Not On Label – none
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Irreversible Entanglements - (2019) Homeless/Global
International Anthem Recording Company – none
The first new music from Philly/NY/DC free jazz collective IRREVERSIBLE
ENTANGLEMENTS since their 2017 debut. “Homeless/Global” is an epic,
23-minute standalone “single” that foreshadows their forthcoming
full-length LP (due Spring 2020).
A statement on the music, from the band: "As with the session for our first album, we began this session by just setting studio levels and hitting that record button. Homeless/Global was the first thing we played, no script, no plan. It’s a studio take that reflects what we do live: take the stage without a map, navigate the world in deep, telepathic, contrapuntal communion with each other and the histories we’re tapping into, push into the known and unknown, and arrive at the end together."
An unabridged take from the first moments of the Philadelphia recording session for their forthcoming LP, “Homeless/Global” stretches out inside a vacuum of time, running over 23 minutes in a blink of an eye. The track starts by falling backwards into an energetic recollection of Strata East swing, swelling forcefully till it bursts into the foreboding preach of poet/MC Camae Ayewa. In a wide-ranging poem touching on migration, exile, and border violence, she coolly inveighs: “in search of new bodies, we leave ourselves at home… plug into the network, socialize as a clone.” The band builds back up through a soaring statement by saxophonist Keir Neuringer (evoking an old-world zurna séance), before the rhythm section simmers down to a deep pocket of psychedelic groove held together by Luke Stewart’s mantric basslines and textured by Aquiles Navarro’s extended trumpet technique, as drummer Tcheser Holmes dances dynamically around a pulse and Ayewa runs down an inventory of Black history that “no one remembers.” “Homeless/Global” captures the essence of the band in improvisational ritual, and the increasingly powerful capacity for interdimensional transport they’ve collectively developed over 2+ years of hard hitting on the global live circuit.
IRREVERSIBLE ENTANGLEMENTS is a Philadelphia/New York/DC-based free jazz collective consisting of poet/MC Camae Ayewa (aka Moor Mother), saxophonist Keir Neuringer, trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, bassist Luke Stewart, and drummer Tcheser Holmes. Originally performing as two different ensembles at a Musicians Against Police Brutality event in 2015 (in response to the NYPD slaying of Akai Gurley), the five musicians recognized a shared ethos, and shortly after, assembled as a single unit for an impromtu studio date at Seizure’s Palace in Brooklyn. That session yielded their debut album "Irreversible Entanglements" (released by International Anthem & Don Giovanni in September 2017). Critical and communal acclaim for the album (including “Best of 2017” nods from NPR Music, WIRE Magazine, Bandcamp, and others) fueled a high demand for the band in the live setting, and the group have since spent much of 2018 and 2019 on the road. They have collaborated in performance with many legends of creative music including Amina Claudine Myers, Pat Thomas, and Nicole Mitchell; and their highest profile shows have included Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, Le Guess Who Festival In Utrecht NL, Barbican in London, and the Smithsonian in Washington DC.
Irreversible Entanglements’ new album will be released LP/CD/Digital by International Anthem & Don Giovanni in Spring of 2020.
A statement on the music, from the band: "As with the session for our first album, we began this session by just setting studio levels and hitting that record button. Homeless/Global was the first thing we played, no script, no plan. It’s a studio take that reflects what we do live: take the stage without a map, navigate the world in deep, telepathic, contrapuntal communion with each other and the histories we’re tapping into, push into the known and unknown, and arrive at the end together."
