Otomo Yoshihide – "Guitar Solo Live 1" (Amoebic – AMO-CDR.1) 1999

 Ay Up, Ornette Coleman gets name-dropped!? This must be too intelligent for us?

Sampler toting Ground Zero free jazzer and turntablist Otomo Yoshide, shows us what he can and can't do on the ol' six string.

As for the 'Cover Version',he could have been covering anything as far as i can hear? Did I hear a hint of Aqua's smash-hit about Barbie partying......well possibly,but maybe it's more Klaus Barbie partying rather than the top selling gender stereotyping tool for square moms and pops everywhere.

Otomo suitably makes his guitar,"recorded in 'F'" it says here, scream for help as he strangles its slender neck with various devices rattling its vertebrae like a ligature garroting the neck of proper music;Derek Bailey in a bad mood style. So maybe i'll seem like a clever sod too, record my vacuum cleaner and call it a cover of Albert Ayler's 'Bells'.

This was limited to 50 copies it reckons,of which this isn't one.It's impossible to have limited editions these days Otomo,didn't you know that?

Now to get back to my current Dark Folk obsession and weep myself to sleep during my ongoing existential crisis like the snowflake i wanna be. In fact i may do an Otomo Yoshihide version of Sandy Denny's "Late November" later on before I open the first can of strong continental lager and kill myself.

Tracklist:

1 Document 1 7:30
2 Document 2 29:15
3 Document 3 - Lonely Woman
Written-By – Ornette Coleman 16:00
4 Document 4 12:20

DOWNLOAD otomo solo HERE!

Silver Apples and Spectrum ‎– "A Lake Of Teardrops" (Space Age Recordings ‎– ORBIT 016CD) 1999

What a nice career junkie Pete 'Sonic Boom' Kember was? Rescuing all these forgotten electronic heroes from the trash heap. Like Delia Derbyshire, respect due, Peter Zinovieff, and Simeon Coxe of the Silver Apples.
Recorded in Coventry(uk) no less,whose concrete brutalist vista's of fly-overs and piss soaked underpasses seem to suit electronic music far more than those horrible Ska-revival bands that the place is more famed for.
If this was the Apples fourth album,it may have rivaled 'Contact' as their best. A drug hazed electronic fog of bleeps,swirls and analogue sweeps that would have fit nicely tacked onto the end of an episode of Dr Who in 1963.

Tracklist:

1 Streams Of Sorrow 5:12
2 Sixth Sense 0:55
3 The Edge 4:17
4 Second Sight 0:31
5 Whirlwind 5:22
6 (I Don't Care If You) Never Come Back 2:36

DOWNLOAD from the lake of teardrops HERE!

Reverof Zrem (Jaap Blonk) ‎– "Ursonate" (Jaap Blonk Self-released) 1999

Apart from Hugo Ball's seminal work with language invention and vocal sounds,the other Dadaist of note in Jaap the sound poet's life was Kurt Schwitters,Though initially associated with German Dada, he later started his own one-man movement Merz, and published a magazine of that name. Like Ball before him, he made a smart move and left Germany before world war two,via oslo,then settled in that hell-hole of English country living, Ambleside, in the gloriously lovely Lake District of England.Life was hard as a sound artist.
The earlier version of "Ursonate" that Jaap did in 1986, was prohibited by Schwitters' son Ernst. He wouldn’t allow any other versions of the work except his fathers' one. The pressing was officially destroyed and unofficially went underground.So,as you can guess, we don't have it here,except this live version from 1998,live in Norway,which seems to be the modern home for sound poetry.
The house that Kurt had created in a Dada style from 1923-37 in Hannover, the Merzbau, was responsible for the naming of Merzbow,the prolific japanoise artist,rather than Jaap-a-noise. The original Merzbau was destroyed by the RAF in 1943,very likely by a bomb dropped by my fathers plane.A more Dadaist ending to this story I cannot imagine;but why it wasn't destroyed by the Nazi's before that I find incredible! Classsic Degenerate Art by any Nazi standards.


