Status - 05/07/08

Another big batch of packages went out today.

Climax Denial and Hydra discs should be available from RRR, soon...

Thanks to everyone who has already been in touch regarding the new Slogun CD. They already arrived in Brooklyn, so I should be shipping my orders, as planned, at the start of next week.

Office ambiance:
- Sleep Museum "TBA" (EP#3) pre-release disc
- Sutcliffe Jugend "The Fall Of Nature" CD
- Strict "Kiss" LP

Wholesale notice: B!090 Slogun "The Glory Of Murder" CD

Now that I am completely caught up with the recent Hydra release, a wholesale notice e-mail was just sent out for the new Slogun CD, which will be shipping next week. If you are a distributor, a mail-order shop, or a store, and you did not receive this wholesale notice, please feel free to send me an e-mail to request it.

Mail-Order Status

I just dropped off a huge batch of packages at the Post Office. All paid orders - and eBay auctions - are now caught up...

Hydra and Climax Denial discs should soon be available via Apop, Second Layer, and Freak Animal, along with Revolver/Midheaven and Hanson.

Status - 05/05/08

- B!90 Slogun "The Glory Of Murder" - the CDs have been shipped and I should have copies shortly

- B!100 BLOODYMINDED "Within The Walls" - this is still being recorded and we are really trying to fight our deadline, as best as we can...

- B!108 Sigillum S "Terror Auto-Obstetrics" - the test CD arrived on Saturday, so I will give it a few spins to make sure that it is A-OK before approving production

- B!114 The Fortieth Day "IV" - the test CD has been shipped to me. After listening to Isidro's CD transfer a few times, I have to say that this is possibly my favorite of our recordings

Also, I hope to have the rest of the paid orders for the Hydra "Power" CD in the mail today, if possible, otherwise tomorrow, for sure.

Psychedelic Marathon

Another difficult night of choices, last night... After an enjoyable evening at "Applebees" --- AKA Druids of Huge BBQ zone --- including a weird jam from 1/2 of Tyler John Lyer (I think) on guitar and Sam Boner on keyboard, followed by a hits-the-spot set from Clevelander Phil Grimaldi (AKA Percolator)... and an awkward joke telling session in the kitchen... I had to miss the related show at Hotti Biscotti --- and, with great regret, Indian Jewelry at the Hideout... sorry Brandon!!! The result was a trip to the Abbey Pub for a super-tight set from Plastic Crimewave Sound, a totally rousing performance by Velcro Lewis and his 100 Proof Band, which included a pulled-pork sandwich solo... technically not a solo, though, as Velcro shared the sandwich... and then... what might have actually totaled-up to a two-hour (!) mind-blower by Dead Meadow. "Old Growth" has been playing pretty non-stop, here, for the past few months, and it was really great to hear songs from that album played live --- let alone the other well-chosen, crowd-pleasing older tracks. This had to have been the 6th or the 7th (or more???) time that I have seen them and they never fail to disappoint me.

Rare Italian (and other) Friends on eBay

A few interesting things on eBay - not from me...

Mauthausen Orchestra "Kiss The Carpet" 10-inch
Ain Soph/Sigillum S "Simulacra" cassette
Sigillum S "Boudoir Philosophy LP
Sigillum S "Klimax Axis" LP
Deathpile/Discordance "120 Days Of Sodom" LP

New show threads

Animal Law (May 16+17)

BLOODYMINDED (June 6)

The Fortieth Day (June 7)

Current Reading

"Re-make/Re-model: Becoming Roxy Music" by Michael Bracewell

Kind of a breath of fresh air, right off the bat, after the Paul Morley Joy Division book, which got pretty tedious...but which at least had one tangential Brady/Hindley reference.

Looptopia = Looptastic!

