SOUND OF FEELING Up Into Silence (Sunbeam) cd 16.98
Yes! The Sound of Feeling were a short lived but influential avant jazz-pop vocal group who recorded one full length album called Spleen in 1969 and a split LP with Oliver Nelson in 1968. Along with a handful of unreleased bonus tracks from the early seventies, Up into Silence collects their complete recordings. Comprised of pianist / arranger / singer Gary David, the counterpoint microtonal vocal talents of twin sisters Alice Rhae and Rhae Alice Andrece and rounded out musically with 2 bassists and a drummer, The Sound of Feeling updated the jazz-scat vocal style made popular by Lambert Hendricks and Ross and The Singers Unlimited by channeling John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk instead of Ella Fitzgerald or Louis Armstrong. But at times also referencing 16th-century madrigals, Bartok, the poetry of Paul Verlaine, as well as Simon and Garfunkel and Donovan amongst their many touchstones. Beginning with their take on Coltrane's version of "My Favorite Things", the first five tracks are from the split LP with Oliver Nelson. The four others are all originals including "Circe Revisited" which features the unusual instrumentation of Marxaphone, an autoharp type instrument with strings tuned to a microtonal scale. But it's their full length album, Spleen, where the group gets the most interesting. Opening with a bass and piano hook that has been sampled many times, the group's take on Donovan's "Hurdy-Gurdy Man" is one of the strangest and beautiful versions we've heard, taking the song through so many peaks and valleys (and even out on a few limbs) that never materialized in the original. With tracks like "Hex" and "Along Came Sam", it seems they left the jazz world altogether, and entered a lysergic avant chamber pop territory, with the basses, piano, vibes and drums alternating between killer breaks and restrained near-silent passages amongst the oddly tuned vocal acrobatics. The final 5 tracks were previously unreleased as the group were attempting to expand into hipper territories in the early seventies. The best of them, "Born Amongst The Eagles", continues with the amazing drum fills and some very strange vocal effects. Predicting the vocalese fusion style of Ursula Dudziak and Flora Purim, The Sound of Feeling were like a strange cocktail of Patty Water's Out vocals and the cool groove of Norwegian jazz singer Karin Krog. Their recognition is long overdue!
MPEG Stream: "Hurdy Gurdy Man"
MPEG Stream: "Hex"
MPEG Stream: "Born With The Eagles"

SOUND PROJECTOR PRESENTS VINYL VIANDS 2006 magazine 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
No, it's not quite time yet for the new issue (that'll be #15) of one of our favorite music 'zines, the UK's eclectic, enthusiastic, informative Sound Projector... not quite. To hold us over, though, the kindly Sound Projector staff have assembled this special "Vinyl Viands 2006" publication. As you may know, the majority of the pages of any issue of the Sound Projector are occupied by lengthy album reviews, covering all sorts of music, new and old, from disparate genres seemingly unified only by the fact that we here at AQ love 'em all too: drones, psych, folk, hip hop, metal, electronics, krautrock, noise, outsider stuff, and more... One regular feature of the SP is the Vinyl Viands section -- reviews of stuff the writers have picked up on LP, generally used. About as random as you can get, always full of interesting finds. Well apparently they've been maxing out their credit cards lately, disposing of their income in the best way possible, buying tons and tons of records, 'cause they wound up with enough "Vinyl Viands" reviews to fill a whole magazine. So they did. 78 big ol' pages packed with reviews of, as the cover states: "Jazz Vinyl! Old Vinyl! Rockin Vinyl! New Vinyl! Art Vinyl! Weird Vinyl! Coloured Vinyl!..." etc. Everything from Fred Frith to Hatebeak to Alice Cooper to Horace Silver!! T2, Annette Peacock, Ultravox, Sun City Girls, Pelican/Mono, Fanny, Fe-mail, Dennis Wilson, The Vitamin B-12... geeze if you're a record collector/music geek/AQ regular you're gonna LOVE reading all this. There's some special sections devoted to The New Blockaders and Poland's Obuh label, among other things. Enjoy.

SOUND PROJECTOR, THE 14th Issue 2005-06 magazine 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Thunk! Another issue of the UK's The Sound Projector just landed on my desk, obliterating any loose items and also obliterating my free time, as now all I want to do is read, read, read. Weighing in at 172 pages of musical criticism and appreciation, this handsome as usual new edition of one of our favorite "zines" is pretty much a must have for any dedicated AQ list reader! True, these aren't cheap (due to the exchange rate and the expense of shipping such a hefty tome) but it'll keep you busy for hours reading the gizillions of reviews of stuff new and old by The Sound Projector's capable and very opinionated crew of reviewers... and along with the reviews, there's in-depth interviews/features on Ashtray Navigations, Vibracathedral Orchestra, Jazzfinger, Harry Partch, The Shadow Ring, and more...
The Sound Projector has aways broken its reviews down into various taxonomic catagories, from drones to noise to ethnic music to field recordings to urban pop music, even. This issue's no exception, and in addition to such sections of AQ-approved-interest as "Music From Japan" and "Finnish Folk And Psych" we find editor Ed Pinsent's assessment of a variety of "Metal Men" (wherein he gives a plug to Aquarius, thanks Ed) like Converge, Boris, Burzum and SUNNO))), and also longtime SP contributor Jennifer Hor's "Pandaemonium!" chapter devoted to black metal: Xasthur, Striborg, Blut Aus Nord, Taake, Leviathan, Forest, Deathspell Omega, etc. Very cool. Where else are you going to find reviews of, say, Konono No.1, Velvet Cacoon, and Lula Cortes e Ze Ramalho all under the same covers? Well, besides our own website, of course. You can see why we like this. And the SP reviewers call 'em like they see 'em, beholden to no notions of common hipster consensus. They even criticize stuff we love. So it's refreshing to get their perpective (even if sometimes their tendency towards British smartarsedness runs away with them). Another chunk of this issue that we really enjoyed was Pinsent's evaluations of various random used records he picked up on a trip to the States and on eBay ("Vinyl Viands"). I'll have to email him with some suggestions for further Thin Lizzy purchases...

SOUND PROJECTOR, THE 15th Issue magazine 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
You've been waiting, we've been waiting, here it is! The 15th handsomely red-black-and-white, thick-as-a-brick issue of one of the best magazines for weird music obsessives currently going, The Sound Projector out of the UK. As we always say, sort of an underground, 'zine-style counterpart to The Wire, but more diverse and genuinely enthused. And as always, this 148 page issue is made up mainly of record reviews (we know you love record reviews, you're reading our list after all!). Interesting stuff new and old sorted into a bewildering array of micro-genres and categories, from "Maladroit Rhythms Of Rock" to "The Crackling Ether" to "The Nordic Realms" to "The Droning Ones"... improv, folk, industrial, international, black metal, everything, There's hundreds of reviews here, with special attention this issue to "Noisy Rock, Evil Noise, and Black Noisy Music" alongside "marginal musics" of other sorts from around the world. On one page you'll be reading about Phill Niblock, on another Emit / Vrolok, on another Cellutron and the Invisible, on another Rehtaf Ruo, and on yet another Getatchew Mekurya...
And the SP's reviewers are perfectly willing to slag stuff they find lacking, no matter what the "received wisdom" about an artist is, and indeed, some of 'em we find a bit too harsh upon occasion. But that generally makes for good readin' and plenty of arguments. There's also a batch of interviews with music-makers on the fringes: Russ Waterhouse (The SB, Blues Control), Peter Strickland (Sonic Catering Band), Clay Ruby (Davenport Family), Mudboy, and UW Owl.
All in all, another essential slab of reading material for all dedicated AQ customer-types. We love it.

