Will Guthrie - Sticks, Stones, and Breaking Bones [2012]

mother of god

dl

What, indeed? thinks Snowman. When dealing with indigenous peoples, says the book in his head—a more modern book this time, late twentieth century, the voice a confident female’s—you must attempt to respect their traditions and confine your explanations to simple concepts that can be understood within the contexts of their belief systems. Some earnest aid worker in a khaki jungle outfit, with netting under the arms and a hundred pockets. Condescending self-righteous cow, thinks she’s got all the answers. He’d known girls like that at college. If she were here she’d need a whole new take on indigenous.

“I was telling him,” says Snowman, “that you ask too many questions.” He holds his watch to his ear. “And he’s telling me that if you don’t stop doing that, you’ll be toast.”

“Please, oh Snowman, what is toast?”

Another error, Snowman thinks. He should avoid arcane metaphors. “Toast,” he says, “is something very, very bad. It’s so bad I can’t even describe it. Now it’s your bedtime. Go away.”

“What is toast?” says Snowman to himself, once they’ve run off. Toast is when you take a piece of bread—What is bread? Bread is when you take some flour—What is flour? We’ll skip that part, it’s too complicated. Bread is something you can eat, made from a ground-up plant and shaped like a stone. You cook it… Please, why do you cook it? Why don’t you just eat the plant? Never mind that part—Pay attention. You cook it, and then you cut it into slices, and you put a slice into a toaster, which is a metal box that heats up with electricity—What is electricity? Don’t worry about that. While the slice is in the toaster, you get out the butter—butter is a yellow grease, made from the mammary glands of—skip the butter. So, the toaster turns the slice of bread black on both sides with smoke coming out, and then this “toaster” shoots the slice up into the air, and it falls onto the floor…

“Forget it,” says Snowman. “Let’s try again.” Toast was a pointless invention from the Dark Ages. Toast was an implement of torture that caused all those subjected to it to regurgitate in verbal form the sins and crimes of their past lives. Toast was a ritual item devoured by fetishists in the belief that it would enhance their kinetic and sexual powers. Toast cannot be explained by any rational means.

Toast is me.

I am toast.

Fennel - A Leap Across A Chasm [2010]

My buddy Franciscus is a true artist and one of the few people whose taste in ambient/drone I fully trust. Over the past few years we have sent our doodles and ideas back and forth, and it's been a pleasure to watch his techniques and style grow. This release is his first full length dive into ambient music, and it is professional as well as exceptional. As he finished his last semester at UCSB in Mathematics, Franciscus was overcome with nostalgia and decided to create an album to pay homage to his years on campus. Various field recordings from the area are accompanied by hums and swells, creating a tranquil and smooth album. A sound that is not too far from something Fennesz would do, yet original in its own way.

1: Fluid Boundary / Radiant Yellow, Humid Green (7:18)
2: Hollow Reverie (3:29)
3: Twilit Bioswales (4:44)
4: Windswept Chaparral / Fluid Boundary 2 (9:39)
5: Fabricating Memories (7:18)
6: Zona Glacialis (6:03)

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/320/85mb)

requests

Oneohtrix Point Never - Heart of a Champion (just side A)

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/256/18mb)

Aidan Baker - Broken & Remade

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/v2/87mb)

Celer - Ariill

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/192/91mb)

Celer - Cantus Libres

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/v0/169mb)

Celer - Descender

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/v0/143mb)

Celer - Fountain Glider

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/320/100mb)

Celer - Poulaine

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/320/92mb)

Yagya - Rhythm of Snow

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/v0/110mb)

Gareth Hardwick - Sunday Afternoon

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/320/67mb)

Gareth Hardwick - Waiting for the Penny to Drop
DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/v0/81mb)

Gareth Hardwick - I Dream of Red

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/256/32mb)

Nocturnal Emissions - Songs of Love and Revolution

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/v0/84mb)

Nocturnal Emissions - Magnetized Light

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/192(vbr)/81mb)

Nocturnal Emissions - Tharmuncrape An'goo

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/256/97mb)

Nocturnal Emissions - The World is My Womb

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/256/60mb)

Gregg Kowalsky - Tape Chants a Million

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/192/44mb)

Splash - Slippery Beach / Trashed Gamelan

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/128(vbr)/60mb)

James Ferraro - Marble Surf [2008]

Summer jamz

1: Memory Theater (19:13)
2: Surf Washing on Spring Marble (19:05)

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/192/51mb)

Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal [2010]

I didn't anticipate my request section to blow up like it has, and if I keep getting requests at this rate I may shut it down soon. I'll try and get all those up for you all in the next few days though.

