Unwar - (2019) Other People CDr

 

Magma Tones ‎– MGTN24 

MGTN24
CDr, edition of 28 copies

total 10tracks, 42.27 minutes. tracks 1-5 are visible; the rest of the tracks come with a purchase.

Recorded 2018-19.

Psychedelic, electronic, noisy, transcendental, improvised, experimental... all that; mixed together with a tons of colours and visions. Dimensions merged and feeling fine (and high). All done by Michael Donnelly, also known from his many other projects... like 6majik9, Brothers of The Sister Occulthood, Terracid, etc.

Vague Imaginaires - (2020) L'Île Sous l'Eau 12''

 

12th Isle ‎– ISLE009 

 The Underwater Island is a collection of four tracks from Grenoble based producer Denis Morin. Philosopher, gardener, father and sonic explorer. Our friendship dates back over a decade, with some of this music first shared during a visit to Glasgow almost 5 years to the day - when 12th Isle the label was but an idea. For ISLE009, Vague Imaginaires gifts us with autobiographical field recordings, FM synthesis and skilled sound design inspired by the ocean and the Drac river which flows through the mountains of his city. Harmonising natural sound sources with digital realms, he navigates through minimalism, ambient techno and flashes of dub inspiration. Morin combines these musical ideas with Roland TR-8, 303 emulations, hydrophone recordings and vocal fragments from Tunisia, Morocco and Vercors Massif.

Valentina Goncharova - (2020) Recordings 1987 - 1991, Vol. 1

 

Shukai ‎– Shukai 3

 Developed as an archival project for Soviet era electronics, Muscut sublabel Shukai deliver their first double LP with the home-recordings of Valentina Goncharova. Now based in Tallinn, the Kyiv born composer drew influence from the likes of Stockhausen, Xenakis and Ganelin Trio during the 1980s and experimented with marriages of electro-acoustic sound. Her homemade pickups and effects chains lend an extraordinary drone quality to amplified cello strings - minimalist classical movements, field recordings and spectral musique concrete unfolding across eleven distinct pieces. Shukai unveil a deeply personal parallel to the conservatoire background and classical repertoire of Valentina’s lifelong career in music, these recordings offering a glimpse of an artist free from academic strictures. ‘Recordings Vol. 1’ deliberates on the broader new music movement of the 20th century and highlights an overlooked innovator of the Eastern European avant-garde.

Von Südenfed - (2007) Tromatic Reflexxions CD

 

Domino ‎– WIGCD190

… Mouse on Mars and Smith … found the one-off inspiring enough to record an entire album together. Tromatic Reflexxions, their (first?) full-length, reflects the general tenor of that original collaboration … the ideas presented … gain some cumulative force … In this way, the record operates something like a Fall album, wearing you down with its relentless energy.

… Von Südenfed occasionally sounds like Smith is knocking back at the early LCD Soundsystem singles, … a crunchy, bouncy beat with a bassline… Its grooves are harsh and noisy, often stuttering about … and they strike a strong contrast to the accessible pop tendencies of Mouse on Mars' clubbier recent material. Meanwhile, Smith's voice is slathered in reverb… 

Wave Temples - (2020) Tales From The Cymatic Abyss

 Not Not Fun Records ‎– NNF363

A prime divination document by elusive Floridian entity Wave Temples finally receives full presentation rites: Tales From The Cymatic Abyss. Tracked in fragments from 2013 through 2015, this collection captures the essence of the project’s illusory allure, cross-fading vignettes of coastal drift, thatched hut percussion, and aquamarine dreams into a seamless séance of the inner Keys.

Excerpts appeared on limited Rainbow Pyramid formats half a decade ago but the complete open sea saga has remained hidden on privately circulated artist editions until now. Totaling nearly an hour, Tales traverses windswept shores, campfire ruins, quiet villages, and rainbow reefs, restless but reflective, tape-hiss and tropical bliss interwoven in psychic landscapes at the end of the earth.

