The Ancient Balance to Control Death
Tetuzi Akiyama's contribution to the portrait series, The Ancient Balance to Control Death is a departure in a career of departures. In addition to Akiyama's trademark improvised, blues-infused, guitar work, the ep features intense multi-layered vocals. The end result is a collection of unique Japanese blues that could only have come from one of Japan's most distinct and creative improvisers.
Forerunners - Swedish Electronic & Concrete Music 1955-65
With Karl-Birger Blomdahl: Mimamusik (1959). Bengt Hambraeus: Doppelrohr 2 (1955). Rune Lindblad: Formation (1958-59), Optica 2 (1960). Arne Mellns: Nite Music (1964). Sten Hanson: Fruits de mer (1962). Åke Karlung: Antihappening (1962). Leo Nilsson: Skorpionen (1964). Ralph Lundsten: Atomskymning (1964). Bengt Emil Johnson: Enmans Gubbdrunkning (1964). Lars-Gunnar Bodin: Den heter ingenting, den heter nog 'Seans 2' (1965). The cd includes a 16 page booklet with texts by Sten Hanson.
Difference between the two clocks
Featuring French multi-instrumentist Xavier Charles and the well known experimental Japanese musician Otomo Yoshihide. Together their sounds create a monochrome mental image in a field of ambient drone and glitches. 'Difference Between The Two Clocks' is an involving, sometimes uneasy listen, during which the duo explore the relationship between sound and silence, focusing on non beating rhythms and minimalist texture and volume.
Sighs Trapped By Liars
With the entirely new music statement, Sighs Trapped by Liars, The Red Krayola renew their association with conceptual artists, Art & Language. Beginning in 1973, their collaboration includes the video projects 'Nine Gross and Conspicuous Errors,' and 'Struggle in New York,' as well as the much-acclaimed and decried music releases, Corrected Slogans, Kangaroo?, and Black Snakes. Thirty years has mellowed the various parties not at all. The faint-hearted might want to swallow something calming be…
Soldier Talk
The Red Crayola's Soldier-Talk returns at last. Drag City Records are proud to announce that, after having been missing in action for twenty-eight years, this vital, much acclaimed work is now available again. Soldier-Talk appeared first on Radar Records. A custom label built around Elvis Costello, financed and distributed by WEA, Radar had licensed the International Artists catalog in 1978 and had already re-released the band's first album, The Parable of Arable Land, and first single, 'Wives i…
Live 1967
Rescued from a long slumber of loathe, these live tapes of the Houston Red Crayola rejoin us to the truth about flower power: all free, all form, all freaked out.
TechnoCalyps
Continuing his 'exploration of the universe of broad-band noise from the real world,' Francisco López delivers his latest tour de force, the original soundtrack to the film TechnoCalyps by Frank Theys. TechnoCalyps is a documentary in three parts on 'Transhumanism,' which deals with the subject of human beings no longer being the driving force of civilization. Director Frank Theys raises the question of whether we are prepared to accept the prospect that humanity is not the end of evolution. Fra…
What You Don\'t Know Is Frontier
As the title suggests, Asva's second album maps an internal landscape - wild, vast, open - at once breathtakingly beautiful as it is potentially dangerous. A psycho-geographical vista of mountain highs, barren rolling plains and oceanic lows. Helmed by Stuart Dahlquist, formerly of Burning Witch, Goatsnake and Sunn0))), and recorded with the cream of the Pacific North West's rich musical talent, including members of Burning Witch, Mr. Bungle and Earth. This is a lyricless album of immense person…
Disconnected
Japan edition. Faust was among the most adventurous and creative German bands of the '70s, and after disappearing for a decade and a half, they reunited in the '90s and made several startlingly good albums. Today, drummer Werner 'Zappi' Diermaier and bassist Jean-Hervé Peron are the only original members, joined by Amaury Cambuzat from the band Ulan Bator. Nurse With Wound, formed three decades ago, is the brainchild of Steven Stapleton, now augmented with Colin Potter. NWW recordings are notori…
Japlan
Japanese-only CD reissue of what was originally a Japanese-only LP in the 80s, issued in support of a Der Plan tour. Der Plan is a German music art group who is running an independent label Ata Tak. The original LP was released only in Japan in 1985. Including 12. EP track, 2 unreleased tracks. Japan only.
