IKEDA, RYOJI Time and Space (Staalplaat) 2x3"cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
When he released +/-, he totally broke new ground for minimalist digital music. He was then strangely criticised for the accessiblity of his next recording, 0 Degrees C. Time and Space finds a middleground. He is able to create a deep and complex field of sound with the very simple elements of tones and clicks.

IKEDA, RYOJI / CARSTEN NICOLAI Cyclo (Touch) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"Cyclo" is the inevitable collaboration between glitch maniplulators Ryoji Ikeda and Carsten Nicolai, who quite obviously state that "the error itself becomes the topic for this release." This album sounds exactly as anyone familiar with both Ikeda and Nicolai would imagine... with Ikeda's patented sinewave aggression molded into Nicolai's slow algorithmic modulations of techno patterns.
As with the packaging of the "20' to 2000" series on Raster with the then little seen clam shell cases, Raster has found a nifty new prefabricated case that houses the CD tightly inside until the adjoining plastic lever is pulled down, pushing the disc out of its case (like a manual toaster. There's probably a name for it... but we'll call it the Prest-O-Matic for now
RealAudio clip: "C1"
RealAudio clip: "C8"

IKONIKA Contact, Love, Want, Have (Hyperdub) cd 17.98
We were pretty into the Ikonika tracks we'd heard, especially on that kick ass Hyperdub comp. And we were pretty thrilled to discover that Ikonika was in fact a woman, a rarity in the dubstep boy's club for sure, and while many of us lean toward the harder and heavier, darker and deeper, in dance music, there are definitely some exceptions, the party music of Zomby being one, and Ikonika being another, her music is definitely dubstep, but it's weirdly retro, definitely reminding us of 8-bit video game music, and at the same time sort of futuristic, but that cheesy sci-fi future imagined by any thousands of late night straight to video movies. Apparently she used to be a drummer in a post hardcore band too, not sure that's relevant, but it's definitely cool!
A dizzying hybrid of spaced out dubbed out minimal electronica and old school synth pop, a little hip hop too, synths all over the place, sometimes glimmery and shimmery, other times ominous and foreboding and a bit Carpenter-ish, creating a weirdly lush backdrop for Ikonika's retro futurist beats, from skeletal skitter, to groovy stutter, to total eighties new wave MTV, to fuzzy funky groove, to pulsing house-y thump, the beats and synths constantly tangling, often locking into cool synchronous rhythm, but just as often colliding wildly in total chaotic video game dance floor mayhem. All the tracks here rule, our favorites are the ones that sound either like Commodore 64 jams, music from some bootleg Japanese Dance Dance Revolution knockoff, or the credits from some ridiculous eighties teen horror film, which thankfully is most of 'em.
MPEG Stream: "Ikonklast (Insert Coin)"
MPEG Stream: "Idiot"
MPEG Stream: "R.E.S.O.L."
MPEG Stream: "They Are Losing The War"

IKONIKA Please/Simulacrum (Hyperdub) 12" 11.98

IL BALLETTO DI BRONZO Ys (Polydor) cd 10.98
Got some more of this Italian prog classic in, much cheaper than before. Here's some of what we said about this a long time ago when we first listed it...
Every now and then we like to spring some crazy '70s Italian prog on y'all just to see who can take it. We're not just talking Goblin (though we love Goblin), or any of the more "mainstream" Italian prog acts of the period (PFM, Le Orme, Banco), who were cool but didn't go far beyond the Yes/Genesis/King Crimson template. We're talking weirder stuff like Osanna, Museo Rosenbach, New Trolls, Osage Tribe, I Teoremi, and Area.
Sure, Il Balletto Di Bronzo's nutzoid sci-fi keyboard attack will bring to mind ELP, but you'll also think of Magma (and their descendants Shub-Niggurath and Koenjihyakkei as well). Complex, powerful, heavy, precise yet darkly psychedelic, Ys (from 1972, the band's second album) is one of those timeless pieces of rock n' roll art that's definitely very '70s yet not entirely dated: you could imagine a Laddio Bollocko or Tarantula Hawk kicking out these jams, that is, except for the occasional operatic vocal chorus. This album's five long songs (plus a bonus track), with their acid guitar action, haunting female vocals, droning keyboards, martial drumming, baroque/classical motifs, and weird changes, are just about as good as over-the-top Italian prog can get, and that's pretty damn good. That is, if you are willing to get into it like we are. A top ten prog album (if Aquarius had a prog top ten, and please don't ask us for one, we'll be arguing for weeks).
MPEG Stream: "Introduzione"
MPEG Stream: "Primo Incontro"
MPEG Stream: "Epilogo"

IL ROVESCIO DELLA MEDAGLIA Contaminazione (Si-Wan Records) cd 19.98

ILAIYARAAJA Solla Solla Volume 1: Maestro Ilaiyaraaja And The Electronic Pop Sound Of Kollywood 1977-1983 (Finders Keepers) lp 24.00
Yay!! Now in stock, in quantity, on nice fancy import vinyl, in two parts. And each of the lps contains a bonus track not found on the compact disc version! Here's what we said about the cd:
If any album on this week's list is gonna put a smile on your face and spring in your step, this is the one! First off, we love Bollywood stuff to begin with, and then that this was curated by the Finders Keepers / B-Music folks, you know it's gonna be good... And indeed the stuff they've dug up for this compilation is so fantastic, fun, energetic, absurd, over the top, and catchy, yeah it's Bollywood at its best. Well, except that actually to be precise it's KOLLYWOOD not Bollywood, 'cause this is is all music from films produced by the Tamil-language film industry, based not in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) but in the South Indian city of Chenai (formerly Madras), in a neighborhood called Kodambakkam, thus "Kollywood" (and remember, there's also Pakistan's Lollywood too, based in Lahore, and Nollywood in Nigeria...).
In any case, there's 16 tracks here [18 on the vinyl, spread over the 2 lps], each more groovy and insane than the last. Furthermore, they're all the work of composer Ilaiyaraaja (meaning, Prince), aka The Maestro, a very creative and hard working fellow indeed, responsible for the scores to over 900 films in his long career!!! Thanks to Finder Keepers, who've selected these gems, sourced from rare 45 rpm singles and such, we're now big fans. Reminds us A LOT of one of our very favorite Bollywood and/or Kollywood collections ever, an all time AQ fave disc in any genre in fact: the long out of print Vijaya Anand "Dance Raja Dance" cd on Luaka Bop from years ago, another amazing batch of songs from South Indian musical cinema.
Solla Solla, like Dance Raja Dance, Dance, is simply irresistible. A lively, genre defying mash up of Eastern and Western, kitschy pop and chaotic exotica, psychedelic sometimes intentionally, sometimes otherwise, full of sudden surprises and sweeping melodies, crazy rhythms, wild vocal outbursts, funky fat synths, big bands doing disco beats... Wow!!
These songs, presumably for whirling, ADD action sequences / dance numbers, often feature quasi-orgasmic murmurs and squeals from the female lead vocalists, giggles and screams as well. Along with plenty of lovely singing, too, of course. And from the men, lots of "Huuh!!" and "Hey!!". Quite bombastic, and ecstatic, and definitely dance-floor DJ fodder for when you really want the party to get goin'. Absolutely delightful!!!
Again, all music composed, produced, and arranged by Ilaiyaraaja. Various veteran "playback singers" like S.P. Balasubrahmanyam and T.M. Soundararajan appear on here. The liner notes by Doug Shipton go into depth about Ilaiyaraaja's career, and plenty of photos/graphics are provided.
MPEG Stream: "Thanimayil (Featuring Vani Jairam & Chorus)"
MPEG Stream: "Solla Solla (Featuring S.P. Balasubrahmanyam)"
MPEG Stream: "Sorgam Madhuvile (Featuring S.P. Balasubrahmanyam & Chorus)"

