THLMS08: SMEGMA – ‘YA GOTTA GET REALLY CRAZY’
Part of the underground collective Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS), the American iconic weirdos SMEGMA were formed in Pasadena, California in 1973 to reinvent improvisation with a DIY etchic, against the boring, conventional commercial-rock of the time. This release gives the holder the opportunity to capture the development of their own “primitive suburban folk” approach and traditions of their existence. First side of this tape is featuring drunken chaos at a Party, then an inner mind Shamanistic free jazz jam recorded 1973+1975 in Pasadena. The other side, features an edit of a “live” performance on an outside stage at The Box, in downtown Los Angeles 2013 (part of a multi day L.A.F.M.S. festival ). 44 years later, Smegma are still thundering commercial music’s ground !
THLMS09: MATTHEW P. HOPKINS – ‘CALLS’
After his remarkable “Blue Lit-Half Breath” (Penultimate Press,2016) the Melbourne based artist returns with “CALLS”, his new & first solo work for THALAMOS. 11 imaginary calls / 11 imaginary worlds… Would you take this call? We couldn’t present this work better than using the artist’s quote on his release. “CALLS presents 11 improvised pieces recorded on a reel-to-reel machine throughout 2015 and 2016. Employing a mixed bag of source material and a half drafted vocal approach, these 11 tracks explore the notion of ‘contact calls’, which are irregular, non-specific sounds many social animals make to maintain contact within a group. The group in this instance includes more than just other members; an expanded cast of objects, figures, nature, and works of art act as the recipients of these calls. There is some sort of dialogue between myself as the caller, and this conglomerate of recipients, but it is not normal talking. I’m not asking questions, responding to requests, or reacting through sound in any way – just simply keeping in contact”.