Sharebee bugs in new beta system preventing uploads tonight

Unfortunately, today's planned posts will now have to go up tomorrow, due to Sharebee's upload function crapping out tonight...

Due to computer meintenance there will be no more posts by mutantsounds today.More new posts tomorow.

NARWAL - NIRVANA 3,tape,199?,Netherlands

Following Eric's post of Narwal LP,here comes a tape by this alter ego of De Fabriek.Unfortunately no pic sleeve scans.

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V/A: Beyond Step One ,tape,1984,USA

Excellent industrial/electronics compiltation from the legendary Sound Of Pig Music tape label.

Tracklisting:
A1 Enstruction Final Solution
A2 Slab This Song Has No Title
A3 Walls Of Genius It's A Scary World Out There
A4 Viscera Nation
A5 Het Zweet El Voz A6 Unovidual Once...Ago
A7 Unovidual Bagdad Dreams
B1 Muslimgauze Under The Hand Of Jaruzelski
B2 Billy Club Puppet / Sharon Gannon / Wade Tucker We Come From Orgone
B3 F/i Glorystomper
B4 ABC Mutes Fuck Anthropology B5 ABC Mutes Pink Wants To Spit
B6 ABC Mutes Bore
B7 ABC Mutes Wanna Puke
B8 ABC Mutes Zyclon B

B9 ABC Mutes Electric Blanket

B10 Psychodrama The Living End B11 Psychodrama Father Of Hell
B12 X-Ray Pop Mystic Mama
B13 Los Monos Castles In The Sand
Note that tracks B1 and B2 appear as 1 track credited to Muslimgauze and tracks B4-B9 are not seperated ,in this rip.

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S.Y.P.H. - the Gevelsberg Tapes,1979,CD-R,Germany

The first S.Y.P.H. EP "much enemy - much honour" I in December 1979 with Rip off in Hamburg on the occasion of "noises for the 80er"-festival added itself. At this time the confrontation between "Punkrockern" (the Punk only as Punkrock in the style of Ramones and Sex Pistols accepted) and "artist luggage" (the Punk as liberty to experiments understood) already was in the full course, as the happening showed on the festival. I do not assume that the S.Y.P.H. EP met large agreement with the "Punkrockern", because she corresponded in keinster way, as itself S.Y.P.H. with the first Hamburg-festival, which "Into The Future" had presented in February 1979 live. No short Punkrockstuecke with amusing texts, but Synthi cheeping and Tapes with newscasts from the time of the Schleyer schleyer-Entfuehrung, in addition a three-dimensional sound as if the plate live was taken up in the exercise area with a Cassettenrekorder. If one however into the "sounding S.Y.P.H. book", one of Harry rise up yourself 1982 arranged 3-Cassetten-Sammlung with up to then mostly unpublished studio -, live and exercise area photographs (4 hours material), deepens, then this EP is Ausrut no. S.Y.P.H. played everything: Punk, Folkversuche, wild Sessiongedaddel and electronic Quaelereien. Altogether 40 minutes are to be found by the photographs from Gevelsberg on the cartridge collection, whereby some sounds rather incomplete of it. Which did not prevent me however from after I had heard the cartridges to play with the idea of a LP publication. A Cover I sketched at that time, but to more it was not enough naturally - and afterwards I think also that the idea was nevertheless not completely so good, but for InterNet release for burning it is always enough. There is by the way my knowledge the only Studio photographs of S.Y.P.H. with Ralf Doerper.
From the photographs from Gevelsberg the first 4 pieces appeared at that time as EP, and it actually concerns here the most compact photographs out of the whole session. The other pieces are clearly free, in particular "Fripption" that like a sound check sounds partial, perhaps even one were, with word setting from the transmitting room. Possibly the remainder of the photographs, except perhaps the longer version of Europe, developed only besides and for the publication on the EP was never considered, which did not prevent the volume however to pack a cutout from the Xylophon fun "Gevelsberg" as a "buzzer time Bluus" on its 3.LP "Live one here and there". The piece "pure joy" is called by the way "clammy secret" on the EP and shows that S.Y.P.H. the volume was, which itself at the most explicit all early German Punkband on the German autumn, which confrontation between state and RAF, on master home and the requirement of both sides that who not for her was her enemy was reacted. Thus the Cover shows two picture icons from this time, on the front a scene photo of the buggy, which the RAF used with the entfuehrung of employer president Hanns Martin Schleyer for stopping its car and for the weapon transport, on the back a photo of a helicopter passenger for a round flight over Karlsruhe, which was identified later than the looked for terrorist Christian clear, on the way of attack targets such as courts and public prosecutor's offices to obviously explore. Harry rise up describes on the S.Y.P.H. web page like it at that time 8 weeks long tried printering for the Cover to find, but none found, although the pictures were to be seen star in mirrors, and otherwise where. Finally those put the Cover to volume on a photocopier and tacked the two sheets together. Sometime after it the guitarist Uwe Jahnke must have gotten cold feet, because its cash on delivery is deleted on the Cover with Edding, equally on the supplement from Christian well clear production a xxxxxxxx well clear production became and the photo of clear by 2 Eddingstriche was made unrecognizable. Remember: 1979 were still no the involved one clearly that music and film would be their occupation way, the option of a civil career, possibly also at the state, were much more largely located in the area (Harry rise up made painter teachings) and it was the wedding of the professionals disqualification, where the participation in any demonstration and carrying red socks threatened to versauen on eternally the life way. This was at that time a concrete threat and surely many in its political acting intimidated (me also). Also the often spielerische, childlike element in the music of S.Y.P.H. was a reaction to the German autumn, because one could extract oneself thereby from both stick-serious political camps, like also the entire aesthetics of the early German Punk in West Germany of a verweigerung in relation to the cultural defaults from state and left opposition was (West Berlin with its strong radically left-wing element in the Punk is another topic). The party politics came only with the Deutschpunk back into the music.
Over the S.Y.P.H. EP Uli deer mountain in the Hamburg Fanzine "skirt music" wrote in October 1979 the following: "with present syph singel had I still the going TZE of paints in the back of the head my surprise all the larger, as only times rather unsektiererische loud from the grooves come. "industrial girl" is in-usual moderato discotheque beat a that me very well pleases. it continues to go with a contribution to the European integration ("Europe"). technorock. profetenstimme: Europe - peoples without border - peoples without work - peoples without a goal without hope - without believe without leaders - Europe marches without direction - without future - worker Europe (or so similarly) - your future determine you... very convincingly! modern romance: for alternation a punkig fetzendes piece text up to "we is not an animal" or like that which not to understand in the end still times 2 years back into the German autumn staatsmeinungsfetzen from news of the day & other pseudoobjective comments becomes together-installed likewise gespenstisch as one from the distance notices: schleyer schleyer-entfuehrung by demand for house he command for death penalty/abolishment of the force feeding/shooting of raf geiseln/mogadischo/baader enssin raspe suicide (or "suicide"?) & which passed otherwise still everything at hysterischen over reactions. 4 vokabeln is faded in of syph when assembling: heroism, property, home of one's own, master home! initially quotation: "the newspaper le moons meant, Germany was ill". a mad piece of music! however I have the impression that the terrorism topic is too much fashionably abused (not only with syph)... "

This is an unofficial release as far as i know with tapes recorded by SYPH in 1979 containing their 1st e.p.Very strange collection of avant punk weirdness.Don't miss it!Any more infos would be much appreciated!

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MAMMUT & UPPSALA posts problems.

Dear friends
both problems were identified and were fixed.A new rar file containing both ,track 7 from UPPSALA and the missing track 7 from MAMMUT posts ,will be uploaded to sharebee as soon as it's upload service is back(this means few more hours due to upgrade and maintenance,so i guess late at night or early morning CET). Sorry for the incovenience ,i know mistakes like these give to enemies of the blog to accuse us....but at last,who cares about them.Thank you all for your support .
Jim Mutantsounds

DEPARTMENTSTORE SANTAS-AT THE MEDIEVAL CASTLE NINETEEN 100-YEAR LIFETIMES SINCE, D.S., LP, 1984, USA

Trying to explain why this record is such a cornerstone item for me is gonna be something of a feat, as Departmentstore Santas' M.O. is an entirely elusive one. There's a certain guilelessness to the way experimentation is undertaken by this L.A. outfit, a kind of naif art brut, albeit one without the cloyingly cutesy overlay of, for instance, Jad Fair's work. Incredible pop smarts are secreted away in offhand gestures and art damaged jams erupt in the least likely places in Departmentstore Santas' mercurial shoebox universe, giving them a certain frisson I thought was exclusive to L.A. equally hermetic (if more acknowledged) Decayes.

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TOUBABOU-ATTENTE, LP, 1975, CANADA

This ecstatic funkified jazzy prog masterpiece is operating in such extraordinary aesthetic proximity to Canada's Contraction/Franck Dervieux/Ville Emard Blues Band axis, it's almost eerie. Of those, Toubabou's muse is closest to Contraction insofar as Lise Cousineau's gloriously moany vocal histrionics are the mirror image of Contraction's Christiane Robichaud's. No small thing that, as this very particular style of vocals is some of the most beautiful and emotionally charged of any I've ever heard. Just glorious. Musically, this is deeply nuanced and frequently wildly driving stuff, not least due to the massed percussion onslaught that underpins much of Attente. One of my favorites ever from one of the world's great unacknowledged musical undergrounds.

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ELECTRO STATIC CAT-DYSTELEOLOGY, LP, 1986, CANADA

This severely underrated Canadian post-industrial unit (soon to evolve into Empirical Sleeping Consort) mates an exceedingly Nurse With Wound-like approach to surrealism to a Leichenschrei-era SPK dead chill in a seriously accomplished fashion. This one's stood the test of time far better than most others from this era. Top notch weirdity!

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MIND/BODY/SPLIT-IF IT'S NOT ON IT'S NOT ON, LP, 1989, AUSTRALIA

Super nutty plunderphonically oriented group improvs featuring dada audio collagist Rik Rue and winds player Jim Denley and stitched in crazy quilt stylee around the snarky ruminations of lead vocalist (though narrator comes closer) Sherre Delys. Highly entertaining work.

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TONE REC-THUGNY-TRUGNY, CD, 1997, FRANCE

This French outfit (who would later morph into madcap electronica mavens Dat Politics) were, circa 1997, trafficing in some very enticing chilly, austere experimentation that hovers on the edge of rock motion in a decidedly This Heat fashion, something which places them very close to both Jim O'Rourke's 90's unit Brise-Glace and Germany's Village Of Savoonga.

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Yochk'o Seffer-Neffesh Music/IMA,LP,1977,France

It happened again!I was listening to this wonderful LP trying to write a review,but,i was so deeply "got into " this music that words could not come out of my mind.Only pictures....Dark,nightmarish sometimes ,pictures.Seffer is a saxophonist and clarinettist of Hungarian origin. He became well-known at the beginning of his career as a member of Magma and Zao.This LP is the 2nd part of a work named Neffesh music(first one is Adama).Adama with half this LP was reissued by Spalax records a few years back.Excellent complex compositions in the ZAO /MAGMA most experimental vein,with dark ,evocative,sometimes oppressing feeling.Ethnic chanting and jazzy passages creating a unique sound!Just a masterpiece!

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YOCHK’O SEFFER - Biography
French sax player and composer born in Miskolc (Hungary) on 10.7.1939, Seffer starts studying music at the age of 6. He moves to France in 1956 where he studies reeds, piano and composition at the Conservatoire de Paris, mainly with Nadia Boulanger but also as an occasional student with Olivier Messiaen. In 1959, at the Bohème, he performs with Mal Waldron, the first one in an endless list of partners (amongst others, Charlie Rouse, Phil Woods, Steve Lacy, Ornette Coleman, Pharoah Sanders, Dave Liebman, Kenny Barron, Joachim Kühn, Daniel Humair, Henri Texier)… In 1969 he creates Perception together with Siefried Kessler, Didier Levallet and drummer Jean-My Truong. The following year, he appears in Magma's line up. In 1973, he associates with pianist François "Faton" Cahen to create ZAO. In 1976, he initiates Neffesh Music, a musical ensemble including jazz improvisers and solists from Pierre Boulez' Ensemble Intercontemporain. Between 1983 and 1985, Jean-François Jenny-Clark, Kessler, Michel Godard and drummer Peter Gritz will be part of Chromophonie, a big band that will be followed by a saxophone septet (1986). In 1988, he adopts a quartet formula (with Kessler, François Méchali and Gritz) that plays Monk's compositions; that first tribute will be followed by another tribute, to Coltrane this time and with eighteen musicians. He is also a painter and a sculptor and the father of cellist Debora Seffer.
Coloured spots, smelting masses, nuances and violent patchworks, he plays music as he paints and sculpts, putting together the dancing lyrism of his compatriot and fellow musician Bartok, the colatranian fire and the sense of evidence of Monk, connecting all these various elements as a multi-instrumentist virtuoso(from soprano to bass saxophone) led by an inexhaustible passion.
X.M.
(extract of "Dictionnaire du jazz", collection bouquins, Robert Laffont)

from:http://www.rocktime.org/rio/bioseffer_english.htm

SBB(Szukaj, Burz i Buduj)-SBB (Wolanie o brzek szkla),LP,1978,Poland

SBB were a Polish fusion outfit, led by über-keyboard man Józef Skrzek, who produced several inventive albums during their career, especially their second and third, both from '75, Nowy Horyzont and Pamięć. Like many Eastern European bands (Omega spring immediately to mind), SBB's discography is a confused thing, with albums appearing in different territories under different titles, although their website seems to put matters straight by listing their releases not only in order, but with the month as well as the year of original release.
As a result, it seems Ze Słowem Biegnę do Ciebie is definitely their fourth album, and like its two predecessors, is a ripping slice of prog/jazz rock, consisting of two side-long pieces, one with vocals, although not a jot of the credited Mellotron, unless the extremely faint sustained sound on side one (which pretty much rules it out anyway) is what we're looking for. Neither the first nor the last time we'll hear from 'the inaudible 'Tron'. Or not. Fine album, anyway. Now, their second album of '77 really starts the ball rolling properly; SBB (Wołanie o Brzęk Szkła) (****) is a storming record, with some of the most incendiary MiniMoog playing (from Józef Skrzek) you may possibly ever hear scorched into its grooves/binary pits. This is a fucking great album, make no mistake, even for someone who generally avoids fusion, although, despite rumours, it appears to not only be entirely 'Tron-free, but hasn't actually got the thing credited. Follow My Dream (***½), from later the same year, hasn't got it credited either, but the year's second eponymous SBB album apparently has. Confused? Good.
Sadly, the band had 'normalised' considerably by Welcome, but it still has its moments, although, to be honest, they're few and far between. Opener Walkin' Around The Stormy Bay is a high-energy slice of prog-fusion, and How Can I Begin has some nice organ work, but most of the rest of the material's pretty dispensable. There's Mellotron credited on three tracks, but I can't hear the thing myself, so that's a fat 'zero' on the 'T' rating, then.
Memento z Banalnym Tryptykiem is a better affair, surprisingly, without all the cheesy vocal material of its predecessor (I believe this was due to leaving their previous label). There's some quite ripping fusion guitar work to be heard here, which, while creating its own problems, is vastly superior to awful attempts at songwriting. The side-long title track is especially good, building to a superb guitar-driven crescendo before a sudden tape cut. Mellotron's credited on two tracks but is, once again, completely inaudible.
The only (apparently) relevant SBB albums I now haven't heard are the above-mentioned 'Amiga album' and a cassette-only release from 1978, Jerzyk, although I've no idea whether or not the latter's made it onto CD anywhere. There's also a '79 Skrzek solo release, Pamiętnik Karoliny, but going by these three, I can't imagine what use Skrzek actually made of his Mellotron; the only other band I can think of who used it so little are Novalis. So, the only genuinely poor album I've heard by the band (apart from its opening track) is Welcome, but everything else is pretty much worth hearing, assuming you're into fusion.
From Planet Mellotron

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Marcie's Still Waiting-A Mysterious Song,E.P.,1985,Germany

Excellent and totally unknown German band,with this litle gem released in 1985.Mynimal synth/wave sounds,in the vain of early Sad lovers and Giants and Exhibit A.No infos found eveywhere ,even after extensive search.

