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cd -- selection OCTOBER 2005 |
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| Artist: |
VIBRACATHEDRAL ORCHESTRA |
| Title: |
Tuning to the Rooster |
| Label: |
IMPORTANT RECORDS |
| Format: |
CD |
| Price: |
16,5 E |
| Catalog #: |
IMPREC 061CD |
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So far the first and only record ever made by The Vibracathedral Orchestra using a 24-track mixing board. Typically the group records on 2 tracks despite the fact that their eccentric and complexly arranged sound practically requires 24 tracks. "This is music as a shamanic aid, made as much for the players themselves as for the listeners. But as I'm writing from the listening perspective, I have to inform y'all that this is music to get you there. Every track sounds as though it has always just 'been there,' it's just you ain't quite tuned into its peculiar frequency until now. The 12-and-a-half minute 'Wearing Clothes of Ash' is like a piano-led 'Paradieswarts Duul-period drone-a-thon with John Cale and Terry Riley guesting on viola and keys. Following this, the sublime 'Baptism Bar Blues' is proof positive that they can rock the riot house with pure adrenaline rush when the decision is made. Indeed, this track is magnificent and should be available to the masses free or in pill form." -- Julian Cope. |
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| Artist: |
AUGUST BORN ( ben chasny + L ) |
| Title: |
S/T |
| Label: |
DRAG CITY |
| Format: |
CD |
| Price: |
20,5 euros |
| Catalog #: |
DC284 |
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The collaborative fruit of Benjamin Chasny (Comets on Fire, Six Organs of Admittance) and Hiroyuki Usui (Fushitsusha), 'August Born' is an intentionally rough sketch of fragmentary folk, Blues and arch-experimentalism. Following the muted, almost Yokoya-esque opening piece 'Blues to Begin', Chasny and Usui really begin to gel on the fluttering 'Dead Bird Blues', wherein Usui's vocals are buoyed by a bout of banjo. Just as Stevie Smith was able to make much out of nothing, so August Born seem able to conjure a grand expanse from a sheltered corner, with the exquisite 'A Thousand Butterflies' testament to this. Incorporating birdsong and wind chimes on the refracted melodies of 'More Dead Bird Blues' (think Ayuo) and addictive guitar musings on the sweaty 'A Lot Like You', 'August Born' is a lilting collection of songs that see a wholly successful juxtaposition of two distinct talents. Gorgeous. |
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| Artist: |
TUJIKO NORIKO + AOKI TAKAMASA |
| Title: |
28 |
| Label: |
FAT CAT |
| Format: |
CD |
| Price: |
20 euros |
| Catalog #: |
Fatsp10 |
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'Beguiling, filligrane electronic song-structures' seems a good (if not totally cack-mouthed) way of summing up the Aoki Takamasa & Tujiko Noriko sound. Delicate to the MAX, '28' is full of utterly charming, lilting electronica, augmented throughout by Noriko's delicate Japanese vocals; with a result that would fail to enrapture all but the most craggy hearted individuals. Takamasa and Noriko certainly know their onions; taking dreamy soundscapes and under wiring with a crisp formation of electronic buttresses that compliment each other like a Heston Blumenthal dish. Ranging from the 'Vespertine'-esque 'Vinyl Words' and poptastic styling of 'Alien', through to the juddering symphony of album closer 'Nolicom', this is a genuine treat which won't spoil your appetite. Lovely. |
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| Artist: |
A TASTE OF RA |
| Title: |
A Taste of Ra |
| Label: |
HAPNA (SWEDEN) |
| Format: |
CD |
| Price: |
21 euros |
| Catalog #: |
HAPNA 023CD |
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Cryptic new-folk experimentation from Häpna. The accompanying information only describes the music as such: "Imagine a spirit awaken when it's too dark to see, but the bright lights that make you pass through life's octaves burst the gates of heaven with a tune that fills one's chest, and can be seen as a gospel for the glory each morning tells you about. If you listen carefully his friends are everywhere. They make the soil bend beneath your feet while the sharp light reaches your soul like spears (di spears). So beware and inhale, when you finally embrace A Taste of Ra." What we hear is pleasant-enough singer-songwriter blues backed by gentle guitar strum, harmonium hums, echoed piano and distant pipes. A Taste of Ra conjures up the bluesiness of Jeff Buckley, the trilling howl of Devendra Banhart, with found-sound droning instrumentals reminiscent of Pelt, Joshua Burkett or Six Organs of Admittance. Some might find the anonymity of the artist frustrating, but this release is a prayerful exercise in gentle, low-tech bedroom-folk with just enough of a touch of weird to make it interesting.
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