More Kosmische

Bataille Solaire-Baal Shamash et son char Celeste

This tape is a bewdy. It's somewhere along the the lines of atmospheric kosmische synth/organ/space/drone, occasionally slipping in and out wormholes. Sometimes heavenly at other times delving into the darkness. It's a true sonic journey not staying in the one place too long which is a bit different for this kind of thing. Sometimes hypnotic and then disorientating. This is a top shelf synth record from out of the blue and fast becoming one of my favourite records of the year. Cheers to Bataille Solaire and surprises. (thanks to you know who you are for recommending this). I know next to nothing about them which kind of adds to the mystique of it all.



Outer Space - Akashic Record (Events: 1986-1990)



Something must be in the air this week or is it amongst the stars and the planets? This is another LP that is loosely Kosmische in stylee. Finally tracked down this cracker from Outer Space. Beautifully recorded intergalactic electronics on Akachic Record (Events: 1986-1990). They are definitely getting out there into rarely travelled zones. John Elliot from Emeralds along with several other colleagues have probably created the most electric Kosmische LP since, well, the last Emeralds LP. The fidelity of this record has to be experienced through headphones to be believed, it so cool and crisp. This could be the best solo outing ever from an Emeralds member and believe me there have been some real good ones. Usually I think records are too long and could be trimmed a little but this left me wanting more. Spectrum Spools have done it again this year. This must be at least their 4th great release of the year.



Michael Hoenig & Manuel Gottsching

Should really be trying to finish off my Glaring Omissions series but I'm a bit under the weather to be researching/checking facts etc. It was my aim to have the series complete by the years end, we'll see. It has been the most popular thing on my Blog. My two most misspelled words would be Kosmische which is German for cosmic and the other would be Oneohtrix. It's a silly name and I don't care that I spell it wrong every time. What does it mean? I must be dyslexic, for the first couple of years I had the pronunciation as 'on eo thrix' until I noticed the correct spelling. The way to say it apparently is 'one oh trix' which to me now just seems absurd. Anyway speaking of Kosmische I've recently discovered a record I did not know existed within that genre by two of my favourite artists doing a collaboration. Michael Hoenig of Agitation Free, Tangerine Dream and Solo Artist got together with Manuel Gottsching of Ash Ra Temple, Ashra, Cosmic Jokers, Solo Artist and Collaborator Extraordinaire in 1976 to make this fabulous slab of Kosmische music called Early Water. It's an unheralded classic with Manuel/Hoenig in fine form on their respective instruments. It's up there with best Ash Ra records and Hoenig's brilliant Departure From The Northern Wasteland LP. I understand this project remained unreleased for many years, until sometime in the 90s. How could they sit on such gold for so long without unleashing it? 48 and a half minutes of intergalactic guitar and synthesiser bliss. Float free man.

Departure From The Northern
Wasteland - 1978



S/T debut classic-1971





*Ok it was in the Cosmic Egg but I somehow missed it you know how it is

Films??

Just watched the DVD last night of Martha Marcy May Marlene and they forgot to put the ending on it or ran out of money!

I suspect they didn't know how to end it and said 'Yeah it's a thinkpeice, make up your own ending'. Me I quite like a story with a beginning, middle and end. If this film had been dished up to me by a student I would have sent it back with a note 'Can you please have the guts to put an ending on this work otherwise it's an F'. It was quite a good movie up until its abrupt ending. I was quite looking forward to see what happened. Then when it just ended me and The Mrs were just left a little frustrated and slightly angry. We didn't want to think up our own ending. It's a story bloody end it!

So it was a story where a girl ran away from a cult. Was she going to go back?, get killed?or just go the mental hospital like a good girl? Miffed at the abrupt ending I made up my own ending like they wanted. Aliens came down and captured everyone in the film and used them for experiments, the end. The Mrs had a slightly different ending  - a band of squirrels kidnaps them and they have a squirrel tea party, the end.



Chief squirrel plans his ambush before the tea party for
the finale of Dave, Dee, Dozy, Mick and Titch.

*Please leave your own alternative ending in the comments box.

