Hintergrund is responsible for some of the haunting, art-damaged noises currently emanating from Columbus, Ohio. Undulating tones that drift along for light years, punctuated at times by more rapid cosmic radiation. This is some quality drone-y, noisy stuff utilizing loops, prepared saxophone, and circuit bending. No songs shorter than six minutes, titles like "As the Elk Lays Down to Die" (an eleven-minute séance with synths and gods-know-what-else overlaying each other to form chords that are simultaneously unnerving and musical) -- those of you who will like this probably already know who you are. For ambient music, though, it really does reward active listening as there is a well-executed sense of dynamics throughout. Compared to the dark, brooding mood intimated by the album title, for example, the galactic-scale disinterest of "Empty Space" or "Circuit" sounds practically joyful.
This would appeal to folks who are into stuff like Barn Owl or Hanetration. You can stream Nemesis on soundcloud, or snatch it here. Get comfy, pack the pipe, and prepare to explore the dark expanses of yr mind.
Bernays Propaganda are a band from Skopje, Macedonia. Since 2007 they've been creating post-punk music you can -- gods forbid -- dance to, with words you can -- if you know Macedonian -- raise a fist and get pist with. Any band that names itself after the dude who applied psychoanalysis to marketing in order to transform propaganda into the public relations industry is going to have a fairly up-set view of politics; but few things are as aggravating as a political band whose lyrics don't go beyond lazy sloganeering. Thankfully these folks write more from a perspective of personal struggle in the context of social and political relations, and are much better off for it. Musically, they are punk rock for the Club, weird as it feels to say; they lie somewhere among LCD Soundsystem, early Liars, or Soviet rockers like Kino.
Igraj Slobodno! is an album of remixes, collaborations, and covers of Bernays Propaganda songs from their previous two full-lengths. The people sitting in on this are as varied as they are esteemed. My favorite track is the version of "I Care Not to Know" by cult breakpop act ZEA (aka Arnold de Boer, lately also singer of the Ex): a glitchy, acoustic skeleton of the original which underpins the paranoid vocal. Other highlights are the two versions of "Buldozer" by Gang of Four's Mark Heaney and "the oldest active Macedonian jazz band," Sethstat. Each take the tune to very different places: the former makes it into something you might hear at a rave, the latter a stomping jazz number with cool vibraphones and a brass section. Overall a real great set if you aren't instantly averse to dance floor stuff.
This one is available from bandcamp for free, as hinted by the translation of the album title: play freely! Check out the original versions of the songs on the other two albums up there, as well as a song from their forthcoming third full-length, Zabraneta planeta.
I've sat on a lot of submissions over the past year, so over the next week I'll be trying to get them posted with some sort of regularity. The
music that people have thought to send me in 2012 runs he
gamut from downer bedroom pop to raging basement punk with much noise, electronics, and general freakiness in between. So without further ado:
Okay, so this one actually came out in late 2011, but it was sent to me back in August of 2012 so it fucking counts. Ø+yn (pronounce it 'Omasin') play music for you to get weird to in the Sierras de Córdoba. Combining acoustic instruments and percussion with electronic drones, these freaky Argentine folks conjure up Hindustani-influenced raga jams punctuated by the holy howls of their (and your) ancestors. The album has a globe-searching, improvisational vibe not unlike some of This Heat's stuff, but Ø+yn take it in wholly different directions. I especially dig the shamanistic interpretation of acoustic/electric violin, with its haunting melodies that dissolve into drifting feedback wisps. The songs are in the six- to eight-minute range, giving you plenty of time to explore. Drink some ayahuasca and get into this!
He resucitado en la montaña was released by Winebox Press, with some pretty-lookin' wood packaging. Get at them to see if they have any copies still available. Catch Ø+yn on soundcloud and bandcamp for more freak folk jams.
This has been my night music for a little while now so I'm posting it tonight. If you are into what Mark McGuire does, have at this, 'coz it's a good one. In his words:
"NIGHTSHADE"
was originally released in May of 2012 on cassette, for a short tour in
Japan. Although there were 50 or 60 copies made, only about 30 or 40 of
them ever got assembled and out, so it's fair to say it won't be
popping-up in stores anytime soon. Originally inspired by a deep,
nocturnal journey that took place in New Zealand earlier this year,
these tracks were made as a devotion to the spiritual elements of the
infinite space of the night sky. Electric & acoustic guitars, and
vocals run through guitar-synthesizer and other electronics, calling
back to the voices in the sky. A small, dark stage in the open air, a
light drawing constellation trails on the hills, underneath the infinite
Recorded Spring 2012 in a big, empty house in Portland.
