Saturday, June 30, 2012

NEW Midaircondo on the way..


Midaircondo Feat. Michala Østergaard-Nielsen's 'Reports On The Horizon' comes out October 17th via the band's site.

Check into..A FREE album sooo good, one might call it "ear crack"..



I posted an album of Red Alder's a bit ago. I decided to catch up on this artist yesterday to see what, if anything was new.. I came across this beauty (+ a few more;). 'Hyper Vertical' reminds me of a "more pristine"/piano-driven Grouper meets a slightly more somber/melancholy Taxi Taxi!. If you know me, you know these are two highly regarded comparisons, also (as you may suspect) I am officially addicted to Red Alder now. Waking up to something so beautiful really starts your day off the right way.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Check into The Walking Ghost Phase..


 
The Walking Ghost Phase is a pair of twins from Brussels. "Fortune" reminds me of "Dead Cities.." era M83, the rest of this (F-R-E-E) album reminds me of distant (from the future) "Industrial/IDM" music. Let this one soak in, claustrophobic-technophobia sound will terrify or soothe you're every last nerve if you stay with it.

Cool Video Funtime # 325 - Somewhere In Space We Hang Suspended (+B V)


+ Bonus Video:) ..because you should probably gives Aimes a chance;]..

EIC's 10Q's w/ Brother Sun, Sister Moon

"..between "hazy/lush Ambiance", "sunny Psychedelia", & reverb-drenched Dream Pop.." 


Brother Sun, Sister Moon
Veiled By Aqueous Opulence

Brother Sun, Sister Moon Bio:
Brother Sun, Sister Moon is the collaborative project of Alicia Merz (Birds of Passage) and Gareth Munday (Roof Light). Together the duo explore a landscape of sounds that depart from Alicia’s classic wintery minimalism and Gareth’s post-dubstep styling’s, creating a record consisting of beautifully elegant vignettes and genre-bending sounds that captivate the listener at will. The self-titled album is a trip through sun-dappled pop music, glistening with Alicia’s vibrant vocals reminiscent of Francoise Hardy and Julee Cruise and neatly complimented by a haze of lo-fi instrumentation akin to the distorted experimentation of SLOWDIVE and MY BLOODY VALENTINE. Unafraid to extend their musical reach beyond this, the record ventures into the futuristic beat world channeling influences such as FLYING LOTUS and MADLIB, while traversing vast technicolour electronic sounds that call to mind BOARDS OF CANADA and the ambient tape manipulation of Matthew David. The CD edition of this stunning debut album comes with an exclusive remix by Listening Mirror, while the Dale Cooper Quartet lends a remix exclusive to the vinyl edition. With their debut record Brother Sun, Sister Moon take all preconceived notions of what an album should be and break them down right in front of you, presenting a record that runs the gamut of genre defying boundaries, boldly reimagining pop music for the ‘post-genre’ generation. 


Hello, how are you?
Gareth: Sitting with the telly on answering these questions :)
Alicia: Good and bad.

What are you currently listening to?
Alicia: William Basinski, The Caretaker, Felicia Atkinson, Listening Mirror, Roof Light, Miles Davis, The Dale Cooper Quartet, Tim Hecker, Lee Noble, Saaad, and Love Cult, but mostly Basinski and The Caretaker.

What's the story with the band name?
Gareth: Originally it was from an obscure Folk record until I discovered that there is a 70's obscure film of the same name I've never seen it.

Love the album, care to tell us a little bit about it, recording process, likes/dislikes, etc.?
Gareth: Thank you. Recording it was a mixture of real instrumentation by me, and samples, synthesized material and field recordings. It took about a year to do on and off, the tracks were in demo form then I heard Alicia's music on the internet. I thought she had the perfect voice to suit my music. I had a few acoustic/folk tracks that were very simple but needed a vocal so I sent of few of them to Alicia in NZ to add her parts. I really liked what she did with them and it was fairly easy. Then it was a case of back and forth, mixing and re recording to get the best results. One of those tracks 'Gable Larch' is one of my favorite pieces, it will be on the next BSSM LP which may have a more 'folk' vibe to it. There's a real Vashti Bunyan vibe to it and there were about half a dozen that were similar. It's about 'holding back' some of the material of which there are at least another 20 tracks in an unfinished state. Alicia is very busy with lots of other projects of her own. I don't know how she does it! There was no real recording process, I had ideas that were a few years old and knew that no label would be brave enough to put them out as they were. Besides I wanted to add vocals to them anyway. I sing on some of my tracks as well but wanted to add a feminine dimension to the music. If I'd had a bit more time I probably would have added my vox with Alicia's. Sadly my 'day' job doesn't give me a huge amount of time off to make music on a full time basis. As for likes and dislikes, at the moment it's English Psychedelia from 66 to 70. It'll be something else next week.