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Mammut-st,1971,Germany

Born out of the jazz scene in Villingen (near Stuttgart, Southwest Germany) from musicians formerly of the bands The Rope Set and Those. Mammut were an obscure underground band, whose sole album was the result of no-holds-barred late night jam sessions at the MPS studios. Dark sounds, with hints of Amon Düül II, heavy blues-rock (in the more freaky Frumpy or Tomorrow's Gift vein), with all sorts of strange, ethnic and gothic touches combined in their music. Although the band themselves quoted Deep Purple's IN ROCK as a major influence, their spirit was purely Krautrock. Their sole album is a legendary rarity, and rightly so. The CD reissue was withdrawn due to legal problems.

From "The Crack In the Cosmic Egg"
Stoned freakout total kraut rockers loosing control and turn ordinary strarting kraut/psych rock songs to total chaos!

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Marie and the Atom - Spit it Out E.P(1985)+Yelow Read Aloud E.P(1983),New Zealand

Following my previous post of Marie And The Atom tape,here comes their 2 e.p.s released by Flying Nun records,and this completes their discography.Residentesque experimentation mixed with crazed out circus music,hints of jazzy impovisations pop-ish wave ballads in a dark ,stressed,sometimes epic mood....in parts the "Larks tongues in aspic" era King Crimson influence makes it's appearance. While 1985 e.p is mostly instrumental,the 1983 one is vocls oriented and generally speaking more musically approachable(well,in terms of how approchable an experimental recording can be....consider it something like Residents Not Avaliable era popish experimentation).
Sorry no pic sleeve scans.Help anyone?

Don't miss this!

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Andrea Centazzo Trio-Ratsorock,LP,1977,Italy

Fo;;owing my previous post of Andrea Centazzo's LP on PDU ,here's one more rare recording on Centazzo's Ictus label,from 1977.Ecellent free form Jazz improvisations !

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Morphogenesis -Formative Causation,LP,CD,1986/1997,USA

Morphogenesis started recording in January 1985 and our first public performance was at the West Square Festival in London in July '85. The group was formed by a group of people interested in exploring the possibilities of live electronic music and collective improvisation. Its members have diverse musical backgrounds - Ron teaches music technology at Morley College, Adam runs a club for impovised music, Roger wrote books and articles on new music, and we have all played in a variety of other groups ranging from Roger's involvement in Cornelius Cardew's Scratch Orchestra in the 60's, to Clive G's studio work with Nurse With Wound in the 80's and Mike's live and recorded work with Organum in the 90's. Additionally, Adam and Mike are both engaged in solo music production. Clive G. and Mike both have their own CD labels (Paradigm Discs and Mycophile respectively), and Clive G. also has a regular show on Resonance FM each week (playlists for Sound Poets Exposed).
The groups aim is to unify and integrate many diverse sound elements, (electronic, vocal, instrumental and environmental) within a context of continual formal evolution and group dialogue. We construct our own instruments in addition to using adapted or prepared conventional instruments - usually violin, piano and acoustic guitar. The range of timbres is further extended by means of filtering and other forms of signal processing. Contact microphones are used to amplify the sounds of bubbling water and other small sounds. All these accoustic sounds are enhanced by electronic filtering etc. One electronic instrument we use is a bioactivity translator which is used to measure the voltage potential of living organisms - including plants, fungi, and the human nervous system - and translate the biological rhythms into electronic sound. Other electronic instruments include a 4 speed portable reel to reel tape recorder and a multi speed CD player, both of which are used to explore short sounds. We do not use laptops or lengthy pre-recorded material.
Concert appearances include 2 concerts in Brussels, a WDR recording at the Stadtgarten in Cologne and numerous London concerts, including performances at the LMC festival, The Spitz, The Royal Festival Hall foyer, the Air Gallery and in July 2000 we supported Sonic Youth at the Shepherds Bush Empire. More recently, in 2003 we have played at the Podewil in Berlin and at Instants Chavirés in Paris. Interviews have appeared in EST, Resonance, Audion and Avant, while feature articles have appeared in The Wire and The London Magazine. An online article appeared in March 2005 at Perfect Sound Forever.
From:http://www.stalk.net/paradigm/morphogenesis.htm
in this recording Morphogenesis were:Adam Bohman, prepared violin, balalaika, objects; Ron Briefel, electronics, sound projection; Fred Sansom, prepared guitar, electronics; Clive Hall, percussion, piano; Michael Prime, water machine, radio, strings, electronics and sound projection; Roger Sutherland, percussion, piano, strings. Recorded in 1986 ,released in 1997 on CD by Mycophile records.

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GOA ET FRANKY BOURLIER-HORIZON, LP, 1974, FRANCE

Deeply tripped higher key sonic investigations from the Bourlier brothers, both known more from their work in the NWW-list and Futura label unit Horde Catalitique Pour Le Fin. All sounds included here are from self-made or modified instruments, the overall approach coming off like an acid informed Lasry/Baschet recording by way of Limbus 3/4.

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CONFLUENCE-ARKHAM, LP, 1977, FRANCE

Quietly gorgeous French jazzy prog of a very airy, languid and spacious sort, often focused around the wistful cello work of Jean-Francois Capon, whose devastating outfit Baroque Jazz Trio recently had their one eponymous album reissued. One of France's great undiscovered treasures.

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DER KOHLENKLAU-SPIELT AUF!, LP, 2003 (RECORDED: 1982), GERMANY

Gripping cheap, raw and nasty Neue Deutsche Welle synth-punk-into-post-industrial fuckery from Tommi Eckardt of the stunning NDW unit Gorilla Aktiv. Spielt Auf!" was originally released as a tape in miniscule quantities and was finally made available again (for about 5 minutes) via this 100 copy LP reissue.

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REZNICEK-KUBIN-MANCHA-IPSOMAT LEGRAND, 10", 1999, GERMANY

The deft collaboration between Gunter Reznicek and Felix Kubin that comprises the A side of this split 10" takes the combined aesthetic templates of these two avant electronica avatars in a decidedly more austere and chilly direction than normally anticipated from either of these sonic pranksters (though still leaving room for the occasional ridiculous robot vocal) in a way thats tensely Tietchens-y. Mark Mancha's two remixes of Ipsomat Legrand that occupy side B winningly rejigger the source into something equally wonky yet remote.

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DEMI SEMI QUAVER-S/T, CD, 1993, JAPAN

Beserko Japanese avant prog bombast whose Bondage Fruit cum Happy Family approach is offset by a curious funkiness and, for better or worse (or both simultaneously) dominated by the screw-loose jibber-jabber verbal diarrhea fits of Emi Elionola, whose in-your-face approach is a decidedly acquired taste and which in the wrong context can be deadly (see how she tanked Ruins' Symphonica album with her schtick). To these set of ears, such is not the case with Demi Semi Quaver. If anything, all these years on from this scenes' heyday, Demi Semi Quaver's endearing looniness make them something of a high water mark for avant prog of that era. Note: this lengthy CD has been divided into two parts.

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Scatterbrain -Mountains Go Rhythmic(LP,1984)+Strip the future(12'' e.p. ,1982),Denmark

Here's one more essential minimal synth post.Released in the Irmgardz label .No more infos available.Not to be confused with the Aussie band with the same name.

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Tom Dissevelt & Kid Baltan-Song of the Second Moon,LP,1968,USA

(first issue as Electrosonics)

Forst released in 1957 under the name of Electrosonics(see above) and then re-released in 1968 under the name of the 2 composers mentioned.Very early primitive electronic experimentations!

As promised!

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Alan Licht -Sink the Aging Process,LP,1994,USA

Licht was born in New Jersey in 1968. His earliest musical influences, in the 1970s, were mainstream rock bands like the Bee Gees and Wings—he remarks in an interview with Paris Transatlantic magazine that 'What made me want to play guitar was that painting of Wings in concert in the gatefold of Wings Over America. It looked so exciting... I wanted to be part of it.' Later, in school, he listened to punk and no wave bands like Mission of Burma, Hüsker Dü and Sonic Youth. However, his musical trajectory was set when his guitar teacher gave him a copy of Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians, which would lead to his discovery of other minimalist music. Licht majored in Film Studies at Vassar College in New York. Since the 1980s, he has worked and recorded with the bands Lovechild and then Run On, and with other avant-garde musicians including Jim O'Rourke, Rudolph Grey, Loren Mazzacane Connors, and La Monte Young. He has also recorded several solo albums.Licht's music draws on a wide range of different styles, from tape-loops, to noisy guitar (sometimes using a prepared instrument), to pure pop music.

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Nik Raicevic-Zero Gravity,LP,1975,USA

Here's one more by Nik Raicevic!This time from 1975.

More stoned electronic weirdness!

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V/A:Music From Mills ,3xLP,1986,USA

These records were published; In Celebration of the Centennial of the Chartering of Mills Collage 1885-1985. A selection of works featuring composers and performers from the Mills Collage Music Department and Center for Contemporary Music.
Includes compositions by: Elinor Armer, Robert Ashley, David Behrman, Luciano Berio, Anthony Braxton, Dave Brubeck, Howard Brubeck, Janice Giteck, Anthony Gnazzo, Lou Harrison, Katrina Krimsky, Darius Milhaund, Pandit Pran Nath, Paurine Oliveros, Maggi Payne, Larry Polansky, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, David Rosenboom, Ramon Sender, Morton Subotnik, "Blue" Gene Tyranny.
Cover: b/w with a print of The Critic Sees by Jasper Johns!
The Mills College Music Department and Center for Contemporary Music are proud to present this three-record set, released in celebration of the chartering of Mills College as a degree-granting institution in 1885. Since that time the Mills College Music Department has gained an international reputation for excellence in composition, performance and historical studies combined with innovation in contemporary musical media.
These records contain a mere sampling of the wealth of music that has emanated from Mills College during the last one hundred years. Most of the composers and performers represented are current or former faculty or students at Mills. The list of accomplished musicians responsible for the Mills reputation is very, very long. Regrettably, many of these world-class composers and performers are not included in this collection. This is due to limitations of space or circumstances of logistics and time and not to any evaluative, editorial judgements. We hope, however, that this collection will comprise an important historical and archival document and will help continue Mills' long-standing contribution to the evolution of American music.
The composers and performers represented on this album have donated their efforts and their music for this limited edition project. To them we express our deepest gratitude. Without their generosity and assistance this album would never have been possible. We also wish to acknowledge past Heads of the Mills Music Department whose tireless efforts and careful support were required to keep Mills in the forefront of contemporary music. In particular, many of the composers represented in this anthology came to Mills during the tenure of Margaret Lyon, who served as Head from 1955 to 1979. This tradition was continued by Susan Summerfield (1979-1984) and David Rosenboom (1984-present) and remains vital today.

Tracklist:

----Side 1----

1 Lou Harrison "Sonata No.2 from Six Sonatas for Cembalo" (2:43)

2 Terry Riley "The Ethereal Time Shadow (excerpt)" (9:20)

3 Luciano Berio "Chamber Music" (7:10)

4 Dave Brubeck "Summer Song, arranged by Howard Brubeck" (2:56)

----Side 2----

1 David Rosenboom "In The Beginning: Etude I (Trombones)" (9:48)

2 Robert Ashley "Flying Saucer Dialogue from the opera Atalanta (Acts of God)" (7:14)

3 Anthony Braxton "Composition No.62 (+30+96)" (5:48)

----Side 3----

1 David Berhrman "Interspecies Smalltalk, Part 2 (excerpt)" (5:42)

2 Elinor Armer "Thaw" (5:51)

3 Steve Reich "Melodica" (10:43)

----Side 4----

1 Maggi Payne "Subterranean Network (excerpt)" (7:21)

2 Darius Milhaud "Segoviana" (3:14)

3 Pauline Oliveros "Alien Bog (excerpt)" (6:22)

4 Anthony Gnazzo "Asparagas" (4:49)

----Side 5----

1 Katrina Krimsky "Apparitions" (9:15)

2 Larry Polansky "Four Voice Cannon #3" (1:49)

3 Pandit Pran Nath "Dira Dira Ta Na in Raga Bhairavi (excerpt)" (12:49)

----Side 6----

1 Janice Giteck "Breathing Songs From a Turning Sky (excerpt)" (7:29)

2 Robert Sheff "Remembering, performed by "Blue" Gene Tyranny" (2:27)

3 Ramon Sender "Audition (excerpt)" (2:54)

4 Morton Subotnick "The Key To Songs (excerpt)" (8:29)

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Ralph Lundsten - Thriller(underscore suite) OST,LP,1974,Sweden

You asked for it!So here it is!

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DG 307-(1973-5), LP, 1990 (RECORDED: 1973-1975), CZECHOSLOVAKIA

Following Jim's post of DG 307 material a little while back, here a sample of what these ferocious Czech dissident freaks were getting up to some years earlier. This is raw low-fi gutteral belching and growling avant rock of a variety so brutish, grimy and primitive, it makes The Plastic People sound like Abba. It frankly beggars disbelief that this was recorded during the years stated. Highly fascinating, warts and all.

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MALON-"EL CAMINO" "DALE NEGRO", LP, 1972, ARGENTINA/FRANCE

Featuring the remarkable Miguel Abuelo (check out his killer work with Nada, if not in the know) it's sort of amazing to me that this pearl of the South American psych/prog scene has not yet been posted somewhere given the great number of blogs devoted to the topic, but there ya go. Malon were a Argentine/French unit whose sound is so exotic and sensual, you'll wish you could slather it on your skin. I hear everything from France's flute proggin' NWW-lister Jean-Cohen Solal and the badass bandito psych of Mexico's La Revolucion De Emiliano Zapata to Peru's Traffic Sound and even (don't sneer) instrumental Santana in here.

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QUAD-S/T, LP, 1997, UK

Gary Ramon of Sundial's first solo album under the Quad moniker is a sitar soaked miles deep kosmiche mindbomb, second only to his work on Sun Dial's "Other Way Out", which was, for my money, one of the top 5 best psych albums of the 90's. Essential.

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BLACKHUMOUR-ROMANCE, LP, 1990, CANADA

This Canadian audio artist sculpts thick disorienting mulches of vocal source material and arrays the results in ways that are alternately sense befouling and maddeningly static but always strangely compelling.

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SIMON STEENSLAND-THE SIMON LONESOME COMBAT ENSEMBLE, CD, 1993, SWEDEN

As requested, following my previous post of Simon Steensland's Zombie Hunter, here's his almost equally staggering debut album of doom laden R.I.O. brilliance. This lengthy CD has been divided into two parts.

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Get part 2 Here

Alejandro Jodorowsky-El Topo OST,LP,1972,USA

As requested!An extraordinary psychexotica soundtrack to a magnificent movie!

nothing more to say!

highly recommented!

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Note!this is ripped without seperating tracks,just as side a and side b.

Pierre Favre-Abanaba,LP,1972,France(Futura label)

Pierre Favre has been performing as a solo percussionist since the beginning of the Seventies. Since then, critics have been in accord about the exceptional quality of these solos. In describing Favre’s art as a soloist, one cannot speak of a demonstrative virtuosity with which the greats of percussion demonstrate their styles and techniques of accompaniment. On the contrary, with Favre one finds from the beginning a personal musical vision – to be understood in the same sense as a sonata is a meant for piano. For the first time in 1984, Pierre Favre composed for a percussionist ensemble which included Paul Motian, Fredy Studer, Nana Vasconcelos and himself (“Singing Drums“, ECM 1274). With “Singing Drums“, Favre endowed his vision with its first actual orchestral form. “Les Tambours du Temps“ take this development a step further. Although two of the four instruments in this new ensemble are horns, the group’s concept is essentially rhythmical. The 1984 quartet has condensed as i were to become the duo Pierre Favre-Lucas Niggli. Niggli differs from the percussionists of the Sixties generation through a personal expression which is energetic and flexible and requires no fashionable muscular performances. The percussionist duo creates the framework in which the saxophonist and clarinettist Roberto Ottaviano and the tubist Michel Godard operate. A unique uplifting power of song can be ascribed to the former, which casts a special light onto the underlying rhythmic landscape. The latter unites power and melodic finesse in his tuba, form which he easily brings forth the tonalities of large drums or those of the highest soprano scale. The intervention of both horn players punctuate, illuminate and comment on the percussionist discourse. Simplified and summarized: “Les Tambours du Temps“ exchange roles – often it is the horns which accompany the percussionists. Swiss – born drummer and percussionist Pierre Favre started working at the age of seventeen as a professional musician. He became a member of various European big bands, played with American and European jazz greats and led drum workshop throughout Europe, United States and Japan. His interest in complex drum rhythms and unusual sounds led him from Free Jazz ( Martial Solal, Don Cherry, John Tchicai, Albert Mangelsdorff, Michel Portal ) to World Music (Nana Vasconcelos, T.V. Gopalkrishnan). Inventiveness is one of the most distinctive features of his approach.
This is his solo LP from 1972 in the FUTURA label .Avantgardish jazz experimentations all through.Note that this is percussions and drums solo improvisations!

