Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 187

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

Got Indonesian psych? Radical French balladry? Iconic 20th-century experimentalism? Free-jazz power trios? Aussie folk warbling? Well you've come to the right place. Mining the Audio Motherlode prowls the free-music blogosphere in order to share the mindblowingest sounds around. To enjoy the fruits of this labor, take a gander at the quintet of gems on display below.

Freeform radio station WFMU, which keeps the Sterno ablaze under this sonic buffet, is holding a fundraiser and needs your help. If you've enjoyed leaving the legwork to us in order to "discover" great free music, please consider making a small contribution to WFMU using this safe, secure pledge widget. Thank you!

    
Pattie Sisters with Enteng & His Comets
(Blog: Madrotter's Treasure Hunt)

Entengled
"Often touted as the first ever Indonesian psych album, Enteng's guitar playing is just phenomenal on this one"  (Description by Henk Madrotter)

 

 

 

Colette Magny  ~  Vietnam 67
(Blog: PuzzledOyster)

Act Your Rage
"The formidable singer Colette Magny was one of the most remarkable artists to emerge from France in the Sixties. Her commitment to political causes followed the ups and downs of that turbulent decade while her militancy and dedication gave its full meaning to the expression chanteuse engagée."  (Opening paragraph of Magny's obit in The Independent)

[Colette Magny's "Feu et Rythme" appeared way back in Motherlode #8.]

 

Karlheinz Stockhausen  ~  Musik Im Bauch/Tierkreis
(Blog: A Closet of Curiosities)

Belly Phat
"Stockhausen dreamed "Musik im Bauch" in 1974, seven years after coining the phrase during a memorable evening with his daughter Julika, when she was two years old. All of a sudden, she had all sorts of noises in her insides, and he joked with her, 'You have music in your belly!' The phrase prompted the toddler to erupt in laughter, throwing her arms in the air and endlessly repeating 'Music in the belly!' Her laughing fit lasted so long that Stockhausen became concerned about her. She only gradually stopped laughing after he put her in bed, where she kept repeating the phrase and giggling as she fell asleep."  (Wikipedia)

 

Air  ~  Air Raid
(Blog: Música en Espiral)

Air Raising
"Originally recorded in 1976, following the previous year's Air Song, the album presents compositions in which players are allowed to take full control over interaction dynamics without backdropping any lead musician. Air Raid opens with [Henry] Threadgill on Chinese musette and alto offering a perfect essay in trio's art: suspension and strain (arco's vamping and droning doubled with exotic horns) rapidly reach their peak with alto/bass/drums nervous exchanges and then unleash the tension in sound/silence articulations. Fred Hopkins' harmonizations on "Midnight Sun" (beautifully lyrical and melancholic) reminds of Charlie Haden's work with Ornette Coleman on pieces like "Broken Shadows": both were opening tones, giving them an anchorage, offering a balance and broadening space in front of horn's full blown. "Release" is the lengthiest composition of the record. Threadgill plays flute and hubkaphone, a self-built instrument, gamelan-like, made by putting together cars hubcaps. In "Through a Keyhole Darkly" plucked and bowed arco and brashes give a quiet setting for tenor balladry, giving the record a nocturne ending."  (Description by Gian Paolo Galasi, at Complete Communion)

 

Denis Gibbons  ~  Folk Songs of Australia
Volume 1  |  Volume 2
(Blog: Australian Folk Music and Australian Folk Singers and Musicians)

Denis Envy
"An interesting point that I perhaps should have raised far earlier is that of so many of our folk songs referring to convicts traveling to, and suffering at, Botany Bay. The fact is that, although Botany Bay was selected as the intended first site of Australian settlement, on arrival a quick survey identified that it was unsuitable for settlement. A search of the nearby coast discovered Sydney Harbour and the first fleet quickly moved to the site of modern Sydney and set up camp there. Nowadays, Botany Bay is part of southern suburban Sydney. Another issue is that some of the convict-related songs make much of the cruelty and deprivation suffered by convicts e.g regular routine beatings, slavery and brutality. There are exceptions but the far greater majority of convicts were better-off in Australia and many prospered while still 'serving' their sentences. Then, the lower classes in Great Britain suffered considerable hardship and very limited opportunity which is why the crime rate was so high anyway. Initially, convicts were terrified of transportation to Australia because the Government went to great lengths to portray transportation as a deterrent to crime. By the early 1800s, sufficient convicts had returned to British Isles and their portrayal of the conditions in the colony markedly lessened the fear of transportation and many convicts would formally request transportation. Contrary to common belief, convicts of British citizenship were allowed to return to Great Britain after serving their time. Some did but most opted to remain in Australia settling down to often hard, but far more satisfactory lives compared to their peers in the homeland."  (Description by Paul the Stockman)

 

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Comments

[Beekeeper]

I find your posts interesting and weird. I never got a chance to listen to this station, but I’m interested to give it a try. I’m looking forward for new posts from you guys.