lost in a sea of sound

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 …

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 This gives way to drums and guitar on "Allman Jam", with a beat and rhythm of a long Fela track, although the sax has been replaced by guitar.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 es…

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 ho…

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 ro…

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 he…

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", n…

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 bi…

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 …

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 enj…