In the mean time, check out this new release by OPN.

1: Nil Admirari (5:06)
2: Describing Bodies (4:19)
3: Stress Waves (5:53)
4: Returnal (4:44)
5: Pelham Island Road (7:37)
6: Where Does Time Go (6:25)
7: Ouroboros (2:04)
8: Preyouandi (6:12)

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/320/95mb)

Mohave Triangles / REALMS

Mohave Triangles is a project my friend Robert Thompson has been working on, and each tape he sends to me gets better. Harsh sawtooth drones mixed with warped vocals and static. Noisy and lulling at the same time, just a massive wall of sound. He also has more tranquil pieces, it's all great stuff in my opinion.

REALMS - Misc. Demos [2009-2010]

REALMS is a project with Robert accompanied by his friend Davis on drums. I don't have all of these releases, so I don't know which is which. I've just attached 4 assorted tracks from various demos.

Agua (17:16)
SEWRLMSMLRWES (6:02)
Tokyo (1:55)
Travels (2:15)
DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/320/60mb)


REALMS - Tehuantepec Demo [2010]


1: The Galapagos Islands (13:25)
2: Orbs (6:54)
3: Channeling (12:43)
4: Cosmic Swells of Conciousness (4:17)
5: Prehistoric Lands (5:53)
DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/320/94mb)


Mohave Triangles - Demos [2010]

Bedroom Synth Jam (2) (6:56)
Eternity Clouds (7:55)
Sabal Beaches (7:35)
Vision Quest 1935 (4:43)
DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/320/60mb)


Mohave Triangles - Astral Holograms [2010]


1: A (14:48)
2: B (14:57)
DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/320/68mb)

soonish is a relative term

it's been a wild ride, time for a new age

next week = new blog
more martial, more noise, tape hiss out the ass

I'm back

request list coming soonish

Celer - Dilué (Diluted) [2007]

Upped by request.
DISCOGS
DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/v0/61mb)

Irezumi - Endurance [2008]

Upped by request.
DISCOGS
DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/256/105mb)

William Basinski - Melancholia [2003]

Upped by request.
DISCOGS
DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/FLAC/150mb)

William Basinski

all rips in v0 (except 1)
available in flac on request

Shortwavemusic [1998]

Watermusic (mp3 192 CBR) [2001]

The River [2002]

Melancholia [2003]












Variations: A Movement In Chrome Primitive [2004]

The Garden of Brokenness [2005]

Variations for Piano & Tape [2006]

El Camino Real [2007]

The River (Alternative Mix) [2008]

HDD crash #5

rage

William Basinski - Vivian & Ondine [2010]

Once again, I'm speechless.

1: Vivian Ondine (45:10)

DOWNLOAD(Mediafire/mp3/v0/68mb)

HDD crash #4

Best of 09

#1 Leyland Kirby - Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was

Some of you know Leyland Kirby as The Caretaker or V/Vm. Others may not know him at all. Either way, this album transcends everything he's done in the past. Kirby began focusing on dreams and memories when he started releasing music under The Caretaker. His music seems to be dedicated to this general theme since then. But The Caretaker tries hard to be spooky and fill a niche. This release under his real name sounds more personal. It's a 3xCD release, totaling nearly 4 hours of music. The biggest standout track to me is the sixth track on cd #2, "I've Hummed This Tune To All The Girls I've Known." He uses an instrument I've only heard from early 80's moog artists. He makes it wail and weep. The first and last tracks are melancholy doodles on the piano with swells of drone, and they are heart breakers.

CD 1: When We Parted, My Heart Wanted To Die (76:40)

1: When We Parted, My Heart Wanted To Die (Friedrichshain Memory) (15:06)
2: The Sound Of Music Vanishing (11:15)
3: The Beauty Of The Impending Tragedy Of My Existence (7:36)
4: And As I Sat Beside You I Felt The Great Sadness That Day (12:52)
5: Tonight Is The Last Night Of The World (9:36)
6: To The Place Between The Twilight And The Dawn (20:15)

CD 2: Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was (78:57)

1: When Did Our Dreams And Futures Drift So Far Apart ? (9:53)
2: Not Even Nostalgia Is As Good As It Used To Be (9:40)
3: Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was (20:26) 4: Stay Light, There Is A Rainbow A Coming (12:16)
5: And Nothing Comes Between The Sadness And The Scream (6:59)
6: I've Hummed This Tune To All The Girls I've Known (12:48)
7: Not As She Is Now But As She Appears In My Dreams (6:55)