SOUND PROJECTOR, THE 16th Issue magazine 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Holy crap. This thing weighs a ton. 184 pages, a thicker even than usual A4 sized tome wrapped in their trademark red, black and white cover graphics. England's Sound Projector is back with its 16th issue, as always a must read for the sort of folks likely to be reading this review -- that is, if you're an avid AQ-list reader, you're gonna love Sound Projector, 'cause each enthused (yet sometimes scathingly critical) issue of this fanzine consists in large part of many, many music reviews, exploring the unusual, underground, avant-garde sonic territory that we at AQ love. And we usually learn a lot from each issue, from their obscure selections and thoughtful opinions. This time the 'zine is broken into five sections, starting with an international record review survey ranging the USA and UK to the "The Nordic Realms", where you'll find the "world music" likes of Getachew Mekurya and Raushan Orazbaeva right next to sundry "Free Folk" folks... Section two is also right up our alley, "Noisy Rock, Evil Noise, and Black Noisy Music", where you'll find reviews of the first three Earth albums (that's right, did we mention that the Sound Projector could care less about release dates, and just reviews whatever they want to from whenever it came out?) along with Darkspace, Forgotten Woods, Burning Star Core, and Darsombra among many more... Section three is all interviews rather than reviews (actually, there's reviews too), featuring talks with Japanese avant-guitarist Tetuzi Akiyama, UK experimentalist Philip Sanderson (of Storm Bugs and Snatch Tapes fame, among other things), German tape composer Frank Rothkamm, sound collagist Joe Frawley, and UK '80s "postpunk electronic ensemble" Cultural Amnesia. Then with Section four it's back to the reviews, of wide ranging "Art Music" from Annea Lockwood to Nurse With Wound... Finally there's section five, "Remainder", a miscellany of cassettes, drones, jazz, and much much more. Happily, page 184 of the magazine is an index, in very tiny type! Ackamoor, Idris right above Aethenor. Khlyst next to Kirchin, Basil. Softwar followed by Sombres Forets... nearly 400 reviews in all! A lot of things that we've listed too (now's your chance to get a second opinion) -and- lots of stuff we haven't even heard of at all! Recommended, even at the unavoidably steep import price (but it is the biggest Sound Projector yet).

SOUND PROJECTOR, THE 17th Issue magazine 10.98
About every 7 and a half months or so, we get an email from Sound Projector publisher/editor Ed Pinsent over in England, informing us of the release of a new issue and politely inquiring as to whether we would like to perhaps order some copies. As if we would say no! Of course, his email elicits a "hell yeah!!" response from us, and some days or weeks later, depending on the vagaries of the international postal system, an exhausted mailman arrives bearing a heavy package stuffed with Sound Projectors, in this case, issue #17. And then we have hours of reading and mental note-taking ahead of us. Mental note-taking? That's 'cause aside from the odd interview or three (this issue: Sharon Kraus, Gen Ken Montgomery, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words) SP consists almost ENTIRELY of record reviews. And we LOVE record reviews. Sure, some are of things we already reviewed ourselves. But we find a lot of new (and old) stuff here, things we'd never heard of, or have in stock but hadn't yet gotten around to listing yet. So it's a great way to supplement your steady diet of Aquarius Records New Arrivals list reviews, that's for sure.
As per usual, this issue is broken into many "chapters" devoted to musics grouped either geographically ("The Nordic Realms") or by format ("Vinyl Viands 12-inch") or, mostly, by genre or should we say micro-genre ("Atoms Of Pure Noise", "The Droning Ones", "Utter Freakdom", "Shh - Quiet Music"). Literally hundreds and hundreds of albums discussed, in an opinionated and expert fashion. We definitely respect their reviewers, even if we don't always agree (though we often do, and in fact get name-checked in their thumbs up for the band Quest For Blood). And the wide range of music covered is right up our eclectic alley, from experimental field recordings to hippie folk to Norwegian black metal. We really can't imagine any regular AQ customer not wanting, nay, needing this magazine.
As big as ever (172 pages thick!), this issue is actually a bit less expensive than other recent Sound Projectors, as Ed found a cheaper (and faster, miracle of miracles) way to post 'em to us from across the pond. Yay!
Also, this comes with a special bonus, a free download of an album by Rhode Island synth-wizard Mudboy, exclusive to this issue of the Sound Projector.

SOUND PROJECTOR, THE Eighth Issue magazine 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yay! A new issue of this great magazine. What we said about the last issue still holds true: Magazine of the week, month, etc. Any new issue of Ed Pinsent's music 'zine The Sound Projector is a cause for joy. Anyone who buys and enjoys fellow UK music mag The Wire MUST pick this up, as it covers more-or-less the same range of musics (from electronics to avant-classical to dub to krautrock to drone to urban hip hop and more...) and does it in a much more genuine, fannish way. It's not a slick mag with lots of ads and pretentious music journalists writing with hip, trendy agendas, faults The Wire sometimes falls prey to--although it's big (154 pages, squarebound, 30 pages more than last ish!) and nice looking (with a instantly recognizable and pleasant black-white-and-red design aesthetic).
In this issue: the Rev. Dwight Frizzell, Peter Blegvad of Slapp Happy, the Argentinian concept band (and AQ-fave) Reynols (interview conducted by AQ's own Jim Haynes), Pita Rehberg of the Austrian label Mego, the very amusing (and perverse) Donald Miller of Borbetomagus, John Gill of Big Stick, and tons of reviews, from Eminem and Dead Prez to Loren Chasse, Pimmon, and the (now sadly out of print) Jazz Actuel box.

SOUND PROJECTOR, THE Eleventh Issue 2003 magazine 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another hefty 170 pages of music-obsessed text from Ed Pinsent and crew! Yay. We love this UK-based magazine, it's kinda like a hyper-enthused homebrewed 'zine version of The Wire, packed solidly with intelligent reviews reviews reviews of cool sounds both new and old, whatever sonic weirdness strikes their fancy from "throaty roarage" to "punk synth" to "maladroit rhythms of rock" (some of the review section titles here). This issue is a Seattle experimental music special, featuring interviews with Climax Golden Twins, Matt Shoemaker, Scott Colburn and others from that scene. In addition, there's talks with the likes of Francisco Lopez, Mnortham, William Basinski, and others as well. An awesome read, essentially essential to all AQ-list devotees!

SOUND PROJECTOR, THE Seventh Issue magazine 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Magazine of the week, month, etc. Any new issue of Ed Pinsent's music 'zine The Sound Projector is a cause for joy. Anyone who buys and enjoys fellow UK music mag The Wire MUST pick this up, as it covers more-or-less the same range of musics (from electronics to avant-classical to dub to krautrock to drone to urban hip hop and more--avoiding metal tho, just like The Wire, that's both mags one main blindspot) and does it in a much more genuine, fannish way. It's not a slick mag with lots of ads and pretentious music journalists writing with hip, trendy agendas, faults The Wire sometimes falls prey to--although it's big (124 pages, squarebound) and nice looking (with a instantly recognizable and pleasant black-white-and-red design aesthetic). The magazine usually consists of mostly record reviews, and this issue is no exception, there's 163-or-so of 'em, in 22 eclectic, esoteric catagories: from Very Special Nothing Music (ultra-minimalism, reviews include Francisco Lopez and Bernard Gunter, of course) to Music From Japan (reviews of Tabata, Ground Zero, etc.) to Soundbombing (with reviews of the likes of Company Flow, Master P, Hot Boys, and an epitaph for Big Pun). And if you're reading our list, then you must like to read record reviews, eh? And one fo the nice things about the reviews is that they're not all of new stuff. The writers will go ahead and review something that they've been enjoying for a long time, or maybe recently discovered, even if it's a few years old, which is great 'cause that spotlights some otherwise forgotten gems. In addtion to the reviews, there's some indepth writing and interviews dealing with Van Dyke Parks, Otomo Yoshihide, People Like Us, Godspeed You Black Emperor, and more. Basically, a great magazine that more people (in the States) should find out about. Highly, highly recommended.