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Tom Dissevelt-Fantasy in Orbit,LP,1963/7,USA

Some of the earliest electronic recordings were produced, in the late-1950s and early-60s, by Netherlands-based composers/keyboardists Tom Dissevelt and technician Kid Baltran (born: Dick Raaijmakers). Their 1957 debut album, Song Of The Second Moon, included the groundbreaking electronic composition, "Sonik Re-entry". Although they continued to collaborate on an album, Glas in 1958 and a seven-inch single, "Electronic Moments" in 1959, Dissevelt had replaced Baltran with another technician when he recorded his 1964 album, Fantasy In Orbit.
Dissevelt's subsequent solo compositions were compiled and released as Intersection: Orchestra And Tape Electronics. As of 2003, Dissevelt was working on a CD overview of Dutch popular and applied electronic music from 1956 to 1966. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide

An astronauts musical impression while orbiting the Earth.Electronic compositions of Mr. Thomas Dissevelt.Songs of the Second moon LP coming very soon!

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Below find the 2nd issue from 1967 artwork

John Pfeiffer-Electronomusic (9 Images),LP,1968,USA

Very little info available about this except that John Pfeiffer was a producer at RCA first working on the technical side, as a design engineer.He studied music and engineering at the University of Arizona and Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan. After naval service during World War II, he moved to New York, where he attended Columbia University and worked as a jazz pianist before joining RCA in 1949. He worked on teams that developed stereo and quadraphonic recording techniques. He was also a composer and combined his interests in music and engineering in "Electronomusic," an album of his own experimental electronic music that he recorded for RCA in 1968Υ. the instruments are evidently his own inventions - full scan of LP cover and back contain nores

Inharmonic Side-Band! Contraformer! Programmer and Sines! Parametric Blocks! Metric Transperformer! Alphormer and Set! Duotonic Transform! Sequential Sines! Simpliformer! No idea who this guy is or what he used to make the weird sounds contained on this one but it's definitely an electronic curiosity. Somewhere between the avant-garde and Tom Dissevelt's clever poptronic music but with a weird, unique vibe.

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Nik Raicevic-Beyond the End... Eternity,LP,1971,USA

Another Nik Raicevic oddity!Here's an amusing story about this LP ,i found at RYM site:
"This has got to be one of the most unusual electronic albums I have ever heard! Talk about a forgotten relic from a forgotten era! Even the early works of Tangerine Dream on the Ohr label takes a back seat compared to this album from Los Angeles-bases synthesis Nik Raicevic. His albums have been pretty much known only by the most die-hard and fanatical LP collectors, those looking for the off-the-wall stuff that's never seen a CD reissue (and not likely to). I was exposed to Raicevic back when I was a small kid in 1979. My dad had a copy of _Magnetic Web_ (1973) for about a week and got rid of it. I liked it, but for some reason he did not. It took me years to find out who did _Magnetic Web_, and once I found out, I discovered it was Nik Raicevic. Little is known of this guy (finding info on him online is next to impossible), but one thing for sure was when he quit the music business around 1976, he sold his big modular Moog to none other than Steve Roach, then a former racecar driver, but later a big name in the New Age/electronic genre (yes, the same guy who teamed up with Australian didgeridoo player David Hudson in the 1990s, although of course he had no albums out in '76). Around the time he gave up on music, he did provide some sci-fi artwork to an Iowa-based pomp rock band called Locust (who released the album Playgue in 1976). Also I found out he provided some percussion on the Rolling Stones' Goats Head Soup album, which I find extremely surprising, because the Stones were so much more mainstream than anything Raicevic was recording. I was trying to figure out why my dad got rid of _Magnetic Web_ so fast in my dark recesses of my early childhood. While much more recently the opportunity for me to get that album hadn't arised for me quite yet, I was given the chance to get this earlier release, _Beyond the End... Eternity_, and I got a copy! It all makes sense, if the "music" on this album is anything to go by, it's little wonder why my dad got rid of _Magnetic Web_, it must've been too far out for his likings. _Beyond the End... Eternity_ was Nik's first album after being kicked off the Buddah label following the release of _Head_ (the album with the coloring book included). This album was released on Narco Records, and it's basically a sound effects library album. It's nothing but electronic bleeps and laser sounds, with some droning Moog. Nothing remotely resembling a tune or a melody, Jean Michel Jarre or later Tangerine Dream this is not. The album cover is truly a time piece, with that trippy sci-fi cover done by Raicevic himself. The minute you hear the opening cut, "Beyond the End", you hear mainly electronic wailing sounds that sounds like sirens. The next cut, "To Go, To Do, Is to Be" features that odd droning Moog and more sound effects. The rest of the album is more or less the same, bearing titles like "The Mist that Drifts Away", "Deathless", "The Wanderer, "Life's Timelessness", and "Eternity". This is truly a wonderful album to clear parties with, because of all those relentless electronic effects. I also love that raw analog sound. This is truly one album you'll either give a one or a five star rating, but because I like this off-the-wall stuff, I give it a five star rating. And to think three more albums will be released from him before dropping out of the music business. None of his albums have ever been reissued on CD, so you have to get it on LP (or 8-Track). I know my parents would hate this album (like they did _Magnetic Web_), but that's not my problem, if you're looking for the most off-the-wall stuff, give this album a spin."

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David Borden-Music for Amplified Keyboard Instruments,LP,1981,USA

David Borden (b. December 25, 1938 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American composer of minimalist music. In 1969, with the support of Robert Moog, he founded what is considered to be the first synthesizer ensemble, Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Company. In addition to his work with electronics and the Mother Mallard ensemble, David Borden has written music for various chamber and vocal ensembles. He is also an accomplished jazz pianist.
Borden's compositions are heavily influenced by the repetitive minimalist style of Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and Terry Riley. Borden is also very interested in counterpoint, best demonstrated in his large scale series of works The Continuing Story of Counterpoint, Parts 1-12.
David Borden was commissioned to write the score to the 1973 film The Exorcist by director William Friedkin. However, less than a minute of Borden's music was actually used in the film (Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells was prominently featured on the soundtrack instead.)
Borden participated in the many activities surrounding the 30th anniversary of the founding of Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Company in 1999, including several live performances and CD reissues on the Cuneiform record label.
He is currently the Director of the Digital Music Program at Cornell University.
From Wikipedia

Thanks to Dr Wommm for the sleeve link.

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Jon Appleton & Don Cherry- Human Music ,LP,1969,USA

At the dawn of the 1970s, ‘going electric’ had become commonplace for jazz musicians; ‘going electronic’ was a different matter. Many musicians plugged in, filtered and distorted their keyboards, basses and horns, reaching for an unholy, ecstatic din or the youthful muscularity of the groove, but few wholeheartedly embraced the abstract space of studio electronics or took up the challenge of how to improvise with them.
Enter Don Cherry, who, if anyone, was well-suited to the task of combining improvisation and electronics. Cherry had spent the better part of a decade fleshing out Ornette Coleman’s approach to collective composition, and he had also started to build his own vision, one in which whole musical styles and cultures merged and themselves became modes around which to improvise.
This adventurous spirit led to an invitation to act as artist-in-residence at Dartmouth College. The invitation came from Jon Appleton, himself a composer and, more importantly, the builder of the college’s electronic music studio. Their collaboration over a two-week period in February 1970 gave us Human Music, originally released on producer Bob Thiele’s Flying Dutchman imprint, and now re-issued by Water.
Electronic space is something we today conceive of as hyper-flexible, a highly malleable dimension where everything becomes a texture, a timbre, where music gives up its cultural signifiers and becomes mere sound. So with Cherry on board and Appleton at the controls, all the ingredients for what we could call one of the founding documents of electro-acoustic improvisation were present; in this case, though, rough prototype might be more apt.
For one, the interaction between man (Cherry and his pocket trumpet, kalimba, hand percussion and voice) and machine (Appleton’s use of Robert Moog’s wall-system synthesizer) produces very little flow. The motion is stop and start, with Cherry producing sounds that soon receive a reply from Appleton’s set-up. The liner notes tell us that Appleton’s electronics were triggered by what Cherry played. This results in dialogue that feels one-way, such as on “Oba”, where Cherry produces cascades of half-melodies on his trumpet and the electronics shadow his playing, adding layers of effects, but the layers are oil and water, not a compound.
On “Abo” a sonic compound does appear, with Cherry’s kalimba, flute and manipulated vocalizations blending with Appleton’s erratic signals, pitch-bends and accents. Here the essentials of improvisation - give-and-take, transformative dialogue and the unifying of diverse voices – appear, and the use of electronics to achieve those essentials bears fruit. Unfortunately, on Human Music, this synthesis is often lacking, and it seems that Cherry and Appleton’s ideas outstripped their technology, and their execution.
By Matthew Wuethrich

From Dusted Reviews

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CORRECTED R.L. CRUTCHFIELD'S DARK DAY LINK UPLOADED

In what will now hopefully prove to be the last time that I'll need to post a message of this sort, I've corrected the R.L. Crutchfield's Dark Day link that, as many had complained, had loud extraneous noise on it, much as my previous Honeyelk upload did. While I've not yet sussed out what the hell caused both of these uploads to crap out (while all my other recent uploads seem to work fine), from this point on, I'll be diligently sifting through the tracks I intend to upload once they're converted to MP3 format to make sure that there aren't any screwups of this sort in the future...

JAC BERROCAL-HOTEL HOTEL, LP, 1986, FRANCE

One of this idiosyncratic French musical provocateur's finest moments and laden with ace contributions from an international cast of oddballs including Pierre Bastien and Clive Bell, the provisional constructs Berrocal and co. jerry-rig around the free floating music signifiers that comprise Berrocal's aesthetic M.O. are slippery, beautiful things, riding across the seams of art song, meditative orientalia, drunken free jazz bleat, dark electropop, hazy jazz reverbed into Hassell-esque fourth-worldisms and other less readily peggable tactics. Elliptical higher key work from a master.

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IMP.INK.-S/T, LP, 1980, SWEDEN

A charmingly confounding lost slice of Swedish underground experimentation that's sitting in a curious little corner of it's own invention. D.I.Y. explorations of the cosmos are intriguingly constrained by technical limitations into assuming multiple odd postures only to be swept asunder by sudden interventions of squalling free improv, soundbites from The Lone Ranger, lopsided skeletal jazz rock, demented vocal looning and sundry other maneuvers expressly designed to screw with your brain.

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NARWAL-THE ALBUM, LP, 1991, NETHERLANDS

This wonderful psychedelic electronic side project of Holland's De Fabriek slowly wraps a thick hazy blanket of sense saturating kosmiche gloop around your frontal lobes in a way that begs comparison to HNAS-related projects like Damenbart and Mimir.

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TRIPTIC OF A PASTEL FERN-STAR VERSUS CUBE, 12" EP, 1991, USA

Brain rattling weirdity of a decidedly singular sort, TOAPF was the project of one Treiops Treyfid, who seemingly faded into oblivion after firing this crazed missive into the maw of a disinterested subcultural milieu. Ranting and raving, mutated electronic textures, metallic cacophony rhythms and a Residential touch in the overarching approach to aspects both humorous and claustrophobic.

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HIDEKI MATSUTAKE/CHOJURO KONDOJ/MASASHI KOMATSUBARA-EDO, LP/CD, 1978, JAPAN

Obscure reissue from 2000 of an equally obscure late 70's "old-meets-new" electronic concept album, Matsutake, Kondoj and Komatsubara herein concoct a fairly enticing fusion of 70's Tangerine Dream-style cosmic electronics and Japanese traditional instrumentation, hence the title "Edo". The legitimately tripped and the patently cheesy are pretty much kissing cousins here, but if you're susceptible to such miscegenation, you could do far worse than cocking your ear this way.

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NEW CORRECTED LINK FOR HONEYELK HAS BEEN POSTED

Thanks to anonymous for pointing out that there was a defect in the Honeyelk link that caused a loud buzzing noise. I haven't the foggiest idea what caused it to happen, but it's now been re-upped in corrected form.

R.L. CRUTCHFIELD'S DARK DAY-EXTERMINATING ANGEL, LP, 1980, USA

Unlike the candy coated minimal synth immediacy of Dark Day's Window LP, which I posted a few days back, Robin Crutchfield's post-DNA unit are here trafficing in something rather more stark and eerie, and for me it's every bit as winning. I get a strong whiff of both early Tuxedomoon and Monitor in their command of tension-building and the somewhat processional quality of Dark Day's motion here and it's a lovely thing to behold.

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GEORGES GRUNBLATT-K-PRISS, LP, 1980, FRANCE

Grunblatt was a member of Heldon in their earlier days and here on his 1980 solo, he's helped out by the entirety of Heldon's late model line-up (albeit not always at the same time), meaning, Pinhas, Patrick Gauthier and Heldon's ace rhythm section of Francois Auger and Didier Batard as well as Weidorje guitarist Michel Ettori. For Heldon fiends, this makes this something of a holy grail, but there are reasons beyond just K-Priss' line-up to bestow upon it such wild praise. The other principal reason is that this is not just great French electronic prog, it's great *cheese* as well. I wouldn't necessarily call this disco-prog, but it's got all sorts of highly winning and amusing period details that really sends this over the top for me on multiple levels.

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GEEKS-IT'S NOT ABOUT NOTES ANYMORE, LP, 1979, USA

Existing from 1965 to 1981 (though I suspect it wasn't always under this moniker) Geeks were a bay area pack of old free jazzbos that got thunderstruck by punk rock's visceral thrust and freaked out accordingly on this whacked out obscurity. Pretty damaged and "out" sounding stuff...

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WERKBUND-AQUIS SUBMERSUS, CD, 1989, GERMANY

The Werkbund/Mechthild Von Leusch saga has largely been laid out over previous posts of their material on MS. Suffice it to say that of the extant material by this "mystery group" (who really aren't, as it's well understood by now that both Werkbund and Mechthild Von Leusch involve the collaboration of Asmus Tietchens and Ulli Rehberg), Aquis Submersis is both the doomiest and most overtly post-industrial sounding of their recordings. Cavernous, creeped out stuff and done superbly.

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SIMON STEENSLAND-THE ZOMBIE HUNTER, CD, 1995, SWEDEN

Drop dead staggering, pin-you-to-your-chair doomy Swedish R.I.O. brilliance of a very Univers Zero-like sort. If this lacks some of the compositional nuance and depth of UZ, it makes up for it in sheer breathless intensity, seldom pulling back from full throttle chop-and-change to catch a breath. Note: this lengthy CD has been divided into two parts.

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Von Zamla – No Make Up!,LP,1983,Sweden

Second album from international version of the zany S/Zamla Mammas Manna bunch with ties to Albert Marcoeur’s group. Featuring an expanded lineup of six, including Univers Zero reeds man Michel Berckmans, “No Make Up!” is undeniably an avant progressive tour de force. The album opens, interestingly enough, with ‘Forge Etude’, a rework from Zamla’s (then) final album “Familjesprickor”. A rarely mentioned fact, possibly due its obscurity, is the relationship of Von Zamla with the German fusion band Munju during this period. Both recorded for the German based JA&RO label (aka Exil). And not only do they share a full time member, bassist Wolfgang Saloman, but Berckmans also played extensively on Munju’s “Le Perfectionniste” album. This collaboration is reflected on the third track ‘Fόr Munju / Indojazz’, one of the livelier pieces on “No Make Up!” Throughout the album, it’s once again Lars Hollmer’s familiar accordion, that drives most of the Nordic European style folk melodies. The ensemble work is tight, in typical chamber music fashion, with the aggressive rock edge provided by guitarist Eino Haapala, the same role he played for the Zamla clan prior. It’s fair to say that most of the groups in the Rock in Opposition camp find it hard to avoid some crazy improvisation, sort of their bitch-slap to the establishment. Here Von Zamla only utilize one piece for that, the unbelievably irritating (and mercifully short) ‘Voice Improvisation’. Fortunately the remainder of the tracks remain composed, energetic and satisfying. “No Make Up!” was to be reissued on CD in 1998, but for reasons unknown, did not happen. As of this review, it remains a vinyl only issue. Highly recommended to fans of the original RIO movement, the collective avant progressive sound, and those who have recently arrived through the Nordic front door via the Northside label.

