Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Maschine Nr. 9 - Headmovie
From wfmu:
Headmovie is a Nurse With Wound List item, a German Rock-audio collage of spoken word, electronic pulsations, psychedelic music, and borrowed bits from The Beatles White Album, among other things. The credited trio includes musician Georg Deuter, who at the time had released some great ethnic-flavored solo albums of instrumental music and was already veering towards "New Age." Krautrock luminaries Renate Knaup (Amon Düül II) and Daniel Fichelscher (Popol Vuh) also participated.
Crack in the Cosmic Egg:
Not a group, but a one-off sound-theatre project headed by Wolf Wondratschek, Bernd Brummbär and Georg Deuter. An unusual concoction of texts, sound effects and music, the title HEADMOVIE is quite apt, it is intriguing and bizarre: not least for some original Deuter music, weird singing by Renate Knaup, and fascinating tape-collage work including borrowed material like Roger Waters' "Several Species Of Small Furry Animals..." and John Lennon's immortal "number 9".
Line-up:
Wolf Wondratschek, Bernd Brummbär, Georg Deuter, + Vlado Kristl, Olimpia Hruska, Rolf Zacher, Waki Zoellner, Hans Noever, Temur Samy, Helmut Qualtinger, Peter Schranner, Thomas Schamoni, George Moorse, Alfred Edel, Hans Jürgen Diedrich, Louis Waldon
As interesting as it sounds, I can't help but feel that quite a lot of this album is lost to us non-German speakers, as most of the story is told through German dialogues. Nonetheless it has its moments...
As requested:
Link
Ray Russell & Friederich Gulda
Two more NWWL requests.
Friederich Gulda & Ursula Anders - Gegenwart, 1976, Germany
One often hears that a piece of music is "ahead of its time"; however, the claim is difficult to prove until a certain amount of time has passed. In January of 1976, the great Austrian pianist Friedrich Gulda recorded the album Gegenwart (meaning presence or present time), which can now truly claim, with its 1993 reissue, to have been ahead of its time. The album was a collaboration with percussionist Ursula Anders and producer Eckart Rahn; it was and still is a challenging, dramatic collection of improvisations.
Actually, past, present, and future, all come together in Gegenwart. Gulda's worldwide reputation as an interpreter of classic Mozart and Beethoven pieces certainly did nothing to prepare listeners for the music on this recording. From its recognizably pianistic sounds to the guitar like strumming produced on (or more accurately, in) the electric clavichord, Gegenwart is a musical snapshot of a musician looking toward the future. It contains no solo piano works and the conventional sounds of the piano are simply one of a number of textures that Gulda uses.
At times, dramatic and abstract, sometimes spare and lyrical, Gegenwart is full of surprises. For instance, the strings inside the piano imitate an electric-bass and the high swoop of a synthesizer at the end of Duo 1 and Duos 2 and 3 include an assortment of percussion instruments, recorders, and even some whistling. Although all of the pieces are completely improvised, this is not an album of conventional jazz. Gegenwart is about sound, not form; as its German title indicates, it's about playing in the moment - about the act of making music. Even now, the album contains some of the most unusual sounds ever coaxed out of a piano or clavichord. More important, the pieces sound like they could have been recorded last month; the music is as daring and imaginative now as it was in 1976.
Not personally one of my favorite list items, but should greatly please many.
Link
Ray Russell - Secret Asylum, 1973
Secret Asylum was Russell's most experimental solo effort, however it's one of the few that haven't been reissued. Very little info exists (not even on his own website!). Too bad, because it's a very interesting album full of jazz and heavy rock improvisations where all kinds of styles come together, meet and clash in their own very distinct ways. Line-up and tracklisting:
Ray Russell (g/b) - Gary Windo (ts) - Harry Beckett (tpt/flghn) - Daryl Runswick (b) - Alan Rushton (d)
1. Stained Angel Morning - 2. Spinetree - 3. Sweet Cauldron - 4. All Through Over You - 5. Nearer - 6. These That I Am - 7. To See Through The Sky - 8. There The Dance Is - 9. Children Of The Hollow Dawn
Anyone got a better pic?
Link
Friederich Gulda & Ursula Anders - Gegenwart, 1976, Germany
One often hears that a piece of music is "ahead of its time"; however, the claim is difficult to prove until a certain amount of time has passed. In January of 1976, the great Austrian pianist Friedrich Gulda recorded the album Gegenwart (meaning presence or present time), which can now truly claim, with its 1993 reissue, to have been ahead of its time. The album was a collaboration with percussionist Ursula Anders and producer Eckart Rahn; it was and still is a challenging, dramatic collection of improvisations.
