Jane Jane - The Education of My Rubber Dolly EP

Music box gone awry. There is a hole in the bottom dropping down to secret beats. Beautiful little riffs, catchy and entrancing. Please wind it up again. "The Education of My Rubber Dolly" ends and leaves you "Alone with You". Another mind printing vocal track sung by Courtney Asztalos and Michael Arcos or Jane Jane. "KNOW - Nick Drake Cover" is a ghostly ride into the darkly crisp night sky. A cat is present, not black, just limber. The cassette ends with "Fever Fried My Brain Fever Fried My Energy", an eighties throw back played forward with the past and future in stereo.

Another cassette i recently enjoyed on numberless auto reverses in the truck. Also, as in the last post, on a label only on a mini hiatus hopefully. Watery Starve released an angelic run of music and art over the last few years. This blog and Watery Starve's tape run were not in sync. I wanted to input into the internet some nice words for the artist and the label. There is one cassette available on discogs and it is economically priced. No worries, you can listen to the entire tape on soundcloud if you are not able to purchase.

This was recorded live in New Orleans in December of 2012. The Education..... would have been cool to have been there that day....

 

Links
Watery Starve site
Jane Jane on soundcloud
Nice write up on Tiny Mix Tapes
Another write up on Ad Hoc
A slightly different version of The Education of My Rubber Dolly

Righteous Acid - Righteous Acid

Had the pleasure to listen to this tape on repeated flips over the last weekend.  Also wanted to get something on the site for the incredibly cool label Space Slave. Righteous Acid was one of the last two cassettes Space Slave released before going on hiatus. This one will be a little difficult to find, but the digital is readily accessible.

Recorded in the middle of 2013 Righteous Acid is Alex Sarad. The sound pours out of the speakers with emotional clarity resting in a spectrum of genres. The start "Coolidge Ave."launches your ears into reverberated guitar drone, much like the long tracks of Stag Hare (companion batch release on Space Slave). This gives way to drums and guitar on "Allman Jam", with a beat and rhythm of a long Fela track, although the sax has been replaced by guitar. I would say the foundation of most tracks have a Ras Michael sense to them. This can be heard on "Dub Summer", "Queen Sunny", "Kahlil & Lily" and especially "Sundog". Even though there is a kinship of sound to the smokey drum circles of enlightenment, Alex is not rooted there. His sound has tethers to this world and still flies on it's on path.

There are hints of African music, Reggae, Funk, Dub blended seamlessly across this Righteous Acid cassette with the same title. The listening experience is upbeat and delivers a euphoric happiness ready to accompany the beauty of the day. Take thirty minutes and give this a listen. You will be pleased.

From what i can find out, this Righteous Acid cassette is sold out everywhere. I found an expensive copy on discogs and another for sale at Obscuro in Japan. Found Alex Sarad on another record for sale called the Invisible Astro Healing Rhythm Quartet. Also there is a unavaible cassette out there on Sun Ark (scroll way down) by Righteous Acid titled Mellow Doses.

Space Slave had a nice run of thirty releases. The artists were incredible as well as all of the artwork and presentation. Hopefully the label will have some tapes out in 2015. Maybe these words can help with the knowledge of the label not being forgotten.

Links
Space Slave site, bandcamp and facebook
Righteous Acid site and facebook

Wes Tirey - Concerning the Disputed Photograph of Crazy Horse

Another excellent cassette by Wes Tirey. They seem to be amazingly sprouting from the cold earth this winter. On Noumenal Loom for this one and Twin Springs Tapes for the one weeks ago. I was not quick enough to purchase Gnostic Hymns of the Blue Ridge Mountains Volume 1 on Twin Springs, but i did order Concerning the Disputed Photograph of Crazy Horse from Noumenal Loom. This tape has rolled over in the deck more than a few times now and i am ready to give it my best effort to describe.

The magnitude of sound being emitted from Wes' guitar is on par with a steam locomotive. As i listen the strings fill my entire head and leave little room for anything else. This style of playing creates a resonance resembling the drone of railroad train. Even to the point of how the cassette starts, slow and methodical, gathering momentum and rolling along. The contrast of empty space and guitar playing really exemplifies the patience Wes has developed. His timing on CtDPoCH is truly a sign of how comfortable the compositions are for him. Sit back and close your eyes on this, there is a vintage world unfolding in your mind. The guitar of Wes Tirey will show you the way points.