Tom Hayes
5-Sep-2006 , for Gnosis2000.net

by many this is considered their absolute masterpiece!

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Nino Nardini-Musique Pour Le Futur,LP/CD-R,1970,France

Nino Nardini (aka peter bonello or georges teperino, depending on whom you ask...)recorded "Musique Pour Le Futur" for the Crea Sound library imprint in 1970.
This record is not at all like this composer's better known funky exotica outings. Instead of sleazing it up, Nino is bleeping away in the Forbidden Planet / egghead labcoat electronics idiom here. When he gets bored with constructing drippy moog stalactites, he pulls out the synth and starts whacking out some atmospheric 'Hammer Horror on the moon' dirges.Inarguably his most “experimental” recording, rife with the sort of murky, backwards/tape-echo drenched prepared-piano, synth, percussion, and concrθte-sound studies that always jump out of 70s italian horror films right as the protagonist begins to question his/her own sanity...

Amazing stuff!

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V/A:Apo Mikhanis Music,LP,1991,Greece

Experimental compilation from Greece ,Thessaloniki's Ano Kato label, with very important interntional contributions as long as 3 Greek contributions(I Mikhanologhi/Optical music/Dim.Retire).Songs exist exclusively here.The title means "music from machines".

TRACKLIST

A1 I Mikhanologhi -Corner Of Ermou And Venizelou (3:10)
A2 Rune Lindblad - Data 1 (4:58)
A3 Optiki Mousiki -The Three Substances Of Apo Mikhanis (7:25)

A4 Phauss - Moving The Sun Strong Strain And Beautiful (2:57)
B1 Dimosioypalliliko Retire- Kinos Nus, Third Part (9:56)
B2 Leif Elggren / Kent Tankred - Warszawa 1 (4:30)
B3 Hafler Trio - Gladness Becomes Weeping (3:57)

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Warner Jepson-Totentanz ,LP/CD-R,1972,Iceland

commissioned by the san francisco ballet company. premiered at the san francisco opera house april 1967. performed on national tour and at the palace of fine arts 1972 and by the san francisco dance spectrum at grace cathedral 1971 - 1972. costumes and production designed by cal anderson.
warner jepson was raised in bethlehem, pennsylvania and attended oberlin conservatory. he has written scores for two musicals as well as several films and tv documentaries. in the past four years he has created total environments of sound, odor, and movement for the san francisco museum of art and was commisioned to do the centennial party for the san francisco art institute. he was on the staff of the san francisco conservatory before deciding to devote full time to composition. he resides in san francisco with his wife + children.
The a-side piece contains a long section of tape-based concrète; lo-fi pre-industrial thudding, dissonant piano stabs. and much repetition (you’ll want to crawl inside this bit and never come out...) - this gives way to a great blast of weird-synth patterns that closes out the side... on the flip there’s even further mystery layers, which slowly give way to the most amazing bit of terry riley lineage repetitive minimal synth figuring and blasted spring reverb & gated riffing. completely awe-inspiring, with a demonic-looking cover to boot (depicting some sort of skeletons-and-ghouls-as-wedding-processional ceremony no less.)

An industrial masterpiece!Years ahead of it's time!

As requested!

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Automat-Automat,LP,1978,Italy

Rather unusual choice for an italian 70's band, Automat were a studio group from Rome, featuring two keyboardists and a third member, Mario Maggi, helping on keyboard programming. Maggi was also the builder of the MCS70 synth used on this record, and the new instrument's sounds and capabilities were the main source of inspiration behind this album. During their short life Romano Musumarra also had a very different musical career being a member of the well known pop group La Bottega dell'Arte, that was active between 1975 and 1984 with many chart hits. The other musician, Claudio Gizzi, had a classical background.
Their 1978 album is a rather unique example of instrumental electronic music from Italy, totally built on synthesized sounds and rhythms, it's in the same rank as contemporary works by Kraftwerk and Jean Michel Jarre, whose Oxygene was recorded in the same period and released just a few months before this, so it can be an interesting surprise for fans of this musical style.Side A is totally taken by the long Automat suite by Claudio Gizzi, while the B side contains three shorter tracks by Musumarra. One of these, Droid, was a leading theme on the brazilian Globo TV.
Musumarra has kept composing keyboard music in the 80's, with soundtracks (he's particularly active in France) and production works.Claudio Gizzi appeared with a single track, as arranger and conductor in the My favourite tones LP, issued in 1973 by the legendary Picci label.
From :Italianprog.com
IMHO just an electronic space lp,with hidden hints of italo disco(especially the song Droid,which in the early 80s was covered by the italo-disco band Mito,and many Greek and Brasilian visitors will recognise it as it was massively used at tv spots background music).

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Attrition - Death House,LP.1982,UK

Attrition is an electronic music band, formed in Coventry, England in 1980 by Martin Bowes and Julia Niblock. Influenced by punk's do-it-yourself aesthetic, Attrition appeared on compilation cassettes featuring contemporaries such as Portion Control, Konstruktivits, Chris and Cosey, Legendary Pink Dots, Nurse With Wound, Metamorphosis et al. However, while associated with the industrial scene, the band found it difficult to attract an appreciative audience.
Their early post-punk stylings soon gave way to a distinctive electro-acoustic sound.[citation needed] This was based on Martin's deep growl, Julia's fretless bass work and breathy sub-operatic vocals, and a backline of electronic instrumentation, comprising analogue synthesizers (including a Korg MonoPoly and Korg MS20), sequencer (Roland MC202), drum machine (Roland TR808), and various effects units.
"At first, there wasn't the same sort of scene and we were in more of an 'industrial' thing. There was nothing like the clubs you get now, it was actually quite difficult to play anywhere that would appreciate you. It's a lot easier now, it's not just Goth, it's a mix - Darkwave or whatever. That's gotten stronger, so that has helped, but really, we were there before it was built."In 1979, Martin started a zeroxed fanzine called "Alternative Sounds", to document the Coventry music scene (including such notables as The Specials and Furious Apples). The fanzine ran for 18 issues until 1981, and culminated in a vinyl compilation, "Sent from Coventry" (on Cherry Red records) and a brief appearance on the BBC's Something Else programme. During this time, Martin met Julia at a local gig and Attrition was formed; the initial line-up included Martin's brother Chris on guitar, who left in 1981 to join the army, and Julia's brother Ashley Niblock (who would become another mainstay) on synthesizer.
Two early home recordings, "Fear" and "Devoid", were issued in 1982 as a flex-disc given away with the "Adventures in Reality" fanzine run by Alan Rider (later of Stress and Dance Naked), who would provide the band's visuals for live shows. Two experimental electronic soundtracks ("Crawling" and "Dead of Night") were released as the "Death House" cassette (later reissued on vinyl by Hamster Records as "This Death House"). Also in 1982, Gary Levermore included an Attrition track ("The Visitor") on the first volume of his "Rising from the Red Sands" series of compilation tapes, beginning a long running association with Gary and his Third Mind label (formerly Tone Death).
In 1983, Attrition received their first exposure in the national music press through a review by Dave Henderson in his "Wild Planet" column in Sounds, which led to their "Dreamsleep" track appearing on Henderson's compilation "The Elephant Table Album", the band's first vinyl appearance. A postal collaboration with Seattle-based improvisational collective Audio Leter led to the "Action and Reaction" cassette release for Adventures in Reality. Attrition's first London concert followed, with a support slot for Coil. Martin currenty teaches music at Tile Hill college in coventry.
From Wikipedia

Droney experimental/industrial sounding in their adventurous 1st LP !

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HONEYELK-STOYZ VI DOZEVELOY, LP, 1979, FRANCE

Even though this amazing French zeuhl band's one and only album came out in the late 70's, it's pretty clearly the earliest stages of Magma's work that are being emulated here, specifically the more plaintive and open sounding passages of Magma's debut. Some really hauntingly beautiful stuff here on this very short album (basically an EP, though it's labeled an LP). Honeyelk were one of the precious few zeuhl bands to sieze on this particular dimension of Magma's sound and run for the hills with it and the world is a better place for their efforts.

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FROLKHAVEN-AT THE APEX OF HIGH, LP, 1973, USA

This was Stewart Copeland of The Police's private press hippy drug freakout album from his days at Berkeley and it's a little slice of history that I bet he dearly wishes had stayed buried. I gather only a few hundred originals were fabricated back in the day, but some enterprising bootlegger tossed a few hundred more out into collector geek land about 10 years back and here it is for your perusal. This a gem of fried lo-fi "real people" acid damage, sounding somewhere between The Godz, The Decayes, and Heratius. Don't be too hasty with your judgement on this one either, as it's not 'til side B rolls around that this goes from being merely a fascinating curio and actually becomes some seriously compelling shite.

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INDUSTRY-S/T, 12" EP, 1980, USA

I'll just start here by saying that this is easily top 10 for me when discussing minimal synth. Every moment here is laden with brilliantly whacked melodies filtered through ingenious treatments and possessing both a great command of pop smarts and the knowledge of how to build tension effectively. I hear bits of early Christian Lunch (specifically his band Product), B.E.F., Nash The Slash and...well...many more passing flashes of all my favorite purveyors of such electronic treats. This thing kills me every time I play it...

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ATSUSHI TSUYAMA-IS THIS A PENCIL OR A SHEEP?, CDR, 2001, JAPAN

I get the impression that one-time Omoide Haotoba and current Acid Mother's Temple member Tsuyama once saw the phrase "cosmic jokers", took it at face value and decided that wackiness was the shortest route to the cosmos. This has resulted in an approach to psychedelia thats veers wildly release to release from inspired to cringe worthy, but largely stays in the former mode for this pretty solidly tripped out affair that was released in an edition of a mere 100 copies.

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Memoriance-Et après...,LP,1976,France

MEMORIANCE is a unique sounding French symphonic progressive band from the 1970s who released 2 albums and a 7" single.
Their debut album, "Et après", is a fine blend of styles, ranging from fellow French symphonic bands like Ange, Atoll and Carpe Diem, but also with a blend of Steve Hackett style guitar playing, as well as a hint of "Wish You Were Here", era Pink Floyd.
After their debut release, there were some line-up changes, with drummer, Didier Busson being replaced by Christopher Boulanger. Pascal Libergé came into the band as a keyboard player, alongside Jean-François Périer.
Their second release "L’Écume des jours d’après Boris Vian" is a concept album, based on the 1947 philosophical novel "L’Ecume des jours" (Froth on the Daydream), by Boris Vian.
It appears that in 1981, they released a single "Sparadrap/Telephone", but there seems to be no accompanying album.
MEMORIANCE’s style on "Et Après", has somewhat of a jazz rock feel at times, but also prevalent is a strong bass sound, some luscious guitar playing (two lead guitars at times) - that is never outrageous - yet is skillfully played. There is also psychedelic rock moments, reminiscent of Pink Floyd, especially in the keyboard and guitar sounds. Overall, they’re never over-the-top or heavy, but they always manage to stay interesting, due to their songs having several movements.
A relatively unknown and unique band, even in France, they have managed to record some excellent music and deserve to be heard. If you enjoy the ROGER WATERS era PINK FLOYD, ANGE, ATOLL, CARPE DIEM as well as other symphonic prog, you will enjoy MEMORIANCE.
James R. Yeowell (Geck0)

Discography:
LP: Et après... (1976)

LP: L'Écume des jours d'après Boris Vian (1979)

7" single: Sparadrap/Telephone (1981)
From http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=2733

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Ralph Lundsten-Universe (featuring Andromeda Allstars),LP,1977,Sweden

Continuing Ralph Lundsten here comes ihs LP Universe from 1977 featuring Andromeda Allstars.Excellent cosmic electronics as always.

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Kanguru- Dreaming (Evening of Dream Ragas),LP,1976,Australia

Not much info on this one.4 dreamy avantgardish progressive Ragas ,from ,possibly, a team of hippies .Nice freaked out folk eastern influenced psych in parts reminding me of Magic Carpet and other records of this genre.

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Schlussphase -st,LP,1982,Germany

Here's another great NDW/minimal synth,with some experimental touches from 1982.Look at the kitsch pseudo astronauts uniforms in the back cover and make some connections with the VIDEO LISZT post bu Eric a few days back.Distorted electronics here,with moody atmpsphere,much spocen word vocals....excellent LP.

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Kit Watkins - Labyrinth,LP/CD,1980/2000,USA

Kit Watkins (born 1953 in Virginia) is a progressive-ambient-jazz recording artist based in Brattleboro, Vermont. Born to classical piano teachers, Watkins was a founding member of the American progressive rock band Happy The Man, which formed in Harrisonburg, Virginia in 1973. Contrary to popular belief, the band's name was not taken from a little-known Genesis song of the same name -- a bizarre coincidence that amazed and surprised the band, who had no knowledge of the song until later. The origin of the name Happy The Man actually came from the book "Faust" by Goethe who used the phrase "happy the man" often in the book.
The band moved to the Washington, DC area in the summer of 1975 and developed a devoted following as a result of airplay on WGTB-FM (the Georgetown University radio station, no longer in existence) as well as live performances sponsored by the station, headlining the Pandemedia event of that year. The band was a regular act at The Cellar Door in Georgetown, DC.
In 1976 they were auditioned by singer Peter Gabriel for his touring back-up band, a role comparable to what had been fulfilled by The Band for Bob Dylan in the mid-1960s. Kit remembers the audition well. "The band with Gabriel sounded surprisingly like Genesis" says Watkins. "I think he decided against us for that reason, although we never knew that with any certainty." Happy The Man wanted to keep its own identity and not be known as merely Gabriel's back-up band. So when the news came that Gabriel had declined, the band wasn't entirely disappointed. Then, just months later, Happy The Man was fortunate to sign with Clive Davis' Arista Records, which released their debut album, Happy The Man, in 1977 to a much wider audience. The album was a mixture of impressionist jazz fusion, progressive rock, and ethereal tone poems. The album, like its follow-up, was primarily instrumental.
Happy The Man released their second album, "Crafty Hands", in 1978. Both albums were produced by Ken Scott, famed engineer from The Beatles' White Album sessions, as well as having engineered and produced albums by such notables as David Bowie, Supertramp, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and the Dixie Dregs. Kit Watkins worked closely with Ken Scott as the band's representative in the recording and mixing of both Happy The Man albums. For Watkins, this was a crash course in recording technique which provided him with knowledge he later found invaluable in his solo recording endeavors. Throughout the tenure of Happy The Man, Kit Watkins' contributions were a prominent part of the band's sound, incorporating his writing, playing, arranging, and producing skills.
The two Happy The Man albums found a small but devoted cult audience for the band. But sales levels of the two albums were disappointing and Happy the Man was dropped by Arista in 1978. Concurrently, the band's drummer was replaced by French percussionist Coco Roussel. After about a year of label-shopping without results, the group was losing its strength and commitment. Near the end of that year, the British progressive rock band Camel approached Kit Watkins about replacing their keyboardist Pete Bardens. The offer was accepted by Watkins. The remaining members of Happy The Man then disbanded and pursued other interests.
Watkins' traveled to England in June 1979 to join Camel where they rehearsed and recorded a new album entitled "I Can See Your House From Here" for Decca Records, with Rupert Hine as producer. Following up the recording, the band toured England, Europe, and Japan to promote the album.
Kit Watkins left Camel at the beginning of the band's rehearsels in 1980 for their next album entitled "Nude." Little of what Watkins had written for Camel was accepted for inclusion on the new album, soWatkins left the band to launch his solo career. He recorded his first solo album "Labyrinth" (with Coco Roussel on drums) in 1980. And even though Watkins was no longer a member of Camel, he did return to the band on a temporary basis for their two major tours of England and Europe in 1981 (for the "Nude" tour) and 1982 (for "The Single Factor" tour).
Kit Watkins released his second album "Frames of Mind" in 1982 with Brad Allen on guitars and vocals. The album was a fun and quirky mix of new wave pop and hybrid world music, recorded at Watkins' home studio in Arlington, Virginia and released on his own label, Azimuth Records. The duo created a music video of the song "My Telephone" which was shown throughout the U.S. on cable television. Azimuth Records also released the demo tapes of Happy The Man produced by Kit Watkins and recorded during its last year, under the album title of "Better late..."
The next release from Kit Watkins found him working again with drummer and percussionist Coco Roussel, who was Happy The Man's third drummer as well as Watkins' side man for the duo's live performances in the early 1980s. The album, Kit & Coco "In Time" was released in 1985 and delved into both new and familiar territory -- a mix of progressive, jazz fusion, and contemplative styles -- and was critically acclaimed by reviewers and fans alike.
In 1987, Watkins relocated to Linden, Virginia in the rural Blue Ridge mountains where he recorded and released a string of albums over the next 10 years, including "Azure" (1988), "SunStruck" (1990), "wet, dark, and low" (1992)for the Minneapolis-based East Side Digital (ESD) label, and "Thought Tones" (1990), "A Different View" (1991), "Kinetic Vapors" (1993), "Holographic Tapestries" (1995), and "Beauty Drifting" (1996) for his own Linden Music label. Linden also released a number of albums by other notable electronic/ambient artists, including David Borden, Robert Rich, and Jeff Greinke.
In 1990, Watkins, working out of his home studio in Virginia, produced the solo album of drummer and friend Coco Roussel, who recorded his tracks in Los Angeles and then uploaded them by computer to Watkins in Virginia. Roussel's album was one of the first to be produced using an early form of long-distance music exchange, not unlike what many musicians now do on the internet.
Linden Music closed its doors in 1997 due to distribution problems, but Watkins has continued releasing his work on CD, first via MP3.com and currently via CafePress. In 2000, Watkins signed a contract with One Way Records for the release of four of his "classic" albums ("Labyrinth," "SunStruck," "wet, dark, and low," and "Holographic Tapestries") which continue to be distributed nationally.
Recent albums include "The Unseen" (2000), "Rolling Curve" (2000), "The Gathering" (2001- a live recording of a rare live performance given in Philadelphia that year) "music for the end" (2001), "This Time and Space" (2003), "unraveled" (2003), "Flying Petals" (2004), and "World Fiction" (2005).
Watkins has released two acclaimed DVDs: (1) a hypnotic visual work based on his album "This Time and Space", released in 2004, and (2) "The Gathering" live performance, videotaped by his longtime friend and Azimuth Records partner Sally Heldrich, released in 2005.
Additionally, Watkins briefly formed an improvisational trio in early 2001 called Tone Ghost Ether with musicians Brad Allen and John Tlusty. The group has released 4 CDs. The trio focused on recording "live" in Watkins' performance studio, in the tradition of jazz groups of the past, without overdubs (although looping machines were utilized).
Abstaining from touring, Watkins prefers the isolated performance event, but these are rare and Watkins now devotes most of his available time to studio recording. Watkins' ambient works have become staples on radio programs aired over National Public Radio, such as "Hearts of Space." Reviewers and fans have compared his work to Brian Eno, Mark Isham, Steve Roach, Harold Budd, Jeff Greinke, and others.
From Wikipedia
REVIEWS
Voted 5th Place in the 1982 Keyboard Reader’s Poll Awards for keyboard album.
The production is excellent and the keyboard work solid . . . a thoroughly satisfying creation. —KEYBOARD
Unpredictable shifts in tempo, lush orchestral textures, and complicated melodic structures . . . technically proficient, creatively daring, high-energy and accessible. —THE WASHINGTON POST

