Börft Records – börft.49
Saturday, December 26, 2020
Black To Comm - (2020) Oocyte Oil & Stolen Androgens
Thrill Jockey – THRILL534
The music of Black To Comm is as powerfully intoxicating as it is subtly unnerving. Shapeshifting producer and sound artist Marc Richter has established himself as one of the most inventive and ambitious voices in contemporary music. Richter’s mastery of sonic manipulation is matched only by his astounding clarity of vision. Working heavily with sampling and electronic processing, each of his phantasmagoric works is meticulously constructed from a truly omnivorous array of smudged samples, found sounds, and other sonic detritus, collected by Richter from across the history of recorded music and altered into beguiling new shapes. Sound sources seem tantalizingly familiar and yet forever just out of reach, flickering at the edges of memory and perception or submerged in a bristling sea of static. A single piece might strafe elements of Eastern European folk, medieval plainsong, sky-clawing metal and shimmering ambient music, all ingested by Richter into his singular sound-world. Oocyte Oil & Stolen Androgens sees Richter’s turn his wild imagination to an exploration of the human voice, compiling some of his most immediate and affecting music to date.
Houkago Grind Time - (2020) Bakyunsified (Moe To The Gore) 12''
Grindfather Productions – GF476
One of the only metal records I heard this year and its dry production
and speed feel older than it is, but the drumming and composition
reminds me of the great The Kill.
HOUKAGO GRIND TIME is the brainchild of one man grindmaster Andrew Lee
(RIPPED TO SHREDS, SKULLSMASHER). The debut full length is a collection
of anime and manga inspired goregrind tunes that will appeal to fans of
REGURGITATE, DEAD INFECTION, old CARCASS, PIG DESTROYER and the likes.
Lasse Marhaug - (2020) April 1st 2020
Documenting Sound – 18
Original isolationist Lasse Marhaug assumes his natural disposition in
an incredible, dread-filled snapshot of life recorded April 1st and
dialled in from Oslo for our Documenting Sound series.
A behemoth in the Norwegian Metal, noise, jazz, electronic and
experimental scenes for nearly 30 years, Marhaug is something of a
polymath - appearing and collaborating with countless artists (Sunn
O))), Carlos Giffoni, Merzbow, Maja Ratkje, John Wiese and many, many
others), he’s a highly sought-after producer with credits on records by
Jenny Hval, Hilary Woods and Okkyung Lee, as well as a photographer,
visual artist, writer, magazine publisher - basically he’s done - and is
doing - it all.
Lasse was born and raised above the Arctic Circle and made his name up
there via the international mail-order scene before moving to Oslo, so
he clearly knows a thing or two about life communicating from under
virtual lockdown or isolation. His tape here documents an hour of music
recorded on April 1st 2020 (and later deftly edited) that provides a
glimpse of just how deep his talent runs, using a stripped down set-up
of guitar, turntable and synths in much the same grizzled and intuitive
way that’s practically unchanged from his formative, teen-aged days in
the cold, cold north.
Lasse’s free-ranging taste for raw, crumbling noise textures and
scowling drone scuzz is in strong effect on four skull scraping and
apocalypse-baiting works. Whether describing huge glacial events and a
lack of Vitamin D in the noisy transition of ‘Exiles’, or more
sensitively evoking a sense of ambient sehsucht recalling Kevin Drumm’s
classic ‘Imperial Distortion’ on ‘Family', or plainly baiting the
apocalypse with the magisterial string drones of ‘Perfect Places’,
Lasse’s music conjures scowling moods that enact a solidarity for
outsiders as much as a frank admission that life’s always been a bit
crushing, and we just have to get on with it.
GG King - (2011) Esoteric Lore
Scavenger Of Death – SOD-04
While I rarely felt like the Carbonas lived up to the echelon at which
so many of their fans tended to regard them, one thing that always
impressed me was that they never stopped getting stronger as a band.
That forward momentum has happily continued in the output of lead singer
Greg King. Now operating under the somewhat ridiculous GG King handle,
he’s allied himself with key former Carbonas and others for a bracing
minimalist punk attack that shreds the approach of that prior band down
to its stone-cold gut.