SOUND PROJECTOR, THE Thirteenth Issue magazine 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yay! As aways, a happy day when another hefty issue of the UK's Sound Projector makes an appearance. 170 pages this time, resplendent in red-and-black-and-white as usual. We mentioned in another review recently how much we like *reading* record reviews (as, hopefully you do too). Well that's precisely why we dig The Sound Projector so much, it's almost nothin' but! Handily divided into various idiosyncratic "genre" catagories, this ish we get reviews of everything from "Atoms Of Pure Noise" (noise, such as Wolf Eyes and Space Machine) to "The Droning Ones" (drone music, examples being Birchville Cat Motel and Rosy Parlane) to "Music From Japan" (what it says: Ex-Girl, LSD-march, KK Null, etc.) to "Utter Freakdom" (the likes of Simon Wickham-Smith and Anla Courtis). And more: field recordings, electronics, quiet improv, psych reissues, underground folk, etc. And Merzbow gets his own section. Surprises this time around (there always are) include sections devoted to "Pain!" (black and other metals, with reviews of such artists as Meads Of Asphodel, Abruptum, Esoteric, and even Striborg, a Tasmanian black metal band we've been wanting to list for a long time but never can get enough of to do so), and also a section devoted to pop chart toppers past and present like Justin Timberlake, Madonna, Destiny's Child, Kylie Minogue, and others. Seriously. Yup, Destiny's Child in the same magazine with Coelacanth and Burzum. Hmm, sounds like our list, eh? But we've not heard of some of this stuff ourselves which makes it all the better a resource for us. And aside from the many many reviews of records new and old, you'll also find articles on the Monkees and Brian Wilson and interviews with My Cat Is An Alien, Rob Millis, Ronnie Sundin, and others. All in all, kinda like a fanzine version of The Wire but definitely weirder and more irreverent, eclectic and enthused. Recommended readin' for sure.

SOUND PROJECTOR, THE Twelfth Issue magazine 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Lengthy, opinionated, informative, well-written, expert reviews of the totally obscure music? No we're not talking about the list/website you're reading right now, we're talking about the fantastic British 'zine The Sound Projector. But we figure if you dig reading the AQ-list, especially the reviews of the more experimental, droney, weird, noisy, fucked-up stuff, you'll absolutely have to pick up The Sound Projector whenever it comes out. And so here's the new 2004 installment, featuring about 280 or so reviews (!!!), segregated into such catagories as "Field Recordings Plus", "Swedish Sound Art" and "Smashings, Slicings and Mad Inventors". Certain artists come in for in-depth examination: we get overviews of the recent output from Reynols, Keith Rowe, William Basinski, and Sparks among others. This time around the Sound Projector's reviewers seem to be concentrating on newer releases (past issues had a larger percentage of old faves getting written up) and there's plenty here that even we at AQ haven't heard/heard of yet. And, besides all the reviews, there's also interviews, with Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders, Japanese noisician Guilty Connector, noisy Norwegian Lasse Marhaug, and AQ-fave turntable dronologist Philip Jeck (and others). In sum, quite recommended! It's true, the US dollar/British pound exchange rate is killing us here...but it IS 158 A4-sized pages. A hefty, handsome item indeed -- and it's a bigger/better read than most music 'zines.

SOUNDMURDERER Wired For Sound (Violent Turd) cd 10.98
Man, have I been waiting for something like this for years. A massive mega mix of classic drum and bass / jungle / dancehall. Takes me back quite a few years when jungle was brand new (to us at least). When finding jungle 12"s was a challenge and even finding clubs that played jungle was practically impossible. A bunch of us (often with AQ pal Lesser in tow) would go to local bars and just sit in the corner, luxuriating in the stuttery staccato beats, waiting for the bass to drop and huge swells of thunderous sub-bass synths to wash over us. And for me, even though jungle is supposedly 'played out', it remains as fierce and heavy and raw as it ever was. This mega mix has all the great 12"s from the early days of jungle, tracks by Cobra, Remarc, Cutty Ranks, Krome & Time, Shy FX, Tek 9, DJ Hype, Barrington Levy, Squarepusher, Ninjaman, Decoder, Plug and tons more!. No diva vocals, no syrupy melodic dance crap, just monstrous Amen breaks (the drum loop dujour of jungle) everywhere, skittery and frenetic, pitched up and down and all around, stuttering and hiccupping and pounding, with throbbing basslines and rib cage rattling synth stabs. And as a bonus for all of you dancehall heads, there's plenty of toasting and junglized reggae tunes. I remember most of my friends at the time, ESPECIALLY my drummer friends, being totally skeptical and dismissive, saying stuff like "It's just a drum machine" and "the beats are so repetitive". But that's the point. The rhythms -are- repetitive, I mean, they were made to dance to right? But they are SO complex, inhumanly so, and the buzz and stutter of beats swirling wildly from speaker to speaker makes the repetitive nature of the music all the more hypnotic and trance-y. And how could anyone obsessed with rhythm, especially drummers, not be totally mesmerised by these hyperspeed/convoluted beats? I've found myself driving around in my housemate's truck (which has a booming system) just blasting this comp, trying to replicate the feeling of the big bass bins pounding me into the corner of that dingy club years ago, and at the same time, have lulled myself to sleep with this comp buzzing and skittering in my ears. Even if you were on the scene and have a lot of these 12"s, there may be a bunch you don't have, and it's nice to have all this stuff on one convenient disc, although the tracks are split into three 20+ minute megamixes which makes finding particular songs a bit of a chore. But odds are, you'll just listen to this whole thing over and over and over. Folks who picked up the Bug cd from the last list should really check this out as should anyone into crazy fucked up elctronica/dancehall/digital hardcore. Fucking great!
MPEG Stream: "Track 01"
MPEG Stream: "Track 03"

SOUNDMURDERER & SK-1 Toronto V.I.P. (Planet Mu) 12" 8.98
We've long been complaining about the dearth of "grime" in the States, so we were psyched to discover that the folks at Planet Mu decided to do something about it. They've been re-issuing UK grime releases for the states, but this latest batch of 12"s offers up some grime / jungle hybrids as well as their own twisted take on dubstep and grime. And it kills!
We absolutely loved the Soundmurderer comp from a ways back, a killer mix of classic drum and bass and ragga jungle, that sound we can never get enough of, so it's kind of cool to hear these guys take on some of this new fangled dubstep business sort of blending it into their already killer techstep sound. Super fucked up and weirdly funky, jump up jungle (with a hint of grime) a bit of toasting over the top, and then halfway through the A-side, the jungle drops and completely destroys. The B-side is super repetitive with ultra distorted bass and blown out synth melodies.