A true masterpiece!

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Dedalus-Materiale Per Tre Esecutori E Nastro Magnetico,LP,1974,Italy

Following my previous post of their excellent 1st LP,here comes the 2nd one.Here is what's written for it in their website:

...1974

Enzo Carabetta, an alto sax player, joins temporarily the group in a series of concerts with the Circoli Ottobre for the campaign for the referendum for divorce. In the Winter they record (at the Format studio in Torino) the second LP Materiale per tre esecutori e nastro magnetico, without Carabetta and Furio Di Castri, who is already starting his career as jazz bass player. The record presents a crucial turn in Dedalus’ music. All references to any codified musical genre are abandoned to go in for a radical experimental approach to electronic music and musique concrete, improvisation and noise. Fiorenzo Bonansone adds new elements coming from contemporary classical, concrete and electronic music and composes most of the pieces.
1975-76 The second LP is released. Despite Trident’s discontinuance and the listening difficulty of the music, a few thousands copies of the record are sold. Concerts in Italy.Dedalus compose and record new material for a third LP which will remain unreleased until today. This material was a synthesis and clarification of the experimental research of the second record. Concerts in Italy and France
From: http://www.dedalus-group.com/en/index_en.html

This one is more avant garde-ish,with much use of electronics.Personally i like this more than the 1st one!

I'm afraid i have to remove the link of this one ,for now,(possibly will appear in the future),due to Eric's very good relationship with Andrea Cernotto (Elica labelhead, formerly of the group Sodality), who a few years ago re-issued this, so we have to ask first.Sorry 'bout that.

Mittelwinternacht -71,LP,1971,Germany

Shit, man? Whats kosmische for "illusion". Klang! Hammond organ and guitar apocalypse. It just carries on phasing.disappearing.phasing.disappearing.furry-freakin. Ahhhhhhhh. takes me back to my mate Wolfgang, us stoned on the floor of his caravan in Torquay when we were 14 year old Heads. Still, who were "Edward Fraser and Christopher French"? Was this really recorded way back in "21-22 Dec 1971"? Is the man with the midiverb having us all on? Put it like this, the kids who believed in Santa were the coolest in the school, right?. Right! And for those of us still feel obliged to space? Yeah!!Its a fucking riot that our Zweistein tribute band back in Tamworth never even got close to" - Uncle Florian, "Schlagwerk Heritage Gazette." - Betley.
Limited to 50 copies.
---------------------------------------------------------------
"Here's a mysterious CD. The only credits on Mittelwinternacht '71 say, "played and produced by Edward Fraser and Christopher French, 21-22 Dec 1971". Hmmmmm.... is this some lost kosmiche classic or someone's idea of a joke? Well there's no joke about the music itself, which pays homage to pioneers like Tangerine Dream. And I mean the earliest stuff.
The album includes 4 tracks, 3 of which stretch out and explore for well over the 10 minute mark, of screaming noise-space textures that sail across an otherworldly landscape, pushed to high levels of intensity by pulsating drones, and haunting waves of cosmic sound. This isn't just mere floating electronica either... no sir. This is busy stuff that is developing continually and with a clear but freeform sense of direction. At least that's the sense I had as I chilled out under the headphones. There's lots of interesting mood changes too, as we transition from high volume atmospherics that sound like Walpurgis Night in space to calmer sections that would be almost meditative if they weren't so damn intense. For example, much of the track "Die Pulsar Kommt" consists of peaceful drifting waves. But the rapidly warbling patterns and heart thumping drones keep the listener at bug eyed attention throughout. Yup, there's lots of treasures to be mined here that stand up to repeated listens. So if you pine away for the old days of ultra kosmiche space excursions that let you know exactly how astronauts feel looking out into heavens... then this is a must have."
http://aural-innovations.com/2004/january/mitnacht.html
Here's an excellent so called kommiche/kraut lost gem in Kluster/very early Tangerine Dream /Seesselberg vein.There are some rumours that this LP is a joke and behind it Mr. Ashtray Navigations is hidden.Only he can give the answer.But in case that this is true:BRAVO!EXCELLENT WORK Mr.Phil!

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Andrea Centazzo - Ictus,LP,1974,Italy

Italy's top orchestral percussionist, Andrea Centazzo has composed and performed lyric operas, orchestral symphonies, and percussion solos. Since 1983, Centazzo's attention has been focused on multimedia productions incorporating traditional and electronic instruments and video tape. Centazzo has been praised for his ability to "synthesize Oriental percussive vibration with timbal understanding of contemporary music and the soul of jazz and rock." Centazzo first attracted attention as a sideman for such avant-garde artists as John Zorn, Steve Lacy, and Don Cherry. The possessor of a doctorate in musicology, he has taught seminars and workshops in Europe and the United States. A prolific writer, Centazzo has composed more than 350 pieces and has authored eight books on musicology. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide
A real masterpiece....dreamy improvised music with eastern influences and much use of electronics!

Thanks Michael for the scans!

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Delirium-Primer Dialogo,LP,1985,Mexico

DELIRIUM released their excellent debut album in 1985. The music here reminds me of ICONOCLASTA (especially the guitarist, who has the same tone as the Ricardo Moreno), but these guys were determined to create something more intense. The tracks tend to be kept short and fast, and they feature multiple solos and classical-inspired duels (many times counterpoint) between the guitarist and keyboardist. A couple of the tracks also feature violin..
Excellent keyboards-guitar driven progressive masterpiece from Mexico.Sometimes drk,sometimes epic with complex compositions .Overall:Highly recommented!

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DARK DAY-WINDOW, LP, 1981, USA

As requested, Here's the first of several Dark Day albums I'll be posting in the coming days. Dark Day was no wave keyboardist Robin Crutchfield's post DNA outfit, though the only thing they carried on from those days was a propensity for the tense and stark, and even those tendencies went south by the time they recorded the incredible Window. Certainly the rarest and most desirable Dark Day release, it's also (unlike Crutchfield's more rockist other Dark Day releases) a pure minimal synth musical mainline and has attracted collector prices to match. The first Martin Rev solo album seems an obvious point of comparison here in it's aggressive and wet timbres. Combine that with a candy coated melodicism that smacks a bit of instrumental early Human League stuff like The Dignity Of Labour and you've got a pretty solid recipe for a direct link into your minimal synth pleasure receptors.

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V-EFFECT-STOP THOSE SONGS, LP, 1983, USA

Exhilarating pulse-pounding art rock genius from one of this country's great overlooked bands. Musically, V-Effect were America's answer to Etron Fou Leloublan, creating convulsive sonic assemblages for sax, organ, bass and drums that consistently tumble and caper through lopsided curlicues of post-Magic Band structural irregularity. Lyrically, they're as overtly politicized as This Heat or The Art Bears and, for me at least, their work carries some of the same emotional charge to be found in both those units, despite their substantially different and far less dour aesthetic remit.

Note: I've been asked to remove this link, as Acute Records are set to reissue V-Effect shortly. Please support their efforts and purchase this extraordinary album from them when it's released.

FRANCOIS JEANNEAU-UNE BIEN CURIEUSE PLANETE, LP, 1975, FRANCE

The amazing companion piece to the Jacques Thollot-Watch Devil Go LP I posted a few days back (recorded in the same year for the same label with many of the same personnel), Une Bien Curieuse Planete mates the sax, flute and synth of Jeanneau and the bass work of J.F. Jenny-Clark (both featured on Watch Devil Go) to Magma keyboardist Michel Grailler's piano and synth, with Bernard Lubat taking Thollot's place at the kit for a series of highly peculiar pieces that alternate between gorgeously woozy synth dominated library music-like curios, free jazz blowouts and straighter stretches of jazziness, the album split about evenly between these poles, though it's deceptively frontloaded with a lengthy piece thats one the album's straightest, so don't be deceived...

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THE HAPPINESS BOYS-RESIDENT ALIEN 12" EP, 1983, USA

Hot shit super intense thundering, juddering electronic music that gets labeled minimal synth, even though it's synths are about as maximal and in-your-face as is imaginable (something it shares with the likes of The Passage or Gary Allen). Lots of pounding live drums mixed with the electronic beats that push things along in an almost Liquid Liquid-like fashion at time. So good. Note: A pressing defect causes a loud whoosh sound for the first ten or so rotations of side A.

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NOVA HUTA-AT BAMBIJ ROBOT'S NONSTOP DATSCHA, CD, 1999, GERMANY

This solo project of Gunter Reznicek (whose collaboration with Rudi Burr I posted a short while back and who is also one half of the amazing duo Groenland Orchester) is comprised of wonderful blippy cartoonish experimental electronica of a very post-Sky Records sort.

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Zartong-st,LP,1978,Armenia

Crudely recorded yet often lively set of material from this Armenian ensemble. A mixture of late 70's prog fusion and Middle Eastern sounds is the general recipe, but the highpoints are when they get this Balkan/Zuehl/Disco thing going (if you can imagine that.) Case in point is "Dzamone (pt 2)", where muffled “earth bass” wiggles under a driving bass-beat/hi-hat, whilst an Old World canzonet rejoices the top layer, replete with sheer violin strokes, all of which succumb to a warm and fuzzy guitar meltdown at the climax.

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Didier Bocquet-Eclipse,LP,1977,France

Another cosmic excursion by Didier Bocquet.This is his 1st LP.Unfortunately no scans(some help?)

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Nik Raicevic-The Sixth Ear,LP,1972,USA

Fantastic dark trippy psych electronic LP.Sometimes reminds me of Ruth White's records.Excellent by all means.Little is known of this guy (finding info on him online is next to impossible), but one thing for sure was when he quit the music business around 1976, he sold his big modular Moog to none other than Steve Roach, then a former racecar driver, but later a big name in the New Age/electronic genre (yes, the same guy who teamed up with Australian didgeridoo player David Hudson in the 1990s, although of course he had no albums out in '76). Around the time he gave up on music, he did provide some sci-fi artwork to an Iowa-based pomp rock band called Locust (who released the album Playgue in 1976). Also I found out he provided some percussion on the Rolling Stones' Goats Head Soup album, which I find extremely surprising, because the Stones were so much more mainstream than anything Raicevic was recording.

more Raicevic LPs coming within this week

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Аква́риум(Aquarium)-Электричество (Electricity),LP,1981,Russia

Aquarium [Аква́риум] is a Russian rock group, formed in Leningrad in 1972 by Boris Grebenshchikov, then a student of Applied Mathematics at Leningrad State University, and Anatoly "George" Gunitsky, then a playwright and absurdist poet.
In the 1970s and early 1980's, rock and roll was banned in the Soviet Union (exception was given only to a few government-approved artists), and Aquarium's usual concert venues were private apartments. These concerts were a unique Soviet phenomenon, created by underground musicians. They were usually "unplugged", as noise would cause the neighbors to alert the authorities. The limited space fostered an atmosphere of intimacy between the group and its audience, listening with bated breath, with perhaps someone recording it on a simple tape recorder. This was similar to the concepts of the Russian bards, however Aquarium were (admittedly) much more influenced by Western music, particularly by The Beatles, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, progressive rock acts Jethro Tull, King Crimson and Roxy Music and also reggae. Thus their compositions were considerably more complex and their lyrics covered a broader range of topics, showing Grebenshchikov's notable erudition in Celtic and Indian cultures, among other things.
Until 1987 Aquarium recorded all of their albums in a self-assembled underground studio (several members had engineering education) disguised as a "Young Technicians Club" (for the album Radio Africa (1983) a government-owned mobile studio was secretly used, after bribing a technician). Despite those hard conditions, the recording quality was rather high and Aquarium's albums between 1980 and 1987 are considered by most fans as their best.
The advent of Glasnost in 1985 brought many underground Russian rock musician to public recognition and Aquarium became one of the most popular acts. They were allowed to play in large concert halls, appeared on the state-owned television and recorded soundtracks for several films, most notably ASSA. In 1987 they recorded their first album for the state-owned Melodiya record label. With official backing and legalized distribution the album was a huge hit in USSR, selling well over a million copies within a few months. This was, however, the last album recorded by this Aquarium line-up and the band broke-up shortly afterward. Grebenshchikov released two albums in English and toured with several different backing bands. In 1991 after the break-up of Soviet Union he released under the name BG-Band The Russian Album, a collection of melancholic folk songs influenced by his travels all over Russia and demonstrating a return to his Russian roots. Shortly afterwards BG-Band was renamed Aquarium although most of the musicians were different. This band continued to release more albums and touring extensively all over former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and also appearing before Russian immigrant communities in Germany, Israel and United States.
Although often criticized for departure from their original style and constant line-up changes which make Aquarium essentially a Grebenshchikov solo project, the group still enjoys huge success in Russia - their songs, old and new, get a lot of airplay, they albums sell well, and they tour constantly. Aquarium today consists of Boris Grebenshchikov, Boris Rubekin (keyboards), Andrei Surotdinov (violin), Vladimir Kudryavtsev (bass), Albert Potapkin (drums), Oleg Shar (percussions).
From Wikipedia

The first side of the album is Aquarium’s live performance (recorded during the rock festival in the town of Gori (Festival Tbilisi-80). Keyboards: Latvian composer Martinsh Braun (Riga). This album has a tangible punk feel. The second side is a studio recording (Andrei Tropillo Studio). It is “a wild outburst of our concepts of reggae & dub” (B.G.).!

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Music For Pleasure-Into The Rain(LP)+3 7",1980-82,UK

Much underatted UK synth/wave band.A mixture of Chameleons meets OMD meets Killing joke (early).Even for Fuel to the Fire and Human Factor 7",very worth listening!