ILAIYARAAJA Solla Solla Volume 2: Maestro Ilaiyaraaja And The Electronic Pop Sound Of Kollywood 1977-1983 (Finders Keepers) lp 24.00
Yay!! Now in stock, in quantity, on nice fancy import vinyl, in two parts. And each of the lps contains a bonus track not found on the compact disc version! Here's what we said about the cd:
If any album on this week's list is gonna put a smile on your face and spring in your step, this is the one! First off, we love Bollywood stuff to begin with, and then that this was curated by the Finders Keepers / B-Music folks, you know it's gonna be good... And indeed the stuff they've dug up for this compilation is so fantastic, fun, energetic, absurd, over the top, and catchy, yeah it's Bollywood at its best. Well, except that actually to be precise it's KOLLYWOOD not Bollywood, 'cause this is is all music from films produced by the Tamil-language film industry, based not in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) but in the South Indian city of Chenai (formerly Madras), in a neighborhood called Kodambakkam, thus "Kollywood" (and remember, there's also Pakistan's Lollywood too, based in Lahore, and Nollywood in Nigeria...).
In any case, there's 16 tracks here [18 on the vinyl, spread over the 2 lps], each more groovy and insane than the last. Furthermore, they're all the work of composer Ilaiyaraaja (meaning, Prince), aka The Maestro, a very creative and hard working fellow indeed, responsible for the scores to over 900 films in his long career!!! Thanks to Finder Keepers, who've selected these gems, sourced from rare 45 rpm singles and such, we're now big fans. Reminds us A LOT of one of our very favorite Bollywood and/or Kollywood collections ever, an all time AQ fave disc in any genre in fact: the long out of print Vijaya Anand "Dance Raja Dance" cd on Luaka Bop from years ago, another amazing batch of songs from South Indian musical cinema.
Solla Solla, like Dance Raja Dance, Dance, is simply irresistible. A lively, genre defying mash up of Eastern and Western, kitschy pop and chaotic exotica, psychedelic sometimes intentionally, sometimes otherwise, full of sudden surprises and sweeping melodies, crazy rhythms, wild vocal outbursts, funky fat synths, big bands doing disco beats... Wow!!
These songs, presumably for whirling, ADD action sequences / dance numbers, often feature quasi-orgasmic murmurs and squeals from the female lead vocalists, giggles and screams as well. Along with plenty of lovely singing, too, of course. And from the men, lots of "Huuh!!" and "Hey!!". Quite bombastic, and ecstatic, and definitely dance-floor DJ fodder for when you really want the party to get goin'. Absolutely delightful!!!
Again, all music composed, produced, and arranged by Ilaiyaraaja. Various veteran "playback singers" like S.P. Balasubrahmanyam and T.M. Soundararajan appear on here. The liner notes by Doug Shipton go into depth about Ilaiyaraaja's career, and plenty of photos/graphics are provided.
MPEG Stream: "Kholapurase Kudasathrivasi (Featuring S.P. Sailaja & Chorus)"

ILAIYARAAJA Solla Solla: Maestro Ilaiyaraaja And The Electronic Pop Sound Of Kollywood 1977-1983 (Finders Keepers) cd 15.98
If any album on this week's list is gonna put a smile on your face and spring in your step, this is the one! First off, we love Bollywood stuff to begin with, and then that this was curated by the Finders Keepers / B-Music folks, you know it's gonna be good... And indeed the stuff they've dug up for this compilation is so fantastic, fun, energetic, absurd, over the top, and catchy, yeah it's Bollywood at its best. Well, except that actually to be precise it's KOLLYWOOD not Bollywood, 'cause this is is all music from films produced by the Tamil-language film industry, based not in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) but in the South Indian city of Chenai (formerly Madras), in a neighborhood called Kodambakkam, thus "Kollywood" (and remember, there's also Pakistan's Lollywood too, based in Lahore, and Nollywood in Nigeria...).
In any case, there's 16 tracks here, each more groovy and insane than the last. Furthermore, they're all the work of composer Ilaiyaraaja (meaning, Prince), aka The Maestro, a very creative and hard working fellow indeed, responsible for the scores to over 900 films in his long career!!! Thanks to Finder Keepers, who've selected these gems, sourced from rare 45 rpm singles and such, we're now big fans. Reminds us A LOT of one of our very favorite Bollywood and/or Kollywood collections ever, an all time AQ fave disc in any genre in fact: the long out of print Vijaya Anand "Dance Raja Dance" cd on Luaka Bop from years ago, another amazing batch of songs from South Indian musical cinema.
Solla Solla, like Dance Raja Dance, Dance, is simply irresistible. A lively, genre defying mash up of Eastern and Western, kitschy pop and chaotic exotica, psychedelic sometimes intentionally, sometimes otherwise, full of sudden surprises and sweeping melodies, crazy rhythms, wild vocal outbursts, funky fat synths, big bands doing disco beats... Wow!!
These songs, presumably for whirling, ADD action sequences / dance numbers, often feature quasi-orgasmic murmurs and squeals from the female lead vocalists, giggles and screams as well. Along with plenty of lovely singing, too, of course. And from the men, lots of "Huuh!!" and "Hey!!". Quite bombastic, and ecstatic, and definitely dance-floor DJ fodder for when you really want the party to get goin'. Absolutely delightful!!!
Again, all music composed, produced, and arranged by Ilaiyaraaja. Various veteran "playback singers" like S.P. Balasubrahmanyam and T.M. Soundararajan appear on here. The liner notes by Doug Shipton go into depth about Ilaiyaraaja's career, and plenty of photos/graphics are provided.
FYI, we also have (or can get) this on import vinyl, in two volumes, $24.00 each. Vol.1 contains a bonus track.
MPEG Stream: "Kholapurase Kudasathrivasi (Featuring S.P. Sailaja & Chorus)"
MPEG Stream: "Thanimayil (Featuring Vani Jairam & Chorus)"
MPEG Stream: "Solla Solla (Featuring S.P. Balasubrahmanyam)"
MPEG Stream: "Sorgam Madhuvile (Featuring S.P. Balasubrahmanyam & Chorus)"

ILDJARN Forest Poetry (Northern Heritage) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

ILDJARN Ildjarn is Dead (Northern Heritage) 2cd 25.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ildjarn is a black metal legend. A recently released tribute featured a who's who of the black metal elite paying homage: Leviathan, Xasthur, Forgotten Tomb, Nachtmystium, Urfaust, Azaghal, Grimfaug and more. And rightfully so. Who is more grim, more cult, more legendary than Ildjarn? Having performed as a member of Thou Shalt Suffer and Sort Vokter it wasn't until Ildjarn struck out on his own that he truly discovered his muse, which led him to produce a truly infamous body of work, from super lo-fi black metal buzz to ambient synthesizer suites. This double disc collection compiles the first recorded Ildjarn material from 1992, the mega rare 1993 demo, and the Minnesjord - The Dark Soil demo as well as a bunch of unreleased stuff as well.
The sound of Ildjarn is ultra, ultra, ULTRA lo-fi black metal buzz, with blown out guitars, uncertain drumming, howled demon vocals, with that totally raw practice space recording feel. The really cool thing about Ildjarn Is Dead, is the multiple versions / parts of each song, sometimes as many as 7 or 8 versions, each with varying amounts of fidelity, each it's own sort of lo-fi recording, some muddy and murky, some brittle and high end, resulting in a constantly fluctuating recording quality that is much an instrument as the drums or the guitar. This is the blackest of metal, think Darkthrone, Mayhem, but dig even deeper, closer to the pits of hell, deeper into the black of night, grim and raw and cult as fuck.
There are some brief glimpses of some of the more avant Ildjarn to come later, with some interludes of gristly Earth-like distorted guitar drones complete with record crackle and a strange almost classical / New Age sounding coda, with sweeping synths, and haunting disembodied vocals.
Disc two includes more than 20 minutes of unfinished material 1993-1994, which is completely amazing, some parts are just bass and drums, a skeletal outline of a never realized track, some are fully realized blasts of buzz and hiss, some have strange dropouts and tape warble, giving the whole thing an inadvertently avant sheen, like some strange unearthed decaying tapes a la Basinski (which I guess is sort of what they actually are).
Amazingly packaged and gorgeously printed. An oversized fold out sleeve, printed in black, grey and silver, with a huge insert that features a massive sixteen thousand-word last statement written by Ildjarn, also included are lyrics to all the tracks and the cd sleeves within include the original artwork and more text. Absolutely beautiful. It's released by Northern Heritage, the label that put out the brilliant Crushing The Holy Trinity compilation a while back, packaged in a similarly oversized sleeve, although the design on the Ildjarn is a lot more subtle and visually stunning.
And if you're still not sure if this is essential, how about a few words of warning from Ildjarn himself?
"Before purchasing this product you should take great care in observing the following requirements in relation to it:
After long-term use of this product you may experience increased hatred, thus a lust to kill partcipants of your own breed subsequent to and while operating this product may consequently occur. The copyright owner of this audio product and all its accompanying propaganda declares that it is in compliance with the essential requirements of antilife, and hereby assumes all liability for any injury or death caused by the use of this product. If inexperienced with the kind of hateful and suicidal contents distributed through this product, you should seek the advice of experienced misanthropists and death-worshipers before operation, to assure proper use and to prevent the interference of alien thoughts originating from philanthropists, which will most likely harm the process that may be the result of using this specific product. This product is furthermore solely intended for use in a solitary confinement, and should not be subjected to any other use. Following these rules, this recording and the accompanying words will provide a lifetime of pure frustration, caused by the newly acquired knowledge of the insufficiencies and absurdities of earthly life. If failing in the harsh process of submitting to these rules subsequent to your purchase, users are strongly urged to give away this product to a being willing to obey to the unwritten laws conceived by the sources of death's path, and ultimately the annihilation of the self. Again, be sure to consider all the above requirements prior to your purchase."
MPEG Stream: "Unknown Truths II (2nd Session)"
MPEG Stream: "Unknown Truths III (2nd Session)"
MPEG Stream: "Seven Harmonies Of Unknown Truths XV (Original)"

