MAGIC LANTERN / HOP-FROG KOLLECTIV - 'SPLIT'

Formats

• URCK2025 - LP

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Details

Finally re-pressed and this time on colored vinyl we're getting only 60, we will be listing other titles on the label in the coming weeks, Magic Lantern being one of our fave sounds of 2008/09, this simply stokes the fire....Through a mutual admiration of each other's work Magic Lantern & The Hop-Frog Kollectiv have created two stunning masterpieces for a collaborative release. The Hop-Frog Kollectiv's Somba is based on recordings on Silvertone and Hammond organs donated by Shea M. Gauer of OPEN Books and features Yanqin (Chinese dulcimer), Ruan (moon guitar), Been, electric guitar, midi guitar & flutes. The title comes from the regionally known name of three clans in the Atakora Mountains of the Sahara desert who's ancestral and family ties govern their society through their belief that the dead are permanently among us and constantly influencing us. Magic Lantern's Underwater Dynasty was recorded for Ukelele, Guitar, Flute, Piano, Bells, Hand Drums & Voices. This piece could alternatively be titled Underwater Raga. The magic created by the interweaving flute and string melodies creates and epic soundtrack to an Atlantis like Hesse-esque world that'll take you to the outer places you've always needed to explore. This is Magic Lantern's follow up to their highly acclaimed wax release on Not Not Fun entitled High Beams.

Tracks

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Press

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Audio & Video

SIAN ALICE GROUP - 'TROUBLED, SHAKEN ETC'

Formats

• TSR074 - LP

  TBC

• HAPP011CD - CD

  823566494027

Details

Sian Alice Group? a collective of UK musicians Sian Ahern, Rupert Clervaux and Ben Crook, amongst other collaborators have, in the past couple of years been insanely productive, from the epic 59.59 and The Dusk Line (a subdued piano and vocals only EP) to the wholeheartedly experimental Remix 12'', the band made the scene, built up a stellar following and positioned itself as a contender to be reckoned with. Now, in 2009 Sian Alice Group is back with their second album of lush, minimalist, panoramic torch songs, Troubled, Shaken Etc. The band hones in on a genre-busting combination of organic improvisation, process-driven experimentation and the focused strength earned from a year of extensive travelling and touring the world together. You get your minimalist trances, electronic exploration, techno thump, jazz motifs and Eastern music tropes in a joyous and complete listening experience. It's a snapshot from an eventful 2008 that is rawer, more emotional and louder than anything they've released thus far. First track, Love That Moves The Sun is a bouncy realization of minimalism set to the cosmos. Arpeggios (on both guitar and vibraphone) set a repetitive tone and Sian Ahern's powerful vocals resemble the sort of expansive clouds we learned about in a 7th grade science class. Close To The Ground begins with a Terry Riley meets Theo Parrish figure that slowly morphs into stomp-rock territory with organic four-to-the-floor rhythmic intensity. Vanishing provides a unique take on techno. Rupert Clervaux's drums are like a wild Elvin Jones who lived through the rave era, and the vocals provide angelic whole tones over the unhinged bounce. White is a surprise. makes us want to take naps on a grassy bank and dream of the heartbreak awaiting us. Simply put the guitar interplay on this track is totally breathtaking. It's automatic mixtape fodder. Troubled, Shaken, Etc. reveals an extremely hardworking band that is focused on process, craft and how their interpersonal relationships can serve as a catalyst to document life in an honest, original and innovative manner. The band (led on these technical issues by Clervaux) masterfully handles the production, and we can't emphasize enough just how strong Sian Ahern's vocals have come through. With guest spots from live mainstays - Sasha Vine, Eben Bull and label-mate Mike Bones, as well as John Coxon (Spring Heel Jack) and Graham Barton, Troubled, Shaken Etc. is a vastly diverse record with many collaborative hands on deck. VINYL IS SUPER DELUXE and on THE SOCIAL REGISTRY.