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Robbie Basho-The Seal of the Blue Lotus ,LP,1965,USA

-Seal of the blue
LotusThe basic texture for this piece was taken from Ravi Shankar's "Dhun in Musra Mund," a raga invoking the Religious Springrasa Mood in Hindu Aesthetics. With this base I inject the Taoistic Taint of the Blue Lotus wich is a musical realm of my own. The guitar is tuned in the color blue, wich is standard Open G tuning with the 2nd and 4th strings dropped to a minor.
-Mountain Man's Farewell
Sometimes I feel the flavor of Cosmic Essences: the hue of nature colours; Moods given to the airs of music. In this piece and several others I enter what I call the Theatre of North American Taoism. This continent is new, the rocks are raw, the winds are sharp, the heart is rash and wild. The Taoistic Essence of China and Japan are aged with the mildness of human culture. Ours, being new bites like the persimmon to be aged to the taste of the universe. Standing on Lone Dark Mountain, overlooking all of North America, the raw echo of the Eagle Man, onto Bowel Mountain an, the Soul Heart of the men red and white who made the Mountain Man Ear, an Epic Picture whose bloodstrain is carried up to a Present of many soul-brothers. An echo of farewell and away into past Karma. The Snowstorm technique, a n innovation of mine is here used at its fullest.
-Dravidian Sunday
Dravidian is an ancient race in India. The theme is poured out with Hindu flesh paints. Elephants of a Golden Age in Hindu history. From this beginning the piece is developed from that time era to the present North American continent and its sounds, exploring and remembering, climaxing and returning to where the clouds move away and birds chirp at that break of day so old and yet so young.
-Bardo Blues
An attempt at a musical rendering of the Tibetan Book of the Dead- Bardo Thodol. It moves thru the beginning of death, subsequent limbo voyages, into rebirth. The voyage moves geographically from Africa to India to the Roof of the World, Tibet. The style is that of my old wandering. For the initial technique I am indebted to the master guitarist - Bruce Langhorn.
-Sansara in Sweetness after SandstormIt is done in D minor modial /Frog minor). Flowing naked into the beauty getting clobbered by a sandstorm and flowing out again.
-Black Lotus - Hymn to Fugen
A blackwash painting of tonalities in the realm of the Black Lotus. I am aided by wodden organ, drums and templebells. I am also very indebted to Allain Ribback on drone guitar. He made these pieces possible. Fugen is the Goddess of the Lotus Sutra, of Charity, of Gentleness. This is a hymn of deep spiritual passion rising and falling and finally rolling on the carpet of the clear with the aid of Sweet Bhikshu Bells.
Pre psychedelic steel guitar ragas by one of the pioneers of the genre!Very meditative and trippy record!His first LP.

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I'm So Hollow · Emotion/Sound/Motion,LP,1981 ,UK

I'm so Hollow was one of the many bands that formed in 1978. The "Hollow" sound came after several months of practice sessions in the cellar at Joe Sawicki's parents house. They played their first gig with ClockDVA in the Penthouse Club in Sheffield. Many gigs followed with bands like Vice Versa and their biggest gig at the Leeds Futurama festival in 1980, of which a clip is shown in 'Made in Sheffield'
They released their first single in 1981 and signed up with llluminated Records soon afterwards. In September, just before the release of their album 'Emotion/Sound/Motion', they decide to split up feeling they had achieved their ambitions with I'm so Hollow.
From :sheffieldvision.com

Another classic post punk LP

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NYL-S/T, LP, 1976, FRANCE

Overwhelmingly great hard burning French jazzy prog with a tangible acid overlay thats almost sufficient to give me a contact high. Part of a cadre of amazing Gong influenced units active during this period in France (Plat Du Jour, Crium Delerium, Ma Banlieue Flasque, Le Grand Nebuleux Et Les Laveurs Des Consciences etc), Nyl bested them all and can still, many many listenings later pin me to the fucking wall with it's sheer emotional force. One of the greatest of all the French prog bands!

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V/A-PSYCHOTRONIC METAMORPHOSIS, LP, 1981, JAPAN

Excellent and very rare Japanese underground psych/prog/experimental compilation, featuring Katra Turana, Metamorphose, Unit 3, Phaidia and Negasphere. Three of these five outfits are quite excellent, particularly the deranged Katra Turana, their fragile yet psychotic sound placing them within aesthetic spitting distance of both After Dinner and Pungo and whose work I'll be posting more of in the near future. Note: Both Phaidia and Katra Turana are listed as having two tracks a piece, but in both cases, their two songs each are cross-faded togather and are thus indexed as a single track each.

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DIE DOMINAS-S/T, 10", 1981, GERMANY

Stunning and super suave Neue Deutsche Welle percolating electropop experimentation offset by superb effected femme vox in a way that sounds eerily close to the work of France's Braque (posted on MS by moi a few weeks back). One of my all time favorite NDW records!

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OTTO KENTROL-LEARN GREEK IN GREECE, 12" EP, 1980, USA

Excellent angular sax-skronking art damage with a definite downtown NY vibe to it from this unknown one man band.

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NAME-S/T, 12" EP, 1981, USA

Name were an superb Beefheartian new wave art rock unit that featured Henry Kaiser and, strangely, had a sound that mostly closely resembles the Magic Band of Ice Cream For Crow; strange because this came out a year prior to it.

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Uchû-1st (1998) & Buddha...(1999),CDs,Japan

Here we have another Acid Mothers Temple/Kawabata Makoto incantation!Psych cosmic music in the early 70s German pioneers vein but not no synths used...just guitars!line up:
Higasi Hiroshi: electric Guitar, voice
Ayano: voice
Kawabata Makoto: electric guitar, voice

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André Mergenthaler-Musik Für Einen Engel,CD,1996,France

Just found it a few months back and was listening it yesterday and thought:"WOW!what a record!this should be posted immediately!"So here it is:very interesting droney stuff from a cello player who played with Art Zoyd and Univers Zero. Cello loops and drones, minimal electronic beats at very slow tempos, and treated vocals. It's very odd, very dark.Don't miss it!

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Tickmayer Formatio-Wilhelm dances MCMXCII,XD,1993,UK

Composer, pianist and music essayist, Stevan Kovacs Tickmayer was born in 1963 ( Novi Sad , Vojvodina / ex-Yugoslavia) as a member of Hungarian national minority. Since 1991, he lives in France .In 1986 formed his ensemble Tickmayer Formatio in which classical trained musicians was employed as well as new jazz or improvised rock performers. Very soon, the group got an international profile: in different combinations over than thirty musicians collaborated with the group.For four years, Tickmayer was a member of the editorial of New Symposium, a magazine for social questions, art & culture in Novi Sad. In this period, he organized two international festivals for contemporary music & arts.In 1988, he gave lectures in summer course for improvised & composed music in Szombathely (Hungary) and one year later formed a piano duo with the father figure of Hungarian contemporary improvised music György Szabados.
In the period of 1990-1997 he composed music and performed it with his Formatio for the Orleans based dance group Jel led by the choreographer Josef Nadj.
Since 1994, collaborates frequently with Chris Cutler and co-founded The Science Group.
In 1997 participated in the world premiere of Kurtàg's Six Pieces For Trombone & Piano, in Amsterdam .
In the summer of 1999 was invited as a resident artist by ART/OMI, New York .
In 2003 Tickmayer was invited by Gidon Kremer as a composer in residence on the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival. During this residence several of his pieces were performed and world premiered.
From:Tickmayer web page

As requested!

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Doris Norton -Artificial Intelligence,LP,1985,Italy

"At more than 19 months from the previous album "Personal Computer", Doris Norton, who is undoubtedly a leader in international computer music, has finally completed her latest work: the album "ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE" (previous title: 'From Art-Physiol to Artificial Intelligence', changed before publishing). ........... Quite besides the taste of of the public and concerned who necessarily have to maintain an obvious subjectivity, there are objective data in the new album "Artifical Intelligence" which can be summarized as absolute premiers at an international level. Amongst these are the following: 1-The whole was composed and programmed only with the alfanumerical keyboard of the computer. 2- The total of the notes and coded events takes to the number 124.648: of these 123.827 were coded with 'step time' procedure and the rest with real time procedure. Having done reduced the keyboard Doris Norton used only an hexaphonic JX.8P with memory processed by her and interfaced to the computer. 3-No drums were used, neither electronic nor much less acoustic. All the rhythmics were obtained by A.D.A. conversions and processing of wave ranges and with the use of expanders with a very special handling of envelopes, frequency, resonance, noise ..... 4-Doris Norton fed the computer the parameters of vowels and consonants of her own voice, like A, O, U, E, D, N, through an A.D.A conversion card; by processing these values and assembling them in phoneme in hundreds of different combination, various compressed resolutions she was able to make the computer sing a complete song in a totally human way (with the voice of Doris). 5-Many other yxith sounds resulting from A.D.A. conversions are present in this new album 'Artificial Intelligence', amongst these: pipe organ, plate, electric discharge, iron beat, birds, dog, harp, woods ...... all sampled and handled by the computer. 'Artificial Intelligence' is a perfect example of how human intelligence can bend the coded 'artificial intelligence' to hits own will. ....." (Source: ComputerMusik -1985)
As promised!

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Doris Norton - Personal Computer,LP,1984,Italy

Doris is the wife of Antonio Bartoccetti (Antonius Rex and Jacula) and the mother of Anthony Bartoccetti,best known as Rexanthony. During the 80's she was sponsored by Apple Computer,and made a music program for IBM USA.She is the "voice" in Jacula and Antonius Rex LPs.Early experimenta/electro synth pop music all through.Her LP Artificial Intelligence coming later today!If anyone has her LPs Under Ground (1980). Parapsycho (1981). Raptus (1981)please contact me.I would appreciate a rip!

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AXXESS - Novels for the Moons ,LP,1983,UK

Very rare obscure, minimal, synth LP, in a similar vein to Klaus Schulze, Richard Wahnfried, Sky Records, etc.15 tracks of arpeggiated synths, pulsing rhythms, with "Pages" standing out with it's Baldelli / 'Cosmic' Proto-Italo-Disco sound. stunning, with lots of other good tracks.Rumours of some Peter Baumann involvment here!
Very highly recommended!

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Ralph Lundsten - Svit-ElectronicDragspiel(1969)&Olskog(1970)&Paradissymfonin(1979),LPs,Sweden

Continuing explorations to Ralph Lundsten's works here are 3 more LPs.Missing scans of Olskog LP,any help appreciated!

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Sadistic Mika Band-st,LP,1973(or 1974),Japan

Sadistic Mika Band was formed in 1972 by guitarist/vocalist Kazuhiko Kato - previously a member of the popular Folk Crusaders, who had scored several number one hits. Fronted by Kato's wife, media personality Mika, Sadistic Mika Band released the single "Cycling Boogie", followed up by the full length Sadistic Mika Band in 1973. The music was hard rock with a distinctive Japanese nuance, and a far cry from the folk music Kato had been playing in the popular but formulaic Folk Crusaders. The first album made a minor splash in Japan, but listeners were at first not sure how to deal with the band's progressive sound, which theretofore had only been heard from from foreign bands. Perhaps because of this style, the record was released in the UK on the Harvest Records label, and caught the attention of some music critics and fans, including Ian MacDonald of New Musical Express, who declared that the band made Iggy and the Stooges sound like the Amadeus String Quartet. The band decided to record their second album in London with producer Chris Thomas, who had produced Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, Procul Harum, and others, and was already a fan of the band. The result was Kurobune (Black Ship) - a quantum stylistic and musical leap forward from its predecessor that charted highly in Japan, and was again released by Harvest Records in the UK. Although not a commercial success in England, the record was hailed by critics as a seminal work, receiving numerous accolades at home as well, including nods for number one band and album of 1974 from the Japanese edition of Rolling Stone. In the summer of 1975 the band recorded its third album, again with Thomas manning the board. Released the same year, Hot! Menu boasted some English lyrics for the first time, and saw the band in a more playful mood, while still showing off their impressive chops and compositional depth. The band joined Roxy Music in the summer of 1975 on a tour of Britain, and it appeared they might crack the elusive foreign market, but Kato suddenly left the following summer after it was discovered that Mika had been conducting an affair with Thomas. The band slogged forward for two more releases - Sadistics (1977) and We Are Just Taking Off (1978) - before breaking up. They reformed for a tour in 1985 as Sadistic Yuming Band, fronted by vocalist Yumi Matsutoya, and released an album of new material in 1989 called Appare with Karen Kirishima on vocals, performing several shows in support of it before calling it quits for good. By this time, several of the members were already megastars in Japan - in particular Yukihiro Takahashi, who along with Haruo Hosono and Ryuichi Sakamoto formed the legendary Yellow Magic Orchestra. Takahashi continues to perform with Hosono in their duo, Sketch Show. Kato has only periodically recorded since the band broke up for good, mostly staying out of the limelight.
For Mr. Ommyth that requested it!More to come!

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Helga Pogatschar - Mars Requiem ,CD,1995,Germany

Dark experimental electronics with operatic vocals and strong theatrical feeling.Sometimes reminds me of Lustmord's late 80s releases mixed with Diamanda Gallas-ish voice compositions.Helga Pogatschar is actually a theatre / movie music composer.

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Luciano Dari - Idrogeni Superiori / Wajd,tape,1990,Italy/USA

Great release from the founder of Musica Maxima Magnetica records.Actually re-release of his 2 80s LP ,by Soleilmoon records. Sometimes reminds me of early 70s German poineers Kluster or Tangerine Dream mixed with MB industrialism with hidden hints of a minimal synth pop feeling.By all means amazing work!

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Martin Dupont - Just Because,LP,1984,France

Excellent minimal synth LP,by a pioneer of synth music in France.

In the same place with Jeff & Jane,Dark Day and ADN Ckrystall recordings!

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IT "VIAJE"-MUSICA ELECTRONICA LIBRE, LP, 1976, SPAIN/ARGENTINA

Aggressively fucked and brain frying avant garde flipout from this duo of the electroacoustic musicians Eduardo Polonio and Horacio Vaggione (probably most known for his album on Cramps). Together, they deploy synths, electric guitars, organs and bass and squash them all up together in sundry sense befouling ways. On the A side, they're tangled into an overpowering threshing machine of spitting electronic mayhem, while the B side moves the proceedings into overtly acidy territory, everything ratcheting down and expanding outward into a delirious psychedelic electronic whirlpool.

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G. IACOUCCI-SYMBOLISME PSYCHEDELIQUE, 12" EP, 197?, FRANCE

Strange, eerie and...yes, psychedelic, but not in the normally anticipated sense. This very rare library issue album instead offers a sort of horror movie soundtrack-oriented tripout, full of reverbed and echoed detuned piano chords resounding against the sounds of abuse of the strings therein, watery electronic treatments, bits of jazz drumming and tribal drumming interspersing and an overall atmosphere of unsettlingly freaky vibes, at points edging toward Igor Wakhevitch territory.

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MONITOR-S/T, LP, 1981, USA

Magnificent, eerie and oddly processional sounding, Monitor were an L.A. Free Music Society-related outfit that featured Steve Thomsen in his pe-Solid Eye days. This sounds not one whit like anything you'd normally relate to the inspired but ordinarily wacky doings of L.A.F.M.S.-related personnel, though it does presage Thomsen's brilliant and equally eerie solo recordings.

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CYRNAI-CHARRED BLOSSOMS, 12' EP, 1985, USA

Riveting acid damaged subterranean post punk soundscapes from this one-woman band, equal parts Dome and Laughing Hands. A lost masterpiece.

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CHORCHAZADE-AAAH, YOU ARE AS LIGHT AS A FEATHER, 12" EP, 1985, UK

Intriguing UK post punk mystery group with a strong, tense, looming quality and hushed vocals. Rather Metropak like at times, for the 3 of you that'll get that reference.

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Band Of Holy Joy - More Favourite Fairytales,tape,1984,UK

Holy Joy were formed in the summer of 1983 when Johny and his sister Max found a synthesiser in the cellar of the house they were living in and started messing around on it. They then brought in Brett (Test Dept's visual genius) as he had an organ and could also play various instruments. John at this time was taking photographs that had everything in common with the songs Johny and Max were writing> They persuaded him to trade in his camera for a mouth organ, tambourine and various other instruments. Test Dept then took them under their with and they played places like Manchester, Sheffield and Retford. After these performances Holy Joy decided to go into the studio then came a few more dates in London at their own club "The Stomach Pump" Situated in a crypt in Deptford and also playing with Einsturzende Neubauten.
"More Favourite Fairytales" was recorded on a four track portastudio in late winter / early spring '84 and is a follow up / progression to a previous cassette entitled "Favourite Fairytales For Juvenile Delinquents" which they consider to be more background music than anything else.
Plans for the proper studio and record a 12 inch version of "Liquid Lunch" and a 7 inch of "Consumption" and one day soon M.F.F will appear properly recorded on a record. Also being talked about is a video film tentatively called "Seven Days Of Agony And Holy Joy". At present more songs are being written and recorded. They have also made some new instruments and have come up with a whole host of new sounds and noises. Ideas are also underway for some film music. All in all "Holy Joy" are a very creative and exiting conception and in my opinion you shall be hearing a lot more from them in the near future.

