New Releases for April 2008

Index of New Releases for April 2008

12K

Artist:	DEUPREE, TAYLOR
Title:	Northern
Label:	12K
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.50
Catalog #:	12K 2009CD

"12k is re-issuing Northern in an expanded package with re-mixed and re-mastered audio. Not content to merely order a re-pressing of the same masters on hand at the CD manufacturer, Taylor Deupree set out to create what he calls the 'director's cut' of one of the most important CDs in his catalog. The idea was to open the now 2-year-old computer files to remix and remaster the tracks. Of course, over the course of years computers change, formats change, and Deupree found himself faced with missing plug-ins, errored sound files and other oddities that made working with the files difficult. What first seemed like roadblocks turned into a mission to work with what was there and re-do what was not. The result is a Northern that will, on the surface, seem quite similar to the original, however, listeners will hear new sounds, extended endings, shortened endings and most of all, an overall mix that presents these works with a new clarity and spaciousness. Mastering in the analog domain has given the work a new-found sense of delicacy and detail. A heavyweight cardboard wallet with debossed typography on the front cover. Inside are two pockets, one for the CD and one for a 24-page booklet of photography, credits, and lots of white space. All printing, as with the original, is in black and white. The inspiration behind Northern (including its music, title and photography) comes from Deupree's recent relocation from the heart of urban activity in Brooklyn to the tranquility of the forest in upstate New York. Inspired by nature and the winter during which it was created, Northern, like much of his recent work, explores Deupree's interest in stillness and a slowed sense of time. Through quiet textures, subtle movements, faint loops and echoes, it was his goal to create the type of music that comes naturally to him while also highlighting the input from his dramatic new surroundings. In contrast to the brazen repetition found on Stil., Northern's more ephemeral approach to Deupree's theme comes from looking at the stillness found outside of his studio windows: large, looming boulders, the softness of snow, and the hushed whisper of wind and fallen leaves; it is a world of countless tiny movements -- so active that an implied stillness results from the din it creates."

23FIVE

Artist:	CHOP SHOP
Title:	Oxide
Label:	23FIVE
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	23FIVE 012CD

"Chop Shop is the moniker of New York-based sound artist Scott Konzelmann, whose activities have comprised installations featuring his speaker construction assemblages and sonic compositions since 1987. There have been plenty of micro-edition CD-R releases, 2 noted 3" CDs for the prestigious V2 label, several old school cassettes, a handful of singles, and two legendary 10" vinyl productions. One of which was a double 10" bound in roofing tar strapped to a plate of steel. The other was a split 10" with Small Cruel Party, which was literally chopped in half and assembled on the listener's turntable at their needle's peril. 23five Incorporated is delighted to present Oxide, the long overdue full-length CD from Chop Shop. Konzelmann's sound and noise are intrinsically connected to his sculptural objects. Forged from re-purposed junkyard fragments fitted with functional loudspeakers, these objects compress and articulate particular frequencies into hissing static, jet-engine drones, and noxious rumbles, all of which retain a metallurgist residue. Such were the sounds on the original analogue tapes of Oxide; unfortunately, those tapes had endured what Konzelmann merely qualifies as 'an unhappy accident,' which caused extensive and prolonged moisture damage to the tapes. In revisiting these tapes, Konzelmann discovered drop-outs and print-throughs, as ghostly noises shadowed his muscular drone music. The tape itself had also begun to crumble during playback, making an eerily similar parallel to William Basinski's Disintegration Loops. However, Chop Shop does not share Basinski's melancholy theatrics, and Oxide dials in a proper dose of distilled contemporary sonic dead-tech mantra through a leaden stream paralleling the Hafler Trio's Intoutof."

Artist:	MURRAY, BRENDAN
Title:	Commonwealth
Label:	23FIVE
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	23FIVE 013CD

"In recent years, Brendan Murray has become a central figure in Boston's sound art vanguard through a reputation of exceptional live performances and a growing catalogue of slow-shifting compositions for rarified drones. He sets himself apart from the conventional wisdom that drone-based music is an open-ended exercise into the 'realm of the infinite.' Murray specifically shapes his repetitions and sinewy tonalities within the rigors of compositional frameworks and temporal restraints. This process does not lend itself to speed, as previous albums required up to four years to complete and Commonwealth endured over fifteen drafts before Murray perfected the album. A single crescendo terminating at the end of 49 minutes, Commonwealth is an epic investigation into subtle harmonics and overtones expressed through layered slippages of pure sound. Conceived through guitar, analog synthesis, and plenty of digital manipulation, Commonwealth expresses a rare confidence in Murray's finely tuned detailing of sinewy tonalities and sculpted megalithic surfaces. Murray himself has qualified this album as a 'sincere bow to 'classic' minimalism,' and Commonwealth is a worthy parallel to the work of Phill Niblock, Eliane Radigue, and Iannis Xenakis."