Guitars, vocals, and electronics recorded during the
first first-quarter, and the last first-quarter (the waxing gibbous and
the waning gibbous) of March 2012 at Heavenly Bodies, Portland, Oregon.
This music was first inspired under the bright and beautiful night sky
of the southern hemisphere. More specifically, at 41° 15 41.12 S, 174°
57 3.04 E, Wainuiomata, New Zealand, February 11th, 2012
This music is some top shelf latter-day American kosmische; in my light-polluted corner of the world, music of the heavens has to substitute for the sight of them. Good for reading, headphones, sleep, ambience or active listening, pondering, etc etc etc. Get into this you heads.
So I dig this Puke Skywalker stuff for a couple of reasons. One is that it's a name I was often called in grade school by the ever-so creative dipshits with whom I was educated. Another is that this dude used to maintain an excellent music blog that had a lot of influence on the stuff I've listened to in the past few years. A third is that this guy makes some sick, often bizzare, always interesting remix music.
This EP is a different animal than the Tripper Crust EP I posted some months back. While that one dealt exclusively in blastbeats and grind sounds, Poison has an almost optimistic sound (I'm reminded of James Ferraro's Far Side Virtual stuff), and could even be perceived as 'danceable.' It opens up with a reworking of the VU's 'I'm Set Free,' followed by an Alan Parsons Project tune. He still manages to work in some early 90s powerviolence samples, but it doesn't run the show this time.
Ever since I first heard Dive Signals, the solo electronic project of Californian Angel Ortega, I have been curious to know what motivates his work. Much of his music makes use of drone to effect a mood that is simultaneously distant and inviting. You can read my writeups of a couple of his albums here. But first, hear the truth from the man himself.
When I heard 10,000 Tropics I immediately got a coastal, Southern California sort of feeling. Do you think your location has much influence on your music? Do you do most of your work in Orange?
Indeed a sunny coastal sensation is eminent in 10,000 Tropics, but I tried to embed deeper in the tracks a certain ambiguous lonely, claustrophobic sensation – a lower mood basically. For instance the track “Mother Says Please Come Home” is followed immediately by “May the Circle Be Unbroken,” a song about a man’s mother passing.
My location is very influential on my work and that location is the suburbs of Orange County. House after house, telephone wires following bland sidewalks – the environment is stifling to my creativity. My studio is a bedroom. Amidst the creation of 10kT I became extremely reclusive, almost to the point of depression. 10kT was birthed out of desperate frustration and longing for something greater, something bigger than my surroundings. Regardless of whether or not listeners see the tonality I was trying to produce I feel a sense of great emotion is unconcealed.
How long have you been working as Dive Signals? Have you been/are you involved in any other musical projects?
Dive Signals began about a year ago … I had a good amount of equipment stolen and was forced to look for other methods of creating music. This was both a depressive time and a growing experience in terms of artistic matters. About 3 years ago I was in a collaborative group with fellow label mate Opacities. Together we conjured experimental harsh noise and abrasive drones following the exuberant influence of bands such as Wolf Eyes and Sunn O))). And then came a time where we both felt it would be healthy to explore what we were capable of as solo artist. We do collaborate here and there – a split is on the way actually.
What are the details on the Opacities split? Any word as to what we might expect from your contribution?
The Dive Signals / Opacities split / collaboration EP was released digitally in July and features a collaboration track and a few remixes of each other’s tracks. Sound-wise it varies up a bit yet bears a unique flow as our sounds are both formidable yet deeply involving. On this album, we are both trying to push our boundaries as artists in that field of thinking. The tracks thus far are a bit darker and lean towards some kind of odd psychedelic meditation. It’ll be an interesting listen.
Last time I checked, you have something like 14 releases out this year. What drives you to stay productive? Do experience any 'creative fatigue' when working at this pace?
I’m not sure what drives me … I suppose it’s just in my system. Though I never settle in comfortably with one genre for too long I maintain a certain consistency that somewhat strings my releases together, but it’s loose as is the process in churning out the final product which keeps the experience fresh and challenging. I need this in my life though. I love what comes with creating music, the burdens and the triumphs – especially with me being something of an outsider amidst the current music scene. There’s an odd passion that drives me to create something bigger and better than the previous releases.
