Crazy Carlos of Portland sent over a glowing suitcase of smuggled goods from his label Marriage Records. Marriage seems to specialize in bachelors, as the majority of its roster are singular: Thanksgiving, White Rainbow, YACHT... No matter, they offer an array of sounds from primarily northwestern artists, including the publication of a poem book by Oregonian Tom Blood. More to the point: I don’t know from where this label finds the resources, cash or time to produce such fantastically conceived releases, but I do know that I don’t think I care very much to find out (Carlos is Crazy). Checkit: CD releases are humanely devoid of plastic cages, arriving instead snuggled in beautiful paper sleeves - some gatefold-style, some folding-tab like Chinese food cartons, these sleeves show no shortage of original art, complimented by accents of metallic ink and foil. It seems that every album comes at least with a poster, if not stickers, a DVD (!) or all three. Further, Marriage does well to press thick vinyl in sexy sleeves of bands that otherwise don’t see a lot of action in that department (e.g. The Dirty Projectors, and hopefully soon, The Dead Science). Sweetening the deal, vinyl releases come with an additional CD/CD-r version of the album, and even additional tracks. To digress toward the music, I will start somewhere semi-random:

I caught the ass-end of a set not long ago by Lucky Dragons, a (mostly) one-man sound machine from... Portland? Providence? Does it matter? L.A.? Whatever, the sound is joyous, organic, and optimistic. Like a new tribalism for the metamedia generation, this guy, Luke Fischbeck, dances around a laptop like it were a painted gourd filled with hissing beetles and human molars. Now, I don’t know that much about computers, but the software he uses is designed to thrive on human contact, beyond the mere press of GO. Reeling back from the pits of pre-composed ‘electronic music’, the Lucky Dragons sound is constantly renewed by the human element (irrationality? clumsiness?), whether through the performer’s digital knob-turning, or through listener intervention as in the amplified piece of hand-held wire which turns the audience into a wave-shaping instrument. Reifying this notion that “music is what we make of it”, we consider Lucky Dragons’ newest long-player, ‘Widows’. Translating his real-time creations into recording, Fischbeck keeps things sparse, eliminating obligatory beats and rhythms, allowing the listener to fill the space with whatever they see fit. The hum-chants of “Aluvum Te Na Hagaru”, or the honk-and-rattle of “V Pattern”, rather than compiling a reel of assorted fills, conjures the record a glimmering transparency for placement over the pulse of the day, where the cars make noise, the computers make noise, and the wind makes noise. ‘Widows’’ best moments begin with the emergence of the almost-song “Hello New Friend”: a plucky banjo-line rambles along accompanied by a scamp of an androgynous “aaa-aah, ah”-ingness. Little shells and stones of clicks and garble are glued on, and it is a good tune for rambling through Nintendo worlds. When it seems faded into the sea, we see it surface again with the non-GMO Four-Tet of “Compliment Song”, a brief but rousing coda of banjo, hand-claps and yelps. The general lack of any definite song-boundaries keeps ‘Widows’ constantly moving and appealing. It demands nothing of you; it knows you want it in your life. I have flipped this record over about ten times now, and intend to do so again when the paragraph is over.

As suggested earlier, ‘Widows’ comes with an additional CD of remixes and live tracks entitled ‘Mini Dream Island’. A little more scattered and a lot beatier, includes contributions from a number of adept artists (The Wind-Up Bird!), and is a welcomed surplus of songs and sounds to mix up the mix up of ‘Widows’. (Marriage Records LP, $15; also as CD from States’ Rights Records… either way, go HERE and do the right thing.)

I take full credit for getting these reprinted (though I believe I demanded green):

KRS: "Excepter's tiger t-shirt was re-printed and is finally back in stock. Looks better than ever! Black and white tiger design with yellow Excepter logo on a red American Apparel shirt. $13" Get one HERE.

