New & Notable releases

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  • ATTN: Kez

    Is the Foot Stompin' label new to eMu? I think in the past you've said your a fan of Drever. Some of these albums look interesting, and their priced at $4.40.
  • Jeremy Udden's new album, "If the Past Seems So Bright", is out...

    http://www.emusic.com/album/Jeremy-Udden-If-The-Past-Seems-So-bright-MP3-Download/12585403.html

    I was all over his last album "Plainville", still listen to it all the time. This sounds like it'll be right up my alley, too.

    Currently five bucks on emu. If I still had an account, I'd probably buy it now out of fear that it will do that "price adjustment" thing some albums seem to do a day or two after they hit the site.

    It's on the Sunnyside label, so I would expect that this album will get streamed on their Bandcamp page soon or perhaps also on Udden's artist site (he's still streaming the old album).
  • kezkez
    edited June 2011
    @ Bad Thoughts - Foot Stompin' used to be on emusic - they either have expanded, or left and have now come back. I recognize quite a few albums that I downloaded previously. But Fine Friday was definitely not there previously. I've had both of those albums on my 'to get' list. There were really good reviews for both of them and at the time I was looking at them, I knew I would have to get them somewhere besides emusic. (On second thought - I know positively "Gone Dancing" was not available previously on emusic - "Mowing the Machair" might have been.)

    Hmmm...will have to think about that .99 rejoin offer maybe.
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    LastFM was kind enough to tell me Madeleine Peyroux has a new one coming out June 14, Standing On the Rooftop, a pre-release single of I Threw it All Away is available. She does a nice job with Dylan.
  • edited June 2011
    The new loscil album, noted on page 4 of this thread, finally landed on emusic today after a delay in the release date. Slightly cheaper on Amazon, cheaper still with an Amazon/emu combo. The label, Glacial Movements, has some really interesting releases lined up for the rest of this year.
  • edited June 2011
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    "After two massive works From Etudes to Cataclysms - for the Doppio Borgato (2CD / SR272) and Strumming Music for Piano, Harpsichord & Strings Ensemble (3CD / SR297) Charlemagne's work is now rooted in Sub Rosa for good !
    But next to his solo records, we want to continue to publish collaborative works: we started with An Aural Symbiotic Mystery (SR204) featuring Tony Conrad. We'll publish soon too some recent recordings done with Z'ev.
    But this time, Joachim Montessuis is the special guest of another Magical Night with Mister Palestine !"

    - Sub Rosa

    JOACHIM MONTESSUIS:
    - Since his birth in 1972, has lived in 15 different cities, including Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Marrakech, Abidjan, Besan
  • edited June 2011
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    Review and sample tracks to stream here.

    Side project by godspeed you! black emperor members. This new CD is getting extremely positive reviews and the samples make it sound well worth a listen. $6.21 at emu, it's on MTraks too for 9 credits.

    Herohill.com writes:
    Sonically, La Lechuza is as inspired as the band has sounded. Bruce’s deft mallet work and the emotional charge of Becky’s strings have always been impressive, but adding Page (harp) and Barr (supporting percussion) gives the Esmerine more freedom to explore bigger and bolder arrangements. Coupled with the warm vocal support from Patrick Watson and Page, the band’s range now seems endless. The centerpiece of the record, “Snow Day For Lhasa”, is beautiful and heartfelt, but the dynamic shifts and surges of “Little Streams Make Big Rivers”, the power of the Colin Stetson sax filled opener “A Dog River” and the joyfulness of “Trampolin” demonstrate the possibilities the new lineup offers.
  • edited June 2011
    The second EP of the Seasons 2011 series from the Serein Label is out now. (Colorlist - The Fastest Way To Become The Ocean was the first):

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    Donato Wharton - A White Rainbow Spanning The Dark


    "Donato Wharton is a composer based in London, UK. He has previously released three records for the Manchester and Berlin record label, City Centre Offices. The most recent of these was the 2006 release, 'Body Isolations'. 'A White Rainbow Spanning The Dark' therefore marks his first publicly released work in five years and his first for Serein.

