WFMU's Beware of the Blog

Brian Chippendale's Black Pus Live on WFMU (MP3s, Video, T-Shirt)

Black Pus is the many-armed beast of a solo project from Brian Chippendale, one of the most distinct musicians and visual artists of our time. If you're not already familiar with the sounds of Black Pus, you may recognize Chippendale's many-armed drumming style and masked mic-in-mouth vox from his duos Mindflayer and Lightning Bolt. A co-founder of the storied Fort Thunder artist collective, Chippendale still lives in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence, in a former mill building where lately he seems to be writing a new Black Pus song almost every night. So while we're wrapping our heads around 2011's Primordial Pus (Load Records) -- not to mention the limited edition CD-R series of Black Pus 1, 2, 3, 4 and 0 -- there's already a seventh Black Pus album ready to pop.

This live set on Marty McSorely's WFMU program is a special treat because, though he is a prolific musician, Black Pus doesn't tour nearly enough to quench our thirst for Pus. The set was expertly engineered by Ernie Indradat, and the interview covers recent collaborations with Björk and the Flaming Lips. Chippendale also talks about how he assembled such a unique setup, including an oscillator pedal that was originally a gift from Shinji Masuko of DMBQ. When Marty McSorely asks "What is Brian Chippendale's Black Pus?" Chippendale responds that it's reggaeton. He goes on to elaborate on a range of influences from the free jazz assault of Peter Brötzmann's Machine Gun to the unpredictable rhythms of Sightings and Black Dice (who started out as a hardcore band in Providence around the same time as Lightning Bolt).

In some circles, Brian Chippendale is known as much for his fine art, comics and graphic novels as for his music. His visual style can be experienced as part of every Black Pus and Lightning Bolt release. And, as those of you who are on the WFMU swag mailing list may have heard, Brian Chippendale designed an awesome Biker T-shirt for WFMU's marathon which begins later this month!

For more, check out the Black Pus blog, which just debuted this trippy surrealist video for "I'll Come When I Can," off Primordial Pus:

FUN Go! America! Celebrates New Jersey, on My Castle of Quiet, 12.18.2011

FUN—as I've come to know the Philadelphia-based combo, its sounds and membership, I realize how truly appropriate the name is for what they do. FUN are able to apply clever, inventive, fresh ideas to their improvised music-making, minus all the beard-stroking and pretentious, high-minded, music-conservatory-based conceptualization and back-patting that often accompanies similar activities.

For their FUN Go! America! tour, a 50-year project that involves one performance a year, each in a different state, on the very date that that state was inducted into the Union, FUN came to New Jersey on December 18th, to WFMU's Studio B, to render two unique, smartly conceived and individually distinct long-form improvisations. The concept of the tour alone is staggering, and relies upon FUN's members having access to interstate transportation, and living long enough, to execute the mass concept in its entirety.

 

Live at WFMU videos: Stepkids and Wooden Shjips

Keep checking WFMU's Vimeo portal and our Youtube channel, we're putting new stuff up all the time. Most recent highlights: an amazing live set by the great Argentina-via-Berlin synthpunk duo Mueran Humanos, a peek into the volunteer room on an average Friday afternoon, and these:

 

Wooden Shjips Live on WFMU! from WFMU on Vimeo.

So What IS The True Color of Venus, Anyway? Mister Matthews on My Castle of Quiet, 10.21.2011

Mister Matthews is one of those individuals, to be counted on one or two hands, that can truly be called My Castle of Quiet royalty. Having appeared on the show a total of four times, MM first appeared with Telecult Powers, the duo of himself and Witchbeam, the first band to ever play live on The Castle, and a project that helped to shape my notions of what the radio show itself was going to be. Later on, Telecult returned with Lala Ryan of Excepter, performing the Modern Rites of Pei, a performance that will go down in WFMU history, as they successfully conjured pledges during our 2010 marathon. (This performance was also partially filmed for an eventual documentary film on the station.) Later still, he returned with the Hex Breaker Quintet, a combination of Telecult Powers and Grasshopper, two bands that most definitely have shaped Castle history, and finally, this much-in-demand solo performance, which exemplifies the breadth of MM's work, both as High School Confidential and The True Color of Venus Revue, two very different projects from the electronic maestro; the "head" and the "hard," rendered with equivalent expertise.