Eva (Kevin Shields) has a new label called Hate State. Rad releases in hand-knitted covers. Very limited. The catalog so far:

Oubliette 'Mitochondrion' c10 --->
"Crocheted vessel with blood-like fuzzy yarn. Horror movies, sex, and rock-in-roll not enough."

Persimmons Pomegranate 'Woof Matter' c10 <---
"Soft and fuzzy insides exploding in your ears. This tape will make you feel like you are beautiful for wearing your intestines. Fool."

Kevin Shields 'Hair Line' 3" cdr --->
"Interpersonal release. Self-degrading by way of birth. Makes you feel like you are losing your hair. Learning how to love by the end."

Each release $6 US/$10 World, or all three for $15 US/$25 World. Get these from Hate State.

New from Foxglove (time to splurge):

foxglovexx1: my cat is an alien/corsican paintbrush split 10" lathe - $35
"turin and tulsa collide in this match made for the cosmos from the silver dust that permeates the atmosphere. both these duos have been kissed in the third eye by the astral goddess, and the sonic ruins left behind leave nothing to chance. minimal, cathartic excursions through starfields and galaxy farms are etched in stone on each side of this acetate beauty. my cat is an alien contribute a piece recorded live on the radio. it is another side to their ever-evolving musical persona. the opalios know how to get so much out of so little, and this piece is no different. corsican paintbrush, the husband-wife duo of brad rose & eden hemming, pour two wounded birds out of their hat. it's a feline-themed love affair, for sure. there's magic in these walls, and each duo does its part to crack the code. With copper-on-black silkscreened covers and limited to only 50 copies. co-released with opax (www.mycatisanalien.com), so we only have half the pressing. it's time to get yourself a piece of space debris."

foxglove130: haare "ceremony" cd-r $7
"deep from the bowels of finland comes the murk-infused haare. heavy, black drones that will sink your fucking battleship to the furthest depths of freezing-cold ocean. these two tracks are drenched in low-end delight. it's a like a pleasant stroll through the gates of hell. small projectives are hurled at you at a million miles an hour, only to disappear before mowing you down. 'ceremony' is a fucked-up trip through an ancient graveyard, complete with decaying ghosts. this is some heady shit."

foxglove131: the north sea "summer decays through autumn's alchemy" cd-r $7
"it's been a long time since i released some of my own music, but i felt such a personal attachment to this album that i wanted to get it out immediately. this is also conveniently known as 'the tanpura album,' as every track features the instrument used in some way. this is music for baking in the clay deserts of the frontier. it is for the back-alley snake charmers in the streets of bangalore. it is the sound of the bengali dawn, with its tribal rituals and ancient sage spirits. there's nothing else left to conjure."

foxglove132: raro & apenino s/t cd-r $7
"hailing from the sunny confines of vigo, spain. it's near the sea and on raro & apenino's enchanting debut, you can feel the sandy beaches beneath your feet. guitar strums and banjo plucks light the air like a late-night barbeque. with hints of appalachia, raro & apenino often seem like they're traveling effortlessly across the globe with the intent of capturing every moment of their trip. this is folk music that is timeless. it succeeds in its simplicity and embraces the minor missteps along the way. raro & apenino have found a way to sing beautiful, solemn lullabies without ever opening their mouths. this is the real spanish magic."

foxglove133: robert horton "warmth 1987" cd-r $7
"'Warmth' is the fourth volume in robert horton's archives series of releases (previous volumes on 23 productions, sloow tapes, & jyrk). this single, monolithic piece unfolds at snailspeed, but succeeds in wrapping itself around you like an old, familiar blanket. "warmth" is the most appropriate title, as these drones emit sonic beams of silver light. using only two reel-to-reel tape recordings and a loop, horton's artistry is on full display. the fact he was doing this 20 years ago is a testament to his immeasurable talent."

foxglove134: the futurians "evil dead" 2x cd-r - $14
"the futurians are a juggernaut. pure gravel punk rock bliss. they're the buzzsaw of new zealand, slicing and dicing kiwidom into endless fucking shreds. "evil dead" is the real deal. this is their party album. genuine futurians lore. almost 90 minutes of raucous, bile-induced terror. cja, rock, iso12, duckling, and rheon battle to the death, your death, and then they're gonna smear the streets of dunedin with your blood. woohoo! the futurian space pirate express is in full-flight and ready to bomb you back to the bronze age. features silk-screened covers by belgian art-god, jelle crama. fucking perfection."

