while still giving direction for something new.  Even though these tracks can look lenghty in terms of minutes spent listening, no one particular sound overstays its welcome, allowing an easy progression from one section to another of the work.

If you like this album, let me also highly recommend his 2006 release, It's A Feedelity Affair.

If inclined, try the album here before purchasing.

official site.

The Streets - Everything Is Borrowed (2008)

The Streets - Everything Is Borrowed (679 Recordings, 2008)

Everything Is Borrowed is the 4th release from Mike Skinner, of a five set run as The Streets.  His accent as thick as ever, the music is a bit happier...as happy as Birmingham garage-hip hop can be.  Perhaps a better way to describe the theme of the album is soulful.  He seems honest, open...which has never been a problem for Skinner through his lyrics, but he is making a noticeable attempt at being positive here. 

The album is not as pop grimey fun like his first two albums, not as dark as the third...but don't worry, its good.  It is still funny - still homemade in its sound...just as good as ever for The Streets.

Is it amazing? No.  Something that will stand out against other amazing 2008 releases? Nope.  Should it be ignored?  Nah.  Its funny, easily accessible and worth listening to.

If so inclined, you can try out this album here, before purchasing of course.

Sadly - there is no official, actual website.  Just a myspace page, located here.

Max Richter - 24 Postcards In Full Color (2008)

Max Richter - 24 Postcards In Full Color (FatCat, 2008)

I'll start this out with a disclaimer: I am fully biased when it comes to any release of Max Richter.  I think his work is amazing, and there is just nothing he can do that will be unenjoyable.  His ability to blend modern recording techniques, computer music, sampling with the striking and cinematic of old times gone by is utterly incredibly.

Now - with that said, his new release is a bit of an interesting idea.  24 Postcards In Full Color is an album with, as you could guess, 24 tracks - but these are all short tracks never even hitting the 2 minute mark.  Why?  It is an experiment on Richter's part to attempt to compose music for ringtones.  

His reasoning is simple - why have crappy, annoying, loud, obnoxious and ignorant ringtones going off and pissing half the room off when you could load in something beautiful and perhaps prove you're not an idiot when, instead of the newest Lil Wayne or Britney song blaring through the simple and sad speaker of the cell phone, a soft piano piece or a thick, kraut-inspiried guitar track can let you know that someone thinks you're important?

The pieces are quite diverse, at some points even using very murky guitars (which is a new sound for Richter).  Standouts to me are "Berlin By Overnight," "In New England," and "Circles From The Rue Simon-Crubellier."  

This is a beautiful, small release that will serve as great background music at any point in the day.  The atmospheres are rich, the sounds are beautiful and the themes, though short, will fill your ears with cinematic bliss.

If inclined, follow this link to try out the album before purchasing.

Max Richter's official site

Recent Richter interview

Official 24 Postcards site with digital purchase links

Azeda Booth - Flesh Tones (2008)

Azeda Booth - Flesh Tones (Absolutely Kosher, 2008)

This album, while going to be heavily understated for awhile, is one of the most amazing albums I've listened to in awhile.  It is unfortunatley too short, and that leaves you craving more.

Their sound - perhaps try to picture Coheed & Cambria trying to sing your children to sleep with laptops and lo fi guitars.  There aren't many titles as far as genres go to throw at this album,  other than a stereotypical vague assumption after one listen that it is laptop pop.  this is shortchanging the entire sound, as they are pushing the software to flesh out a full sound, all the while never reaching above a sweet 5 or 6 on the amp.

Highlight tracks would be hard to point out as being any better than others, but perhaps there are some that are great starting points if you must listen to any of it out of the full context; try out "Big Fists" which is the closest the album gets to danceable indie laptop pop.  another great song is "In Red," creating a beautiful glitch-goes-acoustic torrid affair between soft shimmers of guitar, tweeks of a laptop blip and whispers of gentle screams.

If inclined, follow this link to try out the entire album before purchasing.

Absolutely Kosher's profile page for the band

Azeda's official page