3000 GRAD RECORDS (GERMANY)

Artist:	MOLLONO.BASS/DREHER & SM.ART
Title:	SOS EP
Label:	3000 GRAD RECORDS (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	3000GRAD 001EP

"The new label 3000° Records is tailored for, and focuses on, functional club music. The first release on this new label has been produced by its label head Mollono.Bass who is known for superb releases on Ostwind and Acker Records. His deep and driving sound with an atmospheric touch is once again coming out in this record while the second track by the Berlin live act Dreher & Smart is, like always, a true surprise for ears and legs. Together they have celebrated an ever growing number of genius remixes as for instance the Depeche Mode 'Martyr' on Mute 10 or 'Grillen im Park' a remix for Kollektiv Turmstrasse. Moreover, during their numerous live gigs and independent releases, the crew has proven to stay true to essence yet at the same time surprises with new ideas and infinite innovation. Their sound thus drives, is yet ever changing and harmonic while bridging the impossible by being full of love for detail and modern arrangement. A perfect debut -- we are keen to hear more soon!"

3RD FLOOR (DENMARK)

Artist:	MARTINEZ
Title:	Retrospective EP
Label:	3RD FLOOR (DENMARK)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	3RD 008EP

"The record is already gaining support from far and wide by DJs like Loco Dice,Tiefschwarz, Mathias Kaden, Serafin and Federico Molinari. A serious dose of forward thinking house music, and a must for the spring! These days, Martinez is gaining a lot of appreciation with his releases on Cray 1 Labworks, LoMidHigh Ltd. and his own Re:Connected label. What a lot of people don't realize is that the man actually kicked off his music production career on the famed Chicago house label, Guidance. For his second release on 3rd Floor Records, the busy Dane/Swede has come up with what we believe is a perfect mix between his house-side and his newer material with a more techno-ish touch. 'Retrospective' is a hard-hitting piece of swing techno, while 'Blue Line' is a deeper, slightly hypnotic house affair still with the serious injection of funk that underlines the A-side."

A RECORDS

Artist:	BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE, THE
Title:	Bravery Repetition and Noise
Label:	A RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	AUK 003LP

"Bravery, Repetition and Noise is a dark dreamy album, rich in atmosphere, layered in waves of sound. The album's antecedents are clear, inspired by psychedelia as they were by punk's nihilism, pulling both strands into a doom-laden, experimental sound quite distinct from anything that had come before or since. BJM uses this as their touchstone, lovingly re-creating the moods and atmospheres of the past. The Brian Jonestown Massacre is a psychedelic rock band originally from San Francisco, California, led by guitarist/singer Anton Newcombe. Since 1995, The Brian Jonestown Massacre has released numerous albums, first for Bomp! Records, the label which gave them their start, and later for TVT and Tee Pee. BJM has been essential in the development of the modern U.S. garage scene, and many LA and SF musicians got their start playing with Newcombe, including Peter Hayes of The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Originally Newcombe was heavily influenced by The Rolling Stones' psychedelic phase -- the name comes from Stones guitarist Brian Jones combined with a reference to cult leader Jim Jones, but his work in the 2000s has expanded into aesthetic dimensions approximating the UK shoegazing genre of the 1990s and incorporating influences from world music, especially Middle Eastern and Brazilian music." 180 gram vinyl, deluxe gatefold sleeve (and yes, featuring the illustrious image of Jim Jarmusch).

ACID FUCKERS UNITE (GERMANY)

Artist:	HECKMANN
Title:	Las Vegas/Neon Grave
Label:	ACID FUCKERS UNITE (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$11.50
Catalog #:	AFULTD 014EP

"With big support from Richie Hawtin/Ricardo Villalobos/Tobi Neumann/Onur Özer/Monika Kruse/Gergor Tresher/Karotte. Though the last Heckmann 'Silverscreen' is still rotating on the decks of the planet and in the cases of the great entertainers, he strikes again with his brand new series called 'Las Vegas!' It will be a story of three 12"s that will lead to a complete CD album with extra tracks to complete the whole. The main track 'Las Vegas' is rushing in like a storm and is rocking as if there was no tomorrow. Fat beats, fat bassline and countless little far out effects, that will tickle your synapses big time. The second track 'Neon Grave' takes the story further and will lift even the last man on Earth with its electro-Latino feel, illuminating bassline and the Heckmann style effect-arrays!"