Also, Digitalis is having a huge sale on past Foxglove and Digitalis releases. CD-Rs $4, 2xCD-R $8, 3" CD-R $3, and Digitalis CDs $7 - all postage-paid world-wide. Additional discounts on large orders. Stock up HERE.

"The WOMEN TAKE BACK THE NOISE compilation, 3 years in the making, showcases a collection of 47 women artists worldwide who experiment with sound in various ways, ranging from ambient-organic to quirky-glitch-beat to harsh or extreme noise, as well as categories yet to be defined..."

Participating artists:
Aedria Hughes (USA), A. L. Dentel (USA), Alicia Wade (USA), Analog Tara (USA),Ava Mendoza (USA), BCO Women's Auxiliary (USA), bLevin bLectum (USA), Cheryl E. Leonard (USA), Christina N (AUSTRIA), Choronzon (USA), CJ Reaven Borosque (USA), Cosey Fanni Tutti (UK), Cyoakha Grace (USA), Dark Muse (USA), Elise Baldwin (USA), Experiment Haywire (USA), Fari Bradley (UK), Fast!Fast!Cash! (USA), Fe-mail (NORWAY), Gydja (NEW ZEALAND), Heidi Mortenson (GERMANY), Hertta Lussu Ässä (FINLAND), Hooray! For Old Timers (USA), Insect Deli (USA), ioioi (ITALY), Irene Moon (USA), Jessica Rylan (USA), Kadet (USA), Khate (USA), Kunt (AUSTRALIA), Leporidae (USA), Maggi Payne (USA), Meri von KleinSmid (USA), Merlin Coleman (USA), Messy (NETHERLANDS), Michelle Webb (USA), Michiko Kawagoe (JAPAN), Nadin Katrin Buben (BELARUS), Noveller (USA), Passiflora (USA), Priya Ray (USA), Rotwangsrobot (UK), Solanas (NEW ZEALAND), Suzanne Quincey (USA), VyL8 (USA), Wisteriax (USA), Xyramat (GERMANY)

Contents include: Set of 3 CD's, package of 25 (double-sided) artist cards (1 artist per each side + cover and tracklist) and assorted stickers. Custom-made, circuit-bent packaging makes NOISE when you touch it. Includes mini-jack for amplification. Limited to 1,000 copies. Pink/Orange/Blue, $30 ppd (US); Purple w/T-shirt $45 (US). Check out audio and video samples, or just get one HERE.

Yikes! Check it out:

WWVV from the road volume 5 - Live in the Pasture
WWVV from the road volume 6 - Abundant Life
"Two of my favorite WWVV live shows EVER! We been dubbing them to cassettes for the last year or two and we are getting sick of it, so we have finally decided to discontinue the making of these tapes. So now.. here it is, your last chance to grab these. Now as part of the limited edition "Wooden Wand from the Road" CDR bootleg series. Coming with full color artwork on the usual "from the road" digipacks. We are making about 200 of each of these. Taking preorders NOW! $6 wholesale (5 or more), $8 each for everyone else..."

Zodiac Mountain - live in America, Summer 2006 CDR $8
"Early in the Summer of '06, Clay Ruby's Zodiac Mountain did a short U.S. tour, showering the people with roots rock, heavenly boogie, atmospheric spirituals, cryptic blues and the occasional classic cover tune. This incarnation of Zodiac Mountain was a collaboration between Clay Ruby and Wooden Wand, featuring jams with Nate Nelson (Mouthus, Religious Knives), Robert Beatty (Eyes and Arms of Smoke, Hair Police), and Maya Miller (Religious Knives, Double Leopards). 5 songs, over an hour of red, white and blue BLISS from two of the heaviest, gun toting, bourbon soaked, BBQ breath'd road warriors east of the Mississippi."

