Phew, Phew

Here for your enjoyment is Phew's debut LP, originally released in 1981 on Pass Records. This album caught my eye primarily because it featured the talent of Can's Holger Czukay, though in what capacity I am still uncertain. There's kraut-like rock throughout the record ("Closed" and the awkwardly nightmarish "Doze") as well as some relatively abstract songs reminiscent of the better material from Stolen and Contaminated Songs (check out "Dream" and compare it to Coil's "Who'll Fall"). At times I was reminded of OOIOO's rhythmic fixations and even Cabaret Voltaire's minimal approach to dance music. Still, there's a logic to Phew's odd dynamics that holds the record together and prevents it from being a random collection of material.

Phew got her start with the Japanese punk band Aunt Sally and has also recorded with Novo Tono and Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Ensemble. I'll be trying to locate more of her work; in the meantime you can download the self-titled album below. It will be available for a limited time only.

Enjoy.










Phew, Phew
1981, Pass Records, LP

01. Closed (3:15)
02. Signal (4:28)
03. Doze (5:14)
04. Dream (3:15)
05. Mapping (3:41)
06. Aqua (3:48)
07. P-Adic (3:32)
08. Fragment (3:52)
09. Circuit (1:37)

Played and produced by Phew, Jaki Liebezeit, Holger Czukay, Conny Plank, and Yoshitaka Goto

Recorded and mixed at Conny's Studio and Czukay's Editing Laboratory
Recording engineer: Conny Plank
Mastered by Hiroshi Shiota at Tokyo Recording Co., Ltd.

download, .zip

2/25 show, Julian Kytasty, and Auktyon

Lots of interesting new things this week and I still haven't gotten around to last week's features. I promise those will come soon, but because I have time now and the music is fresh in mind, I'd like to write a little about Julian Kytasty and Auktyon.

Julian Kytasty was born in 1958 in Detroit, Michigan to a family of Ukrainian refugees. Following his father's and gradfather's lead, Kytasty picked up the bandura and in 1980 he moved to New York City and founded the New York Bandura Ensemble. According to the liner notes for Black Sea Winds, the bandura is a strange hybrid of the lute and medieval lap harp. If you want to see what one looks like, check out this video of Kytasty performing. The album itself is a document of songs traditionally played by blind musicians from the Ukraine known as kobzari. These songs, called duma, were performed on an instrument called the kobza, but many artists in the 20th century, including Kytasty, began utilizing the bandura instead. Apparently Stalinist Russia was not kind to the kobzari, primarily because their music dealt with religious themes, and in the 30's they effectively became outlaws. Kytasty writes,

"Many [kobzari] doubtless died, along with millions of the rural population, in the famine of 1933; others were individually arrested and executed. There is considerable evidence that at some point in the 1930's the remnants [kobzari survivors] were rounded up for a Congress of Traditional Singers from which no one returned. The numbers speak for themselves. The folklorists of the 1920's documented a living epic tradition of several hundred singers, with regional distinctions of repertoire and performance sytle; by 1939, when another congress of traditional performers was held, only four kobzari took part. The survivors had changed over to modernized banduras and performed 'progressive' repertoire featuring newly composed dumy about Stalin and Lenin."

Since that time the bandura has been the instrument of choice - it is not the same instrument employed by the kobzari, but the style of music played on the bandura often pays homage to those blind singers. The song featured on the show, "Cossack Lament," is of the oldest kobzar songs known, dating back to the 16th and 17th century. It is a lament sung as part of a Cossack funeral rite. I've also uploaded "The Song of Truth and Falsehood." The lyrics to this song speak for themselves:

"There is no truth in the world,
Truth is not to be found,
For dire Falsehood has started calling itself Truth.

Truth (Pravda)
For now Truth stands outside the threshold,
And Falsehood sits at table with the wealthy.

Falsehood (Nepravda)
For now Truth is cast into dungeons,
And Falsehood invited into the mansions.

And the need to know the difference.

But the Lord is Truth, shall crush Falsehood,
Chastise pride, raise high the temple."

The music is indescribably beautiful and simple; you can download "The Song of Truth and Falsehood" here.

A good friend recently introduced me to a Russian rock band called Auktyon. There's plenty of information about them on their website and all over the internet, but what follows are the basics. The band has been around in one form or another since 1978, but didn't take on their current name until 1983. They claim their influences as everything from reggae to the ethnic music of North Africa and jazz. Writers have compared them to everything from The Residents and Captain Beefheart to Robert Wyatt, Pere Ubu, Beck, Leonard Cohen, and Black Sabbath (to name just a few). The song played during the show ("Samolet") sounds like something out of a spy movie and "Boyoos" sounds like a demented folk tune filtered through the Boredoms. Beyond that I simply don't know how to describe this band. I've uploaded both "Boyoos" and another track ("Letcheek") for you to enjoy. Any other information you may want about the band can be found at their site. For those of you in Boston, Auktyon will be playing March the 25th at the Middle East Club (Downstairs).

