mended records

Muffins : Air Fiction

2007-09-26T03:59:00.000-07:00

The Muffins' privately released limited edition second album from 1979, recorded live one side in front of an audience, the other in the studio. Made for a special occasion and sold at concerts and by mail order only. Not as polished as their studio albums, it showcases their less Canterbury, more (often rough and/or humorous) improvisational side. It seems the Muffs themeselves are not very proud of this record, since there is not even a hint of a reissue, nevertheless it's a valuable (and long unavailable) part of the history of this great group.
Note: They've fairly recently reformed after a gap almost 20 years long, and are very active - two new albums, a DVD and concerts, so catch them if you have a chance!

Fiction

Various : Iowa Ear Music

2007-09-26T03:47:00.000-07:00

Largely forgotten classic of improvised music from 1976, credited to the Iowa Ear Ensemble but it's in fact more of a sampler - tracks from different sources, different combinations of musicians mostly non-related and collected from a lengthy timespan (1967-76) assembled together to make an organic whole. Not jazz, though it got max rating in Downbeat magazine, closer to the free spirit of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama scene of the time (Trans Museq, Blue Denim Deals, Raudelunas). A never reissued artifact from the time when musical experimentation was truly exciting and groundbreaking and also a great listening pleasure.
You can find at Discogs a detailed lengthy account of who played what, where and when on this record.

Iowa

Fred Frith : Peel Sessions

2007-09-26T03:38:00.000-07:00

Prime Frith found recently on the net, never knew it existed. 4 elsewhere unavailable electric guitar solos plus one for violin, recorded for John Peel in December 1974 with Dagmar Krause (vocal on two tracks) and a credited but undetectable Anthony Moore on keys. Similar to his brilliant Guitar Solos album, these are explorations beyond the limits of the guitar. Enough said. A master at work.

Freel

Chris Fraser : Archaeology

2007-02-17T03:48:00.000-08:00

The self-released solo album of Chris Fraser (guitarist of Unrest, Work & Play) from 1989. Home recordings of songs, firmly in the great U,W&P style, slowly revealing layers of depth after repeated listening. All instruments & singing by Chris. No commerce, just sincere self-expression & talent. No one makes albums like this any more...

Archae

2007-01-26T05:51:00.000-08:00

>>>recent re-ups memo:

This Heat : Live In Krefeld

J.Lachen : Music For The Dying Forest

Schismatics : Vazen Vol

Hellebor : IL Y A Des Jours

Slapp Happy : BBC Sessions

Faust : V

Znr : Traite De Mecanique Populaire

The Work : See

Angus MacLise : Angus MacLise

Borbetomagus : Snuff Jazz

Slapp Happy : Moon Lovers Nights Pt.1

Slapp Happy : Moon Lovers Nights Pt.2

Unrest, Work & Play : Andy & Chris

Basil Kirchin : Mixing It

Steve Moore : A Quiet Gathering

>>>the rest of it & some new posts soon! Keep me informed on expired/deleted posts...
Yours, as ever
z

Officer! : Ossification

2006-12-25T03:30:00.000-08:00

Mick Hobbs and a loose list of guests including Felix Fiedorowicz, Andy Bole, Cath Jauniaux, Tom Cora, Zeena Parkins, Georgie Born and the rest of The Work in 14 toe-tappers with arrangements ranging from complex chamber-rock to Incredible String Band influenced folk. And all things between. A couple of cuts with string-quartet backing. As idiosyncratic as you would expect from a gathering of such characters. You know the phrase: Pop music as it should be - meaningful, intelligent and entertaining. May i ask why this is not reissued yet?
Note: Keep an eye here for a promised reissue!

Cd Coming Soon!

Lifetones : For A Reason

2006-12-25T03:07:00.000-08:00

Ok. This is what i've been waiting for. Went through some trouble finding this, gathering it finally from three different sources. An important addition to round-up the story of This Heat, guitarist (and more) Charles Bullen's first solo release from 1983. Six songs done by the man himself, lacking perhaps the sharp focus and intensity of Heat but compensating with added warmth and a more personal angle. Very dub influenced, showing also his interests towards more dance-hall oriented music.
My favourite post so far, dedicated to all dead blogs.