Wobbly - (2019) Monitress CS

 

 Hausu Mountain ‎– HAUSMO 96

‘Monitress’ is a piece for multiple mobile devices, each one running a pitch-tracking app and a synthesizer. Each is sent an audio signal, which the tracking app converts to MIDI data which is then used to drive the synth. Using an analog mixer, the sounds of one mobile can be routed / cascaded among the others. Feedback loops similar to acoustic or electrical feedback occur when you close the circle. The pitch-tracking apps are prone to errors, especially when presented with complex multiphonics or polyphonies; they get quite a few notes fascinatingly wrong. But more striking is the audible reality of their listening to each other. Unison lines are an elemental sign of musical intelligence; we are entrained to emotional reactions when hearing multiple voices attempting the same melody. These machines may not meet our current criterion for consciousness, but every audience I’ve played this piece in front of quickly realizes they're not listening to a solo.

The result is best heard in live performance, with 3-6 devices singing along. For the album version, studio improvisations on keyboards & touchscreens were recorded and then used to trigger an additional two or three layers of pitch-tracked response. But there's still only one initial human performance, embroidered on all sides by detailed machine listening.

The technology used to create these sounds existed before the mobiles, but this music would not have been made on earlier equipment -- it's a result of the relationship developed with a machine that is always present, and always listening. This was the project I dug into as we woke up to the true owners of these tools, a frame to make the relationship between ourselves and our machines audible while we think about the necessary steps to take next.

Live performances of Monitress frequently utilized the following iOS apps: Sonnus G2M, Midimorphosis, TC-11, Phawuo, GrainBender, Manetron2, PPG WaveMapper, djay Pro, Animoog, Virtual ANS, Cube Synth, microTERA, Tera Synth, iVCS3, iLectric Piano, NeoSoul Keys, ComboOrgan, Ondes, Ruckers 1628, VoxSyn, iMonoPoly, World Scales, Moog Model 15, ODYSSEi, M3000 HD, Sopranotron, tardigrain, Korg Module, Dedalus, SampleWiz, Shoom, Thor, Poseidon, bitKlavier, iSEM, SoundyThingie, DXi, Optigan, FM4, iCathedral, SingingFingers, Galileo, iMini, Stria, iPulsaret, 76 Synthesizer, iPolysix, Burea, Turquoise DS, SeekBeats, bent.fm, Alina, AUFX: Dub, MegaCurtis, MicroTones, Moon Beam, Photophore, Nature Oscillator, Samplr, Audio Reverb, Drums, Impaktor, Argon, AD 480 pro, Attractor, Movement I-V, Drumatron, Wilsonic & aardvark.

Svitlana Nianio / Oleksandr Yurchenko - (2020) Знаєш як? Розкажи LP

 

  NIGHT SCHOOL ‎– LSSN068

Svitlana Nianio and Oleksandr Yurchenko are musicians with a long history in the still-mysterious
Kiev Underground. Nianio’s first group Cukor Bela Smert [Sugar, The White Death] were active
from the late 80’s through to the early 90’s, and following an intense period of touring, collaboration,
experimentation and a string of mixtapes and self-published recordings, Nianio’s first official solo
album ‘Kytytsi’ was released in 1999 by Poland’s Koka Records. Oleksandr Yurchenko, a longtime
collaborator and a pivotal figure in the Kiev music scene, was instrumental in creating the Novaya
Scena, a loose conglomerate of artists who encouraged each other to excavate both the sounds of
the West and Ukrainian tradition. ‘Znayesh Yak? Rozkazhy’ (‘Know How? Tell Me’) is the duo’s most
fully realised collaboration, an enchanting, complete world in which Yurchenko’s instrumentation
and playfulness with form frames Nianio’s otherworldly soprano, recalling Liz Fraser steeped
in contrapuntal melody and hymnal improvisation. Originally made available on a self-released
cassette in 1996 (re-issued in 2017 by Ukraine’s Delta Shock label) where the album was twinned
with ‘Lisova Kolekciya’ (re-issued on LP in 2017 by Skire) this is the debut release of ‘Znayesh Yak?
Rozkazhy’ outside of Ukraine.
Recorded in an abandoned park in Kiev during a fertile period for artists and musicians following
the collapse of the Soviet Union, ‘Znayesh Yak? Rozkazhy’ sees Nianio and Yurchenko combine Casio
keyboard, hammered dulcimer, percussion, and Nianio’s unmistakeable soprano vocalisations to create
music sympathetic to the specific locations in which they chose to record. Yurchenko’s contribution
is perhaps more present on this recording than anything else we have heard from the duo. His
percussive dulcimer playing provides the basis on which Nianio can weave delicate keyboard lines
while playfully contorting her voice, shifting from a low register reminiscent of Nico to what could
be perceived as the call of a bird or an animal in distress. Whatever the intent, the effect is haunting
and beautiful in equal measure.
There’s a prevailing earthiness on the recordings, found in the warm hiss of the lo-fi means of
recording or the grinding, unspecified sounds that occasionally accompany the melody, like drones
created on the fly by hands trying to keep warm in the ice. A prevailing mood of fragility and beauty
seeps from these melodies, delicate moments of clarity spun by the two musicians. ‘Znayesh Yak?
Rozkazhy’ is a dream spun in twilight, a crystalline, private world where the listener feels both alien
and welcome.