ILDJARN Nocturnal Visions (Northern Heritage) cd ep 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

ILILONGA, RIKKI & MUSI-O-TUNYA Dark Sunrise (Now-Again) 2cd 24.00
If you have never heard of Rikki Ililonga or his influential band, Musi-O-Tunya, you are not alone. As it goes in the rediscovery of important music especially outside North America, the true innovators of a sound and a scene are often the last to be rediscovered, and Rikki Ililonga is a case in point. Followers of the aQ list have no doubt been aware of the recent spate of "ZamRock" reissues, most lately, from Witch, and Tirogo, and farther back, gems from Ngozi Family, Chrissy Zebby Tembo, The Peace, and Amanaz, that really have shown the influence of Jimi Hendrix and heavy psych on this part of Southern Africa. Well, Rikki Ililonga through his band Musi-O-Tunya and subsequent solo records were there from the beginning, releasing the very first pop and rock records after Zambia gained its independence, thus pioneering the birth of "ZamRock".
The Now-Again label has done an incredible job of compiling two discs of recordings from the years 1973 through 1976, one disc devoted to Musi-O-Tunya, and the second disc to Ililonga's solo recordings. The first disc traces the band's roots from its Afro-beat beginnings with bass and horn funk rhythms to more lo-fi fuzzy garage rock singles band then to a heavier psych powerhouse singing full on in English. The centerpiece single being the title track, "Dark Sunrise", should get any heavy seventies I-rock head salivating. The second disc compiling Ililonga's first two solo records is a more varied affair as he goes through many seventies styles and tropes. There's still plenty of heavy psych with searing guitar leads, but there's also some Thin Lizzyish power rock, baroque rock balladry, heavy sexy blues and even some rhythmic Afro-pop.
The cds are housed in a 32 page full color hardback book compiling photos and interviews, liner notes and ephemera, and the triple lp vinyl version is even fancier, a massive boxset containing 12 page booklet, and individual, exact reproductions of Ililonga's original 3 albums (thus tracklist of the vinyl format is somewhat different than the way the cds are organized, as described above). Whooo yeah!
MPEG Stream: MUSI-O-TUNYA "Tsegulani"
MPEG Stream: MUSI-O-TUNYA "Dark Sunrise"
MPEG Stream: MUSI-O-TUNYA "Smoke"
MPEG Stream: RIKKI ILILONGA "Sansa Kuwa"
MPEG Stream: RIKKI ILILONGA "Musamuseka"
MPEG Stream: RIKKI ILILONGA "Take It Light"

ILILONGA, RIKKI & MUSI-O-TUNYA Dark Sunrise (Now-Again) 3lp box 60.00
If you have never heard of Rikki Ililonga or his influential band, Musi-O-Tunya, you are not alone. As it goes in the rediscovery of important music especially outside North America, the true innovators of a sound and a scene are often the last to be rediscovered, and Rikki Ililonga is a case in point. Followers of the aQ list have no doubt been aware of the recent spate of "ZamRock" reissues, most lately, from Witch, and Tirogo, and farther back, gems from Ngozi Family, Chrissy Zebby Tembo, The Peace, and Amanaz, that really have shown the influence of Jimi Hendrix and heavy psych on this part of Southern Africa. Well, Rikki Ililonga through his band Musi-O-Tunya and subsequent solo records were there from the beginning, releasing the very first pop and rock records after Zambia gained its independence, thus pioneering the birth of "ZamRock".
The Now-Again label has done an incredible job of compiling two discs of recordings from the years 1973 through 1976, one disc devoted to Musi-O-Tunya, and the second disc to Ililonga's solo recordings. The first disc traces the band's roots from its Afro-beat beginnings with bass and horn funk rhythms to more lo-fi fuzzy garage rock singles band then to a heavier psych powerhouse singing full on in English. The centerpiece single being the title track, "Dark Sunrise", should get any heavy seventies I-rock head salivating. The second disc compiling Ililonga's first two solo records is a more varied affair as he goes through many seventies styles and tropes. There's still plenty of heavy psych with searing guitar leads, but there's also some Thin Lizzyish power rock, baroque rock balladry, heavy sexy blues and even some rhythmic Afro-pop.
The cds are housed in a 32 page full color hardback book compiling photos and interviews, liner notes and ephemera, and the triple lp vinyl version is even fancier, a massive boxset containing 12 page booklet, and individual, exact reproductions of Ililonga's original 3 albums (thus tracklist of the vinyl format is somewhat different than the way the cds are organized, as described above). Whooo yeah!
MPEG Stream: MUSI-O-TUNYA "Tsegulani"
MPEG Stream: MUSI-O-TUNYA "Dark Sunrise"
MPEG Stream: MUSI-O-TUNYA "Smoke"
MPEG Stream: RIKKI ILILONGA "Sansa Kuwa"
MPEG Stream: RIKKI ILILONGA "Musamuseka"
MPEG Stream: RIKKI ILILONGA "Take It Light"

ILIOS Vento Elektra (Antifrost) cd 16.98
"Last year's Old Testament album by Antifrost founder Ilios terrified me with its sudden bursts of hideous, twisted noise cleaving through passages of near silence. As the first ten minutes of this new piece progressed in minimally hushed fashion, I found myself hiding behind the sofa, waiting with buttocks clenched for the inevitable onslaught. However, the 'electric wind' here is a soft spray of radio static that radiates around either side of the few events that occur over the album's 45 minutes, muted slow motion explosions that melt into rumbling downward glissandi reminiscent of Stockhausen's Hymen. The bulk of the listening time is taken up with the fallout from these foregrounded episodes, an unsettling, disorientating experience." -- Keith Moline / The Wire

ILITCH 10 Suicides (Fractal) 2cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This album number two from Ilitch (a.k.a. Thierry Muller), originally released in 1980 and finally reissued in its entirety with a bonus disc of unreleased/live material. '10 Suicides' is record of dark and claustrophobic, primitive and noisy, electronic soundscapes utilising vocoder guitar, sequencer, synthesizer, bass, saxophone, piano, harmonium, noise, treatments, and vocals. The sound varies greatly (although the sinister vibe is always present): rumbling distorted drones with pitchshifted vocals and high pitched synthesizer melodies, gorgeous soundscapes with sparse minor key piano and distant sine waves, distorted and heavily reverbed rhythms with spacy and whiny vocals, heavily strummed guitar and distorted drum machine rhythms with noodly melodies over dark ominous synthscapes, pounding distorted proto punk with Joe-Meek-'I-Hear-A-New-World' style chipmunk vocals. Think Heldon, or a more evil Eno/Fripp. The bonus disc is 50 minutes of live/unreleased material from '76-'78 and is an improvised wash of bleeping electronica, shimmering analog synths, buzzing pulses and dreamy psychedelic almost-krautrock. And as we pointed out in the review of Ilitch's first record (which we still carry), Ilitch is one of the avant-garde obscurities that appeared on the notorious Nurse With Wound list found on NWW's first album. Recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Peripherikredcommando"
RealAudio clip: "Soupirs"
RealAudio clip: "Symphonynachevee"