A relentless, anxious frenzy pumps these rapid-fire outbursts, inciting
rocket-feet and beer spillage. I’m not enough of a punk rock authority
to try and namecheck whatever obscure bands GG King draws from, but it’s
safe to say there’s a lot of ’70s UK touchstones in Greg’s record
collection – and if not, there should be! There are group backing vocals
that sound like a howlin’ wind about to sweep you skyward. The guitars
slash ‘n’ stab in a self-contained street rumble. The bass thuds and
chugs like a belligerent drunk that won’t step down. The drums rattle
and pound until they don’t, stopping on a dime. King’s vocals often
remind me of Pete Shelley in the early Buzzcocks, or Colin Newman in
early Wire, where you’re dizzy by not only the breathless thrust of the
delivery but also the giddy pop undercurrent of it all. And early
British punk band Johnny Moped gets a nod with a fine cover of
“Incendiary Device.”
Driving the point home, Esoteric Lore‘s artwork uses that classic cheap
black & white, cut ‘n’ paste, scribble ‘n’ scramble aesthetic so
common to punk and hardcore since before Never Mind the Bollocks. It’s a
clichéd look now, but it’s still effective, I have to admit. And since
the lyrics are scrawled and typed into the inner sleeve layout, it lets
you catch up with some of the words that may’ve zoomed by in the flurry
of impact. My favorite is probably “Bored of Breathing”: “You’re always
acting like you’re bored of breathing/ But no one is telling you to keep
on living.”
GG King - (2012) Last Of The Night Wiggers - Ruff Demo
Scavenger Of Death – SOD-07
When the Carbonas died, Atlanta wept. Mothers and children, left
orphaned by the deceased, wandered the streets with tears streaming
mottled faces. Strong and silent men struggled to maintain composure,
and they retreated to basement workbenches, biting lips, cracking
knuckles, running hands through thinning hair, sullenly wondering:
"Why?" Skies darkened. A palpable feeling of devastating loss plagued
the city. Nay, the world.
Thankfully, ex-frontman Greg "GG" King wasted little time in yanking up
his knickers and pursuing new noise. He wrote a series of tunes not
unlike those he contributed to the Carbonas “ that winning mix of
hyperstrummed '70s Europunk and brawny stateside r'n'r pummel intact“
and amassed a crew of friends and former bandmates to help him flesh out
the din. He released a handful of solid teaser singles, played a number
of good shows. He reasserted himself as one of Atlanta's greatest
exports.
GG King - (2017) Another Dimension 7''
Scavenger Of Death – SOD-27
The king returns to the game after a three-year absence, but he's not
empty handed. He's got a baby and three brand new tracks. "Another
Dimension" revisits a track from Unending Darkness, making full use of
the hotshot (read: not inept) backing band GG had at the time, giving
the track 100% more dimension. "Make a Movie" is GG King at the pinnacle
of his psychedelic hip hop phase, the lyrics inspired by his years in
the film industry, where he learned the hard way that Weird Al is not
interested in a biopic. "Gilliam Park" is one long, indolent, cosmic
hook that builds until it disappears down a wormhole. Unlike many acts
whose music suffers in the harsh light of clarity, King really shines
with a competent recording.
GG King - (2019) Mass of Entrails
Scavenger Of Death – SOD-34
While I rarely felt like the Carbonas lived up to the echelon at which
so many of their fans tended to regard them, one thing that always
impressed me was that they never stopped getting stronger as a band.
That forward momentum has happily continued in the output of lead singer
Greg King. Now operating under the somewhat ridiculous GG King handle,
he’s allied himself with key former Carbonas and others for a bracing
minimalist punk attack that shreds the approach of that prior band down
to its stone-cold gut.
A relentless, anxious frenzy pumps these rapid-fire outbursts, inciting
rocket-feet and beer spillage. I’m not enough of a punk rock authority
to try and namecheck whatever obscure bands GG King draws from, but it’s
safe to say there’s a lot of ’70s UK touchstones in Greg’s record
collection – and if not, there should be! There are group backing vocals
that sound like a howlin’ wind about to sweep you skyward. The guitars
slash ‘n’ stab in a self-contained street rumble. The bass thuds and
chugs like a belligerent drunk that won’t step down. The drums rattle
and pound until they don’t, stopping on a dime. King’s vocals often
remind me of Pete Shelley in the early Buzzcocks, or Colin Newman in
early Wire, where you’re dizzy by not only the breathless thrust of the
delivery but also the giddy pop undercurrent of it all. And early
British punk band Johnny Moped gets a nod with a fine cover of
“Incendiary Device.”