    Born in Cardiff and raised in Germany, Donato continues to travel extensively with his work as sound designer for stage and theatre productions. The influence of these journeys can be read in his chosen track titles; together, they evoke a sense of great distance and expanse.

    These are not wistful tales of missing home, however, neither of new faces nor unfamiliar cities. The inspiration stems directly from the act of travelling, of being in transit thousands of feet above land. 'A White Rainbow Spanning The Dark' mirrors the changing landscapes of our planet, 'A Vast White Solitude', 'Ink Mountains', 'A Thousand Miles Of Grass'.

    By pushing the limits of his tools of creation, primarily guitar and field recordings, Donato introduces swathes of noise into his compositions, shaping it as a sculptor chisels stone to form topographies of often rugged terrains, blustery, cold and unforgiving. The startling opening to 'In A Mute Scape' has you standing in the middle of a vast plain, your voice long lost to the wind, ringing in your ears.

    There is something inherent to these pieces, though, which stops them from becoming too unforgiving or desolate. At times it is as if we observe these elemental environments from some safe haven or shelter, perhaps looking down from a window seat far above the land.

    This record marks a sure-footed step forward for Donato on his quest for refinement, reduction and concentration. Artistically, one of his greatest triumphs is having crafted a style which is uniquely his own - 'A White Rainbow Spanning The Dark' couldn't have been written by anyone else, and that is surely a compliment of the highest order."

    - Huw Roberts.
    (Serein Label curator and 1/2 of Nest together with Otto Totland (Svarte Greiner & Deaf Center))

    - Also available from Serein.
  • edited October 2011
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    Tori - Albatros
    "TORI is a Japanese experimental duo located in Denmark, made of drummer Junichi EBISAWA and programming expert Yohei ASO. Their music consists of the electronic sounds of the computer and a live recording of the drums. The duet aims at making original and innovative music that nobody have ever made, and make many people to listen to it by performing around the world. They also want to adopt the traditional Japanese music in their music so that any listener can feel the Japanese spirit. The theme of the album is "Despair and Hope": "despair" is shown though dark tunes, but the listeners will also feel "hope" throughout "Albatross". To be discovered !"
    - Gazul, 2011
  • edited November 2016
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    "The lab-coat dressed quasi-scientists of Norwegian improvisational sound research trio HEMMELIG TEMPO are known for their unique live research seminars and surrealistic experiements, such as "Bird Imitation Experiment" and "Six Unlikely Duos". The album "Who Put John Cage On The Guestlist ?" (Gazul, 2011) is a remarkable collage of the trio's electronic sound experiments across three years, assembled at Professor FOKUDA-San's infamous Mountain Seminar at Rjukan. Science will never be the same..."
    - Gazul - 2011
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    This is a new release from Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara. As AAJ says
    This is the third album from guitarist Justin Adams and singer/ritti player Juldeh Camara, and, as the saying goes, third time lucky. Not that Soul Science (Irl, 2007) or Tell No Lies (Real World, 2009) were disappointing, only that the duo's visceral mix of traditional Gambian music, jam band-informed jazz and avant rock has reached a new level with In Trance. Partly, this is down to the simple passage of time and the seasoning of style. More significantly, it comes from the expansion of the group from a trio, with drummer Martyn Barker, to a quartet, with bassist Billy Fuller and—the big event—new drummer Dave Smith.

    Any band drawing on African music for inspiration needs a drummer of rare sophistication and musicality, and Smith is perfect for the gig. As co-leader of the Loop Collective's Outhouse, he is part of one of London's most adventurous, and accessible, young jazz bands. As leader of the spin-off Outhouse Ruhabi, whose Ruhabi (Loop, 2009) and Live At Café Oto (Loop, 2010) were both made with an expanded lineup featuring five Gambian sabar drummers, he is the man behind the most fruitful collision of West African drum music and European jazz yet to surface.