Tracks

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Press

?Sian Alice Group chart transformations from psychedelic rock, pastoral folk, and piano-lounge balladry into analog-synthtronica, free-jazz breakdowns, pounding Afro-tech grooves, and avant-classical composition. The beauty of Sian Alice Group is that the band is capable of creating highly effective music even when they stray far from traditional torch-song territory.? - Pitchfork

?Some artists walk a fine line between the abstract and the arranged, creating a sense of spontaneity without being overly rehearsed. Sian Alice Group accomplishes just this. What?s more, it does so while simultaneously recalling great artists but sounding completely unique.? ? Filter

Audio & Video

JACK ROSE & THE BLACK TWIG PICKERS - 'S/T'

Formats

• HAPP012CD - CD

  823566494126

Details

ON TOUR IN UK NEXT WEEK!!!!! This raw and rocking collaboration between Jack Rose and The Black Twigs features some of the most swinging, hard-hitting string music waxed in many a decade. Rose's solo playing has always had a tough edge, with his prodigious technique often employed to drop right-hand bombs. His use of a thumbpick originates from years of duets with Twig Mike Gangloff, struggling to make his guitar heard over Gangloff's crashing banjo. The front line of Rose and Gangloff's strings are joined by Isak Howell's no-nonsense guitar and harmonica and Nate Bowles' variety of expert percussion. The four lock together with a sure-footedness honed by frequent touring and a singularity of intent to rock. Gangloff takes the vocals, howling out standards like "Little Sadie" firmly in the old-time tradition-without reserve. A few of the tracks here are updates of Rose & Family classics, with the group turning the stately "Kensington Blues" upbeat and issuing an assured take on "Bright Sunny South," first recorded by Pelt (with Rose and Gangloff) back in 2001 on their gonzo classic double-disc Ayahuasca.

? Raw, hard-hitting collaboration between steel-guitar master and folk / bluegrass / country blues trio ? Members of Pelt and Spiral Joy Band

Tracks

1. Little Sadie

2. Sail Away Ladies / I Shall Not Be Moved

3. Hand Me Down My Walking Cane

4. Soft Steel Piston

5. Some Happy Day

6. Ride Old Buck

7. Revolt

8. Kensington Blues

9. Special Rider

10. Bright Sunny South

11. Goodbye Booze

Press

Uncut, MOJO, Wire, and more a-coming

Audio & Video

ARIEL PINK'S HAUNTED GRAFFITI - 'LOVERBOY'

Formats

• GR01 - 2xLPs

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Details

***Recorded back in 2001-2002, Loverboy was originally released as a bonus second disc with the first pressing of the House Arrest album. Later pressings did not include this record, and led many folks to freak out and obsess and do everything in their power to track it down! So it should come as a delight to outsider pop lovers and ARIEL PINK fans everywhere to discover that Loverboy is finally getting a proper release, as a super deluxe double LP. It's the one Ariel Pink record that features the most musical input from his buddy and big-time AQ favorite JOHN MAUS, who co-wrote a few of the tracks and whose instantly recognizable deep croon can be heard on a few other tracks as well. AP also gives a much deserved nod to one of his idols, R. Stevie Moore, kicking out a cover of "Hobbies Galore," and on top of all that, it's also the record where we first got a sneak peak what would become the Holy Shit record that AP would make with Matt Fishbeck, as the track "I Don't Need Enemies" from that record first appeared here.

Tracks

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Press

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Audio & Video

DJ ILYA MONOSOV & THE 20TH CENTURY PUNKS - 'NEW MUSIC'

Formats

• HOLY56 - LP

  N/A

Details

Like the best bit of bacon wrapped around the best cut of beef pinned with a handcut toothpick, these four sets of collage arrive pressed to vinyl-eliminating the potential confusion about how many multiple media players have been running. Grunts and gurggles hump circuit-bent glitches in the way an inhuman claw might select a fannypack from the racks of Forever XXI. The fact is: only one hand is needed to clap on a drum machine. DJ Ilya Monosov & the 20th Century Punks are too rhythmic to call noise, too chaotic to call music. This fourtrack 12-inch is nothing like Nurse With Wound while sounding like an American counterpart. Akin to Plunderphonics without obvious gags. Best guess, this is what spying Martians hear coming from Earth.

Tracks

1. Always Look to You (Extended Mix)
2. Tropical Relaxation
3. Belly Womb
4. Unnatural Ways

Press

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Audio & Video