ILITCH Hors Temps / Out of Time (Fractal) cd 21.00

ILITCH Lena's Life & Other Stories (Fractal) cd 22.00

MPEG Stream: "Liberalism"
MPEG Stream: "Fee D'Hiver"
MPEG Stream: "Swimming In Blood"
MPEG Stream: "Lena's Life"

ILITCH Periodikmindtrouble (Fractal) 2cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Expanded, remastered reissue of this French guitarist's first album, originally released in 1978. Thierry Muller (for he is Ilitch) makes use of "destructured" guitar, droning organ, harmonium, tapes, synth, etc. to create dark, electronic soundscapes comparable to countrymen Heldon or a scarier Fripp/Eno. Experimental, atmospheric stuff indeed. Primitive, eerie, abstract, sometimes violent. This double disc set includes the previously unreleased third and fourth sides of what was originally intended to be double LP, as well as quite a lot of other bonus material, all of it equally nightmarish and excellent. Trainspotters should note that Ilitch is one of the avant-garde obscurities that appeared on the notorious Nurse With Wound list found on NWW's first album, along with much other seminal krautrock/noise/experimental weirdness, more and more of which is thankfully being reissued every day...

ILITCH Rainy House (Sparkling Spare Wheel) LP + CD 39.00

ILK Canticle (VHF) cd 13.98
Just recently on our New Arrivals list (in our Record of the Week review of the Vertigo Mixed compilation) we mentioned (again) how much we love prog. Combine that with how much we also love the music of UK songwriter and experimentalist Richard Youngs, and you can imagine how excited we are by this brand new Ilk offering. Canticle is the unexpected second album from Richard Youngs' long-dormant "prog" project Ilk, a band (of sorts -- it's just Youngs and collaborator Andrew Paine, though we don't remember if Paine was involved with the first Ilk cd from 1999) that celebrates both the idea of '70s British progressive rock epics (including the pretentiousness of narration and the like) and the related field of pastoral folk-psych. Which isn't too far from what Richard Youngs is often all about anyway. Anyone familiar with his two most recent solo albums, the AQ faves Airs Of The Ear and River Through Howling Sky, will find much that's familiar about Ilk's Canticle. There's gorgeous melodic material on here, Richard's honest English voice accompanied by gentle acoustic guitar for some stuff with a moving, quasi-religious tone... but the intentionally, overtly "prog" aspect is borne out by tracks like "A Guiding Principle", which consists of a scrambled jumble of guitar, drums, and electronics, something like the Dead C playing a free jazz version of Relayer by Yes on 45! These more active, electric "prog" and "rock" elements interact interestingly throughout the album with the folk/drone loveliness we've come to expect from Youngs, for a listen that satisfies both our love of "classic" prog in general and the not so easily catagorized work of fellow prog-lover Richard Youngs in the particular. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Landsong (Walking)"
MPEG Stream: "Honour's Prospect"
MPEG Stream: "The Weight Of Stars"

ILK Zenith (No Fans) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The first release on Richard Youngs' No Fans label since the early '90s is quite a surprise -- it's not experimental noise stuff like much of his work with frequent collaborator Simon Wickham-Smith, this is actually the debut album by Young's one-man progressive rock band Ilk. Yup, '70s style prog rock -- but not really. Young has constructed mock-suites of beautifully intricate rock structures that include classical guitar, flute and sleigh bells. (No mellotron though.) Actually, the "prog" aspect of this seems kinda conceptual. I mean, there IS a Roger Dean-eque painting of a floating island of monoliths (that spell I-L-K) on the cover, and there's some portentous introductory narration by someone (Youngs' dad?). But the music isn't full of weird time changes or bombastic instrumentals to show off his chops -- it's simply beautiful, focusing mainly on Youngs' haunting vocals, and/or (in song "Nocturnal Path Flow" for instance) the mesmerizing sheets of eerie, shimmering sounds from his keyboards. It's elemental in its majesty -- you can understand how the album was inspired by his travels on the coast of Scotland. If you've gotten into Young's much more recent and equally gorgeous (if mellower) collaboration with Kawabata Makoto on vhf, you should definitely check this out! Allan LOVES this album.

ILL LITERATURE #17 magazine 3.95
One of the bigger and better 'underground' metal mags in the US. This issue: cover boys Emperor, plus Iron Maiden, Neurosis, Gehenna, Meshuggah, Enslaved, and many others, including even Helix! Pages and pages of reviews too.

ILL PROFESSOR Miracle Of Luck (Plus Tapes) cassette 5.98

ILL PROFESSOR Miracle Of Luck (Plus Tapes) cassette 5.98

ILLA J Yancey Boys (Delicious Vinyl) cd 15.98
The death of his older brother J Dilla, had a huge impact on Illa J. In fact it was what made him grab a mic and become a hip-hop artist. After J Dilla's sad passing, his little brother dropped out of college and began a mission to continue his brother's musical legacy. While J Dilla was all about production and beats, Illa J was attracted to the microphone and had his heart set on becoming an MC. Smartly he went right to the source and used some of his brother's unused early productions as the musical bed over which he raps and sings. At its best this is some melty smooth and satisfying hip-hop, but there are some serious misfires as well. While we still think Illa J has yet to totally find his voice there is still plenty of promise to be found here.
MPEG Stream: "Timeless"
MPEG Stream: "Showtime"

ILLUMINATI CDEP1 (Planet Sounds) cd 8.98
More fringe electronica from the UK. Seems to be quite a healthy electronic music scene over there. How come we only hear from Scanner and Spooky and Pita and Fennesz ad infinitum when there's so much more to draw from? Guess these guys (like AQ faves Fflint central) aren't quite cool enough for the Wire or Ars Electronica. Hardly matters. This stuff is so good it's only a matter of time before Mego has to actually work to put out good records instead of just recycling the same crap over and over. From sputtering, spasming electronic free for alls to earpiercing and ribcage rattling rumbles and squeals to brutal headphone-shredding digital skree to overloading-sampler-malfunction rhythmic crunch, this stuff is fierce and intense and right on. My favorite track though is the oddball track two, a dreamy wash of moody reverbed guitars and skittering hard-panned squelches and squiggles, sounding a bit like Boards Of Canada on horse tranquilizers. Nice.
RealAudio clip: "Winter.Fire"
RealAudio clip: "Argenteum.Astrum"

ILLUMINATI CDEP2 (Planet Sounds) cd-r 8.98
Installment number two from this mysterious UK electronic outfit, who as we have stated before) is part of the underground electronic scene that no one seems to be taking notice of. EP2 takes up where EP1 left off, pulsing buzzing hiss over squealing instruments and distant melodies, pounding video game big beats over buzzes and bleeps and blips, creepy rumbly ambience, spacey drones and hypnotic pulses, and a super spare 10 minute final track of minimal blips and clicks, pulses and whirrs that are occasionally overtaken by insectoid buzz and gorgeous minor key synth washes.
RealAudio clip: "Midget Germs"
RealAudio clip: "Argenteum Atavism"

