EIC's 10Q's w/ Rudi Arapahoe

"..could leave lingering goosebumps all over your body and through your headphones.."

Rudi Arapahoe

Exploring Somber Milieus

Rudi Arapahoe Bio:

Sound Artist, Composer and Mastering Engineer working from Helix Branch.

Hello, how are you?

I'm feeling very calm, thank you!

What are you currently listening to?

Last night I was listening to Eno's 'Lux' whilst treating myself to a re-read of Vladimir Nabokov's 'Pale Fire'.

It seems like you've "been away" for a while, what have you been up to?

Oh quite a bit, I work at modest pace. The 'Double Bind' EP was composed in 2008. After completing the EP I undertook extensive renovations of my Victorian home. This project occupied me for about 8 months and I'm pleased with the results. It was nice to take a break from music. Recently my thoughts have been returning to the interior design. After the structural renovations, I began work on a full length album that explored Balkan region Folk and religious song, this work was completed in 2011 and is yet to see the light of day. During this period, I worked as part of Bob Dickinson's Komposit chamber orchestra to realise his composition 'Rendition'. In 2011 I also worked with the Danish multimedia Martin Thaulow on an uplifting dance based installation, themed around memory and ageing called 'Contraction'. Then in 2012 we collaborated on another artwork, this was focused on memory, decay, time and the parallel digital worlds we inhabit, it was titled In 'Older Kingdoms'. A little later in 2012 I became involved in another dance work, 'Instinctive Matter', this piece was premièred at Wilton's Music hall and toured the UK summer festivals. Additionally, throughout the past few years I've been undertaking mastering work for a variety of labels such as Hibernate Recordings, Symbolic Interaction, Second Language Music, Time Released Sound, Signal Dada, and Hands in The Dark. I also undertake a considerable amount of sound design and commercial composition roles for media companies.

Care to shed some light on the 'Double Bind' EP; theme, favorite track(s), etc?

I have a BSc (UK Degree) Psychology and a long standing interest in abnormality. During the creation of the EP I conducted a 360 degree analysis of my worldly relations through the eyes of Gregory Batson's Double Bind theory. It's an introspective work that deploys much of the same musicians as to 'Echoes From One To Another', however the music language is more abstracted, the harmony is more complex and perhaps more beautiful as a result.

Will you be touring extensively for said release?

No, I’m quite the recluse. Occasionally I get interesting offers to perform; however I  would need a considerable budget to put together a performance that represents what I  do.

Will we have to wait this long for the next LP?

‘Shuffle The Pages Feed Me A Line’ my second album, was completed in July 2011. It  was shopped around a considerable number of world music labels by my friend Oliver Barnett; however the album was deemed too eclectic, melancholic and strange; to be commercially viable. Inversely, experimental record labels felt the album is ‘too pop’ – ‘too rhythmical’ – ‘too vocal’ – ‘too polished’ - I was flirting with an early 90's Ambient   ascetic whilst creating the project. A lot of the sound design is created by instruments   of the era such as the Yamaha TX802 and Korg Wavestation synthesizers. In post production, I worked extensively with my close friend and audio engineer Shuta Shinoda  to process the sound with an array of 80s and 90s hardware reverbs and effects. ‘Shuffle The Pages Feed Me A Line’ is my producer album and love story for the early nineties   and Dead Can Dance.

Speaking of.. Got any other projects we should know about?

No.

What movie would work best on mute while listening to you music?

The Quay Brothers' 'The Piano Tuner Of Earthquakes'... I have a strong empathy with their work.

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?

Tricky’s ‘Maxinquaye’ – I still remember hearing "Ponderosa" for the first time.

Are you living your dream?

I used to have a beautiful recurring dream of a girl kneading bread with her tears as moisture. Lately, I have been flying over my family’s home, swooping near to the corn fields and then blasting through the clouds; where the air becomes so thin, that I have to  swallow it down with glee. Creating music closes the gaps between waking and dreaming.

Thanx Rudi!

Rudi Arapahoe recently released a new EP, you can get that HERE. I also STRONGLY recommend you get this now...

EIC's 10Q's w/ Castratii

"..bleed heart and knowledge.."

Castratii

Dark Tales From Down Under

Castratii Bio:

Wind. Rain. Mist. Whispers. Secrets written in blood. Sliding doors in parallel universes. Castratii are a paradox, a wonderful vision of a life that might have been, and still could be. Enveloping shrouds of ambient musical strands, woven together into a swinging bridge that hangs over a chasm of endless possibility.

    Hello, how are you?
Great, how are you?
EIC: Fine, just fine, thanks for asking!;]

What are you currently listening to?
Over the last couple of months we've been listening to a lot of music. Here's some that have been on high rotation; Coil 'Horse Rotorvator', Silent Servant 'Negative Fascination', Dead Can Dance 'Anastasis', Peter Murphy 'Deep', Tricky 'Pre Millennium Tension', Morricone 'The Mission', Goreck's 'Symphony No 3.', Bowie 'Outside', Talk Talk 'The Colour Of Spring', Xasthur 'Portal Of Sorrow', Vatican Shadow 'Kneel Before Religious Icons' and more.. Recently we picked up the latest Andy Stott record, which we love.

