LAMMAS (01 August 2010)

The musick dedicated to this Sabbat is:

WALL JOHN

ALTERSTILL


Original Issue: 1995 UtterPsalm (UtterPsalm CD2)

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Margot-meter: 5 moons / 5

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1 Fragmenta 11:04
2 Alterstill (Nothing Is Sacred) 10:17
3 Belief Not 8:57
4 Stunde Null (I) 7:06
5 Stunde Null (II) 11:38

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from All Music Guide:

The first in British composer John Wall's beautifully designed series on the Utterpsalm label, this limited-edition CD comes in a card-booklet slipcase. Housed inside is an aggressive and disorientating series of sample-based works, like a contemporary classical suite, although some of the chosen sample material is fairly unorthodox, such as Carcass; the power of the metal group is used to great effect juxtaposed against samples of contemporary classical, musique concrète, and free improvisations from the outer regions of 20th century music.

Sample sources range from Scelsi, Luigi Nono, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and company through to European free improvisation, black metal, and '70s Krautrock. John Wall's compositions sit nicely alongside the works of Rioji Ikeda, or some of the contemporary musique concrète from the French Metamkine CD series. Erik M, John Oswald, and Oval are all points of reference, although John Wall's vision and process is unique.

Few artists work with the attention to detail -- from production through to packaging and presentation, the work is beautiful. Rumored to have spent literally years making albums, it is easy to believe when hearing the complexities of the fine electro-acoustic transformations.

Sylvie Harrison

FULL CORN MOON (04 September 2009)

The musick dedicated to this Esbat is:

NIJIUMU

LIVE

Original Issue: 1997 Big Cat (ABB 1000/2CD)

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Margot-meter: 5 moons / 5

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01 Untitled (3:11)
02 Untitled (49:38)
03 Untitled (12:29)

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from The Sound Projector:

Top of the range is Nijiumu, one of Keiji Haino’s quieter musical hats, and for sheer pathos this live recording worth your entry money by itself; to call this slice of sheer emotion tear-inducing is not enough. You will weep!

LAMMAS (1 August 2009)

The musick dedicated to this Sabbat is:

BROTHERS OF THE OCCULT SISTERHOOD

ANIMAL SPEAK


Original Issue: 2004 Music Your Mind Will Love You (mymwly0005)

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Margot-meter: 5 moons / 5

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1 Om Agar (5:23)
2 The Light Of Life (10:20)
3 The Life Of Light (10:14)
4 I Would Rather Live On The Sun (6:36)
5 Birds Of Interspace (7:43)
6 Swallowed Hole (11:28)
7 Quetzacoatl's Return (6:11)
8 Sericule (14:29)

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from Foxy Digitalis:

2004 was a year of many great discoveries for me. Davenport's massive coming out party (by way of more releases than I can count) was sitting at the top of my list for a good part of the year, but that changed a month or so ago. Make no mistake, Davenport are simply one of the finest bands around - that much is true. But last month, my mind was melted completely when a package from Australia's MusicYourMindWillLoveYou collective showed up. Centered around an Aussie named Michael Donnelly, this group of musicians are doing some truly mind altering stuff. Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood are the lynchpin, though.

"Animal Speak" is a masterful psychedelic primal declaration. It screams "We are here, and we're covered in mud." Everything on this sprawling album is extracted and returned from the earth. Acoustic instruments make up the majority of sound here, but various percussive elements add to the tribal feel of the album. It all blends together so perfectly that it's easy to get swept up in its roaring gloary.

Donnelly is the key, however. With BOTOS, he makes it all happen. His drumming lays the foundation for everything else to happen, and his skill is undeniable. Sparse clatter finds a constant rhythm somehow; there's elements of jazz inspiration floating throughout his playing, which adds to the originality of the music. Cellos and other bowed instruments add tranquility to this chaotic sea. With so many different things happening it once, it's amazing that this music is so fluid and cohesive. As the radio static of "I Would Rather Live On the Sun" fades in, low frequency drones emanate from a cello. High-pitched squeals are barely audible above the murky sludge. When the drums come in, your foot starts tapping. There's a feeling of being lost in the Australian outback while a massive thunderstorm is brewing in the distance. The skies start changing from bright blue to grey, and the wind picks up as Donnelly pounds his toms. Keyboards and guitars shimmer and glow in the background as the rain pours down. Drenched, you seek cover underneath a lone, massive tree.