SOUNDMURDERER & SK-1 Whowasseekwar (Shockout / Tigerbeat 6) 12" 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SOUNDS FOR LITTLE ONES s/t (Dish Records) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SOUNDS OF AMERICAN DOOMSDAY CULTS The Church Universal and Triumphant Inc. feat. Elizabeth Clare Prophet (Faithways International) cd 17.98
NOW AVAILABLE ON CD!!! Here's some of what what we wrote about this way back when it first came out as a vinyl release:
It's hard to believe this is real. In fact, it took a lot to convince Andee, who was sure this was some sort of elaborate prank. But it's one of those things that just makes you proud / embarassed to be an American. Elizabeth Clare Prophet purchased 24,000 acres in Paradise Valley, Montana and started The Church Universal and Triumphant, a creepy new age doomsday cult in which Prophet channeled spirits such as Jesus, Buddha, K-17, Morya, Quan Yin, Afra, Hercules, Mighty Victory, Astrea, Shiva, Pope John XXIII, and more. (Sort of like J.Z. Knight of Yelm, Washington and her channelling of "Ramtha" except even more scary.) Prophet and her husband stockpiled arms, built giant bomb shelters, and coerced their devotees to purchase their own survival equipment at exorbitant prices. Throughout its existence various members of CUT were indicted for kidnapping, lost custody of the children who belonged to the church and were investigated for tax exempt status and firearms violations. In 1995 former member Joeseph Pietrangelo Jr wrote a book condemning CUT entitled "Lambs to Slaughter: My Fourteen Years with Elizabeth Clare Prophet and Church Universal Triumphant".
But the thing that really puts CUT on the map for us is their way of conducting their religious services. The tapes of these services have been floating around for years already. Those of you familiar with Negativland's 1989 album "Escape From Noise" will already be familiar with an excerpt of one of the tracks on this album, as they used it for the track "Michael Jackson", and Steve Fisk has been using these tapes for years as well. This record features live recordings of Clare Prophet 'speaking' out against the evils of rock music. She sounds perfectly normal as she introduces her 'psalms' or 'songs' or 'speeches' or whatever they are. But when she gets going, it's amazing. And so goddamn insane sounding. Her rapid fire high pitched testifying sounds a bit like an impossible mix of an auctioneer, a yodeller, the guy who sings the directions at a square dance, Neil Hamburger huffing helium and variations of baseball's 'hey batter batter' chant only faster. It's like that sound you make when you sort of hum/breathe out and move your finger up and down between your lips making a sort of 'bebubebubebubebubebubebubebubebu' sound. It's one of the most amazing things we've ever heard! A must for all cult fanatics, new age withdrawal victims, seekers of the truly strange, and fans of extended, trancelike vocal techniques. Ever so highly recommended! We'd almost have made this cd edition our Record of the Week if we weren't certain that it would probably bug the heck out of more people than (like us) would love it!!
MPEG Stream: "Dedication To The Of The Beast And The Dragon - The Momentum Of Rock 'N' Roll"
MPEG Stream: "Call For Protection"

SOUNDS OF AMERICAN DOOMSDAY CULTS VOL. 14 The Church Universal and Triumphant Inc. feat. Elizabeth Clare Prophet (Faithways International) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It's hard to believe this is real. In fact, it took a lot to convince Andee, who was sure this was some sort of elaborate prank. But it's one of those things that just makes you proud / embarassed to be an American. Elizabeth Clare Prophet purchased 24,000 acres in Paradise Valley, Montana and started The Church Universal and Triumphant, a creepy new age doomsday cult in which Prophet channeled spirits such as Jesus, Buddha, K-17, Morya, Quan Yin, Afra, Hercules, Mighty Victory, Astrea, Shiva, Pope John XXIII, and more. (Sort of like J.Z. Knight of Yelm, Washington and her channelling of "Ramtha" except even more scary.) Prophet and her husband stockpiled arms, built giant bomb shelters, and coerced their devotees to purchase their own survival equipment at exorbitant prices. Throughout its existence various members of CUT were indicted for kidnapping, lost custody of the children who belonged to the church and were investigated for tax exempt status and firearms violations. In 1995 former member Joeseph Pietrangelo Jr wrote a book condemning CUT entitled "Lambs to Slaughter: My Fourteen Years with Elizabeth Clare Prophet and Church Universal Triumphant".
But the thing that really puts CUT on the map for us is their way of conducting their religious services. The tapes of these services have been floating around for years already. Those of you familiar with Negativland's 1989 album "Escape From Noise" will already be familiar with an excerpt of one of the tracks on this album, as they used it for the track "Michael Jackson", and Steve Fisk has been using these tapes for years as well. This record features live recordings of Clare Prophet 'speaking' out against the evils of rock music. She sounds perfectly normal as she introduces her 'psalms' or 'songs' or 'speeches' or whatever they are. But when she gets going, it's amazing. And so goddamn insane sounding. Her rapid fire high pitched testifying sounds a bit like an impossible mix of an auctioneer, a yodeller, the guy who sings the directions at a square dance, Neil Hamburger huffing helium and variations of baseball's 'hey batter batter' chant only faster. It's like that sound you make when you sort of hum/breathe out and move your finger up and down between your lips making a sort of 'bebubebubebubebubebubebubebubebu' sound. It's one of the most amazing things we've ever heard! A must for all cult fanatics, new age withdrawal victims, seekers of the truly strange, and fans of extended, trancelike vocal techniques. Ever so highly recommended! We'd almost have made this cd edition our Record of the Week if we weren't certain that it would probably bug the heck out of more people than (like us) would love it!!
RealAudio clip: "Invocation For Judgement Against And Destruction of Rock Music"
RealAudio clip: "Decree"
RealAudio clip: "Dedication To The Tackling Of The Beast And The Dragon-The Momentum Of Rock And Roll"

SOUNDS OF FROGS AND TOADS OF BOLIVIA (R. MARQUEZ, I. DE LA RIVA, J. BOSCH & E. MATHEU) Sounds Of Frogs And Toads Of Bolivia (Guia Sonora De Las Ranas Y Sapos De Bolivia) (Alosa / Fonoteca Zoologica) 2cd 37.00
We love frogs!!! Although the AQ website only offers two records of frogs (not counting the awesome and problematic musical group the Frogs), both HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, our personal collections seem to be bursting at the seams with field recordings of frogs. Never has there been a creature capable of producing so many impossibly unanimal like sounds. This gorgeously packaged and super deluxe collection comes from the wonderful Sittelle (it's not on their label, but they do distribute it) who in the past have brought us the sounds of rutting red deer, hillsides of pastoral cowbells and recordings of bats! So we knew this was going to be good. We were just a little unprepared for how good! It comes in a massive oversized jewel case with a 50 page booklet with extremely extensive liner notes, both in English and in Spanish, the amazing thing is there are almost 200 tracks, each one a different frog, and each track has specific liner notes as well as a full color photo of the frog! WOW!
But it's the sounds that have us all smitten with the world of frogs, and they don't get much more wild and weird and incrdibly varied than this collection right here.
There are of course a few of instantly recognizable 'croaking frogs', sort of nature tape style, but the majority here are completely bizarre and otherworldly (but without being aggravating). The frog calls typically sound nothing like frogs, here's a random sampling of what some of these frog call sound like to us: metal ping pong balls clinking together, a rapid fire mechanical woodblock like on one of those crazy pizza joint one man band player piano thingies, high pitched metallic scrapes and squeals, clinks and clanks like a broken music box, a barking seal, chirping birds, the sound of a stick hitting a tin can, a rusted hinge, a creaking door, a quacking duck, a strange looped industrial rhythm, a crying child, a bicycle horn orchestra, Tuvan throat singing, shortwave interference and it just goes on and on. It's almost like listening to some avant music concrete sound artist. But just to prove this is indeed the sound of nature, you also get the surrounding ambient sounds, rushing water, children playing, wind blowing, birds chirping, crickets, rustling leaves, it's quite a gorgeous and perplexing musical journey through nature. And quite possibly our favorite frog record yet!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Bufo Castaneoticus"
MPEG Stream: "Bufo Granulosus Major"
MPEG Stream: "Bufo Paracnemis"
MPEG Stream: "Melanophryniscus Rubiventris"
MPEG Stream: "Hyla Andina"
MPEG Stream: "Hyla Boans"
MPEG Stream: "Hyla Lanciformis"
MPEG Stream: "Hyla Leali"
MPEG Stream: "Osteocephalus Sp."