Thanks to Tom for the heads up!

Auktyon "Boyoos" from Zhopa (1990)
Auktyon "Letcheek" from Bodoon (1991)

I hope you've all been enjoying the show and the website. If you have any comments, questions, or requests you can leave them at this site or email me at the address provided in the sidebar. Thank you for listening and enjoy.

Laughter 2/25/2008 - Part I
Laughter 2/25/2008 - Part II

01. Lamb “Gorecki” from Lamb (1997) on Fontana

02. Meat Beat Manifesto “Helter Skelter” from Helter Skelter/Radio Babylon (1990) on Play It Again Sam

03. Badawi “Voices from the Sky” from Soldier of Midian (2001) on ROIR

04. Julian Kytasty “Cossack Lament” from black sea winds (2002) on November Music

05. Dead Can Dance “Cantara” from Within the Realm of a Dying Sun (1987) on 4AD

06. Rachel's “A French Galleasse” from Selenography (1999) on Quarterstick

07. Holger Czukay “Witches' Multiplication Table” from On the Way to the Peak of Normal (1982) on Mute

08. Nurse With Wound “The Self Sufficient Sexual Shoe” from Rock 'n' Roll Station (2006) on Beta-lactam Ring — originally released 1994

09. Harmonia “Dino” from Musik von Harmonia (2006) on Lilith — originally released 1974

10. Electrelane “Between the Wolf and the Dog” from No Shouts No Calls (2008) on Too Pure

11. Swans “Miracle of Love” from White Light from the Mouth of Infinity (1991) on Young God

12. Sleep Chamber “Invocation” from Secrets ov 23 (1993) on Music Maxima Magnetica

13. Death in June “C'est Un Rêve” from Dead Sunwheels (1989) on NER

14. Bardo Pond “Nomad” from Cypher Documents I (2005) on 3 Lobed

15. Auktyon “Samolet” from Zhopa (1990) — see website for more info: http://www.auktyon.com

16. Popul Vuh “Kyrie” from Letzte Tage - Letzte Nächte (1997) on Think Progressive — originally released 1976

17. NON “God & Beast” from God & Beast (1986) on Mute

18. Coil “Red Weather” from Unnatural History II (1995) on Threshold House

19/20. Chris Watson / BJ Nilsen “No Man's Land” from Storm (2006) on Touch

20. Schlammpeitziger “Schlafatemwagen” from Augenwischwaldmoppgeflöte (2000) on A-musik

21/22. Chris Watson / BJ Nileson "SIGWX” from Storm (2006) on Touch

22. Itsnotyouitsme “Great Day” from Walled Gardens (2007) on New Amsterdam

Review: Luasa Raelon, "Into the Void"

David Reed is obsessed with the dark. Every synapse in his brain aims to realize a stygian monstrosity from the most basic electronic utterances. Into the Void successfully gathers those expressions into a crawling black chorus of sound, like a cantata sung for the terror infinite and empty space can inspire.

A meditative bleakness is amassed over the course of Into the Void with only the most cosmic instruments. The imaginary sounds of a supernova, the electric pulse of magnetic fields, and the icy explosions of colliding asteroids all play a role in Reed's swirling orchestras. And his songs do sound as though they are played by a group of empyrean and sentient beings. Unlike other artists who claim the fertile grounds of noise as their birth place, Reed's work is sober and composed instead of desultory and manic. Explosions radiate and dance with an observable intelligence instead of crashing and decaying senselessly and Reed never allows his bellowing cries to spill over into a continuous and bland stream of white noise.

That dedication to clarity ranks as one of this album's greatest strengths. Beyond being tightly controlled, every detail of Reed's heavenly pandemonium resounds as clearly as a bell no matter how busy it gets. No song depends on microscopic activity, but each breath of solar wind washes through the mix unhindered by sloppy production or over-zealous volume. This allows Reed to use the existing small details in each song to his advantage. On "Gravitational Pull" the presence of a monotonous synthesizer melody acts as a strong contrast to an ever-changing parade of radio noise; the two constantly pull at each other and manifest a tension that would not be possible if either were given over to excess. The absence of familiar musical conventions is made all the more powerful by the inclusion of distinct rhythms and melodic announcements. Both "Mariners" and "Dark Matter" depend on these recognizable features; without them both songs would sound all too static. Yet, if those features were anything more than occasional flourishes both songs would lose their ambiguous terror. Reed constantly plays a game of balance on each track, hushing any surfeit of sound in favor of a well-planned deficit.