An unabridged take from the first moments of the Philadelphia recording session for their forthcoming LP, “Homeless/Global” stretches out inside a vacuum of time, running over 23 minutes in a blink of an eye. The track starts by falling backwards into an energetic recollection of Strata East swing, swelling forcefully till it bursts into the foreboding preach of poet/MC Camae Ayewa. In a wide-ranging poem touching on migration, exile, and border violence, she coolly inveighs: “in search of new bodies, we leave ourselves at home… plug into the network, socialize as a clone.” The band builds back up through a soaring statement by saxophonist Keir Neuringer (evoking an old-world zurna séance), before the rhythm section simmers down to a deep pocket of psychedelic groove held together by Luke Stewart’s mantric basslines and textured by Aquiles Navarro’s extended trumpet technique, as drummer Tcheser Holmes dances dynamically around a pulse and Ayewa runs down an inventory of Black history that “no one remembers.” “Homeless/Global” captures the essence of the band in improvisational ritual, and the increasingly powerful capacity for interdimensional transport they’ve collectively developed over 2+ years of hard hitting on the global live circuit.
IRREVERSIBLE ENTANGLEMENTS is a Philadelphia/New York/DC-based free jazz collective consisting of poet/MC Camae Ayewa (aka Moor Mother), saxophonist Keir Neuringer, trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, bassist Luke Stewart, and drummer Tcheser Holmes. Originally performing as two different ensembles at a Musicians Against Police Brutality event in 2015 (in response to the NYPD slaying of Akai Gurley), the five musicians recognized a shared ethos, and shortly after, assembled as a single unit for an impromtu studio date at Seizure’s Palace in Brooklyn. That session yielded their debut album "Irreversible Entanglements" (released by International Anthem & Don Giovanni in September 2017). Critical and communal acclaim for the album (including “Best of 2017” nods from NPR Music, WIRE Magazine, Bandcamp, and others) fueled a high demand for the band in the live setting, and the group have since spent much of 2018 and 2019 on the road. They have collaborated in performance with many legends of creative music including Amina Claudine Myers, Pat Thomas, and Nicole Mitchell; and their highest profile shows have included Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, Le Guess Who Festival In Utrecht NL, Barbican in London, and the Smithsonian in Washington DC.
Irreversible Entanglements’ new album will be released LP/CD/Digital by International Anthem & Don Giovanni in Spring of 2020.
Bill Callahan - (2019) If You Could Touch Her At All
Drag City – 770
Less than six months since the release of Shepherd In a Sheepskin Vest,
our hero Bill Callahan takes a victory lap through the country with a
fresh (digital only!) single consisting of two, infallibly Callahan-ed
up cover songs! Bill's take on Lee Clayton's classic, "If You Could
Touch Her at All," walks a mile in some BIG shoes--by which we mean the
boots of Willie, Waylon and George Jones, all of whom did great versions
of the song-- casually and confidently. With the classic country ring
of steel drifting through the mix, Bill stakes out the song's
complexities in his own natural way, naturally!
Once comfortably in Bill mode, you'll find yourself "flipping" the single over and over! More deep empathy occurs on the "b-side" with a recitation of Leonard Cohen's 1968 classic, "So Long, Marianne." Bill tackles the tune with a straightforward arrangement featuring more steel and his own warm vocal, making for a well lived-in listening experience. This two-song single is a balletic homage to North America's incomparable 60s-70s songbook, offering a fine tribute to all the artists who've interpreted these songs in the past, sung by a master in his own era.
Once comfortably in Bill mode, you'll find yourself "flipping" the single over and over! More deep empathy occurs on the "b-side" with a recitation of Leonard Cohen's 1968 classic, "So Long, Marianne." Bill tackles the tune with a straightforward arrangement featuring more steel and his own warm vocal, making for a well lived-in listening experience. This two-song single is a balletic homage to North America's incomparable 60s-70s songbook, offering a fine tribute to all the artists who've interpreted these songs in the past, sung by a master in his own era.
VA - (2018) Hellenic Punk (Greek Punk '82-'91) CS
Not On Label – none
Basically it's Greek punk from the era mentioned, 26 songs in 70 minutes, and a Turkish band thrown in for good measure. I don't know anything else except that squinting at this tiny tracklist in Greek letters has made me blind.