Women Of The SS - (1984) ST CS

 

  Inner-X-Musick ‎– XXX 09

The Women of The SS ( WOSS ) is a Kinky Noize sideproject, by John Zewizz of Sleepchamber fame, with a fetish for women in Nazi Uniforms and lot of dark, evil fetishistic and S&M lyrics, with samples from old nazi sexploitation movies, and voices by women, mainly speaking, in a monotone Germanic voice of kinky scenarios, over dark, ambient soundscapes.
 

Women Of The SS - (1985) Woman Iz Beast CS

 

 Inner-X-Musick ‎– XXX 20

Women Of The SS - (1988) Ov Pure Blood CS

 

 Inner-X-Musick ‎– none

Women Of The SS - (1991) ST LP

 

 RRRecords ‎– RRR-XXX

Women Of The SS - (1993) John Zewizz Presents His Infamous CD

 

RRRecords ‎– RRR-CD-07

 

Women Of The SS - (1984) Possession Of The Matrix 7''

 Inner-X-Musick ‎– 001

Vis-A-Vis - (1977) Obi Agye Me Dofo LP

 

 Makossa ‎– MA 7076 

Vis-a-Vis band is composed by the finest ghanaian musicians: Isaac Yeboha, the lead-singer, bassist Slim Yaw, Kunh Fu Kwaku drummer and Sam Crooper guitarist who will be the subject of another post. (Vis-a-Vis with K.Frimpong can be found HERE).
The album today is a 1980 re-release on american label Makossa Records of the great album "Obi Agye Dofo Me" recorded in 1977 on the ghanaian label Brobisco Records. Only two tracks on side 2 have been replaced by unknown pieces "Mere Beba Me" and "Medofo Gyina Nkwanta". If anyone can tell what album these two titles belong. I think "Medofo..." has been sang by Alex Konadu. Anyway the record is in a perfect shape, enjoy the sound...

Of Feather And Bone - (2015) Embrace The Wretched Flesh CD

 

 Good Fight Music ‎– GFM053

 You know, I think I get the title of the band: songs fly by like a bird going in for the kill and are stripped down to the bone. Maybe I'm over-thinking that a bit. Maybe not. However, the metaphor would be apt when it comes to the lacerating energy Of Feather and Bone carries. It's a short beast but it swoops in with a frothing fury and is, well, rather peckish. Right down to the goddamn bone.
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Of Feather and Bone are finally putting out a full length is at least something that's come sooner rather than later. Though the Denver, CO band isn't old by any stretch, I had these ACxDC fears lodged in the back of my mind. Maybe that's just me getting old…er. And good thing that wasn't the case. Of Feather and Bone's grindy/crusty/hardcore approach has always been on the short side with only three EPs (I assume they're EPs despite not being labeled as such) to their name (one of which is a split with Reproacher). Though the band hasn't been a turn over machine when it comes to material

Embrace the Wretched Flesh, one call tell by song titles alone, is an album that doesn't do mercy; it's not on the agenda. Throughout the ten tracks the songs proclaim hatred, suffering, isolation and damnation. And after a short burst of feed back and the almost complete lack of introduction it's easy to see why. There are no kind words to introduce any of this. No leading listeners into a safe room and letting the thing blow over. Of Feather and Bone simply get down to the killing.

