Estasy - S/T

I've been pretty obsessed with Estasy this last week after seeing a video post from How To Dress Well's twitter account.  I was able to track down a download of this at Bedroom Fantasia. I also ordered the tape of her(?) second album on Living Tapes and proves to be well worth the dough as well.  Estasy, from what I can tell hails from Italy.  She plays some seriously soothing folkish melodies sung in the high register and approach of what sounds like a 7 year old child virtuoso.  Each song usually features either acoustic guitar, warbled bird chirps, toy keyboards, pianos and the like to accompany these insanely beautiful and other-wordly vocal melodies.  All of these sounds are filtered through what I can only assume was a handheld tape recorder, ever increasing the innocent authenticity that this album executes and achieves unapologetically.  There are gorgeous forces at work inside of this artist and I feel lucky to have had this music come in to my life in the last week.  Below is a video for a song from this album.  Take the pill.

Demons - It's Golden Now

I was realizing how under-represented Paul Kim (aka 1/2 of Demons) is on this blog.  Another formidable pillar of the the Dekalb music scene in the aughts, he's been making sample based music for the better part of the last 5 years or so with fellow pillar, Sam Cholke, under the guise of Demons.  I'm not sure of their exact process(es) but Demons always achieves a completely natural-sounding approach to sampling records and creating beats on top of them.  This particular EP features Elena Haliczer (yet another Dekalb acquaintance of theirs, presumably) singing over top of old soul and R&B samples.  In a sense, it's almost as if they are creating brand new soul "standards" by using the very elements of the originals that made them standard in the first place.  This EP goes well with a gin and tonic whilst thinking of someone you love.  You can download this EP for free and many more Demons releases at their bandcamp.

There Stands the Glass

Also, this.  Thank you Ian Barnard.

Wild Heart

Thought I'd stray slightly from the typical Farm Formula today and post a couple videos.  I LOVE this video/version of this song so much.  It makes me so happy.  Seriously.

Audibledelusionsensemble - Winter's Weapons

This album is another in the long line of commendable free jazz efforts from my San Franciscan buddy, Matt Grothman (Wives, Vholtz, Woman's Worth...).  I don't recall the full story on the background of this album but I believe it was recorded live at Berkley and the music/band was put together specifically for that performance.  I found their take on electronic elements in approaching free/improvisational jazz to be most refreshing.  Combined with the organic familiarity of Matt's sax (I think he played sax, anyhow), piano, and live drumming, the result is an obscuring of worlds.  Not so much colliding as they are evolving together.  There are some pretty unique moments of noise-rock overlaps in to the jazz world here.  On "The Approach" it sounds as if the person manipulating the electronics has mic'd the drum kit and ran that source through an array of FX processing which creates a grinding and almost industrial soundscape, all the while the piano player plucks out a Monk-like melody to weave in and out of the chaos.  This is some serious "nu-jazz" that is not to be listened to lightly.  It's obvious this isn't just a bunch of kids screwing around with the elements of improv and jazz without understanding the roots.  The roots are evident on this recording while the improvisation seems to focus more on deconstructing those roots to an even more primal oblivion.  This is notably evident in the guitar work on the first track, "First Composition."  If you're a fan of Sun Ra or the Art Ensemble of Chicago, then this is probably up your alley.  Winter's coming.

((Husband Material)) - 2012 Euro Bailout: An Audio Compilation

Well, I'm back from spending a month in Europe (mainly Spain, France, and Portugal) and I'm posting an audio compilation of iPhone recordings from my trip.  I came up with the moniker ((Husband Material)) while traveling and I think I'll be sticking with that one for a while now.  I wish I had recorded more of the trip, but my phone just didn't have the memory it needed at times.  A majority of the recordings are from one of the most amazing art/sound exhibits I've ever seen.  You can read more about it here.  There are a couple jams I did with new friends, street music, and field recordings.  I've included the places and people involved in each of the track titles.  Enjoy!  BAIL ME OUT.