ACME GRAMOPHONE/LION PRODUCTIONS (UK)

Artist:	T2
Title:	It'll All Work Out In Boomland
Label:	ACME GRAMOPHONE/LION PRODUCTIONS (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	ACLN 1010CD

"The rise of power trio T2 in 1970 was rapid: important open-air festivals; headlining residencies at the Marquee Club; appearances at virtually every major venue in London. Then their debut album was released; they seemed poised for a breakthrough. As the band recalled, they were playing the Marquee club with John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix hanging out backstage, which was all to the good. But people were coming forward saying, 'we can't find your album anywhere.' In short order, the band fell apart. Still, their sole Decca album has become well established as an all-time classic amongst progressive and psychedelic music collectors -- even the techno and DJ crowds. The fact that it has done so without hype is a testament to the innate quality of the music. The album is packed with melodic acoustic passages and frenzied fuzz guitar workouts, not to mention acid-trip induced lyrical and musical content. It is, in every way, an extraordinary album, one of rock music's best-kept secrets, on a par with all the other major works that form the rock music canon of the time. A hefty booklet contains extensive musicological analysis by composer and musician Andrew Keeling, which includes illuminating interviews with band members Peter Dunton and Keith Cross, as well as detailed illustrations. Included as a bonus are three tracks from BBC Sessions recorded in October 1970. Licensed from Decca/Universal, UK."

Artist:	T2
Title:	T2
Label:	ACME GRAMOPHONE/LION PRODUCTIONS (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	ACLN 1011CD

"Even though fame and fortune never came to pass for T2, their Decca album It'll All Work Out In Boomland has become an all-time classic amongst collectors of progressive and psychedelic music, and even in the techno and DJ scenes. Apart from a 1970 'Sound of the '70s' BBC radio session, (included on our Acme/Lion reissue of It'll All Work Out in Boomland, ACLN 1010CD), fans assumed that Boomland was both the beginning and the end of the group's recorded legacy. But Acme Records unearthed an eponymous second album of material, recorded in 1970 with the original line-up as demo tracks for a planned second album. This was first released way back in the late 1990s, and is now available again, thanks to the new Acme/Lion version. This second T2 album, had it been released in 1970, could have put the band on the same level of fame with the likes of Deep Purple, Free, and King Crimson (bands with whom T2 shared a stage). Its hard-driving opener 'Highway,' ablaze with wailing guitars, gives way to moody introspection, culminating with the LSD-induced finale, 'T2.' Those of you who were lucky enough to snap up a copy of the limited Acme Deluxe pressings of this album many years ago now can testify to the importance of these recordings. For those of you who missed out the first time around -- or who have only recently discovered the greatness of the mighty T2 -- all we can say is, enjoy the power and glory of the second T2 album!"

ADJUNCT (GERMANY)

Artist:	RUSSELL, SEBASTIAN
Title:	Sexus
Label:	ADJUNCT (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	ADJUN TILL011

"London resident, French-born Sebastian Russell has credits to his name on labels like Milnor Modern, Telegraph and Safari Electronique. A producer with a distinct sonic signature and a talent for creating infectious jacky grooves, Sebastian is now a proud new member of the Adjunct faculty. Acid shower drizzle kicks 'Sexus' off, melts down the tile floor and drops all the way down to the eternal basement of Seb's studio. The party is joined by squealing inorganic beings, ferocious drum computer and turns into a micro-fireworks-tech-house celebration. [a]pendics.shuffle effectively neutralizes the acid with bubbly alkaline, mischievous beats and a syncopated re-sequence of the original's acid stream. 'The Wing Chun Punch' and 'British Fart' continue the journey beneath the city streets. Swung and extra-tight beat programming, FX knobs on max, diabolical vocal warnings and other unexpected occurrences lead the way through the abstract realm of Sebastian's land of wonders."

AGARIC

Index of New Releases for April Next Page

Artist:	BORBETOMAGUS
Title:	Live In Allentown
Label:	AGARIC
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	AGARIC 1996