Actually, past, present, and future, all come together in Gegenwart. Gulda's worldwide reputation as an interpreter of classic Mozart and Beethoven pieces certainly did nothing to prepare listeners for the music on this recording. From its recognizably pianistic sounds to the guitar like strumming produced on (or more accurately, in) the electric clavichord, Gegenwart is a musical snapshot of a musician looking toward the future. It contains no solo piano works and the conventional sounds of the piano are simply one of a number of textures that Gulda uses.
At times, dramatic and abstract, sometimes spare and lyrical, Gegenwart is full of surprises. For instance, the strings inside the piano imitate an electric-bass and the high swoop of a synthesizer at the end of Duo 1 and Duos 2 and 3 include an assortment of percussion instruments, recorders, and even some whistling. Although all of the pieces are completely improvised, this is not an album of conventional jazz. Gegenwart is about sound, not form; as its German title indicates, it's about playing in the moment - about the act of making music. Even now, the album contains some of the most unusual sounds ever coaxed out of a piano or clavichord. More important, the pieces sound like they could have been recorded last month; the music is as daring and imaginative now as it was in 1976.
Not personally one of my favorite list items, but should greatly please many.
Link
Ray Russell - Secret Asylum, 1973
Secret Asylum was Russell's most experimental solo effort, however it's one of the few that haven't been reissued. Very little info exists (not even on his own website!). Too bad, because it's a very interesting album full of jazz and heavy rock improvisations where all kinds of styles come together, meet and clash in their own very distinct ways. Line-up and tracklisting:
Ray Russell (g/b) - Gary Windo (ts) - Harry Beckett (tpt/flghn) - Daryl Runswick (b) - Alan Rushton (d)
1. Stained Angel Morning - 2. Spinetree - 3. Sweet Cauldron - 4. All Through Over You - 5. Nearer - 6. These That I Am - 7. To See Through The Sky - 8. There The Dance Is - 9. Children Of The Hollow Dawn
Anyone got a better pic?
Link
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Broken Flag Pt. 3: Cassettes 1 (BF 01-10)
http://direct-waves.blogspot.com/2007/07/no-more-broken-flag-stuff.html
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Cupol (Dome/Wire) & Anthony Moore
As requested...
Cupol - Like This For Ages/Kluba Cupol EP, 1980
Another NWW List Wire/Dome offshoot. Consists of one shorter track (about four minutes) and a 20 minute instrumental, stretched out reworking of the previous track. This is great stuff; if you like Dome/Wire or just experimental post-punk in general you should like it. The tracks carry a sense of hopeless dread with them and much of the instrumentation sounds very ritual and repetitive (in a good way). This goes beyond Wire's post-punk...
Download
Anthony Moore - Pieces from the Cloudland Ballroom, 1971
"Moore is best known as a founder of the progressive rock band Slapp Happy but has also written lyrics for Pink Floyd. These albums are part of a theoretical trilogy written in Germany in the early 1970's (the third part, Reeds, Whistle And Sticks was unissued until a 1998 CD release on Blueprint). Although Anthony is of British origin, these can be viewed as essential Krautrock peripherals and are Historically Significant no matter how you look at it. Pieces features: Anthony Moore (comp/cond), with: Ulf Kenklies (vocals), Glyn Davenport (vocals), Gieske Hof-Helmers (vocals) & Werner 'Zappa' Diermeier (hi-hat). From Alan Licht's "Minimalism: The Next Ten", originally published in Halana #3: "Two great missing links in the incredible history of Uwe Nettlebeck's productions at Wümme, Germany. Slapp Happy founder Moore recorded Pieces From The Cloudland Ballroom a month after Faust cut their debut LP (fall 1971) and Secrets Of The Blue Bag a month before their second (with Slapp Happy's debut Sort Of following in May '72 and Tony Conrad/Faust's Outside The Dream Syndicate in October). Indeed, Faust's Werner 'Zappa' Diermaier and Gunther Wusthoff both contribute to Pieces, which is not a Krautrock or artrock LP but a bona fide minimal classic. Side one is 'Jam Jern Jim Jom Jum,' which has three singers chanting that mantra while Moore plays these odd, luminous repeating chords underneath. The first piece on side 2, 'mu na h-vile ni a shaoileas iad,' sounds uncannily like Richard Youngs' Advent with its quiet piano and piercing bowed sounds, while 'A.B.C.D. Gol'flsh' could almost pass for the trance rock classic that Moondog never got around to recording."
-forcedexposure
Download
Cupol - Like This For Ages/Kluba Cupol EP, 1980
Another NWW List Wire/Dome offshoot. Consists of one shorter track (about four minutes) and a 20 minute instrumental, stretched out reworking of the previous track. This is great stuff; if you like Dome/Wire or just experimental post-punk in general you should like it. The tracks carry a sense of hopeless dread with them and much of the instrumentation sounds very ritual and repetitive (in a good way). This goes beyond Wire's post-punk...