Of Feather and Bone have glorified their crust/grind/hardcore love in the past and make no effort to move beyond it here. The band keep themselves tightly knit around a hardcore/punk structure, though they allow themselves to fluctuate between the heavy stuff and the old school. The first three tracks feature heavy breakdowns that the 90s scene would have definitely given a nod to. The beatdown sensibility is ever present, but weirdly never feels like the focal point despite its persistence. Hell, “Confined Violence” and “Ignore Their Remorse” flow into one another through a breakdown (and the later is even mostly comprised out of said breakdown).

It's the speed and melody that makes Of Feather and Bone shine. When the band gets blast-y shit really gets going. When the band is melodic, they sound mournful. Maybe it's self-inflicted. Maybe they're inflicting. But no matter the direction they can deliver the damage. Tracks like the extremely punk-y “The Proclamation of Hatred” take a cue from the 80s but remain modern with a moody metallic/melodic section. “Deafing Call” (I'm assuming my copy has a misspelling and it's actually “Deafening Call”) on the other hand is the most grindcore the album gets, but keeps itself on that hardcore/punk path.
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Of Feather and Bone cram a lot of breakdowns, a lot of hardcore/punk sensibilities and a lot of crusty/grind goodness into a meager twenty-three minutes. Embrace the Wretched Flesh goes by in a flash too. It's tough as nails and full of hate. Songs are on the large built out of the same elements, generally featuring one domineering over the other two. It is definitely one of the reasons the album has so much punch, but also one of the reasons it's easy to confuse songs. Still, Embrace the Wretched Flesh is a bone breaker that pays its dues to the genres the Of Feather and Bone loves so much.

Of Feather And Bone - (2018) Bestial Hymns of Perversion CD

 

Profound Lore Records ‎– PFL-199

Emerging from their Rocky Mountain crypts, OF FEATHER AND BONE spread their virulent strain of cryptic death metal on Bestial Hymns of Perversion, due March 9, 2018 on Profound Lore Records.

Bassist/vocalist AS and Guitarist/vocalist DG herald the endtimes with a dual guttural onslaught atop an everflowing stream of grime-caked riffs and PW’s whirlwind of blasts and d-beats. Invoking the claustrophobia of Autopsy and the visceral disgust of Incantation and Bolt Thrower, OF FEATHER AND BONE’s relentless death assault serves as the soundtrack to mankind’s fall.

After garnering substantial praise for their long sold-out 2016 demo, OF FEATHER AND BONE returned to Goldberg Studios during the summer of 2017 with Steve Goldberg (Cephalic Carnage) at the helm. Mastered by Dan Lowndes at Resonance Sound and featuring stunning cover art courtesy of Stefan Todorovic, Bestial Hymns of Perversion’s seven tracks of unrelenting death metal portend the destruction of the modern age.

Of Feather And Bone - (2020) Sulfuric Disintegration

 

Profound Lore Records ‎– PFL-252 

The third album from Of Feather and Bone is a frightening, warped spectacle. Using their previous effort and breakout moment, 2018’s Bestial Hymns of Perversion, as a lose foundation and framework the trio use Sulfuric Disintegration to perfect, pervert and punish. The band keep their offering extremely lean, too, with only six tracks combining to contribute to this LP, which comes in at little over half an hour. It is, however, the perfect running time for such a maelstrom of heaviness. Any heavier and we would surely become so dense as to sink straight to Hell, sans, y’know, death…

As alluded to, the band’s previous record was a defining moment in their life so far as an act. Prior to that, an album (Embrace the Wretched Flesh), two EPs (False Healer and Adorned in Decay) and a split (with Reproacher) has signposted them as a band high on technical merit, luxuriant in their musicianship, but lacking a clear defining edge. Mixing grindcore with a crusty hardcore, their sound was powerful and deliciously bludgeoning, but seemed to be missing a true creative spark, or indeed some easily identifiable passion behind the playing. All that changed with Bestial Hymns of Perversion.