Who are your biggest influences as far as your sound goes?
Gareth: I'll let Alicia give you hers, mine would probably be Bibio/Boards Of Canada, XTC, The Beach Boys, Vashti Bunyan, 4AD, some Creation stuff like The Telescopes, the 60's, the 70's and 80's, Classical, Jazz, Motown/Soul, the 'Golden Age'/90's Hip Hop, Psych/Folk, film soundtracks, dreams, people and places. Colors and things like the smell of a primary school hall that takes you back to your childhood, or a garden in summer. Alicia: For this project: my husband, an image of a child playing, Jack Kerouac, Polish fans, Nick Drake, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Leonard Cohen, audio cassette tapes, Vashti Bunyan, Slowdive, Emily Bronte, William Basinski, Dj Shadow, Oscar Wilde, reflecting on journeys through East Europe, My Bloody Valentine, David Lynch, Roy Orbison, Surrealism, The Sopranos, The Caretaker, Twin Peaks, Dexter, autumn 2011, pain killers and red wine, black coffee and cigarettes. But mostly 'The Disintegration Loops' and red wine.

Will you be touring to support this release?
Gareth: I'd like to but Alicia's in NZ and I'm in the UK which is a bit problematic. We'd be open to offers though. I think we'd make a good festival band. I'd like to do an early slot at Glasto!

Got any other projects we should know about?
Gareth: I have a lot of other work ongoing, I make lots of other music both alone and with other people, I hope to have a couple of EP's of stuff this year of my own music, there are some really interesting collaborations on the way with some surprising people. There's an EP with USA based electronic producer KWALA very soon. I sent some tracks to Christa Palazzollo of Boy Friend in the USA as well, they might appear at some point, I like their music, and they're cool. Also some darker 'Street Soul' Electronic music with a good friend of mine from Russia called Ghostek. More BSSM stuff, hopefully a second more full length LP. And something for Alicia and her husband's new label 'Cooper Cult' which I'm really pleased to be involved with. I'm sometimes a bit lazy though and forget to answer correspondence. I also don't make music if I'm not feeling it on the day. I'd like to do some film/TV music as well. I'll let Alicia give you her equally busy schedule...
Alicia: I'm working with Listening Mirror on a full length, which I'm really excited about. Listening Mirror is the solo and sometimes collaborative project of Jeff Stonehouse, and he makes ambient/drone that is out of this world! I'm adding vocals and minimalist drones to a few tracks at the moment. I also have collaborations lined up with the French drone misfits 'Saaad', another French musical maverick - Felicia Atkinson, and 'Nadja' alumni Aidan Baker. Further, I've finished about 7 demos which form the skeleton for my next solo album. I'm also keeping very busy with Cooper Cult Records: one of our first releases is a cassette edition of 'Brother Sun, Sister Moon', which we are co-releasing with an awesome tape label from France, 'BLWBCK'. Other than that, I stay very busy with a lot of other art projects that have nothing to do with music.

What movie would work best on mute while listening to your music?
Alicia: Repo Man and They Live. A few scenes from Picnic At Hanging Rock, and a few from The Wicker Man. But I'd say Repo Man, from start to finish, is the perfect visual counterpart to BSSM.

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
Alicia: Today, 'The Disintegration Loops' by William Basinski. If you ask me next week it'll be something different. Maybe 'Songs Of Leonard Cohen' or 'Kind Of Blue'.