Download
Anthony Moore - Pieces from the Cloudland Ballroom, 1971
"Moore is best known as a founder of the progressive rock band Slapp Happy but has also written lyrics for Pink Floyd. These albums are part of a theoretical trilogy written in Germany in the early 1970's (the third part, Reeds, Whistle And Sticks was unissued until a 1998 CD release on Blueprint). Although Anthony is of British origin, these can be viewed as essential Krautrock peripherals and are Historically Significant no matter how you look at it. Pieces features: Anthony Moore (comp/cond), with: Ulf Kenklies (vocals), Glyn Davenport (vocals), Gieske Hof-Helmers (vocals) & Werner 'Zappa' Diermeier (hi-hat). From Alan Licht's "Minimalism: The Next Ten", originally published in Halana #3: "Two great missing links in the incredible history of Uwe Nettlebeck's productions at Wümme, Germany. Slapp Happy founder Moore recorded Pieces From The Cloudland Ballroom a month after Faust cut their debut LP (fall 1971) and Secrets Of The Blue Bag a month before their second (with Slapp Happy's debut Sort Of following in May '72 and Tony Conrad/Faust's Outside The Dream Syndicate in October). Indeed, Faust's Werner 'Zappa' Diermaier and Gunther Wusthoff both contribute to Pieces, which is not a Krautrock or artrock LP but a bona fide minimal classic. Side one is 'Jam Jern Jim Jom Jum,' which has three singers chanting that mantra while Moore plays these odd, luminous repeating chords underneath. The first piece on side 2, 'mu na h-vile ni a shaoileas iad,' sounds uncannily like Richard Youngs' Advent with its quiet piano and piercing bowed sounds, while 'A.B.C.D. Gol'flsh' could almost pass for the trance rock classic that Moondog never got around to recording."
-forcedexposure
Download
Slight update
Everything in the previous post is fixed, all the links are available and should work now. Also the artwork for "Statement" is now up thanks to zubzub.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
So...
To get the ball rolling...I thought I would start off again by uploading material from the old Broken Flag label (Ramleh, Skullflower, Controlled Bleeding...etc.) because I've grown quite fond of the label as of late and I've also come to acquire the majority of its output, some of which is not only highly essential but also incredibly rare and should be of interest, if nothing else for its historical value (for lack of a better term). However, I'll try to put up other stuff too...but I thought I'd ask first what people would be interested in - in other words, I'm looking for requests. You guys point me in the right direction! NWW List stuff? NWW? Fluxus/Dada recordings? Kraut? French stuff? At any rate, new uploads should be on this site within a few days or less (I'm taking time to upload stuff now).
Secondly, whether this site's run is temporary or more permanent, things are probably gonna be a little different. For example, posts will probably be a bit less frequent and more sporadic, but a bit more freeform and based on user's suggestions. There won't be too much of a change though, I don't think.
Lastly, I apologize for leaving so abruptly. I probably should have at least left a notice saying that I wasn't going to be on for awhile, especially since I probably had the opportunity to. Anyway, the reasons for my abscence are complex and mostly point towards my time being consumed entirely with lots of crap and bullshit (it's been hectic the past few monthsin a lot of ways), not to mention my computer hasn't been the most stable recently either. Honestly, part of the reason was also because I just didn't have much left to upload from my collection (at least that which I had computer access to - if you'll remember me saying, I haven't had a vinyl ripper for months, for example...). Anyway, I'm excited to be back, even if it's with less frequency or only for a short period of time, and I think we can make things work again.
And also: I appreciate all the comments. I really do. I was surprised how many people still come to this site and how much some people liked it. Makes me happy, to say the least.
So...
Any requests? Comments? Suggestions? :)
Let's get this started...
Secondly, whether this site's run is temporary or more permanent, things are probably gonna be a little different. For example, posts will probably be a bit less frequent and more sporadic, but a bit more freeform and based on user's suggestions. There won't be too much of a change though, I don't think.
Lastly, I apologize for leaving so abruptly. I probably should have at least left a notice saying that I wasn't going to be on for awhile, especially since I probably had the opportunity to. Anyway, the reasons for my abscence are complex and mostly point towards my time being consumed entirely with lots of crap and bullshit (it's been hectic the past few monthsin a lot of ways), not to mention my computer hasn't been the most stable recently either. Honestly, part of the reason was also because I just didn't have much left to upload from my collection (at least that which I had computer access to - if you'll remember me saying, I haven't had a vinyl ripper for months, for example...). Anyway, I'm excited to be back, even if it's with less frequency or only for a short period of time, and I think we can make things work again.
And also: I appreciate all the comments. I really do. I was surprised how many people still come to this site and how much some people liked it. Makes me happy, to say the least.
So...
Any requests? Comments? Suggestions? :)
Let's get this started...
Friday, June 22, 2007
The Return
Well, maybe. I'm planning on reviving this blog at least temporarily again to upload a few things I never got the chance to share. I'll try to explain why the blog went down for awhile, too.
tpm
tpm
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