a casket full of aural oddities #1, Paraffin Affliates

A casket full of aural oddities, this is the title of a new merzbau post series, inaugurated by the present one. I could have started a separate blog for these [I've seen others doing so] but I chose to stick with my current entity. Merzbau after all was, is and will remain a casket full of oddities.

There is no clear line to separate what belongs to these series and what not. Generally small run releases limited or not, sonic products on which little, fuzzy or incoherent information is available, outsider sound art, found music and in general everything dmtls considers obscure or weird enough will find its place here. Frequently bought in large volumes and/or rather cheap, found in all places possible these recordings have a special beauty of their own.

The idea for these posts came after a package was received from Finland, a package I could only describe as A casket full of aural oddities.

Presented here are two cdrs from the aforementioned package.

Paraffin Affiliates is [or was, unsure about their current state as the last signs of their existence found over the net, date five to six years ago] a Finnish free jazz impro/noise unit. Our music is noisy and furious, and yet intuitive. It is more a question of variations in intensity than of structure says Joonas Virtasalo, clarinetist of the band and he is putting his finger exactly on how Paraffin Affiliates works sound like. Squeaks and skreaks, noise and chaos. Wild free improvisations featuring clarinet, guitars, bass, drums and even accordion in a couple of tracks, make for a study of variations in intensity while retaining that little something [structure of some kind?] that keep these recordings from falling apart , from making another dull noise statement

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demo 2002 [1 / 2]

demo/promo 2003 [1 / 2]

fun with nuns

Free jazz-noise-improvisation collective from Greece. No fixed line up as anyone is free to join and blow his guts out. Absurdism and dada seem to be sacred and profane values for the deviant nuns. Imagine Borbetomagus, Smegma and Art Ensemble of Chicago along with Zorn at his extremes doing their tricks all together, throw some Murray, Ulmer and Ra in the melting pot, add some solid noise and industrial influences [a bit on the ritual side] and you have a jam for ‘pataphysics seminar. Unfortunately there are still no releases available from nuns but you can enjoy them over @ their myspace.com page, funwithnunsinspandex.

Stay tuned I can hear great things coming.

Family Battle Snake

London based psych/noise/drone project by a fellow countryman, Bill Kouligas. In physical format I own Spiral Growl, the release presented here. Nicely packaged, comes in a numbered edition of 108.

Two long tracks of dark submarine explorations. Tons of vocals and creepy guitars jam into a dense fog of smoke.

[animal psi]

Family Battle Snake - Spiral Growl, CD-R March 2006

[cover scan]

  [insert scan]

If you like it, get it, while still in print, at here.

P.S. This post was inspired by a FBS related post @  Hidden Diaries blog featuring the also very interesting Searching for Venus. More FBS promised by Hidden Diaries.

 

Yamashirube - Yuki-Onna Ni Ai Ni Iku

Second album from this new Japanese, Tokyo underground psych unit, much touted by Modern Music. Featuring the mysteriously-monikered Yamashirube aka Hide Uchida on electric and acoustic guitar, vocals, percussion, cheap keyboard, singing bowl and whistle and Tei Rali on drums, Yuki-Onna is a beautifully out-of-time slice of classic space ritual, with blops of keyboard generating simple codes of intergalactic morse ala Sun Ra, Conrad Schnitzler and Michael Rother while delayed percussion beats milky patterns into a starless, black sky. Guitar-led tracks are a whole other gloriously-stoned universe, with delicately vibrating monochords piloted to a standstill ala Siloah or Joshua’s Gold Cosmos while vapour trails weave webs of boo across your brain and single metallic notes flash like silver magnets. Closest parallel is probably the early Magical Power Mako albums in terms of gob-dropping, lost to the void electro hymns though Rali’s drumming will take you right back to the more sparse Fushitsusha Tokuma-era recordings. Totally gorgeous void-deep private-press style edition with cover art featuring a cartoon profile kissing a cluster of stars. Comes in a handmade black card sleeve with mounted CD-R, fold-out gold credits and insert on Uchida’s own Subjective Spirit Sounds label. Limited to only 77 copies.

Get it here

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Now playing: Alexandros Perros & Lone Stars - LITTLE LONE STAR
via FoxyTunes

Tetuzi Akiyama - Terrifying Street Trees

Terrifying Street Trees  was originally released in 2005 [on Esquilo Records]. It was a limited release of 110 copies. Later [2006] the same label re-released it in a special edition containing two cdrs [limited to 70]. The first cdr contains the original material while the second one presents a live performance recorded in Tokyo where Akiyama plays an early version of the complete set that would later become the highly acclaimed and mythical, now long out-of-print, Don’t Forget to Boogie!.

[based on ozymandiaz review in RYM]

My feelings on this release are still ambivalent.

Here is the special edition of Terrifying Street Trees noisy, minimal blues. It deserves your attention whether it finally manages to grow on you or not.

part 1 / 2

 

Keiji Haino [+friends]

It has been over a year that I have Black Blues [both soft and violent version] in my collection. At first attempt(s) they seemed impenetrable . A few days back I decided to give them one more spin [after long time] and see what I could make of it. That was it. As if a door was unlocked, a door to the musical world of the dark Japanese shaman, the extraordinary world of Keiji Haino. Another chapter for exploration and a great reason for a collection expansion.

The videos featured in this post have little to do with the musical style of Black Blues. They are another piece of KH universe and for sure extreme and intense. Beautiful.

Keiji Haino, Otomo Yoshihide, Tori Kudo & Tamio Shiraishi

Recorded at the Black Birthday Party II (Shinjuku, September 1st, 2005). Tori Kudo (piano), Keiji Haino (guitar), Tamio Shiraishi (alto sax) & Otomo Yoshihide (guitar).

Keiji Haino Yamatsuka Eye John Zorn [+ Christian Marclay]

Violent and extreme improvisation by an all-star company of musicians.

P.S. I made ‘backup’ links to the videos in their titles apart from posting them. I am constantly facing problems when posting stuff from youtube.com. If anyone has any info or solution to this matter please contact.

P.S. 2 Due to some technical reasons uploading Logothetis cd 2/2 is canceled for today. Promise it will be up until the end of the week.

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Now playing: Keiji Haino - Drifting
via FoxyTunes

WJW - The Hollow Grail Revisited

Continuo asked for some WJW. Here you are, a four (4) track presentation of The Hollow Grail [Tracks: Tapeworm Delivery, She Cums Orchids on a Bizarre Sofa, Warning: 19 17 17 19 14 20!, The Morass of Gluttony and Transparent Lady Underwear]. Enjoy!

P.S. Artwork used in this post by Tikhon.

Won James Won - The Hollow Grail

Out now the new album by merzbau favorites Won James Won. Neatly packaged as always and on full power. Order and joy through chaos. Chaos is the word and Hollow Grail is a one way ticket for an extreme sonic journey. Clocking at nearly 80min is a full scale experience for the adventurous.

available here

Victim in a vacuum suffers less than a working person surrounded by HUNGRY things.

Tikhon thank you for your friendship.

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Now playing: Won James Won - Warning: 19 17 17 19 14 20! [foobar2000 v0.9.4.5]
via FoxyTunes

Prick Decay - Wake Wilting Magnet (+ more experimental / noise tapes)

Hear Prick Decay - Wake Wilting Magnet and

more great stuff @ Inzane Studios.

THU20 - Eerste Schijf