LTFR 1204 – Cursillistas – ‘Observe Ember Weeks’ LP $15
Observe Ember Weeks is the final Cursillistas “studio” album, momentarily lost to time as Herbcraft took flight, now seeing a brief light-of-day. Written, recorded, and mixed concurrently with Wasp Stings (Digitalis), Joint Chiefs (Digitalis), and several small-run/tour-only releases between 2007-2009, O.E.W. touches on elements and styles of all these while also marking a return to a more song-based rural folk psychedelia. Nylon-string minor-key folk-pop commingles with naive noise experiments, breathless first-take improvisation, multi-tracked “full band” jams, wah’ed fuzz guitar abandon, electric slide glide, heavy tom-thumps & tambourine shakes, all presented with Cursillistas’ trademark rich reverb treatment and multi-layered vocals. This is perhaps the peak Cursillistas experience in all its bedroom glory, the fitting final chapter to a project that never stayed still for too long, and the definitive collection of the tunes that made up much of Cursillistas’ live set from 2007-2009. Deluxe 150-gram virgin black vinyl held in a 4-color, 5-layer silkscreened art paper jacket, with two-sided full-color pro-printed glossy heavy stock insert, hand-numbered to 225.  Many thanks to you heads who pre-ordered the vinyl… your copies are on their way as I type this. I want to note that the photos do not nearly do justice to the silkscreen work Emily Johnson (of Lightning strike Lightning) did on these jackets… in real life they are quite stunning and, as one customer put it, “more than subtly-psychedelic.” Test drive the tunes at the Curs-Camp and head on over to the storefront to order!

WEBSITE

MM001 STEFANO PILIA  – ‘Strings’ 12€
CD edition of 300.  A sublime constellation of sound miniatures divided into 3 long tracks (at once random and simultaneous) of delicate field recordings and found objects transformed and woven into intricate electronic tapestries, a slowly building “ambient” work with a unique sense of melancholy. Strings is a diary composition began in 2004, a series of subtle epiphanies followed by a somewhat enigmatic resolve or ‘answers’,  richly spacious explorations that appears suspended in time, with distant landscapes and hallucinogenic excursions into further uncharted territories. “My work has become progressevly concerned with the research of the sculputural dimensions of sound and it’s relations with space, memory and time suspension both through instrumental executional-experimental practices (mainly on guitar and dbass) and investigations into the recording and production process”.

MM004 NICOLA RATTI – ‘Cathode Deafness’ C22 6€
Edition of 100.  Two cathode ray tube televisions , a tape loop and an echo-looper pedal. The intent is to explore through the two televisions the emptied ether due to the shifting of the TV channels from the aerial signal to the digital . The CRT television becomes a deaf machine, an end in itself, a sort of “bachelor machine”. The recordings are the result of a series of live improvisations.

WEBSITE

Sawi Lieu and I\D split CDr $7(US)
Wild filtered synthetic loops and layers, and joyful experimentation populate this split CDR between Indonesian artist Sawi Lieu and I\D, a group from Singapore. Sawi Lieu’s contribution features unpredictable filter sweeps and building synthetic layers. I\D’s improvisation and experimentation feature wild interplay between guitar, drums, and noisemakers, contrasted against hypnotic guitar sequences.

I\D – ‘Midnight Hot’ CD $10(US)
I\D play a type of acid-fusion, building their abstract elements into tense crescendos and structured jams driven by drums and guitar. The development of their noise is blissful, experimental, and completely free — there is a willful feeling of exploration and creation. Yet, it’s not simply outsider jazz or unfocused wanking; the driving, start-and-stop explorations display willful explosion of genre expectations while establishing their own parameters through their instrumental interaction. 2009 release.

I\D – ‘Elite, Kvlt, and Irrevocably Tr00’ C60 $10(US)
Heavy on the unrestrained noise throughout, I\D dabble in extremely percussive free improvisation and experimentation. Off-kilter blues contrast unclassifiable synthetic noise, wailing, and heavy percussion. 2007 release.

Emporium – ‘Vision’ CS
A personal set from ‘Spective proprietor Nicholas Zettel, featuring a culmination of summertime drone exercises and tape manipulation. Opening with ethereal atmosphere, this set of four songs meanders through two-channel follow-and-response folk, followed by reverb circuitry manipulation and backwards tape exercises.

The Leavitt Ours – ‘Return’ C26 $7(US)
Beneath the shadows of Chicago’s fuzzier and heavier psychedelic sounds, The Leavitt Ours perform experimental pop in the private press tradition. In order to develop and produce their own reflective spaces and musical statements, the trio embrace aggressive ambient soundscapes, synthetic guitar tones, eclectic percussion rhythms, and driving keyed bass and synthesizer backbones.

various – ‘Vital-Sound I’ C62 $7(US)
Atlanta and Chicago psych bands split this compilation, presenting everything from paisley, drone, and repetitious instrumentals to acid blues, pure noise, and doom is covered here. Atlanta contributors are Sovus Radio, Soft Opening, The N.E.C., All The Saints, Brainworlds, and The Sunny Muffdivers. Chicago contributors are Implodes, The Great Society Mind Destroyers, The Leavitt Ours, and Killer Moon.