Though both pieces deal in the bliss of repetition, they are radically different from one another, the High School Confidential track rooted decidedly in the universe of harsh noise, and the TCoV selection recalling the electronic works of Terry Riley, a 70s-soundtrack-meditation for safe travel of the mind and spirit (though perhaps that latter classification could be argued on behalf of either work, solely dependent on the listener's expectations and needs going in.)

(mp3s below the jump)

Live at WFMU Vimeo Collection

WFMU is very excited to announce a new collection of videos we're shooting & posting on our Vimeo page.  Live bands by the truckload have long peeled the paint from the walls of our storied Love Room, and fer cryin' out loud it's high time we started visually documenting them!  Check out excerpts from Cute Lepers,  Angels in America, Ed Schrader's Music Beat, Peaking Lights, live performances from the 2011 Record Fair, and a bunch more.  Make friends with us, get the feed, bookmark our page, whatever you do out there - but check in often!  Huge thanks to Yvonne Slimslacks and Bridget M. for getting this stuff rolling.

Here's CSC Funk Band performing live at the 2011 WFMU Record Fair

Wild Live Zounds on Saturday For Shock and Awetober!

To be more specific, this past Saturday, Terre T hosted on her Cherry Blossom Clinic, 2 live bands::  Wild Flag (all female quartet containing members of Sleater-Kinney, Minders and Helium) and UK DIY anarcho punk rockers Zounds! Yowza, now that's a show! I was asked to engineer both, and responded with a HELL YES, and so our work was cut out for us! Check out the archive of the program. Shock and Awetober, indeed!

A Visit from the Agents of Transformation; The Black Twilight Circle on My Castle of Quiet

Black metal has been, for years now, my power food—visceral nutrition for the body and spirit. For three hours on October 7, the heartiest of metal meals was served up on WFMU by the Southern-California collective known as The Black Twilight Circle. A grouping of ~than a dozen projects, the BTC releases most of their work on their own Crepusculo Negro label, and styles run the gamut from high-powered, tuneful hardcore (Mata Mata) to raw, darkly atmospheric gut-punch black (The Haunting Presence), to the most esoteric of psych-informed, highly creative bm (Shataan, Kuxan Suum.) Many, but not all, of the players in the collective are Mexican-American, so there's that intriguing and arcane element (for most of us Anglos, anyway) of Mayan folklore and symbolism that also serves to make the BTC bands so fascinating and somewhat impenetrable.  

The individual members of the BTC are all incredibly talented and accomplished multi-instrumentalists as well, so depending on which project has taken the stage, different players make their unique contribution on different instruments. This evening was, without a doubt, one of finest radio events I've ever hosted, the power staggering, and the range of styles represented incredibly impressive. A total of seven bands played sets that night (a WFMU record?), each project completely distinct from the previous, and each equally magnificent in its own way. 

Angels In America, live on WFMU

Angels in America is the duo of Moppy Pont and Merv Glisten, a pair of pun-loving weirdos with equal love for Throbbing Gristle, Nancy & Lee, and Molly Shannon.  It's all in their mix - their dense, scratchy, spitty, throbby, creepy, and often very beautiful mix.  A bank of electronics (some homemade), a couple ghostly voices, and an occasional acoustic guitar are all they need to paint their aural landscapes of elsewhere.  I can't think of a better way to describe their music than to suggest that Genesis P-Orridge had scored Eraserhead, hiring Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood to perform it.