Based on the title alone, one might confuse "Quetzacoatl's Return" with a song by the Mountain Goats. But as soon as it begins, it's obvious that is not the case. Low end electronic drones ride over the tops of waves created by Donnelly's tribal drumming. This is like swimming in pristine blue water, floating weightlessly underneath the surface. You can see for miles and your whole body is tingling from the cold bath. For something with so much sludge, this is beautiful.

The sister songs, "The Light of Life" and "The Life of Light," are the core of this masterpiece. The former features Japanese (maybe Chinese?) samples on top of an acoustic based piece. It slowly devolves into a hypnotic monsoon. Donnelly starts singing in an emotion-filled voice. Its got the feel of a funeral procession for a fallen hero. There are massive amounts of organic quality to this track as well, which make it even better. It's magic. The latter piece is the most melodic piece on the album. Field recordings give it a wooded feel. Again, Donnelly's drumming takes center stage, dropping a perfect foundation for the picked acoustic guitars. Various wind instruments and, again, Donelly's voice add depth and texture to this already packed song. It's fucking beautiful and brings to mind some of the more melodic aspects of The Ivytree. Bowed guitars add more layers to the mix, and as Donnelly "mmm"s and "ahh"s throughout, you are stolen away on a fantastic voyage through the Australian forests. Leaf gnomes and woodland creatures dance in unison as they celebrate the sun and the earth. The only thing left to do is cover yourself in mud and dance with them. This is one of the best pieces of music I've heard all year.

Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood are so many things at once. This surgical psych folk sludge is one of the most original and stunning releases I've heard all year. Whether they're exploring the ancient history of their lands through organic romps, slowing things down with electronic drones, or even dropping acid and flying in the clouds like on the psychedelic album closer, "Sericule," they are channelling pure fucking magic. This will melt your skull and fry your brain. In the end, all the pieces are glued together to form a better, more delicious whole. Essential. 9/10

Brad Rose

FAREWELL MOON (epitaph musick)

BANASIK CHRISTIAN

IGOR'S SMILE



Original Issue: 1993

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Margot-meter: 5 moons / 5

After visiting San Michele cemetery in Venice and, in particular, Igor Stravinsky's grave (see my picture below), I'm in the need to pay my respectful hommage to this unforgivable Maestro of modern music.

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1 Igor's Smile (14:59)

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from Christian Banasik homepage:

This piece can be interpreted as bridge and metamorphosis between digitally mastered tape-recorded music and a radio play. The theme of the piece is the osmosis of language and music - and of narrative linearity and purely tonal speech material. The musical sections are created through the medium of a sampler.

Brief interludes of Igor Stravinsky´s most well-known ballets are sampled, partially transformed and varied by way of a number of different transpositions and loops. In each case the individual passages from various pieces are moulded into a specifically adapted harmonic context within the respective position.

The linguistic plane is represented by Stravinsky´s original voice from interviews and rehearsals (recorded between 1962 and 1965) as well as by commentaries of the premiere performance of "Sacre du printemps" in Paris (1913) which play a key role here. In turn, striking woodblock sounds serve as mediation between the two planes, accentuating the beginning or end of tones as well as to creating the third, superordinate plane distancing the audience from the historical material. The piece was produced at the Synclavier System of the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt.

List of orchestra samples:

sample 1: "Firebird" - "Infernal Dance" measure 1

sample 2: "Firebird" - "Infernal Dance" [15] m1-m4

sample 3: "Firebird" - "Finale" [16] m3/4, [17] m1

sample 4: "Petrouchka" - Part 1, "Dance Russe" m1-4

sample 5: "The Rite of Spring" - Part 1 (Adoration of the Earth, "Ritual of the Rival Tribes") [57] m1/2

RISING MOON (japrocksampler musick)

MIYAMA TOSHIYUKI & HIS NEW HERD: MASAHIKO SATO

YAMATAIFU

Original Issue: 1972 Toshiba (TJ-9004)

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Margot-meter: 5 moons / 5

Impossibly hard-to-find cosmic jazz masterpiece ranking #21 in Julian Cope's Japrocksampler bible!

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1 Ichi
2 Ni
3 San

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from the essay on Japanese underground music written by Chris McLean:

Toshiyuki Miyama & his New Herd – this avant-garde jazz-rock combo has been around for a long time and released many albums, most of which I know nothing about. For us, their all-time classic is reputedly ‘Yamataifu’ [Toshiba-EMI/Far East, 1972], according to Julian Cope.

This has been referred to by Cope as ‘Yamati-fu’ by Masahiko Satoh & New Herd Orchestra, but the album cover shown in ‘Japrocksampler’ credits it as ‘Yamataifu’ by ‘Toshiyuki Miyama & his New Herd: Masahiko Satoh’.

