John Coltrane - Offering: Live at Temple University,1966 (Resonance, 2014)

Today is my Holy Day, my only holy day. Sept. 23, 1926, my hero, John Coltrane,was born, and there is no better gift to the world than a never before released live concert. This show was unearthed in 2005 and sees its first proper christening today by (Resonance Records).

Recorded just months before his death, This Philly show saw Trane pushing all limits. His health was declining and he knew the end was nigh. Mind you, this is a year or so after McCoy Tyner told someone that Trane was playing so hard that blood was spewing from his mouth. At one point, he removes the sax and begins chanting, and changing vocalization by beating his chest. This was at the point where he felt he had pushed the instrument to its furthest extent, and the only maneuver beyond was to cut out the middle man and push from the depths of his diaphragm.

As far out as he gets here, with Alice Coltrane, Rashied Ali, Pharoah Sanders and a crew of Philly based percussionists, he returns to finish with his rendition of "My Favorite Things", a fan favorite. The drastic departure from the extremes to finish with this was FOR his fans. He never forgot that his spiritual quest could never have launched and finished without those people that loved him.

Trane's body was dying, and the end was soon. He didn't succeed or fail, because,as he would have told you, there is no beginning or end, just the journey.

Recorded November 11, 1966
Mitten Hall, Temple University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Featured Artists: John Coltrane – soprano & tenor saxophones, flute & vocals

Pharoah Sanders – tenor saxophone & piccolo

Alice Coltrane – piano Sonny Johnson – bass

Rashied Ali – drums

Additional musicians include: Steve Knoblauch, Arnold Joyner – alto saxophone Umar Ali, Algie DeWitt, Robert Kenyatta – percussion

Resonance Records, which is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit foundation, will contribute a portion from every sale to the John Coltrane Home (www.thecoltranehome.org), an organization devoted to the preservation of Coltrane’s former home in Dix Hills, New York.

TRACK LIST:

DELUXE 2 CD DIGI-PACK
Disc One
01. Naima (16:28)
02. Crescent (26:11)

Disc Two
03. Leo (21:29)
04. Offering (4:19)
05. My Favorite Things (23:18)

DELUXE 2 LP GATEFOLD
Side A
Naima (16:28)

Side B
Crescent (26:11)

Side C
Leo (21:29)

Side D Offering (4:19) My Favorite Things (23:18)

New Album Coming from One of My Favorite Artists on My Favorite Record Label.

As you may know, I have a Modern Love addiction. The Manchester label has been running my life for the past few years, and I've just come to accept it. Their somewhat commercially successful artist is Andy Stott. His last album, "Luxury Problems" was my favorite album of 2012.

The new album (Nov. 17) is to be a similar outing in aesthetic, but will include some vocal pop structure more traditional than on the last record. The press release states: “straddles analogue club music and vocal pop songs, somewhere between Ron Hardy, Prefab Sprout, Dome, Actress, Cocteau Twins and Arthur Russell.”

I'm enjoying the sample track. See what you think:

Survival Unit III: Game Theory (Not Two, 2013)

"Joe McPhee: Not selling out since 1967". This was something I jokingly said to a friend a few years ago. Luckily, it still stands. McPhee is 74 years old and continues to shine. He is one of the oldest American jazz icons. You many know him from his work with a multitude of musicians: Pauline Oliveros' "Deep Listening Band", Peter Brotzmann, William Parker, Ken Vandermark, Evan Parker, Mats Gustafson, Jeb Bishop, The Thing, etc. He is a good example of the effect American jazz has had on Europe. Due to his success there, he's never had to sign to a major American label.

With the latest project, he continues to explore. This time, in a phenomenal trio that includes Michael Zerang on drums, and Fred Lonberg-Holm on electronics. "Game Theory" is four tracks of predominantly reserved and controlled experiments. Though intense and busy, it still comes across as meditative, i.e., minimal on the "Brotzmann Bursts". These three know each other extremely well and they definitely push the limits of control. Forward thinking music doesn't get any better than this.

Demdike Stare - The Weight of Culture (Self-released, 2013) CS

One of the finest architects of modern experimental music, the duo of Miles Whittaker and Sean Canty, offers a sampling of crate digging tastes and its even far better than you'd expect.





http://www.discogs.com/Demdike-Stare-The-Weight-Of-Culture/release/4295738

R.I.P. Charlie Haden

Where do I begin? I don't know. Maybe "The Shape of Jazz to Come"? How do you even talk about such an amazing person? What's there to say about someone who actually "shaped jazz to come"?

As I age, many of my icons are passing away, and even though he was 76, it still hurts. This is a monumental loss. Just take a look at his discography. Read it slowly, take it all in. It will make your head spin.

This is one of the most gigantic figures in the history of music. He will be greatly missed.