Reason

Amos & Sara : Sara Goes Pop

2006-12-25T02:09:00.000-08:00

After leaving the Homosexuals in 1981, the man of hundred pseudonyms, L.Voag (aka Amos) went into a creative overdrive, releasing about a dozen of solo/collaborative albums in the first half of the eighties, mostly ultra-rare hand-made cassette-only releases. For this one (and a couple more of cassette and vinyl e.p.'s) he teamed up with singer Sara and, as the title suggests, this may be their/his most accesible work and a good place to start investigating (here is a very helpful discography overview and a rare in-depth explanatory interview for the interested). His work is completely original and not sounding like anybody else, comparable only to early Residents in approach & excellence. Coloured-vinyl double 7" in hand silk-screened cover, later (or was it first?) released also on cassette with a lot of added material. Glorious lo-fi. Amos is currently working as a member of the excellent Die Trip Computer crew.
Note: There is a similar post to this with some interesting rant, but no music.

Sara

Various : The Different You

2006-10-26T03:07:00.000-07:00

A stand-out in the vast sea of tribute albums, this is an Italian compilation of covers of Robert Wyatt songs. Some old names (Area, Battiato), some new ones (Christina Dona, CPI) and some lesser known ones, covering a good selection of the man's work from all stages, done with care and respect. Some covers got the 'modern' treatment, but it sounds ok. 18 songs in all and a lot of playing here. Featuring Wyatt himself with his own cover of an Italian song.
As far as i know, this was released at the same time as the truly great, not-to-be-missed video documentary on Wyatt titled Little Red Riding Hood.
There is also a good French Wyatt tribute to put up later...

Different

Hans Reichel & Eroc : Return Of Onkel Boskopp

2006-10-26T02:35:00.000-07:00

A collaboration between long-time pals Eroc, drummer of German prog monsters Grobschnitt and guitarist, instrument builder and inventor genius Hans Reichel, father of the daxophone. Originally i was pondering on putting up some of Reichel's 'usual' guitar and dax improv albums, but then, this one is for me way stranger than anything he ever did. For it contains some the most straightforward playing you'll ever get from the man. Rhythms with lots of guitar/daxophone and also some violin & accordeon overdubs. At times it sounds like some prog music gone wrong. Or something like that. It was originally released in '86 under the title Kino. Reworked a bit, renamed & two songs added ten years later for this CD reissue. Judging from the look on their faces on the cover pic, they had a great time making it...

Check also Reichel's site, it's one of the funniest & best looking i've ever seen.

Onkel

Hellebore : IL Y A Des Jours

2006-10-26T01:49:00.000-07:00

Hellebore's only release, from '84. Sound firmly in the tradition of classic second-wave RIO groups. One of many groups guitarist and keyboardist Denis Tagu played in the 80's (the others were Look De Bouk, Toupidek Lemonade, Szentendre). All instrumentals. Similar to, say, Look De Bouk, the music is deceivingly effortless at the surface, moving from simple to complex and back with ease. Some other references could be Etron Fou, even This Heat. This is one of those albums that mature with time into hidden classics, personal favourites. Also sports one of the best covers of all time, courtesy of the Biota/Mnemonists visual department.

Hellebore

The Momes : Spiralling

2006-10-23T04:26:00.000-07:00

Kind of a super-group made of half of The Work (Tim Hodgkinson & Mick Hobbs) and half of Unrest, Work & Play (Andy Wake). Sounds exactly as a combination of these two great groups, with a very live, even punky sound. Urgent, demanding. This, their only release, is from 1989 just before the reunion of The Work for the Rubber Cage album.

Spiralling

Peter Blegvad : Peter Who?