    You can hear the difference Smith's arrival has made to the group by comparing "Mariama Trance," one of two tracks made with Martyn Barker included on this album—both previously released on the EP The Trance Sessions (Real World, 2010)—and "Djanfa Moja," made with the new lineup. Both are extended, trance-centric tracks ("Mariama Trance" last 13:11 minutes, "Djanfa Moja" 14:47), and both will peel the socks clean off your feet, but Smith's creativity and finely controlled power, devastating when it is given full throttle, lifts the second track to giddy heights. Where Barker kept things cooking and moving forward, Smith does the same with, for JuJu, unprecedented invention, sinew and elegance. Smith and JuJu were made for each other.

    Justin Adams' immersion in West African music has been as deep as Smith's and has been heard beyond JuJu: he produced Saharan blues group Tinariwen's excellent Aman Iman: Water Is Life (Independiente, 2007). Juldeh Camara is Gambian music: he was taught to sing and play the one-string ritti fiddle by his griot father, who was, so the story goes, in blues guitarist Robert Johnson crossroads style, himself taught to play directly by the djinn. Bassist Billy Fuller comes from a triphop (Massive Attack, Malachai) and industrialist (Beak) background, and, with Adams, has played with ex-Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant's North African-informed The Strange Sensation.

    Every track on In Trance is a delight, but the album's crowning jewel is the aforementioned "Djanfa Moja." It is in two parts, each lasting around seven minutes. The first is centered around Camara, whose mesmeric, whirlwind vocal and ritti, over Smith's rapid fire Maghrebi beats, produce an impact as all-consuming as the guitar, viola and vocal combination on the Velvet Underground's 17 minute chemical-fest, "Sister Ray," from White Light/White Heat (Verve, 1968). The second part is instrumental, with occasional dub touches, and has Smith, still nailing it but using slower, more broken beats than before, more consistently foregrounded. This really is trance music, as in scrambling your synapses and taking you somewhere other.
  • There's an entire series of album called "Music Box Hits". They're all cover albums, and they sound like a music box is playing the tunes.

    Here's the Beatles version...

    http://www.emusic.com/album/Musicbox-Masters-Music-Box-Hits-The-Best-of-The-Beatles-Vol-2-MP3-Download/12592796.html

    Odd.
  • edited June 2011
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    Kaboom Karavan - Barra Barra - (Miasmah)

    "This is the debut full-length release on Miasmah from Kaboom Karavan -- the Belgian collective led by Bram Bosteels. Kaboom Karavan has a history in theater, film and contemporary dance, but that doesn't really help shine a light on their music. They have collaborated with musicians all over the world including Miasmah's very own Kreng, and released a debut album on Mexico's Umor Rex imprint, but again, this probably only gives a small indicator of what the collective actually sound like. There is something effortlessly surreal about the band, and surrealism is an aspect of art often attempted and very rarely perfected. Here, Bosteels abuses his choice of instruments (and players) to the point where the listener would barely be able to place which instruments were being used at all, in fact at times you'd be hard pressed even to place what sort of music it was. Through a haze of pizzicato strings, clouds of sullen reverberation and clamorous percussion, you get the feeling that you have been catapulted into a universe just outside of perception. Jazz and Dadaism might be the cornerstones of Barra Barra but these disparate influences are twisted and melted beyond recognition, leaving only remnants on the finished product. Barra Barra is a complex album which takes patience to navigate through; you could hear the German clanking pre-industrialism of Einstürzende Neubauten, the slow, brooding doom of Bohren & Der Club Of Gore and the stuttering abstraction of Black To Comm, yet it still feels fresh and distinctly current. Unusually, the most fitting comparison might be the work of The Brothers Quay, as the ticking, creaking, stuttering songs feel perfectly matched with these flickering, haunted images. This is what makes the album such an appropriate addition to the Miasmah canon, and one that will haunt your dreams (and nightmares) for months to come."
    - Forced Exposure.