Perhaps excess is the attractive and distinguishing feature for many extant experimental outfits, but I'm glad to hear Reed utilizing the power of subtlety and understatement. The spaces he leaves in his music are deceptive, often hiding the most surprising and effective moments. The best portions of this album are accompanied by silence or an illusory sense of it created by spaces opened up in the music; Reed has a talent for creating such abyssal places and decorating them with a real sense of foreboding and uncertainty. His compositions are unique and entirely synthetic, but somehow organic and frighteningly unpredictable despite their well-formed structures.

---

Into the Void is available on Crucial Bliss.

2/18 show, Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity, Crawling Chaos, and more...

Lots of new stuff this week, including a new file-sharing host for my zip files. You may have noticed that all of my previous mp3 links have disappeared - that's due to the fact that Sendspace deletes any files uploaded to their servers after a fixed amount of time. The 300 MB size limit was attractive because it allowed me to upload the entire show as one file. Mediafire has no time or download limit on anything uploaded to their servers, but they only allow files of 100 MB to be uploaded. As a result, the show comes in two neatly divided zip files, now. The first zip file contains the first half of the show, the second contains the second half. I will not be re-uploading any previous shows unless I receive requests for them. As far as full albums or individual song mp3s are concerned, I will not re-upload them even by request. Any future posts containing full albums will utilize Sendspace and will be available only for a limited amount of time.

Due to being busier than normal the last week or so I do not have a write up ready for this show. As it stands, I think it is one of the best yet and features a good number of impressive new bands as well as some old favorites that I've been listening to lately. Among the highlights on this show was Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity, Bear in Heaven, and the obscure Crawling Chaos. I'm in the process of finding out as much as I can about all three bands, so keep checking back for information. I also have a review of the latest Luasa Raelon on the way and, as mentioned before, a few little extras coming up... including a fairly obscure Japanese LP featuring a member of Can.

Thanks for listening and enjoy.

Laughter 2/18/2008 - Part I
Laughter 2/18/2008 - Part II

01. Talk Talk “I Believe in You” from Spirit of Eden (1988) on EMI

02. Bonnie "Prince" Billy “The Seedling” from The Letting Go (2006) on Drag City

03. The Helio Sequence “Keep Your Eyes Ahead” from Keep Your Eyes Ahead (2008) on Sub Pop

04. The Raybeats “Soul Beat/Intoxica” from It's Only a Movie (1983) on Shanachie

05 .The Whitsundays “Bring It On Home” from The Whitsundays (2008) on Friendly Fire

06. Annabouboula “Let's Go to Jail” from In the Baths of Constantinople (1990) on Shanachie

07. Bear in Heaven “Shining and Free” from Red Bloom of the Boom (2007) on Hometapes

08. Valet “Fire” from Naked Acid (2008) on Kranky

09. Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity “Who Do You Love” from Santiago's Vest (2008) on Electrokitty

10. True West “It's About Time” from S/T EP (1983) on Bring Out Your Dead Records

11. The Trypes “Music for Neighbors” from The Explorers Hold (1984) on Coyote

12. Ida “The Killers 1964” from Love Prayers (2008) on Polyvinyl

13. Stranger to Stranger “Crowded Room” from Casting Shadows (1984) on Hopewell

14. Atlas Sound “Cold As Ice” from Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Not Feel (2008) on Kranky

15. The Camberwell Now “Spirit of Dunkirk” from Meridian (1983) on Duplicate

16. 17 Pygmies “Lazarus” from Jedda by the Sea (1985) on Resistance Records

17. Jason Molina “Pyramid Electric Co.” from Pyramid Electric Co. (2004) on Secretly Canadian

18. Crawling Chaos “Macabre Royale” from The Gas Chair (1981) on Factory Benelux

19. Univers Zero “Heatwave” from Heatwave (1987) on Cuneiform

20. Biting Tongues “Compressor” from Compressor (1986) on Factory

21. The Orb “Perpetual Dawn” from The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld (1991) on Fontana Island

22. Aphex Twin “4” from Richard D. James (1996) on Warp

Noise in Boston and Upcoming MP3s

First, apologies that the February 18th edition of Laughter has not yet been posted. Due to being a little busier than usual, I may not have the show posted until later tomorrow evening. Please visit again then; I'll also have some extras posted by that time.

