Thursday, September 29, 2011

ORANGE MILK



Orange Milk Records messaged me yesterday about three new tapes that they just dropped, a Quilt/Developer split, Sundrips' One Hundred Hints and Omnicron Girls by Piper Spray. The sample from Quilt's side of the split, "Yes Collapse," is a serious celestial overload while "Omnicron Girls," the title track from the Piper Spray cassette, propels itself along completely submerged. Orange Milk also has releases on the way from Caboladies, Mark Dwinnel (Forma) and La Big Vic. Label heads Seth (Quilt) and Keith (Giant Claw) also have a new project called Cream Juice. They just finished their first record.



Quilt - Yes Collapsed by orangemilk

Opie Piper Spray - Omnicron Girls - Omnicron Girls by orangemilk

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

WILD WEST


Five months ago I got an email about Wild West, a post-punk band active in the M Squared Studios scene in Sydney, Australia between 1980 and 1981. This past Spring they released the Selected Recordings compilation Scratch Another Day, which includes their Beat the Drought EP and live material from their first and last shows. I don't know a terrible amount about the changing post-punk landscape in Sydney in the early 1980s, but I do know that Wild West's brand could fuse funk with harsh synthesizer tones ("Red Sea," "We Can Do") then turn around and strum out a melodic downer ("Locking," "That's Set"). Throughout their entire range, the songs sound desperate and with purpose, the recording straight and raw. Scratch Another Day is available on CD from CD Baby and digitally on bandcamp. Check out a few of my favorites below then stream the whole thing.












p.s. apparently the pots & pans drum part at the end of "We Can Do" was inspired by "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" and that's rad

Thursday, September 22, 2011

BEEN LISTENING TO 2


Didn't get a chance to check out the newer Hype Williams EP Kelly Price W8 Gain Vol. II until this week, prodded by a newer track surfacing under aliases Dean Blunt + Inga Copeland called "But Life Goes On Nahmean." I don't want to shit on the EP, but this new track simply blows its four tracks out of the water. W8 Gain is nice and all but it's bordering on par-for-the-course for Hype Williams. There's slightly-off drum sound rhythms ("Farthing Wood Dub"), spooky trash synthesizer noodling ("Boss Man"), the blunted ambient jam ("Rise Up") and the obligatory out-there spoken word musings over HW soundtrack ("Badmind").

"But Life Goes On Nahmean" breaks most Hype Williams molds, instead reaching some seriously fun pop-rock rollick. Inga Copeland croons in a language that is unintelligible and may or may not exist. Sounds like the melodies were lifted from some psychedelic Indonesian girl group band that some label that does things like that dug up and retro-branded. Also the song sort of proves that if they wanted to and/or had the means, Hype Williams could go for a seriously clean synthetic pop sound and succeed. With a bass sound so meaty it's hard to imagine them failing.



Dean Blunt + Inga Copeland - But Life Goes On Nahmean

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I was hit with a new Vinh Ngan track a couple weeks back. "Lo Por" is a "LoveRap" in Vinh's own words, a song about how one should love their significant other. Serious business. In other Vinh Ngan news, he provided something of a translation of the song "Sun Hing J" last month that I never got around to posting. The subject is gangs, in particular the New Cross Boyz (NXB for short) that Vinh apparently used to run with. I really don't want to delve too deeply into the politics of this gang or the politics of gangs in general, but the translation hints at violence and the satisfaction associated with carrying out violent acts for one's gang, whether they're for-real violence or simply violent intimidations. Check the new piece then the translation of "Sun Hing J."



Lo Por by Vinh Ngan Triad God


Vinh Ngan - Sun Hing J (translation):

New Cross Boyz worry fall
u people fall we still worry, be fall

Swear

Triad God will look after us, will take care
of us

We dont have to be scared
we go chop if any think
ah 1 leg in prision
1 leg in hell

Waj J
im the biggests
play it all New X boy
top level club prostitute
shop i look after it all is it
the top level big for the past
go chop people so
knife shine verion let me?
group show my talent
my heart will grow

If I die I dont care
put my blood in a ocean
so it flow in the sea


PREVIOUSLY:

Sun Hing J by Vinh Ngan Triad God

Remand by Vinh Ngan Triad God

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New Oneohtrix Point Never material hit "The Web" a couple weeks ago in the form of "Sleep Dealer," the first track to emerge from OPN's new album Replica, out this November on Software. Really into the new piece, certainly unlike the many serene ambient passages and searing cuts of white noise found on Returnal. "Sleep Dealer" is pounding and jerky, occasionally pausing to reveal signature OPN synthesizer warmth.



Oneohtrix Point Never - Sleep Dealer by Mexican Summer

Thursday, September 15, 2011

BEEN LISTENING TO


Trance Farmers has a Leaving Records related tape out soon. "Nibiru" is from that tape. Trance Farmers also has another tape available for free download. A while back I posted some demos from a previous project of his called day\\s. Dude also runs a label called Glue Moon Records. He came and played a show I threw together in Pittsfield last year.



Trance Farmers - Nibiru

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I was sort of blindsided by Tomb of Transition, a new White Car CDR that was apparently self released and uploaded to Soundcloud for stream late last month. The CDR is a fine, somewhat less pained accompaniment to White Car's previous EP No Better, finding a creepy balance between industrial pounding, synthesizer squelches and techno swagger. White Car also has some sort of release or something coming out this month called Everyday Grace, which is supposedly out this month. Embedding is disallowed, so click here to stream the CDR in its entirety.

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Got an email from "female laptop musician" June Kim a.k.a. K I N. One of her songs, "Diplopia," hit me in a particularly pleasant way, burbling electronics underneath with some sparkly electronics on top. Check that track and maybe some day soon there till be more.



K I N - Diplopia

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I'm gona try and do more of these posts where I just put a few tracks I've been listening to together whether or not they're related or new or what not. I've been trying to figure out how I'm going to keep this blogspot going for quite some time and this might be the only way I can be productive about it. Anyway, enjoy and if you have any suggestions or whatever hit me in the comments or at iprnelson@gmail.com.

Friday, September 2, 2011

THE BOYS UPSTAIRS PRESENT...



a bunch of woodsman to check out

and a song from their new record

Woodsman - In Circles

Thursday, September 1, 2011

STAR KINSHIP

~~~ THEAWAYTEAM - LOST CONTINENT ~~~ from AAVV on Vimeo.



The Away Team comes from Italy with a kraut/ambient/library music hybrid of purring synthesizers, shuffling drum machines and and enough mechanical squelches to keep it truly alien. The Away Team also goes by Polysick and one of their members is part of audiovisual label entity AAVV. The Away Team's next record Star Kinship drops in a couple weeks on rad Japanese label Moamoo, featuring video track "Lost Continent" among nine other gems, many of which drift deep into euphoric near-house territories.