    - Stream @ Soundcloud

    - Much recommended for the usual experimental suspects !
  • edited June 2011
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    The Pattern Theory - S/T
    "Recorded nocturnally in a disused office space in East Berlin, this is The Pattern Theory's self-titled debut album. Focussed on eloquence and detail, they managed to make complication sound effortless and in doing so, to open up a new perspective on minimal harmonies and melodies. Their songs consist of a few main phrases which are constantly altered and rearranged, creating a pattern-like structure. With influences ranging from Tortoise to Steve Reich to 70s smooth rock, the album's sound is enriched with vibraphones, xylophones and various synthesizers."
    - Valeot Records - 5 euros @ Bandcamp
  • edited September 2011
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    Daniel Thomas Freeman - The Beauty Of Doubting Yourself

    "Daniel Thomas Freeman is a founding and current member of Rameses III, the South London group who in the last ten years have released ambient / drone / folk albums on labels such as Type, Important, Digitalis and Under The Spire and who have supported such genre luminaries live as Stars Of The Lid, Current 93, Murcof, Fursaxa, James Blackshaw, Yellow Swans and Astral Social Club.

    The Beauty Of Doubting Yourself is a deeply personal document from the Rameses III musician Daniel Thomas Freeman. Written over a period of six years this instrumental album is split into three movements chronologically representing the artist’s deep depression, his slow transition to recovery and his eventual experience of grace.

    Whereas Rameses III’s music is designed to instill beauty and peace with every release, this album is a challenging yet rewarding listen in its own right whilst keeping the luxurious depth of the later Rameses III recordings . . . . ."

    - More @ Home Normal.

    - Exerpt previews @ Soundcloud.
  • No release date yet, but I was surprised to learn today that Bap Kennedy is currently recording a new album with Mark Knopfler. Now, that interests me. I'm a long-time fan of Knopfler, but only more recently was introduced to Bap Kennedy, a singer from Belfast discovered by Steve Earle, who I think is quite good. eMusic currently has 4 of Kennedy's albums (emusic link).

    The new Knopfler-Kennedy album will feature John McCusker on fiddle, and Mike McGoldrick, whistles.

    News blurp about it on Knopfler's website is here.
  • edited July 2011
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    Brian Eno - Drums Between The Bells
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    Nels Cline, Tim Berne, Jim Black - The Veil
    Info @ http://www.cryptogramophone.com/
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    New Offthesky album, The Beautiful Nowhere, now available for pre-order as limited run of 200 CDs. Jason Corder tells me in response to email query that it will be for sale digitally on bandcamp. Follow the link for a streamed track - sounds very nice.
  • edited October 2011
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    "Passage Through a Dream offers five premiere recordings of new music by composer Phillip Schroeder—remarkably beautiful and vibrant tracks that feature lyric melodies and lush, intricate textures.

    Passage Through a Dream expands and develops musical ideas found in Schroeder’s critically acclaimed 2006 CD Move in the Changing Light (Innova 655), about which Ron Shepper wrote in textura, “Schroeder generates dense masses of sparkling trills and cascades….The sound that results verges on the paradisaical … Schroeder’s glistening pieces are full of elegant nuances,” and Frank J. Oteri wrote in the American Music Center’s NewMusicBox, “You’ll keep hitting repeat on your CD player.”

    Passage’s performers include Schroeder on piano and electric bass, soprano Erin Bridgeman, the multi-talented Rick Dimond on accordion and vibraphone, clarinetist/composer Michael Henson, harpist Jane Grothe, flutist Jennifer Amox, and new music clarinetist Marty Walker.

    Born in 1956 in Rancho Cordova, California, Phillip Schroeder’s musical life began early and paralleled the diversity of his surroundings—living in twelve states—playing trumpet in concert bands and electric bass in rock and jazz bands, singing in choirs, conducting orchestral and chamber groups, improvising with a variety of ensembles, and concertizing as a pianist. His music for soloists, chamber ensembles, live electronics, orchestra, and choir, has been described by critics as “wonderfully evocative,” “ethereal,” and “rich in subtle detail.”