*e* - Zarkouwee

Ahhhh... another refreshing release from good friend *e*. Amazing voice. Amazing lyrics. Amazing songs. This particular release proves to be slightly more "hi-fi" and "band-oriented" than previous endeavors and, consequentially, is diverse as hell in style. From rock to instrumental keyboard loops to Velvets type drone pop, this CD is pretty different from other *e* releases. It seems like these songs might be a sort of collection of recordings from over the last year or two. I can personally attest as to when two of these songs were recorded since I played bass on them. *e* released a demo tape earlier this year called "Reverse the Negative" with an early version of "Aquarielle." I was quite pleased to hear this fantastic song reworked reworked for this album here. Zark.

Handmedown Satellites - Meanders Afoot

Handmedown Satellites is the moniker of the ongoing solo efforts of another Dekalbian friend of mine. He has a treasure trove of a blog called You're Sitting On It where you can find previous HMDS releases as well as many other gems. This latest release ventures into krauty synth territory. It's chalk full of extended digital hazes that build on themselves and develop uniquely organic rhythms that sound like they are about to shred the tape they were committed to in the first place. This is definitely one of my favorite HMDS releases thus far. The song "The Music Room" is a particular treat, invoking a repetitious drum machine loop with nothing but layers of gorgeous, tremolo-soaked melody dripped over the top. Swelling and soothing all at the same time. There are other moments on this album that almost feel pseudo-industrial, but ya know, in a good way. See the the song "Bite the Beat" to hear what I mean. The Meandering.

The Dandyls - Porous Gates

I first met Evan Fillon, aka Frut Dangoes, on the streets of Lakeview about 6 years ago. If I recall correctly, my musical partners in crime and I were loaded on some sort of cheap whiskey and roaming the streets on a Saturday night playing banjos and guitars for passersby when Evan came strolling up with a suitcase full of harmonicas. We jammed and drank for a good long while and a friendship was born. Evan has been a true inspiration over the years. His dedication and work ethic towards his craft (whether it be theatre, music, writing, etc) is truly humbling.

This album here by his band, The Dandyls, was recorded as a two piece with Evan and his friend Sean. I believe the band is larger in live settings now. Very unique and far-out post-free-folk aesthetic going on here. Whenever Evan sings, his whole soul is coming out of his face with an intensity and urgency that I rarely see/hear. It's also kind of startling. In a good way. "Crickets" is one of my favorites here. Clocking in at just under 18 minutes, its a free form drone folk banjo and guitar journey that adds washes of feedback and retains a beauty and feeling that is hard to place, let alone capture. Chanting the words "i love you, i miss you, i love you, i miss you" can be pretty universally resounding and cathartic for just about anyone. There's also a cover of "Not Fade Away" that only Evan would be able to pull off in this manner. Not to mention, he records a fantastic version of a song written by yours truly on this album. Open the gates.

The Oracles - Beet The Meatles

I was perusing last.fm last night and noticed that the amount of listeners for The Oracles' first album, Beet The Meatles, was significantly lower than for their opus that is Optimus Grimes. Many of you who actually follow this blog probably already have this album and know the legend of the short-lived Oracles band. As I've explicitly stated numerous times before, The Oracles were and still are one of my favorite bands of all time. No exaggeration. The talent seeping from these 5 individuals was stunning enough in their own rights, but when you put all of them in a room behind instruments TOGETHER?! What happened was pure magic. The collective songwriting/arrangements that would rival John Lennon, George Harrison and Brian Wilson. The level of intuitive communication between the members on a more significant plane than we typically see on a day-to-day basis. The hilarious inside jokes that came about on stage that, sometimes, you feel you might understand as well. And then there were the jams. The all out heart-on-our-sleeve-let's-blow-this-building-up-with-nothing-but-magic-and-sound jams. Seeing this band play live would leave me happy for weeks. They toured once to the west coast in the summer of '05 and I'm glad they were able to do so. People NEEDED to see this band. Their mysterious demise will be left for another soul to relay, but for now let's celebrate what they made.

The first time I got this CD-R, it had the Bob Dylan cover (Love/No Limit Zero) on the disc. Later versions dropped this for some reason. An amazing rendition of that song, to say the least. "In The Dark" will forever hold a special place in my heart and brain.

These were the songs that started it all. Andy's description via last.fm:

"A lo fi band with many vocals and generally good intentions."