Some of you may be interested in the fact that a number of noise bands are coming to Boston and performing at Jacques Cabaret. Among the performers are Karlheinz, Bloodyminded, and Halflings. It's being billed as the NORTHEAST REGIONAL NOISE AND POWER ELECTRONICS FESTIVAL and will be held on the 14th and 15th of March at 8pm; the price of admission is $10 each night. Here's a rundown of the bands:

Bloodyminded (Chicago)
Fire In The Head (Wellfleet, MA)
Halflings (Bronx)
Twodeadsluts Onegoodfuck (Boston)
Cathode Terror Secretion (Port Washington, NY)
Ahlzagailzehguh (?, NY)
FFH
Karlheinz (Allston, MA)
Angeldust
Shallow Waters
Craniopagus (Boston)
Bereft
Sharpwaist
Sewer Goddess (?, MA)
Nurture Abuse
and Special Surprise Guests

Anyone who can't attend this year's No Fun Fest should consider attending. If you're at all interested, the above links are to each band's Myspace page or homepage (where mp3s are available). If you've never listened to any of these bands, might I suggest turning down the volume on your computer before clicking on anything and avoiding headphones the first time around.

Enjoy.

2/11/2008 Show, more RAIJ, Annabouboula, and Rebetika

Strange show this week: as promised Nicolas Collins' "Vaya Con Dios" received fuller attention and was accompanied by a series of pieces by collage/noise artist Ekkehard Ehlers. Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus received some more attention (deservedly so), too, but a strange technical glitch and one intense song after another made the show feel unbalanced and too weighty. Nevertheless, there are some fine songs on this show, including a hypnotic guitar-drone piece by Aidan Baker, one of the best songs Honey Owens has ever written, and a strange Greecian blues hybrid from a band called Annabouboula. Their sound really floored me, so I took some extra time to read up on them. Unlike Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus, there's plenty of information about this trio available. Summarily, Annabouboula was Anna Paidoussi, George Sempepos, and Chris Lawrence. Using their heritage as a foundation, Paidoussi and Lawrence took on a Greek term that can be translated as "noisy confusion" and began situating traditional Greecian music next to modern, synth-laden dance music. As if that were not unique enough, they eschwed the popular Greek canon of music and instead infused Rebetiko (Greece's version of the blues, check this video out and perhaps take the time to watch the BBC documentary, which begins here) and other obscure forms of music from around the Mediterranean into their work.

David Sanborn hosted a show in the 80's called Night Music. This program played host to an uncommon variety of musicians and musical forms, including Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra, John Zorn, The Residents, Pere Ubu, The Pixies, Sonic Youth, Adrian Belew, Diamanda Galas, Julee Cruise, and even Annabouboula. That this show was ever taken off the air is stupefying (more so because no commercially available documents of this show are available). Thankfully, fans recorded several episodes and Annabouboula's performance on Night Music can be found over at Youtube. A little research also revealed a connection between Annabouboula and They Might Be Giants by way of John Linnell. According to the They Might Be Giants Wiki Database, Linnell played accordion and organ on both Hamam and In the Baths of Constantinople.

As far as I can tell, much of Annabouboula's music is out of print at the moment. Normally that means I would upload the record for your pleasure, but I currently do not have the means necessary for ripping an LP to mp3. If I find a digital copy, I'll make sure to make it available. In the meantime, download the show and enjoy.

A brief note - you'll notice that the numbering below is a little strange towards the end. Any two songs referenced by the same number refers to the fact that they were played simultaneously.

Thanks for listening...

Laughter, 2/11/2008, .zip file

01. Cerberus Shoal “Unmarked Boxes” from Mr. Boy Dog (2001) on Temporary Residence

02. Current 93 “Lucifer Over London” from SixSixSix : SickSickSick (2004) on Durtro — originally released in 1994 on Lucifer Over London