Driving the point home, Esoteric Lore‘s artwork uses that classic cheap
black & white, cut ‘n’ paste, scribble ‘n’ scramble aesthetic so
common to punk and hardcore since before Never Mind the Bollocks. It’s a
clichéd look now, but it’s still effective, I have to admit. And since
the lyrics are scrawled and typed into the inner sleeve layout, it lets
you catch up with some of the words that may’ve zoomed by in the flurry
of impact. My favorite is probably “Bored of Breathing”: “You’re always
acting like you’re bored of breathing/ But no one is telling you to keep
on living.”
Thankfully, GG King isn’t bored yet, and neither are we.
GG King - (2019) September 6, 2019 Hopscotch Music Festival, Kings, Raleigh, NC LIVE
Label/Cat#: NYCTaper
Among the bounty of riches at every Hopscotch Music Festival is the
variety of punk shows that get put on, both throughout the day show
circuit and during the official evening events. Out of a particularly
good crop this year, one of my very favorite punk acts was the Atlanta
band GG King, who played both this official evening set at Kings and
then a day show set at Neptune’s (the downstairs room of the same club)
the following day.
This set shows the band at its best, playing high-velocity,
hardcore-inflected punk. Frontman Greg “GG” King hails from the defunct
hometown favorite the Carbonas, who were at it from 2001 to 2009, and
his eponymous band continues many of the things people loved about his
last band. In particular, both had a certain pop sensibility that,
without making either act cheesy or soft, give them appeal beyond their
core audience. This night’s song selection should satisfy both the new
fan and the veteran alike; you can hear many of the studio versions on
these rehearsal demos streaming on their label’s bandcamp page. Once
you’re done here, I recommend you stream your way over to Scavenger of
Death Records and discover the rest of what GG King has to offer.
I recorded this set with MBHO microphones into the warm n’ fuzzy Aerco
preamp. My man Dave Schwentker was kind enough to track this one out so
we could present it to you. Enjoy!
Recorded by acidjack
Produced by David Schwentker
MBHO MBP603/KA200N (at SBD, PAS)>Sound Devices MixPre6>24/48 WAV>editing by David Schwentker>FLAC>MP3
Friday, December 18, 2020
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Don Cherry - (1972) Organic Music Society
Caprice Records – CAP 21827
Absolutely stunning, super rare deep, deep spiritual jazz album from Don
Cherry. This has to be up there with our all time best records ever
(yes its good). Recorded in 1972 in Sweden, this record is perhaps the
first ever 'world' music record - a subtle, organic fusion of sounds
that really is out there on its own for grooviness. This record is
released here for the first time in 40 years by the Swedish state record
label Caprice. It is done with love and we want to spread that love to
you too.
Cosmic, spiritual, deep, amazing!
Don Cherry - (2020) Om Shanti Om
Black Sweat Records – BS058
An amazing document of the life experiment that was the Organic Music Society. This super quality audio, recorded by RAI (the italian public broadcasting company) in 1976 for television, documents a quartet concert focused on vocals compositions and improvisations. Here, Don Cherry and his family-community’s musical belief emerges in its simplicity, with the desire to merge the knowledge and stimuli gained during numerous travels across the World in a single sound experience. Don's pocket-trumpet is melted with the beats of the great Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos, the Italian guitar of Gian Piero Pramaggiore, and the tanpura drone of Moki. A pure hippie aesthetic, like in an intimate ceremony, filters a magical encounter between Eastern and Western civiliziations, offering different suggestions of sound mysticism: natural acoustics in which individual instruments and voices are part of a wider pan-tribal consciousness. A desert Western landscape marries Asian and Latin atmospheres. Indigenous contributions with berimbau explorations find fossil sounds of rattles and clap-hands invocations. Influences of Indian mantra singing are combined with eternal African voices or with folkish-Latin guitar rhythms , while flute and drums evoke distant dances. In the Organic Music everything becomes an act of devotion and love, an ecstatic dwell in the dimension of a sacred free-rejoice.
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