2006-10-23T04:13:00.000-07:00

A unique promo CD issued by Silvertone in 1990 to augment Peter Blegvad's beautiful King Strut album. Contains all kinds of wonders: songs, demos, interviews, jingles, jokes, rants even an explanation on the pronounciation of the Blegvad family-name, all mixed in a radio-work kind of way. Full length, 42 mins, assembled with the help of Andy Partridge. Witty and intelligent like everything by Peter.

Peter

Joseph Racaille : 6 Petites Chansons

2006-10-23T03:27:00.000-07:00

The silent half of the French duo ZNR with a rare 33 rpm 7" issued by Recommended in '83. Spent a whole afternoon cleaning this one up (hope i haven't ruined it)! Short songs in usual tres charmant style with great arrangements, echoing Satie, show-tunes, etc... Racaille is a remarkable character, good news is that i've located some more of his rare solo releases, will post them all in the future.

Chansons

CW Vrtacek : Now Available

2006-10-23T02:32:00.000-07:00

Charles Vrtacek (O'Meara) the erstwhile selfproclaimed 'president of the avantguarde' and more recently guitarist/composer of Forever Einstein made this serious/funny parody of The Residents somewhere in the early 80's (when they were still meaning something), around the time of his 1st two fine home-made solo albums Victory Through Grace and Days And Days. Very brief (10+ mins) cassette only rarity. And curiosity.

Available

Some News

2006-10-23T01:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry folks, i was away for a while...
The recent change of politics at Rapidshare caused a small panic in blogland, a lot of posts have been deleted. To avoid further trouble i changed to Megaupload (though in the meantime Rapidshare returned with a new address and even better terms, so it seems this all was a false alarm). It works fine to me, no problems up & downloading, so i'll stick with it for the time being. If you are experiencing any difficulties with this server please let me know and we'll try to sort things out.
Now for the real news...
Ad Hoc announced the reissue of the 1st two Work classics, Slow Crimes and Rubber Cage, both remastered, digipacked, etc... Advance orders can be taken at ReR Mega or Rer USA. Megacorp will also soon reissue Picchio Dal Pozzo's Abbiamo Tutti... album. This means that all these will no more be available at this blog. Strong recommendations to purchase these CD's! Same regarding the Faust book, Stretch Out Time 1970-75 which is out now and available from Amazon, or even better, from the source. Not expensive and you'll need it...
Speaking of Faust, their long awaited studio album of new material is finished and should be out in early 2007. Produced by Mr. Stapleton of NWW. You can can get it direct from the art-errorists...
So, that's about it. Take care & keep your ears open!

Schismatics : Vazen Vol

2006-09-30T16:21:00.000-07:00

Not to be confused with the Seattle trash/punk band of the same name. This is Han Buhrs' (later frontman of the mighty Palinckx) early group with three vocalists, violin, cello & some percussion. Live recordings with very interesting arrangements and vocal accrobatics to the fore. Kind of avantgarde vocal music. With humour. Rare Dutch CD.

Vazen

Iva Bittova & Pavel Fajt : Bittova & Fajt

2006-09-30T15:56:00.000-07:00

This Checzh duo of singer/violinist (and actress) Iva Bittova and drummer extraordinaire Pavel Fajt caused a small sensation in European festival-circles upon their arrival in the late eighties with a beautiful mixture of poetry, folk elements and a distinct Checzh style of songwriting underlined by Fajt's subtle & inventive drumming style. Released in 1987, this is my favourite album by the multi-talented Bittova, who very quickly became a worldwide 'new music' star. She made a couple more albums with Fajt & the group Dunaj and has a pretty rich solo discography.

The Checzh music scene is incredible, perhaps the strongest in Continental-Europe. There are great groups too numerous to mention and well worth of thorough investigation (you can try Tamizdat for this).

Darek

Ne Zhdali : Rhinoceroses And Other Forms Of Life

2006-09-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

Long time 'new music' festival favourites from Estonia. No studio record captures quite the wild energy of their live shows. This is their official first album from 1990 (actually, there was a 'real' first called She Ye Ye recorded in 1988 but released after this one) and is a nice try. From the heroic days of Eastern-Block RIO groups. Still active but records very sporadically. Guitarist Leonid Soybelman has also a succesfull solo carreer.