Available from 23 Productions.

(Unread Records LP, $10 ppd; 7", $3 ppd)

Regular collaborators Ariel Pink and Matt Fishbeck consummate their relationship and call it Holy Shit. Still Pink in production - AM radio wash, busted-tuner dynamics, brief passages of Eno-on-accident - the couple manages to create a new sound (to varying degrees) which actually sounds current. Shedding nothing completely, the albums starts strong with the instrumental "Maus is Missing", which asserts a very simple idea while battling off the frenetic beats and layers of Ariel's Haunted Graffiti past. The two forces more or less reconcile in the end, and appear to submit the album's thesis. Moving past our doubts during the glory of the next track, "Written All Over Your Face", an airy flamenco affair with a rare glimpse of lyrical intensity, we see that the record is hardly a departed Ariel Pink outing, but simply a very successful collaboration. Most significantly, this music is much nicer than past Pink: the melodies are far more relaxed and consistent, whole verses are allowed to play through without cut-up interruption, and the lyrics are actually sweet and feel sincere, as best evidenced in the very-Pink tracks "New Colors" and "I Don't Need Enemies". Ultimately, these lyrics, like Ariel's vocalized beats, are threaded through the melodies as an instrument with no due hierarchy; and whether one or the other is singing in gems like "The Castle", it matters not - the song is the composite of all its notes, pops and hisses. Being unfamiliar with Fishbeck's previous work in the band The Push Kings, I can only presume that he is to thank for shaping this wonderful album. A holy union is made, and it is good. (Uunited Acoustic Record Company CD, the site is under construction, but the album can be found through distributors like Midheaven)

From TIME-LAG:

MARCONI NOTARO ~ NO SUB REINO DOS METAZOÁRIOS ~ lp (TIME-LAG 032) $25.00
"first ever reissue of this totally brilliant post-satwa 1973 brazilian private press featuring the core trio lula côrtes, marconi notaro & zé ramalho. recorded just months after lula & lailson had released satwa, lula was back in the same recife studio with poet and friend marconi notaro to lay down another equally magical album. zé ramalho, who would go on to record the paéberu 2lp with lula two years later, makes his recording debut here as well... somehow amidst the harsh government restrictions of 70s brazil, lula côrtes and his group of artist friends had managed to bypass the authorities and create a hugely creative micro-world of their own, recording, producing, and releasing this album with complete independence. no small feat in and of itself, no doubt, but the music is what makes this slab a true lost masterpiece... the whole album gushes forth with a sun baked spirit of the highest level, mixing tropicalia tinged folk-beat groovers, satwa style bliss trance ragas, paébiru favored lysergic jungle psych, and even a raging fuzz/wah soaked garage psych rocker. extremely mind melting from start to finish, with huge washes of rippling tape delay, electric & acoustic guitars, 12 string, tranced folk percussion, passionate yet mellow vocals, liquid electric bass, acid effects everywhere, and of course lula’s mercurial & heart melting tricórdio (an instrument he made himself, something like a sitar/dulcimer hybrid). beautiful, melancholy and joyous all at the same moment, this is an album that after 33 years still sounds completely fresh & unique... sadly marconi passed away in 2000 having lived a life of obscurity even in his own town, yet leaving behind 7 published books of poetry and this stunning, lone album. this reissue has been authorized by maconi’s daughter and lula córtes to insure they receive the credit and funds they deserve, even if it comes 3 decades late... fully reproduced original art, featuring beautiful drawings by lula & layout by katia. heavy weight, old style, laminated gatefold covers. pressed on 180gm virgin vinyl. original label art. plus a huge full color 4 page insert featuring fully translated original notes, rare photos and book covers, marconi’s last poem written the day before his death, and extensive new notes & biography by lula córtes. vinyl version limited to 1000 copies.

