New Releases for January 2008

Index of New Releases for January 2008

Artist:	MONSTER ISLAND
Title:	Dream Tiger
Label:	MVD AUDIO
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	MVDA 4686CD

Reissue of this 2001 album, previously self released on The End is Hear label. "Dream Tiger is a 13 song CD album by the Detroit group Monster Island. This is their first album since the 1996 LP recording From the Michigan Floor on Ecstatic Peace! Performing members on this album include; Cary Loren (Destroy All Monsters), Warn Defever (His Name is Alive), Erika Hoffman (ex-Godzuki) and Matt Smith (Outrageous Cherry, THTX, Volebeats). Dream Tiger features a mixture of ethnic folk instruments: (oud, sitar, tanpura, harmonium, shakuhachi, djembe, gamelan gendr, and African percussion) mixed with traditional (guitars, bass, violin, cello, flute, drums) and novelty sounds: (Chinese organ, water harp, mini-Moog, samples, toy piano, gongs)."

NEUTONMUSIC (GERMANY)

Artist:	YAPACC
Title:	N!ce
Label:	NEUTONMUSIC (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$11.50
Catalog #:	NEUM 033EP

"It's been a busy year for Yapacc. He released a handful of quality releases on Wir, The Green Empire and LessIzMore, remixed Dole & Kom, German pop-duo 2Raumwohnung, co-produced three releases with Good Groove, the studio wizard is also working currently on his very first solo debut. Ex-Repeat Repeat member, Mark Rutherford, shows his first solo work under his Object Object moniker, and proves easily why Andrew Weatherall calls himself a fan. This is a dark, somehow trippy, much weirder (and faster) version of the original -- which reminds us of submarine raves from back in the late 1950s."

NEW ALBION

Artist:	GANN, KYLE
Title:	Private Dances
Label:	NEW ALBION
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	NA 137CD

Performed by Sarah Cahill: piano; Da Capo Chamber Players: violin, cello, piano, flute, clarinet; Bernard Gann: electric bass. "Kyle Gann (b.1955) is a composer whose music inevitably is structured with an array of metric, harmonic and melodic ideas and strategies that would seem to guarantee it to be beyond listenable in its complexity. However, the opposite is in fact what the listener receives. The work is deeply felt, lyrically clear and driven by song. Gann is also known to the musical world as an author and critic, and teaches in the music department at Bard College. Private Dances (2004) is so hot, so longing with yearning, so lonely with the blues, so salacious in its undressing of the unsuspecting listener, that it could properly carry one a warning sticker. It is a 'listener beware' collection in six movements -- sexy, sad, sentimental, sultry, saintly, swingin'. The pianist, Sarah Cahill (one of the generation's premier 'woman on piano' performers) leaves you, the innocent listener, with nothing; she took it all. This piece is what was going on in the mind of the guy at the end of the counter in the Edward Hopper painting, Nighthawks."

NEW WORLD RECORDS

Artist:	COLEMAN, ANTHONY
Title:	Lapidation
Label:	NEW WORLD RECORDS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	NW 80593CD

"The music of Anthony Coleman (b. 1955) draws from so many varied, disparate, and even contradictory sources, yet still emerges with a distinctly singular and consistent voice. Listening to any of the five works on this CD -- 'Lapidation' (2002), 'East Orange' (2007), 'I Diet On Cod' (2007), 'Mise En Abīme' (1997), 'The King Of Kabay' (1988) -- is to enter into a particular world, highly specific in material but nearly hallucinatory in formal development. The music starts, becomes linear, suspends, goes vertical, goes backward, goes forward, produces vague memories, and ends. This recording is a compelling portrait of one of the most original, literate, and versatile musicians working today. As one might imagine would be the case with a composer who has spent many years working in many improvising bands as both a leader and side person, there is a strong element of collaboration in Coleman's music. Several musicians on this recording (most notably Doug Wieselman, Marty Ehrlich, Jim Pugliese, and Joseph Kubera) have worked with him for several decades and the individual "sounds" of each of these outstanding musicians have contributed to his palette and voice. This is, in many ways, very similar to the way Ellington (a primary influence) worked with and was shaped by members of his band. In looking at the scores of Coleman's music (all of which are clearly and fully notated) one can hear the transformation on the recording of the written music into the living sound. The effect of the individual musicians who play his music is palpable and an essential part of each of these compositions."