Note: Check Comments section for further download possibilities (Mr.Lucky, where are you?)

Rhinos

Eugene Chadbourne : The English Channel

2006-09-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

The good Dr.Chadbourne's early 1978's free-improv big-band extravaganza, after a couple of solo guitar albums. All-star lineup (they're all here: Frith, Zorn, Cora, Williams, Smith, Kondo, Ostertag, etc... all in all some 17 strong including our hero) that sounds like, well, Eugene Chadbourne. There is no one else like him.

Thanks for whoever did this very nice vinyl rip. This was a great find for me, because there is (and won't be) no CD reissue of this historic album. The masters are lost and anyway Mr. Chadbourne seems to prefer an 1981's cassette reworking of it.

Channel

Faust: : V

2006-09-30T14:15:00.000-07:00

In 1974, totally stressed out by the tiresome touring & general 'rock lifestyle' their signing with Virgin brought upon them, Faust took a one-year sabbatical to lick their wounds & regroup. In 1975 they gathered in Munich to record material for their next Virgin album. Or they thought so. Virgin by then didn't want to have anything with these troublemakers & cut the money flow. The group even ended up in jail (a first hand account can be read at the Wfmu's, also at the most excellent Faust site) and subsequently fell apart. So, there was no fifth album. But the advance promo tapes came out and that's what we have today as evidence of this great 'lost' album. And it's great, indeed. It's a shame this didn't came out as a proper release, for i think that it would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the first two classic Faust albums. Anyway. There are several versions of this tape in circulation, this one i choosed to put up here for you is the basic promo-tape extended with some more material from the same sessions. About half of this was released in the late eighties by Recommended as part of the 'Munich & Elsewhere' compilation. Here is the whole thing, and more.
After an early-90's reunion, Faust is still active and making great music. In fact, so active that today there are two 'versions' of Faust, both led by core-members, that peacefuly coexist. They were always unique...
Picture: Faust in London's Covent Garden circa 1972/73 with Peter Blegvad & Uli Trepte. Watch out for the forthcoming book!

Arcane Device : Improvisations For Feedback

2006-09-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

Arcane Device is a pseudo for sound/mulimedia artist David Lee Myers' project of 'feedback-music', music generated by interconnecting the inputs & outputs of several effects devices and shaped at the mixing board. So there are no 'real' instruments. It's a kind of 'no-input electronics' approach pursued by some of today's minimal/electronic musicians, only he pioneered it. But don't be frightened. This is enjoyable and posesses a rare purity of sound. Ghost music?
Improvisations For Feedback was a double 7" released by RRR in '88 and is his first release (i think). It is also included in the CD reissue of his first proper LP Engine Of Myth by Megacorp. I found this out too late, post already prepared & uploaded. So, i did it again... What can i say - buy the CD!

Arcane

Bob Ostertag

2006-09-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

On the great Detritus site (mentioned earlier) can be found this interesting announcement that deserves to be highlited:
Premier sample/electronic artist Bob Ostertag is offering on his site all his albums (the ones that he owns the rights to) for a free download. Please read first his spot-on & brilliant argumentation and then browse through the albums. I wish only if more artists could operate on such high level of consciousness... What a guy!

Slapp Happy : Moon Lovers Nights

2006-09-15T08:46:00.000-07:00

Now, here's a little something...
Couldn't believe my ears when i first heard this beautifuly recorded, at times crystal-clear sounding bootleg recording from Slapp Happy's 2000's Japan tour. All the 'hits' are here and more (they even did my fave In The Sickbay). You have the feeling of being there, Dagmar singing in your face. There are two sets so a lot of songs are duplicated, but you won't mind. Just beautiful!

You can find a Slapp Happy discography overview here (and don't miss their incredible lyrics!)