Moving to famed extreme metal label Profound Lore (who are also responsible for this release), the trio mostly deviated away from the hardcore and crust punk influences they had introduced themselves with. In their place was an extremely brutal brand of death metal, now interacting and poisoning the veins of their already established and much loved penchant for grindcore. In this musical corruption, the band found their sound and horror was unleashed.

Sulfuric Disintegration builds upon the structure now established and respected throughout the scene. The band members attack this record in a way that genuinely took my breath away on the first listen – and now makes me shake my head in wonder upon repeated spins. It is nigh-on deranged in the focus and strength that this record exudes from every angle one approaches it.

As well as the writing and performances it is worth noting those the band have surrounded themselves with to record such a feat. Recorded at Juggernaut Audio by Ben Romsdahl and produced, mixed and mastered by Arthur Rizk, Sulfuric Disintegration has the same people behind it as the most recent Primitive Man album Immersion, as well as albums from the likes of Xibalba, Cro-Mags and Pissgrave. It sounds utterly and uniquely toxic. The presentation of this record is topped off by some pretty mesmerising artwork from Stewart Cole, who has previously done work for Bastard Grave and Noisem.

The Crazy Doberman - (2020) ''Final Syllables In Recorded History'' Vol. One CD

 

Self-released ‎– none

Crazy Doberman is a curious outfit, a rotating collective of musicians that come and go for recordings and live performances. The group is centered around Drew Davis, Tim Gick, and John Olsen of Wolf Eyes. 

The Crazy Doberman - (2020) ''Final Syllables In Recorded History'' Vol. Two CD

 

Self-released ‎– none

J Velez - (2014) Territories LP

 

L.I.E.S. Records ‎– LIES046

Jorge Velez puts his Professor Genius alias to bed with a fine debut LP of searching hardware manoeuvres for L.I.E.S. Six tracks spell out a cosmically detached sound scoping out immersive ambient xones in the black hole of 'Blood and Bone' and underwater bliss of 'Wrecks', along with dancefloor-courting mutant chug in 'Festival Mounds' and more abstract, industrial expressions in the murky rhythms and synth washes of 'Curves', or the blunted pulses of 'Ley Lines'.

JT Whitfield - (2020) Untitled LP

 

L.I.E.S. Records ‎– LIES-148

Texan weirdo and industrial technician JT Whitfield arrives on L.I.E.S. with a striking mini-LP of electro-static grooves and menacing, EBM-infused stompers. Untitled picks up where Whitfield left off with 2019’s Eminent Domain by staying the course on the heavier, beat-driven compositions for which he made his name. ‘Speed Psychosis’ delivers punishing, cinder-block rhythms over a maniacally distorted vocal, as ‘Deep Thought’ hints at off-kilter grooves with thundering bass.

Moist 96 - (2020) ST

 

L.I.E.S. Records ‎– LIES-166 

NYC by way of Miami, Moist 96 is a new project of Rene Nunez, mostly known through the years for his work under the name, Horoscope.
Culled together from decaying tapes, bled out and dubbed one too many times over, Nunez took pieces from these old 4 track demos drawing back on the music of his youth; Miami bass, freestyle and coked out funk to create this record. The lp being a raw in your face snapshot which is the musical equivalent of a pit bull being locked in a car for hours during a heatwave with the afternoon mix show on full blast.
As the artist says...
"This is not trying to be some jokey-ironic-funny-costume-campy bullshit. It is trying to be on some real illegal pre-internet bootleg rush-hour mix; 808's on blown-out car systems; cassette tapes melted in the center console speeding by Hot Wheels and Club Madonna’s neon signs; pants-shitting bass frequencies, like a roundhouse kick to your chest type shit."
If you’re tired of all this cum fast video game techno you might enjoy this project. And if you don’t, that’s cool, too.
I hope everyone keeps their head up, Releasing music right now can feel stupid and unimportant, but hopefully this record can take your mind off shit for a second and have some fun. Thanks for taking the time and listening."