Are you living your dream?
Gareth: I would be living it even more if i could do it full time!
Alicia: Life is a dream, so yes!

Thanx Magnus, Gareth & Alicia!

BS,SM are currently underrated and only YOU have the power to change this, this band deserves way more credit than what they get...

REVIEW: Brother Sun, Sister Moon - s/t

 8 out of 10

Vashti Bunyan meets Belong and/or Bowery Electric as well as Bibio (the cover image conveys the music perfectly..).

Gorgeously layered guitar loops, samples, drones, pluckings, etc. swimming and drowning between lush/complex synth layers, minimal Hip Hop-esque drum beats (in a few tracks), and "summertime-warm" atmospheres. BS,SM's debut self-titled release is very pretty and mellow, as well as great for a slow night on the patio (sorry I know I talk about "patio music" a lot, but I can't help it, it is the season for it after all). The tracks sway between "hazy/lush Ambiance", "sunny Psychedelia", & reverb-drenched Dream Pop. See band names mentioned above, get obsessed, it's that gorgeous.

Melodramatic tranquility is always a good thing. I like this one, I think I'll keep it.

Standout Tracks:I like 'em al, but especially; Cope, From Grain To Flower, One Throws And One Pulls (LOVE♥LOVE), South Downs By Morning, South Downs By Morning (Dale Cooper Quartet Remix)

[[EIC Mixtape: № 1 - June '12]]

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1. Kondra Kasma - Autumnal Findings

2. Kitty Pryde - Ay Shawty: The Shrekoning (Feat. Dankte) (Prod. By Sela.)

3. Vanilla - The End

4. Strawberrys - Soul Ascending Skyward

5. Koda - Generator

6. A Head In The Sky - Feel

7. Yawning Boy - Champian

8.Children Of The Night - ’86 Mets (3:05 AM) (Feat. T.Shirt & Roc Marciano) [Prod. By Black Noi$e]

9. Whitey - People

10. Olkin Donder - Oozin Stonder

11. Kitty Pryde - Charnsuka

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Feel free to pass this along to as many people as you'd like;] Maybe use it for your next BBQ?

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Cool Video Funtime #324 - Do You Party?

Check into Good Night & Good Morning..

 
Sorry, only one free track (but it's a damn good one).. Still, too good not to share. This reminds me of Epic45 a lot (meets Grouper--kind of), and I like that. Possibly better for a mid-winter vibe, but maybe you could use it for a lazy/hazy night on the patio?

Speaking of new.. have you heard the latest Piano Magic?


The Above track is from PM's latest album "Life Has Not Finished With Me Yet" which is out now via the bands site HERE. You really can never go wrong with Piano Magic in-case you're wondering..;]

NEW El Perro Del Mar + NEW Sinner DC = a happier YOU.

+

(Free Download of the Gordon Shumway remix HERE;)

LOVEing the new EPDM sound direction, get the song HERE (while you can). No info (yet) on a release date, can't wait though! NEW Sinner DC, YES..always and forever. Love it! "Endless Valley" is off of their next full length album 'Future That Never Happened', which comes out in September!! The year is really starting to shape up (especially in September<--wow.)!

Monday, June 18, 2012

EIC's 10Q's w/ Death And Vanilla

"..modern-day Krautrock/Neo-Psychedelia meets lucid dreams on mushrooms.."


Death And Vanilla
Antiquarian Kaleidoscopic Fidelity

Death And Vanilla Bio:
Crackling recordings of old seances, inexplicably exploding tea cups… The supernatural is an important factor for Death And Vanilla as aesthetic source material and methodological starting-point. The Malmö-based duo loves library music, electronic pioneers and the golden age of analog synths, and they play their music on instruments and amps from the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies, not only in order to recreate the sound and the atmosphere they love, but also to channel the ghostlike qualities in old spring reverbs and loose contacts. A kind of analog glitch, you might label their prac­tice. “From Elsewhere” is typical of the contradictory impulses in the name of the band. The sweetest melody is delivered by a female voice which seems conjured up from the other side, or at least the Seventies…


Hello, how are you?
Very well thank you!

