I got an email some time ago from one of these maniacs asking to share their EP, so here you go. This is also from Berlin, but it couldn't possibly be more different from the Faurholt stuff I posted yesterday. Bludgeoning, relentless, hate-filled noise attack by dudes who wrap themselves in duct tape to play live:
So about three seconds of that video should give you an idea whether or not it's for you. Ever been to a show where a noise group comes on and half the room clears out? This is something like what we've got here. I like losing my mind to noise stuff like this, because i.) my ears have a masochistic streak; and ii.) after being subjected to screeching feedback gusts and blunt drum-machine beatings for an extended length of time, anything resembling 'conventional songs' sounds positively refreshing. Anyway I'm down with the madness that is Hure, and perhaps some of you are too.
You can hear the EP on Hure's soundcloud page, and order a copy of the EP on cassette here.
I don't know that I need to make any introduction here ... with Faust you kind of know what you're going to get, even when you don't. They've been in the experimental game for some four decades now, and all the recent stuff I've heard from them has been top-shelf. When I listen to Faust, I mostly go for the textures rather than songs -- though they have no lack of great songwriting -- because they are master producers, repurposing all manner of sounds for musical utility. Anyway this disc is a good'n, sounds great as usual.
Something Dirty sounds pretty great as a continuous piece (and fairly well-pissed-off much of the way, too), but the 13 songs are undeniably different from each other. And that's all I'll say; nobody should have to convince you to listen to Faust.
I don't really know how much I can say about this album that hasn't already been said (which itself is a pretty cliche thing to say about an album, I guess). If you like Can you already have this. Tago Mago is the first in the 'holy trinity' of Can musics featuring Damo Suzuki on vocals, the others being Ege Bamyasi (1972) and Future Days (1973). It was my introduction to Can and remains my favorite. And it blows my mind that this is 40 years old.
First is 'Paperhouse,' which might deserve the descriptor "perfect slow-burn" more so than any other song I've ever heard. It is really one of the best opening tracks on any album, ever. 'Mushroom' is post-punk circa 1971, and 'Oh Yeah' (see below) is zen in the beauty of its aural production, gliding over a motorik rhythm borrowed from Neu! 'Halleluwah' takes up the whole of side two -- in the hands (and feet) of a lesser drummer than Jaki Liebezeit, such an attempt might fall on its face. But instead, Liebezeit rides a tremendous, primal funk groove that rewards repeated listens. The rest of the band is improvising for pretty much the whole piece, but thanks to the discriminating x-acto knife of bassist/tape editor Holger Czukay, none of the time is wasted and the whole 18 minutes is full of musically potent jamming.
Then you put on the second slab. Side three is the drifting, 17-minute opus 'Augm,' and here things start to get really weird. If the first disc was smoking weed, the second is mescaline, or something. But even 'Augm' might not be able to prepare you, young psychonaut, for what awaits on side four. 'Peking O' develops into the most intense, freaked-out part of the whole album over its 11 minutes, with panic-attack beats and keyboards, glossolaliac vocalizations by Damo, and a noise section near the end that you should really hear instead of just hear about. The result is an intense catharsis, finally releasing the listener to enjoy the last seven minutes of the trip with 'Bring me Coffee or Tea.' It's the perfect comedown from the psychedelic heights reached on sides three and four.
The song 'Oh Yeah' includes Damo Suzuki briefly singing in Japanese, for which not a single translation exists on the whole internet. Or at least, I haven't been able to find it. So I figured I'd give it a try. I have no idea if it is correct (Japanese has an incredible number of homophones). If anyone with greater Japanese proficiency than me can correct this, by all means do so, but here's what I heard:
これで底意素ばてる [kore de sokoi su bateru]
Tired of this obvious conspiracy
頭のいかれたい圧 [atama no ikaretai atsu]
Madness pressure in my head
位置の上から小便 [ichi no ue kara shouben]
Pissing from above their position
我らがいもと呼ぶ [warera ga imo to yobu]
We call on all the fools
LSD の真力 [LSD no machikara]
Pure strength of the acid
あ戯れ楽器を恐れ [a zare gakki wo osore]
I fear the instruments which I play
麻がまだこんな異能 [asa ga mada konnna inou]
Marijuana has mystic power
幸いだ殊に [saiwai da koto ni]
Feeling very happy now
See if you agree:
And here is the song played backwards:
One last thing: I saw Damo Suzuki perform live in Osaka last month, and the dude still kills it on stage. His band was made up of the local opening groups and he pulled them along on a 40-minute rhythmic pummeling the likes of which I may never see again. So if you see Damo touring around where you live, by all means go see him play.
Can on Amazon ... but you know you'd rather get it at your local record store. Tago MagoDMCA'd, but this one ain't hard to find
Here you have some sweet Can jams from (as the title might suggest) 1968. Their first album, Monster Movie, was released in 1969. This set of songs didn't see the light of day until 1981 -- hence the title. My favorite songs on here are probably “Nineteen Centry Man” (German rockers and heads certainly had one hell of an older generation to rail against), “Uphill,” and the slow-burning “Thief.” This recording definitely plays like a band still finding its groove, but that's no mark against it; Delay 1968 is a seriously valuable document of early Can. If you're like me and enjoy Malcom Mooney's staccato vocal style, you'll dig this no doubt.