Herz Juhning - (2018) Samsara LP
Galakthorrö – 045
A nightmarish work in which Herz Jühning is also reborn. In his new life he has climbed to a higher level: Herz Jühning’s sound is now denser and perfected, but remains concentrated and fundamental. He possesses the rare ability to combine effectively voice and abstract elektroniks, nothing appears random. This results in not just Tracks, but Hits, also contained on Samsara. So enjoy a masterful mixture of Angst Pop, fragmented Power Electronics and “Old-School” Industrial of the darkest kind.
Konstruktivists - (2009) Flowmotion Years 2xLP
Vinyl-on-demand – 069
Dark-Ambient / Ritual-Project Konstruktivists was formed by mastermind
Glenn Michael Wallis in 1981/82 out of the ashes of Heute. Around this
time - in the late 70's/early 80's Glenn Michael Wallis was heavily
involved with Throbbing Gristle, the U.K. pioneers of "Industrial".
Between 1980 and 1982 Glenn/Konstruktivists has recorded several tracks
of which one solo-tape and several Konstruktivists-Tapes found release
in extremely rare and limited edition on the legendary Tape-Label
Flowmotion. Almost 2 hours of those early works are compiled on this
double-Lp including his full solo-work (also released as Konstruktivists
Vol.1) as well as Tracks from Vol.2 and other tracks released between
1980 and 1982
Limp Wrist - (2017) Facades LP
La Vida Es Un Mus – 148
Nearly 20 years ago, Martin Sorrondeguy, frontman for Chicago DIY
hardcore legends Los Crudos, formed Limp Wrist, a confrontational
queercore band that also features members of underground punk staples
like Devoid Of Faith and Hail Mary. (They practice in Philadelphia, but
all four members live in different cities.) Over the years, Limp Wrist
have been only intermittently active; their last album was a self-titled
12″ that came out in 2009. But now, Limp Wrist have returned with a
frantic, pummeling new album called Facades. It’s raw, urgent old-school
hardcore, and the lyrics are defiantly, explicitly sexual. (One chorus:
“Come and get my seed!”) There’s also an entirely unexpected
development near the end of the album: House music! This record fucking
rules!
Leroy Troy - (1993) Backroads CS
Bos Records – none
I recently received three tapes from an unusual young performer. Unusual
in the sense that a very talented person chose to keep alive the music,
style and entertainment of one of the great old-timers. Leroy Troy has
patterned his show and performing after the first featured performer on
the Grand Ole Opry. Not a small feat but one this young man has done
admirably. If you have seen him on Hee Haw you can appreciate his Uncle
Dave Macon act — all the way down to the mannerisms and banjo tricks of
the old man. Unfortunately you can't see all of this on the cassette,
but all the rest is there. The Macon-style pickin', the songs and the
humor that comes through.
Lee Moses - (2019) How Much Longer Must I Wait? Singles & Rarities 1965-1972 CD
Future Days Recordings – 635
After reissuing his much sought-after Time and Place LP, many questions
still remained (Lee was a mysterious man!) – but the one asked most was,
“where’s “Bad Girl”?!” Not included on his lone LP, “Bad Girl” is an
undisputed Southern soul classic – arguably the song Lee Moses’ legacy
rests on. While we may never know all we wish we knew about the man
behind the music, we can finally complete the picture of his work. You
know – the tunes! And what tunes they are.
How Much Longer Must I Wait? Singles & Rarities 1965-1972 collects all of Lee Moses’ non-album singles and B-sides, plus three never-released tracks together for the first time ever. Most of the material here pre-dates 1971’s Time and Place, reflecting his initial bid for stardom via a series of now-legendary 45s recorded with Atlanta producer Johnny Brantley. As for the unreleased recordings – much like the man himself, little is known about them. What remains is an oeuvre that has become synonymous with raw and emotionally charged Southern soul. Essential listening for anyone with a heart.