Swans - To Be Kind (Young God, 2014)

A few days ago, I finally sat down and listened to this two hour long epic. I had been skeptical. I thought there was no way they had the stamina to keep it up. I hadn't listened because I didn't want to be disappointed.

I was wrong... so wrong. This album is, once again, perfect. This incarnation of Swans over the past three albums is the greatest rock collective of all time. The utmost at conveying in musical terms, the beauty and brutality of human existence.

I wanted to write a review but after reading Adam Kivel's review for Consequence of Sound, I changed my mind. I can't touch his. He absolutely nailed it. I strongly urge you to read his thoughts HERE.

Here is Gaspar Noe's film "Enter the Void" with the complete "To Be Kind" album as the score:


Swans - To Be Kind [2014] + Enter The Void - Gaspar Noé [2009] (EXP EDT) from Raphael Mandra on Vimeo.

Murmur - S/T (Season of Mist, 2014)

Chicago metal band Murmur has returned with an eponymous sophomore effort that is nothing less than brilliant. To be honest, it took me off guard. The diversity of styles is overwhelming, the playing is loose yet polished, and the theme shows a great deal of growth and maturity.

This could be a tricky one for those of you that find the avant garde aesthetic a bit much to handle. The record begins with a wash of ambient free improvisation, launches into a traditional blast beat, then cycles through experimental waves of progressive (yes, King Crimson), 80's, tribal polyrhythms, acoustic, noise, jazz, and post-rock. They even break down a 70's hard rock ballad. Vocals are blackened, occasionally clean melodic harmonies, and some atonal rants, although the bulk of the album is instrumental.

What strikes me is that even though packing all of this into the same recording sounds as if it would be too busy and math rock'ish, it is not. Murmur's delivery still feels casual and uncomplicated. Most notably, this may be the most interesting metal drummer I've heard in years. At times, due to his style, it's easy to forget this is a metal record at all.

I must admit, I've never been much on prog, yet my heightened sensitivity levels came through unscathed.
This feels more like a lush and fantastic voyage through a faraway--Wait... I think the prog elements just drugged me.

Bohren & Der Club of Gore - Piano Nights (Ipecac, 2014)

One of my favorite bands of all time has returned with their eighth album. Have they changed the formula? Have they reinvented the wheel? Have they altered course for new destinations in uncharted regions? No on all counts. Nothing is different. Their concoction of ambient doom and jazz meets lounge need not change. The adagio / requiem is a perfectly haunting and romantic melancholy to soothe the thinker's soul. With sax, keys, bass and drums so flawlessly executed and painstakingly slow, the patience required to play this music seems an other worldly talent. These German masters win me over yet again. Timeless.

Listen to the full album here or on Spotify below:

Happy Birthday, Don!****Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - The Spotlight Kid (Reprise, 1972)

Its the only album that was credited soley to Don van Vliet. He wanted to make something a little more accessible. A little bit of bread was appealing. The band was barely eating, living off handouts. They hadn't made any money in three years. What did he do that was so radical? What did he do that made the band hate this collection of songs? What kind of extraordinary preposterous great lengths did he go to?

He wrote some slower songs. Yep, Downtempo. That's all. Slowing these songs down made his vocals feel more like a delta blues singer, garnering a bit of a new audience. This period of time was so tumultuous that the whole band almost abandoned him. Granted, there were more details, like Vliet throwing one of the guitarists into a dumpster as a metaphor. I'm sure the communal residence scenario probably began driving hungry unsatisfied musicians into emotional outbursts of all kinds.

Regardless, this is actually my favorite of his records. Go on, disagree. Lester Bangs liked it, so I stand my ground.

Here's one of my favorite live clips from that album era:



And here's the album in its entirety:

Oxbow - An Evil Heat (Neurot, 2002)

Let's get one thing clear right off the bat: Eugene Robinson's stage personnae is a manifestation of the devil. This six foot plus, muscle bound titan of a man ( a professional fighter and published author on the subject of fighting) wears only his briefs while jumping around stage singing about the most vile things imaginable. I've always compared him to a lyricist as dark and twisted as Nick Cave but without the confusing and beautiful poetic qualities. Don't get me wrong, there is a definitive poetry to Oxbow and their particular aesthetic, its just not pretty in any way. Think Michael Gira and David Yow both transplanted into the body of a heavyweight UFC champion. Oxbow has also been compared to "a spoiled Birthday Party".

Oxbow makes a bizarre blend of avant garde metal, blues, noise and odd time signatures of melancholy hardcore. Don't assume their just another stoner / sludge band because they release on Neurot. They are completely different from everything else, not just on the label, but anywhere.