SOUNDS OF JAPANESE DOOMSDAY CULTS Music By Aum Shinri Kyo Leader Shoko Ashara (Faithways International) 7" 6.50
This all time favorite, a primo slab of WTF weirdness, available again, and a bit cheaper too, but who knows for how long...
From Faithways, the label what brought us that extreme example of American religious fuckery The Church Universal And Triumphant, comes two songs from the leader of the Japanese Cult Aum Shinri Kyo. The cult made history in 1995 when they set off sarin nerve-gas in a crowded Tokyo subway, killing 11 people and injuring 5000 (they were later charged for the murder of another 14 people -- some quite gruesomely, as described within the accompanying booklet.) The nearly blind leader Shoko Ashara fancied himself a bit of a singer / songwriter, much like fellow cult leaders Charles Manson, David Koresh (whose rock band is featured on the label's first release) and even the lovable Anton LaVey. Musically, Shoko's songs most resemble the latter cultist's works, but with an even greater whimsy that he could be jokingly referred to as Casiotone For The Pathologically Deranged. Better yet, take Nagisa Ni Te, drop the vocals a couple octaves, change the instrumental accompaniment to casio keyboards, throw in melodic hints to "It's A Small World After All" and you can almost hear the weird world of Shoko Ashara.
Comes with a 6 page booklet detailing the cult's history.
RealAudio clip: "Sonshi's March"
RealAudio clip: "Lord Death's Counting Song"

SOUNDS OF NORTH AMERICAN FROGS Sounds Of North American Frogs (Smithsonian Folkways) cd 12.98
First "The Conet Project", now this. Well, okay, this isn't spooky like those shortwave spy broadcasts, but the sounds these frogs make have some similar qualities to the morse code or "noise stations", and like The Conet Project is both bizarre and fascinating. The 92 tracks of the croaks, trills, screams, mating calls, and other forms of amphibian vocalisations were conceived, narrated, and documented by Charles M. Bogart. Travelling from the far reaches of Alaska to the deserts of Arizona to the foothills of Tennessee, Mr. Bogart presents a labor of love in selecting these field recordings and their descriptions. The dry delivery of Mr. Bogart's indexical texts is unnervingly and humorously dissimilar to these frogs calls. Just like The Conet Project's unintentional (?) aural terror, The Sound of North American Frogs features a wide variety of drones and clicks that could be from some RLW or Pierre Henry experiment with tape loops. So highly recommended that several unnamed staff members of AQ have been over heard "singing" along with the Pig Frog and the Carpenter Frog.

SOUNDS OF THE DESERT (JEAN C. ROCHE) Sounds Of The Desert (Les Voix Du Desert) (Sittelle) cd 16.98

SOUNDS OF THE EARTH : LOONS (Oreade Music) cd 12.98
Loons! Andee was immediately like, automatic Record Of The Week! Allan had to be the voice of reason. But let's talk about the voice of the loon...
We've always been of the mind that no matter how amazing some music sounds, nature has most likely produced sounds that are just as cool. Whether it's the gentle droning rumble of winds, or the clatter of stones, or the bizarre polyphony of a frog filled swamp, or the jagged sound of melting / cracking ice. It's all completely and utterly music to our ears. We get the same thrill from a bunch of frogs that we get from a bunch of guitars. Beautiful sounds are beautiful sounds. So after reviewing records of the sounds of caves, the sounds of frogs, purring kittens, barking sled dogs, insects in stored foodstuffs, recordings of the Earth's magnetic fields, melting ice, the bioelectrical impulses of plants, crackling woodfires, chirping dolphins, the songs of forest blackbirds and more, we come to the Loon. Yes, the loon, with it's strange whippoorwill like call, a bizarre resonant trill, one that is instantly recognizable, but that at the same time is completely alien sounding. This is pretty much a straight field recording. Random birds, and insects, and the occasional sound of water, but the occasional call of the loon is what is most distinct. This is a gorgeous, lazy, sun dappled slice of creek life, makes us want to hang up the ol' hammock, stick the fishing pole in the dirt and just doze the afternoon away. Or for those of you too grim or evil for lazy afternoons in the hammock by a stream, and have two cd players at your disposal, this record would sound just perfect mixed with some funereal doom like Skepticism, adding just the right amount of foresty flavor!
MPEG Stream: "Loons"

SOUNDS OF THE EARTH: DEEP INTO THE EARTH (Oreade Music) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
From the same folks that brought us the frogs recording reviewed in list #83, comes another in their "Sounds Of The Earth" series. "Explore the passages of the vast caverns deep down into the earth. Experience the mysterious atmosphere with echoey waterdrips and clear trickles, combined with a strange wind-tunneling effect" --culled from the liner notes to this disc of subterranean recordings. No additional production, no musical interludes, just cave recordings. A very nice field recording piece. Drip drip drip...

SOUNDS OF THE EARTH: FROGS (Oreade Music) cd 12.98
"The ceaseless croak of frogs creates an immensely penetrative and authentic environment... Offers pure natural sounds, no voices are added. No music is added." (From the back of disc.) The perfect companion to the 'Sounds of North American Frogs' if you didn't care for the vocal interruptions or if you want to test your knowledge by identifying the frogs on this recording...
We find this to be best when played LOUD!

SOUNDS OF THE EARTH: SEA & DOLPHINS (Oreade Music) cd 12.98
From the same company that brought us Frogs, Woodfire, Deep Into The Earth and Whales comes another appropriate nature recording: dolphins. Everybody loves dolphins, they're the clowns of the sea. And yet something's not quite right here. Oreade music is a little disingenuous about the recording's execution. Like their other releases in the series, Oreade claims this recording "offers pure nature sounds; no voices are added, no human-induced noises are heard". Which is true, I suppose, but the implication is that this is somehow a pure, unfettered, field recording. But it seems that the producers weren't happy with Flipper's performance on a dry mike and decided to soak him with a little 'large hall' reverb. And I guess just plain a cappella squeals weren't good enough either so they mixed in some above water recordings of lapping swells to keep people interested: hence, the "Sea & Dolphins" title. Which is all a bit disappointing. But enough uptight, uber-purist, nature sound bitching, it does at least come with a nice poem about dolphin love.
RealAudio clip: "Sea & Dolphins"

SOUNDS OF THE EARTH: WHALES (Oreade Music) cd 12.98

SOUNDS OF THE EARTH: WOODFIRE (Oreade Music) cd 12.98
We've been stocking selected titles in this import nature sounds series (croaking frogs, dripping caves, singing whales) while ignoring the cheesier entries (wind chimes I, wind chimes II, evening birds, etc.). Here's another disc in series that makes the AQ-cut: 72 minutes of a crackling woodfire. As always, best if listened to at an unnaturally loud volume. "Warm your hands and thoughts to the woodfire sound on this album" is the suggestion, but we think this might also be a good purchase for black metal fans eager to sonically picture an authentic church burning (you'll have to imagine the cries of the priests though). Or, if you have two stereos, play this simultaneously with Oreade's "Deep Into The Earth" cave-sounds disc and simulate life as a prehistoric caveman. Roasting frogs is another, somewhat sicker possibility.

SOURCE DIRECT Controlled Developments (Astralwerks) cd 11.98
The first three major label 12"s collected on one cd. Very dark and sparse drum & bass. Fans of Photek will love this (in fact the 12"s were originally released on Photek's Science label).