 

Boyracer - (2020) Harehills Christmas 7''

 

Emotional Response – ER 109

Its that time of year! A new Boyracer Xmas single, available for your digital listening pleasure aswell as in its analogue glory on a limited vinyl 7inch.
"Harehills Christmas" recalls the early 90s when young Stewart was fresh out of high school, with dreams a plenty, and was living in a 25 pound a week terraced house in one of Leeds' lesser fashionable areas.
"Atheists who Love Christmas", penned by Christina is self explanitory. A resplendent upbeat breezy tune to bring cheer, and the perfect flip to the dour Northern charm of "Harehills Christmas" 

NGLY - (2016) Cities Of Illusion 2x12''

 

L.I.E.S. Records ‎– LIES079 

Returning to L.I.E.S having already created an occult fan base with his original 4 track white label release back in 2014, the Argentinian based NGLY is back with a full length offering, that we make certain won’t disappoint fans of his earlier releases, and will certainly hook more people in for the kill. Which, from our listening, would most certainly come via sinking in a bubbling vat of acid, left to brew for a little longer than necessary.

Cities of Illusion walks a fine line between many of the original strains of the electronic realm. With the elements all present and raring to be smacked about, used and brutally abused.

Opening with the roaring ‘Ideal Place’, an echoed out vocal booms inaudibly, before the kick bangs out incessantly against what sounds like a wall with nothing but bee hives hanging from it. Elsewhere on the LP, ‘Sidney Reilly & the Reillys’ is a proto house jam inflected with a post punk ethos as keen as Ian Curtis’s dancing. ‘Strange Expression’ offers up a blissfully light interlude, equipped with long strewn chords and spacious drum programming with an undercurrent of acid flowing through its main artery. It’s a wholly complete work from a label that still, nearly 80 releases deep is as consistent as it ever was.

Osees - (2020) Weirdo Hairdo 12''

 

Castle Face ‎– CF-134 

 John Dwyer and his collaborators in Osees (formerly Oh Sees) are great friends to their fans and terrible enemies to their fans’ bank accounts. Hours after detailing their forthcoming remix LP Panther Rotate, the prolific rockers have revealed yet another new release: a limited edition EP called Weirdo Hairdo. It’s only available for pre-order, with sales ceasing October 1st.

Weirdo Hairdo will be released as a 12-inch and feature the popular cover of Alice Cooper and the Spiders “Don’t Blow Your Mind” that they shared in a rehearsal video earlier this year. The EP is rounded out by the title track and the song “Tear Ducks”. In a statement, the band described the new music as “loose limbed and lysergic,” which means psychedelic, for those who’ve never dropped acid.

S. English - (2016) General Dimensions LP

 

 L.I.E.S. Records ‎– LIES-087

American experimental musician Shane English continues in a long tradition of outsider electronics, humbly prolific in his output though years of involving himself in numerous recording projects. Collaborating with Jonah Lange in their group Corporate Park as well as an ongoing collab with Beau Wanzer (seeing a release last year under the CP/BW name), English now commits his second full length solo offering to vinyl in the form of the General Dimensions LP.  Sparse machine-driven electronics dominate the recording providing a back drop for the occasional pulsating rhythm, metallic clank or floating obscured vocal. While it is a dark and sparse affair, there is a quiet downtrodden beauty throughout giving the recording a sense of uncertain serenity in an almost shoegazey way. Highly recommended for those into early electronics.

Robert Bergman - (2020) ST 12''

 

 L.I.E.S. Records ‎– LIES-149

Brew Records label head Robert Bergman debuts on L.I.E.S. with a true to form exercise in janky chaotic house energy. What marks Bergman out as a singular practitioner is his uncanny sense for the psychedelic, a skill he ably practices even when he’s bludgeoning you across the head with heavy beats. 

Ancient River - (2020) The House Of Stone LP

 

Little Cloud Records ‎– LC 034

House of Stone. The 8th full-length album from the American band and their 2nd release in 2020. All the band's strengths are on full display on this album with 13 tracks seamlessly moving through elements of rock, garage, psych, folk, and beyond.

In contrast to the band's previous album 2020’s After the Dawn, which was a showcase for the bands classic and well known 2 pieces set up, The House of Stone finds the band expanding their sonic possibilities in the studio with multi-tracking on some tracks, while others tracks were cut in the studio completely live.