I think a few more people are going to be able to purchase this cassette. There were one hundred in the run from Noumenal Loom. This was part of their Winter Batch #2 and is still available for sale at their site. Noumenal Loom has been working with some great artists and maintains this foggy feeling of mystery for me. Their taste are vast and will surprise us more and more in the future.
So get CtDPoCH soon because it will sell out. Tomentosa had copies in their most recent update and they have sold out already. That is an indicator to notice!

Links
Noumenal Loom site and bandcamp
Wes Tirey bandcamp and facebook

Sunny Dunes - Whims of a Rainy Day

As a Florida resident, i can relate to Whims of a Rainy Day by Sunny Dunes. The introduction, antique field recordings of a family outing at the ocean side, evokes countless memories. You can hear the rain come making the event more spectacular. And then.....

The field recordings subside making way for musical composition. Sound droplets rolling down a window pane. There is no hurry, the tunes echo creating a dreamlike state. This musical contrast to the human environment is well done and this will take form throughout segments of the cassette.

The next sequence of music takes the listener far from the solitude of a remote beach with friends. The dunes have been struck with a foreign satellite. It rest half buried in the sand emitting alien frequencies. As the hour of music within Whims of a Rainy Day moves forward, the music seems juxtaposed between a tranquil world of vintage vacations and an almost ominous future of possible perils. The beat driven electronic sequences begin to root into your mind making the ever fading moments of life, a fleeting oasis of sanctity. There is a disparity of sounds arising from this tape. This is a great accomplishment, because at no time the contrast disconnects the listener, rather the differences draw your ears closer to the source.

From what i can see, Sunny Dunes has emerged over the last few years with releases on six different labels. Looking at the pattern of labels for their previous releases, A Giant Fern seems to fit perfectly. Cool and well versed in cassette culture, this artist has teamed up with another distinguished hallmark. If you like the sounds of Whims of a Rainy Day, purchase it from A Giant Fern soon. There are eight left as i write this and will be unavailable soon, just like everything else.


Here is all Sunny Dunes has for sale on Discogs.

Links
Whims of a Rainy Day on bandcamp
A Giant Fern site
Sunny Dunes bandcamp site
Sylvia Monnier on bandcamp and twitter
#25 on Microphones in the Trees rewind 2014

Baldruin - Miniaturen

Precise sound sketches like bamboo shoots reaching up everywhere through the earth. Balduin sprouts over twenty tracks on the new cassette titled Miniaturen. How can i describe so many distinct small stalks........ I guess the best way is to start by making mini observations of the feelings Johannes Schebler evokes as his alias Baldruin.

After repeated listens you will hear Miniaturen explores every crag of the rock face. The sound takes you to alternate dimensions with ethereal voices heard through an ancient ceremony droned with percussion. There is pinpointing sonar exploring the unknown ocean depths. A listen into an alien nursery followed by a theme the x-files would have been delighted to use. Ambient dronescapes then to spiritual mantras recited for moments of relaxation. Now gliding over the vast dessert of the American southwest. Reflective tones of the scariest decision you are about to make, and after making it, delivering you the psychotic ward for a brief stay. Leaving here the journey takes you back to listen in again on places you have heard before. This time they are different. There is a similarity but something has changed.

As far as you can go, with twenty one tracks in just about thirty two minutes, Baldruin will take you there. There is a wide variety of vignettes, but there is never a feeling of rummaging through the lost and found. Rather the opposite, as if looking through suitcase of a distinguished world traveler. Everything has a purpose and all of the belongings connect in some seasoned way.

Out on A Giant Fern, with the most recent batch, making thirty releases for them.
This label has worked with both really well know artist and undiscovered ones. Everything A Giant Fern has released has a supremely high production level for some very thought out art and packaging.
Miniaturen is no exception with heavy card stock, a clear sheet for the download code, and what i always notice, a cassette made with screws to hold it together.

You can order Miniaturen straight from A Giant Fern.

Links
A Giant Fern site
Miniaturen on bandcamp
Balduin on facebook

If, Bwana - Live at the Logos Tetrahedon

Immersed in a continued hum emitted deep within the bellows of creation. There is a desolate tone originating from Live at the Logos Tetrahedon. Of the four long tracks, only "Frog Field" is orchestrated in a key providing relief from the infinite sonic tundra. 

If, Bwana is the name of one project for Al Margoli's lengthy and prolific 30 year outpouring. Live at the Logos Tetrahedon is a recent release in the last batch of SicSic Tapes. This one clocks in at just under an hour and commands an uninterrupted listening window to unleash it's beautiful nature.