Cabalistic
Innuendoes

Wha Ha Ha : Shinu Toki Wa Betsu

2006-09-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

Recommended issued in mid-eighties two important records by Japanese artists: After Dinner and a compilation from Wha Ha Ha's three album's. Bear in mind that that was more than 10 years before the Japan-craze that still lingers today. In those days we knew nothing obout their music scene. This is a straight reissue of Wha Ha Ha's first album and it sounds today as fresh as ever. Brilliantly played and produced and featuring the great drummer & main man Senba also of Haniwa Chan (does anyone have Kanashi Bali or Haniwa All Stars?). Strange mixture of lounge music/Zappa/some spanish rhythms and experiments. Patented Japanese very detailed and clear sound.

Shinu

John Oswald : Plexure

2006-09-15T08:44:00.000-07:00

This is generaly regarded as sampling maestro Oswald's best work. Split-second samples of several hundreds of widely known hits (from Madonna to Milli Vanilli via Springsteen) but you have no time enough to recognize them. On-and-off available expensive Japan 1993 issue (double-CD price for 22 minutes of music - one can say 'it's worth it' but it will still be too much). A masterpiece of sorts, for sure. Don't miss also Oswald's other site, you can get there (among lots of great reading) a free download of his infamous 'banned' Plunderphonic CD that started the historic judicial battle and a worldwide copyright vs. sampling debate.

Note: Just found out that you can also download his great early Mystery Tapes & Kissing Jesus In The Dark from Ubuweb. Don't miss! Same also on the very interesting Detritus site archives, with some more similar stuff, incl. the truly great Negativland's U2 EP (thanks, Mr.Lucky for this!)

Plexwald

Zga : Riga

2006-09-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

One more of my favourite groups. Zga came from Latvia (they've relocated since to Russia) and this is a recent Russian CD reissue of their first (and for me also the best) album originally issued by Recommended in 1989. The tracks were recorded in 1987 and 1988 in a public apartment, played mostly on home-made scrapyard instruments (metal plates, springs, wood) amplified and recorded direct to a stereo tape deck. This is very serious and powerful music, extremely inventive and deserves anyone's attention. The reissue contains also some extra material reportedly from even earlier. Unfortunately it seems that this particular CD is totaly unavailable outside Russia. So, you can get it here. The group is still active and going strong. Thanks goes again to Hrempe for suggesting this.

Riga

The Work : See

2006-09-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

Third and final studio release by this extremely important group. Somewhat murkier sound than before but here is where they found their singular unified voice as a group. May be their best ever, though it's really hard to pick.

Out now on Cd, don't miss!

Gareth Williams : Flaming Tunes

2006-09-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

In 1981 Gareth Williams left This Heat for a 1-year stay in India to pursue some of his other interests and with a notion to continue his work with the group when he's back. That sadly never happened. Instead, here is his 1985 released cassette-only solo outing heavily influenced by this trip. Lo-fi home recordings of great songs in Heat style but mellower, more personal and more ethnic-oriented. This should've been re-released long time ago, along with other works by him - he was making music up to the very end...
Note: Great news at last! It seems that the Flaming Tunes album will finally get the long overdue proper Cd treatment. Check here and don't hesitate to buy! And while you're there, you can also check Matt Leer's beautiful song by song rendition of the entire Flaming Tunes (search for Diamond Age).

It's Out Now!

Bing Selfish : Ego Tripper

2006-09-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

Hmmm... Sorry folks for not being able to add the usual comments to these posts last night. To put this right, let's start with...

Your favourite politico/constructivist/existentialist pop star (with an attitude) Mr. Bing himself with one of his earlier attempts to stardom. Cassette only release. An armchair-anarchist, the last of the bohemians, crown prince of avantgarde pop? Enough? And it's all true! Check him out. I think we should be thankful that he's still trying... You can read some more about him here, and please bear in mind that he's just a regular guy, like you & me...