Artist:	LEBARON, ANNE
Title:	Pope Joan, Transfiguration
Label:	NEW WORLD RECORDS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	NW 80663CD

"Anne LeBaron (b. 1953) is one of the most vital composers of the post-war generation. Her overall aesthetic is steeped in the sound world of the European/American avant-garde of the mid-twentieth century, but like others of her post-war generation, LeBaron rejects the premise of stylistic continuity that underlies much classical music. LeBaron's aesthetic is defined by supplementation: the sound world of the European/American avant-garde is supplemented with a host of others -- popular music, jazz, historical styles of the classical tradition, religious music, and so on. The two works on this recording, 'Pope Joan' (2000) and 'Transfiguration' (2003), are relatively new works that sustain LeBaron's blossoming aesthetic of supplementation while at the same time refining and refreshing it. Both are theatrical works for soprano and chamber ensemble. 'Pope Joan' was conceived as a dance opera, and while the recorded version here is for concert setting, the dramatic nature of the work shines through. 'Transfiguration' is a concert work but entails dramatic staging, gestures, and props that move it toward ritual. 'Pope Joan' develops its dramatic meaning through a combination of semantic, gestural, and musical resources, much like a traditional opera. 'Transfiguration,' however, relies little on the semantic meaning of its text for dramatic meaning; rather, the text serves as one element of musical design. Thus, its dramatic meaning arises from sonic design, allusions to semantic meaning, and performance gestures. Both works utilize a variety of different forms of vocal delivery performed primarily by the soprano but occasionally by the instrumentalists, such delivery ranging from fully expressive aria-like melodic singing to recitative-like declamation to impassive chanting. Both pieces rely on a large number of timbrally diverse percussion instruments that are essential to the dramatic design."

Artist:	HOWARD, EARL
Title:	Clepton
Label:	NEW WORLD RECORDS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	NW 80670CD

"Earl Howard's Clepton (2006) is as complex, mysterious and poetic as the outer limits of science he finds inspiration in, and the imagery of particle physics is particularly appropriate for the extraordinary interaction that takes place between the composer and his three playing partners throughout Clepton's 38 minutes. For Gerry Hemingway, 'these are models that might be referenced to help us focus our approach to a given section -- a basic understanding of scientific principles and concepts is useful as they often have terminology that better articulates the intent of a player's actions rather than, say, feelings which are more vague and open to interpretation.' 'Rosebud,'[ a Howard/Hemingway duo recorded during a tour of upstate New York back in 1989, is as fresh and challenging as if it had been recorded yesterday. What's particularly remarkable is the range of color and timbral sophistication of Howard's electronics. Milton Babbitt's famous line about nothing growing old faster than a new sound certainly applies to the world of electronic keyboards; tune in to your local Top 40 station and if you hear a mellotron, an ARP Odyssey, a Yamaha DX7 or a Korg M1, you have a pretty clear idea as to when the song was recorded. Very few musicians have taken the time to explore these instruments in depth and go beyond the standard patches that soon sound dated, even clichéd. Sun Ra was one, Thomas Lehn is another, and you can add Earl Howard's name to the short list. The sounds he conjures forth from his DX7, a Lexicon PCM 70 and what today would be considered a relatively primitive Akai sampler are extraordinarily subtle, and haven't aged in the slightest."

Artist:	LEAGUE OF AUTOMATIC MUSIC COMPOSERS, THE
Title:	The League of Automatic Music Composers 1978-1983
Label:	NEW WORLD RECORDS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	NW 80671CD

Featuring John Bischoff, Jim Horton, Tim Perkins, David Behrman, Paul DeMarinis & Rich Gold. "The League of Automatic Music Composers was a band/collective of electronic music experimentalists active in the San Francisco Bay area between 1977 and 1983. Widely regarded as the first musicians to incorporate the newly available microcomputers of the day into live musical performance, the League created networks of interacting computers and other electronic circuits with an eye to eliciting surprising and new 'musical artificial intelligences.' We approached the computer network as one large, interactive musical instrument made up of independently programmed automatic music machines, producing a music that was noisy, difficult, often unpredictable, and occasionally beautiful. The work of the League partook of the distinctive cultural atmosphere of the San Francisco Bay area in the 70s and 80s, a rich blend of communal ideologies, radical culture, technical innovation, intellectual ferment, and a hands-on attitude that has been a hallmark of California life since the pioneer days. In the air then there was a sense of new possibilities, and the feeling of the need to build a culture from the ground up. For music, specifically, this meant redefining everything about how it's done, from the instruments and tuning systems to the musical forms, venues, and social relations among players and audiences." --Tim Perkis and John Bischoff