03. Popul Vuh “Wanderer Through the Night” from Tantric Songs (1981) on Celestrial Harmonies

04. Golden Death Music “Lost in Violence” from Ephemera Blues (2007) on Helmet Room

05. Shalabi Effect “Mr. Titz (The Revelator)” from The Trial of Saint Orange (2002) on Alien8

06. Muslimgauze “A Nation” from The Rape of Palestine (1989) on Parade Amoureuse

07. Revolutionary Army of The Infant Jesus “Man of Sorrows” from Mirror (1991) on Apocalyptic Vision

08. M2 (Squaremeter) “The Cry of Morgoth” from War of Sound (2003) on Ant-Zen

09. Aidan Baker & Thisquietarmy “Blood” from Orange (2006) on Thisquietarmy Records

10. Old Time Relijun “In the Crown of Lost Light” from Catharsis in Crisis (2007) on K

11. Yeasayer “No Need to Worry” from All Hour Cymbals (2007) on We Are Free

12. Bon Iver “Flume” from For Emma, Forever Ago (2008) on Jagjaguwar

13. Valet “Blood Is Clean” from Blood Is Clean (2007) on Kranky

14. Panther “Puerto Rican Jukebox” from 14 KT God (2008) on Kill Rock Stars

15. Annabouboula “Don't Worry Ma” from In the Baths of Constantinople (1990) on Shanachie

16. Hot Chip “Shake a Fist” from Made In The Dark (2008) on Astralwerks

17. Apparat “Fractales Pt. 1” from Walls (2007) on Shitkatapult

18. Ekkehard Ehlers “Albert Ayler (8)” from Plays (2002) on Staubgold

18/19/20. Nicolas Collins “Vaya Can Dios” from Let the State Make the Selection (1985) on Lovely Music, Ltd.

19. Ekkehard Ehlers “Robert Johnson (9)” from Plays (2002) on Staubgold

20. Ekkehard Ehlers “Robert Johnson (10)” from Plays (2002) on Staubgold

Laughter, 2/4/2008 and Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus

This week's edition of Laughter comes as three mp3 files in one zip file. The first hour is split into two unequal parts and the second part is one mp3 file. This week's highlight came in the form of a group called Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus. Evidently not much information about this band exists anywhere on the internet and the information that does exist is scant at best. Lost in Tyme has a post with still-functioning links to their double-CD release The Gift of Tears / Mirror as well as a link to their EP, Paradis. Evidently this band only had four releases: The Gift of Tears was released in 1987, Mirror in 1991, their double-CD collection in 1994, which includes two additional and never-before-released songs, and Paradis in 1995. Pretty much all the information I've been able to find on this Liverpool-based band is at that website - I've yet to run into an interview of any sort and the information provided on the record is less than satisfying. As far as the music itself goes, it warrants comparisons to bands like Dead Can Dance or Thunder Perfect Mind era Current 93, but the similarities are superficial at best. Certain tracks brought Popul Vuh to mind and others sound vaguely like less abrasive Organum records. It's a mixture between mystical acoustic music and more abstract soundscape work constructed from chants, bells, and bowed instruments. Though the band's name invokes Christ, the track played on the show summoned thoughts of ancient mystery religions and their obscure, pseudo-erotic rituals. If anyone reading this blog has more information about this band, please contact me.

Below you will find the playlist and .zip file as usual. Thanks for listening and enjoy.

01. Martin Rev “Rocking Horse” from Clouds of Glory (1985) on New Rose

02. Liars “Rose and Licorice” from Athiests, Reconsider (2002) on Arena Rock

03. Man Or Astro Man? “Many Pieces of Large Fuzzy Mammals Gathered Together at a Rave and Schmoozing with a Brick” from A Spectrum of Infinite Scale (2000) on Touch & Go

04. Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus “Transfiguration” from The Gift of Tears (1988) on Probe Blus

05. Yeasayer “Forgiveness” from All Hour Cymbals (2007) on We Are Free

06. Idjah Hadidjah “Hiji Catetan” from Tonggeret (1987) on Icon

07. Talking Heads “I, Zimbra” from Fear of Music (1979) on Sire

08. Faust “Apokalypse” from ravvivando (1999) on Klangbad

09. Desormais “To Sing Before Going to Sleep” from Iambrokenandremadeiambroken... (2003) on Intr_Version

10. The Teardrop Explodes “Like Leila Khaled Said” from Wilder (1981) on Phonogram

11. Bill Nelson “Eros Arriving” from The Love that Whirls (Diary of a Thinking Heart) (1982) on Cocteau

12. Jean Michel Jarre “Oxygene (Part IV)” from Oxygene (2008) on EMI France — originally released 1976

13. Of Tanz Victims “Brain Remain” from Haunting the Empire (1986) on Bunker

14. Zoviet France “Side A Part 1” from Mohnomishe (1983) on Red Rhino

15. Echran “Render at 4:30” from Echran (2005) on Ebria

16. Luasa Raelon “Spectral Transmissions” from Into the Void (2007) on Crucial Bliss

17. Aluk Todolo “Obedience” from Descension (2007) on Public Guilt

18. Aranos “Yevka Sings” from Throat Clearance (2005) on Pieros

19. Doc Wör Mirran “Birth” from Labyrinth: Birth -> Death (1989) on Musical Tragedies

20. Spectre Folk “Bindi Clip” from Spectre Folk (2006) on 3Lobed

21. Nicolas Collins “Vaya Con Dios” from Let the State Make the Selection (1985) on Lovely Music, Ltd.

Laughter, 2/4/2008, .zip file