This album has all the characteristics to be a mid-fidelity classic sitting comfortably in the band's body of work. For a band that has released 8 albums to date, lyrically there are some songs on this album that are guitarist J. Barreto’s most gritty and edgy yet. The House of Stone is a solid release sure to make audiophiles feel happy and secure in otherwise troubling times.

VA - (2020) How Sick Do You Get When You Look At Yourself?

 

L.I.E.S. Records ‎– none

Brontez Purnell - (2020) White Boy Music CS

Post Present Medium ‎– 69

The late Jose Esteban Munoz asserted in 1999’s “Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics” that there is more to identity than identifying with one’s culture or standing solidly against it. The racial and sexual mainstream negotiate majority culture—not by aligning themselves with or against exclusionary works but rather by transforming these works for their own cultural purposes.

In what feels like a punk rock response/sonic dissertation to the late Munoz ,Brontez Purnell brings the curious offering “WHITE BOY MUSIC”.

Rock and roll is of course long long looooooooooooooong dead, (and good riddance!) but it seems that Purnell seeks to be the graveyard dweller who will inherit the bones. Long after his naked go-go boy days in punk electro outfit “Gravy Train!!!” and in between his current band “The Younger Lovers” next LP, Brontez gives us his first ever solo music.

An old-fashioned DIY pop song aesthetic dominates here and to devastating effect- as upbeat and catchy as it is haunting “WHITE BOY MUSIC” still has enough jagged flow and layered harmonies to remind you that is still very much the work of a DIY punk maestro blasting through pop-songs.

Purnell adds “well basically I had always wanted to make a fake mod 80s white boy record, ya’ know? I’m talking like, sweater vest and penny loafers and shit, ya dig? Like I wanted to be someone else inside myself. Basically, like an anti-alter ego? Like how Janis Joplin claimed “Pearl” to be here “alter-ego” when in fact it was just Janis pretending to be Bessie Smith- but I wanted to whore that concept out even further. So I was like “well if Janis Joplin can be Bessie Smith, can I be Paul Weller? Or rather Paul Weller once removed? Like Brontez Purnell as Paul Weller as Brontez Purnell? It’s silly to even ask cause of course I can do whatever the fuck I want- CAUSE IM PAUL FUCKING WELLER”

I am highly fucking amused at the concept of a Black boy from America ripping of English boys from the 80s who in turn were ripping off Black boys from America- I think the term is as you Americans put it “coming full circle”? I personally like the circle. I like it as a shape- but I digress.

Something about this latest racket of Purnell’s feels as charmingly plot heavy as it is strangely well timed (much like the artist himself). There’s even a Beat Happening cover! I think the word “Bravo” is in order here….also… LET IT BLAST!!!

The Soft Boys - (2020) I Wanna Destroy You 2x7''

 

 Yep Roc Records ‎– YEP-2693  

2020 marks the 40th anniversary of two releases from psychedelic icons The Soft Boys, their Near The Soft Boys EP and the single for their biggest hit "I Wanna Destroy You. To commemorate these releases, Yep Roc will be reissuing these ultra-rare releases as a limited edition gatefold double 45. Both titles have never been reissued and fetch tidy sums in collector's circles. "I Wanna Destroy You" has become an anthem in today's political climate and features the rare disco version of "I'm an Old Pervert" on it's b-side. Near The Soft Boys features two Hitchock-penned originals - "Kingdom of Love" and "Strange" - as well as a cover of Syd Barrett's "Vegetable Man".

Hubble Bubble - (2007) ST LP

 Radio Heartbeat ‎– RH-102, Daggerman Records ‎– DMR005

Victor Olaiya - (2009) All Stars Soul International LP

 

 Vampi Soul ‎– VAMPI 107

"They thought I moved Highlife music out of the ordinary. Then, it was believed that my Highlife was a little bit out of this world, beyond explanation. This was why Alhaji Alade Odunewu of the Daily Times styled me The Evil Genius of Highlife." (Victor Olaiya)

Victor Olaiya is certainly one of the legendary foundation stones of modern Nigerian music, yet he has never received much acknowlegement or really had his albums released or promoted in any quantity outside of Nigeria. So this Vampisoul release is a step in the right direction and not before time, for a 77 years old who was probably Nigeria's leading star of 50's and early 60's, his golden years. Dr. Victor Abimbola Olaiya, the evil genius of Highlife, is still sockin' it to them after 60 years on stage. If you're lucky you can catch him blowing that trumpet and singing his heart out at his own celebrated 'Stadium Hotel' in Lagos, Nigeria.