About a month ago, I helped my Animal Law band mate, Dylan Posa, pull together some of the performers for an in-store show at the downtown Reckless Records store, as part of the City of Chicago's dusk-till-dawn Looptopia festival. I thought that since I had so many shows scheduled around this time that I should sit it out. Things did not look at all promising while I was on the "L" heading towards downtown, as the thunderstorms from earlier in the day returned as another massive downpour. The weather cleared up quickly, however, and as The Green Pasture Happiness (Aaron Zarzutzki, Dan Fandino, Brian Labycz) began to blast out of the ample PA that was facing out onto Madison Street, I began to get a bit of volume envy. Safe to say, most of the people walking around downtown had never heard anything as harsh as that, before. Augment was up next, and hearing Jeff Halls' deep Moog tones booming out onto the street and echoing off of the buildings across from Reckless made things even worse for me. While TGPH definitely freaked out many passersby with their harsh tones, Jeff's dark and heavy analog synth tones actually started to build a crowd of curious onlookers, who watched him play that sci-fi looking beast through the window. Vertonen was up next and Blake brought back the harsh fury. Happy Looptopia participants started scattering more, and the looks on some people's faces were priceless. Horror and pain. It was pretty amazing to take it all in. Bruce Lamont was up next, and with only minimal arm twisting, from him, Jeff, and Blake, it was decided that I would add some microphone feedback towards the end of his set. Now of course, a guy playing a saxophone downtown is not such an unusual site, so a bigger crowd started to build up to see what Bruce was up to. As his set got weirder and heavier, with vocal loops and electric guitar, some audience members got a bit uncomfortable. When Bruce gave me the signal, I grabbed a microphone, turned up my channel, and headed out the door to work with the two hefty speakers. As my back was to the crowd at that point, I did not see what was going on, but safe to say, a lot of people scattered to the wind. If the ringing in my ears this morning is any indication, I can certainly see why. Probably more people saw/heard these sets then at almost any typical "noise" show in Chicago. That was that. Or not. After it was determined that the scheduled DJ never showed up, Bruce and Jeff set their gear back up and did a bonus set of sax, looped (and increasingly aggressive) vocals, and Moog --- to an even bigger crowd! Their sounds really blended well, and I for one hope that they play together again. Thanks to Bruce, for indulging me. Thanks to Dylan, for his willingness to set something like this up at Reckless and for bringing in such a killer PA!

BLOODYMINDED Boston Photographs

There is now a set of photographs on my Flickr page that document the BLOODYMINDED performance at the Northeast Regional Noise and Power-Electronics Festival held at Jacques Underground in Boston. Thanks to Michelle and to Egan!

The Wierd is out of the bag

And I hope that my band mates in Animal Law are not going to put a contract out on me...

WIERD COMPILATION VOL. II :
ANALOGUE ELECTRONIC MUSIC 2008
4LP + 32 PG BOOK

2008 (VR004)

$40

Wierd Records is proud to present the Wierd Compilation Volume II : Analogue Electronic Music 2008, an international collection of 39 trax by 30 bands producing contemporary music with analogue synthesizers, sequencers, and drum machines. This release is made up of four vinyl LPs packaged in a deluxe gatefold sleeve and accompanied by a 32 page 12" x 12" book containing lyrics, band bios, and over 300 photos, many taken from live performances at the weekly Wierd label party, which has been active in New York City since 2003. Also included in the booklet is a statement of purpose for this vast project entitled '2008 : The Analogue Synthesizer as a Folk Instrument of Humanist Resistance' that is as ambitious conceptually as it is musically. This is a hand-numbered edition of 1000 copies.

Over the past several years, electronic musicians have slowly removed themselves from the visceral aspect of musical expression as they have more completely embraced the computer as the generator of contemporary sounds. It is in this climate that the Wierd Compilation Volume II proposes that analogue electronic music no longer represents a post-apocalyptic vision of an uncertain 'post-human' future as it once did at the inception of New Wave in the late 1970's. Today, the situation is precisely the opposite. In the world of 'click and drag' virtual software synths, the analogue instrument represents a new form of resistance by preserving and affirming the human presence of the artist through his direct interaction with the machines and the electricity that runs through them. In doing so, the supposedly outdated instrument is reborn as a folk instrument not unlike the acoustic guitar, violin, or hand drum.

Inspired by the seminal compilations of early industrial music such as Xtract Records' 'The Elephant Table Album' and 'Three Minute Symphony', Third Mind Records' 'Life at the Top', and the 'Insane Music' cassette series, the Wierd Compilation Volume II brings together independent artists from the new minimal electronic music scene emerging in New York, Miami, and all throughout continental Europe with the the firmly established Noise scene in the US. In the same spirit that these early genre-traversing compilations brought together both pop and experimental artists who were united by their resistance to the superficial excesses of commercial New Wave, the artists on this release are united by their DIY attitude and their resistance to the virtual excesses of modern laptop pop. All have found analogue synthesizers to be the ideal instrument for producing raw, emotive music in a world where the human touch and presence is quickly getting clicked and dragged into oblivion.