Tracklist:

1 Erster Teil
2 Largo
3 Scherzo À La Zrem
4 Presto

DOWNLOAD ursonation from jaap's eye HERE!

Kathy Acker ‎– "Redoing Childhood" (Kill Rock Stars ‎– KRS 349) 1999

A posthumous release of that potty mouthed punk poetess',the late Kathy Ackers' "Redoing Childhood".
I do sense that everytime she says the word "Cunt" there's a tiny inkling of discomfort in her voice,like she's doing something naughty and her parents might be listening.She does,however use the word as a Noun rather than an adjective,or a verb.Reclaiming this female body part as just that rather than an insult.
Of course, using sweary words and being naughty was what everyone thought 'Punk' culture was all about.The more expletives one used the more ...er...Punk(?)... you were.Punk as invented by The Daily Mirror that is.
Certainly, there's far more depth to Kathy Acker's use of these words than some silly twat with a Mohawk shouting "Punks Not Fucking Dead Yoo Cunts"; but as these cuss words are unecessarily inserted in every form of media, they have lost their negligable effect, and become sanitized.The ability for words to shock in such a way has ended. The real shocking stuff comes from the normal language the modern human uses to explain away why they don't want refugees living next door,why women who wear make-up are 'asking for it' or why Climate Change is a hoax. Its the mundane words that have inherited the shock value,'The Banality Of Evil' as it were. 'Fuck' and 'Cunt' are now words that should be used exclusively to descibe these people who have ,supposedly,lost their faith in politicians (ahhhhh?)believe conspiracy theories but disbelieve the media. A stance taken by former 'king of the punks' and contemporaneous potty mouth alongside Kathy Acker, Johnny 'Trump fan' Rotten..The difference being, Ackers intelligence is obviously more than a tool to ease ones self-esteem problem.
I thought thats what I wanted too  growing up during the Punk Rock era, but the real effect of this self-dumbing culture of the 21st century is a self imposed dictatorship,in which consorship is almost complete in a flood of redefined Truths. As Michael Gove said,"the Public have had enough of Experts"......so that leaves non-experts, i suppose, to run our destiny?....hmmmm, comforting.
So what better reminder of those good old shocking days,when calling someone a 'Fucking Rotter' on national TV made world headlines ;on the only day that ladies are allowed to ask a man to marry them,(the 29th of feb,if you were lucky enough to not know?),than the unromantic,fucked up and violent, post-modern world of Kathy Acker to remind you that we're well and truly Fucked you bunch of Fucking Cunts.


Tracklist:

1 President Bush
2 Miss Savage's School For Girls
3 The Temple Of Eros
4 A Country That I've Never Seen
5 I Will Stay With You Tonight
6 Hotel Etoile Rouge
7 Outside The Law, Which Is Language
8 The Female Doctor
9 Hotel Of Lilac Eyes
10 Face To Face With Death

HERE's yer fucking DOWNLOAD cunts

Charles Manson ‎– "The Way Of The Wolf" (Pale Horse Incorporated ‎– PH0013) 1999

The thing about hippie with guitar music, is that you're supposed to listen to the words maaaaan,listen to the wooooooorrrrdddddddsssss!
Certainly Chuck thought of himself as a philospher and a poet, but its just sounds like a jumble of confused nonsense to me......don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with confused nonsense, in fact I love confused nonsense maaaaaaaaan. As long as the purveyor of such nonsense doesn't think he's Shakespeare ,Plato and Che Guevara combined. Which Charlie ,being a mentalist with delusions of grandeur, does...or,did, being dead'n'all mutherfuckers!
Nearly everything Charlie Maddox says or sings has one wondering what the Fuck is he going on about!?
Of course, his 'fans' will say 'that's because its way above your head maaaaaaaaan.Too deep for your mother fucking mind to comprehend'. I dig that Manson is against the man maaaaan, and their system maaaaan, and an environmentalist as well as just a mentalist.That's why he uses the paranoids catchphrase 'They' a lot when he tries to explain who his imaginary enemy is. 'They' being the 'Man' and other obvious forces of oppression.
I very proud to say that 'I ain't Cool' to this garbage,but the environmental kick is something everybody should be into, even cult leaders or mass murderers.
This album contains more Manson Music and some bonus conversation recorded on cassette in jail in the 1980s, and smuggled out to sell to useful idiots like me.It's just interesting to get an insight into the mind of a maniac,and a peek into the prison existence of a lifer.The banality of the 'Prison Coversation' that concludes this collection,is intruiging.The phrase, 'The Banality Of Evil' was used to describe Adolf Eichmann,but it can easily be applied to Charles Manson also;but what else does one do during ones incarceration?
I notice he talks about 'The Ranch' a lot.If only he didn't conspire to kill innocent people and start a race war he would still have been on his ranch,playing his chugging hippie folk tunes to adoring dumb young ladies and even dumber males.
But whats certain is that no-one would have ever heard his music,or even his name outside of 'the Ranch', not even The MAN, maaaaaan.