Three years after hearing their head-cleaning 1st tape "Cunt Tree Grammar", I finally got the chance to bring Moppy & Merv onto my radio show.  The entire session is here, below, for your downloading pleasure, as well as a 5-minute video excerpt shot by Yvonne Szymczak.

Tons more dl'able love from Angels in America on the Free Music Archive, including their entire new album on Ehse, the aforementioned debut tape, and much more - go, now!

Your next chance to see them live is at Zebulon on October 2nd as part of the Northern-Spy label's Spy Music Festival.

bonus: their cover of Legendary Pink Dots' "The Blessing"!

Ivan Julian and Deniz Tek at WFMU and at the Bell House-> The 1-2 Punch

Before the storm, I was given the opportunity by fellow 'FMU DJ's Terre T and Joe Belock to engineer 2 sessions. Check the blog posting here for the FMA tracks of Ivan Julian's live set from the Cherry Blossom Clinic! A mere 5 days later, Deniz Tek and the Golden Breed occupied the very same room and blasted out a set of 5 killers for Joe's Three Chord Monte program, which are posted below for your ingestion -check out the interview as well in the archive! Both guitar heroes along with their bands combined for a live perfomance at Brooklyn's Bell House - and as it turned out it was the only of 3 shows they had scheduled together that survived the weather! Here's some of the best shots of both bands at the Bell House (Fleshtone Keith Streng joined Deniz & Band for a couple of songs), copies of the juicy set lists; yes, Deniz Tek covered both the Stooges and the Vibrators, and Ivan Julian played Voidoids faves plus tracks from his new release: The Naked Flame. I've included photos of each band with their hosts from each WFMU set.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left: Deniz in the Live Room at WFMU;Deniz with Joe;Terre with Ivan Julian & band

 

When the forces of nature prove to be too much, the FMU archives are there to document it all!

 

Bell House set lists at right!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No guitar strap? No problem! Ivan Julian and band at the Bell House.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deniz Tek and The Golden Breed at the Bell House -Keith Streng guest gtr, center.

Here are the FMA tracks from Deniz Tek's set:

A Powerful Suggestion to an Enveloping Journey; Decimus LIVE on My Castle of Quiet, 8.12.2011

Pat Murano waited a good, long time to fly completely solo, but when he did, it was worth the wait for performer and listeners alike. Starting out as a founding member of the No Neck Blues Band, and during that time, co-founding and co-piloting the excellent project K Salvatore (I owned and enjoyed many K Salvatore recordings before I made the connection that Pat was involved), Pat became even more active in the past half-decade or so, starting the outstanding and distinctive black-metal band Malkuth (or "Mal-koot," as our French friends render it.) Malkuth was, to say the least, a surprising move, that someone from two of NY's premier improvised-music combos would also have up his sleeve a groundbreaking, one-of-a-kind voice in metal's much-maligned and misunderstood bastard-son subgenre. (You can hear Malkuth's Jan 2010 live My Castle of Quiet session by clicking here.) As if that weren't enough, in the last year, Pat whipped out yet another great improv duo, the excellent Key of Shame, with Mark Morgan of Sightings (you can hear KoS on Brian Turner's show, coming up September 6), and last but surely not least, his mind-expanding solo project, Decimus, which made its WFMU debut two weeks ago on My Castle of Quiet.

It goes almost without saying that Pat has a lot of music in him, all of it remarkably parsed out with little or no stylistic overlap, and without question, Decimus is the most melodic, uniquely psychedelic and focused (naturally, being a solo oeuvre) of the lot. This performance, rendered live without a score and only minor beforehand preparation, is a supreme effort in patient, mindful listening, and responding in kind, a focal point, a beam of individual will with little precedent in New York music. To render evolving, encompassing drones, and/or high-volume collage or "wall" noise as it's called, is an achievement in and of itself, and we've heard many a great session along those lines on The Castle—hopefully I've presented the "cream" of local and nationwide artists working in that milieu—but to do something like Decimus is another matter entirely, in that it's one individual really sounding like a "band," and as Pat expressed in the post-session interview (and I paraphrase), to change the environment in this way is to change people's minds via suggestion. In my personal view, the Decimus works achieve this in spades, and as a result sit comfortably alongside some of my most-favorite music—because a true journey occurs, and to follow that composer's gentle yet powerful suggestion, to take the journey, is the great joy of listening.

