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viewing 1 To 4 of 4 items
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BD 005LP
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"There is a fine line between illumination and obscuration when one is attempting to interpret the meaning of a song cycle. Is the narrator singing from experience or is there an embodiment of characters, real or imagined, happening? When listening to the new record by Coach Fingers from beginning to end, a story is not necessarily being told in a straight narrative form, but perhaps taking a cue from a literary background, One Jack Shy of a Cycle can be perceived as a metafiction in song form. Who is the fool with the unsteady hands? What poor soul has found his demise at the barrel end of Jack's rifle? Along what shoreline is the tortured couple from 'Things Get Stranger' travelling? Why is a bullfrog singing about happiness and doubt? Who is having such trouble sleeping on Side 2, and why? Are there literally turkeys falling out of the trees as the dawn breaks to end the record? Recurring themes of failed relationships, misunderstandings, anxiety and passing are woven throughout this rock and roll record as easily as they would be in a collection of short stories. Like images flickering through a shadow play screen, Coach Fingers has drawn upon the talents of the community of musicians surrounding Black Dirt Studio, to project the visage of a band upon the collection of tales captured on these sides. And in the process has conjured the aural equivalent of metempsychosis, passing life stories through song into the grooves of vinyl." Housed in a sturdy cardstock cover with a hardy pair of "droll flaps."
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BD 003LP
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"Sometimes, throughout the process of creating a record, it is easy to forget how much magic is involved. When one is surrounded by wires, microphones, dials, tubes, screens, and stomp boxes there can be a decided lack of mystery. These are the earliest Black Dirt recordings, originally captured a mere few days after our humble doors were opened. As a matter of fact, everyone involved approached the experience as a sort of favor -- you'll be our guinea pig and we'll do our damn best to get a good document out of it. Matta Llama dug in for a session and did what they do so well... wordlessly picking up their instruments -- and at certain points, each other's -- and opening up that secret door that allows access to a timeless wellspring of past and future sounds. After the band had improvised more than an album's worth of music, something seemed off on playback. Another session was scheduled and a different approach was taken. Oddly, the results were the same. We placed the recordings on a shelf and high fived each other before they rode off on their way back to the big, dark city. And there the recordings sat. But a funny thing happened a few years later after we received our Alchemist's robe in the mail. We went back to them and realized that whatever was leaden about the sounds Matta Llama had laid down so many months before was purely a result of a young studio -- and novice engineer! - and once some of those problems were corrected, a blazing, golden, psychedelic beacon shot out of the speakers. The band was immediately contacted and at an impromptu meeting many things were discussed. Seeds grown to trees, lead to gold, and finally the idea of this record. Now, so many years later, this record glows with magic. It is hard to believe that there were any of the mundane trappings of a studio involved at all. It is a swirling, mysterious, and dark record and the document of the birth of Black Dirt and we're proud to present The Witch Channel to you." Housed in a heavy cardstock cover with a mighty pair of "droll flaps."
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BD 002LP
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"Odd serially-inflected compositions for classical guitar. A wide breadth of obscure and fragmented influences represented here, all internal. Carter Thornton of Izititiz and Zakashi-Warashi." - S@1. "If you are a fan of the archaic format of music storage and delivery known as vinyl then you are also probably experienced in the art of search and rescue when faced with a pre-auction era, dusty, moldy shop filled to the rafters with such blasts from the past. Every now and then one comes upon a platter in one of these fading outposts, marked at about $3.99. Cover seams split, maybe some radio call letters scrawled in marker, maybe a booze/coffee/bongwater spill splayed like a Rorschach on the back. Perhaps it is the cover art itself that draws your attention... black and white photos seemingly from another time in content and message. Or perhaps it is the title of the album... the way it rolls off the tongue, its playfulness marked by a seemingly obscure reference. The fact that there are no song titles may pique your interest... why is this? Are there even songs on there? You can see the gaps in the grooves so there is some sound being broken up with seconds of silence. You wipe the grime off the grooves with your shirt sleeve and take the disc over to the crappy player up by the register. You pop it on, slip the needle in the groove, and immediately you have the thought 'What the hell is this?!?!?' You're hearing one of those rare recordings of a singular and personal vision. A solo guitar performance that not only operates outside any current or previous fashions, but one that seems to render the idea of recorded music as commerce a nonreality. Although you are carried away with delight by the sounds you are hearing, you can't help but wonder why this person recorded this music. His intent is as elusive as the music he is presenting. It seems as though you are there with the player, this audio mirage helped by sounds of his chair creaking, his arm brushing against the side of his instrument, his fingers scraping across the strings. You purchase the item straightaway, as determined to figure out the history of the recording as you are to wear out its grooves with repeated listenings. With Ten Fingers for Forefathers the proverbial chase has been cut right to. Take a listen and see if you can crack the sonic code contained therein. Edition of 500 Recorded at Black Dirt Studio" --Black Dirt
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BD 004LP
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"The much-anticipated blast-off release for Speer and his band. Recently rewarded 5 stars in Time Out mag by the music editor, this album is a landmark in laid-back blues and country songwriting, feat. members of NNCK and Sunburned." -S@1. "The inimitable Mr. Speer coined the term himself upon titling his pre-Helix full length release... Forgotten Country. Not so much a forgotten people of a state or a rural area. Not so either some Souths gonna rise again moonshine. More so a return to a way of presenting a music in the context of a tradition (something those boys in the band are pretty high on.) But this isn't your grandfathers Bakersfield we're dealing with. Tho the tongue of the balladeer may spin tales ripe with a cast of characters including 'the Pastor' Randolph Healey, Cheese Frog, the man from HHS, Uncle Ernie, that guy with the black mustache and red Caddy who stole your girl, and the true born sons of Levi, he sings them not only with the twang of the roadhouse, but tainted with the grit of the streets of the big city. As one casual listener once noted to the band after a performance, 'You guys play both types... country and psych.' And it's true that the sounds contained on After Hours do act on the mind as much as they tug at the heartstrings. Replete with tales of mental instability, infidelity, drunken advice, wartime hucksters, heartbreak, and redemption, the first album by D. Charles with his backing band will surely immediately stand out amongst the shards of gothic Americana that litter our fair sonic landscape. Edition of 500. Recorded at Black Dirt Studio" -- Black Dirt.
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