SOURVEIN Emerald Vulture (This Dark Reign) cd ep 14.98
This is the first we've heard from Southern sludgesters Sourvein since guitarist Liz Buckingham left the band to join Electric Wizard, and also since Hurricane Katrina fucked up their hometown. But now the survivors in Sourvein got it together to dish out these four new tracks (recorded in Virginia), and also they go on to promise in the liner notes that "New Orleans Will Rise Again!"
Though an ep, Emerald Vulture nears the half-hour mark, in part 'cause track four delves into some extended power electronics noise territory before it's over. That sort of droning nastiness makes perfect sense coming from Sourvein, who aim to maim with both brutal riffage and vicious vokills as well... they're definitely on the negative side of an already fairly negative genre, and who can blame 'em? So if you find, say, Corrupted too happy, here you go! That's a joke, of course, but seriously we're digging Emerald Vulture's blend of Bongzilla/Electric Wizard styled dope-lope riffs and utter Khanatesque darkness...
Of course, post-Katrina we've been concerned about the Crescent City and its inhabitants for a lot of reasons, cultural heritage being just one of 'em. And while many folks associate New Orleans with music, they're probably thinking jazz and zydeco, but you may also know that NOLA is/was home to a satan's host of sludge/doom/dirge bands, foremost among them the pioneering EYEHATEGOD. And if you like EHG, you're pretty much already a guaranteed Sourvein fan too. So it's good to know that NOLA's sludge/doom/dirge tradition continues...
MPEG Stream: "Emerald Vulture"
MPEG Stream: "Heart Of Ebon"

SOURVEIN Ghetto Angel (This Dark Reign) cd 14.98

SOURVEIN Will To Mangle (Southern Lord) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
BLEAAAARGH! DOOOOOOM!! Southern Lord strikes again with the new, Billy Anderson produced disc from Louisiana doom-squad Sourvein. Now featuring the guitar of Liz from former NYC all-girl doomsters 13, Sourvein takes the crusty Eyehategod/Grief/Corrupted style of doomgrind to new highs (lows?). Well, maybe not new ones, but just as extreme. Darker and scarier than fellow heavies Bongzilla or High On Fire, Sourvein simultaneously give a nod to the Sabbathy '70s sounds of doom pioneers St. Vitus, while ratcheting up the brutality of their crashing, crushing riffs into modern extreme metal/punk territory and beyond. It's like someone got the Melvins really really angry, and they're trapped in cave, frothing at the mouth, ready to die and kill -- and for some reason, they're trying to play Sleep songs. What? Stay away from those drugs. You know what I'm talking about? Good, then you'll want "Will To Mangle".
RealAudio clip: "Bangleaf"
RealAudio clip: "Blizzard"

SOUTH SATURN DELTA Experience The Concreteness (Cold Spring) cd 15.98

SOUTH3RN Fully Loaded / Muslim Dub (Lo Dubs) 12" 4.98

SOUTHERN, TERRY Give Me Your Hump!: The Unspeakable Terry Southern Record (Koch) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Few literary geniuses have warped fiction, cinema and reportage as much as Terry Southern. This twisted mind was responsible for film classics "Doctor Strangelove" and the screenplay adaptation for Evelyn Waugh's "The Loved One." His stories were adapted into cult works such as Candy and the Magic Christian. His vision was often diluted to make it acceptable for American palettes. Here is a selection of his work in the raw, read by such luminaries as Michael O'Donohue and Allen Ginsberg. Unedited, his work is much more brazen and similar to the comedy stylings of another shy visionary Chris Morris. Not for the faint of heart. (Review provided by AQ-sweetheart Dale Shaw.)
RealAudio clip: "Blue Movie"
RealAudio clip: "Rimmers"

SOUVENIR'S YOUNG AMERICA An Ocean Without Water (Crucial Blast) cd 14.98
Latest from AQ faves Souvenir's Young America, who have been slowly nudging their way to the top spot in the ever growing lineup of modern metallic post rock combos, the usual suspects, Isis, Tides, Conifer, Rosetta, Pelican, we love them all, and they all bring something fresh to a sound that is quickly becoming what Slint's loud/soft thing was to indie rock bands in the nineties. 
But there's just something about these guys that makes them seem extra special. They definitely seem to be the least metal of the bunch, but it's not just that they're the least metal, it's that they have no metal pretensions at all, as if it was super matter of fact, a compositional certainty, that specific parts were just meant to be distorted, and specific times the guitars need to be distorted and overdriven, and thus, it seems so much more of an organic part of their sound, instead of a constant build to the crashing climax and then back again, it's all very dense and layered, some songs stay quiet all the way through, and some are as punishing as the most metal of outfits, but for the most part, it's somewhere right in the middle. 
Less Neurosis and Isis, more Scenic or Calexico. The sound has a definite cinematic twang, sweeping and majestic, but not at all bombastic, instead windswept, forlorn, ghost town, emptiness as far as the eye can see. Organs warble and that harmonica wheezes, slide guitar slips and slithers, all draped over skeletal arrangements of bass and drums, loping, shuffling through dusty streets and arid concrete wastelands, the guitar left to color in around the edges, not so much riffing as shading...
The record begins with a huge pummeling crunch but soon blisses right out into that Souvenirs' haunting Morricone-is desert rock, complete with that gorgeously mournful harmonica, and simple tribal drumming. The melodies are mournful and melancholy, wrapped up in darkly contemplative epics, that spend way more time crawling beneath the hot desert sun, everything enveloped in those shimmering heat waves turning the landscape into a dreamy blurry otherworld, than they do bashing or crashing. 
The record closes with "Coragyps Atratus (Ego Te Absolvo)", which begins as an ambient drift, little slivers of guitar hovering over slow shifting low end murmurs, but the tape begins to crumble, the sounds gradually decaying right before our ears, a sort of Basinski / Jeckian dissolve, that builds to a fever pitch before the tape dies and the band grinds to a halt, and then immediately explodes back into action, but instead of over the top metallic crush, it's a strange tangled swirl of dense drumming and mournful slide guitar that fades into the background like a mirage.
So good. Metal fans might be disappointed by the lack of full on metal, but An Ocean Without Water is as heavy as any metal record, just much more subtly so, and way more dark and personal and beautiful to boot.
MPEG Stream: "Mars Ascendent"
MPEG Stream: "Blood Alone Does Not A Father Make"
MPEG Stream: "Dark Was The Night Cold Was The Ground"

SOUVENIR'S YOUNG AMERICA s/t (Under Roar) cd 9.98
We were a little put off by the band name, quite a mouthful, but we were super psyched when we got an earful of these guys' super aggressive, epic, post metal crunch. Tough to stand out these days in the super saturated genre pool that is metallic post rock but these guys manage to pull it off big time, borrowing equally from nineties post rock, crusty sludge, epic instrumental chamber rock, and then adding in their own 2 cents. Obviously fans of Pelican and Mogwai and Isis and Snowblood and all that stuff will want this. But there's a whole lot more going on. Some Morricone-ish spaghetti western twang, complete with harmonica, some Krautrock-y groove, some bits of twangy slide guitar, thick swaths of fuzzy drifting guitar ambience, dizzying angular riffing, dense tribal drumming, buzzing almost new wave sounding synths, some long stretches of moody indie jangle. But it's the bands' deft hand with melody and songwriting and arrangement that makes this record so moving. The focus is way more on mood and texture than heaviness or brutality (although it is occasionally both heavy and brutal), with the epic slow builds often taking up the majority of a song, or a crushing dirge suddenly collapsing into the prettiest dang melody you've ever heard. And c'mon, let's mention the slide guitar again. We're such suckers for the slippery dreaminess of slide guitar. We sort of wish it was everywhere, on every song, but as it is, when it does kick in, we get goosebumps.
So yeah, there's always room for one more on the post rock epic metal sludge bandwagon, as long as they're doing something new and different with the sound, and thus working hard to knock someone else off.
MPEG Stream: "Thirteen For Centaurus"
MPEG Stream: "Still Like The Hummingbird"