This particular set, "Decimus H" (as Decimus LPs are numbered, and digital and/or live works are lettered) is highly recommended for fans of Conrad Schnitzler (R.I.P.), Asmus Tietchens, instrumental works by Throbbing Gristle, and for a more contemporary reference, Hive Mind. It's sure to please, in general, fans of the more electronic side of Krautrock music, and post-TG global-"industrial" electronics.

Huge thanks to engineer Ernie Indradat for helming yet another successful Castle session, his sensitivity to many types of music is plainly evident in the body of work he's done with the show. And yet again, Tracy Widdess saves the day by making a valid rendering of my amateur photo capture of an artist who plays in near-complete darkness. Boundless gratitude to Pat for sharing this excellent work with WFMU and My Castle of Quiet listeners.

Decimus has many recordings available, including several on LP (two of them very new) and more for listening and download or purchase on his bandcamp page.

Blank Generation: Ivan Julian live at WFMU (mp3s)

via emcecil @ FMA:

In the Voidoids, he and Bob Quine comprised what was probably the fiercest guitar duo in punk's infancy.  And just last week, Ivan Julian turned in a solid WFMU performance on Terre T's Cherry Blossom Clinic as both he and his band tore through a number of covers and originals from his new alb, The Naked Flame (2:59 Records). 

Fans of his work in the Voidoids, Outsets and beyond will be stoked to hear that time hasn't tamed Julian one bit.  His guitar's still as sinewy and caustic as it ever was, and his band brings up the rear with some real panache.  They pull out a surprising and great cover of the Nuns' "The Beat," not to mention a haunting original, "You Is Dead."  Hell, the whole set's rife with those trebly strangulations that Julian harnessed throughout his time in LES's punk and no-wave heydays -- and those that son Austin Julian continues to harness in his own no-wave unit, Sediment Club -- but they sound just as vital as ever.  So have a listen, chum.  And don't forget to catch one of his upcoming live shows, three of which are with Radio Birdman's Deniz Tek (who'll make his own trip to WFMU's Three Chord Monte on Aug 25th):

August 20 - New York, NY - @ Highline Ballroom w/ APB
August 26 - Brooklyn, NY - @ Bell House w/ Deniz Tek
August 27 - Hoboken, NJ - @ Maxwell's w/ Deniz Tek
August 28 - Philadelphia, PA - @ Kung Fu Necktie w/ Deniz Tek

 

this post via emcecil at the Free Music Archive

My Birthday Veil; Alive and Kicking with Lady Piss, 8.5.2011

In a creative universe where everything but everything is postmodern, where citation of creative influences is unnecessary and irrelevant, where "might appeal to fans of ____" doesn't go the mile or two that it used to, what impassions me personally about a band? Why this one and not so many others? I'll try and delineate.... It's the casual earnestness, for one, the way Lady Piss just do, simply lay it down, jumping from one well-written, expertly crafted song to another, with notions of "rock" or "punk" or "metal" or "heavy music" casually abandoned in the face and favor of free-flowing creativity. This is what they do, this is who they are, and miles-above-average song composition and arranging is so very key to their presentation, and sets them obviously apart (to my ears) from the mass of bands on myspace, or Facebook, or wherever. Noel's intelligent, gloomily animated, on-key and fully immersed horror-host delivery of the lyrics and vocal element of the band also propel Lady Piss forward, in a way that simply eludes many bands of their ilk. It's just the right alchemical balance of everything—a perfect moment in time in the form of a rock band.