MARCONI NOTARO ~ NO SUB REINO DOS METAZOÁRIOS ~ cd (TIME-LAG 032) $16.00
"digital version... same deluxe lp style packaging as the vinyl version, only smaller, with the same insert.

GALBRAITH / NEILSON / YOUNGS ~ BELSAYER TIME ~ lp (TIME-LAG 034) $18.00
"fully mind-blowing dream collaboration from alastair galbraith, alex neilson & richard youngs. all serious international underground sound weavers in their own right, this trio collaboration lifts things ever higher... for the last 20 years or so alastair galbraith has quietly been releasing some of the most stunning outsider/psych/folk/drone work to ever come out of his new zealand homeland, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have him back on the scene. richard youngs makes a nice uk parallel with a vast and equally impressive catalog of sub-underground avant/drone/folk wonderment to his name. and while alex neilson’s name might be a bit new, he’s been bending many a mind under his directing hand solo guise, as well as collaboration with mv & ee, taurpis tula and others. oh yeah, and that small fact that alex & richard backed jandek at his first ever live performance is pretty cool too... musically, things are way fucking deep in the zone here folks. side one glides along in slo-mo dream state hover with richard’s beautiful and unmistakable vocals soaring and refracting in to echoes, quietly fluttering and droning electronics, otherworldly sounding synth melodies, rolling splashes of free percussion, backwards effects, and syrupy sound pools of acoustic strings. beautifully lulling and deeply psychedelic... but the second you flip the lp the bottom drops right out with with a real electro jammer, blasted with throbbingly heavy free drumming, vibrating walls of synth, and yowling bird-of-prey electronic squeal... and things just get more abstract from there... really amazing stuff for those who dig a headspinningly deep listen... packaged in a stark but beautiful full color offset printed & debossed heavy art board cover, with debossed insert. 180 gram virgin vinyl. numbered edition of 900 copies.

CURSILLISTAS ~ THRUSH CHIMES IN THE FIELD HAUNT ~ cdr (TIME-LAG) $12.00
"ever since our buddy cursillistas (aka matt lajoie) self released his out-of-nowhere cdr ‘rotary and gems’ last year, we’ve been seriously hooked. and we know the lucky few who managed to snag one of those discs have had yr ears turned as well... so here you have it, a full length follow-up that's equally, if not more lovely, then that all too brief debut... cursillistas dish up some sweet, fragile & mildly frenzied breezy porch folk psych... rather infectious & well crafted songs, high, sweet & layered vocals, reverb washed kitchen sink percussion, mantric banjo & guitar plucking, lush home recorded fidelity and plenty of subtly psychedelic little tricks. even some wicked fuzz guitar. turn it up, crack a beer, and go sit in the grass while its still summer... packaged in a offset printed fold-around art paper cover, each with a hand painted front, plus insert. stamped white cdr. numbered edition of 140.

BJERGA / IVERSEN ~ THERE'S A GHOST IN THE DREAM MACHINE ~ cdr (TIME-LAG)$10.00
"another haunted earthy drone vortex from this ultra-prolific norwegian duo. one extended & arching track. dusty electronics flutter and moan, crackle, and drone their way through some sort of underground cavernous dirge of rippling sound decay. the beauty lays in its blankness... fold-over art paper cover with paste-on art & hand stamped text. silver rimmed all black cdrs. numbered edition of 88."