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Vice Versa-8 aspects(1980,tape)+Music 4(7" e.p.,1979)+Stilyagi/Eyes of Christ(7",1980),UK

Sheffield synth band formed late 70s. Released Music 4 E.P. in 1979 on their own Neutron label, line up of Mark White and Stephen Singleton were then joined by Martin Fry. Went on to release cassette only 8 Aspects mini L.P. and Stilyagi 7" single. Around 1981 Vice Versa became ABC. Excellent mood darky experimental mynimal synth here!

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Bernard Lubat-Vibrations: Volume 2,LP,1975,France/USA

Lubat starts off with two Fusion tracks, the first being more on the Jazzy side with vibes and guitar, while Folly Guitares has more of a Rock edge to it. The best cuts however are the spacey sounding Super Slow Down with plenty of vibes playing to add to the ethereal feel of the tune, and Aubergine Time that has a nice swing to it.

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Cardiacs-Mr and Mrs Smith and Mr Drake,tape,1984,UK

Following my previous post of Cardiacs ,here comes a rare tape from from 1984 of great avant punk weirdness !

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Jon Appleton - Appleton Syntonic Menagerie ,LP,1969,USA

Jon Appleton, born in Hollywood (1939) but mainly active in New York, was one of the pioneers of electronic music. His work on Syntonic Menagerie (Flying Dutchman, 1969), and Human Music (Flying Dutchman, 1970), with Don Cherry, introduced electronic instruments to a wider audience. Other compositions were collected on The World Music Theatre (Folkways, 1976), Music for Synclavier and Other Digital Systems (Folkways, 1979) Four Fantasies For Synclavier (Folkways, 1982), Two Melodramas for Synclavier (Folkways, 1982). Contes de la Memoire (Empreintes Digitales, 1996) is a compilation of compositions from different eras.
Syntonic Menagerie 2 (Phonomena, 2003)

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V. A. -White Column Noise Festival Tape,tape,1982,USA

Compilation of performances taken from the June 1981 Noise Festival conceived by Thurston in NYC at White Columns. Sonic Youth made one of their first live appearances at this show, prior to Lee even joining the band (he did perform at the festival, however, with David Linton), and their full set consisted of 4 unique pieces. Their track on this compilation is the 3rd song from their performance, featuring Thurston on guitar, Kim on bass and vocals, Richard Edson on drums, and Ann DeMarinis on vocals and keyboards. Lee's track also appeared on his "East Jesus" album. Note the compete Sonic Youth performance is included here as bonus!

In mid '81, Kim and Josh Baer convinced Thurston to organize a 9-day noise festival to accommodate underemployed experimental performers in the downtown scene. The festival was held in the White Columns gallery, which had a capacity of 60 people. Each night three to five acts performed, including Glenn Branca (whom Lee also performed with), Rhys Chatham, Jeffrey Lohn, Dog Eat Dog, Built on Guilt, Rudolph Grey, the Avant Squares, Mofungo, Red Decade, Robin Crutchfield's Dark Day, Ad Hoc Rock, Smoking Section, Chinese Puzzle, Avoidance Behaviour, and, of course, Sonic Youth.

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Shibusashirazu -Dettaramen,CD,1993,Japan

Following my previous post of Shibusashirazu here comes their 2nd CD from 1993.

Japanese weirdness at it's best!

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Bill Plummer and the Cosmic Brotherhood-st,LP,1968,USA

Great Jazzy freaked out eastern influenced psychedelic LP.Released in 1968 ,through Impulse label,and never released on cd.Supposed to be a jazz LP.....i don't think so....

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Ruth White-Flowers of Evil (1969)+Seven Trumps From The Tarot Card And Pinions(1968),LPs,USA

Avant garde electronics from unacknowledged, self-taught synth pioneer. The first LP is an occult-electronic impression of the Tarot deck. "Flowers Of Evil" contains readings from the poetry of Charles Baudelaire with electronically treated vocals, tape-collages, spooky synth drones, and dissonant electronic backdrops.

as requested!

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JACQUES THOLLOT-WATCH DEVIL GO, LP, 1975, FRANCE, NWW LIST

Possibly the best album by this extraordinary French jazz drummer (though Cinq Hops is close), Watch Devil Go features sax, flute and synth player Francois Jeanneau, who's LP Une Bien Curieuse Planete was released during the same year on the same label and which, in both style and substance, was a virtual companion piece to Watch Devil Go. Both albums contain a similarly baffling yet winning combination of killer library music-style synthetic queasy wheeze melodics, straight bop and out jazz freakouts, combined in ways that sit at peculiar right angles to one another.


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VIDEO LISZT-EKTAKROM KILLER, LP, 1981, FRANCE

The first in a series of Richard Pinhas-related rarities that I'll be posting in the coming days, Video Liszt were a mucho ridiculous and super fun vocoder synth cheese unit that featured an appearance by Messr. Pinhas and were much talked up by him back in the day. Coming in a cover that speaks volumes about the contents therein, this is bordering on the Dr. Who rock territory of the Visitors album I posted a short while back.

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FLAGYLL-COMPUTER MUSIC FOR THE MICROCHIP MIND, 12" EP, 1983, USA

certifiably insane sounding experimental minimal synth classic, filled with weird aggressive textures and sub-mental vocalizing shattered by effects.

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JOHAN HEDREN-KRETSLOPP (CYCLE), LP, 1986, SWEDEN

Deeply tranced and tripped out Swedish mindbomb by this one time member of Kultivator as well as Ur Kaos (who I believe are still extant). Composed as an accompaniment to four paintings by Ola Freijd (pictured) and released on the fledgling Swedish avant prog label Bauta (home to Hedren's aforementioned bands), I hear the fourth world-isms of Hassell/Eno and the extended burbling sheets of mystical blissout found in early Deuter and the Don Robertson-Dawn album on Limelight. At it's heaviest moments this is almost edging toward Mask Of The Imperial Family territory.

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VANESSA-BLACK AND WHITE, LP, 1976, NORWAY

Largely stunning Norwegian jazz rock outfit pulling their influences from some choice quarters. I hear a fair bit of Hugh Hopper circa Hoppertunity Box here (a record released on the same Norwegian label as Vanessa, interestingly enough) bits of zeuhl-ishness from the Zao and Neffish Music side of the equation and some Muffins in there as well, a pretty self-evidently can't-miss combination in my book.

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Ultra-Youthful Pleasures,LP,1987,Germany/USA

Following the post of their 2nd LP here's the 1st one of this HNAS related band.Beautiful droney acidious experimental melancholy ,with dark soundscapes. and some more agressive industrial noise moments.Voice wherever exists is stretched out creating shivering scary feelings.The record was released in 500 numbered copies,sleeve artwork by c. Heemann.

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strange but i'm looking for their 3rd(Spray/Death/Ultra ) and 4rth(Lifestyle )and 5th(Stain ) LPs.Any help will be appreciated!

Topos Uranos-Suite Mistica,LP,1983(?).Brazil

Topos Uranos, hails from Brazil and consist of 4 amazing musicians. This, their only record, is a wonderful journey, into what the Brazilian progscene, have to offer, when it comes to complex, well written and great performed prog rock. There is not many vocals on this, more some narrated sounds of a sort. But the main thing here, are the complex way the music is performed. About 65 min. of great progressive rock
The first track “Prèludio”, could have been written by Hackett, at any given time. Very gentle intro, with Arthur Nogueira’ s great sounding guitar and only some percussion to back him up. Then it move on to a King Crimson sounding track: “Kaos Dias”, with great drums, piano/ keys and Hackett style guitars. Next up, is the wonderful tune, “Sonho Perdido”, which is kind of a mix between Genesis & Jethro Tull. With woodwinds, great keys, flute extraordinaire and furious guitar solos. One of the few tracks that have vocals. Beautiful, in native “Spanish”. Kind of like listening to Camel. Another great track. Then it’s time for one of the great highlights: “In Memorian”. A very gentle acoustic guitar, at the beginning, with violin and keys. One of the most heartfelt tracks ever. Well, no need to go on and on, track by track. This is just an amazing record, made by some outstanding musicians. Of which, some went on to perform with other bands and others again, is lost somewhere, in sunny Brazil. Only thing I know for sure, is that the fantastic guitarist & vocalist, Arthur Nogueira, went on to start, another great Brazilian prog band named: Projeto Caleidoscòpio. Another great band, to go search for, dear friends
Well, dear friends. This is one of those moments, when one wonders, if, in fact, all great prog music comes from either the Uk or the US? I think not. This is another statement, that there is much more for us progheads, to explore, out there in the “reel world”. The Brazilian progscene, is a marvellous place to start searching, for some outstanding prog music. They do have many prog bands and Topus Uranos, is just one. So, do yourself a favour and start exploring. Could be here, with this outstanding masterpiece, by Topus Uranus. Note: This is for you progheads, who like the likes of Hackett, Camel, Jethro Tull ect. (and at times, it reminds me of Happy The Man, but mostly in the sound of the keyboards). Or the ones who are in search for something new( Yeah yeah, I know, it was recorded a very long time ago… but still, it stands till this day, with grace).

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V/A - Domestic Sampler ,LP,1982,Spain

Excellent experimental compilation from Spain,containing much Homosexuals related weirdness!

Track List:
El Grito Acusador - Somos Punks
The Hostiapaths - Tchang Kai Chek
El Grito Acusador- James Bond No Lo Hacia Por Dinero El Otro Si

Entra'acte - No Es Seixi Vestir Per Una Maquina

Milk From Cheltenham - The Unloved
Error Genetico - Muor En La Frente
Detra's Band 10 - En El Horno
Tres - I Doubt
Amos & Superslick - Blue Pink Suits
Klamm - Eish Anto
Boris - La Banda De Doris

Entra'acte - L'al Tre Escandol De L'estranya Dona (Passio I Poder)
Logotipo - Teoria Del Contracto
Sereto Metropolitano - Esparadrapo
Mimi Piner - Perfect Lunch

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Cosmic Overdose - Dada Koko(LP,1980)+Final Koko(tape(1980)+2 first 7"s,Sweden

Cosmic Overdose is the band prior to Twice A Man. While Twice is pretty light Electro Pop, this is more New Wave Techno Pop with underground flair.

Excellent "space punk" droning electronic wave!

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Jorge Antunes-Musica Eletronica 70's I,miniCD,1994,Brazil

Jorge Antunes was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1942. He began studying music in 1958 and in 1960 entered the National School of Music of the University of Brazil (the then Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), in the violin class of Prof. Carlos de Almeida. In 1964 he began a course in composition and conducting in the same school, studying with Henrique Morelembaum, José Siqueira and Eleazar de Carvalho. At the same time, he followed the composition course of Guerra Peixe at Pro-Arte, Rio de Janeiro.
Until 1964 Antunes embraced the nationalist current in his instrumental works, influenced by Villa-Lobos. But already in 1962 he had become interested in electronic music, at the same time as he was beginning a Physics course in the National Philosophy Faculty (FNFi).
After constructing a variety of generators, filters, modulators and other electronic equipment, Antunes founded the Studio for Chromo-Musical Research, and has since been reconized as the precursor of electronic music in Brazil. From 1966 he began to establish himself as one of the most representative names in avant garde Brazilian music and participated in many national and international festivals.
In 1965 he initiated important research in the field of the correspondence between sound and colour, and composed a series of works which were named CROMOPLASTOFONIAS, performed by orchestra, magnetic tape, light, and which also made use of the olfactory, taste and touch senses.
In 1967 he was invited by the Villa-Lobos Institute (Rio de Janeiro) to set up his Centre for Musical Research and was nominated Professor of Electro-Acoustic Music of the same Institute, where he gave lessons in composition and where he relocated his laboratory.
Between 1965 and 1968 he participated intensely with the avant garde artistic movements of Rio de Janeiro, presenting his Cromoplastofonias and Ambientes in art galleries and integrating the precursor group known as poema-processo. In 1969 he received a grant for postgraduate study in composition at the Torcuato Di Tella Institute, Buenos Aires, having won a biennial competition used to select one composer from each country of the Americas to carry out studies at the Advanced Musical Studies Centre of Latinamerica. With this scholarship, Antunes worked for two years under the guidance of Alberto Ginastera, Luis de Pablo, Eric Saltzman, Umberto Eco, Francisco Kröpfl and Gerardo Gandini. In 1969 and 1970 he worked in the Electronic Music Laboratory of the Torcuato Di Tella Institute of Buenos Aires.
In 1970 he continued his research at the Institute of Sonology at the University of Utrecht with a grant from the Dutch government. In Utrecht he specialized in Computer Music under the guidance of Gottfried Michael König, Greta Vermeulen, Stan Tempelars and Fritz Weiland, working with the Electrologia X-8 computer. Among his important works of this period Music for Eight Persons Playing Things stands out. With this composition in 1971 Antunes got the Avro Prize at the Gaudeamus Week of Contemporary Music.
In 1971/73 he won a French government grant for an advancement course in the Groupe de Recherches Musicales de l’ORFT, where he acted as resident-composer under the direction of Pierre Schaeffer, Guy Reibel and François Bayle. In the same period he began his Doctorate in Musical Aesthetics at the Sorbonne, University of Paris VIII, under the supervision of Daniel Charles.
In June of 1973 Antunes was invited by the University of BrasÌlia to direct the Course in Musical Composition in the Department of Music, where he was Titular Professor at the time. At the University he reorganized his old Electronic Music studio, re-equipping it professional standards, and founded the GeMUnB (Musical Experimentation Group), an ensemble of eight musicians who specialized in contemporary music and live-electronics, which completed a concert tour in Europe in 1975.
In 1976/77 Antunes had another long stay in Paris with the support of the University of BrasÌlia and a French goverment grant awarded so that he might complete his doctoral thesis, Son Nouveau, Nouvelle Notation. Between 1978 and 1979 he became involved in intense cultural and political activities in BrasÌlia, allied with popular and intellectual movements for the democratization of the country. During this period he wrote various politically motivated works on current aesthetics with which he was always linked, but always with the musical language of the avant garde. From this period came his famous Sinfonia das Diretas. During the same period he directed various musical projects at the University of Brasilia (the Sonological Research Nucleus, the Chamber Orchestra of UnB, Contemporary Music Festivals, etc.) and made several trips to Europe to participate in Festivals and conduct concerts.
In 1992/93 he obtained a Bolsa-Vitae, a post-doctorate grant from CNPq and was licenced by the University to carry out research for one year in Europe and in the Middle East (Berlin, Baden-Baden, Freiburg, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Paris). During this period he completed his new opera OLGA.
From January to June of 1993 he was composer-in-residence in Ateliers UPIC, directed by Iannis Xenakis, where he worked in the field of computer music and the correspondence between sound and image, producing tapes of electronic sounds to be used simultaneously as the symphonic part of his new opera. In 1993 his work Idiosynchronie was distinguished with the Prize of Recomendation of UNESCO’s International Tribune of Composers.
In 1994 Antunes was elected titular member of the Brazilian Academy of Music, having special participation in the Electroacoustic Music Festival in Bourges, France, and received the Creative Music Prize at the Londrina Festival, in Paran·. In the same year he organized and coordinated the First Meeting of Electroacoustic Music in Brasília, in which was founded the Brazilian Society for Electroacoustic Music (SBME). Antunes was elected president of SBME and, in 1997, was re-elected president for another term of office.
Between February and May of 1995 he fulfilled a number of activities in France, participating in the Festival Présences 95, where his new work Rimbaudiannisia MCMXCV, commissioned by Radio France, was premiered. In this period he completed commissioned electroacoustic works, in the studios of Groupe de Recherches Musicales of Paris, Ateliers UPIC of Massy and Groupe de Musique Expérimentale de Bourges.
The work Rimbaudiannisia MCMXCV received, in 1996, the Prize of Recomendation of UNESCO’s International Tribune of Composers and was presented, for its Brazilian premiere, during the XII Biennial of Contemporary Brazilian Music in Rio de Janeiro. In 1997 he obtained a grant from the Rio-Arte Foundation to compose an instrumental-electronic Ballet.
Also in 1997 he organized and directed the II Meeting of Electroacoustic Music, in BraiÌlia, this time with international participants. In February 1998 he was invited by the University of Aveiro, Portugal, to administer master-classes during the Journeys of Electroacoustic Music. In June 1998 he was invited by the Goethe Institute and by the Contemporary Musicians Group of Cordoba, Argentina, to administer conferences and present concerts of his works. Also in 1998 he received the Estancias Prize from the Spanish Ministry of Culture. With this prize Antunes gave master-classes in the Computing and Electronic Music Laboratory (LIEM) in Madrid, where he worked during the period July-August, completing new electroacoustic works. In the II Bienal de Musica Electroacoustica de Sao Paulo (II BIMESP), held in October 1998 and which commemorated 50 years of electroacoustic music, Antunes received special tribute as precursor of this type of music in Brazil.
In 1999/2000 Antunes received important comissions from the Brazilian Governement and from The University of Brasilia, to compose new works in comemoration of 500 years of Brazil. For the festive celebrations Jorge Antunes completed the works: Cantata dos Dez Povos, a monumental work of 60 minutes for orchestra, choir, soloists, declamators and tape, and Sinfonia em Cinco Movimentos, with 40 minutes, for tenor soloist, choir, orchestra and tape.
In October de 2001 Antunes represented once more your country at ISCM Festival, in Yokohama, Japan. For this festival the international jury selected hs electroacoustic work Hombres tristes y sin título rodeados de pájaros en noche amarilla, violeta y naranja. After the staying in Japan, Jorge Antunes went to Paris for monographic concerts of his works, and to give talks at Sorbonne, Université de Paris VIII, and to compose new works at Studio 116 of GRM by comission of INA-GRM Radio France.
In 2002 Jorge Antunes completed the age of 60. In that year, he received homages in some countries. In June he was invited by Gaudeamus Foundation, to give concerts with his works in Zwolle and Amsterdam. In July 2002 Antunes received the decoration of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres from the French Government. In September 2002 the Parliament of Distrito Federal, Brasil, allowed Antunes the distinction of Honorary Citizen of Brasília.
In 2003 Sistrum Editions published a biography of Jorge Antunes writem by Gerson Valle, titled: Jorge Antunes, uma trajetória de arte e política. Some monographic CDs with antunes’ works were published in 2003, by the following labels: Academia Brasileira de Música, Rio de Janeiro; Mode Records, Nova York, UnB Editions, Brasilia; Paulinas-Comep Editions, São Paulo. In November 2003 Jorge Antunes organized, as Chairman, the IIIrd International Electroacoustic Music Meeting, in Brasilia. He was reelected Presidente of BSEM during the General Assembly of the Brazilian Society for Electroacoustic Music for the period 2004-2006.EXCELLENT stuff!Highly recommented!