I hear echoes of The Birthday Party, The Jesus Lizard and many of my historical favorites in these seven songs, though none of that would matter a whit if the songs weren't so damn good and rendered with the irrefutable oomph of a mass UFO sighting. Any band that drives from Baltimore to New Jersey to play an unpaid session at 12:30 a.m., on a moderately popular show on a widely beloved radio station (that and one gig in Brooklyn two nights later) has the right stuff in carefree abundance, and the need (because to "want" is childish) to put their stuff forward in a forum like The Castle, where I made it very clear that I believed in them, supported what they were doing, and felt wholeheartedly that they had the ability to reach greater heights in their field. By now, it's my hope that most regular Castle listeners know that the invitation to an artist to perform live on the show is never extended flippantly, or without this core belief. Like many who have come before me, I choose to believe in music, and its performers, rather than God or such other misty intangibles.

So, enough leaden praise—you've got the point; here now are the songs. 

Expert and enthusiastic live engineering by Diane "Kamikaze" Farris. Colorful, high-impact manipulation of my band photo as always by Tracy Widdess of Brutal Knitting. You can pick up a copy of the Streaming e.p. (all six songs are featured in this set) by writing to Lady Piss on myspace, or through bandcamp, where you may choose to purchase a record with a free download code, or just grab the digital album—such greatness to be had for three measly American dollars. Endless gratitude to the band for making my birthday number 47 something more enjoyable than it otherwise would have been.

Psychic Paramount live at WFMU (MP3)

Hard to believe Psychic Paramount have been around for ten years already, coming up out of the ashes of the late great Laddio Bolocko. Both on record and live, PP swerve between brutality and bliss: layers of textural distorto guitar action and color, throttling, mathy percussive pummel recalling great moments of This Heat gone into total in-the-red Japanese psych mode. Add Robert Fripp-like loops building and dismantling the songs themselves in bulldozer style, and you've got the makings of one killer progressive rock unit. This month's session on my radio show blasted into orbit at the moment of start-up; guitarist Drew St. Ivany matched the propulsive intensity of bassist Ben Armstrong and drummer Jeff Conaway with figures reminiscent of Achim Reichel, heavy repetition segueing into burnt intermission of collapsing rhythms, eerie space and then finally climbing upwards into another frenetic movement to close off the 30 minute set. St. Ivany tweaked the post-session mix, it's a scorcher! Thanks to the band, Mike from No Quarter and Ernie Indridat and Ruaraidh Sanachan for the engineering.

 

Not Pretend; Raspberry Bulbs LIVE on My Castle of Quiet, 7.15.2011

Taking into account all my years on WFMU, including my original tenure doing the weekly Hip Bone program (1984-1999), this live performance, a world debut by the Raspberry Bulbs 4-man combo, is one event that I shall place among the highest, most gratifying events I have ever had the decided privilege of presenting on the radio. Infused as it is, with a taste of the original rock 'n' roll energy, spirit and earnest delivery that made parents in the 50s fear Gene Vincent, and corporations in the 70s suppress the efforts of The Sex Pistols, this RB set is music + power defined. Something to spring on my hopefully appreciative grandkids.

I purchased the Raspberry Bulbs' debut cassette, Finally Burst...With Fluid, in 2009, from the man himself, long-time Bone Awl drummer, founder/proprietor of Seed Stock records, also known as He Who Crushes Teeth. My intense Bone Awl fandom re-ignited, as he described the tape as a solo project of his own, and my need to be on tap with all things Bone Awl was further satisfied, when I got home, and played this little motherfucker of a tape. The similarities to the parent project were there, sure, but the songs struck an instant chord of originality as well, owing more to first-generation punk, Oi!, and garage rock, and goddamn if the songs weren't catchy as hell.

Thus began a casual email discourse between Mr. RB and myself, I knowing that the tape (and the others that followed) were a one-man effort. I nonetheless threw it out there that were he to ever organize a combo to render this material live, the My Castle of Quiet program would be a welcome place to roll the dice, the invitation was open.

