Panabrite “Citadel in the Sky” Omni Center CD-R (Sturmundrugs)
Banana Head “Open the Kimono” The Phantom Payn split CS (Goaty Tapes)
The Teleporters “Untitled” Invite You To Come On A Pompous Journey CS (Goaty Tapes)
Pumice “The Only Doosh Worth Giving” Pebbles LP (Soft Abuse)
Glue Clinic “Soft Blows” s/t CS (Lighten Up Sounds)
Chrome Dome “Topped” s/t CS (Night-People)
Kluster “Part Two” Klopfzeichen CD (Hypnotic)
Red Horse “Untitled –Side A (excerpt)” s/t LP (Rel)
Horse Marriage “Lay Your Hands On Me” b/w “Pee-Chee”/”I Need To Tell You” 7” (Avant Archive)
Outer Spacist “Frequency of Souls” s/t CS (Dub Ditch Picnic)
Parashi “Corrach” Zone of Alienation 3” CD (Kendra Steiner Editions)
Super Minerals “Earth Acropolis Welcomes . . . (excerpt)” Contacteer CS (Stunned)
Keijo “15 Days” Along the Stream CS (Cabin Floor Esoterica)
Serfs "Nameless" Sha La La-La Later On CS (Cabin Floor Esoterica)
First, I'd like to begin by acknowledging the passing of Conrad Schnitzler this past week. While I'll openly admit to only scratching the surface of his vast discography, it goes without saying that his seminal work in Kluster and Tangerine Dream, along with his numerous solo and collaborative efforts, casts a fairly sizable shadow over several generations worth of experimental music, including the current wave of post-Noise/neo-Kosmische artists. Plenty has already been written elsewhere about Schnitzler, so I'll simply conclude with a statement he made about his work in a David Keenan-penned feature in The Wire from 2006 (which the above photo is taken from): "It is pure sound that I make. And I'm not expressing myself in any way when I'm making it. If anything, I express myself more when I listen back to it, when I go upstairs and listen to it and have one hour of joy." Thankfully, Schnitzler left us with countless hours of joy to experience for ourselves.
Some highlights from this week's show include another brilliant track from Panabrite. Norm Chambers continues his winning streak of upward bound synth explorations on Omni Center, his recent release on Sturmundrugs, finding new and inventive ways to meld his electronic and organic sound creations. Goaty Tapes and Cabin Floor Esoterica also just dropped some impressive new sounds in their latest tape batches. Amongst the Goaty heap, the Banana Head / Phantom Payn split has been getting repeated spins here in the FFF bunker. I was a little surprised to see this pairing at first, but it makes perfect sense really. The Phantom Payn material, which was recorded around the same time in the mid-Nineties as the excellent Days/Daze release that De Stijl put out last year, fits quite nicely alongside the contemporary loner psych pop moves of Banana Head. I'm quite pleased, in fact, that Goaty had the foresight to present the Phantom Payn's work within the current DIY underground context where it rightly belongs. Along with being some of the most visually stunning tapes I've seen of late, the recent Cabin Floor Esoterica batch also delivers the goods musically. The otherworldly wandering blues of Keijo's Along the Stream hits just the right Jandekian sweet spot for me, albeit in a more tuneful way, and Serfs' blown-out guitar playing on Sha La La-La Later On is rather beautiful, turning a Curtis Mayfield cover into something totally new and original. But, since I've mentioned originality, I must bring up the latest Super Minerals tape as well. The duo of Phil French and William Giacchi continue to make some of the most mind-bendingly original sounds around and with The Hoax, and now Contacteer, they've released two of my favorite albums of the year thus far. Lastly, we spun the brand new Horse Marriage single, which marks Avant Archive's first foray into releasing vinyl. In the coming weeks, we will be joined by Avant Archive owner/operator, Michael Jantz, where we will be discussing the label and his own musical endeavors as Black Eagle Child. Do check back.
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