Besides the swiftness of your release schedule, I've been impressed with the variety of styles present on your recordings. Does this stem from whatever you're listening to at the time, or is it a conscious effort?
It’s most definitely a conscious effort. The last thing I want is to feel overly comfortable recording a track. Dive Signals is a free form project, an extension of my thoughts – it goes down to my very core. I should be pushing my personal boundaries. Music is obviously an art form, thus it being an expression of self; one, I feel, should grow from such experiences. And, damn do I want to grow as an artist. There’s a certain urgency in this matter that I maintain, and I’m not all too sure why… but it feels significant day in / day out. I seem to see my passion as a musician is never at the level I care for it to be. It’s difficult to maintain a fan base this route, but I’m not doing this for other people. It’s a deeply personal excursion.
Who are some of your influences, musical or otherwise? What are you listening to lately?
As production is always the primary focal point in creating my tracks I really don’t look at musicians for inspiration, but rather producers – Phil Spector, Martin Hannett, Steve Albini, Brian Eno and Mark Linkous, are some of the few – a varied group.
Lately I’ve been spinning a lot of Stax artist such as Otis Redding as well as Songs: Ohia’s Ghost Tropic, AFX, Miles Davis/Gil Evans collaborations, the electronica work of David Holmes (From which Don’t Die Just Yet was heavily inspired) and Opacities’ Field Reconnaissance – all really good stuff.
After listening to some David Holmes (his '90s stuff at least), I can definitely hear some similarity with how dynamic musical elements are presented on Don't Die Just Yet (which, I am learning from youtube, is the title of a David Holmes song ). He does a lot of film soundtracks, right? I think your work has a certain cinematic quality to it – have you ever thought of making music for films?
Don’t Die Just Yet was a straightforward ode to David Holmes; his manner of looking at music has been very influential on all my works (at least his early years as an artist) and yes, he frequently works with director Steven Soderbergh among others. Holmes’ albums are known for their cinematic nature and I fire for that aesthetic in my music. That’s part of my love for the full album experience – going from track to track conjuring mental images based on the atmosphere of each song and having an overall journey.
To work in film would be wonderful. If the occasion were ever to arise I would most certainly jump on it. My love for music began with film. Composers such as Ennio Morricone, Max Steiner and Henry Mancini, creating colorful sounds and having them matched with lush visuals – it affected me greatly.
What is your setup like? Computers? Analog equipment?
My setup consists of really the cheapest equipment around. I have a 75-dollar organ – which is always in rotation – a few pedals, a glockenspiel … most of the effects used are created in mixing: meticulous EQ laboring, heavily altering samples such as brass instruments and drums, reverb, compressors – all digital computer work basically.
For independent (and especially solo) artists, there are obvious practical reasons for using cheap equipment, but do you think there is any particular aesthetic value to producing this way?
I was once at a place where I had vast amounts equipment and that time came to an end – just stolen, all of it – and I never really recovered what was lost. I was then put in a position where I had to find other ways of creating the sounds I wanted. These moments were influential on the sound I have now, though I’m not one to particularly shoot for lo-fi production, à la garage rock, or anything of that matter. My core point with music is creating atmosphere and ambiance that is deep, enticing, and involving. I go to great lengths to achieve the sounds I produce. If that should mean my production style is to be categorized with the lo-fi genre then so be it. I have no qualms with the matter. I’ve seen both ends of the spectrum and I prefer the route I take.
Well, I guess what I was trying to get at is that while your setup is very lo-fi, the actual music sounds anything but. As a non-musician, it appears to me that the availability of a wide range of (often freely acquirable) production software makes ostensibly 'lo-fi' equipment potentially more powerful for recording than it might otherwise be. Do you think this is the case?
My equipment is ridiculously cheap; what one can do with software these days is astonishing. My early base tracks sound just bare-boned and thin. Some computer magic goes a long way. Working with Bryan Schuessler of Opacities was an experience. Him being a laptop based glitch artist who utilizes MAX/MSP, high fidelity mics, etc. – it was just something else. My production style does indeed maintain a lot of PC work: extensive EQ, multiple overdubs, reverb and heavily altered samples, but I personally don’t use high-end software, though I now understand the unlimited possibilities of its practice.