Fast forward to the first third of this year, and much to my pleasant surprise, a Raspberry Bulbs appearance on the show, not only a live set but a sheer *debut* of the newly formed RB combo, was now in the planning stages. And here it is, fulfilling and surpassing any expectations I might have had, like human gunpowder, well-rehearsed and ready to take the world over. Saying "thanks" at this point seems trite, despite my earnest gratitude, as RB & Co. surely know by now that they killed it, bagged it, and took it home.

What to say? Live appearances will follow, and I can't encourage you strongly enough to attend one or all (Saturday 6/30 @ Red Light District, as part of Burning Fleshtival III, and Sunday, 8/21, as part of a great bill @ Secret Project Robot.) Much credit must go to WFMU's own Diane "Kamikaze" Farris, who engineered the set, and lent her expertise, while at the same time being open to input from the band, and myself, as the live sound was fine-tuned. Thanks also, as always, to Tracy Widdess, for rendering my abysmal-as-ever iPhone capture of the band, making it something worth looking at more than once.

All hail the 'Bulbs, finally burst.

WFMU Gives Its Airwaves Over to the Girl Group Greats on July 30

WFMU will preempt its regular irregular programming on Saturday, July 30th, to bring forth the most stunning and comprehensive array of female vocalists ever assembled on one stage! Live from the Damrosch Park bandshell in Manhattan, Lincoln Center Out of Doors and The Ponderosa Stomp Foundation will present She's Got the Power: A Girl Group Extravaganza. The lineup promises a veritable cornucopia of feminine vocal and songwriting prowess, and WFMU has been entrusted to disseminate every single blessed note to you in return.

This five-hour-long stage spectacular, from 5pm to 10pm ET, is a roll call of girl group and female solo vocal greats: Ronnie Spector (the Ronettes' namesake was just added to the bill), Lesley Gore, La La Brooks (of the Crystals), Arlene Smith (of the Chantels), Maxine Brown, Barbara Harris (of the Toys), Margaret Ross (of the Cookies), Brenda Reid and Lillian Walker Moss (of the Exciters), Peggy Santiglia Davison and Jiggs Sirico (of the Angels), Beverly Warren (of the Raindrops), Nanette Licori (of the Delrons), Baby Washington and Toni Wine.

Yet WFMU's commitment to this event will have us on the air for nine — count 'em, nine — hours, beginning at 1pm ET! The festivities will be hosted by WFMU boss jocks Rex, Dave the Spazz, Debbie D. and yours truly, Gaylord Fields — we'll be the ones committed to wearing our new matching gold blazers in the sweltering summer heat — beginning at 1 with a live broadcast of Rex's Fool's Paradise program. The radio proceedings continue with tunes and interviews, cranking up the anticipation till the ladies strut their stuff onstage at the 5 o'clock hour.

To whet your appetite, on the Thursday, July 28th edition of Music to Spazz By, Dave the Spazz will host a 45 party, with Billy Miller of Norton Records prying open his record vault to musically air out some of his rare girl group singles. And if that's doesn't sate you, if you're in the greater NYC area and plan on attending the absolutely free concert on Saturday, stop by the officially sanctioned WFMU Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban Internet stream meet-up. Hoist a brew with Debbie D. and the rest of the Gold Blazer Gang at P.J. Clarke's from 3 to about 4:45 to get in the mood to sing along once the show starts. 

An Epic Soundtrack; J. Soliday live on My Castle of Quiet, 7.1.2011

Some two weeks on from the event, I still find analysis of J. Soliday's complex and challenging performance on my show a bit like chasing smoke. The sounds defy ready analysis and/or categorization. I feel compelled to return to my admittedly oft-used ready comparison of the INA-GRM composers, the correlation in this being perhaps most valid, more so than in the case of any other previous MCoQ guest performer. But instead of coming armed with a through-composed score, magnetic tape and a few razor blades, Soliday instead covered one of our tables with an array of gear with which he is clearly intimate, and "composed" instead in real time, with some of the most-focused, and at-ease, improviser's sensitivity that I have ever witnessed.