The first track "8 notes, 16 speakers, x players" is a harmonium drenched snail march on a thin branch above barren salt lands. "Jon Bari Sax" brings visions and sounds of droning bees, swarming, menacing, and ominous. "Frog Field" sparkles for a good amount of time. The listener can find solitude in a glade away from minor keys. The performance ends with "It is Bassoon", not as removed from the human conveniences as the start of the cassette, but still resting in an overlapping state between an austere sonic dimension and sound rays of light.

This show would have been very cool to see live. Thanks to SicSic Tapes release #077, we can at least hear it's recorded representation. A uniquely obscure choice and a good one! Still available at SicSic and Tomentosa.

Links
If Bwama site
SicSic Tapes site / facebook site

Banal Anml - I Did It For The Sound

Found this cassette using my own pecking on the internet, off the regular review sites. Thought i was ahead of the cassette culture curve, but the always incredible Tiny Mix Tapes already zeroed in on it over a half year ago. No matter on being Sherlock, the best thing is Banal Anml deserves another write up. If you like what you read/hear, the cassette is still available. Purchase I Did It For The Sound from the Banal Anml bandcamp site or direct from the lable Solid Melts.

Clocking in at over thirty minutes and produced in a run of one hundred, I Did It For The Sound is a half hour bomb of beneficent beats, synthesizer and vocals. The first track "Oubliette", an oddly enchanting choir like introduction, starts a sinuous path for the following expedition. The sound then heads for the heavy drop with "Addicted to Comfort". A song leaving deep impressions on the sofa cushions. "Robot Sufari" is truly that crossing into the jungle of electronic vines and biting sound pops. The noise is hacked away until the temple voice is heard, cryptically  delivering the zenith.
"Photocopy Memory", a synoptic dance working its way into my brain. Memory being transferred, beats banking back and back. Funny how "Dogs (Lick My Face)", a tongue timed to deliver a version of splashing water, reviving the entranced listener. You only partially come out of this massive sonic atmosphere. Back in until the end. Pulled out of with dream like Confucius thinking with the last song "I Woke Up With The Sun"

As with all really good cassettes and labels they are bound to, I Did It For The Sound will be off the inventory list soon. I looked on the Solid Melts site, out of twenty nine total releases twenty four of them are no longer available.

*Update - Another site with a write up one day after this one - The perplexingly prolific and amazing raised by gypsies has more to read here. 

Links
Solid Melts site
Banal Anml on bandcamp

Bob Bucko JR - The World Is Big, The Road Is Long

This is a really nice cassette to listen to. Ambient, but not overly zoned out or floating in la-la. There is guitar drift, slowly timed, filled with synthesizer liquid, drone, voice, bass..... The sound is electric and real. Bob Bucko JR has some pretty cool stylings and these can be heard front to back on this tape.

Divided into two long tracks, each taking up a side, The World Is Big, The Road Is Long is batting in the 400s for me. Side one and two are completely different but compatible with each other. The first side delves into casually played guitar with an ambient curtain of sounds wavering in the background. Very nice together! I personally like side two a little better with some vocal interpretations of monastic solitude accompanied by peaceful drone and creeping strings. Both sides work together really well creating unique interest as the tape flips back and forth.

Bob Bucko JR released this in a quantity of 40 on the Personal Archives label. There are some great releases from a wide variety of artists on this label. You can check out Bob's discography on his own extensive bandcamp site. I first took notice of Bob Bucko JR by listening to I Want To Speak A Thousand Languages when it came out in the spring of 2013. This is still available on cassette as well.

The World is Big, The Road Is Long is well composed and stands out by being a pleasure to listen to.

 

Links

Bob Bucko JR bandcamp page - facebook

Personal Archives Website -  bandcamp page

Graham Repulski - Maple Stag

After listening to Maple Stag many times I am still mesmerized by it's tentacles reaching through the music lithosphere. There is so much diversity within these eleven tracks of music. This is because Graham Repulski has some fine talent. Being able to create something sounding rooted and familiar, yet completely fresh is a result of being a good composer and doing this over and over.

Maple Stag is a pop gem for me. Upbeat, messy field noise jumbled in with songs, is a great formula. Small rungs for your ears to grab on to while crossing a kaleidoscope of sounds. There really is no chance of falling out of enjoying this cassette. Graham has honed the tape down to a mini masterpiece.

If you want to understand music a little more, listen to this cassette. As i said, the expertise of this sound is a result of talent paired with repetition of creation. He also does everything from making music on his own label (Shorter Recordings) to successfully getting it out there for people to enjoy. The style of Maple Stag is a continuation of many compositions being more and more skillfully developed.

You can get this straight from the bandcamp site.

Links
Graham Repulski on bandcamp and facebook
Nice write up on Tome to the Weather Machine