ILLUMINATI Ocean Almanac (Lotta Continua) cd 9.98

ILLUSION OF SAFETY Bridges Intact (Waystyx) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Illusion Of Safety records have been slow coming in recent years, but IOS mastermind Dan Burke has been hinting at a whole slew of new material forthcoming. All of which should be very good news for all who have followed his work over the years. Since 1983, Burke has been producing an occasionally volatile, often sublime, and almost always exceptional body of work that prominently figures into the history of industrial culture and the ensuing explorations of noise, dronemuzik, and electro-acoustic collages from the mid-'80s onward. There had long been a sense of violence and transgression in the Illusion Of Safety catalogue, yet the overt displays of psychological horrors that appeared on such albums as Historical have gradually sublimated into the more inquisitive and arguably more compelling albums such as In Opposition To Our Acceleration and here on Bridges Intact.
A room recording of piano, feedback, guitar, and electronics opens the album, as Burke presents a collaborative piece with one of the long-time contributors to Illusion Of Safety, in Thymme Jones (who fronts the idiosyncratic art-rock combo Cheer Accident). At first the piano and the guitar spiral atonal clusters around the droning feedback tones, but after a transition through a series of clattering objects, the piano swarms into a dynamic blur of Terry Riley / Charlemagne Palestine inspired minimalism. Very impressive! Electricified buzzes and tremolo flutterings scatter around another set of bleary guitar drones whose tendrils of shimmered tone and vaporous ephemerality lead to a haunted, levitating quality to the piece, as if everything were hovering around the participants in a seance. This isn't a haunting on the demonic scale, but something more sublime and peculiar. Burke shifts more towards an intense stream of mechanoid pulses, electrical whirls, pierced tones, rarified static, and heavily amplified microsonic vibrations. Here, IOS has more of the research & development experimentation that you would get from the likes of Joe Colley or John Duncan. As Burke ducks and weaves through his tangles of crossed wires, tactile crunches, and short-circuited electronics, the breadth of his ability to produce such an extraordinary variety of electro-acoustic expressionism becomes very evident.
It should also be noted that the Russian label Waystyx has produced some elaborate packaging with two fold-out panels with numerous die-cuts that give the folio the appearance of an old steel truss bridge. Limited and numbered to 324 copies.
MPEG Stream: "Too Late To Exist"
MPEG Stream: "Detailed Plans Abandoned"
MPEG Stream: "Dismal Water"
MPEG Stream: "Forgotten Baggage"

ILLUSION OF SAFETY Fin De Siecle (Korm Plastics) cd 14.98
The vinyl of Fin De Siecle came out in 1995 through the Korm Plastics label, who only pressed up 250 copies as something for the band to take on tour in Europe. In many ways, this was a parallel album to the sublime drone constructions that Illusion Of Safety produced on the unheralded masterpiece Of & The, whose foggy netherworld of found sounds crossed with haunted ambience was prescient of the albums that Mirror, Kevin Drumm, and The Caretaker would produce many years later. Illusion Of Safety had been operational for about a decade when this record originally came out, first building very ominous post-industrial constructions laced with toxic noise and unsettling media samples; but by the early '90s, IOS became far more sophisticated through subtle uses of musique concrete and psychoacoustic strategies. Records like Probe and Cancer are indicative of this approach leading to the more introspective and contemplative albums of the mid '90s, including Fin De Siecle.
The liner notes from revolving door Illusion Of Safety member Kurt Griesch mentions being unhappy with the outcome of the LP, as much of the material needed to be edited and revised to fit on vinyl. In revisiting the material, Illusion Of Safety chose to leave what was found on the LP intact and bracket those tracks with two newer pieces (one about three minutes long, the other over twenty-five) serving as a re-imagined framework. The first cut builds a screeching collage of metal-upon-metal and compacted rumblings ramping quickly to a corroded crescendo that snaps to a loud amplification of a runout groove on a piece of vinyl. This brief interlude of acoustic noises stand in stark contrast to the rest of album, which glides weightlessly in and out of the dreamy glassine drone of pre-waking ambience, stretching out the cybernetic dreamtime heard only in brief sketches on Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2. As an ambient record, Fin De Siecle does have its moments of dislocation and upheaval with a growling snarl of impulsive thrumming at the end of "Part One" and some gritty field recordings of an industrial wasteland devoid of any human emerging in "Part Three." Even on their prettiest and most graceful album, Illusion Of Safety find a way to make their proceedings unsettling.
MPEG Stream: "Part One"
MPEG Stream: "Part Three"
MPEG Stream: "Prologue"

ILLUSION OF SAFETY Historical (Staalplaat) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
While this album came out way back in the early 90's, Illusion Of Safety's "Historical" is a great album to see what a 19 year-old kid from Chicago named Jim O'Rourke did to keep himself busy. At the time of this recording the revolving door membership of Illusion Of Safety also included Dan Burke (the mainstay for IOS) and Thymme Jones (later of You Fantastic, Brise Glace, and a handful of other Chicago no-wave revivalist groups). "Historical" opens and closes with blasts of industrial strength plunderphonics, recontextualizing Public Enemy, Simm City, Slayer, and big band horn blasts into synthetic rhythms. But the reason to get the album is for the 45 minutes or so of dark harsh droning reminiscent of the best work of John Duncan. Go ahead I dare you to buy it to play right after Jim O'Rourke's "Eureka".

ILLUSION OF SAFETY In Opposition To Our Acceleration (Die Stadt) cd 17.98
Back in the early '90s, a 19 year old kid made his first mark upon music as "the guitarist from Illusion Of Safety." That kid then went on to produce a couple of interesting records amongst his huge catalogue of sonic eccentricities, always seeming to be in the right place at the right time. It's unfortunate that Jim O'Rourke (the kid in question) would become the darling of the alt.rock and electronica circuits, while most of his fans would slight Illusion Of Safety as a second rate Industrial act. While the comparison between O'Rourke's pop-dork persona and Illusion Of Safety's explorations into sonic phenomonology is like apples and oranges, the overall quality of this Illusion of Safety album is completely superior to O'Rourke's adequate Mego album and to his dreadful "Insignificant." As this comparison may be falling apart while I write this, I'll end on the note that a bad orange will always suck next to a good apple!
Anyway, Dan Burke founded Illusion of Safety in the mid '80s as a schizophrenic continuation of Industrial Culture as a theatrical means of exposing the cracks within culture and human nature. It is true that a good number of the early Illusion Of Safety albums haven't aged all that well (including a number that O'Rourke worked on!); but Burke and his rotating core of collaborators certainly learned what worked (manipulated field recordings and disturbed ambience) and what didn't (grim media sound bites and hamfisted electro-shock rhythms). "In Opposition To Our Acceleration" finds a matured Illusion Of Safety deftly constructing psycholological tense atmospheres from amplified electrical currents, found sounds, microtonal guitar pluckery, and unnerving drones. The pinnacle of the album occurs during a collage from the chinese water torture of a very slow leak dripping into a bucket, alongside a distant choral chant and some nervous sustained tones. A few of the tracks do vector off into the MAX / MSP territory of timestretching samples and glitch fragmentation, but fits nicely into the textural potency of the album as a whole. Along with "Cancer" and "Probe", "In Opposition To Our Acceleration" is one of the best Illusion Of Safety albums.
RealAudio clip: "Stillpoint"
RealAudio clip: "2.15.96 Live In Evanston, WNUR"
RealAudio clip: "4.26.01 Live In Hamburg"

ILLUSION OF SAFETY In Session (Waystyx) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The first proper record from Illusion Of Safety in well over 5 years emerges from the Russian label Waystyx, meaning that this will not be around for long and will not be easy for us to track down once these are gone. Just a caveat before we launch into the, um, virtues of this exercise in muscular electronics and brainmelting dronescaping. Illusion Of Safety began well over two decades ago, firmly embracing the death factory imagery and psychological tension that came through the work of Throbbing Gristle, John Duncan, and The Hafler Trio. While the grizzly subjects of torture and sexual violence have dissolved over time, Illusion Of Safety's interest in unsettled soundscapes, collages, and electronic walls of noise remain as powerful as ever. Illusion Of Safety has always been a revolving door project centered around Chicago's Dan Burke; and In Session finds Burke alone at the helms of Illusion Of Safety, concocting a dizzying series of arcing electroshock compositions filled with intense dynamics and rapid crescendos of incremental noise quickly nosediving into subharmonic tones and microtonal squiggles, with plenty of slow building elements in between. The piercing drones that dominate the Illusion Of Safety palette are matched with crumbled textures from electronic circuits on the verge of collapse (see Wolf Eyes, Carlos Giffoni) and contact microphone agitation (see Tarab, Eric La Casa, Loren Chasse, etc.). There's one track of grim psychedelic arpeggiations which sounds as if Prurient were attempting a Terry Riley piece, with bad intentions running through the phase shifting loops. Totally fantastic, if not totally disquieting!
MPEG Stream: "Revealing The Process"
MPEG Stream: "Waiting Room"
MPEG Stream: "Fragile"