Controversy

Created a little controversy on Twitter and over at The Quietus all about Ariel Pink. I just think he's had all these theories thrust upon him and in one interview was quite frustrated by it all saying he just wrote songs whether they were retro, now or future he couldn't care less. Finally got the vinyl of Ariel's Mature Themes today and there is a lyric sheet but I have not read it yet. Geneva Jacuzzi co wrote Kinski Assassin with Ariel which I didn't know. I may check out out what he says about North Korea in Farewell American Primitive but that's about it.

*Listening to Lucifer by Peaking Lights I was thinking they sound like no one else really which is incredible  in this day and age, but there was one tune on the last record that had a little keyboard interlude (of like 25 seconds) that had me flashing on Laika's Sound Of Satellites record. Then there is another one on Lucifer which had me thinkn very vaguely of Moonshake/Laika, all very tenuous links. Like saying someones similar because they use the same guitar. They are very allusive group! You kind of think surely there's been 10 groups like this before but there haven't.

**Been listening to both the Gary War LP and The Human Teenager one and they are both fantastic. The way they try to be Chrome but just end up sounding like a kids version which is even better because we've already had one Chrome. I think it's pop music. Gary's Pleading For Annihalation could be from a prime era Chrome LP. This Ilitch 10 Suicides record that I only discovered this year seems to have been a secret influence on a lot of this American underground stuff. I think I said at the time Oneohtrix Point Never must be a fan and you can add Gary War and Oneohtrix and War collaborator Taylor Richardson as fans. Then I put on Lamborghini Crystal's Roach Motel and well they got a little closer to Chrome's dementia and Human Teenager were probably listening. Fuck me Roach Motel is one of Ferraro's best efforts, really grimy (not in the D.Rascal sense) and mental.

Chrome-A couple of funny guys.



2008 Classic
Roach Motel - Lamborghini Crystal



Ariel Pink/The Quietus

Fuckin young journo wannabees, how annoying are they? This Joe Kenedy over at The Quietus who reviewed the Ariel Pink Mature Themes LP  was so off  the mark I nearly fell off my chair. I couldn't give a fuck about cultural theorising. I like Ariel Pink because of his music which is mostly fuckin' great. It sounds good to my eardrums! My eardrums like it a lot. Joe do you like sounds in your eardrums or just theorising about stuff to try and get a name for yourself ? My brain says to my eardrums or vice versa, 'Mature Themes again please!' and so I put it on again. That's how listening works for me. I imagine this is how it works for others as well. In on a joke? Are you being paranoid about missing the point? What joke? Snore! Wow you slagged off Ariel Pink, feel better now. Why did I even read this review? Because usually I check The Quietus to see if the great David Stubbs has done anything lately. Joe I can't foresee you joining the ranks of such greats but you are a knob just not a great knob.

*'a knob' is a David Stubbs tongue

Friday Night - The Reels

RE: Swans

Funnily enough playing at Melbourne's ATP heritage/vintage rock festival alongside the reactivated Swans are a band made up some people who were paying very close attention to Swans in thier final days and copped most of their moves from them in this era, Godspeed You Black Emperor! Do they still exist? or are they a vintage act too? It might get a little awkward around Mr Gira .Godspeed's first couple of records were good until that Skinny Fists one and the one after that I couldn't dig either of those at all and then well I lost track of them. They're probably sepulchral as well.

Anyway the dude from Snog is one David Thrussel and is an interesting guy. His radio show had it all Country and Western, Spaghetti Westerns, Soundtracks, electronic music, conspiracy theory and much more. In recent times he's been running the fabulous reissue label The Omni Recording Corporation. They've put out some good gear including Jack & Misty compilations as well as a series of Moog masterpieces including Bruce Haack's classic The Electric Lucifer and Gil Trythall's Country Moog: Switched On Nashville and many other rippers. Well worth checkin out the catalogue, long lost gems everywhere.



Like Nancy & Lee with wah wah and Moog.
One of my favourite discoveries of the last 10 years.
Recorded between 1967 & 1973.



Swans

Mick & Jarboe back in 94 waitin to be hip again, only
15 years to wait.