Tracklist:

1 In Your Music Mind 4:14
2 I'm Doin' Fine/Stars/Friends 6:56
3 Dream Train/My Oklahoma Angel Love 3:23
4 Indian War Song 1:37
5 ATWA: Message To The People Of The Earth/Computer Perfection 13:04
6 Universal Law 7:19
7 Blind Sky 1:26
8 All In The Motions 2:53
9 In The Infinite Mind 3:00
10 Red Snake 7:34
11 Eternal Wind 2:33
12 Dead Grass Growing In The Garden 2:07
13 Major 2:38
14 Prison Conversation 7:43

DOWNLOAD the wit and wisdom of Charlie HERE!

Haunted House ‎– "Up In Flames" (Erstwhile Records ‎– erstwhile 002) 1999

Loren Mazzacane Connors wasn't always alone,or in a short lived duo with various scenesters,he was also,occasionally, in a group. Haunted House was the appropriate moniker for LMC's ghostly guitar apparitions, but this time enhanced by some slow motion Psychedelic whig outs. Its kinda like My Bloody Valentine or Loop played at 16 rpm,over the more sublime moments from that This Mortal Coil LP,but improvised.This could have been on Creation Records if they had a less nebulous singer,or a drummer, and the Label owner wasn't such a ginger twat.

DOWNLOAD these haunting tunes HERE!

Vibracathedral Orchestra ‎– "Music For Red Breath" (Self-released CD-r) 1999

Like an AMM of the nineties, Vibracathedral regularly exhaled red breath into the underground Drone praries of the UK turn of the millenium underground scene, like an Edgar Allen Poe novel that just repeated the same word over and over again, but all in different fonts. Like the novel Jack Torrence was working on in 'The Shining' (the movie), "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy".
Except in this version, us the listeners are Wendy,Vibracathedral replace Penderecki and this time Jack gets her and bludgeons her, and Danny to death with the Baseball Bat.
Well....I'm just nipping off to Room 237,so in the meantime, i'll leave you with this text extract and a free download of this Vibracathedral Drone epic, alternatively called 'Music to cure your Bad Breath'.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

Tracklisting:

1 Train Tunnels / Railyard
2 Train Tracks / Fields
3 Late Night Street / Train Station At Night / Hallway
4 Brontis' Bedroom / Brontis' Backyard
5 Future Bedroom / Future Bathroom
6 Stairwell / School Classroom
7 Boys' And Girls' Bathrooms
8 Pharmacy
9 Train Tunnel

DOWNLOAD all work and no play makes jonny a duller boy HERE!

Courtiszan - "Meretrix" (ZH27 - 606) 1999

Two more prolific collaborators a-collaborating.
That's right, its Reynols guitar nutter, Anla Courtis,and Zan Hoffman, that grinning loony and one man cassette and Cd-r production line.
This single track is not unlike the noise emitted by a concrete mixer full of fire alarms,ringing telephones,various bells and steel bars,mixed in with some hardcore and coarse gravel.All accompanied by the random crunching of crisp bags (potato chips for our north american friends).
But then that's what one would expect from this unhinged duo,is it not?