    - Innova
    http://www.phillipschroeder.com/
  • edited July 2011
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    "The normal business cycle calls for a band to record an album, then to tour in support of it. But The Residents liked the idea of developing a touring show without the restriction of promoting an album. But after forty or so performances, The Residents wondered: what would the album that "might have been" sound like? So they started recording. In a short time they produced the curious, Lonely Teenager. Featuring pieces that were performed in the show as well as others that were considered but ultimately rejected, Lonely Teenager is "the studio album that might have been."
    - RALPH RECORDS.
  • edited July 2011
    This new album released yesterday by Luther Russell (who I'd never heard of before today, though it looks like he's been around for a while) is really good. The image link is to the eMu page, but you can also get it (and stream the whole thing) from Bandcamp - more expensive, but obviously Russell will get more money if you buy it from Bandcamp, and based on what I'm hearing, he deserves it!

    It's 25 tracks, so you'd expect a lot of it to be filler, but very little of it actually is... Fans of Elliott Smith should like this; in fact, track 3 is almost a pastiche, it sounds exactly like something from Either/Or. Also should appeal to fans of Harry Nilsson, post-Beatles John Lennon, and "follower" acts like Future Clouds and Radar, for example.

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    Beautifully Falling Apart (Ambient Transmissions Vol 1) by Marconi Union

    I've got these guys' other albums and have really enjoyed them - ambient/downtempo duo from Manchester, England. This one is new out and only $2.94 on emusic. Hmm, my credit should refresh in a couple of hours....
  • edited July 2011
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    WOW !

    ETA:
    "Fennesz's first solo release since Black Sea (TO 076CD/LP) is a 4-track 10" vinyl. Using acoustic and electric guitars, bass, synths and computers, Fennesz continues to engage and entrance us in equal measure. Fennesz writes:

    "Seven Stars was recorded in Vienna in January 2011. I recorded and mixed the album within 3 weeks. 'Liminal' and 'July' were existing pieces which I have reworked. (I wrote an early version of 'Liminal' in a hotel room in Bali in 2010). There is also a version of 'Liminal' that I have been playing live for some time. My friend Steven Hess, with whom I have worked before, happened to be in Vienna at the time of the sessions, so I invited him to join me in the studio. Christoph Amann recorded the drums using a selection of his great microphones, including his amazing new Josephson. I wanted to make a record that has a certain lightness about it and at the same time explore new territory using drums on one track. This might be something I will continue with in the future."

    - Forced Exposure Newsletter.
  • 51uqlEvv4GL._SL500_AA300_.jpgNeon Blue Bird by Ollabelle
    Amazon link
    Free download of track 3 "Be Your Woman" here (enter your email address)

    New album by Ollabelle due out August 16. I love this band. Soulful, catchy, rootsy Americana.
  • 51CX35sd9eL._SL500_AA300_.jpgDedicated by Steve Cropper
    Linky

    Due out August 9 - good dose of R&B/doo-wop deja-vu.

    "Dedicated features reworked versions of The Five Royales most enduring songs, and includes duets with Lucinda Williams, Bettye LaVette, John Popper and Sharon Jones. There is also plenty of guest star collaboration with B.B. King, Brian May and Steve Winwood"
  • edited August 2011
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    Daniel Menche, Jana Winderen, Philip Jeck, Philip Marshall, Michael Esposito - You Are Not Alone II
    "The second in a series of reworkings of Sohrab material by artists showing solidarity to his cause... all label and artist money goes towards the fund for his appeal against refusal to be granted political asylum in Germany..."
    - Touch Records.

    - Sohrab @ Emusic.
    - Sohrab @ Touch.
  • On that Serein page, there's a TBA for an album by Haushka. Now that's something I'm looking forward to.
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