Sunny Muffdivers – ‘All Half Evil’ C26 $5(US)
Pure sonic assault from Atlanta. Crusty psych sludge doom featuring bludgeoning rhythms, repetition, and drones create a disjointed landscape in which your mind and emotions can hide.

The N.E.C. – ‘B-Sides’ C46 $5(US)
Rarities, oddities, and background tracks from Atlanta psych/rock outfit versed in driving song craft and sonic exploration. Songs collected from 2007’s “Million Minks” through 2010’s “Is,” splitting ambient and heavy sides of Atlanta psych.

WEBSITE

Phil Julian – ‘Transcript’ C30 $7
Under both the Cheapmachines alias and his own name, England’s Phil Julian has been venturing across various strains of unorthodox sound over the past decade or so, with his prolific output encompassing sonic textures that run the gamut from harsh squalls of decaying cacophony to humming spectral tapestries of melodic drone to patiently constructed compositions of hyper-minimalistic timbres. On Transcript, Julian sources tones and reverberation from blank cassettes as well as the actual cassette decks used in this particular process. Allowing the hissing, fuzzy, and clicking mechanics at work in this aural realm to traverse effortlessly across a half hour of ethereal space, Transcript stands as a remarkable work of foreboding and atonal constitution that stands confidently alongside the best works of similarly inclined sound sculptors such as Francisco Lopez and Joe Colley. This is warmly eerie listening that sounds especially exquisite coming from a cassette itself. Pro-dubbed/pro-printed edition of 100.

TwistyCat – ‘Solar Plexus’ C34 $7
When last we saw Brooklyn-based bass clarinet/baritone saxophone duo TwistyCat on Obsolete Units, they provided a deeply hypnotic and extremely limited loop cassette showcasing three immaculate minutes of their beautifully stark and patiently composed agglomeration of drone-infused improvisation. Taking noticeable cues from this previous release, Ed Bear and Lea Bertucci erupt on Solar Plexus both with pieces of meticulously realized minimalism as well as more comparatively dissonant waves of contemplative and ominous themes. The first side distinctively adds a veneer of found sound (from radio and elsewhere) to the mix, building upon these unfamiliar modes into a great wash of unrest before giving way to their distinctive command of woodwind-derived subterranean melodicism, whereas the flip presents in explicitly unblemished detail two pieces of slow-burning improvisation where the loops and electronic manipulations wavering in and out of the mix controlled with the utmost subtlety for further bewilderment. Includes special transparent liner-notes. Pro-dubbed/pro-printed edition of 100.

Whales – ‘Seibutsu Shigen’ C26 $7
A blistering set of impressively reckless and spastic hardcore, Kyoto, Japan’s Whales craft an attack exhibiting forces both distinctively ferocious and ardently uncompromising. Drawing significant influence from numerous legendary purveyors of power-violence (Spazz, Dropdead), the trio shoot through 6 minutes of absurdly accelerated blasts of song before ending this treat with another 6 minutes of the most blistering Incapacitants/MSBR-style walls of noise. The same program runs on both sides, and you’ll probably need to listen to both in one-sitting just to catch-up with what you’ve just heard. Seibutsu Shigen strips bare this expeditious punk template to its most cathartic core; this is no muss, no fuss, and no bullshit. Whales includes on guitar Takahiro Yorifuji, who has released numerous ambient/drone releases as Hakobune on a variety of different labels (Install, Ghetto Naturalist, Tobira). Pro-dubbed/pro-printed edition of 100.

WEBSITE

(pyr046): florida = death – ‘tape made of tapes’
florida = death is an enigmatic and cryptic band from connecticut that originally formed in 2005. the lineup has changed over the past few years but it currently consists of greg, dave go, and nick. they describe their sound as post-information. others have said power-ambient. we say they’re good.  tape made of tapes is a compilation of unreleased demos and live tracks reassembled into an aural collage. a document of the band at a particular point in time. although there is a tracklist – it acts more as a loose guide than a hard and fast truth. the songs and fragments are constructed in such a way that they become a new experience altogether, suggesting a sort of narrative. the sound constantly shifts between psych, weirdo, out rock, drone dirge, noise experiments, and post-info beats before solidifying into an amalgamation of all its parts.  pan y rosas discos is a small netlabel based in chicago that focuses on experimental: noise, improvisation, and weirdo rock. we believe that music should be available to listeners for free and all the music that we release is licensed under a creative commons attribution-noncommercial-no derivative works 3.0 unported license.