CD 3: Memories Live Longer Than Dreams (79:58)

1: Memories Live Longer Than Dreams (8:37)
2: Don't Sleep I Am Not What I Seem, I'm A Very Quiet Storm (13:17)
3: A Longing To Be Absorbed For A While Into A Different And Beautiful World (13:20)
4: Days In The Wilderness (4:17)
5: Stralauer Peninsula (16:56)
6: We All Won That Day, Sunshine (2:44)
7: And At Dawn Armed With Glowing Patience, We Will Enter The Cities Of Glory (Stripped) (10:47)

(disc1/disk2/disk3) (Mediafire/mp3/256/417mb)

Best of 09

#2 Celer - Capri

2009 was the year I really got into Celer. After I gave Capri a try, I fell in love and began grabbing every release I could. Then July came along, and news of Dani's death hit me hard. Will told me each album represents a certain time of their life, and each track is a moment/feeling/experience they shared together. Their sound is so personal, and although the listener will never connect to the songs as closely as the creators, some of the emotion seeps through the swells and it's true beauty shines. Celer has raised the bar for my expectations as far as drone goes, and they have given me a new appreciation for ambient music in general.

1: Mouthfeels Of Capreae (3:03)
2: Polaroid Family Portrait (3:40)
3: Unequal Temperament (2:06)
4: Ascensionaires (3:19)
5: A Pause (0:42)
6: An Erne Of A Sigh (3:00)
7: With Ice, Anent The Steam (1:05)
8: We Missed You Favonian (4:21)
9: Listen To The Inverted Sounds, Falling (2:22)
10: Op.0 (0:33)
11: Is Lands (2:40)
12: Bracelets Passed To Spanish Hands (1:29)
13: Paired Plateaus (2:08)
14: When Ice Makes You Weep (2:13)
15: Transposing Piano (1:08)
16: In Characteristic Form (4:17)
17: Transcribe This Past (1:38)
18: Still Running (3:24)
19: In A Past Of Haze, These Beaches (0:58)
20: I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm (2:19)
21: Sonata For Dual, Unaccompanied Piano (3:04)
22: Craven Gardens (3:51)
23: Lint White (7:27)
24: Others World (1:21)
25: Symtolomny (2:28)
26: Anacapri (4:18)
27: Lists Of Sycophants And Wishing (3:01)
28: Rich Telescopes (4:10)
29: A Sorted Ending (1:18)

DOWNLOAD (Sendspace/mp3/v2/106mb)

Best of 09

#3 William Basinski - 92982

I don't have much to say about this album. It is Basinski in his best form. He gives you a tease of his ability and loops it. The sound washes over you until it becomes ingrained in your being. When my room is at a certain shade of darkness, I can hear the third track of this album. When I ride the trains in the rain, I hear dlp 3. His tracks haunt me, and the more I listen to them, the more goosebumps I get.

1: 92982.1 (12:54)
2: 92982.2 (22:45)
3: 92982.4 (19:59)
4: 92982.3 (7:07)

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/v2/80mb)

Best of 09

#4 36 - Hypersona

Hypersona is the first installment by 36, number 1 in a 3 part series. This album is full of emotion, and whether it makes you happy or sad, it's sure to make you feel something. The sound is hard to pinpoint, but the best way I can explain it is some really dreamy, warm chillout music. Each track floats around with texture and windy static. Cozy stuff, my default album of 09.

1: Signal (1:32)
2: 2249 (2:54)
3: Inside (5:22)
4: Intercept (0:54)
5: The Box (4:55)
6: Nephyr (5:31)
7: Beacon (3:04)
8: Hypersona (5:46)
9: Juliet (3:04)
10: Dream Window (2:01)
11: Forever (5:27)
12: Untitled (0:50)

DOWNLOAD (3six/mp3/v2/65mb)

Best of 09

#5 Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country

Hecker is back again with another massive monolith of an album. If I had to compare it to his other works, I'd say it's like Harmony in Ultravoilet with a more agressive textured sound. Heavy walls of sound mixed with calmer ambient pieces. This album has gotten me through many late night drives, pure bliss when played loud through some nice speakers.