How Much Longer Must I Wait? Singles & Rarities 1965-1972 collects all of Lee Moses’ non-album singles and B-sides, plus three never-released tracks together for the first time ever. Most of the material here pre-dates 1971’s Time and Place, reflecting his initial bid for stardom via a series of now-legendary 45s recorded with Atlanta producer Johnny Brantley. As for the unreleased recordings – much like the man himself, little is known about them. What remains is an oeuvre that has become synonymous with raw and emotionally charged Southern soul. Essential listening for anyone with a heart.
Lumpy And The Dumpers - (2016) Huff My Sack LP
ANTI FADE records – 031
“Numbing Agent”, a track from Huff My Sack, sees more of the excellent puerile and power punk from the Gateway City.
Released on Geelong label Anti-Fade, it’s come out just in time for the band’s upcoming ‘Layin’ Pipe in Oz’ Australian tour where the Dumpers will be playing a bunch of shows Down Under including a couple with Dumpers spin off band Cal and the Calories.
Nurse With Wound • Graham Bowers - (2011) Rupture CD
United Dirter – 093
This CD is the first collaboration of Steven Stapleton's Nurse With Wound and composer/sculptor Graham Bowers. It is, without doubt, one of the best things we have ever released. It's an extremely unnerving, but also hauntingly moving listening experience.The work is an attempt to create a musical illustration of the "goings-on" in the brain during the last hour and three minutes of a life after suffering a major stroke. It is multi-layered and is primarily concerned with the internal chaos caused by the loss of control of thought processes, responses and consequential actions, with all types of incoherent disjointed memories and present real time events - as well as moments of lucidity, panic and fear - clashing, merging and evolving.It's essentially one long piece, but is presented in three parts:
1/ "...a life as it now is 2/...is not what it was 3/...and will never be again". It arrives packaged in a beautiful 6 panel gloss laminated digipac, featuring artwork from both Babs Santini and Graham Bowers. The edition is limited to just 1000 copies in this format.
Rupture
A collaboration between Nurse With Wound (Steven Stapleton) and Graham Bowers
Tracks : (i)"...a life as it now is, (ii) ... is not what it was, (iii) ... and never will be again"
This work is an attempt to create a musical illustration of the ‘goings-on’ in the brain during the last hour and three minutes of a life after suffering a major stroke.
The piece is multi-layered and is primarily concerned with the internal chaos caused by the loss of control of thought processes, responses and consequential actions, with all types of incoherent disjointed memories and present real time events – as well as moments of lucidity, panic and fear – clashing, merging and evolving.
When the complexity of the human brain’s retained information and the inherent properties which constitute a‘life’, an ‘individual’, a ‘person’, are catastrophically damaged after blood – ‘life’s fuel’ – ruptures the previously organised and essential control centres, absolute mayhem follows.
The cold, hard indisputable truth, and one that we all have no alternative but to accept, is that:
“… a life as it now is, is not what it was, and never will be again”.
Steven Stapleton and Graham Bowers
The collaboration is a result of the chance meeting of Nurse With Wound's Steven Stapleton and Graham Bowers, both artists were appearing
at Bangor Sound City's first art/sound event 'Wet Sounds' curated by Joel Cahen located at the Bangor Swimming Pool, North Wales, in January 2011. Both were admirers of each others past works and felt that a collaboration on a new piece of work could be an interesting and exciting prospect, consequently 'Rupture' is the first full length work, and is released as a Double Vinyl album/LP, a CD and Download. The Vinyl album and CD are to be released through the Dirter.
Graham Bowers : www.red-wharf.com
Death Kneel - (2019) Adaptive Emotional Use LP
Total Black – 128
"Death hides the angels it makes in blue skies"
Mastered by Grant Richardson.
Additional processing by Moss Harvest.
Thanks to Rita Mikhael, Brett Wagg, and Matt Harrison.
Mastered by Grant Richardson.
Additional processing by Moss Harvest.
Thanks to Rita Mikhael, Brett Wagg, and Matt Harrison.
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