Tripper

Les Granules : Live 1990

2006-08-31T13:02:00.000-07:00

The Granules were Quebecose virtuosi Jean Derome (reeds, keys) and Rene Lussier (mostly guitars) also known as the masterminds behind the great Ambiances Magnetiques label. Captured here in an unidentified concert from 1990, with Fred Frith guesting. There must be other suspects too (drums, if anything) but unfortunately no further details are available. Good sounding audience recording. This was uploaded by our main man Hrempe himself. Thanks man!

Note: See Comments section!

Granules

This Heat : Live In Krefeld

2006-08-31T12:21:00.000-07:00

The semi-official This Heat live album recorded at a concert in Krefeld, Germany, 1980. Cassette-only independent German release, later re-released also in vinyl format. Bootleged under the title Cold Storage. The initial cassettes were carefuly done 1:1 copies on CrO2 tapes with subsequent very good sound. The group was at the height of it's powers, working like a clockwork. Power, nicely captured. Contains also one truly great unreleased song.

Krefeld

Fred Frith & Totsuzen Danball : Live At Loft Shinjuku

2006-08-31T08:33:00.000-07:00

Another Japan-only Frith edition, a session recorded with the Tokyo guitar/drums duo Totsuzen Danball July 1981 at the time of his Japan tour. Cassette release, reissued later on CD. Improvisations, from abstract to rock.

Shinjuku

Slapp Happy : BBC Sessions

2006-08-31T07:53:00.000-07:00

Someone asked for some Slapp Happy. Their classic albums are all available, Ca Va you can get here, but here is this tiny Peel item from July 1974, just before their famous 'merging' with Henry Cow. Four highly ejoyable songs and a one-off, all-star lineup of Robert Wyatt, Fred Frith, Geoff Leigh, Lindsay Cooper & Jeff Clyne as backing.

Slappy

Zut Un Feu Rouge : Kafka vs. Chaplin

2006-08-31T03:37:00.000-07:00

Another one from Hrempe. First e.p. from 1983 by this Swedish combo containing J. Lachen in it's ranks. This is actually in print as part of a compilation CD together with their first album and some unreleased stuff, but since you wanted to hear some Zut, here it is! A cracky vinyl rip, had to clean it up a bit. Otherwise pretty rocking and pretty damn fine as well, at least to my ears...

Kafka

Steve Hillage : Pentagramaspinn

2006-08-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

I was very glad to find that some good soul ripped & shared this rare item. This is an outtake from Fish Rising, Hillage's first solo album from '75 and was originaly included in the vinyl-only Virgin Records double compilation V. Never re-released in any form. Backing provided by You era Gong's rhythm section plus Hillage's old pal Dave Stewart on keys. This was always one of my personal favourite songs. Classic Canterbury sound, astral guitar. Coupled here with Shimmer, another rare B-side only co-written with Tim Blake (it's more Blake actually), to make a nice virtual single.
Note: Shimmer is lately available included in the latest Hillage anthology Lights In The Sky.

Spinn

J.Lachen : Music For The Dying Forest

2006-08-14T18:57:00.000-07:00

Suggested by my man Hrempe. He used the term prog with which i will agree but this is also way beyond and above the term in it's usual meaning. Composed music, inventive, with influences as diverse as folk, classical, gothic. Very hard to categorise, this is one of those records that grows on you. Lachen played mostly all instruments himself, but there are also some guests, mainly people from his other groups Zut Und Feu Rouge and Ur Kaos. Swedish.

Get the Cd

Fred Frith : Live In Japan (Guitars On The Table)

2006-08-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

The legendary Japan-only double LP documenting Frith's tour in that country in 1981. The title explains all. To be listened to as loud as possible. Serious noise.

Out on Cd!

