Bass Clef - Dawn Chorus Pedal (Idle Hands, Sept 17th)

Bass Clef - Dawn Chorus Pedal (Idle Hands, Sept 17th)

When Bass Clef's excellent Reeling Skullways dropped a couple of months back, a discussion on our radio show ended up with us concluding that he'd obviously purchased a whole bunch of tech and had made an album just to get some use out of it. Reading an interview in Wire from a couple of months back, turns out we weren't exactly wrong, and his forthcoming single on Idle Hands is equally techno-driven and rich sounding, indulging Cumbers' love of vintage drum machines and analogue synthesisers. The warm bass synth from Reeling Skullways reappears in Dawn Chorus Pedal, providing a springy Detroit undercarriage for otherwise screwy techno - Bass Clef experiments with discordantly tuned toms, erratically delayed hi-hats and uncomfortably mixed snare smashes to continually mess with the techno formula. Consisting of three movements, Dawn Chorus Pedal starts off with a solid four-to-the-floor kick, building to an obvious breakdown before re-emerging as erratic breakbeat that in turns dissolves in reverb washes and synthesiser drones - a structural technique that enhances the offbeat feel.

The flipside, You Don't Know Don't You Know is a simplistic, loop-driven sketch that takes its cues from hypnagogic pop, ambient and dub - vocals get chopped and screwed around varying delays, with a warm bass riff and epic tom rolls. Reeling Skullways saw Bass Clef growing as a producer and moving away from his lo-fi sound, and whilst the title track seems to continue in the same vein, You Don't Know Don't You Know is something very new and unique sounding that shows growth as a producer.

Trish Keenan: 'Mind Bending Motorway Mix'

I posted this on Dangerous Minds last week, but it deserves to be shared again. Trish Keenan was the singer in the indie/electronica band Broadcast, who died last week of pneumonia.



Image via Bobo Epileptic.

Just before the recent trip to Australia on which she contracted swine flu, Broadcast singer Trish Keenan compiled some experimental music and psyche-pop for a friend, and called it the “Mind Bending Motorway Mix.” The mix (which has no track list), has been uploaded as a tribute to the late musician, with a view to being shared with as many people as possible. Joe Muggs at The Arts Desk writes:

“A friend in Birmingham who had become good friends with Keenan in recent years has passed me THIS LINK for a “mixtape” she gave him very recently. It’s the most wonderful collection of psychedelic rarities, film music and synthesiser experiments, and perfectly illustrates Keenan’s constant mission to turn people on to exquisite and unusual sounds - but also, as the tracks are not titled, shows the sense of mystery and incentive to investigate with which she imbued all her work.”

Winning Sperm Party Xmas Downloads

WSP goes from strength to strength - as well as having a recent website overhaul, they've just put out a new batch of releases as a Christmas gift to the public. There are 5 releases by 6 bands, repping the best in underground art-rock from the Glasgow scene, including FUCKNO act Blue Sabbath Black Fiji. Also featured are Triple School, North American War, Phat Trophies, Gropetown and the amazingly named Pro Life. Here they are:



Blue Sabbath Black Fifi "French Cuisine" EP



North American War "Me And MY GI Joes" EP



Pro Life "Pro Life" EP




Triple School "Triple Sick" EP




Gropetown / Phat Trophies split tape

Browntown's 24 Top Noise Tracks of 2010

As chosen by Andy Brown, the drummer in Remember Remember and the mighty Divorce. So his noise-rock appreciation credentials are impeccable. And it looks like it's been a good twelve months for this kind of thing:

THE JOIZE OF NOIZE 2010 by Andy Browntown


Andy says:
"Here's a bunch of noisy songs that came out in 2010 that I really really fucking loved. It's not a best-of-the-year or anything (there was lots of not-noisy stuff I liked this year too, shocker!), and it's not any specific order either, it's just a bunch of awesome tunes that I am basically demanding you listen to. Sorry if it all seems a bit ego-centric, this isn't me going 'isn't my taste amazing, recognize' (not entirely), it's more me wanting to share the wealth. I've included any and all details I've got so you can maybe track down more shit by the bands featured, plus my personal opinions on them all too, cos I've got a big gob."

If you go to the Soundcloud page there's a bit of info and links for each band. Noice!

METATRON Black Christmas EP Free Download

Here's something to fill you all with Christmas cheer - a free EP of Christmas themed tracks from Metatron, now with added John Carpenter, cold wave and witch house influences.



1. Tundra
2. Midnight Sun
3. Black Ice

Download here.

This is for all the people who have just been dumped or lost someone they love. 'Cos Christmas sucks when that has happened. Happy Christmas! xxxx

RIP Captain Beefheart

RIP Don Van Vliet aka Captain Beefheart 1941-2010

John Peel Day

Today is John Peel Day. We still miss you big man xx

Cry Parrot Minterview & Compilation #3

Local DIY gig promoting legends Cry Parrot have just released their third compilaiton album through Winning Sperm Party (more on that below). I thought that would be a good excuse to send main Parrot Mr Fielding Hope our usual set of 10 questions to get his chops aboot.