These two sets are like a free-flowing dance of sound, with the clompity-clomp of horse hooves sliding easily into electronic bleats, sewage-tunnel drones, air-vent clatter, chirping-bird dialogue, short-wave distortion—hell, be ready for anything and everything is about all I can say—a seemingly effortless collage of a somehow very organic brand of circuit-bent electronics, rendered by a true master.

Set one is the clamor of jarring, busy-but-smooth juxtapositions, while set two leads us down the path with Francois Bayle-like layered drones, a glorious dissonance of about seven minutes, until the sonic horde returns, having learned a few tricks on their sojourn. This music certainly has the ring of Soviet or Eastern-European science-fiction film as well, and Artemeyev is another comparison that comes readily to mind. One listener noted "epic soundtrack" in the playlist comments, and I wholeheartedly agree,

I certainly cannot thank Jason enough for completing the circle, from Castle listener and fan, to live performer / guest, as his craft is mighty, and was a more-than-welcome fit to our weekly proceedings at The Castle. Bob Bellerue, stalwart Castle engineer and clearly a Soliday fan, brought great sensitivity to his engineering of the session, making for a seemingly effortless performer / engineer collaboration, and Tracy Widdess colorfully stomped my paltry iPhone captures of the artist. 

To hear the full 3-hour program archive, including artist interview, see here for multiple streaming options. 256 kbps mp3s are downloadable immdediately below.

Jason Soliday Web home

Soliday on Discogs.

Milk Music live at WFMU (MP3's)

Recent guests on Brian Turner's show: hailing from Olympia, Washington, Milk Music are a killer electric rock trio that conjure up the downstroke punk attack of Greg Ginn with the pop hooks and Bigmuff stylings of Greg Sage & the Wipers (who are clearly a spirit looming large over the Northwest USA these days). Liberal doses of early Dinosaur and Thin Lizzy floating around as well in this, the band's first ever radio session. No-nonsense, simple, buzzed-up American rock for your downloading/listening pleasure courtesy the Free Music Archive.

Ice Age at WFMU (MP3's)

This Copenhagen quartet averaged age 17 when composing their debut LP "New Brigade" for Dais Records release stateside (now reissued on What's Your Rupture) who describe the release as "uncontrived, pure – this record is a youthful assault of downer no-wave hardcore, wise beyond it’s years." Indeed, there's a fresh breath of air in this mix of Pink Flag/Wire-style compact energy and '81 downtown NYC guitar nods (not to mention the frosty flurry of Darkthrone at times) but Ice Age's average 2-minute jams overflow with very original approach to youthful aggro-rock that has already won them a legion of stateside fans. They played live on my radio show in a no-nonsense 25 minute blast (MP3s from the Free Music Archive below), had a slew of big NYC gigs that week with the likes of Fucked Up, Prurient, Cult of Youth and others, and return to the states for more shows July 15-August 21 (listed here). More info at their blog.

Sun Araw live at WFMU: improv / Crown Shell / Hive Burner (mp3s)

Fresh off appearances at Montreal's Mutek and the 2011 WFMU+FMA SXSW Showcase, Sun Araw took a first-ever trip to the WFMU studios for a live session that aired yesterday on Talk's Cheap.

Originally envisioned as a solo project from Magic Lanterns' Cameron Stallones (also ex-Pocahaunted), Sun Araw has evolved into a full band live performance experience alongside a flood of releases from labels like Not Not Fun, Woodsist, Leaving Records, and Araw's own Sun Ark.

The Sun Araw band features Cameron Stallones on guitar/synth/vocals, backed by two equally awesome players: Barrett Avner (also of Sadistic Candle) on the Shahi Baaja (pictured at left) & Monotron, and Alex Gray (Deep Magic / Deep Tapes) on extra guitar + MPC.