Whats with the band name?
We take our name from 16 century soprano males, the Castrato or "Castrati" as they were known. Basically it's a male that has been castrated before puberty to retain a pure soprano voice. The horror of such an act, purely for music is insane and pretty special at the same time.

When did this project come about?
We have been writing and producing music and art for a long time. We self-released some early material in 2009, 'The Music of Chance EP'. Following this releases we spent a solid 2 or so years writing and recording 'Eora'. We wrote about 25 tracks for the album but felt that the 7 that make the album best represented what we set out to do which was capture our ideals of the Australian landscape, it's history and the vast expanse we call home... most of the time.

Care to tell us a little bit about 'Eora', themes/personal favorite track(s)?
The idea was to create a record that reflected our country, the landscape and the history. Not so much a concept record but an album that felt like the soundtrack to a place. We don't want to single out tracks as we hope the album works as a whole but there are certain parts that we like best, the ending of "Monolith", the middle 8 in "The Hanging", the guitar break in the title track. Liela's voice is also a part of the record that we love.

Any plans to tour for said release?
We are currently recording a follow up release in LA, probably an EP. We will then hopefully begin playing live in the later part of 2013. We're talking about it now. It should be good but we will work on some lighting and additional things to make it worthwhile.

Got any other projects we should know about?
We worked on this great TV show called 'Watch With Mother'. We did the soundtrack with our good friend Jack Ladder. Check it out here: http://www.watchwithmother.tv  We also contributed some beats and drones to an Australian Contemporary Opera called 'Confined'. Our friend Barton Staggs, who is this fantastic Australian composer asked for some abrasive beats and guitar drones so we happily obliged. Check it out here: http://confinedopera.com  There is also something that we'll be working on next year that is going to be strange and extreme. It is a subliminal art project, working in socially disaffected areas of Australia. We're working again with Jack Ladder but that's about as much as we can say about that at this point.

What movie would work best on mute while listening to you music?
We tend to work as though we're making the soundtrack to an imaginary film. There are very distinct images that we try to write against, but seeing as that film only exists in our heads we'll say 'Wake In Fright'. It's an Australian film from 1971 that shines an unfavourable light on rural Australia.

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
That is a tough question but we'll say 'The Downward Spiral'. That album continually offers new ideas and sonic landscapes that no one has really come close to touching.

Are you living your dream?
Not so much living our dream, maybe just living in a dream. We sleep very little so most of our day to day is pretty surreal. It's been a great year and we're completely filled with gratitude that our music means something to people. It's beautiful and inspiring. Thanks for taking the time to listen.

Thanx Tim & Castratii!

Castratii are currently laying low/working on a follow up EP/possible tour, til' then...

REVIEW: Sun City Girls - Funeral Mariachi

8.25 out of 10

Find it here.

Here's another one of those great albums I missed in 2010. Had I been paying attention "Funeral Mariachi" could have easily landed in the top half of my year-end list. As for the genre, hmmm.. "Unclassifiable?" How about next time you're in a estranged-peppy mood you listen to this and tell me what you think it is? Ooh wait! I know, how about South American Campfire Psych-Folklore-Core..?(<-that's a genre now:)

We all know I'm a sucker for strange sounds evolving and mutating into one cohesive mind warp of an album. On "Funeral Mariachi" Sun City Girls perfect that concept as well as take it to a whole other level, creating what could be/is their best work yet. (Side Note: They've got A LOT of releases, you should look/listen when you get a moment.) I wish I could say I've heard all of the Sun City Girls releases, but I haven't ..yet, I'll need more shortly though. My brain needs sounds like these to survive. SCG remind me of Akron/Family mixed with the sounds of South American tribes celebrating with peyote by moon light. The general tone is "Psych-Folk" but there are also elements of Classical, Jazz, Freak Folk, Shoegaze/Early 4AD kind of vibes, and yes, a thick root in ghostly Latino sounds. The first third of the album is somewhat uppity/crazy/mind bending. The last two thirds (the parts I like a lil more) is somewhat chill and relaxing almost Jazzy, but still bizarre. Just get it and tell me what you think. I'm pretty sure you'll like it.

A fine mix between Akron/Family, Animal Collective, The Books, Dead Can Dance, Juana Molina, Pink Floyd, and a little bit of WTF. These guys have mastered a craft that is almost unmatchable. Fans of the weird & bizarre, consider "Funeral Mariachi" your chicken soup. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Standout Tracks: This Is My Name, Vine Street Piano (this shouldn't end..ever), Blue West, Holy Ground (E-N-O), Mineral Wells (nice piano piece), Funeral Mariachi (nice jazz piece)