 Seeing Swans without Jarboe to me would be like seeing The Mac without either Buckingham or Nicks (well Nicks really) Wasn't she integral? She was to me & I loved Swans right up to Soundtracks for the Blind, you know when no one else was listening to them anymore except that dude from Snog who used to have a fuckin great show on PBS. So their resurgence has been quite baffling to me. People my age who'd never heard of 'em/couldn't have cared less about them back in the 80/90s all of a sudden knowing about Swans in the 2010s is a bit weird....... the younger ones I can understand...... anyway whatever the internet makes everyone an instant expert these days and eventually we'll all have the knowledge of the world inserted into our brains and we'll probably have a choice of whose opinions we'd like as well. Soundtracks For The Blind is probs my equal fave LP of theirs along with Children of God. Apparently Jarboe did some backing vocals on a couple of tracks on the new record but she's hardly rejoined the band.

Return To The 4th World

Been diggin on that new mixtape 91 from Pontone by K-Punk aka Mark Fisher Return To The 4th World. It's a trip, it's a journey, a voyage into the Fourth World.  It had me wantin to dig out electric Miles albums to add to my I-Pod and listen to Liquid Liquid - geez they were good and 23 Skidoo and John Hasell. Then wonder who were these others. I probably would have you know included Paul Shcutze, MBV etc.


Fuckn great LP and cover combo

Then I was diggin a different journey. Fabulous Diamonds vision is becoming more singular as they go on. Their vision has narrowed from an almost 4th world esque, (a bit of artistic licence here, give me a break) well open ended experimentalism on the first record to a quest for an almost singular but perfect drone by their third record. It's a pretty, pretty good trance like vibe on this. That drum sound is something else isn't it?  Listening to Liquid Liquid today had me flashing on some of those percussive sounds. I wonder if they're fans? Anyway good stuff/lovin Commercial Music.

ATP

So i got a text today saying you gotta go to the Melbourne ATP, MBV and Einsturzende Neubauten are gonna be there. First thought was I saw both of these groups over 20 years ago when they were in their prime. EN being probably the best thing I've ever seen. It was at the Old Greek Theatre in Richmond Melbourne. The place felt like it was gonna fall apart. I remember seeing some of the lights falling from the ceiling, not being able to breathe due to fog of hardcore Camel/Marlboro smokers, two chicks having sex in the toilet, hardly being able to walk due to empty beer cans piling up to my shins, blood in my eardrums and then there was the music. Which was the most astonishing thing I'd ever seen/heard. It was so physical, intense, noisy (in a controlled manner), loud, mental, expressive and sexy. That was unforgettable. It wasn't rock. It was totally rock'n'roll though.

I saw MBV twice at The Prince Of Wales, St Kilda on the Loveless tour. It's all a bit of a blur really. First show not so good and the other one was tops. I recall having Belinda's set list from one of the shows on my wall for a couple of years. Should I have kept that?

Anyway I guess what I'm getting at it is, it would be like seein The Stones in the 70's compared to like the Stones in the late 90s. Do I want that mind image? I don't know what else is on ie. there could be a bunch of modern stuff that I like like Gary War, Human Teenager, Rangers, Future, ekoplekz, Sun Araw or whoever on the bill but it was the heritage/vintage acts that were pitched toward me as ticketbait. This also happened several weeks ago when I was told Shellac and Moore/Ranaldo (of Sonic Youth) are playing at the Melbourne Festival soon. I saw Shellac around the time of their first LP.  After Sonic Youth's Don't Look Back Daydream Nation show I thought that's the ultimate in this kind of thing, probably need to pull back a bit from the nostalgia now. Actually it was in an ad in a British magazine I had a little chuckle. I thought that Thurston Moore had gone a little too far by touring one of his 90s solo records Don't Look Back Stylee. Psychic Hearts is an ok record but were there people dreaming of that gig for years, say like I was for a Pixies  (they never toured Australia in their original lifetime) or a Smiths reuion. I bet there are some great things on at the Melbourne Festival for all I know Gang Gang Dance are playing. Note to self see who's playing at these things. This whole Vintage/Nostalgia/Heritage Rock thing is startin to you know get a bit whiffy. As I said in my text though if they get Alan Vega & Martin Rev aka. Suicide out of the old peoples home I might come and see some Heritage Rock.