Your recent EP, 1989, makes me think of the drone work of This Heat and Future Days-era Can (especially the track 'Pop Route Love Song'). I guess the highlights of the EP for me are opener 'Slow Kitten' and 'Holly.' Those two in particular have such a well-conceived sense of spatial sound; I feel like I'm being led around in the song as if it is a real place. It's very psychedelic. You seem to approach songs in terms of space and orientation, changing in time, to the end of crafting a rich and unique experience that is an EP or album. I don't really have a question related to this, but I was curious about your thoughts on this topic, and/or on 1989.
1989 was me making a bold effort in culminating all the ideals I carry when creating a Dive Signals release: lush atmospherics, loose cinematic notions – just a dreamy wall of sound platform for the imagination to run rampant and do what it does best. I tend not to look at typical song writing for direction when putting together a track, but rather psychedelic production and crafting textures that mix and mingle with a unique sense of space. Upon close inspection you can see that these are the elements that tie my releases together – from Don’t Die Just Yet to Mesa Verde as different as they are from each other genre wise. 1989 was just me striving to push these ideals to their full extremities.
How does a Dive Signals song get written?
Well, it depends on the vibe I’m shooting for. There’s no real formula – what really matters is showcasing the center piece that will drive the track, be it a drum skit, a guitar strum, anything really and just building drones and vibrations to amplify the center piece and mood, but keeping the process loose to allow for mistakes and surprises to happen as to make the experience of creating the track interesting.
I know very little about ambient/drone music myself, but I think what puts a lot of people off it is the relative "inactivity" of the music. But when I listen to a Dive Signals recording, I've found it works well for both ambiance and active listening. Is there anything in particular you do to keep listeners engaged?
As I stated before, production is my main focus – that being said, upon careful listening a lot of crucial elements are brought to the attention of the listener – vibrations, tones, unique atmospheres all hidden beyond the foreground. Amidst this I try to implement multiple genres into one track – the most blatant would probably trip hop, dream pop, or shoegaze – basically, just creating something unique from pre-existing statements and letting the drone ride.
People seem to look at music these days as tracks rather than the whole album experience. A lot is lost skimming through albums rather than playing the beast straight through and really sinking into the subject. Artists such as Spiritualized and early Cure albums are perfect representations of this. I feel when the vinyl scene slowed down this matter came up.
Is Dive Signals a studio-only project, or do you play live?
I do play live, but Dive Signals Live and Dive Signals Over Cushiony Headphones are completely different entities as I cannot replicate what I do in the “studio” live at this point in time.
So what is Dive Signals like live? Do you present the material differently onstage?
Dive Signals live is mostly original drone work, often improvised and varies tone-wise from show to show. Sometimes a calm atmosphere is presented and other times more abrasive vibes are emitted – simple instrumentation backed with live, almost metronomic drum work and heavily altered vocals. Playing live is as of this time is not really a priority, though this may change soon.
Whenever I google "Dive Signals," most of the results have something to do with scuba diving. It seemed an apt term, given the sense of place and atmosphere communicated nonverbally in the music. Do you partake in any such hobbies?
Dive Signals is a term used to describe hand signals scuba divers use to communicate with each other underwater. I suppose a sense of irony is embedded in the name, though I did not know this at the time I picked it. I thought of Dive Bars and lo-fi frequencies – fused the two … I dunno, the former is pretty cool I guess. I do like dive bars though.
Can we expect any other new Dive Signals releases in the near future?
I may take a short break in releasing material after this Opacities split to focus on expanding the label I co-run: Static Reason Recordings. So far we have a few artists’ releases coming that we’re very excited about. 10,000 Tropics will be re-issued and sold as a CD-r / Cassette package. I may also be producing an upcoming Static Reason artist’s EP. I don’t know though, an EP or single may slip at some point in between all that. I have a few ideas I’m tossing around, but we’ll have to see.
Finally, what can you tell us about Static Reason recording artist E. Bry? The double single up on bandcamp is a real jam, and I'm intrigued.
Well, we’re releasing an upcoming LP of his. The album is expected to drop around early winter. From what I hear the general sound is going to be a bit different from the single released through Bandcamp. Be sure to be on the lookout for it – I expect really great things from this up and coming talent.
Well, it was a pleasure discussing all this with you. Thanks for your answers and insight!
Thanks for doing it, I really enjoyed the experience.