What made you start putting on gigs?

I got really into the whole thing after seeing loads of my friends bands being exploited by promoters. Seeing them sell 20-30 tickets, play in front of no one then not being paid a penny totally broke my heart. People like Nuts and Seeds and This Is Our Battlefield really inspired me to cut the crap and refuse to put up with all the bullshit that was - and still is - going on.

I always thought of it as quite a rewarding thing, too. The idea that you can support music that you love was always an appealing idea to me.

"Cry Parrot" - how did you come up with the name?

It was my good friend Ewan - who used to be involved in Cry Parrot - who came up with it. I think it had some really deep meaning at the time, but i've completely forgotten. Whats quite funny now is realizing its uncanny similarity to 70's Scottish cult band 'Chou Pahrot'.

Pieces of eight or would you rather have a cracker?

Piece of eight as in CHOCOLATE pieces of eight? If so, pieces of eight...

What's the best gig you've put on so far?

Theres quite a lot that are really memorable: Sic Alps playing in front of the biggest, most enthusiastic crowd ever at the Glasgow Social Centre, the first New Year fest (Ultimate Thrush's first ever gig) or the time when O'Henrys were threatening to call the police during a Action Beat / Destructo Swarmbots / Vars of Litchi & Remember Remember gig. I've loved all our gigs this year, too.

And the worst (come on be honest!)?

Haha, theres a few that come to mind, but i'd say Tickley Feather at the V Club sticks out. None of the venue monitors were working and most of the band's equipment was fucking up really bad. I think it was received in good spirit by the crowd, but jeez - embarrassing stuff.

Anyone you'd like to put on you haven't?

I think i've been really lucky that most of the smaller acts I love i've been able to put on. Because Cry Parrot is independent or 'DIY', we get offered acts of a specific size and commercial outlook, while bigger promoters deal with everyone else. Right now i'd love to organize a gig for Oneohtrix Point Never, Lucky Dragons or Forest Swords.

BBC 4 or Radio 4?

I'm not much of a radio or TV man to be honest! Pretty sure i've seen some good programmes on BBC 4 but my mind fails me.

How did the albums come about?

Winning Sperm Party is such a perfect platform for new, independent music, so it just made sense. I think its helped a lot in giving people a taster of our nights and some music they might have not heard before.

What have you got coming up in the next few months?

Loads! Full listings can be seen at www.cryparrot.co.uk. Really chuffed we got Grouper, who I absolutely love. It'll be great having The Ex, Sun Araw and Gary War back, too.

Megan Fox or Optimus Prime?

100% Optimus Prime. Megan Fox can git tay.


And there you have it - proof that Fielding is more attracted to robots than he is to human beings. Of course, there is an ulterior motive to this interview, and that of course is to pimp the latest Cry Parrot compilation. Featuring 14 acts who have all played at CP at some point, the album is available as a free download from Winning Sperm Party, at this address: http://winningspermparty.com/node/759

And if our recomendation is not enough, have a look at the very impressive tracklist:

1. Adam Stafford - Shot Down You Summer Wannebees
2. Prayer Rug - A Ritual
3. Gummy Stumps - Gumbo
4. Small Scale Collisions - Goodbye To All That
5. Fur Hood - Know The Letter Know The Language
6. Galoshins - Sprayed with Blood
7. Ben Butler & Mousepad - Avocado Dream Triangle
8. Blue Sabbath Black Fiji - Contact High
9. Ultimate Thrush - Ladyfingers
10. Wounded Knee - Oatcakes Oatcakes
11. Streets of Rage - Paris
12. Tangles - Sunday (afternoon)
13. Cheer - Memory Circle
14. Eternal Fags - Street Juice

So what you waiting for?

FUCKNO EP free download

It's our 3rd birthday here at Little Rock, so to celebrate we have a few freebies coming your way over the next week. First up is the FUCKNO EP - featuring new tracks by 7 of the acts featured on the FUCKNO LP (still available to download). In keeping with the spirit of NORAVE the tracks veer from post-crunk to delicate ambient, from noise-hop to torch song to a bizarre afro-rock-house jam to end it all. All tracks are at 320Mb and the whole thing clocks in at 49 minutes. Total artronica. Go get:

http://www.littlerockrecords.com/releases/Lil061_FUCKNO_EP.zip

BLOOD OF THE BULL - The Saxophonist
DAM MANTLE ft JULIE AUGERE - Yoghourt
DR NOJOKE - Sublimacy (Instrumental)
HANNAS BARBER - Cloud Mountain
HARLEQUINADE (ft gungwho, asthmatic astronaut, eaters, kobra audio labs, paul keene, mo-seph, texture + tickle) - Bootlegs & Besides
MINUS TWO QUARTET - Untitled (full length version)
KODAMA NORIHITO - Panzzy

New Netlabels

Twitter trawling yields netlabels. Here are some of my new favourites.
Solida Netlabel.