The Guitar
This is the first solo CD by Swedish guitarist David Stackenäs. The structure of the material builds on sketches, compositional ideas and improvisation. The refined form and development of the tracks makes an interesting contrast to the rawness and simplicity of the sound of the acoustic guitar.
s/t
Deconstructing the music we know as rock, just leaving the essentials - a chord, a phrase, a simple drum figure - and repeating it till something else appears... Swedish duo Sheriff works with limited material and creates a world of their own. The intimate recordings create a restrained atmosphere where every beat on the guitar strings and strike on the drums is heard and vital to the whole. Their use of repetition suggests a link to minimalist composition, but is totally outside the academic wo…
Orgelfärger
In the living room of a small house in Dalarna, the Swedish countryside, Sagor & Swing has recorded this timeless music evoking the surrounding landscape - the forests, mountains and lakes. Moody and simple melodies with echoes of old Swedish folk tunes and the nature in the paintings of John Bauer. Some years ago, Eric Malmberg was given an organ from legendary Swedish organplayer Bo Hansson, one half of the 70’s drums/organ duo Hansson & Karlsson. This organ was the very one used on Hansson’s …
Three Henries
Häpna is proud to announce the release of Three Henries, the new record by Chicago quartet Pillow. Raw, quiet and minimal music with attention to details and emphasis on the group as a collective. Their way of playing and creating structures carries elements of Morton Feldman, AMM and the flowing electronics of Microstoria.
Melodier och fåglar
Sagor & Swing is Eric Malmberg on Hammond organ and Ulf Möller on drums. This is the follow up to their debut album “Orgelfärger”, considered one of the most interesting records of last year by many Swedish critics. “Melodier och fåglar” (“Melodies and birds”) is minimal and timeless, naive and simple. Eric calls his melodies “Nothing music”. Something to listen to when you almost want it to be quiet. When you are so affected by the noise from the media that you no longer bear with real silence.…
Allt hänger samman
The myth of Sagor & Swing tells that they are children of nature that grew up in the forest. That they at an early age built their first instruments and isolated from the noise of civilization invented a music of their own. What we know for sure, however, is that they make wonderful organ music and have been doing this for some time now. This is their third album, “Allt hänger samman”. The woods have thickened. The melodies have become more intricate and the idyllic scenes now have a darker tone…
Arborvitae
Although this might have been released a while back (2003 to be exact!) this is the first time we've managed to get hold of some copies, and those of you who have tracked down Loren Connors' work before (or that of Gastr Del Sol man David Grubbs for that matter) should know just how essential 'Arborvitae' will be before you even hear it. Of course Connors is on guitar and we see Grubbs alternating between guitar and piano (mostly piano) but 'Arborvitae' doesn't just find both artists falling int…
Tarokidei
First album by Noise Under Dreaming, an electro-post-rock band from Milan. Matteo Chiamenti and Michele Ricciardi worked always alone for this debut, in separate places, using various instruments, samples and field recordings. The result is a music wich bows his own head and rarely looks in the eyes, a music to listen to, or better to hear, alone.
Kolväteserenader
It happened in turns during five years; Patrik Torsson spent one month at sea and one month ashore. Six months on a tanker and six months at home every year. The month at sea as first mate on a product tanker included navigation and the handling of refined petroleum products. The free month at home was spent exclusively on making and developing music. After working like this in five years, Patrik decided to take a break from the sea. The free month was not worth the 84-hour weeks in the North an…
Orgelplaneten
Just half a year since “Allt hänger samman” and the fourth album from Sagor & Swing, “Orgelplaneten” (“The Organ Planet”) is here. The energy has been turned up quite a bit. This more energetic side of their sound has been showing a whole lot during their concerts, but this is the first time that it has been captured on record, as a document of how the duo have sounded live. It also stands out from their three earlier records by adding Moog and accordion to the usual setup of organ and drums. A …