Okay, so this tape dropped onto the web a couple months ago and I've been continuously meaning (and subsequently forgetting) to post it. For those of you who haven't read my previous Bedphones post (just click the link already), the now-named bdphones plays some rather beautiful pop songs that are hard to pin down stylistically. It's not that the music jumps around a lot; it's more like you can hear that the guy has a lot of original ideas and cool influences that he channels into these very unique, gorgeously-produced, hypnotic folk ballads augmented by synthesized guitar, mandolins, electronic rhythms, and vocals that arrive on your ear's doorstep with a haunting melancholy. I honestly can't recommend this enough, so if you trust anything I ever say about music, dear reader, do yourself a favor and snatch this release. Damaged outsider pop jams, these are, in the best way possible.
Turning Off was released digitally (fo' free) back in May but it doesn't appear to be available yet physically. In the meantime, you can acquire all manner of quality DIY wares from SSF Tapes, who puts out bdphones' music.
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.
This is a submission I've been meaning to post for a while now, so behold: Hanetration hail from the UK and secretes some excellent IDM jams -- and this EP is full of them. 'Rex' opens with electronic ripples, letting little quanta of musical information escape until an off-kilter rhythm breaks a hole in the wall and staggers into your ear, phasing in and out as if a dish is struggling to keep the signal. The vibe is not unlike This Heat's 'Fall of Saigon,' which is a welcome influence to my ears.
I could go on about each song like this but the overall sense I get from Hanetration is of some meticulously crafted ambient-but-active-listening music, defying expectation without getting you totally lost. The four compositions all move in and out of each other unnoticeably, morphing from jagged riddms to undulating drone tones with natural ease. Hanetration makes good use of (what sound like) non-electronic instruments the way much of the best electronic music does -- such that the sound is not perceived as 'synthetic.'
I highly recommend this EP to anyone who liked my Dive Signals posts (more of that on the way as well), or the late UK electronic guru Muslimgauze. And like that stuff, this EP is a Quality Headphone Experience™. So plug in, light up some incense, alter yr consciousness if you care to, and let the madness pour in.
This is a rather intriguing submission from a psychonaut in the land of Macedonia. Sounds of the Spheres is a concept double-album about the planets in our solar system, with each sky-wanderer getting about ten minutes to beam its cosmic frequencies into the radar dishes on the sides of your head. For the most part, the songs sound like they could have originated in space, if such transmissions could get ahold of a decent producer. Sounds of the Spheres mainly deals in drones and loops, but nothing about this is lazy and there is no shortage of melody. I won't get into the songs of each individual planet because Sferi did it already, in depth, but I will say that my favorites are the warm, lush 'Venus' and the metallic, palpitating 'Saturn.' As the planets become more distant so does their sound; listening to the whole thing all the way through really feels like an 80-minute trip to the edge of the solar system. The latter half makes me think of a 2001-style star gate voyage.
Sferi has released Sounds of the Spheres as a 2-CD set limited to 50 copies, complete with a booklet detailing how each piece was conceived. You can of course also stream/download (free +PWYW) at Sferi's bandcamp linked below.
As this prairie spring starts to feel like prairie summer (sure are a lot of 90+ degree days for May in Illinois, anyway), I am increasingly in need of music to cool the air. Enter this new(-ish) Dive Signals release, which has been consistently successful in shading me from the Midwest Sun. I have been vibing to this ever since it was sent to me, but finally have overcome the fatigue of exams to tell you about it.
I am always interested to hear what new sounds this guy is coming up with, because it seems like every Dive Signals release (all of five in the first half of 2012) has had a different sort of vision behind it. Don't Die Just Yet, which came out about a month ago, exemplifies this: whereas 10,000 Tropics built on a sunny, Californian ocean-breeze atmosphere, this set grows in the opposite direction, meandering unpredictably through New York streets and alleys, with the sounds of jazz gigs escaping the windows. The trademark Dive Signals spacey drone sound remains, but while on 10kT this effected a wide, sky-filling ambiance, on DDJY the environment feels more like the inside of a near-empty subway station, with the noises of traffic, other trains, crime and degradation, creativity, death and wealth -- The City -- all just on the other side of a wall or ceiling. My favorite passage on here is probably the suspenseful, eight-minute centerpiece '17 Patterns' (which could ably stand in as the soundtrack for a crime film) and its cathartic transition to the more explicit groove of '2nd Notion.' Really, though, the whole effort works well as a continuous piece, and definitely rewards headphone listening.
