time ::: in constant flux

As another year of my life passes away, I come -once again- to readjust my understanding of time.

News of the oldest recorded voice brings much appreciated intimacy with the past.

The recording of a segment of the French children's song "Au clair de la lune" was recorded in 1860 using a phonautograph 17 years before Thomas Edison sang "Mary had a little lamb"

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If you're like me & don't exactly know what you should be listening for, here is a more recent recording of the song.

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elephants

You may have heard of painting elephants - the result of a project Russian conceptual artists Komar & Melamid began in the 90s.

Turns out our large gray friends also have a bit of an ear for music.

Dave Soldier and Richard Lair put together an ensemble of elephants that perform traditional Thai tunes & improvisations, as well as a little Beethoven and Hank Williams on specially designed musical instruments.

Meet the Thai Elephant Orchestra.



They have two albums out off Mulatta Records.

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lonely planet

Noted in the "Music" section of the Lonely Planet Guide to Vienna are Kruder & Dorfmeister : your Austrian source of old downtempo dub from G-stone Recordings.

A fitting selection for the week - as the annual electronic 'Winter Music Conference' (that they performed at last year) is currently finishing up in Miami.



I stumbled upon this video of the Kiel Canal, that I assume a K&D fan put together. It will either bore you to sleep or leave you in awe. ....or maybe both.

The featured song "Rollin' On Chrome (Wild Motherfucker Dub)" is found on Kruder & Dormeister's The K&D Sessions & is a mix of the Aphrodelics song.

a shot of lithuanian bliss

labas!

Yesterday I came across Lithuanian sound artist - Gintas K (Gintas Kraptavicius).

Beyond creating some engaging minimalist electronic albums, he has worked on sound installations, music for film & provided a dose of commentary & theory for aural art.

"reloaded beauty" is off of 2004's titled# from the Retinascan label; however, Gintas released 13 tracks & Elementary Particles last year and already has a soundtrack & compilation credited for 2008.

sit back, relax & enjoy Gintas K's calm, clean, experimental ambiance that will reduce your blood pressure and bring you an inner peace.

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if you're in the mood for conceptual - check out Elementary Particles : harmony, disharmony, hell & heaven all in Hz

apples

the apples in stereo
a return in 2007 brought the tasty New Magnetic Wonder

While it has probably been over a month since I first listened to the album (& considerably longer for any of their older stuff)- for some reason they have been stuck in my head throughout the day. While New Magnetic Wonder definitely seeps with the 'apples in stereo' sound & distinctive voice of Robert Schneider - they chart new ground with the occasional sidestep of experimentation, including work with Schneider's "Non-Pythagorean" musical scale.

though - I'm particularly drawn to Hilary Sidney's sunny "Sunndal song" - providing a change in pace with her sticky vocals.

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The Apples are releasing Electronic Projects for Musicians - a compilation album of rarities & b-sides next week (April 1) off of Yep Roc Records. You can currently stream it on Yep Roc's site.

Populous

The other day, being in a bit of a mood for neu-shoegazy headphone music, I created a Maps station on Pandora Radio. The first song that loaded up was "Breathes the Best" by Italian producer Populous (not to be confused with the early videogame). Populous aka Andrea Mangia collaborated with Short Stories for this song, which appears on the Breathes the Best EP put out by Berlin record label - Morr Music. Populous shares the label with Lali puna, Múm, & the notwist, so you'll likely correctly assume that the project has a pleasant fuzzy & bleepy aura.

After perusing Populous' videos, I realized the "Breathes the Best" video seemed vaguely familiar. After a second view, I pinned in on the striking simliaries and references to Rauol Servais' animation Chromophobia (1965)!

check it:





Oh, the 2nd artist to pop up on the Pandora playlist was Freezepop. how amusing...

a beautiful moment

The 1st sunny rays & pale blue sky emerge past the fresh March rain late in the afternoon when the sun is at an angle where everything is beautiful. Children hop & skip through the shimmering puddles. Spring has arrived.

Today was also my first experience listening to the Austrialian, New Buffalo....& what a satisfying experience it was! New Buffalo aka Sally Seltman - who claims influence from conservatories with exotic flowers & botanical gardens - put out her sophmore album last year....and has been garnering acclaim after co-writing 1234 with Feist.

Seltman's soothing vocals float through her budding textures & cheer me up.
So, thank you new buffalo...

Here is New Buffalo's video for "Cheer Me Up Thank You" from Somewhere, Anywhere

Việt Nam par le Français

-instrumental hiphop?
-France v Vietnam
-Chinoiseries

Onra started this project in August 2006 after motorbiking throughout Saigon exploring his heritage & discovering "forgotten treasures."

Despite the plethora of controversies & questions sampling can instigate, Onra manages to incorporate the 'finds' in a tasteful manner- transporting the listener to a fresh & engaging setting neither here nor there.

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Aargh !!!

Some days you just need to jerk & thrash about. Today was one of those days.

Perhaps the lost hour went sour...

Just A Band from France.

& honestly a bit of a catharsis for monday

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Linda Linda

Be a hit in the Asian karaoke scene - learn your Japanese 80s punk.



Yesterday I watched Nobohiro Yamashiro's film Linda Linda Linda(2005) - a fun flick premised on a group of high school girls who are preparing for a concert during their school's fair. When 2 members of the band drop out, the remaining three members choose a new set & enlist Son, a Korean exchange student who barely comprehends Japanese, to lead on vocals.

Linda Linda Linda is a movie that will undoubtedly lift your spirits, showing the humor in inter-cultural misunderstandings & a glimpse into Japanese teen lives along the way.

The film takes its name from the Blue Hearts song "Linda Linda". The Blue Hearts - who thrived during the late 80s - were a turning point in Japanese music, comparable to Nirvana in the US, by bringing the 'alternative' to a more mainstream audience while pushing limits along the vein of the true punk spirit. If you are a fan of The Clash, The Ramones or the Sex Pistols, you should probably check them out.

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.....& if you fancy the all-girl j-pop version by Paramaum (who are also the actresses in the film), here you go:

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The spring never arrives soon enough...

Here is a soundtrack for these long gray days.

Caen is an ambient drone project that is rumored to be the mellower side of noise artist Gordon Ashworth of Portland, Oregon. While Ashworth is known for his industrial screeching as Oscillating Innards, Caen's mood pieces form sonic landscapes along the wavelength of some of Aphex Twin's ambient works, creating an atmosphere that is beautiful yet eerily desolate. // These are the sounds of a frozen land moments before the sun rises.

Don't be surprised if you can't find a copy. The History of Your Immediate Surroundings is a very limited (100 copies) cassette-only release by monorail label.

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