The narrative of the album feels like a Faust story set in the crack house of the rising sun. This is unnerving, biting, cynical, depressing and nihilistic music. Unabashed hate, violence and misery is what you'll get here. Nothing else.

Oxbow is one of the greatest and most underrated bands of all time.



Listen to a playlist of the album here:

Tashi Dorji - Improvisations for Guitar (Headway Recordings, 2012)

Bhutanese guitarist Tashi Dorji is an exceptional musician, and a multi-instrumentalist who happens to excel on guitar. Live you can expect either an intense avant garde onslaught of Derek Bailey style electric or beautiful experimentations mostly on the acoustic, which is what is presented on this cassette release.

Over the course of about forty minutes, Dorji runs the gamut of his instruments possibilities. From pastoral pieces to John Fahey-inspired americana to Indian raggas to stabbing primal aggression. All of this is provided with a constant sense of grace and humility.

In the new school of experimental guitarists, Dorji fits well alongside Bill Orcutt and Glenn Jones.



Purchase the cassette here

Cult of Youth - A Stick to Bind, A Seed to Grow (Dais, 2008)

Is it possible? Could it be that a Gothic Neo-folk record can exist without utterly emulating Death in June? Could this also be an American artist? Why, yes, its actually happened. Sean Ragon has recorded an acoustic guitar driven album ripe with that martial sounding european pop intensity that we all know and love. He nods to many artists here, DIJ, Current 93 and I even hear a little Bad Seeds thrown in for good measure. I'm impressed and very excited about this debut full length. There is also a new one out on the ever impressive Sacred Bones label. Eat this one up.

Get It Here

tUnE-yArDs - WHOKILL (4AD, 2011)

Yes, the name looks absurd. That’s because this is a soundtrack to the theatre of the absurd. The calculated cacophony of Oakland songstress and producer Merill Garbus is some of the most oddly attractive yet puzzling music I’ve heard recently. No wave / post-punk / indie / dance pop that Laurie Anderson and the ghost of John Cage would drunkenly dance to.

The first track verbally introduces us to the character that she is, an anti-diva, anti-M.I.A and anti-inhibition personality with impressive instrumental talent and an incredibly commanding vocal range and presence. A sort of “I am awkward, hear me roar’ mystique. Gifted and unbelievably different, she dispels any attributes of her initial outing Bird Brains.

The first four tracks, “My Country”, “Es-so”, “Gangsta” and “Powa” bang out bizarre but rocking dancefloor numbers. Then with “Riotriot”, she eases into a delicate ballad that seems timely, only to twist the mellow vibe a couple minutes in, creating some kind of psychological carnage.

“Bizness”, the proverbial hit of the record, showcases a beautiful horn section with a very soulful and passionate vocal delivery.

“Doorstep” delivers with one of the most avant-garde vocal cuts on the album. “You Yes You” is essentially a cryptic funk track complete with discordant electric guitar rhythms.

Then there is is finally rest for the weary listening traveler. “Wooly Wolly Gang” is a somber and sweet lullaby admirable for its simplistic line-up of vocal track, acoustic guitar and drum machine, but one that still has a haunting and somewhat disconcerting nature, in keeping with the rest of the record.

Wrapping things up is “Killa”, a peppy and positive fly-girl number that reaffirms Garbus’ female confidence and audacity, one that again confuses by feeling as if its as comfortable in the Caribbean as it is in the club.

African pop, funk, R & B, and jazz are all homogenized with honest acoustic folk pop; however, the lyrical material is ripe with extremely relative themes of self-image, race and gender issues. She takes nothing as lightly as it sounds. This is heavy and intense music that I find difficult to call pop. She deserves better.

This post originally appeared as an article I wrote for Adequacy.net

Get It Here

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Arthur Russell - World of Echo (Audika, 1986)

Arthur Russell is one of the most fascinating characters in pop history. He grew up in Iowa a classically trained musician, moved to San Francisco to join a Buddhist monastery (where he couldn't devote completely due to his love for a single material possession: his cello), later moved to New York City to make dance music, and finally withdrew from it all to make this intimate avant-garde masterpiece.

World of Echo showcases the man and his cello with minimal electronic effects. Its interesting that Russell was buddhist because of the non-dualistic nature of the relationship between voice and instrument. Here, the voice is cello / cello is voice. It is also significant that the direction of the album feels incredibly natural, a meandering through casual states of contemplation on an electro-acoustic journey. And when this journey is sometimes met by tension, these obstacles are pacifically avoided.

This is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever recorded. Still today, Russell's impact can be felt in all areas of avant-garde, minimal classical, art pop and experimental music. Russell had the voice of an angel and the heart of a bodhisattva. Unfortunately, this genius, much like many of his contemporaries, surrendered to AIDS in 1992, leaving us wondering what additional brilliance could have been.

Get a World of Echo Here

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