This Heat : Last Studio

2006-08-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

This is a tricky one. These 5 songs are included in the After The Heat boot confusingly paired with Gareth Williams' Flaming Tunes solo album (that'll be another post, soon) as the last studio recordings of Heat. But... i couldn't find anywhere (and i looked) any confirmation of the actual existence of these recordings, or even a hint, except for Identity Parade and Polar which were included in the Noisy Champs album by the Drum Trio (Hayward/Chenevier/Brown). So, it's up to us to believe that these recordings are genuine. For me, they definitely sound like Heat. Different, more mainstream, but Heat. Perhaps the work of the last, 4-piece crew? Produced, very good sounding, not demo-quality recordings. Great texts, as usual. You'll just have to check & decide for yourselves.

Note:See Comments section for more info!

Last Heat

A few words here on the Out Of Cold Storage box: a couple of weeks ago i finally got my copy. Must confess that i was a bit nervous beforehand, mostly afraid of disappointment. I knew all this stuff in and out, the stories, etc... What new could there be for me? The moment i held it in my hands I was releaved. It's a beauty. The design is immaculate, the CD's look very nice together and what's more important they sound fabulous, a big improvement on the earlier issues (not to mention the LP's!). The live CD is also great and the live pictures are a revelation. Same goes to the booklet. It's 44 pages thick with lots of unseen pics and a great lenghty interview with Bullen & Hayward who take us on a tour through the band's history and comments the records track by track. Great stories, some are even funny - who said that these guys couldn't laugh? All in all, dear friends, this is a must purchase. And is not expensive at all. Taken in consideration that acquiring it you'll get some of the greates music ever put on any carrier... Just buy it! And the rumour is out that the guys are working on a next collaborations/unrelesed anthology...

Tom Cora : Gumption In Limbo

2006-08-14T16:38:00.000-07:00

The untimely departure of genius cellist & multiinstrumentalist Tom Cora was an immense loss to the worldwide creative music community. He was simply one of the very best. And played with all the best. This is the only studio one of his three solo cello albums and is pure Cora.

A friend of mine was lucky enough to witness one of his solo appearances and he told me this little anecdote: Cora went to a walk before the concert and met and befriended some neighbourhood children. Invited them to the show and finally when they showed up, he introduced them to the audience and played them a potpourri of cartoon tunes. Don't know why, but every time i think of him, these pictures pop up in my mind...

Gumption

Znr : Traite De Mecanique Populaire

2006-08-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

Late 70's French duo with a serious Erik Satie fixation. Hector Zazou and Joseph Racaille both on keys and vocals plus some guitars, reeds and violins by guesting musicians. Lots of short & quirky songs with funny titles in the true spirit of their model. Best can be described as chansons in chamber settings but done with a rock feel, unique and in fact pretty indescribable. And georgeous. Totaly French. If you're not careful enough, you may end up falling in love with it... Traite is the second (and final) album by this crew, and is almost entirely acoustic, while the first (Barricades 3, reissued by Recommended - get it!) was more synth dominated. Zazou later went on to become a much sought after producer and composer of more mainstream/ambient music while Racaille is succesful in keeping a low profile.

Traite

Pink Floyd : Lost Single

2006-07-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

Scream Thy Last Scream & Vegetable Man, the abandoned third Barrett/Floyd single in excellent condition here. It was supposed to be the followup to See Emily Play. Never could understand why are they keeping these songs so persistently in the vaults. Ok, the texts are a bit harsh, but that's also the case with many other Floyd songs. They always had that dark edge. Also these two titles were integrated in the group's repertoire (check the BBC Sessions & the live boots from '67). I listen to this quite often and sincerely can't find anything controversial about it, just two great songs and, above all, great guitar playing by Syd. You can almost hear how the rest of the group is struggling to keep up with him! No wonder they sacked him shortly afterwards...

Now, let's say farewell to the beautiful prince of psychedelia.

