this could well be the most eclectic post of all time…
IUNO [NETHERLANDS]
fracture mp3
thanks to the folks from iuno (pictured) for getting in touch. check out their web site at iuno.nl for a fine selection of tunes to download. there’s a great degree of variation even in the few tracks that are there – i’m finding touches of moloko, kosheen, even portishead in there, and the above track is a storming fusion of dark drum’n’bass breaks, nasty keyboard riffs and great vocals courtesy of stella bergsma. the band are a collective – seemingly shepherded by steven de munnik – and, judging by some of the photography, also featuring a string section. a good discovery, well worth checking out further.
ON ENSEMBLE [US: LOS ANGELES]
fingertips mp3
if you’re one of those people who’s had a ‘taiko drumming’ experience, or similar, you’ll know it’s a joy to behold. it has all the strength, energy and hardcore intensity of your average megadeth gig, but we’re talking traditional oriental drumming here, so no mullets are involved. dumb banter aside, on ensemble fall into a more traditional category than usually featured on this blog, which is exactly why you need to download and have a listen. this los-angeles quartet allow for guilt-free exploration of non-contemporary sound, and on the above mp3 they genuinely bend genres like einstein bent time. more info from their web site here.
LOVE OF EVERYTHING [US: ILLINOIS]
proud brave nothing mp3
i’m feeling that it’s good to buck my electronic obsession now and then, and when i do so, i tend to revert to disjointed, fractured, fucked up lo-fi – so thank god for love of everything. if you enjoyed casiotone for the painfully alone, i think you’ll find this track will bring you a few more blessings. cheers to the good people from redder records for giving me the heads up. they tell me that love of everything is bobby burg of joan of arc and make believe fame – and they’ve also got heaps more mp3s from whence this little diamond came.
R.E.M. [ATHENS, GEORGIA surely?]
i’ve been high (matthew herbert mix) mp3
so what the freak are r.e.m. doing on here? have i gone absolutely out of my tiny mind? well, it’s kinda obvious – you don’t often hear r.e.m. being remixed by anyone, much less matthew ‘herbert’ herbert. i enjoyed herbert’s radioboy incarnation a long while back – live sampling of detritus, looped back into his performance, stuff like macdonalds cartons and coke cups. the big band project stretched the temprament a little, but their remix of oi va voi‘s ‘refugee’ was on form. basically, i’m trying to say i like the guy, but it seems like i’m heaping on a few caveats at the same time. christ, i’m getting picky.
GIANNI NANNINI [ITALY]
contaminata (apparat rmx) mp3
couldn’t leave you without a little hint of electronica, could i? now this would seem to be the italo-german equivalent of bruce springsteen getting the remix treatment from boom bip… gianni nannini, not well known for his leftfield experiemention, here gets the commercial crap kicked out of him by shitkatapult‘s apparat (shitkatapult, other then being the best named record label in the world, is run by the supremely talented and ass-kickingly awesome electro-rock-bass-whatever maestro, t.raumschmeire). it’s actually considerably less breakcore than you might think – gianni still goes off on a freddie mercury tip towards the end, and you get the feeling that apparat just couldn’t destroy the guy completely. in saying that, it’s unlike anything else you’ll hear this month. for more of the same, check out a wonderfully insane live set to download from barcelona 2003 on apparat’s site.
<<< new blogs >>> hello new fellow mp3 bloggers – been a while since i updated the blog list, so there’s a heap of killer sites i recommend you check out. go say a gutteral ‘guten tag’ to cowboytranceorchestra (recent posts include fautline, rem, zwan), the ugly elephant (ali khan, utada, bleep), the new black (check out the excellent susan cadogan, also posts from the pixiesand new birth. also a mention of our friend, wanda dee…). props too to edit209 for a hilarious collection of bootlegs – cecile‘s electro-dancehall stormer ‘hot like we’ was one of my recent raves, so to hear that coupled with belle & sebastian is an experience not to be shirked. very belated ‘hellos’ and madder props to an idiot’s guide to dreaming, smart music, the swish , heraclitus sayz, moebius rex and the mighty mp3 blogs aggregator. top marks though to ‘best new blog on the block’ goes to dozerblog – check this list, nobukazu takemura, b. fleischmann, subtle, clouddead and mrs doctor who theme tune arrangement, delia derbyshire – solid!
[[[ other shit ]]] fat planet’s also now syndicating some of this on-going ramble to the good folks over at usounds.com – flip over and say hi, and tell ’em we sent ya! also, check out brad weslake‘s smart radio schedule for “interesting broadcast sound available either online, or via radio waves in sydney, australia”. and lo and behold if those damn fine folks at better propagandahave only gone and posted not one, but two, tracks from fat planet’s current ‘artiste am pedestal’ dj rupture. check it here.