WEBSITE

Andrew Coltrane – ‘ Nuclear Survivor 4xcassette’ $15
A 4X napalm strike of raw, devastating noise. AC is known for carrying the flag for true basement cassette noise for longer than most of us even know, and this set is a testament to that dedication to home-made aural ruin. Throughout its over 2 and 1/2 hours of material, AC seeming uses every weapon in the stockpile. From insane harsh electronic fury, to ripped apart sax, to bloody metal misconduct, to discomposed minefields of tape sodomy. A must for fans of acrid audio punishment.  Recorded over the years in his Redford underground bunker, also known as HERMITAGE HQ. Limited to 30 numbered copies. Hand-made box, covered in multiple pieces of xerox artwork. Comes with 11×17 xerox poster. MIST-15.

WEBSITE

Softoft Techech C15 $7
Is Softoft Techech a music and digi-psychedelic iphone app company or the fuzzed out multi layered post house debut of the talented Mr. Paul Slocum?  Answer: both. Best known for his renowned Tree Wave project, which made Shoegazey fuzzed out stuff with Ataris, Commodore 64s and a dot matrix printer (using self made software), this is his first solo release and it shares monikers with his app company.  Mostly ditching his 8bit gear (the Commodore synth does pop up) this time Mr. Slocum has returned to some of his 90′s House experiments but now utilizing his own software: Looper, he updates things and sends them up ahead to the next level.   Like weird dance music you might hear in a dicso on another planet in a sci fi film or at a futuristic tribal jungle ritual.

WEBSITE

TR-012: Men Chak/Fasenuova – ‘Concierto Avanzado’ CDr 3€
On November 10, 2011 it was presented Fasenuova’ album “Ella Está Llena de Gracia” at the Antigua Estación in Oviedo (Asturias, Spain). The bill also included the “insect guitarist” Pedro Menchaca, a.k.a. Men Chak, in a kind of atypical proposal: Fasenuova with a noisier set than usual, and Men Chak, a prog rock guitarist, eager to experiment in from of the audience. The concert was one of the most memorable moments for Truco Esparrago in 2011, so we decided to release it under the title “Concierto Avanzado” with a very accessible price. Pedro Menchaca has played guitar for bands as Killing Zoe (post rock) or Cuac! (delicious onomatopoeic pop music), and at the present he plays in Senogul (a brilliant prog fusion rock band) and Colmena (cosmic folk). The “Concierto Avanzado” album features the complete set of Men Chak: four long themes in which Pedro is abducted by his own music, in an always surprising and convulsed trip toward sonorous abstraction, far away out from any possible classification. Using electric guitar, e-bow, casio PT-20, melodica, percussion and a loop pedal , Pedro adds layers of loops to create music that mutates in each compass.  Fasenuova promised a special concert for the presentation of “Ella Está Llena de Gracia”. “Concierto Avanzado” collects the abrasive and out of control climax of their set, with Fasenuova making their delighted audience dance with a sonorous noise abuse of shrieks, surrealistic lyrics, loud feedback and saturated sounds. In only three songs, Fasenuova offered an intense crescendo that exploded in the violent zenith of “Ella Está Bien”, before the ceremonial ending with the solemn “Ella Está Llena de Gracia”, in a brutal and impressive performance.  “Concierto Avanzado” is a 39 copies limited CDr edition with 7 tracks (61 minutes of music and sound) with cover artwork by Pablo E. Prendes (of the Nueva Escocia fanzine). You can get the album for 3 euro plus postage and handling writing to trucoesparrago@hotmail.com

WEBSITE

FABREC015/IF012 INSECT FACTORY – ‘Melodies From a Dead Radio’ LP
Insect Factory is music from Silver Spring, MD musician Jeff Barsky. Insect Factory focuses on texture and mood, building layers of dense sounds that slowly evolve into hypnotic and atmospheric drones. Since the 90′s, Barsky has continuously played in bands and improvisational collectives, and has performed frequently on the east coast of the U.S., in Canada, throughout Europe, and Japan. Barsky’s various projects have shared the stage with acts as diverse as Richard Pinhas, Nels Cline, Acid Mothers Temple, and Carla Bozulich, and he has performed at Suoni Il Per Popolo festival in Montreal, Terrastock 7 in Louisville, KY, and D.C.’s Sonic Circuits, Queering Sound, and Fringe Festivals. Insect Factory’s first release, “Air Traffic Control Sleep”, was released in the late summer of 2007, to acclaim from the likes of Washington Post, the Wire, and Terrascope. Following a recent split 7″ with RST (New Zealand), Melodies from a Dead Radio is Insect Factory’s second full-length and vinyl debut. Melodies From A Dead Radio was mastered by Christopher Leary (Melograf Studios) and the master lacquer was cut at Golden Mastering. Edition of 300 on 140 gram black vinyl. This is a split release between Fabrica Records and Insect Fields.

WEBSITE