This album from 1970 is from Olaiya's Highlife / Funk phase, but its worth taking a trawl through his back pages to see how he became the Evil Genius, before you roll back the rug and get down with the Highlife-Funk.

William Onyeabor - (1978) Tomorrow LP

 

Wilfilms Records ‎– WLP 1003

Popularity through underground DJs ensures someone somewhere will be spinning this as summer turns to winter and back. Nigerian funk may lag behind more traditional styles in its homeland, but in Europe and the U.S.A., William Onyeabor's mix of aggressive metaphor-free chants, fuzzy keyboards staying on the right side of disco, with mildly under-mixed female harmonies gives him leeway on both dancefloors and call to arms rallies. 'Why Go To War' does what is asked of it, much in the same vein as Curtis Mayfield of that era (but aeons ahead of Mayfield's huge letdown 'Heartbeat'), 'Love Me Now' ploughs similar territory, themes changing emphasis from destruction to sexual catharsis. In each case, one powers the other under a sultry sullen production sky.

William Onyeabor - (1978) Atomic Bomb LP

 

Wilfilms Records ‎– WLP 1002

A first look at that sleeve can be dismaying: oh no, a Nigerian Rick Wakeman. Then: wait, maybe a Nigerian Rick Wakeman would be good. Then you look again and notice there are only two keyboards. Most of that photo is mikes, all pointing at William Onyeabor as he conducts a press conference, asking for love from nations, women and listeners while journos from every corner of the studio thrust their microphones at him from a safe distance - if he goes off, you don't want to be caught in the blast.

But he never does go off. There are no explosions, just impossibly sustained rumbles of joyful thunder. Onyeabor is no show-off, but I can't call this record stripped down either, because that would suggest it was ever built up. To construct his sweet love-loving funk he begins with nothing and adds as much as is needed, no more: a simple bass line, a minimal beat, some synths to flesh out the harmonies, the occasional whizzy burble to liven things up, female backing singers and his own voice, modest, quiet and strong.

I've immersed myself in this record innumerable times over the last few weeks, but it's not something I get lost in, exactly - it fills the world but doesn't obscure it. Things are made brighter by this. And with what means? Punk says that all you need to make music is three chords and a guitar; techno says you can do without both. Onyeabor says you need two keyboards, six microphones, three women, a pair of ears and a heart. It seems to work. "

"Despite the title, this stuff is chill as fuck. The bomb metaphor is more like "man if I'll ever sober up and get off this bed my head just might explode like an atomic bomb" rather than any aggressive Terminator X thing. For some reason "I Need You All My Life" is duplicated at the end of "Shame" and I don't know if it's the mp3 ripper's tricks or if that was the case on the LP too. Yeah, it's an awesome love confessional from one of the female backing singers (albeit with a weird oppressive vibe by William) but 13 minutes just is a little too much. Anyway, the ridiculous blend of (intentionally, I guess) naïve politics in "Better Change Your Mind" and the other three stoned-as-fuck love-making tracks is hilarious, but works. One of Nigeria's best, fo' sho.

William Onyeabor - (1977) Crashes in Love LP

 

Wilfilms Records ‎– WLP 1001 

Released in 1977 on the artist's own imprint, Wilfilms, like every of his records (all masterpieces). The album is said to have been composed as a soundtrack to a movie Onyeabor made - "a tragedy of how an African Princess rejects the love that money buys", as mentioned on the sleeve. Crashes in Love is actually William Onyeabor's first record and of course features a few mindbending tracks. Genius man.

William Onyeabor - (1981) Great Lover LP

 

Wilfilms Records ‎– WLP 1010