ILLUSION OF SAFETY Live At No Fun Fest, 2008 (Obsolete Units) cassette 8.98
Dan Burke has presented a considerable number of facades for Illusion Of Safety over the past 25 years, with sublimated horror, brain-melting minimalism, crushed noise, and disjointed rhythms filtering through a post-industrial wasteland of sound. So, it's no surprise that his performance at the 2008 No Fun Fest touched on some of the many landmarks that Illusion Of Safety has carved out in its distinguished history, while making plenty of other detours at the same time. The tape opens with a quintessential Illusion Of Safety collage of scattershot media samples punctured by short extracts of blast beats and frenzied riffage that fragments and distorts into empty passages marked by tactile creaks, wooden sighs, and strange squishing sounds. Dense low-end throbbings and noxious rumbles quickly accelerate through these suspended concrete elements, snapping to a halt with a razor sharp crescendo, offering forth another set of field recordings and electronic squiggling. Burke continues along a similar strategy, revealing a wide array of peculiar sonic juxtapositions for one of his most decentered compositions. Side two moves from a horror soundtrack vernacular of wind-up toy twinklings smeared out of existence through grey flecks of shortwave crackle and plenty of Derbyshire-ish sci-fi gloop. Later on, an ominous drone from a lurking bass tone flashes a radiant glow and overlapping guitar sourced forms - growing rhizomatically in all sorts of complex directions and digitalized abstractions. Perhaps the closest that Burke has taken his work to the surreal horror collage of Nurse With Wound, irr. app. (ext.), and HNAS. Limited to 100 copies.

ILLUSION OF SAFETY More Violence and Geography (Die Stadt) cd 14.98
With nothing to go on but my memory, I remember there being an interview with Illusion of Safety in a 1989 or 1990 Option magazine in which IOS frontman Dan Burke admitted that his fanboy infatuation with Throbbing Gristle (especially seeing them play live in 1981) was the catalyst to begin Illusion of Safety. After a number of cassette only releases, Illusion Of Safety's first LP was "More Violence and Geography" released originally on Burke's Complacency Records in 1988 in conjunction with RRRecords. While I've not heard the album until now, the references to Throbbing Gristle still hold true and may actually serve the band better due to an increasing historical awareness of the continuum of Industrial music. Considering that 'Industrial' music in 1988 meant Ministry, Front 242, and Skinny Puppy, Illusion of Safety's revisitation to TG's snarling noise, wicked humor, and predilection of morbid theme was relatively novel. With smatterings of militant drum machine stomps, dissonant dive-bomb guitar noise, scraping metal, and media cut-ups revealing disturbing narratives about political torture, mass murders, insanity, and other socially deviant themes, Illusion of Safety crafted an unnerving album firmly planted in the traditions of the Industrial pioneers (TG, SPK, Monte Cazzaza, etc.). Jim O'Rourke trainspotters should take heed, although he was a member of IOS, as he wasn't at the time of the recording of "More Violence and Geography," whose line up included Burke, Mark Klein, Mark Sorensen, Mitch Enderle, and Chris Block.
RealAudio clip: "Dead Girl And The Man"
RealAudio clip: "Fade-n-die"

ILLUSION OF SAFETY Odds (self-released) cd-r 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A very rare document indeed, but somehow we managed to get a hold a very limited number of this tour-only cd-r originally released back in 2001. This is a collection of unreleased tracks from the seminal post-industrial and horror drone act Illusion Of Safety. The opening number finds IOS figurehead Dan Burke improvising with the violinist Theresa Marin Nakra, as the melancholic sweeps across the strings gets mangled through Burke's electronic synthesis and shortwave static. It ends up sounding like a much looser version of the Machinefabriek / Jasper TX filmic soundscape sound that we love so much. Elsewhere, Burke revisits a track from one of the early IOS cassettes, stretching out the pastoral if plastic ambience of his synthetic strings into a terrifying blur of unsettled distortion and post-Fennesz pixelated drone. Illusion Of Safety offers similar early examples of digital synthesis, including a soundtrack for an art installation of thickly collaged car horns, looking back to the maddening sound design of traffic jams from Jean-Luc Goddard's "Weekend." Limited to 200 copies of which we've got the final few copies.
MPEG Stream: "Live In Lowell"
MPEG Stream: "Paradise (is) Unlivable"

ILLUSION OF SAFETY Probe (Perdition Plastics) cd 14.98
Arguably the finest Illusion Of Safety record ever made, Probe was the 1992 recording composed by Dan Burke and Jim O'Rourke. The former began Illusion Of Safety a decade earlier with a revolving door personnel policy involving a handful of Chicago malcontents. O'Rourke began working with Burke's project around 1989 or so, when he was still a teenager and studying composition in college. Where many of the Illusion Of Safety albums are full-frontal assaults on the psyche of the listener (especially the groundbreaking album Historical with its raw use of narration from torture documentaries), Probe is a far more subtle and thus effective album marked by the extended use of disturbed silences, predating such sound design techniques that David Lynch mastered in Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway. This use of space is definitely coming from the O'Rourke side of the equation (which according to Burke was 50/50 on Probe), as O'Rourke's early solo album Scend was released at about the same time as Probe with profound similarities. Throughout the subsonic frequencies and unsettled spooky drones, there are numerous punctures of analogue sourced micro-bleeping, errata from shortwave, scrabbling of tactile objects, field recordings of traffic jams, children at play, carnival rides, etc. and jittery digitally sculpted loops. As all of these elements slowly unfurl over several lengthy chapters, Probe truly synthesizes the aesthetics of both Burke and O'Rourke into a cohesive body of work, with Burke's research into the dark and transgressive balanced with O'Rourke's studies into the musique concrete of Luc Ferrari and Michel Chion.
Staalplaat first released Probe in a wooden slipcase in an edition of 500 copies. Those quickly went out of print; but fortunately, Perdition Plastics has just reissued this brilliant album, albeit in more conventional packaging...
MPEG Stream: "Extract 1"
MPEG Stream: "Extract 2"
MPEG Stream: "Extract 3"

ILLUSION OF SAFETY Sedation & Quell (C.I.P.) 10" 11.98
Just a few weeks ago, we openly wondered where Illusion Of Safety had been for the past few years. Well, it turns out that Dan Burke (the principal director of the ensemble at the moment) has entered a renewed period of activity now that IoS is 25 years old. This milestone has not softened the psychologically dark currents of one of America's finest producers of post-industrial abstraction and silence-plus-noise sound construction. Sedation & Quell is the first of many releases slated for 2008, being a vinyl-only release pressed on translucent gold vinyl.
Sedation bristles with low end frequencies capable of delivering catatonic states. Vinyl crackling and warm swathes of radio hiss billow out of the deep deep deep dronings, and huge oceanic swells of growling frequencies offer a lethargic rhythm to this dark ambient opus. On Quell, a brusque crunch of electronic malfunction is followed by a steady hypnosis of rumbling drones which in turn are engulfed by a wash of hiss and white noise. While it's not the aggressiveness of Prurient or Merzbow that Illusion Of Safety is going for, there is a malevolent strain to this production, as if Machinefabriek were to gingerly steer towards power electronics ever so slightly. Very well done!

ILLUSION OF SAFETY The Need To Now (Experimedia) cd-r 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
2008 marks the 25th year for Illusion Of Safety. Once an ensemble of misanthropic electron engineers, Illusion Of Safety has effectively reduced itself down to a single member in Dan Burke who has arrived at the silver anniversary with some of his best work produced throughout the sprawling Illusion Of Safety catalogue. There was the Quell & Sedition 10", the In Session cd, and now this small edition cd-r, all of which are exemplary versions of the Illusion Of Safety signature sound for psychologically challenging compositions. The Need To Now is more of a blackened cosmic headspace music, with all of the psychedelic flourishes that burst out of Klaus Schulze or Expo '70 turned towards something much much darker and much more brooding. There is oblivion in front of you when you are floating alone in outer space, and Burke presents that sublime fiction replete with wonder and horror. For all of the bleak subtext of the album, Burke keeps things very subtle preferring to focus on the minimalist dronesmear ruptured with occasional detours. The shadow and vacuum of Illusion Of Safety's aerosolized drone always has something ominous just outside of earshot, something lurking the corners of those corroded metal tones and already eerie passages of sci-fi incidental music slowed way the hell down. Illusion Of Safety breaks up the long-form drones with tense glitch workouts that could be an extract from a CoH production, with all sorts of misfired squiggles, poorly grounded bursts of electricity, and erratic charged samples; but unsettled ambience overcomes each of these crescendo like a creeping suffocating fog of toxic gas. It's an austere and powerful record, in spite of the many subtle twists and turns. Fucking incredible is what The Need To Now is. Limited to a mere 150 copies.
MPEG Stream: "Temporary Amnesia"
MPEG Stream: "A Purpose"
MPEG Stream: "Remember"