1: 100 Years Ago (3:28)
2: Sea of Pulses (4:41)
3: The Inner Shore (4:17)
4: Pond Life (1:24)
5: Borderlands (4:46)
6: A Stop at the Chord Cascades (4:43)
7: Utropics (1:05)
8: Paragon Point (5:04)
9: Her Black Horizon (1:27)
10: Currents of Electrostasy (3:43)
11: Where Shadows Make Shadows (8:37)
12: 200 Years Ago (4:45)

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/320/95mb)

Best of 09

#6 Gareth Hardwick - Aversions

I'm back from a very nice break, merry christmas to everyone. Hope it was excellent. I've had some serious trouble as to how I should finish this countdown. While I was making the list, I was still downloading new music, and if I had a chance to do it over it would look quite different. No matter though, I'll forge ahead and post the other notable albums when I'm done. This particular release has a strange back story, one that lead Library Tapes, Apalusa, Xela, John Simson, Steinbrüchel, Strategy, Chris Herbert, and Machinefabriek to make guest appearances. Gareth Hardwick has big friends in the ambient industry, and his guitar-based drone is a perfect example of the Low Point sound (the label he runs). While working hard on his new release, a nasty hard drive failure left him with nothing to show. In a dash to release something, he sent out old doodles and samples to his friends, and what came out of it is an album of amazing remixes. Each track is Hardwick's sound accompanied by each artists signature sound. There are also 2 doodles he threw together, which tie up a very pleasing album.

1: Aversions (1:46)
2: Last Heights (Library Tapes Remix) (4:46)
3: David (Apalusa Remix) (11:49)
4: High Tension (Xela Remix) (6:06)
5: Interlude (Ft. John Simson) (1:53)
6: Carnations (Steinbrüchel Remix) (9:04)
7: Last Heights (Strategy Remix) (5:13)
8: Dissolve (Chris Herbert Remix) (11:43)
9: Lost in the Memory (Machinefabriek Remix) (6:49)

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/192/80mb)

Best of 09

#7 Tu M' - Monochromes Vol. 1

Tu M' is an Italian duo that doesn't mess around when it comes to drone. When I listen to them it clicks; I don't know if it's the harmonics they use, the speed of their swells, or some underlying factor. I knew I was in love from the beginning. They mostly do loops with warm overtones. Nothing fuzzy, nothing special, just done right. Kind of like if Stars of the Lid tried to take on Basinski's loop-based style. Perfect for studying/sleep. But don't take my word for it, just give it a try. You wont regret it.


1: Monochrome #01 (14:35)
2: Monochrome #02 (12:49)
3: Monochrome #03 (7:06)
4: Monochrome #04 (20:50)

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/v0/98mb)

Best of 09

#8 Arizona Jaguar - 1993-2009

I was going to put a Driphouse cassette on my list, and then I was thinking about putting a Treetops cassette on my list. Then I found out they did a collab, and guess what? It's the shit. Short and sweet (10 mins). It's early 80's space moog stuff on an acid trip. Ursa knows whats up already, props to no not fun not no

1: A (4:51)
2: B1 (2:57)
3: B2 (2:57)

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/320/16mb)

#9 Chubby Wolf - Meandering Pupa

Chubby Wolf was the moniker of Danielle Banquet-Long, half of the duo Celer. Some of you may know that she passed away this June to heart failure. Although this is a crippling blow, Will (her husband) has informed me that Celer still has around 25 albums to be released, and Chubby Wolf has 9 already lined up with labels. And that's not including re-releases, which he promised as well. Although her death is tragic, her memories and emotions remain in her music. This release is special to me, and although it is short, it makes up for itself in beauty. Calm, peaceful, warm.

1: Anneal This Chord Of Bliss (3:54)
2: Golems Caving In To Rebels (3:48)
3: Before We Get To Grinding (2:34)
4: Melting Upwards (1:22)
5: Barefoot In Head's Hallways (3:49)

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/320/35mb)

edit: you can also download/preview this album in lossy/lossless here

Best of 09

#10 Lawrence English - A Colour For Autumn

When something gets released on 12k, it's basically got a pre-approved gold star rating by me. This label is a force to be reckoned with, and it was quite a challenge for me to not make most of my list solely from their 09 catalog. The first album I heard from Lawrence English was "For Varying Degrees of Winter," which blew me away with its subtlety and texture. This release is the second installment in a series of seasons, representing Autumn from his own perspective. Drones and field recordings, amongst the occasional doodle on guitar. Fennesz has an appearance on track four, with some guitar and sound manipulation. As the album winds down, Lawrence brings back his high pitched ring, almost like a fly buzzing in your ear; however, he finds a way to make it fit with the music rather than give you a headache. Overall it's very tranquil.

1: Droplet (6:49)
2: Watching It Unfold (5:49)
3: The Prelude To (2:16)
4: The Surface Of Everything (5:01)
5: Galaxies Of Dust (5:23)
6: Stillness In Motion (5:35)
7 ... And Clouds For Company (6:21)

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/v0/60mb)