Techno / house with funky stuff. 'Nuff Said.

Zymogen
I've been listening to Nicholas Bergier and Simon Trottier's single-track EP The Market Fresh, which evolves at an almost tortuously slow pace - 20 minutes long and brimming with reverb and echo-work, it explores the density and beauty of every single sound, from rich sax tones, to the discordant string scrapes. It has a lot in common with the Radiation Line's doomscapes - seemingly Eno-esque "Wallpaper music", turn it off suddenly, and you realise how wrapped up in it you've become. Awesome stuff.
Zymogen's remit covers indie, electronica, ambient and the associated fields, varying from putting out extended jams, to releasing more succinct song structures. It takes a little time to unlock all the beauties this label has to offer, as each release demands time, patience and attention, but the three releases I've been studying so far are pretty awesome. Dig.

AstorBell
Right up my street: 15 releases in now, and I've only just picked up on what they do. Minimal, dark, experimental, and techno. Roughly summed up - it's twisty weird shit with wonky vocals, done in as many ways as you can imagine. I'm really enjoying Socket Science's Ephedra EP at the moment - just enough bounce and melody to grab you, but a playful feel for experimentation that makes up for nine minute wander-pieces.
Def Leppard by DonnyKarson is great too - industrial, pseudo-Berghainisms collide with a far more misanthropic technoid mindstate. We are not the sleek chrome robots of the future, we are the lurching, clanking throwbacks dreaming of electric wolves in sheep's clothing.

Monokrak
Dub techno. Very dubby. Big spring-reverb wring-outs that shudder and return, minimal clicks and pops. Bass. The predilection for space and reverb has me hooked, as does the blurb on the site: "For those who are out of the music business, just because they are not a “good product”, there is another chance : netlabels. No more money in the affair, just music. The feeling to be free and to produce what or who you want is now a reality."

Broken Drum Records I've only listened to the Glidepath EP so far from this netlabel, but enjoy the fusion of two-step, Garage and Broken beat. Kung Fu Magic contains two of my favourite things - wobble bass and dubious chop-socky samples, whilst the title track kicks in with one of those euphoric string sections that should be cheesy, but backed by distorted snares and droney synths is actually pretty awesome. Plus, there's an obvious Shackleton / Muslimguaze influence in the use of poly-rhythmic ethnic percussion and instrumentation - it manages to pull this off without sounding worthy or dubiously middle-class.
Will find more and get it up.

There you go, five new and gorgeous netlabels putting out great content for free. Use that magic button that computers have to receive a continual stream of music straight to your inbox.
Support the CC cause.

New records / Music Reviews

So..... I have new tunes and have listened to rather a lot of good music in the past week, so figure it's time for a sporadic review blast. Dig in.

Storlon - The Snake (Unoiki 0410) - free to download until the 14th.
Unoiki's digital calendar continues to be awesome - another month in and another surreal slice of avant-garde music that isn't afraid to find the fun in experimentation. Glitchy crackles, minimal pops and deep swells spray and coalesce as the bass creeps up, before the wall of noise breaks and the beats emerge. Halfway between Martyn's low-end experimentation and clickno minimalism, it's a more DJ friendly track than previous releases, without ever losing sight of the label's experimental and avant garde ethos. Awesome.

Dam Mantle - The Grey EP (Halleluwah Hits)
Originally known as Animals and War, Tom Marshallay made quite an impact on Glasgow's DIY and independent scene, gigging with a looper pedal, casio keyboard, acoustic guitar and drum machine. It was brilliantly lo-fi and psychadelic, but seemed quite limited to the live sphere only. Some unknown metamorphosis has taken place, and Dam Mantle (joined by Louts for live sets) is suddenly a bass-heavy electronic proposition that owes as much to Flying Lotus, Blockhead and Samiyam as it does to the alt-folk origins. Rebong begins as a wobbly piece of electronica, before morphing into a wonky, broken beat rhythm that wouldn't sound out of place on a Lukid or HudMo record, whislt Yoghourt takes vocal loops, splices and chops them, and builds floating ethereality into thump-crack hip-hop. Rebong's probably the most evidently dancefloor track, full of crisp percussion and lfoed basslines. Admittedly Rusko won't be playing it any time soon, but for those looking for more cerebral and wonky dancefloor material, it's a bold piece of work and as a whole work, Grey is excellent.