ILLUSION OF SAFETY Time Remaining (Ossonossos) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Illusion Of Safety's Time Remaining was released back in 2003 by the small British imprint Ossonossos. Some five years later, we finally managed to get a hold of some copies; and it remains to be seen, if we'll be able to get more. Now that the scarcity issue has been broached, we must now regale you with the virtues and vices of this record. Illusion Of Safety is the post-industrial project centered around Dan Burke, who has often recruited some fellow Chicagoan misanthropes and avant-garde technophiles to propagate his soundscapes which parallel those of the Hafler Trio, John Duncan, Stilluppsteypa, and Lustmord. There could also be a claim for IOS as a precedent to the fuzzbound digismear of artists like Machinefabriek and Tim Hecker, albeit with Illusion Of Safety producing a much darker, more malevolent body of work.
Time Remaining operates something like a horror soundtrack with a bristling introduction of electo-shock noise, mechanical chugs, and Tesla coil bursts, all tightly wound into a precise collage of bloodcurdling intensity. Illusion Of Safety reprises this electric volatility at the conclusion of the album, that may or may not be an homage to their 1993 album Historical, which essentially used the same strategy. In between these two brackets of pierced sound, Illusion Of Safety fabricates equally dark, but far more subtle atmospheres of shadowy hiss, blurry drone, and fluttered recordings of urban decay. Here is actually where Burke's strength really lies, and if David Lynch weren't already so good at sound design, he would want to look to Dan Burke to score his films.
It's a bit unfortunate that we've not stocked more work by Illusion Of Safety, but it's better late than never to get into this exceptional album.
MPEG Stream: "Time Remaining"
MPEG Stream: "Surface Tension"
MPEG Stream: "Squirrel Cage"

ILLUSION OF SAFETY / THOMAS KONER Untitled (Die Stadt) 7" 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another limited edition split single from Die Stadt, this time featuring Chicago's stalwart post-Industrial ensemble Illusion Of Safety and Germany's dronecore specialist Thomas Koner. Illusion Of Safety takes a confrontationist approach by opening their condensed program with a jarring clatter of fragmented film-noir orchestrations that are roughly broken into a nervous drone. Koner's approach is far more subtle, gently pushing forward a sublime drone and allowing it to fade into silence. Limited to 400 copies.

ILOUS & DECUYPER s/t (Lion) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Lovely lovely lovely. Originally released way back in the magical musical year of 1971, on the French label Flamophone, the sole album by the youthful hippie duo of Bernard Ilous and Patrice Decuyper is just that, lovely. And pretty darn obscure. Amazing how reissue labels like Lion can dig up such things, as good as this elegant piece of psych-tinged, pastoral pop, replete with lush vocal harmonies, careful arrangements, and gorgeous melodies! So who were Ilous & Decuyper? Beatles-fan Ilous was already an accomplished professional composer, with a desire to at last sing his own songs rather than just write for the French pop stars of the day. He teamed up with likeminded folk guitarist Patrice Decuyper, and via a "confrontational" collaborative song-writing process that highlighted the emotional content of their music, this album was created. Doubtless the symphonic, sophisticated sound of Ilous & Decuyper's record wouldn't have been possible, except that luckily they had off-hours access to a big league, 16-track recording studio -- and spent, like, a year making this album, playing almost everything themselves and finding creative ways to do so.
We can't conclude this review without mentioning their amazing cover of "Eleonor [sic] Rigby", a wonderful, almost-hard-to-recognize-but-not-really reinterpretation of that famous Lennon/McCartney tune. Beatles fans Ilous & Decuyper were indeed, though for every part of this album that sounds Beatlesy, there's also parts that sound as much like CSN&Y, or Led Zeppelin, or Ennio Morricone, or the Bee Gees, or some sort of psychedelicized, Francophone variety of "yacht rock"!
As we've come to expect from reissues associated with Lion Productions, not only is this a pretty great, totally obscure treasure, but they've made sure to include copious liner notes and complete lyrics in the thick cd booklet. And there's also two bonus tracks from a post-album single. Quite nice indeed.
MPEG Stream: "Eleonor Rigby"
MPEG Stream: "Cyclothymie"

ILOUS & DECUYPER s/t (Wah Wah) lp + 7" 30.00
Now reissued on vinyl for the first time, and again we say lovely lovely lovely. Originally released way back in the magical musical year of 1971, on the French label Flamophone, this, the sole album by the youthful hippie duo of Bernard Ilous and Patrice Decuyper is just that, lovely. And pretty darn obscure. Amazing how reissue labels like Lion (who did the cd of this about 5 years ago) can dig up such things, as good as this elegant piece of psych-tinged, pastoral pop, replete with lush vocal harmonies, careful arrangements, and gorgeous melodies! So who were Ilous & Decuyper? Beatles-fan Ilous was already an accomplished professional composer, with a desire to at last sing his own songs rather than just write for the French pop stars of the day. He teamed up with likeminded folk guitarist Patrice Decuyper, and via a "confrontational" collaborative song-writing process that highlighted the emotional content of their music, this album was created. Doubtless the symphonic, sophisticated sound of Ilous & Decuyper's record wouldn't have been possible, except that luckily they had off-hours access to a big league, 16-track recording studio - and spent, like, a year making this album, playing almost everything themselves and finding creative ways to do so.
We can't conclude this review without mentioning their amazing cover of "Eleonor [sic] Rigby", a wonderful, almost-hard-to-recognize-but-not-really reinterpretation of that famous Lennon/McCartney tune. Beatles fans Ilous & Decuyper were indeed, though for every part of this album that sounds Beatlesy, there's also parts that sound as much like CSN&Y, or Led Zeppelin, or Ennio Morricone, or the Bee Gees, or some sort of psychedelicized, Francophone variety of "yacht rock"!
Includes insert with liner notes, and better yet, a whole bonus 7" too, featuring non-album tracks from, we think, a later single. Quite nice indeed. Limited to 500 copies, by the way.
MPEG Stream: "Eleonor Rigby"
MPEG Stream: "Cyclothymie"

ILSA Tutti Il Colori Del Buio (Dark Descent) cd 11.98

MPEG Stream: "Blood Rituals"
MPEG Stream: "120 Days"
MPEG Stream: "Frostthrower"

IMAGINARY SOFTWOODS s/t (Digitalis) lp 33.00
All right. Yet another great homage to the transcendent, cosmological sounds of mid-'70s progressive electronics by way of John Elliott, better known as one of the synth dudes in Emeralds. The number of Elliott's solo / side projects is pretty staggering, with Imaginary Softwoods being the eighth that we're aware of, outside of Emeralds. Given the vast back catalogue from the Elliott / Emeralds axis, it shouldn't come as surprise that this 2lp set has gone through several permutations as well. First on cassette (three of 'em!). Then on vinyl. A cd-r came and went. Now, this remastered set appears once again on vinyl. There is a reason for all of the various editions of this album: it's a damn good record!
The first side opens with a cold void atmosphere of filter sweep tones and metallic sawtooth vibrato, reminiscent of Elliott's recordings as Outer Space with more of slant toward the languorous, flanging drones that come by way of Maeror Tri or Cranioclast, minus the post-industrial framework. Elliott settles into a series of tone cluster of rounded synth notes whose cycling phrases have an elegant restraint and somber mood, as if Morton Feldman were to score a isolationist sci-fi soundtrack. Side two offers more of the liquid abstraction that became an Emeralds' signature on What Happened, sprawling through gentle oscillation and bittersweet half-melodies. A church-organ like set of rainy-day impressionism settles onto the third side, before Elliott reprises the cold flanging isolationism and Feldman-like tone clusters noted on the first side. The album drifts into a minor-key oblivion that descends over the course of the three final tracks on the fourth side of the album, tumbling into maudlin suspended tones and drones. So so nice!