DOWNLOAD some abstract hardcore collage HERE!

Reynols ‎– "Polos Mosco" (Freedom From ‎– FF0101) 1999

How do you describe the Band,Group,Lifeform, called Reynols? They come from Argentina,yes, but there is nothing about them that you could describe as Argentinian,or South American, or even from Planet earth. There is something primordial about this music, squeezed out from between the elemental membranes that make up reality. Channelled from the invisible endless reservoirs of ,what those scientist chaps call, Dark Energy.This untraceable force that is repulsing all matter away from itself towards an inescapable oblivion, but at the same time is feeding its profound message through a 47 chromosome-d enlightening conductor, Miguel Tomosin, into the digital medium and consequently into our subconscious.

This is the zenith of Outsider-Garde, free music guided gently only with the gentlest of editorial control,moulding the echo from the ever expanding brain in the centre of reality; this is what that extra chromosome was intended for. The true reality made visible through the invisibility of Noise,anti-matter drumming, and the singing in tongues style of Tomosin. Universal consciousness doesn't discriminate,you're only disabled if you can't understand this cleansing racket.The next time you are unfortunate enough to encounter an accidental viewing of MTV or, god forbid, the X-Factor! Play this record to wipe your mind clean of the filth, press the reset button,and start again, free from corrupting influences. Evil walks this earth,so protect yourself from its effects with this cathartic primal band/group/lifeform, and breath again.

Well, its either that or we are listening to a bunch of complete nutjobs!? You decide,you're either with us or against us?

Tracklist:

1	Intro-Zarzafrán
2	Lohr Pocheros Misulini
3	Masiamo Tupido
4	Nanes Fermo Tenoro
5	No Caras Repuliom
6	Rasoyo Jisos
7	Alclorse
8	Banso Elecrica
9	Vijitano Pelse Un
10	Pero Un Croto Catula
11	Lo Carrera
12	Ditudo Bonto Tus

 
DOWNsLOAD polo's from moscow HERE!

Alternative Downs from HERE!

Jandek - "The Beginning" (Corwood 0766) 1999

With a cover picture from the same roll of film used for "On The way";this is a fine return to the 'pure' Jandek sounds of Six and Six, the production is murky, vocals thick with reverb and the guitars plunk and strut along in a bluesy swagger.The biggest farewell to the 20th century comes with the reality-twisting-Black Hole that is the title track. A fifteen minute dirge on a new instrument....the piano — that sounds like the first thrill you got when you played a piano as a kid and you thought you could play flashy all over the keyboard like  Liberace,.....but ended up sounding more like Les Dawson,rather than Bobby Crush. Jandek actually plays the piano with the same manic gusto that he plays guitar, occasionally bashing it, occasionally finding moments of Sun Ra like beauty.The beginning from the end of the last century.

Tracklist:

1	It's February	2:04
2	You Standing There	3:05
3	I Never Left You Anyway	4:00
4	Moving Slow	3:58
5	Falling Down Deep	4:32
6	Lonesome Bridge	4:00
7	A Dozen Drops	6:17
8	The Beginning	15:29

DOWNLOAD from the beginning HERE!

Volcano The Bear ‎– "The Inhazer Decline" (United Dairies ‎– UD 055) 1999

Bookish Leicester Quartet, Volcano the Bear's, first 'proper' LP, on Nurse with Wound's United Dairies imprint, from the end of the 20th Century.
Shove The Residents, Renaldo and the Loaf, Nurse with Wound, Current 93, This Heat,and some carefully selected 'Krautrock', into a Kenwood Chef, and you could possibly end up with this. Plenty of silly voices,Dada-esque lyrics,daft noises, and a veritable rainbow of instruments,played with varying levels of skill and incompetence.Ladles full of 'Too clever by half' poured copiously over the finished product,although the constant invention keeps that particular irritation at bay.
Can get a bit silly, but was there anybody else doing this in 1999?.....er.....probably; but not quite as effectively.

DOWNLOAD the decline of somebody's empire HERE