SOUVENIR'S YOUNG AMERICA s/t (self-released) lp 9.98
We discovered a stash of these in the back room, one of our favorite discs, on vinyl and in custom just-for-aQ packaging. Some of the sleeves have slightly bent corners, but for the most part are otherwise perfect. Pretty sure these are gone, just wanted to give folks another crack at grabbing one of these...
We were a little put off by the band name, quite a mouthful, but we were super psyched when we got an earful of these guys' super aggressive, epic, post metal crunch. Tough to stand out these days in the super saturated genre pool that is metallic post rock but these guys manage to pull it off big time, borrowing equally from nineties post rock, crusty sludge, epic instrumental chamber rock, and then adding in their own 2 cents. Obviously fans of Pelican and Mogwai and Isis and Snowblood and all that stuff will want this. But there's a whole lot more going on. Some Morricone-ish spaghetti western twang, complete with harmonica, some Krautrock-y groove, some bits of twangy slide guitar, thick swaths of fuzzy drifting guitar ambience, dizzying angular riffing, dense tribal drumming, buzzing almost new wave sounding synths, some long stretches of moody indie jangle. But it's the bands' deft hand with melody and songwriting and arrangement that makes this record so moving. The focus is way more on mood and texture than heaviness or brutality (although it is occasionally both heavy and brutal), with the epic slow builds often taking up the majority of a song, or a crushing dirge suddenly collapsing into the prettiest dang melody you've ever heard. And c'mon, let's mention the slide guitar again. We're such suckers for the slippery dreaminess of slide guitar. We sort of wish it was everywhere, on every song, but as it is, when it does kick in, we get goosebumps.
So yeah, there's always room for one more on the post rock epic metal sludge bandwagon, as long as they're doing something new and different with the sound, and thus working hard to knock someone else off.
MPEG Stream: "Thirteen For Centaurus"
MPEG Stream: "Still Like The Hummingbird"

SOUVENIR'S YOUNG AMERICA September Songs (The Perpetual Motion Machine) 12" 9.98
This out of print, super limited tour only tape, gets the super deluxe vinyl reissue treatment. Gorgeous thick, silkscreened sleeves, nice heavy vinyl, and besides all that, it's an AMAZING record.
Here's what we had to say about the tape when we first got it in:
A super limited tour only release from one of our favorite members of the continually growing metallic post rock contingent (you know, Isis, Conifer, Tides, Mouth Of The Architect) But unlike a lot of those groups, SYA is not even remotely metal. And we never thought we'd say it, but dang it if that isn't a bit refreshing. Sure they can whip up some metallic crunch. Some big heavy riffs, but at their core they are a post rock band, a math rock band, dark and tangled instrumental rock, moody and epic, massive and emotional. What is most surprising maybe about this 3 song tape is the presence of harmonica! HARMONICA!! And not just in the background. It's the one of the main melodic elements. And it sounds killer. Once you hear the opening track on September Songs, you'll wonder why the hell more bands don't have a harmonica player. But beyond the kick ass harmonica, this band just rules, huge convoluted riffing, strange mathy rhythms, thick swells of sound, killer complex emotional and heavy. Long stretches of dark brooding ambience, blissed out rhythmic shimmer, warm guitars over martial drums, slow building guitar jangle over mesmerizingly propulsive drumming, slippery slide and minor key melodic finger picking, there's really nothing not to love. The guys take a sound that's becoming more and more tired and turn it inside out and upside down, making their own sort of POST post rock, intense and alive and vibrant and super exciting.
And fucking harmonica!

SOUVENIR'S YOUNG AMERICA September Songs (The Perpetual Motion Machine) cassette 4.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A super limited tour only cassette release from one of our favorite members of the continually growing metallic post rock contingent (you know, Isis, Conifer, Tides, Mouth Of The Architect) But unlike a lot of those groups, SYA is not even remotely metal. And we never thought we'd say it, but dang it if that isn't a bit refreshing. Sure they can whip up some metallic crunch. Some big heavy riffs, but at their core they are a post rock band, a math rock band, dark and tangled instrumental rock, moody and epic, massive and emotional. What is most surprising maybe about this 3 song tape is the presence of harmonica! HARMONICA!! And not just in the background. It's the one of the main melodic elements. And it sounds killer. Once you hear the opening track on September Songs, you'll wonder why the hell more bands don't have a harmonica player. But beyond the kick ass harmonica, this band just rules, huge convoluted riffing, strange mathy rhythms, thick swells of sound, killer complex emotional and heavy. Long stretches of dark brooding ambience, blissed out rhythmic shimmer, warm guitars over martial drums, slow building guitar jangle over mesmerizingly propulsive drumming, slippery slide and minor key melodic finger picking, there's really nothing not to love. The guys take a sound that's becoming more and more tired and turn it inside out and upside down, making their own sort of POST post rock, intense and alive and vibrant and super exciting.
And fucking harmonica!

SOUVENIRS YOUNG AMERICA / CITY OF SHIPS Split 12" (The Perpetual Motion Machine) 12" 12.98
We went a little nuts for the debut release from Anduin a while back, the project of Souvenir's Young America keyboardist Jonathan Lee, taking SYA's Western tinged post rock doom, and stretching it out into something much more subtle and ambient. But SYA is back to remind us just why we were so into Lee and his crew in the first place, with two brand new tracks of sweeping epic, spacious and cinematic post rock, rivaling and perhaps surpassing any of their more well known contemporaries.
The guitars chime and ring out, the drums propulsive and subtly mathy, lots of deserty ambience, moody melodic swoon, crunchy almost metal guitars here and there, haunting blissed out stretches of soft strummy drift, slippery slide guitar and pulsing electronics. There are some haunting processed vocals, distant and heavily effected, tribal rhythms, lots of space, little bits of glitch here and there, slightly doomy, with a distinct twang, gorgeous and dark, but always mysterious and hauntingly dreamy. Can't wait for the next full length.
The flipside features a new (to us at least) group called City Of Ships, who prove to be a pretty good match for SYA, starting their side with some washed out ambience, glimmering guitar harmonies, shimmery cymbal washes, all before the band kick in and get all mathy with tangled squiggly guitar leads and hard hitting complicated drumming. And unlike SYA, City Of Ships are NOT instrumental, the vocals a raspy croon that get more and more wild eventually veering into almost emo territory, the sound a mix of June Of 44 and a mellower Neurosis. Long stretches of mellowy meandering peppered with jagged bursts of crunch and pound, the tracks building to seriously epic climaxes with grinding metallic guitars, angular and sharp, with howled vocals and wild chaotic drums. Good stuff.
Packaged in a super swank fold over 2 color hand screened gold colored sleeve, each one hand numbered, with a photocopied insert, and LIMITED TO ONLY 300 COPIES!!!

SPACE DUST No Kissing in Public cd 8.98
Brother Love and company bring us lo-fi, dirgy, space-rock from New Zealand.

SPACE EXPLOSION (Purple Pyramid) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Domestic issue of all-star "Legends of Krautrock" jam, with members of Cluster, Faust, Amon Duul and Guru Guru. These guys still have the cosmic vibe, quite nice a disc indeed.

SPACE MACHINE 2 (MIDI Creative) cd 27.00
You're out in space, at the bridge of a pod-shaped starship, blinking lights and cosmic sights on the viewscreen. THIS is the soundtrack. Or, you're exploring deep into inner space, in a isolation tank, or a drugged trance, watching colors play inside your closed eyelids. Again, THIS is the soundtrack. Assuming in either case you're got headphones on, hooked up to Space Machine 2!
Total kosmiche electronics action here, vintage analog synths doing their spaced-out bleepage and bloopage thing under the long-haired guidance of Maso Yamazuki, a Japanese psychedelic noisician extraordinare. This disc was released back in 2002, as part of Space Machine mastermind Maso Yamazaki's special "15th Anniversary Freakout Triplex" series, which also featured cds by two of his other acts, Masonna and Christine 23 Onna. We reviewed Christine 23 Onna's Acid Eater a few weeks ago and promised we'd get to the others in the Triplex soon, now that we're finally able to get a hold of 'em, expensive imports that they are. Space Machine, Maso's tribute to the likes of Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream, has always been a favorite 'round here, and right now this particular Space Machine album is the only one that seems to be in print! If you're a fan already, you know what to expect. This features four tracks, several of them quite lengthy, of wonderfully indulgent synthesizer knob-twiddling, soothing oscillations and droning textures... headphones, please!
MPEG Stream: "track 2"
MPEG Stream: "track 3"