IMAGINARY SOFTWOODS The Path Of Spectrolite (Amethyst Sunset) lp 19.98
As if all of the projects that Emeralds' synth wrangler John Elliott weren't enough, he's adopted a pseudonym to record under the Imaginary Softwoods banner. The name's Blue O'Randa here, although there's little doubt as the authorship of the sounds. With the exception of the bittersweet attitude of "Rainbow Obsidain Key" and its faux-harpsichord melodies, The Path Of Spectrolite fully embraces the New Age path that Elliott, ummm, O'Randa has been teasing us with through all of his recordings. With all of the aquatic bubbling, bright-eyed synth pads, cosmic shot dream-drone, and harmonic tonal shimmer, Imaginary Softwoods bare more than passing resemblance to the likes of Iasos. Limited to just about 500 copies.

IMAHORI TSUNEO YOSHIDA TATSUYA Dots (Doubtmusic) cd 24.00
Japan's Ruins are/were a bass and drums prog-spazz duo lead by octopoidal drummer Tatsuya Yoshida. Ruins have been longtime faves 'round here for their manic precision and complex catchiness, kind of a cross between Melt-Banana and Magma, played by a two-piece. Hopefully, you know all about Ruins already. And if you're a fan, then you're reading the right review!
Goddamn, if you thought that Ruins were crazy... believe it or not, Yoshida's latest duo project has upped the ante quite a bit. Teaming with guitarist Imahori Tsueno, and further augmented by computer processing, this takes Yoshida's brand of frenzied prog palpitations into hyperdrive. Considering what we know Yoshida can do live with no overdubs (and even all by himself) it's positively dangerous to allow him and his collaborator to crank up the craziness with technology. Yet the Doubtmusic label has allowed them to do it, twice -- this is their second disc. As you may recall, we already raved about the first one, Territory, last year. This one is equally awesome, if you're at all inclined towards this sort of technical musical mania. It will leave you breathless, staring at your stereo, jaw on floor. There's 17 tracks, ranging from one minute four seconds to eight minutes fifty seconds. All of 'em action packed, constructed through a partially improvised creative process that incorporates malfunctioning video game sounds one nano second, virtuoso jazz fusion licks the next... kecak-like vocal parts, blasting rhythms, heavy guitar rippage. And there's also artificial speed manipulations, pitch shifting, and jump-cut electronic edits -- yeah just when you thought it couldn't get any more dense or intense, it's like they flip a switch and suddenly achieve superhuman levels of prog rock performance (beyond even what the Ruins are known for!).
It's not all speedy spasmodicism, as they also delve into some momentary moody, much calmer atmospherics... always ready to turn a corner into utter ADD insanity, however. While still always retaining a knack for ear-catching riffage, as per the Ruins at their best. And this IS the most Ruins-y thing we've heard in a while!! Of course. Boy this makes us happy.
MPEG Stream: "Quantum"
MPEG Stream: "Expiry"
MPEG Stream: "Gene"

IMAHORI TSUNEO YOSHIDA TATSUYA Territory (Doubtmusic) cd 24.00
Jeepers. Could Tatsuya Yoshida of Japan's Ruins make his music even MORE hyperkinetic and choppy and rapidfire and precise??? I mean, he already holds the undisputed "King of Japanese Crazy Prog Rock Composition" crown doesn't he? Even when performing live just by himself with no overdubs, which we've seen him do, he does more playing/drumming/singing on multiple instruments than a whole concert hall full of Berklee grads, AND his music is as catchy as it is chaotic and complex. So, team him up with another equally amazing/absurd musician, and give 'em both a computer assist and then you've got some serious insanity -- and that's what this is. Yoshida (drums, darbuka, voice, devices) in a "Japanese hyper duet" with Imahori Tsuneo (guitars, devices) who was a founding member in the eighties of experimental prog-fusion outfit Tipographica and currently has a career in the field of anime and PS2 videogame soundtracks. Their collaborative process consisted of "composition and improvisation; and file exchange, overdubbing, and extensive editing on computer." That computer probably blew a few fuses along the way. This Territory disc is sorta like the intense Magmoid prog of Ruins meets the electronic metallic complexities of James Ploktin's Phantomsmasher project. A blender on high stuffed with stabbing shards of guitar, plentiful percussion, video game FX, vocal babble, jazz licks, blissful synths, and even some campfire country ("Autonomy"). Several of the 17 tracks here, while not entirely "calm", are definitely interludes that allow the listener can catch their breath, although in most cases these relaxed moments soon give way to an outburst of frantic action.
Any Ruins fan should be pleased, particularly since there hasn't been a Ruins release in quite a while (we're not even sure if Yoshida's got a bass player for that band anymore, hasn't he been performing as "Ruins Alone"?). Though of course he has been keeping busy with a variety of other collaborations and projects like Acid Mothers Temple SWR, Sekkutusu Jean, Korekyojinn and Koenjihyakkei, and now this excellent piece of work, another new direction for the Ruins style of sound...
By the way, it's also the latest release from doubtmusic (the great, relatively new Japanese label, whose releases we've reviewed already include two crucial Masayuki Takayanagi reissues and several Otomo Yoshihide efforts, among them his Out To Lunch album), chalk another one up for them!
MPEG Stream: "Irritation"
MPEG Stream: "EST"
MPEG Stream: "Ferrichrome"

IMAI KAZUO TRIO Blood (Doubtmusic) cd + dvd 33.00
Maybe not your typical jazz trio, this Japanese group. Not that we'd expect anything typical from the Doubtmusic label. Bandleader Imai Kazuo (of Marginal Consort) plays amplified acoustic guitar, Suzuki Manabu is credited with electronics, and the third member of the trio, Ito Atsuhiro, performs on something called an "optron". As near as we can tell, that unusual instrument is a homebuilt device resembling a florescent tube light fixture. In fact, it IS a florescent light fixture, with some modifications.
Kazuo's "controllable instrument" the guitar handles the orthodox musical content here, playing some lovely, recognizable melodies and jazzy chords, though he switches to sudden atonal outbursts of frantic skronk sometimes too. But it's the other two members of the trio who really bring the noise and nothing but, the "uncontrollable" electronics and optron outputting a varied, often quite cacophonous improvised barrage of buzzings and cracklings and feedback, all fritzed and glitched like malfunctioning mad scientist laboratory equipment! It can be calm, as with their version of avant composer/vocalist Annette Peacock's "Nothing Ever Was, Anyway" that features Imai picking out slow, sparse notes on his guitar amidst near-ambient hum and static from Ito's optron and what sounds a lot like video-arcade machine sounds emulated by Suzuki's electronics.
But at (many) points, this gets pretty intensely dense with distortion and noisiness. Definitely a crossover from straight jazz into full-on, Hijokaidan or Merzbow style Japanese noise territory, as on the totally freaked out title track, another composition by Annette Peacock. These guys are REALLY into Peacock, there's in fact four of her pieces on the cd, alongside tunes originally by Cole Porter, Thelonious Monk, Lee Konitz, Georges Brassens, and even J.S. Bach! The inclusion of several well-known standards serves to make this seem even noisier, yet also more accessible at the same time. For instance, Cole Porter's "So In Love" sounds like you're hearing it via a shortwave radio transmission, with heavy hissing atmospheric interference.
Not surprisingly, it turns out that the 54 year old Imai had been a student of the late great guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi, who pioneered some of the noisiest jazz ever but also performed traditional stuff too. (In the '70s, Imai briefly played with Takayanagi's New Directions Unit - and also the Taj Mahal Travellers and East Bionic Symphonia too!). So if Imai were to "play pretty" it makes sense he would do so in a context such as this.
And, packaged along with the cd in the thick, gatefold miniature LP style sleeve, there's also a 40-minute dvd disc included here too, wherein you can see the optron in action, intermittently blinking brightly in Ito's lap as it makes its strange sounds. In close up shots, it's as if the trio is performing amidst flashes of lightning. The dvd features alternate takes of a couple of the tracks from the cd, as well as three Imai originals and yet another composition by Annette Peacock. As with the cd, this material was recorded live in the GOK Sound studio... some of the tracks in front of a studio audience, all of whom are politely acknowledged by name on the sleeve.
MPEG Stream: "Sarabande"
MPEG Stream: "Blood"
MPEG Stream: "Well You Needn't"