Cope describes it glowingly as perhaps the “greatest cosmic jazz album ever made”, and I look forward to a reissue.

BLACK MOON (the dark side of musick)

POHJONEN KIMMO
KLUSTER

Original Issue: 2002 Rockadillo (ZENCD 2074) (Buy it here!)


Margot-meter: 4,5 moons / 5

1 Ulaani
2 Ohimo
3 Loska
4 Keko
5 Reaktio
6 Aroma
7 Kaluaja
8 Alla
9 Voima
10 Avanto

from All About Jazz:

You know that old accordion your grandfather has sitting around from his days in the Old Milwaukee Polka Band? Well, Kimmo Pohjonen has dragged it from the attic, dusted it off, hooked it up to a Fender tube amp and proceeded to pull, push, pound, scrape and bend every note conceivable from it. Pohjonen hails from Finland, but he travels far beyond the borders of Finnish folk music. With the help of Samuli Kosminen, who samples and then processes Pohjonen's voice and accordion, the pair creates an intoxicating explosion of sound, rhythm and texture.

Kluster sounds like a message from the underworld, and Pohjonen the possessed messenger. The deep throaty growls of “Alla” are a demon waking from a deep slumber. The fractured crackling, popping and scraping of “Loska” is a computer gasping its last. Pohjonen creates tactile tones, tormented screams, and relentless beats; his moaning conjures up holy-rollers speaking in tongues. His music bursts with life, as if everything material had gained a soul. “Reaktio” breathes and boils, transmitting what you would hear if someone stuck a microphone into the heart of a fire.

Yet every sound on the album is produced by Pohjonen's five-row chromatic accordion and his voice. Kosminen runs the beats and riffs through an effects processor and electronic drum pad, then augments them into dense structures. Kluster bristles with meticulous detail, but it is not just a product of studio wizardry. Live they employ the same methods to improvise shows that have astounded audiences and critics worldwide. Pohjonen describes his performances as being “like one painting with many colors.” Extending his statement, it explains why their arrangments on Kluster often follow the same pattern. Yet this sameness by no means detracts from the music. Pohjonen and Kosminen remain constantly inventive and they infuse every piece with urgent, primal energy.

Their energy never wanes because above all Pohjonen believes in the rhythm. Melodic phrases, ambient colorings and percussive devices are lavishly layered towards one goal: complete, ecstatic abandonment in rhythm. Perhaps that is why his aesthetic resembles the dynamics of club music, all the time stoking the energy level higher and higher. “Keko” starts with a distant tapping. Pohjonen adds a pulsating riff which is soon joined by a sweeping gesture from the bellows. The song continues its irresistible journey upwards, gathering tension as it grows.

Pohjonen masterfully harnesses kinetic energy into dynamic compositions that become more compelling with each listening. Play this record at high volumes or soak up its texture on headphones. Either way pulls you into an aberrant, visceral and wicked underworld of sound.

Matthew Wuethrich

DUTCH MOON (trip musick)

I'll be in Holland (with two witch friends of mine) for a short vacation from April the 25th to May the 3rd. I will reply to your beloved comments as soon as I return!

Kisses & Hugs,
Margot

ART ZOYD
LES ESPACES INQUIETS

Original Issue: 1983 Cryonic (INC 1153)

Margot-meter: 4,5 moons / 5

1. Légendes: La Forêt qui Avance
2. Céréemonie
3. Errance
4. Cortège des officiels
5. Au-delà des vallées
6. Migrations
7. Légendes: Le Bruit du Fer

from Ground and Sky

Art Zoyd's fifth album from 1983 sees a slight turn away from the strictly acoustic nature of their work to date towards the increasing incorporation of electronics and tape effects in their music. A typical example, the nine-minute Cérémonie sounds like a wedding procession from Hell, with dark marches reminiscent of Present building in intensity to resemble a faster section from Univers Zero's Ceux du Dehors, and at times recalling the cacophony of Art Zoyd's first album.

In general, the music alternates between ominous, plodding parts with minimal instrumentation (usually a solo piano or organ) and faster, more frantic sections led by trumpet and strings. Comparisons to other neo-classical bands such as Univers Zero or Present are obvious, although there is a drier, more acoustic feel to this due to the absence of some of the jazzier aspects of the latter bands.

A strong album and likely my favorite by this band. Like Univers Zero, these guys reached a peak with the fusion of their acoustic string-led sound with a smidgen of keyboards and electronics. Also like Univers Zero, they would experience a decline based on the increased reliance on the latter. Definitely recommended.

Sean