The session commenced with a 30+ minute improv to get in the zone for one new song, and one old song. The studio version of "Crown Shell" will be available on Ancient Romans, the forthcoming Sun Araw 2xLP due out on Sun Ark via Drag City August 23rd 2011. Ancient Romans will be Sun Araw's fifth full-length in three years, and "Crown Shell" provides a staggered, spacious, aquatic, and deeply hypnotic glimpse at what's to come. The band closed out with "Hive Burner," a psych-rock comet that originally appeared on Sun Araw's 2008 debut, The Phynx.

Sun Araw's WFMU session was rec'd on June 7th and aired on June 9th [playlist for Talk's Cheap/WFMU, June 9th 2011]. If you like what you hear, dig deeper into the Sun Araw universe here on the FMA and at sunaraw.com.

Not the Conservatory, But the Basement and the Bedroom; Rust Worship LIVE on My Castle of Quiet, 5.27.2011

Academic credentials have I not, but to my experienced ears, Rust Worship's live set, from my program of 27th May, would be a ready thesis for any student of "serious" electronic music, both in its breadth and voluminous content. It also proves, beyond any doubt, that "noise" is no longer even a serviceable adjective for the newer, DIY brand of electronic, improvised music. I point to composers like Bayle and Parmegiani often (perhaps too often, I admit) in the case of performers like Paul Haney, because these are not only my favorite of the INA-GRM school, but also because their best works have gravitas as well as innate listenability, buoyancy even, in comparison to their contemporaries like Varèse.

I met Paul Haney at No Fun Fest 2009, as I was preparing for a return to WFMU's airwaves, as the concept behind My Castle of Quiet the radio program was gelling in my mind. Paul was instantly very open with me, very personable and bold with his opinions and personal points of view, on any number of subjects, not merely music. He was eager to talk, to express himself, and it's this amiability that shines through in Paul's music, and it's been enjoyable for me, as a fan of Rust Worship, to witness Paul growing the project, to the point where experimental stabs and jolts evolve into thoughtful, in-the-moment composition of great variety and emotion.

This 45-minute journey in sound is album-like in its movements and complexity, such that it cannot be easily digested in a single lump; hell, it's taken me a week and a half, and multiple listens, just to assess how I feel about it, and to analyze its successes. And as I began to launch into my post-performance spiel that evening, the one many bands and soloists have heard, about how it's wise not to immediately rate one's live radio performance, but to judge it over several listens and come away from it for a while, etc., Paul said, "I feel pretty damn good about it right now," and he's been just as quick in the past to hang what he thought was a poor Rust Worship performance—not an egotist or a back-patter, just honest.

So it's my suggestion to listen to "Suite of Exhaustion/Recipe of Problems" good and loud, on a good system, over and over a few times; take it in like any good work of art, sonic or otherwise, and don't race to the finish line. There's a lot going on in this piece. 

In a few short months after that first meeting, Paul was guest DJ'ing on The Castle, and I found him to be a person of excellent taste, and ready always to spill over with praise for the music he loved (his Obsolete Units label and its excellent track record being further evidence of this.) His live solo Rust Worship performance on the show now brings things full circle, to the point where Paul's work must be praised and analyzed, much like the live and recorded work of the icons that got him there. The piece's guitar-based coda serves to remind us that our performer cut his teeth listening to Dead C and Skullflower records, and the grand tradition of abuse of signal-processing gear that got the whole ball rolling in the first place.

Thanks to Castle listeners, for giving in-the-moment praise where praise was due, and to Bob Bellerue for sterling and sensitive session engineering, certainly due in part to witnessing Rust Worship develop as I have. This week's photo of Rust Worship in action was taken by your host and author, at a RW performance in Nyack, NY, and photostepped—"Rusted," if you will, by Tracy Widdess of Brutal Knitting fame. Thanks especially to Paul Haney for bringing it, even after local public transportation had had its way with him, hence the piece's title.