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Das Synthetische Mischgewebe- The Harvest of Magnetism,LP,1990,Germany/Spain

DAS SYNTHETISCHE MISCHGEWEBE was founded already in '80, but Isabelle Chemin and Guido Hübner started to work together with a bunch of other people in '85 in Berlin. In '86 we moved to Barcelona, in '91 to Bordeaux where Isabelle Chemin comes from and since the end of '95 we reside in Caen, Basse-Normandy.A first LP on the outstanding Madrid based label Discos Esplendor Geometrico followed up by CD's and Vinyl on SFCR (F) and Pinch-A-Loaf (usa), Povertech (usa) as well as releases with likes as MSBR, Mnortham, Frans de Waard, Ios Smolders, Artificial Memory Trace, Thomasius, TBC, The Oval Language and others, as well as a pile of compilations.

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Agencement-st,LP,1989,Japan

Agencement is Hideaki Shimada, violin(s) and electronics.Hideaki Shimada was born 1962, in Kanazawa, Japan. He was involved in violin improvisation since 1980. In 1985 he started solo project Agencement where he creates multi-layered violin improvisation and record them on magnetic tape. In his live performances he use amplified violin and electronic equipment.

Excellent stuff!

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Toto Blanke's Electric Circus - Family,LP,1980,Germany

Following Eric's last post of Toto Blanke's Electric Circus and as promised here's the LP Family from 1980.Excellent jazz rock weirdness!Worth mentioning is their tribute to Ravel's Bolero!

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Brume - Unrelated Landscape ,tape,1990,France

French sound-sculptor Christian Renou, who has recorded under the moniker Brume from 1985 to 2001, is heir to the glorious traditions of musique concrete and sound collage. His compositions (that treat, assemble and mix acoustic sounds) rely on dense, rapid-fire montage. They wed cacophony and dynamics, emphasizing both the element of discontinuity and the element of continuity. Compared with classical musique concrete, they harbor a "negative" virus that would be at home both in German expressionism and in British punk-rock. Brume exploits the technique of Mnemonists and the aesthetics of Einsturzende Neubauten. He produced about 40 cassettes, including Frikture (Brume, 1985), Le Jour Du Cochon (1986), Program T.4 (1986), In Death We Trust (Underground, 1988), Poison (R.R. Production, 1988), Catalogue (Brume, 1988), Permafrost (1988), Tribalit‚s urbaines (Brume, 1988), Climatiseur (1989), Temporary Pigments (Old Europa Cafe, 1989), Headache (Organic, 1989), Accident de Chasse (Tonspur, 1989), The Sun (Old Europa Cafe, 1990), Unrelated Landscape (Audiofile, 1990), Autoportrait (La Legende Des Voix, 1991), Electrocoagulation (Irre, 1991), Schiluuk (Corrosive, 1991), Epineuse (De Fabriek, 1991), Recifs (Audiofile, 1991), Iswari (SPH, 1991), I'm...I Come...I Was... (Tonspur, 1992), Apocalypse at 6 AM (Tapes for Masses, 1993), Musique Pour Les Etres Humains (Old Europa Cafe, 1994), N-N-N (Anachronismus, 1994), Mammut (Prion, 1995), Stable (Bandaged Hand, 1995), The Emancipated Cell At The Fire Wheel Confines (Realization, 1995), Drone Gymnastic (Bandaged Hand, 1995), The Dark Tapes (Nuit et Bruillard, 1996).
The EP Anastomose (Ant-zen, 1996) and the album Starving Vrischika (Old Europa Cafe, 1999) inaugurated his major season. No-Body (La Legende Des Voix, 1991) was typical of his works for electronics, noise and percussion, which continued with No-Thing (Staalplaat, 1991), Battery Hens Sabotage (Old Europa Cafe, 1992), Xeros (Staalplaat, 1993), Permafrost (Art Direct, 1994), Standard (ND, 1994), Drafts of collisions (Crowd Control Activities, 1997), Normal (Relapse, 1999), Frameworks (Freedom in a Vacuum, 1999), and Krieg (Intransitive, 1999), dedicated to World War II.
Zona Ventille (Elsie and Jack, 2001) was the first album released under his own name. Play:lunch (Plate Lunch, 2001) was a collaboration with Philippe Blanchard. Fragments and Articulations (Ground Fault, 2002) a three-part concrete symphony designed with help from a computer.

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NOA-S/T, LP, 1980, FRANCE

Another thoroughly awesome zeuhl album from 80's France, albeit one with a somewhat more intimate sound than their peers in the French zeuhl scene of that era. Lead chateuse Claudie Nicolas' vocals (remiscent of Pascal Son of Cos) give Noa's sound a rather different charge, fronting an ensemble who's approach seems closer to the more open sounding early-Magma-influenced side of the zeuhl canon, something that aligns them most closely to a group like Honeyelk.

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VAN BEBBER/LEMKE-S/T, LP, 1989, GERMANY

Smegma and Nurse With Wound seem the obvious antecedents for this severely underrated German duo's sick species of dadaist improv shenanigans involving much abuse of tapes and electronics and undertaken with a profound grasp of how to bully the unruly fabric of improv into assuming impromptu poses that seem both somehow pre-ordained and expressly designed to disrupt your brain's synaptic transmissions. A mindblower.

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PINK SECTION-S/T, 12" EP, 1980, USA

Great arty, fractured San Francisco new wave outfit with, to these ears, more of a sonic akin to what was going down in L.A. at the time with groups like Suburban Lawns, Human Hands, 45 Grave and Null and Void.

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NUIT CALINE A LA VILLA MON REVE-JUILLET 1977, LP, 1977, BELGIUM

A gorgeous piece of lost Belgian prog history with a sound simultaneously delicate and driving and rather like a more rocking version of Rene Lussier and Andre Duchesne's old acoustic Quebecois prog ensemble Conventum with the addition of vocals.

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ANNA HOMLER-DO YA SA DI DO, CD, 1992 (RECORDED: 1985-1992), USA

Often hauntingly beautiful enigmatic, ritualistic soundscapes for invented language, tribal percussion and strange synth textures. Homler emerged from an L.A. milieu of the mid 80's that seemed as tied to the performance art culture of the era as L.A.'s musical underground, her performances often transpiring in gallery settings with Homler playing the character Breadwoman and singing in her barrier-erasing holistic language from behind a mask made of bread.

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Werkbund-Skagerrak,LP,1987,Germany

Following Eric's MECHTHILD VON LEUSCH LPs posts ,here comes the Werkbund 1st lp,released in 1987 in 1000 copies through Walter Ulbricht Schallfolien label.

A true experimental/industrial masterpiece!

Droning dark electronics with occasional voice compositions in the ealy HNAS vein!

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Phil Lesh & Ned Lagin -Seastones,LP/CD,1975/1991,USA

Although often uncredited, Ned Lagin played keyboards at a number of the Grateful Dead's live shows between 1970 and 1975. His playing was especially prominent during the Summer and Fall, 1974 tours, when his synthesizer work was allocated its own set between the Grateful Dead's first and second sets. He also appears on the album American Beauty.
He released an album entitled Seastones - Ned Lagin and Phil Lesh in 1975 on Round RX, which was recorded in SQ-Quad. The album was re-released in stereo on CD as Seastones - Ned Lagin on Rykodisc in 1991. The CD includes the original nine-section "Sea Stones" (42:34) from February 1975, and a live, previously unreleased, six-section version (31:05) from December 1975.
Lagin was a pioneer in the development and use in real-time stage and studio performance of minicomputers driving real time digital to analog converters, doing digital signal processing to generate music, in the era before digital synthesizers appeared on the market.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Lagin"
SEASTONES explores the mystical connectedness and separateness of all things, inspired by the countless stones and pebbles cast upon the seashore. In the liner notes, Lagin describes the structure of his work: "Expressive musical materials (rhythms, pitches, notes, melodic fragments, harmonic clusters, chord patterns, sung and spoken words) were composed into a score of self-contained but musically connected 'moment-forms' or timescapes, in many ways metaphorically like the wild sea stones on the seashore." Using the most advanced electronic technology of the day, Lagin was nonetheless striving for organic expression. This expanded version features an unreleased 1975 performance of SEASTONES as well as the original studio version.

Nw this is a very weird one!You won't believe your ears that a Grateful Dead member(not to mention other contributors) created such a great experimental electronic LP.Highly Recommended!

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Tone Set - Calibrate ,MLP,1983,USA

Tone Set was a Tempe, Arizona band that existed from circa 1981 to 1983. It consisted of Galen Herod and Greg Horn. They met while working for KAET, a Public Broadcasting station in Tempe.
Their early sound was ostensibly synthetic, mixing very 'clean' synthesizer sounds with tapes. This was the sound of their first release, a 1982 cassette called "Cal's Ranch". It almost completely lacked vocals (the only exception was a line in "Wigglin Around In Middletown"). The tape portions were primarily pieces of dialogue from various recordings. "(Predictions) uses the dialogue from a prime-time local news broadcoast (with anchorman Bill Close) that some nut with a gun took over in, I believe, the fall of '81 ... really surreal stuff."(Dan Bailey) Other pieces were of a more lighthearted nature, like "Time Travellers", which used an extended recording of dialogue from "Rocky and Bullwinkle". The tape was recorded at "The Center for Advanced Studies," a house were both band members lived, and released by Zia Records in Tempe, AZ.
In 1982, Tone Set contributed the track "Out, Out, Out" to Placebo Record's "Amuck" compilation (PLA-103 A&B). Galen Herod, as Happy People, contributed "Happy People" to this compilation.
Vocals started to become a more prominent part of their sound by the time they started recording their 1983 LP, "Calibrate". This was also a home studio effort. The first side of the LP featured three pop songs: "Life is Busy," "Slim," which were both were sung by Galen Herod, and "Living In Another Land," which was sung by Greg Horn. The second side of the LP came from the "Cal's Ranch" session. The cover was decorated with pictures cut from an old math book, plus a drawing of "Pegna," a creature that would give Pegna Records its name. "Calibrate" was released in February 1983 as Pegna Records PEG 1.
The duo once performed as "Life Is Busy", opening for Pebble Culture(former Nervous member Bil Bored (Bill Yanok), Kristi Register and George Maestri). "They did the whole set with fake Yugoslavian accents, the highlight being a song called 'Working in a Pencil Factory'. Pretty damned odd." (Dan Bailey) They released a cassette single with "Working in a Pencil Factory."
Tone Set poduced a video for "Life is Busy", from their "Calibrate" MLP, which was shown on "Videobeat" and once on MTV's "Basement Tapes," where, despite the presence of Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo) as one of the judges, was not voted into regular rotation.
In 1983, each member began releasing solo works. The time and reason for Tone Set's breakup is unknown.

Another minimal synth/Electropunk gem!

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Didier Bocquet-Voyage Cerebral,LP,1978,France

Initially a drummer, Didier Bocquet released several albums of Electronic Music in Klaus Schulze vein during the 70's and 80's after which time he left music business for good.

NOTE!The lp tracks are not devided ,but the whole LP is ripped as 1 track.

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Blacklight Braille-Seachange,CD,1993,UK(?)

NEON AT YOUR FINGERTIPS:The Joseph H. Patt Interview

(This interview first appeared in Clifton Magazine in the Winter of 1993. )

Cincinnati's founding fathers of alternative rock are also Cincinnati's best kept secret. Joseph H. Patt talks to Blacklight Braille.
The percussionists of Blacklight Braille set themselves up in a circle. Congas, cowbell, and assorted hand drums march forth to the listener's ears and shower down in rhythmic melodic drops. Piano and harmonica join the sound orgy, creating a surrea l and intriguing musical assonance-
Juba this and Juba that.Juba killed a yellow Cat.Juba!
chants Blacklight Braille lyricist and conceptual artist, Thomas H. Owen Knight. This is fringe rock as created by Cincinnati-based Blacklight Braille. Sitting on his porch, sixtyish Owen Knight discusses Blacklight Braile and the term fringe rock over a few glasses of blackberry wine.
He describes fringe rock as "Music created by rock musicians, yet not quite meeting the classical definition of rock' n' roll. It differs to the degree that it might be said to fall within in entirely different location, fringe rock. When we started, we were doing a music that was so far out on the fringe that the beauties were cryptic or hidden." "It is highly improvisational music created with the available technology, and it searches for new and different musical instruments and sounds," adds Doug Smith, musical visionary and co-pmducer of Blackight Braille. "You can't dance to it, but it does have elements of rock music."
Knight and Smith are the guiding lights of Blacklight Braille although there are usually up to ten musicians on the recordings who play a mind-boggling variety of traditional and non-traditional instruments. Aside from the standard rock set up of drums, bass, and guitar there are assorted brass, woodwinds, and elaborate synthesi zers. Beyond that, even, Blacklight Braille makes use of "instruments' that most people wouldn't normally include in their definition of music: aluminum pots, glass bowls, new-year's noisemaker, tortoise shell, bones, lawn mower, and metal saw.
Knight sits on the porch, musing on, the past. He remembers the young girl whose father once played the saw in the Grand Ole Opry and how this introduced him to the saw as a musical instrument when he was a child in Rockville, Maryland.
"She was a very pretty girl," he recalls. It is memories of these that help to inspire him; memories of the Scottish, Welsh, Irish, British and Appalachian folk songs he sang with his grandmother: as a child in the late 1920s and early '1930s.
"It is the area of the Scotland Highlands that Tom (Owen) celebrates with his voice," says Smith. 'The 6/8 meter dance tunes. The Druid is definitely in him."
It could be said that to trace the origins of Blacklight Braille one must go back to Knight's childhood when he sing these songs. One could also go back to the 1950s when Smith was a child making tape recordin