Pre-order a copy today!

http://wierdrecords.com/

http://www.myspace.com/wierdrecords

Track Listing:

SIDE 1
1. Xeno and Oaklander - 'A Beginning'
2. Martial Canterel - 'Windscreen' [CLIP]
3. Envenomist - 'A Vague Disquiet'
4. Staccato du Mal - 'Su Ultimo Secreto' [CLIP]
5. Demons - 'Sick by Water'

SIDE 2
1. Spine Scavenger - 'Weighted Ghost 2'
2. Epee du Bois - 'Misery' [CLIP]
3. Xeno and Oaklander - 'Blue Flower'
4. Angel of Decay -
'Malignant Tumor of the Heart' [CLIP]
5. Flesh Graey Display -
'A Smoke Filled Room' [CLIP]

SIDE 3
1. Wave Tank - 'For Whom the Bell Tolls'
2. Hive Mind - 'Omission' [CLIP]
3. Human Puppets -
'Faces(Behind Walls and Closed Doors)' [CLIP]
4. Waves - ':59'
5. A Squared - 'Soulfood'

SIDE 4
1. Carlos Giffoni - 'There are Other Gates' [CLIP]
2. Xeno and Oaklander - 'Celeste' [CLIP]
3. Pax Titania - 'Cycles:13'
4. Audiodakt - 'Wahrheit'

SIDE 5
1. The Siamese Pearl - 'Destroying the Prefrontal Cortex' [CLIP]
2. Vendome - 'Lightwave Emissions' [CLIP]
3. Waves - ':10'
4. Sleep Museum - 'Nepal(Departure)' [CLIP]
5. Charlie Draheim - 'Guts on the Dancefloor'
6. Private Entertainment - 'Serenade(For a Changed Heart)'

SIDE 6
1. Martial Canterel - 'Pathway Splits Apart'
2. A Vague Disquiet - 'In Fives: Failure Edit' [CLIP]
3. Angel of Decay - 'Cold White Beds'
4. Three to Forgotten' - 'Frostbite' [CLIP]
5. Tobias Bernstrup - 'Enemies of the Earth'

SIDE 7
1. Sleep Museum - 'We Who Are'
2. Opus Finis - 'Perplexed Pathos'
3. The Siamese Pearl - 'The Rape of Persephone'
4. Led er Est -
'Woman in a Cafe/Communication' [CLIP]
5. Hive Mind - 'Templar'

SIDE 8
1. Cadaver in Drag - 'Hair, Skin, and Teeth'
2. Epee du Bois - 'Jurieux in the Garden'
3. Ronin - 'For a Dead Lady’
4. Zug Im Veins - 'Je Suis un Autre' [CLIP]

Locrian in the Wire

Thanks to Terence for forwarding this review from the new Wire magazine:

LOCRIAN "Plague Journal/Apocryphal Cities, Portents Fallen" BLOODLUST! 7"

Debut vinyl by a Chicago duo who spoon through the night mounted upon a guitar or a synth. It's a noisy piece of work, but the sonic textures are closer to rock (maybe born amidst the debris of a party Killing Joke had just left). The first side is a ride through a wind tunnel, the flip is like a more gracefully arcing dive into a pile of inflatable balloons shaped just like Fripp & Eno on the cover of "No Pussyfooting". But they don't pop when you hit them, they just blast you back into space with a bruise to show for your troubles. Go figure.

Office Ambience

Today's repeat player:
Tindersticks "The Hungry Saw"

Recent repeaters:
Spine Scavenger "Shackles Of Man-Measured Time" LP (Troniks)
Rape-X "Sex Tape" 12-inch (Land o’Smiles)
Rape-X "Human Shit" CD-R (self-released)
Al-Thawra/Winters In Osaka "Wasteland" CD (Najdiyya Records)
Peaking Lights "Clearvoiant" cassette (Night People)