Best of 09

#15 Keith Fullerton Whitman - Taking Away

Whitman has put out 2 great releases this year. The first, Dream House Variations, comes in a 4XCasette box, where each cassette is supposed to be played simultaneously. And being the weirdo he is, he decided to make all the track lengths different, so the possibilities of sound are endless. This release is just 2 behemoth tracks, each with a completely different sound. Track one sounds like someone got a hold of his Playthoughs album, covered it in mud, and threw it in the ocean. This song is filtered so hard it would be fair to call it rape. The second track strays into the cosmos of blips and bloops, with plenty of noisy racket to boot. Parts of it are far from what I would consider "ambient" but I'm throwing this release out here because it's just that damn good.

1: Side A (31:16)
2: Side 1 (31:17)

DOWNLOAD (Sendspace/mp3/256/114mb)

Best of 09

#16 Mariska Baars, Robert Deters & Rutger Zuydervelt - Gris Gris

This album isn't for everyone. In fact, it's probably for no one. I'm merely placing it on the internet for the world to grab in case there is someone who will enjoy it as much as I have. Track one may seem like complete silence for a few minutes, but a quick view of the spectrogram reveals something quite different. Something so delicate it requires an open schedule and a good set of cans to appreciate. Each track is it's own textured loop, giving anywhere from an underwater feel to that pop-glitch style 2009 has been flooded with. This was released on Low Point, which is slowly becoming my label of choice.

1: Gris Gris 1 (16:41)
2: Gris Gris 2 (10:24)
3: Gris Gris 3 (10:20)

DOWNLOAD (Sendspace/mp3/192/49mb)

Best of 09

#17 Sam Goldberg - Winter Hallucinations

Seeing this guy live was one of those trance-like experiences. Just one man, a guitar, and some pedals. He sat on an amp and kept his head down mostly, so I closed my eyes and let the sound travel all around me. There's not much I have to say except this guy does some amazing stuff with a little delay. Hands down some of the best guitar-based drone I've ever heard.

1: Sleet Apologist (5:02)
2: Winter On Bexley (5:04)
3: White Out (5:04)
4: Eight Candles (4:42)
5: February 17th (5:00)
6: Superior Pho (4:43)

DOWNLOAD (Sendspace/mp3/v0/47mb)