Artist:	NA, HYO-SHIN
Title:	All The Noises
Label:	NEW WORLD RECORDS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	NW 80674CD

"Hyo-shin Na (b. 1959) has written for Western instruments, for traditional Korean instruments and has written music that combines Western and Asian (Korean and Japanese) instruments and ways of playing. Her music for traditional Korean instruments is recognized by both composers and performers in Korea (particularly by the younger generation) as being uniquely innovative. Her writing for combinations of Western and Eastern instruments is unusual in its refusal to compromise the integrity of differing sounds and ideas; she prefers to let them interact, coexist and conflict in the music. 'Ocean/Shore 2' (2003) is one of a series that studies the use of diverse materials and the coexistence, within a piece of music, of various instruments. As in the meeting and interaction of water and land, these instruments can have fundamentally very different characters (piri and violin, or clarinet and cello), yet shouldn't lose their basic nature in the interest of harmony, or even beauty. On first hearing, one might consider 'All the Noises in the World' (2006) to be a piece of traditional Korean music, in which traditionally skilled performers do what they have always done. The musicians produce sounds/noises on something other than their own instrument. Thus, what appears to be a purely Korean piece turns out to be a very complex concept with elements and sensibilities from different cultures. The inspiration and basic musical materials of 'Walking, Walking' (2004) have their origin in a song by the Chilean musician Victor Jara, a central figure in that country's 'new song' movement. 'Walking, Walking' explores aspects and qualities of the act of walking, the rhythm and pace of walking and thinking, the balance of working and idling, and the, at times, meandering, light-hearted quality of walking. 'Ten Thousand Ugly Ink Blots' (2006) is one of the composer's most experimental with regard to the method of composition.'"

NUM (GERMANY)

Artist:	SLIWINSKI, RALPH
Title:	Boutique Orange
Label:	NUM (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	NUM 020EP

"Ralph Sliwinski has been producing electronic music since he first got his hands on a Commodore 64 in 1990. A fan of powerful electronic groups such as Visage, Soft Cell and Front 242 as a teenager, Ralph has since gone on to release a number of important records on labels as diverse as Hartchef Discos, Below Records and Morris Audio. With a sound spectrum that ranges from deep house and tribal tech-house to straight up techno, all of Ralph's productions are distinctively endowed with an infectious dancefloor appeal. No less on A-side 'Boutique Orange,' where a central throbbing percussion is submerged in a swampy ambience, enlivened by insectoid hisses and rattles. A subtle climb is fueled by a beat of evolving complexity and ever-intensifying synth pads. The B-side 'Less Varayd' is defined by an ever transforming hypnotic shuffled beat and argumentative samples that become more clear as the track progresses. An echoed metallic tone polices proceedings, releasing tension just when the mix threatens to boil over."

NUMERO GROUP

Artist:	VA
Title:	Wayfaring Strangers: Guitar Soli
Label:	NUMERO GROUP
Format:	CD
Price:	$18.00
Catalog #:	NUMERO 018CD

"Bridging the gap between American primitive pioneers John Fahey, Robbie Basho, and Leo Kottke, and the California modernists William Ackerman, Alex de Grassi, and Michael Hedges, Guitar Soli explores the private side of the solo guitar movement from 1966-1981. While Takoma and Windham Hill were laying the groundwork for the new age marketing juggernaut of the mid '80s, these fourteen loners were picking away in tiny cafes, selling records hand to hand. The single disc set comes housed in a digipack chipboard slipcase with a 40-page booklet and features Ted Lucas, Daniel Hecht, Dan Lambert, Jim Ohlschmidt, Tom Smith, Mark Lang, Richard Crandell, Tree People, William Eaton, George Cromarty, Scott Witte, Brad Chequer, Dwayne Canan, and Dana Westover."

OD RECORDS (FRANCE)

Artist:	AMPLIFIED PEOPLE
Title:	Cannon Jack
Label:	OD RECORDS (FRANCE)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	OD 010EP

"French artist based in Paris. This prolific musician gets noticed by the OD Records label that has produced his second EP in 2006. Mixing in all his production influences from the '80s, '90s and 2000s through cheap but stylish synth sounds, melodies that underlie a certain sense of tragedy and his own gimmicks, he builds tracks socked in old school house, minimal and electro-pop that immerse us in a cold, sensitive and personal ambiance."

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