SPACE MACHINE 3 (Important) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We had this on vinyl a while back, but now it's finally been re-issued on cd! The latest blast of analog synth madness from Takushi Yamazaki, othewise known as Masonna, the one man Japanoise wrecking crew, with a belt full of effects and a wall of white noise unparalleled. But don't expect any of that noise here. Space Machine is the vehicle that Yamazaki uses to indulge his fetish for rare seventies analog synths and all the spacy madness that they can conjure up. This is all swoosh and whir, bleep and swoop, like Acid Mothers Temple at their most unstructured, or better yet, like the music at the planetarium when you're soaring through galaxies, into the farthest reaches of the universe. Contains all of Yamazaki's "3" studio sessions as well as some live mayhem featuring Acid Mothers Temple's Kawabata Makoto. This should definitely hit the spot for those of you craving some freaked out buzzing blooping bliss.
MPEG Stream: "track 1"
MPEG Stream: "track 2"

SPACE MACHINE 3 (Tiliqua) 2lp 27.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Latest blast of analog synth madness from Takushi Yamazaki, othewise known as Masonna, the one man Japanoise wrecking crew, with a belt full of effects and a wall of white noise unparalleled. But don't expect any of that noise here. Space Machine is the vehicle that Yamazaki uses to indulge his fetish for rare seventies analog synths and all the spacy madness that they can conjure up. This is all swoosh and whir, bleep and swoop, like Acid Mothers Temple at their most unstructured, or better yet, like the music at the planetarium when you're soaring through galaxies, into the farthest reaches of the universe. Gorgeous double lp on orange vinyl in a nice gatefold sleeve. Two sides of solo studio recordings, two sides of live mayhem, four sides of far out, freaked out buzzing blooping bliss.

SPACE MACHINE Cosmos From Diode Ladder Filter (Alchemy) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Osaka-based artist Takushi "Maso" Yamazaki has taken quite a turn these past couple of years. His more well-known alter-ego Masonna is best known for ear shredding cut'n'paste sonic assaults. Masonna's live performances consisted of Yamazaki screaming into two or three microphones, hurling himself onto effects boxes and destroying just about anything in his way. Yamazaki's interest in analogue electronics and modular synthesis was evident on his collaboration with Fusao Toda (of Angel 'In Heavy Syrup) -- Christine 23 Onna's "Shiny Crystal Planet" -- a hyper blend of '60s exotic breaks flooded with psychedelic synthesizers and tons of echo. As Space Echo, Yamazaki goes one on one with The Putney, a compact modular synthesizer developed in 1969 by EMS, as well as the Doepfer A-100 Modular system and a slew of echo machines for total tripped out effect! Not rhythmic like Christine 23 Onna, but very similar in Yamazaki's tweaked out knob twiddling and full on psych-distorto overload. The first in Alchemy's Inner Mind Music Series of cosmic psychedelia themed sonicscapes.
RealAudio clip: "6"

SPACE MACHINE Modular Series - Model-101 (Dimension Degenerator) (P Tapes) 3" cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Space Machine is Takushi "Maso" Yamazaki's outlet for the use and abuse of vintage analog synth equipment, where he leaves aside the violence and extremity of his work as Masonna in the "Japanese noise" idiom and instead attempts to channel the spirit of early '70s German electronic experimentalists like Klaus Schulze and Conrad Schnitzler. After three previous full-length recordings (Cosmos From Diode Ladder Filter on Alchemy being our fave) now comes the first two installments in a series of 3" eps, each of which sees Space Machine operating as a duo of Maso plus guest.
For Model-101, the guest is Hiroshi Hasegawa of C.C.C.C./Astro. He also plays the synthesizer. Recorded live at Penguin House in Tokyo, February 2004, this starts with a whoosh and whooshes onward and upward. It's a nice, dense twenty or so minutes of droning, whirring, bleeping spaced-out spirals of psychedelic synth!
On Model-102, Yamazaki and his synths team up with Acid Mothers Temple guitarist Makoto Kawabata for nearly twenty minutes of interstellar exploration, recorded live at Cafe Futuro in Osaka, Japan in April 2003. That it's recorded live in a cafe is evident on the disc, what with the murmer of conversation heard in the background, as Maso and Makoto and their machines hum and drone and drift and glow in the foreground. Abstract yet effective, it's actually incredibly mesmerizing and soothing. Of the two 3" discs, Model-101 is the more bleepy and loud and science fiction soundtracky, while Model-102 is quieter and perhaps less cliched. Both are recommended to all Space Machine/AMT/sci-fi synth fans.
MPEG Stream: "Dimension Degenerator"

SPACE MACHINE Modular Series - Model-102 (Orbit Vector Generator) (P Tapes) 3" cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Space Machine is Takushi "Maso" Yamazaki's outlet for the use and abuse of vintage analog synth equipment, where he leaves aside the violence and extremity of his work as Masonna in the "Japanese noise" idiom and instead attempts to channel the spirit of early '70s German electronic experimentalists like Klaus Schulze and Conrad Schnitzler. After three previous full-length recordings (Cosmos From Diode Ladder Filter on Alchemy being our fave) now comes a series of 3" eps, each of which see Space Machine operating as a duo of Maso plus guest.
For Model-101, the guest is Hiroshi Hasegawa of C.C.C.C./Astro. He also plays the synthesizer. Recorded live at Penguin House in Tokyo, February 2004, this starts with a whoosh and whooshes onward and upward. It's a nice, dense twenty or so minutes of droning, spaced-out spirals of psychedelic synth!
On Model-102, Yamazaki and his synths team up with Acid Mothers Temple guitarist Makoto Kawabata for nearly twenty minutes of interstellar exploration, recorded live at Cafe Futuro in Osaka, Japan in April 2003. That it's recorded live in a cafe is evident on the disc, what with the murmer of conversation heard in the background, as Maso and Makoto and their machines hum and drone and drift and glow in the foreground. Abstract yet effective, it's actually incredibly mesmerizing and soothing. Of the two 3" discs, Model-101 is the more bleepy and loud and science fiction soundtracky. Quieter and less cliched perhaps is Model-102. Both are recommended to all Space Machine/AMT/sci-fi synth fans.
MPEG Stream: "Orbit Vector Generator"

SPACE MACHINE Modular Series - Model-201 (Space-Time Echo) (P Tapes) 3" cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
More analog synth hi-jinx from Japan's Space Machine (the retro electronica obsessed alter ego of Takushi Yamazaki aka Masonna). The nifty Modular Series of 3" cds, the first two of which paired Yamazaki and his synths up with equally psychedelic sparring partners, sees Yamazaki going solo for installments number three and four. Model-201 is the third in the series, and it's an impressive, oppressive 13+ minutes of squelching, zinging, droning electronics (specifically, Yamazaki's credited with playing the Maestro Echoplex EP-3 and P-tronic Sound Lab Mini-Synth here), not unlike the sound of a series of flying saucers taking off and landing at a busy Area 51 UFO base. Soothing music for your inner malfunctioning robot.
MPEG Stream: "Space-Time Echo"

SPACE MACHINE Modular Series - Model-202 (Zone Of Avoidance) (P Tapes) 3" cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
More analog synth hi-jinx from Japan's Space Machine (the retro electronica obsessed alter ego of Takushi Yamazaki aka Masonna). The nifty Modular Series of 3" cds, the first two of which paired Yamazaki and his synths up with equally psychedelic sparring partners, sees Yamazaki going solo for installments number three and four. Model-202, Zone Of Avoidance is the fourth in the series, with Yamazaki utilizing Roland System 100, System 100M, and RE-501 to create close to twenty minutes of jittery, minimally repetitive dronage that arcs into a realm of Jurassic birdcalls as recorded by dying, batteries-running-down technology...or something. And just as Space Machine fetishizes their vintage equipment, P Tapes have managed to make these attractively designed 3" discs into fetish objects themselves for fans of this sort of electronic voodoo.
MPEG Stream: "Zone Of Avoidance"