I highly recommend giving the other available Dive Signals releases a listen; they range from strung-out electric folk ballads to the aforementioned tropical drones to the musique concrète and noise stylings of Mr. Ortega's most recent release of older material, The Grey Tense. It's all free +PWYW on bandcamp, so show some support if you like what you're hearing.
Here is a submission from down in Melbourne, Australia. mnttaB (pronounce it 'Mount Tab') is a noisy synth-punk apocalypse that sounds kind of like what the cover art looks like -- i.e., a violent freak experiment of science and athletic training (and tattoos). They place special emphasis on infectious grooves, whether the drums are struck or programmed. Lots of yelling and general chaos that will make you want to jump around. This came out about two weeks ago, and is available for free on their bandcamp, along with their previous releases. All worth hearing.
There will be a European/US tour this summer, so keep an eye out for gig dates.
Come inhale the mellowness of this submission from Orange, California. Dive Signals is the one-man drone/electronic project of Angel Ortega. This is pretty much exactly what I'd expect to manifest from a place like southern California (but outside of L.A.): the sum-total "good feeling" resulting from the warmth, wind chimes, the waves, palm trees bobbing in the breeze, and all that pleasant stuff. It also gets fairly cosmic on some of the songs. If you're into krauty, electronic drone-type stuff this will be right up your alley. I've found it also makes for great music for reading, studying, or drifting off to sleep. Whether you listen while trying to focus or zone out, it's best heard as one continuous piece. Mr. Ortega recommends headphones and so do I.
10,000 Tropics came out in digital format (free + pay what you want/can) a couple weeks ago, and a physical release is in the works. Keep an eye on Static Reason for details.
Here's something a friend gave me. Undulating, lush electronic sound-forms flowing over beats that resemble a comfy couch in my mind's eye. I don't know a whole hell of a lot about electronic music outside of krautrock stuff, but I certainly know that much of what I hear at parties is pretty shite. This, though - this is something I could dance to without even having to be drunk. There is quite a little bit going on in these recordings, but as far as influences go, I'll give it to you straight from the horse's mouth:
My background hasn't always been electronic music, and I never really played an instrument when I was younger, so now that I'm officially "into" making electronic stuff, I feel like I'm constantly catching up with bands I should have known about and genres I need to get "schooled" in. Getting that out of the way, I'd say the things I'm most interested in are acts from the Los Angeles beat-scene, like Shigeto, or Tokimonsta, and the new wave of UK electronic music, sometimes referred to as post-dubstep, or future garage, like Mount Kimbie, SBTRKT, Sepalcure and some others. Star Slinger and Clams Casino are hip-hop producers that are pretty inspiring as well, one for his danceable, Soul/RnB infused beats, and the other for his really atmospheric, cinematic kind of tracks. It's strange because the hip-hop scene is one area where EDM producers could really make an impact and help evolve the culture, and a few have, as I just mentioned. I've actually been in contact with an MC named Vulkan the Krusader, and he's used one of my tracks, Cali-Dome as the single on his newest mixtape, so trying to break into working with people like that is something I have in mind for the future too. I tried to make the EP have elements of all those things, and it worked out somewhat, but I'm still narrowing down my sound and wondering what direction I'll take things next. The only thing I don't want to do is become known for doing one thing and following some kind of fad.
For many of you, dear readers, dubstep (or post-dubstep) is probably a dirty word. But take heed, this isn't some capricious pseudo-electronic bullshit. This music connotes to me a sense of wonder at all that is new and good in the world, like viewing the stars for the first time. Have a listen and get into it, man:
This album is a good introduction to This Heat, if you haven't heard Deceit already (which I recommend seeking out). Made Available consists of two 1977 BBC sessions done with the incomparable John Peel, who dug the band's bridging of krautrock sonics, world musics (before that term was pillaged of all meaning), tape magics, pioneering electronics, 'truly' jagged rhythms, and subversive politics. These guys were way ahead of their time, as evinced by the body of work they had produced by the year of 1977, when most people were making a bigger deal about 'White Riot' (which, much as I like it, sounds like 'classic rock' compared to this).
The standout songs on here are 'Horizontal Hold' (superior to the version on their first LP, in my opinion), 'The Fall of Saigon,' and the early version of 'Makeshift Swahili,' which would be laid down again on the aforementioned Deceit.
I dunno, this music is all over the place. It is the ultimate '77 punk record insofar as it sounds so unique. But enough of my incoherent babbling, try it out yourself.