What are you currently listening to?
 Testbild! 'Barrikad', The New Wave 'Little Dreams David Cain', The Seasons 'Hareton Salvanini', S.P./73, Air 'Le Voyage Dans La Lune', Egisto Macchi 'Futurissimo Earth', Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light 'Pt 2', Pye Corner Audio 'Black Mill Tapes Vol. 3', Martial Solal 'Son 66'

Whats the story with the band name?
One of us once had two pet rabbits, one black and one white, and they we're called "Death" and "Vanilla". 

Would you consider Broadcast your biggest influence or is the spectrum of influences much larger than that?
We do like Broadcast but our influences goes way beyond them. We listen to lots of 60's psych stuff like The Electric Prunes, The Zombies, David Axelrod etc, 60's - 70's soundtracks (Ennio Morricone, Francois De Roubaix etc) and early electronic music pioneers like Tom Dissevelt, Delia Derbyshire and Ruth White. And lots of Library Music, Jazz, Krautrock, 60's French Pop etc. We are also very influenced by films, books and art as well. 

LOVE your debut LP, what if any was the underlined message/theme from it?
Thanks! There is no thought out theme to it. When we are writing songs we often imagine them as soundtracks. You try out new ideas and melodies and if you think of them as a soundtrack you will easily get an image of the song and that takes you further on in the process. So we do more often think of moods then themes or messages when writing a song. When recording this album we had certain films in mind as well and they have very much been an influence. The moods of the films were definitely influential to the songs.

Will you be touring to support said album soon?
We have a few shows booked but no tour plans yet, but we're working on it!

Got any other projects we should know about?
You might want to check out Dunwich Radio if you want a peak into our world. 

What movie would work best on mute while listening to your music?
The ultimate will be if you're watching both "Don't Look Now" and "Picnic At Hanging Rock" at the same time!

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
That's too difficult to decide, there's too many! We'd probably die of old age before we could make our minds up, but The Zombies' 'Odessy And Oracle' is one of them, Alice Coltrane's 'World Galaxy' another, and Ennio Morricone's 'Vergogna Schifosi' a third. But yet, tomorrow we would argue for a new set of candidates...

Are you living your dream?
Well, some of them, yeah!

Thanx Anders & Marleen!

D & V recently re-released their debut LP on vinyl because the first edition sold out so quickly, you should probably snatch this one up before it goes away too...

REVIEW: Death And Vanilla - s/t

8.5 out of 10

Death And Vanilla are a band that have plenty of credit given to them (which they deserve), but they have yet to cross over to "Indie mainstream" (I kind of (and kind of don't) have my doubts that they will, but I'd love to live in a world where this could happen). Why they haven't crossed over I'm not sure, they've got everything a good "Pop" band should have; talent, willingness to experiment, and a keane ear for constructing/dissecting vintage sound (which is exactly what they were shooting for). So how do they keep their music sounding so "old & dusty"? All of their (they're a duo by the way) equipment is from the 50's, 60's, and 70's (..I can't even imagine the cost of fixing one of those instruments(!)). Anyways, from utilizing old gear, D & V create one of the most astonishing "modern-day" Krautrock/Neo-Psychedelia(think Broadcast) meets "lucid dreams on mushrooms"..::ahem:: albums that I have ever had the pleasure of absorbing.

There's something about an analog synth that always makes the music sound that much better. Synthesizers seem to be on a rise (although never necessarily faded away) with a lot more independent artists these days. Death And Vanilla's self-titled debut LP continues on in this (glorious) tradition, however they take it one step further by ONLY using vintage equipment (big fan of this concept) to reiterate what was so popular about 50 years ago (when the instruments were manufactured). Very soothing, weird-serene, and toe-tapping ..it's everything a good Psychedelic album should be, that should say it all.

(getHigh)ly Retrommended.

Standout Tracks: Dreams Of Sheep, Library Goblin, The Unseeing I

Sunday, June 17, 2012

EverythingIsChemical Virtual 7" No. 21 - Br'er




"There's a certain word and a certain touch. A certain way and a way too much. There's a little bit here, and a little bit there. When you've done it all, it's too late to care. Oh I persuade you, Like always I persuade you." ~TG

Next release comes out July 22nd.