Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Carnt sleep

I have to admit that it's a relatively recent development.

When I was younger, I used to sleep like a baby, but within the last 3 years or so, there are nights where the harsh horse of insomnia rides me from one end of sanity to the other. This morning was a good example, although that was more due to feeling ill as opposed to the usual reason:

My brain won't shut up.

This usually only happens once every couple of months. However, this morning was the second bout in under a week. Last week's was much worse, though, but a least I got to blame it on music...

I awoke at about 2am with "Falling Elevators" by MC 900 Ft Jesus in my head. Its hefty bass line and eerie trumpet riff got me thinking about stuff that might fit well and hence another fairly bizarre mix started churning around inside the old noggin. This one continues along the lines of the stuff I've been cranking out lately: diverse in a strange way, seemingly unfocused, but still flowing well.

With that massive caveat, may I present Fantasies, Fallacies, And Fever Dreams.

01 MC 900 Ft Jesus - Falling Elevators
02 Bauhaus - Departure
03 Tom Waits - 9th & Hennepin
04 Gil Scott-Heron - Message To The Messengers
05 The Clash - Sean Flynn
06 Laibach - Across The Universe
07 Yello - She's Got A Gun
08 Love And Rockets - The Teardrop Collector
09 John Parish And Polly Jean Harvey - Girl
10 Nine Inch Nails - Lights In The Sky
11 Dream Into Dust - Distant Horizon
12 King Crimson - I Talk To The Wind
13 Jesu - Plans That Fade
14 James Brown - King Heroin



If you're interested in taking a listen, by all means do so. Gotta say I've been enjoying it, but then again it's my baby, so I'm a bit biased.

Further sonic stumblings:

Scorn - Evanescance
(deep dark dub, Mick Harris style)

Yello - Stella
(oh yeah)

The Smiths - Louder Than Bombs
(wickedly polite ironies)

Godflesh - Hymns
(the JKFlesh rock record)

Miles David - Sketches Of Spain
(travel drawings with a muted brush)

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Nu Toonz

I was trying to remember exactly when I last released any music.

Sure, I told you about Lilybies, but that was essentially just a mix of older Abstract Audio Systems stuff.

Well...

As it turns out, I've been failing to promote myself correctly.

The last official release from my particular camp o' music was Poems For Innogen by the aforementioned Abstract Audio Systems. However, I've actually put together several CDs since then, all of which are available presently through the Machine Tribe Recodings website and one that is also available through CDBaby.

So let us discuss, you and I...

Light:

Puzleboy - Fair Weather Friendly


Once again, a mixed bag of beats from my Puzleboy persona. Here you will find downtempo tracks, upbeat dance tunes, some hardcore (just for fun), and a soundscape to boot. Predictably all over the place, it's another fun filled disc of musical diversity. I don't really play by any rules when I've got my Puzleboy hat on, so goodness knows where I end up most times.

At The Lake
Silicon
Funkbit
Arclight
Acid Shuffle
Shot In The Face
Quickened
Static Funk
Mephit
Clarity

Dark:

Abstract Audio Systems - Dark Terrain


Inspired by thoughts of deep space and the limitless ocean, Dark Terrain marks a turn outward and downward for my Abstract Audio Systems project. Elements of ambient and drone adorn all the tracks here, seeking to open your inner headspaces. Look out into the stars and down into the depths.

Particles
Hydrophonic
Arecibo's Echo
Discs Of Snow
Bromia
Beyonder
Titan Sunrise

Darker:

Bonechurch - Hell's Iron Gate + Echoing Dust


My sinister Bonechurch side returns with another epic expedition into the dark music. "(Swing Wide) Hell's Iron Gate" is a 17+ minute blueprint of drone, its growling synthlines drifting off into nothingness. "Echoing Dust" begins in much the same way, yet in the subsequent 24+ minutes it spirals into the rattle and clatter of bastardized neo-dub and anti-rhythmic experimentation. Truly a rewarding experience for those with an adventurous ear. Don't expect any typical musical structure here. This is dark, experimental stuff.

(Swing Wide) Hell's Iron Gate
Echoing Dust

Darkest:
Averauschen - Symbiote


This was a particularly nasty side project I did in my Bonechurch guise along with Princess Coldheart, founder of the now-deceased DBR experimental music night. Though we did this several years ago, it is just now seeing the light of day (and hating it). This CD is drenched in soot black atmospheres, shuddering noise, and dark, dark places. It's a study in experimental noise with deep, dark drones hovering beneath creeping background clicks and scratches. These black, echoing soundscapes scrape across your ears. This is cavernous music, opening spaces hidden inside your head.

03:54
05:05
07:18
06:14
07:45
0:00

(BTW, all the samples above are at 128 kbit/s and do not reflect the sound quality of the actual recordings.)

You can pick up these discs as well of lots of other stuff at MTR and while the Averauschen disc is available on CDBaby, I'll let you in on a little secret... it's a buck cheaper on the MTR site!

Don't tell nobody.

Anyhoo, this is what my twisted brain has managed to crank out in the last year, give or take, so check 'em out. I'm rather found of them. Look for all of these discs to end up on CDBaby at some point (I do this because they distribute to iTunes, Napster, etc., which is nice). However, releases will always be cheaper at home. After all, $9-$10 per CD is pretty freakin' reasonable, considering most retail stores are no-lubing you for anywhere from $15-$20 per CD these days.

Would love to profiteer off of, but didn't write:

Final - Fade Away
(four tracks of distant drift)

Miles Davis - The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions
(marvelous, mysterious, musical Miles)

Asian Dub Foundation - Facts And Fictions
(pre-dnb, but still tastee)

Harmonic 33 - Extraordinary People
(funky retro-lounge goodness)

M|A|R|R|S - Pump Up The Volume
(because we all need women)