View Catalog; Order Here.

at The Echo, The Ex_Plx and Jensen's Rec Center in Los Angeles Oct 19-22, 2006
CLICK HERE to purchase tickets online.
All artists will perform full sets

Thurs. Oct. 19, 6pm - ALL AGES WELCOME - $24
Devendra Banhart
Bert Jansch
Espers
Watts Prophets
Jackie Beat
Belong
Yellow Swans
Buffalo Killers
Grouper
plus more TBA

Friday, October 20, 6pm - ALL AGES WELCOME - $24
Tav Falco & the Unapproachable Panther Burns
Boris
Heartless Bastards
The Hidden Hand
Be Your Own Pet
Awesome Color
The Howling Hex
Charalambides
Tall Firs
plus more TBA

Sat., October 21, 3pm - ALL AGES WELCOME - $24
OM
Money Mark
White Magic
Six Organs of Admittance
Ruthann Friedman
Mia Doi Todd
Living Sisters (Inara George, Eleni Mandell & Becky Stark)
Josephine Foster
Residual Echoes
Future Pigeon
Noel Von Harmonson
plus more TBA, including a major headliner

Sun., Oct. 22, 3pm - ALL AGES WELCOME - $24
Comets on Fire
The Fiery Furnaces
The Sharp Ease
Archie Bronson Outfit
The Nice Boys
SSM
The Colossal Yes
plus many more TBA

Arthur Nights will also feature DJ sets by the Numero Group, Brian Turner (wfmu), Dub Club djs, dublab DJs and many more TBA...

From Arthur Magazine.

Our friend/rabbi Justin has a pop-boutique called Welcome Home Records where he gives bands a chance to make something of themselves and release some vinyl. This month's good turn: ball-of-California-sunshine Golden Shoulders' "Kin" 7" EP. Five new jams on pink-vomit vinyl with beautiful silk-screened covers. ($4.5)

Also:
Another beautiful piece of vinyl, the Frank Turner/Jonah Matranga split 12" is now available before it hits stores next month. Turner's an Englishman, and Matranga was apparently in a band before as well. Limited run on yellow/brown swirly vinyl, looks like candy. Check it out. ($7.5)

Both records available through Welcome Home .

From Not Not Fun:
"As of today the Magik Markers 'Feel the Crayon' repress is OUT and about. the deal is: same artwork, but this time printed instead of silkscreened. but still purple vinyl, with colored labels. now too there is a new insert, but no 16-page art booklet. worth mentioning:
this is the final vinyl pressing of this epic album, which is personally without a doubt our favorite set of Markers recordings of all time. grab one now if you care to. $13"



ALSO out: "Watersports /Changeling split tape. 2 america's dreamiest drone-walkers lay down odd clouds of shape- shifting hypnosis. with awesome artwork by Roy Tatum of Changeling. $5"

AND: "Las Vegas Club's fictional spaghetti western score, 'Whiskey Flats,' has been given a last-time limited edition repressing of about 30 copies to support LVC's current west-coast tour. we got a small stack of these. if you missed out the first time around, now's yr time to right the wrong. rad points:
1. comes with a 16-page booklet of wild west funnies.
2. covers printed on 60-year old onion paper found at a desert yard sale.
3. the music rules."

All available on the presents page.

From Animal Disguise:

ADR072 SIC ALPS 'TEENAGE ALPS' C10 -
"SIMPLY PUT, THESE 2 GUYS FUCKING RULE. MODERN SF PSYCHEDELIA FROM THE FOLDING CASSETTES FAMILY. THIS 4 SONG EP WILL BE LOOPED CONTINUOUSLY ONCE YOU THROW IT IN THE DECK. FEATURES A COVER OF THE ZIPPS SONG 'WHEN YOU TELL IT' AS WELL AS 3 ORIGINALS. THEIR "LOST"/PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED DEBUT LP/CD 'PLEASURES AND TREASURES' WILL BE RELEASED THIS FALL ON ADR. $4"

ADR017 SICK HOUR 'SELF TITLED' C30 -
"THIS TAPE LIVES. AFTER 4 YEARS OF LIMBO, IT FINALLY GETS RELEASED. THIS IS ROBERT AND TREVOR FROM HAIR POLICE LAYING DOWN SOME TANGERINE DREAM STYLE ACID DOOM. REALLY BLEAK AND HYPNOTIC. LET US ALL CLIMB TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN TOGETHER AND THEN DO IT OVER AGAIN IN REVERSE. $5"