Akira Kiteshi - Boom N Pow / Ming The Merciless
Finally got round to buying some Akira Kiteshi, after hearing many many good things about him. Finding a Raffertie remix finally flipped the decision and off I go to buy two EPs. For the most part, AK makes that mythical beast known as 'Dubstep'; full of wobbly, skull-crushing bass and skittery, swung beats. However, there's a smattering of offbeat breakcore-isms, and a predilection for frantically screamed vocals that adds an unnerving edge.
Boom and Pow's probably my favourite off both records, with crunked up boom-clap and fractured hype vocals. The best thing about it is the first breakdown though, which cuts up chop socky vocals and white noise, before a dropping the famous "and now for something completely different" and morphing into a wobbling 4x4 monster. YEAH!
I've also been getting well into Raffertie, who provides the remix of Boom and Pow, and makes pant-wettingly grinding breakcore / dubstep hybrid. His Vomit Riddim is just disquieting though, breaking down from womp nasty into the coughing and splattering of some poor munter losing their guts. It does this repeatedly. ooft.

Alexis K -The Death of Everything Cool (Permanent Damage)
Quite pleasant electronica / trip-hop type stuff that's due a digital release fairly soon. I was pretty dubious, as the press claimed Alexis K as "The First Lady of Dubstep", an odd praise, and one that seems highly implausible considering the existence of a certain Radio 1 DJ. However, the four tracks here all unite barking basslines, half-time rhythms and the rest with an unusual country/ western bent. Alexis' guitar lines are crisply played and pretty catchy, but do take away from the dancefloor potential of some tracks - The title track kinda feels like the final tune on a mix, rather than a DJ tool. The combination works well on Sundance at Dawn though, where a lingering High Noon atmosphere, film samples and colt gunshots replace grime's "urban jungle" pish and gangster glock pops that have become yawnsome.
In general, the production's exceptionally crisp, the style's unique, and I've played it over a few times, but I haven't found myself slavering to play it on repeat. Worth looking out for.

Mo-Seph - The Other Place / Growth and Form (Black Lantern)
Author / curator / performance poet / Apocalyptic Goblin of Doom Harlequinade continues to unleash sonic majesty upon the world through the portal of Black Lantern - this time round, he's dredged up two EPs / mini-albums from Chemical Poets collaborator Mo-seph. Both are vault-dredgers, and the breadth of styles and influences absorbed is spectacular. There's a distinct ambient and experimental bent that pervades both EPs, flitting between delicate gamelan percussion and warm synths (Martin) and squashed electronica droning (Swamp), as well as throwing in the occaisonal breaksy trip-hop number like Entropik. There's flute breaks, cello basslines, an array of synths, and percussion ranging from Roland-esque clank to live kit and foundsounds, all building delicate sound passages. As a newcomer to Mo-seph's work, it's a little difficult to know where to start - there's such a diverse range of sounds and styles which are all executed well, that it feels a little spastic to listen to. Download both, get 'em on your mp3 player and set course for the middle of nowhere... real fucking wow music.

Louts mixtape for Halleluwah Hits

Glasgow independant music store Halleluwah Hits (located deep in the heart of Che Camille) have just released the fifth in an ongoing series of mixtapes. This one is by Little Rock recording artist / Cry Parrot co-organiser Callum Cunneen aka LOUTS. It's a mixture of wonky hip-hop, ambient and a bit of alt-rock for good measure, and damn fine it is too. Check it out y'y'y'y'all:

Halleluwah Hits Mixtape 5 - Mixed by Louts by louts

Genesis P-Orridge

is the (wo)man! I have only pretty recently been turned on to the music and work of P-Orridge, but it's fascinating and inspiring. P-Orridge used to front the bands Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV, both of whom have played pivotal parts in the British industrial, rave and independant movements. He has been a poet, artist, occultist, exile and agent provocateur. His most recent project was to physically transform himself and his wife into the same person, "The Pandrogyne", through plastic surgery and body modification. Unfortunately his wife Lady Jaye died in 2007 (gutting!) but the project continues anyway.

For more info on the great (wo)man, here's hir wiki entry, and here (s)he is being interviewed by Ian Svenonious on Soft Focus.



A more indepth interview focusing on the early years (and specifically Throbbing Gristle and thier notorious Prostitution show) is below, taken from Disinformation's "Infinity Factory" broadcast. Highly recommended!

In Darkest Day...

It's fair to say that we rather like Black Lantern Music, the new 'net label launched by Harlequinade, Texture and Morphamish, not least for namechecking Little Rock as an influence. Nice one.

Brand new stuff from Tickle, Asthmatic Astronaut, Texture, all the Edinburgh hip-hop crew. Highly recommend the Asthmatic Astronaut/ Lifeshows EP Inbetween; right click to download I came across Asthmatic Astronaut on a Dejine Records compilation back in the Skinny days, and I've always been impressed by his productions.

Coming on like the bastard child of Boom Bip and Beat Butcher, it's wonky and weird. Nice.