Scream

Angus MacLise : Angus MacLise

2006-06-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

Not only the erstwhile Velvet Underground drummer but a 60's counterculture icon. One of the original primitive minimalists, involved in LaMonte Young's Theater Of Eternal Music/Dream Syndicate groups, alongside Tony Conrad, John Cale, Henry Flynt, Jack Smith, Terry Riley, etc... A musician & poet, lived his last years in Kathmandu. Restless & free, he's someone who really lived his art. This is a limited edition vinyl record, privately released in 1997 and represented the first serious introduction of his work to a wider audience. Thunderbolt Pagoda came a couple of years later. Besides being a historic release, this is also a very fine compilation & can serve as a perfect introduction to the man's work. This is real psychedelic music, deep, dark and often scary. The real deal. Check it out if you dare!
Note: Visit Hetty MacLise's blog for some amazing first-hand stories & pics!

Chumlum

Basil Kirchin : Mixing It

2006-06-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

Till i find a usable rip of his Worlds Within Worlds meisterwerk, this'll have to do. 15 min's of the man himself talking about his music. Lot of sound excerpts (animal sounds, free blowing, autistic children speaking/singing, the usual...) A genius and originator. Also good sound quality, taken from a radio show. Hope Trunk or someone else will re-release Worlds in the foreseable future...

Kirchin

This Heat : Early Live Alternate

2006-06-27T17:43:00.000-07:00

My favourite band. This is also to commemorate the recent release of the Out Of Cold Storage 6 CD's collected works.
There is a fair amount of Heat bootlegs of varying quality out there. This is a brief (17 min's) one i found on Soulseek under the title Early Live Alternate. Later i found out that these songs are also included in the Rarities & Outtakes boot. 4 songs in all - a killer version of Horizontal Hold, an improv piece, a worldless Triumph Of The Will and something that sounds like an early version of Cenotaph. So i thought you might be interested. Expect hard-core boot sound quality, lot of tape hiss and audience chat.
There will be hopefuly a lot more This Heat posts in this place in the future...

Early

Steve Moore : A Quiet Gathering

2006-06-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

Ex-psychology-school-dropout-turned-electro-acoustic-music-wizard's second release (first being a cassette-only Return Of The Poet) from 1988. Side one composed entirely of field recordings edited together to make a logical whole. Side two is an eight-part suite made of samples from other people's music treated into unrecognition, with some scarce 'real' instruments added. Plus a brief, more 'composed' piece. Dramatic, brilliant and listenable. At moments also breathtakingly beautiful...
Note: Be sure to check also his extraordinary Threshold Of Liberty cassette!

Gather

Unrest, Work & Play : Andy & Chris

2006-06-27T15:33:00.000-07:00

First 12" EP by this Brit duo who sounded like a cross between This Heat and classic era Magic Band, being totaly original at the same time. Just guitar, drums and singing. Right there with the best of their time (Heat, The Work, L.Voag). Imagine living next door to your favourite band... Perhaps the purest of their three releases (one more EP and a LP for Recommended). Incredible & got to be heard!

Zombie

Borbetomagus : Snuff Jazz

2006-06-26T01:55:00.000-07:00

OK. The maestros of improv noise (with a big N) with their album for Agaric from 1988. Some call it jazz, some call it improv, some call it noise. Two saxes (Jim Sauter & Don Dietrich) and one guitar (Donald Miller) in two sidelong performances. Great intensity. They are doing this for almost 30 years now...

Reissued On Cd

Intro

2006-06-25T23:16:00.000-07:00

Greetings everybody!
This blog is created with the intention of hosting mainly out-of print classic Recommended Records & related releases, rarities, singles, cassettes, etc... but also artwork, covers, photos, discographies, infos. There will be a lot of vinyl & cassette rips, live boots and the like. A lot of this is already available via sharing services like Soulseek and others but i thought it would be a nice idea to gather some of this in one place for instant access. Of course, i'll follow the general attitude of hosting only music that is not publicly available at this moment. If you find something in this blog at odds with this, let me know and i'll delete.
Please feel free to comment/suggest in any way you like. Also, if you have some music or stuff you think may fit here and are willing to share, drop me a line (or a link). This is all about sharing...
I'll be back soon with my firs posts - hope you'll like them! Till then, have a nice day!
Must figure out now how this damn thing works...